Issue for the week of July 13th, 2013

Bohr's revolutionary atomic theory turns 100. (p. 20)

Cicadas' odd life cycle poses evolutionary conundrums. (p. 26)

New formula relates city size to infrastructure, productivity. (p. 5)

Females can use sperm months after mates go belly up. (p. 8)

Ancient fossils reveal surprises about early vertebrate necks, abdominal muscles. (p. 8)

Famous for speed, the big cats actually rely on acceleration and maneuverability to capture prey. (p. 9)

Using everyday materials, two research teams conceal ordinary objects by guiding light around them. (p. 10)

To record size and shape of a room, researchers use a speaker, five microphones and some math. (p. 10)

Experimental microchip improves reliability and speed of writing and reading data. (p. 11)

Ocean acidification could hamper larvae's growth. (p. 12)

Orbiting camera detects reflected light to determine the extent of the planet's vegetation. (p. 12)

Throat movements get decoded to reveal sounds of speech. (p. 13)

Selections from the meeting held June 2-7 in Montreal include personal listening zones in cars and music of the body. (p. 13)

Stem cells spur return of amputated digits in mice (p. 14)

No strong signs of canine ancestry among living grey wolves. (p. 14)

Fluorescent protein binds to bilirubin, a compound the body must eliminate. (p. 15)

?BigBrain? model, the most detailed atlas yet, could improve brain scanning tools and neurosurgeons? navigation. (p. 16)

Abnormalities in three brain regions found among those who head the ball most frequently. (p. 18)

Genome alterations probably not responsible for decline in disease prevalence. (p. 18)

When struck with light, retinal prostheses stimulate animals' visual cortices. (p. 19)

Male chickens lose phalluses before hatching. (p. 19)

Proposal would extend protections to both wild and captive primate populations. (p. 19)

Angkor, the capital of Cambodia's Khmer empire, included carefully planned ?suburbs that spread across the landscape. (p. 19)

A genetic quirk linking snails in two distant areas suggests people brought escargot on their migration to the Emerald Isle. (p. 19)

Review by Allison Bohac (p. 30)

Review by Erin Wayman (p. 30)

Excerpt from the July 13, 1963, issue of Science News Letter (p. 4)

(p. 31)

The Science Life (p. 32)

Source: http://www.sciencenews.org/view/issue/id/351310/title/Issue_for_the_week_of_July_13th_2013

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Maggie Gyllenhaal: Ramona Taught Me How to Be a Mom

"I had nothing to change her into, nothing to clean her with. I don't know why no one told me I would need a diaper bag."

Source: http://feeds.celebritybabies.com/~r/celebrity-babies/~3/7M_YDJQG1jI/

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EU leaders win breakthrough EU budget deal

BRUSSELS (AP) ? European Union leaders reached an outline deal Friday on the 27-country bloc's 960 billion euro ($1.3 trillion) seven-year budget, overcoming British objections to sign off on the agreement.

British Prime Minister David Cameron had held out for better financial conditions, overshadowing a summit called to approve plans to deal with the continent's youth unemployment problems.

However, in the end, all 27 nations backed the budget deal. EU President Herman Van Rompuy said "it is a quite clear 'yes'," when it came to unanimous backing of the 2014-2020 spending plan.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/eu-leaders-win-breakthrough-eu-budget-deal-235013580.html

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Something new | Step Talk

So my DH is in the military and every year we get two weeks of block leave (vacation). Every year when this comes around we have to go home (our home state, we're stationed in a different state). We go there every year on our two week vacation to see his kids. There is no parenting plan and "monster" won't let us bring them to our current station, bc it's "to far away". It's just very unfair to me that on our ONLY vacation we have to go to SC, back to our hometown,and sit at MY parents house for two solid weeks. Don't get me wrong I know my husband needs to see his kids, and I do enjoy getting to see my family. But I feel it's unfair, why can't we actually go somewhere different on vacation? The beach, the mountains, a freaking amusement park, something! It takes every last dime we have just to drive to SC and back and in November we'll be moving to a different post even farther away from SC. The facts are this though.

*We can't go anywhere bc we only have money to go one place.

*We have two cars but DH thought it would be a "good" idea to buy a 1979 Trans Am as his everyday car, it won't make it the 500 miles to SC and the 500 miles back. So if we did go someplace different we couldn't take all the kids bc my car has only 5 seat bealts (his kids go on vacation with their monster) why should my BS4 and our daughter be confined to just going to SC all the time?

*I want to do something as a family, I know his kids are part of this family but their "monster" won't let us take them anywhere. I feel that we all have to suffer come vacation time.

*I feel guilty bc I feel as though I'm being selfish, but it hurts my feelings. When he was with his ex they would go to Florida, the mountains etc.... Now that they're divorced "our" vacation is to SC to see his kids. How do I go about telling him that I'm tired of going to SC all the time? How do I tell him he needs to think about me and the family he's got that actually live with him? Am I being unfair? I feel as though if he had been smarter while going through his divorce we wouldn't have this problem. But as it stands now she makes ALL the rules and we have to follow them, so noo taking the kids out of state for us.

Source: http://www.steptalk.org/node/158976

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American Baking Competition Recap: Dessert Drama

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/06/american-baking-competition-recap-dessert-drama/

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Co-Founded By TC Alum Erick Schonfeld, TouchCast Aims To Reinvent Online Video With Interactive Apps

To explain TouchCast, a startup that's launching its first product ?today, my old boss Erick Schonfeld argued that the Internet has't really transformed video. Sure, with sites like Netflix and Hulu, the distribution model has changed, but he said they're just "a different pipe" ? the underlying content is pretty similar to what you'd find on TV. "The whole problem with video right now is it doesn't really play nicely with the rest of the web," Schonfeld said.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/NLqY0zGOTbY/

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Nvidia delays new game device after finding problem

By Noel Randewich

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Nvidia Corp is delaying sales of its new handheld game gadget, a setback in the chipmaker's bid to use its appeal with personal computer gamers to challenge console makers like Sony Corp and Microsoft Corp .

On Wednesday, a day before the scheduled launch, Nvidia said it had discovered a "mechanical issue" in the Shield multimedia device, which lets users play Android and PC games using either the built-in screen or on their TVs.

It will be shipped in July.

Nvidia's graphics chips are well-known to enthusiasts in their 20s who deck out desktop computers with high-end components to get the best out of first-person shooters and other games.

The Santa Clara, California company hopes some of those customers will also be drawn to Shield, which uses Nvidia's Tegra 4 mobile chip, has a pop-up retina display, and runs the same games as those on Android tablets and smartphones.

The portable device also shows movies, plays music, stores e-books, and can be used to surf the Web.

As PC sales suffer from the growing popularity of tablets, Nvidia has staked its future on using its PC graphics expertise to make high-performance processors for mobile devices.

Last week Nvidia cut the price of the Shield to $299 from $349.

(Reporting by Noel Randewich; Editing by Richard Chang)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nvidia-delays-game-device-finding-problem-204128078.html

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'Recycled' Aussie PM gives party jolt of optimism

Governor-General Quentin Bryce, left, poses with newly commissioned Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, second from left, his wife Therese Rein, right, and his granddaughter Josephine Tse, at Government House in Canberra, Australia, Thursday, June 27, 2013. Rudd was sworn in as prime minister three years and three days after he was ousted from the same job in an internal government showdown. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

Governor-General Quentin Bryce, left, poses with newly commissioned Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, second from left, his wife Therese Rein, right, and his granddaughter Josephine Tse, at Government House in Canberra, Australia, Thursday, June 27, 2013. Rudd was sworn in as prime minister three years and three days after he was ousted from the same job in an internal government showdown. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

Former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, right, with her former deputy Wayne Swan, arrive in chambers at parliament for question time for what is likely to be its last day before elections, in Canberra, Australia, Thursday, June 27, 2013. Gillard was dumped in a party ballot and Kevin Rudd was sworn in as Australian prime minister three years and three days after he was ousted from the same job in an internal government showdown. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

Governor-General Quentin Bryce, right, commissions Kevin Rudd with in half an hour of Parliament resuming for what is likely to be its last day before elections, in Canberra, Australia, Thursday, June 27, 2013. Rudd is sworn in as Australian prime minister three years and three days after he was ousted from the same job in an internal government showdown. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

Kevin Rudd signs his commission at Government House within half an hour of Parliament resuming for what is likely to be its last day before elections, in Canberra, Australia, Thursday, June 27, 2013. Rudd is sworn in as Australian prime minister three years and three days after he was ousted from the same job in an internal government showdown. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, second from left, is congratulated by opposition leader Tony Abbott, left, deputy opposition leader Julie Bishop, right, and shadow treasurer Joe Hockey just before Rudd addresses Parliament for what is likely to be its last day before elections, in Canberra, Australia, Thursday, June 27, 2013. Rudd was sworn in as Australian prime minister three years and three days after he was ousted from the same job in an internal government showdown. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) ? Dubbed "Recycled Rudd" in newspaper headlines, Kevin Rudd returned as Australia's prime minister Thursday, reviving his party's hopes of avoiding an election massacre but giving voters few clues where he plans to take the country.

Rudd was sworn in a day after wrenching the job back from Julia Gillard, his former deputy, who took over through her own internal coup three years ago but had a strained relationship with Australian voters from the start.

He is seen as more charismatic than Gillard, though his abrasiveness toward his fellow lawmakers helped lead to his 2010 downfall. In Parliament on Thursday, he urged lawmakers to be "a little kinder and gentler" toward each other following Gillard's ouster.

With Gillard as leader, the ruling center-left Labor Party had appeared headed for an overwhelming election defeat at the hands of the conservative coalition opposition, but Rudd's supporters said they now have a chance to win.

"What this fundamentally does is put us in a position where we can win the next election, and no one would have been talking about that even at the beginning of this week," said Richard Marles, a Rudd supporter who quit as a junior minister in March after an aborted leadership challenge by Rudd.

"We were looking at a very bad defeat. We were not in the contest," he added.

Gillard had set elections for Sept. 14, though Rudd can now decide to hold them as early as Aug. 3. Rudd on Thursday refused to commit to a date but said "there's not going to be a huge variation" from Sept. 14.

Rudd has said he will perform with renewed "energy and purpose," but has yet to spell out what will be different under his leadership. His government remains in a state of confusion, with a Cabinet yet to be named.

Marles said he expects Rudd will "reset some policies" in the next two weeks, including on the unpopular carbon tax levied on Australia's largest polluters and on how Australia deals with a growing number of asylum seekers reaching the country by boat.

"He's the best communicator that exists in Australian politics today," Marles said. "People just love him; they really relate to him and react to him and there is part of that I think is an intangible."

Successive opinion polls have suggested that the government would be more popular with Rudd, a Mandarin-speaking former diplomat, at the helm than Gillard, a former lawyer and political staffer who was Australia's first female prime minister.

A poll by market researcher Nielsen published last week in Fairfax Media newspapers found that Labor under Rudd would be on equal pegging with the opposition at 50 percent voter support. Under Gillard, Labor trailed with only 43 percent of voter support, compared to 57 percent support for the opposition.

The poll was based on a random nationwide telephone survey of 1,400 voters on June 13-15 and had a 2.6 percent margin of error.

Nielsen director John Stirton was skeptical that the poll would translate to an election victory for Labor, saying that would assume a smooth leadership transition to Rudd, the party uniting behind him and his public popularity enduring until the election.

Under Gillard, polls had suggested that Labor could lose between 30 and 35 of their 71 lawmakers in the 150-seat House of Representatives, where parties form government.

Rudd forced Gillard out in nearly the same way she ousted him in 2010. Each faced a party leadership vote in the face of a revolt from Labor lawmakers, but while Rudd did not contest Gillard's earlier challenge, she went ahead with a vote that she lost 57-45.

Gillard tendered her resignation Wednesday night, and Governor-General Quentin Bryce commissioned Rudd as prime minister on Thursday.

Anthony Albanese was sworn in as deputy prime minister and Chris Bowen was sworn in as treasurer during the same ceremony. Rudd has yet to say when he will announce his complete Cabinet after seven ministers resigned following Gillard's ouster.

Since it holds fewer than half of the seats in Parliament, the Labor Party has required support from independent lawmakers and the minor Greens party to hang on to power. Those lawmakers were not obliged to support Rudd, though at least some of them did.

The opposition could have challenged Rudd's control of the government with a no-confidence motion, but it did not. Parliament was adjourned Thursday and it will not reconvene until after the elections.

The bitter rivalry and infighting between the Gillard and Rudd camps has damaged Labor's image. Rudd had tried twice previously to oust Gillard, last year and in February. Many took the fact that he never posed for a Parliament House portrait, as other former prime ministers had done, as a sign that he never gave up on returning.

"As we all know in this place, political life is a very hard life; a very hard life indeed," Rudd told Parliament before it adjourned. "Let us try ? just try ? to be a little kinder and gentler with each other in the further deliberations of this Parliament."

Opposition leader Tony Abbott demanded an explanation from Rudd of why Gillard was deposed with elections looming. Abbott also called for an election date to be confirmed.

"Politics is a tough business and sometimes it is far more brutal than it needs to be," Abbott said.

"This is a fraught moment in the life of our nation. A prime minister has been dragged down; her replacement owes the Australian people and the Australian Parliament an explanation," he added.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-06-27-Australia-Politics/id-992611dab7204ec894ec5ce2d00b82fc

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GOP's complicated path forward (CNN)

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Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/315485978?client_source=feed&format=rss

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2014 Infiniti Q50 boasts elegant styling, new technology

The 2014 Infiniti Q50 has been priced at $36,700. Its sport car version, coming in both rear-drive and all-wheel drive forms, has a price tag around $45,000, while its hybrid version, the Q50 Hybrid, offers 36 mpg on the highway and 354 net horsepower.

By Nelson Ireson,?Guest blogger / June 26, 2013

The new Infiniti Q50 is displayed on stage at the New York Auto Show in New York, New York, earlier this year. The 2014 Infiniti Q50, which comes in both a sport and hybrid model, offers direct adaptive steering, active lane control, and predictive forward collision warning.

Carlo Allegri/Reuters/File

Enlarge

The 2014 Infiniti Q50 awed us with its dramatic and elegant new styling at the 2013 Detroit Auto Show. Today, we learn the Q50 will start at a relative bargain price of $36,700 plus $905 destination and handling.

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By way of comparison, the BMW 3-Series is nearly $5,000 cheaper in base 320i form, but the turbo four-cylinder 328i, which is a better equivalent for the Infiniti Q50, starts at $36,850, and rates 240 horsepower from its 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder. Audi's A4 sedan likewise comes in much cheaper in base form, at $32,500, but again uses a much less powerful base engine, a 211-horsepower 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder. The Mercedes-Benz C Class, at $35,530, gets a 184-horsepower 1.8-liter turbocharged four-cylinder, though the more comparable C350 sedan is priced about $5,000 more than the Q50. The new 2014 Lexus IS starts at $36,825, and it too offers a less-potent 204-horsepower from its 2.5-liter V-6 engine.

Infiniti's Q50 is, therefore, a relative bargain when considering its standard 3.7-liter V-6 engine, rated at 328 horsepower and 269 pound-feet of torque. Substituting all-wheel drive for the standard rear-wheel drive bumps the price up to $39,405 (including delivery), while a premium package adds another $1,050 (RWD) or $2,850 (AWD).

The 2014 Infiniti Q50S, the sport model, starts at $44,105 in rear-drive form, and $45,905 with all-wheel drive.

Perhaps the most intriguing model, however, is the Q50 Hybrid. Coming standard with the Premium package, the base price for the 36-mpg highway, 354 net horsepower Q50 Hybrid is $44,855. With all-wheel drive, the Q50 Hybrid climbs to $46,655. Adding the S sport trim brings the rear-drive Q50S Hybrid to $47,255, and the all-wheel drive model to $49,055.

BMW's ActiveHybrid 3 is the nearest competitor to the Q50 Hybrid, offering 335 horsepower and 33 mpg highway, but starting at $49,650, again making the Infiniti an attractive alternative on price. Neither Audi nor Mercedes offer a hybrid in the compact sport sedan class.

Infiniti will also offer some impressive new technology in the Q50, including Direct Adaptive Steering, Active Lane Control, and Predictive Forward Collision Warning, bring it on par with available technologies from the Germans.

For more details on Infiniti's latest luxury sedan, read our 2014 Q50 preview.

The Christian Science Monitor has assembled a diverse group of the best auto bloggers out there. Our guest bloggers are not employed or directed by the Monitor and the views expressed are the bloggers' own, as is responsibility for the content of their blogs. To contact us about a blogger,?click here.?To add or view a comment on a guest blog, please go to the blogger's own site by clicking on the link in the blog description box above.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/H7_7QwpL7OI/2014-Infiniti-Q50-boasts-elegant-styling-new-technology

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Digg Reader Is A Promising, But Still Incomplete, Google Reader Alternative (Hands On)

Digg's Reader is here, but it's not a Google Reader replacement...yet. For a subset of the Internet's population, Google's March announcement of its intention to shutter its dated, rusting RSS feed reading service Google Reader, was met with a large outcry. Though never having grown to a size that made the service worth?sustaining?in Google's eyes, its niche user base was devoted and heavily engaged. They were the Internet's most active readers, the power users capable of handling more advanced tools for digging up all the interesting things you can find on the web.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/Updf9x2Rba8/

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Senior Spit Has Anti-Flu Secret

The saliva of elderly men and women has significantly more proteins that fight off some flu viruses than what's found in younger people's saliva. Christopher Intagliata reports

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Seasonal flu typically hits senior citizens harder than most other age groups. In fact, some 90 percent of flu-related deaths are estimated to occur in adults 65 and older. But with pandemic influenzas, like bird or swine flu, it's a different story.

Take the 2009 H1N1 flu. In that outbreak, adults over 65 actually suffered the fewest infections of any age group. That anomaly suggests they might have some sort of built-in immunity. Now researchers say the seniors' secret may be in their spit.

Researchers sampled saliva from 180 children, adult and elderly volunteers. Then they isolated proteins from the saliva, and tested how well the inhibitory proteins stuck to two strains of H9N2 bird flu.

Turns out elderly men and women had significantly more such proteins that interfere with the flu virus?which researchers say could boost the seniors' resistance to bird flu. Those results appear in the Journal of Proteome Research. [Yannan Qin et al., Age- and Sex-Associated Differences in the Glycopatterns of Human Salivary Glycoproteins and Their Roles against Influenza A Virus]?

The next step, researchers say, is to develop an oral or nasal spray based on these proteins. Which might give people of all ages a chance to send the flu a lethal loogie.

?Christopher Intagliata

[The above text is a transcript of this podcast.]

Source: http://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode.cfm?id=senior-spit-has-anti-flu-secret-13-06-25

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2 Russian astronauts tackle chores in spacewalk

In this frame grab from video provided by NASA, two Russian flight engineers perform maintenance on the International Space Station, Monday, June 24, 2013. The crew includes three Russians, two Americans and one Italian. The Italian and one American will conduct a pair of spacewalks for NASA in July. (AP Photo/NASA)

In this frame grab from video provided by NASA, two Russian flight engineers perform maintenance on the International Space Station, Monday, June 24, 2013. The crew includes three Russians, two Americans and one Italian. The Italian and one American will conduct a pair of spacewalks for NASA in July. (AP Photo/NASA)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) ? Two space station astronauts took care of a little outside maintenance Monday.

Russian flight engineers Fyodor Yurchikhin and Alexander Misurkin replaced a main valve on the International Space Station and prepared for the arrival of a new lab later this year.

"To save the time, I'm embroidering," one of the spacewalkers said in Russian, holding a clump of cord as he worked. "It's not easy to handle all these ropes." Later, he added, "OK, now we're doing beadwork."

Besides the valve swap 250 miles up, the spacewalkers installed clamps and retrieved science experiments, completing most all their chores. The spacewalk ran a little over at 6? hours. "Thank you for your work," radioed Russian Mission Control outside Moscow.

It was the year's third spacewalk. The four other space station residents monitored the action from inside.

Yurchikhin arrived at the space station just a few weeks ago. Misurkin has been on board since March.

The crew includes three Russians, two Americans and one Italian. The Italian and one American will conduct a pair of spacewalks for NASA in July.

Begun in 1998, the space station still is one room short.

The Russian Space Agency plans to launch a research lab by year's end to replace the Pirs air lock that has been in place since 2001. An unmanned Proton rocket will hoist the lab, which also will serve as an air lock for spacewalk preparations and a docking port for visiting craft.

As for Pirs ? Russian for pier ? it will be cut loose before the launch of its replacement and burn up upon re-entry as junk.

___

Online:

NASA: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/b2f0ca3a594644ee9e50a8ec4ce2d6de/Article_2013-06-24-Space%20Station/id-9c02cf0e81de4742b3ca9f20c24fbee3

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Floodwaters force 100s to evacuate NE Iowa town

NEW HARTFORD, Iowa (AP) ? The northeast Iowa town of New Hartford was mostly deserted Tuesday after authorities went door-to-door before dawn, warning residents a flooded stream would inundate most of the small community.

"Everybody was notified and told to evacuate," said Butler County emergency management coordinator Mitch Nordmeyer as he surveyed the town, about 90 miles northeast of Des Moines. "If they stayed they were staying at their own risk."

Although most of New Hartford's 500-plus residents heeded warnings and left town, some stayed behind and there was no sense of panic.

Residents had seen the normally placid Beaver Creek flood before. And after some areas upstream received more than 7 inches of rain on Monday, few seemed surprised the stream was surging out of its banks again.

Jim Johnson, 49, rowed down Main Street just before noon. He's lived in town since the 1960s and said he's been through it before.

"I have about 8 inches of water in my basement," he said after getting out of the flat-bottom aluminum boat and tying it to a small tree.

He said a flood in 2008 was worse. That one flooded his home with about 4 feet of water.

"I've got this boat and another one with a motor," he said. "I usually stay until everything is lost."

But Johnson and authorities said most people had left, especially elderly people and residents with young children.

Residents were notified via a telephone emergency system on Monday about the danger, and an evacuation order came early Tuesday.

Up to 50 emergency services workers, sheriff's deputies and firefighters began to help townspeople flee at 3 a.m., before the water got too high and when boats and high-centered vehicles would have been required for rescues. Nordmeyer estimated about a third of the town's residents remained, but the town was largely silent by afternoon.

"Pretty much everyone who wants out is out, at this point," Nordmeyer said, adding that a sandbagged road to the north presented the only remaining route out of town. An emergency shelter was set up six miles away in Shell Rock.

Sue Ragsdale, 60, said she evacuated her home in the early hours but returned later in the day. She found a flooded barn but a dry home.

"I've seen it a lot worse," she said.

Nordmeyer estimated that the water was already 3 feet deep on the east side of town, and said floodwaters were pouring into the west side of town as well. The creek has topped a levy that surrounds the town on the east side near the elementary school, Nordmeyer said. He also suspected a breach had occurred Tuesday morning on a gravel road about three miles west of town that works as a makeshift levy. Officials couldn't get there to confirm his suspicions, he said.

Beaver Creek rose 3 feet above flood stage and crested at 15.15 feet by 7:45 a.m. Tuesday. The National Weather Service said most of New Hartford floods when the creek rises to 14 feet. The weather service said the creek was at 14.8 feet as of noon Tuesday and the water continues to recede. It is expected to return to the creek by Wednesday evening.

The crest is about half a foot short of the record of 15.7 feet set in June 2008, and it is two feet higher than when the creek caused flooding last month.

The rest of Butler County is under a flash flood watch until Wednesday morning. The weather service said New Hartford is along a path in northern Iowa that may experience showers and thunderstorms Tuesday afternoon into the overnight hours. Meteorologist Kevin Skow said between 2 and 3 inches of rain could fall per hour from the systems moving through the area.

Any rain that falls over the town will flow back into Beaver Creek because the ground is saturated, said Skow, resulting in standing water possibly staying around for a bit longer than expected.

___

Associated Press writer Barbara Rodriguez in Des Moines contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/floodwaters-force-100s-evacuate-ne-iowa-town-143602963.html

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High Court Deals a Blow To Voting Act (WSJ)

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High Speed Footage Reveals an AK-47 Works Even Better Under Water

The AK-47 can be considered the Timex watch of the gun world. It takes a licking, and keeps on ticking, except that by ticking we of course mean firing round after round of ammunition. The automatic machine gun is based on a gas recoil system that uses the hot expanding gases of a bullet being fired to automatically rechamber the next round, and surprisingly, it appears to work even better under water.

The folks at Smarter Every Day sunk an AK-47 in an aquarium and, using a high-speed camera, they discovered that the weapon happily still fires while under water. Not only that, it actually reloads itself faster, because H2O can't be compressed. But while the weapon appears to operate more efficiently while submerged, the bullets are also slowed, so unfortunately it's considerably less lethal for hunting mermaids and sharks.

Source: http://gizmodo.com/high-speed-footage-reveals-an-ak-47-works-even-better-u-555224613

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Prosecutor opens with Zimmerman's obscenity

SANFORD, Fla. (AP) ? A prosecutor told jurors in opening statements Monday that George Zimmerman fatally shot Trayvon Martin "because he wanted to," not because he had to, while the neighborhood watch volunteer's attorney said the deadly shooting of the teen was carried out in self-defense.

The opposing attorneys squared off on the first day of testimony in a trial that has attracted international attention and prompted nationwide debates about racial profiling, vigilantism and the laws governing the use of deadly force.

Defense attorney Don West used a joke in his opening statements to illustrate the difficulty of picking a jury amid such widespread publicity.

"'Knock. Knock,'" West said.

"'Who is there?'"

"'George Zimmerman.'"

"'George Zimmerman who?'"

"'Ah, good. You're on the jury.'"

Included among the millions likely to be following the case are civil rights leaders the Revs. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, who joined national protests in the weeks before prosecutors filed second-degree murder charges against Zimmerman. The charges came 44 days after the shooting.

Zimmerman, who identifies himself as Hispanic, has denied that his confrontation with Martin before the shooting had anything to do with race. His mother was born in Peru. His father is a white American. Martin was black.

But just before opening statements began, Martin's parents sent out an urgent plea to their supporters to pray with them for justice, while their family attorney, Benjamin Crump, described the case as clear cut.

"There are two important facts in this case: No. 1: George Zimmerman was a grown man with a gun, and No. 2: Trayvon Martin was a minor who had no blood on his hands. Literally no blood on his hands. ... We believe that the evidence is overwhelming to hold George Zimmerman accountable for killing Trayvon Martin."

Prosecutor John Guy's first words to jurors recounted what Zimmerman told a police dispatcher in a call shortly before the fatal confrontation with Martin: "F------ punks. These a-------. They always get away."

Zimmerman was profiling Martin as he followed him through the gated community where Zimmerman lived and Martin was visiting, Guy said. He said Zimmerman viewed the teen "as someone about to a commit a crime in his neighborhood."

"And he acted on it. That's why we're here," the prosecutor said.

Zimmerman didn't have to shoot Martin, Guy said.

"He shot him for the worst of all reasons: because he wanted to," he said.

West told jurors that Zimmerman was being viciously attacked when he shot Martin. Zimmerman was sucker-punched by Martin, who then pounded Zimmerman's head into the concrete sidewalk, West said. He played for jurors the call to a police dispatcher in which Zimmerman used the obscenities.

Martin had opportunities to go home after Zimmerman followed him and then lost track of him, West said, but instead the teen confronted the neighborhood watch volunteer.

"He had just taken tremendous blows to his face, tremendous blows to his head," said West after showing jurors photos taken by Zimmerman's neighbors of a bloodied and bruised neighborhood watch volunteer.

The prosecutor described Zimmerman as someone who wanted to be a police officer, and he dismantled the story Zimmerman has told investigators about what happened during the fight between the neighborhood watch volunteer and the Miami-area teen that left Martin dead from a bullet to his chest.

Zimmerman's claim that Martin had his hands over the neighborhood watch volunteer's mouth is false since none of Zimmerman's DNA was found on Martin's body, Guy said. The prosecutor also said Zimmerman's claim that he had to fire because Martin was reaching for his firearm is false since none of Martin's DNA was on the gun or holster.

Zimmerman is pleading not guilty to second-degree murder, claiming self-defense.

On Feb. 26, 2012, Zimmerman spotted Martin, whom he did not recognize, walking in the gated townhome community where Zimmerman and the fiancee of Martin's father lived. There had been a rash of recent break-ins and Zimmerman was wary of strangers walking through the complex.

The two eventually got into a struggle and Zimmerman shot Martin in the chest with his 9mm handgun. He was charged 44 days after the shooting, only after a special prosecutor was appointed to review the case and after protests. The delay in the arrest prompted protests nationwide.

Two police dispatch phone calls will be important evidence for both sides' cases.

The first is a call Zimmerman made to a nonemergency police dispatcher, who told him he didn't need to be following Martin.

The second 911 call captures screams from the confrontation between Zimmerman and Martin. Martin's parents said the screams are from their son while Zimmerman's father contends they belong to his son.

Nelson ruled last weekend that audio experts for the prosecution won't be able to testify that the screams belong to Martin, saying the methods the experts used were unreliable.

Both calls were played for jurors by the defense in opening statements. Martin's mother, Sybrina Fulton, left the courtroom before the second call was played.

Opening statements were made two weeks after jury selection began. Attorneys picked six jurors and four alternates after quizzing the jury pool questions about how much they knew about the case and their views on guns and self-defense.

___

Follow Kyle Hightower on Twitter at http://twitter.com/KHightower

Follow Mike Schneider on Twitter at http://twitter.com/MikeSchneiderAP

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/prosecutor-opens-zimmermans-obscenity-135419217.html

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WikiLeaks: Snowden going to Ecuador

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Admitted leaker Edward Snowden took flight Sunday in evasion of U.S. authorities, seeking asylum in Ecuador and leaving the Obama administration scrambling to determine its next step in what became a game of diplomatic cat-and-mouse.

The former National Security Agency contractor and CIA technician fled Hong Kong and arrived at the Moscow airport, where he planned to spend the night before boarding an Aeroflot flight to Cuba. Ecuador's Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino said his government received an asylum request from Snowden, and the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks said it would help him.

"He goes to the very countries that have, at best, very tense relationships with the United States," said Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., adding that she feared Snowden would trade more U.S. secrets for asylum. "This is not going to play out well for the national security interests of the United States."

The move left the U.S. with limited options as Snowden's itinerary took him on a tour of what many see as anti-American capitals. Ecuador in particular has rejected the United States' previous efforts at cooperation, and has been helping WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, avoid prosecution by allowing him to stay at its embassy in London.

Snowden helped The Guardian and The Washington Post disclose U.S. surveillance programs that collect vast amounts of phone records and online data in the name of foreign intelligence, but often sweep up information on American citizens. Officials have the ability to collect phone and Internet information broadly but need a warrant to examine specific cases where they believe terrorism is involved.

Snowden had been in hiding for several weeks in Hong Kong, a former British colony with a high degree of autonomy from mainland China. The United States formally sought Snowden's extradition from Hong Kong but was rebuffed; Hong Kong officials said the U.S. request did not fully comply with their laws.

The Justice Department rejected that claim, saying its request met all of the requirements of the extradition treaty between the U.S. and Hong Kong.

During conversations last week, including a phone call Wednesday between Attorney General Eric Holder and Hong Kong Secretary for Justice Rimsky Yuen, Hong Kong officials never raised any issues regarding sufficiency of the U.S. request, a Justice spokesperson said.

A State Department official said the United States was in touch through diplomatic and law enforcement channels with countries that Snowden could travel through or to, reminding them that Snowden is wanted on criminal charges and reiterating Washington's position that Snowden should only be permitted to travel back to the U.S.

Those officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the case.

The Justice Department said it would "pursue relevant law enforcement cooperation with other countries where Mr. Snowden may be attempting to travel."

The White House would only say that President Barack Obama had been briefed on the developments by his national security advisers.

Russia's state ITAR-Tass news agency and Interfax cited an unnamed Aeroflot airline official as saying Snowden was on the plane that landed Sunday afternoon in Moscow.

Upon his arrival, Snowden did not leave Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport. One explanation could be that he wasn't allowed; a U.S. official said Snowden's passport had been revoked, and special permission from Russian authorities would have been needed.

"It's almost hopeless unless we find some ways to lean on them," said Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y.

The Russian media report said Snowden intended to fly to Cuba on Monday and then on to Caracas, Venezuela.

U.S. lawmakers scoffed. "The freedom trail is not exactly China-Russia-Cuba-Venezuela, so I hope we'll chase him to the ends of the earth, bring him to justice and let the Russians know there'll be consequences if they harbor this guy," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.

With each suspected flight, efforts to secure Snowden's return to the United States appeared more complicated if not impossible. The United States does not have an extradition treaty with Russia, but does with Cuba, Venezuela and Ecuador. Even with an extradition agreement though, any country could give Snowden a political exemption.

The likelihood that any of these countries would stop Snowden from traveling on to Ecuador seemed remote. While diplomatic tensions have thawed in recent years, Cuba and the United States are hardly allies after a half century of distrust.

Venezuela, too, could prove difficult. Former President Hugo Chavez was a sworn enemy of the United States and his successor, Nicolas Maduro, earlier this year called Obama "grand chief of devils." The two countries do not exchange ambassadors.

U.S. pressure on Caracas also might be problematic given its energy exports. The U.S. Energy Information Agency reports Venezuela sent the United States 900,000 barrels of crude oil each day in 2012, making it the fourth-largest foreign source of U.S. oil.

"I think 10 percent of Snowden's issues are now legal, and 90 percent political," said Douglas McNabb, an expert in international extradition and a senior principal at international criminal defense firm McNabb Associates.

Assange's lawyer, Michael Ratner, said Snowden's options aren't numerous.

"You have to have a country that's going to stand up to the United States," Ratner said. "You're not talking about a huge range of countries here."

That is perhaps why Snowden first stopped in Russia, a nation with complicated relations with Washington.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is "aiding and abetting Snowden's escape," said Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

"Allies are supposed to treat each other in decent ways, and Putin always seems almost eager to put a finger in the eye of the United States," Schumer said. "That's not how allies should treat one another, and I think it will have serious consequences for the United States-Russia relationship."

It also wasn't clear Snowden was finished with disclosing highly classified information.

"I am very worried about what else he has," said Rep. Loretta Sanchez, a California Democrat who sits on the House Homeland Security Committee.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said she had been told Snowden had perhaps more than 200 sensitive documents.

Ros-Lehtinen and King spoke with CNN. Graham spoke to "Fox News Sunday." Schumer was on CNN's "State of the Union." Sanchez appeared on NBC's "Meet the Press." Feinstein was on CBS' "Face the Nation."

___

Associated Press White House Correspondent Julie Pace and Associated Press writers Matthew V. Lee and Frederic J. Frommer in Washington, Lynn Berry in Moscow, Kevin Chan in Hong Kong and Sylvia Hui in London contributed to this report.

___

Follow Philip Elliott on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/philip_elliott

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/wikileaks-snowden-going-ecuador-seek-asylum-170935684.html

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Snowden charged with espionage, theft in NSA case

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Edward Snowden, the former government contractor who says he revealed that the National Security Agency collects Americans' phone records and Internet data from U.S. communication companies, now faces charges of espionage and theft of government property.

Snowden is believed to be in Hong Kong, which could complicate efforts to bring him to a U.S. federal court to answer charges that he engaged in unauthorized communication of national defense information and willful communication of classified communications intelligence information.

In addition to those charges, both brought under the Espionage Act, the government charged Snowden with theft of government property. Each crime carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

The one-page criminal complaint against Snowden was unsealed Friday in federal court in Alexandria, Va., part of the Eastern District of Virginia where his former employer, government contractor Booz Allen Hamilton, is headquartered, in McLean.

The complaint is dated June 14, five days after Snowden's name first surfaced as the person who had leaked to the news media that the NSA, in two highly classified surveillance programs, gathered telephone and Internet records to ferret out terror plots.

It was unclear Friday whether the U.S. had yet to begin an effort to extradite Snowden from Hong Kong. He could contest extradition on grounds of political persecution. In general, the extradition agreement between the U.S. and Hong Kong excepts political offenses from the obligation to turn over a person.

Hong Kong had no immediate reaction to word of the charges against Snowden.

The Espionage Act arguably is a political offense. The Obama administration has now used the act in seven criminal cases in an unprecedented effort to stem leaks. In one of them, Army Pfc. Bradley Manning acknowledged he sent more than 700,000 battlefield reports, diplomatic cables and other materials to the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks. His military trial is underway.

Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, welcomed the charges against Snowden.

"I've always thought this was a treasonous act," he said in a statement. "I hope Hong Kong's government will take him into custody and extradite him to the U.S."

But the Government Accountability Project, a whistle-blower advocacy group, said Snowden should be shielded from prosecution by whistle-blower protection laws.

"He disclosed information about a secret program that he reasonably believed to be illegal, and his actions alone brought about the long-overdue national debate about the proper balance between privacy and civil liberties, on the one hand, and national security on the other," the group said in a statement.

Michael di Pretoro, a retired 30-year veteran with the FBI who served from 1990 to 1994 as the legal liaison officer at the American consulate in Hong Kong, said "relations between U.S. and Hong Kong law enforcement personnel are historically quite good."

"In my time, I felt the degree of cooperation was outstanding to the extent that I almost felt I was in an FBI field office," di Pretoro said.

The U.S. and Hong Kong have a standing agreement on the surrender of fugitives. However, Snowden's appeal rights could drag out any extradition proceeding.

The success or failure of any extradition proceeding depends on what the suspect is charged with under U.S. law and how it corresponds to Hong Kong law under the treaty. In order for Hong Kong officials to honor the extradition request, they have to have some applicable statute under their law that corresponds with a violation of U.S. law.

Hong Kong lawmakers said Saturday that the Chinese government should make the final decision on whether Snowden should be extradited to the United States.

Outspoken legislator Leung Kwok-hung said Beijing should instruct Hong Kong to protect Snowden from extradition before his case gets dragged through the court system.

Leung urged the people of Hong Kong to "take to the streets to protect Snowden."

In Iceland, a business executive said Friday that a private plane was on standby to transport Snowden from Hong Kong to Iceland, although Iceland's government says it has not received an asylum request from Snowden.

Business executive Olafur Vignir Sigurvinsson said he has been in contact with someone representing Snowden and has not spoken to the American himself. Private donations are being collected to pay for the flight, he said.

"There are a number of people that are interested in freedom of speech and recognize the importance of knowing who is spying on us," Sigurvinsson said. "We are people that care about privacy."

Disclosure of the criminal complaint came as President Barack Obama held his first meeting with a privacy and civil liberties board and as his intelligence chief sought ways to help Americans understand more about sweeping government surveillance efforts exposed by Snowden.

The five members of the little-known Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board met with Obama for an hour in the White House Situation Room, questioning the president on the two NSA programs that have stoked controversy.

One program collects billions of U.S. phone records. The second gathers audio, video, email, photographic and Internet search usage of foreign nationals overseas, and probably some Americans in the process, who use major Internet service providers, such as Microsoft, Google, Apple, and Yahoo.

___

Associated Press writer Jenna Gottlieb in Reykjavik, Iceland, contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/snowden-charged-espionage-theft-nsa-case-072626051.html

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U.S. charges Snowden with espionage (CNN)

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Today in History

Today is Sunday, June 23, the 174th day of 2013. There are 191 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On June 23, 1888, abolitionist Frederick Douglass received one vote from the Kentucky delegation at the Republican convention in Chicago, effectively making him the first black candidate to have his name placed in nomination for U.S. president. (The nomination went to Benjamin Harrison.)

On this date:

In 1757, forces of the East India Company led by Robert Clive won the Battle of Plassey, which effectively marked the beginning of British colonial rule in India.

In 1812, Britain, unaware that America had declared war against it five days earlier, rescinded its policy on neutral shipping, a major issue of contention between the two countries.

In 1860, a congressional resolution authorized creation of the United States Government Printing Office, which opened the following year.

In 1931, aviators Wiley Post and Harold Gatty took off from New York on a round-the-world flight that lasted eight days and 15 hours.

In 1938, the Civil Aeronautics Authority was established.

In 1947, the Senate joined the House in overriding President Harry S. Truman's veto of the Taft-Hartley Act, designed to limit the power of organized labor.

In 1956, Gamal Abdel Nasser was elected president of Egypt.

In 1967, President Lyndon B. Johnson and Soviet Premier Alexei Kosygin (ah-LEK'-say koh-SEE'-gihn) held the first of two meetings at Glassboro State College in New Jersey.

In 1969, Warren E. Burger was sworn in as chief justice of the United States by the man he was succeeding, Earl Warren.

In 1972, President Richard Nixon and White House chief of staff H.R. Haldeman discussed a plan to use the CIA to obstruct the FBI's Watergate investigation. (Revelation of the tape recording of this conversation sparked Nixon's resignation.) President Nixon signed into law Title IX, which barred discrimination on the basis of sex for "any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance."

In 1988, James E. Hansen, a climatologist at the Goddard Institute for Space Studies, told a Senate panel that global warming of the earth caused by the "greenhouse effect" was a reality.

In 1993, in a case that drew widespread attention, Lorena Bobbitt of Prince William County, Va., sexually mutilated her husband, John, after he'd allegedly raped her. (John Bobbitt was later acquitted of marital sexual assault; Lorena Bobbitt was later acquitted of malicious wounding by reason of insanity.) Canada's Senate ratified the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Ten years ago: A divided Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision, allowed the nation's colleges and universities to select students based in part on race, as long as race was not the determining factor. The Supreme Court said the government could require public libraries to equip computers with anti-pornography filters. Democrat Howard Dean formally announced his presidential campaign. Maynard Jackson Jr., the first black mayor of Atlanta, died in Arlington, Va., at age 65.

Five years ago: Outraged at the turmoil in Zimbabwe, the U.N. Security Council declared that a fair presidential vote was impossible because of a "campaign of violence" waged by President Robert Mugabe's government. Seattle's Felix Hernandez hit the first grand slam by an American League pitcher in 37 years, then departed with a sprained ankle before he could qualify for a win in the Mariners' 5-2 victory over the New York Mets.

One year ago: Syria and Turkey desperately sought to ease tensions following an incident in which Syria shot down a Turkish reconnaissance plane, saying the plane had entered its airspace. Ashton Eaton broke the world record in the decathlon, finishing with 9,039 points at the U.S. Olympic trials in Eugene, Ore. The Daytime Emmys showered "General Hospital" with five trophies, including best drama; NBC's "Today" show won as best morning show and the syndicated "Jeopardy!" was named best game show.

Today's Birthdays: Singer Diana Trask is 73. Musical conductor James Levine (luh-VYN') is 70. Rhythm-and-blues singer Rosetta Hightower (The Orlons) is 69. Actor Ted Shackelford is 67. Actor Bryan Brown is 66. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is 65. Actor Jim Metzler is 62. "American Idol" ex-judge Randy Jackson is 57. Actress Frances McDormand is 56. Rock musician Steve Shelley (Sonic Youth) is 51. Actor Paul La Greca is 51. Rhythm-and-blues singer Chico DeBarge is 43. Actress Selma Blair is 41. Rock singer KT Tunstall is 38. Rhythm-and-blues singer Virgo Williams (Ghostowns DJs) is 38. Singer-songwriter Jason Mraz is 36. Actress Melissa Rauch is 33. Rock singer Duffy is 29. Country singer Katie Armiger is 22.

Thought for Today: "Suffering without understanding in this life is a heap worse than suffering when you have at least the grain of an idea what it's all for." ? Mary Ellen Chase, American author (1887-1973).

(Above Advance for Use Sunday, June 23)

Copyright 2013, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/today-history-050206767.html

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AP Analysis: Protests threaten Erdogan ambitions

ISTANBUL (AP) ? Three weeks of protest have taken a political toll on Turkey's prime minister that could upend key parts of his political agenda, including his ambition to rework the constitution and emerge as Turkey's most powerful leader in its democratic era.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan's vehement stance against the protesters and the political opponents he accuses of helping them has polarized the country ? and shrunk a broad support base that extended well beyond his core religious voters. His crackdown is also damaging a key political asset: his image as a statesman who strengthened Turkey's role on the world stage and engineered its economic boom.

Erdogan's weakened position could be an opening for others in his party who have long stood in his shadow, including President Abdullah Gul. Meanwhile, the prime minister's struggles may make him a less reliable partner for the West at a time when its leaders are navigating difficult issues on Turkey's border, such as Syria's civil war. Turkey's turmoil is also a blow to the nation's already waning chances of joining the European Union.

Erdogan has been seeking constitutional changes that would strengthen the powers of the presidency and allow him to shift into that role after elections in August 2014. But the changes require a parliamentary supermajority, which his party does not command. It once looked likely that Erdogan could pass the changes with help from a smaller Kurdish party, but that potential ally is unhappy with his recent nationalistic turn. And the political upheaval may even limit votes within his own party.

Meanwhile, Erdogan has attracted widespread criticism from abroad over his hardening authoritarianism, particularly from Europe and the United States. In the most tangible setback, European leaders are wavering about talks planned later this month on Turkey's slow-moving bid to for EU membership.

"If you look back at the last 10 years, Erdogan and his party enjoyed enormous support from the West, especially as they took on the Turkish military establishment," says Bulent Aliriza, director of the Turkey Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "This is now in doubt as they criticize Erdogan and he reacts strongly to their criticism."

Another political strength, Erdogan's reputation as an able skipper of the Turkish economy, also appears damaged. The Turkish economy has grown by more than 40 percent during his 10 years in power and Erdogan has set ambitious economic goals for the next decade. But the Turkish lira has fallen significantly against other currencies since the protests, and prolonged unrest could further undermine confidence in the economy.

On Friday, Turkey's borrowing costs surged as Erdogan delivered another fiery speech in which he mocked protesters.

Erdogan appears to have been caught off guard by the sudden emergence of street-level opposition that emerged from a seemingly minor zoning dispute over a park in central Istanbul. Until now, he has almost always found a way to impose his will on Turkish politics. But after a long, dominant run in power, Erdogan's pugnacious instincts have suddenly led him astray, with protesters provoking him into a conflict perhaps best handled by a mayor.

After his harsh crackdown turned the situation into a global news story, Erdogan publicly derided demonstrators as terrorists and bums, briefly offered to meet with protest leaders, then turned to force again ? projecting an image of erratic leadership. All the while, he lashed out against social media, while charging that the protesters were incited by foreign enemies and media, displaying an unsavory nationalism that has alienated former supporters.

But the damage may be reversible, largely because opposition parties are so weak. Moreover, Western leaders see Turkey as a crucial ally and need its help on key issues including Syria and Iran. They will likely be relieved if Turkey's turmoil subsides and they can go back to regarding Erdogan as a trusted partner.

Erdogan could also regain his standing with new mandate from the Turkish electorate.

Even without constitutional changes, Erdogan could still seek the presidency in the 2014 elections ? although that would mean a diminished political role. Another option would be to abandon a pledge not to seek a fourth term as prime minister. An early general election could bolster Erdogan's position against a disorganized opposition, although his recent polarizing approach would likely translate into a smaller majority in parliament.

Ilter Turan, a professor of political science at Istanbul Bilgi University says that Erdogan could probably undo the damage if he took a more conciliatory approach, focused on the Turkish economy and got EU talks back on track.

But nearly three weeks into the demonstrations, he has shown little willingness to back down.

"His personality doesn't seem to allow for admitting mistakes and turning back," says Turan.

___

Suzan Fraser in Ankara contributed to this report.

___

Follow Desmond Butler on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/desmondbutler

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ap-analysis-protests-threaten-erdogan-ambitions-121610706.html

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Space telescope funded by public donations meets $1 million goal

Public donors giving between $10 and $10,000 each have hit a $1 million crowdfunding goal for ARKYD, the pint-size space telescope that can be used by schools and enthusiasts alike.

By Pete Spotts,?Staff writer / June 20, 2013

An ARKYD telescope orbiting Earth is shown in this artist's rendering. A privately owned asteroid-mining firm launched the effort to crowdfund the project.

Planetary Resources/Reuters

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Space telescopes are not just for pros anymore.

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The first space observatory paid for in part by public donations has hit its initial $1 million fundraising goal, putting the project on track for launch in 2015.

The telescope, dubbed ARKYD, is a munchkin compared with the venerable Hubble Space Telescope or its successor, the James Web Space Telescope. ARKYD's light-gathering mirror is only about 8 inches across, compared with Hubble's 13-foot mirror or the 21-foot mirror of the James Webb telescope, slated for launch in October 2018.

But ARKYD holds the potential to offer something these others don't ? time on an orbiting observatory for anyone from an elementary-school student to professional scientists whose research goals range from studying asteroids to hunting for planets outside our solar system.

The project is the first step toward Planetary Resources, Inc.'s ultimate aim of mining asteroids. The company intends to incorporate such an instrument into spacecraft that initially would rendezvous with an asteroid passing relatively close to Earth and later reach asteroids farther away.

To that end, Planetary Resources developed ARKYD and its needed support infrastructure, such as a ground station, with money from private investors. But the company was founded by X-Prize Foundation founder and chairman Peter Diamandis and Eric Anderson, both of whom champion broader public engagement in science. Hence the crowdfunding and the benefits that come with donating.

The $1 million mark ensures that a bare-bones telescope will get launched and maintained. And it ensures that the company will be able to deliver what they promised to donors. For instance:

• A $10 donation "gets you our eternal gratitude" and "a say in how the telescope is used," according to the company's fundraising page on the website Kickstarter.
• Up that to $25, and you get a "selfie" ? you supply a picture of yourself, they send it to the observatory, and an onboard camera takes a picture of your picture displayed on a small video screen on the telescope's exterior, giving you Earth or space as a backdrop.
• For $450, you get to pick three targets for the telescope and receive the images that result.
• Pony up $5,000, and the school or museum of your choice gets 25 targets, in addition to teaching tools that will help incorporate the observations into its science curriculum.
• For $10,000 (24 people have contributed at this level so far), it's the school support plus extras, including tickets to the launch, among other items.

Now that fundraising has met the company's basic goal, the 10 days remaining in Planetary Resources' drive are devoted to raising more to increase the observatory system's capabilities. A total of $1.3 million would allow the company to build a second ground station to receive data from the craft. This would speed processing and distribution of images. If the company hits the $2 million mark, it will beef up the telescope for planet-hunting purposes.

This holds a special attraction for Sara Seager, a planetary scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a member of Planetary Resources' advisory board. The project represents what she terms "a fresh approach" to space science.

It's striving to engage the world with access to an on-orbit observatory, she says. And it's moving in a direction she has been advocating for the field ? smaller and more numerous space observatories.

"I'd like to see a new paradigm for space science, where instead of one big telescope we have a fleet of small telescopes," she adds.

Her students have been working on a prototype for what, in effect, is a telescope in a shoe box. The telescope is designed to hunt for planets around nearby stars. But, she says, it has been hard to get money to launch the prototype, which would piggyback on a rocket carrying a larger, primary payload to orbit.

A small telescope must be incredibly stable to have any hope of detecting an extrasolar planet as it passes in front of its star and dims the starlight briefly. In collaboration with MIT's Draper Laboratory, she says, she, her students, and collaborators have licked that problem.

"By combining forces with Planetary Resources, we may be able to the the job done," she says, referring to orbiting what could be the first of many small space telescopes with this precision-pointing capability.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/science/~3/Q4ozYXZqCAg/Space-telescope-funded-by-public-donations-meets-1-million-goal

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