Monday, July 1, 2013

West scorched by record-breaking heat wave, temperatures in the 120s

Temperatures in California, Nevada, and Arizona are forecast to hit 115, 120, and even 130 this weekend as a punishing heat wave hits the West. It's possible the record for the hottest temperature recorded on Earth may be broken this weekend.

By Brian Skoloff and Chris Carlson,?Associated Press / June 29, 2013

Construction workers gather at a new home site at sunrise to beat daytime high temperatures, Thursday, in Queen Creek, Ariz. Excessive heat warnings will continue for much of the Desert Southwest as building high pressure triggers major warming in eastern California, Nevada, and Arizona.

Matt York/AP

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Dan Kail was vacationing in Las Vegas when he heard that the temperature at Death Valley could approach 130 degrees this weekend. He didn't hesitate to make a trip to the desert location that is typically the hottest place on the planet.

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"Coming to Death Valley in the summertime has always been on the top of my bucket list," the 67-year-old Pittsburgh man said. "When I found out it might set a record I rented a car and drove straight over. If it goes above 130 I will have something to brag about."

The forecast called for Death Valley to reach 128 degrees Saturday as part of a?heat?wave?that has caused large parts of the western US to suffer. Death Valley's record high of 134 degrees, set a century ago, stands as the highest temperature ever recorded on Earth.

"The wind out here is like being in front of a blast furnace," Kail said.

As temperatures soared in Las Vegas Friday, 200 people were treated for?heat?problems at an outdoor concert, Clark County spokesman Erik Pappa said.

Thirty of them were hospitalized for heat-related injuries at Vans Warped Tour at Silverton Casino as temps reached 115.

Most of the others "were essentially provided shade and water and a place to sit down," Pappa said.

It was expected to get even hotter in Las Vegas over the weekend.

Phoenix reached 116 on Friday ? 2 degrees short of the expected high ? in part because a light layer of smoke from wildfires in neighboring New Mexico shielded the blazing sun, the National Weather Service said. Phoenix was forecast to hit nearly 120. The record in Phoenix is 122.

The?heat?was so punishing that rangers took up positions at trailheads at Lake Mead in Nevada to persuade people not to hike. Zookeepers in Phoenix hosed down the elephants and fed tigers frozen fish snacks. Dogs were at risk of burning their paws on scorched pavement, and airlines kept close watch on the?heat?for fear that it could cause flights to be delayed.

The?heat?wasn't expected to break until Monday or Tuesday.

The scorching weather presented problems for airlines because high temperatures can make it more difficult for planes to take off. Hot air reduces lift and also can diminish engine performance. Planes taking off in the?heat?may need longer runways or may have to shed weight by carrying less fuel or cargo.

Smaller jets and propeller planes are more likely to be affected than bigger airliners that are better equipped for extreme temperatures.

Temperatures are also expected to soar across Utah and into Wyoming and Idaho, with triple-digit?heat?forecast for the Boise area. Cities in Washington state that are better known for cool, rainy weather should break the 90s next week.

"This is the hottest time of the year, but the temperatures that we'll be looking at for Friday through Sunday, they'll be toward the top," said weather service meteorologist Mark O'Malley. "It's going to be baking hot across much of the entire West."

The?heat?is the result of a high-pressure system brought on by a shift in the jet stream, the high-altitude air current that dictates weather patterns. The jet stream has been more erratic in the past few years.

Health officials warned people to be extremely careful when venturing outdoors. The risks include not only dehydration and?heat?stroke but burns from the concrete and asphalt. Dogs can suffer burns and blisters on their paws by walking on hot pavement.

"You will see people who go out walking with their dog at noon or in the middle of the day and don't bring enough water and it gets tragic pretty quickly," said Bretta Nelson, spokeswoman for the Arizona Humane Society. "You just don't want to find out the hard way."

Cooling stations were set up to shelter the homeless and elderly people who can't afford to run their air conditioners. In Phoenix, Joe Arpaio, the famously hard-nosed sheriff who runs a tent jail, planned to distribute ice cream and cold towels to inmates this weekend.

Officials said personnel were added to the Border Patrol's search-and-rescue unit because of the danger to people trying to slip across the Mexican border. At least seven people have been found dead in the last week in Arizona after falling victim to the brutal desert?heat.

In June 1990, when Phoenix hit 122 degrees, airlines were forced to cease flights for several hours because of a lack of data from the manufacturers on how the aircraft would operate in such extreme?heat.

US Airways spokesman Todd Lehmacher said the airline now knows that its Boeings can fly at up to 126 degrees, and its Airbus fleet can operate at up to 127.

While the?heat?in Las Vegas is expected to peak Sunday, it's unlikely to sideline the first round of the four-week Bikini Invitational tournament.

"I feel sorry for those poor girls having to strut themselves in 115 degrees, but there's $100,000 up for grabs," said Hard Rock casino spokeswoman Abigail Miller. "I think the girls are willing to make the sacrifice."

Skoloff reported from Phoenix. Also contributing were Robert Jablon in Los Angeles, Julie Jacobson and Michelle Rindels in Las Vegas, Michelle Price in Salt Lake City, Cristina Silva and Bob Christie in Phoenix, and Susan Montoya Bryan in Albuquerque, N.M.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/IaS--Brj32k/West-scorched-by-record-breaking-heat-wave-temperatures-in-the-120s

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Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Qatar ruler hands power to son to mark 'new era'

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) ? Qatar's ruler formally handed power Tuesday to his 33-year-old son to cap a carefully crafted transition that puts a younger generation in charge of the Gulf nation's vast energy wealth and rising political influence after the upheavals of the Arab Spring.

The 61-year-old emir, Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, used a televised address to note repeatedly the importance of shifting leadership to more youthful hands ? an indirect acknowledgment of the demands for reforms opened by the uprisings that have swept the region.

The Western-backed Gulf Arab rulers have managed to remain intact, but have displayed their insecurity by launching crackdowns that have included arrests over alleged anti-state plots and social media posts deemed insulting to the leadership.

"The future lies ahead of you, the children of this homeland, as you usher into a new era where young leadership hoists the banner," the emir said as he announced the anticipated transition to the British-educated crown prince, Sheik Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

As part of taking on the mantle, Sheik Tamim will begin the process of putting together a new government that may be in direct contrast to the old guard leaders across the Gulf. Qatar has given no official explanation on the transition ? which had been widely expected for weeks ? but Sheik Hamad is believed to be suffering from chronic health problems.

Sheik Tamim is not expected to make any immediate policy shifts for Qatar, which has used its riches to become one of the world's most politically ambitious countries. It has served as a powerful player in the Middle East, giving key support to rebels in Libya last year and now in Syria. Qatar also has broken ranks with other Gulf states to offer help to the Muslim Brotherhood, which rose to political dominance in Egypt.

In an important sign of continuity and shared goals, the outgoing emir and Sheik Tamim stood shoulder to shoulder and greeted members of the ruling family and others following the address.

Sheik Tamim has been closely involved in all key decisions since 2003, when Tamim became the next in line to rule after his older brother stepped aside. The outgoing emir is expected to remain a guiding force from the wings.

"Sheik Tamim will be driving his father's car, which is already programmed on where to go," said Mustafa Alani, a political analyst at the Gulf Research Center in Geneva.

But the transition ? a rarity in a region where leadership changes are nearly always triggered by deaths or palace coups ? also sends a message the wider Middle East. It appears a sweeping response to the Arab Spring upheavals and their emphasis on giving voice to the region's youth, and reinforces Qatar's bold-stroke political policies.

"The time has come to turn a new leaf in the history of our nation," the outgoing emir said in his address, "where a new generation steps forward to shoulder the responsibility with their dynamic potential and creative thoughts."

Under Sheik Hamad, who took power in a bloodless coup in 1995, Qatar has been transformed into a political broker and a center for global investment with a sovereign fund estimated to be worth more than $100 billion. Its portfolio includes landmark real estate, luxury brands and a powerful presence in the sporting world. Tiny Qatar also defeated rivals including the U.S. to win the rights to host the 2022 World Cup.

Qatar has played a role as mediator in conflicts such as Sudan's Darfur region and regional disputes including Palestinian political rifts. Qatar this week hosted a Syrian opposition conference attended by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and is the venue for possible U.S.-led peace talks with Afghanistan's Taliban.

In another sign of Qatar's risk-taking policies, it allowed an Israeli trade office ? effectively a diplomatic outpost ? for years before ordering its closure following Israel's incursions into Gaza in late 2008.

But Qatar has faced criticism from rights groups for joining the Gulf-wide crackdowns on perceived dissent since the Arab Spring. In one of the most high-profile cases, Qatari authorities have jailed a poet whose verses included admiration for the uprisings. In February, the sentence for the poet, Muhammad ibn al-Dheeb al-Ajami, was reduced from life to 15 years.

Christopher Davidson, an expert in Gulf affairs at Britain's Durham University, believes some of the tough measures by Qatari officials reflect internal squabbles with hardliners trying to exert their influence. Such groups could be among the first housecleaning targets by the new emir, he predicted.

"Tamim is seen as focused on domestic issues first," said Davidson. "One of the main tasks will be to establish a new social contract with the population ... What kind of opposition is allowed and what is not will be part of that."

In Tehran, Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Araghchi told reporters that Iran supports any moves by Qatar that bring "peace and tranquility" for the region. Relations between the two nations have deteriorated over Syria, where Tehran remains strongly on the side of key ally Bashar Assad.

___

Associated Press writer Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Iran, contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/qatar-ruler-hands-power-son-mark-era-095014447.html

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Red Hot on the Green: 6 Golfing Essentials

Red Hot on the Green: 6 Golfing Essentials
The hottest new golf gear for summer. Sorry, but none of this stuff comes with a free bowl of soup.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/GearFactor/~3/1rwhNCskAcY/

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Acer's 8.1-inch Iconia W3 tablet now on sale in the US

Acer Iconia W3 now on sale in the US

If you've wanted full-blown Windows 8 in bite-size form, you now have your chance: the Acer Iconia W3 is on sale in the US. The 8.1-inch slate is in stock at both Office Depot and Staples, starting at $350 for a 32GB model at both outlets. Don't count on the 64GB version being available -- it's still listed as an online-only pre-order at Office Depot. There's also no word on inventory at Amazon or other competing retailers. Should you not be picky about capacities or store choices, however, you can take the W3 home today.

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Source: Office Depot, Staples

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/__AI0sZ1XTo/

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Pakistani premier: Musharraf to face treason trial

ISLAMABAD (AP) ? Pakistan's prime minister said Monday that the government plans to put the military ruler who ousted him in a coup over a decade ago on trial for treason, setting up a possible clash with the country's powerful army.

But the government stopped short of declaring officially that it was filing charges against Pervez Musharraf, saying it would first consult with other political parties.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif spoke in parliament as the Supreme Court held a hearing on a possible treason case against Musharraf. The former military ruler can only be tried for treason if the federal government presses charges against him.

Sharif said the government agrees with the Supreme Court's decision that Musharraf committed treason under Article 6 of the constitution when he declared a state of emergency in 2007 and suspended the constitution.

"The prime minister is under oath to protect, preserve and defend the constitution and it is implicit in his oath that his government ensures that persons guilty of acts under Article 6 are brought to justice," Sharif said in parliament.

The premier was reading from a statement that was submitted to the Supreme Court by Attorney General Munir Malik on Monday. The statement did not mention Musharraf's ouster of Sharif in a coup in 1999 when he was serving as army chief, perhaps because the move was retroactively approved by the Supreme Court and parliament at the time.

"Musharraf has to answer for all his deeds in court," Sharif said in a separate part of the speech.

Musharraf would be the first military ruler tried for treason in a country that has experienced three military coups in its nearly 66-year history.

Sharif said the government would consult with other political parties on bringing Musharraf to trial, leaving open the possibility that it could still choose to abandon the case if it faced opposition.

"The federal government will proceed in accordance with the law and also take political forces into confidence through a consultative process so that the collective will and wisdom of the people of Pakistan is duly reflected in further process in this behalf."

Senior lawmakers from the two main opposition parties, the Pakistan People's Party and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, said they supported the government's plan to try Musharraf for treason.

"If we are going to strengthen democracy in this country and establish democratic norms, the only way is to follow the constitution and abide by the law," said Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf lawmaker Shah Mahmood Qureshi.

Musharraf, who is currently under house arrest in connection with a separate case, could face the death penalty or life in prison if he is convicted of treason. But some analysts doubt the army, which is considered the country's most powerful institution, would allow that to happen and could intervene to prevent it. Musharraf has maintained his innocence.

Musharraf returned to Pakistan in March after years in self-imposed exile, with the hope of running in the national election that was held in May. But he was disqualified from participating in the vote because of his actions while in power and has spent most of his time battling legal cases. The government has barred him from leaving the country while the cases are in progress.

The caretaker government that ruled the country in the run-up to the election declined to press treason charges against Musharraf, telling the Supreme Court that the issue was outside its mandate.

Supreme Court judges quizzed the attorney general on Monday about the government's specific plans to bring charges against Musharraf. Malik requested 30 days to prepare a plan. The judges ordered him to appear before the court again on Thursday to provide an update.

Also Monday, gunmen on motorcycles killed a mid-ranking police officer and his driver in the northwest city of Peshawar, said police official Mohammed Ibrahim Khan. Amanullah Khan, a deputy superintendent, was in charge of the traffic police in Peshawar.

No one has claimed responsibility, but suspicion will likely fall on the Pakistani Taliban.

____

Associated Press writer Riaz Khan contributed to this report from Peshawar.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pakistani-premier-musharraf-face-treason-trial-115201675.html

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Religious advice should not involve political interest ... - Minivan News

Religious advice should not involve political interest, says Nasheed thumbnail

The Maldivian public are often misinformed of authentic Hadiths (sayings of the Prophet) because some local scholars offer religious advice with the intention of serving their political interests, former President Mohamed Nasheed said last night (June 23).

Speaking at a ceremony at the Male? City Hall to launch a second volume of Dhivehi translation and interpretations of Sahih Muslim?s Hadiths by former State Minister for Islamic Affairs, Sheikh Hussain Rasheed Ahmed, Nasheed said genuine religious advice should not involve personal interest or a political ?agenda.?

While a politician might present statistics in a way that would favour his party, ?religious advice should not be given in a way that would benefit a political ideology.?

One of the biggest problems facing the country today was the ?mixing up? of politicians and religious scholars, Nasheed added.

The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) presidential candidate said Sheikh Hussain Rasheed?s book should be made widely available for the public so that Maldivians could distinguish between inauthentic and authentic Hadiths.

The Hadiths were compiled by Imam Bukhari and Muslim during the Abbasid caliphate, Nasheed observed, which was a ?golden age? for Islam and the pursuit of knowledge.

?It is said that there were 700 libraries in Baghdad during that period,? he said.

Sheikh Rasheed?s second volume of Hadith translations are available for MVR 250 (US$16).

The former Adhaalath Party President?explained at last night?s ceremony that the complete translations of the 5,263 sayings would be published in a planned 12 volumes.

Parts two and three of Sheikh Rasheed?s books on prayer instructions were also released last night by former Islamic Minister Dr Abdul Majeed Abdul Bari and Speaker of Parliament Abdulla Shahid.?


Source: http://minivannews.com/society/religious-advice-should-not-involve-political-interest-says-nasheed-60131

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Lebanon clashes rage near mosque; 16 soldiers dead

BEIRUT (AP) ? Lebanese troops battled heavily armed followers of a hard-line Sunni cleric holed up in a mosque complex in a southern port city on Monday, the second day of fighting that has left at least 16 soldiers dead, the military said.

The clashes in Sidon, Lebanon's third-largest city, are the latest bout of violence in Lebanon linked to the conflict in neighboring Syria.

They are the bloodiest yet involving the army and are seen as a test for the state in containing extremist armed groups that have taken up the cause of the warring sides in Syria. The civil war next door has been bleeding into Lebanon, following similar sectarian lines of Sunni and Shiite camps.

The fierce fight that the followers of Sheik Ahmad al-Assir were putting up showed how aggressive Sunni extremists have grown in Lebanon, building on anger not only at Syria's regime but also its Shiite allies in Lebanon, Hezbollah. The two days of fighting have transformed Sidon, which had been largely spared the violence plaguing border areas near Syria, into a combat zone.

The 45-year-old, bespectacled and long-bearded al-Assir is a virulent critic of Hezbollah. He has been agitating for months, demanding Hezbollah disarm and accusing the army of inaction in the face of the group's growing involvement in Syria on the side of President Bashar Assad.

The maverick cleric was little known until few years ago and his growing following was a symptom of the deep frustration among Sunnis who resent the Hezbollah-led Shiite ascendancy to power in Lebanon. Hezbollah and its allies dominate Lebanon's government.

The clashes in predominantly Sunni Sidon, some 40 kilometers (25 miles) south of Beirut, left 50 wounded on Monday, the National News Agency said. At least two military officers were among those killed. Hospital officials said at least three of al-Assir's supporters died in the fighting.

Machine-gun fire and rocket-propelled grenade explosions caused panic among residents, who also reported power and water outages.

The city streets appeared largely deserted Monday. Local media reported many residents were asking for evacuation from the heavily populated neighborhood around the Bilal bin Rabbah Mosque where al-Assir preaches, and where the fighting has been concentrated.

The military in a statement said the gunmen were using the religious compound to fire on its troops and had taken civilians as shields. The clashes erupted Sunday in the predominantly Sunni city after troops arrested an al-Assir follower. The army says supporters of the cleric opened fire without provocation on an army checkpoint.

The local municipality said that the city is "a war zone," appealing for a cease-fire to evacuate the civilians and wounded in the area.

Many people living on upper floors moved downstairs for cover or fled to safer areas. Some were seen carrying children as they fled. Others remained locked in their homes or shops, fearing getting caught in the crossfire. Gray smoke billowed over parts of the city.

The military appealed to the gunmen to hand themselves in, vowing it will "continue to uproot the strife and will not stop its operations until security is totally restored."

Hezbollah appeared to be staying largely out of the ongoing clashes, though a few of its supporters in the city were briefly drawn into the fight Sunday, firing on al-Assir's supporters. At least one was killed, according to his relatives in the city who spoke anonymously out of concerns for their security.

Last week, al-Assir supporters fought with pro-Hezbollah gunmen, leaving two killed.

Hezbollah issued a statement condemning "the crimes committed by al-Assir and his gang" and declared its solidarity with the military institution, calling on all Lebanese to rally around the national army.

Early Monday, al-Assir on his Twitter account appealed to his supporters in other parts of Lebanon to rise to his help, threatening to widen the scale of clashes.

The tweets did not give a clear statement on how the battle began. It came after a series of incidents pitting the cleric's followers against other groups in the town, including Hezbollah supporters and the army.

The cleric is believed to have hundreds of armed supporters in Sidon involved in the fighting. Dozens of al-Assir's gunmen also partially shut down the main highway linking south Lebanon with Beirut. On Monday, they opened fire in other parts of the city, with local media reporting gunshots in the city's market.

Fighting also broke out in parts of Ein el-Hilweh, a teeming Palestinian refugee camp near Sidon, where al-Assir has supporters. Islamist factions inside the camp lobbed mortars at military checkpoints around the camp.

Tension also spread to the north in Tripoli, Lebanon's second largest city. Masked gunmen roamed the city center, firing in the air and forcing shops and businesses to shut down in solidarity with al-Assir. Dozens of gunmen also set fire to tires, blocking roads. The city's main streets were emptying out. There was no unusual military or security deployment.

Sectarian clashes in Lebanon tied to the Syrian conflict have intensified in recent weeks, especially after Hezbollah sent fighters to support Assad's forces. Most of the rebels fighting to topple Assad are from Syria's Sunni majority, while the President Bashar Assad belongs to the Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shiite Islam.

Walid al-Moallem, Syria's foreign minister, blamed the violence in Lebanon on the international decision to arm rebels, saying that it will only serve to prolong the fighting in Syria and will impact neighboring Lebanon.

"What is going in Sidon is very dangerous, very dangerous," he told reporters in Damascus. "We warned since the start that the impact of what happens in Syria on neighboring countries will be grave."

In Syria, activists reported fighting Monday between Syrian troops and rebels in the northern province of Aleppo as well as districts on the edge of the Syrian capital and its suburbs.

Clashes in Lebanon have also mostly pitted Sunni against Shiite. The most frequent outbreaks have involved rival neighborhoods in the northern port city of Tripoli, close to the Syrian border.

President Michel Suleiman called for an emergency security meeting later Monday.

Headlines of Lebanon's newspapers were all dominated by the violence in Sidon, with many seeing it as a test for the state to impose order. "An attempt to assassinate Sidon and the military," read the headline of the daily al-Safir. "Al-Assir crosses the red line," read another headline in al-Jomhouria daily. A third headline in al-Nahar read: "Yesterday war in Sidon. Today, decisiveness or settlement?"

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/lebanon-clashes-rage-near-mosque-16-soldiers-dead-124458104.html

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It'll Take Months to Get a Bride Out of This Lego Wedding Dress

It'll Take Months to Get a Bride Out of This Lego Wedding Dress

Japanese artist Rie Hosokai, of Daisy Balloon, created this amazing piece of high Lego fashion for Tokyo's "Piece of Peace" charity exhibit at the Parco Museum. Structurally it's simply stunning (albeit a bit Disney Princessy). The construction, contour and shape are based on Hosokai's balloon dress. As an item of haute couture, it's not so utilitarian. But as an avant-garde work-of-Lego-art it's simply stunning.

Here's how Hosokai explains the meaning behind the piece:

There is fear in that we are all different from one another, but that is also the gateway to self-consciousness.
Self-consciousness was once whole, but in the modern trend where all things whole get broken down, it too is about to get deconstructed.
For that reason, people now seek to reconstruct their consciousness by extending it onto others.
Through this process of extension, we have learned to unravel things down to their basic elements.
We are succeeding at digging up new knowledge of what it is we all share.
This knowledge that bonds different people together seems to appear suddenly, but in reality it is already coded into our planet, our universe.
We construct things from the most basic building blocks.
What are we to discover from this process?
To find the answer, we must continue to turn our gaze toward those around us. - Text by Arata Sasaki

It'll Take Months to Get a Bride Out of This Lego Wedding Dress

It'll Take Months to Get a Bride Out of This Lego Wedding Dress

[Daisy Balloon]

You're reading Leg Godt, the blog with the latest Lego news and the most awesome Lego models in the web. Follow us on Twitter.

Source: http://lego.gizmodo.com/itll-take-months-to-get-a-bride-out-of-this-lego-weddi-524051717

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Monday, June 24, 2013

Nadal stunned at Wimbledon in 1st round by Darcis

LONDON (AP) ? Just like that, in a span of 15 days, Rafael Nadal went from French Open champion for a record eighth time to first-round Grand Slam loser for the only time in his career.

Limping occasionally and slower than usual, but unwilling afterward to blame an old left knee injury, the two-time Wimbledon winner exited 7-6 (4), 7-6 (8), 6-4 Monday against 135th-ranked Steve Darcis of Belgium ? one of the most stunning results ever at the All England Club.

"Nobody remembers the losses. People remember the victories," Nadal said, shaking his head as he leaned back in a black leather chair. "And I don't want to remember that loss."

Everyone else definitely will.

It certainly belongs in the same category as his loss a year ago at Wimbledon, in the second round to Lukas Rosol, a player ranked 100th at the time. After that setback, Nadal missed about seven months because of his bad left knee. Since returning, he had gone 43-2 and reached the finals at all nine tournaments he entered, winning seven.

Most recently, in Paris, he collected his 12th Grand Slam trophy, tied for third-most in history, while extending his winning streak to 22 matches.

"Two weeks ago, I was in a fantastic situation, winning a fantastic tournament," Nadal said. "Two weeks later, I lost here in the first round. That's the positive and the negative thing about this sport."

His early defeat rendered moot all the debate in the preceding days about whether Nadal's No. 5 seeding was appropriate or whether Wimbledon officials should have bumped him higher because of past success at the grass-court tournament.

In five appearances at Wimbledon from 2006-11 (he missed the 2009 edition because of knee trouble), Nadal reached the final five times. He won the 2008 and 2010 championships, and was the runner-up to Roger Federer in 2006-07, then to Novak Djokovic in 2011.

Because of Nadal's low-for-him seeding this time ? his ranking slid during his time off ? he wound up in the same half of the draw as seven-time champion Federer and second-seeded Andy Murray. A possible Nadal-Federer quarterfinal loomed, as did a potential Nadal-Murray semifinal.

So much for that.

"Pretty irrelevant right now," said Murray, who won in three sets Monday, as did Federer. "It's obviously surprising. But, you know, the consistency that Rafa, Roger, Novak have shown in the Slams over the last five, six years, it's going to be almost impossible to keep that up forever."

Two days before Wimbledon started, Nadal spoke about having more trouble on grass than other surfaces lately because its low skids force him to bend his knees so much to reach shots. Nadal decided to skip a grass-court tuneup tournament between the French Open and Wimbledon, opting to rest instead, and arrived in England on Tuesday to begin preparing in earnest.

On Monday, he said, "I didn't move the way I need to if I'm going to win on this surface."

Nadal avoids discussing health issues in the immediate aftermath of a defeat ? he didn't reveal the left knee injury last year until weeks after the Rosol match ? and Monday was no different. Still, anyone who watched Nadal play Darcis could tell something wasn't right.

Nadal deflected three questions in English about his left knee, saying it's "not the day to talk about these kind of things" and that it would sound like "an excuse." When a reporter asked in Spanish about the knee, Nadal replied: "You're assuming I'm injured." He later did repeat what he mentioned at Roland Garros, which is that the knee is painful at times.

"Maybe he was not in the best shape ever. Maybe he didn't play his best match," Darcis said, noting that he wants to get his hands on of a DVD of the most significant victory of his career. "But I have to be proud."

That's for sure.

Darcis came in 7-18 in Grand Slam matches, a .280 winning percentage, including 12 first-round losses. So when asked his reaction upon hearing last week that he would be facing Nadal, Darcis smiled broadly and gave a one-word answer unfit for publication.

Then he added: "When you see the draw, of course you say, 'Ah, it's bad luck.'"

While Nadal was struggling, Federer and Murray looked the way title contenders are supposed to in the first round. Federer, the defending champion, needed all of 68 minutes to beat 48th-ranked Victor Hanescu of Romania 6-3, 6-2, 6-0 on Centre Court, as former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice looked on from the Royal Box.

"I'm happy to get out of there early and quickly," Federer said. "Perfect day."

In the most noteworthy women's result, fifth-seeded Sara Errani, the 2012 French Open runner-up, lost 6-3, 6-2 to Puerto Rican teenager Monica Puig. Maria Sharapova, the 2004 Wimbledon champion, won in straight sets. So did second-seeded Victoria Azarenka, but not without a scare.

Azarenka twisted her right knee early in the second set, leaving her tumbling to the grass and sobbing. After about a 10-minute break while a trainer wrapped Azarenka's knee, the two-time Australian Open champion finished off a 6-1, 6-2 victory over 106th-ranked Maria Joao Koehler of Portugal.

"I was in such shock," Azarenka said. "You know, for two minutes I had such a consistent pain that it just completely freaked me out."

Reigning U.S. Open champion Murray, trying to become the first British man to win Wimbledon in 77 years, eliminated 92nd-ranked Benjamin Becker of Germany 6-4, 6-3, 6-2. Murray lost to Federer in last year's final, then returned to the same spot four weeks later and beat Federer for a gold medal at the London Olympics.

"As a fan of tennis, it's probably disappointing that he's out, because he's a fun guy to watch," Murray said about Nadal. "He's one of the best players that's ever played, so it's a shame in that respect."

Nadal gave the 29-year-old Darcis kudos for playing well. Taking big swings and connecting time and again, Darcis finished with 53 winners to Nadal's 32, while making the same number of unforced errors. Nadal would slump his shoulders or hang his head after misses, and there was a noticeable hitch in his step on some points.

"Nobody was expecting me to win. So I had to play a good match, relax and enjoy. ... That's what I did," Darcis said. "I really wanted to do something today."

He did something no one ever had: In 34 previous major tournaments, Nadal was 34-0 in the first round. Overall, he came in 164-22 at majors, an .882 winning percentage. In the first 178 Grand Slam matches of his career, Nadal never lost in any round to a player ranked lower than 70th. But in his last nine major matches, he's been beaten by a pair of guys in the hundreds.

Asked what he did well Monday, Nadal said: "Not a lot of things."

There were two moments when the 27-year-old Spaniard had a real chance to get close. He broke Darcis to go up 6-5 in the second set, but dropped serve right away with a flubbed backhand, a shot that gave Nadal problems repeatedly.

Then, after saving Darcis' first four set points in the ensuing tiebreaker, Nadal held one set point himself. With a chance to even the match, however, he dumped a backhand into the net. Two points later, Nadal sailed an errant forehand long, and Darcis held his right fist aloft, celebrating a two-set lead.

Darcis then broke to open the third, and the spectators roared, not so much because they dislike Nadal, but perhaps so they could forever boast, "I was there."

Despite feeling tired as the match approached three hours, Darcis played brilliantly in the final game. He hit a forehand winner. He delivered another winner on the run and, as his momentum carried him near the stands, Darcis dropped to a knee and pumped his right arm. After one last Nadal miscue set up match point, Darcis capped his victory with a 109 mph ace.

"I'm not going to get wasted just because I beat Nadal. ... I might have a beer; the 'recovery beer' we call it," Darcis said. "I need to keep my focus. It would be a shame to beat Nadal, then stop there."

In 2012, Rosol did stop there, losing his next match at Wimbledon. And in a bit of symmetry, Rosol's 2013 first-round match ? a five-set loss ? was wrapping up on tiny Court 19 just as Nadal and Darcis were starting on adjacent Court 1.

While he was sidelined from June to February, Nadal missed the London Olympics, U.S. Open and Australian Open. Pressed about his upcoming schedule, and the notion that his grinding, hustling style might put too much pounding on his body, Nadal at first said Monday that no one can ever be sure about the future.

But he did say: "I don't have any intention of missing the U.S. Open," the year's last Grand Slam tournament, which begins in late August.

A reporter wanted to know what Nadal's goals are at this point.

"My only dream now is to go home and think ... (and) analyze my situation," he said.

Between words, Nadal took a sip of water, then plopped his player badge on the table in front of him. For the first time in his Grand Slam career, he won't be needing it after Day 1.

___

Follow Howard Fendrich on Twitter at http://twitter.com/HowardFendrich

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nadal-stunned-wimbledon-1st-round-darcis-224702290.html

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AP Source: Clippers land new coach in Doc Rivers

FILE - In this file photo made Feb. 1, 2013, Boston Celtics head coach Doc Rivers gestures towards an official during an NBA basketball game against the Orlando Magic in Boston. A Celtics official told The Associated Press, Sunday, June 23, 2013, that a deal to allow Rivers to coach the Los Angeles Clippers has been agreed to. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because the deal was contingent on NBA approval and negotiations between Rivers and the Clippers over a new contract. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, file)

FILE - In this file photo made Feb. 1, 2013, Boston Celtics head coach Doc Rivers gestures towards an official during an NBA basketball game against the Orlando Magic in Boston. A Celtics official told The Associated Press, Sunday, June 23, 2013, that a deal to allow Rivers to coach the Los Angeles Clippers has been agreed to. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because the deal was contingent on NBA approval and negotiations between Rivers and the Clippers over a new contract. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, file)

(AP) ? Doc Rivers will be the next coach of the Los Angeles Clippers if the NBA approves the rare but not unprecedented trade of an active coach, a Boston Celtics official told The Associated Press on Sunday night.

The deal would bring Boston a first-round draft pick in 2015, according to the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because it is pending a trade call with the NBA office. Rivers, who had three years and $21 million left on his contract with the Celtics, must also reach an agreement on a new deal with the Clippers.

Celtics spokesman Jeff Twiss said the team had no announcement.

The tentative agreement on Sunday wraps up weeks of haggling over the deal and frees Rivers from presiding over the dismantling of the team that won the franchise's record 17th NBA title in 2008.

The Celtics and Clippers have also discussed sending Kevin Garnett to Los Angeles in a package with Rivers for draft choices, center DeAndre Jordan and point guard Eric Bledsoe. But NBA commissioner David Stern nixed those talks this week, saying teams aren't allowed to trade active players for a coach.

A deal for Garnett could still happen, but the teams would have to convince the league that it was a separate deal. The 37-year-old big man has a no-trade clause in the contract that will pay him 23.5 million over the next two years, but it is believed he would waive it to be reunited with Rivers on the West Coast. He has also discussed retiring.

Boston could also cut ties with Paul Pierce, the longest-tenured member of the team, who is due to earn $15.3 million next season; he could be bought out for $5 million. Pierce will be 36 by the 2013-14 opener and showed signs of slowing down this season, when he averaged the fewest minutes per game in his career.

Rivers took over the Celtics in 2004 in the midst of the longest title drought in franchise history and ? with thanks to the New Big Three of Garnett, Pierce and Ray Allen ? guided them to the 2008 NBA title. They returned to the NBA Finals two years later, losing to the Los Angeles Lakers in seven games.

But the Celtics have regressed steadily since then, twice failing to get past the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference playoffs. This year they finished third in the Atlantic Division ? they had won it five straight times ? and lost to the New York Knicks in the first round.

That convinced many that it was time to rebuild ? a process Rivers was reluctant to supervise. If the Celtics unload Garnett and Pierce, that would leave them with point guard Rajon Rondo as their only established star.

Rivers had the second-longest tenure of any NBA coach to San Antonio's Gregg Popovich, compiling a 416-305 record in Boston that was the third-most wins in franchise history behind Red Auerbach (795) and Tommy Heinsohn (427). He also spent four-plus seasons with the Orlando Magic and is 587-473 in all.

Trades for coaches have occurred about a half-dozen times in NBA history, most recently in 2007 when the Heat received compensation for allowing Stan Van Gundy to go to the Orlando Magic.

In 1983, the Chicago Bulls sent a second-round draft pick to Atlanta as compensation for coach Kevin Loughery. The Hawks used that pick to take Glenn "Doc" Rivers.

___

Follow Jimmy Golen on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/jgolen

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-06-24-BKN-Clippers-Rivers/id-3bdc8f5a09924293bd0e13f166787471

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Abbas accepts Palestinian PM's resignation

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) ? President Mahmoud Abbas accepted the resignation of his newly appointed prime minister on Sunday, a spokesman said, leaving his Palestinian Authority in disarray at a time when he is focusing on a U.S. push to restart peace negotiations with Israel.

Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah had served only two weeks when he abruptly resigned last week over a conflict of authority with his deputies. Abbas initially asked him to reconsider, but ultimately accepted the resignation and asked Hamdallah to stay on as head of a caretaker government until a replacement is found, Abbas aide Nabil Abu Rdeneh told The Associated Press.

Such a caretaker government could remain in place for weeks. There was no sign of a likely candidate to succeed Hamdallah.

Abbas is likely to look for someone who has the blessing of the Western donor countries that prop up the Palestinian Authority, has experience in economic affairs and also is close to his Fatah movement.

Abbas appointed Hamdallah, a university president and political novice, earlier this month in an apparent move to consolidate power. Hamdallah replaced internationally known economist Salam Fayyad, who had clashed with Abbas.

The prime minister heads the Palestinian Authority, the self-rule government in parts of the West Bank that handles day-to-day affairs of Palestinians.

While he is not involved in diplomacy, the timing of the change comes as a tricky time for Abbas. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is about to return to the region as part of his push to renew the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

Abbas won't resume negotiations as long as Israeli settlement construction continues in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, occupied areas where the Palestinians want to establish a state. Israel has refused to halt building. Abbas' aides fear he will be pushed to return to talks on Israel's terms or risk being blamed for the failure of the U.S. mission.

Hamdallah took office June 6 after unexpectedly being plucked by Abbas from a career in academia to replace Fayyad, a political independent who served for six years and was respected by the West as a pragmatist.

Leading Fatah figures clamored for Fayyad to be replaced, arguing that the prime minister should be close to Fatah. Hamdallah's appointment was seen as a bid by Abbas to consolidate power.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/abbas-accepts-palestinian-pms-resignation-085901744.html

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Celtics, Clippers Reach Deal To Send Doc Rivers To Los Angeles: REPORTS

The Los Angeles Clippers have reached an agreement in principle with the Boston Celtics to acquire the rights to hire head coach Doc Rivers, according to multiple reports.

Jackie MacMullan of ESPNBoston.com reported on Sunday that the Clippers will sign Rivers to a three-year deal worth $21 million. Per Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, the Celtics will free Rivers from his current contract in exchange for an unprotected 2015 first-round draft pick. Both MacMullan and Wojnarowski report that the NBA must approve the deal. Wojnarowski reported that both teams believe getting the league's approval won't be an issue.

If the NBA approves the reported deal, it would be the culmination of protracted and public negotiations between the two clubs. Previously reported iterations of the deal included players as well as Rivers, notably DeAndre Jordan and Kevin Garnett. Before Game 7 of the NBA Finals, NBA Commissioner David Stern said that coaches' contracts cannot be involved in trades under the current collective bargaining agreement, per Ken Berger of CBS Sports."

Negotiations for a potential trade involving Rivers and Garnett reportedly stalled early last week when the Clippers backed out. A nudge from Chris Paul caused L.A. to reach out to Boston again, as reported by Wojnarowski.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/23/clippers-doc-rivers-trade-celtics-agreement_n_3487720.html

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Ex-Stone Temple Pilots singer Weiland weds

Celebs

2 hours ago

Image: Scott Weiland.

? Bill Auth / Reuters

Scott Weiland.

Former Stone Temple Pilots frontman Scott Weiland is officially a married man!

The rocker said "I do" to photographer girlfriend Jamie Wachtel Saturday night at their Los Angeles home, according to PEOPLE. "We had the most beautiful, heartfelt ceremony," Wachtel tells the mag.

The bride donned a vintage dress from Paper Bag Princess in Beverly Hills and the groom looked dapper in John Varvatos as they exchanged their Pade Vavra rings.

PHOTOS: Guess the celebrity engagement rings

The Wildabouts rocker first met his now wife back in 2011 while filming music videos for his Christmas album. Scott told Billboard last year he knew when he met Jamie he'd be falling in love with her.

While on the music video shoot, Jamie told him "to tuck in your belly a little bit." He laughs: "It was around the holidays-it was after Thanksgiving, and you know how that tends to be. I was kind of caught off guard, and I started laughing and she started laughing. And I don't know ... something magical happened."

She then gave the rocker a ride home when he "just thought, 'I have a feeling that I am going to fall in love with this woman.'"

Congrats to the happy couple!

Source: http://www.today.com/entertainment/scott-weiland-marries-girlfriend-jamie-wachtel-6C10423394

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CSN: Harper looks unlikely to return on Tuesday

A day after Davey Johnson projected Tuesday as Bryce Harper?s target date for a rehab assignment, the Nats outfielder said that may be wishful thinking.?

Harper himself doesn?t expect to play until Wednesday or Thursday and hopes to have as many as six or seven minor league games before he is brought back up to join the Nationals.

?Tuesday, that?s kind of early,? Harper said. ?I?m thinking?Wednesday?or Thursday?maybe. I?m not sure. We?ll see how I feel. If I feel good, then I?ll go play. If I feel something isn?t right, then I?m not going to go play. It depends on how I?m feeling.?

Johnson said on Friday he didn?t think Harper would need a lot of time in the minors, maybe three games or so. Harper would like to be there longer.

?Absolutely not,? Harper said. ?I would like to be at six or seven games. I want to play six games. That?s one thing, I want to get my timing back. I don?t want to come back one game after I play against High-A ball and come back facing Wheeler and Matt Harvey or something. I?m not going to face those guys. They?d blow me away right now. That?s something I don?t want to do. I?m going play as many games as I can down there, see how I feel, and try and get back.?

When informed that Harper wanted to take it slower, Johnson said it?s more his call as the manager.

?I'll have a conversation with him about that,? Johnson said. ?When a player starts playing, it's really up to me, what I think they need. Not up to the player. I'm always trying to do what's best for the player. But at the same time, it's my job to know when they're ready and when they're not.?

Harper and the Nats? medical staff will be monitoring the swelling in his knee over the next few days. Harper said the knee is finally pain-free.

?It?s still going to be sore the whole year, I feel like. But daily, it?s getting better. I have no pain, which is good,? he said.?

?I?m a little sore everywhere else, but that?s common. It?s good to have no pain finally. To run with zero pain is going to feel great. I?m feeling better every day. I?m just trying to do things the right way so that things go well when I get back.?

Source: http://www.csnwashington.com/baseball-washington-nationals/talk/harper-says-tuesday-unrealistic

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Malaysia declares emergency as Indonesia smoke pollution thickens

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia declared a state of emergency in two parts of the southern state of Johor on Sunday as smoke from land-clearing fires in Indonesia pushed air pollution above the level considered hazardous.

The illegal burning of forests and other land on Indonesia's Sumatra island, to the west of peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, to clear space for palm oil plantations is a chronic problem during the June-September dry season.

The "haze" caused by fires in Riau province on Sumatra has also shrouded neighboring Singapore but air quality in the city state improved over the weekend after reaching hazardous levels there.

"Prime Minister Najib Razak has agreed to declare emergency status in Muar and Ledang with immediate effect," Malaysian Natural Resources and Environment Minister G. Palanivel said in a Facebook post.

Palanivel said the air pollution index in the two districts had exceeded 750. A reading above 300 indicates that air pollution is hazardous.

Neither Palanivel nor the prime minister's office could be reached for comment.

A spokesman at the Johor state operations center told Reuters that it was awaiting orders from the National Security Council and that residents in the affected areas should stay indoors.

Indonesian officials have deflected blame by suggesting companies based in Malaysia and Singapore may be partly responsible. Malaysia-listed Sime Darby and Singapore's Wilmar Group both deny the charge.

(Reporting by Siva Sithraputhran; Editing by Nick Macfie)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/malaysia-declares-emergency-indonesia-smoke-pollution-thickens-044717109.html

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Obama to unveil climate plan in Tuesday speech

WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Barack Obama is preparing to unveil his long-awaited national plan to combat climate change in a major speech, he announced on Saturday.

"There's no single step that can reverse the effects of climate change," Obama said in an online video released by the White House. "But when it comes to the world we leave our children, we owe it to them to do what we can."

People consulting with White House officials on Obama's plan, to be unveiled Tuesday at Georgetown University, say they expect him to put forth regulations on heat-trapping gases emitted by existing coal-fired power plans. They were not authorized to disclose details about the plan ahead of the announcement and requested anonymity.

Environmental groups have been pleading with Obama to take that step, but the administration has said it's focused first on controls on new power plants. The Environmental Protection Agency, using its authority under the Clean Air Act, has already proposed controls on new plants, but the rules have been delayed ? to the chagrin of states and environmental groups threatening to sue over the delays.

An administration official said last week that Obama was still weighing whether to include existing plants in the climate plan. The official wasn't authorized to comment by name and requested anonymity.

The White House wouldn't disclose any details Saturday about what steps Obama may call for. But his senior energy and climate adviser, Heather Zichal, said last week that controls on greenhouse gas emissions from power plants would be a major focus. She also said the plan would boost energy efficiency of appliances and buildings, plus expand renewable energy.

Putting a positive spin on a contentious partisan issue, Obama said the U.S. is uniquely poised to deal with the serious challenges posed by climate change. He said American scientists and engineers would have to design new fuels and energy sources, and workers will have to adapt to a clean energy economy.

"We'll need all of us, as citizens, to do our part to preserve God's creation for future generations," Obama said.

Environmental groups have for months been pushing Obama to make good on a threat he issued to lawmakers in February in his State of the Union address: "If Congress won't act soon to protect future generations, I will." Obama's move to take the matter into his own hands appears to reflect a growing consensus that opposition in Congress is too powerful for any meaningful, sweeping climate legislation to pass anytime soon.

"They shouldn't wait for Congress to act, because they'll be out of office by the time that Congress gets its act together," Rep. Henry Waxman, the top Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said in an interview.

Environmental groups applauded the announcement that Obama was finally releasing a plan for executive action, but made clear they want to see firm proposals ? including controls for existing power plants.

"Combating climate change means curbing carbon pollution ? for the first time ever ? from the biggest single source of such dangerous gases: our coal-fired power plants," said Frances Beinecke, president of the National Resources Defense Council. "We stand ready to help President Obama in every way we can."

Another key issue hanging over the announcement ? but unlikely to be mentioned on Tuesday ? is Keystone XL, a pipeline that would carry oil extracted from tar sands in western Canada to refineries along the Texas Gulf Coast. A concerted campaign by environmental activists to persuade Obama to nix the pipeline appears to be an uphill battle. The White House insists the State Department is making the decision independently.

Obama's speech on Tuesday will come the day before he leaves for a weeklong trip to three African nations.

___

Online:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcL3_zzgWeU

___

Reach Josh Lederman on Twitter at http://twitter.com/joshledermanAP

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-unveil-climate-plan-tuesday-speech-191840941.html

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Southwest planes flying after computer glitch

CHICAGO (AP) ? Southwest Airlines was operating normally Saturday afternoon after a system-wide computer failure caused it to ground 250 flights for nearly three hours late Friday night.

Full service was restored just after 2 a.m. EDT Saturday, but the Dallas-based airline experienced lingering delays in the morning as it worked to clear a backlog of flights and reposition planes and crew.

The airline ? the country's largest domestic carrier ? canceled 43 flights Friday night and another 14 Saturday morning.

Southwest is the latest airline to ground flights because of a large computer outage. But its problem was minor compared to those experienced by two competitors ? thanks in part to its late-day timing.

In April, American Airlines grounded all of its flights nationwide for several hours due to computer problems. The airline ultimately canceled 970 flights. And last year, United Airlines had two major outages: one in August delayed 580 flights; another in November delayed 636 flights.

The problem was detected around 11 p.m. EDT Friday, Southwest spokesman Brad Hawkins said. It impaired the airline's ability to do such things as conduct check-ins, print boarding passes and monitor the weight of each aircraft. Some flights were on the taxiway and diverted back to the terminal, Hawkins said. Flights already in the air were unaffected.

Most of Southwest's cancelations Friday night were in the western half of the country, according to airline spokeswoman Michelle Agnew. Saturday's cancelations were scattered across the U.S. They included planes leavings from Minneapolis, Chicago, Phoenix, Denver and San Diego, according to flight tracking service FlightAware.

Southwest flies an average of 3,400 flights each day.

Agnew said in an email Saturday morning that the airline's technology team is "still working to confirm the source of the issue."

Shortly after 2 a.m., Southwest posted on its Twitter page that "systems are operating and we will begin work to get customers where they need to be. Thanks for your patience tonight."

Agnew said the computer system was "running at full capacity" by early Saturday. Before that, though, officials used a backup system that was much more sluggish.

______

AP Airlines Writer Scott Mayerowitz in New York contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/southwest-planes-flying-computer-glitch-213430461.html

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Sunday, June 23, 2013

Firefighters keep guard over mountain enclave

DEL NORTE, Colo. (AP) ? Fire crews with tankers and hoses at the ready stood guard Friday night as a massive and fast-burning wildfire threatened a popular mountain tourist enclave in southwestern Colorado, forcing the evacuation of more than 400 people.

"It's like gasoline up there," said Cindy Shank, a former firefighter and executive director of the southwest Colorado chapter of the Red Cross, which set up a shelter at Del Norte's high school for residents and visitors of South Fork, a summer retreat of cabins, RV parks and mostly part-time homes.

"I've never seen a fire do this before," Shank said of the blaze, which was being fueled by hot, windy weather and miles and miles of strands of trees killed by a beetle infestation. "It's really extreme, extreme fire behavior. It has split into two pieces. There are two heads to the fire."

A black smoky sky, broken up only by an orange glow over the outlines of the San Juan mountains, was all that was visible from the nearby town of Del Norte, where evacuees were given an update Friday evening by fire officials.

"It will be a couple of days before South Fork is out of danger," Jim Jaminet, a fire management officer for the Rio Grande National Forest, told evacuees.

Although he tried to reassure the residents that their homes and cabins would be saved ? "Every type of structure protection is in place," Jaminet said ? he noted that the wind- and dead tree-fueled blaze was unpredictable.

"Every afternoon these things are getting legs and getting up and walking around," he said of the fires.

Dozens of fire crews were positioned around neighborhoods in the town, working to remove propane tanks and wood piles that could help ignite homes.

Authorities said the 47-square-mile fire was a few miles southwest of town Friday night and had been advancing at a rate of about a mile an hour.

Meantime, a third fire sparked to the West, raising concerns it would move toward the town of Creede, which has about 300 residents.

And to the east, in south-central Colorado, nine structures and four outbuildings have been lost in a wildfire in Huerfano County that forced the evacuation of about two dozen residents and more than 170 Boy Scouts since it started Wednesday, fire officials said.

South Fork a popular spot for hiking and camping. The fictional Griswold family camped in South Fork in 1983's "National Lampoon's Vacation." The famous scene where a dog urinates on a picnic basket was filmed at South Fork's Riverbend Resort, called "Kamp Komfort" in the movie.

South Fork's mayor, Kenneth Brooke, sent his children and grandchildren to a safe location and stayed behind, helping several dozen area fire responders prepare for hosing down structures.

Brooke said authorities are allowing him to stay in South Fork until the blaze crests a nearby mountain. Until then, the mayor was taking phone calls from nervous neighbors and telling them the town's grim forecast.

"I just tell them it doesn't look good," Brooke told The Associated Press by phone Friday. "I tell them the truth, that the fire is coming. I just tell them to keep themselves safe, evacuate as need be and don't come back.

Late June to August is usually peak season for South Fork, when tourists or part-time residents multiply the town's population.

Harold Josefy, his wife and their 13-year-old granddaughter left the Fun Valley RV park after officers knocked on doors Friday morning. "They told us we had to get out now," he said.

But Terri Allahdadi and her motor coach were staying in South Fork for now. "It's like a ghost town," Allahdadi said by telephone Friday night. "We are not having trouble breathing. I know they need to evacuate people, but I don't feel threatened at all."

South Fork native Denny Fleming, 55, said he, his wife and his dad were the only residents he knew who stayed behind. His family runs South Fork's only gas station. They were keeping it open so firefighters would have fuel, coffee and ice, he said. The family's Rainbow Grocery was closed though.

"We're usually very, very busy right now," Fleming said.

Since most of the residents are part-time, most evacuees said they were less concerned about personal possessions than lifestyle.

"There's just lots of memories," Sue McCraw of Stillwater, Okla., said of she and her husband, Dean's rustic cabin 11 miles from South Fork.

"It's an antique," Dean McCraw said. "But it has character."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/firefighters-keep-guard-over-mountain-enclave-081948910.html

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The Weirdest Thing on the Internet Tonight: Toe Jam (NSFW)

If we're going to keep up the hypocritical charade of, on one hand, expecting pruitanical censorship of human anatomy while, on the other, selling 8-year-olds Juicy Couture then we might as well put those silly black bars to good use. Just look at what the Brighton Port Authority (BPA the band, not BPA the BPA) were able to accomplish. Frickin' PONG.

Toe Jam was the first single off the band's 2008 album, I Think We're Gonna Need a Bigger Boat and features the talents of both David Byrne and Dizzee Rascal.

Source: http://gizmodo.com/the-weirdest-thing-on-the-internet-tonight-toe-jam-ns-534691199

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Doctors make progress toward 'artificial pancreas'

This October 2012 image provided by Medtronic shows the MiniMed Integrated System device, which doctors are reporting as a major step toward an "artificial pancreas." The device that would constantly monitor blood sugar in people with diabetes and automatically supply insulin as needed. According to the company-sponsored study announced Saturday, June 22, 2013 at an American Diabetes Association conference in Chicago the device worked as intended in a three-month study of 247 patients. (AP Photo/Medtronic)

This October 2012 image provided by Medtronic shows the MiniMed Integrated System device, which doctors are reporting as a major step toward an "artificial pancreas." The device that would constantly monitor blood sugar in people with diabetes and automatically supply insulin as needed. According to the company-sponsored study announced Saturday, June 22, 2013 at an American Diabetes Association conference in Chicago the device worked as intended in a three-month study of 247 patients. (AP Photo/Medtronic)

Doctors are reporting a major step toward an "artificial pancreas," a device that would constantly monitor blood sugar in people with diabetes and automatically supply insulin as needed.

A key component of such a system ? an insulin pump programmed to shut down if blood-sugar dips too low while people are sleeping ? worked as intended in a three-month study of 247 patients.

This "smart pump," made by Minneapolis-based Medtronic Inc., is already sold in Europe, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is reviewing it now. Whether it also can be programmed to mimic a real pancreas and constantly adjust insulin based on continuous readings from a blood-sugar monitor requires more testing, but doctors say the new study suggests that's a realistic goal.

"This is the first step in the development of the artificial pancreas," said Dr. Richard Bergenstal, diabetes chief at Park Nicollet, a large clinic in St. Louis Park, Minn. "Before we said it's a dream. We have the first part of it now and I really think it will be developed."

He led the company-sponsored study and gave results Saturday at an American Diabetes Association conference in Chicago. They also were published online by the New England Journal of Medicine.

The study involved people with Type 1 diabetes, the kind usually diagnosed during childhood. About 5 percent of the 26 million Americans with diabetes have this type. Their bodies don't make insulin, a hormone needed to turn food into energy. That causes high blood-sugar levels and raises the risk for heart disease and many other health problems.

Some people with the more common Type 2 diabetes, the kind linked to obesity, also need insulin and might also benefit from a device like an artificial pancreas. For now, though, it's aimed at people with Type 1 diabetes who must inject insulin several times a day or get it through a pump with a narrow tube that goes under the skin. The pump is about the size of a cellphone and can be worn on a belt or kept in a pocket.

The pumps give a steady amount of insulin, and patients must monitor their sugar levels and give themselves more insulin at meals or whenever needed to keep blood sugar from getting too high.

A big danger is having too much insulin in the body overnight, when blood-sugar levels naturally fall. People can go into comas, suffer seizures and even die. Parents of children with diabetes often worry so much about this that they sneak into their bedrooms at night to check their child's blood-sugar monitor.

In the study, all patients had sensors that continuously monitored their blood sugar. Half of them had ordinary insulin pumps and the others had pumps programmed to stop supplying insulin for two hours when blood-sugar fell to a certain threshold.

Over three months, low-sugar episodes were reduced by about one-third in people using the pump with the shut-off feature. Importantly, these people had no cases of severely low blood sugar ? the most dangerous kind that require medical aid or help from another person. There were four cases in the group using the standard pump.

"As a first step, I think we should all be very excited that it works," an independent expert, Dr. Irl Hirsch of the University of Washington in Seattle, said of the programmable pump.

The next step is to test having it turn off sooner, before sugar falls so much, and to have it automatically supply insulin to prevent high blood sugar, too.

Dr. Anne Peters, a diabetes specialist at the University of Southern California, said the study "represents a major step forward" for an artificial pancreas.

One participant, Spears Mallis, 34, a manager for a cancer center in Gainesville, Ga., wishes these devices were available now. He typically gets low-sugar about 8 to 10 times a week, at least once a week while he's asleep.

"I would set an alarm in the middle of the night just to be sure I was OK. That will cause you to not get a good night of rest," he said.

His "smart pump" stopped giving insulin several times during the study when his sugar fell low, and he wasn't always aware of it. That's a well-known problem for people with Type 1 diabetes ? over time, "you become less and less sensitive to feeling the low blood sugars" and don't recognize symptoms in time to drink juice or do something else to raise sugar a bit, he said.

Besides Medtronic, Johnson & Johnson and several other research groups are working on artificial pancreas devices.

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Online:

Diabetes info: http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/

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Marilynn Marchione can be followed at http://twitter.com/MMarchioneAP

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/bbd825583c8542898e6fa7d440b9febc/Article_2013-06-22-Diabetes-Artificial%20Pancreas/id-5e0cf97363434ecebe1ad40d26b2b522

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Activists report shelling north of Syria's capital

BEIRUT (AP) ? Activists say Syrian government forces have intensified a military offensive against rebel strongholds north of the capital Damascus.

The heavy shelling on many fronts appears to be an attempt to cut links between districts under rebel control.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which relies on an extensive network of activists in Syria, said Saturday the shelling of the district of Qaboun has killed three children, including two from the same family, since Friday. They say it also caused structural damage and started fires. Activists from Qaboun posted on Facebook that government forces deployed additional tanks outside the neighborhood, and the bombardment had brought buildings down.

The Observatory said one rebel fighter was killed in nearby Barzeh, where rebels pushed back against a government attempt to storm the neighborhood.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/activists-report-shelling-north-syrias-capital-090408220.html

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No word from Hong Kong on Snowden's return

The front cover of a local magazine shows Edward Snowden, a former CIA employee who leaked top-secret documents about sweeping U.S. surveillance programs, in Hong Kong Saturday, June 22, 2013. Hong Kong was silent Saturday on whether the former National Security Agency contractor should be extradited to the United States now that he has been charged with espionage, but some legislators said the decision should be up to the Chinese government. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

The front cover of a local magazine shows Edward Snowden, a former CIA employee who leaked top-secret documents about sweeping U.S. surveillance programs, in Hong Kong Saturday, June 22, 2013. Hong Kong was silent Saturday on whether the former National Security Agency contractor should be extradited to the United States now that he has been charged with espionage, but some legislators said the decision should be up to the Chinese government. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

This photo provided by The Guardian Newspaper in London shows Edward Snowden, who worked as a contract employee at the National Security Agency, in Hong Kong, Sunday, June 9, 2013. The man who told the world about the U.S. government?s gigantic data grab also talked a lot about himself. Mostly through his own words, a picture of Edward Snowden is emerging: fresh-faced computer whiz, high school and Army dropout, independent thinker, trustee of official secrets. And leaker on the lam. (AP Photo/The Guardian) MANDATORY CREDIT

A security guard stands in front of the Police headquarters in Hong Kong Saturday, June 22, 2013. Former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, believed to be holed up in Hong Kong, has admitted providing information to the news media about two highly classified NSA surveillance programs. It is not known if the U.S. government has made a formal extradition request to Hong Kong, and the Hong Kong government had no immediate reaction to the charges against Snowden. Police Commissioner Andy Tsang, when was asked about the development, told reporters only that the case would be dealt with according to the law. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

David Medine, chairman of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, is seen in front of the White House in Washington, Friday, June 21, 2013. President Barack Obama held his first meeting Friday with the board in the White House Situation Room. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

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.

Hong Kong was silent Saturday on whether Snowden should be extradited to the United States now that he has been charged, but some of Hong Kong's legislators said the decision should be up to the Chinese government.

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 could consider the charges under the Espionage Act political crimes.

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

The Obama administration has now used the Espionage 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.

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

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-06-22-NSA%20Surveillance/id-2b6b55c2903c402f8788608692aa7dd5

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