Deal lifts markets but does little for US economy

Speaker of the House John Boehner, R-Ohio, returns to his office after a meeting with House Republicans at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2013. Earlier, Senate leaders reached a last-minute agreement to avert a threatened Treasury default and reopen the government after a partial, 16-day shutdown. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Speaker of the House John Boehner, R-Ohio, returns to his office after a meeting with House Republicans at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2013. Earlier, Senate leaders reached a last-minute agreement to avert a threatened Treasury default and reopen the government after a partial, 16-day shutdown. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The budget agreement Congress reached Wednesday cheered investors and removed the threat of a catastrophic debt default that could have triggered another recession.

Yet the temporary nature of the deal means a cloud will remain over a sluggish U.S. economy that was further slowed by the government's partial shutdown.

Political fights over taxing and spending will persist over the next few months. The risk of another government shutdown and doubts about the government's borrowing authority remain. Businesses and consumers may still spend and invest at the same cautious pace they have since the Great Recession officially ended more than four years ago.

The agreement, expected to be approved by the House and Senate late Wednesday, will reopen the government but only until Jan. 15. The deal would enable the United States to keep borrowing to pay its bills, but not past Feb. 7.

The deal followed a two-week shutdown and came a day before a Treasury Department deadline to raise the nation's $16.7 trillion debt limit.

"The good news is that we avoid hitting the debt ceiling and all the risks that entails," said Joel Prakken, co-founder of Macroeconomic Advisers, a forecasting firm. "The bad news is ... this hasn't produced any clarity. We're going to be right back at this again after the turn of the year."

The stock market soared on the news. The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 206 points. Bond investors celebrated, too. They sharply drove down the yield on the one-month Treasury bill, which would have come due around the time a default could have occurred. And the yield on the 10-year Treasury, a benchmark for rates on mortgages and other loans, fell.

Investors may now turn to what typically moves stock prices: corporate earnings and economic data. Wall Street is in the midst of earnings season.

"We can go back to focusing on the true reason why stocks are higher: the rebound in housing, rising corporate profits, the resurgence in manufacturing," said Doug Cote, chief investment strategist for ING U.S. Investment Management.

By itself, the partial government shutdown will have only a limited effect on economic growth, analysts said. Most forecast that the shutdown will dent growth by about 0.15 percentage point per week. But federal employees will receive back pay, suggesting that much of the lost spending could be made up.

Economists at Bank of America Merrill Lynch have cut their forecast for growth in the October-December quarter to an annual growth rate of 2 percent from an earlier estimate of 2.5 percent.

"The U.S. economy dodged a bullet today," said Paul Edelstein, an economist at IHS Global Insight. "But the reprieve will be short. ... The stage is set for another showdown in January."

IHS lowered its forecast for growth in the October-December quarter to a 1.6 percent annual rate from a 2.2 percent rate.

The new deadlines to fund the government and raise the borrowing limit that are now a few months away could also weigh on growth in the first quarter of 2014.

A study by Prakken's firm found that uncertainty over future government policies tends to raise borrowing costs for businesses and consumers, depress stock markets and lower business and consumer confidence. Uncertainty surrounding government tax and budget policies has remained far above historical norms since 2009, Prakken said.

Higher borrowing costs typically make companies less likely to invest and hire. Lower stock markets reduce household wealth and can cut into consumer spending. Macroeconomic Advisers estimates that these factors have slowed growth by 0.3 percentage point each year since 2010.

A report from the Federal Reserve on Wednesday offered fresh evidence of the economic impact of the shutdown and debt limit fight. The Fed's report on economic conditions in its 12 banking districts found that employers in several districts were reluctant to hire because of uncertainty surrounding budget policies and the new health care law.

Manufacturing growth slowed in the New York region in October, builders were less confident in the housing recovery and growth slowed in four Fed districts. All the reports cited the federal shutdown and impasse over the debt limit as reasons for the declines.

Several companies have also cited the shutdown as a likely drag on sales and earnings. Stanley Black & Decker, the tool maker, on Wednesday lowered its profit forecast for this year. It blamed, in part, "uncertainty created by the U.S. government's (budget cuts) and shutdown and its impact on business, consumer confidence and spending levels."

Linear Technology, a semiconductor company, on Tuesday lowered its revenue outlook for the final three months of the year because of the shutdown.

The full economic impact could take a month or more to assess because the release of so much economic data has been delayed. And Drew Matus, an economist at UBS, says that much of the economic data will be distorted by the effect of the shutdown, making it harder to discern underlying trends.

Weekly applications for unemployment benefits, for example, spiked last week, partly because of workers who were temporarily laid off by government contractors and other affected companies. Those figures are collected by the states.

"We're in the dark," says Robert DiClemente, chief U.S. economist at Citigroup. "It's going to be a while until we have good answers to all these questions."

___

AP Business Writer Ken Sweet contributed to this report from New York.

___

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

Associated PressSource: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-10-16-Shutdown-Economy/id-3007981c080d4f899e4bdcd6f211f564
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No Deal, But Progress, As Iran Nuclear Talks Wrap Up

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Source: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=235570930&ft=1&f=1009
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Wednesday Morning Political Mix

Good morning.

Can you say lost day?

Can you say 24 hours closer to joining the pantheon of deadbeat nations?

Can you say turning on the default spigot of poison gas? (Warren Buffet can.)

That's where the nation is left this morning after the frantic, feckless and failed efforts Tuesday by House Republicans to agree on a path to avoid our nation's default and end our government's shutdown.

After the GOP House leadership waved the white flag, unable to appease factions that included the hard-line defund Obamacare crowd, the issue moved back to the Democratic-controlled Senate.

By late night, there were strong signs that a deal would emerge today to reopen the government until Jan. 15, and lift the debt ceiling until Feb. 7.

But not before Fitch Ratings put the U.S. government's AAA credit on "ratings watch negative." That signals a potential credit downgrade, directly related to the politics of the default/debt ceiling mess.

While Wall Street retreated Tuesday, early international market reports today suggested they were edging lower, but nothing precipitous as of this writing.

Neither the House nor the Senate, which adjourned at 10 p.m. Tuesday, has a set agenda today, but will be in session.

Here's how the stage has been set for today's efforts to avoid default:

• A scathing lead editorial in the Wall Street Journal advises the Republicans to "wrap up this comedy of political errors." The business bible accused the party of blundering by choosing an unachievable goal – trying to defund Obamacare – and picking the politically unsustainable tactic of using government shutdown and threats to "blow through the debt limit" to get there.

Bottom line from the WSJ: "Republicans can best help their cause now by getting this over with and moving on to fight more intelligently another day."

• Speculation continues over what tactics Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, the leader of the GOP's anti-Obamacare caucus, may use to derail Senate efforts to craft a last-minute deal to avoid default. Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss told NPR's Morning Edition today that he doubts Cruz and his loyal lieutenant, Sen. Mike Lee of Utah, will act to delay. "They're probably looking at the next round," Chambliss predicted.

• And Republicans are facing down one of the most damaging periods in recent memory, one that analysts including Josh Barro at Business Insider say raises the natural question of the party's competence and ability to take care of the nation's best interests. "There is not serious argument for Republican governance right now, even if you prefer conservative policies over liberal ones," Barro writes. "A party that is this bad at tactics can't be expected to be any good at policy-making."

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina put it more succinctly: "We screwed up."

Outside of Washington, here are some other stories we've been following:

• Former Secretary of State Senator/First Lady/prospective 2016 presidential candidate Hillary Clinton at a closed-door appearance before a trade group reportedly took pains to note that Vice President Joe Biden opposed the administration's raid that ended up in the capture and killing of Osama Bin Laden. Biden has not ruled out a presidential run in 2016.

• The Federal Reserve today releases its periodic "Beige Book" report that tracks economic conditions, including home sales, consumer spending, lending activity and employment. The anecdotal data is the Reserve's 12 regional banks. In September, the report found "modest to moderate" growth nationally.

• Voters in New Jersey go to the polls today to elect a new U.S. senator. Newark Mayor Cory Booker, a Democrat, is expected to prevail over Republican Steve Lonegan.

Source: http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolitics/2013/10/16/235307606/wednesday-morning-political-mix?ft=1&f=1014
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Umpires Line Up In Missing-Man Formation For Bell

DETROIT (AP) — The umpiring crew for Game 3 of the AL championship series Tuesday lined up in missing-man formation during a moment of silence for umpire Wally Bell, who died of an apparent heart attack.

Jake Peavy, who will pitch Game 4 for Boston, began his news conference by offering condolences to Bell's family.

"Wally was a tremendous, tremendous umpire, but a tremendous person as well," Peavy said. "We're here today, I think everybody, man for man in that clubhouse, I know I speak for our guys, we're devastated by the news last night and our thoughts and prayers are with his family."

The moment of silence was held before the national anthem at Comerica Park. Five umpires lined up next to each other, with a gap between them and the sixth member of the crew.

Bell, a veteran of 21 big league seasons, died Monday at 48.

"We are all shocked and saddened by Wally's passing," said Tony Clark, deputy executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association. "Throughout my playing career, I found Wally to be the consummate professional, whose passion and professionalism made him a master of his craft. On behalf of all players and the staff of the Players Association, I would like to extend our heartfelt condolences to Wally's family, friends and fellow World Umpires Association members."

Source: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=234944143&ft=1&f=
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Feedly for Android scores 300 percent faster start time, raft of refinements

Google Reader stand-in Feedly has picked up a bounty of tweaks and features in its latest version, which just hit Google Play. Now in its 17th iteration, the app starts up 300 percent faster, boasts smoother scrolling, a retooled widget and a new discover section to peruse stories. Design buffs will ...

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/P4U0SxY_W9E/
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Citigroup results hit by bond trading slowdown

By David Henry

(Reuters) - Citigroup Inc posted weaker-than-expected third-quarter earnings on Tuesday, hit by a drop in bond trading revenue after the Federal Reserve refrained from changing its bond buying program and customer activity fell.

The Fed's decision took investors by surprise and led many to take a wait-and-see attitude until there is a clearer time frame for the end of the central bank's economic stimulus program.

The third quarter is typically a slow one for bond trading, and this was exacerbated by the Fed announcement, according to analysts. Citigroup's bond trading revenue dropped 26 percent, or $956 million, excluding an accounting adjustment.

In last year's third quarter Citigroup took a pretax charge of $4.7 billion related to selling its Smith Barney brokerage business, a charge that ended up costing Vikram Pandit, then the bank's chief executive, his job.

Pandit's successor, Michael Corbat, has struggled to improve the fortunes of the third-largest U.S. bank in an environment where client business is tepid and new regulations are raising banks' expenses.

On some fronts, Corbat is making progress. Citigroup has winnowed down the assets it is looking to shed, known as Citi Holdings, to $122 billion, down 29 percent from a year earlier and down 7 percent from the second quarter. Citi Holdings now accounts for a little more than 6 percent of the bank's overall assets, compared with about 9 percent in last year's third quarter.

But results were weak at many businesses at Citicorp, the bank's main operations. Revenue for its retail banking business fell 7 percent to $9.24 billion, and revenue for its securities and banking business fell 2 percent to $4.75 billion.

Under generally accepted accounting principles, net income rose to $3.23 billion, or $1.00 per share, from $468 million, or 15 cents per share, a year earlier.

Excluding the Smith Barney charge, as well as the impact of tax benefits and changes in the value of Citigroup debts and those of trading partners, third-quarter earnings slipped to $3.26 billion, or $1.02 per share, from $3.27 billion, or $1.06 per share a year earlier. On that basis, revenue fell 5 percent to $18.22 billion.

Analysts on average expected earnings of $1.04 a share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. A spokeswoman for the bank said the average estimate was comparable to the adjusted earnings of $1.02 per share.

Citigroup shares were down 55 cents to $49.05 in morning trading.

(Reporting by David Henry in New York; Additional reporting by Tanya Agrawal in Bangalore; Editing by John Wallace)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/citigroup-adjusted-profit-hit-bond-trading-slowdown-115441235--sector.html
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Rovio to Release Free Angry Birds App

MOSCOW -- Angry Birds is going downhill.

In a first for the Finnish-designed feathered cartoon characters, makers Rovio are launching a mobile telephone app Angry Birds Go!

The free app, available worldwide from Dec. 11, features a high-octane downhill race that includes all the famous avian characters and their arch-enemies the evil pigs from the video game.

The app includes a bizarre range of racing machines that can be upgraded, characters with special powers and range of 3D worlds.

Rovio, which released a gameplay trailer Tuesday to advertise the game ahead of its release, said: "The game will be built from the ground up as a free-to-play title, with a whole host of modes and features included from the get-go."

The company plans to release a "special countdown app" at the end of this month for the game which will be available on iOS, Android, Windows Phone 8 and BlackBerry 10.

Speaking Tuesday afternoon at Brand Licensing Europe 2013 in London during a presentation entitled "Angry Birds: How Rovio Disrupted the Entertainment Industry," Jami Laes, executive vp gaming and Naz Cuevas, senior vp licensing at Rovio said the company would continue to focus on making Angry Birds a long-lasting brand, they said. "We're building an evergreen," Cuevas told the industry crowd.

The executives then unveiled the Angry Birds Go! game trailer in a world premiere.

Laes said Helsinki, Finland-based Rovio created 51 games before striking gold with Angry Birds, meaning the company wasn't the overnight success it is sometimes believed to be.

Laes also touted the planned July 2016 launch of Angry Birds: The Movie.

Georg Szalai in London contributed to this report.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheHollywoodReporter-Technology/~3/Vqo4339xzE4/story01.htm
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Debt Ceiling, Shutdown Deal: House Will Move Own Bill - Business ...

AP

House Republican leadership was scrambling Tuesday afternoon to put together a plan that could earn enough conservative support while reopening the government and raising the debt ceiling.

Earlier in the day, House conservatives signaled their disapproval of a possible Senate deal that would reopen the government and raise the debt ceiling, providing expected complications just two days ahead of a Thursday deadline to raise the nation's borrowing limit.

Leadership went ahead with plans to move its own bill. It's not clear if Republican leadership has enough votes for its plan.

Meanwhile, Senate negotiations between Majority Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell have stalled while McConnell waits to see if the House can pass its bill. 

The details of the House plan have changed significantly since the morning. Originally, the plan was to fund the government through Jan. 15 and raise the debt ceiling through Feb. 7. According to National Review's Robert Costa, the bill would now only fund the government through Dec. 15.

It also originally included three Affordable Care Act-related provisions — a two-year delay of the tax on medical devices, an income-verification process for people applying for subsidies, and a version of the "Vitter amendment" that would bar just lawmakers (not congressional and White House staff) from receiving subsidies for federal health insurance under Obamacare. 

One of those — the medical-device tax — has been stripped from the bill. Another — the Vitter amendment — has been altered back to its original version, which bars staffers from receiving subsidies.

House Speaker John Boehner said at a press conference Tuesday morning that "there have been no decisions about what exactly we will do."

"We are talking with our members on both sides of the aisle to try to find a way to move forward today," Boehner said. Later, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi told reporters in a press conference that Boehner doesn't have the votes for the plan.

The White House blasted the reported original plan in a statement late Tuesday morning, saying it was a "ransom" designed to "appease a small group of Tea Party Republicans who forced the government shutdown in the first place."

"The president has said repeatedly that members of Congress don't get to demand ransom for fulfilling their basic responsibilities to pass a budget and pay the nation's bills," White House spokeswoman Amy Brundage said in the statement. 

On the Senate floor Thursday morning, Majority Leader Harry Reid said that the new House proposal "blindsided" him and others in the Senate negotiations.

"I'm very disappointed with John Boehner, who would once again try to preserve his role at the expense of this country," Reid said.

Boehner spokesman Michael Steel responded to Reid's comments minutes later, saying that he is "so blinded by partisanship that he is willing to risk default on our debt to protect a 'pacemaker tax.'"

President Obama is meeting with House Democratic leaders on Tuesday afternoon, the White House said.

Before they walked into the 9 a.m. House Republican conference meeting Tuesday morning, House conservatives complained to Costa. One Tea Party congressman called the Senate plan a "mushy piece of s—." Another said that if House Speaker John Boehner backs the deal, "he's in trouble."

"That seems to be an oxymoron. 'Senate,' then 'plan,'" said Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas).

The opposition to the Senate plan is not really a surprise. House Republicans en masse won't be thrilled that the only thing they're "getting" out of this is an income-verification measure for people obtaining subsidies through the Affordable Care Act. It's not a policy victory with which they can go home to their constituents after a more than two-week shutdown. 

According to Roll Call, about 15-20 House conservatives met in secret with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) Monday night at the Capitol Hill watering hole Tortilla Coast, where they plotted how to respond to the Senate deal. Given the reactions from House conservatives Tuesday, it's likely that they discussed how to hold firm on their opposition to any deal that does not fundamentally alter Obamacare.

And it appears that House leadership is not yet ready to give in to the Senate plan. 

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/debt-ceiling-shutdown-deal-house-boehner-2013-10
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How To Build Trust From Mistrust

House Speaker John Boehner listens as President Obama delivers a statement on Syria during a meeting with members of Congress at the White House on Sept. 3.

Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images

House Speaker John Boehner listens as President Obama delivers a statement on Syria during a meeting with members of Congress at the White House on Sept. 3.

Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images

Looking beyond the shutdown and debt ceiling stalemates, CNN's John King said on TV Monday night that distrust among all parties in Washington is "deep and multilayered."

He said, "Imagine this confrontation as a dinner party: The president doesn't trust the speaker. The president doesn't have a relationship with the Senate Republican leader. The senate majority leader, a Democrat, doesn't want the Democratic vice president involved. The Tea Party members don't trust their own speaker and are suspicious of their own leadership. Nobody here trusts each other. Nobody wants to get along."

Not sure about the dinner party metaphor, but King may be right about the overarching — and undermining — lack of trust in Washington these days. Regardless of the outcome of this standoff, how will the warring factions ever make peace? And then, how will they ever trust one another again?

How do you build trust from mistrust?

Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Practice, says Jeff Silverman, an instructor at Trapeze School New York. Practice and repetition.

"Over time, practice and repetition build predictability," Silverman says. "The catcher knows, to a high degree of certainty, the exact movements of the flyer. The flyer knows, to a high degree of certainty, the movements of the catcher."

So it might help if the president and the speaker spend some time together, practicing getting along.

'Verify And Verify'

The notion of trust that we carry with us through life, according to the late psychologist Erik Erikson, is developed at a tender age.

"The ratio and relation of basic trust to basic mistrust established during early infancy determines much of the individual's capacity for simple faith," Erikson wrote in Young Luther.

Much, but maybe not all. Politics apparently can challenge that notion of trust. Political pundits through the ages have pondered the powers — and pitfalls — of trust:

"Those who do not trust sufficiently, others have no trust in them," warned the ancient Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu.

"The only way you can make a man trustworthy is to trust him; and the surest way to make him untrustworthy is to distrust him and show your distrust," noted Henry L. Stimson, a Republican statesman of the 20th century.

"You can't trust anybody with power," observed then-Speaker of the House and now-TV commentator Newt Gingrich in 1995.

Gingrich may be onto something. Arguably, the acidic politics of today is eroding — if not erasing — trust among people.

"Trust, but verify," President Ronald Reagan famously said in the 1980s about America's attitude toward the Soviet Union, especially when it came to nuclear arms information. Just recently, Secretary of State John Kerry updated the adage to "verify and verify" regarding the U.S. attitude toward the conflict in Syria.

Gone is the idea of trust.

Rebuilding Trust

So how can political leaders regain that sense of trust, that childhood ideal of faith and confidence?

Julian Zelizer, a presidential historian at Princeton University, says, "The best way to build trust is for leaders to make clear public commitments to deals that will be hard, if not impossible, to retract."

In other words, Zelizer suggests that the decision-makers "lock themselves into terms, as best as possible, that would create the path toward a deal in such a way that their opponent knows it is impossible to renege."

To boot, he says, "each leader has to show the other, in a genuine way, that they have reached a point that they are thinking more about the civic goals than the partisan goals. This is obviously elusive and difficult to do, but it is the turn in thinking that happens at great moments of political breakthroughs when leaders reach mutual agreement to move forward on the great issues of the day and to break through political gridlock."

But how to begin? How do you meld the thinking with the doing? How do you encourage politicians to share their ideas and practice trust and polity at the same time? How do you get political leaders to trust each other like trapeze artists?

Gifford Pinchot — the first head of the U.S. Forest Service, two-term governor of Pennsylvania and trusted adviser to Theodore Roosevelt — had an idea of how to get folks to trust each other. When he invited people to his summer home, Grey Towers — now a national historic landmark — on the Delaware River, he served them meals at a very strange and marvelous dining table called the Finger Bowl. The table is actually a circular, stone-enclosed pool of water, with an encompassing ledge wide enough for plates and glasses and room to accommodate up to 18 people.

Dinner guests — often politicians of differing stripes — passed large wooden bowls of meats and vegetables and desserts to and fro by floating them, trapeze-style, across the water. Over the course of a long, conversation-laced meal, the practice and repetition of launching bowls and receiving them built predictability, a Grey Towers tour guide once told us.

To keep the serving dishes from capsizing, everyone was forced to cooperate. And to practice the art of caution. And compromise.

And, perhaps against countervailing forces, even to trust.

Source: http://www.npr.org/blogs/theprotojournalist/2013/10/15/234677031/how-to-build-trust-from-mistrust?ft=1&f=1014
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Researchers achieve 100 Gbps over sub-terahertz wireless, set world record

100 Gbps over fiber is old news, but those same speeds achieved wirelessly? That's a first. Researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute for Technology have managed to use sub-terahertz waves (237.5 GHz, in this case) to transmit data over 20 meters at 100 gigabits per second. Since the experiment used only a single-input and single-output setup, TG Daily notes multiple data streams could boost the bandwidth. This isn't the first time the group's dabbled in incredibly-fast wireless either, it recently managed to hit 40 Gbps over a distance of one kilometer. The tech is expected to get high-speed Internet to rural areas without having to install pricey fiber. There's no word on when this might find its way outside the lab, but the scientists note that it was predicted these speeds would be hit by 2015. Hey, at least we're early.

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/10/15/100gbps-wireless-world-record/?ncid=rss_truncated
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Bomb found in Lebanon's Hezbollah stronghold on eve of Muslim holiday

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanese security forces defused a car bomb on Monday in the southern suburbs of Beirut, a stronghold of the Shi'ite Muslim militia group Hezbollah.

The discovery of a bomb happened on the first night of the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Adha and two months after a car bomb killed 20 people in the area, and looked like the latest sign of growing sectarian tensions in Lebanon exacerbated by the war in neighboring Syria.

The bomb was found in a Jeep Cherokee parked in the Mamora area, a Lebanese army statement said. Specialists were brought in to defuse the bomb and take the car away.

Car bombs are becoming increasingly common in Lebanon. In September, twin bombs killed 42 people at Sunni mosques in Tripoli, in the deadliest attack in the coastal city since the end of Lebanon's civil war.

Fighters from Hezbollah have joined Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces in their battle to crush a majority Sunni armed uprising, causing resentment among Lebanese Sunnis.

(Reporting by Oliver Holmes; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/bomb-found-lebanons-hezbollah-stronghold-eve-muslim-holiday-201302105.html
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Florida to execute man using untried drug for lethal injection

By Bill Cotterell

TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) - An execution scheduled in Florida on Tuesday will be the first using the drug midazolam hydrochloride despite concerns it might not work as promised and could inflict cruel and unusual punishment on a death row inmate.

Midazolam, typically used by doctors for sedation, will be the first of three drugs pumped into William Happ as part of a lethal injection cocktail designed to induce unconsciousness, paralysis and death by cardiac arrest.

The first of the drugs administered as part of the lethal injection "protocol" in Florida has long been the barbiturate pentobarbital. But Florida, and other death penalty states that use a trio of drugs as part of their injection procedures, have been running out of pentobarbital since its manufacturer clamped a ban on its use in future executions.

The 51-year-old Happ, who has abandoned his appeals and said he is ready to die, was condemned for the 1986 abduction, rape and murder of Angie Crowley, whose body was found on a canal bank near Crystal River in central Florida.

"This is somewhat of an experiment on a living human being," Richard Dieter, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center in Washington, said Monday.

"The three-drug process depends on the first drug rendering the inmate unconscious and, if he is only partially unconscious, the inmate could be experiencing extreme pain," he added. "Because the second drug paralyzes him, he would be unable to cry out or show that he's in pain."

Just last week, Missouri postponed an execution set for October 23 due to uncertainty about using a different drug, propofol, as a substitute for pentobarbital.

Misty Cash, a spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Corrections, declined to comment on how the state could rest assured that midazolam would avoid inflicting pain and suffering on Happ.

But she said the prison system "did research and determined that this is the most humane and dignified way to do the procedure."

She refused to identify a research laboratory or other source of the department's scientific data, citing an exemption in state public record laws that also meant that the supplier of midazolam hydrochloride for executions could remain anonymous.

"We're not talking about details," she said. "That could impact the safety and security of the process."

Happ's lawyer, Eric Pinkard of St. Petersburg, said there are no late motions to stay the execution. Happ told a circuit judge in Inverness, Florida last month that he did not want to continue the court appeals that have kept him on Florida's Death Row for nearly a quarter-century.

Happ's execution is scheduled for 6 p.m. EDT on Tuesday at the Florida State Prison in Starke.

Another condemned Florida prisoner, Etheria Jackson, has a hearing set for a November 6 in Jacksonville's federal court, challenging the use of midazolam.

Jackson's appeal contends that there is "substantial risk" of midazolam not working completely, violating the Eighth Amendment's prohibition of "cruel and unusual punishment" by subjecting the condemned to a painful paralysis and fatal heart seizure over several minutes.

(Editing by Tom Brown and Leslie Gevirtz)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/florida-execute-man-using-untried-drug-lethal-injection-222437590.html
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'Walking Dead' Season Four Primer: Relive The Dead

Before AMC's zombie apocalypse returns on Sunday, here's your refresher on all the good and bad times of the past three seasons.


By Josh Wigler

Source:
http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1715509/walking-dead-season-four-preview.jhtml

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Gay marriage: In states, a hodgepodge lies ahead

Across the country, this week's landmark Supreme Court rulings on same-sex marriage have energized activists and politicians on both sides of the debate.

Efforts to impose bans ? and to repeal them ? have taken on new intensity. Likewise a spate of lawsuits by gays demanding the right to marry.

The high court, in two 5-4 decisions Wednesday, opened the way for California to become the 13th state to legalize gay marriage. It directed the federal government to recognize legally married same-sex couples.

But the rulings did not impose a nationwide right for gays to marry. They set the stage for state-by-state battles over one of America's most contentious social issues. Already, some of those battles are heating up.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/gay-marriage-states-hodgepodge-lies-ahead-201327666.html

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Ecuador says Snowden seeking asylum there

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) ? Ecuador's foreign minister says his government is analyzing an asylum request from Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor wanted for revealing secrets.

"We are analyzing it with a lot of responsibility," Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino told reporters Monday through a translator at a hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam.

He says the decision "has to do with freedom of expression and with the security of citizens around the world."

Patino spoke briefly to reporters on his way to a meeting with Vietnam's foreign minister. He did not say how long it would take Ecuador to decide.

Snowden was on a flight from Hong Kong that arrived in Moscow Sunday and was booked on a flight to Cuba Monday, the Russian news agencies ITAR-Tass and Interfax reported, citing unnamed airline officials.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ecuador-says-snowden-seeking-asylum-170413690.html

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Minn.'s Franken hardly a GOP target for defeat

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) ? Al Franken barely made it into the Senate the first time, squeaking by with 312 votes after months of recounts and legal skirmishes that left Minnesota Republicans salivating at the prospect of snatching the seat back from the former "Saturday Night Live" star in 2014.

So far, that's not playing out according to plan.

Four years into his term, Franken barely figures into the GOP's calculations for trying to wrest control of the Senate from Democrats. Republicans don't consider him a top target for defeat, and they haven't found a strong challenger in the Democratic-leaning state.

Should a competitive race not materialize, Democrats say much, if not all, of the credit should go to Franken himself.

To solidify his then-shaky standing, Franken employed a disciplined strategy that started in 2009 when he was declared the victor of a three-way race in which he won less than 42 percent of the vote. Back then, he spoke of not wanting to "waste this chance" and made repeated promises to keep his head down and do the work. He has largely stuck to that vow, avoiding the national spotlight. He rarely talks to the Washington press corps, has shed his comedic persona and focused on policy, working to be taken seriously.

"People have seen that I did what I said I would do. I came to Washington, I put my shoulder to the wheel and I did the work," Franken said in a recent interview with The Associated Press, expressing optimism that he'll be re-elected. He punted on the question of whether he'd seek a more prominent national voice in a second term, saying: "I'm more worried about what I'm working on tomorrow."

The midterm congressional elections are more than a year away. But Republicans already are going after vulnerable Democrats in their quest to gain the six seats they need to return to Senate power. They're largely focusing on vulnerable Democrats in Republican-tilting states: Louisiana, North Carolina, Alaska and Arkansas, as well as swing and conservative states where Democrats are retiring, like Iowa, South Dakota, West Virginia and Montana.

Minnesota GOP Chairman Keith Downey acknowledged that, because of the tight 2008 margin, Republicans initially assumed Franken would be easy to beat in 2014. "People in politics always make too many assumptions about the future, but that was certainly the perspective," he said.

Today, Downey argues that while the GOP's job may be harder, Franken still can be overtaken because his support is soft.

All things being equal, Minnesota isn't an easy place for Republicans to win these days, given its deep history of electing Democrats and the state GOP's current woes: the debt-plagued party hasn't won a statewide race since 2006. But Franken's standing ? more than 50 percent of those polled last fall by the Minneapolis Star Tribune approved of the job he's doing ? and fairly weak GOP candidates make it even tougher.

Brian Nick, a political consultant with previous experience at the National Republican Senatorial Committee, acknowledged as much, calling Minnesota a "very, very tough state to win" for his side, with more favorable matchups elsewhere.

A big part of the problem for the GOP: High-profile Republicans don't want to run.

Former Sen. Norm Coleman, the incumbent Franken narrowly beat in 2008, opted out of a rematch, citing the "dysfunction" of Washington. Former Gov. Tim Pawlenty got out of politics, taking a job with a Wall Street lobbying group. Reps. Erik Paulsen and John Kline have declined, indicating they could be more effective in the House. And Rep. Michele Bachmann, who isn't running for re-election, has not shown any interest.

So far, Franken has two definite Republican challengers: Mike McFadden, a businessman and political unknown; and Jim Abeler, an eight-term state representative who's never run for higher office. Another lawmaker, state Sen. Julianne Ortman, is also considering a bid.

While the opposition party sorts itself out, Franken is doing what he's done for the past four years: keeping his head down and working on policy that affects seniors, veterans and farmers. That includes what he calls his biggest accomplishment so far: inserting a provision in Obama's health care overhaul that forces health insurance companies to spend up to 85 percent of premiums directly on health care.

___

Associated Press reporter Brian Bakst contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/minn-franken-hardly-gop-target-defeat-081636860.html

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Watson drops into 3-way tie at Travelers

CROMWELL (AP) ? Charley Hoffman lost his chance at winning last year's Travelers Championship on the 71st hole.

His tee shot on the difficult par-4 17th at the TPC of River Highlands found the pond that runs along the fairway and he finished second, missing out on his third PGA Tour win.

This year Hoffman is in a three-way tie for the lead heading into Sunday's final round and he expects a different outcome.

"Obviously if I get on 17 tee (in the lead), I'd be lying to say I'm not going to think about that tee shot," Hoffman said Saturday after his 4-under 66 tied him with Bubba Watson and Graham DeLaet at 10-under 200.

"But I'm a much more mature, better player than I was a year ago and don't feel uncomfortable on that tee shot."

Watson, who led by two shots when he began the third round and by four shots midway through it, made three bogeys in his last six holes to help create the logjam. DeLaet tied for the low round of the day with a 65.

Chris Stroud and Nick O'Hearn are one shot back of the leaders at 9 under, while Ken Duke's 65 put him alone in sixth place.

Justin Rose, less than a week after his U.S. Open victory, is 7 under and in a tie for seventh after a second straight 68.

After shooting a 61 in the opening round, Hoffman struggled and shot 73 on Friday. He bounced back with a 66 Saturday that included five birdies.

"I got off to a pretty quick start and then birdied 10, thought I was going to get going again," Hoffman said. "And then a little three-putt bogey on 12 sort of slowed things down."

Watson made three birdies in his first six holes Saturday and was ahead by four shots after the third. But bogeys on Nos. 13, 15 and 17 brought the 2011 Masters champion back to the field.

Watson, who won the 2010 Travelers, is trying to become the seventh man to win the event at least twice. Arnold Palmer and Phil Mickelson have also done it.

"I hit some shots today that were really good, quality shots," said Watson, who shot an even-par 70. "I got a couple bad breaks here and there, but that's golf. At the end of the day I still have a chance on Sunday and that's what we're always looking for."

DeLaet may be playing this week in New England but many of his thoughts are about his native Canada. The heavy rain and flooding in Alberta forced the PGA Tour Canada to cancel its event this week, just one of the many issues the area is facing.

The 2009 Canadian Tour player of the year has pledged to donate $1,000 for every birdie he makes this weekend and $2,500 for every eagle to help the relief efforts.

"It's a pretty small part, what we're doing, but anything helps," said DeLaet, a native of Weyburn, Saskatchewan. "There's a lot of help from everyone all across Canada."

DeLaet first made it to 10 under after beginning his back nine with four straight birdies. A bogey at the difficult par-3 16th put a slight damper on his round, but DeLaet finished strong by delicately rolling in a downhill putt from the fringe on the 18th hole.

"I did play well pretty much all day. I had a lot of good birdie chances on the front nine, just couldn't really seem to find the hole," DeLaet said. "Julien (Trudeau), my caddie, just told me to stay patient."

Watson began the day with a two-shot lead and immediately began to extend it. After saving par on the first hole with a sliding, 7-foot putt, Watson made birdie at No. 2 by hitting a wedge some 2 feet from the hole. He followed that by draining a 30-foot putt from the front edge on No. 3 for a second straight birdie.

Another birdie at the par-5 sixth gave Watson a four-shot lead and he seemed ready to lap the field. Watson also made relatively lengthy par-saving putts on Nos. 7 and 10.

The smallest cracks in Watson's armor appeared at the par-5 13th, where his drive faded too far left and ended up in a fairway bunker.

He was still short of the green after three shots and eventually made bogey, his first of the day and first in his last 30 holes.

He made another bogey at the easiest hole at the TPC of River Highlands, the 296-yard, par-4 15th. His drive left him just 50 feet from the hole but his putt through the fringe didn't make it up the steep hill in front of the green. A chip and two putts followed, moving Watson back to 11 under.

Watson's final bogey came on the 17th and was the result of a tee shot pushed left into a fairway bunker.

The lack of rain recently combined with an increase in the wind late Saturday made TPC of River Highlands, one of the shortest courses on tour, increasingly difficult for the players.

"I think we've never seen the golf course like this, as firm as it is and as firm as some of the greens are," Watson said. "It's hard to get to certain points, so a lot of people probably played it safe."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/watson-drops-3-way-tie-travelers-220002037.html

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Brazil leader breaks silence about protests

BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) ? Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff ended her near-silence about more than a week of massive, violent protests, saying in a prime time TV broadcast Friday that peaceful demonstrations were part of a strong democracy but that violence could not be tolerated. She promised to make improvements to public services, but said it couldn't be done overnight.

Rousseff said she would soon hold a meeting with leaders of the protest movement, governors and the mayors of major cities. But it remained unclear exactly who could represent the massive and decentralized groups of demonstrators taking to the streets, venting anger against woeful public services despite a high tax burden.

Though offering no details, Rousseff said that her government would create a national plan for public transportation in cities ? a hike in bus and subway fares in many cities was the original complaint of the protests. She also reiterated her backing for a plan before congress to invest all oil revenue royalties in education and a promise she already made to bring in foreign doctors to areas that lack physicians.

"I'm going to meet with the leaders of the peaceful protests, I want institutions that are more transparent, more resistant to wrongdoing," Rousseff said in reference to perceptions of deep corruption in Brazilian politics, which is emerging as a focal point of the protests. "It's citizenship and not economic power that must be heard first."

The leader, a former Marxist rebel who fought against Brazil's 1964 to 1985 military regime and was imprisoned for three years and tortured by the junta, pointedly referred to earlier sacrifices made to free the nation from dictatorship.

"My generation fought a lot so that the voice of the streets could be heard," Rousseff said. "Many were persecuted, tortured and many died for this. The voice of the street must be heard and respected and it can't be confused with the noise and truculence of some troublemakers."

Edvaldo Chaves, a 61-year-old doorman in Rio's upscale Flamengo neighborhood, said he found the speech convincing.

"I thought she seemed calm and cool. Plus because she was a guerrilla and was in exile, she talks about the issue of protests convincingly," Chaves said. "I think things are going to calm down. We'll probably keep seeing people in the streets but probably small numbers now."

Trying to decipher the president's reaction to the unrest had become a national guessing game, especially after some 1 million anti-government demonstrators took to the streets nationwide the night before to denounce everything from poor public services to the billions of dollars spent preparing for next year's World Cup soccer tournament and the 2016 Olympics in Brazil.

The protests continued Friday, as about 1,000 people marched in western Rio de Janeiro city, with some looting stores and invading an enormous $250 million arts center that remains empty after several years of construction. Police tried to disperse the crowd with tear gas as they were pelted with rocks. Police said some in the crowd were armed and firing at officers.

Local radio was also reporting that protesters were heading to the apartment of Rio state Gov. Sergio Cabral in the posh Rio neighborhood of Ipanema.

Other protests broke out in the country's biggest city, Sao Paulo, where traffic was paralyzed but no violence reported, and in Fortaleza in the country's northeast. Demonstrators were calling for more mobilizations in 10 cities on Saturday.

The National Conference of Brazilian Bishops came out in favor of the protests, saying that it maintains "solidarity and support for the demonstrations, as long as they remain peaceful."

"This is a phenomenon involving the Brazilian people and the awakening of a new consciousness," church leaders said in the statement. "The protests show all of us that we cannot live in a country with so much inequality."

Rousseff had never held elected office before she became president in 2011 and remains clearly uncomfortable in the spotlight.

She's the political protege of former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, a charismatic ex-union leader whose tremendous popularity helped usher his former chief of staff to the country's top office. A career technocrat and trained economist, Rousseff's tough managerial style under Silva earned her the moniker "the Iron Lady," a name she has said she detests.

While Rousseff stayed away from the public eye for most of the week, Roberto Jaguaribe, the nation's ambassador to Britain, told news channel CNN Friday the government was first trying to contain the protests.

He labeled as "very delicate" the myriad demands emanating from protesters in the streets.

"One of our ministers who's dealing with these issues of civil society said that it would be presumptuous on our part to think we know what's taking place," Jaguaribe said. "This is a very dynamic process. We're trying to figure out what's going on because who do we speak to, who are the leaders of the process?"

Marlise Matos, a political science professor at the Federal University of Minas Gerais, said before Rousseff spoke that answer wasn't good enough.

"The government has to respond, even if the agenda seems unclear and wide open," she said. "It should be the president herself who should come out and provide a response. But I think the government is still making strategic calculations to decide how to respond. What I'd like to see as a response is a call for a referendum on political reform. Let the people decide what kind of political and electoral system we have."

Brazil watchers outside the country were also puzzled by the government's long silence amid the biggest protests in decades, although Peter Hakim, president emeritus at the U.S.-based Inter-American Dialogue think-tank, said he appreciated the complicated political picture, especially with protests flaring in some areas where political opponents to Rousseff hold sway.

Hakim called said that for the government the protests were "a puzzle in the midst of a huge labyrinth maze and she can't figure out the best direction to take."

Carlos Cardozo, a 62-year-old financial consultant who joined Friday's protest in Rio, said he thought the unrest could cost Rousseff next year's elections. Even as recently as last week, Rousseff had enjoyed a 74 percent approval rating in a poll by the business group the National Transport Confederation.

"Her paying lip service by saying she's in favor of the protests is not helping her cause," Cardozo said. "People want to see real action, real decisions, and it's not this government that's capable of delivering."

Social media and mass emails were buzzing with calls for a general strike next week. However, Brazil's two largest nationwide unions, the Central Workers Union and the Union Force, said they knew nothing about such an action, though they do support the protests.

A Thursday night march in Sao Paulo was the first with a strong union presence, as a drum corps led members wearing matching shirts down the city's main avenue. Many protesters have called for a movement with no ties to political parties or unions, which are widely considered corrupt here.

In the absence of such groups, the protests have largely lacked organization or even concrete demands, making a coherent government response nearly impossible. Several cities have cancelled the transit fare hikes that had originally sparked the demonstrations a week ago, but the outrage has only grown more intense.

Saturday's demonstrations have been called by a group opposing a federal bill that would limit the power of prosecutors to investigate crimes.

The one group behind the reversal of the fare hike, the Free Fare Movement, said it would not call any more protests. However, it wasn't clear what impact that might have on a movement that has moved far beyond its original complaint.

Foreign Minister Antonio Patriota hit back at protesters the morning after his modernist ministry building was attacked by an enraged crowd Thursday night. At one point, smoke had billowed from the building, while demonstrators shattered windows along its perimeter.

Standing before the ministry, Patriota told reporters he "was very angry" that protesters attacked a structure "that represents the search for understanding through dialogue." Patriota called for protesters "to convey their demands peacefully."

"I believe that the great majority of the protesters are not taking part in this violence and are instead looking to improve Brazil's democracy via legitimate forms of protest," Patriota said.

Most protesters have indeed been peaceful, and crowds have taken to chanting "No violence! No violence!" when small groups have prepared to burn and smash. The more violent demonstrators have usually taken over once night has fallen.

At least one protester was killed in Sao Paulo state Thursday night when a driver apparently became enraged about being unable to travel along a street and rammed his car into demonstrators. News reports also said a 54-year-old cleaning woman had died Friday after inhaling tear gas the night before while taking cover in a restored trolley car.

The unrest is hitting the nation as it hosts the Confederations Cup soccer tournament, with tens of thousands of foreign visitors in attendance.

For some, the police response to the protests has been yet another reason to hit the streets.

"Even though I didn't see much of police violence on TV because the coverage was focused on the vandalism, I heard about it from friends and family," said 26-year-old journalist Marcela Barreto, who was marching in Rio Friday. "And I wanted to show the government it's not going to work. We're not scared."

___

Barchfield reported from Rio de Janeiro and Brooks from Sao Paulo. Associated Press writers Stan Lehman in Sao Paulo and Jack Chang in Mexico City contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/brazil-leader-breaks-silence-protests-001503729.html

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Graphene-based system could lead to improved information processing

June 21, 2013 ? Researchers at MIT have proposed a new system that combines ferroelectric materials -- the kind often used for data storage -- with graphene, a two-dimensional form of carbon known for its exceptional electronic and mechanical properties. The resulting hybrid technology could eventually lead to computer and data-storage chips that pack more components in a given area and are faster and less power-hungry.

The new system works by controlling waves called surface plasmons. These waves are oscillations of electrons confined at interfaces between materials; in the new system the waves operate at terahertz frequencies. Such frequencies lie between those of far-infrared light and microwave radio transmissions, and are considered ideal for next-generation computing devices.

The findings were reported in a paper in Applied Physics Letters by associate professor of mechanical engineering Nicholas Fang, postdoc Dafei Jin and three others.

The system would provide a new way to construct interconnected devices that use light waves, such as fiber-optic cables and photonic chips, with electronic wires and devices. Currently, such interconnection points often form a bottleneck that slows the transfer of data and adds to the number of components needed.

The team's new system allows waves to be concentrated at much smaller length scales, which could lead to a tenfold gain in the density of components that could be placed in a given area of a chip, Fang says.

The team's initial proof-of-concept device uses a small piece of graphene sandwiched between two layers of the ferroelectric material to make simple, switchable plasmonic waveguides. This work used lithium niobate, but many other such materials could be used, the researchers say.

Light can be confined in these waveguides down to one part in a few hundreds of the free-space wavelength, Jin says, which represents an order-of-magnitude improvement over any comparable waveguide system. "This opens up exciting areas for transmitting and processing optical signals," he says.

Moreover, the work may provide a new way to read and write electronic data into ferroelectric memory devices at very high speed, the MIT researchers say.

Dimitri Basov, a professor of physics at the University of California at San Diego who was not connected with this research, says the MIT team "proposed a very interesting plasmonic structure, suitable for operation in the technologically significant [terahertz] range. ? I am confident that many research groups will try to implement these devices."

Basov cautions, however, "The key issue, as in all of plasmonics, is losses. Losses need to be thoroughly explored and understood."

In addition to Fang and Jin, the research was carried out by graduate student Anshuman Kumar, former postdoc Kin Hung Fung (now at Hong Kong Polytechnic University), and research scientist Jun Xu. It was supported by the National Science Foundation and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/matter_energy/technology/~3/4eQl1-5Fu_M/130621095620.htm

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Gillmor Gang Live 06.21.13. (TCTV)

Gillmor Gang Live - Robert Scoble, Kevin Marks, Keith Teare, and Steve Gillmor. Recording live today at 1pm Pacific.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/w3K26l8OD8I/

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Colleen Shannon, Playboy Model, Facing Jail Time For Boyfriend Smuggling

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Study of insect bacteria reveals genetic secrets of symbiosis

June 20, 2013 ? Mealybugs only eat plant sap, but sap doesn't contain all the essential amino acids the insects need to survive. Luckily, the bugs have a symbiotic relationship with two species of bacteria -- one living inside the other in a situation unique to known biology -- to manufacture the nutrients sap doesn't provide.

The net result: The bacteria get a comfy mealybug home, and the bugs get the nutrition they need to live.

University of Montana microbiologist John McCutcheon describes such mutually beneficial relationships used to solve life's little problems as "almost hilariously complicated. But animal-bacterial relationships are extremely common in nature, and it's my goal in life to help people understand that it's normal."

McCutcheon and his research partners recently delved deeper into the genes involved in the "tripartite nested mealybug symbiosis," and their work was published in the June 20 issue of Cell, a scientific journal. The researchers discovered the already complex three-way symbiosis actually depends on genes from six different organisms -- three more than the number of species that currently exist in the symbiosis.

Tremblaya princeps is the larger of the two bacteria species living within special organs inside mealybugs. Tremblaya houses the smaller bacterial species, Moranella endobia, within its cytoplasm. But what makes Tremblaya truly odd is the size of its genome, or genetic code. With only 120 genes, its genome is the smallest known and smaller than many scientists consider necessary for life. By comparison, common E. coli bacteria have about 4,200 genes and humans have about 21,000.

"We wanted to discover how this genome got so small," McCutcheon said. "We suspected Tremblaya's genome may have gotten smaller by transferring genes to the host animal, which is called horizontal transfer."

The researchers looked for genes in the mealybug genome that resemble bacteria genes. However, after extensive analysis they only found one weak possibility for horizontal transfer from Tremblaya.

"Our hypothesis that Tremblaya was transferring genes to the host was dead wrong," said McCutcheon. They did, however, find 22 other bacterial genes mixed in with the mealybug code -- genes that seem to support activities missing in Tremblaya, Moranella and the mealybug.

How can this be?

"The genes are probably from historical bacterial infections," McCutcheon said. "These bacteria are no longer present in the mealybugs we work with, but their horizontally transferred genes are, and these genes allow the symbiosis to work."

The research team also examined a strain of Tremblaya that doesn't have Moranella living inside it. This variety employs about 50 more genes than the one containing Moranella, which strongly suggests Moranella plays a key role in allowing the insect-dwelling Tremblaya to operate with such a tiny genome.

McCutcheon said Tremblaya, with its shrinking genome, in many ways resembles organelles called mitochondria -- tiny structures found within all plant and animal cells that scientists believe started out as symbiotic bacteria in the early history of life. The mealybug/bacteria relationship he studies may illustrate one pathway bacteria take in becoming essential and highly integrated components of other cells.

"So this research really touches on some fundamental questions of the origin of life," he said. "It's exciting to see if we can get some insight into the origin of organelles."

McCutcheon said this study involved an international cast of 12 collaborators. Filip Husnik, the study's lead author, is a Czech doctoral student from the University of South Bohemia who worked in McCutcheon's UM lab. Other team members were from Japan, England, California, Utah and Florida.

The study was funded by a $529,000 grant from the National Science Foundation.

"Our work illustrates how an animal's interactions with bacteria can drive hidden organismal complexity," McCutcheon said. "A tree is more than a tree, and an animal is more than an animal. They are really mosaics of plants and animals and bacteria all working together."

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/4m1gkoy6CoY/130620142954.htm

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Wisconsin lawmakers approve $68 billion state budget

By Brendan O'Brien

MILWAUKEE (Reuters) - Wisconsin lawmakers approved on Friday a two-year spending package that featured several fiscally conservative provisions, including an income tax cut, a broadening of the state's educational voucher program and a rejection of federal funds for Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act.

The Republican-led state Senate passed the $68 billion budget with a 17-16 vote shortly after midnight on Friday, sending the legislation to Republican Governor Scott Walker, who is expected to sign it.

The proposed budget, which contained a $650 million income tax cut over the next two years, was approved by the Republican-led Assembly with a 55-42 vote on Wednesday.

"We believe it will lead to generating more jobs and creating more revenue," said Republican Senator Alberta Darling on Thursday as the budget was debated.

"This budget positions us to live within our means, grow the economy (and) to hold the line on taxes."

Democrats argued that the spending plan fell short of addressing the state's lagging job growth and helping those living in or near poverty.

"If you are poor, this is a punishing budget," said Democrat Senator Jon Erpenbach.

He said during his floor speech on Thursday that Wisconsin ranked 44th in the United States in job growth in 2012.

"This budget doesn't help the majority of Wisconsinites, it hurts the majority of Wisconsinites."

The budget expands the educational voucher program statewide, which is currently only available in Racine and Milwaukee.

The provision allows 500 students, whose families earn less than 185 percent of the federal poverty line, to use publicly-funded vouchers to attend private schools throughout the state in 2013-14, and 1,000 students in subsequent years.

The legislation also formalizes Walker's refusal to expand BadgerCare, the state's Medicaid program and, as a result, rejects federal money made available by the Affordable Care Act.

The state would have received $4.2 billion during the next five years in federal money if it expanded BadgerCare, according to HealthWatch Wisconsin, an organization that analyzes health care policy.

The budget legislation also moves about 87,000 recipients off the program and into the health insurance marketplace created by the Affordable Care Act and makes about 82,000 childless adults who are under the federal poverty line eligible for BadgerCare.

A tuition freeze throughout the University of Wisconsin system, a provision giving the governor more latitude to sell state property and legalizing bail bondmen are also part of the spending plan.

(Reporting By Brendan O'Brien)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/wisconsin-lawmakers-approve-68-billion-state-budget-061817382.html

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Apple patent filing hints at a tight fingerprint scanner package suitable for mobile

2. htc_evo_3d posted on 27 min ago 0

its amazing. but the fact that no one else should use fingerprint scanning technology other than Apple isn't that amazing.

4. apple4never posted on 13 min ago 0

this is what annoys me, apple patents things that are pretty cool but in doing so they hardly use any of their patents and prevent other companies from using them as well. To me apple is just being greedy now, and i would like to see them use their patents for other uses than suing samsung

3. scriptwriter posted on 15 min ago 0

As the aritcle states, Motorola have used this technology before (Atrix). I smell another law suit coming even if its not filed by Apple.

5. InspectorGadget80 posted on 1 min ago 0

Who gives a damn bout their bogus patents.

Apple patent filing hints at a tight fingerprint scanner package suitable for mobile

Source: http://www.phonearena.com/news/Apple-patent-filing-hints-at-a-tight-fingerprint-scanner-package-suitable-for-mobile_id44305

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