DirecTV, two others bid over $1 billion for Hulu: source

By Ronald Grover and Liana B. Baker

(Reuters) - Satellite operator DirecTV and two other bidders have offered more than $1 billion apiece to buy Hulu, a source with knowledge of the bidding process said on Friday, increasing the likelihood that owners News Corp and Walt Disney Co will be able to shed the video streaming service they failed to sell in 2011.

Hulu board members, who are being advised by Guggenheim Partners on the auction, fielded at least seven buyout offers last week, the source said.

That number will be whittled down in the next two or three weeks, the source told Reuters on condition of anonymity because the process was private.

It was unclear which two other bidders offered $1 billion for Hulu. The service has more than 4 million subscribers and generates revenue of about $700 million through subscriptions and a free ad-supported service.

The proposed price tag heightens the likelihood that News Corp and Disney will find an acceptable offer price, which was the sticking point of the 2011 round of buyout negotiations.

DirecTV spokesman Darris Gringeri declined to comment, as did Meredith Kendall, a spokeswoman for Hulu. Bloomberg first reported the news on Friday.

Sources have said the other bidders are Yahoo, former News Corp president Peter Chernin, private equity firm KKR, cable operator Time Warner Cable, Guggenheim Digital, and Silver Lake Management and talent agency William Morris Endeavor Entertainment in a joint bid.

Cable company Comcast is the third owner of Hulu alongside News Corp and Disney, but is precluded from an operational role as a condition imposed on it upon its acquisition of NBC Universal in 2011.

(Reporting By Ronald Grover and Liana B. Baker; Editing by Toni Reinhold)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/directv-two-others-bid-over-1-billion-hulu-001023014.html

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US troubled by verdicts in Tunisia embassy attack

TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) ? The U.S. Embassy in Tunisia said Wednesday it is "deeply troubled" that the 20 people convicted of attacking the embassy last year only received suspended sentences.

A mob of some 2,000 people, mostly religious conservatives, attacked the compound on Sept., 14, 2012, destroying cars, property, burning the American flag and a nearby American school, ostensibly in response to a movie in the U.S. that allegedly insulted Islam. Four protesters died in the attack.

Only 20 people were prosecuted for the assault, and the court gave them two-year suspended sentences Tuesday night for attacking property and violating a state of emergency.

"We are deeply troubled by reports of suspended sentences," the embassy said. "The verdicts do not correspond appropriately to the extent and severity of the damage and violence that took place."

The sternly worded statement said Tunisia's government must show there is no tolerance for those resorting to violence to achieve their goals and that the court's "decision fails in this regard."

The leader of the ultraconservative Ansar al-Shariah organization, Seifallah Ben Hassine, is being sought in connection with the attack, but he remains at large after slipping through a police cordon at the time.

The embassy called for an investigation and said those behind the attack should be brought to justice.

The violence was deeply embarrassing to the Tunisian government, which is run by moderate Islamists, and it marked the hardening of the state's position to the rising power of the ultraconservative Muslims known as salafis.

After tolerating them for two years as they became more aggressive in preaching their version of the religion and attacking aspects of society they disliked, government started cracking down on them.

On May 19, police prevented Ansar al-Shariah from holding its annual conference and insisted the salafis get permission before holding impromptu preaching sessions on the streets of Tunisia's cities.

Seventy-three people were arrested in connection with the attack on the embassy. Of those only 20 were prosecuted. The one-session trial was unusually brief for such cases.

Tunisians overthrew their long-ruling dictator in January 2011, sparking pro-democracy uprisings across the region. The transition, however, has been wracked by unrest and included the rise of extremist Islamist groups that have battled to increase religiosity in this country of 10 million people.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/us-troubled-verdicts-tunisia-embassy-attack-184647820.html

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Syrian opposition admits liberals after inconclusive talks

By Khaled Yacoub Oweis

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Syria's opposition, under pressure to broaden its Islamist-dominated leadership, struggled to overcome deep rifts on Thursday and form a united front for a proposed international conference to try to end the Syrian civil war.

Delegates at inconclusive talks in Istanbul agreed to add 14 named members of a liberal bloc led by veteran figure Michel Kilo to the 60-member assembly of the Syrian National Coalition, the closest body that President Bashar al-Assad's foes have to an overall civilian leadership in the two-year-old uprising.

The coalition also agreed in principle to admit another 14 members of activists' groups from inside Syria and 15 members linked to the Free Syrian Army, an umbrella organization for anti-Assad fighters.

But a neutral mechanism to choose these 29 new members has not been agreed and another battle to name them is shaping up for the next coalition meeting on June 12, members said.

That partial breakthrough, which followed eight days of talks and required the intervention of Turkey and Western and Arab nations, effectively creates a new Saudi-backed bloc in the coalition but leaves Qatar's allies, whose control was threatened by the expansion, with significant influence, coalition insiders said.

"The Qatar-backed bloc withstood the challenge. Saudi Arabia will not be very pleased. We are looking at another push and pull marathon for new names in June," a senior source in the coalition said.

International powers fear that unless deep fissures in the opposition ranks are healed, the chances of a successful Geneva peace conference happening soon, sponsored by Russia and the United States, are slight.

But many hurdles remain in the process to choose new leaders for a coalition that has been rudderless since March and to name a provisional government that could strengthen what are now weak links with rebel units inside Syria.

Acting coalition head George Sabra said agreeing the names of the new members required "long deliberations" because they represented "quality not quantity."

Sounding optimistic, Sabra said: "The coalition has succeeded in undergoing the expansion." He added that choosing a new coalition president has been postponed at least until June 12.

UNDERCUT RUSSIA

Hours before the announcement, a U.S. State Department spokeswoman said Washington was "hopeful that the opposition will vote to elect leadership and to come to a conclusion on how they will expand their membership."

"We ... expect when they make their final decisions we will be able to work with those leadership members and move forward in planning the Geneva conference," she said.

The coalition is controlled by the powerful Muslim Brotherhood and a faction loyal to Mustafa al-Sabbagh, a businessman who has been Qatar's point man for channeling financial and armed support to the opposition.

Thursday's announcement gives Kilo's bloc 11 seats less than the 25 he had demanded, and also adds more allies of Sabbagh's and other factions to the assembly.

If Kilo manages to increase his share of delegates at the expense of Sabbagh's, he could lessen the dominant influence of Qatar and give Saudi Arabia more influence in opposition politics as Riyadh backs the Kilo bid and improves its ties with the Brotherhood.

Lebanese Shi'ite guerrillas from Iranian-backed Hezbollah are openly fighting alongside government forces in Syria. Opposition sources say Saudi Arabia is keen to play a greater role in backing the Sunni-led opposition against Assad, who belongs to the Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam that has controlled Syria since the 1960s.

Kilo, a multilingual, soft-spoken former political prisoner, came out of the meeting room accompanied by a senior official of the Muslim Brotherhood, which lent de facto support to Kilo in the haggling over the expansion of the assembly.

The Brotherhood has good links with Qatar and is also influenced by Turkey, which gave Brotherhood members fleeing Syrian repression refuge in the 1980s.

Kamal al-Labwani, a maverick member of the coalition, said a rapprochement between the liberal and Islamist wings of the opposition could help it undercut Russian attempts to have figures among the representatives of the opposition at Geneva who are willing to allow Assad to stay in power.

"It is very dangerous to allow an opposition delegation to go to Geneva without sticking to the goals of the revolution, or accept an early ceasefire under the excuse that the people are tired, without guarantees that the regime will depart," Labwani said.

"An incomplete peace that awards a de facto pardon to Bashar and his cohorts will be far more costly than a continuation of the war."

(Reporting by Khaled Yacoub Oweis; Additional reporting by Lesley Wroughton in Washington; Editing by Andrew Roche and Eric Beech)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/syrian-opposition-admits-liberals-inconclusive-talks-002720054.html

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'Menace II Society' Legends O-Dog And Caine Reunite On 'RapFix Live'

'It's definitely going to go in the vaults of classics in all of cinema,' actor Larenz Tate says of 'Menace' 20 years after its release.
By Rob Markman, with reporting by Sway Calloway

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1708200/menace-ii-society-larenz-turner-tyrin-turner.jhtml

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Bomb threat at Milan stock market regulator was false alarm

Well, be thankful you weren't flying from Anchorage, Alaska to Portland, Oregon Monday morning. Passengers?on Alaska Airlines Flight No. 132 had to restrain a very large man who tried to open the emergency exit door while the plane was the plane was descending.?

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/bomb-threat-milan-stock-market-regulator-false-alarm-114002000.html

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Sonya Moore Upset That Government Shut Investigation Into Death Of Son Derek Williams In Police Car

MILWAUKEE ? A woman whose boyfriend died in police custody despite gasping for air and pleading for help is considering filing a lawsuit, her lawyer said Tuesday after the U.S. Justice Department said the three officers would not face federal charges.

Robbery suspect Derek Williams died in July 2011 after fleeing about a block and a half from officers. The medical examiner's office initially classified the death as natural, saying he died of sickle cell crisis ? he had the genetic marker for sickle cell but not the disease itself. It was reclassified as a homicide after an investigation by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

A video obtained by the newspaper showed the 22-year-old struggling to breathe and pleading for help from the backseat of a police car for nearly eight minutes, then growing progressively weaker and collapsing. Police eventually performed CPR and called paramedics. Williams was dead within an hour.

The U.S. Department of Justice and FBI investigated but couldn't find enough evidence to support charging the officers involved with depriving a person's rights under the color of law, U.S. Attorney James Santelle told reporters Tuesday.

A special prosecutor previously declined to file state charges for similar reasons. In March, the inquest jury found probable cause to support charging the three officers in state court with failure to render aid. But special prosecutor John Franke said he wasn't confident he could meet the standard of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

To bring federal charges, Santelle would have to prove the officers had specific intent to deprive Williams of his rights.

"Mistake, misperception, negligence or poor judgment are not sufficient" to bring federal charges, Santelle said. However, he declined to say whether there was evidence of mistake, misperception or poor judgment.

Derek Williams's mother wept silently throughout the news conference, wiping her reddened eyes with the back of her hand. Afterward she told reporters she hasn't been able to sleep since her son died.

"Everyone that's seen that tape knows that was some wrongdoing," Sonya Moore said, fighting back tears. "This is not justice. This is not justice. ... I'm so hurt right now."

Her attorney, Robin Shellow, said she was angry when Santelle declined to offer an opinion on whether the police officers did anything wrong. She also said the reason none of the white police officers was being held accountable is because Williams is black and that the justice system in Milwaukee doesn't care about black people.

"They have no opinion because the lives of young black men don't merit an opinion. That's what I heard," Shellow said.

Shellow said it was too early to discuss a lawsuit. But Jonathan Safran, who represents Williams' girlfriend, Sharday Rose, said his client is seriously considering legal action.

"We certainly think that someone needs to be held accountable," Safran said, "and to this date no one has been held accountable."

FBI agents who looked into the case found no medical evidence to back reports that police used excessive force on Williams or knowingly ignored his apparent medical distress, the Justice Department said. It also said the squad-car video does not show the scene from the officers' vantage point and there's no evidence that officers were watching Williams on the video monitor or for the entire time.

Franke, the special prosecutor, had noted in his report that the squad-car video was filmed with an infrared camera that produces a clearer image than what police would have seen on that dark night. He also wrote that officers' views might have been compromised by glare from their laptops reflecting on the plastic window between the front and back seats.

The officers ? Jason Bleichwehl, Jeffrey Cline and Richard Ticcioni ? declined to testify during the inquest, citing their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. Other officers testified that they thought Williams was faking.

The Justice Department is still reviewing whether it should sue the Milwaukee Police Department for a pattern of civil-rights violations.

Milwaukee Police Chief Ed Flynn said in a statement that the department has taken significant steps to prevent similar tragedies and is committed to regaining the community's trust wherever it is weakened.

___

Associated Press writer M.L. Johnson contributed to this report.

___

Dinesh Ramde can be reached at dramde(at)ap.org.

Also on HuffPost:

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/28/sonya-moore-investigation-derek-williams-death_n_3348609.html

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The FBI Ran a Child Porn Site for Two Whole Weeks

Last November, the FBI raided a bulletin board-style site that was known to be a home of child pornography. But rather than shutting it down, they decided to keep it running?and see just how many users they could identify.

Read more...

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/gaIyeGPlsHg/why-the-fbi-ran-a-child-porn-site-for-two-whole-weeks-510247728

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Chicago man charged in slaying of 6-month-old girl

CHICAGO (AP) ? A Chicago man accused of killing a 6-month-old girl in a shooting that also wounded her father was seeking revenge for the theft of a video game console, authorities said Monday.

Koman Willis was charged with first-degree murder Monday in the death of the infant, Jonylah Watkins, who was shot on March 11 while sitting in her father's lap in a minivan. The baby's father, Jonathan Watkins, was seriously wounded in the attack, and police say he was the intended target.

The shooting, which took place in the middle of the day in the Woodlawn neighborhood on the city's South Side, was one of several earlier this year that brought attention to the gang violence in Chicago.

Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy told reporters the suspect is a documented gang member with 38 previous arrests and was acting in response to a burglary at his mother's home.

"He knew Jonylah's father, Jonathan, and shot him in retaliation for a stolen video game system," McCarthy said. "Jonylah was obviously not the intended target of this assault."

Willis is also charged with aggravated battery with a firearm, said Sally Daly, a spokeswoman for the Cook County State's Attorney's Office. A bond hearing is scheduled for Tuesday. If found guilty, Willis could be sentenced to life in prison. Illinois does not have the death penalty.

Chicago police devoted a large amount of resources to the case. Willis had long been a suspect, McCarthy said, but "the question was whether or not we could show it in a court of law."

Lt. Kevin Duffin, who led the investigation, told reporters that detectives found key witnesses last week.

Willis surrendered to police Saturday, McCarthy said. Police and the state's attorney's office could not immediately provide information about the man's attorney.

In March, McCarthy had said Watkins, who also has an extensive criminal history, was cooperating with the investigation but that there was "a lot more" help he could provide.

At the girl's funeral, several people lamented the "code of silence" that keeps some residents from reporting crimes, cooperating with authorities or even fingering members of rival gangs who have targeted them.

Religious leaders speaking at the funeral service implored those in attendance to transform gang-riven neighborhoods.

The shooting came just weeks after the slaying of Hadiyah Pendelton, a 15-year-old drum majorette who was shot a mile from President Barack Obama's home just days after she performed at the president's inauguration in Washington, D.C. Police believe she was gunned down in a case of mistaken identity.

Pendleton's death was one of more than 40 homicides in Chicago in January, a total that made it the deadliest January in the city in more than a decade. Last year, homicides in Chicago topped 500 for the first time since 2008.

However, homicides are down since then. Chicago had 109 homicides this year as of May 12, according to the latest Police Department crime statistics. That's a 39 percent drop compared with the same period last year.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/chicago-man-charged-slaying-6-month-old-girl-223324066.html

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Why Dancing Is Actually a Mating Call for Humans

As George Michael showed us once upon a time, the easiest way to get other humans to mate with you is to cut up a dance floor or hide in a bush in a random public park at nightfall. And dancing, it turns out, is actually an ingrained evolutionary trait! Among early humans, the best dancers were apparently the best hunters and runners and survivors, just like George Michael. [YouTube]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/why-dancing-is-actually-a-mating-call-for-humans-510140880

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TSX ends higher on positive data, central bank comments

The hypothesis is kind of intuitive: Kids like sugary things. And since medical marijuana was legalized in Colorado in 2009, inventive entrepreneurs have been lacing sugary things with pot. Kids can't resist sugary things, especially if they are Grandpa's?forbidden "special treats." They'll steal them, eat them, start feeling all funny inside, and maybe end up at the hospital.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/tsx-may-open-higher-ecb-boj-stand-monetary-123214091.html

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Top 10 Desirable Summer Destinations in India | Travel + Leisure ...

India is a true example to denote unity in diversity, may it be in topographies, climates, cultures, or traditions. There are numerous vacation spots that are popular as summer destinations, other as winter destinations and some are popular all round the year. As now summers are at peak, there are several destinations in India that appeal tourists to pay a visit and ensure splendid experience. To help you with your planning for this summer vacation, here is a list of top 10 desirable summer destinations in India.

1. Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh:

Tawang War Memorial

This least populated part of Arunachal Pradesh is sought-after for spending summers. The areas are dwelt by Monpa People, who were a part of Monyul or Lhomon kingdom, which controlled the region from 500 BC to 600 AD. The monasteries are also the source of attraction for the tourists. Some of the tourist attractions are Tawang War Memorial, Sela Pass, Jaswant Garh, Craft Centre, Bap Teng Kang, Gorichen Peak, Bap Teng Kang Waterfall, Gorsam Chorten, Shonga-tser Lake, Geshila Peak, Banga Jang Lake, Tsachu Hot Spring, Nuranang Falls, etc.

2. Shillong, Meghalaya:

Shillong Meghalaya

The picturesque waterfalls and rolling hills covered with pine tree are some of the natural setting of this place. Shillong has been a major British settlement and the same is reflected in the food habits and architectural heritage. The surrounding exhibits excellent artwork and the calm ambiance add a magnificent element. You can explore attractions like Golf Course, Police Bazar, Mawsynram, Shillong Peak, Don Bosco Museum, Lady Hydari Park, Wards Lake, Umiam Lake, etc. Additionally, the place is blessed with some wonderful waterfalls such as Spread Eagle Falls, Elephant Falls, Sweet Falls, Beadon Falls, and Bishop Falls that are worth visiting.

3. Darjeeling, West Bengal:

Peace Pagoda Darjeeling

Along with the natural setting of this place, the toy train is one of the main attractions for the tourist. Destinations like Tiger Hill, Observatory Hill, Peace Pagoda, etc., could be explored to get close with nature and enjoy the mystical ambiance. Darjeeling is also sought-after destination by nature lovers as they can enjoy the exotic flora & fauna at Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park, Happy Valley Tea Gardens, Lloyd Botanical Garden, Senchal Lake, Kanchenjunga, etc.

4. McLeod Ganj, Himachal Pradesh:

McLeod Ganj

The hill city of McLeod Ganj obtains its name from David McLeod, former Governor of Punjab during the British Era. Nestled at the upper footing of Dharamshala, this place buzzes with tourists during summers. The handicrafts and local jewelry could be bought as souvenirs.? The calm atmosphere of the place is well-suited for the tourists looking for a rejuvenating trip to break the monotony of daily living.

5. Nubra Valley, Ladakh:

Nubra Valley

Nubra Valley is popular as the Orchard of Ladakh or Ldumra (meaning ?valley of flowers?). The spellbound scenery attracts nature lover to explore the natural richness of the place.? Nubra Valley which requires you to obtain inner line permit is reached by crossing Khardung La Pass, the highest motorable pass in the world.

Hunder and Panamik are the main destination in Nubra Valley. Hunder also known as ?desert in the sky? is best visited for its sand dunes. It?s the only place in India where you could do bacterian double humped camel safari. Panamik in the vicinity is best visited for its sulphur springs and monastery.

6. Cherrapunji, Meghalaya:

Cherapunji Waterfall

If you are looking for some adventure, Cherrapunji is the destination to be visited this summer. In India, this is the only place that has no off season and buzzes with tourists all round the year. The natural setting of the place helps in ascertaining relaxing and rejuvenating vacation. Among the main attractions of the place, Mawsmai Falls have never ceased to amaze people. Moreover, you can also enjoy visiting other attractions like Nokrek National Park, Krem Mawmluh Cave, Nohkalikai Waterfalls, Mawkdok Dympep Valley View, etc.

7. Horsley Hills, Andhra Pradesh:

Horsley Hills

The mystic ambiance of the place is perfect for calm vacations, away from the scorching sun. This place is a major attraction for tourists from all across the globe. The dense gulmohur, jacaranda, eucalyptus, and allamanaa trees never cease to amaze people. Apart from this, you can also explore attractions like High View, Environmental Park Lake Gangotri, Horsley Hills Museum, and Gaalibanda.

8. Kadmat Island, Lakshadweep:

Kadmat Island

If you are looking for a vacation spot with beaches and water sports, then Kadmat Island is the destination you should opt for. This island is also popular as Cardamom Islands and is most preferred choice for tourists requiring relaxing vacation. The picturesque natural setting of the place is itself great attraction, but Mosque, Deep Sea Fishing, Marine Wealth, Museums, Sailing, Water Sports, Sand Bank, and Limestones, make Kadmat Island worthy visiting.

9. Rishikesh, Uttarakhand:

Rishikesh Uttarakhand

This small town with close proximity with Delhi (240 km) and Dehradun (43 km) is one of the major tourist destinations in India. With great significance since ages, this place is considered sacred. People going for religious trip of ?Char Dham Yatra? start their journey towards Gangotri from Rishikesh, and later moving forward to Yamunotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath. The natural setting of this place attracts devotees as well as adventure seekers. Various adventurous activities like mountaineering, rafting, trekking, kayaking, and rock climbing can be enjoyed.

10. Coorg, Karnataka:

Coorg Karnataka

The greenery is astounding and the river Kaveri adds the element of magic to the beauty of this place. For nature lovers, this place has abundant of attractions to showcase. You can visit Iruppu Falls, Abbi Falls, Mallalli Falls, and Chelavara Falls to view the mystical environment of Coorg. Apart from this, you can also enjoy the flora and fauna by visiting Nagarhole Park, Dubare Elephant Camp, Pushpagiri Wildlife Sanctuary, etc. Namdroling Monastery, a Tibetan monastery, is also worth visiting.

To jot the top 10 destinations for summer vacation in India is not at all difficult as no matter wherever you go, you have abundant to explore. During summers, the northern regions of India are flocked with tourists due to cool and calm atmosphere. On the other hand, some areas of east, west and south make an ideal destination for the vacationers to enjoy their holidays away from the scorching sun while travel to India. Select your destination and start planning today to avoid last minute disheartenment due to peak season bookings to amazing destinations.

Source: http://blog.travelandleisureasia.com/destination/2013/05/27/top-10-desirable-summer-destinations-in-india/

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Delle Donne leads Sky to 102-80 win over Phoenix

PHOENIX (AP) ? Brittney Griner got the dunks in her debut, becoming the first WNBA player to do it twice in one game.

Elena Delle Donne had the better game and got the rout against the player picked ahead of her in the draft.

Delle Donne outplayed No. 1 overall draft Brittney Griner and had one of the best rookie debuts in WNBA history, scoring 22 points to lead the Chicago Sky to a 102-80 victory over the Phoenix Mercury on Monday.

"Today was absolutely amazing," said Delle Donne, whose debut was sixth-best in league history. "We came here to get a win and that's what we're leaving with."

The fans inside US Airways Center and on national TV tuned in to see Griner dunk and the Mercury's above-the-rim-playing center didn't disappoint, throwing down a one-hander early in the fourth quarter and a vicious two-handed in the closing minutes. That put her in select company, joining Candace Parker (twice) and Lisa Leslie as the only WNBA players to dunk in a regular-season game.

The double dunks turned out to be little more than a highlight-reel sideshow to the Sky's dominating performance.

Led by Delle Donne's 16 points, Chicago took advantage of Griner's early foul trouble and raced out to a 24-point lead halftime lead.

Even when Phoenix tried to make a run and Griner got her dunks, the Sky didn't fold, keeping the lead in double digits on the way to handing the Mercury their most lopsided home-opening loss.

Epiphanny Prince had 26 points and five assists, Courtney Vandersloot added 14 points and Delle Donne, No. 2 overall pick behind Griner, had eight rebounds for Chicago.

"I think it's a really good starting point for our team," Sky coach Pokey Chatman said.

Griner finished with solid numbers in her debut: 17 points, eight rebounds, four blocked shots and two history-making dunks.

The problem was that the 6-foot-8 center picked up her third foul with 2 1-2 minutes left in the first quarter and had with two points in nine first-half minutes.

Without Griner, the Mercury had trouble stopping Chicago inside and gave up too many offensive rebounds, allowing the Sky to build a huge lead that was never really threatened.

Diana Taurasi had 18 points and four assists, and Candice Dupree added 15 points for Phoenix.

"In the second half, she played well, but she can't do anything when she's on the bench," Mercury coach Corey Gaines said of Griner. "It's a learning experience."

Griner came into the WNBA with expectations unlike any other player in league history.

With a wingspan of 7-foot-4 and agility more like a much smaller player, Griner blocked more shots than anyone in NCAA history, man or woman, and changed the below-the-rim perception of women's basketball with 18 dunks.

Griner turned a national spotlight toward the WNBA and the Mercury in particular, adding a big piece to a team already loaded with stars like Taurasi, Penny Taylor and Dupree.

Griner's debut had downtown Phoenix buzzing with people and created an atmosphere inside US Airways Center like it was a playoff game.

Griner got off to a good start, racing past Chicago's Sylvia Fowles for a tip-in on the game's first possession and swatting Prince on a drive to the basket.

Delle Donne was the better player after that.

Griner didn't take another shot in the first half after picking up her third foul with 2 1-2 minutes left in the first quarter and sat the rest of the way.

Delle Donne showed off her versatility, scoring on drives, pull-up jumpers and a couple of 3-pointers, including one at the buzzer, to score 16 points by halftime.

Phoenix also had no answer for Prince, who hit 4 of 7 from 3-point range and had 14 points by halftime.

Chicago, taking advantage of Phoenix's shoddy defense and poor rebounding, hit 23 of 39 shots ? 6 of 10 from the arc ? and turning six offensive rebounds into 11 points for a 56-32 halftime lead.

"It was nice to see everybody come together and play very well," said Prince, who was 6 of 9 from 3-point range. "The passes went very well, we had assists, we had rebounds, we just clicked on everything."

The Mercury started to play better in the third quarter.

Griner scored on a three-point play with a turnaround to start the second half and swatted a shot in the post by Delle Donne. She scored again inside after missing an attempted skyhook ? a shot she learned from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar ? and DeWanna Bonner hit a 3-pointer that cut Chicago's lead to 64-52 with 2 minutes left in the quarter.

The hole was just too big to come all the way back from.

Prince hit a couple more 3-pointers ? one set up by a wicked crossover ? and the Sky led 74-52 headed into the fourth quarter.

The only thing left in doubt was whether Griner could get her dunk.

She brought the crowd to its feet with her first one, taking a pass from Charde Houston for a make-it-look-easy one-hander. Griner induced a roar with her next one, scooping up a loose ball and throwing down a two-hander, hanging on the rim for effect.

Exciting as it was, the second dunk only cut Chicago's lead to 22.

"I wish it was in a win, but whenever I can dunk, the crowd got into it," Griner said.

Turned out, it was about all they had to cheer about.

The two teams won't play again until Sept. 11 in Chicago.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/delle-donne-leads-sky-102-80-win-over-231409049.html

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Samsung ATIV Book 7 review: a high-end Ultrabook arriving just before Haswell

If you've been waiting for Samsung to refresh last year's Series 9 Ultrabook, don't hold your breath; apart from a recent upgrade to 1080p resolution, it's basically stayed the same. That doesn't mean Samsung is taking a break from ultraportables, though: the company recently started shipping the Series 7 Ultra (now called the ATIV Book 7), which debuted at CES. Regardless of the name, the idea was always for it to be part of Samsung's performance line, ranking right below the flagship Series 9 family. To that end, it ships for $1,060 with all the specs you'd expect to find in a mid- to high-end Ultrabook: a Core i5 processor, 4GB of RAM, a 128GB SSD, a 13.3-inch, 1080p display and a stronger set of speakers than on the Series 9. Obviously, the fact that it's launching with Ivy Bridge is one knock against it, but how does it stack up otherwise? Might it be a good deal if it ever gets a CPU refresh?

Gallery: Samsung ATIV Book 7 review

Filed under: Laptops, Samsung

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/_Sb0YwYMClU/

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Human Stem Cell Cloning Paper Contains Reused Images

An anonymous reader writes "A very recent paper in the prestigious biology journal Cell ? 'Human Embryonic Stem Cells Derived by Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer' (openly accessible) ? reports the novel creation of human embryonic stem cells from somatic nuclei. It has received massive media coverage and is surely penciled in as a strong candidate for scientific publication of the year. It does however have several examples of image reuse that have been pointed out by a submission on PubPeer. In the paper, it is recorded that the journal Cell accepted this paper just 4 days after submission. Perhaps, under the circumstances, the pre-publication peer review had to be a little hasty? At least at PubPeer, while conducting post publication review, we can take as long as necessary to make up for that lost time. 'In 2004 scientists led by Woo Suk Hwang of Seoul National University claimed to have produced human embryonic stem cells through the same technique used by the Oregon team. Their paper, published in Science, turned out to contain fabricated data. That came to light when scientists figured out that some of the images in the paper were copied or manipulated.''"

Source: http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~3/rtR8Ikibizo/story01.htm

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Cambodian film on Pol Pot rule wins Cannes prize

CANNES, France (AP) ? An autobiographical French-Cambodian film, "The Missing Picture," which explores the bloody history of Pol Pot's dictatorship in late 1970s Cambodia, has won the "Un Certain Regard" prize at the Cannes Film Festival.

To rousing applause, director Rithy Panh collected the award at a ceremony Saturday night, expressing his gratitude to be able "to have the freedom to do the films I want to do."

Panh's film, based on his nightmarish memoir "The Elimination," documents his own family's experience under the heavy-handed Communist Party's Khmer Rouge, which resulted in the death of his parents and sisters.

The "Un Certain Regard" accolade, presented one day before the Palme d'Or and decided by a jury of cinema insiders, rewards works from up-and-coming filmmakers or those that transmit original messages and aesthetics.

The premise of the "missing picture" in the film is that because of censorship within Cambodia, no photo exists that documents the atrocities committed against Panh's his family and relatives during Pol Pot's four-year reign of terror from 1975 to 1979.

The tale is told using old documentary footage, or whatever footage remained from the time, which was mainly of propaganda by the dictatorship. To represent his deceased relatives, Panh used hundreds of carefully carved clay figures.

Director Thomas Vinterberg, who was this year's jury president, said he was "very honored to be awarding this prize, which we all agree is for a fantastic movie."

He praised all of the 18 works, which, as well as including several directorial debuts, were made up of a handful from well-known filmmakers such as Sofia Coppola, who opened the category with "The Bling Ring."

"This selection was ferociously non-sentimental but poetic nonetheless. It was political, highly original, sometimes disturbing, varied, but above all unforgettable," Vinterberg said.

"Clay figurines, extreme beauty, violence... systematic humiliation of human nature... are images that will follow us for a long time... Moments that remain in our collective memory, a mirror of our existence," he added.

The "Jury Prize," the category's secondary award, was awarded to the Palestinian film "Omar," a war-torn love story, directed by Hany Abu-Assad.

Vinterberg was one of a five-strong jury that included French actress Ludivine Sagnier and Chinese starlet Zhang Ziyi, who came to the stage wearing a sparkling white couture gown.

___

Thomas Adamson can be followed at Twitter.com/ThomasAdamsonAP.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/cambodian-film-pol-pot-rule-wins-cannes-prize-184218721.html

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Syrian opposition resumes tough talks on unity for peace push

By Khaled Yacoub Oweis

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Syria's opposition resumed talks on Saturday aimed at closing their fractious ranks, crucial to launching an international peace conference, and government forces pressed an onslaught on a rebel-held town to try to gain the upper hand in civil war.

Failure of the opposition to unite could weaken the hand of conference co-sponsors Russia and the United States in ending Syria's conflict, which has killed 80,000 people, threatens to spill across borders and whip up wider sectarian conflict.

The U.S. and Russian foreign ministers are to meet in Paris on Monday to discuss how to shepherd Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and the opposition into peace talks in Geneva the two world powers have jointly proposed.

As opposition leaders met in Istanbul, Assad's forces reinforced by Lebanese Hezbollah fighters unleashed heavy artillery and tank fire to try to seize more rebel terrain in the border town of Qusair on Saturday, sources on both sides said.

More than 22 people in opposition-held areas were killed by Saturday afternoon, most of them rebels, and dozens were wounded, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Assad's forces are believed to have seized about two-thirds of Qusair and largely surrounded the rebels. But the price was high and rebels insisted they were preventing further advances.

An official close to Hezbollah told Reuters: "We are in the second phase of our plan of attack but the advance has been quite slow and difficult. The rebels have mined everything, the streets, the houses. Even the refrigerators are mined."

The insurgents see Qusair as a critical battle to preserve cross-border supply lines and deny Assad a victory they fear may give him the edge in the prospective peace talks next month.

Sources at the Syrian National Coalition (SNC), which began its third day of meetings, said major players would now focus on international demands for a broadening of the Islamist-dominated group, leaving leadership issues for later.

Attempts to strike a grand bargain involving veteran liberal campaigner Michel Kilo and businessman Mustafa al-Sabbagh, Qatar's point man in the coalition, went nowhere in talks that stretched overnight, senior coalition sources said.

"We are back to square one," one of them told Reuters.

On the sidelines of an African Union summit in Addis Ababa, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry appealed to U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon "to try to get something moving with respect to Syria", according to a pool reporter. Ban told Kerry he and his special Syria envoy Lakhdar Brahimi "are working very hard to convene, to make this Geneva conference a success."

Concerned by the rising influence of hardline Islamists, the United States has pressed the opposition coalition to resolve its divisions and bring more liberals into the fold.

Saudi Arabia, the most powerful Arab adversary of Assad, has agreed to play a more active role in furthering the coalition cause, diplomats and coalition members said.

CLASHING SAUDI, RUSSIAN PRIORITIES

Saudi Arabia, the sources said, will want to see the Geneva conference, which could convene in the next few weeks, put the exit of Assad at the top of the agenda.

But they said Russia, a longtime ally of Assad, wanted it to focus on a ceasefire although there is scant rapport between opposition politicians abroad and rebels inside Syria.

The inability of the coalition to alter its Islamist-dominated membership as demanded by international backers and replace a leadership undermined by power struggles is playing into the hands of Assad who, according to Russia, intends to send representatives to the peace conference.

"The coalition risks undermining itself to the point that its backers may have to look quickly for an alternative with enough credibility on the ground to go to Geneva," a senior opposition source at the talks said.

Senior opposition figures said the coalition was likely to attend the conference, but doubted the meeting would secure their central demand - an immediate deal for Assad to quit.

While the opposition remained riven by differences, the assault by Assad's forces and their Shi'ite Muslim Hezbollah allies on Qusair, a Sunni town near Lebanon over the past week, is evolving into a pivotal battle.

Qusair controls access to Syria's Mediterranean coast, the heartland of Assad's minority Alawite community, and the battle may prove a weighty test of his ability to withstand the revolt.

Assad is backed by Shi'ite Iran and Hezbollah against the mainly Sunni rebels supported by Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

Hezbollah's intervention is hardening fears that the civil war will cross borders at the volatile heart of the Middle East.

"It is ironic that Lebanon's civil strife is playing itself out in Syria. The opposition remains without coherence and the regime is intent on taking back anything it promises with violence," said one diplomat.

The diplomat was referring to a deepening sectarian divide between Shi'ite and Sunni Muslims in Lebanon, where Syrian troops were present for 29 years, including for most of the Lebanese civil war that ended in 1990.

The death toll in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli reached 25 on Saturday in the seventh straight day of clashes between Alawite and Sunni factions backing opposing sides in Syria's war, security sources said.

(Additional reporting by Erika Solomon in Beirut and Arshad Mohammed in Addis Ababa; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/syrian-opposition-resumes-unity-talks-key-peace-conference-115841731.html

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Editor column: Challenges of breaking news, and changing ...

A colleague remarked last week that what we do isn?t science. He was referring to making decisions as news breaks, details emerge and we learn more of the truth.

Naming juveniles who have been accused of crimes has been a topic of discussion in our newsroom ? and in this column ? in recent days and weeks, what with the death of soccer referee Ricardo Portillo after allegedly being punched by a 17-year-old player.

Top of the Rockies

Newspapers from Utah, Colorado, Wyoming and New Mexico

1st place ? Tribune staff, general website excellence; Tribune staff, front page design; Jenna Busey, single page design; David Montero, Kimball Bennion, news reporting; Kirsten Stewart, Scott Sommerdorf, health general reporting; Nate Carlisle, Cimaron Neugebauer, legal enterprise reporting; Aaron Falk, legal general reporting; Sean P. Means, arts and entertainment criticism; Ben Fulton, arts and entertainment story; Tribune staff, business enterprise reporting; Tony Semerad, business general reporting; Robert Kirby, personal/humor column; Rudy Mesicek, feature page design; Al Hartmann, spot news photography

2nd place ? Tribune staff, breaking news; Kirsten Stewart, health enterprise reporting; Brandon Loomis, environmental enterprise reporting; Brooke Adams and Melinda Rogers, legal enterprise reporting; Matt Canham, Peggy Fletcher Stack, Lee Davidson, politics enterprise reporting; Scott D. Pierce, arts and entertainment criticism; Tribune staff, business enterprise reporting; Kurt Kragthorpe, sports column; Francisco Kjolseth, feature page design

3rd place ? Heather May, Julia Lyon, Melinda Rogers, health enterprise reporting; Aaron Falk, legal enterprise reporting; Matt Canham, politics enterprise reporting; Brooke Adams, news reporting; Derek P. Jensen and Dawn House, business general reporting; Bill Oram, sports general reporting; Peg McEntee, news column; Francisco Kjolseth, news photography

?

Best of the West

Newspapers from throughout the Western U.S.

1st place ? Brandon Loomis, growth and environment reporting; Ben Fulton, arts and entertainment writing; Pat Bagley, editorial cartooning

2nd place ? Michael Nakoryakov and Dave Noyce, page design

3rd place ? Lisa Schencker, Kyle Goon and Melinda Rogers, sports reporting

The Salt Lake Tribune has chosen to not identify the player as his case remains in juvenile court. The policy is based on the premise that someone who is not yet an adult deserves a degree of protection for making mistakes that may be, at least in part, the result of their immaturity and will affect them for the rest of their lives. If the teenager is certified as an adult for trial, we will name him.

Our own policy placed us in a problematic position when news broke Wednesday night that two young boys were found murdered in their West Point home, and their brother was missing.

Taking the lead from police, we published online that night and in print the next morning the name and photograph of the 15-year-old, who initially was thought to possibly be in danger but who had been found by midnight. Editors discussed whether or not to publish the identifying information and decided the potential benefits (finding the boy) outweighed the possible downside (that he was involved in the crime).

Then the story changed. Police identified him as the primary suspect in the homicide Thursday morning. We removed his photograph and name from our online coverage. His name does not appear in Friday?s print story. We explained to readers that we had identified the boy in earlier stories, as he initially was the subject of a missing-person investigation by police.

We realize by doing this we are trying to ? pick your clich? ? unring the bell, put the genie back in the bottle. The boy?s name is out there. Other news media will continue to name him, and his identity likely remains somewhere in cyberspace, attached to a Tribune story, and it is in Thursday?s print edition.

But we?ve done the best we can to follow a policy we believe is sound. Juveniles are a special case and deserving of special consideration. They are still children. As in the case of the soccer player, if the courts decide the 15-year-old will be tried as an adult, we will follow suit and publish his name.

No, this isn?t science.

?

story continues below

Awards ? Spring is contest season for journalists, and Tribune reporters, photographers and editors are getting their share and more of prizes. In the Utah Press Association awards, handed out in March, The Tribune took 13 first-place awards, 29 awards overall and swept all awards in five categories: general news, investigative reporting, feature reporting, sports reporting and sports columns. The newspaper also took the top award for general excellence.

More recently, The Tribune excelled in the regional Top of the Rockies and Best of the West contests, which include newspapers from throughout the West.

In Top of the Rockies, our website, sltrib.com, took the general excellence award. We took first place for our news reporting, health care reporting, arts and entertainment criticism and reporting, spot news photography, humor columns, general and enterprise business reporting. We swept first, second and third in enterprise reporting on legal issues. Our designers took first places for their front pages, feature pages and sports pages.

In Best of the West, we took the top awards in growth and environment reporting, arts and entertainment writing and editorial cartooning.

Awards are nice, particularly when the competition includes newsrooms from throughout the region, many larger than ours. It?s a chance to reflect on a job well done. But we know the real judge is you, readers of The Salt Lake Tribune.

Terry Orme is a Tribune managing editor. Reach him at orme@sltrib.com.

Copyright 2013 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/56361175-78/reporting-news-tribune-enterprise.html.csp

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Nebraska Gov Takes a Pass on Senate Bid (ABC News)

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Will There Be A ?Mass Exodus' Of Religious Groups From The Scouts?

By Adelle M. Banks
Religion News Service

(RNS) Now that Boy Scout delegates have taken their long-awaited vote and permitted openly gay Scouts, will there be a mass exodus by religious groups?

It depends on who you ask.

The Assemblies of God is certain there will be.

?We believe that the BSA policy change will lead to a mass exodus from the Boy Scout program, as Assemblies of God and many other churches can no longer support groups that are part of an organization allowing members who are openly homosexual,? the Pentecostal denomination declared minutes after 61 percent of delegates to a Boy Scouts of America meeting voted Thursday (May 23) to change the policy.

But R. Chip Turner, national chairman of the BSA?s Religious Relationships Task Force, hopes not. He acknowledged there will likely be fewer units, especially among religious groups, which have comprised about 70 percent of BSA sponsoring organizations.

?We?re absolutely not telling them you have to endorse homosexuality,? he said. ?You may not deny that membership based on that one characteristic.?

Other conservative leaders, including Liberty Counsel Chairman Mat Staver and Southern Baptist ethicist Richard Land, are using the ?mass exodus? terminology about the change that goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2014.

?I think there will be an immediate exodus,? said Roger ?Sing? Oldham, spokesman for the Southern Baptist Convention?s Executive Committee. ?I don?t know how large that immediate exodus will be, but then I think there?ll be a continual attrition over time.?

John Stemberger, who led the charge against a policy change as the head of the group OnMyHonor.net, plans to gather supporters in Louisville, Ky., in June to consider starting an alternative ?character development organization for boys.?

Both the Assemblies of God and the Southern Baptists have alternative programs that could attract members who are thinking of leaving the Scouts. The Assemblies put its statement on the website of its Royal Rangers, which includes boys in kindergarten through 12th grade. Oldham said some churches have been contacting the Royal Ambassadors program, which is run by the SBC?s Woman?s Missionary Union and includes boys in grades 1-6.

But other prominent religious groups are standing by the Scouts.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which sponsors more BSA troops than any other organization, ?will continue to sponsor Scout units for its congregations in the United States,? said spokesman Eric Hawkins. He does not expect any to disband.

United Methodist Scouting officials, the BSA?s second-largest sponsor, are continuing to support the BSA after the vote, along with other youth organizations.

The National Catholic Committee on Scouting said it hopes to maintain a relationship with BSA but will be conferring with bishops and diocesan Scouting committees about how the policy change will affect their activities. The committee noted: ?Open and avowed homosexuals promoting and engaging in homosexual conduct are not living lives consistent with Catholic teaching.?

Some individuals, on the other hand, already say they are going rather than grappling.

?As of now, I will no longer associate myself with the Boys Scouts and would work to promote the creation of Columbian Squires with every Knights of Columbus Council,? said Albert Bryson, a local leader of the Catholic fraternal group in Parkesburg, Pa., referring to a Scout-like group it sponsors.

?Our family are evangelical Christians,? said Mari LaCom, who attends a congregation of the Evangelical Free Church near Chatsworth, Calif., and expects her son will no longer pursue the rank of Eagle Scout.

?This is the reason our church will no longer be chartering our troop or have Scout Sundays. What do gay Boy Scouts grow up to be? Gay Boy Scout leaders.?

But religious supporters of the BSA vote say they are celebrating ? and expecting more progressive congregations to sponsor Scout troops ? while holding out hope that the Scouts eventually will approve gay leaders.

?It?s a good message to say youth are youth and can be involved with Scouting, and the difficult part is does someone suddenly become immoral and unable to serve once they turn 18?? asked Ross Murray, director of news and faith initiatives for the pro-gay organization GLAAD.

The BSA did not see that as an immediate agenda item: ?There are no plans for further review on this matter,? it said, noting it did not want to ?be consumed by a single, divisive, and unresolved societal issue.?

The Rev. Mike Schuenemeyer, the United Church of Christ?s executive minister for gay and lesbian concerns, said he expects more UCC congregations to get involved in Scouting. But he hopes houses of worship with less progressive stances also will continue their Scouting support.

?I think that Scouting is big enough for everyone and I think it?s big enough for people who are conservative to remain in the program as well,? he said.

Also on HuffPost:

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/24/will-there-be-a-mass-exodus-of-religious-groups-from-the-scouts_n_3334536.html

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Recommended: High Price

See Inside

Books and recommendations from Scientific American

By Anna Kuchment

Image: Harper

High Price: A Neuroscientist's Journey of Self-Discovery That Challenges Everything You Know about Drugs and Society
Carl Hart
Harper, 2013 ($26.99)

Hart, an associate professor at Columbia University, uses a mix of personal narrative and scientific research to argue for the decriminalization of drugs. When crack cocaine spread through his predominantly poor, black Miami neighborhood in the 1980s, Hart blamed the drug for increases in crime and gun violence. But later research by Hart and others showed that crack was not particularly addictive, nor did it make users more impulsive or violent, leading him to a revelation: although drugs can exacerbate social problems, they are rarely the cause. Hart's account of rising from the projects to the ivory tower is as poignant as his call to change the way society thinks about race, drugs and poverty.

This article was originally published with the title High Price.

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=872c46abdc479087565d504487b015bc

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10 Things to See: A week of top AP photos

Cyclists pedal during the 15th stage of the Giro d'Italia, Tour of Italy cycling race, from Cesana to Col Du Galbier, Italy, Sunday, May 19, 2013. A superb solo ride up the grueling Col du Galibier enbaled Giovanni Visconti to win a weather-affected 15th stage of the Giro d'Italia Sunday, while favorite Vincenzo Nibali retained the overall lead. Atrocious weather conditions once again altered the race course and heavy snow fell at the finish as Visconti won in a time of 4 hours, 40 minutes, 52 seconds, beating Carlos Betancur and Przemyslaw Niemiec by 42 seconds. (AP Photo/Fabio Ferrari)

Cyclists pedal during the 15th stage of the Giro d'Italia, Tour of Italy cycling race, from Cesana to Col Du Galbier, Italy, Sunday, May 19, 2013. A superb solo ride up the grueling Col du Galibier enbaled Giovanni Visconti to win a weather-affected 15th stage of the Giro d'Italia Sunday, while favorite Vincenzo Nibali retained the overall lead. Atrocious weather conditions once again altered the race course and heavy snow fell at the finish as Visconti won in a time of 4 hours, 40 minutes, 52 seconds, beating Carlos Betancur and Przemyslaw Niemiec by 42 seconds. (AP Photo/Fabio Ferrari)

This Tuesday, May 21, 2013 aerial photo shows, from bottom to top, the path Monday's tornado took through Moore, Okla. The huge tornado roared through the Oklahoma City suburb Monday, flattening entire neighborhoods and destroying an elementary school with a direct blow as children and teachers huddled against winds. (AP Photo/Kim Johnson Flodin)

In this image from amateur video obtained by a group which calls itself Ugarit News, a rebel runs from an explosion, Sunday, May 19, 2013, in Qusair, Syria. The video is consistent with independent AP reporting. Hezbollah was pulled more deeply into Syria's civil war as 28 guerrillas from the Lebanese Shiite militant group were killed and dozens more wounded while fighting rebels, Syria activists said Monday. The intense battle drove rebels from large parts of Qusair, part of a withering government offensive aimed at securing a strategic land corridor from Damascus to the Mediterranean coast. (AP Photo)

Hofstra University students gather near the house where another student and an armed intruder were killed during an overnight house break-in next to the campus, Friday, May 17, 2013, in Uniondale, N.Y. (AP Photo/ Louis Lanzano)

Actor Michael Douglas, Luciana Barroso and Matt Damon share a joke at the Behind the Candelabra after party at the 66th international film festival, in Cannes, southern France, Tuesday, May 21, 2013. (Photo by Todd Williamson/Invision/AP)

Here's your look at highlights from the weekly AP photo report, a gallery featuring a mix of front-page photography, the odd image you might have missed and lasting moments our editors think you should see.

This week's collection includes tornado devastation in Oklahoma, fighting in Syria and a scene from the Cannes Film Festival.

___

This gallery contains photos published May 16-23, 2013.

Follow AP photographers on Twitter: http://apne.ws/XZy6ny

___

See other recent AP photo galleries:

AP PHOTOS: Devastation, reunion in the wake of Oklahoma tornado: http://apne.ws/10VN2Bk

AP PHOTOS: Images from the aftermath of the Oklahoma tornado: http://apne.ws/10VMWJW

AP PHOTOS: College commencements across the nation: http://apne.ws/11dfKfX

AP PHOTOS: Beckham retires ? a look back at his career: http://apne.ws/11f2Y6z

___

AP 10 Things To See:

Week 1: http://apne.ws/ZWiCOl

Week 2: http://apne.ws/ZWiJt0

Week 3: http://apne.ws/10USsze

Week 4: http://apne.ws/14Qg5N1

Week 5: http://apne.ws/ZbwW8U

Week 6: http://apne.ws/101TrcA

Week 7: http://apne.ws/XZyYZu

Week 8: http://apne.ws/18ulJSa

Week 9: http://apne.ws/10vr50m

Week 10: http://apne.ws/13z9GDF

Week 11: http://apne.ws/188wrC7

___

Follow AP Images on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Images

Visit AP Images online: http://www.apimages.com/

___

This gallery was curated by news producer Barbara Whitaker in New York: https://twitter.com/barbwhitAP

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-05-23-AP-10-Things-To-See/id-5aeec2a1814e48cc9a89a161be9308c8

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Perfect skin: More touchy-feely robots

May 24, 2013 ? Robots could become a lot more 'sensitive' thanks to new artificial skins and sensor technologies developed by European scientists. Leading to better robotic platforms that could one day be used in industry, hospitals and even at home.

The new capabilities, and a production system for building touch-sensitivity into different robots, will improve the way robots work in unconstrained settings, as well as their ability to communicate and cooperate with each other and with humans.

The EU-funded project 'Skin-based technologies and capabilities for safe, autonomous and interactive robots' (ROBOSKIN) developed new sensor technologies and management systems which give robots an artificial sense of touch -- until now an elusive quality in robotics.

According to the partners behind the research from Italy, Switzerland and the UK, it was important to create cognitive mechanisms that use tactile feedback (the sense of 'touch' or 'feel') and behaviour to make sure human-robot interaction is safe and effective for the envisaged future applications.

The artificial skin is modelled largely on real skin, which has a tiny network of nerves that sense or feel changes like hot/cold or rough/smooth. In this case, the electronic sensors collect this so-called 'tactile data' and process it using application software which has been front-loaded to include some basic robot behaviours which can be added to over time.

'Here, we opted for programming through demonstration and robot-assisted play so the robots learn as they go along by feeling, doing and interacting,' explains project coordinator Professor Giorgio Cannata of Genoa University, Italy.

'We had to generate a degree of awareness in the robots to help them react to tactile events and physical contact with the outside world,' he adds.

Kaspar the friendly robot

But robot cognition is extremely complex, so ROBOSKIN started with modest ambitions in lab tests by classifying types or degrees of touch. They created a geometric mapping using continuous contact between the test robot and the environment to build a 'body representation' -- parameters by which data can be assimilated by the robot into behaviour.

Outside the lab, on the other hand, ROBOSKIN sensor patches were applied to common touch points (feet, cheeks, arms) located on the University of Hertfordshire's KASPAR robot, a humanoid robot designed to help autistic children communicate better.

'With our sensors, the robot could sense or detect contact and the data collected formed an important part of the contact classification we did -- the distinction between, for example, wanted and unwanted touch,' explains Prof. Cannata.

ROBOSKIN scientists explored various technologies, from the more basic capacitive sensors in today's sensing technologies, to higher-performing transducers found in piezoelectric materials, and flexible organic semiconductors.

'We'll see more and more piezoelectric materials -- which can act like sensors because they react to changes brought on by contact with an outside force -- in the near future,' predicts Prof. Cannata. But sensors using organic semiconductors will be the future game-changer, he suggests, as you will be able to print the chips on different organic materials like fake skin or bendable materials, and they will eventually be much cheaper to make, once scaled up.

Promoting the prototypes

The ROBOSKIN funded project ended last summer but the researchers are actively promoting the findings through scientific channels, including papers in 'IEEE Xplore' and 'Science Direct', as well as calls for interest in sharing their prototypes with non-commercial research projects.

Tactile sensors are not new by any means, stresses Prof. Cannata, but ROBOSKIN has succeeded in developing a production system for building tactile sensing into different robots. These unique methods solve the decades-old problem of adding more sensory perception to robots.

'We are still at the pre-commercial demonstrator stage, but the latest version of our tactile sensors clearly have wider potential in industry as factories seek safe, cost-efficient ways of using robots in closer contact with human workers,' explains the coordinator.

Patents have been filed for parts of the team's work, but they stress that prototypes remain available for scientific research work. ROBOSKIN technology has already been integrated into iCub, the Italian Institute of Technology's open robotics platform.

'The key was to ensure that our basic technologies would be compatible across different robotic platforms that may evolve in this fast-moving field,' notes Prof. Cannata. 'And this is what we have achieved.'

The ROBOSKIN project received EUR 3.5 million (of total EUR 4.7 million project budget) in research funding under the EU's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7).

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/JSAIKViUjc8/130524134317.htm

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