Border security amendment offered in Senate

WASHINGTON (AP) ? An agreement to vastly increase fencing, patrols and high-tech monitoring along the U.S.-Mexico border was formally unveiled in the Senate Friday, providing powerful momentum to a far-reaching immigration bill backed by the White House.

With the border security amendment finalized, the immigration legislation immediately picked up an additional likely Republican supporter: Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who signed on as a co-sponsor of the amendment.

"This amendment will put to rest any remaining credible concerns about the border, about border security," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said on the Senate floor as he filed the measure and announced procedural steps to bring it to a vote early next week. "The opposition of a small group is not going to stop this bill from moving forward," Reid said.

The deal doubling Border Patrol agents and adding hundreds of miles of fencing along the Southwest border had already won support from four other undecided Republican senators who are now likely to back the immigration bill when it comes to a final vote next week. The legislation opening the door to citizenship for millions now appears within reach of securing the broad bipartisan majority that its authors say is needed to ensure serious consideration by the GOP-controlled House.

However, the outcome there remains far from certain because many conservatives are opposed to offering citizenship to people who came to this country illegally.

"We really have tried to secure the border in a way that we hope can get bipartisan support and that Americans want," Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., an author of the amendment, told The Associated Press in a phone interview Friday. "We're hopeful to have a good bipartisan majority."

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said on Fox News Channel Friday that "if there's anyone who still will argue that the border is not secure after this, then border security is not their reason for opposing a path to citizenship for the people who are in this country illegally."

"Is it more than I would have recommended? Honestly, yes," McCain said. "But we've got to give people confidence."

Hoeven developed the amendment along with Republican Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee, in consultation with McCain, Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and other members of the so-called Gang of Eight senators who wrote the immigration bill. It prevents immigrants now here illegally from attaining permanent resident status until a series of steps have been taken to secure the border.

These include doubling the Border Patrol with 20,000 new agents, 18 new unmanned surveillance drones, 350 miles of new pedestrian fencing to add to 350 miles already in place and an array of fixed and mobile devices to maintain vigilance, including high-tech tools such as infrared ground sensors and airborne radar.

The new provisions would be put in place over a decade, in line with the 10-year path to a permanent resident green card that the bill sets out for immigrants here illegally. During that time, the immigrants could live and work legally in a provisional status.

Hoeven said the 10-year cost of the border security amendment included $25 billion for the additional Border Patrol agents, $3 billion for fencing and $3.2 billion for other measures.

It's "border security on steroids," said Corker, who along with Hoeven had been uncommitted on the immigration bill. Both are now prepared to support it, assuming their amendment is adopted. Sens. Dean Heller, R-Nev., and Mark Kirk, R-Ill., also announced their support for the deal Thursday.

White House press secretary Jay Carney said the border deal "would constitute a breakthrough" on immigration. "We're pleased that Republicans and Democrats continue to work together toward comprehensive immigration reform," he said.

The deal on border security came together quickly over the past several days after talks had bogged down over Republicans' insistence that green cards be made conditional on catching or turning back 90 percent of would-be border crossers. Schumer, other Democrats and Obama himself rejected this trigger, which they feared could delay the path to citizenship for years. Obama made his objections known in a phone call to Schumer from Air Force One during his trip to Europe for the Group of Eight summit earlier in the week, according to a Senate aide who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations.

The breakthrough came when the Congressional Budget Office released a report Tuesday finding that the bill would cut billions of dollars from the deficit. Schumer's top immigration aide, Leon Fresco, had the idea of devoting some of those billions to a dramatic border buildup.

Graham, who helped run interference between Corker and Hoeven and Democrats in the group, said that with the budget office finding in hand, he sat down with Schumer and Corker and said, "OK, let's go big."

The idea immediately appealed to the left and the right.

For Republicans, it provided concrete assurances that the bill would aim to achieve a secure border. For Democrats, it offered goals that, if dramatic, were achievable and measurable.

Still, not everyone was won over.

Shortly before Corker and Hoeven went to the Senate floor to announce their agreement Thursday afternoon, five leading Republican opponents of the bill held a news conference to denounce the deal as little more than an empty promise.

"In short, I think this amendment is designed to pass the bill but not to fix the bill," Sen. David Vitter, R-La., said.

About 10 Republicans have indicated they will vote for the bill, far more than enough to ensure it will have the 60 votes required to overcome any attempted filibuster by last-ditch opponents. Democrats control 54 seats, and party aides have said they do not expect any defections.

In addition to the border security components and eventual citizenship for the estimated 11 million people living here illegally, the immigration bill would create new work visa programs and expand existing ones to allow tens of thousands of workers into the country to work in high- and low-skilled jobs.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/border-security-amendment-offered-senate-181120237.html

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Gandolfini mourned in NJ's 'Sopranos' towns

ELIZABETH, N.J. (AP) ? A bag of uncooked ziti in the driveway, a "reserved" sign at the ice cream parlor booth where the series abruptly ended, and a framed photo at a strip club were among the tributes paid to James Gandolfini in the northern New Jersey communities where his TV character Tony Soprano lived, loved and whacked people.

The star of the HBO series about a mob boss with anxiety issues and a midlife crisis died Wednesday night in Italy of an apparent heart attack.

In neighborhoods where "The Sopranos" was shot, Gandolfini was recalled Thursday with mixed emotions: a global star who made their communities famous, but sometimes at the expense of their reputations.

Vito Mazza, who was busily preparing for an Italian-American festival in Elizabeth this weekend, said the actor had local credibility.

"He was as Jersey as it gets, through and through," he said.

The "Sopranos" star was born and raised in New Jersey and attended Rutgers University. His character has become an indelible part of the state's global image, as much a part of New Jersey culture as tolled highways, smokestacks and crooked politicians.

Pete Canu, a limousine fleet owner who was sipping coffee in an Elizabeth butcher shop Thursday morning, said Tony Soprano was very realistic.

"He had frailties and failings; he was human, aside from all that gangster crap," Canu said. "A lot of people were offended by it. They say it makes it look like all Italian-Americans are mobsters, but people know we're not. We're just hardworking people who get up every day and do our jobs and provide for our families. It was just a TV show."

But the butcher shop's owner, John Sacco, said "The Sopranos" spread negative stereotypes about Italian-Americans far and wide.

He said when he went to a dentist in Florida and when he revealed he was from New Jersey, someone in the office said, "Oh, the place with all the mobsters!"

"It didn't show us in a real great light," he said.

At Satin Dolls, the real-life Lodi strip club that served as the fictional Bada Bing club in the show, employees put a framed photo of Gandolfini where he frequently sat, calling it "the boss's seat."

"It's like we lost a member of the family," spokesman Bill Pepe said. "Everybody is shocked."

Paul Pereira, of Lodi, stopped to put flowers on a sign in front of the club. He said the show gave a more nuanced picture of people involved in or somehow connected to the mob.

"It showed that these are real people, family people," Pereira said. "You notice that every episode ended with him with his family."

Thursday afternoon, a workman outside the club climbed a ladder and changed the club's marquee from "Bartenders Wanted" to "Thank You, Jimmy; Farewell Boss."

At Green Hill, the West Orange nursing home where scenes involving Tony's ailing mother were shot, executive director Toni Lynn Davis said the residents loved the show. Several even got hired as extras, and the show's payments helped buy a giant flat-screen TV on which they watched the show each week.

"They said it was their weekly vocabulary lesson," Davis said. "They learned all those new swear words."

She said the show has become part of the fabric of New Jersey.

"There are definitely parts of New Jersey that are very close to what was depicted," she said. "You can't go anywhere in New Jersey and not hear that the Sopranos was shot there. They went all over."

The house where Tony Soprano lived is in North Caldwell, and fans were stopping by to show their respects to Gandolfini. Michael Primamore, who lives nearby and whose family runs an auto repair business, left a bag of dried ziti next to the candles that sprouted in the driveway.

He said the show accurately reflected the experiences of his and other Italian-American families who settled in Newark before moving to the suburbs.

"The show was full of so many northern New Jersey Italian expressions, if you weren't raised in that world, you wouldn't get some parts of it," he said. "The show reached me on a personal level in so many ways."

Several North Caldwell residents recalled seeing and meeting cast members.

"They were great people, very personable," said Chris Masi, who said he met Gandolfini. "They would come up and give you a hug. They put us on the map. It meant a lot."

Fans also gathered at Holsten's, the Bloomfield ice cream parlor where the show's famous cut-to-black last scene was shot.

"I'm sad he died," said Fred O'Neil of Montclair, who, like Gandolfini, is 51. "I can't believe it. It makes me think of my own mortality."

Primamore said his reaction to Gandolfini's death was a lot like what Tony Soprano's would have been: "It's a tragedy. What are you gonna do?"

___

Associated Press writers David Porter in North Caldwell, N.J., Julio Cortez in Bloomfield, N.J., and Katie Zezima in West Orange, N.J. contributed to this report.

___

Wayne Parry can be reached at http://twitter.com/WayneParryAC

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/gandolfini-mourned-njs-sopranos-towns-133116230.html

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Lake row: Youths pen Tanzania, Malawi Presidents to 'desist from ...

By Nyasa Times Reporter

June 20, 2013 ????? 15 Comments

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Youth and Society, an advocate for peace, justice and peoples? rights?has called?upon the leadership and politicians of Malawi and Tanzania?to refrain from making inflammatory and irresponsible statements that would frustrate the peaceful process of resolving the dispute.

?We wish?to express our growing dismay over the on-going lake dispute between Malawi and Tanzania specifically in view of the recent developments that threaten the peaceful mediation process in which Tanzania intends to deploy two passenger ships on the disputed Lake?Malawi.

?As Youth advocates, we shall protest against any illicit intention by any government or politician to frustrate the peaceful mediation process,? the grouping said in a petition signed by Chairperson Charles Kajoloweka and Board member Emily Mkamanga.

Malawi claims sovereignty over the entire Lake Malawi, Africa?s third largest, based on the Helgoland Treaty, a colonial relic, while Tanzania claims under international law it is entitled to over 50 percent of the Lake known as Lake Nyasa in Tanzania.

Kajoloweka: Resolve the lake row amicably

The border row is more than 40 years old and resurfaced after Malawi discovered oil in the Lake.

The Mzuzu based group made their impassioned plea in a two-paged petition dated June 20, 2013 addressed to Malawian president Dr. Joyce Banda and her Tanzanian counterpart Jakaya Kikwete and copied to?the Chairman?SADC?forum for retired Heads of State?former Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano.

The Youths and Society group observed that the lake Border row?is gradually becoming a political campaign issue in Malawi and Tanzania in view of the Elections to be held in 2014 and 2015 respectively.

?The?leadership of the two countries needs to rise above mere party politics and swallow their pride and put the interest of the people first.?As young people?will not hesitate to voice out against any attempt by any leadership or institution to deliberately thwart the dialogue path?bearing in mind a long peaceful co-existence that continue to exist?between the two countries,? reads part of the petition.

The grouping also asked the two Presidents?to desist from any act of provocation and unnecessary political hypocrisy to ruin the ongoing peaceful process.

?We urge?the two leaders??to vest trust and confidence in the integrity of the on-going mediation process and believe that the matter would be handled with professionalism and objectivity.

?It must be clearly stated that any attempt to dismiss or frustrate the dialogue and mediation processes sends unnecessary message of a growing conflict and indeed speculation of war among the citizens of the two countries,? they said.

In its submission to the Southern African Development Community?s Forum of Former African Heads of State Malawi said the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) or legal instruments addressing trans-boundary watercourses are invalid arguing that the Anglo ?German treaty of 1890 on which most borders in Africa are based has the overall authority.

Malawi also questioned the legitimacy of the 1890 treaty could have grave consequences for regional stability saying even countries such as Kenya and Tanzania, DRC and Tanzania, Tanzania and Zambia, Ivory Coast and Togo and boundaries in the Lake Chad are based on the same treaty.

Malawi made its official submission in January 2013 in the Mozambican Capital Maputo to the African Forum for Former Heads of State and Governments, which Former Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano heads and is tasked with the mediation process on the Malawi/Tanzania Lake Border row.

While Tanzania submitted its official submission in February 2013 and reiterated that, it will not go to war with its neighbor Malawi over the much publicized and controversial lake border row saying it is pleased with the mediation process.

Source: http://www.nyasatimes.com/2013/06/20/lake-row-youths-pen-tanzania-malawi-presidents-to-desist-from-political-hypocrisy/

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Finding The Perfect Post-Divorce Relationship | Catholic Match Blog

In one of my favorite movies, When Harry Met Sally, Sally says to her friend who?s trying to set her up with a guy who?s not in good health, ?Are you saying I should marry this guy because he?s about to die?? Her friend replies, ?At least you could say you were married.?

Oh, that dangling carrot, marriage. We chase after it for good reason. Marriage is a wonderful, beautiful thing. Something God created for us to find happiness within.

For people who have been through a divorce, the value that dangling carrot has is ten times it?s normal worth. Having the opportunity to get remarried after going through a divorce and the annulment process makes a significant statement. Not only does remarriage eliminate the loneliness felt in the post-divorce years and bring back the joy of being in love and having a companion in life, but it makes an important statement to others. It means, Hey everybody, I?m still loveable. Hey everybody, I?m not a total failure. See, I am attractive?after all.

So, in looking for a new relationship that will be good, holy, and permanent, it?s important to have those very conditions at the forefront of your search, instead of coupling up with just anyone who will fill that relationship need.

During the month of May this year, Pope Francis gave a wonderful morning homily that we can easily apply to the unhealthy practice of getting into a relationship, just for the sake of being with someone. He touched upon the need to detach from anything that got in the way of our relationship with Christ, which could be a romantic relationship.?So many people jump into a relationship without taking the time to make sure it is one that moves the two of you toward God.?

We all are familiar with the parable of the rich young man in the New Testament who walked away from Jesus because he could not let go of his possessions. He followed the commandments with zeal but in the end, he was too attached to his stuff; his acoutrements, toys, baubles, bling? Whatever you want to call it, he just couldn?t let go of it.

This same mentality can be present in a relationship you get into if your goal is solely proving to yourself and others that you are still loveable and attractive. The relationship becomes the thing you must have and once you have it, you can?t let go of it, otherwise, you have yet another failed relationship.

This is how bigger mistakes are made on down the road; by clinging to the new relationship as a prized possession, not taking into consideration that it is distancing you from God. And that will never make you happy.

Here are some indicators that your relationship is something you?re clinging to for the wrong reasons:

- If you tell everyone the two of you are in love but know you aren?t.
- If your significant other asks you to do things that go against your morals (sleeping together, moving in together, etc.)
- If you?re not on the same page regarding contraception, having children, practicing your faith, etc.
- If you?re already engaged to be married, but do not have a decree of nullity (annulment). This, in particular, places undue pressure on you as a couple, your families, and the tribunal because they are expected to perform to your standards and cough up a decree of nullity within your specific time frame, or you will go get married somewhere else. I can?t think of a worse start to a marriage.

In his homily, the pope indicated how having a fascination with the temporary things in life rather than accepting God?s time which is ?definitive? will lead us away from Him and on a path of discontent. This directly relates to believing that a relationship (temporary) is your primary goal instead of believing God?s plans will bring you happiness and lead you to heaven (permanent).

Having gone through the divorce, annulment, dating, and remarriage experience, myself, I encourage you to ask God what He wants for you as you search for the right relationship and don?t settle for less than what you know is right for you. In the end, if you do your part, your relationship will be happy and fruitful because your priorities and morals match up and your hearts are at peace.

As always, I welcome your comments, questions, and disagreements at asklisa@catholicmatch.com.

Source: http://www.catholicmatch.com/blog/2013/06/finding-the-perfect-post-divorce-relationship/

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Proposal would allow more women to come to U.S. under immigration bill (Washington Post)

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Dotcom decries 'largest data massacre' after company deletes files

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - The founder of the outlawed Megaupload file-sharing site denounced on Thursday "the largest data massacre in the history of the internet", after a European firm wiped out private photos, videos and documents stored on servers used by the site.

Dutch firm LeaseWeb said it had in February erased 630 servers rented by Megaupload, about a year after U.S. authorities closed the site and charged its operators with facilitating online piracy, racketeering and money laundering.

"Our lawyers have repeatedly asked LeaseWeb not to delete Megaupload servers while court proceedings are pending in the U.S.," Kim Dotcom said on Twitter.

"We were never warned about the deletion," Dotcom said, adding that the loss of the files had reduced him to tears.

Dotcom, who also goes by the name Kim Schmitz, has New Zealand residency. He and his colleagues are fighting extradition to the United States.

He argues that Megaupload was merely a storage facility for online files, and should not be held accountable for the content of those files.

LeaseWeb said it had been maintaining the servers at its own expense since Megaupload was shuttered in January 2012. After the servers sat inactive for a year, and with no requests to access them, it said it had informed Megaupload that it would delete them.

"After a year of nobody showing any interest in the servers and data we considered our options ... we commenced the re-provisioning of the servers in February 2013," LeaseWeb said in a blog post.

The deleted servers represent a fraction of servers Megaupload had leased around the world to provide storage space for users who uploaded everything from family photos to pirated Hollywood films onto the file sharing site.

In North America alone, Megaupload leases 1,100 servers from Carpathia Hosting, while Cogent Communications Group Inc also provides servers.

Dotcom said he still had the support of the two companies in maintaining files on their respective servers.

U.S. internet rights groups have been fighting to preserve Megaupload files to enable users to try to regain access to content which do not contain illegally downloaded material.

Dotcom's extradition hearing has been pushed back as far as April 2014 as the case has faced multiple delays after a police raid on the flamboyant entrepreneur's mansion was deemed illegal by a New Zealand court. Dotcom is free on bail.

(Editing by Robert Birsel)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/dotcom-decries-largest-data-massacre-company-deletes-files-052022224.html

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Refurb Samsung Galaxy Tab 7" 3G VZW Android Tablet for $140 + free shipping

Groupon offers the manufacturer-refurbished Samsung Galaxy Tab 2GB 7" WiFi + 3G Android Tablet for Verizon Wireless, model no. SCH-I800BKAVZW, for $139.99 with free shipping. That's $8 under the lowest total price we could find for a refurb, although we saw a refurb for $10 less in January (but that deal lacked a warranty). This tablet features a 7" 1024x600 touchscreen LCD, 2GB internal memory, 1GHz dual-core CPU, front- and rear-facing cameras, Bluetooth 3.0, microSD card slot, USB 2.0 connectivity (data sync cable is included), 3G capability via Verizon, 802.11n wireless, and Android 2.2 OS (Froyo).

A 90-day Verizon warranty applies.

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NSA director says plot against Wall Street foiled

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The U.S. foiled a plot to bomb the New York Stock Exchange because of the sweeping surveillance programs at the heart of a debate over national security and personal privacy, officials said Tuesday at a rare open hearing on intelligence led by lawmakers sympathetic to the spying.

The House Intelligence Committee hearing provided a venue for officials to defend the once-secret programs and did little probing of claims that the collection of people's phone records and Internet usage has disrupted dozens of terrorist plots. Few details were volunteered.

Army Gen. Keith Alexander, director of the National Security Agency, said the two recently disclosed programs ? one that gathers U.S. phone records and another that is designed to track the use of U.S.-based Internet servers by foreigners with possible links to terrorism ? are critical. But details about them were not closely held within the secretive agency. Alexander said after the hearing that most of the documents accessed by Edward Snowden, a 29-year-old former systems analyst on contract to the NSA, were on a web forum available to many NSA employees. Others were on a site that required a special credential to access. Alexander said investigators are studying how Snowden did that.

He told lawmakers Snowden's leaks have caused "irreversible and significant damage to this nation" and undermined the U.S. relationship with allies.

When Deputy FBI Director Sean Joyce was asked what is next for Snowden, he said, simply, "justice." Snowden fled to Hong Kong and is hiding.

In the days after the leaks, House Intelligence committee Chairman Mike Rogers cited one attack that he said was thwarted by the programs. In the comments of other intelligence officials, that number grew to two, then 10, then dozens. On Tuesday, Alexander said more than 50 attacks were averted because of the surveillance. These included plots against the New York subway system and a Danish newspaper office that had published cartoon depictions of Muhammad.

In a new example, Joyce said the NSA was able to identify an extremist in Yemen who was in touch with Khalid Ouazzani in Kansas City, Mo., enabling authorities to identify co-conspirators and thwart a plot to bomb the New York Stock Exchange.

Ouazzani pleaded guilty in May 2010 in federal court in Missouri to charges of conspiracy to provide material support to a terrorist organization, bank fraud and money laundering. Ouazzani was not charged with the alleged plot against the stock exchange. Joyce said the arrest was made possible by the Internet surveillance program disclosed by Snowden.

Joyce also said a terrorist financier in San Diego was identified and arrested in October 2007 because of a phone record provided by the NSA.

The individual was making phone calls to a known designated terrorist group overseas, Joyce said. He confirmed under questioning that the calls were to Somalia.

Alexander said the Internet program had helped stop 90 percent of the 50-plus plots he cited. He said just over 10 of the plots thwarted had a connection inside the U.S. and most were helped by the review of phone records. Still, little was offered to substantiate claims that the programs have been successful in stopping acts of terrorism that would not have been caught with narrower surveillance. In the New York subway bombing case, President Barack Obama conceded the would-be bomber might have been caught with less sweeping surveillance.

Officials have long had the authority to monitor email accounts linked to terrorists but, before the law changed, needed to get a warrant by showing that the target was a suspected member of a terrorist group. In the disclosed Internet program named PRISM, the government collects vast amounts of online data and email, sometimes sweeping up information on ordinary American citizens. Officials now can collect phone and Internet information broadly but need a warrant to examine specific cases where they believe terrorism is involved.

Committee chairman Mike Rogers, R-Mich., and Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger of Maryland, the panel's top Democrat, said the programs were vital to the intelligence community and assailed Snowden's actions as criminal.

"It is at times like these where our enemies within become almost as damaging as our enemies on the outside," Rogers said.

Ruppersberger said the "brazen disclosures" put the United States and its allies at risk.

Committee members were incredulous about the scope of the information that Snowden was able to access and then disclose.

Alexander said Snowden had worked for 12 months in an information technology position at the NSA office in Hawaii under another contract preceding his three-month contract with Booz Allen.

"Egregious, egregious leaks," Joyce said.

But after the hearing, Alexander said almost all of the documents Snowden leaked were on an internal online library.

"They are on web forums that are publicly available in the NSA," he said.

The general counsel for the intelligence community said the NSA cannot target phone conversations between callers inside the U.S. ? even if one of those callers was targeted for surveillance when outside the country.

The director of national intelligence's legal chief, Robert S. Litt, said that if the NSA finds it has accidentally gathered a phone call by a target who had traveled into the U.S. without the agency's knowledge, it has to "purge" that from system. The same goes for an accidental collection of any conversation because of an error.

Litt said those incidents are then reported to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, which "pushes back" and asks how it happened, and what the NSA is doing to fix the problem so it doesn't happen again.

Deputy NSA Director Chris Inglis said a limited number of officials at the agency could authorize dissemination of information to the FBI related to a U.S. citizen, and only after determining it was necessary to understand a counterterrorism issue. Information related to an American who is found not to be relevant to a counterterrorism investigation must be destroyed, he added.

Alexander said 10 people were involved in that process, including himself and Inglis.

The hearing came the morning after President Barack Obama vigorously defended the surveillance programs in a lengthy interview, calling them transparent ? even though they are authorized in secret.

Obama said he has named representatives to a privacy and civil liberties oversight board first established in 2004 to help in the debate over just how far government data gathering should be allowed to go. The discussion is complicated by the secrecy surrounding the surveillance court, with hearings held at undisclosed locations and with only government lawyers present. The orders that result are all highly classified.

Snowden on Monday accused members of Congress and administration officials of exaggerating their claims about the success of the data gathering programs, including pointing to the arrest of the would-be New York subway bomber, Najibullah Zazi, in 2009.

In an online interview with The Guardian in which he posted answers to questions, he said Zazi could have been caught with narrower, targeted surveillance programs ? a point Obama conceded in his interview without mentioning Snowden.

"We might have caught him some other way," Obama said. "We might have disrupted it because a New York cop saw he was suspicious. Maybe he turned out to be incompetent and the bomb didn't go off. But, at the margins, we are increasing our chances of preventing a catastrophe like that through these programs."

___

Follow Kimberly Dozier on Twitter at http://twitter.com/kimberlydozier and Donna Cassata at https://twitter.com/DonnaCassataAP?

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nsa-director-says-plot-against-wall-street-foiled-152228178.html

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Investors look for answers on economy from Fed

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Worry and speculation have consumed investors since Chairman Ben Bernanke spoke to Congress last month about the Federal Reserve's drive to keep long-term interest rates at record lows.

On Wednesday, many hope the Fed will settle the confusion.

Will the Fed scale back its $85 billion-a-month in bond purchases within "the next few meetings," as Bernanke suggested during his remarks to Congress? Or does the job market remain too weak for the Fed to slow its stimulus, as Bernanke said at another point?

The Fed's bond purchases have been intended to hold down long-term loan rates to induce Americans to borrow and spend and invest in the stock market. Ultra-low rates are credited with helping fuel a housing comeback, support economic growth, drive stocks to record highs and restore the wealth America lost to the recession.

Conflicting statements from other Fed officials have further clouded the outlook for the bond-buying program. That's why the pressure for the Fed to clarify its message has intensified in recent weeks.

Here's what to look for from each of four key events Wednesday: a statement the Fed will issue when its two-day meeting ends; the Fed's updated economic outlook; Bernanke's news conference; and the reaction of investors:

? FED STATEMENT

A big question is whether the Fed will revise the stance it's taken in the statements issued after its most recent policy meetings: That it will continue to buy $85 billion a month in Treasury and mortgage bonds ? and that its bond purchases will continue until the outlook for the job market "has improved substantially."

The Fed has not defined "substantially." And Bernanke has stressed that the Fed could increase or reduce its bond purchases at any time depending on the economic outlook. He's also said that even after the Fed has begun to curtail the purchases, it could reverse course and step up its bond buying if it felt the economy needed more support.

Almost no one expects the Fed to announce that it will start reducing its bond purchases immediately. But it might specify what it means by a substantial improvement in the job market. Investors could then monitor the monthly employment report to see whether the job market is meeting the Fed's benchmark for substantial improvement.

The statement is expected to repeat the Fed's commitment to keep its key short-term interest rate at a record low near zero. The benchmark short-term rate has remained at that level since late 2008, after the financial crisis erupted.

In December, the Fed said for the first time that it would leave the short-term rate unchanged at least until the unemployment rate reaches 6.5 percent. The rate is now 7.6 percent. Many private economists don't expect unemployment to reach 6.5 percent until mid-2015.

? ECONOMIC OUTLOOK

This is one of four meetings each year when the central bank updates its economic outlook, based on the individual forecasts of 19 Fed officials. If the Fed downgrades its outlook for growth and employment, it would suggest that officials think a still-weak economy continues to need substantial Fed stimulus. Investors would likely conclude that the Fed won't scale back its bond purchases soon.

If, on the other hand, the Fed upgrades its outlook, it would be seen as a signal that it thinks the economy can now manage with less stimulus. The likely conclusion: That the Fed is moving closer to reducing its bond purchases.

That conclusion would upset some investors because it could lead to higher interest rates and lower stock prices. Yet it would amount to a vote of confidence in the U.S. economy.

In its last forecast in March, the Fed predicted that the economy would grow as little as 2.3 percent this year ? not enough to quickly reduce unemployment ? or as high as 2.8 percent. For 2014, it envisioned growth ranging from 2.9 percent to 3.4 percent.

It forecast that the unemployment rate would fall between 7.3 percent and 7.5 percent by the end of this year. By the end of 2014, the Fed envisioned the rate between 6.7 percent and 7 percent.

? BERNANKE NEWS CONFERENCE

The day's major event is Bernanke's session with reporters. And the question is how far he'll go to define a substantial improvement in the job market and to clarify the Fed's timetable for slowing its bond purchases.

However he does it, the chairman will surely address the uncertainty created by the mixed messages he sent in his congressional testimony last month.

Bernanke almost certainly won't say precisely when the Fed will start to slow its bond purchases. Economists generally think the scaling back could begin in September or, if not then, by December. Bernanke might hint as much, without explicitly saying so, in his news conference.

He may also try to ease investors' fears by spelling out the kind of improvement in the job market the Fed will want to see before it starts trimming its bond purchases. And he'll also likely stress the Fed's continued flexibility even after it starts to pull back: It could decide to taper or expand the bond purchases ? or any other Fed program ? at any time depending on the economy's health.

During his news conference, Bernanke will likely be asked to address the widespread assumption that he will leave the Fed when his second four-year term ends in January. President Barack Obama, in an interview with PBS that aired Monday, hinted that Bernanke will be stepping down. Janet Yellen, the Fed's vice chair, is considered the front-runner to succeed him.

? INVESTORS' REACTION

Global financial markets are hoping for a signal that no pullback in the Fed's economic support is imminent. If Bernanke manages to reassure them, the market reaction may be muted.

If, on the other hand, the Fed's message is that it will start scaling back its stimulus as soon as September, investors might send stock and bond prices down and interest rates up.

Even if the Fed makes clear it will delay any pullback in support for at least a few months, the stock market might still drop. Stocks have rallied the past two days on hopes that the Fed will signal that it won't reduce its stimulus until it's sure the economy can handle it.

And investors have a long history of buying on the rumor and selling on the news.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/investors-look-answers-economy-fed-061755846.html

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Parenting and home environment influence children's exercise and eating habits

June 18, 2013 ? Kids whose moms encourage them to exercise and eat well, and model those healthy behaviors themselves, are more likely to be active and healthy eaters, according to researchers at Duke Medicine.

Their findings, published online in the International Journal of Obesity on June 18, 2013, remind parents that they are role models for their children, and underscore the importance of parental policies promoting physical activity and healthy eating.

Exercise and healthy diets are critical in fighting childhood obesity, a considerable problem in the United States, where over a quarter of kids ages two to five are already overweight or obese.

"Obesity is a complex phenomenon, which is influenced by individual biological factors and behaviors," said study author Truls ?stbye, M.D., PhD, professor of community and family medicine at Duke. "But there are variations in obesity from one society to another and from one environment to another, so there is clearly something in the environment that strongly influences the obesity epidemic."

The home environment and parenting can influence a child's health by shaping dietary and physical behaviors, such as providing access to fruits and vegetables or encouraging kids to play outside.

"The 'obesiogenic' environment is broad and multi-faceted, including the physical neighborhood environment, media and advertising, and food tax policies, but we feel that the home environment is critical, particularly among children. However, we didn't have a lot of evidence as to how important this was," ?stbye said.

In this study, ?stbye and his colleagues examined the relationship between the home environment and behaviors related to obesity -- dietary and exercise habits -- among preschoolers.

The researchers studied data from 190 kids, ages two to five, whose mothers were overweight or obese. They collected information on the children's food intake over the past week, with foods rated as junk food or healthy food. To gauge their levels of physical activity, the children wore accelerometers for a week, which measured moderate to vigorous physical activity as well as sedentary time.

The mothers reported information about their children's environments, including family policies around food and physical activity, accessibility of healthy versus junk foods, availability of physical activity equipment, and whether they model healthy eating or exercise for their kids.

When they analyzed the data, the researchers found significant associations between these environmental measures and the preschoolers' physical activity and healthy versus junk food intake. They concluded that to promote healthy behaviors in children, a healthy home environment and parental role modeling are important.

For example, limiting access to junk foods at home and parental policies supporting family meals increased the amount of healthy foods kids ate. Overall, the home environment had more influence on the children's dietary habits than on their physical activity levels.

This study reminds parents that their children are watching and learning from observing their behaviors, both good and bad.

"It's hard for parents to change their behaviors, but not only is this important for you and your own health; it is also important for your children because you are a role model for them," said Marissa Stroo, a co-investigator on the study. "This might be common sense, but now we have some evidence to support this."

The researchers also looked at socioeconomic factors of the mothers, including their education levels and whether they worked, to see if this had an effect on the children's behaviors. The mother's socioeconomic factors did not affect their kids' physical activity, but had mixed results when it came to their dietary habits.

Further research is needed to better understand how a mother's socioeconomic factors influence her child's health, but it is possible that different strategies may be needed to prevent obesity in children depending on a mother's education and work status. More research is also necessary to see if the influence of the home environment changes as children get older, and if parenting strategies should adapt accordingly.

In addition to ?stbye and Stroo, study authors at Duke include Bernard Fuemmeler in the Department of Community and Family Medicine, Rebecca Brouwer at Duke Global Health Institute, and Nancy Zucker in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. Rahul Malhotra of the Duke-National University of Singapore Graduate Medical School and Cheryl Lovelady of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro also contributed to this research.

The study was supported by funding from the National Institutes of Health (R01-DK-07549, 1-K23-MH-070-418-01 and 1-K07-CA-124-905-01).

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_health/~3/lp2z-IcpGMg/130618113652.htm

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Afghan president's forces taking security lead

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) ? Afghan President Hamid Karzai says his country's armed forces are taking over the lead for security around the country from the U.S.-led NATO coalition.

The handover of responsibility on Tuesday marks a significant milestone in the nearly 12-year war and marks a turning point for American and NATO military forces, which will now move entirely into a supporting role. It also opens the way for their full withdrawal in 18 months.

The handover was marred by a botched bomb attack against an Afghan politician in another part of Kabul. The bombing killed three civilians.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

A large bomb exploded in the Afghan capital on Tuesday, killing at least three people on the day the international military coalition hands over responsibility for fighting the Taliban insurgency to the nascent national army and police they have been training.

Kabul deputy police chief Mohammad Daoud Amin said the blast was in the Pul-e-Surkh area of the western part of the city, which is miles (kilometers) away from the site of the handover ceremony attended by NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen and Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

A police officer named Asadullah said the target was the convoy of Mohammed Mohaqiq, a prominent ethnic Hazara lawmaker who is a former Cabinet member. Asadullah, who like many Afghans uses just one name, said he saw two dead bodies lying in the street and a police vehicle was destroyed in the blast.

Mohaqiq survived the blast, according to Nahim Lalai Hamidzai, another member of the Afghan parliament.

Gen. Mohammad Zahir, chief of the Kabul Criminal Investigation Division, said three people were killed by the bombing and another 30 were wounded ? including six bodyguards.

"The roadside bomb targeted the Mohaqiq convoy, but he safely passed. One of his vehicles was damaged," Zahir said.

The leader of the People's Islamic Unity Party of Afghanistan, Mohaqiq is a member of the National Front, which represents members of the former Northern Alliance that fought the Taliban before the U.S. invasion in 2001. The predominantly ethnic Pashtun Taliban persecuted the Hazara minority during their five-year rule that imposed a radical interpretation of Islamic law.

The Taliban insurgency has been pressing an intense campaign of violence in the run-up to Tuesday's security handover. The transition is a major milestone of the 12-year-old war, with the coalition insisting Afghan security forces it has been training for years are now strong enough to take the lead in the fight against the Taliban.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/afghan-presidents-forces-taking-security-lead-061008729.html

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4 things you should know about Iran's new president

Hassan Rowhani won by a landslide. Now the question is whether he can make substantive changes in Iran

Over the weekend, Hassan Rowhani, 64, won a decisive victory in Iran's presidential election. While Ayatollah Ali Khamenei still holds ultimate authority, the world is watching to see in which direction Rowhani will take the country after assuming control from Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in August. Already the speculation is under way about how the moderate cleric and one-time nuclear negotiator will lead Iran.

Here, a look at the most telling details about the soon-to-be president:

1. He has a reputation as a moderate
Rowhani, also transliterated as "Rouhani," might not be the activist reformers were hoping for, but he was the most moderate candidate of the six picked by the ayatollah-controlled Guardian Council. At campaign rallies, he has said that he wants to pursue "constructive interaction with the world" and a "policy of reconciliation and peace" ? a far cry from the "resistance" to the West preached by conservative candidates like Saeed Jalili.

SEE ALSO: Mad Men recap: 'The Quality of Mercy'

Still, Rowhani is no reformer. He has been part of Iran's political establishment since the Islamic Revolution.

"In an Iranian context, being a moderate means you don't pick fights with the ruling class and, at the same time, you pander to popular grievances people have about the ruling class," Hussein Banai, co-author of Becoming Enemies: U.S.-Iran Relations and the Iran-Iraq War, told NBC News.

SEE ALSO: WATCH: Miss Utah spectacularly flubs her Miss USA question

Still, White House chief of staff Denis McDonough called his election "a potentially hopeful sign," especially after dealing with the increasingly combative Ahmadinejad for the past eight years.

2. Rowhani is a Shiite cleric
Ahmadinejad was the first non-cleric to become president of Iran ? which, ultimately, led to some friction with the Supreme Leader. With Rowhani, Ayatollah Khamenei finally has a religious leader back in power.

SEE ALSO: WATCH: Australia's army chief demonstrates how you address sex abuse

Rowhani, however, isn't a hard-liner, at least compared to some in Iran's religious establishment. His thesis while getting his doctorate at Glasgow Caledonian University in Scotland: "The flexibility of Sharia; Islamic law."

3. He is known as a talented diplomat
Over the years, Rowhani has earned the nickname "the diplomat sheik," a nod to his skills as a negotiator. Not only will he have to smooth over relations between Iranian reformists and the ayatollah, he will also have to convince the U.N. to lift the economic sanctions ? put in place in response to Iran's nuclear activity ? that are killing Iran's economy. In 2012, Iran's oil revenues were cut in half, and inflation is currently at its highest level in 18 years.

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4. He backs Iran's nuclear program
Despite his reputation as a moderate, Iran's future president has indicated that he has no plans to halt Iran's nuclear program. Rowhani, who previously served as the chief nuclear negotiator under reformist president Mohammad Khatami, has insisted that the country is enriching uranium for energy purposes only ? something the international community has long been skeptical of.

He has said, however, that Iran will be more open about its nuclear program, telling reporters: "We are ready to show greater transparency and make clear that the Islamic Republic of Iran's actions are totally within international frameworks."

SEE ALSO: How typeface influences the way we read and think

While that language might sound encouraging to some, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was quick to point out that Khamenei is still the one in control of Iran's nuclear program:

The international community must not become caught up in wishful thinking and be tempted to relax the pressure on Iran to stop its nuclear program.

We need to remember that the Iranian ruler [Ayatollah Ali Khamenei] at the outset disqualified candidates who were not in line with his extreme worldview, and from among those whom he did allow, the one seen as least identified with the regime was elected. But we are still speaking about someone who calls Israel the 'great Zionist Satan.' [Jerusalem Post]

So how will Rowhani lead? Perhaps only he ? or he and the ayatollah ? knows for sure.

SEE ALSO: What does Edward Snowden want?

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/4-things-know-irans-president-122300965.html

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North Korea wants to hold high-level talks with U.S.

By Jane Chung

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea on Sunday offered high-level talks with the United States to ease tensions on the Korean peninsula, only days after it canceled planned official talks with South Korea for the first time in over two years.

Planned high-level talks between North and South Korea were scrapped last week after the North abruptly called off the talks. The North blamed the South for scuttling discussions that sought to mend estranged ties between the rival Koreas.

North Korea National Defence Commission in a statement carried by KCNA news agency on Sunday said Washington can pick a date and place for talks and the two sides can discuss a range of issues, but no preconditions should be attached.

"In order to ease tensions on the Korean peninsula and to achieve regional peace and safety, we propose to hold high-level talks between the DPRK and the United States, " said the spokesman for the North's National Defence Commission in the statement. North Korea's official name is the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

"If the U.S. is truly interested in securing regional peace and safety and easing tensions, it should not mention of preconditions for the talks," the statement said.

The United States has consistently demanded denuclearization in North Korea as a precondition to any talks.

Washington has been increasingly skeptical of any move by Pyongyang for dialogue as it has repeatedly backtracked on deals, the latest in 2012 when it agreed to a missile and nuclear test moratorium, only to fire a rocket weeks later.

Earlier this year, North Korea threatened nuclear and missile strikes against South Korea and the United States after it was hit with U.N. sanctions for its February nuclear weapons test.

"North Korea's proposal for dialogue to the U.S. is all part of the game to get economic aid as U.N. sanctions were tougher than before," said Kim Seung-hwan, senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

The recent summit between U.S. President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping might have played a role in the North's changed attitude, in which the two leaders were on the same page regarding the North's nuclear development, Kim said.

North Korea's one major ally, China, has urged Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear weapons program and return to talks.

In the statement, Pyongyang reiterated it was willing to discuss disarmament but the world should also be denuclearized including its southern neighbor.

North Korea agreed a denuclearization-for-aid deal in 2005 but later backed out of that accord. It has said its nuclear arms are a "treasured sword" that it will not abandon.

Pyongyang also said it wants the United States to sign a peace treaty formally ending the 1950-53 Korean War that divided the two Koreas.

Korea was divided after the Second World War and when the Korean War ended in an armistice rather than a permanent peace treaty, it left the two countries technically at war.

The North has a long record of making threats to secure concessions from the United States and South Korea.

North Korea's 30-year-old leader, Kim Jong-un, took power in December 2011 and has since carried out two long-range rocket launches and a nuclear weapons test, as well as a campaign of threats against South Korea and the United States.

Threats have waned in the past month, showing signs of easing tensions such as proposing talks with South Korea in early June. The talks had been intended to discuss issues resuming operations of joint commercial projects and families split during the 1950-53 Korean War.

In the coming days, North and South Korea will mark the 60th anniversary of the Korean War and also the armistice.

(Reporting By Jane Chung, Editing by Michael Perry)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/north-korea-proposes-high-level-talks-u-kcna-014322264.html

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Israel's Netanyahu cautions against seeing big change in Iran

For years, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad spooked Israelis with talk of wiping the Jewish state off the map. But the victory of Hassan Rohani, known as a moderate, could pose an even bigger challenge for Israel, analysts say.

The shift from the incendiary Mr. Ahmedinejad to a president who advocates "constructive engagement" with the West over Iran?s nuclear program will require Israel to adjust its public posture toward Iran, say analysts.

Though Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that the elections heralded little change and that Iran?s nuclear program is the top threat to world peace, the ascendance of Mr. Rohani could turn the tables in the mind of the international community.

"Israel has lost an asset in Iran. That asset was Ahmedinejad. With his belligerent talk, he did the work for Israel by creating international consensus against Iran?s nuclear program," says Meir Javedanfar, a lecturer on Iranian politics at the Herzliya Interdisciplinary Center, a college in a Tel Aviv suburb. "Now we have the anti-Ahmedinejad as a president: Someone who is moderate and talks about rapprochement. That means there is a change in Iran and it is probably going require a change in Israel regarding its narrative toward Iran."

RECOMMENDED: How much do you know about Israel? Take the quiz

The moderate image of the new Iranian president could recast Mr. Netanyahu ? who repeatedly reminds the international community that Israel is ready to use force if necessary against Tehran?s nuclear program ? as the leading proponent of armed conflict, the analyst said.

Speaking to the Israeli cabinet on Sunday morning, Netanyahu said that only heightened pressure and the threat of military action would deter Iran.

"Let us not delude ourselves. The international community must not become caught up in wishful thinking," said Prime Minister Netanyahu, who insisted that the Iranian regime still considers Israel a "Zionist Satan." "Fifteen years ago, the election of another president, also considered a moderate by the West, led to no change in these aggressive policies."

Netanyahu, who brags about rallying the West against Iran, noted Sunday that policymaking regarding foreign affairs normally resides with Iran?s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, and not the president.

But Israeli analysts noted that Rohani?s experience as a negotiator will likely give him input on strategy regarding ongoing negotiations with the international community on Iran?s nuclear program. The president elect?s approach is liable to lead to an agreement with Iran not to Israel?s liking, wrote Ephraim Kam, an Iran expert at the Institute for National Security Studies.

Many Israeli critics of the government?s posture have stressed Iran?s internal opposition to the regime since the 2009 protests against the presidential election results. On Sunday, former Israeli Mossad chief told Israel Radio that the vote was the biggest blow to Mr. Khamenei since becoming the Supreme Leader. Israeli officials should size up the fallout of the election more carefully before dismissing the results, he said.

Whatever the result, Israeli officials are likely to miss the days of the outgoing Iranian president, analysts noted with sarcasm.

"What will we do without the Persian Hitler? What will Bibi draw at the UN?" wrote Yigal Sarna in the daily Yediot Ahronot. "We will have to rewrite the old narrative that contended that the Revolutionary Guard is the all-powerful force leading Iran toward the future and toward the bomb."

RECOMMENDED: How much do you know about Israel? Take the quiz

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/israels-netanyahu-cautions-against-seeing-big-change-iran-164000185.html

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Naval Academy moves ahead on sexual assault case

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) ? The U.S. Naval Academy's superintendent has decided to move ahead with proceedings in a sexual assault case involving football players and a female midshipman.

The academy announced Monday that Vice Adm. Michael Miller has decided to send the case to Article 32 proceedings. That is the military equivalent of a preliminary hearing or grand jury investigation.

The woman says the assault took place at an off-campus house in Annapolis last year.

The case comes as a string of sexual assault cases in the military has drawn recent attention in Congress, the Pentagon and the White House.

President Barack Obama raised the issue when he spoke at the academy's commissioning ceremony last month. The president said those who commit sexual assault threaten the trust and discipline that makes the military strong.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/naval-academy-moves-ahead-sexual-assault-case-210218421.html

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Oh God, What's a Good Last-Second Gift for a Dad?

Well, tomorrow's Father's Day and while it's almost too late to get a gift, it's not late enough to brush it off entirely without at least spending a minute or two trying to come up with something quick. Whaddoya got?

Last year we hit you with a list of last-minute winners, but we're always game for a refresh. Anybody got any ideas? Dads, weigh in! "A son whose career you can be proud of" is off the table. What last-minute tricks can I shove up my sleeve?

#CoolDad image by liseykina/Shutterstock

Source: http://gizmodo.com/oh-god-whats-a-good-last-second-gift-for-a-dad-513595034

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Father's Day: The Most Memorable Dads At Weddings (VIDEO)

Weddings are a big day for the bride and groom, but they're also a big day for dads. What's more special than seeing your child all grown up and entering the bonds of holy matrimony? (Check out these sweet father-of-the-bride photos for proof.)

In honor of Father's Day, and all the dads who watched as their son or daughter tied the knot, we found some of the most memorable dad-at-wedding moments. These dads made us (and their fellow wedding guests) giggle at their dance moves, speeches and even their embarrassing slip-ups.

Click through the slideshow below to see five unforgettable dad moments.

• Father-Daughter Dance

  This dad's got the moves! After their <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=0u1FZhMA88g" target="_blank">epic father-daughter dance</a> went viral in 2011, Ashley Richmond and her dad, David Sparks, <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/viral-father-daughter-dance-live-gma-14880496" target="_blank">told "Good Morning America"</a> that they practiced twice a week for more than a month to perfect the choreography (including the "Single Ladies" dance!).

• Father of Groom Photoshopped Into Wedding

  George Shoop couldn't leave the hospital to go to his son's wedding in 2012, so his daughter, Laura, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/03/laura-shoop-photoshops-si_n_1252752.html" target="_blank">photoshopped him</a> into the pictures. Check out more <a href="http://imgur.com/a/rSXoc" target="_blank">photos here</a>, via Imgur.

• Father of the Bride Speech To Groom

  This sweet father-of-the-bride delivered a <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/10/wedding-speech_n_3056166.html" target="_blank">heartfelt and funny speech</a> to his son-in-law in a video that went viral earlier this year. His closing line: "Today I'm giving you the best thing I have to give. And I just wanted you to know before I do that, how hard me and God have worked to get her ready... don't screw it up."

• Dad Loses His Pants

  Losing your pants while <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBJwGRyzG0A" target="_blank">making a toast</a> at your son's wedding is probably every father's worst nightmare. This guy managed to keep his composure and finish his speech, though.

• Dad Officiates Son's Wedding

  This same-sex wedding was <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5d05ew1HWs" target="_blank">officiated by the father</a> of one of the grooms, and at one point he seems to almost forget that his son is marrying a man, not a woman -- but he catches himself!

Keep in touch! Check out HuffPost Weddings on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/15/fathers-day_n_3438358.html

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Aetna Pulls Out Of California Individual Insurance Market In ...

If Obamacare's stated goal was to broaden the health insurance market, give more options to consumers, and generally lower the cost of health insurance, courtesy of the IRS' flawless execution of yet another unprecedented government expansion, it may be in for a tough time. Because while on paper every statist plan of centrally-planned ambitions looks good, in reality things usually don't work out quite as expected. Case in point the news that Aetna will stop selling health insurance to individual consumers in California at the end of 2013, in advance of Obamacare's complete transformation of the insurance market: a transformation which just incidentally may see most private health insurance firms follow in Aetna's steps and the emergence of a single-payer system along the lines of the British National Health Service. A government-mandated and funded system which, needless to say, crushes private enterprise, and ends up costing far more for all involved than an efficient market based on individual wants, needs and capabilities constantly in flux.

But that's ok - there is an administration which is smarter than the entire market, and a Federal Reserve which will monetize any deficit funding, and the only trade off is making the already ridiculous US federal debt ridiculouser.

For more irony we go to the WSJ which informs us that that "pullout is likely to draw attention as California has become a focus of national debate over the law's impact. Supporters, including President Barack Obama, who highlighted the state in a recent speech, argue that it has shown the success of the health overhaul in encouraging competition and pushing down prices."

If in some parallel socialist universe, the exit of competitors ends up boosting competition, than yes, we agree. In this one, however, things are a little... different.

For now, Aetna is just the start. A relatively small start:

Aetna said it currently has about 49,000 individual policyholders in California. In 2011, when it had substantially bigger membership, it was the fourth-biggest player in the state's consumer market, with about 5.2% of the plans sold that year, according to a report from Citigroup Inc.

?

Aetna isn't one of the 13 insurers participating in the state's new consumer insurance marketplace set to launch this fall under the federal law. Like several other major national carriers, it has said it would join only a limited number of these exchanges. A carrier can still offer consumer plans without being in the exchange.

?

Aetna said it will continue selling health insurance in California to employers and Medicare beneficiaries, as well as dental and life-insurance products. The insurer said it is "fully committed to serving the needs of our 1.5 million members in the state." A company spokeswoman declined to comment about the reasons for Aetna's individual-business withdrawal.

As long as those members aren't on individual insurance: those members will have to find a different provider of insurance.

People who currently have Aetna individual health coverage will have to find plans with other carriers by year-end. That might be easier because of the federal health law's requirements that insurers no longer decline coverage or set premiums based on people's health history, but still, "it's going to be confusing" for Aetna policyholders, said Ken Fasola, chief executive of HealthMarkets Inc., parent of insurance agency Insphere Insurance Solutions. His firm plans to send written notice to affected clients, then follow up with calls and, if wanted, visits.

Aetna is just the first to crunch the numbers and realize that one indeed has to pass a law first to find out how much money will be lost - by private companies - as a result.

The health law is expected to expand the individual insurance business, but the new coverage rules will also mean major changes. Also, in the new exchanges, consumers are expected to focus closely on costs, particularly monthly premiums. Insurers may find it tough to compete if they don't have scale in a particular market, partly because they can't match the prices that competitors win from health-care providers.

As for the "model" assumptions behind Obamacare, it is likely too late to clarify that one does not get strong competition in an artificial marketplace in which the service providers are dropping out one by one.

The Obama administration has highlighted its expectation that the new health-insurance marketplaces will generally boast strong competition, with around 90% of consumers buying their own plans living in states where there would be products from at least five insurers.

?

But in at least some places, the offerings will be limited. In Washington state, for instance, nine insurers bid to sell plans in the individual market but only one carrier, Kaiser Permanente, bid to sell a small-business plan through the exchange in some counties, forcing Washington officials to cancel plans to run a full small-business exchange for the first year.

So instead of "strong competition" the end results was a government-enforced... monopoly. And guess who has all the pricing power in a monopoly.

Oh well, such is life under "central-planning" - the end result is always complete disaster, but at least the intentions to promote "fairness" were quite noble.

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Source: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-06-15/aetna-pulls-out-california-individual-insurance-market-response-obamacare

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Will The Court's Gene Ruling Stifle Bio Innovatioon?

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Please keep your community civil. All comments must follow the NPR.org Community rules and terms of use, and will be moderated prior to posting. NPR reserves the right to use the comments we receive, in whole or in part, and to use the commenter's name and location, in any medium. See also the Terms of Use, Privacy Policy and Community FAQ.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2013/06/15/191934160/will-the-courts-gene-ruling-stifle-bio-innovatioon?ft=1&f=1007

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Your Android device is not the place to store your photos

When (not if) you lose everything on your phone or tablet, you'll be thankful you backed up the important things

We just got another heart-breaking email from a reader who has lost all their pictures and video because the SD card in their Android device went belly-up. We get at least a few of these every week, and it's horrible having to tell folks that there is a very good chance they'll need to use complicated forensic data retrieval tools to have any hope of getting those memories back if they can even get the media to be recognized in a computer again. Not having a good answer is the worst part of our jobs.

Now, this is not the SD card vs. no SD card debate. The same thing can happen with the internal storage on your phone, and while corruption isn't as common, accidentally erasing everything is more frequent -- especially when folks are tinkering with things and wiping and flashing "stuff". Don't go thinking this doesn't apply to you, because it does.

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/hmymAzMUPeQ/story01.htm

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So What Would Happen if Superman Punched You in the Face?

Man of Steel is out and if you want to get your eyes pummeled with insane fight sequences, I suggest you watch it. But what if Superman actually wanted to pummel your face instead? What would a punch by Superman feel like? A lot worse than even getting punched by Mike Tyson.

If Superman's fist was 300g and he could move at 99% the speed of light, his punch would be cable of punching at an energy 190,000,000,000,000,000 joules. Thats quadrillion. That's 45 megatons of TNT. That's 2,800 times more powerful than Hiroshima. The temperature of his punch would be 143,999,999,999,540.3 degrees Fahrenheit. Earth has never seen such power. Oh and you'd be completely destroyed at an atomic level.

See how ridiculous Superman's punch would be at Vsauce3. [Vsauce3]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/so-what-would-happen-if-superman-punched-you-513515155

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