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Source: http://bravenewcaity.tumblr.com/post/54191864151
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Sunday, June 30, 2013
Higher cable, satellite prices boost Shaw's profit
(Reuters) - Canada's Shaw Communications Inc reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results and raised its cash-flow forecast, sending its shares up 3 percent in early trading.
But the company, the dominant cable TV operator in Western Canada, managed only a marginal rise in third-quarter profit as it lost subscribers to its video cable and satellite TV services.
Shaw said the number of subscribers to its video services fell by 26,578, or 1.3 percent, to 2.07 million in the quarter, while the number of those taking its "direct to home" satellite service slipped by 2,930 or 0.3 percent, to about 904,000.
"Subscriber losses in the core cable TV business were pretty much in line, maybe a little worse than anticipated," said David Heger, an analyst at brokerage Edward Jones.
"But they were better than they were in the (second) quarter. Perhaps they're starting an improving trend."
Shaw, which also operates the Global TV network, raised its 2013 cash-flow forecast to C$590 million-C$600 million from C$550 million and said it plans dividend increases of 5 to 10 percent in each of the next two years as a result of the higher cash flows and favorable market conditions.
The company also has 19 specialty networks including HGTV Canada, Food Network Canada, the History channel and Showcase.
Shaw's net income rose to C$250 million, or 52 Canadian cents per share, from C$248 million, or 53 Canadian cents per share, a year earlier. Revenue rose 4 percent to C$1.33 billion.
Analysts on average had expected a profit of 45 Canadian cents per share, on revenue of C$1.30 billion ($1.24 billion), according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Shaw had more shares outstanding in the third quarter than it did in the year-earlier quarter.
Apart from the pressure on its TV businesses, Shaw is facing fierce competition from Telus Corp, which is pushing out an internet-based TV product to lure away its customers.
Shaw added a net 17,719 landline telephone subscribers in the quarter, bringing the total to 1.35 million, and a net 4,157 internet subscribers, bringing the total to 1.88 million.
The company's shares were up 3.22 percent at C$24.71 in early trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
($1 = 1.0491 Canadian dollars)
(Reporting by Krithika Krishnamurthy in Bangalore; Editing by Ted Kerr)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/shaw-posts-higher-profit-raises-cash-flow-forecast-125146084.html
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Saturday, June 29, 2013
Recreation tennis: Kromer Flight Mixed Doubles pairings
2013 SAM KROMER FLIGHT MIXED DOUBLES SCHEDULE
CHAMPIONSHIP FLIGHT
Wed./Thur. 6 p.m., Courts 1-2
Matt Earley/Celina Grondin, Dave Clutts/Abby Shonk, Franklin Brozovich/Rae Brozovich, Connor Johnston/Lizzie Brozovich
FIRST FLIGHT
Wed./Thur. 6 p.m., Courts 3-4
Paul Ingles/Taylor Sweeney, Frank Palazzolo/Samantha Palazzolo, Steve Pillon/Kristin Pillon, Jeremy Rosenau/Jordin Collier, Damon LaPlante/Sophie LaPlante, Brad Massman/Mizzy Mariani
SECOND FLIGHT
Wed./Thur. 6 p.m., Courts 5-6
Todd Kinney/Kristy Kinney, Terry Curley/Amy Click, Chip Bankson/Laurie Luce, Adrian Forbes/Jordan Manuilow, Greg Gale/Julie Rock
THIRD FLIGHT
Wed./Thur. 4 p.m., Courts 3-4
Julian Luce/Margaret Smith, Andrew Davies/Isabella Murray, Kevin Coombs/Breanna Knust
Source: http://bluewatersportsnetwork.com/2013/06/recreation-tennis-kromer-flight-mixed-doubles-pairings/
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The Limits of Psychophysics, and Physics
The founders of psychophysics were the first to treat psychology as an experimental and quantifiable science. They studied the effects of physical stimuli on mental states as physicists would. Gustav Fechner popularized the term in 1860 along with his theory that the intensity of sensations varied geometrically with stimulus.
The metaphors and methods of physics were already being tried on people. John Locke, the ?Newton of the mind,? described the pull of pleasure as ?gravitational.? And Jeremy Bentham believed: ?Nature has placed mankind under?two sovereign masters, pain and pleasure?[they]?alone?determine what we shall do?The principle of utility recognizes this.? Utility became the keyword, used to lock away libraries of literature on the complexities of human motivation.
There were dissenters?Darwin wrote ?The common assumption that men must be impelled to every action by experiencing some pleasure or pain may be erroneous?[we often act]?independently of any pleasure or pain felt at the moment.? But utility?s simplicity still attracts. Daniel Kahneman?s 2002 Nobel Prize was awarded for using the psychophysics of utility?nonlinear psychological responses to money?to challenge rational-agent economics.
Clearly, people are subject to the laws of physics. But nothing in physics chooses. Physics needs no strategies or game theory. Its main business is mechanical causation. Physics has no future. Like the best Buddhists, it feels only the forces of the present. Human psychology is different from physics precisely because it evolved to weigh and choose between forces from different possible futures.
Physics developed in situations like this: Everything of type X always does Y under conditions Z, where X, Y and Z are mathematically related. And simple scenarios such as: Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Some people behaviors are like that. But many are not.
Consider Darwin?s observation that ?many a Hindoo?has been stirred to the bottom of his soul by having partaken of unclean food.? The same food eaten unknowingly, or by an unbeliever (even an identical twin), wouldn?t cause the same reaction. The story of the food, not the food itself, causes the ?soul shaking.? In psychology, the same stimulus often doesn?t cause the same reaction.
Unmathematical narrative-like patterns of contingency influence our reactions and decisions. Their flexible, if-then, weakly causal, multifactor kind of logic is different from that typical of the number-struck sciences. Babies use ?contingency patterns? to distinguish objects that behave with physics-like regularities from objects with agency. Free will, real or not, changes practical predictability. Too many scientists aren?t as practical as babies.
Illustration by Julia Suits, The New Yorker Cartoonist & author of The Extraordinary Catalog of Peculiar Inventions.
Previously in this series:
Kahneman and Bentham?s Bucket of Happiness
Kahneman?s Clarity: Using Mysterious Coinage in Science
What Rational Really Means
The Cognitive Science of Star Trek
Colonoscopies Clarify Inner Workings of Minds
Happiness Should Be A Verb
Better Behaved Behavioral Models
Rationality In Markets Is Cognitively Unnatural
Source: http://rss.sciam.com/~r/sciam/basic-science/~3/Y5Jfc2jVg3M/post.cfm
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Large-scale quantum chip validated: Prototype quantum optimization chip operates as hoped
June 28, 2013 ? A team of scientists at USC has verified that quantum effects are indeed at play in the first commercial quantum optimization processor.
The team demonstrated that the D-Wave processor housed at the USC-Lockheed Martin Quantum Computing Center behaves in a manner that indicates that quantum mechanics plays a functional role in the way it works. The demonstration involved a small subset of the chip's 128 qubits.
This means that the device appears to be operating as a quantum processor -- something that scientists had hoped for but have needed extensive testing to verify.
The quantum processor was purchased from Canadian manufacturer D-Wave nearly two years ago by Lockheed Martin and housed at the USC Viterbi Information Sciences Institute (ISI). As the first of its kind, the task for scientists putting it through its paces was to determine whether the quantum computer was operating as hoped.
"Using a specific test problem involving eight qubits we have verified that the D-Wave processor performs optimization calculations (that is, finds lowest energy solutions) using a procedure that is consistent with quantum annealing and is inconsistent with the predictions of classical annealing," said Daniel Lidar, scientific director of the Quantum Computing Center and one of the researchers on the team, who holds joint appointments with the USC Viterbi School of Engineering and the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences.
Quantum annealing is a method of solving optimization problems using quantum mechanics -- at a large enough scale, potentially much faster than a traditional processor can.
Research institutions throughout the world build and use quantum processors, but most only have a few quantum bits, or "qubits."
Qubits have the capability of encoding the two digits of one and zero at the same time -- as opposed to traditional bits, which can encode distinctly either a one or a zero. This property, called "superposition," along with the ability of quantum states to "tunnel" through energy barriers, are hoped to play a role in helping future generations of the D-Wave processor to ultimately perform optimization calculations much faster than traditional processors.
With 108 functional qubits, the D-Wave processor at USC inspired hopes for a significant advance in the field of quantum computing when it was installed in October 2011 -- provided it worked as a quantum information processor. Quantum processors can fall victim to a phenomenon called "decoherence," which stifles their ability to behave in a quantum fashion.
The USC team's research shows that the chip, in fact, performed largely as hoped, demonstrating the potential for quantum optimization on a larger-than-ever scale.
"Our work seems to show that, from a purely physical point of view, quantum effects play a functional role in information processing in the D-Wave processor," said Sergio Boixo, first author of the research paper, who conducted the research while he was a computer scientist at ISI and research assistant professor at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering.
Boixo and Lidar collaborated with Tameem Albash, postdoctoral research associate in physics at USC Dornsife; Federico M. Spedalieri, computer scientist at ISI; and Nicholas Chancellor, a recent physics graduate at USC Dornsife. Their findings will be published in Nature Communications on June 28.
The news comes just two months after the Quantum Computing Center's original D-Wave processor -- known commercially as the "Rainier" chip -- was upgraded to a new 512-qubit "Vesuvius" chip. The Quantum Computing Center, which includes a magnetically shielded box that is kept frigid (near absolute zero) to protect the computer against decoherence, was designed to be upgradable to keep up with the latest developments in the field.
The new Vesuvius chip at USC is currently the only one in operation outside of D-Wave. A second such chip, owned by Google and housed at NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California, is expected to become operational later this year.
Next, the USC team will take the Vesuvius chip for a test drive, putting it through the same paces as the Rainier chip.
This research was supported by the Lockheed Martin Corporation; U.S. Army Research Office grant number W911NF-12-1-0523; National Science Foundation grant number CHM-1037992, ARO Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative grant W911NF-11-1-026.
Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/4cI-LVzkB_4/130628131027.htm
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Watch: Senate votes on immigration bill
The Senate will vote on a sweeping immigration reform bill on Thursday afternoon, and a recently hashed-out compromise on border security is expected to win over some conservative support for the measure.
Early Thursday afternoon, the Senate voted 68-32 to end debate on the bill, a key procedural hurdle. A full vote on the bill is scheduled for 4 p.m. ET. Fourteen Republicans voted with the entire Democratic caucus to move the bill forward. The vote brings Congress a step closer to passing its first major immigration reform since the 1986 amnesty bill that legalized more than three million immigrants.
Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) said on the Senate floor that the "historic legislation recognizes that today's immigrants came for the right reason, the same reason as the generations before them...the right to live in a land that's free."
The "Gang of Eight," a bipartisan group of senators who drafted the bill, had hoped to get 70 out of 100 senators to vote to pass the bill and send a strong signal to the Republican-controlled house that the legislation is bipartisan. But on Wednesday, test votes drew only 67 votes each, suggesting the bill might fall short of that goal.
The reform will implement a mandatory, national employment verification system, allow for more legal immigration of low- and high-skilled workers, beef up border security and eventually give green cards to most of the nation's 11 million unauthorized immigrants.
The bill has moved to the right in the Senate on border security, thanks to an amendment adopted last week that will double the number of Border Patrol officers and increase fencing on the southern border by hundreds of miles before any unauthorized immigrants are offered permanent legal status. But House members working on their own version of immigration reform told The Hill this is not enough: They would prefer that no unauthorized immigrant be offered even temporary legal status until all the border security measures of the bill are fully implemented. Republican chief deputy whip Peter Roskam told reporters the bill is a "pipe dream" that will never pass the House.
Union leaders representing both Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers say they oppose the bill, and groups that seek lower immigration levels have tried to rally members to call and write senators asking them to kill the bill. But so far, the critics of the bill have been outnumbered. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., has worked as a conservative ambassador for the legislation. Rubio highlighted his immigrant parents' journey to the United States in a speech on the floor Thursday.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/news/senate-takes-immigration-vote-supporters-back-off-70-143951088.html
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Friday, June 28, 2013
Man charged in scheme involving Romney tax returns
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- A Tennessee man was charged Wednesday in a scheme involving former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney's income tax returns during the 2012 campaign.
The U.S. Justice Department said a federal grand jury in Nashville indicted Michael Mancil Brown, 34, of Franklin, and charged him with six counts of wire fraud and six counts of extortion.
Brown is accused of having an anonymous letter delivered to the PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP accounting firm in Franklin last August, demanding that $1 million in digital currency be deposited to a Bitcoin account to keep some of Romney's income tax returns from being released. The Justice Department said Brown falsely claimed that he had gained access to the PricewaterhouseCoopers internal computer network and stolen tax documents for Romney and his wife, Ann Romney, for tax years before 2010.
A phone number listed for Brown had a message saying it was not receiving incoming calls. He did not immediately return an email message sent Wednesday evening.
The letter said interested parties who wanted the purportedly stolen returns released could contribute $1 million to another Bitcoin account. Bitcoin is a hard-to-trace form of electronic cash.
The Justice Department statement said similar letters were delivered to Democratic and Republican party offices in Franklin.
The letters claiming two decades' worth of the Romneys' tax returns had been stolen came amid last year's Republican and Democratic conventions.
At the time, Romney had steadfastly declined to release more than one year of tax returns, for 2010, and Democrats were trying to portray him as so wealthy he was out of touch with middle-class voters. Last fall, Romney also released his income tax returns for 2011.
Computer thumb drives were delivered with the demand. The letter said the tax returns delivered on the thumb drives were encrypted and more copies would be sent to "all major news media outlets" with the passwords to be released if payment wasn't made.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/man-charged-scheme-involving-romney-131322316.html
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Power struggle underway in rebel-held Syrian town
FILE - In this Tuesday, March 5, 2013 file photo, citizen journalism image provided by Aleppo Media Center AMC which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows Syrian man sitting on a fallen statue of former Syrian President Hafez Assad in a central square in Raqqa, Syria. The Arabic words on the fallen statue read: "tomorrow will be better." A quiet power struggle in taking place in the eastern city between Islamic extremist rebels, who control the city after capturing it four months ago from the regime, and moderates trying to curtail their influence, making it a test case for the opposition.(AP Photo/Aleppo Media Center AMC, File)
FILE - In this Tuesday, March 5, 2013 file photo, citizen journalism image provided by Aleppo Media Center AMC which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows Syrian man sitting on a fallen statue of former Syrian President Hafez Assad in a central square in Raqqa, Syria. The Arabic words on the fallen statue read: "tomorrow will be better." A quiet power struggle in taking place in the eastern city between Islamic extremist rebels, who control the city after capturing it four months ago from the regime, and moderates trying to curtail their influence, making it a test case for the opposition.(AP Photo/Aleppo Media Center AMC, File)
FILE - In this Monday, March 4, 2013 file image taken from video obtained from Ugarit News, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows a statue of former Syrian President Hafez Assad is pulled down in a central square in Raqqa, Syria. A quiet power struggle in taking place in the eastern city between Islamic extremist rebels, who control the city after capturing it four months ago from the regime, and moderates trying to curtail their influence, making it a test case for the opposition. (AP Photo/Ugarit News via AP video, File)
FILE - In this Monday, March 4, 2013 file image taken from video obtained from Ugarit News, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows a statue of former Syrian President Hafez Assad is pulled down in a central square in Raqqa, Syria. A quiet power struggle in taking place in the eastern city between Islamic extremist rebels, who control the city after capturing it four months ago from the regime, and moderates trying to curtail their influence, making it a test case for the opposition.(AP Photo/Ugarit News via AP video, File)
FILE - In this Monday, March 4, 2013 file photo citizen journalism image provided by Coordination Committee in Kafr Susa which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows people tearing down a huge poster of President Bashar Assad and hitting it with their shoes, in Raqqa, Syria. A quiet power struggle in taking place in the eastern city between Islamic extremist rebels, who control the city after capturing it four months ago from the regime, and moderates trying to curtail their influence, making it a test case for the opposition.(AP Photo/Coordination Committee In Kafr Susa, File)
FILE - In this Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2012 file image taken from video obtained from the Ugarit News, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, Free Syrian Army soldiers sit at a check point in Ain al-Arous town in Raqqa, Syria. A quiet power struggle in taking place in the eastern city between Islamic extremist rebels, who control the city after capturing it four months ago from the regime, and moderates trying to curtail their influence, making it a test case for the opposition.(AP Photo/Ugarit News via AP video, File)
BEIRUT (AP) ? A slogan painted in small letters on a school wall reads, "We the people want Syria to be a civil, democratic state." Scrawled next to it in bigger letters is the response from an unknown Islamic hard-liner: "The laws of the civil state contradict the Islamic caliphate."
A quiet power struggle is taking place in the eastern Syrian city of Raqqa ever since a Muslim extremist faction of the rebels swept in and wrested the town from the regime nearly four months ago.
Armed men wearing Afghan-style outfits patrol the streets, raising black Islamic banners at checkpoints instead of the rebellion's three-star flags. But moderates are trying to counter the extremists' tight grip, establishing dozens of newspapers, magazines and civil society forums in an effort to educate the roughly 500,000 residents about democracy and their right to vote.
Raqqa, the first and only provincial capital to fall into rebel hands, is now a test case for the opposition, which has wrestled with how to govern territories it has captured amid Western concerns that Islamic groups will hijack power if President Bashar Assad is ousted.
The tensions reflect a wider struggle going on in the rebel movement across Syria, where alliances of Islamic extremist brigades have filled the void left behind whenever Assad's forces retreat, while moderate and secular rebels have failed to coalesce into effective fighters and the opposition's political leadership has failed to unify its ranks.
The rebel capture of Raqqa on March 5 consolidated opposition gains in a string of towns along the Euphrates River, which runs across the desert from the Turkish border in the north to the Iraqi border in the southeast.
Even so, the momentum on the battlefield over the past few months has been with regime, aided by Hezbollah fighters from Lebanon. More than 93,000 people have been killed since the Syrian conflict began in March 2011, according to the U.N. ? though a count by activists puts the death toll at over 100,000.
Two extremist factions, Ahrar al-Sham and the al-Qaida affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra, or the Nusra Front, led the push into Raqqa, which fell relatively quickly after a campaign that lasted less than a month. Most of the Jabhat al-Nusra fighters in the city are foreign jihadis, while the Ahrar al-Sham fighters are Syrians with a jihadist ideology.
Other opponents of the Assad regime in the city have been put off by what they see as the extremists' unnecessary brutality. In the days after seizing the city, the Muslim brigades brought captured security forces into public squares, killed them and drove their bodies through the streets.
Then in May, fighters affiliated with al-Qaida killed three men described as Shiite Muslims in the city's main Clock Square, shooting them in the back of the head. In a speech to a crowd that had gathered, a fighter said the killing was in retaliation for the massacres of Sunni Muslims in the town of Banias and the city of Homs, both in western Syria, according to online video of the scene. The statement was made in the name of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, a merger of Jabhat al-Nusra and Iraq's al-Qaida arm announced in April.
Armed gunmen with their faces covered in masks shot pistols and rifles wildly in the air in celebration after the three men were killed. They wore clothing favored by Afghanistan's Taliban and Arab mujahedeen who fought in that country ? a sign that they belonged to Jabhat al-Nusra.
The Shiites "were executed in front of everyone, young and old," said Mohammad Shoeib, an activist, recalling how for several hours, nobody dared approach the bodies to take them for burial until a nurse did. The nurse, Mohammad Saado, was assassinated by unknown gunmen the next day, Shoeib said. Other activists corroborated his account.
"Executing people in this manner in a public square and killing Saado was unacceptable and turned many people against them," Shoeib said. "Our revolution was against oppression and we don't accept such actions under any circumstance."
Activists set up a mourning tent in the same spot where the three were executed, receiving mourners for three days in a sign of their anger. "They didn't like it," he said of Jabhat al-Nusra, "but people demonstrated their right to an opinion and they should respect that."
Shoeib, 28, is one of the directors of "Haqquna," Arabic for "It's Our Right," an organization founded about three weeks after Raqqa fell that aims to educate people about democracy. The group's logo is a victory sign with the index finger bearing an ink mark, signifying the right to vote. The logo can be seen on walls in the city and on leaflets distributed by the group.
More than 40 publications have popped up in Raqqa, including newspapers and magazines as well as online publications, many of them run by young activists.
Many recall with pride the day rebels overran their city, about 120 miles (195 kilometers) east of the commercial capital of Aleppo, after capturing the country's largest dam and storming its central prison.
On March 5, cheering rebels and Raqqa residents brought down the bronze statue of the late Syrian President Hafez Assad after tying a rope around its neck. Others tore down a huge portrait of his son, the current president.
It was a striking scene in a city once considered so loyal to the regime that in November 2011 ? early in the 2-year-old uprising ? Assad prayed at Raqqa's al-Nour mosque for the Muslim holiday of Eid in an apparent attempt to show that the regime was fully in control there.
Activists like to compare Raqqa with Benghazi, the first major city in Libya to revolt against Moammar Gadhafi and fall into rebel hands.
But unlike Benghazi, which then became the rebel capital and the heartland for the militias of the months-long civil war in Libya, Raqqa feels sequestered and insecure. Regime warplanes still swoop down at random, shattering the calm with punishing airstrikes on opposition-held buildings.
Schools have closed and government employees have not been paid their salaries in months as a form of punishment.
Residents complain that the main Western-backed Syrian opposition group, the Syrian National Coalition, has paid no attention to the needs of Raqqa.
"The opposition groups are too busy fighting each other," said one owner of a sweets shop in the center of Raqqa. "They have not sent anyone to ask about our needs, nor is there any contact with any of them."
In March, the Coalition elected an interim prime minister, Ghassan Hitto, tasked with forming an interim government that would help administer rebel-held territories in northern and eastern Syria. But the opposition has been plagued with infighting, and Hitto has been effectively sidelined.
Khalid Salah, spokesman for the Coalition, insisted the opposition was trying to support Raqqa despite a lack of funds and other resources. He said the city was receiving aid from the Coalition but that it was unmarked so many people are unaware of its origin.
"We are trying to step up aid and make up for some shortcomings in the next weeks," he said, adding that regime airstrikes around the city made the work more difficult.
Rebel groups, particularly Ahrar al-Sham, administer daily life in Raqqa, setting up bakeries, keeping electricity and water going as much as possible and distributing aid they receive from international supporters. They have set up courts that impose Islamic law, mostly dealing with financial disputes and criminal cases such as kidnappings and theft.
Many residents are grateful, saying the Islamic brigades are simply making up for the shortcomings of the opposition in exile.
Mouaz al-Howeidi, a 40-year-old programmer and Web designer-turned activist, said it's promising that the power struggle has itself not turned violent.
But he said civil groups were at a disadvantage because the rebels have more means at their disposal to get their message across, through mosques and by controlling the city's resources.
"They control everything in Raqqa," he said. "And they have weapons and money ? this makes everything easier."
The owner of the sweets shop, who declined to be named for fear of reprisals, said Islamic groups were the flip side of the regime.
"Raqqa has not been liberated. It has been re-occupied by the Islamists."
___
A Syrian journalist contributed from Raqqa.
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Thursday, June 27, 2013
South Africa: Mandela still in critical condition
South Africa: Mandela still in critical condition
AP
Children and their families stand outside the Mediclinic Heart Hospital where former South African President Nelson Mandela is being treated in Pretoria, South Africa Wednesday, June 26, 2013. South Africa's president Jacob Zuma on Tuesday urged his compatriots to show their appreciation for Nelson Mandela, who is in critical condition in a hospital, by marking his 95th birthday next month with acts of goodness that honor the legacy of the anti-apartheid leader. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
Children and their families stand outside the Mediclinic Heart Hospital where former South African President Nelson Mandela is being treated in Pretoria, South Africa Wednesday, June 26, 2013. South Africa's president Jacob Zuma on Tuesday urged his compatriots to show their appreciation for Nelson Mandela, who is in critical condition in a hospital, by marking his 95th birthday next month with acts of goodness that honor the legacy of the anti-apartheid leader. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
A wellwisher Florah Nkosi holds a bible as she prays outside the Mediclinic Heart Hospital where former South African President Nelson Mandela is being treated in Pretoria, South Africa Wednesday, June 26, 2013. South Africa's president Jacob Zuma on Tuesday urged his compatriots to show their appreciation for Nelson Mandela, who is in critical condition in a hospital, by marking his 95th birthday next month with acts of goodness that honor the legacy of the anti-apartheid leader. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
Daughter Zindzi Mandela, right, receives a hug from an unidentified woman, left, as she arrives at the Mediclinic Heart Hospital where former South African President Nelson Mandela is being treated in Pretoria, South Africa, Wednesday, June 26, 2013. There was no word early Wednesday on 94-year-old Mandela's condition, which was critical a day earlier, according to the government. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
An unidentified woman wearing earrings bearing the image of former South African President Nelson Mandela, outside the Mediclinic Heart Hospital where he is being treated in Pretoria, South Africa, Wednesday, June 26, 2013. South Africa's president Jacob Zuma on Tuesday urged his compatriots to show their appreciation for Nelson Mandela, who is in critical condition in a hospital, by marking his 95th birthday next month with acts of goodness that honor the legacy of the anti-apartheid leader. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
South African President Jacob Zuma addresses the 10th annual meeting of the National Education Health & Allied Workers in Johannesburg, Wednesday June 26, 2013. During his speech, Zuma said Nelson Mandela was "still critical" and that we must "pray every minute". (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
JOHANNESBURG (AP) ? A granddaughter of Nelson Mandela says the former South African president remains in critical condition.
The granddaughter, Ndileka Mandela, made the comment Thursday when she and other family members stepped outside the Pretoria hospital treating 94-year-old Mandela to collect flowers and messages of support that were left outside the building.
Ndileka Mandela also describes her grandfather's condition as stable, indicating it had not changed since the government said on Sunday that Mandela's health had deteriorated to a critical state.
The granddaughter says it has been a difficult situation for the family, especially because they are coping with Mandela's illness in the public eye.
Associated Press
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Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Sprint launching Samsung ATIV S Neo with unlimited LTE for $150 after rebate this summer
There may not be too many mobile-focused surprises at Microsoft Build, as Sprint has just let slip its two biggest pieces of news. In addition to HTC's 8XT, the company will carry Samsung's latest Windows Phone 8 handset, the ATIV S Neo at some point in the near future. The ATIV S followup comes with a 4.8-inch HD display, a 1.4GHz dual-core processor, 1GB RAM and a 2,000mAh battery, as well as unspecified WiFi, NFC and Bluetooth features. There's no word about on-board storage, but the release specifically mentions a microSD card slot, so we'd assume you can add either 32 or 64GB more storage to the unit.
On the imaging front, there's an 8-megapixel primary camera with an LED flash, as well as a 1.9-megapixel front-facing lens with "Manga Camera" and "Beauty Shot" apps to transform your selfies and smooth away those wrinkles. The phone will also have "international roaming," meaning that owners won't suffer the pain of traveling to CDMA-phobic parts of the world like Europe. Dan Hesse's big Yellow Network isn't talking about a release date beyond "summer," but when this handset does make it to stores, it'll set you back $149.99 with a two-year, unlimited LTE deal after the customary $50 mail-in rebate.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Samsung, Microsoft
Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/NpajW-mkbGw/
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Sprint shareholders approve Softbank merger
Sprint and Softbank are officially approved to merge by Sprint shareholders, the companies announced this morning. According to Sprint, approximately 98 percent of shareholders at today's meeting voted to approve the deal, which represents "approximately 80 percent of Sprint's outstanding common stock" as of late April 2013. Of course, the United States Federal Communications Commission still needs to sign off, though the companies are expecting it to go through FCC approval unscathed by some point in July. The US Justice Department already gave the deal its thumbs up.
Shareholders are expected to receive approximately $7.65 per share (or an option to convert their current Sprint stock holdings to "New Sprint common stock"), part of a $16.64 billion pie. Softbank already owns a 70 percent stake in Sprint, which it purchased earlier this year for approximately $20.1 billion. Should this merger go through as it's expected to next month, Softbank and Sprint will become one. It's kind of like Voltron, but with fewer pieces and a lot more money.
Updated: This post originally noted that the merger still required approval by the US Federal Trade Commission, which is incorrect. We've updated the above post to reflect the correct information.
Source: Sprint
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This Is How Japan Trolls Google Street View
Google Street View trolling is not new. People around the world love pulling hijinks when they see the Google Street View apparatus rolling down the street. Folks in Japan did some truly epic trolling.
As IT Media points out, writers at Japanese humor site Daily Portal Z got the drop that the Google Street View would be making its way through Tokyo. So, a while ago, the DPZ writers showed up near Mitaka Station, all carrying masks so they could turn themselves into "human pigeons". The result has recently appeared on Google (see for yourself here).
They even watch you even as you make your way down the street. *shudder*
This kind of stuff isn't new for the site: Last February, PDZ did a story on wearing a pigeon mask in public. Here were the results:
Google???????????????????????... [IT Media]
To contact the author of this post, write to bashcraftATkotaku.com or find him on Twitter @Brian_Ashcraft.
Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points from Japan, Korea, China and beyond. Tune in every morning from 4am to 8am.
Source: http://kotaku.com/this-is-how-japan-trolls-google-street-view-569742023
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Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Walgreen posts weaker-than-expected third-quarter earnings
(Reuters) - Walgreen Co
Walgreen, the biggest U.S. drugstore chain, earned $624 million, or 65 cents per share, in the fiscal third quarter ended May 31, compared with a profit of $537 million, or 62 cents per share, a year earlier.
Excluding items, it earned 85 cents per share, while analysts, on average, expected 91 cents, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
(Reporting by Atossa Araxia Abrahamian; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/walgreen-posts-weaker-expected-third-quarter-earnings-114832646.html
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Fujifilm?s New X-M1 Camera Feeds Our Retro Obsession
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/GearFactor/~3/uee0BUNJ9TQ/
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'Family Ties' creator Gary David Goldberg dies
NEW YORK (AP) ? Gary David Goldberg, who created the 1980s sitcom hit "Family Ties" and expanded into feature films, has died.
Goldberg died of brain cancer in Montecito, Calif., on Saturday, days before his 69th birthday, The New York Times reported.
Goldberg's TV successes also included the ABC comedy "Spin City," which in 1996 reunited him with "Family Ties" breakout star Michael J. Fox as the deputy mayor of New York City.
"With a full heart I say goodbye to my mentor, benefactor, partner, second father and beloved friend," Fox said in a statement on Monday. "He touched so many with his enormous talent and generous spirit. He changed my life profoundly."
A more modest hit for Goldberg yet much-acclaimed, CBS' "Brooklyn Bridge" (1991-93) was a tender comedy based on his experiences growing up in Brooklyn, N.Y. Marion Ross starred as a character inspired by his grandmother.
Goldberg's films included "Dad" (1989), starring Jack Lemmon and Ted Danson, as well as "Bye Bye Love" (1995) and "Must Love Dogs" (2005), which he wrote as well as directed.
His own dog, Ubu, contributed the name of his production company and was widely known from the onscreen credit where viewers heard the command, "Sit, Ubu, sit," then a bark.
Goldberg began his TV career in the 1970s as a writer for series including "The Bob Newhart Show," and was a producer of "Lou Grant."
In 1982 "Family Ties" premiered on NBC, introducing Michael J. Fox as a business-loving Young Republican son of left-wing baby boomers who were former hippies.
"Basically, those parents are me and Diana," Goldberg once said, referring to his wife, Diana Meehan, who survives him.
The series became a huge hit, making Fox a star and Goldberg an important behind-the-camera name.
During his career, Goldberg won two Emmy awards, two Golden Globes and a Peabody award.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/family-ties-creator-gary-david-goldberg-dies-200720990.html
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Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Kanye West's Yeezus: No Prisoners, No Apologies
On his defiant new album, West pulls no punches, and makes no amends, in Bigger Than the Sound.
By James Montgomery
Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1709191/kanye-west-yeezus-review.jhtml
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Hundreds of thousands rally for Turkey's Erdogan amid protests
By Ayla Jean Yackley and Daren Butler
ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan rallied hundreds of thousands of supporters at an Istanbul parade ground on Sunday as riot police fired teargas several kilometers away in the city centre to disperse anti-government protesters.
Erdogan told a sea of flag-waving supporters that two weeks of protests had been manipulated by "terrorists" and dismissed suggestions that he was behaving like a dictator, a constant refrain from those who have taken to the streets.
Riot police fired teargas into side streets around the central Taksim Square as he spoke, trying to prevent protesters from regrouping after hundreds were evicted from the adjoining Gezi Park, the centre of the protests, late on Saturday.
"They say 'you are too tough', they say 'dictator'. What kind of a dictator is this who met the Gezi Park occupiers and honest environmentalists. Is there such dictator?," Erdogan said to roars of approval from the crowd.
"The attitude across Turkey with the pretext of Taksim's Gezi Park is not sincere. It is nothing more than the minority's attempt to dominate the majority ... We could not have allowed this and we will not allow it," he said.
Bulldozers removed barricades and municipal workers swept the streets around Taksim, sealed off by police on Sunday after thousands took to the streets overnight following the raid by riot police firing teargas and water cannon.
The umbrella protest group behind the Gezi Park campaign, Taksim Solidarity, called for demonstrators to gather peacefully again in the square, but Istanbul Governor Huseyin Avni Mutlu made clear they would not be allowed to do so.
"Any call for (people to gather in) Taksim will not contribute to peace and security," he told reporters, as riot police fired teargas in several locations to disperse groups of demonstrators trying to reach the square.
"After the current environment becomes stable, they can continue exercising their democratic rights. Under current circumstances we will not allow any gathering."
Erdogan, who also addressed supporters of his ruling AK Party in Ankara on Saturday, said the rallies were to kick off campaigning for local elections next year and not related to the protests, but they are widely seen as a deliberate show of strength.
IMAGE TARNISHED
The blunt-talking prime minister has long been Turkey's most popular politician, overseeing a decade of unprecedented prosperity, and his AK Party has won an increasing share of the vote in three successive election victories, but his critics complain of increasing authoritarianism.
While the protests pose no immediate threat to his government, they have tarnished Turkey's image as a haven of stability in a turbulent Middle East.
Two union federations said on Sunday they would stage a one-day nationwide strike on Monday in protest at the forced eviction of the Gezi Park protesters.
The protesters, who oppose government plans to build a replica Ottoman-era barracks in the leafy park adjoining Taksim Square, had defied repeated calls to leave but had started to reduce their presence in the park after meetings with Erdogan and the local authorities.
A similar police crackdown on peaceful campaigners in Gezi Park two weeks ago provoked an unprecedented wave of protest against Erdogan, drawing in secularists, nationalists, professionals, trade unionists and students.
The unrest, in which police fired teargas and water cannon at stone-throwing protesters night after night in cities including Istanbul and Ankara, left four people dead and about 5,000 injured, according to the Turkish Medical Association.
(Additional reporting by Seda Sezer, Can Sezer, Asli Kandemir in Istanbul, Jonathon Burch and Humeyra Pamuk in Ankara; Writing by Nick Tattersall; Editing by Janet Lawrence)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/turkish-riot-police-storm-istanbul-park-bid-end-005843796.html
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Monday, June 17, 2013
US officials say less than 300 phone numbers were investigated in 2012, data thwarted terrorist plots
With all the coverage PRSIM and the NSA's data collection have been getting recently, it's no surprise that the US government is eager to rationalize its actions. The crux of the latest defense seems to be that the government isn't using its treasure trove of data very often: according to recently declassified documents, the NSA used the database to investigate less than 300 phone numbers last year. These efforts reportedly prevented terrorist actions in more than 20 countries.
It's a small assurance, but a vague one, and the NSA knows it -- according to the Associated Press, the organization is trying to get the records of these thwarted plots declassified to demonstrate the program's value to concerned citizens. The reveal of such data might be a convincing argument, but disquieting revelations continue to roll out: members of congress are now reporting that the NSA has acknowledged that it does not need court authorization to listen to domestic phone calls. Either way, we're certainly open to more government transparency.
Source: AP
Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/LuktATdFukc/
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Marc Zwiebler beats Tommy Sugiarto in Men's Singles semi-final at ...
Marc Zwiebler beats Tommy Sugiarto in Men?s Singles semi-final at Indonesia Open ? Badminton news
Germany?s top shuttler, Marc Zwiebler, continued his stunning performance and he reached into his first ever final in a Super Series tournament after defeating the local shuttler, Tommy Sugiarto, in semi-final of Djarum Indonesia Open 2013 on Saturday, June 15, in Jakarta.
The impressive Zwiebler, who has not lost even a single game in this championship, continued his inspiring run and he easily outplayed the in-form Sugiarto while taking just 37 minutes.
German man was never so fast before because he took the bird early and maintained pressure on his local opponent throughout the match. He finished up this semi-final contest in a smashing fashion with a 21-17 and 21-10 score on the board.
On the other hand, Sugiarto failed to impress his home fans as he could not utilise his impressive attacking skills. He played well in the start but failed to maintain his rhythm and went down in just 37 minutes without creating a strong impact.
Backed by the home crowd, Sugiarto put up good show in starting rallies of the first game. He played attacking badminton but failed to set up any considerable lead because his German opponent also showed his tremendous skills.
Both contestants continued their positive performance in the opening set and no one could take a clear advantage until the one-minute break.
After the interval, Zwiebler started to dominate at net and he also utilised his powerful smashes at the right time. His shot selection was impressive that enabled him to take a small lead.
In the concluding points, German shuttler did not lose his control over the pace of rallies in the ending points and won the first game with a reasonable 21-17 total on the board.
In the following set, it was Zwiebler who easily controlled the driving seat from the starting points. He was in complete command of the pace and easily took a wonderful lead until the end of opening half.
After the interval, Sugiarto tried to change his tactics but failed to stop the impressive progress of his opponent.
Zwiebler, on the other hand, maintained his upper hand all the way and won the set with a staggering 21-10 score on the board.
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Inside Iran's presidential election and beyond
Some questions about Iran's presidential election and beyond:
DOES THE ELECTION MATTER?
Yes, but not in the ways many people think. Iran's president does not set the country's major policies such as the nuclear program, relations with the West or military projects. All this falls under the ruling clerics headed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The president acts as the main emissary for the theocracy's positions.
But the president is far from powerless. The post oversees important sectors such as the economy, which needs even greater management as Iran tried to ride out increasingly tighter sanctions over Tehran's nuclear program. The president also has the ear of Khamenei and can help shape strategic policies. Much depends on their relationship. Khamenei and Ahmadinejad had a spectacular falling out, but a president in Khamenei's good graces could have a significant voice in Iranian affairs.
WILL THE OUTCOME AFFECT IRAN'S NUCLEAR PROGRAM?
It won't have a direct effect. The president cannot make any critical changes or concessions. Indirectly, though, the election can have some influence.
Two main theories have been raised. One is that the election could end the internal political bickering of the Ahmadinejad era. This could make the ruling clerics more comfortable in making deals with the West. A second, opposing, prediction is that a seamless front between the ruling clerics and the new president could embolden Iran to take an even more hard-line approach.
The West and its allies fear Iran could be moving toward an atomic weapon. Iran says it only seeks nuclear reactors and technology for energy and medical applications. Iran often cites Khamenei's religious edict, or fatwa, denouncing nuclear arms.
HOW DOES THE ELECTION PROCESS WORK?
It's a step-by-step process that is tightly controlled by the ruling clerics.
Candidates first registered with the Interior Ministry. It's essentially an open invitation. Almost anyone can toss in their name. This year, more than 680 did. They ranged from prominent figures such as Former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani ? trying to make a comeback after leaving office in 1997 ? to obscure clerics and nonstarters such as a 46-year-old housewife. Iran's constitution refers to the president using a male term, which is interpreted as prohibiting women from serving.
Eight candidates were cleared for the ballot by the Guardian Council, a 12-member panel that vets candidates for president and parliament based on factors including loyalty to the Islamic system. Surprisingly, Rafsanjani was blocked, suggesting the ruling system was worried about his clout and ability to galvanize reformists. Two candidates approved later dropped out of the race in efforts to consolidate voter support behind others.
If there is no absolute winner in Friday's election ? taking more than 50 percent of the vote ? a two-candidate runoff will be held June 21.
WHO CAN VOTE?
There are more than 50 million eligible voters in a population of about 76 million. About a third of the voters are under 30 ? born after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Minimum voting age is 18, raised from 16 in 2007. Iranians abroad can vote in diplomatic compounds and other polling sites.
IS IT FAIR?
A consistent criticism by the West is over the candidate-vetting process. Also, the question of whether the final vote is accurate brings divided opinions. Allegations of ballot rigging were at the center of mass protests and riots in 2009 after Ahmadinejad's disputed re-election. Supporters of the Islamic system insist the voting is fair and transparent, although Iran does not allow outside election observers. Journalists are under tight restrictions on travel and coverage of non-official events.
WHAT CHOICES DO IRANIANS HAVE THIS TIME?
Of the six candidates, nearly all are considered closely allied with the ruling clerics. They include a former foreign minister, Ali Akbar Velayati, Tehran Mayor Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf and Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili. A former nuclear negotiator, Hasan Rowhani, is the lone moderate in the field. His campaign has surged in recent days with the backing of ally Rafsanjani and former reformist President Mohammad Khatami.
ARE THERE RISKS OF POST-ELECTION UNREST AS IN 2009?
Iran's opposition movement has been effectively dismantled by years of crackdowns and detentions, including placing Mousavi and fellow presidential candidate Mahdi Karroubi under house arrest in early 2011. There appears to be little spirit for street demonstrations among even the strong dissident factions in Iran, knowing that they would face swift and harsh retaliation from the government. In a pre-emptive move, Iranian authorities tightened controls on the Internet, which was used as a main coordination tool during the 2009 protests.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/inside-irans-presidential-election-beyond-173753135.html
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Saturday, June 15, 2013
Financing Building a House: How to Finance Building a Home ...
Here is generally what is involved in financing building a house, although each case is different and will depend upon individual circumstances.
How to Finance Building a Home: Loan Qualification
Your FICO score should be reasonably high. A construction loan is an act of faith on behalf of lenders, and they will likely not take a chance on applicants with low credit scores. They must be sure that you are able to pay at least until the house has been built. They do not want left with a half-built property on their hands. Your mortgage adviser or potential lender will be able to inform you of the preferred lower credit score limit.
The Down Payment
You will not get 100% finance when building a house. You must be able to make a sizeable down payment, or have some equity. If you own the land, that should suffice as equity. Even better if you already own a home, and intend selling it once your new property has been built. Try to have enough of a down payment to bring your loan-to-value ratio to at least 80% ? then you can avoid mortgage insurance.
Financing Building a House: Construction Loan
If you also have to buy the land, its cost can be lumped together with a construction loan from a mortgage lender. The lender will require details of your new home; who is building it, what are the plans and how it will be constructed. There is no building for the lender to inspect or value, so they will seek drawings and specifications to give them the basis for a valuation.
You will also have to show how you will be proving that you actually own the property because the builder will actually own it until it has been built and handed over to you.
Construction Financing Options
A construction loan will usually last a year, and will be offered on an interest-only basis at a variable rate of interest. Cash will be released to the builders according to schedule drawn up by them. The interest payable for any one month will be calculated from how much has been used or ?drawn? in total by the end of that month.
Ask your builder if he offers temporary finance. Some will have their own finance options, enabling them to borrow until the property has been built. However, they must have security: your land if you own it, or a contract on the property so they can buy it from you less the loan if you default. They can then sell it at a profit. You pay the builder?s interest, and this enables you to get a regular mortgage. Not all builders will agree to this arrangement, but it?s worth trying.
The Permanent Loan
Once the construction loan has expired, and ownership title has passed to you, the principal borrowed becomes due for payment. You then have to take the mortgage loan to pay this. This involves another set of closing costs. However, many lenders will offer what is known as a construction-to-permanent loan, and this is what you should try to negotiate from the beginning.
With this, the construction loan reverts to a standard mortgage loan once you have been issued with the certificate of occupancy. Usually, but not always, this means that you only pay one set of closing fees. You may be able to lock in the interest rate from the start, but this is something you must discuss with a mortgage adviser or your lender.
Financing building a house is different to arranging a regular mortgage. Contact a professional mortgage adviser for more information on how to finance building a home.
Related Information:
- 15 Year Fixed Mortgage Rate History in Charts
- 5 Year ARM Mortgage Rate History in Charts
- A History of 30 Year Fixed Mortgage Rates
- Adjustable Rate vs Fixed Rate Mortgage Basics
- Amortization Periods: Short or Long Term Mortgage?
Source: http://firstinmaine.com/financing-building-a-house-how-to-finance-building-a-home/
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Rupert Murdoch files for divorce from Wendi Deng
FILE- In this Sunday, Jan. 15, 2012, file photo, Rupert Murdoch and his wife Wendi arrive at the 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards in Los Angeles. Murdoch filed Thursday, June 13, 2013, for divorce from Wendi Deng Murdoch, his wife since 1999.(AP Photo/Matt Sayles, File)
FILE- In this Sunday, Jan. 15, 2012, file photo, Rupert Murdoch and his wife Wendi arrive at the 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards in Los Angeles. Murdoch filed Thursday, June 13, 2013, for divorce from Wendi Deng Murdoch, his wife since 1999.(AP Photo/Matt Sayles, File)
LOS ANGELES (AP) ? News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch has filed for divorce from Wendi Deng Murdoch, his wife since 1999, citing a breakdown in the relationship. The matter doesn't alter the succession plan for the media company, which the 82-year-old founder controls through a family trust.
Murdoch filed a one-page document Thursday indicating that he was opening a divorce case in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan.
A News Corp. spokesperson confirmed the filing.
A sealed document with the filing says, "the relationship between the husband and wife has broken down irretrievably," according to a person familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the matter was personal.
The couple are parents to two daughters, Grace and Chloe, ages 11 and 9. The girls have no voting stake in the company, but they are beneficiaries of 8.7 million non-voting shares that are held in a trust. Wendi Deng Murdoch, 44, also has non-voting shares.
Murdoch controls nearly 40 percent of the voting shares of News Corp. through a separate family trust. He has four other children from two previous marriages, including three who have active roles within the company: James, Lachlan and Elisabeth.
All four children, including Prudence, his child from his first marriage, have equal votes in electing trustees. That means that upon Murdoch's death, his four eldest children will continue to have the most say in who controls News Corp.
Rupert Murdoch's lawyer, Ira Garr, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The divorce filing comes just a week before the company begins the process to split in two. One company will contain a publishing division and Australian TV assets. A separate company will house global TV and movie businesses.
Markets appeared to be unfazed by the announcement. After starting the day in negative territory, News Corp.'s widely traded non-voting shares were up 1.4 percent at $31.37 by late afternoon.
Born in China, Wendi Deng Murdoch is a Yale graduate who went on to work as a junior executive at News Corp.'s subsidiary Star TV in Hong Kong. Deng was introduced to Murdoch at a Hong Kong cocktail party in 1997. She left Star TV before marrying the media mogul in June 1999 aboard Murdoch's private yacht, in New York.
She produced the movie "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan," which was released in 2011 by News Corp.'s Fox Searchlight. According to entertainment website IMDb, The movie did not recoup its $6 million budget.
Wendi Deng Murdoch leapt into the spotlight during a July 2011 British parliamentary hearing into phone hacking by News Corp. newspapers. She jumped up to smack a protester who was throwing a cream pie at her husband.
___
Associated Press writer Jennifer Peltz in New York contributed to this report
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