San Diego Web Design | Epic Slo

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My Husband Uses the Internet to Run His Online Business ...

June 28, 2012 Promotion and Marketing

My Husband is the kind of fella that loves being able to run his own business. Years ago, he operated a candy machine business but decided to sell his vending machines. Now, he has his own online business. About two months ago, he tried to start his own online business without having an Internet connection in our home. I know that did not work out too well for my Husband. He had to travel to his Cousin?s house every single day to take care of his business. I did not want my Husband to do such a thing every single day, so I told him that we would need to have Internet installed in our home. He thought it was a very good idea and decided to check online to see what he could find. He found a Verizon FIOS promo code and used the code to see what Internet package he could find. He finally decided which package would be good enough for his online business. We had the Internet installed in our home, and he absolutely loves being able to operate his online business at home. He is so happy that he does not have to travel back to his Cousin?s to manage his online business.

Internet, Verizon FIOS promotion code

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Ronaldo's decision to wait didn't help Portugal

By CHRIS LEHOURITES

AP Sports Writer

Associated Press Sports

updated 9:56 a.m. ET June 28, 2012

WARSAW, Poland (AP) -Cristiano Ronaldo is the kind of player that can change a game with one moment of excellence, the kind of player every team wants to have when the game is on the line.

Until, maybe, when it comes down to a penalty shootout.

The Portugal captain was one of the best players at the year's European Championship. Some would argue he was THE best, while others wouldn't even deign to argue about something that so many believe to be pure fact.

But against Spain, on the big stage of the Euro 2012 semifinals, there was no shot from Ronaldo in the penalty shootout. No chance for the Real Madrid winger to lift his team to victory.

And not even a reason why.

After his team was eliminated at the Donbass Arena, Ronaldo said he told Portugal coach Paulo Bento he wanted to take the fifth kick. That's the same spot he was in back in 2006, when Portugal beat England in a shootout in the World Cup quarterfinals.

"He said to me, 'You want a kick?' And I said, 'Yes, in the fifth,"' Ronaldo said late Wednesday night, shortly after Portugal lost the match. "We missed two penalties so it's frustration."

Before the shootout, Ronaldo was improving with every match. He had scored three goals in his previous two games at Euro 2012, and had several chances to break the scoreless draw against Spain - including a 90th-minute shot from just inside the area that he sent high over the bar. He also sent a pair of free kicks into the same space way above the crossbar, somewhat closer to the top row of spectators than Spain's goal.

And then came the shootout, football's version of a coin toss.

Ronaldo hasn't had the best of times in shootouts in recent years. While still with Manchester United, his spot kick against Chelsea in the Champions League final was saved. And this year, his attempt against Bayern Munich in the Champions League semifinals was again saved.

Two big misses for a big player on the big stage, and no chance for redemption in Donetsk.

"If it would have been 4-4, he would have taken the last penalty and we would have talked in another way (now)," Bento said through a translator. "We defined beforehand what would be the best conditions to succeed and now we didn't. I don't regret anything."

Ronaldo came into Wednesday's match on a roll. He was less-than-stellar in Portugal's opening two matches, but he scored both goals in a 2-1 victory over the Netherlands to guarantee a spot in the quarterfinals. Then he scored the lone goal in the win over the Czech Republic.

Those two displays certainly quieted the distracting chants of "Messi, Messi" that he endured earlier in the tournament. And they went a long way to easing the somewhat commonly held view that Ronaldo is no good on the international stage.

But his decision to wait - possibly only in the hope that he would be the hero - in the shootout did nothing to keep the team in the tournament.

And in the end, the lasting image from the shootout - maybe even more memorable than Cesc Fabregas' winning shot off the post - will be Ronaldo with his face hidden in his hands, probably wondering what went wrong.

"It's always difficult moments," Ronaldo said. "I expressed myself in the way that I feel."

? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Kai Pfaffenbach / Reuters

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iHeartRadio Adds Cox and Emmis - RADIO ONLINE ?

iHeartRadio Adds Cox and Emmis Clear Channel Media and Entertainment today announced an agreement to add 106 Cox Media Group and Emmis Communications radio stations to its iHeartRadio digital platform. The collaboration will result in more choices and greater programming options for iHeartRadio users and a comprehensive, fully integrated digital listening service for Cox and Emmis listeners. Under the agreement, 86 Cox Media Group radio stations from 19 markets and 20 Emmis Communications radio stations from six markets will be available on the iHeartRadio platform wherever it is offered including the web, mobile devices and in automobiles. The new stations will promote iHeartRadio on-air. Cox Media Group and Emmis Communications will continue to stream their stations on the respective station websites and mobile apps. "Our goal is to make sure that iHeartRadio continues to provide the best and most complete online radio experience for listeners," said John Hogan, Chairman and CEO of Clear Channel Media and Entertainment. "Adding 106 great station brands from Cox and Emmis is a win for iHeartRadio users and we are really excited to provide major broadcast companies, such as Cox Media Group and Emmis Communications, a broadcast-friendly platform that has the ability to offer their listeners a fully integrated digital experience. Our listeners are embracing iHeartRadio in ever-greater numbers as their digital entertainment destination and that is good for all of our iHeartRadio partners." "Cox Media Group is impressed with the progress that iHeartRadio has made over the last year," said Doug Franklin, Cox Media Group's President. "Our strategy is to serve our listeners on as many digital platforms as possible. We look forward to extending our reach in partnership with iHeartRadio." "Our team is excited to participate in iHeartRadio's explosive growth," said Jeff Smulyan, Emmis Communications Corporation's Chairman and CEO. "By joining iHeartRadio, we offer our listeners - including listeners of our premiere hip-hop brands Hot 97 in New York and Power 106 in Los Angeles - a great way to continue to enjoy our stations' content." (06-26-12) Menu | Contact Us | Subscribe | Advertise | Privacy Policy | About Us Copyright ? 1989-2012 RADIO ONLINE ? The publisher makes no claims concerning the validity of the information posted on RADIO ONLINE and will not be held liable for its use. No part of this material may be reproduced in any form, incorporated in any information retrieval system or otherwise redistributed without the prior written permission of the publisher.

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New Sony president gets shareholder approval

FILE - In this April 12, 2012 file photo, Sony Corp. President and Chief Executive Officer Kazuo Hirai poses for photographers after a press conference at the Sony headquarters in Tokyo. Hirai, the former head of Sony's game division, will steer the struggling Japanese electronics and entertainment conglomerate's turnaround as the company's new president and chief executive. Shareholders approved Hirai after a grilling by frustrated investors at an annual meeting in Tokyo on Wednesday. Shareholders demanded to know how the company's past glory was going to be retrieved. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi, File)

FILE - In this April 12, 2012 file photo, Sony Corp. President and Chief Executive Officer Kazuo Hirai poses for photographers after a press conference at the Sony headquarters in Tokyo. Hirai, the former head of Sony's game division, will steer the struggling Japanese electronics and entertainment conglomerate's turnaround as the company's new president and chief executive. Shareholders approved Hirai after a grilling by frustrated investors at an annual meeting in Tokyo on Wednesday. Shareholders demanded to know how the company's past glory was going to be retrieved. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi, File)

TOKYO (AP) ? Kazuo Hirai, the former head of Sony's game division, won shareholder approval Wednesday to steer a turnaround at the struggling Japanese electronics giant as its new president and chief executive.

But frustrated investors at the company's annual meeting in Tokyo grilled him and other board members, demanding to know how the company's past glory was going to be revived.

One shareholder got up without being picked to speak, and began shouting. Another shareholder asked why Howard Stringer, whom Hirai replaced, was staying on as chairman when Sony's performance had been so dismal under his seven-year tenure. Reporters were able to watch the proceedings on a monitor.

Tokyo-based Sony, once an icon of Japan Inc. with its portable Walkman music player, reported its worst loss in its 66-year corporate history for the business year ended March. Its profitability was battered by the tsunami disaster in 2011, flooding in Thailand, the global economic slowdown and a soaring yen.

The plunging prices of gadgets have also hurt Sony. Its annual loss last fiscal year of 457 billion yen ($5.7 billion) was its fourth straight year of red ink.

More critically, it has stumbled in the face of powerful rivals such as Samsung Electronics Co. of South Korea, which dominates the global TV business, and Apple Inc. with its iPhone and iPad offerings. Apple's devices have been bigger hits than Sony products even in the Japanese market. Sony has lost money for eight straight years in its mainstay TV business.

"We take the problem Sony's electronics business is facing very seriously, and we feel a sense of crisis," Hirai told shareholders.

Hirai's appointment as president and chief executive, replacing Welsh-born Stringer, the first foreigner to head Sony, was announced in April, and up for vote at the meeting. Despite some critical questions, the proposal passed at the end of the 90-minute meeting.

Sony is forecasting a return to profit for the business year through March 2013. Its troubles were worsened by factory and supplier damage in northeastern Japan, which was ravaged by the earthquake and tsunami last year. Sony also suffered production disruptions from the flooding in Thailand.

Hirai has already said the company will cut 10,000 jobs, or about 6 percent of its global workforce, and turn a profit in TVs in the next two years. The job cuts come on top of a couple of rounds of layoffs under Stringer.

Sony shares have lost about half their value over the past year to trade recently at about 1,000 yen ($12).

___

Follow Yuri Kageyama on Twitter at http://twitter.com/yurikageyama

Associated Press

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Mercury mineral evolution tied to Supercontinent assembly over last 3 billion years

ScienceDaily (June 25, 2012) ? Mineral evolution posits that Earth's near-surface mineral diversity gradually increased through an array of chemical and biological processes. A dozen different species in interstellar dust particles that formed the solar system have evolved to more than 4500 species today. Previous work from Carnegie's Bob Hazen demonstrated that up to two thirds of the known types of minerals on Earth can be directly or indirectly linked to biological activity. Now Hazen has turned his focus specifically on minerals containing the element mercury and their evolution on our planet as a result of geological and biological activity.

His work, published in American Mineralogist, demonstrates that the creation of most minerals containing mercury is fundamentally linked to several episodes of supercontinent assembly over the last 3 billion years.

Mineral evolution is an approach to understanding Earth's changing near-surface geochemistry. All chemical elements were present from the start of our Solar System, but at first they formed comparatively few minerals -- perhaps no more than 500 different species in the first billion years. As time passed on the planet, novel combinations of elements led to new minerals. Although as much as 50% of the mercury that contributed to Earth's accretion was lost to volatile chemical processing, 4.5 billion years of mineral evolution has led to at least 90 different mercury-containing minerals now found on Earth.

Hazen and his team examined the first-documented appearances of these 90 different mercury-containing minerals on Earth. They were able to correlate much of this new mineral creation with episodes of supercontinent formation -- periods when most of Earth's dry land converged into single landmasses. They found that of the 60 mercury-containing minerals that first appeared on Earth between 2.8 billion and 65 million years ago, 50 were created during three periods of supercontinent assembly. Their analysis suggests that the evolution of new mercury-containing minerals followed periods of continental collision and mineralization associated with mountain formation.

By contrast, far fewer types of mercury-containing minerals formed during periods when these supercontinents were stable, or when they were breaking apart. And in one striking exception to this trend, the billion-year-long interval that included the assembly of the Rodinian supercontinent (approximately 1.8 to 0.8 billion years ago) saw no mercury mineralization anywhere on Earth. Hazen and his colleagues speculate that this hiatus could have been due to a sulfide-rich ocean, which quickly reacted with any available mercury and thus prevented mercury from interacting chemically with other elements.

The role of biology is also critical in understanding the mineral evolution of mercury. Although mercury is rarely directly involved in biological processes -- except in some rare bacteria -- its interactions with oxygen came about entirely due to the appearance of the photosynthetic process, which plants and certain bacteria use to convert sunlight into chemical energy. Mercury also has a strong affinity for carbon-based compounds that come from biological material, such as coal, shale, petroleum, and natural gas products.

"Our work shows that in the case of mercury, evolution seems to have been driven by hydrothermal activity associated with continents colliding and forming mountain ranges, as well as by the drastic increase in oxygen caused by the rise of life on Earth," Hazen said. "Future work will have to correlate specific mineral occurrences to specific tectonic events."

Future work will also focus on the minerals of other elements to see how they differ and correlate with mercury's mineral evolution, and to new strategies for locating as yet undiscovered deposits of critical resources. "It's important to keep honing in on the ways that minerals have evolved on our planet from their simple elemental origins to the vast array in existence today," Hazen said.

Hazen's co-authors are Joshua Golden, Robert Downs, and Grethe Hystad of the University of Arizona; Edward Grew of the University of Maine; and David Azzolini and Dimitri Sverjensky of Johns Hopkins University.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Carnegie Institution.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

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Video: New poll shows some think Obama is Mormon

14 worst hospital mistakes to avoid

Apart from interfering with your beach vacation, there's another, more serious reason to steer clear of summer surgery if you can: a 10% spike in fatalities at teaching hospitals in July, confirmed by a new Journal of General Internal Medicine study.

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Teen Talk: 'Brave' big on animation, but humor flops

Hey there, SWRNN fans! Here?s my review for the new Pixar movie, ?Brave.??

?Brave? is about a young princess named Merida who, determined to change her fate, defies a custom that wreaks havoc throughout the kingdom.

She must rely on her amazing archery skills and bravery to undo the bad that she has done.

The film was directed by Mark Andrews and Brenda Chapman, and features the voice talents of such stars as Kelly MacDonald as Merida, Billy Connolly, Emma Thompson, Julie Walters, Robbie Coltrane, Kevin McKidd, and Craig Ferguson.

For those who may not have noticed, this is the first Disney-Pixar film that features a female lead.

The animation in ?Brave? is just beautiful. I?d say it?s some of the best animation that I?ve ever seen in a children?s film. Every shot looks beautiful and realistic and makes me feel like a child again.

Now, I saw this film in 3D, and it was just okay. The 3D didn?t take away from anything, but it just wasn?t amazing.

The voice work in ?Brave? was great, just like every other Pixar film. Kelly MacDonald did a great job as Merida, and her natural Scottish accent blended in perfectly to the movie.

Billy Connolly was also great as Merida?s father, delivering some of the funniest lines in the entire film.

Now, the biggest problem that I and a lot of other film critics have with ?Brave? was that, after a certain point in the movie, things started getting way too slapstick-oriented.

There was a reasonably large twist that happened about 30 minutes into the story, and from that point on the humor started to dumb down quite a bit. I?m not saying I?m above this type of humor, because I?m not. But I am saying that I?ve seen Pixar make some of the funniest and most heartwarming scenes ever put on film, so I had some halfway decent expectations for this one.

This was not a bad film by any means. It was actually a pretty good family movie. It was a little disappointing for me, I?ll admit, but overall, I give ?Brave? a 3.5 out of 5.

Adam Rolseth is a teen movie reviewer and regular guest contributor to SWRNN.

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ASUS Transformer Pad Infinity TF700 review: meet the company's new top-of-the-line tablet

More Info

• ASUS Eee Pad MeMO ME171, ME370T and high-end Transformer Prime TF700T revealed
• ASUS rebrands its tablets 'Transformer Pads,' announces the high-end Infinity Series with either Tegra 3 or Snapdragon's S4 chip
• ASUS Transformer Pad Infinity Series hits the FCC

When ASUS first teased the Transformer Pad Infinity TF700 back at CES, many customers looked on, simmering with rage. You see, only several weeks earlier the company started selling the Transformer Prime, a top-tier tablet priced at a not-so-cheap $500. It was a state-of-the-art product... until ASUS unveiled the TF700, a tablet that was similar, only better. It, too, has a Tegra 3 chip and 8-megapixel camera, but it adds a higher-res, 1920 x 1200 display and promises improved signal reception, a pain point for the Prime.

Little did those disgruntled Prime owners know it would actually be a long time before the TF700 ever became available. Now, we're finally hearing it will go on sale in the US in mid-July, at which point the Prime is expected to drop in price before it gets discontinued. But is the TF700 all that much of an improvement over the original? And how does it stack up against comparably priced tablets, such as the new iPad, Acer Iconia Tab A700 and Toshiba Excite 10? Check out our early review to find out.

Gallery: ASUS Transformer Pad Infinity TF700 review

Continue reading ASUS Transformer Pad Infinity TF700 review: meet the company's new top-of-the-line tablet

ASUS Transformer Pad Infinity TF700 review: meet the company's new top-of-the-line tablet originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 25 Jun 2012 03:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Bitcasa Launches Open Beta Of Its Unlimited Cloud Storage Service, Raises $7M Series A Round

Cloud storage company Bitcasa today announced that it's now opening its beta to the public. The service, which says that it will offer its users unlimited cloud storage, is currently available for free, but the company plans to charge $10/month after the beta period. In addition, the company also announced that it has raised a $7 million Series A round led by existing investor Pelion Venture Partners and new investor Horizons Ventures. Andreessen Horowitz, First Round Capital, CrunchFund, and Samsung Ventures also participated in this round. This brings Bitcasa's total funding to $9 million. The company says it will use these new funds to bring its new storage and data management offerings to market faster and expand its sales and marketing teams.

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A new vision for harnessing data about life on Earth

Public release date: 21-Jun-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Sampreethi Aipanjiguly
saipanjiguly@gbif.org
Global Biodiversity Information Facility

Conference will develop strategy to prioritize investment in biodiversity informatics

Experts from around the world are preparing to address the urgent need to improve understanding of the complexities and patterns of global biodiversity.

The Global Biodiversity Informatics Conference (GBIC) will convene 100 leading specialists in biodiversity science, informatics, conservation and policy in Copenhagen, Denmark from 2-4 July.

They will help build the foundations of a new strategy and roadmap to make best use of the growing suite of tools to record and connect data about the living world, providing scientific support for measures to tackle the crisis of biodiversity loss.

Donald Hobern, executive secretary of the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), organizers and co-hosts of the conference, launched a vision statement for the event as world leaders approached the climax of their talks in Rio de Janeiro to chart a more sustainable development path for the world.

"In effect, GBIF and its partners are seeking to develop a vision for a 21st-century informatics-based biodiversity science," Hobern observed in a statement addressed to GBIF's participant countries and organizations.

Hobern highlighted the increasing number of tools now available to assist us with measuring, recording and observing biodiversity, including rapid gene sequencing technologies, a wealth of imaging, satellite monitoring and sensor systems, and an army of amateur observers armed with smartphones and global positioning tools.

"The first task for GBIC is therefore to consider the virtual tool-box of instruments that are already at our disposal or just around the corner for observing, measuring and characterizing biodiversity. What tools could we use to build a comprehensive observing/recording network for biodiversity in the next decade?" Hobern added.

"The next task for GBIC will be to understand what we may be able to achieve with these tools at our disposal. Combining different classes of data provided these data are sufficiently comprehensive and reliable may allow us to attack the problems that interest us in completely novel ways.

"Recognizing what may be possible will help to identify the most important areas for investment and for closer collaboration between national, regional and global initiatives. The attendees at GBIC are being brought together to stimulate thinking on these possibilities," Hobern concluded.

The major output of the conference will be a Global Biodiversity Informatics Outlook (GBIO), aiming to set out priorities for the next 5-10 years in order to guide funding agencies and broaden the evidence base for policies to conserve and sustainably use biodiversity.

###

GBIC is hosted by GBIF and the University of Copenhagen, and organized in conjunction with CReATIVE-B (Lifewatch) (NOTE: link to creative-b.eu), the Encyclopedia of Life, the Consortium for the Barcode of Life and the Natural History Museum, London.

For more information please contact:

Tim Hirsch
GBIF Secretariat
thirsch@gbif.org

Notes:

The full vision statement for GBIC can be accessed at http://links.gbif.org/supporting_biodiversity_science.pdf

For full programme, speakers and participants, see www.gbic2012.org

The Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) was established by governments in 2001 to encourage free and open access to biodiversity data, via the Internet. Through a global network of 57 countries and 47 organizations, GBIF promotes and facilitates the mobilization, access, discovery and use of information about the occurrence of organisms over time and across the planet.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 21-Jun-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Sampreethi Aipanjiguly
saipanjiguly@gbif.org
Global Biodiversity Information Facility

Conference will develop strategy to prioritize investment in biodiversity informatics

Experts from around the world are preparing to address the urgent need to improve understanding of the complexities and patterns of global biodiversity.

The Global Biodiversity Informatics Conference (GBIC) will convene 100 leading specialists in biodiversity science, informatics, conservation and policy in Copenhagen, Denmark from 2-4 July.

They will help build the foundations of a new strategy and roadmap to make best use of the growing suite of tools to record and connect data about the living world, providing scientific support for measures to tackle the crisis of biodiversity loss.

Donald Hobern, executive secretary of the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), organizers and co-hosts of the conference, launched a vision statement for the event as world leaders approached the climax of their talks in Rio de Janeiro to chart a more sustainable development path for the world.

"In effect, GBIF and its partners are seeking to develop a vision for a 21st-century informatics-based biodiversity science," Hobern observed in a statement addressed to GBIF's participant countries and organizations.

Hobern highlighted the increasing number of tools now available to assist us with measuring, recording and observing biodiversity, including rapid gene sequencing technologies, a wealth of imaging, satellite monitoring and sensor systems, and an army of amateur observers armed with smartphones and global positioning tools.

"The first task for GBIC is therefore to consider the virtual tool-box of instruments that are already at our disposal or just around the corner for observing, measuring and characterizing biodiversity. What tools could we use to build a comprehensive observing/recording network for biodiversity in the next decade?" Hobern added.

"The next task for GBIC will be to understand what we may be able to achieve with these tools at our disposal. Combining different classes of data provided these data are sufficiently comprehensive and reliable may allow us to attack the problems that interest us in completely novel ways.

"Recognizing what may be possible will help to identify the most important areas for investment and for closer collaboration between national, regional and global initiatives. The attendees at GBIC are being brought together to stimulate thinking on these possibilities," Hobern concluded.

The major output of the conference will be a Global Biodiversity Informatics Outlook (GBIO), aiming to set out priorities for the next 5-10 years in order to guide funding agencies and broaden the evidence base for policies to conserve and sustainably use biodiversity.

###

GBIC is hosted by GBIF and the University of Copenhagen, and organized in conjunction with CReATIVE-B (Lifewatch) (NOTE: link to creative-b.eu), the Encyclopedia of Life, the Consortium for the Barcode of Life and the Natural History Museum, London.

For more information please contact:

Tim Hirsch
GBIF Secretariat
thirsch@gbif.org

Notes:

The full vision statement for GBIC can be accessed at http://links.gbif.org/supporting_biodiversity_science.pdf

For full programme, speakers and participants, see www.gbic2012.org

The Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) was established by governments in 2001 to encourage free and open access to biodiversity data, via the Internet. Through a global network of 57 countries and 47 organizations, GBIF promotes and facilitates the mobilization, access, discovery and use of information about the occurrence of organisms over time and across the planet.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

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10 Classic License Plates We Want on Our Cars

License plates are more than simply stiff sheets of aluminum with random assemblages of numbers and letters pressed into them. The colors and styles represent not only the people and landscape of the state itself, but also the period when those plates were issued. There's a sizeable collector market for these pieces of automotive history; a great resource is the Automobile License Plate Collectors Association.

It's no wonder, then, the proposals for new plate designs usually ignite fights across entire states. Californians are so nostalgic for their old plates that there's actually legislation pending (assembly bill 1658) that would create a program to reissue some of the state's most popular vintage plates. We certainly hope it passes. Until then, here are 10 of our favorite old (and new) plates from around the country.

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Record heat forecast for Northeast

It's not officially summer yet but it felt like a mid-summer scorcher in the Midwest Tuesday, with 94 degrees in Chicago and not nearly enough rain -- and it's all headed East. NBC's Anne Thompson reports.

By The Associated Press and The Weather Channel

Temperatures across the Northeast were expected to approach triple digits Wednesday, just as summer officially begins.

The National Weather Service has forecast potentially record-breaking hot temperatures, with readings expected to be in the mid- to high-90s Wednesday and Thursday in cities including Philadelphia, New York and Boston. Humidity could make it feel even hotter.

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Locations from Philadelphia to Baltimore and Washington, D.C. could top out in the upper 90s to near 100 degrees, while interior cities such as Pittsburgh, Pa., Albany, N.Y. and Burlington, Vt. will also surge into the 90s, The Weather Channel reported.

Sweltering heat will also persist farther to the west in the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley, including Chicago, Ill., Detroit, Mich., Cleveland, Ohio and Louisville, Ky.

Check on elderly neighbors
Health officials warned residents to drink water, stay out of the sun and in air conditioning, and to check on elderly neighbors and pets, according to The Associated Press. For those without air conditioning, "cooling centers" have been set up in public buildings in dozens of cities.

New York City's 1.1 million public school students are still in session for another week, and just 64 percent of classrooms are air-conditioned.

Mark Lennihan / AP

Bernard Gaines, right, describes how wide his window is as he shops for an air conditioner with the help of salesman Leon Blackwood at P.C. Richard & Son, an electronics and appliance store, Tuesday, in Brooklyn, New York.

Students were being advised to wear light clothing and drink plenty of water, and schools have been told to limit outdoor playtime, city Education Department spokeswoman Marge Feinberg said.

In Brooklyn, street vendor James Martin said his family's sixth-floor apartment in Coney Island has no air conditioning and can get really hot. But "we open the front door and all the windows, and we get a nice breeze," he said.

The cities of Buffalo and Rochester, N.Y., opened several spray parks on Tuesday to help residents cool off as hot, muggy weather settled in. Buffalo, which will only be in the mid- to high-80s on Wednesday and Thursday, doesn't normally open its 11 splash pads until July 1.

PhotoBlog: Record high temperatures to greet summer solstice

The wilting heat also will hit Boston-area residents hard. Temperatures of up to 97 degrees are forecast for Wednesday, followed by 99 on Thursday, the weather service said. Current record highs for these dates are 98 and 95 degrees, respectively.

Philadelphians may see the mercury soar to 95 and 99 degrees mid-week after enjoying relatively mild June temperatures.?Normally, the high for Philadelphia at this time of year is about 84 degrees ? closer to Wednesday's predicted low of 80 degrees. The city's highs in the next couple of days will approach, if not break, decades-old records of 98 degrees, set in 1931, and 99, set in 1923.

The city began a staggered schedule of opening its swimming pools on Monday, a couple of days after schools let out for the year. Nearly two dozen of the city's 70 pools will be open by Wednesday, with another seven opening Thursday.

"We're very lucky that the pools opened yesterday," James Garrow, a spokesman for the Philadelphia health department, said Tuesday.

Cooling centers
He added that the city will activate its heat hotline at noon Wednesday and will work with personal care homes, senior centers, libraries and recreation centers to make sure air conditioners are running.

Officials will be setting up 114 cooling centers at facilities across the city, said Garrow.

The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, the state's largest transit agency, is keeping a close eye on the heat as well, spokeswoman Jerri Williams said.

SEPTA, which operates trains, trolleys and buses in Philadelphia and its suburbs, planned to have extra maintenance workers to help deal with heat-related switch failures, problems with track expansion and any overhead wire issues on suburban train lines.

In Rhode Island, all regular public buses and trolleys will be free on Wednesday due to anticipated air quality issues.

Moderate relief from the high mercury should come this weekend, The Associated Press reported.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

More content from msnbc.com and NBC News:

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? 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Montreal Author Robert Landori Delivers Another Fast Paced International Thriller

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Emeralds seek the "De Beers" treatment

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A year ago, Heraldo Casas found a 32-carat emerald on the outskirts of a mine near Bogota that he sold for $170,000 to a vendor.

It was enough money for the poor miner to buy his family a house in the Colombian capital. And Casas says his lucky find got him hooked on working for virtually nothing, scouring the countryside for more of the green, precious stones.

In Colombia, the world's largest producer of raw emeralds, the story told by Casas is no anomaly. Many of the country's poor work without a salary for several local emerald mining concerns, hoping to pocket a few stones along the way and make their own small fortunes.

It's no easy way to earn a living. But for these poor Colombians, there's hope that better days may be on the horizon.

Some investment experts see growing demand for the stones in places such as Asia and the Middle East, where for religious and astrological reasons emeralds often have more appeal than diamonds or other precious gems.

Colombia, which has the largest emerald deposits in the world, is particularly well-positioned to benefit from this increased demand. Several countries in Africa also have large emerald deposits.

"I would look at emeralds as a way of playing the huge demand for luxury goods from China and the Middle East," said Caspar Trenthard, investment director for UK smaller companies at Standard Life Investment.

Standard Life is a shareholder in Gemfields PLC , a small company trying to position itself as the leader in emerald mining. Gemfields wants to move the business beyond its local-miner image and onto a bigger stage.

"Color-stone mining around the world is done on a very small scale, almost mom and pop," said Ian Harebottle, chief executive of Gemfields, referring to a model that has hampered Colombia from better exploiting the abundance of its natural resource.

NOT EASY BEING GREEN

Harebottle said his company, which is publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange's Alternative Investment Market, is trying to change that model. But one problem Gemfields faces is the lack of a uniform "grading system" for emeralds like there is for diamonds.

Clarity, brightness and color are established characteristics of diamonds. But the standards for emeralds are still in flux and not universally agreed upon, something that can affect pricing and profitability.

Gemfields' goal is to do what privately owned De Beers did for diamonds by creating a stable market for emeralds and enhancing the gem's image as more than an exotic colored stone.

"We are very fortunate because we can look at De Beers' history and say: let's do what they did well, better, and let's avoid what they did wrong," Harebottle told Reuters in a telephone interview from the company's Kagem emerald mine in Zambia.

Gemfields begins with an advantage over De Beers in that emeralds do not have the stigma of "blood diamonds", or such gems mined in a war zone and sold to finance insurgency.

The company says it carefully promotes a mission to mine and market emeralds in an ethical, legal and environmentally friendly way to attract customers who want to know that its miners are well treated and do not work illegally.

Gemfields produces 20 percent of all the emeralds in the world, most of that coming from its mine in Zambia. It is the largest player in emerald mining and each month extracts 2 million to 3 million carats of the gemstones.

Carat prices for small, high-quality emeralds have risen 1,000 percent in the past three years to around $40 for a stone that is uncut and in the rough, according to industry analysts.

In the past three years, Gemfields' stock price has soared from 3 pence a share to 38 pence a share on the AIM.

But its small market capitalization of $208.5 million has kept some investors away. Other money managers are worried that a single shareholder, a division of South African-based private equity firm Pallinghurst Group , owns 63 percent of Gemfields.

RISK FACTORS

Political risk is also a factor, as a change in Zambian government policy could negatively affect the company's operations. It's one reason Gemfields is looking at Colombia as a place to open a second mine, said a person familiar with the company but unauthorized to speak for it.

Ironically, after years of drug violence and political corruption, Colombia is now seen as a more hospitable environment for some mining operations.

In addition, the company's long-term prospects come down to supply and demand. Like any other gemstone producer, Gemfields' business remains sensitive to consumer preferences and disposable income.

"We are selling a luxury good. It is not food, it is not fuel, so there is a dependence on people's ability to buy something of luxury," Harebottle said.

Yet some analysts view this alternative market as a solid diversification tool, and a good store of value, in an adventurous investor's portfolio given its upward trajectory in an otherwise sputtering global economy.

"As liquidity in the company improves, Gemfields is starting to get a broader audience of investors who are having a look at it because they can actually make some good money," said Alexander Mees, equity analyst at JP Morgan Cazenove.

That said, it is unlikely that diamonds will be overtaken as the top-selling precious stone anytime soon. But in a world where high-yield investments are few and far between, some believe colored gemstones such as emeralds are making a mark.

"People are looking for a safe haven to put their dollars, which are worth less every day, into something that has strong intrinsic value or something that will appreciate," said Jeffrey Roseman, president of David Harvey Jewelers Inc, based in Darien, Connecticut.

"There is no question people are seeking fine gemstones."

(Editing by Jennifer Ablan, Matthew Goldstein and Dale Hudson)

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BeBe Winans writing book on Whitney Houston

FILE - This Oct. 20, 2011 file photo shows Bebe Winans poses after he and CeCe Winans received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles. Winans, who sang at Whitney Houston's funeral, announced Thursday he has written "The Whitney I Knew," due out July 31. The book promises what is described as "heart-breaking accounts that led to her ultimate defeat." (AP Photo/Nick Ut, file)

FILE - This Oct. 20, 2011 file photo shows Bebe Winans poses after he and CeCe Winans received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles. Winans, who sang at Whitney Houston's funeral, announced Thursday he has written "The Whitney I Knew," due out July 31. The book promises what is described as "heart-breaking accounts that led to her ultimate defeat." (AP Photo/Nick Ut, file)

NEW YORK (AP) ? Whitney Houston's mother isn't the only person writing a book on the superstar.

Gospel singer BeBe Winans ? who sang at Houston's funeral ? announced Thursday he has written "The Whitney I Knew," due out July 31.

The book promises what is described as "heart-breaking accounts that led to her ultimate defeat." It will also include photos and personal videos of the singer never released to the public.

Winans and his family knew Houston for years. His announcement comes as he prepares to release a new album, "America America" next week.

Houston died at 48 in February. Authorities called her death on an accident drowning, complicated by heart disease and cocaine use.

Earlier this month, it was announced that Houston's mother, Cissy, was writing a book due out next year.

Associated Press

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Russia appeals for respect from fans at Euro 2012

By MIKE CORDER

Associated Press

Associated Press Sports

updated 11:51 a.m. ET June 10, 2012

WARSAW, Poland (AP) -Russia's football federation warned its fans Sunday that hooliganism could cost the team vital points at Euro 2012 after UEFA opened disciplinary proceedings into reports of violence by supporters at the team's first match.

Video emerged Saturday of Russia fans fighting with stadium stewards in Wroclaw and UEFA also says it is investigating reports by anti-racism experts of abuse directed at Czech players during Russia's 4-1 victory.

In a statement posted on its website, the Football Union of Russia called on its large contingent of traveling fans to "Respect yourself, your home and your team."

The statement praised the majority of its fans for their boisterous support of the team but said political statements "have no place in the stands" and told supporters to cooperate fully with match organizers.

Friday's incidents flared before Russia takes on Poland in a highly charged Group A match in Warsaw on Tuesday - a Russian national holiday when fans plan to march from the city center to the stadium.

The head of the Russian football union and the team's coach placed a wreath Sunday in Warsaw to honor the Polish president and 95 others killed in a 2010 plane crash in Russia.

The symbolic gesture came amid ongoing tensions between Poland and Russia based on a difficult history of war and occupation as well as new distrust that has emerged in the aftermath of the crash.

Sergei Fursenko and Dick Advocaat placed a wreath of pale pink roses at a plaque at the presidential palace in the Polish capital.

Anti-racist experts appointed by UEFA to monitor matches reported Saturday that fans verbally abused Czech defender Theodor Gebre Selassie, who is black.

UEFA's disciplinary panel will review the case against Russia - using "security reports and available images" - on Wednesday.

The alleged improper conduct relates to "crowd disturbances, the setting off and throwing of fireworks and the display of illicit banners," UEFA said.

Russia warned its fans not to throw fireworks, after the Czech Republic match was briefly held up while a steward removed a firework from the pitch.

"We understand your strong feelings and emotions in supporting the team and appreciate that you are so strongly rooting for us in the European Championship, but if this happens again the team could expect serious sanctions from UEFA, including the halting of the match and a technical defeat," the Russian football union said in a statement addressed to supporters.

It cited the example of Serbia, which missed a playoff spot in qualifying for Euro 2012 by a single point. Serbia's qualifier against Italy in Genoa was called off when fans threw flares and fireworks onto the pitch with the score at 0-0 and then clashed with police outside the stadium. UEFA awarded Italy a 3-0 win.

In Friday's incident, four stewards at the stadium were hospitalized and later discharged after being attacked by Russia fans, city police said.

Online footage showed fans punching the security staff in a stadium concourse area. One steward was punched to the ground and then kicked before the fans walked away.

Police and a witness who took video footage said the Russia fans became aggressive when stewards tried to capture a man who had thrown firecrackers toward the pitch.

Monitors from the Football Against Racism in Europe (FARE) fans' network reported to UEFA that Russia fans also displayed a nationalist "Russian Empire" flag.

The symbol was one "we take as evidence of far-right sensibilities," FARE executive director Piara Powar told The Associated Press.

Russian authorities urged fans to "realize that the success of the team is more important than any political or personal ambitions."

It also told them: "Don't succumb to provocations and help maintain order in the stadium. Root for us and not against someone. Help Russia win the tournament."

Friday's incidents are not the only ones to involve fans at Euro 2012.

Polish police said they had arrested 14 supporters involved in a brawl that broke out overnight ahead of Sunday's Group C match between Ireland and Croatia.

The fighting, which involved glass bottles and chairs being thrown, took place in the early hours of Sunday on the main square of Poznan.

Police detained 10 Poles, three Irish fans and one Croat, and were still trying to determine what role they had in the fight.

----

Associated Press writers Vanessa Gera in Warsaw, Karel Janicek in Wroclaw and Lynn Berry in Moscow contributed to this story.

? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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More newsGiuseppe Cacace / AFP - Getty Images

Room for improvement

PST: Favored Spain didn't play badly, except by its lofty standards, in a 1-1 tie with Italy in an opening Group C match Sunday. But there's plenty of room for improvement.

Shaun Botterill / Getty Images

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Douglas, Wieber tie in 1st night of gym nationals

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Venezuela court decisions shake up 2 small parties

Opposition presidential candidate Henrique Capriles gestures as he delivers a speech during a ceremony in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, June 6, 2012. Capriles, Governor of the Venezuelan central state of Miranda, left his position on Wednesday to formally start his career as a presidential candidate to face Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Opposition presidential candidate Henrique Capriles gestures as he delivers a speech during a ceremony in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, June 6, 2012. Capriles, Governor of the Venezuelan central state of Miranda, left his position on Wednesday to formally start his career as a presidential candidate to face Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

In this photo released by Miraflores Press Office, Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez smiles as he delivers a speech at Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, June 4, 2012. (AP Photo/Matrcelo Garcia, Mirafores Press Office)

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) ? Venezuela's Supreme Court has issued decisions shaking up the leadership of two small political parties, potentially preventing them from backing opposition presidential candidate Henrique Capriles.

The court's decisions, which call for immediate changes to the leadership of the parties Podemos and PPT, drew a sharp rebuke on Friday from one prominent party leader as well as criticism by the opposition.

Ismael Garcia, who was pushed aside as leader of Podemos, blamed President Hugo Chavez for the court's actions.

"The government isn't going to expropriate us," Garcia said in a televised speech as supporters cheered, saying party members still back Capriles regardless of the court's ruling.

Capriles condemned the legal decisions, saying that Chavez's government is resorting to desperate tactics to keep the two parties from supporting his candidacy. Both used to be pro-Chavez but have moved to the opposition.

Chavez's critics have repeatedly accused the president of wielding undue influence over the judiciary and using it to go after his adversaries. Chavez has denied those accusations.

"They're judicial tricks, the use of power to politically favor one option," Capriles said Friday in an interview with the TV channel Venevision. "Why does the court have to be deciding on organizations and political parties?"

In the case of Podemos, Capriles said, "in the end the decision is to prohibit them from nominating Capriles as candidate for president. That was the only objective of that decision."

Capriles had said Thursday on Twitter that most members of the two parties will remain with him regardless of the decisions.

The Supreme Court said in a statement on its website Thursday that it had decided to recognize former pro-Chavez state governor Didalco Bolivar as the leader of Podemos, rather than established leader Garcia, a vocal government critic.

A similar ruling in the case of PPT was announced by the court on Wednesday. It voided the party's most recent internal elections, which were carried out in October, and ordered it to hold new elections within 90 days.

The decisions could prevent the parties from backing Capriles before a Monday deadline for parties to specify the presidential candidate they will support.

Podemos broke with Chavez's government in 2007. PPT, which in Spanish stands for Fatherland For All, similarly has irked Chavez's government by defecting from its camp.

On the ballot in Venezuela, candidates' photos typically appear along with the symbols of parties that back them.

"We're the face of Podemos, and if you all put the faces of your political hit men and yours there... that will only be rejected by the people," Garcia said. "We represent it and you're not going to be able to change that."

The court's decisions drew criticism from others as well. Gustavo Hernandez Acevedo, a blogger writing on the website Caracas Chronicles, said the ruling "showcases just how far Hugo Chavez is willing to go to punish those he sees as traitors."

In the case of Podemos, the Supreme Court said in a statement that it had decided to review an earlier decision by its Electoral Chamber, which in March had denied a challenge by Bolivar to an agreement by party leaders to postpone internal elections.

The court said that Bolivar will lead the party "until the current case is dealt with in depth." That means Bolivar is to have the last word on which candidate the party will back in the presidential election, and he is expected to support Chavez.

Bolivar, a former governor of Aragua state, previously faced corruption charges and has changed political loyalties. He split with Chavez in 2007 when the governor refused to participate in the president's plan for various parties to join together in a single pro-government party.

In 2009, Bolivar was summoned for arraignment on corruption charges and sought asylum in Peru, saying he was being targeted for political reasons. He then returned to Venezuela in August 2011 saying he would face justice. He was jailed but later freed.

Capriles has the backing of a coalition of opposition parties. He was chosen in a February primary to be the opposition's single challenger to take on Chavez.

Capriles and Chavez both plan to formally sign up as candidates on Sunday and Monday, respectively, as they prepare for the Oct. 7 presidential vote.

The leftist president, who was first elected in 1998, is seeking another six-year term. He has recently scaled back his public appearances after undergoing cancer treatment in Cuba, and the race so far has been dominated by speculation about whether his illness may interfere with his re-election bid.

Capriles has been trailing in the polls, with survey results varying widely. Some polls touted by the government have given Chavez a lead of more than 20 percentage points, while others indicate a smaller margin for the president, some less than 5 percentage points.

Associated Press

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