NSA leaker charged with espionage, theft

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The Justice Department has charged former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden with espionage and theft of government property in the NSA surveillance case.

Snowden, believed to be holed up in Hong Kong, has admitted providing information to the news media about two highly classified NSA surveillance programs.

A one-page criminal complaint unsealed Friday in federal court in Alexandria, Va., says Snowden engaged in unauthorized communication of national defense information and willful communication of classified communications intelligence information. Both are charges under the Espionage Act. Snowden also is charged with theft of government property. All three crimes carry a maximum 10-year prison penalty.

The federal court in the Eastern District of Virginia where the complaint was filed is headquarters for Snowden's former employer, government contractor Booz Allen Hamilton.

The complaint is dated June 14, five days after Snowden's name first surfaced as the leaker of information about the two programs in which the NSA gathered telephone and Internet records to ferret out terror plots.

The complaint could become an integral part of a U.S. government effort to have Snowden extradited from Hong Kong, a process that could turn into a prolonged legal battle. Snowden could contest extradition on grounds of political persecution. In general, the extradition agreement between the U.S. and Hong Kong excepts political offenses from the obligation to turn over a person.

Hong Kong had no immediate reaction.

In Iceland, a business executive said Friday that a private plane was on standby to transport Snowden from Hong Kong to Iceland, although Iceland's government says it has not received an asylum request from Snowden.

Business executive Olafur Vignir Sigurvinsson said he has been in contact with someone representing Snowden and has not spoken to the American himself. Private donations are being collected to pay for the flight, he said.

"There are a number of people that are interested in freedom of speech and recognize the importance of knowing who is spying on us," Sigurvinsson said. "We are people that care about privacy."

Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, welcomed the charges. "I've always thought this was a treasonous act," he said in a statement. "I hope Hong Kong's government will take him into custody and extradite him to the U.S."

Michael di Pretoro, a retired 30-year veteran with the FBI who served from 1990 to 1994 as the legal liaison officer at the American consulate in Hong Kong, said "relations between U.S. and Hong Kong law enforcement personnel are historically quite good."

"In my time, I felt the degree of cooperation was outstanding to the extent that I almost felt I was in an FBI field office," said di Pretoro.

The U.S. and Hong Kong cooperate on law enforcement matters and have a standing agreement on the surrender of fugitives.

However, Snowden's appeal rights could drag out any extradition proceeding.

The success or failure of any extradition proceeding depends on what the suspect is charged with under U.S. law and how it corresponds to Hong Kong law under the treaty. In order for Hong Kong officials to honor the extradition request, they have to have some applicable statute under their law that corresponds with a violation of U.S. law.

Disclosure of the criminal complaint came as President Barack Obama held his first meeting with a privacy and civil liberties board as his intelligence chief sought ways to help Americans understand more about sweeping government surveillance efforts exposed by Snowden.

The five members of the little-known Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board met with Obama for an hour in the White House Situation Room, questioning the president on the two NSA programs that have stoked controversy.

One program collects billions of U.S. phone records. The second gathers audio, video, email, photographic and Internet search usage of foreign nationals overseas, and probably some Americans in the process, who use major providers such as Microsoft, Google, Apple, and Yahoo.

___

Associated Press writer Jenna Gottlieb in Reykjavik, Iceland, contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nsa-leaker-charged-espionage-theft-001952096.html

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Some immigrants excluded from health care overhaul

PHOENIX (AP) ? President Barack Obama has championed two sweeping policy changes that could transform how people live in the United States: affordable health care for all and a path to citizenship for the 11 million immigrants illegally in the country.

But many immigrants will have to wait more than a decade to qualify for health care benefits under the proposed immigration overhaul being debated by Congress, ensuring a huge swath of people will remain uninsured as the centerpiece of Obama's health care law launches next year.

Lawmakers pushing the immigration bill said adding more recipients to an already costly benefit would make it unaffordable.

Health care analysts and immigration proponents argue that denying coverage will saddle local governments with the burden of uninsured immigrants. They also fear a crisis down the road as immigrants become eligible for coverage, but are older, sicker and require more expensive care. Those placed on provisional status would become the nation's second-largest population of uninsured, or about 25 percent, according to a 2012 study by the Urban Institute.

"All health research shows that the older you get, the sicker you become, so these people will be sicker and will be more expensive on the system," said Matthew O'Brien, who runs a health clinic for immigrants in Philadelphia and researches health trends at Temple University.

The Affordable Care Act will make health insurance accessible for millions of uninsured people starting in January through taxpayer-subsidized private policies for middle-class families and expanded access to Medicaid, the program for low-income people funded by federal and state dollars. The proposed immigration overhaul explicitly states immigrants cannot receive Medicaid or receive the health subsidies for more than a decade after they qualify for legal status, and only after certain financial and security requirements have been met.

Immigrants with provisional status may obtain insurance through employers, but many are unskilled and undereducated, and tend to work low-wage jobs at small businesses that don't have to provide the benefit under the health care law. Immigrants illegally in the country also can access community health centers, but the officials who run those clinics said they are overwhelmed by the demand.

"We can't help everybody," said Bethy Mathis, executive director of Wesley Community Center in Phoenix. The clinic serves 7,000 patients a year who seek everything from vaccinations and relief from minor medical problems to care for long-term health conditions such as diabetes.

Debate over whether immigrants illegally in the country should be eligible for federal benefits nearly sank Obama's health care reform before it was passed by Congress in 2010. For lawmakers pushing immigration reform, there was no question that immigrants would continue to be excluded.

"That's one of the privileges of citizenship," said Republican Sen. John McCain, one of the so-called Gang of Eight pushing the immigration bill, during a conference call with reporters. "That's just what it is. I don't know why we would want to provide Obamacare to someone who is not a citizen of this country."

The issue has received more attention in recent weeks. Some House Republicans have threatened to kill the immigration bill unless immigrants are required to pay for all their health care costs even after they gain legal status. Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer, meanwhile, said she wants the government to distribute at least $250 million to state and local governments because they are the ones who will feel the financial pain of immigrants being left out of the health care law.

Pregnant women, children, seniors and the disabled are eligible for emergency Medicaid services regardless of their immigration status.

The politics behind the bill offer little solace to immigrant families struggling with growing medical bills.

Isabel Castillo came to the U.S. illegally with her parents when she was a child. She's now 28 and has not gone for an annual physical exam since 2007. Every pain triggers debate over whether it's worth a medical visit or not.

"You are like, 'God, should I go, should I wait? The bill is going to be so high,'" Castillo said. "You just wait until you can't tolerate the pain anymore and then you go to the emergency room."

Immigrants who are U.S. citizens are also affected by the limits on health care access if they provide for family members here illegally.

High school student Jacqueline Garcia of Phoenix works two jobs to support her 13-year-old brother and 52-year-old grandmother, who has severe diabetes. The woman's mobility is limited, her vision and memory are fading and she sometimes suffers from seizures. The children were born in the United States and are being raised by the grandmother, who does not have lawful status and as a result does not qualify for Medicaid.

"Every time she gets sick, I have to take her to the doctor. It's really expensive," Garcia said. "What if my grandmother doesn't make it for the 10 years? I mean, I am always going to be struggling. That's too long."

Opponents said they understand the concerns of immigrants not getting health care, but it becomes an issue of the added expense.

"We aren't saying people shouldn't get health care. The question is who is going to pay for it?" said Ira Mehlman, spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, a national group that opposes the immigration overhaul. "They would all be on Medicaid or heavily subsidized in some other way."

Critics of the decision said immigrants are eager to pay for affordable health care insurance and already support federal benefits by paying sales and income taxes. They note that adults unable to overcome health emergencies are less likely to contribute to the workforce and society.

"The risk of them being uninsured if they are in the country illegally is the same risk of anyone else in the country not being insured," said Stephen Zuckerman, a health economist for the Urban Institute. "It's always more expensive to treat people at a more advanced stage of disease."

In North Carolina, Jessica Sanchez-Rodriguez said she has undergone a series of surgeries and medicines to treat her spina bifida, a developmental congenital disorder, and an ailment that leads to brain swelling. Her parents brought her illegally from Mexico when she was 11 months old. As a minor, she received subsidized medical care, but she was cut off when she turned 18 in February.

Her family is trying to raise money for a $55,000 surgery to connect a catheter to her bladder.

"It's terrible," Sanchez-Rodriguez said. "I have to go to school with these pains."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/immigrants-excluded-health-care-overhaul-083920285.html

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Brazil: 250K protest against govt corruption

SAO PAULO (AP) ? More than 250,000 anti-government demonstrators again took to streets in several Brazilian cities Saturday and engaged police in some isolated, intense conflicts. Anger over political corruption emerged as the unifying issue for the demonstrators, who vowed to stay in the streets until concrete steps are taken to reform the political system.

Across Brazil, protesters gathered to denounce legislation, known as PEC 37, that would limit the power of federal prosecutors to investigate crimes ? which many fear would hinder attempts to jail corrupt politicians.

Federal prosecutors were behind the investigation into the biggest corruption case in Brazil's history, the so-called "mensalao" cash-for-votes scheme that came to light in 2005 and involved top aides of former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva buying off members of congress to vote for their legislation.

Last year, the supreme court condemned two dozen people in connection to the case, which was hailed as a watershed moment in Brazil's fight against corruption. However, those condemned have yet to be jailed because of appeals, a delay that has enraged Brazilians.

The protests continued despite a prime-time speech the night before from President Dilma Rousseff, a former leftist guerrilla who was tortured during Brazil's military dictatorship. She tried to appease demonstrators by reiterating that peaceful protests were a welcome, democratic action and emphasizing that she would not condone corruption in her government.

"Dilma is underestimating the resolve of the people on the corruption issue," said Mayara Fernandes, a medical student who took part in a march Saturday in Sao Paulo. "She talked and talked and said nothing. Nobody can take the corruption of this country anymore."

The wave of protests began as opposition to transportation fare hikes, then became a laundry list of causes including anger at high taxes, poor services and high World Cup spending, before coalescing around the issue of rampant government corruption. They have become the largest public demonstrations Latin America's biggest nation has seen in two decades.

Across Brazil, police estimated that about 60,000 demonstrators gathered in a central square in the city of Belo Horizonte, 30,000 shut down a main business avenue in Sao Paulo, and another 30,000 gathered in the city in southern Brazil where a nightclub fire killed over 240 mostly university students, deaths many argued could have been avoided with better government oversight of fire laws. Tens of thousands more protested in more than 100 Brazilian cities, bringing the nationwide total to 250,000, according to a police count published on the website of the Globo TV network, Brazil's largest.

In Belo Horizonte, police used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse protesters who tried to pass through a barrier and hurled rocks at a car dealership. Salvador also saw protests turn violent.

During her pre-recorded TV speech, Rousseff promised that she would always battle corruption and that she would meet with peaceful protesters, governors and the mayors of big cities to create a national plan to improve urban transportation and use oil royalties for investments in education.

Many Brazilians, shocked by a week of protests and violence, hoped that Rousseff's words after several days of silence from the leader would soothe tensions and help avoid more violence, but not all were convinced by her promises of action.

Victoria Villela, a 21-year-old university student in the Sao Paulo protest, said she was "frustrated and exhausted by the endless corruption of our government."

"It was good Dilma spoke, but this movement has moved too far, there was not much she could really say. All my friends were talking on Facebook about how she said nothing that satisfied them. I think the protests are going to continue for a long time and the crowds will still be huge."

Around her, fathers held young boys aloft on their shoulders, older women gathered in clusters with their faces bearing yellow and green stripes, the colors of Brazil's flag.

In the northeastern city of Salvador, where Brazil's national football team played Italy and won 4-2 in a Confederations Cup match, some 5,000 protesters gathered about 3 miles (5 kilometers) from the stadium, shouting demands for better schools and transportation and denouncing heavy spending on next year's World Cup.

They blocked a main road and clashed with riot police who moved in to clear the street. Protesters said police used rubber bullets and even tossed tear gas canisters from a helicopter hovering overhead. The protesters scattered and fled to a nearby shopping mall, where they tried to take shelter in an underground parking garage.

"We sat down and the police came and asked us to free up one lane for traffic. As we were organizing our group to do just that, the police lost their patience and began to shoot at us and throw (tear gas) canisters," said Rodrigo Dorado.

That was exactly the type of conflict Rousseff said needed to end, not just so Brazilians could begin a peaceful national discussion about corruption but because much of the violence is taking place in cities hosting foreign tourists attending the Confederations Cup.

Brazil's news media, which had blasted Rousseff in recent days for her lack of response to the protests, seemed largely unimpressed with her careful speech, but noted the difficult situation facing a government trying to understand a mass movement with no central leaders and a flood of demands.

With "no objective information about the nature of the organization of the protests," wrote Igor Gielow in a column for Brazil's biggest newspaper, Folha de S. Paulo, "Dilma resorted to an innocuous speech to cool down spirits."

At its height, some 1 million anti-government demonstrators took to the streets nationwide on Thursday night with grievances ranging from public services to the billions of dollars spent preparing for international sports events.

Outside the stadium in Belo Horizonte where Mexico and Japan met in a Confederations Cup game, Dadiana Gamaleliel, a 32-year-old physiotherapist, held up a banner that read: "Not against the games, in favor of the nation."

"I am protesting on behalf of the whole nation because this must be a nation where people have a voice ... we don't have a voice anymore," she said.

She said Rousseff's speech wouldn't "change anything."

"She spoke in a general way and didn't say what she would do," she said. "We will continue this until we are heard."

___

Associated press writers Tales Azzoni and Ricardo Zuniga in Salvador, Stan Lehman in Sao Paulo and Rob Harris in Belo Horizonte contributed to this report

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/brazil-250k-protest-against-govt-corruption-015658186.html

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Life after Kinect: PrimeSense's plans for a post-Microsoft future

When PrimeSense founder Aviad Maizels put a prototype of a 3D sensor on a chip in front of Microsoft in 2006, he had no idea it would lead to the biggest turning point in the Israeli startup's history. Four years later, its partnership with the Redmond giant resulted in Kinect, the motion-sensing camera that made headlines around the world. In 2013, however, Microsoft unveiled an all-new Kinect, the result of years of entirely in-house development -- without PrimeSense's assistance. As fate would have it, the company returned to its chip-making origins a year ago, creating a new product called Capri, a cheaper, lower-power and tinier version of its 3D system-on-a-chip; so tiny, in fact, that it's designed to be embedded inside tablets, laptops, thin displays and smartphones. With 3D use cases that go far beyond Dance Central, the Capri is the latest sign that PrimeSense is ready to break free from its video game roots.

Filed under: Cellphones, Gaming, Tablets, Wireless, Microsoft, ASUS, Nintendo

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/21/life-after-kinect-primesense-post-microsoft/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

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Yahoo's Mayer shines spotlight on video

By Alexei Oreskovic

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - As Marissa Mayer approaches her one-year anniversary as chief executive of Yahoo, she's hewing closely to the struggling Web portal's traditional advertising model--and eyeing more video programming of every stripe as central to the strategy.

"We're working on various methods in terms of how we can increase our video views, and watching," Mayer said at the Reuters Global Technology Summit on Thursday. "It's clear to me that our video business is something that's growing a lot. It's something that we'd like to accelerate."

Yahoo is currently bidding to acquire Hulu, the online hub for TV programming owned by Walt Disney Co and News Corp, sources with knowledge of the situation have told Reuters.

Mayer would not comment on the bid for Hulu.

The Web pioneer was looking at buying French video site DailyMotion but had to abandon the effort after objections from the French government.

Yahoo also has a growing menu of original video programming, such as the critically-acclaimed Burning Love TV reality show spoof, and it recently acquired the rights to the archive of Saturday Night Live television programs.

Online video commands higher ad rates than other types of Web content and has become a fiercely competitive arena as it is increasingly viewed as a bulwark against the steady decline in prices for online display ads.

On Thursday, Instagram, the mobile photo-sharing app owned by Facebook Inc, introduced a new feature that allows users to create 15-second videos. Facebook itself is reported to be readying an online video ad format. Google Inc's YouTube, the world's No.1 online video destination, is expected to generate $5 billion in revenue this year, according to RBC Capital Markets.

Mayer took the top job at Yahoo after a tumultuous period in which the company had churned through several CEOs and many of its top executives and engineers jumped ship.

She has revamped key products such as mail and the Yahoo home page, implemented morale-boosting measures like free food, and jumpstarted acquisitions. On Thursday, Yahoo closed its $1.1 billion acquisition of Tumblr, a blogging service that is one of the Web's most popular hubs of user-generated content.

Yahoo's stock has surged roughly 70 percent since Mayer became CEO. But Wall Street analysts say much of the gain has come from stock buybacks and from Yahoo's Asian assets, including a 24 percent stake in Chinese e-commerce giant and potential IPO debutante Alibaba Group.

PEANUT BUTTER AND JELLY

Yahoo's biggest near-term goal and most important yardstick by which to measure its progress will be the rate of increase in the amount of time users spend on its websites, Mayer said.

"Yahoo's ability to generate revenue for a thousand pages is reasonably good," Mayer said. "The challenge for Yahoo at the moment is traffic. How do we grow traffic? How do we gain usage? Because that ultimately will drive up revenue."

While rivals such as Google have experimented with new revenue streams, including subscription music services and online retailing, Mayer said Yahoo remains squarely focused on advertising.

"I believe in ads, I like ads. We may try some other things but Yahoo is an ad company," Mayer said, but added that it does not mean Yahoo will cut on its own original programming.

The company's headcount has decreased by about 1,000 employees during her first year, through a combination of attrition and ramped-up performance management, with staffers now getting reviewed on a quarterly basis instead of every year, she said.

But Mayer said the company was aggressively pursuing new talent: job applications recently peaked at 10,000 a week, more than twice the level of a year ago.

At the same time, Mayer has moved to cut back the thickets of bureaucracy that she said had sprouted across the company over its 18-year history.

Mayer installed a system called PB&J, short for Process, Bureaucracy and Jams. That has eliminated roughly 700 irksome or unnecessary procedures within the company, such as forcing employees to undergo a special orientation for the company gym.

"I understand that we are geeks and we may not be that coordinated but I think we can all figure out how to use a treadmill without an orientation," Mayer said.

Some industry-watchers assumed the PB&J moniker was an homage to the so-called "peanut butter manifesto," in which former Yahoo executives warned of problems plaguing the company.

Mayer said the real story was much simpler.

"Most days for lunch I have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich," she explained. "So sitting there I was like 'Can we call it something simple and fun like PB&J?' And we kind of backed into process, bureaucracy and jams. But it works."

Follow Reuters Summits on Twitter @Reuters_Summits

(Additional reporting by Poornima Gupta and Edwin Chan. Editing by Jonathan Weber and Edwina Gibbs)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/yahoos-mayer-shines-spotlight-video-150750346.html

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Brazil leader remains mute amid protests

People are reflected in the glass window of a commercial building that was damaged during protests in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Friday, June 21, 2013. Police and protesters fought in the streets into the early hours Friday as Brazilians swarmed through Brazilian cities in the biggest demonstrations yet against a government viewed as corrupt at all levels and unresponsive to its people. President Dilma Rousseff called an emergency meeting of her top Cabinet members for Friday morning, more than a week after the protests began. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

People are reflected in the glass window of a commercial building that was damaged during protests in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Friday, June 21, 2013. Police and protesters fought in the streets into the early hours Friday as Brazilians swarmed through Brazilian cities in the biggest demonstrations yet against a government viewed as corrupt at all levels and unresponsive to its people. President Dilma Rousseff called an emergency meeting of her top Cabinet members for Friday morning, more than a week after the protests began. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

A bus stop's window lays shattered below the seats after protests in Brasilia, the capital of Brazil, Friday, June 21, 2013. Police and protesters fought in the streets into the early hours Friday in the biggest demonstrations yet against a government viewed as corrupt at all levels and unresponsive to its people. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

A man walks near the entrance of a commercial building that was damaged during protests in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Friday, June 21, 2013. Police and protesters fought in the streets into the early hours Friday as Brazilians swarmed through Brazilian cities in the biggest demonstrations yet against a government viewed as corrupt at all levels and unresponsive to its people. President Dilma Rousseff called an emergency meeting of her top Cabinet members for Friday morning, more than a week after the protests began. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

A government worker takes pictures of glass that was broken the previous night when protesters tried to enter Itamaraty Palace, the foreign ministry's headquarters, in Brasilia, the capital of Brazil, Friday, June 21, 2013. Police and protesters fought in the streets into the early hours Friday in the biggest demonstrations yet against a government viewed as corrupt at all levels and unresponsive to its people. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

Police guard the building of Brazil's National Congress during a protest in Brasilia, Brazil, Thursday, June 20, 2013. More than half a million Brazilians poured into the streets of at least 80 Brazilian cities Thursday in demonstrations that saw violent clashes and renewed calls for an end to government corruption and demands for better public services. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) ? Brazilians struggled Friday to comprehend the protests shaking their nation after 1 million anti-government demonstrators took to the streets the previous night in scores of cities, with clusters battling police and destroying swaths of storefronts and government buildings.

President Dilma Rousseff held an emergency meeting about the protests with the nation's justice minister but didn't make any comment afterward, continuing her largely silent response to the unrest.

Her aides said they didn't know if she would address the nation in an attempt to calm protesters, but she was expected to meet in the afternoon with top bishops from the Catholic Church about the protests' possible effects on a papal visit still scheduled next month in Rio and Sao Paulo state.

Rousseff, a former leftist guerrilla who was imprisoned and tortured during Brazil's military dictatorship, has done little more than show brief support for the protesters since the biggest demonstrations seen here in decades began a week ago. That mute reaction has triggered furious criticism that she has let the situation spiral out of control.

There were also growing calls on social media and in mass emails for a general strike next week. However, Brazil's two largest nationwide unions, the Central Workers Union and the Union Force, said they knew nothing about such an action.

A Thursday night protest in Sao Paulo was the first with a strong union presence, with members wearing matching shirts and a marching drum corps leading them down a main avenue. But the majority of protesters across Brazil have called for a movement with no political parties or unions, widely considering them tinged with corruption.

So far, the protests have represented an amorphous explosion of discontent over everything from high crime to poor education to the high cost of hosting the upcoming World Cup and Olympics in Brazil.

The lack of much organization or concrete demands behind the protests has made a unified government response nearly impossible. Several cities have cancelled the transit fare hikes that had originally sparked the demonstrations a week ago, but the outrage has only grown more intense.

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

"Dilma Rousseff and (Brasilia Gov.) Agnelo Queiroz are the epitome of Brazilian rulers," wrote political commentator Fernando Rodrigues in the country's biggest newspaper, Folha de S. Paulo.

"They embody the perplexity and the lack of leadership capabilities of several parties' politicians vis-a-vis the new phenomena of protests without leaders or defined proposals. ... It seems they are just waiting and hoping the tsunami will end."

Gilberto Carvalho, the secretary general of the presidency, provided little direction Friday after a meeting to discuss Pope Francis' planned July visit.

"We can't anticipate the future," Carvalho said. "We don't know what it's going to be like. Perhaps things will not be so intense (as the recent protests) but we have to be prepared for anything."

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

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

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

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

Protesters and police clashed in several cities into the early hours Friday.

At least one protester was killed in Sao Paulo state when a driver apparently became enraged about being unable to travel along a street and rammed his car into a group of demonstrators.

In Rio de Janeiro, where an estimated 300,000 demonstrators poured into the seaside city's center, running clashes played out between riot police and clusters of mostly young men with T-shirts wrapped around their faces. But peaceful protesters were also caught up in the fray, too, as police fired tear gas canisters into their midst and at times indiscriminately used pepper spray.

At least 40 people were injured in Rio, including protesters such as Michele Menezes, a wisp of a woman whose youthful face and braces belied her 26 years. Bleeding and with her hair singed from the explosion of a tear gas canister, she said she and others took refuge from the violence in an open bar, only to have a police officer toss the canister inside.

The blast ripped through Menezes' jeans, tearing two coin-sized holes on the back of her thighs, and peppered her upper arm with a rash of small holes.

"I was leaving a peaceful protest and it's not the thugs that attack me but the police themselves," said Menezes, removing her wire-rim glasses to wipe her bloodshot eyes.

She later took refuge in a hotel, along with about two dozen youths, families and others who said they had been repeatedly hit with pepper spray by motorcycle police as they also sheltered inside a bar.

Protesters said they would not back down.

"I saw some pretty scary things, but they're not going to shake me. There's another march on the 22nd and I'm going to be there," said 19-year-old university student Fernanda Szuster.

Asked if her parents knew she was joining in the protests, Szuster said: "They know and they're proud. They also protested when they were young. So they think it's great."

Clashes were also reported in the Amazon jungle city of Belem, Porto Alegre in the south, the university town Campinas north of Sao Paulo, the northeastern city of Salvador and dozens of other towns.

The protests took place one week after a violent police crackdown on a small demonstration against an increase in bus and subway fares in Sao Paulo galvanized Brazilians to take their grievances to the streets.

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

Mass protests have been rare in this country of 190 million people in recent years, and the mushrooming demonstrations of the past week caught Brazilian government officials by surprise while delighting many citizens.

Despite the energy on the street, many protesters said they were unsure how the movement would win real political concessions.

"This is the start of a structural change in Brazil," said Aline Campos, a 29-year-old publicist in Brasilia. "People now want to make sure their money is well spent, that it's not wasted through corruption."

___

Barchfield reported from Rio de Janeiro and Brooks from Sao Paulo. Associated Press writer Stan Lehman in Sao Paulo contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-06-21-Brazil-Protests/id-2f6a6abef3aa41fa9ac6ccc402898b64

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Instagram announces new video service

Today at Facebook HQ, Instagram announced a new video service. The focus is on simplicity, beauty and community. You get 15 seconds of video to work with, though you can stitch together multiple clips. There are 13 different video-exclusive filters to apply, and you can pick which frame is the thumbnail. Sounds like a serious Vine competitor, though it doesn't loop in the same obnoxious way; just tap and hold to play videos. They're also going to be including some really great stabilization software called Cinema.

You can get downloading the update now at the link below. Any Instagrammers pumped about this? Will they be able to do for video what they've done for photos, or is this just a Vine lookalike?

• Free - Download Now

Introducing Video on Instagram from Instagram on Vimeo.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/hWyAwZGP4IU/story01.htm

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Leading Sunni Cleric Calls for Holy War in Syria (Voice Of America)

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Salesforce, Intellectual Ventures ink patent deal | Politics and Law ...

Salesforce.com and patent aggregator Intellectual Ventures inked a new licensing deal on Friday that gives Salesforce access to some 40,000 of IV's patents.

The deal is the latest by Intellectual Ventures, a Bellevue, Wash.-based company that's made headlines for accumulating a massive trove of software and design patents, along with other intellectual property.

A major part of IV's business includes licensing patents out to other companies, which can use them for legal protection, though it's also made waves for litigating other companies.

Pricing and length of the deal were not disclosed, and a company spokesperson declined to elaborate.

Salesforce was famously sued by Microsoft over nine patents in early 2010. The spat was settled just three months later, with the two companies brokering a deal that would give them access to one another's intellectual property. The kerfuffle is relevant given Microsoft's ties to IV, which was founded by two former Microsoft executives. Microsoft is also an investor and client.

The deal comes as patent lawsuits are on the rise, especially among technology companies, and by firms that own intellectual property but do not make any products or services. Such companies, colloquially referred to as "patent trolls," launched the majority of U.S. patent cases in 2012, according to a study published last month.

Source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-57586088-38/salesforce-intellectual-ventures-ink-patent-deal/

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Woman accidentally buys winning $14 million lotto ticket

File photo of lottery ticket (Thinkstock)

A single mother of four sons accidentally purchased an extra lottery ticket. Another dollar down the drain? Nope.

Thuan Le told NBCLosAngeles.com that she normally she buys $4 worth of Powerball tickets and one $1 SuperLotto Plus ticket.

This time, Le accidentally put an extra buck into the self-service machine, purchasing another SuperLotto Plus ticket.

It was?no doubt?the smartest mistake she ever made. NBCLosAngeles.com reports that Le plans to use the $14 million windfall to buy a home, travel and visit relatives in Vietnam.

One of her sons told Lotto officials that he and others thought Le was joking after she called to tell them the good news, according to ABC News.

"We thought she was joking," her son said, "but we thought, would she really joke like this? My older brother said, 'Yes, she would.'"

Le?s (very) lucky numbers were 5, 33, 25, 46 and 32. The Mega number was 26.

According to the California Lottery's official site, the odds of getting all five numbers and the Mega bonus number on the SuperLotto Plus are 1 in 41,416,353.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/woman-accidentally-buys-14-million-winning-lotto-ticket-163349201.html

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Steady rain greets Jazz Fest as 1st weekend closes

NEW ORLEANS (AP) ? A steady, sometimes heavy rain pelted fans Sunday at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, but the music flowed on.

A soaked Dave Matthews and his band played through a strong downpour at the tail end of the closing weekend, much to the fans' delight as they danced along with him and cheered him through the bad weather.

Matthews ended his performance just before a flash of lightning and strong thunder echoed his goodbyes to the crowd, which stretched to the back track and beyond despite the weather, as is usual for that stage.

Umbrellas, rain boots and plastic ponchos were out in abundance early as fans stood among the puddles and water-soaked grass, awaiting clearer skies. The rain had stopped for a time in the afternoon, but came back in time to drench the evening crowd.

Paul Rother, of Venice Beach, Calif., said he and his friend, Mark Sender, of Hollywood, drove 2,300 miles to attend this year's festival, and a little rain wasn't going to make them stay inside.

"The bands go on, rain or shine. I was at Woodstock. It rained there, too," he said, laughing.

Rother, a first-timer to the festival, said he decided to attend after Sender spoke so highly of the city and the event.

"New Orleans is the best city in America," Sender said. "And since Katrina, I've wanted to contribute to the economy as much as I can."

As Steven and Jessica Kennedy pushed their 2 ?-year-old daughter, Miriam, in a stroller, the New Orleans residents said weather wouldn't deter them from getting out to hear the likes of the Nevilles, the Dave Matthews Band and B.B. King.

"She wanted to come more than we did," Jessica Kennedy said of the toddler. "We're prepared. We have a lot of rain gear."

"There are 600 bands here," added Steven Kennedy. "You can't beat the price of the ticket for that kind of talent and you get a good mix of national and local artists."

A torrential downpour blew through about 5 p.m. CDT, shortly before the day's final artists would take the stage, sending fans inside any shelter they could find, including covered tents, such as the one where jazz songstress Dianne Reeves entertained a standing-room-only crowd. Reeves canceled last year's scheduled appearance after her mother died.

Fans enthusiastically embraced her when she took the stage and sang her rendition of Lena Horne's "Stormy Weather" and Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams."

"It's such a pleasure and honor to be here with you tonight," Reeves told the crowd, who cheered in response. "We made it through the rain and storm clouds now sit back and relax and enjoy the music."

Calvin Cherry, of Newport News, Va., said when he saw Reeves was on this year's lineup, he knew instantly that he'd be in the house. Cherry, a professional dancer, said Reeves' voice is like "poetry in motion."

"It's so mysterious, so haunting and has such a deep and guttural quality that it's just phenomenal. There are spaces in her voice that just resonate with me and for me to use my body to interpret her music, it's just kismet," he said.

The downpour stopped the music shortly on at least one stage, as crews rushed to cover equipment at the height of the storm. But the sweet sounds of the Gipsy Kings ? a group from Arles and Montpellier in the south of France who perform in Spanish ? quickly returned when the rain slowed to a drizzle.

Just before 7 p.m., another line of severe weather dumped rain on the remaining fans, who stuck it out with Matthews until the end of his set.

Festival producer Quint Davis thanked Matthews for his effort and encouraged fans to return on Thursday when the festival resumes.

New Orleans artists Khris Royal & Dark Matter played the Gentilly Stage early Sunday as pockets of fest-faithfuls grooved and danced to his funky saxophone opening instrumental. Keith Frank & the Soileau Zydeco Band also enticed fans to the front of the nearby Fais Do-Do stage, where couples rocked a two-step to the band's steady beat.

The Nevilles, without brother Aaron, performed just before the Dave Matthews Band, which closed the fest's first weekend and largest stage.

"We almost didn't come," said Sandy Diaz, of Ocean Springs, Miss., after singing along and dancing with the Nevilles on "Meet de Boys on the Battlefront."

"It's a little disappointing that Aaron's not up there with him, but I'm excited about seeing Trombone Shorty next weekend," she said.

Trombone Shorty, whose real name is Troy Andrews, will close the largest stage May 5, the final day of the festival, which is held over two weekends annually.

___

Associated Press writer Stacey Plaisance contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/steady-rain-greets-jazz-fest-1st-weekend-closes-182236045.html

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Helen Mirren crowned top actress at top UK theatre awards

LONDON (Reuters) - Helen Mirren was crowned best actress at Britain's top theatre awards on Sunday for reprising her Oscar-winning portrayal of the queen, while a stage version of a novel about a boy with autism was on track to be the top winner of the Olivier awards.

Mirren, 67, has won stellar reviews for starring in "The Audience", Peter Morgan's play about the private weekly meetings between Queen Elizabeth and the 12 British prime ministers during the six decades of her reign.

Mirren is no stranger to royalty having won an Academy award for the same role in the 2006 film "The Queen".

The actress said the queen certainly deserved an Olivier award after receiving one of Britain's most prestigious entertainment honors, a BAFTA, earlier this month for her support for the film and television industry.

"I think she deserves one for the most committed and consistent performance of the 20th century and probably the 21st century," said Mirren on accepting the award from Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe.

Her co-star, Richard McCabe, won the award for best supporting actor for playing the prime minister Howard Wilson.

But the biggest winner of the 37th Olivier awards looked set to be "The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time" that opened at the National Theatre in London in 2012 and transferred to London's West End theatre district this year.

The play, based on Mark Haddon's 2003 award-winning novel, was nominated for eight awards and picked up several in the first half of the glitzy awards ceremony at London's Royal Opera House.

Luke Treadaway won the best actor award for playing 15-year-old Christopher, a maths prodigy with autism who sets out to solve the mystery of who killed his neighbor's dog.

"The book created such an amazing central character who people seem to relate to even though he has behavioral problems and his way of viewing of the world," Treadaway, 28, told Reuters on the red carpet on a chilly London evening.

(Reporting by Belinda Goldsmith; Editing by Jon Hemming)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/helen-mirren-crowned-top-actress-top-uk-theatre-190243871.html

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NEC Terrain for AT&T spied in leaked press photos, packs a QWERTY keyboard

Memory of a time where an NEC phone graced US shores escapes us, but the prolific -- and often accurate -- @evleaks has tweeted a press shot that signals a handset from the Japanese firm might soon arrive stateside. Emblazoned with AT&T's logo and reportedly dubbed the NEC Terrain, the Android-toting smartphone shares its front real estate with a screen, a camera and a QWERTY keyboard. No other details were spilled with the image, but with a name like Terrain and what looks like a rubberized border, we wouldn't be surprised if it could withstand a fair amount of rough and tumble.

Filed under: Cellphones, AT&T

Comments

Source: @evleaks (Twitter)

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/ijjfSX4lwEE/

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James leads Heat over Bucks and into next round

MILWAUKEE (AP) ? After getting treatment "around the clock" for two days, Dwyane Wade tested his aching right knee in warm-ups before Game 4.

It still hurt.

"I could have pushed through it," he said. "But my teammates told me if it's hurtin', they got it."

The Miami Heat reminded everyone Sunday why they're heavy favorites to win a second straight NBA title. Despite Wade being reduced to a spectator, the Heat completed their sweep of the Milwaukee Bucks and advanced to the Eastern Conference semifinals. The Heat never trailed in their 88-77 victory, finishing the first-round series with a fourth straight double-digit win.

LeBron James did most of the work with 30 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. Ray Allen added 16 points, the third game in the series he reached double figures, and also had seven rebounds. Mario Chalmers had eight rebounds and six assists.

"We're a good basketball team. That's nothing that's a secret," Wade said. "We're not a one-man show, a two-man, a three-man (show). We're a basketball team."

The Heat won't play again until Saturday, at the earliest, facing the winner of the Brooklyn-Chicago series. While the extended time off provides a much-needed break for Wade, who is still recovering from the three bone bruises that forced him to miss six games near the end of the regular season, this is no vacation for the Heat. They won't be spending the week lounging in South Beach or jetting off to some exotic location.

They'll be working, trying to get even better.

"That won't be a problem," James said. "We've got an opportunity to rest because we took care of business, but our business is not done. The only thing we guaranteed ourselves is the next round. That's it."

Miami knew it would get a spirited effort Sunday from the Bucks, who were hoping to extend their first playoff appearance in three years even if it was only for a few more days.

After the Heat raced out to an 11-point lead in the first half, the Bucks steadily chipped away and were within a basket or two for most of the third quarter. When Mike Dunleavy drained a 3 and Monta Ellis scored on a floater with 9:34 left in the game, Miami's lead was down to 69-67.

"We knew they were going to come out and play as hard as they could and with as much desperation as they could to try and continue series," James said.

But James was even more determined.

When Ellis missed a free throw, failing to convert the three-point play, James grabbed the rebound and directed a 19-5 run in which he had a hand in every single score. First he fed Allen, who knocked down ? what else? ? a 3. After J.J. Redick missed a long jumper, James found an open Chalmers for another 3 that gave the Heat a 75-67 lead with 8:27 left.

The 3 was Chalmers' 80th in the postseason, tying Tim Hardaway's franchise record.

After Luc Richard Mbah a Moute made the second of two free throws, James scored on a layup. Redick made a jumper, but Shane Battier and Allen closed out the Bucks with a pair of 3s, with James credited with the assist on each.

He then converted a three-point play and added a layup to finish up the run.

"At some point during that stretch right there, (James) decided he was going to put his imprint on the game and he did. In a big way," Bucks coach Jim Boylan said. "When you're a superstar player like he is, that's what superstar players do."

Superstar teams, too.

Though Milwaukee had chances to win Games 2 and 4 late, and led Game 3 by 10 in the first half, there was never a sense Miami would lose any of them. Any time the Bucks showed the slightest bit of momentum, the Heat were quick to snuff it out.

"They'd either make a big play or it was a turnover on our part," Boylan said. "When you're playing against a quality team like Miami, you make some mistakes, they usually capitalize on them. And they did that."

The Bucks had seven turnovers before the first quarter ended Sunday, and shot just 37 percent for the game. Ellis led the Bucks with 21 points, and Larry Sanders had 11 rebounds to go with seven points.

But Milwaukee got almost nothing again from Brandon Jennings, who was benched for the entire fourth quarter. Jennings, who had guaranteed the Bucks would win the series in six games, finished with three points on 1-of-7 shooting.

After scoring 26 points in Game 1, Jennings had 27 total in the final three.

"We've been playing close, playing hard," Ellis said. "They're just a better team."

And that is what makes them so dangerous at this time of year.

Despite their star-studded roster, the Heat have little use for individual accolades or accomplishments right now. They have one goal in mind, and one goal only, and it will take the entire team to achieve it.

"I'm glad to get this," coach Erik Spoelstra said. "It's the first step in our journey. Hopefully, a long journey."

NOTES: This is the first time the Heat have swept a playoff series since James and Chris Bosh came to Miami three years ago. ... The Heat have won eight straight postseason games dating to last season. That matches the franchise record. ... NBA Commissioner David Stern was in attendance. ... James scored 30 or more for the 54th time in the postseason, second only to Kobe Bryant among active players. ... The Bucks are 20-26 in elimination games. ... Packers LB Clay Matthews was at the game.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/james-leads-heat-over-bucks-next-round-220510707.html

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Powerful blast injures up to 40 in Prague

PRAGUE (AP) ? A powerful explosion has damaged a building in the center of the Czech capital, Prague, injuring up to 40 people. Authorities say they believe some people are buried in the rubble.

Police spokesman Tomas Hulan says it is not certain what caused the blast in Divadelni Street, but it was likely a natural gas explosion

The street was covered with rubble and has been sealed off by police who have also evacuated people from nearby buildings and closed a wide area around the explosion site.

Zdenek Schwarz, head of the rescue service in Prague, says up to 40 people have been injured.

Windows in buildings located hundreds of meters from the blast were shattered, including some in the nearby National Theater.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/powerful-blast-injures-40-prague-093110174.html

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Spurs finish off Lakers sweep, roll to 2nd round

Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant watches his team play the San Antonio Spurs in the second half in Game 4 of a first-round NBA basketball playoff series, Sunday, April 28, 2013, in Los Angeles. The Spurs won 103-82. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant watches his team play the San Antonio Spurs in the second half in Game 4 of a first-round NBA basketball playoff series, Sunday, April 28, 2013, in Los Angeles. The Spurs won 103-82. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

San Antonio Spurs forward Tim Duncan (21) pats guard Tony Parker (9), of France, on the head after he scored as Los Angeles Lakers center Dwight Howard (12) faces away during the first half in Game 4 of a first-round NBA basketball playoff series, Sunday, April 28, 2013, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Los Angeles Lakers center Dwight Howard, right, shoots as San Antonio Spurs forward Tim Duncan defends during the first half in Game 4 of a first-round NBA basketball playoff series, Sunday, April 28, 2013, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Los Angeles Lakers forward Pau Gasol, right, of Spain, shoots as San Antonio Spurs forward Matt Bonner defends during the first half in Game 4 of a first-round NBA basketball playoff series, Sunday, April 28, 2013, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

San Antonio Spurs guard Danny Green (4) grabs a rebound away from Los Angeles Lakers guard Darius Morris during the first half in Game 4 of a first-round NBA basketball playoff series, Sunday, April 28, 2013, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Tony Parker could only shake his head at the travails of the Los Angeles Lakers, who probably packed more drama and turmoil into this season than the Spurs point guard has experienced in his entire career with steady San Antonio.

Parker is just grateful the Spurs sidestepped the drama and kept moving steadily into the second round of the playoffs.

Parker scored 23 points, Kawhi Leonard and DeJuan Blair added 13 apiece, and San Antonio eliminated the injury-plagued Lakers with a 103-82 victory in Game 4 on Sunday night, completing a one-sided series with a second straight blowout on the road.

San Antonio trailed for fewer than five combined minutes in the four-game series, grinding out points and defensive stops with the steady professionalism of coach Gregg Popovich's best teams. The Lakers played the finale without Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, Metta World Peace and two key reserves, tamping down most of the playoff vibe.

"It was just a weird feeling," Parker said. "Obviously, I am happy we won, but it was just weird. They were missing a lot of guys, so we're just happy to go to the next round."

Tim Duncan had 11 points and six rebounds for the second-seeded Spurs, who will face the winner of Denver's series with Golden State in the second round. They'll get plenty of rest after flattening the Lakers, who staggered through their first opening-round exit since 2007.

"Obviously, it wasn't a fair fight," Popovich said. "When you're a competitor, you want to compete on an even basis, and the Lakers weren't able to do that. ... Even though it wasn't a fair fight, we still want to win the series, and I'm glad we did. Our focus was great."

San Antonio never trailed in the clincher, leading by 25 points in one more businesslike effort against the seventh-seeded Lakers, who provided their usual drama right down to their last gasp.

After Duncan led the Spurs' blowout in Game 3, Parker took the lead in the clincher, scoring 15 points in the first half while exploiting the Lakers' hastily assembled backcourt. Los Angeles' top four guards are out with injuries, including backups Steve Blake and Jodie Meeks, and Parker was merciless against third-stringers.

"This is a good start for us," Duncan said. "We like the pace we're at right now. We like the rhythm we're at right now, and how healthy we are right now. Hopefully it can stay that way."

In his final game before unrestricted free agency, Dwight Howard scored seven points before getting ejected early in the third quarter for arguing. Pau Gasol had 16 points for the Lakers, who were swept from the postseason for the second time in three years despite a late courtside appearance by Bryant on crutches.

"It's like a nightmare," Howard said. "It's like a bad dream we couldn't wake up out of. That's what it felt like. It seemed like nothing could go right from the start."

There's almost no turbulence around the Spurs, who seamlessly replaced injured starting center Tiago Splitter in Game 4 with Australian rookie Aron Baynes, who had six points and played decent defense in his first NBA start.

The Lakers gave away thousands of white towels to their fans Sunday, and they acquired an unfortunate symbolism. They had just nine available players in uniform for the final minutes.

"I'm proud of them, because they fought," Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni said. "It was kind of a year that was all upside-down, but I appreciate the effort to get us into the playoffs. We just didn't have it."

After an unimpressive game featuring just two field goal attempts in 20 minutes, Howard was tossed with 9:51 left in the third quarter for his second technical foul. The All-Star center, furious with the Spurs' unpunished physical play, yelled a few parting words at the court after walking past general manager Mitch Kupchak in the tunnel to the locker room.

Afterward, Howard said he must "do a better job of keeping my cool."

"I hate it for him," D'Antoni said, lamenting the lack of fouls called against players guarding Howard. "He gets banged up so much in there that I'm sure he didn't mean to (get ejected), but he takes a pounding, and after a while, I guess his nerves were shot."

Moments later, Bryant got the solemn Staples Center crowd on its feet when he hobbled out of the tunnel to a seat behind the Lakers' bench, making his first appearance at courtside since tearing his Achilles tendon 16 days ago. Bryant, who might not be healthy by the start of next season, repeatedly yelled instructions and encouragement at the Lakers' young backcourt, Andrew Goudelock and Darius Morris, and fill-in starter Earl Clark.

The Spurs had control of this series from the start: They posted two methodical victories at home before sending the Lakers to their biggest home playoff defeat in their long franchise history in Game 3, 120-89. The clincher was more of the same, with the Lakers unable to mount enough teamwork to challenge the smooth Spurs.

The Spurs have swept three of their last four playoff series, winning every game in the first two rounds last season before losing in six games to Oklahoma City in the Western Conference finals. San Antonio is in the second round of the postseason for the fourth time in six seasons since their last championship in 2007.

NOTES: Gasol got a standing ovation when he left the game with 3:08 to play. The two-time NBA champion has one year left on his contract with the Lakers, but could be a trade chip in the Lakers' rebuild. ... Splitter has a sprained ankle and is out indefinitely, although his teammates think he can return during the second round. F Boris Diaw practiced with contact this weekend in his comeback from a back injury. ... The Lakers faced an 0-3 series deficit for the eighth time in franchise history ? and for the eighth time, they were swept. ... Jack Nicholson and Lil Wayne watched at courtside, but both left early in the fourth quarter.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-04-29-BKN-Spurs-Lakers-Folo/id-4a9453039de84014ba3ce8a53a03d16c

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Chris Brown?s Father Has Some Sense

Hey, sometimes you have to turn to your old man for some wisdom. In this case, I doubt Chris Brown will, but maybe he should. Even his own father is admitting that it’s a terrible idea for Brown and Rihanna to get back together. I like this guy already. If you’re like me, and you almost threw up your dinner when you read that Chris Brown and Rihanna were considering giving their relationship another try, this article is soothing. Let’s call it Chicken Soup for the Celeb News Junkie’s Soul. That’s right, everyone online has been writing mean things about Chris Brown from the minute he was arrested for beating Rihanna. He has not been in the good favor of any news source from here to New Zealand — and for good reason! He was found guilty, and didn’t show remorse until it was literally wrung out of him. So why…in…the…hell would they get back together?! It’s very frustrating. Here is what the elder Brown had to say: “I personally really didn?t want him and Rihanna back together…You have to have a balance in a relationship. You have to have someone who is spontaneous and whimsical but you also have [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RightCelebrity/~3/97UdOOxJTLM/

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Officials: Bomb suspect acknowledges role

BOSTON (AP) ? The surviving suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings acknowledged to the FBI his role in the attacks but did so before he was advised of his constitutional rights to keep quiet and seek a lawyer, officials said Wednesday.

It is unclear whether those statements before the Miranda rights warning would be admissible in a criminal trial and, if not, whether prosecutors even need them to win a conviction. Officials said physical evidence, including a 9 mm handgun and pieces of a remote-control device commonly used in toys, was recovered from the scene.

The suspect, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, told authorities that his older brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, only recently recruited him to be part of the attack, two U.S. officials said. The CIA, however, named Tamerlan to a terrorist database 18 months ago, officials said Wednesday, an acknowledgment that will undoubtedly prompt congressional inquiry about whether investigators took warnings from Russian intelligence officials seriously enough.

The U.S. officials who spoke to The Associated Press were close to the investigation but insisted on anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case with reporters.

Tamerlan, whom authorities have described as the driving force behind the plot, was killed in a shootout with police. Dzhokhar is recovering in a hospital from injuries sustained during a getaway attempt.

Authorities had previously said Dzhokhar exchanged gunfire with them for more than an hour Friday night before they captured him inside a boat covered by a tarp in a suburban Boston neighborhood backyard. But two U.S. officials said Wednesday that he was unarmed when captured, raising questions about the gunfire and how he was injured.

More than 4,000 mourners at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology paid tribute to a campus police officer who authorities say was gunned down by the bombing suspects.

Among the speakers in Cambridge, just outside Boston, was Vice President Joe Biden, who condemned the bombing suspects as "two twisted, perverted, cowardly, knockoff jihadis."

Investigators have said the brothers appeared to have been radicalized through jihadist materials on the Internet and have found no evidence tying them to a terrorist group.

Dzhokhar told the FBI that they were angry about the U.S. wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and the killing of Muslims there, officials said.

How much of those conversations will end up in court is unclear. The FBI normally tells suspects they have the right to remain silent before questioning them so all their statements can be used against them.

Under pressure from Congress, however, the Department of Justice has said investigators may wait until they have gathered intelligence about other threats before reading those rights in terrorism cases. The American Civil Liberties Union has expressed concern about that.

Regardless, investigators have found pieces of remote-control equipment among the debris and were analyzing them, officials said. One official described the detonator as "close-controlled," meaning it had to be triggered within several blocks of the bombs.

An FBI affidavit said one of the brothers told a carjacking victim during their getaway attempt, "Did you hear about the Boston explosion? I did that."

Officials also recovered a 9 mm handgun believed to have been used by Tamerlan from the site of a Thursday night gunbattle that injured a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority officer, two U.S. officials said.

The officials told the AP that no gun was found in the boat. Boston police Commissioner Ed Davis said earlier that shots were fired from inside the boat.

Asked whether the suspect had a gun in the boat, Davis said, "I'm not going to talk about that."

Kurt Schwartz, director of the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency, did respond to the report.

"Within half a mile of where this person was captured, a police officer was shot. And I know who shot him." Schwartz said. "And there were three bombs that went off, and I know where those bombs came from. ... To me, it does not change anything. This guy was captured alive and will survive. True or not true, it doesn't change anything for me."

Dzhokhar's public defender had no comment on the matter Wednesday. His father has called him a "true angel," and an aunt has insisted he's not guilty.

The suspects' parents, Anzor Tsarnaev and Zubeidat Tsarnaeva, plan to fly to the U.S. from Russia on Thursday, the father was quoted as telling the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti. The family has said it wants to take Tamerlan's body back to Russia.

In Russia, U.S. investigators traveled to the predominantly Muslim province of Dagestan and were in contact with the brothers' parents, hoping to gain more information.

Investigators are looking into whether Tamerlan, who spent six months in Russia's turbulent Caucasus region in 2012, was influenced by the religious extremists who have waged an insurgency against Russian forces in the area for years. The brothers have roots in Dagestan and neighboring Chechnya but had lived in the U.S. for about a decade.

A spokesman for the Office of Health and Human Services in Massachusetts confirmed a Boston Herald report Wednesday that Tamerlan, his wife and their daughter had received welfare benefits until last year, when he became ineligible based on family income.

The state also said Tsarnaev and his brother received welfare benefits as children through their parents while the family lived in Massachusetts.

At MIT, bagpipes wailed as students, faculty and staff members and throngs of law enforcement officials paid their respects to MIT police Officer Sean Collier, who was ambushed in his cruiser three days after the bombing.

The line of mourners stretched for a half-mile. They had to make their way through tight security, including metal detectors and bomb-sniffing dogs.

Boston native James Taylor sang "The Water is Wide" and led a sing-along of "Shower the People."

Biden told the Collier family that no child should die before his or her parents, but that, in time, the grief will lose some of its sting.

"The moment will come when the memory of Sean is triggered and you know it's going to be OK," Biden said. "When the first instinct is to get a smile on your lips before a tear to your eye."

The vice president also sounded a defiant note.

"The purpose of terror is to instill fear," he said. "You saw none of it here in Boston. Boston, you sent a powerful message to the world."

In another milestone in Boston's recovery, the area around the marathon finish line was reopened to the public, with fresh cement still drying on the repaired sidewalk. Delivery trucks made their way down Boylston Street under a heavy police presence, though some damaged stores were still closed.

"I don't think there's going to be a sense of normalcy for a while," Tom Champoux, who works nearby, said as he pointed to the boarded-up windows. "There are scars here that will be with us for a long time."

___

Jakes and Apuzzo reported from Washington. Associated Press writers David Crary, Bridget Murphy and Bob Salsberg in Boston, Lynn Berry in Moscow and Kimberly Dozier, Adam Goldman, Eric Tucker, Pete Yost and Eileen Sullivan in Washington contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/officials-suspect-described-plot-miranda-013406616.html

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