Land-based carbon offsets: False hope? Forest and soil carbon is important, but does not offset fossil fuel emissions

May 30, 2013 ? Leading world climate change experts have thrown cold water on the idea that planting trees can offset carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels.

Professor Brendan Mackey of Griffith University Climate Change Response Program is the lead author of an international study involving researchers from Australia and the U.K. Their findings are reported in "Untangling the confusion around land carbon science and climate change mitigation policy," published in the scientific journal Nature Climate Change.

"While protecting and restoring natural forests is part of the solution, the reality is that for all practical purposes fossil fuel CO2 emissions are irreversible," Professor Mackey said.

The findings highlight the urgent need for policy-makers worldwide to re-think the issue as many decision-makers, national and internationally, assume that fossil fuel emissions can be offset through sequestering carbon by planting trees and other land management practices.

"There is a danger in believing that land carbon sinks can solve the problem of atmospheric carbon emissions because this legitimises the ongoing use of fossil fuels," Professor Mackey said.

The study found that protecting natural forests avoids emissions that would otherwise result from logging and land clearing while also conserving biodiversity. Restoring degraded ecosystems or planting new forests helps store some of the carbon dioxide that was emitted from past land use activities.

"These land management actions should be rewarded as they are an important part of the solution," Professor Mackay said.

"However, no amount of reafforestation or growing of new trees will ultimately off-set continuing CO2 emissions due to environmental constraints on plant growth and the large amounts of remaining fossil fuel reserves.

"Unfortunately there is no option but to cut fossil fuel emissions deeply as about a third of the CO2 stays in the atmosphere for 2 to 20 millennia."

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/Z3g2c_0BCBA/130530095020.htm

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NYC's Bloomberg: 'I feel perfectly safe'

NEW YORK (AP) ? Mayor Michael Bloomberg has been a public face of gun control for years, but he's in a new, unsought spotlight after ricin-laced letters were sent to him and a group he helps lead.

The billionaire hasn't shied from using his political post and his personal fortune to push for gun control well beyond the city limits, garnering both plaudits and complaints that he's overreaching.

The poisoned letters to Bloomberg and the group Mayors Against Illegal Guns essentially threatened that "anyone who comes for my guns will be shot in the face," Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said Thursday, shortly before the Secret Service disclosed that a similar missive was sent to President Barack Obama.

Bloomberg, speaking Friday on his weekly WOR Radio show, shrugged off any specter of danger.

"There's always threats, unfortunately. That comes with the job," the mayor said. "I trust the police department and I feel perfectly safe. I've got more danger from lightning than from anything else and I'll go about my business."

He added, "We're certainly going to keep working on getting guns off the streets, out of the hands of criminals and people with mental problems."

The letters arrived after Bloomberg played a prominent role in a now-stalled push for new firearms laws in response to the December school massacre in Newtown, Conn.

"The work Mayor Bloomberg does is vitally important to our cause, and our thoughts are with them this week," Dan Gross, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, said in a statement Thursday. He emphasized that the organization doesn't think the letter episode reflects the mass of Americans engaged in the issue.

Thanks to his office and pocketbook, Bloomberg has become a uniquely influential figure in the gun debate.

Vice President Joe Biden said in March that "there has been no support that has been more consequential" than Bloomberg's in the recent, White House-fueled press for new gun restrictions. And the National Rifle Association has made clear it sees Bloomberg as a leading foe, caricaturing him as an octopus on the cover of its magazine in 2007 and branding him an "evangelist for the nanny state."

Representatives for the NRA and another gun-rights advocacy group, the National Shooting Sports Foundation, didn't immediately respond to inquiries Thursday about Bloomberg's stature in the gun-control debate.

As leader of the nation's biggest city, Bloomberg often emphasizes that he feels mayors are on the front lines of a fight against gun violence ? and that killings and shootings have dropped to historic lows in New York during his nearly 12-year tenure. And he has pursued the fight elsewhere.

His administration has set up gun-buying stings in other states to highlight what it said were illegal sales, on the premise that many illicit guns in New York were bought elsewhere. The city has sued dozens of out-of-state gun dealers, resulting in court-appointed monitoring for many. One South Carolina dealer ended up pleading guilty to a federal weapons charge.

Bloomberg and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino founded Mayors Against Illegal Guns, which now includes more than 900 mayors. Financed partly by Bloomberg, the nonprofit group has spread its message through such means as a Super Bowl ad this year and a $12 million ad campaign less than two months later.

The Democrat-turned-Republican-turned-unaffiliated Bloomberg also has spent millions of dollars advancing his gun-control views through political contributions. In one example, his super PAC, Independence USA, spent more than $2 million on ads in the Democratic primary in a special congressional election in Chicago this year.

Bloomberg's favored candidate, then-Illinois state Rep. Robin Kelly, got the seat. And Bloomberg got some criticism that he was butting in where he didn't belong.

"You had someone from outside of the community determining what the issue was for Chicago and that district," Delmarie Cobb, a Democratic political consultant who worked with one of the other candidates, recalled Thursday. Her candidate, Alderman Anthony Beale, called for tougher gun laws himself during the campaign, but he also sought to focus on job growth and other topics.

Bloomberg said at the time he was just a concerned citizen who happens "to have some money, and that's what I'm going to do with my money ? try to get us some sensible gun laws."

It wasn't the first time he'd been branded a gun-control interloper. Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne complained in 2011 that Bloomberg had overstepped his power in authorizing investigators to run a sting at a Phoenix gun show. Bloomberg's representatives noted that Arizona-based private investigators carried out the undercover operation.

Now, government investigators are working to figure out who sent the letters to Bloomberg and Obama.

The two directed at Bloomberg were postmarked from Shreveport, La., according to the postal workers' union, which cited information from a Postal Service briefing. The Shreveport postal center handles mail from Louisiana, Texas and Arkansas, Louisiana State Police spokeswoman Julie Lewis noted.

The White House and Bloomberg letters were intercepted at mail facilities before reaching the president or mayor. The third was opened by the mayors' group director, Mark Glaze.

Three New York police officers who examined the letter to Bloomberg experienced minor symptoms that have since abated, authorities said.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, ricin is found naturally in castor beans. Exposure can cause difficulty breathing, vomiting and redness on the skin.

The letters were the latest in a string of toxin-laced missives, but authorities would not say whether the letters to Bloomberg and Obama were believed to be linked to any other recent case.

In Washington state, a 37-year-old was charged last week with threatening to kill a federal judge in a letter that contained ricin.

About a month earlier, letters containing the substance were addressed to Obama, a U.S. senator and a Mississippi judge. One of the letters was traced back to Tupelo, Miss., and a Mississippi man was arrested.

___

Follow Jennifer Peltz at http://twitter.com/jennpeltz

___

Associated Press writers Frank Eltman and Colleen Long in New York; Holbrook Mohr in Jackson, Miss.; and Darlene Superville and Pete Yost in Washington contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nycs-bloomberg-feel-perfectly-safe-125718184.html

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World's first bird? New fossil bumps Archaeopteryx off its perch.

A new contender for the world's first bird,?the feathered?Aurornis xui is older than the more famous?Archaeopteryx, which it reconfirms as a bird, not a dinosaur. But the line between birds and dinosaurs remains fuzzy.

By Tanya Lewis / May 30, 2013

The skeleton of an Aurornis xui was found in Yizhou Fossil & Geology Park, China. A contender for the title of 'world's first bird,' this bird - slash - bird-like dinosaur lived in Asia in the Middle/Late Jurassic, about 150 million years ago.

Courtesy of Masato Hattori / LiveScience.com

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The skeleton of a Jurassic dinosaur from China could also be the oldest known bird, scientists report.

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The fossil of?Aurornis xui?was found last year in a museum at the Fossil and Geology Park in Yizhou, China, long after a farmer first dug it up in the Liaoning Province. The feathery specimen represents the most ancient of the avialans, the group that includes birds and their relatives since their split from nonavian dinosaurs.

The research also reconfirms the birdlike fossil?Archaeopteryx?as an avialan, a classification that was challenged by some recent research.?

Not everyone agrees that the new specimen is strictly a bird. "In my opinion, it's a bird," study author Pascal Godefroit, a paleontologist at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences in Brussels, told?Nature News. Even so, he added, "The differences between birds and [nonavian] dinosaurs are very thin."

"Traditionally, we have defined birds as things like Archaeopteryx and closer to things like modern birds," vertebrate paleontologist Luis Chiappe of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, who was not involved in the study, told LiveScience. "If you stick to the definition, this thing is not earliest known bird," Chiappe said, but that's missing the point, he said. What matters, is that it's a very interesting animal that "still helps us understand better the origin of birds," he said.

Aurornis xui?was a feathered dinosaur that lived during the Middle Jurassic period about 150 million years ago, analysis shows. It was about 1.6 feet (0.5 meter) from beak tip to tail tip, and possessed small, sharp teeth and long forelimbs.

The creature probably couldn't fly, Godefroit said, but may have used its wings to glide between trees. The fossil's feathers aren't well-preserved, but the hip bones and other features strongly suggest it was a relative of modern birds, he said.

The researchers assert that?Aurornis?displaces?Archaeopteryx?as the?oldest avialan, placing?Archaeopteryx?further along in the avialan lineage. Since?Archaeopteryx?was a flying creature, its placement among avialans means dinosaurs would have only had to?develop powered flight?once during evolutionary history.

The new findings also classify another family of birdlike dinosaurs, known as Troodontidae, as a sister group to the avialans. This reshuffling of the bird-dinosaur family tree suggests birds and nonavian dinosaurs diverged in Asia during the Middle to Late Jurassic.

The findings are detailed in the May 30 issue of the journal Nature.

Follow?Tanya Lewis?on?Twitter?and?Google+.?Follow us?@livescience,?Facebook?&?Google+. Original article on?LiveScience.com.

Copyright 2013?LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/science/~3/sGNXK_2Vr7o/World-s-first-bird-New-fossil-bumps-Archaeopteryx-off-its-perch

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Wall St extends gains, Nasdaq touches 1 percent

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks extended gains, with the Nasdaq briefly gaining 1 percent and the S&P near session highs as weaker-than-expected economic data kept afloat the belief stimulus measures by central banks will likely continue.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> gained 78.23 points, or 0.51 percent, to 15,381.03. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> rose 10.91 points, or 0.66 percent, to 1,659.27. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.ixic> climbed 32.14 points, or 0.93 percent, to 3,499.66.

(Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by Nick Zieminski)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/futures-flat-selloff-ahead-data-111021496.html

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Disneyland worker arrested in park's dry-ice blast

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) ? Police arrested a Disneyland employee on suspicion of putting a so-called dry ice bomb in a theme park trash can where it exploded, authorities said Wednesday.

No one was injured in the small blast, but Disneyland briefly evacuated the Mickey's Toontown section where the incident occurred Tuesday. The trash can did not blow up.

Christian Barnes, 22, of Long Beach was arrested for investigation of possessing a destructive device, just hours after the blast, Anaheim police Sgt. Bob Dunn said in a statement.

It wasn't immediately clear how police connected Barnes to the blast and Dunn did not return repeated calls. Police said earlier they would scrutinize social media and surveillance footage.

Disneyland spokeswoman Suzi Brown released a statement Wednesday saying the resort was working closely with authorities.

Barnes will be suspended or fired, she said.

Barnes, who worked as an outdoor vendor for the resort, was held on $1 million bail, Dunn said.

Dunn said Barnes was cooperating with investigators, telling them the blast was an isolated incident with results he did not expect, Dunn said. Dunn did not elaborate.

Barnes' father Raymond Barnes said he did not know exactly what happened, but thought his son was "just silly, not thinking" and messing around with dry ice without realizing the severity of what might happen.

"Whatever it was, there was nothing sinister about it," Barnes told KCBS-TV. "He's a good kid. Never been in any trouble."

Barnes' case had not yet been presented to prosecutors, said Farrah Emami, a spokeswoman for the Orange County district attorney's office. The bail amount could change when prosecutors get the case and charges are decided, she said.

Detectives found fragments of a water bottle in the trash can and believe Barnes placed dry ice inside it to create the explosion, the police spokesman said.

A telephone listing for a Christian Barnes in Long Beach rang unanswered Wednesday.

So-called dry ice bombs are easy to make, and on a much smaller scale, are sometimes used as classroom chemistry demonstrations, said John Goodpaster, an explosives expert at the Purdue School of Science at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.

The size of the explosion, however, can vary greatly depending on the container's size, material and the amount of dry ice used, he said.

The devices could cause injuries to those nearby if the built-up pressure was high enough, including cuts from flying bottle shards, he said.

"This is a simple device. It's not a pipe bomb filled with gunpowder, but it definitely will generate an explosion," Goodpaster said.

"If somebody was throwing something out, they could have been injured."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-05-30-US-Disneyland-Blast/id-9112afa610e1425591208383b1aa6a8e

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SoftBank Capital Raises $53 Million Fund To Continue Investing In ...

Softbank Capital Jordan Levy, partner at SoftBank Capital

SoftBank Capital, a venture firm associated with Japan's SoftBank Corp, has raised a $53 million drop-down fund to continue investing in New York startups.

In the past few years, SoftBank Capital has backed successful companies such as The Huffington Post, which was acquired by AOL for more than $300 million, and Buddy Media, which was acquired by Salesforce for more than $680 million. This fund will only be investing in startups located throughout New York City and state.

Jordan Levy, who will oversee SoftBank's New York investments, says his firm is currently invested in 32 active companies in the area. SoftBank's strategy has been to partner with other funds and use years of relationship building to find series A and B investments.

"We've done a number of deals with Union Square Ventures, Spark Capital, RRE and Lerer Ventures," Levy says. "We don't have sharp elbows so we try to accommodate other funds. And we've been around a long time. We have relationships that go back many, many years."

Levy's team has also backed a number of entrepreneurs twice. Jonah Peretti is an example. Peretti co-founded The Huffington Post, and SoftBank Capital backed his following venture, Buzzfeed.

The fund's first investment has already been made. SoftBank Capital recently led a $10 million round in Work Market, a platform for managing freelancers, alongside Union Square Ventures and Spark Capital.

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/softbank-capital-raises-53-million-fund-to-continue-investing-in-new-york-startups-2013-5

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Ex-Mich. Supreme Court judge gets prison for fraud

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) ? Declaring herself "broken" and "disgraced," former Michigan Supreme Court Justice Diane Hathaway tearfully took responsibility for fraud Tuesday before a judge sentenced her to a year and a day in prison for concealing assets while she was pleading with a bank for a sale on her underwater home.

Defense attorney Steve Fishman said the devastation of losing a prestigious job seemed to be enough punishment for Hathaway, who vaulted to statewide prominence through an extraordinary Supreme Court election in 2008. But U.S. District Judge John Corbett O'Meara rejected community service and instead chose prison.

Crying and reading from a statement, Hathaway, 59, blamed her crime on "personal issues" but added: "That is no excuse."

"I stand before you a broken person," she told the judge. "I am ashamed, embarrassed, humiliated and disgraced."

The 2011 sale of Hathaway's Grosse Pointe Park home, near Detroit, erased the balance of her mortgage, $664,000. Prosecutors said she claimed hardship while still possessing more than $1 million in assets, including a debt-free home in Windermere, Fla.

In short sales, banks let distressed owners sell properties for less than what's owed on them, providing a significant benefit to borrowers who can't afford to keep paying the mortgage but want to avoid foreclosure.

Hathaway and husband Michael Kingsley put the Florida home in a relative's name while dealing with ING Bank on the Michigan house, then got the property back in their names in 2012. Before the sale, she also tapped more than $350,000 in cash to buy two homes that were placed in the names of stepchildren, according to the government.

Prosecutors recommended a prison sentence of a year to 18 months, while Hathaway asked for probation and community service. The fraud charge wasn't related to her work at the Supreme Court, but authorities said her expertise in real estate and law was a factor in the scheme.

"We do not ask you to sentence Diane Hathaway based on who she is," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Dan Lemisch, noting her successful career as a judge and prosecutor. "We ask you to sentence Diane Hathaway based on what she did."

The 366-day sentence will allow Hathaway to get time off for good behavior, meaning her actual time in custody likely will be nine to 10 months. The judge didn't elaborate on why he chose that punishment, saying only, "I have thought a great deal about this."

U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade hailed the result.

"Homeowners who play by the rules should know that those who don't will be held accountable, no matter who they are," she said.

In his remarks to the judge, Fishman made arguments that are common in white-collar crimes involving high-profile people, including public humiliation and the loss of a professional livelihood. He said Hathaway had lost her $165,000-a-year job, as well as her law and real estate licenses, and endured deep shame. Hathaway insisted that friends and family stay away from the courthouse Tuesday.

Hathaway's name and reputation have a "permanent stain," Fishman said. "Is that enough? I say it's enough."

He filed documents to show that ING would have approved the short sale even without Hathaway's scheme. Although she had escaped from a $664,000 mortgage balance, Hathaway only will be required to pay $90,000 as restitution because the bank greatly marked down the value of the loan under weak market conditions in the Detroit area.

Fishman said Hathaway would immediately submit a check for that amount. He described her as "petrified" of going to prison.

Hathaway declined to comment outside court, but a woman heckled her as she got into a car with her husband.

In February, Gov. Rick Snyder appointed David Viviano to replace Hathaway on the Supreme Court, extending the Republican majority to 5-2.

Hathaway joined the court after upsetting Republican Chief Justice Cliff Taylor in the 2008 election. She benefited from a controversial TV ad that accused Taylor of sleeping on the bench. Democrats then controlled the court for two years before GOP victories in 2010 put Republicans back in charge.

___

Follow Ed White at twitter.com/edwhiteap

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/disgraced-ex-mich-judge-gets-prison-fraud-185514909.html

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Alien planets could shed light on Earth's climate future

NASA

Comparing the climates of the terrestrial planets Mars, Earth and Venus is a complex task.

By Leslie Mullen, Astrobiology Magazine, SPACE.com

A Comparative Climatology Symposium held at NASA Headquarters on May 7 focused on new approaches to climate research by highlighting the similarities and contrasts between the environments of the rocky worlds Venus, Earth, Mars and Saturn?s smoggy moon Titan.?

The symposium also included discussions about exoplanets, the sun and past, present and future space missions.

John Grunsfeld, Associate Administrator for NASA?s Science Mission Directorate, said that the upcoming James Webb Space Telescope will be able to make important observations of the atmospheres of exoplanets. [Photos: The James Webb Space Telescope]

He said JWST won?t be able to locate the exoplanets, only study them, but the recently selected TESS mission could act as a? planet scout for JWST targets. It is estimated that TESS will discover around 300 "super-Earth" alien planets, many of them in the habitable zone.

But the number one challenge, Grunsfeld noted, is figuring out the climate of our own planet.

Understanding climate change
Jim Green, NASA?s Planetary Science Division Director, said that one goal is to examine a variety of planetary bodies as a system, to see if there are trends or similarities. He also pointed out that from a planetary scientist?s perspective, climate change on our planet is not a new thing.

"Earth?s climate has done nothing but change," Green said.?

Green said that three Earth-observing satellites will be launched this year, and they will help us better understand how the climate is currently changing and the implications that has for our planet?s environment.

David Grinspoon, holder of the first Baruch S. Blumberg NASA/Library of Congress chair in Astrobiology, talked about Mars? "ferocious and interesting" meteorology, and how Martian global dust storms may help unravel what happened on our planet during the K-T extinction 65 million years ago, when an asteroid hitting the Yucatan Peninsula is thought to have eradicated 75 percent of animals and plants on Earth, including the dinosaurs. [Wipeout: History's Most Mysterious Extinctions]

The 'Venus mafia'
As for Venus, Grinspoon said scientists believe current-day volcanism on Venus is thought to be necessary to sustain the planet?s thick clouds. He added that the active surface has eradicated most ancient rocks, preventing us from easily understanding Venus? early history.

Grinspoon also discussed the unique climate of Titan, noting that the methane cycle on this moon of Saturn is "like Earth's hydrological cycle on steroids."

Studying the climates of Mars, Venus, Titan and even exoplanets could help us refine our climate models of the Earth. However, Grinspoon said that "clouds are the biggest uncertainty in understanding the past of Venus and predicting the future of Earth."

Tying climatology to astrobiology, Grinspoon said that our expectations of the other planets, in the absence of data, were that they'd be much more Earth-like than they actually are. We still haven?t found a planet quite like our own, although astronomers are zeroing in on exoplanets that should have habitable conditions.

But, Grinspoon said, "it may be that conditions for life's origin aren't rare, but the hard part is the persistence of habitable conditions."

Venus was a popular topic during the symposium. Roald Sagdeev, University of Maryland professor and former director of the Space Research Institute of the USSR Academy of Sciences, said during an overview of the Russian missions to Venus that "from the point of view of habitability, Venus is like having a dead body to study, which is of course very useful for learning anatomy."

David Crisp, Senior Research Scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory/California Institute of Technology, said that sending weather balloons to Venus taught us a lot about atmospheric physics. And Roger Bonnet, Executive Director of the International Space Science Institute, said there was no chance for a big "flagship" mission to Venus, since the viewpoint among many amounts to "Who cares about clouds and wind on Venus, when we have so much of that on Earth? We want to see little green men!"

One participant noted the presence of "the Venus mafia" at the symposium, inferring that the focus on Earth?s "twin planet" had muscled out discussion of other places of interest.?

Habitable exoplanets
But in addition to studies of Venus and other terrestrial worlds, there was a talk about our sun and its influence on space weather, and general discussions about refining climate models, defining habitable zones, and the importance of basic research.

The participants seemed to agree that, most importantly, planetary climate studies needed to be interdisciplinary, with scientists from different fields communicating and collaborating.

Michael Meyer, lead scientist for the Mars Exploration Program at NASA Headquarters, also pointed out that we should never become complacent in our scientific understanding. For instance, he said that while climate models have not been able to make early Mars warm enough to sustain liquid water on its surface, the same can be true for models of the young Earth.?

And when it comes to understanding where a planet needs to reside in its solar system to be habitable ? the so-called Goldilocks Zone where the temperature is just right for water to be liquid rather than ice or gas ? he commented that "the approach [to the habitable zone] is very Goldilocks in that it's almost a fairy tale."???

Finally, Meyer noted, just when we thought we understood how planets are made, we discovered hot Jupiters and other unusual exoplanets that "turned all of our planet formation models on their head."?

"And that?s a good thing," he added.

The featured speakers at NASA's Comparative Climatology Symposium, titled "New Approaches to Climate Research," were John Grunsfeld, Jim Green, David Grinspoon, Lori Glaze, Mark Bullock, Roald Sagdeev, Jack Kaye, Lennart Bengtsson, David Crisp, Roger Bonnet, Mark Marley, and Madhulika Guhathakurta.

This story was provided by?Astrobiology Magazine, a web-based publication sponsored by the NASA astrobiology program.

Copyright 2013 SPACE.com, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Surprising No One, Twitter Is An Arrested Development Explosion

The Netflix-only fourth season of Arrested Development went live at 3 a.m. EST this morning, and if you didn't see the Twitter deluge coming, well, you're one of these people:

Read more...

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Angelina Jolie&#39;s aunt dies of breast cancer, two weeks after star ...

Angelina Jolie made headlines earlier this month when she penned an article in The?

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Angelina Jolie made headlines earlier this month when she penned an article in The New York Times which explained her decision to have a double mastectomy as a preventative measure due to a family history of breast cancer and the fact that a test showed she has the BRCA1 gene mutation, which put her at a higher risk for the disease.

Now, Jolie?s aunt has died of breast cancer.

Debbie Martin, 61, died in a San Diego, California-area hospital on Sunday, according to reports Monday morning.

Martin was the sister of Jolie?s mother, who died from ovarian cancer in 2007.

?Angelina has been in touch throughout the week and her brother Jamie has been with us, giving his support day by day,? Martin?s husband, Ron, told E!. ?They both loved Debbie very much and although Angie is not able to come right now she has sent her love and support which was very nice.?

Source: http://www2.macleans.ca/2013/05/27/angelina-jolies-aunt-dies-of-breast-cancer-two-weeks-after-the-star-writes-about-double-mastectomy/

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Global protests target Monsanto, genetically modified food

Organizers say 'March against Monsanto' protests held in 52 nations and 436 cities. Anti-Monsanto rallies sparked by a Facebook page in February.

By Associated Press / May 25, 2013

People chant and carry signs during a protest against Monsanto in front of the capitol building in Montpelier, Vt. on Saturday, May 25, 2013. Marches and rallies against seed giant Monsanto were held across the US and more than 50 other nations Saturday, according to protesters, who want to call attention to dangers posed by genetically modified food.

Mark Collier/AP

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Protesters rallied in dozens of cities Saturday as part of a global protest against seed giant Monsanto?and the genetically modified food it produces, organizers said.

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Organizers said "March Against?Monsanto" protests were held in 52 countries and 436 cities, including Los Angeles where demonstrators waved signs that read "Real Food 4 Real People" and "Label GMOs, It's Our Right to Know."

Genetically modified plants are grown from seeds that are engineered to resist insecticides and herbicides, add nutritional benefits or otherwise improve crop yields and increase the global food supply.

Most corn, soybean and cotton crops grown in the United States today have been genetically modified. But critics say genetically modified organisms can lead to serious health conditions and harm the environment. The use of GMOs has been a growing issue of contention in recent years, with health advocates pushing for mandatory labeling of genetically modified products even though the federal government and many scientists say the technology is safe.

The 'March Against?Monsanto' movement began just a few months ago, when founder and organizer Tami Canal created a Facebook page on Feb. 28 calling for a rally against the company's practices.

"If I had gotten 3,000 people to join me, I would have considered that a success," she said Saturday. Instead, she said an "incredible" number of people responded to her message and turned out to rally.

"It was empowering and inspiring to see so many people, from different walks of life, put aside their differences and come together today," Canal said. The group plans to harness the success of the event to continue its anti-GMO cause.

"We will continue until?Monsanto?complies with consumer demand. They are poisoning our children, poisoning our planet," she said. "If we don't act, who's going to?"

Monsanto?Co., based in St. Louis, said that it respects people's rights to express their opinion on the topic, but maintains that its seeds improve agriculture by helping farmers produce more from their land while conserving resources such as water and energy.

The Food and Drug Administration does not require genetically modified foods to carry a label, but organic food companies and some consumer groups have intensified their push for labels, arguing that the modified seeds are floating from field to field and contaminating traditional crops. The groups have been bolstered by a growing network of consumers who are wary of processed and modified foods.

The U.S. Senate this week overwhelmingly rejected a bill that would allow states to require labeling of genetically modified foods.

The Biotechnology Industry Organization, a lobbying group that represents?Monsanto, DuPont & Co. and other makers of genetically modified seeds, has said that it supports voluntary labeling for people who seek out such products. But it says that mandatory labeling would only mislead or confuse consumers into thinking the products aren't safe, even though the FDA has said there's no difference between GMO and organic, non-GMO foods.

However, state legislatures in Vermont and Connecticut moved ahead this month with votes to make food companies declare genetically modified ingredients on their packages. And supermarket retailer Whole Foods Markets Inc. has said that all products in its North American stores that contain genetically modified ingredients will be labeled as such by 2018.

Whole Foods says there is growing demand for products that don't use GMOs, with sales of products with a "Non-GMO" verification label spiking between 15 percent and 30 percent.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/8iIfpqU9wW0/Global-protests-target-Monsanto-genetically-modified-food

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Dye agrees to meet with NCAA investigators

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) ? Miami senior Dyron Dye has agreed to meet for a third time with NCAA investigators, who want to know why there are discrepancies between what he told them in 2011 and what he wrote in a recent affidavit to support a former Hurricanes assistant coach.

And according to that affidavit, Dye's explanation is simple. He claims he said what the NCAA told him in 2011 was necessary to preserve his career.

Dye's attorney, Darren Heitner, said Saturday that his client stands by what he wrote, which has been obtained by The Associated Press. The NCAA has told Miami that it wants to interview Dye as soon it can, even over Memorial Day weekend, amid "Bylaw 10.1 concerns" ? the rule covering unethical conduct by those involved in collegiate athletics.

"My client stands behind the statements he made in his affidavit, which we understand is supported by affidavits signed by other former players," Heitner said. "Nevertheless, we will cooperate with the NCAA and comply with its request for a third interview."

Dye has already been sanctioned once for his involvement with the scandal that has dogged the Hurricanes for more than two years and was sparked by claims made by former booster Nevin Shapiro, a convicted felon who is currently serving a 20-year federal prison sentence for masterminding a $930 million Ponzi scheme.

After the scandal broke in 2011, Dye had to sit out four games and repay $738 because the NCAA found ? primarily through his own acknowledgement ? that he accepted impermissible benefits from Shapiro, who was linked to dozens of Miami athletes, recruits and coaches over about a decade.

The stakes are higher this time. If the NCAA successfully pursues a 10.1 charge against Dye, his remaining eligibility would almost certainly be gone.

"I feel that it is unfair that the NCAA has twisted my testimony," Dye wrote in his statement, filed on behalf of former Hurricanes assistant coach Aubrey Hill, who faces one of the unethical conduct charges ? the 10.1 ? that the NCAA included in the notice of allegations it sent to Miami in February.

Former Miami quarterback Jacory Harris echoed Dye's claim of NCAA intimidation in another affidavit on Hill's behalf, and it's now expected that more former players involved in the Hurricanes case will say the same thing happened to them during their interviews related to the investigation.

The NCAA has not commented about the affidavit from Dye, who played tight end last year and was planning to switch to defensive line for his final collegiate season. He is recovering from surgery needed after he got hurt on the final day of Miami's spring practice season, but remains hopeful that he will be able to play in 2013.

Dye appears several times in the notice of allegations, which is what Miami will be facing when it appears before the NCAA's Committee on Infractions for a hearing scheduled to begin June 13 in Indianapolis.

Dye, the AP has learned, was one of at least 38 football players who the NCAA said was entertained at Shapiro's home. The NCAA also said Dye, Ray-Ray Armstrong and Andre Dubose were provided "impermissible transportation and benefits" such as a strip-club trip during an unofficial recruiting visit. Dye also allegedly was allowed to stay at the homes of two former football assistant coaches ? Hill and Clint Hurtt ? for no cost during unofficial visits.

The NCAA said Dye stayed at Hurtt's home at least two nights, and at Hill's for at least two other nights.

More allegations involving Dye included that he, Debose and Armstrong were picked up by Hill about halfway between Miami and Orlando and driven by the then-assistant to South Florida for a visit; that Hurtt arranged a trip to a gathering with Miami players at Shapiro's home; that he played in a pool tournament at Shapiro's where the booster was offering a cash prize; and that he dined at an Italian restaurant with Hill and others, with Shapiro paying.

In his affidavit, Dye denied many of those allegations, including that he stayed at Hill's home, that he got transportation from Hill for an unofficial visit, and that he did not dine with a group that included Hill at the Italian restaurant.

With regard to one of his previous interviews with the NCAA, conducted Aug. 16, 2011, Dye said now-retired investigator Rich Johanningmeier threatened his scholarships and remaining eligibility, according to the documents obtained by AP.

"I felt compelled to testify in a manner that would be consistent with the manner in which Mr. Johanningmeier was directing me in order to keep my eligibility," Dye wrote.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/dye-agrees-meet-ncaa-investigators-171801065.html

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Egypt court rules against religious slogans

CAIRO (AP) ? Egypt's Supreme Constitutional Court has ruled against parts of an election law approved by the Islamist-led legislature that had lifted a long-standing ban on the use of religious slogans during campaigning.

The court on Saturday said in its decision that not explicitly banning religious slogans in campaigns runs counter to national unity and principles of citizenship. The court says religious slogans may distract voters from focusing on the candidate's platform. The bill will now be sent back for review by the interim parliament.

It similarly ruled against a provision that stipulates media outlets give equal time to candidates, saying this violates freedom of the press.

The court also says the bill breaches the principles of separation of powers because it allows the president to set election dates and change them.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/egypt-court-rules-against-religious-slogans-164830211.html

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How Republicans could win back the Senate in 2014 (Washington Post)

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Arias jury foreman says life or death decision unfair

PHOENIX (AP) ? They were 12 ordinary citizens who didn't oppose the death penalty. But unlike spectators outside the courthouse who followed the case like a daytime soap opera and jumped to demand Jodi Arias' execution, the jurors faced a decision that was wrenching and real, with implications that could haunt them forever.

In an interview Friday, jury foreman William Zervakos provided a glimpse into the private deliberations, describing four women and eight men who struggled with the question: How heinous of a killing deserves a similar fate?

"The system we think is flawed in that sense because this was not a case of a Jeffrey Dahmer or Charles Manson," Zervakos told The Associated Press.

"It was a brutal no-win situation. ... I think that's kind of unfair," the 69-year-old added. "We're not lawyers. We can't interpret the law. We're mere mortals. And I will tell you I've never felt more mere as a mortal than I felt for the last five months."

Zervakos said the most difficult time of the entire trial was hearing directly from victim Travis Alexander's family as his brother and sister tearfully explained how his killing has shattered their lives.

"There was no sound in that jury room for a long time after that because you hurt so bad for these people," he said. "But that wasn't evidence. That's what made it so hard. ... This wasn't about them. This was a decision whether we're going to tell somebody they were going to be put to death or spend the rest of their life in prison."

Zervakos described a deliberations room full of tears and spinning moral compasses as each juror struggled to come to grips with their own beliefs about what factors ? including Arias' young age at the time of the killing and her lack of criminal history ? should cause them to show mercy and spare her life.

"You've got Travis Alexander's family devastated, that he was killed, that he was brutally killed. You've got Jodi Arias' family sitting in there, both families sitting and seeing these humiliating images and listening to unbelievably lurid private details of their lives, and you've got a woman whose life is over, too," Zervakos said. "I mean, who's winning in this situation? And we were stuck in the middle."

Zervakos declined to discuss his thoughts or those of other jurors on whether Arias should have been sentenced to death or life. But he said he was torn between her two personas: a killer and an average young woman struggling through life.

"You heard (prosecutor Juan) Martinez say she was only 27. ... She's old enough that she should have known better," Zervakos said. "I didn't look at it that way. I'm looking at 27 years of an absolutely normal everyday young woman that was living a life that was perfectly normal. Then something changed the trajectory of her life after meeting Travis Alexander, and it spiraled downhill from there."

The same jury on May 8 convicted Arias of first-degree murder in Alexander's killing, but couldn't reach a decision Thursday after about 13 hours of deliberations on whether she should live or die.

Judge Sherry Stephens was forced to declare a mistrial of the penalty phase and dismissed the panel.

A conference with the judge and attorneys is set for June 20 to determine how both sides want to proceed. In the interim, Stephens set a July 18 retrial date.

The mistrial set the stage for a whole new proceeding to determine whether the 32-year-old former waitress should get a life sentence or the death penalty for murdering Alexander five years ago.

Arias stabbed and slashed him nearly 30 times, slit his throat slit and shot him in the forehead. Prosecutors said she attacked Alexander in a jealous rage after he wanted to end their relationship and planned a trip to Mexico with another woman. Arias contends it was self-defense.

Prosecutors now have the option to take the death penalty off the table and avoid a new penalty phase. The judge would then determine whether to sentence Arias to spend her entire life behind bars, or give her life with the possibility of release after 25 years. Given Arias could not afford her own defense, taxpayers footed the bill for court-appointed attorneys at a cost so far of nearly $1.7 million, a price tag that will only balloon if the case moves forward.

Should the state decide to seek death again, jury selection alone could take months, given the difficulty of seating an impartial panel in a case that has attracted global attention and become daily cable TV and tabloid fodder with tales of sex, lies and violence, said jury consultant Jo-Ellan Dimitrius.

"Will it be impossible? No. Will it be tough? Absolutely," she said.

Dimitrius noted that jury selection in the widely publicized trial of infamous serial killer Richard Ramirez, known as the "Night Stalker," who is on death row in California, took six months as attorneys weeded through more than 2,000 prospective jurors.

If Arias faces a new penalty phase, her murder conviction would stand, leaving the new panel tasked only with sentencing her. However, the proceedings could drag on for several more months as the new jury reviews evidence and witness testimony.

If the second jury cannot reach a unanimous decision, the judge would then sentence Arias to one of the life-in-prison options. The judge cannot sentence Arias to death.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/jury-foreman-says-life-death-decision-unfair-000931802.html

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A hidden population of exotic neutron stars

Friday, May 24, 2013

Magnetars ? the dense remains of dead stars that erupt sporadically with bursts of high-energy radiation ? are some of the most extreme objects known in the Universe. A major campaign using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and several other satellites shows magnetars may be more diverse ? and common ? than previously thought.

When a massive star runs out of fuel, its core collapses to form a neutron star, an ultradense object about 10 to 15 miles wide. The gravitational energy released in this process blows the outer layers away in a supernova explosion and leaves the neutron star behind.

Most neutron stars are spinning rapidly ? a few times a second ? but a small fraction have a relatively low spin rate of once every few seconds, while generating occasional large blasts of X-rays. Because the only plausible source for the energy emitted in these outbursts is the magnetic energy stored in the star, these objects are called "magnetars."

Most magnetars have extremely high magnetic fields on their surface that are ten to a thousand times stronger than for the average neutron star. New observations show that the magnetar known as SGR 0418+5729 (SGR 0418 for short) doesn't fit that pattern. It has a surface magnetic field similar to that of mainstream neutron stars.

"We have found that SGR 0418 has a much lower surface magnetic field than any other magnetar," said Nanda Rea of the Institute of Space Science in Barcelona, Spain. "This has important consequences for how we think neutron stars evolve in time, and for our understanding of supernova explosions."

The researchers monitored SGR 0418 for over three years using Chandra, ESA's XMM-Newton as well as NASA's Swift and RXTE satellites. They were able to make an accurate estimate of the strength of the external magnetic field by measuring how its rotation speed changes during an X-ray outburst. These outbursts are likely caused by fractures in the crust of the neutron star precipitated by the buildup of stress in a relatively strong, wound-up magnetic field lurking just beneath the surface.

"This low surface magnetic field makes this object an anomaly among anomalies," said co-author GianLuca Israel of the National Institute of Astrophysics in Rome. "A magnetar is different from typical neutron stars, but SGR 0418 is different from other magnetars as well."

By modeling the evolution of the cooling of the neutron star and its crust, as well as the gradual decay of its magnetic field, the researchers estimated that SGR 0418 is about 550,000 years old. This makes SGR 0418 older than most other magnetars, and this extended lifetime has probably allowed the surface magnetic field strength to decline over time. Because the crust weakened and the interior magnetic field is relatively strong, outbursts could still occur.

The case of SGR 0418 may mean that there are many more elderly magnetars with strong magnetic fields hidden under the surface, implying that their birth rate is five to ten times higher than previously thought.

"We think that about once a year in every galaxy a quiet neutron star should turn on with magnetar-like outbursts, according to our model for SGR 0418," said Jos? Pons of the University of Alacant in Spain. "We hope to find many more of these objects."

Another implication of the model is that the surface magnetic field of SGR 0418 should have once been very strong at its birth a half million years ago. This, plus a possibly large population of similar objects, could mean that the massive progenitor stars already had strong magnetic fields, or these fields were created by rapidly rotating neutron stars in the core collapse that was part of the supernova event.

If large numbers of neutron stars are born with strong magnetic fields then a significant fraction of gamma-ray bursts might be caused by the formation of magnetars rather than black holes. Also, the contribution of magnetar births to gravitational wave signals ? ripples in space-time ? would be larger than previously thought.

The possibility of a relatively low surface magnetic field for SGR 0418 was first announced in 2010 by a team with some of the same members. However, the scientists at that time could only determine an upper limit for the magnetic field and not an actual estimate because not enough data had been collected.

SGR 0418 is located in the Milky Way galaxy at a distance of about 6,500 light years from Earth. These new results on SGR 0418 appear online and will be published in the June 10, 2013 issue of The Astrophysical Journal. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., manages the Chandra program for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory controls Chandra's science and flight operations from Cambridge, Mass.

###

Chandra X-ray Center: http://chandra.harvard.edu

Thanks to Chandra X-ray Center for this article.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/128390/A_hidden_population_of_exotic_neutron_stars

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Arizona investigating angry email sent lawmakers

PHOENIX (AP) ? Arizona's bitter debate over a signature part of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul has sparked an investigation into lawmakers' safety after at least nine legislators received a threatening email over Gov. Jan Brewer's push to expand Medicaid access.

The message referred to Second Amendment rights and shooting someone, but did not include any direct threats. It was sent to House Speaker Andy Tobin, who opposes the Medicaid expansion, and eight other Republican House members.

"Please kill SB1492, the Medicaid Expansion Act," the email begins, before quoting the Second Amendment. It then reads, "If you are ever asked why you shot the person, the only answer from your lips should be, I felt my life, or/and my family's life was in immediate danger of death. So I did what I had to do in order to eliminate this threat. "

State police are also investigating a voicemail left for Rep. Kate Brophy McGee, a Phoenix Republican who supports the Medicaid expansion. She appeared visibly shaken Thursday as she described the message on the House floor and asked lawmakers to tell their constituents to be civil.

"The voice was a male who left a long rambling message with derogatory remarks aimed at Governor Brewer for Representative McGee," Bart Graves, a spokesman with the Department of Public Safety, said in an email Friday. "She felt there was a threatening undertone."

Lawmakers said they have received dozens of messages from supporters and opponents of the proposed expansion containing varying layers of vitriol.

"Sadly, the tone has been quite intense. People are emotional," said Republican Rep. Ethan Orr, of Tucson, who supports the Medicaid plan and received the email but said it did not make him feel threatened. "I wish people would have a more civil and respectful tone, but I understand why this is so important to them."

State police plan to interview the caller and email sender.

"We take these incidents seriously," Graves said.

The alleged threats come after a heated impasse between Brewer and Republican leaders in the GOP-led Legislature over the Medicaid expansion.

Brewer announced a moratorium on bill signings two weeks ago and vetoed five bills Thursday. Brewer's spokesman has said she will not sign anymore bills until significant progress is made on the Medicaid plan and the state budget. Lawmakers have five more weeks until the new fiscal year begins on July 1.

The State Senate president and House speaker oppose the Medicaid expansion, and some Republican lawmakers have labeled Brewer a traitor for backing it. She was among a handful of Republican governors who sued after the health care overhaul's passage. But Brewer and other moderate Republicans now say the plan will help poor Arizonans and there are enough votes in the Arizona Senate and House to pass the Medicaid expansion if the leadership doesn't stand in the way.

Arizona is among nine states where Republican governors have accepted the Medicaid expansion. Six of them have been able to get a deal with their legislatures or are on track to do so, including Arizona, where six Republicans joined all 13 Democrats in the Senate last week to pass a budget that included the Medicaid expansion.

Conservative Republicans were furious at the supporters. The head of the Maricopa County Republican Party, A.J. LaFaro, called the day of the vote "a day of infamy."

"Their political careers are all but over and their days numbered," he said.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/arizona-investigating-angry-email-sent-lawmakers-172608611.html

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Indy 500 could be better than 2012's epic race

Takuma Sato, of Japan, removes his helmet following the final practice session for the Indianapolis 500 auto race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Friday, May 24, 2013. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Takuma Sato, of Japan, removes his helmet following the final practice session for the Indianapolis 500 auto race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Friday, May 24, 2013. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Dario Franchitti, of Scotland, framed through a stack of tires, talks with his crew following the final practice session for the Indianapolis 500 auto race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Friday, May 24, 2013. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Carlos Munoz, of Colombia, leads a pack through the first turn during the final practice session for the Indianapolis 500 auto race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Friday, May 24, 2013. (AP Photo/Tom Strattman)

IndyCar driver Helio Castroneves, of Brazil, stands in his team pit box as he waits for the start of the final practice session for the Indianapolis 500 auto race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Friday, May 24, 2013. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

indyCar driver Ed Carpenter, who will start the race from the pole, looks over his car in pit lane before the start of the final practice session for the Indianapolis 500 auto race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Friday, May 24, 2013. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) ? They raced 1-2-3 in line, trading the lead a whopping 15 times over the final, frantic 75 laps. All three drivers had a last-lap plan in mind when they zipped past the white flag, and it was Takuma Sato who acted first with a bold move for the win.

Sato pulled out of line, dipped inside of Dario Franchitti and tried to pounce as they headed into the first turn. Scott Dixon watched and waited from third, figuring he was now in position to slingshot past both for the victory.

Instead, Sato and Franchitti nearly touched. Sato spun out and into the wall and Franchitti zipped to his third victory in one of the most dramatic Indianapolis 500 finishes in memory. Some even argued it was one of the greatest Indy 500s ever.

It sure won't be easy to top on Sunday.

"I got a lot of comments from drivers in NASCAR and Formula One saying it was the best 500 they'd ever seen," Franchitti said. "But I think this year will also be a very, close exciting race."

The bar was certainly raised at Indianapolis Motor Speedway last year with 34 lead changes, passing throughout the field, Franchitti rallying from the back to win and three close friends of the late Dan Wheldon sweeping the podium. So perfect it could have been a Hollywood movie script.

But the IndyCar Series has given every indication this season that Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway could be another thriller.

The series is off to a terrific start this year with three winners in the first four races, and for the first time since 1991 none of the winners drive for the mighty Penske Racing or Chip Ganassi Racing teams. Instead, it's been three wins for resurgent Andretti Autosport and one for A.J. Foyt Racing, which celebrated Sato becoming the first Japanese driver to win an IndyCar race.

So steady this season, Sato goes into Sunday as the series points leader. And, he'll start from the sixth row ? right next to Franchitti and Dixon.

Sato, who calls last year's race "an unforgettable day," has the chance to give Foyt his first Indy 500 victory since Kenny Brack in 1999. Sato's win at Long Beach last month was the first for the Foyt organization since 2002.

"We're here for it. We are here aiming to win the 500, so there is no reason why we cannot," Sato said. "Winning, I was so close last year. Knowing that now, how to get there, what you need there, so it's been a tremendous experience last year to hopefully I can translate it to... this year's performance."

The field is stacked, though, and has a pair of drivers trying to join the exclusive club of four-time winners. Franchitti and Helio Castroneves are each vying to join Foyt, Al Unser Sr. and Rick Mears as the only four-time winners of the Indy 500, a feat that's not been done since Mears' 1991 victory.

"What an incredible opportunity for the fans to have not only one, but two guys trying to make history," Castroneves said. "Forget about the names, forget about who it is. But imagine people who didn't even see the last time when the guy won four times."

They've got five Andretti Autosport cars standing in their way and two of them start from the front row.

Carlos Munoz, a 21-year-old Colombian making his IndyCar debut, will start second alongside Marco Andretti, who is once again considered a favorite but must overcome a curse that has limited his famous family to one win ? Mario Andretti in 1969 ? in 80 starts.

Andretti feels far more comfortable about his chances this year than he did last season, when he called the race "mine to lose." Graham Rahal, the other half of the closest rivalry in the mild-mannered series, doesn't consider his nemesis the favorite.

"Do I think it's Marco's race? No. Marco hasn't led in the pack all week," Rahal said. "He just sits in the back and runs a big lap time and pits."

Instead, Rahal thinks everybody is overlooking AJ Allmendinger, who will make his Indianapolis 500 debut seven years after he left open-wheel racing for NASCAR. A failed drug test cost him his NASCAR ride last summer with Roger Penske, but the team owner has given him a second chance with this IndyCar opportunity.

Allmendinger has been fast at Indy ? so good that struggling teammate Will Power used his setup in qualifying. Power said Allmendinger has the best car in traffic of all three Penske entries. Named after Foyt, his father's favorite driver, Allmendinger could complete his comeback Sunday.

"AJ Allmendinger is a very good race driver. He's had quite a bit of experience," said Foyt. "I met his daddy the other day, I said, 'Why did you handicap that kid putting A.J. on him?'"

Allmendinger is one of 11 American drivers in the field of 33 ? there are also a record-tying four women ? and leading the red, white and blue charge is local boy Ed Carpenter, the only owner-driver in the field.

Carpenter, the stepson of IndyCar Series founder Tony George, is a graduate of Butler and a die-hard Indiana Pacers fan and the surprise pole-winner for the Indy 500. He is noted for his skills racing on an oval, and he's twice beaten Franchitti in wheel-to-wheel races to the finish line. But now he'll be leading the field to the green flag of his hometown race with all of Indiana watching.

"I don't feel the pressure," he said. "As far as the local fan base and support, it's fun. I don't think that translates into pressure."

Carpenter is powered by Chevrolet, which for the second year in a row dominated all the preparations for the Indy 500 and swept the first 10 spots in qualifying. But Honda showed more life in Friday's final practice, when it had six drivers in the top 10 of the speed chart. If that sounds familiar, it should ? last year, Chevrolet dominated leading into the Indy 500 but Franchitti won in a Honda.

"We have seen this movie before ? this is the same story of last year, and Honda had the advantage on race day," said James Hinchcliffe, who goes into the race with two wins this season for Andretti.

And race day is the only day that matters, according to Ganassi, who publicly called out Honda during the season-opening weekend at St. Pete when he questioned the manufacturer's desire to win. Ganassi went so far as to claim the only thing Honda wants to do is "sit around and hold hands and sing Kumbaya. I want to win."

Ganassi wasn't panicked Friday about Honda's performance so far at Indy, and said Sunday will be the "tale of the tape."

"I'd like to think we gave them a little bit of a spark there that started a bit of a fire, and that fire burns today very hot," Ganassi said. "I'm happy with how they responded, but this is in response . this is a long, not a one-race or one-day commitment we're looking for a response to, it's a season-long slog. A marathon we're involved in throughout the season. I'm sure they're up to the task."

So he'll wait and see if this year's running of "The Greatest Spectacle In Racing" can live up to last year.

"Last year is going to be tough to top, but what we've seen in practice so far indicates we are going to see a really similar race," Hinchcliffe said. "And I don't think fans are ever going to get tired of that kind of action."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-05-25-CAR-IndyCar-Indianapolis-500/id-12c0ec93dcf348c9bb2420c46091748f

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Granderson hurt as Yankees beat Rays 9-4

New York Yankees' Brett Gardner follows the flight of his fourth-inning, two- run home run off Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Roberto Hernandez during a baseball game, Friday, May 24, 2013, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

New York Yankees' Brett Gardner follows the flight of his fourth-inning, two- run home run off Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Roberto Hernandez during a baseball game, Friday, May 24, 2013, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

New York Yankees' Brett Gardner, right, high-fives teammate Chris Stewart after Gardner hit a two-run home run off Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Roberto Hernandez in the fourth inning of a baseball game, Friday, May 24, 2013, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

New York Yankees' Robinson Cano is hit with a fifth-inning, bases-loaded pitch by Tampa Bay Rays relief pitcher Cesar Ramos during a baseball game on Friday, May 24, 2013, in St. Petersburg, Fla. Yankees' Lyle Overbay scored on the play.(AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi, left, and a trainer, center, check Curtis Granderson's wrist during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays, Friday, May 24, 2013, in St. Petersburg, Fla. Granderson left the game. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

New York Yankees' Lyle Overbay hits a fifth-inning single off Tampa Bay Rays relief pitcher Cesar Ramos during a baseball game, Friday, May 24, 2013, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) ? Another injury marred a New York Yankees' victory.

Outfielder Curtis Granderson broke the knuckle on his left pinky finger in the Yankees' 9-4 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday night.

Yankees manager Joe Girardi had no official timeline for how long Granderson will be out, but indicated it could be a minimum of four weeks.

"It is what it is," said Granderson, who will see a hand specialist in New York on Monday. "You can't change it right now, you've got to move forward."

Granderson broke the knuckle getting hit by Cesar Ramos' pitch in the fifth. After later scoring, he was replaced defensively by Ichiro Suzuki in the bottom of the inning.

Granderson missed the first 38 games this season with a broken right forearm, the result of a hit by pitch in his first at-bat at spring training.

"Another bump in the road," Granderson said.

Granderson said at this point he was told surgery will not be required.

"It's sad," Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano said. "It's really tough. He's one of those guys you're going to miss. Hopefully he gets back soon."

David Phelps (3-2), who retired his first 13 batters before James Loney hit a one-out double in the fifth, allowed four runs and six hits in 7 2-3 innings. He left in the eighth after he was hit on the right forearm by a drive up the middle by Ben Zobrist.

X-rays were negative, and Phelps did not rule out making his next start.

"It's a little sore," Phelps said. "See how that feels tomorrow morning will be a bigger thing. I'll be fine."

The Yankees have been hit hard by injuries this season. Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Andy Pettitte, Mark Teixeira and Kevin Youkilis are among the players on the disabled list.

"I'm happy that we won the game, but you lost a really good player," Girardi said. "That's never a good thing."

Brett Gardner, Lyle Overbay and Jayson Nix each drove in two runs for the Yankees.

Gardner made it 5-0 with a two-run homer off Roberto Hernandez (2-5) during the fourth. The Yankees took a 3-0 lead in the second on Overbay's two-run double and an RBI single by Nix.

Tampa Bay slugger Evan Longoria went 0 for 4 and had his career-best 16-game hitting streak end.

Nix walked with the bases loaded, Chris Stewart had a run-scoring single and Cano picked up an RBI when he was hit by Ramos' pitch as the Yankees went ahead 8-0 in the fifth.

Matt Joyce had an RBI double during the Rays' three-run sixth.

Nix tripled and scored to put the Yankees up 9-3 on a wild pitch in the seventh.

After falling behind 3-0 in the third, the Rays intentionally walked Cano with runners on first and second and two outs. The move proved successful when Hernandez got an infield pop fly from Vernon Wells.

Hernandez gave up five runs, six hits and three walks in four innings. He was coming off a start last Saturday against Baltimore where he allowed five runs and eight hits over two innings.

"Pitching won the game for them and not for us," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "I thought we had some good at-bats, but they did beat us on the mound. We have to pitch better to win."

Tampa Bay's Matt Moore will look Saturday to become the fifth-youngest pitcher since 1916 to start a season 9-0 exclusively as a starter. The 23-year old left-hander will go against Vidal Nuno (1-1).

According to the Rays, if Moore gets the win Saturday, only Ken Holtzman (1967), Livan Hernandez (1997), Roger Clemens (1986) and Jered Weaver (2006) will have accomplished the feat at a younger age.

NOTES: Maddon said AL Cy Young Award winner David Price, who went on the 15-day disabled list May 16 with a left triceps strain, is getting well. "I don't have any kind of finish line there yet," Maddon said. ... The Yankees are 11-5 since May 8.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-05-24-Yankees-Rays/id-770e9471daa64f1293d238190104b2d3

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