Two bizarre endings mar UFC 159 prelims

The UFC debut of two Strikeforce light heavyweights was spoiled by a odd ending. Ovince St-Preux beat Gian Villante in a majority technical decision after the fight was stopped because of a poke to the eye.

After a back-and-forth, but not entirely thrilling bout, St-Preux threw a punch and accidentally poked Villante in the eye. Villante stepped back and crouched down, indicating to referee Kevin Mulhall that there was a problem with the eye. Mulhall asked Villante if he could see, and Villante said no, he couldn't see.

At that point, Mulhall waved his arms and the fight was stopped. Villante protested, but the fight was over. Because the round had started, it had to be judged. The scores were 30-28, 29-28 and 29-29 in St-Preux's favor.

?I couldn?t see. He did poke me in the eye so I don?t know," Villante said after the fight. "He said the fight was over and I didn?t expect that because I was just reacting to his question. I got poked and my eye was closed up so I thought he would stop it but he didn?t, he just kind of looked at me. I don?t understand how you score thirty seconds of a round and that?s how I lost? We were just getting going and I got poked in the eye. I don?t know what to say.?

Mulhall's stoppage adhered to the eyepoke rule, if not literally, then in spirit. When a fighter says he can't see, the fight is stopped. However, Mulhall could have used better communication and followed procedures. It would have been better if he explained to Villante that he didn't have time to recover and that the fight would be stopped if he said he couldn't see.

UFC 159's weird streak continued in the very next bout. Rustam Khabilov and Yancy Medeiros' fight was stopped halfway through the first round. Medeiros defended a Khabilov takedown attempt, but hit his hand awkwardly. His thumb ended up pointing a way thumbs are not supposed to point and the bout was stopped at 2:32 of the first round.

Two weird endings marred the preliminary card, but the UFC rarely lets a weird ending go. Quite often, these fights get a rematch, so don't be shocked if you see these fights happen again on a card this summer.

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Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/two-bizarre-endings-mar-ufc-159-prelims-020815615.html

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Florida lawmakers hope to speed up executions

By Bill Cotterell

TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) - The Florida Senate sent Governor Rick Scott a package of capital-punishment reforms on Monday designed to prevent condemned killers from spending decades on Death Row, despite warnings that speeding up the legal appeals process could lead to innocent prisoners being executed.

The "Timely Justice Act" sets deadlines for condemned killers to file appeals, and for the state to proceed with issuing warrants after the Florida Supreme Court upholds death sentences.

It also sets competency standards for lawyers handling cases. To reduce the number of appeals alleging incompetent counsel, any attorney twice found to have provided "constitutionally deficient representation" will be suspended from handling death appeals for five years.

"Is swift justice fair justice?" asked Democratic party Senator Arthenia Joyner, a Tampa attorney who voted against the bill. "We have seen cases where, years later, convicted people were exonerated," she said.

"I don't see the reason for the swiftness, especially with DNA evidence that can exonerate," said Senator Maria Sachs, who is also an attorney and a Democrat.

But Republican Senator Rob Bradley said, "this is not about guilt or innocence, it's about timely justice." Frivolous appeals designed only for delay are not fair to victims and their families, he said.

The act also requires the state Supreme Court to make annual reports to the Legislature on how many capital appeals have been pending more than three years. Attorneys found to have provided incompetent counsel would also be reported to the Florida Bar.

"Only God can judge," Matt Gaetz, a Republican who sponsored the bill in the House of Representatives, said last week during House debate. "But we sure can set up the meeting."

The House passed Gaetz's bill 84-34 last week. Governor Scott, a conservative Republican, is expected to sign the changes into law.

Florida has 400 men and five women currently under death sentence, with the next execution set for May 29. Gaetz and backers of his bill said 155 have been on Death Row for more than 20 years and 10 have been there more than 35 years.

Staff analysis of Gaetz's bill said the average time between sentence and execution, since Florida resumed executions in 1979, has been 13 years. The state has carried out 75 warrants in that time, second only to Texas, which has executed 496 convicted killers since 1976.

Richard Dieter of the Death Penalty Information Center in Washington, D.C., said 33 states currently have capital punishment, but Maryland is set to abolish it when that state's governor signs a repeal law this week. Five states have repealed the death penalty in the past six years, Dieter said.

"There's been a trend away from capital punishment," said Dieter. "The number of sentences imposed in the country has declined by 75 percent since 1990 and only nine states carried out an execution last year."

State Senator Darren Soto tried on Friday to raise the required jury vote from seven to 10 for death penalties. He said Florida is the only state allowing juries to recommend death by a simple majority of 7 to 5. He said Alabama is the only other state allowing non-unanimous death recommendations, which he said require 10 votes there.

(Editing by David Adams and Nick Zieminski)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/florida-legislators-approve-measure-speed-executions-194651847.html

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Roadside bomb kills 3 policemen in Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) ? A remote-controlled roadside bomb killed three police officers in eastern Afghanistan on Sunday, an attack the Taliban claimed as the opening round of their spring offensive.

The bomb exploded in Ghazni province beneath a police convoy that was traveling to the district of Zana Khan to take part in a military operation against insurgents, Mohammad Ali Ahmadi, the province's deputy governor, told The Associated Press.

He said the blast destroyed the vehicle carrying Col. Mohammad Hussain, the deputy provincial police chief, killing him and two other officers. Ahmadi said two officers also were wounded in the insurgent operation, adding that it clearly targeted Hussain. Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed responsibility in an email sent to the media. He called the bombing the first attack in the spring offensive that Taliban's leadership said it was starting Sunday.

April already has been the deadliest month this year for attacks across the country, where Afghan security forces are increasingly taking the lead on the battlefield in the war that has lasted more than 11 years.

Insurgents have escalated attacks recently in a bid to gain power and influence ahead of next year's presidential election and the planned withdrawal of most U.S. and other foreign combat troops by the end of 2014. U.S.-backed efforts to try to reconcile the Islamic militant movement with the Afghan government are gaining little traction.

Also Sunday, the U.S. Air Force said the coalition plane that crashed the day before in southern Afghan, killing four service members, was a MC-12 Liberty aircraft.

The twin-engine turboprop plane provides intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, or direct support to ground forces. It crashed in Zabul province, about 110 miles (177 kilometers) northeast of Kandahar Air Field, the Air Force statement said.

The four Air Force service members, whose bodies were recovered, were deployed to the 361st Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron with the 451st Air Expeditionary Wing at Kandahar Air Field, the statement said. The cause of the accident is under investigation, but NATO has said initial reports indicate there was no enemy activity in the area where the plane went down.

Taliban has named its spring offensive after Khalid ibn al-Walid, a companion of Islam's Prophet Muhammad who became a legendary Muslim military commander known as the "Drawn Sword of God." The insurgents said their forces planned to infiltrate enemy ranks to conduct so-called insider attacks and target military and diplomatic sites with suicide bombers.

The U.S.-led international military coalition said Afghan and foreign forces arrested six insurgents on Sunday ? three in Helmand province, one in Baghlan province and two in Kandahar province. The report said the two taken into custody in Kandahar city included a local Taliban leader who allegedly had coordinated assassinations, sniper ambushes and other attacks there against coalition and Afghan forces.

There are about 100,000 international troops in Afghanistan, including 66,000 Americans. A top priority of the U.S. force, which is slated to drop to about 32,000 by February 2014, is boosting the strength and confidence of Afghan forces.

___

Follow Thomas Wagner on Twitter at: www.twitter.com/tjpwagner

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/roadside-bomb-kills-3-policemen-afghanistan-051559967.html

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HBT: Bucs lefty Sanchez gets six-game suspension

Michael Sanserino of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that Pirates? left-hander Jonathan Sanchez has been suspended six games and fined an undisclosed amount for throwing at Cardinals? first baseman Allen Craig last night.

Sanchez has already appealed the suspension and is eligible to pitch tonight, though keeping him away from a mound may be the best strategy for the Pirates if they want to win baseball games.

Sanchez failed to retire a batter in his start last night. He served up back-to-back homers to Matt Carpenter and Carlos Beltran and a single to Matt Holliday before he threw near the head of Craig and was ejected by home plate umpire Tim Timmons. Pirates manager Clint Hurdle came out to argue the decision and was also given the heave-ho. You can watch video of the incident here.

Sanchez has allowed 16 runs on 21 hits and five walks over just 11 1/3 innings of work this season. The 30-year-old has an eye-popping 8.76 ERA in 19 starts dating back to the start of last season.

Source: http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/04/27/jonathan-sanchez-suspended-six-games-for-throwing-at-allen-craig/related/

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Einstein's gravity theory passes toughest test yet

Apr. 25, 2013 ? A strange stellar pair nearly 7,000 light-years from Earth has provided physicists with a unique cosmic laboratory for studying the nature of gravity. The extremely strong gravity of a massive neutron star in orbit with a companion white dwarf star puts competing theories of gravity to a test more stringent than any available before.

Once again, Albert Einstein's General Theory of Relativity, published in 1915, comes out on top.

At some point, however, scientists expect Einstein's model to be invalid under extreme conditions. General Relativity, for example, is incompatible with quantum theory. Physicists hope to find an alternate description of gravity that would eliminate that incompatibility.

A newly-discovered pulsar -- a spinning neutron star with twice the mass of the Sun -- and its white-dwarf companion, orbiting each other once every two and a half hours, has put gravitational theories to the most extreme test yet. Observations of the system, dubbed PSR J0348+0432, produced results consistent with the predictions of General Relativity.

The tightly-orbiting pair was discovered with the National Science Foundation's Green Bank Telescope (GBT), and subsequently studied in visible light with the Apache Point telescope in New Mexico, the Very Large Telescope in Chile, and the William Herschel Telescope in the Canary Islands. Extensive radio observations with the Arecibo telescope in Puerto Rico and the Effelsberg telescope in Germany yielded vital data on subtle changes in the pair's orbit.

In such a system, the orbits decay and gravitational waves are emitted, carrying energy from the system. By very precisely measuring the time of arrival of the pulsar's radio pulses over a long period of time, astronomers can determine the rate of decay and the amount of gravitational radiation emitted. The large mass of the neutron star in PSR J0348+0432, the closeness of its orbit with its companion, and the fact that the companion white dwarf is compact but not another neutron star, all make the system an unprecedented opportunity for testing alternative theories of gravity.

Under the extreme conditions of this system, some scientists thought that the equations of General Relativity might not accurately predict the amount of gravitational radiation emitted, and thus change the rate of orbital decay. Competing gravitational theories, they thought, might prove more accurate in this system.

"We thought this system might be extreme enough to show a breakdown in General Relativity, but instead, Einstein's predictions held up quite well," said Paulo Freire, of the Max Planck Institute for Radioastronomy in Germany.

That's good news, the scientists say, for researchers hoping to make the first direct detection of gravitational waves with advanced instruments. Researchers using such instruments hope to detect the gravitational waves emitted as such dense pairs as neutron stars and black holes spiral inward toward violent collisions.

Gravitational waves are extremely difficult to detect and even with the best instruments, physicists expect they will need to know the characteristics of the waves they seek, which will be buried in "noise" from their detectors. Knowing the characteristics of the waves they seek will allow them to extract the signal they seek from that noise.

"Our results indicate that the filtering techniques planned for these advanced instruments remain valid," said Ryan Lynch, of McGill University.

Freire and Lynch worked with a large international team of researchers. They reported their results in the journal Science.

The National Radio Astronomy Observatory is a facility of the National Science Foundation, operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by National Radio Astronomy Observatory.

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

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Journal Reference:

1. J. Antoniadis, P. C. C. Freire, N. Wex, T. M. Tauris, R. S. Lynch, M. H. van Kerkwijk, M. Kramer, C. Bassa, V. S. Dhillon, T. Driebe, J. W. T. Hessels, V. M. Kaspi, V. I. Kondratiev, N. Langer, T. R. Marsh, M. A. McLaughlin, T. T. Pennucci, S. M. Ransom, I. H. Stairs, J. van Leeuwen, J. P. W. Verbiest, D. G. Whelan. A Massive Pulsar in a Compact Relativistic Binary. Science, 2013; 340 (6131): 1233232 DOI: 10.1126/science.1233232

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

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

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_science/~3/1WiPm0QUO_o/130425142250.htm

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Full Samsung Knox launch delayed until a 'later date'

The Galaxy S 4 launch was also supposed to mark the release of Knox, Samsung's plan to balance home life and work through software. Unfortunately, Galaxy owners will have to live slightly off-kilter for a while longer -- the company has officially delayed full Knox service to a "later date." While the GS 4 ships with the necessary underpinnings, both distributors and providers have to fall into place before the suite is completely ready. Samsung hasn't officially said when it expects Knox to arrive in earnest, although the New York Times claims that it may appear as late as July. Whether or not that's true, the setback adds to what's becoming a hitch-prone debut for Samsung's 2013 Android flagship.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Samsung

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Source: New York Times

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/-c9pjc01drg/

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Museum find proves exotic ?big cat? prowled British countryside a century ago

Apr. 23, 2013 ? The rediscovery of a mystery animal in a museum's underground storeroom proves that a non-native 'big cat' prowled the British countryside at the turn of the last century.

The animal's skeleton and mounted skin was analysed by a multi-disciplinary team of Durham University scientists and fellow researchers at Bristol, Southampton and Aberystwyth universities and found to be a Canadian lynx -- a carnivorous predator more than twice the size of a domestic cat.

The research, published today in the academic journal Historical Biology, establishes the animal as the earliest example of an "alien big cat" at large in the British countryside.

The research team say this provides further evidence for debunking a popular hypothesis that wild cats entered the British countryside following the introduction of the 1976 Wild Animals Act. The Act was introduced to deal with an increasing fashion for exotic -- and potentially dangerous -- pets.

The academics believe such feral "British big cats" as they are known, may have lived in the wild much earlier, through escapes and even deliberate release. There is no evidence that such animals have been able to breed in the wild.

The study of the Canadian lynx, rediscovered by research team member Max Blake among hundreds of thousands of specimens at Bristol Museum and Art Gallery, details records unearthed at the museum which showed the animal had originally been mislabelled by Edwardian curators in 1903 as a Eurasian lynx -- a close relative of the Canadian lynx.

The records also showed that the lynx was shot by a landowner in the Devon countryside in the early 1900s, after it killed two dogs.

"This Edwardian feral lynx provides concrete evidence that although rare, exotic felids have occasionally been part of British fauna for more than a century," said lead researcher, Dr Ross Barnett of Durham University's Department of Archaeology.

"The animal remains are significant in representing the first historic big cat from Britain."

Co-author Dr Darren Naish, from the University of Southampton, added: "There have been enough sightings of exotic big cats which substantially pre-date 1976 to cast doubt on the idea that one piece of legislation made in 1976 explains all releases of these animals in the UK.

"It seems more likely that escapes and releases have occurred throughout history, and that this continual presence of aliens explains the 'British big cat' phenomenon."

The researchers point out in their paper that Eurasian lynxes existed in the wild in Britain many hundreds of years ago, but had almost certainly become extinct by the 7th century. Laboratory analysis of the Bristol specimen's bones and teeth established it had been kept in captivity long enough to develop severe tooth loss and plaque before it either escaped or was deliberately released into the wild. Ancient DNA analysis of hair from the lynx proved inconclusive, possibly due to chemicals applied to the pelt during taxidermy.

Julie Finch, head of Bristol's Museums, Galleries & Archives, said: "Bristol Museum, Galleries and Archives were pleased to be a part of this ground-breaking research, which not only highlights the importance of our science collections, it establishes the pedigree of our 100-year old Lynx and adds to our knowledge and understanding of 'big cats' in the UK.

"Our museum collections are extensive and caring for them requires the considerable skills of our collections officers. We have an amazing collection of taxidermy animals on display and we welcome museum visitors to come along, to take a closer look and discover more about the natural world."

Dr Greger Larson, a member of the research team from Durham University and an expert in the migration of animals, said: "Every few years there is another claim that big cats are living wild in Britain, but none of these claims have been substantiated. It seems that big cats are to England what the Loch Ness Monster is to Scotland.

"By applying a robust scientific methodology, this study conclusively demonstrates that at least one big cat did roam Britain as early as the Edwardian era, and suggests that additional claims need to be subjected to this level of scrutiny."

The lynx is now on public display at Bristol museum.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Southampton, via AlphaGalileo.

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

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Journal Reference:

1. Max Blake, Darren Naish, Greger Larson, Charlotte L. King, Geoff Nowell, Manabu Sakamoto, Ross Barnett. Multidisciplinary investigation of a ?British big cat?: a lynx killed in southern England c. 1903. Historical Biology, 2013; : 1 DOI: 10.1080/08912963.2013.785541

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

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

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_environment/~3/CDGCWic5qdo/130424222428.htm

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Mind: Zeal for Play May Have Propelled Human Evolution

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Studies of children are looking at how they let their imagination run free to make and find unlikely connections.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/23/science/zeal-for-play-may-have-propelled-human-evolution.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

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Strong earnings lift Wall Street

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks extended gains, with the Nasdaq rising 1 percent on Tuesday, as strong earnings from a variety of sectors improved sentiment.

Data that showed sales of new single-family homes rose last month also gave a boost to equities.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> gained 123.64 points, or 0.85 percent, to 14,690.81. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> rose 11.64 points, or 0.74 percent, to 1,574.14. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.ixic> climbed 31.53 points, or 0.97 percent, to 3,265.08.

(Reporting by Leah Schnurr; Editing by Nick Zieminski)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/stock-index-futures-signal-mixed-open-100239310--finance.html

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CBS News says some of its Twitter accounts were hacked

Julie Ingwersen , Reuters ? ? ? 5 hrs.

(Reuters) - Social media accounts maintained by CBS News programs, "60 Minutes" and "48 Hours," were compromised on Saturday, the two programs' official Twitter accounts said.

A post on the "60 Minutes" Twitter microblog account, @60Minutes, said, "PLEASE NOTE: Our Twitter account was compromised earlier today. We are working with Twitter to resolve." Another post read, "A message that was posted earlier to this account was not written or sent by @60Minutes or its staff."

The Twitter account for @48Hours showed a similar message, and several blogs said a third account, @CBSDenver, also had been hacked.

Tech bloggers posted screenshots of fake posts that appeared under the CBS accounts, including one from @48Hours that read, "General Dempsey calls for #Obama's arrest under new anti-terror laws #48hours."

On its own official account, @CBSNews, the news organization said it had "experienced problems" on the other two accounts, and added, "Twitter is resolving issues."

The rogue posts appeared to have been removed from Twitter.com later on Saturday.

Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters.

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653377/s/2af6c408/l/0L0Snbcnews0N0Ctechnology0Ctechnolog0Ccbs0Enews0Esays0Esome0Eits0Etwitter0Eaccounts0Ewere0Ehacked0E6C95330A58/story01.htm

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China rushes relief after Sichuan quake kills 186

An elderly woman sleeps behind plastic covers along a roadside in the quake ravage county of Lushan in southwestern China's Sichuan province, Sunday, April 21, 2013. Rescuers and relief teams struggled to rush supplies into the rural hills of China's Sichuan province Sunday after the earthquake prompted frightened survivors to spend a night in cars, tents and makeshift shelters. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

An elderly woman sleeps behind plastic covers along a roadside in the quake ravage county of Lushan in southwestern China's Sichuan province, Sunday, April 21, 2013. Rescuers and relief teams struggled to rush supplies into the rural hills of China's Sichuan province Sunday after the earthquake prompted frightened survivors to spend a night in cars, tents and makeshift shelters. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

An elderly woman sleeps behind plastic covers along a roadside in the quake ravage county of Lushan in southwestern China's Sichuan province, Sunday, April 21, 2013. Rescuers and relief teams struggled to rush supplies into the rural hills of China's Sichuan province Sunday after the earthquake prompted frightened survivors to spend a night in cars, tents and makeshift shelters. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

An elderly woman eats a meal near rubbish piled up at a center for evacuees in the county seat of Lushan in southwestern China's Sichuan province, Sunday, April 21, 2013. Rescuers and relief teams struggled to rush supplies into the rural hills of China's Sichuan province Sunday after the earthquake prompted frightened survivors to spend a night in cars, tents and makeshift shelters. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

A woman looks over at her destroyed house in Gucheng village in Longmen county of southwestern China's Sichuan province, Sunday, April 21, 2013. Rescuers and relief teams struggled to rush supplies into the rural hills of China's Sichuan province Sunday after an earthquake prompted frightened survivors to spend a night in cars, tents and makeshift shelters. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

Chinese paramilitary policemen stand watch while rescuers operate backhoes to clear a damaged road due to a landslide triggered by a strong quake in Baosheng township of Lushan county in southwest China's Sichuan province Sunday April 21, 2013. Saturday's earthquake in Sichuan province killed over 200 people, China's Xinhua News Agency said. (AP Photo) CHINA OUT

LUSHAN, China (AP) ? Luo Shiqiang sat near chunks of concrete, bricks and a ripped orange sofa and told how his grandfather was just returning from feeding chickens when their house collapsed and crushed him to death in this weekend's powerful earthquake in southwestern China.

"We lost everything in such a short time," the 20-year-old college student said Sunday. He said his cousin also was injured in the collapse, but that other members of his family were spared because they were out working in the fields of hard-hit Longmen village in Lushan county.

Saturday's earthquake in Sichuan province killed at least 186 people, injured more than 11,000 and left nearly two dozen missing, mostly in the rural communities around Ya'an city, along the same fault line where a devastating quake to the north killed more than 90,000 people in Sichuan and neighboring areas five years ago in one of China's worst natural disasters.

The Lushan and Baoxing counties hardest-hit on Saturday had escaped the worst of the damage in the 2008 quake, and residents there said they benefited little from the region's rebuilding after the disaster, with no special reinforcements made or new evacuation procedures introduced in their remote communities.

Luo said he wished more had been done to make his community's buildings quake-resistant. "Maybe the country's leaders really wanted to help us, but when it comes to the lower levels the officials don't carry it out," he said.

Relief teams flew in helicopters and dynamited through landslides Sunday to reach some of the most isolated communities, where rescuers in orange overalls led sniffer dogs through piles of brick, concrete and wood debris to search for survivors.

Many residents complained that although emergency teams were quick to carry away bodies and search for survivors, they had so far done little to distribute aid. "No water, no shelter," read a hand-written sign held up by children on a roadside in Longmen.

"I was working in the field when I heard the explosions of the earthquake, and I turned around and saw my house simply flatten in front of me," said Fu Qiuyue, a 70-year-old rapeseed farmer in Longmen.

Fu sat with her husband, Ren Dehua, in a makeshift shelter of logs and a plastic sheet on a patch of grass near where a helicopter had parked to reach their community of terraced grain and vegetable fields. She said the collapse of the house had crushed eight pigs to death. "It was the scariest sound I have ever heard," she said.

The quake ? measured by China's earthquake administration at magnitude 7.0 and by the U.S. Geological Survey at 6.6 ? struck shortly after 8 a.m. on Saturday. Tens of thousands of people moved into tents or cars, unable to return home or too afraid to go back as aftershocks continued to jolt the region.

The quake killed at least 186 people, left 21 missing and injured 11,393, the official Xinhua News Agency quoted the provincial emergency command center as saying.

As in most natural disasters, the government mobilized thousands of soldiers and others, sending excavators and other heavy machinery as well as tents, blankets and other emergency supplies. Two soldiers died after their vehicle slid off a road and rolled down a cliff, state media reported.

The Chinese Red Cross said it had deployed relief teams with supplies of food, water, medicine and rescue equipment to the disaster areas.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Sunday that the U.N. stood ready "to provide assistance and to mobilize any international support that may be needed," according to a statement released by the U.N. spokesperson.

In his condolence message, Ban said he "is deeply saddened by the loss of life, injuries and destruction" caused by the earthquake and aftershocks that struck Sichuan province.

Lushan, where the quake struck, lies where the fertile Sichuan plain meets foothills that eventually rise to the Tibetan plateau and sits atop the Longmenshan fault, where the 2008 quake struck.

The seat of Lushan county has been turned into a large refugee camp, with tents set up on open spaces, and volunteers doling out noodles and boxed meals to survivors from stalls and the backs of vans.

A large van with a convertible side served as a mobile bank with an ATM, military medical trucks provided X-rays for people with minor injuries, and military doctors administered basic first aid, applying iodine solution to cuts and examining bruises.

Patients with minor ailments were lying in tents in the yard of the local hospital, which was wrecked by the quake, with the most severely injured patients sent to the provincial capital. With a limited water supply and buildings inaccessible, sanitation is a problem for the survivors.

One of the patients receiving care in the hospital's yard was the son of odd-job laborer Zhou Lin, 22. The baby boy was born a day before the quake struck. Zhou said he was relieved that his newborn son and wife were safe and healthy but was worried about his 60-year-old father and other relatives who have been unreachable in Baoxing.

"I can't get through on the phone, so I don't know what's going on there and they don't know if we are all right," he said.

Every so often, an aftershock struck, shaking windows of buildings and sending murmurs through the crowds.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-04-21-China-Earthquake/id-f85fe5b1566f49a58a30ef95ce624a58

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World finance leaders issue sober assessment

International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Christine Lagarde, left, talks with IMFC Chair Tharman Shanmugaratnam during the World Bank IMF Spring Meetings in Washington, Saturday, April 20, 2013. (AP Photo/Molly Riley)

International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Christine Lagarde, left, talks with IMFC Chair Tharman Shanmugaratnam during the World Bank IMF Spring Meetings in Washington, Saturday, April 20, 2013. (AP Photo/Molly Riley)

World Bank President Jim Yong Kim arrives for the International Monetary Fund Governors family photo during the World Bank IMF Spring Meetings in Washington Saturday, April 20, 2013. (AP Photo/Molly Riley)

Japan's Finance Minister Taro Aso, right, talks to World Bank President Jim Yong Kim before the International Monetary Fund (IMF) family photo during the World Bank IMF Spring Meetings in Washington Saturday, April 20, 2013. (AP Photo/Molly Riley)

International Monetary Fund Governors pose for a group photo during the World Bank IMF Spring Meetings in Washington, Saturday April 20, 2013. (AP Photo/Molly Riley)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? World finance leaders issued a somber assessment on Saturday of the global economy, saying the recovery remains uneven with growth and jobs in short supply.

The steering committee for the 188-nation International Monetary Fund issued a final communique that called for decisive action to bolster growth. However, the major economies remained at odds over the best mix of policies to pursue.

"An uneven recovery is emerging but growth and job creation are still too weak. New risks are arising while several old risks remain," the IMF group said.

"The commodity that is in shorter supply now is confidence," Tharman Shanmugaratnam, the chairman of the IMF panel and Singapore's finance minister, told reporters. "We need to regenerate optimism and confidence."

The World Bank announced that its policy committee had approved a proposal to establish a goal of eliminating extreme poverty, defined as living on less than $1.25 per day, by 2030. It is estimated that there are still 1.2 billion people living in extreme poverty with sub-Saharan Africa accounting for more than one-third of the world's extreme poor.

World Bank President Jim Yong Kim called this goal "an historic moment" for the world. "We are no longer dreaming of a world without poverty. We have set an expiration date," Kim told reporters at a closing news conference.

Emma Seery, a spokesperson for Oxfam, the anti-poverty group, said while the World Bank's target was welcome "we are concerned that it will duck the tough choices needed to reach it."

The spring meetings of IMF and its sister lending agency, the World Bank, on Saturday followed two days of discussions among finance leaders of the Group of 20 nations, composed of traditional powers such as the United States, Japan and Germany and fast-growing developing nations such as China, Brazil and India.

The finance leaders sought to project an air of cooperation even though they were unable to resolve sharp differences that have risen to the surface following an initially botched bailout of Cyprus in March. The banking troubles in the small Mediterranean island country renewed fears that a prolonged European debt crisis still poses significant risks to the global economy.

The United States was represented at the finance meetings by Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. The administration pushed for European nations to moderate their austerity programs of spending cuts and tax increases in favor of more stimulus to bolster growth and combat painfully high unemployment in countries such as Spain and Greece.

"'Strengthening global demand is imperative and must be at the top of our agenda," Lew said in his remarks to the IMF. "Stronger demand in Europe is critical to growth."

But this push was met with resistance from countries such as Germany and Britain, which believe that heavily indebted European nations must reduce their deficits to give markets confidence and keep government borrowing costs low.

In the end, the finance leaders sought to bridge the differences by issuing economic blueprints that left room for both the growth and austerity camps to claim victory.

Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the head of the Eurogroup, encompassing the 17 finance ministers whose countries use the euro currency, told reporters Saturday said that European nations needed to keep pushing to reduce huge budget deficits but "we can and will adjust" the speed that the deficit cuts are implemented to take into account economic conditions.

The G-20 nations did reject proposals to issue hard targets for reducing budget deficits, a victory for the United States and Japan, who had argued for more flexibility.

The G-20 joint statement singled out the recent aggressive credit-easing moves pushed by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, saying they were intended to stop prolonged deflation and support domestic demand.

Those comments were viewed as giving a green light to Japan's program, which has driven the value of the yen down by more than 20 percent against the dollar since October. That sizable decline has raised concerns among U.S. manufacturing companies that Japan's real goal is not to boost growth through increasing domestic demand but to weaken the yen as a way to gain trade advantages.

To address those concerns, the G-20 did repeat language it used in February that all countries should not use their currency as a trade weapon and guard against policies that could trigger currency wars.

Japanese officials said they were pleased with the support they had received at the Washington meetings for their aggressive efforts to lift the world's third largest economy out of a two-decade slump. "There has been international understanding" of our efforts, Huruhiko Kuroda, head of the Bank of Japan, told reporters.

Lew said in his IMF remarks that the Obama administration would keep working to gain approval of budget legislation that has been stalled for nearly three years in Congress. The congressional approval is the last major roadblock to implementing an overhaul of the IMF's governing structure to give more power to developing nations. The change is expected to shift two seats on the IMF's 24-member executive board from Western Europe to developing countries.

Brazilian Finance Minister Guido Mantega blasted both the United States and Europe for the delay.

"America is unable and Europe is unwilling to follow through with agreed reforms," he said Saturday in his remarks to the IMF. "The institution's major shareholders are gambling ... with the IMF's legitimacy and credibility."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-04-20-Global%20Finance/id-27cfdebd7c544c318e7934dd4a11b661

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Luigi edition Nintendo 3DS LL gives Mario's brother his due, but only in Japan

There must be some kind of unstated rule that Nintendo can never give the US a special edition handheld without releasing some Japan-focused models. While the company was busy promising Americans an Animal Crossing 3DS XL of their very own, it was also introducing a Luigi edition 3DS LL for its home country as part of its "Year of Luigi" theme -- not fair, Nintendo. The system is decked out in a camouflage-like pattern that pays tribute to Mario's oft-neglected sibling, and it should ship with a preloaded copy of Mario and Luigi: Dream Team just to drive the point home. Local gamers will get the distinctly-patterned 3DS LL on June 18th, but there's no word on an XL equivalent for the US so far. We'll just have to make do with Mario-colored devices instead.

Filed under: Gaming, Handhelds, Nintendo

Comments

Via: Destructoid

Source: Nintendo

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/04/18/nintendo-3ds-ll-luigi-edition-gives-marios-brother-some-love/

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The Grammy goes to... the Library of Congress

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The music industry honored the Library of Congress with a special Grammy Award on Wednesday night for its work over the past decade to preserve historic audio recordings, along with honors for Jennifer Hudson.

The Recording Academy presented its Grammys on the Hill Award to the library at an event in Washington, featuring appearances by producer Clive Davis, singer Yolanda Adams and others. The group honored Hudson with a Recording Artist Coalition Award for her charity work and saluted York Community High School near Chicago for its outstanding music program.

Hudson said being recognized for her charitable work stands apart from all her other awards.

"It makes it the most prestigious award to be acknowledged for trying to make a difference," she told The Associated Press. "It's OK to be a celebrity, but the things that matter are when you can change someone's life or help someone."

Librarian of Congress James Billington said he was delighted that the library's preservation work was being honored ? but he never expected to win any kind of Grammy.

"I can't even carry a tune, so the thought that I'm being awarded a Grammy will amaze everyone who moves slightly away from me whenever I start singing," he told The Associated Press.

Billington said preservation of the nation's cultural heritage is one of the most neglected issues.

"We are kind of a throw-away society," he said. "We're tremendous at creating things in this country with our freedoms and our richness and variety of forms of cultural expression, but we seem to think things will last forever."

Songwriter Kara DioGuardi said the library's preservation work is critical.

"These are songs that are going to be played for generations to come," she said.

Recording Academy President Neil Portnow said hundreds of musicians will visit Capitol Hill on Thursday to urge lawmakers to protect copyrights for the creators of music and ensure they get paid for their work in the digital age.

California Republican Rep. Kevin McCarthy, the House majority whip, joined Democratic Rep. Steny Hoyer to show support Wednesday night. The guiding premise for intellectual property protections, Hoyer said, is "thou shalt not steal."

The Grammys on the Hill Awards are meant to connect the music industry with the world of policy and politics in Washington.

Daryl Friedman, the Recording Academy's chief lobbyist in Washington, said the library's National Recording Registry goes beyond its practical purpose of ensuring that recordings are preserved for generations to come.

"It raises the profile of great American recordings from all genres, even spoken word, great speeches, great music," he said.

The Grammy Foundation pushed for legislation in Congress more than 10 years ago to create the preservation program at the library. So far, 375 audio recordings have been preserved through the program for their historic, artistic or cultural significance. This year's inductees include Simon and Garfunkel's album "Sounds of Silence" and Chubby Checker's dance hit "The Twist."

The recordings are housed at the library's Packard Campus for Audio Visual Conservation built partially in a bunker in Culpeper, Va. The facility houses more than 6 million items, including about 3.5 million sound recordings.

Past honorees have included Garth Brooks, Don Henley, Vice President Joe Biden, Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin and California Rep. Darrell Issa for supporting music policies.

Friedman said Hudson has stood out for supporting her own charities, as well as the Grammy Foundation and its work.

"She is an outstanding vocalist, of course, an amazing actress, but also really a committed philanthropist," he said. "It's just her generous heart, her spirit and her talent."

After accepting her award, Hudson performed "Hallelujah" and applauded efforts in Washington to keep music education alive in schools. She said that made all the difference for her, long before "American Idol" and her Oscar and Grammy Award.

"I didn't want to go to any class but music, and so because of music, I had perfect attendance every year," she told the crowd.

Producer Clive Davis, who presented the award to Hudson, said he wanted people to know about her heart and her talent. Hudson is still a new artist, and her upcoming third studio album will be special, Davis said.

"I think it's going to break her through worldwide," he said.

___

Online:

Grammy Awards: http://www.grammy.org/

___

Follow Brett Zongker on Twitter at https://twitter.com/DCArtBeat

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/library-congress-wins-special-grammy-award-195924648.html

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Toshiba's Kirabook rocks a 2560 x 1440 display, arrives May 12th starting at $1,600

Toshiba's been holding its own at the affordable end of the laptop and PC market for a while, but that doesn't mean it can't do classy. Perhaps that's why it's just announced KIRAbook, a 13-inch Ultrabook aimed squarely at the high end. All the usual top-tier treats are here, plus an impressive 2,560 x 1,440 (221 ppi) panel, making this the first Windows Ultrabook to offer such a high-resolution screen. There's also a pressed magnesium housing and touchscreen input (non-touch version also available). That tactile input option also comes with a 10-point Corning Concore sheet of glass between your digits and the Windows 8 operating system. That OS will be housed on a 256GB SSD, supported by 8GB of 1,600 MHz RAM and third-gen Intel Core processors. There also 25GB of could storage if you need a little more. An launch, there will be three configurations starting at $1,599, rising to $1,999 if you want all the bells and whistles (i.e., Core i7 and that touchscreen). If this sounds like your thing, then you can pre-order in May 3rd, or walk into bricks and mortar stores on May 12th.

Filed under: Laptops

Comments

Via: The Verge

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/04/17/toshiba-announces-premium-kirabook/

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Preliminary tests show letter to Obama contains poison ricin

By Susan Cornwell

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A letter addressed to President Barack Obama contained a substance that preliminarily tested positive for the deadly poison ricin, authorities said on Wednesday.

News that the letter to Obama was being investigated came as a flurry of other reports of suspicious letters and a package caused the evacuation of parts of two Senate buildings and set nerves in Washington on edge.

The letter contained "a granular substance that preliminarily tested positive for ricin," an FBI statement said. But the statement added: "There is no indication of a connection to the attack in Boston," where three people were killed in bombings at the Boston Marathon on Monday.

The U.S. Secret Service said the letter to Obama was received at a mail screening facility on Tuesday.

The mail facility that received the letter was not located near the White House itself, Secret Service spokesman Edwin Donovan said in a statement.

"The Secret Service is working closely with the U.S. Capitol Police and the FBI in this investigation," Donovan said.

Parts of the Russell and Hart Senate office buildings were cleared while officials investigated suspicious letters and a package, a Capitol Police spokesman said.

CNN read a statement from a spokesman to Senator Richard Shelby, saying that Capitol Police were investigating a suspicious package that had been delivered to their office.

Senator Carl Levin said one of his Michigan regional offices had received a suspicious-looking letter, but it was not opened. Authorities are investigating, Levin said in a statement.

On Tuesday U.S. authorities intercepted a letter sent to Mississippi Senator Roger Wicker that preliminary tests showed contained the deadly poison ricin.

(Reporting by Jeff Mason; Editing by Vicki Allen and Jim Loney)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/preliminary-tests-show-letter-obama-contains-poison-ricin-171053027--spt.html

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WhatsApp now bigger than Twitter, but lead over rivals no longer seems so vast [updated]

Apr 15 (Reuters) - Leading money winners on the 2013 PGATour on Monday (U.S. unless stated): 1. Tiger Woods $4,139,600 2. Brandt Snedeker $3,137,920 3. Matt Kuchar $2,442,389 4. Adam Scott (Australia) $2,100,469 5. Steve Stricker $1,935,340 6. Phil Mickelson $1,764,680 7. Dustin Johnson $1,748,907 8. Jason Day $1,659,565 9. Hunter Mahan $1,553,965 10. Keegan Bradley $1,430,347 11. Charles Howell III $1,393,806 12. John Merrick $1,375,757 13. Russell Henley $1,331,434 14. Michael Thompson $1,310,709 15. Kevin Streelman $1,310,343 16. Bill Haas $1,271,553 17. Billy Horschel $1,254,224 18. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/whatsapp-now-bigger-twitter-lead-over-rivals-no-163030702.html

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'Adorable' boy, 8, mourned after Boston Marathon blasts

David Friedman / NBC News

Lisa Robinson, Kimmarie Keane, Kim Daly and Shiovan Ross, left to right, take part in a vigil on Tuesday, April 16, 2013, in Dorchester, Mass., for the family of 8-year-old Martin Richard, who was killed in the Boston Marathon bombing. The women went to high school with Martin's mother, Denise Richard, who was also injured in the blast.

By Miranda Leitsinger and Matthew DeLuca, NBC News

A grieving Boston community filled a park late Tuesday where a local boy who was killed in the Boston Marathon bombings once played, sending prayers to the family and the neighborhood child as they held candles, joined in prayer and sang ?God Bless America.?

Three died in the bomb blasts at the Boston Marathon including 8-year-old Martin Richard, the youngest victim, who was remembered by neighbors who left flowers and candles at his family's home. NBC's Katy Tur reports.

Martin Richard, 8, was standing by the finish line with his family Monday afternoon when an explosion tore through the area, killing him and two others, and injuring 176. Richard's mother, Denise, suffered a brain injury and his 6-year-old sister, Jane, reportedly lost a leg. His father, Bill, has asked well-wishers to keep the family in their prayers.

Several hundred mourners gathered in Garvey Park did just that. Pastor John Connolly of St. Brendan's Church led them in prayer and said they had come with ?hearts full of sorrow and sadness.?

?We come before you (God) as residents of a neighborhood who have been touched all too directly by the reality of violence and evil in our midst,? he said. ?What once seemed to be something we watched in the distance or on television has come all close to home.?

He noted that the park, where youth earlier Tuesday had played lacrosse, was where ?the feet of young Martin Richard often trod.?

?We are saddened and shattered by the fact that he will no longer run, and smile, and jump, and play, and live, and love among us,? he said.

Katie Murphy hugged her three children tightly, kissed them, and also shed tears at the vigil. She said through tears that she came ?because my heart was broken.?

---

Her son James, 7, and daughter, Madelyn, 5, played street hockey with Martin last year, though Murphy said they didn't really know the Richard family. But James recognized Martin's photo on news reports and asked why he was in them, leading to a sad conversation.

Bill Richard via AP

This undated photo provided by Bill Richard, shows his son, Martin Richard, in Boston.

?They're in our hearts, and our prayers are with them,? Murphy, 41, a nurse, said through soft sobs. ?We'll help them get through it, as a community.?

Friends and neighbors in the Richard's middle-class neighborhood said earlier in the day that they were stunned by the loss. The Richards were a ?typical, all-American, lovely family,? neighbor Margaret Admirand said, choking back tears.

?It?s devastating. He was an adorable little boy,? Admirand said. ?It?s very hard to talk about. He was a sweet little kid.?

Neighbors said Bill and Denise are very active in neighborhood groups, and the children were sporty, playing basketball, hockey and soccer. Another neighbor, Beth Nagy, 48, said the daughter, Jane, had won a medal at a kid's running event on Saturday that she was so excited about.

?They're a wonderful family. ? Active community wise and physically running around,? she said, adding, ?We just saw him (Martin) yesterday.?

Some of Denise Richard's high school friends from Mount Saint Joseph Academy joined the vigil, and recalled that in school she was soft-spoken, always smiling, pals with everyone and intelligent. They hadn't seen her recently but had been in touch as they organized their 25th high school reunion to take place in October.

Martin Richard, the young victim of the Boston Marathon bombing, is described by his neighbor, Jane Sherman.

?Quite a turnout,? said one of them, Lisa Robinson. ?It shows you how much (they) were loved.?

Earlier Tuesday, Rep. Stephen Lynch of Massachusetts described what happened at the marathon after speaking to the dad.

?The kids were all up on the barrier? as runners streamed in, Lynch said on MSNBC?s ?Morning Joe.? ?They were all focused forward and the blast came from the back and the side.?

?The dad is a runner, but he wasn?t running yesterday,? Lynch said. ?They were there to support some of their friends who were running.?

Friend of the family James Keefe told the Dorchester Reporter he was near the finish line when the blasts went off.

?I heard this earth-shattering boom. I turned and saw this plume and then I heard a second boom, just as loud and earth-shattering,? Keefe said. ?I almost blacked out from fear.?

?The boy?s father was on a neighborhood committee to refurbish the Ashmont T station, said friend Kevin Skinner. He serves on the board of directors of St. Mark?s Area Main Street, according to the community organization?s website.

?If it was a car accident you would say it was tragic,? Skinner said. ?But this didn?t have to happen.?

Friends of the family gathered at Tavolo restaurant on Monday night in Dorchester. Denise Richard is a school librarian at the local Neighborhood House Charter School, where Martin attended as well as his sister Jane. The flag at the school flew at half-mast on Tuesday.

Jared Wickerham / Getty Images

A Boston Police officer lifts the tape for a family to leave flowers in front of the home of the Richard family.

Denise Richard is on the executive board of the Ashmont Adams Neighborhood Association, according to the organization?s website. She bakes goodies for school events, and is always ?proud as a peacock? to walk around the neighborhood with her kids in tow, her neighbor Admirand said.

?We think of the Richard family as one unit,? said Bill Forry, editor of the local Dorchester Reporter and a friend of the family said on Tuesday. ?For them not to be one now is the hardest thing for us to get our heads around. In addition to the grief of losing Martin, it?s that that family has been so badly wounded. ?

?They are beloved by this community. They contribute in many ways. That?s why you see this outpouring,? City Councilor at Large Ayanna Pressley told the Boston Globe. ?It?s surreal, it?s tragic, it?s incomprehensible. Everyone here tonight is trying to comfort one another and be prayerful.?

Well wishers left a few bouquets and a small stuffed bear on the stoop of the family?s home early Tuesday. One word was written in chalk on the front walk: ?Peace.?

Charles Krupa / AP

See images from the scene of the explosions.

Related:

?Explosions rock finish of Boston Marathon; 3 killed and scores injured

Boston Marathon explosions caught on video

Good Samaritans take in Boston marathoners: 'You're not in it alone'

NBC News' full coverage of the Boston Marathon tragedy

This story was originally published on Tue Apr 16, 2013 7:21 AM EDT

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653381/s/2ac9fd5f/l/0Lusnews0Bnbcnews0N0C0Inews0C20A130C0A40C160C17776320A0Eadorable0Eboy0E80Emourned0Eafter0Eboston0Emarathon0Eblasts0Dlite/story01.htm

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AP sources: Collins tells 76ers he's out as coach

PHILADELPHIA (AP) ? Doug Collins has told the Philadelphia 76ers he will quit as head coach following this season with a year left on his contract.

Two people with knowledge of the situation tell The Associated Press that Collins informed ownership he's not coming back for a fourth season on the bench.

The people spoke to The AP on Sunday on condition of anonymity because the Sixers and Collins had not formally announced the move.

The people told The AP that management wanted Collins to return and he was under no pressure to step down. There was no immediate word if Collins, owed $4.5 million in the last year of his contract, would remain with the franchise in some capacity.

Team president Rod Thorn was already set to step aside after this season, leaving open the possibility Collins assumes greater front office control.

With the franchise in decline after the Andrew Bynum trade was a massive flop, Collins decided he wanted no part of what could be a long rebuilding effort.

The Sixers are 33-47 and in ninth place in the Eastern Conference a year after they won 35 games and a round in the playoffs in last year's lockout-shortened season. The Sixers finish out the season Monday in Detroit and Wednesday in Indiana.

Team owner Joshua Harris, who did not immediately respond to emails Sunday night, was scheduled to meet with the media on Thursday.

Collins, a four-time All-Star with the Sixers, returned to the franchise in 2010 and led them to the playoffs in each of his first two seasons.

After falling one win shy of advancing to the Eastern Conference finals last season, the Sixers shook up the roster and made the bold move to acquire Bynum.

Bynum never played for the Sixers because of bone bruises in both knees. He insisted from training camp he would play this season, only to shut it down for good on March 18 and undergo season-ending arthroscopic surgery on both knees. Bynum earned $16.5 million this season and is set to become an unrestricted free agent.

The Sixers picked up the option on Collins' contract for the 2013-14 season in training camp and he said then he wanted to remain with the organization in some capacity when his coaching career is over. It's over earlier than they expected.

His decision, first reported by Yahoo Sports, came out only hours after his agent told reporters Collins would return next season.

"He's here for another year, at least," agent John Langel said. "He's the coach and we'll see what happens."

There was no immediate word when he notified his players. No Sixer indicated in the postgame locker room that Collins was leaving.

Hall of Famer Julius Erving, a former Sixers great and team adviser, said before Sunday's win over Cleveland that the Sixers needed to keep Collins.

"The organization can ill-afford to have Doug walk away," Erving said. "You're not going to get a better coach or a better teacher."

Collins refused to discuss his job status on Sunday.

Collins guided a young Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls from 1986-89, and the Detroit Pistons from 1995-98. He coached Jordan again with the Washington Wizards from 2001-03.

His two seasons with the Wizards had been his only two full seasons in which he did not lead his team to the playoffs. He was fired shortly after Jordan was denied a return to the front office.

Collins worked for TNT after leaving the Wizards and received the Curt Gowdy Media Award at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame for his work as a broadcaster.

He was a four-time All-Star with the Sixers, and he averaged 17.9 points in a career marred by injuries. A knee injury forced him to retire in 1981, two years before the 76ers beat the Lakers for the 1983 NBA title.

His son, Chris Collins, was hired as head coach at Northwestern earlier this month.

____

Follow Dan Gelston at www.Twitter.com/APGelston

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ap-sources-collins-tells-76ers-hes-coach-030727506--spt.html

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Meet MTV Movie Awards Host Rebel Wilson

The 'Bridesmaids' and 'Pitch Perfect' funny lady follows in the footsteps of Russell Brand, Jason Sudeikis and Aziz Ansari.
By Todd Gilchrist

Rebel Wilson
Photo: John Shearer

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1705604/movie-awards-rebel-wilson-host.jhtml

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Rebel Wilson Gets Naughty With Breakthrough Movie Awards Win

'Pitch Perfect' takes away two Golden Popcorns at the 2013 MTV Movie Awards.
By Driadonna Roland

Rebel Wilson and Zac Efron at the 2013 MTV Movie Awards
Photo: Kevin Mazur/ WireImage

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1705657/rebel-wilson-pitch-perfect-breakthrough-mtv-movie-award.jhtml

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