Drones over America: How unmanned fliers are already helping cops

Nidhi Subbaraman , NBC News ? ? ? 3 hrs.

It was getting dark, and the sheriff of Nelson County, N.D., was in a standoff with a family of suspected cattle rustlers. They were armed, and the last thing anybody wanted was a shoot out.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which monitors police radio chatter, offered to help. Their Predator was flying back to its roost at the Grand Forks Air Force base and could provide aerial support. Did the sheriff want the assist?

Yep.

"We were able to detect that one of the sons was sitting at the end of the driveway with a gun. We also knew that there were small children involved," Sheriff Kelly Janke told NBC News, remembering that tricky encounter in the early summer of 2011. "Someone would have gotten seriously injured if we had gone in on the farm that night." He decided to wait.

The next day, the drone gave them an edge again by helping them choose the safest moment to make a move. "We were able to surprise them ? took them into custody," Janke said. They also collected six stolen cows.

Rodney Brossart, the arrested farmer, sued the state, in part because of the cop's use of a drone. But a district judge ruled that the Predator's service was not untoward.

When advocates express concern about government drones threatening people's privacy, the Brossart case is one they bring up. It's one of the first instances of a flying robot doing a cop's dirty work, and this kind of intervention is likely to be more and more commonplace, as the FAA fulfills a congressional mandate to increase its granting of drone permits ? certificates of authorization, or COAs.

Cops and flying robots
At the moment, there are only 327 active COAs, all held by these organizations, and all for unarmed crafts, of course. A tiny sliver of these permits are in the hands of law enforcement agencies, and from them, we're seeing the first glimpses of drone use in policing and emergency response.

"The FAA has approved us to cover a 16-county area," Sheriff Bob Rost of Grand Forks County, N.D., said of their COA. "To look for missing children, to look for escaped criminals and in the case of emergencies." In the spring, they will use two mini-copter drones ? a trusty DraganFlyer X6 and an AeroVironment Qube ? to check on flooded farms.

The police department in Arlington, Texas, also recently got FAA clearance to fly their drones after two years of testing. The two battery-powered Leptron Avenger helicopter drones won't be used for high-speed chases or routine patrol, the department explains. In fact, the crafts will be driven in a truck to where they're needed, and when they're launched to scope out incidents, local air traffic control will be informed.

In Mesa County, Colo., the police department has used drones to find missing people, do an aerial landfill survey and help out firefighters at a burning church. For them, it's seen as a cost-cutting technology.

"It's the Wal-Mart version of what we'd normally get at Saks Fifth Avenue," said Benjamin Miller, who leads the drones program in Mesa County, comparing drones to manned helicopters that would otherwise give police officers help from the sky.

In Seattle, the police department received an FAA permit ? but had to give back its drones when the mayor banned their use, following protests in October 2012.

Protests and red tape
"Hasn't anyone heard of George Orwell's '1984'?" the Seattle Times quoted a protester as saying. "This is the militarization of our streets and now the air above us."

Protesters, not just in Seattle, seek more legal definition of what a drone can or can't do, and debate whether or not current laws sufficiently protect citizens from unauthorized surveillance and other abuses.

New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg thinks of police drones as an inevitability ? "We're going to have them," he recently said in a radio interview ? while those on the police (and drone) side say the fears are unfounded.

"This hysteria of [a drone] hovering outside your backyard taking a video of you smoking a joint, it's just that ? hysteria," said Al Frazier, an ex-cop from Los Angeles who is now an assistant professor of aeronautics at the University of North Dakota, and a deputy at the Grand Forks sheriff's office.

The reason the sky isn't lousy with drones already mostly has to do with red tape. The FAA's highly restricted drone application for government agencies is supposed to take about 60 days, though unofficially, we're told it's much longer. COAs are also very strict about where, when and by whom a drone is flown.

"I think there are many agencies who would like to use [drones] for public good, but they're stymied by the process," Frazier said.

That's likely to change ? and soon. Last February, Obama signed a mandate that encourages the FAA to let civil and commercial drones join the airspace by 2015. This will take new regulations from the FAA for safe commercial drone flight, and it may take some convincing of local anti-drone activists (who sometimes don't differentiate between drones great and small). It may even require the passing of a few new privacy laws.

Folks like Frazier and Miller don't see the permit process getting easier any time soon but eventually ? inevitably ? and for better or worse, your local police department will get its drone.

Nidhi Subbaraman writes about technology and science. Follow her on Twitter and Google+.

Related:

The drones are coming ... but our laws aren't ready

Anticipating domestic boom, colleges rev up drone piloting programs

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653381/s/2a26de47/l/0L0Snbcnews0N0Ctechnology0Ctechnolog0Cdrones0Eover0Eamerica0Ehow0Eunmanned0Efliers0Eare0Ealready0Ehelping0Ecops0E1C9135554/story01.htm

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This TV stinks. No, really!

Once upon 1981, John Waters tried to engage his cult-ish fans with a scratch-and-sniff "Odorama" card to complement the film Polyester. This TV is not that -- in fact, it's a decidedly higher-tech approach to true Smell-O-Vision. Devised by a team of Japanese researchers at the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology and demoed in prototype form at IEEE's Virtual Reality conference, the set uses four corner-mounted fans to break the fourth wall and create an immersive olfactory experience. By merging and adjusting vapors fed through these four airflows, the team can somewhat realistically trick viewers into believing the scent is coming from localized areas of the screen. We can just hear parents of the future now: "Stop sitting so close to the screen, Johnny. You're gonna pass out from the fumes." Ah, the future...

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Science

Comments

Via: New Scientist

Source: PubMed, IEEE

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/30/this-tv-stinks/

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World Camp: Free Secondary Education in Malawi?

Talk of Malawi?s 2014 presidential election has fostered significant debate regarding the state of education in Malawi, specifically, the United Democratic Front?s proposition to provide free secondary education for Malawi?s youth. Malawi?s current education system is comprised of a primary system consisting of eight grades, while secondary and university systems have four years of curriculum each. In an opinion column for the Nyasa Times, writer Steve Sharra provided what he sees as the pros and cons of this proposal and the potential of the education system to develop a more prosperous Malawi.
Currently, Malawi has a free primary education system which is beneficial but has had its fair share of flaws and shortcomings. Subsequently, opponents of this free secondary education system look to the history of the primary education system, and worry that past mistakes will be repeated. In 2010 the World Bank published a study on the education system in Malawi and found that compared to other Sub Saharan African (SSA) countries, Malawi performs worse in post-primary levels and technical, entrepreneurial, vocational education and training. Malawi?s Southern African Consortium for Monitoring Education Quality (SACMEQ) scores in Mathematics and English reading are among the lowest. Dropout rates are high and lead to a 35 percent completion rate for students within the system. As of 2010, the primary education system requires 23 years to produce one Standard 8 graduate, instead of eight years with an ideal internal efficiency. The retention rate in secondary education is much better, with very few dropouts within the cycle. (World Bank)

Having a sufficient number of teachers as well as ensuring they are adequately qualified through their own education and training is a significant issue. The ratio of student to trained teacher hovers at 88:1. When only looking at urban schools, however, the student-teacher ratio (STR) drops to 46:1

In addition to the lack of physical resources to maintain a thriving education system, opponents also worry about the implications of further dependency on donors for Malawi?s economy and ability to thrive and be competitive on a global scale. The cost of providing more free education is beyond the financial means of Malawi?s budget and an argument is made that investing in other areas of national development could produce benefits within a shorter time frame.

Proponents of a completely free education system acknowledge past failures in the education system but see these as a resource to create a better system. ?Knowing where things went wrong ought to mean knowing how to do things differently next time,? says Sharra. For example, when free primary education was implemented, little to no consideration was made to how an influx of students would affect secondary education and its ability to accommodate such an increase in enrollment. If secondary education becomes free as well, the same mistake cannot be made at the University level.

Other considerations for a fully free education system would include a detailed list of what physical infrastructure needs to be created, how this will affect federal budget, where to get money to supplement the national budget for education, and a targeted plan for application until full-scale implementation is viable. Another important consideration is providing programs for those who are beyond secondary school age, but have not yet completed secondary level requirements.

Providing for education is a direct investment in the future of Malawi and affects economic activity for individuals as well as the nation. Education has the potential to strengthen human capital, and aid Malawians in thinking critically in a world of economic crises and high unemployment to find new and innovative responses to problems. There is much to consider though, including infrastructure, capacity, and economic feasibility.

Source: http://worldcampforkids.blogspot.com/2013/03/free-secondary-education-in-malawi.html

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Oil rises above $97, natural gas falls back

NEW YORK (AP) ? The price of oil rose above $97 a barrel Thursday for the first time in five weeks, boosted by gains in U.S. stock markets and more signs of a strengthening economy.

Benchmark oil for May delivery gained 65 cents to close at $97.23 a barrel in New York. Oil has gained nearly $5 per barrel in the past week, driven by encouraging economic indicators.

U.S. stocks set another record Thursday, as the Standard & Poor's 500 topped the closing high it set before the recession. The government said the U.S. economy grew at 0.4 percent in the fourth quarter, up from a previous estimate of 0.1 percent growth. And analysts think the economy is growing at a rate of around 2.5 percent in the current January-March quarter, which ends this week.

Oil's gains haven't yet factored into pump prices. The average price for a gallon of gas is $3.645, down from $3.65 a day earlier. Gas is now on average about 27 cents cheaper than a year ago.

Meanwhile the price of natural gas retreated, a day after it closed above $4 for the first time since Sept. 14, 2011. Natural gas futures fell 4 cents to end at $4.02 per 1,000 cubic feet. Natural gas has risen 67 cents, or 20 percent, this year as colder weather and greater use of natural gas for power generation have helped whittle away at a large surplus of the fuel in the U.S.

Brent crude, used to price many kinds of oil imported by U.S. refineries, was down 33 cents to finish at $109.38 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange in London.

In other energy futures trading on the Nymex:

? Wholesale gasoline fell 1 cent to end at $3.11 a gallon.

? Heating oil was flat at $2.92 a gallon.

___

Pamela Sampson in Bangkok and Pablo Gorondi in Budapest contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/oil-rises-above-97-natural-gas-falls-back-192135803--finance.html

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The Week: NASA Engines Found, News About Squid and More

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Recent developments in health and science news and a glance at what?s ahead.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/26/science/nasa-engines-found-news-about-squid-and-more.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

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Japan jobless rate up, prices, manufacturing fall

TOKYO (AP) ? Japan's jobless rate edged higher and industrial production fell slightly in February as consumer prices also fell, underscoring the fragility of the recovery of the world's third-largest economy.

The government data released Friday showed the main consumer price index fell 0.3 percent from a year earlier as deflation continued to defy the combined efforts of the government and central bank to move toward a 2 percent inflation target. However the CPI was up 0.1 percent from January's figure.

Unemployment rose to 4.3 percent from 4.2 percent the month before, while industrial production slipped by 0.1 percent in the first decline in three months. The unemployment rate for those below the age of 35 is significantly higher, at over 6 percent.

Japan's central bank governor, Haruhiko Kuroda, said Thursday that he believed the economy was improving after years of stagnation and would enter a moderate recovery by midyear. But he acknowledged high uncertainty because of the global economy.

Kuroda has pledged to work with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government in achieving the 2 percent inflation target set in January, preferably within two years, and ending years of growth-inhibiting deflation.

After taking power late last year, Abe's administration embarked on an aggressive stimulus program of government spending, monetary easing and planned reforms aimed at improving Japan's competitiveness. Revised figures show Japan's economy likely emerged from a recession late last year, but other data has been mixed.

The government's strategy will depend on getting consumers, whose spending accounts for the lion's share of economic activity, to spend more, and that in turn will hinge on encouraging companies to raise wages and increasing higher. Many companies huge cash reserves after having shed debt from the collapse of the economic bubble over 20 years ago but are wary of increasing investment given the existing weak demand and the aging and shrinking of the Japanese population.

Friday's data, coupled with signs of weakening retail sales, show the scale of the challenge in restoring consumer confidence.

By boosting inflation, Japan's planners hope to persuade consumers to spend more now in anticipation of price increases in the future. That could prove a daunting challenge given a drop in real wages over the past two decades and the weak job market, said Susumu Takahashi, head of the Japan Research Institute and a member of a government economic advisory council.

To achieve the inflation target the government must change expectations, he said.

"The only way is for the deflationary way of thinking to change. Without that it will be very hard," he said.

Speaking to lawmakers about the central bank's semiannual report, Kuroda said prices are unlikely to rise for the next few months but after that Japan would see some progress toward its inflation target as the economy moved toward a "moderate recovery path."

The central bank asset purchases and other strategies adopted so far have not been sufficient to reach the inflation target, he said, reiterating his intention to manage market expectations and "make clear that we have adopted the uncompromising stance that we will do whatever is necessary to overcome deflation."

Kuroda was appointed to succeed former BOJ governor Masaaki Shirakawa when he stepped down on March 19, three weeks before his term expired. The parliament is expected to approve his appointment to the five-year term, which is due to begin April 8.

The central bank is due to hold its first regular policy meeting under Kuroda April 3-4, though it may wait until later in the month to embark on any significant moves, such as a boosting its purchases of government bonds to help increase the amount of money available in the economy and encourage more investment by the private sector.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/japan-jobless-rate-prices-manufacturing-fall-005246909--finance.html

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Solar plane to set out to cross U.S. in early May

By Braden Reddall

MOUNTAIN VIEW, California | Thu Mar 28, 2013 7:17pm EDT

MOUNTAIN VIEW, California (Reuters) - The first crossing of the United States by a solar-powered plane is expected to start in just over a month, its creators said on Thursday, as they make final preparations for an attempt two years from now at the first round-the-world flight without any fuel.

Swiss pilot Bertrand Piccard and project co-founder and pilot Andre Borschberg, whose Solar Impulse made its first intercontinental flight from Spain to Morocco last June, aim for their plane to take off from near San Francisco in early May and land at New York's John F. Kennedy airport about two months later.

With the wingspan of a jumbo jet and weighing the same as a small car, the Solar Impulse is just a test model for the team as they build a new aircraft they hope will circumnavigate the globe in 2015.

The project began in 2003 with a 10-year budget of 90 million euros ($112 million) and has involved engineers from Swiss lift maker Schindler and research aid from Belgian chemicals group Solvay -- backers who want to test new materials and technologies while also gaining brand recognition.

Unveiling the current plane at a news conference at Moffett Field on San Francisco Bay, Borschberg highlighted the cramped conditions of the cockpit in the Solar Impulse.

"That's a bad economy seat - you would not fly on this airline," he joked. "The next one should be good business class."

While the current plane was set up for 24-hour flights, the next one would have to allow for up to five days and five nights of flying by one pilot - a feat never yet accomplished.

Meditation and hypnosis were part of the training for the pilots as they prepare to fly on very little sleep, Borschberg said, adding that some sort of autopilot system would have to be built on the next plane to allow for some rest.

The plane runs on about the same power as a motor scooter, he explained, powered by 12,000 solar cells built into the wing that simultaneously recharge the batteries - with storage equivalent to that of a Tesla electric car.

The plane has already flown a 26-hour flight, back in 2010, to prove continuous flight was possible with charging taking place in the day and battery power working at night.

Piccard, asked about the downside of solar-powered flight, agreed that there is a price paid for the small carrying capacity and massive wings.

"In that sense, it is not the easiest way to fly," he said. "But it is the most fabulous way to fly, because the more you fly, the more energy you have on board."

The first stop for the Solar Impulse as it crosses the United States will be Phoenix, followed by Dallas and then one of three cities: Atlanta, Nashville or St. Louis. It will then stop outside Washington D.C. before heading on to New York.

"It carries one pilot and zero passengers, but it carries a lot of messages," Piccard said. "We want to inspire as many people as possible to have that same spirit: to dare, to innovate, to invent."

Piccard has a pioneering legacy to maintain. His grandfather helped his father, Jacques, build a revolutionary submarine that Jacques co-piloted on the deepest-ever dive. Bertrand said he believes the basic idea behind this spirit is to find out what you deeply believe, and then try the opposite.

"Innovation is not about new ideas, it's about getting rid of old ideas."

(Reporting by Braden Reddall in San Francisco; Editing by Leslie Adler)

Source: http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/scienceNews/~3/OTYf8aOho-I/story01.htm

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Observatory: Fig Wasps, Crucial Tropical Pollinators, Face a Climate Threat

[unable to retrieve full-text content]New research indicates that hot weather shortens the life span of some wasps in the tropics ? ominous news for the wild fig plants.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/26/science/fig-wasps-crucial-tropical-pollinators-face-a-climate-threat.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

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CA-BUSINESS Summary

Banks, energy shares lift TSX on U.S. data optimism

TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index advanced on Tuesday, led by the energy and financial sectors, as positive economic data from the United States buoyed investor sentiment. Gains were kept in check as gold shares weakened as an easing of worries over Cyprus lessened the appeal of gold as a safe haven and weighed on bullion prices.

Bank of Canada says to oversee SwapClear due to systemic risk

OTTAWA (Reuters) - The Bank of Canada said on Tuesday it would formally regulate SwapClear, the dominant global system for centrally clearing over-the-counter interest rate swaps, because it has the potential to pose systemic risk to the Canadian financial system. The announcement came the same day Canada's banking watchdog designated the country's top six banks as being of systemic importance.

Canada ups financial oversight, tags "too big to fail" banks

TORONTO (Reuters) - Canadian authorities on Tuesday designated the country's top six banks as "systemically important" to the domestic economy and increased oversight of a widely used global derivatives clearing system in an effort to reduce banking system risk. The so-called too big to fail designation was widely expected by the market and means the six banks will have to keep more capital on hand than required by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision after the 2008 financial crisis.

EADS vote signals resurrection as "normal company"

PARIS (Reuters) - Airbus parent EADS faces the most far-reaching changes in its history as shareholders seek to balance French and German state shareholdings with tough new safeguards against political meddling. Europe's largest aerospace group has been haunted by political pressures since its inception as an industrial counterpart to the euro currency in 2000, but is re-inventing itself to try to secure greater independence.

Boeing 787 faces new risk: limits on extended range: sources

WASHINGTON/TOKYO (Reuters) - As Boeing works to regain permission for its 787 Dreamliner to resume flights, the company faces what could be a costly new challenge: a temporary ban on some of the long-distance, trans-ocean journeys that the jet was intended to fly. Aviation experts and government officials say the Federal Aviation Administration may shorten the permitted flying time of the 787 on certain routes when it approves a revamped battery system. The plane was grounded worldwide two months ago after lithium-ion batteries overheated on two separate aircraft.

Air Canada pension deficit estimate falls on higher plan returns

TORONTO (Reuters) - Air Canada said a preliminary estimate of its pension solvency deficit has dropped to C$3.7 billion ($3.6 billion) from C$4.2 billion a year ago, reflecting a better-than-expected 14 percent return on plan assets. Canada's largest carrier said in a recently filed annual information form that the estimate, as of January 1, 2013, was hurt by a decrease in the solvency discount rate to 3 percent from 3.3 percent. Valuations to determine the actual deficit will be completed in the first half of 2013.

Cyprus readies capital controls to avert bank run

NICOSIA (Reuters) - Cyprus is expected to complete capital control measures on Wednesday to prevent a run on the banks by depositors anxious about their savings after the country agreed a painful rescue package with international lenders. Cypriots have taken to the streets of Nicosia in their thousands to protest at a bailout deal that they fear will push their country into an economic slump and cost many their jobs. European leaders said the deal averted a chaotic national bankruptcy that might have forced Cyprus out of the euro.

Monsanto, DuPont strike $1.75 billion licensing deal, end lawsuits

(Reuters) - DuPont Co

will pay Monsanto Co at least $1.75 billion in a new licensing deal and both companies have agreed to dissolve their bitter legal battles over rights to technology for genetically modified seeds, the world's top seed companies said on Tuesday. The companies agreed to drop antitrust and patent claims against each other while forging the new collaboration, and agreed to toss out a $1 billion jury verdict DuPont was ordered to pay Monsanto last August.

Bank of Canada officials urges more central clearing of repos

MONTREAL (Reuters) - Bank of Canada Deputy Governor Agathe Cote made no mention of monetary policy in a speech on Tuesday that focused on ways Canadian authorities are strengthening financial markets infrastructure to lessen the risk of future crises. Cote said Canada needed to make more progress in clearing repos, or repurchase transactions, centrally through the Canadian Derivatives Clearing Corporation (CDCS).

Exclusive: Linux users file EU complaint against Microsoft

MADRID (Reuters) - A Spanish association representing open-source software users has filed a complaint against Microsoft Corp to the European Commission, in a new challenge to the Windows developer following a hefty fine earlier this month. The 8,000-member Hispalinux, which represents users and developers of the Linux operating system in Spain, said Microsoft had made it difficult for users of computers sold with its Windows 8 platform to switch to Linux and other operating systems.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ca-business-summary-000757996--finance.html

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EA reveals Battlefield 4 headed to PC this fall, refuses to confirm next-gen (video)

This year's Battlefield series entry -- Battlefield 4 -- is headed to PCs this fall. The game wasn't given other platforms, but logic dictates it'll arrive on the PlayStation 4 and Microsoft's Xbox 360 successor. Apparently, since only Sony's next-gen console is a known quantity and Microsoft's staying mum, EA isn't sharing other platforms yet (but hey, it's probably PlayStation 4 and the next Xbox). The game's being built on the latest iteration of DICE's Frostbite engine, though no other details were given about the engine just yet.

Like previous Battlefield entries, EA-owned Swedish game studio DICE is at the helm, and Battlefield 4 remains planted in current times (unlike the pseudo-future of Call of Duty's latest entry, Black Ops 2). A beta for the game will go live some time this fall, and folks who bought last year's Medal of Honor: Warfighter are automatically part of said beta. We'll have more info as EA offers it up, but color us not surprised if Battlefield 4 makes a reprise appearance at Microsoft's still undated Xbox 360 successor unveiling.

Update: EA also released a 17-minute gameplay demo of the game's prologue section, played on a PC. It features a squad of four soldiers on the run from Russian spec-ops militants in the capital of Azerbaijan, Baku. You'll find it just beyond the break.

Update 2: Per a listing on EA's digital store, Battlefield 4 is headed to Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in addition to the PC. PlayStation 4 is curiously missing, as is mention of Microsoft's next-gen game console.

Filed under: Gaming, Software, HD

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/27/battlefield-4-fall-2013/

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Bachmann's campaign finances investigated

The Hindenburg. The Titanic. Michele Bachmann.

Eighteen months ago, the Minnesota House member was considered an unlikely but undeniable Republican rising star, winning the Iowa straw poll that unofficially begins the primary season. Today, she is embroiled in a litany of legal proceedings related to her rolling disaster of a presidential campaign?including a Office of Congressional Ethics investigation into campaign improprieties that has not previously been reported.

READ MORE Portman?s Son: ?I?m Proud of My Dad?

The Daily Beast has learned that federal investigators are now interviewing former Bachmann campaign staffers nationwide about alleged intentional campaign-finance violations. The investigators are working on behalf of the Office of Congressional Ethics, which probes reported improprieties by House members and their staffs and then can refer cases to the House Ethics Committee.

?I have been interviewed by investigators,? says Peter Waldron, a former Bachmann staffer who?s embroiled in his own fight with his former boss, involving his allegations of pay-to-play politics and improper payments by the campaign?making him one of several members of Bachmann?s inner circle who?ve fallen out with the woman they once hoped would become commander in chief. While he was careful to avoid specifics in regard to the investigating body, Waldron said that ?investigators came [and] interviewed me and are interviewing other staff members across the country.?

READ MORE Michele Bachmann's Most Outrageous Comments

Two other former staffers confirmed the existence of the investigation this weekend, and on Monday Bachmann?s campaign counsel, William McGinley, of the high-powered firm Patton Boggs, confirmed that the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) was looking into the congresswoman?s presidential campaign last year.

?There are no allegations that the Congresswoman engaged in any wrongdoing,? McGinley said. ?We are constructively engaged with the OCE and are confident that at the end of their Review the OCE Board will conclude that Congresswoman Bachmann did not do anything inappropriate.?

READ MORE Mississippi Lawmaker Found Dead

Former staffers tell The Daily Beast that investigators have allegedly asked about allegations of improper transfer of funds and under-the-table payments actions by Bachmann?s presidential campaign, specifically in relation to the campaign?s national political director, Guy Short, and Bachmann?s onetime Iowa campaign chairman, state Sen. Kent Sorenson. Questions directly about Bachmann, they said, have been primarily focused on what she knew about those men?s actions and when she knew it.

Sorenson and Short did not return separate calls for comment.

READ MORE Jurassic Republicans

The independent, nonpartisan OCE, established in 2008 and chaired by former CIA director Porter Goss, looks into charges of misconduct by House members and their staffs and then decides whether to recommend that the House Ethics Committee investigate the charges?thus relieving the committee members of the political pressure of deciding whether to investigate one of their own. When OCE, which has a limited window of about three months to investigate and decide, does recommend that the committee pursue a case, it publicly releases its report?giving its advice considerable sway. While it lacks enforcement powers, OCE has been widely credited for pressing the committee to probe and then censor New York Democrat Charles Rangel?and forcing the resignation from the House of Georgia Republican Nathan Deal (who left, thus removing himself from the authority of the committee, while he was running, successfully, for governor). OCE does not comment on ongoing investigations, but one source with knowledge of the Bachmann case said it was now in its final, 45-day period before OCE makes its determination about whether to recommend that the Ethics Committee pursue the investigation.

The emergence of still another investigation tied to Bachmann?s presidential misadventure is the latest hit in what?s been a slow-motion crash for an unusually irresponsible politician who?d briefly emerged as a national figure with White House ambitions.

READ MORE Bush Speechwriter Defends Gay Marriage

Narrowly reelected to what had been a safe House seat after abandoning her presidential run, Bachmann returned to Congress diminished. Her bids to join Republican leadership have been rebuffed, and House colleagues co-exist with her uneasily. The Tea Party caucus she helped found to much fanfare in 2011 is now dormant. And even before her year in Iowa, her staff rarely stayed with her for long?she?s seen a 46 percent annual turnover rate during her time on the Hill, according to The Washington Times?not a vote of confidence from those who know her best.

?She?s the Republican Dennis Kucinich,? says one longtime Bachmann senior staffer.? ?Politics is like jumping off a diving board. You rise, you plateau, but at the end of the day everyone comes down. Some people make a splash and some people belly flop. She belly flopped. And you don?t get a second chance at the diving board.?

READ MORE Rand Paul Ducks 2016 Question

Embarrassments have become routine whenever she?s tried to forcibly reinsert herself into the national debate, as the sort of wild claims that helped make her reputation in the first place have increasingly been swatted down, even by fellow Republicans. In the last week alone she has been called out by Fox?s Bill O?Reilly for ?a trivial pursuit? after dedicating much of her CPAC speech to what she called President Obama?s ?lavish? lifestyle (in fact, the costs she cited are primarily related to Secret Service protection, and some of them were simply false). She followed that up with a reality-challenged rant on the House floor, calling for the repeal of the Affordable Care Act ?before it literally kills women, kills children, kills senior citizens.?

Bachmann holds the distinction of having a higher percentage of statements analyzed by PolitiFact determined to be outright lies?or ?Pants on Fire??than any other politician, according to a survey by The Daily Beast.

READ MORE Rand Paul: Lighten Pot Laws

?She doesn?t use the most credible sources,? explains one former staffer, detailing Bachmann?s reliance on stories from the conspiracy-peddling WorldNetDaily to shape her worldview, ?and she tends to listen to the last person who talks to her.? Bachmann is also a member of the House Intelligence Committee.

But what critics charge is a persistent truth-telling problem is the least of Bachmann?s worries now. Bills are piling up in an Iowa court case, Heki v. Bachmann,?filed by another former Bachmann staffer, Barb Heki. That suit alleges that onetime state campaign chairman and state Senator Sorenson stole from her?and then used with the candidate?s knowledge?an email list of Christian homeschool families in Iowa. Heki?s accusation has been backed by a sworn affidavit by former campaign staffer Eric Woolson, who had also been named in the suit, though charges against him were dropped after he submitted his affidavit.

READ MORE The Week in Wingnuts

Sorenson told Politico that the alleged theft ?absolutely did not happen,? while Jeff Goodman, a lawyer representing the Bachmann campaign, has said his clients "vigorously deny the substantive allegations and claims against them."

Separately, the Urbandale Police Department in Iowa has conducted its own investigation into the theft of that list, and the Iowa Senate Ethics Committee had been probing the actions of Sorenson for allegedly taking ?under-the-table payments? from her campaign, according to Waldron, the former Bachmann staffer who filed the initial complaint. In a written response to the committee, Sorenson has ?vehemently denied any wrongdoing as alleged.? (That investigation has been put on hold until the criminal investigation is complete.) Ironically, when Sorenson defected to Ron Paul?s campaign days before the Iowa caucus, Bachmann herself publically charged that the influential state senator had told her that he?d been ?offered a large amount of money? to shift his allegiance.

READ MORE Newtown?s Pastor, Three Months Later

Waldron, a veteran evangelical outreach operative who worked on the Reagan-Bush and Bush-Cheney campaigns, said the campaign?s behavior had crossed a ?bright red line,? adding that ?I'm not sorry that I've had to file complaints at all.?

Back in Washington, the Federal Election Commission is investigating a separate complaint, also filed by Waldron this January, alleging that Bachmann?s congressional Political Action Committee, MichelePAC, improperly paid the presidential campaign?s political director, Guy Short, through his fundraising company C&M Strategies. Short received lump sums of $20,000 in December of 2011 and January of 2012, with the second payment deposited on the day of the Iowa caucus. Short, who did not return a call for comment Sunday, told Politico?s Maggie Haberman last year, when she noticed his name on a FEC filing, that he had ?multiple clients and Michele PAC and Mrs. Bachmann's Presidential campaign are only two of them. I don't discuss my client?s relationships with the press. The services I perform for each of my clients are separate and distinct ? the services I provide for one client doesn't effect service for another."

READ MORE FCC Chief Steps Down

In a statement when the charges were filed in January, McGinley, Bachmann's campaign counsel, said that "Bachmann for President denies the allegations contained in the complaint filed with the FEC and intends to file an appropriate response. We are confident that this matter will be resolved in the campaign?s favor."

Short helped start and direct MichelePAC, while its Treasurer, Barry Arrington, also filed the incorporation papers for Short?s Company, C&M strategies, with the Colorado Secretary of State. These connections appear to have put Short in a position to pay himself, even as other presidential campaign staffers were told that there was no money for their salaries. Short has yet to publicly comment on the allegations, and did not return a call for comment on Sunday.

READ MORE The GOP?s Three Fiscal Lies

?He?s there telling everyone to suck it up, that we?re not going to get paid ? and he?s paying himself?? said one indignant campaign staffer, who recalls Short telling the team he was working as a volunteer.

This alleged stiffing of the staff has led to an unusually large number of disgruntled former employees who have lodged public complaints against the woman they once wanted to be president. And now some of those former staffers are being interviewed by federal investigators.

READ MORE Tea Partiers Turn on Fox News

?She?s always been one of the most difficult members to work for ? very high maintenance, almost demeaning to a point,? says another former staffer. ?And that was amplified ten times over due to the presidential campaign. It was like she was a different person. You didn?t recognize her. All I can tell you is that it was the weirdest thing I?ve ever seen. It was by far the most bizarre campaign I?ve ever been a part of.?

But other staffers blamed the once-promising campaign?s derailment on persistent strategic missteps.

READ MORE Gingrich & Santorum Almost Teamed Up

?There was a shift in strategy. She needed to always be the outsider,? says Bob Heckman, a veteran of seven presidential campaigns who worked with the Bachmann campaign until the end and stresses he still believes she is ?a big asset to the conservative movement.?

?I felt that we were going on the wrong track the day after the straw poll, when I started to hear stories about how we didn?t want her to get off the bus when [Rick] Perry was in the room because she was the front runner,? says Heckman.

READ MORE Obama and Bibi's Comedy Tour

There was an abrupt shift in campaign leadership after the straw poll, when legendary Republican campaign manager Ed Rollins was replaced by Bachmann?s one-time advance man, Keith Nahigian, while her debate coach Brett O?Donnell rose to a position of high influence despite having what one operative described as ?the worst political judgment I have ever seen.? Unforced errors piled up, including misplacing the list of Bachmann?s straw poll voters in a Virginia warehouse.

Money was also a persistent problem for the Bachmann campaign. Despite her storied ability to raise millions online by playing the victim, very little of it actually went into the campaign coffers, according to Heckman? a sign of unusually high fundraising overhead. ?It did seem to me that we had a remarkably low net cash available,? he said. ?By the end, we couldn?t do TV, radio or even phones with the big guys.?

READ MORE Obama Stops By Israel?s Holocaust Memorial

In October of 2011, the troubles in Bachmann-land went public, when her New Hampshire staff quit en masse with a stinging letter that described the campaign?s operation as ?rude, unprofessional, dishonest and at times cruel.? ?Their assessment was concurrent with our own experience in Iowa,? says Waldron, simply.

The final insult was the abrupt departure of Sorenson, who endorsed Ron Paul in the waning days of the campaign ? a decision that Heckman describes as a ?pretty treacherous act,? while acknowledging that ?Kent wasn?t treated with a lot of respect inside the campaign. He?s a volatile guy and I can?t say I was surprised that he got fed up and decided to jump.?

READ MORE Where Are the Black Appointees?

By the time, the Iowa caucus occurred, Bachmann was an afterthought. Despite bold and baseless claims of a come-from-behind win, she received roughly the same number of votes statewide as she did four months before in the far smaller Ames Straw poll. Even in her home county, she collected less than 10% of the vote.

In the end, it seems the only people who profited from Bachmann?s face-plant of a presidential campaign were the consultants. The only lasting legacy has been the lawsuits. While junior staffers say they still haven?t been paid, Guy Short?s C&M strategies received a total of $157,000 from MichelePAC between January 2011 and July 2012, when Bachmann was primarily pre-occupied with presidential pursuits, according to FEC filings.

READ MORE That Elephant Won?t Hunt

Now, the prospect of a House Ethics Committee investigation into Bachmann?s presidential campaign adds an additional indignity to the self-inflicted disasters of her political career. Demagoguery eventually brings dishonor. And her most passionate supporters ought to consider what it means when the people who know Bachmann best, respect her the least.

There is a cost to playing fast and loose with the truth, former staffers say ? and not just in terms of escalating legal fees and over-lapping investigations. ?A lot of hearts were broken, a lot of lives were hurt by the behavior of the senior staff of the Bachmann campaign,? says Waldron. ?She's entangled in a cyclone. She can't get out.?

Related from The Daily Beast

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/office-congressional-ethics-eyes-bachmann-154500334--politics.html

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Bob Casey Explains Gun Control Switch After Newtown Shooting

Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) explained his switch in position on gun control during a Monday morning appearance on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," saying he thought about the Newton, Conn., shooting and realized it could have been even worse.

"When I watched more and learned more about how he killed his mother and the rage that he brought to that school ... I began to think of what could?ve happened, and not the reality but the potential," he said, according to The Hill. "He was not going to kill 20 children, but he was going try and kill several hundred and would have if he'd had the time and the capacity."

Casey announced in December that he would support gun control measures such as bans on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. It was a significant switch given his longtime opposition to gun control and high rating from the National Rifle Association. The change was prompted by the shooting of 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, along with the shooter's mother, a massacre that has restarted long-dormant talks of further regulating guns.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) announced last week that he would introduce a bill to require universal background checks on gun purchases, along with several other measures. A ban on assault weapons was not included in the base bill but will be offered as an amendment.

Other Democrats -- including Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.V.), Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Reid -- also said their thinking on guns changed after the Newtown shooting.

Casey said he hopes other lawmakers are willing to consider supporting such measures.

"Elected official get in lanes, and on this issue you're either in one lane or the other, and there's really no middle ground even as you try to articulate a middle ground," he said on "Morning Joe." "I think that's where people are -- they just fall into their lanes and they vote the way they vote over time."

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/25/bob-casey-gun-control_n_2947939.html

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Source: http://www.gwhnews.com/2013/03/march-22-culture-shock-wrestling.html

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Scientists use DNA to quickly unravel relationship between plants and insects

Mar. 25, 2013 ? Studying the relationship between plants and the insects that feed on them is an arduous task, as it must be done through direct observation. It can take years for a researcher to fully understand the diets of a community of herbivorous insects in a tropical rain forest. Now, five Smithsonian scientists are paving a fast track using the DNA found inside the insects' stomachs, potentially turning years of research into months. This method will help scientists understand the ecology and evolution of plant-herbivore interactions more efficiently.

Their findings are published in the journal PLOS ONE.

Plants and insects comprise about 50 percent of all known species on Earth, forming the critical foundation of biodiversity in most terrestrial ecosystems. This study focused on 20 species of rolled leaf beetles in Costa Rica and 33 species of flowering plants in the order Zingiberales that the beetles eat and lay eggs on almost exclusively.

Using specialized DNA extraction methods the scientists obtained a mix of DNA both from the actual insect and from the insect's stomach contents. They used DNA markers specific to animals to obtain DNA barcodes for each insect species and markers specific to plants to identify the plant species in each insect's diet.

"What makes this study unique is that we developed DNA extraction techniques and full DNA barcode libraries that allowed us to identify host plants to the species level," said Carlos Garc?a-Robledo, a post-doctoral fellow at the Smithsonian and lead author of the study. "Another unique feature of this study is that we invested several years in the field identifying the diets of insect herbivores using direct observations. This baseline data allowed us for the first time to test the accuracy of DNA barcodes to identify insect diets."

Matched against the data gathered from prior direct observation, the information derived from this DNA stomach-content study was nearly identical, yet had taken only fraction of the time and effort.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Smithsonian.

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Journal Reference:

1. Carlos Garc?a-Robledo, David L. Erickson, Charles L. Staines, Terry L. Erwin, W. John Kress. Tropical Plant?Herbivore Networks: Reconstructing Species Interactions Using DNA Barcodes. PLoS ONE, 2013; 8 (1): e52967 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0052967

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/~3/0myMhE1ClYY/130325160524.htm

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what is the process of buying a forclosure ... - Zillow Real Estate ...

I would suggest finding a Buyer Agent to represent you in the Home Buying process.? (If the home is in NH, I am happy to help).? If in MA, please give me a call and I can recommend an Agent.

You need to be preapproved but many foreclosures are cash sale depends on their condition but you can find some gems out there and still finance.

Once you find a home, an offer is submitted, the Bank takes approx a week to return their response on a Foreclosure, (negotiations), offer acceptance, ensure Title is clear,?you could and should have?an inspection but the bank may not pay for repairs (depends on severity of repair need usually), Appraisal, maybe more negotiations, close.? There are other pieces that go with the home buying but this would be it in a nut shell.

If you need assistance, I am happy to help.

Melani Taillon
Better Homes and Gardens/The Masiello Group
[contact information deleted by Zillow moderator. Please see our Good Neighbor policy for posting guidelines]

Source: http://www.zillow.com/advice-thread/what-is-the-process-of-buying-a-forclosure-property/484399/

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Lucy Meadows, Transgender Primary School Teacher, Found Dead

The British primary school teacher who made headlines in 2012 after announcing she was transgender in a letter delivered to parents has died.

The Guardian reports that Lucy Meadows was found dead March 19 at her home in Accrington, Lancashire. Police are not treating the death as suspicious.

In a statement on Accrington's St. Mary Magdalen's School website, head teacher Karen Hardman writes, "It is with great sadness that I have to inform you of the death of Miss Lucy Meadows. Our staff will be working closely with bereavement teams and are here to offer the children and yourselves any support in any way we can."

Meadows, who had been teaching at the school for three years, announced she was transgender in a letter shortly before the holiday break.

As the Daily Mail reported, the letter read in part: ?Mr. Upton has recently made a significant change in his life and will be transitioning to live as a woman. After the Christmas break, she will return to work as Miss Meadows.?

A statement cited by The Bolton News quoted Meadows as saying at the time, "This has been a long and difficult journey for me, and it was certainly not an easy decision to make." After thanking colleagues for their support, she added, "I'd now ask for my privacy to be respected so that I can continue with my job, which I'm committed to and which I enjoy very much."

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/22/lucy-meadows-transgender-teacher-dead_n_2932670.html

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Senate shows support for states taxing online sales

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Senate on Friday approved a mostly symbolic measure on Internet sales taxes and showed that legislation allowing states to tax businesses beyond their borders has strong bipartisan support in an often politically fractured Congress.

Senators from both parties, including Republican Lamar Alexander of Tennessee and Democrat Dick Durbin of Illinois, approved an amendment to the Senate's budget resolution that would clear the way for states to collect the so-called "Amazon tax."

The budget resolution, though, is non-binding and the tax could have to be addressed again in other legislation.

Still, the approval should reassure states and "bricks and mortar" retailers that Congress will come together to pass a bill soon.

There was some opposition. Before the vote, Senator Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, a Republican, and Senators Max Baucus of Montana and Ron Wyden of Oregon, Democrats, spoke out against it, saying it would hurt businesses in states without sales taxes.

In 1992 the Supreme Court decided the patchwork of state tax laws made it too difficult for online retailers to collect and remit sales taxes. Currently, states can only tax Internet sales made by companies with a physical presence within their borders. In practice, that means online retailers such as Amazon.com Inc charge sales tax in some states and not in others.

Large Internet retailers are worried the tax could drive up the cost of doing business. They would also have to create new systems and software to collect the surcharges, adding to their costs. Amazon said in July it prefers having the tax issue resolved at the federal level.

When the 2007-09 recession caused states' revenues to collapse, both Republican and Democratic governors advocated for the tax as a financial solution that would not require the federal government to provide direct aid.

Last month both chambers took up identical bills on the tax.

(Reporting by Lisa Lambert; Editing by Richard Chang)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/senate-shows-support-states-taxing-online-sales-234835531--business.html

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Parent induces guilt, child shows distress

Mar. 22, 2013 ? The use of guilt-inducing parenting in daily parent-child interaction causes children distress still evident on the next day, finds a new study carried out by Kaisa Aunola, Asko Tolvanenen, Jaana Viljaranta and Jari-Erik Nurmi at the University of Jyv?skyl?, Finland.

According to the study, the use of guilt-inducing parenting varied from one day to another. When parents used higher levels of guilt-inducing parenting on certain days, this was evident as atypically high levels of distress and anger among children still on the next day.

In guilt-inducing parenting, a parent tries to impact on the child?s behavior using psychological means rather than direct limit setting. For example, the parent may remind the child how much he or she makes effort for the child or show how ashamed she/he is because of the child?s behaviour. This kind of parenting is typical for parents who are themselves distressed or exhausted. The research by Aunola et al. showed that although the guilt-inducing parenting by both the mother and the father increased the child?s daily distress, the role of the father was especially important.

The research project lead by Professor Kaisa Aunola was funded by the Academy of Finland and the Jacobs Foundation. In the project, the daily interaction between about 150 children and their parents and teachers was followed up across the first grade of primary school using the diary method.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Suomen Akatemia (Academy of Finland), via AlphaGalileo.

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Journal Reference:

1. Aunola, K., Tolvanen, A., Viljaranta, J. & Nurmi, J.-E. Psychological control in daily parent-child interactions increases children?s negative emotions. Journal of Family Psychology, 2013 (in press)

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

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/Ri05DA9cLcc/130322090748.htm

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