PFT: July 2012 victims didn't know Hernandez

AP

As the nonstop developments in the Aaron Hernandez murder case(s) begin to subside, it?s time to broaden the lens and address a topic that has popped up from time to time over the past two weeks.

Should the Patriots have avoided drafting Hernandez in 2010 and/or giving him a long-term, big-money contract in 2012?

Many are suggesting that the Pats screwed the proverbial pooch on this one, that they negligently brought a potential murderer to Massachusetts and, two years later, made him a multi-multi-millionaire.? But there are multi-problems with that logic.

For starters, there really was no indication that Hernandez was anything other than a kid who:? (1) liked to smoke marijuana; and (2) periodically made mischief.? As the folks at CFT pointed out on Saturday, Hernandez was indeed questioned in connection with a shooting nearly six years ago in Gainesville.? But it was perfunctory and brief.? Other Gators were questioned at the time, including safety Reggie Nelson and the Pouncey twins.

The only true red flag that attached to Hernandez from his college days came from an affinity for inhaling the fumes of a plant that, if anything, make the user less likely to commit violence or do anything other than sit around and eat Fritos.? And if there?s a link between smoking pot and murder, there would be a lot more murders.

Whatever was wrong with Hernandez, he supposedly had been rehabilitated by former Florida coach Urban Meyer, who according to the New York Times personally conducted ?daily Bible sessions? with Hernandez in order to turn him around.? Meyer presumably vouched for Hernandez to Patriots coach Bill Belichick.? Given the strong friendship between Belichick and Meyer that likely went a long way to persuading Belichick that Hernandez?s talents justified the risk.

Of course, some are now painting the picture that Hernandez entered the NFL with a pair of six-guns strapped to his side and ink on his arms that not-so-cryptically spelled out plans for his future crime sprees.? But where we these ?sources? with knowledge of supposed gang ties and other actual or perceived misdeeds or antisocial tendencies when Hernandez emerged as a fourth-round star in his second NFL season?

That would have been the obvious time for scouts, General Managers, and coaches to cover their collective asses by leaking the notion that, even though Hernandez was playing at a very high level, they avoided Hernandez in rounds one through three because he had more problems than marijuana.? But there was nothing ? not until after Hernandez was tied to a murder case and scouts and sources and some in the media all began to join in a hands-across-Whoville chorus of I told you so.

Even if Hernandez?s antics had generated real warning signs beyond marijuana, it?s impossible to connect dots from off-field misbehavior to premeditated murder.? It?s far more reasonable (or, as the case may be, far less reckless) to connect a substance-abuse problem (drugs or alcohol) to the potential for accidental death or dismemberment while driving a car.

Murderers come from all walks of life, with no way to prospectively screen for them ? unless they?ve actually killed in the past.? For every Aaron Hernandez there?s a Jovan Belcher, who generated no objective evidence to suggest that he would get into serious trouble before he repeatedly shot the mother of his young child and then killed himself in the presence of his coach and G.M.? Ditto for Rae Carruth, who orchestrated the murder of the mother of his unborn son because Carruth apparently didn?t want to pay child support.? The Chiefs and the Panthers saw neither problem coming, because there?s rarely any reason to suspect someone of having the capacity to deliberately kill someone else, regardless of the person?s history.

For the best proof of this, look no farther than O.J. Simpson.? Revered as a player, beloved as a broadcaster, and celebrated as an actor, he would have been the last man anyone would have regarded as the potential murderer of his ex-wife and a stranger who was in the worst possible place at the worst possible time.? (Simpson was acquitted in criminal court, but found legally responsible in civil court for the deaths of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman.)

On one hand, this is an extreme example of how the Modified Patriot Way of buying low ? via trades, free agency, and the draft ? can go very wrong.? On the other hand, the only way to avoid blame for harboring a potential murderer is to shun any player who has generated at any time any reason to believe that he could do anything wrong as an NFL player.

Even then, there?s still a chance that a player with no red flags will be the next Jovan Belcher, Rae Carruth, or O.J. Simpson.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/06/30/july-2012-victims-didnt-know-hernandez/related/

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Distro Issue 97: Made in the USA edition

The first week of July for those of us here in the States brings a barrage of cookouts, cold beverages and patriotism. In fact, we've dedicated the entirety of this week's double issue to the good ol' US of A. Crammed into the pages of this e-magazine is a first-hand account of the struggle to construct America's most sustainable city, a survey of developments in stateside manufacturing and much more. Eyes-On packs into some US-made bags, Weekly State tallies STEM job growth and IRL returns with more of our everyday gadgets. We'll be taking next week off to recover from the feast of hot dogs and impending firework burns, so be sure to swipe this edition to tide you over until our return.

Distro Issue 97 PDF
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Witness: leaked cables contained classified info

FORT MEADE, Md. (AP) ? Army Pfc. Bradley Manning disclosed potentially damaging classified information in at least 117 of the more than 250,000 State Department cables he has acknowledged sending to WikiLeaks, according to evidence prosecutors presented at his court-martial Thursday.

The cables published on the website of the anti-secrecy organization in late 2010 contained protected information about foreign governments; foreign relations; U.S. military activities; scientific, technological or economic matters; and vulnerabilities in America's infrastructure, a State Department classification expert said.

Manning said in a courtroom statement in February that since the cables were labeled for wide distribution within the government, he believed that "the vast majority" of them were not classified, even though they were on a computer network reserved for classified material. He contends the cables revealed secret pacts and duplicity that, while possibly embarrassing, should be publicly exposed.

In written testimony read aloud by a prosecutor, classification expert Nicholas Murphy listed 96 cables that he said had been properly classified as "confidential" and 21 properly classified as "secret." His testimony revealed for the first time the specific cables that are the basis for a federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act charge that is among 21 counts the former intelligence analyst faces.

The globe-spanning reports include at least six sent from the U.S. embassy in Baghdad from 2006 to 2009. One from Jan. 5, 2007, reported that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki "is increasingly willing to allow targeted military action against elements of Moqtada al-Sadr's Jaish al-Mahdi militia and other Sadr organizations."

A confidential Dec. 14, 2007, cable from the U.S. embassy in Moscow reported on a consensus among Russian political observers on "a need for the Kremlin to reform itself and reverse a pendulum that has swung too far in favor of state authority."

Prosecutors began presenting testimony about the cables Wednesday when a former State Department official testified on cross-examination that the agency's computer network would have anyone with Manning's top-secret security clearance unrestricted access to the cables. The government alleges he stole them.

Earlier Thursday, the military judge ruled that Manning's lawyers can offer evidence contradicting the government's assertion that he revealed classified information in a leaked battlefield video from Iraq.

The judge, Army Col. Denise Lind, took judicial notice of the document, a preliminary step toward admitting evidence.

The document is an assessment by a former U.S. Central Command official of video showing a 2007 U.S. helicopter attack in Baghdad that killed at least eight people, including a Reuters news photographer and his driver. His assessment was that the video should be unclassified.

That contradicted evidence offered by prosecutors. They have presented an assessment from a Pentagon official that the video revealed military tactics, techniques and procedures and should be classified.

Manning has acknowledged giving the video to WikiLeaks but denies that it revealed national defense information.

The most serious charge Manning faces is aiding the enemy, which carries a potential life sentence.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/witness-leaked-cables-contained-classified-021831180.html

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US mortgage rates jump to 2-year high of 4.46 pct.

A home is for sale in Glenview, Ill., on Sunday, June 16, 2013. The National Association of Realtors reports on a measure of the number of Americans who signed contracts to buy homes in May Thursday June 27, 2013. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

A home is for sale in Glenview, Ill., on Sunday, June 16, 2013. The National Association of Realtors reports on a measure of the number of Americans who signed contracts to buy homes in May Thursday June 27, 2013. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? U.S. mortgage rates have suddenly jumped from near-record lows and are adding thousands of dollars to the cost of buying a home.

The average rate on the 30-year fixed loan soared this week to 4.46 percent, according to a report Thursday from mortgage buyer Freddie Mac. That's the highest average in two years and a full point more than a month ago.

The surge in mortgage rates follows the Federal Reserve's signal that it could slow its bond purchases later this year. A pullback by the Fed would likely send long-term interest rates even higher.

In the short run, the spike in mortgage rates might be causing more people to consider buying a home soon. Rates are still low by historical standards, and would-be buyers would want to lock them in before they rise further.

But eventually, more expensive home loans could price some people out and slow the housing market's momentum, which has helped drive the U.S. economy over the past year.

"People are getting off the fence a little bit more or choosing to buy now instead of choosing to buy three months from now," said Anthony Geraci, a Cleveland real estate broker-owner who says he's seeing more sales activity lately in his market.

Mortgage rates are rising because they tend to track the yield on the 10-year Treasury note, a benchmark for most long-term interest rates. The 10-year yield began rising from near-record lows in May after speculation grew that the Fed might be closer to reducing its bond purchases.

In early May, the average rate on a 30-year mortgage was 3.35 percent, just above the record low of 3.31 percent.

But rates began to surge ? and stocks plunged ? after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke made more explicit comments last week about the Fed's plans. He said the Fed would likely scale back its bond buying later this year and end it next year if the economy continued to strengthen.

The rate on 30-year loan soared from 3.93 percent last week to 4.46 percent this week ? the biggest one-week jump in 26 years.

The effect on buyers' wallets in just the past two months is striking.

A buyer who locked in a 3.35 percent rate in early May on a $200,000 mortgage would pay $881 a month, according to Bankrate.com. The same mortgage at a 4.46 percent rate would run $1,008 a month.

The difference: $127 more a month, or $45,720 over the lifetime of the loan. Those figures don't include taxes, insurance or initial down payments.

Jed Kolko, chief economist at Trulia, a real estate data analysis firm, thinks many would-be buyers will start to take note.

"Some buyers will reconsider jumping into the market; others will speed up their (home) purchases before rates go higher," Kolko said.

The rate hike comes at a critical time. Low mortgage rates have helped fuel a housing recovery that has kept the economy growing modestly despite higher taxes and steep federal spending cuts.

In May, completed sales of previously occupied homes surpassed the 5 million mark for the first time in 3? years. And those sales could rise further in June because the number of people who signed contracts to buy homes rose last month to the highest level since December 2006. There's generally a one- to two-month lag between a signed contract and a completed sale.

Greater demand, along with a tight supply of homes for sale, has driven up home prices. It's also led to more home construction, which has created more jobs and contributed to economic growth.

Lower rates have also inspired a refinancing boom over the past two years. Many homeowners have locked in rates below 4 percent. That has lowered their monthly payments, leaving them with more cash to spend elsewhere and fuel more economic growth.

The average rate on a 15-year fixed mortgage, a popular refinancing instrument, soared this week to 3.50 percent ? its highest point since August 2011 ? from 3.04 percent last week.

A report this week suggested that the economy might not be as strong as some had thought. The government cut its growth estimate for the January-March quarter to an annual rate of just 1.8 percent ? much lower than the 2.4 percent rate it estimated a month ago.

A key reason for the downgrade was that consumers spent less than previously thought. Less spending has led some economists to predict that growth will stay weak through the summer and fall short of the Fed's more optimistic forecast of 2.3 percent to 2.6 percent growth for all of 2013.

The downgrade for economic growth has cast some doubt on the likelihood that the Fed will reduce its stimulus later this year. Several Fed voting members have stressed in recent days that Bernanke's comments made clear that any pullback in bond purchases would hinge on the economy's performance, not a calendar date.

Those reassurances and solid, if not spectacular, economic data have helped boost stocks in recent days and reverse a jump in long-term interest rates. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell Thursday to 2.47 percent, down from its two-year high of 2.66 percent on Monday.

Geraci says he doesn't think higher mortgage rates will hurt a housing market in which there aren't nearly enough available homes in many areas.

"So buyers that find a nice home, no matter what the rates are, are going to move on it," Geraci said. "If there's enough supply, people might sit and wait a little bit and see if the rates come down."

Rising rates motivated Alex Backus to act two weeks ago and sign a contract on a $365,000 three-bedroom house in the Seattle suburb of Edmonds, Wash.

Backus, 30, had searched listings for two months before signing the contract. He locked in a 30-year loan at a fixed rate of 4.125 percent.

"Seeing that interest rates were starting to come back up, it seemed like now was the time to really start to get serious about buying a home," said Backus, an aerospace engineer.

___

Veiga reported from Los Angeles.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-06-27-Mortgage%20Rates/id-c525fd65fe724792a825a327a3023c2d

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Snowden's Exit Path Stirs Questions (WSJ)

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Fed's Stein puts focus on September as time to assess QE3

By Jonathan Spicer and Alister Bull

NEW YORK/WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, West Virginia (Reuters) - September could be an opportune time for the Federal Reserve to consider scaling back its assets purchase, an influential official of the U.S. central bank said on Friday, though he said the Fed must take a long view of economic progress and not be blinded by the most recent data.

The remarks by Fed Governor Jeremy Stein drew the attention of economists and investors after he ticked off several examples of improvement in the labor market since the Fed launched its bond-buying program last September.

Stein's speech, and a separate one on Friday by Jeffrey Lacker, president of the Richmond Fed, had some parallels to efforts by other Fed officials earlier this week to soothe market anxieties about a pullback in the bond purchases. Nonetheless, the two officials showed a more aggressive tone on when the central bank's unprecedented policy accommodation might be reduced.

The Fed's purchase of Treasuries and mortgage bonds at a monthly pace of $85 billion has provided a huge flow of liquidity into financial markets, driving up assets from stocks to bonds.

Yields on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose after Stein's remarks, a sharp reversal of stabilization in the market earlier in the day.

Markets had dropped hard in the days after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke last week said the Fed expected to pare back on its bond purchases, known as quantitative easing, later this year and to halt it altogether by mid-2014, as long as the economy progresses as expected.

But Stein on Friday, in an unusual move, trained investors' attention on the Fed's September policy meeting, though the policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee will also meet in July.

"The best approach is for the committee to be clear that in making a decision in, say, September, it will give primary weight to the large stock of news that has accumulated since the inception of the program and will not be unduly influenced by whatever data releases arrive in the few weeks before the meeting - as salient as these releases may appear to be to market participants," said Stein, who is a voting member of the policy committee.

Data from early September "will remain relevant for future decisions," even if it does not play a primary role in any policy decision in September, he said, in a speech at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York.

"If the news is bad, and it is confirmed by further bad news in October and November, this would suggest that the 7 percent unemployment goal is likely to be further away, and the remainder of the program would be extended accordingly," he said.

Stein's remarks drew a sharp reaction on expectations of the Fed's policy path.

"Stein's remarks cannot be lightly dismissed and raise risks that some on the committee may have already essentially decided on September," Michael Feroli, JPMorgan's chief U.S. economist, said.

Thomas Simons, an economist at Jefferies, also found significance in Stein's reference to the September policy meeting, saying that it "suggests that he is eyeing September for making a decision about changing the pace of purchases."

EXPECT MORE VOLATILITY

Lacker, one of the central bank's most hawkish officials, who is not a voter on policy this year, said it had been "wise" for Bernanke to clarify the Fed's views on future bond buying, but stressed policy would still be loose as the Fed reduces "the pace at which it is adding accommodation."

Financial markets should brace for more volatility as they digest news of a reduction in quantitative easing, he said.

"This type of volatility is a normal part of the process of incorporating new information into financial asset prices and should not interfere with the moderate-growth scenario that I have presented," Lacker told a judicial conference in West Virginia.

The Fed's policy measures, including keeping low interest rates near zero percent since late 2008 and the bond purchases, are meant to boost spending, investment, hiring and overall growth, which in the first quarter of this year was a below-average 1.8 percent annual rate.

On the labor market, where unemployment remains high at 7.6 percent, Stein noted the rate was 8.1 percent when the bond purchase program was launched last year. Monthly job growth has jumped dramatically since then, he said, adding Fed forecasts are also more optimistic.

Stein said the Fed can be more specific about its plans for QE3 as it approaches its policy goals. The timeline Bernanke articulated illustrates a "greater willingness to spell out what the committee is looking for, as opposed to a 'we'll know it when we see it' approach," he said.

Still, Stein stressed that reducing the pace of QE3 is highly conditional on the economy. He added it did not mark a change in policy and was meant only to clarify things for investors.

Stein, a relatively new but highly respected member of the powerful Fed board, turned some heads back in February when he warned the massive asset purchases were showing signs of inflating price bubbles in junk bonds and other markets.

But on Friday he said while financial stability should play a roll in monetary policy decisions, the benefits of QE3 have surpassed the costs of the program, including such stability risks.

(Reporting by Jonathan Spicer and Alister Bull; Editing by Leslie Adler)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/feds-stein-puts-focus-september-time-assess-qe3-161413098.html

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Research from Boston University and USC promises breakthrough in internet bandwidth

Public release date: 27-Jun-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Robert Perkins
perkinsr@usc.edu
213-740-9226
University of Southern California

New fiber optic technology could ease Internet congestion, video streaming

As rapidly increasing demand for bandwidth strains the Internet's capacity, a team of engineers has devised a new fiber optic technology that promises to increase bandwidth dramatically. The new technology could enable Internet providers to offer much greater connectivity from decreased network congestion to on-demand video streaming.

Described in the June 28 issue of the journal Science, the technology centers on donut-shaped laser light beams called optical vortices, in which the light twists like a tornado as it moves along the beam path, rather than in a straight line.

Widely studied in molecular biology, atomic physics and quantum optics, optical vortices (also known as orbital angular momentum, or OAM, beams) were thought to be unstable in fiber, until BU Engineering Professor Siddharth Ramachandran recently designed an optical fiber that can propagate them. In the paper, he and Alan Willner of USC demonstrate not only the stability of the beams in optical fiber but also their potential to boost Internet bandwidth.

"For several decades since optical fibers were deployed, the conventional assumption has been that OAM-carrying beams are inherently unstable in fibers," said Ramachandran. "Our discovery, of design classes in which they are stable, has profound implications for a variety of scientific and technological fields that have exploited the unique properties of OAM-carrying light, including the use of such beams for enhancing data capacity in fibers."

The reported research represents a close collaboration between optical fiber experts at BU and optical communication systems experts at USC. "Siddharth's fiber represents a very unique and valuable innovation. It was great to work together to demonstrate a terabit-per-second capacity transmission link," said Willner, electrical engineering professor at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering.

Ramachandran and Willner collaborated with OFS-Fitel, a fiber optics company in Denmark, and Tel Aviv University.

Funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the technology could not come at a better time, as one of the main strategies to boost Internet bandwidth is running into roadblocks just as mobile devices fuel rapidly growing demands on the Internet. Traditionally, bandwidth has been enhanced by increasing the number of colors, or wavelengths of data-carrying laser signalsessentially streams of 1s and 0ssent down an optical fiber, where the signals are processed according to color. Increasing the number of colors has worked well since the 1990s when the method was introduced, but now that number is reaching physical limits.

An emerging strategy to boost bandwidth is to send the light through a fiber along distinctive paths, or modes, each carrying a cache of data from one end of the fiber to the other. Unlike the colors, however, data streams of 1s and 0s from different modes mix together; determining which data stream came from which source requires computationally intensive and energy-hungry digital signal processing algorithms.

Ramachandran's and Willner's approach combines both strategies, packing several colors into each mode, and using multiple modes. Unlike in conventional fibers, OAM modes in these specially designed fibers can carry data streams across an optical fiber while remaining separate at the receiving end. In experiments appearing in the Science paper, Ramachandran created an OAM fiber with four modes (an optical fiber typically has two), and he and Willner showed that for each OAM mode, they could send data through a one-kilometer fiber in 10 different colors, resulting in a transmission capacity of 1.6 terabits per second, the equivalent of transmitting eight Blu-RayTM DVDs every second.

###

For more information or to schedule interviews with the researchers, contact: Michael Seele at (617) 353-9766 or mseele@bu.edu (for BU); or Robert Perkins at (213) 740-9226 or perkinsr@usc.edu (for USC).

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

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

Public release date: 27-Jun-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Robert Perkins
perkinsr@usc.edu
213-740-9226
University of Southern California

New fiber optic technology could ease Internet congestion, video streaming

As rapidly increasing demand for bandwidth strains the Internet's capacity, a team of engineers has devised a new fiber optic technology that promises to increase bandwidth dramatically. The new technology could enable Internet providers to offer much greater connectivity from decreased network congestion to on-demand video streaming.

Described in the June 28 issue of the journal Science, the technology centers on donut-shaped laser light beams called optical vortices, in which the light twists like a tornado as it moves along the beam path, rather than in a straight line.

Widely studied in molecular biology, atomic physics and quantum optics, optical vortices (also known as orbital angular momentum, or OAM, beams) were thought to be unstable in fiber, until BU Engineering Professor Siddharth Ramachandran recently designed an optical fiber that can propagate them. In the paper, he and Alan Willner of USC demonstrate not only the stability of the beams in optical fiber but also their potential to boost Internet bandwidth.

"For several decades since optical fibers were deployed, the conventional assumption has been that OAM-carrying beams are inherently unstable in fibers," said Ramachandran. "Our discovery, of design classes in which they are stable, has profound implications for a variety of scientific and technological fields that have exploited the unique properties of OAM-carrying light, including the use of such beams for enhancing data capacity in fibers."

The reported research represents a close collaboration between optical fiber experts at BU and optical communication systems experts at USC. "Siddharth's fiber represents a very unique and valuable innovation. It was great to work together to demonstrate a terabit-per-second capacity transmission link," said Willner, electrical engineering professor at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering.

Ramachandran and Willner collaborated with OFS-Fitel, a fiber optics company in Denmark, and Tel Aviv University.

Funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the technology could not come at a better time, as one of the main strategies to boost Internet bandwidth is running into roadblocks just as mobile devices fuel rapidly growing demands on the Internet. Traditionally, bandwidth has been enhanced by increasing the number of colors, or wavelengths of data-carrying laser signalsessentially streams of 1s and 0ssent down an optical fiber, where the signals are processed according to color. Increasing the number of colors has worked well since the 1990s when the method was introduced, but now that number is reaching physical limits.

An emerging strategy to boost bandwidth is to send the light through a fiber along distinctive paths, or modes, each carrying a cache of data from one end of the fiber to the other. Unlike the colors, however, data streams of 1s and 0s from different modes mix together; determining which data stream came from which source requires computationally intensive and energy-hungry digital signal processing algorithms.

Ramachandran's and Willner's approach combines both strategies, packing several colors into each mode, and using multiple modes. Unlike in conventional fibers, OAM modes in these specially designed fibers can carry data streams across an optical fiber while remaining separate at the receiving end. In experiments appearing in the Science paper, Ramachandran created an OAM fiber with four modes (an optical fiber typically has two), and he and Willner showed that for each OAM mode, they could send data through a one-kilometer fiber in 10 different colors, resulting in a transmission capacity of 1.6 terabits per second, the equivalent of transmitting eight Blu-RayTM DVDs every second.

###

For more information or to schedule interviews with the researchers, contact: Michael Seele at (617) 353-9766 or mseele@bu.edu (for BU); or Robert Perkins at (213) 740-9226 or perkinsr@usc.edu (for USC).

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

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

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/uosc-rfb062513.php

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Texas executes woman, 500th in state

(Reuters) - Texas on Wednesday executed by lethal injection a woman convicted of stabbing her elderly neighbor to death in 1997, the first U.S. execution of a woman in nearly three years, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice said.

Kimberly McCarthy, 52, was pronounced dead at 6:37 p.m. CDT (2337 GMT) at a Texas state prison, the department said. She was convicted of killing Dorothy Booth, 71, in 1997, cutting off her ring finger and stealing a diamond ring that she then pawned.

McCarthy was the eighth person executed in Texas this year and the 500th put to death in the state since the United States restored capital punishment in 1976, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

Executions of women remain rare in the United States. Of the 1,338 inmates executed since the death penalty's reinstatement, only 13 have been women. Before McCarthy, the last woman executed was Teresa Lewis by Virginia in September 2010.

(Reporting by Lisa Maria Garza; Editing by Dina Kyriakidou)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/texas-executes-woman-first-u-nearly-three-years-002840570.html

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Sony expands high-end Cyber-shot lineup with RX100M2, full-frame RX1R (hands-on)

Sony's brilliant RX100 and RX1 advanced point-and-shoots will live to see another day. Instead of replacing these two well-received pocket cams, the company has opted to expand the upper end of its Cyber-shot lineup, adding two very compelling new models. First up is the RX1R, a full-frame compact that'll retail for $2,799, the same price last year's model still commands today. In fact, it's nearly identical to 2012's flavor, with the exception of a redesigned sensor, which drops the optical low-pass filter in the interest of sharper captures. Of course, without that component, the camera is susceptible to moire and false color issues, so the RX1R is a better fit for landscape photographers than portrait shooters or photojournalists. It also sports Triluminous Color output through the HDMI port, for enhanced visuals on select HDTVs.

The vast majority of shooters are going to be much more excited about the Cyber-shot RX100M2, though. This "Mark II" variant of the RX100 borrows a few features from Sony's NEX line, which is never a bad thing. Looking at the camera, you'll first notice the 3-inch 1.3M-dot tiltable LCD, which can flip 84 degrees upward and 45 degrees downward. There's also a Multi Interface Shoe for adding on accessories like a microphone, OLED EVF or external flash. Additionally, the USB port is now a Multi Interface Terminal, so it'll work with the RM-VPR1 remote, and Sony added WiFi, NFC, and Triluminous Color output through the HDMI connector. On the imaging front, there's a brand new 1-inch BSI CMOS sensor, boosting sensitivity to the tune of one full stop (we're told ISO 3200 shots are comparable to ISO 1600 on the RX100). The top sensitivity also jumps from ISO 6400 to 12,800, which is pretty fantastic for a point-and-shoot.

As with the RX1, you'll still be able to snag the RX100 for some time to come. And for many photographers, last year's model may be the best pick -- the RX100M2, while a bit more feature-packed, retails for a $100 more than its predecessor, with a $750 MSRP. The RX1R, however, maintains the same pricing as the RX1, at $2,799. Both cameras, which you can check out now in the hands-on gallery below, are expected in stores by the middle of July.

Gallery: Sony Cyber-shot RX1R and RX100M2 hands-on

Filed under: Cameras, Sony

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Russia rules out Snowden expulsion, rejects U.S. 'ravings'

By Alexei Anishchuk and Thomas Grove

MOSCOW/NAANTALI, Finland (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin confirmed on Tuesday a former U.S. spy agency contractor sought by the United States was in the transit area of a Moscow airport but ruled out handing him over to Washington, dismissing U.S. criticisms as "ravings and rubbish".

In his first public comments since the fugitive flew in on Sunday, he appeared to make light of the affair around Edward Snowden, whose flight from U.S. authorities is becoming an increasing embarrassment for President Barack Obama. Asked by a journalist about the affair, he smiled fleetingly.

"I myself would prefer not to deal with these issues. It's like giving a baby pig a haircut: there's a lot of squealing, but there's little wool," he told a news conference in Finland.

His refusal to hand back Snowden risked deepening a rift with the United States that has also sucked in China and threatens relations between countries that may be essential in settling global conflicts including the Syrian war.

Putin said the 30-year-old American was in the transit area of Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport and, not having gone through passport control, was free to leave.

"The sooner he chooses his final destination, the better it would be for us and for himself," Putin said.

Snowden has applied for asylum in Ecuador but Quito has said it is still considering the application and the United States is trying to persuade the governments of countries where he might head to hand him over. His plans remain unclear.

"He has not crossed the state's border, and therefore does not need a visa. And any accusations against Russia (of aiding him) are ravings and rubbish," Putin said in response to a question at a news conference during a visit to Finland.

Washington has gone to great lengths to try to ensure Snowden has nowhere to go to seek refuge. But Putin said Russia had no extradition treaty with the United States and suggested Moscow would expel Snowden only if he were a criminal.

"Thank God, Mr. Snowden committed no crimes on the territory of the Russian Federation," Putin said in the garden of a presidential residence, with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto beside him.

Putin said he hoped relations with the United States would not be affected by the affair but his words seemed to rebuff U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, speaking only hours earlier.

"It is accurate there is not an extradition treaty between Russia and the United states, but there are standards of behavior between sovereign nations," Kerry said, in Jeddah.

There has been speculation in the Russian media that Snowden may be talking to the FSB and could be involved in a prisoner swap. Putin said Russian security agencies "never worked with... Snowden and are not working with him today".

TALKS

The U.S. State Department said diplomats and Justice Department officials were talking to Russia, suggesting they sought a deal to secure his return to face espionage charges.

Snowden, charged with disclosing secret U.S. surveillance programs, left Hong Kong for Moscow on Sunday and the WikiLeaks anti-secrecy group said he was headed for Ecuador.

Journalists camped out at the airport have not spotted him inside, or leaving, the transit area. He has not registered at a hotel in the transit zone, hotel sources say.

A receptionist at the Capsule Hotel "Air Express", a complex of 47 basic rooms furnished predominantly with grey carpets and grey walls, said Snowden had turned up on Sunday, looked at the price list and then left.

U.S. officials admonished Beijing and Moscow on Monday for allowing Snowden to escape their clutches but the United States' partners on the U.N. Security Council, already at odds with Washington over the conflict in Syria, hit back indignantly.

"The United States' criticism of China's central government is baseless. China absolutely cannot accept it," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said in Beijing, also dismissing U.S. criticism of Hong Kong, a Chinese territory, for letting Snowden leave.

WIKILEAKS

Putin also went on to praise WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who is also a fugitive from U.S. justice, and questioned whether he or Snowden should be treated as criminals.

"Ask yourself: should such people be handed over to be imprisoned or not?" said Putin, who last week was smarting at being isolated over Syria at a summit of the G8 industrial powers and sees Washington as an overzealous global policeman.

Fallout from a protracted wrangle over Snowden could be far-reaching, as Russia, the United States and China hold veto powers at the U.N. Security Council and their broad agreement could be vital to any settlement in Syria.

International mediator Lakhdar Brahimi said on Tuesday he was pessimistic an international conference on Syria could take place in July as hoped and urged Russia and the United States to help contain a conflict which has killed almost 100,000 people.

The Sheremetyevo airport transit area is Russian sovereign territory, but Russia says that in staying there Snowden has not formally entered the country. Going through passport control might implicate Putin in helping a fugitive.

Snowden is travelling on a refugee document of passage provided by Ecuador, WikiLeaks said.

U.S. officials said intelligence agencies were concerned they did not know how much sensitive material Snowden had and that he may have taken more documents than initially estimated which could get into the hands of foreign intelligence.

(Additional reporting Gabriela Baczynska and Lidia Kelly in Moscow, Alexandra Valencia in Quito, Mark Felsenthal, Paul Eckert and Mark Hosenball in Washington and Katya Golubkova in Havana, Writing by Elizabeth Piper and Timothy Heritage, editing by Ralph Boulton)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/u-presses-russia-mystery-over-snowden-deepens-015914306.html

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News in Brief: A wobble of the noggin reveals the workings of the heart

Pulse can be measured by examining a video of subtle head motions

By Meghan Rosen

Web edition: June 26, 2013

View the video

A little jiggle of the head may be all that doctors need to measure pulse.?

A new computer algorithm can detect the nods, bobs and wiggles people make as blood rushes in and out of their skulls, and then translate the motions into heart rate.

Results from the motion-sensing technique are nearly identical to those from an electrocardiogram, a test that uses electrodes stuck to the skin to pick up signals from the heart, report MIT computer scientist Guha Balakrishnan and colleagues. They will present the work June 27 at the Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition conference in Portland, Ore.

Using a video, the researchers? algorithm tracks up to 1,000 points on a person?s face, zeroes in on the regular twitches that accompany blood pumping to the head and then calculates heart rate from the timing of the twitches. Though the motions are barely perceptible by eye, Balakrishnan amplifies the movements to show people?s heads bouncing and shimmying like bobblehead dolls.?

Doctors could use the algorithm as a hands-off way to measure the pulses of patients with delicate skin, such as babies and elderly people. The technique might also spot heart blockages, the researchers suggest. If blood flows unevenly through the heart, the head may shake in a tell-tale way.

Using a computer algorithm to track barely perceptible head movements, MIT researchers can measure a person?s heart rate from a video of their face.
Credit: Guha Balakrishnan, Fredo Durand, John Guttag/ MIT

Source: http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/351232/title/News_in_Brief_A_wobble_of_the_noggin_reveals_the_workings_of_the_heart

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Taliban attack presidential palace in Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) ? The Taliban say they have hit one of the most secure areas of the Afghan capital with a suicide attack, as a series of explosion rocked the gate leading into the presidential palace.

Smoke rose from the eastern gate of the palace early Tuesday after more than a half dozen explosions and at least 45 minutes of on-and-off small arms fire.

The Taliban sent a quick text-message statement saying "we brought death to the enemy."

The palace is in a large fortified area of downtown Kabul that also includes the U.S. Embassy and the headquarters for the NATO-led coalition forces.

Reporters gathering for an event with President Hamid Karzai counted at least seven or eight explosions starting about 6:30 a.m.

Police had no immediate comment.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/taliban-attack-presidential-palace-afghanistan-030026459.html

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Investing in art: Sputter and fizzle | The Economist

THE Dow Jones Industrial Average stock index climbed by an average of little more than 1% a year from 2001 to the end of 2012. Prices for artworks auctioned in New York during the same period rose by more than 5% a year, according to the Mei Moses All Art Index, which is based on resale values of paintings sold multiple times at auctions. Budding art investors face a problem, however: you often need deep pockets to buy an artwork. In an auction earlier this month at Sotheby?s in London, for example, 17 Russian canvas paintings sold for an average price of ?389,205 ($600,000) each.?

In theory, one answer is to divide ownership of artworks between investors just as shares divide claims on corporate profits. As well as making assets more affordable, exchanges should also make it easier to raise cash quickly from a collection or to divide its value evenly among heirs. Divvying up the ownership of an artwork turns it into ?a liquid, tradable vehicle?, says Asher Edelman, head of ArtAssure, a New York lender that accepts art as collateral. In practice, experiments to date have not gone smoothly.?

In January 2011 the Chinese city of Tianjin opened an ?art exchange? in which artworks? ownership is divided into tradable shares. Demand was enormous: Chinese households have limited investment options for their savings. Within a year more than 50,000 investors had bought shares in less than two dozen artworks. At least 34 similar art exchanges cropped up elsewhere in China, says Zhao Li, a professor at the Central Academy of Fine Arts, a state school in Beijing.

But frenzied trading on the new exchanges soon turned the market frothy. Tianjin?s exchange halted trading on two paintings after their values multiplied seventeenfold in less than three months; other exchanges have also limited trading. To protect investors, the central government has drawn up regulations that have stifled activity. ?We have to be careful not to cause trouble,? says Chen Zongsheng, a city official behind the Tiajin exchange.

If China?s exchanges suffered from too much interest, others have hit the opposite problem. SplitArt, a Luxembourg art-exchange start-up, folded last year before a single share was purchased. Art Exchange, a French venue run by a firm called A&F Markets, ended up delisting two paintings that had been on offer since its launch in 2011. Less than 20% of the paintings? shares had been purchased by investors who were growing impatient because trading could only begin once every share had been sold. More than 400 investors maintain accounts but transactions in other artworks are sporadic.?

Pierre Naquin, Art Exchange?s founder, points to investors? hesitancy to entrust their money to a start-up as one reason for its troubles. There are more structural barriers, too. Some would-be investors are doubtless turned off by the guesswork that underpins valuations. Like gold, art does not generate cash flows, making it hard to estimate its intrinsic value; only about half of all art sales take place at auction where sums fetched are published. And whereas conventional art investors can at least enjoy their purchase as it gathers or loses value, a good way to hang 2% of a Picasso in the living room has yet to be worked out.

Source: http://www.economist.com/blogs/schumpeter/2013/06/investing-art

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Jeff Bridges movie 'The Giver' eyes rising stars from 'Mud,' 'Kings of Summer'

By Jeff Sneider

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Among the hottest open roles in Hollywood right now is the young male lead in the Weinstein Co. and Walden Media's "The Giver," the long-gestating adaptation of Lois Lowry's acclaimed novel that will star Jeff Bridges as the title character.

Over the weekend, rising stars Nick Robinson, Tye Sheridan, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Dylan Minnette and Brenton Thwaites were asked to test with Jeff Bridges for the role of Jonas, the young protagonist who was 12 years old in the book but will likely be aged up for the movie, according to individuals familiar with the project.

Miles Heizer ("Parenthood") and Dylan Sprayberry (young Clark Kent in "Man of Steel") earned callbacks from a prior casting session and read again for the coveted role on Saturday.

Smit-McPhee ("Dawn of the Planet of the Apes") and Thwaites ("Maleficent") proved unavailable due to prior work commitments. It's unclear if the duo will test at another time.

Robinson and Sheridan seem to have the most heat at the moment, fresh off well-received turns in the coming-of-age films "The Kings of Summer" and "Mud," respectively. Minnette (below), for his part, starred on NBC's "Awake" and will surely get a career boost from his upcoming work in Jason Reitman's "Labor Day" and the Hugh Jackman thriller "Prisoners."

Unlike action-heavy YA properties "The Hunger Games" and "Harry Potter," "The Giver" is a largely introspective fantasy tale set in a colorless dystopian society that enforces Sameness and fears freedom. All memory of human history has been erased, emotion does not exist and citizens' professions are chosen for them.

Jonas is the community's Receiver of Memories who spends his days being mentored by the Giver, who teaches him to confront and understand the lies that inform society. As Jonas comes to grips with living an unsheltered existence, he begins to acquire a taste for freedom and honesty, becoming an outcast in the process.

Hollywood has been trying to bring Lowry's celebrated 1993 children's book to the big screen for the better part of two decades. The movie has been a passion project for Bridges, who is producing with Nikki Silver of Tonik Productions.

Long attached to play the title role, Bridges bought the rights to "The Giver" two decades ago, originally envisioning it as a vehicle for his father Lloyd. Bridges was introduced to the book, which has sold more than 10 million copies and won the 1994 Newbery Medal, by his daughter, who was reading it in high school.

Vadim Perelman ("House of Sand and Fog") penned the most recent draft of the script and had been eyed to direct back in 2006 when Walden Media ("The Chronicles of Narnia") and 20th Century Fox nearly greenlit the movie before deciding against taking the risk.

Times have changed and studios are now high on branded properties including "The Giver," which also offers franchise potential. Lowry wrote two loosely-related companion novels, "Gathering Blue" and "Messenger," while a fourth novel, "Son," ties all three storylines together in an epic conclusion.

With casting under way, Noyce, whose last movie "Salt" grossed $300 million worldwide, is one step closer to bringing "The Giver" to life. Production could begin as early as this fall in South Africa.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/jeff-bridges-movie-giver-eyes-rising-stars-mud-000404831.html

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Qatar ruler hands over power to son

FILE - In this Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2012 file photo, Emir of Qatar Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani arrives for corner-stone laying ceremony of a Qatari funded rehabilitation center in Gaza City. Qatar?s emir moves to hand power over to his son, aiming to bring a youthful new face to rule in a tiny Gulf nation that has become one of the most powerful in the Middle East, aggressively spreading its influence through cash. (AP Photo/Hatem Moussa, File)

FILE - In this Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2012 file photo, Emir of Qatar Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani arrives for corner-stone laying ceremony of a Qatari funded rehabilitation center in Gaza City. Qatar?s emir moves to hand power over to his son, aiming to bring a youthful new face to rule in a tiny Gulf nation that has become one of the most powerful in the Middle East, aggressively spreading its influence through cash. (AP Photo/Hatem Moussa, File)

FILE - In this Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2012 file photo, Emir of Qatar Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani arrives for corner-stone laying ceremony of a Qatari funded rehabilitation center in Gaza City. Qatar?s emir moves to hand power over to his son, aiming to bring a youthful new face to rule in a tiny Gulf nation that has become one of the most powerful in the Middle East, aggressively spreading its influence through cash. (AP Photo/Hatem Moussa, File)

FILE - In this Tuesday, March 26, 2013 file photo, Emir of Qatar Sheik Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani, center, attends the opening session of the Arab League Summit in Doha. Qatar?s emir moves to hand power over to his son, aiming to bring a youthful new face to rule in a tiny Gulf nation that has become one of the most powerful in the Middle East, aggressively spreading its influence through cash. (AP Photo/Ghiath Mohamad, File)

DOHA, Qatar (AP) ? Qatar's ruler said Tuesday he has transferred power to the 33-year-old crown prince in an anticipated move that puts a new generation in charge of the Gulf nation's vast energy wealth and rising political influence.

The 61-year-old emir, Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, said in a televised address that the decision has been made to step down following weeks of speculation. Now, the British-educated crown prince, Sheik Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, will begin the process of putting together a new government that may be in direct contrast to the old guard leaders across the Western-backed Gulf Arab states.

Qatar has given no official explanation on the transition, but it is widely believed that Sheik Hamad is suffering from health problems.

Sheik Tamim is not expected to make any immediate policy shifts for Qatar, which has used its riches to propel itself into one of the world's most politically ambitious countries. It has served as a powerful player in the Middle East, including key support for rebels in Libya last year and now in Syria. Qatar also has broken ranks with other Gulf states to offer help to the Muslim Brotherhood, which rose to political dominance in Egypt.

In an important sign of continuity and shared goals, the outgoing emir and Sheik Tamim stood shoulder to shoulder and greeted members of the ruling family and others following the address. Sheik Tamim has been closely involved in all key decisions in recent years and his father is expected to remain a guiding force from the wings.

"Sheik Tamim will be driving his father's car, which is already programed on where to go," said Mustafa Alani, a political analyst at the Gulf Research Center in Geneva.

But the transition ? a rarity in a region where leadership changes are nearly always triggered by deaths or palace coups ? also sends a message the wider Middle East. It appears a sweeping response to the Arab Spring upheavals and their emphasis on giving voice to the region's youth, and reinforces Qatar's bold-stroke political policies.

Under Sheik Hamad, who took power in a bloodless coup in 1995, Qatar has been transformed into a political broker and a center for global investment with a sovereign fund estimated to be worth more than $100 billion. Its portfolio includes landmark real estate, luxury brands and a powerful presence in the sporting world. Tiny Qatar also defeated rivals including the U.S. to win the rights to host the 2022 World Cup.

Qatar has played a role as mediator in conflicts such as Sudan's Darfur region and regional disputes including Palestinian political rifts. Qatar this week hosted a Syrian opposition conference attended by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and is the venue for possible U.S.-led peace talks with Afghanistan's Taliban.

Sheik Tamim became the next in line to rule in 2003 after his older brother stepped aside.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-06-25-Qatar-Rulers/id-41e411487df3483b95f4c63d04626db4

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Political optics overlooked in 'Tea Party' review: IRS official

By Kim Dixon and Kevin Drawbaugh

(Reuters) - Internal Revenue Service employees in Ohio, who singled out conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status for extra scrutiny, likely did not consider the political implications, an IRS official in Washington has told congressional investigators.

Providing additional details about the worst crisis to hit the IRS in years, tax agency official Holly Paz told investigators she was concerned when she learned that IRS employees were singling out groups with "Tea Party" and other key words in their names.

Paz is the most senior IRS official to be extensively interviewed by investigators. Ousted acting IRS Commissioner Steve Miller was among the top-level Washington officials grilled by Congress in recent weeks. Investigators conducted longer transcribed interviews with IRS employees behind closed doors.

A mid-level official in Washington before she was put on administrative leave, Paz worked for the director of the tax-exempt unit.

Paz said she was worried the practice of flagging certain groups for scrutiny, which she said was not politically motivated, "might give the impression that there was ... some bias," Paz said in the interview last month. Reuters has reviewed the interview transcript.

Some IRS employees in Cincinnati were screening non-profit groups' applications for tax-exempt status and chose some applications from Tea Party-aligned groups for closer scrutiny.

In doing so, Paz said, the employees likely did not consider that their decisions and practices could be perceived as politically motivated. "They are not as sensitive as we would like them to be as to how things might appear," she said.

Roel Campos, Paz's attorney, said his client "has been exemplary. When she discovered a problem in June 2011 she immediately sent it to her superiors." Paz could not be reached for comment.

The screening carried out in Cincinnati, which Paz said she became aware of in February 2010, drew complaints from conservative groups and Republican politicians. It fully came to light on May 10 when Paz's boss, Lois Lerner, publicly apologized for the targeting at a legal conference.

A political furor erupted that led to an FBI investigation, the ousting by President Barack Obama of the chief of the IRS and several congressional hearings. Lerner has also been placed on administrative leave.

Darrell Issa, Republican chairman of the House of Representatives oversight committee leading the inquiry, in a statement, said the Paz transcript shows "we still don't know why everything happened and who is responsible."

None of the interviews to date suggest any involvement by elected officials in beginning the screening.

Republicans have noted that Paz gave $2,000 to Obama's campaign in 2008.

Elijah Cummings, the top Democrat on Issa's panel, said Paz's comments confirm an earlier inspector general audit. Paz said in the interview she agreed with nearly all of that report.

Issa and Cummings have been squabbling over whether to release full transcripts of the congressional interviews. This continued on Sunday. "It's time to stop politicizing this investigation," Cummings said in a statement.

The inquiry by congressional committees is continuing. Republicans are trying, without success so far, to link Obama to the screening, while Democrats are trying to put an end to the controversy, which is headed into its sixth week.

A report last month from the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, an IRS watchdog, found "inappropriate criteria" were used by IRS agents to select applications for added attention. The report found no political motivations.

20 MORE INTERVIEWS POSSIBLE

Paz is one of more than six IRS employees who have been interviewed in the probe. A congressional aide said last week that investigators may seek interviews with 20 more people.

Paz said front-line IRS employees, such as those who conducted the screening, are unaccustomed to their work being in the spotlight.

"Many of these employees ... were used to a world where how they would talk about things internally was not something that would be public or anyone would be interested in," she said.

The U.S. tax code allows many types of non-profit groups to be tax-exempt, but sets limits on their political activities. The IRS has to ensure that groups apply for tax exemption respect those limits, though they are often vaguely defined.

The Supreme Court's 2010 "Citizens United" decision unleashed a torrent of new money into politics. Some of it flowed into groups organized under Section 501(c)(4) of the code. Many of these groups were politically conservative.

Campaign finance critics say 501(c)(4) attracts political "dark money" because the law allows such groups to keep donor identities secret. Such groups may be politically active, but under the law, this cannot be their primary purpose.

The IRS has struggled for years with enforcing the law, and related 501(c) tax-exemption statutes for non-profits.

On the issue of balance, Paz told investigators that she knew of some liberal, pro-Democrat groups that had received extra scrutiny in Washington too.

"I had no indication that we were not being balanced in what we were doing," she said.

(Additional reporting by Patrick Temple-West; Editing by Stacey Joyce)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/political-optics-overlooked-tea-party-review-irs-official-003506199.html

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PFT: Banks' accuser ordered to repay settlement

AP

As the Titans add receivers, the speculation grows that soon-to-be-30-year-old Nate Washington isn?t long for a job.

And yet he still has one.

To Washington?s credit, he doesn?t care.? Which could be one of the reasons why he has been able to keep going.

?I am not worried about it, and never was worried about it, to tell you the truth,? Washington recently said, via Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean.? ?At the end of the day, I am here, and I am here to do a job.? I have no problem with who they brought in or didn?t bring in.? It doesn?t matter to me.??

Still, Washington knows that, as he ages, he needs to find other ways to force the team to keep him around.

?If all these other guys are going to get younger, faster and bigger, then I have to get older, wiser, bigger and stronger,? Washington said.? ?It is about me giving my all.? If I do that, I know I can look myself in the mirror.? At this point, I have nothing to prove.? I just need to make sure the guys believe in me and know I am going to work and do everything I can to help us win.?

His effort this year includes gaining five pounds of muscle.? He now feels stronger and faster than ever, and he understands the game in ways young players don?t.

Washington has been a solid, but not spectacular, performer during his eight-year career.? He has one 1,000-yard season, in 2011.? Last year, he caught 46 passes for 746 yards and four touchdowns.

That was still good enough to lead the team in receiving yards.

This year, he?s dealing with a depth chart that includes two first-round picks (Kenny Britt and Kendall Wright) and a second-rounder (Justin Hunter). He?s also dealing with guys like Britt calling him old.

While Washington seems to be taking the high road, we suggest that he consider taking a page out of the Cris Carter playbook, who had this to say when a young Bears defender called Carter ?old man? in 1998:? You should get on your knees and pray that you can play this game as long as me.

While there aren?t many things of which I?m sure, I?m sure Britt won?t play pro football as long as Washington.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/06/16/brian-banks-accuser-ordered-to-pay-back-lawsuit-settlement/related/

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Sprint fires up LTE in nearly 2 dozen new cities

Next round of LTE upgrades also announced?

Sprint today announced that it's turned on high-speed LTE data in 22 new locations. They are:

• Baton Rouge, La.
• Centralia, Wash.
• Clarksville, Tenn.
• Corsicana, Texas
• Dalton, Ga.
• Dunn, N.C.
• Fond du Lac, Wis.
• Gainesville, Fla.
• Henderson, N.C.
• Kingsport, Tenn.
• Lansing/East Lansing, Mich.
• Longview, Wash.
• Miami
• Napa, Calif.
• New Orleans
• Palatka, Fla.
• Raleigh, N.C.
• Sebring, Fla.
• St. Cloud, Minn.
• St. Joseph/Benton Harbor, Mich.
• Tampa, Fla.
• Warsaw, Ind.

That gives Sprint a total of 110 LTE locations. The company also listed a number of cities that will receive LTE service in the coming months in Texas, Wisconsin, Washington and Michigan.

read more

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/5DQTjug0dFQ/story01.htm

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