Japan, Russia agree to revive talks on island dispute

By Alexei Anishchuk

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia and Japan said on Monday they would revive talks on ending a territorial dispute that has prevented them signing a treaty to formally end their World War Two hostilities and, wary of China's growing influence, agreed to thicken trade ties.

At the two G8 powers' first Moscow summit for 10 years, President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had China's economic and political might in mind as they launched a new effort to warm up their relationship.

An end to the dispute over four Pacific islands is not in sight, but reviving long-stalled talks is a first step to improving economic cooperation, which both sides say has failed to live up to its full potential.

"We have agreed to revive talks (on the islands)," Putin told a news conference with Abe after a Kremlin ceremony at which about 20 economic cooperation agreements were signed, but said this did not mean the issue would be resolved "tomorrow".

Abe acknowledged the sides were far apart over the islands but hailed the decision to instruct foreign ministers to resume the talks as an important move to end an "abnormal" situation. He said talks on the issue had long been "stagnant".

Looking relaxed in talks with Putin under a glittering chandelier in an ornate Kremlin hall, Abe said bilateral trade had grown eightfold in the 10 years since then-Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi held a summit with Putin in Moscow.

"Nevertheless, our potential for cooperation has not been opened wide enough," Abe said.

Underlining this, the sides failed to clinch any significant agreements on energy cooperation. But Abe said closer ties and more trade would "also make a contribution to the stability and prosperity of our region and the world as a whole."

Russia wants to firm up its footing in Asia as it warily watches China's regional influence grow, even though Putin hosted Chinese President Xi Jinping for a lavish Kremlin summit only a month ago. Japan is also locked in an islands dispute with China, giving it jitters about its huge neighbor.

ECONOMIES TIES RESTRICTED BY ISLANDS DISPUTE

Russia and Japan are both members of the Group of Eight rich nations but the scope for an improvement in relations has long been restricted by the row over islands known in Russia as the Southern Kuriles and in Japan as the Northern Territories.

They were seized by the Soviet Union, of which Russia was then the biggest part, after it declared war on Japan in August 1945 and days before Japan surrendered, forcing about 17,000 Japanese to flee. They are near rich fishing grounds.

Japan and Russia are still nominally at war, although hostilities ended shortly after Japan surrendered. The conclusion of a peace treaty depends on the resolution of the territorial dispute.

Senior Russian and Japanese officials have discussed it repeatedly in recent years but have made little progress.

"This really is a complex matter. And there is no magic wand in the world that could solve the problem in one move," Abe said. "To solve this it takes time and thorough talks."

Russia has frequently signaled that Japan should focus on economic relations and not get too hung up on the islands.

"This process should not be an irritant to bilateral relations but on the contrary one that would help them. Bilateral economic relations are the best instrument to solve this problem," Putin said.

Japan is the largest importer of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and sees Russia as a strategic partner as it looks to diversify and cut the costs of LNG imports, which shot up after a 2011 disaster at its Fukushima nuclear plant.

Tokyo had hoped Moscow would present a proposal for Japan to help build a pipeline connecting East Siberian gas fields and an LNG gas hub on the Pacific coast, but Russia did not do so.

(Additional reporting by Antoni Slodkowski in Tokyo, Writing by Steve Gutterman and Timothy Heritage)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/russia-japan-step-efforts-end-territorial-dispute-132603637.html

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Spaceship ignites engine in flight

29 April 2013 Last updated at 11:43 ET By Jonathan Amos Science correspondent, BBC News

The spaceplane being developed by UK billionaire Sir Richard Branson has made its first powered flight.

The vehicle was dropped from a carrier aircraft high above California's Mojave Desert and ignited its rocket engine to go supersonic for a few seconds.

Sir Richard's intention is to use the spaceship to carry fare-paying passengers on short pleasure rides above the Earth's atmosphere.

His company Virgin Galactic has already taken hundreds of deposits.

The rocket vehicle is known as SpaceShipTwo (SS2).

Although it has been in the air on more than 20 occasions, this was the first time its hybrid motor had been ignited.

It was only a short burn lasting about 16 seconds, but it propelled SS2 beyond the sound barrier to a speed of Mach 1.2. Future outings should see progressively longer burn durations, enabling the plane eventually to reach sufficient velocity to climb more than 100km into the sky.

Space target

Monday's mission began at the Mojave Air and Space Port at just after 07:00 local time (14:00 GMT). Test pilots Mark Stucky and Mike Alsbury were reported to be at the controls of SS2.

It took off slung beneath the WhiteKnightTwo aircraft, which does the job of lifting the rocket plane to its launch altitude - some 45,000ft (14km).

A little under an hour later, SpaceShipTwo was released, dropped a short distance to get clear of WhiteKnightTwo and then lit its engine, which burns a combination of a solid rubber compound and liquid nitrous oxide.

SpaceShipTwo ignites its engine in flight for the first time

After shutting down its motor, the vehicle then glided back to the Mojave runway, touching down just after 08:00 local time.

Sir Richard said in a statement: "For the first time, we were able to prove the key components of the system, fully integrated and in flight. Today's supersonic success opens the way for a rapid expansion of the spaceship's powered flight envelope, with a very realistic goal of full space flight by the year's end."

Family first

The entrepreneur is reluctant these days to say precisely when SpaceShipTwo will enter commercial service.

Projections for a start date issued in the early days of the project in the mid-2000s have long since passed as engineers have grappled with the complexities of developing the world's first spaceliner.

The delay appears not to have dissuaded prospective passengers, however.

More than 500 people, including celebrities such as physicist Stephen Hawking and former Dallas actress Victoria Principal, have put down a deposit for a ticket that will cost them about $200,000.

The initial service will be run out of a purpose built facility in the New Mexico desert known Spaceport America. Each flight will accommodate two pilots and six passengers.

Sir Richard says he will take his family on one of the first outings to demonstrate his faith in the vehicle's safety.

The rocket plane itself is a derivative of SpaceShipOne, which became the first private manned vehicle to fly to the edge of space and back in 2004.

It was the brainchild of aviation pioneer Burt Rutan, whose Mojave company, Scaled Composites, then designed the current prototype passenger version for Sir Richard.

The pair formed The Spaceship Company to manufacture future vehicles.

There are other companies hoping to offer sub-orbital flights in the near future.

XCOR Aerospace, which also has an operation in Mojave, is developing a smaller rocket plane called Lynx. This would carry one pilot and one ticketed passenger to 100km.

Neither it nor SS2 can achieve the speeds needed to go into orbit.

Jonathan.Amos-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk and follow me on Twitter: @BBCAmos

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-22344398#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

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10 Things to Know for Today

A Bangladeshi woman weeps as she sits next to the coffin of a relative who died in a building that collapsed Wednesday in Savar, near Dhaka, Bangladesh, Sunday, April 28, 2013. A fire broke out late Sunday in the wreckage of the garment factory that collapsed last week in Bangladesh killing hundreds, with smoke pouring from the piles of shattered concrete and some of the rescue efforts forced to stop.(AP Photo/Kevin Frayer)

A Bangladeshi woman weeps as she sits next to the coffin of a relative who died in a building that collapsed Wednesday in Savar, near Dhaka, Bangladesh, Sunday, April 28, 2013. A fire broke out late Sunday in the wreckage of the garment factory that collapsed last week in Bangladesh killing hundreds, with smoke pouring from the piles of shattered concrete and some of the rescue efforts forced to stop.(AP Photo/Kevin Frayer)

In this image taken from a video, an undated family photo provided by Patimat Suleimanova, the aunt of USA Boston bomb suspects, shows Anzor Tsarnaev left, Zubeidat Tsarnaev holding Tamerlan Tsarnaev and Anzor's brother Mukhammad Tsarnaev. Now known as the angry and grieving mother of the Boston Marathon bombing suspects, Zubeidat Tsarnaev is drawing increased attention after federal officials say Russian authorities intercepted her phone calls, including one in which she vaguely discussed jihad with her elder son. In another, she was recorded talking to someone in southern Russia who is under FBI investigation in an unrelated case, U.S. officials said. (AP Photo/Patimat Suleimanova)

In this Saturday, April 27, 2013, photo provided by JUMP.DC, Charlotte Bobcats owner Michael Jordan dances with his bride Yvette Prieto during their wedding reception at the Bear's Club in Jupiter, Fla. The wedding took place at the Episcopal Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea with more than 300 guests in attendance, including Tiger Woods, Patrick Ewing and Ahmad Rashad, Jordan?s manager Estee Portnoy told The Associated Press Sunday. (AP Photo/JUMP.DC, Joe Buissink) MANDATORY CREDIT

Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today:

1. GIVING UP HOPE FOR MORE BANGLADESH SURVIVORS

Hydraulic cranes and heavy equipment were brought in to recover bodies from the collapse that has killed at least 380 people.

2. BOSTON SUSPECTS' MOTHER SAYS SHE'S NO TERRORIST

Zubeidat Tsarnaeva tells the AP she found a deeper spirituality, calling charges against her sons "lies and hypocrisy."

3. SYRIAN PREMIER ESCAPES ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT

State-run TV says Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi was unhurt when a bomb went off near his convoy in an upscale part of Damascus.

4. DETAILS OF MICHAEL JACKSON'S FINAL DAYS TO EMERGE

Opening statements begin today in the trial of the concert promoter accused of ignoring circumstances that led to the superstar's 2009 death.

5. HEARING FOR MISS. MAN IN RICIN CASE

James Everett Dutschke, arrested after charges of sending poisonous letters to the White House were dropped against a rival, was to appear in federal court.

6. WHY EDUCATORS WORRY ABOUT PRESCHOOL

A report out today says states are spending less per child for pre-k programs than they have in a decade.

7. WHO'S BEING TAPPED FOR TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY

Obama plans to nominate Charlotte, N.C., Mayor Anthony Foxx, a rising star in the Democratic party.

8. PARISHIONERS STABBED IN CHURCH

Police say a man vaulted over pews and targeted the singers at the Albuquerque Sunday service, stabbing at least four people.

9. WHERE THE TALLEST BUILDING IN THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE IS

New York's One World Trade Center will top out at 1,776 feet today when the last pieces of its spire are installed.

10. WEDDING BELLS FOR MICHAEL JORDAN

The NBA great had fireworks and performances by Usher at his Florida wedding to ex-model Yvette Prieto.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-04-29-10%20Things%20to%20Know-Today/id-1eacd86f4a7846a9bd0c9c9f3b64ba5f

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Into the Woods to Star Johnny Depp and Meryl Streep

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/04/into-the-woods-to-star-johnny-depp-and-meryl-streep/

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Tiny satellites + cellphones = cheaper 'eyes in the sky' for NASA

NASA is exploring ways to send a flotilla of small satellites to a destination, rather than one large orbiter. In a first test, three tiny satellites are now on orbit and beeping back at Earth. Why the idea could be an aid to scientific research.

By Pete Spotts,?Staff writer / April 24, 2013

NASA's Phonesat aims to demonstrate the ability to launch one of the lowest-cost, easiest-to-build satellites ever flown in space ? capabilities enabled by using off-the-shelf consumer smart phones.

Courtesy of NASA

Enlarge

That's no smart phone in your pocket or purse; that's the heart and soul of a satellite.

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Three satellites, to be exact, released into orbit on Sunday with the launch of Orbital Sciences Corp.'s new Antares rocket, the latest addition to NASA's stable of space-station resupply vehicles.

The tiny satellites, each occupying a cube four inches on a side, represent an experiment in using cheap but powerful off-the-shelf technology to run a new generation of small, affordable science satellites.

Two of these orbiters, which NASA has dubbed Phonesat 1.0, use the electronics and sensors packaged in a Google Nexus One smart phone to serve as on-board computers. Accelerometers that normally tell the phones which way you've oriented the screen now gather information on the satellites' orientation in space. And the cameras? Yep, snapshots of Earth from 156 miles up.

The third satellite, a prototype for Phonesat 2.0, uses a more powerful Nexus S, which also has a built-in gyroscope. Ultimately, engineers plan to use that extra capability to control solar panels and to control the spacecraft's orientation, instead of just recording it.

The notion of using a smart phone's innards to run a satellite grew out of informal hallway chatter, recalls James Cockrell, project manager for Phonesat at NASA's Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, Calif.

The benchmark people often use as a point of comparison for the power of their favorite laptop or smart phone is the primitive computing power used in the Apollo program, which landed humans on the moon and brought them back safely in the late 1960s and early '70s.

Indeed, Mr. Cockrell describes a trip to the Internet that netted him the electronic-circuit diagram for the navigation and control computer used in Apollo's Lunar Excursion Module.

"Oh my goodness, you could build it in your basement" with a circuit board and a few transistors, he says.

A couple of years ago, he says, an engineer at NASA-Ames was drawing a similar comparison between his smart phone and today's satellites during an informal hallway chat. The engineer noted that a smart phone's processor is 10 to 15 times more powerful than the processors used in a conventional satellite's computer. A smart phone has much more memory. And it boasts a GPS receiver, gyroscopes, and accelerometers ? the sensors needed for navigation and to control a satellite's orientation.

"He said: 'I don't know why we couldn't make a satellite our of a smart phone,' " Cockrell recalls. Although it took a bit of additional salesmanship to convince folks higher up the organizational food chain, the Phonesat project was born.

The satellites cost about $3,500 each. The initial goals were modest: Survive the launch and beep at Earth.

So far, the satellites have successfully relayed their health ? operating temperatures, battery status, and other key indicators ? via small external transmitters.

"We call this our Sputnik moment," Cockrell says, referring to the simple "I'm alive" beeps that the world's first artificial satellite sent back to Earth in 1957.

As of Monday night, the two Phonesat 1 orbiters started taking pictures. Each satellite selected one image to beam back to Earth.

Before the beaming could begin, the image had to be cut into pieces. And yes, there's now an app for that.

And where NASA's flagship missions to the far reaches of the solar system use the agency's global Deep Space Network for communications, Phonesats are using what you could call NASA's cheap-and-not-so-deep space network ? ham-radio operators worldwide.

So far, some 100 hams have registered at www.phonesat.org, a site the program has set up to receive the packets. As of Tuesday evening, Cockrell estimated that the website had collected more than 300 packets, which computers on Earth must sort through to eliminate duplicates. Ultimately the mosaic will be assembled and displayed online.

The three Phonesats are expected to reenter the atmosphere and vaporize at the end of their 10- to 14-day romp on orbit.

The project already has Phonesats 3.0 and 4.0 on the drawing boards, an effort that eventually could pay dividends for space research, explains Bruce Yost, who heads the Edison Small Satellite Flight Demonstration Program at NASA-Ames.

NASA is exploring concepts for sending a flotilla of small satellites to a destination, rather than one large orbiter. The arrangement would allow sensors from several satellites to take measurements simultaneously around an entire planet to unravel the processes at work on the surface or in an atmosphere.

"If each one of those little pieces of the puzzle costs millions of dollars, then you're not really making any headway" toward getting such a mission approved, Mr. Yost explains. Given the private sector's heavy investment in phone R&D and the capabilities that have emerged, the argument goes, why keep satellite-control technology development in-house and reinvent the wheel?

Earth is likely to be an early target for such "swarm" exploration, Yost says. Scientists studying and forecasting space weather are interested in lofting a flotilla of satellites that could make simultaneous measurements of the solar wind or solar storms and their influence on various parts of the Earth's magnetic field.

Cockrell and his team also are working on an eight-spacecraft flotilla to test the feasibility of this idea of satellite swarms, Yost says.

Perhaps it's fitting that the first smart phones in space run on the Android operating system. There's no word on when or if iPhones will get a crack at serving as the seed around which a satellite grows. ?

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/science/~3/-gOZelEbRBk/Tiny-satellites-cellphones-cheaper-eyes-in-the-sky-for-NASA

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Inspiring vision of Boeing's futuristic supersonic jet

(Image: Quentin Schwinn/NASA)

This sleek model of a Boeing supersonic airliner design being tested in a wind tunnel brings with it a touch of sadness for those who, like me, mourn the decline of the British aviation industry in general and the utterly gorgeous Anglo-French Concorde in particular.

The reason? When I was at school in the 1970s, the cover of my physics textbook carried a similar photo of a model Concorde in a supersonic wind tunnel. It was an everyday inspiration to me and yet, in 2003, the twice-the-speed-of-sound, hook-nosed airliner was junked, too expensive to run and maintain on the limited routes the noisy beast could fly.

What they are doing at NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio, sensibly, is looking at ways to reduce the noise of a supersonic airliner so that its economics are not hamstrung from the off. The engines are on top to shield the ground from their roar, and a V-tail channels the sonic boom backwards ? keeping the boom airborne for longer, giving it more chance of dissipating before reaching your delicate ears.

Says NASA: "We are testing overall vehicle design and performance options to reduce emissions and noise, and identifying whether the volume of sonic booms can be reduced to a level that leads to a reversal of the current ruling that prohibits commercial supersonic flight over land."

Now, why didn't we think of that?

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Tax-free Internet shopping in jeopardy

FILE - In this Oct. 18, 2010 file photo, an Amazon.com package is prepared for shipment by a United Parcel Service (UPS) driver in Palo Alto, Calif. States could force Internet retailers to collect sales taxes under a bill that overwhelmingly passed a test vote in the Senate Monday, April 22, 2013. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File)

FILE - In this Oct. 18, 2010 file photo, an Amazon.com package is prepared for shipment by a United Parcel Service (UPS) driver in Palo Alto, Calif. States could force Internet retailers to collect sales taxes under a bill that overwhelmingly passed a test vote in the Senate Monday, April 22, 2013. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Internet shoppers are moving closer to paying sales taxes for their online purchases. But the fight is far from over.

The Senate voted 63-30 Thursday to advance a bill that would impose state and local sales taxes on purchases made over the Internet. An agreement among senators delayed the Senate's final vote on passage until May 6, when senators return from a weeklong vacation.

Opponents hope senators hear from angry constituents over the next week, but they acknowledged they have a steep hill to climb to defeat the bill in the Senate.

Their best hope for stopping the bill may be in the House, where some Republicans consider it a tax increase. President Barack Obama supports the bill.

The bill would empower states to reach outside their borders and compel online retailers to collect state and local sales taxes for purchases made over the Internet. Under the bill, the sales taxes would be sent to the states where a shopper lives.

Under current law, states can only require stores to collect sales taxes if the store has a physical presence in the state. As a result, many online sales are essentially tax-free, giving Internet retailers an advantage over brick-and-mortar stores.

"We look forward to passing this landmark bill in 11 days and call on the House to stand up for America's Main Street businesses with us," Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said shortly after Thursday's vote.

Senate Democratic leaders wanted to finish work on the bill this week, before leaving town for the recess. But they were blocked by a handful of senators from states without sales taxes.

Oregon, Montana, New Hampshire and Delaware have no sales taxes, though the two senators from Delaware support the bill.

"I think it's going to be interesting for senators to get a response from constituents over this upcoming week," said Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore. "I'm not sure that the country knows that something like this coerces businesses all around America to collect other people's sales taxes."

The bill pits brick-and-mortar stores like Wal-Mart against online services such as eBay. The National Retail Federation supports it. And Amazon.com, which initially fought efforts in some states to make it collect sales taxes, supports it, too.

Retailers who have lobbied in favor of the bill celebrated Thursday's vote.

"The special treatment of big online businesses at the expense of retailers on Main Street will soon be a thing of the past," said Bill Hughes of the Retail Industry Leaders Association. "The overwhelmingly bipartisan support for leveling the playing field is rare in today's political environment and paves the way for a level playing field once and for all."

Supporters say the bill is about fairness for local businesses that already collect sales taxes, and lost revenue for states. Opponents say the bill would impose complicated regulations on retailers and doesn't have enough protections for small businesses. Businesses with less than $1 million a year in online sales would be exempt.

Many of the nation's governors ? Republicans and Democrats ? have been lobbying the federal government for years for the authority to collect sales taxes from online sales.

The issue is getting bigger for states as more people make purchases online. Last year, Internet sales in the U.S. totaled $226 billion, up nearly 16 percent from the previous year, according to Commerce Department estimates.

The National Conference of State Legislatures estimates that states lost $23 billion last year because they couldn't collect taxes on out-of-state sales.

Anti-tax groups have labeled the bill a tax increase. But it gets support from many Republicans who have pledged not to increase taxes. The bill's main sponsor is Sen. Mike Enzi, a conservative Republican from Wyoming. He has worked closely with Durbin, a liberal Democrat.

Enzi and Durbin say the bill doesn't raise taxes. Instead, they say, it gives states a mechanism to enforce current taxes.

In many states, shoppers are required to pay unpaid sales taxes when they file state tax returns. But governors complain that few people comply.

Under the bill, states that want to collect online sales taxes must provide free computer software to help retailers calculate the taxes, based on where shoppers live. States must also establish a single entity to receive Internet sales tax revenue, so retailers don't have to send them to individual counties or cities.

___

Follow Stephen Ohlemacher on Twitter: http://twitter.com/stephenatap

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-04-26-Internet%20Sales%20Tax/id-943aa4aeec8041ea98b7065a13d6bba7

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Mom, daughter persevere together after Boston bombings

>> "rock center." a week ago tonight at this very moment we were in the middle of hours 'ole rolling coverage in boston . by this time last week, we knew the danger had passed but also knew the terrible toll in boston . last week, natalie morales introduced us to the corcoran family, mother and daughter hospitalized together. they have survived life-threatening injuries and are only alive because of the kindness and quick thinking of those around them. and tonight natalie reports on this family's incredible bond.

>> reporter: it wasn't the birthday party 18-year-old sydney corcoran planned.

>> happy birthday .

>> thanks.

>> reporter: but the fact she can celebrate at all is extraordinary considering how seriously she and her mother se celeste were injured two weeks ago. the family had gathered at the boston marathon to cheer on celeste 's sister carmen. her brother tyler decided to stay home at the last minute. they were at the finish line when the bomb went off. these powerful images show sydney being helped by strangers, and celeste lying in the carnage. her husband kevin struggling to stop her bleeding.

>> instinct just takes over. you take your belt off, put a tourniquet on.

>> last week kevin and carmen sat down to tell us about that awful day.

>> i just laid down next to her and just told her i loved her and that everything would be okay and i just kissed her face and just gently carsed her as people were trying to get to her.

>> they were at the finish line waiting for me and i was terrified that my family was gone. everyone i loved was there.

>> they have been recovering together, literally in the same room at boston medical center . sydney suffered a severed femoral artery and celeste lost both of her legs. this week, they were strong enough to speak to us themselves. despite being so close to the blast, they never lost consciousness and remember every detail.

>> celeste , what about your memory of that very moment?

>> it was just -- it was just crazy. i knew that my sister was coming around soon. and i was -- i just kept scanning back and forth to see if i could see her.

>> reporter: but then --

>> when the bomb hit, i -- i just couldn't -- i immediately -- i think i was just down on the ground because of course it hit my legs. i just kept saying over and over in my head, no, no. so my husband was standing next to me. i had no idea if sydney was hurt or anything. i was just down and then his face was over my face and he was just like i've got you. you are hurt. i'm going to take care of you. and he saved my life.

>> reporter: the pain, she says, was excruciating.

>> i just wanted to die. you know what, actually the thought was there because i was in so much pain and then i just remember thinking, i can't. i can't. i don't want to leave my family, you know. just too much to do.

>> reporter: celeste had no idea her daughter sydney was also badly injured bleeding heavily from a severe leg wound. sydney hoarse from being intubated from surgery describes that day.

>> it was really difficult that day being so tired because all of the blood leaving my body. i turned white. my lips turned blue. i felt tingly like i was fading.

>> reporter: did you know at the time you were in that severe of a situation?

>> no. i mean at the moment we were pushed back i was in shock and i wasn't sure what happened. when i was in the ambulance, i think it completely dawned on me like i could be dying.

>> reporter: separated from her parents, sydney feared the worst.

>> i wanted to know where they were. i thought i was going to wake up and have no one left but my brother.

>> reporter: in the hospital that night sydney learned her mother had lived but she suffered a devastating injury.

>> i knew i at least had my mother. so really the legs don't mean anything to me. i know it's hard for her, but i'm glad i have her.

>> that's true. i mean i liked my legs but, you know, if i can get a new set of legs and still be here and go through the milestones, her graduation. i have an older son and so close to. i want to see everything in their lives. i'm not ready to leave. so, yeah. if it is with new legs, it's with new legs.

>> reporter: it's the second time a medical disaster has hit the corcoran 's three years ago sydney was hit by a car and spent a week in the hospital with a fractured skull. her brother tyler saw it all happened.

>> he thought she was dead that time. so for him to live through this, i feel like emotionally this has to be -- he is so strong. you know, we have all been through so much.

>> it was just horrible. i just didn't want to go through losing her again.

>> reporter: but this family is not just boston strong, they are corcoran strong.

>> we're all here. we're all alive. i got my baby with me. you know, i couldn't ask for more.

>> reporter: not that their resilience won't be tested. a few days ago celeste hit a low point until this visit from some wounded veterans.

>> i can't do anything.

>> right now, yes. but i'm telling you, with all of my heart, you are going to be more independent than you ever were.

>> reporter: gabriel martinez lost his legs in 2010 .

>> doesn't matter. this is a just a change of scenery.

>> what did they tell you to lift your spirits?

>> he came in here with his legs and i was amazed. he goes rock climbing . nothing he can't do. if you have the spirit and you want to do it i can absolutely achieve it.

>> reporter: newfound friends are among the biggest comfort, especially from bonds forged that day. jeff was captured in this unforgettable scene. he helped the fbi identify one of the bombers. after he visited sydney on her birthday, jeff, celeste and sydney talked about doing rehab together. before rehab begins, it's the little things that can bring a smile or cause a panic.

>> i understand you even had a little visit from bradley cooper , is that right?

>> yes.

>> yes.

>> reporter: tell me about that. that had to be exciting.

>> it was very exciting. very exciting. her heart monitor -- it is a funny story.

>> reporter: your heart monitor got higher.

>> i was so stressed out because at that point i hadn't washed my hair. i still had the debris and shrapnel, whatever. literally my hair was matted. and like i said i do hair and i had my glasses on and i was under no illusion that he was going to walk in and be star struck by me but i wanted to look my best for me.

>> he asked for permission if he could kiss me on my cheek. of course i said yes. i'm never going to forget that moment. here's our hero.

>> reporter: the leading man of sydney 's story is matt smith . one of the strangers who helped to save her life.

>> what was he doing at the time to help you that allowed you to feel calm and feel like everything was going to be okay?

>> he made sure that i was holding his hand and he kept telling me to squeeze it, make sure i could still do it. and he was holding my gaze the entire time. getting right up in my face and he kept saying just look at me, bud.

>> reporter: people like you were real heros that day. there could have been more bombs for all you knew. did that enter your mind whatsoever?

>> no. the only thing, you know, that we wanted to make sure she was okay.

>> reporter: the corcoran 's have also found peace knowing police have tracked down the people they believe are responsible. when you there was a capture, were you happy to hear that? did it hit you in any way.

>> i felt a relief.

>> so did i. i wanted the person to be brought to jchlustice. i don't want e i didn't want them to hurt anyone else. i don't want hate in my heart for this person. i truly believe they are sick. they have my pity.

>> reporter: the family knows they face a tough road but they will make it together.

>> there's times when everything kind of overwhelms you. i really believe if you persevere and believe in yourself, you have to dig down deep inside and be like, i can do this. it's going to be hard but i can do this.

>> first of all, how wonderful they let you in to the family.

>> they really have is.

>> and you have been able to televise this conversation. tell us about prognosis. obviously they are already having their ups and downs and obviously from bradley cooper to veterans they have had help. what's the prognosis.

>> a lot of emotional support which they so much need right now. but sydney is expected to make a full recovery. you saw she has a leg wound and her doctors say she may even get back to her dance troupe that she loves so much at her high school . of course that is great news. celeste , what is next for her is the long road to recovery. once you are a double amputee she will have to be fit with prosthetics later on but she's very much looking forward to getting back to the life she had before as a hair dresser . although, of course, life has changed so much for them. their new reality.

>> for all of the wrong reasons. we have so much technology to help them in this. we will stay on the story. thank you for your reporting.

>> my privilege and pleasure. thank you.

>> natalie morales here with us

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653381/s/2b3aa18d/l/0Lvideo0Bmsnbc0Bmsn0N0Cid0C51682173/story01.htm

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Citrix Systems profit misses estimates

(Reuters) - Cloud computing software maker Citrix Systems Inc reported a lower-than-expected first-quarter profit, hurt by higher expenses and weak IT spending by its customers.

Net income fell to $59.7 million, or 32 cents per share, from $68.3 million, or 36 cents per share, a year earlier. Excluding items, it earned 62 cents per share. Revenue rose 14 percent to $672.3 million.

Analysts on average had expected earnings of 63 cents per share on revenue of $676.9 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Citrix's cloud computing software allows customers to access applications remotely from a central server, and reduces costs by eliminating the need to upgrade and install software on each individual computer on site.

(Reporting by Sayantani Ghosh and Supantha Mukherjee in Bangalore; Editing by Don Sebastian)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/citrix-systems-profit-misses-estimates-201717718--sector.html

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California bill would allow non-citizens to serve on jury duty

SACRAMENTO, California (AP) ? The California Assembly passed a bill on Thursday that would make the state the first in the nation to allow non-citizens who are in the country legally to serve on jury duty.

Assemblyman Bob Wieckowski, D-Fremont, said his bill, AB1401, would help California widen the pool of prospective jurors and help integrate immigrants into the community.

It does not change other criteria for being eligible to serve on a jury, such as being at least 18, living in the county that is making the summons, and being proficient in English.

The bill passed 45-25 largely on a party-line vote in the Democratic-controlled Assembly and will move on to the Senate. One Democrat ? Assemblyman Adam Gray, of Merced ? voted no, while some other Democrats did not vote.

Democratic lawmakers who voted for the bill said there is no correlation between being a citizen and a juror, and they noted that there is no citizenship requirement to be an attorney or a judge. Republican lawmakers who opposed Wieckowski's bill called it misguided and premature.

Assemblywoman Diane Harkey, R-Dana Point, said there is no shortage of jurors.

"Jury selection is not the problem. The problem is trial court funding," Harkey said before the vote. "I hope we can focus on that. Let's not break something; it's not broken now. Let's not whittle away at what is reserved for U.S. citizens. There's a reason for it."

Wieckowski's office said the bill is the first of its kind in the nation and suggested that courts regularly struggle to find enough prospective jurors because jury duty is often seen as an inconvenience, if not a burden. His office did not cite any statistics but pointed to a 2003 legislative report that said numerous articles have noted high rates of non-participation.

A 2007 survey by the Center for Jury Studies said 20 percent of courts across the country reported a failure to respond or failure to appear rate of 15 percent or higher. The center is run by the National Center for State Courts, a Virginia-based nonprofit dedicated to improving court systems.

It's not clear, however, if that rate translates to a shortage of jurors in California.

Noting that women were once kept off juries, Assembly Speaker John Perez, D-Los Angeles, said the judicial system should be changed to allow a person to be judged by their peers.

"This isn't about affording someone who would come in as a juror something," Perez said. "But rather understanding that the importance of the jury selection process of affording justice to the person in that courtroom."

An estimated 10 million Californians are summoned for jury duty each year and about 4 million are eligible and available to serve, according to the Judicial Council, which administers the state's court system. About 3.2 million complete the service, meaning they waited in a courthouse assembly room or were placed on call.

In 2010-2011, the most recent year available, only about 165,000 people were sworn in as jurors.

The judicial branch has not taken a position on AB 1401.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/calif-bill-let-non-citizens-serve-juries-231314163.html

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Nintendo's Miiverse gets mobile access, web interface

Littered among Nintendo's promises for the year were plans to take Miiverse, the company's social platform, to the next level. That starts today, with the company launching a web portal for the community. Wii U owners can now access their Miiverse activity feed, user menu, notifications and communities through miiverse.nintendo.net using the same login information they created when they first set up their home console. The experience is limited for now, users can comment on and Yeah! (Miiverse's take on "like") existing posts, but can't create new threads. In addition to being Nintendo's first public foray into the social space, it also marks the first time the company has used its Nintendo Network ID outside of the Wii U ecosystem. According to the company's Twitter account, Nintendo considers this a beta expereince, and has said in the past that a dedicated Miiverse app and 3DS access will be available in the future. For now, Nintendo's social legions will have to settle for a web-based experience -- it may seem like a slow start, but for Nintendo it's a giant leap forward.

Filed under: Gaming, Nintendo

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Immigration bill could fix some Boston security issues: official

By Richard Cowan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A top Obama administration official said on Tuesday that an immigration bill starting to move through Congress would fix some border control weaknesses that may have contributed to last week's Boston Marathon bombings.

The immigration to the United States of two ethnic Chechen brothers who are suspects in the bombings has become a point of controversy in the early debate over the legislation, with some conservatives saying that Congress should now go slower.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano repeatedly was asked at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing about the Boston violence that killed three and injured more than 250, as the panel was wrapping up its hearings on a comprehensive immigration bill.

Napolitano told the panel that the legislation will "strengthen security at our borders."

But in three hearings held by the committee since the Boston bombings, some Republicans have raised new concerns about the legislation.

"If these two individuals used our immigration system to assist their attacks, it's important to our ongoing discussion," said Senator Charles Grassley, the senior Republican on the panel.

One of the two suspects, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who was killed last week after a gunfight with police, traveled from the U.S. to Russia in 2012, returning six months later. He and his brother both came to the United States legally a decade ago.

Officials have said that a misspelling of Tsarnaev's name on flight records when departing the United States last year may have contributed to some law enforcement agencies not being alerted to his movements.

CALMING NEW ANXIETIES

"The bill will help with this because it requires that passports be electronically readable as opposed to having manual input," Napolitano testified, adding the legislation "really does a good job of getting human error out of the process."

The bill's supporters also have tried to calm new anxieties over the legislation, arguing that by moving approximately 11 million illegal residents onto a path to citizenship - if they meet certain requirements - law enforcement will be able to learn more about those undocumented people.

"The bipartisan immigration reform proposal introduced last week would enable us to identify and perform criminal background and national security checks on immigrants who are here unlawfully," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said in a letter to Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky.

Paul, who earlier this year expressed support for comprehensive immigration legislation, said on Monday that Congress "should not proceed" until more is known about failures in the immigration system related to the Boston bombing.

The Senate Judiciary Committee plans to spend the month of May debating and voting on panel members' amendments to the immigration bill introduced last week by four Democratic and four Republican senators.

Reid hopes to have the legislation, a top priority of President Barack Obama, ready for a long debate by the full Senate in June.

During Tuesday's Senate hearing, Napolitano heard criticisms from both Democrats and Republicans about specific aspects of the immigration bill that will take center stage in coming weeks.

"I question whether spending billions more on a fence between the United States and Mexico is really the best use of taxpayer dollars as we're furloughing air traffic controllers," said Senator Patrick Leahy, the Democratic chairman of the Judiciary Committee.

Republican Senator John Cornyn of Texas questioned whether the bill's emphasis on tightening border security at major "hot spots" in Arizona and Texas would merely encourage drug cartels and other criminals to shift their activities to border crossings that are monitored less.

(Editing by Fred Barbash and Philip Barbara)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/immigration-bill-could-fix-boston-security-issues-official-183531738.html

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Official: 70 dead in Bangladesh building collapse

SAVAR, Bangladesh (AP) ? Bangladesh's health minister says 70 people have been confirmed dead in the collapse of a building housing several garment factories near the capital.

Health Minister A.F.M. Ruhal Haque said that by Wednesday afternoon 70 bodies had been removed from the eight-story building. Rescuers said they had saved 600 other people from the rubble, but feared more remained inside.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-04-24-Bangladesh-Building%20Collapse/id-c69db98c70a04871833b27811496dcda

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G.W. Bush Advances in Esteem Yet Still With More Brush to Cut (ABC News)

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Brain biology tied to social reorientation during entry to adolescence

Apr. 23, 2013 ? A specific region of the brain is in play when children consider their identity and social status as they transition into adolescence -- that often-turbulent time of reaching puberty and entering middle school, says a University of Oregon psychologist.

In a study of 27 neurologically typical children who underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) at ages 10 and 13, activity in the brain's ventromedial prefrontal cortex increased dramatically when the subjects responded to questions about how they view themselves.

The findings, published in the April 24 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience, confirm previous findings that specific brain networks support self-evaluations in the growing brain, but, more importantly, provide evidence that basic biology may well drive some of these changes, says Jennifer H. Pfeifer, professor of psychology and director of the psychology department's Developmental Social Neuroscience Lab.

"This is a longitudinal fMRI study, which is still relatively uncommon," Pfeifer said. "It suggests a link between neural responses during self-evaluative processing in the social domain, and pubertal development. This provides a rare piece of empirical evidence in humans, rather than animal models, that supports the common theory that adolescents are biologically driven to go through a social reorientation."

Participants were scanned for about seven minutes at each visit. They responded to a series of attributes tied to social or academic domains -- social ones such as "I am popular" or "I wish I had more friends" and academic ones such as "I like to read just for fun" or "Writing is so boring." Social and academic evaluations were made about both the self and a familiar fictional character, Harry Potter.

In previous research, Pfeifer had found that a more dorsal region of the medial prefrontal cortex was more responsive in 10-year-old children during self-evaluations, when they were compared to adults. The new study, she said, provides a more detailed picture of how the brain supports self-development by looking at change within individuals.

The fMRI analyses found it was primarily the social self-evaluations that triggered significant increases over time in blood-oxygen levels, which fMRI detects, in the ventral medial prefrontal cortex. Additionally, these increases were strongest in children who experienced the most pubertal development over the three-year study period, for both girls and boys. Increases during academic self-evaluations were at best marginal. Whole-brain analyses found no other areas of the brain had significant increases or decreases in activity related to pubertal development.

"Neural changes in the social domain were more robust," Pfeifer said. "Increased responses in this one region of the brain from age 10 to 13 were very evident in social self-evaluations, but not academic ones. This pattern is consistent with the enormous importance that most children entering adolescence place on their peer relationships and social status, compared to the relatively diminished value often associated with academics during this transition."

In youth with autism spectrum disorders, this specialized response in ventral medial prefrontal cortex is missing, she added, citing a paper she co-authored in the February 2013 issue of the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders and a complementary study led by Michael V. Lombardo, University of Cambridge, in the February 2010 issue of the journal Brain. The absence of this typical effect, Pfeifer said, might be related to the challenges these individuals often face in both self-understanding and social relations.

"Dr. Pfeifer's research examining self-evaluations during adolescence adds significantly to the intricate puzzle of this turbulent age period," said Kimberly Andrews Espy, vice president for research and innovation and dean of the graduate school. "Researchers at the University of Oregon are piecing together how both biology and the environment dynamically and interactively support healthy social development."

National Institutes of Health grants F31MH075299, L40HD059442 and L40MH087356 to Pfeifer primarily funded the research. Other support came from the Santa Fe Institute Consortium, Brain Mapping Medical Research Organization, Brain Mapping Support Foundation, Pierson-Lovelace Foundation, Ahmanson Foundation, Tamkin Foundation, Jennifer Jones-Simon Foundation, Capital Group Companies Charitable Foundation, Robson Family, William M. and Linda R. Dietel Philanthropic Fund at the Northern Piedmont Community Foundation, Northstar Fund and the NIH National Center for Research Resources (grants RR12169, RR13642 and RR00865).

Co-authors with Pfeifer on the new study in the Journal of Neuroscience were: UO psychology graduate students Lauren E. Kahn, Junaid S. Merchant and Shannon J. Peake; Kim Veroude, a visiting researcher and graduate student from VU University Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Carrie L. Masten of Vanderbilt University in Tennessee; Matthew D. Lieberman of the University of California, Los Angeles; John C. Mazziotta, director of the Ahmanson-Lovelace Brain Mapping Center; and Mirella Dapretto of the Ahmanson-Lovelace Brain Mapping Center and UCLA Center for Culture, Brain & Development.

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Analysis: Ahead of reform, medical care slowdown hits companies

By Bill Berkrot

NEW YORK (Reuters) - As the clock ticks down to the start of a U.S. healthcare overhaul, companies from device makers to hospital chains have been surprised to see Americans make even fewer trips to the doctor's office.

Use of non-emergency medical services has been weak for several years in the wake of a deep recession, high joblessness and the steadily rising cost of care.

Those trends now may be exacerbated in the months before President Barack Obama's healthcare law takes full effect in 2014, analysts said. Part of the reason is that employers are shifting more of the insurance benefits they offer to so-called high-deductible plans, requiring employees to pay more for their medical care upfront, to buffer new costs they face under "Obamacare".

This is all starting to show in some weak and disappointing earnings reports for the first quarter.

"It's still early in the reporting season, but so far it all points to softness. In the U.S. volumes at hospitals, in-patient and out-patient are soft," said David Heupel, senior healthcare analyst at Thrivent Investment Management.

In the past week, medical testing companies, such as Quest Diagnostics, medical device makers Johnson & Johnson and Abbott Laboratories, hospital operators, such as HCA Holdings Inc, and even diaper maker Kimberly-Clark, which has a surgical supply unit, have cited a slowdown in use of medical services.

Kimberly-Clark executives on Friday noted that other companies have reported surgical admissions down about 4 percent in the first quarter. Earlier this week, J&J reported a 10.5 percent decline in its U.S. surgical sales, and Chief Financial Officer Dominic Caruso said a modest upswing in medical device use seen in the fourth quarter did not persist into 2013.

JP Morgan analyst Michael Weinstein, in a research note, said U.S. physician office visits were down 3.3 percent in March from a year ago, after a 3.6 percent decline in February. And HCA on Monday warned about a slowdown in the growth of hospital admissions and weakness in outpatient volumes in the quarter.

"We've been seeing very similar trends come out that suggest utilization, which had started to pick up steam in the second half of 2012, seems to be sort of decelerating in the first quarter," said Morningstar analyst Debbie Wang in reference to the medical technology sector.

Obama's healthcare law aims to extend insurance coverage to over 30 million additional Americans. While that will mean new clients for insurance companies, the law also requires them to bear new costs including full coverage of preventive health services. The Obama administration also has introduced a new tax on medical devices and provides for greater scrutiny of drug reimbursement, both of which may put pressures on pharmaceutical companies and device makers.

The first wave of earnings reports and cautionary messages have already take a toll on some share prices.

The Dow Jones U.S. Medical Equipment Index finished down 2.7 percent for the week. St. Jude Medical shares were off 3 percent and Quest shares have fallen 4 percent since they reported first-quarter results on Wednesday.

HCA shares have declined 0.7 percent since Monday's announcement, about in line with the 0.6 percent decline in the broader S&P 500 Healthcare Index.

However, larger more diversified companies such as JNJ and Abbott, with less exposure to medical care usage trends, both saw shares rise after reporting first-quarter earnings.

WAITING UNTIL YEAR'S END

Industry analysts said it was too early to gauge the full effect healthcare reform will have on corporate profits in 2013, and some are skeptical that trends seen in the first quarter are related to the new law.

"It's just a continuation of this low utilization environment that we've been in, driven by the weak economy and lack of job growth - the same macro drivers that have been impacting the provider world for a few years now," said Thomas Carroll, an analyst with Stifel Nicolaus and Co who follows the healthcare insurance industry.

However, Carroll did acknowledge that employers may already be shifting more healthcare costs to employees in anticipation of changes to benefit plans.

UnitedHealth Group Inc, the largest U.S. health insurer, on Thursday said it had seen an 18 percent rise in the number of consumers enrolled in high-deductible health plans in the first quarter.

These consumers are likely to put off non-urgent medical care until after they have paid their maximum deductibles in the year.

"People will consume healthcare services after they've met their deductibles, and so the fourth quarter will be strongest," said Heupel.

Morningstar's Wang agreed that the pattern of healthcare consumption, with weakness seen in the first six months of the year followed by a stronger finish, was likely to continue.

"Because cost sharing is not something that we think is going to diminish any time soon, as more of those out-of-pocket costs are shifted on to people, I think you will see this type of seasonal affect," she said.

(Additional reporting by Debra Sherman and Jessica Wohl in Chicago and Ransdell Pierson in New York; editing by Michele Gershberg and Theodore d'Afflisio)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/analysis-ahead-reform-medical-care-slowdown-hits-companies-050908510--sector.html

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Girl Scouts chapter to add video game patch

Yannick LeJacq , NBC News contributor ? ? ? 3 hrs.

As recent campaigns across social media have shown, the game industry has slowly begun to own up to its troublesome legacy of sexism ? expanding roles for women in the business while updating representations of them in the games.

The Girl Scouts of America has introduced a unique approach to addressing the gender imbalance: Show girls the merit of game design from a young age. In partnership with Women In Games International (WIGI), the Girl Scouts of Greater Los Angeles recently introduced a new patch to award work in game design.

While the new patch is being introduced a little over a month after the Boy Scouts made a Game Design merit badge of their own, a representative from the Girl Scouts of Greater Los Angeles told NBC News that the organization has been working with Women In Games International for more than a year to introduce a new game design merit system for members of the local California chapter.

Sheri Rubin, president and CEO of Design, Direct, Deliver and a member of WIGI's steering committee, told NBC News that while the timing of the patch's announcement might resonate with other recent events, its introduction fits with both organizations' overall mission. "Social media campaigns like #1reasonwhy and #1reasontobe show just how important it is to reach girls at a young age and introduce them to video game development career choices."

There are a few key differences between the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts when it comes to their respective gaming achievements. For one, the Girl Scouts merit award is a patch, rather than a badge, which means that it isn't nationally recognized yet.

"Fostering interest in technology and video game development in females of all ages ... is the main inspiration for working towards a national badge," Rubin said in an email.

The program will also require Girl Scout members to actually learn how to program for games, rather than just design them. The GSGLA will use a custom version of Gamestar Mechanic, a video game published by partner organization E-Line that teaches children how to design their own video games, to track Girl Scout members' progress and they start to build their own games.

For the moment, it is only being introduced in Los Angeles, but both Rubin and the GSGLA said that they hope to bring it to other local chapters across the United States.

"Our plan is to start by working with the Girl Scouts of Greater Los Angeles to introduce a local patch and once successful open it up to other councils where game developers are prevalent," Rubin added. "We hope this can be accomplished over the next couple years."

"Once our patch has been proven effective we will work to create what is necessary to get a nationally recognized badge in place for all Girl Scouts starting with those in 4th through 6th grade and eventually expanding through all levels encompassing 7th through 12th grade," Rubin said.

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653377/s/2af68356/l/0L0Snbcnews0N0Ctechnology0Cingame0Cgirl0Escouts0Echapter0Eadd0Evideo0Egame0Epatch0E1B9522947/story01.htm

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