NASA cancels climate study project in Thailand

BANGKOK (AP) ? The United States says it won't be able to carry out a climate study this year because Thailand has postponed granting NASA permission to use a key naval air base.

The American space agency's request to use Thailand's U-Tapao air base has faced opposition from critics who say it could be a cover for military purposes.

The Thai Cabinet decided on Tuesday to have lawmakers debate the issue after Parliament reconvenes Aug. 1, a month after a deadline NASA had set.

U.S. Embassy spokesman Walter Braunohler said Thursday that NASA can't wait because the climate study focuses on regional weather patterns that occur only in August and September.

He says it is too early to say whether NASA will revisit the project next year.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/b2f0ca3a594644ee9e50a8ec4ce2d6de/Article_2012-06-28-Thailand-NASA/id-7e8c3621c7054bf091491b2333ae0925

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Springfield Moms, Dads, and Grandparents Area Family Resources ...

by Lisa on June 28th, 2012 at 12:00 pm

• Grandfamilies Resource Center. Check out this website for grandparents and other relatives raising children which offers information on state laws and policies that may impact their circumstances
• Children's Monitor?From the Child Welfare League of America, the e-newsletter has?the latest information on federal legislation, regulations, and policy affecting children, youth, and families. The Monitor keeps you informed of the key children's issues being debated in Washington. Available in HTML (plain text) and as a downloadable PDF file (PDFs are available for issues before 2004.)* Receive e-mail alerts when the newest issue is available on CWLA's website.
• Grant Available from United Healthcare Children's Foundation. Families struggling with child health-related expenses can apply for assistance grants online at www.uhccf.org.
• www.askdrsears.com Thanks to Springfield Mom, Heather Tega, for sending us this recommendation! " I love using the resource askdrsears.com for medical information for my kids. The medicine cabinet tab is great because you can get dosage requirements and find out what medicine would best treat your child's symptoms. The childhood illness tab is great to determine what your child may have and determine whether a trip or even a call to the doctor is necessary. It's a great resource for moms who can "overcall" their pediatrician with questions."
• ?Mayo Clinic offers a blog about pregnancy week by week. When it comes to medical information sent online, it's important to make sure it's from a credible source; Mayo Clinic is certainly at the cr?me of the crop. The link to healthy recipes is an added bonus.
• www.gameskidsplay.net? Does it seem like sometimes our kids spend too much time with the Gameboy and Video Now and not enough time just playing? This website is chock full of the games we played as kids ? before technology took over. There are games for camping, travel, and just to pass the time. Check out the website to dust off that memory and get playing with your kids!

Source: http://springfieldmoms.org/parenting-and-grandparenting-websites/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=parenting-and-grandparenting-websites

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Lawmakers reach compromise on roads, student loans

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Facing weekend deadlines for action, congressional leaders have agreed to deals overhauling the nation's transportation programs without a Republican provision forcing approval of the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline, and avoiding a doubling of interest rates for new student loans, congressional officials said Wednesday.

The agreements underscored the pressures both parties face to avoid angering voters and facing embarrassing headlines in the run-up to this November's presidential and congressional elections. Letting road-building programs grind to a halt during an economic downturn would be a blow to the image of lawmakers, while Democrats and Republicans alike seemed eager to avoid enraging millions of students and their parents by boosting the costs of college loans.

In contrast, enactment of the transportation measure would create or save 3 million jobs, said Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., chief sponsor of the Senate version of the bill. And the student loan measure would spare an estimated 7.4 million students who get subsidized Stafford loans beginning July 1 ? this Sunday ? from facing $1,000 in higher interest costs over the lives of their loans, which typically take over a decade to repay.

Congressional leaders were planning to combine the highway and student loan measures into a single bill to reduce potential procedural obstacles and hoped for final approval this week. Lawmakers would then leave Washington for a July 4 recess.

The two-year highway bill would prevent the government's authority to spend money on highways, bridges and transit systems from lapsing on Saturday, along with its ability to collect gasoline and diesel taxes. With both parties checkmating each other's top priorities this campaign season, Democrats and Republicans say the highway measure will be Congress' top job-creation initiative until the November elections.

"This is the jobs bill for the 112th Congress," said House Transportation Committee Chairman John Mica, R-Fla.

As the price for the highway agreement, lawmakers said Republicans dropped a House-approved provision requiring the government to approve the proposed Keystone pipeline, which is to move oil from western Canada to Texas' Gulf Coast.

Pipeline approval ? which prompted a veto threat from President Barack Obama ? has been a top goal this election year for the GOP, which has pitted its claims that it would create jobs against environmental worries that it could accelerate global warming and endanger Midwestern water supplies.

Republicans also agreed to abandon language blocking the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating the toxic ash generated by coal-fired power plants, lawmakers said. The ash is used as an ingredient in some types of cement.

In return, House Republicans won Senate concessions that would halve the time allowed for environmental reviews for highway projects, and squeeze money for bike paths and pedestrian safety projects by forcing them to compete with other transportation projects, said congressional aides and environmental lobbyists.

The bill would give states more flexibility in spending federal money, impose new safety regulations and expand a federal loan guarantee program to encourage private investments in transportation projects.

Despite the measure's short-term impact, the bill delays for two years decisions about a long-term funding scheme for highway and transit programs. Gas and diesel taxes no longer cover the cost of transportation programs and are forecast to bring in less revenue as the fuel efficiency of cars and trucks increases.

President Barack Obama spent weeks this spring touring college campuses and lambasting Republicans for not pushing a freeze on student loan rates through Congress. GOP presidential challenger Mitt Romney, looking to avoid handing Obama an issue, quickly said he favored the interest rate extension and congressional GOP leaders did too, though some Republicans think the government should not spend money to keep loan rates low.

The student loan pact would keep today's 3.4 percent interest rates on subsidized Stafford loans from doubling for new loans approved beginning on Sunday, an automatic increase that Congress enacted five years ago to save money. If they did double, it would affect 7.4 million students expected to get the loans over the 12 months beginning July 1, adding $1,000 to the interest costs of the typical borrower over each loan's life.

The tentative agreement was on the same package Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., had said Tuesday that they had shaken hands on, said a congressional Republican who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the measure's status. McConnell said he expected the House to accept the agreement.

"We're moving, I think, towards an agreement on a transportation bill that would also include a one-year fix on the student loan rate increase," Boehner told reporters early Wednesday after meeting privately with House Republicans.

Some GOP lawmakers at that meeting said Boehner seemed to favor the emerging deal and said it received a positive reception.

"The general sense is there's a tremendous amount of support for getting it done," said Rep. Tom Reed, R-N.Y. "That's what's going to drive it across the finish line."

The two parties spent the last several weeks dueling over how to pay for the $6 billion cost of the student loan bill.

Under the agreement, the government would raise $5 billion by changing how companies calculate the money they have to set aside for pensions. That change would make their contributions more consistent from year to year and in effect reduce their payments initially, lowering the tax deductions they receive for their pension contributions.

Another $500 million would come from increasing the fees companies pay for the government to insure their pension plans, linking those fees to inflation.

In addition, $1.2 billion would be saved by limiting federal subsidies of Stafford loans to six years for undergraduates.

Lawmakers were discussing potentially wrapping in another Senate bill to reauthorize the national flood insurance program for five years.

The program, which provides federally backed insurance for 5.6 million households and businesses, many in flood-prone areas, has gone deeply into the red from claims after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The Senate legislation would try to return the program to fiscal soundness through such steps as allowing premium increases and reducing subsidies for vacation homes.

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New York's Foreclosure Process | Real Estate | Business | Epoch ...

By Laura Gatea Created: June 27, 2012 Last Updated: June 27, 2012

A foreclosed home stands boarded up in Islip, N.Y. in February. Islip, which is located in Suffolk County, has the highest foreclosure rate in New York state. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

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When hearing the word ?foreclosure,? most people think about a property in distress that can make a good investment. But before the final sign is put next to that property, it?s important to know what steps are involved in the entire foreclosure process. As regulations differ from state to state, we have focused on how the judicial foreclosure process goes in New York.

Step 1. The Lis Pendens
Commonly referred to as ?pre-foreclosures,? a lis pendens represents the very first step in the foreclosure process. When a property owner doesn?t make three payments in a row, the lender files a lis pendens with the county clerk. This means that the property now has a pending lawsuit against it and its title is publicly contested.

At the same time the lender sends the borrower a ?summons and complaint? notice, which is a type of letter that informs him that a lawsuit has been initiated in court against his ownership over a property. The letter also includes other details such as the date to appear in court.

From the moment the notification is received, the borrower has 20 to 30 days to respond in writing to the summons and complaint, either with the help of an attorney, or by representing himself or herself in court. The borrower?s defense answer is then sent to the lender?s attorney and filed with the court.

Step 2. The Settlement Conference
As of December 2009, a mandatory settlement conference was introduced in the foreclosure process. This was done in order to help both parties that face this challenging situation reach an agreement regarding the debt. The conference is held by the court within 60 days after the date the summons and complaint were sent.

At the conference, the plaintiff (or the claimant) should discuss the initial loan amount, the amount that is still owed, the current balance, and whether the lender is subject to the Making Homes Affordable Program. The defendant should be prepared to discuss his or her financial status, the cause of the default in paying the mortgage, and to provide documentation so that the plaintiff can evaluate the possibility of a loan modification.

If requested, the court will usually grant each party the possibility to delay the conference. After the first postponement, all further postponements are granted at the court?s discretion.

If during the conference both parties agree on a settlement or loan modification, the plaintiff must file a notice of discontinuance of the lis pendens, meaning that the lawsuit was abandoned. The notice should be filed within 150 days from the official date of the agreement. In case the two parties have not reached an agreement, the plaintiff may proceed with the lawsuit.

Step 3. The Judgment
If agreement cannot be reached, or if the defendant has not responded to the summons and complaint, the plaintiff files a request for a referee to conduct the foreclosure auction. This is an attorney who will determine the full amount owed by the borrower to the lender and who will conduct the foreclosure sale.

The judge then signs a judgment of foreclosure and sale that allows the lender to sell the property at auction through the appointed referee. At least 30 days before the auction, the referee advertises the foreclosure sale in the local newspapers.

Step 4. The Foreclosure Auction
The final step is the public sale of the foreclosed property at auction. The bidding starts usually at $1,000 or sometimes at the upset price. The plaintiff always makes the first bid and the property is finally sold to the highest bidder. If the final bid does not exceed the plaintiff?s upset price, the plaintiff has to take possession of the property. In this case, the property becomes an REO or a real estate owned property.

If the property goes to a bidder, the bidder is required to make a 10 percent or 20 percent down payment and to close the sale within 30 days. If the bidder does not meet the 30-day deadline, he loses the down payment and the right to buy the property. This is why it is advisable to review the terms of sale to determine exactly what is required of the winning bidder.

More about the foreclosure steps and laws in New York can be found here:
http://www.nycourts.gov/courts/11jd/supreme/civilterm/partrules/civil_partrules_rf.shtml
http://www.banking.state.ny.us/hetpinf6.htm
http://council.nyc.gov/d28/html/members/NYSForeclosureProcess.pdf

To browse foreclosure listings in New York go to:
http://www.propertyshark.com/mason/NY/New-York-City/Foreclosures

Laura Gatea is a writer for PropertyShark.com. Property Shark is a property search site with market data for New York City and New York state. For original article, click here.

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'Broken heart syndrome' protects the heart from adrenaline overload

ScienceDaily (June 27, 2012) ? A condition that temporarily causes heart failure in people who experience severe stress might actually protect the heart from very high levels of adrenaline, according to a new study published in the journal Circulation. The research provides the first physiological explanation for Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, also called "broken heart syndrome" because it affects people who suffer severe emotional stress after bereavement, and suggests guidance for treatment.

Around 1-2% of people who are initially suspected of having a heart attack are finally discovered to have this increasingly recognised syndrome.

The Imperial College London study, which simulated the condition in an animal model, suggests that the body changes its response to adrenaline by switching from its usual role in stimulating the heart to reducing its pumping power. Although this results in acute heart failure, most patients make a full recovery within days or weeks.

The researchers propose that the switch in the heart's response to adrenaline might have evolved to protect the heart from being overstimulated by the particularly high doses of adrenaline that the body releases during stress.

Patients with Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, most often older women, experience symptoms that resemble a heart attack, but heart tests reveal no blockage in the coronary arteries; instead the heart has a balloon-like appearance caused by the bottom of the heart not contracting properly. The same condition is sometimes seen in people who are injected with adrenaline to treat severe allergic reactions.

In this new research, the authors simulated the condition by injecting high doses of adrenaline in anaesthetised rats. In these rats, as in Takotsubo patients, heart muscle contraction was suppressed towards the bottom of the heart.

The researchers found that these rats were protected from an otherwise fatal overstimulation of the heart, indicating that adrenaline acts through a different pathway from usual, and that this switch protects the heart from toxic levels of adrenaline.

The study also examined drugs that might be useful for treating Takotsubo cardiomyopathy. Some beta blockers, used to treat high blood pressure, angina and heart failure, reproduced or enhanced the features of Takotsubo, giving new insights into the protective effects of these drugs. Levosimendan, a different type of drug given in heart failure to stimulate the heart without going through the adrenaline receptor pathways, had a beneficial effect.

"Adrenaline's stimulatory effect on the heart is important for helping us get more oxygen around the body in stressful situations, but it can be damaging if it goes on for too long," said Professor Sian Harding, from the National Heart and Lung Institute (NHLI) at Imperial College London, who led the study. "In patients with Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, adrenaline works in a different way and shuts down the heart instead. This seems to protect the heart from being overstimulated."

Study co-author Dr Alexander Lyon, also from the NHLI at Imperial, and consultant cardiologist at Royal Brompton Hospital, set up one of the first specialist services in the UK to look after people who have experienced Takotsubo cardiomyopathy. "Currently it is not fully known how to treat these patients," he said. "Insights from this work show that the illness may be protecting them from more serious harm. We've identified a drug treatment that might be helpful, but the most important thing is to recognise the condition, and not to make it worse by giving patients with Takotsubo cardiomyopathy more adrenaline or adrenaline-like medications.

"At the Royal Brompton Hospital and Imperial College London we are leading a European initiative to bring together experts to understand this recently recognised cardiac syndrome, and we hope the findings from this work will lead to new treatment strategies for these patients during the acute phase of their illness, and to prevent recurrence."

The study was funded by the British Heart Foundation (BHF), the Wellcome Trust, the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and the Academy of Medical Sciences.

Dr Shannon Amoils, Research Advisor at the BHF, said: "This is a fascinating study which presents a possible explanation for the signs of Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, a rare condition that's usually preceded by intense emotional or physical stress. Patients usually have symptoms that resemble those of a heart attack but nearly all fully recover after a short time.

"The study also provides new insights into how the heart may protect itself from stress, which opens up exciting avenues of exploration for research. We must remember though that this is a study in rats, and the findings need to be confirmed in people before we can be sure of their relevance to patients."

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Imperial College London.

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

---

Journal Reference:

1. H. Paur, P. T. Wright, M. B. Sikkel, M. H. Tranter, C. Mansfield, P. O'Gara, D. J. Stuckey, V. O. Nikolaev, I. Diakonov, L. Pannell, H. Gong, H. Sun, N. S. Peters, M. Petrou, Z. Zheng, J. Gorelik, A. R. Lyon, S. E. Harding. High Levels of Circulating Epinephrine Trigger Apical Cardiodepression in a ?2-Adrenoceptor/Gi-Dependent Manner: A New Model of Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy. Circulation, 2012; DOI: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.112.111591

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

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

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Recommendations And Methods To Instruct Your Dog Tips

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When providing commands to your puppy, will not perform repeatedly the order time and time again before getting a reply. Through giving the order once and expecting your pet to react, you are going to educate him that you will be expectant of a actions. In the event the command is just not obeyed at the beginning, show your furry friend what you count on prior to stating the order again.

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Egypt court rejects army powers to arrest civilians

CAIRO (Reuters) - An Egyptian court on Tuesday tossed out a government decree allowing the army to arrest civilians, a setback to military rulers preparing for this week's formal handover to Mohamed Mursi, Egypt's first Islamist president.

The Muslim Brotherhood and other opponents of military rule were furious when the army-backed interim government empowered soldiers to arrest civilians, effectively reinstating Hosni Mubarak's hated state of emergency, which lapsed on May 31.

The deposed president had used emergency law throughout his 30 years in power to repress Islamists and other dissenters.

"The court has blocked the decision of the Justice Minister that gave military and military intelligence officers powers of arrest," said Cairo administrative court Judge Ali Fikry.

With Islamists and generals set for a long power struggle,

there was no indication the court ruling was part of any army-Brotherhood compromise on Egypt's future governance.

But Brotherhood officials said they had struck some accords with the generals on the president's prerogatives, on an assembly that is supposed to write a long-delayed constitution, and on the fate of the dissolved Islamist-dominated parliament.

The army council that has ruled Egypt since Mubarak's fall stripped the presidency of many of its powers in a decree issued just as the presidential run-off vote ended on June 17.

Three days earlier, the Supreme Constitutional Court, still staffed by Mubarak-era judges, had dissolved the lower house of parliament, saying rules had been broken when it was elected six months ago.

That decision, backed by the army, threatened to force a new parliamentary election, which could erode the large bloc won by the Brotherhood and its allies, and further undermine Egypt's uncertain and sometimes bloody transition to democracy.

The Brotherhood ordered its followers to stage open-ended street protests against what it called a military coup.

Yet behind the scenes, it has been negotiating with the generals to define the president's authority and salvage at least part of the dissolved parliament, in return for concessions that would safeguard some military privileges.

"NO PRESIDENT WITHOUT POWERS"

"We do not accept having a president without powers. The solution being worked out now is scaling back those restrictions so that President Mursi can deliver to the people what he promised," said Essam Haddad, an aide to the president.

Military officials were not available for comment.

The new president will be sworn in on Saturday, probably before the Constitutional Court. The Brotherhood will also stage a symbolic swearing-in ceremony in Tahrir Square.

Presidents were previously sworn in by parliament, whose building is now shuttered and under military guard.

Mursi, seeking to fulfill a promise of inclusive government, will then name six vice-presidents - a woman, a Christian and others drawn from non-Brotherhood political groups - to act as an advisory panel, said Sameh el-Essawi, another aide to Mursi.

In another break with the past, Mursi said on his Facebook page that his portrait should not hang in state offices and that his guards should not turn relatives of slain protesters away from the palace. He also promised not to hold up traffic until his motorcade had passed, as Mubarak did.

The presidential election has set the stage for a tussle between the military, which provided Egypt's rulers for six decades, and the Brotherhood, the traditional opposition - sidelining secular liberals who ignited the anti-Mubarak revolt.

Haddad said the military would keep control of its budget and internal affairs but the generals would have to keep their hands off the stalled constitutional assembly.

In its power grab, the army gave itself the right to veto articles of the constitution that the assembly will draft, angering the Brotherhood, which itself wants a big say.

"The negotiations involve loosening the grip of the generals on the constitutional assembly so that it can draft the new constitution without interference," Haddad said.

A senior Brotherhood aide said the generals had agreed to lift their veto power over articles drafted by the 100-member assembly, provided that about 10 of its Islamist members were replaced with technocrats favored by the military.

SHARING THE SPOILS

The aide, who asked not to be named, said Mursi's team and the generals had also agreed on how ministries should be divided in the cabinet, with the Brotherhood getting finance and foreign affairs, but not the defense, interior or justice portfolios.

Mursi met police commanders on Tuesday at the police academy where Mubarak's trial was held. The police come under the Interior Ministry, run by ex-police chiefs in Mubarak's day.

The Brotherhood has pledged to reform a ministry seen as a tool of political coercion and responsible for many past abuses.

Forty-one officers of the once-feared State Security agency, including its former head Hassan Abdel Rahman, were sent to a criminal court on Tuesday on charges of destroying state documents after the anti-Mubarak revolt, judicial sources said.

Abdel Rahman was among six commanders acquitted this month of complicity in the killing of protesters. Mubarak and his former interior minister were convicted of failing to prevent the killings and sentenced to life in prison.

The military, which has had its own rivalries with the security services in the past, has striven to clip the wings of an Islamist movement seen for decades as a danger to the state.

While it finally accepted that Mursi had defeated a former general in the presidential race, it has also appointed a general to run the presidency's financial affairs.

Losing candidate Ahmed Shafik, a former air force chief, left Egypt on Tuesday for a religious pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, aides said, a day after a prosecutor referred corruption lawsuits naming him to an investigating judge.

The army moved swiftly to shut parliament after the Supreme Court's ruling that the Brotherhood's party and others should not have run candidates for the one-third of seats reserved for individuals as well as the two-thirds of seats for party lists.

Brotherhood officials said the army had agreed in talks that the election would be re-run only for the individual seats.

The Brotherhood, Egypt's oldest and most organized Islamist group, often met army generals after Mubarak's fall on February 11, 2011, in an apparent effort to manage the transition equably.

But strains swiftly emerged. The Islamists were frustrated at parliament's lack of sway over government policy, while the army grew uneasy about the Brotherhood's drive for power. (Additional reporting by Shaimaa Fayed, Tamim Elyan, Yasmine Saleh and Omar Fahmy; Editing by Edmund Blair, Alistair Lyon and Kevin Liffey)

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Barclays' Absa unit slumps on profit warning

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Where's Mars? Look for the moon first.

Less than four months ago, Mars shone much brighter than today. Now spotting the Red Planet requires guideposts, such as the moon.?

By Joe Rao,?SPACE.com / June 25, 2012

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope snapped this shot of Mars, when the Red Planet was 34.7 million miles from Earth. Mars can be spotted above and to the left of the moon tonight.

NASA/ESA

Enlarge

As darkness deepens on Monday evening (June 25), look about one-third of the sky up from the southwest horizon. There you'll see a fat crescent moon, and a moderately bright yellow-orange "star" hovering well above and to its left.

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But that's no star ? it's a planet. It might be difficult to believe that it's the same object that less than four months ago shone some seven times brighter. It's?Mars, which continues to recede from Earth and consequently continues to fade.?

Currently the Red Planet is 129 million miles (208 million kilometers) away from Earth and shines at magnitude +0.8. That's still a fairly respectable brightness; on the list of the 21 brightest stars, Mars would currently rank 13th. Still, that's quite a comedown from early March, when Mars shone with a brilliance just a trifle less than that of Sirius,?the brightest star in the sky.?

In terms of apparent size, the disk of Mars is now downright tiny; only a large amateur telescope is likely to show any dusky markings on it.

The gap separating the moon from Mars tonight will be roughly equivalent to the width of your clenched fist held at arm's length, which measures about 10 degrees. ?By Tuesday evening (June 26), the moon will have arrived at first quarter phase and will have shifted its position relative to Mars, hanging off to its lower left and at a similar distance compared to the previous night.?

Mars is currently positioned against the dim stars of western Virgo and it's on its way toward a mid-August night sky rendezvous with the planet Saturn and the bluish star Spica. Take a good look at where Mars is right now.? About 25 degrees ? two and a half fists ? to its lower right is the bluish first magnitude star Regulus in Leo. At a similar distance to Mars's upper left are Saturn and Spica.?

If you're a beginner in astronomy, consider the?moon?as a convenient benchmark to help you identify Mars early this week. On Wednesday evening, the moon will be within striking distance of Spica and Saturn. Yellow-white Saturn will be above bluish Spica and will appear somewhat brighter.? While Mars is a disappointment in a telescope, ringed Saturn now appears nearly three times bigger than Mars, offering a spectacular sight.?

Joe Rao serves as an instructor and guest lecturer at New York's Hayden Planetarium. He writes about astronomy for The New York Times and other publications, and he is also an on-camera meteorologist for News 12 Westchester, New York.

Copyright 2012?SPACE.com, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Is there an explanation for existence?

Amanda Gefter, contributor

In Why Does the World Exist? Jim Holt spans physics, philosophy and literature to examine the mystery of why there is something rather than nothing

NOVELIST Martin Amis once said we are about five Einsteins away from explaining the universe's existence. "His estimate seemed about right to me," says Jim Holt at the beginning of his book Why Does the World Exist? "But I wondered," he continues, "could any of those Einsteins be around today? It was obviously not my place to aspire to be one of them. But if I could find one, or maybe two or three or even four of them, and then sort of arrange them in the right order... well, that would be an excellent quest." Thus begins his humorous yet deeply profound journey to solve the great mystery: why is there something rather than nothing?

Holt's potential Einsteins span physics, philosophy and literature, from mathematician Roger Penrose through physicist Steven Weinberg to novelist John Updike. Yet somehow the most interesting parts of the book come not from Holt's subjects, but from his own musings. More philosophical than scientific in bent, Holt wants not only an explanation of how you get something from nothing but also how such an explanation might be possible at all.

It's a thorny pursuit. You can't explain existence with reference to something else, but neither can it be a causal loop, Holt argues, stating "no truth explains itself".

When Holt visits Adolf Gr?nbaum in Pittsburgh, the philosopher of science tries to convince him that the question is a waste of time, based as it is on the mistaken assumption that nothingness is a more natural state of affairs than the universe. There is no need to explain existence, he says, because there's nothing astonishing about existence in the first place. "If, as Aristotle remarked, philosophy begins with wonder, then it ends with Gr?nbaum," Holt writes.

Luckily for us, he doesn't get discouraged and treks on, requesting a meeting with University of Oxford physicist David Deutsch. Yet he also puts a kink in Holt's quest, by suggesting that the laws of physics are incapable of accounting for existence. "Laws don't do that kind of work," Deutsch says.

Mathematics, too, seems incapable of heavy existential lifting when Holt notes, somewhat unjustifiably, that mathematical structure "just doesn't seem enough for genuine being". Still, he presses on.

Though Why Does the World Exist? is far more intellectually sophisticated than other recent books on the subject, it could have benefited from some deeper delving into physics. While Holt expends a great deal of effort attempting to unravel the philosophical meaning of Nothing, he hardly bothers looking for the physical meaning of Something. And that side of the coin may hold important clues to the mystery.

For instance, Holt writes that a theory of everything, uniting relativity and quantum mechanics, would be the closest science can get to an explanation for existence. "But the final theory of physics would still leave a residue of mystery - why this force, why this law?" Holt writes. "It would not live up to the principle that every fact must have an explanation: the Principle of Sufficient Reason. On the face of it, the only theory that does obey this principle is the Theory of Nothingness. That is why it's surprising that the Theory of Nothingness turns out to be false, that there is a world of Something."

When we try to understand Something in physics, though, many of our intuitions about physical reality fall away. Beyond relativity and quantum theory, the latest thinking in theoretical physics suggests that the Something all around us might be nothing more physical than a holographic projection of information on the universe's boundary. And far from being a theory about tiny, vibrating strings, string theory - the candidate theory of everything - doesn't seem to be about any particular objects at all. The closer we look at Something, the less we find there.

• Book Information
• by Jim Holt
• Published by: Profile/ W.W. Norton
• ?12.99/$27.95

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Europe's Tower of Babel hampers euro solution

PARIS (Reuters) - As Europe considers a leap towards closer integration to try to save the euro single currency, it resembles the biblical Tower of Babel - unable to complete an ambitious project because the residents don't speak the same political and economic language.

The spotlight is on Germany, France, Italy and Spain, the euro area's four biggest economies, wrestling over proposals for a banking union, joint euro zone bonds and handing more control over national budgets and economic policy to the European Union.

But Europe's Babel features 27 often fierce national debates in member states, each of which has the power to block any change to EU treaties, including 10 countries which are not members of the currency.

Each national argument uses a different political vocabulary and historical context, making them hard to reconcile at the best of times and harder still when the going gets tough.

While investors are looking for quick, bold solutions to restore confidence in the euro, Europe's patchwork politics make rapid strides fearsomely difficult, if not impossible. Each major step is subject to ratification by national parliaments or referendums, which can easily trip the project up.

How the debate is framed may determine the outcome.

In Germany, it is a morality play about making profligate "deficit sinners" atone and do their "homework", instilling a "stability culture" (low inflation, low debt) and enforcing a "savings policy" (austerity). It is no accident that "Schulden", the German for debt, doubles as the word for "guilt".

To Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose frugal caution is lauded at home as embodying the virtues of a "Swabian housewife", the key to the euro's survival is to enforce the rules of budget discipline strictly and make Europe more competitive through economic reforms, not to dilute responsibility by sharing debt.

In France, it is all about "saving the euro" by showing more "solidarity" with southern countries, seen largely as "victims" of "speculation" rather than as fiscal villains.

The French see the single currency above all as a political rather than an economic project - a geopolitical status symbol, a potential trade weapon and a way of ensuring Europe punches its weight in a multi polar world, rivaling the dollar.

In recent weeks, the slogan of the nationalist French right after World War One - "L'Allemagne paiera" (Germany will pay) - has again been whispered in Paris, this time mostly on the left.

TENSIONS

This struggle for the soul of Europe was encapsulated in an exchange between Merkel and French President Francois Hollande after talks with Italian and Spanish leaders in Rome last week.

"Where solidarity is given, control must also be possible," Merkel said. "Liability and control belong together."

Hollande replied: "There can be no transfer of sovereignty if there is not an improvement in solidarity."

Franco-German tensions are nothing new in the history of European integration. They were intense in the run-up to the creation of Economic and Monetary Union at the 1991 Maastricht summit, shortly after Germany was reunited.

But the balance of power has tilted towards Berlin, while the proliferation of new member states and institutions has multiplied the checks and balances at the risk of fatally slowing European decision making.

In Italy and Spain, the refrain is that the debt crisis is a problem for the whole euro area, not just for Rome or Madrid, and that it can only be solved by mutualising Europe's debts rather than imposing ever tougher austerity on debtors.

Spanish and Italian leaders seem at times to be trying to capture Merkel's attention by threatening economic suicide and warning that they could take the euro down with them.

With such different narratives, it is hard to see how the deep political commitment to preserve the euro zone, and even a growing awareness of the economic catastrophe that might follow a break-up, can generate decisive action to arrest the crisis.

VIRTUAL TOUR

A virtual tour of some smaller euro zone countries, whose voices are often heard only when they throw a spanner in the works or need a bailout, illustrates how hard it will be to build a consensus for a more federal system.

From Amsterdam to Athens, the political builders of monetary union and business leaders still believe in it wholeheartedly, and many lament the fact that construction stopped half way.

But a significant chunk of the electorate has turned against the euro, making it much harder for governments to endorse any major leap in European integration.

Mainstream politicians are adjusting as they look nervously over their shoulder at the rise of forces like Geert Wilders' Freedom Party and the hard-left Socialists in the Netherlands, the anti-euro Finns Party in Finland, Italy's maverick Five Star Movement and the far-right Austrian Freedom Party.

A first attempt to create an anti-euro party is under way in Germany, Europe's biggest economy and the main contributor to euro zone bailouts, but pollsters doubt the Bavaria-based Free Voters will make it into the federal parliament in October 2013.

Even in historically Europhile Italy - a country that long regarded "more Europe" as a desirable alternative to its own shortcomings in governance - the fast growing protest movement led by comic Beppe Grillo is outspokenly anti-euro.

Former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who still heads Italy's main conservative party, has turned more skeptical since being ousted from power last November, saying on his Facebook page last week that "leaving the euro is not a blasphemy".

A Pew Research Center poll published in May found 40 percent of Italians want to go back to the lira, a notoriously weak currency that had lots of zeros at the end.

Europe's economic crisis has accelerated a splintering of the political landscape that makes it harder to form a coherent government in countries such as the Netherlands, Belgium and Italy. That could make ratifying any new EU treaty a nightmare.

(Writing by Paul Taylor; editing by Philippa Fletcher)

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Obama, Romney seek advantage on health care ruling

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Their positions are clear.

President Barack Obama ardently defends his federal health care overhaul. Republican challenger Mitt Romney adamantly opposes it. But this coming week, when the Supreme Court rules on the constitutionality of the law, both sides will be scrambling for political gain no matter the outcome.

If the court upholds the law, Obama will get vindication for his signature legislative accomplishment. Romney will have a concrete target for his pledge to repeal it.

If the court rules against part or all of the law, Obama could blame Romney, congressional Republicans and a conservative-leaning court for denying health benefits to millions of people in the United States. Romney could claim victory for his assertion that the government overreached.

Striking down all or part of the law less than five months from Nov. 6 election also could mean much political uncertainty for both campaigns. That could force them to reshape long-held strategies and try to satisfy voter demands for Washington to start anew on fixing a broken health care system.

Just one-third of those questioned back the law, according to an Associated Press-GfK poll this month. But there is overwhelming backing among both supporters and opponents for Congress and the president to find a new remedy if the high court strikes down the 2-year-old law.

Obama, in campaign appearances, promotes the law's more popular elements, such as a provision allowing children to stay on their parents' insurance up to age 26. The administration has also pumped out a steady stream of positive news, including a report this past week that nearly 13 million people would receive health insurance rebates averaging $151 per household.

Romney has emphasized his repeal pledge, a central pillar of his agenda that so far offers voters few other specifics. He released a television ad Friday stressing that the elimination of the health care law will be the top priority in his administration's first 100 days.

"Day One, President Romney moves to repeal Obamacare and attacks the deficit," the narrator says in the ad set to run in Virginia, North Carolina and Iowa.

Obama aides have refused to discuss contingency plans to avoid creating the impression that they are preparing for the court to rule against them.

"We do believe it's constitutional," senior adviser David Plouffe said. "We obviously will be prepared for whatever decision the court renders."

If the court rules in its favor, the administration would press forward with full implementation of the law and use the decision to ward off Republican criticism of the overhaul. The court could strike down the full law or just the most disputed element, that most individuals carry health insurance.

In either case, the president and his aides would try to portray the repeal as detrimental to the well-being of millions of people by highlighting popular aspects of the overhaul that would disappear, including guaranteed coverage for people with existing medical conditions.

In the event of a partial repeal, the administration would move ahead with those parts of the law that do survive and could still put coverage within reach of millions of uninsured people, lay new obligations on insurers and employers, and improve Medicare benefits.

Democrats could try to raise the Supreme Court itself as an election-year issue, casting the court's decision as politically motivated.

Top aides at Romney's Boston headquarters have been working through their potential responses for several weeks. The campaign has sent health care advisers to Capitol Hill in recent days to discuss strategy with Republican lawmakers.

Republicans see political benefits for Romney even if the court sides with the Obama administration.

His repeal refrain could become increasingly attractive to the opponents of the overhaul, and his campaign could make the case that a Romney victory is the next best chance to dismantle a law that's deeply unpopular with millions of people.

That's despite Romney's own support for the "individual mandate" in Massachusetts, where as governor he signed into law a state-based measure that ultimately helped serve as a model for the president's.

Romney struggled at times during the GOP primary campaign to reconcile his past support for the mandate and current pledge to repeal the federal measure. Obama's campaign has yet to capitalize with a general election audience on that apparent contradiction.

Romney may face big challenges even if the court strikes down all or part of the law. Attention would turn quickly to what he would do to help 50 million uninsured people get coverage and bring down the nation's spiraling health care costs.

He has promised to replace the measure with a handful of "common-sense" reforms, but has spent little time so far crafting a comprehensive plan.

"Whether all or part of Obamacare will have to be repealed, that's the first step, and that's the immediate priority," said Romney's domestic policy director, Oren Cass. "His goal will be to repeal anything that's left of Obamacare and actually sit down and identify the challenges we want to address and address them."

The Obama campaign would seize on Romney's opposition to the most popular provisions in the law. For example, Romney would not prevent health care companies from denying coverage to new customers with medical conditions. Nor would he force them to cover young adults on their parents' plans through age 26.

The candidates aren't the only ones working on their responses ahead of the court's ruling.

In a memo to fellow Republicans this past week, House Speaker John Boehner warned against "spiking of the ball" if the court strikes down the law.

GOP lawmakers say they quickly would mobilize repeal votes in the House if the court upholds at least some of the law. Similar congressional repeal attempts have been blocked by the Democratic-controlled Senate, and this renewed effort probably would end up the same way.

A congressional Republican aide said GOP lawmakers would try to replace the law, though those efforts would be slower and may not happen this year. The party's focus would be on controlling costs, not on ensuring coverage for all people, said the aide, who was not authorized to discuss the issue publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

___

Follow Julie Pace at http://twitter.com/jpaceDC and Steve Peoples at http://twitter.com/sppeoples

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Microsoft tablet risks alienating PC makers

NEW YORK ? With the unveiling of the Surface tablet, Microsoft is heading into unusual territory: competing with its partners, the very same companies that make Windows PCs. But Microsoft has little to lose, since PC manufacturers are having little success with their own tablets.

With the unveiling of its tablet this week Microsoft Corp. is taking up the competition with Apple Inc. and its iPad by borrowing a page from Apple?s playbook. It is keeping both software and hardware development under the same roof.

?If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, the compliments from Microsoft poured down like a torrential storm on Apple last night,? said analyst Brian White at Topeka Capital Markets.

Even Steve Ballmer, Microsoft?s famously tough-talking CEO sounded downright Zen and Apple-inspired as he introduced the Surface.

?We believe that any intersection between human and machine can be made better when all aspects of the experience ? hardware and software ? are considered and working together,? he said at Monday?s launch event in Los Angeles.

That?s a new philosophy for Microsoft, a company accustomed to writing the software, charging loads of money for it, and letting others design the hardware. Microsoft has sold hardware before, most notably the Xbox game console, which is essentially a PC. But when it ventured into the game console market, it wasn?t directly treading on the toes of the big PC makers who buy Windows from it. (The exception was Sony, which makes both PCs and PlayStation consoles.)

With Surface, Microsoft faces the challenge of selling the soon-to-be-launched Windows 8 to PC makers who want to make tablets, while at the same time selling tablets directly to consumers.

Rick Sherlund, an analyst at Nomura Securities said Microsoft?s hardware partners ?are no doubt unhappy? about the prospect of competing with Microsoft?s tablets, particularly since Microsoft set a high bar with Surface.

Surface will come in two versions, both with screens measuring 10.6 inches diagonally, slightly larger than the iPad. One model will run on phone-style chips, just like the iPad, and will be sold for a similar price. Another, heavier and more expensive model, will run on Intel chips and be capable of running standard Windows applications.

Ballmer suggested that Microsoft is making hardware so it can kick-start Windows tablets and make sure they?re competitive right from the get-go. But the company?s long-term goals are unclear. Will Microsoft keep making tablets, or will it declare victory at some point and leave the field to its hardware partners?

One sign of limited long-term commitment to making its own tablets is that Microsoft will be selling the tablets only from its own stores and website. That might leave space for other manufacturers to sell Windows tablets through Best Buy and other electronics stores.

Google Inc. is in a similar position. It makes Android, the software that powers most iPad competitors. But it has also acquired Motorola Mobility, a company that makes Android tablets and phones, so now finds itself competing with hardware partners like Samsung and HTC.

But Google has made clear that it will treat Motorola as a separate, ?arms-length? business, and that it made the acquisition to get hold of Motorola?s patents, which will provide legal cover not just for Google, but for other manufacturers who make Android devices.

Microsoft?s position is complicated by the possibility that consumers will favor its tablet over other Windows tablets for exactly the reasons Ballmer articulated: it?s made by the same company that wrote the software. That puts an end to the old Windows PC support runaround, where PC makers blame Microsoft for product failures, and Microsoft blames the PC makers. If something?s wrong with Surface, buyers will know who to call.

Ronan de Renesse, an analyst at Analysys Mason, said Microsoft can afford to alienate PC makers when it comes to tablets, because they?ve captured such a small share of the market. Samsung Electronics and AsusTek Computer Inc. are the only PC makers who have appreciable market share in tablets, and they only make up 10 percent or so, by his estimate. Other major competitors to the iPad are Amazon.com Inc.?s Kindle and Barnes & Noble Inc.?s Nook.

?Microsoft?s move in creating its own tablet is the sign that PC manufacturers have lost the game,? Renesse said. ?The big question is, if Surface becomes as successful as the iPad, will Microsoft choose to stop licensing Windows on tablets??

Microsoft?s partners are mum. Hewlett-Packard Co. and Acer, both of which make PCs and tablets, had no comment on Microsoft?s announcement. Samsung did not respond to requests for comment.

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Spain to seek bank aid as borrowing costs soar

LUXEMBOURG/MADRID (Reuters) - Independent auditors said Spanish banks may need up to 62 billion euros in extra capital, to be filled mostly by a euro zone bailout, after Spain's medium-term borrowing costs spiraled to a euro-era record on Thursday.

Euro zone finance ministers met in Luxembourg to discuss how to channel up to 100 billion euros ($126 billion) in aid to Spanish lenders weighed down by bad debts from a burst property bubble. Madrid's economy minister said a formal request would be made in days for the bailout, which was agreed two weeks ago.

Many in the markets see the package as a mere prelude to a full program for the Spanish state, which Madrid vehemently denies it will need.

Spain's financial plight took centre stage a week before a European Union summit tackles long-term plans for closer fiscal and banking union in a bid to strengthen the euro's foundations, after bailouts for Greece, Ireland and Portugal failed to end a 2-1/2-year old debt crisis.

To pave the way, the leaders of Germany, Italy, France and Spain will meet in Rome on Friday.

"We are clearly seeing additional tension and acute stress applying to both banks and sovereigns in the euro area," International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde, who attended the Luxembourg meeting, told reporters.

"With that in mind, the IMF believes that a determined and forceful move towards complete European monetary union should be reaffirmed."

Two independent audits by consultants Roland Berger and Oliver Wyman found that Spanish banks would need between 51 and 62 billion euros in extra capital to weather a serious downturn in the economy and new losses on their books.

The Bank of Spain said the 100 billion euros offered to Madrid two weeks ago would give a wide margin of error. Spain's three biggest banks would not need extra capital even in a stressed scenario, it said. The government said it did not expect to shut any banks and would restructure those in trouble.

In Luxembourg, the finance ministers decided Spain should initially apply to the euro zone's temporary rescue fund, the European Financial Stability Facility, with the loan taken over by the permanent bailout fund the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) once it is up and running after July 9.

"The financial assistance will be provided by the EFSF until the ESM becomes available, and then it will be transferred to the ESM," Jean-Claude Juncker, who chairs the Eurogroup of finance ministers, told a news conference.

"We would expect the Spanish authorities to put forward a formal request for financial assistance by next Monday," he said.

Such a solution should avert a problem which had scared investors: debt issued by the ESM must be paid back first in case of a Spanish default, relegating private creditors lower in the pecking order. Because the new bailout debt will originate from the EFSF it will be issued without that requirement.

THREATENING YIELDS

Earlier on Thursday, Madrid sold 2.2 billion euros in medium-term bonds, drawing strong demand almost entirely from domestic banks. Yields on 5-year paper rose to a 15-year high of 6.07 percent, a level regarded by analysts as unaffordable for any prolonged period.

"They raised 2.2 billion versus a 2 billion target, so they can raise the money," said Achilleas Georgolopoulos, a strategist at Lloyds in London.

"Then the (question is), are the yields threatening for the medium term? And yes, clearly they are much higher than the previous auction ... But still they can continue for a few months to fund at these levels."

The finance ministers also signaled there may be some leeway for Greece, following the formation of a coalition of mainstream parties committed to the country's 130 billion euro EU/IMF bailout but determined to renegotiate some of its terms.

Athens will ask lenders for two more years to hit fiscal targets and an extension to unemployment benefits as it seeks to soften the punishing terms of the bailout that saved the country from bankruptcy.

Greece's euro zone partners, in particular paymaster Germany, have offered modifications but no radical re-write of the conditions attached to the lifeline agreed in March.

Juncker said nothing would be decided until the troika of EU, IMF and European Central Bankers had returned to Athens for a look at the books, starting on Monday.

"We will have a look into the findings of the troika and then we will discuss in detail the different means and instruments which can be used," he said. "It doesn't make sense for the time being to give more precise indications on the content of the program."

RESCUE FUND TO THE RESCUE?

The German government and opposition reached a deal that will allow parliament to approve the ESM next week, but Germany's top court may delay the rescue fund's start date, saying it needed time to study the treaty.

The ESM cannot come into effect without approval by Europe's biggest economy. Ratification also requires the signature of the president and a nod from the constitutional court in Karlsruhe.

The parliamentary floor leader of Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives appeared to dash French and southern European hopes of nudging Berlin towards common euro area debt issuance, saying there would be no mutualisation of debt in Europe.

Italy disclosed that it was missing its target to lower the budget deficit to 1.7 percent of gross domestic product and will have to cut spending by a further four billion euros to meet the goal.

Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti suggested, on the sidelines of this week's G20 summit, using the euro zone's rescue funds to buy the bonds of Spain and Italy in the secondary market to bring down their borrowing costs.

Monti hosts Spanish premier Mariano Rajoy, Germany's Merkel and French President Francois Hollande in Rome on Friday and is also expected to raise the idea there. Merkel has played down the proposal, which investors said might be counter-productive unless the ECB stepped in decisively in support.

Any European bond-buying would come with strings attached, equivalent to the sort of bailout programs that Rome and Madrid are trying to avoid because of the stigma attached.

Given the limited capacity of the temporary EFSF and planned permanent ESM rescue funds, with at most 500 billion euros available, a senior EU source said such intervention would make sense only if the ESM had a banking license enabling it to borrow from the ECB. Germany has so far opposed that idea.

(Additional reporting by Leigh Thomas in Paris, Nigel Davies and Paul Day, John O'Donnell in Brussels, Annika Breidthardt, Robin Emmott, Charlie Dunmore and Axel Threlfall in Luxembourg. Writing by Paul Taylor and Mike Peacock Editing by Peter Graff)

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Mongolia's opposition takes lead ahead of polls

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Diversity is Chaos: Triple negative breast cancers are twice as ...

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among American women, claiming the lives of 40,500 in 200. Of those, triple negative breast cancer strikes white women 15%of the time but 30% of African-American women. Research has shown that triple negative breast cancers are even more common in western sub-Saharan African women compared to the proportion of American women where these triple negative breast cancers are seen. They account for about three times the proportion of breast cancers in African women, compared to what is seen in America ? hinting that a genetic inheritance might be part of the reason African-American women are disproportionately impacted.

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Supreme Court rules on TV nudity, not on health care

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