Sitenet Info News - newsxyrm.blogspot.com: 04/19/12

Space Shuttle Discovery enters final resting spot at Smithsonian

CHANTILLY, Va. -Â NASA officially delivered the space shuttle Discovery, its longest serving crewed spacecraft, to the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum on Thursday (April 19) during a public ceremony to hand over the iconic winged spacecraft.

The title transfer, which was witnessed by more than two dozen astronauts who flew on Discovery over the course of its 39 missions and more than 365 days in space, kicked off a four-day festival celebrating the retired orbiter's induction into the national aerospace collection at the space museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.

"NASA and the Smithsonian signed an agreement in 1967 that has enabled the National Air and Space Museum to preserve and display the greatest icons of our nation's space history," said Gen. J.R. "Jack" Dailey, director of the museum, in a statement released Monday. "At the Udvar-Hazy Center, Discovery will be seen by millions of people in the coming years, especially children, who will become the next generation of scientists, engineers, researchers and explorers."

Discovery came to the Udvar-Hazy Center by the way of a ferry flight from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Monday (April 17). The winged orbiter landed at Washington Dulles International Airport mounted atop NASA's Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, a modified Boeing 747 jumbo jet. Before touching down, the air- and spacecraft duo performed an historic flyover of Washington, D.C. and many of its landmarks. [Photos: Shuttle Discovery Flies to Smithsonian]

Discovery in, Enterprise out

Rolling up to the Udvar-Hazy Center on Thursday morning, Discovery was parked for the ceremony opposite the orbiter that made its own spaceflights possible.

Enterprise, a prototype shuttle that never flew in space but completed a series of critical approach and landing test flights in the late 1970s, had been part of the National Air and Space Museum's collection since 1985. In December 2003, it went on display inside the Udvar-Hazy Center's McDonnell Space Hangar as its centerpiece.

To make room for Discovery, the Smithsonian returned ownership of Enterprise to NASA in 2011. The space agency, in turn, awarded the test orbiter to the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum, a converted World War II aircraft carrier berthed along the Hudson River in New York City.

On Thursday, Enterprise was rolled out of the museum's hangar and displayed with Discovery nose-to-nose.

The two spaceships were then to part ways - Discovery entering the Udvar-Hazy Center for display by day's end and Enterprise heading off to an adjacent airport apron to be mated with the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft.

Enterprise will be flown to New York's John F. Kennedy (JFK) International Airport on Monday (April 23), weather permitting.

Stand-out space shuttle

"As part of the Smithsonian collection, Discovery will bring a richer perspective to the historical and scientific significance of the space shuttle program, one of our country's greatest achievements," Wayne Clough, Secretary of the Smithsonian, said in a statement.

Discovery was the first of three orbiters retired from NASA's shuttle fleet. Its final mission, STS-133, launched Feb. 24, 2011, and landed March 9.

It completed 39 missions, spent 365 days in space, orbited the Earth 5,830 times and traveled 148,221,675 miles.

Discovery was the third of NASA's orbiters to fly. A number of its missions were associated with technological and scientific achievements, including the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope into orbit in 1990 and the deployment of the Ulysses solar probe the same year.

The fleet leader, Discovery also returned the space shuttle program to flight after the losses of Challenger and Columbia in 1986 and 2003, respectively.

Discovery was the first space shuttle to visit the International Space Station and delivered its largest laboratory. The orbiter was flown by the first African American commander, Frederick Gregory, and the first U.S. female pilot, Eileen Collins, as well as by Mercury astronaut and Senator John Glenn, who at 77 returned to orbit aboard Discovery as the oldest person to fly in space.

Visit shuttles.collectspace.com for continuing coverage of the delivery and display of NASA's retired space shuttles.

Article from YAHOO NEWS

Catholic League threatens Jon Stewart with boycott over joke

Princess Cruises is conducting an internal investigation after the captain of one of its ships reportedly ignored a passenger's report of a distress signal and continued on course, rather than coming to the rescue of a stranded Panamanian fishing vessel.

Two of the fishing boat's three crew members later died of dehydration, one day after the encounter with the cruise ship.Â

Adrian "Santi" Vasquez, 18, set out on a fishing tripÂ Feb. 24, 2012, with two 16-year-old friends, Oropeces Betancourt andÂ Fernando Osario. The trip turned deadly when the trio discovered that the outboard motor on their small fishing vessel, "The Fifty Cent," would not start, leaving them stranded in the middle of the ocean.

The three Panamanian fishermen drifted at sea for more than two weeks, hungry, hot, and dehydrated, before they spotted the Star Princess cruise ship and started desperately signaling for a rescue.

"It was a really big, white ship. I was waving a red T-shirt, and Fernando was waving a bright orange life jacket over his head,

Vasquez, the crew's sole survivor, said in an interview with panama-guide.com.

"For a minute it looked like they were going to turn to come for us, but then they just went on their way.â€

Meanwhile, Judy Meredith of Bend, Ore., and Jeff Gilligan of Portland, Ore., were bird watching on the deck of the Star Princess with Jim Dowdall of Dublin, Ireland, when they spotted the Fifty Cent far off the ship's starboard side.

Equipped for bird watching, the group was armed with high-power binoculars, or spotting scopes, and cameras fitted with telephoto lenses, all of which gave them a good view of the fishing boat in the distance.

"I saw a young man in the front of the boat waving his shirt up and down. Big motions, up over his head and down to the floor, waving it vigorously. Frantically I would say," Meredith told "Good Morning America."

"That signal told me that they were in trouble. They were trying everything they could to get our attention."

Meredith said they told someone at a desk they wanted to call the bridge and be sure they checked on the boat. She said the man at the desk made a call, then came back out and looked through their spotting scopes at the boat, then went back inside.

"Nothing happened," she told "GMA."Â "The ship didn't slow down. It didn't seem to change course. And so I went back in and asked what the captain was going to do. And he said he didn't know."

Not pacified by the encounter, Meredith returned to her room where she wrote down the ship's coordinates and sent an email to U.S Coast Guard in hopes that they would take action.

"The boat appeared to be a disabled fishing boat with one person aboard and nets strung up from the masts," Meredith wrote.Â "The person was actively waving a shirt or fabric object up and down with both hands. Since we were so many miles off shore and had not seen ANYwatercraft all day, we summoned a representative from the ship and asked him to phone the bridge.

"The rep then came back after calling the bridge of the Star Princess and looked through our scopes himself and could see the man waving something. By this time, he appeared farther away and was now waving a red flag," she continued in the email. "We took this to be a sign of distress. The boat could be disabled and the man adrift. The Star Princess did not turn around or appear to make any active attempt to deal with the information, so we were bothered and decided to send information somewhere ourselves although we realize this is NOT U.S. waters."

The Coast Guard did not find the Fifty Cent however, and the boat floated aimlessly for another two weeks, during which both Bentancourt and Osario died of dehydration.

Vasquez, the sole remaining fisherman, was rescued at sea March 24, 2012, by an Ecuadoran fishing boat.

He was found 650 miles off shore, having thrown the bodies of his two friends overboard.

"It's really frustrating that those young men were at sea two more weeks and two of them died. Two of them died because the ship didn't turn around," Meredith said.

Santa Clarita, Calif.-based Princess Cruises, which is British-American owned, said in an email that it has launched an internal investigation into the matter, writing, "We're aware of the allegations that Star Princess supposedly passed by a boat in distress that was carrying three Panamanian fishermen on March 10, 2012. At this time we cannot verify the facts as reported, and we are currently conducting an internal investigation on the matter."

The consequences could be dire if it is found that the captain, who claims that he believed the fisherman were waving at him as a thank you for avoiding their nets, was acting negligently in ignoring the fishermen's signals.

Regulation 33 of the International Convention for the Safety of Life At Sea (SOLAS) Chapter V states:

"The master of a ship at sea which is in a position to be able to provide assistance on receiving a signal from any source that persons are in distress at sea, is bound to proceed with all speed to their assistance, if possible informing them or the search and rescue service that the ship is doing so. If the ship receiving the distress alert is unable or, in the special circumstances of the case, considers it unreasonable or unnecessary to proceed to their assistance, the master must enter in the log-book the reason for failing to proceed to the assistance of the persons in distress, taking into account the recommendation of the Organization, to inform the appropriate search and rescue service accordingly."

The Fifty Cent was not equipped with a functional radio, making communication between the two vessels, including confirmation that the boat was or was not sending a distress signal, impossible. When the two ships encountered each other, they were roughly 130 miles from the closest land, much farther out than a fishing boat the size of the Fifty Cent would normally go.

Clues in missing boy who was 1st face on milk carton

Federal investigators and New York City police are preparing today to dig beneath the streets near a Manhattan apartment building where 6-year-old Etan Patz disappeared 33 years ago.

The search for Patz has been one of the largest, longest lasting and most heart wrenching hunts for a missing child in the country's recent history.

Investigators are also reexamining the decades old assumption that Patz was abducted by convicted pedophile Jose Ramos. Ramos, now in prison for an unrelated case, was never charged with Patz's abduction.

At least two other potential suspects have been examined, sources told ABC News.

Patz vanished on May 25, 1979 in the SoHo neighborhood of Manhattan while walking alone to a school bus stop.

Patz became the first missing child whose face appeared on the side of a milk carton.

WWII Spitfires Buried in Burma

A Spitfire LF Mk IX, flown by Ray Hanna in 2005.Wikipedia / Franck Cabrol

Yar -- it's buried PILOT treasure!Â

Like a treasure chest stuffed with priceless booty, as many as 20 World War II-era Spitfire planes are perfectly preserved, buried in crates beneath Burma -- and after 67 years underground, they're set to be uncovered.

The planes were shipped in standard fashion in 1945 from their manufacturer in England to the Far East country: waxed, wrapped in greased paper and tarred to protect against the elements. They were then buried in the crates they were shipped in, rather than let them fall into enemy hands, said David Cundall, an aviation enthusiast who has spent 15 years and about $200,000 in his efforts to reveal the lost planes.

The 62-year-old man -- a British farmer by trade -- realized the fate of the aircraft thanks to an offhand comment a group of American veterans made to a friend, he told the Sydney Morning Herald.

'We've done some pretty silly things in our time, but the silliest was burying Spitfires.'

- David Cundall, aviation enthusiast

''They told Jim: 'We've done some pretty silly things in our time, but the silliest was burying Spitfires.' And when Jim got back from the U.S., he told me,'" Cundall said.

The location of the planes, which remains a closely kept secret, was confirmed during a recent trip to the Far East country, he said.

''We sent a borehole down and used a camera to look at the crates. They seemed to be in good condition," Cundall told the Herald.

The Spitfire Mark XIV planes are rare for more than one reason: They used Rolls Royce Griffon engines rather than the Merlins used in earlier models to achieve tremendous speeds. Griffon-powered planes could reach 440 mph thanks to the hefty, 2,050-horsepower engines.

When production of the planes ultimately ended in 1947, 20,334 Spitfires of all versions had been produced, but just 2,053 of them were Griffon-powered versions, according to Encyclopaedia Britannica.

The planes were deemed surplus and were buried in Aug., 1945 -- potentially along with another eight later in the year. At that time, propeller planes were falling out of fashion in favor of newer jet-engine designs -- Cundall said Spitfires "were 10 a penny." British military officials decided burying them was cheaper and more practical than bringing them home.

International sanctions prevent military material from leaving the country, but a recent visit by British Prime Minister David Cameron may enable the safe exhumation and return of the planes to England.

Only about 35 Spitfires are currently flying.

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Panetta\'s Trips Home Rival Cost of GSA\'s Vegas Bash

â€œI regret that it does - you know, that it does add costs that the taxpayer has to pick up. A taxpayer would have to pick up those costs with any secretary of state or secretary of defense.â€

-- Defense Secretary Leon Panetta at an April 16 press conference at the Pentagon defending his frequent flights to California.

Taxpayers shell out an average of an extra $20,000 a week to allow Defense Secretary Leon Panetta to return to his California walnut farm on weekends. Amid outrage over excessive spending, the trips may have become an unaffordable luxury for Panetta.

Since becoming secretary of Defense in July, Leon Panetta has flown home to spend time at his walnut farm in Monterey, Calif. 27 times, according to the Pentagon.

Panetta is required by post-9/11 department rules to travel on a military plane with communications equipment, which Defense officials have estimated costs something on the order of $32,000 for each round trip to Monterey and back. The rules require Panetta to compensate the taxpayers for the cost of a commercial plane ticket: about $630.

Of course, $630 wouldn't get Panetta a private ride on a jet that leaves and returns at times of his choosing, but the secretary says he has no choice.

It's harder to make that argument, though, when you are the one calling for deep cuts in Defense spending and also issue the orders that cause a soldier making $20,000 a year to uproot his family to the other side of the country or separate from them entirely. Privates shipped to Ft. Bliss don't get to spend their weekends at home.

The estimated cost for all of Panetta's trips is about $860,000, almost $20,000 more than the entire scandal-soaked, four-day, 2010 Las Vegas resort blowout held by the General Services Administration.

Panetta, the cost and nature of whose travels in more than two years as President Obama's director of the CIA are classified, faced questions from reporters this week about the costs related to his desire to fly home every other week to see his family and look after his walnuts.

But today, the questions will come from members of the House Armed Services Committee as Panetta appears for an already scheduled hearing on the state of the civil war in Syria.

This is a very unhappy time for Panetta to be before the House. Not only are his travel expenses rankling deficit hawks, but lawmakers very much want to know about the involvement of elite military members in the prostitution scandal stemming from Obama's visit to Colombia last week.

The sex scandal questions, though, will be easier for Panetta to answer. He can say that appropriate steps are being taken and that offenders will be punished for any involvement in the 21-hooker salute that reportedly took place at a resort hotel ahead of Obama's visit.

Jet setting, though, is a trickier topic.

Panetta got the nod as secretary because of his experience as a budget cutter, especially his work cutting Defense spending as Bill Clinton's budget director. Obama has envisioned the chance to spend on his domestic priorities a peace dividend from the end of the ground wars in Iraq and, eventually, Afghanistan.

But Panetta's proposed cuts and calls for a much smaller military have not gone over well with most Republicans and some Democrats in Congress.

Making it worse is the fact that president's Afghan strategy of a time-limited surge with a heavy emphasis on nation building is going very poorly. The news from Afghanistan is almost uniformly bad and even the sunniest optimists inside Obama's war cabinet have been forced to abandon the 2009 talk about a strong, Western-style government in Kabul and a multi-national network of support for the nation.

The best-case scenario now looks to be some kind of functioning government that includes the less-militant Islamists from the Taliban, and minimal U.S. casualties during the drawdown in the months ahead. With public opinion running so strongly against the war, Obama must be eager to get out but still fearful of voters seeing troops retreating under fire.

Obama has timed the end of his surge to bring a large chunk of the troops â€" 30,000 of about 100,000 -- home before the fall elections, with the rest leaving in 2013 and 2014. This plan, though, depends on the help of NATO allies keeping forces and funds in Afghanistan.

Obama will host his fellow NATO leaders in Chicago next month, and he can expect to hear unhappy news on that front. With Europe gripped by recession and voters chafing under austerity measures there, spending any money on a war that is even less popular among Europeans than it is among Americans is seriously uncool.

With Obama's Afghan strategy in tatters, elite members assigned to protect the president caught up in a sex scandal and unhappiness over proposed cuts, this is not a great time for the Secretary of Defense to have to defend why he needs downtime among the walnut groves.

Doing so while Congress is in a full lather over government waste and entitled-seeming bureaucrats, thanks to the GSA hijinks, is even worse

The unhappiest question that Panetta's travel begs is this: Is there no other qualified person who could serve as secretary of Defense who would relocate to the Washington metro area for the job? Why are his services worth an extra $20,000 a week in average travel costs?

Panetta can expect to hear these kinds of questions today from the Armed Services committee, a fiery bunch whose members include Rep. Allen West of Florida and Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina.

Panetta, 73, may have cause to wonder whether life wouldn't be better if he stayed among the walnut trees.

Quote of the Day

"I tell him, 'Baby, my cash money.'"

-- A Cartagena, Colombia prostitute identified as the woman in a payment dispute with a Secret Service agent that led to the exposure of widespread patronization of prostitutes by President Obama's advance security team, recounting to the New York Times what she was shouting at the agent during the dispute. She told the Times she was demanding $800 and he was offering $30.

Obama and Vegas â€" An Unhappy Marriage

"You can't take a trip to Las Vegas or down to the Super Bowl on the taxpayers' dime."

-- President Obama at a town hall in Elkhart, Ind. on Feb. 10, 2009 talking about limits on spending by bailed-out companies.

â€œYou don't go buying a boat when you can barely pay your mortgage. You don't blow a bunch of cash in Vegas when you're trying to save for college.â€

-- President Obama, speaking at a town hall in New Hampshire on Feb. 2, 2010.

â€œSpecifically, I ask that you issue a directive or letter to federal agencies indicating that this (informal policy discouraging government meetings in Las Vegas) is not a permissible consideration in selecting locations for government meetings and conferences. Every hotel in America is leisure oriented.â€

-- Letter from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., to then-White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel on Feb. 2, 2010.

â€œBefore I go any further, let me set the record straight: I love Vegas! I did receive a little bit of heat, I know, maybe from some in this room, when I said folks shouldn't blow their college fund in Vegas. That wasn't a shot at Vegas.â€

-- President Obama campaigning with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., at a Feb. 19 event in Las Vegas.

â€œâ€¦why not enjoy it while we have it and while we can. Ain't gonna last forever."

-- Email from Jeffrey Neely, acting commissioner of the General Services Administration's Pacific Rim region, in an email inviting friends from outside work to attend a an Oct. 25, 2010 training conference at the M Resort Spa Casino in Las Vegas. The event for 280 agency workers cost $840,616.

â€œI respectfully ask you to investigate how many government agency conferences, from any agency throughout government, were held in Las Vegas since the Administration reversed its previous policy.â€

-- Letter from Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., to House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif.

And Now, A Word From Charles

â€œLook, let's start by stipulating that nobody should treat the body of a dead person with disrespect. Â However, this is a strange case because the victims themselves, suicide attackers, are people who did not treat their own bodies with respect. Â They deliberately destroy their own bodies and turn themselves into body parts.â€

-- Charles Krauthammer on â€œSpecial Report with Bret Baier.â€

Programming Note

Power Play, the political note, will not be available on Friday in order to facilitate a district work period. â€œPower Play with Chris Stirewalt,â€ the Internet television show, will be available today and Friday at its regular time (11:30 EDT) â€" with its usual host today and on Friday, through the kind assistance of FOX News colleague James Rosen.

Chris Stirewalt is digital politics editor for Fox News, and his POWER PLAY column appears Monday-Friday on FoxNews.com.

Article from FOXNEWS

2 years later, fish sick near BP oil spill site

Syria and the United Nations signed a deal on Thursday on the framework for observers to monitor a shaky ceasefire, as Arab and Western ministers gathered in Paris to pile pressure on Damascus.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon, meanwhile, was to brief the Security Council on the crisis.

The Syrian foreign ministry said "this agreement comes within the framework of Syrian efforts aimed at making the Annan plan succeed and to facilitate the UN observer mission while respecting Syria's sovereignty."

The spokesman for UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan, who drafted the six-point peace plan, confirmed in Geneva that a deal on the framework to deploy monitors had been reached.

"This agreement outlines the functions of the observers as they fulfil their mandate in Syria and the tasks and responsibilities of the Syrian government in this regard," Ahmad Fawzi said.

He added that discussions were under way with members of the Syrian opposition to ensure they also comply with the ceasefire.

"The hard part lies ahead, a truly Syrian-led and -owned political dialogue to address the legitimate concerns and aspirations of the Syrian people," Fawzi said.

French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said the Paris meeting, to be attended by 14 ministers including US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, would send a "strong" call to the regime of President Bashar al-Assad to abide by the peace plan brokered by Annan.

But Syrian ally Russia said it was staying away because the talks were only aimed at isolating the regime and would hurt the chances of direct peace talks.

The UN leader has said he wants 300 unarmed observers sent on a three-month mission, also insisting that the Assad's regime adhere to the peace plan.

The 300 observers would be deployed over several weeks and go to about 10 different parts of Syria.

Their job will be to monitor the fragile cessation of hostilities that began on April 12 and the implementation of the Annan plan, to which Syria has committed itself.

Ban said the proposed mission would "greatly contribute to observing and upholding the commitment of the parties to a cessation of armed violence in all its forms."

Diplomats said a resolution allowing the full observer mission could be ready early next week if there is agreement by the Security Council.

Monitors say that more than 11,000 people have been killed since the uprising against Assad's regime erupted in March 2011, with more than 120 dying since the truce came into force.

At least three people were killed in violence across Syria on Thursday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

One civilian was killed during an assault by government forces in the northeastern oil city of Deir Ezzor and two others died from gunfire in the town of Yabrud, north of Damascus, the watchdog said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the latest clashes came after 30 people were killed on Wednesday, 22 of them civilians. In the central city of Homs alone, 13 civilians died in renewed bombardment.

Ahead of the Paris meeting, French President Nicolas Sarkozy accused the regime of trying to erase Homs, Syria's third largest city, from the map.

Although he opted to stay away from the Paris meeting, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Moscow was "honestly fulfilling its part" to end the violence.

"I have today called on my colleagues to abandon the rhetoric of self-fulfilling prophecies that Kofi Annan's plan will certainly fail," Lavrov said in Brussels.

In a counter-charge, Juppe said: "I regret that Russia continues to lock itself into a vision that isolates it more and more, not just from the Arab world but also from the international community."

Ministers from Germany, Turkey, Jordan, Morocco, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and elsewhere were to attend the talks which would, Juppe said, send "a message of firmness and support for Kofi Annan."

Ban said on Wednesday that violence levels had "dropped markedly" since the ceasefire, but that the government "has yet to fully implement its initial obligations" for a withdrawal of troops and heavy armour from towns.

However, "an opportunity for progress may now exist, on which we need to build," he said.

A seven-strong advance team of UN military observers arrived in Damascus on Sunday. By the end of the week, their numbers are to swell to the 30 already authorised by the Security Council.

Ban said the team has so far been refused permission to go to Homs, with Syrian officials citing "security concerns."

The mission went to the revolt epicentre of Daraa on Tuesday, where "it enjoyed freedom of movement" and "observed no armed violence or heavy weapons," Ban said.

The official SANA news agency said the observers went to Daraa again on Thursday, even as the Syrian Observatory reported new clashes in the area.

Ban there were violent incidents when the UN observers went to Arbeen, in the Damascus suburbs, on Wednesday.

Article from YAHOO NEWS

Pentagon: No \'silver bullet\' for Syrian crisis

The U.S. military is working on additional ways to try to halt the unending violence in Syria, but diplomacy remains the foremost option, Pentagon leaders told Congress on Thursday.Â

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, outlined the steps the United States is taking to pressure the regime of President Bashar Assad, including direct non-lethal support to the opposition such as communications equipment and emergency humanitarian assistance of $25 million. But the two made clear that unilateral military action is far from a solution.Â

"There is no silver bullet," Panetta told the House Armed Services Committee. "At the same time, the situation is of grave consequence to the Syrian people."Â

In a bipartisan response, both the chairman of the committee and the top Democrat cautioned against the Obama administration opting for military force to stop 13 months of bloodshed and violence that has devastated cities such as Homs, left thousands dead and tens of thousands displaced.Â

"I am not recommending U.S. military intervention, particularly in light of our grave budget situation, unless the national security threat was clear and present," said Rep. Howard "Buck" McKeon, R-Calif., the committee's chairman. "Nevertheless, these reflections lead me to wonder what the United States can do to stem the violence and hasten President Assad from power."Â

Rep. Adam Smith of Washington State, the panel's ranking Democrat, said the United States should support the Syrian people "but we must be extremely cautious as we discuss the potential for the use of military force."Â

Their comments highlighted the split in Congress on military action. Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee and President Obama's 2008 presidential rival, has been outspoken in calling for military airstrikes against Syria. He has complained that Obama has taken too soft a stand against Assad and his brutal crackdown on his own people.Â

Panetta and Dempsey were updating the committee on security in Syria. Dempsey said in that so far, the military's role has been in sharing information with regional partners. But Dempsey also said the military will be ready if other options are needed.

Article from FOXNEWS

Obama plan lets unemployed test jobs, keep benefits

The Obama administration is looking for states that will experiment with unemployment insurance programs by letting people test a job while still receiving benefits.

The plan is a key feature of a payroll tax cut package that President Obama negotiated with congressional Republicans in February.

The Labor Department will open the application process Thursday for 10 model projects across the country. Any state can apply for the "Bridge to Work" program.

The plan is modeled after a Georgia program called "Georgia Works." Under the plan, workers who have lost jobs can be placed in other temporary jobs as trainees for short periods to retain their skills or gain new ones while receiving jobless assistance. About a third of the time, those workers wind up getting hired full-time.

A number of states are combining unemployment benefits with on-the-job training, including North Carolina, New Hampshire, Utah and Missouri.

A senior administration official said those states would be eligible to apply for the federal demonstration project. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the program before an administration announcement.

States that are chosen could get waivers from the federal government allowing them to tap their unemployment insurance accounts to pay for such costs as transportation for workers in temporary jobs.

The program has had mixed results in some states that have their own programs. Administration officials said they hope the waivers and assistance offered by the federal demonstration projects could help rectify any problems that have emerged.

Supporters of the programs say it helps workers retain or learn new skills and add new job references to their resumes. The plan passed with support from leading Republicans, including House Speaker John Boehner and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor.

It also is designed to answer critics of unemployment benefits who say the aid discourages some people from aggressively seeking work

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Amazing Pics of Universe

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Teenager died after being restrained at special school

A 16-year-old boy died after he suffered a cardiac arrest when he was put into restraints at a Yonkers school that specializes in students with emotional and social difficulties.

The teenager, who has not been named, was restrained at Leake & Watts school when police were called at around 8:00pm local time Wednesday, the Journal News reported.

He suffered a cardiac arrest and was taken to St. Joseph Medical Center, where he was later pronounced dead. It was unclear why the boy was restrained.

Meredith Barber, director of institutional advancement at the Leake & Watts office in Yonkers, said the boy's family had been notified of his death.

She told the newspaper, "What I can say is that we're very deeply saddened by this tragedy. Our hearts go out to the boy's family."

Yonkers police Lt. James Murphy said, "Once we get there, if they're acting out and deemed emotionally disturbed -- if they don't go willfully... sometimes they'll have to be restrained. It looks like he was being restrained for reason 'A' and for some reason unknown, he went into cardiac arrest."

Officials at Leake & Watts were unavailable for comment.

Click here to read more from The Journal News.

Article from FOXNEWS

Teacher arrested for allegedly firing blank shots from gun at his class

A Virginia teacher was arrested Wednesday after allegedly lining up his students during class and firing multiple blank shots from a gun at them.Â

Manuael Ernest Dillow, 60, of Kingsport, Va., was charged with 12 felony counts of Â brandishing a firearm on school property, the Kingsport Times News reported.Â

The charges are Class 6 felonies, according to the newspaper, and each count is punishable by up to five years in jail and a $2,500 fine.Â

The incident reportedly occurred April 4 at William H. Neff Center, a vocational school in Abingdon. Dillow allegedly lined up the 12 students during a welding class.Â

"He then pulled a 'blank firing handgun,' black in color, from the back waistband of his pants and discharged the weapon between four and ten shots in the direction of the line of the students," police said in a press release.

The incident frightened the students, but none were physically injured, the newspaper reported.

Article from FOXNEWS

Syria, UN agree on observers for shaky truce

NEW DELHI (AP) - India announced the successful test launch Thursday of a new nuclear-capable missile that would give it the ability to strike the major Chinese cities of Beijing and Shanghai for the first time, a significant step forward in its aspirations to become a regional and world power.

The Agni-V missile, with a range of 5,000 kilometers (3,100 miles), still requires a battery of tests and must clear other bureaucratic hurdles before it can be inducted into India's arsenal in a few years. But officials hailed the launch as proof the country has taken its place among the world's most powerful and scientifically advanced nations.

"The nation stands tall today," Defense Minister A.K. Antony said, according to the Press Trust of India.

The test came just days after North Korea's failed rocket launch, but sparked none of the same global condemnation aimed at Pyongyang, an internationally isolated regime that has been banned by the U.N. from testing missile technology.

China is far ahead of India in the missile race, with intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of reaching anywhere in India. Currently, the longest-range Indian missile, the Agni-III, has a range of 3,500 kilometers (2,100 miles) and falls short of many major Chinese cities.

"At the moment there is a huge assymetry in China's favor," said C. Uday Bhaskar, the former head of the Institute of Defense Studies and Analyses. After it adds the missile to its arsenal, however, "India's deterrent profile in the region would be appropriately burnished."

Video released by the government showed the Agni-V taking off from a small launcher on what appeared to be railroad tracks at 8:07 a.m. from Wheeler Island off India's east coast. It rose on a pillar of flame, trailing billows of smoke behind, before arcing through the sky.

The missile hit an altitude of more than 600 kilometers (370 miles), its three stages worked properly and its payload was deployed as planned, the head of India's Defense Research and Development Organization, Vijay Saraswat, told Times Now news channel.

"India has emerged from this launch as a major missile power," he said.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin declined to discuss the launch at a regular news conference Thursday, saying only that India and China should work together as strategic partners.

But a state TV report on the launch enumerated the missile's shortcomings and a Chinese newspaper warned India not to get arrogant and overestimate its strength.

"India should be clear that China's nuclear power is stronger and more reliable. For the foreseeable future, India would stand no chance in an overall arms race with China," said an editorial in the Global Times, which is published by the Communist Party's official mouthpiece the People's Daily.

It also warned India not to work with Western allies to try to contain China.

"If it equates long range strategic missiles with deterrence of China, and stirs up further hostility, it could be sorely mistaken," it said.

The Agni-V is a solid-fuel, three-stage missile designed to carry a 1.5-ton nuclear warhead. It stands 17.5 meters (57 feet) tall, has a launch weight of 50 tons and was built mainly with Indian-made technology at a reported cost of 25 billion rupees ($486 million). It can be moved across the country by road or rail and can be used to carry multiple warheads or to launch satellites into orbit.

The missile will need four or five more trials before it can be inducted into India's arsenal at some point in 2014 or 2015, Indian officials said.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh hailed the launch as "another milestone in our quest to add to the credibility of our security and preparedness and to continuously explore the frontiers of science."

Others called the test a major step in India's fight to be seen as a world power.

"India has today become a nation with the capability to develop, produce, build long-range ballistic missiles and today we are among the six countries who have this capability," Saraswat said.

Analysts say France, Russia, China and the United States also have this technology, while Israel is believed to have developed such missiles.

Others were more cautious.

Defense analyst Rahul Bedi said much needed to be done, noting that a government that is notoriously slow with defense decisions now needs to push forward with more tests, work out strategic doctrines, define targets, figure out manufacturing issues and how many missiles to build among a host of other issues.

"We need to build on today's success ... to build in a very capable dissausive deterrence capability," he said. "But going back to past records I don't know if we can sustain it."

India and China fought a war in 1962 and continue to nurse a border dispute. India has also been suspicious of Beijing's efforts to increase its influence in the Indian Ocean in recent years.

India already has the capability of hitting anywhere inside archrival Pakistan, but has engaged in a splurge of defense spending in recent years to counter the perceived Chinese threat.

The Indian navy took command of a Russian nuclear submarine earlier this year, and India is expected to take delivery of a retrofitted Soviet-built aircraft carrier soon.

The new Agni, named for the Hindi word for fire, is part of this military buildup and was designed to hit deep inside China, Bedi said.

Government officials said the missile should not be seen as a threat because India had a no-first-use policy and its missiles were used only for deterrence.

The test came days after North Korea's failed long-range rocket launch. North Korea said the rocket was launched to put a satellite into space, but the U.S. and other countries said it was a cover for testing long-range missile technology.

In Washington, State Department spokesman Mark Toner said the United States urges all nuclear-capable states to exercise restraint regarding nuclear capabilities.

"That said, India has a solid non-proliferation record," he told a news briefing. "They're engaged with the international community on non-proliferation issues."

____

Associated Press writers Matthew Pennington in Washington and Scott McDonald in Beijing contributed to this report.

Article from YAHOO NEWS

Ways to Cut Out Salt and Sugar

Learn how to decrease salt and sugar in your diet without sacrificing taste.

It's no secret that too much salt and sugar in your diet can do damage to your health. Reducing your salt and sugar intake can be a difficult task but it is possible to cut back without feeling that you're missing out.Â

Here are 10 simple ways to keep salt and sugar out, while keeping big flavor in.

1. Wash away salt

Rinsing canned vegetables under cool running water reduces their sodium content by about 40 percent, according to The American Dietetic Association's Complete Food and Nutrition Guide. The same holds true for other canned foods, including beans, tuna and chicken.

2. Add seasoning while you cook

Roast veggies by tossing them with a few teaspoons of olive oil, some lemon juice, a small pinch of salt and a few dashes of pepper. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes at 400Â°F, or until lightly browned, stirring every 5 minutes.

3. Try a fresh twist on eggs

If you sprinkle a little dried thyme into your scrambled eggs, you won't be tempted to pass the salt shaker over them.

_______________________________________________

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4. Cut back on taco seasoning

Use only half the packet that comes with a kit. Then punch up the dish with chili powder, ground cumin, onion powder or your favorite spice mix.

5. Mix and match for the perfect sauce

Along with your regular spaghetti sauce, buy a low-salt variety. Mix them together, then gradually phase out the saltier one.

6. Sweeten up breakfast

Add cinnamon and dried berries or apricots to your breakfast cereal.

7. A fruity alternative to syrup

Instead of using syrup on pancakes and waffles, make a raspberry sauce by mixing 1 cup berries with 1 teaspoon cinnamon and cooking until thickened.

8. Add a hint of flavor to rice

To add a new dimension to this plain starch, throw a cinnamon stick or a pinch of cardamom or ginger into the pot before the water begins to boil.

9. Substitute fruit in recipes

If a dessert recipe calls for 1 cup of sugar, swap in Â½ cup fruit puree (make your own using apples, prunes or pears, or use jarred baby food).

10. Give veggies a new twist

Add a touch of sweetness to cooked veggies. Carrots pair well with ginger; mashed sweet potatoes with cinnamon; spinach with a touch of nutmeg.

Article from FOXNEWS

Men At Work Star Found Dead

Feb. 22, 1983: In this file photo, members of 'Men at Work' from left, Greg Ham, Ron Strykert, Colin Hay, Jerry Speiser and John Rees, pose with their Grammy for best new artist at the awards show in Los Angeles.AP

SYDNEY â€" Â Greg Ham, a musician with the iconic Australian band Men at Work, was found dead in his Melbourne home on Thursday, Australian reports said.

Victoria state police confirmed that the deceased was the 58-year-old resident of the house but did not identify him by name, in keeping with local practice. Ham was 58 and neighbors said he was the lone occupant of the house.

Two concerned friends who had not heard from Ham in some time found the body after going to check on him, police said, declining to release any details on how Ham died or if the circumstances were suspicious.

"There are a number of unexplained aspects to it which has caused our attendance here today, and we're assisting the local detectives to determine what has occurred," Detective Senior Sergeant Shane O'Connell told reporters.

Newspapers including The Australian and The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Ham had died.

Men at Work frontman Colin Hay issued a statement expressing a deep love for his longtime friend, whom he met in 1972 when they were seniors in high school. Hay recalled decades of shared experiences with Ham -- from appearing on "Saturday Night Live," to flying through dust storms over the Grand Canyon, to getting lost in the rural Australian countryside.

"We played in a band and conquered the world together," Hay said. "I love him very much. He's a beautiful man. The saxophone solo on 'Who Can It Be Now' was the rehearsal take. We kept it, that was the one. He's here forever."

Ham was perhaps best known for playing the famous flute riff in the band's smash 1980s hit "Down Under." But the beloved tune came under intense scrutiny in recent years after the band was accused of stealing the catchy riff from the children's campfire song "Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree." The publisher of "Kookaburra" sued Men at Work, and in 2010 a judge ruled the band had copied the melody. The group was ordered to hand over a portion of its royalties.

Ham later said the controversy had left him devastated, and he worried it would tarnish his legacy.

"It has destroyed so much of my song," he told Melbourne's The Age newspaper after the court ruling. "It will be the way the song is remembered, and I hate that. I'm terribly disappointed that that's the way I'm going to be remembered -- for copying something."

On Thursday, neighbor John Nassar praised Ham, whom he had known for about 30 years.

"He was a lovely human being, never judgmental about anyone," Nassar told reporters. "He was a very friendly human being."

Ham also played the saxophone and keyboards, and more recently worked as a guitar teacher.

"Down Under" and the album it was on, "Business As Usual," topped the Australian, American and British charts in early 1983. The song remains an unofficial anthem for Australia and was ranked fourth in a 2001 music industry survey of the best Australian songs. Men at Work won the 1983 Grammy Award for Best New Artist.

Australian rock historian Glenn Baker, who was Australian editor of Billboard magazine when Men At Work was at its peak touring the world, recalled Ham as bursting with energy during the band's glory days.

"When they came back (from tour), it was generally Greg who I would interview because he'd tell the best stories and he was effervescent, energetic, good fun, good-humored and good-natured," Baker said. "He was having a great time."

Article from FOXNEWS

Ford\'s $15,000Car Battery

One of the auto industry's most closely guarded secrets, the enormous cost of batteries for electric cars, has spilled out.

Speaking at a forum on green technology, Ford Motor Co. CEO Alan Mulally indicated battery packs for the company's Focus electric car costs between $12,000 and $15,000 apiece.

"When you move into an all-electric vehicle, the battery size moves up to around 23 kilowatt hours, [and] it weighs around 600 to 700 pounds," Mulally said at Fortune magazine's Brainstorm Green conference in California.

"They're around $12,000 to $15,000 [a battery]" for a type of car that normally sells for about $22,000, he continued, referring to the price of a gasoline-powered Focus. "So, you can see why the economics are what they are."

Ford is currently promoting its $39,200 Focus EV at events around the country. It has a 23 kilowatt-hour battery pack. A Ford spokeswoman said Mulally's comments were designed to provide an indication of the car's battery costs.

Based on the price range that Mulally indicated, Dearborn, Mich.-based Ford appears to pay between $522 and $650 a kilowatt-hour for its electric-vehicle batteries. In the past, auto makers and battery makers have been reluctant to disclose the cost per kilowatt hour. Analysts have made projections that battery costs are between $500 and $1,000 per kilowatt-hour.

The US Department of Energy, as part of its efforts to help promote plug-in hybrid- and fully-electric vehicles, has set a goal of lowering the cost of batteries to $300 a kilowatt-hour by next year. The DOE has helped to fund battery plants in the US to install the capacity, and ideally lower the cost of batteries.

Ford hasn't provided projections for anticipated sales of its EV, but has made the point that it doesn't need to achieve high volumes because it is building the Focus EV on the same line as the gasoline-powered version. It sold just 10 to fleet customers late last year and now is building more of the vehicles at its plant in Wayne, Mich.

Other auto makers including General Motors Co. and Fisker Automotive Inc. have struggled with high prices and slow initial sales of their battery-powered vehicles, but have committed to building new models.

Read: Hundred dollar fill ups

Article from FOXNEWS

GOP readies to push business tax cut through House

WASHINGTON â€" Â Republicans are using a House vote on tax cuts for nearly every employer in the country to make an election-year statement that they want to help companies create jobs. Democrats say the measure is merely the latest GOP effort to funnel federal help to those who are already successful.Â

The GOP-run House was ready to approve the legislation Thursday in a vote lacking either suspense or any expectation that the plan would become law. The bill will die in the Democratic-controlled Senate, and for good measure the White House has threatened a veto by President Obama, saying the proposal is far too broad and generous to the wealthy.Â

"To sit here and say we can't help the middle class because somehow there will be a benefit for those who are above the middle class doesn't make a lot of sense to me," House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., the bill's author, told reporters Wednesday. "Because if the goal is job creation, we want to have everybody back in the game."Â

With the economy and jobs the unrivaled top issues in this year's presidential and congressional campaigns, both parties are using symbolic tax votes this week to underscore how they would make things better. On Monday -- a day before the Internal Revenue Service's deadline for tax returns -- Republicans stopped a Democratic measure in the Senate that would have imposed Obama's "Buffett Rule" taxes on people earning at least $1 million a year.Â

The House measure would provide a one-year, 20 percent tax deduction for companies with fewer than 500 workers, whether they hire additional employees or not. That means firms could generally subtract 20 percent from their incomes before calculating the federal taxes they owe.Â

Companies employing owners' relatives and workers who own small parts of the business would qualify for the reduction.Â

Republicans have named the bill the "Small Business Tax Cut Act," even though more than 99 percent of the country's employers had fewer than 500 workers in 2008, the most recent year for which Census Bureau figures are available. Cantor said he chose 500 as the cutoff because that is the definition for small business that the Small Business Administration uses.Â

The tax break would cost the government $46 billion in lost revenue -- money that would add to deficits that are already huge. Catching Democrats' attention was an estimate by the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, which studies tax legislation, that 49 percent of the bill's benefits would go to employers making more than $1 million annually.Â

"It's another giveaway to big corporations and people of extreme wealth," Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., said of the bill. "It's a gimmick to appeal to their base, and it's not going anywhere."Â

Democrats noted that Congress' nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation, which analyzes tax legislation for lawmakers, wrote recently that because the bill was tiny compared with the $15 trillion in annual U.S. economic activity, its impact on stimulating the economy would be "quite small."Â

Obama has proposed a narrower way of prodding companies to add workers. His budget included creation of a 10 percent tax credit -- an amount subtracted from a firm's tax liability -- for companies that increase their payrolls this year. That measure has an $18 billion price tag.Â

Cantor's office listed dozens of business trade groups and firms that were backing his measure, ranging from the Academy of General Dentistry to the World Golf Foundation.Â

"The short-term tax cut put forth in this bill is critical to franchise owners making decisions about hiring additional workers or expanding their businesses today," Judith Thorman, a vice president of the International Franchise Association, wrote Wednesday in a letter to lawmakers.Â

Missing from Cantor's tally was the National Federation of Independent Business, the country's highest-profile small business organization.Â

Asked for their view, federation spokeswoman Jennifer Cooper said in a written statement that the group "appreciates the continued focus from Congress to help small business with their tax burden."Â

Her statement made no direct mention of Cantor's bill, instead singling out for praise the reductions in individual income tax rates proposed in the House-approved GOP budget.

Article from FOXNEWS

Weekly jobless claims fall 2,000, to 386,000

WASHINGTON â€" Â The number of people seeking U.S. unemployment benefits dipped last week but remained higher than it's been in recent weeks. The slight rise in applications in the past few weeks could signal that the gains in the job market are uneven.Â

The Labor Department says weekly applications declined 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 386,000. The previous week's data was revised up 8,000 to 388,000.Â

The four-week average, a less volatile measure, rose 5,500 to 374,750, the highest in nearly three months.Â

Hiring slowed in March after a fast start this year. Employers added only 120,000 jobs in March -- half the pace of the previous three months. Many economists downplayed the weak March figures, noting that a warmer winter may have led to some earlier hiring in January and February.

Article from FOXNEWS

Santorum-Romney meeting will be more than endorsement talk

Photos released Wednesday by the Los Angeles Times â€" showing smiling US troops inÂ AfghanistanÂ posing with the remains of suicide bombers â€" are reigniting a debate about the ethics of publishing such photos during wartime.

The question: What is the newspaper's responsibility to national security weighed against informing the public?

US military officials asked the newspaper not to publish any of the photos, concerned about the possibility of "inciting violence and perhaps causing needless casualtiesâ€ among US troops abroad, Pentagon spokesman Capt. John Kirby told the Times.

IN PICTURES:Â The Growing US, Afghanistan Divide

Times Editor Davan Maharaj responded that the photos "fulfill our obligation to readers to report vigorously and impartially on all aspects of the American mission inÂ Afghanistan, including the allegation that the images reflect a breakdown in unit discipline that was endangering US troops.â€

Interviews with media experts and ethicists show that editors faced with such decisions are in a tough, and far from clear position. This is partly because of the graphic nature of the photos.Â

Two of 18 received photos are published in Wednesday's newspaper, and others are only described. A Page 1 photo shows the eyes-open head of a deceased Afghan insurgent, and one on Page 4 shows soldiers of the 4th brigade of the Army's 82ndÂ Airborne Division â€" along with Afghan police â€" holding up the severed legs of a corpse.Â US soldiers are grinning in both photos.

Not shown are pictures of two soldiers who reportedly pose holding a dead man's hand with the middle finger raised, and another with a soldier clutching the hand of a bearded corpse next to other remains where someone placed an unofficial platoon patch reading â€œZombie Hunter.â€

The Times's Mr. Maharaj notes that the paper chose to publish only a "small but representative selection of the photos."

The graphic nature of the photos is part of their significance, saysÂ Ben Agger, director of the Center for Theory in the sociology department of the University of Texas at Arlington.

â€œThe war inÂ VietnamÂ ended because US journalists depicted grotesque death, which turned Americans against the war and drove [President] Johnson from office," he says via e-mail, suggesting that today's photos could have a similar effect on the Afghan war. Â

Backing the Times decision isÂ Robert Steele of The Poynter Institute, a school in St. Petersburg, Fla., that aims to promote quality journalism.

â€œThe Times made a thoughtful, deliberate, and justifiable decision to publish those images,â€ he says. â€œThey make a justifiable case for the journalistic purpose in publishing those photos. I believe they honored the ethical principle of revealing the truth as fully as possible.â€

Part of the Times's purpose apparently comes from the motivations of the soldier who gave the paper the photos. He said he wanted to draw attention to the safety risk of a breakdown in leadership and discipline. He notes that virtually all of the soldiers in the photos had friends who were killed or wounded by homemade bombs or suicide attacks. â€œThey were frustrated â€¦ their buddies had been blown up by IEDs. So they sort of celebrated,â€ he told the Times.

But other experts say the Pentagon had a compelling case.

"Printing the photos is ill-advised because they show American soldiers in a negative light, are inflammatory, and will speed to theÂ Middle EastÂ virally on the Internet, endangering the lives of other solders," says Sally Mounts, president of Auctus Consulting Group, a public relations strategy firm.Â

â€œIn anyone's mind, posing with dead bodies looks suspiciously like gloating over dead bodies. People take pictures of events they are proud of and want to remember," she adds. "Any soldier who wants to remember the killing he did is not exactly a poster boy for the American ideals we're trying to further in theÂ Middle East."

The Pentagon has stressed that point.Â The conduct â€œmost certainly does not represent the character and the professionalism of the great majority of our troops inÂ Afghanistan,â€ Captain Kirby told the Times.Â

As a result, Ms. Mounts says, the L.A. Times â€œaction is at worst disingenuous and at best unethical. Does the L.A. Times seriously think their need-to-know policy trumps the cost of retaliatory fallout? If even one life is lost as a result of these photos, it is an appalling and thoroughly preventable tragedy.â€

For his part, Doug Spero, anÂ associate professor of mass communication atÂ MeredithÂ College in Raleigh, N.C., is torn. He was once a news director and a reporter covering military installations, which gives him some sympathy for the Pentagon's position.

â€œIf I received a call and [military officials] made any practical or logical sense on why this would endanger troops â€" and the story value wasn't that high â€" I'd cooperate. Not only for future relationships, but if there is going to be an error made, I'd would rather it be on the side of national security and pro-defense," he says. "Sometimes there is a higher calling. This is a very sticky issue, and journalists need to evaluate each situation individually without any prejudice.â€

IN PICTURES:Â The Growing US, Afghanistan Divide

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Article from YAHOO NEWS

Romney Rejects Obama\'s \'Silver Spoon\' Comment

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Article from YAHOO NEWS

Coast Guard defends using live animals in training

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Syria has not fully complied with a U.N.-backed peace plan for the country and has yet to send a "clear signal" about its commitment to ending more than a year of violence, the U.N. chief told the Security Council in a letter obtained by Reuters on Wednesday.

At the same time, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon voiced hope that there may be a chance for progress on ending a 13-month conflict that has brought Syria to the brink of civil war.

Ban proposed an expanded U.N. monitoring mission, which, if approved by the council, would be comprised of "an initial deployment" of up to 300 unarmed observers to supervise a fragile week-old ceasefire between forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad and opposition fighters seeking to oust him.

But he cautioned that the fighting had not ended.

"The Syrian Government has yet to fully implement its initial obligations regarding the actions and deployments of its troops, or to return them to barracks," he said in a preliminary assessment of Syria's compliance with a resolution on Syria the Security Council passed on Saturday.

"Violent incidents and reports of casualties have escalated again in recent days, with reports of shelling of civilian areas and abuses by Government forces," he said. "The Government reports violent actions by armed groups."

"The cessation of armed violence is therefore clearly incomplete," Ban said, adding that both sides say they are committed to ending the "violence in all its forms."

Diplomats on the 15-nation council say Ban's report and a briefing they will receive from U.N .-Arab League mediator Kofi Annan's deputy, Jean-Marie Guehenno, on Thursday at 9:00 a.m. EDT (1300 GMT) will be crucial in determining whether the conditions are right for deploying a larger monitoring mission to Syria.

U.S. and European diplomats on the council have suggested that Syria's lack of full compliance with its obligations to end the violence might make it difficult for them to support a new resolution that would be needed to deploy an expanded observer mission.

'OPPORTUNITY FOR PROGRESS'

The Security Council approved a resolution on Saturday that authorized the deployment of an advance team of up to 30 unarmed observers to Syria. It was the first council resolution on the Syria crisis that China and Damascus' close ally, Russia, did not veto. They vetoed two earlier resolutions.

On the subject of Damascus' partial compliance with Annan's peace plan, Ban said, "It does not amount yet to the clear signal expected from the Syrian authorities."

"I remain deeply concerned about the gravity of the situation in the country," Ban said. "However, without underestimating the serious challenges ahead, an opportunity for progress may now exist, on which we need to build."

Ban said the violence had decreased in recent days since a shaky April 12 truce came into force. He said a monitoring force would be helpful in securing an end to all fighting, although it was essential the conditions be right for its deployment.

"Developments since 12 April underline the importance of sending a clear message to the authorities that a cessation of armed violence must be respected in full, and that action is needed on all aspects of (Annan's) six-point (peace) plan," he said.

"At the same time the very fragility of the situation underscores the importance of putting in place arrangements that can allow impartial supervision and monitoring," he said.

An advance team of monitors in Syria had visited the town of Deraa and "enjoyed freedom of movement" there, Ban said. But he noted that "the team's initial request to visit Homs was not granted, with officials claiming security concerns."

Annan's peace plan calls for an end to fighting by government security forces and rebels, withdrawal of heavy weapons from towns, return of the army to barracks, humanitarian access and dialogue between the government and opposition aimed at a "political transition" for the country.

Ban also said that there had been "no substantive progress" in negotiations for humanitarian access in Syria.

(Reporting By Louis Charbonneau; Editing by Peter Cooney)

Article from YAHOO NEWS

Norwegian killer used computer wargames to plan attack

Islamic jihadist websites mysteriously went dark last month. How does terrorism function on the web? http://t.co/Cr283fWP

Article from YAHOO NEWS

Stopping Al-Qaeda with the click of a mouse?

When five of the most trafficked Islamic jihadist websites went down in late March and into April, it derailed Al-Qaeda's ability to communicate and post information to supporters.

The Internet is a vital tool for terrorists to spread propaganda around the world, share instructions on how to build bombs, and even raise money, all the while staying relatively anonymous.

So when the sites go down for an extended period of time it's a major setback in their pursuit of global Jihad. Not only does it cut off communication, it gives the international community the impression that they're behind in Internet technology.

American authorities and other western governments have denied any involvement, even though they would seem to have the most incentive to shut down the sites. However, monitoring Al-Qaeda's online communication gives the American military insight into the psyche and technical ability of terrorists- information that they wouldn't otherwise have access to.

For insight into the coded world of cyber attacks, Christiane speaks with the foremost authority on the topic, former Counter Terrorism Czar under the Bush and Clinton Administrations, Richard Clark.

Article from YAHOO NEWS

Forget Sex, Satan Sells

Feb. 22, 1983: In this file photo, members of 'Men at Work' from left, Greg Ham, Ron Strykert, Colin Hay, Jerry Speiser and John Rees, pose with their Grammy for best new artist at the awards show in Los Angeles.AP

SYDNEY â€" Â Greg Ham, a musician with the iconic Australian band Men at Work, was found dead in his Melbourne home on Thursday, Australian reports said.

Newspapers including The Australian and The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Ham had died.

Ham later said the controversy had left him devastated, and he worried it would tarnish his legacy.

On Thursday, neighbor John Nassar praised Ham, whom he had known for about 30 years.

"He was a lovely human being, never judgmental about anyone," Nassar told reporters. "He was a very friendly human being."

Ham also played the saxophone and keyboards, and more recently worked as a guitar teacher.

Article from FOXNEWS

Official Accused of Stealing $30M From Tiny Illinois City

The finance chief for a small city in northern Illinois has been arrested and charged for allegedly stealing more than $30 million from the city coffers and using the money to sustain a luxurious lifestyle.Â

MyFoxChicago reports that Rita Crundwell, 58, the comptroller of Dixon, is accused of using city funds to finance her horse farm and buy expensive items ranging from tractor-trailer trucks to a motor home to jewelry.Â

She held the position as comptroller since the early 1980s, in the boyhood home of former President Ronald Reagan. The federal complaint against her alleged that she embezzled more than $3.2 million just since last fall. That's on top of a salary of $80,000.Â

She allegedly bought a $2.1 million motor home, in addition to several trucks that cost as much as $147,000, according to the report.Â

Dixon Mayor James Burke called the allegations a "traumatic event" for the city.Â

According to a criminal complaint, the siphoning of city funds went undetected for years until another staffer filling in as vacation relief became suspicious and discovered a secret bank account. How an enormous sum -- it dwarfed the city's current annual budget of $20 million -- could be stolen and escape the notice of a yearly audit left many puzzled.Â

A Chicago-based corruption watchdog, the Better Government Association, called it a wakeup call for state and local officials to put in place better safeguards, especially in smaller towns that lack rigorous oversight.Â

"Tens of billions of our tax dollars flow through 7,000 plus units of government in Illinois every year. And we can only watch a few of them," said the association's president, Andy Shaw. "Most of them don't have inspector generals. Most of them don't have auditor generals. Most of them don't have watchdog groups looking closely. ... It's ripe for rip-offs."Â

Dixon, a city of about 16,000 people west of Chicago, was especially vulnerable because Crundwell, who has been comptroller since the early 1980s, had control over all of the city's finances, a common arrangement in smaller cities and towns.Â

Federal prosecutors say she misappropriated more than $30 million since 2006.Â

Crundwell is free on a $4,500 recognizance bond. A federal judge barred her Wednesday from selling any property while the wire fraud case proceeds and limited her travel to northern Illinois and to Wisconsin, where she has horse ranches.Â

Agents searching her home, office and farms in Dixon and Beloit, Wis., seized seven trucks and trailers, three pickup trucks, the motor home and a Ford Thunderbird convertible - all allegedly bought with illegal proceeds. Authorities also seized the contents of two bank accounts she controlled.Â

Between January 2007 and March of this year, she is accused of racking up more than $2.5 million on her personal American Express card - including $339,000 on jewelry -- and using Dixon funds to pay back the charges.Â

Prosecutors say she used $450,000 in stolen funds for operations at her Meri-J Ranch, where she keeps about 150 horses.Â

Crundwell is one of the top horse breeders in the nation. Her ranch produced 52 world champions, according to the American Quarter Horse Association in Amarillo, Texas, the world's largest equine breed registry and membership organization.Â

Dixon placed Crundwell on administrative leave without pay and named a new interim comptroller.Â

Trying to explain how that much money could disappear unnoticed, Burke said Dixon has struggled financially with big infrastructure expenditures, reduced revenues and cash flow problems made worse because the state is far behind on income tax disbursements. That provided plausible reasons to think the extra hole in the budget was related to those financial problems, he said.Â

How Crundwell could sustain such an extravagant lifestyle on an $80,000 salary was mostly attributed to her success in the horse industry, Burke said.Â

"She definitely was a trusted employee, although I've had some suspicion for quite a while just because of her lifestyle she lived," Burke said in an interview. "But there wasn't anything that was brought to my attention or that I could see that would give cause to think that there was something going on."Â

Click here to read more from MyFoxChicago.Â

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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BOSTON (AP) - She is a 63-year-old grandmother known as "Mamie," a former stay-at-home mother of five boys, and the cookie-baking wife of the presumptive Republican presidential nominee. But do not be fooled: Republicans and Democrats alike see Ann Romney as an effective political weapon.

The nation is only just beginning to meet the woman Mitt Romney calls "my sweetheart." And as the general election spotlight burns brighter, the Romney campaign is leveraging Ann Romney's natural ability to connect with voters in a way her husband cannot. Already, she is becoming a fundraising powerhouse and chief aggressor in her husband's push to court women.

President Barack Obama's team quietly acknowledges the threat it faces from the Romney who is sweet, unassuming and, at times, unusually willing to share bathroom humor.

To be sure, people who know her well have long viewed her as a political force.

"I realized that at some point the rest of the world was going to take notice, too," said Tagg Romney, 42, the eldest of the Romneys' children. "I think that day has come."

The Romney campaign insists that Ann Romney's intense schedule hasn't significantly changed since December, the height of the primary campaign.

Despite health concerns, she spent the vast majority of those days and nights living in the buses, planes and hotels that define the less glamorous necessities of presidential politics. Her public role in the 2012 presidential contest so far exceeds that of other GOP candidates' spouses.

She is still largely unknown. Quinnipiac University found this week that 64 percent of registered voters don't know enough about her to form an opinion; 25 percent view her favorably compared with 9 percent who do not.

But her profile is growing. And donors and national media outlets alike are clamoring for her time.

Ann Romney headlined a New York City birthday fundraiser this week with Donald Trump that generated more than a half-million dollars for her husband's campaign. The same day she taped a television interview for "Entertainment Tonight." She and her husband also taped their first nationally televised interview as a couple with Diane Sawyer of ABC News.

"Four years ago I said I would never do this again - was pretty emphatic about that. Because it is a stressful time and my hearts go out to anyone that participates in this event," she told Sawyer.

As Mitt Romney often tells supporters, his wife ultimately came around and helped persuade him to run again. She has since embraced a central role in helping the campaign confront her husband's political challenges great and small. In some ways, it's the same supportive role she has always played in a marriage that's spanned 43 years.

But never has her role been this public.

Several times a week on the campaign trail, Mitt Romney shares how they first crossed paths at a Michigan elementary school but didn't start dating until high school. He introduces his wife as his "sweetheart," regularly holds her hand and beams when she introduces him at rallies.

Her mere presence seems to help relax her husband, who sometimes struggles to shed a plastic image. They are not shy about public affection, and he regularly squeezes his wife's hand, even when the cameras are not rolling.

On national television this week, Ann Romney defended her husband's decades-old decision to travel with the family dog strapped in his carrier to the car roof, suggesting that the dog "loved" the experience. She has also become the campaign's leading voice in the struggle to win over female voters.

She took to Twitter for the first time to respond to Democratic strategist Hillary Rosen, who ignited a firestorm last week by saying the millionaire's wife had "never worked a day in her life."

"I made a choice to stay home and raise five boys. Believe me, it was hard work," Ann Romney wrote.

She has since posted no fewer than eight tweets and has more than 38,000 followers.

A Romney staffer has been tasked with handling her media requests for months. But as the demand intensifies, senior advisers concede that they are struggling to balance her time.

There are significant health concerns.

Ann Romney survived breast cancer in 2007 and has been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, a disease that attacks the central nervous system.

"We travel a lot," said her traveling partner, Susan Duprey, noting that they've been on the road almost continuously since December. Ann Romney shows no visible symptoms of MS, although she must constantly focus on diet and regular exercise.

Aides also work to squeeze in down time. She escapes to their home in California as often as she can to spend time with the family's horses.

"That's the most revitalizing thing that she does," Duprey said. "So we work hard to get her in the company of her horses."

While the Romneys are worth as much as $250 million, her sincerity is sometimes disarming.

She offers cookies she baked from her Welsh grandmother's recipe to reporters on the campaign bus. Aides say she has never used a paid nanny or cleaning service to help raise children or maintain multiple homes. And she jokes about cleaning dirty bathrooms, cooking for a huge family and her own health struggles.

"She is who she is. She doesn't hold back. She says what she thinks. I think that is disarming to people. And people like her quickly when they meet her," Tagg Romney said. He acknowledged that his mother's freewheeling style makes it nearly impossible for aides to control her message, which is typically the mark of the disciplined Romney campaign.

The campaign would not make Ann Romney available for this story.

She raised some eyebrows when she told ABC that "it's our turn now" to assume the presidency.

And a month ago, she made headlines at a Chicago-area campaign event after calling on Republicans to unite behind her husband. While that's eventually what happened, her comment came weeks before the campaign was prepared to issue that message.

"That's my mom. I don't think anyone tries to manage her. I think they recognize that that's not a good idea," Tagg Romney said. "I think that's an asset for us."

Democrats concede that she is an asset, but they're not convinced she'll ultimately make a difference in the battle for the White House.

After all, first lady Michelle Obama is popular as well. That same Quinnipiac poll showed that she's viewed favorably by 60 percent of registered voters.

"Ann Romney is clearly an asset to her husband's campaign. But while she may help get voters to take a look, ultimately Mitt Romney has to seal the deal," said Democratic strategist Karen Finney. "It's Mitt Romney who has to earn voters' trust because it's Mitt Romney they are voting for. And not even her excellent campaign skills can make up for whatever concerns voters may have about whether or not he'd be a good president."

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