Drones over America: How unmanned fliers are already helping cops

Nidhi Subbaraman , NBC News ? ? ? 7 hrs.

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

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

Yep.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Related:

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Cardinal Timothy Dolan: Catholic Church's Nature Means It Will be Out of Touch Sometimes

During an interview for "This Week," Archbishop of New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan told ABC News' George Stephanopoulos that the Catholic Church's very nature means it will be - from time to time - out of touch with the concerns of its followers.

"Sometimes by nature, the Church has got to be out of touch with concerns, because we're always supposed to be thinking of the beyond, the eternal, the changeless," Dolan said. "Our major challenge is to continue in a credible way to present the eternal concerns to people in a timeless attractive way. And sometimes there is a disconnect - between what they're going through and what Jesus and his Church is teaching. And that's a challenge for us."

Dolan was responding to a question from Stephanopoulos about a recent ABC News/Washington Post poll, which found that 60 percent of Catholics "describe the church as 'out of touch' with the views of Catholics in America."

As much of the country celebrates the Christian holiday of Easter, Stephanopoulos asked Dolan about the rise of people with no religious affiliation and if the church can bring people back toward God.

Dolan on This Week

"What I'm afraid is that that's afflicting society in general. That's afflicting families. That's afflicting - communities. People want privacy. People crave isolation. We're hearing parents say that they can't even get their kids to talk anymore," he said. "They're - they're tweeting one another. So, this - kinda this craving of individualism, being alone, be - aloofness, that's afflicting all of culture, all of society. We're feeling it in the Church, too, because we're not about 'me.' We're about 'us.' We're about the 'our.' We say 'Our Father.' But society is saying, 'It's me, myself and I.'"

Stephanopoulos also asked Dolan what the Catholic Church can say to gays and lesbians, who feel unwelcomed by the Church, which does not support same-sex marriage.

"Well, the first thing I'd say to them is, 'I love you, too. And God loves you. And you are made in God's image and likeness. And - and we - we want your happiness. But - and you're entitled to friendship.' But we also know that God has told us that the way to happiness, that - especially when it comes to sexual love - that is intended only for a man and woman in marriage, where children can come about naturally," Dolan said. "We got to be - we got to do better to see that our defense of marriage is not reduced to an attack on gay people. And I admit, we haven't been too good at that. We try our darndest to make sure we're not an anti-anybody."

Dolan also addressed the new reality of having both a newly elected pope and also a former pope living at the same time. Stephanopoulos asked him about a recent photo of the two men together and if it was unsettling to see two Popes side-by-side.

"I think it was unsettling to a lot of us, because we're just not used to having two - two popes, even though one of them is retired. But I don't think it was unsettling to him. They almost tried to out-class each other in showing deference to one another. And that's not bad," Dolan said.

Finally, Dolan praised Nelson Mandela - who was hospitalized this week with a lung infection - and said he was praying for him.

"I'm praying with and for him. I had the honor of meeting him once. And what the word that comes to mind when you speak of a giant like Nelson Mandela is reconciliation. And that's a good thing to remember about Easter," Dolan said.

"We say that Jesus came to reconcile the world. He wanted to embrace the world and bring them to his Father. And the world took those hands and put them on a cross, because they don't like being reconciled. Nelson Mandela was one of those who could take his hands and embrace a nation. The world is in his debt, because he taught us the power of reconciliation and forgiveness," he said.

Like "This Week" on Facebook here . You can also follow the show on Twitter here .

Go here to find out when "This Week" is on in your area.

Also Read

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/cardinal-timothy-dolan-catholic-churchs-105607541.html

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Huntington Ingalls gets $2.6B Navy ship contract

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (AP) -- Huntington Ingalls Industries said Friday that it has won a $2.6 billion contract to refuel and overhaul the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln, a 25-year-old nuclear-powered Naval aircraft carrier.

The company said the ship arrived at its Newport News Shipbuilding division Thursday. Work began immediately and will be complete in November 2016. Huntington Ingalls will refuel the ship's reactors and modernize more than 2,300 compartments, 600 tanks, and hundreds of systems. It also will upgrade the flight deck, catapults, combat systems and the "island," the ship's command center for flight deck operations.

Huntington Ingalls said the price includes costs of the work as well as incentive fees.

The refueling and overhaul was scheduled to start in February, but it was delayed because of concerns about funding and the defense budget. Last week both houses of Congress passed a continuing resolution that will keep the government funded through September 30, the end of its current fiscal year. President Obama signed the stopgap funding measure on Tuesday. Huntington Ingalls said the law allowed the Navy and its shipbuilding division to move ahead with the work.

The Abraham Lincoln was built by Huntington Ingalls' Newport News Shipbuilding unit and launched in February 1988. Huntington Ingalls is the largest military shipbuilder in the U.S., and the company is the biggest industrial employer in Virginia. Newport News Shipbuilding is the nation's only builder of aircraft carriers and one of two submarine builders.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/huntington-ingalls-gets-2-6b-210821275.html

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Scientists Built a Fake Virus Shell to Make a Sterile, Zombified Vaccine

Vaccines beef up your immune system by giving it a little taste of a weak—or dead—version of diseases. Now researchers in the UK have developed an alternative approach: build a synthetic doppelganger and let your body crush its hollow husk. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/xPixb_YyLrU/scientists-scooped-out-virus-guts-to-make-a-sterile-zombified-vaccine

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Obama attending Syracuse-Marquette basketball game

WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Barack Obama is attending one of this weekend's big college basketball games.

The president is at Washington's Verizon Center to watch Syracuse and Marquette play for a berth in the Final Four of the NCAA basketball tournament.

Earlier Saturday, Obama played golf for the first time since automatic spending cuts known as the sequester went into effect on March 1.

Some conservatives have called on Obama to give up golf since popular public tours of the White House have been canceled because of the budget cuts. The White House has said the tours were canceled to keep Secret Service agents from being furloughed because of the spending reductions.

Obama played on the course at Andrews Air Force Base with a friend, Marty Nesbitt, and two White House aides.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-attending-syracuse-marquette-basketball-game-205918618--politics.html

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Stephen Baldwin admits he failed to pay NY taxes

NEW CITY, N.Y. (AP) ? Stephen Baldwin, the youngest of four brothers in show business, said Friday he's looking forward to "clearing the wreckage of my past."

Step 1 will be coming up with $300,000 for the tax man.

Baldwin, 46, admitted in Rockland County Court that he failed to pay New York state income taxes for 2008, 2009 and 2010. Under a plea bargain, he gets to stay out of jail ? so he can make some money ? and can have his record wiped clean if he pays the taxes within a year.

His total bill in taxes, interest and penalties is $400,000, but state Supreme Court Justice Charles Apotheker said $100,000 had already been paid.

Baldwin, currently appearing on "All-Star Celebrity Apprentice," said he never intended to avoid paying taxes and got in trouble by trusting others.

"Unfortunately, I got some really bad suggestions and advice ... from lawyers and accountants," he said outside court.

Baldwin, who lives in Upper Grandview, said he believes he can meet the deadline, noting that his father was a schoolteacher who made $25,000 and raised six kids.

"I just look forward to getting the $300,000 paid in the next year," he said.

He said he's directing a movie starring his brother William and that other "faith-based opportunities" consistent with his principles are emerging. His lawyer said earlier this month that Baldwin would not be taking any roles like his starring turn as a professional thief with a short temper in the 1995 film "The Usual Suspects."

If he doesn't pay all the money within a year, the plea bargain provides for a five-year sentence of probation and repayment within that time.

Besides William, Baldwin's brothers Daniel and Alec ? the latter was a star of TV's "30 Rock" ? are also actors. Asked if he was getting any help from the family, Stephen Baldwin said: "Just support as family support. ... The responsibility lies ultimately with myself."

No sentencing date was set. Another court appearance is planned in June to see how repayment is going.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/stephen-baldwin-admits-failed-pay-ny-taxes-154945741.html

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Risk and reward at the dawn of civilian drone age

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The dawn of the age of aerial civilian drones is rich with possibilities for people far from the war zones where they made their devastating mark as a weapon of choice against terrorists.

The unmanned, generally small aircraft can steer water and pesticides to crops with precision, saving farmers money while reducing environmental risk. They can inspect distant bridges, pipelines and power lines, and find hurricane victims stranded on rooftops.

Drones ? some as tiny as a hummingbird ? promise everyday benefits as broad as the sky is wide. But the drone industry and those eager to tap its potential are running headlong into fears the peeping-eye, go-anywhere technology will be misused.

Since January, drone-related legislation has been introduced in more than 30 states, largely in response to privacy concerns. Many of the bills would prevent police from using drones for broad public surveillance or to watch individuals without sufficient grounds to believe they were involved in crimes.

Stephen Ingley, executive director of the Airborne Law Enforcement Association, says resistance to the technology is frustrating. Drones "clearly have so much potential for saving lives, and it's a darn shame we're having to go through this right now," he said.

But privacy advocates say now is the time to debate the proper use of civilian drones and set rules, before they become ubiquitous. Sentiment for curbing domestic drone use has brought the left and right together perhaps more than any other recent issue.

"The thought of government drones buzzing overhead and constantly monitoring the activities of law-abiding citizens runs contrary to the notion of what it means to live in a free society," Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, said at a recent hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

With military budgets shrinking, drone makers have been counting on the civilian market to spur the industry's growth. Some companies that make drones or supply support equipment and services say the uncertainty has caused them to put U.S. expansion plans on hold, and they are looking overseas for new markets.

"Our lack of success in educating the public about unmanned aircraft is coming back to bite us," said Robert Fitzgerald, CEO of the BOSH Group of Newport News, Va., which provides support services to drone users.

"The U.S. has been at the lead of this technology a long time," he said. "If our government holds back this technology, there's the freedom to move elsewhere ... and all of a sudden these things will be flying everywhere else and competing with us."

Law enforcement is expected to be one of the bigger initial markets for civilian drones. Last month, the FBI used drones to maintain continuous surveillance of a bunker in Alabama where a 5-year-old boy was being held hostage.

In Virginia, the state General Assembly passed a bill that would place a two-year moratorium on the use of drones by state and local law enforcement. The measure is supported by groups as varied as the American Civil Liberties Union on the left and the Virginia Tea Party Patriots Federation on the right.

Gov. Bob McDonnell is proposing amendments that would retain the broad ban on spy drones but allow specific exemptions when lives are in danger, such as for search-and rescue operations. The legislature reconvenes on April 3 to consider the matter.

Seattle abandoned its drone program after community protests in February. The city's police department had purchased two drones through a federal grant without consulting the city council.

In Congress, Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., co-chairman of the House's privacy caucus, has introduced a bill that prohibits the Federal Aviation Administration from issuing drone licenses unless the applicant provides a statement explaining who will operate the drone, where it will be flown, what kind of data will be collected, how the data will be used, whether the information will be sold to third parties and the period for which the information will be retained.

Privacy advocates acknowledge the many benign uses of drones. In Mesa County, Colo., for example, an annual landfill survey using manned aircraft cost about $10,000. The county recently performed the same survey using a drone for about $200.

Drones can help police departments find missing people, reconstruct traffic accidents and act as lookouts for SWAT teams. Real estate agents can have them film videos of properties and surrounding neighborhoods, offering clients a better-than-bird's-eye view though one that neighbors may not wish to have shared.

"Any legislation that restricts the use of this kind of capability to serve the public is putting the public at risk," said Steve Gitlin, vice president of AeroVironment, a leading maker of smaller drones.

Yet the virtues of drones can also make them dangerous, privacy advocates say. The low cost and ease of use may encourage police and others to conduct the kind of continuous or intrusive surveillance that might otherwise be impractical.

Drones can be equipped with high-powered cameras and listening devices, and infrared cameras that can see people in the dark.

"High-rise buildings, security fences or even the walls of a building are not barriers to increasingly common drone technology," Amie Stepanovich, director of the Electronic Privacy Information Council's surveillance project, told the Senate panel.

Civilian drone use is limited to government agencies and public universities that have received a few hundred permits from the FAA. A law passed by Congress last year requires the FAA to open U.S. skies to widespread drone flights by 2015, but the agency is behind schedule and it's doubtful it will meet that deadline. Lawmakers and industry officials have complained for years about the FAA's slow progress.

The FAA estimates that within five years of gaining broader access about 7,500 civilian drones will be in use.

Although the Supreme Court has not dealt directly with drones, it has OK'd aerial surveillance without warrants in drug cases in which officers in a plane or helicopter spotted marijuana plants growing on a suspect's property.

But in a case involving the use of ground-based equipment, the court said police generally need a warrant before using a thermal imaging device to detect hot spots in a home that might indicate that marijuana plants are being grown there.

In some states economic concerns have trumped public unease. In Oklahoma, an anti-drone bill was shelved at the request of Republican Gov. Mary Fallin, who was concerned it might hinder growth of the state's drone industry. The North Dakota state Senate killed a drone bill in part because it might impede the state's chances of being selected by the Federal Aviation Administration as one of six national drone test sites, which could generate local jobs.

A bill that would have limited the ability of state and local governments to use drones died in the Washington legislature. The measure was opposed by the Boeing Co., which employs more than 80,000 workers in the state and which has a subsidiary, Insitu, that's a leading military drone manufacturer.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., recently drew attention to the domestic use of drones when he staged a Senate filibuster, demanding to know whether the president has authority to use weaponized drones to kill Americans on American soil. The White House said no, if the person isn't engaged in combat. Industry officials worry that the episode could temporarily set back civilian drone use.

"The opposition has become very loud," said Gitlin of AeroVironment, "but we are confident that over time the benefits of these solutions are going to far outweigh the concerns, and they'll become part of normal life in the future."

___

Associated Press writer Michael Felberbaum in Richmond, Va., contributed to this report.

___

Follow Joan Lowy on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/AP_Joan_Lowy

Associated Press

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GOP moves to catch up with Democrats on technology (The Arizona Republic)

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BlackBerry posts surprise profit, but subscribers slip

By Euan Rocha

TORONTO (Reuters) - BlackBerry reported a surprise quarterly profit on Thursday after shipping 1 million new Z10 smartphones, but the Canadian company still fell short of convincing markets that its turnaround plan is already a runaway success.

BlackBerry shares were up 2.3 percent at midday on the Nasdaq, down from their 10 percent gain immediately after the results came out.

Expressing lingering doubts, some analysts focused on a decline in the company's subscriber base, a potential threat to its long-term growth prospects and turnaround plans. Others, however, zeroed in on strong sales of the new touchscreen Z10 device, which BlackBerry started rolling out at the end of January.

"I think the one million units is a nice start," said Morningstar analyst Brian Colello. "I think the encouraging thing is that BlackBerry was still able to sell a good portion of older models and generate solid service revenue during the transition. I think that will be important in terms of cash balance and profitability."

The well-reviewed Z10 smartphone is the first in a line of devices that will be powered by the new BlackBerry 10 operating system. It is a key plank in the company's attempt to regain relevance and win back market share in the smartphone arena it once dominated.

In a positive sign, BlackBerry said roughly 55 percent of the buyers of the Z10 were coming from other platforms - news that should allay fears that BlackBerry would be unable to attract users who have never used one of the company's devices, or who have abandoned BlackBerry in favor of Apple's iPhone and smartphones using Google's Android software, or other platforms.

The results offered solace to both bulls and bears on BlackBerry, which virtually invented on-your-hip email before ceding ground to rivals.

Some analysts noted that the company's quarterly revenue missed expectations and fretted about the decline in subscriber numbers to 76 million from 79 million during the fourth quarter.

But others focused on the unexpected profit and on the Z10 sales. The stock was up 2.3 percent at $14.89 on Nasdaq. Its Toronto-listed shares were 2 percent higher at C$15.10 at 1230 EDT (1630 GMT). The stock was the most actively traded issue on the Nasdaq on volume of more than 65 million shares.

"All in all, I'm happy because I think the majority seemed to be expecting the world to cave in on them, and that did not happen," said Eric Jackson, founder and managing partner of Ironfire Capital LLC, which owns BlackBerry shares.

BREAK-EVEN FORECAST

BlackBerry said its fiscal fourth-quarter net income was $98 million, or 19 cents a share, compared with a year-earlier loss of $125 million, or 24 cents a share. The swing to profit largely reflected a provision for income tax recoveries.

Excluding one-time items, the company reported a profit of 22 cents a share. Analysts had expected a loss.

BlackBerry surprised some investors by saying it believes it will approach break-even in its first quarter, based on a lower cost base, a more efficient supply chain and improved hardware margins.

Analysts on average had expected a loss of 10 cents a share in the first quarter, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

The Z10 device is currently available in more than 25 countries, and the company's new Q10 device, equipped with the physical keyboard that BlackBerry aficionados love, is expected to start being rolled out in April.

BlackBerry said it will step up investment on marketing the new phones in the current quarter.

"As the business migrates to BlackBerry 10 we intend to enhance our business offering with new value-creating services to continue to generate service revenue," Chief Executive Thorsten Heins said on a conference call on Thursday.

Heins said BlackBerry plans to generate service revenue through licensing deals for BlackBerry 10, advanced security tools and additional enterprise services.

BlackBerry's strong focus on security was long a draw for corporate and government users, and the company boasts of a new "Balance" feature that allows BlackBerry 10 users to isolate and secure corporate and private activities.

Analysts have been concerned that revenues from BlackBerry's very profitable services business would drop as it alters its fee structure for those users moving across to the BlackBerry 10 devices.

QUARTERLY RESULTS

Gross margins in the quarter were 40.1 percent, up from 33.5 percent, a year earlier, driven by higher average selling prices.

"Those were really solid results," said Jefferies & Co analyst Peter Misek. "The gross margin blew everybody out of the water, that was fantastic."

"Overall, this is step one on the recovery ladder and a very, very, very good result," Misek said.

Still, BlackBerry is not out of the woods. Quarterly revenue fell to $2.68 billion from $4.2 billion a year earlier, and was below analysts' estimates of $2.84 billion.

BlackBerry said Mike Lazaridis, who co-founded the company nearly 30 years ago, would step down as vice chairman and director.

Lazaridis, co-chief executive until last year, told Reuters he has no plans to sell his stake in the smartphone maker even as he steps down from the board to focus on a new quantum computing investment fund.

(Additional reporting by Allison Martell, Alastair Sharp, Sinead Carew and Julie Gordon; Editing by Janet Guttsman, Lisa Von Ahn and Peter Galloway)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blackberry-reports-quarterly-profit-one-million-sales-z10-111608415.html

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Summer melt season is getting longer on the Antarctic Peninsula

Thursday, March 28, 2013

New research from the Antarctic Peninsula shows that the summer melt season has been getting longer over the last 60 years. Increased summer melting has been linked to the rapid break-up of ice shelves in the area and rising sea level.

The Antarctic Peninsula ? a mountainous region extending northwards towards South America ? is warming much faster than the rest of Antarctica. Temperatures have risen by up to 3 oC since the 1950s ? three times more than the global average. This is a result of a strengthening of local westerly winds, causing warmer air from the sea to be pushed up and over the peninsula. In contrast to much of the rest of Antarctica, summer temperatures are high enough for snow to melt.

This summer melting may have important effects. Meltwater may enlarge cracks in floating ice shelves which can contribute to their retreat or collapse. As a result, the speed at which glaciers flow towards the sea will be increased. Also, melting and refreezing causes snow layers to become thinner and more dense, affecting the height of the snow surface above sea level. Scientists need to know this so they can interpret satellite data correctly.

Dr Nick Barrand, who carried out the research while working for the British Antarctic Survey, led an analysis of data from 30 weather stations on the peninsula. "We found a significant increase in the length of the melting season at most of the stations with the longest temperature records" he says. "At one station the average length of the melt season almost doubled between 1948 and 2011."

To build up a more complete picture across the whole peninsula, the team (funded by the European Union's ice2sea programme) also analysed satellite data collected by an instrument called a scatterometer. Using microwave reflections from the ice sheet surface, the scatterometer was able to detect the presence of meltwater. The team were able to produce maps of how the melt season varied from 1999 to 2009, and showed that several major ice shelf breakup events coincided with longer than usual melt seasons. This supports the theory that enlargement of cracks by meltwater is the main mechanism for ice shelf weakening and collapse.

The researchers also compared data from both the satellite and weather stations with the output of a state-of-the-art regional climate model.

Dr Barrand, who now works at the University of Birmingham, says, "We found that the model was very good at reproducing the pattern and timing of the melt, and changes in melting between years. This increases confidence in the use of climate models to predict future changes to snow and ice cover in the Antarctic Peninsula."

###

British Antarctic Survey: http://www.nerc-bas.ac.uk

Thanks to British Antarctic Survey for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/127498/Summer_melt_season_is_getting_longer_on_the_Antarctic_Peninsula

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CA-BUSINESS Summary

Asian shares gain as U.S. data builds optimism

TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian shares rose on Wednesday, comforted by positive U.S. data pointing to a moderate recovery in the economy, but worries over the implications of the Cyprus bank bailout deal, and the losses it imposed on investors, weighed on the euro. European markets were seen adding small gains, with financial spreadbetters predicting London's FTSE 100 <.ftse>, Paris's CAC-40 <.fchi> and Frankfurt's DAX <.gdaxi> likely to open around 0.3 percent higher. Benchmark indices in Spain <.ibex> and Italy <.ftmib> were seen likely to open 0.1 percent and 0.2 percent higher. <.l><.eu/>

Analysis: Citigroup looks to cut cash holdings to boost earnings

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Citigroup Inc is considering cutting its cash on hand by about $35 billion, which should help the bank buy higher yielding assets or redeem expensive debt to boost earnings. Making the change will signal that the management of the third-largest U.S. bank by assets, which had to be rescued three times by the U.S. government in the financial crisis, is increasingly confident that its worst troubles are well behind it.

Agrium wins crucial endorsement ahead of shareholder vote

TORONTO (Reuters) - Agrium Inc won another ringing endorsement just ahead of a crucial shareholder vote after influential advisory firm Glass Lewis on Tuesday advised its clients to back all 12 of Agrium's board nominees over a slate nominated by dissident investor Jana Partners. The recommendation from the well-regarded advisory firm is a big boost for Agrium ahead of a shareholder vote on April 9 and follows similar recommendations from smaller firms like U.S.-based Egan-Jones and UK-based Pensions Investment Research Consultants.

BlackBerry targeted by short sellers as market awaits results

TORONTO (Reuters) - BlackBerry's share price has more than doubled over the last six months as buzz around its new smartphones has boosted investor confidence, but some traders are betting big that talk of a turnaround is over-hyped. Nasdaq data released on Tuesday shows that short interest in the stock is at record levels and has more than doubled over the course of the last year.

Credit Suisse buys Morgan Stanley's European private bank

ZURICH (Reuters) - Credit Suisse said on Wednesday it would buy Morgan Stanley's wealth management arm in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, with total assets under management of $13 billion. "The acquisition will add scale to the bank's core growth markets in EMEA including the UK, Italy, Nordics, Russia and the Middle East," Credit Suisse said in a statement.

Toyota to sell in 2015 vehicles built through parts-sharing

TOYOTA, Japan (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp will start selling in 2015 the first vehicles built under its parts-sharing and platform framework, the company said on Wednesday, as rivals led by Volkswagen pursue similar strategies to cut costs. The framework, called the Toyota New Global Architecture (TNGA), shares parts among vehicles using the same platform in order to save costs and manpower.

F-35 fighter transforming defense industry says retiring chief

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The retiring chief of the trouble-plagued F-35 Joint Strike Fighter says he remains bullish about the hi-tech war plane, with costs soon to be further reduced as production takes off, and believes the program will transform the aerospace industry. Tom Burbage, a former Navy test pilot and general manager of the F-35 program since its inception 12 years ago, said the $396 billion weapons program, which will create a supersonic, single-engine fighter jet for use by the United States and its allies, still made strategic sense.

Prosecutors examining JPMorgan's actions in Madoff fraud case: NYT

(Reuters) - U.S. prosecutors are examining whether JPMorgan Chase & Co fully alerted authorities to suspicions about fraudster Bernard Madoff, the New York Times reported, citing several people with direct knowledge of the matter. The prosecutors suspect JPMorgan may have violated a federal law that requires banks to alert authorities to suspicious transactions, the newspaper reported.

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

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

Cyprus readies capital controls to avert bank run

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

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

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Kim Kardashian Pregnancy Style Uncovered!! And the family&#39;s latest ...

It?s no secret that I am a serious Kardashian Klan fan! Mock them all you will but it can not be denied that the show is definitely entertaining and you have to admire their ruthless business savvy- ?they formed an entire empire out a B-list reality show that has catapulted each member to stardom and earned the family millions of dollars in the process! Fashion, make up, management, reality shows, cosmetics, sponsorship deals, magazine covers.. you name it they?ve conquered it! And if I?m being honest, I kinda just like looking at them! Perfectly turned out at all occasion, the girls display their curves to the max, flaunt their fashion style in a really wearable (and copy-able!) way and have a gorgeous Armenian skin colouring that I would die for!

And then came the news of Kimmy K?s pregnancy with beau Kanye and ?the world held bated breath in hopes of a fashion revolution for expecting mama?s everywhere! but what they got, wasn?t exactly what the critics or the public had in mind! Join us as we take a further look into the supposed Kim K fashion pregnancy flops, the winners and the reason this gorgeous girl is struggling so much to find her usual stylish niche!

One of Kim?s favorite looks throughout her pregnancy has been all black, but as she says herself that?s nothing new for the starlet!

?It?s crazy, because I love to wear black just in general, and so I?ll see people be like, ?you?re only wearing black. Are you trying to hide it? Are you ashamed?? I?m like, I?m wearing a skintight black something to show it off,?

Something I?m not so sure I?d be eager on is the sky high Manolos, Louboutins and six inch stilettos this sexy mama to be has been rocking since trimester one! I wince a little every time blogs point out the height but it seems Kim isn?t going to give up that easily!

?I still want to be chic, wearing heels.. People are like, ?You should start wearing flats.? And I?m like, OK, I just went and bought flats for the first time this week and I can?t wear them. They?re not me. Heels make me feel so good.?

What we all have to admire about Ms Kardashian is that she is being honest about her struggles with dressing her new body as it expands and adjusts for her little one!

??I?m not going to lie and be like, ?Oh, it?s been amazing and I?ve adjusted great?.?

?At the beginning it was tough for me when your body changes so much. I don?t think anyone will really prepare you for what the changes are, but once you kind of grasp that and embrace it, it?s amazing.?

?There are maybe two or three covers just this week that say I am 200 pounds. I?m like, ?You are 60 pounds off here?.?

??It wouldn?t even bother me if I gained all the weight.?

??This is the time when everyone?s like ?you should be pigging out, eat whatever you want.? And I have the biggest sweet tooth and I love junk food.?

??Being pregnant I don?t like any of it? I?m waiting for the moments when someone?s like let?s go to McDonald?s and Taco Bell ? that?s not happening for me and I?m kind of sad about it.?

For a celebrity who built her name and entire brand around the fantasy of her stunning curves and sexy looks, it was always going to be a challenge to make a smooth transition to attractive working mother without crossing any major fashion lines! This is most likely the reason we?ve been seeing a lot of:

Skin-tight trousers:

See-through blouses:

Low-cut tops (showing off that ample cleavage!!):

Layered leather trousers:

Cut out panelled dresses:

Pencil skirts:

However you can?t deny she has been onto some real winners with flowy shirts and monochrome style fashion!

All in all I think it?s about time the press gave this girl a break! Women everywhere know the hazards of pregnancy style and adjusting to new bodies and we think all in all Kim is doing a pretty good job

Eve xxx

Sources: huffingtonpost, eonline, justjared, sun.co.uk

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Source: http://thebeautydial.com/2013/03/26/kim-kardashian-pregnancy-style-uncovered-and-the-familys-latest-lawsuit/

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Donovan returns as Obama celebrates Galaxy, Kings

AAA??Mar. 26, 2013?5:37 PM ET
Donovan returns as Obama celebrates Galaxy, Kings
By JOSEPH WHITEBy JOSEPH WHITE, AP Sports Writer??

President Barack Obama, center is presented with the LA Galaxy team jersey by captain Landon Donovan, left, and head coach Bruce Arena, right, during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, March 26, 2013, honoring the Stanley Cup hockey champion Los Angeles Kings and the Major League Soccer champion LA Galaxy. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

President Barack Obama, center is presented with the LA Galaxy team jersey by captain Landon Donovan, left, and head coach Bruce Arena, right, during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, March 26, 2013, honoring the Stanley Cup hockey champion Los Angeles Kings and the Major League Soccer champion LA Galaxy. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Los Angeles Kings hockey coach Darryl Sutter, right, and others, watch as President Barack Obama bounces the soccer ball off his forehead during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, March 26, 2013, honoring the Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings and the Major League Soccer champion LA Galaxy for their 2012 championship seasons. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

President Barack Obama holds a hockey jersey presented to him by Los Angeles Kings captain Dustin Brown, center, while posing with Stanley Cup hockey champion Los Angeles Kings during a ceremony to honor the Kings' 2012 championship season, Tuesday, March 26, 2013, in the East Room of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

President Barack Obama holds a soccer ball as he is handed a soccer jersey by LA Galaxy captain Landon Donovan, right, during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, March 26, 2013, honoring the Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings and the Major League Soccer champion LA Galaxy. Galaxy coach Bruce Arena is at right. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

President Barack Obama, center, flanked by LA Galaxy forward Landon Donovan, left, and coach Bruce Arena, right, throws the soccer ball to the crowd during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, March 26, 2013, honoring the Stanley Cup hockey champion Los Angeles Kings and the Major League Soccer champion LA Galaxy for their 2012 championship seasons. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Barack Obama welcomed Landon Donovan as the U.S. national team soccer star returned from a four-month sabbatical Tuesday, reuniting with the Los Angeles Galaxy in a ceremony at the White House.

The Galaxy of MLS and the Los Angeles Kings of the NHL had simultaneous celebrations of their titles in the East Room.

Donovan, a veteran of three World Cups with the United States, spent the winter considering whether he wanted to continue playing. He is rejoining the Galaxy in training this week ahead of their game Saturday at Toronto.

Donovan presented Obama with a soccer ball that the president bounced on his head. Obama was also presented with a jersey emblazoned with his name. The Galaxy have won the last two MLS titles.

Obama said both Los Angeles teams have remarkable comeback stories, but he said he wished his hometown of Chicago were winning championships instead.

The teams also hosted an exercise clinic for children on the South Lawn supporting first lady Michelle Obama's anti-childhood obesity effort and including children from across the country.

___

Associated Press writer Josh Lederman contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-03-26-US-Obama-Kings-Galaxy/id-5f0c75f6f56841caaedf984fa16ea29b

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Indie sensibilities embraced at gaming conference

FILE - In this Feb. 20, 2013 file photo, Andrew House speaks at an event to announce the Sony Playstation 4, in New York. The schedule for the 2013 GDC held March 25-29, in San Francisco, illustrates the dramatic changes that have reshaped the gaming industry in recent years, an evolution that's as much about business models as it is about pixels. Sony is angling to reignite developers' enthusiasm with the PlayStation 4. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, File)

FILE - In this Feb. 20, 2013 file photo, Andrew House speaks at an event to announce the Sony Playstation 4, in New York. The schedule for the 2013 GDC held March 25-29, in San Francisco, illustrates the dramatic changes that have reshaped the gaming industry in recent years, an evolution that's as much about business models as it is about pixels. Sony is angling to reignite developers' enthusiasm with the PlayStation 4. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, File)

FILE - In this Feb. 20, 2013 file photo, Mark Cerny, lead system architect for the Sony Playstation 4 speaks during an event to announce the new video game console, in New York. The schedule for the 2013 GDC held March 25-29, in San Francisco, illustrates the dramatic changes that have reshaped the gaming industry in recent years, an evolution that's as much about business models as it is about pixels. Sony is angling to reignite developers' enthusiasm with the PlayStation 4. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, File)

FILE - In this March 25, 2009 file photo, Video game enthusiasts attend the Game Developers Conference, in San Francisco. The schedule for the 2013 GDC held March 25-29, illustrates the dramatic changes that have reshaped the gaming industry in recent years, an evolution that's as much about business models as it is about pixels. GDC organizers have added a summit on free-to-play games, planned talks on topics like crowd funding and micro-transactions and coordinated panels with such titles as "Making Money with Mobile Gaming" and "Why Won't FarmVille Go Away?" (AP Photo/Ben Margot, File)

FILE - In this March 25, 2009 file photo, Video game enthusiasts attend the Game Developers Conference, in San Francisco. The schedule for the 2013 GDC held March 25-29, illustrates the dramatic changes that have reshaped the gaming industry in recent years, an evolution that's as much about business models as it is about pixels. GDC organizers have added a summit on free-to-play games, planned talks on topics like crowd funding and micro-transactions and coordinated panels with such titles as "Making Money with Mobile Gaming" and "Why Won't FarmVille Go Away?" (AP Photo/Ben Margo, Filet)

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? It's a time of transition for the video game industry.

With last year's launch of the Wii U, the impending arrival of the PlayStation 4 and the likelihood of a new Xbox on the horizon, the next generation of video game consoles is nearly here.

However, more than half of the attendees at this week's Game Developers Conference in San Francisco identify themselves as indie developers and their next creations will be for smartphones and tablets. So when it comes to the next generation of consoles, the question on their minds doesn't seem to be "What's next?" but rather "Who cares?"

The schedule for this year's GDC illustrates the dramatic changes that are reshaping the gaming industry, an evolution that's as much about business models as it is about pixels. GDC organizers have added a summit on free-to-play games, plan talks on topics like crowd funding and micro-transactions, and are presenting panels with such titles as "Making Money with Mobile Gaming" and "Why Won't FarmVille Go Away?"

For the past 15 years, the Independent Games Festival has served as the Sundance of GDC, specifically honoring and highlighting the work of indie developers. But the lines have increasingly blurred between the IGF and GDC, the 27-year-old conference that serves as the largest gathering of the gaming industry in the U.S. outside the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles.

Simon Carless, executive vice president at UMB Tech, which hosts GDC, IGF and several other technology conferences throughout the year, said 58 percent of developers surveyed by organizers plan to release their next game for tablets and smartphones. That's a big switch from 15 years ago when GDC was known as CGDC ? the Computer Game Developers Conference.

"I think what we're seeing is that there's many more small developers," said Carless. "For example, 53 percent of developers identify as an indie developer and 46 percent of those surveyed work at companies with 10 employees or less. It's simply a fact that people are more excited by platforms where there's a low barrier for entry."

Sony is angling to reignite developers' enthusiasm with the PlayStation 4.

When the Japanese electronics giant announced the PS4 during a splashy press conference in New York last month, Sony boasted that the successor to the PS3 would essentially be a "supercharged PC," a platform that would make it easier for developers to create and sell games. Sony plans to detail more about the PS4's technology during a Wednesday panel at GDC.

Nintendo will also be on hand with a Wednesday session outlining easier ways for developers to make apps for the Wii U, the touchscreen controller system that kicked off the latest generation of consoles last year but has failed to catch fire the way the original Wii did when it launched in 2006.

Microsoft will likely wait to tease how it plans to succeed its Xbox 360 console and camera-based Kinect system until E3 in July, although the company has scheduled several talks at GDC this week, including how to create games for Windows smartphones and second-screen experiences for Xbox SmartGlass, its companion app that connects mobile devices to Xbox 360s.

Meggan Scavio, general manager of GDC, said 23,000 attendees are expected at this year's conference, which kicked off Monday at the Moscone Convention Center and continues through Friday. While an increasing number of game makers are more interested in creating the next "Minecraft" instead of the next "Call of Duty," Scavio noted that so-called triple-A games continue to have a place at the conference.

"We're still talking about all the really big titles," said Scavio. "We've got talks on 'Dishonored,' 'Borderlands 2' and 'Assassin's Creed III.' Bungie is going to be talking about 'Destiny.' The guys from 'The Walking Dead' game are doing panels. Hideo Kojima is going to be there. It's not indie central yet."

In perhaps the most impressive indication of indie dominance, the artsy PS3 platforming game "Journey" is up for the most awards at Thursday's Game Developers Choice Awards, which honor the best titles of the past year and are selected by a jury of game creators. "Journey" was designed by thatgamecompany, a studio that went indie last year.

___

Online:

http://www.gdconf.com

http://www.igf.com

___

Follow AP Entertainment Writer Derrik J. Lang on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/derrikjlang.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-03-26-Games-Game%20Developers%20Conference/id-555d0e1cfe9a48668f17c47e9b8e185a

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Cuba cleric: Francis criticized church at conclave

HAVANA (AP) ? Pope Francis issued a strong critique of the church before the College of Cardinals just hours before it selected him as the new pontiff, according to comments published Tuesday by a Roman Catholic magazine in Cuba.

According to Havana Cardinal Jaime Ortega, then-Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio urged the Vatican to eschew self-absorption and refocus its energies outward.

"The church is called on to emerge from itself and move toward the peripheries, not only geographic but also existential (ones): those of sin, suffering, injustice, ignorance and religious abstention, thought and all misery," Bergoglio said.

Ortega said Bergoglio's comments were made to cardinals as they gathered to select Benedict XVI's replacement, and reflect his vision of the contemporary Catholic Church. He said Bergoglio later gave him a handwritten version and permission to divulge its contents.

"Cardinal Bergoglio made a speech that I thought was masterful, insightful, engaging and true," Ortega said.

Ortega added that the remarks offer insight about the direction in which the new pope could take the church following his March 13 election.

In his statements, the future pontiff also warned of the dangers of stagnation.

"When the church does not emerge from itself to evangelize, it becomes self-referential and therefore becomes sick. ... The evils that, over time, occur in ecclesiastical institutions have their root in self-referentiality, a kind of theological narcissism." Bergoglio said.

He also criticized "a mundane church that lives within itself, of itself and for itself."

Finally Bergoglio said that whoever became the new pope should be "a man who ... helps the church to emerge from itself toward the existential outskirts."

Orgeta first revealed Bergoglio's comments in a weekend Mass, and they were published Tuesday on the website of Palabra Nueva magazine, along with a photo of the two men embracing after Bergoglio had donned the papal white robes and rechristened himself Francis.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-03-26-Cuba-Pope/id-347f3cf1daec40c2a5f56a4d2d667a64

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Office workers carry biomarker of potentially harmful flame retardant, study finds

Mar. 25, 2013 ? A flame retardant removed from children's pajamas 30 years ago but now used in polyurethane foam is prevalent in office environments, especially in older buildings, where urine testing of workers turned up widespread evidence of its biomarker, a new study led by Boston University School of Public Health researchers has found.

The study, published in the journal Environment International, found that the chemical known as TDCPP -- chlorinated tris(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate, or 'chlorinated tris' -- was present in 99 percent of dust samples taken from participants' homes, vehicles and offices, "demonstrating the widespread presence of this flame retardant in the indoor environment." The research team recruited 31 adults who worked and lived in the Boston area for the testing.

The study found that the office environment was the strongest predictor of metabolized TDCPP in urine, with significantly lower concentrations of the chemical among workers in a new office building than in older buildings. Similarly, the average concentration of TDCPP in dust was significantly lower in the new office building than in the older office buildings.

Urine samples were collected during the workday, which may explain why an association was found between the quickly metabolized chemical and characteristics of the office, rather than the vehicle or home.

"Overall, our findings suggest that exposure to TDCPP in the work environment is one of the contributors to the personal exposure for office workers. Further research is needed to confirm specific exposure sources (e.g., polyurethane foam), determine the importance of exposure in other microenvironments such as homes and vehicles, and address the inhalation and dermal exposure pathways," the research team concluded.

TDCPP, an additive to polyurethane foam used in upholstered furniture, is found in dust, where it can likely lead to human exposure. Potential health effects remain a concern. In 2011, TDCPP was added to the Proposition 65 list of chemicals known by the State of California to cause cancer.

In vitro studies suggest TDCPP may be neurotoxic, and one study found that increased concentrations in dust were associated with decreased semen quality and reduced free thyroxine in men, suggesting possible effects on fertility and thyroid function. Animal studies show TDCPP is readily absorbed through both the skin and gastrointestinal tract.

The researchers said the high concentrations observed in dust from offices could reflect requirements by the City of Boston that office furniture meet California fire retardant standards, a rule that is not required of residential furniture in Boston. The state of California has proposed a draft furniture flammability standard that could reduce the need for flame retardant chemicals in polyurethane foam. However, the standard used for office furniture has yet to be revised.

"It is currently very difficult to avoid flame retardants. Hopefully, better options will become available in the near future," said Courtney Carignan, a doctoral candidate in environmental health who co-authored the study. "Currently, the best advice we have for people is to wash your hands, especially before eating. Dust control, good ventilation and air purifiers may also be useful for reducing personal exposure."

The low concentrations of TDCPP in the newer office building suggest that its newer furniture did not contain TDCPP, or that it had not yet had sufficient time to migrate out of the products, the researchers said. If the new furniture did not contain TDCPP, it likely contained a different flame retardant such as the controversial FireMaster 550. Other differences between exposures include the possibility of more efficient ventilation or HVAC systems or cleaning methods in the newer building.

The authors urged that "more research is needed to determine factors that influence TDCPP concentrations in dust, in relation to building contents and characteristics."

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Boston University Medical Center, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

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

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Journal Reference:

1. Courtney C. Carignan, Michael D. McClean, Ellen M. Cooper, Deborah J. Watkins, Alicia J. Fraser, Wendy Heiger-Bernays, Heather M. Stapleton, Thomas F. Webster. Predictors of tris(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate metabolite in the urine of office workers. Environment International, 2013; 55: 56 DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2013.02.004

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

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

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/kPPaV4sRwpQ/130325135401.htm

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Italian court orders new trial for Amanda Knox

File photos combo shows, from left; Italian student Raffaele Sollecito, slain 21-year-old British woman Meredith Kercher, her American roommate Amanda Knox. Amanda Knox was waiting anxiously Monday, March 25, 2013 in Seattle to hear if she will face trial again as Italy's top criminal court considered whether to overturn her acquittal in the murder of her roommate in Italy. Italian prosecutors have asked the high court to throw out the acquittals of Knox and her Italian ex-boyfriend in the murder of 21-year-old British student Meredith Kercher and order a new trial. The court's decision has been postponed to Tuesday. (AP Photo/files)

File photos combo shows, from left; Italian student Raffaele Sollecito, slain 21-year-old British woman Meredith Kercher, her American roommate Amanda Knox. Amanda Knox was waiting anxiously Monday, March 25, 2013 in Seattle to hear if she will face trial again as Italy's top criminal court considered whether to overturn her acquittal in the murder of her roommate in Italy. Italian prosecutors have asked the high court to throw out the acquittals of Knox and her Italian ex-boyfriend in the murder of 21-year-old British student Meredith Kercher and order a new trial. The court's decision has been postponed to Tuesday. (AP Photo/files)

FILE - In this Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2011 file photo Amanda Knox gestures at a news conference in Seattle Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2011, after returning home from Italy. Italy's highest criminal court has overturned the acquittal of Amanda Knox in the slaying of her British roommate and ordered a new trial. The Court of Cassation ruled Tuesday, March 26, 2013 that an appeals court in Florence must re-hear the case against the American and her Italian-ex-boyfriend for the murder of 21-year-old Meredith Kercher. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, file)

FILE - This is a Monday, Oct. 3, 2011 file photo of Amanda Knox as she breaks into tears after hearing the verdict that overturns her conviction and acquits her of murdering her British roommate Meredith Kercher, at the Perugia court, central Italy. Italy's highest criminal court Tuesday March 26, 2013 has ordered a new trial in the case of Amanda Knox in the slaying of her British roommate. The court ruled that an appeals court in Florence must re-hear the case against the American and her Italian-ex-boyfriend. Knox has been living back in the U.S. while her former boyfriend continues studies in Italy. (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito, File)

Giulia Bongiorno, lawyer of Amanda Knox's ex-boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, talks to reporters as she leaves Italy's Court of Cassation, in Rome, Monday, March 25, 2013. Italy's highest court delayed until Tuesday a decision on whether American student Amanda Knox will face a new trial in the murder of her British roommate - an unsual but not unprecedented move. The court heard six hours of arguments Monday and spent several hours deliberating that and a handful of other cases on its docket before announcing it would issue decision at 10 a.m. (0900 GMT) Tuesday on whether the 2011 acquittals of Knox and her Italian ex-boyfriend Sollecito will stand. Italian prosecutors have asked the high court to throw out the acquittals of Knox and Sollecito in the murder of 21-year-old British student Meredith Kercher and order a new trial. (AP Photo/Riccardo De Luca)

Giulia Bongiorno, lawyer of Amanda Knox's ex-boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, talks to reporters as she leaves Italy's Court of Cassation, in Rome, Monday, March 25, 2013. Italy's highest court delayed until Tuesday a decision on whether American student Amanda Knox will face a new trial in the murder of her British roommate - an unsual but not unprecedented move. The court heard six hours of arguments Monday and spent several hours deliberating that and a handful of other cases on its docket before announcing it would issue decision at 10 a.m. (0900 GMT) Tuesday on whether the 2011 acquittals of Knox and her Italian ex-boyfriend Sollecito will stand. Italian prosecutors have asked the high court to throw out the acquittals of Knox and Sollecito in the murder of 21-year-old British student Meredith Kercher and order a new trial. (AP Photo/Riccardo De Luca)

ROME (AP) ? Italy's highest criminal court ordered a whole new trial for Amanda Knox and her former Italian boyfriend on Tuesday, overturning their acquittals in the gruesome slaying of her British roommate.

The move extended a prolonged legal battle that has become a cause celebre in the United States and raised a host of questions about how the next phase of Italian justice would play out.

Knox, now a 25-year-old University of Washington student in Seattle, called the decision by the Rome-based Court of Cassation "painful" but said she was confident that she would be exonerated.

The American left Italy a free woman after her 2011 acquittal ? but only after serving nearly four years of a 26-year prison sentence from a lower court that convicted her of murdering Meredith Kercher. The 21-year-old British exchange student's body was found in November 2007 in a pool of blood in the bedroom of a rented house the two shared in the Italian university town of Perugia. Her throat had been slit.

Raffaele Sollecito, Knox's Italian boyfriend at the time, was also convicted, sentenced and later acquitted.

It could be months before a date is set for a fresh appeals court trial for Knox and Sollecito in Florence, which was chosen because Perugia has only one appellate court.

Italian law cannot compel Knox to return for the new trial and one of her lawyers, Carlo Dalla Vedova, said she had no plans to do so.

"She thought that the nightmare was over," Dalla Vedova told reporters on the steps of the courthouse. "(But) she's ready to fight."

He spoke minutes after relaying the top court's decision to Knox by phone shortly after 2 a.m. local time in Seattle.

Another Knox defender, Luciano Ghirga, was gearing up psychologically for his client's third trial. Ghirga said he told Knox: "You have always been our strength. We rose up again after the first-level convictions. We'll have the same resoluteness, the same energy" in the new trial.

Still, it was a tough blow for the former exchange student, whose parents have had to mortgage both their homes to raise funds for her lengthy, expensive defense.

"It was painful to receive the news that the Italian Supreme Court decided to send my case back for revision when the prosecution's theory of my involvement in Meredith's murder has been repeatedly revealed to be completely unfounded and unfair," Knox said in a statement.

Knox said the matter must now be examined by "an objective investigation and a capable prosecution."

"No matter what happens, my family and I will face this continuing legal battle as we always have, confident in the truth and with our heads held high in the face of wrongful accusations and unreasonable adversity," Knox said.

Prosecutors alleged that Kercher was the victim of a drug-fueled sex game gone awry. Knox and Sollecito denied wrongdoing and said they weren't even in the apartment that night, although they acknowledged they had smoked marijuana and their memories were clouded.

An Ivory Coast man, Rudy Guede, was convicted of the Kercher slaying in a separate proceeding and is serving a 16-year sentence.

Sollecito, whose 29th birthday was Tuesday, sounded shaken when a reporter reached him by phone.

"Now, I can't say anything," said the Italian, who has been studying computer science in the northern city of Verona after finishing up an earlier degree while in prison.

A local Italian news report quoted Sollecito's current girlfriend as saying he and Knox spoke by phone after the judicial setback and described him as being psychologically destroyed.

His lawyer, Luca Maori, said neither Sollecito nor Knox ran any danger of being arrested.

"It's not as if the lower-court convictions are revived," he said, noting that the Cassation Court didn't pronounce "whether the two were innocent or guilty. "

For those familiar by the U.S. legal principle of "double jeopardy" ? by which no one who is acquitted of a crime can be tried again for it ? the idea that Italian justice system allows prosecutors to appeal acquittals is hard to absorb.

Knox attorney Dalla Vedova dismissed the "double jeopardy" concern, insisting the high court ruling Tuesday hadn't decided anything about the defendants' guilt or innocence, but merely ordered a fresh appeals trial.

Knox still planned to talk with celebrity interviewer Diane Sawyer in a prime-time special to be broadcast April 30 to promote her new book "Waiting to Be Heard," according to ABC News.

Dalla Vedova said Knox wouldn't come to Italy but would follow the case from home. He said he didn't think the new appeals trial would begin before early 2014 and no date would be set for it until after the top court issues a written explanation of its decision, due in the next 90 days.

Whether Knox ever returns to Italy to serve more prison time depends on a string of ifs and unknowns.

"Questions of extradition are not in the legal landscape at this point," another Knox attorney, Theodore Simon, said on NBC TV.

If she is convicted by the Florence court, Knox could appeal that verdict to the Cassation Court, since Italy's judicial system allows for two levels of appeals ? by prosecutors and the defense alike. Should that appeal fail, Italy could seek her extradition from the United States.

Whether Italy actually requests extradition will be a political decision made by a future Italian government.

In the past, Italian governments on both the left and the right refused Italian prosecutors' request to seek extradition for the trial of 26 Americans accused in the kidnapping of an Egyptian cleric in Milan under the CIA's extraordinary rendition program. All 26 were tried in absentia, convicted and received sentences ranging from seven to nine years. Italy's new government will decide if it wants seek their extradition to serve the sentences.

If Knox is convicted and Italy requests her extradition, it would be up to U.S. authorities to decide whether they will send Knox to Italy. Dalla Vedova noted that U.S. authorities would carefully study all the case's documentation to decide whether she had received fair trials.

U.S. and Italian authorities could also come to a deal that would keep Knox in the U.S.

Years ago, the United States extradited an Italian woman convicted in a domestic U.S. terrorism case after reaching a deal that she would serve the rest of her sentence in her homeland. Italian authorities, however, released her from prison not long after she arrived home, citing medical reasons.

The appeals court that acquitted Knox and Sollecito had criticized virtually the entire case mounted by prosecutors, and especially the forensic evidence which helped clinch their 2009 convictions. The appellate court noted that the murder weapon was never found, said that DNA tests were faulty and that prosecutors provided no murder motive.

In arguing for the acquittals to be overturned, the prosecutor described the Perugia appellate court as being too dismissive about whether DNA tests were reliable on a knife prosecutors allege could have been the one used to slash Kercher's throat and DNA traces on a bra belonging to the victim, as well as tests done on blood stains in the bedroom and bathroom.

Whether that argument swayed the top court was unclear, said Dalla Vedova. Sollecito's attorney, Giulia Bongiorno, said the appeals court might have been "too generous" in ruling that the pair did not commit the crime, but was confident that Sollecito's innocence would be affirmed.

The court on Tuesday also upheld a slander conviction against Knox. During a 14-hour police interrogation, Knox had accused a local Perugia pub owner of carrying out the killing. The man was held for two weeks based on her allegations, but was then released for lack of evidence.

Her defense lawyers say Knox felt pressured by police to name a suspect so her own interrogation could end.

Because of the time she served in prison before the acquittal, Knox didn't have to serve the three-year sentence for the slander conviction. The court on Tuesday also ordered Knox to pay 4,000 euros ($5,500) to the man, as well as the cost of the lost appeal.

It was not known why the top court concluded the appellate court had erred in acquitting Knox and Sollecito and won't be until the Cassation judges issue their written ruling.

But Prosecutor General Luigi Riello, who urged the Cassation judges to overturn the acquittals, said he thought it could be significant that Knox's slander conviction was upheld. If the Cassation judges think "there is a link" between Knox's reason for fingering the pub owner and the murder, it could bolster prosecutors in the new Florence trial, he said.

In her statement, Knox took the Perugia prosecutors to task, saying they "must be made to answer" for the discrepancies in the case. She also said "my heart goes out to" Kercher's family.

The Kercher family's attorney, Francesco Maresca, called Tuesday's ruling "what we wanted" and relayed a message quoting the late woman's sister, Stephanie.

"To understand the truth about what happened that night is all we can do for her now," the family's message said.

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AP writer Colleen Barry in Milan contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-03-26-Italy-Knox/id-962692adb63a458fbf72e81158644340

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