Sunday, May 20, 2012

APNewsBreak: 22 states join campaign finance fight

HELENA, Mont. (AP) -- Twenty-two states and the District of Columbia are backing Montana in its fight to prevent the U.S. Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United decision from being used to strike down state laws restricting corporate campaign spending.

The states led by New York are asking the high court to preserve Montana's state-level regulations on corporate political expenditures, according to a copy of a brief written by New York's attorney general's office and obtained by The Associated Press. The brief will be publicly released Monday.

The Supreme Court is being asked to reverse a state court's decision to uphold the Montana law. Virginia-based American Tradition Partnership is asking the nation's high court to rule without a hearing because the group says the state law conflicts directly with the Citizens United decision that removed the federal ban on corporate campaign spending.

The Supreme Court has blocked the Montana law until it can look at the case.

The Montana case has prompted critics to hope the court will reverse itself on the controversial Citizens United ruling. The 22 states and D.C. say the Montana law is sharply different from the federal issues in the Citizens United case, so the ruling shouldn't apply to Montana's or other state laws regulating corporate campaign spending.

But the states also said they would support a Supreme Court decision to reconsider portions of the Citizens United ruling either in a future case or in the Montana case, if the justices decide to take it on.

Legal observers say don't count on the Supreme Court reconsidering its decision.

"It is highly unlikely that the Court would reverse its decision in Citizens United," said law professor Richard L. Hasen of the University of California-Irvine.

At best, the court would listen to arguments and might agree a clarification is needed to allow the Montana law to stand. But even that is a long shot, Hasen said.

Montana Attorney General Steve Bullock argues that political corruption in the Copper King era led to the state ban on corporate campaign spending. A clarification of Citizens United is needed to make clear that states can block certain political spending in the interest of limiting corruption, he said.

American Tradition Partnership argues that the state bans unfairly restrict the ability of corporations to engage in the political process that also affects them.

Bullock wrote in a brief to be released Monday that the state does not "ban" corporate political speech, rather, it regulates that speech by requiring the formation of political action committees.

The Democrat, who is running for governor, said the upstart political corporations hoping to take advantage of unfettered spending are merely "an anonymous conduit of unaccountable campaign spending."

Montana and the other states are asking the court to either let the Montana Supreme Court decision stand or to hold a full hearing. They argue laws like the one in Montana that bans political spending straight from corporate treasuries are needed to prevent corruption.

The other states, many with their own type of restrictions hanging in the balance, argue local restrictions are far different than the federal ban the court decided unconstitutionally restricted free speech. Further, state elections are at much greater risk than federal elections of being dominated by corporate money, requiring tailored regulation, the states' court filing says.

"The federal law struck down in Citizens United applied only to elections for President and U.S. Congress," New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman wrote on behalf of the states. "By contrast, Montana's law applies to a wide range of state and local offices, including judgeships and law enforcement positions such as sheriff and county prosecutor."

The joining states, unlike Montana, ask the court to go further and reconsider core findings in Citizens United. They argue, for instance, it was wrong for the court to say unlimited independent expenditures rarely cause corruption or the appearance of corruption.

And other critics of the Citizens United decision who believe the court was wrong to grant corporations constitutional rights, have intervened and asked the court to reverse itself.

"There is a growing bipartisan consensus that Citizens United needs to be overturned, and Montana is leading the way," said Peter Schurman, spokesman for a group called Free Speech For People. "The Supreme Court has an opportunity to revisit Citizens United here. That is important because there is evidence everywhere that unlimited spending in our elections creates both corruption and the appearance for corruption."

On Friday, Montana's case was given a boost when U.S. Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Sheldon Whitehouse, D-D-R.I., signed on in support. The senators argue evidence following the Citizens United decision, where millions in unregulated money has poured into presidential elections, shows that large independent expenditures can lead to corruption.

The states who filed the brief in support of Montana are New York, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia and the District of Columbia.

___

Associated Press writer Mark Sherman in Washington contributed to this report.

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Saturday, May 19, 2012

Functional coatings from the plasma nozzle

Functional coatings from the plasma nozzle [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 18-May-2012
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Joerg Ihde
joerg.ihde@ifam.fraunhofer.de
49-421-224-6427
Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft

When manufacturing products, the coating technology is a key innovation driver for almost all areas of daily life for example, for making scratch-proof displays for smart phones or anti-bacterial surfaces in refrigerators. Other coatings protect components from corrosion or aging, for example in a solar cell module or a car engine, without the end user noticing their existence. In industry today, wet chemical processes or vacuum plasma processes are primarily used for coating applications. Both have drawbacks. Vacuum units are expensive, limited to smaller components and applying a coating takes a relatively long time. Wet chemical processes often involve high resource and energy consumption with the corresponding environmental damage and can also cause difficulties in the handling of material combinations for lightweight construction such as plastics/ metals or aluminum/steel.

"There has to be another way", thought Dr. Jrg Ihde and Dr. Uwe Lommatzsch from the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials IFAM in Bremen. Together with Plasmatreat GmbH, the IFAM team developed a new kind of plasma coating process that works at ambient pressure, that is to say, in an open atmosphere. "And that poses a major challenge", explains Jrg Ihde. "Because the pressure is more than 10,000 times higher and the absence of a vacuum reactor, we had to stop unwanted particles from forming and embedding in the coating. That was the key to developing robust and efficient industrial processes using the new plasma system.

One nozzle various functional coatings

The central element is a plasma nozzle. The nozzle is no bigger than a typical spray can. Yet it contains a highly complex coating system. "In the nozzle, an electrical discharge generates small flashes - a plasma that is expelled from the nozzle in the form of a jet. We systematically feed into the nozzle outlet those materials that are excited and fragmented in the plasma and then deposited out of the plasma jet as a functional nano-layer onto the surface", explains Uwe Lommatzsch. "We achieve extremely high deposition rates, enabling fast and cost-effective production processes to be realized."

The use of a nozzle allows the coating to be applied very precisely and only where it is needed, thus conserving resources. "We can control the processes so that the same nozzle can be used to apply coatings with various functionalities, for corrosion protection or for increasing or reducing adhesion, for instance", adds Jrg Ihde. Only very small amounts of coating material are required and practically all materials and material combinations can be coated. The process offers, in addition to the coating qualities and functionalities, even more benefits: it can be easily integrated into an inline production process, requires little space and is easy to automate, meaning it can be controlled via a robot. Yet another advantage: low investment costs and easy on the environment. The positive characteristics benefit industrial production: depositing an adhesion-promoting coating on a car window edge before gluing it in, to replace environmentally damaging chemicals or as a substitute for thick protective paint on printed circuit boards, which improves heat dissipation and hence prolongs service life. The process is already employed in the automotive industry and the energy sector to provide protection against corrosion and aging.

One of this year's Joseph-von-Fraunhofer prizes was awarded to Dr. Jrg Ihde and Dr. Uwe Lommatzsch for their development of a resource-efficient process for the high-rate deposition of functional nano-layers.

###


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?


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


Functional coatings from the plasma nozzle [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 18-May-2012
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Joerg Ihde
joerg.ihde@ifam.fraunhofer.de
49-421-224-6427
Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft

When manufacturing products, the coating technology is a key innovation driver for almost all areas of daily life for example, for making scratch-proof displays for smart phones or anti-bacterial surfaces in refrigerators. Other coatings protect components from corrosion or aging, for example in a solar cell module or a car engine, without the end user noticing their existence. In industry today, wet chemical processes or vacuum plasma processes are primarily used for coating applications. Both have drawbacks. Vacuum units are expensive, limited to smaller components and applying a coating takes a relatively long time. Wet chemical processes often involve high resource and energy consumption with the corresponding environmental damage and can also cause difficulties in the handling of material combinations for lightweight construction such as plastics/ metals or aluminum/steel.

"There has to be another way", thought Dr. Jrg Ihde and Dr. Uwe Lommatzsch from the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials IFAM in Bremen. Together with Plasmatreat GmbH, the IFAM team developed a new kind of plasma coating process that works at ambient pressure, that is to say, in an open atmosphere. "And that poses a major challenge", explains Jrg Ihde. "Because the pressure is more than 10,000 times higher and the absence of a vacuum reactor, we had to stop unwanted particles from forming and embedding in the coating. That was the key to developing robust and efficient industrial processes using the new plasma system.

One nozzle various functional coatings

The central element is a plasma nozzle. The nozzle is no bigger than a typical spray can. Yet it contains a highly complex coating system. "In the nozzle, an electrical discharge generates small flashes - a plasma that is expelled from the nozzle in the form of a jet. We systematically feed into the nozzle outlet those materials that are excited and fragmented in the plasma and then deposited out of the plasma jet as a functional nano-layer onto the surface", explains Uwe Lommatzsch. "We achieve extremely high deposition rates, enabling fast and cost-effective production processes to be realized."

The use of a nozzle allows the coating to be applied very precisely and only where it is needed, thus conserving resources. "We can control the processes so that the same nozzle can be used to apply coatings with various functionalities, for corrosion protection or for increasing or reducing adhesion, for instance", adds Jrg Ihde. Only very small amounts of coating material are required and practically all materials and material combinations can be coated. The process offers, in addition to the coating qualities and functionalities, even more benefits: it can be easily integrated into an inline production process, requires little space and is easy to automate, meaning it can be controlled via a robot. Yet another advantage: low investment costs and easy on the environment. The positive characteristics benefit industrial production: depositing an adhesion-promoting coating on a car window edge before gluing it in, to replace environmentally damaging chemicals or as a substitute for thick protective paint on printed circuit boards, which improves heat dissipation and hence prolongs service life. The process is already employed in the automotive industry and the energy sector to provide protection against corrosion and aging.

One of this year's Joseph-von-Fraunhofer prizes was awarded to Dr. Jrg Ihde and Dr. Uwe Lommatzsch for their development of a resource-efficient process for the high-rate deposition of functional nano-layers.

###


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

?


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


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Treasure Coast Real Estate | NETTLES ISLAND Homes For Sale ...

by starfish on May 18, 2012

Find NETTLES ISLAND Homes For Sale and NETTLES ISLAND Home Values. We also have information on mortgages, insurance, movers and other Treasure Coast Real Estate Services for anyone looking to sell or buy a home in beautiful Saint Lucie COUNTY Florida.

Paul Kitchen and Starfish Team provide clients, family and close friends with professional, honest and dependable service. A resident of Treasure Coast, Paul is extremely familiar with the local neighborhoods including NETTLES ISLAND, school districts and the Treasure Coast Real Estate market in this beautiful Florida town.

Paul Kitchen
Broker-Owner
Starfish Real Estate
8985 SE Bridge Road Hobe Sound, Florida 33455
(772) 539-8380
(800) 793-7304 toll free
Treasure Coast Real Estate
Treasure Coast Real Estate Blog

Starfish Real Estate

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Friday, May 18, 2012

Judge holds Mexican generals over for drug probe

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Coroner: Mary Kennedy, estranged wife of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., died of asphyxiation due to hanging (cbsnews)

Share With Friends: Share on FacebookTweet ThisPost to Google-BuzzSend on GmailPost to Linked-InSubscribe to This Feed | Rss To Twitter | Politics - Top Stories News, RSS Feeds and Widgets via Feedzilla.

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Bora's Picks (May 18th, 2012)

Plastic Lessons by Shara Yurkiewicz:

I always feel awkward when I talk to plastic patients. The simulation mannequins are impressive: their eyes blink, their chests expand as they breathe, they have pulses, they bleed, they burn. A screen monitors vital signs: I administer a pressor and a dipping blood pressure perks up, or I order a beta blocker and a racing heart rate slows. A physician in the next room lends her voice to play the patient, responding to what I do and say. A physician in the same room becomes a tech, relaying results of my tests and nudging me through the next steps when I veer off course?

The SA Incubator: Helping Hatch Science Writers Since July 2011 by Erin Podolak:

I am a baby chicken. Not literally of course, but figuratively speaking I am a little chick of a science writer. Fledgling, if you will. Continuing with this analogy, I recently left my incubator in the journalism school at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and am now out in the world looking for work as a journalist. It is tough out here for a baby chicken, and any clips and exposure you can get have tremendous value. This is why I think it is downright wonderful that Scientific American has a blog in their network dedicated to new and young science writers?

Rome, Scotland, and Stake-Lined Pits by Mary Beth Griggs:

The purpose of these pits was to ward off attackers from the north who really enjoyed making the Romans lives miserable. They provided an extra layer of defense to the few men who defended a crumbling, ill-defended border that was constantly under attack and poorly provisioned by a distant capital city that was too wrapped up in it?s own drama to care?

Mirror Mirror on the Wall by Victoria Charlton:

Eco-conscious consumers are increasingly trying to make decisions based on a company?s green credentials. But beneath all the marketing rhetoric, how can we really tell the environmental heroes from the villains??

Wild Plants Respond to Climate Change Quicker Than Science Suggested by Tiffany Stecker:

Scientific experiments to measure the rate and effects of climate change on plants aren?t matching up to what is happening in nature, a new study finds. In fact, observations on the environment show that changes in nature is happening much faster than in the scientist?s lab?

Mammoth Trees, Champs of the Ecosystem by Douglas Main:

It?s important to respect your elders, children are reminded. It seems that this goes for trees, too. Big, old trees dominate many forests worldwide and play crucial ecological services that aren?t immediately obvious, like providing habitat for a wide range of organisms, from fungi to woodpeckers?

Babies and Babies as Parasites, on Distillations by Audrey Quinn:

It?s happened. I?ve become a sucker for babies. But pregnancy? Yeech, I?m not there yet. Babies inside of you can have some pretty parasitic impacts. On last Friday?s episode of the Chemical Heritage Foundation?s podcast Distillations, I look into the chemistry behind pregnancy?s greatest drawbacks?

Sun?s shock wave goes missing by Nadia Drake:

The sun isn?t quite the speed demon scientists once suspected. It chugs around the galactic center at a relatively pokey 83,500 kilometers per hour ? or roughly 11,000 kilometers per hour slower than expected, says a report appearing online May 10 in Science?

Unhurtful Thoughts: A Preoccupied Brain Produces Pain-Killing Compounds by Daisy Yuhas:

Thinking of something else is a time-honored method for coping with pain. Indeed, psychologists have demonstrated repeatedly that what you think about can modulate the pain you experience. But what?s less clear is how exactly that effect plays out in the body. In a study published today in Current Biology, neuroscientists have found that distraction does more than merely divert your mind; it actually sends signals that bar pain from reaching the central nervous system?

Sterilizing That Blasted Ballast by Rachel Nuwer:

In the dank bowels of the ship, a million microbes squirm and writhe. Their watery cradle ? the ballast ? plays a central role in balancing the weight of giant cargo ships that regularly shuttle back and forth between the world?s oceans. Invisibly ferried from port to port, the hitchhiking larvae, phytoplankton and bacteria pose a costly threat. If flushed into the wrong environment, these aliens could very well take over ecosystems.

A Field Guide for SciCom by Meghan Rosen:

Two quarters ago, David Cohn?the web whiz and crowd-funded journalism advocate who invented Spot.us?left the SciCom class of 2012 with a note-worthy nugget of internet advice.

?It?s cheaper and easier to try something,? he said, ?than to debate about whether or not to try it.??

40 Acres and a Rule: Draft Federal Fracking Regs Cover Only A Sliver of Land by Lena Groeger:

Last week?s media coverage of the Obama administration?s newly-proposed fracking rules focused so heavily on how drilling companies would have to disclose the chemicals they use that it largely overlooked the toughest provisions: Drillers would be required to test the physical integrity of their wells, and more water would be protected from drilling. Since many wells fail because the cement and casings crack, the new tests could prevent dangerous leakages?.

Cancer? Google it by Rose Eveleth:

There are about 20,000 proteins that might be involved in pancreatic cancer. How do you know which ones are the most important? Well, Google might know. Or at least, they might know how to figure out?

Flowers Count Pollen by Sabrina Richards:

Plants need to ensure that each egg has the chance to be fertilized while at the same time preventing double fertilizations, which in many plants kills the zygote. Therefore, plants rely on sperm and egg fusion to prevent multiple pollen grains from trying to reach the egg, according to research published yesterday (May 17) in Current Biology?

Young, political, uncomfortable by Kathryn Doyle:

A woman?s thoughts on men?s thoughts about women in the sciences?

Guernsey of Bergen Street: Life of a Brooklyn street cat by Ashley Taylor:

The Bergen Street cats are seven among tens of thousands of cats on the streets of New York, according to the New York City Feral Cat Initiative website. These cats are abandoned domestic animals and their progeny. Two of the Bergen Street cats were left on a nearby rooftop when their owners moved away. But Guernsey is the cat that really matters to Al?

Black Beauty knows who you are by Greg Jones:

Researchers have demonstrated horses? ability to recognise individual humans by combining sight and sound. The work raises new questions of just how common inter-species recognition might be in the natural world.

What Cartography Taught Me About Writing by Kate Prengaman:

Just like in journalism, the first thing one learns in a cartography class is that good maps tell stories. This semester, I?m taking cartography and journalism simultaneously, and I?ve realized that the constructions I?ve learned for how to think about making maps actually make me a better writer?

A Surprising Cause of Obesity by Jessica Gross:

While overeating, inactivity and genetics are key players in the path to obesity, but there may be a surprising, hidden cause that?s also to blame. (Hint: it?s in your stomach?and it?s not that cheeseburger you ate for lunch.)?

Multiple sclerosis: multiple perspectives by Jordan Gaines:

Montel Williams and 400,000 other Americans face it everyday. Richard Pryor was confined to a wheelchair in the last few years of his life because of it. Symptoms range from weakness to bladder problems to difficulty talking. Indeed, multiple sclerosis, or MS, is one of the most well-known yet mysterious neurological conditions we know about.

A Planet Under Pressure, and Why Gender Matters by Paige Brown:

?I believe we want a world that is pro-poor, pro-development, and pro-environment.? So said Bina Agarwal, Director and Professor of Economics at the Institute of Economic Growth at Delhi University, India, at the Planet Under Pressure 2012 conference in London ? an international conference focusing on solutions to the global sustainability challenge. At the conference, Bina expressed her concern for food security and forest protection in light of global climatic changes, calling for ?participation at all levels, at both the global and the local, between countries and within communities?? This quote by Bina from Planet Under Pressure 2012 says it all: ?Even without climate change, we will need extraordinary efforts to feed 9 billion [people] by 2050. With climate change, the task is mammoth.?

How Whales Fly? by Doaa Tawfik:

What do you think is the direct connection between a whale and a helicopter?

Me and You and ZOBOOMAFOO! by Sabrina DeRiso:

After reviewing my past blog entries, I noticed that they all reference medical discoveries involving humans. Born and raised with a love for animals, I felt it would be substantial to submit a blog regarding medical discoveries on one of my favorite animals. Lemurs! Ever since I was a young child, I would anxiously sit in front of my television awaiting my favorite show, Zoboomafoo! Zoboomafoo, a Sifaka lemur from Madagascar, accompanied by Chris and Martin Kratt, would introduce wildlife to preschoolers?

This one time, at the Grand Canyon? by Maggie Pingolt:

?As an adventurous pair, it only seemed fitting that we conquer as much square mileage as we could while we?re young so we hit the sand with a brisk walk. Not long after starting our hike we caught up to a young German couple taking an extended vacation through the United States. Our paces matched, and so did our adventurous spirit of making it in and out in a day, so the four of us began walking together, trading stories of travel and eventually, physics?

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Reminder: The Facebook IPO Won't Make You Rich [Facebook Ipo]

It's Facebook IPO day! After months of SEC reviews and roadshows and profiteering, FB will finally take its place in the Nasdaq menagerie when markets opens at 9:30 EST. Time to start digging up your backyard bullion stash, right? Wrong. For the average guy the Facebook IPO is strictly Like, don't touch. More »


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U.S. Cellular adds Samsung mobile hotspot to its 4G LTE lineup, because three's company

Image

And then there were three. U.S. Cellular's picking up the pace where its next-gen offerings are concerned, adding yet another device to that lonely LTE product portfolio. Starting today, Samsung's SCH-LC11 mobile hotspot will be available on the regional carrier's site with some sweet, limited time promotional pricing in tow: a mere $50 for subscribers residing in one of the operator's designated 4G coverage areas. For everyone else hunkered down in plain 'ol 3G territory, it'll ring in at $200 -- that's after a $50 mail-in rebate and required two-year contract. So, if you're a fan of deals and like to keep your plethora of portable gadgetry always connected, hit up the source link below and get to ordering.

Continue reading U.S. Cellular adds Samsung mobile hotspot to its 4G LTE lineup, because three's company

U.S. Cellular adds Samsung mobile hotspot to its 4G LTE lineup, because three's company originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 17 May 2012 16:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Guys have the edge going into 'Idol' finale

By Craig Berman, TODAY.com contributor

Michael Becker / FOX

Will Phillip Phillips, Jessica Sanchez or Joshua Ledet get cut? It's hard to tell this season who'll make the final two.

In most years, the penultimate week of ?American Idol? serves to finally eliminate the interloper, the singer who?s clearly at a disadvantage compared to the top two. Last year it was Haley Reinhart, whose exit paved the way for the Scotty McCreery-Lauren Alaina finale that everyone expected, and Casey James ceded the floor to Lee DeWyze and Crystal Bowersox in season nine. (Hey, it made sense at the time.) In most other ?Idol? seasons, by the time we got to the middle of May, everyone knew who the two favorites were.

That?s not true in season 11. And while a gambler would probably lay the odds on a Joshua Ledet-Phillip Phillips final with Jessica Sanchez going home Thursday, there?s a legitimate case to be made that any of the remaining contestants could be in danger this week.

Phillip got the most criticism of anyone on Wednesday, as nobody liked the song he chose for himself (Matchbox 20?s ?Disease?). But that was only one of his three performances, and when he closed the show strong with Jimmy Iovine?s pick, Bob Seger's ?We?ve Got Tonight,??he came through with best individual effort of the evening. He?s the only one of the remaining finalists who has never been revealed as one of the lowest vote-getters, so he?s the best individual bet to keep going.

In sharp contrast to Phillip?s easy road to the final three, Joshua nearly didn?t even make it out of the first week. Imagine how different this season would have gone had he been eliminated back in March instead of Jeremy Rosado. Joshua was again in the bottom three when there were seven contestants remaining, but he?s been the strongest of anyone since that latter scare. He seemed to be the favorite of the judges (again) on Wednesday, even if his final song of the night --?Mary J. Blige's "No More Drama" -- was a bit over-the-top in its frenzy.

And speaking of struggling, the same week in April that Joshua was in the bottom three, Jessica would have been eliminated had the judges not used their save on her. She?s sailed through the past month since then, but this wasn?t her best week. None of her solos?stood out, and she was the lone finalist to not get a standing ovation from the judges.

If Phillip and Joshua do make it to the finale, they will both owe an assist to Jimmy. The mentor is the one who picked ?We?ve Got Tonight? for Phillip, as well as prodding Joshua to go with Blige?s tune ? the only one of Joshua?s three songs that wasn?t at least 35 years old.

For Jessica? He picked ?I?ll Be There? by the Jackson 5, an attempt to make her sound younger. It didn?t work because she literally can?t make herself sound her age. She?s an old singing soul in a young body, like it or not.

Also noteworthy was that Phillip got credit for a ?moment? with his final number, though that might have been for the distracting way he was petting his leg with his left hand as much as it was for his vocals. He also earned an ?in it to win it? from Randy Jackson for the last effort.

Meanwhile, Jessica had to content herself with an endorsement from the last-place San Diego Padres. The last ?Idol? finalist to be touted by a sports team having a mediocre year was Hollie Cavanagh, who got support from Liverpool's English Premier League (that?s soccer, for the non-sports fans). That didn?t seem to help her much.

Then again, Steven Tyler did insinuate early in the show that he expected Jessica to win. So who knows? Unlike most years, it?s truly anybody?s competition with just one week remaining.

Who do you think will get cut Thursday? Share your prediction on our Facebook page!

Which was the best performance of the night?

Want more "Idol" during "Idol"? Follow @CraigBerman as he live tweets each show.

Related content:

Phillip: "We've Got Tonight"

?

45.9%

(6,133 votes)

Phillip: "Beggin' "

?

11.8%

(1,580 votes)

Joshua: "No More Drama"

?

8%

(1,073 votes)

Joshua: "Imagine"

?

7.8%

(1,046 votes)

Jessica: "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing"

?

7.1%

(946 votes)

Joshua: "I'd Rather Go Blind"

?

6.1%

(809 votes)

Jessica: "My All"

?

5.9%

(783 votes)

Jessica: "I'll Be There"

?

4.8%

(640 votes)

Phillip: "Disease"

?

2.6%

(344 votes)

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Friday, May 11, 2012

If Justin Bieber Is Your 'Boyfriend,' Ying Yang Twins Can Be 'Your Man'

'Boyfriend' remixers have nothing but praise for teen crooner and comparisons to their 'Wait (The Whisper Song).'
By Jocelyn Vena

<P><a href="http://www.mtv.com/music/artist/bieber_justin/artist.jhtml">Justin Bieber</a>'s <a href="/news/articles/1684836/justin-bieber-boyfriend-remix-ying-yang-twins.jhtml">"Boyfriend"</a> got the remix treatment from rap duo the <a href="http://www.mtv.com/music/artist/ying_yang_twins/artist.jhtml">Ying Yang Twins</a> this week. The twosome dropped their take on the singer's single late Wednesday, amping up the song's sexiness with their signature sense of innuendo.</P><P>Playing on the song's title, the Twins (D-Roc and Kaine) note on their verses that while Bieber is offering up his services as your boyfriend, they're a little older and a little wiser and want to be your older sister's man. When MTV News spoke to D-Roc on Thursday (May 10), he talked a little bit about wanting to have fun with the Mike Posner/ Mason Levy-produced track.</P><P></p><div class="player-placeholder right" title="Ying Yang Twins 'Complimented' Bieber Back With 'Boyfriend' Remix" id="vid:767914" width="415" height="255"></div><p></P><P>"He want to be your boyfriend, but I want to be your <i>man.</i> I'm grown. I'm good and grown," he said. "I've been through that boyfriend/girlfriend stage, but you know, he's going through that, so that's what complemented the track too. It's like, 'OK, I want to be your man. I don't want to be your boyfriend. I'm bigger than the boyfriend.' But that's Justin Bieber, so if you got a little sister, Justin Bieber want to be her boyfriend."</P><P>D-Roc was also inspired to remix the track after many music fans had noted comparisons between Bieber's song and the Twins' 2005 hit "Wait (The Whisper Song)." "Before Justin Bieber actually had dropped the song, the hype around it, everybody was calling me saying, 'Hey, man, did y'all hear the Justin Bieber song?' I was so amped up to hear the song too. When I actually did, I listened to it and I was like, it sounded like us. He complimented us," he said. "So I wanted to compliment him by getting on it.</P><P>"It was there," he added of the comparisons. "But the thing about it is, for him to step out for the first time rapping and we was the first compliment that he gave, I felt like that young man is on job. And he did it well. It made a statement to me like, 'OK, he just trying to grow up,' and with him growing up, like, he want y'all to take him as he's grown. 'I'm 18. I'm grown now. I can do my own thing.' And what better lane, and he picked us, and I feel like that was a compliment and to compliment him back, I wanted to do the remix."</P><P>While D-Roc has yet to meet the singer, he has high praise for him. "He's a very talented young man," he said. "Like, to have as many talents as he knows how to do, you know, it's like he's a threat. He's gonna come in, and they better watch out for the young man, 'cause the young man got something to bring to the table."</P><P>Bieber will drop his highly anticipated album, <a href="/news/articles/1684079/justin-bieber-believe-album-cover.jhtml"><i>Believe,</i></a> on June 19. "Boyfriend" is the lead single, and last Thursday, he dropped the <a href="/news/articles/1684646/justin-bieber-boyfriend-video-2.jhtml">video</a> for the hit.</P><P><i>What do you think of the Ying Yang Twins' remix? Let us know in the comments!</i></P><P></p><div class="player-placeholder right" title="Frame By Frame: Justin Bieber's 'Boyfriend'" id="vid:766128.id:1684574" width="415" height="255"></div><p></p>

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HTC One X and One XL rooted

Android Central

The Snapdragon S4-based One X has been rooted, thanks to kennethpenn? of XDA-developers.  This isn't a bootloader unlock, but it is full root, so apps like Titanium Backup will work just fine.  It's also been confirmed to work on the AT&T version (I'm enjoying root now yay!).  The developer has been nice enough to make a neat little one-click package that will do the work for you.  All the relevant files are installed automatically, and when it's done you have Super SU installed, too.  So no confusing ADB commands to follow on this one.  The usual warnings do apply, you're rooting at your own risk and anything that happens to your phone is your fault and no one elses.  Are you also enjoying root?  Let us know in the forums.

Source: XDA-Developers; More: HTC One X Forums



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Thursday, May 10, 2012

'Dancing With The Stars': Roshon Fegan And Melissa Gilbert Get The Boot

Chris Brown performed on show's double-elimination night leading into semi-finals.
By Kelley L. Carter


Roshon Fegan on "Dancing With the Stars"
Photo: ABC

The "Dancing With the Stars" contestants were warned on Monday night that two couples would be sent packing on Tuesday, but that didn't make the sting any less bitter.

Chris Brown was the night's performer, and after he ran through a new song from his forthcoming album Turn Up the Music, the remaining celebrities got the bad news.

In the end, the first couple to get the boot was Disney star Roshon Fegan and his partner Chelsie Hightower. Fegan smiled through the announcement and said, "I am happy to add ballroom dancing to my super-duper dance moves."

Fegan actually scored pretty well on Monday night, earning 29 out of 30 for his individual performance. The judges told him that watching him perform was like watching a young Mickey Rooney.

Fegan's pleasant reaction to getting sent home was the exact opposite of that by the second celebrity to get the boot: actress Melissa Gilbert, whose dance partner was Maks Chmerkovskiy. She had to wipe tears away after her name was called. It was Gilbert's 48th birthday, and the moment was emotional.

Gilbert landed at the bottom of the leaderboard on Monday's telecast, with judges telling her that her footwork was spotty.

"I can't even describe what a learning and growing experience this has been. It's been a real blessing and a joy," she said upon her departure. "Maks has been amazing. An incredible teacher. An incredible friend."

"DWTS" semi-finals begin next week, with the remaining four celebrities — Donald Driver, Katherine Jenkins, Maria Menounos and William Levy — in the running for the mirrorball trophy.

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Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Longer commutes may steal health and fitness ? - CNN.com Blogs

Anybody who has a long daily commute knows the frustration of sitting in traffic with nothing to do but wait. Now, a study suggests that long commutes can take away more than just precious time - they also negatively impact your fitness and health.

Previous research has linked longer commutes with obesity. But this new research is believed to be "the first study to show that long commutes can take away from exercise time,? explained lead investigator Christine M. Hoehner of Washington University in St. Louis.

Long commutes are associated with "higher weight, lower fitness levels and higher blood pressure, all of which are strong predictors of heart disease, diabetes and some cancers,? she said.

One discovery that Hoehner found a little surprising was how ?being exposed to the daily hassles of traffic can lead to higher chronic stress and higher blood pressure.?

Here's how the research was conducted: Scientists studied 4,297 residents from the Dallas-Fort Worth and Austin, Texas, metropolitan areas. They documented their commuting distances, body mass indices, and metabolic risk, including waist circumference, fasting glucose and lipid levels and blood pressure. Participants reported their physical activity for the previous three months.

What did scientists learn? ?Commuters who said they drove longer distances also reported they took part in less moderate or vigorous physical activity. They had lower cardiorespiratory fitness, greater body mass index, waist circumference, and higher blood pressure.

For a little historical perspective - as obesity rates have increased - so have the number of American commuters and the length of commute times.

Between 1960 and 2000, workers commuting in private vehicles jumped from 41.4 million to 112.7 million, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. And as suburbs have sprawled across the nation since the 1950s, commuter miles have increased too, along with the time drivers spend sitting behind the wheel. according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

For many commuters, moving closer to work isn't an option but Hoehner said there are solutions that can lead to more exercise.

Commuters should find ways to work physical activity into their work days said Hoehner, by doing things like walking during work breaks. Employers could also help, she said, by encouraging fitness break and by offering schedule flexibility to commuters, if possible.

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Alabama state senators could vote today on immigration law ...

MONTGOMERY, Alabama -- Alabama State senators could vote as soon as today on pro?posed revisions to the state's stringent immigration law.

Key Republican legislators met last week to discuss potential changes to the immigration law. Rep. Micky Hammon, R-Decatur, has sponsored a bill that passed the House of Representatives. Sen. Scott Beason, R-Gardendale, has introduced his own bill that would make fewer changes to the law.

"I think it will be late (Tuesday) or Wednesday," when the Senate votes on a possibly rewritten version of the House bill, said Sen. Jabo Wag?goner, R-Vestavia Hills. Waggoner is chairman of the Senate Rules Committee, which decides which bills go to the floor for debate.

"They are still talking and negotiating and tweaking and working on the bill," Waggoner said.

Beason said he and Hammon, legislative leaders and lawyers met for more than 11 hours last week discussing how much to change various sections of Alabama's law -- including the "reasonable suspicion" section that would allow police officers to question and detain suspected illegal immigrants.

"We went through every single section that I had adjusted, or the House had adjusted, and had a debate, lively debate at times," Beason said.

"It was a long, long process," Beason said.

Beason said he had not seen a draft of a new bill yet.

Hammon, who collaborated with Beason on the original 2011 law, said legislators still were having discussions, and the goal is to have a clear law that will be enforced.

"The bottom line is illegals are starting to come back to Alabama now," Hammon said.

Beason said one of the issues that was discussed was not changing sections of Alabama's 2011 law that are similar to an Arizona law now before the U.S. Supreme Court. The court is expected to rule on the constitutionality of that law this summer.

Senate President Pro Tempore Del Marsh, R-Anniston, also said he hopes to get the bill up for debate early this week.

"I believe Tuesday -- Wednesday at the latest -- we will be on the floor with the legislation," Marsh said.

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How to Get Your Swimming Pool Ready for Summer

Opening your backyard swimming pool for the season takes more than filling it up and jumping in. Larry Biscornet, president of LBI Swimming Pools in New Rochelle, N.Y., has been in the swimming pool business for 50 years, and he knows the importance of opening a pool correctly?both for the health of the swimmers and the pool. "If a swimming pool is opened properly, you can be assured of proper operation and chemical safety," he says. Here's your eight-step guide to getting ready for lazy summer afternoons.

1. Don't Empty Your Pool


First, Biscornet says, never empty your swimming pool, even if you live in a really cold climate, unless you have no other choice, such as if you need to do structural work or your pool hasn't been covered and there are too many leaves at the bottom to remove. (Also: Get a cover. Really.) That's because draining the pool can bring big problems. For example, an empty pool in a high water table can lift out of the ground without the weight of the water holding it down.

Biscornet says most pool owners aren't even aware of the risk. "People think they're going to empty and clean their pool but they either do it in a very wet season when there's a high groundwater table, or their swimming pool actually sits in a high water table," he says. "When you empty a pool in a high water table, it's very possible that the pool will pop out of the ground like a boat." That could mean a complete pool replacement.

2. Clean It Up


Start the process of bringing your pool up to shape with a "chemical open." Put the filtration system together, clean out all the baskets, and remove any plugs that you put in when the pool closed last year. For now, leave the cover on the pool while you're working on it.

3. Top It Off


If the water level has fallen over the winter, top it off. Make sure to clean the filter before you turn it on. Clean a cartridge filter by removing the cartridge and wash with a hose. If you have a D.E. filter, you might need to take it apart, clean it, and reassemble it. If you have a sand filter, set the filter to backwash, which will clean the sand. Then turn it to the normal setting.

4. Have a Pro Test Your Water


Biscornet recommends having the water professionally tested. Take a water sample to a swimming pool store, Biscornet says, and they'll test the water for you, usually for free (and maybe some up-sell). "It's a good idea because they'll do a complete test," he says. "They'll test the mineral content of the water, along with the total alkalinity and the pH and the chlorine levels." They'll tell you which needs to be adjusted and by how much.

5. Balance Your Chemicals


Time for some chemistry, based on your pool pro's analysis. Here are Biscornet's recommendations:

PH levels between 7.2 to 7.4. The pH level dictates how much chlorine turns into hypochlorous acid in the water. Use soda ash to increase pH; muriatic acid or sodium bisulfate to decrease.

Total alkalinity from 80 to 120. Alkalinity is a pH buffer?pH levels will be consistent if the alkalinity level is correct. Use sodium bicarbonate to increase alkalinity, muriatic acid to decrease it.

Calcium hardness from 150 ppm to 250 ppm (parts per million). This is directly dependent on the hardness of the water. The softer the water, the more calcium it will absorb from its environment. "If you don't put [calcium] in the water, it will take it from the grout in the tiles," Biscornet says. "It will actually ruin a marble dust (a finish product), it will even effect vinyl." Adjust the calcium hardness by using calcium chloride.

Chlorine from 1 ppm to 3 ppm. A popular product for backyard in-ground pools are cyanuric-based tablets (the ones that look like large white hockey pucks). "Cyanuric acid inhibits the sun's ability to burn off chlorine," Biscornet says. "It's like a sunscreen for the water."

You can put the tablets in your skimmer baskets, but their low acid content means they'll eat metal?a problem if your pool has a metal filter system or a heater with a copper heat exchanger. So Biscornet recommends getting a plastic chlorinator, which attaches to the filter system. Get a pro to hook this up.

6. Wait for the Water to Clear


Don't dive in yet. The filter has to be cleaned every day until the water is clear. Expect the entire process to take about a week. You may have to add chlorine to keep it at the right level. Only when the water is clear and you can see the pool floor should you remove the cover. Remove the cover too soon and you'll end up with more leaves and pollen and debris to clean out.

7. Housekeeping


After you've removed the cover, time to vacuum all the leaves and debris from the bottom.

8. Maintain


For the rest of the season, keep the filter clean, vacuum the pool each week, and test the chemical levels every day. Biscornet also advises having a pro test the water once a month.

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Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Google+ lets you broadcast your Hangouts

Image

You've gotten so good at hanging out ever since Google+ launched last year, isn't about time you started broadcasting your act? After a good deal of time in a limited rollout, the social network is offering up its Hangouts On Air feature to everyone. Now you can broadcast yourself on Google+ or YouTube. On Air lets you monitor views and record and re-share the content after the fact. Get down with the explanatory video after the break.

Continue reading Google+ lets you broadcast your Hangouts

Google+ lets you broadcast your Hangouts originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 May 2012 06:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Triple Barrel Revolver Makes Anyone an Expert Marksman [Guns]

If you thought that double barrel handgun we posted a while back would help to improve your accuracy, you wouldn't even have to be looking at your target to hit it with this triple barrel revolver. More »


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Watch Our 'Snow White And The Huntsman' Cast Q&A!


Photo: MTV News

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Tuna Scrape: The Pulverized Scrap Fish Paste Inside Your Spicy Tuna Roll [Gross]

Just when pescatarians thought they were safe, news come to us of tuna scrape, the pink slime of the sea. After a fish has been filleted, there is often salvageable meat still left on its skeleton. Scrape is the combined chopped mixture of scraps from filleted fish whose leftover meat is still good enough not to waste. More »


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