Dust from Chinese storm reaches central California

NASA Earth Observatory

NASA's Aqua satellite captured this image of a dust storm from the Gobi Desert that blew across the coastal plain of eastern China in mid-March 2013. This week, California air pollution watchdogs report dust from that storm reached Owens Valley, on the east side of the Sierra Nevada.

By Samantha Tata, NBCLosAngeles.com

Dust from China's Gobi Desert drifted thousands of miles to hang over a central California mountain range this week, according to the Great Basin Unified Air Pollution Control District, a California regional government agency that monitors the environment.

The massive dust event on March 10 blew sediment from the Gobi Desert across eastern China, prompting health warnings that pollution levels were dangerously high in the country, according to NASA.

Those particles, which have since dissipated, reached Owens Valley, about 225 miles north of Los Angeles and east of the Sierra Nevada mountain range.

The Air Pollution Control District reported dust was first noticed on March 22. The agency monitors particulates near Owens Lake, which went dry in 1926 after water was diverted from the Owens River to the city of Los Angeles.

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Beware double standard against working moms ? Business ...

Here?s an important reminder that it takes just one Nean?der?thal boss to launch a lawsuit: Treat??ing working mothers differently than working fathers is sex discrimination. Never turn a blind eye if you hear a super?visor is doing just that.

Recent case: Shannon, who has young children, worked for medical equipment manufacturer Hologic. After she took two days off to care for her kids, her boss commented that he thought her children were interfering with her job. A few months later, he repeated his criticism, telling her that ?no one with young children can do this job.?

Shannon reported the comments to HR. Shortly after, she learned she was being terminated.

Shannon sued, alleging sex discrimination because male employees with young children hadn?t been criticized. Hologic argued that it hadn?t en??gaged in sex discrimination because it had replaced Shannon with a woman. It tried to get the case tossed out.

The court refused. The question wasn?t whether the company hired women, but whether it treated a subset of women?those with young children?differently than a subset of men who also had young children. The case now proceeds to trial. (Swider v. Hologic, No. 12-1547, DC MN, 2012)

Final note: Shannon?s last day at work was about six weeks after she was informed in person that she would lose her job. However, Shannon asked several times whether she really was being fired, and received no clear answer. She filed her complaint within 300 days of her last day at work, but more than 300 days after she was first told.

The court said that because Hologic didn?t clearly state she was being fired, she could use the last day of work to calculate her filing deadline. Lesson: Put all notices in writing.

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Bosnia: Man sentenced to 45 years for war crimes

SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) ? A court in Bosnia on Friday convicted a Montenegrin man of multiple counts of murder, torture, rape and looting during Bosnia's 1992-95 war, and sentenced him to 45 years in prison ? the highest sentence ever issued in the country.

Judge Zoran Bozic said that Veselin Vlahovic, killed 31 people, raped a number of Bosniak and Croat women and tortured and robbed non-Serb residents of a Sarajevo suburb while fighting for the Bosnian Serbs. Among other crimes, the judge described how Vlahovic cut the throats of two brothers in front of their mother, then killed her and raped the men's wives.

"We are happy with the maximum sentence," said Boris Grubisic, the spokesman for the Prosecutor's office.

He said that during the trial some of the 112 witnesses described the rape of heavily pregnant women and mothers being raped in front of their children. Grubisic said that Vlahovic committed the crimes over several months. Although he received the maximum sentence, the prosecution still plans to appeal because he was acquitted on six counts.

Vlahovic's layer Radivoje Lazarevic said he also will appeal the sentence because he believes that some of the 60 counts on which Vlahovic was convicted were not proven.

Vlahovic, 43, showed no reaction when the judge pronounced the verdict.

In 1992, when Bosnian Serb forces laid siege to Sarajevo, they mistreated non-Serb residents of the areas that they controlled. Vlahovic was the commander of a paramilitary unit that went from house to house looking for Muslims and Catholics, then looted their homes, tortured and often killed entire families.

Edina Kamenica, a Muslim woman who lived in one of the Serb-held neighborhoods, followed the trial carefully. She said Vlahovic ? known as "the monster from Grbavica" ? came to her door.

"He asked if there were any Turks inside and if I had answered 'yes' I would have be alive," she said.

During the war Serbs often referred to Muslim Bosnians as Turks because of their hatred of the Turkish-Ottoman empire that ruled over the Balkan peninsula for 500 years.

Bakira Hasecic, the head of an association of victims of wartime rape, said the sentence was the best satisfaction that so far came from Bosnia's war crimes court, but added that Vlahovic was such a monster that even the maximum sentence was not enough for him.

Vlahovic fled to neighboring Serbia and Montenegro after the war. He was jailed in Montenegro for armed robbery but escaped from prison. Spanish police then found him in 2010 living in the town of Altea. He was extradited to Bosnia the same year although he is also wanted in Spain for robbery and assault with a firearm.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/bosnia-man-sentenced-45-years-war-crimes-111616575.html

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In Cyprus, The Bank Run That Wasn't (Voice Of America)

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Creative SEO Tip: Newsjacking - Search Engine Watch (#SEW)

Google is growing market share and vowing to implement more changes aimed at reducing web spam and manipulative linking. But to the average small business owner these constant changes are mystifying or even maddening. To small businesses, Google seems to be sending a consistent message: Link building, in all forms, is manipulative and bad.

But this can?t be true. We know that Google?s algorithm runs on links at the core. How can there be such a disparity between what everyone knows to be true and the message Google sends to marketers?

First Reaction: Give Up on SEO

In the face of continuing Google updates and a desire to stay ?clean,? most marketers flirt with the idea of giving up on SEO entirely and turn to PPC. PPC should be in the marketing portfolio already, as it is an excellent complement to search engine optimization.

PPC should be used for testing new keyword spaces, end-user reactions to copy, time-on-site and conversion behaviors. It is the right tool because it brings traffic quickly. But long term, PPC is expensive and estimating PPC ROI is difficult.

The next target is social media. Social media has serious media hype behind it, leading many to believe it is a viable alternative to SEO.

While social media is critical for public relations, customer service and reputation management, data strongly suggests that social media is not a great source of first-time visitors?(i.e., leads) for small businesses. Like PPC, social media is an important part of a diversified marketing strategy. And it is vital for content marketing. But it is not a silver bullet.

Second Reaction: Do SEO Faster (and More Poorly)

Faced with the realization that SEO has the strongest ROI, small business marketers often come to the conclusion that they just need to do SEO faster. Sadly, this usually means cutting corners and doing SEO more poorly.

Thin content is not a viable onsite SEO strategy. Furthermore, thin content placed in low-authority article directories does not bring strong results. Guest blog posts can be very beneficial, but not on unrelated websites. In short, link manipulation techniques that may have worked 4 years ago are now detrimental.

Avoid bad link building techniques, as Google has gotten much stronger as spotting link manipulation attempts and schemes. Don?t use spammy blog networks or buy links from shady websites. Don?t make articles without co-citation and then spin them. This is not helpful to the end-user and leaves a bad footprint in the link graph.

Final Reaction: SEO Requires Effort, Purpose and Creativity

After the dust settles (or a webmaster receives a penalty), the smart marketer starts viewing the costs associated with good SEO as a wise investment. At this point, they start to think creatively about SEO and explore the full potential of inbound marketing. They invest in building relationships while they are building links, which to the uninitiated may not even make sense. Relationships breed accountability whereas anonymity does not.

After drinking the SEO Kool-Aid, marketers recognize that their link building should be in the form of content that has real purpose and value?to the end-reader.

In short, they transform from link building SEO professionals to content marketers. They start writing for a real audience, caring about facts and statistics. The presentation of content is upgraded with relevant images and is never reused. Content is syndicated to higher-value websites now that it takes longer to procure. The end-result is stronger for end-users, and marketers invariably start to look for more creative ways to syndicate content with the hopes of something going viral.

Creative SEO Tip: Newsjacking

Newsjacking is a newer idea in SEO, but a natural extension of content marketing. While it sounds like a negative term, it is not. Newsjacking is a technique in which marketers ride existing demand associated with breaking news for exposure. In other words, smart marketers know there is extremely high demand for breaking news stories and use this to their advantage by contributing to the overall discussion.

What is newsjacking?

• Paying attention to breaking news
• Understanding the keywords being searched for in a particular news cycle
• Producing high-quality, well-researched content that serves a specific demand for information
• Syndicating content very quickly to be found when other news organizations search for sources.

Small businesses can?t newsjack any story, it has to be related to their space. But most businesses won?t have difficulty finding breaking news that somehow relates to their business.

For example, a high profile fire in a historic building could be used by a construction company to highlight the importance of local code and inspections. A bank robbery could be used by a home security company to discuss the merits of a reliable security system. In both cases, working in a natural sentence that highlights the company?s position will not be difficult.

Newsjacking is similar to content marketing in that the content comes first and the marketing second. Serve the reader?s desire for news, facts and opinion ? but use that opportunity for a branded mention and a link (yes, it is still OK to get a link when you work for it). Finally, use social media for quick dissemination and viral spread. Recognize that unlike content marketing, newsjacking is fleeting and timing is critical.

Conclusions

Regardless of the debate on Google?s effectiveness today, all agree that Google will continue to make updates to its algorithm to spot unnatural link manipulation. Smart marketers understand this trend, but don?t want to give up on SEO due to the ROI.

After exhausting PPC and social media, SEO professionals turn to high-quality, creative techniques to contribute valuable content while gaining exposure and links. Content Marketing is a well-established technique.

Newsjacking, a type of content marketing, places the emphasis on breaking news events rather than how-tos or technical Information and rides the wave of existing demand for news information to get well-earned backlinks and branded mentions.

---

Become an Expert Digital Marketer at SES New York
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Source: http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2258014/Creative-SEO-Tip-Newsjacking

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Diapers of tomorrow may be a real gas

Berkskoetter lab / Brown University

Acrylate, a chemical found in diapers, can be made from CO2 and ethylene gas. The reaction forms a five-membered ring that must be cracked open so a carbon double bond can form.

By Tanya Lewis
LiveScience

A chemical found in diapers and other materials could be made more cheaply and sustainably from carbon dioxide, research shows.

Each year, companies produce billions of tons of the chemical known as acrylate, which is used to make the superabsorbent material that lines polyester fabrics and?diapers.?The polymer it forms is one of the components in diapers, along with the polyethylene in their outer layer,?that makes them resist degradation in landfills. Companies usually make acrylate by heating propylene, a chemical found in crude oil. Now, researchers have developed a way to produce the chemical using carbon dioxide and a strong acid.

"What we're interested in is enhancing both the economics and the sustainability of how acrylate is made," chemist Wesley Bernskoetter of Brown University, who led the study, said in a statement. The research was published in the journal?Organometallics. "Right now, everything that goes into making it is from relatively expensive, nonrenewable carbon sources."

Scientists have been working on alternative ways to produce the diaper chemical since the 1980s, for instance by mixing carbon dioxide gas with ethylene gas using a metal catalyst like nickel. The planet certainly has no shortage of carbon dioxide, and ethylene can be made from plant biomass (and is cheaper than propylene).

Ethylene and carbon dioxide undergo a chemical reaction?to form a molecule with a five-atom ring of oxygen, nickel and three carbon atoms. To form acrylate, this ring must be broken so that a double bond can form between two of the carbon atoms, a process known as elimination.

Breaking open that ring has proven challenging. But Bernskoetter and colleagues found that chemicals known as Lewis acids can crack this ring open by stealing electrons away from the bond between nickel and oxygen. Using this method, the researchers were able to quickly slice open the ring to produce acrylate.

The process could ultimately be scaled up to produce acrylate in an industrial setting, Bernskoetter said. The next step will be adjusting the strength of the Lewis acid. As a proof of concept, the researchers used the strongest acid possible, one made from boron. This acid cannot be used in a repeatable process, however, because it bonds to the acrylate.

Bernskoetter is optimistic about finding an acid that will work, because Lewis acids come in a wide array of strengths.

The payoff for developing a successful new method of creating acrylate could be big, Bernskoetter said. "It's around a $2 billion-a-year industry," he said. "If we can find a way to make acrylate more cheaply, we think the industry will be interested."

Follow Tanya Lewis on Twitter?and Google+.?Follow us @livescience, Facebook?and Google+. Original article on?LiveScience.com.

Copyright 2013 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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To Google or not to Google?

A Christian Science perspective: Online research can be helpful and informative as well as addictive and captivating, especially when symptoms of illness are involved. How does anyone draw the line?

By Laura Moliter / March 28, 2013

Does it seem that it?s easy to get drawn into finding all the answers to our lives through the Internet? This available, expansive, and fast technological advance is bringing information to the world quickly and comprehensively. Anytime we need to find a restaurant, a date, or the last time the moon was full, we have an immediate answer on the Web.

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The advancements in accessibility of information and communication can lead us to new ideas, expanded thought, and connections across the globe. It?s a tool that has saved lives by reaching those in need with inspiration and care. Exploring topics of well-being with discernment, expectation, as well as wisdom and self-control, can open us up to the very idea we need just when we need it.

But there is also a danger I?ve learned to be alert to. A reliance on other people?s thoughts and opinions can be addictive and hypnotic. Instead of leading to well-being, it can lead us into a morass of information that is overwhelming, conflicting, confusing, and often depressing. How helpful is that?

While I?ve certainly found gems of inspiration and comforting insights on the Web just when I?ve needed them, I?ve also been a victim of the hypnotism it can promote when I?m not on guard. I have willingly set myself down before the Google god and typed my question into its gaping maw. The answers have usually been prolific. And one answer has led only to another question and another question, portal to portal into an endless, dark maze.

I?ve found this mesmerizing trip into a cyberspace abyss to be the most compelling in relation to health, which is such a prime personal concern for everyone. It?s a topic ripe for a bottomless trough of information. When we are suffering from some malady, human nature wants to know what it is. And since very often we are shy about talking about our ailments, why not consult Google? Or Bing? Or Ask Jeeves? Or this or that blog that looks reputable? These resources don?t know me, so they won?t lie to me or judge me.

And so the appointment with Dr. Google uncovers the fact that I am either (1) on my last days and should prepare my estate, (2) paranoid and ignorant, (3) stuck with my problem forever as there is no cure, or (4) easily cured with expensive drugs or a drink of cool water.

So, more questions, more googling, more time wasted, weary eyes, frustration, and often, increased fear. What have I gained? Isn?t this process of search with no rescue akin to mesmerism? Isn?t it simply putting faith in another?s opinion, needing another?s validation to tell me what is true even if I don?t know the integrity of the source? Even when that source has no particular awareness of my individual situation?

One day I found myself wondering about a recurring physical symptom, and, against my higher intuitions, ruminating about it. Before I knew it, I was caught in the middle of this googled mire of sometimes incomprehensible information and found myself transfixed by it. Time whipped by. My mind became a jumble of prognoses, remedies, causes, and fears. I was google-eyed! Then, blessedly, a firm yet inaudible voice broke the mesmerism and rescued me: ?Step away from the machine. God, Truth, has the reliable answer, the right one for you, and it is also full of love. Hit ?escape? and ?refresh!? ?

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/axavPL2vhNM/To-Google-or-not-to-Google

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US court sides with EPA in Michigan pollution case

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) -- A federal appeals court says government regulators can take action when they fear a power company construction project might significantly increase air pollution, without waiting to see if they were right.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency sued DTE Energy in 2010 because the company replaced key boiler parts at its Monroe Unit 2 without installing pollution controls that are required whenever a utility performs a major overhaul. DTE said the project was only routine maintenance.

U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman threw out the suit, saying EPA went to court too soon.

But the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned his decision Thursday. In a 2-1 ruling, the court says the law doesn't block EPA from challenging suspected violations of its regulations until long after power plants are modified.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/us-court-sides-epa-michigan-174148034.html

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Apple Appears In Court In China To Defend Against Siri Patent Infringement Claim

Apple is in court again in China, defending another of its products from attack based on pre-existing claims from a Chinese company. This time around it's Siri, Apple's virtual assistant, that has landed it in Chinese legal trouble, after last year another company took issue with the iPad trademark resulting in a $60 million settlement deal.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/XIY9Ky7kV_A/

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Hong Kong court rejects Filipino maids' plea for residency

Domestic workers in Hong Kong have long been treated a notch below other foreign workers, and are told that admission into the country can never be for the purposes of settlement.

By Robert Marquand,?Staff writer / March 25, 2013

Sringatin, a member of a domestic workers union, cries outside the Court of Final Appeal in Hong Kong Monday, March 25, 2013. Hong Kong's top court ruled against two Filipino domestic helpers seeking permanent residency Monday, the final decision in a case that affects tens of thousands of other foreign maids in the southern Chinese financial hub.

Kin Cheung/AP

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Hong Kong?s top court announced that foreigners can enter the city as maids and domestic helpers, but cannot expect to settle there as permanent residents.

Skip to next paragraph Robert Marquand

Staff writer

Over the past three decades, Robert Marquand has reported on a wide variety of subjects for?The Christian Science Monitor, including American education reform,?the wars in the Balkans, the Supreme Court, South Asian politics, and the oft-cited "rise of China." In the past 15 years he has served as the Monitor's bureau chief in Paris, Beijing, and New Delhi.?

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The verdict deals a blow to a huge contingent of Filipino maids and nannies ? estimated at some 300,000 females, usually unmarried and under 35 ? who make up a diaspora in Hong Kong. The domestic workers are increasingly seen as an indispensable part of the fast-paced city's social fabric, helping keep the Chinese family working and orderly in a highly competitive environment.

Yet sadly for the maids, today?s ruling reverses a lower court verdict that would have allowed the women?to seek residency.?Had it been upheld, the ruling would have been a breakthrough for the rights of domestic workers, who often complain of overwork, second-class status, and occasionally, abuse.

The system for foreign workers in Hong Kong is stratified. As CNN notes today:

While other foreign workers can apply for permanent residency after spending seven consecutive years in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, domestic helpers are excluded from the law.

Justice Ma wrote in his ruling that foreign domestic helpers are "told from the outset that admission is not for the purposes of settlement."

The ruling was greeted with disappointment by campaigners.

"It's very unfortunate and it's sad but in a way it will make us stronger as it highlights the social exclusion that foreign domestic workers face in Hong Kong," said Cynthia Tellez, General Manager of the?United Filipinos in Hong Kong.

In recent years the ubiquitous Filipino maid has become a staple part of Hong Kong culture. They are known for hard work, dignity, and efficiency. Collectively, they have built a kind of mini-civic society: They have their own postal system, often police themselves, have a variety of support groups, and even run ballots and campaigns for elections back home.

Most middle- and upper-echelon Hong Kong families hire a maid, and apartments usually include a tiny space as the maid?s quarters or abode.

For many years on Sundays, usually their only day off, Filipino nannies peacefully and colorfully gathered in central Hong Kong, along the main boulevard, past the city hall and the old Admiralty building, putting down blankets or chairs and pulling out lunch baskets, stretching out two-or three deep on a sidewalk in a line that often is a half-mile long.

Yet the right of maids to assemble has been under attack, and their overall legal status has been shrinking, as the city contemplates the costs (said to be $3 billion or more) of offering them the kinds of equal access that would involve education and other social services.

The South China Morning Post writes:

The judgment ends the right of abode saga started by a judicial review sought by Evangeline Vallejos Banao, a mother of five, who has worked in Hong Kong since 1986. She had argued that an immigration provision barring domestic workers from permanent residency was unconstitutional.

Mark Daly, a lawyer for Vallejos, said his client was ?speechless but calmly resigned and said ?no problem.?

Vallejos won a High Court ruling in 2011 granting her the right to request permanent residency status, denied to the city?s 300,000 foreign maids until then. The decision however was overturned later on a government appeal.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/csmonitor/globalnews/~3/AXPsqnhYOmQ/Hong-Kong-court-rejects-Filipino-maids-plea-for-residency

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Pop star Bieber can't keep his clothes on at Polish airport

WARSAW (Reuters) - Teenage pop star Justin Bieber paraded through a Polish airport shirtless before flying out of the country, adding to a string of peculiar incidents that have plagued his European tour.

The Canadian singer had previously been spotted wearing a bizarre gas mask on a night out in London, where he turned up late for one concert and collapsed on stage with shortness of breath during another.

After a sold out concert in Lodz, central Poland, the 19-year-old took off his shirt in a car as it drove up to the airport late in the night on Monday.

He then walked topless to the airport building - in temperatures of about -10C (14F) - and then on to his gate, only to get dressed again before boarding a private jet.

"He wasn't told to take off his clothes. He had no metal objects on him." a spokeswoman for Lodz Airport told Reuters. "He's quite skinny so I assume he was probably freezing."

The concert's organizers put the incident down to a Bieber eccentricity.

The show in Lodz was the 19th European concert of Bieber's "Believe" tour. The next one is due to take place in Munich, Germany, on March 28.

Discovered on YouTube in 2008, Bieber is one of the pop world's biggest stars and has built up an online following of tens of millions of fans.

(Reporting by Dagmara Leszkowicz; Editing by Pravin Char)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pop-star-bieber-cant-keep-clothes-polish-airport-145304677.html

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Justin Bieber Accused of Battery, Involved in "Intense" Altercation

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/03/justin-bieber-accused-of-battery-involved-in-intense-altercation/

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Napolitano rejects ?border trigger? in immigration proposal

Janet Napolitano (Christian Science Monitor)

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano on Tuesday rejected a "border trigger" provision many Republican lawmakers say must be included in immigration reform legislation.

The proposal, which would require that that the U.S. border with Mexico be declared secure before illegal immigrants currently living in the U.S. could apply for citizenship, has sparked significant concern among progressives and union leaders. And Napolitano, a Democrat and former Arizona governor, revealed Tuesday at a Christian Science Monitor breakfast roundtable in Washington that she also believes it shouldn't be put into practice.

"Once people really look at the whole system and how it works, relying on one thing as a so-called trigger is not the way to go," Napolitano said, adding that there "needs to be certainty" in an immigration reform bill.

A bipartisan group group of senators known as the "Gang of 8" and some House members are currently working on immigration reform legislation in Congress and have been in communication with Napolitano personally and with her department.

But Napolitano on Tuesday refused to offer reporters any additional details on her communications with the Senate group.

She did reveal her belief that times have changed.

Napolitano noted that four years ago when she took the helm of the department, there was little appetite for immigration reform among members of Congress while two wars were being waged.

And last year, the 2012 election helped pushed things forward, she said.

"I think now is the time ... I think the election had consequences in that regard."

When asked to rate the Senate group's odds of success, Napolitano offered a nonspecific answer.

"I'm always optimistic," she said.

Napolitano said that today, 10 years after the creation of Department of Homeland Security in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, the U.S./Mexico border is more secure than ever before.

Napolitano mentioned a range of issues that fall under her department in addition to immigration, including the Secret Service, customs and border protection and, largely, terrorism.

Napolitano defended the recent decision by the Transportation Security Administration to permit pocketknives on airplanes, something originally outlawed after the 9/11 attacks. Members of Congress and other critics expressed outrage over the decision to make an exception for pocketknives, a decision set to take effect April 25.

But Napolitano on Tuesday said the move was appropriate.

"I think, frankly, it's the right decision," she said. "From a security standpoint, we're trying to prevent a bomb from getting on a plane, and if you're talking about a small knife, there are already things on a plane that somebody could convert into a small, sharp object."

She mentioned that what keeps her awake at night are unseen threats.

It's "not what I know about, 'cause what I know about, we can do something about," Napolitano said. "It's what's out there that I don't know about."

What she doesn't lie awake at night thinking about is the 2016 election.

?I think my plate is so full right now that I think that contemplation would be the kind of thing that would keep me up at night,? Napolitano said, brushing off a question about her presidential aspirations. ?And I lose enough sleep as it is.?

Combating terrorism and defending against attacks is a daily mission of the department, Napolitano said, adding that her department is aiming to hire "600 hackers for good," who will be focused on cyber threats.

Napolitano said she spends a lot of her time working on relations with the private sector with regard to cyber security.

But oddly enough, that doesn't mean she's personally up on the latest cyber technology.

Napolitano explained Tuesday that she does not use email. At all.

And she hasn't used email since she served as Arizona's attorney general around the year 2000.

"I think email sucks up time," she said, lamenting the hundreds of emails she found herself forced to "scroll through" daily and the way in which people used email as a replacement for making contact.

"I haven't found it to be a problem," she added. Napolitano said people who need to reach her are able to do so through her staff (who she mentioned use email for her) and via phone.

Oh, and she doesn't tweet or text either.

It "allows me to focus" on what's important, she said.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/dhs-secretary-janet-napolitano-doesn-t-rule-2016-144911624--politics.html

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EU finance ministers approve Cyprus bailout deal

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) ? Cyprus' Parliament president says a deal reached for his country to raise billions in order to qualify for an international bailout is a "painful one" for the island nation's people and a defeat for European solidarity.

Yiannakis Omirou said Monday that Cyprus must work fast to reform its economy and leave the bailout as soon as possible.

The deal reached in Brussels early Monday prevented Cyprus' imminent financial meltdown by securing a last-minute 10 billion euro ($13 billion) bailout on the condition that the country cut back its banking sector and force large losses on big deposits to help pay much of the bill.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/eu-finance-ministers-approve-cyprus-bailout-deal-052358580--finance.html

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Supreme Court Weighs Gay Marriage (WSJ)

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Big Moment For Vine As First Wolverine Movie Footage Comes Via 6-Second ?Tweaser? Instead Of Trailer

Vine's ready for its close-up. The first footage of new Marvel comics superhero film The Wolverine was released today through a Vine "tweaser" tweeted by director James Mangold. That's a big departure from the modern tradition of first releasing a trailer on a film's website, Apple's trailer page and YouTube. Seems Hollywood has realized nothing leaves people wanting more like a great Vine.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/ckjIB4M2seM/

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Police: No hazardous material at Berezovsky site

British police officers cordon off a road near a residence in Ascot, a town 40 kilometers (25 miles) west of London, Saturday, March 23, 2013. Boris Berezovsky, 67, a self-exiled and outspoken former Russian oligarch who had a bitter falling out with Russian President Vladimir Putin, was found dead Saturday in southeast England. Thames Valley police said his death was being treated as unexplained. They would not directly identify him, but when asked about him by name they read a statement saying they were investigating the death of a 67-year-old man at a property in Ascot. A mathematician turned Mercedes dealer, Berezovsky amassed his wealth during Russia's chaotic privatization of state assets in the early 1990's. The one-time Kremlin powerbroker fell out with Putin and sought political asylum in Britain in the early 2000's. He has lived in the U.K. ever since. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

British police officers cordon off a road near a residence in Ascot, a town 40 kilometers (25 miles) west of London, Saturday, March 23, 2013. Boris Berezovsky, 67, a self-exiled and outspoken former Russian oligarch who had a bitter falling out with Russian President Vladimir Putin, was found dead Saturday in southeast England. Thames Valley police said his death was being treated as unexplained. They would not directly identify him, but when asked about him by name they read a statement saying they were investigating the death of a 67-year-old man at a property in Ascot. A mathematician turned Mercedes dealer, Berezovsky amassed his wealth during Russia's chaotic privatization of state assets in the early 1990's. The one-time Kremlin powerbroker fell out with Putin and sought political asylum in Britain in the early 2000's. He has lived in the U.K. ever since. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

FILE - In this Jan. 26, 2000 file photo Russian tycoons Boris Berezovsky, left, and Roman Abramovich, then both lawmakers, walk after the session of the State Duma, parliament's lower house, in Moscow, Russia. United Kingdom police have said that Berezovsky has been found dead Saturday March 23, 2013. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev, File)

British police officers cordon off a road near a residence in Ascot, a town 40 kilometers (25 miles) west of London, Saturday, March 23, 2013. Boris Berezovsky, 67, a self-exiled and outspoken former Russian oligarch who had a bitter falling out with Russian President Vladimir Putin, was found dead Saturday in southeast England. Thames Valley police said his death was being treated as unexplained. They would not directly identify him, but when asked about him by name they read a statement saying they were investigating the death of a 67-year-old man at a property in Ascot. A mathematician turned Mercedes dealer, Berezovsky amassed his wealth during Russia's chaotic privatization of state assets in the early 1990's. The one-time Kremlin powerbroker fell out with Putin and sought political asylum in Britain in the early 2000's. He has lived in the U.K. ever since. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

FILE - A Wednesday, July 18, 2007 photo from files showing Russian exile Boris Berezovsky, a close friend of former Russian agent Alexander Litvinenko who was poisoned by Polonium 2-10, speaking to the media in a news conference in London. United Kingdom police have said that Berezovsky has been found dead Saturday March 23, 2013. (AP Photo/Sang Tan, File)

FILE - A Friday, Aug. 31, 2012 photo from files showing Russian tycoon Boris Berezovsky talking to the media after losing his case against Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich as he leaves the High Court in London. United Kingdom police have said that Berezovsky has been found dead Saturday March 23, 2013.(AP Photo/Sang Tan, File)

LONDON (AP) ? Chemical and radiation experts found no hazardous materials in their search of the property where Boris Berezovsky's body was found, as British police on Sunday investigated the unexplained death of the self-exiled Russian tycoon who went from Kremlin kingmaker to fiery critic.

Berezovsky, who fled to Britain in the early 2000s after a bitter falling out with Russian President Vladimir Putin, was found dead Saturday at the property in Ascot, a town 40 kilometers (25 miles) west of London. He was 67, and Thames Valley police say his death is being treated as "unexplained."

Police said Sunday that officers specially trained in chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear materials have given the scene the "all clear."

"Officers found nothing of concern in the property and we are now progressing the investigation as normal," a statement from police said, adding that the majority of the cordon put in place around the property has now been lifted.

Berezovsky ? who had survived a number of assassination attempts ? amassed a fortune through oil and automobiles during Russia's chaotic privatization of state assets following the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s.

Once a member of Russian President Boris Yeltsin's inner circle, Berezovsky fell out with Yeltsin's successor, Putin, and fled Britain in the early 2000s to escape fraud charges that he said were politically motivated.

He became a strident and frequent critic of Putin, accusing the leader of ushering in a dictatorship, and accused the security services of organizing the 1999 apartment house bombings in Moscow and two other Russian cities that became a pretext for Russian troops to sweep into Chechnya for the second war there in half a decade.

Putin's spokesman acknowledged Sunday that the Russian president considered Berezovsky an enemy with clearly stated intentions to fight.

"We know for certain that he spared no expense in support of processes, within Russia and beyond, that could be said to have been directed against Russia and Putin," spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on the independent cable television channel Rain. "He definitely was Putin's opponent, and unfortunately not only his political opponent, but most likely in other dimensions as well."

In recent years, Berezovsky fended off legal attacks that often bore political undertones ? and others that bit into his fortune.

Russia repeatedly sought to extradite on Berezovksy on a wide variety of criminal charges, and the tycoon vehemently rejected allegations over the years that he was linked to several deaths, including that of slain journalist Anna Politkovskaya and ex-KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko.

Berezovsky won a libel case in 2010 against a Kremlin-owned broadcaster that aired a show in which it was suggested he was behind the poisoning of Litvinenko, who had fled Russia with Berezovsky's help after accusing officials there of plotting to assassinate political opponents.

He took a hit with his divorce from Galina Besharova in 2010, paying what was at the time Britain's largest divorce settlement. The figure beat a previous record of 48 million pounds ($73.1 million) and was estimated as high as 100 million pounds, though the exact figure was never confirmed.

Last year, Berezovsky lost a multibillion-pound High Court case against fellow Russian Roman Abramovich and was ordered to pay 35 million pounds ($53.3 million) in legal costs.

Berezovsky had claimed that Abramovich, the billionaire owner of Chelsea Football Club, cheated him out of his stakes in the oil group Sibneft, arguing that he blackmailed him into selling the stakes vastly beneath their true worth after he lost Putin's good graces.

But a judge threw out the case in August, ruling that Berezovsky was a dishonest and unreliable witness, and rejected Berezovsky's claims that he was threatened by Putin and Alexander Voloshin, a Putin ally, to coerce him to sell his Sibneft stake.

It also recently emerged that Berezovsky ran up legal bills totaling more than 250,000 pounds in just two months of a case against his former partner, Elena Gorbunova, with whom he had two children and who claimed the businessman owed her millions.

Earlier this week, The Times of London newspaper reported that Berezovsky was selling property ? including an Andy Warhol portrait of the former Soviet Union leader Vladimir Lenin ? to settle his debts and pay expenses owed to lawyers.

News of Berezovsky's death has prompted conspiracy theories along with speculation as to his state of mind, given his recent financial setbacks.

Ilya Zhegulev, a journalist with the Russian edition of Forbes magazine, said he spoke with Berezovsky the day before he died and discussed the tycoon's decision to flee Russia in 2000.

The journalist quoted Berezovsky as saying that during his years in London he had lost the meaning of life.

"I no longer want to be involved in politics," Zhegulev quoted Berezovsky as saying in a story published Saturday on the Forbes.ru website.

He said Berezovsky told him that he wanted nothing more than to return to Russia. The former oligarch said he had changed his views on Russia, saying he now understood that it should not look to Europe as a model.

"I had absolutely, idealistically imagined that it was possible to build a democratic Russia. And idealistically imagined what democracy was in the center of Europe. I underestimated the inertia of Russia and greatly overestimated the West. This took place gradually. I changed my understanding of Russia's path," he quoted Berezovsky as having said.

___

AP writer Lynn Berry in Moscow contributed to this report. Cassandra Vinograd can be reached at http://twitter.com/CassVinograd

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-03-24-Britain-Berezovsky/id-6bdec1513e774bc199b38322c528ed4e

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Coach leads Florida Gulf Coast to NCAA success

Florida Gulf Coast head coach Andy Enfield smiles during a news conference for a third-round game of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Saturday, March 23, 2013, in Philadelphia. Florida Gulf Coast is scheduled to play San Diego State on Sunday. (AP Photo/Michael Perez)

Florida Gulf Coast head coach Andy Enfield smiles during a news conference for a third-round game of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Saturday, March 23, 2013, in Philadelphia. Florida Gulf Coast is scheduled to play San Diego State on Sunday. (AP Photo/Michael Perez)

San Diego State's Jamaal Franklin, center, listens to a question with Deshawn Stephens, left, and Chase Tapley during a news conference for a third-round game of the NCAA men's college basketball tournament, Saturday, March 23, 2013, in Philadelphia. San Diego State is scheduled to play Florida Gulf Coast on Sunday. (AP Photo/Michael Perez)

San Diego State head coach Steve Fisher speaks during a news conference for a third-round game of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Saturday, March 23, 2013, in Philadelphia. San Diego State is scheduled to play Florida Gulf Coast on Sunday. (AP Photo/Michael Perez)

Florida Gulf Coast head coach Andy Enfield walks to a news conference for a third-round game of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Saturday, March 23, 2013, in Philadelphia. Florida Gulf Coast is scheduled to play San Diego State on Sunday. (AP Photo/Michael Perez)

PHILADELPHIA (AP) ? Build a state university in the swamplands of south Florida. Move the athletic program to the highest level in college sports and hire a self-made millionaire basketball coach. When his team makes the NCAA tournament, say in Year 2 of its eligibility, beat a tradition-rich opponent like a Georgetown.

That is Florida Gulf Coast University's formula for success.

It took 16 years, and now the school from south Florida is the talk of March Madness.

"Fort Myers is kind of rocking and rolling right now," FGCU forward Eddie Murray said Saturday, less than 24 hours after the No. 15 Eagles beat second-seeded Georgetown 78-68. "They're really excited. This is a big thing for the city and I'm glad we could deliver this."

It was one heck of a delivery.

Suddenly, a school with an enrollment of about 12,000, whose first graduating class wore the caps and gowns in 2001, is getting national attention because of a basketball team loaded with players whose best recruiting offers were from conferences like the Atlantic 10 and Missouri Valley.

The teenagers bought into the pitch from Andy Enfield, a coach made millions starting up a document imaging and contract management company in the health care industry, and who happens to be married to former supermodel Amanda Marcum. They have three children.

Hard to argue with that kind of salesman.

"Yes, we sold this vision," said Enfield, who has also spent time as an assistant coach in the NBA and at Florida State, and has been a shooting consultant for several NBA players. "It wasn't play San Diego State in the (third) round on a Sunday in Philadelphia, it was a vision of success, it was a vision of ... what they could expect in the classroom, off the court and on the basketball court. That's the vision we sell, and I think that's most recruiting. You have to let players know what they should expect from you during their time at school."

Enfield's motto is simple and he's lived up to it.

"I aim for the stars," he said.

Right now he's taking the team and the school with him.

"The biggest thing he's given me has just been confidence," Murray said. "There have been things technique-wise but the biggest thing has definitely been confidence."

The Eagles (25-10) put on a classic performance against Georgetown, putting on an offensive display unlike any seen against the Hoyas this season. Their 21-2 run in the second half stunned and delighted the sellout crowd at the Wells Fargo Center, and their ability to hold off final charge by the Big East team, sold the fans on the legitimacy of the win.

"Early on in the game I kind of thought that more people would be going for the underdog, but they weren't really too vocal in the beginning," Murray said. "As we started getting a couple of dunks here and there, knocking down a couple of 3s and going on a big run against Georgetown, the crowd really started to erupt, become more vocal. The place really started rocking there for a while. Yeah, all these people in Philadelphia have really come to like our team and are rooting for us."

So is a lot of the country, despite the Eagles shattering bracket sheets.

"I've received congratulatory message and advice from other coaches, people in the media, family, friends, people I haven't seen or heard from in 20 years," Enfield said, estimating his phone had 450 text messages ? and counting.

While Fort Myers and nearby Naples may be known for their retirement communities, the area also has some good golf courses, wetland areas ? and the wildlife that comes with them.

"You would see wild animals crossing the road," said Murray, a local who grew up about 20 miles away from the FGCU campus. "Personally, I've seen everything from wild boar, bobcats and, of course, alligators."

That didn't deter the students ? and basketball players ? from attending school on a campus just a few minutes from the Gulf of Mexico that has dorms overlooking a beach on a lake.

"I'm from Orlando, so even being from Florida, a lot of people that I'm close to, they didn't even know where Florida Gulf Coast was or they never heard of it," said Sherwood Brown, the Atlantic Sun player of the year, who led the Eagles against Georgetown with 24 points.

One person who knows something about FGCU is Steve Fisher, the coach of San Diego State (23-10), which will face the Eagles with a berth in the Sweet 16 at stake. A No. 15 seed has never made it to the regional semifinals, while the Aztecs are looking to do it for the second time in three seasons.

"I probably knew more than any coach in America about them because I've got a condo that I've had from my days in the Midwest in Fort Myers Beach, a stone's throw from Florida Gulf Coast," said Fisher, who coached Michigan to the 1989 national championship and two other Final Four appearances.

"I read all about them starting sports. I went over to the campus. I've been on the campus. I've toured it.

"They're good. I think it's legitimate."

Fisher said the low seeding and the short history has nothing to do with this team.

"If we were playing a shirts and skins game with all 64 teams and you brought all the teams out there and watched them warm up, you'd be hard pressed to say, 'Well, this is a team that's not supposed to win,'" he said. "They're good. They're talented. They're well-coached. And they played terrific last night."

The Aztecs broke open their 70-55 win over Oklahoma with a late run behind Jamal Franklin, who leads the San Diego State in scoring, rebounding, assists and steals.

"We can't get ahead to the Elite 8 or the Sweet 16," Franklin said. "Tomorrow is Sunday and that brings Florida Gulf Coast in our path and we've got to worry about playing a good team and we've got to worry about getting that win."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-03-23-NCAA-Florida%20Gulf%20Coast-San%20Diego%20St/id-1cf852088727453eb193fca218587fc4

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Report: Dell likely to receive more takeover bids

Michael Dell may face competition over his bid to take the computer maker he founded private in a $24.4 billion deal.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that buyout specialist Blackstone Group and activist investor Carl Icahn have both notified a special committee of Dell Inc.'s board that they are working on bids for the company.

Michael Dell and a group of investors announced their bid, valued at $13.65 per share, in early February. The company's board then set a 45-day period to allow for offers that might top that bid. That period expired Friday. The Journal says the notification will allow Blackstone and Icahn time to develop their offers.

Icahn and others have criticized the Michael Dell bid as being too low.

A Dell representative declined comment.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-03-23-Dell-Acquisition/id-21c26c71bc0f4466bf8d8b7606b2cc2b

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How to See Argo Tonight (the Constellation, Not the Movie)

Spring has just arrived in the Northern Hemisphere, bringing with it some new and interesting skywatching sights.

The evening sky of early spring is dominated in the northeast by a very large constellation, Ursa Major, the Great Bear, and in the southeast by Leo, the Lion, containing the bluish-white 1st-magnitude star Regulus.?

Ursa Major is indeed one of the largest constellations, but at one time there was a constellation in our spring sky that was even bigger. It's the star pattern that the ancients made into the huge constellation of Argo Navis, the Ship, which currently occupies most of the sky down near the south and southwest horizon in early evening.

Was this Noah's Ark?

If you mention the name "Argo" days, the first thing that will probably pop into most people's heads is the Oscar-winner for best motion picture. [Sky Maps for March 2013]

Indeed, you'll be looking in vain for the name Argo on modern sky charts, for it officially passed out of existence in 1930, when the International Astronomical Union defined the presently recognized constellations and their boundaries.?

The IAU broke Argo up into four separate parts: Puppis the Stern, Vela the Sails, Carina the Keel (which contains the brilliant yellow-white star Canopus, the second brightest in the night sky), and Pyxis the Mariner?s Compass. The stars that comprise this last group actually belonged at one time to the non-defunct star pattern Malus, the Mast.

Interestingly, in his classic star guide "The Stars ? A New Way to See Them" (Houghton-Mifflin Co., Boston), the late H.A. Rey kept Argo intact, referring to it simply as "The Ship," and describing it as ?a large majestic group.?

Argo was regarded as a ship by several early civilizations and has often been thought of as Noah's Ark. About 5,000 years ago it appeared farther north than it does now, thanks to the wobbling motion of the Earth on its axis known as precession. ?

Ancient stargazers in Greece and Asia Minor would see this celestial ship sailing westward ? albeit stern first (Rey suggested that perhaps the ship was trying to correct an error in navigation) ? and along the Mediterranean horizon as the night progressed.?

In Greek mythology, the Argo carried Jason and his 50 Argonauts to Colchis at the eastern end of the Black Sea, to recover the Golden Fleece. The goddess Athena, who procured a magical oaken prow that had the powers of thought and speech and was thereby able to guide the crew, supervised the ship?s construction.?

At launching time, however, the vessel refused to slide into the water until Orpheus charmed it with his lyre, one of a number of feats he performed with that instrument (now commemorated in our summer sky by the constellation Lyra).

Don?t follow this cross!

Readers of this column who live south of the equator are probably well acquainted with four stars in this part of the sky ? two belonging to Vela and two belonging to Carina ? known collectively as the "False Cross."?

Not only do these four stars bear a superficial resemblance to the true Southern Cross (Crux), but they are even oriented in roughly the same way, though positioned farther to the north.

Hence an uninitiated observer might easily mistake the False Cross for the true one, which is honored on the flags of such countries as Australia and New Zealand. But only Crux points to the south celestial pole (matching the Pointers of the Big Dipper in this respect).

Yet the False Cross will have its time of glory 66 centuries from now, in the year 8600, when the pole will have precessed to a point just east of the cross-arm' intersection.? By then, perhaps when our descendants are asked where the South Pole of the sky is located, all they need do is say, "X marks the spot!"

Joe Rao serves as an instructor and guest lecturer at New York's Hayden Planetarium. He writes about astronomy for The?New York Times and other publications, and he is also an on-camera meteorologist for News 12 Westchester, New York.?Follow us?@Spacedotcom,?Facebook?or?Google+.?Originally published on?SPACE.com.

Copyright 2013 SPACE.com, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/see-argo-tonight-constellation-not-movie-211100099.html

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Halladay coming to grips

CLEARWATER, Fla. ? In a strong acknowledgement that he is no longer the pitcher he once was, Roy Halladay admitted Saturday that he is in the process of reinventing himself.

The two-time Cy Young award winner does not throw as hard as he did in his prime. He can no longer carve up hitters on pure stuff alone. As he steams toward his 36th birthday, he knows he must change.

He has altered his training regimen, adjusted his delivery mechanics, and is now tinkering with the grip of his once vaunted cut fastball -- all with the hope of staying ahead of the hitters who so far this spring have been way ahead of him.

?I don?t know of any guys who were throwing harder as they got older,? Halladay said after making a less than impressive minor-league start Saturday. ?You?re always trying to evolve with the game and your body.

?To me, it?s a competition, not a boxing match. It?s not a strength-vs.-strength. It?s a chess match. It?s competition of the mind, and execution, and being smarter, and being more prepared. To me, that?s what I?ve enjoyed. That?s what I?ve liked about baseball.

?You look at a Jamie Moyer. He could compete with the best of them. He would?ve gotten knocked out in the first round if he was a boxer. It?s just a different mentality. It?s not about the strength and throwing harder and overpowering guys. It?s about outsmarting and being more prepared and being more consistent. That to me is a challenge.?

This will be Halladay?s challenge in 2013: Can he get by with diminishing stuff? The question surfaced last season and has turned into a roar this spring as he has struggled to get his fastball to touch 90 mph.

Six days after leaving the mound after 25 pitches with a stomach bug that wrung 10 pounds from his body, Halladay returned to the mound to face a Toronto Blue Jays? minor-league club Saturday.

Halladay said he felt good physically. He said his arm felt ?great.? His fastball was mostly 88 mph, but he did hit 90 a time or two. He believes there?s a tick or two more of velocity in there, but time will tell if that happens.

Despite feeling so good, Halladay did not have good results. He retired just seven of the 18 batters he faced. He allowed seven hits, including three doubles, three runs, walked two and struck out just one in four innings. If this were early spring training, that lackluster line wouldn?t have been a big deal. But this late in camp, seeing Halladay hit hard couldn?t have been comforting to Phillies officials who have one eye on Doc?s gas gauge as they steer the team toward opening day.

?He was OK,? was GM Ruben Amaro Jr.?s assessment of Halladay?s performance.

Amaro was in a rush to get to Sarasota for the varsity game.

Pitching coach Rich Dubee, also rushing to Sarasota, was little more enthusiastic.

?He?s coming along,? Dubee said. ?Eighty-eight to 90.?

Halladay?s game plan was to throw a lot of cutters and sinkers. He acknowledged that it was a predictable game plan and that might have helped the Toronto minor leaguers, but he said he needed to work on those two pitches, especially with two strikes. He said he didn?t want to fall into a pattern where hitters were always looking for soft stuff with two strikes. To the naked eye, Halladay had trouble putting hitters away with two strikes.

?I think guys get used to getting two-strike counts and me going softer with the curve or changeup,? Halladay said. ?If I can stand them up a couple of times with something hard, I think it'll make those other pitches more effective. That's something we've been trying to work on, especially today. It lengthens the counts, and you get more foul balls. Hopefully it's something that will pay off down the road for us."

Halladay threw 81 pitches. He tinkered with his cutter grip throughout and found an adjustment that he liked in his final inning. He hopes to get to 95 pitches in his next start, scheduled for Thursday, the day the Phils close camp and head north.

Halladay said he would approach that start more like a regular outing, where he will mix pitches more. He believes he can get to 95 pitches in that start, which would put him in position to reach 100 in his first start of the regular season, tentatively scheduled for April 3 in Atlanta. If the Phils believe Halladay needs more time, they could push him back a few days, but the pitcher believes he?ll be ready.

Time will tell if he is.

And time will tell if his reinventing of himself can bring about positive results.

Notes
The Phillies won the big-league game, 13-4, over the Orioles in Sarasota.

The Phils outhit the Orioles, 14-10. Five of the Phils? hits were home runs ? two by Chase Utley and one each by Ryan Howard, Domonic Brown and Yuniesky Betancourt. Howard has six homers on the spring, Brown seven.

Aaron Cook allowed four hits and two runs over 4 2/3 innings. Cook could open the season as starting depth at Triple A, but the Phils must pay him a $100,000 retention bonus on Tuesday for that to happen.

Freddy Galvis, who is bidding to make the team as a utility infielder, played some rightfield in the game. We took a look at Galvis? situation, and the utility-infield picture on the whole, in this story.

The Phillies host the Red Sox on Sunday. Cliff Lee is the starting pitcher.

Source: http://www.csnphilly.com/baseball-philadelphia-phillies/halladay-comes-grips-it-he%E2%80%99s-different-pitcher

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Chicago closing 54 schools in face of $1 billion deficit

Charles Rex Arbogast / AP

Parents protest outside the home of Chicago Board of Education President David Vitale on Thursday, March 21. The school district said it was closing more than 50 schools to cut costs.

By M. Alex Johnson, staff writer, NBC News

Crushed by a $1 billion education budget deficit, Chicago is closing 54 public schools, school district officials announced Thursday.

The official list of closings isn't due to be published until March 31, but parents were learning whether their schools were on the list in letters that were already being sent home with students.

---

The school district's chief executive, Barbara Byrd-Bennett, said the district is 20 percent under capacity ? almost 100,000 students ? ?leaving many schools half-empty. The district will save $500 million to $800 million for each school that is closed, she has said in community forums and news interviews leading up to Thursday's announcement.

"We've got at least two decades of decay, of children not being able to receive the kind of education that they should," Byrd-Bennett told NBC 5 of Chicago.

Karen Lewis, president of the Chicago Teachers Union, which has been protesting the coming cuts for weeks, said the closings would mean "utter chaos."

"This city cannot destroy that many schools," Lewis said in a statement. "These actions will put our students' safety and academics at risk and will further destabilize our neighborhoods."

Lewis blamed Mayor Rahm Emanuel for the schools' disarray, calling him "the murder mayor."

"He is murdering public services (and) murdering our ability to maintain public sector jobs, and now he has set his sights on our public schools," she said.

"But we have news for him: We don't intend to die. This is not Detroit."

The union has scheduled a citywide save-the-schools rally for Wednesday.

Emanuel said in a statement from Utah, where he is on vacation, that Chicago couldn't afford to put off difficult decisions any longer.

"This problem is not unique to Chicago and like (other) school systems where enrollment has dropped, we must make tough choices," he said. "Consolidating schools is the best way to make sure every student is in a safe and better performing school and that all of our students get the resources they need to learn and succeed."

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