Researchers strike gold with nanotech vaccine

June 25, 2013 ? Scientists in the US have developed a novel vaccination method that uses tiny gold particles to mimic a virus and carry specific proteins to the body's specialist immune cells.

The technique differs from the traditional approach of using dead or inactive viruses as a vaccine and was demonstrated in the lab using a specific protein that sits on the surface of the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

The results have been published today, 26 June, in IOP Publishing's journal Nanotechnology by a team of researchers from Vanderbilt University.

RSV is the leading viral cause of lower respiration tract infections, causing several hundred thousand deaths and an estimated 65 million infections a year, mainly in children and the elderly.

The detrimental effects of RSV come, in part, from a specific protein, called the F protein, which coats the surface of the virus. The protein enables the virus to enter into the cytoplasm of cells and also causes cells to stick together, making the virus harder to eliminate.

The body's natural defence to RSV is therefore directed at the F protein; however, up until now, researchers have had difficulty creating a vaccine that delivers the F protein to the specialised immune cells in the body. If successful, the F protein could trigger an immune response which the body could 'remember' if a subject became infected with the real virus.

In this study the researchers created exceptionally small gold nanorods, just 21 nanometres wide and 57 nanometres long, which were almost exactly the same shape and size as the virus itself. The gold nanorods were successfully coated with the RSV F proteins and were bonded strongly thanks to the unique physical and chemical properties of the nanorods themselves.

The researchers then tested the ability of the gold nanorods to deliver the F protein to specific immune cells, known as dendritic cells, which were taken from adult blood samples.

Dendritic cells function as processing cells in the immune system, taking the important information from a virus, such as the F protein, and presenting it to cells that can perform an action against them?the T cells are just one example of a cell that can take action.

Once the F protein-coated nanorods were added to a sample of dendritic cells, the researchers analysed the proliferation of T cells as a proxy for an immune response. They found that the protein-coated nanorods caused the T cells to proliferate significantly more compared to non-coated nanorods and just the F protein alone.

Not only did this prove that the coated-nanorods were capable of mimicking the virus and stimulating an immune response, it also showed that they were not toxic to human cells, offering significant safety advantages and increasing their potential as a real-life human vaccine.

Lead author of the study, Professor James Crowe, said: "A vaccine for RSV, which is the major cause of viral pneumonia in children, is sorely needed. This study shows that we have developed methods for putting RSV F protein into exceptionally small particles and presenting it to immune cells in a format that physically mimics the virus. Furthermore, the particles themselves are not infectious."

Due to the versatility of the gold nanorods, Professor Crowe believes that their potential use is not limited to RSV.

"This platform could be used to develop experimental vaccines for virtually any virus, and in fact other larger microbes such as bacteria and fungi.

"The studies we performed showed that the candidate vaccines stimulated human immune cells when they were interacted in the lab. The next steps to testing would be to test whether or not the vaccines work in vivo" Professor Crowe continued.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/5VWEsxow-z0/130625192547.htm

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Cloning mice: For the first time, a donor mouse has been cloned using a drop of peripheral blood from its tail

June 26, 2013 ? From obesity to substance abuse, from anxiety to cancer, genetically modified mice are used extensively in research as models of human disease. Researchers often spend years developing a strain of mouse with the exact genetic mutations necessary to model a particular human disorder. But what if that mouse, due to the mutations themselves or a simple twist of fate, was infertile?

Currently, two methods exist for perpetuating a valuable strain of mouse. If at least one of the remaining mice is male and possesses healthy germ cells, the best option is intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), an in vitro fertilization procedure in which a single sperm is injected directly into an egg.

However, if the remaining mice cannot produce healthy germ cells, or if they are female, researchers must turn to cloning. Somatic-cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) produces cloned animals by replacing an oocyte's nucleus with that of an adult somatic cell. An early version of this process was used to produce Dolly the sheep in 1996.

Since then, SCNT techniques have continued to advance. Earlier this year, researchers at the RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology in Kobe, Japan, even devised a technique to avoid the diminishing returns of recloning the same cell; success rates increased from the standard three percent in first-generation clones to ten percent in first-generation and 14 percent in higher-generation clones.

The type of somatic cell used for this process is critical and depends largely on its efficiency in producing live clones, as well as its ease of access and readiness for experimental use. While cumulus cells, which surround oocytes in the ovarian follicle and after ovulation, are currently the preferred cell type, Drs. Satoshi Kamimura, Atsuo Ogura, and colleagues at the RIKEN BioResource Center in Tsukuba, Japan, questioned whether white blood cells (a.k.a., leukocytes) collected from an easily accessed site, such as a tail, would be effective donor cells. Such cells would allow for repeated sampling with minimal risk to the donor mouse.

There are five different types of white blood cells and, as expected, the researchers found that lymphocytes were the type that performed the most poorly: only 1.7 percent of embryos developed into offspring. The physically largest white blood cells, and thus the easiest to filter from the blood sample, were granulocytes and monocytes. The nuclei of these cells performed better, with 2.1 percent of the embryos surviving to term, compared to 2.7 percent for the preferred cell type, cumulus cells.

The granulocytes' performance was poorer than expected due to a much higher rate of fragmentation in early embryos (22.6 percent): twofold higher than that of lymphocyte cloning and fivefold higher than cumulus cell cloning. The researchers were unable to determine what could be causing the fragmentation and intend to perform further studies to improve the performance of granulocyte donor cells.

Although the blood cells tested did not surpass the success rate of cumulus cells in this study, the researchers have demonstrated, for the first time, that mice can be cloned using the nuclei of peripheral blood cells. These cells may be used for cloning immediately after collection with minimal risk to the donor, helping to generate genetic copies of mouse strains that cannot be preserved by other assisted reproduction techniques.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_environment/~3/GDH_lb66SVk/130626153920.htm

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NREL reports 31.1 percent efficiency for III-V solar cell

Public release date: 25-Jun-2013
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Contact: David Glickson
david.glickson@nrel.gov
303-275-4097
DOE/National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Conversion-efficiency mark is a world record for a 2-junction solar cell measured under 1-sun illumination

The Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Lab has announced a world record of 31.1% conversion efficiency for a two-junction solar cell under one sun of illumination.

NREL Scientist Myles Steiner announced the new record June 19 at the 39th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference in Tampa, Fla. The previous record of 30.8% efficiency was held by Alta Devices.

The tandem cell was made of a gallium indium phosphide cell atop a gallium arsenide cell, has an area of about 0.25 square centimeters and was measured under the AM1.5 global spectrum at 1,000 W/m2. It was grown inverted, similar to the NREL-developed inverted metamorphic multi-junction (IMM) solar cell and flipped during processing. The cell was covered on the front with a bilayer anti-reflection coating, and on the back with a highly reflective gold contact layer.

The work was done at NREL as part of DOE's Foundation Program to Advance Cell Efficiency (F-PACE), a project of the Department's SunShot Initiative that aims to lower the cost of solar energy to a point at which it is competitive with other sources including fossil fuels.

At the beginning of the F-PACE project, which aims to produce a 48%-efficient concentrator cell, NREL's best single-junction gallium-arsenide solar cell was 25.7% efficient. This efficiency has been improved upon by other labs over the years: Alta Devices set a series of records, increasing the gallium-arsenide record efficiency from 26.4% in 2010 to 28.8% in 2012. Alta's then-record two-junction 30.8% efficient cell was achieved just two months ago. The new record may not last long either, but "it brings us one step closer to the 48% milestone," said NREL Principal Scientist Sarah Kurtz, who leads the F-PACE project in NREL's National Center for Photovoltaics. "This joint project with the University of California, Berkeley and Spectrolab has provided us the opportunity to look at these near-perfect cells in different ways. Myles Steiner, John Geisz, Ivn Garca and the III-V multijunction PV group have implemented new approaches providing a substantial improvement over NREL's previous results."

"Historically, scientists have bumped up the performance of multijunction cells by gradually improving the material quality and the internal electrical properties of the junctions -- and by optimizing variables such as the bandgaps and the layer thicknesses," NREL Scientist Myles Steiner said. But internal optics plays an underappreciated role in high-quality cells that use materials from the third and fifth columns of the periodic tables the III-V cells. "The scientific goal of this project is to understand and harness the internal optics," he said.

When an electron-hole pair recombines, a photon can be produced, and if that photon escapes the cell, luminescence is observed that is the mechanism by which light-emitting diodes work. In traditional single-junction gallium-arsenide cells, however, most of the photons are simply absorbed in the cell's substrate and are lost. With a more optimal cell design, the photons can be re-absorbed within the solar cell to create new electron-hole pairs, leading to an increase in voltage and conversion efficiency. In a multijunction cell, the photons can also couple to a lower bandgap junction, generating additional current, a process known as luminescent coupling.

The NREL researchers improved the cell's efficiency by enhancing the photon recycling in the lower, gallium-arsenide junction by using a gold back contact to reflect photons back into the cell, and by allowing a significant fraction of the luminescence from the upper, GaInP junction to couple into the GaAs junction. Both the open-circuit voltage and the short-circuit current were increased.

Silicon solar cells now dominate the world PV market, but researchers see opportunities for new materials. High-efficiency concentrator cells bolstered by lenses that magnify the power of the sun are attracting interest from utilities because the modules have demonstrated efficiencies well over 30%. And there may be commercial opportunities for one-sun or low-concentration III-V cells if growth rates can be increased and costs reduced.

The same cell should work well when lenses are added to multiply the sun's power. "We expect to observe similar enhancements of the solar cell characteristics when measured under concentrated illumination," Steiner said.

###

NREL is the U.S. Department of Energy's primary national laboratory for renewable energy and energy efficiency research and development. NREL is operated for the Energy Department by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC.

Visit NREL online at http://www.nrel.gov.

---

[ | E-mail | 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.

Public release date: 25-Jun-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: David Glickson
david.glickson@nrel.gov
303-275-4097
DOE/National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Conversion-efficiency mark is a world record for a 2-junction solar cell measured under 1-sun illumination

The Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Lab has announced a world record of 31.1% conversion efficiency for a two-junction solar cell under one sun of illumination.

NREL Scientist Myles Steiner announced the new record June 19 at the 39th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference in Tampa, Fla. The previous record of 30.8% efficiency was held by Alta Devices.

The tandem cell was made of a gallium indium phosphide cell atop a gallium arsenide cell, has an area of about 0.25 square centimeters and was measured under the AM1.5 global spectrum at 1,000 W/m2. It was grown inverted, similar to the NREL-developed inverted metamorphic multi-junction (IMM) solar cell and flipped during processing. The cell was covered on the front with a bilayer anti-reflection coating, and on the back with a highly reflective gold contact layer.

The work was done at NREL as part of DOE's Foundation Program to Advance Cell Efficiency (F-PACE), a project of the Department's SunShot Initiative that aims to lower the cost of solar energy to a point at which it is competitive with other sources including fossil fuels.

At the beginning of the F-PACE project, which aims to produce a 48%-efficient concentrator cell, NREL's best single-junction gallium-arsenide solar cell was 25.7% efficient. This efficiency has been improved upon by other labs over the years: Alta Devices set a series of records, increasing the gallium-arsenide record efficiency from 26.4% in 2010 to 28.8% in 2012. Alta's then-record two-junction 30.8% efficient cell was achieved just two months ago. The new record may not last long either, but "it brings us one step closer to the 48% milestone," said NREL Principal Scientist Sarah Kurtz, who leads the F-PACE project in NREL's National Center for Photovoltaics. "This joint project with the University of California, Berkeley and Spectrolab has provided us the opportunity to look at these near-perfect cells in different ways. Myles Steiner, John Geisz, Ivn Garca and the III-V multijunction PV group have implemented new approaches providing a substantial improvement over NREL's previous results."

"Historically, scientists have bumped up the performance of multijunction cells by gradually improving the material quality and the internal electrical properties of the junctions -- and by optimizing variables such as the bandgaps and the layer thicknesses," NREL Scientist Myles Steiner said. But internal optics plays an underappreciated role in high-quality cells that use materials from the third and fifth columns of the periodic tables the III-V cells. "The scientific goal of this project is to understand and harness the internal optics," he said.

When an electron-hole pair recombines, a photon can be produced, and if that photon escapes the cell, luminescence is observed that is the mechanism by which light-emitting diodes work. In traditional single-junction gallium-arsenide cells, however, most of the photons are simply absorbed in the cell's substrate and are lost. With a more optimal cell design, the photons can be re-absorbed within the solar cell to create new electron-hole pairs, leading to an increase in voltage and conversion efficiency. In a multijunction cell, the photons can also couple to a lower bandgap junction, generating additional current, a process known as luminescent coupling.

The NREL researchers improved the cell's efficiency by enhancing the photon recycling in the lower, gallium-arsenide junction by using a gold back contact to reflect photons back into the cell, and by allowing a significant fraction of the luminescence from the upper, GaInP junction to couple into the GaAs junction. Both the open-circuit voltage and the short-circuit current were increased.

Silicon solar cells now dominate the world PV market, but researchers see opportunities for new materials. High-efficiency concentrator cells bolstered by lenses that magnify the power of the sun are attracting interest from utilities because the modules have demonstrated efficiencies well over 30%. And there may be commercial opportunities for one-sun or low-concentration III-V cells if growth rates can be increased and costs reduced.

The same cell should work well when lenses are added to multiply the sun's power. "We expect to observe similar enhancements of the solar cell characteristics when measured under concentrated illumination," Steiner said.

###

NREL is the U.S. Department of Energy's primary national laboratory for renewable energy and energy efficiency research and development. NREL is operated for the Energy Department by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC.

Visit NREL online at http://www.nrel.gov.

---

[ | E-mail | 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.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/drel-nr3062513.php

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Dr. Oz on the Real Threat to The Sopranos

When I heard of actor James Gandolfini?s untimely passing after a heart attack, I was reminded of a recurring theme in the television series he made so memorable. His tough mafia don character valued family above all, but was incessantly anxious about his ability to protect them and keep them well. Tony Soprano did keep his family safe?in his decidedly unconventional fashion. And Gandolfini, a husband and a father of two, looked after his own as well ? until he left them altogether, claimed by a heart attack at just 51.

When it comes to our health, we are all like the much-missed Gandolfini. We will do anything for the people closest to us ? anything, that is, except take the steps we need to maintain our health and allow us to spend as many years as possible loving and playing with the people we treasure most.

If even tough guys like Tony Soprano need to get checked out, the rest of us do too ? whether we think we?re in good shape or not, and whether we?ve ever had chest pains or not, since plenty of people are pain free until the very moment their heart gives in. Some have argued that Gandolfini?s past substance abuse contributed to his premature death. Perhaps it did. But we shouldn?t ignore the more obvious risk factor: at just over six feet tall and around 272 lbs. (123 kg), he was an outsized personality in a dangerously outsized body. In a country that is simultaneously obsessed with bodily perfection, even as two-thirds of us are overweight or obese, weight has become an exceedingly fraught topic, and in the first hours after Gandolfini?s death, some commentators sought to sidestep the topic, wondering how a vigorous man with no known health complaints could have suddenly succumbed. But if we saw an anorexic teenager we wouldn?t pretend she wasn?t heading for serious health trouble, so why should we be so coy at the other end of the weight spectrum?

A key role in anyone?s weight gain may be stress?something that can be a defining feature of a celebrity?s day. Stress hormones such as cortisol can hijack our normal appetite sensors, pushing us to eat even when we are not hungry. This is particularly dangerous when the excess fat that results from overeating is belly fat, which squeezes the kidneys. Since it?s the kidneys that, in turn, regulate blood pressure, it?s no surprise that overweight people are at such high risk of hypertension, the leading cause of heart attack and stroke. Belly fat also harms the liver, prompting it to release more cholesterol. In many people, those changes can block the ability of insulin to break down blood sugar, contributing to diabetes, which wears away at our major arteries and leads to atherosclerosis, a condition often discovered after lethal heart attacks. Half of all victims die during their first heart attack because they do not know their risk factors or do not recognize the subtle warning signs that make their hearts vulnerable.

This awareness can be a life saver, and two of Gandolfini?s own Sopranos cast mates are living proof. Vincent Pastore and Frank Vincent both had heart artery blockages that resembled the type that may have killed Gandolfino. They both noted increasing shortness of breath, and although they did not realize at the time they were at risk of heart disease, they were brave and wise enough to seek help for their symptoms; each had life-saving surgery at my center during the run of The Sopranos. Shortness of breath is a telltale sign of cardiovascular trouble, since it results when the heart cannot even pump the blood out of the lungs, essentially meaning we are drowning from lack of oxygen. But most of us ignore this symptom and many people have no symptoms at all?until it?s too late. And that is why we suffer the loss of so many wonderful people like James Gandolfini.

It wasn?t easy for Pastore and Vincent to shed their afraid-of-nothing mobster characters and visit the doctor. In fact, when Pastore first met my colleague Michael Argenziano, he introduced himself by his Soprano?s nick name of ?Big Pussy.? Dr. Argenziano had never seen the show and was caught off guard. Don?t worry, he assured him, we?re all afraid in situations like these. But showing up for treatment in the first place was a profound act of courage?courage that is fortified by our deep desire to protect our families.

Pastore and Vincent both agreed to speak openly about their cases because they hope their stories will serve as an important example. For those willing to follow it, here is my gauntlet for the brave:

First, if your belly looks like James Gandolfini?s, you need a check up. I am specifically asking you to measure your waist size at the belly button and honestly report if this number is more than half your height. Forget using your current belt size as a tool, since most men slip it below the belly fat pad.

Second, ensure that your baseline risk factors like hypertension, diabetes and cholesterol are under control. These are often corrected with lifestyle alone.

Third, shortness of breath from walking up two flights of stairs or any sudden change at all in your breath or stamina is worrisome. Think of it as the equivalent of having chest pain.

Fourth, what have you eaten in the last 24 hours? Fatty and fried foods cause spasms in blood vessels, which limits blood flow for six hours, at which point we often have another fatty meal. Most heart attacks occur on Monday mornings because of our dietary transgressions over the weekend and the stress of the upcoming work week. What you eat and do today will effect the chance of a heart attack tomorrow.

We?ll never know what wonderful work James Gandolfini would have done if he had had a full measure of years. We?ll never know either the things he would have taught his young daughter, who will have her first birthday in October. We do know the steps that might have helped him live to have all those experiences, and they?re the same things that can help protect us?and our families?too.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/dr-oz-real-threat-sopranos-094550353.html

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New Pacific Rim Trailer: Let's Go Beat Up Some Monsters

Lots of things can inspire mankind to greatness, but nothing quite like the support of a gigantic towering robot designed to fight equally gigantic mythical monsters. We're only a few weeks out from Guillermo del Toro's Pacific Rim hitting theaters, but damned if we can't wait for what is the closest thing we have to a Voltron movie yet.

Also, who says we have to wait until monsters attack to build skyscraper-sized robots? I don't think any of us would complain about our daily commute if we were carried to work on the shoulders of a towering mech, would we? [YouTube via Ain't It Cool News]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/new-pacific-rim-trailer-lets-go-beat-up-some-monsters-570614543

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Stocks rise on higher home prices, durable goods

NEW YORK (AP) ? U.S. stocks rose in midday trading Tuesday, pushed higher by a trifecta of encouraging economic reports.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 79 points, or 0.5 percent, to 14,739 at noon Eastern Daylight Time. The Standard & Poor's index was up 10 points, or 0.7 percent, to 1,583. Bank stocks, which sank the day before, rose the most of the 10 industry groups in the index.

Investors were encouraged by three main data points. The Commerce Department said U.S. businesses made more orders for long-lasting manufactured goods, including a surge in commercial aircraft orders. The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index showed year-over-years gains in all cities tracked for the fourth straight month, a sign that the housing market is continuing to recover. And the Conference Board reported that consumer confidence rose sharply in June to the highest level in more than five years, bolstered by an improving outlook for hiring.

Shares of homebuilders, including Toll Brothers and KB Home, rose after the Case-Shiller report. Homebuilder Lennar, which also reported quarterly results that beat analysts' expectations, rose $1.20, or 3.4 percent, to $36.19. The company said demand in all its housing markets continues to outpace supply.

Jonathan Lewis, chief investment officer at Samson Capital Advisors, cautioned against reading too much into a single day of economic reports. That's been a familiar refrain among market watchers this year, as practically every sign that the economy is improving seems to be met with another that says it's stagnating.

"It's nice to see that consumer confidence came in well over expectations, but of course they also revised down last month's," Lewis said. "Of course it's nice to see home prices up ... but the sharp rise in rates means mortgage rates are rising higher."

In recent weeks, the market has been driven not so much by economic fundamentals, but by speculation about when the Federal Reserve might raise interest rates or pull back on a bond-buying program that is meant to stimulate the economy. Stocks plunged Wednesday after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said the Fed could rein in its bond-buying program this year. Though in some ways that is good news ? after all, it means the Fed thinks the economy is improving ? investors have largely treated the idea of a Fed pullback as bad news, worrying how the market will fare without the central bank propping it up.

Starting Wednesday, the Dow plunged by triple digits for three out of four days. The fact that the second quarter ends this Friday will probably add to the volatility: Money managers need to book profits for their clients before then.

Lewis said he thought that the market's Tuesday morning gain was partly due to investors stepping back and taking a more reasoned, less reactive view of the Fed's potential pullback plan. For example, the Fed wants the Fed wants the jobless rate to be at 6.5 percent before it starts raising short-term interest rates. Last month, it was 7.6 percent.

"This is the day," Lewis said, "where the dust appears to be settling."

The stronger economic news released Tuesday led investors to sell U.S. government debt, sending bond yields higher. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, a benchmark for many kinds of loans, rose to 2.59 percent from 2.54 percent late Monday. Investors have also been selling bonds in anticipation of the Fed winding down its stimulus program.

Despite the gains in U.S. stocks and the rise in U.S. bond yields, there were ample reminders of economic uncertainty around the world. Stocks continued to fall in China, where investors are fretting that the government's new efforts to curb unregulated lending will hurt companies and choke already-slowing economic growth.

In debt-riddled Greece, new cabinet members met for the first time after a hasty reshuffling of top government posts that the prime minister was forced to agree to after his contentious order to close the state broadcaster, a move meant to save money. And the head of Germany's central bank, Jens Weidmann, called for a "strict and thorough" review of the finances of European banks, even as the head of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi, defended an ECB stimulus program that German leaders have criticized.

In other trading, the Nasdaq composite index was up 17 points, or 0.5 percent, to 3,335.

Commodities prices were mixed. Gold fell $2.30 to $1,274 an ounce and the price of crude oil rose 40 cents to $95.57 a barrel.

Among stocks making big moves:

?Walgreen, the nation's largest drugstore chain, slipped after reporting earnings and revenue that missed analysts' expectations ? a result, the company said, of lower-than-expected sales outside the pharmacy. Walgreen fell $3.85, or 8 percent, to $44.20.

?Barnes & Noble dipped after reporting that its loss more than doubled in the latest quarter. The bookseller has struggled to compete with online retailers and discounters, and its Nook e-book continues to lose money. The stock fell $3, or 16 percent, to $15.82.

?Clothing chain Men's Wearhouse rose after saying it had fired executive chairman George Zimmer, the company's founder and star of its TV commercials, because he had advocated for "significant changes that would enable him to regain control." The stock rose $1.90, or 5.4 percent, to $37.03.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/stocks-rise-higher-home-prices-durable-goods-142656999.html

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Two Parodies (Unqualified Offerings)

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Travel Search Site Wego Closes $17M Series C

Travel search site, Wego, just closed its Series C round of $17 million. The round was led by Crescent Point, a fund manager with offices in Singapore and China that focuses on investments in Asia. Wego’s site provides a metasearch across about 600 airline carriers and 400,000 hotels, and charges business clients based on referrals to travelers coming in. Earlier this year, it teamed up with home rental marketplace Travelmob to include the latter’s 400,000 Airbnb-style listings in its search too. This round of funding brings the total so far to $36 million for the eight-year-old company, said Ross Veitch, Wego’s co-founder and CEO. Wego was founded by Veitch and Craig Hewett, two Australians living in Singapore, where its headquarters are. The company also has offices in Australia, Indonesia, India and most recently in Dubai. Veitch said the company plans to use the funding to hire more people for its headquarters and to push its expansion in the Middle East. About 50 people work in Wego’s Singapore offices, and he expects to add about 20 more marketing staff and a couple of data scientists to the headcount there. Additionally, about 12 country development managers will be hired as well in Singapore; each person will be responsible for a new country, and will accompany the spin out of a new office in his territory if business there reaches a tipping point. Globally, Wego has about 100 staff. The point on data scientists is indicative of Wego’s plans to make its user data more interesting for corporate clients. “We’ve been collecting data from users since day 1?every flight they’ve searched for and taken, brand preferences, favorable price points, destinations they like, business or economy flights, five or four star hotels,” said Veitch. This data mined from the audience segments can be used to augment display ads on Wego, as well as on its ad bidding exchange. Advertising contributes about a third of its revenue at the moment. The rest of it comes from referral clicks or successful transactions at the hotel or airline end, depending on the contract with Wego. Wego competes with sites like Zuji and Agoda, although Wego embeds the others’ search results in its own. The lead investor in this round, Crescent Point, has had previous investments in the travel space. According to its site, it was the second-largest shareholder in Malaysian airline, AirAsia before the company went public

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/wL16wLTVQjg/

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Rebecca Jarvis Talks Economy, Donald Trump (ABC News)

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Kerry: Russia must back transition in Syria

DOHA, Qatar (AP) ? The U.S. and its Arab and European allies agreed on Saturday to do more to help the embattled rebels trying to oust Syrian President Bashar Assad, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said.

While he offered no specifics about stepped-up military and humanitarian aid, Kerry said the assistance would help change the balance on the battlefield of the civil war where regime forces have scored recent victories.

At a meeting of nearly a dozen of his counterparts, Kerry blamed Assad for the deteriorating situation in Syria where more than 93,000 people have died in a two-year civil war. He denounced Assad for inviting Iranian and Hezbollah fighters to battle alongside his troops and said the Syrian president risked turning the war into a regional sectarian conflict.

Kerry met with his counterparts in the Qatari capital on the first stop of a seven-nation trip through the Mideast and Asia where he is tackling difficult foreign policy issues ? from finding peace between the Israelis and Palestinians to trying to gain traction on U.S. talks with the Taliban to end the Afghanistan war. James Dobbins, U.S. special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, arrived in Doha on Saturday, but talks with the Taliban have not yet been scheduled.

Kerry seemed to put the ball in the Taliban's court, saying the Americans and Qataris were all on board to help negotiate a political resolution to the war and it was up to the Taliban to come to the table at a new political office they opened last week in Doha. "We are waiting to find out whether the Taliban will respond, Kerry said.

"We will see if we can get back on track. I don't know whether that's possible or not," Kerry said. "If there is not a decision made by the Taliban to move forward in short order, then we may have to consider whether the office has to be closed."

Kerry has been pressing hard on Russia to back an international conference intended to end the bloodshed in Syria and allow a transitional government to move the country beyond civil war.

Russia has been the key ally of Assad's regime throughout the two-year conflict.

Top U.S. diplomats are ready to go to Geneva to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and other officials in coming days to advance the political process, Kerry said.

Kerry, a long-time proponent of more aggressive action in Syria, believes the international community must urgently try to stop the civil war in Syria. With Obama's decision to send the rebels arms along with humanitarian and other nonlethal aid, it appears that Kerry and like-minded U.S. officials have won over those who are more wary of sending weapons and ammunition into a war zone where they could fall into the hands of Islamic extremists.

It was Kerry's first meeting with his counterparts about aid to the Syrian rebels since President Barack Obama announced that the U.S. would send lethal aid to the opposition. That decision was partly based on a U.S. intelligence assessment that Assad had used chemical weapons, but Kerry expressed deeper concern about Iran and Hezbollah fighters.

"That is a very, very dangerous development," Kerry said. "Hezbollah is a proxy for Iran. ... Hezbollah in addition to that is a terrorist organization."

Kerry blamed Hezbollah and Assad with thwarting efforts to diffuse sectarian rebels and to negotiate a settlement.

"We're looking at a very dangerous situation," that had transformed "into a much more volatile, potentially explosive situation that could involve the entire region," Kerry said.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/kerry-russia-must-back-transition-syria-115416828.html

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5 Ways to Improve Your Relationship Right Now! | World of ...

All relationships ? even the best ones ? require continuous care and hard work. But that doesn?t necessarily mean taking big actions or making dramatic changes.

Little tweaks also can be tremendously helpful. That?s because simple, everyday positive behaviors add up. Don?t believe us? Give these a try and you may be surprised.

Below, Julie Orlov, MSW, a psychotherapist and author of the book?The Pathway to Love, shared five ways you can instantly improve your relationship.

1. Focus on what you love about your partner.

After spending years together and dealing with day-to-day stressors, couples can forget to focus on the positive. Relationships can easily become a litany of ?you didn?t do this? or ?stop doing that.?

That?s why Orlov suggested reminding yourself ?what it was that made you fall in love with your spouse.? Focus on the qualities you appreciate. ?And don?t forget to share those thoughts with your spouse.?

2. Touch your partner.

?When you have physical contact, it is harder to remain closed off, angry and disconnected.? Just touching your partner or giving them a hug can go a long way in connecting you as a couple, Orlov said. ?

3. Listen to your partner.

Take the time to listen to what?s important to your partner. According to Orlov, ?if your spouse has something to say to you about their feelings, needs, reaction or wants, it behooves you to truly listen rather than respond with either your own opinion or defensiveness to what they said.?

That?s because once you put down your defenses and stop rehearsing your own responses in your head, you?ll be able to gain a clearer and deeper understanding of your partner, and your relationship.

4. Find the humor in a situation.

Humor heals. It provides us with perspective. ?Laughter also releases a lot of stress, allowing more positive feelings to ensue,? Orlov said. Try to find the light side of a situation, and laugh together.

5. Get intimate.

?When you connect in a way that is sacred to your relationship alone, you can?t help but feel more intimate and connected,? Orlov said. Plus, the release of feel-good chemicals also enhances your love and attachment, she said.

Relationships require regular maintenance, and the above tips can help you build a healthy, meaningful bond. Often, it?s the small steps, taken every day, that can make a big, positive difference in cultivating your connection.

?

Margarita Tartakovsky, M.S. is an Associate Editor at Psych Central and blogs regularly about eating and self-image issues on her own blog, Weightless.

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Catch up on other posts by Margarita Tartakovsky, M.S. (or subscribe to their feed).

????Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 21 Jun 2013
????Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved.

APA Reference
Tartakovsky, M. (2013). 5 Ways to Improve Your Relationship Right Now!. Psych Central. Retrieved on June 23, 2013, from http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2013/06/22/5-ways-to-improve-your-relationship-right-now/

?

Source: http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2013/06/22/5-ways-to-improve-your-relationship-right-now/

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Oscar Romero Monument In Los Angeles To Honor Slain El Salvador Archbishop

LOS ANGELES -- Los Angeles' Salvadoran community on Saturday celebrated the groundbreaking of a plaza honoring a Catholic archbishop who was slain in 1980 during El Salvador's bloody 12-year civil war.

The $350,000 monument in MacArthur Park to Msgr. Oscar A Romero, who was beloved for his advocacy for the poor, will feature a statue of him and his quotes. It is expected to be completed in three months, the Los Angeles Times reported (http://lat.ms/12gKvRM).

"MacArthur Park has a lot of history and a lot of memories for the Central American community," Carlos Vaquerano told the Times.

Vaquerano is the executive director of the Salvadoran American Leadership & Educational Fund, a nonprofit organization that has been overseeing the project, which was first envisioned about seven years ago.

Many of the war's refugees fled to the United States, and some settled in Los Angeles' Westlake and Pico-Union neighborhoods. The area hosted protests against the civil war and has become home to one of the largest concentrations of Central Americans in the United States.

Mayor-elect Eric Garcetti said the monument will show the city's support for Romero's principles.

"This is more than a monument of a man," he said in a statement. "This is a monument that salutes courage, humanitarianism and the rights of the poor."

___

Information from: Los Angeles Times, http://www.latimes.com

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/22/oscar-romero-macarthur-park-_n_3484205.html

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Americans' vitamin D levels are highest in August, lowest in February, study shows

June 22, 2013 ? UC Irvine and Mayo Clinic researchers have found that vitamin D levels in the U.S. population peak in August and bottom out in February. The essential vitamin -- necessary for healthy bones -- is produced in the skin upon exposure to ultraviolet B rays from the sun.

Vitamin D helps bones absorb calcium and can protect against osteoporosis. It's also thought to play a role in seasonal illnesses, such as the flu. Low levels of vitamin D are believed to impair "innate immunity" i.e., the body's first line of defense against pathogens. To further study this link, good estimates of the cyclicality of the vitamin are necessary. Solar exposure -- a timely topic since June 21 marks the first day of summer -- is the most important way people acquire vitamin D. But certain foods, including egg yolks and oil-rich fish like mackerel, salmon, sardines and herring contain the nutrient. In addition, milk and cereal are often enriched with vitamin D.

"Even with food fortification, vitamin D levels in the population show a high level of seasonality due to the influence of sunlight," said Amy Kasahara, a UC Irvine graduate student in public health and first author on the paper, which appears in the journal PLOS ONE.

"The exact biochemical pathways from UVB rays to vitamin D were discovered in the 1970s," she said. "In this study, we have shown that vitamin D levels lag the solar cycle, peaking in August and troughing in February."

The correlation between the seasons and vitamin D has been known for some time. "What we have been able to do is put a lot more precision on the estimates of vitamin D seasonality," said Andrew Noymer, associate professor of public health and senior author of the article.

"Our analysis, combined with other data, will help contribute to understanding the role of vitamin D in all seasonal diseases, where the simple winter/spring/summer/fall categories are not sufficient."

Researchers measured the level of 25-hydroxyvitamin D in 3.4 million blood samples collected weekly in the U.S. between July 2006 and December 2011.

The study looked at population averages, so people shouldn't make assumptions about their own levels of vitamin D based on the calendar. Healthcare providers can perform individual blood tests to measure vitamin D directly, and supplements are available for those who cannot or do not receive enough exposure to sunlight.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/M6AgS9aaSR0/130622154600.htm

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NY congressman says Bravo show promotes bigotry

NEW YORK (AP) ? A suburban New York congressman who represents the area where Bravo films its series "Princesses: Long Island" says the show is "the most objectionable thing I've ever seen on television" and promotes stereotyping of Jews.

The network should show a disclaimer before every episode to say there's nothing real about the nonfiction show, said Rep. Steve Israel, a New York Democrat.

Bravo said Friday the new series has averaged just over 1 million viewers over three airings on Sunday nights, which is considered a very successful start. "Princesses: Long Island" is reminiscent of MTV's "Jersey Shore" in focusing on a small subculture, in this case six young, unmarried women who are generally of comfortable means with plenty of idle time.

One of the women, Ashlee White, is nearly 30 and lives at home where her parents cook her food and do her laundry. She's looking for Mr. Right, but has high standards. "I'm Jewish, I'm American and I'm a princess," White said.

"I initially thought it was all in good fun," Israel said. "But 20 minutes into the show, I realized that promoting anti-Semitic stereotypes isn't that fun. It's one of the most objectionable things I've ever seen on television, and there are a lot of objectionable things on television."

Jodi Davis, a Bravo spokeswoman, said the show is "about six women who are young, educated, single and Jewish living in Long Island, and is not meant to represent all Jewish women or other residents of Long Island."

Israel said he's not encouraging Bravo to take the show off the air, but would like a statement like Davis' shown on the air. She had no immediate comment on whether Bravo would be able to or want to do that.

"Princesses: Long Island" has already had one incident that compelled an apology. White was quoted in one episode as calling the Long Island community of Freeport a "ghetto" in a cellphone conversation with her father, who advised her to roll up her car windows.

White, in a Bravo blog post, later apologized, saying she had been "stressed, overwhelmed and not thinking" when she said that.

Israel, a former president of the Institute on the Holocaust and the Law who once worked for the American Jewish Congress, said the show "leads viewers to believe that this is what being Jewish is all about, that if you're Jewish and live on Long Island, you're narcissistic, you are all about money and that a Shabbat dinner is all about drinking and fighting," he said.

The congressman, who also wrote about the show on The Huffington Post, said he wasn't concerned that speaking out publicly would encourage more people to watch it.

"Silence never works," he said.

____

EDITOR'S NOTE ? David Bauder can be reached at dbauder@ap.org or on Twitter @dbauder. His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/david-bauder.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ny-congressman-says-bravo-show-promotes-bigotry-191856429.html

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Bug exposes contacts of some on Facebook

Facebook says a bug in its system caused 6 million users' contact information to be inadvertently exposed.

The social media company said Friday that a bug led to users' contact information, such as email addresses or phone numbers, to be accessed by other users who either had some contact information about that person or some connection to them.

Facebook said in a blog post that the cause of the bug is "pretty technical" but that the problem is tied to its "Download Your Information" tool.

The company uses the information that users upload to better tailor the friend suggestions it issues. The bug caused some of this information to be inadvertently stored in association with a person's contact information as part of their Facebook account.

As a result, if someone downloaded an archive of their Facebook account through the "Download Your Information" tool, they may have been provided with additional addresses or telephone numbers for their contacts or people with whom they have some connection. Because the contact information was provided by other people on Facebook, it was not necessarily accurate.

Facebook said it has fixed the problem and is in the process of notifying affected users via email.

The affected accounts represent only a fraction of the over 1 billion users on the social media site.

Facebook, which is headquartered in Menlo Park, Calif., said that it has no evidence that the bug has been used maliciously and it has not received complaints.

.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/bug-exposes-contacts-facebook-231039778.html

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Planetary Resources Kickstarter Meets Its Initial Goal

Just a few days ago (when it was published on theoatmeal.com) I visited that campaign and it was a few thousands of dolars (around 15k, if I recall correctly). Now, Not more than a week later it reached 1,1 million? The number of people who supported it hasn't grown that much from that time. I don't recall the exact figure, unfortunately. I don't know, it just seems kinda fishy. They started the project may, 29 and they've got a little over 10k. Now, after a few days, they got to 1,1 million? Maybe oatmeal

Source: http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~3/0Ke-zrPU3Ss/story01.htm

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Religious conservatives asked to back GOP plans

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Facing lingering tensions in his party, the chairman of the Republican National Committee urged religious conservatives Saturday to support the GOP's plans to expand.

"I would just ask you that we come together and that we pray for the future of this country," Reince Priebus said on the final day of the Faith and Freedom Coalition conference that brought several Republicans leaders together with evangelical activists.

Religious conservatives have been skeptical of establishment Republicans in Washington and the RNC's plan for growth, which calls for more tolerant attitudes on contentious social issues such as abortion and gay marriage.

"When it comes to social issues, the party must in fact and deed be inclusive and welcoming," according to the RNC commissioned by Priebus after the 2012 election and released in March. "If we are not, we will limit our ability to attract young people and others, including many women, who agree with us on some but not all issues."

Priebus did not mention those recommendations in his remarks, but he did call for activists to smile and monitor their tone during political debates.

"I'm a Christian. I'm a believer. God lives in my heart. And I'm for changing minds, not changing values," Priebus said.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-06-15-US-Social-Conservatives-GOP/id-9fa855736262405dbb1d9f63cbe1216b

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Friends Of Michael Karkoc, Minnesota Man Linked To WWII Atrocities, Shocked At Revelation Of Nazi Past

MINNEAPOLIS ? The revelation that a former commander of a Nazi SS-led military unit has lived quietly in Minneapolis for the past six decades came as a shock to those who know 94-year-old Michael Karkoc. World War II survivors in both the U.S. and Europe harshly condemned the news and prosecutors in Poland have said they'll investigate.

An Associated Press investigation found that Karkoc served as a top commander in the Ukrainian Self-Defense Legion during World War II. The unit is accused of wartime atrocities, including the burning of villages filled with women and children.

"I know him personally. We talk, laugh. He takes care of his yard and walks with his wife," his next-door neighbor, Gordon Gnasdoskey, said Friday.

"For me, this is a shock. To come to this country and take advantage of its freedoms all of these years, it blows my mind," said Gnasdoskey, the grandson of a Ukrainian immigrant himself.

Karkoc told American authorities in 1949 that he had performed no military service during World War II, concealing his work as an officer and founding member of the legion and later as an officer in the SS Galician Division, according to records obtained by the AP through a Freedom of Information Act request.

Though records do not show that Karkoc had a direct hand in war crimes, statements from men in his unit and other documentation confirm the Ukrainian company he commanded massacred civilians, and suggest that Karkoc was at the scene of these atrocities as the company leader. Nazi SS files say he and his unit were also involved in the 1944 Warsaw Uprising, in which the Nazis brutally suppressed a Polish rebellion against German occupation.

No one answered the door Friday morning at Karkoc's house on a residential street in northeast Minneapolis. Karkoc had earlier declined to comment on his wartime service when approached by the AP, and repeated efforts to arrange an interview through his son were unsuccessful.

Late Friday, Karkoc's son, Andriy Karkos, read a statement accusing AP of defaming his father. Karkoc became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1959.

"My father was never a Nazi," said Karkos, who uses a different spelling for his last name. He also said the family wouldn't comment further until it has obtained its own documents and reviewed witnesses and sources.

Polish prosecutors announced Friday they will investigate Karkoc and provide "every possible assistance" to the U.S. Department of Justice, which has used lies in immigration papers to deport dozens of suspected Nazi war criminals.

The AP evidence of Karkoc's wartime activities has also prompted German authorities to express interest in exploring whether there is enough to prosecute. In Germany, Nazis with "command responsibility" can be charged with war crimes even if their direct involvement in atrocities cannot be proven.

Efraim Zuroff, the lead Nazi hunter at the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Jerusalem, said that based on his decades of experience pursuing Nazi war criminals, he expects that the evidence of Karkoc's lies as well as the unit's role in atrocities is strong enough for deportation and war crimes prosecution in Germany or Poland.

Former German army officer Josef Scheungraber ? a lieutenant like Karkoc ? was convicted in Germany in 2009 on charges of murder based on circumstantial evidence that put him at the scene of a Nazi wartime massacre in Italy as the ranking officer.

Members of Karkoc's unit and other witnesses have told stories of brutal attacks on civilians.

One of Karkoc's men, Vasyl Malazhenski, told Soviet investigators that in 1944 the unit was directed to "liquidate all the residents" of the village of Chlaniow in a reprisal attack for the killing of a German SS officer, though he did not say who gave the order.

"It was all like a trance: setting the fires, the shooting, the destroying," Malazhenski recalled, according to the 1967 statement found by the AP in the archives of Warsaw's state-run Institute of National Remembrance, which investigates and prosecutes German and Soviet crimes on Poles during and after World War II.

In a background check by U.S. officials on April 14, 1949, Karkoc said he had never performed any military service, telling investigators that he "worked for father until 1944. Worked in labor camp from 1944 until 1945."

However, in a Ukrainian-language memoir published in 1995, Karkoc states that he helped found the Ukrainian Self Defense Legion in 1943 in collaboration with the Nazis' feared SS intelligence agency, the SD, to fight on the side of Germany ? and served as a company commander in the unit, which received orders directly from the SS, through the end of the war.

It was not clear why Karkoc felt safe publishing his memoir, which is available at the U.S. Library of Congress and the British Library and which the AP located online in an electronic Ukrainian library.

Karkoc currently lives in a modest house in an area of Minneapolis that has a significant Ukrainian population. He recently came to the door without help of a cane or a walker. He would not comment on his wartime service: "I don't think I can explain," he said.

Karkoc and his family are longtime members of the St. Michael's and St. George's Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

"All the time I am here, I know him as a good man, a good citizen," said the Rev. Evhen Kumka, the church's pastor. "He's well known in the congregation."

Kumka moved from Ukraine to Minnesota 19 years ago to lead the congregation, and said Karkoc was already active in the church. Kumka wouldn't say whether he'd spoken to Karkoc about his past, but said he was skeptical.

"I don't think everything is correct," Kumka said. "As I know him, he is a good example for many people."

Karkoc worked as a carpenter in Minneapolis, and appeared in a 1980 issue of Carpenter magazine among a group celebrating 25 years of union membership. He was a member and a secretary in the local branch of the Ukrainian National Association, a fraternal organization, and voting records obtained by the AP show he regularly voted in city, state and general elections.

Karkoc's name surfaced when a retired clinical pharmacologist who researched Nazi war crimes in his free time came across it while looking into members of the SS Galician Division who immigrated to Britain. He tipped off the AP when an Internet search showed an address for Karkoc in Minnesota.

The AP located Karkoc's U.S. Army intelligence file, which was declassified by the National Archives in Maryland through a FOIA request. The Army was responsible for processing visa applications after the war under the Displaced Persons Act.

The intelligence file said standard background checks found no red flags that would disqualify Karkoc from entering the United States. But it also noted that it lacked key information from the Soviet side regarding the verification of his identity.

Wartime documents located by the AP also confirm Karkoc's membership in the Self Defense Legion. They include a Nazi payroll sheet found in Polish archives, signed by an SS officer on Jan. 8, 1945 ? only four months before the war's end ? confirming that Karkoc was present in Krakow, Poland, to collect his salary as a member of the Self Defense Legion.

He joined the regular German army after the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941 and fought on the Eastern Front in Ukraine and Russia, according to his memoirs, which say he was awarded an Iron Cross for bravery.

He was also a member of the Ukrainian nationalist organization OUN; in 1943, he helped negotiate with the Nazis to have men drawn from its membership form the Self Defense Legion, according to his account. In 1945, the legion was dissolved and folded into the SS Galician Division.

Policy at the time of Karkoc's immigration application ? according to a declassified secret U.S. government document obtained by the AP from the National Archives ? was to deny a visa to anyone who had served in either the SS Galician Division or the OUN.

Justice Department spokesman Michael Passman in Washington said the agency could was aware of the AP story and could not confirm or deny an investigation.

News of Karkoc's past prompted anger from World War II survivors in countries where the Ukrainian Self-Defense Legion was active. In Poland, Honorata Banach told the AP she wants Karkoc to apologize. She was 20 when she fled the Polish village of Chlaniow before it was burned down by the legion.

"There was so much suffering, so many orphans, so much pain," Banach said. She and her mother returned the day after the attack, she said, to see that "everything was burned down, even the fences, the trees. I could not even find my house."

Survivors told her the Ukrainian legion did it, she said.

Sam Rafowitz, an 88-year-old Jewish resident of the Minneapolis suburb of Minnetonka, grew up in Warsaw, Poland, and spent four years working in concentration camps. He took a hard line after hearing the news about Karkoc.

"I think they should put him on trial," said Rafowitz, who lost his mother and other relatives at the Majdanek concentration camp in Lublin, Poland. He said soldiers in the camp were German but that it was run by Ukrainians.

"You don't forget," Rafowitz said. "For me, it's been almost close to 70 years those things happened, but I still know about it. I still remember everything."

Menachem Rosensaft, who was born in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, now teaches the law of genocide and war crimes at several New York universities. He said Karkoc is a reminder that the Holocaust and other genocides "cannot be viewed as abstract history."

"I have every confidence that if Mr. Karkoc was not already on the Justice Department's radar screen, he now is," Rosensaft said.

___

Rising reported from Berlin, Herschaft from New York, Scislowska from Warsaw and Condon from Minneapolis. Associated Press writers Maria Danilova in Kiev, Ukraine; Efrem Lukatsky in Pidhaitsi, Ukraine; Svetlana Fedas in Lviv, Ukraine; Amy Forliti, Doug Glass and Brian Bakst in Minneapolis; and Pete Yost in Washington contributed to this report.

Also on HuffPost:

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/15/michael-karkoc-friends-nazi-minnesota_n_3446764.html

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Series of attacks kill 40 people across Iraq

BAGHDAD (AP) ? A blistering string of apparently coordinated bombings and a shooting across Iraq killed at least 40 and wounded dozens Sunday, spreading fear throughout the county in a wave of violence that is raising the prospect of a return to widespread sectarian killing a decade after a U.S.-led invasion.

Violence has spiked sharply in Iraq in recent months, with the death toll rising to levels not seen since 2008. Nearly 2,000 have been killed since the start of April, including more than 170 this month.

The surge in bloodshed accompanies rising sectarian tensions within Iraq and growing concerns that its unrest is being fanned by the Syrian civil war raging next door.

Most of Sunday's car bombs hit Shiite-majority areas and caused most of the casualties. The blasts hit half a dozen cities and towns in the south and center of the country.

There was no claim of responsibility for any of the attacks, but they bore the hallmark of al-Qaida in Iraq, which uses car bombs, suicide bombers and coordinated attacks, most aimed at security forces and members of Iraq's Shiite majority.

The U.S. Embassy condemned the attacks, saying it stands with Iraqis "who seek to live in peace and who reject cowardly acts of terrorism such as this." The U.S. withdrew its last combat troops from Iraq in December 2011, though a small number remain as an arm of the embassy to provide training and facilitate arms sales.

Sunday's blasts began with a parked car bomb exploding early in the morning in the industrial area of the city of Kut, killing six people and wounding 15 others. That was followed by another car bomb outside the city that targeted construction workers. It killed five and wounded 12, according to police.

In a teahouse hit by one of the blasts, a blood-stained tribal headdress and slippers were strewn on the floor, alongside overturned chair and couches. Kut is 160 kilometers (100 miles) southeast of Baghdad.

In the oil-rich city of Basra in southern Iraq, a car bomb exploded on a busy downtown street. As police and rescuers rushed to the scene of the initial blast, a second car exploded. Six people were reported killed. Cleaners were seen sweeping up pieces of the car bomb, which damaged nearby cars and shops.

About an hour later, parked car bombs ripped through two neighborhoods in the southern city of Nasiriyah, 320 kilometers (200 miles) southeast of Baghdad, killing two and wounding 19, police said.

In the Shiite holy city of Najaf, 160 kilometers (100 miles) south of Baghdad, a blast struck a produce market, killing eight and wounding 28. Watermelons, tomatoes and apples were seen scattered on the ground. A bulldozer loaded charred and twisted stalls and cars into a waiting truck.

Blasts were also reported in the communities of Hillah, Mahmoudiya and Madain, all south of Baghdad, killing seven in total. In the northern city of Tuz Khormato, a roadside bomb targeted a passing police patrol, killing two policemen.

The shooting broke out near the restive northern city of Mosul. Police officials say gunmen attacked police guarding a remote stretch of an oil pipeline, killing four and wounding five. Mosul, some 360 kilometers (225 miles) northwest of Baghdad, has been the scene of some of the deadliest unrest outside the Baghdad area in recent weeks.

Medical officials confirmed the casualty figures. Officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they weren't allowed to release the information to reporters.

The attacks came a day after the leader of al-Qaida's Iraq arm, known as the Islamic State of Iraq, defiantly rejected an order from the terror network's central command to stop claiming control over the organization's Syria affiliate, according to a message purportedly from him.

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's comments reveal his group's determination to link its own fight against the Shiite-led government in Baghdad with the cause of rebels trying to topple the Iran-backed Syrian regime.

___

Associated Press writers Sameer N. Yacoub and Adam Schreck contributed.

___

Follow Sinan Salaheddin on Twitter at twitter.com/sinansm

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/series-attacks-kill-40-people-across-iraq-161438085.html

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First flight of Airbus A350 reopens wide-body race

PARIS (AP) ? Airbus sent a new wide-body plane into the skies Friday that sets the stage for intensifying competition with U.S. rival Boeing - with consequences for jobs, airlines' investments and the reputations of the powerful plane makers.

After years of delays and a revamp that cost billions, the A350 cruised for four hours in partly cloudy skies above Toulouse in southern France.

Most importantly, it then landed safely.

It met ear-to-ear smiles - and some sighs of relief - among the Airbus engineers and executives who helped the plane reach its maiden journey.

The flight marks a key step on the path to full certification for the jet, which can carry between 250 and 400 passengers and is the European aircraft-maker's best hope for catching up in a long-haul market dominated by Boeing's 777 and the 787, known as the Dreamliner.

"At the end of the day you need to make it real, and this is the time for making it real. So I am very proud already," Didier Evrard, head of the A350 program, said while watching the flight.

"But I will be still nervous until it comes back."

Airspace over Toulouse, where Airbus has its headquarters, closed for both take-off and landing. With distinctive, upturned wing tips, the plane had a great big "A350" painted across its belly, heightening anticipation that it will fly at the Paris Air Show next week.

The plane's undercarriage remained down for the first part of the flight, so that they could run through a series of checks and ensure it was ready for the full flight.

Airbus has 613 orders for the A350, and hopes Friday's flight will bring it momentum heading into next week's Paris Air Show, which is already shaping up as a battle of the wide-body planes.

"There is a lot of money at stake, a lot of employment at stake. This is an extremely important political, social and economic issue," said Gerald Feldzer, a French aviation expert and former airline pilot.

Airbus' potential customers, the world's airlines, have all been squeezed by high aviation fuel costs and a fall in passengers because of the struggling world economy. Carriers are therefore looking for ways to run their fleets more cost-effectively.

More than half of the twin-engine A350 consists of lightweight carbon-fiber designed to save on jet fuel, which makes up half the cost of long-haul flights.

Airbus claims the A350 is 25 percent more fuel-efficient than comparable planes.

The A350, which was delayed for two years as Airbus hashed out a new design, is a competitor to the 787 - minus the lithium ion batteries now under investigation for unexplained smoldering. Airbus abandoned its plans to use the lithium ion batteries despite their advantages in weight, power and re-charging speed.

"The A350 has the same innovations more or less as the Dreamliner, the 787," said Feldzer. "The same amount or proportion of carbon for the lightness of the material, just as many electrical devices."

Boeing's list prices for its 787 line range from $206 million to $243 million. Airbus lists prices ranging from $254 million to $332 million, and had 613 orders as of May, compared with 890 orders for the 787. Steep discounts are common on large orders, although the details are rarely made public.

The initial A350 program was scrapped and redesigned after customers criticized it. Development of the plane was held up by management disputes and financial troubles at Airbus early on.

But Boeing faced its own delays and problems with the 787, and analysts say Airbus is now trying to position itself as the airplane manufacturer that can get the job done.

"Boeing has the broader product line but they are still struggling under the shadows of the 787 nightmare and they seem unenthusiastic about launching new products," said Richard Aboulafia, an analyst with the Teal Group. "Airbus has its chance to show themselves as the opposite of that."

It was nearly two years after Boeing's first flight of the 787 until the first passengers stepped onboard the jet. Aboulafia expects a similar timeframe for the A350.

However, he notes about Airbus: "So far they have surprised, positively."

Airbus hopes the timeframe is shorter. It's aiming to deliver the first A350 to Qatar Airways in the second half of next year.

The Toulouse-based company said the plane that flew on Friday will get a detailed inspection that will take two or three days before the plane flies for a second time. After that, it expects flight testing to take a little more than a year, Airbus President and CEO Fabrice Bregier said in a video released by the company. About 2,500 hours of flight testing are planned.

Eric Bernardini, a consultant at AlixPartners who follows the aerospace industry, said, Airbus designers "have matured a lot in their development process." Bernardini said the Airbus CEO "was always insisting on simplicity and not overcomplicating the design and having a monster that is difficult to manufacture."

The A350 will compete against larger versions of Boeing's new 787, but is also aimed at Boeing's 777-300ER, which has been a runaway hit with airlines. The original 777 design is aging - it first flew in 1994. Airbus said that eight out of 10 customers for the 777-300 ER have ordered A350s. U.S. customers for the A350 include United Continental Holdings Inc. and Hawaiian Airlines.

The biggest A350 will carry roughly 350 passengers, slightly fewer than a 777-300ER. Planes like that are generally used on long-haul international flights. Those planes have turned out to be popular with airlines who want large aircraft - but not superjumbos like the Airbus A380 or Boeing's new 747-8i. Sales of those two giants have been disappointing.

Boeing is considering whether to build a new version of its 777, now called the 777X, which would boost fuel efficiency with new carbon-fiber wings and new engines. Boeing is widely expected to announce a final decision about building the 777 at next week's Paris Air Show.

A year ago, at the Paris Air Show's sister event in Britain, Boeing beat Airbus for the number of orders announced. The two companies vie closely each year for the title of world's biggest plane maker, and the race is as tight as ever.

___

AP Airlines Writers Scott Mayerowitz in New York, Joshua Freed in Minneapolis, and Angela Charlton in Paris contributed to this report.

Follow Lori Hinnant at https://twitter.com/lhinnant

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/first-flight-airbus-a350-reopens-wide-body-race-082712171.html

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