Congress to consider bill to stop abusive patent lawsuits

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two Congressmen introduced a bill on Wednesday that would penalize companies that file frivolous patent infringement lawsuits, derided by critics as "patent trolls."

Representatives Peter DeFazio, an Oregon Democrat, and Jason Chaffetz, a Republican from Utah, sponsored the bill, which would ensure a company bringing a frivolous patent lawsuit would pay all the costs and attorney fees associated with the case.

"Patent trolls drained an estimated $29 billion from American innovators and companies in 2011," said DeFazio in a statement. "They pad their pockets by buying patents on products they didn't create and then suing companies from every industry for infringement."

Google Inc, Microsoft Corp, the Business Software Alliance, the Computer and Communications Industry Association and the Consumer Electronics Association all supported the proposed legislation.

Suzanne Michel, Google's senior patent counsel, said the search company supported the bill and noted that many of the lawsuits claim infringement of controversial software patents.

"Suits brought by trolls have quadrupled since 2005. They now account for 60 percent of all patent litigation," said Michel in a blog post. "The trolls' weapons of choice ? used in 85 percent of their suits ? are software patents, many of which are vague, over broad and invalid."

There is no Senate companion bill at this point for the House of Representatives action.

(Reporting By Diane Bartz. Editing by Andre Grenon)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/congress-consider-bill-stop-abusive-patent-lawsuits-221128828--sector.html

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Thursday?s Political Ledes (TIME)

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Sandra Harris Interiors and Antiques in Chester goes from strength ...

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First lady's anti-obesity campaign prompts change

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Wal-Mart is putting special labels on some store-brand products to help shoppers quickly spot healthier items. Millions of schoolchildren are helping themselves to vegetables from salad bars in their lunchrooms, while kids' meals at Olive Garden and Red Lobster restaurants automatically come with a side of fruit or vegetables and a glass of low-fat milk.

The changes put in place by the food industry are in response to the campaign against childhood obesity that Michelle Obama began waging three years ago. More changes are in store.

Influencing policy posed more of a challenge for the first lady, and not everyone welcomed her effort, criticizing it as a case of unwanted government intrusion.

Still, nutrition advocates and others give her credit for using her clout to help bring a range of interests to the table. They hope the increased awareness she has generated through speeches, her garden and her physical exploits will translate into further reductions in childhood obesity rates long after she leaves the White House.

About one-third of U.S. children are overweight or obese, which puts them at increased risk for any number of life-threatening illnesses, including diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease.

While there is evidence of modest declines in childhood obesity rates in some parts of the country, the changes are due largely to steps taken before the first lady launched "Let's Move" in February 2010.

With the program entering its fourth year, Mrs. Obama heads out Wednesday on a two-day promotional tour with stops in Mississippi, Illinois and Missouri. She has been talking up the program on daytime and late-night TV shows, on the radio and in public service announcements with Big Bird. She also plans discussions next week on Google and Twitter.

"We're starting to see some shifts in the trend lines and the data where we're starting to show some improvement," the first lady told SiriusXM host B. Smith in an interview broadcast Tuesday. "We've been spending a lot of time educating and re-educating families and kids on how to eat, what to eat, how much exercise to get and how to do it in a way that doesn't completely disrupt someone's life."

Larry Soler, president and chief executive of the Partnership for a Healthier America, said Mrs. Obama has "been the leader in making the case for the time is now in childhood obesity and everyone has a role to play in overcoming the problem." The nonpartisan, nonprofit partnership was created as part of "Let's Move" to work with the private sector and to hold companies accountable for changes they promised to make.

Conservatives accused Mrs. Obama of going too far and dictating what people should ? and shouldn't ? eat after she played a major behind-the-scenes role in the passage in 2010 of a child nutrition law that required schools to make foods healthier. Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the Republican Party's vice presidential nominee in 2008, once brought cookies to a school and called the first lady's efforts a "nanny state run amok."

Other leaders in the effort, such as New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, have felt the backlash, too. Last fall, Bloomberg helped enact the nation's first rule barring restaurants, cafeterias and concession stands from selling soda and other high-calorie drinks in containers larger than 16 ounces.

Despite the criticism, broad public support exists for some of the changes the first lady and the mayor are advocating, according to a recent Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll.

More than eight in 10 of those surveyed, 84 percent, support requiring more physical activity in schools, and 83 percent favor government providing people with nutritional guidelines and information about diet and exercise. Seventy percent favor having restaurants put calorie counts on menus, and 75 percent consider overweightness and obesity a serious problem in this country, according to the Nov. 21-Dec. 14 survey by telephone of 1,011 adults.

Food industry representatives say Mrs. Obama has influenced their own efforts.

Mary Sophos of the Grocery Manufacturers Association, which represents the country's largest food companies, including General Mills and Kellogg's, said an industry effort to label the fronts of food packages with nutritional content gained momentum after Mrs. Obama, a mother of two, attended one of their meetings in 2010 and encouraged them to do more.

"She's not trying to point fingers," Sophos said. "She's trying to get people to focus on solutions."

A move by the companies signaling willingness to work with Mrs. Obama appears to have paid off as the Obama administration eased off some of the fights it appeared ready to pick four years ago.

The Food and Drug Administration has stalled its push to mandate labeling on the front of food packages, saying it is monitoring the industry's own effort. A rule that would require calorie counts on menus has been delayed as the FDA tries to figure out whom to apply it to. Supermarkets, movie theaters and other retailers have been lobbying to be exempted.

The industry also appears to have successfully warded off a move by the Federal Trade Commission to put in place voluntary guidelines for advertising junk food to kids. Directed by Congress, the guidelines would have discouraged the marketing of certain foods that didn't meet government-devised nutritional requirements. The administration released draft guidelines in 2011 but didn't follow up after the industry said they went too far and angry House Republicans summoned an agency official to Capitol Hill to defend them.

Besides labeling its store brands, Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, also pledged to cut sodium and added sugars by 25 percent and 10 percent, respectively, by 2015, and remove industrially produced trans fats.

Leslie Dach, an executive vice president, said sodium in packaged bread has been cut by 13 percent, and added sugar in refrigerated flavored milk, popular among kids, has been cut by more than 17 percent. He said Wal-Mart shoppers have told the company that eating healthier is important to them. Giving customers what they want is also good for business.

New York reported a 5.5 percent decline in obesity rates in kindergarteners through eighth-graders between the 2006-07 and 2010-11 school years, according a report last fall by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which studies health policy. In Philadelphia, the decline was 4.7 percent among students in grades K-12 between the 2006-07 and 2009-10 school years, the foundation said.

Declines also were reported in California and in Mississippi, where Mrs. Obama stops Wednesday.

In Philadelphia, an organization called the Food Trust has worked since 1992 to help corner stores offer fresh foods, connect schools with local farms, bring supermarkets to underserved areas and ensure that farmers' markets accept food stamps, according to Robert Wood Johnson.

New York City requires chain restaurants to post calorie information on menus. Licensed day care centers also must offer daily physical activity, limit the amount of time children spend in front of TV and computer screens, and set nutrition standards.

Both cities also made changes to improve the quality of foods and beverages available to students in public schools.

___

Online:

Let's Move: http://www.letsmove.gov

___

Follow Darlene Superville and Mary Clare Jalonick on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/dsupervilleap and http://www.twitter.com/mcjalonick

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/first-ladys-anti-obesity-campaign-082244309.html

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Estimates reduce amount of additional land available for biofuel production by almost 80%

Feb. 27, 2013 ? Amid efforts to expand production of biofuels, scientists are reporting new estimates that downgrade the amount of additional land available for growing fuel crops by almost 80 percent. Their report appears in the ACS journal Environmental Science & Technology.

Steffen Fritz and colleagues explain that growing concern exists in the U.S. and the European Union on how production of biofuels will impact food security. This has led to a realization that increased production of biofuels must take place on so-called "marginal land," acreage not suitable for growing food crops, but capable of growing switch grass, Indian beech trees and Barbados nut trees. Concerned that previous estimates were targeting some areas where land is not marginal, the scientists did the calculations using data obtained through crowdsourcing, which were based on higher-resolution datasets.

They concluded that previous studies had overestimated the amount of arable land, had underestimated the amount of land already being cultivated and had not fully considered other competing uses for land other than farming. The revised estimates show that 140 million-2.6 billion acres of additional land could be cultivated for biofuel production. That compares with previous estimates of 800 million-3.5 billion acres. This study highlights the large uncertainties in estimating land availability and points out that such estimates should be used with caution.

The authors acknowledge funding from European Community's Framework Programme via the Project EuroGEOSS, EnerGEO, Pashmina and ASAP programme of the Austrian Research Promotion Agency.

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

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Journal Reference:

1. Steffen Fritz, Linda See, Marijn van der Velde, Rachel A. Nalepa, Christoph Perger, Christian Schill, Ian McCallum, Dmitry Schepaschenko, Florian Kraxner, Ximing Cai, Xiao Zhang, Simone Ortner, Rubul Hazarika, Anna Cipriani, Carlos Di Bella, Ahmed H. Rabia, Alfredo Garcia, Mar?yana Vakolyuk, Kuleswar Singha, Maria E. Beget, Stefan Erasmi, Franziska Albrecht, Brian Shaw, Michael Obersteiner. Downgrading Recent Estimates of Land Available for Biofuel Production. Environmental Science & Technology, 2013; : 130128103203003 DOI: 10.1021/es303141h

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

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_technology/~3/hNryhAx_7IU/130227102056.htm

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Chris Cooper Cast as Norman Osborn in The Amazing Spider-Man 2!

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Pippa Middleton to Pen Cooking Column For UK Magazine

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Brikk pushes solid-gold iPhone cases with philanthropic twist ...

Brikk solid gold iPhone case

High-end technology accessories maker Brikk is marketing solid-gold and platinum iPhone 5 cases to affluent consumers through a charity component.

The brand promises to donate more than?2,000 pounds of rice that will be distributed to various non-governmental organizations for each iPhone case purchased. Brikk?is also challenging other luxury brands to contribute to philanthropic organizations.

?We believe that all luxury brands should donate a decent percentage of their proceeds to charity,? said Cyrus Blacksmith, founder at Brikk, Los Angeles.

?We donate specifically to hunger in third-world countries where there are famines and large populations are dying because of food shortages regardless of whether the shortages are caused by climate or politics,? he said.

Philanthropic gold
Brikk is self-described as a maker of fine philanthropic goods. It was founded in 2009 on the premises that a portion of every purchase would go to help humanitarian aid.

Brikk?s new collection of iPhone 5 cases called ?Haven? offers four different models of luxury iPhone cases that are customizable.

Cases are available in pink gold, yellow gold, yellow gold satin matte and platinum polished.

Yellow gold polished case

Diamonds and other stones can be added to the cases.

Each gold case contains more than 75 grams of gold and the platinum case contains more than 100 grams of platinum.

The gold models are priced at $11,610 and the platinum model is $14,235.

The cases are sold through Brikk?s Etsy account. The brand also plans to sell the phone cases in select retailers in Singapore, Dubai, New York and London in the future.

Brikk has been pushing the new cases on its Facebook page, Twitter account, Etsy store and Web site.

Giving back
Many luxury brands make charitable donations or give back to the community in various ways.

For instance, U.S. apparel and accessories label Michael Kors upped its philanthropic portfolio through a long-term partnership with the United Nations? World Food Programme to help put an end to world hunger.

The brand is pushing the partnership and encouraging donations through a PSA that was released on its social media channels and its Destination Kors? Web site. The PSA includes messages from notable celebrities who support the cause including Bette Midler, Seth Myers, Olivia Munn, Patti Hansen and Karol?na Kurkov? (see story).

Also, Montblanc, a maker of writing instruments and watches, offered customers the chance to purchase a bracelet as a holiday gift for a parent of a cancer patient at the Texas Children?s Cancer Center. The bracelets were priced at $345 of which $50 goes directly to the center to support patient care and research (see story).

Brikk?s charitable donations come from every product that the brand offers.

?As luxury brands are high profit and have a clientele that pays for the quality and brand, we believe that luxury brands can increase their prices slightly to offset the charity, if required,? Mr. Blacksmith said.

Final take
Erin Shea, editorial assistant on Luxury Daily, New York?

Erin Shea is an editorial assistant on Luxury Daily. Her beats are automotive, consumer electronics, consumer packaged goods, financial services, media/publishing, software and technology, telecommunications, travel and hospitality, real estate, retail and sports. Reach her at erin@napean.com.

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Net providers begin warning of illegal downloads

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Internet users who are illegally sharing music, movies or television shows are going to start to receive warning notices from the nation's five major Internet service providers.

The Copyright Alert System, organized by the recording and film industry, is being activated this week to target consumers who may be engaging in piracy using peer-to-peer software.

Under the new system, complaints will prompt an Internet service provider ? such as Verizon or AT&T ? to notify a customer whose Internet address has been detected sharing files illegally. A person will be given up to six opportunities to stop before the Internet provider will take more drastic steps, such as temporarily slowing their connection. Proponents say the focus is on educating consumers. They acknowledge it's unlikely to deter chronic violators.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-02-25-US-Internet-Piracy/id-4a439fbeca7f47649fc30d0a4bedfa4b

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Fastest and Safest Way To Gain Muscle | Body Health ...

Fast Gain Muscle

Gaining muscle safely is the key to longevity and overall success. The fastest and safest way to gain muscle may be different for everyone, but there are some steps you can take to ensure both will occur.

Gaining muscle fast is something many bodybuilders work toward. While it can be achieved in a number of ways, often times fast muscle gain occurs due to the use of products that aren?t particularly safe. If you want to gain muscle quickly and safely, you need to eat a well-balanced diet. Intense training will call for your muscles to be fed on a regular basis. This means eating high protein meals between five to eight times a day. Smaller meals will digest much easier and help build muscle much better than only a few larger ones.

Supplements are also used in gaining muscle mass. The safest supplements are those that are natural products. When choosing, select only those that have been approved and received good reviews. Be wary of those that haven?t really been tested or are not widely used. There may be a reason why they haven?t received a whole lot of attention.


Train safely. This is a very important part of strength training. If you do not execute each exercise correctly, you could injure yourself. This would set you back for a least a few weeks, but could have lasting effects that would keep you from continuing your training program. You can avoid that by taking the time to learn about each exercise you perform. A trainer at your local gym can answer any questions you may have about the exercises you have chosen. He or she can also help you build a routine that is designed specifically to meet your needs.

Muscle can be gained quickly through intense training. This does not mean cramming a lot of repetitions and sets into your routine and training every day. You?ll start out with several reps and a lower amount of weight, but will lower the number of reps as you increase the amount of weight you lift. Also, training three to four days a week is recommended. Your muscles are already being pushed to their limits so any more than that and you?ll be taking a serious risk of over training them. The other days will be free to rest and you?re body will thank you for it in so many ways. You?ll feel and look better and begin gaining muscle at a steady rate.

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Dennis Rodman worms his way into North Korea

Flamboyant former NBA star Dennis Rodman, fifth from right, poses with three members of the Harlem Globetrotters basketball team, in red jerseys, and a production crew for the media upon arrival at Pyongyang Airport, North Korea, Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013. Rodman known as "The Worm" arrived in Pyongyang, becoming an unlikely ambassador for sports diplomacy at a time of heightened tensions between the U.S. and North Korea. (AP Photo/Kim Kwang Hyon)

Flamboyant former NBA star Dennis Rodman, fifth from right, poses with three members of the Harlem Globetrotters basketball team, in red jerseys, and a production crew for the media upon arrival at Pyongyang Airport, North Korea, Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013. Rodman known as "The Worm" arrived in Pyongyang, becoming an unlikely ambassador for sports diplomacy at a time of heightened tensions between the U.S. and North Korea. (AP Photo/Kim Kwang Hyon)

Flamboyant former NBA star Dennis Rodman, right, scratches his face upon arrival at Pyongyang Airport, North Korea, Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013. The American known as "The Worm" arrived in Pyongyang, becoming an unlikely ambassador for sports diplomacy at a time of heightened tensions between the U.S. and North Korea. (AP Photo/Kim Kwang Hyon)

Flamboyant former NBA star Dennis Rodman, right, scratches his face upon arrival at Pyongyang Airport, North Korea, Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013. The American known as "The Worm" arrived in Pyongyang, becoming an unlikely ambassador for sports diplomacy at a time of heightened tensions between the U.S. and North Korea. (AP Photo/Kim Kwang Hyon)

FILE - In this July, 31, 2012, file photo, former NBA basketball player Dennis Rodman appears during a news conference to announce his tour and charity work in Panama City. The American known as ?The Worm? is set to arrive Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013, in Pyongyang, becoming an unlikely ambassador for sports diplomacy at a time of heightened tensions between the U.S. and North Korea. (AP Photo/Arnulfo Franco, File)

PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) ? Former NBA star Dennis Rodman brought his basketball skills Tuesday and flamboyant style ? tattoos, nose studs and all ? to a country with possibly the world's strictest dress code: North Korea.

Landing in Pyongyang with VICE television, the American athlete and showman known as "The Worm" became an unlikely ambassador for sports diplomacy at a time of heightened tensions between the U.S. and North Korea.

Rodman is joining three members of the Harlem Globetrotters basketball team and a VICE correspondent for a news show on North Korea that will air on HBO later this year, VICE told The Associated Press in an exclusive interview Tuesday before they landed.

Rodman and VICE said the Americans hope to engage in a little "basketball diplomacy" by running a basketball camp for children and playing with North Korea's top basketball stars ? and, they hope, drawing leader Kim Jong Un to a game. Kim is said to be a huge basketball fan.

"Is sending the Harlem Globetrotters and Dennis Rodman to the DPRK strange? In a word, yes," said Shane Smith, the VICE founder who is host of the upcoming series, referring to North Korea by the initials of its formal name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. "But finding common ground on the basketball court is a beautiful thing.

Rodman might seem an odd fit for North Korea, where men's fashion rarely ventures beyond military khaki and where growing facial hair is forbidden. Though there's a burgeoning fashion sense among the women of Pyongyang, the men in this conservative society still tend dress austerely: khaki work suits, military uniforms, dark blue Mao-style suits or Western-style suit jackets.

In contract, Rodman was a poster boy for flashy excess during his heyday in the 1990s. He called his 1996 autobiography "Bad as I Wanna Be" ? and showed up wearing a wedding dress to promote it.

Shown a photo of a snarling Rodman, piercings dangling from his lower lip and two massive tattoos emblazoned on his chest, one North Korean in Pyongyang recoiled and said: "He looks like a monster!"

But Rodman is also a Hall of Fame basketball player and one of the best defenders and rebounders to ever play the game. During a storied, often controversial career, he won five NBA championships.

On Tuesday, Rodman, now 51, was low-key and soft-spoken in cobalt blue sweatpants and a Polo Ralph Lauren cap. There was a bit of flash: white-rimmed sunglasses and studs in his nose and lower lip. But he told AP he was there to teach basketball and talk to people, not to stir up trouble.

Showier were three Harlem Globetrotters dressed in fire-engine red. Rookie Moose Weekes flashed the crowd a huge smile as he made his way off the Air Koryo plane.

"We use the basketball as a tool to build cultural ties, build bridges among countries," said Buckets Blakes, a Globetrotters veteran. "We're all about happiness and joy and making people smile."

It's the second high-profile American visit this year to North Korea, a country that remains in a state of war with the U.S. It also comes two weeks after North Korea conducted an underground nuclear test in defiance of U.N. bans against atomic and missile activity.

Google's executive chairman, Eric Schmidt, made a surprise four-day trip to Pyongyang, where he met with officials and toured computer labs in January, just weeks after North Korea launched a satellite into space on the back of a long-range rocket.

Washington, Tokyo, Seoul and others consider both the rocket launch and the nuclear test provocative acts that threaten regional security.

North Korea characterizes the satellite launch as a peaceful bid to explore space, but says the nuclear test was meant as a deliberate warning to Washington. Pyongyang says it needs to build nuclear weapons to defend itself against the U.S., and is believed to be trying to build an atomic bomb small enough to mount on a missile capable of reaching the mainland U.S.

VICE, known for its sometimes irreverent journalism, has made two previous visits to North Korea, coming out with the "VICE Guide to North Korea." The HBO series, which will air weekly starting April 5, features documentary-style news reports from around the world.

The U.S. State Department hasn't been contacted about travel to North Korea by this group, a senior administration official said, requesting anonymity to comment before any trip had been made public. The official said the department does not vet U.S. citizens' private travel to North Korea.

Promoting technology and sports are two major policy priorities of Kim Jong Un, who took power in December 2011 following the death of his father, Kim Jong Il.

Along with soccer, basketball is enormously popular in North Korea, where it's not uncommon to see basketball hoops set up in hotel parking lots or in schoolyards. It's a game that doesn't require much equipment or upkeep.

The U.S. remains Enemy No. 1 in North Korea, and North Koreans have limited exposure to American pop culture. But they know Michael Jordan, a former teammate of Rodman's when they both played for the Chicago Bulls in the 1990s.

During a historic visit to North Korea in 2000, then-Secretary of State Madeleine Albright presented Kim Jong Il, famously an NBA fan, with a basketball signed by Jordan that later went on display in the huge cave at Mount Myohyang that holds gifts to the leaders.

North Korea even had its own Jordan wannabe: Ri Myong Hun, a 7-foot-9 star player who is said to have renamed himself "Michael" after his favorite player and moved to Canada for a few years in the 1990s in hopes of making it into the NBA.

Even today, Jordan remains well-loved here. At the Mansudae Art Studio, which produces the country's top art, a portrait of Jordan spotted last week, complete with a replica of his signature and "NBA" painted in one corner, seemed an odd inclusion among the propaganda posters and celadon vases on display.

An informal poll of North Koreans revealed that "The Worm" isn't quite as much a household name in Pyongyang.

But Kim Jong Un, also said to be a basketball fanatic, would have been an adolescent when Rodman, now 51, was with the Bulls, and when the Harlem Globetrotters, an exhibition basketball team, kept up a frenetic travel schedule worldwide.

In a memoir about his decade serving as Kim Jong Il's personal sushi chef, a man who goes by the pen name Kenji Fujimoto recalled that basketball was the young Kim Jong Un's biggest passion, and that the Chicago Bulls were his favorite.

The notoriously unpredictable and irrepressible Rodman said he has no special antics up his sleeve for making his mark on one of the world's most regimented and militarized societies, a place where order and conformity are enforced with Stalinist fervor.

But he said he isn't leaving any of his piercings behind. "They shouldn't be scared of a few piercings."

__

Associated Press writer Matthew Pennington contributed to this report from Washington. Follow AP's bureau chief for Pyongyang and Seoul at www.twitter.com/newsjean.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-02-26-NKorea-Rodman/id-1dbab4ea684d41ee900a0a5cb3b3d520

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Senate confirms Hagel for defense secretary

FILE - In this Jan. 31, 2013, file photo, Secretary of Defense nominee Chuck Hagel testifies before the Senate Armed Services Committee during his confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington. A deeply divided Senate is moving toward a vote on President Barack Obama?s contentious choice of Chuck Hagel to head the Defense Department, with the former Republican senator on track to win confirmation after a protracted political fight. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, file)

FILE - In this Jan. 31, 2013, file photo, Secretary of Defense nominee Chuck Hagel testifies before the Senate Armed Services Committee during his confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington. A deeply divided Senate is moving toward a vote on President Barack Obama?s contentious choice of Chuck Hagel to head the Defense Department, with the former Republican senator on track to win confirmation after a protracted political fight. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, file)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The Senate has voted to confirm Chuck Hagel to be the nation's next defense secretary.

The vote Tuesday was 58-41, with four Republicans joining Democrats in backing President Barack Obama's nominee.

The vote ended a contentious fight over the president's choice for his second-term national security team.

Republicans opposed the former two-term Republican senator from Nebraska, casting him as out of the mainstream and overly critical of Israel. But Democrats stood together for Hagel, a twice-wounded Vietnam combat veteran.

Hagel will succeed Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, who is stepping down after four years as CIA director and Pentagon chief.

The vote came just hours after Republicans dropped their delay and allowed the nomination to move forward. The Senate vote to end the filibuster was 71-27.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-02-26-Hagel/id-26ac6b9740994e62a5be79453f8ff15b

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Convenience and Quality in this Vinings Home for Sale | Real ...

2095 Cooper Lake Drive SE, Smyrna 30080

So much quality in this custom designed home by Norwood Architects.

High end appliances, detailed cabinetry and stone work throughout. Elevator access to all levels. Perfect for families with a sitting room off the bedrooms for family use. Great open public entertaining spaces suitable for large crowds. Three-car garage and guest suite on lower level and fabulous media room. Six bedrooms, five full baths, one half bath. ?Over 6,000 square feet.

Offered at $975,000 by Tina Hunsicker of Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby?s International Realty. ? Click here for more photos and information about this home for sale.?

Vinings at its best ? convenient and high quality in this home for sale at 2095 Cooper Lake Drive, Smyrna 30080. Offered at $975,000 by Tina Hunsicker of Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby?s International Realty.

The living room?s elegance is defined in the ceiling. The open floorplan, perfect for entertaining, is epitomized in this flexible space.

Entertain with ease and style with this butler?s pantry that features an ice maker. Click on the image for additional information and more photos.

There are a lot of incredible rooms in this house with beautiful design ? and the easiest way to access them is through the elevator which serves all three levels.

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This entry was posted on February 24, 2013, 5:24 pm and is filed under Featured Homes for Sale, Vinings. You can follow any responses to this entry through RSS 2.0. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Source: http://realviningsbuckhead.com/2013/02/24/convenience-and-quality-in-this-vinings-home-for-sale/

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SideCar Says Three Philadelphia Drivers Caught In ?Sting,? But It Plans To Continue Operations

It sounds like ridesharing startup SideCar is facing another regulatory challenge. According to a company blog post, the Philadelphia Parking Authority cited three SideCar drivers and impounded their cars in an "orchestrated sting operation." The citation supposedly describes SideCar as an "unauthorized service provider," which the company says is inaccurate:

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/vHlYzXBxaA4/

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Bryant outscores Nowitzki as Lakers top Mavs

DALLAS (AP) ? Kobe Bryant had 38 points to win a scoring duel with Dirk Nowitzki, and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Dallas Mavericks 103-99 Sunday in a matchup of teams fighting to get in the playoff race.

With chants of MVP from a strong contingent of Lakers fans, Bryant scored 14 in the fourth, including seven in the final 3 minutes to hold off a spirited Dallas effort.

Nowitzki finished with 30 points and 13 rebounds for the Mavericks, who had a chance to pull virtually even with the Lakers for ninth place in the Western Conference. Houston is in eighth, with a cushion of several games.

Bryant, who also had 12 rebounds and seven assists, was playing in Mark Cuban's building two days after the outspoken Dallas owner suggested in a radio interview that the Lakers might have to consider dumping the five-time NBA champion through the amnesty clause.

Steve Nash had 13 of his 20 in the second half against his former team in a game that neither team led by more than six.

The Lakers went up 94-90 with three free throws after O.J. Mayo was called for a foul and a technical on a drive by Bryant. It was Mayo's fifth foul, and he jumped around wildly after the call. Nash made the technical free throw before Bryant's pair.

Nowitzki was called for a technical earlier in the quarter after a similar display when he missed a shot during a physical sequence with Metta World Peace.

Bryant scored again from just inside the arc for a 94-92 lead, and Nash answered Mayo's first 3-pointer of the game with his third from long range in the second half for a 99-95 lead.

Bryant did it again in the final minute after Nowitzki missed a free throw on a potential three-point play, hitting a jumper for a 101-97 lead. Nowitzki scored to make it a two-point game, and World Peace missed a free throw to give Dallas a chance to tie. Mayo missed a 3-pointer with about 5 seconds left.

Dwight Howard had three big free throws in the fourth and finished with nine points and 13 rebounds.

Bryant had already put on a display of shooting, driving and shot-blocking when he took over early in the fourth, but Nowitzki and the Mavericks kept answering.

Bryant scored on three straight possessions with Jae Crowder guarding him and had the ball again the fourth time down when Nowitzki ran over to help. Bryant's pass was intercepted by Vince Carter, and Mike James fed Nowitzki for a dunk and a 90-87 Dallas lead.

Nowitzki and Bryant each scored 16 in the first half, which ended in a 54-all tie, and kept it up in third quarter, finishing that period with 24 apiece.

The Lakers had the biggest lead at six ? several times ? and the Mavericks erased each one through three quarters. Nowitzki's 3-pointer from the top of the key late in the third made him 4 of 4 from long range and capped a 7-0 run for a 71-70 Dallas lead, but Bryant scored twice on drives after a timeout to put the Lakers in front again.

In the first half, Nowitzki was 5 of 8 from the floor, made both 3-pointers and all four free throws and led everyone with eight rebounds. Bryant, meanwhile, was 3 of 4 from long range, including a pair from well behind the arc, but just 1 of 6 inside the line. He had a game-high six assists before halftime.

NOTES: Bryant got a technical in the first quarter when he gestured at referee Ken Mauer after Darren Collison stole ball. It was his league-leading 13th technical ? one ahead of DeMarcus Cousins of Sacramento. A one-game suspension is in order when a player reaches 16 technicals. ... Mavericks C Chris Kaman entered the game in the second quarter after missing 10 straight games with a concussion. ... The Mavericks scored at least 30 points in the first quarter for the fifth time in six games.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/bryant-outscores-nowitzki-lakers-top-mavs-204045912--spt.html

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Sony Xperia Tablet Z launching globally: 6.9mm thin, quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro and 1,920 x 1,200 display

Sony's newest tablet, known as the Xperia Tablet Z, launched in Japan last month, but it still hasn't been seen outside of the Far East. Mobile World Congress is the perfect venue to show it off to the entire world, it seems, as it's now expanding to other parts of the globe. As we had hoped, the super-thin Tablet Z doesn't wander off from Japan's variant spec-wise, though this model will offer your choice of 16 or 32GB internal storage, rather than simply the latter. (Sony also announced that a WiFi-only version with 64GB space will come to the US.) Otherwise, it still boasts Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean, a quad-core 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 Pro CPU, 2GB RAM, a 6,000mAh battery, 8.1MP rear camera and 2MP front-facing cam, NFC, PlayStation Certified, four speakers and a 1,920 x 1,200 display.

Also, the MWC launch gives us a peek at a few minor details we didn't get in the first go-round: the slate includes MHL, up to 64GB of microSD expansion and DLNA, but oddly we haven't seen any specifics on battery size. And just like its cousin, the Z will come with Jelly Bean installed but Sony promises that 4.2 is on its way, though no ETA was given for the update. Finally, we won't hold back on the pricing and availability, even if we kept you in suspense until the end: the black model will be sold in Sony stores and authorized sellers this May, and the white model (which only comes in a 32GB flavor) will be exclusive to official company outlets. A 16GB will put you back $499 and 32GB will be $599. If you're up for a deeper look into the tablet, our hands-on is a great place to get started.

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/Qn5d8JR5eoE/

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Tabasco CEO Paul McIlhenny, Bayou bon vivant, dies

Jane Sutton, Reuters ? ? ? 7 hrs.

Paul McIlhenny, the chairman and chief executive of the Louisiana company that makes Tabasco brand pepper sauce, has died at age 68, the McIlhenny Co said on Sunday.

McIlhenny died on Saturday, the family-owned company said in a news release that described him as "a true bon vivant" whose passions included hunting, fishing, wine-tasting and game cooking.

He was a sixth-generation member of the McIlhenny family to live on Avery Island in the southern Louisiana bayou, and a fourth-generation member to produce pepper sauces sold worldwide under the Tabasco brand.

The McIlhenny company was founded in 1868 on Avery Island. It supplies hot sauce to the U.S. presidential plane Air Force One and to Britain's royal family, the Times-Picayune newspaper said on its website.

Paul McIlhenny joined the company in 1967 and directly oversaw the production of its sauces for 13 years, expanding both its line of spicy sauces and the array of aprons, neckties and other merchandise bearing the familiar red-and-green Tabasco logo.

He spent much of his time in New Orleans and in 2006 he reigned as Rex, the first King of Carnival during Mardi Gras celebrations after the city was devastated by Hurricane Katrina.

"All of McIlhenny Company and the McIlhenny and Avery families are deeply saddened by this news," said Tony Simmons, president of McIlhenny Co and fifth-generation McIlhenny family member. "We will clearly miss Paul's devoted leadership but will more sorely feel the loss of his acumen, his charm and his irrepressible sense of humor."

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/tabasco-ceo-paul-mcilhenny-dies-age-68-1C8516292

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NVIDIA Hates The Benchmark Game, But Lifts The Veil On Tegra 4 Performance Anyway

Flash back a month or so to CES -- NVIDIA CEO Jen-Hsun Huang officially pulled back the curtain on the company's new Tegra 4 chipset, and called it the "world's fastest mobile processor." It was a hell of a claim to make, but the company did little to justify it at the time aside from pointing to its array of Cortex A15 CPU cores and its "72 GPU cores." Fortunately, NVIDIA is much chattier here at MWC, and was eager to show off rather impressive benchmarks for its latest and greatest mobile chipset.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/3v19vfY0mcg/

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Richard's Real Estate and Urban Economics Blog: Why is the luxury ...

Richard Green is a professor in the Sol Price School of Public Policy and the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California. This blog will feature commentary on the current state of housing, commercial real estate, mortgage finance, and urban development around the world. It may also at times have ruminations about graduate business education.

Source: http://real-estate-and-urban.blogspot.com/2013/02/why-is-luxury-housing-market-recovering.html

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Light ? The best iPhone flashlight app?

There are a few categories of apps ? especially on iPhone ? that the App Store developer community has completely saturated. Off the top of my head, I can think of a few: to-do list apps, weather apps and text editors. The thing these categories have in common, though, is they?re extremely subjective. What I mean here is that one person might absolutely love OmniFocus, whereas someone else might hate it. It?s a matter of taste and preference. There are some categories of apps, though, where this subjective preference isn?t quite so apparent.

Most people pretty much agree what makes a good flashlight. So surely most people will agree what makes a good flashlight app? But what does make one of these apps good or bad? I have a few ideas. Let?s start with how we?d rate a good flashlight:

• Battery life,
• Brightness,
• Ease of use.

As you can probably tell, one flashlight app is likely to have about the same battery draw from an iPhone as any other. Same goes for brightness ? all the apps will be limited by the strength of the iPhone?s flash.

But ease of use is where things start to get interesting. iPhone torches should provide a few basic functions:

• Provide a steady-on beam of light from the iPhone camera flash,
• Provide a SOS function using the camera flash,
• Provide a ?screen lock? function, where fingers running all over the touchscreen won?t disrupt the torch.

On top of these basic functions, I have a few other luxury feature requests:

• Have a gorgeous icon,
• Have a great name,
• Have a beautiful, but not over-designed interface,
• Not be free (I like to support developers making great apps).

As you can probably tell by the length of this article, I have strong opinions when it comes to flashlight apps. Unfortunately (for me), these strong opinions came about because I?ve been burned by poorly thought out apps in the past. I used most of the high ranking App Store flashlight suggestions before making my final choice. And I?m pretty sure I?ve picked out the best of the bunch.

Let me introduce you to Light, by JZ * LABS. The first thing that?ll probably strike you is how beautiful the icon is. It looks even better when it?s sitting proudly on your homescreen, believe me. Let?s have a look at Light?s features.

I bought Light pretty much the day I got my iPhone 5 (with my own cash) and have been overjoyed with it ever since. Just like a good flashlight, a good flashlight app is incredibly useful. Whether it?s giving you a helping hand navigating your home in the dark, helping you re-arrange cables under a desk or even walking through a forest at night with no other means of light, a great flashlight app can really save your bacon.

It?s incredibly simple. Launch the app, and the light will be on by default. There?s a great big (beautiful) button in the centre of your iPhone?s screen to turn the light on and off, along with a mode selector switch. Double-tapping an empty area of the screen will enter ?locked? mode, where Light ignores all touch inputs on the display except for another double-tap. The display is also dimmed.

If I?m out walking at night and want to use Light, I take out my iPhone, launch the app, double-tap the display and don?t even think about it. Light comes in handy around the house, too: I?ve recently been rearranging cables in my office under the desk and could never have tidied up so fast using a traditional flashlight? I?d have had to find it for a start.

It?s certainly arguable that the case I?m arguing is for flashlight apps, rather than Light itself. If you use a different flashlight app and love it, then stick with it! When I used some other apps, though, I found them markedly worse. Some of the other apps had ugly UI, always showed ads, had strange names which would show up on my homescreen and didn?t have a great way to lock the screen. Light nails all my requirements ? and I?m pretty sure my requirements are fairly universal.

Another great feature of using an iPhone app as a flashlight rather than, you know, an actual flashlight is the battery. I carry my iPhone everywhere I go and always have an indication of the battery life. Flashlights tend to be used very infrequently ? with such a large gap between uses that the batteries inside are always dead.

If your iPhone has power, you have a torch.

There are a good amount of options in Light if you?d like your setup a little different than the stock. In my case, for example, I?ve removed the strobe and SOS options from the main display, so I don?t accidentally turn on strobe when I?m after a torch.

Now, if you really need a powerful torch, an app should never be your solution. Go look elsewhere. But for almost everyone, I hope you enjoy Light.

Maybe one day, Siri will understand me whispering ?Lumos!?. Until that day arrives, I?ll politely ask ?Light? to be launched, or tap the icon on my homescreen. Light is free on the iTunes App Store, with an in-app purchase to remove ads.

Is there a flashlight app you like better? (There can?t be? surely?!) Let me know! You can say hi over at my twitter account or comment below. I?m interested to see if anyone majorly disagrees with me ? or thinks of a feature that?s even more impressive than what I listed here.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/theindustrycc/~3/OCm5uQQMQzA/

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How to Integrate Google Apps with Windows 8

Windows 8 is designed to push Microsoft?s web services: Bing, Internet Explorer, Outlook.com, and more. However, Windows 8 isn?t limited to just Microsoft?s services. Google services like Gmail, Google Search, Chrome, and more can all be integrated with Windows 8.

Google hasn?t made many Modern apps for Windows 8 and has no intention of doing so, but important Google services like Gmail work in the included apps. Unfortunately, contact and calendar sync will stop working in July.

Google Search

Google has made one modern app: the Google Search app. Install it from the Windows Store and you?ll get a tile that brings up a Windows 8-style Google search screen. This app is designed to compete with Microsoft?s Bing search app.

If you use Internet Explorer, you can also change IE?s default search engine to Google. This option is only accessible from the desktop version of Internet Explorer, although changing it also affects the Modern version of Internet Explorer.

Chrome

Google offers a version of Google Chrome for Windows 8. If you install Chrome and set it as your default browser, you will be able to use a Modern version of Google Chrome in the new Windows 8 environment. This gives you access to your Google account?s synced bookmarks, apps, extensions, and other browser data.

You can toggle between the two styles of Google Chrome browser ? desktop mode and Windows 8 mode ? using the Relaunch Chrome option in Chrome?s menu.

Note that Google Chrome is not available on Windows RT. Microsoft bans third-party browsers on Windows RT, just as they ban third-party desktop apps. On a Windows RT machine like the Microsoft Surface RT, you will have to use Internet Explorer for all your web browsing.

Gmail, Contacts, & Calendar

The Mail app included with Windows 8 supports Gmail accounts. You will be able to read your emails, send emails, and see new mail notifications for your Gmail account on the Mail app?s live tile.

To add your Google account, open the Mail app, press Windows Key + I to open the Settings charm, and select Accounts.

Select the Google account option and enter your Google account?s email address and password.

Unfortunately, this is a time of upheaval. While you can currently add Google accounts and sync your contacts and calendars with the People and Calendar apps on Windows 8, Google is removing the Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync support for free accounts. (Microsoft charges Google a licensing fee to offer this service.)

Exchange ActiveSync (EAS) support will be deactivated on July 31, 2013. After this date, you will have to access Gmail via IMAP in the Mail app. Contacts and calendars in the People and Calendar apps will not be available unless Microsoft adds support for the CalDAV and CardDAV standards to these apps.

Pin It

Google?s web apps can be sort-of integrated with Windows 8?s start screen with the pinning feature. You can pin shortcuts to websites such as Google Drive (formerly Google Docs) or Google Maps to the start screen, allowing you to access them with a single click.

To pin a website to your Start screen in Chrome, you first have to open Chrome?s menu, point to Tools, and select Create Application Shortcuts. Create a shortcut on your desktop. You can then right-click the desktop shortcut and select Pin to Start.

Pinning websites to your Start screen in Modern Internet Explorer is even easier.

If you don?t like the website tile icons, you could use OblyTile to create nicer-looking tile icons for any website or application.

---

Of course, all the standard Google applications ? Google Drive, Google Earth, Picasa, and others ? work normally on the Windows 8 desktop. (But not on Windows RT, which only allows desktop applications written by Microsoft.)

You will also find some unofficial apps for Google services in the Windows Store, including unofficial apps for Google Maps and Google Reader. If you are looking for a modern app that supports Google Talk and other chat networks, search for the IM+ app in the Windows Store.

Chris Hoffman is a technology writer and all-around computer geek. He's as at home using the Linux terminal as he is digging into the Windows registry. Connect with him on Google+.

Source: http://www.howtogeek.com/137852/how-to-integrate-google-apps-with-windows-8/

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McCartney, Mumford top eclectic Bonnaroo lineup

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) ? There will be a British invasion of the main stage at Bonnaroo this year.

Paul McCartney and Mumford & Sons are among the headliners for the 2013 Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in Manchester, Tenn.

The four-day festival, held on a rural 700-acre farm, always features an eclectic roster, but the June 13-16 event is even more varied than usual.

Returnees Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers also hold down a headliner spot. Then things get a little crazy with R&B star R. Kelly, alternative queen Bjork and Wu-Tang Clan celebrating its 20th anniversary. Wilco, Pretty Lights, The Lumineers, The National, The xx, Kendrick Lamar, A$AP Rocky, Nas and ZZ Top also top the list announced Tuesday by "Weird Al" Yankovic via Bonnaroo's YouTube channel.

Tickets go on sale at noon EST on Saturday.

McCartney, the former Beatle and recent frontman of Sirvana, will be making his first appearance at the event.

Mumford & Sons, fresh off its album of the year win at the Grammy Awards, return to Bonnaroo after a memorable 2011 second-stage performance that stretched more than an hour, drew friends Old Crow Medicine Show and had fans hanging off fences to get a better view.

Other top-of-the-list performers include Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Animal Collective, Daniel Tosh, David Byrne & St. Vincent, Passion Pit and Grizzly Bear.

The festival hosts more than 120 acts. More will be announced later.

There are a few curiosities on the list. Glam-punk Billy Idol and Odd Future member and mystery man Earl Sweatshirt are scheduled to perform. Jim James will host a Soul SuperJam with John Oates, Zigaboo Modeliste of the Meters and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band.

Fans of roots rock, Americana and folk-leaning acoustic music will have more than Mumford and The Lumineers to focus on. Also scheduled to perform are Dwight Yoakam, Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit, John Fullbright, Of Monsters and Men, Calexico, JD McPherson, Father John Misty and The Tallest Man on Earth.

___

Follow AP Music Writer Chris Talbott: http://twitter.com/Chris_Talbott.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/mccartney-mumford-top-eclectic-bonnaroo-lineup-190035792.html

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NASA Unveils 1st Radar Video of Asteroid Flyby

NASA has revealed the first radar video of an asteroid flyby that sent a space rock half the size of a football field buzzing by Earth last week.

The new?asteroid flyby video, released today (Feb. 19), shows the asteroid 2012 DA14 as it headed away from Earth over the weekend. The asteroid zipped close by Earth on Friday (Feb. 15), when it approached closer to the planet than many communications satellites.

Before Friday's flyby, astronomers suspected asteroid 2012 DA14 was about 150 feet (45 meters) across. At its closest point, the asteroid came within 17,200 miles (27,000 kilometers) of Earth, but never posed a threat of impacting the planet.

Based on the new radar observations, scientists now think asteroid 2012 DA14 is about 130 feet (40 m) wide at its largest point, NASA officials said in a statement.

The new video of the asteroid was made by combining radar observations of 2012 DA14 by NASA's Deep Space Network radio antenna in Goldstone, Calif. The 230-foot (70 meters) antenna captured 72 images of asteroid 2012 DA14, which was about 74,000 miles (120,000 kilometers) from Earth at the time, during observing windows on Friday and Saturday (Feb. 15 and 16). The images have a resolution of about 13 feet (4 m) per pixel. [See more photos of asteroid 2012 DA14]

"The images span close to eight hours and clearly show an elongated object undergoing roughly one full rotation," NASA officials explained. During that eight hours, asteroid 2012 DA14 moved even farther from Earth to a point about 195,000 miles (314,000 km) away.

Astronomers Lance Benner and Marina Brozovic at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., led the radar observing campaign for the asteroid flyby. They planned to conduct a series of follow-up observations on Feb. 18, 19 and 20.

Asteroid 2012 DA14 was discovered in February 2012 by amateur astronomers at the La Sagra Observatory in Spain. Its close flyby was determined soon afterward, and astronomers ultimately found that it posed no chance of hitting the Earth.

NASA scientists and astronomers around the world tracked asteroid 2012 DA14 as it approached Earth over the last week, with the space agency and several groups holding public webcasts to chronicle the space rock's close shave. It was the closest flyby of an asteroid the size of 2012 DA14 that astronomers have known about in advance.

Asteroid 2012 DA14 came about 5,000 miles (8,046 km) closer to Earth than the fleet of communications satellites that fly in geosynchronous orbits about 22,400 miles (36,000 km) above the planet. NASA provided satellite operators with regular updates on the asteroid's position and path in case the satellites would have to be moved clear of the space rock.

NASA and a network of scientists around the world regularly monitor the night sky for signs of asteroids that could pose an impact threat to the Earth.

By coincidence, a 55-foot (17 m) meteor exploded over Russia just hours before asteroid 2012 DA14's flyby. The meteor explosion injured nearly 1,200 people in Russia's Chelyabinsk region, shattered windows and damaged thousands of buildings in the area.

NASA scientists have said the trajectory of the meteor was different than that of asteroid 2012 DA14, and that the two events were unrelated. Subsequent fireball sightings over the San Francisco Bay Area and Miami, Fla., were also unrelated.

You can follow SPACE.com Managing Editor Tariq Malik on Twitter?@tariqjmalik.?Follow SPACE.com on Twitter?@Spacedotcom. We're also on Facebook?&?Google+.?

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/nasa-unveils-1st-radar-video-asteroid-flyby-224148318.html

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