Apple: 100 million iPod touches sold since 2007

Following the launch of its newest iPod earlier today, Apple has announced that it's sold over 100 million iPod touches since they first went on sale back in 2007 -- in fact, as noted in last year's earnings call, the touchscreen models make up half of all iPods sold. For nostalgia's sake, we've added the touchscreen media player's debut ad after the break so you can see where it all began.

Filed under: Portable Audio/Video, Apple

Comments

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/05/30/apple-100-million-ipod-touches-sold/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

target walmart best buy sears Aeropostale Jcpenny ohio state football

Moderate 4.8 quake off Santa Barbara coast felt far and wide

A moderate 4.8 earthquake off the Santa Barbara coast Wednesday was felt over a wide swath of California, from the Central Coast to Los Angeles County, but no damage was reported.

The temblor struck at 7:38 a.m. about five miles west of UC Santa Barbara.

The Santa Barbara area is home to a number of earthquake faults, the largest of which is the Santa Ynez fault, which is 80 miles long and runs just north of the city. That fault is believed to be capable of triggering an earthquake as powerful as 7.5.

People closest to the epicenter felt moderate shaking, but the only effects reported were the falling of a few photo frames.

The epicenter of Wednesday's quake was not far from the epicenter of the devastating 1925 earthquake in Santa Barbara. Recorded at a magnitude 6.8, the temblor destroyed much of Santa Barbara's downtown on State Street, damaged rail lines, caused extensive landslides on bluffs, and was felt as far away as Orange County. It killed 13 people.

Dozens of people from Bakersfield to Manhattan Beach reported feeling the quake on the U.S. Geological Survey's "Did you feel it?" site.

Goleta resident Lisa Green told KTLA-TV Channel 5 that her house "was just rocking back and forth, back and forth." A few pictures fell off the wall and her medicine cabinet flew open, she said.

"My dogs were going crazy," she said.

After the shaking subsided, Green said, her neighbors went outside to check on each other.

At the Santa Barbara Inn, guests felt slight shaking.

Officials reported no damage. Michael Dalcerri, captain at Santa Barbara County Fire Station 17 on the UC Santa Barbara campus, said: "We pulled our rigs out, checked the area ? campus area, Isla Vista ? no damage to report."

At most, people reported minor annoyances from the quake. "Felt it in Thousand Oaks. Woke me up & me dog growled at it." @KiraDFoltz tweeted.

"It woke me up!" @ahhhlexx15 said. "But it wasn't scary if you know earthquakes."

Last week, Northern California was rattled by a magnitude 5.7 quake that struck about 150 miles northeast of Sacramento. It marked the largest on-land temblor to hit California since 2008, experts said.

ron.lin@latimes.com

kate.mather@latimes.com

Times staff writer Kurt Streeter contributed to this report.

Source: http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/news/science/~3/mhpUs5DKE_o/la-me-santa-barbara-quake-20130530,0,7679235.story

september 11 2001 september 11 2001 blake lively serena williams Espn Fantasy Football Grandparents Day 2012 army wives

Key role of EMPLOYEES in Business Process Improvement | Kaizen ...

There are four major roles within a business management system: Business Leader, Process Owner, Operational Manager, and Process Operator. The responsibilities of each of these roles are unique, but work together as a system. Some employees in an organization may perform as many as all four of these roles over the course of a day, week, month, or year. Now let?s have a look at each role in detail.

1.???? Business leaders

Business leaders have responsibility for creating the business plans (including strategic plans created during the strategic planning process) and associated resourcing plans necessary to cause the organization to be successful.

Senior leaders (corporate) have the duty of defining the customer and business objectives which an organization needs to achieve in order to be successful. This process includes overseeing the development of the organization?s mission, vision (goal), and values.

Lower leader-levels (business unit and functional) get the task of translating senior leaders? business objectives into business objectives that make sense for their level and that support the accomplishment of the senior leaders? business objectives.

The responsibilities of the business leaders follow the PDCA (plan, do, check, and act) cycle.

Plan: The business leaders create and own the business performance objectives of the organization. Senior leaders need to first understand the requirements of their customers, stockholders, workforce, suppliers, and communities. They need to understand their competition. They need to understand the environmental, economic, technological, social, legal, and political environments that they do business within. Senior leaders need to consider all of these elements as they design a Business model and business Strategy map that will meet the customer and business requirements. Business Leaders then translate these requirements and business environment issues into business performance objectives. Business Leaders then create business plans and associated resourcing plans that will cause the organization to achieve these business objectives. The Business Leaders establish business performance metrics to measure the business?s capability to meet these business objectives. Many organizations create a Balanced scorecard to organize and communicate business performance metrics.

Do: The business leaders are responsible for communicating to the organization their business plans. As the organization conducts business, the Business Leaders are responsible to build bridges and remove barriers that will allow the business performance objectives to be met. The business performance metric data is produced and collected as business is performed by the organization.

Check: The business leaders periodically analyze the business performance data and use it to visualize the business?s capability to meet business objectives over time (performance trends), compare actual performance against performance targets, and identify performance issues.

Act: The business leaders are responsible to create improvement actions to address the performance issues that are identified during their analysis of the business performance data. These improvement actions are created to ensure the organization is able to achieve their business plans.

?2.???? Process owner

The process owner is the person who is responsible for designing the processes necessary to achieve the objectives of the business plans that are created by the Business Leaders. The process owner is responsible for the creation, update and approval of documents (procedures, work instructions/protocols) to support the process. Many process owners are supported by a process improvement team. The process owner uses this team as a mechanism to help create a high performance process. The process owner is the only person who has authority to make changes in the process and manages the entire process improvement cycle to ensure performance effectiveness. This person is the contact person for all information related to the process.

The responsibilities of the process owner follow the PDCA (plan, do, check, and act) cycle.

Plan: The process owners create and own the process performance objectives of the organization. The process owner first needs to understand the external and internal customer requirements for the process. This person uses the business plans as a source to help understand the long term and short term customer and business requirements. This person then translates these requirements into process performance objectives and establishes product (includes service) specifications. This person establishes process performance metrics to measure the process?s capability to meet the product specifications and overall process objectives. The set of metrics that are to be reviewed by operational managers and process operators are called key performance indicators (KPIs). The process owner then designs process steps to describe work that when performed will have the capability to produce products that meets the customer and business requirements.

Do: The process owner is responsible to communicate to the operational managers the details of the processes that the operational managers are responsible to execute. As the operational managers and process operators perform the processes, the process owner is responsible to build bridges and remove barriers that will allow the process performance objectives to be met. The process performance metric data is produced and collected as the process is performed by process operators. The process owner is continually involved with the operational managers and process operators as they use kaizen to continually improve the process as they are performing the work.

Check: The Process Owner periodically analyzes the process performance data and uses it to visualize the process?s capability to operate within control limits over time (performance trends), compare actual performance against performance targets, and identify performance issues.

Act: The Process Owner is responsible for creating improvement actions that address performance issues that are identified during their analysis of the process performance data. Improvement actions may include the initiation of Lean projects to reduce waste from the process or include the initiation of Six Sigma projects to reduce variation in the process. Improvement actions may include the use of problem solving tools that would include risk assessment and root cause analysis. Risk assessment is used to identify and reduce, eliminate, or mitigate risk within the process. This is the proactive approach to avoid problems being created from the process. Root-cause analysis is the reactive way to respond to problems that occur from the process. Root-cause analysis is used to identify the causes of problems within the process and identify and implement improvement actions that will ensure these problems do not occur again.

3.???? Operational manager

The operational Manager is responsible to bring the resources and processes together to achieve the objectives of the business plans that are created by the business leaders.

The responsibilities of the operational manager follow the PDCA (plan, do, check, and act) cycle.

Plan: The operational managers ? in collaboration with each Process Operator, create Process Operator performance objectives for the employees they supervise. The Operational Manager needs to understand the performance requirements of the process. They match employees (Process Operators) with the competency and skill requirements of the process to be performed. They ensure that the Process Operators have the budget, facilities, and technology available to them that is necessary to achieve the performance objectives of the processes.

Do: The operational manager is responsible to teach process operators how to perform the processes (work). Process Operator instruction usually consists of classroom and on-the-job training. The Operational Manager oversees the work and ensures Process Operators receive ongoing informal feedback as to their performance. As the Process Operators perform the processes, the Operational Managers are responsible to build bridges and remove barriers that will allow the process and Process Operator performance objectives to be met. Process and Process Operator performance metric data is produced and collected as the process is performed. The Operational Manager ensures that Process Operators are using Kaizen to continually improve the process as they are performing the work.

Check: The operational manager periodically analyzes the key performance indicators (KPIs) during the production cycle to evaluate the work group?s ability to achieve the process and process operator performance objectives. This data is used to visualize the process and process operator capability to meet business plan objectives over time (performance trends), compare actual performance against performance targets, and identify performance issues. They review this performance data and sort out process operator performance issues from process performance issues. Many organizations use a war room concept to post performance data. Within the war room, the operational manager conducts periodic review and analysis of this performance data.

Act: The operational manager is responsible to create improvement actions to address the performance issues that are identified during their analysis of the process and Process Operator performance data. They address Process Operator performance with ongoing feedback to the Process Operator and/or by using an employee performance management review process. They communicate process performance issues to the Process Operator(s) and the Process Owner.

4. ? ? Process operator

The process operator is responsible to learn and perform the processes (work) necessary to achieve the objectives of the business plans that are created by Business Leaders.

The responsibilities of the process operator follow the PDCA (plan, do, check, and act) cycle.

Plan: The process operators ? in collaboration with their Operational Manager, create and own their performance objectives. Process Operators are responsible to understand the performance objectives of the process they are to perform and the specifications of the product they are to produce.

Do: Process operators are responsible to learn the processes (work) that they are to perform. They ensure the processes are performed to meet the process performance objectives and produce product that meets specification. As the Process Operators perform the processes, they are responsible to communicate to their Operational Manager (supervisor) the bridges that need to be built and the barriers that need to be removed to allow the process and Process Operator performance objectives to be met. Process and Process Operator performance metric data is produced and collected as the process is performed.

Check: The process operator periodically reviews the Key performance indicators (KPI?s). The Process Operator makes adjustments to their work based on their actual performance compared to KPI targets. The Process Operator is responsible for identifying and reporting any performance issues and stopping production if necessary.

Act: Process operators practice kaizen to continually challenge the process and communicate improvement suggestions to their operational manager (supervisor).

Key considerations

Processes need to align to business goals. An organization?s strategic goals should provide the key direction for any Business Process Improvement exercise. This alignment can be brought about by integrating programs like Balanced Scorecard to the BPI initiative. E.g. when deploying Kaizen, Six Sigma, identification of projects can be done on the basis of how they fit into the Balanced Scorecard agenda of the organization.

Customer focus Fast-changing customer needs underscore the importance of aligning business processes to achieve higher customer satisfaction. It is imperative in any BPI exercise that the ?Voice of Customer? be known, and factored in, when reviewing or redesigning any process.

Importance of benchmarks BPI tools place a lot of emphasis on ?measurable results?. Accordingly, benchmarks assume an important role in any BPI initiative. Depending on the lifecycle of the process in question, benchmarks may be internal (within the organization), external (from other competing / noncompeting organizations) or dictated by the senior management of the organization as an aspirational target.

Establish process owners for any process to be controllable, it is essential that there be clarity on who is the process owner, and what constitutes success/failure of the process. These success/failure levels also help establish ?control limits? for the process, and provide a healthy check on whether or not a process is meeting the desired customer objectives.

?Source: Wikipedia

Like this:

Like Loading...

Source: http://kaizeninstituteindia.wordpress.com/2013/05/31/key-role-of-employees-in-business-process-improvement/

Staten Island Trick or Treat Amy Weber Happy Halloween! Star Wars Episode 7 jfk airport faith hill

Stocks fall; Dow average pulls back from a record

Trader Gregory Rowe on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday, May 28, 2013. A jump in home prices is helping send the stock market sharply higher in early trading. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Trader Gregory Rowe on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday, May 28, 2013. A jump in home prices is helping send the stock market sharply higher in early trading. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

NEW YORK (AP) ? Wall Street's passion for high-dividend stocks is fading.

The stock market closed lower Wednesday, led by the same industry groups that had the biggest gains early in the year: rich dividend payers like power utilities and makers of consumer staples.

Rising bond yields have been an important factor behind that shift.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note has risen sharply this month and is close to a 13-month high. That's helping diminish the appeal of so-called "defensive" stocks that the market favored in the first three months of the year. Utilities stocks have slumped 9.2 percent this month.

More broadly, after this year's powerful bull run ? the Dow Jones industrial average is up 16.8 percent, the Standard & Poor's 500 index 15.6 percent ? investors may be running out of reasons to keep plowing money into the stock market.

"There's a vacuum of catalysts to continue to push (stocks) higher," said Sam Stovall, chief U.S. equity strategist for S&P Capital IQ. Now, Stovall said, investors are wondering: " 'Well, should I take some profits and sit on the sidelines and then get back in?' "

Stovall noted that the S&P 500 has had a temporary pullback of at least 5 percent every year since the end of the World War II. That hasn't happened yet in 2013.

Investors have been encouraged by positive signs on the economy recently, including sharp increases reported Tuesday in home prices and consumer confidence. Investors worry, however, that the Federal Reserve will start to ease back on its stimulus program as the economy improves.

The powerful run-up in stock prices has been encouraged by the Fed. The central bank has been buying $85 billion of bonds each month in an effort to keep interest rates low and encourage borrowing, lending and investing. With rates low, investors have sought stocks as an alternative to bonds.

Minutes of a Fed meeting released last Wednesday brought news that some policymakers favored scaling back the bond purchases as early as next month, providing the economy picks up. That pushed stock markets to a decline last week, the first weekly drop in five. Those concerns have also led traders to sell bonds, pushing long-term interest rates higher.

"At some point, interest rates will go up and that's obviously having some impact on stocks," said Erik Davidson, deputy chief investment officer for Wells Fargo Private Bank. "And you're seeing it in the sectors that you would expect. The hardest sectors hit recently have been ... the more dividend-driven stock sectors."

Real estate investment trusts, or REITs, another investment favored by investors seeking income, have also been hit as Treasury yields climb. Vanguard's exchange-traded REIT fund has fallen for five straight days, cutting its gains this year to 10.9 percent from 19.7 percent.

The Dow closed down 106.59 points at 15,302.80, a loss of 0.7 percent. That decline matched its advance the day before, when it closed at a record high, the ninth time it has done so this month. The Dow was down as much as 179 points in late morning trading, then rose moderately in the afternoon.

The S&P 500 index was down 11.70 points to 1,648.36, also 0.7 percent. The Nasdaq composite lost 21.37 points to 3,467.52, or 0.6 percent.

The S&P 500 is headed for a seventh consecutive month of increases, the longest winning streak since 2009. The Dow is on track to end higher for a sixth straight month.

Nine of the 10 sectors in the S&P 500 fell, led by declines of 1.9 percent for consumer staples and 1.5 percent for utilities. In the first three months of the year they were among the biggest winners.

Despite the decline in stocks, it seems too early to call an end to the rally. On several trading days this year, stocks have had sharp sell-offs, only to rise again as investors took advantage of the dip in prices to get into the market.

The Dow fell 1.8 percent April 15 on concerns that a slowdown in China would trip up global economic growth. It has risen 5.5 percent since then. The index also slid 1.6 percent Feb. 25 on concerns that the European debt crisis would disrupt global markets again. The Dow shook off that loss too, and is up 11 percent since then.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.12 percent from 2.17 percent late Tuesday. The yield surged Tuesday to its highest level in 13 months as investors moved money out of bonds. The yield has risen sharply from 1.63 percent at the beginning of the month.

In another sign of shifting sentiment, a measure of investor's expectations of market volatility has been increasing. The Chicago Board of Exchange's VIX index climbed 2.7 percent Wednesday, its sixth increase in seven days.

In commodities trading, the price of crude oil fell $1.88, or 2 percent, to $93.13 a barrel. Gold rose $12.40, or 0.9 percent, to $1,391.30 an ounce. The dollar fell against the euro and the Japanese yen.

Among stocks making big moves:

? Smithfield Foods surged $7.38, or 28 percent, to $33.35 after the company agreed to be acquired by meat processor Shuanghui International Holdings for about $4.7 billion.

? Stewart Enterprises rose $3.23, or 33 percent, to $12.97 after the funeral company agreed to be acquired by Service Corp International for $1.1 billion in cash.

? Sallie Mae jumped 50 cents, or 2.2 percent, to $23.48. The company, which is formally named SLM Corp., announced a plan to split into two companies, one that manages student loans and a consumer banking business.

? Michael Kors Holdings rose $1.97, or 3.2 percent, to $63.95 after the fashion company reported that its profit more than doubled on surging sales in the fourth quarter, capping another strong year.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-05-29-Wall%20Street/id-1086d3c0604b4850aaf7b1de25b0aabe

Chechen Boston bombers chechnya live news nbc UMass Dartmouth Katherine Russell

Mobile Nations and iMore to host... Talk Mobile 2013!

Android. BlackBerry. iOS. Windows Phone. Editors. Industry experts. You. Me. Us. -- The conversation begins Monday, June 3!

#TM13 stands for Talk Mobile 2013, an all-new, online event hosted by Mobile Nations -- including not only iMore, but Android Central, CrackBerry, and Windows Phone Central as well -- created with one goal in mind: to take our ongoing discussion of mobile to the next level.

Technology alone is not enough. Apple said that years ago, and they've been proven right. Mobile is no longer about the bits and atoms we hold in our hands, but what those bits and atoms can do to inform, inspire, and improve our daily lives. And that's just exactly what we're going to be exploring through Talk Mobile, together. From manufacturers to carriers, from social to personal, from gaming to enterprise, from around the world to inside our homes, we're going to get the conversation started not only about what matters most to the industry, but what matters most to us.

It begins on June 3. Mark your calendar, follow @talkmobile, and bookmark this landing page -- talkmobile2013.com. You'll be able to watch every video and read every word right here on iMore, but that page is going to collect them all for you in one convenient place. Our tech team has even built a brand new commenting system that'll let everyone, from every site, talk together, and highlight and promote the very best contributions.

To celebrate the kickoff we're throwing the tech party to end all tech parties on June 6 in NYC. Details on the party, and how you can enter to win a free trip for 2 to the party, are up on talkmobile2013.com.

Watch the trailer video above. Read the press release below. Enter the contest. Follow all the things. Then buckle up, we're in for one hell of a ride.

Mobile Nations launches Talk Mobile 2013, presented by BlackBerry

An industry-first online event that brings together the top smartphone experts and fans in meaningful conversations about mobile technology and how it affects our lives

NEW YORK, NEW YORK -- (Marketwire - May 29, 2013) -- Mobile Nations, the leading online mobile news and community network -- Android Central, CrackBerry, iMore, and Windows Phone Central -- announced today that Talk Mobile, an online event spanning all of the Mobile Nations sites and presented by BlackBerry?, will launch on June 3, 2013.

Talk Mobile will bring together mobile industry experts, influencers, pundits, enthusiasts, and fans from around the world to engage in meaningful conversations about important topics in mobile today. A total of 50 Talk Mobile features will be published over the next several months. Each day's feature will simultaneously reach each Mobile Nations site, with Android, BlackBerry, iOS and Windows Phone communities each having an equal voice in the conversation.

?We have the largest, most knowledgeable, most passionate communities in mobile, but for most of the year we?re all focused on our own, specific platforms,? said Kevin Michaluk, Chief Media Officer of Mobile Nations. ?Talk Mobile lets us take off those platform-specific hats and engage in real, in-depth, industry-wide discussion. That?s why only Mobile Nations could do an event like Talk Mobile -- our sites are all biased by definition, but when we come together, the biases balance out, and we end up with the most amazing debates.?

Covering ten highly relevant topics, Talk Mobile will address the issues facing modern platform makers and manufacturers, carriers and service providers, developers and designers, and power users and casual users alike. Topics range from mobile gaming to photography to social to security.

?Over the last decade, smartphones have grown from niche technology to mainstream reality,? said Marcus Adolfsson, CEO of Mobile Nations. ?We see that in our communities every day. It?s not just about tech specs anymore, but about health, family, entertainment, creativity, and connectivity. There?s a deeper conversation to be had about mobile and how it influences, enables, and affects our lives. That?s why we?re launching Talk Mobile.?

Each Talk Mobile feature will start with a roundtable discussion moderated by Cali Lewis and John Pozadzides of GeekBeat.TV, with Mobile Nations? site editors Phil Nickinson, Kevin Michaluk, Rene Ritchie, and Daniel Rubino as panelists. The conversation will then be turned over to the community, where anyone and everyone can have their say, and the very best contributions will be featured. Talk Mobile 2013 begins on June, 3, 2013. The first week will cover mobile gaming, its threat to consoles, its social implications, its ability to scale, and its future. Readers can join in the conversation by visiting their favorite Mobile Nations site.

Talk Mobile launch party

To celebrate the kickoff, Mobile Nations will be hosting a Talk Mobile 2013 launch party on Thursday, June 6, 2013, in New York City. Admission will be free, but venue space is limited. For more information and to RSVP, visit http://talkmobile2013.eventbrite.com.

Mobile Nations is also running a contest, in which readers can enter for the chance to win a free trip to New York City and guaranteed admission to the Talk Mobile 2013 launch party. For contest information, see www.talkmobile2013.com and follow twitter.com/talkmobile.

About Mobile Nations

Mobile Nations is the leading network of mobile-focused online communities with more than 15 million readers and 55 million page views per month. Android Central, CrackBerry, iMore, and Windows Phone Central form the core of Mobile Nations.

For more information, please visit www.MobileNations.com.

BlackBerry and related trademarks, names and logos are the property of Research In Motion Limited. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Press Contact: Derek Kessler, Managing Editor, Talk Mobile derek@mobilenations.com

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/KcwuM2NxTcw/story01.htm

east of eden weather radio indiana autoimmune disease news channel 9 insanity workout mass effect 3 launch trailer

Mad Men, Season 6

Jon Hamm as Don Draper, January Jones as Betty Francis, and Mason Vale Cotton as Bobby Draper

Courtesy of AMC

Where you see indecision, Hanna, I see bifurcation. This episode was titled ?The Better Half??partly a reference to Betty?s appearance at Henry?s campaign event, but also a nod to all the doubling and doppelg?nging going on. If last week?s episode was Freudian, this week?s was aligned with the work of his student: the duality of man, the Jungian thing.

The tipoff comes when Megan plays identical twins?she is simultaneously Corinne the dark-haired maid and Colette the blond husband-stealer. Recall Betty?s brief foray into brunettitude (seemingly resigned to her role as a plump housewife) followed by a triumphant return as a stunning blonde (with replenished sexual capital). Note that Peggy is also pushed to take sides with either fair Ted or dark Don. And of course Don hops out of blond Betty?s bed and heads straight to a balcony kiss with raven-tressed Megan.

But it?s a more internal duality?the one in our heads? that has always been the focus of Mad Men. This season?s billboard art is an illustration of a dark-suited Don encountering a light-suited Don as they pass on the street. One Don holds a briefcase, the other the hand of an unseen woman. We are all many people at once (Bobbys 1 through 5, if you will), and this season seems increasingly a chronicle of Don?s struggle to reconcile the splintered shards of himself. Can he integrate Don the unknowable, damaged lone wolf with Don the middle-aged, domesticated husband and father?

Paul, you mentioned how ?remarkably unmysterious? Don appeared as he sang that camp song with Bobby. Indeed, this was Don as dork, dropping his Sphinx act to engage with the banal but lovely stuff of parenthood. At the same time, Betty used this rustic interlude to reassert her long-dormant side?not the Betty in the quilted housecoat who carps and laments, but the Betty ?in those shorts? who is the center of attention, wielding potent sexuality. She is once again basking in the desire of every man she meets.

Watching Don and Betty turn each other on, circling each other with bad intentions, made me realize I?d missed the raw chemistry of Jon Hamm and January Jones. These are a pair of beautiful animals who know it, and can choose to exist together on a higher plane of heightened cool. Has there been a sultrier moment on TV this year than the one in which Don purrs, ?I?m waiting for you to tell me to stop??

And now that it?s ended, should we be impressed, bewildered, or amused by the fact that Matthew Weiner?for ages!?hid perhaps the most stunningly beautiful actress on TV beneath layers of prosthetics? Is this just more Weinerian expectation-thwarting?akin to Alfred Hitchcock killing off Janet Leigh in the first act of Psycho? Hanna, you previously upbraided Henry Francis for paying Betty ?pallid compliments.? Was his panting lust in the back of that limo what you were looking for?

It occurs to me that we?ve been watching the late ?60s unfold mostly through the eyes of yuppie office workers. Not a lot of students and activists make major appearances in Mad Men. Lately, it?s been Peggy?s boyfriend Abe who?s served as the show?s progressive, countercultural voice. This week, as the other characters went on with their lives, oblivious to the upheaval in Paris and Prague, it seemed that selfless Abe died for their sins. Did you notice that once Peggy stabbed him with that impromptu spear, he was suffering both the stigmata and the torso wound of the crucified Nazarene? Consider that as Peggy?s knife plunges in, Abe shouts, ?Jesus!? Abe would like to turn the other cheek to the toughs in their neighborhood, but Peggy?s got a much more Old Testament sensibility.

As for Roger: Hanna, you?re right; that seemed a bit of an overreaction to a well-meaning mistake. Seems hard to believe Roger?s grandson is now so ?afraid of fur? that they?ll have to ditch the family dog. I think this is plot machination, heralding the return of Mona Sterling?I note that Roger?s daughter declared he can only see the boy when Mona is present.

How jaunty was that closing music, the Lou Johnson version of ?Always Something There to Remind Me?? And it contained a message to all the better halves of these dual-minded characters: ?You?ll always be a part of me.?

Do you feel my attention to business has been dilute?
Seth

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=c85113ffbe50fda5df5b47d139499785

NFL playoff schedule 2013 Bronson Pelletier andy reid redskins sugar bowl downton abbey season 3 2013 Calendar

SKorea idles 2 nuke plants after cable tests faked

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) ? South Korea has idled two nuclear power plants after finding that test results for crucial control cables were falsified in a new blow to an industry mired in a graft scandal and safety lapses.

South Korea's trade and energy ministry said Tuesday a company contracted to conduct tests fabricated the results for cables that failed to meet international standards for capacity to withstand changes in voltage and pressure. It warned that the plant shutdowns would result in summer power shortages.

The cables control valves that are responsible for cooling nuclear fuel or preventing the release of radioactive materials during an emergency. Another four nuclear reactors that were either shut down for scheduled maintenance or under construction were also using cables that had failed the tests.

"If these control cables do not operate well during an emergency, we viewed that it would not guarantee to cool nuclear fuels or to shut off radioactive materials," South Korea's Nuclear Safety and Security Commission said in a statement.

It said the cables, which were in use since December 2011, failed nine of 12 tests pertinent to their operation in a "loss of coolant accident."

Han Jinhyun, vice trade and energy minister, declined to name the company while the government's investigation is ongoing. The ministry will sue the company and also ask prosecutors to launch a probe, he told a press conference.

The revelations add to public worries about nuclear safety and power shortages during the summer when demand is at its peak. They are a new blow to South Korea's ambitions to export its nuclear technology.

With the shutdown of the Shin-Kori No. 2 and Shin-Wolsong No. 1 reactors to replace cables, a total of 10 nuclear plants are now offline.

The minister said it would take around four months to replace the cables and warned "unprecedented power shortages" are expected in coming months.

"There is no means to increase power supply in the short term, so we expect we need to lower demand considerably to weather the crisis," he said.

Last year, the South Korean nuclear industry was rocked by revelations that thousands of components used in nuclear plants had falsified quality certificates. Dozens of employees at state owned nuclear power plant operator, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co., were prosecuted for taking bribes from contractors to accept substandard parts and machinery.

The investigation into the cable problems began after the nuclear safety commission received tips through a whistleblowing channel that was set up in the wake of last year's scandal.

"This incident is more serious than previous scandals because it is wrongdoing by a company that is supposed to oversee products," said Kim Ik-jung, a medical professor at Dongguk University who has become prominent as an anti-nuclear activist since the government decided to build a nuclear waste dump in Gyeongju city where he lives.

"Corruption is widespread in the nuclear industry because there is no agency that can truly regulate Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power," he said.

South Korea has 23 nuclear power plants which supply about 30 percent of its energy and plans to add another 11 reactors by 2024.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/skorea-idles-2-nuke-plants-cable-tests-faked-081956402.html

joan rivers gary carter dies oolong tea survivor one world lil kim progeria what will my baby look like

Syrian TV correspondent killed in central province

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) ? Syria's Information Ministry says rebels have killed a TV correspondent who was covering clashes near the border with Lebanon.

The ministry says Yara Abbas, a prominent female war reporter for state-owned Al-Ikhbariyah TV, was attacked by rebels near the military air base of Dabaa in the central province of Homs.

The ministry's statement Monday was carried by Syrian TV. It gave no further details.

Dabaa air base is near the town of Qusair, which has been under attack by government forces and members of Lebanon's Hezbollah group since last week. Dozens of rebels, troops and gunmen have been killed in the heavy fighting.

Several journalists covering both sides of Syria's conflict have been killed since the crisis began in March 2011.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/syrian-tv-correspondent-killed-central-province-090911797.html

lamichael james acl earthquake los angeles unemployment 2012 nfl draft grades young justice d rose

UK police arrest 10th suspect in soldier's slaying

LONDON (AP) ? British police arrested a 10th suspect Monday in connection with the vicious street killing of a soldier in London, an apparent Islamic extremist attack that has horrified the country and heightened racial tensions.

The 50-year-old man was detained in Welling, east of London, on suspicion of conspiring to murder 25-year-old soldier Lee Rigby, Scotland Yard said. Police gave no further information about the suspect's identity.

The latest arrest came as more details trickled out about the background of Michael Adebolajo, 28, one of the two main British suspects in Wednesday's slaying. He and Michael Adebowale, 22, were shot and wounded by police at the scene.

Rigby, an off-duty soldier who had served in Afghanistan, was run over by a vehicle and repeatedly attacked with meat cleavers Wednesday afternoon near his barracks in southeast London.

British officials say the two main suspects had been known to them for some time, but revelations that Adebolajo had been arrested in Kenya in 2010 ? and claims that British security officials had tried to recruit him as an informer after that ? have fueled questions about whether U.K. authorities could have done more to prevent last week's killing.

Adebolajo and Adebowale remain under armed guard in separate London hospitals. Four other men and the suspect arrested Monday remain in custody at a London police station, while one other man has been released on bail. Two women were released without charge in the case.

On Monday, a London-based rights group that lobbies on behalf of suspected terrorists said Adebolajo and his family had contacted it about six months ago complaining about harassment from Britain's MI5 domestic spy service. A case worker who spoke with him said he appeared "paranoid and erratic," the group said.

"His sister contacted the office to complain about constant harassment from MI5, which extended to Michael, his brother, and his father also," said Moazzam Begg of the London-based group CagePrisoners.

"They were all being approached in different ways," Begg told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. "One of them, he lived and worked abroad. He'd been approached by MI6 (Britain's external espionage agency) at his workplace and had been offered some money. They wanted him to work for them."

Begg said Adebolajo told the caseworker he had been tortured and threatened with rape while in Kenya, and that he had been interrogated for several hours upon his return to London. At first, British intelligence services let him be, Begg said, but in March 2012 they met with him and offered him a job as an informant. Adebolajo refused, he said.

Kenyan officials on Sunday said Adebolajo was arrested in Kenya in 2010 with five others near the country's border with Somalia. Police believed that Adebolajo was going to work with the Somali Islamic militant group al-Shabab.

Kenyan government spokesman Muthui Kariuki told the AP that Adebolajo, who was carrying a British passport, was taken to court before he was handed over to British authorities in Kenya.

Britain's Foreign Office confirmed that Adebolajo was arrested in Kenya in 2010 and said the agency "provided consular assistance."

It was not clear how Adebolajo came to be arrested and how he returned to London. Kenyan officials have denied allegations that he was tortured under interrogation. On Monday, Kenya's police chief David Kimaiyo added confusion by contradicting earlier claims and saying that Adebolajo had "never been arrested in Kenya."

Earlier, hardline Muslim leaders described Adebolajo as a British citizen of Nigerian descent who converted to Islam and attended demonstrations and lectures organized by British radical group al-Muhajiroun.

Rigby's killing and Adebolajo's apparent links to radical Islam have fed a spike in anti-Muslim sentiment in Britain, with police and activists reporting a surge in hate crimes, violence and vandalism.

Around 1,000 supporters of the far-right group English Defense League marched through central London on Monday to protest the soldier's killing, clashing with a smaller group of anti-fascist demonstrators and scuffling with riot police. Police arrested 13 people, mostly on suspicion of causing public disorder.

A mosque in the northern England town of Grimsby was firebombed Sunday night, according to the mosque's chairman, Diler Gharib. Police said they arrested two people and the fire was extinguished without injuries.

In the West Midlands, police charged two people with racially aggravated public order offenses following a weekend protest.

___

Associated Press writer Raphael Satter in London and Tom Odula in Nairobi, Kenya, contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/uk-police-arrest-10th-suspect-soldiers-slaying-153409017.html

travis pastrana aj jenkins shea mcclellin nfl draft 2012 whitney mercilus 2012 nfl draft picks andrew luck

Artist Turns Volcano Into Naked-Eye Observatory

An anonymous reader writes "Unlike most Bond villains, 70-year-old James Turrell has turned a 389,000-year-old extinct volcano into something other than a secret hideout; he's turned it into a naked-eye observatory. From the article: 'Inside, the crater's naturally lit viewing rooms are precision-engineered to observe specific celestial events. While outside, Turrell has reformed the rim of the crater to create a beautiful "vaulting effect" of the sky in a way that we almost never see it. "I'm very interested in how we perceive, because that's how we construct the reality in which we live," Turrell says, "and I like to tweak that a little bit. I make structures that arrest and apprehend light for our perception."'"

Source: http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~3/jiDOxWYrHkU/story01.htm

rory mcilroy Fatboy Slim Rio de Janeiro Shark Week London 2012 closing ceremony Shark Week 2012 evelyn lozada

Obama calls Oklahoma tornado's toll 'hard to comprehend' (reuters)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories News, RSS and RSS Feed via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/308485192?client_source=feed&format=rss

gerard butler danielle fishel daylight savings Daylight Savings Time 2013 DeAndre Jordan Oz the Great and Powerful elisabeth hasselbeck

Actavis to buy Warner Chilcott in $5 billion stock deal

By Caroline Humer

(Reuters) - Generic drugmaker Actavis Inc, itself the subject of takeover speculation, said on Monday it would buy specialty pharmaceutical company Warner Chilcott Plc for $5 billion in stock to expand its branded drug portfolio, lower taxes and increase profits.

Warner Chilcott brings a portfolio of branded women's health pharmaceuticals, such as the contraceptive patch to Actavis, which makes and sells drugs that are no longer under patent protection.

This is the second major acquisition in the past two years for Actavis, which competes against substantially larger companies like Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd and Mylan Inc.

The move comes after reports that Actavis was a takeover target after weeks of reports that it had spurned approaches from Canadian pharmaceutical company Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc and Mylan. Analysts have said that buying Warner Chilcott would kill the chances of a takeover of Actavis.

Actavis Chief Executive Officer Paul Bisaro declined to comment on the deal speculation during a conference call with analysts.

"I think we have remained very focused on our objectives," Bisaro said. "We wanted to get bigger in our brand business."

The deal also would benefit the company's tax structure, he said.

Actavis said the deal would add 30 percent to earnings per share in 2014, in part because it would pay lower taxes when it incorporates in Ireland, where Warner Chilcott is based.

"The longer-term benefit of a lower tax rate is that it allows you to acquire other companies at even better prices," said BMO Capital Markets analyst David Maris. He said he expected the company to continue with more deals - maybe even bigger ones - after digesting Warner Chilcott.

"This is a sector that's consolidating, so they'll clearly be pursuing more deals, but first they have to close this one," Maris said. "More are likely in 2014 and 2015."

Earlier this year, Watson Pharmaceuticals changed its name to Actavis, which it bought last year.

After it buys Warner Chilcott, Actavis will retain its name and have $11 billion in annual sales, up from $5.91 billion in 2012.

$8.5 BILLION WITH DEBT

Warner Chilcott shareholders will receive 0.16 share of the combined company. The companies said that would equate to $20.08 per share, based on Actavis' closing share price of $125.50 on Friday.

The purchase price is a 34 percent premium to Warner Chilcott's closing share price of $15.01 on May 9, the day before the companies disclosed that they were in talks. Warner Chilcott shares since rose to close at $19.19 on Friday, narrowing the premium to less than 5 percent.

The stock was up 4.4 percent at $20.06 in morning trading, while Actavis rose 3.5 percent to $129.90.

Warner Chilcott will have about a 23 percent stake in Actavis after the deal.

The companies said the deal, including debt, was valued at $8.5 billion.

Actavis advisors were Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Greenhill. Warner Chilcott was advised by Deutsche Bank.

(Additional reporting by Ransdell Pierson in New York and Esha Dey in Bangalore; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Lisa Von Ahn)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/actavis-buy-warner-chilcott-8-5-billion-deal-112018951.html

margaret thatcher MET GALA 2013 proflowers Susannah Collins George Jones funeral Jeff Hanneman twerking

Darwin opens Bolzano-Rome FCO.

Four daily is the new scheduled agreed with local authorities for opening the new route from Bolzano to Rome FCO with 50 seater Saab2000s.. The schedule will commence at end of June and progressively is increased until 4xdaily in the weekdays and 2xday in the weekends.

Source: http://www.flightglobal.com/airspace/blogs/flybolognairport/archive/2013/05/21/darwin-opens-bolzano-rome-fco.aspx

space weather sunspots pac 12 tournament sun storm tri international criminal court ios 5.1

Obama voices concern to Lebanon on Hezbollah role in Syria

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama told his Lebanese counterpart on Monday he was concerned about Lebanese Hezbollah militants fighting in Syria to support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, the White House said.

Obama and Lebanese President Michel Suleiman spoke by telephone the same day Syrian activists said about 30 Hezbollah fighters and 20 Syrian soldiers and militiamen loyal to Assad had been killed in the fiercest fighting this year in the rebel stronghold of Qusair.

Lebanon has maintained a policy of "dissociation" from Syria's 2-year-old conflict. But many Lebanese officials believe their country is at risk of being dragged into the civil war, which the United Nations says has killed 70,000 people.

"President Obama expressed his appreciation to President Suleiman and the Lebanese people for keeping Lebanon's borders open and hosting refugees from Syria, and pledged continued U.S. support to help Lebanon manage this challenge," the White House said in a statement summarizing their phone call.

It said the two leaders agreed that "all parties should respect Lebanon's policy of disassociation from the conflict in Syria and avoid actions that will involve the Lebanese people in the conflict."

Sunday's death toll in Qusair highlighted the increasing intervention in Syria by Assad's allies in Hezbollah, a Shi'ite guerrilla group originally set up by Iran in the 1980s to fight Israeli occupation troops in south Lebanon.

"President Obama stressed his concern about Hezbollah's active and growing role in Syria, fighting on behalf of the Assad regime, which is counter to the Lebanese government's policies," the White House said.

Lebanon suffered its own civil war from 1975 to 1990 and endured a military presence by Syria, its historically dominant neighbor, for 29 years until 2005.

(Reporting By Matt Spetalnick; Editing by Doina Chiacu)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-voices-concern-lebanon-hezbollah-role-syria-193204027.html

donovan mcnabb donovan mcnabb lottery ticket megga millions what is autism the giver march 30

TiVo adds MLB.tv in the US today, nears IPTV launch in Sweden

TiVo announced its quarterly earnings yesterday, revealing a net loss for the quarter of $10.8 million. Despite that, its push to partner with cable companies seems to be going well: it recorded its largest growth in MSO customers in seven years, adding 277,000 subscriptions that way. More interesting to most users however, will be news that the MLB.tv app Zatz Not Funny mentioned in January launches today. Additionally, Scandinavian operator Com Hem is about to start offering an IPTV service built on TiVo's devices, and is accepter preregistrations to be an early tester. The Com Hem project will combine an internet TV service with the usual TiVo features -- including TiVoToGo -- and DVR capable of recording up to three HD channels at once. What we can see of the box looks very similar to the one offered by Virgin in the UK, we'll wait and see if any other operators look the company's way when/if they make the transition to IPTV service in the future.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD

Comments

Source: TiVo, Com Hem.se

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/nApNB8RbvuM/

British Open 2012 bane Aurora Colorado Rajesh Khanna friday the 13th toy story 4 toy story 4

Carol Burnett to win top US humor prize in DC

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Carol Burnett, who became famous for playing a variety of characters in sketch comedy routines on her namesake television show, was named the winner of the nation's top humor prize on Tuesday.

The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts said Burnett will receive the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor on Oct. 20 in Washington. A gala performance featuring top names in comedy will be taped and broadcast nationally Oct. 30 on PBS.

The 80-year-old Burnett said she can't believe she is receiving the prize from the Kennedy Center.

"It's almost impossible to be funnier than the people in Washington," she said in a statement.

Burnett had her breakout on Broadway in "Once Upon a Mattress," performing at night in 1959 while also appearing in the mornings on TV's "The Garry Moore Show." She is best known for her own long-running variety show, "The Carol Burnett Show." It ran from 1967 to 1978, averaging 30 million viewers a week on CBS. Her guest stars included Lucille Ball, Jimmy Stewart, Ronald Reagan and Betty White.

Burnett was born in San Antonio in 1933. She soon moved to Hollywood with her mother and grandmother and was raised in a small studio apartment. She received an anonymous donation to attend college at UCLA, where she studied journalism and took an acting class.

Burnett moved to New York City, where she staged musical revues and performed in nightclubs. She was spotted by talent bookers and soon performed her rendition of "I Made a Fool of Myself Over John Foster Dulles" on television.

Kennedy Center Chairman David Rubenstein called Burnett a "unique and beloved entertainer."

"From her television program and appearances, as well as her performances on Broadway and in film, Carol Burnett has entertained generations of fans with her vibrant wit and hilarious characters," he said in announcing the prize.

The Mark Twain Prize honors people who have an impact on society in the tradition of Samuel Clemens, better known as Twain, as a social commentator and satirist. Previous honorees include Bill Cosby, Steve Martin, Tina Fey and Ellen DeGeneres, who won last year.

___

Kennedy Center: http://www.kennedy-center.org

___

Follow Brett Zongker online at https://twitter.com/DCArtBeat

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/carol-burnett-win-top-us-humor-prize-dc-150413474.html

virginia beach crash stephen hawking marion barry virginia beach jet crash ridiculously photogenic guy amanda bynes dui ghost ship

Indians blank Mariners 6-0

CLEVELAND (AP) ? Cy Young himself wouldn't want to mess with the Indians right now.

Justin Masterson struck out a season-high 11 in seven shutout innings and Michael Brantley hit a three-run homer and drove in four runs off Felix Hernandez as Cleveland toppled yet another former Cy Young Award winner on Sunday with a 6-0 victory over the Seattle Mariners.

Brantley connected in the second inning off Hernandez (5-3), who failed to go at least six innings for the first time this season.

The Indians, who improved to 17-4 since April 28, are 7-1 this season against Cy Young recipients. They've knocked off Hernandez, R.A. Dickey, David Price, Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Bartolo Colon and Justin Verlander. The Indians are taking pride in knocking off trophy-winning pitchers.

"We just take it as a challenge," Indians first baseman Nick Swisher said. "We've got that scrappy-type and gritty-type of team. It may not always be pretty, man, but somehow we're going to find a way to get it done. We just love coming to the ballpark right now.

"Things are rocking," Swisher said.

Before the game, Brantley said the Indians talked about taking down another trophy-winning pitcher.

"We're loose and we're not holding nothing back," Brantley said. "Everybody has smiles on their faces. We just want to make sure we enjoy this. We're playing great baseball right now and we just want to keep it up."

Staked to an early lead, Masterson (7-2) was dominant for the second straight start. He allowed three singles, easily outdueled Hernandez and ran his consecutive scoreless innings streak to 19. He shut out the New York Yankees 1-0 on four hits in his previous outing.

"From the very first pitch of the game he came out firing," Indians manager Terry Francona said. "He was not only firing, but he was pitching. He was using both sides of the plate. He was using a two-seamer, four-seamer, throwing breaking balls to both sides of the plate. He kept going up, down, in, out. He worked ahead."

The AL Central-leading Indians are a baseball-best 20-7 since April 20.

"We've got a good thing going in here," Swisher said. "We've got a lot of confident, excited guys and we're going out and proving that."

Following walkoff wins in the first two games of the series, Cleveland took the drama out of this one early, building a 5-0 lead after two innings against Hernandez.

The 2010 Cy Young winner, who left his previous start after six innings with back stiffness, came in with the league's lowest ERA (1.53) but it rose to 2.07 after he gave up six runs and eight hits in five innings. Hernandez struck out eight, including the final three batters, but he was wasn't on his game ? and neither were the Mariners.

Seattle was only charged with one error, but the Mariners made several mental mistakes that helped the Indians.

"You're going to have games like that when a couple of things happen and you make a couple of mistakes," Mariners manager Eric Wedge said. "That's what happened to us. It was one of those days for Felix and one of those days for us."

It's not like Masterson needed much help.

The big right-hander overpowered the Mariners, who couldn't catch up to his 97 mph fastball and only had two runners reach second base against him. The Indians were hoping Masterson could develop into their ace, and so far this season he's been the dependable front-of-the-rotation starter they desperately needed.

"His stuff is dominant," Francona said. "He's been consistent, but consistent at a level with his velocity, breaking ball, ability to hold runners. He's just done everything."

Pitching with a six-run lead, he got stronger as the game progressed. He struck out five of the last six batters he faced and fanned seven in the last three innings.

Last season was a struggle for Masterson, who went 11-15 with a 4.93 ERA.

So what's he doing better?

"Everything," he said, laughing.

Brantley's three-run homer with two outs in the second gave the Indians a 5-0 lead over Hernandez.

The right-hander, who needed 35 pitches to get through the first, retired the first two hitters on groundouts before Michael Bourn singled and went to third on Jason Kipnis' base hit to center. Brantley then drove an 0-1 pitch into the Indians' bullpen in center for just his second homer.

It was a stunning development against Hernandez, who came in having allowed just four earned runs in 44 innings over his past six starts.

In the eight starts against the Indians, the former Cy Young winners have a collective 8.21 ERA.

A fundamental gaffe by Hernandez allowed the Indians to add a run in the fourth. With Mike Aviles at second after a double, Drew Stubbs topped a ball into the dirt that catcher Jesus Montero fielded in front of the plate and threw to first for the out. Aviles never slowed coming around third and scored easily because Montero got caught up the line and Hernandez failed to cover home.

"That's just beautiful right there," Masterson said. "Those are the type of things you want to see, and that's what defines this team and makes it so special."

NOTES: Cleveland's starters are 13-4 in the past 21 games. ... The Indians are 6-0-4 in their last 10 series. ... White Sox RHP Jake Peavy is the only former Cy Young winner to beat the Indians this season. ... Masterson is the fifth starter to record double-digit strikeouts against the Mariners in 2013. ... The Indians will try to complete the four-game sweep on Monday as the teams conclude their wrap-around series with a matinee. ... The Indians are 9-1 against the AL West. ... Cleveland has seven shutouts, its most through 42 games since 2008.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/indians-blank-mariners-6-0-195923275.html

Rihanna Katy Perry Grammys 2013 Ed Sheeran Fun ll cool j Presidents Day 2013 jack white

Blue Jays-Yankees finale scrubbed by rain

By RICK FREEMAN

AP Sports Writer

Associated Press Sports

updated 3:33 p.m. ET May 19, 2013

NEW YORK (AP) - Against the Toronto Blue Jays this season, the only thing that has stopped the Yankees was a day full of rain.

The Yankees would have been trying to make it seven in a row against the Blue Jays on Sunday, but rain began to fall in the late morning with no signs of letting up, and the game was postponed before it started. No makeup date was announced.

"It's going to rain until probably 9 o' clock," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "It's just not going to be playable."

The two AL East rivals are not scheduled to meet again in the Bronx until August.

Yankees starter CC Sabathia will pitch Monday in Baltimore, followed on Tuesday by Phil Hughes. This means rookie Vidal Nuno will be skipped and remain available out of the bullpen until the Yankees can find a way to work him back into the rotation.

Toronto right-hander R.A. Dickey will face Tampa Bay on Monday.

Dickey and the Blue Jays may have dodged some bad luck, with the rainout, which was announced more than half an hour before the scheduled start time of 1:08 p.m.

He has had outings in the past where wet weather appeared to nullify the effectiveness of his hard, darting knuckleball and leave him without his most effective pitch.

The Blue Jays had won four straight before dropping the first two of a three-game series in the Bronx.

New York has won its last nine home games against Toronto, since last season, as well as the last six in a row overall against the Blue Jays.

"There's no question they've had our number. They've out played us, too," Toronto manager John Gibbons said. "This has always been a tough place to play."

The Yankees have outplayed pretty much everyone lately. They've won nine of their last 12 and facing Dickey on a wet day, appeared in a good spot to make it 10 out of 13.

"We weren't necessarily looking for a rainout," Girardi said.

Girardi said that Yankees officials met with umpire crew chief Joe West and consulted their metorologists about the forecast, which Girardi said showed rain falling in New York until after dark.

That made the decision a fairly easy one.

The delay pushed back Reid Brignac's debut with the Yankees, too.

The infielder was acquired in a trade with the Rockies for cash after Colorado designated the infielder for assignment. He arrived Saturday night. He was set to play shortstop and bat eighth.

"It was a little disappointing, I was really looking forward to getting the chance to play here today as a member of the Yankees," Brignac said.

"I'm tickled just to get the chance to be a Yankee."

Notes: Toronto's only win over the Yankees this season was an 8-4 win on April 21. . Dickey will face Tampa Bay RHP Jake Odorizzi, who is making his 2013 debut. RHP Ramon Ortiz will pitch Tuesday, followed by Mark Buehrle on Wednesday. The Blue Jays skipped the turn of RHP Chad Jenkins. .Yankees OF Curtis Granderson was going to lead off and return to center field a day after his first start in right. . . Yankees C Francisco Cervelli said he was still hoping to return from a broken hand before the All-Star break. He is on the 60-day DL. . "Waitin' on a Sunny Day" by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band was played on the PA shortly before the Yankees announced the postponement. . In Baltimore, the Yankees will send out Sabathia against Freddy Garcia on Monday. The veteran RHP spent the last two seasons as a mostly effective part of the Yankees rotation after a career mostly spent with the Mariners and White Sox. ... The Blue Jays claimed RHP Thad Weber on waivers from San Diego and optioned him to Triple-A Buffalo. Toronto transferred RHP Sergio Santos to the 60-day DL. The 28-year-old had a 2.00 ERA in nine innings for the Padres this season.

? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

advertisement

More newsBrian Garfinkel / Getty Images

Chooch's hammy a worry for Phils

HBT: Carlos Ruiz was lifted from Sunday afternoon?s game against the Reds after straining his right hamstring while running the bases in the bottom of the second inning.

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/51933847/ns/sports-baseball/

bloomberg Daily Caller Staten Island Trick or Treat Amy Weber Happy Halloween! Star Wars Episode 7

Sequestration Forces Indian Land, Military Base Schools To Make Drastic Cuts

WASHINGTON -- Military families are always moving around, and those shifts can be tough for children who have to adjust to new surroundings. School districts that serve these students often try to ease the transition by providing counselors for them to talk with. But thanks to sequestration, the Leemore School District in central California has had to get rid of that service.

"These [military parents] go out on crews on a ship for nine months. The kids don't see a parent or two for that long. So they have to deal with that," said Jack Boogaard, the assistant superintendent of schools in Leemore, Calif.

"The military child moves quite often," he said. "We talk to some kids out there -- and they're young -- and they've already moved four or five times. So they have to deal with new friends, new schools, and now with tight budgets, we're not able to service them. We used to have a counselor; we don't have a counselor anymore."

Leemore schools receive what is known as "impact aid," which the federal government gives to schools that educate children who live on Indian reservations, military bases or in low-income housing. The government assistance is intended to make up for decreased property taxes in school systems based on federal land.

In total, the more than 1,300 schools that receive impact aid will receive $60 million less than expected this year, according to the Department of Education, as a result of the wide-ranging spending cuts known as sequestration.

Boogaard's schools alone, which serve children from both the nearby military base and Indian land, lost $350,000 this year due to the cuts.

Eliminating the counselor was just the tip of the iceberg for Leemore. The district has also stopped filling vacant positions, meaning that overworked staff are now taking on multiple roles.

"Not only do I take care of the business end of the schools, but I also take care of facilities," Boogaard said. "We have another assistant superintendent -- she has human resources, she has special ed, she has technology, she has curriculum. In some districts, each one is one position."

Leemore has also had to cut its technology program. So while the schools have technology labs, there are no teachers devoted to the subject. Students only get experience if their primary teachers have the expertise and decide to take them to the labs.

Bryan Jernigan is communications director at the National Association of Federally Impacted Schools, which represents more than 400 schools receiving impact aid. He watched as Congress rushed to provide reprieve for the problems sequestration caused the Federal Aviation Administration as soon as travelers -- and lawmakers -- became inconvenienced by long lines at airports. He said while NAFIS always thought sequestration was bad policy, the group believed the spending cuts were going to affect programs across the board. But things began to change with the FAA fix.

"Whether they understood that at the time or not, we felt like they had automatically prioritized commuting and addressing long lines at airports over the education of children," he said. "That is really unacceptable to us."

Jernigan's group is working on a survey of how its members are dealing with sequestration, due out in the next few weeks. He shared some of the initial findings with The Huffington Post. Schools said they were cutting back on music and physical education programs, eliminating positions and delaying facility repairs needed for safety and health reasons. Down the road, they're looking at increasing class size, lowering salaries, laying off employees and even closing schools.

Keith McVay is superintendent at the McLaughlin School District in northern South Dakota, which educates a large number of American Indian students. Until last year, the district offered summer school, like so many others do around the country. But McVay just doesn't have the resources to do so anymore, thanks to sequestration, and the program has been eliminated.

The school also used to have a bus to take students home after sports practice -- some children live 20-25 miles away -- but that service is now also gone.

When asked whether he thought the school district would have to close some schools, McVay replied, "I don't think next year; but I would think if sequestration continues, I would say down the road, it would happen."

Not surprisingly, that uncertainty is taking a toll on employees.

"The last thing you want your teachers to do is be concerned about getting a paycheck," said Mike Rabideaux, superintendent of the Fond du Lac Ojibwe School in Minnesota, who has already had to lay off staff. He added that even in the best of times, it's tough to hire quality employees because the school is limited in what it can offer for salaries; sequestration is compounding that problem.

"I have young, talented teachers and administrators telling me, 'I have to look elsewhere, I have to support my family and I have to somehow meet their needs. As much as I love my job, I'm going to be looking elsewhere ... where there's more stability,'" said Brent Gish, executive director of the National Indian Impacted Schools Association.

Gish has spent 40 years working for Indian land schools. He said that cuts to school support staff -- who come from the native communities they serve -- is simply increasing an unemployment rate that often exceeds 50 percent in some areas.

"Many times these support staff are the primary breadwinner in the families," he said. "So we are taking an independent family and saying, 'No, you're unemployed, and you've become dependent on this other system [federal unemployment benefits]."

It seems unlikely that impact aid schools will be getting their own special fix anytime soon. And at the moment, a full replacement for sequestration is nowhere near reality.

Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) recently spoke on the Senate floor about the harmful effects of sequestration, specifically mentioning what tribal schools are going through.

?The severe cuts made to programs that benefit Native American Students are a distressing reminder of why we need to replace the entire sequester," Franken said in a statement to The Huffington Post. "The U.S. Department of Education estimates that Minnesota school districts may lose almost one million dollars in critical funding for these students. As a result, students could see increased class sizes, fewer afterschool programs, and maintenance projects at their schools delayed. Children in Indian Country are hurting because of the sequester, and it's only going to get worse if we don't get something done.?

U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan has acknowledged that the impact aid schools are going to get hit hardest by sequestration but said there is not much he can do unless Congress acts.

"There's very little to nothing I can do," said Duncan in February, "to mitigate what's going to be devastating for children and for teachers and for schools at a time when we need to get better."

"; var coords = [-5, -72]; // display fb-bubble FloatingPrompt.embed(this, html, undefined, 'top', {fp_intersects:1, timeout_remove:2000,ignore_arrow: true, width:236, add_xy:coords, class_name: 'clear-overlay'}); });

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/20/sequestration-indian-schools_n_3294392.html

Mens Gymnastics Allison Schmitt Olympic Schedule Kyla Ross Montenegro Olympic Games Dana Vollmer