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The Commission on Presidential Debates stuck to standards requiring candidates to have at least 15 percent support in the polls to qualify to join the fall contests, Reuters reports. That's a high hurdle for presidential aspirants Pat Buchanan and Ralph Nader, who hover in the single digits in national polls. Both have criticized this requirement, and Nader filed a lawsuit earlier this week challenging the commission's fundraising tactics. But commission co-chairman Paul Kirk shrugged off the complaints. "Our role is not to jump-start a campaign and all of a sudden make a candidate competitive," he said.
There may yet be some good news for Nader this week. He and Teamsters leader James Hoffa are scheduled to make a joint announcement, one that could give the Green Party candidate a big boost with the labor vote.
Los Angeles officials, eager to soothe Democratic worries about possible convention chaos in August, were dealt a serious blow on the home front. Reuters reports that barely a day after Lakers-related riots in the city, the Los Angeles Police Protective League announced that it plans to join protesters at the Democratic National Convention. The L.A. cops will join police from New York, Chicago, Boston, San Francisco and Texas to protest federal government intervention in their work. "Our common concerns have reached a critical mass of frustration," said league president Ted Hunt. "Politicians use cops as backdrops to show law enforcement support, yet their policies continue to harm working-class police officers."
Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield Smooch In New York City, Plus More Celeb Pics!
Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield don't mind the PDA! The lovebirds shared a smooch while walking around in New York City.
Summer means cute suits! Actress Tammin Sursok rocked a Tommy Bahama swimsuit while drying off after a dip in the pool!
Jenny Slate rocked the red carpet at the Seattle International Film Festival for the premiere of Obvious Child.
Anyone else have a sweet tooth? Cheryl Burke made sure to snap a selfie with a delish-looking cupcake display at the Dancing With the Stars Wrap Party at Riviera 31 of the Sofitel Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills!
Getting fit was no problem at the AQUAhydrate and OK! event at Bionic Body Studios in Hermosa Beach! Celebrity trainers Kim Lyons and Gunter Schlierkamp used their skills to help the fabulous guests get SUPERCHARGED!
Keri Russell glanced down at her phone (is she reading a text?!) after grabbing a cup of coffee in the Big Apple.
Fixing your hair while riding a bike? That's a combo only for the multitasking pros! Margot Robbie proved she could do both while peddling through London on a cute cruiser.
What’s a juice-off and why does it look so intense!? If you tune into the Veria Living Memorial Day special on May 26 at 1 p.m. and 10 p.m. ET, you’ll find out from co-hosts Montel Williams and Dr. Oz!
Elle Fanning flashed her gorgeous smile as she left Jimmy Kimmel's studios in California.
Bella Thorne is so sweet! Her style, that smile? She's a star to watch!
In a new study, which examined the landscapes of pests radiating from GMO crops, researchers found that GMO crops are enabling non-GMOs to flourish with fewer pesticides.
Similar to herd-immunity for vaccinations, scientists propose that GMO crops act as a pest-absorbing sink.
GMOs have a bad reputation , but 20 years after they were first planted in farm fields, they are having an unintended side effect: helping non-GMO crops.
To prevent Bt-resistance in these pests and to confine GMO genes to their intended crops, the EPA mandates farmers plant non-GMO plants around the periphery of GMO fields- a moat of sorts.
But the corn in those moats are also receiving the benefit of genetic modification, even if the plants themselves aren’t altered. In a new study, which examined the landscapes of pests radiating from GMO crops, researchers found that GMO crops are enabling non-GMOs to flourish with fewer pesticides. New Jersey’s non-GMO green beans and peppers crops, for example, reduced pesticide use by 85% since GMOs were introduced.
Similar to herd-immunity for vaccinations, scientists propose that GMO crops act as a pest-absorbing sink. With the number of pests dialed down, farmers can spray fewer pesticides onto non-GMO foods. This unprecedented finding translates into fewer pesticides in the environment-and unlike GMOs, pesticides have well-known health and environmental hazards .
Farmers can apply this knowledge to maximize the benefits. For example, farmers could plant other vegetables in close proximity to Bt corn, reducing the need for pesticide applications. Other pest-prone produce, such as potatoes, could also be spared spoilage by being planted in close proximity to GMOs.
In Bush’s Iraq-as-Vietnam speech that Monika blogged about early this morning (lots of interesting stuff in the comments section, btw), he said Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is a “good man with a difficult job.” He’s half right, I suppose.
The administration is planning to make public today parts of a sober new report by American intelligence agencies expressing deep doubts that the government of the Iraqi prime minister, Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, can overcome sectarian differences. Government officials who have seen the report say it gives a bleak outlook on the chances Mr. Maliki can meet milestones intended to promote unity in Iraq.
You can read all about the miserable Maliki government here. To date, Democratic Sens. Carl Levin and Hillary Clinton have called for Maliki to get the boot — it appears the intelligence community isn’t far behind.
Update: For a rundown of Maliki’s possible replacements, see this Time article. Looks like the U.S.’s hopes lie with a guy named Mithal Alussi. The real question is, who on earth would want this job?
GRANDVIEW, Missouri - Most families who celebrate Christmas have a tree in their house, or maybe two. But one Missouri woman has almost everyone beat with more than 400, according to WDAF.
Shelly Botcher loves the spirit of Christmas, especially the trees.
"The great room has like 72 in it, and I ran out of trees because I have a lot more places to put trees," she said.
Botcher has so many that she doesn't have an exact count.
"This year, there's over 400 trees up, and that's counting statues," she said. "I have burgundy, cream and white. I have my fruit motif, my reds and bronze, purple, black and silver, safari, pink, teal, seashells. So it's sort of fun to see the new things that come out each year and add it to my collection."
Some trees are even upside down. Why? To leave room for even more on the ground.
"I never get rid of. I just add," she said.
Some have more meaning than others. One tree has 29 bulbs on it for each radiation treatment she had.
"It's just another reminder for me to be so thankful every day that I'm here, and it represents a lot to me, a lot of meaning to me," Botcher said.
She said her family doesn't feel the same about the trees, but they don't stop her Christmas spirit.
"This is my husband's room, and he hates this. But as long as he sees the TV, he's OK," she said of a room covered in trees.
"To me, it can be just a stress reliever with the busy time of year," she said of her trees. "Just looking at it -- relaxation and (it) takes you away from your everyday life for just a minute to two."
Botcher said although her house might look full, "There's always room for one more."
The chemical tanker Fure West operated by the Swedish shipping company FureTank was bunkered with LNG in the Port of Amsterdam last week - the first sea-going vessel to bunker with LNG in Amsterdam.
The bunkering took place on the Groene Kade in the Amerikahaven, the designated location for safe truck-to-ship bunkering of LNG.
Fure West is FureTank’s first sea-going vessel that has a dual-fuel engine. Built in 2006, the ship has recently been converted to run on LNG.
On Monday morning, she moored at Oiltanking for unloading. On Tuesday, she made her way to the Groene Kade where the bunkering took place. Titan LNG, an Amsterdam company trading in LNG, transported the LNG in five tankers from the GATE terminal to the Amerikahaven to complete the bunkering.
Inland navigation vessels have been bunkering with LNG in the Amerikahaven since 2013. As a result of recent changes to the quay, sea-going vessels can now also bunker there.
Marleen van de Kerkhof, State Harbour Master, said: “Port of Amsterdam is fully committed to making shipping sustainable. This is needed to provide a sustainable solution to the demands of logistics and regulation. The facilitation of safe bunkering operations with new and cleaner shipping fuels is a good example of this.
Port of Amsterdam is Western Europe’s fourth largest port and plays a large role in the transhipment and processing of energy products. The North Sea Canal Area transhipped approximately 97 million tons of goods in 2015, with Port of Amsterdam accounting for approximately 78 million tons.
I don’t know about you, but I’m very anxious to find out who will wield the mighty hammer Mjolnir on the big screen as Marvel’s God of Thunder, Thor. Over the months, even years now, we’ve heard a ton of rumors of who may play the character and now we’re finally winding down to the moment when the decision is officially made.
Last week, Screen Rant reported on some updates regarding Thor from Kevin Feige, President of Production at Marvel Studios. He revealed that we’d likely be seeing cast announcements for the movie coming out next month in preparation for a production start early next year.
In an interview with MTV, Thor-director Kenneth Branagh dropped some more updates and addressed the lack of any official information regarding casting as of yet.
Branagh is certainly doing his homework and he seems truly passionate about this project and the idea of the Marvel films working together towards a common goal in the form of the Avengers team-up film. This is evidenced by Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada praising the director earlier in March for his respect of the inter-connectivity of the Marvel characters and his knowledge of the source material.
Lastly, MTV questioned Branagh on his knowledge of online fan campaigns for certain actors including James Preston Rogers who’s been widely talked about as a potential candidate for the role of not only Thor, but of Conan and He-Man in their respective remakes.
It sounds like he’s respectful of those online campaigns but again; it seems that he already has someone in mind. I hope we find out soon.
Who do you think will be announced to play Thor?
Thor is tentatively scheduled to begin production next January and will hit theaters May 20, 2011.
President Bush said yesterday that some “economic isolationists” want to separate the United States from competition with the rest of the world, a move he called disastrous for the nation’s economy.
In a speech at a Commerce Department awards ceremony, the president said trade is key to expanding the U.S. market and continuing to grow the economy.
“As our economy moves forward and new jobs are added, some are questioning whether American companies and American workers are up to the challenge of foreign competition,” Mr. Bush said.
Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, has voted at least 16 times in favor of free trade.
He also supported the North American Free Trade Agreement — saying in 1993 that “NAFTA recognizes the reality of today’s economy — globalization and technology” — but since has changed his mind.
More recently, Mr. Kerry said if elected, he immediately would put all trade deals on hold and conduct a 120-day review. He also advocates adding labor and environmental standards to new pacts and would require companies to give notice before sending jobs overseas.
But Mr. Bush contends that expanding global trade strengthens the economy.
Mr. Kerry has criticized the president for slow job growth, and yesterday his campaign said Mr. Bush deserves to win the “Herbert Hoover Award” for presiding over the worst record on jobs of any president in American history.
“The American people need to know that their president has failed to lead on jobs and that John Kerry is running for president to change the direction of this economy and get people back to work,” said Kerry campaign chairwoman and former New Hampshire Gov. Jean Shaheen.
Steve Schmidt, Bush campaign spokesman, responded: “John Kerry is relying on gimmicks to conceal his backward policies of higher taxes, more regulation, higher health care costs and higher energy costs.
Vitex is a small, deciduous tree or large shrub native to the Mediterranean and Central Asia.
Vitex, also known as the Lilac Chaste Tree (Vitex agnus-castus), is a small, deciduous tree or large shrub native to the Mediterranean and Central Asia.
It is an old-fashioned plant found in southern United States gardens and is perfect for modern landscapes that lack room for tall trees.
Vitex is most comfortable in Zones 6 through Zone 9 (South Texas) and will die in colder climates. It requires well-drained soils and will not tolerate standing water. Once established (about one a year), it is relatively drought tolerant, requiring regular water each week during the hottest months with much less water during the fall and winter.
Vitex forms a small, multi-trunk tree of approximately 15- to 20-feet high. It requires full sun and if spent blooms are trimmed off, soon after flowering, it will re-bloom again before cool weather sets in. Leaves are aromatic.
Butterflies and bees are attracted to the flowers, especially bumble bees. Flowers emerge from May to September. Vitex flower spikes come in shades of blue, like “Abbeville Blue” and “LeCompte,” which are featured here. Also, improved varieties like “Montrose Purple” and “Salinas Pink” have flower spikes that are 8- to 12-inches long. White flowering selections are also available.
Older varieties will have lighter colored flowers and shorter flower spikes. If the color is not named on a plant tag, then purchase only during the blooming period to be sure that the color is what you want. Remove lower limbs and dead wood during the winter.
Lantana and plumbago make excellent pairings with Vitex as either of them are drought tolerant, once established. Vitex is available at your local, licensed nurseries and is a good selection for butterfly gardens.
Barbara Storz is a local horticulturist. You can listen to her gardening show at 7 a.m. Saturday on 710 KURV Radio. You can e-mail her at bstorz@rcommunications.com.
Acronis Drive Monitor checks your hard disk health in multiple ways, and issues warnings when it appears there may be problems. With the program's advice, you can try to fix the problem, and back up all your data before a potential crash.
The software is exceedingly simple to use. Simply install it and it uses the S.M.A.R.T. (Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology) standard to check your hard disk health in many different ways, and show you what it finds. The easiest way to find out if your hard disk adheres to this standard is to run the Acronis Drive Monitor -- it will tell you. S.M.A.R.T. was first released in 1996, and Acronis says that if you have a hard disk made in the last 10 years, the great odds are that it adheres to S.M.A.R.T. (If you don't have a disk that adheres to the S.M.A.R.T. standard, you're out of luck, unless you're a scripting pro.) When it finds there may be a problem, it pops up an alert and offers advice on how the problem might be fixed.
A simple screen summarizes your hard disk's current state of health, and a detailed screen shows you more information that you'll ever want to know about your hard disk -- not just basics such as its temperature and read error rate, but details you may not even understand, such as the Reallocated Sectors Count.
Acronis Drive Monitor is superior to a number of competing products, such as HDDlife, whose free version doesn't offer as much detail as Acronis Drive Monitor. It's good that Drive Monitor is free, but keep in mind that it functions partially as an ad for buying Acronis software, notably the company's backup software.
I'm paranoid about losing any work, and so I have three different kinds of backup that work automatically ever day -- one to Windows Home Server, one to the Jungle Disk online backup service, and one using the SugarSync synchronization software. Despite that, though, Acronis Drive Monitor issued a backup warning, implying I had no backup software. The alert read "No backup software detected"... but reading the text underneath, I saw that the backup warning said that I wasn't using any Acronis backup software.
That misleading message seems a small price to pay for a solid (and free-of-cost) piece of monitoring software. Still, it lessens one's trust in Acronis Drive Monitor; Acronis would do well to fix it.
The band's wonderfully weird new video features plenty of puppet-on-puppet violence, and a Lou Diamond cameo.
Imagine Dragons' new "Radioactive" video features gratuitous puppet-on-puppet violence, ominous Old World scenery and, uh, Lou Diamond Phillips ... none of which have anything to do with the song itself, but all of which automatically make it one of the oddest clips of the year. Which was exactly what the band was going for.
"We read through a ton of scripts from really talented directors, and we came across one that stood out to us in particular, because it put into visuals the general theme of the song, which is kind of an empowering song about an awakening, but it did it in a way that was very different," frontman Dan Reynolds told MTV News. "A lot of people probably see a post-apocalyptic world when they hear 'Radioactive,' understandably, but we wanted to deliver something that was maybe a little different from that ... a lot different from that."
Different indeed. The Dragons shot the clip in Upstate New York, just before Hurricane Sandy swept through to the south — "It's sinister out," Reynolds said, "which is fitting for the video" — and though, on set, things were getting plenty dark, the song still managed to shine through ... mostly because, despite all its doomy trappings, it is first and foremost an anthem of empowerment.
" 'Radioactive,' to me, it's very masculine, powerful-sounding song, and the lyrics behind it, there's a lot of personal story behind it, but generally speaking, it's a song about having an awakening; kind of waking up one day and deciding to do something new, and see life in a fresh way," Reynolds explained. "A lot of people hear it in a dark way, but, I think, without saying the word too many times, it's empowering, and so we wanted to display that in a way that the listener wouldn't see normally."
And, after seeing the finished product, we can't help but agree with him.
What do you think of Imagine Dragons' 'Radioactive' video? Let us know in the comments below.
Memorial Day weekend begins Friday, May 24, and marks the start of the summer travel season. One of the most popular times of the year to travel, finding a destination that fulfills our three-day weekend dreams can take some work. Considering a visit to the Upper East Coast? Maybe not such a good idea to visit beaches ravaged by last October’s hurricane. Or is it?
If you are looking for a quiet break from your normal routine, avoid busy places like big cities, theme parks and major tourist attractions. Reverse that decision if daily life rides a cubicle and getting lost in a crowd is required. We could do a lot of research, compile lists of possible destinations and make up budgets to get the plans – or we could cheat.
Earlier this month, Kayak released the results of 100 million monthly searches made so far this year. These are numbers that represent places Kayak users are actually thinking about going as opposed to destinations promoted by airlines, hotels, tour operators or cruise lines.In the results, Kayak saw searches cut in half for Atlantic City, New Jersey, a top Memorial Day destination last year. That makes sense: thank you hurricane Sandy. Digging a bit deeper though we find a different scene.
“Despite the vast destruction caused by Superstorm Sandy, all of our State parks and beaches on Long Island are expected to be open for New Yorkers and visitors by Memorial Day weekend,” assured Governor Andrew Cuomo in a LongIslandPress article.
Your mother was right, cheating is wrong.
Instead, consider a variety of sources and read between the lines. Look down deep inside and ask, “Where do I really want to go?” The answer might take you no further than your own back yard.
Chambers said he’d like to get Isaiah Washington and Nazeer Bostick more playing time. Washington has played in nine games and averaged 4.0 minutes while Bostick is averaging 7.6 minutes in eight games.
Chambers tells them to be ready before every game and plans to mix them in with the first team at practice more, knowing he’ll need his ninth or 10th man to play quality minutes during the Big Ten slate.
Never mind how long you think it’s been since you got your last report card, if you’re a parent, you get them all the time. Your son’s D in history despite the many times you told him to sit down and study already? That’s your D too. And as for all those As your no-nonsense, hardworking daughter keeps getting? Well, don’t get too full of yourself, but you own a piece of those as well.
That, at least, is one implication of a new—and faintly unsettling—study published in the Journal of Family Psychology. The report’s takeaway: your kids get the grades you expect them to get.
Parental expectations have long been an under-appreciated factor in the childrearing game. Kids are smart, the research suggests, especially when it comes to divining what mom and dad think of them. A child who is expected to underachieve will often live down to that prediction. A child expected to thrive will not necessarily become an academic, athletic or social superstar, but will have a much better shot at it.
To test how this dynamic plays out in the case of scholastic performance, Alexander Jensen of Brigham Young University and Susan McHale of Penn State assembled a sample group of 388 two-parent families with at least two children, and focused on the first- and second-borns of the brood. The sibling dyads—or pairs—were selected to represent all four possible age and gender combinations: two brothers, two sisters, an older brother and younger sister and an older sister and younger brother.
The parents were asked a handful of questions about how their children are similar or different when it comes to school work, which of the two is a better student, and how great, on a five-point scale, that difference in performance is. Simple stuff, but it produced surprising results.
On the whole, parents tended to believe that their older child was the better student, though the previous year’s report cards and grade point average often showed that that wasn’t the case. Parents exhibited a gender bias too, typically believing that a daughter was a better student than a son—which on average was true—even when the daughter was the younger child.
All those beliefs, founded in fact or not, had their effect on kids. When the researchers controlled for all of the reasons one child might have performed even a little bit better than the other in the previous school year, they found that the biggest factor determining how the kids would perform the following year was the parents’ belief in who the better student was. On average, the sibling the parents expected to outperform the other one did, by an average GPA bump of 0.21 points. That’s hardly an inconsequential margin, especially when it makes the kind of symbolic difference bringing home a 2.79 versus a 3.0 does.