Egyptian TV satirist released after questioning

A bodyguard secures popular Egyptian television satirist Bassem Youssef, who has come to be known as Egypt's Jon Stewart, as he enters Egypt's state prosecutors office to face accusations of insulting Islam and the country's Islamist leader in Cairo, Egypt, Sunday, March 31, 2013. Government opponents said the warrant against such a high profile figure, known for lampooning President Mohammed Morsi and the new Islamist political class, was an escalation in a campaign to intimidate critics. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)

A bodyguard secures popular Egyptian television satirist Bassem Youssef, who has come to be known as Egypt's Jon Stewart, as he enters Egypt's state prosecutors office to face accusations of insulting Islam and the country's Islamist leader in Cairo, Egypt, Sunday, March 31, 2013. Government opponents said the warrant against such a high profile figure, known for lampooning President Mohammed Morsi and the new Islamist political class, was an escalation in a campaign to intimidate critics. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)

Egyptian popular television satirist Bassem Youssef, who has come to be known as Egypt's Jon Stewart, waves to is supporters as he enters Egypt's state prosecutors office in Cairo, Egypt, Sunday, March 31, 2013 for accusations of allegedly insulting Islam and the country's leader. The acceleration in legal action targeting protesters, activists and critics comes against a backdrop of continued unrest in the country. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)

Popular Egyptian television satirist Bassem Youssef, who has come to be known as Egypt's Jon Stewart, waves to is supporters as he enters Egypt's state prosecutors office to face accusations of insulting Islam and the country's Islamist leader in Cairo, Egypt, Sunday, March 31, 2013. Government opponents said the warrant against such a high profile figure, known for lampooning President Mohammed Morsi and the new Islamist political class, was an escalation in a campaign to intimidate critics. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)

Egyptian popular television satirist Bassem Youssef, who has come to be known as Egypt's Jon Stewart, waves to is supporters as he enters Egypt's state prosecutors office to face accusations of insulting Islam and the country's Islamist leader in Cairo, Egypt, Sunday, March 31, 2013. Government opponents said the warrant against such a high profile figure, known for lampooning President Mohammed Morsi and the new Islamist political class, was an escalation in a campaign to intimidate critics. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)

CAIRO (AP) ? A popular television satirist known as Egypt's Jon Stewart was released on bail Sunday after nearly five hours of interrogation over allegations that he broke the law by insulting Islam and the president.

Bassem Youssef is the most prominent critic of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi to be called in for questioning in recent weeks in what the opposition says is a campaign to intimidate critics amid wave after wave of political unrest in deeply polarized Egypt.

Arrest warrants have been issued for five prominent anti-government activists accused of instigating violence.

Deputy chief prosecutor denied the interrogation was part of an intimidation campaign and said his department was enforcing the law and seeking to establish some guidelines on freedom of expression.

"The prosecution is the protector of social rights and we work on implementing the law. ... There must be guidelines for those working in the media to observe so as not violate the law," Hassan Yassin told The Associated Press.

Morsi last week accused private media of fanning violence and argued that it was being used for political aims.

But Yassin denied that the prosecutor's office was operating at the behest of the presidency to go after Morsi critics, saying it has also interrogated and sentenced Islamists.

"There is no contact between us and the presidency. ... Just like we moved against someone who insults Christianity, we moved against someone who is accused of insulting Islam," he said.

Youssef is the host of the weekly political satire show known for his skits lampooning Morsi and Egypt's newly empowered Islamist political class. But he also mocks the opposition and the media.

The fast-paced show has attracted a wide viewership, while at the same time earning its fair share of detractors. Youssef has been a frequent target of lawsuits, most of them brought by Islamist lawyers who accused him of "corrupting morals" or violating "religious principles."

Youssef frequently imitates Morsi's speeches and gestures. He has fact-checked the president, and in one particularly popular episode earlier this year, he played video clips showing remarks by Morsi, made in 2010 before he became president, calling Zionists "pigs."

The remarks caused a brief diplomatic tiff with the U.S. administration, and Morsi had to issue a statement to defuse the flap.

In his last episode this week, Youssef thanked Morsi for providing him with so much material.

Youssef has also made regular jokes about comments by Islamic clerics and Islamic stations TV presenters, exposing contradictions between their comments and public speeches and what he considers the spirit of Islam.

Prosecutor Mohammed el-Sayed Khalifa was quoted on the website of the state-owned Al-Ahram daily that he has 28 plaintiffs in the case against Youssef accusing him of insulting Islam, mocking prayers, and "belittling" Morsi in the eyes of the world and his own people.

The plaintiffs are mostly regular citizens, according to Shaimaa Abul-Kheir, a representative of the New-York based Committee to Protect Journalists who was allowed to attend the interrogation.

In remarks to a TV presenter on CBC, the private station that airs his program, Youssef said on Saturday that his program does not insult Islam but aims to expose those who "distort" it.

"We don't insult religion. What we do is expose those so-called religious and Islamic stations which have offended Islam more than anyone else," he said. "If anyone is to be investigated for insulting religions, it should be all those who use Islam as a weapon and a political tool to swallow the others using religion."

When asked if programs in Egypt should be less scathing than those of the West, Youssef said: "We will give (the West) an example of how freedoms are respected after the revolution," he said of the 2011 uprising that ousted longtime authoritarian leader Hosni Mubarak.

After turning himself in for questioning, Youssef first tweeted a series of quips from the prosecutor's office.

"They asked me the color of my eyes. Really," one said.

A news broadcaster at a TV station affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, Misr 25, accused Youssef of "mocking" the investigation. His tweets later were erased and he wrote that some reports from inside the interrogation room were "incorrect."

Amr Moussa, a former presidential candidate, called the warrant for Youssef's arrest a "provocation to Egyptians who are known for their love of what is funny."

"There is nothing odious about criticizing the president," he said in an emailed statement. "This humanizes the president."

Gamal Eid, a rights lawyer, said accusing Youssef of insulting religion ? as opposed to just the president ? is a tactic aimed at increasing public sympathy for the investigation.

"The accusation of insulting religion would mobilize more people against him," Eid said.

A prosecution official said Youssef was to pay a bail of 15,000 LE ($2,200), pending the completion of an investigation. Youssef tweeted that the bail is for three separate cases.

Eid, the rights lawyer, said the release on bail means all options are open.

"The prosecution could continue investigation, put the case aside or send it to trial."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-03-31-Egypt/id-bf37cf2e36b84f7d85902eda18d31077

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NASA 'Super Guppy' Swallows Supersonic NASA Jets (Photos)

Two supersonic NASA jets were swallowed whole by the space agency's outsized Super Guppy Transport plane in California this month so that they could be ferried to Texas.

The pair of retired T-38 jets, which are no longer airworthy, were loaded into the Guppy on March 18 at NASA Dryden Flight Research Center in Edwards, Calif.,and flown to El Paso. The jets' parts will be cannibalized and used for other T-38s that are still flying.

The loading process, which took over two hours, involved opening the Guppy's nose and hoisting the T-38s onto a specially designed pallet that was put into the Guppy's 25-foot (7.6-meter) diameter "stomach" of the NASA Super Guppy aircraft. Only the T-38s' wingtips needing to be removed so that the jets could fit inside the carrier, Johnson Space Center flight engineer David Elliott, the Guppy's project manager, said in a statement.

The Super Guppy is the last in its class of wide-bodied aircraft to have transported NASA's unwieldy cargo to their launch site, including rockets for the Apollo program and room-size modules for?the International Space Station. The plane is based at Ellington Airport in Houston, near NASA's Johnson Space Center. [See more photos of NASA's Super Guppy swallowing jets]

The first Guppy aircraft, called the Pregnant Guppy, was built from a heavily modified KC-97 Stratotanker in 1962 by the California-based company Aero Spacelines. Its 19-foot (5.8-meter) diameter cargo compartment was the largest such cavity of any aircraft at the time and it was designed to hold the second stage of a Saturn rocket for the?Apollo program.

The next generation, Dubbed the B377SG Super Guppy, was built in 1965 and was outfitted with a 25-foot (7.6-meter) diameter cargo bay, more powerful turboprop engines, a pressurized cockpit, and a hinged nose for easier loading of cargo, according to NASA.

The planes were operated by Aero Spacelines until NASA purchased the aircraft in 1981. The space agency still uses the Super Guppy Transport ? the last generation of Guppy that Aero Spacelines built. The plane is slated to bring the Orion Heat Shield from Textron Defense Systems near Boston to NASA's Kennedy Space Center at the end of March. The U.S. Department of Defense and government contractors also have used the Guppy to ferry aircraft and large components around the continent.

Follow SPACE.com on Twitter @Spacedotcom. We're also on Facebook?and Google+. Original article on SPACE.com.

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

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nasa-super-guppy-swallows-supersonic-nasa-jets-photos-112435031.html

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What Does 2000 Calories Look Like?

Mar 30, 2013

Brendita Health and Fitness burning calories, healthy eating

I came?across this creative Youtube video the other day. ?I think it?s very informative. Below is a?compilation?of images from that video.

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Source: http://www.brenditasbodyworks.com/blog/what-does-2000-calories-look-like/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=what-does-2000-calories-look-like

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How Did Dinosaurs Have Sex? [Excerpt]

See Inside

Once considered beyond the reach of science, insights into the love lives of these extinct giants are emerging

By Brian Switek

Image: Amy Martin

In Brief

• Scientists historically skirted the subject of how dinosaurs had sex, out of modesty and an absence of evidence.
• But studies of the closest living relatives of dinosaurs are providing insights into their probable reproductive anatomy.
• And computer models can test the plausibility of putative mating positions.

Adapted from My Beloved Brontosaurus: On the Road with Old Bones, New Science, and Our Favorite Dinosaurs, by Brian Switek, by arrangement with Scientific American/Farrar, Straus and Giroux, LLC. Copyright ? 2013 by Brian Switek

I was shuffling through Chicago's O'Hare international airport when I saw it: a magnificent, towering skeleton of a dinosaur. At first I thought it was a mirage created by my travel-addled brain. But the scene did not evaporate as I approached. Pillarlike forelimbs and brawny shoulders supported a long swerve of neck bones leading up to the dinosaur's small, boxy skull, which peered over the top of a banner touting the airport's Wi-Fi, as if looking to the tarmac beyond to check the latest departures and arrivals. I stopped and stared at the behemoth?a replica of Brachiosaurus inherited from the Field Museum in Chicago?mentally filling in the internal organs, muscles and skin of a creature that at 85 feet long is one of the largest dinosaurs ever found. And then a strange thought bubbled up in my mind: How did such a gargantuan animal have sex?

Giddy and tired, I envisioned a pair of amorous Brachiosaurus standing in a clearing in a conifer forest some 150 million years ago during the Jurassic period, each one waiting for the other to make the first move. But try as I might, I couldn't quite figure out the mechanics of what should come next. Could the male rear up to mount the female? Could the female support his weight? Wouldn't her massive tail get in the way? Alas, my flight started boarding, so I had to part ways with the skeleton, but I continued to ponder the mating mystery on the plane. It has captivated me ever since.

Dinosaurs must have had sex to reproduce. As in nearly all modern-day reptiles, males would have deposited sperm inside females, which would later lay fertilized eggs containing developing dinosaur embryos. Yet although scientists have managed to deduce quite a bit about dinosaur biology, the nuts and bolts of dinosaur sex remained largely unknown?in part because studying the sexual behavior of animals was taboo historically and the topic seemed so beyond the reach of science that very little could be said about dinosaur mating with confidence. Not all hope is lost, however. Dinosaur fossils have furnished clues to such intimate details as when during development these reptiles reached sexual maturity and how they attracted mates. Meanwhile studies of birds and crocodilians?the closest living relatives of dinosaurs?hint at what the external reproductive anatomy of dinosaurs looked like. And computer modeling offers the possibility of testing theories about how these giants managed to do the deed itself. Much remains to be discovered, but scientists are slowly drawing back the curtain on dinosaur amour.

Lock and Key

Signs of sex are hard to find in the fossil record of any creature. Among the rare examples are 47-million-year-old turtles that died while copulating and a pair of 320-million-year-old sharks that might have been courting when they were rapidly buried. Sadly no dinosaur skeletons have been found locked in romantic embrace. And not even the most beautifully preserved of these beasts retain remains of their reproductive organs.

For insights into the private parts of these extinct animals, scientists have had to turn to their closest extant relatives: birds and crocodilians. Birds are living dinosaurs, a specialized lineage that evolved around 150 million years ago and continues to thrive today. Crocodilians?a group that includes the alligators, gharials and crocodiles?are the closest living relatives of the group formed by extinct dinosaurs and modern birds. A trait present in both birds and crocodilians is likely to have been present in nonavian dinosaurs as well. One such trait is a cloaca?the single end point for the reproductive, urinary and intestinal tracts in both sexes of birds and crocodilians and probably, by extension, dinosaurs. Thus, an Apatosaurus's genitals would not be visible as it plodded by. Instead they would have been concealed in the cloaca, which would have appeared only as a slit underneath the dinosaur's tail.

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=ce5f12d3e06cd930ceed5d325db8d9aa

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Verlander, Tigers agree to $180M, 7-year deal

LAKELAND, Fla. (AP) ? For Justin Verlander, $180 million was enough. No need to wait two seasons, become a free agent and find out how much baseball's biggest spenders would offer.

"I wondered what it would be like to test free agency, but the pull of Detroit was too much," the Tigers' ace said Friday after agreeing to a seven-year contract, the richest deal for a pitcher in baseball history. "Once spring training started I knew I wanted to stay."

Verlander's deal broke the record for pitchers set just a month earlier when Seattle's Felix Hernandez agreed to a $175 million, seven-year contract.

"It's a very exciting day," Tigers President Dave Dombrowski said. "It's a big day for us. He's as fine a pitcher as there is in baseball. His record speaks for itself. He can be one of the greatest, if not the greatest pitcher in Tiger history."

The 2011 AL MVP and Cy Young Award winner had been signed through 2014 under an $80 million, five-year contract paying him $20 million in each of the next two seasons.

The new deal keeps those salaries and adds $140 million in guaranteed money: $28 million each season from 2015-19. It includes a $22 million option for 2020 that would become guaranteed if he finishes among the top five in 2019 Cy Young voting. The deal could be worth $202 million over eight seasons.

"The city of Detroit is committed to winning," he said. "I'm so excited to be playing in Detroit. I was never shy about saying I wanted to stay in Detroit. It's tough to put into words how much I love Detroit. We have the best fans in baseball."

Considered an elite pitcher since winning the 2006 AL Rookie of the Year award, the 30-year-old right-hander is 124-65 with a 3.40 ERA in eight major league seasons with two no-hitters. He was 24-5 two years ago, becoming the first starting pitcher to sweep Cy Young and MVP since Boston's Roger Clemens in 1986.

Verlander also has compiled a 19-win season and two each of 18 and 17. He led the big leagues in strikeouts and innings in 2009, 2011 and 2012.

"He is never going to be content," Dombrowski said. "He wants a World Series, and he wants the Hall of Fame."

Verlander's teammates were pleased for their star pitcher.

"First, he deserves it because it means a lot for all of us," pitcher Max Scherzer said. "From now on, every time we go out to dinner, I am not even going to make a token effort to pull out my credit card. Every dinner this year is on him."

___

AP Sports Writer Ronald Blum contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/verlander-tigers-agree-180m-7-deal-172702552--mlb.html

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Congressional Inaction Could Cost College Students

(Reuters) - Rory McIlroy, playing for the first time since losing his world number one ranking earlier this week, got off to a shaky start at the Houston Open on Thursday where he dropped three shots over his opening eight holes. The 23-year-old Northern Irishman, who was replaced atop the world rankings by Tiger Woods this week, struggled to find his rhythm on an ideal day for low scoring at the Redstone Golf Club in Humble, Texas. He bogeyed the par-four second hole and made a double-bogey seven on the eighth hole to limp to the turn at three-over. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/congressional-inaction-could-cost-college-students-071208468.html

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German migrant program offers cautions for US

BERLIN (AP) ? In gritty backstreets of Berlin and other major German cities, housewives wearing head scarves shop for lamb and grape leaves. Old men pass the time in cafes sipping coffee, chatting in Turkish and reading Turkish newspapers.

More than 3 million people of Turkish origin live in Germany ? the legacy of West Germany's Cold War-era program to recruit temporary foreign labor during the boom years of the 1950s and 1960s when the country rebuilt after World War II.

What started as a temporary program has changed the fabric of German urban life ? from mosques on street corners to countless shops selling widely popular Doener kebab fast food sandwiches.

Germany's experience with "guest workers" offers lessons for the U.S. as it debates immigration reform, including whether to provide a path to citizenship for unskilled foreign laborers, or whether there should be additional temporary-only visas for such workers. President Barack Obama has urged Congress to begin debate in April after lawmakers return from a two-week recess.

Decades after Germany's formal guest worker program ended in the early 1970s, the country is still wrestling with ways to integrate Turks ? the second biggest group among the estimated 15 million-strong immigrant community after ethnic Germans who moved from the former Soviet Union and for Soviet bloc countries ? into German society.

"When you bring people to work, it's quite hard to tell them to go back one day," said Goecken Demiragli, a social worker whose grandmother came to Berlin from Turkey in 1968. "That was the biggest mistake: to think that if you don't need them, they will go."

Initially, the Germans felt they didn't need an integration path.

They foresaw a temporary program of rotating labor, where workers from Turkey, the Balkans and southern Europe would spend a couple of years on an assembly line and then go home to be replaced by others if industry still needed them.

But factory managers grew tired of retraining new workers every couple of years and convinced authorities to allow contract extensions.

Many immigrants, especially young Turkish men who faced grinding unemployment at home, opted to stay in Germany, bringing their families and building lives here despite discrimination in education, housing and employment.

Although immigrants could stay legally with government-issued residence permits, they could not apply for citizenship for 15 years, although the period has been shortened in recent years. Without fluent German, and state-supported language programs, many were unable to pursue good educations and well-paying jobs.

As a result, the Turkish community remains the least integrated immigrant group in Germany, according to the private Berlin Institute for Population and Development.

Immigration critics blame the Turks for refusing to abandon traditions of rural Turkey, failing to learn German and take advantage of educational opportunities. Critics note that more than 90 percent of marriages by ethnic Turks are to other Turks ? in part because of cultural restrictions against marrying outside the Muslim faith.

Over the years, the existence of a parallel society of marginalized people speaking a different language and following different religious and social customs has triggered a backlash in a country which only recently has considered itself a nation that welcomes immigrants.

Neo-Nazis have focused on the Turks in their campaign against immigration. Next month, the surviving member of a small neo-Nazi cell goes on trial in Munich for allegedly killing 10 people ? eight of them Turkish immigrants ? over seven years. The cell allegedly got away with the killings for years because police assumed they were the work of Turkish immigrant gangs.

Thilo Sarrazin, once a top official of Germany's central bank, wrote in a 2010 best-seller that immigrants were dumbing down German society and that Turkish and Arab immigrants were reluctant to integrate. The firestorm that followed forced Sarrazin out of his bank post, but his book sold over 1.5 million copies.

Others fault successive German governments for being slow to recognize the immigration problem and moving only in recent years to put in place programs to combat discrimination, provide German language training and offer a speedier path to full citizenship.

"The West German government should have devised comprehensive integration measures as part of family reunification policies but did not," a 2009 study for the Washington-based Migration Policy Institute. "Consequently, integration problems began to take root in West Germany."

In the meantime, an entire generation grew up feeling estranged, living in urban ghettoes apart from the mainstream and unable to take part in political life. Even well-educated Turks who have assimilated believe that stigma remains alive today.

"There's this categorization ... that you are not the same as the others," said Demiragli, the social worker, who was born in Germany but did not get citizenship until she was 16. "That is a feeling that grows in you if you do not have strong parents who can support you and give you the feeling that you are still special."

Overt discrimination has abated since the 1970s and 1980s when real estate ads in German newspapers contained phrases like "Only for Germans" or "No Foreigners." But Turkish residents say subtle barriers remain.

"Now it's more hidden," said Bekir Yilmaz, head of a Turkish community organization in Berlin. "You look for housing, you make a telephone call, you can speak German well but when you stand in front of the landlord, they say, 'Oh, the apartment is taken.'"

Yilmaz believes the problem has worsened since the 9/11 attacks in the U.S. and the war on terror smeared the image of Muslims.

"The West had its enemy in communism but communism is gone. Now it's the Muslims," Yilmaz said. "The Turks here are no enemy. They have lived here for years, and their children born here. This has nothing to do with reality."

German attitudes toward immigration and citizenship also proved an obstacle to full and rapid integration. Although attitudes are changing, Germany never perceived itself as an immigrant society like the United States. German society values conformity.

Unlike the United States, Germany does not automatically grant citizenship to anyone born on German soil. Even though the naturalization process has been shortened, it still takes years and requires knowledge of the German language and history.

In 2000, a new law granted German citizenship to German-born children of longtime legal residents. By age 23, those children must decide whether to keep German citizenship or their parents' nationality.

Chancellor Angela Merkel's government has refused calls from Turkish and other immigrant communities to allow dual citizenship. Many immigrants are reluctant to apply for German citizenship because they want to hold on to their original nationality.

"I think we should have a dual citizenship here in Germany," said Ayvaz Harra, a German citizen of Turkish origin who sells bread in a Berlin market. "My family has property in Turkey and I would like to inherit it. Right now it's not possible."

But others believe the core problem was the government's failure to foresee the long-term effects of the temporary labor program.

"The problem here is that there is a picture of how Germans should live and if somebody is living differently, it doesn't fit," Demiragli said. "I think that in 20 to 30 years it will be a totally mixed community, especially here in Berlin. If we get over that 20 years, I think it will be a totally different situation."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/german-migrant-program-offers-cautions-us-073113485.html

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Memories of near death experiences: More real than reality?

Mar. 27, 2013 ? University of Li?ge researchers have demonstrated that the physiological mechanisms triggered during NDE lead to a more vivid perception not only of imagined events in the history of an individual but also of real events which have taken place in their lives! These surprising results - obtained using an original method which now requires further investigation - are published in PLOS ONE.

Seeing a bright light, going through a tunnel, having the feeling of ending up in another 'reality' or leaving one's own body are very well known features of the complex phenomena known as 'Near-Death Experiences ' (NDE), which people who are close to death can experience in particular. Products of the mind? Psychological defence mechanisms? Hallucinations? These phenomena have been widely documented in the media and have generated numerous beliefs and theories of every kind. From a scientific point of view, these experiences are all the more difficult to understand in that they come into being in chaotic conditions, which make studying them in real time almost impossible. The University of Li?ge's researchers have thus tried a different approach.

Working together, researchers at the Coma Science Group (Directed by Steven Laureys) and the University of Li?ge's Cognitive Psychology Research (Professor Serge Br?dart and Hedwige Dehon), have looked into the memories of NDE with the hypothesis that if the memories of NDE were pure products of the imagination, their phenomenological characteristics (e.g., sensorial, self referential, emotional, etc. details) should be closer to those of imagined memories. Conversely, if the NDE are experienced in a way similar to that of reality, their characteristics would be closer to the memories of real events.

The researchers compared the responses provided by three groups of patients, each of which had survived (in a different manner) a coma, and a group of healthy volunteers. They studied the memories of NDE and the memories of real events and imagined events with the help of a questionnaire which evaluated the phenomenological characteristics of the memories. The results were surprising. From the perspective being studied, not only were the NDEs not similar to the memories of imagined events, but the phenomenological characteristics inherent to the memories of real events (e.g. memories of sensorial details) are even more numerous in the memories of NDE than in the memories of real events.

The brain, in conditions conducive to such phenomena occurring, is prey to chaos. Physiological and pharmacological mechanisms are completely disturbed, exacerbated or, conversely, diminished. Certain studies have put forward a physiological explanation for certain components of NDE, such as Out-of-Body Experiences, which could be explained by dysfunctions of the temporo-parietal lobe. In this context the study published in PLOS ONE suggests that these same mechanisms could also could also 'create' a perception - which would thus be processed by the individual as coming from the exterior - of reality. In a kind of way their brain is lying to them, like in a hallucination. These events being particularly surprising and especially important from an emotional and personal perspective, the conditions are ripe for the memory of this event being extremely detailed, precise and durable.

Numerous studies have looked into the physiological mechanisms of NDE, the production of these phenomena by the brain, but, taken separately, these two theories are incapable of explaining these experiences in their entirety. The study published in PLOS ONE does not claim to offer a unique explanation for NDE, but it contributes to study pathways which take into account psychological phenomena as factors associated with, and not contradictory to, physiological phenomena.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Li?ge, via AlphaGalileo.

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

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Journal Reference:

1. Marie Thonnard, Vanessa Charland-Verville, Serge Br?dart, Hedwige Dehon, Didier Ledoux, Steven Laureys, Audrey Vanhaudenhuyse. Characteristics of Near-Death Experiences Memories as Compared to Real and Imagined Events Memories. PLoS ONE, 2013; 8 (3): e57620 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0057620

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

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/strange_science/~3/nU6TwYi_i1I/130327190359.htm

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Afghanistan car bomb injures British troops, underscores transition hurdles (+video)

On the heels of Secretary of State Kerry's surprise visit to Afghanistan, two separate attacks injured at least 15 Afghans. The Taliban claimed responsibility for one.

By Ryan Lenora Brown,?Correspondent / March 26, 2013

An Afghan National Army soldier and US forces arrive to the scene after eight suicide bombers attacked a police headquarters in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad, Afghanistan, Tuesday, killing five police officers and wounding four others, a security official said.

Rahmat Gul/AP

Enlarge

As Secretary of State John Kerry met with President Hamid Karzai and oversaw the symbolic handoff of a major military prison on a surprise visit to Afghanistan this week, a suicide bombing killed five police officers in the eastern city of Jalalabad Tuesday.

Skip to next paragraph Ryan Lenora Brown

Correspondent

Ryan Brown edits the Africa Monitor blog and contributes to the national and international news desks of the Monitor. She is a former Fulbright fellow to South Africa and holds a degree in history from Duke University.?

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On Monday Afghanistan took full control of Bagram prison from the United States, healing one running sore in their testy relationship as US-led forces wind down more than a decade of war.

The Taliban quickly?claimed responsibility for today?s attack, which also injured at least five Afghans at the police headquarters in the provincial capital, according to the Associated Press. ?In a separate incident today a car bomb blast injured at least 10 British troops?on a patrol base in Helmand Province, according to the Guardian.?

The timing of the violence highlights the major security challenges that remain as the United States attempts to wind down a decade of intensive military presence in the country and hand control to the Afghans.

The attacks came just hours after Secretary Kerry and President Karzai held a rosy news conference in Kabul on the state of US-Afghan relations, which have undergone particular strain in recent weeks after?Karzai accused the US?of working with the Taliban to deliberately keep the country weak.

(For more on the costs of the US war effort, read about the $610 million late fee Washington is currently paying on shipping containers it rented to ship home military equipment.)?

But during his trip, Kerry?was glowing in his appraisal of Karzai, declaring that he and the president were ?on the same page? when it came to Afghan security and reconciliation.

"I am confident the president [Karzai] does not believe the US has any interest except to see the Taliban come to the table to make peace and that we are completely cooperative with the government of Afghanistan with respect to the protection of their efforts and their people," Kerry told reporters.

Monday?s meeting was a pivot from the prickly interaction between Karzai and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on Mr. Hagel?s own trip to the country earlier this month. During that visit, Hagel and Karzai abruptly called off a joint press conference after tense closed-door negotiations failed to yield progress on key diplomatic questions, including the transfer of a key US-controlled prison to Afghan hands.

The American military formally ceded control of all but a ?small number? of prisoners in that facility, known as Bagram Prison, to the Afghans during Kerry?s visit Monday.

This marks the formal completion of a transfer of 4,000 Bagram prisoners that began a year ago, but hit several snags over perceived security threats. The US military, however, will continue to hold in its custody around 50 high-level foreign prisoners considered ?enduring security threats,? along with hundreds of Afghans arrested since the initial transfer deal was authorized last March,?reports Russia Today.

Despite its limitations, however, the transfer has potent symbolic value for Afghanistan,?writes The New York Times.

Bagram Prison was the most flagrant symbol of Mr. Karzai?s lack of control. Americans detained several thousand Afghans there, and Mr. Karzai had no power to release them. His effort to wrest the prison from the Americans began in earnest more than year ago, and?nearly succeeded?at least twice, most recently two weeks ago, a day before Mr. Hagel?s first visit.

Each time, American military commanders backed out because of worries that the Afghans might release Taliban prisoners, who would return to the battlefield and endanger American soldiers. This time, despite those concerns, the transfer went forward.

?It?s about a shift that?s going on in how the U.S. is looking at what?s important,? said one American official knowledgeable about detention issues. ?We have to look at the larger picture: What?s the U.S. strategic interest here???

Kerry rounded out his visit Tuesday by?meeting with democracy activists and female entrepreneurs?at the American Embassy in Kabul. There, he traded headers with the captain of the Afghan women?s national soccer team and lauded civic leaders preparing for the 2014 elections, according to the Associated Press.?

"You're engaged in a remarkable effort and the whole world is watching," Kerry said.?

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/csmonitor/globalnews/~3/OGbc36zzMNA/Afghanistan-car-bomb-injures-British-troops-underscores-transition-hurdles-video

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Testimony ends in marathon NH gas additive trial

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) -- Testimony has ended in a marathon trial over whether Exxon Mobil Corp. should pay the state of New Hampshire hundreds of millions of dollars to monitor and treat private wells and public drinking supplies contaminated by the gasoline additive MTBE.

Jurors in the longest-running trial in state history are set to hear final arguments on April 3.

The products liability case opened Jan. 14. The final defense witness testified Wednesday that MTBE significantly improved air quality in New Hampshire by reducing emissions.

Engineer Thomas Austin equated the benefits of MTBE use in New Hampshire in 2006 to removing 166,000 vehicles from the state's roads.

The state filed its lawsuit a decade ago against 26 oil companies and distributors. All but Exxon Mobil reached settlement agreements with the state.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/testimony-ends-marathon-nh-gas-172642769.html

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OUYA Could Become Emulation Destination With New Projects ...

OUYA is coming soon (tomorrow is the planned ship date for the earliest Kickstarter backers), and recent reports of emulators of classic gaming consoles made for the Android device are generating some buzz. Today, emulator developer Robert Broglia, who?s responsible for some of the most popular Android emulators including Snes9x EX+, has revealed to OUYAForum that he?s working on emulators for Game Boy Advance, Sega Genesis, NeoGeo and more.

Snes9x EX+ is the first he?s hoping to release, with a test APK (Android file package) due soon, though he says he won?t have his own OUYA to test out the emulators before April, since he pre-ordered the console only after it finished its Kickstarter run. Broglia plans to port versions of most of his Android-based game console emulators, however, including ones for TurboGrafx-16, Atari, Sega Saturn and ColecoVision, in addition to those mentioned above.

Broglia charges for the emulators he offers on Android, but OUYA has its rules about content that stipulate content must have at least some kind of free-to-play or free-to-try. Also on tap are an x86 PC emulator that will allow use of classic DOS gaming software on the OUYA, as well as a Commodore 64 emulator, both from?separate?developers. In other words, the OUYA is set to become a nostalgia machine for gamers who grew up in the 80s and 90s.

Already one OUYA emulation project has been approved for inclusion in the official marketplace, but when I contacted OUYA directly to learn about whether or not they have an official stance on emulation, I received no response. As mentioned, the Google PLay store has emulation apps available, and developers have commented in the past about how open the marketplace is for the upcoming Android console.

Past devices have built their entire existence around game emulation, including the GP2K Wiz and Canoo from South Korea?s GamePark holdings. OUYA?s focus is much broader, but as a simple, living-room based way to bring games of old back to people?s televisions (even if the method of doing so isn?t strictly legal), it could hold significant appeal to niche audience above and beyond its other merits.

OUYA was created in 2012 by Julie Uhrman, a video game industry veteran who saw an opportunity to open up the last closed game platform ? the TV. Julie and an initial team of game developers and advisors brought the concept to life with the help of Yves Behar and the fuseproject, and took it to Kickstarter in July of 2012. It became one of the most successful Kickstarter projects ever, with tens of thousands of backers pledging to...

? Learn more

Source: http://techcrunch.com/2013/03/27/ouya-could-become-emulation-destination-with-new-projects-covering-game-boy-genesis-neogeo-and-more/

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Antebellum Homes of Natchez, Mississippi | The Blonde Gardener

In the early 1930?s, a?small?garden club in Natchez decided to?open their?gardens for tours.? Unfortunately, an unexpected late freeze ruined those plans and the ladies had to quickly make other arrangements.? They chose, instead,?to open their?antebellum homes for tours.? It was such a success,?the tours, also known as the?Pilgrimage, became a yearly tradition.

The Elms

In the spring and fall, the Pilgrimage is held for one month.? The proceeds of these tours go to preservation efforts and, to date, Natchez is one of the few places in the United States where?you can find over five hundred buildings constructed before 1860.? As you can see from pictures?this is?no small?project!

Our first home tour was The Burn.

Built in 1834, The Burn (which means brook in Scottish) is a private residence and the owners?take part?as?curators for the home tour.? They did not allow photography in this home but?pictures of the home and grounds can be seen here?and here.

We?were greeted?by a costumed?host who gave us a quick summary of the Walworth family that?built and occupied the home before and?after the?Civil War.? During the Civil War, The Burn was used as a hospital and headquarters for the Union Army.

The Burn garden has over 100 catalogued and documented?camellias dating back to the 1930?s.

This statue was unearthed several years ago behind the main house.

It was found by landscapers and is believed that the Walworth family may have buried it when they were given 24 hours to vacate their home during the Civil War.? The family did return to their home after the war, but either forgot about it or forgot where they buried it. For a?quick history of?the home,?check out the short?video on The Burn website.? The video is narrated by the current owner.

Our next stop was The Elms.

The Elms dates back to the early 1800?s and is said?to be one of the earliest documented houses in Natchez.? Over the years it has incorporated?three different building styles from different owners: ?Spanish influence, Federal, and Greek Revival.? For a short period, it was the parsonage for?the Presbyterian church.?Other owners included the first sheriff of the Mississippi Territory and the Stanton family- a prominent family in Natchez.? In 1865, the Drake family purchased the home and?now, almost 150 years later, a fifth generation descendant is the caretaker of this beautiful home.

The Elms

One of the features of the house is the cast iron ?lace? staircase believed?to be the only one of its kind in Mississippi.? The stained glass windows seen (barely)?in the second picture are also original to the house as?are many of the furnishings.

Several personal possessions of the family have been discovered?in the attic.? Diaries from the owners great-great-grandmother, love letters from her great-uncle?to her great-aunt?and her great-aunt?s?artwork.? This?shadow box?is actually fruit molded from wax,

that?her great-aunt?made by?creating her own molds in plaster and then casting in wax.

She also?completed a?shadow box?of waxed flowers

which?was displayed?in the 1876 Centennial International Exhibit in Philadelphia.? The Smithsonian has requested these pieces for display, but it is?believed they are too fragile too be transported.

Our next stop was Hope Farm.? This home was built in the 1770?s and was once the home of the Spanish Governor.? In the 1920?s, the Miller family bought and restored the farm.? Years later, Mrs. Miller would be one of the founding members of the Natchez Pilgrimage with the slogan, ?Come to Natchez, Where the Old South Still Lives.?

Many furnishings of the home date back to the mid 1700?s.? A pair of Dorothy Doughty birds?grace the dining room table along with a crystal candle lamp overhead.? Both are?considered to be?very rare pieces and continually sought after by museums.

Most of the homes in this era had a separate?building for the kitchen and servant living quarters.? This was the kitchen area of Hope Farm.

Would anyone like to guess what this was used for?

This was used?as a ?time out? chair for the children.? The child would stand or kneel? on the chair and place their arms in the grooves and the top bar locked them in place.? Looks like this model would accommodate two small children at a time.? Goodness.

I apologize for the lack of pictures.? I obviously can?t listen to a tour guide and?be a photographer at the same time.?? Not that my pictures do these homes justice.? They were all so magnificent and just plain? Southern.? I will do better next time I promise.

or maybe I should go on another trip to redeem myself.

Have a great day!

Brenda

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I'm an Arkansas girl born and raised. I garden in the beautiful Northwest part of the state (zone 6b or 7) surrounded by the Ozark Mountains. My favorite part about the area is we have 4 distinct seasons and are able to enjoy a variety of activities. My main passion is gardening but I also enjoy hiking, birding, 4-wheeling and motorcycle trips. Basically anything outside. Thanks for stopping by! Brenda

Source: http://theblondegardener.com/2013/03/27/antebellum-homes-of-natchez-mississippi/

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Professional Business Marketing ? New England College of ...

BOSTON?(BUSINESS WIRE)?

New
England College of Business and Finance (NECB), recently named by
the U.S. Department of Education as the most affordable private college
in New England and the leading institution of online education designed
for working adults seeking career advancement, today announced it is
hosting a free webinar for individuals interested in learning more about
educational and career opportunities within the high-growth
international business field. Dr. Jeff Slattery, Program Chair of the
NECB International Business program, will lead the webinar, ?Business
Without Borders,? on Friday, April 5 at 1:00 p.m. EST.

During the one-hour webinar, participants will learn about globalization
trends in business, the specific skills and education needed to
successfully conduct business internationally and the career
opportunities available in the growing international business segment.

?In an increasingly connected and globalized world, it?s more important
than ever for professionals of all levels to have a comprehensive
education and strong business knowledge to compete on a global scale,?
said Dr. Slattery. ?The Business Without Borders webinar is yet another
way NECB is using social technologies to connect with faculty, current
and prospective students, and staff, while also sharing relevant
information and resources.?

Dr. Slattery has vast experience in the international business field. He
previously served as the War Room facilitator for Conexant Microsystems,
Inc., a provider of solutions for imaging, audio, embedded modem, and
video surveillance applications with foundries and manufacturing across
the globe. He also worked as a Research Associate for the International
Trade Center, and continues to write, publish, and speak on topics
related to international business and education.

As part of the webinar, Dr. Slattery will discuss NECB?s new Bachelor
of Science in International Business program, which is slated to
begin in May. Students enrolled in the program will take courses,
including International Trade and Global Marketing, which will better
position them to shape and navigate the complexities of international
business, today and in the future.

Individuals interested in participating can register for the webinar at http://www.necb.edu/ibwebinar/register.
For those unable to attend, please visit NECB?s
Twitter handle, where the college will share webinar highlights
during the event, and follow the hashtag ?#IBedu.?

About New England College of Business and
Finance

Founded in 1909, New England College of Business and Finance (NECB) is a
leading Boston institution offering quality education and online degrees
at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Serving students across the
United States, NECB is an online college accredited by the New England
Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC), and is licensed by the
Massachusetts Department of Higher Education. For information on NECB,
visit www.necb.edu,
follow NECB on Twitter
or connect with the school on Facebook.

Source: http://lowbrowse.org/new-england-college-of-business-and-finance-announces-free-webinar-on-international-business.html

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Georges St-Pierre cast in the next ?Captain America?

The last time we saw UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre, he was defending his belt against Nick Diaz at UFC 158. But now you'll get to see him outside the cage, as he was just cast in "Captain America: The Winter Soldier." GSP will play Batroc the Leaper, a French mercenary and kickboxer with a penchant for kicking Captain America.

[Related: Georges St-Pierre apologizes for controversial fight attire]

GSP is the perfect fit. He's French-Canadian, and French was his first language. As for the kicking:

It doesn't look like he'll have to do much research to figure that part of the character out.

Memorable Moments from Yahoo! Sports:

Other popular content on Yahoo! Sports:
? Giants DT has nearly $500K in jewelry stolen in Miami
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? Y! Sports' fearless forecasts for the fantasy baseball season | Play

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/georges-st-pierre-cast-next-captain-america-134706701--mma.html

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EV Grieve: Outrage over proposal to turn the green space at the ...

More details were circulating last week about the city leasing the park space at Max Meltzer Tower to private developers... among other things, the new development would wipe out the park at the senior citizen development at 94 E. First St. near First Avenue ... Flyers appeared in the vicinity during the weekend...

You can see what would be lost ... trees, opens space, light, etc.

Per the NYCHA website, this is what is proposed:

Meltzer Tower has a $10.5 million unmet need for capital building improvements over the next 5 years.

Proposed Development on Land Lease Site(s)
East 1st Street Site
Site Area: 13,000 SF (Approximate)
New Construction: 121,500 SF of Residential Floor Area (Approximate)
18,500 SF of Commercial Floor Area (Approximate)
97 New Apartments

In the self-created FAQs, officials say this with a straight face:

Wouldn?t this be disruptive to the community?
Construction would not take place forever, and would be conducted in a strictly monitored fashion.

Right!

One longtime East Village shared his thoughts on the proposal via email:

All they have to say about disruption is that construction doesn't last forever. How encouraging. They don't mention that the building will be devastating to the dozens of residents of the adjacent buildings on 2nd Street. NYCHA explains that the development of the site is necessary because the Meltzer Tower needs $10.5 million for deferred maintenance. We don't know the terms of the deal, but if that's the sale price it's peanuts for 140,000 sf. And they don't mention that the new apartment building will certainly block light from the west for Meltzer residents. Selling off public assets is always sad and usually a bad idea. The density of building in the East Village has always been an issue and it's getting worse quickly.

Upset by this proposal? Here's who you can contact, via the flyers...

[Click image to enlarge]

Source: http://evgrieve.com/2013/03/outrage-over-proposal-to-turn-green.html

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Girl Meets World: Cory & Topanga's Wedding Rings Revealed!

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/03/girl-meets-world-cory-and-topanga-wedding-rings-revealed/

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New study analyzes the risk to endangered whales from ships in southern California

New study analyzes the risk to endangered whales from ships in southern California

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Researchers have identified areas off southern California with high numbers of whales and assessed their risk from potentially deadly collisions with commercial ship traffic in a study published in the scientific journal Conservation Biology.

Scientists from NOAA Fisheries, the Marine Mammal Commission and Cascadia Research Collective analyzed data collected over seven years by NOAA on marine mammal and ecosystem research surveys in the Southern California Bight. Maps predicting the density of endangered humpback, fin and blue whales were developed by merging the observed whale sightings with oceanographic conditions to identify the habitat preferred by the different whale species.

"We know several endangered species of whales occur in the waters off southern California," said Jessica Redfern, a NOAA Fisheries marine mammal biologist and lead author of the paper. "What we didn't know, and what this study helps provide, is an understanding of the areas with the highest numbers of whales."

Knowing where whales are more likely to be found in the ocean environment is vitally important to reduce human impacts. Although this information could be used to assess any number of human impacts, the study specifically looked at current and alternative shipping routes to and from the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach and the risk to humpback, fin and blue whales from ship strikes.

Researchers selected four routes to study; the shipping route in the Santa Barbara Channel, which is the current shipping route; a Central route south of the northern Channel Islands; a Central Fan route, or just the eastern part of the Central route; and a Southern route, a course south of the Central route and constrained by the protected areas around Santa Barbara, Santa Catalina, and San Nicolas Islands. (See figure 1)

By overlaying the routes with the predicted whale densities, researchers found the route with the lowest risk for humpback whales (Southern route) had the highest risk for fin whales and vice versa. However, risk may be ameliorated for both species in one of the Central routes.

Blue whales, however, were at approximately equal risk in all routes considered because of their more even distribution throughout the study area. The authors' estimate of the number of blue whales likely killed by ships exceeds levels established by the Marine Mammal Protection Act to ensure sustainable populations. This result suggests that it is important to find ways to reduce the risk of ships striking blue whales.

"The Southern California Bight is an incredibly complex system with a diverse set of users, including the military, shipping industry and fishing industry. All users have specific needs and their input is necessary to plan the best and safest uses of these waters," said Redfern, "This paper helps to incorporate whale habitat use in the planning process so that their needs can be considered as well."

###

NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov

Thanks to NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

This press release has been viewed 30 time(s).

Source: http://www.labspaces.net/127461/New_study_analyzes_the_risk_to_endangered_whales_from_ships_in_southern_California

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Denny Hamlin hospitalized overnight after crash with Joey Logano at California

FONTANA, Calif. ? Denny Hamlin spent Sunday night hospitalized following a hard crash on the final lap of the Sprint Cup race Sunday at Auto Club Speedway.

Hamlin was awake and alert when he was taken by helicopter ? because of the heavy postrace traffic ? to a hospital near the track.

MORE: Hamlin's crash | Stewart-Logano feud | Busch wins | Earnhardt has points lead

Joe Gibbs Racing announced late Sunday that Hamlin had been admitted and would stay overnight for observation. NASCAR officials refused to release the name of the hospital where Hamlin was taken, although typically drivers are taken from Auto Club Speedway to Loma Linda University Medical Center.

The driver's girlfriend, Jordan Fish, tweeted: "He's alert n awake, main concern is his back."

"Hamlin complained of lower back pain at the track's infield medical center and was transported to a local hospital for further evaluation," a JGR statement said. "Hamlin will remain at the hospital overnight for observation."

Hamlin was put on a stretcher immediately following the accident, which occurred as Hamlin and Joey Logano raced for the win going into the final turn of the Auto Club 400.

The accident was the second in two weeks between the former JGR teammates. At Bristol Motor Speedway a week earlier, Hamlin spun Logano as they battled for second.

After the race, Logano, who now drives for Penske Racing, went over to Hamlin's car and was pushed away by Hamlin's crew.

On Friday, Logano pledged that he would race Hamlin "the way he raced me."

Living up to that promise, Logano tried to hold the inside lane as they battled for the lead on the final lap and drifted up into Hamlin. Both drivers hit the outside wall while Kyle Busch went on to win the race.

While Logano was able to collect his car, Hamlin's slid into the inside wall and smashed it head-on, lifting his car up in the air. There is no SAFER Barrier in that area of the track.

"Denny Hamlin was not going to win that race," said Logano, before knowing Hamlin had been taken to the hospital.

"I wanted to win that race. I feel like I had the car to win the race. ? It was just racing for the lead. I guess we're even now. He'll think twice before he does something next time."

Hamlin has a history of back problems, including a bulging disk and a torn disk that kept him out of a practice session last July at Daytona.

Last year, he said that surgery would be "years down the road' and treats his back problems ? which he said are genetic ? with therapy.

Source: http://aol.sportingnews.com/nascar/story/2013-03-24/denny-hamlin-injury-update-crash-joey-logano-california-race

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Box Office Guru Wrapup: Croods, Olympus Drive March Madness

The North American box office enjoyed a spring surge as two new films both scored terrific debuts bringing in business from different audiences. Families led the way driving the animated comedy The Croods to the top spot while the violent action thriller Olympus Has Fallen opened with authority in second place with better than expected results. Add in hot holdover Oz the Great and Powerful and it was a rare March weekend that saw three films gross north of $20M a piece.

DreamWorks Animation, and new distribution partner Fox, had much to celebrate as The Croods bowed at number one with an estimated $44.7M. That was on par with recent March non-sequel toons like How to Train Your Dragon ($43.7M in 2010), Rio ($39.2M in 2011), and the 2D Horton Hears a Who ($45M in 2008) and much better than the performance of the last effort from DreamWorks Rise of the Guardians. That holiday season offering debuted to $23.8M over three days and $32.3M across five days over last Thanksgiving's holiday frame. Reaching $103.2M total from North America, it caused concern over whether the powerhouse animation factory was losing its touch and producing too much content. The studio has now had three 3D toons over the last nine months.

Croods didn't have an A-list voice actor like Steve Carell or Jim Carrey from Horton and was not part of a top brand with a built-in audience like last year's The Lorax so the performance was encouraging. Plus the road ahead looks bright for a number of reasons. Easter holidays will give children plenty of time off over the coming two weeks so the target audience will be very available - not only on the weekends but during weekdays too. Croods earned a great A grade from CinemaScore meaning consumers are liking the entertainment on screen so word-of-mouth should be good. Plus, there are no other big-ticket options for kids opening for the rest of March and April so the cavepeople flick will have its audience to itself for a while. Expect good legs here as reaching $170M domestic is possible.

Featuring the voices of Nicolas Cage, Emma Stone, and Ryan Reynolds, the PG-rated toon averaged a sturdy $11,048 from 4,046 theaters. Friday kicked off with $11.6M, Saturday surged an impressive 63% to $18.9M, and the studio is estimating a 25% dip to $14.2M on Sunday. The weekend gross ended up in the middle of the same $40-50M neighborhood as the top toons from the last nine months like Hotel Transylvania ($42.5M), Ice Age: Continental Drift ($46.6M), and Wreck-it Ralph ($49M).

DreamWorks will be hoping for the kind of legs witnessed by its March 2010 hit Dragon which was seen as a disappointment after its first weekend but then went on to show amazing longevity that resulted in a final domestic take of $217.6M, five times its opening. Croods and Dragon both earned the same grade from CinemaScore, though critics were much more impressed by the latter. Reviews were good for Croods, but not glowing. 3D screens accounted for 38% of the gross, up slightly from the 35% for Guardians. Females made up 57% of the audience while 55% was 25 and older.

Worldwide, Croods raked in a towering $108M with $63.3M (including previews) coming from 47 international markets representing 60% of the overseas marketplace. Russia, a red hot market for Hollywood animation, led the way with a superb $12.9M start (74% from 3D screens) followed by Mexico's $9.5M and the United Kingdom's $8.3M. The prehistoric family was number one in 44 of those markets this weekend and will open in 19 additional territories next weekend for Easter. With school holidays coming up around the world, and overseas audiences more willing to pay 3D surcharges, the long-term outlook is incredibly promising.

Gerard Butler scored his first hit in three years with the presidential kidnapping thriller Olympus Has Fallen which opened in second place with a muscular $30.5M, according to estimates. The R-rated action film about the White House being seized by North Korean terrorists averaged a stellar $9,845 from 3,098 locations and delivered the actor's second biggest debut ever after the $70.9M of his career-making role in 300. Olympus also gave distributor FilmDistrict its best opening ever.

In a year when action films have been underperforming in almost every case, Olympus generated genuine audience excitement and brought out ticket buyers. Reviews were mixed and didn't help much. Audiences responded instead to the intriguing concept, effective marketing materials, and starpower with Butler back into a gritty hero role joined by Morgan Freeman, Angela Bassett, and Aaron Eckhart. A dose of patriotism added to the success too. Those polled by CinemaScore liked what they paid for as the grade was an encouraging A-. Adult men made up the largest demographic group for Olympus. Studio data showed that 53% was male and 73% was over 25. The opening weekend was especially impressive considering that the action film had to compete with the start of the NCAA college basketball tournament which has been attracting strong ratings everyday all weekend long.

Following its two-week reign atop the charts, the megahit Oz the Great and Powerful dropped down to third place but still posted a solid showing with an estimated $22M in business. The Disney smash declined by 47% which was not bad considering all the competition that entered the marketplace this weekend. With $177.6M to date, Oz has captured an additional $178.8M overseas for a potent $356.4M global gross to date with sales split evenly between North America and the rest of the world for this very American story. The kidnapping thriller The Call ranked fifth dropping 49% to an estimated $8.7M for Sony. Halle Berry's hit film has banked an impressive $30.9M in ten days and could finish with roughly $50M.

Moviegoers had little interest in the new comedy from Tina Fey and Paul Rudd, Admission, which debuted to soft results in fifth with an estimated $6.4M. The Focus release averaged a weak $2,984 from 2,160 locations and was hurt by bad reviews which Fey's more upscale fan base pays attention to. A dull B- CinemaScore indicates a rocky road ahead. Rudd has also struggled at the box office with his film Wanderlust with Jennifer Aniston flopping last spring with a puny $6.5M debut. With bigger options all doing well with adult women right now, Admission faced intense competition and failed to stand out as a must-see film.

After a scorching hot platform debut last weekend, Spring Breakers expanded nationwide and landed in the top ten but saw sales slump to just passable levels. The Selena Gomez-Vanessa Hudgens pic grossed an estimated $5M from 1,104 theaters for a lukewarm $4,529 average. Co-starring James Franco - who has two films in the top ten this weekend with Oz seeing much more cash - the R-rated drama has collected $5.4M for distributor A24 and has earned good reviews.

Tumbling a troubling 58% in its second weekend, the comedy flop The Incredible Burt Wonderstone grossed an estimated $4.3M for a weak ten-day tally of $17.4M. The Warner Bros. release should end up with a disappointing $25M or so. The studio's big-budget fairy tale adventure Jack the Giant Slayer also fell sharply dropping 53% to an estimated $3M for only $59.1M to date.

The hit comedy Identity Thief followed with an estimated $2.5M, off 43%, for a $128M cume to date. Dwayne Johnson's first of many 2013 releases Snitch rounded out the top ten falling 45% to an estimated $1.9M and a nice sum of $40.3M for Lionsgate. The wrestler-turned-action-star is now on week five of what could turn out to be a 20-week consecutive streak in the top ten. Next up, G.I. Joe Retaliation attacking over 3,500 theaters Thursday with the first shows at 7:00pm this Wednesday.

Some solid debuts occurred in the specialty marketplace. The critically-acclaimed Australian girl-group pic The Sapphires debuted in four locations with an estimated $41,000 for a $10,232 average. The Weinstein Co. will roll out the PG-13 film into more markets this spring. Also getting raves from critics, My Brother the Devil bowed to an estimated $12,000 from a pair of New York sites for a $6,070 average. Released by Paladin and 108 Media, the Sundance award winner expands next to Los Angeles on April 5.

The top ten films grossed an estimated $129M which was down 36% from last year when The Hunger Games opened at number one with a record $152.5M; but up 23% from 2011 when Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules debuted in the top spot with $23.8M.

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Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1927102/news/1927102/

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