Archbishop Mitty, New Mexico star Drew Gordon surprised at being passed over in NBA draft

As the NBA draft began Thursday night, Archbishop Mitty product Drew Gordon warned that his emotions would be flowing by the end of the night.

"Regardless of what happens, you'll see me crying," Gordon said.

They would not be tears of happiness. Gordon, a collegiate standout at New Mexico, surprisingly was not among the 60 players selected. But within minutes of the draft's end, his agent Calvin Andrews already had fielded calls from the Sacramento Kings and Dallas Mavericks about Gordon playing on their summer league teams.

"It's heartbreaking," Gordon said from Double D's Sports Grille in Los Gatos, where about 70 friends and family members had gathered for what had intended to be a celebration. "But when people who love you are there to support you, it's also heartwarming."

Gordon's eyes were red after a long walk to "get everything out." But he sounded as if he already was prepared for the challenge of taking the harder path to the NBA as an undrafted free agent.

"I'm underrated and underappreciated, but I'm still working to be a winner," he said. "This isn't the end."

Gordon a 6-foot-9 forward, is considered the best player to emerge from the South Bay in decades. He began his collegiate career at UCLA before transferring to New Mexico for his final two years. Gordon, who turns 22 next month, averaged 13.7 points and 11.1 rebounds last season for the Lobos and was named the Mountain West Conference tournament

MVP.

And he was seen by most NBA draft observers as a second-round pick. Gordon had worked out for 12 teams in recent weeks.

That's why the disappointment was so visible on the faces of Gordon and his family as one name after another was announced on television by NBA deputy commissioner Adam Silver in the second round, but without Gordon's being called.

"I'm not sure what happens now," Gordon said. "We'll have to see how it goes. But I just know that you haven't seen the last of me."

Contact Mark Emmons at 408-920-5745.

Source: http://www.insidebayarea.com/top-stories/ci_20969349/archbishop-mitty-new-mexico-star-drew-gordon-surprised?source=rss

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Inside Google's amazing Accessory Development Kit demo hardware (video)

The coolest thing at Google I/O this year isn't a cheap tablet or a pair of overpriced glasses or even a killer keyboard. It is, believe it or not, an alarm clock. But not just any alarm clock -- this is an alarm clock with potential. What you see above, and demonstrated in the video after the break, is the gadget that was handed out to attendees who went to learn about the Android Accessory Development Kit. It has an array of RGB LEDs on the front which it can use to display simple numerals and digits, but thanks to a bevy of sensors -- and plenty of connectivity options -- that's just the beginning. USB? Check. NFC? Definitely. Accelerometer, colorimeter, magnetometer, barometer, hygrometer, thermometer? Yes, all that and more.

What starts out as an oddly shaped clock held together only with magnets has the potential to be hacked into something truly amazing -- and that's the point. With this, developers have what they need to try out all sorts of crazy ideas relying on a wide assortment of sensors. It's an empowering collection of abilities and, when a dev finds some combination that works, they can turn around and spin that into something new. We're very eager to see what eager engineers do with their ADK demo units, but for now you can see what it can do right out of the box in the video below.

Gallery: Android Accessory Development Kit demo hardware hands-on

Continue reading Inside Google's amazing Accessory Development Kit demo hardware (video)

Inside Google's amazing Accessory Development Kit demo hardware (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Jun 2012 09:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/29/google-accessory-developer-kit/

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Amnesty Accuses Sudan, China, Ukraine of Fueling Conflict in South Sudan

Isaac Billy/UN

Treating the wounded in the aftermath of clashes in South Sudan (file photo).

Juba ? Amnesty International on Thursday accused China, Sudan and Ukraine of allegedly supplying military weapons to both South Sudanese Armed Forces (SPLA) and opposition groups, triggering scores of indiscriminate attacks in parts of South Sudan.

The organization, in its latest report, entitled South Sudan: Arms supplies fueling violations in forgotten conflict, examines the impact of responsible supplies and misuse of weapons, munitions and armaments that resulted in to civilian casualties and displacement of people in Mayom County, Unity State.

The report, released on 28 June, specifically points fingers at the SPLA and South Sudan Liberation Army (SSLA); an armed opposition entity for killing and injuring innocent civilians, while their homes were either destroyed, or their occupants forced flee due to unselective attacks on civilian areas in 2010 and 2011.

Amnesty International, however, calls for a "strong" and "robust" treaty that halts irresponsible arms transfer to those likely to violate human rights and commit war crimes, through misuse of these arms. The call comes ahead of crucial Arms Trade Treaty negotiations to be graced by world governments at the United Nations headquarters in New York, next month.

"Governments must immediately stop supplying South Sudan with conventional arms which have been used to commit violations of international humanitarian and human rights law until adequate systems of training and accountability are in place," said Erwin van der Borght, Amnesty International's Africa Director.

Amnesty International, in its report, also documents a series of human rights violations allegedly engineered by these three named countries believed to have supplied a range of weapons and military equipment.

For instance, it cites the Pristine 2010 Sudanese-manufactured ammunition allegedly used by the armed opposition; Chinese manufactured anti-vehicle mines freshly laid on Unity State's roads and Ukrainian-supplied T-72 main battle tanks allegedly by South Sudan armed forces to indiscriminately shell civilian settlements.

"There have been repeated incidents of civilians being killed or injured during fighting between the SPLA and the SSLA. Residents described a pattern of indiscriminate firing and shelling," the report reads in part, while adding that communities' alleged support for armed opposition could have justified the SPLA attacks on these civilians.

In 2009, according to Amnesty International, there was a concealed delivery of battle tanks from Ukraine to South Sudan, which reportedly involved transfers via Kenya and Uganda and included shipping companies from Germany and Ukraine, and UK and Isle of Man-registered shell companies.

Meanwhile, evidences gathered, including testimonies allegedly obtained from a former senior SSLA member indicates armed opposition groups received significant numbers of Kalashnikov-type assault rifles "new from the boxes," as well as ammunition, light and heavy machine-guns, B10 recoilless rifles plus mortars.

The conflict in Mayom County, Amnesty International said, underlines the need for governments to agree an effective Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), adding that an effective ATT requires an injunction on transfer of arms likely to be used to commit serious human rights violations.

"The ATT talks are an unprecedented opportunity to stop arms getting into the hands of human rights abusers. A strong treaty could help prevent many other communities suffering from the horrific cost of the irresponsible arms trade, in the way the people of Mayom County have," said van der Borght.

SPLA REACTS

Phillip Aguer, the spokesperson for the SPLA described the Amnesty report implicating the South Sudan army as "bias" and "unrealistic".

"The SPLA has the mandate to protect the people of South Sudan. There is no way it can use arms and weapons used meant to protect the population for attacking and displacing civilians. It does not happen anywhere," Aguer said.

The army, he added, remains skeptical about the evidence provided by Amnesty International especially on the weapon allegedly used by the SPLA, while refuting reports that the army turned on civilians due to their alleged support for armed opposition.

Copyright ? 2012 Sudan Tribune. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections ? or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.

Source: http://www.gunpolicy.org/firearms/rss/go/36281

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9/11 World Trade Center Rare Cancers | Borri Law Offices

The Administrator of the World Trade Center Health Program has proposed regulations adding dozens of cancers to the list of diseases eligible for benefits under the Program.? When these regulations become final, victims will be able to apply for financial compensation from the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund administered by Sheila Birnbam, the Special Master appointed by the Justice Department, as well as medical care by the World Trade Center Health Program.

The proposed rule lists dozens of covered cancers that will be eligible for benefits.? The listing is by the site of the cancer in the body ? usually a body organ ? e.g., lung, bladder and leukemia (blood), for instance.? However, the Administrator has not proposed that all cancers be eligible for benefits or compensation under the Zadroga Act, and many people exposed to the dust and debris caused the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the clean-up will surely be disappointed when they are told that the cancer they face is not listed among the eligible diseases.

The Administrator?s list of covered cancers does include, however, at least one category of unspecified cancers ? namely ?rare cancers.? ?Specifically, the proposed rules define rare cancers as, ?Any type of cancer affecting populations smaller than 200,000 individuals in the United States, i.e., occurring at an incidence rate less than .08 percent of the U.S. population.? Rare cancers will be determined on a case-by-case basis.?

The rare cancer category may turn out to be of great benefit to many victims.? For instance,

Endometrial cancer has an incidence rate of less than 50,000 cases per year

the proposed rules list malignant neoplasms of the ovary, but cancers of the uterus, another female reproductive organ, are not listed.? According to recent estimates published by the American Cancer Society, the incidence of neoplasms of the uterine cervix and uterine corpus for 2012 will be 12,170 and 47,130, respectively; both ?well within the definition of rare cancers as outlined by the proposed rule.

Of course, victims will still need to establish other requisites for eligibility, including a medical opinion that ?exposure to World Trade Center debris and toxins?caused, aggravated or contributed to the incidence of the cancer.? Nonetheless, the rare cancer category offers an avenue to relief for deserving victims.

Gregg J Borri

About the author ? Mr. Borri is a products liability and commercial litigation lawyer located in New York City.? He has more than 30 years of legal litigation experience.

Source: http://www.borrilaw.com/zadroga-act-to-cover-911-world-trade-center-rare-cancers-but-what-are-rare-cancers/

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Evolution could generate new semiconducting structures

The best semiconductors are grown, not made. At least, this might one day be the case. Proteins that can build silica nanostructures on our behalf have been "evolved" in the lab. The structures could find a use in the semiconductor industry.

Luke Bawazer, now at the University of Leeds, UK, and his colleagues wondered whether proteins that evolved to help build animal skeletons could be used to grow new electronics components.

The team chose silicateins ? proteins that build the silica skeletons of marine sponges ? as the basis for their work. Using DNA amplification techniques, they grew millions of strands of DNA that code for silicateins. Mutations arise naturally during the process, so the final pool of DNA contained enough variation to ensure that some of the silicateins would build different kinds of mineral structures.

The researchers then attached the DNA to polystyrene microbeads and placed them in a solution containing a silicon-rich compound. Bawazer's team was looking to select proteins that could draw silicon out of the solution to build silica structures around the beads, while still allowing access to the DNA on the surface of the bead. This would make it easy to collect and amplify the DNA that made the most promising structures. The end product? Proteins that built silica structures unlike any seen in nature.

With further evolution it should be possible to grow silica structures of the right size and shape for use in technological applications.

"It's quite ground-breaking," says Fiona Meldrum at the University of Leeds, UK, who was not involved in the study. Silica is the building block of semiconductors, so electronics are a natural application for such material.

Journal reference: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1116958109

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Utah's Hatch looking to avoid revolt within GOP

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U.S. downs target missile in high-stakes test

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Bankruptcy Vs Spending Plan To Kill Debt | Bankrate.com

Dear Debt Adviser,
I have so much debt that I have to juggle among my income, payday loans and taking what I put in my 401(k) each month to pay my bills. I am not behind, but I'm sick of juggling. Is bankruptcy my best option, or is there something else I can do?
-- William

Dear William,
Yes indeed, there is something else you can do. You can stop doing nonproductive things such as taking out payday loans and adding to your debt load and instead take the steps necessary to get your finances under control. A bankruptcy will only solve your latest symptom, not the cause of the problem. If you file without fixing your underlying problem, it will return in a year or so with a vengeance when you won't have the option to declare bankruptcy again for several years.

You are in a debt cycle that desperately needs to end. The only way to end it is with a good plan ... a good spending plan! Now, don't yawn or stop reading. I know a spending plan may not seem exciting, but then again, how much are you enjoying your life right now? If you want to look at it another way; let's say we're going to plan your next vacation.

To go on vacation without adding to your debt load, you need some money. To get money, you need to save something out of your pay. This requires knowing what you earn, what you are spending and deciding what you can do without to accumulate the needed savings. Having fun yet?

You need to know exactly how you are spending your money each month. Once you do, then you can make the necessary changes to stop the cycle. Begin by keeping track of everything you spend for one month, down to the four quarters you use to buy chips from the vending machine at work.

Once you do this, you'll be surprised at where you are wasting money that could go toward your next vacation. (Right after you get your debt under control -- of course.) Next, trim expenses. Some examples of where many people overspend are on food (eating out) and entertainment. Other examples of how you might temporarily cut expenses include carpooling and/or combining trips to save gas and doing without cable and/or a landline phone. You might also consider ways you can add extra income -- overtime at your job, selling household items you don't need on Craigslist, etc.

Write out your spending plan based on what you learned from keeping track of your spending for a month and where you have decided to cut expenses. Make sure you and any others in your family are committed to following the plan.

Now that you have a plan, you should also know how much you can commit each month to paying off your debt. Start with the payday loans. You will want to pay off those loans as quickly as you can. The interest you are paying on those loans is extremely high and contributes to keeping you in the debt cycle.

The only way you will avoid future problems is by saving money in an emergency savings account. Make a commitment to place half of all future raises, tax refunds, etc., into your emergency savings. Once you've paid off your payday loans, you can start putting some cash aside for that vacation. But, don't forget to keep contributing something each month to your savings account until you reach six months of living expenses. You will most likely have to start small, but your savings will grow quicker than you realize. Also, begin contributing to your 401(k) account again as quickly as you can.

I don't recommend you consider bankruptcy until you've gone through this exercise. Bankruptcy is usually a very unsatisfying experience with a lot of hidden costs that few expect.

Good luck!

To ask a question of the Debt Adviser, go to the "Ask the Experts" page and select "Debt" as the topic. Read more Debt Adviser columns and more stories about debt management.

?

Bankrate's content, including the guidance of its advice-and-expert columns and this website, is intended only to assist you with financial decisions. The content is broad in scope and does not consider your personal financial situation. Bankrate recommends that you seek the advice of advisers who are fully aware of your individual circumstances before making any final decisions or implementing any financial strategy. Please remember that your use of this website is governed by Bankrate's Terms of Use.

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Rikvin Supports Move to Expand SME Advisory Services

The move to introduce advisory services at the grassroots level will help create a more vibrant local business ecosystem built by sustainable and effective SMEs, says Rikvin. http://www.rikvin.com/

Singapore (PRWEB) June 25, 2012

In a bid to bring enterprise-level advisory services closer to SMEs, Singapore?s Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (ASME), North East Community Development Council (NECDC) and SPRING Singapore have launched yet another Enterprise Development Center (EDC) in Singapore?s third largest residential area, Tampines.

Prior to the opening of EDC@NorthEast, there were five EDCs located at the Chinese, Malay and Indian Chambers of Commerce as well as ASME and the Singapore Manufacturers? Federation.

Singapore company registration specialist Rikvin supports the move, recognizing it as a means to help small enterprises turn around their businesses at the grassroots level. In gist EDCs provide the following free business advisory services to SMEs on the following issues:

• Productivity and innovation management
• Business roadmapping and planning
• Workplace safety and health
• Branding
• Technology innovation
• LEAN in services/manufacturing
• Six Sigma
• RFID barcoding
• Cold chain management
• Sustainable manufacturing
• Enterprise Resource Planning
• Overall business improvement
• Venturing overseas and
• Work-life balance.

?The array of services offered through EDCs are vital to keeping operations sustainable and effective. By bringing these services closer to the heartlands, small enterprises will be better positioned to reap higher returns and see their businesses take flight. They can also learn about and take full advantage of the resources that are available to SMEs that have chosen

We recommend you visit the following site for more complete information and related topics. Article source: http://www.sfgate.com/business/prweb/article/Rikvin-Supports-Move-to-Expand-SME-Advisory-3660117.php

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Video: Will ?Dirty, Angry Money? affect Supreme Court?s health care ruling?

Sunscreen ban leaves students severely burned

After a school sunscreen ban left two elementary students severely burned, their mother is taking on the school district. And it could happen elsewhere: 49 states have laws on the books barring schools from letting kids use sunscreen without a doctor's note.

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Questions, answers about history of eugenics in US

Q: WHAT HAPPENED IN NORTH CAROLINA?

A: Under the state's eugenics program, which began in 1929, more than 7,600 people underwent sterilizations. Some procedures were forced to weed out the "feebleminded" while others were a voluntary form of birth control. Up to 1,800 people who were sterilized in North Carolina may be alive. The state has verified 146 living victims.

Unlike most states, the North Carolina program expanded after World War II, and shifted toward targeting poor black women.

Q: WHAT IS HAPPENING NOW?

A: Some state legislators, including the House speaker, supported paying surviving victims $50,000 each, but lawmakers did not include any funding in the state budget.

North Carolina is the first state to seriously propose compensating victims. About 65,000 Americans in more than 30 states were sterilized between 1907 and the mid-1970s.

Details of the North Carolina program became widely known after historian Johanna Schoen obtained once-confidential documents and provided them to the Winston-Salem Journal, which published a series of articles in 2002 profiling victims. Then-Gov. Mike Easley apologized, but the compensation proposal didn't gain widespread support until 2011.

Q: WHY DID IT HAPPEN?

A: Supporters of eugenics believed that "defective" humans could be weeded out of the population. Scientists discredited the assumption by the 1930s, and most states ceased their programs.

The North Carolina program, however, expanded in the 1950s and 1960s, partly because out-of-state doctors, professors and other eugenics supporters were seeking a testing ground for a new national campaign they hoped would sterilize millions of Americans. Specifically, a Princeton, N.J.-based group known as Birthright formed in the mid-1940s.

The group sought states with low numbers of Catholics, according to documents in the Social Welfare History Archives at the University of Minnesota. The Catholic church historically opposed eugenics and any artificial means of birth control.

One of the leading promoters of the North Carolina eugenics program was Dr. Clarence Gamble, a Boston doctor and heir to the Proctor & Gamble fortune. He helped form Birthright and was the driving force behind the national campaign.

Gamble convinced his brother Cecil Gamble to help, and in December 1944, the Gamble Family Trust made a $10,000 donation to Birthright, which would be the equivalent to about $125,000 today.

Clarence Gamble didn't have a role in Proctor & Gamble, and while Cecil Gamble was on the board, the company said last year the donation was personal and in no way reflected the firm's opinion.

Birthright later changed its name to the Human Betterment Association. They had a national office in New York and loosely-affiliated chapters in North Carolina, Georgia, Iowa, Arkansas and Texas. Some of the chapters were short-lived, but the one in North Carolina operated for almost 30 years.

Q: HOW WAS THE EUGENICS CAMPAIGN PROMOTED?

A: Gamble hired a New York City advertising firm to help sell the campaign. Leading journalists, along with some doctors and professors, voiced support, too.

Q: WHAT DID GAMBLE AND THE EUGENICS SUPPORTERS BELIEVE?

A: Gamble and his colleagues launched the expanded eugenics campaign with the intention it would cut across all social and racial categories. A eugenics document written in 1945 said: "It is designed to check the reproduction of defectives wherever they may be found, in institutions or at large, in the richest family or the poorest family, without regard to color, race, or religion."

Q: WAS NORTH CAROLINA ALONE?

A: California led the nation in eugenic sterilization, but most of that took place before World War II. North Carolina, Iowa and Georgia expanded their programs after the war. Sterilizations continued in other states outside of formal programs.

In the 1950s, politicians and judges around the country began promoting involuntarily sterilization as a solution to growing welfare rolls. In 1956, a Virginia legislator suggested that any woman with more than one illegitimate child should prove why she shouldn't be sterilized. Mississippi legislators began proposing sterilization of unwed mothers in 1958, and several other states discussed similar laws. Across the nation, eugenic sterilization shifted from targeting poor whites, immigrants and the "feebleminded" in institutions to overwhelmingly targeting minorities.

In 1969, the federal government began to fund sterilization operations under Medicaid. Four years later, the Southern Poverty Law Center sued.

A ruling by District Court Judge Gerhard Gesell a year later put numbers to the problem. "Over the last few years, and estimated 100,000 to 150,000 low-income persons have been sterilized annually under federally funded programs," Gesell wrote, adding that about 2,000 to 3,000 per year were under the age of 21, and about 300 under the age of 18.

The judge said many of the victims were threatened with a loss of welfare benefits unless they agreed to the sterilization.

___

Note: Begos has researched and written about the country's eugenics efforts for the past 10 year and is currently writing a book about the post-World War II eugenics movement.

Begos also wrote the lead story for the 2002 Winston-Salem Journal series on eugenics.

___

Additional information about eugenics can be found at the Archives of Social History Collection: http://special.lib.umn.edu/findaid/xml/sw0015.xml

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LeBron James burns bright in Miami galaxy

Miami ? LeBron James arrived for practice Monday wearing lime-green sneakers, a highly fluorescent shade.

It was the fashion statement du jour for the league's three-time MVP, much like the eyeglass frames he's been sporting after games throughout this postseason. But those sneakers probably would have remained tucked away in the drawer beneath his locker during last year's NBA Finals, since very little about James' game would be considered glowing or luminous during those two weeks.

Different year, different story.

For the second straight season, Miami holds a 2-1 lead in the NBA Finals.

There's a glaring difference this time ? that being James is playing at the top of his game. And he'll try to help the Heat move within one win of a championship tonight, when Miami hosts Oklahoma City in Game 4.

"We're a totally different team than we was last year when we was up 2-1," James said Monday. "We're a totally different team. We understand what it takes to win, we've used that motivation, and we will continue to use that motivation. But last year is last year, and we're not going into a Game 4 on someone else's floor. We're going into a Game 4 on our floor with a lot of experience in this type of situation. We'll be ready. We love the challenge."

Miami lost Game 4 in Dallas last year, the start of a three-game slide that ended with the Mavericks hoisting the trophy.

So the Thunder knows a 2-1 deficit in a series is hardly insurmountable, even though the home-court roles are reversed this time around. And if Oklahoma City needed more proof, all it needs to do is remember the Western Conference finals when it lost the first two games to San Antonio, becoming the 19th and 20th entries on the Spurs incredible winning streak. The Spurs didn't win another game.

"We were down 2-0 against San Antonio and everybody thought the series was over," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. "But I know our guys, they're very competitive, they're very resilient. They've always showed that type of effort every game, and we've always been a great bounce-back team. I thought last night was a great bounce-back last night. It's unfortunate we didn't make a couple plays, and uncharacteristic, also."

Uncharacteristic.

That would also be a fine word to describe how James played in the Finals last season.

He freely acknowledges that he "didn't make enough plays" against the Mavericks a year ago, and the numbers ? 17.8 points, 7.2 rebounds and 6.8 assists ? back that up, as do his well-chronicled fourth quarter struggles in that series. So far in this year's Finals, James is averaging 30.3 points., 10.3 rebounds and 4 assists. And, in the final minutes of Miami's two victories, he's done his part to slam the door on the Thunder.

Oklahoma City vs. Miami

Best-of-seven; x-if necessary

HEAT LEADS 2-1

Oklahoma City 105-94

Miami 100-96

Miami 91-85

Today: at Miami, 9

Thursday: at Miami, 9

x-Sunday: at Oklahoma City, 8

x-Tuesday, June 26: at Oklahoma City, 9

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'Breaking Dawn - Part 2' Trailer: Our Wish List

Let's kill some time before Wednesday's sneak peek by thinking up our dream trailer, in 'Twilight' Tuesday.
By Kara Warner

Robert Pattinson in "Breaking Dawn - Part 2"
Photo: Summit Entertainment

Is it Wednesday yet?

We are anxiously awaiting the debut of yet another expectedly epic teaser trailer for "Breaking Dawn - Part 2," and although there was a brief moment of reprieve when we got a sneak peek at 13 seconds of the teaser on Tuesday (June 19), we're now in full-on obsessive analytical mode, which means it's time to think about the five things we're hoping to see in this new trailer:

Renesmee, Renesmee, Renesmee
As much as we'd like to ooh and ahh over how cute Edward and Bella's progeny is as a baby, now that we've seen a photo of Mackenzie Foy as Renesmee, we're thirsty for scenes of the young lass in action. Baby? What baby? As we all know, her existence is a continued threat to the Volturi, so we're hoping to see some of that intensity play out.

New Vampires!
It seems like I write about this every week, but I'm still dying to see more of those new additions to the cast, i.e. all the other vampires from the non-Cullen clan. Where and why are you hiding Garrett, Carmen, Irina, etc.?

Vampire Bella's Mind Tricks
We very likely won't be seeing Bella's secret superpower until the end of the movie, but how about showing us a little sample of what she can do with her soon-to-be-superstrong mental force field? I'll settle for a quick glimpse of her arm-wrestling battle royale with Emmett, but it would be great to see how Bill Condon and screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg adapted Stephenie Meyer's description of Bella's mind tricks.

The Next Great "Twilight" Song
Biased as I am, it's going to be hard for anyone to top the Edward/Bella love song from "Breaking Dawn - Part 1," "Turning Page" by Sleeping at Last, but in knowing the caliber of the "Twilight" soundtracks, I'm betting it will include several potential new favorite songs. So why not give us a little listen in this new trailer?

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'Doom' returns bigger, badder, Hellspawnier than ever

2 hrs.

Winda Benedetti

Talk about a?blast from the past.?Just in time for Halloween, the ground-breaking "Doom" franchise is going to make a big, bad return to gaming.?

That is,?Bethesda and id Software are taking us back to Mars -- back to the planet?where the gateway to hell has been opened and the creatures within are threatening to invade planet Earth.?Only this time around Mars, the mouth of hell and the Hellspawn pouring out of it are going to be even more gorgeously?terrifying than ever.

On Oct. 16, the famed "Doom" franchise gets a spiffy polish with the "Doom 3: BFG Edition." The "BFG Edition" features re-mastered versions of both "Doom?3" and the "Resurrection of Evil" add-on pack along with?seven entirely?new levels which are being called "The Lost Mission."?The "BFG Edition" will also include the original "Doom" and "Doom II"?games, making for one epic tour of first-person shooter history.

The original "Doom" game, which launched way back in 1993, was groundbreaking, helping to?pave the way for the many first-person shooters (and space marines) that would follow. "Doom 3," originally launched in 2004.

Id Software promises that the "BFG Edition" (coming to PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3) will offer "enhanced visuals further immersing you in the demonic world like never before." What that means is, the re-mastered version has been optimized in 3-D, features 5.1 surround sound, includes improved rendering and lighting, and has?a new check point save system. The?PC version will cost $29.99 while the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions will run?$39.99.

At the Electronic Entertainment Expo this year, id Software co-founder John Carmack also showed off a pair of head-mounted virtual-reality?glasses that could be used with "Doom 3: BFG." Check out Todd Kenreck's video of them in action.

Though there is no word on when, officially, these glasses will be ready for market,?what you will get with this new "Doom 3: BFG" package is?a brand?new in-game?armor-mounted flashlight ... you know,?so you can see the monsters lurking in all those dark corners. That is, if you dare look.

Winda Benedetti writes about video?games for msnbc.com. You can follow her tweets about games and other things?on Twitter?here?@WindaBenedetti?and you?follow her?on Google+. Meanwhile, be sure to check?out the?IN-GAME?FACEBOOK PAGE?to discuss the day's?gaming news and reviews.?

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Syrian forces pound cities as Obama, Putin meet

LOS CABOS, Mexico/BEIRUT (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed on Monday that the violence in Syria must stop but gave no sign of agreeing on how to do it even as Syrian security forces pounded opposition areas across the country.

Intense artillery fire was reported in Douma, a town 15 km (9 miles) outside the Syrian capital Damascus that for weeks has been under the partial control of rebels who have joined the 15-month-old revolt against President Bashar al-Assad.

At least 79 people were killed in violence that has escalated since international observers suspended their mission, activists said.

A Russian naval source said Moscow was preparing to send marines to Syria in the event it needed to protect personnel and remove equipment from its naval facility in Syria's Mediterranean port of Tartous, according to the Interfax news agency.

Russia is one of the Syrian government's staunchest backers.

International efforts to halt the violence are deadlocked because Russia and China, which wield vetoes in the U.N. Security Council, have blocked tougher action against Assad. They say the solution must come through political dialogue, an approach most of the Syrian opposition rejects.

Obama and Putin held two hours of talks - longer than originally planned - at a Group of 20 summit in Mexico after a week of Cold War-style recriminations between U.S. and Russian diplomats over Syria. Putin frowned and Obama wore a sober expression during remarks to reporters after the meeting.

"We agreed that we need to see a cessation of the violence, that a political process has to be created to prevent civil war," Obama told reporters.

"From my point of view, we have found many common points on this issue" of Syria, Putin said, adding the two sides would continue discussions.

Obama said they pledged to "work with other international actors," including U.N./Arab League envoy Kofi Annan, to find a resolution.

Obama initiated a handshake for the cameras while the two remained seated. At the end of their statements, as reporters were being ushered out, both sat glumly watching but made no move to re-engage with each other. It was the first Obama-Putin meeting since 2009.

Obama and Western allies want Russia to stop shielding Assad from further Security Council sanctions aimed at forcing him from power. Putin is suspicious of U.S. motives especially after the NATO-assisted ouster of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi last year, and has offered little signs of softening his stance.

'NO APPETITE'

Though the United States has shown no appetite for a new Libya-style intervention, Russia is reluctant to abandon Syria, a longtime arms customer, and risk losing its last firm foothold in the Middle East, including access to a warm-water navy base.

Russia supports Assad's argument that foreign-backed terrorists are behind the unrest. Russia has repeatedly urged Western and Arab countries, who mostly back the rebels, to rein in their support in order to stem the violence.

International outrage over Syria has grown in recent weeks after two reported massacres in which almost 200 civilians were killed, most of them from the Sunni Muslim majority that has led the revolt. Assad comes from Syria's Alawite minority, an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam that has mostly backed the president.

Heavier fighting and apparent sectarian killings have led many, including the head of U.N. peacekeeping forces, to brand the violence a civil war.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which has a network of activists across Syria, said 51 civilians and rebel fighters had been killed on Monday, seven of them in Douma. It said 28 members of the security forces were also killed in clashes with rebels in Deir al-Zor, Damascus and Deraa.

"We can't even accurately count the dead because we have so many injured people to treat, there's no time to think about anything else," said an activist in Douma who called himself Ziad.

"The army attacks all the time. They have tanks, missiles, mortars, and artillery. Even helicopters have fired on us. People can't escape because the army is surrounding the town."

Assad's forces have in recent weeks used not only artillery but also helicopter gunships against rebels in civilian areas.

The head of the U.N. observation mission in Syria, General Robert Mood, is to brief the U.N. Security Council in New York on Tuesday, three days after his mission was suspended due to security concerns.

Mood said on Sunday he was worried about civilians trapped in the central city of Homs, epicenter of the revolt against Assad, whose residents say they have been pummeled by mortar and rocket fire almost every day since early June.

French Foreign Ministry spokesman Bernard Valero said the "relentless repression of the regime, and in particular in the city of Homs" meant it was more necessary than ever for the United Nations to enforce Annan's failing peace plan.

France has called on the United Nations to invoke Chapter VII, which can authorize the use of force, to enforce the plan, under which the Syrian army was to withdraw heavy weapons from towns and cities and both sides were to cease fighting in April.

In Geneva, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said the government's use of heavy weapons in populated areas could amount to war crimes, saying: "I urge the international community to overcome its divisions and work to end the violence and human rights violations to which the people of Syria have been subjected."

(Additional reporting by Gleb Bryanski in Los Cabos, Mexico, Steve Gutterman in Moscow, Tom Miles in Geneva, Dominic Evans in Beirut and John Irish in Paris; Editing by Will Dunham)

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Flying Pickets singer Brian Hibbard dies aged 65

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Video: Family tells of surviving plane crash

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Greek elections: live report

1925 GMT: Some more on that press conference from Samaras. He said Greece would remain "anchored" in the euro and called on political parties which shared New Democracy's objectives to join forces. He added that New Democracy was "determined to do what it takes and do it fast."

1922 GMT: "THIS IS A VICTORY FOR ALL EUROPE": SAMARAS

1919 GMT: SAMARAS SAYS GREEKS HAVE "VOTED TODAY FOR THE EUROPEAN FUTURE OF GREECE AND GREECE REMAINING IN THE EUROZONE"

1918 GMT: GREEK SOCIALISTS SAY READY TO SUPPORT COALITION BUT ONLY WITH OTHER LEFTISTS

1916 GMT: New Democracy official Dora Bakoyannis has told AFP in Athens that the party wants to form a "government of national unity." Talks are expected to start Monday.

1914 GMT: TV pictures show a mass of photographers and camera crews surrounding Samaras as he arrives for the press conference.

1912 GMT: AFP's Daphne Benoit says that Samaras is expected to hold a press conference soon. A crowd of his supporters supporters have gathered in Syntagma Square in Athens waving flags and celebrating.

"We are happy, New Democracy is the only real Greek party," said one of them, Savas Kosanidis. "Antonis Samaras is very clever, he will try to change the memorandum."

1902 GMT: The leader of New Democracy Antonis Samaras looks to have been tonight's big winner, so let's find out a bit more about him, courtesy of AFP's John Hadoulis in Athens.

Samaras is seen as a tough negotiator who has pledged to hold talks with other European leaders to secure more favourable bailout terms for Greece, with more emphasis on growth.

He has also pledged to take a tougher stance on illegal immigrants. A Harvard-educated economist, Samaras is descended from one of Greece's top families and is the great-grandson of Penelope Delta, one of the country's most famous children's authors.

1841 GMT: The prospect of New Democracy and Pasok teaming up is an interesting one.

The pair of them have been the dominant parties in Greek politics in recent times. New Demcracy's leader Antonis Samaras is an ex-foreign minister who approved Greece's 2010 bailout -- though only after holding out for some time. So both are very much establishment parties, in stark contrast with Syriza.

1836 GMT: Separately, the estimate says that the anti-bailout Syriza is on track to secure 27.1 percent of the vote -- 72 seats.

1834 GMT: So if New Democracy can broker a deal with Pasok, they will have a majority.

New Democracy is on course to get 29.5 percent or 128 seats in parliament, according to the official estimate. Meanwhile, Pasok would get 12.3 percent of the vote -- 33 seats.

1824 GMT: PRO-EURO PARTIES HAVE ENOUGH VOTES FOR MAJORITY, FIRST OFFICIAL ESTIMATE SAYS

1822 GMT: FIRST OFFICIAL ESTIMATE SAYS PRO-EURO NEW DEMOCRACY WIN ELECTION

1812 GMT: Westerwelle's timing is intriguing. Many Greeks feel Germany has been too strict in imposing the terms of the bailout which has led to painful austerity measures hitting everything from healthcare to pensions.

German tabloid newspaper Bild underlined the tensions ahead of the vote by running an open letter telling Greeks their ATMs had euros in them only because "we put them there."

1807 GMT: German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle has just indicated Greece could get more time to achieve the reforms required under that huge bailout.

He told ARD public television that while there cannot be "substantial changes" in the terms of Greece's bailout, "I can imagine we discuss again a delay" in hitting targets.

1751 GMT: If it is correct that New Democracy is edging ahead, there will be a huge sigh of relief from eurozone leaders including Angela Merkel. Merkel, leader of Europe's largest economy Germany, said Saturday that it was "extremely important" for the country to toe the line on the bailout.

While New Democracy wants to renegotiate elements of the deal, its demands are nowhere near as radical as those of Syriza, who has vowed to rip up the EU/IMF bailout on Monday if he wins.

1742 GMT: We are now getting more details of exit polls, this time with all exit poll votes in. These figures put New Democracy on 28.6 to 30 percent, Syriza on 27 to 28.4 percent and socialist party Pasok on 11 to 12.4 percent.

1734 GMT: Let's look again at the economic background to this election, which Greek newspapers have described as the most important since the end of military rule in 1974.

The country has sought two bailouts for its economy, in 2010 and earlier this year, drawing international assistance worth a total of 347 billion euros ($439 billion). Although the bailouts were crucial for the economy, they have left many Greeks fed up with the tough austerity cuts which accompanied them.

1716 GMT: A tense wait for Greeks, as well as politicians watching around the world. AFP's Catherine Boitard in Athens reports that politicians from all parties have now hit the TV studios and are launching fierce debates about the significance of what has happened in today's election. Gripping Sunday night viewing for voters.

1702 GMT: AFP's Daphne Benoit reports that Golden Dawn leader Nikos Mihaloliakos has been speaking to Skai television in Greece as the exit polls emerge. "You have lost... we will continue to fight you," he said, addressing the party's opponents.

1649 GMT: In a more cheerful development for Greeks, the country's football team is dedicating its success in Euro 2012 to the troubled nation. AFP's Jonathan Fowler in Serock, Poland, reports that midfielder Kostas Katsouranis has spoken after yesterday's 1-0 defeat of Russia, which carried Greece through to the quarter-finals.

"We wanted to give everybody back home something to cheer, to celebrate," the player told reporters. "Everybody in Greece -- even our families, our friends, our brothers, our cousins, everyone -- is having a really hard time."

1645 GMT: More exit polls are likely to be published around 1700 GMT, which could give us a clearer picture.

1635 GMT: More coming through on how Golden Dawn, the neo-Nazi party, performed. The early exit polls put the party, whose leader denies the Holocaust, on between six and 7.5 percent of the vote. It scored 6.97 percent in May's elections.

One of Golden Dawn's MPs, Illias Kasidiaris, assaulted two female deputies on live TV earlier this month -- but is now pressing charges against his victims, claiming they insulted him.

1626 GMT: Another voter interviewed by Daphne voiced relief that the figures indicated Syriza had not won. New Democracy voter Nondas, 21, said: "We're not really happy but we are relieved because opinion polls had Syriza winning."

1622 GMT: AFP's Daphne Benoit in Athens has been speaking to voters following publication of the exit polls -- and some of them are concerned there may be another stalemate. "The figures are very tight, there is no majority," said Syriza supporter Lavros Moustakis. "We may have to rerun the election in a month and in that time, Merkel will ruin us."

1616 GMT: Politicians and officials in Berlin are likely to be on tenterhooks at the moment, such is the closeness of these exit polls. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said yesterday that it was "extremely important" for Greece to elect politicians who would respect the bailout. She and others will be watching closely tonight amid wider fears about the impact of a possible Syriza win.

1611 GMT: Athens University politics professor Dmitri Sotiropoulous tells the BBC that Golden Dawn's figures in the exit polls suggest the party has "sustained most of its power" from the May vote.

1608 GMT: So there seems to be barely a hair between Syriza and New Democracy, the two main contenders in the election, at this stage. Exit polls put New Democracy half a percentage point ahead with between 27.5 percent and 30.5 percent of the vote compared to between 27 percent and 30 percent for Syriza. Still well within the margin of error.

1603 GMT: EXIT POLLS ALSO INDICATE NEO-NAZI GOLDEN DAWN PARTY BACK IN PARLIAMENT

1601 GMT: EXIT POLLS PUT CONSERVATIVES AND RADICALS NECK AND NECK

1600 GMT: POLLS CLOSE

1555 GMT: In a sign of the tension surrounding this election, two grenades were found outside the offices of private media group Skai TV, which supports austerity in Greece, this morning. "Somebody is trying to disturb the holding of the election but this effort will fail," said government spokesman Dimitris Tsiodras.

1550 GMT: My colleague Dario Thuburn in Athens spoke to some voters earlier today who were in no doubt of the importance of this election.

"This is an election that makes people very, very anxious," said 62-year-old pensioner Andreas Pappas after voting in central Athens. "I want Greece to remain in the eurozone and the European Union. We used to think it was something we could take for granted. We have never faced a situation like this."

Another, Stavros Logaras, a 53-year-old Communist voter, said people were "confused" but desperate for change. "We would like another style of government, another way for Greek society and for European society," he said.

WELCOME TO AFP'S LIVE REPORT on the Greek elections. The results of the poll, which closes very shortly at 1600 GMT, will be key to determining whether Greece stays in the eurozone and could send shockwaves through economies in Europe and around the world.

There are two main parties to watch in the poll. The anti-austerity left-wing Syriza party, led by 37-year-old Alexis Tsipras, wants to scrap Greece's huge EU-IMF loan deal. It is this threat which has prompted doubts about whether Greece can stay in the eurozone if Syriza win.

On the other side is the conservative New Democracy party led by the vastly experienced Antonis Samaras. Samaras says that if his party secures victory, it will renegotiate elements of the loan deal, placing more emphasis on growth. The Greek economy is currently in a dire state, in its fifth year of recession and with unemployment among those aged 15-24 running at 52.8 percent.

The first results are expected by around 1900 GMT -- stay with us to see what happens in this crucial election.

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Supermarket giant Tesco clinches Japan exit deal

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Whatever euro's fate, Europe's reputation savaged

LONDON (Reuters) - Whether the euro lives or dies, the chaotic way Europe has tackled the crisis could undermine the region's geopolitical clout for years to come and leave it at a distinct disadvantage in a rapidly changing world.

With an apparently never-ending series of last-minute summits and telephone calls, Europe's leaders and finance ministers have held the bloc together in the face of growing strains between states, a rising political backlash and market alarm.

But with hindsight, outsiders say each measure proved too little, too late. US officials in particular complain European leaders have either failed to grasp the scale of the problem or proved unwilling to countenance the awkward political decisions necessary to fix it.

As a result, they say, what should have been one of the most stable parts of the world has now become one of the most unpredictable.

At one extreme, the euro area might be about to embark on a journey towards further fiscal and political union as an almost totally unitary "super state". At the other, it could unravel and collapse into an unstable mess of regional rivalry.

"From almost every conversation I've had in the last year - with Chinese, with Indians, with just about anybody - the message is always the same," says Fiona Hill, a former senior officer for the US National Intelligence Council and now head of the Europe programme at Washington think tank the Brookings Institute. "Europe can no longer be trusted. It seems to be moving from being a source of stability to a driver of instability"

Long-held certainties were being challenged, she said. Even non-euro member Britain suddenly appeared at risk of breaking up, with Scotland due to hold a referendum on independence that experts say could yet go either way.

The slow burning euro zone debt and banking crisis is accelerating. Last weekend brought a decision by euro zone political leaders to bail out Spain's banks. This weekend Greece holds a parliamentary election which many observers fear could spell the end of its euro membership.

Some argue it is too soon to write Europe - or the EU institutions - off altogether. Under foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, some credit Europe with making real progress in talks with Iran and other powers over the future of its disputed nuclear programme. But their energy for anything beyond their immediate problems is seen decidedly limited.

"The Europeans are completely consumed with a battle to save the euro zone," says Ian Bremmer, president of political risk consultancy Eurasia Group. "It's a deep and ongoing crisis bigger than any they've experienced in decades... it's an environment where European leaders could hardly be expected to prioritise anything else."

That could leave the continent being increasingly sidelined as emerging powers - not just the BRIC powers of Brazil, Russia, India and China but other states such as Turkey, Indonesia and South Africa - grow in importance.

At the very least, it could undermine the ability of the continent's leaders to persuade the rest of the world to take them seriously on a range of issues, from trade to the importance of democracy and human rights.

"Europe probably isn't going to stop preaching to the rest of the world," says Nikolas Gvosdev, professor of national security studies at the US Naval War College. "But it's much less likely that others are going to be inclined to listen."

EUROPE AT CROSSROADS

At the Copenhagen climate summit in 2009, European states suffered the indignity of being outside the room when the final deal was struck between the United States and emerging powers. In the aftermath of the euro zone crisis, it's a position European leaders may simply have to get used to.

But for the rest of the world, it's not just the continent itself that is rapidly losing its shine. The whole European political model - generous welfare systems, democratic decision-making, closer regional integration and the idea of a currency union as a stabilising factor - no longer seems nearly as appealing to other, still growing regions.

"Europe is at a crossroads, with the very future of the EU at stake," says Brahma Chellaney, professor of strategic studies at New Delhi think tank the Centre for Policy Research. "If the euro dies, it will mark the end of the European experiment in forging closer financial and political integration. But it will also have wider international implications."

Not everyone agrees what those will be, however. Chellaney argues the demise of the euro might help secure the primacy of the dollar - and therefore perhaps of the United States itself - for years to come.

But others believe a European collapse would be a sign of things to come for the US as well. Bharat Karnad, a colleague of Chellaney at the Centre for Policy Research, argues that whatever happens powers such as China are on the rise and that the West will be increasingly challenged regardless of what happens to the euro.

"The health of the euro or the EU, for that matter, will have a marginal impact on gold and power that is tending any way towards Asia, especially China," he said.

Washington takes the potential threat of Europe's unravelling very seriously. In the short-term, the Obama administration is clearly concerned over the electoral fallout should the crisis in Europe cross the Atlantic before November's presidential election.

But in the longer term, whether the euro survives or not US planners are beginning to face up to the fact that the continent will likely be poorer and rather more self-centred than Washington had hoped.

Washington has long been pushing European powers to take more responsibility for their own immediate neighbourhood. While Britain and France took the political lead in Libya last year, US Defence Secretary Robert Gates complained European NATO forces were in fact almost entirely dependent on US munitions, logistics and other backup.

But the change in European thinking and the additional defence spending Washington called for now looks all but impossible in this time of austerity.

WASHINGTON WORRIED

"It's doubtful any future US Defence Secretary is even going to bother to make that kind of pitch," says Gvosdev at the US Naval War College. "We'd hoped Europe could take the lead in some parts of North Africa as well as the Balkans and Eastern Europe. That now looks very unlikely."

US planners were also waking up to the fact that European states were no longer likely to match US donor pledges when it came to humanitarian or financial aid for war zones and troublespots, he said. Then, there were longer term strategic concerns.

Washington's military "pivot " towards Asia, he said, had been based in part on the assumption that Europe would remain stable and wealthy and the US now had little or nothing to worry about on its North Atlantic flank. A weakened Europe could make US planners much less confident of that, particularly if China extends its influence.

Beijing has upped its investments in Europe in recent years, including major port projects in Greece and Italy.

Some political analysts contend the weaknesses and drivers behind the euro zone crisis go much further and can be found in most western economies - including the United States itself.

"The jettison involves essentially the ballast which used to provide stability to the vessel of post-war society," Jin Liqun, chairman of the supervisory board for China's sovereign wealth fund the China Investment Corporation, wrote on May 21 in Communist Party-run newspaper the People's Daily, making it clear he saw similar problems in the US.

Some waning of Europe's international influence was always likely, experts say, with an ageing population chewing up ever more resources and emerging economies inevitably growing faster. But the current crisis could supercharge its decline. Whether the continent's leaders realise that, however, is another matter.

"Europe's main source of influence (should) be the success of its political and economic model in providing high living standards and democratic freedoms," says Jack Goldstone, professor of international affairs at George Mason University near Washington DC "If the current crisis undermines both of those as well, Europe will look like a rather weak, badly run system of ageing and economically stagnant states. Irrelevance awaits." (editing by Janet McBride)

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