Obama says he's 'determined as ever' for gun bill

President Barack Obama looks at Nicole Hocklys and her husband Ian, right, after she introduced him at the University of Hartford in Hartford, Conn., Monday, April 8, 2013. The Hockley's lost a child in the school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtoen, Conn. Obama said that lawmakers have an obligation to the children killed and other victims of gun violence to act on his proposals. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

President Barack Obama looks at Nicole Hocklys and her husband Ian, right, after she introduced him at the University of Hartford in Hartford, Conn., Monday, April 8, 2013. The Hockley's lost a child in the school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtoen, Conn. Obama said that lawmakers have an obligation to the children killed and other victims of gun violence to act on his proposals. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

President Barack Obama hugs Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, accompanied by Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., left, after Obama arrived at Bradley Air Force Base, Conn., Monday, April 8, 2013. Obama is traveling to the Hartford, Conn., to speak at the University of Hartford, near the state capitol where last week the governor signed into law some of the nation's strictest gun control laws with the Sandy Hook families standing behind him. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

President Barack Obama, followed by, from second from left, Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., Rep. John Larson, D-Conn., and Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., walks down the steps of Air Force One at Bradley Air Force Base, Conn., Monday, April 8, 2013. Obama traveled to the Hartford, Conn., to speak at the University of Hartford, near the state capitol where last week the governor signed into law some of the nation's strictest gun control laws with the Sandy Hook families standing behind him. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) ? With time running out on the chance to pass gun control legislation, President Barack Obama on Monday warned Congress not to use delaying tactics against tighter regulations and told families of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims that he's "determined as ever" to honor their children with tougher laws.

Obama's gun control proposals have run into resistance on Capitol Hill, leaving their fate in doubt. Efforts by Senate Democrats to reach compromise with Republicans over expanding required federal background checks have yet to yield an agreement, and conservatives were promising to try blocking the Senate from even beginning debate on gun control legislation.

"The day Newtown happened was the toughest day of my presidency," Obama said in an emotional speech from Connecticut's capital, an hour's drive from Newtown. "But I've got to tell you, if we don't respond to this, that'll be a tough day for me too."

Some of the Sandy Hook families are making an attempt to push through the bill. Obama met with them privately before his speech at the University of Hartford Monday evening, then brought 12 family members back to Air Force One for the trip back to Washington. The relatives want to meet with senators who've yet to back the legislation to encourage their support in memory of their loved ones.

"Nothing's going to be more important in making sure that the Congress moves forward this week than hearing from them," Obama said. His eyes teared as he described Nicole Hockley, who lost her 6-year-old son, Dylan, saying how she asks him every night to come to her in her dreams so she can see him again.

"If there's even one thing we can do to prevent a father from having to bury his child, isn't that worth fighting for?" Obama asked.

Obama's speech was interrupted repeatedly by standing ovations from the packed gymnasium. At one point, the room erupted with chants of "We want a vote!" Audience members, many wearing green ribbons in support of the victims, were stomping their feet on the bleachers and clapping their hands in unison with the chant.

"This is not about me. This is not about politics. This is about doing the right thing for all the families who are here who have been torn apart by gun violence," Obama said, his voice rising with emotion as he shook his finger in the air.

Obama argued that lawmakers have an obligation to the children killed and other victims of gun violence to allow an up-or-down vote in the Senate. That would require 50 votes to pass, rather than a procedural maneuver some Republican senators are threatening to require 60 votes, potentially sinking the legislation.

"Some back in Washington are already floating the idea that they may use political stunts to prevent votes on any of these reforms. Think about that. They're not just saying they'll vote no on ideas that almost all Americans support. They're saying they'll do everything they can to even prevent any votes on these provisions. They're saying your opinion doesn't matter. And that's not right.

Obama rode to the speech with Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, who signed sweeping gun control legislation into law Thursday with the Sandy Hook families standing behind him. But legislation in Washington faces a tougher challenge, as the nation's memories of the shooting fade with time and the National Rifle Association wages a formidable campaign against Obama's proposals.

Majority Leader Harry Reid brought gun control legislation to the Senate floor on Monday, though actual debate did not begin. He took the step after receiving a letter from 13 conservative Republican senators including Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, saying they would use delaying tactics to try preventing lawmakers from beginning to consider the measure. Such a move takes 60 votes to overcome, a difficult hurdle in the 100-member chamber.

The conservatives said the Democratic measure would violate the Second Amendment right to bear arms, citing "history's lesson that government cannot be in all places at all times, and history's warning about the oppression of a government that tries."

Further underscoring the tough road ahead for the Obama-backed legislation, a spokesman for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Monday that the Kentucky Republican would join the filibuster if Reid tries to bring the measure to the floor.

Obama said the vote shouldn't be about his legacy, but about the families in Newtown who haven't moved on to other matters.

"Newtown, we want you to know that we're here with you," Obama said. "We will not walk away from the promises we've made. We are as determined as ever to do what must be done. In fact, I'm here to ask you to help me show that we can get it done. We're not forgetting."

A group of Sandy Hook families originally planned to travel to Washington earlier on Monday, but the White House offered to give the families a ride so they could also attend Obama's speech before their lobbying push. The White House lit up the steps of Air Force One with flood lights so photographers and television cameras could capture the image of Obama climbing the plane's steps with the families at dusk.

Nelba Marquez-Greene, whose 6-year-old daughter Ana was among the victims at Sandy Hook, held up a sign that said "Love Wins" as she walked toward the steps of Air Force One.

The families' lobbying trip was organized by Sandy Hook Promise, a nonprofit started by community members in the wake of the shooting. "The group is encouraging senators to come together around legislative proposals that will both save lives and respect the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding Americans," the group said in a statement.

With time running out on negotiations, the White House is making an all-hands-on-deck push this week. Vice President Joe Biden and Attorney General Eric Holder planned to promote their plan at the White House on Tuesday with law enforcement officials. First lady Michelle Obama planned to wade into the debate Wednesday with a speech on youth violence in her hometown of Chicago. And on Thursday, Biden was taking part in a discussion on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" with people who have different views on gun control.

Organizing for Action, the grassroots group being formed out of Obama's re-election campaign to support his agenda, said it was launching online ads Monday asking the public to urge their senators to support background checks. The ads will target 11 senators ? all Republicans ? through Facebook and search engines. An OFA spokesman said the group was not disclosing the cost of the ad campaign.

Gun control is divisive in Newtown, Conn., as in the rest of the country. Not all Sandy Hook families support gun control, and even those involved with the lobbying push organized by Sandy Hook Promise are not backing the assault weapons ban. But those families are asking lawmakers to expand background checks, increase penalties for gun trafficking and limit the size of magazines.

___

Follow Nedra Pickler on Twitter: https://twitter.com/nedrapickler

Associated Press

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Obama's political organization targets senators on gun legislation (Washington Bureau)

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NYC 'zombie' finds Long Island cat in Times Square

In this undated photo provided by BluePearl Veterinary Partners, Jeremy Zelkowitz, who dresses in character as a zombie for a year-round haunted house in Times Square, holds a cat named Disaster which he found crossing 42nd Street in Manhattan on March 30, 2013. (AP Photo/BluePearl Veterinary Partners)

In this undated photo provided by BluePearl Veterinary Partners, Jeremy Zelkowitz, who dresses in character as a zombie for a year-round haunted house in Times Square, holds a cat named Disaster which he found crossing 42nd Street in Manhattan on March 30, 2013. (AP Photo/BluePearl Veterinary Partners)

NEW YORK (AP) ? It took a zombie to find Disaster at the Crossroads of the World.

Two years after he disappeared from his Long Island home, Disaster the cat was found this week in the heart of Manhattan ? by a Times Square haunted house promoter dressed up as a zombie.

Jeremy Zelkowitz, who sells tickets for the Times Scare haunted house, spotted Disaster early Saturday morning crossing 42nd Street. He snatched up Disaster, a black and white cat who appeared to be well-kept and neat, and brought him to a nearby animal hospital.

"I'm a big animal lover but I have a dog so I couldn't take him," Zelkowitz, 22, said Thursday. "The whole situation is very, very bizarre."

Staff at the BluePearl Veterinary Partners animal hospital scanned Disaster who had been implanted with a microchip, revealing his last known owner: New York City police Officer Jimmy Helliesen.

Helliesen, 51, received a call Saturday morning from the hospital, informing him that his long-lost feline friend had been found.

"I was shocked," said Helliesen. "How did he get to Manhattan? That's quite an adventure."

For years Helliesen has adopted stray cats he finds hanging around his Brooklyn precinct. Two years ago he adopted Disaster after he strayed from the precinct and ended up getting captured by local Animal Care and Control. That's when Helliesen got him fixed and implanted with the chip.

But six months after living in his Long Island home, Disaster escaped one day through an open window and never returned.

Helliesen never thought he'd get the cat back ? and has since taken in eight more cats he's found around the precinct who need homes.

"Disaster makes it nine," he said. "My wife has been very understanding."

Associated Press

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Slickdeals' best in tech for April 3rd: Sony Alpha SLT-A57K kit and 39-inch Sharp AQUOS HDTV

Looking to save some coin on your tech purchases? Of course you are! In this round-up, we'll run down a list of the freshest frugal buys, hand-picked with the help of the folks at Slickdeals. You'll want to act fast, though, as many of these offerings won't stick around long.

In another HD-heavy installment of our twice-weekly gadget deals, a 39-inch Sharp HDTV and Yamaha home theater receiver look to outfit those living rooms. Of course, a few other options hit the list too -- like a Sony Alpha A57 digital SLR. The full 5-pack of picks is waiting on the other side of the jump, complete with purchase links and the required coupon codes.

Filed under: Cameras, Home Entertainment, Portable Audio/Video

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Australia puts $22.6M into '20,000 Leagues' remake

In this photo taken Jan. 5, 2012, U.S. director David Fincher smiles during a photo call for the movie "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"in Berlin, Germany. The Walt Disney Studios will film a new version of "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" in Australia after the country agreed to pay it 21.6 million Australia dollars ($22.6 million) to film the movie there. The inducement announced Tuesday, April 2, 2013, is the biggest ever paid by an Australian government to bring in a Hollywood production. Fincher will direct the Jules Verne science fiction classic, said Disney Asia-Pacific spokeswoman Alannah Hall-Smith. (AP Photo/Gero Breloer)

In this photo taken Jan. 5, 2012, U.S. director David Fincher smiles during a photo call for the movie "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"in Berlin, Germany. The Walt Disney Studios will film a new version of "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" in Australia after the country agreed to pay it 21.6 million Australia dollars ($22.6 million) to film the movie there. The inducement announced Tuesday, April 2, 2013, is the biggest ever paid by an Australian government to bring in a Hollywood production. Fincher will direct the Jules Verne science fiction classic, said Disney Asia-Pacific spokeswoman Alannah Hall-Smith. (AP Photo/Gero Breloer)

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) ? Australia is paying its biggest Hollywood inducement ever to bring "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" Down Under.

The Walt Disney Studios will film a new version of the science fiction classic in Australia, which will pay the studio 21.6 million Australia dollars ($22.6 million) to film there, the government said Tuesday.

David Fincher of "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" and "The Social Network" will direct, said Disney Asia-Pacific spokeswoman Alannah Hall-Smith.

"No casting decisions have been made," she said, so the filming schedule and locations haven't been set.

Sydney's The Daily Telegraph newspaper reported Tuesday that producers were believed to have been in discussions with Brad Pitt, who starred in Fincher's "Fight Club."

The newpaper reported that Fincher wanted Pitt for the film's hero Ned Land.

The story centers on Capt. Nemo and his submarine the Nautilus. Jules Verne's book was made into an Academy Award-winning movie in 1954 with Kirk Douglas starring as Land and James Mason as Nemo.

The announcement comes after "The Wolverine," starring Australian actor Hugh Jackman, recently wrapped filming in Sydney. The government paid Fox Studios AU$12.8 million to film in Australia.

Gillard said the "The Wolverine" created more than 1,750 jobs, contracted more than 1,027 Australian companies and generated AU$80 million in investment.

She expects "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" will create more than 2,000 jobs.

A strong Australian dollar buoyed by a mining boom has made Australia less attractive to Hollywood as a filmmaking location in recent years.

It wasn't known how much the payment would offset the film's budget.

"The securing of this film is a huge coup for the Australian film industry and for the near 1,000 local businesses that will be providing goods and services for the film," Gillard said in a statement.

"The Wolverine" in 3D opens in July in the United States, Australia and other countries.

Associated Press

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Buckwild Production Company to Pay for Shain Gandee Funeral

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Facebook Home Screenshot Leaks Suggest We'll See An Image-Rich Interface With Sharing Close At Hand

Facebook is set to debut a special Android product tomorrow, and now 9to5Google has an early look at what we might see, courtesy of Evleaks. The screens depicted on renders of the so-called HTC First smartphone hardware being created by the Taiwanese company. The images show tweaks to the basic Android UI that include easy access to status updates, photo sharing and check-in functions, as well as an emphasis on images.

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Mink Young Jeopardized by Industrial Chemicals

Eating fish from the Hudson River and rummaging around its banks are leaving mink with elevated PCB levels. Image: Wikimedia Commons/Mariomassone

Mink dive deep into the depths of New York?s Hudson River to hunt frogs and fish. Scurrying along the river shore, they nose around in the dirt, building dens.

But their food and shelter are giving them heavy doses of industrial chemicals, which could be killing their babies and jeopardizing their populations.

In a new study, farm-raised mink were fed fish caught in the upper Hudson River, which is highly contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Kits born to the parents that ate the compounds were much more likely to die than the kits of those that ate less-contaminated food.

?Based on the kit mortality, we believe PCB contamination is causing decreased abundance and density of mink in the upper Hudson River,? said Kathryn Jahn, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist who worked closely with Michigan State University researchers on the study.

All of the kits from 15 mothers that ate no PCBs survived, along with 96 percent of those from the 10 mothers that ate the lowest amounts. But in the four groups fed increasing amounts of the chemicals, all 50 kits died ? most within 10 weeks.

The region?s wild mink consume similar amounts of PCBs. As a result, it?s likely that large numbers are stillborn or dying young in the wild, too, the scientists said. ?A diet comprised of less than 10 percent fish with these environmentally relevant PCB concentrations could be expected to result in kit mortality,? the study authors wrote.

For decades, scientists have known that mink are more sensitive than other animals to reproductive and immune damage from PCBs, but it remains a mystery as to why.

About two feet long with luxurious fur, mink are found throughout much of the United States and Canada in places with abundant marshes and other wetlands. Dependent on water for food, they dive into rivers and lakes to eat muskrats, chipmunks, fish, frogs and birds. They are trapped and farmed for their soft pelts.

Mink numbers appear stable, according to the New York Department of Environmental Conservation. However, trapping data suggest that the Hudson River populations are smaller than elsewhere in the state.

The new study builds on two similar studies in which mink fed PCB-tainted fish from Michigan?s Saginaw Bay and Massachusetts? Housatonic River also had large numbers of kits die.

Since they?re near the top of the food chain ? rarely falling victim to predators ? mink accumulate large quantities of chemicals, said Niladri Basu, a University of Michigan professor who studies fish and wildlife as indicators of health hazards.

As a sentinel species, their health is indicative of the surrounding ecosystem?s health.

?At a regional or local level, these chemicals? affect on populations should be a concern,? Basu said. ?These isolated areas like the Hudson River and the South River in Virginia, where there used to be a Dow facility, show [mink] are really struggling with PCBs and mercury.?

The Hudson River is one of the largest, most contaminated Superfund sites in the country. From the 1940s to about 1976, two General Electric plants released an estimated 1.3 million pounds of PCBs into the 315-mile river. Now banned, the chemicals, which were used largely as insulators in large electrical equipment, have plagued the river since because they linger in the environment.

People have been warned for four decades to avoid eating most fish from the river. PCBs are linked to many human health effects, including cancer and reduced IQs in children from Great Lakes states.

As early as 1982, scientists began documenting elevated PCBs in mink along the river. Within three miles of the river, about half of them have levels in their liver above the threshold for health problems, according to a report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

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Killed State Trooper Described As 'Second Father'

Illinois State Police troopers prepare the American flag to give to Trooper James Sauter's family.

Palos, IL Patch:

Matthew Sauter decided not to wear a tie to his brother James? funeral on Tuesday.

While speaking in front of family, friends and hundreds of law enforcement officers from across the country, all at Moraine Valley Church in Palos Heights to honor Illinois State Trooper James Sauter, Matthew opened his collar to show a Superman t-shirt in dedication to his brother.

Matthew Sauter looked up to his brother, even though at times James was strict with him.

?He always tried to be a second father to me,? Matthew Sauter said. ?I came to realize later in life that he made mistakes, too, and he wanted to keep me from doing the same as he did.?

Read the whole story at Palos, IL Patch

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Stockman, Orszag in budget battle royale (Reuters)

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Hagel says number of furlough days being reduced

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The Pentagon says it's easing the impact of automatic budget cuts on as many as 800,000 civilian employees, sharply reducing the number of unpaid furlough days they will have to take in coming months.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Thursday a new spending law lets the military services cut furlough days from 22 to 14.

The spending bill was signed earlier this week by President Barack Obama. It shifts $10 billion to operations and maintenance to give the Pentagon more flexibility to deal with billions of dollars in automatic, across-the-board cuts that kicked in March 1.

Hagel says the move will reduce the amount of cuts the military has to make in the 2014 budget year.

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Google Glass Will Be Made In The U.S.A., Report Claims, At An Assembly Facility In Santa Clara

Google Glass, the advanced head-mounted computing project the company is gearing up for a possible launch later this year, will be assembled in the U.S., according to a new report from the Financial Times today. The assembly will take place in a facility located in Santa Clara and managed by partner Hon Hai Precision, also known as Foxconn.

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U.K.'s First & Only 4G Network Reaches Half The Population Five Months After Launch

The first -- and still, the only -- 4G network in the U.K. is now available to half the U.K.'s homes and businesses. Carrier EE said today it has switched on the network in 13 more towns and cities to hit the 50% coverage mark five months after the network went live. The company has previously said its network rollout would reach 55% of the population by June.

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Lawsuit against Yankees GM Cashman is dropped

Associated Press Sports

updated 7:50 a.m. ET March 28, 2013

NEW YORK (AP) - The mother of a woman accused of stalking New York Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman has abruptly dropped her lawsuit against him.

The New York Post (http://bit.ly/11RiVwB ) reports that Caroline Meanwell filed documents in court Tuesday to drop the lawsuit.

The suit had alleged that Cashman conspired with her daughter's former therapist and his legal team to trick Meanwell into calling 911 to discredit her daughter, who had claimed to have a nine-month affair with Cashman.

The suit claimed Meanwell was coerced into telling authorities her daughter, Louise Neathway, was going to kill herself so Neathway would be institutionalized.

Prosecutors say Neathway stalked Cashman and got him to pay her $6,000 by threatening to damage his reputation.

Neathway has pleaded not guilty.

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

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How efforts to save itty-bitty endangered frogs paid off

For the first time, scientists succeeded in saving a type of tiny amphibian whose population has been on the decline in Panama.?

By Douglas Main,?LiveScience / March 22, 2013

A baby limosa harlequin frog on a U.S. quarter.

Brian Gratwicke, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute

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Several teeny-tiny frogs, one big hop for amphibian conservation.

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Scientists have successfully bred a certain type of endangered Panamanian amphibian ? the limosa harlequin frog ? for the first time. ?The development is key because populations of the itty-bitty frog, which is smaller than a quarter as a babya certain type of endangered Panamanian amphibian ? the limosa harlequin frog ? for the first time. ?The development is key because populations of the itty-bitty frog, which is smaller than a quarter as a baby, are declining in its native country.

"This new generation is hugely inspiring to us as we work to conserve and care for this species and others," said Brian Gratwicke, international coordinator for the project and a research biologist at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, one of six partners in the effort.

To get the small amphibians to mate, researchers went to great lengths. They built a rock platform to mimic the underground caves in which the frogs breed, and piped in oxygen-rich water between 72 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit (22 and 24 degrees Celsius), according to a release from the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute.

Young frogs only feed on algal mats coating rocks. So scientists with the Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project, which bred the frogs, also painted the rock platforms with spirulina algae and then let it dry. When placed inside the enclosure, the algae grew ?and fed the animals.

Young frogs can fit easily on a U.S. quarter with room to spare, and adults don't get much bigger, growing to slightly larger than an inch in length.

For all their trouble, the scientists were rewarded with hundreds of tadpoles from one pair of frogs, and nine youngsters from another, the release noted. These frogs are of the "chevron-patterned" variety; there are also plain-colored forms of limosa harlequin frogs that scientists are trying to breed.

The frog is threatened by habitat loss, development, water pollution and climate change, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Amphibians are also threatened by chytridiomycosis, a fungal disease that kills the animals; due in part to the disease, up to one-third of amphibian species are threatened worldwide.

The Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project has successfully bred other challenging endangered species, including crowned treefrogs, horned marsupial frogs and toad mountain harlequin frogs, the release noted.

The frogs will eventually be released into the wild, where the scientists hope they will help replenish the animal's dwindling numbers.

Email Douglas Mainor follow him @Douglas_Main. Follow us?@OAPlanet, Facebook?or Google+. Original article on LiveScience's OurAmazingPlanet.

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

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Bit of skill, bit of luck

It takes some luck to prevail inside the intimidating cauldron that is Estadio Azteca, and the United States did find its share of good fortune in Tuesday?s 0-0 draw with suddenly beleaguered El Tri.

Two penalty appeals were denied and Javier ?Chicharito? Hernandez missed twice from in close ? the kind of chances ?Chicharito? generally finishes with ruthless efficiency, which is why he went to Manchester United at such a young age.

To be sure, the young United States back line (well, three inexperienced defenders plus converted midfielder DaMarcus Beasley) were generally in the right spots and almost always accurate in the challenges. Michael Bradley did good two-way work, identifying the vital passing central lanes to screen out much of the danger and then assisting the United States in possession.

The Americans never moved enough men forward to bother or test Mexico?s back line, but those useful moments of possession were critical in taking just enough pressure off the back line and pushing the Mexicans back.

For the second consecutive contest, goalkeeper Brad Guzan did everything he needed to do. Surely U.S. fans who fretted last week about a U.S. goal unguarded by trusty Tim Howard are feeling better after seeing Guzan calmly go about his chores over two memorable nights.

Still, Klinsmann?s men needed a break here or there to draw a point out of Azteca, a place where Mexico has traditionally been so stingy with them.

(MORE: United States fights to a scoreless draw)

In the first half, Bradley raised two hands and pushed Chicharito in the back as the Mexican markman streaked into the 18, looking for a ball off Giovani dos Santos? foot along the right. The nearby referee?s assistant raised his flag to indicate a foul but Guatemalan referee Walter Lopez ignored the waving yellow flag.

But the refereeing choice? that will surely drive Mexican fans even more nutso ? when they aren?t debating the job status of increasingly embattled Jos? Manuel ?Chepo? de la Torre ? was a 76^th minute penalty kick appeal unheard by Lopez. Edu bundled aggressively into Javier Aquino from behind as the Mexican attacker prepared to shoot.

The visitors from up north definitely got away with something there.

(MORE: Mexico?s turn to defuse crisis)

As for the missed shots:

In the 28^th minute, Chicharito went high with a header from inside the six ? but the sequence perfectly illustrated how so much of the night would go. ?Mexico?s Jorge Torres Nilo was able to scoot free along the U.S. right side; there was quite a bit of that Tuesday, especially early. But U.S. center back Matt Besler got just enough of a body on Chicharito as they both sprinted toward goal, so the Mexican striker didn?t have anything uncontested.

Later, Chicharito missed from even closer; that one was something that looked like genuine serendipity.

Of course, the United States made some of its own luck. Prime example, Graham Zusi?s tremendous tracking in the 72^nd minute, a 30-yard dash to heroically head away a ball and prevent a point blank header from Angel Reyna.

Besler and Omar Gonzalez were ball-clearing beasts ? which was absolutely no luck at all. That was on Klinsmann, whose choice to start the LA Galaxy center back to begin the final round looks like the right one now.

(MORE: Man of the Match, Omar Gonzalez)

Source: http://prosoccertalk.nbcsports.com/2013/03/27/tuesdays-big-u-s-achievement-took-a-bit-of-luck-too/related/

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'RHOBH' Reunion Sneak Peek: Everyone Hates Brandi!

"Mean." "Liar." "Naughty." "Two-faced." The character slurs are flying fast in a new promo on Bravo, and that can only mean one thing: There must be a Real Housewives reunion coming up!

Source: http://www.ivillage.com/rhobh-reunion-sneak-peek-everyone-hates-brandi-andys-mad-adrienne/1-a-529017?dst=iv%3AiVillage%3Arhobh-reunion-sneak-peek-everyone-hates-brandi-andys-mad-adrienne-529017

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U.S. offers reward for capture of two U.S.-born alleged Islamic militants

By Mark Hosenball

(Reuters) - The U.S. government on Wednesday offered rewards of up to $5 million each for information leading to the capture or conviction of two U.S. citizens alleged to have become fighters for the Somalia-based Islamic militant group al Shabaab.

In announcements posted on its "Rewards for Justice" website, the State Department identified the two men as Omar Shafik Hammami, alias Abu Mansour al-Amriki, and Jehad Serwan Mostafa, alias Ahmed Gurey or Anwar al-Amriki. Hammami is a former resident of Alabama and Mostafa a former resident of California, it said.

Hammami is alleged to be a particularly notorious American volunteer for al Shabaab who made propaganda videos for the group, including pictures portraying him as a fighter rather than a mere spokesman, a U.S. law enforcement official said.

The State Department said Hammami moved to Somalia in 2006 and a year later began serving as an al Shabaab propagandist, particularly targeting potential English-speaking recruits through writings, videos and rap songs. Federal authorities in Alabama issued a warrant for his arrest in December 2007.

The government website said that at some point, Hammami led a group of al Shabaab foreign fighters under the supervision of Mostafa.

The website described Mostafa as a native of Waukesha, Wisconsin, who had lived in San Diego before moving to Somalia in 2005. He is on the FBI's list of "Most Wanted Terrorists," and in 2009 a warrant for his arrest was issued by federal authorities in San Diego.

Given the long-standing notoriety of the two men, it is unclear why the State Department decided to post reward notices for them now.

U.S. government sources say it is apparent from messages posted on the Internet, including what amounted to a "Twitter war," that in recent months Hammami has fallen out bitterly with al Shabaab's leadership. He has publicly criticized its leaders for allegedly limiting their ambitions to local struggles and in one video expressed concern for his personal safety.

Hammami's whereabouts are presently unknown and he is believed to be on the run from al Shabaab, which may have targeted him for death, said a U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Though its ambitions are largely local and the conditions under which its cells operate in the Horn of Africa are believed to be harsh, Somalia-based al Shabaab has been successful in recruiting English-speaking would-be fighters from both the United States and Great Britain, often from local communities of Somali immigrants.

In February 2012, an al Shabaab leader released a video with Ayman al Zawahiri, Osama bin Laden's successor as leader of what remains of al Qaeda's original core organization, in which the two groups announced they were affiliating with each other.

Experts say al Shabaab may have a larger contingent of English-speaking foreign fighters than any set of militants other than the rebel groups fighting the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Literally dozens of English-speaking foreign fighters are said by European security sources to have joined anti-Assad cells, including the al-Nusra Front, an Islamic militant faction that the U.S. government has designated as a terrorist group.

(Reporting by Mark Hosenball in New York; Editing By Warren Strobel and Eric Beech)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/u-offers-reward-capture-two-u-born-alleged-224005354.html

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Rabbit Hops Into Skype's Territory With Video-Chat Software That ...

Online hangout: Rabbit, a video-chat service now in private beta, lets users watch videos or listen to music with faraway friends.

With so many video-chat applications already on the market, it sounds like a silly idea: build a new one while pretending the others never existed.

Yet that was what the cofounders of San Francisco startup Rabbit did in 2011, and it seems to have helped them dream up something original. The result, now in a free private beta as a Mac desktop application, seeks to make video chatting less like a scheduled event and more like an ongoing hangout session. Participants can even watch movies with an unlimited number of friends.

Rabbit emerges at a time when video chat is increasingly popular?especially among younger users?and an ever-growing number of devices capable of streaming video are connected to the Web. A report released last year by the Pew Internet & American Life Project indicated that 37 percent of kids ages 12 to 17 use video-chat applications.

?

Video-calling services have already multiplied like, well, rabbits: well-known examples include Skype, Apple?s FaceTime, Google+ Hangouts, Tango, and ooVoo. But Rabbit hopes it can stand out from the pack. Its distinctive features include simultaneous video-chat and content streaming and little on-screen bubbles that can hover atop other applications, showing who is participating in the chat.

In some ways, Rabbit?s design harks back to the early days of online chat. For example, before you can start a conversation you need to either create a ?room,? which you can then invite others to join, or wait until someone else asks you to join a room. There is one public room, appropriately titled ?Hop In!??but most people I saw hopping in there quickly bounded away.

Once you are inside a room with a few buddies, though, Rabbit?s aims become clearer. Everyone you chat with shows up in a circular frame, and the person currently speaking (or speaking loudest) is perched in a larger circle above the others. The bubble shape is intended to obscure the background and make you forget that everyone is in a different place, cofounder Stephanie Morgan says.

People in rooms can further subdivide into smaller chat groups, each represented by an on-screen bubble showing the current speaker in that group at any given time. Hovering over one of these little groups reveals who?s in it, what interests they share, and who within the group each member is friends with on Facebook. You can listen to the different conversations and flit from one to another.

Like many other video-chat applications, Rabbit allows you to share your computer screen with friends. But whereas some applications cannot share audio, Rabbit makes it possible to share videos, music, and other Web content in real time, whether it?s music playing in Spotify or a TV show streamed from Netflix. You can also share just a portion of your screen, if you?d like.

Morgan explains that while Rabbit captures conversation audio that is fed into your computer when you speak into a microphone and streams that to your friends?as video-chat programs usually do?it also captures video and audio directly from your computer so they can be streamed as well. This means you can have conversations while sharing a TV show on Hulu, although the quality of that content on your friend?s end will depend on how good your computer and Internet connection are.

And if you do have conversations over streaming content, Rabbit will detect this and respond by automatically lowering the volume of the video, bumping it back up when it determines that the conversation has ended.

?The whole idea for all of the design, including the technical design, is to have Rabbit be really responsive and kind of organic, and blend into the background,? Morgan says.

For now, the application is available only on Macs running the latest version of Apple?s operating software. This is partly because Rabbit?s method of capturing audio doesn?t work on existing mobile operating systems or over the Web, Morgan says. Eventually, she hopes to offer Rabbit on other platforms, and on mobile devices, too.

I tried Rabbit and found that it?s still extremely deserving of its ?private beta? label?streaming videos tended to look pixelated, and talking over them sounded choppy, despite up-to-date computers and speedy Internet connections. But friends I spoke with did feel a bit more ?there? than with, say, Skype, and I enjoyed being schooled on details of Downton Abbey while watching with a friend several cities away.

Even so, it may be tough for Rabbit to get enough users. While video chat is increasingly widespread, even some efforts with big-name backing haven?t taken off (see ?Napster?s Founders Try a Video Chat Do-Over?). Lee Rainie, director of the Pew Internet & American Life Project, says this may be because social expectations are much higher when you?re on camera. Some people prefer not to be seen; it?s much harder to yawn, multitask, or tune others out when you?re being recorded.

Yet while it?s hard to predict what will be popular, he says, Rabbit seems to integrate popular features in an interesting way.

?It seems like it may be poised to do well in a world where more bandwidth, and more bandwidth, and more bandwidth, is available,? he says.

Source: http://www.technologyreview.com/news/512146/video-chat-thats-a-little-closer-to-hanging-out-in-real-life/

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Voyager 1 has entered a new region of space, sudden changes in cosmic rays indicate

Mar. 20, 2013 ? Thirty-five years after its launch, Voyager 1 appears to have travelled beyond the influence of the Sun and exited the heliosphere, according to a new study appearing online today.

The heliosphere is a region of space dominated by the Sun and its wind of energetic particles, and which is thought to be enclosed, bubble-like, in the surrounding interstellar medium of gas and dust that pervades the Milky Way galaxy.

On August 25, 2012, NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft measured drastic changes in radiation levels, more than 11 billion miles from the Sun. Anomalous cosmic rays, which are cosmic rays trapped in the outer heliosphere, all but vanished, dropping to less than 1 percent of previous amounts. At the same time, galactic cosmic rays -- cosmic radiation from outside of the solar system -- spiked to levels not seen since Voyager's launch, with intensities as much as twice previous levels.

The findings have been accepted for publication in Geophysical Research Letters, a journal of the American Geophysical Union.

"Within just a few days, the heliospheric intensity of trapped radiation decreased, and the cosmic ray intensity went up as you would expect if it exited the heliosphere," said Bill Webber, professor emeritus of astronomy at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces. He calls this transition boundary the "heliocliff."

In the GRL article, the authors state: "It appears that [Voyager 1] has exited the main solar modulation region, revealing [hydrogen] and [helium] spectra characteristic of those to be expected in the local interstellar medium."

However, Webber notes, scientists are continuing to debate whether Voyager 1 has reached interstellar space or entered a separate, undefined region beyond the solar system.

"It's outside the normal heliosphere, I would say that," Webber said. "We're in a new region. And everything we're measuring is different and exciting."

The work was funded by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by American Geophysical Union.

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. W.R. Webber, F.B. McDonald. Recent Voyager 1 data indicate that on August 25, 2012 at a distance of 121.7 AU from the Sun, sudden and unprecedented intensity changes were observed in anomalous and galactic cosmic rays. Geophysical Research Letters, 2013; DOI: 10.1002/grl.50383

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

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

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/x__GbTlmTJc/130320134256.htm

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Renewed nuke sale fear after recent N. Korea test

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) ? North Korea's nuclear test last month wasn't just a show of defiance and national pride; it also is advertising. The target audience, analysts say, is anyone in the world looking to buy nuclear material.

Though Pyongyang has threatened to launch nuclear strikes on the U.S., the most immediate threat posed by its nuclear technology may be North Korea's willingness to sell it to nations that Washington sees as sponsors of terrorism. The fear of such sales was highlighted this week, when Japan confirmed that cargo seized last year and believed to be from North Korea contained material that could be used to make nuclear centrifuges, which are crucial to enriching uranium into bomb fuel.

The dangerous message North Korea is sending, according to Graham Allison, a nuclear expert at the Harvard Kennedy School: "Nukes are for sale."

North Korea launched a long-range rocket in December, which the U.N. called a cover for a banned test of ballistic missile technology. On Feb. 12, it conducted its third underground nuclear test, which got Pyongyang new U.N. sanctions.

Outside nuclear specialists believe North Korea has enough nuclear material for several crude bombs, but they have yet to see proof that Pyongyang can build a warhead small enough to mount on a missile. The North, however, may be able to help other countries develop nuclear expertise right now, as it is believed to have done in the past.

"There's a growing technical capability and confidence to sell weapons and technology abroad, without fear of reprisal, and that lack of fear comes from (their) growing nuclear capabilities," Joel Wit, a former U.S. State Department official, said at a recent nuclear conference in Seoul.

Pyongyang says it needs nuclear weapons because of what it calls a hostile U.S. policy aimed at invading the North. An unidentified spokesman for North Korea's Foreign Ministry warned Wednesday of military strikes if the United States repeats recent test flights in South Korea of the nuclear-capable B-52 bomber.

The U.S., South Korea and others say North Korean brinksmanship meant to win aid and other concessions is the real motive. Even China, North Korea's most important ally, opposes its neighbor's nuclear ambitions.

North Korean nuclear sales earn the impoverished country money that can be pumped back into weapons development, analyst Shin Beomchul at the South Korean-run Korea Institute for Defense Analyses in Seoul said Tuesday.

Its growing capabilities could make North Korea more attractive to buyers, especially if it is determined that highly enriched uranium was used in last month's test.

North Korean members of the Worker-Peasant Red Guards attend military training in this picture released by the North's official KCNA news agency in Pyongyang March 13, 2013. North Korea said on March ... more? North Korean members of the Worker-Peasant Red Guards attend military training in this picture released by the North's official KCNA news agency in Pyongyang March 13, 2013. North Korea said on March 5, 2013 that it will scrap the armistice signed in 1953 that ended a three-year war with South Korea if the South and the United States continue with two-month long annual military drills. REUTERS/KCNA (NORTH KOREA - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY CIVIL UNREST TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. REUTERS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, CONTENT, LOCATION OR DATE OF THIS IMAGE. THIS PICTURE IS DISTRIBUTED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS. QUALITY FROM SOURCE. NO THIRD PARTY SALES. NOT FOR USE BY REUTERS THIRD PARTY DISTRIBUTORS less? Proliferation worries have ramped up since late 2010, when North Korea unveiled a long-suspected uranium enrichment operation. North Korea's first two nuclear tests, in 2006 and 2009, were suspected to be fueled by its limited plutonium stockpile. A crude uranium bomb is easier to produce than one made with plutonium, and uranium production is easier to conceal.

Little is known about North Korea's uranium program, but Washington and others are keenly interested in whether it is producing highly enriched uranium for bombs and whether uranium was used in the third test ? two things suspected, but not yet confirmed, by outsiders.

A nuclear test using highly enriched uranium "would announce to the world ? including potential buyers ? that North Korea is now operating a new, undiscovered production line for weapons-usable material," Allison, the Harvard nuclear specialist, wrote in a New York Times op-ed after the North's test.

U.S. officials have hinted that retaliation would follow should Washington discover North Korean cooperation behind any atomic attack on an American city or U.S. ally.

Pyongyang's nuclear transfers and any use of weapons of mass destruction "would be considered a grave threat to the United States and our allies, and we will hold North Korea fully accountable for the consequences," President Barack Obama's national security adviser, Tom Donilon, said last week.

U.S. officials have long tracked North Korean dealings in nuclear and weapons technology. Sanctions have cut down on missile sales, but Iran and Syria, two countries seen by Washington as rogue actors, may continue to be customers.

In November, the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization proposed observing North Korea's nuclear test, the Japanese news agency Kyodo reported, citing an unidentified Western diplomatic source privy to Pyongyang-Tehran ties.

North Korea is believed to have helped Syria build what senior U.S. intelligence officials called a secret nuclear reactor meant to produce plutonium. In 2007, Israeli jets bombed the structure in a remote Syrian desert.

Japan's government said Monday that it has determined that a shipment believed to have originated in North Korea violated U.N. sanctions because it contained material that could be used to make nuclear centrifuges.

The shipment of an aluminum alloy was seized from a Singaporean-flagged ship transiting Tokyo last August. The ship was reportedly bound for Myanmar from the Chinese port of Dalian, although Japanese government officials didn't confirm Myanmar as the destination.

Japan's chief government spokesman, Yoshihide Suga, said officials searched the ship because they believed it carried North Korean cargo. News reports said the United States tipped off Japan. Suga said officials had determined in subsequent analyses that the rods were made of an alloy that suggests they were intended for use in a nuclear centrifuge.

Suga said the seizure was the first to be conducted under a law Japan passed in 2010 to clamp down on the movement of materials that could be used for nuclear weapons development being brought into, or exported from, North Korea.

The murkiness of the clandestine nuclear trade is a major worry. It's difficult to know how a buyer would use atomic material or know-how, or where material could end up after being sold.

"The terrorist threat of an improvised nuclear device delivered anonymously and unconventionally by a boat or a truck across our long and unprotected borders is one against which we have no certain deterrent or defensive response," Robert Gallucci, a former senior U.S. diplomat who negotiated a U.S.-North Korea nuclear deal used to defuse a nuclear crisis in the 1990s, said late last month in Seoul.

"For Americans, this threat is far greater than the unlikely threat that may someday be posed by North Korean nuclear weapons delivered by a ballistic missile," he said.

___

Associated Press writers Eric Talmadge in Tokyo and Hyung-jin Kim in Seoul contributed to this report. Follow Foster Klug on Twitter at twitter.com/APKlug

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/renewed-nuke-sale-fear-recent-nkorea-test-110422435.html

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Syrian opposition elects interim prime minister

ISTANBUL (AP) ? Syria's opposition coalition has elected Ghassan Hitto to serve as prime minister of its interim government.

Hitto received 35 votes out of 49 ballots cast early Tuesday during a coalition meeting in Istanbul.

Hitto is expected to select ministers in the coming days. The coalition hopes his government can administer areas in Syria that rebel forces have seized from the regime of President Bashar Assad.

It remains unclear, however, if the hundreds of rebel brigades fighting Assad's forces in Syria will accept the government's authority.

Hitto was born in Damascus in 1963 and has lived in the United States for decades, most recently in Wayne, Texas. He has worked in technology and for various Islam-related causes.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/syrian-opposition-elects-interim-prime-minister-233337659.html

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Battle for control over Bolshoi escalates

The Bolshoi Theater general director Anatoly Iksanov speaks to the media in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, March 19, 2013. Iksanov has rejected criticism from an increasingly assertive principal dancer, Nikolai Tsiskaridze, who is openly aspiring to take his job. The two men have been locked in an increasingly ugly public battle since the Jan. 17 acid attack on Bolshoi artistic director Sergei Filin. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

The Bolshoi Theater general director Anatoly Iksanov speaks to the media in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, March 19, 2013. Iksanov has rejected criticism from an increasingly assertive principal dancer, Nikolai Tsiskaridze, who is openly aspiring to take his job. The two men have been locked in an increasingly ugly public battle since the Jan. 17 acid attack on Bolshoi artistic director Sergei Filin. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

FILE - In this Thursday, Feb. 14, 2013 file photo Bolshoi ballet dancer Anzhelina Vorontsova talks with Nikolai Tsiskaridze, left, during a rehearsal in the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow, Russia.. The newspaper Izvestia reports that Vorontsova, who is Dmitrichenko's girlfriend, asked the ballet chief Filin in December to cast her as the lead in "Swan Lake," but Filin turned her down, making disparaging comments about her weight and choice of teachers. Ballet critics concur on the extra pounds and note that Filin then gives the ballerina a major role in the showcase ballet "The Nutcracker." (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

In this photo made Thursday, Feb. 14, 2013 Bolshoi ballet dancer Nikolai Tsiskaridze, center, holds a rehearsal in the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow, Russia. Pavel Dmitrichenko, a Russian ballet star who most recently played the title role in "Ivan the Terrible" at the famed Bolshoi Theater has confessed that he organized the acid attack on the theater's ballet chief, Sergei Filin, Moscow police said Wednesday March 6, 2013. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

In this photo made Thursday, Jan. 28, 2010 and made availble by Bolshoi Theater Bolshoi ballet dancers Anzhelina Vorontsova and Nikolai Tsiskaridze perform in the ballet Paquita in the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow, Russia. Anzhelina Vorontsova, a Bolshoi soloist, is Pavel Dmitrichenko's girlfriend. Dmitrichenko, a Russian ballet star who most recently played the title role in "Ivan the Terrible" at the famed Bolshoi Theater has confessed that he organized the acid attack on the theater's ballet chief, Sergei Filin, Moscow police said Wednesday March 5, 2013. (AP Photo/Bolshoi Theater, Damir Yusupov)

MOSCOW (AP) ? The foes make a striking contrast ? a bald, stolid general director versus an extravagant dancer with an opulent mane of dark hair.

And the stakes could hardly be higher: control over the storied Bolshoi Theater in a battle that has gone into overdrive since the January acid attack on the artistic director that exposed rivalries reminiscent of the Hollywood movie "Black Swan."

In a surprising twist, principal dancer Nikolai Tsiskaridze may be gaining the upper hand against General Director Anatoly Iksanov, who has been in the top job for 13 years.

Both are believed to have backing from senior government officials and Kremlin-connected business tycoons eager to extend their influence over a state theater that has been a symbol of national pride for centuries, and even features on the 100-ruble bill. The Bolshoi's annual budget also is not too shabby: $120 million, up from $12 million only 10 years ago.

Iksanov accuses Tsiskaridze of creating an atmosphere of intrigue that set the scene for the Jan. 17 acid attack on the Bolshoi's artistic director. Tsiskaridze rejects the claims and in turn points to the attack as evidence that the theater has descended into crime and violence under Iksanov's watch.

After weeks of increasingly venomous attacks from both sides, Tsiskaridze's star was seen as rising when he grabbed a high-profile platform for his case on state-run television. The exposure came even as Tsiskaridze has endorsed the grievances of the Bolshoi dancer accused of staging the attack on artistic director Sergei Filin, and defended the dancer in public. Tsiskaridze himself has not been accused of any involvement in the attack.

On Sunday, the 39-year-old dancer appeared on a live talk show on state-controlled NTV television, a channel that the Kremlin has used to attack its opponents or those who have fallen out of favor. Dressed all in black and with an air of sad rebuke, Tsiskaridze poured scorn on Iksanov, accusing him of botching the Bolshoi's reconstruction, ruining its repertoire and treating dancers like slaves.

Asked bluntly whether he was ready to take the general director's job, Tsiskaridze answered with a proud: "I am absolutely ready."

More than anything else, the NTV show signaled that Iksanov's job could be in jeopardy. The station has often been used to broadcast documentary-style films about Kremlin foes, which often served as precursors for criminal investigations. A biting attack on the general director would not have been possible without a blessing from the top ranks of the government.

Tsiskaridze was joined on the program by an equally sharp-tongued former Bolshoi prima ballerina, who alleged that Iksanov oversaw a practice of ballerinas being used essentially as high-class prostitutes for members of the Bolshoi board and other influential people.

Some Russian media have reported that Tsiskaridze's patrons include Sergei Chemezov, a former KGB officer close to President Vladimir Putin who now serves as the CEO of Russian Technologies, a state-controlled industrial conglomerate.

Iksanov looked tired and tense on Tuesday at a news conference called to promote a big ballet festival this spring. He said he would not comment on "the nonsense and dirt" aired on the television show and shrugged off Tsiskaridze's ambitions.

"It's up to him to think that he's capable of taking charge of the Bolshoi," said Iksanov, who has led the theater since 2000. "I don't think so, because beyond scandalousness and fame other qualities are needed."

Infighting has raged at the theater for years, but the two sides dropped all decorum after the Jan. 17 acid attack on Filin.

The barbs began to fly even faster after police arrested Bolshoi soloist Pavel Dmitrichenko on March 5. Facing a Moscow court, Dmitrichenko admitted that he had agreed to an offer from a thuggish acquaintance to rough up Filin, but he insisted that the man had used acid on his own initiative.

Despite Dmitrichenko's confession, many in the ballet company have stood by him, saying they do not believe him capable of staging such a crime. About 300 dancers and staff, led by Tsiskaridze, signed an open letter claiming that Dmitrichenko had slandered himself under police pressure. Encouraged by the outpouring of sympathy, Dmitrichenko then passed a note from prison to his ballerina girlfriend saying that he had not ordered the acid attack and had been "forced to accept many things."

Dmitrichenko has been popular with dancers for his eagerness to defy management in support of other dancers. Last week the Bolshoi's 250 dancers elected him the head of their union, even though he remains in jail.

At the time of his arrest, Russian state television suggested that Dmitrichenko had been driven by a desire to avenge his girlfriend, 21-year-old soloist Anzhelina Vorontsova, who felt that Filin had unfairly denied her the lead in "Swan Lake." Tsiskaridze, who coaches the ballerina, said that Filin had advised her to change teachers.

Iksanov has sought to ease tensions in the ranks, promising last week that Dmitrichenko would keep his job pending the outcome of the criminal case. The reclusive, moon-faced director has been on the defensive ever since.

In an interview with the online Snob magazine last month, Iksanov said that his foes include people in the top echelons of government and business, along with their jet-setting wives who want to turn the Bolshoi into their playground.

Iksanov's patron, former culture minister Mikhail Shvydkoi, who is now serving as the Kremlin envoy for international cultural relations, acknowledged in an interview published last month that some of the country's most influential people are behind Tsiskaridze, but insisted that Putin and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev were staying above the fray.

Ever since the Bolshoi reopened in 2011 after a six-year reconstruction that cost more than $1 billion, Tsiskaridze has aired accusations of mismanagement and corruption, alleging that the renovation destroyed historical interiors and replaced them with low-quality replicas. The NTV show featured photos of cheap and already crumbling interior decor to illustrate his claims.

Iksanov and his backers have dismissed the criticism, saying that the Bolshoi has been restored to all of its past glory.

Raising the heat on Iksanov, former Bolshoi prima ballerina Anastasia Volochkova alleged on the NTV show that Iksanov oversaw a practice of ballerinas being used as escorts.

"An administrator would call them to say they are going to a party and a dinner ending in bed," she said. "When the girls asked the administrator what would happen if they refuse, the answer was: You will have problems in the Bolshoi then."

Volochkova acknowledged that she herself enjoyed the protection of a billionaire businessman and was fired in 2003 after they separated. She described the Bolshoi as a "tangle of snakes" and a "big brothel."

Tsiskaridze and Dmitrichenko have also criticized what they describe as Filin's unfair distribution of pay to the Bolshoi dancers.

Valeria Uralskaya, editor of Ballet magazine, said that the huge amount of money involved has made smoldering conflicts worse.

"When money gets involved in the arts, conflicts become more likely," she said. "A lot of commercial issues have come to be part of our lives ? and in the arts, too. Twenty years ago less money went around, there were fewer foreign tours then and people would spend more time training for their parts."

Permission for dancers to go on foreign tours has been a point of conflict and has served as an instrument of control over the troupe.

"I hear a lot about grudges about this," said Anna Gordeyeva, a ballet critic at the Moskovskie Novosti daily. "Many dancers tell me that they cannot understand why somebody gets a leave of absence and somebody else doesn't."

Rivalries over top parts also have continued to fuel conflicts. "There are a lot of questions about how Filin picked the dancers he wanted to promote," Gordeyeva said.

Filin's assistant, Dilyara Timergazina, joined Iksanov in pointing to Tsiskaridze as "a key source of the tensions." She said that Tsiskaridze's students "extort parts" and "are always unhappy with everything."

On the television show, Tsiskaridze expressed indignation over the criticism.

"For 21 years. I have honestly served not only the Bolshoi but the country's image," he said. "I have represented the country on the stages of all the world's leading theaters. I don't know why I should bear these insults."

___

AP writers Nataliya Vasilyeva and Lynn Berry contributed to this story.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-03-20-Russia-Bolshoi%20Battle/id-46b0756df4ab4e47a1d345610ef59fa5

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