PFT: Packers announce extension with Rodgers

Reuters

For months, it was assumed the Chiefs would take tackle Luke Joeckel with the first pick in the draft.? Last night, the reality become otherwise.

The Chiefs bypassed Joeckel for Eric Fisher, and Joeckel won?t forget it.

?I wanted that first pick but, you know, it didn?t happen. And that definitely puts a chip on my shoulder,? Joeckel told PFT on Thursday night, after he was picked.? ?I?m ready to go work, I?m ready to go prove myself.? It kind of hurts even more that another offensive tackle was taken before me, so I?m ready to go. . . .

?I?ll probably wake up every single day thinking that and when I?m in the weight room . . . when I?m lifting, when I?m out in the field working, you know, that?s my entire goal.? I grew up in a very competitive family, always wanted to be the best.? And you know, going behind another guy in my same position is definitely going to push me.?

It also puts pressure on Fisher.

?Obviously the first pick gets a lot of expectations, a lot of pressure, but I think I perform very well under pressure,? Fisher told PFT on Thursday night.? ?I am somebody to take advantage of pressure situations and make the most of them.? A lot of people will break under their pressure, I?m not that kind of person.? I think any time in my life I?ve had that kind of expectation that I needed to meet, I think I?ve performed very well.?

There?s a chance both will perform well.? There?s also a chance, in theory, of a Peyton Manning/Ryan Leaf dichotomy.

After spending time last night with each guy, our money?s on the former.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/04/26/packers-announce-aaron-rodgers-extension/related/

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The Shameful Sequester Vote: Bad for Democrats, Worse for Democracy (Atlantic Politics Channel)

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PST: Klinsmann tells young prospects to be patient

Young LA Galaxy attacker Jose Villarreal has MLS tongues a-waggin?. And he should. The kid?s got something.

Seattle right back DeAndre Yedlin (pictured)? Same deal. There?s fresh talk of a United States under-20 call-up for the man who made such an impression at CenturyLink this year. (Dude, expect a wee bit of U.S. fandom blowback if you don?t do something to tame that ?do. Just ask Brek Shea; people tend to think you have to ?earn? the right to do kray-kray whack with the hair. Just sayin ?)

And then there?s Jack McInerney, also known as the man dominating this blog over the past five days.

But if Jurgen Klinsmann has his way, we?ll all need to tap the brakes on these young bucks. He?s seen it before, young men appointed to greatness status before the sample of work is large enough to wear the label earnestly.

Klinsmann often mentions Jozy Altidore and the crushing weight of a $10 million transfer into La Liga for such a young (18 year old) talent.

Here is what Klinsmann told us yesterday during the on-the-record portion of the ranging discussion in D.C.

It would do all of them the best if you keep their feet on the ground. You don?t bring them up too fast to a level where they are maybe overwhelmed. I am not saying soccer-wise. They might be able to catch up pretty fast but are they able to deal, suddenly, with the type of recognition and exposure?

?We clearly saw with our Olympic team, they weren?t ready to get that exposure. They weren?t ready to see themselves on ESPN. They thought they were already there and it was too late to bring them back to the ground. Caleb [Porter, the U.S. under-23 manager] wasn?t able to do that in that moment and, boom, there goes your team chemistry.

?That was probably the best Olympic team over the last 20 years. There was so much quality in that team but they didn?t get their act together. So you want to be careful with the next generation coming through and don?t make them, at the age of 19 or 20, something they can?t be yet. Give them time, give them the up and downs. Keep them on the ground.?

A little off the point, but ?

The Olympic dream collapse affected some more than others. Klinsmann was mostly talking about MLS men. Indeed, Brek Shea went into a funk that, along with some ongoing injuries, more or less took down his entire 2012 season. D.C. United?s Bill Hamid and Chicago?s Sean Johnson had some struggles as they reintegrated into MLS matters.

But D.C. United?s Perry Kitchen hardly missed a beat. Same with Philadelphia?s Amobi Okugo, who was soon off and flying toward a great campaign at PPL Park.

Source: http://prosoccertalk.nbcsports.com/2013/04/25/jurgen-klinsmanns-advice-for-emerging-u-s-hopefuls-patience-young-men-patience/related/

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Fiction Pulitzer returns and Adam Johnson wins it

NEW YORK (AP) ? Adam Johnson's "The Orphan Master's Son," a labyrinthine story of a man's travails in North Korea, has won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction, restoring a high literary honor a year after no fiction award was given.

Pulitzer judges on Monday praised Johnson's book as "an exquisitely crafted novel that carries the reader on an adventuresome journey into the depths of totalitarian North Korea and into the most intimate spaces of the human heart." It was the third book by the 45-year-old Johnson, who teaches creative writing at Stanford University.

"I wanted to give a picture of what it was like to be an ordinary person in North Korea," said Johnson, who spent a few days there to research his novel. "It's illegal there for citizens to interact with foreigners, so the only way I could really get to know these people was through my imagination."

Booksellers and publishers had been surprised and angered in 2012 when Pulitzer officials decided for the first time in decades not to give a fiction prize, which usually results in a quick and sustained boost in sales. There was no clear favorite Monday for fiction, with Louise Erdrich's "The Round House" and a pair of novels about the Iraq war, Ben Fountain's "Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk" and Kevin Powers' "The Yellow Birds," among those receiving strong attention.

Johnson's novel was one of three works with Asian themes to win Pulitzers. Ayad Akhtar's "Disgraced," the story of a successful Pakistani-American lawyer whose dinner party goes out of control, won for drama and Fredrik Logevall's "Embers of War: The Fall of an Empire and the Making of America's Vietnam," for history.

Logevall and Johnson also shared the same publisher, Random House; and same editor, David Ebershoff. Logevall said Monday that he worked on his book for 11 years, "missed a deadline or two," but that he was glad he had the time to "make sure everything was just right."

"My editor (Ebershoff) was very patient with me," Logevall said.

In "Disgraced," a dinner party brings together two couples and several religious and ethnic identities over pork tenderloin and chorizo. When chitchat touches on Islamic and Judaic tradition, the Quran and the Talmud, racial profiling and Sept. 11 and the Taliban and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Benjamin Netanyahu ? along with the requisite alcohol intake ? chaos is achieved.

"I really wanted to write a play that was going to have a legitimately tragic dimension for a contemporary audience," Akhtar said from London, where he's helping ready a new production of "Disgraced" at the Bush Theatre. "I wanted the play to have immediacy and aliveness of engagement that harkened back to a tragic form but a mass form, something that would have audiences gasping."

The biography winner was Tom Reiss' "The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo." Gilbert King's "Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America" won for general nonfiction and Sharon Olds' "Stag's Leap" for poetry.

Reiss, who lives in New York, was at the dentist when he learned the news. He not only received $10,000 in prize money, but his dentist waved the fee for his visit.

Four of the five books to win Pulitzers were published by divisions of Random House, Inc., which also released two of the most acclaimed books of 2012 not to receive awards Monday: Robert Caro's latest Lyndon Johnson biography, "The Passage of Power"; and Katherine Boo's "Behind the Beautiful Forevers," a finalist in the general nonfiction category and winner of the National Book Award.

For music, the winner was Caroline Shaw's "Partita for 8 Voices," cited by Pulitzer judges as "a highly polished and inventive a cappella work uniquely embracing speech, whispers, sighs, murmurs, wordless melodies and novel vocal effects."

On her website, Shaw describes the four-part suite "as a simple piece. Born of a love of surface and structure, of the human voice, of dancing and tired ligaments, of music, and of our basic desire to draw a line from one point to another."

____

AP Drama Writer Mark Kennedy in New York and AP Music Writer Chris Talbott in Nashville, Tenn., contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/fiction-pulitzer-returns-adam-johnson-wins-215650984.html

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Rebel Wilson Delivers 'Pitch Perfect' Movie Awards Musical Opening

James Franco, 'Pitch Perfect' cast join Wilson to kick off Movie Awards night in epic musical fashion.
By Josh Wigler

The cast of "Pitch Perfect" perform at the 2013 MTV Movie Awards
Photo: Kevork Djansezian/ Getty Images

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1705638/pitch-perfect-opening-mtv-movie-awards.jhtml

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Ill. GOP chairman survives latest ouster attempt (The Arizona Republic)

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Here's How To Get Facebook Home Running On Nearly Any Android Device

In case you happened to miss the furor earlier today (or yesterday, depending on your timezone), Facebook officially pushed its Facebook Home launcher into the Google Play Store for owners of a select few devices to muck around with. Early impressions seem to run the gamut, but unless you had the right hardware you were plumb out of luck if you wanted to take Home for a spin. Well, let me rephrase that: you were plumb out of luck.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/9jIcMI7KPTs/

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Guan receives 1-stroke penalty for slow play

Amateur Guan Tianlang, of China, discusses his shot with caddie Brian Tam on the first fairway during the second round of the Masters golf tournament Friday, April 12, 2013, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Amateur Guan Tianlang, of China, discusses his shot with caddie Brian Tam on the first fairway during the second round of the Masters golf tournament Friday, April 12, 2013, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Amateur Guan Tianlang, of China, wears an Augusta National golf course hat while competing in the second round of the Masters golf tournament Friday, April 12, 2013, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Amateur Guan Tianlang, of China, watches his ball after hitting in the rain on the eighth fairway during the second round of the Masters golf tournament Friday, April 12, 2013, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Amateur Guan Tianlang, of China, waits to hit on the eighth fairway in the rain during the second round of the Masters golf tournament Friday, April 12, 2013, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Amateur Guan Tianlang, of China, watches his second shot on the first fairway during the second round of the Masters golf tournament Friday, April 12, 2013, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) ? Guan Tianlang, the 14-year-old Chinese golfer who added some buzz to this year's Masters, was hit with a one-stroke penalty for slow play during Friday's second round, hurting his chances of making the cut.

The youngest player ever at Augusta National was assessed the penalty after his second shot at the 17th hole, turning what would have been a par into a bogey. He finished at 3-over 75 for the round, giving him a 4-over 148 total. The penalty was believed to be the first for slow play at the Masters.

"I respect the decision they make," said Guan, who spent almost 90 minutes after his round talking with rules and tournament officials. "They should do it because it's fair to everybody."

Conditions at Augusta National are notoriously tricky in perfect weather, and the swirling, gusty winds blowing Friday only made them more difficult. Though Guan had played about a dozen practice rounds before the tournament, it often takes golfers years to figure out the best way to play Augusta National and Guan repeatedly sought the advice of his caddie, Brian Tam, who is a regular caddie at the course.

The teenager tossed blades of grass into the air before many of his shots to test the wind and was often indecisive about his clubs, pulling one, taking a few practice swings and then asking for another one.

"I just changed my routine before the Masters and the routine is good, but I think today is pretty hard," said Guan, the youngest golfer to play any major in 148 years. "You need to make the decision, but the wind switched a lot. But that's for everybody."

The Masters follows the Rules of Golf, written by the U.S. Golf Association and the Royal & Ancient. Rule 6-7 requires golfers to keep up "with any pace of play guidelines that the committee may establish." For a threesome at Augusta National, those guidelines set a target of 4 hours, 38 minutes to play 18 holes. Once a group is warned it is "out of position" ? too far behind the group just ahead ? each player is timed and allotted 40 seconds to play the shot.

Guan and his playing partners, Ben Crenshaw and Matteo Manassero, never held up the group behind them. But Fred Ridley, the competition committee chairman at Augusta National, said they were first warned for being out of position at No. 10.

The eighth grader went on the clock two holes later, and received his first warning at the 13th.

"In keeping with the applicable rules ... he again exceeded the 40-second time limit by a considerable margin," Ridley said in a statement.

Guan said he understood the warning, and tried to pick up his pace.

"A little bit," he said. "But I think my routine is good. The only problem is I have to make the decision."

Guan had a long delay on the par-3 16th. After a gust of wind dunked Manassero's tee shot in the water, he spent more than five minutes debating clubs with Tam.

"When the caddie pulls the club for him, I think he's ready. But he just sometimes ? most of the times ? he takes a little too long. He just asks questions that I think he knows, just to be sure, just to be clear in his mind," Manassero said.

"If I would have took more time on 16, I probably would have saved two shots, as well," Manassero added.

John Paramor, the chief referee for the European Tour, said he warned Guan as the group walked to the 17th tee that he needed to speed it up. But Guan had another long delay before his second shot on the hole, and Paramor pulled him aside as the teenager approached the green. Paramor informed Guan he was being assessed a one-stroke penalty, and they had an animated discussion for almost five minutes.

"You give him the news, the best you can," Paramor said.

Guan's father, Han Wen, was following his son, and a friend approached Paramor for the explanation. It was then relayed to Han Wen, who refused to question it.

"A rule is a rule," he said. "It's OK."

But the penalty rattled Guan, who missed an easy birdie putt on 17. He pulled himself together on 18, nearly holing out from a greenside bunker. His father yelled, "Yes!" when the ball hit the back of the cup and bounced a few inches past the hole, leaving an easy par putt.

"No problem," Han Wen said. "No problem."

He waited for his son behind the 18th green, and repeatedly patted Guan's shoulder as they walked together to the scoring building.

"I was a little bit (emotional) on the 17th green and I didn't make that par putt," Guan said. "But on the 18th, I think I did a pretty good job, saved the par. So I still have a chance."

Masters officials met Guan and his playing partners outside the building and had a brief discussion with them before the players entered the building. Crenshaw and Manassero eventually emerged, but it would be more than an hour before Guan came outside, flanked by his parents. He was composed as he spoke with the media, and said he didn't try to talk officials into rescinding the penalty.

"I just want to know why they're going to do that, and they told me," Guan said. "I just learned a lot from them, and they told me how to keep it faster or whatever."

But the ruling could be the difference between Guan playing the weekend or going home. The top 50 players make the cut, as well as those within 10 strokes of the lead.

Fred Couples was the clubhouse leading the tournament at 5 under ? nine strokes ahead of Guan. Tiger Woods also was at 5 under at the turn.

"It's still a great week for me," Guan said. "I've enjoyed it so far, and I learned a lot."

The last player to be penalized for slow play at a major was Gregory Bourdy in the 2010 PGA Championship at Whistling Straits.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-04-12-Masters-Guan/id-02ee43465836436b8bea5424608e1e06

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Psalm book could sell for $30 million in auction

NEW YORK (Reuters) - One of 11 surviving copies of the first book printed in America is hitting the auction block later this year and is expected to fetch as much as $30 million, which would make it the most valuable book in history, Sotheby's said on Friday.

The Bay Psalm Book was printed in 1640 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is being sold from the collection of Boston's Old South Church to fund building repairs and sustain its ministry.

The church owns one other copy, and others are owned by Harvard and Yale universities and other institutions.

It is the first copy of the book to be offered for sale since 1947, when it achieved a record auction price for a book of $151,000. Sotheby's estimated it will sell for $15 million to $30 million at its New York auction on November 26.

The current auction record for a printed book was set in December 2010 when Sotheby's sold John James Audubon's "Birds of America" for $11,542,683 including commission.

"This little book of 1640 was precursor to Lexington and Concord, and, ultimately, to American political independence," said David Redden, chairman of Sotheby's books department.

Calling the book a "mythical rarity," Redden added that "it has become too rare to collect. Yet here it is today, this modest little book printed in the American wilderness but embodying the values that created our nation: political freedom and religious liberty."

Members of the church, a nonprofit organization dating back to 1669 that is a member of the Protestant denomination United Church of Christ, voted overwhelmingly in December to sell the rare tome.

Nancy Taylor, senior minister and chief executive of Old South Church, said in a statement: "We hope to increase our grants and outreach programs, as well as maintain our National Historic Landmark building" with the substantial proceeds.

The book will go on display in New York at Sotheby's from Friday through Sunday ahead of a traveling exhibition that will visit Philadelphia, Chicago, Los Angeles and Dallas in the coming months.

(Reporting by Chris Michaud; Editing by Eric Walsh)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/colonial-psalm-book-could-sell-30-million-ny-191709049--sector.html

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Luke Bryan pulls off huge upset at ACM Awards

By Anna Chan, TODAY

Luke Bryan pulled off a shocking win on Sunday night when he beat out heavyweights Blake Shelton, Jason Aldean, Miranda Lambert and Taylor Swift to win the Academy of Country Music Award's biggest prize of the evening: entertainer of the year. The winner is chosen by fan votes.

The musician, who co-hosted the show with Shelton, was stunned after his name was announced, and appeared to cry as he slowly walked out from backstage to accept the award from Shania Twain, who was making her first appearance at the ACMs in 10 years. Even with his trophy in hand, Bryan stood in silent shock at the microphone for a long while.

"This is ... I don't know what to say, you guys," he finally started. "Thank you guys so much, fans, for doing this to me, thank you so much for making my life what it is. What I always wanted to be was just a country singer that got to ride on a tour bus and show up on a new stage and play music every night. ? I just started headlining! ? Every time I step on stage, it is a blessing to me to play for fans. ... This is the defining moment of my life!"

Bryan, 36, been on the scene since his debut album was released in 2007, but wasn't a headlining act until his single "Country Girl (Shake It for Me)" exploded after he started delivering booty-shaking performances of the catchy tune at awards shows in 2011.

Al Powers / AP

The other big winner of the night was Shelton's wife, Miranda Lambert. She took home three of the four trophies she was nominated for: song and single record of the year for "Over You," and female vocalist for the fourth year in a row. Lambert shared the song of the year victory with her husband, who co-wrote the tune.

"Last time this happened, you didn't get a chance to talk, and you're not going to get a chance either this time," he joked as he and his wife accepted their trophies. "I'll?tell you all something: I?ve learned so much from this human being standing next to me ? she blows me away, but as far as standing here right now, I used to think I was a decent songwriter until I started hanging out with her."

Notable moments from the show included Garth Brooks and George Strait's performance together; Reba McIntire's announcement that the ACM was "renaming its most prestigious honor to the ACM Dick Clark Artist of the Decade Award"; and Stevie Wonder closing the show with "Signed, Sealed, Delivered."

The complete list of winners:

• Entertainer of the year: Luke Bryan
• Male vocalist: Jason Aldean
• Female vocalist: Miranda Lambert
• Vocal duo: Thompson Square
• Vocal group: Little Big Town
• New artist: Florida Georgia Line
• Album: Eric Church, "Chief"
• Single record of the year: Miranda Lambert, "Over You"
• Song: Miranda Lambert, "Over You"
• Video: Little Big Town, "Tornado"
• Vocal event: "The ?Only Way I Know," Jason Aldean with Luke Bryan and Eric Church
• New male vocalist: Brantley Gilbert
• New female vocalist: Jana Kramer
• New vocal duo or group: Florida Georgia Line

The 48th Annual ACM Awards was held at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

More in Entertainment:

Source: http://todayentertainment.today.com/_news/2013/04/07/17646647-luke-bryan-pulls-off-huge-upset-at-acm-awards?lite

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Supposed Google Babel for Gmail screenshots leak

Images show a revamp of Google Chat's interface, complete with emoticons and message bubbles. Could this be Google Babel?

The fine folks over at Techradar got their hands on a set of screen captures, supposedly of the web interface for the new Google unified messaging application "Babel". It appears to be a rewrite of the existing Google Chat for Gmail, with a new interface new sign in options, and new features inside the program. 

The screenshots also suggest photo sharing within the program, with a mandatory Google+ login, a feature to start a Google+ hangout right from chat. The Google+ emojis are also on board in a smaller size, and there are a bunch of new ones we haven't seen in a Google product before. It's clear that if this is legitimate, it's built around Google+ as one would expect.

We're not sure of anything on this. There are so many rumors and fakes going around, and anyone with a little skill could design some of these windows and images themselves -- and have. The imagery looks very similar to some other things we've seen -- both legit and admitted fakes. We eagerly await Google I/O to see just what is real and what isn't, but in the meantime we can all have a little bit of fun speculation about it all. Today's stuff looks pretty convincing. Hit the source link below and check it out.

Source: Techradar

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/XT9Yu50AHK0/story01.htm

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Auriemma looks for eighth national championship

Louisville head coach Jeff Walz, right, and his players talk during a news conference for the women's NCAA Final Four college basketball tournament final, Monday, April 8, 2013, in New Orleans. Louisville plays Connecticut in the championship game on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

Louisville head coach Jeff Walz, right, and his players talk during a news conference for the women's NCAA Final Four college basketball tournament final, Monday, April 8, 2013, in New Orleans. Louisville plays Connecticut in the championship game on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

Connecticut head coach Geno Auriemma talks during a news conference for the women's NCAA Final Four college basketball tournament final, Monday, April 8, 2013, in New Orleans. UConn plays Louisville in the championship game on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

Louisville head coach Jeff Walz reacts during a news conference for the women's NCAA Final Four college basketball tournament final, Monday, April 8, 2013, in New Orleans. Louisville plays Connecticut in the championship game on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

Connecticut's Stefanie Dolson, left, and Breanna Stewart talk during a news conference for the women's NCAA Final Four college basketball tournament final, Monday, April 8, 2013, in New Orleans. UConn plays Louisville in the championship game on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

NEW ORLEANS (AP) ? Geno Auriemma has never lost an NCAA championship game.

Of course, his UConn Huskies haven't had to face a team like upstart Louisville, which is making an unprecedented run through the women's tournament. A victory Tuesday night over the Cardinals would be UConn's eighth title, matching them with Tennessee for the most ever in women's basketball.

Auriemma didn't want to think about it.

"Talking about things that haven't happened yet is never a good idea," Auriemma said.

History is on the Hall of Fame coach's side: UConn is 7-0 in title games, including a victory in the 2009 game against Louisville and the 2004 game that was also played in New Orleans. That game was the college finale of Diana Taurasi, who finished with three straight championships.

This trip to the Big Easy could be the beginning of a new dynasty for the Huskies led by Breanna Stewart. The heralded freshman has been on one of the most remarkable runs of any first year player in the history of the NCAA tournament. She had a season-high 29 points in the semifinal victory over Notre Dame and was honored as the most outstanding player of the Bridgeport regional.

Auriemma said he couldn't remember a player having a better game in such a setting.

Stewart already has scored 82 points in the NCAA tournament in just four games. The Syracuse native sat out the opening round rout of Idaho.

"I was sitting next to Jim Boeheim at the Olympics and we were talking during the gold medal game," Louisville coach Jeff Walz said. "He said, 'There's this kid that plays in the open gym with the women up at Syracuse and she's going to UConn and is one of the best players I've ever seen.' It's not a surprise in what she's doing. She makes it look easy."

Stewart's exploits are reminiscent of two of the all-time greats. As freshmen, Cheryl Miller guided USC to a title in 1983 and Chamique Holdsclaw led Tennessee to a championship in 1996.

Auriemma's latest prize recruit missed this season's first game against Louisville as she recovered from an ankle injury. UConn still won that game by 14 points. The Huskies have had their way with the Cardinals, winning the past 12 meetings, including that 2009 championship.

"I don't remember a thing, you try not to remember anything about those games," Walz deadpanned. "We're playing better basketball. The kids are confident, not much more to say. We believe in what we're doing. No one thought we'd beat Baylor, no one thought we'd beat Tennessee."

Walz isn't fazed by his team's lack of success against Connecticut. It's hard to blame him the way the Cardinals have rolled through the tournament behind freewheeling guard Shoni Schimmel.

First came the upset of Brittney Griner and Baylor that shocked everyone. Then came the victory over the Lady Vols ? the winningest program in women's basketball history. And finally the Final Four win over tournament newcomer Cal to get back to the title game for the second time in five seasons.

"It's going to take the best game we've played to date," Walz said. "We are going to have to play better than we played against Baylor, Tennessee and Cal. We're going to have to play 40 minutes of pretty much perfect basketball."

That will start with Schimmel, who has been incredible all tournament. Whether hitting 3-pointers from way behind the line, a behind-the-back bounce pass to her sister Jude, or an over-the-head fling against Griner, Schimmel has been a star for the fifth-seeded Cardinals.

"We're not done with what we've come out here to do and that's win a national championship," Schimmel said. "Why not go out with a bang?"

Louisville can become the lowest seed ever to win a NCAA championship on the women's side. Villanova, as an eight seed, was the lowest ever to win it on the men's side back in 1985.

No matter who wins, the Big East conference will have a ninth national championship. The conference, which will split apart after this season, has been the most dominant in women's basketball over the past decade.

"It's a special thing," Walz said. "Every time you turn on a Final Four there's Big East teams playing in it. This is the best league in women's basketball."

___

Follow Doug on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/dougfeinberg

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-04-08-BKW-NCAA-Championship/id-d42353ec8db144a9a7abc020985d4932

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Q&A on energy harvesting, wireless sensors, wireless sensor networks

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93% Zero Dark Thirty

All Critics (243) | Top Critics (45) | Fresh (228) | Rotten (17) | DVD (2)

What's striking is the absence of triumphalism -- Bigelow doesn't shy away from showing the victims shot down in cold blood in the compound -- and we come away with the overwhelming sense that this has been a grim, dark episode in our history.

This is an instant classic.

Chastain makes Maya as vivid as a bloodshot eye. Her porcelain skin, delicate features and feminine attire belie the steel within.

No doubt Zero Dark Thirty serves a function by airing America's dirty laundry about detainee and torture programs, but in its wake, there's a crying need for a compassionate Coming Home to counter its brutal Deer Hunter.

While "Zero Dark Thirty" may offer political and moral arguing points aplenty, as well as vicarious thrills,as a film it's simply too much of a passable thing.

From the very first scenes of Zero Dark Thirty, director Kathryn Bigelow demonstrates why she is such a formidable filmmaker, as adept with human emotion as with visceral, pulse-quickening action.

Kathryn Bigelow's Zero Dark Thirty is a grueling masterpiece that captures the hunt for bin Laden with a daunting amount of realism and efficiency.

Slathered in controversy, Kathryn Bigelow's Zero Dark Thirty confidently and forcefully storms onto DVD with an admirable A/V transfer, only hindered by a paltry gathering of extras from Sony.

The direction by Kathryn Bigelow, who won Oscars for Best Film and Best Director in her previous film "The Hurt Locker," is fierce and focused...

Despite what those silly Oscars would have you believe, it was this movie, not Argo, that was the finest of 2012.

Indulges Cheneyian fantasies complete with the bad-movie scene of the prisoner's defiance: "You're just a garbage man in the corporation," shouts the Arab who needs a lesson in manners from the Ph.D. (in torture?) who is racking him.

Bigelow tells the story very well, very efficiently, but doesn't really say much about it, which is ironic given the response to the film in some quarters.

Kathryn Bigelow takes the procedural model and brushes away every unnecessary detail, leaving behind a heavy, blunt object of a film that is also hugely watchable, engrossing and, best of all... highly suspenseful.

Rotten Tomatoes notes that I agree with Tomatometer critics 80 percent of the time, but this is one of those times I have to part ways with them.

Bigelow has directed excellent movies before, but this deserves to be remembered as the film that established her as a master.

You can't deny that what Zero Dark Thirty sets out to do, it does excellently.

An exhilarating and compelling historical document worthy of praise.

Bigelow's latest proves a rewarding piece of filmmaking, one that, in its best moments at least, is as gripping and as troubling as anything the director's ever made.

Bigelow and screenwriter Mark Boal shape history -- those breaks, big and small, that led to the killing of Osama bin Laden -- into one of the finest fact-based thrillers since "All the President's Men."

Purely as cinematic exercise, Zero Dark Thirty is an exhilarating piece of work. But, beyond its for-the-times subject matter, the work does not linger whatsoever.

Zero Dark Thirty is interesting as opposed to enjoyable, intriguing as opposed to entertaining, and certainly less memorable than The Hurt Locker.

It's quite remarkable how Bigelow and Boal managed to take 12 years of information (including a conclusion that everyone knows) and packaged it into a coherent, intimate and intense movie.

We know the ending, yet remain mesmerized by familiar details, filmed with a harrowing sense of urgency. It's as close to being in the White House situation room that night, watching a closed-circuit broadcast, as anyone could expect.

The second half of the film IS the film.

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/zero_dark_thirty/

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Kerry mourns first diplomat killed since Benghazi

ISTANBUL (AP) ? U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry mourned on Sunday the first death of an American diplomat on the job since last year's Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. diplomatic installation in Benghazi, Libya.

Speaking to U.S. consulate workers on a visit to Istanbul, Kerry called the death of Anne Smedinghoff a "grim reminder" of the danger facing American foreign service workers serving overseas. The Illinois native was one of six Americans killed in an attack Saturday in Afghanistan. She was on a mission to donate books to students in the south of the country.

"It's a grim reminder to all of us... of how important, but also how risky, carrying the future is," Kerry told employees in the Turkish commercial capital.

"Folks who want to kill people, and that's all they want to do, are scared of knowledge. They want to shut the doors and they don't want people to make their choices about the future. For them, it's you do things our way, or we throw acid in your face or we put a bullet in your face," he said.

Kerry described Smedinghoff as "vivacious, smart, capable, chosen often by the ambassador there to be the lead person because of her capacity."

She aided Kerry when he visited the country two weeks ago, serving as his control officer, an honor often bestowed on up-and-coming members of the U.S. foreign service.

"There are no words for anyone to describe the extraordinary harsh contradiction for a young 25-year-old woman, with all of her future ahead of her, believing in the possibilities of diplomacy to improve people's lives, making a difference, having an impact" to be killed, Kerry said.

Smedinghoff previously served in Venezuela.

"The world lost a truly beautiful soul today," her parents, Tom and Mary Beth Smedinghoff, said in a family statement emailed to The Washington Post.

"Working as a public diplomacy officer, she particularly enjoyed the opportunity to work directly with the Afghan people and was always looking for opportunities to reach out and help to make a difference in the lives of those living in a country ravaged by war," they said. "We are consoled knowing that she was doing what she loved, and that she was serving her country by helping to make a positive difference in the world."

Kerry declared the protection of American diplomats a top priority on his first day as secretary of state.

The issue has been extremely sensitive since Chris Stevens, the U.S. ambassador to Libya, and three other Americans were killed in Benghazi almost seven months ago. No one has yet been brought to justice.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/kerry-mourns-1st-diplomat-killed-since-benghazi-074326741--politics.html

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Feds send corrective order to Exxon after oil leak

Workers clean up oil in Mayflower, Ark., on Monday, April 1, 2013, days after a pipeline ruptured and spewed oil over lawns and roadways. (AP Photo/Jeannie Nuss)

Workers clean up oil in Mayflower, Ark., on Monday, April 1, 2013, days after a pipeline ruptured and spewed oil over lawns and roadways. (AP Photo/Jeannie Nuss)

Oil covers the ground around a slide in Mayflower, Ark., on Monday, April 1, 2013, days after a pipeline ruptured and spewed oil over lawns and roadways. (AP Photo/Jeannie Nuss)

A worker cleans up oil in Mayflower, Ark., on Monday, April 1, 2013, days after a pipeline ruptured and spewed oil over lawns and roadways. (AP Photo/Jeannie Nuss)

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) ? Federal pipeline safety officials on Tuesday issued a corrective action order to ExxonMobil Pipeline Co. after one of its pipelines ruptured last week in central Arkansas.

The order from the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration comes after ExxonMobil's Pegasus pipeline ruptured Friday in the small city of Mayflower, about 25 miles northwest of Little Rock.

The order prevents ExxonMobil from restarting operations on the failed segment of the pipeline until the agency is satisfied with repairs and is confident that all immediate safety concerns have been addressed.

Investigators are still working to figure out what caused the pipeline to rupture, but the corrective action order says ExxonMobil reversed the system flow of the pipeline in 2006.

"A change in direction of flow can affect the hydraulic and stress demands on the pipeline," the order, dated Tuesday, says.

About 3,500 to 5,000 barrels of crude oil spilled after the pipeline ruptured, according to ExxonMobil estimates cited in the corrective action order. That oil spewed onto lawns and roadways and almost fouled nearby Lake Conway. No one was hurt, but the spill led authorities to evacuate more than 20 homes.

The pipeline, which runs from Patoka, Ill., to the Texas Gulf Coast, was originally built in 1947 and 1948, according to federal pipeline safety officials. It remains out of service for now. In order for that to change, ExxonMobil would need written approval from a federal pipeline safety official, according to the corrective action order.

ExxonMobil also has to submit a restart plan, complete testing and analysis about why the pipeline failed and jump through a number of other hoops under the order.

The order signed by Jeffrey Wiese, associate administrator for pipeline safety, says "continued operation of the Pegasus Pipeline would be hazardous to life, property, and the environment."

The federal agency's order comes as Arkansas' attorney general promised a state investigation into the cause and impact of the spill and other officials say they plan to ask Exxon to move the Pegasus pipeline to protect drinking water.

"There are many questions and concerns remaining as to the long-term impacts, environmental or otherwise, from this spill," Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel wrote to ExxonMobil executives Tuesday. He also asked ExxonMobil to preserve records pending his investigation.

The company said it will cooperate with McDaniel's office. ExxonMobil spokesman Alan T. Jeffers said Tuesday evening that the company is reviewing the corrective action order, but declined to comment further.

Jeffers also said the company had no comment after a Central Arkansas Water official said the water system plans to formally request that ExxonMobil relocate the Pegasus pipeline outside the area that drains into the main source of drinking water for hundreds of thousands of customers in the region.

"We've been concerned about the presence of the pipeline in the (Lake Maumelle) Watershed for some time now," said John Tynan, Central Arkansas Water's watershed protection manager. "We've taken a number of steps to mitigate the risks that it poses, but obviously the only way to eliminate all risk is to remove the pipeline from the watershed."

___

Associated Press writer Andrew DeMillo contributed to this report.

___

Follow Jeannie Nuss at http://twitter.com/jeannienuss

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/b2f0ca3a594644ee9e50a8ec4ce2d6de/Article_2013-04-02-Oil%20Leak-Arkansas/id-83209ddb13dc4d29907dee87819639f8

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Why was March so cold? Blame Greenland.

You're not imagining it: March 2013 was chilly ? the second-coldest March since 2000. The culprit is a stubborn mass of warm air over Greenland that blocked the jet stream.

By Douglas Main,?Our Amazing Planet / April 2, 2013

This NOAA satellite image taken March 28 shows the stationary air mass over Greenland and the North Atlantic that kept March so chilly for most of the continental US.

Weather Underground / AP

Enlarge

Although spring has arrived, it may not feel that way for many in the United States and Canada who have had to put up with unusually cold temperatures.

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Last month was a chilly one, ranking as the second-coldest March in the continental United States since 2000, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). The average temperature across the United States this March was also 13 degrees Fahrenheit (7.2 degrees Celsius) lower than in March 2012, and a late-winter blizzard broke snowfall records in many areas.

So, why has it been so cold?

The culprit is a stubborn, stationary mass of warm air over Greenland and the North Atlantic that has blocked the normal flow of air from west to east and south to north, said Greg Carbin, a meteorologist with the NWS' Storm Prediction Center. This flow of air, known as the jet stream, usually brings more warm air from the South as the Northern Hemisphere begins to heat up in the spring.

Obstinate air masses

This March, however, the mass of warm air ? a high-pressure system that repels incoming weather systems ? has redirected air currents and created a pattern of winds coming from the Northwest, blasting the eastern two-thirds of the United States with Arctic air, Carbin said.

"This obstinate mass of warm air over Greenland has redirected air currents like a rock in a stream," Carbin said.

However, the spring season hasn't been cold everywhere. In fact, the southwestern United States has been warmer than average, as the region has been unaffected by the blocking system in the North Atlantic, said Bob Henson, a meteorologist and science writer with the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo.

Due, in part, to the cold, there have been fewer than 20 tornadoes in the United States this March, Carbin said. On average, March will see 76 twisters across the United States. Tornadoes depend on warm, moist air, which was scarce this past March, Carbin added.?

Climate change?

Some research has suggested a link between a retreat of Arctic sea ice in a warming world and these high-pressure blocking systems, Carbin said.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/science/~3/HgNeTN30RiQ/Why-was-March-so-cold-Blame-Greenland

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US is halfway to Obama 5-year export-doubling goal

FILE - In this Nov. 30, 2012 file photo, President Barack Obama waves as he arrives before speaking at the Rodon Group, which manufactures over 95% of the parts for K?NEX Brands toys, in Hatfield, Pa. Suddenly outsourcing is on the way out and insourcing on the way in as the U.S. trudges unevenly toward the president's goal of doubling American exports around the world by the start of 2015. So far, export levels are about halfway to his mark. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

FILE - In this Nov. 30, 2012 file photo, President Barack Obama waves as he arrives before speaking at the Rodon Group, which manufactures over 95% of the parts for K?NEX Brands toys, in Hatfield, Pa. Suddenly outsourcing is on the way out and insourcing on the way in as the U.S. trudges unevenly toward the president's goal of doubling American exports around the world by the start of 2015. So far, export levels are about halfway to his mark. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Suddenly outsourcing is on the way out and insourcing on the way in as the U.S. trudges unevenly toward President Barack Obama's goal of doubling American exports around the world by the start of 2015.

So far, export levels are about halfway to his mark.

Obama set the five-year target in his January 2010 State of the Union address and recently has hastened his drumbeat, telling his export advisory council last month the nation was "well on our way" to his goal. "The question now becomes: How do we sustain this momentum?"

While economists and industry leaders generally expect the ambitious target to be missed, impressive gains already booked in American manufacturing and exporting suggest such a miss may not be by that much.

Why the optimism toward a manufacturing comeback? Here are five reasons:

? Cheap U.S. natural gas and other increased energy production are helping to power U.S. factories more efficiently, with gas especially providing inexpensive raw materials for U.S. manufacturers of plastics, tires, certain pharmaceuticals and other petrochemical products.

? Higher wages in China and other foreign export markets are making outsourcing less profitable to U.S. firms.

? Congressional approval in 2011 of trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia and Panama and other agreements being negotiated now with Asia and Europe are promising to open more foreign markets to U.S. products.

? High U.S. unemployment is relieving pressure on factory owners to increase wages, helping to make U.S. labor costs more globally competitive.

? Major technology advances have steadily boosted factory efficiency and worker productivity.

Yet while many industries are doing more with fewer workers, more than half a million new manufacturing jobs have been added in just the past few years.

Of course, some big bumps lie in the road. Europe is mired in recession, the American economy continues to expand at a snail's pace and the jobless rate sits at a stubbornly high 7.7 percent almost four years after the 2007-09 recession ended.

Obama's starting point was 2009 exports of $1.57 trillion. Since then, they've climbed to a record $2.19 trillion in 2012 ? about 48 percent toward his goal of some $3.14 trillion a year by the start of 2015.

But 2012 exports, while a record, grew just 5.5 percent from those in 2011, down from a 15.9 percent surge from 2010 to 2011. The rate would have to pick up sharply again this year and next to meet Obama's target.

"Some of the headwinds we faced last year have started to improve," said Chad Moutay, chief economist for the National Association of Manufacturers. "And I think energy is a game-changer. We definitely have increased the competitiveness of U.S. manufacturing."

U.S. manufacturers posted a fourth consecutive month of expansion in March. While the rate was a bit below February's gain, the overall trend is still up.

Some critics argue that Obama set the bar artificially low by using recessionary 2009 numbers as his starting point.

Alan Tonelson, an official with the U.S. Business and Industry Council, said Obama also "has the wrong goal" by focusing on exports and not the other part of the trade equation: still-huge import levels and resulting trade deficits.

The U.S. imported $540.4 billion more in goods and services last year than it exported, down only slightly from the $559.9 billion trade deficit in 2011.

"We racked up a pretty impressive export performance over the last few years. But the main reason that we may not reach the Obama doubling-export goal is the world economy is slowing down," said Tonelson, whose organization represents nearly 2,000 mainly family-owned U.S. manufacturing companies.

Obama shrugs off such skepticism, suggesting the recent manufacturing gains speak for themselves.

"What's happening here is happening all around the country," the president said during a recent visit to a flourishing engine-part factory in Ashville, N.C. "Just as it's becoming more and more expensive to do business in places like China, America is getting more competitive."

Federal legislative "Buy America" restrictions on certain recent government contracts? considered protectionist by many economists ? are also being credited with helping to spur some recent U.S. manufacturing gains.

The U.S. now makes about 18 percent of the world's goods, down from nearly 40 percent right after World War II. Clearly, many manufacturing jobs will never come back.

"The U.S. had manufacturing trade surpluses until around 1980 (but) has run big deficits since then," said Martin Baily, a Brookings Institution senior fellow and co-author of a new Brookings study of U.S. manufacturing.

The study showed that high trade deficits, especially with China, and high U.S. business tax rates are combining to keep U.S. manufacturing from rebounding more strongly.

Manufacturing "still remains a very important sector and one that I think we need to foster and that needs to flourish," Baily said. "So we need to expand manufacturing in order to reduce that trade deficit. We can't just do it on services alone."

Republicans have long clamored for lower corporate tax rates to stimulate business growth. At a nominal top rate of 35 percent, the U.S. has the highest corporate tax of the world's industrialized nations.

While few U.S. companies actually pay the full rate due to various deductions and credits, U.S. tax bites dissuade foreign companies from setting up shop here while providing incentives to U.S. multinational companies to keep large sums overseas, Republicans argue.

Obama largely agrees and has proposed lowering the top rate to 25 percent for manufacturers, even lower rates on income from still-undefined "advanced manufacturing" and 28 percent for all other corporations.

Laura D. Tyson, who was President Bill Clinton's chief national economic adviser and served on Obama's Economic Recovery Advisory Board, said there are big barriers to getting a significant reduction in corporate rates. Among them: "The country desperately needs more tax revenues" and "there are huge vested interests" to protect existing loopholes, she said.

"At the end, I would like to get rid of the corporate tax," Tyson said. "That's probably not going to happen."

___

Follow Tom Raum on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/tomraum

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-04-04-Manufacturing%20Comeback/id-ea6dacb4f86541d48fff23c81f0c286f

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