THE PEGASUS DAILY NEWS

[pegasus]

Floral Design Day
Good afternoon from Tuxy and me
This is the 59th day of 2013 with 306 days left in the year.
Today in NY's Finger Lakes at 3:07 p.m., it's cloudy , temp 37ºF [Feels like 33ºF], winds WSW @ 6 mph, humidity 70%, pressure 29.56 in and steady, dew point 28ºF, chance of precipitation 60%.

Today in History:
1533--Michel de Montaigne, French writer of essays, was born; died 1592 at age 59.
1784--John Wesley signed the "deed of declaration" formalizing the establishment of the Wesleyan faith, or Methodists, in America.
1825--a treaty was signed between Britain and Russia settling the border between Canada and Alaska, then a Russia possession.
1827--the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Co. was incorporated to commercially transport people and freight. .
1844--12-inch gun aboard the USS Princeton exploded, killing Secretary of State Abel P. Upshur, Navy Secretary Thomas W. Gilmer and several others.
1854--about 50 slavery opponents met in Ripon, Wis., to call for creation of a new political group that became the Republican Party.
1861--the Territory of Colorado was organized.
1864--a major Union cavalry raid began when Gen. Hugh Judson Kilpatrick led 3,500 troopers south from Stevensburg, Va. towards Richmond
1901--Linus Pauling, American 2-time Nobel Prize-winning chemist and political activist, was born; died 1994 at age 93.
1906--Bugsy Siegel, American gangster who started Las Vegas casino gambling, was born; died 1947 at age 41.
1910--Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova made her US debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York.
1911--Pres. Taft nominated William H. Lewis to be the first black Assistant Attorney General of the United States.
1921--the Kronstadt Rebellion began in Russia when sailors of the Baltic Fleet and workers at Kronstadt naval base rose up against the Communist government.
1922--Great Britain formally declared Egypt's independence, although it still retained control of the Suez Canal and the country's defense.
1931--Dean Smith, Hall of Fame basketball coach (North Carolina), is 82.
1933--Adolf Hitler persuaded Pres. Hindenburg to sign a decree suspending guarantees of personal liberty, freedom of speech and the press and the right of assembly.
1940--basketball was televised for the first time, featuring a collegiate doubleheader from Madison Square Garden, Pittsburgh vs. Fordham and New York University vs. Georgetown. .
1940--Mario Andretti, champion auto racer and patriarch, turns 73.
1942--the heavy cruiser USS Houston and the Australian light cruiser HMAS Perth were attacked by Japanese forces during the Battle of Sunda Strait; both were sunk shortly after midnight.
1948--the last British troops left India.
1951--the Senate committee headed by Estes Kefauver (D-Tenn.), issued an interim report saying at least two major crime syndicates were operating in the U.S.
1952--Vincent Massey took office as governor-general of Canada, the first Canadian to hold the office.
1953--at Cambridge University, James D. Watson and Francis H.C. Crick announced they had discovered the double-helix structure of DNA.
1960--the US won its first Olympic hockey gold medal by defeating Czechoslovakia's team, 9-4 at Squaw Valley, Calif.
1971--the male voters of Liechtenstein defeated a referendum on giving women the vote.
1972--Pres. Nixon and Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai issued the Shanghai Communique, which called for normalizing relations between their countries.
1974--the US and Egypt re-established diplomatic relations after a seven-year break.
1975--more than 40 people were killed in London's Underground when a subway train smashed into the end of a tunnel.
1983--the long-running TV series "M-A-S-H" ended after 11 seasons on CBS with a special 2 1/2-hour finale that was watched by an estimated 121.6 million people.
1986--Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme was shot to death when leaving a movie theater with his wife in central Stockholm. (The killing remains unsolved.)
1987--Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev indicates that his nation is ready to sign "without delay" a treaty designed to eliminate US and Soviet medium-range nuclear missiles from Europe.
1988--the 15th Olympic Winter Games held its closing ceremony in Calgary, Canada.
1991--Allied and Iraqi forces suspended their attacks as Iraq pledged to accept all UN resolutions concerning Kuwait.
1993--a gun battle erupted at a religious compound near Waco, Texas, when Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents tried to arrest Branch Davidian leader David Koresh on weapons charges.
1994--the US Supreme Court ruled unanimously in favor of 2 Live Crew's crude parody of the Roy Orbison rock classic "Oh, Pretty Woman," declaring that unauthorized commercial parodies may be protected from penalties for copyright infringement.
1994--in the 1st NATO military action in its 45-years, US fighter planes shot down four Serbian warplanes engaged in a bombing mission in violation of Bosnia's no-fly zone.
2003--NASA released video taken aboard Columbia that had miraculously survived the fiery destruction of the space shuttle .
2003--The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals stood by its ruling that reciting the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools was unconstitutional because of the words "under God."
2003--the Food and Drug Administration announced that every bottle of ephedra would soon bear stern warnings that the popular herb could cause heart attacks or strokes, even kill. (The government banned ephedra in Feb. 2004.)
2005--Lebanon's pro-Syrian prime minister, Omar Karami, resigned amid large anti-Syria street demonstrations in Beirut.
2008--Defense Secretary Robert Gates told his Turkish counterpart that Turkey should end its offensive against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq as soon as possible.
deposed Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra returned to Thailand from 17 months in exile to face corruption charges.
2011--.Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, announced she would not seek re-election, citing what she called the increasingly polarized climate of Washington.

World News Capsules:
1. 20 Afghan police officers killed in two attacks, including a mass poisoning
....One of the attacks was a mass poisoning in Ghazni Province that killed 17 people and was carried out by men described as Taliban infiltrators.
2. China accuses Japan of escalating tensions over disputed islands
....China accused Japan of harassing Chinese ships, continuing a succession of tit-for-tat allegations that reflect increasing distrust between the two countries.
a. Tibetans accused of inciting self-immolations
....Security officials in the northwestern Chinese province of Gansu said five Tibetans convinced others that they would become heroes in death, according to state media.
3. [[uIn Cuba, as Castro era drifts to close, a new face steps in at No. 2][/u]
....Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, 52, the top contender to succeed the Castros, will need to display the authority of a future president while acting as if he does not want the job.
4. Gay rights emerge as campaign issue in Germany
....Chancellor Angela Merkel must walk a fine line between her party’s younger voters, who increasingly favor gay rights, and older, more conservative voters.
5. Big decisions for India amid slowing ecoomy
....The government is pinned between economists warning that tough fiscal steps are needed and politicians leery of introducing unpopular measures before elections.
a. Fire sweeps market in India
....The fire at an illegal six-story plastics market in Kolkata, India, early Wednesday morning killed at least 19 people, the police said.
6. As negotiators ease demands on Iran, more nuclear talks are set
.....The talks ended with an agreement to convene technical experts in Istanbul in March and return to Almaty for full negotiations in April, a senior Western diplomat said.
7. Clashes over land seizures batter the police in Myanmar
....The police tried to disperse villagers in a township in the Irrawaddy River delta who were protesting the taking of land by a private company.
8. North Koreans blame US for fueling 'explosive situation'
....North Korea's representative to the UN in Geneva made vitriolic statements at the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, capping a week of fiery rhetoric.
9. Outrage in South Africa after police drag man behind truck and he dies
....The episode, caught on cellphone video, has prompted anger because of its brazen and outsize cruelty.
10. US offers training and $50 million in other aid to Syrian rebels
....The US is helping to train rebels at a base in the region and for the first time offering armed groups nonlethal assistance and equipment that could help their campaign, said senior administration officials.
a. UN warns of dire rise in refugees from Syria
....The number of registered Syrians who had fled their homeland for safety elsewhere in the region could surpass one million by next month the UN official, António Guterres, said.
11. Benedict XVI formally ends his papacy and leaves Vatican

....Benedict XVI ceased to be pope on Thursday as his resignation took effect, leaving the Roman Catholic Church’s leadership vacant while its top clerics consider who should succeed him

US News Capsules:
1. Voting rights law draws skepticism from justices
....A central provision of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 may be in peril, judging by tough questions from the Supreme Court's more conservative members.
a. Corporate call for change in gay marriage case
....More than 200 companies have signed on to a supporting brief calling for the Supreme Court to overturn part of the Defense of Marriage Act.
2. NYC Council votes to add curbs on aiding deportation
....Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg is expected to sign two bills passed by the City Council that expand restrictions on New York’s cooperation in federal efforts to deport immigrants.
3. Trauma sets female veterans adrift back home
....Returning servicewomen are the fastest growing segment of the homeless population, an often-invisible group bouncing between friends' sofas and shelters.
4. Incarceration rates for blacks have fallen sharply, report shows
....The decline from 2000 to 2009 marks a significant shift in the racial makeup of America's prisons, according to a report released Wednesday.
5. An Iowa farmer's quest for no ordinary pig
....Carl Edgar Blake II has tried to breed the perfect pig — fatty and meaty, smooth and flavorful — he hopes will revolutionize an industry, and early reviews have been promising.
POLITICS"
1. Parties focus on the positive as cuts draw near
....With little real effort under way to avert automatic budget cuts, substantial and growing wings of both parties are learning to live with - if not love - the so-called sequester.
a. One day to cuts: What's Congress doing?

....Essentially, nothing!!
2. Domestic violence law clears House, in victoroy for Obama

....The House passed a reauthorization of the landmark Violence Against Women Act, ending a battle that had highlighted problems Republicans are having with female voters.
3. Bloomberg goes to Washington to push gun laws, but Senate has other ideas
....NYC Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg met with Vice Pres. Biden and several senators to discuss gun violence, but a Senate hearing underscored the difficult path gun-control legislation faces.

Sports Headlines:
1. NCAA: Tumultuous days for NCAA's president as the calls for reform grow louder
....When Mark Emmert took over the NCAA in 2010, he may have underestimated how difficult it would be to bring about change in the way college athletics are governed.
a. NCAABK: A fresh five push Michigan into the title picture['/u]
....Reminiscent of the Fab Five of the early 1990s, five freshmen have helped make Michigan an tournament contender.
2. NBA: Curry steals show, but Knicks nab win
....The Knicks escaped Golden State 109-105 despite a career-high 54 points from the Warriors' Stephen Curry, who sank 11 3-pointers.
3. NHL: Wave of concussions hits the NHL
....Penguins star Evgeni Malkin, the NHL's reigning Most Valuable Player, is among 11 players believed to have sustained concussions in the past two weeks.
4. MLB: Yankees suddenly seem short of the long ball
....The unfinished rehabilitation of Derek Jeter and the loss of Curtis Granderson to injury leave the Yankees without seven of their top nine homer hitters from last season.
a. Players talk of stiffer penalties for use of banned drugs
....Some players are calling for tougher penalties for those who use performance-enhancing drugs. Michael Weiner, the union executive director, is open to the idea.
5. NFL: The league will expand concussion dfforts during games
....Starting next season, all 32 teams will use a concussion assessment tool available on an iPad, and independent neurological consultants will join team doctors on the sideline.

Thought for Today
"Education is learning what you didn't even know you didn't know."
--[/i]Daniel J. Boorstin (1914-2004) American historian, educator and Librarian of Congress


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[pegasus]

NEA's Read Across America Day
Good eafternoon from Tuxy and me
This is the 60th day of 2013 with 305 days left in the -year.
Today in NY's Finger Lakes at 12:07 p.m., it's lightly snowing , temp 30ºF [Feels like 21ºF], winds NW @ 10 mph, humidity 83%, pressure 29.80 in and steady, dew point 27ºF, chance of precipitation 60%.

Today in History:
1565--the city of Rio de Janeiro was founded by Portuguese knight Estacio de Sa.
1692--in Salem Village, Massachusetts Bay Colony, Sarah Goode, Sarah Osborne, and Tituba, an Indian slave from Barbados, were charged with the illegal practice of witchcraft.
1781--the Continental Congress adopted the Articles of Confederation.
1790--the US Congress authorized the first US census.
1810--Frederic Chopin, Polish-born French composer and pianist, was born; died 1849 at age 39.
1845--Pres. John Tyler signed a congressional resolution to annex the Republic of Texas.
1864--Pres. Lincoln nominated Ulysses S. Grant for the newly revived rank of lieutenant general.
1867--Nebraska became the 37th state.
1872--the US Congress authorized creation of Yellowstone National Park.
1890--J.P. Lippincott published the first U.S. edition of the Sherlock Holmes mystery "A Study in Scarlet" by Arthur Conan Doyle.
1919--two trains were swept into a canyon by an avalanche in Wellington, Wash., killing 96 people.
1922--Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was born in Jerusalem; died 1995 at age 73.
1927--Singer Harry Belafonte turns 86 years old today.
1932--the infant son of Charles and Anne Lindbergh was kidnapped from the family home near Hopewell, N.J.
1940--the novel Native Son by Richard Wright was published.
1941--the southeastern European nation of Bulgaria joined the Axis powers by signing the Tripartite Pact.
1943--wartime rationing of processed foods under a point system began in the US.
1954--Puerto Rican nationalists opened fire from the gallery of the House of Representatives, wounding five congressmen.
1961--Pres. Kennedy established the Peace Corps.
1965--Ambassador Maxwell Taylor informed South Vietnamese Premier Phan Huy Quat that the US was preparing to send 3,500 U.S. Marines to Vietnam to protect the airbase at Da Nang.
1966--Venera 3, a Soviet probe launched from Kazakhstan in 1965, collided with Venus,
1968--country musicians Johnny Cash and June Carter were married.
1971--a bomb went off inside a men's room at the U.S. Capitol and the radical group Weather Underground claimed responsibility.
1974--former Nixon White House aides H.R. Haldeman and John D. Ehrlichman and former Attorney General John Mitchell were indicted on obstruction of justice charges related to the Watergate break-in.
1981--Irish Republican Army member Bobby Sands began a hunger strike at the Maze Prison in Northern Ireland. (He died 65 days later.)
2003--suspected Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed was captured by CIA and Pakistani agents near Islamabad.
2003--Iraq began complying with orders from U.N. weapons inspectors to destroy its Al Samoud II missiles.
2003--Turkey's parliament dealt a stunning blow to US war planning by failing to approve a bill allowing in American combat troops to open a northern front against Iraq.
2005--BTK serial killer Dennis Rader was charged in Wichita, Kan. with 10 counts of first-degree murder.
2005--a closely divided US Supreme Court outlawed the death penalty for juvenile criminals.
2008--the USS New York, an amphibious assault ship built with scrap steel from the ruins of the World Trade Center, was christened at Avondale, La.
2008--Raul Reyes, the No. 2 commander of the Colombian rebel group FARC, was slain during a cross-border raid into Ecuador by Colombian security forces.
2012--US Senate Democrats narrowly blocked, 51-48, an effort by Republicans to overturn Pres. Obama's order that most employers or their insurers cover the cost of contraceptives.
2012--Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley signed a measure legalizing same-sex marriage, effective Jan. 2013.

World News Capsules:
1. Death toll from Bangladesh unrest reaches 44

.... Violent clashes erupted across Bangladesh after a tribunal handed down a death sentence to an Islamic leader for crimes against humanity committed 42 years ago.
2. Chinese TV special on executions stirs debate
....A live television show on China’s national broadcaster displayed four foreign drug traffickers, convicted of murder, being led to their executions.
3. Croatia is withdrawing soldiers from Israel-Syria frontier
....The plan to leave the Golan Heights followed reports that Croatia was selling weapons to Saudi Arabia that were being funneled to Syrian rebels.
4. British vote shows new support for right-wing party
....Prime Minister David Cameron’s Conservatives took a beating with a by-election result that showed surging support for the United Kingdom Independence Party, a right-wing group.
5. Haitian ex-dictator is questioned in court over reign
....Jean-Claude Duvalier, known as Baby Doc, walked into a packed courtroom and for the first time answered questions about his brutal, 15-year reign.
6. Japanese court convicts two US sailors in Okinawa rape
....The sailors were convicted in a rape last year that provoked so much local anger that the American military was forced to impose a curfew.
7. Malaysian incursion by armed Filipinos ends in deadly clash
....Malaysian security forces battled with about 180 Filipinos in an effort to remove them from a remote coastal village, leaving at least 13 people dead.
8. Leaving North Korea, Rodman calls Kims 'great leaders'

....Ending a round of basketball diplomacy in North Korea, the ex-NBA star Dennis Rodman called leader Kim Jong-un an “awesome guy.”
9. New South Korean leader tries to coax North to behave
....Park Geun-hye urged North Korea to peacefully engage with the South and abandon its pursuit of nuclear weapons while asking Japan to acknowledge its aggressive past
10. Fighting shortages, Syrian civilians take reins in rebel areas

....Local councils in rebel-held towns are trying to set up courts, police forces and social services, amounting to Syria's first experiments in self-government after years under the Assads.
a. Syrian rebel leader deals with old ties to other side
....When Salim Idris defected in July 2012, he was a brigadier in the Syrian Army. Now he is chief of staff for the rebel forces.
11. Kerry criticizes Turkish Prime Minister over Zoionism remark
....Secretary of State John Kerry said that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had made “objectionable” remarks when he cast Zionism as a crime against humanity in comments at a UN meeting.
12. Discord remains at Vatican as Pope Benedict departs

....As the sun set on Rome and on his turbulent eight-year papacy, Pope Benedict XVI, a shy theologian who never seemed fully at home in the limelight, was whisked by helicopter into retirement.

US News Capsules:
1. [uSoldier admits providing fiiles to WikiLeaks][/u]

....Pfc. Bradley Manning confessed in open court to providing vast archives of military and diplomatic files to the antisecrecy group WikiLeaks.
2. US asks that justices reject California gay marriage ban

....In a sweeping argument to the Supreme Court, the Obama administration said any law prohibiting same-sex marriage should be subjected to a heightened form of judicial scrutiny.
a. Refusing to arrive late on same-sex marriage
....Corporate America has historically been slow to take up civil rights issues, but companies have rushed to sign the briefs filed with the Supreme Court in support of same-sex marriage.
3. Study of Ice Age bolsters carbon and warming link
....A paper published by the journal Science suggests that the sharp warming that ended the last ice age occurred in lock step with increases in carbon dioxide.
4. In California, what price water?
....A plant for making seawater drinkable in Carlsbad, Calif., will offer a peek into a future when prices for water reflect the real costs of obtaining it.
5. Big bang theories: Violence on screen

....As violence permeates what we see on movie, TV and video-game screens, critics consider the impact.
6. In Bay Area, a fragile relationship between Muslims and FBI
....Members of an Islamic center that was repeatedly attacked wonder if an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation could have prevented subsequent assaults.
7. Man vanishes into bedroom sinkhole

....A Florida man fell into a sinkhole that opened suddenly beneath the bedroom of his suburban Tampa home, calling out to his brother for help as he fell, the brother said.
POLITICS:
1. Boehner halts talks on cuts: GOP cheers
....Speaker Boehner seems to have decided that he may have more to lose by negotiation over the impending spending cuts than letting them happen.
a. Obama signals he'd let cuts stand to avoid US shutdown

....As a deal to break a budget impasse failed to emerge, Pres. Obama indicated he was open to letting automatic cuts stay in place to avoid a clash that could halt the government later in March.
2. Woodward is new hero for the right (yes, really)
....Conservatives have long considered Bob Woodward a scourge for helping to break the Watergate scandal, but this week many lauded his account of a dispute with the White House over his fiscal coverage.

Sports Headlines:
1. MLB: Baseball's global showcase is still finding its footing

....Many players are sending mixed signals about the World Baseball Classic, an event that has featured several foreign players who have gone on to the major leagues.
2. NBA: For Miami shooters, February was the hottesst month
....The Heat’s effective field goal percentage in February was 57.1%, the best mark since the Suns effectively shot 57.4% in March 2008 after adjusting for 3-pointers.
3. NHL: Teacher from Sweden is quick study

....The Ducks rookie goalie Viktor Fasth won his first eight starts, easing the burden on Jonas Hiller and helping Anaheim rise to second in the West.
4. NCAABK: Princeton's do-everything star has built on family legacy
....Ian Hummer, the Tigers’ top scorer, rebounder, playmaker and shot-blocker, is the son of a player from the team Bill Bradley led to the national semifinals in 1965.
5. Armstrong facing two more lawsuits
....Lance Armstrong was hit with two more lawsuits on Thursday, including one by an insurance company that paid him $3 million in bonuses for his first three Tour victories.

Thought for Today
"Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind."
--[/i]Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936) Nobel Prize-winning English author .


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[pegasus]

Hug a GI Day
Good afternoon from Tuxy and me
This is the 63rd day of 2013 with 302 days left in the year.
Today in NY's Finger Lakes at 4:07 p.m., it's cloudy , temp 29ºF [Feels like 20ºF], winds W @ 10 mph, humidity 49%, pressure 29.91 in and steady, dew point 15ºF, chance of precipitation 10%.

Today in History:
1304--Prince Henry the Navigator, Portuguese sponsor of voyages of exploration, was born; died 1460 at age 66.
1681--England's King Charles II granted a charter to William Penn for an area of land that later became Pennsylvania.
1776--patriot Brig. Gen. John Thomas slipped 2,000 troops, cannons and artillery into position at Dorchester Heights, just south of Boston.
1789--the Constitution went into effect as the first Congress met in New York City.
1791--Vermont became the 14th state.
1829--Pres. Jackson upheld an inaugural tradition begun by Thomas Jefferson and hosted an open house at the White House.
1837--the Illinois state legislature granted a city charter to Chicago.
1861--Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated as the 16th president of the United States.
1861--the US Government Printing Office began operation.
1861--the Confederate States of America adopted as its flag the original version of the Stars and Bars.
1863--the Idaho Territory was created.
1913--just before leaving office, Pres. Taft signed legislation replacing the Department of Commerce and Labor with separate Departments of Commerce and Labor.
1913--Woodrow Wilson was sworn as the 28th president of the United States.
1917--Republican Jeanette Rankin of Montana took her seat as the first woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.
1933--Franklin D. Roosevelt was inaugurated as the 32nd president, pledging to lead the country out of the Great Depression.
1933--Frances Perkins became the first woman to serve in the Cabinet when she took over as secretary of labor.
1944--Louis "Lepke" Buchalter, the head of Murder, Inc., iwa executed at Sing Sing Prison in New York.
1944--the US 8th Air Force launched the first American bombing raid against the German capita of Berlinl.
1952--Ernest Hemingway completed his short novel The Old Man and the Sea which won the 1953 Pulitzer Prize for literature.
1962--a Trans-African DC-7 crashed on takeoff in Douala, Cameroon, killing 111 passengers and crew.
1987--Pres. Reagan addressed the nation on the Iran-Contra affair, acknowledging his overtures to Iran had "deteriorated" into an arms-for-hostages deal.
1989--Time Inc. and Warner Communications Inc. announced plans to merge.
1997--Pres.l Clinton barred spending federal money on human cloning.
2003--the Army's oldest armored division, "Old Ironsides," got orders to head for the Persian Gulf as the total of US forces neared 300,000.
2003--a bomb in a backpack killed 22 people at an airport terminal in the southern Philippines.
2008--Republican John McCain clinched his party's presidential nomination.
2008--Dungeons & Dragons co-creator Gary Gygax died in Lake Geneva, Wis., at age 69.
2012--Vladimir Putin scored a decisive victory in Russia's presidential election to return to the Kremlin and extend his hold on power for six more years.
2012--nearly 300 people in the Republic of Congo were killed after a series of blasts at an arms depot in the capital Brazzaville.

World News Capsules:
1. Tensions escalating on Borneo as Malaysia doubles military forces[/]
....On the island of Borneo, seven people were reported killed, and four hostages taken, as fighting continued in the Malaysian state of Sabah over a historic claim by a Philippine religious group.
2. Worries over water pollution in China
....A chemical spill in northern China has drawn attention to growing problems with water use and pollution.
a. On eve of China's Party Congress, vows of change and raised hopes
....Communist leaders are hoping that the meeting, which begins Tuesday, will help persuade a skeptical public that they are serious about cleaning up pollution and corruption.
b. World's biggest mall a China 'ghost town'

.....The New South China Mall is filled with palm-trees, cafés, canals and leisure facilities - but few customers. The mall has capacity for 2,350 stores, yet after eight years is considered a "dead mall."
3. Queen Elizabeth II leaves hospital[/u

....Britain's Queen Elizabeth II was discharged Monday from a London hospital, where she was treated for symptoms of gastroenteritis.
a. Following resignation, top British cardinal acknowledges sexual misconduct

....Cardinal Keith O'Brien, the head of the Scottish church, is the highest-ranking priest in recent history to make such an admission.
4. Former Greek Defense Minister convicted in corruption case
....Akis Tsochatzopoulos, was sentenced to eight years in prison in the second high-profile corruption conviction in a week in Greece.
5. UN nuclear official seeks access to Iranian site
....The head of the UN nuclear regulatory body urged Iran to permit access to a site near Tehran to ascertain whether nuclear bomb trigger tests have been carried out there.
6. A jester no more, Italy's gadfly of politics reflects a movement
....In a rare interview, Beppe Grillo said his goal was to do away with a system that had "disintegrated the country" and build "something new."
7. Millions vote in crucial Kenyan elections

....Kenyans have taken to social media to share pictures of peaceful voting lines, proud voters with ink stained fingers, and politicians casting ballots.
a. Sporadic violence mars Kenya election day
....With some violence already flaring, the turnout appeared to be tremendous in the first presidential election since a vote that provoked mayhem five years ago.
8. In trafficking of wildlife, out of reach of the law in Laos
....Interviews with officials in five countries and a review of hundreds of pages of government and court documents provide strong evidence that a Laotian man is a linchpin of wildlife smuggling operations.
9. Blast kills at least 45 Pakistanis in Shiite district of Karachi
....The attack suggests Sunni militant groups are widening their brutal campaign against the country's Shiite minority.
10. Swiss voters approve a plan to severely limit executive compensation
....Ignoring a warning from the business lobby, Swiss citizens voted to give shareholders a binding say on the overall pay packages for executives and directors..
11. Syrian rebels reported to take key city after heavy fighting

....Syrian rebels seized control of the city of Raqqa after days of clashes with government forces, activists said, which would make it the first provincial capital taken by the resistance.
a. Kerry criticizes Iran and Russia for shipping arms to Syria
....Making a case for increased support to Syria’s opposition, US Secretary of State John Kerry criticized Russia and Iran for providing arms to the Syrian government.
b. Assad and British official trade verbal blows over Syrian conflict
....Pres. al-Assad criticized British aid for rebels in Syria, but Britain’s foreign secretary, William Hague, called Mr. Assad’s view of the conflict “delusional.”
12. Venezuela says it's tracking oppositiion leader in US
....Vice Pres. Nicolás Maduro said on national TV that the government was monitoring Henrique Capriles Radonski while he was on a trip to New York and Miami.

US News Capsules:
1. Recovery in US lifting profits, not adding jobs
....Experts estimate so-called budget sequestration could cost the country about 700,000 jobs, but Wall Street doesn't expect the cuts to substantially alter corporate profits or threaten stock markets.
2. AIDS moment to remember: In medical first, a baby with HIV is deemed cured

....If further study shows the procedure works in other infants, it could lead to more aggressive treatment of babies infected at birth and a sharp reduction in the number of children living with HIV.
3. As hacking against US rises, experts try to pin down motive
....Motives for a cyberattack, which could range from industrial spying to disabling the power grid, remain obscure.
4. National attention and cash in Los Angeles school vote
....After years of trying to curb the power of school boards, some advocates of overhaul are backing board candidates in the hope that they will support their causes.
5. Obama asks health plans to report rising rates
....New rules being issued by the administration will extend a previous requirement to report all rate increases for health plans sold to individuals, families and small businesses.
6. As automatic budget cuts go into effect, poor may be hit particularly hard

....Unless a deal is reached, the $85 billion in cuts will affect programs including those that provide housing vouchers and fortified baby formula.
7. One more trip to Land of Oz
....Disney's movie studio, which has stumbled recently, takes a bold risk with a prequel to the beloved 1939 musical, The Wizard of Oz.
8. Gowns from the house of sincere & snark

....Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella wants to be reassuringly old-fashioned and refreshingly irreverent, sentimental and snarky, sincere and ironic, all at once.
9. In Oakland, photojournalists covering crimes become the victims
....In less than a year, journalists at every major television news station in the Bay Area have been robbed of expensive cameras, sometimes at gunpoint, and it is changing the way they report.
10. Oberlin cancels classes after series of 'hate-related incidents'
....A person wearing a robe and hood appeared near the college’s Afrikan Heritage House on Monday, the latest in a string of racist and antigay actions.
11. Baby delvered after car crash killed parents dies

....The infant was rescued from his dead Jewish mother's womb after a hit-and-run crash Sunday in New York. The baby's father also was killed in the wreck.
POLITICS:
1. Ex-governor seeks comeback in lively South Carolina race

....Mark Sanford, who turned the phrase “hiking the Appalachian Trail” into a euphemism for an affair, is one of 18 candidates vying for a Congressional seat in an upcoming special election.
2. A border evolves as Washington pursues immigration reform
....Lawmakers have agreed in principle to provide a pathway to citizenship for 11 million undocumented immigrants – provided the border is strengthened first. But what does a “secure border” mean exactly?
3. Main Street gets the gun news from Washington
....Hope is fading fast for a ban on the type of bullet-spraying assault rifle that took the lives of 20 children at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.

Sports Headlines:
1. NBA: James and the Heat are always in the Knicks' way as Heat rally past Knicks for 14th straight win

....Led by LeBron James, who brushed off a knee injury and scored 29 points, Miami overcame a double-digit deficit to beat the Knicks 99-93 for the first time this season. As long as LeBron James plays for the Miami Heat, the Knicks and their fans face an ultimately grim future.
a. Scoring woes leave Nets desperate for solutions
....After losing four of five games, Coach P. J. Carlesimo is struggling to come up with productive rotations as the season winds down.
2. NHL: NHL bargains for rights in exchange for suspending play for Olympics
....Though the NHL is expected to send players to the Olympics in Sochi, Russia, next year, the league is still trying to get extra concessions from Olympic officials.
a. Illegal blow to Richards spurs Rangers' goals

....The Rangers won 3-2 in a shootout, but the image most will carry from the game is that of Brad Richards writhing on the ice after being shoved hard into the boards from behind.
b. Late goal rescures Chicag Blackhawks, taking points streak to 22
....Patrick Kane scored late in regulation time and then notched the only shootout goal as Chicago’s record season-opening streak reached 22 games.
3. NCAABK: Gonzaga tops AP Poll for 1st time ever

....History has been made in the AP College Basketball Rankings - for the first time in school history, the Gonzaga Bulldogs, everyone's favorite underdog not that long ago, have reached the apex of the Top 25.
a. Last-minute defense by Michigan steals a win

....With 22 seconds remaining, Trey Burke stole the ball from No. 9 Michigan State near midcourt and dunked it to give No. 4 Michigan the victory 58-57.
4. MLB: Creaking sounds from Pettitte, Rivera and Jeter are growing fainter
....The Yankees’ 40-and-over pitchers, Andy Pettitte and Mariano Rivera, faced hitters in a simulated game. Shortstop Derek Jeter, recovering from a broken ankle, was progressing as planned.
a. Mets aare wearing smiles this spring, at least on their caps
....The Mets’ new spring training caps, part of a line of lighter headwear introduced for all 30 teams, features the cheery mascot Mr. Met.

Thought for Today
"It is almost impossible to state what one in fact believes, because it is almost impossible to hold a belief and to define it at the same time."
--William Carlos Williams (1883-1963). American poet

[pegasus]

Girl Scout Week
Good evening from Tuxy and me
This is the day of 2013 with days left in the year.
Today in NY's Finger Lakes at 3:07 p.m., it's cloudy , temp 38ºF [Feels like 38ºF], winds E @ 3 mph, humidity 65%, pressure 30.31 in and falling, dew point 27ºF, chance of precipitation 10%.

World News Capsules
1. Afghan leader says US abets Taliban's goal

....Pres. Karzai charged that the US government and the Taliban had in effect colluded to keep Afghanistan unstable in order to justify a continued American military presence.
2. US demands that China end hacking and set cyber rules
....The Obama administration made its first direct response to a raft of attacks on American computer networks, many of which appear to have originated with the Chinese military.
3. Uprooted by tsunami, church's flock regroups

....The Fukushima First Baptist Church, whose members fled after the March 2011 disaster, has had a long road back.
4. Islamists kill 7 captives in Nigeria
....The deaths signal a shift in tactics by the radical Islamists who have been battling the Nigerian government for nearly four years in the country’s impoverished north.
5. North Korea declares 1953 war truce nullified

....The move to cancel the armistice followed through on a longstanding threat, and came as the US and South Korea were in the midst of joint military drills.
6. Saudi rights activists get 10 years

....n a case that has captured international attention, two of Saudi Arabia's most prominent human rights activists were each sentenced on Saturday to at least 10 years in prison, Saudi activists report.
7. South African meat snacks often mislabeled
....Citing DNA analysis of the popular South African cured meat snack, researchers found two-thirds of the samples mislabeled, including kangaroo, as well as pork and lamb, called ostrich.
8. As North Korea blusters, South Korea flirts with talk of nuclear arms
....The North's missile and nuclear programs and fiery threats of war have heightened fears in the South that miscalculations by untested leaders on either side could have disastrous consequences.
9. Before smoke rises at Vatican, its Romans vs. the Reformers

....Beneath the orderly display, the cardinals at the papal conclave are split into competing lineups and power blocs that will determine who among them emerges as pope.
a. A strict adherence to ritual and secrecy in election of pope
....The conclave to elect a pope begins with prayers chanted in an ancient language (Latin) and ends with the unveiling of the supreme pontiff. Progress during the papal conclave will be measured in the colors of the smoke that will emerge after the voting, but just how those colors are made remains a mystery.
10. Capriles tosses hat in presidential ring as Venezuelan race heats up


....Venezuelan opposition leader Henrique Capriles has announced that he will run in next month's presidential election to replace the late Hugo Chavez.
a. Chavez heir faces challenge in tiew with armed forces
....If elected, Nicolás Maduro, the designated successor to Hugo Chávez, must contend with an array of factions, the most important of which is the scandal-plagued military.

US News Capsules:
1. Cuts give Obama path to create leaner military
....Administration officials, and even some Pentagon officers, see a possible opening to argue for reductions in programs long in Pres. Obama's sights.
2. Decision looms on trade status of 5 shark species
....Delegates at an international meeting on wildlife trade voted on Monday to add several shark species to a list of plants and animals whose international trade is regulated.
3. Harvard search of e-mail stuns its faculty members
....Faculty members expressed dismay that Harvard administrators secretly search e-mail accounts to see who had leaked a memo about cheating. The university offered a qualified apology for keeping the searches, which refocused attention on Harvard’s largest cheating scandal, secret from most of the employees involved.
4. Overrun by crime, Oakland looks to make allies in community
....The captains of each of the five districts are to focus on community outreach in the city, where police and residents have a long, troubled history.
5. Arkansas's abortion ban and one man's strong will

....State Senator Jason Rapert’s legislation to restrict the procedure to early in pregnancy gave new energy to abortion foes who are pushing similar measures in several states.
6. For US seminarians, a 'ringside seat'
....Seminarians at the Pontifical North American College in Rome have a rare opportunity to watch the papal transition that is studied in class.
7. After cashing in on job cuts, Wall St. looks ti wirjer yotyrb
....With jobs slowly coming back, hopes are that ordinary Americans will finally feel the recovery that the nation's corporations have seen for some time.
8. Judge blocks New York City's limits on big sugary drinks

....A state court judge invalidated new restrictions on sweetened beverages on Monday, a day before they were set to take effect, saying the rules were “arbitrary and capricious.”
9. TSA sticks with decision on knives

....The Transportation Security Administration will stick with its decision allowing small knives on planes, despite opposition from some pilots, flight attendants and members of Congress.
POLITICS:
1. Ryan takes onObamacare...again

....Republicans have unsuccessfully tried to repeal Obamacare more than 30 times. And the Supreme Court narrowly upheld the law last year in a politically charged decision. Ryan also brought up again his rejected voucher plan replacement for Medicare.
2. Smaller states find outsize clout growing in Senate
....The disproportionate power enjoyed in the Senate by small states is playing a growing role in the political dynamic on issues as varied as gun control, immigration and campaign finance.
3. Medicaid expansion rejected in Florida
....Rebuffing Gov. Rick Scott, a Florida Senate committee proposed using federal money to enroll low-income residents in private insurance as a compromise.

Sports Headlines:
1. NCAABK: Left behind, UConn ponders starting over again

....As the current Big East dissolves, Connecticut is contemplating an immediate future in an unheralded league and the likelihood of no traditional or natural geographic rivals.
a. New Big East and Fox team up
....The new Fox Sports 1 cable channel will present the basketball games of the seven Catholic universities taking over the Big East name, including Georgetown, St. John’s, Seton Hall and Providence.
b. Indiana player knows how to wow a crowd
....Victor Oladipo, an efficient and electrifying 6-foot-5 junior at Indiana, has blossomed from an undervalued recruit into a finalist for the Wooden Award, given to the nation's top player.
2. Baseball: USA avoids elimination with 9-4 victory over Cnanda

....The US came from behind twice to beat Canada and advance to the second round of the World Baseball Classic.
a. Inspiration in an imperfect tournament, by way of Europe
....The success of Italy and the Netherlands so far in the World Baseball Classic is heartening for Major League Baseball, which hopes to inspire more players through international competition.
b. The Netherlands eliminates Cuba at World Baseball Classic
....Hensley Meulens, the winning manager, called the come-from-behind 7-6 victory the biggest in Dutch history.
3. NBA: Stoudemire's woes make deal look worse all the time

....When the Knicks signed Amar’e Stoudemire in 2010, they ignored his notoriously fragile knees. Now the team faces the scary consequences of that decision.
4. Golf: No catching or doubting a healthy, happy Woods
....Tiger Woods moved closer to getting back on top of his sport by claiming his 76th PGA Tour title and first World Golf Championships event since 2009.

Thought for Today
""We have a natural right to make use of our pens as of our tongue, at our peril, risk and hazard."
--Voltaire [aka François Marie Arouet] (1694-1778) French philosopher & writer

[pegasus]

National Umbrella Month
Good evening from Tuxy and me
This is the 61st day of 2013 with 294 days left in the year.
Today in NY's Finger Lakes at 5:47 p.m., it's partly cloudy , Sunset 7:10 p.m. temp 40ºF [Feels like 36ºF], winds WNW @ 6 mph, humidity 73%, pressure 29.81 in and steady, dew point 32ºF, chance of precipitation 10%.

Today in History:
1507--Cesare Borgia, Italian politician, cardinal and adventurer was killed in a battle with rebels of Navarre near Viana, Italy.
1664--England's King Charles II granted an area of land in the New World Known as New Netherland to his brother James, the Duke of York.
1776--in Baltimore, Md., a public notice appears in local papers recognizing the sacrifice of women to the cause of the revolution.
1799--in the War of the Second Coalition, Austria declared war on France.
1854--Britain and France concluded an alliance with the Ottoman Empire against Russia in the Crimean War.
1862--Ulysses S. Grant was promoted to the rank of general-in-chief of the Union armies in the Civil War by Pres. Lincoln.
1864--one of the biggest military fiascos of the Civil War began as a combined Union force of infantry and riverboats starts moving up the Red River in Louisiana.
1884--Mississippi authorized the first state-supported college for women in the United States at the Mississippi Industrial Institute and College.
1888--the most severe winter storm ever to hit the New York City region reached blizzard proportions, costing hundreds of lives and millions of dollars in property damage.
1903--the New York Highlanders (formerly the Baltimore Orioles) were given the go-ahead by team owners to join baseball's American League, later becoming the NY Yankees.
1912--the Girl Guides, the forerunner of the Girl Scouts of America, was founded by Juliette Gordon Low of Savannah, Ga.
1913--Canberra was officially designated the future capital of Australia.
1917--after being called out to quell workers' demonstrations, regiment after regiment of soldiers in the city's army garrison defected to join the rebels.
1930--Indian political and spiritual leader Mohandas K. Gandhi began a 200-mile march to protest a British tax on salt.
1933--Pres. Roosevelt delivered the first of his 30 radio addresses that came to be known as "fireside chats," telling Americans what was being done to deal with the nation's economic crisis.
1938--The "anschluss" took place as German troops entered Austria with Adolf Hitler annexing his homeland the following day.
1939--Pope Pius XII was crowned at the Vatican.
1943--Aaron Copland's "Fanfare for the Common Man" had its world premiere with Eugene Goossens conducting the Cincinnati Symphomy..
1947--Pres. Truman established what became known as the Truman Doctrine to help Greece and Turkey resist Communism.
1951--The cartoon Dennis the Menace by Hank Ketcham made its syndicated debut in 16 newspapers.
1969--London police conducted a drug raid at the home of George Harrison of the Beatles.
1980--a Chicago jury found John Wayne Gacy Jr. guilty of the murders of 33 men and boys.
1987--the musical Les Miserables opened on Broadway.
1988--a sudden hail storm prompts fans at a soccer match in Katmandu, Nepal, to stampede, killing 70 and injuring hundreds more.
1993--Janet Reno was sworn in as the nation's first female attorney general.
1993--a three-day blizzard known as "The Storm of the Century" began inundating the eastern third of the US.
1993--a series of bombings in Mumbai, India, killed 257 people (the explosions were allegedly masterminded by India's most wanted man, Dawood Ibrahim).
1994--the Church of England ordained its first female priests.
1999--the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland joined NATO.
2002--Homeland security chief Tom Ridge unveiled a color-coded system for terror warnings.
2002--the UN Security Council approved a US-sponsored resolution endorsing a Palestinian state for the first time.
2003--Elizabeth Smart, the 15-year-old girl who'd vanished from her bedroom nine months earlier, was found alive in a Salt Lake City suburb with two drifters, Brian David Mitchell and Wanda Barzee.
2003--Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic was assassinated.
2008--New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer resigned two days after reports had surfaced that he was a client of a prostitution ring.
2008--Lance Mackey won his second consecutive Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, completing the 1,100-mile journey in just under 9 1/2 days.
2009--disgraced financier Bernard Madoff pleaded guilty in New York to pulling off perhaps the biggest swindle in Wall Street history.
2011--the Arab League asked the UN Security Council to impose a no-fly zone to protect Libyan rebels.
2012--Greece implemented the biggest debt write-down in history, swapping the bulk of its privately-held bonds with new ones worth less than half their original value.

World News Capsules:
1. Two Afghan sisters swept up in a suicide wave

....In affluent Mazar-i-Sharif, an increasing number of suicides among young women has grown with such speed that the city's hospital and police say they have been overwhelmed.
2. Non-Communist parties lead China an air of pluralism without the mess
....Every March at the National People’s Congress in China’s capital, an elaborate display of multiparty cooperation that critics call a sham.
a. In China, cinematic flops suggest fading of an Iran
....Celebrations of “Learn from Lei Feng Day” turned into something of a public relations debacle after three films about the propaganda hero bombed at the box office.
b. Thousands of dead pigs found in river flowing into Shanghai

....More than 3,300 pigs have been dumped into a major river in Shanghai, igniting fears among city residents of contaminated tap water.
3. Voters in Falklands back British rule nearly unanimously
....All but three voters in the Falkland Islands cast ballots in favor of maintaining British rule, but Argentina, which claims the islands, dismissed the referendum as a meaningless stunt.
4. Is Skype a telephone operator? France to investigate
....A French regulatory agency said Microsoft’s Skype unit had failed to register as a telecommunications operator as required by law.
5. UN rights investigator gives Iran harsh review
....With presidential elections approaching in June, the country has cracked down on journalists, rights activists and lawyers in a bid to stifle dissent, the investigator said.
6. On the brink in Italy
....Among Italy's estimated six million companies, businesses of all sizes have been going belly up at the rate of 1,000 a day over the last year.
7. Shifting tactics show the strain on Syria's military
....The Syrian Army is handing over checkpoints to paramilitary groups, giving up territory in the northeast without much of a fight, and even enlisting the top state-appointed Muslim cleric as a recruiter.
8. Revolution and its aftermath play out on an avenue that defines a city
....The changes along Avenue Habib Bourguiba reflect the tumult in Tunisia two years after a revolution deposed a president and ushered in an era of uncertainty.
9. At the Vatican, ritual and secrecy surround conclave

....The conclave to elect a pope begins with prayers chanted in an ancient language (Lqtin) and ends with the unveiling of the supreme pontiff.
a. Vatican reveals recipes for conclave smoke
....Progress during the papal conclave will be measured in the colors of the smoke that will emerge after the voting. The white and black smoke used to signal the results are made from fairly standard pyrotechnical formulas.

US News Capsules:
1. Widespread flaws found in ovarian cancer treatment
....Most women with ovarian cancer, which kills 15,000 Americans a year, miss out on treatments that could add a year or more to their lives, a study found.
2. For Detroit, a crisis born of bad decisions and crossed fingers
....One of the largest cities to face mandatory oversight has come as a result of millions in uncollected fees, a flight of its affluent tax base and misguided hopes that downturns might melt away.
a. Detroit asks for more time to avoid takeover
....City leaders asked for more time to put in place changes needed to avoid being replaced by an emergency financial manager as their city inched closer toward bankruptcy.
3. Spy chief calls cyberattacks top threat to the US
....James R. Clapper Jr., the director of national intelligence, told a Senate panel that the threat of cyberattacks was now more pressing than the risk of an attack by global terrorist networks.
4. Wary of attack with smallpox, US stockpiles a costly drug
suite101.com/files/000/076/000076532.jpg [/img]
....The purchase of two million doses to treat a disease eradicated in 1980 has set off a debate over a contract some experts say has the government paying too high a price for too much of a new medicine.
5. Boy Scouts sends questionaire to members about van on gays
....he group is reaching out to parents and scouts around the nation as it decides whether to continue or rescind its ban on gay members and leaders.
6. Colorado legalizes civil unions for same-sex couples
....The move came after several years of bitter debate, signaling the latest shift in a state that was once seen as hostile toward gays and lesbians.
7. US backs Boeing plan for testing 787 battery

....The decision is a major step in Boeing’s efforts to get the innovative 787 jets back in the air, but could sharpen a debate over how effective the changes will be.
8. A laboratory grows young scientists

....The annual Intel Science Talent Search, with 40 finalists from more than 1,700 applicants this year, encourages young students to enter a life of science.
POLITICS:
1. Senate panel approves two gun control bills
....The Judiciary Committee approved bills to expand background checks to private gun sales and to renew a grant program that focuses on school security.
2. Ryan budget plan aims to roll back Obama agenda

....Rep. Paul D. Ryan’s plan to cut spending was unveiled as Democrats circulated the outlines of their budget, repudiating many aspects of the Republican effort.

Thought for Today
"'Home' is any four walls that enclose the right person."
--Helen Rowland (1876-1950) American writer, journalist and humorist
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[pegasus]

As Young as You Feel Day
Good afternoon from Tuxy and me
This is the 81st day of 2013 with 284 days left in the year.
Today in NY's Finger Lakes at 1:52 p.m., it's lightly snowing , Sunrise 7:08 a.m., sunset 7:22 p.m. temp 30ºF [Feels like 19ºF], winds W @ 16 mph, humidity 60%, pressure 29.76 in and steady, dew point 20ºF, chance of precipitation 70%.

Today in History:
1312--Pope Clement V issued a papal bull ordering dissolution of the Order of the Knights Templar.
1599--Sir Anthony Van Dyck, Flemish painter, etcher and draftsman, was born; died 1641 at age 42.
1638--religious dissident Anne Hutchinson was expelled from the Massachusetts Bay Colony for defying Puritan orthodoxy.
1765--Great Britain enacted the Stamp Act to raise money from the American colonies to pay for the French and Indian War.
1820--U.S. naval hero Stephen Decatur was killed in a duel with Commodore James Barron near Washington, D.C.
1882--the US Congress outlawed polygamy.
1894--hockey's first Stanley Cup championship game was played in Montreal with the Amateur Athletic Association beating the Ottawa Capitals 3-1.
1895--Auguste and Louis Lumiere showed their first movie – the one-minute "Employees Leaving the Lumiere Factory" – to an invited audience in Paris.
1930--Stephen Sondheim, composer-lyricist (Sunday in the Park with George, Where the Wild Things Are), turns 83 today
1931--William Shatner, (Capt. Kirk on Star Trek) turns 82 years old today.
1933--Pres. Roosevelt signed a measure to make wine and beer containing up to 3.2% alcohol legal.
1941--the Grand Coulee (hydroelectric) Dam in Washington state went into operation.
1943--the Khatyn Massacre - German forces killed 149 residents of the village of Khatyn, Belarus, half of them children.
1945--the Arab League was formed with the adoption of a charter in Cairo, Egypt.
1946--the British mandate in Transjordan (Palestine) came to an end.
1947--In response to public fears and Congressional investigations, Pres. Truman issued an executive decree establishing a sweeping loyalty investigation of federal employees.
1962--Barbra Streisand made her Broadway debut at age 19 in the musical I Can Get it For You Wholesale at the Shubert Theater.
1963--The Beatles' debut album, Please Please Me, was released in the United Kingdom by Parlophone.
1972--the US Congress sent the proposed Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution to the states for ratification, where it failed to reach the required 3/4 approval.
1978--Karl Wallenda, the 73-year-old patriarch of "The Flying Wallendas" high-wire act, fell to his death while attempting to walk a cable strung between two hotel towers in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
1988--both houses of Congress overrode Pres. Reagan's veto of the Civil Rights Restoration Act.
1990--a jury in Anchorage, Alaska, found former tanker captain Joseph Hazelwood innocent of three major charges in connection with the Exxon Valdez oil spill.
1991--high school instructor Pamela Smart, accused of manipulating her student-lover into killing her husband, was convicted in Exeter, NH, of murder-conspiracy.
1993-- Intel Corp. unveiled the original Pentium computer chip.
1995--Colin Ferguson was sentenced to life in prison for killing six people on a Long Island Rail Road commuter train in 1993.
1997--Tara Lipinski of the US became the youngest women's world figure skating champion at age 14 years, 10 months.
2003--anti-war activists marched again in dozens of cities, marshaling against the U.S.-led war on Iraq.
2003--US forces reported seizing a large weapons cache in Afghanistan.
2006--the Basque separatist group ETA announced a permanent cease-fire with Spain.
2008--Jeffrey Buttle of Canada won the men's title at the World Figure Skating Championships in Goteborg, Sweden.
2010--Google announced it would stop censoring search results on its site in China by shifting it from the mainland to Hong Kong.
2012--coroner's officials ruled singer Whitney Houston died by drowning, but that heart disease and cocaine use were contributing factors.
2012--in a dramatic end to a 32-hour standoff, a masked French SWAT team slipped into the Toulouse apartment of an Islamic extremist suspected of seven killings, sparking a firefight that ended with the suspect jumping out the window and being fatally shot in the head.

World News Capsules:
1. As pollution worsens in China, solutions succumb to infighting
....Even as top officials admit the severity of China's environmental woes, conflict within the government is one of the biggest obstacles to enacting stronger policies.
a. Chinese leader in Russia to promote ecoomic and military ties

....Pres. Xi Jinping, in Moscow for his first trip abroad as China’s leader, will use the visit to underline growing economic and military cooperation.
2. Under pressure, Cyprus lawmakers to vote on gailout

....With a potential default looming, the Cypriot Parliament is preparing to vote Friday on a revised bailout proposal that removes any mention of a bank deposit tax.
a. Hezbollah courier found guilty in plot to attack Israeli tourists in Cyprus
....The ruling, in a Cyprus court, could provide impetus to efforts to have Hezbollah designated a terrorist organization by the European Union.
3. Allies of former French leader express shock at new investigation
....Former Presi/ Nicolas Sarkozy is being investigated over accusations that he abused the frailty of France’s richest woman to get money for a campaign.
4. Setting themes of humility, a new Archbishop of Canterbury is installed in Great Britain
....The Most Rev. Justin Welby, the new archbishop, spoke in sympathetic terms of same-sex relationships, but reaffirmed his commitment to opposing gay weddings in church.
5. Bill on crime against women passes in India
....The new law is intended to deter and punish sexual offenders, including men who stalk and harass women, and to make the police and prosecutors more responsive.
6. Capping visit, Obama brokers Israeli apology to Turkey

....Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel apologized in a phone call to Turkey’s prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, for a deadly raid on a Turkish ship by Israeli commandos in 2010.
a. Attempt to win hearts is tempered by a challenge to wary Israelis
....Pres. Obama has captured the hearts of many Israelis over the past two days, but he warned that Israel’s future as a Jewish and democratic state was at risk.
7. Japanese leader seeks to restart stalled plan to move Okinawan base
....Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he would ask Okinawan officials for a key permit to begin construction to relocate an unpopular American air base.
8. New leader taps Mexican discontent to press reform agenda
....Pres. Enrique Peña Nieto is vowing to address issues like poor cellphone service, limited programming on television and flagging schools to “transform Mexico.”
9. Toll rises as sectarian violence in Myanmar spreads to nearby villages
....
....At least 20 people have died in clashes between Buddhists and Muslims outside a city in central Myanmar, according to residents, a member of Parliament and local journalists.
10. Progress is reported in arms talks with Russia
....Renewed cooperation may be under way just days after the US canceled part of a Europe-based missile defense program that had infuriated the Kremlin.
11. UN to investigate chemical weapons accusation in Syria
....An inquiry will begin “as soon as practically possible” over allegations that the weapons were used in Aleppo Province, said the Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
12. Jailed Kurdish rebel chief Abdullah Ocalan offers a truce with Turkey

....It was a landmark moment for a newly energized effort to end three decades of armed conflict with the Turkish government.
13. [uPope apeals for more interreligious dialogue][/u]
....Pope Francis called for intense discourse with Islam and urged church leaders to renew dialogue with countries that do not have official ties with the Holy See.
a. 'Dirty war' victim rejects pope's connection to kidnapping
....A priest captured by the Argentine junta in the 1970s disputes accusations made by a fellow victim that the new pope played a role in his detention.

US News Capsules:
1. Fighting same-sex marriage with zeal and strategy

....Brian S. Brown has become the nation’s leading opponent of gay marriage. Now, his views are set for the ultimate American test: a Supreme Court hearing.
2. Fast-growing brokerage firm often tangles with regulators
....The low-cost model that has aided LPL Financial's explosive growth has brought with it a host of shortcomings, authorities and analysts say.
3. Universe as an infant: fatter than expected and kind of lumpy
....A Planck satellite image shows the cosmos as it appeared only 370,000 years after the Big Bang.
4. As new drone policy is weighted, feew practical effects are seen
....For months, the Obama administration has promised to create a more lasting legal framework for its drone program, but the only proposal to surface so far may have little short-term effect.
a. States vie to conduct commercial drone tests
....Federal aviation officials plan to choose six sites where the commercial use of drone aircraft will be tested.
5. Suspect linked to Colorado killing dies in a high-speed chase ending in deadly crash

....Evan Spencer Ebel, who engaged in a gun battle with Texas law enforcement officers, was suspected of being tied to the killing of Tom Clements, the head of Colorado’s prison system.
6. 'A long night' at Quantico Marine base: 3 dead in shooting

....A Marine shot and killed two of his fellow service members at the Virginia base Thursday night and then apparently killed himself, base officials said.
7. In some schools, students bring their own technology

....In a growing trend, school districts pressed for money are allowing students to bring their phones, laptop computers or tablets to be used in the classroom.
POLITICS:
1. Once few, women hold more power in Senate
....Female senators remain an anomaly, but with 20 now in office, they have become a new force on important committees and legislation.
2. Money requested for new prison at Guantánamo
....The US Southern Command has requested $49 million to build a new prison building for “special” detainees at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, on top of other renovations it says are necessary since Congress has decided to keep it open indefinitely.
3. Officials concede failures on gauging broder security
....Lawmakers warned that failure by the Obama administration to devise a reliable way to evaluate overall border security could imperil passage of immigration legislation.

Sports Headlines:
1. NCAABK: In day's biggesst surprise, Harvaard beats #3 New Mexico

....Harvard, a No. 14 seed, upset the Lobos to win an N.C.A.A. tournament game for the first time in team history.
a. Lots of food, little sleep and hope for Southern
....Twenty-four hours with the Jaguars included meetings, film review, a walk-through with an apple as a basketball and much more. It also almost included an upset over Gonzaga. Almost.
b. PAC-12, a dismissed confeerence, does some dismissing of its own
....Handed No. 12 seeds, but sent to the same site to open the NCAA tournament, Oregon and California provided back-to-back upsets of fifth-seeded opponents to lift the Pacific-12 Conference’s reputation.
c. Davidson grants Maarquette last-second reprieve
....#3 seed Marquette came back from 5 points down with 28 seconds remaining to beat Davidson. Earlier in the day, Butler held off a late rally to beat Bucknell.
2. MLB: Baseball said to be suing people linked to Florida clinic
....A suit says people tied to an anti-aging clinic hurt the sport by supplying drugs. It could also provide a way for Major League Baseball to pursue suspected dopers who haven't tested positive.
3. NBA: Nearing 40, Kidd chases a second wind

....Knicks’ Jason Kidd, who turns 40 Saturday, is not as durable as he was 15 years ago, but he continues to make a difference. Will the pressure take a toll on him or will he get a second wind?

Thought for Today
"Kindness consists in loving people more than they deserve."
--[i/i]Joseph Joubert (1754-1824) French moralist
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[pegasus]

World Meteorological Day
Good afternoon from Tuxy and me
This is the 82nd day of 2013 with 283 days left in the year.
Today in NY's Finger Lakes at 3:07 p.m., it's partly cloudy , Sunrise 7:06 a.m., sunset 7:23 p.m. temp 35ºF [Feels like 27ºF], winds WNW @ 10 mph, humidity 54%, pressure 29.60 in and steady, dew point 20F, chance of precipitation 50%.

Today in History:
1324--Louis IV, emperor of Germany, was excommunicated by Pope John XXII.
1534--Pope Clement declared the marriage between Henry VIII of England and Catherine of Aragon was still valid. (The marriage was dissolved in Britain the previous year and Henry had married Anne Boleyn.)
1743--George Frideric Handel's oratorio "Messiah" had its premiere, in London.
1775--Patrick Henry delivered an address to the Virginia Provincial Convention declaring "Give me liberty, or give me death!"
1792--Joseph Haydn's Symphony No. 94 in G Major (the "Surprise" symphony) had its first public performance in London.
1801--Paul I, Czar of Russia, was assassinated and succeeded by Alexander I.
1806--Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, having reached the Pacific coast, began their journey back east.
1839--the initials "O.K." were first published in The Boston Morning Post.
1862--the First Battle of Kernstown, Va: Confederate Gen. "Stonewall" Jackson suffered a rare defeat when his attack on Union forces in the Shenandoah Valley failed.
1913--a devastating tornado ripped through Nebraska, near Omaha, the worst of five twisters that struck that day in Nebraska and Iowa, killing 115 people in total.
1919--Benito Mussolini founded his Fascist political movement in Milan, Italy.
1933--the German Reichstag adopted the Enabling Act, which effectively granted Adolf Hitler dictatorial legislative powers.
1942--the first Japanese-Americans evacuated by the US Army arrived at the internment camp in Manzanar, Calif.
1950--Beat the Clock, starring radio’s first "Superman", Bud Collyer, debuted on CBS-TV.
1956--Pakistan, under its new constitution, became an Islamic republic.
1965--America's first two-person space flight began as Gemini 3 blasted off with astronauts Virgil I. Grissom and John W. Young aboard for a nearly 5-hour flight.
1966 - The Archbishop of Canterbury met the Pope in Rome, the first meeting between the heads of the Anglican and Roman Catholic churches for 400 years.
1981--the US Supreme Court ruled that states could require, with some exceptions, parental notification when teenage girls seek abortions.
1983--Pres. Reagan first proposed developing technology to intercept incoming enemy missiles - the Strategic Defense Initiative.
1993--scientists announced they'd found the renegade gene that causes Huntington's disease.
1994--Wayne Gretzky of the Los Angeles Kings broke Gordie Howe's National Hockey League career record with his 802nd goal.
1998--Titanic won 11 Academy Awards, including best picture, best director and best song. (The record set by Ben Hur[.u] and was tied by Lord of the Rings: Return of the King in 2003.)
1999--bestselling author Thomas Harris delivered his 600-page manuscript for his new novel, Hannibal, to Delacorte press.
2001--Russia's orbiting Mir space station ended its 15-year odyssey with a fiery plunge into the South Pacific.
2003--a US Army maintenance convoy was ambushed in Iraq; 11 soldiers were killed and seven were captured, including Pfc. Jessica Lynch.
2003--also: 18 US Marines from Charlie Company were killed in the vicinity of the Saddam Canal Bridge; a US Air Force helicopter crashed in Afghanistan, killing all six people on board; grenades exploded at the 101st Airborne command center in Kuwait, killing two officers; a U.S. soldier, Sgt. Hasan Akbar, was later convicted of murder and sentenced to death.
2008--a roadside bomb killed four US soldiers in Baghdad, pushing the overall American death toll in the five-year war to at least 4,000.
2008--the Seattle-based fishing trawler Alaska Ranger sank in the Bering Sea, killing five crew members; 42 others survived.
2010--Pres. Obama signed a $938 billion health care overhaul.
2011--Elizabeth Taylor, who appeared in more than 50 films, won two Academy Awards and was synonymous with Hollywood glamour, died at age 79 of complications from congestive heart failure at a Los Angeles hospital.
2012--Staff Sgt. Robert Bales was charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder in the deaths of 17 villagers, more than half of them children, during a shooting rampage in southern Afghanistan.
2012--Pope Benedict XVI landed in Mexico to throngs of faithful who gathered at the tarmac and lined more than 20 miles of his route into the city of Leon.

World News Capsules:
1. Brazilian police storm squatters at Rio stadium site
....At the home of the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics, the clash highlighted tension over evictions in areas scheduled for development.
2. Rebel leader in Congo is flown to The Hague

....Bosco Ntaganda, a rebel commander accused of massacring Congolese civilians, was flown out of Rwanda bound for the International Criminal Court at The Hague.
3. Cyprus makes fitful progress toward a deal on bailing out its banks

....After passing a portion of a revamped bailout agreement, the Cypriot Parliament was still considering the rest of the package as it faced a Monday deadline to avoid a banking collapse.
a. Wealthy Russians ensnared as Cyprus crisis deepens
....About 25% of Russian foreign direct investment moves through Cyprus, according to an estimate, often in a way meant to lubricate Russia’s economy.
4. France confirms the death of al-Qaida leader in Mali

....Pres. François Hollande says it has been “definitively confirmed” that the regional Al Qaeda leader Abu Zeid, who was reported killed in February in fighting in northern Mali, is dead.
5. Teeing off at edge of the Arctic? A Chinese plan baffles Iceland
....An Icelandic frontier village, eyed by a Chinese billionaire for a golf resort, is the setting for a drama involving intrigue, millions of dollars and a swarm of conspiracy theories.
6. Lebanese premier resigns as Syrian war fuels sectarian split
....Najib Mikati resigned and called for a unity government to rescue Lebanon from deepening divisions over the war in Syria, which threatens to spill over the border.
7. Myanmaar troops sent to city torn by sectaarian rioting
....At least 20 people have died in clashes between Buddhists and Muslims outside a city in central Myanmar, according to residents, a member of Parliament and local journalists.
8. Ex-president of Pakistan to end exile in bid to regain influence
....In an effort to aid his fledgling political party, Pervez Musharraf said he would return on Sunday to Pakistan, where he faces stiff opposition and criminal charges.
9. A once-vibrant city struggles as Panama races ahead on a wave of prosperity
....While Panama rides a 9% growth rate, joblessness and squalor in Colón, whose black residents say they face racism, appears to only increase.
10. Kidnapped Australian is freed in southern Philippines
....Warren Richard Rodwell, who was abducted by members of an Islamic militant organization in 2011, was released early Saturday in the coastal town of Pagadian.
11. Behind image of seamless transition, Vatican navigates uncharted waters

....Virtually every day highlights the strangeness of the Vatican’s circumstances and brings new debate about what the relationship between the two pontiffs will be.

US News Capsules:
1. Ready to fight gay marriage at court door
....Brian S. Brown has become the nation's leading opponent of gay marriage. Now, his views are set for the ultimate American test: a Supreme Court hearing.
2. Young immigrants, seeking deportaation reprieve, find unexpected path
....As thousands of illegal immigrants are seeking legal help, often for the first time, many have learned they qualify for more-permanent forms of relief.
3. The sly coyote becomes a bounty hunters' target in Utah

....A $50 bounty to control the coyote population in Utah has hunters excited, environmentalists crying foul and state wildlife administrators stuck somewhere in the middle.
4. Database is shut down by NASA for a review
....As part of a security investigation, the agency shut down a large public database used by professionals and students, and it restricted foreign nationals’ access to its facilities.
5. Tight deadlines and lagging funds bedevil Obama health care law
....Supporters of the law say President Obama has done little to trumpet its benefits, educate the public or answer the critics.
5. 2 arrested in baby shooting case

....Two teenagers, ages 14 and 17, were arrested Friday in the shooting death of a 13-month-old boy who was in his stroller, according to police in Brunswick, Georgia.
POLITICS:
1. Tower at O'Hare may be a victim of federal cuts

....The Federal Aviation Administration said it would close 149 control towers at smaller airports, but even O'Hare International Airport tower in Chicago could be affected.
2. Los Angeles mayor is leav[/img]ing without car, job, or regrets[/u]

....Antonio R. Villaraigosa faces life as a private citizen in Los Angeles after eight years in office, but he is not ruling out more public service.
3. North Dakota to put end to abortions on the ballot
....A measure allowing the public to decide whether the State Constitution should assert that life begins at conception will appear on next year’s ballot.
4. Senate passes $3.7 trillion budget, its first budget proposal in r years, seting up contentious negotiations

....The 50-to-49 vote early Saturday sets up contentious — and potentially fruitless — negotiations with the Republican-dominated House to reconcile two vastly different visions for dealing with America’s economic and budgetary problems.

Sports Headlines:
1. NCAABK: Bands go beyond the music

....The Memphis band springing into action. Bands usually play before the game, during each timeout and at halftime. The Virginia Commonwealth University band and others provide the soundtrack for the N.C.A.A. tournament.
a. Eager rebounder from Iran powers Oregon with double-doubles
....Arsalan Kazemi, a 6-foot-7 senior forward, piles up double-doubles for the Ducks, who meet the St. Louis Billikens today (WTBS 7 p.m. EST).
b. A favorite is one of the first to go
....In its first trip to the NCAA tournament, 15th-seeded Florida Gulf Coast defeated Georgetown, a perennial power and No. 2 seed 78-68.
c. Darlings of yore hear the cheers, but not for them
....While Harvard captured its first-ever NCAA tournament victory, over New Mexico, top-seeded Gonzaga barely scraped by with a six-point win over No. 16 Southern University.
d. #4 Michigan beats press in a rout of 78-53 #5VCU

....The fouMichigan Wolverines defeated the Virginia Commonwealth Rams to advance to the Round of 16 in the South Region.
2. NCAABK-W: St. John's women weathered a slump
....The Red Storm host Dayton on Sunday in a first-round game of the NCAA Division I women’s basketball tournament.
3. NBA: Anthony's 37 points help Knicks secure a plalyoff berth

....Carmelo Anthony, in just his second game back from knee troubles, played 43 minutes to help defeat the Raptors and secure the Knicks’ third consecutive season in the playoffs.
4. Soccer: Wintry weather and US team throw blanket over Costa Rica

....In a game dubbed as a "must-win" for the United States, the American players responded, delivering a victory over Costa Rica in a snowy World Cup qualifier.

Today's Headlines of Interest:


Thought for Today
"Anger is never without Reason, but seldom with a good One."
--Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790), American philosopher, diplomat, printer and founding father

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[pegasus]

[/img]Standard Format
Good afternoon from Tuxy and me
This is the day of 2013 with days left in the year.
Today in NY's Finger Lakes at 5:07 p.m., it's partly cloudy ww.msnbc.msn.com/images/msnbc/wea/36/30if[/img], Sunrise 7:27 a.m., sunset 7:09 p.m. temp 53ºF [Feels like 53ºF], winds S @ 14 mph, humidity 47%, pressure 29.86 in and falling, dew point 1ºF, chance of precipitation 10%.

Today in History:


World News Capsules:

US News Capsules:

Sports Headlines:

Today's Headlines of Interest:


Thought for Today
"
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[pegasus]

National Cleaning Week
Good afternoon from Tuxy and me
This is the 85th day of 2013 with 280 days left in the year.
Today in NY's Finger Lakes at 5:48 p.m., it's mostly cloudy , Sunrise 7:01 a.m., sunset 7:26 p.m. temp 43ºF [Feels like 36ºF], winds NNW @ 13 mph, humidity 51%, pressure 29.82 in and rising, dew point 26ºF, chance of precipitation 40%.

Today in History:
1776--the Provincial Congress of South Carolina approved a new constitution and government.
1780--the British Gazette and Sunday Monitor, the first Sunday newspaper in Britain, was published.
1812--an earthquake devastated Caracas, Venezuela, causing an estimated 26,000 deaths, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
1827--Ludwig van Beethoven, composer, died in Vienna, Austria, at age 56.
1828--Austrian composer Franz Schubert gave his only public concert, in Vienna.
1864--Gen. James B. McPherson assumed command of the Union Army of the Tennessee after William T. Sherman was elevated to commander of the Division of the Mississippi, the overall leader in the West.
1872--an earthquake felt from Mexico to Oregon rocks the Owens Valley in California, killing 30 people.
1874--Robert Frost, American who won three Pulitzer Pries for his poetry. was born in San Francisco, Calif.; died 1963 at age 88.
1885--the Eastman Dry Plate and Film Co. of Rochester, N.Y., manufactured the first commercial motion picture film.
1892--Walt Whitman, poet (Leaves of Grass ) died at age 72.
1898--the world's first game reserve, the Sabi Game reserve, was designated in South Africa.
1911--Tennessee Williams, playwright (The Glass Menagerie), was born in Columbus, Miss.; died 1983 at age 71.
1913--the Bulgarians took Adrianople in the Balkan War.
1917--the Seattle Metropolitans became the first US team to win hockey's Stanley Cup as they defeated the Montreal Canadiens.
1918--French Marshal Ferdinand Foch was appointed commander of the Allied armies on the western front.
1923--Sarah Bernhardt, French actress and the greatest "tragedienne" of her day, died at age 78 from uremia following kidney failure.
1937--a 6-foot-tall statue of the cartoon character Popeye was unveiled during the Second Annual Spinach Festival in Crystal City, Tex.
1940--Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and House Mionority Leader, turns 73 years old today.
1941--Italy attacked the British fleet, using detachable warheads to sink a British cruiser, the first time manned torpedoes had been employed in naval warfare.
1945--the battle of Iwo Jima ended; about 22,000 Japanese troops were killed or captured in the fighting and more than 4,500 United States troops were killed
1950--Senator Joseph McCarthy charged the US Department of State'sProfessor Owen Lattimore with being a top spy for the Soviet Union.
1953--American medical researcher Dr. Jonas Salk announced that he has successfully tested a vaccine against poliomyelitis.
1962--the US Supreme Court, in Baker v. Carr, gave federal courts the power to order reapportionment of states' legislative districts.
1964--The musical Funny Girl, starring Barbra Streisand, opened on Broadway.
1969--the group Women Strike for Peace demonstrated in Washington, D.C., in the first large antiwar demonstration since Pres. Nixon's inauguration in January.
1971--East Pakistan proclaimed its independence, taking the name Bangladesh.
1973--Pres. Anwar Sadat of Egypt took over the premiership, saying "the stage of total confrontation (with Israel) has become inevitable."
1975--the city of Hue, in northernmost South Vietnam, fell to the North Vietnamese.
1979--a peace treaty was signed by Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian Pres. Anwar Sadat and witnessed by Pres.i Jimmy Carter at the White House.
1982--groundbreaking ceremonies took place in Washington DC, for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
1987--police raided the Philadelphia home of Gary Heidnik and found a veritable torture chamber where three naked women were found chained to a sewer pipe.
1992--a judge in Indianapolis sentenced former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson to six years in prison for raping a Miss Black America contestant.
1997--the bodies of 39 members of the Heaven's Gate techno-religious cult were found, after committing suicide, inside a mansion in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.
1999--Dr. Jack Kevorkian was convicted of 2nd-degree murder for giving a lethal injection to an ailing man whose death was shown on 60 Minutes.
2000--Vladimir Putin was elected president of Russia.
2003--the US Senate approved a $2.2 trillion budget that provided less than half the $726 billion in tax cuts Pres. Bush wanted.
2008--US military leaders told Pres. Bush they were worried about the Iraq war's mounting strain on troops and their families.
2008--the space shuttle Endeavour landed at Cape Canaveral, Fla., ending a 16-day mission.
2008--Ford sold its Jaguar and Land Rover divisions to India's Tata Group.
2011--more than 250,000 people took to London's streets to protest the toughest spending cuts since World War II.
2011--former Democratic vice presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro, the first female major party nominee for the office, died at age 75.
2012--the US Supreme Court justices began hearing arguments on challenges to Pres. Obama's historic health care overhaul.
2012--Pope Benedict XVI arrived in Cuba in the footsteps of his more famous predecessor, Pope John Paul II.

World News Capsules:
1. Five police officers killed in bomb attack in Afghanistan as John Kerry visits

....Once a symbol of Brazil’s rise as a global oil powerhouse, Petrobras, the national oil company, now embodies the sluggishness of the economy itself.
a. Karzai has nothing but praise for US upon Bagram Prison transfer
....Concerns over the decisions the Afghans make on releases had stalled the handover of prisoners at the Bagram Prison, but on Monday the Americans finally yielded control.
2. Petrobras, Brazil's oil giant, struggles to regain lost swagger
....Once a symbol of Brazil’s rise as a global oil powerhouse, Petrobras, the national oil company, now embodies the sluggishness of the economy itself.
3. Leader of Central African Republic fled to Cameroon, official says

....A day after being ousted by rebel forces, President François Bozizé turned up in Cameroon, where he will remain temporarily.
4. China's leadeer tries to calm African fears of his country's economic power

....Pres. Xi Jinping defended China’s economic stake in many African countries during a speech in Tanzania, and promised aid in an effort to counter fears over competitive Chinese companies.
a. Hong Kong court denies residency to domestics

....The landmark case of a Filipino woman, who had worked in Hong Kong for 27 years as a domestic helper, had highlighted questions of judicial independence.
5. Stricter rules but signs of disarray in Cyprus deal

....this is a day of celebration, marking the Greek revolution nearly 200 years ago that led to independence from the Ottoman Empire.But European powers used the crisis in Cyprus to establish more punitive rules for countries needing emergency aid, but some critics said the bailout showed chaotic decision making.
6. Rise in Egypt sex assaults sets off clash over blame

....Women have begun turning to the news media to tell their stories as conservative lawmakers use their political platforms to criticize victims of rape.
a. Arrest of anti-Islamist figures is ordered in Egypt
....Five activists are accused of inciting violence against the Muslim Brotherhood, but the opposition fears that Pres. Morsi has a vendetta.
7. Great Britain pledges to curtail benefits for immigrants
....Prime Minister David Cameron promised more stringent rules to reduce outsiders’ access to social, health and housing benefits, reflecting a fraught debate in Britain.
8. Italy's highest court overturns acquittal of Amanda Knox

....The full implications for the American exchange student, who was accused of murder, were unclear, particularly the possibility of extradition.
9. Worries over violence prompt shutdown in Myanmar
....A major commercial area of Yangon, the country’s largest city, closed after rumors spread of attacks on Muslims, reflecting the nervous mood after deadly rioting last week.
10. North Korea calls Hawaii and US mainland targets

....n a show of anger over over military exercises by the US and South Korea, the North ordered missile and artillery units to be ready to hit targets in those counties
11. In Palestine, a tour puts a city in reach and at arm's length

....Ramallah is off-limits to most Israelis, but a new tour, requiring permits from both Israel and the Palestinian Authority, is giving them a glimpse of Palestinian life.
12. Russian authorities raid Amnesty International office
....The head of Amnesty International, Sergei Nikitin, said the Russian authorities arrived at the group’s local headquarters to conduct what they described as an “audit.”
13. [uSyrian opposition takes seat at Arab League][/u]
....The Arab League’s decision to give Syria’s membership to the opposition coalition was considered a symbolic but important moment in the two-year-old Syrian conflict.

US News Capsules:
1. Justices appear hesitant as they hear arguments over same-sex marriage

....As the Supreme Court heard arguments in a challenge to California’s same-sex marriage ban, some justices wondered aloud if the court had moved too fast in taking on the case.
2. Law firm's e-mails, revealed in suit, point to overbilling
....Messages from the world's largest law firm, DLA Piper, disclosed in a dispute over fees, will likely add to a perception that firms inflate bills with superfluous tasks.
3. Chinese citizen sentenced in defense secrets case
....A federal judge sentenced a former employee of a New Jersey-based defense contractor to more than five years in prison for taking military technology trade secrets to his native China.
4. With speech, Petraeus returns to public life, 'keenly aware' of altered reputation
....Since resigning as CIA director, David H. Petraeus has kept a low profile. But in a speech at the University of Southern California, he will seek to open a new chapter.
5. Lawyer outlines challenges in new job fixing Detroit
....Kevyn Orr, the city's new emergency manager, took office on Monday, extending a "sincere olive branch" to city leaders, whose salaries he may have to soon cut.
6. Terrorist has cooperated with US since secret guilty plea in 2011, papers show
....The case of Ahmed Abdulkadir Warsame, who was interrogated for months without a lawyer, has been seen as a test of the Obama administration’s counterterrorism tactics.
7. Obama to appoint first female director of Secret Service

....Pres. Obama will appoint Julia Pierson, who has been the chief of staff to the director since August 2008, as the first female director of the Secret Service, a White House official said.
8. It's official: Jersey man wins Powerball, promises to help others

....On Monday, he claimed he had won the prize, and now it's official: Pedro Quezada of New Jersey is the winner of Saturday's $338 million Powerball jackpot, the New Jersey Lottery said. "I felt pure joy, just happiness," Quezada, a Dominican immigrant deli owner and father of five, told reporters in Spanish, relying on ia translator. Having chosen to receive the lump sum, after taxes, he will net about $151 million.
POLITICS:
1. Now in defense of gay marriage, Bill Clinton
....Bill Clinton's journey from signing the Defense of Marriage Act to repudiating it mirrors larger changes in society as same-sex marriage has evolved from a fringe idea.
2. North Dakota governor signs strict abortion law
....Gov. Jack Dalrymple signed the nation’s toughest abortion restrictions into law, including one measure that would ban the procedure as soon as six weeks into a pregnancy.

Thought for Today
"Life is denied by lack of attention, whether it be to cleaning windows or trying to write a masterpiece."
--Nadia Boulanger, (1887-1979) French musician and teacher
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[pegasus]

Quirky Country Music Song Titles Day
Good afternoon from Tuxy and me
This is the 86th day of 2013 with 279 days left in the year.
Today in NY's Finger Lakes at 2:07 p.m., it's mostly cloudy , Sunrise 6:59 a.m., sunset 7:28 p.m. temp 44ºF [Feels like 39ºF], winds W @ 9 mph, humidity 49%, pressure 29.95 in and steadu, dew point 26ºF, chance of precipitation 30%.

Today in History:

1513--Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon sighted Florida.
1625--Charles I ascended the English throne upon the death of James I.
1794--Pres. Washington and Congress authorized creation of the US Navy and a fleet of six armed ships.
1836--the first Mormon temple was dedicated, in Kirtland, Ohio.
1841--in New York City, the first steam fire engine was tested.
1855--Abraham Gesner patents kerosene
1865--Pres. Lincoln meets with Union generals Ulysses S. Grant and William T. Sherman at City Point, Va., to plot the last stages of the Civil War.
1905--Thomas and Ann Farrow, shopkeepers in South London, badly bludgeoned bodies in their home and the brutal crime was solved using the newly developed fingerprinting technique.
1912--first lady Helen Herron Taft and the wife of Japan's ambassador to the United States, Viscountess Chinda, planted the first two of 3,000 cherry trees given as a gift by the mayor of Tokyo.
1933--Japan officially withdrew from the League of Nations.
1939--Oregon won the first NCAA men's basketball tournament with a 46-33 victory over Ohio State in Evanston, Ill.
1942--American servicemen were granted free mailing privileges.
1945--Germans launched their long-range rockets from their only remaining launch site, in the Netherlands, killing almost 200 Englilsh and Dutch civilians..
1958--Nikita Khrushchev became Soviet premier in addition to First Secretary of the Communist Party.
1964--Alaska was hit by a powerful earthquake and tsunamis that killed about 130 people.
1965--South Vietnamese forces conduct combat operations in Cambodia.
1968--Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, the first man to orbit the Earth, died in a plane crash.
1977--a KLM Boeing 747, attempting to take off, crashed into a Pan Am 747 on the Canary Island of Tenerife, killing 583 people in the deadliest aviation accident in history.
1980--123 workers died when a North Sea floating oil field platform, the Alexander Kielland, capsized during a storm.
1996--an Israeli court convicted Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin's confessed assassin of murder, then sentenced former law student Yigal Amir to life in prison.
1998--the Food and Drug Administration approved the drug Viagra, made by Pfizer, to fight male impotence.
2002--a suicide bomber killed 30 people during a Passover Seder in Netanya, Israel.
2003--Russia's Evgeni Plushenko won his second World Figure Skating Championships title, edging American Tim Goebel at the MCI Center in Washington D.C.
2003--Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paul Zindel died in New York at age 66.
2007--NFL owners voted to make instant replay a permanent officiating tool.
2008--the Pentagon said Defense Secretary Robert Gates had ordered a full inventory of all nuclear weapons and related materials after the mistaken delivery of ballistic missile fuses to Taiwan.
2009--Pres. Obama launched a fresh effort to defeat terrorists in both Pakistan and Afghanistan, ordering in 4,000 more troops.
2012--a JetBlue Airways captain ran through the cabin of a New York-to-Las Vegas flight yelling about religion and terrorists before he was locked out of the cockpit, then tackled and restrained by passengers.
2012--the leaders of South Korea, the US and China issued stark warnings about the threat of nuclear terrorism during a nuclear summit in Seoul
2012--award-winning poet Adrienne Rich, 82, died in Santa Cruz, Calif.

World News Capsules:
1. Kerry hears Afghan fears from women in gusiness
....An encounter that was intended to demonstrate progress also highlighted apprehensions about the course Afghanistan will follow after 2014.

Central African Republic rebel chief suspends constitution for 3 years
....The leader of the rebel group that seized power in the Central African Republic also said Monday that he was dissolving Parliament and initiating a three-year “consensual transition.”

China sentences 20 in restive region
....China cracked down on what it calls separatist activity in far northwestern Xinjiang, a region that has been a hotbed of ethnic tensions.

Europeans planted seeds of crisis in Cyprus

....The path that led to Cyprus's crisis leads back to a decision in late October 2011 to help rescue Greece at its hour of financial need.
a. Cyprus sets up tight controls as banks prepare to reopen
....Cyprus announced severe restrictions on access to bank accounts, hoping to curb what is likely to be a stampede to withdraw money.

Burmese opposition leader attends military parade
....Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel peace laureate whose presence among generals would have been unthinkable years ago, watched Myanmar’s military assert its role in Burmese politics.

Parts of Low Country are now quake country
....In Loppersum, the Netherlands, residents fear an increase in earthquakes from drilling for natural gas.
a. Dutch firm is accused of sending spam, and fight jams internet
....A squabble between a group battling spam and a Dutch company that hosts Web sites said to be sending it has escalated into an attack clogging up key online infrastructure worldwide.

North Korea shuts last military hot lines to South
....North Korea cut off the last remaining military hot lines with South Korea, accusing Pres. Park Geun-hye of pursuing her predecessor’s hard-line policy.

Berezovsky's death is unlikely to be mourned in Russia
....If Boris A. Berezovsky, the exiled oligarch who died in London over the weekend, is remembered at all, it will be for the role he played in the post-Communist 1990s — an era that many Russians would just as soon forget.

Syria's Assad seeks help from China and developing nations
....The country’s embattled president reached out to the BRICS group after the Arab League gave Syria’s membership to the opposition.

US News Capsules:
1. Justices say time may be wrong for gay marriage case
....Six justices questioned whether the case was properly before the court and hinted they might vote to dismiss it.

Sports Headlines:

Today's Headlines of Interest:


Thought for Today
"Religious liberty is primarily a man’s liberty to profess a faith different from that of the dominant religion, and to unite in public worship with those who share his faith."
--Giovanni Miegge (1900–1961) Italian Protestant theologian and author

[pegasus]

April Fool's Day

Good afternoon from Tuxy and me
This is the 91st day of 2013 with 274 days left in the year.
Today in NY's Finger Lakes at 3:07 p.m., it's cloudy , Sunrise 6:50 a.m., sunset 7:33 p.m. temp 37ºF [Feels like 30ºF], winds W @ 10 mph, humidity 65%, pressure 29.74 in and rising, dew point 26ºF, chance of precipitation 20%.

Today in History:
1578--William Harvey, English physician who developed the theory of blood circulation, was born; died 1657 at age 61,
1621--the leaders of the Plymouth colonists, acting on behalf of King James I, made a defensive alliance with Massasoit, chief of the Wampanoags.
1700--English pranksters begin popularizing the annual tradition of April Fools' Day by playing practical jokes on each other.
1789--the US House of Representatives held its first full meeting in New York City with Frederick Muhlenberg of Pennsylvania the first House speaker.
1815--Otto von Bismarck, Prussian statesman and first chancellor of the German Empire (1871-1890), was born; died 1898 at age 83.
1816--Jane Austen responds to a letter from the Prince Regent suggesting she write a historic romance, saying, "I could not sit down to write a serious romance under any other motive than to save my life."
1853--Cincinnati, Ohio, became the first US city to pay its firefighters a regular salary.
1865--the battle of Five Forks: Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's supply line into Petersburg, Va., was closed when Union forces under Gen. Ulysses S. Grant collapsed the end of Lee's lines around Petersburg.
1868--Edmond Rostand, French dramatist (Cyrano de Bergerac), was born; died 1918 at age 50
1873--composer and piano virtuoso Sergei Rachmaninoff was born in Russia' died 1943 at age 69.
1877--ignoring taunts that all he would find was his own tombstone, Edward Schieffelin began his search for silver, later finding one of the richest silver veins in the West that he named the Tombstone Lode.
1918--Great Britain's Royal Air Force was established.
1924--the Munich Beer Hall Putsch, an attempted overthrow of the German government by the Nazi party, eventually led to Hitler's rise to power.
1933--Nazi Germany began persecuting Jews with a boycott of Jewish-owned businesses.
1939--the US recognized the government of Gen. Francisco Franco in Spain on the same day Franco went on radio to declare victory in the Spanish Civil War.
1945--American forces American forces launched the amphibious invasion of Okinawa.
1946--an undersea Alaskan earthquake triggered a massive tsunami that killed 159 people in Hawaii.
1948--the Soviets stopped US and British miltary trains crassing the Russian zone of occuption and supplying West Berlin, eventually leading to the Berlin Airlift
1960--the first weather satellite, TIROS-1, was launched from Cape Canaveral.
1962--the Katherine Anne Porter novel Ship of Fools, an allegory about the rise of Nazism in Germany, was published on April Fool's Day.
1963--New York City's daily newspapers resumed publishing after settlement was reached in the 114-day strike.
1970--Pres. Nixon signed a measure banning cigarette advertising on radio and TV.
1972--the first Major League Baseball players' strike began; it lasted 12 days.
1976--Apple Computer was founded by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne.
1983--tens of thousands of anti-nuclear demonstrators linked arms in a 14-mile human chain spanning three defense installations in rural England, including the Greenham Common US Air Base.(The elder Gay pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter, and received probation.)
1984--R&B singer Marvin Gaye, 44, was shot to death by his father.
1987--Pres. Reagan told doctors in Philadelphia, "We've declared AIDS public health enemy No. 1."
1992--the National Hockey League Players' Association went on its first-ever strike, which lasted 10 days.
1993--race car driver-owner Alan Kulwicki, "the Polish Prince," shr 40.who won the 1992 NASCAR Winston Cup championship by one of the tightest margins in series history, was killed in a plane crash near Bristol, Tenn., where he was scheduled to compete in a race the following day.
1999--a New Jersey man was arrested and charged with originating the "Melissa" e-mail virus, which infected more than 1 million computers worldwide.
2001--former Yugoslav Presi. Slobodan Milosevic was arrested on corruption charges after a 26-hour armed standoff with police at his Belgrade villa.
2003--US troops rescued Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch from a hospital in Nasiriyah, Iraq, where she had been held prisoner since her unit was ambushed nine days earlier.
2003--a Cuban plane hijacked the day before with 32 people aboard landed at Key West, Fla., where the hijacker surrendered.
2008--the Pentagon made public a legal memo dated March 14, 2003, that approved the use of harsh interrogation techniques against terror suspects. (The memo was rescinded in December 2003.)
2008--top executives of the country's five biggest oil companies told a skeptical Congress they knew record fuel prices were hurting people, but argued it wasn't their fault and that their huge profits were in line with other industries.
2009--Benjamin Netanyahu took office as Israel's prime minister for a second time.
2012--a coalition of more than 70 partners, including the US, pledged to send millions of dollars and communications equipment to Syria's opposition groups.
2012--Myanmar's democracy icon, Aung San Suu Kyi, was elected to her country's parliament.

World News Capsules:
1. Two Chinese cities move to cool overheated housing market
....Beijing and Shanghai announced they would put in place new restrictions and penalties on housing sales to ensure that prices do not continue to soar, fueling what many say is a real estate bubble.
a. Penalty for Chinese editor critical of Korea stance
....The editor of an influential Communist Party journal had called China’s alliance with North Korea “outdated” in an article for a British newspaper.
b. Apple of discord in China

....There are a number of theories about why official Chinese media outlets are attacking Apple. And while many Chinese commentators online are mocking the state media, the company does appear to have a problem with Beijing. The company has been faulted for forcing customers to pay for repairs that are free in the United States. Apple’s chief, Tim Cook, said that he would improve customer service in China.
2. As banks in Cyprus falter, other tax havens step in
....Cyprus is hardly the only safe harbor for the tax-averse. Switzerland, Luxembourg, Malta and the Caymans are reminding those shaken by events in Cyprus that they remain open for business.
3. Egyptian satirist posts bail as authorities press case

....Bassem Youssef, a popular television host, is accused of insulting Pres. Morsi and denigrating Islam.
4. Patent's defeat in India is key victory for generic drugs

....India’s top court rejected a patent request by Novartis for a major cancer drug, ensuring poor patients’ access to many of the world’s best medicines, at least for a while.
5. Graft forces Indonesian president to take party helm
....After an emergency session of congress, Pres. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono reluctantly agreed to become chairman of his governing Democratic Party.
6. Israel taps an offshore natural gas field
....Natural gas started flowing from the Tamar reservoir, which is expected to supply 50-80% of Israel’s natural gas needs over the next 10 years.
7. Spurts of violence punctuate calm after Kenyan vote is upheld

....The clashes that erupted Saturday night after the Supreme Court ruled that Uhuru Kenyatta was legitimately elected president were nowhere near as chaotic as the 2007 disputed election.
8. Islamist fighters slip back into Timbuktu and are repelled by French and Malians
....The attackers appeared to number perhaps 10 or 15, said the French military spokesman, Col. Thierry Burkhard. “A half-dozen” were confirmed killed, he said.
9. North Korea vows to keep nuclear arms and fix economy

....The North's nuclear weapons "are neither a political bargaining chip nor a thing for economic dealings," the official Korean Central News Agency quoted officials as saying.
10. South Korea gives military leeway to answer North

....Pres. Park Geun-hye’s order to her generals is the latest turn in a war of words that is testing the resolve of both North and South Korea.
11. Ancient kingdoms in land of war

....Sudan’s archaeological record is pivotal to understanding the history of Africa itself, experts say, and a wave of new discoveries may be adding crucial new information.
12. Pope calls for 'Peace in all the world' in first Easter message

....Before an estimated 250,000 people jammed into St. Peter’s Square, Pope Francis also deplored a world “divided by greed looking for easy gain.”

US News Capsules:
1. FBI swarms on D.A. killings

....Dozens of FBI agents join the investigation into the weekend killings of Kaufman County District Attorney Mike McLelland and his wife, whose death is suspected to be linked to that of the January 31st killing of an assistant prosecutor. After the assassination of his deputy two months ago, Mike McLelland responded with a flash of angered bravado, vowing to hunt down 'scum'.
2. ADHD diagnoses of hyperactivity seen in 11% of US children in new CDC data
....Rates of the disorder have increased markedly in the past decade, heightening concern that the diagnosis and its medication are overused among American children.
3. Powerball winner to pay $30,000 in child support

....A New Jersey judge ordered $338 million Powerball jackpot winner Pedro Quezada to pay $30,000 in back child support to the mother of three of his children. Quezada told the judge that the children will now live with him.
3. Hagel warns of big squeeze at the Pentagon
....As Pres. Obama negotiates a spending and revenue deal, the defense secretary and Pentagon officials warned that there could be larger budget reductions than expected.
4. Caroline Kennedy seen as likely choice for Japan ambassador post

....Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of John F. Kennedy, was an early supporter of Pres. Obama, and the assignment would vault her into the kind of public life that her father and uncles pursued for decades.
5. Once a 'cuckoo's nest,' now a museum
....Oregon State Hospital features a museum that pays tribute to the movie One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and explores mental health treatments of the past.
5. New breed of Cuban dissident finds changed Miami
....Not long ago, Cuban-Americans in Miami rolled out the red carpet only to defectors who disavowed their homeland. But now a dissident who plans to return home has been greeted warmly.
6. Prosecutors seek death penalty in Colorado theater shooting

....Lawyers for James E. Holmes, charged in the Aurora theater massacre, had tried to bargain to let their client plead guilty in exchange for life in prison with no chance of parole.
7. Legal hitch blocks challenge to sex offender status
....Three members of the so-called Norfolk Four were pardoned in the rape and murder of a Virginia woman, but not the fourth, Eric C. Wilson, who was already out of prison.
8. Missed shots and quiet messaging at Easter Egg Hunt

....A 135-year tradition at the White House was marked by the president’s dismal basketball performance, while families affected by gun violence joined thousands of revelers.
9. US puts more eyes on Korea

....The US Navy is moving a massive radar platform closer to the North Korean coast to monitor that country's military moves, the Pentagon said today.
POLITICS:
1. Gang of 8 expect immigration legislation this week

....Members of the bipartisan Gang of Eight senators working out immigration overhaul legislation said Sunday they expect to have a draft bill agreeable to their circle by the end of this week. But Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, a member of the group, issued a statement saying it was too soon to consider the deal struck.
a. New attitude on immigration skips an old coal town
....Hazleton, Pa., presents a test case of whether Republicans risk leaving behind white working-class voters for whom illegal immigration stirs visceral reactions.
2. Health law provision for small business is delallyed
....Most states’ small businesses will not get what Congress intended next year: the option to provide workers with a choice of health plans. They will instead be limited to a single plan.
3. As views shift on guns, Reid corrals Senate
....The gun bills that the US Senate is about to consider offer a new example of the skill with which its leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, evolves on issues.
4. Pipeline leak brings crude reality to Arkansas

....Heavy crude oil in the Pegasus pipeline flowing like a river through a central Arkansas neighborhood could keep residents away for several more days as crews work to clean it up. The pipeline carries Canadian crude from Patoka, Ill. to Nederland, Tex. and the Gulf Coast refineries.

Sports Headlines:
1. NCAABK: Out of bed, on crutches

....In one of the more gruesome injuries you will see on a basketball court, Louisville guard Kevin Ware severely fractured his leg in Sunday's Elite Eight game against Duke, but today he is up and on crutches and wants the world to know he'll be fine.
a. Ex-Syracuse coach to sue ESPN

...Fired Syracuse University assistant basketball coach Bernie Fine intends to file a defamation suit against ESPN over its previous reporting that he sexually abused young boys. After a yearlong investigation following ESPN's reporting, federal prosecutors did not file any criminal charges against Fine, citing insufficient evidence.
2. NHL: Hockey puck breaks stars jaw

....Pittsburgh Penguins superstar Sidney Crosby was forced to leave Saturday's game against the New York Islanders early in the first period after getting hit in the face with a puck.
3. MLB: aseball is back, thank God

....Forget Punxsutawney Phil's predictions. The words "Play ball!" are the most dependable sign that spring has arrived in America. Finally, baseball season is here.

Today's Headlines of Interest:
April Fool's Day: Although today, also called All Fools' Day, has been celebrated for several centuries by different cultures, its exact origins remain a mystery. Some historians speculate that April Fools' Day dates back to 1582, when France switched from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar, as called for by the Council of Trent in 1563. People who were slow to get the news or failed to recognize that the start of the new year had moved to January 1 and continued to celebrate it during the last week of March through April 1 became the butt of jokes and hoaxes. These included having paper fish placed on their backs and being referred to as "poisson d'avril" (April fish), said to symbolize a young, easily caught fish and a gullible person.
Historians have also linked April Fools' Day to ancient festivals such as Hilaria, which was celebrated in Rome at the end of March and involved people dressing up in disguises. There's also speculation that April Fools' Day was tied to the vernal equinox, or first day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, when Mother Nature fooled people with changing, unpredictable weather.
April Fools' Day spread throughout Britain during the 18th century. In Scotland, the tradition became a two-day event, starting with "hunting the gowk," in which people were sent on phony errands (gowk is a word for cuckoo bird, a symbol for fool) and followed by Tailie Day, which involved pranks played on people's derrieres, such as pinning fake tails or "kick me" signs on them.
In modern times, people have gone to great lengths to create elaborate April Fools' Day hoaxes. Newspapers, radio and TV stations and Web sites have participated in the April 1 tradition of reporting outrageous fictional claims that have fooled their audiences. In 1957, the BBC reported that Swiss farmers were experiencing a record spaghetti crop and showed footage of people harvesting noodles from trees; numerous viewers were fooled. In 1985, Sports Illustrated tricked many of its readers when it ran a made-up article about a rookie pitcher named Sidd Finch who could throw a fastball over 168 miles per hour. In 1996, Taco Bell, the fast-food restaurant chain, duped people when it announced it had agreed to purchase Philadelphia's Liberty Bell and intended to rename it the Taco Liberty Bell. In 1998, after Burger King advertised a "Left-Handed Whopper," scores of clueless customers requested the fake sandwich.

Thoughts for Today
"So when any of the four pillars of government, are mainly shaken, or weakened (which are religion, justice, counsel, and treasure), men had need to pray for fair weather."
--Francis Bacon (1561-1626) English philosopher, politician and Lord Chancellor
"Democracy does not guarantee equality of conditions -- it only guarantees equality of opportunity."
--Irving Kristol (1920-2009) American columnist, journalist, and writer

[pegasus]

National Humor Month
Good afternoon from Tuxy and me
This is the 94th day of 2013 with 271 days left in the year.

Today in History:
1541--Ignatius of Loyola became the first superior-general of the Jesuits.
1581--English navigator Sir Frances Drake completed the circumnavigation of the world.
1775--Gen. George Washington began marching his unpaid soldiers from their headquarters in Cambridge, Mass., toward New York in anticipation of a British invasion.
1788--the publication of the Federalist Papers, written mostly by Alexander Hamilton and James Madison and one of the greatest works on US political theory, was completed.
1818--the US Congress decided the flag would consist of 13 red and white stripes and 20 stars, with a new star to be added for every new state.
1841--Pres. William Henry Harrison died of pneumonia one month after his inauguration, becoming the first US president to die in office.
1850--the city of Los Angeles was incorporated.
1859--"Dixie" was performed publicly for the first time by Bryant's Minstrels at Mechanics' Hall in New York City.
1865--Pres. Lincoln toured the Confederate capital ofRichmond, Va. the day after Union forces captured it.
1887--Susanna Medora Salter became the first woman elected mayor of an American community - Argonia, Kan.
1902--British financier Cecil Rhodes left $10 million in his will to provide scholarships at Oxford University in England.
1912--China proclaimed a republic in Tibet, a move fiercely opposed by Tibetans.
1915--Muddy Waters, African American blues musician, was born; died 1983 at age 68.
1918--the 2nd Battle of the Somme, the first major German offensive in more than a year, ended on the western front.
1928--Maya Angelou, poet, turns 85 today.
1933 the US Navy airship USS Akron crashed in severe weather off the New Jersey coast with the loss of 73 lives.
1949--twelve nations, including the US, signed the North Atlantic Treaty.
1960--Elvis Presley recorded "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" in Nashville for RCA Victor.
1968--civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., 39, was shot to death in Memphis, Tenn.
1973--the twin towers of New York's World Trade Center were officially dedicated and destroyed on Sept. 11, 2001.
1974--Hank Aaron of the Atlanta Braves tied Babe Ruth's career home run record by hitting his 714th round-tripper in Cincinnati.
1975--more than 130 people, most of them children, were killed when a US Air Force transport plane evacuating Vietnamese orphans crash-landed shortly after takeoff from Saigon.
1981--Henry Cisneros became the first Hispanic elected mayor of a major U.S. city - San Antonio, Tex.
1982--hockey sensation Wayne Gretzky of the Edmonton Oilers finished the NHL season with 212 points, the first and only player in NHL history to break the 200-point barrier.
1983--the space shuttle Challenger roared into orbit on its maiden voyage.
1988--the Arizona Senate convicted Gov. Evan Mecham of two charges of official misconduct and removed him from office.
2003--Sammy Sosa of the Chicago Cubs became the 18th major league baseball player to hit 500 career home runs.
2003--US forces seized Saddam International Airport outside Baghdad.
2006--The Iraq tribunal charged Saddam Hussein and six others with genocide and crimes against humanity stemming from a 1980s crackdown against Kurds.
2007--Radio host Don Imus made offensive on-air remarks about the Rutgers University women's basketball team. (He was later fired by CBS Radio and cable network MSNBC.)
2008--Texas authorities started removing the first of more than 400 girls from a compound built by a polygamist sect.
2008--Lisa Montgomery was sentenced to death in Kansas City, Mo., for killing Bobbie Jo Stinnett, a mother-to-be, and cutting the surviving baby from her womb.
2008-- Pirates seized the French luxury yacht Le Ponant and its 30 crew members off the coast of Somalia. (The crew was released a week later; six alleged pirates ended up being captured.)
2012--a federal judge sentenced five former New Orleans police officers to prison for the deadly shootings on a bridge in the chaotic days following Hurricane Katrina.
2013--the Obama administration gave up on trying avowed Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed and four alleged co-conspirators in civilian federal courts instead before military commissions.

World News Capsules:
1. Taliban assault on Afghan compound leaves dozens dead
....In one of the war's deadliest insurgent attacks, nine Taliban fighters stormed a government compound, killing at least 44 people and wounding more than 100 in a hostage standoff.
2. Dozens of Argentines die in flash flooding

....The deluge left thousands homeless and renewed tensions as politicians blamed one another for the high death toll.
3. In China, a newfound interest in keeping dead relatives happy

....The “tomb sweeping” festival known as Qingming, reinstated as a public holiday in 2008, has Chinese flocking to cemeteries to pay respect to ancestors.
a. Chinese leader's war on graft appears to have limits
....The recent arrests and harassment of anti-corruption activists suggest a lack of resolve among top leaders to fight malfeasance.
b. 2 major air pollutants increase in Beijing
....Levels of two major air pollutants — nitrous dioxide and particulate matter that is between 2.5 and 10 micrometers, called PM 10 — surged early in 2013, a report said.
4. Hollande scrambles to restore confidence
....The French leader took to the airwaves for the second time in six days amid news that his budget minister, recently resigned, had lied to him and to Parliament about having foreign bank accounts.
a. Paris employs a few black sheep to tend, and eat, a city field
....City officials call the 19th Arrondissement project “eco-grazing,” an alternative to noisy, gas-guzzling mowers and the use of herbicides.
5. Multiplying the old divisions of class in Britain
....Using an online questionnaire filled out by over 161,000 people, the BBC has concluded that in today's complicated world, there are seven social classes, not three.
a. Cameron urges support for British nuclear deterrent
....On a trip to Scotland, where nationalists support nuclear disarmament, the prime minister cited tensions with Iran and North Korea in defending Britain’s nuclear-armed submarines.
6. Power struggle gripping Iran ahead of vote
....With only months to go before his last presidential term, and elections in June, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has surprised many of his critics by challenging a coalition of traditionalists.
7. For friars, finding renewal by sticking to tradition
....Even as other orders close houses and parish priests in Ireland are vanishing, the Dominican order, which has kept its ancient robes and communal lifestyle, is growing.
8. Japan initiates bold bid to end years of tumbling prices

....Japan’s central bank announced that it would aggressively buy bonds, doubling the amount of money in circulation over two years.
9. North Korea moves missile to coast, but little threat is seen

....South Korea’s defense chief said that the missile possessed “considerable” range, but that it was not capable of reaching the US.
a. US speeds missile defense to Guam after North Korea bars South's workers
....The North's threats and provocative acts prompted the Pentagon to announce the deployment of an advanced radar battery and antimissile system to Guam.
10. West Bank funerals become displays of Palestinian defiance

....The funerals of a Palestinian prisoner who died in Israeli custody and two Palestinians killed in clashes with Israeli forces set off angry calls for resistance.
11. Lack of accord may hurt Serbia's aim to join European bloc
....Talks aimed at overcoming ethnic divisions in Kosovo ended without an agreement, a potential blow to Serbia’s aspirations to join the European Union.
12. Spanish royal charged with corruptioin

....Spain's Princess Cristina faces preliminary charges in a financial corruption scandal involving her husband, Inaki Urdangarin, the office of the investigating magistrate said.
13. Syria's refugees overwhelming relief efforts and host countries, UN official says
....Filippo Grandi, head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, predicted that by the end of 2013, the flow of refugees will swamp humanitarian resources.
a. New rebel gains reported in southern Syria with seizure of military base
....The insurgency appeared positioned to take control of a highway that the government uses to supply troops.
14. Attacks on elderly Armenian women in Turkey awaken fears
....The violence recalls a tortured past and, perhaps, hints at future tensions as Turkey prepares to face the 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide.

US News Capsules:
1. Dementia cost, already high, is projected to double by 2040
....The most rigorous study to date of how much it costs to care for Americans with dementia found that the financial burden is at least as high as that for either heart disease or cancer, and is probably higher.
2. Upstart group pushes harder than the NRA
....Although it is dwarfed by the National Rifle Association, Gun Owners of America, a pro-gun lobbying group, has grown in influence since the debate over gun control has surged.
3. Veterans Affairs officials offer reassurance about troubled hospital
....The medical center in Jackson, Miss., came under scrutiny after whistle-blowers complained about years of mismanagement, including understaffing and misdiagnoses.
4. Opening up, students transform a vicious circle
....Restorative justice, which encourages young people to develop empathy for one another, is increasingly offered in schools seeking an alternative to “zero tolerance” policies.
5. Colorado seeks gang members in its inquiry into slaying
....Two white supremacists were being sought in connection with the killing of the executive director of the state’s prison system, Tom Clements.
6. Hopis try to stop Paris sale of artifacts
....The Hopi Indians of Arizona have asked federal officials to help stop a high-price auction of 70 sacred masks in Paris, but officials said there was little they could do.
POLITICS:
1. [uPortman sorts response from reversal on same-sex marriage][/u]

....Senator Rob Portman’s change of stance has intensified and quickened debate over the issue in his home state of Ohio.
2. Schumer now reaches across the aisle for comity, not blood sport
....The senator is not only an envoy to the White House but also the Democratic majority’s most important bipartisan bridge builder.
3. Final round set for parties in South Carolina house race
....Mark Sanford, the disgraced ex-governor who is proving to be an unlikely Republican standard-bearer, will face a political novice whose brother is Stephen Colbert.
4. Connecticut governor signs sweeping gun measure

....Saying he hopes it sets an example for the nation, Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy on Thursday signed what advocacy groups call the strongest and most comprehensive gun legislation in the nation.

Thought for Today
"Yes, if you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice; say that I was a drum major for peace; I was a drum major for righteousness. And all of the other shallow things will not matter."
--Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968) 1964 Nobel Peace Prize-winning African American clergyman and civil rights leader who adovated using nonviolent civil disobedience
[/size][/color]

[pegasus]

Laugh at Work Week
Good afternoon from Tuxy and me
This is the 95th day of 2013 with 270 days left in the year.

Today in History:
1513--the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian, Henry VIII of England, Ferdinand of Aragon and Pope Leo X signed the Treaty of Mechlin, forming an alliance to invade France.
1588--Thomas Hobbes, English philosopher and political theorist (Utopia), was born; died 1679 at age 91.
1614--Pocahontas, daughter of the leader of the Powhatan tribe, married English colonist John Rolfe in Virginia.
1621--the Mayflower sailed from Plymouth Colony in present-day Massachusetts on a monthlong return trip to England.
1649--Elihu Yale, American-born English merchant and benefactor of Yale University, was born; died 1721 at age 72.
1774--Benjamin Franklin wrote an open letter to Great Britain's prime minister, Frederick, Lord North, from London that was published in The Public Advertiser, a British newspaper, on April 15th..
1792--George Washington cast the first presidential veto, rejecting a congressional measure for apportioning representatives among the states.
1794--French revolutionary leader Georges Jacques Danton was guillotined for treason after trying to temper the Revolutionary Tribune's severity.
1806--Isaac Quintard of Connecticut patented the apple cider mill.
1856--Booker T. Washington, black educator who became an important spokesperson for black Americans at the turn of the 20th century, was born in Franklin County, Va.; died 1915 at age 59.
1859--Charles Darwin sent the first three chapters of his The Origin of Species to his publisher.
1862--during the Civil War, the monthlong Siege of Yorktown began in Va.
1887--in Tuscumbia, Ala., Anne Sullivan achieved a breakthrough as her blind and deaf pupil, Helen Keller, learned the meaning of the word "water" as spelled out in the Manual Alphabet.
1895--Playwright Oscar Wilde lost his criminal libel case against the Marquess of Queensberry, who had accused the writer of homosexual practices.
1922--Gale Storm, TV sitcom actress (My Little Margie), turns 91 today.
1923--the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company began producing the first regular balloon tires.
1926--Roger Corman, Filmmaker, turns 87 today.
1933--Pres. Roosevelt signed an executive order creating the Civilian Conservation Corps and an anti-hoarding order that effectively prohibited private ownership of gold.
1936--tornadoes devastated Tupelo, Miss. and Gainesville, Ga., killing 200 people.
1937--Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Secretary of State Colin Powell turns 76 years old today.
1949--Marshal Tito of Yugoslavia signed a "friendship treaty" with the Soviet Union.
1951--Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were sentenced to death for conspiring to commit espionage for the Soviet Union.
1955--Sir Winston Leonard Churchill, the British leader who guided Great Britain and the Allies through the crisis of World War II, retired as prime minister of Great Britain.
1968--following the death of Martin Luther King, Jr., James Brown kept the peace in Boston by the sheer force of his music and his personal charisma.
1969--approximately 100,000 antiwar demonstrators marched in New York City to demand that the US withdraw from Vietnam.
1970--Count Carl von Spreti, West German ambassador to Guatemala, was found murdered six days after his kidnapping by guerrillas.
1976--Reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes died at age 70 of kidney failure en route to the hospital in Houston, Tex.
1984--Kareem Abdul-Jabbar became the highest-scoring player in NBA history with 31,421 career points. (He still holds the career record with with 38,387 points.)
1985--at 3:50 p.m., Greenwich Mean Time, the world listened to one song, "We Are the World" by USA for Africa.
1986--two American servicemen and a Turkish woman were killed in the bombing of La Bell, a West Berlin discotheque, an incident which prompted a U.S. air raid on Libya more than a week later.
1987--Fox Broadcasting Co. made its prime-time TV debut.
1988--a 15-day hijacking ordeal began as gunmen forced a Kuwait Airways jumbo jet to land in Iran.
1989--the Polish government legalized the Solidarity union
1991--modern rock icon Kurt Cobain, lead singer of Nirvana, committed suicide.
1992--several hundred thousand abortion rights advocates marched on Washington, DC. as the US Supreme Court was about to consider the constitutionality of a Pennsylvania ;aw that limited access to abortions.
2000--NASCAR legend Lee Pettyand the patriarch of a racing dynasty that includes his son, NASCAR legend Richard Petty, died at the age 86 in Greensboro, NC.
2003--US officials declared a near chokehold on the Iraqi capital Baghdad even while warning that many other parts of Iraq were not yet under allied control.
2003--a prison riot in northern Honduras left 69 inmates dead and dozens injured.
2008--Pres. Bush and Russian Pres. Vladimir Putin opened farewell talks at Putin's heavily wooded retreat on the Black Sea.
2008--Charlton Heston, Academy Award-winnint actor (Elmer Gantry) and later president of the NRA died at age 84.
2010--An explosion at the Upper Big Branch mine near Charleston, W.Va., killed 29 workers.
2010--115 Chinese coal miners were freed after spending eight days trapped in a flooded mine, surviving an accident that had killed 38
2012--Pres. Obama signed bipartisan jobs legislation intended to help small businesses and make it easier for startups to raise capital.
2012--Jim Marshall, the man behind the amplifier that guitarists like Jimi Hendrix, Pete Townshend of The Who, and Eric Clapton _ used to create ear-shattering sounds in the 1960s, died at age 88 in London.

World News Capsules:
1. Beijing flaunts cross-border clout in search for drug lord
....The manhunt that led to a notorious trafficker's capture was a hard-nosed display of the Chinese government's political and economic sway across Laos, Myanmar and Thailand.
a. Alarm grows in China as bird flu's death toll rises to 6

....China escalated its response to a mysterious avian-borne virus on Friday, warning people to avoid live poultry and killing more than 20,000 birds at a Shanghai market.
b. Festival's resurgence has Chinese sending manna to the heavens
....The "tomb sweeping" festival known as Qingming, reinstated as a public holiday in 2008, has relatives flocking to cemeteries to pay respect to ancestors by burning money.
2. EU: Data leak shakes notion of secret offshore havens and possibly, nerves
....The disclosures are likely to reverberate through government and financial circles, as austerity-ridden European governments seek to crack down on tax evasion.
3. French uproar on secret assets escalates
....Officials rejected accusations that President François Hollande might have been aware of the secret foreign bank accounts of an ex-budget minister and a campaign
4. Queen gets special award after Bond girl cameo

....It's not every day a queen plays a Bond girl, so with that and decades of support for British film and TV in mind, she was presented Thursday with an honorary BAFTA by actor Kenneth Branagh at a star-studded receptioin as Windsor Castle..
5. India building collapse kills at least 41

....The collapse highlighted the problem of unsafe and illegal constructions tacked onto structures in the Mumbai area.
6. Buddhist-Muslim tensions spread as 8 detainees die in Indonesia
....A brawl broke out at an immigration center in Indonesia between Muslim and Buddhist detainees, leaving eight dead and 15 wounded, officials said.
7. Iran mentions new plan at nuclear talks as stalemate continues

....Iran’s expansive language about a “comprehensive” solution has previously seemed to dim, rather than improve, the prospects for an agreement.
8. After stagnation, a revival for Mexico's financial sector
....Mexico’s growth prospects are attracting investment banks and investors hunting for ways to gain greater exposure to international markets.
9. Ethnic rifts strain Myanmar as it moves toward democracy
....A visit to the Kachin region is a sobering reminder of how much hatred and mistrust exist between the majority Burman and the ethnic minorities who live in the country's highlands.
10. Embassy warning by North Korea joins drumbeat of threats

....North Korea suggested some countries might want to evacuate their Pyongyang embassies, a move analysts dismissed as a new way of raising tension.
11. South America: In sigh of warming, 1,600 years of ice in Andes Mountains melted in 25 years
....Scientists say the rapid melting of the Quelccaya ice cap, the world’s largest tropical ice sheet, is the latest sign of global warming.
12. Tensions with North Korea unsettle South's economy
....The Seoul stock market fell Friday, and General Motors said it was making contingency plans for its workers amid a torrent of threats from North Korea.
a. For South Koreans at North's edge, drumbeat of war is more of a patter
....Some residents of Munsan, South Korea, which sits on the edge of the tense border with the North, have learned to accept the dangers, and try to focus on enjoying their daily lives.
13. Jordanians and Turks are focus of Syria's ire
....Pres. Bashar al-Assad’s government accused Jordan and Turkey of “playing with fire” by aiding Syrian rebels.
14. Pope to Vatican: 'Act decisivel' on sex abuse cases
....Pope Francis has told a senior Vatican official to "act decisively" against sexual abuse and carry out "due proceedings against the guilty," the Vatican announced.

US News Capsules:
1. Essay-grading software offers professors a break
....A system developed by a joint venture between Harvard and MIT uses artificial intelligence to assess student papers and short written answers, freeing instructors for other tasks.
2. Weeks after prison chief's killing, a dead suspect and many questions

....Although the authorities think they know who killed Tom Clements, the head of Colorado's prison system, the fact that the suspect is dead leaves the investigation with more questions than answers.
3. Reward is increased by officials in Texas
....Gov. Rick Perry offered up to $200,000 for information leading to the arrest and indictment of those responsible for the killings of a prosecutor and his wife and another prosecutor.
5. With an act of kindness, a lady vanishes

....When two girls in Delaware wanted a ride and Margaret E. Smith, 89, obliged, she did not expect a frightening encounter along the way.
6. Hiring in US tapers off as economy fails to gain speed
....Employers added only 88,000 jobs in March, a pace of growth too sluggish to make a big dent in the backlog of idle workers. The jobless rate dipped to 7.6% from 7.7%.
7. Texas refinery is Saudi foothold in US market
....The Motiva refinery in Port Arthur, the largest in the United States, ensures a bigger market for Saudi crude and a stronger global voice for the kingdom.
8. R.I.P.: Roger Ebert (1942-2013) was a critic whose sting was salved by caring

....Roger Ebert, the popular film critic who along with Gene Siskel could lift or sink the fortunes of a movie, died on Thursday in Chicago. He cared deeply about the human emotions and aspirations that movies represented, and was happy to share those feelings with just about anybody
POLITICS:
1. Obama budget reviving offer of compromise with cuts

....Pres. Obama will take the political risk next week of presenting a budget plan that proposes cuts to Social Security and Medicare, in an effort to compromise with Republicans.
a. Obama budget is dismissed by GOP and attacked by Left

....Speaker Boehner accused Pres. Obama of holding entitlement programs hostage for tax increases while some liberals vented their own anger over the plan.
2. New gun restrictions pass the legislature in Maryland

....The new restrictions include a ban on new purchases of assault weapons, a 10-bullet limit on magazines and requirements that handgun buyers undergo fingerprinting and target training.
3. Brown hints at another sSnate race - in New Hamshire

....While another Senate run in Massachusetts is out for now, Scott Brown says he might challenge Senator Jeanne Shaheen, a New Hampshire Democrat who is up for re-election next year.
4. FAA will delay closings of airport towers forced by sequestratioin
....The Federal Aviation Administration said that it would halt the closings, part of a $637 million spending reduction at the agency, until June to allow for safety analyses.
5. Path to citizenship divides Congress and, polls show, confuses country
....While lawmakers wrangle about how quickly immigrants should move on the path to citizenship, some Americans are questioning what such a path would mean in practice.

Sports Headlines:
1. NCAA: When injured athlete leaves campus, college's responsibility ends

....The televised image of Louisville's Kevin Ware breaking his leg has heightened interest in one of the many issues confronting college athletics: health insurance coverage.
a. Rutgers Athletic Director isout after coach furor and Pressure builds pon Rutgers president

....Tim Pernetti was the latest official to lose his job over revelations of abuse by Mike Rice. the college’s men’s basketball coach. Pres. Robert L. Barchi is the subject of mounting criticism in the aftermath of the firing as some faculty members have called for his resignation.
b. College sports' really bad day
....A crisis at Rutgers, trouble at Auburn, problems with the Pac-12 —and then there was NCAA Pres. Mark Emmert’s news conference.
2. [u[MLB: Yankees lose another shortstop against the Tigers[/u]

....Prince Fielder’s two home runs led Detroit in its home opener, but the Yankees’ Eduardo Nunez, starting in Derek Jeter’s absence, had to leave the game after being hit by a pitch.

Thought for Today
"If you don't have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?" _
--John Wooden, (1910-2010) legendary UCLA Nasketball Hall of Fame coach
[/size][/color]

[pegasus]

Sorry Charlie Day
Good evening from Tuxy and me

This is the 96th day of 2013 with 269 days left in the year.

Today in History:
648 BC--the earliest total solar eclipse, chronicled by Greeks, was recorded.
1199--King Richard I (the Lionheart) died after being wounded while besieging the castle of Chalus in France and was succeeded by his brother John.
1483--Raphael, Italian painter and architect of the Italian High Renaissance, was born; died 1520 at age 37.
1580--an earthquake badly damaged St Paul's Cathedral and other churches in London.
1652--Jan van Riebeeck landed at Table Bay, at the Cape, South Africa, to establish a trading station for the Dutch East India Company.
1663--King Charles II of Great Britain signed the Carolina Charter.
1776--the Continental Congress opened all American ports to international trade.
1830--The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints was organized by Joseph Smith and five others in Fayette, NY (about 5 miles from where I live).
1832--the Sauk warrior chief Black Hawk was drawn into war with the US due to the encroachment of settlers on tribal lands.
1841--due to the death of newly-elected Pres. William Henry Harrison, his Vice President, John Tyler, was sworn-in as the 10 president of the US.
1862--Shiloh, the bloodiest battle of the American Civil War began in southwest Tennessee.
1884--Walter Huston, Canadian-born Oscar-winningcharacter actor (Treasure of the Sierra Madre), father of Oscar-winning director John Huston and grandfather of Oscar-winning actress Angelica Huston, was born; died 1950 at age 66.
1886--the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, was incorporated.
1895--Irish-born playwright Oscar Wilde was arrested after losing a libel case against the Marquess of Queensberry.
1895--"Waltzing Matilda," one of Australia's best-known tunes written by bush poet Banjo Paterson, was first publicly performed at a hotel in the remote northern town of Winton.
1896--the first modern Olympic Games opened in Athens, Greece.
1909--Robert E. Peary and Matthew A. Henson purportedly became the first men to reach the North Pole. (The claim, disputed by skeptics, was upheld in 1989 by the Navigation Foundation.)
1917--the US Senate voted 82-6 to declare war against Germany, the House of Representatives voted 373-50, and America formally entered World War I.
1937--Merle Haggard, country musician, turns 76 today.
1941--Germany invaded Yugoslavia and Greece in World War II, heavily bombarding Belgrade.
1942--Japan bombed India for the first time and attacked ports in Madras.
1950--a train dropped off a bridge in Tangua, Brazil, killing 110 people.
1956--Capitol Tower, home of Capitol Records in Hollywood, Calif., was dedicated, making it the first circular, office tower designed in the US.
1957--New York City trolley cars completed their final runs.
1963--Stanley’s Kubrick’s science-fiction classic 2001: A Space Odyssey made its debut in movie theaters.
1965--Early Bird I, the world's first commercial communications satellite, was launched from Cape Kennedy, Fla.
1968--Pierre Trudeau became the Liberal Party's prime minister of Canada, succeeding Lester Pearson.
1970--Sam Sheppard, a doctor convicted of murdering his pregnant wife in a trial that caused a media frenzy in the 1950s, died of liver failure.
1971-- Igor Stravinsky, Russian-born composer, died at age 88.
1983--Interior Secretary James Watt banned the Beach Boys from the 4th of July celebration on the Washington Mall, saying rock 'n' roll bands attract the "wrong element."
1990--the US and Soviet Union made significant progress in negotiations concerning the role to be played by the newly reunified Germany in Europe.
1992--science fiction author and mathematician Isaac Asimov died at age 72.
1998--country singer Tammy Wynette died, reportedly of a blood clot in her brain.
1998--Pakistan successfully tested a medium-range missile capable of striking neighboring India.
2001--Algerian national Ahmed Ressam, accused of bringing explosives into the US days before the millennium celebrations, was convicted on terror charges.
2004--Jordan's military court sentenced them to death eight Muslim militants for the 2002 killing of US aid official Laurence Foley in a terror conspiracy linked to al-Qaida.
2004--the University of Connecticut became the first school to win the NCAA Division I men's and women's basketball titles in the same season as the women's team beat Tennessee 70-61 for their third consecutive championship.
2005--Prince Rainier III of Monaco died at age 81.
2013--Portugal became the third debt-stressed European country to need a bailout.

World News Capsules:
1. Brazil opens inquiry into claims of wrongdoing by ex-president
....The move by the Public Ministry is thought to be the first time that former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has been directly investigated in connection to the scheme.
2. China escalates its response to outbreak of Avian flue

....The government warned people to avoid live poultry and slaughtered more than 20,000 birds at a wholesale market in Shanghai.
a. Detecting shift in Beijing, US makes its case on North Korea
....The Obama administration, seeing signs of Chinese frustration toward Pyongyang, is pressing China to crack down or face more of an American military presence in Asia.
3. Muslims, Christians clash in Egypt turns fatal

....Security officials said five people died and eight were wounded in violence in the town of Khusus.
4. Germans see hope in leak forfighting tax evasion
....Berlin hopes the disclosures will provide leverage in its effort to fight international financial systems that make it easy for the wealthy to hide their money.
5. Death again visits a racecourse on trial

....The deaths of two horses at the Grand National meeting at Aintree Racecourse have dampened spirits before the main event and reignited concerns over the forbidding fences.
6. Two held in India after collapse of building
....The police in Mumbai, India, arrested two builders after a half-finished residential structure collapsed, killing at least 72 people.
7. Nuclear talks with Iran end without accord or plans for another round

....The futility was certain to arouse renewed alarm, particularly from Israel, which had tempered its threats of a military strike in deference to diplomacy.
8. Deadly bombs hit campaign event in Iraq
....An attack in Baquba left 20 people dead and heightened concerns about violence in advance of local elections scheduled for April 20.
9. Nuclear plant in Japan leaks toxic water

....A Fukushima Daiichi storage pool appeared to have lost almost 32,000 gallons, and thousands more could seep out before it can be pumped dry.
a. Rat chase backfires at reactor in Japan
....Workers at the power plant who were installing wire nets to keep rats away from a cooling system instead tripped that system, causing it to fail for the second time in weeks.
b. US and Japan agree on returning Okinawa land
....The agreement on a new timetable for handing over a Marine airfield and other military bases could help solve an issue that has strained America’s ties with its largest Asian ally.
10. Sunni leader is named prime minister in Lebanon
....Tammam Salam was officially named the new prime minister of Lebanon after receiving a string of endorsements from the country’s warring factions over the past few days.
11. North Korea missiles loaded

....North Korea has loaded two medium-range missiles onto mobile launchers, a U.S. official said.
12. A secret deal on drones, sealed in blood

....The C.I.A.’s covert drone war began with the 2004 killing of a rebel sought by Pakistan, the result of a secret deal that was a turning point in the agency’s fight against terrorism.
13. Syrian airstrikes kill at least 5 in Aleppo
....Government forces also battled rebels in a town outside Damascus, the capital.
a. UN agency suspends food aid in Gaza after protesters break into its compound
....The UN Relief and Works Agency in the Gaza Strip stopped food distribution and other services for refugees indefinitely, an official said.
14. UN says it is running out of money to assist wave of refugees from Syria
....A UNICEF official says that with 1.25 million Syrians registered as refugees, "the needs are rising exponentially and we are broke."

US News Capsules:
1. Judge strikes down age limits on morning-after pill

....An acidly worded decision by a federal judge in Brooklyn, NY ordered the Food and Drug Administration to make the morning-after birth control pill available to people of any age without a prescription and raised a broader question about whether a cabinet secretary can decide on a drug's availability for reasons other than its safety and effectiveness.
3. Less culpable, but with longer sentences

....Cases in which a defendant with less involvement in a crime or guilt draws the harshest sentence are not uncommon in Arizona, and elsewhere around the country.
4. Texas police seeking clues to how killer got in home
....The police are looking into the possibility that a Kaufman County district attorney and his wife who were shot dead last Saturday may have known the killer.
5. Police now advise assertive response to mass attacks
....People at the scene of an attack are more likely to survive if they take an active stance, studies and police departments say, a shift from previous guidelines that advocated waiting for help.
6. Florida algae bloom leads to record manatee deaths
....The tide has killed 241 of the state’s roughly 5,000 manatees, according to the state Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, and the toll appears certain to rise.
7. Settlement is reached with family in slaying
....The parents of Trayvon Martin, 17, have settled a wrongful-death lawsuit against the homeowners’ association in the gated community where George Zimmerman shot him.
8. The infinity pool of executive pay

....For C.E.O.’s of some of the nation’s biggest companies, overall compensation rose only modestly last year. But the amount of perks often soared. .

Thought for Today
"A State which dwarfs its men, in order that they may be more docile instruments in its hands -- even for beneficial purposes -- will find that
with small men no great thing can really be accomplished."
--John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) English philosopher and economist

[pegasus]

International Beaver Day
Good afternoon from Tuxy and me.
This is the 97th day of 2013 with 268 days left in the year.

Today in History:
1118--Pope Gelasius II excommunicated the Holy Roman Emperor Henry V at Capua.
1348--Prague University, the first in central Europe, was founded by Charles IV, King of Bohemia.
1506--St. Francis Xavier, Spanish Roman Catholic missionar, was born; died 1552 at age 46.
1652 the Dutchman Jan Van Riebeeck established a settlement in Cape Town, South Africa.
1739--Dick Turpin, English butcher apprentice turned highwayman, was hanged for murder at York.
1770--William Wordsworth, English Romantic poet; poet laureate of England (1843-50), was born; died 1850 at age 80.
1776--the American warship Lexington, made the first American naval capture of a British vessel, the HMS Edward off the coast of Virginia.
1788--an expedition led by Gen. Rufus Putnam established a settlement at present-day Marietta, Ohio.
1798--the Mississippi Territory was created by an act of Congress, with Natchez as the capital.
1805--the Lewis and Clark expedition departed its winter camp among the Mandan Indians and resumed its journey West along the Missouri River.
1823--French forces under Louis de Bourbon invaded Spain, beginning the Franco-Spanish war.
1831--Pedro I, Emperor of Brazil abdicated in favor of his son Pedro II in order to return to Portugal.
1862--Union forces led by Gen. Ulysses S. Grant defeated the Confederates at the battle of Shiloh in Tennessee.
1864--the first camel race in the US was held in Sacramento, Calif.
1922--the Teapot Dome scandal began as Pres. Harding's Interior Secretary Albert B. Fall signed a secret deal to lease US Navy oil reserves to his friends, oilmen Harry F. Sinclair and Edward L. Doheny.
1927--the image and voice of Commerce Secretary Herbert Hoover were transmitted live from Washington to New York in the first successful long-distance demonstration of television.
1934--in India, Mahatma Gandhi suspended his campaign of civil disobedience.
1938--California Gov. Jerry Brown turns 75 years old today.
1939--Italy invaded Albania, which was annexed less than a week later..
1945--the Japanese battleship Yamato, ostensibly the greatest battleship in the world, was sunk in Japan's first major counteroffensive in the struggle for Okinawa.
1947--the first Tony Awards ceremony for Broadway plays was held in New York.
1947--auto pioneer Henry Ford died at age 83.
1949--the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical South Pacific opened on Broadway.
1953--the UN General Assembly elected Dag Hammarskjold of Sweden to be secretary-general, succeeding Trygve Lie of Norway.
1954--Pres. Eisenhower coined one of the most famous Cold War phrases when he suggests the fall of French Indochina to the communists could create a "domino" effect in Southeast Asia.
1963--the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was established with Marshall Tito as its president for life.
1966--the US Navy recovered a hydrogen bomb that the US Air Force had lost in the Mediterranean Sea off Spain following a B-52 crash.
1969--the US Supreme Court, in Stanley v. Georgia, unanimously struck down laws prohibiting private possession of obscene material.
1970--John Wayne, a veteran of over 200 films, won his first and only Academy Award for Best Actor for True Grit. Midnight Cowboy, starring Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight, became the first X-rated movie to win the Best Picture Oscar.
1976-- China's leadership deposed Deputy Prime Minister Deng Xiaoping.
1978--Pres. Carter announced he was deferring development of the neutron bomb, a high-radiation weapon.
1990--former national security adviser John M. Poindexter was convicted of five counts at his Iran-Contra trial. (A federal appeals court later reversed the convictions.)
1990--a display of Robert Mapplethorpe photographs opened at Cincinnati's Contemporary Arts Center; the center and its director were indicted on obscenity charges.
1994--civil war erupts in Rwanda as Rwandan armed forces kill 10 Belgian peacekeeping officers in a successful effort to discourage international intervention in the genocide that had begun.
2001--NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft took off on a six-month, 286-million-mile journey to the red planet.
2001--an unarmed black man wanted on 14 misdemeanor warrants was fatally shot by a white police officer in Cincinnati, sparking three days of riots.
2003--US troops in more than 100 armored vehicles rumbled through downtown Baghdad and seized one of Saddam Hussein's opulent palaces and toppling a 40-foot statue of the Iraqi ruler.
2003--the US Supreme Court voted 6-3 to uphold a 50-year-old Virginia law making it a crime to burn a cross as an act of intimidation.
2003--the Boston Globe won the Pulitzer Prize for public service for its coverage of the priest sex abuse scandal.
2003--Syracuse won the NCAA basketball tournament with an 81-78 victory over Kansas.
2008--anti-China protesters disrupted the Olympic torch relay in Paris, at times forcing Chinese organizers to put out the flame and take the torch onto a bus to secure it.
2009--Vermont became the fourth state to legalize gay marriage.
2012--the US warned Syria it wouldn't be able to deceive the world about compliance with a cease-fire that was just days away.
2012--Pakistani soldiers dug into a massive avalanche in a mountain battleground close to the Indian border, searching for 140 people buried when the wall of snow engulfed a military complex; there were no survivors. C
2013--longtime CBS newsman Mike Wallace (60 Minutes) died at age 93 in New Canann, Conn.

World News Capsules:
1. 5 die in year's worst attack on US in Afghanistan

....A suicide bomb killed three American soldiers and two American civilians, including Anne Smedinghoff, a 25-year-old State Department Foreign Service officer.
2. Hard-line Muislim rally demands anti-blasphemy laws in Bangladesh

....The group singled out bloggers who have called for the death penalty for those found guilty of war crimes during the 1971 war for independence.
3. Without mentioning North Korea, a Chinese call to avoid 'chaos'
....As North Korea’s ally, China has been discomfited by the behavior of the North Korean leader but has refrained from signaling any course of action.
4. Kerry moves to help Turkey and Israel to restore ties
....The ties of Turkey and Israel have been frozen since 2010, but Secretary of State John Kerry is to meet with Turkey’s premier to discuss an agreement between the nations.
5. Saudis to delay a measure deporting foreign workers
....Stricter enforcement of laws on foreign workers raises fears of hardship in countries like Egypt and Yemen, which rely on remittances from its workers in Saudi Arabia.
6. Seoul believes North Korea may test missile this week

....South Korea's government said that it believes North Korea may test a missile about April 10, citing as an indicator Pyongyang's push for workers to leave the Kaesong Industrial Complex by then.
7. Grave robbers and war steal Syria's history
....Among the casualties of the long civil war in a country with a rich archaeological heritage are ruins that had yet to be fully studied.
8. Rumors about Uzbekistan leader's health set off succession debate
....Disputed reports about the health of Presi. Islam Karimov, who has ruled for more than two decades, have underscored the uncertain politics of succession in Uzbekistan.

US News Capsules:
1. Taping of farm cruelty is becoming the crime

....Some state legislatures have passed or are considering bills placing restrictions on undercover operations by animal rights groups.
2. 'Ambush' killings a lawwman's fear

....First a gunman targets police in L.A.. Then someone kills the Colorado prisons chief. Two prosecutors are shot to death in Texas. Next, a sheriff in West Virginia. What's behind the recent deaths?
a. Slain W. Va. sheriff laid to rest Sunday

....The West Virginia laman's daughter said, "it's a strong possibility" the Mingo County sheriff was killed for vigorously pursuing the illicit drug trade.
3. In history departments, it's up with capitalism
....A new generation of historians is focusing on capitalism and the bosses, bankers and brokers who run the economy.
4. US delays missile test due to 'tensions' with North Korea
....The United States has delayed a "long-planned" missile test, with a senior U.S. defense official saying the move was "prudent and wise to ... avoid any misperception or chance of manipulation" in light of ongoing friction with North Korea.
5. No more gun sales where semiautomatic used in Sandy Hook shooting was bought

....A Connecticut store that sold a gun used to kill 26 people last December at Sandy Hook Elementary School no longer can legally sell firearms. According to the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives website, violations commonly cited in license revocation include "failure to account for firearms, failure to verify and document purchaser eligibility, failure to maintain records requisite for successful firearms tracing, and failure to report multiple sales of handguns."
POLITICS:
1. Tax lobby builds ties to chairman of finance panel
....Many companies have retained lobbying firms that employ former aides to Max Baucus, the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, which will have a crucial role in shaping any legislation.

Thought for Today
"Tomorrow is often the busiest day of the week."
--Spanish proverb.