Facebook stock has highest close since May

Facebook stock has highest close since May

NEW YORK -- Facebook closes at one of its highest prices since its initial public offering.

The stock rose $1.21, or 3.8 percent, to finish Friday at $33.05. It hasn't closed above that price since May 21, the second day of trading.

Facebook is still 14 percent below its IPO price of $38 a share.

Facebook's IPO has had a rocky ride. Its debut was delayed by trading glitches on the Nasdaq.

Investors have been concerned about its ability to increase revenue and make money from its growing mobile audience, though many analysts hold positive long-term opinions.

Facebook, along with investment banks that led the IPO, is the subject of dozens of shareholder lawsuits.

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Kids can learn from Tebow, fellow pros at W&M Colonial All-Pro football camp

New York Jets quarterback Tim Tebow shakes hands before the start of a Father's Day worship service June 17 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego. (Jake Roth/US Presswire Photo / June 17, 2012)

WILLIAMSBURG ? William and Mary might never be the same after "Tebow Mania" comes through this week.

New York Jets quarterback Tim Tebow headlines the list of guest instructors at the W&M Colonial All-Pro football camp from June 24-27. He's joined by New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz and Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald. The NFL guests join Tribe football coach Jimmye Laycock and his staff in the annual event on the William and Mary campus.

The camp, which is for ages 8 through rising seniors in high school, has had some of the top names in football as guests in previous years, including Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, former longtime Packers quarterback Brett Favre and recently retired Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson.

But none of them have a following quite like that of Tebow, a Heisman Trophy winner and national champion with Florida, who won six of the first seven games he started with Denver to boost the Broncos to the playoffs. Tebow had just a 72.9 passer rating and was traded in the offseason to the Jets, where he's a backup to Mark Sanchez. His habit of dropping to one knee in prayer during football games, especially after touchdowns, started a movement called "Tebowing."

Last season was a breakout one for Cruz, as he finished with 1,536 yards and nine touchdowns in his first NFL season as a starter. Cruz helped lead the Giants to their second Super Bowl victory in four years, beating New England 21-17. Like Tebow, Cruz also has a signature move in games, as he does the salsa dance after he scores a touchdown.

For his career, Fitzgerald has accumulated nearly 10,000 yards and 73 touchdowns as the top offensive target on the Cardinals' roster. After scoring 13 touchdowns in the 2008 season, when the Cardinals advanced to the Super Bowl, losing to Pittsburgh, Fitzgerald shared the Madden video-game cover with Steelers safety Troy Polamalu.

The camp is not open to the public.

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Anthropological Finds at ID Day

Glen Taylor came because he was being plagued by spirits. While his two daughters wandered the stations set up for Identification (ID) Day in the Grand Gallery of the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), Glen waited in line for Anibal Rodriguez and Nell Murphy, who were staffing the anthropology table. He cradled an ornate wooden box protectively wrapped in a towel. ?There?s got to be more to this than meets the eye,? he told fellow visitors?and me?while he waited for his turn. ?I bought this on the street, but look how old it is!? Since he had acquired the wooden box?which looked to be a backgammon board?Glen said he had increasingly felt the presence of spirits, and it was becoming disruptive. He had taken the box to psychics who told him that it came from Egypt and had once contained the spirits of Nefertiti and Ramses. He had come to ID Day with the hope of getting to the bottom of the matter and determining next steps for cleansing the box?and his life.

Identification Day at AMNH is a chance for the public to talk to museum scientists about artifacts and specimens that they may have collected and or found by chance over the years. Scientists attempt to identify the items and showcase selections from the museum collections that are relevant to their speciality. From shells and plants to insects and fossils to cultural artifacts and even rocks, there was a station for every interest?and just about every story.

Glen handed over his box and leaned over the table to recount his story. ?There?s got to be more to this box than meets the eye,? he insisted. And he stood back expectantly. Anibal turned the box over in his hands and peered at it. ?It?s a backgammon or chess board,? he announced to the crowd that had gathered. He traced the ornate designs with his fingers while Glen told him again about the spirits of Ramses and Nefertiti. Anibal listened and said, ?Well, these are cartouches,? he explained. ?They would have had the names of royalty inscribed in them, but unfortunately these are generic.? He went on to explain that the box wasn?t very old at all, and on a cultural level, probably not that important. Glen was obviously disappointed, but undeterred. ?I?ll just have to keep looking,? he said as he wrapped up his box and moved on to find his daughters.

?It?s hard to know what people are looking for,? Nell told me afterwards. Many people come with the hope that they?ve found something of value or because they have an artifact that?s been handed down in the family and they want to validate its history, so it can be a tricky and sensitive discussion. After all, not everyone can be as fortunate as the man who brought in a pot that had been picked up by his great-grand father when he served as a ship?s captain in the Caribbean. Anibal believed the pot was from Peru and directed the man to visit a gallery where he could view similar items. He left anxious to hold on to this piece of history?and with a handy certificate to share with doubters.

But is a certificate enough? ?Sometimes it comes down to what you want to believe,? Anibal explained to social science teacher Lee Karlin who had brought several bags of cultural artifacts which he?d collected during his world travels. ?You can either believe it?s real or have it tested. But ask yourself what having it testing will mean to you.?

Lee laid out an assortment of artifacts including, pottery, statues, and jewelry from South America and southeast Asia. Turning a small figurine over in his hands Anibal asked, ?When did you bring this over?? Lee shrugged. ?Years ago,? he said. ?I?ve picked these up during my travels. Anibal acknowledged that he had no reason not to believe some of these pieces were real. Lee was hoping for a more definite confirmation, but Anibal?s hesitation allowed for a brief discussion on the importance of context and manufacturing of tourist goods meant to evoke historic artifacts. Lee left with information on how to have his pieces tested, and an invitation to pose for the museum?s Flickr gallery.

In between identifications, there were real teaching opportunities too. During a lull, Anibal demonstrated how his microscope worked to an small crowd of adults and children, highlighting how different light can reveal different features and help him make identifications. It was a theme that was common throughout ID Day. When I wandered over to the botany station, James Miller took the opportunity to show me how he uses reference guides to identify plant specimens. In some ways, it?s a matter of a process of elimination?you identify the family you believe the plant belongs to and find it in the reference guide, and then try to match identifying traits to a genus. Once a genus has been established, you can then try to match the specimen to a photo. It?s a time consuming process, yes, but the tomes(1) that James had at his disposal were impressive and gave a concrete sense to the wealth of knowledge that we?ve acquired through the ages?something that isn?t always communicated as pointedly through digital means.

Stations did not operate in isolation. For example, James sent a visitor who brought in a leaf with insect holes to the entomology station. And on several occasions, Anibal suggested visitors see Kennet Flores at the earth and planetary sciences station. With overlaps like these, ID Day did much to promote a multidisciplinary experience of science by showing visitors how scientific exploration can begin in their backyard ?and grow with the willingness to consider different questions.

Notes:
(1) Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada by Henry Gleason. And Manual of Cultivated Plants by Liberty Bailey. And associated illustrated guides.

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US futures rise, buck global market trend

FILE- In this Thursday, June 21, 2012 file photo, a trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York. Wall Street appeared headed for a higher opening, Friday June 22, 2012 a day after the Dow sustained its second-worst loss of the year. Dow Jones industrial futures rose 0.4 percent to 12,546 and S&P 500 futures added 0.4 percent to 1,323.50. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)

FILE- In this Thursday, June 21, 2012 file photo, a trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York. Wall Street appeared headed for a higher opening, Friday June 22, 2012 a day after the Dow sustained its second-worst loss of the year. Dow Jones industrial futures rose 0.4 percent to 12,546 and S&P 500 futures added 0.4 percent to 1,323.50. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)

NEW YORK (AP) ? U.S. stock futures bucked a sell-off on global markets Friday and banks were among the biggest gainers.

Dow Jones industrial average futures rose 60 points to 12,562. Standard & Poor's 500 futures gained 6.5 points to 1,324.80 and Nasdaq futures rose 8 points to 2,559.75.

Morgan Stanley rose more than 2 percent with only a two-notch ratings cut from Moody's, because many people had feared it would be worse. Moody's lowered ratings on some of the world's biggest banks late Thursday. JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America and Citigroup all rose in premarket trading.

Markets in the U.S. appear to be bouncing back from their second-worst decline of the year, as investors fled on gloomy jobs and housing numbers.

The news from abroad was not good either, with poor manufacturing numbers out of China and business optimism fading in Germany, Europe's economic powerhouse.

European and Asian stocks fell again on Friday.

Germany, France, Italy and Spain are meeting in Rome to smooth the way ahead of the European Union summit later this month, but there is little to suggest unity on solving the continent's debt crisis.

Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.6 percent to 5,532.76, while the French CAC 40 eased 0.2 percent to 3,105.52 and the German DAX 30 blue chips index fell 0.5 percent to 6,312.81.

In Asian trading, Japan's Nikkei 225 index fell 0.2 percent to 8,802.54 and South Korea's Kospi slid 2.1 percent to 1,848.57. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index lost 1 percent to 19,067.51 and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was down 1 percent at 4,046.70. Benchmarks in Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Indonesia fell. Markets in mainland China, which tumbled Thursday, were closed for a public holiday.

Also on Friday, Jeffrey Lacker, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, and the lone dissenter to the Federal Reserve's latest economic stimulus effort, said that the central bank's action will do little to foster growth and may increase the odds of accelerating inflation.

"A significant increase in inflation could threaten the Fed's credibility," said Lacker, adding that inflationary pressure would make it difficult to reach long-term goals, such as lowering unemployment.

Associated Press

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Roccat Isku Illuminated Gaming Keyboard

The Roccat Isku Illuminated Gaming Keyboard ($89.99 list) hits the right notes on the necessities with its swappable profiles and 25 programmable macro keys, and offers additional useful features like Roccat Talk, an app that lets the keyboard work in tandem with other compatible devices (such as a mouse). Unfortunately, the Isku slips on the more intangible elements that make a good gaming keyboard, with plasticky construction, too-slick keys, and a backlight that actually reduced key visibility in some circumstances.

Design
The Isku is big and wide?1.5 by 20 by 10 inches (HWD)?and is very quiet, thanks to its use of silicone dome switches, which rely on a rubbery membrane for the key's action. They're less durable than the mechanical switches used on other keyboards, like the Editors' Choice Corsair Vengeance K90 ($129.99 direct, 4.5 stars), but mechanical switches also make more noise while you're typing.

Keys on the Isku are smooth, almost slick to the touch, and capture a strong glare from overhead lights. Visibility is excellent in low-light situations, thanks to an adjustable blue backlight, but the combination of blue glowing letters and the keys' semi-glossy finish makes them hard to read in regular lighting conditions (such as under a desk lamp). Unlike with the Razer Anansi ($99.99 direct, 4 stars), you can't change the color of the backlight, only the brightness. There's also a monstrously large wrist rest built into this giant slab of a keyboard. Roccat says it "acts like a sofa for your hands," and although it does provide a comfortable typing experience, we preferred the removable wrist rest on the Corsair Vengeance K90.

Features
There's a lot going on with the Isku besides the keyboard proper. A row of keys up top provides a number of media playback controls, and five macro keys are located on the keyboard's left side. That might seem like a far cry from the 18 macro keys on the Corsair, but Roccat also gives you the ability to assign additional macro functions to each of the five leftmost keys in the four main typing rows as well. Setting macro functions is easy, thanks to a Record button located just above the F3 key. Below the spacebar are three "Thumbster" buttons that let you cycle between saved profiles and call up the Roccat's customization software.

You'll need that software, too: It's the only way to take advantage of the multiple profiles and macro sets the Isku supports. There are rosters of preprogrammed macros available for several popular titles like Dragon Age, Mass Effect 2, or World of Warcraft, plus a few sets for non-gaming applications like Microsoft Office and Skype.

As an added bonus, Roccat Talk lets you use the Isku in conjunction with another compatible device, such as the Roccat Kone[+] gaming mouse. Press the EasyShift[+] button on either device (it defaults to Caps Lock on the Isku, but you can reassign this) to activate the secondary functions on both; for example, you can change the mouse's resolution right from the keyboard. Right now, only the Isku and Kone[+] can use Roccat Talk, but Roccat is planning to release other devices that support it in the future.

In gaming tests, the Isku performed admirably, serving me well whether I was exploring space in Star Trek Online or fragging enemies in Team Fortress 2. I was fine as long as I was typing by feel, but if I had to glance at the keyboard to find a key, I had to really stop and hunt; visibility in normal light is very poor. With the lights lowered the problem was solved, but it would be nice to be able to change up the blue glow to something else.

In the final analysis, the Roccat Isku Illuminated Gaming Keyboard doesn't quite measure up to the standard set by the Editors' Choice Corsair Vengeance K90. I had a few gripes about the slick, shiny keys and any-color-as-long-as-it's-blue backlight; and because of its lightweight plastic construction, the Isku felt more like a toy than a serious device?even when gaming, I want my equipment to be as serious as I am. These issues of personal preferences aside, however, the Roccat Isku Illuminated Keyboard is a solid choice for gamers.

COMPARISON TABLE
Compare the Roccat Isku Illuminated Gaming Keyboard with several other keyboards side by side.

More keyboard reviews:
??? Roccat Isku Illuminated Gaming Keyboard
??? Peregrine Glove
??? Sharper Image Cooling Station
??? Corsair Vengeance K60
??? Logitech Ultrathin Keyboard Cover (for New iPad, iPad 2)
?? more

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See Our Favorite Butt-Kicking Women in Movies!

From Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games to the animated heroine of Brave, these fierce femmes bring the pain

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10 tons of pot dumped at sea near US-Mexico border

SAN DIEGO ? The U.S. Navy says an aircraft carrier group recovered nearly 10 tons of marijuana dumped from small boats in the Pacific Ocean near California?s border with Mexico.

The Navy said Tuesday that two single-engine boats ? each about 25 feet long ? were spotted about 15 hours apart on Saturday. People aboard the boats began dumping plastic bags, and the boats escaped before authorities arrived.

Lt. Aaron Kakiel says no one was captured. The seizures occurred in international waters about 85 miles (137 kilometers) off the Mexican coast.

Authorities recovered about four tons of marijuana from the first boat and nearly six tons from the second. The carrier USS Nimitz and cruiser USS Princeton were assisted by the U.S. Coast Guard and Mexican navy.

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HK, Mexico sign tax treaty

Hong Kong and Mexico today signed an agreement for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income.
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Financial Secretary John Tsang and Mexican Secretary of Finance & Public Credit Jos? Antonio Meade Kuribre?a signed the agreement in Los Cabos.
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Welcoming the agreement, Mr Tsang said it would strengthen the two-way relationship by encouraging the flow of investment and talent between Hong Kong and Mexico.
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Under the agreement, tax paid in Hong Kong will be allowed as credit against tax payable in Mexico. Mexico's withholding tax for Hong Kong residents receiving interest from Mexico will be capped at 10%. The Mexican withholding tax on royalties will be capped at 10%.
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Profits from international shipping transport earned by Hong Kong residents that arise in Mexico, which are currently subject to tax there, will not be taxed in Mexico under the agreement.
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The agreement will come into force after the completion of ratification procedures on both sides.
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So far, 27 avoidance of double taxation agreements on airline income, six agreements on shipping income and two agreements on airline and shipping income have been reached.

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US Olympic horses travel to London in style

FILE - In this Aug. 12, 2008 file photo, Gold medalist, German rider Hinrich Romeiker, celebrates with his horse Marius after winning the Eventing Individual at the Beijing 2008 Olympics Equestrian in Hong Kong. Bringing horses across the Atlantic for Olympic equestrian competition is a logistical feat _ one small example of the many people and efforts under way in the shadows to make the games go off without a hitch. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)

FILE - In this Aug. 12, 2008 file photo, Gold medalist, German rider Hinrich Romeiker, celebrates with his horse Marius after winning the Eventing Individual at the Beijing 2008 Olympics Equestrian in Hong Kong. Bringing horses across the Atlantic for Olympic equestrian competition is a logistical feat _ one small example of the many people and efforts under way in the shadows to make the games go off without a hitch. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)

LONDON (AP) ? They didn't have to absolutely, positively get them there overnight, but when the U.S. Equestrian Federation sent some of its horses to London for the Olympics, it was a special delivery.

The elite U.S. three-day eventing equine squad landed in London on Monday on a FedEx flight, having taken the red eye from Newark, N.J. They're not the first competitors to arrive as the countdown to the games clicks to less than 40 days away, but they are among the most pampered.

"They are all special," said Tim Dutta, who owns the international horse transport company that organized the trip. "We are working on everybody's dream."

Bringing these elite athletes across the Atlantic Ocean is a logistical feat ? one small example of the many people and efforts under way behind the scenes to make the games go off without a hitch. This is particularly true for horses ? the only animals that take part in the games, which start July 27 and end Aug. 12.

Let's just start by saying that these 10 are not just any old group of horses. These animals have passports that would be the envy of any human wishing to travel the world. That said, they get used to traveling, and most of the time, they don't ask for much ? not even an in-flight meal.

But grooms traveling with Twizzel, Mighty Nice, Arthur and the other seven horses that made the journey would maybe give them a bit of hay.

Horses like these can move in their boxes quite a bit, unlike human sardines on regular flights. But in case any of them gets bothered by the noise, the grooms might stuff some cotton in their ears, says Dr. Brendan Furlong, the veterinarian for the American eventing team.

Carrots are always a good way to calm any horse who gets nervous ? or even a horse tranquilizer in the rare case a prized animal gets really edgy. The goal is to get them to London stress-free.

As for the grooms, the vet, and the other humans that cater to these pampered prancers, well, they aren't exactly going first class. Furlong says he'll usually ask the pilots to keep the plane kind of cool, so sometimes this crowd finds itself wrapped in blankets to keep warm. There's no in-flight movie, so jokes about whether they choose between "Seabiscuit" or "War Horse" don't really cut it.

"It's not a job for the faint of heart," Furlong said. "You need to have someone who is a very confident flier and who can intervene quickly to calm a stressed horse."

After all, 1,200 pounds (544 kilograms) of stressed horse can be an intimidating prospect.

Furlong says the crews are usually very accommodating ? and always want to come back even briefly to see their precious cargo.

But even these horses didn't escape Britain's strict rules on quarantine. Furlong arranged to have a farm near Newark International Airport set up as a special quarantine area to comply with the U.K.'s rules ? though admittedly the cherished 10 only needed five hours of intense scrutiny to meet the criteria. Nothing but the best for this crowd. Really.

But do they know ? do the horses know that it's the Olympics? That it's a special event that happens only every four years?

Dutta swears they do.

"They're athletes," Dutta said of horses that jump big big fences and run oh so fast. "They love what they do."

Associated Press

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Puerto Rican police commit rampant abuse: ACLU

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (Reuters) - Puerto Rico's police force is ruled by "unrestrained abuse and brutality" and has failed to investigate and prosecute sexual assault and domestic violence in the U.S. territory, the American Civil Liberties Union said in a report released on Tuesday.

According to the report "Island of Impunity: Puerto Rico's Outlaw Police Force," the 17,000-member police force routinely covers up complaints lodged against members, lacks procedures to monitor and investigate abuse complaints and has inadequate systems to train, supervise and discipline officers.

For example, in one case, an officer who had been arrested eight times and who held the local police chief hostage at gunpoint was reinstated, and went on to fatally shoot an unarmed teenager, the ACLU said.

In another, an officer who was the subject of seven disciplinary complaints, and who was labeled a "ticking time bomb" by a police psychologist, shot and killed an unarmed man.

"These abuses do not represent isolated incidents or aberrant behavior by a few rogue officers," said the report's author, Jennifer Turner of the ACLU's Human Rights Program. "The police brutality we documented is systemic, island wide and ongoing. The PRPD is steeped in a culture of unrestrained abuse and near-total impunity."

Police Superintendent Hector Pesquera, a former director of the FBI office in Miami who took office in April, called the ACLU report "incorrect and irresponsible."

"This is not a reflection of reality. I don't know where they are coming from or what's the agenda, but it's incorrect to say the police department is dedicated to violating the rights of Puerto Rico's citizens," Pesquera said in a Tuesday morning radio interview.

"There are cases of police corruption but it is no different than other police forces in the world," he said.

The 180-page ACLU report comes nine months after the U.S. Justice Department released a report that said Puerto Rico's police officers routinely engaged in "excessive" and "unreasonable" force, committed misconduct to suppress First Amendment rights and conducted unlawful searches and seizures.

The Justice Department also said the police department failed to adequately police sex crimes and domestic violence and engaged in discriminatory practices against members of Puerto Rico's sizeable Dominican community.

Moreover, the police department's information and data systems were severely lacking, hampering its ability to fight crime and maintain oversight of internal violations, it said.

The Justice Department investigation focused on incidents from 2004 to 2008, while the ACLU report focuses on incidents from 2007 to May 2012.

The ACLU report was based on more than 75 interviews in Puerto Rico with government officials and victims of police brutality or their attorneys or surviving relatives.

The report said Puerto Rico Police Department officers killed at least 21 civilians in 2010 and 2011, and the Caribbean island's per capita rate of fatal police shootings in 2010 was almost triple that of New York City's.

Only about one percent of rapes were properly reported by the Puerto Rico Police Department, the report said. In most U.S. jurisdictions the number of reported rapes was four times the number of homicides but in 2010, the PRPD reported 1,000 homicides but only 39 rapes, according to the report.

In 2011, the number of women killed by their partners in Puerto Rico was six times higher than in Los Angeles, which has about the same population of 3.7 million.

Between 2005 and 2010, more than 1,700 PRPD officers were arrested for criminal activity including assault, domestic violence, drug trafficking and murder - amounting to 10 percent of the force, the ACLU said. At least 84 still-active PRPD officers have been arrested two or more times for domestic violence.

"The Puerto Rican government has promised reform for years, but people are still suffering under a police department that is out of control. The U.S. Justice Department needs to take concrete action immediately to end the PRPD's unconstitutional practices," said Anthony Romero, ACLU executive director.

Governor Luis Fortuno has fired two police chiefs and has reached out to federal authorities in trying to control a crime wave in Puerto Rico and address department lapses.

Puerto Rican officials said increased drug trafficking in the Caribbean is fueling the island's crime rate and have called on U.S. authorities to provide more personnel and equipment.

The U.S. Justice Department investigation was launched in 2008 after a police officer was caught on videotape shooting an unarmed man and several other officers were arrested on charges of framing suspects.

"Governor Fortuno proposed reforms after the Justice Department report came out nine months ago, but they are superficial at best, and regardless, almost none have been put into place," said William Ramirez, executive director of the ACLU of Puerto Rico. "We still lack a system that holds police officers accountable for their actions, and people are dying because of it."

The ACLU wants the U.S. Justice Department to enter a court-enforceable and court-monitored agreement with the Puerto Rico Police Department to ensure reforms, while officials say the path to reform is already being blazed. (Reporting by Reuters in San Juan; Editing by Jackie Frank)

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Defense: Other PSU coaches, kids were in showers

Former Penn State University assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky arrives at the Centre County Courthouse in Bellefonte, Pa., Monday, June 18, 2012. The defense is to begin presenting it's case in Sandusky's trial on 52 counts of child sexual abuse involving 10 boys over a period of 15 years on Monday. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Former Penn State University assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky arrives at the Centre County Courthouse in Bellefonte, Pa., Monday, June 18, 2012. The defense is to begin presenting it's case in Sandusky's trial on 52 counts of child sexual abuse involving 10 boys over a period of 15 years on Monday. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Former Penn State University assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky arrives at the Centre County Courthouse in Bellefonte, Pa., Monday, June 18, 2012. The defense is to begin presenting it's case in Sandusky's trial on 52 counts of child sexual abuse involving 10 boys over a period of 15 years on Monday. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Former Penn State University assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky arrives at the Centre County Courthouse in Bellefonte, Pa., Monday, June 18, 2012. The defense is to begin presenting it's case in Sandusky's trial on 52 counts of child sexual abuse involving 10 boys over a period of 15 years on Monday. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Jerry Sandusky arrives the courthouse for the second week of his trial at the Centre County Courthouse, in Bellefonte, Pa., Monday, June 18, 2012. The defense is to begin presenting it's case in Sandusky's trial on 52 counts of child sexual abuse involving 10 boys over a period of 15 years on Monday. (AP Photo/Centre Daily Times, Nabil K. Mark)

Former Penn State University assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky's attorney Joe Amendola arrives at the Centre County Courthouse in Bellefonte, Pa., Monday, June 18, 2012. The defense is to begin presenting it's case in Sandusky's trial on 52 counts of child sexual abuse involving 10 boys over a period of 15 years on Monday. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

BELLEFONTE, Pa. (AP) ? A former Penn State assistant coach who worked with Jerry Sandusky testified Monday that he and other members of the football staff were present when Sandusky brought young boys into the team's showers.

Dick Anderson, the first witness called by the defense after prosecutors rested their case Monday, said he never witnessed anything inappropriate.

"If Jerry would bring someone in with The Second Mile, they had been working out, for whatever reason they came in, it was not uncommon ... with the other coaches in the shower as well," Anderson said.

Anderson also testified that it's not unusual for him to be in the showers with younger boys at the YMCA.

Anderson took the stand after prosecutors presented their 21st, and final, witness, a woman whose son said Sandusky raped him in the basement of the coach's home.

The woman said her son told her that Sandusky called him late one night after the first round of charges were filed in November, asking if he'd be a character witness. But the next month, prosecutors brought charges against Sandusky, alleging he'd had forced anal sex with the boy.

The woman said her son's laundry would often be short of underwear and he would claim he had thrown it away because he had an accident. Last week, the teen said Sandusky forced him to have anal sex that made him bleed.

"I always wondered why he never had any underwear in the laundry," she said. "There was never any underwear, any socks ... that was odd to me."

Also Monday, prosecutors withdrew one count against Sandusky, saying the statute he was charged under did not apply at the time of the alleged illegal contact.

That leaves 51 counts involving 10 alleged victims over a 15-year span. Sandusky, whose November arrest led to the ouster of Penn State's president and the firing of Hall of Fame football coach Joe Paterno, has denied wrongdoing.

During his testimony, Anderson said Sandusky had a "wonderful reputation" in the community.

"He was well thought of in every regard," Anderson said.

He also testified about the busy schedule Penn State coaches kept.

In their questions to prosecution witnesses, the defense has sought to show how the stories of accusers have changed over time, that they were prodded and coached by investigators and prosecutors, that some are motivated to lie by the hopes of a civil lawsuit jackpot, and to paint Sandusky's interactions with children as misunderstood and part of a lifelong effort to help, not victimize, them.

Defense attorney Joe Amendola pressed the accusers for dates and locations, details of their involvement with the kids' charity Sandusky founded, arrests or drug problems, contacts they had with Sandusky in the years since the alleged abuse ended and the terms of representation deals with civil lawyers. At least six said they told incorrect or incomplete stories in early contacts with police, and three testified that some of the details only came back to them in recent years.

Associated Press

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Automated pavement crack detection and sealing prototype system developed

ScienceDaily (June 18, 2012) ? Sealing cracks in roadways ensures a road's structural integrity and extends the time between major repaving projects, but conventional manual crack sealing operations expose workers to dangerous traffic and cover a limited amount of roadway each day.

To address these challenges, the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) developed a prototype automated pavement crack detection and sealing system with funding from the Georgia Department of Transportation. In road tests, the system was able to detect cracks smaller than one-eighth-inch wide and efficiently fill cracks from a vehicle moving at a speed of three miles per hour.

"Our prototype system has proved in many ways that a commercial-scale automated crack sealing system is viable," said Jonathan Holmes, the GTRI research engineer currently leading the project, which began in 2003. "We demonstrated solutions to technical challenges -- including the high-speed firing of nozzles, automated crack detection and navigation -- in a real-time, limited-scale system."

An automated crack sealing system would increase the level of safety for the workers involved, require fewer personnel and increase the amount of roadway covered per day. In addition, the system could save transportation departments money because sealing cracks extends the time before a roadway needs to be completely repaved.

The prototype system, which was mounted on a trailer, consists of a stereo camera, light-emitting diodes (LEDs) of two different colors, and an assembly to provide a continuous supply of sealant to longitudinal and transverse sealant distribution systems. The operation required only one worker to drive the vehicle pulling the trailer.

As the system traveled along a road lane, the LEDs illuminated the road in two directions -- parallel and perpendicular to the road -- and the stereo camera took two pictures of the road simultaneously, which were analyzed using thresholding and filtering algorithms. Within 100 milliseconds of taking the images, the computer onboard the trailer generated a "crack map" specifying the location and shape of any cracks shown in the images.

Based on the cracks found in the image, the master controller instructed the sealant applicator valves when to fire. To fill longitudinal cracks, a single dispensing nozzle capable of continuous operation was attached to a linear servo axis. The transverse sealant distribution system consisted of 12 nozzles spaced evenly across one foot. The transverse and diagonal distribution prototype was intended to represent one module that could be replicated and joined together to service a full-width roadway lane.

In multiple road tests, the prototype system proved to be a successful proof-of-concept for the automation of crack sealing operations.

Before a full-scale system can be successfully implemented by transportation departments, several issues must be addressed, according to Holmes. First, the crack detection algorithm will need to be improved. The researchers tested their crack detection algorithm on more than 100,000 images they collected of cracks on state roads and found the program correctly identified more than 83 percent of the cracks.

"Our crack detection algorithm was limited because we used a vision-based system, which was confounded by regions of high contrast caused by features other than pavement cracks, including dark stains in the pavement, lane stripes, raised-pavement markers, crack sealant and debris," said Holmes. "A full-scale system may require a fusion of multiple imaging sensors, such as a 3-D laser scanning system."

Holmes also suggested changes will be necessary in the way the sealant was supplied to the longitudinal and transverse distribution systems before a full-scale system can be realized.

David Jared, acting chief of research & development at the Georgia Department of Transportation Office of Materials and Research, and GTRI principal research engineers Wayne Daley and Wiley Holcombe, research scientist Colin Usher, and research engineers Sergio Grullon and Steven Robertson also worked on this project.

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Egypt tenses for new president after vote

CAIRO (Reuters) - A second day of voting on Sunday will deliver Egypt's first freely elected president, though the country faces renewed tension whether he is a former general from the old guard or an Islamist from the long-suppressed Muslim Brotherhood.

Egyptians must decide between Ahmed Shafik, the last prime minister of Hosni Mubarak, or Mohamed Morsy, a U.S.-educated engineer who spent time in Mubarak's jails and offers Egypt a new start as an Islamic democracy.

"We have to vote because these elections are historic," said Amr Omar, voting in Cairo, who said he was a revolutionary youth activist. "I will vote for Morsy... Even if it means electing the hypocritical Islamists, we must break the vicious cycle of Mubarak's police state."

A gunfight killed two in Cairo overnight, according to local media. The reports blamed a dispute between street vendors and there was no apparent connection to the vote, which saw little trouble on Saturday despite mutual accusations of fraud. Observers reported only minor and scattered breaches.

It was impossible to forecast who will emerge the winner by Monday - and whoever it is may face anger and accusations of foul play. Both men have widespread support, but many voters may be staying away, disillusioned by a choice of extremes after centrist candidates were knocked out in the first round last month.

Turnout at polling stations in several areas seemed lower on Saturday than during the first round. Polls re-opened at 8 a.m. on Sunday (02.00 a.m. EDT).

"I am on my way to vote and I'll spoil my ballot. I'll cross out both Morsy and Shafik because neither deserve to be president," said 40-year-old shop owner Saleh Ashour in Cairo.

The military rulers who pushed out their brother officer Mubarak 16 months ago to appease the street protests of the Arab Spring have already enraged their veteran adversaries in the Brotherhood late last week by dissolving the new parliament, elected only five months ago with a sweeping Islamist majority.

A win for Shafik, 70, who says he has learned the lessons of the revolt and offers security, prosperity and religious tolerance, may prompt Islamist claims of Mubarak-style vote-rigging and street protests by the disillusioned urban youths who made Cairo's Tahrir Square their battleground last year.

"The Egyptian people have chosen freedom and are practicing democracy," Morsy said as he cast his vote on Saturday. "The Egyptian people will not back down and I will lead them, God willing, towards stability and retribution."

Shafik, a former fighter pilot and air force chief whose second finish to Morsy in the first round capped a rapid ascent from rank outsider status, made little comment as he voted.

UNEVEN OUTCOMES

Should Morsy prevail, benefiting from a movement forged by decades of clandestine struggle and from support among those who put aside qualms about Islamic rule to block a return of the old regime, he may be frustrated by an uncooperative military elite, for all the generals' pledges to cede power by July 1.

The Brotherhood on Saturday again denounced the dissolution, based on a ruling by the Mubarak-era constitutional court, as "a coup against the whole democratic process" and insisted only a popular referendum could reverse the parliamentary election.

But though overturning that vote drew comparison with events that triggered the bloody Algerian civil war 20 years ago, the Brotherhood, which hung back in the early days of the 2011 revolution, has shown little appetite for a violent showdown with Egypt's U.S.-equipped army, the biggest in the Arab world.

That stalemate, coupled with a failure this year of legislators to form a consensus body to draft a new constitution and a consequent lack of clarity over the powers the new head of state will have, leaves Egyptians, Western allies and investors perplexed by the prospect of yet more of the uncertainty that has ravaged the economy and seen sporadic flare-ups in violence.

Should Shafik win, his supporters reckon, he and the ruling military council which took sovereign powers when Mubarak quit would work in harmony to restore confidence, notably for the vital and ravaged tourist trade - but questions would remain over how far the Islamists and other opponents would resist.

Casting his vote on Saturday in the New Cairo district of the capital, businessman Ashraf Rashwan, 45, said hostility to the Brotherhood among the generals, who retain power and vast business interests, meant Morsy simply could not govern.

"They'll get no cooperation from the establishment. If Morsy wins, there will be a struggle that Egyptians - me at any rate - aren't ready for," he said. "Shafik will mean smooth transition. He's learned from Mubarak's failure to listen to the people."

One mid-ranking army officer, speaking privately, said he agreed with assessments that the military council would offer far more power to a President Shafik than a President Morsy:

"There will be different treatment depending on who wins. With Shafik, a firm crackdown is sure to happen," he said, noting a decree passed last week which restored powers to the military police to arrest civilians - a measure which replaced a hated emergency law that had lapsed the previous month.

"With Morsy, the establishment itself will not back him and there will be chaos and lax security, all of which will pose challenges to him and could destroy his presidency," he added.

"DEEP STATE"

In 60 years since army officers toppled the colonial-era monarchy, Egypt's armed forces have built up massive wealth and commercial interests across industries, helped since the 1970s by a close U.S. alliance which followed the decision of the most populous Arab state to make peace with Israel.

Commonly referred to as the "deep state", it is these shadowy structures, currently overseen in public by the ad hoc Supreme Council of the Armed Forces under Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, which many Egyptians see maintaining influence long after the promised handover to an elected civilian by July 1.

"There is no doubt that the state in all its institutions - judicial, military, interior, foreign and financial - back Shafik for president and are working to that end," said Hassan Nafaa, a politics professor who campaigned against Mubarak.

"It is very difficult to eradicate this spirit of Mubarak."

Only if liberals swallowed their qualms and voted for Morsy to prevent Shafik winning, Nafaa said, "only then may the 'deep state' back down - but I doubt this will happen."

Washington, paymaster of the Egyptian military, and the European Union, a major aid donor, both expressed alarm at the move against parliament and urged the generals to honor their pledge to stand aside. But, like neighboring Israel, both are also uneasy at the rise of the Brotherhood and have looked on anxiously as Islamists have closed in on power in other new democracies of the Arab Spring, notably in Tunisia and Libya.

(Reporting by Edmund Blair, Yasmine Saleh, Dina Zayed, Samia; Nakhoul, Tom Perry and Tamim Elyan; Writing by Alastair Macdonald and Tom Pfeiffer; Editing by Alessandra Rizzo)

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Suu Kyi in Norway fjord town for development talks

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Hunter-Reay wins IndyCar race at Milwaukee

Ryan Hunter-Reay gives a thumbs-up after winning the IndyCar auto race at the Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, Wis., Saturday, June 16, 2012. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps)

Ryan Hunter-Reay gives a thumbs-up after winning the IndyCar auto race at the Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, Wis., Saturday, June 16, 2012. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps)

Ryan Hunter-Reay celebrates as confetti flies after he won the IndyCar auto race at the Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, Wis., Saturday, June 16, 2012. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps)

Ryan Hunter-Reay holds up a U.S. flag after winning the IndyCar auto race at the Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, Wis., Saturday, June 16, 2012. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps)

Ryan Hunter-Reay celebrates after winning the IndyCar auto race at the Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, Wis., Saturday, June 16, 2012. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps)

Ryan Hunter-Reay (28) drives through a turn during the Izod IndyCar Series auto race at the Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, Wis., Saturday, June, 16, 2012. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps)

WEST ALLIS, Wis. (AP) ? As long as his boss went to the trouble of bringing IndyCar racing back to the Milwaukee Mile, Ryan Hunter-Reay figured he might as well bring home the winner's trophy.

Hunter-Reay took the lead from Helio Castroneves on the 142md lap, didn't cough it up on a couple of restarts and held on to the IndyCar race Saturday at the Milwaukee Mile.

It was a doubly sweet win for Michael Andretti, who fields cars for Hunter-Reay as a team owner and served as the event promoter for the race.

"It really is amazing," Hunter-Reay said. "Milwaukee has been so important to IndyCar for so long, and I think this is a huge event for Milwaukee. These two belong together. So I really thank Michael for sticking his neck out, coming back here and really doing it the right way."

It was the sixth career victory and first this season for Hunter-Reay. He also won at Milwaukee in 2004 in the now-defunct Champ Car Series, starting from the pole and leading every lap.

Tony Kanaan was second, followed by James Hinchcliffe, Oriol Servia and E.J. Viso.

Scott Dixon had to serve a drive-through penalty for jumping a restart and finished 11th. He questioned the penalty immediately afterward ? and as it turns out, he was right.

"I'm actually very excited to see what the hell they're talking about," Dixon said. "I'm disappointed."

IndyCar race director Beaux Barfield acknowledged after the race that officials made a mistake. He said a failure in their timing and scoring system caused them to look at the wrong replay.

What officials looked was a replay of a previous restart that was waved off by officials at the time and didn't count. Dixon did commit a potential infraction on that restart ? but he didn't do so on the subsequent restart that ended up counting and should not have been penalized.

"It was obviously the wrong call, based on the reality of the situation," Barfield said.

Barfield took responsibility for the mistake, and said Chip Ganassi Racing officials were "very gracious" when presented with an explanation. Barfield said there wasn't anything officials can do to undo the mistake.

Last year's Milwaukee winner, Dario Franchitti, started from pole position and dominated the early stages of the race. But he fell back in the field and then spun out and hit the wall on lap 195.

Franchitti tangled with Ryan Briscoe shortly before he spun, and said afterward that contact might have broken something on his car.

"I was on Ryan's inside, but he just kept coming down there," Franchitti said. "I just don't think his spotter told him I was there."

Points leader Will Power finished 12th. Hinchcliffe moved up to second in the points.

It was a boost for the historic but financially troubled Milwaukee track, which has been hosting racing since 1903 but originally was left off the 2012 IndyCar schedule after not hosting any major racing events in 2010 and drawing a lackluster crowd for IndyCar last year.

Milwaukee was put back on this year's schedule after Andretti agreed to serve as the race's promoter ? and Andretti announced just before Saturday's race that the event would return in 2013.

"We're going to be back here next year, and hopefully for a long time after that," Andretti said.

Despite the race being a late addition to the schedule ? and then a rain delay that pushed the start back ? the race drew a significantly better crowd than last year.

Franchitti was untouchable in the early stages of the race, leading the first 60-plus laps before making his first pit stop. The race went green until Simona de Silvestro spun on lap 67, bringing out a caution.

Franchitti was shuffled back to fourth on the restart, after a few drivers were on pit road when the caution came out ? including Viso, who took the lead on the restart.

Justin Wilson then blew an engine on lap 94, pulling to the inside wall and scrambling to get out of the car when it briefly caught fire. It was a tough reversal of fortune for Wilson, who won last week at Texas.

After a round of pit stops under caution, Castroneves ? who didn't pit after Wilson's incident ? took the lead.

With Castroneves' tires later wearing out, Hunter-Reay waited for the right moment, then passed him for the lead on lap 142.

"We pounced," Hunter-Reay said. "We were right there ready to go when somebody slipped up."

Kanaan is known for his aggressiveness on restarts, but said he was just worried about not getting passed on restarts and defending his position during Saturday's race.

"Do you even know how to do that?," Hinchcliffe asked jokingly in the post-race news conference.

Kanaan took the good-natured ribbing in stride, answering, "I do not know how to do that."

Associated Press

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Graduated driving laws reduce teen drunk driving

ScienceDaily (June 15, 2012) ? State laws that limit driving privileges for teens have reduced the incidence of drinking and driving among the nation's youngest licensees, according to a new study from researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

The vast majority of states now have laws that limit teen driving privileges and impose stiff penalties for driving under the influence. Graduated driving licensing laws limit the number of passengers young drivers may transport and how late at night they're allowed to drive, among other restrictions.

The researchers evaluated the effects of those laws on alcohol use and risky driving behaviors among teens in 45 states. The study is now available online and will be published September 2012 in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.

"Teens in states with the strongest laws were less likely to drive after drinking or to ride in a car with a driver who had been drinking," says first author Patricia A. Cavazos-Rehg, PhD, research assistant professor of psychiatry. "In states with the toughest laws, teens were half as likely to engage in those risky behaviors."

Teens comprise less than 5 percent of licensed drivers in the country, but they account for roughly 20 percent of motor vehicle crashes.

"In the last decade, most states have strengthened their graduated licensing laws," Cavazos-Rehg explains. "States are learning that a benefit of enacting more restrictive laws is a reduction in risky behavior by young drivers. That can lead to fewer accidents and save lives."

Earlier research has demonstrated that graduated driving laws reduce both fatal and non-fatal motor vehicle accidents among teens. Other studies have found that states with more restrictive licensing laws also had experienced 30 percent reductions in fatal crashes involving teen drivers.

"We were interested in determining whether these laws were making it less likely for teens to engage in drinking and driving behaviors," Cavazos-Rehg says.

The researchers gathered drinking and driving information from more than 220,000 16-17-year olds who were surveyed between 1999 and 2009, when state laws that restrict teen driving were strengthened.

They then compared the anonymous surveys with state laws and found that teens living in states with the strictest laws also were least likely to drink and drive or to ride in a car with a driver who had been drinking.

Cavazos-Rehg can't say precisely what is causing the decrease in risky drinking and driving behaviors, but she believes nighttime restrictions that limit how late a young driver can be behind the wheel may be key.

"That's getting teens to go home earlier, which means they may not have the opportunity to go to parties where there are opportunities to drink," she says. "We haven't looked at that closely yet, but that's the next step."

The other aspects that may influence teens' behavior include stiff penalties, like suspension of a driver's license, for violations, Cavazos-Rehg says. Many laws also require more experience and education behind the wheel before a license is granted than was required in past years. And in most states that have enacted these laws, teens don't receive full driving privileges until they are 18 or even older.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Washington University School of Medicine. The original article was written by Jim Dryden.

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

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Journal Reference:

1. Patricia A. Cavazos-Rehg, Melissa J. Krauss, Edward L. Spitznagel, Frank J. Chaloupka, Mario Schootman, Richard A. Grucza, Laura Jean Bierut. Associations Between Selected State Laws and Teenagers' Drinking and Driving Behaviors. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 2012; DOI: 10.1111/j.1530-0277.2012.01764.x

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

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

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World Map Aquarium Makes Fish Think They Can Swim Around the Globe (Because They're Dumb) [Wish You Were Here]

If you've ever felt guilty about your goldfish having to swim around in a cramped bowl, Takuro Yamamoto Architects designed this stunning coffee table aquarium that lets them traverse the entire world. Albeit, a very, very small version of the world. More »

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Real Estate Agent | The Lost Lamb

real estate sugarhouse The choice to invest in real estate can be a lucrative experience or a costly mistake. It may seem like investing in real estate is only for the very rich, but this is no longer the case. People with an annual salary of $75,000 or less made up fifty percent the real estate investors in 2009. With lower prices creating a buyer?s market, now is a great time to make an investment. But with several potential dangers involved with investing, you might also make the mistake of investing in a house that is overpriced, with unseen damages or in an unattractive neighborhood. To bypass these pitfalls and get the most out of your real estate investment, your best option is to work with a real estate agent. Realtors work in the field all the time and understand the best locations to purchase now and in the future. They are also required to take workshops to continue their knowledge and predict trends in real estate. Working with an experienced realtor will help create a quick and efficient investment process. Find a realtor near you

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Hurricane Carlotta heads to Mexico Pacific coast

This NOAA satellite image taken Friday, June 15, 2012 at 1:45 PM EDT shows dense cloud cover over the northwestern basin as circulation from a remnant tropical wave sirs up scattered showers and thunderstorms in the region. Similar activity forms in the southwestern basin as an area of low pressure becomes embedded in the monsoon trough that extends from Colombia to portions of western Panama and Costa Rica. Meanwhile, a few weak isolated showers are embedded in moderate to fresh easterly trade winds. (AP PHOTO/WEATHER UNDERGROUND)

This NOAA satellite image taken Friday, June 15, 2012 at 1:45 PM EDT shows dense cloud cover over the northwestern basin as circulation from a remnant tropical wave sirs up scattered showers and thunderstorms in the region. Similar activity forms in the southwestern basin as an area of low pressure becomes embedded in the monsoon trough that extends from Colombia to portions of western Panama and Costa Rica. Meanwhile, a few weak isolated showers are embedded in moderate to fresh easterly trade winds. (AP PHOTO/WEATHER UNDERGROUND)

MEXICO CITY (AP) ? Carlotta grew into a powerful Category 2 hurricane on Friday as it roared toward southern Mexico, where it is expected to brush the Pacific coast near the resort town of Puerto Escondido and then approach Acapulco.

Authorities opened emergency shelters, tourists began leaving Puerto Escondido and hotel owners gathered up furniture and other potential flying objects in preparation for the hurricane.

Ines Vos, a German who has lived on Mexico's coast for 22 years and now runs the Beach Hotel Ines, said she had readied the hotel's generator and stocked up on gasoline and bottled water in preparation for the storm.

"In the morning, a lot of people left, they didn't want to stay because nobody knows how the roads will be" after Carlotta lashes the town, said Vos, who lived through Hurricane Pauline in 1997. Pauline made landfall at Puerto Escondido with winds of 109 mph, killing at least 230 people along the Pacific coast.

Hurricane Carlotta's center was about 65 miles (100 kilometers) south-southeast of Puerto Angel and 280 miles (450 kilometers) southeast of Acapulco Friday, with winds of 105 mph (165 kph), according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami.

Carlotta was expected to draw within a few miles of the shoreline early Saturday in a sparsely populated area between Puerto Escondido and the resort of Acapulco. The center said it could move over land briefly in those areas.

While Carlotta was moving northwest at 12 mph (19 kph), the hurricane center said it was likely to turn westward and move parallel to the coast, stopping just short of Acapulco before it weakens into a tropical storm, turns and moves out to sea again.

However, the area of Oaxaca state and neighboring Guerrero state that the storm will brush is full of mountainous terrain that can experience flash floods under heavy rainfalls.

Cynthia Tovar, a spokeswoman for the Oaxaca state civil defense office, said authorities had begun to open nine emergency shelters and cancelled classes in coastal towns. Authorities were telling people in high-risk areas to head to the shelters, which can hold an estimated 4,500 people.

However, Vos, who spent about a week without electricity after Pauline in 1997, said people appeared to be slow to prepare for Carlotta.

"They are warning people, but I don't see anybody moving," Vos said.

Associated Press

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Microsoft Windows 8 tablet unveiling said to be slated for Monday

Windows fans who have enviously watched iOS and Android users toting around tablets won?t have to wait much longer. Microsoft sent out a press invitation on Thursday for a ?major announcement? slated to take place in Los Angeles on Monday, June 18th, and All Things D?is reporting that it will center around Windows RT-based tablets. According to All Things D, Microsoft is expected not just to show off its ARM-based Windows 8 tablets at the event but also to ?highlight some of the kinds of programs and services that will run on the products, according to sources outside the company.? Having tablets in the fold would be a much-needed boost for Microsoft?s mobility brand, especially since Nokia, the company?s major Windows Phone manufacturer, is in such dire straits.?

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Prior to joining BGR as News Editor, Brad Reed spent five years covering the wireless industry for Network World. His first smartphone was a BlackBerry but he has since become a loyal Android user.

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