91% Frances Ha

All Critics (44) | Top Critics (22) | Fresh (40) | Rotten (4)

Occasionally inspired, frequently charming and always watchable.

Has the earnest, wonky charm of a homemade valentine.

It's a skimpy, overextended riff, but some of the seemingly tossed-off moments are lovely.

Frances Ha is sharply focused on a genuine life issue that doesn't get much play in movies: the challenges of platonic love and of the complicated passions of friendship.

While Gerwig's gentleness gives Baumbach's work a new warmth, his touch gives her a new maturity.

An American independent film (shot in luminous black and white by Sam Levy) that feels off the cuff but is in fact exactly made by a filmmaker in total control of his resources.

Greta Gerwig is delightful as an awkward non-dancer in this off-beat comedy

...like an early Andrew Bujalski movie with more articulate characters or Lena Dunham's 'Girls' without the ick factor.

Frances Ha is not the worst film of the year. That would be Snitch. However, it is the most obnoxious film so far.

This is a truly wonderful movie, recalling Woody Allen at his best.

Frances Ha is the work of an artist in love, and in Baumbach's case, it's not clear that love is his most constructive muse.

A great film that gets the spirit of New York exactly right:

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Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/frances_ha_2013/

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North Korea sends leader's special envoy to China

High-ranking North Korean party and military official Choe Ryong Hae, second left, prepares to depart for China as a special envoy of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, at Pyongyang airport, North Korea Wednesday, May 22, 2013. The trip by Choe, a vice marshal who is director of the General Political Bureau of the Korean People's Army, is the highest-profile visit by a North Korean official to neighboring China this year and takes place at as Beijing is under pressure to rein in Pyongyang?s provocations. (AP Photo/ Kim Kwang Hyon)

High-ranking North Korean party and military official Choe Ryong Hae, second left, prepares to depart for China as a special envoy of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, at Pyongyang airport, North Korea Wednesday, May 22, 2013. The trip by Choe, a vice marshal who is director of the General Political Bureau of the Korean People's Army, is the highest-profile visit by a North Korean official to neighboring China this year and takes place at as Beijing is under pressure to rein in Pyongyang?s provocations. (AP Photo/ Kim Kwang Hyon)

High-ranking North Korean party and military official Choe Ryong Hae, center left, shakes hands with Chinese Ambassador Liu Hongcai as Choe departs for China as a special envoy of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, at Pyongyang airport, North Korea Wednesday, May 22, 2013. The trip by Choe, a vice marshal who is director of the General Political Bureau of the Korean People's Army, is the highest-profile visit by a North Korean official to neighboring China this year and takes place at as Beijing is under pressure to rein in Pyongyang?s provocations. (AP Photo/ Kim Kwang Hyon)

High-ranking North Korean party and military official Choe Ryong Hae, front right, shakes hands with officials as he departs for China as a special envoy of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, at Pyongyang airport, North Korea Wednesday, May 22, 2013. The trip by Choe, a vice marshal who is director of the General Political Bureau of the Korean People's Army, is the highest-profile visit by a North Korean official to neighboring China this year and takes place at as Beijing is under pressure to rein in Pyongyang?s provocations. (AP Photo/ Kim Kwang Hyon)

Choe Ryong Hae, director of the General Political Bureau of the Korean People's Army (KPA), center, and other delegates from left, Kim Hyong Jun, deputy minister Foreign Affairs, Ri Yong Gil, Col. Gen. of KPA, Kim Song Nam, vice department director of the Central Committee of the Workers party of Korea, and Kim Su Gil, Lt. Gen. of KPA, pose before leaving Pyongyang Airport for China, North Korea Wednesday, May 22, 2013. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un dispatched a high-profile official and close confidant to travel to China on Wednesday as a special envoy while Beijing is under pressure to rein in its belligerent neighbor. (AP Photo/ Kim Kwang Hyon)

FILE - In this July 18, 2012 file photo, North Korea's Vice-Marshal Choe Ryong Hae, director of the General Political Bureau of the Korean People's Army, speaks during a meeting at the April 25 House of Culture announcing North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's new title of marshal, in Pyongyang, North Korea. Choe, a "special envoy" for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un left Pyongyang on Wednesday, May 22, 2013, for China, the North's only major political and economic benefactor. State media released few details, but the trip comes at a rocky time in ties between the allies. (AP Photo/Jon Chol Jin, File)

PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) ? North Korean leader Kim Jong Un dispatched a high-profile official and close confidant to China on Wednesday as Beijing faces pressure to rein in its belligerent neighbor.

Choe Ryong Hae, a top Workers' Party official and a vice marshal tasked with supervising the North Korean military, departed on a chartered Air Koryo flight with a political and military delegation. Chinese Ambassador Liu Hongcai was among the dignitaries on the tarmac for his departure.

Choe, dressed in his military uniform, arrived later in Beijing and left the airport in a motorcade. He was meeting with Wang Jiarui, head of the Communist Party's international affairs office and long a point man for China on contacts with North Korea, according to China's official Xinhua News Agency.

The trip is the highest-profile visit by a North Korean official to China this year, and it takes place as the new leadership in China shows frustration with North Korea and a greater willingness to work with Washington to harry Pyongyang over its nuclear weapons programs.

China is Pyongyang's economic and diplomatic lifeline, providing nearly all of its fuel and most of its trade, and foreign analysts said the trip could be an attempt to win more aid and repair ties.

There are signs of strains in relations between Beijing and Pyongyang over North Korea's nuclear efforts, which included an underground nuclear test in February. That test, the country's third, was followed by U.N. sanctions and a protracted period of high tensions as North Korea threatened nuclear strikes on Washington and Seoul.

The Chinese ambassador's sendoff to the North Korean delegation made up of top party and military officials was cordial. He chatted with Choe briefly, commenting on the weather as they shook hands before the vice marshal boarded his plane.

The rhetoric from Pyongyang has fallen off in recent weeks, and there have been tentative signs of diplomacy in the region as envoys from the U.S., Japan, South Korea, China and Russia have consulted on how to engage with the North Koreans.

Separately, the Japanese government said Wednesday that it was looking into re-opening official talks with North Korea to resolve questions over the abductions of Japanese citizens decades ago. The announcement by Chief Cabinet spokesman Yoshihide Suga raised worries among allies who fear Tokyo's focus on that issue might weaken diplomatic efforts on Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had indicated he would potentially be open to holding a summit with Kim Jong Un if it would lead to a breakthrough on the abductions issue. Abe dispatched a senior adviser to Pyongyang last week, catching Seoul and Washington off guard.

In recent months, the relationship between Beijing and Pyongyang appeared strained. In one sign, China's state-run Bank of China said this month it had notified the Foreign Trade Bank of North Korea that its accounts were closed and all financial transactions suspended. In another, Chinese fishermen said gunmen in North Korean military uniforms held a crew captive at gunpoint for two weeks before finally releasing the boat this week. The ship's owner said the captain was beaten and the vessel's fuel stolen.

Choe's trip is believed to be the first top-level meeting between North Korean and China since Chinese Politburo member Li Jianguo went to Pyongyang in late November bearing a letter from Xi Jinping, who had just been installed as China's party chief.

Choe may be tasked with trying to improve relations between Pyongyang and Beijing in his meetings with Chinese officials, said Koh Yu-hwan, a North Korea expert at Dongguk University in Seoul, South Korea.

"This is an indirect way for the countries to hold a summit meant to restore ties," Koh said.

The visit comes amid discussions about a possible trip by South Korean President Park Geun-hye to China next month.

Choe and his delegation may ask for more economic aid from Beijing and try to explain North Korea's recent military moves, including short-range projectile launches off the east coast, said Lee Ji-sue, a North Korea specialist and professor at Myongji University in Seoul, South Korea.

Leader Kim Jong Un hasn't visited Beijing since he took power from his father, Kim Jong Il, who visited China in August 2011 just months before his death that December.

China is North Korea's top trade partner. According to the most recent figures from Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency in Seoul, which collects North Korean trade data, China accounted for 89 percent of North Korea's exports and imports in 2011. The 2012 figure was not available.

The numbers show deepening economic ties between North Korea and China in the last few years as the North's economic exchange with South Korea weakened. In 2005, China accounted for 53 percent of North Korea's annual trade, according to KOTRA.

China and North Korea are jointly developing a pair of special economic zones: Rason on the Korean Peninsula's northern tip and Hwanggumphyong, an island in the Yalu River that marks their border to the southwest.

Choe, a close Kim family friend, often is pictured standing next to the leader, along with Jang Song Thaek, the uncle who visited China in August last year.

Choe holds a slew of top posts, including director of the General Political Bureau of the Korean People's Army, member of the Presidium of the powerful Political Bureau of the ruling Workers' Party, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party, and member of the Supreme Assembly.

Also Wednesday, the North revealed that Kim Jong Un had named a hardline general, Kim Kyok Sik, as his new army chief. There were no other details from Pyongyang.

Kim Kyok Sik previously led the Korean People's Army until 2009. He also was defense minister, a separate position considered lower-ranking than army chief, until being recently replaced by a little-known general, Jang Jong Nam. Kim is the former commander of battalions believed responsible for attacks in 2010 that killed 50 South Koreans.

___

Associated Press writers Kim Kwang Hyon in Pyongyang; Sam Kim, Youkyung Lee and Hyung-jin Kim in Seoul, South Korea, and Eric Talmadge in Tokyo contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-05-22-NKorea-China/id-fb6557513cb949a7a346ccd2da7d3a77

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NSF and SRC to fund research to create failure-resistant systems

Public release date: 21-May-2013
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Contact: Lisa-Joy Zgorski
lisajoy@nsf.gov
703-292-8311
National Science Foundation

$6 million will support 29 researchers at 18 US universities

Leaders of the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC), the world's leading university-research consortium for semiconductors and related technologies, today announced 18 new projects funded through a joint initiative to address research challenges in the design of failure-resistant circuits and systems.

The three-year, $6 million collaborative program will support research being conducted by 29 faculty members at 18 U.S. universities. Their work focuses on a variety of aspects of resilient circuit and system design for future computing applications.

Miniaturized electronics form parts of today's pervasive and increasingly efficient and complex electronic systems. Common examples include communication devices such as cell-phones and personal digital assistants (so-called PDA's), aircraft flight controls, autonomous vehicles, sophisticated weapon systems and tiny medical devices inside or outside of the human body, such as pacemakers and heart monitors.

The accurate functioning of these systems is often a matter of life and death. A small malfunction in a pacemaker could threaten the life of a patient; unexpected failures in flight control circuitry or in an autonomous vehicle may result in a crash.

A host of reasons could cause highly sensitive, automated mechanical devices to deviate from desired behavior or functionalities. These include design imperfections, faults resulting from uncontrolled physical phenomena, manufacturing variations, aging over time and other external disturbances, which even may include tampering or malicious design.

By funding fundamental research in the design of electronic chips, this joint NSF/SRC program on Failure Resistant Systems aims to ensure that at the outset systems are designed in such a way that they are self-corrective or self-healing with minimal or no external intervention during the entire life of its operation.

"As devices become smaller and approach fundamental limits, new design methodologies will be required to account for the wide variability which arises in the fabrication process" said Pramod Khargonekar, head of NSF's Directorate for Engineering. "This joint program with SRC will allow our academic researchers to address pressing problems faced by our semiconductor industry."

"New fundamental design techniques have the potential to yield major advances in the reliability of electronic systems," said Farnam Jahanian, head of NSF's Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering. "This program builds on more than a decade of successful partnerships with SRC and provides the academic research community a new opportunity to do ground-breaking, long-term, basic research."

"This partnership of government, industry and academia helps our universities address critical computing challenges," said Steve Hillenius, SRC executive vice president. "This effort in resilient systems will have an effect on multiple industries and boost their competitiveness on a global scale, helping to transform market segments and translate research results into practice. Cooperative programs with NSF also help SRC deliver value to its industrial members' capabilities, while allowing universities to continue to improve their understanding of the needs of the semiconductor industry."

Funding will support researchers at the following universities: the University of Texas (Austin, Dallas), the University of California (Riverside, Santa Barbara), the University of Southern California, Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Connecticut, the University of Utah, Texas A&M University, the University of Illinois, Stanford University, the University of Michigan, the University of Minnesota, the University of Rochester, Colorado State University, North Carolina State University, the University of Virginia and West Virginia University.

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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 21-May-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Lisa-Joy Zgorski
lisajoy@nsf.gov
703-292-8311
National Science Foundation

$6 million will support 29 researchers at 18 US universities

Leaders of the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC), the world's leading university-research consortium for semiconductors and related technologies, today announced 18 new projects funded through a joint initiative to address research challenges in the design of failure-resistant circuits and systems.

The three-year, $6 million collaborative program will support research being conducted by 29 faculty members at 18 U.S. universities. Their work focuses on a variety of aspects of resilient circuit and system design for future computing applications.

Miniaturized electronics form parts of today's pervasive and increasingly efficient and complex electronic systems. Common examples include communication devices such as cell-phones and personal digital assistants (so-called PDA's), aircraft flight controls, autonomous vehicles, sophisticated weapon systems and tiny medical devices inside or outside of the human body, such as pacemakers and heart monitors.

The accurate functioning of these systems is often a matter of life and death. A small malfunction in a pacemaker could threaten the life of a patient; unexpected failures in flight control circuitry or in an autonomous vehicle may result in a crash.

A host of reasons could cause highly sensitive, automated mechanical devices to deviate from desired behavior or functionalities. These include design imperfections, faults resulting from uncontrolled physical phenomena, manufacturing variations, aging over time and other external disturbances, which even may include tampering or malicious design.

By funding fundamental research in the design of electronic chips, this joint NSF/SRC program on Failure Resistant Systems aims to ensure that at the outset systems are designed in such a way that they are self-corrective or self-healing with minimal or no external intervention during the entire life of its operation.

"As devices become smaller and approach fundamental limits, new design methodologies will be required to account for the wide variability which arises in the fabrication process" said Pramod Khargonekar, head of NSF's Directorate for Engineering. "This joint program with SRC will allow our academic researchers to address pressing problems faced by our semiconductor industry."

"New fundamental design techniques have the potential to yield major advances in the reliability of electronic systems," said Farnam Jahanian, head of NSF's Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering. "This program builds on more than a decade of successful partnerships with SRC and provides the academic research community a new opportunity to do ground-breaking, long-term, basic research."

"This partnership of government, industry and academia helps our universities address critical computing challenges," said Steve Hillenius, SRC executive vice president. "This effort in resilient systems will have an effect on multiple industries and boost their competitiveness on a global scale, helping to transform market segments and translate research results into practice. Cooperative programs with NSF also help SRC deliver value to its industrial members' capabilities, while allowing universities to continue to improve their understanding of the needs of the semiconductor industry."

Funding will support researchers at the following universities: the University of Texas (Austin, Dallas), the University of California (Riverside, Santa Barbara), the University of Southern California, Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Connecticut, the University of Utah, Texas A&M University, the University of Illinois, Stanford University, the University of Michigan, the University of Minnesota, the University of Rochester, Colorado State University, North Carolina State University, the University of Virginia and West Virginia University.

###

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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-05/nsf-nas052113.php

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Report: Obama admin. spied on reporter

President Barack Obama crosses the South Lawn at the White House in Washington, May 19, 2013. (Jonathan Ernst/??The Justice Department spied extensively on Fox News reporter James Rosen in 2010, collecting his telephone records, tracking his movements in and out of the State Department, and seizing two days of Rosen?s personal emails, the Washington Post reported on Monday.

In a chilling move sure to rile defenders of civil liberties, an FBI agent also accused Rosen of breaking anti-espionage law with behavior that? as described in the agent's own affidavit ? falls well inside the bounds of traditional news reporting. (Disclosure: This reporter counts Rosen among his friends.)

The revelations surfaced with President Barack Obama?s administration already under fire for seizing two months of telephone records of reporters and editors at the Associated Press. Obama last week said he makes ?no apologies? for investigations into national security-related leaks. The AP's CEO, Gray Pruitt, said Sunday that the seizure was "unconstitutional."

The Obama administration has prosecuted twice as many leakers as all previous administrations combined.

?The president is a strong defender of the First Amendment and a firm believer in the need for the press to be unfettered in its ability to conduct investigative reporting and facilitate a free flow of information,? White House press secretary Jay Carney insisted last week. ?He also, of course, recognizes the need for the Justice Department to investigate alleged criminal activity without undue influence.?

The details of the government's strategy against Rosen sound like something out of a spy novel.

Investigators looking into disclosures of sensitive information about North Korea got Rosen?s telephone records and a warrant for his personal emails but also used his State Department security badge to track his movements in and out of that building, the Post reported, citing court documents.

The case began when Rosen reported on June 11, 2009, that U.S. intelligence believed North Korea might respond to tighter United Nations sanctions with new nuclear tests. Rosen reported that the information came from CIA sources inside the hermetic Stalinist state.

Investigators zeroed in on State Department arms expert Stephen Jin-Woo Kim, who was among a small group of intelligence officials to receive a top-secret report on the issue the same day that Rosen's piece ran online.

But FBI agent Reginald Reyes wrote that there was evidence Rosen had broken the law, ?at the very least, either as an aider, abettor and/or co-conspirator,? the Post said.

And just what did Rosen do? Here's Reyes, in an affidavit to support his request for a search warrant:

?From the beginning of their relationship, the Reporter asked, solicited and encouraged Mr. Kim to disclose sensitive United States internal documents and intelligence information about the Foreign Country," the FBI agent wrote. "The Reporter did so by employing flattery and playing to Mr. Kim?s vanity and ego.?

"Much like an intelligence officer would run an clandestine intelligence source, the Reporter instructed Mr. Kim on a covert communications plan," Reyes said, explicitly comparing reportorial tactics to espionage.

Here is how the Post described another section of Reyes' report:

Using italics for emphasis, Reyes explained how Rosen allegedly used a ?covert communications plan? and quoted from an e-mail exchange between Rosen and Kim that seems to describe a secret system for passing along information.

In the exchange, Rosen used the alias ?Leo? to address Kim and called himself ?Alex,? an apparent reference to Alexander Butterfield, the man best known for running the secret recording system in the Nixon White House, according to the affidavit.

Rosen instructed Kim to send him coded signals on his Google account, according to a quote from his e-mail in the affidavit: ?One asterisk means to contact them, or that previously suggested plans for communication are to proceed as agreed; two asterisks means the opposite.?

He also wrote, according to the affidavit: ?What I am interested in, as you might expect, is breaking news ahead of my competitors? including ?what intelligence is picking up.? And: ?I?d love to see some internal State Department analyses.?

The communications system is a bit cloak-and-dagger, but it's not clear from the Post report or the affidavit that Rosen did anything outside the bounds of traditional reporting. People who know Rosen will smile at the Butterfield reference: The tenacious Fox News reporter is known as a Beatles fanatic, Tom Wolfe devotee and Watergate obsessive.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/obama-admin-spied-fox-news-reporter-james-rosen-134204299.html

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CA-NEWS Summary

Car bombs target Iraqi Shi'ites, killing at least 43

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - At least 43 people were killed in car bomb explosions targeting Shi'ite Muslims in the Iraqi capital and the southern oil hub of Basra on Monday, police and medics said. About 150 people have been killed in sectarian violence over the past week and tensions between Shi'ites, who now lead Iraq, and minority Sunni Muslims have reached their highest level since U.S. troops pulled out in December 2011.

Former Pakistani dictator Musharraf granted bail

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - A Pakistani court on Monday granted bail to former army chief and president Pervez Musharraf who has been under house arrest on charges of failing to provide adequate security for former prime minister Benazir Bhutto before her 2007 assassination. Musharraf, who took power in a 1999 coup, returned to Pakistan in March after nearly four years of self-imposed exile to contest a May 11 general election, but he was disqualified from standing because of pending court cases.

Car bombs kill eight in Russia's Dagestan: investigators

MAKHACHKALA, Russia (Reuters) - Two car bombs exploded in Dagestan on Monday, killing at least eight people and wounding about 20 others, investigators said, one of the deadliest attacks this year in a region plagued with violence linked to an Islamist insurgency. The blasts occurred in swift succession outside the headquarters of the court bailiffs' service in the provincial capital, Makhachkala.

Iran electoral watchdog hints at Rafsanjani rejection

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran's electoral watchdog said on Monday it would bar physically feeble candidates from running for president, in an apparent hint that it could disqualify 78-year-old former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani from the race. Rafsanjani, if he is allowed to run, would be a significant challenge to conservative hardliners who are ultra-loyal to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and who otherwise dominate the field for the June 14 presidential election.

North Korea fires sixth missile in three days

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea fired two short-range missiles on Monday, making six launches in three days, and it condemned South Korea for criticizing what it said were its legitimate military drills. South Korea's Defense Ministry said North Korea had fired one missile on Monday morning and a second one in the afternoon. Both were fired into the sea off North Korea's east coast, a ministry official said.

Congo's army clashes with rebels near eastern city of Goma

KINSHASA (Reuters) - Congolese soldiers clashed with rebel fighters for the first time in nearly six months on Monday near the city of Goma, just days before U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is due to visit the troubled eastern borderlands. Fighting began in the early morning after the Tutsi-dominated M23 rebels attacked government positions around 10 km (6 miles) north of mineral-rich eastern Democratic Republic of Congo's largest city, a military spokesman told Reuters.

Subsidy reform dispute imperils Morocco's ruling coalition

RABAT (Reuters) - Morocco's junior government party is threatening to quit the coalition unless Islamist prime minister Abdelilah Benkirane moderates plans for sweeping cuts to subsidies on food and energy. Increased subsidies have been part of Morocco's strategy to prevent popular discontent welling up into an uprising of the kind that has toppled rulers across north Africa, but the moderate Islamist PJD argues, along with the IMF, that they have become unsustainable.

China offers India a 'handshake across the Himalayas'

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India and China will study new ways to ease tensions along their ill-defined border, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said on Monday in his first foreign trip since taking office, which comes just weeks after a military stand-off between the Asian giants in the Himalayas. The number two in the Chinese leadership offered New Delhi a "handshake across the Himalayas" and said the world's most populous nations could become a new engine for the global economy if they could avoid such irritants.

Thirty Hezbollah fighters killed in Syrian town: activists

AMMAN (Reuters) - About 30 fighters from the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and 20 Syrian soldiers and militiamen loyal to President Bashar al-Assad were killed in heavy fighting with rebels in the town of Qusair, Syrian activists said on Monday. Opposition sources and state media gave sharply differing accounts of the outcome of Sunday's ferocious battles in the town, long used by rebels as a supply route from the nearby Lebanese border to the provincial capital Homs.

Brazilian killed in hot-air balloon crash in Turkey

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - A hot-air balloon flying over Cappadocia, a tourist destination in central Turkey, crashed after colliding with another balloon on Monday, killing a Brazilian passenger and injuring 24 other people, the Anatolian news agency said. The accident occurred near the city of Nevsehir. Most of the injured were being treated for broken bones but one was in critical condition,

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ca-news-summary-025303104.html

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'Britain's Obama' urges ties with West Africa

ACCRA, Ghana (AP) ? A rising star in Britain's Labour Party, described by some as the "British Barack Obama," Chuka Umunna urged the United Kingdom to more aggressively forge ties with West Africa's fast-growing economies.

During a trade mission to West Africa last week that included a stop in his father's home country Nigeria, Umunna, a member of the British Parliament, dismissed the comparison to the United States president.

"Let's not beat around the bush. The reason why people make the comparison is, frankly, there are not that many black people in Western politics," said Umunna, who represents the London district of Streatham and is Labour's shadow business secretary. "And I'd love to have a situation where you can be elected as a black politician without constantly having comparisons made."

Umunna, 34, grew up in Streatham and worked as a lawyer before being elected to parliament in 2010. The son of an Irish mother and Nigerian father, he said he made seven or eight trips to Nigeria "for pretty long stays" during his childhood. But prior to last week's visit, he hadn't been to the country since his father's funeral in 1992.

Umunna said that while West Africa's high growth rate is well-known, he was struck by just how different Nigeria seemed today compared to his last visit, which occurred during a time of military rule.

"It didn't have the feeling of a country that was going anywhere in 1992," he said. But today Nigeria "does have the feeling of a country on the up. What you find physically and you see on the street matches up with a growth rate of 7 percent, which it is forecast to have this year."

He had similar things to say about Ghana, where at a reception Thursday night hosted by the British High Commission in Accra he said Britain was eager to help develop infrastructure and remove other barriers to economic growth.

"We are acutely conscious that we come here with some humility," he said in brief remarks. "This is clearly an economy that is taking off, and we know that between 2011 and 2015 Ghana is forecast to be the eighth-fastest growing economy in the world. And of course that is at the same time that our economy in the U.K. has been struggling to grow somewhat."

In an interview with The Associated Press, Umunna acknowledged there was a feeling in its former colonies that Britain has been less engaged than other partners such as China, Brazil and India.

"I think it's fair to say that there is a perception that we've been a bit complacent and because of our historical ties have felt somehow that we don't need to put as much effort in," he said. "I want to be very clear and send out a very strong message to policymakers and business communities in all of the West African countries that the U.K. wants to do business."

Back home, Umunna said he was focused on helping put the Labour Party back into power in the 2015 elections under party leader Ed Miliband ? something he said the party was in a good position to accomplish.

Umunna said he left the law for politics "to achieve massive positive change" and that he was frustrated being in the opposition.

Though widely regarded as an up and coming force in the Labour Party, Umunna has received some recent negative press related to his online footprint. Last month Britain's Daily Mail reported that on an invitation-only social networking website, Umunna complained in 2006 that clubs in London's West End "seem to be full of trash and C-list wannabes, while other places that should know better opt for the cheesy vibe." The paper said the comments undercut the lawmaker's "man of the people" image.

Umunna has also been criticized in the press for editing his own Wikipedia page to include references to "the U.K.'s Barack Obama," something his office has said he has no recollection of doing. Prime Minister David Cameron made light of the story on May 8 in the House of Commons, saying, "Now he has been famously comparing himself to Barack Obama. As he would put it, can we change our Wikipedia entry? Yes we can." In BBC footage of the remarks, Umunna rolls his eyes in response.

"With respect to the nightclub comment I've never claimed to be a saint," Umunna told AP. "My generation, we're probably the first generation to actually have grown up online and to have social media accounts . We all say stupid things in our younger years and I'm no different from anyone else, and I regret what I said and I can't really say more than that."

He declined to be specific when discussing his political ambitions. "I'm not particularly interested in positions and in my own personal position in as much as I am ambitious to actually do things and make a difference," he said. "I'm ambitious in my politics and the kind of society I'd like us to build."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/britains-obama-urges-ties-west-africa-130930686.html

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What Your Sunscreen Should?and Shouldn't?Have

First and foremost, spring and summer mean sun. We all know that we need some of it (sunshine enables our body to absorb vitamin D, which is essential for bone density and a strong immune system), but there?s also the sun?s not-so-healthy aspect: skin cancer. Since 1975, rates of melanoma?the deadliest kind of skin cancer?have tripled, reaching nearly one-quarter of the population, according to the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Adolescents and young adults have been particularly hard hit, with the rate of the cancer among teens growing at a rate of 2 percent per year between 1973 and 2009, according to one 2013 study. Using a tanning bed and as little as one bad sunburn can dramatically increase your lifetime risk.

Fortunately, a good sunscreen can be a help.? (The best defense against skin cancer, though, is still avoiding the sun, especially during the peak hours of 10 AM to 2 PM.) But for the times you do need or want to be outside, how do you choose a good sunscreen? The Environmental Working Group (EWG) has made that task easier with its just-released ?EWG?s 2013 Guide to Sunscreens.? Unlike a lot of other ?best of? roundups, this list of top-rated sunscreens and related products?it includes moisturizers, lip balms, and make-up?not only features products that work to protect you against some damaging UV rays, but the best of these products?the ones that have earned the EWG?s lowest ratings?are also low in harmful chemicals.?

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?

One of the lines featured in three out of four of the EWG?s categories is Ava Anderson NonToxic, a line of 122 personal care products and cosmetics developed by 19-year-old Ava Anderson. When she launched in 2009 with her mom, Kim, then-15-year-old Ava wanted to create products that really worked, but without toxic ingredients. Her inspiration? Mother and daughter had watched a news segment highlighting an EWG study of chemicals found in teenagers. ?Every teen tested positive for every ingredient,? says Ava. ?We were both shocked,? Kim remembers.

After seeing the news report, Ava went to a local drugstore and health food store figuring that, as she says, ?I could buy my way out of this. But then I started researching ingredients.? Her research went on for the better part of a year; when she was done, she told her parents, ?I?m not satisfied with what?s available. I want to start my own line of non-toxic products.?

Ava now hosts house parties sponsored by her brand to help people learn about toxins and to sample and buy healthy non-toxic products at reduced cost. Ava and Kim have also made numerous trips to Capitol Hill to educate legislators on the toxins in personal care products, which are neither regulated nor adequately tested for their health effects. ?Most people, even Congresspeople, have no idea of the chemicals we are exposed to and their risks to our health,? Kim says. If it?s passed, the Safe Cosmetics and Personal Care Products Act of 2013 will introduce these protections for the first time.

If it's passed, the Safe Cosmetics and Personal Care Products Act of 2013 would help make clear to consumers which harmful chemicals are in the products we use.

When it comes to choosing healthy sun-care products, it helps to have a bit of information about what?s in these products so you can purchase wisely. ?First, both traditional sunscreen and other products with SPF contain many of the same questionable chemicals found in other personal care and cosmetic products, such as parabens (which are carcinogenic) and retinyl palmitate (which actually increases sun sensitivity, yet is used in many products). The active ingredients in sunscreens are either minerals?principally titanium or zinc oxide?or chemicals like oxybenzone and oxtinoxate, which are endocrine (hormone) disruptors that ?are toxic to reproductive systems or interfere with normal development,? EWG researchers found. Choosing products with a score of two or less on the EWG?s Guide to Sunscreens will help you avoid them. The lower the number on the EWG?s list, the less toxic the product; all of Ava?s products are rated by EWG as a ?one,? for non-toxic, and are available on her website.

It?s important to understand, too, that many sunscreen products simply don?t do the job. The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has only approved a few of the many effective chemical ingredients that are available in sunscreens in other countries, and the formulations used in the U.S. don?t actually screen skin-damaging UVA rays. Nevertheless, the FDA allows product manufacturers to market their products with claims that they provide ?broad spectrum? coverage?even though they do not contain ingredients that screen UVA radiation effectively. Simply put, American sunscreens are weaker.

Yet instead of avoiding the sun, people use them believing that they are protected. A high SPF number does not guarantee protection. In fact, Ava warns that, ?it may mislead you into baking longer believing you are safe, when you aren?t.? Also, higher numbers aren't better: An SPF of 30 is as effective as a supposedly higher SPF if you reapply it as the label suggests.

And for true UVA protection, higher molecule-sized zinc oxide is the most effective sunscreen ingredient. Zinc oxide?s ghost-white appearance in sunscreen may make you look like a lifeguard, but most products are now formulated so that they're a barrier to the sun without giving you that chalky look. Ava?s line, and some other on EWG's new list, have it, while also omitting harmful ingredients that increase sun sensitivity. While none of the products will protect you if you bake in the sun during the hours of highest UV radiation, they will help to minimize exposure. Sun avoidance remains the best protection.

If you want to do more to ensure that cosmetic and beauty products are better studied, formulated, and regulated for safety, Ava and Kim suggest going to the Campaign for Safer Cosmetics, as well as the EWG?s site.

Here?s how to find the product you?re looking for on the EWG?s new list of top-rated sunscreens and sun-protection products:

Beach and Sport Sunscreens (184 products meet the EWG?s criteria)

Moisturizers with SPF (22 products meet the EWG?s criteria)

Lip Balms with SPF (18 products meet the EWG?s criteria)

Make Up with SPF (16 products meet the EWG?s criteria)

What?s your favorite sunscreen? What chemicals do you avoid in personal care and cosmetic products?

Related Stories on TakePart:

??Even a Deadly Skin Cancer Doesn?t Stop Some From Tanning

??Are Your ?Natural? Beauty Products Really Natural?

??More Coffee, Less Skin Cancer Risk

Alison Rose Levy has covered health, food, and the environment on Huffington Post, AlterNet, PsychologyToday, and Intent.com. The writer of two best-selling health books, Alison talks to health and eco leaders on her weekly radio program, Connect the Dots on the Progressive Radio Network.?@alisonroselevy | TakePart.com

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/sunscreen-shouldnt-170930959.html

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Kendrick Lamar Inspired By Kanye West Album Rollout

'That's that creative Kanye genius stuff out the box. ...I can't wait to hear it,' Lamar says of the way West is revealing his new work.
By Gil Kaufman, with reporting by Sway Calloway

Sway and Kendrick Lamar
Photo: MTV

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1707624/kendrick-lamar-kanye-west-new-slaves.jhtml

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GOP hopes IRS scandal will snag health care law

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Political scandals have strange ways of causing collateral damage, and Republicans are hoping the furor over federal tax enforcers singling out conservative groups will ensnare their biggest target: President Barack Obama's health care law.

But no one appears to have connected the factual dots yet, and it's unclear whether they will.

The Internal Revenue Service has a major role in carrying out the health care law, because financial assistance to help the uninsured afford coverage will be funneled through the tax system. At the same time, the IRS is also responsible for penalties on individuals and employers who fail to comply with the law's requirements.

In the latest twist, it turns out that the former head of the office that subjected tea-party groups seeking tax exemptions to tougher scrutiny is now running the tax agency's division in charge of implementing the health care law.

That official apparently switched roles before internal alarm bells went off about the problem. But feed all that into today's frenzied world of online speculation, and red-meat associations are irresistible.

"Now we've learned that the IRS, which is tasked with enforcing this very unpopular bill of Obamacare, the IRS admitted they targeted Americans," Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., said during floor debate this week on repealing the health care law.

"And so this gargantuan government expansion known as Obamacare will allow bureaucrats access to our most intimate, personal health information," she added. "It will be a huge database that government is putting together and building right now. Under Obamacare, the average American will pay more, they'll get less, and now they have to worry that their government may punish them because of their beliefs."

Nonsense, says Rep. Sander Levin, D-Mich., ranking Democrat on the Ways and Means Committee, which oversees the IRS.

"There really isn't a tie," said Levin. "This is another effort by the Republicans to essentially try to score political points."

The head of the IRS health care office, Sarah Hall Ingram, was in charge of the tax exempt division when agents first started improperly targeting conservative groups over their applications for tax-exempt status. The fallout has already led to the ouster of acting IRS Commissioner Steven Miller, followed by the announcement that the current head of the division will retire.

But the IRS said Ingram was re-assigned to help the agency implement the health care law in December 2010, about six months before a Treasury inspector general's report said her subordinate, the director of exempt organizations, learned about the targeting.

"There isn't any evidence that Sarah Ingram had any inkling of the problems," said Levin. By comparison, Levin continued, ousted commissioner Miller failed to adequately inform Congress after he learned.

Tom Davis, a former Republican congressman from Virginia, said GOP lawmakers are right to be looking for a connection, but must be careful not to overplay their hand.

The health care law "is 50-50 with the public on a good day," said Davis. "You put that together with the IRS and it's combustible. For Republicans, I think they need to go a little slower and get some facts in."

"I don't think it's just a couple of underlings, but they don't have any smoking gun yet," he added.

Though it plays a crucial role in carrying out the health care law, the IRS is part of the back-office operation. IRS agents won't be setting up health insurance markets, and they won't have a say in which health plans people get to pick or what doctors they see.

However, agency officials will determine who is eligible for financial assistance under the law ? and who must pay penalties.

The reason the IRS is involved in what's essentially a social program is that lawmakers crafted the financial subsidies available under the health law as tax credits. The agency already administers another major social program, the earned income tax credit, which long ago surpassed welfare as the main source of government assistance for low-income families.

The IRS is involved with four major components of the health care law. The most important one is determining if individual Americans are entitled to new tax credits to help pay private insurance premiums. It's a complex calculation.

Keyed to income on a sliding scale, the credits are available starting in 2014 to households making up to four times the federal poverty level, or about $94,000 for a family of four. Individuals or families are eligible if they don't have affordable coverage on the job. But if you understate your income to get a bigger credit, you'll owe more taxes next year.

The agency is also in charge of assessing penalties on people who ignore the law's requirement to carry health insurance, which applies to virtually all Americans starting next year.

On the employer side, the IRS administers a tax credit to help small businesses with low-wage employees afford coverage, and it's also in charge of imposing penalties on companies with 50 or more employees that don't offer coverage.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/gop-hopes-irs-scandal-snag-health-care-law-201029658.html

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Chrissy Teigen Owns The Beach At Hangout Fest 2013!

From a romp through Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' set to a shrimp-eating contest with 2012's Miss Alabama, model/TV host racks up adventures.
By Mike Ayers

Chrissy Teigen at the 2013 Hangout Festival
Photo: Sarah Karp Ward

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1707629/chrissy-teigen-hangout-fest.jhtml

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Back Links Rules Have Changed in 2013 for Bike Shop in Indianapolis

The basic rules for writing online content in order to generated views and back links haven?t changed:

Rule #1 ? Write all of your content for the consumer of the content.
Rule #2 ? Rewrite to add the back links.

Both of these rules will please the Google Beast.? You must first feed it strong, healthy food, then you can add in the Extreme Moose Tracks.? For a while in 2010 ? 2012, this was not necessarily the case.? You could write, ?spell article by Bike Shop Indianapolis for bicycle riding around special gears,? and hyperlink Bike Shop Indianapolis to their home page.? Then you would merely place this sentence in an article, press release, forum,? and/or ?guest blog,? and Google thought it was just fine.

Now along comes algorithm changes Panda, Penguin, and Panda 2 and etc., and this same practice might actually cause the beast to eat you.? There are some new rules in 2013.

Rule #3 ? Don?t overuse the same exact keyword from the same source.?? We used to believe that you just needed to keep the total use of a keywords under 5% of the total on the page (or some other percent depending on which guru you were reading).? Now you can lose the value of keywords or even get negative attention if the keyword is overused even in the same website or blog.

Rule #4 ? Solve the overuse problem by using synonyms.? Google wants you to write naturally, and knows that good writers don?t use the same words over and over.? A good writer will say that, ?the bike shop in Indianapolis? was noted for providing great outreach to community groups.? The Indianapolis based bicycle retailer recently held a fund raiser to help the Tatum?s Bags of Fun charity.?

Rule #5 ? You will note in the above rule #4, that each link is to a different URL that the dealer hopes to help to rank.? In this case, one is to the website and the other is to the blog.? It would be easy to also point out that,T3 Bicycle and Triathlon offers many videos about road bikes in Indianapolis.? ? This link goes to their YouTube channel or could go to a specific video.? You can repeat this with individual blog posts, inside pages on the website, and so on.

Rule #6 ? Google also knows that good writers will commonly provide a ?natural? url instead of a hyperlink.? So they like to see variations in this theme as well.? ?Another way that T3 Bicycle and Triathlon reaches out is through their free bicycle tips section on their website at http://www.t3multisport.com/tips/cycling-tips-tp53/

Rule #7 ? I also changed the URL for this blog to have /Indianapolis-bike-shop appear first in the internal page portion of the URL.? Google looks at URL?s, and believes that what you put in the URL is what is most important to you.

Rule #8 ? I created a ?Excerpt? which is the equivalent in WordPress for the description tag.? This tag should be written as a teaser and have 140 characters or less.

The blog post above provided my client with 5 back links to 4 different URL?s with 3 different keywords.? And you?ll also note that one of the links was in the H1 headline.? The article sounds perfectly normal, not jammed with inappropriate or weird sentences designed to merely spam.

What would you add to this analysis?? Are there other techniques that you are currently using to provide great content, but that also benefit your sites with links?

Popularity: 1% [?]

Source: http://www.page1listings.com/blog/indianapolis-bike-shop-back-link-rules/

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Shares fall as Fed officials talk of QE exit

By David Brett

LONDON (Reuters) - The dollar held firm near a 10-month high versus a basket of currencies on Friday and European shares fell after a regional Federal Reserve chief said the U.S. central bank may begin to taper its asset buying this summer.

European shares were down 0.2 percent at 1,242.49, edging further back from five-year highs and following a retreat in Asian stocks and Thursday's late fall on Wall Street, but still on track for a weekly gain.

"The stock market is driven by liquidity and sooner or later this must end," KBC senior economist Koen De Leus said.

"In the near-term a correction would be healthy, but on the whole the market is (still) well supported by the huge amount of liquidity that is pumped into the system by the central banks."

In Asia, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.4 percent to 479.33.

The German Bund future slipped at the open as some investors booked profits after this week's gains, but expectations central bank policies will remain ultra-easy for months limited losses.

The Bund future FGBLc1 was 4 ticks lower at 145.27 compared with 145.31 at Thursday's settlement, while the dollar rose 0.4 percent to 83.944 versus its currency basket, close to this week's 10-month high of 84.094.

The Fed's quantitative easing programme has helped stabilise the world's largest economy and sent investors scrambling for returns, suppressing bond and cash yields, inflating asset prices and fuelling a global rally in stocks.

San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams said on Thursday the Fed could begin easing its monetary stimulus this summer and end bond buying late this year.

Although Williams does not have a vote in the Fed's policy-setting panel this year, his comments weighed on U.S. shares, which have soared to record highs this year, in part because of the Fed's purchases of $85 billion a month in bonds.

A trio of hawkish regional Federal Reserve officials meanwhile called for the U.S. central bank to stop buying mortgage-backed bonds, citing a recent improvement in the housing market.

"The Fed realises the impact that (QE) has on markets and the potential negative impact on risky assets. Therefore they try to prepare the markets a bit for an eventual end," said BNP Paribas Fortis Global Markets head of research Philippe Gijsels.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/shares-fall-fed-officials-talk-qe-exit-090344531.html

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50 Cent talks Relationship with Son, G-Unit, Friendships, Bullying ...

Fif def has terrible human relationships, as we can see from his long list of ex friendships, but he is right in that when you enable someone, instead of them appreciating you going the extra mile for them, they demand you going the 110% for them with not as much as a thank you.

I think from his side he treated business as friendship first, and it certainly worked because he put his boys on. This is a general social expectation, i.e. if you make it YOU MUST put your people on, when in reality it boils down to people having to stand on their own 2 feet, with as minimal[..]istance as possible. IMO he did way more than he should have for his friends, commendable cos they all got caked, but where did they end up? They forgot 50 was their boss and when tough decisions were made they snapped! Read Prodigy's book too on their time at G-Unit Records to understand the dynamic a little more.

Source: http://slumz.boxden.com/f87/50-cent-talks-relationship-son-g-unit-friendships-bullying-new-carton-series-1926706/

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Interior Proposes New Rules for Fracking on U.S. Land

[unable to retrieve full-text content]The proposal, which would allow some drilling fluids to be kept secret, did not please environmental advocates or the oil and gas industry.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/17/us/interior-proposes-new-rules-for-fracking-on-us-land.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

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The 'Hangover' Wolfpack Offers Updates On 'Vacation' Reboot And 'American Sniper'

Last week, we traveled to Las Vegas to sit down with the Wolfpack to talk "The Hangover" for one last time before the trilogy ends next week. We'll have more about that movie closer to the release date, but we took some time out of our interview to ask a few questions about Bradley Cooper's [...]

Source: http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2013/05/16/hangover-vacation-reboot-american-sniper/

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Mom chases child abductor and crashes his car; girl safe

May 15 (Reuters) - Post positions for the 138th running of the Preakness Stakes, to be run at Pimlico on Saturday (Post Position, Horse, Jockey, Trainer, Odds) 1. Orb, Joel Rosario, Shug McGaughey, even 2. Goldencents, Kevin Krigger, Doug O'Neill, 8-1 3. Titletown Five, Julien Leparoux, D. Wayne Lukas, 30-1 4. Departing, Brian Hernandez, Al Stall, 6-1 5. Mylute, Rosie Napravnik, Tom Amoss, 5-1 6. Oxbow, Gary Stevens, D. Wayne Lukas, 15-1 7. Will Take Charge, Mike Smith, D. Wayne Lukas, 12-1 8. Govenor Charlie, Martin Garcia, Bob Baffert, 12-1 9. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/mom-nm-chases-down-child-abductor-girl-safe-145205271.html

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Emma Watson turns to crime in celebrity-obsessed film at Cannes

By Belinda Goldsmith

CANNES (Reuters) - British actress Emma Watson has turned to crime in her latest role as part of a celebrity-obsessed teenage gang robbing their Hollywood idols' homes in a film that made its debut at the Cannes film festival on Thursday.

"The Bling Ring", written and directed by Sofia Coppola, is based on a real-life gang fixated by glamour who tracked their targets' whereabouts online and stole $3 million of luxury goods from celebrities including Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan.

Watson, 23, proved her days as Hermione in "Harry Potter" are long gone as she donned skimpy outfits and perfected a Los Angeles accent to play a fictitious version of one of the Bling Ring gang, who were caught in 2009 and sent to jail.

She said her main challenge was to work out why these teenagers, from mainly wealthy backgrounds, were so preoccupied with celebrities. Her research involved watching reality TV shows like "Keeping up with the Kardashians" and "The Hills".

"I enjoy the chance to transform into new roles and work with new creative people," Watson, dressed in a short, black dress and black stilettos, told a news conference on Thursday where her presence creating a frenzy among photographers.

"Harry Potter seems like such a long time ago," she said.

"The Bling Ring", which opened the Cannes category "Un Certain Regard" for emerging filmmakers, starts with the teenagers seeing on a gossip website that Paris Hilton is in Las Vegas and guessing she would be the kind of person to leave a key under the mat.

They find her address and in they sneak, returning several times to party in the house and then to other celebrities' homes, helping themselves to Birkin bags, Louboutin shoes, Rolex watches, bling and cash to fund their drug- and alcohol-fuelled party lifestyle, boasting about their acquisitions on Facebook.

WORLD OF EXCESS

Even when their make-believe celebrity world comes crashing down, the teenagers seem oblivious to the gravity of their crimes and more interested in hyping their new-found notoriety.

Alongside Watson, Katie Chang plays Bling Ring leader Rebecca, while Israel Broussard is her submissive lieutenant with Taissa Farmiga and Claire Julien making up the gang.

The film received favorable reviews after a press screening on the second day of the 12-day Cannes festival, described as a "wily critique of celebrity culture" and an "intuitive and atmospheric tale" with a great soundtrack.

This was a welcome reaction for the American Coppola, whose third film "Marie Antoinette" was booed in 2006 when it made its debut at Cannes, the world's biggest film festival.

Coppola said "The Bling Ring", which opens in the United States in June, was a comment on culture today - both the teenagers' obsession with the celebrity life and the celebrities themselves with houses overflowing with expensive goods.

Paris Hilton, the celebrity heiress, allowed them to film in her real home with shots of a room wall-to-wall with shoes and a pole-dancing table in the middle of a nightclub area.

"The world this film shows is a world of excess," said Coppola. "(Paris Hilton's) house is very exotic. I have never seen anything like it before."

Coppola, 42, whose film "Somewhere" won the top prize at the Venice film festival in 2010, said she met two gang members as she wrote the film to garner extra details but she changed the names in the movie, not wanting to add to their celebrity.

She dismissed complaints by some of the Bling Ring members that the film was "trashy and inaccurate".

"It is not a documentary. I am not too concerned with their reaction," she said.

(Editing by Mark Heinrich)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/emma-watson-turns-crime-celebrity-obsessed-film-cannes-162745663.html

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Holder: Potential civil rights violations at IRS

Attorney General Eric Holder gestures as he testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, May 15, 2013, before the House Judiciary Committee oversight hearing on the Justice Department. Holder is expected to face aggressive questioning on topics ranging from the Justice Department's gathering of phone records at the Associated Press to the government's handling of intelligence before the Boston Marathon bombings. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Attorney General Eric Holder gestures as he testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, May 15, 2013, before the House Judiciary Committee oversight hearing on the Justice Department. Holder is expected to face aggressive questioning on topics ranging from the Justice Department's gathering of phone records at the Associated Press to the government's handling of intelligence before the Boston Marathon bombings. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Attorney General Eric Holder says the FBI's criminal investigation of the Internal Revenue Service could include potential civil rights violations, false statements and potential violations of the Hatch Act, which prohibits federal employees from engaging in some partisan political activities.

Holder, testifying to the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, was asked what criminal charges could be pursued against IRS employees. Holder announced on Tuesday that the Justice Department was the investigating the IRS after the agency acknowledged that agents had singled out conservative groups for extra scrutiny when they applied for tax-exempt status.

Holder also says it will take time to determine if there was criminal wrongdoing.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-05-15-US-IRS-Holder/id-c6a9728d77754cae94ec9d067526e301

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Orb draws rail as 1-1 favorite in Preakness

Hall of Fame trainer Claude R. "Shug" McGaughey answers questions about Kentucky Derby winner Orb at Pimlico Race Course Wednesday, May 15, 2013 in Baltimore. The Preakness Stakes horse race is Saturday. (AP Photo/Garry Jones)

Hall of Fame trainer Claude R. "Shug" McGaughey answers questions about Kentucky Derby winner Orb at Pimlico Race Course Wednesday, May 15, 2013 in Baltimore. The Preakness Stakes horse race is Saturday. (AP Photo/Garry Jones)

Exercise rider Jennifer Patterson rubs the face of Kentucky Derby winner and Preakness Stakes hopeful Orb as he grazes outside the stakes barn at Pimlico Race Course Wednesday, May 15, 2013, in Baltimore. The Preakness Stakes horse race is Saturday. (AP Photo/Garry Jones)

Trainer Shug McGaughey and exercise rider Jennifer Patterson tie a blanket on Kentucky Derby winner Orb after a workout at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Wednesday, May 15, 2013. The Preakness Stakes horse race is scheduled to take place May 18. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

BALTIMORE (AP) ? Kentucky Derby winner Orb has drawn the rail in Saturday's Preakness and has been installed an overwhelming even-money favorite in the nine-horse race.

Orb will seek to keep alive his bid to become horse racing's first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978. Orb won the Derby by 2? lengths as the betting favorite.

The brown colt is looking for his sixth straight victory as part of the smallest Preakness field since 2007. Govenor Charlie, trained by Bob Baffert, added his name to the list Wednesday for the 1 3/16th-mile race.

The field, from the rail, with odds in parenthesis: Orb, Goldencents (8-1), Titletown Five (30-1), Departing (6-1), Mylute (5-1), Oxbow (15-1), Will Take Charge (12-1), Govenor Charlie (12-1) and Itsmyluckyday (10-1).

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-05-15-Preakness%20Draw/id-2e6daf86f61848aab5e8e5bec94b0361

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