Obama agenda seems to be weathering controversies

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Despite Democratic fears, predictions of the demise of President Barack Obama's agenda appear exaggerated after a week of cascading controversies, political triage by the administration and party leaders in Congress and lack of evidence to date of wrongdoing close to the Oval Office.

"Absolutely not," Steven Miller, the recently resigned acting head of the Internal Revenue Service, responded Friday when asked if he had any contact with the White House about targeting conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status for special treatment.

The president's re-election campaign?" persisted Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif.

"No," said Miller.

The hearing took place at the end of a week in which Republicans repeatedly assailed Obama and were attacked by Democrats in turn ? yet sweeping immigration legislation advanced methodically toward bipartisan approval in the Senate Judiciary Committee. The measure "has strong support of its own in the Senate," said Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., a member of the panel.

Across the Capitol, a bipartisan House group reported agreement in principle toward a compromise on the issue, which looms as Obama's best chance for a signature second-term domestic achievement. "I continue to believe that the House needs to deal with this," said House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, who is not directly involved in the talks.

The president's nominee to become energy secretary, Ernest Moniz, won Senate confirmation, 97-0. And there were signs that Republicans might allow confirmation of Sri Srinivasan to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, sometimes a stepping stone to the Supreme Court.

Separately, a House committee approved legislation to prevent a spike in interest rates on student loans on July 1. It moves in the direction of a White House-backed proposal for future rate changes to be based on private markets.

Even so, Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, said, "It's been a bad week for the administration."

Several Democratic lawmakers and aides agreed, and expressed concern about the impact on Obama's agenda ? even though much of it has been stymied by Republicans for months already.

At the same time, Rep. Dave Camp, R-Mich., voiced optimism that the IRS controversy would boost the push for an overhaul of the tax code, rather than derail it. "It may make a case for a simpler tax code, where the IRS has less discretion," he said.

Long-term budget issues, the main flash point of divided government since 2011, have receded as projected deficits fall in the wake of an improving economy and recently enacted spending cuts and tax increases.

Even before Obama began grappling with the IRS, the fallout from last year's deadly attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, and from the Justice Department's secret seizure of Associated Press phone records, the two parties were at odds over steps to replace $85 billion in across-the-board spending cuts. In particular, Obama's call for higher taxes is a nonstarter with Republicans.

Other high-profile legislation and presidential appointees face difficulties that predate the current controversies.

Months ago, Obama scaled back requested gun safety legislation to center on expanded background checks for firearms purchasers. That was derailed in the Senate, has even less chance in the House and is unlikely to reach the president's desk.

Republicans oppose other recommendations from the president's State of the Union address, including automatic increases in the minimum wage, a pre-kindergarten program funded by higher cigarette taxes and more federal money for highways and bridge repair.

In a clash that long predates the IRS controversy, Senate Republicans seem intent on blocking Obama's nomination of Tom Perez as labor secretary. Gina McCarthy's nomination to head the Environmental Protection Agency is also on hold, at least temporarily, and Democrats expect Republican opposition awaits Penny Pritzger, Obama's choice for commerce secretary.

Rhetorically, the two parties fell into two camps when it came to the White House troubles. Democrats tended to describe them as controversies, Republicans often used less flattering terms.

Speaking on the Senate floor, Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., accused the administration of fostering a "culture of intimidation." He referred to the IRS, the handling of the Benghazi attack and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius' "fundraising among the industry people she regulates on behalf of the president's health care law."

Two days later, Camp, a 23-year veteran lawmaker, opened the IRS hearing by calling the agency's actions part of a "culture of cover-ups and intimidation in this administration." He offered no other examples.

Rep. Trey Radel, a first-term Florida Republican, said in an interview, "What we're looking at now is a breach of trust" from the White House.

House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi of California offered a scathing response when asked if the controversies would hamper Obama's ability to win legislation from the Republican-controlled House. "Well, the last two years there was nothing that went through this Congress, and it was no AP, IRS or any other (thing) that we were dealing with."

"They just want to do nothing. And their timetable is never," she said of GOP lawmakers.

Similarly, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid gave no ground on Benghazi, a dispute that increasingly centered on talking points written for administration officials to use on television after the attack last September in which U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans were killed.

"It's obvious it's an attempt to embarrass President Obama and embarrass Hillary Clinton," he said of Republican criticism that first flared during last year's election campaign.

On a third front, Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., resurrected legislation that would requiring a judge to approve subpoenas for news media communications records when investigating news leaks said to threaten the national security. It was a response to the FBI's secret, successful pursuit of Associated Press phone records in a current probe.

While Democrats counterattacked on Benghazi and parried on leaks, they bashed the IRS' treatment of conservative groups as improper if not illegal ? and warned Republicans not to overplay their hand.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-agenda-seems-weathering-controversies-072617076.html

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Samsung advertising barrage said to ?mentally enslave? Indian consumers

By Alasdair Fotheringham TREVISO, Italy, May 16 (Reuters) - Britain's Mark Cavendish racked up the 100th win of his career on stage 12 of the Giro d'Italia on Thursday but Bradley Wiggins's hopes of overall victory were in tatters when he lost time on the main bunch. Tour de France champion Wiggins, who has been suffering from a chest infection, was dropped in the final hour of the 134-km stage to Treviso after being caught on the wrong side of a split in the bunch. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/samsung-advertising-barrage-said-mentally-enslave-indian-consumers-202033807.html

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Stacking 2-D materials produces surprising results

May 16, 2013 ? New experiments reveal previously unseen effects, could lead to new kinds of electronics and optical devices. Graphene has dazzled scientists, ever since its discovery more than a decade ago, with its unequalled electronic properties, its strength and its light weight. But one long-sought goal has proved elusive: how to engineer into graphene a property called a band gap, which would be necessary to use the material to make transistors and other electronic devices.

Now, new findings by researchers at MIT are a major step toward making graphene with this coveted property. The work could also lead to revisions in some theoretical predictions in graphene physics.

The new technique involves placing a sheet of graphene -- a carbon-based material whose structure is just one atom thick -- on top of hexagonal boron nitride, another one-atom-thick material with similar properties. The resulting material shares graphene's amazing ability to conduct electrons, while adding the band gap necessary to form transistors and other semiconductor devices.

The work is described in a paper in the journal Science co-authored by Pablo Jarillo-Herrero, the Mitsui Career Development Assistant Professor of Physics at MIT, Professor of Physics Ray Ashoori, and 10 others.

"By combining two materials," Jarillo-Herrero says, "we created a hybrid material that has different properties than either of the two."

Graphene is an extremely good conductor of electrons, while boron nitride is a good insulator, blocking the passage of electrons. "We made a high-quality semiconductor by putting them together," Jarillo-Herrero explains. Semiconductors, which can switch between conducting and insulating states, are the basis for all modern electronics.

To make the hybrid material work, the researchers had to align, with near perfection, the atomic lattices of the two materials, which both consist of a series of hexagons. The size of the hexagons (known as the lattice constant) in the two materials is almost the same, but not quite: Those in boron nitride are 1.8 percent larger. So while it is possible to line the hexagons up almost perfectly in one place, over a larger area the pattern goes in and out of register.

At this point, the researchers say they must rely on chance to get the angular alignment for the desired electronic properties in the resulting stack. However, the alignment turns out to be correct about one time out of 15, they say.

"The qualities of the boron nitride bleed over into the graphene," Ashoori says. But what's most "spectacular," he adds, is that the properties of the resulting semiconductor can be "tuned" by just slightly rotating one sheet relative to the other, allowing for a spectrum of materials with varied electronic characteristics.

Others have made graphene into a semiconductor by etching the sheets into narrow ribbons, Ashoori says, but such an approach substantially degrades graphene's electrical properties. By contrast, the new method appears to produce no such degradation.

The band gap created so far in the material is smaller than that needed for practical electronic devices; finding ways of increasing it will require further work, the researchers say.

"If ? a large band gap could be engineered, it could have applications in all of digital electronics," Jarillo-Herrero says. But even at its present level, he adds, this approach could be applied to some optoelectronic applications, such as photodetectors.

The results "surprised us pleasantly," Ashoori says, and will require some explanation by theorists. Because of the difference in lattice constants of the two materials, the researchers had predicted that the hybrid's properties would vary from place to place. Instead, they found a constant, and unexpectedly large, band gap across the whole surface.

In addition, Jarillo-Herrero says, the magnitude of the change in electrical properties produced by putting the two materials together "is much larger than theory predicts."

The MIT team also observed an interesting new physical phenomenon. When exposed to a magnetic field, the material exhibits fractal properties -- known as a Hofstadter butterfly energy spectrum -- that were described decades ago by theorists, but thought impossible in the real world. There is intense research in this area; two other research groups also report on these Hofstadter butterfly effects this week in the journal Nature.

The research included postdocs Ben Hunt and Andrea Young and graduate student Javier Sanchez-Yamagishi, as well as six other researchers from the University of Arizona, the National Institute for Materials Science in Tsukuba, Japan, and Tohoku University in Japan. The work was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and the National Science Foundation.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/matter_energy/electronics/~3/HeXraUY5CA0/130516182025.htm

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Perfect Colorless Diamond Auctioned For Record $23.5 Million

Under yet another parking lot in England, the same team that found the final resting place of King Richard III discovered an ancient 1,700-year-old Roman cemetary containing the remains of 13 bodies and various artifacts. (Photo: University of Leicester) <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/04/ancient-roman-cemetery-parking-lot-leicester_n_3215830.html" target="_blank">Read more here.</a>

A temple from 300 B.C. discovered in the valley of Oaxaca, Mexico may have been used for human sacrifice. Archeologists found the remains of a human limb along with animal sacrifice remains an obsidian blades in a temple room. (Image courtesy of Charles Spencer and Elsa Redmond) <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/23/mexico-temple-discovery-human-sacrifice_n_3140287.html" target="_blank">Read more here.</a>

Amateur excavators discovered large parts of a World War II-era British Bristol Beaufighter near the small northern town of Gusano di Gropparello, Italy. The plane was nicknamed "Whispering Death," and was believed to have crashed in September 1944. (Photo by Charles E. Brown/Royal Air Force Museum/Getty Images) <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/10/whispering-death-wwii-plane-remains-bristol-beaufighter-_n_3053392.html" target="_blank">Read more here.</a>

In the ruins of a Byzantine settlement near Ashkelon, Israel, archeologists found a well-preserved 1,500 lantern that projects crosses on the wall when lit. A large wine press was also found. (DAVID BUIMOVITCH/AFP/Getty Images) <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/05/byzantine-artifacts-unear_n_3022162.html" target="_blank">Read more here.</a>

Archeologists examining the ruins of ancient Phrygian city of Hierapolis in Turkey found what they believe to be the Plutonium, which ancient Greeks believed to be the entry to the underworld. The gate is actually a small cave, and derives its association with death from the deadly carbon monoxide gases it emanates. (Photo: Francesco D'Andria) <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/01/plutos-gate-hierapolis-plutonium-gate-to-hell-hierapolis_n_2994297.html" target="_blank">Read more here.</a>

A large sapphire ring found by metal detector enthusiast Michael Greenhorn in a field near Escrick, England is thought to have originated in the 5th or 6th century and may have even belonged to a king. Greenhorn sold the ring to the Yorkshire Museum for $50,000. (Photo: Kippa Matthews/York Museums Trust) <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/29/escrick-ring-england_n_2979126.html" target="_blank">Read more here.</a>

Glacial melt resulting from global warming will have untold negative consequences for our planet, but for the time being, it is a boon for archeologists, as valuable artifacts emerge from the ice. In south Norway, it helped to reveal a pre-Viking tunic estimated to be from around the year 300 AD. (Photo: Alister Doyle/Reuters) <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/22/pre-viking-tunic-found-glacier-climate-change_n_2932431.html" target="_blank">Read more here.</a>

In separate incidents, two Americans found class rings from U.S. high schools at jewelry shops in Vietnam. One of them, a 1970 Montgomery County High School ring, was returned to the school, but its original owner has yet to be found. (Photo: Dan Cherry/AP) <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/22/vietnam-1970-high-school-rings_n_2931820.html" target="_blank">Read more here.</a>

Archeologists discovered the bones of a donkey from 3,500 years ago in southern Israel. Based on its age, positioning, copper bridle, and location in the sacred precinct of ancient city Tel Haror, they speculated that it had been a ritual sacrifice. (Photo: PLOS ONE) <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/11/donkey-sacrifice-bronze-age-tel-haror_n_2852288.html" target="_blank">Read more here.</a>

A small, angular calcite crystal recovered from a 16th century British shipwreck off the coast of Alderney is suspected to be a legendary Viking 'sunstone,' used to navigate the high seas before the invention of the magnetic compass. (Photo courtesy of the Alderney Museum) <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/06/sunstone-british-shipwreck-viking-navigation_n_2818858.html" target="_blank">Read more here.</a>

Fossils found on Ellesmere Island in northern Canada were determined to belong to an ancient ancestor of modern camels that stood 9 feet tall and roamed the arctic during a time of global warming. An artists' rendering suggests what the High Arctic Camel might have looked like in its forest environment. (Photo via Julius Csotonyi) <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/06/camel-fossils-arctic-ellesmere-island_n_2812034.html" target="_blank">Read more here.</a>

A hat belonging to Korea's greatest emperor, Sejong the Great, was recovered 500 years after being stolen by Japanese raiders. The hat was said to have documents sewn into it that could help explain the origin of the Korean Hangeul alphabet. (Photo: Getty Images) <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/27/ancient-korean-kings-hat-found_n_2772056.html" target="_blank">Read more here.</a>

A French team discovered a 2,300-year-old graveyard near Troyes, France containing the remains of Gallic warriors and women, with brooches still on their arms and shields still in their hands. (FRANCOIS NASCIMBENI/AFP/Getty Images) <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/12/gaul-burial-site-france-gallic_n_3069978.html" target="_blank">Read more here.</a>

Archeologists found eleven skeletons in a pre-Hispanic tomb at the Huaca Tupac Amaru B site, just feet from Peru's national soccer stadium in Lima. The remains were buried on a bed of woven reeds and tied in braided rattan. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia) <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/26/pre-hispanic-skeletons-peru-sports-center_n_2769932.html" target="_blank">Read more here.</a>

A Viennese archeologist claims to have discovered the remains of Arsinoe IV, sister to the infamous Cleopatra. She says the remains were found in Ephesus, where Arsinoe was said to have died, but others have criticized her lack of hard evidence to back up her claims. A reconstruction of Arsinoe's face was created from the skeleton's skull, which was itself lost in Germany during World War II. (Photo: University of Dundee) <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/26/cleopatra-half-sister-bones-murdered_n_2766739.html" target="_blank">Read more here.</a>

Archeologists in Luxor unearthed a pyramid that once topped the tomb of Khay, the vizier of Ramses II. Ramses II, who expanded the Egyptian empire across the modern Middle East, was known as one of the greatest pharaohs in ancient Egyptian history. (Photo: KHALED DESOUKI/AFP/Getty Images) <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/21/ancient-egypt-pyramid-discovered_n_2735819.html" target="_blank">Read more here.</a>

Researchers in the Caucasus Mountains found a 2,200-year-old necropolis containing the remains of a warrior, replete with weapons, gold jewelry, iron mail, three horses, a cow, and a wild boar. (Photo Courtesy Valentina Mordvintseva) <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/21/warrior-grave-russia-tomb-treasure_n_2732854.html?utm_hp_ref=unearthed#slide=1721054" target="_blank">Read more here.</a>

For four decades, the original cast stone version of the Marine Corps Memorial statute of soldiers raising the American flag over Iwo Jima was hidden under a tarp in the backyard of its sculptor, Felix de Weldon. In 1990, World War II buff Rodney Brown discovered the statute and procured it from de Weldon, and in 2013 it was sold at auction. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer) <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/20/iwo-jima-statue-for-sale-rodney-brown-wwii-memorabilia_n_2725858.html" target="_blank">Read more here.</a>

Critics cast renewed doubt on the claim that a mummified skull found in a retired collecter's attic belonged to French King Henri IV after two of its discoverers published a book chronicling their investigation. The skull was used to create a 3D model of what Henri's face looked like. (AP Photo/Remy de la Mauviniere) <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/17/henri-iv-skull-uncovered-attic-critics-dispute_n_2706837.html" target="_blank">Read more here.</a>

The suitcase of a World War I-era nurse was found in a cupboard in the psychology department at the University of Abertay Dundee. The suitcase, which belonged to Margaret Maule, was filled with memorabilia such as a diary and photographs, and it is not known how it got there. (Photo: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images) <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/15/wwi-nurse-suitcase-university-abertay-dundee_n_2688310.html" target="_blank">Read more here.</a>

Peru's Temple of Fire

An ancient temple believed to be about 5,000 years old was discovered at the archaeological site of El Paraiso. If the date is confirmed, it would be among the oldest sites in the world. (ERNESTO BENAVIDES/AFP/Getty Images) <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/13/peru-ancient-temple-discovered_n_2674631.html" target="_blank">Read more here.</a>

A sarcophagus believed to belong to a five-year-old was uncovered by Spanish archeologists while searching the tomb of Djehuty, an important official of Queen Hatshepsut. (Photo: KHALED DESOUKI/AFP/Getty Images) <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/04/luxor-sarcophagus-unearthed_n_2618343.html" target="_blank">Read more here.</a>

Skeleton of King Richard III Found

An archeological excavation under a parking lot in Leicester turned up the remains of King Richard III, the last king of the Plantagenet dynasty. (AP Photo/ University of Leicester) <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/04/king-richard-iii-skeleton-found_n_2614269.html" target="_blank">Read more here.</a>

81 gold goins dating back to the 1600s were discovered beneath the floorboards of a Irish pub in Carrick-on-Suir after a building fire. The find was considered one of the most important in Ireland's history, and the coins were turned over to the National Museum. (South Tipperary Museum/PA) <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/30/gold-coins-found-irish-pub-cooneys_n_2581575.html" target="_blank">Read more here.</a>

Hans Sachs Posters

Seized by the Nazis in 1938 from a Jewish man on the orders of Hitler's Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels, then held behind the Iron Curtain in Communist East Berlin, thousands of rare posters are finally back in the hands of collector Hans Sachs' family. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews) <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/17/hans-sachs-posters_n_2495902.html?utm_hp_ref=unearthed">Read more here. </a>

Wang Xizhi Calligraphy

An extremely rare copy of a work by fourth century Chinese calligraphy legend Wang Xizhi has been unearthed in Japan, the first such discovery in four decades. (AP Photo/Tokyo National Museum) <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/08/wang-xizhi-calligraphy-japan-found_n_2431445.html?utm_hp_ref=unearthed">Read more here. </a>

Afghan Genizah

Ancient manuscripts or Afghan Genizah discovered inside caves in a Taliban stronghold in northern Afghanistan provided the first physical evidence of a vibrant Jewish community that thrived in that region a thousand years ago. (AP Photo/The National Library of Israel, HO) <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/03/afghan-genizah-manuscripts_n_2403893.html">Read more here.</a>

WWII Jewish Tombstones

Police in northern Greece say they recovered more than 600 marble headstones and other fragments from Jewish graves destroyed during the Nazi occupation in World War II. (AP Photo/Nikolas Giakoumidis) <a href="https://editorial.huffingtonpost.com/tmp/2337540_97.html?preview=yes">Read more here. </a>

World War II Carrier Pigeon With Coded Message

A British pensioner came across an encrypted World War II message strapped to the remains of a dead pigeon. (AP Photo/Royal Pigeon Racing Association ) <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/01/world-war-ii-carrier-pigeon-surrey_n_2057149.html">Read more here.</a>

Soviet Submarine Wreck

The Swedish Military found the wreckage of a Soviet submarine lost during World War II in the Baltic Sea, seven decades after it sank. (Youtube) <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/17/soviet-submarine-wreck-baltic-sea-wwii_n_2316099.html">Read more here.</a>

Qin Dynasty Palace Ruins

Chinese archeologists in the central city of Xi?an discovered the ancient ruins of a massive palace complex at the tomb of China?s first emperor, Qin Shi Huang. (AP Photo) <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/03/china-qin-dynasty-palace_n_2233322.html?utm_hp_ref=unearthed">Read more here.</a>

Nuestra Senora de las Mercedes

Spanish authorities unveil shipwreck treasure worth an estimated $500 million from the Nuestra Senora de las Mercedes gallon which sank off Portugal's Atlantic in 1804. (AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza) <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/30/nuestra-senora-de-las-mercedes-treasure_n_2217132.html?utm_hp_ref=unearthed">Read more here. </a>

WWII Internment Camp Letters

Remarkable internment camp letters dating back to World War II is found at a former pharmacy in Denver. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski) <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/21/internment-camp-letters-f_0_n_2172502.html">Read more here. </a>

War-Torn Ancient City On Syria-Turkey Border

Located on the Syria-Turkey border, the ancient city of Karkemish is the scene of extensive excavations against a backdrop of raging conflict. (AP Photo/Joint Turco-Italian Archaeological Expedition, File) <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/08/karkemish-syria-turkey-_n_2092613.html">Read more here. </a>

Amazing Mammoth Skeleton Discovery

In a rare milestone, French archeologists dug up a near complete skeleton of a mammoth along the Changis-sur-Marne riverbanks near Paris. (AP Photo/Denis Gliksman/Inrap.) <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/06/mammoth-skeleton-discover_n_2083219.html?1355264218">Read more here. </a>

Napoleonic Soldiers Buried

Belarus oversaw the excavation and burial of 110 Napoleonic soldiers who died in a major battle in 1812 against the Russian army. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits) <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/02/napoleonic-soldiers-buried_n_2065770.html">Read more here. </a>

Mayan Tomb Discovered

Archaeologists uncovered the tomb of an early Mayan ruler, complete with rich jade jewelry and decoration at the Tak'alik Ab'aj temple site in Guatemala. (AP Photo/Tak'alik Ab'aj Archaeological Project) <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/25/guatemala-mayan-ruler-tomb_n_2019460.html">Read more here. </a>

Rare WWII Planes Discovery

Archeologists dug up as many as 140 World War II Spitfire fighter planes in Myanmar. (AP Photo) <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/18/spitfire-wwii-fighter-plane-myanmar_n_1978923.html">Read More Here</a>

Aztec Skulls Found In Temple

Mexican archaeologists dug up the largest number of skulls ever found in one offering at the most sacred temple of the Aztec empire. (AP Photo/Alexandre Meneghini) <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/05/mexico-finds-50-skulls-in-aztec-temple_n_1943940.html">Read more here.</a>

A 'Mammoth' Discovery

An 11-year-old Russian boy stumbled upon a well-preserved mammoth estimated to be 30,000 years old in northern Russia. (AP Photo/Sergei Gorbunov, International Mammoth Committee in Russia, HO) <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/04/zhenya-mammoth-find-russia_n_1940791.html?utm_hp_ref=unearthed">Read more here. </a>

Mass Graves Of Communist Soldiers

Vietnamese farmers found a grave containing the remains of at least 20 communist soldiers killed during the Vietnam War. (HOANG DINH NAM/AFP/Getty Images) <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/20/philippines-tombs-discovery_n_1899750.html">Read more here. </a>

Tomb In Philippines

Archaeologists unearthed remnants of what they believe is a 1,000-year-old village on a jungle-covered mountaintop in the Philippines. (TED ALJIBE/AFP/GettyImages) <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/20/philippines-tombs-discovery_n_1899750.html">Read more here. </a>

Famed 17th Century Warship

The a 17th century Vasa warship, which was raised nearly intact from Stockholm's harbor, has become one of the country's top tourist attractions. (AP Photo/Scanpix Sweden, Anders Wiklund, File) <blockquote><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/13/vasa-sweden-deteriorating_n_1881220.html">Read more here. </a></blockquote>

Lost Grave Of King Richard III

Archeologists say they have found the long lost grave (and possible remains) of King Richard III. (AP Photo/ University of Leicester) <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/12/king-richard-iii-grave-discovered-uk_n_1877290.html?utm_hp_ref=unearthed#comments">Read more here.</a>

Found In The French Alps

The long lost wreckage of an Air India plane crash in 1966 was found on the slopes beneath Mont Blanc. (AP Photo/Arnaud Christmann/OHM) <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/31/air-india-plane-wreckage-found_n_1846053.html?">Read More Here</a>

Amazing Find Near Jerusalem

Israeli archeologists unearthed two 9,500-year-old figurines near Jerusalem. (AP Photo/Yael Yolovitch, Israel Antiquities Authority) <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/29/israeli-archeologists-find-rare-stone-age-figures_n_1839961.html" target="_hplink">Read more here.</a>

Bathing Children Find Ancient Buddha Statues

Children found six ancient Buddha statues which are believed to be around 1,000 years old while bathing in a newly dug pond in Khleng Por. (Photo: AP Photo/Heng Sinith) <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/17/cambodia-ancient-buddha-statues_n_1795600.html" target="_hplink">Read more here. </a>

100-Year-Old Mystery Package Opened

Norwegians opened a 100-years-old mysterious package which was handed over to administrators in 1912 with the message that its contents would "benefit and delight future generations." (Photo: VG TV) <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/24/100-year-old-package-open_n_1827839.html" target="_hplink">Click here to find out what the package included. </a>

Pilot And Jet Share Amazing Survival Story

Ex-Navy pilot Bob Besal survived a mid-air jet collision in 1974 and later became a decorated war hero. Besal discovered that the plane from which he ejected had a happy ending, too -- as a reef at the bottom of the Atlantic. (Photo: Bob Besal/TISIRI) <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/22/bob-besals-jet-found-in-a_n_1821793.html" target="_hplink">Read more here. </a>

Major Discovery Off Italian Coast

Scuba divers have found what is believed to be an ancient bronze sculpture of a lion's head along with a complete suit of armor off the coast of Italy near Calabria. (Photo: KSEE24) <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/21/ancient-artificats-discovered-italy_n_1819263.html" target="_hplink">Read more here. </a>

Rare WWII Dispatch Sells For How Much?

A rare military cable that announced the end of U.S. hostilities with Japan during WWII was auctioned for more than $20,000. (AP Photo/Michael Rubinkam) <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/16/wwii-naval-dispatch_n_1790837.html" target="_hplink">Read more here. </a>

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/15/perfect-colourless-diamond-auctioned_n_3281185.html

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Grizzlies go from uncertain future to West finals

Memphis Grizzlies head coach Lionel Hollins gestures during the second half of Game 5 of their Western Conference Semifinals NBA basketball playoff series against the Oklahoma City Thunder in Oklahoma City, Wednesday, May 15, 2013. Memphis won 88-84. (AP Photo/Alonzo Adams)

Memphis Grizzlies head coach Lionel Hollins gestures during the second half of Game 5 of their Western Conference Semifinals NBA basketball playoff series against the Oklahoma City Thunder in Oklahoma City, Wednesday, May 15, 2013. Memphis won 88-84. (AP Photo/Alonzo Adams)

Memphis Grizzlies Marc Gasol shoots as Oklahoma City Thunder's Kevin Durant defends during the second half of Game 5 of their Western Conference Semifinals NBA basketball playoff series in Oklahoma City, Wednesday, May 15, 2013. Memphis won 88-84. (AP Photo/Alonzo Adams)

Memphis Grizzlies Marc Gasol reacts to a call against him during a play against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the second half of Game 5 of their Western Conference Semifinals NBA basketball playoff series in Oklahoma City, Wednesday, May 15, 2013. Memphis won 88-84. (AP Photo/Alonzo Adams)

Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Scott Brooks reacts during the second half of Game 5 of their Western Conference Semifinals NBA basketball playoff series in Oklahoma City, Wednesday, May 15, 2013. Memphis won 88-84. (AP Photo/Alonzo Adams)

Oklahoma City Thunder forward Serge Ibaka (9), guard Thabo Sefolosha (2) and center Hasheem Thabeet (34) watch from the bench during the second half of Game 5 of their Western Conference Semifinals NBA basketball playoff series against the Memphis Grizzlies in Oklahoma City, Wednesday, May 15, 2013. Memphis won 88-84. (AP Photo/Alonzo Adams)

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) ? Midway through the season, the Memphis Grizzlies came through Oklahoma City and left with questions swirling about the franchise's future after leading scorer Rudy Gay was traded away in the club's second big deal in just over a week.

Months later, the Grizzlies left town with a far different feeling.

Memphis is headed to the Western Conference finals for the first time in franchise history after beating the Oklahoma City Thunder 88-84 on Wednesday night, finishing off the second-round series in five games.

Not bad for a team that seemed to be slashing salary in a bid to stay competitive for years to come.

"We were struggling that day, obviously," said point guard Mike Conley, who had 13 points and 11 assists in Game 5. "We thought we lost a family member in Rudy here in Oklahoma City. We played the game with seven players and got blown out. We didn't know what to expect the rest of the year, but we pulled it together.

"Somehow we pulled it together, we trusted each other, we just played as hard as we could and now we're one step closer to getting where we want to go."

There have been some giant leaps in the past four years.

Back in 2009, the Grizzlies were finishing off a miserable three-year run ? twice winning 22 games and then 24 ? before hiring Lionel Hollins as coach. Before 2011, the team had never even won a playoff game. And before this current run, it only won one playoff series.

But there's no sense of satisfaction for just making it this far.

"We're trying to do something really special. We want to go as far as we can go," Hollins said. "To get there, we had to get through Oklahoma City. And now, we have to get through either Golden State or San Antonio to get further."

The West finals will start no earlier than Sunday, and Hollins said players would have the day off Thursday before returning Friday to work toward making even more history.

"This is the first time, so it definitely means a lot. I'm happy, but we've still got work to do," said All-Star power forward Zach Randolph, who had 28 points and 14 rebounds in the clincher. "I want to win a ring."

It hasn't been easy getting this far.

The Grizzlies rebounded from the emotional blow of losing Gay and reserves Marreese Speights, Wayne Ellington, Josh Selby and Hamed Haddadi to earn the fifth seed in the West, then fell behind the Los Angeles Clippers 2-0 in the first round of the playoffs.

Memphis reeled off four straight wins to advance, then did it again after losing Game 1 to the Thunder.

It was a series filled with games that went down to the wire, and the finale fit right in ? even though the Thunder trailed by 12 with 3 minutes left. Oklahoma City came back with a 16-6 rally, and Reggie Jackson's 3-pointer cut the deficit to 86-84 with 14.3 seconds remaining.

Randolph missed two free throws with 11.3 seconds on the clock to give the Thunder one last chance to save their season. Durant got the ball beyond the 3-point line on the left wing and navigated around Tony Allen before missing a 16-foot jumper with 6 seconds left.

He ended up 5 for 21 from the field, the third-worst shooting performance in his playoff career.

"I gave it all I had for my team. I left it all out there on the floor," said Durant, who scored 21 points and committed three of his seven turnovers in the fourth quarter. "I missed 16 shots, but I kept fighting, I kept being aggressive. That's all I can ask for."

Durant was the hero in Game 1, hitting six of nine shots in the fourth quarter, including the go-ahead jumper with 11.1 seconds left. After that, Hollins started including Tony Allen ? the top vote-getter for the NBA's all-defensive team ? among those guarding Durant. The three-time scoring champion's effectiveness declined as the series progressed.

"They had to play him and he had to be the go-to guy, and we knew that," Hollins said. "We just tried to just make him work for everything."

Durant's only two worse shooting performances in the playoffs came in Game 6 against the Lakers in the 2010 first round (5 for 23, 21.7 percent) ? also an elimination game ? and in Game 6 of the 2011 West semifinals against Memphis (3 for 14, 21.4 percent).

He faced increasing pressure after All-Star point guard Russell Westbrook had knee surgery two games into the first round and was lost for the rest of the playoffs. Durant averaged 45.6 minutes during the series and played all 48 minutes in Game 5.

"He wasn't going down. He didn't want to sit and watch and go down," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. "He wanted to play."

Oklahoma City trailed by as many as 14 before it got a breath of life with a bizarre play midway through the third quarter when Derek Fisher's missed 3-pointer turned into a four-point possession. Allen, who was on the bench, waved his arms to try and distract Fisher on his shot and a shirt slipped out of his hands and onto the floor near Fisher's feet.

Referee Marc Davis ruled that Fisher's 3-pointer should count, and Durant hit the free throw resulting from a technical against Allen to get the Thunder within 60-53. Oklahoma City got as close as 64-62 by the end of the quarter, after Fisher's 3-pointer and a layup by Thabo Sefolosha.

But the Thunder missed eight of their first nine shots to start the fourth quarter to fall behind 76-64, then couldn't quite recover with their star struggling so badly.

NOTES: NBA Commissioner David Stern attended the game and sat eight rows from the court. ... Sefolosha wore a brace on his sore left hand. He played just six minutes in the first half, then played the entire third quarter. ... It was the second straight game the Thunder scored the first seven points, only to give up the lead a few minutes later. ... Nick Collison picked up three fouls in the first 2:35 of the second quarter and got pulled. ... After the third-quarter buzzer, Jerryd Bayless made a shot from three-quarters court that did not count.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-05-16-BKN-Grizzlies-Thunder-Folo/id-86919b7aa53246c7b77a026b6c325c34

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Completely Redesigned Google+ Adds a Whopping 41 New Features

Google is overhauling Google+ with 41?yes, forty-one?new features. They're based around three areas of the Chrome experience: Stream, Hangouts, and Photos. The new design is rolling out today, and it looks beautiful enough to actually use.

Your Stream is getting a beautiful-looking redesign based on cards. There's a three column view that looks as though it responds organically to your gestures and touch.

Google also introduced the new Hangouts app that we've been hearing about. All in-one chat across all of Google's services: Google Talk, Hangouts, Voice, Google+ Messenger all in one place. (Check out our whole post on that.)

Finally, Google made a huge play on Photos. This started earlier this week when Google upped the total storage for Google accounts to 15GB. And you'll need it because Google is letting you upload much higher resolution photos than you're used to from Facebook or Twitter.

And since most of us are terrible smartphone photographers, Google is adding a whole bunch of automatic photo adjustment features that fall under Auto Highlight, Auto Enhance, and Auto Awesome, which the company claims will turn all of you terrible photos into good ones. There are a lot of little features, but the long and the short is that they're trying to implement brain-free versions of Photoshop features.

It's a compelling idea: You upload your photos and they automatically get better. The demos Google showed off are very impressive, but it sounds a little too good to be true so we'll believe it when we see it. (Check out our full photo post.)

All in all though, it's nice to see Google innovating impressive features in Google+. Don't give up, Google!

Source: http://gizmodo.com/completely-redesigned-google-adds-41-new-features-506803700

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Obama honors 'tough compassionate' cop

Speaking at the 32nd annual National Peace Officers Memorial Service on Wednesday, President Barack Obama publicly honored, among others, officer Bruce St. Laurent, who died last year assisting Obama's motorcade in Florida.

Laurent, a husband and father of four, was killed Sept. 9 when his police motorcycle was struck by a pickup truck as he was closing access to a highway in Palm Beach County.

"He was, according to a friend, 'just what a cop should be: tough compassionate, caring and brave.' But to his community, he was more than a cop," Obama said, noting that St. Laurent had survived cancer, served as a high school teacher and an unofficial snake wrangler, and enjoyed playing Santa Claus for children at Christmastime.

Obama delivered his remarks as part of a memorial held annually on Capitol Hill for National Police Week in Washington, which began in 1982 as a gathering in Senate Park to honor fallen officers. A total of 143 officers were honored at this year's ceremony.

In addition to St. Laurent, Obama noted by name fallen officers Barbara A. Pill of Brevard County, Fla., who Obama said long worked to help her community; Bradley Michael Fox of Plymouth Township, Pa., who served two tours in Iraq; and Scott Ward of Baldwin County, Ala., a military veteran whose funeral procession "stretched for miles," the president said.

Obama urged the country to honor officers not "only in the wake of tragedy. We should do it every day."

The president on Saturday hosted an annual Police Week ceremony at the White House where he honored 43 officers designated as "Top Cops" by their peers.

There, Obama invoked those who helped bring the Boston Marathon suspects to justice:

Our entire country saw once again the strong stuff that these men and women in uniform are made of?police officers, first responders who were running towards explosions, not knowing if there was something more on the way?law enforcement from different agencies and different parts of the country working together as one united team to identify suspects and bring them to justice, and in a moment that few of us will ever forget, the citizens of Watertown, Mass., lining their streets to cheer on and high-five and hug the officers as they headed home after a job well done.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/obama-honor-fallen-police-officers-143113114.html

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