Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, right, talks during a joint news conference with India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Wednesday.
Peng Sun/AP
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, right, talks during a joint news conference with India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Wednesday.
Peng Sun/AP
We begin with an agreement between the world's most populous and second-most populous countries.
India and China signed an agreement in Beijing Wednesday on border defense following a military standoff earlier this year in an area they both claim.
"Addressing a press briefing together with visiting Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh after their meeting, Li said they both believe the two countries have more common interests than disagreements and the people and governments of the two countries have the ability to manage border disputes.
"After the meeting, China and India signed a memorandum of understanding on strengthening cooperation on trans-border rivers, and they agreed to cooperate through an existing mechanism between experts in the two countries."
India's semi-official Press Trust of India quoted Singh as saying peace on the border must remain the foundation of ties between the two countries "even as we move forward the negotiations towards a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable settlement to the India-China Boundary Question."
The border dispute in several areas dates back to the 1962 war between the two countries. There have been occasional skirmishes along the border, most recently in April when India says Chinese soldiers intruded on its territory.
Next, we go to China's dealings with Turkey.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is dismissing criticism from his NATO allies following Ankara's decision to buy a missile system from China.
"Nobody has the right to overshadow our independence," he said Wednesday, in comments reported by Hurriyet Daily News.
NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Tuesday he hoped Turkey would take the alliance's view into account before making a final decision.
Here's more from the paper:
"The Turkish government's decision to start negotiations with a Chinese firm for the co-production of the $3.4 billion missile defense system has triggered serious concerns from NATO and among member countries, particularly the United States. The fact that the Chinese company, China Precision Machinery Import and Export Corp's, is under U.S. sanctions also complicates the situation."
The New Zealand Herald reports that the country's government has allowed NZ Post to move to a three-day-a-week schedule from 2015 "to ensure the postal service remains viable."
Layoffs are expected.
"While parcel volumes had increased by nearly 3 million since 2006, over the same period letter volumes dropped by 322 million - or 30 per cent," the newspaper reported.
The Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union, a union representing some postal workers, said it was "incredibly disappointed with this decision, and how it has been made."
Earlier this month we learned that actress Sarah Michelle Gellar joined Twitter and since that time, I’m happy to say, she has been really active on the social networking site. I was worried that SMG might’ve been made to join Twitter merely to promote her new CBS show The Crazy Ones but it turns out that that is clearly not the case. SMG has been interacting with others via her account and today she introduced the world to her 9 month old “baby”. Click below to meet SMG‘s new baby … girl.
I wanted to introduce all my fans to my newest baby weighing in at 75 pounds and nine months old #Bella
Awww … Bella is cute! So now we know that SMG and hubby Freddie Prinze, Jr. are the proud parents of a son, a daughter and a 9 month puppy. They’re basically the perfect family. I’m so glad Sarah is on Twitter. It’s been fun following her for the past few weeks. With a pet pooch this cute, who wouldn’t want to show her off to as many people as possible? Cute!
Save a hapless chicken from harm in this charming game
Given that Android has the largest market share of any smartphone platform, underdog competitor Windows Phone has far fewer exclusive games worth noting. Windows Phone’s precious few exclusive Xbox-branded games often jump ship to other platforms – just look at Wordament and Kinectimals.
Now Chickens Can’t Fly from British developer Amused Sloth – long considered one of the best Windows Phone exclusives – has debuted on Android as well. At $1.99, it’s quite a steal.
Naughty Dog, the Sony-exclusive development house behind the Uncharted, Crash Bandicoot, and Jax and Daxter series, has created what many have hailed as "the last great PlayStation 3 game." Considering The Last of Us's exquisite gameplay and narrative design, and the fact that the PlayStation 4 is on-deck for a November 15th, 2013 release, that sentiment may very well be true.
The Last of Us combines action and survival gameplay to tell a character-driven tale about a world destroyed by the Cordyceps fungus, a growth that transforms humanity into zombie-like monsters (the fungus, in fact, is one that appears in the real world and has unsual effects on its hosts). The zombie-like creatures roam the land, while survivors battle the creatures, and one another, to stay alive.
The story focues on Joel (voiced by Troy Baker), a hardened survivor, and Ellie (voiced by Growing Pains' Ashley Johnson), an optimistic teenage girl who work together to trek across the wastleands that are the remains of the United States. The A.I.-controlled Ellie assists the player-controlled Joel by, for example, shouting out the direction from which enemies approach or by helping Joel break free from an infected human's grasp. She's far more useful than BioShock Infinite's A.I.-controlled Elizabeth.
Joel and Ellie's relationship is what gives The Last of Us its heart. The excellent script sees the two very different people affect one another in surprisingly subtle ways. I grew to care about the characters, which is a rare occurrence.
Unlike many of the other big franchises in the survival-horror genre (Dead Space, Resident Evil), The Last of Us isn't just about headshots and re-ups. Supplies are scarce, so stealth is just as important as the ranged and melee combat. There's a crafting system, too; you can, for example, combine a rag and alcohol into a Molotov cocktail.
The Last of Us also features Naughty Dog's "Balance of Power" adaptive artificial intelligence system. It lets enemies react realistically to situations by attacking when you're low on ammo, or calling for help when you're overpowering them. As a result, you must mind your surroundings.
The Last of Us, unfortunately, falls into the same action-adventure puzzle-solving trap as many other games of its ilk. These moments causes the game to lose its way a bit, and takes away the brutal, hard-hitting combat. The Last of Us can sometimes telegraph enemy encounters; when you walk into an area where there are conveniently placed items that can serve as cover, you know that it's time to break out the weaponry. It breaks the element of surprise to some degree.
Still, The Last of Us is an excellent, must-play title for survival horror fans. In fact, the script is so good, I'd recommend The Last of Us to gamers who aren't fans of the genre. The PlayStation 3 will soon begin to fade into the background, but The Last of Us will be remembered as one of the best games that the video game medium has ever produced.
Dona Ana County Clerk Lynn Ellins (left) talks with Thom Hinks and Richard Sunman, (far right) after they obtained their marriage license at the Dona Ana County Clerk's Office in Las Cruces, N.M. In August, Ellins' office began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, a first in the state's history.
Juan Carlos Llorca/AP
Dona Ana County Clerk Lynn Ellins (left) talks with Thom Hinks and Richard Sunman, (far right) after they obtained their marriage license at the Dona Ana County Clerk's Office in Las Cruces, N.M. In August, Ellins' office began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, a first in the state's history.
Juan Carlos Llorca/AP
New Mexico law doesn't explicitly ban or approve same-sex marriage. There were a spate of lawsuits seeking to clarify the issue, but they were tied up in the courts. Then in August, the clerk of Dona Ana County, Lynn Ellins, a long-time supporter of same-sex marriage, consulted his staff.
"And we all agreed that it was about time to bring this thing to a head, and if we did nothing, the cases would languish in the district court if we did not move to issue these licenses and try and put the ball in play," Ellins says.
Soon state judges ordered four other county clerks to follow Ellins' lead and together they have issued more than 900 marriage licenses. But not every county clerk was prepared to do the same in their communities. Instead, all 33 county clerks in New Mexico agreed to petition the state Supreme Court for a final say on the matter. The main opposition comes from a group of Republican lawmakers led by state Sen. William Sharer of Farmington.
"So when Lynn Ellins decided that he was the only one in New Mexico that could properly read the law and declared that same-sex marriage was legal, I stepped in and said 'No, you're wrong. We must stop this,' Sharer says, adding that Ellins "far exceeded his authority."
But the reaction from other quarters has been relatively mild. New Mexico's three Catholic bishops said the action of the county clerks should be resolved by the legislature. And Republican Gov. Susana Martinez has said the issue should be determined by the voters.
But supporters of same-sex marriages say local polls indicate that New Mexicans are prepared to accept a state Supreme Court ruling confirming marriage equality. They are also encouraged by what's happened in New Jersey, says Elizabeth Gill of the ACLU.
"It's yet another court that has analyzed whether there's any real reason to discriminate against same-sex couples in marriage and concluded that there is not," Gill says.
Gill and others say their side has momentum.
In Oregon last week, state authorities said they would recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states. Advocates are trying to get a freedom to marry initiative on Oregon's ballot in Nov. 2014.
In Illinois, a same-sex marriage bill awaits action by the lower house.
In Pennsylvania, a federal lawsuit challenging that state's same-sex marriage ban is in the courts and there's a marriage equality bill in the Legislature.
In Hawaii, a special legislative session has been called for later this month to consider a marriage bill.
And in Tennessee, there's a lawsuit challenging both state law and a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.
Sara Warbelow, a spokeswoman for the D.C.-based Human Rights Campaign, says in some states it appears marriage equality is inevitable.
"There's been a fair amount of polling, and rather consistently, 80 percent of the American public says within the next 10 years, marriage equality will be the law of the land," Warbelow says.
Back in New Mexico, the Supreme Court justices have taken the unusual step of expanding oral arguments Wednesday from 20 minutes to one hour for each side. They have not indicated when they will issue their decision. In the meantime the court is allowing marriages to continue.
Time is ripe for fire detection satellite, say UC Berkeley scientists
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
21-Oct-2013
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Contact: Robert Sanders rlsanders@berkeley.edu 510-643-6998 University of California - Berkeley
Improved and cheaper sensors, faster analysis software make satellite feasible
As firefighters emerge from another record wildfire season in the Western United States, University of California, Berkeley, scientists say it's time to give them a 21st century tool: a fire-spotting satellite.
Such a satellite could view the Western states almost continuously, snapping pictures of the ground every few seconds in search of hot spots that could be newly ignited wildfires. Firefighting resources could then be directed to these spots in hopes of preventing the fires from growing out of control and threatening lives and property.
The UC Berkeley scientists have designed such a satellite using state-of-the-art sensors, written analysis software to minimize false alarms, and even given it a name the Fire Urgency Estimator in Geosynchronous Orbit (FUEGO). They're hopeful it can be built for several hundred million dollars, either by government or private entities.
"If we had information on the location of fires when they were smaller, then we could take appropriate actions quicker and more easily, including preparing for evacuation," said fire expert Scott Stephens, a UC Berkeley associate professor of environmental science, policy and management. "Wildfires would be smaller in scale if you could detect them before they got too big, like less than an acre."
Stephens, physicist Carl Pennypacker, remote sensing expert Maggi Kelly and their colleagues describe the satellite in an article published online Oct. 17 by the journal Remote Sensing.
"With a satellite like this, we will have a good chance of seeing something from orbit before it becomes an Oakland fire," said Pennypacker, a research associate at UC Berkeley's Space Sciences Laboratory and scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, referring to the devastating 1991 fire that destroyed more than 3,000 homes in Berkeley and Oakland. "It could pay for itself in one firefighting season."
With global warming, Stephens said, wildfires are expected to become more frequent and more extensive. This year alone, California's firefighting arm, CAL FIRE, has responded to over 6,000 wildfires, 1,600 more than average, according to tweets by the department's information officer Daniel Berlant. Wildfire-prone areas stretching from Spain to Russia could also benefit from their own dedicated satellites.
Updating an outmoded system
Fire detection today is much like it was 200 years ago, Stephens said, relying primarily on spotters in fire towers or on the ground and on reports from members of the public. This information is augmented by aerial reconnaissance and lightning detectors that steer firefighters to ground strikes, which are one of the most common wildfire sparks.
"Even today, most fires are detected, in some way or another, by people," he said. "Even the Rim Fire near Yosemite National Park this past summer was detected by someone who saw a smoke column."
But satellite technology, remote sensing and computing have advanced to the stage where it's now possible to orbit a geostationary satellite that can reliably distinguish small, but spreading, wildfires with few false alarms. Pennypacker estimates that the satellite, which could be built and operated by the federal government, like the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES); as a partnership between government and the private sector, like the Landsat satellite program; or by a private company alone, would cost several hundred million dollars a fraction of the nation's $2.5 billion yearly firefighting budget.
The idea of a fire detection satellite has been floated before, but until recently, detectors have been prohibitively expensive, and the difficulty of discriminating a small burning area from other bright hotspots, such as sunlight glinting off a mirror or windshield, made the likelihood of false alarms high. Today, computers are faster, detectors cheaper and more sensitive, and analysis software far more advanced, making false alarms much less likely, according to researchers.
"Simply put, we believe we have shown that this kind of rapid, sensitive fire detection of areas bigger than 10 feet on a side is probably feasible from space, and we have evidence that the false alarm rate will not be crazy," said Pennypacker, who has designed sensitive satellite-borne detectors for 40 years. "Our work requires further testing, which we are eager to do."
The approach is similar to what Pennypacker and colleague Saul Perlmutter used 20 years ago to search for exploding stars to study the expansion of the universe. In that case, they created an automated system to compare consecutive images of the night sky to look for new points of light that could be supernovas. Perlmutter, UC Berkeley professor of physics, shared the 2010 Nobel Prize in Physics for this work, which proved that the expansion of the universe is accelerating.
How it works
"In concept, this is a simple system: a telephoto camera, an infrared filter and a recording device. We are just looking for something bright compared to the surroundings or changing over time," Kelly said. "Then, we do these rapid calculations to determine if one image is different from the next."
Pennypacker and graduate student Marek K. Jakubowski developed a computer analysis technique, or algorithm, to detect these differences in space and time and to distinguish them from bright lights that might look like fires. This involves several billion calculations per second on images taken every few seconds, covering the entire West every few minutes. The new paper reports on tests of this algorithm using existing imagery from real fires, but the team hopes to get funding to test the system on a fire that is starting, such as a prescribed burn.
"The point is, satellites like Landsat and GOES provide great information after a fire starts; they can focus and monitor a fire by looking at smoke plumes, fire spread, hot spots at the edges, etc.," Kelly said. "FUEGO is designed for early detection of smaller fires. Right now, we lose a lot of time because fires are already big by the time we see them."
###
The FUEGO design, for which UC Berkeley has filed a patent, was developed with funds from the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research.
Other authors of the paper are Michael Lampton, a research physicist at the Space Sciences Laboratory; Robert Tripp, UC Berkeley professor emeritus of physics; and Christopher Schmidt of the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Pennypacker, Lampton and Tripp are also members of the Physics Division of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
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Time is ripe for fire detection satellite, say UC Berkeley scientists
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
21-Oct-2013
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Contact: Robert Sanders rlsanders@berkeley.edu 510-643-6998 University of California - Berkeley
Improved and cheaper sensors, faster analysis software make satellite feasible
As firefighters emerge from another record wildfire season in the Western United States, University of California, Berkeley, scientists say it's time to give them a 21st century tool: a fire-spotting satellite.
Such a satellite could view the Western states almost continuously, snapping pictures of the ground every few seconds in search of hot spots that could be newly ignited wildfires. Firefighting resources could then be directed to these spots in hopes of preventing the fires from growing out of control and threatening lives and property.
The UC Berkeley scientists have designed such a satellite using state-of-the-art sensors, written analysis software to minimize false alarms, and even given it a name the Fire Urgency Estimator in Geosynchronous Orbit (FUEGO). They're hopeful it can be built for several hundred million dollars, either by government or private entities.
"If we had information on the location of fires when they were smaller, then we could take appropriate actions quicker and more easily, including preparing for evacuation," said fire expert Scott Stephens, a UC Berkeley associate professor of environmental science, policy and management. "Wildfires would be smaller in scale if you could detect them before they got too big, like less than an acre."
Stephens, physicist Carl Pennypacker, remote sensing expert Maggi Kelly and their colleagues describe the satellite in an article published online Oct. 17 by the journal Remote Sensing.
"With a satellite like this, we will have a good chance of seeing something from orbit before it becomes an Oakland fire," said Pennypacker, a research associate at UC Berkeley's Space Sciences Laboratory and scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, referring to the devastating 1991 fire that destroyed more than 3,000 homes in Berkeley and Oakland. "It could pay for itself in one firefighting season."
With global warming, Stephens said, wildfires are expected to become more frequent and more extensive. This year alone, California's firefighting arm, CAL FIRE, has responded to over 6,000 wildfires, 1,600 more than average, according to tweets by the department's information officer Daniel Berlant. Wildfire-prone areas stretching from Spain to Russia could also benefit from their own dedicated satellites.
Updating an outmoded system
Fire detection today is much like it was 200 years ago, Stephens said, relying primarily on spotters in fire towers or on the ground and on reports from members of the public. This information is augmented by aerial reconnaissance and lightning detectors that steer firefighters to ground strikes, which are one of the most common wildfire sparks.
"Even today, most fires are detected, in some way or another, by people," he said. "Even the Rim Fire near Yosemite National Park this past summer was detected by someone who saw a smoke column."
But satellite technology, remote sensing and computing have advanced to the stage where it's now possible to orbit a geostationary satellite that can reliably distinguish small, but spreading, wildfires with few false alarms. Pennypacker estimates that the satellite, which could be built and operated by the federal government, like the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES); as a partnership between government and the private sector, like the Landsat satellite program; or by a private company alone, would cost several hundred million dollars a fraction of the nation's $2.5 billion yearly firefighting budget.
The idea of a fire detection satellite has been floated before, but until recently, detectors have been prohibitively expensive, and the difficulty of discriminating a small burning area from other bright hotspots, such as sunlight glinting off a mirror or windshield, made the likelihood of false alarms high. Today, computers are faster, detectors cheaper and more sensitive, and analysis software far more advanced, making false alarms much less likely, according to researchers.
"Simply put, we believe we have shown that this kind of rapid, sensitive fire detection of areas bigger than 10 feet on a side is probably feasible from space, and we have evidence that the false alarm rate will not be crazy," said Pennypacker, who has designed sensitive satellite-borne detectors for 40 years. "Our work requires further testing, which we are eager to do."
The approach is similar to what Pennypacker and colleague Saul Perlmutter used 20 years ago to search for exploding stars to study the expansion of the universe. In that case, they created an automated system to compare consecutive images of the night sky to look for new points of light that could be supernovas. Perlmutter, UC Berkeley professor of physics, shared the 2010 Nobel Prize in Physics for this work, which proved that the expansion of the universe is accelerating.
How it works
"In concept, this is a simple system: a telephoto camera, an infrared filter and a recording device. We are just looking for something bright compared to the surroundings or changing over time," Kelly said. "Then, we do these rapid calculations to determine if one image is different from the next."
Pennypacker and graduate student Marek K. Jakubowski developed a computer analysis technique, or algorithm, to detect these differences in space and time and to distinguish them from bright lights that might look like fires. This involves several billion calculations per second on images taken every few seconds, covering the entire West every few minutes. The new paper reports on tests of this algorithm using existing imagery from real fires, but the team hopes to get funding to test the system on a fire that is starting, such as a prescribed burn.
"The point is, satellites like Landsat and GOES provide great information after a fire starts; they can focus and monitor a fire by looking at smoke plumes, fire spread, hot spots at the edges, etc.," Kelly said. "FUEGO is designed for early detection of smaller fires. Right now, we lose a lot of time because fires are already big by the time we see them."
###
The FUEGO design, for which UC Berkeley has filed a patent, was developed with funds from the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research.
Other authors of the paper are Michael Lampton, a research physicist at the Space Sciences Laboratory; Robert Tripp, UC Berkeley professor emeritus of physics; and Christopher Schmidt of the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Pennypacker, Lampton and Tripp are also members of the Physics Division of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
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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.
LONDON – Merlin Entertainments, the U.K. operator of such attractions as Madame Tussauds and the London Eye ferris wheel on the river Thames here, is planning an IPO.
The firm is Europe's biggest operator of visitor attractions and is believed to rank second behind Walt Disney worldwide in key metrics.
The company runs Madame Tussauds venues in London, Hollywood, New York, Sydney, Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong Amsterdam, Berlin and various other locations. It also operates Alton Towers, Britain's most-visited theme park, Legoland in several European locations, California, Florida and Malaysia, dungeon attractions across the U.K. and Warwick Castle.
The company plans to list its stock in London.
Merlin, currently owned by private equity firms, overall runs 99 attractions in 22 countries. The Guardian said it is believed to be worth as much as $4.8 billion (£3 billion).
The company didn't immediately detail how many shares it would offer and at what price. Merlin plans to use the proceeds from the IPO to pay down debt and invest in its business.
Its revenue for its latest fiscal year topped $1.6 billion (£1 billion).
Alton Towers recently unveiled a deal with BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the U.K. public broadcaster, that will lead to the creation of CBeebies Land, an area featuring characters from the BBC's kids channel. The companies said the themed area would include rides, "immersive play areas," live experiences, character appearances and seasonal events.
Detroit Tigers baseball manager Jim Leyland announces his retirement during a news conference at Comerica Park in Detroit, Monday, Oct. 21, 2013. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Detroit Tigers baseball manager Jim Leyland announces his retirement during a news conference at Comerica Park in Detroit, Monday, Oct. 21, 2013. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland waits for the start of Game 3 of the American League baseball championship series against the Boston Red Sox Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2013, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Detroit Tigers baseball manager Jim Leyland, right, laughs with general manager David Dombrowski, left, while announcing his retirement during a news conference at Comerica Park in Detroit, Monday, Oct. 21, 2013. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland watches batting practice from the dugout before Game 6 of the American League baseball championship series against the Boston Red Sox on Saturday, Oct. 19, 2013, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland hits during fielding practice before Game 3 of the American League baseball championship series against the Boston Red Sox Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2013, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
DETROIT (AP) — A picture of Jim Leyland's face stared out from the video board at an empty Comerica Park, next to that familiar Olde English "D'' and a message that said simply: "Thank You Jim."
After eight seasons managing the Tigers, including three division titles and two American League pennants, Leyland stepped down Monday. His voice cracking at times, his hands wiping away tears at others, he announced his departure two days after Detroit was eliminated by Boston in the AL championship series.
"It's been a thrill," the 68-year-old Leyland said during a news conference at the ballpark. "I came here to change talent to team, and I think with the help of this entire organization, I think we've done that. We've won quite a bit. I'm very grateful to have been a small part of that."
Leyland made his managerial debut with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1986, and from Barry Bonds to Miguel Cabrera, he's managed some of the sport's biggest stars and been involved in some of baseball's most memorable games over the past quarter-century.
In 1992, his Pirates lost Game 7 of the NLCS when Atlanta rallied in the bottom of the ninth inning. Five years later, Leyland won his only World Series title as manager when his Florida Marlins beat Cleveland in an 11-inning thriller in Game 7.
He's experienced some of the highest highs the game has to offer, but also endured difficult rebuilding periods in both Pittsburgh and Florida.
After one season with the Colorado Rockies, Leyland didn't manage at all from 2000-05 before Detroit hired him. Leyland led the Tigers to the World Series immediately after taking over in 2006, losing to St. Louis in five games. The Tigers went to the World Series again in 2012 but were swept by San Francisco.
Leyland worked under one-year contracts the last couple of years, saying he was content to wait until after the season to address his status. He was reflective late this season, mentioning to reporters that he had already managed the Tigers longer than he had expected they would keep him, but he also said in September that he still loved the atmosphere, the competition and his team.
In fact, he'd actually told general manager Dave Dombrowski in early September that he didn't want to return as manager. He expects to remain with the organization in some capacity after going 700-597 as Tigers manager.
"I'm not totally retiring today, I'm just not going to be in the dugout anymore," Leyland said. "I hope and pray that you give the next manager the same respect and the same chance that you gave me."
Leyland says his health is fine, but it's time to stop managing. He said he started weighing his decision around June.
"I started thinking this was getting a little rough. I thought that the fuel was getting a little low," Leyland said. "I knew that I'd get through it because I knew we'd be playing for something."
The Tigers figure to contend again next year, which may lead Dombrowski to look for a proven commodity who can come in and manage. Kirk Gibson, who led Detroit to the 1984 World Series title as a player, is now managing in Arizona, but Diamondbacks president Derrick Hall tried to quash any speculation that Gibson would return to the Tigers.
"We would not grant permission (to the Tigers to talk to Gibson) if asked because we want him here, and he told me this morning he has no interest in leaving," Hall said.
Detroit's players found out about Leyland's departure after Saturday night's game in Boston, where the Red Sox won Game 6 to take the series.
"You've got your head down, you lost and the season's over, and then Jim dropped that bomb on us," outfielder Torii Hunter said. "I just had a feeling that it could have been his last year. All year, he was kind of emotional, and I just felt it."
Leyland said there was no announcement Saturday because he wanted the focus to be on the victorious Red Sox. However, he was honest about how much this defeat hurt.
"With all due respect to the Boston Red Sox — who earned it, they won it, they deserve to be where they are — I truly believe the Detroit Tigers should be playing here tomorrow," Leyland said. "This is one that's going to stick with me, this is one that really hurts, because I really felt like we let it get away."
When Leyland arrived at the Tigers' spring training camp this year, it marked 50 seasons since he first showed up there as an 18-year-old prospect. His playing career never amounted to much, but his accomplishments as a manager over more than two decades have been impressive.
He is 1,769-1,728 overall during stints with the Tigers, Pirates, Marlins and Rockies.
"I had sent him a text yesterday morning, just to congratulate he and the organization," Boston manager John Farrell said. "Not only on a great team and a great year, and express the respect we have for him and certainly personally have for him throughout his career. To see the announcement today, and listen to him and know that early September this was clearly in his mind, that surprised me."
When Leyland took over the Tigers, they had gone 12 years without a winning season. During his tenure, they finished under .500 only once.
Detroit has become one of baseball's glamour teams of late, with stars like Cabrera, Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer helping the team win games and draw fans. Cabrera won the Triple Crown and MVP award last year. Verlander won the MVP and Cy Young Award the previous season.
"It's been as much fun for me to manage Ramon Santiago as it has Miguel Cabrera, Justin Verlander," Leyland said. "Now in saying that, it was also an honor to manage the Triple Crown winner, an MVP, a Cy Young winner."
The Tigers should be able to keep their core of players mostly together for next season, but now they'll need to find a new manager to replace Leyland, who always earned high marks for his ability to keep his veterans focused.
"He really cares deeply about his players," utility man Don Kelly said. "When you go out there, the way he treats you, you want to run through a wall for him, go out there and get a win. That's the way he treated me. He treated everybody like that."
___
AP Sports Writers Jimmy Golen in Boston and Bob Baum in Phoenix contributed to this report.
PARIS -- French indie distributor BAC Films Distribution has been acquired by film financier and producer David Grumbach and a consortium of European investors.
Grumbach, who works under the Luxembourg-based Juliette Films and Paris-based Jaya Productions banners, recently produced AriFolman's Cannes entry The Congress.
Under the new structure, Grumbach will become CEO. Luxembourg-based financier Eric Chinchon will board as CFO and current managing director Mathieu Robinet will continue to oversee all acquisition, distribution, international sales and productions.
The sales team, headed by Gilles Sousa, will remain in place. They'll be taking a slate that includes PaoloVirzi's Human Capital and Helene Cattet and BrunoForzani's The Strange Color of Your Body's Tears to AFM in November.
Founded in 1986, BAC Films Distribution had been a subsidiary of the publicly traded BAC Majestic, with Paris-based animation house Millimages the majority shareholder since 2003. With the announcement of today's deal, BAC Majestic entirely cedes BAC Films Distribution and its back catalog to the new owners.
Since its founding in 1986, the company has distributed 8 Cannes Palme d'Or winners, including CristianMungiu's 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days and the Coen Brothers' Barton Fink.
Grumbach acquired the company with hopes to make the indie distributor into "a full-service European mini-major" that can house a film from beginning to end through development, financing, production and distribution.
In a statement, Grumbach said he is enthusiastic about combining BAC's team expertise with his experience in international production and financing and intends to maintain the same proactive, cooperative approach that has worked for him as a producer as BAC Films increases the scope of its activities.
Every once in a while, a student newspaper scores a great scoop: That's the case with the story dropped today by The GW Hatchet, the independent student newspaper of The George Washington University in Washington, D.C.
The paper reports that for years the university has been misrepresenting its admissions policy. As the paper points out, the university went from claiming to run a "need-blind" admissions policy in which they said financial aid requests do not affect admissions decisions, to clarifying that they have had a "need-aware" admissions policy. The university, reported the Hatchet, was still telling prospective students it was a "need-blind" university during an informational session on Saturday.
The issue here is that while they said they were "need-blind," the university was wait-listing some students based on their inability to pay full tuition. On the hand, it was admitting some more wealthy students who could afford full tuition but would have ended up on the wait list.
The Hatchet reports:
"Richard Vedder, director of the Center for College Affordability and Productivity, called GW's past claims 'dishonest.'
"'It's misleading,' said Vedder, who is also an economics professor at the Ohio University. 'Need-blind would mean, "We don't pay a bit of attention to financial considerations in making admissions decisions," and GW clearly does.'
"University spokeswoman Candace Smith argued that GW's characterization of the University's admission policy as need-blind or need-aware was not 'intentionally misleading.'
"'It's still the same process, but it's a matter of one person defining it one way and one person defining it another way,'" Smith said.
"It is important to note that consideration of need occurs at the very end of the admissions process. The first review of applications is need blind and admissions committees recommend candidates for admission with no knowledge of need. Some admissions professionals use the phrase "read need blind" to describe a process like ours where the admissions committees do not have access to the amount of need of an applicant.
"The Hatchet story suggests that the university's practice of need aware admissions automatically disadvantages students with need. Quite the contrary, our need aware admissions policy enables the university to provide more attractive aid packages for students with financial need while staying within our aid budget. More than 60 percent of our students receive grants from the university."
"The really ugly part of 'need-aware' admissions is the concurrent rise of merit aid, or scholarships tied to an applicant's academic profile, which overwhelming accrue to the wealthiest applicants. In September Washington Monthlytraced this phenomenon back to a collection of Ohio colleges attempting to poach the others' most desirable applicants. The resulting dynamic—if a college refuses to grant merit aid, the 'best' applicants will flock to a school that does—presently affects all but the oldest and most moneyed universities. (Which already overwhelming educatethe world's most elite tier.)
"GWU's deception is uniquely terrible, however, because the school traded on a hope that it had literally zero intention of fulfilling. 6.5 percent of its students qualify for Pell grants! This is a school largely dedicated to attracting and educating students who are already wealthy. Which is fine, if not especially admirable. But you can't advertise yourself as open to educating disadvantaged kids when you discriminate against them for not having as much money as the next applicant."
The university said that it decided to change the way it described its process, following the departure of Dean of Undergraduate Admissions Kathryn Napper.
A relative of 8-year-old Mariam Ashraf Meseeha who was killed late Sunday, mourns over her coffin during her funeral with others in Warraq's Virgin Mary church in Cairo, Egypt, Monday, Oct. 21, 2013. Egypt's Christians were stunned Monday by a drive-by shooting in which masked gunmen sprayed a wedding party outside a Cairo church with automatic weapons fire, killing several, including two young girls, in an attack that raised fears of a nascent insurgency by extremists after the military's ouster of the president and a crackdown on Islamists. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
A relative of 8-year-old Mariam Ashraf Meseeha who was killed late Sunday, mourns over her coffin during her funeral with others in Warraq's Virgin Mary church in Cairo, Egypt, Monday, Oct. 21, 2013. Egypt's Christians were stunned Monday by a drive-by shooting in which masked gunmen sprayed a wedding party outside a Cairo church with automatic weapons fire, killing several, including two young girls, in an attack that raised fears of a nascent insurgency by extremists after the military's ouster of the president and a crackdown on Islamists. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
An Egyptian woman weeps during the funeral of several Copt Christians who were killed late Sunday, in Warraq's Virgin Mary church in Cairo, Egypt, Monday, Oct. 21, 2013. Egypt's Christians were stunned Monday by a drive-by shooting in which masked gunmen sprayed a wedding party outside a Cairo church with automatic weapons fire, killing several, including two young girls, in an attack that raised fears of a nascent insurgency by extremists after the military's ouster of the president and a crackdown on Islamists. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
An Egyptian woman wipes her tears before attending the funeral of victims killed after two masked gunmen riding a motorcycle opened fire at a wedding party in Cairo's Waraa neighborhood as guests were leaving the Virgin Mary church, killing several late Sunday, Oct. 20, 2013, at the morgue in Sayeda Zeinab neighborhood, Cairo, Egypt, Monday, Oct. 21, 2013. Egypt's government and religious leaders on Monday condemned the attack that killed several, including an 8-year-old girl, the latest in a rising wave of assaults targeting the country's Christian minority. (AP Photo/Mohammed Abu Zaid)
An Egyptian woman weeps during the funeral of several Copt Christians who were killed late Sunday,in Warraq's Virgin Mary church in Cairo, Egypt, Monday, Oct. 21, 2013. Egypt's Christians were stunned Monday by a drive-by shooting in which masked gunmen sprayed a wedding party outside a Cairo church with automatic weapons fire, killing several, including two young girls, in an attack that raised fears of a nascent insurgency by extremists after the military's ouster of the president and a crackdown on Islamists. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
An Egyptian youth takes in the scene beneath him at a Coptic Christian church in the Waraa neighborhood of Cairo late Sunday, Oct. 20, 2013 after gunmen on motorcycles opened fire, killing a man, woman and child. Egypt has been on edge since a July 3 military coup ousted the country's Islamist president. Since the coup, Coptic Christians have been killed and their churches attacked by angry mobs. (AP Photo/Mohsen Nabil)
CAIRO (AP) — The elderly, silver-haired Christian could hardly speak Monday, sitting stunned in a church where the evening before, suspected Islamic militants on a motorcycle sprayed his family's wedding party with automatic weapons fire, killing his son, his wife's sister and two granddaughters aged 8 and 12.
"It's God's will. They are always beating us down. Every other day now, they do this," the 75-year-old Fahmy Azer Abboud said as he waited for their funeral to start.
He spoke haltingly of his dead granddaughters, both named Mariam.
"They were pure angels. They had the world's kindness inside them. They helped me and shared with me everything they had," Abboud said.
The girls were waiting to enter the Church of the Virgin Mary in Cairo's Warraq district for the wedding of another of Abboud's granddaughters when the gunmen struck about 9 p.m. Sunday. The wounded included seven relatives, with his other son, Nabil, among them, he said.
The shooting deepened panic among Egypt's minority Coptic Christians, already the target of centuries of discrimination by the Muslim majority. It also raised fears that an insurgency by Islamic extremists in the strategic Sinai Peninsula and an increase in attacks in rural areas may be shifting to the capital, a city of 18 million people already beset by crime and poverty.
The violence by Islamic radicals has risen since the military deposed President Mohammed Morsi in July and cracked down on his Muslim Brotherhood and its allies. The attacks have targeted mainly security forces and Christians, whom the Islamists blame because of their strong support of Morsi's ouster. In Sinai, suspected jihadist fighters have stepped up violence against soldiers and police since the coup.
Sunday's shooting also recalled an Islamic militant insurgency in the 1980s and 1990s, when extremists waged a campaign against police, Christians and foreign tourists, trying to topple the government of now-ousted autocrat Hosni Mubarak. Many fear a revival of that wave of violence.
High-profile attacks blamed on militants have already begun to creep into Cairo. In September, the interior minister, who heads the police, survived an assassination attempt by a suicide car bombing. Earlier this month, militants fired rocket-propelled grenades on the nation's largest satellite ground station, also in the capital.
Witnesses said a car blocked traffic outside the Coptic church minutes before the shooting, allowing the gunmen on the motorcycle the space they needed and giving them a relatively easy getaway.
The funeral of the four victims was attended by several thousand Christians who spelled into the street. Their grief was mixed with anger and disbelief.
"With our blood and souls, we will redeem the cross," they chanted as the four coffins were about to be brought into the church.
Addressing the mourners, a young member of the choir said: "Even in these circumstances, we can only talk of the heavens above and ask for the help of Christ."
A prayer followed: "Help us, Jesus. Forgive us. Bless us. Our eyes are filled with tears."
Women wept hysterically and the congregation joined in, "Ya Allah," — "Oh God."
When the caskets arrived, mourners rushed to touch them. Some men fell onto the coffins, also weeping, as priests pushed them away. The atmosphere was raucous, and one cleric sternly demanded silence so the service could begin.
"Those who cannot remain silent can step out for some fresh air. Let us show respect to our God and the dead," he said.
The attack drew condemnations from senior officials, something many Christians have grown to see as too little, too late.
Interim Prime Minister Hazem el-Beblawi pledged the attack would "not succeed in sowing divisions between the nation's Muslims and Christians," and he promised that the culprits would be brought to justice. Sheik Ahmed el-Tayeb, top Muslim cleric at Al-Azhar, the world's primary seat of Sunni Islamic learning, called the shooting "a criminal act that runs contrary to religion and morals."
Pope Tawardros II, spiritual leader of Egypt's Coptic Christians, remained publicly silent. However, Anba Rafael, a top church official who led the funeral Mass, called for an end to what he called lax security and for justice.
In a brief statement, an umbrella group of Islamist parties, including Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood, also condemned the attack.
"Places of worship are sacred," said the National Alliance for Supporting Legitimacy and Rejecting the Coup. The group includes hard-line clerics who often engaged in anti-Christian rhetoric and radical groups of Morsi allies that have a history of violence.
A Coptic youth group, known as The Association of Maspero Youth, called for the dismissal of Interior Minister Mohammed Ibrahim over the attack.
"If the Egyptian government does not care about the security and rights of Christians, then we must ask why are we paying taxes and why we are not arming ourselves," said the group, formed in 2011 after more than 20 Christians were killed by army troops cracking down on their protest outside Cairo's Nile-side state TV building, known as Maspero.
Christians, mostly from the Coptic Orthodox Church, make up about 10 percent of Egypt's population of 90 million. Attacks in August destroyed about 40 churches, mostly in areas south of Cairo where large Coptic communities and powerful Islamic militants make for a combustible mix.
The August attacks were seen by police and Christians as retaliation for security forces in Cairo crushing two protest camps of Morsi supporters after the coup, killing hundreds of Islamists.
The Coptic community is demanding more protection from the military-backed authorities.
"Churches were torched, Christians kidnapped and now gunned down, and there is no security guarding the churches. I believe there is collaboration," said Ishaq Ibrahim of the Cairo-based Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights.
Sunday's attack, he said, showed "a change and possible expansion of the attacks targeting Christians in Egypt, and it could leave more victims."
At the Church of the Virgin Mary, witnesses to the shooting spoke of what they said amounted to criminal negligence.
Ameer Shafiq, an 18-year-old computer science student, said he and others helped take the wounded to hospitals, flagging down taxis, minibuses and private cars. An ambulance, he said, arrived about an hour after the shooting and the police even later. At the closest hospital, emergency treatment was slow and most of the wounded had to be moved elsewhere, he added.
"Mariam still had a pulse when I carried her to hospital," he said of the 8-year-old. "She could have lived."
Shafiq described a bloody scene of "panic and hysteria" at the church.
"People were screaming. Some ran back into the church to escape," he said. "Then, there was anger, mostly by the women. They were shouting: 'May God kill them one by one!' or 'What have we done to deserve this?'"
Maurice Helmy, another relative of the victims, appealed to the head of the military, Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, to take action.
"I want to tell el-Sissi that I love him, but he should stop forgetting us. I know that you know who did this. We have reached the limit. Beware of the patient when he becomes angry," Helmy said.
___
Associated Press writer Maggie Michael contributed to this report.
State-sponsored freeway construction can be a pain for commuters whose daily routines are upended by constant building and maintenance, but roadwork can also be a source of unexpected archaeological discovery.
NASA sees Typhoon Francisco headed to the other side of Guam
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
17-Oct-2013
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Contact: Rob Gutro robert.j.gutro@nasa.gov NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
NASA's Aqua satellite passed over Typhoon Francisco on Oct. 17 after it had passed the eastern side of Guam and started to head on a track that would take it past the western side of Guam. Tropical Storm Warnings are in effect for Guam on Oct. 17 and 18 (local time).
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer instrument aboard NASA's Aqua satellite captured an image of Typhoon Francisco on Oct. 17 at 04:05 UTC in the Pacific Ocean as it started turning to the northwest after passing the eastern side Guam. The MODIS image clearly showed Francisco's eye, indicating its strength and organization.
On Oct. 17 at 1500 UTC/11 a.m. EDT Francisco had maximum sustained winds near 85 knots and was moving to the north-northeast, but is expected to take a turn to the northwest. Francisco's center was located about 147 nautical miles southwest of Guam, near 12.5 north and 143.1 east.
On Oct. 17 and 18 (local time), a Tropical Storm Warning was in effect for Guam. The National Weather Service bulletin on Oct. 17 at 3 p.m. EDT noted: as Typhoon Francisco (26w) passes...sustained tropical storm force winds are expected. Maximum winds are still forecast to be in the 30 to 40 mph range with gusts to 60 mph. Minor damage may occur to poorly constructed homes. Isolated power outages will be possible. Choppy seas of 12 to 14 feet will persist through tonight.
###
Text credit: Rob Gutro
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
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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.
NASA sees Typhoon Francisco headed to the other side of Guam
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
17-Oct-2013
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Contact: Rob Gutro robert.j.gutro@nasa.gov NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
NASA's Aqua satellite passed over Typhoon Francisco on Oct. 17 after it had passed the eastern side of Guam and started to head on a track that would take it past the western side of Guam. Tropical Storm Warnings are in effect for Guam on Oct. 17 and 18 (local time).
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer instrument aboard NASA's Aqua satellite captured an image of Typhoon Francisco on Oct. 17 at 04:05 UTC in the Pacific Ocean as it started turning to the northwest after passing the eastern side Guam. The MODIS image clearly showed Francisco's eye, indicating its strength and organization.
On Oct. 17 at 1500 UTC/11 a.m. EDT Francisco had maximum sustained winds near 85 knots and was moving to the north-northeast, but is expected to take a turn to the northwest. Francisco's center was located about 147 nautical miles southwest of Guam, near 12.5 north and 143.1 east.
On Oct. 17 and 18 (local time), a Tropical Storm Warning was in effect for Guam. The National Weather Service bulletin on Oct. 17 at 3 p.m. EDT noted: as Typhoon Francisco (26w) passes...sustained tropical storm force winds are expected. Maximum winds are still forecast to be in the 30 to 40 mph range with gusts to 60 mph. Minor damage may occur to poorly constructed homes. Isolated power outages will be possible. Choppy seas of 12 to 14 feet will persist through tonight.
###
Text credit: Rob Gutro
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
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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.
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