38 die in psychiatric hospital fire near Moscow

MOSCOW (AP) ? A fire swept quickly through a psychiatric hospital outside Moscow early Friday, killing 38 people, most of them in their beds, officials said.

The one-story brick-and-wood hospital building housed patients with severe mental disorders, Health Ministry officials said. An emergency ministry official said the fire started in a wooden annex and then spread to the main brick building which had wooden beams.

The patients were under sedatives and most of them did not wake up, Yuri Deshevykh of the emergency situations ministry told RIA Novosti.

At least 29 people were burned alive, said Irina Gumennaya, a spokeswoman for the Russian Investigative Committee.

Investigators said 38 people, including 36 patients and two doctors, have died. They said a nurse managed to escape and save one patients, while another patient got out on his own. The emergency services also posted a list of the patients indicating they ranged in age from 20 to 76. Gumennaya told Russian news agencies that most of the people died in their beds.

Moscow region governor Andrei Vorobyev said some of the hospital windows were barred. Gumennaya quoted testimony of the surviving nurse who said that doors inside the hospital were not locked.

Officials from the Russian Investigative Committee said they are looking at poor fire regulations and short circuit as possible causes for the blaze that engulfed the hospital in the Ramenskiy settlement, some 85 kilometers (53 miles) north of Moscow.

Vadim Belovoshin of the emergency ministry said that it took fire fighters an hour to get to the hospital following an emergency call because a ferry across the canal was closed and the fire fighters had to make a detour.

Vorobyev told Russian state-television that the fire alarm seems to have worked but the fire spread too quickly.

Russia has a poor fire safety record, with about 12,000 deaths reported in 2012. In January, a fire in an underground parking lot killed 10 migrant workers from Tajikistan who were working and living there. In a similar incident in September, 14 Vietnamese workers were killed by fire at a clothing factory near Moscow.

In one of the most high-profile case of negligence, more than 150 people died in a night club in the city of Perm after a pyrotechnic show ignited a wooden ceiling.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/38-die-mental-hospital-fire-outside-moscow-051615611.html

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Video: Who Hacked AP Twitter?

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Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/video/cnbc/51663749/

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Elephant poaching rises in C. African Republic

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) ? Elephant meat is flooding food markets in villages near a famed wildlife reserve in Central African Republic one month after rebels believed to be involved in poaching overthrew the government, conservationists said Thursday.

The Dzanga-Sangha reserve in the rainforests of southwestern Central African Republic has been home to more than 3,400 forest elephants and features a world-renowned clearing where dozens gather each day.

Now the political chaos unleashed by a rebellion that overthrew Central African Republic's president of a decade has enabled elephant poachers to further their slaughter.

"Elephant poaching is on the increase and given the fact that Central African Republic for the moment is also in dire straits we are fearing for the worst in terms of people trying to look seriously for ivory," said Bas Huijbregts, head of policy for WWF's campaign against poaching in Central Africa.

Elephant meat is now being openly sold not only in the town of Bayanga near the reserve, but also in surrounding villages near the protected wildlife area, he said.

"Given the total absence of any type of law enforcement and rule of law in the area, there is elephant meat all over the place," he said.

At least 40 elephants have been slain at Dzanga-Sangha since the rebels took power on March 24, said local residents, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals from the rebels operating in the area.

However, WWF said it was impossible to estimate how many animals may have been killed because there are currently no patrols going on in the forest to determine where the elephant carcasses may be.

Central African Republic's forest elephants have faced growing threats in recent years from Sudanese hunters on horseback who are making their way further and further south.

The poachers are used to killing elephants in savannah terrain though experts say they are increasingly adapting their methods to hunt elephants in the forest terrain of southern Central African Republic and in neighboring Cameroon.

The Sudanese hunters are now working in tandem with armed rebels from the group known as Seleka, which now has seized control of the federal government, anti-poaching rangers who have fled rebel-controlled areas told The Associated Press.

At least one notorious poacher has declared himself the local representative for Seleka.

Poachers are making greater inroads because of the near-anarchic state that has emerged in many parts of the country since President Francois Bozize was forced from power. Bozize, who himself took control in 2003 after a rebellion, fled into exile as thousands of armed rebels descended upon the capital in late March.

While their leader Michel Djotodia has been chosen to lead a transitional government, critics say he wields very little control over the rebels, who came together from several different groups with a common goal of ousting Bozize.

The rebels are blamed for rampant looting of hospitals and aid groups in the capital, and WWF said it has also had to evacuate its staff from the Dzanga-Sangha reserve after armed rebels looted their offices several times.

WWF said it is working with park staffers who have remained behind to try to secure the key areas inside the reserve despite threats to their personal safety. Those efforts may not be enough to protect elephants though if the situation continues to deteriorate.

"The worst case scenario that we could imagine," said Huijbregts of WWF, "is there would be no change in rule of law, and total anarchy would install itself."

___

Associated Press writer Jose Richard Pouamba in Bangui, Central African Republic contributed to this report.

___

Online:

Dzanga Sangha Reserve: http://www.dzanga-sangha.org

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/elephant-poaching-rises-c-african-republic-145312663.html

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This Is the Set-Top Box Amazon Should Make

It looks like Amazon is getting ready to enter the set-top box market. If so, the online retailer needs to go big or go home, because the competition is simply too intense for anything less than amazing.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/GearFactor/~3/FhoGgIvGuy4/

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Museum find proves exotic ?big cat? prowled British countryside a century ago

Apr. 23, 2013 ? The rediscovery of a mystery animal in a museum's underground storeroom proves that a non-native 'big cat' prowled the British countryside at the turn of the last century.

The animal's skeleton and mounted skin was analysed by a multi-disciplinary team of Durham University scientists and fellow researchers at Bristol, Southampton and Aberystwyth universities and found to be a Canadian lynx -- a carnivorous predator more than twice the size of a domestic cat.

The research, published today in the academic journal Historical Biology, establishes the animal as the earliest example of an "alien big cat" at large in the British countryside.

The research team say this provides further evidence for debunking a popular hypothesis that wild cats entered the British countryside following the introduction of the 1976 Wild Animals Act. The Act was introduced to deal with an increasing fashion for exotic -- and potentially dangerous -- pets.

The academics believe such feral "British big cats" as they are known, may have lived in the wild much earlier, through escapes and even deliberate release. There is no evidence that such animals have been able to breed in the wild.

The study of the Canadian lynx, rediscovered by research team member Max Blake among hundreds of thousands of specimens at Bristol Museum and Art Gallery, details records unearthed at the museum which showed the animal had originally been mislabelled by Edwardian curators in 1903 as a Eurasian lynx -- a close relative of the Canadian lynx.

The records also showed that the lynx was shot by a landowner in the Devon countryside in the early 1900s, after it killed two dogs.

"This Edwardian feral lynx provides concrete evidence that although rare, exotic felids have occasionally been part of British fauna for more than a century," said lead researcher, Dr Ross Barnett of Durham University's Department of Archaeology.

"The animal remains are significant in representing the first historic big cat from Britain."

Co-author Dr Darren Naish, from the University of Southampton, added: "There have been enough sightings of exotic big cats which substantially pre-date 1976 to cast doubt on the idea that one piece of legislation made in 1976 explains all releases of these animals in the UK.

"It seems more likely that escapes and releases have occurred throughout history, and that this continual presence of aliens explains the 'British big cat' phenomenon."

The researchers point out in their paper that Eurasian lynxes existed in the wild in Britain many hundreds of years ago, but had almost certainly become extinct by the 7th century. Laboratory analysis of the Bristol specimen's bones and teeth established it had been kept in captivity long enough to develop severe tooth loss and plaque before it either escaped or was deliberately released into the wild. Ancient DNA analysis of hair from the lynx proved inconclusive, possibly due to chemicals applied to the pelt during taxidermy.

Julie Finch, head of Bristol's Museums, Galleries & Archives, said: "Bristol Museum, Galleries and Archives were pleased to be a part of this ground-breaking research, which not only highlights the importance of our science collections, it establishes the pedigree of our 100-year old Lynx and adds to our knowledge and understanding of 'big cats' in the UK.

"Our museum collections are extensive and caring for them requires the considerable skills of our collections officers. We have an amazing collection of taxidermy animals on display and we welcome museum visitors to come along, to take a closer look and discover more about the natural world."

Dr Greger Larson, a member of the research team from Durham University and an expert in the migration of animals, said: "Every few years there is another claim that big cats are living wild in Britain, but none of these claims have been substantiated. It seems that big cats are to England what the Loch Ness Monster is to Scotland.

"By applying a robust scientific methodology, this study conclusively demonstrates that at least one big cat did roam Britain as early as the Edwardian era, and suggests that additional claims need to be subjected to this level of scrutiny."

The lynx is now on public display at Bristol museum.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Southampton, via AlphaGalileo.

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

---

Journal Reference:

1. Max Blake, Darren Naish, Greger Larson, Charlotte L. King, Geoff Nowell, Manabu Sakamoto, Ross Barnett. Multidisciplinary investigation of a ?British big cat?: a lynx killed in southern England c. 1903. Historical Biology, 2013; : 1 DOI: 10.1080/08912963.2013.785541

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

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/strange_science/~3/CDGCWic5qdo/130424222428.htm

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Nanowires grown on graphene have surprising structure

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

When a team of University of Illinois engineers set out to grow nanowires of a compound semiconductor on top of a sheet of graphene, they did not expect to discover a new paradigm of epitaxy.

The self-assembled wires have a core of one composition and an outer layer of another, a desired trait for many advanced electronics applications. Led by professor Xiuling Li, in collaboration with professors Eric Pop and Joseph Lyding, all professors of electrical and computer engineering, the team published its findings in the journal Nano Letters.

Nanowires, tiny strings of semiconductor material, have great potential for applications in transistors, solar cells, lasers, sensors and more.

"Nanowires are really the major building blocks of future nano-devices," said postdoctoral researcher Parsian Mohseni, first author of the study. "Nanowires are components that can be used, based on what material you grow them out of, for any functional electronics application."

Li's group uses a method called van der Waals epitaxy to grow nanowires from the bottom up on a flat substrate of semiconductor materials, such as silicon. The nanowires are made of a class of materials called III-V (three-five), compound semiconductors that hold particular promise for applications involving light, such as solar cells or lasers.

The group previously reported growing III-V nanowires on silicon. While silicon is the most widely used material in devices, it has a number of shortcomings. Now, the group has grown nanowires of the material indium gallium arsenide (InGaAs) on a sheet of graphene, a 1-atom-thick sheet of carbon with exceptional physical and conductive properties.

Thanks to its thinness, graphene is flexible, while silicon is rigid and brittle. It also conducts like a metal, allowing for direct electrical contact to the nanowires. Furthermore, it is inexpensive, flaked off from a block of graphite or grown from carbon gases.

"One of the reasons we want to grow on graphene is to stay away from thick and expensive substrates," Mohseni said. "About 80 percent of the manufacturing cost of a conventional solar cell comes from the substrate itself. We've done away with that by just using graphene. Not only are there inherent cost benefits, we're also introducing functionality that a typical substrate doesn't have."

The researchers pump gases containing gallium, indium and arsenic into a chamber with a graphene sheet. The nanowires self-assemble, growing by themselves into a dense carpet of vertical wires across the surface of the graphene. Other groups have grown nanowires on graphene with compound semiconductors that only have two elements, but by using three elements, the Illinois group made a unique finding: The InGaAs wires grown on graphene spontaneously segregate into an indium arsenide (InAs) core with an InGaAs shell around the outside of the wire.

"This is unexpected," Li said. "A lot of devices require a core-shell architecture. Normally you grow the core in one growth condition and change conditions to grow the shell on the outside. This is spontaneous, done in one step. The other good thing is that since it's a spontaneous segregation, it produces a perfect interface."

So what causes this spontaneous core-shell structure? By coincidence, the distance between atoms in a crystal of InAs is nearly the same as the distance between whole numbers of carbon atoms in a sheet of graphene. So, when the gases are piped into the chamber and the material begins to crystallize, InAs settles into place on the graphene, a near-perfect fit, while the gallium compound settles on the outside of the wires. This was unexpected, because normally, with van der Waals epitaxy, the respective crystal structures of the material and the substrate are not supposed to matter.

"We didn't expect it, but once we saw it, it made sense," Mohseni said.

In addition, by tuning the ratio of gallium to indium in the semiconductor cocktail, the researchers can tune the optical and conductive properties of the nanowires.

Next, Li's group plans to make solar cells and other optoelectronic devices with their graphene-grown nanowires. Thanks to both the wires' ternary composition and graphene's flexibility and conductivity, Li hopes to integrate the wires in a broad spectrum of applications.

"We basically discovered a new phenomenon that confirms that registry does count in van der Waals epitaxy," Li said.

###

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign: http://www.uiuc.edu

Thanks to University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/127884/Nanowires_grown_on_graphene_have_surprising_structure

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'The Voice' Recap: Bruno Mars Leads 'Feel-Good' Night Of Battles

Kris Thomas and Ryan Innes make it through and Usher and Adam Levine score with steals.
By Natasha Chandel

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1706168/the-voice-recap-bruno-mars.jhtml

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Huawei Premia 4G (MetroPCS)

Huawei's second phone to sound like a brand of yogurt, the Premia 4G is much better than the first, last year's Activa 4G. And for as low as $99, it's the best deal you can get on a contract-free smartphone?from MetroPCS right now. That doesn't mean the Premia 4G is perfect?it doesn't run the latest version of Android, the video camera isn't great, and it has a bulky frame for its 4-inch screen?but those flaws are easy to overlook if you're searching for something inexpensive and dependable.

Design, Network, and Call Quality
A sleek phone this is not. The Premia 4G has a humdrum slab design, with a dark gray textured back panel and a ring of shiny gray plastic around the glass display. It feels solid, but it also feels like it's an inch larger than it needs to be. The phone measures 4.96 by 2.53 by 0.48 inches and weighs 4.94 ounces. Given the 4-inch display, that means there's a lot of bezel surrounding it on all sides, particularly the top and bottom. It's still relatively comfortable to hold, even if it feels bigger than it actually is.

Speaking of the display, the Premia has a 4-inch, 800-by-480-pixel TFT LCD. It looks reasonably sharp and bright, especially given the price, though it's a little reflective. Typing on the on-screen, Swype-enabled keyboard felt fine. For controls, there's a Power button on top of the phone, Volume buttons on the right, and three capacitive touch buttons below the display.

If you're hesitant about getting the Premia because of T-Mobile's impending purchase of the company, you can put those fears to rest. While MetroPCS will shift its focus to GSM and LTE, sources have told us that the new network will support VoLTE even after CDMA declines. That means VoLTE-capable phones, like the Premia 4G, should work just fine.

We don't know what will happen to data plans in the future, but MetroPCS offers pretty phenomenal rates right now. You can get truly unlimited talk, text, and data for $60 per month. $50 per month gets you 2.5GB of LTE data, with throttled speeds after that, and $40 per month is good for 500GB of LTE data, with slower speeds once you've reached your cap.

Reception is fair and data speeds are very good on the Premia. As we discovered in our Fastest Mobile Networks?survey, MetroPCS's LTE network can actually exceed 4G speeds on Verizon, though Verizon's network is more consistent and offers far more coverage. I pulled in average speeds of 4.8Mbps down and 3.9Mbps up, which are not the fastest LTE speeds we've ever seen, but plenty fast nonetheless. The Premia also connects to 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi on the 2.4GHz band.

Call quality is average. Voices distort at top volume in the earpiece, and there's a lot of fuzz in the background. But calls made with the phone sound very clear, with surprisingly good background noise cancellation. Calls sounded fine through a Jawbone Era?Bluetooth headset and the stock Android voice dialer worked fine. The speakerphone sounds a bit distorted and isn't loud enough to hear outside. Battery life was average at 8 hours and 45 minutes of talk time.

Processor, Android, and Apps
The Premia 4G is powered by a 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Plus MSM8960 processor, which is a fast chip for such a low price. The Premia feels fast and responsive in casual use, and turned in some respectable benchmark scores. You'll be able to run any of the 800,000+ apps in the Google Play store without a problem.

The phone is running Android 4.0.4 (Ice Cream Sandwich), which is nearly a year and a half old now. That's somewhat disappointing, as Ice Cream Sandwich lacks many significant upgrades you'll find in newer versions of Android (Jelly Bean), like Google Now and an overall smoother experience. There's no word on an update to Jelly Bean, and I wouldn't expect one to come in the near future, if ever.

As it stands, the Premia runs a mostly-stock version of Google's OS. You get five home screens to swipe between and customize that come preloaded with a few apps from MetroPCS. There isn't a ton of bloatware, but you can't delete anything that has been preinstalled, which is a bummer. The phone also bombards you with incredibly annoying ads for MetroExtras until you turn them off. But you do get the MetroPCS Easy WiFi app, which automatically finds and connects you to free hotspots.

You also get all the typical Android bells and whistles, including a fast Web browser, excellent email support, and free voice-enabled, turn-by-turn GPS directions via Google Maps. You can also share music, photos, and video on your HDTV or monitor via DLNA.

Multimedia, Camera, and Conclusions
There's 2.17GB of internal storage, along with an empty microSD card slot underneath the battery cover. I was able to use my 32GB SanDisk card, but not my 64. All of our standard music test files played back fine except for FLAC and WMA. Music sounded excellent over a wired pair of earbuds, but it was a little thin through a stereo Bluetooth pair. For video, all of our test formats played back in resolutions up to 1080p but Bluetooth audio was very slightly out of sync.

The 5-megapixel camera is decent, but nothing more than that. It snaps photos in just 0.2 second, but takes a little longer to save them. Photos quality is average for a 5MP sensor, with decent color and detail, especially for photos taken outdoors. But video performance is poor. The camera records 720p video at a smooth 29 frames per second, but the autofocus locks in and out every time you move the camera even a little, which makes videos look like you are constantly refocusing. A standard 1.3-megapixel camera is on the front of the phone for video chat.

So while it isn't perfect, it's hard to argue against the Huawei Premia 4G for all the features you do get for less than $100. The ZTE Avid 4G?costs the same, but has a very dim screen and a camera that's worse than what you get here. The LG Motion 4G?is also comparable, but has a slightly more compact size at the expense of a smaller, lower-resolution display. If you're willing to spend a lot more, the Samsung Galaxy S III?has a larger, sharper display, a faster processor, better call quality, and a much nicer camera. It's the best phone on MetroPCS right now, but you can buy almost five Premias for the same price.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/cKXAAMeOLP4/0,2817,2417906,00.asp

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Activist investor starts whipping Microsoft into shape, demands Office for iOS, Android

DORTMUND, April 24 (Reuters) - Teams for Wednesday's Champions League semi-final first leg between Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid at BVB stadium. Teams: Borussia Dortmund: 1-Roman Weidenfeller; 26-Lukasz Piszczek, 4-Neven Subotic, 15-Mats Hummels, 29-Marcel Schmelzer; 8-Ilkay Guendogan, 6-Sven Bender, 16-Jakub Blaszczykowski, 10-Mario Goetze, 11-Marco Reus; 9-Robert Lewandowski Real Madrid: 41-Diego Lopez; 4-Sergio Ramos, 3-Pepe, 2-Raphael Varane, 5-Fabio Coentrao; 6-Sami Khedira, 14-Xabi Alonso; 19-Luka Modric, 10-Mesut Ozil, 7-Cristiano Ronaldo; 20-Gonzalo Higuain. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/activist-investor-starts-whipping-microsoft-shape-demands-office-190520216.html

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Fans sink into Cruise's 'Oblivion' in $38.2M debut

This film publicity image released by Universal Pictures shows Tom Cruise in a scene from "Oblivion." (AP Photo/Universal Pictures)

This film publicity image released by Universal Pictures shows Tom Cruise in a scene from "Oblivion." (AP Photo/Universal Pictures)

This film publicity image released by Universal Pictures shows Tom Cruise in a scene from "Oblivion." (AP Photo/Universal Pictures)

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Movie fans slipped into "Oblivion" as the Tom Cruise sci-fi thriller led Hollywood with a $38.2 million debut, according to studio estimates Sunday.

That domestic haul comes on top of $33.7 million "Oblivion" added in overseas markets, where the film began rolling out a week earlier. "Oblivion" raised its overseas total to $112 million and its worldwide receipts to $150.2 million.

Though many people Friday were caught up in coverage of the manhunt for the suspect in the Boston Marathon explosions, it seems to have had little effect on how the film fared.

"Oblivion" took in $13.3 million on opening day Friday and $14.9 million on Saturday. That 12 percent increase is not unusual for big new releases, which typically do better business on Saturday than Friday.

While Boston was on lockdown much of Friday, that market only accounts for about 1 percent of the nationwide box office, said Nikki Rocco, head of distribution for Universal, which released "Oblivion." The manhunt mainly affected matinee business, with theaters reopening Friday night, when Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was taken into custody.

"Once the guy was arrested, I think people got back into their regular routine," Rocco said.

The previous weekend's top film, the Warner Bros. baseball drama "42," held up well, slipping to second-place with $18 million in its second weekend. The Jackie Robinson biography starring Chadwick Boseman and Harrison Ford raised its domestic total to $54.1 million and is on its way to the $100 million mark, said Dan Fellman, Warner's head of distribution.

Overseas, Paramount's "G.I. Joe: Retaliation" got a lift with $40 million, most of it coming from a $33 million debut in China. The action sequel has topped $200 million internationally and $300 million worldwide.

"Oblivion" came in a bit higher than industry expectations. But despite its strong opening, Hollywood's 2013 revenue funk continued, with overall domestic receipts at $109 million, down 19.4 percent from the same weekend last year, according to box-office tracker Hollywood.com.

A year ago, two new romances ? the comedy "Think Like a Man" and the drama "The Lucky One" ? combined for $56 million that weekend, while the blockbuster "The Hunger Games" remained strong with nearly $15 million.

"Even Tom Cruise was unable to beat the strength of two really strong newcomers that were devoid of stars anywhere near in his league," said Hollywood.com analyst Paul Dergarabedian. "That tells you the difference between last year and this year. Even when we have a good weekend like this in 2013, generally these weekends, they pale by comparison to what happened last year."

Domestic revenues in 2013 total $2.76 billion, down 11.2 percent from where business was at last year, when Hollywood took in record cash.

Business slumped a bit in summer 2012 with some high-profile duds, so studios have a shot at gaining ground over last year with this season's upcoming blockbusters, which include "Iron Man 3," ''Star Trek Into Darkness," ''The Hangover Part III" and "Man of Steel."

Still, the gap almost certainly will continue to rise in the early part of the summer season.

Disney's Marvel Studios sequel "Iron Man 3" is expected to open with a whopping $125 million-plus domestically over the first weekend in May, Dergarabedian said. But that would fall far short of the record-breaking $207.4 million debut for the Marvel ensemble smash "The Avengers" over the same weekend last year.

Even so, Cruise's "Oblivion" provides a solid action lead-in to summer. The film stars Cruise as a repairman fixing machines in the wastelands of Earth after an alien attack.

Despite upheavals and odd behavior in Cruise's personal life in the last six or seven years, he remains one of Hollywood's surest box-office draws. Universal reported that in exit polls, fans cited Cruise as the No. 1 reason they saw the film.

"He's a global star," Rocco said. "People love Tom Cruise. If you put him in the right vehicle, they love him even better."

In narrower release, Rob Zombie's latest horror tale "The Lords of Salem" flopped with $622,000 in 355 theaters, for a dismal average of $1,752 a cinema. That compared to an average of $10,085 in 3,783 theaters for "Oblivion."

The low-budget hip-hop drama "Filly Brown" opened solidly with $1.4 million in 188 theaters, for an average of $7,250. The film stars Gina Rodriguez and the late Jenni Rivera in the story of a young talent with a shot at stardom on Los Angeles' hip-hop scene.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Where available, latest international numbers are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.

1. "Oblivion," $38.2 million ($33.7 million international).

2. "42," $18 million.

3. "The Croods," $9.5 million ($23.4 million international).

4. "Scary Movie 5," $6.3 million ($3.5 million international).

5. "G.I. Joe: Retaliation," $5.8 million ($40 million international).

6. "The Place Beyond the Pines," $4.7 million.

7. "Olympus Has Fallen," $4.5 million ($7.8 million international).

8. "Evil Dead," $4.1 million ($2.3 million international).

9. "Jurassic Park" in 3-D, $4 million ($420,000 international).

10. "Oz the Great and Powerful," $3 million ($1.5 million international).

___

Estimated weekend ticket sales at international theaters (excluding the U.S. and Canada) for films distributed overseas by Hollywood studios, according to Rentrak:

1. "G.I. Joe: Retaliation," $40 million.

2. "Oblivion," $33.7 million.

3. "The Croods," $23.4 million.

4. "Olympus Has Fallen," $7.8 million.

5. "Les Profs," $5.8 million.

6. "Scary Movie 5," $3.5 million.

7. "Mama," $2.9 million.

8. "Les Gamins," $2.7 million.

9 (tie). "Detective Conan Private Eye," $2.3 million.

9 (tie). "Evil Dead," $2.3 million.

___

Online:

http://www.hollywood.com

http://www.rentrak.com

___

Universal and Focus are owned by NBC Universal, a unit of Comcast Corp.; Sony, Columbia, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; Paramount is owned by Viacom Inc.; Disney, Pixar and Marvel are owned by The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is owned by Filmyard Holdings LLC; 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight are owned by News Corp.; Warner Bros. and New Line are units of Time Warner Inc.; MGM is owned by a group of former creditors including Highland Capital, Anchorage Advisors and Carl Icahn; Lionsgate is owned by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.; IFC is owned by AMC Networks Inc.; Rogue is owned by Relativity Media LLC.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-04-21-Box%20Office/id-2024f7bd83784426bbf3b0634d949b3c

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If The Beautiful Sky Tower From Oblivion Could Actually Exist That Would Be Great, Thanks

In some ways Oblivion is pretty standard. Alien war. Last humans on earth. Tom Cruise. Etc. But the movie, out this weekend, has something else going for it: a stunning backdrop for all the hunting and sleuthing. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/uU4Mq2cB_T8/if-the-beautiful-sky-tower-from-oblivion-could-actually-exist-that-would-be-great-thanks

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Monster Machines That Mine Bitcoin, How Transformers Are Born, The First Google Glass Videos, And More

It's been a long week. Time to kick off your shoes, sit back, and take a little taste of the cream of Gizmodo's weekly crop. We've got possible murders caught by Google Maps, the tale of how Transformers are born, the super bland website that snagged up design awards, crazy bitcoin mining machines, a crazy cheap 4K TV, the first Google Glass videos and more. Check it all out below. More »

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Newlyweds injured in bombing receive outpouring of support

Patrick and Jessica Downes (photo via GiveForward)

Patrick and Jessica Downes were two of the people to suffer severe injuries at the Boston Marathon on Monday. The newlyweds, who were married last August, each lost a leg below the knee in the explosions.

In the aftermath, friends and relatives set up a way for people to donate money to help with the couple's rehabilitation and medical expenses. In just a few days, over $430,000 has been donated. Also pouring in -- well wishes from both friends and strangers.

One anonymous well-wisher posted the following:

Dear Patrick and Jess, My daughter graduated from BC in 2004. The beautiful picture of you two reminds me of her and her husband. My heart breaks for you and all the others affected by this tragedy, but your faith and love for each other will sustain you and make you stronger than ever. Please know that there are countless people who are thinking of you and sending healing thoughts your way. Sincerely, A California BC mom

The couple's GiveForward site received so many hits, it crashed on Thursday, according to NBC News. Jessica, a nurse at Massachusetts General, is described as funny, selfless and introspective. Patrick is a Boston native who, according to the GiveForward site, cried tears of joy when the Red Sox won the World Series in 2004. He was nicknamed "Jesus" in high school "for his goodness," according to the site.

"She has the spirit of a lion, and combined with Patrick's good (the most good!) heart and interminable support for his wife," the site says, "I have no doubt in my mind that they will persevere through this horrific time and will soon enough lead happy, normal, fulfilling lives."

The families of Jessica and Patrick posted an update thanking all those who have already donated.

Friends-

Your support in just 24 hours is overwhelming, there are no words to describe what your outpouring of kindness and generosity means to our family as Patrick and Jess start their long road to recovery.

At this point, we do not know what all the costs associated with Patrick and Jess's full recovery will be (between prosthetics and home modifications, etc.), but we want them to have enough to not worry about the financial implications of what has happened. We've increased the fundraising goal and if we raise more money than Patrick and Jess need, we have no doubt that they will be conscious of the other people affected by all of this.

For many of us, Monday's events shook our faith in humanity. But a quick look at the outpouring of support from friends and strangers -- both in the immediate aftermath and now here on this site -- restores it.

Thank you,

The Downes and Kensky Family

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/newlyweds-injured-bombing-receive-outpouring-support-202013823.html

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Fox TV renews 'Glee' for 2 more seasons

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? The Fox TV series "Glee" will keep on singing for another two years.

The network announced Friday that it has renewed the show about music-loving students through 2014-2015 ? its 6th season.

In a statement, Fox Entertainment Chairman Kevin Reilly said "Glee" continues to break new ground as a rare successful TV musical comedy. The show been a music hit as well, with more than 50 million downloads of "Glee" tracks and worldwide album sales of more than 13 million.

"Glee" has expanded from its original focus on the McKinley High School glee club to the college world of Rachel and Kurt, played by cast members Lea Michele and Chris Colfer.

Next Thursday's episode will feature Sarah Jessica Parker. Gwyneth Paltrow and Kate Hudson are among previous "Glee" A-list drop-ins.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/fox-tv-renews-glee-2-more-seasons-195758811.html

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Kids and Teens with Autism Vulnerable to Video Game Addiction ...

Parents and autism therapists have long noticed that many children and teens with autism become deeply engaged with video games and other forms of screen-based media. Indeed, many therapists and ?app? makers design autism-friendly video games around this tendency.

Two new studies suggest that caution may be warranted.

"We found that children with ASD spent much more time playing video games than typically developing children, and they are much more likely to develop problematic or addictive patterns of video game play," says University of Missouri psychologist Micah Mazurek, Ph.D.

The lead author of both studies, Dr. Mazurek is the co-director of the university?s Thompson Center, one of 17 sites in Autism Speaks Autism Treatment Network.

In one study, Dr. Mazurek looked at time spent on TV, video games and social media in children ages 8 to 18. She compared the habits of 202 participants with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to those of 170 typically developing siblings. Those with ASD spent over 60 percent more time playing video games and watching TV than all non-screen activities combined. Boys with autism spent an average of 2.4 hours a day playing video games. Girls with autism spent an average of 1.8 hours. By contrast, their typically developing brothers spent 1.6 hours playing video games; the sisters, less than an hour. The children with autism spent relatively little time using social media.

Participants also completed the "Problem Video Game Playing Test," which assesses behavioral addiction to video games. Compared to their typically developing siblings, the children and teens with autism had higher levels of problematic, or addictive, video game use. Related behaviors include getting angry when interrupted from games, having trouble stopping game play when necessary and generally spending more time with games than with friends and family.

?Parents need to be aware that, although video games are especially reinforcing for children with ASD, children with ASD may have problems disengaging from these games," Dr. Mazurek says.

In another study, Dr. Mazurek tracked the behavior of 169 boys with ASD. She found an association between excessive video game use and increased oppositional behaviors. Such behaviors include arguing, refusing to follow directions and aggression. However, an association does not prove that one causes the other, Dr. Mazurek cautions. She plans to pursue further study to clarify her findings.

On the positive side, video games show promise for helping individuals with ASD overcome social and communication challenges. ?Using screen-based technologies, communication and social skills could be taught and reinforced right away," Dr. Mazurek says. "However, more research is needed to determine whether the skills children with ASD might learn in virtual reality environments would translate into actual social interactions."

?Video games can be useful for teaching social skills and other behaviors,? agrees Autism Speaks Senior Vice President for Scientific Affairs, Andy Shih, Ph.D. ?But we need to be sure that technology use is balanced with experience in the real world.??

Source: http://www.autismspeaks.org/science/science-news/kids-and-teens-autism-vulnerable-video-game-addiction

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HAPIfork hits Kickstarter, lets you use your iPhone to help develop healthier eating habits

HAPIfork, the smart dining utensil we first saw at CES 2013 has finally found its way to Kickstarter and is now available for your backing pleasure. The concept is simple enough: HAPIfork includes some clever tech that measures how fast you're shoveling food into your mouth, and if it determines you're eating too fast, the handle vibrates to remind you to slow down and better enjoy meal. Since eating too fast has been correlated with weight gain -- essentially because the brain can't tell you your stomach is full fast enough -- slowing down can lead to better health and weight control. According to their Kickstarter page:

When we eat by ourselves, we might also be watching television, working, or doing other things. When we eat with friends, we're relaxed and want to have a nice time. Both these situations make it much harder to remain conscious of how quickly we're eating. If, like the vast majority of people, you find that you're eating too fast, HAPIfork can help you slow down.

HAPIfork records when you touch your fork to your mouth, and can tell how long the interval is between each fork serving. If you eat too fast, HAPIfork alerts you with a gentle vibration and indicator light to discreetly remind you to slow down. Over time, these repeated reminders from the HAPIfork allow you to adopt good eating habits.

The data can also be fed into an iPhone app, which like other quantified life technologies, lets you see your progress over time. That hopefully creates both a sense of accountability and of achievement. Gamified eating. (How amazing is it that after spending years building up the iOS and mobile platform, iOS and mobile are now being used as a platform to build up so many other interesting technologies?)

Mobile Nations' own Andrew Carton is working with HAPIlabs on the project, so I've had a chance to see the HAPIfork both at CES and a little bit outside the show. I haven't had the chance to try it out in a real world setting yet, but I've backed it and I'm curious to try it out.

I routinely eat so fast, while surfing, writing, or just impatiently trying to get back to surfing and writing, that some kind of intervention is likely very necessary.

There's a ton more HAPIfork coverage today, if you want to get some varied opinions, and if you decide you want to back it, or just watch the video and read more about it, hit the link below and then come back and let me know -- how much does technology like this interest you?

Source: Kickstarter

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/D2gb7vS1IxY/story01.htm

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You?re Going to Be Sorry You Bought That Kindle

High-def finally has come to e-readers.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/GearFactor/~3/4qjfbN3tqog/

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Chavez's choice triumphs: Venezuela elects Nicolas Maduro to succeed late president

By Alastair Jamieson and Mark Potter, NBC News

Venezuela awoke to political turmoil Monday after Hugo Chavez's chosen successor, Nicolas Maduro, won the country?s presidential election by such a tight margin that his rival demanded a recount.

The country, already shaken by the death from cancer of its dominating leader, faces uncertainty after Maduro secured 50.7 percent of the votes in Sunday's election, compared with 49.1 percent for Henrique Capriles -- a difference of just 235,000 ballots.

"This is the most delicate moment in the history of 'Chavismo' since 2002," Javier Corrales, a U.S. political scientist and?Venezuela?expert at Amherst College in Massachusetts, told Reuters, referring to a brief coup against Chavez 11 years ago.

"With these results, the opposition might not concede easily, and Maduro will have a hard time demonstrating to the top leadership of Chavismo that he is a formidable leader."

Capriles refused to recognize the result and said his team had a list of more than 3,000 polling irregularities, Reuters reported.

"This struggle has not ended,? he said. "We are not going to recognize a result until each vote of Venezuelans is counted.?

"I didn't fight against a candidate today, but against the whole abuse of power," said Capriles, the 40-year-old governor of Miranda state. "Mr. Maduro, you were the loser. ... This system is collapsing, it's like a castle of sand -- touch it and it falls."

Officials said Maduro would be formally proclaimed winner at a ceremony and rally in downtown Caracas as early as Monday afternoon, Reuters reported.

For his part, Maduro said he would accept a full recount, even as he insisted his victory was clean and dedicated it to Chavez.?

"We've had a fair, legal and constitutional triumph," Maduro told his victory rally.?"To those who didn't vote for us, I call for unity."?

One key Chavista leader expressed dismay over the outcome, The Associated Press reported. National Assembly President Diosdado Cabello, whom many consider Maduro's main rival within their movement, tweeted: "The results oblige us to make a profound self-criticism."

A modest but noisy crowd of Maduro supporters celebrated in Caracas? Chacao neighborhood, waving flags and setting off fireworks.

A perception that Maduro has a weak mandate could prompt challenges from within the disparate ruling coalition that formed around Chavez, just as overstretched state finances force him to slow the very oil-funded largesse he staked his reputation on maintaining, Reuters said.

The OPEC nation's strong growth is seen by most private economists as dropping this year as the government pares back following hefty spending in 2012 that was a key driver of the economy and helped Chavez win re-election in October, Reuters reported.

However,?the New York Times reported that Maduro?s victory could see repairs?made to the fractured relationship between Venezuela and the United States.

Bill Richardson, the former governor of New Mexico, who was in Caracas as a representative of the Organization of American States, said in an interview that Maduro called him aside after a meeting of election observers on Saturday and asked him to carry a message, the NYT reported.

?He said, ?We want to improve the relationship with the U.S., regularize the relationship,?? the newspaper quoted Richardson as saying.

Venezuela's electronic voting system is digital but generates a paper receipt for each vote, making a vote-by-vote recount possible, the AP said.?

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Related:

Dramatic exit: Heads of state gather for Chavez's funeral

Chavez's last words: 'Please don't let me die,' general says

Full Venezuela coverage from NBC News

This story was originally published on Mon Apr 15, 2013 12:01 AM EDT

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653387/s/2ab8fe11/l/0Lworldnews0Bnbcnews0N0C0Inews0C20A130C0A40C150C17753410A0Echavezs0Echoice0Etriumphs0Evenezuela0Eelects0Enicolas0Emaduro0Eto0Esucceed0Elate0Epresident0Dlite/story01.htm

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Facebook Home Launch Day commercial

Facebook's latest Facebook Home commercial, Launch Day, shows CEO Mark Zuckerboard addressing the team while one of the members screws around on -- you guessed it -- Facebook Home. As the zero-concentration span dude zips around his Facebook Home, what he sees gets made manifest, be it lawn cart or flood. And... it still seems more than slightly onanistic. It shows off Home for Home's sake, not for users sake.

Once again, we're shown beautiful people and gorgeous photography, and a way to keep up with everyone else's stuff but our own. While a big step up from the previous commercial, which featured half-naked people getting shut into overhead compartments on a plane, It still doesn't sell me.

How does Home make my phone better, rather than just make me a better trapped user of Facebook? Show me that. Give me that. Prove me that. And I'll get more excited. Right now it increasingly feels all about Facebook, and my phone should be all about me.

Apple's app-centric approach might be outdated, but it's not misdirected. Facebook Home is more a sideways, maybe diagonal step, not a forward one. Either way, it's not what needs to be next. I'm pretty much convinced that's still up for grabs. Actionable notifications feel like a step in the right direction. BlackBerry peak and flow another. What I want, where I want, when I want, a goal still left to be achieved.

I am excited all these ideas are being tested, however, because experimentation in the present is the fastest way to get results in the future.

For more on Facebook Home, check out Android Central ongoing coverage, and let me know your thoughts.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/inweJhx_FO8/story01.htm

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