Human Brains "Evolve," Become Less Monkey-Like With Age

A sedated young rhesus macaque (file photo).

Photograph by Lynn Johnson, National Geographic

John Roach

for National Geographic News

Published July 12, 2010

Brain regions that grow the most outside the womb are the same areas that expanded the most during evolution from monkeys to humans, a new study says.

As the human brain matures, it expands in a "strikingly nonuniform" fashion, according to researchers who compared MRI scans of 12 infant brains with scans of 12 young adult brains. (See brain pictures.)
The research revealed that brain regions involved in higher cognitive and executive processes—such as language and reasoning—grow about twice as much as regions associated with basic senses such vision and hearing, said study leader Jason Hill, a neurobiologist at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.

Language School Franchise

Email

Mel Gibson is a bonehead not a racist, says Whoopi Goldberg - Telegraph

 Gibson and Grigorieva are in the midst of a vicious custody battle over their daughter Photo: Reuters
Mel Gibson is a bonehead not a racist, says Whoopi Goldberg
Whoopi Goldberg Photo: AP
Goldberg defended the Hollywood actor, who was taped allegedly telling his ex-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva that "if you get raped by a pack of n------ it will be all your fault".
Speaking on The View, Goldberg insisted: "I don't like what he did here but I know Mel, and I know he's not a racist.

Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem have married in a secret ceremony in the Bahamas, it emerged on Wednesday.

By Fiona Govan in Madrid
Published: 4:48PM BST 14 Jul 2010

Bardem and Cruz, who started dating in 2007, appeared together in the 2008 Woody Allen romantic comedy Vicky Cristina Barcelona Photo: REUTERS

The Oscar-winning Spanish actors, who fell in love on the set of Woody Allen's 2008 romantic comedy "Vicky Cristina Barcelona", tied the knot earlier this month, ending months of speculation over their nuptial plans.

Iranian nuclear scientist Shahram Amiri flies home from US - Telegraph

By Richard Spencer, Middle East Correspondent
Shahram Amiri
Shahram Amiri had "left American soil" on and was on his way back to Iran via a third country, a foreign ministry spokesman said.
Before he left the Iranian interests section of the Pakistan embassy in Washington, where he had sought refuge, he gave an interview to Iranian television denying he had gone to America voluntarily, as Washington claims.

Taliban attacks kill 12 Nato troops in Afghanistan - Telegraph

TV and movie lovers rejoice:

TV and movie lovers rejoice: Comic-Con takes place this weekend, inviting fans around the world to meet stars from their favorite shows and hear about what it's like behind the scenes. Swarms of fang-bearing True Blood followers, honorary Glee club members -- frequently off-key or tone deaf -- and aspiring wizards from the abundant pool of Harry Potter admirers will descend on San Diego for four days. Heightened anticipation continues to build for the annual convention, which frequently stirs concerns of overcrowding, drawing over 125,000 people last year. Tickets for the gathering have been sold out for months, but Comic-Con is sponsoring a last-chance sweepstakes for tickets. Click here for the entry form; winners will be drawn Friday. [Jaunted]

A new deal for urban explorers promises authentic, cultural day trips in Los Angeles, New York City, and San Francisco, all offered with a two-for-one special. Now travelers can bring a friend for free when they buy an Urban Adventure, including a stroll around Hollywood's most infamous bars and movie locations, a glimpse of New York's immigrant heritage through food tastings in Chinatown and Little Italy, and a walking tour through San Francisco's Mission District and Chinatown, ending with a catamaran cruise around the city's scenic bay . Offers are good through September 1.

Photo: Fans embrace their inner geek-dom at the 2009 Comic-Con, scragz via Flickr.

Eclipse "Frown"

• Solar Eclipse Over Chile

  Photograph by Eliseo Fernandez, Reuters

  The moon takes a bite out of the sun Sunday over the seaside town of Valparaiso, Chile, during a partial solar eclipse. The photographer created the effect by shooting the top part of the picture through a piece of exposed x-ray film.
  During a total solar eclipse, the moon passes completely between Earth and the sun, casting a circular shadow over the planet. On the ground, viewers in the full shadow's path—aka the path of totality—see the moon cover the sun's disk for several minutes. Only the sun's faint upper atmosphere, or corona, remains visible.
  The full effect of Sunday's total solar eclipse was visible to just a few people along a narrow, 155-mile-wide (250-kilometer-wide) band of the Pacific Ocean. Starting north of New Zealand, the path of the moon's shadow swept over a few remote islands—including the Chilean territory of Easter Island (Isla de Pascua)—and ended over the southernmost tip of South America.
  
  Sky-watchers flocked by the thousands to Polynesian islands or booked passage on cruise ships to see the total solar eclipse. Viewers in Valparaiso, 75 miles (121 kilometers) northwest of Santiago, were among those in the Pacific Basin and in South America able to see a partial eclipse.
  
  —with reporting by Andrew Fazekas
  

  Published July 12, 2010

• Easter Island Eclipse Watcher

  Photograph by Eliseo Fernandez, Reuters

  One of Easter Island's famous stone statues, or moai, seems to turn its back on the total solar eclipse Sunday, while a woman uses a special filter for safe eclipse viewing. (Watch video: "Solar Eclipse to Darken Easter Island.")
  Looking directly at the sun—even during an eclipse—can permanently damage human eyes. Eclipse experts recommend wearing sun-safe glasses and watching the spectacle only for short periods.
  

  Published July 12, 2010

• Eclipse Halo

  Photograph by Martin Bernetti, AFP/Getty Images

  During Sunday's total solar eclipse, the moon covered the sun over Easter Island, so that only the faint, white ring of the sun's upper atmosphere, or corona, was visible.
  
  Eclipse expert and National Geographic grantee Jay Pasachoff, Field Memorial Professor at Williams College in Massachusetts, was on Easter Island to witness his 51st solar eclipse. According to Pasachoff, eclipses offer scientists unique opportunities to study the corona, parts of which are invisible even to sun-watching satellites.
  "On the days of eclipses—and only on those days—can we supply high-quality images of the inner and middle corona that fill in the gaps in spacecraft coverage," Pasachoff told National Geographic News last week. "We can learn about the sun's magnetic field and the relation of the sun and the Earth by studying eclipses."
  (The National Geographic Society owns National Geographic News.)
  

  Published July 12, 2010

• Photograph by Martin Bernetti, AFP/Getty Images

  The sun seems to create a frown in the sky over Easter Island as just a small crescent of light remains visible during Sunday's total solar eclipse.
  Thousands of people gathered on Easter Island—a UN World Heritage site—to watch the eclipse, billed as one of the most remote that will happen this century.
  
  "The most noteworthy aspect of this eclipse is how little land it crosses and the sparse population areas in the path," eclipse chaser and astronomer Alan Dyer, of the Telus World of Science-Calgary in Alberta, told National Geographic News last week.
  

  Published July 12, 2010

Easter Island Eclipse Watcher

• Solar Eclipse Over Chile

  Photograph by Eliseo Fernandez, Reuters

  The moon takes a bite out of the sun Sunday over the seaside town of Valparaiso, Chile, during a partial solar eclipse. The photographer created the effect by shooting the top part of the picture through a piece of exposed x-ray film.
  During a total solar eclipse, the moon passes completely between Earth and the sun, casting a circular shadow over the planet. On the ground, viewers in the full shadow's path—aka the path of totality—see the moon cover the sun's disk for several minutes. Only the sun's faint upper atmosphere, or corona, remains visible.
  The full effect of Sunday's total solar eclipse was visible to just a few people along a narrow, 155-mile-wide (250-kilometer-wide) band of the Pacific Ocean. Starting north of New Zealand, the path of the moon's shadow swept over a few remote islands—including the Chilean territory of Easter Island (Isla de Pascua)—and ended over the southernmost tip of South America.
  
  Sky-watchers flocked by the thousands to Polynesian islands or booked passage on cruise ships to see the total solar eclipse. Viewers in Valparaiso, 75 miles (121 kilometers) northwest of Santiago, were among those in the Pacific Basin and in South America able to see a partial eclipse.
  
  —with reporting by Andrew Fazekas
  

  Published July 12, 2010

• Photograph by Eliseo Fernandez, Reuters

  One of Easter Island's famous stone statues, or moai, seems to turn its back on the total solar eclipse Sunday, while a woman uses a special filter for safe eclipse viewing. (Watch video: "Solar Eclipse to Darken Easter Island.")
  Looking directly at the sun—even during an eclipse—can permanently damage human eyes. Eclipse experts recommend wearing sun-safe glasses and watching the spectacle only for short periods.
  

  Published July 12, 2010

Eclipse Halo

• Solar Eclipse Over Chile

  Photograph by Eliseo Fernandez, Reuters

  The moon takes a bite out of the sun Sunday over the seaside town of Valparaiso, Chile, during a partial solar eclipse. The photographer created the effect by shooting the top part of the picture through a piece of exposed x-ray film.
  During a total solar eclipse, the moon passes completely between Earth and the sun, casting a circular shadow over the planet. On the ground, viewers in the full shadow's path—aka the path of totality—see the moon cover the sun's disk for several minutes. Only the sun's faint upper atmosphere, or corona, remains visible.
  The full effect of Sunday's total solar eclipse was visible to just a few people along a narrow, 155-mile-wide (250-kilometer-wide) band of the Pacific Ocean. Starting north of New Zealand, the path of the moon's shadow swept over a few remote islands—including the Chilean territory of Easter Island (Isla de Pascua)—and ended over the southernmost tip of South America.
  
  Sky-watchers flocked by the thousands to Polynesian islands or booked passage on cruise ships to see the total solar eclipse. Viewers in Valparaiso, 75 miles (121 kilometers) northwest of Santiago, were among those in the Pacific Basin and in South America able to see a partial eclipse.
  
  —with reporting by Andrew Fazekas
  

  Published July 12, 2010

• Easter Island Eclipse Watcher

  Photograph by Eliseo Fernandez, Reuters

  One of Easter Island's famous stone statues, or moai, seems to turn its back on the total solar eclipse Sunday, while a woman uses a special filter for safe eclipse viewing. (Watch video: "Solar Eclipse to Darken Easter Island.")
  Looking directly at the sun—even during an eclipse—can permanently damage human eyes. Eclipse experts recommend wearing sun-safe glasses and watching the spectacle only for short periods.
  

  Published July 12, 2010

• Photograph by Martin Bernetti, AFP/Getty Images

  During Sunday's total solar eclipse, the moon covered the sun over Easter Island, so that only the faint, white ring of the sun's upper atmosphere, or corona, was visible.
  
  Eclipse expert and National Geographic grantee Jay Pasachoff, Field Memorial Professor at Williams College in Massachusetts, was on Easter Island to witness his 51st solar eclipse. According to Pasachoff, eclipses offer scientists unique opportunities to study the corona, parts of which are invisible even to sun-watching satellites.
  "On the days of eclipses—and only on those days—can we supply high-quality images of the inner and middle corona that fill in the gaps in spacecraft coverage," Pasachoff told National Geographic News last week. "We can learn about the sun's magnetic field and the relation of the sun and the Earth by studying eclipses."
  (The National Geographic Society owns National Geographic News.)
  

  Published July 12, 2010

Solar Eclipse Over Chile

The moon takes a bite out of the sun Sunday over the seaside town of Valparaiso, Chile, during a partial solar eclipse. The photographer created the effect by shooting the top part of the picture through a piece of exposed x-ray film.
During a total solar eclipse, the moon passes completely between Earth and the sun, casting a circular shadow over the planet. On the ground, viewers in the full shadow's path—aka the path of totality—see the moon cover the sun's disk for several minutes. Only the sun's faint upper atmosphere, or corona, remains visible.
The full effect of Sunday's total solar eclipse was visible to just a few people along a narrow, 155-mile-wide (250-kilometer-wide) band of the Pacific Ocean. Starting north of New Zealand, the path of the moon's shadow swept over a few remote islands—including the Chilean territory of Easter Island (Isla de Pascua)—and ended over the southernmost tip of South America.

Sky-watchers flocked by the thousands to Polynesian islands or booked passage on cruise ships to see the total solar eclipse. Viewers in Valparaiso, 75 miles (121 kilometers) northwest of Santiago, were among those in the Pacific Basin and in South America able to see a partial eclipse.

—with reporting by Andrew Fazekas

Published July 12, 2010

Afghanistan’s Lithium Wealth Could Remain Elusive

 

The Uyuni Salt Flat in Bolivia is one of the world's large untapped reserves of lithium, a key metal for batteries. Geologists say Afghanistan has similar lithium wealth, but as in Bolivia, politics likely will be the deciding factor in resource development.
Photograph by Noah Friedman-Rudovsky, Bloomberg/ Getty Images
By Henry J. Reske
for National Geographic News
Published June 16, 2010
This story is part of a special series that explores energy issues. For more, visit The Great Energy Challenge.
Somewhere in the trackless lands that make up much of Afghanistan (map), just to the right or left of the Old Silk Road, there are apparently huge caches of untapped wealth in the form of metal and stone prized in both the ancient world and the modern: gold, copper, and lapis lazuli, to name a few.

Secret Tunnel Uncovered in Pharaoh's Tomb

• 
  

  Photograph by Amr Abdallah Dalsh, Reuters

  Standing on wooden steps that protect a 3,300-year-old stone staircase, Egyptian antiquities chief Zahi Hawass poses in 2009 in a mysterious tunnel that links the ancient tomb of Pharaoh Seti I to ... nothing.
  
  After three years of hauling out rubble and artifacts via a railway-car system (rails visible at left), the excavators have hit a wall, the team announced last week. It seems the ancient workers who created the steep tunnel under Egypt's Valley of the Kings near Luxor (map) abruptly stopped after cutting 572 feet (174 meters) into rock.
  
  Hawass, also a National Geographic Society explorer-in-residence, believes work on the tunnel began during the pharaoh's 15-year reign (1294-1279 B.C.), but after the tomb above it was already complete. Work may have stopped when Seti I died.
  
  Archaeologist Mustafa Waziri, regional director for the Egyptian antiquities council, said: "I think they were planning to make another burial chamber down there. Suddenly they stopped. But the condition of the stairs is amazing."
  
  (The National Geographic Society owns National Geographic News.)
  
  —Andrew Bossone and Ted Chamberlain
  

  Published July 7, 2010

Tombs Emerge From Egypt Sands

• Photograph courtesy Egypt Supreme Council of Antiquities

  Workers and archaeologists stand at the 4,200-year-old site of two rock-hewn Egyptian tombs recently excavated near Cairo and unveiled Thursday.
  Featuring boldly painted false doors, the tombs are the last resting places of Shendwa, head of the royal scribes under Pharaoh Pepi II, and his son Khonsu, also a scribe. Both were members of the literate ruling class during ancient Egypt's Old Kingdom (2686 to 2160 B.C.), during which most of Egypt's pyramids were built (ancient Egypt time line).
  Occupying a thousand-square-foot (300-square-meter) site, the tombs were found in the royal burial ground at Saqqara (map)—strangely far from the tomb of Pepi II."We never expected to find a tomb that belongs to [the period of] that king" at the dig site, said Abdul Hakeem Karar, director of the Saqqara necropolis for Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities.
  (Related King Tut pictures: "DNA Study Reveals Health Secrets.")
  —Andrew Bossone in Cairo
  

  Published July 9, 2010

Cocaine Submarine Seized

• Photograph from Reuters

  Ecuadorian police pose atop what U.S. officials called a "game changing"submarine built by drug smugglers on July 2 near the town of San Lorenzo (map), just south of the Colombian border.
  
  
  Unlike previous known "cocaine subs," which could dip only just below the surface, the illegal craft appears capable of diving as deep as 65 feet (20 meters).
  Seized before its maiden voyage, the 98-foot-long (30-meter-long) fiberglass sub was big enough to hold six to ten tons of cocaine and six crew members. The remote swamp camp where it was built was outfitted for up to 50 workers, though only 1 was present at the time of the raid.
  With a ballast system never before seen in a cocaine sub, the handmade sub suggests smugglers are rapidly improving on the more common, semisubmersible designs, which are already difficult to detect.
  "It's obviously an eye-opener," said Michael Braun, a former chief of operations with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), which assisted in the seizure operation.
  "There's been a lot of speculation," said Braun, now with Spectre Group International, a private security company. "But now there's direct evidence that the bad guys have the ability to build these things and put them into service."
  (Related: Get cocaine-submarine pictures and facts from the National Geographic Channel.)
  

  Published July 13, 2010

Close Encounter With Lutetia

Image courtesy ESA

Asteroid 21 Lutetia is exposed, craters and all, in a picture captured Saturday by the European Space Agency's Rosetta spacecraft. Rosetta's close encounter with Lutetia revealed a battered world—a possible remnant from the birth of our solar system, astronomers say.
To snap the above image, Rosetta swooped about 1,965 miles (3,162 kilometers) above Lutetia's surface. The image is the highest-resolution photo taken of the space rock, located more than 270 million miles (440 million kilometers) away from Earth, between Mars and Jupiter. (Watch a video of Rosetta's flyby.)
The sharp edge visible above, at bottom, may be evidence that 81-mile-wide (130-kilometer-wide) Lutetia broke off from a "mother asteroid," said NASA space scientist Claudia Alexander, who led the United States' involvement in the Rosetta mission.

Jungle Cat Mimics Monkey to Lure Prey—A First

The margay cat mimics monkeys while hunting, researchers say (file photo).

Photograph by J.H. Pete Carmichael, Riser/Getty Images

Regulation of Notch1 Signaling by Nrf2: Implications for Tissue Regeneration -- Wakabayashi et al. 3 (130): ra52 -- Science Signaling

Carlos Santana proposes onstage

 

Legendary guitarist Carlos Santana has proposed onstage to his drummer girlfriend, Cindy Blackman.

AAP

LEGENDARY guitarist Carlos Santana is engaged after proposing onstage to his girlfriend, drummer Cindy Blackman.
The proposal came during a tour stop Friday in Tinley Park, Illinois, outside Chicago. His representatives say he popped the question four songs into the concert after a Blackman drum solo.
She said yes, and they sealed it with a kiss, which was met with cheers from the crowd.
The multiplatinum-selling Grammy winner ended a 34-year marriage to Deborah Santana in 2007.

Michael Jackson's grave vandalised

 

Michael Jackson.

AAP

MICHAEL Jackson's final resting place has been vandalised.

A group of fans of the late singer - who died of acute Propofol intoxication last June - managed to obtain access to the Great Mausoleum at Los Angeles' Forest Lawn Memorial Park, with the cemetery now pledging to review security following the incident.

Gibson aims at Hispanics in new rant

 

Mel Gibson is being investigated in a possible domestic violence case involving his ex-girlfriend.OSCAR-WINNING Braveheart director Mel Gibson uses racial language to disparage an Hispanic cleaning lady, in a fresh recording posted online on Tuesday.
The recording, allegedly made in a screaming phone argument with his Russian-born ex-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva, follows the release of earlier rants in which Gibson refers to black people as "n*****s," calls Grigorieva a "whore" and a "bitch in heat," and apparently acknowledges beating her.
In one tape, Lethal Weapon star Gibson even reportedly threatens to kill Grigorieva.

UN to review Aussie gender equality

 

Australia has taken significant steps towards a more gender equal society.AUSTRALIA has thrown some large stones at the glass ceiling since the United Nations last reviewed our gender equality agenda.
So there will be plenty to talk about next week when Australia's four-year progress is reviewed by the UN's division for the advancement of women in New York.

Vitamin D level 'link to Parkinson's'

© iStockphoto.com/Dmitriy Shironosov

GREATER levels of vitamin D have been linked to a lower risk of Parkinson's disease in a study in Finland where low sunlight leads to a chronic lack of the nutrient, researchers said Monday.
Scientists from the National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland, first hypothesised that Parkinson's "may be caused by a continuously inadequate vitamin D status leading to a chronic loss of dopaminergic neurons in the brain."

Obesity gene linked to Alzheimer's

Shopaholics 'may have mental disorder'

Shopaholics may be driven by the same disorder which prompts others to fill their homes with junk.

Local woman rallies her neighbours

Local woman rallies her neighbours
WHEN Marianne Mattingly heard a young girl screaming profanity in the street on a Saturday night, she put it down to the usual drunken shenanigans.

Pacific and European science and technology researchers strengthen relationship

Nine contestants for the 2010 Miss Heilala title, Tonga

Miss Tonga Tourism USA, Nyoka Lavulo

Appeal Court overturns "cruel" flogging sentence for 17-year-old prisoners, Tonga

2 options for Rota, Tinian nurses, Northern Marianas

Interior requests more FBI agents for Northern Mariana Islands

Interior requests more FBI agents for NMI | local-news

Language School Franchise

 

Collapsed flame tree damaging two vehicles. No injuries. Marianas Islands

NO ONE WAS HURT. Department of Public Works personnel extricate a collapsed flame tree from the window of a passing car on Beach Road, Tuesday morning, damaging two vehicles.  Fortunately there were no injuries.

Free health seminars at Joeten-Kiyu library | local-news

Vietnamese Delegation visits Palau | plocal-news

Palau needs solid policies to avoid non-communicable diseases | plocal-news

Palau needs solid policies to avoid non-communicable diseases | plocal-news

MOH considers privatizing services to restore budget cut | plocal-news

Calling all photographers! | health-matters

New rule makes it easier for Veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome to claim benefits | local-news

Looking for America on Saipan | around-the-island

Saipan mayor’s office to host Japanese studentsSaipan mayor’s office to host Japanese students | around-the-island

'Bikini Killer' awaits appeal verdict

Republican Party signs unity pledge

Senator Eddie Baza Calvo signs the Republican Party’s unity pledge at Meskla Restaurant in Hagatna on Tuesday. Looking on are Sen. Ray Tenorio, Lt. Gov. Mike Cruz and Sen. Jim Espaldon. Photo by Zita Y. Taitano

Papua New Guinea men survive ocean ordeal by eating wood - Telegraph

By Bonnie Malkin in Sydney
Published: 4:20PM GMT 18 Nov 2009
Emergency personnel from Majuro Hospital greet the five surviving Papua New Guinea drifters Photo: AFP/GETTY IMAGES
Eight members of an extended family, most of them in their late teens, were left at the mercy of the seas and the elements after their 22-foot boat ran out of fuel on a trip to a neighbouring island. After finally being rescued near Nauru by a US fishing vessel two of them died from severe malnutrition before the captain could reach medical aid. Survivors said a 15-year-old boy had drowned after jumping overboard to rescue clothing that had blown away.

King admits being hurt by WASC report

Wells Fargo’s Saipan, 637 other branches to close down Sept. 4 | local-news

People flock to the U.S. Post Office in Chalan Kanoa, Saipan, Jul 14, 2010

People flock to the U.S. Post Office in Chalan Kanoa yesterday to see whether their refund or federal stimulus checks are already in their mailboxes, following the Fitial administration's mailing out of some 10,000 refund checks worth $6.4 million on Monday night. (Haidee V. Eugenio)

What Your Workspace Says About You- Yahoo! HotJobs

10 Best Places to Live in America, 2010 edition - Yahoo! Real Estate

YAHOO, World News

• Rogue Afghan soldier kills 3 British troops (AP)

  AP - A rogue Afghan soldier fired a rocket-propelled grenade into a group of international forces early Tuesday, killing three British troops, before fleeing, a military spokesman said. Four others were wounded.

• Oil climbs back above $75 (AP)
• Alcoa lifts markets despite Portugal downgrade (AP)
• US vows continued pursuit of Roman Polanski (AP)
• Mugabe: Diamonds can revive Zimbabwean economy (AP)
• Bavaria smoking ban rules out cigarettes at Oktoberfest (Time.com)

» More News

YAHOO, Sports

• Jimenez, Price to start All-Star game (AP)
• Expanded March Madness has extra round (AP)
• Spain comes home to jubilant celebration (AP)
• Fisher says he's staying with Lakers (AP)
• Stern: Heat's James acted within rights (AP)
• Stern fines Gilbert $100,000 for letter (AP)

» More News

YAHOO, Entertainment

• US vows continued pursuit of Roman Polanski (AP)

  AP - From prosecutors in Los Angeles to justice officials in Washington, the Swiss decision to free Roman Polanski was described as a disappointment and to some, an injustice.

• Gibson tape mentions alleged hitting of girlfriend (AP)
• Attorney denies Stamos had fling with 17-year-old (AP)
• Fox, Gyllenhaal back `Stand Up to Cancer' telethon (AP)
• 'Scuse me? Hendrix bandmate sues over '03 release (AP)
• Jerrod Niemann charts unusual path with new album (AP)

» More News

YAHOO, Local

• Grass fire near Clarkston WA burns outbuildings (Seattle Times)
• Coast Guard sends escort for sailboat (Seattle Times)
• Snohomish 'Sovereign Citizen' sentenced on guns, pot charges (seattlepi.com)
• Charge: Child porn defendant caught with children's swimming equipment (seattlepi.com)
• Redmond teacher recognized as video game record holder (KING5 Seattle)
• Casino neighbors complaining about noise (KING5 Seattle)

» More News

YAHOO, Top Stories

• BP prepares to test new cap installed on oil leak (AP) AP - After securing a new, tight-fitting cap on top of the leaking well in the Gulf of Mexico, BP prepared Tuesday to begin tests to see if it will hold and stop fresh oil from polluting the waters for the first time in nearly three months.
  
• Iran: Missing scientist surfaces in Washington (AP)
• 17 dead, 44 missing as landslides hit China towns (AP)
• French parliament set to approve ban on face veils (AP)
• Fidel Castro suddenly back in view on Cuban TV (AP)
• Barefoot Bandit's hometown welcomes his capture (AP)

» More News

Attorney Denies Stamos Had Fling With 17-Year-Old

FILE - In a Monday, Nov. 16, 2009 photo, actor John Stamos is honored with star on the Hollywood...

FILE - In a Monday, Nov. 16, 2009 photo, actor John Stamos is honored with star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles . Lawyers for a Michigan couple accused of trying to extort money from Stamos say the actor's private life should be fair game at trial next week. Prosecutors are asking a judge to bar questions about Stamos' sex life and whether he had an intimate relationship with one of the defendants, Allison Coss. They say it's irrelevant. Coss and Scott Sippola are accused of demanding $680,000 from Stamos or they would sell photos of him with cocaine and strippers. Federal prosecutors say the photos never existed. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)

(AP)

Jimmie Johnson, company man: his daughter's initials are 'GM'

By Jay Busbee

We all have different ways of showing our loyalty to our favorite companies. Some of us wear their T-shirts, some of us write songs in their honor, some of us even get tattoos to brand ourselves forever with our corporate love.
But Jimmie Johnson, as he so often does, has gone and trumped us all. As reported first on Johnson's Twitter feed @DoubleJ48, the family has named his brand-new daughter Genevieve Marie.

Lady Gaga Photo Irks Beatles Fans

Lady Gaga's stirring up controversy yet again -- but this time all she did was play a little piano. A photo of the "Bad Romance" crooner seated at John Lennon's famous white Steinway recently hit the Web, and Beatles fans are up in arms.

John's son Sean Lennon posted the photo on Twitter with the caption: "With gaga at mom's house, she's belting on the white piano..." The instrument was a gift from The Beatles' frontman to Sean's mother, Yoko Ono, and it sits out in the open at Yoko's home.

In the pic, the singer wears typically skimpy Gaga-gear (a skintight body suit and thigh-high fishnets) while singing and tickling away at the keys. The image drew an outcry from some Beatles fans who considered Gaga unworthy of the iconic instrument.

Australia shrugs off Timor refugee snub

 

AFP/File – Activists from a refugee solidarity campaign group are seen during a rally in Sydney. Australia Tuesday

Maldives Luxury Resorts by Atoll Paradise

7 of 12 Rota nurses abandon posts, Marianas

Wise Women Village Project,, Marianas, Jul 13, 2010

SUMMER READERS. Desirae Herrera, left, of the Wise Women Village Project, helps distribute books to children who enrolled for the summer reading program at the Joeten-Kiyu Public Library in Susupe.

FSM teachers get boost | pacific-news

Wells Fargo may shut down Saipan office

RCS holds musical recital dedicated to Father's Day , Saipan

The students of RCS School of Music pose for a souvenir picture after a job well done. (Contributed Photo)

The RCS School of Music held its 4th Musical Recital at the Agape Auditorium on June 19, 2010.

Presented by 44 young students who displayed their talents in singing and playing the piano and guitar, the event was dedicated to Father’s Day and was intended to showcase their achievements as they step to another level of music.

The RCS School of Music acknowledged the assistance of the Tan Siu Lin Foundation, Eucon International School, Pastor Eric Abragan, Pastor Roger Abe, and Nat Angeles who made this event successful.

A June wedding for Perry and Pebbles

Steve Newman, ex-CNMI governor's legal counsel, passes away in Oregon

Steve Newman

Spain goalkeeper Iker Casillas holds up the World Cup trophy

Spain goalkeeper Iker Casillas holds up the World Cup trophy following the World Cup final soccer match between the Netherlands and Spain at Soccer City in Johannesburg, South Africa, Sunday, July 11, 2010. Spain won 1-0. (AP)

VILLAGOMEZ CLAN REUNION, Saipan

VILLAGOMEZ CLAN REUNION: Members of the Villagomez clan pose for a group photo after their Joeten-Kiyu Public Library beautification project last July 7. (Contributed Photo)

Cheap flights to New Caledonia - Compare airlines for Cheap New Caledonia flights

Fashion and beauty news - NZ Herald

Billabong hasn't disclosed what it it will pay for RVCA. Photo / Kenny Rodger

Billabong drops

Sarkozy protests his innocence in TV interview - Life & Style - NZ Herald News

Nicolas Sarkozy has appeared on French television to deny allegations he received 'envelopes of cash' from L'Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt. Photo / AP

Attorney says John Stamos had fling with 17-year-old - Entertainment - NZ Herald News

Soccer: Herbert to stay in NZ - Sport - NZ Herald News

Ricki Herbert celebrating after the All Whites match against Italy. Photo / AP

Gillard looks on course for election in late August - World - NZ Herald News

Gillard has made it clear she does not intend to move on the emissions trading scheme sidelined by Rudd. Photo / Getty Images

Oh Lord's, the stats don't lie - Cricket - Fox Sports

Tim Paine and Steve Smith

Show this video content

There is a video associated with this story.

On your bike ... Aussies have the wood on Pakistan. Colleen Petch

Fox Sports Stats suggests Australia have edge over Pakistan in Test series

By John Clark
foxsports.com.au
July 13, 2010

Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi says recent Twenty20 wins over Australia have given his side confidence - but he might want to take a look at our exclusive n

Dogs learn new tricks, AU

WITH swishing tails and paws poised, pooches took to Tasmania's first Dancing with Dogs workshop.

All weekend, dogs and their owners learned new moves, weaving through legs, trotting back and forth and even tottering on hind paws, with the guidance of a Victorian instructor.
Many of the dogs had not taken part in the freestyle before, although they were au fait with the finer points of obedience.
Dog dancing takes obedience and bonding to a new and musical level.
Organisers hope it's the start of a regular program.
Pictures: Dancing with Dogs

what is this?

Dog Freestyle Dancing Competition

Dancing with the dogs

Brookie the Shetland sheep dog jumps through the arms of owner Cathy Nunn, of West Moonah. Picture: SAM ROSEWARNE

Cancer service upgrade doubt, Tasmania, AU,

   NICK CLARK   |   July 13, 2010 08.58am

THE Opposition has accused the Government of breaking an election promise on cancer services in the North-West.
Opposition Leader Will Hodgman said new figures showed that more than 300 patients from the North-West travelled to Launceston and Hobart for radiation therapy in 2009-10.
"It is estimated that each cancer patient from the North-West will travel an average of 9000km in the course of their treatment, with each course of radiation requiring an average of 21 visits," Mr Hodgman said.
"These patients will be forced to continue to travel, putting additional pressure on their health and family relationships at a time it can be least afforded."
Mr Hodgman said that many cancer patients from the North-West chose not to undergo treatment because of the difficulties of travelling.
"In the election campaign, the Premier, David Bartlett, said he would fast-track the North-West cancer clinic to enable full services to be available before 2016. Now, after the election, he's broken that promise and the timeline has blown out another two years," he said.
But Health Minister Michelle O'Byrne said the State Government would abide by a commitment to deliver world-class cancer services to Tasmanians living in the North-West.
"Currently, northern Tasmania has a demonstrated need for three linear accelerators," she said.
"The centre at the LGH will have three linear accelerators in October 2010."
Ms O'Byrne said a fourth linear accelerator would be provided in the North-West when there was sufficient demand for a viable service.
In February the Australian Medical Association spoke out against plans for a linear accelerator at the North-West Regional Hospital, saying the population of 100,000 was too small to support such a machine in Burnie.
Ms O'Byrne said the State Government would apply for a linear accelerator licence for the North-West before 2018.

what is this?