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Source: http://blogcritics.org/video/article/movie-review-wish-you-were-here/
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May 23, 2013 ? Bochum's medics have succeeded in treating cerebral palsy with autologous cord blood. Following a cardiac arrest with severe brain damage, a 2.5 year old boy had been in a persistent vegetative state -- with minimal chances of survival. Just two months after treatment with the cord blood containing stem cells, the symptoms improved significantly; over the following months, the child learned to speak simple sentences and to move.
"Our findings, along with those from a Korean study, dispel the long-held doubts about the effectiveness of the new therapy," says Dr. Arne Jensen of the Campus Clinic Gynaecology. Together with his colleague Prof. Dr. Eckard Hamelmann of the Department of Paediatrics at the Catholic Hospital Bochum (University Clinic of the RUB), he reports in the journal Case Reports in Transplantation.
The parents searched the literature for treatment options
At the end of November 2008, the child suffered from cardiac arrest with severe brain damage and was subsequently in a persistent vegetative state with his body paralysed. Up to now, there has been no treatment for the cause of what is known as infantile cerebral palsy. "In their desperate situation, the parents searched the literature for alternative therapies," Arne Jensen explains. "They contacted us and asked about the possibilities of using their son's cord blood, frozen at his birth."
"Threatening, if not hopeless prognosis"
Nine weeks after the brain damage, on 27 January 2009, the doctors administered the prepared blood intravenously. They studied the progress of recovery at 2, 5, 12, 24, 30, and 40 months after the insult. Usually, the chances of survival after such a severe brain damage and more than 25 minutes duration of resuscitation are six per cent. Months after the severe brain damage, the surviving children usually only exhibit minimal signs of consciousness. "The prognosis for the little patient was threatening if not hopeless," the Bochum medics say.
Rapid recovery after cord blood therapy
After the cord blood therapy, the patient, however, recovered relatively quickly. Within two months, the spasticity decreased significantly. He was able to see, sit, smile, and to speak simple words again. Forty months after treatment, the child was able to eat independently, walk with assistance, and form four-word sentences. "Of course, on the basis of these results, we cannot clearly say what the cause of the recovery is," Jensen says. "It is, however, very difficult to explain these remarkable effects by purely symptomatic treatment during active rehabilitation."
In animal studies, stem cells migrate to damaged brain tissue
In animal studies, scientists have been researching the therapeutic potential of cord blood for some time. In a previous study with rats, RUB researchers revealed that cord blood cells migrate to the damaged area of ??the brain in large numbers within 24 hours of administration. In March 2013, in a controlled study of one hundred children, Korean doctors reported for the first time that they had successfully treated cerebral palsy with allogeneic cord blood.
Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/vjeUzDiJFyw/130523101822.htm
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BEIJING (AP) -- Two emotionless prison guards watch Ai Weiwei as he eats, sleeps, paces, showers ? and even sits on the toilet ? in the Chinese artist's new obscenity-filled, metaphor-rich music video mocking state power.
The video accompanying the visual artist's single "Dumbass" ? released Wednesday but blocked online in mainland China ? is meant to reconstruct his 81-day detention in 2011, which was part of an overall crackdown on dissent. Ai's subsequent conviction for tax evasion has been seen as punishment for his activism.
"People who are detained suffer traumas, and those who detain us know this very well," Ai said at a video premiere ceremony in Beijing. "This is why we are secretly detained, blindfolded, cuffed, not allowed to meet with lawyers and relatives.
"I had been thinking about how to recover from the trauma. And I came up with the idea of using music to convey a sentiment that is tremendously secret, and private, to the public," Ai said.
After his release, Ai's design firm was slapped with a $2.4 million tax bill, which he fought unsuccessfully in the Chinese courts.
Ai has irked Beijing by using his art and online profile to draw attention to injustices in China and the need for greater transparency and rule of law.
His music video, screeching with heavily distorted guitars, depicts an insensitive, overbearing state power that tramples on individual rights. The Chinese-language lyrics are full of obscene insults, and the video images include animals that have become euphemisms for defiantly circumventing strict censorship.
"This video was not shot for me, and this song, I am not singing for myself," Ai said. "This is dedicated to all those people who do not have the opportunity to raise their voice, who will never be able to raise their voices. This is not just one generation. In the past 60 years there have been innumerable amounts of people who have been killed or sent away from their homes, even tortured to death."
However, web surfers in China are unlikely to see it.
During the premiere, Ai and his assistants posted links to the video on social media and file-sharing sites that are blocked in China, including Twitter and YouTube. They also tried ? in front of reporters ? to post to Chinese sites including tudou.com, but those attempts weren't successful, apparently because censors who review the content before it becomes public rejected the video.
The music video has Ai himself singing the song's explicit lyrics.
"Dumbass" is the first single from Ai's forthcoming music album "The Divine Comedy."
LONDON, ENGLAND - FILE: Chinese Artist Ai Weiwei holds some seeds from his Unilever Installation 'Sunflower Seeds' at The Tate Modern on October 11, 2010 in London, England. Chinese state radio ... more? LONDON, ENGLAND - FILE: Chinese Artist Ai Weiwei holds some seeds from his Unilever Installation 'Sunflower Seeds' at The Tate Modern on October 11, 2010 in London, England. Chinese state radio reported on June 22, 2011 that the Chinese artist Ai Weiwei has been freed on bail after confessing to tax evasion. Ai was detained on April 3, 2011 and is reported to be in poor health. (Photo by Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images) less? ?Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ai-weiwei-uses-music-mock-135539526.html
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May 22, 2013 ? Until now, little was scientifically known about the human potential to cultivate compassion -- the emotional state of caring for people who are suffering in a way that motivates altruistic behavior.
A new study by researchers at the Center for Investigating Healthy Minds at the Waisman Center of the University of Wisconsin-Madison shows that adults can be trained to be more compassionate. The report, published Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, investigates whether training adults in compassion can result in greater altruistic behavior and related changes in neural systems underlying compassion.
"Our fundamental question was, 'Can compassion be trained and learned in adults? Can we become more caring if we practice that mindset?'" says Helen Weng, lead author of the study and a graduate student in clinical psychology. "Our evidence points to yes."
In the study, the investigators trained young adults to engage in compassion meditation, an ancient Buddhist technique to increase caring feelings for people who are suffering. In the meditation, participants envisioned a time when someone has suffered and then practiced wishing that his or her suffering was relieved. They repeated phrases to help them focus on compassion such as, "May you be free from suffering. May you have joy and ease."
Participants practiced with different categories of people, first starting with a loved one, someone whom they easily felt compassion for, like a friend or family member. Then, they practiced compassion for themselves and, then, a stranger. Finally, they practiced compassion for someone they actively had conflict with called the "difficult person," such as a troublesome coworker or roommate.
"It's kind of like weight training," Weng says. "Using this systematic approach, we found that people can actually build up their compassion 'muscle' and respond to others' suffering with care and a desire to help."
Compassion training was compared to a control group that learned cognitive reappraisal, a technique where people learn to reframe their thoughts to feel less negative. Both groups listened to guided audio instructions over the Internet for 30 minutes per day for two weeks. "We wanted to investigate whether people could begin to change their emotional habits in a relatively short period of time," says Weng.
The real test of whether compassion could be trained was to see if people would be willing to be more altruistic -- even helping people they had never met. The research tested this by asking the participants to play a game in which they were given the opportunity to spend their own money to respond to someone in need (called the "Redistribution Game"). They played the game over the Internet with two anonymous players, the "Dictator" and the "Victim." They watched as the Dictator shared an unfair amount of money (only $1 out of $10) with the Victim. They then decided how much of their own money to spend (out of $5) in order to equalize the unfair split and redistribute funds from the Dictator to the Victim.
"We found that people trained in compassion were more likely to spend their own money altruistically to help someone who was treated unfairly than those who were trained in cognitive reappraisal," Weng says.
"We wanted to see what changed inside the brains of people who gave more to someone in need. How are they responding to suffering differently now?" asks Weng. The study measured changes in brain responses using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) before and after training. In the MRI scanner, participants viewed images depicting human suffering, such as a crying child or a burn victim, and generated feelings of compassion towards the people using their practiced skills. The control group was exposed to the same images, and asked to recast them in a more positive light as in reappraisal.
The researchers measured how much brain activity had changed from the beginning to the end of the training, and found that the people who were the most altruistic after compassion training were the ones who showed the most brain changes when viewing human suffering. They found that activity was increased in the inferior parietal cortex, a region involved in empathy and understanding others. Compassion training also increased activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the extent to which it communicated with the nucleus accumbens, brain regions involved in emotion regulation and positive emotions.
"People seem to become more sensitive to other people's suffering, but this is challenging emotionally. They learn to regulate their emotions so that they approach people's suffering with caring and wanting to help rather than turning away," explains Weng.
Compassion, like physical and academic skills, appears to be something that is not fixed, but rather can be enhanced with training and practice. "The fact that alterations in brain function were observed after just a total of seven hours of training is remarkable," explains UW-Madison psychology and psychiatry professor Richard J. Davidson, founder and chair of the Center for Investigating Healthy Minds and senior author of the article.
"There are many possible applications of this type of training," Davidson says. "Compassion and kindness training in schools can help children learn to be attuned to their own emotions as well as those of others, which may decrease bullying. Compassion training also may benefit people who have social challenges such as social anxiety or antisocial behavior."
Weng is also excited about how compassion training can help the general population. "We studied the effects of this training with healthy participants, which demonstrated that this can help the average person. I would love for more people to access the training and try it for a week or two -- what changes do they see in their own lives?"
Both compassion and reappraisal trainings are available on the Center for Investigating Healthy Minds' website. "I think we are only scratching the surface of how compassion can transform people's lives," says Weng.
Other authors on the paper were Andrew S. Fox, Alexander J. Shackman, Diane E. Stodola, Jessica Z. K. Caldwell, Matthew C. Olson, and Gregory M. Rogers.
The work was supported by funds from the National Institutes of Health; a Hertz Award to the UW-Madison Department of Psychology; the Fetzer Institute; The John Templeton Foundation; the Impact Foundation; the J. W. Kluge Foundation; the Mental Insight Foundation; the Mind and Life Institute; and gifts from Bryant Wanguard, Ralph Robinson, and Keith and Arlene Bronstein.
Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/CY2vql1AGYE/130522160352.htm
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By Barbara Liston
ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - Thousands of people have protested against the prosecution of an 18-year-old Florida high school senior after her parents launched an Internet petition claiming she was charged with sex crimes only because her lover, a then 14-year-old schoolmate, was another girl.
By late Monday afternoon, almost 100,000 people had signed a Change.org petition or joined a Facebook group called "Free Kate" in support of Kaitlyn Hunt.
Indian River County prosecutor Bruce Colton said on Monday that he would not be moved by the public campaign because he said sexual orientation was not an issue. Colton said Kaitlyn was charged like any other adult for having sex with a minor.
"In most instances, it's a male and a female. But certainly I hope people aren't saying the law should be different because it's two females," Colton said.
Kaitlyn was arrested in February on two charges of lewd and lascivious assault on a minor, a second degree felony. Florida law prohibits anyone 18 or older from having sex with someone aged 12 to 16. If convicted, she would face up to 15 years in prison and be required to register as a sex offender.
Colton said he had offered Kaitlyn a plea deal in March in which the charges would be reduced to child abuse, a third degree felony; he would recommend to the judge a sentence of community control and probation; and he would not discourage the judge from wiping her record clean. The offer is good until May 24, after which they will move toward a July 15 trial date, he said.
Kaitlyn's father, Steven Hunt, of Palm Bay, said the deal was not good enough.
"My child is far from a child abuser," Hunt said, noting that the two girls met when Kaitlyn was 17.
Kaitlyn, who Hunt said participated on the cheerleading and basketball teams and sang in the school chorus, was expelled from the high school and is due to graduate in June through an alternative school setting.
The parents of the other teenager could not be reached for comment.
Hunt said he had tried to resolve the issue through mediation but that the alleged victim's family would not participate, leaving him no option but to go public. Hunt said he believed "100 percent" that his daughter's sexual orientation was a factor in their complaint.
In his Change.org petition, Hunt stated that "Kaitlyn's girlfriend's parents are pressing charges because they are against the same-sex relationship, even though their daughter has stated that this is a consensual relationship."
The investigation of Kaitlyn was triggered by a complaint from the 14-year-old girl's parents after they learned of the relationship at a school basketball game, Colton said.
The girl, who has since turned 15, told investigators about having sex with Kaitlyn in a bathroom at Sebastian River High School and at Kaitlyn's home, and cooperated with detectives by calling Kaitlyn on the phone, according to the arrest affidavit. Kaitlyn admitted to the relationship after her arrest, the report said.
Hunt said his daughter never thought about their age difference in part because he said the 14-year-old was physically larger than his daughter and they played on the varsity basketball team together.
(Editing by David Adams, Toni Reinhold)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/parents-turn-internet-help-daughter-charged-sex-girl-234720631.html
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Source: http://lauren.kinja.com/gawker-dont-ask-dont-tell-faggot-inside-marine-corps-509141502
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<em>Series premieres Wed., May 1 at 8:30 p.m. ET.</em> <strong>What To Know</strong>: Starring J.K. Simmons and Kyle Bornheimer, "Family Tools" centers on a guy who returns home to take over his dad's hardware business when he finds himself jobless.
<em>Season 10 premieres Wed., May 1 at 9 p.m. ET.</em> <strong> What To Know</strong>: This season there will be a "Breaking Bad" themed episode and the crew will tackle myths such as "Are women better than men at multitasking?" and "Which is more sanitary: drying your hands with a hand dryer or a hand towel?"
<em>Series premieres Wed., May 1 at 10 p.m. ET.</em> <strong>What To Know</strong>: Hosted by Kal Penn, this reality competition show will give contestants 30 minutes to solve a daunting engineering challenge.
<em>Series premieres Thurs., May 2 at 10:30 p.m. ET.</em> <strong>What To Know:</strong> The series follows Zach (Bo Burnham), who hires a camera crew to film him throughout his daily life as a part of his quest to become an overnight celebrity ? even though he possesses no real talent. From Zach?s attempts to become a celebrity chef or a ring-tone recording artist to purposefully going missing, he?ll try any avenue to get noticed and stop at nothing until he reaches fame.
<em>Series premieres Thurs., May 2 at 10 p.m. ET.</em> <strong>What To Know:</strong> For the legions who can't say goodbye to "Jersey Shore" just yet, the legacy continues as we follow GTLer Vinny into his sure-to-be-scintillating home life. The premise has random "celebrities" dropping by his house for impromptu interviews -- and Vinny going to visit their homes, too.
<em>Series premieres Mon., May 6 at 10 p.m. ET.</em> <strong>What To Know:</strong> Bravo's new eight-episode docu-series follows four newlywed couples and their most personal moments, from their wedding day to their first anniversary. There's bi-coastal Christian couple Kimberly and Alaska; domestic partners Jeff and Blair, who are 16 years apart; Indian pop star Tina and her modeled-turned-tech-geek husband Tarz; and suburbanites Kathryn and John.
<em>Season 2 premieres Wed., May 8 at 10 p.m. ET.</em> <strong>Where We Left Off:</strong> Because we're all so fascinated by real estate that we could never realistically afford, this show is returning for a second season. C'mon, it's fun to live vicariously.
<em>Season 6 premieres Thurs., May 9 at 8 p.m. ET.</em> <strong>Where We Left Off:</strong> With Season 5 episodes titled "Hillbilly Wipeout," "Gorillas In Our Midst" and "Hotties vs. Nerds 2.0," there can only be more magic in store for Season 6. Viewers of all stripes love watching people hurt themselves in new and remarkable ways.
<em>Series premieres Sun., May 12 at 10:30 p.m. ET.</em> <strong>What To Know:</strong> "Bridesmaids" funnyman Chris O'Dowd stars in Christopher Guest's ("Best in Show") new documentary-style series about a hapless thirtysomething trying to find meaning in his life by tracing his heritage.
<em>Season 4 premieres Sun., May 12 at 9 p.m. ET.</em> <strong>Where We Left Off:</strong> We were hoping that those nails and that hair would be around for another season -- and our wish came true! Theresa Caputo is back, communicating with the dead, for at least another 30 episodes.
<em>Season 2 premieres Sun., May 12 at10 p.m. ET .</em> <strong>Where We Left Off:</strong> Speculation and accusations about the show?s ?reality? aside, ?Breaking Amish? was a hit for TLC. Now, the five Amish and Mennonite rebels, who moved to New York City in the show?s first season, are headed south to Florida ... but trouble seems to follow them wherever they go.
<em>Season 2 premieres Thurs., May 9 at 10 p.m. ET.</em> <strong>Where We Left Off: </strong> In Season 1, we met the owners and employees of JJK Security in small-town Ringgold, Georgia, and Season 2 will offer more insight into the unscripted lives of this unusual group, including Dennis' ongoing journey in his gender transition from female to male.
<em>Season 10 premieres Tues., May 14 at 8 p.m. ET. </em> <strong>Where We Left Off:</strong> After a season of intense competition, Eliana Girard and Chehon Wespi-Tschopp took home first place wins, both for ballet, while Tiffany Maher was the female runner-up for jazz and Cyrus Spencer was the male runner-up for popping/animation.
<em>Series premieres Thurs., May 23 at 9 p.m. ET.</em> <strong>What To Know:</strong> Billed as a unique, original approach to the typical cop drama, "Motive" operates backwards. Each episode starts off showing the victim, and then works its way towards finding the perpetrator and his/her motivations by the end of the episode.
<em>Series premieres Mon., May 20 at 8:30 p.m. ET.</em> <strong>What To Know: </strong> The Fox comedy centers on estranged siblings Henry (Scott Foley), Chloe (Becki Newton) and Jimmy (T.J. Miller) as they attempt to "rediscover their lives" with the money their father left them.
<em>Season 4 premieres Wed., May 22 at 8 p.m. ET.</em> <strong>Where We Left Off:</strong> The home cook competition crowned its third consecutive female winner last season, Christine Ha. Cool fact: She is legally blind. No telling what twists they'll have this season.
<em>Season 4 premieres Thurs., May 23 at 10 p.m. ET.</em> <strong>Where We Left Off:</strong> The last time we saw the cops at 15 Division, they were all in the midst of making some serious decisions about their lives -- including career calls, a possible transfer and, for Andy, a major emotional choice.
<em>Series premieres Thurs., May 23 at 8 p.m. ET.</em> <strong>What To Know:</strong> After a near-death experience, Beth (Anne Heche) is revived only to realize she now has a direct line to God. Of course, her husband Tom (Michael Landes) is skeptical and dismissive -- but when inexplicable things begin to happen, everyone?s beliefs are tested.
<em>Season 9 premieres Mon., May 20 at 9 p.m ET.</em> <strong>Where We Left Off: </strong> Emily Maynard of North Carolina thought she'd finally found love in Jef Holm, but after only being engaged for a short time, they broke up. Here's to hoping "Bachelor" contestant Desiree Hartsock has better luck!
<em>Season 4 premieres Mon., May 26 at 12:01 a.m. PT.</em> <strong>Where We Left Off:</strong> The Bluths are finally back, but there's no telling where and how we'll actually find them. One thing we do know: Each of the nine main characters will have their own episode in this season's 15-episode order, chronicling what they've been up to the last seven years. Some may cross over, but they'll all be complementary -- and they're all meant to set up an eventual "AD" movie. Considering the season will all be available the day it premieres, it sounds pretty perfect for a marathon viewing.
<em>Season 4 premieres Mon., May 27 at 9 p.m. ET.</em> <strong>Where We Left Off:</strong> In the Season 3 finale, Jim (Matt Passmore) proposed to Callie (Kiele Sanchez), even though she passed her board exam and may move to Atlanta. But she didn't respond yet ...
<em>Season 2 premieres Mon., May 27 at 10 p.m. ET.</em> <strong>Where We Left Off:</strong> Did Walt Longmire murder his wife's killer? Season 1 saw flashbacks of the Sheriff of Absaroka County, Wyoming, that would support the theory, but when the FBI asked him in the Season 1 finale, he simply said, "No."
<em>Season 3 premieres Tues., May 28 at 8 p.m. ET.</em> <strong>What To Know:</strong> As in the seasons before it, "Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition" will center on a group of people losing large amounts of weight over the course of a year through diet and exercise.
<em>Series premieres Tues., May 28 at 10 p.m. ET.</em> <strong>What To Know</strong>: The six-part series takes viewers behind the scenes of the Brooklyn District Attorney's office. ADA Kathleen Collins (pictured) is just one of the profiled attorneys. "When you?re on trial, there?s never a day that you really go home and don?t feel stressed," she said.
<em>Series premieres Wed., May 29 at 8 p.m. ET.</em> <strong>What To Know:</strong> Based on a popular British reality competition, this new Jeff Foxworthy-hosted show features 10 home cooks vying for the title of best amateur baker in America, as well as a contract to publish their own cookbook and a $250,000 grand prize. Not bad for a couple of pies work, huh?
<em>Season 3 premieres Wed., May 29 at 8 p.m. ET.</em> <strong>Where We Left Off:</strong> Joe married Russian businesswoman Elena, but then she received a call that prompted her to fly back to Russia to testify for one of her innocent colleagues. The Season 2 finale ended with Mel -- who officiated the wedding -- and Joe toasting to the next "Mrs. Longo," wherever she may be.
<em>Season 2 premieres Wed., March 29 at 8:30 p.m. ET. </em> <strong>Where We Left Off:</strong> Ben and Riley's friend Katie faced some major drama when they found themselves in bed together after a night of partying. The only problem with their little tryst was that Katie was supposed to get married (to someone else) the next day. Luckily, they soon find out that nothing happened, and Riley and Ben share a romantic dance.
<em>Series premieres Wed., May 29 at 9 p.m. ET.</em> <strong>What To Know: </strong> The half-hour comedy clip show, hosted by "Baby Daddy" star Melissa Peterman, features the funniest, most outrageous and memorable dances caught on camera. The dancers from the top two clips of the week compete on stage for a chance to win $10,000.
<em>Season 3 premieres Sun., June 2 at 9 p.m. ET.</em> <strong>Where We Left Off:</strong> Season 2 ended with Rosie Larsen's Aunt Terry being arrested for her murder. Detectives Linden (Mireille Enos) and Holder (Joel Kinnaman) got a call about a new case, but Linden wanted no part of it. Season 3 picks up a year later, with Holder searching for a runaway girl and discovering a string of murders connected to one of Linden's old cases. Though Linden is no longer a detective, she inevitably gets pulled back in.
<em>Season 5 premieres Sun., June 2 at 8 p.m. ET.</em> <strong> Where We Left Off</strong>: The "Housewives" were fractured -- to say the least -- but the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy brings new beginnings for the first ladies of the Garden State. Of course things could certainly go sour yet again.
<em>Series premieres Sun., June 2 at 9 p.m. ET.</em> <strong>What To Know</strong>: The reality series follows six college-educated women from affluent areas of Long Island who are still living with their families.
<em>Season 8 premieres Sun., May 20 at 9 p.m. ET.</em> <strong>Where We Left Off:</strong> Kim and Kanye?s relationship was just breaking the Internet, and now we?ll see it all on screen -- including their baby drama. Khloe?s fertility issues continue, but new ?castmember? Brody Jenner -- Bruce?s son from a previous marriage who is no stranger to reality TV -- looks to be this season?s biggest diva.
<em>Series premieres Mon., June 3 at 10 p.m. ET.</em> <strong>What To Know:</strong> Soapy drama "Mistresses" stars Alyssa Milano, Yunjin Kim, Rochelle Aytes and Jes Macallan as four friends all struggling with different issues in their love lives, with men (including Jason George) and other women complicating matters. And as the title suggests, some of them are flirting with disaster and becoming mistresses themselves.
<em>Series premieres Mon., June 3 at 9 p.m. ET. </em> <strong>What To Know: </strong>This new one-hour drama from executive producer Jennifer Lopez follows a multi-ethnic, blended family, being raised by two working moms, as they welcome another troubled child into their home.
<em>Season 3 premieres Mon., June 3 at 10 p.m. ET.</em> <strong>Where We Left Off:</strong> At the end of last season, Allison broke up with Scott, Peter warned Isaac and Derek that a new pack made up entirely of Alpha werewolves was coming, and said Alphas trapped Boyd and Erica in the woods, leaving viewers uncertain of their fate. Season 3 will pick up four months later, and focus on the introduction of the Alpha pack and the havoc they wreak.
<em>Season 2 premieres Mon., June 3 at 10 p.m. ET.</em> <strong>Where We Left Off: </strong> Throughout Sesaon 1 we got to know Auti, Mia, Tiphany and Chelsie, four women living in Hollywood who also happen to all be in wheelchairs. Season 2 will follow the foursome's new loves and new adventures, including 21-year-old Chelsie's decision to move out of her parents' home.
<em>Season 8 premieres Tues., June 4 at 9 p.m. ET</em> <strong>Where We Left Off:</strong> Last season, traveling dog act Olate Dogs was crowned the winner. This year, a new crop of performers will compete for the $1 million prize. Spice Girl Mel B. and Heidi Klum join the judging panel with Howie Mandel and Howard Stern.
<em>Season 7 premieres Thursday, June 6 at 9 p.m. ET.</em> <strong>Where We Left Off:</strong> In an effort to get more information on Riley, Michael sent Bly to tail her to a meeting with the cartel kingpin, but a cartel member disguised as security blew up Bly's car, killing him and destroying the evidence they collected on Riley. Michael later incapacitated Riley and got her to agree to confess. Then, Fiona, Madeline, Sam and Jesse were released from their prison cells. Michael explained he "did what [he] had to do," but Fiona corrected him, saying, "You did what you wanted to do."
<em>"Graceland" premieres Thurs., June 6 at 10 p.m. ET.</em> <strong>What To Know:</strong> This cop drama, starring Daniel Sunjata and Aaron Tveit, follows a special group of law enforcement agents from the FBI, the DEA and U.S. Customs who all live under the same roof in sunny Southern California. Like frat guys (and girls), but with badges.
<em>Series premieres Thurs., June 6 at 8 p.m. ET.</em> <strong>What To Know:</strong> Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is producing this competition series to test the strength, courage and integrity of a diverse group of nine individuals. Each week, the contestants will be challenged physically, mentally and morally as they try to prove that they truly deserve the title of "The Hero" and the life-changing grand prize that goes with it.
<em>Series premieres Thurs., June 6 at 9 p.m. ET.</em> <strong>What To Know:</strong> Contestants on this "Survivor"-esque reality show are dropped into the wilderness with only a bottle of water and a GPS device on a mission to find a briefcase filled with $100,000.
<em>Season 2 premieres Fri., June 7 at 10 p.m. ET.</em> <strong>Where We Left Off:</strong> According to series lead Rachel Nichols, Season 2 is all about responsibility. Kiera, Alec and even the terrorists at Liber8 all have to make intense choices that could change the very fabric of their worlds.
<em>Season 8 premieres Sun., June 30 at 9 p.m. ET.</em> <strong>Where We Left Off: </strong> Deb finally learned the truth about Dexter's dark secret, and took a page out of her step-brother's book in the shocking season finale. Can she live with what she did? And can Dexter escape the series without being brought to justice in this final season?
<em>Season 5 premieres Sat., June 8 at 10 p.m. ET.</em> <strong>Where We Left Off:</strong> Our favorite supernatural threesome is back from across the pond for their fifth and final season where they'll finally confront the Devil, once and for all. No biggie.
<em>Series premiere Sat., June 8 at 9 p.m. ET.</em> <strong>What To Know:</strong> The 12-episode British series follows the epic sea journey of the flawed hero Sinbad (Elliot Knight), who embarks on a quest to rid himself of a curse and embrace his destiny. Look for "Lost" alum Naveen Andrews as Lord Akbari.
<em>Series premieres Sat., June 8 at 10 p.m. ET.</em> <strong> What To Know</strong>: The 13-episode first season follows a team of animal experts and scientists that investigate paranormal events.
<em>Season 3 premieres Sun., June 9 at 10 p.m. ET.</em> <strong>Where We Left Off:</strong> Last season ended with the arrival of a new species of alien, and Anne became pregnant with Tom's child. Season 3 will explore whether the new alien is on the side of the humans or has another dark purpose in mind. We'll also learn what happened to Hal while he was unconscious, and what that might mean for the rebellion.
<em>Season 2 summer premiere Mon., June 10 at 8 p.m. ET.</em> <strong>Where We Left Off</strong>: "Switched At Birth" left on a big cliffhanger: Daphne struggled to keep the Carlton School for the Deaf open, John's campaign for office came to a startling halt and Emmett told Bay about Daphne and Noah's kiss.
<em>Season 2 premieres Mon., June 10 at 9 p.m. ET.</em> <strong>Where We Left Off</strong>: Rusty became a ward of the state to the delight of everybody, and Captain Raydor continued to gain the trust and respect of the Major Crimes unit.
<em>Series premieres Mon., June 10 at 10 p.m. ET.</em> <strong>What To Know:</strong> Based on author David Baldacci?s bestselling private eye series, Rebecca Romijn and Jon Tenney star as the titular former Secret Service agents now working as private investigators who aren?t always by-the-books.
<em>Season 4 premieres Tues., June 11 at 8 p.m. ET.</em> <strong>Where We Left Off:</strong> Red Coat, who looked a whole lot like Ali, saved Emily, Aria, Hanna and Mona from a fire, while Spencer looked on in shock. The first episode of Season 4 is titled "A Is For A-L-I-V-E" and <a href="http://www.eonline.com/news/394204/spoiler-chat-scoop-on-pretty-little-liars-once-upon-a-time-revolution-new-girl-and-more" target="_hplink">E! News reports that viewers will meet Marion, Toby's mother</a>, who was <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jaimie-etkin/pretty-little-liars-recap_b_2673316.html" target="_hplink">revealed to be dead in Season 3, Episode 18, "Dead To Me."</a> "All of the questions fans have will be answered," <a href="http://www.wetpaint.com/pretty-little-liars/articles/pretty-little-liars-star-sasha-pieterse-dishes-on-season-4-questions-will-be-answered-exclusive" target="_hplink">star Sasha Pieterse told Wetpaint Entertainment recently</a> of Season 4.
Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/20/breaking-amish-washington-dc-video_n_3305042.html
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If you had been looking up at the moon at the right moment on March 17, you could have seen a one-second burst of heat caused by the impact of a large meteoroid.
Hundreds of meteoroid impacts on the moon, detected by NASA's lunar monitoring program, are pictured in this undated NASA handout photo. The brightest, detected on March 17, 2013, in Mare Imbrium, is marked by the red square.
NASA/Handout/REUTERS
EnlargeIf you had been looking up at the moon at the right moment on March 17, you could have seen an unusual flash of light ? a one-second burst of heat caused by the impact of a large meteoroid.
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NASA researchers who monitor the Moon for meteoroid impacts have detected the brightest explosion in the history of their program.No telescope required.
?For about one second, the impact site was glowing like a 4th magnitude star,? NASA said in reporting the news Friday.
This meteoroid was the size of a small boulder, and was travelling very fast. NASA estimates the size at 0.3 to 0.4 meters wide, and the speed at 56,000 miles per hour.?
The resulting explosion? delivered a force equal to 5 tons of TNT.
NASA puts a footnote on the word ?explosion.? The bright light wasn?t combustion, since the moon has no oxygen atmosphere. Rather, it was the glow of molten rock and hot vapors after an impact of large kinetic force.
That said, this was the biggest such ?explosion? in eight years of close monitoring of the moon?s surface.
And it?s not that meteoroids on the lunar surface are rare.
The moon lacks a protective atmosphere like Earth?s, in which meteoroids typically burn up. Lunar meteor showers have turned out to be more common than expected, with hundreds of detectable impacts per year.
On March 17, the pyrotechnics on the moon coincided with an active night for meteors in Earth?s atmosphere as well.
NASA?s Space Exploration Policy eventually calls for extended astronaut stays on the moon, so tracking meteor activity has long-term relevance.
?Identifying the sources of lunar meteors and measuring their impact rates gives future lunar explorers an idea of what to expect,? the space agency said in announcing the bright explosion Friday. ?Is it safe to go on a moonwalk, or not?? The middle of March might be a good time to stay inside.??
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Actress Berenice Bejo poses for portraits at during the 66th international film festival, in Cannes, southern France, Saturday, May 18, 2013. (AP Photo/Laurent Emmanuel)
Actress Berenice Bejo poses for portraits at during the 66th international film festival, in Cannes, southern France, Saturday, May 18, 2013. (AP Photo/Laurent Emmanuel)
Actress Berenice Bejo poses for portraits at during the 66th international film festival, in Cannes, southern France, Saturday, May 18, 2013. (AP Photo/Laurent Emmanuel)
Actor Tahar Rahim arrives under his umbrella during a photo call for the film Grand Central at the 66th international film festival, in Cannes, southern France, Saturday, May 18, 2013. (AP Photo/Lionel Cironneau)
CANNES, France (AP) ? The magic and glamour of Cannes can be hard to spot on a day when rain is lashing the palm trees, roiling the gray Mediterranean and pooling in puddles along the Croisette.
But the world's leading film festival can transform careers ? something no one knows that better than actors Berenice Bejo and Tahir Rahim, stars of director Asghar Farhadi's festival entry "The Past."
Bejo shimmered on-screen in Cannes two years ago in "The Artist," her director husband Michel Hazanavicius' vivacious silent homage to Hollywood's Golden Age. It went on to win five Academy Awards, including best picture.
Rahim was the breakout star of the 2009 festival in Jacques Audiard's poetic and brutal prison drama "A Prophet," as a youth growing to manhood behind bars.
Cannes exposure helped boost both performers onto the international stage. While once most European actors could choose between stay at home and playing Hollywood villains, their paths suggest a more globalized movie world.
"It was quite a miracle for me," Bejo said Saturday, as rain drummed remorselessly on a Cannes rooftop lounge. "Two years ago my life changed a little bit in Cannes.
"I don't think Asghar Farhadi would have cast me in this movie if I hadn't done 'The Artist.'"
It's hard to think of two movie styles further apart than the flamboyant artifice of "The Artist" and the anatomically detailed domestic drama of "The Past"
Bejo plays Marie, a harried Frenchwoman with two children, a new boyfriend with a young son, and an Iranian ex who has returned after four years to finalize their divorce. Rahim is her boyfriend Samir, a man with complex family ties of his own.
All the characters are trying to move on ? but the past keeps dragging them back.
Bejo said she did a screen test for Farhadi, then didn't hear from him for a month, so initially thought she hadn't got the part.
"He said to me, I was looking into your face if I could see the doubt," she said. "I guess because he saw me in movies where I was quite positive, quite sunny, quite glamorous. He needed to see if I could show another part of myself ? and I guess he found it."
For Bejo, as for Rahim, working with the Iran director was a dream come true. "The Past" is the first film Farhadi has shot outside his homeland, and the actors say they loved his working methods ? two months of rehearsal to delve into character, break down barriers and forge bonds, followed by a four-month shoot.
With its Iranian director and largely French cast, it's one of several border-hopping movies at Cannes this year. French director Arnaud Desplechin's made-in-America "Jimmy P.: Psychotherapy of a Plains Indian" stars France's Mathieu Amalric and Puerto Rican actor Benicio Del Toro. Another French filmmaker, Guillaume Canet, has a multinational cast including Clive Owen, Billy Crudup and Marion Cotillard in his New York crime drama "Blood Ties."
It's a trend Bejo is happy to embrace.
"In America you have Christoph Waltz, you have Marion Cotillard," she said. "In France we have Italian and Spanish actors. ... I think it's great. We are used to strangers and foreign accents, and it's great that we can see that in our movies now."
Both she and Rahim have been busy since their Cannes breakthroughs. Bejo recently made French heist movie "The Last Diamond" and soon starts filming Hazanavicius' next project, a war movie set in Chechnya.
Rahim's projects include the English-language Roman-era adventure "The Eagle" and another movie appearing at Cannes this year, the nuclear power plant romance "Grand Central."
Coming up, he plays a cop in the French movie "The Informant," and is currently shooting a globe-spanning 1920s-set drama with Turkish-German director Fatih Akin, another pillar of culture-crossing cinema.
Despite the busy international career ? and post-"Prophet" expressions of interest from the United States ? Rahim says Hollywood remains a hard nut to crack for non-Anglophone actors.
"It's not what you expect at first," Rahim said. "You'd like to be with Michael Mann or (directors) like this, but you don't have those parts that easily. Because first you have to speak English, you have to erase your accent."
For now, he's just happy to be back in Cannes, an experience that is easier the second time around.
"The difference is that now I'm not afraid when I come here," he said. "I'm (saying) 'OK I'm going to take every good vibe and keep it.'"
___
Jill Lawless can be reached at http://Twitter.com/JillLawless
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By Gary Robertson
RICHMOND, Virginia (Reuters) - The most nail-biting U.S. governor's race this year is centering on whether a Tea Party Republican can win Virginia, the southern state that has twice backed Democratic President Barack Obama.
So far, the answer is: maybe.
Republican state Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, known for his anti-abortion and tax-cutting positions, is in a tight race with Terry McAuliffe, a former national Democratic Party chairman. The election will take place in November.
With Cuccinelli set to be nominated formally at a state party convention on Saturday, a Quinnipiac University poll this week showed him with 38 percent support, behind McAuliffe's 43 percent.
"The 17 percent of voters who say they are undecided will determine the Commonwealth's next governor," Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, said in a statement. "At this point, neither man seems to have much of an edge."
More than $11 million has poured into a race seen as crucial to reviving national fortunes for Republicans, and especially its Tea Party right wing, after Obama's re-election last year and the loss of two seats in the Senate.
Robert Holsworth, a political analyst who has worked for governors from both parties, said Republicans saw Cuccinelli's candidacy as a national test case.
"Would Republicans be better off running someone with clear principles like Cuccinelli or someone in the mushy middle?" Holsworth said. "Some people will read these elections as an early signal about 2014" midterm congressional elections.
More than anything else, Cuccinelli, 44, has been known for sticking to the conservative principles that have made him a darling of the anti-tax, anti-government Tea Party movement.
Cuccinelli set off a storm in Virginia by pushing through rules mandating that abortion clinics meet the same standards as hospitals. Abortion rights supporters said it could lead some clinics to close.
Cuccinelli also opposed a bipartisan transportation package Republican Governor Bob McDonnell got through the legislature because it would bring in $880 million a year from new taxes.
"WE WERE BEAT"
At a Chesterfield County Republican Party gathering in late April, Cuccinelli urged the crowd to shake off the "depression" that had set in since Obama won the state in November for the second time.
"We were beat, and we have a lot of ground to make up," he said.
With jobs and the slow-growing economy the top issues for voters, McAuliffe, a 56-year-old millionaire who headed President Bill Clinton's re-election campaign in 1996, told supporters when he kicked off his campaign this month that he woke up every morning thinking about "training a good work force."
Virginia's unemployment rate was 5.3 percent in March, more than 2 percentage points below the national average. But the state is one of the biggest recipients of federal outlays, and officials fear it could be hit hard as the U.S. government cuts spending.
Besides indicating a tight race, polls point to an electorate that is at odds with Cuccinelli and Virginia Republicans' positions on social issues.
Although Cuccinelli opposes gay marriage, a Washington Post poll this week showed 56 percent of Virginians were in favor of it. Fifty-five percent also support keeping abortion legal, the poll said.
CRITICISM
McAuliffe has been criticized because of his connection with GreenTech, a struggling Mississippi-based electric car manufacturer that he helped launch. He later quit as chairman, saying he wanted to focus on his race for governor.
Critics have said the company failed to live up to its promise and undermines McAuliffe's claim to be a successful entrepreneur.
Cuccinelli has come under fire following news stories questioning his relationship with nutritional supplement company Star Scientific and Chief Executive Officer Jonnie Williams Sr. Cuccinelli has acknowledged that he took gifts from Williams, including a catered $1,500 Thanksgiving dinner.
McAuliffe is ahead in fundraising, generating $6.7 million to Cuccinelli's $4.4 million as of March 31. By comparison, almost $41 million was spent in the 2009 governor's race McDonnell won.
In a sign of the national interest in the contest, much of the money for this year's race is from outside Virginia. McAuliffe's top donors are Robert Johnson of Monroe, Connecticut, and media entrepreneur Haim Saban of Beverly Hills, California, who both gave $250,000.
Cuccinelli's backers include the Republican Governors Association, which has given $1 million; investor Foster Friess, who backed Republican Rick Santorum's presidential bid last year; and conservative political activist David Koch.
In New Jersey, the only other state with a gubernatorial race this year, incumbent Republican Chris Christie holds a double-digit lead over his Democratic opponent, state Senator Barbara Buono, in early polling.
(Reporting by Ian Simpson; Editing by Arlene Getz and Lisa Von Ahn)
(This story is corrected to show that Johnson, Saban are top McAuliffe donors, not that McAuliffe is his own top donor in 22nd paragraph, . Removes reference to McAuliffe giving almost $300,000, as that was for a previous fundraising cycle.)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/virginia-governors-race-test-tea-party-republicans-allure-140538580.html
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By Keith Coffman
DENVER (Reuters) - A group of Colorado county sheriffs, angry about two new state gun control laws passed in the wake of last year's mass shootings in Connecticut and Colorado, filed a federal lawsuit on Friday seeking to block the laws from going into effect.
The two laws, passed by the state's Democratic-controlled legislature with scant Republican support, ban ammunition magazines that hold more than 15 rounds and require background checks for all private gun sales and transfers.
All but 10 of the state's 64 county sheriffs signed on to the suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Denver. In their complaint, the sheriffs allege the new laws, which go into effect July 1, severely restrict citizens' constitutional right to own and bear arms.
The sheriffs, who in Colorado are elected, also complained that they were operating under tight budgets and did not have the money or manpower to enforce the new laws.
"They (the sheriffs) cannot expend these resources to conduct investigations that would be necessary to monitor compliance," the lawsuit said.
The bills were introduced in response to a shooting spree that killed 12 people at a suburban Denver movie theater last July and the slaying of 20 children and six adults at an elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, in December.
Connecticut and New York also have passed stricter gun laws in the wake of the shootings. The National Rifle Association, the powerful U.S. gun lobby, has announced plans to challenge the new gun control laws in all three states.
REASONABLE SAFETY MEASURES
Democratic state Senator Mary Hodge, who sponsored the magazine-limit bill, blasted the sheriffs and said the restrictions were reasonable public-safety measures.
"We can't just sit by and do nothing while first-graders and moviegoers are being mowed down in one fell swoop with weapons equipped with large-capacity magazines," Hodge said in a statement.
Joining the sheriffs in the lawsuit are a number of gun-rights organizations and a disabled gun owners group, who say that magazine limits would restrict their ability to defend themselves in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which bars discrimination against the disabled.
"Disabilities make it difficult to quickly change magazines under the stress of a home invasion," the lawsuit said.
Governor John Hickenlooper, a Democrat who signed the bills into law, is named as the defendant in the lawsuit. His office had no immediate comment.
Colorado Attorney General John Suthers, a Republican, said in a statement that his role "will be to get court rulings on the legality of various aspects of the legislation as expeditiously as possible."
"Colorado citizens, and law-abiding gun owners in particular, deserve such clarification," said Suthers, who did not publicly oppose the two bills when they were debated in the legislature.
Separately, a Colorado pro-gun group, the Basic Freedom Defense Fund, said it was circulating a petition to recall the president of the state Senate, Democrat John Morse, because of his support for gun control measures.
Morse, a former police officer, said he would likely face a recall election later this year as a result.
"If they are successful in removing the Senate president in Colorado, it will have a chilling effect on anyone who takes them on but if they fail they will be exposed for the paper tiger they should be," he said.
(Editing by Cynthia Johnston, Philip Barbara and Bill Trott)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/colorado-sheriffs-sue-block-gun-control-laws-014650482.html
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David Beckham del Paris Saint Germain llega para el partido de cuartos de final de la Champions League contra el Barcelona en Par?s el 2 de abril de 2013. El mediocampista de 38 a?os anunci? que se retirar? del f?tbol tras una carrera que lo hizo famoso a nivel mundial. (Foto AP/Christophe Ena, archivo)
David Beckham del Paris Saint Germain llega para el partido de cuartos de final de la Champions League contra el Barcelona en Par?s el 2 de abril de 2013. El mediocampista de 38 a?os anunci? que se retirar? del f?tbol tras una carrera que lo hizo famoso a nivel mundial. (Foto AP/Christophe Ena, archivo)
ARCHIVO - En esta foto del 25 de junio de 2006, el ingl?s David Beckham celebra tras anotar el gol de apertura durante la Ronda del d?cimo sexto partido de la Copa del Mundo contra Ecuador en Stuttgart, Alemania. (Foto de AP/Matt Dunham, Archivo)
PARIS (AP) ? Paris Saint-Germain hopes to strike a deal with David Beckham in the next two weeks in which the former England captain will work with the French club after retirement, possibly in an ambassadorial role.
The 38-year-old midfielder announced Thursday he will retire from soccer after PSG's last game of the season.
"I met him yesterday, actually, and he's very interested to continue being involved with the big project of Paris Saint-Germain," Nasser Al-Khelaifi, the team president, said at a news conference Friday. "He believes in the project, he believes in the club, he loves the club.
"He enjoyed the last six months, so we are in discussions now. Just yesterday he announced he was going to retire so we have time to discuss," Al-Khelaifi added. "In the next two weeks we are hopefully going to announce if we're going to reach an agreement together. I hope we will because honestly I want him. "
Coach Carlo Ancelotti said Friday that Beckham will start PSG's final home game against Brest on Saturday. PSG's last game is at Lorient on May 26, although it is uncertain whether Beckham will play in that one.
"He's taken this decision. We have to respect his decision," Ancelotti said, speaking about Beckham's decision to retire. "He thought it was the right decision to stop. Not just PSG but the football world lost a fantastic player a professional player, a good man."
The former Real Madrid and Manchester United star joined PSG in a surprise move on the last day of the transfer window. He has played 13 games ? most as a substitute ? and been part of a league title with a fourth club. He also won two championships with the Los Angeles Galaxy.
"Football will lose a player who had a very good image. So in that sense we can't be happy," Ancelotti said. "I will remember him as a fantastic passer. He was one of the best in the world at passing. His career was fantastic. He played for the best clubs in the world ? Real Madrid, Manchester United, Milan, Paris Saint-Germain. He went to America and won the championship. He was a fantastic midfielder who could play in any position."
Although Beckham has played reasonably well at times for PSG, he has actually stood out more for his combative streak than for his passing and crossing.
Beckham has set up only one goal, a chipped pass from the right against Rennes that appeared to be going in anyway before top scorer Zlatan Ibrahimovic helped himself to another goal.
Beckham was booked in the second leg of the Champions League quarterfinal against Barcelona, and against Evian on April 28 he was red carded shortly after coming on as he went into a tackle with a dangerously raised foot. There was no contact, but the challenge was reckless.
Against Brest at Parc des Princes on Saturday, Beckham will have a chance to say farewell to PSG's fans, who knew him only for a short time. Then comes the finale in Lorient.
"The quality he showed is his professionalism on the pitch and off the pitch, the character," Ancelotti said.
Ancelotti's future with the club is uncertain. He has yet to confirm whether he will be staying next season, and he has no idea if Beckham will be with the club in some capacity.
"It's not my business to find a role for David," he said. "He's going to speak to the club if he decides to have a new position."
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Niger Innis, National Outreach Director, TheTeaParty.net, speaks during a news conference with Tea Party leaders about the IRS targeting Tea Party groups, Thursday, May 16, 2013, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Molly Riley)
Niger Innis, National Outreach Director, TheTeaParty.net, speaks during a news conference with Tea Party leaders about the IRS targeting Tea Party groups, Thursday, May 16, 2013, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Molly Riley)
Tom Zawistowki, founder of the nonprofit Ohio Liberty Coalition, center, speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, May 16, 2013, with Tea Party leaders to discuss the IRS targeting Tea Party groups. Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., chair of the Tea Party Caucus, is at left, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. is at right. (AP Photo/Molly Riley)
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., accompanied by Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., chair of the Tea Party Caucus, left, and others, speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, May 16, 2013, to discuss the IRS targeting Tea Party groups. (AP Photo/Molly Riley)
Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., chairwoman of the Tea Party Caucus, listens at left as while Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., speaks during a news conference with Tea Party leaders about the IRS targeting Tea Party groups, Thursday, May 16, 2013, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Molly Riley)
WASHINGTON (AP) ? Lawmakers are ready to question the ousted head of the Internal Revenue Service as Congress holds its first hearing on the tougher scrutiny the IRS gave tea party and other conservative groups that applied for tax-exempt status.
With the scandal joining the parade of political headaches buffeting President Barack Obama, the Republican-run House Ways and Means Committee planned to question the agency's ousted chief, Steven Miller, on Friday.
Miller, acting director until he resigned Wednesday, seems sure to get a hostile reception from the committee. Members of both parties have spent the past week bitterly chastising the agency for abandoning its charge of making nonpolitical decisions about which groups should qualify for tax-exempt status, which makes it easier for them to collect contributions from donors.
Lawmakers also have said that despite asking the IRS repeatedly about complaints from conservative groups that their applications were being treated unfairly, the agency ? including Miller ? never told them the groups were being targeted, even after May 2012, when the agency said Miller was briefed on the practice. Miller was previously a deputy commissioner whose portfolio included the unit that made decisions about tax-exempt status.
Also testifying Friday was J. Russell George, the Treasury Department's inspector general for tax administration.
A report George issued this week concluded that the IRS office in Cincinnati, which screened applications for the tax exemptions, improperly singled out tea party and other conservative groups for tougher treatment. The report says the practice began in March 2010 and lasted more than 18 months.
Republicans have spent the past few days trying to link the IRS' improper scrutiny of conservatives to Obama. The president has said he didn't know about the targeting until last Friday, when Lois Lerner, who heads the IRS division that oversees tax-exempt groups, acknowledged at a legal conference that conservative groups had been singled out. She said it was wrong and apologized.
"I promise you this, that the minute I found out about it, then my main focus was making sure that we get the thing fixed," Obama said Thursday.
Even so, less than four months into his second term, the president has been on the defensive for the IRS controversy, along with questions about last September's attack in Benghazi, Libya, that killed the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans, and the government's seizure of The Associated Press' telephone records as part of a leaks investigation.
In one of the latest GOP attacks, Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, wrote Obama on Thursday asking whether the White House or Treasury Department pressured the IRS on the treatment of conservative groups. In the letter, Portman accused the administration of "policies that threaten to chill disfavored political speech."
The inspector general's report said all IRS officials questioned said their actions "were not influenced by any individual or organization outside the IRS."
The report blamed "ineffective management" for letting IRS officials craft "inappropriate criteria" to review applications from tea party and other conservative groups, based on their names or political views. It found that the IRS took no action on many of the conservative groups' applications for tax-exempt status for long periods of time, hindering their fundraising for the 2010 and 2012 elections.
Many of the groups were applying for tax-exempt status as social welfare organizations, which are allowed to participate in campaign activity if that is not their primary activity. The IRS judges whether that imprecise standard is met.
Friday's hearing was just the start of Congress' probe of the IRS' actions, with the Senate Finance and House Oversight committees planning hearings next week.
In addition, Attorney General Eric Holder has said the FBI was investigating whether the IRS may have violated applicants' civil rights.
Obama has rejected the idea of naming a special prosecutor to investigate the episode, saying Thursday that the probes by Congress and the Justice Department would get to the bottom of who was responsible.
Obama has named Daniel Werfel, a top White House budget officer, to replace Miller.
Also Thursday, Joseph Grant, one of Miller's top deputies, announced plans to retire June 3, according to an internal IRS memo. Grant is commissioner of the agency's tax exempt and government entities division, which includes the agents that targeted tea party groups for additional scrutiny.
Grant joined the IRS in 2005 and took over as acting commissioner of the tax exempt and government entities division in December 2010. He was just named the permanent commissioner May 8.
When asked whether Grant was pressured to leave, IRS spokeswoman Michelle Eldridge said Grant had more than 31 years of federal service and it was his personal decision to leave.
Before he joined the IRS, Grant was a top official at the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.
Grant's predecessor at the IRS was Sarah Hall Ingram, who is now director of the agency's Affordable Care Act Office. Ingram was in charge of the tax exempt division when IRS agents first started targeting conservative groups.
The IRS said Ingram was assigned to help the agency implement the health care law in December 2010, about six months before the Treasury inspector general's report said her subordinate, the director of exempt organizations, learned about the targeting.
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SolarCity (Nasdaq: SCTY), a provider of distributed energy, just announced a $500 million lease financing agreement with Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS). That translates to more than 100 megawatts of solar power.
The combined lease is the largest of its kind for U.S. residential rooftops.
SolarCity allows consumers to get electricity from grid-tied solar rooftops at lower rates than the utility through leasing or power purchase agreements (PPAs). SolarCity specifically mentions the goal of opening up solar to consumers with lower credit scores in this release.
?
Jimmy Chuang, SolarCity?s VP of structured finance, said, ?We expect to be able to expand our offering to a broader customer base by lowering the credit requirements even further in future financings," according to a statement.
Nicole Litvak, a researcher at GTM Research, notes that SolarCity, as discussed in its recent earnings call, is "delivery-constrained." She adds that SolarCity didn't raise its 2013 guidance even though it beat Q1 expectations -- so this fund won't help SolarCity install any more than planned unless the company can scale up its installation operations. Litvak's research finds that SolarCity is number one in California but has surrendered the market leadership role in Massachusetts to upstart Vivint.
Scott Burger of GTM Research adds, "When SolarCity says it is delivery-constrained, it is saying that it has more business than it can deploy boots to install. This goes back to the statement about wanting to decrease its backlog (i.e., projects booked that it can't install at the moment). Raising a fund like this will presumably continue to drive down Solar City's cost of capital, which in turn increases the retained value of any lease or contract."
***
SolarCity (SCTY) announced its Q1 2013 financial results earlier this week, in its first full quarter as a public company.?
Here's a transcript of the call.
Highlights:
SolarCity continues to attempt to educate investors on the SolarCity business and value proposition, noting in its release, "Due to the long-term nature of operating lease contracts -- of up to 20 years -- [SolarCity] believes GAAP income statement accounting does not accurately reflect new sales activity." It views the following operating metrics as a better representation of its business outlook:
The income structure of a company like SolarCity, with a business model based on solar leasing, power purchase agreements, and bank funds for rooftop solar, is complex. Here comes some accounting:
SolarCity defines "Retained Value" as the forecasted net present value of estimated Nominal Contracted Payments Remaining and estimated performance-based incentives allocated to SolarCity, net of amounts the firm is obligated to distribute to its fund investors, upfront rebates, depreciation, renewable energy certificates, solar renewable energy certificates and estimated operations and maintenance, insurance, administrative and inverter replacement costs. This metric includes Energy Contracts for solar energy systems deployed and in Backlog. SolarCity's calculation of retained value assumes a discount rate of 6 percent.
GAAP figures have SolarCity with these Q1 outcomes:
For Q2 2013, SolarCity expects to deploy between 48 megawatts and 53 megawatts. The firm stayed steady on its 2013 guidance of 250 megawatts with Q2 Lease and Solar Energy Systems totaling $21 million to $28 million at a gross margin between 40 percent and 55 percent.
The company anticipates being net-cash-flow positive by Q4 2013, as well as having a positive net cash flow in Q2 2013.
When confronted with some technical slide-related issues at the beginning of the call, CEO Lyndon Rive said, "It's a good thing we're not selling software and we're selling energy."?
Here's a history of SolarCity revenues:
But losses also surged to $91.5 million in 2012.
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Andrew Krulewitz, a Solar Market Analyst at GTM Research, provided this analysis of SolarCity's performance earlier this year:
SolarCity by the Numbers
For 2013, SolarCity announced that it expects to deploy 250 megawatts of new generating capacity, with an increased focus on the residential market (190 megawatts). The following figure charts the company?s quarterly installations, both residential and non-residential, and its relative share of the U.S. market according to GTM Research forecasts and company figures. Q4 2012 is the only quarter for which the company has released installation figures by market segment; it also reported full-year 2012 installations by market segment. By combining this information with project-level installation data?from nine start markets (which accounted for 78 percent for all U.S. distributed PV demand in 2012), we were able to estimate SolarCity's quarterly installation totals. Assuming a similar growth pattern and that SolarCity achieves its megawatt goal in 2013, the company's relative market shares will be an impressive 27 percent of the national residential market, but just 4.9 percent of the non-residential market, which is down from 2012. Of all new distributed PV, market share will climb to 12.9 percent.?
SolarCity Installations by Market Segment & Relative Market Shares, 2012-2013E
Source: SolarCity, SEIA/GTM Research U.S. Solar Market Insight report, GTM Research U.S. PV Leaderboard
Expanding Residential Presence
SolarCity offers residential solutions in fourteen different states. In the two largest residential markets, California and Arizona, SolarCity is far and away the leading installer (not to be confused with the financier category, as detailed in the GTM Research U.S. Residential Solar PV Financing report). In growing residential markets, such as New York and Massachusetts, the company has quickly expanded its presence, and if it isn?t already the top installer, it?s in the top five and likely to move up. The only major residential market in which SolarCity is not a leader is Hawaii; there, local installers have performed better than national firms. The company?s expanding East Coast presence also allows it to take advantage of smaller pockets of demand, such as Maryland and Washington, D.C., and nascent markets such as Connecticut.
SolarCity Residential Installer Market Share and Rank in Select State Markets
Source:?SEIA/GTM Research U.S. Solar Market Insight report, GTM Research U.S. PV Leaderboard
Decreasing Non-Residential Focus
In the company?s 2013 guidance, SolarCity expects non-residential deployments to be 60 megawatts on the year. This is down from 71 megawatts in 2012. GTM Research predicts that the non-residential market will continue to grow in 2013, so why is SolarCity shying away from opportunity here? Potential reasons include:
SolarCity Non-Residential Installations: Leased vs. Direct Ownership in CA, 2011-2012
Source:?GTM Research
Ultimately, however, 60 megawatts is not an insignificant figure. SolarCity has announced its intentions to continue installing projects with important commercial customers such as Wal-Mart. We expect the company to beat its own estimate in this regard.
Outlook
SolarCity has been in the right places at the right times. The firm rode the California solar wave to build its business. It has honed its costs enough to remain competitive in Arizona, where the residential market has limited incentives and low retail electricity prices (though all 1603 installations reportedly cost $4.98 per watt-DC regardless of location or system components, but that?s a story for another day). It has entered East Coast markets as attractive incentive programs have been introduced (New York, Massachusetts) or are sobering up from SREC insanity (New Jersey). Now, it?s working to generate more sales via non-traditional avenues, including a recently announced partnership with Honda, as well as sales representatives stationed in Home Depot stores.
With lease revenues recognized over twenty years, cost of goods sold over 30 years, and operating expenses in year one, it is tough to distill the company?s true financial performance into one number. Thus, it might be better to look at it this way: if SolarCity achieves its 2013 goal of 250 megawatts, according to GTM Research forecasts, it will have been responsible for the deployment of 12.9 percent of a $6-billion-plus market.?
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Installation data presented in this article is drawn from the SEIA/GTM Research U.S. Solar Market Insight?report, and company-specific market share data can be found in the U.S. PV Leaderboard.?
SCTY data by YCharts
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