CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Mike Burns testified Thursday that he saw George Huguely choking Yeardley Love little more than two months before her death in 2010. Steve Helber, AP
Lexie Love, left, sister of Yeardley Love, and Sharon Love, the victim's mother, had front-row seats Thursday for graphic testimony and photographic evidence from first responders.
Steve Helber, AP
Lexie Love, left, sister of Yeardley Love, and Sharon Love, the victim's mother, had front-row seats Thursday for graphic testimony and photographic evidence from first responders.
Burns then played lacrosse for a rival team, North Carolina, and prosecutors say he was the romantic rival whose relationship with Yeardley Love fueled a jealous rage in Huguely, her former boyfriend.Burns testified he was at a party when he heard a woman crying "help me, help me." Burns said he opened a door to find Huguely on his back in bed, with Love on her back on top of him. Burns said Huguely's arm was wound tightly around Love's neck.Burns demonstrated the hold for the jury in Charlottesville Circuit Court, where Huguely is on trial for first-degree murder. Love died May 3, 2010, only weeks after the late-February party.Burns said Huguely released his hold and rolled over when Burns came in the room and that Love ran out of the room. "She just said 'Thank you so much,' " Burns said. "She also said she couldn't breathe. She was hysterically crying."Huguely and Love both played on lacrosse teams at the University of Virginia and Burns said he was in Charlottesville with some teammates to socialize with some UVa players.Burns said he met Love, a native of Cockeysville, Md., at the Preakness in Baltimore in 2008 and that they also spent time together in 2009 when he worked a summer job in New York but that they were otherwise not frequently in contact. He said he slept at her apartment after the February party.Defense attorney Francis McQ. Lawrence asked Burns if he "hooked up" with Love, a phrase Lawrence said could mean something short of sex. Burns said he and Love hooked up when they met at the Preakness, after he walked in on the choke hold and when Love and some friends visited UNC in late April.Prosecutor Warner D. Chapman said in his opening statement Wednesday that Huguely sent Love an email that said "I should have killed you" when he learned she had slept with Burns. Lawrence said that was not a threat, just an expression.Earlier Thursday, Love's mother, Sharon, and sister, Lexie, sobbed as the jury viewed graphic photos of Love's body. They and other trial spectators couldn't see the pictures from where they sat, but they could hear the testimony of first responders who described Love's swollen right eye and dried blood around her nose and mouth.Huguely, who could have seen the pictures from his seat at the defense table, dipped his head and appeared to avert his eyes. He has pleaded not guilty to six charges.K.W. Blackwell, a Charlottesville police officer, said he responded to a call for "alcohol overdose" but said when he saw Love's body he believed she had been attacked.Michael Hanshew, an EMT that night, said medics tried to revive her for 25 minutes but there was no sign of life.Charlottesville Police Detective Shawn Bayles testified that he treated the room as a crime scene when he saw a large hole in the door to Love's bedroom. He also said one EMT brought it to his attention that the toilet seat in Love's bathroom was left up.Danny Mistry, a physician for many UVa teams, testified Love was in peak physical condition. He said he ran EKGs on her three times that he said showed her use of the prescription drug Adderall did not have an adverse effect on her heart.For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com.
LOS ANGELES — A black-tie event Saturday night was one of the rare occasions in which even A-list celebrities were star-struck. Pool, Getty Images
Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, chat with Jennifer Lopez and her mother Guadalupe Lopez at the BAFTA Brits To Watch event.
Pool, Getty Images
Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, chat with Jennifer Lopez and her mother Guadalupe Lopez at the BAFTA Brits To Watch event.
It took the appearance of what Piers Morgan dubbed "the world's most famous couple," the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, to make Hollywood's biggest names gush and worry about protocol."They make me smile," said Nicole Kidman, in a blue-grey Elie Saab gown. "I love them.""I think they're bigger than stars," said Zooey Deschanel, in a gold tea-length Oscar De La Renta dress.She worried that the area near the BAFTA event at the Belasco Theater in downtown Los Angeles might look shabby to the regal couple."I just don't want them to see the worst of L.A.," said Deschanel.Others spoke about not being sure how to act around royalty."No noogies, I know that's not allowed," said Paul Rudd. "You can only do that with an earl."Added Rudd: "I tend to hug people if I'm nervous. Or kiss them on the cheek. When it's awkward, I fall into that trap a lot.""I'm very excited, but slightly terrified as well," said Harry Lloyd, a British actor chosen as 42 honored "Brits to Watch" by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) which sponsored Saturday night's event."There are kind of a lot of opportunities to put your foot in your mouth tonight," Lloyd said.They were reassured en masse in the ballroom by Duncan Kenworthy, vice chairman of BAFTA who urged the celebrity-packed audience to be at ease around the royal couple.He told the 250 guests in the ballroom: "They want to meet all of you. They will try and chat with all of you this evening. When you meet them, you don't have to bow and curtsy. You can call them whatever you feel. Your Royal highness, Sir, Ma'am, William and Kate, just as the mood takes you. They are here to have fun. They are really relaxed, as I'm sure you are."The royal newlyweds did indeed look relaxed. William and Catherine, radiant in a lavender-grey gown by Alexander McQueen and earrings lent to her by the Queen, flew in on a helicopter from the Santa Barbara polo grounds — where William scored four goals in a charity match — to this black-tie event. They quickly strode down the red carpet at around about 8 pm. after arriving surrounded by police escorts in a black right-hand drive Range Rover, one of a fleet of nine dark SUVs.By the time they arrived, greeted and shook hands with a gathered crowd of family and friends of the event's production, the stars had already gone into the ballroom, with the exception of director Quentin Tarantino who showed up late, looking casual in sneakers and shades at the black-tie event. Several hundred people gathered nearby, screaming when the royals arrived.The biggest stars on hand, Barbra Streisand, Tom Hanks and Jennifer Lopez, scurried along the red carpet, avoiding reporters. Equally press-averse were celebrities such as James Gandolfini, Jennifer Garner and Blake Lively, who did model her stunning Marchesa steel-gray, one-shouldered gown.Jonah Hill, said he was eager to meet the couple "I'll bombard my way in there," said the actor, almost unrecognizable in a blondish crewcut and considerably slimmed down. "I never met a prince or princess. I met Prince though."Several celebrities described the couple as friendly, down-to-earth and strikingly attractive."They seem like a very nice, young, normal couple," said Jason Bateman."They're a breath of fresh air," said celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay.William, the Duke of Cambridge, is the president of BAFTA and addressed the Hollywood luminaries as well as the 42 "Brits to Watch" at Los Angeles' Belasco entertainment complex—built in the early 1900s and recently renovated for $12 million."Before I start I'd like to thank Colin Firth for my perfect opening line: 'I have a voice'," said William, in a slightly husky one, after an afternoon spent playing polo."I am immensely proud of the success Brits have had in the fiercely competitive world of film, television and video games," said William. "Their creative and hi-tech achievements have contributed greatly to our national wealth, not to mention our personal pleasure.""When American and British creative talent gets together, magic happens," he said. " Let's continue the winning formula. Catherine and I have been hugely looking forward to tonight's event with its exciting cast, British and American?.I believe great things will result."His concluding phrase drew an appreciative laugh: "Lights, Camera, Action."William and Catherine spoke first to Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson, Jennifer Lopez and Nicole Kidman, then greeted each of the 42 recipients, speaking to each individually and later ate dinner, which consisted of a courgette and mint tian with a lemon and pine nut gremolata, shaved manchego and a courgette blossom flower garnish to start; and a filet of beef with creamed leeks, pickled garlic, asparagus, turnip, baby onions, potato fondant, and a red wine sauce. Guests drank from gold goblets and ate from antique-style plates at tables dressed with blooms of English dahlias and roses.For dessert, guests enjoyed a version of the British dessert Eton Mess featuring English rose meringue, strawberries, cream, sugar-dusted edible rose petals and pulled sugar.Seated at the royal table were Nicole Kidman, Barbra Streisand, James Brolin and Donna Langley co-chairman of Universal Pictures, Duncan Kenworthy as well as the prince's private secretary Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton, diplomat Sir David Manning and British consul-general Dame Barbara Hay, who hosted a private party for the royals at her Hancock Park home on Friday evening.Other guests at the event included Anna Kournikova, Don Cheadle, Elizabeth Banks, Judd Apatow, Leslie Mann, Harvey Weinstein, Elizabeth Moss, Berry Gordy, Kristin Chenoweth, Ed Westwick, and Mary-Louise Parker.The 42 British up and comers included actors, directors, writers, producers, editors, composers, animators, cinematographers, production designers, video game designers and visual effects artists.One of those chosen for his promise, TV director Rupert Smith said he received an email inviting him to the event, but initially didn't look closely at it."I thought it was an invitation to a cheese and wine thing," he said. "I nearly deleted it."British actress Gugu Mbatha-Raw, who co-stars in Larry Crowne, said she avidly watched the royal wedding with her mother. "Catherine always looks so effortlessly cool, calm and collected. She's got such a sense of style."Mbatha-Raw, in a stunning cobalt blue gown by Reem Acra, said she found the wording of her emailed invitation strangely low-key."At the bottom, it said 'Let us know if you'd like to attend'," said Mbatha-Raw. "I was like 'Are you kidding me?'"For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com.We've updated the Conversation Guidelines. Changes include a brief review of the moderation process and an explanation on how to use the "Report Abuse" button. 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PITTSBURGH — When it comes to NHL games, you win some, lose some and now some get postponed by rain.With weather forecasts calling for rain all day on New Year's Day, the NHL has moved the fourth annual Winter Classic outdoor game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. ET at Heinz Field. It will still be televised by NBC"I don't care if they play at midnight," Washington coach Bruce Boudreau said. "Let's get going."The AccuWeather.com forecast calls for a cloudy New Year's evening, with a gametime temperature of 41 degrees. There is no rain in the evening forecast.That's a sharp contrast from the daytime forecast, which calls for rain from 4 a.m. until 6 p.m. There's a 24% chance of a thunderstorm.A light rain will freeze quickly on the 22-degree ice, but a steady rain is dangerous because it creates pools of water and because it limits player visibility."It's the same risk for both teams," Boudreau said. "So if it was a gravel (surface) it wouldn't matter." The decision on when to play is an important one for the NHL because the Winter Classic has become its best marketing day. The first three Winter Classics have drawn an average of 4 million television viewers. The game between Detroit and Chicago on Jan. 1, 2009, drew 4.4 million viewers, which made it the most watched NHL regular-season game in 35 years.This will be the first primetime airing for the Winter Classic "It would be a shame not to have a game this weekend," said Pittsburgh Penguins owner Mario Lemieux.The NHL wanted the Washington vs. Pittsburgh matchup because the teams have a rivalry and Pittsburgh's captain Sidney Crosby and Washington's Alex Ovechkin are considered the NHL's top two players. The HBO reality series "24/7" has added more hype to the game."When you walked in here today. You saw thousands of people in the stands," Boudreau said. "You look at the enormity of the building and you go, 'Wow, this is going to be a real cool event.' "Added Boudreau: "We're thinking in the room, when they have the Super Bowl and they've got a week of this before the buildup, I can't imagine."Should the NHL not be able to hold an official game (at least two full periods) Saturday, the Winter Classic will be held Sunday (noon, NBC). The stadium is available because the Pittsburgh Steelers are playing in Cleveland. But the Sunday scenario is far less appealing because the NHL would have to compete against NFL games instead of bowl games for viewers."Whatever the scenario is, we have all been pretty open minded to whatever happens," Crosby said. "We should be all enjoying ourselves not matter what scenario."The teams will switch ends in the middle of the third period to assure fairness in dealing with the weather conditions.Said Crosby: "I think everyone is ready for whatever comes."An alumni game, plus Capitals and Penguins practices, were all held on the ice Friday with temperatures around 50 degrees."The ice was great," said Lemieux, who played in the alumni game. "A couple times in the neutral zone there was a little puddle, but they came out and fixed it."The ice actually received mixed reviews. "Not too bad, what you would expect on a sheet on a football field," said Pittsburgh defenseman Alex Goligoski.Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma said the ice was soft, but the puck moved surprisingly well on it."The guys commented that, given the conditions, it was better than we thought it would be," Bylsma said. "… they were passing it fine."Bylsma did note that goalie Marc-Andre Fleury said his slide across the crease was different because of the weather conditions.But Bylsma said he felt like the conditions were good enough to play."It was an exciting day," he said. "I put it up there with a lot of my best experiences in hockey."The Caps practiced last and found the conditions less than ideal. "The ice was not that good, but we have 24 hours," said Washington's Alex Ovechkin.In the only competition news of the day, Bylsma said Jordan Staal's status will be a gametime decision. Staal has been practicing, but hasn't played this season because of injuries.Guidelines: You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. Read more.
By Jefferson Graham, USA TODAYThe iPhone helped reinvent the category in 2007. Some 50 million iPhones have been sold, fueled by the App Store, a collection of about 300,000 software programs, for free and for sale, that enhance the iPhone. Apps include everything from airline schedules and calendars to games. There's even a program that lets you plug in your electric guitar and have the iPhone replicate an amplifier."The experience on the iPhone is still the best," says Charles Golvin, an analyst at Forrester Research. "The range of apps and things you can do with it and the amount of information that is out there helping you learn about interesting and new things you can do with the iPhone is almost overwhelming."The major drawback with the iPhone is the phone service. Consumers complain about dropped calls with the iPhone, and Consumer Reports declined to recommend it earlier this year because of problems with its antenna. And AT&T, the iPhone's only U.S. wireless carrier for now, was just rated dead last among the big four carriers, by CR. The biggest problem: dropped calls.Verizon (No. 1 in CR's rankings) is expected to add the iPhone to its offerings soon. "I tell everyone who's interested in buying an iPhone, 'Wait until next year for Verizon,' " says Jessica Foust, a supervising producer for the TopTenReviews website, which lists the iPhone at No. 1 and No. 3 (for the older iPhone 3GS model.) "The network is so much better."AndroidGoogle's line of state-of-the-art smartphones is the fastest growing. By next year, they'll become the most popular, some tech analysts predict. An estimated 300,000 Android phones are being activated daily, up from 100,000 daily in August, Google says.Manufacturers love Android because Google offers the software to them free. Verizon has the Motorola Droid X and HTC Droid Incredible. Sprint offers the HTC Evo 4G. AT&T sells the Samsung Captivate. T-Mobile markets the G2. All have similar interfaces.Adding to the confusion: Last week Google announced the Nexus S from Samsung, coming Thursday to T-Mobile. The Nexus S has a 4-inch screen and is the only Android phone running the latest version of Android software, called Gingerbread. The new software allows users to make mobile payments directly from the phone, without having to pull out a credit card.The app store, called Android Market, offers 100,000 apps compared with Apple's 300,000.TopTenReviews ranks the Droid X as the No. 2 smartphone because of its large 4.3-inch touch-screen, 8-megapixel camera and its ability to capture 720p high-definition video. "It's the phone to get if you don't want the iPhone," says Foust.BlackBerryThe dean of business phones, BlackBerry is "still a really good platform, especially if you're a business user," says Golvin. "It's the best solution for e-mail, calendar and managing your day."BlackBerry phones have come a long way from the basic phone/e-mail combo. They now have cameras, full Web browsers, qwerty keyboards and touch-screens. Like Apple and Android, BlackBerry has apps, too, though far fewer. There are both traditional BlackBerrys with a small keyboard and touch-screen BlackBerrys. The Torch, No. 5 on the TopTenReviews list, has both a qwerty keyboard and a virtual touch-screen keyboard. "It's the best of both worlds," Foust says.WindowsThe Windows phones of the past have been overhauled. A new line of Windows Phone 7 smartphones arrived this fall, months behind other smartphone competitors but sporting a distinctly different look from iPhone and Android models. A group of tiles highlight the main screen of the Samsung Focus, LG Quantum and HTC Surround. The phones also offer integration with Windows services, such as the Internet Explorer browser, Bing search and Microsoft Office.Windows "is aimed at getting you where you want to go," says Golvin.AT&T and T-Mobile offer the first Windows Phone 7 models, but Sprint and Verizon will follow with more models next year. Windows has only about 1,000 apps available for the phone. "They have a lot of catch-up to do, but it's not too late," Golvin says.WANT TO GIVE A PHONE AS A GIFT?In days of old, new and renewing wireless subscribers would get free phones. Now it's a different story with the proliferation of smartphones.If you want to put the Internet in your pocket, and talk on the phone at the same time, you'll generally have to pay extra for the service (an additional $25 or more for a data plan) and $199 for a new or extended contract.That makes it harder to buy a smartphone as a gift.Most carriers ask you to agree to a two-year plan for the recipient, or buy the phone outright — and that's not cheap. AT&T, for instance, sells the iPhone 4 for $599, compared with $199 with a two-year plan.Here's an alternative: a prepaid plan, which doesn't require a contract. Historically, prepaid plans offered plain vanilla phones, but this year smartphones joined the mix.•T-Mobile offers the Comet, an Android phone, for $179.99 without a contract. Non-contract plans start at $30 a month with T-Mobile.•Virgin Mobile has the Intercept, another Android phone, at $299.99. Non-contract plans are $25, $40 or $60 monthly.•Boost Mobile, owned by Sprint, has the BlackBerry Curve for $199.99 and month-to-month plans are priced at $25 to $50.•Verizon Wireless is on the high side with three smartphones and three BlackBerry models that don't require a contract. The least expensive model we could find was the BlackBerry Bold at $294.99 and month-to-month plans starting at $64.99.What if the person you're buying for must have an iPhone or Windows Phone 7 and you don't want to commit to a two-year contract? Opt instead for a gift card for a set amount, say $99 (which will get the iPhone 3GS), and let them negotiate with AT&T after Christmas.Guidelines: You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. Read more.
This week a Consumer Reports survey confirmed what many iPhone owners already knew --that carrier AT&T has some serious issues with its network. CR said AT&T's customer satisfaction was the "worst" of the top 4 carriers--Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile and AT&T.
Why can't get AT&T get it together? And what can be done about it? For answers, we turned to Charles Golvin, who covers the wireless industry as a long-time analyst for Forrester Research.
Q: So what exactly is the problem with AT&T's coverage?
A: It's not a coverage issue, it's a capacity issue. It's having the towers in the right places, and bandwidth to support the traffic. In some markets, like New York and San Francisco, AT&T just hasn't caught up to the overall demand.
Q: Would it be any different if the iPhone was with another carrier?
A: If Verizon had the iPhone, it would have suffered a lot of the same challenges. With voice calls, carriers have 20 years of experience that helps them predict what usage on their networks would look like. They never had this kind of experience for data usage. People are using the network in very different ways.
Q: Android phones (such as the Droid series with Verizon) use a lot of data too, but we don't hear complaints about lost calls.
A: Verizon's network handles voice calls and data differently, so even if Droid phones use a lot of data it doesn't impact the network's ability to keep a voice call alive.
Q: What should AT&T do?
A: They are doing it. They are continuing to invest in new cell towers and expanding the capacity.
Q: Why haven't the complaints affected AT&T's subscriber counts? (In the 3rd quarter, AT&T noted a 2.6% increase in subscribers--for a total of 92.8 million.)
A: People want the iPhone and are willing to give up a lot in order to get it. The subscriber numbers haven't gone down; however, the iPhone is a big part of the numbers. Were it not for the iPhone, (subscriber churn) would be more visible.
Q: Will AT&T see much impact from the Consumer Reports piece?
A: Its impact will be small. Today, when consumers are considering a different wireless carrier, what Consumer Reports says is irrelevant to you. You rely on friends and family. Their recommendations carry more weight, because they can tell you how the service performs where you live.
EARLIER: Consumer Reports: AT&T the 'worst carrier'
$100 for 4G USB modem from LG (model VL600, the unit tested) or Pantech (model UML290) after rebate and with two-year data plan. $50 a month for 5 gigabytes or $80 for 10 GB. Each gigabyte over: $10.
Three stars out of four
Pro. Very speedy mobile wireless in 4G coverage areas.
Con. Heavy users will pay a lot for service. No seamless way to go from 3G to 4G when you're out and about. For now, laptop service only. No Mac support yet.
You'd think a blazing fast wireless network was all good. The 4G (fourth generation) mobile network that Verizon Wireless (VZ) launched Dec. 5 certainly qualifies as pretty darn zippy. At least, it was a lot of the time I spent testing a 4G laptop modem in and around New York City.But speed can kill — your wallet.PCMag.com found that the 5-gigabyte monthly data allowance on Verizon's least-expensive ($50) monthly plan for 4G could be exhausted in a mere 32 minutes at max speeds in its tests. Overage charges fetch $10 a gigabyte. Bummer!Verizon told me it won't apologize for providing the kinds of speeds that mobile warriors covet. Just know that the heaviest users will pay for the privilege of gulping data, for example, by watching video during their daily commute to the office. (Depending on where you live, you may not consistently get the fastest speeds during your commute.)Verizon's new network is built on technology called LTE, for Long Term Evolution. It competes with a rival high-speed WiMax network technology pushed by Sprint and Clearwire. T-Mobile also offers its own faster-speed service, which is based on so-called HSPA+ technology. Verizon's entry into the fast lane, given the company's generally solid reputation, is especially significant.While there's a debate in the industry about just what constitutes 4G, an international standards group puts the milestone at 100 megabits per second. None of the carriers comes close by that measure. Verizon says you'll experience average download speeds of 5 Mbps to 12 Mbps and average upload speeds of 2 Mbps to 5 Mbps. It says that's up to 10 times faster than its 3G networks, a quantum leap no matter what marketing labels you put on it. I sometimes bested those 4G speed results in my tests, though there's an important disclaimer. At this early stage, Verizon's 4G network isn't exactly teeming with users, crowds of whom could slow speeds.It's what you can do as a result of higher speeds that matters, of course, whether downloading photos in a fraction of the time it would take otherwise or watching high-definition movies without hiccups.•Where the network is. The new network covers 38 major markets around the country and more than 60 commercial airports nationwide. That's about 110 million people. Verizon expects LTE to be available for the existing 3G coverage area by 2013.Alas, folks pining for faster speeds on their Verizon smartphones will have to wait a bit longer. Out of the gate, Verizon's service is available only to owners of laptops who spring for a $100 (after rebate) USB modem from LG or Pantech and sign two-year data-plan deals. (The modem price jumps to $250 without a data plan.)•Hinting at the future. Verizon says LTE will make its way into consumer-oriented smartphones and tablet computers in relatively short order. It will outline plans next month at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. And Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg hinted at other intriguing long-term possibilities for LTE. Speaking at a conference this week, he indicated that 4G LTE could be a substitute in some instances for wired broadband, including cable TV and, perhaps, Verizon's own FiOS service. That means you might be able to get all the TV channels you want over the Internet without having a cord. But FiOS is faster than LTE and better suited for such technologies as 3-D television.•Pricing. Verizon's 4G pricing appears a bit cheaper than its 3G plans. The company is charging $50 for a 5 GB monthly data plan and $80 for 10 GB, with each additional gig costing $10. But at the highest speeds, heavy-duty users could blow past those limits in a blink. Also, Verizon's data plans for 4G are pricier than rivals' services.What's more, unlike the Verizon MiFi mobile hot spot card that I use to share a 3G connection with up to five Wi-Fi devices at a time, the LG VL600 model 4G USB modem I plugged into a Dell laptop provided wireless service for just that one computer. The modem is on the bulky side, too, and for now doesn't work with Macs. (Verizon expects to add Mac support soon.) By contrast, the MiFi fits in my pocket. Novatel Wireless, which produces MiFi, says it plans to release a 4G version of the card in early 2011. Novatel won't say which carrier or which technology it will use in the card.•Fast results. I was certainly pleased by the speeds I got. My download speeds topped out at 23.3 Mbps in the New Jersey Meadowlands and 6.21 Mbps for an upload. I ran tests at Speedtest.net. In my house, I saw impressive download speeds in the 12 Mbps range and generally no slower than 7 Mbps downstream. My Wi-Fi service through Optimum Online cable is faster, but not always by much.As I drove around the New York metro area or rode a bus, I sometimes experienced 4G speeds but also reverted to 3G in areas that are not yet covered. Other than detecting pages that no longer loaded as fast, the handoff from 4G to 3G was seamless. You can't revert to 4G (even if you drive back into coverage) without pulling the modem out, reinserting it and starting your session over. That's a step Verizon hopes will soon become unnecessary. For now it's a hassle.Faster speeds are welcome, of course, and Verizon delivers on that promise. But a more economical pricing plan would be welcome, too.Guidelines: You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. Read more.
Obama urges Democrats to support tax cut dealBy Catalina Camia and David Jackson, USA TODAYWASHINGTON — President Obama on Tuesday defended the deal he reached with Republicans on extending a broad range of expiring tax cuts, saying he did not want Americans to be harmed while he engages in a long-term political fight with the GOP. Obama held a hastily arranged news conference to answer questions on the agreement struck late Monday.Vice President Biden went to Capitol Hill to sell the agreement to Democrats who played no part in reaching a compromise Obama said he struck because Republicans would not budge. "The deal we struck here … gives us time to have a political battle," Obama said, adding that he was unwilling to see millions of Americans "immediately damaged at a time when the economy is about to recover." Many in Obama's party, who wanted the focus on poor and middle-class families, lashed out at the agreement that would extend Bush-era tax cuts expiring this year for all income levels, including the wealthy. "Republicans have held the middle class hostage for provisions that benefit only the wealthiest 3%, do not create jobs and add tens of billions of dollars to the deficit," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said in a statement.Pelosi said discussions with the president and the Democratic caucus will continue in the days ahead.Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, vowed to filibuster the deal. His colleague, Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, said the plan was "unconscionable."Seeking to mollify angry Democrats, Obama vowed to fight further extensions of tax cuts for the wealthy when they expire in two years under the proposal being considered by Congress."To my Democratic friends, what I'd suggest is let's make sure that we understand this is a long game. This is not a short game," Obama said.Republicans wanted the cuts to be permanent. The plan would include a tax cut extension for families making more than $250,000 a year.As part of the deal, Obama won agreement from Republicans to extend jobless benefits for 13 months.Obama said he will pressure Republicans to pay for the cuts they want. He said the debate reminds him of the battle over the health care bill: He got a historic piece of legislation passed but was criticized for compromises in the plan."In order to get stuff done, we're going to have to compromise," Obama said. "This country was founded on compromise."The deal provided the first big test of how Obama will work with Republicans after their victory in last month's election. Republicans will take control of the House of Representatives next month and narrow the Democratic majority in the Senate.Obama said he had no choice because he did not have the votes in Congress. For Republicans, he said, "this is their holy grail, these tax cuts for the wealthy."When asked how much the tax cuts will promote economic growth, Obama said they wouldn't provide "as significant a boost" for the economy as the stimulus bill but that wasn't needed because the economy is starting to come back.Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., said Biden characterized the agreement as "a bad situation but a good deal."Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., emerging from a weekly lunch meeting for Republicans, said he considers the deal final and thanked Obama for "working with Republicans on a bipartisan plan to prevent a tax hike on any American and in creating incentives for economic growth."Contributing: John Fritze in Washington; Associated Press Guidelines: You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. Read more.
An astronomy team reported the first atmospheric analysis of a "Super-Earth" planet only a few times larger than our planet.
The Nature journal results suggest the planet, GJ 1214b, has an atmosphere either dominated by hydrogen clouds, or else stuffed with steam. GJ 1214b circles a star about 40 light years away, where one light year is about 5.9 trillion miles. Led by Jacob Bean of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, the results are the first atmospheric analysis of a "transit" planet, detectable through the small drop in starlight it causes as it eclipses its star, of this small size, only about 2.6 times wider than Earth and about 6.5 times heavier.
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This week's United Nations' conference on climate change in Cancun, Mexico may or may not actually accomplish anything about climate change. But crop breeders in India have already created varieties of vital plants for farmers in areas likely to be strongly affected by increasingly erratic weather patterns.
On the theory that it's better to be safe than sorry, researchers at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) in India, have developed climate change-ready cultivars of dryland crops such as pearl millet, sorghum, chickpea, pigeonpea and peanuts.
These crops, crucial for farmers in the dryland tropics, already had some natural advantages to withstand climate change. The breeders brought those to the fore.
Pearl millet and sorghum are can survive in soils with high levels of salt, a frequent byproduct of water level changes. Also, some of the pearl millet varieties developed by ICRISAT can flower and set seed at temperatures over 107 degrees, which aren't uncommon in areas like Western Rajasthan and Gujarat in India.
New cultivars of quick-growing peanuts are drought tolerant and farmers are already planning them in favor of older varieties that aren't.
For longer dry seasons, which means a shorter growing season, ICRISAT has developed chickpea varieties that are extra-early (85 to 90 days to maturity) and super-early (75 to 80 days). They've also identified chickpea lines with high heat tolerance, so the protein-rich beans can be grown in areas where there are heat waves during the pod filling stage, when the plant is heat sensitive.
In a release, ICRISAT notes that with "a combination of climate change-ready varieties plus improved agronomic practices, dryland farmers will be able to overcome the adverse impacts of a warmer world."
ICRISAT is an international non-profit organization that has been doing agricultural research for farmers in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa since 1972. Its headquarters are in Hyderabad, India. It also has regional hubs in Niger and Kenya and offices in Mali, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Malawi. It belongs to the Consortium of Centers supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural.
By Elizabeth Weise
What lurks beneath Yosemite National Park? A newly-discovered pseudoscorpion, biologists report.
The little critter, less than half-an-inch long, turned up in surveys of Yosemite's granite caves, the researchers report. A description of the venomous bug, Parobisium yosemite, appears in the latest Occasional Papers, Museum of Texas Tech University journal. Pseudoscorpions are tiny members of the spider family that look like scorpions but are tiny in size and lack a stinging tail.
The harmless-to-people, newly-discovered pseudoscorpion first turned up several years ago in a survey in Yosemite's Indian Cave by Austin-based researcher Jean Krejca. Parobisium yosemite is the second pseudoscorpion species found in Yosemite's caves.
By Dan Vergano
The world's lakes are warming because of climate change, according to a study published last week in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, a publication of the American Geophysical Union.
In the first worldwide survey of how lake temperatures are changing due to greenhouse gas emissions, scientists report that the Earth's largest lakes have warmed at an average rate of 0.81 degree (F) per decade during the past 25 years. Some lakes warmed as much as 1.8 degrees per decade.
The warming trend was global.
NASA scientists Philipp Schneider and Simon Hook used thermal infrared imagery from satellites to measure the surface temperatures of 167 large lakes worldwide.
In the USA, the warming was slightly higher in the Southwest than in the Great Lakes.
The largest and most consistent area of warming was northern Europe. The warming trend was slightly weaker in southeastern Europe, near the Black and Caspian seas and Kazakhstan. The trends increased slightly in Siberia, Mongolia and northern China.
"Our analysis provides a new, independent data source for assessing the impact of climate change over land around the world," says Schneider. "The results have implications for lake ecosystems, which can be adversely affected by even small water temperature changes."
Fresh water lakes make up only a tiny fraction of the water on Earth, when compared to the oceans: Oceans hold 97 percent of surface water, glaciers and polar ice caps 2.4 percent, and other land surface water such as rivers, lakes and ponds 0.6 percent.
According to the study, even small changes in water temperature can result in algal blooms that can make a lake toxic to fish or result in the introduction of non-native species that change the lake's natural ecosystem.
By Doyle Rice
Human social interactions get a fascinating visual representation in a computer-generated video by scientists in the United Kingdom. The shifting, jumping social networksjitterbug about, waxing and waning and almost seem to play tug-a-war with individuals who change their interests.
"It was fascinating to see how the cliques could form without any one person organizing everything," Seth Bullock, one of the authors, said in a release. "We saw individuals moving from one clique to another. Over time some cliques disappeared while new ones were established".
The researchers, from Royal Holloway, University of London, the University of Southampton and the Institute of Zoology at the Zoological Society of London, were interested in the fact that even though humans change friends over time, we often form cliques that can persist for years or lifetimes.
Using computer models, they created groups of individuals, some of whom shared interests and some of whom didn't. The groups 'rewire their edges' and end up in relatively stable groupings. Though if one individual then changed their interests or politics, they suddenly acquired a new group of friends. For awhile their two cliques almost seem to fight over them before they achieve a stable equilibrium.
The results, the researchers believe, can help scientists understand how many social and biological systems maintain stable community structures despite ever-shifting members.
The study, 'Stability in flux: community structure in dynamic networks', is in this week's edition of the Journal of the Royal Society Interface.
By Elizabeth Weise
Saturn's mystery moon, Enceladus, looks warmer and more fractured by geysers than previously suspected, report NASA scientists.
In an Aug. 13 flyby of the small moon, some 313 miles wide, the international Cassini spacecraft team captured heat measurements of the "tiger stripe" rifts lining the frozen mini-world's southern regions.
Additional high-resolution spectrometer maps of one end of the tiger stripes Alexandria Sulcus and Cairo Sulcus reveal never-before-seen warm fractures that branch off like split ends from the main tiger stripe trenches. They also show an intriguing warm spot isolated from other active surface fissures, says a Jet Propulsion Lab statement.
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Depressed patients pick out sad faces easily, psychologists report, but have trouble with happiness or more subtle emotions.
In the current Journal of Abnormal Psychology, a team led by Jackie Gollan of the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, tested 200 images of facial expressions on 44 depressed and 44 untroubled volunteers.
"Accurate recognition of facial expressions is a critical skill for adaptive social cognition, particularly given the extent to which human facial expressions convey intention and emotion," begins the study. "An impaired ability to recognize emotional stimuli may lead to misinterpretation of emotional cues that would normally guide behavior, thereby generating changes in mood and functioning."
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Could musk oxen save the planet? A Russian scientist is working to recreate Ice Age conditions by "rewilding" -- reintroducing -- native beasts such as musk oxen, reindeer and moose to Siberia. He hopes the move will help slow global warming. Check out this video:
Richard Goldman, the San Francisco philanthropist who foundered the Goldman Environmental Prize with his wife Rhoda, has died.
Goldman, 90, passed away peacefully at his home in San Francisco on Nov. 29, the Goldman Environmental Prize office announced.
The Goldmans established the Goldman Environmental Prize in 1990. It awards $150,000 to six grassroots environmental heroes each year, one from each of the world's inhabited regions. The award is often called "the green Nobel." Since it began the prize has awarded $13.2 million to 139 recipients from 79 countries. It is headquartered in San Francisco.
By Elizabeth Weise
Birdwatchers hiking into a remote area of the Peruvian cloud forest were treated this fall to the sight of one of the rarest birds in the world, the Peruvian Long-whiskered Owlet. Birding groups observed the tiny creature multiple times between Sept. 21 and Nov. 8, according to staff at the Abra Patricia Reserve in northern Peru.
The five-inch-tall owl's scientific name is Xenoglaux loweryi, which means "strange owl."
The owlet was only discovered in 1976, and for 26 years there were no confirmed sightings at all. But eco-tourist birding groups from the USA, Canada, the United Kingdom, Holland, Costa Rica, and Sweden saw the owlet near the Owlet Ecolodge at the Abra Patricia Reserve multiple times. Reserve rangers discovered a new Owlet territory in July.
The species' habitat has been protected there by American Bird Conservancy and the Peruvian conservation organization Asociación Ecosistemas Andinos.
"We are now starting to understand more about its habits and hopefully in the future more people will be able to see this, one of the ultimate birds for any birder," Sara Lara, International Programs Director for American Bird Conservancy, said in a release.
Seeing the owlets isn't a given. To protect the owlets' habitat and keep them from being disturbed, only six birders at a time are allowed in, accompanied by reserve rangers at all times. If owlets do not respond to taped playback of an owl calling after two attempts, visitors are moved on to a different territory.
The Long-whiskered Owlet is ranked as endangered under the International Union for Conservation of Nature criteria. Its range is believed to be just 73 square miles. High rates of deforestation in the area threaten its remaining habitat.
Here's a night-time view of the eruption, in two minutes. "The incandescence you can see in the night shot is not a lava flow but the trace of the hot blocks left on a 30 seccond exposure shot. You don't see it during the day because of the light contrast but it is the same activity during the day and during the night," Bernard said in an email.
Here's the same volcano during the day. Lots of smoke, no incandescence but still pretty amazing.
M. Bernard, who's also something of a music aficionado, suggests listening to the song "Hold On" by Angus & Julia Stone while watching the second video. "The rhythm of the drums of this song fit fairly well to the increasingly accelerated pace of the volcano," he says on his blog.
By Elizabeth Weise
Environmental and fisheries groups got a little good news about protecting several over-fished shark species, but bad news about tuna, at an important European meeting this weekend.
The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas spent the week meeting in Paris. On Saturday the group voted to adopt measure to protect two shark species, but fell far short of what U.S. and other countries had hoped for the highly-prized Atlantic bluefin tuna.
The United States and multiple conservation and fisheries organizations had urged the group to protect the tuna's spawning grounds, limit catches and put in place effective management to allow the much-diminished species to rebuild.
The Pew Environment Group called the measures "cosmetic" efforts to promote enforcement and compliance.
At her introductory remarks at the Paris meeting, the head of the U.S.'s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Jane Lubchenco, said "Today we have a choice to make: Will we choose sustainability or status quo? Will we continue down the path we are on, or chose a different direction? I believe in a future where fishermen and fish thrive. The world is watching. The world is waiting. Let's rise to the challenge."
That challenge was not risen to, Susan Lieberman, Pew's director of international policy, said in a release.
"The inability of ICCAT member governments to make significant decisions to improve the health of Atlantic bluefin tuna and shark populations reflects the failure of a system that was set up largely by fishing countries on behalf of fishing interests,"
An attempt to give Atlantic bluefin tuna breathing room in March was scuttled when attempts to list it under Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (called CITES), supported by the United States and the European Union, failed.
Japan, which consumes a large amount of bluefin tuna as sushi and sashimi, had lobbied against the CITES listing.
A series of articles by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists revealed much mismanagement of the bluefin populations by ICCATT and a billion dollar black market in the economically valuable fish.
By Elizabeth Weise
A pair of mouse studies point to avenues for treating aging and one its most dreaded ailments, Alzheimer's disease.
Released Sunday by the journal, Nature, both studies used mouse models of human disease to look for treatments.
In the first study, a team led by Mariela Jaskelioff of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, reports they reversed "multi-system degeneration", better known as aging, in mice, by treating them with a drug designed to restore the protective "telomeres" capping their chromosomes:
"As noted, age-associated compromise in mammalian brain function is associated with extensive accumulation of DNA damage and progressive reduction in neurogenesis and myelination. Indeed, many aspects of this central nervous system decline are accelerated and worsened in the setting of telomere dysfunction. Our data establish that telomerase reactivation in adult mice with telomere dysfunction can restore SVZ (subventricular) neurogenesis and, consistent with its role in sustaining new olfactory bulb neurons, can ameliorate odour detection with improved performance in innate odour avoidance tests. These results are consistent with previous studies showing that prolonged inhibition of neurogenesis in the SVZ has a negative effect on odour detection thresholds. In conclusion, this unprecedented reversal of age-related decline in the central nervous system and other organs vital to adult mammalian health justify exploration of telomere rejuvenation strategies for age-associated diseases, particularly those driven by accumulating genotoxic stress," they conclude.
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Federal research funding cuts of 5-10%, or more, look likely for the next two years, says a former federal science official and science publisher.
"The consequences would be severe," says Science magazine executive publisher Alan Leshner, in an editorial. "The science and engineering community must mobilize now to stave off these funding cuts, which could be decided very soon."
The U.S. government invests about $150 billion annually into research, with the majority going to the Defense Department, according to the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Cuts to research funding would most curtail research by young investigators at the the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health and other agencies, Leshner says, putting grant application success rates below 10%:
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Science journals unleash tip sheets on reporters weekly, describing potentially newsworthy results from their upcoming studies.
Here's a look back at some of the week's past tip sheet items that some prominent journals liked, with the results described in their own words.
Monday:
Journal of Experimental Medicine
1. Skin cells from humans can be revamped into pro-clotting cells called platelets, according to a study published on Nov. 22 in the Journal of Experimental Medicine. Patients with diseases causing thrombocytopenia -- platelet deficiency -- often require repeated transfusions with platelets obtained from healthy donors.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
1. Muslims face religious discrimination in France Muslim immigrants in France must overcome religious discrimination to find jobs, researchers find.
2. A greener revolution for Africa - Diversified cereal cropping could help enhance sustainable food security in Africa, according to a study.
3. Blast waves' effects on the human brain. The United States military's Advanced Combat Helmet (ACH) may do little to protect soldiers from blast-induced brain injury, according to a report.
4. Social interactions lead to bigger brains - Mammal brains get bigger over time in response to increasingly complex social interactions, according to a study.
People who spend a lot of time watching videos or downloading files from the Internet could pay higher prices as part of a controversial proposal that Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski unveiled Wednesday.He will ask the five-member regulatory agency to vote on Dec. 21 on rules that he says would "preserve the freedom and openness of the Internet." President Obama has said that protecting what's known as net neutrality would be a top goal.Genachowski said that his proposal would bar "unreasonable" efforts by Internet providers — led by cable and phone companies — to help some services and hurt others. For example, providers couldn't provide smooth and uninterrupted transmissions for communication services that they own, and jittery or delayed transmissions for competitors such as YouTube or Skype.But Genachowski apparently hopes to win cable and phone company support by endorsing their right to make heavy Internet users pay more. It's been unclear whether the FCC would deem such pricing plans to be discriminatory: For example, consumers might favor unlimited conventional cable TV over a Web video service such as Netflix if broadband prices were tied to how many minutes or megabytes they use."The thrust of the proposal has shifted from purely preserving 'openness' to now simultaneously acknowledging the need for broadband rationing," says analyst Craig Moffett of financial services firm Bernstein Research.Genachowski also made a concession to cable and phone companies by abandoning his effort to reclassify the Internet as a regulated communications service, similar to telephone connections.Internet providers vigorously objected to that effort, launched in May following a U.S. Court of Appeals ruling. Justices said the FCC lacked authority to set rules for the Internet because the agency has classified it as an unregulated information service.Republican Commissioner Robert McDowell challenged the FCC's authority to adopt what he called an "ill-advised" and "highly interventionist" plan. House Republicans are "promising to attack the FCC move to write rules," says analyst Rebecca Arbogast at financial services firm Stifel Nicolaus.Net neutrality supporters were divided. Free Press CEO Josh Silver called the proposal "disappointing." Craigslist founder Craig Newmark said it would "help ensure certainty in markets while also preserving the openness ... of the Internet."Guidelines: You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. Read more.
MUMBAI: Muslims are looking forward to celebrate Eid-ul-Azha or Bakri-Eid on Wednesday with gaity and in a spirit of sacrifice. After the brief prayers in the morning at mosques, the community will get down to sacrificing goats and sheep.
This meat will then be used to prepare a variety of dishes. But then feasting is just one aspect. The main purpose of Bakri-Eid is reiteration of devotion to the divine rule, Muslim scholars say. Since the festival is a commemoration of prophet Abraham's unflinching faith and devotion to Allah's commandments, Muslims must try to show the same spirit when they celebrate Bakri-Eid.
"The sacrificial meat is divided into three parts. One part goes to the poor, the second to relatives and the third remains with the family. And the animal's skin is given as charity," explains senior cleric Maulana Shoeb Koti.
"This clearly shows that Allah wants Muslims to remember the poor in celebrations. This spirit will help establish justice in society."
This year, the festivities are rather low key as prices of essential commodities as well as goats have skyrocketed.
A cholera outbreak in earthquake-ravaged Haiti that has killed more than 900 people will continue for at least six months, possibly years, experts say.The outbreak has spread quickly, reaching at least six of Haiti's 10 provinces since it was confirmed Oct. 22, says Donna Eberwine-Villagrán of the Pan American Health Organization. So far, 16,800 people have been hospitalized, but she says the number affected is most likely higher because those who have not gone to a health facility have not been counted.Her group estimates at least 200,000 people will become ill.Now that the disease has a foothold, it will be nearly impossible to eradicate without permanent access to clean water, says Jeffrey Withey, a microbiologist with the Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit.A massive earthquake in January left 1.3 million people homeless, many crowded in tent camps without plumbing."The outbreak will continue for the foreseeable future," Withey says.A permanent solution in Haiti is far off, especially since government and relief agencies are overwhelmed trying to save people with the disease, says Sophie Delaunay, executive director of Doctors Without Borders USA.The bacteria are spread through contaminated food or water. Relief agencies and the government have launched a campaign to teach people to drink only clean water, wash their hands with soap and clean water and dispose of feces properly. Cholera is lethal if untreated. It is relatively easy to treat with rehydration packs of salt or sugar water and antibiotics; even so, Delaunay says, relief agencies do not have enough supplies.The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has started a $164 million fundraising effort that includes a proposed $90 million to build permanent distribution systems for clean water.Complicating the response: riots in several cities Monday by protesters responding to rumors that U.N. peacekeepers from Nepal were to blame for the outbreak. The riots left at least one protester dead and six peacekeepers wounded.The U.N. Stabilization Mission in Haiti said the protests were linked to the Nov. 28 presidential election.Robert Quick, an epidemiologist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) who is in Haiti, says it is likely that the cause of the outbreak will never be known. Global travel and trade make it easy for the bacteria to spread, he says.The CDC concluded in March that cholera was unlikely to occur in Haiti because the country had not seen an outbreak in at least 50 years.Afsar Ali, a University of Florida microbiologist who studies cholera in developing countries, was not surprised by the outbreak.Ali says he went to Haiti in August and saw too many people in crowded, squalid conditions with no access to clean water. He says more surveillance of water sources, particularly in areas outside Port-au-Prince, could have alerted authorities to cholera in the water and an education campaign could have taught people how not to spread the bacteria.Because the focus was on disaster relief after the quake, he says, "nobody paid attention. Everyone was busy doing other things."Guidelines: You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. Read more.
Relieved passengers wheeled their suitcases down the gangplank of a disabled cruise ship Thursday, cheering as they finally touched land after three nightmarish days adrift with limited food, backed-up toilets and dark cabins. Pulled by six tug boats and escorted by Coast Guard cutters, nearly 1,000-foot Carnival Splendor reached the dock at about 8:30 a.m. PT. The first group of passengers walked down a ramp about an hour later, dragging rolling suitcases behind them and entering a tent on the dock. With the ship's elevators out of order, port officials estimated it would take about four hours for everyone to leave the ship."I love being back on land," said passenger Ken King, who turned 42 on Thursday.King said he and his traveling companion were celebrating their birthdays on the cruise, so Carnival chose them to be in the first group off the ship."The staff was excellent. Only a few people on board were rude. The food was horrible. Starting at 5 a.m. on Monday, we didn't have toilets for 13 hours," King said.Chris Harlen, a dental technician, offered a quick description of his experience after disembarking with his wife and two children, ages 10 and 8."It was gross when the toilets weren't working. What can you do?" Harlan said. "There were a lot of people getting smashed off warm beer."About 100 people onshore cheered loudly as the ship reached shore, while all along the harbor, tourists, joggers and fishermen stopped to snap photos.Among the crowd of onlookers waiting at the port are two sisters who flew in last night from Kansas City to sell T-shirts they printed for the occasion. "I Survived the 2010 Carnival Cruise Spamcation" the blue shirts read. Lissa Letts said she doesn't know anyone on board. She said she and her sister were stranded in Europe by the volcano earlier this year and had T shirts printed for themselves marking the event. "Everybody wanted to buy them, so we thought these folks would like some shirts too," Letts said. She was selling them for $20 each. For the past three days, the giant cruise ship Carnival Splendor — with a small city of nearly 4,500 passengers and crewmembers aboard — has been without power 55 miles off the coast of Punta San Jacinto, disabled by an engine fire that has made the ship the focus of a military relief effort and worldwide attention.As tugboats sent to rescue the Long Beach, Calif.-based vessel pulled it closer to shore and within cellphone range Wednesday, some of the 3,299 passengers aboard began calling family, friends and news outlets with firsthand accounts of increasingly miserable — and smelly — days without basic services such as hot food, air conditioning and, for a time, working toilets."It's nothing like anyone expected," said passenger David Zambrano, a technical operations employee of Denver's KUSA-TV, in a report filed to the station. "You stand in line for two hours just to get your food because everybody goes to the same place to pick up their food. Then once you get your food, you look for something to do. People are playing cards. People are standing around, just kind of talking. They're getting to socialize."Instead of dining on lavish seafood buffets, passengers have been fed Spam, canned crabmeat and Pop-Tarts, which are being ferried to them by U.S. Navy Seahawk helicopters from the USS Ronald Reagan, an aircraft carrier that reached the ship after being diverted from training off Baja California.Two Detroit-area women, Angela Evans and Natalie Martinez, said the ship still has no electricity, no air conditioning and no hot water, and their windowless inside cabin is pitch black, according to Greg Alexander, Evans' boyfriend, who finally talked with her on a crackling cellphone connection Wednesday afternoon."They're fine but worn out emotionally," he told the Detroit Free Press. "The first couple days were a nightmare."Cruise Director John Heald says the thousands of guests on the ship "have risen to the obvious challenges and difficult conditions onboard." His comments were posted in a blog on Carnival's website.He says he's been making a lot of announcements from the bridge to keep everyone informed of the situation.Because of the lack of power, ship-to-shore phone service, cellphone and Internet service on the ship went down after the fire early Monday, leaving passengers unable to communicate with loved ones back on land. Carnival says it got limited phone service restored Wednesday, and allowed passengers to make outbound calls home on ship phones at no charge.Phone service, cellphone and Internet service on cruise ships are done via satellites.Until Wednesday, passengers also were unable to use their cellphones to call home because the ship was too far from shore-based cell towers. When the Carnival Splendor got closer to land, some passengers began receiving intermittent cell signals.She says weather conditions are favorable for the operation, but the tugs will have to take special care because of the massive size of the ship and because it's completely without power.As the Splendor is slowly pulled back to shore, there are many questions concerning what caused the fire and how it disabled the entire ship. And cruise industry analysts already are debating whether the stranding of one of the industry's newest, most modern vessels will have a long-term impact on what has been one of the fastest-growing segments of the travel business."When the Splendor arrives back in port, there's likely to be considerable media coverage of very unhappy, sometimes angry people whose vacation went awry," says Mike Driscoll, editor of Cruise Week, a leading industry publication. "The so-called Spam cruise may sound funny to some outsiders watching TV, but it's not funny to those who were on it."'Any ship can burn' The fire broke out early Monday in the ship's aft engine room and took about three hours to extinguish, according to a Coast Guard timeline. It left the ship dead in the water with limited power. Carnival says no one was injured in the incident, but the Splendor's main generators were disabled and efforts to restart them failed.The ship was one day into a seven-night voyage from Long Beach that was to include stops in Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan and Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.Carnival says some shipboard programming, including children's programs and entertainment, have been provided since the fire. Some cabin toilets remain inoperable, but engineers have been able to restore toilet service in most cabins and all public bathrooms, the cruise line says. Because there was no power, the ship also had no propulsion system to help steady itself. The passengers who called to shore on Wednesday reported that the ship was rolling with the waves more than usual, leading some passengers to get sick.Food provisions quickly became unusable because of the lack of refrigeration, prompting the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Navy to launch a relief effort. On Tuesday, the USS Ronald Reagan arrived nearby with 60,000 pounds of supplies it has been ferrying to the Splendor by helicopter.U.S. Navy Cmdr. Greg Hicks tells USA TODAY that the supplies were purchased by Carnival Cruise Lines. Hicks says the aircraft carrier, which has a crew of 5,000 to 6,000 people, has an operational cost of $1 million a day. He says he doesn't know whether the Navy will seek reimbursement from Carnival.The U.S. Coast Guard, which on Monday diverted the 378-foot cutter Morgenthau from a routine drug enforcement patrol to help the stranded cruise ship, won't be charging for its services, Coast Guard Lt. Patrick Montgomery says."We don't put a price tag on safety at sea," says Montgomery, who declined to provide a daily cost of the Coast Guard's relief effort. "The Coast Guard went out there to help a vessel in distress. We do not charge to assist a vessel in distress."The Coast Guard says it landed a team on the Splendor on Monday, and that the team concluded the ship's passengers and crew were safe. The Morgenthau has remained with the crippled ship and is following it back to the USA. The ship is being towed by two tugboats Carnival hired out of Ensenada, Mexico.Carnival president and CEO Gerry Cahill said the "very surprising" fire began in No. 5 of the ship's six generators. He said a "crankcase split, and that's what caused the fire. It was isolated to the aft generator room." He said technicians from the ship's builder, Carnival, the Lloyd's insurance firm and others will inspect the ship's damage, and that the vessel will be repaired in San Diego."This fire has occurred on one of the newest, most advanced and largest cruise ships in the world," notes longtime industry watcher Peter Knego of MaritimeMatters.com, adding that it also comes just weeks after the implementation of stringent new international fire safety laws that have forced a generation of older ships into retirement."It just shows that any ship can burn — or sink, for that matter — and underscores the importance of good maintenance, up-to-date alarm systems and proper safety protocol," Knego says. "By all accounts thus far, it appears the ship's officers and crew have done everything by the book."A 'PR nightmare' for Carnival Travel agent Carrie Finley-Bajak of Cruise Holidays in Mission Viejo, Calif., worries about the impact passengers getting off the ship with tales of woe will have on the line's image."Carnival has a potential PR nightmare to deal with," she says.An even bigger issue for Finley-Bajak, who caters to the California market, is the impact the damage to the ship will have on cabin availability and pricing of cruises in the region, assuming the Splendor is out of commission for a significant period.Cruise lines have been reducing the number of ships based along the West Coast for trips to Mexico as they expand operations in more lucrative areas such as Europe, and only a few operate regularly out of the Los Angeles area and San Diego."The Splendor is a major player in the seven-night Mexican Riviera (cruise) market," Finley-Bajak says. "With the removal of the Splendor's berths from the overall inventory base, demand for other products will be higher with less inventory, and thus higher prices."Should repairs to the Splendor take more than a few weeks, the holiday vacation plans of thousands of people could be in jeopardy, she says.Carnival has canceled the next voyage of the Splendor, which had been scheduled to begin on Nov. 14 in Long Beach. Passengers booked on that trip will receive a full refund plus a 25% discount on a future cruise, the line says.Carnival has a history of improvising well in tough times.The line's first ship, the Mardi Gras, famously got stuck on a sand bank off Miami during its maiden voyage in 1972. To appease passengers who included influential travel writers and agents whose support (or lack thereof) could make or break the start-up line, Carnival quickly opened up the bar for free drinks. Soon, all was well."The incident passed without much notice to anyone on board," Knego says. "Carnival went on to become the biggest cruise line in history."For years afterward, the line even served a special drink commemorating the event, the Mardi Gras on the Rocks.This time, an open bar was part of Carnival's damage-control strategy, too. The bars aboard the Splendor are serving free beer and wine, the cruise line says.Carnival also announced that everyone on the stricken ship will receive a full refund of their cruise fare, reimbursement for additional travel costs such as airfare, and credit for a free future cruise — a level of restitution that is highly unusual in the business."We sincerely apologize to our guests for this unfortunate situation and offer our thanks for their patience and cooperation during this challenging time," Carnival's Cahill said in a statement. "The safety and comfort of our guests is our top priority, and we are doing everything we can to allow them to return home as quickly as possible."We know we've ruined their vacations," Cahill said, "so we thought the best thing to do was to give (passengers) their money back, make them whole, then give them their vacation back" with free tickets for another cruise.Passenger fares on the Carnival Splendor vary according to cabin size, but generally range from $400 to $1,000 per person to for a week-long cruise that includes food and entertainment.Veteran cruise seller Stewart Chiron of CruiseGuy.com says he doesn't expect a long-term impact on cruise bookings from the incident. If anything, he says, it should tell any nervous travelers that ships are well-equipped to deal with major events such as a fire."Passengers on board Carnival Splendor may be uncomfortable, but they're safe," Chiron says. "Based on available information, the fire was quickly contained."Nightmarish events on cruise ships typically have not had a long-term impact on bookings.Last year a Norwegian Cruise Line ship, the Norwegian Dawn, lost power in the Caribbean for more than a day in an incident that passengers reported quickly became unbearable. And in 2006 a fire on a Princess Cruises ship in the Caribbean left one passenger dead. Neither incident caused a measurable decline in bookings.The Cruise Lines International Association forecasts the industry will carry a record 14.3 million passengers this year, up 6.4% from 2009. In 2006, the number was 12 million."These types of things do happen once in a while, and historically speaking, there's a blip, but that's all, sometimes not even a blip," Driscoll says. "Experienced cruisers understand this is extremely unlikely to happen to them."Contributing: USA TODAY's Bill Welch in San Diego, Calif., The Associated PressGuidelines: You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. Read more.
JAKARTA, Indonesia — President Obama on Tuesday said his efforts to find ways to cooperate with Indonesia were "direct results of my call ... for a new beginning between the United States and Muslim communities."Yet he said progress on that front has not been entirely successful."Our efforts have been earnest, sustained," Obama said. "We don't expect that we are going to completely eliminate some of the misunderstandings and mistrust that have developed ... but we do think that we're on the right path."After visiting the largest mosque in Southeast Asia, Obama will deliver a speech today at the University of Indonesia on just whom the United States is fighting and why.The speech was also to focus on what Obama said were shared values of religious tolerance and unity in diversity."I have made it clear that America is not, and never will be, at war with Islam," he said in remarks prepared prior to the speech and distributed to the news media."Instead, all of us must defeat al-Qaeda and its affiliates, who have no claim to be leaders of any religion — certainly not a great, world religion like Islam."Most of Indonesia's 240 million people follow a moderate form of Islam.But some Indonesians oppose U.S. policies in the Middle East, Iraq, Afghanistan and Indonesia.The radical group Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia protested Obama's visit earlier in the week, and on Tuesday members of the Muslim movement GPI held a demonstration to criticize what they say is American hunger for Indonesian resources.Obama's Kenyan father was a Muslim, but Obama is a Christian.His former elementary teacher Effendi, 65, said that Obama was registered as a Muslim student because of his Indonesian stepfather.Effendi, like many Indonesians, goes by only one name."He went to the (Muslim) prayer room on Fridays like the other pupils," said Effendi, but his parents insisted he study Islam and Catholicism, he said. "Sometimes he didn't know which classroom he should go to," Effendi said of the 10-year-old Obama.Effendi said Obama's youthful experience here leaves him confident that "Obama can improve relations between the USA, Indonesia and Islam."At a joint news conference Tuesday with Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Obama said "what we're trying to do is make sure that we are building bridges and expanding our interactions with Muslim countries."The rise of militant Islam and terrorist strikes in Indonesia have spurred deeper cooperation with the United States on counterterrorism. But some local analysts doubted the speech's impact."He will express his strong commitment to embrace the Islamic world. But it will remain rhetoric," Azyumardi Azra, an Islamic scholar, told the Jakarta Post newspaper.Guidelines: You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. Read more.
MUMBAI, India — A female tribal leader working to get more girls into classrooms, in a rural society that places boys first. A former civil servant running a website to battle corruption. Schoolchildren who got the first couple dancing for the Hindu festival Diwali.These were some of the Indians whom President Obama met Sunday on the second day of his four-nation Asia tour. The issues raised highlight the massive challenges facing this poor but fast-growing nation of 1.1 billion people, to whom Obama promised he would elevate the U.S.-India partnership "to an entirely new level."He also faced the sensitive question of Pakistan-based terrorism, when asked, at a town-hall-style meeting with students, the question on many Indians' minds: Why hasn't the USA declared Pakistan a terrorist state? Obama stressed the need to work with Islamabad "to eradicate this extremism that we consider a cancer within the country that can potentially engulf the country."His answers satisfied Swetha Anandhan, a microbiology student at Mumbai's St. Xavier's College, which hosted the event."You have to accept his need for diplomacy. I think he's doing a good job, but I will wait for a year or two" to see whether he can really deepen India-U.S. ties, said Anandhan, 20.Other students welcomed Obama's focus on India, the longest stop of his week-long trip."We are a huge nation, with a huge population, and poverty is everywhere," said Mohini Bhattacharya, 21, a post-graduate in microbiology. "But Obama gives us hope we can be on a par with the superpowers," she said.Kishu Daswani, a professor at Mumbai's Government Law College, said he was withholding judgment."The response of India is fairly guarded at the moment," said Daswani, who attended Obama's exchanges with students. "The proof of the pudding is in the eating. We need to get to specifics."Obama had dinner Sunday with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and was to attend a state banquet tonight with Indian President Pratibha Patil.Obama will also visit today a memorial to Mohandas Gandhi, who he said Sunday had taught him to be "persistent and stubborn" to achieve his journey.Tribal leader Sharmi Bai can attest to that. In the patriarchal society of the Garasiya tribe in Rajasthan, Bai, 35, has won two elections to local councils in the past five years through her determination to help girls and women. "Some believe that investment in a boy pays off, but it's wasted on a girl," said Bai about the many village girls forced to help out at home instead of going to school.The Obamas' first stop Sunday was to join in Diwali celebrations, and a dance, with students at the city's Holy Name School.Education campaigner Anil Sadgopal expressed disappointment the president chose a private school over one of the city's 2,000 public schools. Similarly, the choice of St. Xavier's, with its English-speaking, upper middle-class students, also ensured Obama reached only the elite, ruling class, he said.Instead, the U.S. visit should have highlighted the desperate need to increase public funding to change the "horrible" situation whereby 10%-20% of Indian children never enter school, a majority drop out by eighth grade, and only 10% of 18- to 24-year-olds attend college, said Sadgopal, a leader of the All India Forum for Right for Education, a pressure group.In his meeting with Obama, T.R. Raghunandan discussed India's corruption problem. In August, Raghunandan set up ipaidabribe.com, where Indians can report the bribes they are forced to pay to access public services."The poor can't get the services they are entitled to because the rich increase the price by paying bribes," Raghunandan said.Many Mumbai residents marked the fourth day of their Diwali festival Saturday by visiting the city's famous temple to Mahalaxmi, the goddess of wealth. With offerings of lotus flowers, coconuts and sweets, they prayed for prosperity — and pleaded for clean government."All Indian politicians are corrupt, they promise a lot but don't deliver," said Vipul Savla, 32, owner of a suit-making business. "Obama, too, will make promises, but can he deliver?"As India's economy has boomed, so has his small firm, with 15% annual growth in the past five years, Salva said. He says he is "confident and comfortable" about the future."We don't need America, we are powerful now, and we stand on our own," said Dharmendra Bhatt, boss of a real estate agency.Bhatt echoed widespread concerns here that the USA supports Pakistan without taking effective action to curb Pakistan-based terrorism. He also opposes the opening up of Indian markets to U.S. firms, one of Obama's avowed aims."The USA is afraid of India's economic growth, and they know we will be the No.1 economy in the future," Bhatt said.Obama's visit "won't help me or any of the washermen working here," complained Subhir Kannajiya, at the Mahalaxmi dobhi ghat, an open-air, hand-beaten laundry center so vast it has become a tourist attraction."Some are getting rich in Mumbai, but most of the people are still poor," he said.Guidelines: You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. Read more.
xxxGuidelines: You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. Read more.
The most obvious way is to announce and release a Verizon iPhone, a lot of Americans are not fans of AT&T’s network, therefore choose Verizon instead, at the moment most, if not all of the high-end devices Verizon offer run Android, which is obviously one way that Android has grown so much lately.
If you check out eWeek’s recent article you can see nine other ways that Apple can combat Android, we will talk about them briefly in this article, however check out this link for full details (be aware the article is split across two pages).
Other suggestions include keeping the pressure on with patents, keeping ahead in terms of physical and software design, continuing to innovate and improve on where iOS is failing, fix the antenna issue, use marketing to fight Google, add something exciting to the next iPhone (preferably something that has not been done before) and focus on Google as a competitor rather than all other smartphone options.
Towards the end of eWeek’s article they seem to run out of ideas, they say that Google should look beyond smartphones and also concentrate on future tablets, to be honest I think that Apple has been doing this with all of their iOS updates etc.
We would love to hear your opinions on this article, what do you think Apple should concentrate on to combat Android? Personally, I think the next iPhone’s hardware needs to outdo its competitors rather than close the gap.
The new Senate will remain under the control of a slimmer Democratic majority. That much is known.However, it could take days — or weeks — to call winners in at least two unresolved races in Alaska and Washington.In Colorado, with about 97% of the vote counted, Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet declared victory Wednesday over Republican challenger Ken Buck, who did not immediately concede."We are still looking where returns need to be reported, as well as provisional ballots before making any decisions," Buck said in a written statement Wednesday.Despite Bennet's apparent victory, the GOP picked up at least six seats that will give Republicans at least 47 seats in the 100-member body, as the as the nation awaits the results of the undecided contests.The most complex of the undecided races is in Alaska, where state officials Wednesday are just beginning to review thousands of ballots cast as part of an unusual write-in campaign waged by incumbent Republican Lisa Murkowski against Tea Party-supported candidate Joe Miller.Although the 41% write-in vote so far exceeds the 34% for Miller, the state has yet to determine how many of the write-in ballots were cast in the name of Murkowski, who launched the campaign after losing the Republican primary to Miller.Alaska Division of Elections Director Gail Fenumiai said Wednesday that officials were "formulating" a plan to count the write-ins. She declined to say how long the count could take. Lt. Gov. Craig Campbell told the Associated Press that the actual count will begin next week in Juneau.Miller campaign spokesman Robert Campbell said the process could likely take "a couple of weeks."Robert Campbell said the campaign has assembled a legal team to oversee the review to "make sure all the ballots abide by the rules of the Division of Elections.""Previous write-in campaigns in Alaska have demonstrated that as much as 5% to 6% of returned ballots have not met the standard to be counted as a valid vote," Miller said in a written statement."At this point, without a single write-in ballot counted, Lisa Murkowski has no claim on a victory ... In short, this campaign is not over."Murkowski spokesman Steve Wackowski said the campaign was "encouraged" by the volume of write-in votes."We're very confident, but we're not declaring victory," he said.In Washington state, incumbent Democratic Sen. Patty Murray was holding a small lead over Republican challenger Dino Rossi, but hundreds of thousands of ballots were left to be counted.Rossi, a real-estate investor and former state senator, has twice lost races for governor.Washington Secretary of State spokesman David Ammons said Wednesday that up to 1 million ballots may be left to count and 14,000 votes separate the two candidates.About one-third of the outstanding votes, Ammons said, are believed to be from Seattle's King County, which traditionally favors Democrats."It's close," Ammons said. "I'm sure both sides are out there spinning their paths to victory. It should be clear by the end of the week."Guidelines: You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. Read more.
Steve Helber, AP
Pool, Getty Images
This week a Consumer Reports survey confirmed what many iPhone owners already knew --that carrier AT&T has some serious issues with its network. CR said AT&T's customer satisfaction was the "worst" of the top 4 carriers--Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile and AT&T.
This week's United Nations' conference on climate change in Cancun, Mexico may or may not actually accomplish anything about climate change. But crop breeders in India have already created varieties of vital plants for farmers in areas likely to be strongly affected by increasingly erratic weather patterns.
The world's lakes are warming because of climate change, according to a study published last week in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, a publication of the American Geophysical Union.
Richard Goldman, the San Francisco philanthropist who foundered the Goldman Environmental Prize with his wife Rhoda, has died.
Birdwatchers hiking into a remote area of the Peruvian cloud forest were treated this fall to the sight of one of the rarest birds in the world, the Peruvian Long-whiskered Owlet. Birding groups observed the tiny creature multiple times between Sept. 21 and Nov. 8, according to staff at the Abra Patricia Reserve in northern Peru.
If you couldn't make it to Ecuador to see the Tungarahua (Throat of Fire) volcano erupt beginning on Nov. 26, 2010, Benjamin Bernard of the Institut de Recherche pour le Développement in Quito made, these short, time-lapse videos to give a sense of what it was like. Bernard works with the Tungurahua Volcano Observatory.
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