States fight discrimination toward gay foster kids | The Salt Lake ...

Quincy Wright, right, is hugged by a friend during a breaking the silence gathering at True Colors in Hartford, Conn., Friday, April 19, 2013. True Colors, a non-profit organization working to help the needs of sexual and gender minority youth, has a mentoring program for more than 75 gay foster youth. Advocates in a handful of states including Florida, California, Connecticut and Massachusetts are starting a national dialogue to take steps to make sure gay foster youth are treated equally by foster parents, caseworkers and fellow foster kids. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

Miami ? Sixto Cancel says his ultra-religious foster family frequently talked about their disdain for his homosexuality at the dinner table, trashed his room and called him homophobic slurs. While he was still a teenager, he says, they kicked him out of their Connecticut home after he had lived there for nearly a decade.

"I?ve had foster homes who completely said you can?t live here if you?re gay," said Cancel, a 21-year-old student at Virginia Commonwealth University who bounced between half a dozen foster homes while in care. "For a long time I had that self-hatred and uncomfortableness with who I am."

Discrimination against gay and lesbian youths in foster care is prevalent enough around the country that federal health officials sent a letter in 2011 encouraging states to develop training for caseworkers and foster parents on the issue. Advocates in a handful of states including Florida, California, Connecticut, Illinois and Massachusetts have increased efforts to train caseworkers, recruit foster parents and assign mentors. Officials don?t want to force youths to disclose their sexuality, but must try to create environments where they feel safe to come out when ready. Without such support, the federal government memo says, gay and lesbian youths who leave the foster care system can wind up homeless

"I?ve had conversations with many youth in the system who will not come out because they saw how staff treated their friends in the system after they came out," said Kamora Herrington, mentoring program director of True Colors, an organization that helps gay foster youths in Connecticut.

Last year, a lesbian girl who Herrington worked with was kicked out of a Connecticut foster home after the family?s grandmother, who was very opposed to homosexuality, moved in. Herrington said the last time she heard from the girl, she was hitch-hiking across the country.

The nonprofit True Colors has a mentoring program for more than 75 young people, as well as a policy program that works closely with Connecticut child welfare workers. DCF also has a program liaison in every office where caseworkers can get referral services if they are working with a gay child or need help educating a foster family.

In California, the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center received a $13.3 million, five-year grant from the federal government to ultimately find permanent homes for gay foster youths. The center has already trained about 500 child welfare workers on gay and transgender issues this year and is creating a curriculum that can be duplicated nationally. The second part of the program links the youth with services from family counseling to education assistance, and makes sure each service is sensitive to their sexual orientation.

Massachusetts was one of the first states to open a co-ed group home for gay foster teens after child welfare officials said they were seeing too many of the young people living on the streets. Roughly 100 foster youths have lived in the home which is run by gay and straight staffers. Child welfare officials there also recently started mentoring program along with life skills classes that teach things like cooking and budgeting.

But officials in Massachusetts, Illinois and many states say recruiting foster parents and mentors is one of the biggest challenges.

"What is typical across the country is also typical here, in that LGBT couples are more interested in adoption than becoming foster families so we have a dearth in interest in foster families," Colby Swettberg executive director of Adoption & Foster Care Mentoring, which contracts with the Massachusetts child welfare system.

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Finding adoptive homes for gay youths in foster care is part of a national push for all children in the system, but advocates say many are still left out.

"Many of our kids have been told they?re not family appropriate: ?We?re not even going to look for a family for you. We?re going to look for a group home,?" said Robin McHaelen, executive director of True Colors.

Illinois child welfare officials began hiring 29 new recruiters this year. Part of their job will be finding foster families and mentors for young gay people. The department estimates that about 450 gay youths come into the system each year.

Efforts in Florida include a regional task force on gay foster youths started by the Village Counseling Center in the northern part of the state and increased training for Department of Children and Families caseworkers in a 20-county region that includes Jacksonville and Daytona Beach.

David Abramowitz, a regional director for the Florida Department of Children and Families, sent a memo to staff in December saying he?s also heard stories that gay youths facing discrimination in foster care. Abramowitz said he mentors a young man "who tells me horror stories of how he was treated" while living with a foster family that forced him to shave his head and tried to turn him straight. Abramowitz said he?s also encountered difficulties trying to help gay youths in foster care in his region because many aren?t disclosing.

After being kicked out of one foster home, Cancel went to live in another, but when his foster mother found out he was gay, she said she didn?t want him living there because it conflicted with her religious beliefs. A few days later, she relented, explaining she hadn?t changed her mind on the issue, but he could still live in the home as long as his sexuality wasn?t discussed.

For Cancel, who was about to graduate, it was a condition he accepted, but he said he realizes it?s an unfair burden placed on many other foster youths.

"It?s not OK for some people to live in a home where they know they?re not welcome and they?re not part of the family because of that specific aspect," he said.

Copyright 2013 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/world/56497856-68/foster-gay-youths-family.html.csp

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For Solazyme, a Side Trip on the Way to Clean Fuel

[unable to retrieve full-text content]A company wants to turn algae into energy. But first it has to make money, so it is developing other products from its algae-derived oils.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/23/business/for-solazyme-a-side-trip-on-the-way-to-clean-fuel.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

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PFT: Fax-gate part deux? Bucs may owe millions

AP

Bills WR Marquise Goodman draws inspiration from his younger brother.

Part of the reason that LB Alonzo Highsmith Jr. signed with the Dolphins was to be close to his brother, a University of Miami senior also named Alonzo Highsmith Jr.

Mike Reiss of ESPNBoston.com points out the problems Patriots players drafted out of Florida in 2011 have experienced and wonders if Bill Belichick put too much stock in his friendship with Urban Meyer.

Jets assistant coaches Dennis Thurman and Tim McDonald have enjoyed a long friendship.

A look at the fight for roster spots and playing time in the Ravens backfield.

Will Bengals LB James Harrison outplay Jarvis Jones, his replacement on the Steelers roster, during the 2013 season?

What can the Browns do to cut down on QB Brandon Weeden getting passes knocked down at the line?

Age won?t be a problem for the Steelers defensive backs, according to the Steelers defensive backs.

Texans DE J.J. Watt got to know about helicopters during his visit to Afghanistan.

Previewing Year Two for Colts QB Andrew Luck.

Jaguars K Josh Scobee taught Paul Kuharsky of ESPN.com about the technique needed to be a placekicker.

A video look at the progress made by Titans QB Jake Locker.

The Broncos are trying to keep expectations from going to anyone?s head.

An offseason with coach Andy Reid has left Chiefs QB Chase Daniel confident about the year to come.

Said Raiders RB Darren McFadden, ?Things are going very well with the offensive line. As far as the blitz pick up, the calls the offensive line is making. I feel like we?re meshing very well.?

CB Steve Williams could make an immediate impact in the Chargers secondary.

Ten things to know about Cowboys DB Will Allen.

Giants DT Marvin Austin has been playing the drums with children as part of a program called School of Rock.

A newly released biography tries to paint a picture of Eagles coach Chip Kelly.

Taking stock of the left defensive end spot for the Redskins.

Bears QB Jay Cutler is turning the clock back to the 80s for a fundraiser.

QB Thaddeus Lewis is confident about his chances of making the Lions.

Packers TE D.J. Williams likes to both work hard and play hard.

How much does it matter where on the depth chart the Vikings place DT Sharrif Floyd?

Osi Umenyiora thinks the younger Falcons defensive ends are developing quickly.

Undrafted rookie S Robert Lester hopes to make a mark with the Panthers.

Contrary to an internet report, Saints QB Drew Brees didn?t break his legs in a car accident.

Buccaneers rookies have spent time with local members of the military recently.

The Cardinals say they are reloading rather than rebuilding.

The Rams opened the NFL?s first Youth Training Academy.

Achilles injuries are piling up for the 49ers.

Looking back at general managers through the years for the Seahawks.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/06/22/bucs-face-huge-potential-liability-in-junk-fax-lawsuit/related/

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Brazil: Thousands protest anew, but crowds smaller

SAO PAULO (AP) ? Tens of thousands of anti-government demonstrators again took to streets in several Brazilian cities Saturday after the president broke a long silence to promise reforms, but the early protests were smaller and less violent than those of recent days.

Police estimated that about 60,000 demonstrators gathered in a central square in the city of Belo Horizonte, largely to denounce legislation that would limit the power of federal prosecutors to investigate crimes in a country where many are fed up with the high rate of robberies and killings. Many fear the law would also hinder attempts to jail corrupt politicians and other powerful figures.

In Belo Horizonte, police used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse protesters who tried to pass through a barrier and hurled rocks at a car dealership.

President Dilma Rousseff, a former leftist guerrilla who was tortured during Brazil's military dictatorship, made a televised 10-minute appearance on Friday night backing the right to peaceful protest but sharply condemning violence, vandalism and looting.

She promised to be tougher on corruption and said she would meet with peaceful protesters, governors and the mayors of big cities to create a national plan to improve urban transportation and use oil royalties for investments in education. Much of the anger behind the protests has been aimed at costly bus fares, high taxes and poor public services such as schools and health care.

Many Brazilians, shocked by a week of protests and violence, hoped that Rousseff's words would soothe tensions and help avoid more violence, but not all were convinced by her promises of action.

A rapidly growing crowd blocked Sao Paulo's main business street, Avenida Paulista, to press their demands.

Victoria Villela, a 21-year-old university who joined the crowd, said she was "frustrated and exhausted by the endless corruption of our government."

"It was good Dilma spoke, but this movement has moved too far, there was not much she could really say. All my friends were talking on Facebook about how she said nothing that satisfied them. I think the protests are going to continue for a long time and the crowds will still be huge."

Around her, fathers held young boys aloft on their shoulders, older women gathered in clusters with their faces bearing yellow and green stripes, the colors of Brazil's flag.

In the northeastern city of Salvador, where Brazil's national football team was set to play Italy in a match for the Confederations Cup, some 5,000 protesters gathered about 3 miles (5 kilometers) from the stadium, shouting demands for better schools and transportation and denouncing heavy spending on next year's World Cup.

About 1,000 demonstrators trying to reach the stadium were kept at bay by police firing rubber bullets and using pepper spray.

Rodrigo Costa, a 32-year-old civil engineer in the city, said that it was good just to see a popular movement force "a head of state to go on TV and talk about the problems of the country."

"She didn't touch on all the issues that the people want to see improved," Costa said. "But I think that just in general it was a good message."

Brazil's news media, which had blasted Rousseff in recent days for her lack of response to the protests, seemed largely unimpressed with her careful speech, but noted the difficult situation facing a government trying to understand a mass movement with no central leaders and a flood of demands.

With "no objective information about the nature of the organization of the protests," wrote Igor Gielow in a column for Brazil's biggest newspaper, Folha de S. Paulo, "Dilma resorted to an innocuous speech to cool down spirits."

At its height, some 1 million anti-government demonstrators took to the streets nationwide on Thursday night with grievances ranging from public services to the billions of dollars spent preparing for international sports events.

Outside the stadium in Belo Horizonte where Mexico and Japan met in a Confederations Cup game, Dadiana Gamaleliel, a 32-year-old physiotherapist, held up a banner that read: "Not against the games, in favor of the nation."

"I am protesting on behalf of the whole nation because this must be a nation where people have a voice ... we don't have a voice anymore," she said.

She said Rousseff's speech wouldn't "change anything."

"She spoke in a general way and didn't say what she would do," she said. "We will continue this until we are heard."

Social media and mass emails were buzzing with calls for a general strike next week. But Brazil's two largest unions, the Central Workers Union and the Union Force, said they knew nothing about such an action, though they do support the protests.

At the protest in Salvador, 32-year-old public worker Mariana Santos said that demonstrators want Rousseff and the rest of Brazil's government to be held accountable if they fail to keep their promises.

"Dilma said she was going to make a pact with unions, students, with everyone, to fix things," Santos said. "If they hold the World Cup and she has not done what she said she will do, the people may decide they don't want the Cup."

___

Associated press writers Tales Azzoni and Ricardo Zuniga in Salvador and Rob Harris in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/brazil-thousands-protest-anew-crowds-smaller-190708200.html

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Report: NSA Allowed To Use ?Inadvertently Acquired ...

We have seen a continuing array of spins by the White House and its allies to excuse the massive assault on privacy in the recently revealed warrantless surveillance programs. This effort has included perjury by high-ranking officials, an effort to redefine privacy in a new surveillance-friendly image, ever increasing claims of averting ?plots? and misdirection toward other ?threats? to privacy. However, one of the consistent claims has been that no content of communications was reviewed ? an argument that itself is fallacious. Now however it appears that even that assurance is false. There are various reports that the content of the warrantless communications was accessible. Now, it has also been confirmed that there are two documents dated July 2009 and signed by Attorney General Holder allows the NSA to use ?inadvertently acquired? communications.

We have previously discussed the repeatedly insistence by Obama that his Administration would go to a ?court? for the review of any actual communications. As noted earlier, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), or secret court, is treated as if it were a real court or had some meaningful powers of review. Obama previously told Charlie Rose, ?That?s why we set up the FISA court.? Of course, he did not set up the FISA court which has been around for decades and widely ridiculed as an absurd rubberstamp for the intelligence agency. Only a couple of applications have been denied in the history of that ?court.? When I had occasion to get into the court as a young intern with NSA, it set in place a lifelong opposition to it as an insult to the very concept of legal process. For Obama to cite this ?court? as the guarantee of transparency is nothing short of insulting. This is the court that classifies (at the demand of Obama?s Administration) the very legal interpretations used to justify massive warrantless searches of citizens.

It now appears that this ?court? agreed to allow the Administration to use the content of communications that are inadvertently gathered. In addition, the latest report from Glenn Greenwald and James Ball state ?The broad scope of the court orders, and the nature of the procedures set out in the documents, appear to clash with assurances from President Obama and senior intelligence officials that the NSA could not access Americans? call or e-mail information without warrants.?

The FISA court reportedly allowed the NSA to keep data ?that could potentially contain details of U.S. persons? for up to five years, and to retain and use ?inadvertently acquired? domestic communications that contain ?usable intelligence, information on criminal activity, threat of harm to people or property, are encrypted, or are believed to contain any information relevant to cybersecurity.?

As previously discussed, it is not clear why citizens should believe assurance from the government and Congress given the refusal to deal with past perjury by people like Clapper or the ever-climbing claims made by officials. In the meantime, Eric Holder is continuing his role as the President?s ?sin eater? in ignoring such admitted false statements to avoid enforcing the criminal laws against Administration officials like Clapper. So much for the person a MSNBC contributor calls the ?Moses of our time.?

The latest report states that ?the material collected can be retained, if it is useful, though in a segregated database.? If true, it would be the ultimate expression of the new privacy under Obama. The question is no longer whether it is constitutional, just whether it is useful.

Source: Guardian

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Source: http://jonathanturley.org/2013/06/21/report-nsa-allowed-to-use-inadvertently-acquired-communications/

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AOL Reader ready to step into the light following Google's departure

We're little over a week out from Google Reader's planned closure, and AOL is the latest -- and perhaps, slightly unlikely -- source of a replacement service ready to fill the Google shaped void. AOL Reader has launched in beta form, though access seems highly restricted at this time, and you will be able to sign in via your Google account. Engadget, an AOL company, has confirmed that invite requests to AOL Reader will be accepted beginning Monday, June 24.

If you want to migrate your feeds to AOL Reader, you'll be able to import an OPML file containing all your feed information. Of specific interest is the promise of native iOS apps for the service, and an API to allow third-party applications to hook in. AOL might be late to the party, with Feedly and Digg already making strides, but it seems like a post-Google Reader life isn't going to look as bleak as we may have first thought. We'll follow AOL Reader's progress when it begins to open up, but RSS fans are going to be spoiled for choice after July 1.

Source: Engadget

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/XiU0UI59rYY/story01.htm

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How did a third radiation belt appear in the Earth's upper atmosphere?

June 20, 2013 ? Since the discovery of the Van Allen radiation belts in in Earth's upper atmosphere in 1958, space scientists have believed that these belts consisted of two doughnut-shaped rings of highly charged particles -- an inner ring of high-energy electrons and energetic positive ions, and an outer ring of high-energy electrons.

However, in February of this year, a team of scientists reported in the journal Science the surprising discovery of a previously unknown third radiation ring. This narrow ring had briefly circled Earth between the inner and outer rings in September 2012 and then almost completely disappeared.

How did this temporary radiation belt appear and dissipate?

In new research, the radiation belt group in the UCLA Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences explains the development of this third belt and its decay over a period of slightly more than four weeks. The research is available in the online edition of the journal Geophysical Research Letters and will be published in an upcoming print edition.

By performing a "quantitative treatment of the scattering of relativistic electrons by electromagnetic whistler-mode waves inside the dense plasmasphere," the investigators were able to account for the "distinctively slow decay of the injected relativistic electron flux" and demonstrate why this unusual third radiation belt is observed only at energies above 2 mega-electron-volts.

Understanding the processes that control the formation and ultimate loss of such relativistic electrons is a primary science objective of the NASA Van Allen Probe Mission and has important practical applications, because the enormous amounts of radiation the Van Allen belts generate can pose a significant hazard to satellites and spacecraft, as well to astronauts performing activities outside a spacecraft.

The current research was funded by the NASA, which launched the twin Van Allen probes in the summer of 2012.

The lead author of the research is Richard Thorne, a UCLA professor of atmospheric and oceanic sciences, who was a co-author of the Feb. 28 research paper in Science. Co-authors of the new research include Wen Li, a graduate student who works in Thorne's laboratory; Binbin Ni, a postdoctoral scholar who works in Thorne's laboratory; Jacob Bortnik, a researcher with the UCLA Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences; Daniel Baker, a professor at the University of Colorado's Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics and lead author of the February Science paper; and Vassilis Angelopoulos, a UCLA professor of Earth and space sciences.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/space_time/nasa/~3/rDLN-kvGG3Y/130620162840.htm

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Fourth suspect accused of holding disabled Ohio woman in slavery

By Kim Palmer

CLEVELAND (Reuters) - A fourth Ohio resident charged with holding an intellectually disabled woman and her young daughter against their will is also accused of smashing the woman's hand with a rock to get pain medication for the group, prosecutors said on Thursday.

Dezerah Silsby, was taken into custody on Wednesday and appeared in Cleveland federal court on Thursday, accused of being part of a group that conspired to force the woman to perform manual labor, threatened her with snakes, and forced her and her daughter to sleep in a padlocked room.

The 30-year-old woman, who prosecutors identified as "S.E.," and her 5-year-old child were held from May 2011 to October 2012 in an apartment in Ashland, about 70 miles southwest of Cleveland, prosecutors said.

The arrests came a little more than a month after the discovery in Cleveland of three women who were held prisoner for about a decade in a home owned by former school bus driver Ariel Castro, who has been charged with rape, kidnapping and murder.

Police learned of the Ashland case after S.E. was caught shoplifting a candy bar and asked to be taken to jail, saying two people now charged in the case - Jordie Callahan, 26, and Jessica Hunt, 31 - were "mean to her," prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said Callahan and Hunt recruited S.E to live with them and that Hunt used S.E.'s government benefits cards and rarely gave her money while forcing her to clean, do laundry and care for the animals, prosecutors said.

Records show S.E. was treated at a local emergency room at least three times for injuries she said were inflicted by defendants in the case, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors also said Callahan and Hunt forced S.E. to hit her child, threatening worse harm on both of them if she did not comply. The incident was recorded and used as a threat if she tried to leave.

Ed Bryan, Hunt's attorney, said on Tuesday the government's witnesses were unreliable. Attorneys for the other defendants could not be reached for comment.

The group, which also includes 33-year-old Daniel Brown III, was charged on Tuesday in what a prosecutor called a case of modern-day slavery. Silsby, 21, was released on Thursday after posting a bond.

(Editing by David Bailey and Lisa Shumaker)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/fourth-suspect-accused-holding-disabled-ohio-woman-slavery-231241185.html

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First look at the Samsung ATIV Q

An unholy marriage between Windows and Android takes place in this high-resolution, convertible tablet?

It's Windows. It's Android. It's Windows. It's Android. It's Windows. It's Android.

It's the Samsung ATIV Q, just announced today in London. And it takes a convertible 13-inch tablet -- that is, it's got a keyboard that you can abuse in a couple different positions -- puts Android on one side, Windows 8 on the other, and leaves you and your brain to deal with the aftermath.

Look, we're not going ot get the full feel for this thing in a few short minutes, but this much stood out: There are something like three buttons that will take you to Android -- and one of them is the Windows logo. Somewhere, even Christopher Nolan is scratching his head.

Enjoy this first-look video.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/BpAHHZlCRd8/story01.htm

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Local caddie makes good on Kim's bag

ARDMORE, Pa. (AP) ? LaRue Temple has to take off Sunday from working behind the bar.

He's needed on the bag of a U.S. Open contender.

Amateur Michael Kim should be one of those feel-good stories at Merion Golf Club as he makes his charge up the leaderboard.

But it's his caddie who was feeling the Philly love on Saturday.

"For probably the first 12 holes today, he was getting more cheers than I was," the 19-year-old Kim said. "Everybody was going 'LaRue!' 'LaRue!' It was cool though."

That's a tough break for Temple's bar customers; he says he makes a mean Long Island Iced Tea.

"But my margaritas are pretty good, also," he said.

Temple has caddied at Merion since 1997 and planned to attend the Open as a fan. He was just hanging around the 18th hole on Monday when he went looking for a friend. On his walk, he bumped into a club official who offered him a spot in a pinch.

So he slipped on his bib, grabbed a bucket hat and went to work.

The partnership flourished on Saturday.

Kim made four birdies in a six-hole stretch, capped by a 15-foot putt at No. 15 that lowered his score to even par.

"We just wanted to keep having fun, keep going," Kim said.

But he bogeyed 16 and 18 and double-bogeyed 17 and finished 1-over 71. He's in 10th place, five strokes behind leader Phil Mickelson.

"I kept looking at the leaderboard, not because I wanted to know how I was doing in the tournament, but it was so cool to see my name next to those names like Mickelson, (Luke) Donald, Char Schwartzel," Kim said.

The 30-year-old Temple, who graduated from Philadelphia's Olney High School, knows the feeling. He normally works at Merion from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. and then starts a 9-hour bartending shift around 5 p.m. During weekends, he works weddings spinning tunes as DJ LaRue.

Before Temple suggested clubs on the course, he handed out bats on the baseball field. Temple worked as a Philadelphia Phillies batboy in 1999 under manager Terry Francona.

As a teenager, Temple was an autograph hound, collecting signatures on bats, hats, cards, anything. Eventually, that got him work for his favorite team, and he was soon high-fiving his favorite players at ol' Veterans Stadium.

Temple said his Facebook page was "blowing up" with well wishes from friends.

Sure enough, Temple posted a picture Saturday night with his arm around Kim in the scoring area, big smiles on each of them.

"STAND UP MERION," he wrote.

The rest of his page is fan stuff ? photos of Angel Cabrera and Adam Scott on the practice range.

Then a shot from behind and from a distance that says, "A little hard to see but that is Tiger." He posted the photo Wednesday.

Three days later, Temple just smiled when Woods walked right behind him on the way to the podium. And Temple thought the closest he'd get to the three-time Open champion was from somewhere in the gallery.

"I paid a good amount of money to go see Tiger for the week," he said, laughing. "Me and my buddies ponied up a decent amount of cash to see him."

Odds are, he'll make it back on the bag.

Temple, who looks a bit like Phillies slugger Ryan Howard, soaked up his moment at Merion.

"Can you tell us again ..." another wave of reporters asked, asking him to repeat some of his stories.

"I sure can tell you again," he said, retelling his life as Phillies batboy and Open pinch hitter.

"I want to represent for Merion," he said.

And he believed Kim can win.

"He's the show," Temple said. "I'm just along for the ride."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/local-caddie-makes-good-kims-bag-011053748.html

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Inside Iran's presidential election and beyond

Head-to-toe veiled Iranian women attend a polling station to vote for the presidential and municipal councils elections in Tehran, Iran, Friday, June 14, 2013. What Iran's next president can potentially influence is the tone and tactics with world powers if stalemated nuclear talks resume at some point after a successor is picked for the firebrand President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Head-to-toe veiled Iranian women attend a polling station to vote for the presidential and municipal councils elections in Tehran, Iran, Friday, June 14, 2013. What Iran's next president can potentially influence is the tone and tactics with world powers if stalemated nuclear talks resume at some point after a successor is picked for the firebrand President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Some questions about Iran's presidential election and beyond:

DOES THE ELECTION MATTER?

Yes, but not in the ways many people think. Iran's president does not set the country's major policies such as the nuclear program, relations with the West or military projects. All this falls under the ruling clerics headed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The president acts as the main emissary for the theocracy's positions.

But the president is far from powerless. The post oversees important sectors such as the economy, which needs even greater management as Iran tried to ride out increasingly tighter sanctions over Tehran's nuclear program. The president also has the ear of Khamenei and can help shape strategic policies. Much depends on their relationship. Khamenei and Ahmadinejad had a spectacular falling out, but a president in Khamenei's good graces could have a significant voice in Iranian affairs.

WILL THE OUTCOME AFFECT IRAN'S NUCLEAR PROGRAM?

It won't have a direct effect. The president cannot make any critical changes or concessions. Indirectly, though, the election can have some influence.

Two main theories have been raised. One is that the election could end the internal political bickering of the Ahmadinejad era. This could make the ruling clerics more comfortable in making deals with the West. A second, opposing, prediction is that a seamless front between the ruling clerics and the new president could embolden Iran to take an even more hard-line approach.

The West and its allies fear Iran could be moving toward an atomic weapon. Iran says it only seeks nuclear reactors and technology for energy and medical applications. Iran often cites Khamenei's religious edict, or fatwa, denouncing nuclear arms.

HOW DOES THE ELECTION PROCESS WORK?

It's a step-by-step process that is tightly controlled by the ruling clerics.

Candidates first registered with the Interior Ministry. It's essentially an open invitation. Almost anyone can toss in their name. This year, more than 680 did. They ranged from prominent figures such as Former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani ? trying to make a comeback after leaving office in 1997 ? to obscure clerics and nonstarters such as a 46-year-old housewife. Iran's constitution refers to the president using a male term, which is interpreted as prohibiting women from serving.

Eight candidates were cleared for the ballot by the Guardian Council, a 12-member panel that vets candidates for president and parliament based on factors including loyalty to the Islamic system. Surprisingly, Rafsanjani was blocked, suggesting the ruling system was worried about his clout and ability to galvanize reformists. Two candidates approved later dropped out of the race in efforts to consolidate voter support behind others.

If there is no absolute winner in Friday's election ? taking more than 50 percent of the vote ? a two-candidate runoff will be held June 21.

WHO CAN VOTE?

There are more than 50 million eligible voters in a population of about 76 million. About a third of the voters are under 30 ? born after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Minimum voting age is 18, raised from 16 in 2007. Iranians abroad can vote in diplomatic compounds and other polling sites.

IS IT FAIR?

A consistent criticism by the West is over the candidate-vetting process. Also, the question of whether the final vote is accurate brings divided opinions. Allegations of ballot rigging were at the center of mass protests and riots in 2009 after Ahmadinejad's disputed re-election. Supporters of the Islamic system insist the voting is fair and transparent, although Iran does not allow outside election observers. Journalists are under tight restrictions on travel and coverage of non-official events.

WHAT CHOICES DO IRANIANS HAVE THIS TIME?

Of the six candidates, nearly all are considered closely allied with the ruling clerics. They include a former foreign minister, Ali Akbar Velayati, Tehran Mayor Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf and Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili. A former nuclear negotiator, Hasan Rowhani, is the lone moderate in the field. His campaign has surged in recent days with the backing of ally Rafsanjani and former reformist President Mohammad Khatami.

ARE THERE RISKS OF POST-ELECTION UNREST AS IN 2009?

Iran's opposition movement has been effectively dismantled by years of crackdowns and detentions, including placing Mousavi and fellow presidential candidate Mahdi Karroubi under house arrest in early 2011. There appears to be little spirit for street demonstrations among even the strong dissident factions in Iran, knowing that they would face swift and harsh retaliation from the government. In a pre-emptive move, Iranian authorities tightened controls on the Internet, which was used as a main coordination tool during the 2009 protests.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-06-15-Iran-Election-QandA/id-dd1bbc35c4664b339de468ff82ddb891

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Mortar attack on Iranian dissident camp in Iraq kills three

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A mortar attack on an Iranian dissident camp killed three people in Baghdad on Saturday, police sources said, and the Mujahidin-e-Khalq (MEK) group said Iran was probably to blame, with Iraqi complicity.

MEK said two of the camp's residents were killed and 40 wounded in the attack. An Iraqi died when a stray mortar round hit a residential complex for Baghdad airport employees nearby.

A similar attack on the camp in February killed at least five members of the MEK, which was removed from the U.S. State Department's list of terrorist organizations last year.

MEK calls for the overthrow of Iran's clerical leaders and fought on Iraq's side during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s.

It is seeking to recast itself as a mainstream Iranian opposition force, but is no longer welcome in Iraq under the Shi'ite-led government that came to power after U.S.-led forces invaded and toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki is close to Shi'ite Iran and leans on Tehran for political support at home and in the wider Sunni-dominated region, where he has few friends.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but an MEK spokesman said circumstantial evidence pointed to Iran.

"They (the Iranian government) are the main suspect," the spokesman said. "They have to have some cooperation from Iraqi forces and the government."

The attack targeted the MEK camp in a former U.S. military compound in western Baghdad, where Iraqi authorities relocated most of the group last year from a base given to it by Saddam.

"At around 11:30 a.m. around five mortar rounds landed in and near the Iranian camp in western Baghdad, killing two Iranian persons and wounding more than 17," said a police source at Baghdad airport, which is near the camp.

In Washington, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry condemned the attack, calling it "utterly unacceptable" and urging Iraq's government to bring those responsible to justice, in a statement issued by the State Department on Saturday.

The United Nations intends to seek refugee status for members of the group in other countries. They have complained that conditions at Camp Liberty are poor and that they have not been permitted to bring many personal belongings.

U.N. envoy Martin Kobler condemned Saturday's attack, saying in a statement that it had occurred despite repeated requests to the Iraqi government to provide the camp and its residents with protective walls and other defenses.

(Reporting by Kareem Raheem and Ahmed Rasheed; Additional reporting by Jason Lange in Washington; Writing by Isabel Coles; Editing by Alistair Lyon and Eric Walsh)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/mortar-attack-iranian-dissident-camp-iraq-kills-three-194340584.html

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Microsoft doling out up to $100,000 for Windows Phone apps

Microsoft Windows Phone App Developer Payouts

As BlackBerry and Microsoft scramble to catch up with iOS and Android?s hold on app developers? attention, it?s become clear that Microsoft has a distinct advantage that BlackBerry simply cannot match: Lots and lots of cash. Both Bloomberg Businessweek and Business Insider report that Microsoft is paying developers up to $100,000 to bring their applications over to Windows Phone 8. While this might seem like a lot of money just to convince developers to create apps for Windows Phone, Business Insider?s Julie Bort notes that it?s a relative drop in the bucket for Microsoft, which is also paying Nokia ?$1 billion a year to make Windows phones.?

[More from BGR: The wait is finally over: Microsoft debuts Office Mobile for iPhone (hands-on)]

This article was originally published on BGR.com

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/microsoft-doling-100-000-windows-phone-apps-144031944.html

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Religious conservatives asked to back GOP plans

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Facing lingering tensions in his party, the chairman of the Republican National Committee urged religious conservatives Saturday to support the GOP's plans to expand.

"I would just ask you that we come together and that we pray for the future of this country," Reince Priebus said on the final day of the Faith and Freedom Coalition conference that brought several Republicans leaders together with evangelical activists.

"I'm a Christian. I'm a believer. God lives in my heart. And I'm for changing minds, not changing values," Priebus said.

Religious conservatives have been skeptical of establishment Republicans in Washington and the RNC's plan for growth, which calls for more tolerant attitudes on immigration and social issues such as abortion and gay marriage. The party is working to rebuild after a painful 2012 election season in which Republicans lost the presidential contest and a handful of winnable Senate contests.

"When it comes to social issues, the party must in fact and deed be inclusive and welcoming," according to an RNC report commissioned by Priebus after that election and released in March. "If we are not, we will limit our ability to attract young people and others, including many women, who agree with us on some but not all issues."

Priebus did not mention those recommendations in his remarks, but he did repeat calls for significant changes to the Republican presidential nominating process ? particularly, fewer debates and a shorter primary season.

The RNC's call for tolerance was not popular during the three-day meeting of social conservative leaders, which attracted several politicians considering 2016 presidential bids.

The conference's final speaker, former vice presidential nominee and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, rejected calls for an immigration overhaul that includes a path to citizenship for immigrants in the country illegally.

Palin, who is rejoining Fox News Channel as an analyst less than half a year after they decided to part ways, also offered a warning to "the good old boys" in the GOP leadership who are calling for conservative activists to tone down aggressive rhetoric.

"You do not marginalize, you don't discredit and dismiss, every day average hard-working Americans ? those who are part of that grass-roots tea party movement," she said.

"Just let them tell us to sit down and shut up," Palin said later, "which I refuse to do."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/religious-conservatives-asked-back-gop-plans-144734096.html

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AP PHOTOS: UN says 93,000 killed in Syrian war

As the civil war in Syria rages on, the United Nations' human rights office now says almost 93,000 people have died in the conflict. A new analysis of the Syrian death toll documented 92,901 killings between March 2011 and the end of April 2013. But the U.N.'s top human rights official, Navi Pillay, says it is impossible to provide an exact current figure, which may be far higher. Among the victims are at least 6,561 children, including 1,729 children younger than 10.

Here's a gallery of images from Syria's civil war.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ap-photos-un-says-93-000-killed-syrian-135738059.html

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Congress panel widens probe of IRS 'Tea Party' scrutiny

By Kim Dixon

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Congressional investigators probing the U.S. Internal Revenue Service's scrutiny of conservative political groups will interview a key Washington IRS official on Friday and want to speak with as many as 20 more people, sources told Reuters on Thursday.

IRS lawyer Carter Hull will be deposed by congressional lawyers on Friday, said sources close to the Republican-controlled House of Representatives committee taking the lead in an inquiry that involves several panels on Capitol Hill.

In an earlier interview with the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, a lower-level worker from the IRS office in Cincinnati criticized Hull for micro-managing the processing of applications for tax-exempt status from conservative groups when they began emerging in 2010.

Congressional panels and the FBI are investigating revelations that came to light last month about the IRS using terms such as "Tea Party" and "Patriot" to single out groups for scrutiny when they applied for tax-exempt status through the Cincinnati office.

Some Republicans have alleged there were political motives behind the practice and are trying to find evidence linking it to the White House.

An audit last month from the U.S. Treasury inspector general for tax administration, which monitors the IRS, found no evidence of political or White House involvement. The congressional panels are conducting their own investigations.

At least five IRS officials have given transcribed interviews so far to congressional investigators. Those interviewed include four workers in Cincinnati and Holly Paz, a mid-level Washington official who oversaw tax-exemption applications. Paz was replaced last week.

Hull was involved early on in assisting the Cincinnati office to review applications, according to a transcript of a congressional interview with an IRS specialist in Cincinnati.

Attempts to reach Hull were unsuccessful.

INCONSISTENT RESPONSES

Elizabeth Hofacre handled Tea Party applications and told investigators that Hull reviewed her responses to applicants, according to transcripts reviewed by Reuters.

Hofacre was in charge of the Tea Party applications in April 2010 and was the primary specialist on them until October of that year, when she applied for and got another job within the IRS, she said in the interview.

Hofacre was inconsistent about how much authority Washington asserted over her handling of the cases. In one exchange she said, "I had no autonomy." In another, she said, "They gave me leeway ... they weren't involved in actual reviewing."

At least one Cincinnati IRS official not previously interviewed was called in to speak with investigators this week, according to a congressional committee source involved in the inquiry.

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has identified about 20 more officials for future interviews, another source close to the process said.

Leaders of the House committee have been squabbling all week about whether to release full transcripts of the interviews their staffers have done.

Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, a Republican, first released selected excerpts from some interviews on June 2. He was criticized for that by Elijah Cummings, the committee's top Democrat, for "cherry picking" statements to prove there was political involvement.

Cummings on Sunday unveiled his own selected excerpts, including comments from an IRS manager in Cincinnati who described himself as a "conservative Republican."

Cummings said the interview showed the screening of conservative groups originated in Cincinnati office and called on Issa to release the full transcripts completed thus far.

To respond to Issa's contention that doing so would compromise the investigation, Cummings proposed Issa redact portions that would interfere with the investigation by Monday.

(Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh and Peter Cooney)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/lawmakers-interview-washington-irs-official-over-tea-party-210650754.html

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