Engadget UK Giveaway: win an HTC One courtesy of Mobile Madhouse

HTC's latest flagship is one of the hottest Android phones available right now. What better way to kick off your summer in the UK, then, than with one of these in your pocket? That's entirely possible, too, thanks to accessory experts Mobile Madhouse which is giving one away. All you have to do to stand a chance of snagging the prize is head to the widget past the break. Once there, you can give our kind sponsors a like on Facebook (and maybe tell them why you love the phone while you're there). You can increase you chances of winning with a regular entry also. One last thing, make sure you check the rules, too. Good luck!

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/05/30/engadget-uk-giveaway-mobile-madhouse/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

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Weightlessness of space used to design better materials for Earth

May 29, 2013 ? Researchers from Northeastern University are among the many scientists helping NASA use the weightlessness of space to design stronger materials here on Earth.

Structural alloys might not sound familiar, but they are an integral part of everyday materials, such as aircraft wings, car bodies, engine blocks, or gas pipelines. These materials are produced through solidification? -- a process similar to the making of ice cubes. "Solidification happens all around us, either naturally, as during the crystallization of familiar snow-flakes in the atmosphere, or in technological processes used to fabricate a host of materials, from the large silicon crystals used for solar panels to the making of almost any human-made object or structure that needs to withstand large forces, like a turbine blade," said Northeastern University Prof. Alain Karma, who was a collaborator in this study.

The transition of a structural alloy from liquid to solid is morphologically unstable, meaning that the interface between solid and liquid evolves from a planar morphology to a non-planar cellular structure during solidification -- essentially, the same instability is responsible for the branched star shape of snow flakes.

But what if you could take gravity out of the mix? Researchers say by observing the solidification process in a microgravity environment -- in this case, the International Space Station -- they were able to study how this morphological instability develops in three dimensions to shape the structure of materials on a micron scale. "Without gravity, there is no buoyancy force to mix the atomic constituents in the melt by fluid flow," said Prof. Karma. "As a result, solidification creates unique, more organized, structures that cannot be observed on earth. Understanding how those structures form in space gives insight for designing lighter and stronger materials that can be made on earth."

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/PbmEoHNZO8E/130529133505.htm

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Dzhokhar Tsarnaev?s calls mom: ?Be patient. Everything will be fine?

Tsarnaeva, Tsarnaev (Getty Images/FBI)

Zubeidat Tsarnaeva, the mother of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, says she has spoken with her son for the first time since his arrest.

?I couldn?t stop myself from crying,? Tsarnaeva said in an phone interview with Bloomberg News late Monday from her home in Dagestan, Russia. ?He said: ?I am absolutely fine; my wounds are healing. Everything is in God?s hands. Be patient. Everything will be fine.??

Tsarnaev, 19, is accused of carrying out the April 15 terror attack with his 26-year-old brother, Tamerlan, who died in a shootout with police. He is in a federal prison hospital in Ayer, Mass., recovering from a gunshot wound to the neck.

?Mentally he is normal, but the child is shocked,? Tsarnaeva said after her six-minute conversation with Tsarnaev. ?It was really hard to hear him and for him to hear me. The conversation was very quiet. It was my child. I know he is locked up like a dog, like an animal.?

Tsarnaeva has maintained her sons are innocent, claiming they were set up by the FBI. Tsarnaev reportedly admitted his role in the attack after his arrest, communicating to investigators that he and his brother were motivated by Islam extremists but acted alone.

Three people were killed and more than 260 others wounded when two powerful homemade bombs exploded near the race?s finish line.

Tsarnaev was charged with two federal counts of using a weapon of mass destruction to kill, injure and cause widespread damage at the marathon. If convicted, he could face the death penalty.

Last month, U.S. investigators traveled to southern Russia to speak to Tsarnaeva and Anzor Tsarnaev, the suspects' father, who also denies his sons' involvement in the bombings. Maret Tsarnaeva, the brothers' aunt who lives in Toronto, also said she believes her nephews were framed.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/dzhokhar-tsarnaev-calls-mom-123019771.html

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Fans Create A 3D-Printable Version Of Cyvasse, The Game Of Thrones Boardgame

Take off your silken cloak and get your dragon eggs ready because Cyvasse, the game that characters play in George R. R. Martin's Game Of Thrones series is now 3D-printable. Created by Arian Croft of IllGottenGames and his friend Nate Stephens, the game uses most of Martin's rules mentioned in the books as well as interpolations taken from period-specific game rules.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/u1eZlr7h9Oo/

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Journalist and author Haynes Johnson dies at 81 (The Arizona Republic)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories Stories, RSS Feeds and Widgets via Feedzilla.

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Syria regime unleashes artillery barrage on Qusair

BEIRUT (AP) ? Forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad unleashed on Saturday their heaviest artillery and rocket barrage in a week-long battle to dislodge rebels from a strategic western town, activists said.

Pro-Assad troops, including fighters from the Lebanese militia Hezbollah, have been trying to push rebels out of Qusair. They have gained ground, but rebels have clung to some positions.

Qusair is important to Assad because it sits on a land corridor linking two of his strongholds, the capital of Damascus and towns on the Mediterranean coast. For the rebels, holding Qusair means protecting a supply line to Lebanon, 10 kilometers (six miles) away.

Saturday's barrage of rockets and tank shells began after daybreak, said Qusair activist Hadi Abdullah and the pro-opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which is based in Britain. Both said it was the most intense shelling since the regime launched its offensive there a week ago.

They also reported heavy gunfire. The Observatory said at least seven people were killed.

The intense shelling could be heard in Lebanon's border areas and in the Syrian city of Homs, some 25 kilometers (15 miles) away.

The fighting over Qusair has highlighted Hezbollah's growing role in Syria's civil war. The militia initially tried to play down its involvement, but could no longer do so after several dozen of its fighters were killed in Qusair and buried in large funerals in Lebanon.

Saturday's push comes ahead of a widely anticipated speech by Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, his first since the offensive began. The speech Saturday afternoon is to mark the anniversary of Israel's May 2000 withdrawal from southern Lebanon, commemorated each year by Hezbollah as a major military victory.

However, this year's anniversary comes at a time when Hezbollah is facing growing criticism in Lebanon for its involvement in the war in neighboring Syria.

The Syrian fighting has also spilled over into Lebanon, whose sectarian divided mirrors that of Syria.

Hezbollah is also facing repercussions in Europe over its support for the Syrian military.

Earlier this week, France and Germany joined a push by Britain to have the EU declare Hezbollah's military wing a terrorist organization. Such a move, long sought by the U.S., would hamper Hezbollah operations in Europe.

Late Friday, Hezbollah's deputy chief, Sheikh Naim Kassem told the Lebanese TV station Al-Mayadeen that the EU would make a "big mistake," but that such warnings don't concern the group. He did not elaborate.

Meanwhile, Syria's fractured political opposition was meeting for a third day in Istanbul, Turkey on Saturday to elect new leaders, try to widen its base and forge a unified position ahead of possible peace talks with the regime.

The U.S. and Russia want to bring together representatives of the opposition and the Syrian government at an international conference in Geneva for talks on a possible transition government. Much remains up in the air, including the date, the agenda and the list of participants.

On Friday, Syria ally Russia said the Assad regime accepted in principle to attend talks in Geneva, though there has been no official statement from Damascus.

The opposition is deeply suspicious about Assad's intention to hold serious peace talks, and senior opposition figures have ruled out attendance unless Assad's departure tops the agenda of such talks.

Louay Safi, a senior member of the Syrian National Coalition, the main opposition bloc, dismissed the statement made by Moscow about Syrian attendance. "This announcement has to be made by the Syrian government, not the Russians," he said Saturday by phone from Istanbul.

___

Associated Press writer Yasmine Saker in Beirut contributed reporting.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/syria-regime-unleashes-artillery-barrage-qusair-062233756.html

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Friday Fun Fact: The First Movie On TV Was In Theaters At The Time

Only about half a dozen people in the Los Angeles area owned a TV in 1933. But those handful of early adopting TV geeks were in for a special treat on March 10th of that year when the movie The Crooked Circle was broadcast in its entirety.

That day the campy detective flick became the first feature film ever broadcast on TV when experimental Los Angeles station W6XAO-TV beamed it out from the corner of 7th and Bixel Streets in downtown. The really surprising part? It was still playing in local theaters at the time.

In the early 1930s, TV was the promise of the future. It may have been an experimental toy to many, but a select few saw its potential as a revolutionary new medium. This new medium was hungry for content, and one place to draw from was the movie business.

Astonishingly to those of us here in the year 2013, the movie production company that put out The Crooked Circle (the short-lived Sono-Art World Wide Pictures) heartily encouraged the broadcast. From their perspective, it was great advertising. And creating a little buzz in a community of early adopters during the Great Depression ? a time when movies were a popular and affordable form of escapism ? couldn't hurt.

In the early 1930s you couldn't pop on down to the shop and buy a TV set. They were pretty much the exclusive domain of tinkerers, radio professionals and hobbyists. But it's amazing to think what that must have felt like to receive a picture ? a motion picture! ? through the air and into your home while the movie was still playing at the theater just down the street.

Today, movie studios and TV stations alike are battling for eyeballs as the amount of video content available over broadcast and the internet is seemingly endless. But today, just as it was at the dawn of television, it seems the experimenters are the ones most likely to thrive.

You can watch The Crooked Circle in its entirety over at the Internet Archive.

(Image: September 1926 issue of Radio-Craft magazine)

Source: http://paleofuture.gizmodo.com/friday-fun-fact-the-first-movie-on-tv-was-in-theaters-509689891

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HTC Desire 600 announced: quad-core processor, dual-SIM and BlinkFeed

It didn't take long for HTC to go official with the Desire 600. Interestingly, it picks up on several of the new Sense 5 features revealed alongside the HTC One, including its fingertip-baiting BlinkFeed for social network and news updates. BoomSound and the ability to craft video highlights from your photos and clips also make the transition, although apparently not the burst-capture Zoe mode. Hardware-wise, there's a 1.2GHz Snapdragon 200 quad-core processor, with a 4.5-inch Super LCD2 display (at 960 x 540 resolution), an 8-megapixel primary camera capable of up to 720p video capture and a front-facing 1.6-megapixel shooter. The Desire 600 picks up the same dual front-facing speaker setup of the One, although rather than a global appearance, it's currently headed to Russia, Ukraine and the Middle-East for now, landing early this June in white and black options. However, we've already spotted a China-bound version for China Unicom's WCDMA network, the Desire 606w, and if we're honest, we'd probably be happier to see the rumored M4 make an official showing. Now, where's that Desire 200?

Gallery: HTC Desire 600 press shots

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, HTC

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/05/23/htc-desire-600-snapdragon-200/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

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Obama pledges urgent aid to Oklahoma town

President Barack Obama, accompanied by, from left, Vice President Joe Biden, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and FEMA Deputy Administrator Richard Serino. talks about the Oklahoma tornado and severe weather, Tuesday, May 21, 2013, in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

President Barack Obama, accompanied by, from left, Vice President Joe Biden, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and FEMA Deputy Administrator Richard Serino. talks about the Oklahoma tornado and severe weather, Tuesday, May 21, 2013, in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Barack Obama pledged urgent government help for Oklahoma Tuesday in the wake of "one of the most destructive" storms in the nation's history.

"In an instant neighborhoods were destroyed, dozens of people lost their lives, many more were injured," Obama said from the White House State Dining Room. "Among the victims were young children trying to take shelter in the safest place they knew ? their school."

The president added that the town of Moore, Okla., "needs to get everything it needs right away."

Obama spoke following a meeting with his disaster response team, including Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and top White House officials. On Monday, he spoke with Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin and Republican Rep. Tom Cole, whose home is in the heavily damaged town of Moore, a suburb of Oklahoma City.

The president has also declared a major disaster in Oklahoma, ordering federal aid to supplement state and local recovery efforts. Federal Emergency Management Agency Director Craig Fugate was due in Oklahoma later Tuesday to ensure that federal resources are being properly deployed.

The state medical examiner's office has revised the death toll from the tornado to 24 people, including seven children. Authorities had said initially that as many as 51 people were dead, including 20 children.

Teams are continuing to search the rubble in Moore, 10 miles south of Oklahoma City, after the Monday afternoon's more than half-mile-wide twister.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-05-21-Oklahoma%20Tornado-Obama/id-dfd42d6e41e54765a12723da29d0972e

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FBI agents killed in Va. training were among elite

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) ? The two FBI agents who died while training off the Virginia Beach coast were part of the agency's elite hostage rescue team, a group known most recently for rescuing an Alabama boy from an underground bunker.

It will likely be weeks before a cause of death is determined Special Agents Christopher Lorek and Stephen Shaw because the state medical examiner's regional office is waiting for toxicology results. The FBI has declined to say what kind of training the men were doing when they were killed Friday.

The team is trained in military tactics and outfitted with combat-style gear and weapons. Some of their preparation consists of scuba diving, dropping quickly out of helicopters and battling in close quarters.

"They're really the best of the best as far as civilians. Their only counterpart would be something like Navy SEAL Team 6 or U.S. Army Delta," said Clint Van Zandt, a former FBI hostage negotiator who deployed with the rescue team. "There is no other police or FBI SWAT team that's their equal, because that's their full-time job. That's all they do is train for highly critical terrorist, hostage and criminal situations."

Dale Gauding, a spokesman for Sentara Healthcare, said the men were brought to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital in a helicopter, but he declined to say what their conditions were upon arrival, deferring questions to the FBI. The hospital is the area's only Level I Trauma Center and burn trauma unit.

The Coast Guard said it was not involved, although it was notified about 11:30 p.m. on Friday. The FBI hasn't specified whether training was in the Chesapeake Bay or Atlantic Ocean.

The hostage rescue team is organized into tactical units comprised of assaulters and snipers who are supported by helicopter and intelligence and communication teams, among others. Unlike FBI SWAT teams that train several days a month, the hostage team preps full time.

They are headquartered at the FBI Academy in Quantico in northern Virginia, although they train around the U.S. and can be deployed quickly anywhere.

In 2011, two team members helped apprehend a Somali man who prosecutors say is the highest-ranking pirate federal officials have ever captured. Mohammad Saaili Shibin was the chief negotiator for a group of pirates who took four Americans hostage aboard their yacht and later killed them. Unlike the other pirates in the case, Shibin was arrested in Somalia. In August, a federal judge sentenced Shibin to a dozen life sentences.

Team members also responded to the 1998 U.S. Embassy bombings in East Africa and have been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan.

Domestically, their resume includes rescuing nine hostages held at a federal prison in Talladega, Ala. in 1991 by Cuban inmates who were rioting to prevent their return to Cuba. In February, members of the team rescued a 5-year-old boy from a small underground bunker where he was being held hostage by a 65-year-old man. The man was killed by agents.

The group was formed 30 years ago in preparation for the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. They have participated in hostage situations more than 800 times in the U.S. and elsewhere since 1983. Fewer than 300 people have been chosen for the unit since its creation.

The FBI has sought out former special warfare operators to join its ranks to meet the high demand for its services since Sept. 11. Still, even former Navy SEALs and Army Rangers must serve for two years as investigative special agents before they can try out to be on the team.

"These are not hit squads. These are not mercenaries. These are people who come into the FBI first and foremost to be an FBI agent. They have to have college education, worldly experience, verbal skills," Van Zandt said. "They have to have everything we would see in a regular FBI agent plus more."

Lorek, 41, and his wife and two daughters joined Three Chopt Church of Christ in suburban Richmond about six years ago, minister Bob Odle said.

"They are as solid as they come," Odle said. "They were here every time the doors were open."

Church members knew he had a high-risk job and was often out of town, but they didn't know exactly what he did.

Someone who answered the phone at the Lorek residence Monday said the family would not be making a statement.

Lorek graduated from Texas A&M University in 1993 with a degree in ocean engineering. He joined the FBI in 1996.

Shaw, 40, joined the FBI in 2005. He is survived by his wife, a daughter and a son.

___

Associated Press Writer Steve Szkotak contributed to this report from Richmond.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/fbi-agents-killed-va-training-were-among-elite-214517832.html

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Cisco profit beats Street, shares rise on outlook

By Sinead Carew and Nicola Leske

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Network equipment maker Cisco Systems Inc posted a higher than expected quarterly profit and said current-quarter revenue could increase, giving some relief to investors who had worried it was being hurt by weak technology spending.

Cisco shares rose about 8 percent after Chief Executive John Chambers said the company was seeing some good signs in the United States and that other parts of the world are "encouraging."

"We are managing the business to account for a continued slow steady recovery on a global basis," Chambers said.

Chambers' commentary is closely watched by investors as Cisco is seen as a strong indicator for the general health of the technology industry because of its broad customer base.

Cisco forecast current-quarter earnings per share of 50 to 52 cents, excluding unusual items, in line with Wall Street expectations. It said revenue would grow in a range of 4 to 7 percent from the year-ago quarter.

This implies revenue of about $12.16 billion to $12.5 billion, compared with analysts' expectations for $12.47 billion according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

RBC Capital analyst Mark Sue said the outlook was much better than expected since several Cisco rivals had much lower forecasts for the current quarter.

"All things considered the guidance was actually decent. The commentary was encouraging considering the mixed environment we're in," Sue said.

Recent signs of weakness from companies including Juniper Networks and International Business Machines Corp made investors worry that Cisco would follow suit, due to sluggish spending by customers such as the U.S. government.

"They seem to be bucking the trend and that's encouraging, said Sue.

While Chambers said revenue from the U.S. federal government was down 3 percent in the quarter due to spending cutbacks, this was offset by increased state and local government spending which boosted overall U.S. public sector revenue by 5 percent.

About 20 percent of Cisco's revenue comes from public sector clients around the world, Chief Financial Officer Frank Calderoni said in an interview.

Calderoni said Cisco is seeing "a slow and steady recovery" in its global business with signs of economic strength in places such as the United States and weakness in areas including Southern Europe and some Asian countries.

"We had a stronger performance in two areas: the Americas, with primary good performance in the United States, and the emerging countries around the world," he said.

Profit for the fiscal third quarter ended on April 27 grew to $2.5 billion, or 46 cents per share, from $2.17 billion, or 40 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter.

Excluding unusual items, earnings per share came in at 51 cents compared with Wall Street expectations for 49 cents according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Revenue rose more than 5 percent to $12.2 billion from $11.6 billion and compared with Wall Street expectations for $12.18 billion according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Mark McKechnie, an analyst at Evercore was impressed with Cisco's gross margin of 63 percent, above the company's target of 61 to 62 percent.

"It will be interesting to see if they can raise the guidance on margins, McKechnie said.

Cisco forecast fourth-quarter gross margins of 61 to 62 percent, matching the prior quarter's estimate.

Cisco shares rose to $23 in extended trading after closing at $21.21 on Nasdaq.

(Reporting by Sinead Carew and Nicola Leske; Editing by Richard Chang)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/cisco-posts-quarterly-increase-revenue-202712595.html

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Investing in gold or silver? I know something better to invest in ...

There's alot of talk about investing in gold and silver. The economy is uncertain. We're promised that we've got a good investment and can rely on it.

Did you know there's an even more sure investment? It's salvation. But where do we invest our salvation? The answer is Christ. Put your salvation in Christ. Let your salvation stand on the only Rock that can help you withstand anything [the economy,illness,stress,etc...].

While gold and silver can help. It's only items that will someday perish. For even that won't last. People will be throwing it in the streets someday. You don't have to worry about that though as long as you have Christ. For you can escape the tribulation. All you need is Him. Please don't hold off salvation for belhold today is the day of salvation [2 Corinthians 6:2]. Your next breath isn't promised. You need eternity with Him. That and the rapture could happen right now. Just look at all the signs like with Damascus [check Isiaih 17].

Remember this. Peace is when you trust God in difficult times despite uncertain circumstances.

Source: http://raptureintheairnow.com/dreams-amp-visions/investing-in-gold-or-silver-i-know-something-better-to-invest-in-

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Cyberattacks a growing irritant in US-China ties

BEIJING (AP) ? Signs are growing that the sustained surge in cyberattacks emanating from China is imperiling its relations with the U.S., lending urgency to fledgling efforts by both governments to engage on the issue.

The Pentagon this week said China appeared to be cyberspying against the U.S. government, the first time it has made such an assertion in its annual report on Chinese military power. A bill introduced in the Senate on Tuesday would require the president to block imports of products using stolen U.S. technology or made by companies implicated in computer theft.

Washington's sudden focus on Chinese hacking comes after rising complaints from U.S. businesses about theft of trade secrets. Amid growing evidence that the People's Liberation Army and other state-backed groups are behind the infiltrations, Beijing's statements that it has nothing to do whatsoever with cyberattacks are being broadly dismissed.

"Hacking has become a significant sore spot in the U.S.-China relationship," said Abe Denmark, senior director of the National Bureau of Asian Research, an independent U.S.-based think tank. "It encompasses security, trade and intellectual property rights, and has become an issue of strategic significance to Washington."

Thus far, President Barack Obama's administration has mostly sought to apply pressure and avoid a confrontation that could set off a Chinese backlash at a time when Washington wants to keep the economy afloat. The issue was raised on recent visits by U.S. officials, including Secretary of State John Kerry and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey, although Dempsey said that no specific measures to discourage such activity were discussed.

The sides also agreed to form a joint working group to address the matter, adding it to the other disputes that bedevil ties, including trade, North Korea, Iran, Chinese territorial claims and human rights.

There are scant signs of progress so far, with State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell saying only that "we look forward to engaging in that dialogue."

Chinese hacking and cyberspying is described by experts to be so widespread and persistent that it has caused billions of dollars in economic losses and become an issue of U.S. national security by possibly placing critical infrastructure at risk. Washington is trying to beef up defenses by working with Internet companies and security firms.

The Pentagon report released Monday said China is using its cyber capabilities to collect intelligence against U.S. diplomatic, economic and defense programs. And the report warned that the skills needed for such espionage are similar to those needed to conduct more aggressive cyberattacks.

Though the Pentagon did not pinpoint sources of the hacking, U.S.-based Internet security firm Mandiant said in a February report that it traced years of cyberattacks against 140 mostly American companies to a People's Liberation Army unit in Shanghai. Mandiant executives say attacks originating in China have continued since then, with the exception of those from Shanghai-based Unit 61398 that had been highlighted in its earlier report.

China has called the accusations groundless, saying it's impossible to tell the origin of cyber-intrusions, and complained that it too is a target of hacking, with many attacks coming from the U.S.

Though China has provided scant specifics, the National Security Agency was tasked in 1997 with developing ways to attack foreign computer networks, according to recently declassified information released last month by the National Security Archive of George Washington University. One of the most successful acts of cyber-sabotage ? the insertion of the Stuxnet virus into computer systems for Iran's nuclear program in 2010 ? is believed to have been the work of the U.S. and Israel.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying on Tuesday dismissed the Pentagon report's claims as "groundless accusations and hyping."

James Mulvenon, a specialist on the Chinese military and cyberwarfare at Washington, D.C.-based consultancy Defense Group Inc. scoffed at the dismissal. He tweeted: "'Groundless accusations,' eh? Wasted 100s of hours fighting in my networks."

With Beijing so far not forthcoming, often partisan forces in Washington are coalescing around the need for tougher action.

The Senate bill was introduced by a bipartisan group of senators, including Democrat Carl Levin of Michigan and Republican John McCain of Arizona. While it doesn't mention China as a specific target of sanctions, a news release on the legislation notes that "recent reports indicate that China is by far the largest source of theft attempts against U.S. companies."

"We need to call out those who are responsible for cyber theft and empower the president to hit the thieves where it hurts most ? in their wallets, by blocking imports of products from companies that benefit from this theft," Levin was quoted as saying in the release.

The Senate's bipartisan approach, rising attention from the administration and public expressions of concern from the normally pro-Beijing business community illustrate how the issue has already reached critical mass, said Yu Maochun, a China scholar at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.

"The Chinese hacking is so staggering and so significantly un-American that it has actually united major bickering and partisan sections of American society, the same way Pearl Harbor or Sept. 11 did," Yu said.

___

Associated Press writers Matthew Lee and Matthew Pennington contributed to this report from Washington.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-05-08-AS-China-US-Cyber-Strains/id-dcfb8a823f484024b1d7cb3d48c08a2c

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South Carolina center stage in early 2016 talk

FILE - In this April 20, 2013 file photo, Vice President Joe Biden speaks in Detroit. Mere months after the 2012 election, South Carolina is a buzz of political activity with a slate of potential presidential candidates already looking ahead to the state's "first in the South" primary _ still three years away. Vice President Joe Biden and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz arrive to whip up their parties' faithful before Tuesday's special congressional election featuring the high-profile former governor. (AP Photo/Rick Osentoski, File)

FILE - In this April 20, 2013 file photo, Vice President Joe Biden speaks in Detroit. Mere months after the 2012 election, South Carolina is a buzz of political activity with a slate of potential presidential candidates already looking ahead to the state's "first in the South" primary _ still three years away. Vice President Joe Biden and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz arrive to whip up their parties' faithful before Tuesday's special congressional election featuring the high-profile former governor. (AP Photo/Rick Osentoski, File)

FILE - In this March 16, 2013 file photo, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas speaks in National Harbor, Md. Mere months after the 2012 election, South Carolina is a buzz of political activity with a slate of potential presidential candidates already looking ahead to the state's "first in the South" primary _ still three years away. Vice President Joe Biden and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz arrive to whip up their parties' faithful before Tuesday's special congressional election featuring the high-profile former governor. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

FILE - In this April 29, 2013 file photo, South Carolina Democratic Congressional candidate Elizabeth Colbert Busch speaks in Charleston, S.C. Mere months after the 2012 election, South Carolina is a buzz of political activity with a slate of potential presidential candidates already looking ahead to the state's "first in the South" primary _ still three years away. Vice President Joe Biden and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz arrive to whip up their parties' faithful before Tuesday's special congressional election featuring the high-profile former governor. (AP Photo/Rainier Ehrhardt, File)

FILE - This April 30, 2013 file photo shows former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford speaking in Charleston, S.C. Mere months after the 2012 election, South Carolina is a buzz of political activity with a slate of potential presidential candidates already looking ahead to the state's "first in the South" primary _ still three years away. Vice President Joe Biden and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz arrive to whip up their parties' faithful before Tuesday's special congressional election featuring the high-profile former governor. (AP Photo/Rainier Ehrhardt, File)

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) ? Mere months after the 2012 election, South Carolina is a buzz of political activity with a slate of potential presidential candidates already looking ahead to the state's "first in the South" primary ? still three years away.

Vice President Joe Biden, a Democrat, and Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, a tea party favorite with national aspirations, descended on South Carolina on Friday to whip up the partisan faithful and offer a presidential campaign tease for the state. Both parties are preparing for next week's special congressional election featuring former GOP Gov. Mark Sanford and Democrat Elizabeth Colbert Busch, the sister of comedian Stephen Colbert.

"As soon as I show up in South Carolina, the Washington press corps comes out and says, 'Is Biden getting ready?'" the vice president said at an annual party dinner, insisting that he came at the request of another Democrat, South Carolina Rep. James Clyburn. "I've got to make clear: I would go anywhere Jim asked me to go."

At the Democratic confab, more than 1,000 packed a convention center ballroom for the $125-per-person dinner, where Biden laid in to House Republicans for "fighting like the devil" for a budget plan that he said slashes education, undercuts law enforcement and gets rid of Medicare.

"Where are they from? What don't they understand about this country?" Biden said, his voice rising to a roar. "What don't they understand about those decent Americans, who paid their whole lives, who built this country, who fought in wars?"

Cruz reminded Republicans at an annual state GOP dinner that less than a decade ago the party controlled the White House and Congress. He said Republicans could begin to turn the tide by regaining control of the Senate in the 2014 elections. "Things can change quickly," Cruz said.

In this conservative state that reliably votes Republican in national and statewide general elections, partisans already are getting a hefty amount of attention. Typically, South Carolina finds itself at the center of American politics for a brief time every four years during the presidential primary season, when it usually is the third state to weigh in on who should become the Democratic and Republican presidential nominees.

South Carolina's primaries have played an important role in the nominating process for both parties; the state gave Barack Obama a commanding victory in 2008 and until last year, every Republican nominee had won the state's primary since Ronald Reagan in 1980.

Years ahead of the 2016 contests, Republican and Democratic hopefuls alike already are starting to survey the landscape, court support and weigh in on local matters, with wide-open fields shaping up in both parties.

"The activists in this state are unhappy about the results of the presidential election," said Jay W. Ragley, a former executive director of the state Republican Party. "They're looking for someone who has a message which national Republicans can rally behind."

With Obama barred from seeking a third term, Democrats here also may be starting to seek their own consensus candidate.

This week, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, a potential 2016 candidate, endorsed Sanford, and the party announced that Paul would hold fundraisers for Republicans in the state on June 28. Last month, Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, talked up his record ? and heaped criticism on South Carolina Republican Gov. Nikki Haley ? during a Democratic event in Charleston, while former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, said to be eyeing another run after losing the GOP nomination last year, campaigned for Curtis Bostic, who lost to Sanford in a Republican run-off for the open congressional seat.

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, a potential 2016 candidate, was here months ahead of the pack, headlining the state's Silver Elephant dinner last year.

Absent thus far, former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who has longstanding ties to South Carolina going back to the time of her husband's presidency. The former first lady and New York senator has said she has not made any decisions about her future, but many Democrats are eager for her to step forward and campaigns urging her to run are underway.

In a sign of the hunger for Clinton, House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi gushed over Clinton's experience during an event Thursday at the Clinton School of Public Service in Little Rock, Ark., telling an audience, "I pray that Hillary Clinton decides to run for president."

Biden and Cruz were in the spotlight Friday evening ? speaking at party events about two miles from each other.

"I'll bet they're talking about the middle class ? ooph," Biden said mockingly of Cruz's Republican event.

Cruz told the GOP gathering that Biden was in Columbia. "You know, the great thing ? you don't even need a punch line. You just say that and people laugh," he said.

The vice president headlined the state party's Jefferson-Jackson dinner and then dropped by an annual fish fry held by Clyburn. Biden, who twice unsuccessfully ran for president, hasn't ruled out running a third time in 2016. But Biden's decision about whether to run seems unavoidably overshadowed by Clinton, who many Democrats say would eclipse the vice president should she choose to run.

At the fish fry celebrating Clyburn's 20 years in Congress, it was Biden who worked a rope line five people deep, greeting supporters and working the room the way he did four years ago during his second presidential campaign, and then again later as Obama's running mate.

While careful not to upstage the president with flagrant displays of ambition, Biden has kept at least a toe planted firmly in the political world since the start of his and Obama's second term.

He schmoozed with prominent Democrats from Iowa and New Hampshire ? the first two states to hold presidential primary contests last year ? during the inaugural weekend. He's making calls for the House Democrats' campaign arm, working to recruit candidates to help his party win the House next year. And last month, he traveled to Michigan to give the keynote at a state party dinner.

Biden became the figurehead for Obama's push on gun control, appearing countless times with gun violence victims and advocates to urge his former colleagues in the Senate to act. It was unsuccessful. Yet, Biden says he's not giving up the fight; he met with law enforcement officials about the issue Thursday. The same day, while in Mexico, Obama announced that Biden would play an active role in a new partnership with Mexico to strengthen the two countries' economic ties.

Cruz, meanwhile, joined a chorus of people paying tribute to former South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint, who was an early supporter of the freshman senator.

The Texan is new to national politics, having been in Washington just a few months after becoming the lone tea party candidate to win a Senate seat last year.

In just a few weeks on the job, the insurgent Republican ran afoul of GOP mainstays, prompted Democrats to compare his style to McCarthyism and voted against nearly everything of significance that came before him. Through it all, he made clear he intends to be a conservative standard-bearer.

All that endeared him to a segment of the party and sparked talk of presidential ambitions.

On Wednesday amid presidential buzz, Cruz issued a statement on his Facebook page: "In my short tenure, my focus has been ? and will remain ? on two things: fighting for conservative principles in the Senate and working to help elect strong conservatives to win a majority in the Senate in 2014." He added: "It is a continued source of amazement that the simple fact that I am working hard with like-minded senators to keep my promise is seen as newsworthy and cause for wild speculation."

His appearance here was only fueling the talk, though he did not address the issue head-on. DeMint, a mentor who recently stepped down to become president of the conservative Heritage Foundation, tried to tamp down the speculation. "I can assure you he's thinking about Senate business and that's about it right now," DeMint said of Cruz.

___

Follow Ken Thomas on Twitter: http://twitter.com/AP_Ken_Thomas

Follow Josh Lederman on Twitter: http://twitter.com/joshledermanAP

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/apdefault/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-05-04-US-South-Carolina-2016/id-adb6bfac3e9c4457bc4f3da1af5c14fc

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Acer intros Aspire R7, a laptop with an adjustable display like an all-in-one (update: hands-on)

When Acer plans a global press event, asking journalists to fly in from twelve time zones away, you know it's going to announce more than just some back-to-school PCs. The company just announced the Aspire R7, a 15-inch laptop whose display sits on a flexible "Ezel" hinge, allowing it to be pushed up and back so that it lies nearly flat -- yep, just like an all-in-one desktop. Similar to the Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga line, too, you can flip the screen all the way back so that it faces away from the keyboard, a feature that seems especially well-suited for giving presentations.

In terms of specs, Acer is being a little cagey, but we have learned the R7 has a 15.6-inch, 1080p display with a choice of Core i5 and i7 processors. The whole thing weighs in the neighborhood of five and a half pounds. Also confirmed: it's up for pre-order now for $999, available exclusively at Best Buy in the US. We're told it will ship May 17th. In the meantime, we've got hands-on photos below, and we'll very shortly be adding some first impressions after the break.

Update: We've updated this post with some key specs, along with hands-on photos.

Update #2: We've confirmed the price is $999 in the US. And it will ship May 17th, not the 14th.

Gallery: Acer Aspire R7 hands-on

Filed under: Laptops, Acer

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/l7Cft8v8ICs/

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Glencore seen still hungry after swallowing Xstrata

By Clara Ferreira-Marques

LONDON (Reuters) - After years of on-off talks, months of brinksmanship and often bitter negotiations, Glencore's head Ivan Glasenberg gets to complete the $30 billion acquisition of Xstrata on Thursday, the mining industry's biggest takeover yet.

But even as the champagne pops, investors and rivals are asking where the highly ambitious South African will look for his next deal. Many are already pointing to vulnerable or undervalued rivals, including Anglo American .

"This is not the endgame, this is the beginning," analyst Chris LaFemina at Jefferies said.

"Glencore wants to buy when no one else wants to buy, and what no one else wants to buy - that is when no one else is bidding and you can buy things cheap. That time is clearly now."

Xstrata began just over a decade ago with a collection of zinc and ferroalloy assets and coal mines bought from Glencore, building itself up under now departing chief executive Mick Davis into one of the world's largest diversified miners.

The combination of commodities trader Glencore and producer Xstrata, long Glasenberg's ambition, creates a mining and trading powerhouse with over 100 mines around the world, some 130,000 employees, and an oil division with more ships than Britain's Royal Navy.

It will be the largest exporter of thermal coal and the third-largest producer of mined copper.

But South African-born Glasenberg, who has rattled rivals with forthright comments, such as recently telling them they had "screwed up", is not done.

"In terms of hunger, ambition, I can't see any reason why Ivan Glasenberg's ambition has been diminished as a consequence of this deal. He has a greater awareness of his ability to get deals of this scale done," said analyst Paul Gait at Sanford Bernstein in London.

Anglo American, one of the most frequently quoted of Glencore's larger potential targets, has been in team Glasenberg's sights before. He was a key shareholder when Xstrata made a move for Anglo in 2009, only to be rebuffed.

'NATURAL BUYER'

Anglo has now set itself on a turnaround path with a new CEO, but is still battling to overcome the impact of overruns at its $8.8 billion Minas-Rio iron ore project in Brazil and an unprecedented squeeze in platinum, where it faces weak prices, high costs and combative unions. Its shares trade at discount to the sum of the parts that some analysts put at 50 percent.

"I still see Anglo as vulnerable, and I see Glencore as a natural buyer for it," Gait said.

Glencore has already dismissed concerns that regulatory scrutiny of its deal with Xstrata - and remedies imposed by both the European Union and China - could stop other deals.

"There are companies, definitely larger companies, Glencore can continue to look at," Glasenberg said in March.

Anglo is also unlikely to be alone. Glencore's sprawling network of traders and its crucial on-the-ground knowledge will continue to throw up deals, from logistics buys to oil and mines - and with majors retreating and smaller players short of cash, Glasenberg may face little competition.

Investors, for now at least, are supportive.

"They clearly need to bed down Xstrata and if the strong dollar persists, then commodity prices will remain subdued and so will valuations ... they can sit back and wait," Mark Holden, senior fund manager at Ignis Asset Management, said. "That doesn't mean that if an opportunistic deal came up, that they wouldn't try to get involved - and so they should."

But it is Glasenberg-the-investor's pursuit of returns for shareholders at the expense of location, commodity or any other consideration that is seen likely to continue to impact a sector where investor demands for better returns and use of cash have led to a wave of change at the top.

Of the world's six biggest miners there is only one where there has not been a change of chief executive in the past two years - Glencore, where Glasenberg is also the firm's biggest single shareholder.

"He acts as more of a catalyst for change, given his personality and his take on the industry, than just the weight of the assets would suggest," Gait said.

CHALLENGES AHEAD

Yet integrating Xstrata, a $46 billion company with a different corporate culture and assets across the world, will not be plain sailing for Glencore. Analysts say there is much attention on Glencore's ability to combine the companies while beating the synergies target of $500 million.

All but one of Xstrata's divisional chiefs have already left including Xstrata's head of copper - a metal which accounted for more than half the miner's profit last year. Glencore has shrugged off fears of an exodus at this level, saying it is more concerned with keeping managers on the ground.

But the bitterness left by its battle to win Xstrata was evident in a statement announcing the immediate departure of Mick Davis which carefully detailed the terms for his continued use of computers, office space and a plane.

According to industry sources Davis is now expected to set up a privately backed investment venture and could take former colleagues with him.

That team has also left gaps in the combined group's board, some of which Glencore could fill this week. Among the key spots open is that of chairman, left vacant after Xstrata's chairman John Bond, who had been due to take the combined group role, quit after a row over retention packages for Xstrata bosses.

The combined group's shares begin trading on May 3.

(Additional reporting by Sinead Cruise; Editing by Greg Mahlich)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/glencore-seen-still-hungry-swallowing-xstrata-054729857.html

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Twitter-hacking Syrian Electronic Army: How much state support does it have?

The pro-Syrian cyberhackers behind the recent attacks on major media outlets? Twitter accounts claim to be members of a grass-roots organization defending the honor of the nation, but are likely nothing more than government-backed cyberwarriors, some researchers say.

The hacks by the Syrian Electronic Army (SEA) on Twitter reflect an intensifying effort in recent weeks to disseminate pro-Syrian propaganda and attack Syria?s perceived enemies in the media. The emphasis marks an apparent shift for the group, which previously had focused more on attacking and defacing websites and Facebook pages of members of Syria?s opposition and others they perceived as anti-Syrian, according to close observers of the group.

The most recent attack came Monday, with the SEA hacking into several Twitter accounts belonging to the British newspaper, The Guardian.

RECOMMENDED: How much do you know about cybersecurity? Take our quiz.

Shortly after, Twitter warned news organization in an e-mail that their accounts could be vulnerable. Twitter has been shutting down the latest versions of the official SEA Twitter channel (the group was on its 12th) as fast as the San Francisco-based company can find them.

Citing ?several recent incidents of high-profile news and media Twitter handles being compromised,? the company wrote that: ?We believe that these attacks will continue, and that news and media organizations will continue to be high value targets to hackers.?

Twitter hack victims have so far included CBS, NPR, and the BBC. Previously hacked organizations included Human Rights Watch, Reuters, Sky News Arabia, and even the FIFA World Cup organization. The AP and BBC both reported that ?phishing? e-mails were sent to their staff about the same time accounts got hacked.

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But the biggest ?twit-hit? was on April 25, when the official Twitter account of the Associated Press was hijacked and used to tweet a hoax that the White House had been hit by bombs and President Obama injured. The US stock market immediately plummeted 145 points, the fake news erasing an estimated $200 billion in market value ? at least for a few minutes ? before it rebounded.

The group has now hit ?basically every media outlet on the planet from ABC News, to Reuters, to now the Associated Press," Jared Keller, Bloomberg News social media director told the BBC.

What?s behind the Twitter hacks is a bald effort to win attention for Syria?s cause and to attack the nation?s perceived enemies in the media, several close observers say.

Some researchers who have been tracking the SEA for years say the group appears to have at least ?tacit support? from Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Others argue the group is operated out of Dubai by deep-pocketed supporters of the Syrian regime. Still others say the connection with the Assad regime is quite direct.

?The SEA definitely has a close relationship with the regime,? says Amjad Baiazy, an independent cyber-researcher in London who was held in detention by the regime in 2011. ?I can?t say if they are also supported by certain individuals, but I can say they are funded by the regime. There are also strong indications that members of the group are trained by Iranian [information technology] experts.?

The fact that the group?s website is hosted on the national Syrian network, where local web hosting is highly politicized, indicates at the very least ?tacit support? from the Assad regime, according to Helmi Noman, a senior researcher with Citizen Lab, a cyber-research center at the University of Toronto.

Such ?local hosting of sensitive content indicates state approval or at least tolerance of the content and the people behind the content,? Mr. Noman writes in an e-mail interview. Even so, ?I do not have information that suggests that the SEA is a Syrian state operation, but the tacit support which we have documented can potentially amount to sponsorship.?

It is significant, as well, that President Assad thanked the group in a major televised speech in 2011, which Noman calls ?a prerequisite political blessing without which such a group with questionable activities cannot operate.?

In that speech to Damascus University, Assad likened online cyberwarriors to his best troops: "The army consists of the brothers of every Syrian citizen,? he said. ?Young people have an important role to play at this stage, because they have proven themselves to be an active power. There is the electronic army, which has been a real army in virtual reality."

When the domain names of the SEA were seized last month by US authorities, the SEA survived the interruption by launching a new country code top-level domain name ? sea.sy ? for its website, Noman writes. Doing so, ?implies that the national agency in charge of domain name registration does not find the SEA's hacking and compromising activities objectionable,? he notes.

Still, the SEA has steadfastly denied on its website any links to the Syrian regime, portraying itself as just a group of self-organized volunteers.

?We are a group of enthusiastic Syrian youths who could not stay passive towards the massive distortion of facts about the recent uprising in Syria, and this distortion is carried out by many Facebook pages that deliberately work to spread hatred and sectarian intolerance between the peoples of Syria to fuel the uprising,? the group?s description says on its website.

Distancing itself is not surprising, the researchers say.

?The state needs this distance so that it cannot be held legally, politically, or even financially responsible for the SEA's activities,? Noman writes. ?On the other hand, I won't be surprised if the Syrian institutions at some point defend their support [for] the SEA, arguing that their activities come in the context of a legitimate cyberwar. In fact, that is how the local media is portraying them in its celebratory reports which I have been looking at.?

The SEA has shifted from defacing political and mostly apolitical websites to targeting the media, which it perceives as hostile to the Syrian regime. The SEA, for instance, has not targeted "friendly" Russian or Iranian media, observers say. The group also likes media attention, and compromising the online presence of media outlets amplifies their exposure to the media, they agree.

?Basically they want to become famous to tell their story to the international community,? says Mr. Baiazy. ?To do this, they have to catch attention. So they target, for example, the Twitter account for Reuters. Believe it or not, they actually are trying to leave a positive impression about Syria.?

Baiazy, who was imprisoned in Syria in 2011 and interrogated about his online activities, says those questioning him were very young and barely computer literate. If so, it remain a question about the far more sophisticated actors also said to be part of the Syrian Electronic Army, which has been systematically and clandestinely luring opposition sympathizers with tainted video links in e-mail, fake Skype encryption tools, and tainted online documents.

Those hackers believed to be allied to Syria's government have deployed a fairly sophisticated array of powerful spyware with names like DarkComet, backdoor.bruet, and Blackshades. Available on the Internet, these malware are used to infiltrate the personal computers of opposition figures and rights activists and send back information on their friends and contacts as well as passwords, cybersecurity experts say.

Also of note, The Guardian reports that defectors from inside the SEA claim many in the organization moved last year from Damascus to a secret base in Dubai funded by Assad's billionaire cousin, Rami Makhlouf, who controls it.

Pro-Assad activists are said to receive $500 to $1,000 for attacks on major Western targets ? a huge sum for most Syrians, The Guardian reported.

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/twitter-hacking-syrian-electronic-army-much-state-support-222151700.html

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Angel Investor, Spotify Fixer Shakil Khan Launches Coindesk, A Bitcoin Resource

Shakil Khan, an angel investor and advisor to Spotify, just launched Coindesk, a Bitcoin resource and news site, amid a boatload of hype and VC interest in the crypto-currency. Khan says Coindesk was a project he conceived of about four weeks ago, around when Bitcoin was surging to an all-time high. It’s now trading at around $124.38, or about half as much as it was trading at a few weeks ago. “I was just sitting there and I literally had five e-mails that day from very seasoned entrepreneurs, asking me — what do you know about Bitcoin?” said Khan, who has invested in the space. He was part of a roughly half-million dollar round in Bitpay, which is trying to make it dead simple for merchants to incorporate Bitcoin as a payments method. “There’s a lack of transparent information. Where do you go to read what’s right or wrong?” said Khan, who has been a head of special projects for Spotify for five years. He was also briefly a head of special projects for Path too. No, Khan’s not starting a Bitcoin media business. (That would be a head-scratcher.) “I have absolutely no desire to be publisher,” he said. “That is not my goal. I am just fascinated by the digital currency space.” Khan says that existing resources out there like Bitcoin Magazine and other message boards are too technical for a more mainstream audience. While helping put together the deal to sell Summly to Yahoo over the last couple weeks, he got together a team of people and part-time writers to publish news about the Bitcoin ecosystem. But he adds that building a news site is not just a side project either. “CoinDesk, Bitcoins and digital currencies are way, way more than a hobby for me,” he said. Khan has personally vetted about 15 deals in the Bitcoin space, and moved forward with just one. “The early guys who are having the ideas have not necessarily run businesses before. They’re looking at it more from an idealist perspective or vision,” he said, explaining why he didn’t go in on other deals.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/nSpO8BjsbgY/

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Music City mourns country legend George Jones

AAA??May. 2, 2013?11:14 AM ET
Music City mourns country legend George Jones
By CHRIS TALBOTTBy CHRIS TALBOTT, AP Music Writer??

FILE - In this Jan. 10, 2007 file photo, George Jones is shown in Nashville, Tenn. Jones, the peerless, hard-living country singer who recorded dozens of hits about good times and regrets and peaked with the heartbreaking classic "He Stopped Loving Her Today," has died. He was 81. Jones died Friday, April 26, 2013 at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville after being hospitalized with fever and irregular blood pressure, according to his publicist Kirt Webster. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, file)

FILE - In this Jan. 10, 2007 file photo, George Jones is shown in Nashville, Tenn. Jones, the peerless, hard-living country singer who recorded dozens of hits about good times and regrets and peaked with the heartbreaking classic "He Stopped Loving Her Today," has died. He was 81. Jones died Friday, April 26, 2013 at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville after being hospitalized with fever and irregular blood pressure, according to his publicist Kirt Webster. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, file)

A wreath in memory of country music star George Jones hangs on a door at the Grand Ole Opry House on Wednesday, May 1, 2013, in Nashville, Tenn. The Opry House is where the funeral for Jones will be held Thursday, May 2. Jones, one of country music's biggest stars who had No. 1 hits in four separate decades, died April 26. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

Jean Tanner, of Madison, Ga., walks past a wreath hung on a door at the Grand Ole Opry House in memory of country music star George Jones on Wednesday, May 1, 2013, in Nashville, Tenn. The Opry House is where the funeral for Jones will be held Thursday, May 2. Jones, one of country music's biggest stars who had No. 1 hits in four separate decades, died April 26. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

People visit the the Grand Ole Opry House on Wednesday, May 1, 2013, in Nashville, Tenn. The Opry House is where the funeral for country music legend George Jones will be held Thursday, May 2. Jones, one of country music's biggest stars who had No. 1 hits in four separate decades, died April 26. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

The casket for country music legend George Jones lies in the Grand Ole Opry House before his funeral on Thursday, May 2, 2013, in Nashville, Tenn. Jones, one of country music's biggest stars who had No. 1 hits in four separate decades, died April 26. He was 81. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, Pool)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) ? Thousands of fans who had been waiting in line since the wee hours joined some of country's biggest stars Thursday to pay their respects to George Jones at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville.

An overflow crowd began lining up at 3 a.m. to honor the late country music superstar, who died last week at 81.

Former first lady Laura Bush will speak at the public funeral along with friends and country stars Barbara Mandrell and Kenny Chesney. Jones also will be serenaded by Vince Gill, Kid Rock, Brad Paisley, Alan Jackson, Tanya Tucker, Wynonna Judd, Charlie Daniels and Randy Travis.

The funeral is being broadcast live on cable music television channels CMT and GAC and ? in a nod to simpler times when Jones was at his biggest ? on all local television networks.

He was in the midst of a farewell tour that was to have wrapped up with an all-star salute in November in Nashville. He postponed two performances two weeks ago and entered the hospital with a fever and irregular blood pressure. He'd been ill off and on over the previous year.

Jones' pure, matchless baritone defined the sound of country music for a half century and his death brought universal reaction from the music community and fans. Known for hits like "Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes," ''White Lightning" and "He Stopped Loving Her Today," widely acknowledged as the greatest country song, Jones had No. 1s in four decades from the 1950s to the 1980s and "Possum" remained a popular figure in Music City until his death.

Once married to Tammy Wynette, he was the living embodiment of the words "country music star" at the height of his career and continues to have broad influence on the genre, especially with artists who prefer traditional country to today's pop- and rock-influenced sounds.

Jones also had his troubles as he battled substance abuse and money troubles, but always seemed to slide by with his sense of humor and knowing grin intact.

He won a Grammy and two consecutive Country Music Association song of the year awards for "He Stopped Loving Her Today," and was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1992. He was among the artists honored in Washington at the Kennedy Center in 2008.

The Beaumont, Texas, native had been a member of the Grand Ole Opry since 1956, which makes the setting of Thursday's ceremony all the more fitting. The Opry House holds more than 4,000 people and was expected to be filled beyond capacity.

___

Follow AP Music Writer Chris Talbott: http://twitter.com/Chris_Talbott.

Associated Press
People, Places and Companies: George Jones, Laura Bush, Barbara Mandrell, Kenny Chesney, Vince Gill, Kid Rock, Brad Paisley, Alan Jackson, Tanya Tucker, Wynonna Judd, Charlie Daniels, Randy Travis, Tammy Wynette, Nashville

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-05-02-US-Music-George-Jones/id-ae5effd63d1e47dc98425b644103eb90

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