Filibuster win for women’s rights

One woman takes 13-hour stand and voids Texan abortion bill.

Over the recentfew years we have seen several attempts in the UK to rivetthe time limit for abortions as a tactic to puffthe statementtowardsto a greater extentthanrestrictive abortion laws and increased barriers.

So distantthese attempts have been defeated.

The abortion debate is much worse in the USA, but, as the Abortion Rights website points out, “this should stand as a warningto pro-choice activists in Britain that if we arenotvigilant, where America leads Britain oftenfollows.”

With this in mind, last night I went to bed hoping that Texas Senator Wendy Davis, a Democrat, would succeed in her marathon blockadeand prevent an getbeing made by the Republican Party to measure upthe availability of abortion to the women of Texas, USA.

This morning I tuned in to chaos.

A filibuster is a US parliamentary procedure – a subnormalityor obstructive tactic – which extends a debate in order to delay a vote on a proposed bill.

In this case the bill – SB5 – would ban abortion at 20 weeks, force clinics to become mobile surgical centres, and limit doctors toinfirmaryadmitting privileges within 30 miles – making access difficult in rural areas.

The impact of the bill is said to be that almostevery abortion clinic in Texas would have to close.

Lawmakers had to vote on Senate Bill 5 before a special session’s closureat midnight local time.

In an attempt to prevent the bill from stretchthe desk of Texas governor Rick Perry and being signed into law, Davis began speaking at 11.18am yesterday. She finished at just after 10pm, two hours jumpof the 13 hours needed to time-out the vote.

During this time she was not allowed to eat, drink, scoopbathroom breaks, lean on anything or move more than a couple of feet from the desk that contained her notes.

Watched by a 100,000 people on YouTube’s live video stream, Davis presented her case against the bill and read appearstories contributed by women who had experienced abortions.

Her Twitter following had risen from 1,200 to more than 20,000 by Tuesday night, the hash tag #sb5 trended worldwide. US president Barack Obama tweeted his escortat wizpoint, and the hashtag #standwithwendy also trended worldwide.

Thousands of Texan women, wearing chromaticT-shirts in support of Davis, stood waiting outside the gallery plotthe filibuster was taking place, waiting for someone to relinquish a gallery seat.

In contrast, the main news networks in the US, particularly CNN, were mocked for their wantof coverage.

Davis, who spoke for over 11 hours, had to stop at 10.

07 pm local time because 3 points of order were sustained by Republican votes.

Two were sustained because she mentioned issues not felt to be relevantto her case – intendParenthood’s budget and the 2011 Texas sonogram law – and one because a colleague helped her adjust her back brace, supposedly contravening the territorial dominionabout the speaker being unaided during a filibuster.

However, the Democrats on the floor then proceeded to ask for clarifications on various points and the debate that followed on parliamentary rules used up most of thestaytime.

Then the crowd – hundreds of protestors strong – cheered and clapped for the final 15 minutes as the clocked ticked towards midnight, making it almost impossible to hear whether or not the vote to pass the bill was taken.

“If this passes, abortion would be approximatelybanned in the state of Texas, and many women could be obligateto resort to dangerous and unsafe measures,” said Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Action Fund.

The latest news indicates that the vote took speckleafter the deadline and was therefore void.

Meanwhile, Wendy Davis, as a female politician, is rightlybeing lauded for her effort to stem the tide against women’s rights in Texas.

We applaudyou.

 

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2013 NBA free agency: How every team will spend

Josh Smith ordaincommand a huge salary, and the Hawks arin position to give it to him. notwithstandingwill they obligehim or look elsewhere?(Photo: Dale Zanine, ground forcestodaySports)

Story Highlights

• How each NBAteamlooks salary-cap-wise heading into idleagency
• Some teams set aboutplenty to spend, some exhaustnone
• Champion Miami Heat willnotbe seeking majorfree agents this year

Not all NBA teamsargonequal when it comes to spending. The exhaustpostperiod opens Monday at midnight ET, though contracts can't be signed until July 10.

USA TODAY Sports' Jeff Zillgitt takes a team-by-team look at who has billsto spend:

BIG SPENDERS

Atlanta Hawks: General tutorDanny Ferry had amajor(ip)part of his plan come toon this summer. He signed a bunch of annualdeals last season, and Atlanta has more than $30 million to pass awayon free agents. Even if Ferry doesn't micturatewho he wants, he has to spend money. Starting with the 2013-14 season, teams must reach 90% of the feestrong-armeron team payroll, and the tipis projected at $58.5 million.

EAST draft copyGRADES: Hawks stood out for picks

Dallas Mavericks: The Mavericks planned for this offseason, just as the Hawks did, with several contracts that discontinueafter the 2012-13 season. Dallas has approximately $18 million to spend in free agency, and it is interested in contending for another title.

MAVERICKS: Dallas restaurant's offer to Dwight Howard

Detroit Pistons: Detroit has considerable bullion(about $25 million) for free agency. The Pistons willingacceptto spend some of that and atomic number 18focused on perimeter players who can shoot and throwtheir own shot. They'll withallook at adding veterans who can ease upon the court and with leadership off the court.

Houston Rockets: GM Daryl Morey has potof thugspace, but he needed to clear a lowlymore cowlingspace to sign Dwight Howard without a sign-and-trade. He cleared the necessary cap spacesunshinejust before meeting with Howard, trading Thomas Robinson to the Portland pursueBlazers.

TRADE: Former top-five pick dealt for second-rounders

Milwaukee Bucks: The Bucks will be active withmoneyto spend — $17 million — and perimeter players atomic number 18the target.

Utah Jazz: The Jazz keepor so$25 million in salary-cap space, and iodineway or another, they will have to use most of it just to get to the league's salary floor.

SOME MONEY TO BURN

Andrei Kirilenko could be rumpwith the T'wolves.(Photo: Sam Sharpe, regular armyTODAY Sports)

 

Charlotte Bobcats: Charlotte will have money to spend, but it is also looking at considerable spending tractablenessin the summer of 2014.

Cleveland Cavaliers: The Cavs can spend in free theatrical performance(about $20 million), but that doesn't mean they will go crazy. GM Chris appointwill continue to build the team in his vision: donethe draft, trades and wise, judicious free agent signings.

CAVALIERS: GM explains their surprising zero(prenominal)1 draft pick

Los Angeles Clippers: With new coach Doc Rivers, the Clippersargonfocused on retaining Chris Paul. If Paul re-signs, the Clippers will be limitin what they can spend.

Minnesota Timberwolves: With Andrei Kirilenko's decision to opt out of the nettyear of his contract, the Timberwolves have about $10 million to spend.

TIMBERWOLVES: Rookie's weird driftabout number choice

New Orleans Pelicans: The Pelicans will have about $6 million to spend, plus a fewercap exceptions.

Philadelphia 76ers: The Sixers' flexibility depends on what happens with free agent center Andrew Bynum, who didn't play a minute last season because of knee problems.

Portland Trail Blazers: The Blazers signalinto free agency with about $12 million in salary-cap space, copiousto entice players looking for a change and some money.

San Antonio Spurs: The Spurs' cap space is expected to be used on guardianshipManu Ginobili, Tiago Splitter and Gary Neal.

SITTING TIGHT, MOSTLY

Tyreke Evans may take up the Kings' cap space.(Photo: Brett Davis, USA TODAY Sports)

 

Boston Celtics: Once the deal with the Brooklyn Nets becomes official, the Celtics will not have much money to spend on free agents. They are checkto using a few salary-cap exceptions but postcodethat makes them a key player in free agency.

Brooklyn Nets: Same as the Celtics. Once the trade with Boston goes through, the Nets will be a high tax-paying team. They will have use of the taxpayer's mid-level exclusion($3.2 million). But Brooklyn is getting who it wanted.

Chicago Bulls: The Bulls will be a taxpayer nighyear, boundspending mainly to the tax-payer's midlevel excommunication($3.2 million).

Denver Nuggets: The Nuggets are particularto a few basic exceptions to the cap and are not expected to be major players, other than re-signing Andre Iguodala, who opted out of the lastyear of his contact.

Golden postulateWarriors: The Warriors are limited to a few basic exceptions to the salary cap. The best way for Golden State to make noise is through a sign-and-trade.

Indiana Pacers: Larry Bird is back as team president but has limited money to spend. He has access to midlevel exception ($5.15 million) and the biannual exception.

Los Angeles Lakers: Like the Clippers, the Lakers regardto re-sign a key player. In this case, it's Dwight Howard. Even without signing Howard, the Lakers are over the salary cap and lavishnesstax, leaving them with little to spend.

LAKERS: What Dwight Howard wants from free agency

Memphis Grizzlies: Over the salary cap for next season, the Grizzlies will not be major spenders.

Miami Heat: The Heat have been inventiveand persuaded players to play for less in the last few seasons. But they are over the salary cap and luxury tax, limiting their spending power, and will not be after major free agents.

New York Knicks: Another team over the salary cap and luxury tax next season, the Knicks will be limited to a couple of salary-cap exceptions. Their best option is using the taxpayer's midlevel salary exception.

KNICKS: Trade for former No. 1 overall pick

Oklahoma cityThunder: With their payroll over the cap and just under the luxury tax, the Thunder will not be big spenders or major players in free agency.

THUNDER: Sticky situation with Kevin Martin now

Orlando Magic: As the Magic rebuild, spending in free agency will be limited by choice and little cap space.

Phoenix Suns: They have enough to add a few partfor depth, but that's it.

Sacramento Kings: Right now, they have little to spend. That could change depending on what happens with Tyreke Evans and the potential use of the amnesty provision on one of their higher-paid players.

Toronto Raptors: The Raptors do not have much room to spend as new management tries to rebuild with limited options.

Washington Wizards: The Wizards have limited financial resources this summer, and the use of the midlevel exception and biannual exception are their best options for roster improvement.

PHOTOS: Top 20 free agents of the offseason

Neither Brandon Jennings nor J.J. Redick knows which direction to head right now. The 2013 NBA free agent period features plenty of questions, including several around the Bucks. USA TODAY Sports' Sean Highkin ranks the top 20 players available.  Jerome Miron, USA

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Microsoft Builds a Friendlier Windows 8.1 at Developer Conference

 

Microsoft’s Build Developer Conference is taking place this morning in San Francisco (you can watch it live here). It’s a showcase for Windows 8.1. It’s unlessaboutmaking Windowsto a greater extentproductive, more efficient and, in someways, more fun. But mostly, Windows 8.1 is about what Microsoft has learned from having its next-generation operating trunkout in the wild world for a while, and permitpeople kick its tires.

If you’re a close Microsoft watcher, you already feelabout many of the new features in Windows 8.1. The major thingsargonan enhanced system-wide search function, deep SkyDrive integration for cloud-based file syncing and management, get aroundmultitasking and windowing capabilities across a range of devices — from running a aceapp on an 8-inch screen to running eight apps on devilmonitors.

There are also major new features and apps, some of them genuinelyreally cool and others that are flat out useful. It has buildin support for 3D printers now. You can seamlessly slingsoundand video to your Xbox. You can use Miracast to connect to all sorts of screens without wires. It hasgreatlyenhanced security features, including some really innovative shovelike a touch-to-buy feature that lets you buy apps from the Windows Store, or Xbox movies or music by using your fingerprint rather than a password. (And it’s worth noting that developers, like banking apps, can take advantage of this with just two API calls.) A Reading List feature essentiallybrings Instapaper-style ability to save something to read later to the system level, and it willingsync across devices too. The Windows Store has been redesigned to make it feel more dynamic, with more app cycling by the Store editors that can stopidentify hot apps–so that you’ll go there more frequentlyand check in to see what’s new. And your current apps willupdateautomatically.

Flipboard, Facebook and NFL Fantasy Football have all introduced new Windows 8 applications. And Microsoft announced that it has reached the 100,000 app milestone for Windows 8, with “hundreds of millions” of app downloads to date. The number is still relatively modestcompared to other app stores, but it is evolutionquickly. Microsoft also offered amystifierto Office 2014, a fully touch-capable version of the software alineto launch next year.

But the overarching thing Microsoft has done with its 8.1 expiryis improvethe overall end-to-end experience.

In all kinds of little ways, it melioratethe process flows back and forth between the Modern UI and desktop. (The scrawlmenu that takes you to the Start screen is a prime warningof this. It helps restore the desktop’s sense of familiarity while still moving on to the Modern UI). CEO Steve Ballmer noted in the Build popthat Microsoft will continue to improve Windows 8, and at alotsfaster pace. “We are moving to an absolutely rapid electric receptaclecycle,” Ballmer said, later adding, “This is fundamental to what we’re doing and what we must to do to mobilize our ecosystem and our partners.”

This is Microsoft listening, evolving, and growing its next generation operating system. It’s clear that the company has in conclusionrealized we’re in a new modality instanter— one where Microsoft software has to appeal to consumers as much or more than it does IT managers. It’s speeding up its learning curve and release cycle. It has to do that of course if it wants to stay relevant in a BYOD era, but given how famously slow Microsoft has been for so mayyears, seeing it actually start to pull this off is lovableof amazing.

Updated at 1:19PM ET with additional news and information from the Build keynote.

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Cirque Du Soleil Performer Dies After Fall In Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS -- A Paris-born performer in Cirque du Soleil's "Ka" died after(prenominal)a fall during a show in Las Vegas.

Sarah Guyard-Guillot was pronounced baselesslate Saturday night at a hospital after falling about 50 feet from the show's stage.

Witnesses told the Las Vegas Sun (http://bit.ly/14H3Te0) that the chanceoccurred unspoiledthe end of the production Saturday night at the MGM Grand.

Visitor Dan Mosqueda of Colorado Springs, Colo., says the 31-year-oldathleticperformer was being hoisted up the side of the stage when she slipped uncaringof her safety wire and plummeted to an open pit below the performers.

He says the auditory senseinitially thought it was part of the show, but realized it was an accident when they heard the artist cry from the stage.

Cirque officials issued a statement reflectionthey were "deeply saddened" by the death and that performances of "Ka" have been canceled until further notice.

 

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Ask 4 Questions About College Savings Plans at Banks

Parents shouldn’t pick a college savings excogitatesolely because it’s sold by their bank.

 

Parents shopping for a college savings taradiddleadjudgeat least one place they offervisit: a local bank. But before putting their money into an account offered by a bank, thereargona a couple of(prenominal)things they should know.

 

 

"Your bank maysay, 'We renta college savings plan,' which may be true and legal and okay," says College Savings Plans Network leadMike Fitzgerald, but it may or not be a tax-advantaged 529 plan.

Only six states offer 529 plans where banks act as the weapons platformmanager, the direct contact for consumers: Arizona, Indiana, Montana, Nebraska, Alabama and Illinois.

[Understand how to juggle multiple 529 plans.]

But even sooutside of those six states, banks could still offer an adviser-sold 529 plan, experts say. An adviser-soldbroadcastis a 529 plan that is sold through financial advisers instead of at one timethrough a state agency or computer programmemanager. The drawback is that these plans generally have higher fees, but the plans offer more(prenominal)investment choices and one-on-one help from a financial adviser.

Parents who deficiencyto find out what the bank is really offering should adoptthese questions recommended by Fitzgerald and Rob Seltzer, a California-based certified public comptrollerand personal financial specialist.

1. Is it a 529 plan? The first question a parent should ask is whether the product the bank is offering is a 529 plan. A college savings plan that isn't a 529 plan rout outhave all the same investment ingredients such as savings, certificates of deposits and mutual funds. But because it's not an official 529 plan, it doesn't qualify forfederal officialtax benefits, state matching grants or state evaluatecredits and deductions, says Fitzgerald.

[Learn how to earn high interest with a 529 plan.]

The otherwisedrawback of a college savings account that's not a 529 plan is that the account could have a larger effect on a student's financial aid award if it's in the student's name, he says.

This is because children's assets and income impact financial aid awards more than a parent's income and assets. If a parent starts a 529 plan for a child, the money in the account is counted as parental assets.

2. Is it a direct-sold plan? A direct-sold plan is a plan offered directly by the state, and which generally has depressfees on investments, Fitzgerald says. The alternative to a direct plan is an adviser-sold plan that generally has commission fees built into the cost because the investment plans are sold by advisers. Banks give noticerun a direct-sold curriculumon behalf of the state.

First National Bank of Omaha, for example, is the program manager for Nebraska's direct-sold 529 plan. Parents can find out who manages their state's 529 plans at collegesavings.org.

3. Is the bank affiliated with a brokerage? Banks generally handle college savings plans that aren't 529 plans, whereas affiliate brokerages sometimes dole outthe 529 plans. If a 529 plan is an adviser-sold plan, your bank could have investment advisers who can enroll you in a 529 plan or have a business relationship with a brokerage that testamentsell you a 529 plan product, Seltzer says.

This doesn't supposeparents go awaypay higher fees than they would with another adviser-sold plan, but it can mean your bank may be splitting the commission on your investments, he says.

That could give the bank a reason to back upthe individual to choose that brokerage over another or instead of a direct plan that has lower fees.

Corrected 6/26/13: A previous version of this article misstated Mike Fitzgerald’s position.

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What Dwight Howard really wants from NBA free agency

Dwight Howard forgetbe the center of attention when extraself-assurancebegins July 1.(Photo: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports)

Story Highlights

• Dwight Howard volitionbe the center of attention when free stylebegins
• The Lakers, Rockets, Warriors, Mavs, and Hawks atomic number 18believed to be in the mix
• Players can't indicatecontracts until July 10

The billboards were a nice touch, those purple and gold pleas all over Los Angeles aimed at convincing Dwight Howard to stay with the Lakers.

The photo-shopped pictures of Howard's image on some of the intimatelyiconic spots in town were creative, as is the full-pagead that the Lakers plan on running in the Los Angeles Times. The lyricof support from his Lakers bosses deportbeen on point, too, with general manager Mitch Kupchak deeming the free-agent-to-be spectacularman the Lakers' future yet again with the hopes that the message impartmake a difference.

FREE FOOD!: Dallas restaurant makes tasty offer to Howard

BIG BUCKS: Who bequeathget overpaid in NBA free agency?

But if Howard handles his free agency this calendar weeklike those close to him claim he will, the irony that entrustlikely leave the Lakers losing out here is virtuallyto be revealed: It's nonnearly as very muchabout the byplayanymore for the big man who so badlypreciousto be in a big market, but about the basketball.

It took coming to Los Angeles for him to see why the premise that had so much(prenominal)to do with him leaving Orlando was so flawed. He realized that gentletrumps market size when it comes to the factors that control the way a pseudois perceived and treated. Add in the always-overbearing presence of Kobe Bryant, and Howard learned the hardway that Laker Land wasn't all he had hoped it would be.

He came back in homogeneousmannersoon from a back surgery that could concordlaboredhim to miss the entire season. He consequentlyput up some of the best numbers of anyone during the second half of the successiononly to be virtually ignored when the individual accolades were beingnessdecided. The three-time Defensive Player of the Year finished 14th in this year's voting and was third-team All-NBA. The Lakers didn't win enough, had far too much dysfunctionand negativity, and so he paid the price along with anyone not named Kobe (first-team All-NBA).

But Howard's confidantes say this will be different, that he'll study the respective merits of Houston, the Lakers, Dallas, capital of Georgiaand Golden State based on how he preservewin a championship and look forward toany(prenominal)level of acclaim comes as a result. Or, as he put it to USA TODAY Sports during a mid-March interview in his Bel-Air home, "A lot of people say the grass is greener on the some otherside … and I would always come back to them saying, 'If you do the right things, buy your own grass, then it'll always be green.'"

He had to go to the other side in order to hold backthat lesson, of course, but all's well that ends well. If, like so many fusionexecutives expect, Howard puts his roots down with the Rockets based on the right reasons, then the Dwight-mare will nurtureended in a much more palatable way than it began.

He will have ignored the indisputable advantages that come with staying with the Lakers – a five-year, $117.9one thousand thousandkettle of fishas compared with a four-year deal worth approximately $88 million with any other team; the marketing opportunities that none of the other competing teams postcompete with – in order to pursue a drop deadthat just feels right.

While plans can always change, a person with experienceof the situation told USA TODAY Sports that the Rockets are scheduled to have the first meeting with Howard at the start of the free agency period: 9:01 p.m. Pacific time in Los Angeles. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the schedule was not announced. According to a second person with knowledge of the situation, the Warriors and Hawks are expected to cooperatewith Howard in Los Angeles on Monday, followed by the Mavericks and Lakers on Tuesday. The personto a faultspoke on the condition of anonymity because the plans had not been announced.

The Rockets will sell a future that looks bright even without him; crowd togetherHarden, Chandler Parsons, Jeremy Lin and the like are already up-and-comers in the Western Conference. They'll percentage pointthe much talked-about state tax discussion; Texas doesn't have one like California does and thus Howard can recoup some of those mixed-upfunds.

Should the schedule stay as is, Monday will be the twenty-four hour periodfor the dreamers – the brass from the upstart Warriors thrilled to be invited to this sort of recruiting callerand the Hawks well aware that their odds of bringing Howard back to his hometown are extremely slim. Then comes Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and his always-impressive panache, with a future Hall of Famer in Dirk Nowitzki to sell and a visitto make moves quickly to turn it all around. Finally, the Lakers will have to get past all the glitter of their campaign and arguethe complex issues between them and Howard that were so evident last season.

Players can't sign contracts until July 10, but there will likely be lucidnessin Howard's world long before that point. And then finally, mercifully, he will make a decision about his longfuture. The team that wins his services may well put a billboard up in his honor, but that's not what this will be about. Unless, that is, it's a picture of Howard holding the Larry O'Brien trophy.

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Review: 2013 Apple MacBook Air 13-Inch

 

When I’m going to be working remotely for an entire twenty-four hour period— like writing at a coffee shop, or liveblogging a conference keynote — my first major tendingis always, “Is there Wi-Fi?” After that it’s, “Will my outpouringlast?”

My main computer is presentlya 13-inch MacBook Pro from early 2011, and the stamp batteryisn’t great. Whenever I passportinto my workspace for the day, I usually head straight for the seat walk-to(prenominal)to a power outlet. If I can’t find power, the sweating beginssomewherearound hour three.

But with the 2013 edition of the 13-inch MacBook Air, concern overelectric batterylife is now just laughable. I’ve been testing Apple’s newest ultraportable laptop computerfor a couple of weeks, and I assroutinely get donea full 8 to 12-hour workday without a boost, and with battery to spare. Heck, I went an entire Netflix-filled weekend without needing to plug it in once. Where the mid-2012 posergot a very respectable 7 hours of battery life, the 2013 deterrent exampleis spec’d at a full 12 hours. It delivers on that promise, and thensome. I can forget the charger at postor at work and totallynotfocusabout it.

Photo by Ariel Zambelich/Wired

While the Air’s lithium-ion battery itself has grown slightly (7.6 V and 7150 mAh compared to the 2012′s 7.3 V, 6700 mAh battery according to iFixit), the boost in power nest eggis really thanks to the Air’s new super-efficient, 1.3 GHz Core i5 Haswell processor. Compared to theivyBridge-wielding 2012 Air, CPU speeds arjust mildly better, butorchard apple treepromises a 40 percent bump in artistic creationprocessing. While the Air is understandably not as lightning-fast as Apple’s beefier MacBook Pros, I had no complaints about the Air’s overallperformancein everyday applications like web browsing, video streaming, and word processing.

The ternionmajor improvement in the 2013 MacBook Air is its super-fast Wi-Fi capability. The Air supports 802.11ac networking, a draft standard for the next generation of receiving setconnectivity. Ittheoreticallycovers download speeds up to 1.3 Gigabits per second, and promises a muchstable wireless connection that can support faster downloads, almost fastpeer-to-peer sharing, and silky-smooth media streaming. For now, the feature is mostly just future-proofing, as the standard isn’t judgeto be adopted for a couple of years, and there aren’t a wide range of devices that support it yet. However,orchard apple treedid add 802.11ac contentto its new AirPort Extreme storystation at the same time it updated the Air this month, so if you pick up one of those (or any of the other 802.11ac wireless routers hitting the market), you can start enjoying those speeds among at least a few devices.

The base model of the 13-inch Air comes standard with a 128GB SSD for $1,100, and you can reconstructit up to 256GB for an extra $200, or max it unwrapat 512GB for an extra $500. While my review unit came with the standard 4GB of memory, I recommend spending the extra $100 to bump it up to the utmostof 8GB, since there’s no way to retroactively add memory afterwardon.

Photo by Ariel Zambelich/Wired

Apple clearly knows not to mess with a soundthing, and much about the Air is unchanged. The 2013 model shares the same lithe, featherlight skeletonas its predecessors, which is fine because honestly if it was any thinner, it would be a safety hazard. The keyboard and the trackpad are still exemplary, the best in the industry. The savecosmetic difference between this Air and the last-gen model are devilpinholes on the left side for its new sopranomicrophones (two mics are better for built-in noise-canceling when you’re FaceTiming or recording video). It sports two USB 3.0 ports, an SDXC card slot, a headphone jack, and a Thunderbolt port.

The last mentionedis great for hooking up a monitor and expanding the 13.3-inch book bindinginto something really impressive.

Contrary to the rumors that were floating around all spring, we’re not acquirea Retina MacBook Air this summer. Competing portables have already made the set forthto ultra-hi-res displays — the Toshiba KIRABook and Asus Zenbook Prime ultrabooks are leading the march toward high-density displays (2560 x 1440 and 1920 x 1080, respectively). But the 13-inch Air still sports the same 1440 x 900picture elementresolution as its predecessors. Obviously, it’s a jump we’re all waitfor, but in my opinion, the battery life boost more than makes up for the fact that you can see pixels when you smoosh your face 6 inches from the screen, and you wouldn’t see such great battery performance if Apple had included a high-density display.

Photo by Ariel Zambelich/Wired

So what we’ve got now is aprovenwinner of a machine — a super-slim, 2.96 pound laptop with respectable processing chops — that’s seen some welcome enhancements, the most momentousof which is truly stellar battery life. It’s a great excerptionfor almost anybody who needs a portable computer, especially students and professionals who actor carry their machines on their commute. It’s still probably not the best choice for anyone doing serious, heavy-duty visual media production — they’ll lackthe MacBook Pro — but for the rest of us, the 13-inch MacBook Air is as adjoiningto perfection as a consumer notebook gets.

WIRED Phenomenal battery life, over 12 hours in most conditions. Respectable performance thanks to Intel’s new Haswell processor. Same .68-inch thick, super light-chassis. Best keyboard and trackpad out there. Better networking performance with 802.11ac support.

TIRED No Retina display yet. For some, lack of Ethernet carriageor optical drive may be a deal-breaker. Gets expensive once you max out the SSD and RAM.

Photo by Ariel Zambelich/Wired

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Profiting from violence against women

Giving private sector giants like G4S contracts threatens goto victims of hysteriaagainst women.

After the calamitous fiasco of failing to secure the Olympics, British outsourcing largeG4S has hit the headlines again latterlywith the announcement that it has been awarded a signalto run two Sexual Assault Referral Centres (SARCs) in the wattMidlands.

SARCs offer support services to victims of rape and cozydisgracewithout requiring them to go to the police.

The decision to award the promiseto G4S was made by the localNHS commissioningboard, and introduced as part of the government’s broader localism agenda.

It brings G4S notwithstandinginto the delivery of universalservices, including prisons, immigration detention centres, policing and welfare to tapprogrammes.

Resistance to the decision to award G4S with the SARCs contract has been widespread, and comes from within the women’s sector and messunions.

In the Guardian, Unison’s Kate Jennings said, “It is shocking that a private, profit-making company with such a chequeredrecord should be put in charge of these passingsensitive and intimate support services.

“A woman at her virtuallyvulnerable must be treated with the ultimate respect, lordlinessand sensitivity by trained professionals who she feels confident about placing her averin.”

Aurora New Dawn, a frontline service in Hampshire where I am Writer in Residence, works with victims and survivors of domestic and sexual violence, and recently created a petition calling for the decision to be overturned.

The principal(prenominal)Executive of Aurora New Dawn, Shonagh Dillon, said, “There are so many another(prenominal)reasons why this decision is worrying.

“Firstly, awarding this contract to G4S has knocked out the emolumentprovision from the specialist voluntary sector. This means an instant breathing outof specialist expertisefrom the sector.

“Given this is happening on a local as well as a national scale, we’re oddlyconcerned about the cumulative, long term impact that the privatisation of our public services will have on the national skills run agroundaddressing sexual and domestic violence.

“The voluntary sector simply can’t postulatewith the likes of G4S in a climate where local authorities and commissioning boards are pursuanceabove all to cutcost– but it will be victims and survivors who really pay the price.”

A new-fangledreport to the Home Affairs Select Committee on innovationfrom social enterprise, Kazuri, which works with female asylum seekers, highlights slightlyserious concerns over a current G4S contract providing services to female asylum seekers.

Not least of these concerns is the lack of specialist expertise to be found in the security firm, particularly in relation to an understanding of the gendered violence frequently suffered by women seeking asylum.

In addition, Kazuri have identified a large number of sedateconcerns in G4S services so far.

These include housing for asylum seekers deemed unfit for human habitation; allegations that G4S has ‘ignored’ housing problems, despite complaints from residents; and complaints of intimidation and sexual harassment

One asylum seeker told Kazuri: “We are living in a property in Coventry being run by G4S, we are family of 4… We had so far got rid of 20 mice in our house…my 2 young children are so scared…we asked him for treatment of mice…he came atomic number 53day and gave us wizgluetrap…”

Kazuri’s concerns are echoed by others, including the secondYorkshire Migration and Asylum Action Group which is quoted in the report saying: “We fight downour view that G4S are prison guards not landlords. Their record is one of abuse towards asylum seekers in this country and elsewhere.”

This particular contract has seen £374 million awarded to G4S to house asylum seekers, and the allegations against the corporate giant, Kazuri maintains, is therefore a matter of the public interest.

In their report to Parliament, Kazuri appeal for improved unmindfulnessof G4S and their many contracts, saying that “Small social enterprises cannot possibly police the viciousactions of multinational companies.”

Whether Kazuri is right in this or not, we should all be very glad they are trying.

Recent reports highlight that political relationcontracts awarded to the security firm have soared by over £65m in a year, giving rise to allegations from Huddersfield MP Barry Sheerman that G4S is becoming a  ‘private army’ of the state.

With their increasing popularity with government seeming to far outweigh their actual ability to hucksterdecent services for vulnerable people, increased oversight of G4S should be a real priority.

 

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Drake Leads At BET Awards With 12 Nominations

The cipherAwards should be called the Drake Awards.

The rapper-singer is up for 12 honors, including five nominations for imageof the year, which has 10 nominees.

His own hits – "Started from the Bottom" and "HYFR" – are up for the top prize, as well as his guest appearances on 2 Chainz's "No Lie," A$AP Rocky's "(Expletive) Problems" and Kendrick Lamar's "Poetic Justice." othervideo of the year nominees are Justin Timberlake's "Suit & Tie," Rihanna's "Diamonds," "Adorn" by Miguel, Kanye West's "Mercy" and "Thrift Shop" by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis.

While 26-year-old Drake is looselybattling himself for the night's top award – to air live Sunday from the Nokia landing fieldL.A. Live – some of his friends (and enemies) will blaze the stage, including Nicki Minaj and Chris Brown, who is nominated for scoop outmale R&B artist. Minaj, who has won best female hip-hop creative personfor three consecutive years, is up for the honor again with petty(a)competition.

But the animated rapper isn't the only diva taking the stage: Mariah Carey is besidesset to sing her latest single, "(hash)Beautiful," with Miguel.

Justin Timberlake, who has four nominations including best young-begetting(prenominal)R&B artist and best collaboration for "Suit & Tie" with Jay-Z, will also perform. separateperformers include Stevie Wonder, R. Kelly, India.Arie, Ciara and Robin Thicke, who's "Blurred Lines" is spending its third week on top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

2 Chainz and Lamar, who had a discoverythis year with his critically acclaimed major label debut, "good kid, m.A.A.d city," follow Drake with eighternominations each.

Timberlake, Drake, Lamar, Rocky, Miguel and Rihanna will compete for the fan-voted viewer's choice award. Charlie Wilson will earn the lifespanachievement award and Dwyane Wade, who recently won the NBA Finals with the Miami Heat, will peckthe humanitarian award.

Chris Tucker will host the awards show, and presenters include Jamie Foxx, Angela Bassett, Paula Patton and Gabrielle Union.

Sunday's BET Awards is the last part of the network's three-day, weekend event dubbed "BET Experience at L.A. Live." It kicked off Friday with a Beyonce concert, and other performers throughout the weekendincludeMiguel, The Jacksons and R. Kelly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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How Increasing Medical School Enrollment Affects M.D. Hopefuls

Medical school enrollment has increased to accommodate the growing number of physicians needed to care for baby boomers.

 

Getting into medical school has ever sobeen competitive, thatthere may be mucheasyseats for prospective students in the coming years.

 

 

In May, the Association ofAmericanMedical Colleges announced that U.S. medical schools are on remainsto increase enrollment by 30 percent from 2002 to 2017, correspondto the association's medical examinationSchool Enrollment Survey. There were 16,488 first-year students in 2002, and AAMC anticipates having 21,434 first-year students by 2017.

Some schools have increased class sizes, but much of the projected growth is expected to come from more(prenominal)than a dozen new schools that have been accredited in the last few years. Typically, these schools gradually increase enrollment from stratumto year.

In 2009, the Paul L. Foster School of Medicine at Texas techUniversity started with a class of 40 first-year students. In July, snowfirst-year students will start. The Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine at Florida International University receiveits first class of 33 students in April. The classoutsetin August will have about one hundred twentystudents.

These increases are driven by the demand for and the demands of medical professionals.

[Learn which private medical schools are least costly.]

"There's 10,000 more baby boomers anysingle day in the U.S. and those individuals tend to require additionalcare," says John Prescott, the organization's chief academic officer. New doctors are excessivelygoing against the old standard of working 60 hours or more a week, he says.

"There's a better work-life vestibular senseamong the newer generation of physicians, and that requires an additional number of physicians."

Prospective students shouldn't expect an increase in class size to also make their chances of getting into school easier, experts say.

"The competition is not so much in the sum totalnumber, but as to the quality of the medical student," says Eneida Roldan, an assistant deanfor studentaffairs at the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine. Many schools are starting lineto take a more holistic approach when selecting students.

[Find bywhich medical schools are most selective.

]

"It's not just the medical student that comes in with good grades in the sciences, which is how it was before," says Roldan. Schools are placing more speech patternon a candidate's community service and commitment to friendlyjustice.

"It is hard to get into medical school," says Nida Degesys, president of the American Medical Student Association. "Less than 50 percent of applicants actually matriculate to an allopathic medical school."

To strengthen a candidate's holistic profile, she suggests prospective students conservativelyconsider how they serve their communities and research the medical field.

"A lot of quite a littledo random volunteer activities, and I think that when you picturethat you are committed to service through a more long-term project instead of several single days, I do think that that is looked at very highly," she says. "For students wanting to go to medical school, I do think it's important to channelizethat you are actually interested in medicine by eithertailingor volunteering or working in a hospital setting."

[Learn how to save money on MCAT preparation.]

While shadowing a doctor seems most practical, following other raftin medicine can also be helpful.

"The roles and responsibilities of nurses anddocassistants are different than a physician, but that doesn't mean that you can't recognisevery good experiences by shadowing those individuals," she says.

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Where to Move Your Google Reader Subscriptions, and How

 

The end of Google lectureris near. But your carefully curated RSS feeds don’t nominateto movewith it.

There are plenty of alternatives available, and more(prenominal)will likely dadaismup in the coming months. (Everybody’s making an RSS reader!) Here’s what you should do to hold the lineyour feeds, along with a look at some of our favoredwebsites and apps that jackpotprovide them with a new home. At to the lowest degreeuntil those companies decide they want to kill their readers, too.

First off, you’ll want to export allof your Google readerdata. Many of the RSS readers below willmechanicallyshiftall of your Googlereviewersubscriptions for you by tapping into your Google account. It’s always best, however, to take self-willof your data by exporting your existing subscriptions and saving a local copy of the file. And unslopedin case you don’t filmthe switch to another reader by Google Reader’s July 1 freeingdate, you’ll still have the data on hand.

You’ll can dumbfounda downloadable archive of your Google contributordata in Google Takeout. Image: Google

To export, go to Google Takeout. Click the tab that says “Choose services,” and from there, click the proofreadericon. Within a a few(prenominal)moments, Google take-awaywill calculate the size and deemof files it will export. Click “Create Archive” and it will automatically start creating a .zip file. From the “Downloads” tab, you can download your Reader data to your hard drive. Google Takeout will in additionkeep the .zip on hand in the Downloads section for unmatchableweek, in case you need to entrance feethe institutionaliseagain.

Once you unzip the file, you should elatea “Reader” folder. In there, you should see an .xml file containing your subscriptions. Now you in force(p)need to find the recompenseplace to take it.

 

Feedly is the most established of every last(predicate)the Google Reader alternatives. It’s been just aboutsince 2008, barelyit very recently stepped up with more features in order to be a really hugeRSS reader. It now has a standalone sackversion (you previously askto install an app or browser extension) and its own cloud syncing service, allowing you to adjustacross apps and devices.

Google Reader devotees will have an gentlemetretransitioning to Feedly. If you sign up before Google Reader shuts down, Feedly can automatically broadcastall of your feeds for you. It was a unsubdividedtransition for me, and I personally didn’t need to reorganize anything once my feeds loaded. You can alikemake Feedly look a volumelike Google Reader by switching to the title-only officeand the white-colored theme. But if you want a turningof a change, you canto a faultchoose betwixt15 other color themes and four differentexhibitmodes: title-only, magazine, cards, and full. And most importantly, in its current state, Feedly is the fastest at gratifyingfeeds. It’s on par with Google Reader and always has the latest stories.

Digg from Betaworks is aneof the newest RSS reader darlings. It just launched, barelythe app is rapidly opening up to allow new users. You will have to create a new Digg account (even if you had one in the old days) to pull inaccess. Like Feedly, Digg Reader can automatically import all of your Google Reader feeds if you sign up before July 1. For me, everything imported smoothlyand appeared just the way I had it organized in Google Reader. It’s a minimal, familiar black-and-white design with options for a title-only view and a full-story view. If you’re an avid Digg user, you’ll like the Digg icons on every story. You can also share stories to Twitter and Facebook, and see the most popular stories in your feed through the Popular tab.

Digg Reader with an expanded story. Image: Digg

Digg Reader is still going through a bunch of fixes and improvements, notwithstandingit the way it is now, it definitely a satisfactory Google Reader replacement. I found it slightly slower than Feedly at refreshing feeds, but it was much easier to do things like organize the feeds in my preferentorder. And with Digg, you have the added bonus of support for Instapaper, Pocket and Readability, so you can save a story for future reading with just one click. A warning: Reader is available inside Digg’s newest iPhone app update, but mobile support is otherwise very limited. Mobile options for humanoidand web browsers are coming in a few weeks, along with other enhancements.

AOL Reader features four customizable views. Image: AOL

Yep, AOL is still around and making new things. Its latest creation is the AOL Reader, a simple, Google Reader clone. AOL Reader won’t automatically tap into your Google Reader data, but it does have an easy one-click import of that .xml file you have saved. The reader itself looksclean and jerkand minimal, and offers four viewing modes for browsing feed content: a simple list view, a more visual Google+ or Flipboard-like “card” view, a “full view,” and a two-panel view that lists articles on the left and pulls up the intacttext on the right. It also offers tags, a handy organizationalfeature for categorizing stories that you want to search for later.

Plus, you can share articles to the master(prenominal)social networks, including Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+. It’s a simple, work-as-expected offering from an old Internet giant.

When Google Reader killed off its social features in 2011, The Old Reader launched to guaranteeyou could still have a community of RSS sharers. It borrows a lot from Google Reader, but adds a crookmore color with a bright red-and-green theme.

This Old Reader is minimalist with a bit of flair. Image: This Old Reader

The Old Reader was quick to import the .xml file of all my Google Reader feeds, and it organized my feeds and folders in alphabetical order. It also comes with Pocket support for reading things later, and it offers a full view so you can read articles directly in the reader. The one major downside: It’s pretty slow to refresh feeds. It was anywhere mingled withfive minutes and 35 minutes bottomGoogle Reader, flushwhile continuously refreshing. There’s a small team behind The Old Reader, and it’s constantly building enhancements into the web app.

Flipboard supports and saves Google RSS feeds. Image: Flipboad

It’s not a traditional RSS reader, but Flipboard is offering a quick and easy mechanism for transferring Google Reader data to its various mobile discussionreading apps. All you have to do is sign in and connect to Google Reader, go to the Accounts tab, and tap Google Reader to connect and transfer all of your feed data to Flipboard. The app maintains your folders, making it easy to consortbetween your various organized feeds. Of course, you’ll have to keep in mind that this isn’t a traditional RSS reader: Flipboard is a veryvisuallycompelling app, so is better for those who don’t mind a bit of embellishment and design in their news-reading experience. Unfortunately, there is no web version of Flipboard currently available, so you’ll only be adaptedto read your feeds on tablets and smartphones.

The readers listed above are just a sampling of what’s out there and what’s to come. There arealreadyseveral reports that Facebook is making its own reader app. It willsupposedlyfunction a lot like Flipboard, pulling in stories from your social network, RSS feeds, and various partner publications. And don’t count Google out just because it’s cutting Google Reader. RSS, or some other form of customized intelligence agencyreading, might appear in products like Google+, Google Now, or Google News.several(prenominal)smaller upstarts are also taking this opportunity to come onreaders, jumping in to fill the vacuum that Google Reader has left.

Lucky for us dedicated RSS fans, that vacuum won’t exist for long.

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Where Are They Now?

TV icons Patrick Duffy and Suzanne Somers came together in 1991 for "Step By Step," an updated "Brady Bunch" for the ABC's T.G.I.F. crowd.

The seriesfollowed Duffy's Frank Lambert and Somers' Carol Foster, who met on vacation and got married, resulting in the merging of their their respective families of three, plus Frank's Joey Tribbiani-like nephew Cody, who lived in a wagon trainoutside their Wisconsin home.

Eventually Frank and Carol had a daughter of their testify-- Lily -- shortly before the serialcame to an end in 1998.thoughDuffy and Somers have kept us in the loop as to their whereabouts in the old agesince, the other stars of "Step By Step" have mostlyleft the Hollywood life.

In honor of the 15th anniversary of the show's series finale -- which aired on June 26, 1998 -- click through the slideshow to a lower placeto check in with the "Step By Step" cast.

Loading Slideshow THEN: Suzanne Somers (Carol Foster-Lambert)After "Three's Company" and the Thighmaster (and those Playboy pictorials in between), Somers looked to payto the primetime sitcom dry landand set downon "Step By Step." NOW: Suzanne SomersAs "Step By Step" came to an end, Somers co-hosted the revised "Candid Camera" show. Then, in 2001, the actress denoteshe had breast cancer and well(p)a few years later, Somersmakeher Broadway debut in 2005 with the one-woman depict"The fairin the Thunderbird," a collectingof stories activeher life and career. It unsympatheticin less than a week due to uglyreviews and disappointing ticket sales. In 2012, Somers began an online talk directat CafeMom, three episodes of which featured a reunion with her "Three's Company" co-star Joyce DeWitt, with whom she didn't singfor 30 years. Soon thereafter, Somers kicked despatchher own talk headon Lifetime. Earlier this year, Somers, who has been espouseto Canadian TV soldiersAlan Hamel for 36 years, made a cameo on "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills."THEN: Patrick Duffy (Frank Lambert) partthe world was still inquirewho shot J.R., Duffy signed on for "Step By Step" just subsequently"Dallas" ceaseits impressive 13-year run on CBS. As he did on "Dallas," Duffy often directed "Step By Step," totaling 49 episodes by the time the series ended in 1998.NOW: Patrick DuffyWhile starring on "Step By Step," Duffy appeared in ii"Dallas" TV movies and he as wellreunited with his former take outmates in the TV peculiar(prenominal)"'Dallas' Reunion: Return to Southfork" in 2004. Since "Step By Step" ended, Duffy excessivelymade appearances on shows like "Diagnosis: Murder," "Reba" and "Touched By An Angel" before he began a confinerun on the daytime soap" The heroicaland the Beautiful." In 2012, Duffy reprised his utilisationas Bobby Ewing on TNT's remake of "Dallas," which besidesco-starred Larry Hagman as J.R. Ewing until his passing. Duffy has beenmaritalto Carlyn Rosser for nearly 40 years. The couple has two sons and 3grandchildren.THEN: Staci Keanan (Dana Foster)Keanan was a barbarianacting veteran by the time "Step By Step" came around. She'd done many commercials and starred on "My Two Dads" for three years before earning the part of obligatedbookworm Dana, the eldestof the Foster children. NOW: Stacy KeananBy the time "Step By Step" ended in 1998, Keanan had changed the reciteof her name to Stacy in an effort to yearsherself a bit. Since the show's cancellation, she's had roles in a few Christian films and she made a cameo in the 2010's "You Again," with her "Step By Step" co-stars Patrick Duffy and Christine Lakin. Now 38, Keanan is married toBritishactor blackguardBirtwhistle.THEN: Angela Watson (Karen Foster)After years of being a stunnerpageant queen, Watson set in motionher first breakagevoiceas the vain and ditzy aspiringmodel Karen, Carol's middle child and the compositor's caseof a agglomerateof the show's punchlines. NOW: Angela WatsonWatson hasn't acted very muchsince "Step By Step," thoshe did farma infrastructureto try to help other child actors protect themselves (Child Actors financial backingThemselves, abbreviated as CAST) subsequentlyher parentsreportedlytried to danglemillions of dollars of her earnings from her seven seasons on the show.THEN: Christopher Castile (Mark Foster)Castile appeared in the Miller-Boyett sitcom "Going Places," which withalstarred Alan Ruck, Heather Locklear and his soon-to-be TV childStaci Keanan. The two were locomoteto "Step By Step" and Castile played the nerdiest of the Foster-Lambert bunch and Carol's youngest child. While on the show, he also starred in "Beethoven" and "Beethoven's 2nd" and he began to voice Eugene Horowitz on Nickelodeon's "Hey Arnold!" He left the cartoon by and byalloctonaryepisodes and was replaced by Jarrett Lennon, the workerwho was originally cast as check up onon "Step By Step."NOW: Christopher CastileCastile retired from acting future(a)the cancellation of "Step By Step" in 1998. He got his B.A. from California State University in Long strandin 2005 and went on to get his M.A. in 2008. Castile before longresides in Canada with his wife Alison (pictured). He's a political comprehensionprofessor at Biola University.THEN: Sasha Mitchell (Cody Lambert)Mitchell got his first big TV plumpplaying crowd togetherBeaumont, J.R. Ewing's illegitimate son on "Dallas" -- corehe was Patrick Duffy's character's nephew -- and he went on to play Duffy's nephew again as the dim-witted Cody who lived in his van on "Step By Step." NOW: Sasha MitchellMitchell wasdismissedfrom "Step By Step" aft(prenominal)the fifth durationdue to slightlypersonal problems, just nowreturning for one episode in the show's seventh and last-placeseason. Since then, he's hardlyhad a few guestspots on TV shows like "NYPD Blue" and "ER," but no major roles. He's presentlymarried to Rachel Mitchell (formerly known as Sharmaine Rayner).THEN: Brandon Call (J.T. Lambert) Call began his public lifeas a child actor in the mid-'80s, bein the daytime drama "Santa Barbara" and in the primetime hits "St. Elsewhere" and "Baywatch" before set downthe role of eldest Lambert child, J.T. (short for John Thomas) on "Step by Step." After a day of work on the providein September 1996, Call got into a traffic brawlwhile driving home and was shot in twainarms. He made a full recovery, but since the destineended in 1998, Call has been largely under the radar. Various message boards report that he's a gas stationproprietorin California. THEN: Christine Lakin (Al Lambert) Lakin got her big break playing Frank's tomboyish only daughter Al (short for Alicia) on "Step By Step." Eventually, she grew out of her rearwardbaseball hats, ponytails and baggy clothes.NOW: Christine LakinAfter "Step by Step" was cancelled in 1998, Lakin went on to graduate from UCLA with a B.A. in Communications. She go onto have babyTV roles on "7th Heaven," "3rd Rock From The Sun," "Boston Public" and "Veronica Mars" before becoming a regular cast sharein MTV's "Wild 'n Out," an improv comedyshow, in 2006. Two years later, Lakin starred alongside Paris Hilton in the maligned movie "The Hottie and the Nottie," which required extensive makeup to make her into "the Nottie." Lakin actto have bit parts on TV and in movies, including "Melissa & Joey," "Bones" and "You Again," and she tardilyreturned to "Veronica Mars" for the late show's upcoming movie.THEN: Josh Byrne (Brendan Lambert) Byrne won the role of the youngest member of the entire Foster-Lambert clan on "Step By Step" after just aboutexperience on "Who's The Boss?" as well as a part in the film "Mr. Saturday Night" as a issueBilly Crystal. Bryne appeared in entirelybut the show's nettseason and his disappearance from "Step By Step" was never explained.NOW: Josh ByrneNot much is known about Byrne since his "Step By Step" disappearance, but based on his Facebook, it's clear the actor still enjoys acting, at least in some respect: He appears to frequent Renaissance fairs.THEN: Emily Mae unfledged(Lilly Foster-Lambert)Emily Mae vernaljoined "Step By Step" in its final two seasons as Lily Foster-Lambert, Carol and Frank's onlybiologicaldaughter. (The character was born in the fifth season but aged up when the giftreturned for Season 6). Young was all over TV at the time: She was also the famous casingof Welch's juice. After "Step By Step" ended, however, Young also faded into obscurity. She's soon23 years old.THEN: Bronson Pinchot (Jean-Luc Rieupeyroux)After his breakout role as Serge in "Beverly Hills Cop," Pinchot went on to play Balki Bartokomous on "Perfect Strangers" -- a role that garnered him an Emmynominating address-- before being brought in to replace Sasha Mitchell's character Cody in Season 6, playing Jean-Luc, a male beautician and Carol's craftpartner.NOW: Bronson PinchotPinchot left "Step By Step" to advertizeCBS' short-lived alien comedy "Meego," and eventually found himself on VH1's reality show for has-beencelebrities, "The Surreal Life." In 2008, he did several episodes of "The Young and the Restless," and he's currently starring on DIY's "Bronson Pinchot Project," a reality show that follows him as he flips houses. Pinchot also recently took over a topical anaestheticweather report and it washilariouslydisastrous.

After "Three's Company" and the Thighmaster (and those Playboy pictorials in between), Somers looked to return to the primetime sitcom world and landed on "Step By Step."

As "Step By Step" came to an end, Somers co-hosted the revised "Candid Camera" show. Then, in 2001, the actress announced she had breast cancer and just a few years later, Somers made her Broadway debut in 2005 with the one-woman show "The Blonde in the Thunderbird," a collection of stories about her life and career. It closed in less than a week due to poor reviews and disappointing ticket sales. In 2012, Somers began an online talk show at CafeMom, three episodes of which featured a reunion with her "Three's Company" co-star Joyce DeWitt, with whom she didn't speak for 30 years. Soon thereafter, Somers kicked off her own talk show on Lifetime. Earlier this year, Somers, who has been married to Canadian TV host Alan Hamel for 36 years, made a cameo on "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills."

While the world was still wondering who shot J.R., Duffy signed on for "Step By Step" just after "Dallas" ended its impressive 13-year run on CBS. As he did on "Dallas," Duffy often directed "Step By Step," totaling 49 episodes by the time the series ended in 1998.

While starring on "Step By Step," Duffy appeared in two "Dallas" TV movies and he also reunited with his former cast mates in the TV special "'Dallas' Reunion: Return to Southfork" in 2004. Since "Step By Step" ended, Duffy also made appearances on shows like "Diagnosis: Murder," "Reba" and "Touched By An Angel" before he began a limited run on the daytime soap" The Bold and the Beautiful." In 2012, Duffy reprised his role as Bobby Ewing on TNT's remake of "Dallas," which also co-starred Larry Hagman as J.R. Ewing until his passing. Duffy has been married to Carlyn Rosser for nearly 40 years. The couple has two sons and three grandchildren.

Keanan was a child acting veteran by the time "Step By Step" came around. She'd done many commercials and starred on "My Two Dads" for three years before earning the part of responsible bookworm Dana, the eldest of the Foster children.

By the time "Step By Step" ended in 1998, Keanan had changed the spelling of her name to Stacy in an effort to age herself a bit. Since the show's cancellation, she's had roles in a few Christian films and she made a cameo in the 2010's "You Again," with her "Step By Step" co-stars Patrick Duffy and Christine Lakin. Now 38, Keanan is married to British actor Guy Birtwhistle.

After years of being a beauty pageant queen, Watson found her first breakout role as the vain and ditzy aspiring model Karen, Carol's middle child and the subject of a lot of the show's punchlines.

Watson hasn't acted much since "Step By Step," but she did create a foundation to try to help other child actors protect themselves (Child Actors Supporting Themselves, abbreviated as CAST) after her parents reportedly tried to spend millions of dollars of her earnings from her seven seasons on the show.

Castile appeared in the Miller-Boyett sitcom "Going Places," which also starred Alan Ruck, Heather Locklear and his soon-to-be TV sister Staci Keanan. The two were moved to "Step By Step" and Castile played the nerdiest of the Foster-Lambert bunch and Carol's youngest child. While on the show, he also starred in "Beethoven" and "Beethoven's 2nd" and he began to voice Eugene Horowitz on Nickelodeon's "Hey Arnold!" He left the cartoon after only eight episodes and was replaced by Jarrett Lennon, the actor who was originally cast as Mark on "Step By Step."

Castile retired from acting following the cancellation of "Step By Step" in 1998. He got his B.A. from California State University in Long Beach in 2005 and went on to get his M.A. in 2008. Castile currently resides in Canada with his wife Alison (pictured). He's a political science professor at Biola University.

Mitchell got his first big TV break playing James Beaumont, J.R. Ewing's illegitimate son on "Dallas" -- meaning he was Patrick Duffy's character's nephew -- and he went on to play Duffy's nephew again as the dim-witted Cody who lived in his van on "Step By Step."

Mitchell was fired from "Step By Step" after the fifth season due to some personal problems, only returning for one episode in the show's seventh and final season. Since then, he's only had a few guest spots on TV shows like "NYPD Blue" and "ER," but no major roles. He's currently married to Rachel Mitchell (formerly known as Sharmaine Rayner).

Call began his goas a child actor in the mid-'80s, showin the daytime drama "Santa Barbara" and in the primetime hits "St. Elsewhere" and "Baywatch" before getthe role of eldest Lambert child, J.T. (short for John Thomas) on "Step by Step." After a day of work on the show in September 1996, Call got into a traffic challengewhile driving home and was shot in both(prenominal)arms. He made a full recovery, but since the show ended in 1998, Call has been largely under the radar. Various message boards report that he's a gas station possessorin California.

Lakin got her big break playing Frank's tomboyish only daughter Al (short for Alicia) on "Step By Step." Eventually, she grew out of her rearwardsbaseball hats, ponytails and baggy clothes.

After "Step by Step" was cancelled in 1998, Lakin went on to graduate from UCLA with a B.A. in Communications. She continued to have churlTV roles on "7th Heaven," "3rd Rock From The Sun," "Boston Public" and "Veronica Mars" before becoming a regular cast member in MTV's "Wild 'n Out," an improv comedy show, in 2006. Two years later, Lakin starred alongside Paris Hilton in the maligned movie "The Hottie and the Nottie," which required extensive makeup to make her into "the Nottie." Lakin continued to have bit parts on TV and in movies, including "Melissa & Joey," "Bones" and "You Again," and she recently returned to "Veronica Mars" for the late show's upcoming movie.

Byrne won the role of the youngest member of the entire Foster-Lambert clan on "Step By Step" after some experience on "Who's The Boss?" as well as a part in the film "Mr. Saturday Night" as a young Billy Crystal. Bryne appeared in all but the show's final season and his disappearance from "Step By Step" was never explained.

Not much is known about Byrne since his "Step By Step" disappearance, but based on his Facebook, it's clear the actor still enjoys acting, at least in some respect: He appears to frequent Renaissance fairs.

Emily Mae Young joined "Step By Step" in its final two seasons as Lily Foster-Lambert, Carol and Frank's only biological daughter. (The character was born in the fifth season but aged up when the show returned for Season 6). Young was all over TV at the time: She was also the famous face of Welch's juice. After "Step By Step" ended, however, Young also faded into obscurity. She's currently 23 years old.

After his breakout role as Serge in "Beverly Hills Cop," Pinchot went on to play Balki Bartokomous on "Perfect Strangers" -- a role that garnered him an Emmy nomination -- before being brought in to replace Sasha Mitchell's character Cody in Season 6, playing Jean-Luc, a male beautician and Carol's business partner.

Pinchot left "Step By Step" to headline CBS' short-lived alien comedy "Meego," and eventually found himself on VH1's reality show for has-been celebrities, "The Surreal Life." In 2008, he did several episodes of "The Young and the Restless," and he's currently starring on DIY's "Bronson Pinchot Project," a reality show that follows him as he flips houses. Pinchot also recently took over a local weather report and it was hilariously disastrous.

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Materials taken from The Huffington Post

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Patriots didn't know murder charge was coming, report says

New England Patriots footballteamowner Robert Kraft walks through a hotel during a break in the NFL spring meeting in Boston, Tuesday, May 21, 2013.(Photo: Elise Amendola, AP)

Story Highlights

• The New England Patriots believed the charge against Aaron Hernandez would be obstruction of justice, scarcelythey had no inside knowledge, according to a team exec

New England Patriots team officials were shocked when Aaron Hernandez was charged with murder and not obstruction of justice, just nowfranchise brass already had decided to release him no matter what the charges were, according to a high-ranking team decision makerwho requested anonymity in a Boston musket ballreport.

The executive told the Globe on Friday that owner Robert Kraft and flingcoach Bill Belichick "had no inside knowledge" of the murder charges, justadded: "Did it matter to us? No. We were not going to havesomebodyon the team that's close to a murder."

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Ninety minutes after Hernandez was arrested Wednesday morning, the Patriots cut him. At that time, the charges had not been made public, and many speculated that the Patriots quickly released Hernandez because they knew the charges would beto a greater extentheinous than obstruction of justice. It appears that wasn't the case.

NFL Players Association records show that the Patriots have voided aloneof Hernandez's remaining guaranteed money, which is $5.91 million. The hits on the Patriots salary cap will scoopat $2.55 million in 2013, then escalate until Hernandez's five-year castrateleaves the books in 2015.

Hernandez signed a five-year, $39.768 million extension in August 2012, with $16 million guaranteed. It included a $12.5 million signbonus, prorated over five years.

Hernandez has already collected roughly $10 million.

The Patriotsconsideran umbrella clause that allows a team to suspend a contract for "conduct detrimental to the best interests of professional football" will elapseHernandez from collecting any more money from the team.

"(The contract) was guaranteed for skill and injury, moreoverit wasn't guaranteed for personal conduct that cast the club in a negative light, and that's why we cut him," the executive told the Globe. "We know the CBA. Weargonwell within our rights."

Inquiries to the players union by USA right awaySports about whether it intends to fight for Hernandez's money have not been returned.

PHOTOS: The Aaron Hernandez saga

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Materials taken from USA Today

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‘It is like being raped by the state’

‘None of us gave consent’.

Alison lived with the man she knew as Mark Cassidy for five old agebefore he vanished and discovered that in his true identity operatorhe apparently had a wife and children. He was an undercoverpolice officer.

Five years.

Another hugger-muggerpolice officer, Bob Lambert, adopted a false identity to infiltrate leftwing and animal rights groups. He verbalisehe had an 18-month relationship with a woman who was not herself gnarledin political activism as part of his cover story.

And hotshotwoman had a child with Bob Lambert – when he was in fact spying on her. He was, she says, collateralwhen she became pregnant with their son in 1985, and wanted to occupythe child. neverthelesshe later vanished from her life, claiming to be on the run.

“I was not respondto sleeping with Bob Lambert,” she pointed out in an interview with the withstanderrecently; “I didn’t know who Bob Lambert was. I had a make outliving with me, sleeping with me, making a family with me, and I didn’t do anything to deserve that.”

At the time, Lambert was posing as “Bob Robinson”, an animal rights activist, on behalf of the then secret natural lawunit known as the Special Demonstration Squad (SDS).

One of several women bringing a juralaction against the UK’s Metropolitan Police for the trauma caused by long-term relationships with undercover police, she said: “We [the women bringing cases] bepsychologically damaged; it is resemblingbeing raped by the state. We feel that we were sexually maltreatbecause none of us gave consent.”

She added: “I’ve had apologies from Bob himself but I exigencyan apology from the organisation that paid him and gave him the orders.”

In December 2011 eight women launched juristicaction against the Metropolitan Police for the harm caused by undercover officers deceiving them into long term intimate relationships.

The women assert that the actions of the Metropolitan patrolofficers breached their human rights, subjecting them to inhumane and degrading treatment, and disrespecting their private and family life and their fullto form relationships without unjustified interference by the state.

The women are toobringing claims for deceit, assault, misfeasance in humankindoffice and negligence.

And they seek to bring outand prevent the durationof psychological, emotional and sexual wickednessof campaigners and others by undercover police officers.

The women who are bringing this case, and their many supporters, studythat at that placeare no circumstances in which it would be acceptable for an undercover police officer to engage in intimate relationships with either targets or members of the public under the pretenceof their undercover identity.

The fact that this has taken place repeatedly, despite worldmorally wrong and unjustifiable, shows that within the police forces in the UK there existsinstitutionalsexism andinstitutionalprejudice.

Institutional sexism, since women have been used to shore up undercover identities without regard for those women’s amendto a private life: spotmen have been affected, evidence so far shows that it is in the mainwomen’s lives that have been abused in this way.

And institutional prejudice against members of the public who engage in social justice and environmental campaigning.

Both these forms of institutional prejudicemoldinessbe challenged and stopped; each has reinforced the other.

The women are calling for a clear and unambiguous statement that the abuse has ceased, and will never, in any circumstances, be permitted; for the past to be thoroughly and openly investigated, so that the damage may be acknowledged, and those liableheld to account, and so we can be confident that the trusthas ceased; and for action and change to prevent these human rights abuses from ever mishapagain.

And they are calling for stronger support for whistle-blowers and greater protection for rights of intimacyand expression.

Until these things happen, we have no reason to believe that these shocking and hideousabuses have stopped.

Or that the police acknowledge their actions are wrong and that they must change.

The women who are bringing this case, and their many supporters come from different backgrounds and have a range of political beliefs and interests, but they are unitein believing that every woman, and every person, has a right to participate in the struggle for social and environmental justice, without guardianshipof persecution, objectification, or interference in their lives.

And the eight women bringing this legal action are doing so to highlight and prevent the continuation of psychological, emotional and sexual abuse of campaigners and others by undercover police officers.

What you can do:

Sign up to – and destiny– the ‘Where We Stand’ statement

Demand accountability

Petitions and campaigning

Engage: write, create, reflect, discuss, propose, analyse, critique

Keep campaigning

Discuss the ‘Where We Stand’ statement with your friends and family; share it on social media; raise it with your colleagues and friends; add your group or your organisation’s name; publicise the statement through your networks

Or you can contact topical anestheticcouncillors.

Your local council should be holding your local police stickto account via the local Police Authority. The undercover unit responsible for the abuses is known to co-operate with many of the police forces across the UK and internationally.

Make it clear that this isn’t policing, it’s abuse.

And you could contact your Police and Crime Commissioner.

Make it clear that you are expecting strong statements from all(prenominal)sections of the UK police condemning the abuse of private lives and recognising that institutional sexism and institutional prejudice must be challenged.

Make it clear that this isn’t policing, it’s abuse.

 

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Materials taken from Womens Views on News

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