Virtual games help the blind navigate unknown territory

Mar. 27, 2013 ? On March 27^thJoVE (Journal of Visualized Experiments) will publish a new video article by Dr. Lotfi Merabet showing how researchers in the Department of Ophthalmology at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and Harvard Medical School have developed a virtual gaming environment to help blind individuals improve navigation skills and develop a cognitive spatial map of unfamiliar buildings and public locations.

"For the blind, finding your way or navigating in a place that is unfamiliar presents a real challenge," Dr. Merabet explains. "As people with sight, we can capture sensory information through our eyes about our surroundings. For the blind that is a real challenge? the blind will typically use auditory and tactile cues."

The technique utilizes computer generated layouts of public buildings and spatial sensory feedback to synthesize a virtual world that mimics a real world navigation task. In the game, participants must find jewels and carry them out of the building, without being intercepted by roaming monsters that steal the jewels and hide them elsewhere.

Participants interface with the virtual building by using a keyboard and wearing headphones that play auditory cues that help spatially orient them to the world around them. This interaction helps users generate an accurate mental layout of the mimicked building. Dr. Merabet and his colleagues are also exploring applications of this technology with other user interfaces, like a Wii Remote or joystick.

"We have developed software called ABES, the Audio Based Environment Simulator that represents the actual physical environment of the Carol Center for the Blind in Newton Massachusetts. The participants will use the game metaphor to get a sense of the whole building through open discovery, allowing people to learn room layouts more naturally than if they were just following directions."

The technology will invariably be useful for the 285 million blind people world-wide, 6 million of which live in the United States. It will also have applications beyond the blind community for individuals with other visual impairments, cognitive deficits, or those recovering from brain injuries.

Dr. Merabet considers publication in JoVE's video format especially helpful. "It is conceptually difficult for a sighted person to understand 'a video game for blind people.' What JoVE allows us to do is break down layouts of the game and strategy, show how the auditory cues can be used and how we quantify performance going from the virtual game to the physical world."

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Journal of Visualized Experiments.

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Journal Reference:

1. Erin C. Connors, Lindsay A. Yazzolino, Jaime S?nchez, Lotfi B. Merabet. Development of an Audio-based Virtual Gaming Environment to Assist with Navigation Skills in the Blind. Journal of Visualized Experiments, 2013; (73) DOI: 10.3791/50272

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Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/PWTGJ6zp7M8/130327102648.htm

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Scientists form new nerve cells -- directly in the brain

Mar. 26, 2013 ? The field of cell therapy, which aims to form new cells in the body in order to cure disease, has taken another important step in the development towards new treatments. A new report from researchers at Lund University in Sweden shows that it is possible to re-programme other cells to become nerve cells, directly in the brain.

Two years ago, researchers in Lund were the first in the world to re-programme human skin cells, known as fibroblasts, to dopamine-producing nerve cells ? without taking a detour via the stem cell stage. The research group has now gone a step further and shown that it is possible to re-programme both skin cells and support cells directly to nerve cells, in place in the brain.

?The findings are the first important evidence that it is possible to re-programme other cells to become nerve cells inside the brain?, said Malin Parmar, research group leader and Reader in Neurobiology.

The researchers used genes designed to be activated or de-activated using a drug. The genes were inserted into two types of human cells: fibroblasts and glia cells ? support cells that are naturally present in the brain. Once the researchers had transplanted the cells into the brains of rats, the genes were activated using a drug in the animals? drinking water. The cells then began their transformation into nerve cells.

In a separate experiment on mice, where similar genes were injected into the mice?s brains, the research group also succeeded in re-programming the mice?s own glia cells to become nerve cells.

?The research findings have the potential to open the way for alternatives to cell transplants in the future, which would remove previous obstacles to research, such as the difficulty of getting the brain to accept foreign cells, and the risk of tumour development?, said Malin Parmar.

All in all, the new technique of direct re-programming in the brain could open up new possibilities to more effectively replace dying brain cells in conditions such as Parkinson?s disease.

?We are now developing the technique so that it can be used to create new nerve cells that replace the function of damaged cells. Being able to carry out the re-programming in vivo makes it possible to imagine a future in which we form new cells directly in the human brain, without taking a detour via cell cultures and transplants?, concluded Malin Parmar.

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Journal Reference:

1. Olof Torper, Ulrich Pfisterer, Daniel A. Wolf, Maria Pereira, Shong Lau, Johan Jakobsson, Anders Bj?rklund, Shane Grealish, and Malin Parmar. Generation of induced neurons via direct conversion in vivo. PNAS, 2013 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1303829110

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Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/strange_science/~3/VbopJ4I_yc4/130326100839.htm

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Scalia On Gay Marriage: 'When Did It Become ... - Business Insider

During oral arguments today at the Supreme Court, Justice Antonin Scalia and attorney Ted Olson had a pointed exchange over whether same-sex marriage is a fundamental right guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.?

Scalia's argument, which was advanced by Chief Justice John Roberts before him, was that when the institution of marriage developed historically, it was not done with the explicit intent of excluding gay and lesbian couples.

"We don't prescribe law for the future," Scalia said. "We decide what the law is. I'm curious,?when did it become unconstitutional to?exclude homosexual couples from marriage? 1791? 1868? When the Fourteenth Amendment was adopted?"

Olson countered that with a question of his own, bringing up two past high-profile cases involving discrimination.?

"When?did?it?become?unconstitutional to prohibit interracial marriages??When?did it?become unconstitutional to?assign?children to separate schools?" Olson asked.

The two went back and forth, with Scalia repeatedly questioning when, specifically, it became unconstitutional to bar gay couples from marrying. Olson argued back, but ended up conceding that there was no specific date.

"Well,?how?am?I?supposed?to how?to?decide?a?case,?then,?if you can't give me a?date when the Constitution changes?" Scalia said.

"Because in the case that's before?you today, the citizens of?California decide ? after the California Supreme Court?decided that individuals had a right to get married?irrespective of their sexual orientation in California ??then the Californians decided in Proposition 8, wait a?minute, we don't want those people to be able to get?married."

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/scalia-gay-marriage-prop-8-case-supreme-court-2013-3

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Study finds molecular 'signature' for rapidly increasing form of esophageal cancer

Study finds molecular 'signature' for rapidly increasing form of esophageal cancer

Monday, March 25, 2013

During the past 30 years, the number of patients with cancers that originate near the junction of the esophagus and stomach has increased approximately 600 percent in the United States. The first extensive probe of the DNA of these esophageal adenocarcinomas (EACs) has revealed that many share a distinctive mix-up of letters of the genetic code, and found more than 20 mutated genes that had not previously been linked to the disease. The research, led by scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, the Broad Institute, and other research centers, may offer clues to why EAC rates have risen so sharply. The findings, which are being released as an advanced online publication by Nature Genetics, point to an array of abnormal genes and proteins that may be lynchpins of EAC cell growth and therefore serve as targets for new therapies, according to the study's authors.

"Adenocarcinomas of the esophagus, particularly those that arise at the gastroesophageal junction, were extremely uncommon 40 years ago and now account for approximately 15,000 new cases in the United States each year," said Adam Bass, MD, of Dana-Farber and the Broad Institute, who is co-senior author of the paper with Gad Getz, PhD, of the Broad Institute and Massachusetts General Hospital. "Unfortunately, it's also a disease with a generally poor prognosis: five years after diagnosis, only about 15 percent of patients are still alive. Bass added that despite the increased incidence of EAC, there have been few new approaches to treatment. "The goal of our study was to identify abnormalities within the genome of EAC cells to develop a foundation to better understand these tumors, diagnose them earlier, and develop better treatments," explained Bass.

EAC is thought to be associated with chronic gastroesophageal reflux, which sends stomach acid gurgling into the esophagus. This produces a condition known as Barrett's esophagus, in which cells at the lower end of the esophagus change to resemble cells in the intestine. Patients with Barrett's esophagus often go on to develop EAC.

Researchers don't know why EAC rates are increasing, but they speculate that it may be due to a rise in obesity, particularly in men: A heavier abdomen puts increased pressure on the stomach, causing acid to back up into the esophagus.

In the new study, researchers "sequenced" specific sections of DNA in cells from 149 EAC tissue samples, reading the individual letters of the genetic code within those areas. They focused on the one percent of the genome that holds the codes for making cell proteins. They also sequenced the entire genome ? all the DNA within the cell nucleus ? of cells from 15 of these EAC samples. Prior to this study, the largest sequencing study of EAC involved only a dozen tumor samples.

"We discovered a pattern of DNA changes that had not been seen before in any other cancer type," Getz remarked. The pattern involved a subtle swap in one of the four "nucleobases" that form the rungs of the DNA double helix, often designated by the letters C, T, G, and A. The investigators found that in many places where an A nucleobase was followed by another A nucleobase, the second "A" was replaced by a "C," a process known as transversion.

"We found this type of transversion throughout the genomes of the EAC cells we analyzed," Bass stated. "Overall, about one-third of all the mutations we discovered within these cells involved this type of transversion. In some tumor samples, these transversions accounted for nearly half of all mutations," Getz added.

Although A-to-C changes are not commonly observed in cancer, there is some evidence that oxidative damage can produce these changes. (Oxidative damage occurs when cells cannot neutralize the potentially harmful products of oxygen's reactions with other molecules.) "Gastric reflux can produce this type of damage, suggesting that reflux may underlie this pattern of mutations," Bass commented.

In addition to the mutational "signature" of AA becoming AC, the research team identified 26 genes that were frequently mutated in the tumor samples.

Five of these were "classic cancer genes" that had previously been implicated in EAC, Bass said, and the others were involved in a variety of cell processes.

Among the genes not previously linked to EAC were ELMO1 and DOCK2, mutations that can switch on a gene called RAC1, which can cause cancer cells to invade surrounding tissue. "The discovery of mutated ELMO1 and DOCK2 in many of these tumors may indicate that this invasive process is particularly active in EAC, promoting metastasis," Bass related. "We know that EAC tumors tend to spread at an earlier stage than many other cancers, which may help explain why survival rates for EAC patients tend to be low."

The RAC1 pathway ? the network of genes that control RAC1 activity ? is being pursued for pharmaceutical development. The discovery of ELMO1 and DOCK2 mutations in EAC samples may spur testing of new agents targeting this pathway in EAC, said Bass.

"Identifying the mutated genes within these tumors will help us understand the underlying biology of the disease," said Bass. "It also presents us with a slate of known genetic abnormalities that can someday be used to diagnose the disease at an early stage, classify tumors by the particular mutations within EAC cells, and ultimately develop treatment geared to precisely those mutations."

###

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute: http://www.dfci.harvard.edu

Thanks to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/127435/Study_finds_molecular__signature__for_rapidly_increasing_form_of_esophageal_cancer

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Chromebook Pixel with LTE to ship by April 8th

For those that can swing a Chromebook Pixel in the first place, the LTE model may be the wisest choice when it promises always-on data for a constantly connected machine. Anyone who can justify the $1,449 outlay will be happy to know that Google has quietly narrowed down the launch window: early orders should now ship by April 8th. Shoppers will still have to be Americans willing to latch on to Verizon's network for LTE, but the date leaves a mere two weeks before the release of what's unquestionably the highest-end (and priciest) Chrome OS system yet. Any takers?

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/8PUejBxcvxI/

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'Moderate' New England red tide forecasted for 2013

Mar. 25, 2013 ? New England is expected to experience a "moderate" red tide this spring and summer, report NOAA-funded scientists studying the toxic algae that cause blooms in the Gulf of Maine. The "red tide" is caused by an alga Alexandrium fundyense, which produces a toxin that can cause paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP). Red tide typically occurs annually along some portions of the Gulf of Maine coast. This year's outlook is similar to the 2012 red tide which was also classified as "moderate."

As with the past five forecasts for this region, the 2013 outlook is based on the quantities of the A. fundyense in its cyst (dormant) state detected in Gulf of Maine sediments last fall. These data are combined with a computer model to produce a range of bloom scenarios based on previous years' conditions. This year, the team also used a forecast of toxicity impact developed from 34 years of historical data as part of the 2013 outlook. The 2013 bloom is expected to fall somewhere in the middle in terms of toxicity impact, justifying a "moderate" forecast done by the established method.

"This region is very fortunate to have a long time series of cyst abundance data, toxicity records in shellfish, and long-term measurements of ocean conditions from ships and moored instrumented buoys to develop these two complementary approaches to the seasonal forecast," said Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) biologist Don Anderson.

The forecast team emphasizes the need to consult state and local management agencies for updated harvesting closure information. In order to protect public health, shellfish beds are closed when toxicities rise above a quarantine level, often during the peak harvesting season. Due to effective monitoring by state agencies, there have been no illnesses from legally harvested shellfish in recent years, despite some severe blooms during that time period. There have been, however, several severe poisonings of individuals who ignored closure signs.

"Red tide is a chronic problem throughout the Gulf of Maine, affecting commercial and recreational harvesting interests," said Chris Nash, shellfish program manager for the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services. "State agencies are responsible for monitoring toxicity levels in shellfish harvest areas and implementing harvest closures when needed. As a state manager, regional-scale, seasonal outlooks help us plan and use limited monitoring resources effectively. Ultimately our goals are to protect public health and give consumers confidence in the quality of the seafood products they purchase from markets and restaurants, and these forecasts are useful in realizing those goals."

Project researchers regularly share their field observations and models with more than 150 coastal resource and fisheries managers in six states as well as federal agencies such as NOAA, the FDA and the EPA. Real-time forecasts are updated on a weekly basis and additional information will be provided on the "Current Status" page of the Northeast PSP website. The National Weather Service is also providing extended hydrological and meteorological outlooks to accompany the bloom forecasts.

"NOAA-funded research has led to the development of seasonal forecasts which aid in monitoring and planning for red tides," said Quay Dortch, program coodinator for NOAA's Ecology and Oceanography of Harmful Algal Blooms (ECOHAB) Program. "These forecasts will be an important part of the Operational HAB Forecasting System NOAA is developing to reduce the impacts of harmful algae."

The forecasting project is a collaboration of investigators from NOAA's National Ocean Service, National Weather Service and National Marine Fisheries Service, WHOI, NCSU, University of Maine, the FDA, Maine Department of Marine Resources, New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services, Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, and the North Atlantic Clam Association. Funding is provided through the NOAA program Prevention, Control and Mitigation of Harmful Algal Blooms (PCMHAB), led by Dennis McGillicuddy (WHOI). Long-term support for Alexandrium studies in the Gulf of Maine is provided by the NOAA NOS NCCOS Center for Sponsored Coastal Ocean Research (CSCOR) and NIEHS and the NSF through the Woods Hole Center for Oceans and Human Health.

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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_environment/~3/vX6Pr8poPnY/130325135416.htm

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Sitting on too much money, Norway risks going off course | Energy ...

Middle East-style oil wealth combined with a generous Nordic welfare model is slowly throttling big chunks of Norway?s economy, threatening western Europe?s biggest success story.

On the surface, Norway is the envy of the world: growth is strong, per capita GDP has exceeded $100,000 and the nation sits on a $700 billion rainy day cash reserve, or $140,000 per man, woman and child.

But it may just be too much money as Norwegians, more keen on leisure and family life are working less and less.

Immigration is not filling the gap in the skilled part of the workforce, so productivity is stagnating, wages are surging and firms are pricing themselves out of their own market.

?Oil is a metaphor for winning the lottery,? said Ivar Froeness, a sociology professor at the University of Oslo. ?Affluence has slowly crept into society? people just don?t really notice it because it?s been so gradual.?

?These days more people leave Oslo on Thursday afternoon than on Friday, taking long weekends,? he said. ?We may take for granted that we have a house and a cabin in the mountain, and maybe another house on the beach.?

Wage costs are up 63 percent since 2000, about six times more than in Germany or Sweden, while the employment rate, adjusted for part time work, is 61 percent, below rates anywhere in the Nordics and even below Greece, the central bank says.

Still, unemployment is a barely visible 3 percent as more prefer part time work.

?Why should I work more when I don?t have to?? said Elise Bakke, 36, who recently cut her work day at a major telecom firm to 6 hours.

?Maybe it?s luck, maybe we earned it, it doesn?t really matter. We have the money to live the Nordic life: go to the cabin, ski, bike, spend time with the children.?

The government recently warned that unless working hours are increased by 10 percent over time, the state will eventually start eating into its savings. The central bank also warned that the welfare model is simply encouraging people to leave the labour market.

?The number of working hours for full time employees in Norway have fallen by 270 hours a year since 1974,? says Jostein Hansen, director of employment policies at Norwegian Hospitality Association. ?Norwegians should follow Iceland?s example and work 100 hours more a year.?

OIL UNDER THREAT

The oil sector, the source of the problem, is also becoming a victim of its own success.

Aker Solutions, the nation?s top oil services firm, will hire 4,000 engineers this year but only a third will be Norwegians.

It has to run huge engineering hubs in Kuala Lumpur, London and Mumbai to get enough skilled workers.

A study commissioned by the government showed that by 2016, the country will have a shortage of 6,000 engineers as oil investment hits new records and oil firms tap reserves in areas once thought close to depleted.

Costs have risen so much, some oil services firms cannot compete at home.

Kvaerner, which builds heavy equipment like oil platforms, recently lost a key contract from state-controlled Statoil to Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering because it was too expensive. It was a just the latest of many setbacks for the firm.

?The Norwegian cost level is our challenge,? Jan Arve Haugan, its chief executive said. ?High (quality) cannot outweigh that price difference,? he said, adding its prices are 7-15 percent higher than its competitors?.

Norwegian Air Shuttle has threatened to move aircraft to Thailand and operate to Europe with an Asian crew because it says it can?t afford the Nordic costs.

Norway?s problems are not unique: Australia?s once-in-a-150-year mining boom has also skewed the economy, raising wages, fuelling immigration and lowering work hours to a 30-year low as wealth grows.

Still, an average Australian works 19 percent more than a Norwegian, the OECD estimates. And Norway?s oil sector accounts for a fifth of the economy, three times as much as mining in Australia, generating a quarter of state the revenues.

Business groups say work hours have to be raised through government incentives, and benefits, particularly involving various leaves, need to be reduced.

Though political parties generally agree, the topic is low on the agenda, especially with elections looming in September.

IMMIGRATION

Norway has embraced immigration as a stop-gap measure but it is only masking the problem, the central bank says.

?Measured per capita, we do not generate more value today than we did five years ago,? Norges Bank Governor Oeystein Olsen said in a speech recently.

Norway, with a population of five million, attracts around 50,000 immigrants each year, but productivity is not improving.

?We attract the wrong kind of immigrants? said Dag Aarnes, an economist at the Confederation of Norwegian Enterprises, a trade body.

?We?re not particularly competitive in attracting skilled labour, particularly engineers.?

Norway?s egalitarian wage distribution pays low-skilled workers well above the European average but pays the higher-skilled at, or even a touch below, international norms.

The central bank predicts that wages will rise about twice as fast as GDP for several years to come while productivity improvements will trail economic growth.

With a budget surplus worth 12 percent of GDP, Norway can afford just about anything now but unless it scales down benefits like neighbour Sweden did in the 1990s, that surplus will melt away.

But generous benefits, a good work-life balance and limited wage inequality are long-standing parts of a social model cherished by many Norwegians, so any change will be difficult.

?I think there is political understanding about all this so I?m fairly optimistic,? Aarnes added. ?But there is no immediate crisis so it will take time.?

? Thomson Reuters 2013

Source: http://business.financialpost.com/2013/03/25/sitting-on-too-much-money-norway-risks-going-off-course/

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Roberts' gay cousin to attend Prop 8 argument (The Arizona Republic)

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

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/294498194?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Saudi Arabia's top cleric criticizes Twitter users

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) ? Saudi Arabia's top religious cleric has criticized the social media website Twitter, calling it "a council for jokesters" and a place for unjust, incorrect messages.

Grand Mufti Sheik Abdul-Aziz Al-Sheik made his remarks late Friday during a speech to other Saudi clerics.

Twitter has been used by youth activists to galvanize protests in the Arab Spring uprisings, as well as by regional governments seeking to communicate with the public.

The mufti's remarks come on the same day that the imam at Mecca's Grand Mosque said people have the right to express themselves, but must do so cautiously in order to protect the nation's prestige and unity.

Rights groups have criticized Saudi Arabia for its limited freedoms and its ultraconservative mores.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2013-03-23-Saudi/id-57d4129ba458466fbe936aac5c656a6e

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CA-NEWS Summary

Cyprus faces last ditch chance to save economy

NICOSIA (Reuters) - Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades, seeking a last-minute reprieve from financial meltdown at talks in Brussels on Sunday, has a "very difficult task" ahead of him if he is to save the island's economy, a government spokesman said. With Cyprus facing a Monday deadline to avert a collapse of its banking system and potential exit from the euro, late night talks in Nicosia to seal a bailout from the EU and International Monetary Fund broke up without result.

Radiation experts search dead Putin enemy's house in Britain

ASCOT, England (Reuters) - Specialist police with nuclear and chemical training searched the British home of former Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky on Sunday, a day after the fervent critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin died in unclear circumstances. The 67-year-old, a former powerbroker who helped Putin climb to the top of Russian politics before falling from grace, fled to Britain in 2000. His body was found at his house in Ascot, 25 miles west of London.

Ex-President Musharraf returns to Pakistan for elections

KARACHI (Reuters) - Pakistan's former President, Pervez Musharraf, returned home on Sunday after nearly four years of self-imposed exile to contest elections despite the possibility of arrest and a threat from the Taliban to kill him. Musharraf hopes to regain influence so that his party can win seats in the general election scheduled for May 11, when he will face fierce competition, including from the man he ousted in a military takeover.

Israel fires into Syria after Golan attack on troops

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel said it fired into Syria on Sunday and destroyed a machinegun position in the Golan Heights from where shots had been fired at Israeli soldiers in a further spillover of the Syrian civil war along a tense front. It was not immediately clear whether Israel held Syrian troops or rebels responsible for what a spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said had been a deliberate attack on Israeli patrols in the occupied territory.

Congo asks U.N. to transport Bozize's family from border town

KINSHASA (Reuters) - Democratic Republic of Congo's government asked the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) on Sunday for help transporting the family of Central African Republic President Francois Bozize after he fled his country, a U.N. official said. "(Government of DRC) has asked UNHCR to transport 25 family members of Bozize from (Congolese border town) Zongo to Gemena," the official, who asked not to be named, said via text message.

Fire in Thai refugee camp kills 36

BANGKOK (Reuters) - A fire swept through a remote camp in northwestern Thailand for refugees from Myanmar, killing 36 and destroying hundreds of make-shift shelters, officials said on Sunday. The fire, which broke out on Friday in Mae Hong Son province, about 900 km (550 miles) north of Bangkok, has left more than 2,000 people homeless, provincial governor Narumol Palavat told Reuters.

Israel says deal with Turks does not require Gaza blockade end

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel did not commit to ending its Gaza blockade as part of reconciliation with Turkey and could clamp down even harder on the Palestinian enclave if security is threatened, a senior Israeli official said on Sunday. After Friday's U.S.-brokered fence-mending announcement, Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said Israel had met his demands it apologize for killing nine Turks aboard a Gaza-bound activist ship in 2010, pay compensation and ease the blockade.

Afghanistan's Karzai heads to Qatar to discuss peace with Taliban

KABUL (Reuters) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai will travel to Qatar within days to discuss peace negotiations with the Taliban, the Afghan Foreign Ministry announced on Sunday, as efforts intensify to find a negotiated solution to the war, now in its 12th year. Karzai's trip to Qatar would represent the first time the Afghan president has discussed the Taliban peace process in Qatar, and comes after years of stalled discussions with the United States, Pakistan and the Taliban.

Kerry urges Iraq to stop arms flow to Syria on Baghdad visit

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Secretary of State John Kerry made an unannounced visit to Iraq on Sunday and will urge Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to make sure Iranian flights over Iraq do not carry arms and fighters to Syria, a U.S. official said. Washington believes such flights and overland transfers take place nearly every day and help Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in his efforts to crush a two-year-old revolt against his rule, said the U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Iran says not linked to group arrested in Saudi Arabia for spying

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran's foreign ministry said the country was not linked to a group of alleged spies arrested in Saudi Arabia, Iranian media reported on Sunday. Saudi Arabia said on Tuesday that it had detained an Iranian, a Lebanese, and 16 Saudis for spying. Political analysts and press in Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia have accused Shi'ite Iran of being behind the alleged espionage.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ca-news-summary-001437480.html

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Tim Sappington: Redneck is Latest Example of the Stupid Cruelty of ...

Let me say off the bat: I?m a reluctant meat-eater. Even though I know that meat production results in sometimes horrific conditions for the animals, environmental pollution, and the exacerbation of global warming, I haven?t been able to fully kick the lifelong habit of eating meat. (Hey, my parents were from the Midwest and real meat and potatoes types.) Though I limit it to beef and chicken, and only a few times a week, I see my own hypocrisy. I get that.

However, I made the sorry mistake of watching this video going around yesterday that sickened me and was nearly enough to make me go vegetarian.

The link is everywhere, so find it on your own as I won?t help give this video the hits its poster craved. But be forewarned, it?s pretty sad, sickening, and shocking ? and will only inspire anger and hatred for this perfect example of a (hopefully dying) American stereotype: the aged, old white crackpot. His name is Tim Sappington, who was once the only employee of a soon-to-be horse meat slaughterhouse near Roswell, New Mexico. (He?s since been fired because of the increasing controversy.)

For those who have the good sense to not watch it yourself, I?ll describe it for you: aged, moustachioed, old white guy redneck in cowboy hat and boots (Sappington) leads a seemingly lovely (pet) horse to the center of the camera frame. He pets the beautiful, healthy horse, who twitches its ears and leans in for more petting. With that, Sappington looks to the camera, swearing, ?All you animal activists, fuck you!,? pulls the gun out of his holster and drills a bullet right through the head of his seemingly loving horse, who crumples to the ground in a heap, and goes into a post-death, near-convulsive fit.

Look, there may be no law against killing and eating your own horse in New Mexico. But this crosses the line. Sappington does this for simple political effect ? to antagonize animal activists (and city types) ? nearly crossing over into hate speech territory, and perhaps act as an ominous threat to all he thinks are jeopardizing his American freedom to be as stupid and cruel as he wants. Sappington and the horse meat slaughterhouse are now getting death threats. And the local authorities are looking for ways to prosecute him.

Here?s a press release issued by the slaughterhouse that intended to employ him before all this happened:

Valley Meat Co. does confirm that Mr. Sappington does work doing maintenance for Valley. We have seen the video showing Mr. Sappington euthanizing a horse for slaughter which we understood he did as was his legal right for his own consumption and in which he did complete the processing for consumption. We agree that his comments were regrettably crass, not contributing anything to this dialogue so we do not condone his statements, but he was within his lawful rights to slaughter and butcher a horse and he was not acting as an employee of the company in that action. The emotion of the situation is what is most troubling especially since the opposition is now resorting to terrorist tactics by calling in bomb threats and death threats against our families. And while Mr. Sappington?s personal comments are inappropriate they pale in comparison to threatening to bomb people and kill their families. We respectfully request that the media and the public remember that we are discussing the processing of horses as livestock and no animal is worth threatening or ending a person?s life.

?Euthanizing?? Doesn?t that mean mercy killing? This horse doesn?t look sick or ailing. ?And no animal is worth threatening or ending a person?s life?? Not sure about that statement either. I?d personally have no qualms with animal poachers being shot on-sight in Africa. I don?t know this man at all. But since he?s invited me to get to know him in this way: I think he?s just the latest example of the stupid cruelty of the Old White Crackpot.

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Source: http://gettingonmysoapbox.wordpress.com/2013/03/22/tim-sappington-redneck-is-latest-example-of-the-stupid-cruelty-of-the-old-white-crackpot/

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Wall Street edges up as concerns ease on Cyprus

By Angela Moon

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks rose on Friday, rebounding from their biggest decline in nearly a month, as a banking deal between Greece and Cyprus eased some concerns about the island nation as it tries to avoid a financial meltdown.

Cyprus agreed with Greece on a takeover of the Greek units of Cypriot banks, which ended uncertainty over the fate of those operations.

But Russia rebuffed Cypriot entreaties for aid, leaving the island's leaders scrambling to strike a bailout deal with the European Union by next week or face the collapse of its financial system and an exit from the euro that could roil the euro zone.

"While the market may be vulnerable because it's up so much, the U.S. economy is in a better shape and better position to withstand the whole euro zone and Cyprus situation," said Randy Frederick, managing director of active trading and derivatives at Charles Schwab.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> was up 76.82 points, or 0.53 percent, at 14,498.31. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> was up 8.81 points, or 0.57 percent, at 1,554.61. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.ixic> was up 14.50 points, or 0.45 percent, at 3,237.09.

On Thursday, the S&P 500 fell 0.8 percent while the Dow ended down 0.6 percent, as Oracle's revenue fell far short of expectations and worries intensified about the effect of Cyprus' troubles on the euro zone.

On Friday, retail stocks were the top gainers.

Tiffany & Co reported a slightly higher profit for the quarter that included the holiday season and said net worldwide sales would rise 6 percent to 8 percent this fiscal year, with growth in all regions. The stock was up 2 percent at $69.29.

Nike Inc shares jumped 11 percent to $59.50 as several brokerages upgraded the stock after the company's quarterly profit beat Wall Street expectations.

Blackstone Group LP and General Electric Co's lending arm have discussed jointly pursuing Dell Inc's financial-services business, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Blackstone shares were down 0.3 percent at $19.84. GE shares were little changed at $23.30 and Dell shares were also flat at around $14.14.

The European Union has given Cyprus until Monday to raise 5.8 billion euros to secure a 10-billion euro international bailout. Parliament has already rejected one deal.

(Editing by Bernadette Baum and Nick Zieminski)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/stock-futures-signal-slightly-lower-open-095825890--finance.html

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Israel and Turkey agree to restore diplomatic ties

JERUSALEM (AP) ? Israel and Turkey agreed to restore full diplomatic relations on Friday after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu apologized in a phone call for a deadly naval raid against a Gaza-bound international flotilla in a dramatic turnaround partly brokered by President Barack Obama.

Joint interests between the two countries, including fears that the Syrian civil war could spill over their respective borders, and some cajoling by Obama made the time ripe to repair the frayed relations after nearly three years of acrimony over the deaths.

It was a surprising turnaround for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who had long rejected calls to apologize. He announced the breakthrough after a 20-minute phone conversation with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Obama helped broker the fence-mending while visiting Israel, but the sides had been reaching out to each other before.

"They agreed to restore normalization between Israel and Turkey, including the dispatch of ambassadors and the cancellation of legal steps against Israeli soldiers," a statement from Netanyahu's office said. Netanyahu "regretted the recent deterioration of relations between Israel and Turkey and expressed his commitment to overcoming their differences in order to advance peace and stability in the region," it said.

The statement stressed that the bloodshed was not intentional and suggested that relatives of those killed would get compensation. In light of an Israeli investigation into the shootings that pointed to a number of operational missteps, Netanyahu apologized to the Turkish people for "any mistakes that might have led to the loss of life or injury and agreed to conclude an agreement on compensation (and) non-liability," the statement said.

It said Netanyahu appreciated Erdogan's interview with a Danish paper in which he said he was misunderstood in remarks at a U.N. conference in Vienna. Erdogan said Islamophobia should be considered a crime against humanity "just like Zionism, like anti-Semitism and like fascism." His comments drew wide condemnation. Erdogan later told Politiken that he was misunderstood and was criticizing Israeli policy.

Erdogan's office said: "Our prime minister accepted the apology in the name of the Turkish people."

Erdogan "expressed that it was saddening that relations, which are of vital strategic importance for peace and the stability of the region, have been soured in recent years," the statement said.

Israel and Turkey were once close allies. Relations began to decline after Erdogan, whose party has roots in Turkey's Islamist movement, became prime minister in 2003. Erdogan has embarked on a campaign to make Turkey a regional powerhouse in an attempt to become the leading voice in the Muslim world and distanced from Israel.

Tensions raged after Erdogan attacked Israel for the high Palestinian death toll in an Israeli campaign aimed at stopping daily rocket fire from Gaza on Israel in the winter of 2008, at one point storming off a stage he shared with the Israeli president at the high-profile World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Relations gradually worsened.

A Turkish TV show that demonized Israeli soldiers prompted Israel's then deputy foreign minister, Danny Ayalon, in early 2010 to reprimand the Turkish ambassador. He seated Ahmet Oguz Celikkol on a sofa lower than his own chair and wouldn't shake his hand in televised images of the meeting.

Animosity peaked on May 31, 2010, when Israeli commandos stormed a ship named Mavi Marmara while stopping an international flotilla trying to breach an Israeli blockade of Gaza, which is ruled by Hamas, an Islamic militant group that has been branded a terrorist organization by Israel, the U.S. and the European Union. Gaza militants have fired thousands of rockets and mortar rounds at Israeli border communities and towns during the past decade. The latest rocket was fired at the Israeli town of Sderot on Thursday while Obama was visiting Jerusalem.

Eight Turks and a Turkish-American were killed, and dozens of activists were wounded. On the Israeli side, a total of seven soldiers were wounded.

Israel blockaded the coastal strip in 2007, in cooperation with Egypt, after Hamas violently overran the territory from the secular Palestinian Fatah party. Israel said the blockade was a move to weaken Hamas and keep militants from moving weapons into the enclave.

But pro-Palestinian activists say it amounts to collective punishment of Gaza's residents and have launched numerous attempts to reach the territory by boat to draw attention to their cause.

Israel previously blamed the activists on the Mavi Marmara for the bloodshed that occurred during the raid, saying its naval commandos were attacked when they went aboard. Israel released videos showing armed activists brandishing iron rods and clubs attacking the soldiers as they slowly rappelled onto the deck from a helicopter. Soldiers were overpowered as they landed. They were surrounded by men with clubs. One soldier was tossed onto a lower deck.

The military later said the soldiers were not expecting trouble and had paintball guns as their primary weapons while handguns were only for an emergency. Two activists grabbed the handguns away from soldiers and shot two of them, the military said at the time. Both activists were then shot and killed.

Israel insisted that its soldiers acted in self-defense and later showcased knives, slingshots and clubs they said were found onboard the ship. Some activists had military-style gear, including bullet-proof vests and night-vision goggles. Israel said this indicated that the activists had planned for violence. The activists also said they acted in self-defense.

Following the flotilla incident, NATO-member Turkey withdrew its ambassador to Israel and greatly scaled back military and economic ties. But relations were never broken completely.

Erdogan phoned Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas prime minister in Gaza, to update him Friday. In a statement, Hamas commended Turkey for holding firm on demanding an apology from Israel, which it refers to as the "Zionist entity."

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed the restoration of normal relations between the two countries and expressed appreciation for Obama's role.

"Assisting Israel and Turkey in restoring their good relations had been a core objective of the Secretary-General's efforts in the aftermath of the May 2010 flotilla incident," U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky said. "Today's announcement is an important and hopeful signal for the stability of the region."

Alon Liel, a former Israeli diplomat to Turkey, said the time was right for reconciliation because of the new Israeli government and because of Obama's involvement. Liel said Turkey and Israel share the same concerns that violence from the Syrian civil war reaching their countries plus there are possible gas deals that would be impossible without reconciliation.

Hasan Koni of Istanbul's Bahcesehir University said the Arab Spring uprisings forced the two former allies to repair their strained ties.

"Developments in the Middle East aren't progressing in a favorable way for the Western world," Koni said. "For the West, it is now time to maintain some level of stabilization."

The U.S. welcomed the development as a means to advance regional peace and security.

Speaking at a news conference with Jordan's King Abdullah II in Amman Friday, Obama said the timing on his trip to Israel was right for Turkey and Israel to start restoring normal diplomatic relations.

Obama said he has long argued that it's in the interests of both Turkey and Israel to restore normal relations, noting that they have historically had good ties and are both "extraordinarily strong partners and friends of ours."

"They don't have to agree on everything in order for them to come together around a whole range of common interests and common concerns," he said.

___

Associated Press writers Josh Lederman in Washington, Suzan Fraser in Ankara and Matthew Lee aboard Air Force One contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/israel-turkey-agree-restore-diplomatic-ties-205031955.html

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Bollywood actor, Super Fight League co-founder Sanjay Dutt, headed to prison

Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt, the co-founder of the Super Fight League, the largest active mixed martial arts promotion in India, was ordered Thursday by India's Supreme Courtto serve the remainder of a six-year sentence on gun charges stemming from a 1993 bombing in Mumbai that killed 257 people.

Dutt, 53, was originally convicted in 2007 under India's Terrorism and Disruptive Activities Act of possessing a rifle and a pistol given to him by the men convicted in the 1993 bombing that occurred in the financial district of Mumbai (then known as Bombay). In addition to the 257 people who died in the bombing, more than 700 were injured.

He was released on bail pending an appeal, but the Supreme Court upheld his conviction Thursday.

Dutt is a popular Bollywood actor who founded the Super Fight League last year. The promotion signed a five-year television deal with ESPN Star Sports, but it turns out that Dutt will be in prison for most of the term of that deal. Dutt has already served 18 months, but must serve an additional 4 1/2 years.

Dutt is the co-founder and the chairman of the Super Fight League. According to his biography on the Super Fight League web site, Dutt is India's "real action hero."

Bollywood superstar Sanjay Dutt needs no introduction, he is the co-founder and partner of Raj Kundra in Super Fight Promotions Pvt. Ltd. He is the face of MMA India and India's real action hero! He has the raw appeal he has that is so essential to being a star, and people can feel his presence even before they've sighted him. He is the real action hero of India! Sanjay Dutt's passion for fitness and fighting sports along with a vision for India's MMA future he has joined forces with Raj to Launch India's first professional Mixed Martial Arts league. Mr. Dutt is also the brand ambassador for the Boxing Federation of India.

The UFC has been attempting to break into India, but CEO Lorenzo Fertitta said Indians were just becoming aware of MMA. Feeder leagues like the Super Fight League would have been important for the UFC's efforts, to help build interest in the sport in the world's second-most populated country.

The Super Fight League has several recognizable fighters, including former UFC fighters Jeff Monson, Trevor Prangley and Neal Grove.

It has a show scheduled for March 29, but it is not clear if that show will go on.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/bollywood-actor-super-fight-league-creator-headed-prison-042842262--mma.html

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93% Zero Dark Thirty

All Critics (241) | Top Critics (43) | Fresh (225) | Rotten (17) | DVD (1)

What's striking is the absence of triumphalism -- Bigelow doesn't shy away from showing the victims shot down in cold blood in the compound -- and we come away with the overwhelming sense that this has been a grim, dark episode in our history.

Chastain makes Maya as vivid as a bloodshot eye. Her porcelain skin, delicate features and feminine attire belie the steel within.

No doubt Zero Dark Thirty serves a function by airing America's dirty laundry about detainee and torture programs, but in its wake, there's a crying need for a compassionate Coming Home to counter its brutal Deer Hunter.

While "Zero Dark Thirty" may offer political and moral arguing points aplenty, as well as vicarious thrills,as a film it's simply too much of a passable thing.

From the very first scenes of Zero Dark Thirty, director Kathryn Bigelow demonstrates why she is such a formidable filmmaker, as adept with human emotion as with visceral, pulse-quickening action.

A timely and important reminder of the agonizing human price of zealotry.

Despite what those silly Oscars would have you believe, it was this movie, not Argo, that was the finest of 2012.

Indulges Cheneyian fantasies complete with the bad-movie scene of the prisoner's defiance: "You're just a garbage man in the corporation," shouts the Arab who needs a lesson in manners from the Ph.D. (in torture?) who is racking him.

Bigelow tells the story very well, very efficiently, but doesn't really say much about it, which is ironic given the response to the film in some quarters.

Kathryn Bigelow takes the procedural model and brushes away every unnecessary detail, leaving behind a heavy, blunt object of a film that is also hugely watchable, engrossing and, best of all... highly suspenseful.

Rotten Tomatoes notes that I agree with Tomatometer critics 80 percent of the time, but this is one of those times I have to part ways with them.

Bigelow has directed excellent movies before, but this deserves to be remembered as the film that established her as a master.

You can't deny that what Zero Dark Thirty sets out to do, it does excellently.

An exhilarating and compelling historical document worthy of praise.

Bigelow's latest proves a rewarding piece of filmmaking, one that, in its best moments at least, is as gripping and as troubling as anything the director's ever made.

Bigelow and screenwriter Mark Boal shape history -- those breaks, big and small, that led to the killing of Osama bin Laden -- into one of the finest fact-based thrillers since "All the President's Men."

Purely as cinematic exercise, Zero Dark Thirty is an exhilarating piece of work. But, beyond its for-the-times subject matter, the work does not linger whatsoever.

Zero Dark Thirty is interesting as opposed to enjoyable, intriguing as opposed to entertaining, and certainly less memorable than The Hurt Locker.

It's quite remarkable how Bigelow and Boal managed to take 12 years of information (including a conclusion that everyone knows) and packaged it into a coherent, intimate and intense movie.

We know the ending, yet remain mesmerized by familiar details, filmed with a harrowing sense of urgency. It's as close to being in the White House situation room that night, watching a closed-circuit broadcast, as anyone could expect.

The second half of the film IS the film.

Whereas Locker was less about war than what it is to have a death wish, ZDT is less about the suspenseful true-life search for Osama bin Laden than the red tape one woman must wade through to prove that a mean old bastard is living in suburban Pakistan.

Bigelow's great achievement is stripping down the action from the exaggerated theatrics in movies and television shows so the missions feel no less exciting and immediate.

One of the finest movies of the year is a thriller about the tracking and, finally, slaying of Osama bin Laden.

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/zero_dark_thirty/

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It's What's Inside That Counts

By MICHAEL FALCONE ( @michaelpfalcone )

NOTABLES

NO SHUTDOWN SHOWDOWN FOR NOW: The Senate did its part yesterday to stave off a government shutdown by passing a continuing resolution in order to keep the government funded, ABC's Sunlen Miller reports. The continuing resolution, known in Washington shorthand as the CR, is a stopgap appropriations measure. Congress has been up against a March 27 deadline this time around to keep the government funded through September, the end of the fiscal year. The bill passed with a vote of 73-26. The Senate bill keeps the same spending levels as the House bill, setting the top-line overall rate of spending at $982 billion, down from $1.043 trillion the previous fiscal year, but adds three appropriations measures: for homeland security and commerce; agriculture; and justice and science funds. http://abcn.ws/11gYjxD

UP NEXT (UPDATED): The House passed the Continuing Resolution this morning. And, ABC's Ann Compton confirms that President Obama will sign the measure when he returns to Washington from the Middle East.

THE FINE PRINT: During the same week that Senate Democrats shelved their attempts to re-instate the assault weapons ban, the continuing resolution that is expected advance to President Obama's desk will make four long-standing gun protections permanent, ABC's Sunlen Miller notes. The four gun provisions are: (1) A measure which would prevent the Justice Department from requiring firearms dealers to conduct inventories to make sure weapons haven't been stolen; (2) A measure which would prevent the government from changing the definition of antique guns; (3) A measure which would prevent the Justice Department from denying a license to firearms dealers who report no business activity; (4) A measure that would require the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to include language in firearms data stating that the information can't be used to make conclusions about gun crimes.

BOTTOM LINE: ABC's News Political Director Rick Klein notes that the first gun control legislation set to pass Congress in the wake of Sandy Hook actually loosens gun controls.

THE ROUNDTABLE

ABC's MICHAEL FALCONE: Anyone else starting to see a pattern here? In yet another poll, Hillary Clinton bests her potential Republican competition in hypothetical 2016 match-ups. The latest numbers come from a Quinnipiac survey of 1,000 registered voters in Florida, a crucial swing state that Mitt Romney lost to President Obama last November. Pitting the former First Lady and Secretary of State against former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, she leads by a 51 to 40 percent margin and in a head-to-head race against Sen. Marco Rubio, she prevails 52 percent to 41 percent. Notably, Clinton is viewed favorably by 62 percent of voters in the state, whereas Bush only gets a 50 percent favorability rating and Rubio an even lower mark - 41 percent. "If she decides to make the race, she begins with a sizable lead in a state that Republicans cannot win the White House without," said Quinnipiac pollster Peter A. Brown. "Florida voters have a very positive view of Mrs. Clinton and it's not just Democrats who feel that way."

ABC's ARLETTE SAENZ: Even though the assault weapons ban won't be part of the comprehensive gun package considered on the Senate floor next month, Vice President Joe Biden and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg are sticking to their guns to ensure some type of firearm legislation does get enacted. The two will meet with the families of victims of the Newtown shooting to discuss gun reform today in NYC, and in an interview with NPR's "All Things Considered" Wednesday, the vice president said he's still hoping the assault weapons ban will pass eventually because it is "the will of the people." "My experience, having been the only guy that did this once before, along with Dianne Feinstein and others, is that this doesn't necessarily happen in one fell swoop," Biden said of the assault weapons ban. "We are going to continue to push for logical, gun safety regulations. Eventually the will of the people is going to prevail and we're going to keep at it."

ABC's CHRIS GOOD: Have the voters really forgiven Mark Sanford? That's the big question hanging over his comeback race, but who really knows? Sanford beat expectations in his 16-way primary, taking 37 percent, whereas state GOP insiders expected him to collect below 30 percent. One of them suggested to me that a 25 percent showing would be kind of abysmal for a guy with ultra-high name recognition. But who's to say whether or not 37 percent is actually good? After all, more people voted against him than for him. There were so many candidates in this primary, some of them state and local lawmakers with their own bases in the district, that it's hard to see any way to accurately judge Sanford's performance as a referendum on his public image rehabilitation. We'll have to wait until the April 2 runoff.

ABC's SHUSHANNAH WALSHE: In a conversation with Tea Party leaders about their continued support of Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul - even after his immigration announcement this week - an interesting theme emerged: openness to reform. Though the issue is not traditionally in their wheelhouse, some Tea Party leaders expressed support. Sal Russo, founder of the Tea Party Express told me, "I think the immigration issue is an important issue and Republicans have looked like they have their head in the sand and are not being serious about addressing a problem ? People are in this country a long time and they are not legal. We have to get them legal in some way in a process that gets people legal that are here?We should do it because it's the right thing." Matt Kibbe, the president and CEO of Tea Party ally FreedomWorks, said Paul's proposal is in the "framework of our principals." "We believe in the rule of law," Kibbe said. "Treat everyone just like everybody else, but we believe if you want to come to this country and work the government has a responsibility to make the process as efficient as possible."

OBAMA IN ISRAEL: President Obama's busy day of sight-seeing and political outreach is already well underway, ABC's Mary Bruce notes. In the morning, he visited the Israel Museum to see the Dead Sea Scrolls. He also visited West Bank city of Ramallah to meet with Palestinian Authority President Abbas. Back in Jerusalem (at about 11 a.m. ET) President Obama is set to deliver remarks to Israeli youth at the convention center, the centerpiece of his effort to court the Israeli public while he's overseas. Obama rounds out his day with dinner with Israeli President Shimon Peres (2 p.m. ET). WATCH ABC Chief White House Correspondent JONATHAN KARL'S "Good Morning" for the latest on Obama's visit: http://abcn.ws/14ebB2q

THE BACKDROP: As President Obama headed to the West Bank for talks with President Mahmoud Abbas earlier today, rockets were fired from Gaza toward the southern Israeli town of Sderot, reports ABC's ALEXANDER MARQUARDT. This is only the second rocketing incident since the ceasefire was brokered following November's eight-day conflict. It highlights the divide among the Palestinians (Gaza vs. the West Bank, Hamas vs. Fatah), the view among Israelis that Palestinians don't want peace and the lack of optimism around here that Obama's trip will result in new talks.

WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

GERARD BUTLER AND AARON ECKHART BRING ACTION TO DC IN NEW MOVIE. Imagine, if you will, that terrorists seize control of the White House and take the president hostage-that's the plot of Gerard Butler and Aaron Eckhart's new action-packed film "Olympus Has Fallen." Now, imagine showing that film to a theater full of Secret Service agents and politicians-that's what happened at the film's DC premiere . Butler and Eckhart jokingly tell Top Line that they were worried they might "be stoned" at the premiere but were pleasantly surprised. "They loved it," Butler told ABC's Reena Ninan and Yahoo! News' Olivier Knox about the audience's reaction. In the film, Butler plays the role of a disgraced Secret Service agent who gets demoted following a tragic accident that results in the death of the first lady, played by Ashley Judd. He then finds himself in a unique position to save the day and redeem himself after terrorists take the president hostage. For more of the interview with Butler and Eckhart, including more on Judd's potential Senate run, check out this episode of Top Line: http://yhoo.it/WFYgey

WHAT WE'RE READING

" ABOUT THAT 'SCALPEL'?" a Wall Street Journal editorial. "President Obama often claims he wants to cut the budget smartly, using a "scalpel" - not a meat axe, machete, cleaver or chainsaw, to list a few of his favorite metaphors. He'll need a more inspired term to describe what he's now doing to Medicare Advantage, perhaps napalm or WMD. The Affordable Care Act drained $306 billion from this growing version of Medicare that 29% of seniors use to escape the traditional entitlement and obtain modern private insurance, but the Administration is imposing the cuts in ways that are even more harmful than the law requires. ? Folding in ObamaCare's $8 billion tax on insurers next year that is the equivalent of a smaller subsidy, the Medicare Advantage cuts will total anywhere from 6.9% to 7.8%. Thus Advantage will become the only entitlement for which real spending will fall slightly year over year and continue to decline, even as health costs rise and more people join the program." http://on.wsj.com/11hlM1C

BUZZ

TEA PARTIERS STAND BY RAND PAUL. Tea Partiers still love Rand Paul. His new immigration proposal-which includes backing a pathway to citizenship-doesn't seem to have changed their opinion of him, ABC's SHUSHANNAH WALSHE notes. Instead, Tea Party faithful say it is an example of his forthrightness as well as their own openness to reform. Sal Russo, founder of the Tea Party Express, called Paul a "favorite of the group," and despite the movement's focus on the national debt, spending and economic issues he praised Paul's "willingness to stand up and take a principled stand" on immigration. Matt Kibbe, the president and CEO of Tea Party ally FreedomWorks, said he does not think Paul's immigration announcement hurt his potential 2016 presidential aspirations. "I think he's sort of risen to the top of the GOP ladder simply by putting ideas back on the table," Kibbe said, referring to both the filibuster and his budget plan. "All of these ideas that most Republicans pay lip service to, he's putting specifics on the table. It's a calculated risk taking that puts him ahead of his other potential primary opponents for 2016." http://abcn.ws/YqolyQ

MARK SANFORD CAMPAIGN RISING FROM DISGRACE. Mark Sanford appears to be getting a head start in his primary runoff, ABC's CHRIS GOOD notes. The scandalized former South Carolina governor won Tuesday's 16-way primary for his old House seat, but there's some confusion about whom he'll face in Round 2, a GOP runoff slated for April 2. With 100 percent of precincts reporting Tuesday night, former Charleston County councilman Curtis Bostic led state Sen. Larry Grooms by 493 votes, which would trigger an automatic recount. But in a statement yesterday, grooms indicated he wasn't going to put up a fight, paving the way for a head-to-head matchup between Sanford and Bostic for the right to take n Democrat Elizabeth Colbert Busch in the general election on May 7. http://abcn.ws/Y6xsY8

LARRY GROOMS BOWS OUT IN S.C.: "By a voting margin of less than 1%, my plans to represent South Carolina's 1st Congressional District have ended. 1 Thessalonians 5 teaches us that we should give thanks in all things. While there is great disappointment for coming so very close in such an incredibly difficult election, there is no doubt cause to give thanks and rejoice," Grooms said in a statement yesterday. "To the possibility of a recount, as I understand it, the state Election Commission will begin an automatic recount as outlined by state law - and I will be the 'official' third place finisher in the race. I wish Gov. Mark Sanford and Curtis Bostic all the best."

TREE OBAMA PLANTED IN JERUSALEM MAY BE UPROOTED. It's an old gospel song: Just like a tree planted by the water, I shall not be moved. But, as ABC's REENA NINAN notes, if you're the magnolia tree the president of the United States planted today in Jerusalem, there's a chance you might be moved. Obama planted a tree on Wednesday in Israeli President Shimon Peres's Jerusalem garden. It's a gift for a man Obama said has planted "the seeds of progress, the seeds of security, the seeds of peace - all the seeds that have helped not only Israel grow but also the relationship between our two nations grow." The tree was meant to signify the strong roots of the relationship between the United States and Israel. But before these American roots can take hold, the Israeli government will inspect them. An Israeli official tells ABC News that the magnolia tree will be tested and possibly removed in a week by the Israeli Agriculture Department. The roots of the tree were apparently kept in a plastic covering during the planting. As in the U.S., Israeli law forbids plants and trees from other countries from entering Israel. The White House and the Israeli government were aware of the limitations ahead of the visit. http://abcn.ws/WW6dhZ

FOUNDATION TO COVER SEQUESTER CUTS TO IRAQ, AFGHANISTAN SCHOLARSHIPS. A Florida-based charity announced that it will cover the funding cut from scholarships for children of military members who died fighting in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars because of sequestration. ABC's SARAH PARNASS reported Tuesday that scholarships were being cut by as much as $2,133.81 per recipient this year because of automatic budget cuts to the Department of Education included in the sequester legislation. The Children of Fallen Patriots Foundation, a Jacksonville Beach organization that helps children of military members who perished while on active duty to finance their education, said it will use funding from private donations to cover the gap left by sequester cuts. "We work with our children any way to find them all available funding and grants towards college," Executive Director John Coogan told ABC News. Coogan said the organization dedicates every dollar of donations to identifying children of the fallen, advising them on how best to find grants and scholarships for higher education, and covering whatever costs are left over. http://abcn.ws/Zehbd1

IN THE NOTE'S INBOX

MAMA MIA! PIZZA PROTEST ON THE HILL. Today, the American Pizza Community - a coalition of pizza franchises led by Domino's as well as hundreds of family owned grocery and convenience stores across the country are holding a bi-partisan press conference today on Capitol Hill to unveil legislation aimed at amending calorie and nutritional requirements in the Affordable Care Act. The "Common Sense Nutrition Disclosure Act of 2013? does away with what supporters say are "unnecessary regulation requiring restaurants, including franchised chains with 20 or more locations, to post calorie and nutritional information for all of their products on in-store menu boards costing locally owned businesses up to $4,000 per year. For a company like Domino's, a company that already posts an online calorie calculator, that means in store menu boards for all of its 34 million pizza combinations. Ninety percent of Domino's customers, who get their food delivered, will never step foot inside the store to even see the signs." Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Washington State, Chair of the House Republican Conference, will lead a 1:45 p.m. ET press conference advocating for the "Common Sense Nutrition Disclosure Act." She will be joined by fellow members: Rep. John Barrow (D-GA), Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX), Rep. Renee Ellmers (R-NC), Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-CA), Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI) and Rep. Steve Womack (R-AR).

WHO'S TWEETING?

@thegarance: Tom Perez nomination is a test case for GOP in how badly they want to alienate Hispanic voters while failing to derail a Cabinet appointment

@guycecil: Great to have @SenatorBaldwin join @DSCC as new Chair of Democratic Women's Senate Network http://bit.ly/ZfcWOj

@DonGonyea: Fine work from @arishapiro: RT @nprnews: Timeline: Gay Marriage In Law, Pop Culture And The Courts http://n.pr/11jgLWe

@pewresearch: #ObamaInIsrael : See our latest poll on US opinion re: Israeli- #Palestinian conflict, #Iran nukes http://pewrsr.ch/WBlPFs

@froomkin: An important reminder of the vitriol directed at anti-war protesters 10 years ago, from @conor64 http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2013/03/behold-the-hatred-resentment-and-mockery-aimed-at-anti-iraq-war-protesters/274230/ ?

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/whats-inside-counts-note-125203420--abc-news-politics.html

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