Escape the winter blues with this breezy summer wedding from Nordica Photography!
The groom designed all of the printed items, including invitations and ceremony program fans. The bride bought fabric at IKEA which she cut into ribbons to hang from the tree at their ceremony.
Instead of a photo booth, guests were encouraged to take snapshots with a Fuji Instax purchased by the bride and groom.
Why did you choose this location for your wedding? ?Rikard proposed in Monet?s garden in Giverny, France so Monet?s garden was what we had in mind when we were looking for a wedding location. Plus we always dreamt about having the reception outside, so it made the choice very simple when we found the green house.
What inspired you when you were planning your wedding? ?Nature and flowers. The inspiration for our stationary came from an old floral book called ?Nordic flora.?
What was your favorite moment or part of the day?? From Emma: The ceremony! Walking down the hill with my father, seeing Rikard and all our family and friends was an amazing feeling. We put a lot of effort into choosing the right music for the ceremony and having the band play really made the feeling extra special. From Rikard: When Emma said ?I do,? when I got to lift her up in the greenhouse during dinner, when she came walking down the hill with her father, when we danced together all night long.. The whole day was like magic and I was forced to pinch my arm every now and then to make sure I was not dreaming!
What was the best advice you received as a bride? ?The best advice I got was to pick a comfortable dress that you?r actually able to walk in without three people lifting your skirt. And to wear flats all day! Also, dance, dance, dance! If you want your guests to dance, you have to be dancing!
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See more of this outdoor Swedish summer wedding in the gallery!
By David Salazar, d.salazar@latinospost.com | First Posted: Jan 30, 2013 08:06 AM EST
(Photo : REUTERS/Luc Gnago (EQUATORIAL GUINEA - Tags: SPORT SOCCER)) Ivory Coast's Toure Yaya runs with the ball during their African Nations Cup soccer match against Sudan at Estadio de Malabo "Malabo Stadium", in Malabo January 22, 2012.
C?te d'Ivoire and Algeria face off in the final match of Group D at the African Cup of Nations 2013.
C?te d'Ivoire has already booked a quarterfinals berth and is slated to face off against Nigeria in the knockout phase. The team defeated Togo 2-1 in its first game and then beat down Tunisia in its second match. Yaya Toure and Gervinho have each tallied two goals in the tournament for C?te d'Ivoire. The squad made it all the way to the finals in 2012, but lost in penalty shots to Zambia by the score of 8-7.
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Their opponents on Wednesday will be Algeria, a team already eliminated from contention. The Algerians have yet to score a single goal in two matches and lost both games. In their opener against Tunisia, the team let up a goal in the stoppage time of the second half. In the ensuing match against Togo, Algeria conceded two goals in a 2-0 loss.
Predictions: Algeria actually has more to play for than C?te d'Ivoire. While the Ivory Coast has locked up its knockout round matchup, Algeria wants to end the tournament with some dignity or at least one goal scored. Nonetheless, I think C?te d'Ivoire wins this 3-0.
Start Time: 12 PM EST
Watch Live Stream on ESPN3 or WatchESPN.
? 2012 Latinos Post. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
THOR-Online available for examining of Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite data remotely
Amsterdam, January 29, 2013 A paper published in the February issue of Computers & Geosciences, describes a case study in which an earth-observing satellite tool, the Tool for High-Resolution Observation Review (THOR), using minimal coding effort, is converted into a practical web-based application, THOR-Online. In addition, a 3D visualization technique is also described in this paper.
Initially only operable from a desktop computer, with the approach outlined in the study, THOR is now accessible online from NASA's Precipitation Processing System website. This allows researchers to remotely examine the 15-year archive of Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite data. Efforts to improve THOR have been on-going since the 1997 launch of Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite, which carries first space-borne radar capable of observing detailed three-dimensional structure of regions of precipitation inside of storm clouds.
"The 3D display technique can be used to make features of, for example, a hurricane, visually accessible even to those without technical training in meteorology," explained Owen Kelley, author of the study. "The TRMM satellite observed Hurricane Sandy a day before its U.S. landfall affecting New Jersey and New York, among other states. Using this technique, TRMM 3D images of the storm's overflight and other tropical cyclones during the final months of 2012 could be made available through NASA Hurricane Resource Page (www.nasa.gov/hurricanes)."
"Addressing an important problem at intersection of the geosciences (remote sensing, hydrology, meteorology) and computer sciences, this article is a poster child example of what we aim to publish in Computers & Geosciences," explains Jef Caers Co-Editor-in-Chief of Computers & Geosciences. "It uses modern computer science paradigms such as the World Wide Web, code re-use and practical graphical user interfaces to address an important geoscience problem."
The approach outlined in the paper may be of interest to other organizations responsible for earth-observing satellites that have custom desktop visualization tools which may need to be converted to online applications for broader usage, or that have 3D datasets that require the development of an interactive visualization tool.
###
The paper "Adapting an existing visualization application for browser-based deployment: A case study from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission" can be found at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0098300412003433
The THOR-Online application described in the study can be found at: http://pps.gsfc.nasa.gov/thor/
Notes for editors
"Adapting an existing visualization application for browser-based deployment: A case study from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission" by Owen A. Kelley, appears in the Computers & Geosciences 51 (2013) 228-237 published by Elsevier; the article is available online on ScienceDirect.
Full text of the article is available to credentialed journalists upon request; contact newsroom@elsevier.com
About Computers & Geosciences
Computers & Geosciences publishes high impact, original research at the interface between Computer sciences and geosciences. Publications should apply modern computer science paradigms, whether computational or informatics-based, to address problems in the geosciences.
About Elsevier
Elsevier is a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services. The company works in partnership with the global science and health communities to publish more than 2,000 journals, including The Lancet and Cell, and close to 20,000 book titles, including major reference works from Mosby and Saunders. Elsevier's online solutions include ScienceDirect, Scopus, Reaxys, ClinicalKey and Mosby's Nursing Suite, which enhance the productivity of science and health professionals, and the SciVal suite and MEDai's Pinpoint Review, which help research and health care institutions deliver better outcomes more cost-effectively.
A global business headquartered in Amsterdam, Elsevier employs 7,000 people worldwide. The company is part of Reed Elsevier Group PLC, a world-leading provider of professional information solutions in the Science, Medical, Legal and Risk and Business sectors, which is jointly owned by Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV. The ticker symbols are REN (Euronext Amsterdam), REL (London Stock Exchange), RUK and ENL (New York Stock Exchange).
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Satellite visualization tool for high-res observation accessible from anywhere with internet accessPublic release date: 29-Jan-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
THOR-Online available for examining of Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite data remotely
Amsterdam, January 29, 2013 A paper published in the February issue of Computers & Geosciences, describes a case study in which an earth-observing satellite tool, the Tool for High-Resolution Observation Review (THOR), using minimal coding effort, is converted into a practical web-based application, THOR-Online. In addition, a 3D visualization technique is also described in this paper.
Initially only operable from a desktop computer, with the approach outlined in the study, THOR is now accessible online from NASA's Precipitation Processing System website. This allows researchers to remotely examine the 15-year archive of Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite data. Efforts to improve THOR have been on-going since the 1997 launch of Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite, which carries first space-borne radar capable of observing detailed three-dimensional structure of regions of precipitation inside of storm clouds.
"The 3D display technique can be used to make features of, for example, a hurricane, visually accessible even to those without technical training in meteorology," explained Owen Kelley, author of the study. "The TRMM satellite observed Hurricane Sandy a day before its U.S. landfall affecting New Jersey and New York, among other states. Using this technique, TRMM 3D images of the storm's overflight and other tropical cyclones during the final months of 2012 could be made available through NASA Hurricane Resource Page (www.nasa.gov/hurricanes)."
"Addressing an important problem at intersection of the geosciences (remote sensing, hydrology, meteorology) and computer sciences, this article is a poster child example of what we aim to publish in Computers & Geosciences," explains Jef Caers Co-Editor-in-Chief of Computers & Geosciences. "It uses modern computer science paradigms such as the World Wide Web, code re-use and practical graphical user interfaces to address an important geoscience problem."
The approach outlined in the paper may be of interest to other organizations responsible for earth-observing satellites that have custom desktop visualization tools which may need to be converted to online applications for broader usage, or that have 3D datasets that require the development of an interactive visualization tool.
###
The paper "Adapting an existing visualization application for browser-based deployment: A case study from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission" can be found at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0098300412003433
The THOR-Online application described in the study can be found at: http://pps.gsfc.nasa.gov/thor/
Notes for editors
"Adapting an existing visualization application for browser-based deployment: A case study from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission" by Owen A. Kelley, appears in the Computers & Geosciences 51 (2013) 228-237 published by Elsevier; the article is available online on ScienceDirect.
Full text of the article is available to credentialed journalists upon request; contact newsroom@elsevier.com
About Computers & Geosciences
Computers & Geosciences publishes high impact, original research at the interface between Computer sciences and geosciences. Publications should apply modern computer science paradigms, whether computational or informatics-based, to address problems in the geosciences.
About Elsevier
Elsevier is a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services. The company works in partnership with the global science and health communities to publish more than 2,000 journals, including The Lancet and Cell, and close to 20,000 book titles, including major reference works from Mosby and Saunders. Elsevier's online solutions include ScienceDirect, Scopus, Reaxys, ClinicalKey and Mosby's Nursing Suite, which enhance the productivity of science and health professionals, and the SciVal suite and MEDai's Pinpoint Review, which help research and health care institutions deliver better outcomes more cost-effectively.
A global business headquartered in Amsterdam, Elsevier employs 7,000 people worldwide. The company is part of Reed Elsevier Group PLC, a world-leading provider of professional information solutions in the Science, Medical, Legal and Risk and Business sectors, which is jointly owned by Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV. The ticker symbols are REN (Euronext Amsterdam), REL (London Stock Exchange), RUK and ENL (New York Stock Exchange).
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Alzheimer's Society today launched its Connecting Communities project, focused on raising awareness of dementia within BME communities across eight London boroughs.
Alzheimer?s Society has been awarded a grant by the Health &
Social Care Volunteering fund for its Connecting Communities project,
focused on raising awareness of dementia within BME communities across
eight London boroughs.?
Over the next three years, this pilot project will take a new
approach to reaching and supporting people with dementia who are
traditionally hard to reach. In Hillingdon, Lambeth, Merton, Enfield,
Newham, Redbridge, Hounslow and Croydon, Community Engagement volunteers
will work to improve understanding of the condition and ensure people
within different cultural communities have access to the support they
need to live well with the condition.?
Alzheimer?s Society welcomed stakeholders and local influencers to
the East London Mosque today (Monday 28 January) to celebrate the
funding and hear more about the project and how it will benefit people
living with dementia in key London areas.
Jeremy Hughes, Chief Executive of Alzheimer's Society said:
'There are over 11,500 people with dementia from black and minority
ethnic groups in the UK but many struggle to access services. This
award will enable us to help people in these harder to reach communities
get the support and information they need to live well with the
condition. Through the funding our volunteers will make a real
difference to people's lives.'
Mrs Nessa is carer to her husband Mr Ali, who has a mixed diagnosis
of vascular dementia and Alzheimer?s disease. They have been attending
Alzheimer?s Society?s Dementia Cafe at the London Muslim Centre for the
last year.
Mrs Nessa says:
'Coming to the dementia cafe at the London Muslim Centre gives my
husband and I a chance to socialise which we otherwise would not get. At
the cafe we have the opportunity to try new activities, make new
friends, or just relax over refreshments. We look forward to our trips
here and the dedicated support that is on offer.'
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka (Carolyn Kaster/AP)Organized labor is ?entirely behind? comprehensive immigration reform and will mount a ?full-fledged? campaign to help drive it through Congress, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka told Yahoo News on Tuesday.
Trumka, whose federation comprises 57 unions representing some 12 million people, called the planned overhaul ?one of our top priorities right now.? He spoke by telephone from Las Vegas, Nev., where he was to attend President Barack Obama?s speech on immigration reform.
?We think everybody ought to have the right to work hard and to progress to citizenship,? Trumka said.
White House officials cite robust support from organized labor?which at times in recent history has opposed giving the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants on U.S. soil a path to citizenship?as a key factor in their optimism about getting a comprehensive bill through Congress. They also point to the expansion of support among Christians, notably evangelicals. And they joke that the difficulty of managing a broad coalition is the kind of problem they like having.
Unions ?did have at one point some differences? on the issue, but ?the entire labor movement is entirely behind this now,? Trumka said. ?We?ll be at the table the whole time this thing is being developed to make sure it meets the needs of workers.? Once it?s drafted, he continued, ?we?ll be pushing this thing [with a] full-fledged campaign? aimed at both public opinion and wary lawmakers.
?We?ll be targeting those in the House or the Senate that either are recalcitrant and don?t want to do anything or aren?t where they need to be," he said.
Labor wants to see a comprehensive overhaul?"It can?t just be hit and miss," Trumka added?that does a better job of managing legal immigration to meet labor market needs, ensures employers are not exploiting undocumented immigrants, gives those on U.S. soil illegally a path to citizenship and makes sure that families are not broken up, he said.
Trumka also noted that unions are ?a little concerned? about a proposed provision in the bipartisan Senate framework requiring that undocumented immigrants seeking legal status provide ?a proven history of employment.? That could be difficult?employers may not want to admit that they hired such workers?but it could ?be defined in a very broad sense,? he said.
?The system is clearly broken right now, doesn?t work for anybody, doesn?t work for the country,? he added.
The AFL-CIO, the country's largest labor federation, isn't exactly a newcomer to the debate. It produced an outline of its own in August 2009. While organized labor's national clout has diminished along with shrinking membership, unions remain a core constituency for Democrats, and much of the party's backbone, providing cash and voter outreach.
WASHINGTON (AP) ? Republican-leaning groups opposing President Barack Obama's choice of Chuck Hagel to head the Defense Department have let loose a barrage of claims about the former GOP senator.
They say he endorses automatic cuts to the defense budget, that he wants to decimate the nation's nuclear arsenal, that his membership on the board of a major company that had a Pentagon contract is a conflict of interest that he's ignoring.
A look at Hagel's record suggests many of the contentions are overblown.
In statements and attack ads, the groups have sought to undermine Hagel's nomination in the weeks leading up to his confirmation hearing on Thursday before the Senate Armed Services Committee. His opponents face a tough challenge as Democrats have begun to rally around the president's choice, and the party has the majority votes to confirm the former two-term Nebraska senator, barring surprises.
Here's a look at the validity of some of the criticism of Hagel.
___
THE CLAIM: "We live in a dangerous world. Iran, North Korea, even Russia. But Barack Obama's nominee for secretary of defense wants America to back down. An end to our nuclear program. Devastating defense cuts. A weaker country."? An ad being run by Americans for a Stronger Defense in the home states of five Democratic senators up for re-election next year ? Alaska's Mark Begich, Arkansas' Mark Pryor, Louisiana's Mary Landrieu, Colorado's Mark Udall and North Carolina's Kay Hagan.
THE FACTS: Hagel has not proposed ending the nuclear weapons program, though he has supported deep cuts.
Hagel was co-author of a May 2012 study by the advocacy group Global Zero that called for an 80 percent reduction of U.S. nuclear weapons and elimination of all nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missiles.
The group argued that with the Cold War over, the United States needs no more than 900 total nuclear weapons. Currently, the U.S. and Russia have about 5,000 each, either deployed or in reserve. Both countries are on track to reduce the deployed strategic warheads to 1,550 by 2018, the number set in the New START treaty that the Senate ratified in December 2010.
The study said: "These steps could be taken with Russia in unison through reciprocal presidential directives, negotiated in another round of bilateral arms reduction talks or implemented unilaterally." The report was by Hagel, former ambassadors Richard Burt and Thomas Pickering, retired Gen. James Cartwright, a former vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and retired Gen. John J. Sheehan.
An arsenal of 900 nuclear weapons would not be an "end" to the U.S. nuclear program, but Hagel and the organization did raise the possibility of unilateral reductions. In a statement Monday, Burt and others defended Hagel and dismissed suggestions that they were "unilateralists."
The group running this anti-Hagel ad was formed recently and offers little information about itself on its website. Board member Mauricio Claver-Carone also is director of the US Cuba Democracy Advocates in Washington and favors tighter restrictions on the Castro government.
___
THE CLAIM: "Opposition is growing even more due to his support for sequestration of the military: huge budget cuts that the Joints Chiefs have already warned the Senate Armed Forces Committee would result in a 'hollow force.'" ? A Jan. 22 statement from Move America Forward, a California-based group founded by conservatives in 2004 to show support for U.S. troops.
THE FACTS: The group offered no evidence Hagel supports sequestration, the budget mechanism that will mean automatic, across-the-board spending cuts March 1 if Congress does not act to avert them. The White House says he opposes the mechanism, which came into play after Hagel left the Senate.
To be sure, Hagel has spoken about cutting Pentagon spending. In a 2011 interview with the Financial Times, Hagel said, "the Defense Department, I think in many ways, has been bloated" and "has gotten everything it's wanted the last 10 years and more."
The base defense budget has nearly doubled over 10 years, to about $528 billion this year. That doesn't include the billions spent on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Obama and congressional Republicans agreed in August 2011 on a deficit-cutting plan that would cut $487 billion from projected defense spending over 10 years. Democrats and Republicans also voted for automatic cuts of $55 billion this year if a special congressional panel can't come up with a sweeping deficit-cutting plan.
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has warned against the approach of across-the-board cuts, and Hagel has given no sign that he has a different view.
___
THE CLAIM: "Now Hagel sits on the board of Chevron, which receives hundreds of millions in Pentagon contracts. ... How can Chuck Hagel run the Pentagon with so many ethical questions about his own record?" ? Ad by the American Future Fund, which is running a "Hagel No" campaign. The group describes itself as advocating conservative, free-market ideals.
THE FACTS: It's widely assumed that Hagel will be leaving the Chevron board, a move common for nominees who face the prospect of such ethical conflicts. The Senate Armed Services Committee has some of the most stringent rules for nominees for senior civilian positions in the Defense Department. The panel requires nominees to divest all financial interests in companies doing business with the department. Stepping down from any board would certainly be required.
The committee bases its decisions on the Defense Department list of companies with contracts valued at $25,000 or more. The list is 330 pages long and includes Chevron.
EDITOR'S NOTE _ An occasional look at political claims that take shortcuts with the facts or don't tell the full story
With a growing focus on transfer pricing, now is the time for corporations to ensure the efficacy of their tax department?s risk management strategies
Transfer pricing risk management, which in past years concerned mostly tax departments in multinational corporations, should today be on the strategic agenda of every board of management. Is it on yours?
A major side effect of recent economic crises has been the increase in tax risk faced by multinational corporations as tax authorities, particularly in Europe, seek to reduce their debt deficits and burdens through the enforcement of existing tax legislation. One of the most straightforward aspects of taxation that authorities may utilise to increase tax revenues ? and thus one of multinational corporations? greatest areas of tax risk ? is transfer pricing. Since 1994, the number of tax authorities with effective transfer pricing documentation requirements has increased from five to 63, with 25 of these implementing the effective documentation requirements from 2008. The number of tax authorities that have enacted legislation around transfer pricing during the latest financial crisis is much greater than in other periods.
The areas of transfer pricing that tax authorities focus on have also expanded, as they attempt to close tax-efficient planning opportunities and protect their taxable base.? When the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) first issued the Transfer Pricing Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and Tax Administrations (the Guidelines) in 1995, the core focus was on intra-group transfers of tangible property and (to a lesser extent) the provision of intra-group services. Today, the focus has expanded to include intra-group transfers of intangible property ? as evidenced by Working Party Number Six of the OECD?s current efforts on intangibles and business restructuring. At the same time, tax authorities in the UK, Canada and South Africa, to name just a few, are increasing their audits in the area of intra-group finance.? A transfer pricing survey of top multinationals conducted by Ernst & Young in 2010 revealed that 66 percent of respondents had undergone an audit in 2010 (compared to 52 percent in 2007), and that one in five audit adjustments had triggered penalties (compared to one in 25 in 2005).
A proactive approach One way to gain greater control of the risks is to take a more proactive approach to transfer pricing; working with external advisors is certainly part of this, but it doesn?t end there. Many multinational corporations are expanding their internal capabilities, acquiring expertise in the area of transfer pricing and providing the necessary infrastructure in support of this function ? information and technology tools such as those provided by Bureau van Dijk and the International Bureau of Fiscal Documentation. In fact, Bureau van Dijk?s tools are used by over 60 tax authorities around the globe for transfer pricing risk assessment and audit ? a key reason that many multinational corporations? tax departments require such tools for managing transfer pricing risk.
However, implementing a more proactive transfer pricing management strategy presents great challenges.? The main challenge involves obtaining support from internal stakeholders.? Business unit managers need to see the importance of transfer pricing risk management; upper management needs to ensure their tax departments are involved in key issues like business restructuring, mergers and acquisitions and changes in the business offerings as these often have an impact on the global transfer pricing structure. Other challenges include the decentralisation of the transfer pricing compliance process, which can lead to misaligned policies and an increased risk of transfer pricing adjustments.
Overcoming the risk Nonetheless, these challenges can be overcome with investment in the development of internal (personnel) and external (information and software) resources, and by centralising the management and oversight of transfer pricing risk. Creating automatic internal processes to support compliance preparation is also vital, as is ensuring that remuneration of business unit managers and transfer pricing policies are aligned.? However, the most important aspect is convincing treasury, operations and finance department heads for the need to involve the tax departments in key strategic decisions that have an impact on the international procedures of the business.
Bureau van Dijk currently works with the tax departments of approximately 200 large multinational corporations.? These companies? strategies for managing transfer pricing risk vary, depending on their internal resources and expertise.? At one end of the spectrum, there are multinationals with teams of in-house, ex-?Big Four? transfer pricing professionals, who fully manage and prepare their global compliance, and who periodically conduct planning and audit defence work. At the other end of the spectrum, there are multinationals with one-to three-person tax teams, who rely more heavily on their external advisors to manage and prepare their global compliance. These multinationals, however, conduct periodic ad-hoc analyses and monitor their international operating structure for potential risks to minimise the likelihood of transfer pricing adjustments.
Whatever strategy these multinational corporations have adopted, it is clear that they understand the need for a proactive, centralised approach to transfer pricing risk management, and their shareholders are better off for it.
Researchers have discovered a new species of feathered but flightless little dinosaur from the Jurassic period.
Remains of the tiny beast, dubbed Eosinopteryxbrevipenna, found in northeastern China suggest it was slightly less than a foot long (30 centimeters) and had a short snout and a short tail. Based on the dinosaur's small wingspan and bone structure, researchers believe it would have been able to run around quite easily, but likely couldn't whip up enough of a wing-beat to fly. The dinosaur also sported toes that would have been suitable for walking along the ground, the researchers added.
This birdlike dinosaur's plumage was much more reduced compared with the feathers on some of its contemporaries, which suggests that feathering was already diversified by the Late Jurassic, adapted to different ecological niches and purposes, the researchers said. (The Jurassic period lasted from about 199.6 million to 145.5 million years ago.)
Science news from NBCNews.com
Egyptian mummy's elaborate hairstyle revealed in 3-D
Nearly 2,000 years ago, at a time when Egypt was under the control of the Roman Empire, a young woman with an elaborate hairstyle was laid to rest only yards away from a king's pyramid, researchers report.
Elusive giant squid is still a deep mystery
Goggle-wearing rats learn predictive skills
Climate change views swayed by weather
"This discovery sheds further doubt on the theory that the famous fossil Archaeopteryx? or 'first bird' as it is sometimes referred to ? was pivotal in the evolution of modern birds," researcher Gareth Dyke, a senior lecturer in paleontology at the U.K.'s University of Southampton, said in a statement.
"Our findings suggest that the origin of flight was much more complex than previously thought."
Archaeopteryx was long thought by many to have been the earliest bird. Discovered in 1860 in Germany, it is sometimes referred to as Urvogel, the German word for "original bird" or "first bird." But recent findings suggest late-stage Jurassic Archaeopteryx was actually just a relative of the lineage that ultimately gave rise to birds.
The new research was detailed in the Jan. 22 issue of the journal Nature Communications.
Follow LiveScience on Twitter@livescience. We're also on Facebook &Google+.
NEW YORK (AP) ? The Boys Scouts of America is considering a dramatic retreat from its controversial policy of excluding gays as leaders and youth members.
Under the change now being discussed, the different religious and civic groups that sponsor Scout units would be able to decide for themselves how to address the issue ? either maintaining an exclusion of gays or opening up their membership.
Monday's announcement of the possible change comes after years of protests over the policy ? including petition campaigns that have prompted some corporations to suspend donations to the Boy Scouts.
Under the proposed change, said BSA spokesman Deron Smith, "the Boy Scouts would not, under any circumstances, dictate a position to units, members, or parents."
The Boys Scouts, which celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2010, has long excluded both gays and atheists. Smith said a change in the policy toward atheists was not being considered, and that the BSA continued to view "Duty to God" as one of its basic principles.
Protests over the no-gays policy gained momentum in 2000, when the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the BSA's right to exclude gays. Scout units lost sponsorships by public schools and other entities that adhered to nondiscrimination policies, and several local Scout councils made public their displeasure with the policy.
More recently, amid petition campaigns, shipping giant UPS Inc. and drug-manufacturer Merck announced that they were halting donations from their charitable foundations to the Boy Scouts as long as the no-gays policy was in force.
Also, local Scout officials drew widespread criticism in recent months for ousting Jennifer Tyrrell, a lesbian mom, as a den leader of her son's Cub Scout pack in Ohio and for refusing to approve an Eagle Scout application by Ryan Andresen, a California teen who came out as gay last fall.
"An end to this ban will restore dignity to countless families across the country, my own included, who simply wanted to take part in all scouting has to offer," Tyrrell said. "My family loved participating in scouting, and I look forward to the day when we might once again be able to take part."
Many of the protest campaigns, including one seeking Tyrrell's reinstatement, had been waged with help from the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.
"The Boy Scouts of America have heard from scouts, corporations and millions of Americans that discriminating against gay scouts and scout leaders is wrong," said Herndon Graddick, GLAAD's president. "Scouting is a valuable institution, and this change will only strengthen its core principles of fairness and respect."
The Scouts had reaffirmed the no-gays policy as recently as last year, and appeared to have strong backing from conservative religious denominations ? notably the Mormons, Roman Catholics and Southern Baptists ? which sponsor large numbers of Scout units. Under the proposed change, they could continue excluding gays.
Smith said the change could be announced as early as next Wednesday, after BSA's national board holds a regularly scheduled meeting.
Were the change adopted, he said, "there would no longer be any national policy regarding sexual orientation, and the chartered organizations that oversee and deliver Scouting would accept membership and select leaders consistent with each organization's mission, principles, or religious beliefs.
"BSA members and parents would be able to choose a local unit that best meets the needs of their families," he said. "Under this proposed policy, the BSA would not require any chartered organization to act in ways inconsistent with that organization's mission, principles, or religious beliefs."
The announcement came shortly after new data showed that membership in the Cub Scouts ? the BSA's biggest division ? dropped sharply last year, and was down nearly 30 percent over the past 14 years.
According to figures provided by the organization, Cub Scout ranks dwindled by 3.4 percent, from 1,583,166 in 2011 to 1,528,673 in 2012. That's down from 2.17 million in 1998.
The Boy Scouts attribute the decline largely to broad social changes, including the allure of video games and the proliferation of youth sports leagues and other options for after-school activities.
However, critics of the Scouts suggest that its recruitment efforts have been hampered by high-profile controversies ? notably the court-ordered release of files dealing with sex abuse allegations and persistent protests over the no-gays policy.
The BSA's overall "traditional youth membership" ? Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts and Venturers ? totaled 2,658,794 in 2012, compared to more than 4 million in peak years of the past. There were 910,668 Boy Scouts last year, a tiny increase from 2011, while the ranks of Venturers ? a program for youths 14 and older? declined by 5.5 percent.
In addition to flak over the no-gays policy, the Scouts have been buffeted by multiple court cases related to past allegations of sexual abuse by Scout leaders, including those chronicled in long-confidential records that are widely known as the "perversion files."
Through various cases, the Scouts have been forced to reveal files dating from the 1960s to 1991. They detailed numerous cases where abuse claims were made and Boy Scout officials never alerted authorities and sometimes actively sought to protect the accused.
The Scouts are now under a California court order, affirmed this month by the state Supreme Court, to turn over sex-abuse files from 1991 through 2011 to the lawyers for a former Scout who claims a leader molested him in 2007, when he was 13. It's not clear how soon the files might become public.
The BSA has apologized for past lapses and cover-ups, and has stressed the steps taken to improve youth protection policy. Since 2010, for example, it has mandated that any suspected abuse be reported to police.
___
Boy Scouts: http://www.scouting.org/
___(equals)
David Crary can be reached at http://twitter.com/CraryAP
[unable to retrieve full-text content]Dr. Hornig was a chemist on the Manhattan Project, science adviser to President Lyndon B. Johnson and a former president of Brown University.
Tiger Woods pulls his driver from the bag as he gets ready for his tee shot on the fourth hole at Torrey Pines during the third round of the Farmers Insurance Open golf tournament, Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi)
Tiger Woods pulls his driver from the bag as he gets ready for his tee shot on the fourth hole at Torrey Pines during the third round of the Farmers Insurance Open golf tournament, Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi)
Tiger Woods sends his divot flying as he hits a pitching wedge to the second green, which stopped inches from the hole for a birdie, during the third round of the Farmers Insurance Open golf tournament on Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi)
Tiger Woods hits out of a bunker on the 18th hole during the third round of the Farmers Insurance Open golf tournament at the Torrey Pines Golf Course, Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Tiger Woods drives from behind the trees on the south hole of the South Course at Torrey Pines during the third round of the Farmers Insurance Open golf PGA tournament Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi)
Tiger Woods hits his tee shot on the par three third hole on the South Course at Torrey Pines during the third round of the Farmers Insurance Open PGA golf tournament Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi)
SAN DIEGO (AP) ? The fog lifted Sunday and revealed a familiar sight: Tiger Woods in command at Torrey Pines.
Woods had great control of his tee shots and began to pull away from the field with a 3-under 69 in the third round to build a four-shot lead in the Farmers Insurance Open. Fog wiped out all of Saturday, so players were going as long as daylight allowed and returning Monday to complete the tournament.
Woods was likely to get in about six holes of the fourth round. Woods, with his first outright 54-hole lead on the PGA Tour since 2009, was at 14-under 202.
Brad Fritsch, a PGA Tour rookie from Canada, had a 70 and was at 206. Erik Compton finished birdie-eagle for a 71 and was five shots behind.
A new report from Kaspersky Lab indicates that the amount of spam in the world continues to decline, although it's nowhere near disappearing. It's also being replaced with other, more substantial threats.
Spam levels dropped throughout 2012, and by the end of the year it was steadily below 70 percent of all email detected. In the heyday of spam, it consistently made up around 85 percent, according to Kaspersky's numbers.
A number of factors have contributed to this. People and email providers have instituted more effective spam filters, for one thing, and a major security hole that allowed people to spoof an email's sender was closed this year.
The reduced effectiveness of spam emails means spammers have to send more to get any hits. Kaspersky calculates that it cost spammers $150 for every million emails sent ? cheap indeed, but the success rate is so low that legal, normal advertising on Google and Facebook actually end up beinga better deal.
Of course, not every spammer is just aiming for cheap advertising. There are plenty?selling illegal services or products, or looking to hijack your computer with malicious attachments or phishing attempts. Since legal advertisement isn't an option, they're doubling down on spam. For that reason, Kaspersky suggests spam reduction in 2013 will be "negligible at best."
The full, detailed report, with many more details about the origins and types of 2012's spam, can be read here.
Devin Coldewey is a contributing writer for NBCNews Digital. His personal website is?coldewey.cc.
SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea threatened to attack rival South Korea if Seoul joined a new round of tightened U.N. sanctions, as Washington unveiled more of its own economic restrictions following Pyongyang's rocket launch last month.
In a third straight day of fiery rhetoric, the North directed its verbal onslaught at its neighbor on Friday, saying: "'Sanctions' mean a war and a declaration of war against us."
The reclusive North has this week declared a boycott of all dialogue aimed at ending its nuclear program and vowed to conduct more rocket and nuclear tests after the U.N. Security Council censured it for a December long-range missile launch.
"If the puppet group of traitors takes a direct part in the U.N. 'sanctions,' the DPRK will take strong physical counter-measures against it," the North's Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea said, referring to the South.
The committee is the North's front for dealings with the South. DPRK is short for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
The U.N. Security Council unanimously condemned North Korea's December rocket launch on Tuesday and expanded existing U.N. sanctions.
On Thursday, the United States slapped economic sanctions on two North Korean bank officials and a Hong Kong trading company that it accused of supporting Pyongyang's proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
The company, Leader (Hong Kong) International Trading Ltd, was separately blacklisted by the United Nations on Wednesday.
Seoul has said it will look at whether there are any further sanctions that it can implement alongside the United States, but said the focus for now is to follow Security Council resolutions.
The resolution said the council "deplores the violations" by North Korea of its previous resolutions, which banned Pyongyang from conducting further ballistic missile and nuclear tests and from importing materials and technology for those programs. It does not impose new sanctions on Pyongyang.
The United States had wanted to punish North Korea for the rocket launch with a Security Council resolution that imposed entirely new sanctions against Pyongyang, but Beijing rejected that option. China agreed to U.N. sanctions against Pyongyang after North Korea's 2006 and 2009 nuclear tests.
NUCLEAR TEST WORRY
North Korea's rhetoric this week amounted to some of the angriest outbursts against the outside world coming under the leadership of Kim Jong-un, who took over after the death of his father Kim Jong-il in late 2011.
On Thursday, the North said it would carry out further rocket launches and a nuclear test, directing its ire at the United States, a country it called its "sworn enemy".
U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said the comments were worrying.
"We are very concerned with North Korea's continuing provocative behavior," he said at a Pentagon news conference.
"We are fully prepared ... to deal with any kind of provocation from the North Koreans. But I hope in the end that they determine that it is better to make a choice to become part of the international family."
North Korea is not believed to have the technology to deliver a nuclear warhead capable of hitting the continental United States, although its December launch showed it had the capacity to deliver a rocket that could travel 10,000 km (6,200 miles), potentially putting San Francisco in range, according to an intelligence assessment by South Korea.
South Korea and others who have been closely observing activities at the North's known nuclear test grounds believe Pyongyang is technically ready to go ahead with its third atomic test and awaiting the political decision of its leader.
The North's committee also declared on Friday that a landmark agreement it signed with the South in 1992 on eliminating nuclear weapons from the Korean peninsula was invalid, repeating its long-standing accusation that Seoul was colluding with Washington.
The foreign ministry of China, the North's sole remaining major diplomatic and economic benefactor, repeated its call for calm on the Korean peninsula at its daily briefing on Friday.
"The current situation on the Korea peninsula is complicated and sensitive," spokesman Hong Lei said.
"We hope all relevant parties can see the big picture, maintain calm and restraint, further maintain contact and dialogue, and improve relations, while not taking actions to further complicate and escalate the situation," Hong said.
But unusually prickly comments in Chinese state media on Friday hinted at Beijing's exasperation.
"It seems that North Korea does not appreciate China's efforts," said the Global Times in an editorial, a sister publication of the official People's Daily.
"Just let North Korea be 'angry' ... China hopes for a stable peninsula, but it's not the end of the world if there's trouble there. This should be the baseline of China's position."
(Additional reporting by Michael Martina in Beijing; editing by Jeremy Laurence and Raju Gopalakrishnan)
Mark Strong Sr., right, and his attorney, Dan Lilley, leave the Cumberland County Court House, on Jan. 18, in Portland, Maine.
By Matthew DeLuca, Staff Writer, NBC News
It takes 12 to tango.
The prosecution of Mark Strong, who has been accused of helping a Maine woman run a prostitution ring from her Zumba workout studio, has run up against an unexpected series of complications this week as the court failed to seat a jury.
Topping the problems off on Friday, Judge Nancy Mills unexpectedly dropped 46 of the 59 misdemeanor counts against Strong ? spurring an immediate appeal by attorneys for the state.
Prosecutors say that the men of Maine were knocking down the doors of Alexis Wright?s Pura Vida dance and exercise studio between Oct. 2010 and Feb. 2012, and that Strong helped Wright run a prostitution ring from the storefront in the seaside town of Kennebunk.
Strong pleaded not guilty in October to 59 counts including promotion of prostitution and conspiracy to commit promotion of prostitution.
All of the 46 counts against Strong dropped by Mills on Friday were invasion of privacy charges related to allegations that Wright videotaped herself with clients.
A separate trial for Wright, who has pleaded not guilty to 106 counts, including 45 counts of engaging in prostitution, is not expected to begin until May.
But four days after Strong?s case was supposed to get under way, the high-publicity, slow-simmering case of small-town indiscretion still does not have a jury.
As of Friday, zero jurors had been seated out of a pool of 140 after a series of closed-door selection proceedings, director of court information Mary Ann Lynch confirmed in an email.
The case in Mills? court also drew into itself, lobster pot-like, a new round of court filings as Maine Today Media, which owns the local Portland Press Herald, filed to put a stop to the secret voir dire hearings.
After Maine Today Media protested on Tuesday, a trial court at first agreed to open the proceedings, but Strong and his attorney objected, expressing ?concerns about the ability to draw an impartial jury if the process used by the court were changed,? according to court documents.
In an affidavit filed Tuesday by Maine Today Media, reporter Scott Dolan said that jury selection went on in the courthouse?s basement while members of the press sat in the hallway outside an empty courtroom.
The closed door sessions were finally halted on Thursday, when the state?s highest court ruled in a 6-1 decision that they had to be opened to the public.
?Everything I?ve done in the past few days has been appealed,? Justice Mills said in court at one point Thursday, according to the Press Herald.
The decision to open up the hearings was precedent-setting for Maine, said Sigmund Schutz, counsel to the Press Herald.
??It?s going to ensure that all aspects of the Alexis Wright trial are conducted in public, at least unless the court makes a decision to the contrary,? he told NBCNews.com.
While it is unclear how long it may take to prepare the court-ordered transcripts of the jury hearings held so far, a confidential juror questionnaire given to the pool was released on Wednesday.
The questionnaire listed 47 people accused of being clients of Wright, and asked if the potential jurors had ever discussed the individual?s cases with friends, family, or co-workers. It also asked if they knew or were related to any of the 72 people who may be called as witnesses in the case.
?You may be shown explicit videos and photographs depicting individuals engaged in graphic sexual acts,? the questionnaire asked. ?Would viewing this evidence make it difficult for you to listen to the law and evidence and render a fair and impartial verdict??
The questionnaire warned of as many as three weeks of testimony, from Wednesday of this week through Friday. Feb. 8. Court broke for the day Friday without a clear date for when testimony may actually begin, Lynch confirmed.
Also in the questionnaire: ?If the evidence shows that Alexis Wright was a prostitute, would the fact that defendant Mark Strong had a sexual relationship with her, not for money, make it difficult for you to find defendant Mark Strong not guilty of the crime of promotion of prostitution??
And: ?Do you know Alexis Wright or any member of her family??
That question gets to the crux of problem with finding jurors: Many townspeople may have gotten to know Alexis Wright all too well -- or known someone who has.
And putting a lid on rampant gossip about the trial might be beyond Mills? powers. The superior court in Alfred, Maine is only about 15 miles from where Wright operated her Zumba studio in Kennebunk.
The close-knit town of 10,000 was rattled when police began releasing the names of Wright?s alleged clients in October, in one case leading to a local high school hockey coach stepping down from his job.
??Are you a close friend or family member of any other member of the jury pool?? asked the questionnaire jurors were given. ?Do you work with any member of the jury pool??
In fact, Strong?s attorney argued in a motion filed earlier this month that it would be ?impossible? to find a York County jury free of some sort of bias against his client.
NBC News correspondent Katy Tur contributed to this report.
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) ? Victoria Azarenka won her second consecutive Australian Open title, beating Li Na 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 in a dramatic final that contained a break for fireworks, two medical timeouts and a nasty fall to the court by Li.
The Chinese star first tumbled to the court after twisting her left ankle in the fifth game of the second set and had it taped.
On the first point after a 10-minute pause in the third set while fireworks boomed overhead from nearby Australia Day celebrations, Li fell over again and slammed the back of her head on the court. The 2011 French Open champion was treated and had another timeout before being allowed to resume the match.
Azarenka, who broke down in tears and sobbed into her towel when the match ended, won five of the next six games to claim her second major title and retain the No. 1 ranking.
"Unfortunately, you have to go through some rough patches to achieve great things. That's what makes it so special for me," she said. "I went through that, and I'm still able to kiss that beautiful trophy."
Serena Williams, who lost in the quarterfinals, will become the new No. 2 in the rankings.
The 2-hour, 40-minute match featured 16 service breaks, with Li losing her service nine times.
On a crisp Saturday night, Azarenka won the coin toss and elected to receive, a ploy that seemed to work when a nervous Li was broken to start the match. After a double fault on the first point, Li's forehand long gave Azarenka the early lead.
When she first injured her ankle, Li was trailing 3-1 in the second set. When she came back, she won three of the next four games to tie it 4-4, but Azarenka broke back and then held her serve.
Azarenka broke in the opening game of the final set, just two games before the match was suspended for the fireworks, a planned stoppage of play that both players were notified about before the match.
While Azarenka jogged around and practiced her serving motion during the 10-minute fireworks break, Li sat on her courtside chair for most of the stoppage.
It was on the first point that she again fell to the court.
Li said she went "totally black" for two seconds after her head hit the court, and when a medical official asked her to follow her finger, "I started laughing, thinking 'This is a tennis court, not like a hospital.'"
Li said the tournament doctor saw her after the match and checked out her head and neck.
"I should be OK,' Li said.
From the outset, the capacity crowd at Rod Laver Arena was firmly behind Li, cheering loudly when she was introduced. Meanwhile, Azarenka's errors were applauded, and one spectator even mocked the loud hooting sound she makes when she hits a shot.
The chill from the crowd was a remnant of Azarenka's semifinal win over American teenager Sloane Stephens, when Azarenka was criticized for taking a questionable 10-minute medical timeout near the end of the match. She was accused of taking the time out to compose herself after she'd wasted five match points while serving for the match against Stephens. Azarenka said she needed the time out because a rib injury was making it difficult for her to breathe and she had a knee injury.
In the second set Saturday, a few fans heckled Azarenka. One man yelled, "Take a deep breath, Vicky."
By the end of the match, she appeared to have won some of the fans back. Azarenka's friend, rapper Redfoo, yelled down to her from the player box "You deserve it," and she later blew kisses to the crowd. Someone else in the crowd shouted "Victoria, we love you."
Azarekna appeared to quickly forgive the crowd, saying during the trophy presentations that she wanted to thank the fans for their support.
"I will always keep very special memories of this court and it will be in my heart forever," she said, pausing several times to find the right words. "Of course, I (almost) forgot to say congratulations to Li Na, she's had a terrific start to the year ... hope to see you in many, many more finals."
Azarenka and Li had met twice before in Grand Slam tournaments, with Li winning both times ? in the fourth round of the 2011 Australian Open and quarterfinals at the French Open. Li lost the 2011 Australian Open final to Kim Clijsters but won her first Grand Slam title at Roland Garros a few months later, beating Francesca Schiavone.
But after failing to advance past the fourth round at any major in 2012, Li hired Carlos Rodriguez, Justine Henin's former coach. The hard training he's put her through in the past four months appears to be paying dividends.
Li won a WTA tournament in China before travelling to Australia, where she advanced to the semifinals at the Sydney International.
In the men's final on Sunday, Novak Djokovic will attempt to win his third consecutive Australian Open against U.S. Open champion Andy Murray. Djokovic has had the benefit of an extra day off after an easy three-set win over David Ferrer on Thursday night, while Murray needed a tough five-setter to defeat Roger Federer.
Murray has predicted a tough match with long rallies against Djokovic, the player he beat in the final at Flushing Meadows in September.
"I'm ready for the pain," he said. "I hope it's a painful match, that will mean it will be a good one."
In the other final Sunday to end the year's first Grand Slam, the unseeded pairs of Jarmila Gajdosova and Matthew Ebden of Australia and the Czech Republic's Lucie Hradecka and Frantisek Cermak play for the mixed doubles championship.
MADRID (AP) ? Just days after Lance Armstrong's doping admission, cycling is set for more damaging revelations when the long-delayed Operation Puerto case finally goes to court in Spain.
Seven years after Spanish investigators uncovered one of cycling's most sophisticated and widespread doping networks, some of its central figures will stand trial on Monday in Madrid's Criminal Court. The case, in which 35 witnesses are called to testify, is scheduled to last until March 22.
Judge Julia Santamaria will preside as six defendants are tried. They include doctors Eufemiano and Yolanda Fuentes, brother-and-sister suspects at the heart of a complex blood-doping ring that stained cycling's reputation in Europe.
Also on trial will be Jose Luis Merino, another medical doctor; and Manolo Saiz, former ONCE and Liberty Seguros team sports director. Vicente Belda and Ignacio Labarta, both associated with the former Kelme team, will also be on trial.
Many riders will be called to testify as witnesses, including two-time Tour de France champion Alberto Contador.
Cyclists will not be on trial because Santamaria can only rule on matters covered by Spanish law as it applied in May 2006, when police raids uncovered a mass of evidence in labs, offices and apartments in Madrid, Zaragoza and El Escorial.
This limitation means the scope of the trial can only focus on charges relating to actions that could "endanger public health." But that doesn't mean the trial won't lead to new revelations about athletes who cheated to get an unfair advantage.
"If one of the defendants says that, for example, he injected a certain athlete, then Spain's anti-doping agency or a sports federation could open an investigation to see if they could be subject to a ban," Eduardo Esteban, spokesman for the state prosecutor's office, told The Associated Press.
Miguel Angel Adan, spokesman for Spain's anti-doping agency, confirmed the body was studying the possibility.
According to documents reportedly seen by sports newspaper AS, defense lawyers will argue that Fuentes and his co-defendants did not endanger cyclists' health because they relied on the best technology available.
The proceedings will be followed closely by the World Anti-Doping Agency, which pushed for the case to go to court and will be a party to the trial along with the International Cycling Union, the Italian Olympic Committee, the International Association of Professional Cycling Teams, and former cyclist Jesus Manzano.
WADA is disappointed the trial is limited to cycling, as athletes from other sports were also implicated.
"We have expressed our frustration, but at least we are finally getting a hearing," WADA director general David Howman told the AP in a telephone interview. "The case was originally canned, but we pushed and insisted to get it reopened. Our expectations are limited, but our hopes are high."
"There were athletes from a number of sports involved," Howman said. "The doctor is on trial. We need to hear what he was practicing and who his patients were."
Among evidence seized were code names allegedly referring to individual riders, refrigerators stocked with numbered blood and blood plasma bags and a virtual pharmacy of performance-enhancing substances including EPO, human growth hormone, steroids and testosterone ? many of the things Armstrong admitted to using in his interview with Oprah Winfrey.
The Puerto case implicated more than 50 cyclists ? including Contador, Ivan Basso, Jan Ullrich and Alejandro Valverde ? in the use of performance-enhancing substances or practices.
The most high-profile witness is Contador, who was stripped of a third Tour de France title and banned for two years for testing positive for clenbuterol en route to winning the 2010 Tour.
Contador has since had to negotiate with the UCI and the Court of Arbitration for Sport about the size of the fine to be paid when the court rejected his assertion that the positive doping sample he provided originated from eating contaminated beef.
Contador is scheduled to testify on Feb 15. Contador's spokesman told the AP that the cyclist refused to comment ahead of the Puerto trial.
Hampered by the legal shortcomings of the trial, particularly that suspects cannot be charged retroactively for doping crimes, Spanish judges have twice tried to drop the case.
These actions have scarred Spain's reputation for combating doping just as Madrid is bidding to host the 2020 Olympics.
"Justice shouldn't be this slow. It manifests the inefficiencies of the Spanish judicial system," Esteban said. "This case in particular has taken far too long. It was difficult to place the events (under investigation) within the legal framework existing at the time, because blood isn't medicine. It generated a lot of doubts that had to be cleared up."
The government has since taken action to criminalize doping and current Sports Minister Jose Ignacio Wert has said legislation is making its way through parliament.
If found guilty of endangering athletes' health, the defendants could stand to lose their professional licenses and face two years in jail. They could avoid jail time and receive suspended sentences, Esteban said.
Valverde is the only Spanish rider who has been punished based on Puerto evidence. German cyclist Ullrich chose retirement in the face of the police discoveries and Italian cyclist Basso's implication led to a two-year ban.
Valverde was banned worldwide after a CAS panel accepted WADA and UCI arguments that he doped with the blood-boosting hormone EPO and was connected to the Puerto investigation. Valverde led cycling's world rankings when his suspension was confirmed in 2010.
At the heart of the case is the process of blood doping or blood packing.
Fuentes allegedly stored bags containing high concentrations of hemoglobin-rich red cells taken from the riders' own blood so it could be re-injected in competition when they needed a performance boost.
Bags were labeled with codes, some based on the names of riders' dogs. Basso was "Birillo," Jorg Jaksche of Germany was "Bella."
Although he denied it, Valverde owned a dog called Piti, the arbitration court heard. And Piti was the code on a bag containing blood plasma which DNA tests confirmed was his.
Fuentes is alleged to have used centrifuges to separate red blood cells from the plasma they normally float in, enabling riders injected with them to enjoy a significant boost.
Manzano, one of the plaintiffs, is a retired cyclist who turned whistleblower after suffering medical problems he said were caused by doping practices he was submitted to by Eufemiano Fuentes while riding for team Kelme.
Given Puerto's history, Manzano is not optimistic about the trial's outcome, reiterating WADA'S complaint that there were athletes from other sports who were clients of Fuentes yet to be named.
"I don't have many hopes, with the judges having opened and closed the case so many times," he told the AP by telephone. "There are 100 bags of blood that nobody knows who they belong to, and many other things, a lot of (doping) products. There are things we will never know."
___
AP Sports Writer Stephen Wilson in London and Associated Press writer Joseph Wilson in Barcelona contributed to this report.
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) ? For a second day, searchers have been unable to reach a plane believed to have crashed in an Antarctic mountain range while carrying three Canadians.
Hurricane-force winds and snow Friday prevented teams from getting to the plane. Its emergency locator started transmitting late Wednesday in mountains about 680 kilometers (420 miles) north of the South Pole.
Rescuers don't know if the men are alive. Their plane has survival gear including tents and food.
The locator stopped transmitting Thursday night and crews have been unable to establish radio contact. Rescuers say they will likely need to wait until Saturday for a break in the weather.
One man on the plane has been identified as Bob Heath from the Northwest Territories, an experienced pilot in both the Antarctic and Arctic. Rescuers say the other two men were also part of the flight crew and that no passengers were aboard.
The plane, a propeller-driven de Havilland Twin Otter, was flying from a U.S. station near the South Pole to an Italian research base in Terra Nova Bay. Rescuers believe it crashed in the Queen Alexandra mountain range at an elevation of about 3,900 meters (13,000 feet).
Winds of up to 90 knots (104 miles per hour) have continued in the area.
Steve Rendle, a spokesman for New Zealand's Rescue Coordination Centre, said rescue planes circled the area on Thursday and Friday but have been unable to spot the downed plane due to poor visibility. He said the battery on the locator beacon may have run out but that rescuers have a good fix on its location.
He said winds of up to 90 knots (104 miles per hour) continued Friday in the area.
He said that when the weather clears, crews hope to establish a forward base at the Beardmore Glacier about 50 kilometers (30 miles) from the assumed crash site. He said there's a rudimentary runway and a fuel depot at the glacier.
But for now, two helicopters and a small plane remain at McMurdo Station, the main U.S. base about four hours' flight away. Rendle said the weather is forecast to improve Saturday and crews are hopeful they can reach the downed plane then. He said the elevation provides extra challenges for helicopter crews.
Heath's wife, Lucy Heath, told the Calgary Sun newspaper Thursday that she'd been called by airline officials and told "Bob's plane was down, and they were trying to reach it." She said she was just waiting for more news: "I'm so worried."
On the online networking site LinkedIn, Heath writes that he typically spends this time of year coaching and mentoring other pilots to upgrade their skills in polar regions.
The missing plane is owned and operated by Kenn Borek Air Ltd., a Canadian firm based in Calgary that charters aircraft to the U.S. Antarctic program. In a release, the National Science Foundation said the plane was flying in support of the Italian Antarctic program.
Authorities from New Zealand, Canada, the U.S. and Italy are working on the rescue operation.
Antarctica has no permanent residents, but several thousand people live there in the Southern Hemisphere summer as a number of countries send scientists and other staff to research stations. The U.S. runs the largest program, with about 850 staff at its McMurdo Station and another 200 at its Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, where the Canadians' flight originated.
Actor Michael C. Hall, TV's Dexter, talks with psychologist Kevin Dutton, author of The Wisdom of Psychopaths, at the Rubin Museum of Art in New York City
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Actor Michael C. Hall, TV's Dexter, talks with psychologist Kevin Dutton, author of The Wisdom of Psychopaths, at the Rubin Museum of Art in New York City.??????
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Public release date: 29-Jan-2013
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