Deal of the Day: Incipio DualPro Hard Case for HTC One

The June 26 ShopAndroid.com Deal of the Day is the Incipio DualPro Hard Case for HTC One. Featuring a high quality, polycarbonate plastic exterior embedded in a shock absorbing silicone core, this case provides sturdy protection without sacrificing style. With dual layers and a rigid plextonium frame this case still allows access to the screen, camera and ports of the device.

The Incipio DualPro Hard Case is available for just $18.00, 40% off today only.  Backed by our 60-day return policy and fast shipping!

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/HuFYM9-Rt9U/story01.htm

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Transgender Kid Wins Bathroom Case

Coy Mathis, a 6-year-old transgender girl who was banned from her first-grade bathroom, has won a statewide legal case in Colorado that might have far-reaching implications for the rest of the nation in protecting the rights of transgender children.

Coy, born a triplet, had been home schooled since last December, when school officials told her parents that she could no longer use the female facilities and ordered her to use the boys' or nurse's bathroom.

Her parents, Jeremy and Kathryn Mathis, with the help of the Transgender Legal and Defense Education Fund (TLDEF), filed a complaint with the Colorado Civil Rights Division on behalf of Coy, alleging that the school has violated her rights.

"This is amazing because it is not just a win for Coy, but a win for every transgender child in the entire state," her mother, Kathryn Mathis, told ABCNews.com today. "It's amazing for all of them and their future. It lets them be who they are. They don't have to spend their childhood being discriminated against."

Read about twin boys, one transgender, who become brother and sister.

According to TLDEF, this is the "most comprehensive" ruling ever supporting the rights of transgender people to access bathrooms "without harassment or discrimination." This is the first ruling in the nation holding that transgender students must be allowed to use bathrooms that match who they are, and the most comprehensive ruling ever supporting the rights of transgender people to access bathrooms without harassment or discrimination, TLDEF said.

Read the full ruling here.

Courtesy Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund

Transgender Pilot Wins Discrimination Fight With FAA Watch Video Macy's Fires Worker for Transgender Discrimination Watch Video

Coy was labeled male at birth, but has always known that she is a girl, which she has expressed since she was 18 months old. Since kindergarten, Coy had worn girls' clothing to school. Her classmates and teachers used female pronouns to refer to her, and she used the girls' bathrooms, just like any other girl in her school.

In mid-December 2012, the Fountain-Fort Carson School District 8 informed Coy's parents that Coy would be prevented from using the girls' bathrooms after winter break. The district ordered Coy to use the boys' bathroom, a staff bathroom, or the nurse's bathroom.

Coy's parents removed her from school and filed a Complaint with the Colorado Civil Rights Division on Coy's behalf in February, 2013.

Read about transgender parenting and what happens when mom becomes dad.

According to her parents, Coy has behaved like a girl since she was 18 months old. When her brother Max was consumed with dinosaurs, she was playing with Barbie dolls. By 4, she was telling her mother that something was wrong with her body.

While enrolled at Eagle Elementary School in Fountain, Colo., the 6-year-old presented as female and wore girls' clothing. Her classmates and teachers used female pronouns to refer to her, and she has used the girls' bathrooms.

The Mathis' have a set of triplets and two other children, Dakota, 8, and Auri, 2. The father, Jeremy Mathis, 31, is a former Marine who was honorably discharged with injuries. Kathryn Mathis, 27, is a certified nurse assistant and takes care of Coy's triplet, Lily who has been severely disabled since a viral infection after birth. She must be fed through an IV and is quadriplegic.

When Coy began complaining about "something wrong" with her body, her parents took her to a specialist, who diagnosed gender identity disorder. Doctors recommended no immediate medical intervention but to let her "live as a girl," the parents explained.

Since kindergarten, Coy has presented as female. Some of the school's bathrooms had no gender designation, but for those that did, she used the girls' facilities.

Because Coy is so young, medical experts have advised that she not undergo hormone therapy with an eye to surgery until she is in her teens.

"We have spoken to various doctors to prepare for what is ahead and they all say the same thing," said Kathryn Mathis.

As for Coy, her mother said the little girl "does not get the enormity of what the ruling means."

"She gets what he it means for her," she said. "We told her the lawyer was fight for us and the state has agreed with us. She was completely ecstatic. Her eyes bugged out and she jumped up and down: 'I can go back to school and make new friends.'"

Source: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/colorado-transgender-girl-banned-bathroom-wins-case/story?id=19471945

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The Adorable Mini-Sports Car Has Gotten a Remarkable Upgrade

As you may or may not remember, a few years ago we posted photos of these incredible, half-scale sports cars that?despite being called "children's cars"?are more badass than any car any adult could ever hope to own. And although the junior cars' visionary, Nathan Redfearn, was getting ready to shut down production, the beautiful, tiny, and fully-functional cars struck a chord with so many people that they were able to keep going?much to our benefit. And now they're even getting an awesome new upgrade.

In the words of Redfearn himself:

The strange thing was, the week before you wrote the article, my wife and I had decided we were going to stop producing the junior cars, as they were so incredibly labour intensive to produce and not so profitable. We were very limited to how many we could manufacture?3 cars per month!

The night before your article came out, I was just telling my cousin who lives in Australia how we planned to wind down that business. He was telling us how crazy we were to do so. The next morning we woke up to more than 300 inquiries for our junior cars. Over the coming weeks, as other websites and blogs picked up on the story, we were literally inundated with inquiries for our cars.

But before his work really took off, it all began when Redfearn decided to share his love of classic cars with his then two-year-old nephew, Ayrton. He wasn't satisfied with the quality of toy car currently floating around, so taking matters into his own hands, Redfearn sketched out a child-sized Porsche 356 model and ultimately built the actual prototype and fiberglass molds in the street outside their home in Saigon.

Thus, Group Harrington was born.

While the toy cars were more of a hobby at first, Redfearn found himself handling two years' worth of orders after the post went live. But with this renewed interested, he decided to do a complete overhaul to his cars' design and spent the last two and a half years developing the newest model. In his own words:

Our old models were essentially very pretty go karts. Rear engine, single wheel drive, no suspension, single rear disk brake, small scooter wheels, and very much hand built with each part being machined and made individually. Almost no parts aside from the engines and wheels and gear knob were interchangeable between the models. Also, the cars were a little small?at least for adults to use.

So starting with a clean sheet of paper, I decided to make the new models as REAL cars on a miniature scale. As such, our new models have the following features:

Front mounted engine.

Rear wheel drive.

Limited slip differential.

Independent suspension all round.

Rack and pinion steering.

Disk brakes front and rear. Brembo 4 pot calipers!

Separate steel chassis.

Adjustable pedal box so both adults and kids can comfortable fit.

Rear mounted fuel tank with electric pump.

Wide custom made alloy wheels.

Opening hood and trunk.

Open grilles with more than adequate cooling (this was hard to do with rear mounted engines)

Bright LED lights.

While there are, of course, small differences between each junior car, pretty much everything under the skin (suspension, drive, axles, brakes, etc.) is totally universal, making them far easier to fit and consequently produce. With a team of 32, Redfearn is now able to produce 8-10 of the junior cars every month. And these rides don't just look sweeter, they're handling better too:

The difference in terms of performance is staggering. They are lighter, faster, handle incredibly, and are far more comfortable to sit in and drive. Even though they are only 110cc, they can reach 73 kmh in standard tune. It doesn't handle like a go cart, but like a car! And the weight balance front to rear is great?they are the most flattering car to hoon and drift that I've ever tried.

Another thing we took into account was the ability to modify, tune, and customize. The engines are 110cc quad bike engines built by Loncin (a Honda subsidiary). We've been using these engines for 9 years and have nothing but praise for them. Never once has one broken on us or any customers we've heard rom. They're basically the standard Honda engine found in cub motorbikes, trikes, quad bikes, PT bikes, etc. These ones are 110cc 3 speed with reverse semi-auto (no clutch) and an electronic ignition with electric start. You can buy after market tuning kits for them, which can boost the capacity to 190cc and double the power. The chassis are more than capable should someone wish to do this. We have also designed it so you can change the gearing very easily?without pulling the car apart (there's access from underneath).

Right now, the group is in the process of producing the AC Cobra and Ferrari 250 California Spyder, with plans to launch the Jaguar XK120 and Aston Martin DB5 soon. They're currently accepting orders, but you can also check out one of their distributors in any of the following countries: UK, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Kuwait. You can also check out videos of the cars in action on their YouTube page. And for as absolutely gorgeous as these cars are?they also look damn fun to drive. Check out the Group Harrington site for the whole lineup.

Thanks to Nathan Redfearn for the photos and update!

Source: http://gizmodo.com/the-adorable-mini-sports-car-has-gotten-a-remarkable-up-563566055

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What is the best cruise ship for first-time cruisers? | CruiseSource

I have plenty of friends who have yet to go on a cruise vacation.? Not surprising due to the fact that about 70% of the US still has not been on a cruise vacation.

They each have their own reasons for not trying it out yet from thinking there is not enough to do on a cruise ship to concerns about motion sickness. ?Plus many of my friends seem to have stuck with their childhood family vacation traditions like renting a beach house for a week in the summer.

But, after hearing from their friends how their recent cruise experience or seeing their friends cruise photos on Facebook my cruise rookie friends start asking me questions about what would be a good cruise for them to test-out to see if cruising is for them.

When they say ?test-out?, they are saying ?what is a short 3 to 4 day cruise that we can go on to see what this whole cruising thing is all about.?

The issue is that most 3 to 5 night cruises are on slightly older ships that are not a true representation of what cruising is all about in 2013.? ?The cruise lines have pushed the envelope over the last 5 years with innovative new ships that are engineering masterpieces.

The cruise lines deploy their newest most innovative ships on 7+ night cruise vacation, with the exception of Royal Caribbean?s Liberty of the Seas.??Making the Liberty of the Seas my top recommendation for 1st time cruisers. ?[Help spread the word to first-time cruisers]

The Liberty of the Seas was launched in 2007. Although 6 years old, there are only a few cruise ships larger than the Liberty of the Seas.? ?The Liberty of the Seas offers:

• Rock-climbing wall
• Ice-skating rink
• Mini-golf course
• Full-sized basketball court
• Full-sized boxing ring
• 4 pools
• 10 Whirlpools, with 2 of them overlooking the ocean
• State of the Art Fitness facility offering Yoga and Tai Chi classes.

The Liberty of the Seas is the largest, most innovative cruise ship offering 4 ? 5 night cruises.? ?From November 2013 ? April 2014, the Liberty of the Seas will be sailing from Ft Lauderdale on 4 and 5 night Caribbean Voyages starting at low as $259+ taxes per person*!? ??Click to search for rates and availability.?

90% of the time, I try to get my first time cruising friends on the Liberty of the Seas. ?For some families with a bigger budget, I find the 3 ? 4 nt. Disney Dream Cruise to be great place to start.

*$259 per person rate is on the 4 night December 12th, 2013 departure of the Liberty of the Seas.?

Click Liberty of the Seas photos below to enlarge:

Captain Surfing Flowrider

Pool Deck

Full Court Basketball

Ice Skating with the Kids

Photo of balconies by ade_rob

Credit: roger4336 on Flickr

?

Source: http://cruisesource.us/2013/06/best-ship-for-first-time-cruisers/

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6 Questions to Ask Yourself When Creating a Small Business ...

?A goal without a plan is simply a wish.?

This is a quote from French author and aviator Antoine de Saint-Exup?ry. I nearly went with Benjamin Franklin?s ?If you fail to plan, plan to fail? quote, but thought it just a bit too glass-half-empty. The message from both should be clear, though ? proper planning is absolutely, 100% essential in order for any aspect of your small business to succeed, and promotional campaigns are definitely no different.

How Thorough Planning Will Help Your Small Business Marketing, Public Relations, and Promotional Campaigns Succeed

For the purposes of this blog entry, we?ll define a promotional campaign as any sort of sustained, concentrated public relations, marketing, or advertising effort that you and your small business will be executing. The best plans will incorporate elements from all three disciplines, but the specifics will vary depending on your business type, its size, its area of reach, how long it?s been in operation, and what you?re trying to accomplish for the business itself. Which is a good segue into our first question that you should ask yourself before starting your promotional campaign?

1. ? What Are Your Goals?

A crucial step before you actually DO anything is to think critically about what you want to accomplish with your soon-to-be executed activities. Try to be as specific as possible ? something like ?increasing awareness? is obviously a good goal to have, but that is pretty broad and ultimately what all PR, marketing, and advertising hopes to accomplish at the end of the day.

Getting as targeted as ?Bringing in $X over the next Y months? or ?Signing up Z customers to our customer loyalty reward program? will not only help hone your voice and message, but will also be easily traceable to judge your campaign?s success. Also, be realistic with your goals ? nothing will help your program and your skills as a small business owner feel less successful than not meeting your goals. Don?t make them ridiculously easy to achieve, but be honest with yourself and set reachable milestones that will make a tangible impact to your business.

2. ? What Are The Details?

Think of everything you can when creating your small business marketing plan. What are your plans for promoting major holidays? How is your new campaign going to dovetail into any current in-business promotions you may be already running (loyalty rewards program, email marketing, etc.)? Is there anything in your campaign that will require you to travel or be away from your business for a length of time, and if so, will it conflict with any major beats in your promotional calendar? What will be your focus ? earned media and PR-generated buzz such as interviews, guest-blogging, and the like, or advertising via Facebook and Google Ad Words?

When first starting your plan, throw everything you can think of into the ?maybe? column and then weed through it from there to find what truly makes sense. Once you have a pared-down, super concentrated list of details, you?re ready to move on to making the calendar?

3. ? What Is Your Timeline?

Creating a calendar that has all the major and minor ?beats? (i.e. ? action items) scheduled out down to the day is a huge step to stay on track and achieve success. This calendar is going to be your best friend throughout the entire duration of your campaign. You will learn to love waking up and checking it first thing to see what?s on the docket for today. It should have everything from major items and to-dos (?Interview with local newspaper at 3:00 p.m.?, ?Send printer final text copy for postcard mailers?) to minor check-up or maintenance tasks (?Check progress of Facebook ads?, ?Bi-weekly Twitter update?). Sync your calendar to your smartphone so you don?t have to be in front of your laptop or desktop to have access to it. Now that we?ve established how essential the calendar itself is, the question of how long it should be will depend on your campaign.

Depending on your goals, business, and budget, a year-long campaign is a good starting point. Not only will this allow you to incorporate promotional ideas for all major and applicable holidays, but it?s a nice, tidy unit of time that will allow you to have a large enough sample pool to determine the success of your campaign. This is not to say that you?re required to have action items on 365 days for the calendar ? determine what makes sense for you and add it to the calendar.

4. ? Who?s Going To Do It?

While some aspects of a promotional campaign can very easily be undertaken by yourself, the more variables and beats you have in your timeline, the more time you will be forced to spend away from the day-to-day running of your business. Depending on your situation, this may not be a dealbreaker in the slightest. But if you?re already running ragged and operating your outfit on a skeleton crew, you probably won?t be doing yourself or your promotional campaign any favors by trying to do it all yourself.

Public Relations agencies are available for hire in nearly every neck of the woods, and are comprised of professionals who handle media relations, crisis management, brand awareness, and image improvement for a living. They are typically hired on a retainer basis, and that retainer can be flexible depending on the size of your business and your budget. They will handle all press releases you?ll put out, will secure interviews and guest-blogging opportunities, and outreach local and non-local media outlets to secure your business in trend stories, among other tasks.

A marketing agency will carry out any marketing related activities for you as well ? the line between marketing and PR can sometimes be confusing, but a good, generalized guideline is that PR opportunities are generally free, while marketing opportunities are generally paid for. Most marketing agencies will handle your SEO, B2B partnerships, as well as placing your advertisements for you. You?ll still need to foot the bill for the ad itself, they?ll just handle the maintenance of it. And while it won?t be applicable to most small businesses, there are lots of ad agencies out there as well that will handle the creative aspects of any advertising campaign you would wish to run. They tend to be pricey however, and are probably out of budget for most small business owners (think Mad Men).

Many marketing agencies can assist in the creative aspect of the ads for your campaign, and will collaborate with you to come up with an agreeable solution. Handing your promotional efforts off to a professional agency can be a huge load off for a small business owner, but it comes with a cost ? which brings us to our next question?

5. ? What Is Your Budget?

An absolutely critical element to a well-thought out promotional campaign is how much you are willing and able to spend on it. Most small business owners already have a marketing/advertising budget for the year (and if you don?t, you should) ? this figure will serve as a good starting point, but to have a bigger splash, you?ll most likely have to fork over a bit more cash for some of the beats in the promotional campaign. After all, this isn?t simply going to be the same marketing tasks as you?ve done in years prior ? this promotional campaign exists for you to shake things up and try new things to get your business noticed.

6. ? What Happens When Things Need To Change?

?The best laid plans of mice and men often go astray? is a paraphrasing (or more accurately, de-18th Century Scott-ified) version of a Robert Burns quote ? not only does this keep with our quote theme for today, it also tells us that even if you?ve planned for everything and your calendar is synced up to the most minute detail?things can and will change. You could lose an employee (or several). You could become ill or have to take an extended absence from the business. You could see a new competitor open up shop just down the road that will require a different strategy. The point is that while it should still be viewed as undoubtedly essential to create a detailed plan and calendar, don?t stick to it so rigidly that it cannot be changed, especially when reason dictates that it should.

Your plan and calendar should be seen as living, breathing documents that can and most likely will be updated through the duration of the campaign. Stick to it as closely as possible, but don?t be afraid to call an audible or two at the line of scrimmage.

Though time consuming, proper planning is essential

If you?re serious about running a successful small business marketing campaign, take the time (however much that may be) to create a solid plan and calendar. Create realistic yet admirable goals for success. Create a budget that will allow you to carry out some innovative and new marketing spends without taking you out of the black. Consider outside help with your promotions if you have the money and don?t have the time (or expertise) to do it yourself. Proper planning is essential, and may very well take longer than carrying out the plan itself. After all, as Abraham Lincoln once said, ?Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening my axe.?

Source: http://blog.fivestars.com/a-goal-plan-simply-wish/

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Leap Motion starts expanded beta, opens dev portal to the public, shows off Airspace app store (hands-on)

Slowly but surely Leap Motion is making its way toward a commercial release. Today, the company has announced it's moving into the next phase of beta testing and that it will be opening up its developer portal to the public later in the week. While this still won't get folks a Leap device any faster, it will let them dig into Leap's tools and code base in preparation for when they finally get one. The move marks a shift from the company's previous SDK-focused beta to a consumer-focused one that'll serve to refine the UX in Windows and OSX. Within each operating system, there will be two levels of Leap control: basic, which essentially allows you to use Leap in place of a touchscreen, and advanced to allow for more 3D controls enabled by Leap's ability to detect the pitch and yaw of hands in space.

CEO Michael Buckwald gave us this good news himself, and also gave us a preview of Airspace, Leap's app store, and a few app demos for good measure. As it turns out, Airspace is a two-pronged affair -- Airspace Store is showcase for all software utilizing the Leap API and Airspace Home is a launcher that keeps all the Leap apps that you own in one convenient place. There will be 50 apps in Airspace at the start of the beta, with offerings from pro tools and utility apps to casual games, and we got to see a few examples.

Gallery: Leap Motion Airspace store and apps preview

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/AqxUoj6sNAQ/

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Why wing walkers and stunt pilots inspire us

Wing walker Jane Wicker and pilot Charlie Schwenker were killed Saturday at an air show in Ohio. The kind of feats they performed have thrilled and inspired the earth-bound for generations.

By Brad Knickerbocker,?Staff writer / June 23, 2013

Veteran stuntwoman Jane Wicker and her pilot Charlie Schwenker perform at Sun 'n Fun airshow in Lakeland, Florida in March, 2012. Wicker and her pilot were killed Saturday at an air show in Ohio.

Jon Ross Photography/REUTERS

Enlarge

I thought of my parents when I heard the news about the wing walker and stunt pilot killed in a crash Saturday at the Vectren Air Show in Dayton, Ohio.

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They flew a Waco 9 open-cockpit biplane out of farmers? fields in Wisconsin in the 1930s, sometimes giving rides to the usually-earthbound.

They weren?t stunt pilots or wing walkers by any means, although my father did tell a story about having to crawl out on the wing in flight to dislodge a chicken stuck on the landing gear during takeoff.

But in the old, black-and-white photos I have, they do look a lot like Amelia Earhart and Charles Lindbergh. I have my father?s soft leather helmet, although the fur-lined goggles were lost in some move.

(In another story, my father told of meeting Ms. Earhart once ? literally running into her as a teenager as he dashed around a corner at a model aircraft show where she was the featured attraction.)

Such flying back during the Great Depression helped lift spirits. For a few dollars ? an enormous sum to spend on entertainment in those days ? a farmer or his kids could spend a few minutes seeing their countryside from the air. For many, it was likely the only time they ever flew in an airplane.

For my parents, their piloting days ended when the friend who owned the Waco 9 crashed into a lake with a student and was killed. But those days always seemed to indicate something about their character and sense of adventure. It may have influenced me to become a US Navy aircraft carrier pilot between college and a career in journalism.

Anyone who?s done much flying at the controls of an aircraft is familiar with John Gillespie Magee?s line about having ?slipped the surly bonds of Earth? from his poem ?High Flight.? (Magee was a 19 year-old American flying Spitfires with the Royal Canadian Air Force when he was killed in a training accident four days after Pearl Harbor.)

On her website, stuntwoman Jane Wicker, killed Saturday along with pilot Charlie Schwenker, explained what she loved most about her job, reports the Associated Press.

"There is nothing that feels more exhilarating or freer to me than the wind and sky rushing by me as the earth rolls around my head," she wrote. "I'm alive up there. To soar like a bird and touch the sky puts me in a place where I feel I totally belong. It's the only thing I've done that I've never questioned, never hesitated about and always felt was my destiny."

Teresa Stokes, of Houston, who?s been wing walking for 25 years and does a couple of dozen shows every year, told the AP her job mostly requires being in shape to climb around the plane while battling winds.

"It's like running a marathon in a hurricane," said Ms. Stokes, who did a show in Minnesota last week and will head out for another one in Montana next week. "When you're watching from the ground it looks pretty graceful, but up there, it's happening very fast and it's high energy and I'm really moving fast against hurricane-force winds."

That?s very different from flying lazy turns around farmer?s fields or dropping down to navigate by water tanks painted with town names like Eland, Wisc. (population 400) where my mother was born four months before the RMS Titanic went down. But it comes from the same impulse.

My father has been gone for several years now, and my mother passed on recently at 101 ? sharp and lovely as ever, still exhibiting some of that spirit that made her want to take to the skies over Wisconsin.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/z1MFemKzc6M/Why-wing-walkers-and-stunt-pilots-inspire-us

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Springsteen leads Gandolfini tribute outpouring

Pop culture

Randee Dawn TODAY contributor

15 hours ago

They're both sons of New Jersey, they've both been called bosses, and both and have a shared connection with "The Sopranos," so it shouldn't come as a huge surprise that Bruce Springsteen dedicated part of his Thursday night show in Coventry, U.K., to the late James Gandolfini, who died Wednesday in Rome.

Still, it was a generous gesture.

Nils Meilvang / EPA file

Bruce Springsteen, left, and Steven Van Zandt perform in Copenhagen, Denmark, in May as part of their current tour. Van Zandt starred on "The Sopranos."

According to Glide Magazine's "Hidden Track" column, Springsteen paused 12 songs into his set to announce that the band would play 1975's "Born to Run" album all the way through, dedicating it to Gandolfini.

A regular member of Springsteen's E Street band, Steven Van Zandt, appeared as Tony Soprano's consigliere on the series for its full 6-season run, as Silvio Dante, and wrote on his Facebook page Wednesday, "I have lost a brother and a best friend. The world has lost one of the greatest actors of all time."

Ray Stubblebine/ Reuters

A moment of silence is observed for actor James Gandolfini by the New York Yankees.

Meanwhile, Springsteen wasn't the only Tri-state institution to offer up a tribute to Gandolfini; the New York Yankees observed a moment of silence for the actor and sports fan ahead of the start of their Wednesday night game against the Tampa Bay Rays.

As noted in The Hollywood Reporter, the Yankees played the "Sopranos" theme song, then displayed a 2002 photo of Gandolfini waving in the stadium along with the silence. Gandolfini had thrown out the opening pitch at that game, and read from Lou Gehrig's 1939 farewell speech. (Sports fans have noted that Gandolfini died on what would have been Gehrig's 110th birthday.)

Additionally, "Sesame Street" posted a clip from Gandolfini's 2002 appearance on the show, where he comforted Muppet Zoe about being afraid.

"I know what it's like to be scared," he said on the show. "Everyone gets scared sometimes."

Source: http://www.today.com/entertainment/bruce-springsteen-leads-tribute-outpouring-james-gandolfini-6C10408804

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Brazil: Thousands protest anew, but crowds smaller

People march toward the Mineirao stadium during a protest in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, Saturday, June 22, 2013. Demonstrators once again took to the streets in Brazil on Saturday, continuing a wave of protests that have shaken the nation and pushed the government to promise a crackdown on corruption and greater spending on social services. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

People march toward the Mineirao stadium during a protest in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, Saturday, June 22, 2013. Demonstrators once again took to the streets in Brazil on Saturday, continuing a wave of protests that have shaken the nation and pushed the government to promise a crackdown on corruption and greater spending on social services. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

A man wearing a mask depicting Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, holds a banner criticizing her yesterday speech during a protest in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, Saturday, June 22, 2013. Demonstrators once again took to the streets of Brazil on Saturday, continuing a wave of protests that have shaken the nation and pushed the government to promise a crackdown on corruption and greater spending on social services. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

People march toward the Mineirao stadium, before the start of the Confederations Cup soccer match between Japan and Mexico, during a protest in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, Saturday, June 22, 2013. Demonstrators once again took to the streets of Brazil on Saturday, continuing a wave of protests that have shaken the nation and pushed the government to promise a crackdown on corruption and greater spending on social services. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

A riot police officer uses his front teeth to hold onto to a non-lethal grenade during an anti-government protest near the Cidade de Deus, or City of God slum, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Friday, June 21, 2013. City centers around Brazil were still smoldering on Friday after 1 million protesters took to the streets amid growing calls on social media for a general strike next week. While most protesters were peaceful, some small groups clashed violently with police, who responded in some cases with tear gas, pepper spray and rubber bullets. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

A message by Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff is broadcast live at the bus station in Brasilia, Brazil, Friday, June 21, 2013. The Brazilian ended her near-silence about more than a week of massive, violent protests, saying in a prime time TV broadcast Friday that peaceful demonstrations were part of a strong democracy but that violence could not be tolerated. She promised to make improvements to public services, but said it couldn't be done overnight. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

___

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

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-06-22-LT-Brazil-Protests/id-0f36b4cacb5c4f8a83fd598dc73a0977

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Messi summoned Sept. 17 for alleged tax fraud

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) ? Lionel Messi and his father Jorge have been summoned by a Spanish court for questioning as part of an investigation into tax fraud allegations.

A court in Gava near Barcelona accepted a state prosecutor's complaint alleging that Messi and his father defrauded the Spanish tax office of $5.3 million.

Messi and his father have been called to appear on Sept. 17. That will form part of an investigation to determine whether to officially charge them with tax evasion.

The court accepted the complaint lodged by prosecutor Raquel Amada on June 12 accusing the pair of not paying taxes from revenue earned from image rights on Messi's returns from 2007 through 2009.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/messi-summoned-sept-17-alleged-tax-fraud-133333061.html

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Germany-Turkey diplomatic dispute intensifies

BERLIN (AP) ? A diplomatic dispute over Turkey's EU membership bid and a crackdown on demonstrations in the country intensified Friday as Germany summoned the Turkish ambassador over comments made by a minister about Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Merkel on Monday criticized the crackdown by security forces as "much too strong." The chancellor also has long been skeptical of Turkey's ambitions to join the European Union; her coalition government supports continuing membership talks, but this week blocked a decision to move forward the negotiations.

Turkey's minister in charge of EU affairs, Egemen Bagis, suggested on Thursday that Merkel was picking on Turkey for political gain as she attempts to win a third term in September elections.

Bagis said that if Merkel is looking for "internal political material," then "this should not be Turkey." He also pointed to the election defeat last year of then-French President Nicolas Sarkozy, a fellow opponent of Turkey's EU membership.

"If Mrs. Merkel follows and reviews what happened to Sarkozy, who previously tried to use (Turkey) as political material, she will see that the fate of those who mess around with Turkey is not all that good," said Bagis, who is Turkey's chief EU negotiator.

German Foreign Ministry spokesman Andreas Peschke told reporters that ambassador Huseyin Avni Karslioglu was summoned to the ministry Friday.

He would say only that the reason was comments by a Turkish official regarding Germany and the future of the EU membership talks, adding: "These are comments that met with incomprehension ? this is not in order."

In an apparent tit-for-tat action, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Germany's top diplomat was being summoned, because the government wanted to express its "discomfort" with what he called "certain statements that have disturbed Turkey." Davutoglu, who spoke to Turkish state media during a visit to Ukraine, did not specify what statements he meant.

Bagis said Friday he hoped that Germany "steps back from (the) serious mistake" of blocking progress in Turkey's membership talks.

Last month, German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said he was hopeful of opening negotiations on another chapter in the membership talks before the end of June. But on Thursday, Germany and the Netherlands blocked a decision to do so.

That chapter concerns regional policies, not Turkey's protests. Asked whether the decision to block its opening was linked to the Turkish crackdown, Peschke said it was down to "open technical questions" on which he wouldn't elaborate.

However, he added that "of course, as always in life, everything is linked to everything else."

Human rights groups have said the protests in Turkey have left more than 5,000 people injured and more than 3,000 were detained and then released.

The demonstrations were sparked by a police crackdown on environmental activists in Istanbul May 31, but protesters also criticized what some regard as Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's authoritarian style of leadership.

Merkel also said Monday that "what is happening at the moment in Turkey does not correspond to our idea of the freedom to protest and the freedom of speech."

NATO member Turkey began EU accession negotiations in 2005, but has made little progress, in part reflecting unease among some in Europe to admitting a populous Muslim nation.

Turkey's entry talks cover 35 different areas, or chapters. Only 13 have been opened, and several areas have been frozen over Turkey's refusal to allow ships and planes from Cyprus, an EU member, to enter its ports and airspace.

Germany itself is a potential obstacle to Turkish EU membership given that Merkel and her conservative party have long advocated a lesser, vaguely defined "privileged partnership," though Westerwelle's Free Democrats ? her junior coalition partners? are less skeptical.

A spokesman for Merkel stressed that Germany's support for continuing membership talks remains unchanged.

"Neither the chancellor nor the government are in any way questioning the accession process," Georg Streiter said. "It's not about whether, only about how the accession process is continued."

___

Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey, contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/germany-turkey-diplomatic-dispute-intensifies-164331867.html

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Greek coalition in disarray, small party considers quitting

By Lefteris Papadimas and Renee Maltezou

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece's small Democratic Left party could pull out of Prime Minister Antonis Samaras's ruling coalition after talks to resume state television broadcasts collapsed, party officials said on Thursday, plunging the nation into fresh turmoil.

Lawmakers from the leftist party - which was angered by the abrupt shutdown of broadcaster ERT last week - will meet at 0730 GMT (0330 ET) on Friday to decide whether to continue backing Samaras, who in turn warned he was ready to press ahead without them.

"I want us to continue together as we started but I will move on either way," Samaras said in a televised statement, vowing to implement public sector reforms demanded by lenders.

"Our aim is to conclude our effort to save the country, always with a four-year term in our sights. We hope for the Democratic Left's support."

Samaras's New Democracy party and its Socialist PASOK ally jointly have 153 deputies, a majority of three in the country's 300-member parliament, meaning they could continue together, but a departure of the Democratic Left would be a major blow.

Officials from all three parties ruled out snap elections.

At least two independent lawmakers have also suggested they would back Samaras's government, which came to power a year ago and has bickered ever since over austerity and immigration.

The latest crisis began nine days ago when Samaras abruptly yanked ERT off air, calling it a hotbed of waste and privilege, sparking an outcry from his two allies, unions and journalists.

After initially refusing to restart ERT, Samaras on Thursday complained he offered to re-hire 2,000 out of 2,600 ERT workers who were fired, a compromise "courageously" accepted by the Socialist PASOK party but rejected by the Democratic Left.

"We will no longer have black screens on state TV channels but we are not going to return to the sinful regime," he said.

"At this point we had a serious disagreement over ERT. I undertook efforts to restore unity and to find a solution. I did not respond to nasty comments."

Fotis Kouvelis, leader of the Democratic Left, in turn attacked Samaras for failing to comply with a court ruling this week ordering ERT back on air and said the issue at stake was far bigger than state television broadcasts.

"This issue is not a formality, it's not procedural, it is fundamentally an issue of democracy," said Kouvelis, whose party has 14 lawmakers in parliament. "We are not responsible for the fact that no common ground was reached."

Evangelos Venizelos, leader of PASOK - which has heavily suffered from Greece's debt crisis and would lose further in a new election - also called on Kouvelis to stay in the coalition.

"The situation for the country, the economy and its citizens is especially grave," said Venizelos.

"We want the government to continue as a three-party government and we are asking Democratic Left to participate in re-establishing cooperation."

'BEGINNING OF THE END'

Greece's top administrative court on Thursday confirmed an earlier ruling suspending ERT's closure and calling for a transitional, slimmed-down broadcaster to go on air immediately.

ERT remains off air despite Monday's court ruling ordering it back on. Much of the squabbling this week centered on Samaras wanting a transitional broadcaster run by only a few staff members while his two partners wanted ERT to reopen exactly as it was before until a newer version is launched.

Samaras is under pressure to fire public sector employees to show Greece's EU and IMF lenders that it is sticking to promises to cut costs under its international bailout program.

Senior euro zone officials and the International Monetary Fund played down concerns on Thursday that Greece could face a shortfall in its finances, saying there was still time to remedy the situation.

ERT workers meanwhile have continued broadcasting a 24-hour bootleg version on the Internet from their headquarters, where workers and unions have been protesting since last Tuesday.

On Thursday, a ticker on the screen counted the hours, minutes and seconds since Greece's top administrative court, the Council of State, ordered the broadcaster back on air on Monday.

Opposition lawmakers rejoiced over the crisis.

"This is the beginning of the end," independent lawmaker Nikos Nikolopoulos tweeted, referring to Samaras's government.

(Additional reporting by Harry Papachristou and Karolina Tagaris; Writing by Deepa Babington; Editing by Eric Walsh)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/greek-coalition-leaders-fail-resolve-state-tv-impasse-200559011.html

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