Obama tours devastation of Colorado wildfire

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Obama tours devastation of Colorado wildfire
By Keith Coffman and Jeff Mason
Jun 29, 2012
(Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Friday described as a "major disaster" a Colorado wildfire that has destroyed 347 homes and forced the evacuation of 35,000 people near the state's second-largest city, as he toured the devastation left by the blaze.
Before landing, Air Force One flew over part of the Rocky Mountains where smoke could be seen rising from the areas ravaged by what officials say is the most destructive blaze in state history. At least one death has been blamed on the fire.

The blaze had roared unchecked on Tuesday night through communities in the northwestern corner of the city and threatened the U.S. Air Force Academy campus.

Roger Federer back from Wimbledon 2012 brink to beat Julien Benneteau

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Roger Federer back from Wimbledon 2012 brink to beat Julien Benneteau

• Federer wins 4-6, 6-7, 6-2, 7-6, 6-1 in five-set epic
• Swiss last failed to reach grand slam fourth round in 2004
Kevin Mitchell at Wimbledon
 29 June 2012
For the second year in a row at Wimbledon, Roger Federer went to five sets against a Frenchman but this time there would be no slip-ups. "My God, it was brutal," said the normally stress-free Swiss after 204 minutes of high drama under the roof on Centre Court in which he first flirted with the humiliation suffered the night before by Rafael Nadal then gathered all his reserves of energy and skill to outlast the dangerous Julien Benneteau and go through to the fourth round.

In 2011, his spirit and body were shattered by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the semi-finals. Last night, the stakes were just as high – even though the tournament is not out of the first week – because there is a creeping perception that the Federer-Nadal duopoly is slowly giving way under pressure from below.

Top Obama aide to Congressional Democrats: ‘Go on offense' on taxes

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Top Obama aide to Congressional Democrats: ‘Go on offense' on taxes

By Olivier Knox

abc news

June 30, 2012


A top advisor to President Barack Obama urged Congressional Democrats on Friday to "go on offense" against Republicans on the issue of taxes and argued that the Supreme Court ruling upholding the incumbent's signature health care law should be the "clear and final" word on the issue.

In a memo made public by the White House, David Plouffe accused Republicans of "trying to misrepresent" Obama's record on taxes.

Romney ad features Hillary Clinton attacking Obama

Romney ad features Hillary Clinton attacking Obama

By Catalina Camia, USA TODAY
Jun 29, 2012

Mitt Romney's latest ad attacking President Obama features a cameo appearance from Hillary Rodham Clinton slamming the man who's now her boss.
You'll recall that Clinton and Obama engaged in a hard-fought and sometimes bitter Democratic primary battle four years ago. Now, Obama is in the White House, and she's his secretary of State.

Russia-US still split ahead of talks

Syria conflict: Russia-US still split ahead of talks

by bbc news
29 June 2012
Areas of "difficulty and difference" remain between Russia and the US ahead of key talks on the crisis in Syria, a US official says.

The state department spokesman played down chances of a deal at the talks, to take place on Saturday in Geneva.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov earlier met US counterpart Hillary Clinton, and said there was a "very good chance" of finding common ground.

More than 100 people have been killed in Syria since Thursday, reports say.

What's new in Android 4.1 'Jelly Bean'

What's new in Android 4.1 'Jelly Bean'

Google showed off Android 4.1 'Jelly Bean,' its latest phone and tablet operating system, at its I/O developers conference on Wednesday. Jelly Bean's new features include better support for voice commands, a smoother interface, a predictive keyboard, and Google Now.


By Jeff Ward-Bailey / June 29, 2012
With all the emphasis on hardware at the Google I/O keynote on Wednesday, it was easy to overlook the software powering the Nexus devices on display: Android 4.1 "Jelly Bean," the successor to the current "Ice Cream Sandwich" operating system.
The biggest new feature has to do with the way handles voice commands. You can now ask specific questions of Google, and it'll try to display the answer on a grey-bordered "Card," showing search results, maps, weather forecasts and the like depending on what question you asked. In some ways it's like Apple's Siri virtual assistant, except that the voice recognition takes place offline (the software itself can interpret queries, rather than streaming them up to Google's servers for analysis).

Pregnant Adele's Boyfriend Simon Konecki: Five Things You Don't Know

Pregnant Adele's Boyfriend Simon Konecki: Five Things You Don't Know

Celebrity News June 29, 2012
By Beth Anne Macaluso
The usually unlucky-in-love Adele has changed her tune about romance -- with a little help from her boyfriend of six months, Simon Konecki.
The pair first went public during a PDA-packed trip to the Everglades in early January, and a source told Us Weekly at the time that Konecki, 37, was just what Adele needed after her toxic former flings. "Simon is a nice guy and would never use her," the insider explained. "He likes her for who she is." (Adele and Konecki made their formal debut together at the Grammys in February, when he attended as her date.)
On Friday, Adele took to her website to share even happier news with fans -- she and Konecki are expecting their first child together.
Gushed the "Rumor Has It" singer, "We're over the moon and very excited!
Here, Us rounds up five need-to-know facts about Simon Konecki:
1. He's deeply committed to social and environmental justice
Konecki is a co-founder of British charity Drop4Drop. Their stated mission? "To help alleviate the global water crisis, by . . . delivering efficient and accountable clean water projects across the developing world," their website declares.

2012 Tour de France: Top contenders

2012 Tour de France: Top contenders

June 29, 2012
by espn
PARIS -- A look at some of the top contenders at the 2012 Tour de France:
Cadel Evans, 35, Australia, BMC Racing Team
The defending champion and twice runner-up has every chance of repeating, backed by a strong team that includes rising American star Tejay van Garderen and veteran George Hincapie, who's starting his record-setting 17th Tour de France. Evans' spring classics campaign was hampered by poor health, including a sinus infection and a leg injury. But the 2009 world champ has bounced back, adding a

China Shenzhou-9 spacecraft to return Friday

Shenzhou-9 spacecraft to return Friday 

2012-06-28

by news.xinhuanet

BEIJING, June 28 (Xinhua) --The Shenzhou-9 manned spacecraft will return to Earth around 10 a.m. Beijing Time Friday, a spokesperson for China's manned space program announced here Thursday.

A manual operation successfully separated the Shenzhou-9 spacecraft and the Tiangong-1 lab module Thursday morning, according to the Beijing Aerospace Control Center.

It was the first time for China's spacecraft and target module to be manually disjoined.

The three Chinese astronauts returned to Shenzhou-9 from Tiangong-1 at 6 a.m. Beijing Time Thursday, in order to prepare for the manual separation attempt.

Liu Wang, one of the astronauts, conducted the operation to separate Shenzhou-9 and the orbiting Tiangong-1. He will continue to manually operate and direct the spacecraft to a safe distance from the lab module.

Flavor Is Price Of Scarlet Hue Of Tomatoes, Study Finds

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Flavor Is Price Of Scarlet Hue Of Tomatoes, Study Finds

By GINA KOLATA
June 28, 2012
Plant geneticists say they have discovered an answer to a near-universal question: Why are tomatoes usually so tasteless?
Yes, they are often picked green and shipped long distances. Often they are refrigerated, which destroys their flavor and texture. But now researchers have discovered a genetic reason that diminishes a tomato’s flavor even if the fruit is picked ripe and coddled.

The unexpected culprit is a gene mutation that occurred by chance and that was discovered by tomato breeders. It was deliberately bred into almost all tomatoes because it conferred an advantage: It made them a uniform luscious scarlet when ripe.

soccer tournament

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Master of Germany, Italy Advances to Face Spain in Final

By ROB HUGHES

June 28, 2012

WARSAW — The Germans have never beaten the Italians in a major soccer tournament, and after what happened here in Poland’s new National Stadium on Thursday night, they must despair whether they ever will.
In an enthralling match, with both sides roared on by their fans and both teams going for the victory from the first whistle, Italy won, 2-1. Both its goals had one name written on them: Mario Balotelli.