Private Space Plane Poised for Big Test Flight

A private space plane is slated to fly on its own for the first time in the next six to eight weeks, a key drop-test milestone in the vehicle's quest to fly astronauts on roundtrip space missions.

The?Dream Chaser?spacecraft, built by aerospace firm Sierra Nevada Corp., will be released by a carrier helicopter at an altitude of 12,000 feet (3,657 meters) or so, then fly back and land autonomously on a runway at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in California.

The unmanned 30-second drop test will kick off a series of trials that culminate in trips to low-Earth orbit and back, potentially paving the way for contracted, crew-carrying flights to the International Space Station for NASA, company officials said during a press conference today (Jan. 30).

The seven-person Dream Chaser looks a bit like a miniature space shuttle.?It's about 29.5 feet (9 m) long and has a wingspan of 22.9 feet (7 m). For comparison, NASA's space shuttle was 122 feet (37 m) long, with a wingspan of 78 feet (24 m).?[Gallery: Meet the Dream Chaser Space Plane]

Filling the space shuttle's shoes

Colorado-based Sierra Nevada is one of several spaceship-building companies to receive funding from NASA's commercial crew program, which is encouraging private American vehicles to fill the void left by the?space shuttle?fleet's retirement in 2011.

In its latest round of awards, NASA granted funding to Sierra Nevada for the Dream Chaser and to SpaceX and Boeing, which are working on capsules called Dragon and the CST-100, respectively. The Dream Chaser space plane is the only non-capsule design being developed by a major contender.

The space agency hopes at least one of these vehicles is ready to fly astronauts to and from the space station by 2017. Until such homegrown private spaceships come online, NASA and the nation are dependent on Russian Soyuz spacecraft to provide this orbital taxi service.

The newly announced drop test is a step along the path to orbit. It will mark the first time the Dream Chaser has ever flown solo, though the space plane did take to the skies last year in a captive-carry test, during which it was held aloft the entire time by a heavy-duty helicopter.

The Dream Chaser drop-test vehicle is currently at a facility in Colorado, but it will be moved to Dryden in about two weeks, officials said. The first flight test should come four to six weeks after that, with two to five more flights following to gather additional data about the vehicle's in-air performance.

"The first flight test is just to make sure it will fly, everything works properly, we land on the runway safely," said Sierra Nevada's Jim Voss, head of the Dream Chaser program and a former space shuttle astronaut. "We'll put in maneuvers on the following tests that will gather the coefficients that we need to properly define the aerodynamic characteristics of the vehicle."

A testing campaign

If everything goes well with the upcoming series of tests, Sierra Nevada will conduct more extensive flight trials with another Dream Chaser vehicle, officials said.

"It will be similar to this vehicle, but we'll be able to pilot it with a test pilot on board, and then that same vehicle will be ultimately used for an orbital flight to demonstrate the capability of the Dream Chaser in orbit," Voss said.

Aerospace giant Lockheed Martin will help build that more advanced flight-test vehicle, as part of an extensive partnership with Sierra Nevada that the companies just announced today.

"They're building the structure for that vehicle, as we finish the design of some of the other systems we'll use for that additional flight test that we'll do in about a year to 18 months," Voss said.

Follow SPACE.com senior writer Mike Wall on Twitter @michaeldwall?or SPACE.com @Spacedotcom. We're also on Facebook?and?Google+.?

Copyright 2013 SPACE.com, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/private-space-plane-poised-big-test-flight-194100061.html

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Tony Perkins Links Military Suicide Rate to the Repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell

Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council has joined American Family Association?s Buster Wilson in linking the repeal of Don?t Ask Don?t Tell to the military?s suicide rate. Discussing the Pentagon?s new policy on allowing women to serve in combat units yesterday on his radio program, Perkins said that the Obama administration?s work in ?driving Christianity out [and] putting homosexuality in? are ?adding additional stress? that leads to a higher rate of suicide.

Perkins cited no evidence to back up his claim, but as with his ominous and incorrect predictions regarding the consequences of DADT?s repeal, he apparently doesn?t see a need to substantiate his outrageous allegations.

Perkins: The volume of these decisions coming out of this administration is unbelievable, unbelievable. The stress in our military, when you look how they have used the military for their social experimentation: driving Christianity out, putting homosexuality in, suicide rate going through the ceiling. I think it was last year if I recall the numbers there were 349 suicides in 2012 and I believe that?s more than were killed in combat, that?s the highest number since the Pentagon began tracking suicides back in 2001. And what are they doing? Adding additional stress by this social engineering. Unbelievable.

Source: http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/tony-perkins-links-military-suicide-rate-repeal-dont-ask-dont-tell

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France takes key Mali cities; now the hard part

Elders meet with the mayor and the governor of Gao in the city of Gao, Northern Mali, Wednesday Jan. 30, 2013. All tribe leaders were called to attend the meeting in an effort to avoid vengeance attacks following the arrival of French and Chadian troops in the area, ending 10-months of sharia laws. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

Elders meet with the mayor and the governor of Gao in the city of Gao, Northern Mali, Wednesday Jan. 30, 2013. All tribe leaders were called to attend the meeting in an effort to avoid vengeance attacks following the arrival of French and Chadian troops in the area, ending 10-months of sharia laws. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

French special forces drive through the city of Gao, Northern Mali, Wednesday Jan. 30, 2013. Islamist extremists fled the city Saturday after French, Chadian and Nigerien troops arrived, ending 10 months of radical islamic control over the city.(AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

Map shows developments in Mali

A sign on the northern road exiting the town of Gao, Northern Mali, Wednesday Jan. 30, 2013, reads "welcome to the islamic state of Gao". Islamist extremists fled the city Saturday after French, Chadian and Nigerien troops arrived, ending 10 months of radical islamic control over the city.(AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

Malian women flock the central market in Gao, Northern Mali, Wednesday Jan. 30, 2013. The mission by French troops scored another success in its effort to dislodge the al-Qaida-linked militants from northern Mali, and freed from Islamic rule over the weekend, women started coming out wearing bright colors, makeup and jewels, after 10 month of black veils and sharia laws. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

JOHANNESBURG (AP) ? French-led forces have wrested control of three key cities in northern Mali from al-Qaida-linked militants, but the fighters have escaped with their weapons into a desert region the size of Texas and are poised to mount counterattacks.

New military strategies will be needed to rout the jihadists from their desert hideouts. When the French leave their former colony, armed extremists are still likely to remain. No one has yet publicly announced a campaign to hunt them down in the Sahara and in Mali's villages, where they are believed to be slipping in among civilians.

"The French and Malian forces are dealing with an enemy ? jihadists ? that don't have a fixed address, that don't wear uniforms," said Ayo Johnson, director of Viewpoint Africa, a think tank in London. "It's an enemy that can disappear into the population and come out at will. The insurgents play the long game. They are not in a hurry, the French are. The Islamists could use the population as human shields. They could use suicide bombers. This is not a conventional war."

With the rapid success of French and Malian forces in recapturing the major cities in northern Mali, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said his country's forces will be leaving Mali "quickly." France sent its troops and warplanes to Mali on Jan. 11 after the armed Islamists began encroaching on the south from their northern stronghold, toward the capital. The French quickly blocked the offensive and forced the insurgents from three key northern cities, Timbuktu, Gao and Kidal, that they had ruled for 10 months. The French had already made clear that's the extent of their mission.

That leaves Malian and African forces facing new, daunting challenges: holding the cities and searching out the rebels in the vast desert surrounding the population centers. The well-armed Islamist extremists, who are from Mali and a host of other countries, are known to have recruited child soldiers and are expected to use the civilian population as human shields and to use suicide bombers.

The fight for Mali has really barely begun, warn analysts.

"It's a strategic withdrawal (from the cities) by the jihadists which means that the fight is not over," said Alex Vines, head of the Africa program at Chatham House, a center for international affairs in London.

Vines said unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, already have a prominent role in intelligence gathering in the area but have not been used to fire on targets, such as the drone strikes in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

"That could change," he said.

The Pentagon is considering setting up a drone base in northwest Africa to increase intelligence collection, said a U.S. military official this week. Niger has accepted the idea of hosting unarmed U.S. drones but has not endorsed armed U.S. Predator strikes or the launching of U.S. special operations raids from its territory. The U.S. and Niger in recent days signed a "status of forces agreement" spelling out legal protections and obligations of American forces that might operate in Niger in the future.

Vines believes that a French force will have to stay in Mali for some time to come. It is widely agreed that the Malian army is not up to the job of holding the cities on its own. Malian troops put up little to no resistance when the Islamist rebels attacked the cities of northern Mali in April last year. Eventually the army will be backed up by an African force that is still being assembled. There are now some 2,900 African soldiers in Mali, including 1,400 from Chad who are used to fighting in harsh, desert terrain like northern Mali.

"The French will have to ... keep in place a backup force that can move in quickly if there is any trouble," Vines said.

But French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian declared on Monday that "the mission is accomplished," referring to the blocking of the jihadists' offensive toward the south and retaking of the northern cities.

"The African forces will slowly take over from France to ensure the sovereignty of Mali," he told French television station TF1. "And France doesn't plan to stay. Once the handover has happened, France will pull out."

But even so, he seemed to hold out the possibility of a continued French role.

Asked about the status of the thousands of jihadists, he said: "Some were killed because the attacks were violent. Others are trying to flee, but the borders of neighboring countries are closed and guarded today. Others are hiding so it's necessary to continue, with help from African forces, Malian forces, with the re-conquest, the liberation of Mali."

The French desperately want more African troops in Mali, but they have been slow in coming, said Johnson of Viewpoint Africa.

"The French need thousands of troops to protect the gains that have been made," he said. "Many of the surrounding states in the region are fragile themselves. And finance is needed to pay for those troops."

Western and African nations Tuesday pledged $450 million to fight the jihadists, but the African Union said that $960 million is needed. In contrast the Islamists appear to be well funded from the drug trafficking and cigarette smuggling.

Johnson said from 5,000 to 10,000 armed Islamist extremists are in Mali, including many who gained combat experience while fighting for Moammar Gadhafi, the leader of Libya before he was overthrown and killed.

Nigeria is expected to take the lead in the African force in Mali. It has West Africa's best trained army, biggest economy and has led other African forces in West Africa. However, Nigeria is already battling its own Islamist extremist insurgency ? the Boko Haram rebels.

Johnson warns that the Mali conflict may last a long time.

"We are dealing with an ideology, a mindset and to fight something like that is a long-term process," he said. "Experience in Afghanistan, Iraq, Nigeria, Somalia shows that. It's going to be a long, hard struggle."

___

Associated Press writer Sarah DiLorenzo contributed from Paris.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-01-30-AF-Mali-New-Challenge/id-e6f0377464014edca2c1fbe12c29c351

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Kazakhstan: Plane Carrying 15 Passengers, 5 Crew Members Crashes Near Almaty

ALMATY, Kazakhstan ? A passenger jet carrying at least 20 people crashed Tuesday in heavy fog near Kazakhstan's principal city, Almaty, killing all on board, the airline and officials said.

The Kazakh Prosecutor-General's office listed 21 people as having been killed. The SCAT airline said the plane carried 20.

The accident highlights persistent concerns over aviation safety in Kazakhstan, almost all of whose airlines are banned from flying to Western Europe.

Officials said the plane, flying in from the northern city of Kokshetau, disappeared from radar view at around 13:13 p.m. local time (0713 GMT), more than 20 minutes after it has been scheduled to land.

State news agency Kazinform cited an emergency official at the site of the crash as saying the plane was initially denied permission to land by the airport due to poor visibility.

The plane then made a second approach, but lost its bearings and crashed a few miles from the airport, the official said.

The Emergencies Ministry said the plane was a Canadian-built Bombardier CRJ200, a two-engine regional jet that can accommodate about 50 passengers.

SCAT said the cause for the crash will not be determined until flight recorder data are examined.

Unusually intense snowfalls and fog have been causing chronic flight delays across the Central Asian nation over the past few weeks.

Kazinform reported that the plane had undergone repairs in Slovenia four months ago.

The General Prosecutor's Office said it is opening a criminal investigation into the airline, which is usual in such cases. Prime Minister Serik Akhmetov ordered the creation of a state commission to investigate the crash.

In a statement on his official website, President Nursultan Nazarbayev expressed his sorrow for those killed.

"On behalf of the people of Kazakhstan and myself, I express deep condolences to the bereaved families," the statement said.

This is the second major aircraft accident recently in Kazakhstan. In December, 27 people died when an An-72 military plane crashed near the southern city of Shymkent during violent snowstorms.

SCAT, which is based in Shymkent, is banned from flying within the European Union. The company operates regional flights within Kazakhstan, a country of 16.5 million people spread across an area four times the size of Texas.

Many of Kazakhstan's airlines still operate old Soviet-era planes and some regional airports are poorly maintained. EU officials are also concerned about poor training of staff.

Only one airline in Kazakhstan, state-owned Air Astana, is authorized to fly to the EU.

Earlier on HuffPost:

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/29/kazakhstan-plane-crash_n_2572053.html

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Winter Skin Care Tips for Tired, Cracking Skin - Health and Fitness ...

The winter brings romantic, clear nighttime skies and beautiful snow-covered landscapes. It also brings cold winds, dry air and a host of other conditions that can affect your skin. To prevent your skin from cracking, flaking, peeling and feeling generally uncomfortable this winter, there are a few things you can do which will make a huge difference.

Oil-Based Moisturizers

Image via Flickr by shawncampbell

Many people utilize water-based moisturizers during the warmer months of the year because those types of products make sense in warmer weather conditions. Water-based moisturizers are going to help provide the moisture your skin needs along with the protection from the heat. During the winter, you should switch to an oil-based moisturizer and apply it more often than you do during the warmer months. Oil-based products resist the cold and the wind much better than water-based ointments and offer a higher level of protection.

Take Cooler Baths and Showers

Image via Flickr by stevendepolo

One of the luxuries people enjoy during the winter is a long, hot shower after a day out in the cold. While that can be relaxing, it is also stripping away the natural oils in your skin that protect it from the cold. You don?t need to take extremely cold showers and baths during the winter months, but you should definitely turn down the water temperature to help protect your skin.

Petroleum Jelly

Image via Flickr by pjohnkeane

Have you ever seen people who apply lip balm or petroleum jelly to their lips during the winter? Well, those people are taking smart steps towards preserving their skin in the winter. As effective as oil-based skin creams can be during the, petroleum jelly is even more effective. It is not practical to cover your face and exposed skin in petroleum jelly before you head out into the snow. But you can apply it to specific areas where you are experiencing dry or flaky skin.

Moisture in the Air

Image via Flickr by Jeffrey Beall

When you were young and got sick during the winter, your parents may have put a humidifier in your room to help you get better. The truth is that humidifiers can be essential tools in the battle for maintaining healthy skin during the winter. Not only can running a humidifier during winter nights help your skin to stay healthy, but it can also open up your nasal passages and make breathing easier during the dry winter months. It will also help open skin pores and makes your?acne treatment more effective.

Try Sunscreen

Image via Flickr by Laurel Fan

Contrary to popular belief, sunscreen is not just for the beach. The purpose of sunscreen is to protect your skin from the rays of the sun. Even though the sun?s heat is not there, the damaging rays are still around. When you are planning on a day of winter fun that includes extended exposure to the dry winter air and the sun?s rays, load up on the sunscreen?and apply it frequently throughout the day.

The people who live in cold winter climates have become accustomed to the dry air. But that does not mean that it is healthy to ignore the needs of healthy skin. If you plan on living with the snow and cold air, then you need to take steps to protect your skin.

?

Source: http://e-healthdiary.com/winter-skin-care-tips-for-tired-cracking-skin/

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Monti repeats backing for Bank of Italy over Monte Paschi

ROME (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti repeated on Monday his backing for the Bank of Italy and its former governor Mario Draghi over the mounting scandal surrounding the troubled Monte dei Paschi bank.

"I want to confirm my full confidence in the Bank of Italy and in those who are in charge of it and who have been in charge of it," he said during a talk show on Italy's La7 television channel.

The Bank of Italy and Draghi, who was the central bank's governor at the time, have faced mounting questions over their oversight of complex derivatives and structured finance transactions by Monte dei Paschi between 2006-2009, which could cost as much as 720 million euros ($970.19 million) for the Tuscan lender.

($1 = 0.7421 euros)

(Reporting by James Mackenzie)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/monti-repeats-backing-bank-italy-over-monte-paschi-073302296--finance.html

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245 die in panicky stampede in Brazil club fire

BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) ? A blaze raced through a crowded nightclub in southern Brazil early Sunday, killing 245 people as the air filled with deadly smoke and panicked party-goers stampeded toward the exits, police and witnesses said. It appeared to be the world's deadliest nightclub fire in more than a decade.

Witnesses said that a flare or firework lit by band members may have started the fire.

Police Maj. Cleberson Braida told local news media that the 245 bodies were brought for identification to a gymnasium in the city of Santa Maria, at the southern tip of Brazil near the borders with Argentina and Uruguay

Television images showed smoke pouring out of the Kiss nightclub as shirtless, young male partygoers joined firefighters in wielding axes and sledgehammers, pounding at windows and walls to break through to those trapped inside. Teenagers sprinted from the scene desperately trying to find help. Others carried injured and burned friends away in their arms.

"There was so much smoke and fire, it was complete panic and it took a long time for people to get out, there were so many dead," survivor Luana Santos Silva told the Globo TV network.

Silva added that firefighters and ambulances responded quickly after the fire broke out, but that it spread too fast inside the packed club for them to help.

Michele Pereira, another survivor, told the Folha de S. Paulo newspaper that she was near the stage and that the fire broke out after members of the band lit flares.

"The band that was onstage began to use flares and, suddenly, they stopped the show and pointed them upward. At that point the ceiling caught fire. It was really weak but in a matter of seconds it spread," Pereira said.

Most of the dead apparently suffocated, according to Dr. Paulo Afonso Beltrame, a professor at the medical school of the Federal University of Santa Maria who raced the city's Caridade Hospital to help victims.

He said survivors, police and firefighters told him a flare set by a band member set the ceiling's soundproofing ablaze. "Large amounts of toxic smoke quickly filled the room and I would say that at least 90 percent of the victims died of asphyxiation," Beltrame told The Associated Press by telephone.

"The toxic smoke made people lose their sense of direction so they were unable to find their way to the exit. At least 50 bodies were found inside a bathroom. Apparently they confused the bathroom door with the exit door."

"In the hospital I saw desperate friends and relatives walking and running down the corridors looking for information. It was one of the saddest scenes I have ever witnessed," he added.

Rodrigo Moura, identified by the newspaper Diario de Santa Maria as a security guard at the club, said it was at its maximum capacity of between 1,000 and 2,000, and partygoers were pushing and shoving to escape.

Beltrame also said he was told the club was filled far past its capacity during a party for students at the university's department of agronomy. The event featured a group called Gurizada Fandangueira, which plays a driving mixture of local Brazilian country music styles. It was not immediately clear if the band members were among the victims.

The fire led President Dilma Roussef to cancel a series of meetings at a summit of Latin American and European leaders in Chile's capital of Santiago, and was headed to Santa Maria, according to the Brazilian foreign ministry.

"It is a tragedy for all of us. I am not going to continue in the meeting (in Chile) for very clear reasons," she said.

"Sad Sunday", tweeted Tarso Genro, the governor of the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul. He said all possible action was being taken and that he would be in the city later in the day.

Santa Maria is a major university city with a population of around a quarter of a million.

A welding accident reportedly set off a Dec. 25, 2000, fire at a club in Luoyang, China, killing 309.

At least 194 people died at an overcrowded working-class nightclub in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 2004. Seven members the band were sentenced to prison for setting off the blaze.

A blaze at the Lame Horse nightclub in Perm, Russia, broke out on Dec. 5, 2009, when an indoor fireworks display ignited a plastic ceiling decorated with branches, killing 152

A nightclub fire in the U.S. state of Rhode Island in 2003 killed 100 people after pyrotechnics used as a stage prop by the 1980s rock band Great White set ablaze cheap soundproofing foam on the walls and ceiling.

___

Associated Press writer Stan Lehman contributed to this report from Sao Paulo.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/245-die-panicky-stampede-brazil-club-fire-152020504.html

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On Illegal Immigration: The right's intellectual inconsistency of the ...

Well, it looks like we?re finally going to have a substantive immigration discussion. ?Unfortunately, immigration is one of many issues the right always handles poorly. Whether it?s lack of information, general ignorance of immigration laws or what, I really can?t say, nor do I care to speculate. ?The immigration issue is a big one, not just in terms of political capital, but in the nuances of the laws themselves. ?Interestingly, it?s also the one issue where Republicans and Democrats agree on most contentions.

Depending on which estimates you consult, there are approximately 11 million illegal immigrants currently residing in the U.S.; some suggest anywhere from 7 ? 20 million. ?Regardless of which figure you choose, the fact remains: there?s a very sizable population of people living outside our legal barriers but inside our legal borders. And this is where the right, at large, loses their ever-lovin? minds.

For being the party of limited government, the party that reveres the federalistic musings of Jefferson, and the party that constantly criticizes federal government overreach, our only suggestion for handling millions of illegal immigrants requires massive government intervention; massive government intervention that would encroach on the lives of private citizens to an extent we?ve never seen. ?So let?s entertain this idea for a moment.

Supposing we did ?round ?em up and send ?em home,? we would need a police force large enough to scour all fifty states. ?This law enforcement troop would have to track people down, because we don?t know where they are, well, most of them anyway. It?s reasonable to assume that not everyone would go willingly, so there would likely be casualties or at the very least, violent encounters. ?And if intel was less than accurate (and we all know the government would never make a mistake), we could expect collateral damage, but I suppose a few wrongfully busted doors is nothing and no one will be upset about having their Super Bowl party busted up, Christmas Vacation style because of government error.

I?m not arguing we should toss out the rule of law. I?m not making the case that allowing further illegal immigration is acceptable, what I am saying is that ?sending them home? is not only impractical, it?s completely contrary to everything we claim we believe. ?Unless we want a government expansive enough to round up what equates to the entire population of Pennsylvania, we need to provide practical solutions. ?We can debate the merits of Rubio?s ideas, come up with new ones, whatever, but let?s leave the intellectual inconsistency and nanny statism to the left. ?If we expect to win the war of ideas, we have to have good ones.

Follow Kemberlee Kaye on Twitter?

Source: http://www.therightscoop.com/on-illegal-immigration-the-rights-intellectual-inconsistency-of-the-round-them-up-and-send-them-home-argument/

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Video: Post Show Thoughts: Paul Ryan Speaks Out

A Second Take on Meeting the Press: From an up-close look at Rachel Maddow's sneakers to an in-depth look at Jon Krakauer's latest book ? it's all fair game in our "Meet the Press: Take Two" web extra. Log on Sundays to see David Gregory's post-show conversations with leading newsmakers, authors and roundtable guests. Videos are available on-demand by 12 p.m. ET on Sundays.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032608/vp/50606210#50606210

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What Should the Republican Party Stand For? (Atlantic Politics Channel)

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

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/279739598?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Ryan says deep budget cuts likely unavoidable

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The chairman of the House Budget Committee says Republicans will oppose tax increases and, as a result, deep, unpopular budget cuts will likely take effect.

Republican Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin told NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday that automatic spending cuts are scheduled to take hold because, quote, "Democrats have opposed our efforts to replace those cuts with others."

Democrats have insisted taxes be part of the equation to dodge across-the-board spending cuts that are set to hit the Pentagon and many domestic programs. The spending cuts were set in motion in the hopes of spurring lawmakers to strike a large-scale deal to reduce the deficit.

Ryan was the 2012 vice presidential nominee. He says the country is heading toward a debt crisis if it doesn't confront its spending.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ryan-says-deep-budget-cuts-likely-unavoidable-194439534--finance.html

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Schools must provide sports for disabled, US says

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Students with disabilities must be given a fair shot to play on a traditional sports team or have their own leagues, the Education Department says.

Disabled students who want to play for their school could join traditional teams if officials can make "reasonable modifications" to accommodate them. If those adjustments would fundamentally alter a sport or give the student an advantage, the department is directing the school to create parallel athletic programs that have comparable standing to traditional programs.

"Sports can provide invaluable lessons in discipline, selflessness, passion and courage, and this guidance will help schools ensure that students with disabilities have an equal opportunity to benefit from the life lessons they can learn on the playing field or on the court," Education Secretary Arne Duncan said in a statement announcing the new guidance Friday.

The groundbreaking order is reminiscent of the Title IX expansion of athletic opportunities for girls and women four decades ago and could bring sweeping changes to school budgets and locker rooms for years to come.

Activists cheered the changes.

"This is a landmark moment for students with disabilities. This will do for students with disabilities what Title IX did for women," said Terri Lakowski, who for a decade led a coalition pushing for the changes. "This is a huge victory."

It's not clear whether the new guidelines will spark a sudden uptick in sports participation. There was a big increase in female participation in sports after Title IX guidance instructed schools to treat female athletics on par with male teams. That led many schools to cut some men's teams, arguing that it was necessary to be able to pay for women's teams.

Education Department officials emphasized they did not intend to change sports traditions dramatically or guarantee students with disabilities a spot on competitive teams. Instead, they insisted schools may not exclude students based on their disabilities if they can keep up with their classmates.

Federal laws, including the 1973 Rehabilitation Act and the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, require states to provide a free public education to all students and prohibit schools that receive federal money from discriminating against students with disabilities. Going further, the new directive from the Education Department's civil rights division explicitly tells schools and colleges that access to interscholastic, intramural and intercollegiate athletics is a right.

The department suggests minor accommodations to incorporate students with disabilities onto sports teams. For instance, track and field officials could use a visual cue for a deaf runner to begin a race.

Some states already offer such programs. Maryland, for instance, passed a law in 2008 that required schools to create equal opportunities for students with disabilities to participate in physical education programs and play on traditional athletic teams. And Minnesota awards state titles for disabled student athletes in six sports.

Increasingly, those with disabilities are finding spots on their schools' teams.

"I heard about some of the other people who joined their track teams in other states. I wanted to try to do that," said Casey Followay, 15, of Wooster, Ohio, who competes on his high school track team in a racing wheelchair.

Current rules require Followay to race on his own, without competitors running alongside him. He said he hopes the Education Department guidance will change that and he can compete against runners.

"It's going to give me the chance to compete against kids at my level," he said.

Some cautioned that progress would come in fits and starts initially.

"Is it easy? No," said Brad Hedrick, director of disability services at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and himself a hall-of-famer in the National Wheelchair Basketball Association. "In most places, you're beginning from an inertial moment. But it is feasible and possible that a meaningful and viable programming can be created."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/schools-must-sports-disabled-us-says-082543043--spt.html

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Ravens hold final practice before heading south

OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) ? After one final practice at their own training facility, the Super Bowl-bound Baltimore Ravens packed their bags for a trip to New Orleans.

The Ravens had a light practice Saturday, their last of the season before heading to the Big Easy. The team is off Sunday and will head south Monday in anticipation of their matchup on Feb. 3 with the San Francisco 49ers.

After Saturday's session, coach John Harbaugh said, "We've had a great week. We had an excellent practice. The guys are very sharp and they're excited. We'll have to go down there and do just as well and do better."

Harbaugh called the 49ers "a very well-coached football team." He said it with a grin, because San Francisco is coached by his little brother, Jim.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ravens-hold-final-practice-heading-south-183743992--nfl.html

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Michael Buble's Wife Is Pregnant!

Michael Buble & wife Luisana Lopilato are expecting! Plus, see more stars who are expecting

Source: http://www.ivillage.com/pregnant-celebrity-photos-look-whos-popping/1-b-18178?dst=iv%3AiVillage%3Apregnant-celebrity-photos-look-whos-popping-18178

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Factory activity gains speed, jobless claims drop

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Factory activity grew the most in nearly two years in January and the number of new claims for jobless benefits dropped to a five-year low last week, giving surprisingly strong signals on the economy's pulse.

Financial information firm Markit on Thursday said its preliminary Purchasing Managers Index for manufacturing rose to 56.1 this month, its best showing since March 2011. A reading above 50 indicates expansion.

A separate report from the Labor Department showed initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell by 5,000 to 330,000, the lowest since January 2008 when the 2007-2009 recession had just begun.

Together, the data suggest the economy entered the new year with some underlying momentum despite an ongoing political battle in Washington over fiscal policy.

"The economy is structurally doing a little bit better," said Michael Strauss, an economist at Commonfund in Wilton, Connecticut.

Analysts polled by Reuters had expected Markit's "flash" factory gauge to slip and looked for claims to rise to 355,000.

The unexpectedly strong U.S. data helped U.S. stocks to rise, reversing early declines caused by disappointing revenues reported by Apple Inc. Better-than-expected economic news from the euro zone and China also supported stocks.

Economists have cautioned about reading too deeply into this month's figures on jobless claims, which tend to be volatile around this time of the year because of large swings in the model the government uses to iron out seasonal fluctuations.

Still, claims have fallen for two straight weeks, suggesting employers do not yet see tax hikes enacted this month as a big threat to consumer demand.

A four-week moving average for new claims, meant to provide a better sense of underlying trends, fell 8,250 to 351,750, the lowest since March 2008.

The data helped the dollar extend gains versus the yen, while U.S. Treasury debt prices fell.

PRE-RECESSION LEVEL

Claims are now at roughly the same level they were in much of 2006 and 2007. They started trending higher around December 2007, the month the recession began.

However, while employers have pulled back on layoffs, they have only added jobs at a lackluster pace.

Analysts polled by Reuters expect the government's employment report due on February 1 will show 165,000 jobs were added to payrolls this month, up from 155,000 new positions in December. The unemployment rate is expected to hold steady at 7.8 percent.

Like the claims data, Markit's factory report also offered support for the idea that the labor market recovery was gaining traction with new jobs in the sector being created at the fastest pace in nine months.

A Markit subindex showed factory output grew at its fastest pace since March 2012, while new orders also rose. The new orders gauge hit 57.7, its highest level since May 2010.

Improved economic conditions in China and some parts of Europe helped boost orders from abroad, but firms largely tied the growth surge to higher demand from U.S. customers.

"It is the domestic market that is clearly providing the main impetus to the upturn," said Markit chief economist Chris Williamson.

Aggressive monetary stimulus from the Federal Reserve and a last-minute deal by Congress to reduce the size of the tax hike gave a boost to business confidence, Williamson said.

A third gauge of economic health released on Thursday also beat analysts' forecasts. The private Conference Board's Leading Economic Index gained 0.5 percent to 93.9 last month, pointing to an improvement in growth.

(Additional reporting by Steven C. Johnson and Richard Leong in New York; Writing by Jason Lange and Tim Ahmann; Editing by Andrea Ricci)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/jobless-claims-drop-five-low-labor-market-healing-133257002--business.html

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Vegetarian Chili Recipe - Good Food Life

This healthy alternative chili will make you wonder why we ever put meat in chili to begin with. Take the time to start with dry beans and soak them overnight; the difference is definitely noticeable. Serve with tortilla chips and garnished with cilantro and sour cream.

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb dry black beans, soaked overnight in cool water
• 2 Poblano peppers, roasted in oven
• 1 oz olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, seeded, chopped
• 1 red or yellow bell pepper, seeded, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 chipotle chili in adobo sauce, chopped
• 1/2 Tbsp ground cumin
• 1 Tbsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 1 pinch ground cinnamon
• 1 Tbsp tomato paste
• 3 oz white wine
• 2 cups vegetable stock
• 1 large or 2 medium tomatoes, seeded, chopped
• Salt and freshly ground pepper, as needed
• Optional thickener: 1 Tbsp masa harina, (or pulse corn meal in a dry blender until very fine like corn flour), diluted with vegetable stock to make a slurry;

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375? F.
2. Put beans in large pot and just cover with cold water. Add a little salt and bring to a simmer. Let cook, covered for 1 to 1-1/2 hours until tender. Drain well.
3. Place roasted Poblanos in a plastic bag for about 5 minutes to loosen skin. Slip skin off peppers, then seed and chop.
4. Heat olive oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onions, peppers, garlic, chipotle, and Poblanos and saut? until aromatic and just starting to turn brown. Add chili powder, cumin, coriander, and cinnamon and cook until fragrant. Add in tomato paste and cook for two minutes.
5. Add white wine and reduce by about 2/3. Add vegetable stock and tomatoes and bring to a simmer; cook gently for 8 to 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Add drained black beans and cook for a 5 more minutes.
6. Add masa harina or corn flour slurry, (if using to thicken). Bring back to a simmer and season with salt and pepper.
7. Serve hot with a garnish of sour cream, cilantro, and shredded jack cheese, or freshly made guacamole.

1.4

http://www.fullcircle.com/goodfoodlife/2013/01/25/vegetarian-chili-recipe/

Source: http://www.fullcircle.com/goodfoodlife/2013/01/25/vegetarian-chili-recipe/

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Automobile Getting Time ? How to Take Advantage of Employed ...

Auctions for employed vehicles can offer you with mounds of opportunities to purchase a excellent vehicle without having spending as well significantly cash. It is extremely crucial, however, to prepare oneself before acquiring into an auction so that you would be in a position to actually get a great deal and not finish up wasting your cash on a badly conditioned automobile. It is important for you to know how to take benefit of employed automobile auction to make the most out of your car purchasing. Here are some essential suggestions for wiser spending on employed automobile auction.

Prior to going to a employed vehicle auction, you have to be certain about the type of auction you are going into. Generally, car auctions are organized by the police, the government or auction lots. The cars sold right here might come from the surplus of government autos, repossession, or impounding. You have to comprehend that you are getting automobiles as is, and there are no warranties. Returning the vehicle right after buying it would be really difficult and therefore when you buy one, you actually have to certain of its top quality.

Check out the schedule of the utilized vehicle auction. A great auction must have a period for preliminary inspection and you must certainly go there to be certain that the auction is worth going to. While you might not be capable to test drive cars throughout the inspection you can certainly take a look at each and every nook and cranny of the automobiles and it is very best to take advantage of this chance. Mark on your mind three or so automobiles that you would contemplate so you would have just the correct quantity of alternatives for bidding throughout the actual utilized vehicle auction.

List down the Automobile ID numbers of the vehicles that you seem to be interested in. Once you get residence, you can search for the Vehicle ID on Carfax to verify out its background report. A minimal fee would be charged, but this is definitely worth the search simply because it will let you see how much the automobile has been use, if it has a clean record, or if it has been taken cared of by its previous owners.

When you go to a utilized car auction, bring a extended an auto guide such as the Kelley Blue Book so that you can go about looking for automobiles with a guide at hand. Such publications are useful in giving you the values of several car models in the course of trade-in, which could aid you in finding out regardless of whether you are giving a good bid or not. Have in mind all the fees of bidding ? you have to spend buyer?s premium (from five to ten percent of the bid), or a registration fee for the auction.

Have a functioning spending budget when buying a automobile at utilized car auction. By setting a ceiling for your price range, you will stop yourself from bidding a lot more than you can afford. Some people tend to overbid out of their pride to win a bid even if the vehicle does not really expense as much.

Vehicle auctions are great venues to discover automobiles if you are on a price range. But just before obtaining into one, it is important to know how to take advantage of used vehicle auction to be sure that you would not end up losing both your cash and the opportunity to drive a decent automobile.

Source: http://www.bnr.co/autos/automobile-getting-time-how-to-take-advantage-of-employed-automobile-auction/

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NASA Super-TIGER balloon shatters flight record

Jan. 24, 2013 ? Flying high over Antarctica, a NASA long duration balloon has broken the record for longest flight by a balloon of its size.

The record-breaking balloon, carrying the Super Trans-Iron Galactic Element Recorder (Super-TIGER) experiment, has been afloat for 46 days and is on its third orbit around the South Pole.

"This is an outstanding achievement for NASA's Astrophysics balloon team," said John Grunsfeld, associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "Keeping these huge balloons aloft for such long periods lets us do forefront science that would be difficult to do otherwise."

Super-TIGER is flying a new instrument for measuring the rare heavy elements among the flux of high-energy cosmic rays bombarding Earth from elsewhere in our Milky Way Galaxy. The information retrieved from this mission will be used to develop an understanding where these energetic atomic nuclei are produced and how they achieve their very high energies.

Super-TIGER launched Dec. 8, 2012, from the long duration balloon site near McMurdo Station, Antarctica. The massive 39-million cubic foot scientific balloon carries the 6,000 pound Super-TIGER payload -- equivalent to a large sports utility vehicle -- at a float altitude of 127,000 feet, more than four times the altitude of most commercial airliners. Size-wise, more than 200 blimps could fit inside the balloon.

The Super-TIGER flight shattered the previous record of 41 days and 22 hours, previously set in 2005. The Super-TIGER team plans to fly for another 8-10 days to have it fly closer to McMurdo Station before terminating the flight and recovering the experiment.

"It has taken eight years, but we are so excited about breaking the long duration balloon record. In addition, it looks like the Super-Tiger flight, which is still collecting science data, will raise the bar by a week or two," said Debora Fairbrother, chief of the Scientific Balloon Program Office at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.

The long duration balloon site at Willy Field, McMurdo Station, takes advantage of the stratospheric anti-cyclonic wind pattern circulating from east to west around the South Pole. The stratospheric wind circulation combined with the sparsely populated continent of Antarctica allows for long duration balloon flights at altitudes above 100,000 feet.

The National Science Foundation Office of Polar Programs manages the U.S. Antarctic Program and provides logistic support for all U.S. scientific operations in Antarctica. The NSF Antarctic Support Contractor provides material support to the NASA Balloon Program, including support of launch and recovery operations throughout the Antarctic Campaign.

The principal investigator of the Super-TIGER mission is Dr. Walter Binns of Washington University, St. Louis, Mo.

NASA's Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility in Palestine, Texas, is responsible for launch operations and command and control of the balloon during flight.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/strange_science/~3/V2eutG4fEXc/130124163409.htm

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Sin City Duke: Met moves 'Rigoletto' to Las Vegas

NEW YORK (AP) ? Diana Damrau recalled when she learned the Metropolitan Opera's new production of "Rigoletto" would be set in the glitzy Rat Pack-era Las Vegas of 1960, not 16th-century Mantua.

"At first you get a shock. Why and how?" the German soprano said. "But I think it works perfectly for the U.S.A., so they have a real American 'Rigoletto.'"

The first of Giuseppe Verdi's three great middle-period triumphs has been shifted to New York's Little Italy, Federico Fellini's Rome, modern-day Hollywood and even the Oval Office. Now it will take place amid dazzling Sin City lights and not in the Renaissance Palazzo Ducale when Michael Mayer's version of the 162-year-old classic opens Jan. 28.

"Many people are a little bit scared about it, because they just see or hear about Las Vegas," Polish tenor Piotr Beczala said.

Beczala sings the Duke in a cast that also includes Serbian baritone Zeljko Lucic as Rigoletto. Damrau is Rigoletto's daughter Gilda.

The Met, known for having a conservative audience, has seen divisive debate unfold on its Facebook page. The 200th anniversary of Verdi's birth is Oct. 10, and a segment of fans abhors regietheater, where the director reinterprets the original creation.

"I know that there are some people who come to boo new productions, particularly new productions that are of staple repertory pieces," Met General Manager Peter Gelb said. "My expectations and hopes are that this will work and that it will be grand and spectacular and dramatically right and a good platform for these three great singers."

Michele Mariotti conducts.

"From the beginning, I was a little bit suspicious because I'm very traditional and a classic-oriented guy," Lucic said during the final week of rehearsals, "but now I'm enjoying this very much."

To replace Otto Schenk's traditional 1989 staging, Gelb at first hired Swiss director Luc Bondy, whose grim vision of Puccini's "Tosca" prompted intense booing when it debuted on the opening night of the 2009-10 season. A co-production with the Wiener Festwochen and Milan's Teatro alla Scala, Bondy's "Rigoletto" opened in Vienna in May 2011 with a dark 19th-century setting, and Gelb decided to drop it. He called Mayer, who won a Tony Award in 2007 for the rock musical "Spring Awakening," and asked him to make his opera debut.

Mayer noticed billboards for "Bridesmaids" and "The Hangover" film series and thought of Vegas. Gelb said he should make it a different time period, because contemporary quickly becomes dated.

The Duke is now a casino mogul/lounge singer on the Strip. Mayer suggested Beczala think of Frank Sinatra for the Duke and Lucic think of Don Rickles and Joey Bishop for Rigoletto, a cigarette-smoking, hunchback comedian rather than a court jester. Marullo is akin to Dean Martin and Borsa to Peter Lawford.

Mayer cautions they are mere templates, not actual representations.

"We're really living in a world right now that celebrates Las Vegas all the time in the movies and TV," he said. "It's just a cultural touchstone for all of us to represent a decadent place with power, money, glamour, sex, crime."

Beczala worked during four weeks of rehearsals to replicate the nonchalant movements of Ol' Blue Eyes ? and Beczala does have blue eyes.

"Questa o quella (This or that)," the opening aria, is given as a showpiece by a microphone-tossing Duke attired in an elegant white tuxedo jacket and backed by eight fan dancers. Set designer Christine Jones and lighting designer Kevin Adams, who both won 2010 Tony Awards for the Mayer-directed "American Idiot," planned sets that include 6,000 feet of the artificial neon product Neoflex, 2,100 feet of three-color light-emitting diode (LED) tape and about 1,600 individual light bulbs.

The ladder for the abduction becomes an elevator. Rigoletto keeps Gilda in the tower of a residential hotel. The inn is a strip club out in the desert, and Gilda winds up in the trunk of a midnight blue Cadillac Coupe Deville instead of a sack. Swords are guns. The Count of Monterone is an Arab sheik.

While first-act go-go dancers and a large third-act arrow sign were dropped during rehearsals, this isn't for everyone.

"Bravo. Las Vegas ? at Caesars Palace? It's exactly what Verdi wanted. The music reflects that," conductor Riccardo Muti, music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, said sarcastically. "You cannot create situations that are then in conflict with the music, because the music tells you exactly what's happening."

"Rigoletto" has long been portable. Verdi and librettist Francesco Maria Piave maintained a French setting when they adapted the Victor Hugo play "Le roi s'amuse (The King Amuses Himself)," about a licentious King Francis I, his rape of the young girl, Blanche, and the quest for revenge by her father, the court jester, Triboulet.

Some perceived it as criticism of the reigning king, Louis-Philippe I; the morning after Hugo's play opened at Paris' Comedie-Francaise on Nov. 22, 1832, the French government imposed a ban that lasted a half-century.

When the Austrian government ruling Venice refused to give Verdi permission to stage what the composer then called "La Maledizione (The Curse)" for the 1851 carnival season at Teatro La Fenice, negotiations led to the plot being kept and the names and location changing.

Francesco ? the Italianized version of the king ? transformed into the Duke, Bianca was changed to Gilda and the jester was adjusted from Triboletto to Rigoletto after "Rigoletti ou le dernier des fous (Rigoletti, or the last of the fools)," a parody of Hugo's play. Renamed "Rigoletto," the opera opened on March 11, 1851, to reviews praising the music and deploring the subject.

British director Jonathan Miller famously reinvented "Rigoletto" for his 1982 staging at the English National Opera, moving it to Little Italy in the 1950s. Inspired by "The Godfather" movies and the film "Some Like it Hot," Miller turned the Duke into a mafia boss and Rigoletto into a waiter at a mob hangout. His decision sparked protests when the production toured the U.S. in 1984, which included a stop at the Met.

"I know perfectly well there are those killjoys whom orthodoxy, or what they like to call orthodoxy, invariably takes precedence over pleasure," Miller said in the introduction to the video, available on Kultur. "I think you'll agree that doing the opera this way renews and somehow revitalizes the work."

Elijah Moshinsky's 1991 production for Opera Australia was inspired by the immoral Rome of Fellini's 1960 film, "La Dolce Vita (The Sweet Life)," and Bruce Beresford's 2000 Armani-costumed staging for the Los Angeles Opera switched the tenor into Duke Mantua, a Hollywood producer with Rigoletto as his agent.

James McDonald's 2002 Welsh National Opera production transferred the action to the 1960s Kennedy White House. Then came Doris Doerrie's 2005 production for the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, Germany. Gilda was Princess Leia, stuck with a Rigoletto akin to Charlton Heston in "The Planet of the Apes."

Damrau was Gilda when that production opened and Beczala the Duke during its 2007 revival. Damrau said the audience was distracted trying "to figure out which character came from which science-fiction movie," calling it "really unnecessary."

Gelb attended a Munich rehearsal and took a swipe, saying in his January program note: "I am no more interested in watching the Duke in an ape suit ... than the next member of the Met audience." Beczala, however, said "the proportions between characters are there. It's not really something completely stupid."

"I took the libretto literally: what Rigoletto says about the Duke, the Duke is like an animal. Lovers of your teenage daughter usually are," Doerrie said in a telephone interview from Germany. "I was quite surprised about the reaction at the premiere, because people were throwing bananas at me and there was literally howling ? they turned into literally animals."

Mayer's excitement about his version has filtered down to the cast. Whether the audience likes it, that's another matter.

"I'm not looking forward to the boos, but I'm not worried about it," the 52-year-old American said. "If they're going to boo me, that's how it goes."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/sin-city-duke-met-moves-rigoletto-las-vegas-180941602.html

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Witness describes killings by Malian army

French foreign legionnaires take position outside Marakala, central Mali, some 240kms (140 miles) from Bamako Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2013. French troops in armored personnel carriers rolled through the streets of Diabaly on Monday, winning praise from residents of this besieged town after Malian forces retook control of it with French help a week after radical Islamists invaded. The Islamists also have deserted the town of Douentza, which they had held since September, according to a local official who said French and Malian forces arrived there on Monday as well. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

French foreign legionnaires take position outside Marakala, central Mali, some 240kms (140 miles) from Bamako Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2013. French troops in armored personnel carriers rolled through the streets of Diabaly on Monday, winning praise from residents of this besieged town after Malian forces retook control of it with French help a week after radical Islamists invaded. The Islamists also have deserted the town of Douentza, which they had held since September, according to a local official who said French and Malian forces arrived there on Monday as well. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

Malians hang on the back of a packed minibus as they drive to Marakala, central Mali, some 240kms (140 miles) from Bamako Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2013. French troops in armored personnel carriers rolled through the streets of Diabaly on Monday, winning praise from residents of this besieged town after Malian forces retook control of it with French help a week after radical Islamists invaded. The Islamists also have deserted the town of Douentza, which they had held since September, according to a local official who said French and Malian forces arrived there on Monday as well. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

A convoy of French soldiers drives north as they pass through Segou, central Mali, some 240kms (140 miles) from Bamako Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2013. French troops in armored personnel carriers rolled through the streets of Diabaly on Monday, winning praise from residents of this besieged town after Malian forces retook control of it with French help a week after radical Islamists invaded. The Islamists also have deserted the town of Douentza, which they had held since September, according to a local official who said French and Malian forces arrived there on Monday as well. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

Malian women sift wheat in a field near Segou, central Mali, some 240kms (140 miles) from Bamako Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2013. French troops in armored personnel carriers rolled through the streets of Diabaly on Monday, winning praise from residents of this besieged town after Malian forces retook control of it with French help a week after radical Islamists invaded. The Islamists also have deserted the town of Douentza, which they had held since September, according to a local official who said French and Malian forces arrived there on Monday as well. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

Italian Defense Minister Giampaolo Di Paola, left, and Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi, report on the ongoing situation in Mali to the foreign and defense commissions of the Senate and the Lower Chamber, in the Mappamondo Hall of the Lower Chamber, in Rome, Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2013. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

DJENNE, Mali (AP) ? Malian soldiers killed people accused of ties to radical Islamists at a bus stop around the time the French-led military intervention began, a witness told The Associated Press on Wednesday, detailing how the soldiers shot the victims and then threw their bodies into nearby wells.

The account from the witness, who insisted on anonymity for fear of reprisals, came the same day that a French human rights group accused Malian forces of dozens of "summary executions" and other abuses as they confront Islamic extremists.

"They gathered all the people who didn't have national identity cards and the people they suspected of being close to the Islamists to execute them and put them in two different wells near the bus station," he said.

The soldiers later poured gasoline in the wells and set the bodies ablaze, he said.

The man described seeing at least three people killed in the incident at the Sevare bus stop on Jan. 10, a day before the French launched their military offensive following a surge southward by the Islamists into the town of Konna.

The military blocked journalists from reaching the town of Sevare on Wednesday, expanding its security cordon all the way to the town of Djenne. Reporters trying to reach the area, including an Associated Press team, were turned away at checkpoints by soldiers, who cited the national state of emergency and concerns for the journalists' safety.

On Wednesday, the International Federation for Human Rights, or FIDH by its French acronym, called for the creation of an independent commission to look into the crimes and punish those responsible.

FIDH charged that Malian forces were behind about 33 killings ? including of ethnic Tuaregs ? since new fighting erupted Jan. 10 along the narrow belt between the government-controlled south and the north, which has been under the control of al-Qaida-linked militants for months.

Malian Army Capt. Modibo Traore said the allegations were "completely false" but declined to comment further.

Human rights groups have long expressed concerns about retaliatory violence against northern Malians or anyone seen as having ties to the Islamists whose capture of the north has divided the country in two.

Asked in an interview Wednesday on France 24 television whether he knew of abuses committed by Malian forces, French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said only: "There's a risk."

France is "counting on" the top ranks of the Malian army to help avoid any abuses, Le Drian said.

"Aside from those who let themselves get indoctrinated by terrorists, who we totally condemn ... the Tuaregs are our friends," said Le Drian.

The claims come as international backing continued to pour in for France's intervention in its former colony. Pentagon officials said a United States airlift of French forces to Mali is expected to continue for another two weeks. Hundreds of African soldiers from Nigeria, Togo, Burkina Faso and Senegal are now joining.

Human rights groups have expressed concern about the situation in Mali ? notably the activities of Malian troops. In a statement, FIDH pointed to "a series of summary executions" perpetrated by Malian forces notably in the towns of Sevare, Mopti, Niono and others along the lines of clashes.

In Sevare, at least 11 people were killed at a military camp, near its bus station and its hospital, and "credible information" pointed to about 20 other executions with the bodies "buried hastily, notably in wells," FIDH said.

Malian troops also killed two ethnic Tuaregs in the Niono region, and "other allegations of summary executions continue to come to us," the group said.

Dozens of ethnic Tuaregs in Bamako, Mali's capital far to the southwest, have had their homes raided by Malian forces, and at times been subjected to pillage and intimation, the group said.

All of the victims are accused of being infiltrators or of having ties to the jihadists, of possessing weapons, or of not being able to produce identity papers or "simply targeted because of their ethnicity," it said.

The Islamist fighters have controlled the vast desert stretches of northern Mali, with the weak government clinging to the south, since a military coup in the capital in March last year unleashed chaos.

Egypt's Islamist president has warned that the French-led military intervention in Mali will worsen rather than resolve the conflict. Mohammed Morsi, who is to visit Paris Feb. 1, said the use of force will "make the situation so much worse than before," speaking in Cairo Wednesday.

France launched its intervention on Jan. 11 ? a day after Islamic extremists captured the central town of Konna, threatening a possible advance toward Bamako. France has said its forces will stay as long as necessary in Mali, but wants other African countries to the lead in helping Mali. Hundreds of African forces have been pouring in.

The U.S. Air Force is keeping between eight and 10 people at the airport in Mali's capital to help with the incoming and outgoing flights, the Pentagon said late Tuesday. The U.S. has already flown five C-17 flights into Bamako, delivering more than 80 French troops and 124 tons of equipment, it said.

The U.S. is not providing direct aid to the Malian military because the democratically elected government was overthrown last March in a coup.

French officials confirmed Tuesday that Malian forces, backed by French air power, retook the key towns of Diabaly and Douentza. Douentza had been held by Islamist rebels for four months and is located 195 kilometers (120 miles) northeast of Mopti, the previous line-of-control held by the Malian military in Mali's narrow central belt. French and Malian troops arrived in Douentza on Monday to find that the Islamists had retreated from it.

Diabaly, 195 kilometers (120 miles) west of Mopti, was retaken Monday after Islamist fighters who had seized it a week earlier fled amid French air strikes.

___

Associated Press writers Jamey Keaten in Dakar, Senegal, and Hamza Hendawi in Cairo contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-01-23-Mali-Fighting/id-9cb1225feb0949a3b6df3fcb5df733cf

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