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Lviv, Ukraine withdraws bid for 2022 Winter Olympics

Written By kolimtiga on Senin, 30 Juni 2014 | 23.51

Lviv, Ukraine withdrew its bid for the 2022 Winter Olympics on Monday because of the continuing political and security crisis in Ukraine.

"The preliminary evaluation by the IOC's working group found that the Lviv bid offered huge potential for future development," International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach said after talks between him, Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyukin and Ukraine National Olympic Committee President Sergey Bubka.

"In my discussions with the Ukrainian prime minister and NOC president, we concluded that it would be extremely difficult to pursue the 2022 bid under the current circumstances but that a future bid would make sense for Ukraine and Ukrainian sport."

The withdrawal leaves only three cities in contention for the 2022 Games: Beijing, Oslo and Almaty, Kazakhstan. The host city will be selected by the IOC on July 31, 2015.

"We would like to thank the IOC very much for its help and understanding, as well as the great assistance that it has given to Ukrainian athletes from all parts of the country, both morally and financially," Bubka said

Copyright © 2014, Los Angeles Times
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Former Cameroon aide Andy Coulson to be retried in phone hacking case

A former top aide to British Prime Minister David Cameron, already convicted of conspiring to hack into private cellphones, will be retried on bribery charges, prosecutors said Monday.

Andy Coulson will face a jury again to defend himself from allegations that, as editor of one of Britain's most notorious tabloids, he and a reporter paid police officers for a phone directory of the royal household. The first jury was unable to agree on a verdict on those charges last week, resulting in a mistrial.

But the panel did find Coulson guilty of conspiring to tap into private cellphone messages. Investigators say that journalists at the News of the World, before and during Coulson's tenure as editor, hacked into the phones of hundreds of people in order to land scoops and discover details of the private lives of celebrities, politicians and even crime victims.

Coulson, 46, faces sentencing for that conviction later this week. He could spend up to two years in prison.

He was the only person convicted in a months-long trial of seven people accused of wrongdoing in the phone-hacking scandal. The defendants were variously accused of intercepting voicemail messages, paying public officials for information and trying to thwart the police investigation into the allegations.

The most prominent of the seven on trial, Rebekah Brooks, Coulson's predecessor as editor of the Rupert Murdoch-owned News of the World, was acquitted on all charges. Brooks, a confidante of Murdoch's, was forced to resign as head of his British newspaper empire when the scandal erupted three years ago upon revelations that the hacking victims included a 13-year-old kidnapped girl.

Coulson's conviction is a major embarrassment for Cameron, the prime minister, who hired Coulson as his chief spin doctor. Cameron has apologized in Parliament for what he acknowledges was a bad decision, but insists that Coulson misled him about his record as editor of News of the World.

Cameron's political foes have criticized him for bringing a criminal into the heart of 10 Downing St.

Coulson is to be retried on the bribery charge along with former reporter Clive Goodman, who has already served a prison term for hacking into the cellphones of aides to the royal family.

During the trial, Goodman admitted on the witness stand that he had hacked into the phones of Prince William and his wife, the former Kate Middleton, nearly 200 times.

Copyright © 2014, Los Angeles Times
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Snack deal: TreeHouse buys Flagstone Foods for $860 million

TreeHouse Foods Inc. said Monday it is buying snack food maker Flagstone Foods for $860 million in cash to expand into healthy foods.

Flagstone makes private-label healthy snacks and is the No. 1 provider of trail mix and dried fruit, TreeHouse said. The snack company, based in St. Paul, Minn., has 1,365 employees and booked sales of $697 million in its 2013 fiscal year. 

TreeHouse, which makes non-dairy powdered creamers, cereals, sauces and soups, said the acquisition would diversify its private-label offerings. TreeHouse has purchased about six other food companies over the last four years. 

"Flagstone Foods is ideally situated at the intersection of health and wellness, snacking and the perimeter of the store, and represents an attractive new platform for TreeHouse to enter the on-trend, rapidly growing $7.1 billion healthy snacks category," said Sam K. Reed, TreeHouse chairman and chief executive. 

The Oak Brook, Ill.-based company is purchasing Flagstone from private equity firm Gryphon Investors and other shareholders, and said it expected its annual sales to approach $3.5 billion with the addition of Flagstone.

TreeHouse projects a gain of 24 cents to 28 cents in earnings per share for the first full year after the deal closes in the third quarter. The deal is expected to lower 2014 earnings by about 5 cents to 8 cents per share. 

TreeHouse rose about 1.5% to $81.07 in late-morning trading. 

Copyright © 2014, Los Angeles Times
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BET Awards 2014: Nicki Minaj provides a refreshingly vicious jolt

If Sunday's BET Awards served as "the black World Cup" -- as the evening's host, Chris Rock, put it in his introductory monologue -- then Nicki Minaj was the Netherlands, waiting until the very end of the nearly four-hour show to score.

You could see her setting up her game-winning goal earlier, when Iggy Azalea came onstage to perform her hit "Fancy" and a reaction shot of Minaj in the audience showed the rapper primping exaggeratedly. Was she enjoying Azalea's performance? Making fun of it? It wasn't clear.

Until it was. Accepting the award for best female hip-hop artist, the final prize handed out Sunday, Minaj used her time at the podium to take a masterful dig at Azalea, whose ascent this year evidently feels like a threat to the more established artist.

"What I want the world to know about Nicki Minaj is when you hear Nicki Minaj spit, Nicki Minaj wrote it," she said, an only slightly veiled reference to rumors that Azalea doesn't write her own material. Then, just in case we didn't get it, she primped some more, mimicking Azalea's signature gestures with a precision that Minaj's former acting teachers might have admired.

"No shade," she added, insisting she meant no disrespect. Well, OK.

Minaj's jab provided a refreshingly vicious jolt in an event otherwise filled with earnestness. There was Pharrell Williams' opening performance of his song "Come Get It Bae," for which he seemed beyond stoked to bring out Missy Elliott, the lovable hip-hop veteran whom Williams described as "the empress."

There was John Legend doing some typically cordial mansplaining in "You & I (Nobody in the World)" -- "You don't know that you're beautiful," he sang -- before joining Jhené Aiko for a typically dreary rendition of "The Worst."

And there was Robin Thicke, introducing his new ballad "Forever Love" by publicly apologizing -- for what seemed like the thousandth time -- to his estranged wife, Paula Patton.

No shade, but so much of this year's BET Awards felt like Grammy Awards-style glad-handing, not  least of which included a too-mild tribute to Lionel Richie that misunderstood his goofy appeal with deferential reenactments of "Hello" and "Brick House" by Legend and Ledisi. (The gospel singer Yolanda Adams improved the sequence with a trip deep into the Commodores' "Jesus Is Love.")

Quick-hit performances by a trio of '90s-era R&B groups -- Troop, Silk and Color Me Badd -- had more energy but still felt distressingly polite, as though these guys were determined not to blow their one moment back in the spotlight.

Yet despite the surplus of thank-yous, real awards-show moments aren't built from gratitude; more often than not, the memorable ones are made of swagger.

August Alsina, Trey Songz and Chris Brown -- current R&B stars too young to have had much use for Troop, Silk or Color Me Badd -- seemed to get that in their bruising three-way collaboration. Lil Wayne sounded terrible in the rap-rock "Krazy" but looked great as he stomped around the stage dressed like a Seattle fisherman.

And Jennifer Hudson, of all people, brought a surprising fierceness to "Walk It Out," which recalled the unforgiving disco thump of Grace Jones. (Keyshia Cole, too, was hilariously unimpressed as she introduced a performance by a member of BET's Music Matters program.)

It wasn't about being mean, although that certainly helped Minaj stand out. But pop stars get all year to present themselves as heroes. What was exciting about Sunday's highlights was getting a glimpse of the villains within.

Twitter: @mikaelwood

Copyright © 2014, Los Angeles Times
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Florida judge dismisses defamation suit brought by George Zimmerman

A Florida judge has ruled in favor of NBC Universal and has thrown out a defamation suit brought by George Zimmerman, acquitted of second-degree murder in the death of an unarmed black teenager, Trayvon Martin.

In a ruling released on Monday, Judge Debra Nelson said that Zimmerman had failed to show that the news network acted with malice. Judge Nelson said that the malice standard was appropriate because Zimmerman was a public figure.

The ruling was first reported by the Orlando Sentinel.

In a celebrated case at the intersection of guns and race, Zimmerman was acquitted in 2013 of second-degree murder in the shooting death of Martin, 17. The teen who was returning from a convenience store, was shot to death by Zimmerman in February 2012 in Sanford, Fla.

Zimmerman maintained he acted in self-defense. Judge Nelson presided over the trial.

Zimmerman had accused NBC of falsely portraying him as a racist in how the network edited a 911 call the night of the shooting. Zimmerman maintained the editing made it appear that he had volunteered that Martin was black instead of merely answering a dispatcher's question.

On the 911 call, Zimmerman says: "This guy looks like he's up to no good, or he's on drugs or something. It's raining, and he's just walking around, looking about.

911 dispatcher: "OK, and this guy — is he black, white or Hispanic?"

Zimmerman: "He looks black."

But in the edited version, Zimmerman says: "This guy looks like he's up to no good … He looks black."

The network fired three producers over the incident.

Follow @latimesmuskal for national news

Copyright © 2014, Los Angeles Times
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VidCon: YouTube stars mull transition to TV, audience-funded content

Written By kolimtiga on Minggu, 29 Juni 2014 | 23.50

YouTube stars currently need the deep pockets of the television industry to create costly long-form content. But using audiences to fund content in the future is a contentious topic, according to stars at a VidCon panel Saturday.

Panelists agreed that television is a necessary step forward if YouTubers want to reach the next level. That's because the financial resources in the television industry can afford YouTubers longer and higher quality content.

"The reality is that we can't sustain long-form production in the current state of new media," said Benny Fine of "TheFineBros" YouTube channel. "We could be doing a lot of great things, but the economics isn't there, which is why we're going to television. Long-form content on a sustained basis requires traditional media."

"TheFineBros" channel has 8.8 million subscribers. The brothers, Benny and Rafi, are best known for their "react" video series, which includes episodes such as "Kids React to Gay Marriage." The duo also has a media company, Fine Brothers Entertainment.

"There's no reason not to create everywhere, including platforms like Netflix and Amazon," Fine said. "Internet and television will merge at some point."

But that's not to discredit the audience that YouTube can build for lesser known creators, said Shawna Howson of the "Nanalew" YouTube channel. With well over 500,000 subscribers, the channel features Howson's short films.

"It's great to start on YouTube and get your feet wet," Howson said. "But while it's cool to create online, it's also cool to extend to people offline."

Television therefore represents an end goal because "you want to be exposed to as many people as possible," she said.

Still, the audiences that creators generate online can be used as leverage during potential deals with brands or television networks, Howson said.

"Technically we don't need anything from them because we have our audience and our show," she said. "They're seeing us as something they want to buy into. It's not like the old way, when you brought a script and had nothing."

But the role of audiences in funding content is still a subject of debate. While audience contributions could in theory fund long-form content, many of the panelists said they wouldn't feel comfortable asking or charging.

"I'm not a fan of crowdfunding and I'm not at a point where I can ask people to pay for stuff," said Anna Akana. Her YouTube channel features comedy videos and has nearly 900,000 subscribers.

"I would rather prove my worth to my audience than ask them to pay."

Akana's comments came two days after YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki announced that the company would introduce "Fan Funding," a virtual tip jar that would allow viewers to tip up to $500.

In an ideal world, Howson said she would use brand deals to fund her work.

"If I could take a brand deal a month, I would. Then I could pocket the extra money and put it into a new film and not have to ask for anything from my audience," she said.

Twitter: @madeline_oh

Copyright © 2014, Los Angeles Times
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VidCon: YouTube stars mull transition to TV, audience-funded content

YouTube stars currently need the deep pockets of the television industry to create costly long-form content. But using audiences to fund content in the future is a contentious topic, according to stars at a VidCon panel Saturday.

Panelists agreed that television is a necessary step forward if YouTubers want to reach the next level. That's because the financial resources in the television industry can afford YouTubers longer and higher quality content.

"The reality is that we can't sustain long-form production in the current state of new media," said Benny Fine of "TheFineBros" YouTube channel. "We could be doing a lot of great things, but the economics isn't there, which is why we're going to television. Long-form content on a sustained basis requires traditional media."

"TheFineBros" channel has 8.8 million subscribers. The brothers, Benny and Rafi, are best known for their "react" video series, which includes episodes such as "Kids React to Gay Marriage." The duo also has a media company, Fine Brothers Entertainment.

"There's no reason not to create everywhere, including platforms like Netflix and Amazon," Fine said. "Internet and television will merge at some point."

But that's not to discredit the audience that YouTube can build for lesser known creators, said Shawna Howson of the "Nanalew" YouTube channel. With well over 500,000 subscribers, the channel features Howson's short films.

"It's great to start on YouTube and get your feet wet," Howson said. "But while it's cool to create online, it's also cool to extend to people offline."

Television therefore represents an end goal because "you want to be exposed to as many people as possible," she said.

Still, the audiences that creators generate online can be used as leverage during potential deals with brands or television networks, Howson said.

"Technically we don't need anything from them because we have our audience and our show," she said. "They're seeing us as something they want to buy into. It's not like the old way, when you brought a script and had nothing."

But the role of audiences in funding content is still a subject of debate. While audience contributions could in theory fund long-form content, many of the panelists said they wouldn't feel comfortable asking or charging.

"I'm not a fan of crowdfunding and I'm not at a point where I can ask people to pay for stuff," said Anna Akana. Her YouTube channel features comedy videos and has nearly 900,000 subscribers.

"I would rather prove my worth to my audience than ask them to pay."

Akana's comments came two days after YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki announced that the company would introduce "Fan Funding," a virtual tip jar that would allow viewers to tip up to $500.

In an ideal world, Howson said she would use brand deals to fund her work.

"If I could take a brand deal a month, I would. Then I could pocket the extra money and put it into a new film and not have to ask for anything from my audience," she said.

Twitter: @madeline_oh

Copyright © 2014, Los Angeles Times
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Oddsmaker gives Lakers even lower championship odds after NBA draft

The Lakers were happy to land Julius Randle with the seventh overall pick in last Thursday's NBA Draft.

Oddsmakers may have been looking for more.

Before Thursday, the Lakers were a 40-1 long shot to win the NBA title, according to online oddsmaker BettingSports.com.

After the draft, the Lakers fell to 60-1 odds.

That may not be a slight on Kentucky forward Randle, who helped the Wildcats advance to the NCAA championship game, but more on the absence of a blockbuster trade to jump-start Kobe Bryant and the Lakers back to immediate contention.

The Lakers may have significant cap room in July to try and remake the roster.  Perhaps a few choice moves will improve the team's odds.

BettingSports.com has the Miami Heat with 4-1 odds, ahead of both the San Antonio Spurs (11-2), Chicago Bulls (8-1), Oklahoma City Thunder (8-1) and Clippers (10-1).

The Lakers are on par with the Toronto Raptors and Charlotte Hornets, with better odds than the Atlanta Hawks (70-1), Phoenix Suns (75-1), Minnesota Timberwolves (75-1), Boston Celtics (75-1), Utah Jazz (150-1), Sacramento Kings (150-1), Orlando Magic (150-1), Philadelphia 76ers (250-1) and Milwaukee Bucks (300-1).

Email Eric Pincus at eric.pincus@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @EricPincus.

Copyright © 2014, Los Angeles Times
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Oddsmaker gives Lakers even lower championship odds after NBA draft

The Lakers were happy to land Julius Randle with the seventh overall pick in last Thursday's NBA Draft.

Oddsmakers may have been looking for more.

Before Thursday, the Lakers were a 40-1 long shot to win the NBA title, according to online oddsmaker BettingSports.com.

After the draft, the Lakers fell to 60-1 odds.

That may not be a slight on Kentucky forward Randle, who helped the Wildcats advance to the NCAA championship game, but more on the absence of a blockbuster trade to jump-start Kobe Bryant and the Lakers back to immediate contention.

The Lakers may have significant cap room in July to try and remake the roster.  Perhaps a few choice moves will improve the team's odds.

BettingSports.com has the Miami Heat with 4-1 odds, ahead of both the San Antonio Spurs (11-2), Chicago Bulls (8-1), Oklahoma City Thunder (8-1) and Clippers (10-1).

The Lakers are on par with the Toronto Raptors and Charlotte Hornets, with better odds than the Atlanta Hawks (70-1), Phoenix Suns (75-1), Minnesota Timberwolves (75-1), Boston Celtics (75-1), Utah Jazz (150-1), Sacramento Kings (150-1), Orlando Magic (150-1), Philadelphia 76ers (250-1) and Milwaukee Bucks (300-1).

Email Eric Pincus at eric.pincus@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @EricPincus.

Copyright © 2014, Los Angeles Times
23.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

Oddsmaker gives Lakers even lower championship odds after NBA draft

The Lakers were happy to land Julius Randle with the seventh overall pick in last Thursday's NBA Draft.

Oddsmakers may have been looking for more.

Before Thursday, the Lakers were a 40-1 long shot to win the NBA title, according to online oddsmaker BettingSports.com.

After the draft, the Lakers fell to 60-1 odds.

That may not be a slight on Kentucky forward Randle, who helped the Wildcats advance to the NCAA championship game, but more on the absence of a blockbuster trade to jump-start Kobe Bryant and the Lakers back to immediate contention.

The Lakers may have significant cap room in July to try and remake the roster.  Perhaps a few choice moves will improve the team's odds.

BettingSports.com has the Miami Heat with 4-1 odds, ahead of both the San Antonio Spurs (11-2), Chicago Bulls (8-1), Oklahoma City Thunder (8-1) and Clippers (10-1).

The Lakers are on par with the Toronto Raptors and Charlotte Hornets, with better odds than the Atlanta Hawks (70-1), Phoenix Suns (75-1), Minnesota Timberwolves (75-1), Boston Celtics (75-1), Utah Jazz (150-1), Sacramento Kings (150-1), Orlando Magic (150-1), Philadelphia 76ers (250-1) and Milwaukee Bucks (300-1).

Email Eric Pincus at eric.pincus@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @EricPincus.

Copyright © 2014, Los Angeles Times
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TV ratings: 'Big Brother' Thursday premiere up from last year

Written By kolimtiga on Jumat, 27 Juni 2014 | 23.50

Just like Wednesday night's debut, the second night of "Big Brother's" 16th season did better in the ratings than the most comparable episode last year.

The privacy-deprivation reality show drew 6.56 million total viewers on average, or 6% better than the first Thursday episode of Season 15 that aired a couple weeks into the cycle.

Among key 18- to 49-year-olds, Thursday night's episode introducing the last eight of the 16 new house guests earned a rating of 2.3 (a ratings point equals about 1.3 million viewers). The number was up two-tenths of a point, or nearly 10%, from last year. It was also the highest-rated show on broadcast TV in prime time.

Wednesday night's premiere averaged 6.64 million viewers, up about 2% from a year ago, and improved a tenth of a point to a 2.3.

On ABC, the second episode of the new "Rookie Blue" season fell 27% from last week's premiere to a 0.8 in 18-49, going head to head with "Big Brother."

The Disney network's "NY Med" opened its second season with 5.5 million viewers, giving the show its most-watched episode ever, and a 0.9 in 18-49. That was an improvement from the "Rookie Blue" lead-in. The first season debuted two summers ago with a 1.2 in the demo.

NBC's "Undateable" held up decently against "Big Brother," falling 11% week-to-week to a 0.8. So did Fox's rookie cop series "Gang Related," flat with last week's 0.8, while Gordon Ramsay's "Hell's Kitchen" on Fox also essentially held the line, dipping 6% to a 1.7.

Follow Ryan Faughnder on Twitter: @rfaughnder

Copyright © 2014, Los Angeles Times
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LeBron James tweets the Heat got his favorite player in the draft

The Miami Heat apparently did something smart toward persuading LeBron James to return to the team.

They seemed to have acquired his favorite young player, UConn point guard Shabazz Napier, who was selected by the Charlotte Hornets at No. 24 then traded to the Heat in exchange for the 26th and 55th picks, according to multiple reports. 

Tweeted James: "My favorite player in the draft! #Napier."

James has been a huge proponent of Napier since the Huskies' March Madness run to the 2014 NCAA championship. James tweeted in April: "No way u take another PG in the lottery before Napier."

Napier averaged 18 points, 5.9 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.8 steals per game last season, shooting 40.5% from three-point range.

"I don't know if I'm bringing him back [to Miami]," Napier said of James, who exercised his early termination option this week to become a free agent this summer. "I would love it. Me and LeBron's relationship, he's a great guy. I've been to his camps. Me and him chatted a few times at his camps. He's just a special thing."

Copyright © 2014, Los Angeles Times
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LeBron James tweets the Heat got his favorite player in the draft

The Miami Heat apparently did something smart toward persuading LeBron James to return to the team.

They seemed to have acquired his favorite young player, UConn point guard Shabazz Napier, who was selected by the Charlotte Hornets at No. 24 then traded to the Heat in exchange for the 26th and 55th picks, according to multiple reports. 

Tweeted James: "My favorite player in the draft! #Napier."

James has been a huge proponent of Napier since the Huskies' March Madness run to the 2014 NCAA championship. James tweeted in April: "No way u take another PG in the lottery before Napier."

Napier averaged 18 points, 5.9 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.8 steals per game last season, shooting 40.5% from three-point range.

"I don't know if I'm bringing him back [to Miami]," Napier said of James, who exercised his early termination option this week to become a free agent this summer. "I would love it. Me and LeBron's relationship, he's a great guy. I've been to his camps. Me and him chatted a few times at his camps. He's just a special thing."

Copyright © 2014, Los Angeles Times
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TV ratings: 'Big Brother' Thursday premiere up from last year

Just like Wednesday night's debut, the second night of "Big Brother's" 16th season did better in the ratings than the most comparable episode last year.

The privacy-deprivation reality show drew 6.56 million total viewers on average, or 6% better than the first Thursday episode of Season 15 that aired a couple weeks into the cycle.

Among key 18- to 49-year-olds, Thursday night's episode introducing the last eight of the 16 new house guests earned a rating of 2.3 (a ratings point equals about 1.3 million viewers). The number was up two-tenths of a point, or nearly 10%, from last year. It was also the highest-rated show on broadcast TV in prime time.

Wednesday night's premiere averaged 6.64 million viewers, up about 2% from a year ago, and improved a tenth of a point to a 2.3.

On ABC, the second episode of the new "Rookie Blue" season fell 27% from last week's premiere to a 0.8 in 18-49, going head to head with "Big Brother."

The Disney network's "NY Med" opened its second season with 5.5 million viewers, giving the show its most-watched episode ever, and a 0.9 in 18-49. That was an improvement from the "Rookie Blue" lead-in. The first season debuted two summers ago with a 1.2 in the demo.

NBC's "Undateable" held up decently against "Big Brother," falling 11% week-to-week to a 0.8. So did Fox's rookie cop series "Gang Related," flat with last week's 0.8, while Gordon Ramsay's "Hell's Kitchen" on Fox also essentially held the line, dipping 6% to a 1.7.

Follow Ryan Faughnder on Twitter: @rfaughnder

Copyright © 2014, Los Angeles Times
23.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

TV ratings: 'Big Brother' Thursday premiere up from last year

Just like Wednesday night's debut, the second night of "Big Brother's" 16th season did better in the ratings than the most comparable episode last year.

The privacy-deprivation reality show drew 6.56 million total viewers on average, or 6% better than the first Thursday episode of Season 15 that aired a couple weeks into the cycle.

Among key 18- to 49-year-olds, Thursday night's episode introducing the last eight of the 16 new house guests earned a rating of 2.3 (a ratings point equals about 1.3 million viewers). The number was up two-tenths of a point, or nearly 10%, from last year. It was also the highest-rated show on broadcast TV in prime time.

Wednesday night's premiere averaged 6.64 million viewers, up about 2% from a year ago, and improved a tenth of a point to a 2.3.

On ABC, the second episode of the new "Rookie Blue" season fell 27% from last week's premiere to a 0.8 in 18-49, going head to head with "Big Brother."

The Disney network's "NY Med" opened its second season with 5.5 million viewers, giving the show its most-watched episode ever, and a 0.9 in 18-49. That was an improvement from the "Rookie Blue" lead-in. The first season debuted two summers ago with a 1.2 in the demo.

NBC's "Undateable" held up decently against "Big Brother," falling 11% week-to-week to a 0.8. So did Fox's rookie cop series "Gang Related," flat with last week's 0.8, while Gordon Ramsay's "Hell's Kitchen" on Fox also essentially held the line, dipping 6% to a 1.7.

Follow Ryan Faughnder on Twitter: @rfaughnder

Copyright © 2014, Los Angeles Times
23.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

Traumatic brain injuries in veterans linked to higher dementia risk

Written By kolimtiga on Kamis, 26 Juni 2014 | 23.50

A new study of nearly 200,000 older military veterans has found that those with traumatic brain injuries were 60% more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease or other forms of dementia.

The study, published online Wednesday in the journal Neurology, adds to a growing body of evidence that TBIs can have a wide range of consequences long after a patient appears to recover.

But the study did not answer the key question of whether the risk of dementia is elevated in cases of mild brain trauma — a common injury from roadside bombs in Afghanistan and Iraq as well as in football and other contact sports.

"It's still controversial," said Donald Stein, a brain injury expert at Emory University School of Medicine who was not involved in the study.

The study was based on medical records of 188,764 veterans ages 55 and older who had been patients in the Veterans Affairs health system from 2000 to 2003 and did not have a diagnosis of dementia during that time.

Of those, 1,229 had a TBI diagnosis.

The researchers used medical records from 2003 to 2012 to compare the fates of the veterans with TBIs to the much larger group without brain injuries.

Among the veterans with TBIs, 16% went on to develop various types of dementia. That figure was 10% in the comparison group.

Dementia also tended to develop sooner in the TBI patients — two years earlier, on average.

A statistical analysis ruled out the possibility that a history of depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and diseases of the blood vessels supplying the brain were responsible for the higher rates of dementia, said Deborah Barnes, an epidemiologist at UC San Francisco who led the study.

Still, it was not clear that brain injuries were the cause of the dementia. It is possible that other unexplored variables — genetic predisposition or alcohol abuse, for example — could be the drivers.

Although the study looked at veterans, their injuries weren't necessarily related to military service, and experts said the results could just as easily apply to the civilian world.

"These injuries are very similar to what you would find in industrial accidents, automobile accidents and sports," Stein said.

The researchers did not classify the brain injuries by severity or determine when or how they occurred, leaving open the question of whether mild TBIs, which involve relative brief periods of disorientation and sometimes loss of consciousness, are associated with increased risk of dementia.

John Corrigan, a brain injury expert at Ohio State University, said scientific evidence of a link is stronger for moderate and severe TBIs, which often involve penetrating wounds, skull fractures and extended black-outs.

There is also growing evidence that repeated mild brain injuries can have a variety of long-term effects, including impaired cognitive ability and an increased risk of dying from neurodegenerative diseases.

"What the field is coming to is that TBI is a chronic condition," Corrigan said.

Follow me at @AlanZarembo for more news about veterans' health.

Copyright © 2014, Los Angeles Times
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TV ratings: 'Big Brother' debuts Season 16 with fuller house

It looks like the property value of CBS' "Big Brother" house is holding steady so far after dipping last year.

The summer reality TV stalwart launched it 16th season Wednesday by introducing the first eight of the 16 new housemates who will battle for dominance.

The show's move-in day was the night's highest rated program on the major broadcast networks, and ratings were slightly improved from last time around, according to preliminary numbers from Nielsen.

Keep in mind that Season 15 got off to a slow start in the ratings. That episode was one of the weaker debuts in the series' history, but ratings improved during the season thanks in part to controversial remarks and high tension between contestants. The finale earned a rating of 2.5.

Wednesday's episode averaged 6.64 million viewers, up about 2% from the Season 15 premiere a year ago. Among key 18- to 49-year-olds, the debut earned a rating of 2.3, better than last year by about a tenth of a point.

The noise disturbed CBS' network neighbors.

Fox's "So You Think You Can Dance" fell 18% from last week's season high for a 1.4 in the 18-49 demographic.

Meanwhile, NBC premiered the action-comedy police series "Taxi Brooklyn," about a New York police officer who teams up with a cabbie.

The debut averaged 5.4 million viewers overall and drew a 1.0 in the 18-49 category, in which a ratings point equals about 1.3 million viewers. That's roughly even with the network's premiere of "Crossbones" in May.

Compared with last summer's debut of the one-season-and-done Australian American comedy "Camp," "Taxi Brooklyn's" 18-49 rating was down by 33%.

ABC was all reruns, except for a low-rated episode of "Motive" (0.7 in 18-49).

Follow Ryan Faughnder on Twitter: @rfaughnder

Copyright © 2014, Los Angeles Times
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TV ratings: 'Big Brother' debuts Season 16 with fuller house

It looks like the property value of CBS' "Big Brother" house is holding steady so far after dipping last year.

The summer reality TV stalwart launched it 16th season Wednesday by introducing the first eight of the 16 new housemates who will battle for dominance.

The show's move-in day was the night's highest rated program on the major broadcast networks, and ratings were slightly improved from last time around, according to preliminary numbers from Nielsen.

Keep in mind that Season 15 got off to a slow start in the ratings. That episode was one of the weaker debuts in the series' history, but ratings improved during the season thanks in part to controversial remarks and high tension between contestants. The finale earned a rating of 2.5.

Wednesday's episode averaged 6.64 million viewers, up about 2% from the Season 15 premiere a year ago. Among key 18- to 49-year-olds, the debut earned a rating of 2.3, better than last year by about a tenth of a point.

The noise disturbed CBS' network neighbors.

Fox's "So You Think You Can Dance" fell 18% from last week's season high for a 1.4 in the 18-49 demographic.

Meanwhile, NBC premiered the action-comedy police series "Taxi Brooklyn," about a New York police officer who teams up with a cabbie.

The debut averaged 5.4 million viewers overall and drew a 1.0 in the 18-49 category, in which a ratings point equals about 1.3 million viewers. That's roughly even with the network's premiere of "Crossbones" in May.

Compared with last summer's debut of the one-season-and-done Australian American comedy "Camp," "Taxi Brooklyn's" 18-49 rating was down by 33%.

ABC was all reruns, except for a low-rated episode of "Motive" (0.7 in 18-49).

Follow Ryan Faughnder on Twitter: @rfaughnder

Copyright © 2014, Los Angeles Times
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TV ratings: 'Big Brother' debuts Season 16 with fuller house

It looks like the property value of CBS' "Big Brother" house is holding steady so far after dipping last year.

The summer reality TV stalwart launched it 16th season Wednesday by introducing the first eight of the 16 new housemates who will battle for dominance.

The show's move-in day was the night's highest rated program on the major broadcast networks, and ratings were slightly improved from last time around, according to preliminary numbers from Nielsen.

Keep in mind that Season 15 got off to a slow start in the ratings. That episode was one of the weaker debuts in the series' history, but ratings improved during the season thanks in part to controversial remarks and high tension between contestants. The finale earned a rating of 2.5.

Wednesday's episode averaged 6.64 million viewers, up about 2% from the Season 15 premiere a year ago. Among key 18- to 49-year-olds, the debut earned a rating of 2.3, better than last year by about a tenth of a point.

The noise disturbed CBS' network neighbors.

Fox's "So You Think You Can Dance" fell 18% from last week's season high for a 1.4 in the 18-49 demographic.

Meanwhile, NBC premiered the action-comedy police series "Taxi Brooklyn," about a New York police officer who teams up with a cabbie.

The debut averaged 5.4 million viewers overall and drew a 1.0 in the 18-49 category, in which a ratings point equals about 1.3 million viewers. That's roughly even with the network's premiere of "Crossbones" in May.

Compared with last summer's debut of the one-season-and-done Australian American comedy "Camp," "Taxi Brooklyn's" 18-49 rating was down by 33%.

ABC was all reruns, except for a low-rated episode of "Motive" (0.7 in 18-49).

Follow Ryan Faughnder on Twitter: @rfaughnder

Copyright © 2014, Los Angeles Times
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Traumatic brain injuries in veterans linked to higher dementia risk

A new study of nearly 200,000 older military veterans has found that those with traumatic brain injuries were 60% more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease or other forms of dementia.

The study, published online Wednesday in the journal Neurology, adds to a growing body of evidence that TBIs can have a wide range of consequences long after a patient appears to recover.

But the study did not answer the key question of whether the risk of dementia is elevated in cases of mild brain trauma — a common injury from roadside bombs in Afghanistan and Iraq as well as in football and other contact sports.

"It's still controversial," said Donald Stein, a brain injury expert at Emory University School of Medicine who was not involved in the study.

The study was based on medical records of 188,764 veterans ages 55 and older who had been patients in the Veterans Affairs health system from 2000 to 2003 and did not have a diagnosis of dementia during that time.

Of those, 1,229 had a TBI diagnosis.

The researchers used medical records from 2003 to 2012 to compare the fates of the veterans with TBIs to the much larger group without brain injuries.

Among the veterans with TBIs, 16% went on to develop various types of dementia. That figure was 10% in the comparison group.

Dementia also tended to develop sooner in the TBI patients — two years earlier, on average.

A statistical analysis ruled out the possibility that a history of depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and diseases of the blood vessels supplying the brain were responsible for the higher rates of dementia, said Deborah Barnes, an epidemiologist at UC San Francisco who led the study.

Still, it was not clear that brain injuries were the cause of the dementia. It is possible that other unexplored variables — genetic predisposition or alcohol abuse, for example — could be the drivers.

Although the study looked at veterans, their injuries weren't necessarily related to military service, and experts said the results could just as easily apply to the civilian world.

"These injuries are very similar to what you would find in industrial accidents, automobile accidents and sports," Stein said.

The researchers did not classify the brain injuries by severity or determine when or how they occurred, leaving open the question of whether mild TBIs, which involve relative brief periods of disorientation and sometimes loss of consciousness, are associated with increased risk of dementia.

John Corrigan, a brain injury expert at Ohio State University, said scientific evidence of a link is stronger for moderate and severe TBIs, which often involve penetrating wounds, skull fractures and extended black-outs.

There is also growing evidence that repeated mild brain injuries can have a variety of long-term effects, including impaired cognitive ability and an increased risk of dying from neurodegenerative diseases.

"What the field is coming to is that TBI is a chronic condition," Corrigan said.

Follow me at @AlanZarembo for more news about veterans' health.

Copyright © 2014, Los Angeles Times
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Object Lesson: The "Big Daddy" Roth car that was lost, then found

Written By kolimtiga on Rabu, 25 Juni 2014 | 23.50

Every car has a story. But few are as good as the one surrounding "The Orbitron," the space-age ride created in 1964 by California's most renowned custom car builder, Ed "Big Daddy" Roth.

The car had an electric-blue asymmetrical body that sported a bubble-shaped roof. The interiors consisted of sky-blue shag (known colloquially as "monkey fur"). Just under the dash, it featured a full-blown color television — presumably so that the driver could stay up on all the telenovelas while sitting in rush-hour traffic.

The Orbitron is now on view at Kayne Griffin Corcoran as part of an exhibition devoted to exploring work by L.A. artists of the 1960s. This was a group of artists that often employed a preponderance of industrial materials: resins, plastics, car paint and the like.

In addition to pieces by esteemed figures such as Larry Bell (known for his mirror and glass cubes) and Peter Alexander (who created transparent wedges of plastic that recede into trippy nothingness), the show also features other period objects, including a 1962 surfboard produced by board-making pioneer Hobie Alter.

And then, of course, there is the Orbitron. The car currently resides in the collection of Galpin Auto Sports, a car accessories and customization company in Van Nuys. Among other objects, Galpin Auto has an extensive collection of Roth cars and memorabilia. Robert Dean, who curated the show at Kayne Griffin Corcoran, said he found the Orbitron via a recommendation from the artist Robert Williams.

"I was turned on to the Galpin collection by Robert Williams, who early in his career had worked for Roth," he told me via email. "I picked it out from the others in the collection because it seemed to touch on all the qualities — fetish finish, polish, shaping, pin-striping, surface, plastic bubble, etc. — of the artists in the show."

The car also has one heck of a story. The Orbitron was built by Roth, from a design by Ed Newton. In addition to featuring an asymmetrical body (highly unusual), the car contained special design tricks throughout. One of the headlights, for instance, has three different lamps (red, green, and blue) — the three primary colors of light. When seen together, they come together to form white light. (Back in the day, the colors were also used as a symbol of color television.)

Despite its dragster-from-the-future look, the Orbitron was not a critical darling in its time.

"It wasn't very successful at car shows," explains Beau Boeckmann, the president of Galpin Motors. "It was the first vehicle Roth built that didn't have the motor exposed and I think people didn't take to it for that reason." 

Roth sold the car to a fellow custom car builder just three years after he built it. From there, it landed in the hands of a Texas collector. That collector reportedly sold it to a guy in El Paso. And it's at that point that the trail turns into a web of hearsay and myth. For decades, no one saw or heard anything about the Orbitron.

Then, in 2007, the car surfaced ... when it was discovered by an aficionado in front of a sex shop in Ciudad Juarez, in Mexico. By this time its electric-blue coat was missing and it was being used, rather unceremoniously, as dumpster. It was also missing a good chunk of the nose, along with a bevy of other parts.

But there it was, present in mind if not totally in body. (Kustomrama has a good story about the discovery and its remodeling.)

Boeckmann bought the car and brought it to California, where he assembled key members of Roth's original team to restore it — including Joe Perez, who did the irresistible fur interiors, and Larry Watson, who was responsible for the shimmering paint job.

"We also got the Roth family involved," Boeckmann says. "Even Robert Williams got involved." (By this time Roth had already passed away. He died in 2001 at the age of 69.)

The car, these days, serves as a beautiful, if impractical, show piece: "You might need yoga classes to get in and out of it," Boeckmann says. "And if you get inside of it and you're outdoors, it gets really hot almost immediately. You learn very quickly why bubble tops didn't take off.

"But the Orbitron wasn't built for convenience," he says. "This is art."

Which means it's right at home in between the ethereal wall-hangings and sculptures currently on display at Kayne Griffin Corcoran. Do not miss.

"Surface to Air: Los Angeles Artists of the '60s and the Materials They Used," is on view through July 5 at Kayne Griffin Corcoran, 1201 S. La Brea Ave., Los Angeles, kaynegriffincorcoran.com.

Copyright © 2014, Los Angeles Times
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LACMA redesign avoids tar pits, creates challenges

Architect Peter Zumthor has dramatically revised his design for a new Los Angeles County Museum of Art, creating a new bridge-like section of the building that would span Wilshire Boulevard.

The new design is meant to address concerns that the original plan would encroach on, and potentially damage, the La Brea Tar Pits at the neighboring Page Museum, casting a shadow over the largest pit.

Zumthor has said that the early models were always subject to revision. In any case, his updated design for the $650-million project, images of which LACMA released on Tuesday, makes clear that he took the criticism seriously.

He has significantly shrunk the footprint of the museum on the north side of Wilshire, leaving plenty of breathing room around the tar pits.

To make up for that lost space, the museum is now proposing to extend the new wing across the boulevard, where it will touch down on property owned by the museum at the southeast corner of Wilshire and Spaulding Avenue, which is now used as a parking lot.

About one-quarter of the Zumthor building's 410,000 square feet would be contained on the Spaulding site, LACMA Director Michael Govan said Tuesday.

The decision to span a major thoroughfare like Wilshire is a bold one, to be sure. Drivers would pass under the building as they drove east or west along the boulevard.

At the same time, the new location will change the character of the building in ways that Zumthor has only begun to grapple with.

Govan has already won the support of city and county officials for the modified plan. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti has backed the idea of spanning Wilshire.

Los Angeles City Councilman Tom LaBonge, who represents the Miracle Mile area where the museum is located, said the new design offers a "tremendous vision" for the Museum Row section of Wilshire Boulevard. "It retains the historic beauty of the La Brea Tar Pits and at the same time crosses the boulevard in a way that will make it the center of the universe of art."

LaBonge said the Wilshire corridor will see other dramatic changes in coming years, with visitors coming to the museum via a subway station at Fairfax Avenue. "There's going to be an opportunity for people across the region to connect [to LACMA] through transit."

County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, whose district includes LACMA, also praised the updated design.

"It solves the tar pit problem, and it creates a unique structure in Los Angeles," he said. "It will be a magnet not only to people in Los Angeles, but to people from around the world."

Jane Pisano, director of the Natural History Museum, which runs the Page, said in a phone interview Tuesday that she was also pleased with the changes.

Yet in trying to produce a more neighborly building, Zumthor and Govan have created some architectural challenges for themselves. And it's unclear at this stage quite how they plan to surmount them.

When it was contained on the central LACMA campus — north of Wilshire and east of museum buildings by Renzo Piano — the Zumthor design, especially as seen from above, had an unusual, even singular, architectural power.

Suggesting the work of artist Jean Arp and architect Oscar Niemeyer along with the oozing shape of the tar pits, Zumthor's black blob was a muscular graphic form. It would have floated on its expansive site — newly cleared with the proposed demolition of four existing LACMA gallery buildings — like an all-black abstract painting on a wide canvas.

Shifting the building above and across Wilshire fundamentally changes this equation, this relationship between architecture and site. It makes the building foremost an urban object, part of the boulevard and the public realm. In addition, Zumthor's building will be essentially facing itself across Wilshire, creating a kind of hall-of-mirrors context. Museum-goers would be able to look down on passing traffic.

These new conditions — a building spanning one of the world's most famous boulevards instead of a museum wing on an open, landscaped site edging up to a group of tar pits — would seem to require a new architectural approach from Zumthor, or at least a significantly modified one.

The building will open more generously to a new plaza on its western edge, facing the Broad Contemporary Art Museum and the Resnick Pavilion. But in terms of scale and materials — in terms of its basic architectural personality — the design awaits refinement. In general it has been left misshapen, like a piece of taffy, by the decision to stretch it across Wilshire.

It is hard to think of another location where an architect has staked a claim on both sides of a major Los Angeles boulevard. Frank Gehry and the developer Related Cos. have produced designs for a new retail and residential complex across Grand Avenue from Gehry's Walt Disney Concert Hall. Gehry has proposed a pedestrian bridge above Grand linking the two projects, but it would have a much more modest impact than the new LACMA design. A 2012 proposal for an addition to the Los Angeles Convention Center, never built, would have straddled Pico Boulevard.

There is still plenty of time for Zumthor to rethink the cladding and scale of the building and the details of its relationship to the roadway below. He is an architect who works deliberately. And this proposal is not meant to be final by any means.

At the same time, Zumthor's great skill, what made him attractive to Govan and the LACMA board in the first place, is a rare sensitivity to site and landscape. That talent was clear to see in the original plan, with its formal nods both to the tar pits and to abstract modernism.

It is tougher to spot in the updated version, which so far seems driven far more directly by political and urban-planning concerns than architectural ones.

Govan has his ducks in a row at City Hall, and credit to him for that. Now it's time to turn back to the design details of his bid to remake the Miracle Mile.

Times staff writers Abby Sewell and David Zahniser contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2014, Los Angeles Times
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Rebekah Brooks cleared in tabloid phone-hacking case; deputy convicted

Written By kolimtiga on Selasa, 24 Juni 2014 | 23.51

Former tabloid editor Rebekah Brooks, a close confidante of Rupert Murdoch and once one of Britain's most influential women, was acquitted Tuesday on charges of phone hacking, bribery and obstruction of justice in a case that shook this country to its core and exposed uncomfortably close ties between politicians, police and the press.

Brooks' former deputy, Andy Coulson, was found guilty on charges connected to hacking into cellphones and accessing private voicemail messages when he worked at the now-defunct News of the World. Coulson went on to become the top communications aide to Prime Minister David Cameron, who immediately faced uncomfortable questions about his judgment in hiring a man who is now a convicted criminal.

Cameron had promised to make a public apology if Coulson was convicted. Hours after the verdicts were delivered, the British leader fulfilled that pledge.

"I am extremely sorry I employed him," said Cameron, who faces a tough reelection battle next year. "I gave someone a second chance and it turned out to be a bad decision."

The jury also cleared Brooks' husband, Charlie Brooks; her former personal assistant, Cheryl Carter; and the director of security at Murdoch's News International, Mark Hanna, of charges that they tried to cover up wrongdoing and conceal evidence as police launched an investigation into widespread phone hacking.

Authorities believe that the News of the World tapped into the voicemail boxes of hundreds of people, including famous actors, politicians and sports figures. The scandal exploded in July 2011 with revelations that the paper had tapped into the messages left on the cellphone of a kidnapped 13-year-old girl who was later found killed.

Amid the public revulsion that followed, Murdoch shuttered the 168-year-old tabloid, and Brooks, 46, resigned as chief of his British newspapers. The head of Scotland Yard stepped down over accusations of too-cozy relations between police and the media, and a controversial bid by Murdoch to expand his broadcast holdings in Britain sank into oblivion.

Tuesday's verdicts came after a week of jury deliberations in one of the longest criminal trials in British history. Over seven months, the panel heard from dozens of witnesses, examined thousands of documents and listened to salacious details of the defendants' personal lives that were worthy of the tabloids under scrutiny.

Besides the Brookses, Carter and Hanna, a former senior editor the News of World, Stuart Kuttner, was acquitted on phone-hacking charges.

Verdicts were still outstanding on charges against former reporter Clive Goodman, who admitted on the witness stand that he had hacked into the cellphones of Prince William and his wife, the former Kate Middleton, nearly 200 times.

Coulson was also still awaiting the jury's decision on charges he paid a member of the royal family's security detail for a directory of phone numbers of the royal household. Coulson's phone-hacking conviction could alone land him in prison for up to two years.

The scandal shone a light on the tight web of connections that link members of Britain's elite and its power structure. Politicians came in for grilling over their closeness to Murdoch and to journalists at his British titles, such as the Sun and the Times of London, which wield great influence in public life here. Scotland Yard was also found to have a cozy relationship with news outlets, which paid for tips and scoops and provided flattering coverage of police operations.

Murdoch was summoned before Parliament to answer questions on what he called "the most humble day of my life."

A judge-led inquiry into journalistic ethics exposed a variety of unsavory practices on Fleet Street, including reporters who dug through trash cans, misrepresented themselves, hacked phones and hired private eyes to look for dirt on the rich and famous. The inquiry has spawned a new government-sanctioned system for regulating the media, although some prominent publications have declined to participate for fear of state censorship.

Some of the worst excesses at Britain's scandal sheets have been curbed, said Roy Greenslade, a media expert at City University in London.

"There's still lots of bad behavior ... but I don't think it's anything like as bad as it was prior to the hacking case," he said. "The dark arts may return in future, but right now, those tools have been put in the cupboard."

He said that the difference was particularly marked at the Sun, one of Britain's bestselling newspapers, which has long been notorious for its daily photos of topless women and its jingoistic, xenophobic stories.

"The Sun is less vicious, less vulgar, and there's no kiss-and-tell stories, which were appearing on a daily, weekly basis [as] part of the staple diet of the news agenda," Greenslade said. "The paper is friendlier, kinder, nicer, and I think that's a very clear calculating move by Rupert Murdoch."

Murdoch has tried to stay out of the limelight in Britain, and high-ranking politicians who once clamored for invitations to his parties and feared to criticize his business interests now shun any public association with him.

"We said long ago, and repeat today, that wrongdoing occurred, and we apologized for it," said a statement from News UK, the new name of Murdoch's News International. "We have been paying compensation to those affected and have cooperated with investigations. We made changes in the way we do business to help ensure wrongdoing like this does not occur again."

Since the scandal broke, scores of journalists and public officials have been arrested in a multi-pronged investigation by Scotland Yard into phone hacking, computer hacking and bribery. Three senior News of the World journalists have pleaded guilty to phone hacking and await sentencing.

After their acquittals Tuesday morning, the Brookses left London's Old Bailey courthouse without comment. Whether Rebekah Brooks returns to Murdoch's publishing empire remains to be seen.

Her lawyers had argued that she was unaware of the hacking at the News of the World during her editorship. Although she admitted to paying some public officials for information "half a dozen" times during her career, for stories of "overwhelming public interest," she denied the specific bribery charge against her.

At the trial, her personal life came in for the kind of embarrassing examination that her publications had previously subjected others to. She and Coulson were revealed to have conducted a years-long affair when he was her deputy editor at the News of the World and when both were married to others.

Coulson acknowledged that he knew information gleaned from a hacked phone was the source of a story he published after succeeding Brooks as editor; he said he was shocked but ran the story anyway. He denied ever authorizing his reporters to intercept voicemail messages, but the jury was presented with an email in which Coulson had written to one underling: "Do his phone."

Prosecutors also tried to show that the Brookses had tried to conceal evidence from police, with the help of Carter, Rebekah Brooks' assistant, and Hanna, the director of security at her office.

Charlie Brooks was caught on a closed-circuit security camera apparently stuffing a laptop and other items behind trash cans in the parking structure of the London apartment he and his wife shared. But his lawyers said it was a crude attempt to avoid having police discover pornographic movies he owned.

Follow @HenryHChu for breaking news out of Europe

Copyright © 2014, Los Angeles Times

June 24, 9:17 a.m.:  This post has been updated with details from the phone-hacking trial.

June 24, 6 a.m.: This post has been updated with a statement by British Prime Minister David Cameron.

June 24, 5:15 a.m.: This post has been updated with additional details and background on the verdicts.

The story was originally posted at 4:54 a.m.


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Easy dinner recipes: Egg salad and more sandwiches in 30 minutes or less

When you need dinner fast, you can't beat a good sandwich. Stuff your favorite filling between two slices of bread and you're set. And because they're portable, you can grab and go on a busy weeknight. Check out these tempting recipe ideas:

Egg salad sandwich with dill: It doesn't get much easier than this classic sandwich. Chopped hard-boiled eggs are tossed with onion, celery, mustard, vinegar, mayonnaise and a touch of salt for a quick egg salad. The salad is great by itself, but spoon it between two slices of bread with shredded lettuce and fresh dill and you've got a meal that's perfect when you're on the go or looking for a quick bite to eat.

Green panini with roasted peppers and Gruyere cheese: This simple sandwich comes courtesy of chef and cookbook writer Deborah Madison and her husband, Patrick McFarlin, in their book, "What We Eat When We Eat Alone." Ciabatta bread is piled with mustard greens, cheese and roasted red peppers, then cooked in a panini maker or skillet, making for a sandwich that is one of McFarlin's favorites.

'Spanglish' BLT with fried egg and melted cheese: Take everything you love about a BLT and add a gloriously messy fried egg. And melted cheese. It's how Thomas Keller dresses up this classic; start to finish, it's ready in only 20 minutes. You can find the recipe below.

'SPANGLISH' BLT WITH FRIED EGG AND MELTED CHEESE

Total time: 20 | Serves 1

Note: From Thomas Keller.

3 to 4 thick slices bacon
2 slices Monterey Jack cheese
2 slices pain de campagne (rustic country loaf), toasted
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
4 slices tomato
2 leaves butter lettuce
1 teaspoon butter
1 egg

1. Cook the bacon until crisp, drain on paper towels and set aside.

2. Place the slices of cheese on one slice of the toasted bread and place in a toaster oven or under a broiler to melt the cheese.

3. Spread the other slice of toast with the mayonnaise, top with the cooked bacon, the sliced tomato and the lettuce.

4. In a nonstick skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Fry the egg, turning over briefly when the bottom is set. (Keep the yolk runny.)

5. Slide the finished egg on top of the lettuce. Top with the other slice of toast, melted cheese side down. Place the sandwich on a plate and slice in half, letting the yolk run down the sandwich.

Each serving (with 4 pieces of bacon): 1,115 calories; 52 grams protein; 50 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams fiber; 78 grams fat; 30 grams saturated fat; 346 mg. cholesterol; 2,192 mg. sodium.

Copyright © 2014, Los Angeles Times
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Asafa Powell to run in Paris before doping hearing

Running on borrowed time -- a temporary reprieve from a ban imposed in a doping case -- Asafa Powell plans to compete in Paris early next month.

The Jamaican sprinter has appealed his 18-month suspension and will have his case heard by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on July 7 and 8.

Organizers of the upcoming IAAF Diamond League meet in Paris announced on Tuesday that he will run the 100 meters there on July 5.

The field will also include Trinidad and Tobago's Richard Thompson, who is the fastest man in the world this year, along with five other sprinters who have run the race faster than 10 seconds.

Powell and Sherone Simpson, another Jamaican sprinter, received identical penalties following positive tests for the banned stimulant Oxilofrine. Earlier this month, they appealed to the CAS to have their bans reduced to three months, and were given clearance to resume competing until the case is heard.

Copyright © 2014, Los Angeles Times
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Asafa Powell to run in Paris before doping hearing

Running on borrowed time -- a temporary reprieve from a ban imposed in a doping case -- Asafa Powell plans to compete in Paris early next month.

The Jamaican sprinter has appealed his 18-month suspension and will have his case heard by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on July 7 and 8.

Organizers of the upcoming IAAF Diamond League meet in Paris announced on Tuesday that he will run the 100 meters there on July 5.

The field will also include Trinidad and Tobago's Richard Thompson, who is the fastest man in the world this year, along with five other sprinters who have run the race faster than 10 seconds.

Powell and Sherone Simpson, another Jamaican sprinter, received identical penalties following positive tests for the banned stimulant Oxilofrine. Earlier this month, they appealed to the CAS to have their bans reduced to three months, and were given clearance to resume competing until the case is heard.

Copyright © 2014, Los Angeles Times
23.51 | 0 komentar | Read More

Asafa Powell to run in Paris before doping hearing

Running on borrowed time -- a temporary reprieve from a ban imposed in a doping case -- Asafa Powell plans to compete in Paris early next month.

The Jamaican sprinter has appealed his 18-month suspension and will have his case heard by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on July 7 and 8.

Organizers of the upcoming IAAF Diamond League meet in Paris announced on Tuesday that he will run the 100 meters there on July 5.

The field will also include Trinidad and Tobago's Richard Thompson, who is the fastest man in the world this year, along with five other sprinters who have run the race faster than 10 seconds.

Powell and Sherone Simpson, another Jamaican sprinter, received identical penalties following positive tests for the banned stimulant Oxilofrine. Earlier this month, they appealed to the CAS to have their bans reduced to three months, and were given clearance to resume competing until the case is heard.

Copyright © 2014, Los Angeles Times
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First major victory allows Michelle Wie chance to look back

Written By kolimtiga on Senin, 23 Juni 2014 | 23.50

In some ways, Michelle Wie came full circle with her victory at the U.S. Women's Open over the weekend, completing the transformation from young phenom to teen bust to first-time major winner.

The 24-year-old took the occasion to reminisce about tough times along the way.

"I think the fact that I struggled so much, the fact that I kind of went through a hard period of my life, the fact that this trophy is right next to me, it means so much more to me than it ever would have when I was 15," she told reporters.

Wie sank a 25-foot birdie on the 17th hole to defeat No. 1-ranked Stacy Lewis by two strokes. She talked about the lessons she has learned.

"I think when, growing up, I was kind of a control freak. I just wanted to control everything. Have the perfect swing. Have the perfect putting stroke," she said. "I think over the years I started to learn, notice, that you can't be perfect. I started to look at other people's swings. There's so many different swings that win golf tournaments. There's so many different putting strokes. You can't be perfect all the time."

With the men's and the women's Opens playing at Pinehurst No. 2 this year, Wie was reminded that she once tried to qualify for the men's event. She was asked about playing both.

"Oh, my God, that would be horrible, like two U.S. Opens in a row," she said. "Oh, boy. I don't think I could do it."

Copyright © 2014, Los Angeles Times
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Carmelo Anthony opts out of final year of contract with Knicks

In a move that was widely expected, Carmelo Anthony has informed the New York Knicks that he will opt out of the final year of his contract so that he can be wooed in free agency, according to multiple reports.

The frontrunners for the high-scoring forward who averaged 27.4 points per game last season are believed to be the Chicago Bulls and the Houston Rockets, though both teams would have to clear salary cap space to sign Anthony.

ESPN.com reported earlier this month that the Miami Heat has also explored the possibility of assembling a Big Four that includes Anthony, but such a move would require Heat stars LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh to opt out of their current contracts and re-sign for steep discounts.

The Knicks still have considerable leverage in their bid to retain the unrestricted free agent. They can offer him a maximum five-year contract worth $129 million compared with other suitors who can dangle $96 million over four years.

But the Knicks may be at a considerable disadvantage in that they do not give Anthony the best shot at winning, particularly coming off a 37-45 season and with most of their salary-cap space already committed to the returning trio of Amare Stoudemire, Andrea Bargnani and Tyson Chandler.

Chicago's hopes to land Anthony and pair him with Derrick Rose would likely involve trading or amnestying Carlos Boozer. Houston would probably need to trade backup center Omer Asik and reserve point guard Jeremy Lin, which could be difficult considering each is owed starter money -- $14.8 million apiece -- in the final year of their contracts.

Knicks President Phil Jackson has said he was prepared to move forward regardless of whether Anthony decides to return to the franchise, with which he has spent the last 3 1/2 seasons. Anthony would have made $23.3 million next season had he opted in for the final year of his contract.

Copyright © 2014, Los Angeles Times
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First major victory allows Michelle Wie chance to look back

In some ways, Michelle Wie came full circle with her victory at the U.S. Women's Open over the weekend, completing the transformation from young phenom to teen bust to first-time major winner.

The 24-year-old took the occasion to reminisce about tough times along the way.

"I think the fact that I struggled so much, the fact that I kind of went through a hard period of my life, the fact that this trophy is right next to me, it means so much more to me than it ever would have when I was 15," she told reporters.

Wie sank a 25-foot birdie on the 17th hole to defeat No. 1-ranked Stacy Lewis by two strokes. She talked about the lessons she has learned.

"I think when, growing up, I was kind of a control freak. I just wanted to control everything. Have the perfect swing. Have the perfect putting stroke," she said. "I think over the years I started to learn, notice, that you can't be perfect. I started to look at other people's swings. There's so many different swings that win golf tournaments. There's so many different putting strokes. You can't be perfect all the time."

With the men's and the women's Opens playing at Pinehurst No. 2 this year, Wie was reminded that she once tried to qualify for the men's event. She was asked about playing both.

"Oh, my God, that would be horrible, like two U.S. Opens in a row," she said. "Oh, boy. I don't think I could do it."

Copyright © 2014, Los Angeles Times
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Carmelo Anthony opts out of final year of contract with Knicks

In a move that was widely expected, Carmelo Anthony has informed the New York Knicks that he will opt out of the final year of his contract so that he can be wooed in free agency, according to multiple reports.

The frontrunners for the high-scoring forward who averaged 27.4 points per game last season are believed to be the Chicago Bulls and the Houston Rockets, though both teams would have to clear salary cap space to sign Anthony.

ESPN.com reported earlier this month that the Miami Heat has also explored the possibility of assembling a Big Four that includes Anthony, but such a move would require Heat stars LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh to opt out of their current contracts and re-sign for steep discounts.

The Knicks still have considerable leverage in their bid to retain the unrestricted free agent. They can offer him a maximum five-year contract worth $129 million compared with other suitors who can dangle $96 million over four years.

But the Knicks may be at a considerable disadvantage in that they do not give Anthony the best shot at winning, particularly coming off a 37-45 season and with most of their salary-cap space already committed to the returning trio of Amare Stoudemire, Andrea Bargnani and Tyson Chandler.

Chicago's hopes to land Anthony and pair him with Derrick Rose would likely involve trading or amnestying Carlos Boozer. Houston would probably need to trade backup center Omer Asik and reserve point guard Jeremy Lin, which could be difficult considering each is owed starter money -- $14.8 million apiece -- in the final year of their contracts.

Knicks President Phil Jackson has said he was prepared to move forward regardless of whether Anthony decides to return to the franchise, with which he has spent the last 3 1/2 seasons. Anthony would have made $23.3 million next season had he opted in for the final year of his contract.

Copyright © 2014, Los Angeles Times
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Carmelo Anthony opts out of final year of contract with Knicks

In a move that was widely expected, Carmelo Anthony has informed the New York Knicks that he will opt out of the final year of his contract so that he can be wooed in free agency, according to multiple reports.

The frontrunners for the high-scoring forward who averaged 27.4 points per game last season are believed to be the Chicago Bulls and the Houston Rockets, though both teams would have to clear salary cap space to sign Anthony.

ESPN.com reported earlier this month that the Miami Heat has also explored the possibility of assembling a Big Four that includes Anthony, but such a move would require Heat stars LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh to opt out of their current contracts and re-sign for steep discounts.

The Knicks still have considerable leverage in their bid to retain the unrestricted free agent. They can offer him a maximum five-year contract worth $129 million compared with other suitors who can dangle $96 million over four years.

But the Knicks may be at a considerable disadvantage in that they do not give Anthony the best shot at winning, particularly coming off a 37-45 season and with most of their salary-cap space already committed to the returning trio of Amare Stoudemire, Andrea Bargnani and Tyson Chandler.

Chicago's hopes to land Anthony and pair him with Derrick Rose would likely involve trading or amnestying Carlos Boozer. Houston would probably need to trade backup center Omer Asik and reserve point guard Jeremy Lin, which could be difficult considering each is owed starter money -- $14.8 million apiece -- in the final year of their contracts.

Knicks President Phil Jackson has said he was prepared to move forward regardless of whether Anthony decides to return to the franchise, with which he has spent the last 3 1/2 seasons. Anthony would have made $23.3 million next season had he opted in for the final year of his contract.

Copyright © 2014, Los Angeles Times
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Pressure builds against France's ban on fracking

Written By kolimtiga on Minggu, 22 Juni 2014 | 23.50

Deep beneath the City of Light lies what some believe to be an energy bonanza ripe for harvest.

If the rosy forecasts are correct, France is sitting on one of the biggest deposits of shale gas in Western Europe, enough to supply the country for decades and even some neighboring ones as well. French companies such as energy giant Total already boast the know-how for conducting the hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, needed to extract the natural gas.

There's just one hitch: Fracking is forbidden in France. And the current government has pledged to keep it that way.

French officials side with those who consider fracking dangerous and environmentally damaging because of its deep-bore drilling and use of high-pressured, chemically treated water to blast apart rock to release the gas trapped inside. Backers of the ban say that estimates of French shale gas reserves are wildly optimistic and that the focus should be on reining in fossil fuel consumption, not encouraging it.

But the energy industry warns that France is making a big, and costly, mistake.

At a time when Europe is talking urgently of the need to decrease its reliance on imported gas from a newly muscular Russia, to ignore a possible major source of energy here at home is inexplicable, critics say. The French government has outlawed not just exploitation but even exploration of potential shale gas reserves, making an informed debate on what's out there and what to do with it impossible, energy executives complain.

"The fact that fracking is banned puts a lid on everything," said Jean-Louis Schilansky, president of the French Union of Petroleum Industries. "France is at a standstill, which could be, in the long term, a real problem."

France is the only one of the European Union's 28 nations besides Bulgaria to ban fracking for shale gas, although some other countries have adopted a cautious wait-and-see attitude. By contrast, across the English Channel, the British government has announced enthusiastically that it is going "all out for shale" and issued numerous permits for prospecting.

This has given rise to what Schilansky calls a "strange state of affairs," in which French energy companies have invested millions of dollars in other countries such as Britain in pursuit of an activity they're prohibited from undertaking in their own.

But environmentalists note that popular opinion in France is strongly against fracking — as high as 80%. That's greater than the opposition to nuclear energy, which provides most of France's electricity.

Both sides of the debate agree that public sentiment has been heavily influenced by the controversial 2010 documentary "Gasland," which blamed fracking for polluting groundwater in the United States. The Oscar-nominated film, which famously shows a Pennsylvania man lighting the water from his tap on fire, struck a chord with the French, who cherish their tracts of unspoiled countryside and pride themselves on having given Evian and Perrier to the world.

"The costs are a thousand times worse than the benefits," said Benoit Hartmann, spokesman for France Nature Environment, an umbrella organization of environmental groups. "In Texas, you do digging, and it's culturally accepted. But here it's not like this. People say, 'It's our land; it's our richness.'"

The U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates there could be nearly 4 trillion cubic meters of gas, about 80 times France's current annual consumption of roughly 50 billion cubic meters. Most of the reserves are believed to lie beneath the Paris Basin, in northern France.

But critics say that the figure is little more than a guess since no comprehensive study has been conducted and that, in any case, not all the trapped gas would be extractable. They cite the example of Poland — the only EU country thought to harbor a larger shale gas supply than France — where colossally high estimates have been consistently revised downward. Some energy companies that rushed to lay their hands on prospecting licenses in Poland have begun pulling out in disappointment.

The energy industry argues that France should at least allow an assessment to be performed to lend context to public debate.

"The key is to evaluate how much there is," Schilansky said. "As long as we're not doing that, it's [just] throwing arguments about, like philosophy."

What's not in dispute is the fact that, at present, France relies on other countries for almost all of its natural gas, importing it from Norway, the Netherlands and northern Africa.

Though it also receives some from Russia, France is less dependent on Russian supplies than other European countries, such as Germany and Italy. That may have fostered a lesser sense of urgency here than elsewhere in Europe of the need to develop domestic sources.

Yet as a leading member of the EU, which has made weaning itself from Russian gas a priority since Moscow's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region, France is under pressure to be part of the solution. An EU energy strategy report released last month emphasized the need to pursue alternative, homegrown sources of gas.

"If we don't want to be overdependent [on Russia], then we will have to do anything we can to meet our own energy needs," said Thierry Bros, senior European gas analyst for Societe Generale in Paris. "We have no silver bullet ready to fire today. It's going to be a very lengthy and possibly costly process."

Advocates of shale gas say it offers a good transition for countries trying to reduce oil consumption and to increase cleaner fuel sources such as solar and wind, which currently account for a negligible, and usually quite expensive, portion of most nations' energy supplies. Currently, 75% of France's energy comes from nuclear power — the most of any advanced nation. About 15% is derived from renewable sources and the rest from fossil fuels.

France's fracking ban may become politically harder to sustain if Britain successfully taps its reserves and starts seeing its gas prices drop. That would leave French industrialists wringing their hands over the high cost of doing business at home and bemoaning France's loss of competitiveness.

"My guess is that we are going to wait for the U.K. to see how they're doing it. If the U.K. can do this in a profitable and environmentally efficient way, then France will have few options," Bros said. "If you have companies leaving your country because of energy prices, you have to look at a Plan B."

The prohibition on fracking was enacted in 2011 by the conservative government of President Nicolas Sarkozy amid the wave of anti-fracking hostility that caught the energy industry flat-footed.

"We were completely overwhelmed," Schilansky acknowledged. "It was a kind of blitzkrieg. It started in February, 'Gasland' was [broadcast] in March or April, and the law was passed in July. It was extraordinary."

A few prospecting permits that had already been issued by the government were suddenly revoked, drawing protests and a lawsuit from one of the companies. A high-court ruling last year struck down the suit.

Sarkozy's Socialist successor, Francois Hollande, has promised to maintain the embargo as long as he is president, which, given his record low approval ratings, might be only through the end of his current term, in 2017.

Despite his stated opposition to fracking, Hollande's administration has sent mixed signals. His economy minister has suggested that shale gas is worth exploring, and the new environment minister — Hollande's fourth in two years — recently said of fracking that, "if new technologies that aren't dangerous emerge, why not?"

Such equivocation alarms environmentalists intent on keeping France fracking-free.

Although public opinion is in their corner, they're aware that the energy industry is lobbying politicians to allow at least some preliminary exploration and investment during a time of deep economic malaise in France.

"We know that the arguments that our opponents make are strong," said Hartmann of France Nature Environment. "We know that when you face a crisis like we are now, it's more efficient to argue that you'll create jobs, that you'll reduce your dependency, that you're sitting on a gold mine."

But he believes that France's natural beauty, the health of its people and the future of the planet will all be imperiled if energy companies are given free rein to extract shale gas, which remains, after all, a fossil fuel that contributes to global warming.

"We should be careful," Hartmann said. "We know what the risk is. We can't take this risk."

henry.chu@latimes.com

Special correspondent Tracy McNicoll in Paris contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2014, Los Angeles Times

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Nico Rosberg gets the victory at Austrian Grand Prix

Formula One returned to business as usual Sunday as Nico Rosberg edged Lewis Hamilton at the Austrian Grand Prix for the sixth 1-2 finish by Mercedes.

Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo won the Canadian GP two weeks ago and Williams' Felipe Massa took pole position for Sunday's race but this had little effect on Mercedes, which had missed out on the front row of the grid for the first time this season.

"I was still very confident going into the race and knew I could win starting from third," said Rosberg, who celebrated his third win of the year and sixth overall as he extended his lead in the drivers' championship over Hamilton to 29 points — 165 vs. 136.

"I am extremely happy," the German said. "Extending my lead was the main goal coming into this race."

Williams' Valtteri Bottas was third for his first career F1 podium while teammate Massa took fourth. Four-time champion Sebastian Vettel quit the race on Lap 36 after overcoming engine problems early in the race.

Rosberg succeeded where his father Keke had just failed 32 years ago, when he came up 0.05 short of Elio de Angelis at the 1982 Austrian GP.

However, Keke Rosberg went on to become world champion that year, a feat Nico Rosberg is reluctant to think about yet.

"29 is a nice gap but it's still so early in the season," he said.

Hamilton, who was ninth after qualifying, earned four places from a blistering start and won another place to work his way up to fourth in the opening lap.

"It was a good start, one of the best starts I've ever had," the 2008 F1 champion said. "To get from ninth to second and then pressure Nico shows the pace I had this weekend."

Rosberg immediately overtook Bottas but lost that position again shortly after the first turn. Massa dropped from pole to fourth after the top four had their first pit stops and never threatened the leaders again.

Sergio Perez remained in the lead until the 27th, overtaken by Rosberg who accelerated for the fastest lap so far to create distance on Hamilton, who got stuck behind Perez.

The Mercedes drivers went 1-2 from lap 47 on but Rosberg kept Hamilton at bay, denying him a chance to overtake. The British driver saw his chances reduced as the two pit stops in the race cost him 1.9 seconds more than Rosberg who relaxed at the end.

"I felt comfortable in the last lap," Rosberg said. "It wasn't that close."

The race once more confirmed Mercedes has best adapted to the introduction this season of the 1.6-liter turbocharged V6 engines with the build-in energy recovery system. Hamilton won four races in a row while Rosberg never finished worse than second.

"That's super, 1-2 means you can't do better," Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff said. "They both made some mistakes under pressure but did well to handle the situation near the end as we had some problems with the cooling system and the brakes."

Mercedes' stranglehold on F1 victories was broken by Ricciardo in Montreal, though Red Bull failed to threaten Mercedes again on its home circuit in Austria.

Mercedes dominated practice Friday with Rosberg and Hamilton posting the fastest times, but Williams hit back the next day when Bottas led the final practice before Massa grabbed pole position — his first in six years.

Despite starting 1-2, Williams was not counting on a victory, Bottas admitted.

"From all the data we had from practice we knew it was going to be difficult," the Finn said. "I am really happy for what we did with the whole team."

Vettel lost drive in the second lap and had already been doubled by the field by the time he could pick up again. He later damaged the front wing of his Red Bull as he clipped the left rear wheel of Esteban Gutierrez's Sauber and shortly afterward quit the race in lap 36 for his third DNF of the season.

"From the back of the pack there obviously was nothing I could do anymore," Vettel said. "It's bitter but we've learnt a lot and we still have to learn a lot more from this and look forward."

The track was new to all but four of the 22 drivers as F1 returned to Austria for the first time since 2003.

At 4.3 kilometers (2.7 miles), the Red Bull Ring is one of the shortest circuits on the calendar, though with just nine turns it features long straights. Situated in Central Austria's countryside, the track includes inclines of up to 12%.

It was the 27th Austrian GP, which has been held on different circuits since 1964, with Alain Prost winning a record three times. Until 1987, the races took place in nearby Zeltweg before Austria first disappeared from the calendar for 10 years.

Spielberg also hosted the race from 1997-2003. Five years after the last race, Red Bull reportedly invested 200 million euros ($270 million) for upgrading the track and its surrounding infrastructure. The Austrian GP has been one of two new races to this season's F1 calendar alongside the Russian GP, scheduled for Sochi in October.

Copyright © 2014, Los Angeles Times
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Pressure builds against France's ban on fracking

Deep beneath the City of Light lies what some believe to be an energy bonanza ripe for harvest.

If the rosy forecasts are correct, France is sitting on one of the biggest deposits of shale gas in Western Europe, enough to supply the country for decades and even some neighboring ones as well. French companies such as energy giant Total already boast the know-how for conducting the hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, needed to extract the natural gas.

There's just one hitch: Fracking is forbidden in France. And the current government has pledged to keep it that way.

French officials side with those who consider fracking dangerous and environmentally damaging because of its deep-bore drilling and use of high-pressured, chemically treated water to blast apart rock to release the gas trapped inside. Backers of the ban say that estimates of French shale gas reserves are wildly optimistic and that the focus should be on reining in fossil fuel consumption, not encouraging it.

But the energy industry warns that France is making a big, and costly, mistake.

At a time when Europe is talking urgently of the need to decrease its reliance on imported gas from a newly muscular Russia, to ignore a possible major source of energy here at home is inexplicable, critics say. The French government has outlawed not just exploitation but even exploration of potential shale gas reserves, making an informed debate on what's out there and what to do with it impossible, energy executives complain.

"The fact that fracking is banned puts a lid on everything," said Jean-Louis Schilansky, president of the French Union of Petroleum Industries. "France is at a standstill, which could be, in the long term, a real problem."

France is the only one of the European Union's 28 nations besides Bulgaria to ban fracking for shale gas, although some other countries have adopted a cautious wait-and-see attitude. By contrast, across the English Channel, the British government has announced enthusiastically that it is going "all out for shale" and issued numerous permits for prospecting.

This has given rise to what Schilansky calls a "strange state of affairs," in which French energy companies have invested millions of dollars in other countries such as Britain in pursuit of an activity they're prohibited from undertaking in their own.

But environmentalists note that popular opinion in France is strongly against fracking — as high as 80%. That's greater than the opposition to nuclear energy, which provides most of France's electricity.

Both sides of the debate agree that public sentiment has been heavily influenced by the controversial 2010 documentary "Gasland," which blamed fracking for polluting groundwater in the United States. The Oscar-nominated film, which famously shows a Pennsylvania man lighting the water from his tap on fire, struck a chord with the French, who cherish their tracts of unspoiled countryside and pride themselves on having given Evian and Perrier to the world.

"The costs are a thousand times worse than the benefits," said Benoit Hartmann, spokesman for France Nature Environment, an umbrella organization of environmental groups. "In Texas, you do digging, and it's culturally accepted. But here it's not like this. People say, 'It's our land; it's our richness.'"

The U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates there could be nearly 4 trillion cubic meters of gas, about 80 times France's current annual consumption of roughly 50 billion cubic meters. Most of the reserves are believed to lie beneath the Paris Basin, in northern France.

But critics say that the figure is little more than a guess since no comprehensive study has been conducted and that, in any case, not all the trapped gas would be extractable. They cite the example of Poland — the only EU country thought to harbor a larger shale gas supply than France — where colossally high estimates have been consistently revised downward. Some energy companies that rushed to lay their hands on prospecting licenses in Poland have begun pulling out in disappointment.

The energy industry argues that France should at least allow an assessment to be performed to lend context to public debate.

"The key is to evaluate how much there is," Schilansky said. "As long as we're not doing that, it's [just] throwing arguments about, like philosophy."

What's not in dispute is the fact that, at present, France relies on other countries for almost all of its natural gas, importing it from Norway, the Netherlands and northern Africa.

Though it also receives some from Russia, France is less dependent on Russian supplies than other European countries, such as Germany and Italy. That may have fostered a lesser sense of urgency here than elsewhere in Europe of the need to develop domestic sources.

Yet as a leading member of the EU, which has made weaning itself from Russian gas a priority since Moscow's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region, France is under pressure to be part of the solution. An EU energy strategy report released last month emphasized the need to pursue alternative, homegrown sources of gas.

"If we don't want to be overdependent [on Russia], then we will have to do anything we can to meet our own energy needs," said Thierry Bros, senior European gas analyst for Societe Generale in Paris. "We have no silver bullet ready to fire today. It's going to be a very lengthy and possibly costly process."

Advocates of shale gas say it offers a good transition for countries trying to reduce oil consumption and to increase cleaner fuel sources such as solar and wind, which currently account for a negligible, and usually quite expensive, portion of most nations' energy supplies. Currently, 75% of France's energy comes from nuclear power — the most of any advanced nation. About 15% is derived from renewable sources and the rest from fossil fuels.

France's fracking ban may become politically harder to sustain if Britain successfully taps its reserves and starts seeing its gas prices drop. That would leave French industrialists wringing their hands over the high cost of doing business at home and bemoaning France's loss of competitiveness.

"My guess is that we are going to wait for the U.K. to see how they're doing it. If the U.K. can do this in a profitable and environmentally efficient way, then France will have few options," Bros said. "If you have companies leaving your country because of energy prices, you have to look at a Plan B."

The prohibition on fracking was enacted in 2011 by the conservative government of President Nicolas Sarkozy amid the wave of anti-fracking hostility that caught the energy industry flat-footed.

"We were completely overwhelmed," Schilansky acknowledged. "It was a kind of blitzkrieg. It started in February, 'Gasland' was [broadcast] in March or April, and the law was passed in July. It was extraordinary."

A few prospecting permits that had already been issued by the government were suddenly revoked, drawing protests and a lawsuit from one of the companies. A high-court ruling last year struck down the suit.

Sarkozy's Socialist successor, Francois Hollande, has promised to maintain the embargo as long as he is president, which, given his record low approval ratings, might be only through the end of his current term, in 2017.

Despite his stated opposition to fracking, Hollande's administration has sent mixed signals. His economy minister has suggested that shale gas is worth exploring, and the new environment minister — Hollande's fourth in two years — recently said of fracking that, "if new technologies that aren't dangerous emerge, why not?"

Such equivocation alarms environmentalists intent on keeping France fracking-free.

Although public opinion is in their corner, they're aware that the energy industry is lobbying politicians to allow at least some preliminary exploration and investment during a time of deep economic malaise in France.

"We know that the arguments that our opponents make are strong," said Hartmann of France Nature Environment. "We know that when you face a crisis like we are now, it's more efficient to argue that you'll create jobs, that you'll reduce your dependency, that you're sitting on a gold mine."

But he believes that France's natural beauty, the health of its people and the future of the planet will all be imperiled if energy companies are given free rein to extract shale gas, which remains, after all, a fossil fuel that contributes to global warming.

"We should be careful," Hartmann said. "We know what the risk is. We can't take this risk."

henry.chu@latimes.com

Special correspondent Tracy McNicoll in Paris contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2014, Los Angeles Times

23.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

Pressure builds against France's ban on fracking

Deep beneath the City of Light lies what some believe to be an energy bonanza ripe for harvest.

If the rosy forecasts are correct, France is sitting on one of the biggest deposits of shale gas in Western Europe, enough to supply the country for decades and even some neighboring ones as well. French companies such as energy giant Total already boast the know-how for conducting the hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, needed to extract the natural gas.

There's just one hitch: Fracking is forbidden in France. And the current government has pledged to keep it that way.

French officials side with those who consider fracking dangerous and environmentally damaging because of its deep-bore drilling and use of high-pressured, chemically treated water to blast apart rock to release the gas trapped inside. Backers of the ban say that estimates of French shale gas reserves are wildly optimistic and that the focus should be on reining in fossil fuel consumption, not encouraging it.

But the energy industry warns that France is making a big, and costly, mistake.

At a time when Europe is talking urgently of the need to decrease its reliance on imported gas from a newly muscular Russia, to ignore a possible major source of energy here at home is inexplicable, critics say. The French government has outlawed not just exploitation but even exploration of potential shale gas reserves, making an informed debate on what's out there and what to do with it impossible, energy executives complain.

"The fact that fracking is banned puts a lid on everything," said Jean-Louis Schilansky, president of the French Union of Petroleum Industries. "France is at a standstill, which could be, in the long term, a real problem."

France is the only one of the European Union's 28 nations besides Bulgaria to ban fracking for shale gas, although some other countries have adopted a cautious wait-and-see attitude. By contrast, across the English Channel, the British government has announced enthusiastically that it is going "all out for shale" and issued numerous permits for prospecting.

This has given rise to what Schilansky calls a "strange state of affairs," in which French energy companies have invested millions of dollars in other countries such as Britain in pursuit of an activity they're prohibited from undertaking in their own.

But environmentalists note that popular opinion in France is strongly against fracking — as high as 80%. That's greater than the opposition to nuclear energy, which provides most of France's electricity.

Both sides of the debate agree that public sentiment has been heavily influenced by the controversial 2010 documentary "Gasland," which blamed fracking for polluting groundwater in the United States. The Oscar-nominated film, which famously shows a Pennsylvania man lighting the water from his tap on fire, struck a chord with the French, who cherish their tracts of unspoiled countryside and pride themselves on having given Evian and Perrier to the world.

"The costs are a thousand times worse than the benefits," said Benoit Hartmann, spokesman for France Nature Environment, an umbrella organization of environmental groups. "In Texas, you do digging, and it's culturally accepted. But here it's not like this. People say, 'It's our land; it's our richness.'"

The U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates there could be nearly 4 trillion cubic meters of gas, about 80 times France's current annual consumption of roughly 50 billion cubic meters. Most of the reserves are believed to lie beneath the Paris Basin, in northern France.

But critics say that the figure is little more than a guess since no comprehensive study has been conducted and that, in any case, not all the trapped gas would be extractable. They cite the example of Poland — the only EU country thought to harbor a larger shale gas supply than France — where colossally high estimates have been consistently revised downward. Some energy companies that rushed to lay their hands on prospecting licenses in Poland have begun pulling out in disappointment.

The energy industry argues that France should at least allow an assessment to be performed to lend context to public debate.

"The key is to evaluate how much there is," Schilansky said. "As long as we're not doing that, it's [just] throwing arguments about, like philosophy."

What's not in dispute is the fact that, at present, France relies on other countries for almost all of its natural gas, importing it from Norway, the Netherlands and northern Africa.

Though it also receives some from Russia, France is less dependent on Russian supplies than other European countries, such as Germany and Italy. That may have fostered a lesser sense of urgency here than elsewhere in Europe of the need to develop domestic sources.

Yet as a leading member of the EU, which has made weaning itself from Russian gas a priority since Moscow's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region, France is under pressure to be part of the solution. An EU energy strategy report released last month emphasized the need to pursue alternative, homegrown sources of gas.

"If we don't want to be overdependent [on Russia], then we will have to do anything we can to meet our own energy needs," said Thierry Bros, senior European gas analyst for Societe Generale in Paris. "We have no silver bullet ready to fire today. It's going to be a very lengthy and possibly costly process."

Advocates of shale gas say it offers a good transition for countries trying to reduce oil consumption and to increase cleaner fuel sources such as solar and wind, which currently account for a negligible, and usually quite expensive, portion of most nations' energy supplies. Currently, 75% of France's energy comes from nuclear power — the most of any advanced nation. About 15% is derived from renewable sources and the rest from fossil fuels.

France's fracking ban may become politically harder to sustain if Britain successfully taps its reserves and starts seeing its gas prices drop. That would leave French industrialists wringing their hands over the high cost of doing business at home and bemoaning France's loss of competitiveness.

"My guess is that we are going to wait for the U.K. to see how they're doing it. If the U.K. can do this in a profitable and environmentally efficient way, then France will have few options," Bros said. "If you have companies leaving your country because of energy prices, you have to look at a Plan B."

The prohibition on fracking was enacted in 2011 by the conservative government of President Nicolas Sarkozy amid the wave of anti-fracking hostility that caught the energy industry flat-footed.

"We were completely overwhelmed," Schilansky acknowledged. "It was a kind of blitzkrieg. It started in February, 'Gasland' was [broadcast] in March or April, and the law was passed in July. It was extraordinary."

A few prospecting permits that had already been issued by the government were suddenly revoked, drawing protests and a lawsuit from one of the companies. A high-court ruling last year struck down the suit.

Sarkozy's Socialist successor, Francois Hollande, has promised to maintain the embargo as long as he is president, which, given his record low approval ratings, might be only through the end of his current term, in 2017.

Despite his stated opposition to fracking, Hollande's administration has sent mixed signals. His economy minister has suggested that shale gas is worth exploring, and the new environment minister — Hollande's fourth in two years — recently said of fracking that, "if new technologies that aren't dangerous emerge, why not?"

Such equivocation alarms environmentalists intent on keeping France fracking-free.

Although public opinion is in their corner, they're aware that the energy industry is lobbying politicians to allow at least some preliminary exploration and investment during a time of deep economic malaise in France.

"We know that the arguments that our opponents make are strong," said Hartmann of France Nature Environment. "We know that when you face a crisis like we are now, it's more efficient to argue that you'll create jobs, that you'll reduce your dependency, that you're sitting on a gold mine."

But he believes that France's natural beauty, the health of its people and the future of the planet will all be imperiled if energy companies are given free rein to extract shale gas, which remains, after all, a fossil fuel that contributes to global warming.

"We should be careful," Hartmann said. "We know what the risk is. We can't take this risk."

henry.chu@latimes.com

Special correspondent Tracy McNicoll in Paris contributed to this report.

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