Star is crowded by super-Earths

25 June 2013 Last updated at 09:18 ET By Jonathan Amos Science correspondent, BBC News

Scientists have identified three new planets around a star they already suspected of hosting a trio of worlds.

It means this relatively nearby star, Gliese 667C, now has three so-called super-Earths orbiting in its "habitable zone".

This is the region where temperatures ought to allow for the possibility of liquid water, although no-one can say for sure what conditions are really like on these planets.

Gliese 667C is 22 light-years away.

Astronomers can see it on the sky in the constellation of Scorpius (The Scorpion).

Previous studies of Gliese 667C had established there were very likely three planets around it, with its habitable zone occupied by one super-Earth - an object slightly bigger than our home world, but probably still with a rocky surface.

Now, a team of astronomers led by Guillem Anglada-Escude of the University of G?ttingen, Germany, and Mikko Tuomi, of the University of Hertfordshire, UK, has re-examined the system and raised the star's complement of planets.

The researchers used a suite of telescopes including the 3.6m telescope at the Silla Observatory in Chile. This incorporates the high-precision Harps instrument. Harps employs an indirect method of detection that infers the existence of orbiting planets from the way their gravity makes a parent star appear to twitch in its motion across the sky.

Full to bursting

The planets' presence needs to be disentangled from this complex signal but the Harps instrument is recognised as having tremendous success in identifying smaller worlds.

Gliese 667C is a low-luminosity "M-dwarf" star just over one-third the mass of our Sun.

This means its habitable zone can be much closer in before temperatures make liquid water impossible. The team is now confident that three rocky worlds occupy this region at Gilese 667C.

"Their estimated masses range from 2.7 to 3.8 that of the Earth's," Mikko Tuomi told BBC News.

"However, we can only estimate the physical sizes by assuming certain compositions that is, well, only educated guessing.

"Their orbital periods are 28, 39, and 62 days, which means that they all orbit the star closer to its surface than Mercury in our own system. Yet, the estimated surface temperatures enable the existence of liquid water on them because of the low luminosity and low mass of the star."

These planets are said to completely fill the habitable zone. There are no more stable orbits in which to fit another planet.

That said, the team has found tantalising evidence for what may be another rocky world on the inner-edge of the zone. This would be a seventh planet in the system.

Fruitful targets

The planets would need an atmosphere to sustain liquid water on their surfaces, but at a distance of more than 200 trillion km, there are no means currently to determine what the precise conditions are like or whether life would have any chance of establishing itself.

Nonetheless, Dr Tuomi believes M-dwarf stars are good candidates to go hunting for potentially habitable worlds.

They are small enough that close-in rocky planets will show up well in the Harps Doppler spectroscopy data, but they are also dim enough that those close-orbiting worlds will not be roasted.

"This discovery single-handedly demonstrates that low-mass stars can be hosts of several potentially habitable planets," explained Dr Tuomi.

"In practice, it means that we might have to double or treble our estimates for the occurrence rate of habitable-zone planets around M-dwarf stars.

"There might, in fact, be more habitable-zone planets in the Universe than there are stars, which makes it much easier for the future space missions to obtain images of these planets.

"So, although only a rather simple discovery, its implications might force us to re-think how common habitable-zone planets are in the Universe."

The research has been written up for the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.

Jonathan.Amos-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk and follow me on Twitter: @BBCAmos

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-23032467#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

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Texas Senator Filibusters Abortion Bill (ABC News)

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Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/315204165?client_source=feed&format=rss

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PFT: Hernandez watch still on? |? Evidence taken?

Getty Images

At a time when anything mildly controversial brings out the ?I?m sorry to those I offended,? reply, give Torrey Smith credit for being firm in his convictions.

The Ravens wide receiver doesn?t like most Patriots fans, it seems.

Smith has been going back and forth with New Englanders on Twitter for days,?really months, going back to his emotional performance in September after the death of his brother in a motorcycle accident. But the recent volley, according to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun, has taken it to the next level of internet fights.

When last September?s win over the Patriots was coupled with a playoff win in January, Smith said he got a load of insensitive messages.

?Played a lot of games since my brothers death and I never received as many rude tweets after a win than Sunday,? Smith wrote in January. ?Yet NE fans cry about class.?

Of course, Smith?s not innocent of taunting, remarking that he was pulling for the Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup Finals, and that: ?I hate everything about NE except KG.? (Presumably that?s Kevin Garnett, unless he really respects the work of Karen Guregian of the Boston Herald).

That drew them out of their holes, and Smith continued, saying: ?I understand that every Fan base has bad fans what I?m saying is NE fans have more than others and think they are better than everyone else.?

He also retweeted a photo someone sent him or a motorcycle arcade game, taunting him about his brother?s death.

That triggered what amounts to a screed:

?As much as I dislike MOST of the fan base I can honestly say that I respect the coaches and ownership,? he wrote. ?Ok I?m done starting stuff before I get a phone call from our organization haha?no apologies I meant what I said. .. I?m done responding to fans who confirmed what I originally said?having 1 fan base out of 32 hate you isn?t bad?don?t need y?all see ya.?

He later pointed out he was ready to end the feud, saying: ?The Mrs is mad at me for not taking the high road.?

The Mrs. is obviously unfamiliar with the Twitter, where the high road is generally the least-traveled.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/06/23/reporters-neighbors-hang-around-outside-hernandezs-home/related/

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Targeted viral therapy destroys breast cancer stem cells in preclinical experiments

June 24, 2013 ? A promising new treatment for breast cancer being developed at Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center and the VCU Institute of Molecular Medicine (VIMM) has been shown in cell culture and in animal models to selectively kill cancer stem cells at the original tumor site and in distant metastases with no toxic effects on healthy cells, including normal stem cells. Cancer stem cells are critical to a cancer's ability to recur following conventional chemotherapies and radiation therapy because they can quickly multiply and establish new tumors that are often therapy resistant.

The study, published in the International Journal of Cancer, focuses on a gene originally cloned in the laboratory of primary investigator Paul B. Fisher, M.Ph., Ph.D. The gene, melanoma differentiation associated gene-7 (mda-7), also known as interleukin (IL)-24, has been shown to directly impact two forms of cell suicide known as apoptosis and toxic autophagy, regulate the development of new blood vessels and also play a role in promoting cancer cell destruction by the immune system. In the present study, the researchers used a recombinant adenovirus vector, an engineered virus with modified genetic material, known as Ad.mda-7 to deliver the mda-7/IL-24 gene with its encoded protein directly to the tumor.

"Therapy with the mda-7/IL-24 gene has been shown to be safe in a phase I clinical trial involving patients with advanced cancers, and prior studies in my laboratory and with collaborators have shown that the gene could also be effective against breast, prostate, lung, colorectal, ovarian, pancreatic and brain cancers," says Fisher, Thelma Newmeyer Corman Endowed Chair in Cancer Research and co-leader of the Cancer Molecular Genetics program at VCU Massey, chairman of VCU School of Medicine's Department of Human and Molecular Genetics and director of the VCU Institute of Molecular Medicine. "Our study demonstrates that this therapy may someday be an effective way to eradicate both early and advanced stage breast cancer, and could even be used to reduce the risk of cancer recurrence."

The researchers found that infection of human breast cancer cells with the adenovirus decreased the proliferation of breast cancer stem cells without affecting normal breast stem cells. It was also shown to induce a stress response in the cells that led to apoptosis by disrupting Wnt/B-catenin signaling, a process cells rely upon to transmit signals that initiate biological functions critical to survival. In mouse models, the therapy profoundly inhibited the growth of tumors generated from breast cancer stem cells and also killed cancer cells in distant, uninjected tumors.

Since discovering the mda-7/IL-24 gene, Fisher and his team have worked to develop better ways to deliver it to cancer cells, including two cancer "terminator" viruses known as Ad.5-CTV and Ad.5/3-CTV. Cancer terminator viruses are unique because they are designed to replicate only within cancer cells while delivering immune-modulating and toxic genes such as MDA-7/IL-24. Coupled with a novel stealth delivery technique known as ultrasound-targeted microbubble destruction (UTMD), researchers can now systemically deliver viruses and therapeutic genes and proteins directly to tumors and their surrounding tissue (microenvironment) at both primary and metastatic tumor sites. UTMD uses microscopic, gas-filled bubbles that can be paired with viral therapies, therapeutic genes and proteins, and imaging agents and can then be released in a site and target-specific manner via ultrasound. Fisher and his colleagues are pioneering this approach and have already reported success in experiments utilizing UTMD technology and mda-7/IL-24 gene therapy in prostate and colorectal cancer models.

"We are hopeful that this targeted gene therapy could be safely combined with conventional chemotherapies to significantly improve outcomes for patients with breast cancer and potentially a variety of other cancers," says Fisher. "When paired with promising new delivery techniques such as UTMD, physicians may one day be able to better target site-specific cancers and also monitor the effectiveness of these types of therapies in real time."

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/OUtmjiftctE/130624111008.htm

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Apple's iOS Update Could Kill Snapchat, or at Least Make It Even Creepier

Apple's second attempt at its new iPhone operating system presents a frightening problem for Snapchat users, with a new screenshot feature that, as of right now, makes it possible for creepy users to capture Snaps before they vanish, which totally ruins the point of one of the most popular apps in existence and totally makes you want to use Apple apps instead. The new iOS 7 (Beta 2)?no longer closes the photo-viewing window in Snapchat after a user attempts to take a screenshot,?as spotted by MacRumors's Juli Clover, meaning that no privacy notification gets sent when, say, a creepy guy keeps a photo of a young woman on his phone that was supposed to disappear forever after 10 seconds. Currently, to discourage the saving of Snaps, the app?will alert the sender if a screen grab is taken on the other end. Which is important, but, really, the fun of Snapchat is that the picture messages don't last more than a few seconds. But for users who know the loophole, Apple's new iOS turns Snapchat into a stripped down (and we mean stripped down)?version of picture texting, which is only going to make the app more rife with all that sexting the teens are supposedly up to on this thing.

RELATED: SnapChat, the Coupon App?

This is the kind of miscommunication that could kill Snapchat, whose enthusiasts?have already started to freak out a little bit. The whole basis of the mobile social network is the ephemeral message: Snappers can send things without the consequence of a permanent record. The screenshot notification system acted as a sort of safeguard, a rule so that the app's millions of users wouldn't abuse that social compact in posting more than 150 million photos per day. Of course,?other workarounds?already?exist, but the new iOS setup makes this secret screenshot ability the default. And that idea ? that anyone can save a photo that's not supposed to be saved ? will change the behavior of senders, which will make it all the more difficult to use Snapchat instead of, say, Apple's proprietary iMessage, or even?Facebook's clone?version, Poke.

RELATED: The Time an Entire Campus Dumped Its Booze Because of Snapchat

So, what's Snapchat to do? Of course, the updated iOS is still in beta, which gives Apple permission to change or fix anything it wants until the operating system gets sent out to the wilds of the Snapchat-using public. Perhaps Snapchat could lobby for the old screenshotting rules? Maybe this was even a mistake. Or maybe it was dastardly move to steal back users.

RELATED: What Apple's Flat iOS 7 Design Will Look Like ? When It Gets Here

More realistically, Snapchat will have to figure out another technical way to alert users that they're being watched for more than a couple seconds. The Next Web's Mathew Panzarino is sure that Snapchat developers are already working on that ? though, they haven't yet responded to requests for comment. At the very least, the app has some options to fix things, as Panzarino explains: "One way that Snapchat?could possibly do this is by getting a message directly from the screenshot API, which is currently private," he writes. "Apple could, for instance, allow developers access to just the 'screenshot taken' confirmation message sent by the system. Or it could check the Camera Roll for a new screenshot-sized photo (there are already apps that do this)." So all is not lost for you freaky Snap-chatters after all.?

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/apples-ios-could-kill-snapchat-least-even-creepier-152600906.html

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The woods have secrets on 'The Killing'

TV

Will Harris TODAY contributor

9 hours ago

Carole Segal / AMC

Linden is contemplating her feelings for Holder.

You know a series is really starting to get good when you?re finding it harder and harder to narrow it down to only three must-see moments in an episode, but this week?s episode of ?The Killing? offered a full-fledged OMG moment even before the opening credits began to roll, closed with another one and offered several more eyebrow-raising incidents between.

Girl meets car
It?s rough enough just being a teenage driver, but imagine having an already-bloodied girl run out of the woods and in front of your car. This horrifying moment sets off the major story line of the episode, with the victim doing her best to shrug off the effects of the accident and continuing to run for her life, thereby sending Linden and Holder on a quest to find her, one that leads them to another biohazard bag, a severed finger, a trail of blood heading in the direction of the shelter for wayward teens, and ? in short order ? another team-up with the ever-spunky Bullet. Before episode?s end, the girl is found and, although her identity isn?t confirmed, we at least discover that it isn?t Kallie. But what lingers longest is the girl?s scream when she opens her eyes. Whatever happened in those woods, she won?t be forgetting it anytime soon.

Worst. Valentine's Day. EVER.
Up to this point, most of Bullet?s bonding has been with Holder. Indeed, the two get a very sweet scene at the end of this week?s episode as well, but when she and Linden share some time alone in the car, smoking and shooting the breeze, her questions about what?s going on between Linden and her partner clearly cause Linden to contemplate her feelings for Holder. After an awkward encounter back at the station with Skinner?s wife, reminding her of the affair she had with her former partner, Linden apparently makes the spontaneous decision to have history repeat itself by knocking on Holder?s front door. Bad call: His girlfriend, Caroline, is there. Even worse, though, is the fact that Caroline soon drops a bombshell that clearly neither Linden or Holder realized: It?s Valentine?s Day. Still, you?ve got to give Holder credit for thinking on his feet and asking Caroline, ?You know I celebrate on Feb. 15 ?cause it?s less commercial, right?"

A tale of two mothers
Grace Zabriskie returned as the mouthy motel owner who ? as viewers discover in short order ? is actually Joe Mills? mother. ?He?s a young soul, that?s why all those kids love him,? she assures Linden and Holder, who promptly execute a search warrant on Danielle Lutz?s house, having learned that Joe?s mama has been calling him there. Although he?s conveniently absent during their visit, the information they provide Danielle about her beau coupled with the missed call she received from Kallie?s phone in the wee hours of the morning finally succeed in turning her into a worried mother and send her onto the streets to search for her daughter. It?s still not enough to turn her against Joe, however, so she meets him for another rendezvous, but she can?t resist trying Kallie one more time while he?s in the shower. When her daughter?s phone rings in Joe?s bag, she realizes that she?s made a terrible mistake. And given that Joe emerges from behind her as it?s still ringing, there?s a very good chance it could be the last mistake she ever makes.

Source: http://www.today.com/entertainment/woods-have-secrets-killing-6C10436066

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Why 2 Birds in the Hand May Be Better Than a ?Hobbit? Skull (in a Cave Deposit, at Least)

Labeled bags of bones

The light flickers, and then goes out. The humming of the air conditioning stops. The sounds of Jakarta?s hustle-bustle and infamous traffic gridlock slowly seep into the room, softly lit by the glow of my laptop screen. It?s a late October afternoon, the rainy season started a few days ago, and I?m at the National Research and Development Centre for Archaeology in Jakarta, Indonesia. On the table in front of me, now only dimly lit from my laptop screen, lies a cast of a famous human skeleton. Carefully arranged on a fine layer of black velvet, these pieces represent Homo floresiensis, the enigmatic hominin species from Liang Bua cave on the Indonesian island of Flores.

Excavation in progress

The discovery in 2003 of Homo floresiensis, affectionately referred to as a ?hobbit?, took scientists worldwide by surprise, and challenged many things thought to be understood about human evolution. Intense scientific debates followed about the validity of Homo floresiensis and its status as a separate species, and many of these debates continue to this day. Behind the black velvet covered table, however, stacked up high against the walls, are hundreds of boxes and plastic containers, each of which contains evidence of the other animals that lived and died among Homo floresiensis. I can?t help but think that these boxes and containers, not the skeleton on the table, will help us to better understand the rise and fall of Homo floresiensis.

Liang Bua interior

Liang Bua is a limestone cave in western Flores, located on the southern slope of a lush green valley that over time has been cut down by the Wae Racang river. Its sediments have yielded an enormous number of animal bones, and despite its star status, ?hobbit? remains are hugely outnumbered by the remains of other animals, such as rats, pygmy elephants, Komodo dragons, bats, and most importantly in my case, birds. My first encounter with the ancient birds of Liang Bua was in 2006, when I made my first trip to Jakarta. Coping as best as I could with the heat (I?m northern European after all), I spent my days carefully unwrapping tissue paper only to find bird bones, some very large, most of them small, tucked inside. I couldn?t help but feeling a bit overwhelmed when I left Jakarta.

Now, several years and many trips to Jakarta later, the birds from Liang Bua are speaking, figuratively at least (technically, parrots may talk but they and others make sounds). And their story is fascinating! Although bird remains probably make up only about 1% of the total number of animal bones excavated from Liang Bua (which is a lot more than the hominin bones by the way), they are consistently present from the top layers of sediment all the way down to the bottom of the cave. On top of that, the birds are incredibly diverse, which means that the ?hobbits? lived in a world full of birds. The nearby forests were home to pigeons, parrots, small owls, and goshawks. A barn owl probably roosted at the eastern cave wall next to the entrance.

Further back in the cave, swiftlets nested high up against the wall in the dark crevices. When I visited Liang Bua in 2011, I was so excited to see living swiftlets darting in and out of the cave like acrobats. I had been looking at the bones of these birds for months, but I fell in love with them as they gathered above the forest canopy in the late afternoon to feed on insects. Fossil swiftlet bones, which are found as deep as 9.5 m, show that these tiny birds have been doing this for tens of thousands of years. They own this place.

River valley in the Liang Bua area

Throughout prehistory, occasional overflowing of the nearby Wae Racang river likely created marshy and muddy areas that were excellent feeding grounds for all kinds of water birds, including snipes, plovers and sandpipers, probing and prodding the mud with their long bills in search of food (invertebrates mostly). Brahminy Kites patrolled the river for fish or hung out near the mouth of the cave, waiting for a fly-by bat or swiftlet snack. Kingfishers and small rails could be found in the woodlands close to the river, while little buttonquails scurried around in the drier grasslands higher up.

Despite this seemingly peaceful setting, life at Liang Bua wasn?t all peachy. The remains of multiple individuals of giant marabou storks and vultures illustrate a darker side of Liang Bua. Carcasses of pygmy Stegodon (an extinct relative of elephants), probably brought into the cave by Homo floresiensis (Morwood et al., 2004, 2005; van den Bergh et al., 2009), must have attracted the attention of these fierce scavenging birds.

Their modern-day counterparts, the African marabou storks and vultures, have a love-hate relationship. Marabou storks signal that it is safe for vultures to approach a carcass, helping them in their quest for food. But, as their massive straight bill is poorly equipped for tearing off chunks of meat, they then often resort to intimidating vultures to drop their chunk, or even steal the meat directly from them. We can only imagine what the scene at Liang Bua must have looked like. If these videos of modern marabou storks and vultures are any indication, I?m not placing bets on who got the last scraps of Stegodon meat, but it may not have been a hobbit or even a komodo dragon:

The bird remains from Liang Bua paint a lively and colorful background for Homo floresiensis, but their implications extend far beyond a soundtrack to the hobbit story. Birds are closely associated to vegetation, and their presence throughout the stratigraphic sequence serves as a paleoecological signal, much more so than mammals. Changes in local climate affect vegetation, which in turn affects the bird community. The diverse assortment of birds in the Pleistocene sediments indicates that Liang Bua?s surroundings hosted a range of different habitats, including mature and floristically diverse forests that would have provided plenty of food and other resources for Homo floresiensis. In the Holocene sediments, bird diversity appears to drop. This may well be biased due to smaller sample sizes in the Holocene, but we cannot rule out changes in the local ecology. The absence of water birds (abundant in Pleistocene deposits) during the Holocene might reflect a shift to a drier climate, which is on par with isotope data from the region (Westaway et al., 2009).

Swiftlets over forest near Liang Bua

However, as the Wae Racang river changed its course, snipes and plovers may no longer have been attracted to the cave surroundings. Forest birds, such as swiftlets, parrots, and pigeons made it unscathed into the Holocene, indicating that despite a shift to a drier climate during the terminal Pleistocene, enough forest remained nearby to sustain populations of these birds. Interestingly, a majority of the bird species observed in the Pleistocene sediments are still found on the island today. While pygmy elephants, hobbits, giant marabou storks, and vultures disappeared toward the end of the Pleistocene, most birds seem unaffected by this extinction event, or were able to cope with changing environmental conditions. What made them different?

As more material is excavated and studied, the Liang Bua avifauna continues to grow and the resolution of its paleoecological and paleoenvironmental signal will increase. It might show us what happened to the wetlands and forests over time, tell us who was eating whom, and when each character arrived on the scene. Moreover, it allows us to test hypotheses about climate change, extinction patterns, and yes, human evolution.

I hear a clanking sound as the air condition comes back to life. Delicious cold air hits my face. Back to the birds it is.

References:

van den Bergh, G. D., H. J. M. Meijer, R. A. Due, K. Szabo ?? , L. W. van den Hoek Ostende, T. Sutikna, E. W. Saptomo, P. Piper, K. M. Dobney, and M. J. Morwood. 2009. The Liang Bua faunal remains: a 95 k.yr. sequence from Flores, East Indonesia. Journal of Human Evolution 57:527?537.

Meijer, H.J.M., Sutikna, T., Saptomo, W.E., Due, R. A., Wasisto, S., James, H.F., Morwood, M.J., & Tocheri, M.W. Late Pleistocene-Holocene non-Passerine Avifauna of Liang Bua (Flores, Indonesia). The Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 33(4).

Morwood, M. J., P. Brown, Jatmiko, T. Sutikna, E. W. Saptomo, K. E. Westaway, R. A. Due, R. G. Roberts, T. Maeda, S. Wasisto, and T. Djubiantono. 2005. Further evidence for small- bodied hominins from the late Pleistocene of Flores, Indonesia. Nature 437:1012?1017.

Morwood, M. J., R. P. Soejono, R. G. Roberts, T. Sutikna, C. S. M. Turney, K. E. Westaway, W. J. Rink, J.-X. Zhao, G. D. van den- Bergh, R. A. Due, D. R. Hobbs, M. W. Moore, M. I. Bird, and L. K. Fifield. 2004. Archaeology and age of a new hominin from Flores in eastern Indonesia. Nature 431:1087?1091.

Westaway, K. E., R. G. Roberts, T. Sutikna, M. J. Morwood, R. Drysdale, R., J.-X. Zhao, and A. R. Chivas. 2009a. The evolving landscape and climate of western Flores: an environmental context for the archae- ological site of Liang Bua. Journal of Human Evolution 57:450?464.

Images: by author.

Source: http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/2013/06/24/why-two-birds-in-the-hand-may-be-better-than-a-hobbit-skull-in-a-cave-deposit-at-least/

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China, Europe Add Fuel to U.S. Sell-Off | Breakout - Yahoo! Finance

"Deleveraging Everywhere." It doesn't get much more concise than and it is exactly how Stifel Nicolaus trader Dave Lutz begins his morning missive to clients today. For others, the sheer volume of things suddenly going wrong is almost fitting, given the 7-month rally that defiantly pushed stocks to all-time highs.

"No one knows how it will end but we do know this; it all comes at once," says Peter Kenny, chief market strategist at Knight Capital in the attached video, of roiled world markets, including the Dow Jones Industrials (^DJI) , which is suffering its third, 200-plus point down day in the past 4 sessions.

Not only is he - and every investor for that matter - contending with the fastest eroding bond market in most of our adult lifetimes, there's also the continued debasement of complicated Chinese markets, as well as the perennial perk-up of Eurozone bond yields, which have Geiger counter-like sensitivity to any signs of trouble.

Not only did China's benchmark Shanghai Index shed 5%, but every major equity market in Asia and Europe closed lower today, adding to the weight upon U.S. stocks, which were being lead lower by economically cyclical sectors such as Energy (XLE), Materials (XLB), Financials (XLF) and Industrials (XLI). More broadly, the emerging markets (EEM) continued their descent towards bear market territory, having plunged almost 20% now from a 52-week high hit at the start of the year. If not for the isolated gains of the dollar (^DX-Y), Treasury yields (^TNX) and volatility (^VIX) there would be no green at all on trader's screens.

And yet, in spite of all of the contagion and liquidation, a silver lining may emerge this week in the form of a parade of seven Fed governors who are on tap to make speeches in the next few days, and hammer home the reality that when Ben Bernanke says any reduction in stimulus from the markets will be "data dependent," he means it.

"This is what they get paid for. Fed speak. To make things more digestable for the markets," Kenny says, branding it a "very, very important week for the Fed."

Still, he's the first to acknowledge that the addict-like tantrum currently being thrown by the markets was not only expected, but is also arguably overdue. The surprise, really, is in the speed at which the global demise is happening, and whether the sell-off has come too far, too fast and might be poised for a bounce.

More from Breakout:

Don't Look at Bernanke, China Is Driving This Meltdown

Stocks Threatened by the Pace of Rising Interest Rates: Baruch

Bargains and Necessities Outclass Luxury in Retail Patch: Suttmeier

Source: http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/breakout/china-europe-add-fuel-u-sell-off-152937642.html

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Why Immigration Reform Is The Panama Canal Treaty Redux (Powerlineblog)

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Boston Bruins black-and-blue hockey not enough in Stanley Cup final (+video)

The Boston Bruins hit everything in sight in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup final, but the Chicago Blackhawks skated circles around them, winning 3-1.

By Mark Sappenfield,?Staff writer / June 23, 2013

Boston Bruins center Chris Kelly (23) trips over Chicago Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford (50) who blocked his shot in the first period during Game 5 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup final Saturday in Chicago.

Bruce Bennett/AP

Enlarge

For nearly six weeks, the Toronto Maple Leafs were just a memory.

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How had that band of young upstarts, in the playoffs for the first time since 2004, come within 52 seconds of eliminating the Big Bad Boston Bruins? For weeks after, those frantic moments when the Bruins scrambled back to win Game 7 after being down 4-1 with 11 minutes left seemed merely a first-round hiccup.

The Bruins, after all, had found their stride since. They had roughed up the New York Rangers and then, with delicious impudence, sent the prima donnas of Pittsburgh packing in four games.

Even in the first four games of the Stanley Cup final, the Bruins seemed on even keel, playing the Chicago Blackhawks into overtime in three of them and managing to take two of the four. ?

Then the Blackhawks came out for Game 5 as though coach Joel Quenneville had brandished a cattle prod in the pregame speech, and something shifted. The Blackhawks, who are quite well equipped to match the Bruins' wrecking-ball style of hockey, found a new gear ? almost as though they had forgotten they had it ? and the Bruins could do nothing about it.

For a moment, it looked like the Maple Leafs all over again.

There can be something mesmerizing about Bruins hockey. For a sport played mostly by big, angry boys with sticks, it can be a default mode. The crowd loves it. North American players have been raised in the Cult of Don Cherry to believe this is "real hockey." You hit me, I'll hit you. And again. And again. It is the endlessly repeating integer of Boston's Stanley Cup equation.

In truth, the real genius of Boston hockey is that it is about making opponents pay an enormous price for every goal. Often, that price is physical. Sometimes, it is mental. The Penguins, for instance, must have wondered when they were ever going to score.

But at its core, Boston hockey is mostly about fundamental hockey.

We will dump the puck into your zone to keep it away from our goal. We will forecheck ferociously to make it as hard as possible to get the puck out of your own zone. We will build a defensive wall around our goaltender. And then, in those rare times when everything breaks down, our spectacular goaltender will stop you.

In Bruins hockey, goals are like the planets aligning ? they come only rarely and usually only with a symphonic coincidence of fortuitous circumstances. In Bruins hockey, a team with no clear superstar can become far more than the sum of its parts.

So the Bruins won the Stanley Cup in 2011. So they are in the Stanley Cup final this year.

Yet in the Blackhawks, the Bruins have met a team that can play "Bruins hockey" ? fundamentally sound, physically taxing, emotionally draining ? yet is more talented than they are. The result, as became clear Saturday, is that no matter how long the two teams play, the Blackhawks will always create more and more dangerous scoring chances when they are at their best.

The Maple Leafs are not as talented as the Blackhawks. But they are young and fast. At times against the Maple Leafs, the Bruins played as though someone had pulled the fire alarm.

Though not as pronounced Saturday, the same impression was inescapable. For all their gristle and hustle, the Bruins could not cope with the Blackhawks' skating.

After spending much of the series flitting about on the edges of the action, Blackhawk Patrick Kane has figured out that it is not his muscle but his movement that is needed. He scored two goals Saturday by ceaselessly seeking the empty patches of ice near the goal that open and close with the speed of a camera shutter.?

There's never been much of a doubt that the Blackhawks could put together a game like Game 5. Consider that they are up 3-2 in the series despite the fact that Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask has been guiltless in virtually all of the Blackhawks' 14 goals. That is a testament to the Blackhawks' ability to create offensive chances.

This is not to say that the Blackhawks must win the series. Teams don't always play at their best. Moreover, as solid as Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford has been at times, his glove has been a weakness; Rask could still steal a game or two for the Bruins.

But on Saturday, it was clear: The Blackhawks took Bruins hockey to another level.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/VTB_aKa_ObM/Boston-Bruins-black-and-blue-hockey-not-enough-in-Stanley-Cup-final-video

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Home Values Jump 28 Percent in Las Vegas - Marshall Stearns

Jun 24, 2013, Posted by: Summer Bowen

Home values in Las Vegas are increasing faster than any other major metro area according to a new report by Zillow. In May the valley?s median home value was $146,400 which is up 28 percent from a year ago. This was the highest year-to-year percent jump compared to the 30 largest regions evaluated in the report.

The other major markets where home values improved over the past year include Sacramento (26.1 percent), San?Francisco?(24.2 percent),?San Jose (21.8 percent), and Phoenix (21.3 percent). Only one of the 30 metros covered in the report had home values decreased year-over-year which was St. Louis.

Nationwide home values have risen 5.4 percent year-over-year to $159,000 in May. Home values are predicted to raise another 4.1 percent by May 2014. Zillow anticipates the pace of appreciation will slow down as more sellers list their homes and builders increase construction. This will help?alleviate?the low supply of housing inventory.

Call one of our top real estate agents to where they will give you a free estimate of your home value. ?Click here to choose the agent you would like to contact.

Source: http://www.marshallstearns.com/las-vegas-real-estate/home-values-jump-28-in-las-vegas/

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Tenet Healthcare buying Vanguard Health for $1.8B

DALLAS (AP) ? Tenet Healthcare Corp. plans to buy fellow hospital operator Vanguard Health Systems Inc. for about $1.8 billion, in a deal that will expand its reach into new markets as millions of patients start to gain insurance coverage through the health care overhaul.

Tenet said Monday that it will pay $21 per share, a 70 percent premium to Vanguard Health's Friday closing price of $12.37. The companies said the transaction also includes $2.5 billion in debt, and they value the entire deal at $4.3 billion.

Shares of Vanguard Health soared 67 percent, or $8.33, to $20.70 Monday morning after the companies announced the deal. The company's stock price had advanced only about 1 percent as of last Friday since closing 2012 at $12.25.

Tenet investors also liked the deal, pushing the Dallas-based company's stock up 6.7 percent, or $2.82, to $44.67. Meanwhile, the Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 1.5 percent.

The federal health care overhaul is expected to help hospitals by reducing the number of uninsured patients they treat. Starting next year, the overhaul will provide income-based tax credits to help people buy coverage, and the state-and-federally funded Medicaid program will expand its coverage in several states.

Tenet said Nashville, Tenn.-based Vanguard will help it expand into several new markets and increase the benefit it expects to realize from the overhaul. Vanguard runs 28 acute care and specialty hospitals in Texas, Massachusetts and major cities like Chicago, Phoenix and Detroit. Its specialty locations include heart, children's and rehabilitation hospitals.

The deal also will bring new business to Tenet's Conifer Health Solutions segment, which helps hospitals manage revenue and run their business operations.

The boards of both companies have unanimously approved the deal, which is expected to close by the end of this year. After that, Tenet will own 79 hospitals and 157 outpatient facilities. It currently has 49 hospitals and 126 outpatient facilities.

Tenet expects annual savings and gains of $100 million to $200 million largely from operating more efficiently after the companies combine.

Vanguard Health said that its founder, Chairman and CEO Charlie Martin, will join Tenet's board. Vanguard's vice chairman, Keith Pitts, will continue in that position at Tenet.

Tenet has secured fully committed financing for the transaction from Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-06-24-US-Tenet-Healthcare-Acquisition/id-7c75ad6344de4d50a3e952b253c427cb

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Interior Decorating Ideas for Guest Room | Home Improvement ...

Although its existence was fading, the guest room is a space that is still available in some homes or residential. Structuring the guest room is sometimes constrained by space limitations. But it can be overcome with the right layout to interior. Guest room arrangement technique is an important thing that must be considered, so that the space is not only comfortable, but also beautiful and interesting. Basically, the size of the guest room does not have to be too broad, because this space is not used every day. Tiny guest room gives a distinct advantage, because it does not take a long time to perform maintenance and clean-ups.

Interior decorating ideas for a small guest room can make use of white color wall paint for the room so it seen more spacious. The use of large glass walls can also help ?expand? the guest room. Furniture design is compact, simple, and not too much detail can also support the interior design of a guest room that is not too broad. Utilization of decorations such as paintings or other wall hangings must support the theme of the interior design guest room as a whole. One painting in medium-size, or a wall hanging, is more than enough to adorn the walls of the guest room that is not too broad.

Wide window and height which located in the guest room will add to the impression of the wide guest room. In addition it also will make the guest room gets sunlight and sufficient air circulation.

Source: http://www.dlecn.com/interior-decorating-ideas-for-guest-room/

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Flytecam Is A Streamlined GoPro Challenger

Whether you need another option or not, Flytecam is a 1080p POV video camera that's looking to compete. It has specs that land it between GoPro's lowest and middle tier offerings, but it's supposed to be cheaper and doesn't require waterproof or shock resistant cases.

Read more...

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/jHqBFHwPAg4/flytecam-is-a-streamlined-gopro-challenger-550612931

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House investigators: Disability judges too lax

WASHINGTON (AP) ? U.S. House investigators say Social Security is approving state-rejected claims for disability benefits at strikingly high rates for people who might not deserve them. Compounding the problem, the agency often fails to do required follow-up reviews to make sure people still qualify for benefits months or years later.

Claims for benefits have increased by 25 percent since 2007, pushing the fund that supports the disability program to the brink of insolvency. Social Security officials say the primary driver of the increase is a surge in baby boomers more prone to disabilities as they age but not quite old enough to qualify for retirement benefits.

Investigators from the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee say management problems also add to the financial problems of the cash-strapped program.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/house-investigators-disability-judges-too-lax-182831645.html

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Stuntwoman, pilot killed in Ohio air show crash

CINCINNATI (AP) ? A budget analyst with a daredevil streak, Jane Wicker knew she was taking a risk when she signed up to entertain thousands of spectators at the Vectren Air Show near Dayton.

She said in a TV interview she felt confident of her ability and said on her website that lots of practice makes her signature stunt a "managed risk." She planned to hang underneath the plane's wing by her feet and sit on the bottom of the airplane while it was upside-down.

It wasn't clear Saturday what went so wrong. The biplane glided through the sky, rolled over, then crashed and exploded into flames, killing the wing walker and the pilot, authorities said. No one else was hurt.

A video posted on WHIO-TV shows the small plane turn upside-down as the performer sits on top of the wing. The plane then tilts and crashes to the ground, erupting into flames as spectators screamed.

Ian Hoyt, an aviation photographer and licensed pilot from Findlay, was at the show with his girlfriend. He told The Associated Press he was taking photos as the plane passed by and had just raised his camera to take another shot.

"Then I realized they were too low and too slow. And before I knew it, they hit the ground," he said.

He couldn't tell exactly what happened, but it appeared that the plane stalled and didn't have enough air speed, he said. He credited the pilot for steering clear of spectators and potentially saving lives.

"Had he drifted more, I don't know what would have happened," Hoyt said. He said he had been excited to see the show because he'd never seen the scheduled performer ? wing walker Jane Wicker ? in action.

The show was canceled for the rest of the day, but organizers said events would resume Sunday and follow the previous schedule and normal operations. The National Transportation Safety Board said it is investigating the crash.

On the video, the announcer narrates as the plane glides through the sky and rolls over while the stuntwoman perches on a wing.

"Now she's still on that far side. Keep an eye on Jane. Keep an eye on Charlie. Watch this! Jane Wicker, sitting on top of the world," the announcer said, right before the plane makes a quick turn and nosedive.

Federal records show the 450 HP Stearmans was registered to Wicker, who lived in Loudon, Va. A man who answered the phone at a number listed for Wicker on her website said he had no comment and hung up.

One of the pilots listed on Wicker's website was named Charlie Schwenker. A post on Jane Wicker Airshows' Facebook page announced the deaths of Wicker and Schwenker, and asked for prayers for their families.

A message left at a phone listing for Charles Schwenker in Oakton, Va., wasn't immediately returned.

Dayton International Airport spokeswoman Linda Hughes and Ohio State Highway Patrol Lt. Anne Ralston confirmed that a pilot and stunt walker had died but declined to give their names. The air show also declined to release their identities.

Another spectator, Shawn Warwick of New Knoxville, told the Dayton Daily News that he was watching the flight through binoculars.

"I noticed it was upside-down really close to the ground. She was sitting on the bottom of the plane," he said. "I saw it just go right into the ground and explode."

Thanh Tran of Fairfield said he could see a look of concern on the wing walker's face just before the plane went down.

"She looked very scared," he said. "Then the airplane crashed on the ground. After that, it was terrible, man ... very terrible."

Wicker's website says she responded to a classified ad from the Flying Circus Airshow in Bealeton, Va., in 1990, for a wing-walking position, thinking it would be fun. She was a contract employee who worked as a Federal Aviation Administration budget analyst, the FAA said.

She talked to WDTN-TV in an interview this week about her signature stunt.

"I'm never nervous or scared because I know if I do everything as I usually do, everything's going to be just fine," she told the station.

Wicker wrote on her website that she had never had any close calls.

"What you see us do out there is after an enormous amount of practice and fine tuning, not to mention the airplane goes through microscopic care. It is a managed risk and that is what keeps us alive," she wrote.

In 2011, wing walker Todd Green fell 200 feet to his death at an air show in Michigan while performing a stunt in which he grabbed the skid of a helicopter.

In 2007, veteran stunt pilot Jim LeRoy was killed at the Dayton show when his biplane slammed into the runway while performing loop-to-loops and caught fire.

Organizers were presenting a trimmed-down show and expected smaller crowds at Dayton after the Air Force Thunderbirds and other military participants pulled out this year because of federal budget cuts.

The air show, one of the country's oldest, usually draws around 70,000 people and has a $3.2 million impact on the local economy. Without military aircraft and support, the show expected attendance to be off 30 percent or more.

___

Thomas reported from Philadelphia. Associated Press writers Kerry Lester in Chicago and Randy Pennell in Philadelphia contributed to this report.

___

Online:

Raw video of crash: http://bit.ly/11Vf7JA

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/stuntwoman-pilot-killed-ohio-air-show-crash-073948128.html

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The Best Sopranos Episodes Ever, At The Book Club | Londonist

The Book Club in Shoreditch is playing tribute to the late, great James Gandolfini with a Sopranos-themed evening on 2 July. The venue will be decked out New Jersey style, with ?food from The Soprano?s Family Cookbook, candy cigars and a few card games?. Leave your piece at home, though. The best three episodes from the series will be screened, and you can vote for them right now?on the venue?s Facebook page or tweet ?em.

The event runs on 2 July, 6.30-11.30pm, 100-106 Leonard Street, and entrance is free?just turn up. Those who crave the seediness of Bada Bing!?well, The Horns is just round the corner.

Source: http://londonist.com/2013/06/the-best-sopranos-episodes-ever-at-the-book-club.php

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Wing walker, pilot die in crash at Ohio air show

CINCINNATI (AP) ? A plane carrying a wing walker crashed at an air show and exploded into flames Saturday, killing the pilot and stunt walker instantly, authorities said.

The crash of the 450 HP Stearman happened at around 12:45 p.m. at the Vectren Air Show at Dayton International Airport. No spectators were hurt.

A video posted on WHIO-TV shows the plane turn upside-down as the performer sits on top of the wing. The plane then tilts and crashes to the ground, erupting into flames as spectators screamed.

Ian Hoyt, an aviation photographer and licensed pilot from Findlay, was at the show with his girlfriend. He told The Associated Press he was taking photos as the plane passed by and had just raised his camera to take another shot.

"Then I realized they were too low and too slow. And before I knew it, they hit the ground," he said.

He couldn't tell exactly what happened, but it appeared that the plane stalled and didn't have enough air speed, he said.

"I'm still shaking," Hoyt said. He said he had been excited to see the show because he'd never seen the scheduled performer ? wing walker Jane Wicker ? in action.

Federal records show that biplane was registered to Wicker, who lived in Loudon, Va. A man who answered the phone at a number listed for Wicker on her website said he had no comment and hung up.

Airport spokeswoman Linda Hughes and Ohio State Highway Patrol Lt. Anne Ralston confirmed the deaths of a pilot and stunt walker to the AP. The air show said it wasn't immediately releasing the identities of the dead.

The show was canceled for the rest of the day, but organizers said events would resume Sunday. The National Transportation Safety Board said it is investigating the crash.

Another spectator, Shawn Warwick of New Knoxville, told the Dayton Daily News that he was watching the flight through binoculars.

"I noticed it was upside-down really close to the ground. She was sitting on the bottom of the plane," he said. "I saw it just go right into the ground and explode."

Wicker's website says she responded to a classified ad from the Flying Circus Airshow in Bealeton, Va., in 1990, for a wing-walking position, thinking it would be fun. She was a contract employee who worked as a Federal Aviation Administration budget analyst, the FAA said.

She told WDTN-TV in an interview this week that her signature move was hanging underneath the plane's wing by her feet and sitting on the bottom of the airplane while it's upside-down.

"I'm never nervous or scared because I know if I do everything as I usually do, everything's going to be just fine," she told the station.

Wicker wrote on her website that she had never had any close calls.

"What you see us do out there is after an enormous amount of practice and fine tuning, not to mention the airplane goes through microscopic care. It is a managed risk and that is what keeps us alive," she wrote.

In 2007, veteran stunt pilot Jim LeRoy was killed at the Dayton show when his biplane slammed into the runway while performing loop-to-loops and caught fire.

Organizers were presenting a trimmed-down show and expected smaller crowds at Dayton after the Air Force Thunderbirds and other military participants pulled out this year because of federal budget cuts.

The air show, one of the country's oldest, usually draws around 70,000 people and has a $3.2 million impact on the local economy. Without military aircraft and support, the show expected attendance to be off 30 percent or more.

___

Thomas reported from Philadelphia. Associated Press writers Kerry Lester in Chicago and Randy Pennell in Philadelphia contributed to this report.

___

Online:

Raw video of crash: http://bit.ly/11Vf7JA

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/wing-walker-pilot-die-crash-ohio-air-show-191655523.html

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Craft Whiskey Isn?t Necessarily Better

Choose your poison

Photo by Thinkstock

Most foodies reflexively reach for artisanal versions of their favorite foods. We hold the truth that ?small is best? to be self-evident, and vow to eat craft rather than Kraft. The bread, cheese, pickles, and jam we buy from small-batch producers at the farmers market and carry home in NPR totes are worth the cost to us: After all, they usually taste better than their commercial counterparts.

In America?s evolving whiskey landscape, however, smaller isn?t necessarily better. Some excellent craft whiskies have emerged in recent years, but the distilleries responsible for big names like Wild Turkey, Jim Beam, and Four Roses make whiskeys that a surprisingly high number of microdistilleries struggle to match.

This fact flies in the face of our instinct to support the little guy, particularly when he?s your new neighbor and has assumed a huge financial risk to pursue the dream of making whiskey. Just a decade ago, almost every brand of American whiskey?primarily bourbon, rye, and Tennessee whiskey?was made by a handful of companies located in Kentucky and other Southern states. In the last few years, however, the number of distilleries has mushroomed to more than 200, spread throughout the country, as new producers attempt to capitalize on whiskey?s rising popularity. Sales of American whiskey have increased by more than 13 percent during the last five years, according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (which sponsored a recent tour of both big and small distilleries that I attended). Sales of pricier, high-end products, the kind most emerging craft bands are marketing, increased by more than double that rate.

Many of these new distilleries have capitalized on the locavore movement, utilizing terms like ?organic,? ?local,? ?small,? and the ambiguous ?craft,? to appeal to the kind of upwardly mobile buyers who are driving sales. The upstarts are entering a crowded market for a product that traditionally takes years to age, meaning long learning curves and delayed revenue. The odds are even more stacked against them than they were for emerging microbreweries in the 1980s and 1990s.

Like their brewing brethren, a few successful microdistilleries will eventually stand triumphant on a battlefield littered with secondhand equipment for sale. In order to survive in the meantime, many microdistilleries are either marking up the price of whiskey purchased from big distilleries or attempting to abridge the long and expensive aging process with techniques that have yielded some very mixed results.

Some consumers might be unaware of ways that small outfits are blurring the definition of ?craft.? As microdistilleries build their facilities or wait for their stocks to age, many purchase whiskey from established companies and resell it. These suppliers include Heaven Hill in Bardstown, Ky., which produces many of its own brands and is best known for Evan Williams bourbon, and MGP Ingredients, which owns the former Seagram Company distillery in Lawrenceburg, Ind. Both companies supply small and large labels alike. Craft brands can either put their own labels on whiskey they purchase from bulk producers and mark up the price, or enhance the flavor of sourced whiskey by aging it further, sometimes in old wine barrels for more complexity. In an industry where many brands pride themselves on tradition and advertise long family heritages with pictures of old men who look like Civil War generals, it?s no surprise that many distilleries downplay this practice. (Others create the appearance of being older than they really are by purchasing and reviving long-dormant trademarks.) MGP?s bland corporate website doesn?t list the brands it supplies, although it does provide basic recipes for the types of spirits its makes. Enterprising drinkers with time on their hands can sometimes use these recipes to sleuth out the origin of their whiskey, if a brand lists its grain composition on its bottles or website. Another tactic is simply to look for town names like Lawrenceburg, Ind., or Bardstown on the label for additional clues. And some companies readily admit on their labels to blending different sourced spirits.

Does sourcing whiskey from other suppliers really matter, as long as it tastes good? Craft brands like the Michter?s labels, Belle Meade Bourbon, and Smooth Ambler?s Old Scout are all sourced from other distilleries while the companies build their facilities or age their own stocks, and all are balanced and flavorful products. High West Distillery, another craft outfit, even won an award at the 2010 American Distilling Institute?s Best Craft American Whiskey competition with a whiskey it originally sourced before its homemade product was ready for market.

David Pickerell, an industry legend who used to be the master distiller for Maker?s Mark and now consults with many upstart distilleries, reminded me that sourcing whiskey is itself a tradition going back to the 19th century. Many established and respected brands, including Maker?s Mark in the 1950s, bought whiskey from larger distilleries while they got their footing. ?It?s what?s in the bottle that counts,? Pickerell noted. One taste of Hillrock Estate Solera-Aged bourbon, a whiskey that he sourced but then aged using a method commonly used to age wine but not whiskey, nicely supported his argument. Regardless, whiskey sourced from big distilleries probably doesn?t fit most drinkers? concept of ?craft.?

What about microdistilleries that actually make their own products? Some, such as Nashville?s Corsair Distillery, have attracted well-deserved attention by experimenting with techniques and flavors avoided by their bigger counterparts. Sometimes these attempts fail, but when they succeed, the results can be exceptional. Corsair?s Quinoa Whiskey has bitter notes that I find disagreeable, but the distillery?s Triple Smoke, which employs smoke flavors from three different types of wood, is flavorful, nuanced, and unique. In the tradition-bound whiskey world, Triple Smoke and many of Corsair?s other experimental projects are the equivalent of Bob Dylan playing an electric guitar at the Newport Folk Festival: a little unsettling to purists whose tastes and expectations are already established, but appealingly innovative to others.

Conversations about craft distilleries, however, get a little uncomfortable when they turn to more traditional categories of whiskey such as bourbon, which established producers already do very well. As Pickerell told me, ?You can?t out-Maker?s-Mark Maker?s Mark.? Even the most basic offerings from many big distilleries?brands like Buffalo Trace, Jim Beam Black, and Wild Turkey 101?are excellent products that I find more complex than many craft products that are much more expensive. Higher-end products from these same big distilleries?Eagle Rare Single Barrel, Knob Creek, and Russell?s Reserve?are very hard to compete with, especially at the prices they charge.

Source: http://www.slate.com/articles/life/drink/2013/06/craft_whiskey_vs_jim_beam_smaller_distilleries_aren_t_necessarily_better.html

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5 things learned in Game 5 of Stanley Cup finals

Chicago Blackhawks right wing Patrick Kane (88) acknowledges the crowd as he is named as the number one star of the game after the Blackhawks beat the Boston Bruins 3-1 in Game 5 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals, Saturday, June 22, 2013, in Chicago. Kane scored two of Chicago's three goals. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Chicago Blackhawks right wing Patrick Kane (88) acknowledges the crowd as he is named as the number one star of the game after the Blackhawks beat the Boston Bruins 3-1 in Game 5 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals, Saturday, June 22, 2013, in Chicago. Kane scored two of Chicago's three goals. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Boston Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara (33) is congratulated by Boston Bruins center David Krejci (46) after scoring a goal against the Chicago Blackhawks in the third period during Game 5 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals, Saturday, June 22, 2013, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

CHICAGO (AP) ? Five things learned in the Chicago Blackhawks 3-1 win over the Boston Bruins in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup finals on Saturday night:

___

STANLEY IS WAITING: The Chicago streets aren't being shut down for a victory party just yet, but don't blame city officials if they've already started planning the parade. After looking as lively as road kill in Game 3, the Blackhawks have bounced back behind the reconfigured line of Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Bryan Bickell. Four goals in two games, 10 points and, in the most important stat of all, two wins after Saturday night's commanding 3-1 win. Now it's Boston that reeks of desperation. The Bruins were no match for Chicago's speed and skill in Game 5, and resorted to hits ? big, cheap and otherwise ? to try and keep it close. Expect more of the same in Game 6 on Monday night in Boston, but expect an inspired effort from the Blackhawks, too. "It's going to be exciting," Bickell said. "One win from the ultimate goal when you're a kid, to win the cup. ... It's going to be a hard task going to Boston. Hopefully we can finish it up then and not come back here."

___

NOT SO FAST: Sure, it sounds good for players to say they're not discouraged and they still think they've got a chance. But the Bruins have the record to prove it. This, after all, is a team that was down 4-1 to Toronto with 11 minutes left in Game 7 in the first round of the playoffs. We all know how that one ended. Nathan Horton, Milan Lucic and Patrice Bergeron scored to tie it up, and Bergeron scored the game winner in overtime. And the last time the Bruins won the Stanley Cup? Yep. They fell behind Vancouver 3-2 in 2011, only to come back and win the last two games. "We're just going to worry about Game 6," David Krejci said. "We're not going to give them anything easily. If they want to win the cup, they're going to have to fight for it because we're going to be ready."

___

BERGERON'S STATUS: Boston's hopes of forcing a Game 7 may very well rest with Patrice Bergeron. Which is not exactly encouraging considering the Bruins assistant captain was admitted to a Chicago hospital for observation in the third period Saturday night. The Bruins aren't saying what's wrong with Bergeron or how the injury happened, let alone predict whether the Selke Trophy finalist will be able to play Monday. But if coach Claude Julien's prickliness is any indication, it doesn't look good. "I'm not going there, so anything else but injury here," Julien said after getting a third straight question about Bergeron's status. "I'll update you when I have an update. There's nothing more. We can ask a million questions. I don't have any more information than probably you guys do right now."

___

FITS LIKE A GLOVE: The "Kick Me" sign is off Corey Crawford's back for at least a day. Despite having his team one win from the Stanley Cup title, Crawford continues to be the source of great angst in Chicago. He gives up soft goals. He's vulnerable on his glove side. He's bland. And what's wrong with giving Ray Emery a shot, anyway? (Emery was 17-1 during the regular season.) Yet Crawford keeps doing his thing ? and doing it quite well, thank you. Yes, Zdeno Chara scored Boston's lone goal on Crawford's glove side. But it was one goal! Tuukka Rask, who has been elevated almost to Martin Brodeur status during the playoffs, has been playing more like Martin Short, giving up eight goals ? EIGHT! ? in the last two games alone.

___

POWER OUTAGE: The Boston Bruins did not have a single power play in Game 5. That may not be a big deal for the Blackhawks, whose power play is worse than that of some pee-wee teams. But the man-advantage has been big for the Bruins, who have scored four of their 13 goals in this series on power plays.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-06-23-HKN-Stanley-Cup-Five-Things/id-364adbeac183404abba691a5732cc671

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