Four of EPA's 11 Sensors in CA Were Down - Gaps in U.S. Radiation Monitoring System Reported 16 Percent OUT OF SERVICE

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Gaps in US radiation monitoring system revealed

March 25, 2011
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By GARANCE BURKE and NOAKI SCHWARTZ - Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO -- Parts of America's radiation alert network have been out of order during Japan's nuclear crisis, raising concerns among some lawmakers about whether the system could safeguard the country in a future disaster.
Federal officials say the system of sensors has helped them to validate the impact of nuclear fallout from the overheated Fukushima reactor, and in turn alert local governments and the public. They say no dangerous levels of radiation have reached U.S. shores.
In California, home to two seaside nuclear plants located close to earthquake fault lines, federal authorities said four of the 11 stationary monitors were offline for repairs or maintenance last week. The Environmental Protection Agency said the machines operate outdoors year-round and periodically need maintenance, but did not fix them until a few days after low levels of radiation began drifting toward the mainland U.S.

About 20 monitors out of 124 nationwide were out of service earlier this week, including units in Harlingen, Tex. and Buffalo, N.Y. on Friday, according to the EPA.
Gaps in the system - as well as the delays in fixing monitors in some of Southern California's most populated areas - have helped to prompt hearings and inquiries in Washington and Sacramento.
"Because the monitoring system ... plays such a critical role in protecting the health and safety of the American people, we will examine how well our current monitoring system has performed in the aftermath of the tragic situation in Japan," said Sen. Barbara Boxer, a California Democrat who chairs the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, which plans a hearing in the coming weeks on nuclear safety.
EPA officials said the program effectively safeguarded the country against a threat that did not materialize. They said they put portable monitors in place as backups and repaired the permanent ones in Los Angeles, San Bernardino, San Diego last weekend.
"The network as a whole continues to detect even the slightest traces of radiation in the air," the agency said in a statement to The Associated Press.
The EPA's independent watchdog, Inspector General Arthur Elkins, told the AP he is considering reviewing the agency's emergency response planning, including the agency's RadNet system.
The network, launched after the Cold War and upgraded following the 9-11 attacks, measures radiation nationwide through dozens of monitors that suck in air samples periodically and pump out real-time readings about radioactive isotopes.
The EPA's data, as well as samples that numerous federal agencies are collecting in Japan, is sent to the Department of Energy's National Atmospheric Release Advisory Center in California. Teams there check it against sophisticated computer models that predict how releases at Fukushima could spread across the Pacific.
To save money, EPA relies in part on trained volunteers to regularly change out air filters on the RadNet monitors and mail them to a federal lab in Alabama where the data gets a detailed analysis a few days later. Volunteers are also tasked with alerting EPA if something goes wrong with the machine.
"It sounds sort of loosey goosey, but we already operate our network on a very rigid schedule so we just sort of fit it into our lifestyle," said Eric Stevenson, a director of technical services who oversees operation of the monitor from his office at the Bay Area Air Quality Management District near San Francisco's domed city hall. "We've been operating this thing for years and no one has really said boo about it. Something like this comes along and all of us realize 'Hey, gee, that's a relatively smart program.'"
One RadNet monitor in Fontana, Calif. stopped transmitting data in November, and regional air quality officials alerted EPA, said Philip Fine, an atmospheric measurements manager with Southern California Air Quality Management District. The repairs happened last weekend, when EPA made fixing California monitors a priority, he said.
In San Diego, an air district official who oversees one RadNet monitor, said they "babysit" the machine for the EPA and were unaware it had problems until agency officials showed up to fix it last weekend.
"We thought it was running," said Bob Kard, the air pollution control officer for the San Diego Air Pollution Control District.
EPA officials say the system has more than enough monitors to detect any radiation problems even if individual machines break down.
"We have plenty of data coming in across the country to see the potentials on health and safety," said Ron Fraass, who directs EPA's National Air and Radiation lab in Montgomery, Ala. "If you were going to keep your pc operating outdoors in all weather, it's going to break once in a while."
California lawmakers have questioned the adequacy of the EPA monitoring, noting there are no sensors along the coast between San Francisco and Los Angeles.
"The question remains unanswered as to why we have gaps," said California Senate Majority Leader Ellen M. Corbett, (D-San Leandro), who chairs the state committee on earthquake and disaster preparedness "The radiation monitors that we do have in California must be properly checked and maintained."
Daniel Hirsch, a nuclear watchdog who lectures on nuclear policy at the University of California, Santa Cruz, said he was uneasy about malfunctioning monitors.
"The fundamental concern is that we're being offered bland assurances that everything is ok but much of the monitoring system was broken," Hirsch said.

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Black Swan' double claims victim of a “cover-up” Natalie Portman only did '5 percent' of full-body dance shots

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'Black Swan' double claims Natalie Portman only did '5 percent' of full-body dance shots in the movie

by Adam Markovitz

insidemovies.ew.com
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The ballerina who served as a dancing double for Natalie Portman’s Oscar-winnning role in Black Swan tells EW she has been the victim of a “cover-up” to mislead the public about how much dancing Portman actually did in the film. “Of the full body shots, I would say 5 percent are Natalie,” says Sarah Lane, 27, an American Ballet Theatre soloist who performed many of the film’s complicated dance sequences, allowing Portman’s face to be digitally grafted onto her body. “All the other shots are me.”
Lane’s claim follows a March 23 L.A. Times article in which Portman’s fiancé and Black Swan choreographer Benjamin Millepied said Lane’s work in the film was far less significant. “There are articles now talking about her dance double [American Ballet Theatre dancer Sarah Lane] that are making it sound like [Lane] did a lot of the work, but really, she just did the footwork, and the fouettés, and one diagonal [phrase] in the studio,” he said. “Honestly, 85 percent of that movie is Natalie.”
Lane disagrees. “The shots that are just her face with arms, those shots are definitely Natalie,” she says. “But that doesn’t show the actual dancing.” Lane admits that she was never promised a particular title for her six weeks of work on the film, though she was disappointed to see that she is credited only as as “Hand Model,” “Stunt Double,” and “Lady in the Lane” (a brief walk-on role).
Lane also says that Black Swan producer Ari Handel specifically told her not to talk about her work to the press, even though she claims there was no such stipulation in her contract. “They wanted to create this idea in people’s minds that Natalie was some kind of prodigy or so gifted in dance and really worked so hard to make herself a ballerina in a year and a half for the movie, basically because of the Oscar,” says Lane. “It is demeaning to the profession and not just to me. I’ve been doing this for 22 years…. Can you become a concert pianist in a year and a half, even if you’re a movie star?”
Reps for Portman, Fox Searchlight, and Handel have yet to provide comments on the matter.
Lane is barely seen in promotional materials for the movie, including a VFX reel posted by studio Fox Searchlight that appears to show all the digital alterations made to key dance sequences. An unverified version of that reel, leaked to YouTube, seems to shows how digital face replacement was used to put Portman’s head on Lane’s body. (The clip was included in a blog post by Dance Magazine‘s Wendy Perron, who wrote about Lane’s story earlier this month.)


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Geraldine Ferraro Dies at 75 first woman to run for vice president on major party national ticket in 1984

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Geraldine Ferraro, Trailblazing Female VP Candidate, Dies at 75

Sat, Mar 26, 2011

www.nbcnewyork.com
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Geraldine A. Ferraro, who earned a place in history in 1984 as the first woman to run on a major party national ticket for vice president, has died.  She was 75-years-old.

Ferraro, who was born in Newburgh, New York, passed away Saturday at Massachusetts General Hospital while surrounded by her loved ones, a statement from her family said.

The cause of death was complications from multiple myeloma, a blood cancer that she had battled for twelve years, her family said.

Geraldine Anne Ferraro Zaccaro, a former Queens school teacher and Congresswoman, earned a place in history as the first woman and first Italian-American to run on a major party national ticket, serving as Walter Mondale's Vice Presidential running mate in 1984 on the Democratic Party ticket.  

President Barack Obama called Ferraro a trailblazer and said his daughters will grow up in a more equal country because of her ideals.  Ferraro "fought to uphold American's founding ideals of equality, justice and opportunity for all," the president said.

Mondale chose Ferraro to  run with him against incumbents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush. Delegates in San Francisco erupted in cheers at the first line of her speech accepting the vice-presidential nomination.

"My name is Geraldine Ferraro,'' she declared. "I stand before you to proclaim tonight: America is the land where dreams can come true for all of us.''

Her acceptance speech launched eight minutes of cheers, foot-stamping and tears.

Ferraro sometimes overshadowed Mondale on the campaign trail, often drawing larger crowds and more media attention than the presidential candidate.

"No one asks anymore if women can raise the money, if women can take the heat, if women have the stamina for the toughest political campaigns in this country,'' Judy Goldsmith, then-president of the National Organization for Women told People Magazine in December, 1984. "Geraldine Ferraro did them all.''

But controversy accompanied her acclaim. Frequent, vociferous protests of her favorable view of abortion rights marked the campaign.

Ferraro's run also was beset by ethical questions, first about her campaign finances and tax returns, then about the business dealings of her husband, John Zaccaro. Ferraro attributed much of the controversy to bias against Italian-Americans.

Mondale said he selected Ferraro as a bold stroke to counter his poor showing in polls against President Reagan and because he felt America lagged far behind other democracies in elevating women to top leadership roles.

"The time had come to eliminate the barriers to women of America and to reap the benefits of drawing talents from all Americans, including women,'' Mondale said.

In the end, Reagan won 49 of the 50 states, the largest landslide since Franklin D. Roosevelt's first re-election, in 1936 over Alf Landon.

In the years after the race, Ferraro told interviewers that she would have not have accepted the nomination had she known how it would focus criticism on her family.

"You don't deliberately submit people you love to something like that,'' she told presidential historian Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. in an interview in Ladies Home Journal. "I don't think I'd run again for vice-president,'' she said, then paused, laughed and said, "Next time I'd run for president.''

In 1992 and 1998, Ferraro was an unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic nomination to the United States Senate.

Some observers said legal troubles involving her husband and son were a drag on her political ambitions.  Ferraro's husband pleaded guilty in 1985 to a misdemeanor charge of scheming to defraud in connection with obtaining financing for the purchase of five apartment buildings. Two years later he was acquitted of trying to extort a bribe from a cable television company.

Ferraro's son, John Zaccaro Jr., was convicted in 1988 of selling cocaine to an undercover Vermont state trooper and served three months under house arrest.

Mondale, her former running mate, said Saturday that Ferraro was a "remarkable woman and a dear human being." 

"She was a remarkable woman and a dear human being. She was a pioneer in our country for justice for women and a more open society. She broke a lot of molds and it's a better country for

what she did," he said.

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500,000 IN LONDON MARCH TO PROTEST BUDGET CUTS Anarchists blitz the Ritz Turns violent

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Organisers of a huge protest against the Government's public spending cuts tonight hailed the demonstration a "fantastic success" after hundreds of thousands of people joined the biggest event of its kind for over 20 years.

Between 400,000 and 500,000 teachers, nurses, firefighters, council and NHS workers, other public sector employees, students, pensioners and campaign groups from across the UK marched through central London to a rally where union officials and Labour leader Ed Miliband condemned the "brutal" cuts in jobs and services.

Violence flared away from the rally when a group of hundreds of activists, not connected with the union protest, clashed with police. They set off fireworks, threw paint and attacked shops in Oxford Street, Regent Street and Piccadilly.

Topshop and HSBC had their windows smashed, while paint and glass bottles were thrown at a Royal Bank of Scotland branch.

Covering their faces with scarves, they fought with police and disrupted traffic, throwing lightbulbs filled with ammonia at officers and lighting a fire.

Nine arrests were made and some police officers were injured.

UK Uncut, an anti-cuts direct action group, later occupied the Fortnum & Mason store in Piccadilly, claiming the firm had "dodged" paying taxes.

TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said he "bitterly regretted" the violence, adding that he hoped it would not detract from the massive anti-cuts protest.

He told the Press Association: "I don't think the activities of a few hundred people should take the focus away from the hundreds of thousands of people who have sent a powerful message to the Government today.

"Ministers should now seriously reconsider their whole strategy after today's demonstration. This has been Middle Britain speaking."

Mr Barber said unions would now step up pressure on the Government, especially MPs in their constituencies, and launch a series of protests next week in defence of the NHS."

London Ambulance Service said 30 people were treated for injuries throughout the day, 11 of whom were taken to hospital, ranging from assault to collapsing with illness.

Commander Bob Broadhurst said: "The main march has gone very well. Their estimates are 250,000 - maybe more - have come to central London and protested peacefully. That has gone as we expected.

"Unfortunately, we have had over 500 criminals effectively attacking premises in the Oxford Circus area, causing damage.

"We anticipated there would be some problems. We have minimised the damage caused. We'll never have enough officers to protect every building in central London. it cannot be done.

"The actual march has gone according to plan. Those damaging buildings have had nothing to do with the TUC."

Mr Miliband, who did not take part in the march, told protesters at the mass rally in Hyde Park that he was proud to stand with them, adding that the Government was wrong to make such deep cuts in public services.

He was heckled by a small number of protesters when he said that "some cuts" were needed, but most people applauded his speech.

"The Tories said I shouldn't come to speak here today but I am proud to stand with you. People are here from all walks of life and different backgrounds, speaking for mainstream Britain.

"Our struggle is to fight to preserve, protect and defend the best of the services we cherish because they represent the best of the country we love.

"We know what the Government will say: that this is a march of the minority. They are so wrong. David Cameron: you wanted to create the Big Society - this is the Big Society.

"The Big Society united against what your government is doing to our country. We stand today not as the minority, but as the voice of the mainstream majority in this country.

"There is a need for difficult choices, and some cuts. But this government is going too far and too fast and destroying the fabric of our communities."

Len McCluskey, general secretary of Unite, told the protesters they were bearing witness to services closing, old people going without care, libraries, swimming pools and parks going to "ruin" and young people heading for a life on the dole.

"But you represent a spirit of resistance in every workplace and community that says we are not going to have our way of life killed so that the rich and greedy can live as they please."

Mr McCluskey said that every time Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg stepped out of doors it cost police £2 million to protect him, adding: "We cannot afford that any more - if you were to go on a national tour we'd be bankrupt."

The Unite leader attacked the Government's "assault" on the NHS, warning ministers that privatising the health service would spark the same protests as those against the poll tax when Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister.

He also urged Labour MPs to hold the Government to account rather than simply waiting for the next general election.

Dave Prentis, general secretary of Unison, said the turnout was "absolutely enormous" and showed the anger of ordinary working people at the Government's cuts".

"We always expected a huge turnout because Unison alone has laid on 500 coaches and a number of special trains but the numbers are simply incredible.

"These are ordinary families and working people, many with their children to send a strong message to David Cameron to halt the damaging cuts which are leading to the loss of tens of thousands of jobs and the closure of services including libraries and care homes."

Demonstrators started arriving in London hours before the march was due to begin, turning the Embankment into a sea of colour with banners, balloons and entertainers filling the banks of the Thames.

Steel bands, choirs, performers and dancers practised at the head of the march as tens of thousands of people, many with their children in tow, blew horns and whistles waiting patiently to march through central London to Hyde Park.

Shadow chancellor Ed Balls was heckled by some protesters when he turned up to speak to union leaders at the head of the march this morning.

He said Labour was determined to continue campaigning against the spending cuts and would create jobs and build houses if they got back into power, but several people shouted out at him "what are you going to do for us Ed?"

Education Secretary Michael Gove acknowledged the public concerns about the planned cuts but insisted that the Government would not be deflected from its strategy.

"Of course people will feel a sense of disquiet, in some cases anger, at what they see happening, but the difficulty we have as the Government inheriting a terrible economic mess, is that we have to take steps to bring the public finances back into balance," he told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.

He said that there were "really big dangers" for Mr Miliband in addressing the rally at the end of the march.

"One is that people will say 'You are calling for a plan B from the Government, you don't even have a plan A.' More than that, you are associating yourself with a march which could, I'm afraid, move from being a family event into being something darker," he said.

A spokesman for civil liberties group Liberty said: "There can be no doubt that the official trade union-led demonstration was overwhelmingly civil, peaceful and good-natured and that the policing response was generally proportionate.

"However the demonstration appeared to have been infiltrated by violent elements who periodically separated from the main route in order to attack high profile commercial properties and the police before melting into the demonstration once more.

"This minority presented significant challenges for the police and trade union stewards alike and at times jeopardised both the safety and ability to protest of those with peaceful intent."

A Scotland Yard spokesman said five officers were injured during the protests.

Four were treated for minor injuries and one was taken to hospital with a groin injury.

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At Least 74 People Have Died in Quake PHOTOS VIDEO UPDATE: 6.8 Earthquake Hits NE Myanmar 1 dead, Quake felt in as far away as Bangkok

At least 74 people are known to have died in a 6.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Myanmar on Thursday.

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Survivors struggle in remote Myanmar quake areas

by Soe Than Win – Sat Mar 26, 2011

TARLAY, Myanmar (AFP) – Survivors surveyed the wreckage of their Myanmar villages on Saturday as details of an earthquake that left 75 dead and reduced homes to rubble began to trickle out of remote areas.
The powerful 6.8 magnitude quake struck in the east of the country near the borders with Thailand and Laos late on Thursday and was felt as far away as the Vietnamese capital Hanoi.
Tachileik town and nearby Tarlay and Mong Lin in Myanmar's Shan state appeared to have been most severely affected by the quake, which flattened hundreds of houses and toppled monasteries and government buildings.
In Tarlay a few rescue teams were seen picking through the rubble of buildings, a bridge was destroyed and the roads were riven with huge cracks.
"The whole village is gone," said Nan Myint, tearfully explaining that she had lost her father, nephew and sister-in-law in the quake, which happened while she was in Yangon.
"I came back as soon as I heard about the earthquake. Some of my relatives are still in the hospital in Tachileik," she told AFP, adding authorities have supported her with a 350,000 kyats (about $400) payment.
"I have no idea what we should do in the future because my house is totally destroyed. I do not want to stay here."
The charity World Vision, which said around 15,000 people could have been affected in the worst-hit areas, is sending in first aid kits and tarpaulins to give emergency shelter for up to 2,500 families.
"This is an immediate concern as even last night there was rain," said Chris Herink, Myanmar country director in Yangon.
A Myanmar official said there had been no official increase in the toll from Friday's figure of 74. One woman was also killed in Thailand.
"There might be some places we still cannot reach because of the communication and transportation problems. The death toll could rise," the official added.
Strong aftershocks continued into Saturday.
A motorcycle taxi driver in Tachileik told AFP that things were "calm" in the town. "We were frightened in the beginning, but now we are trying to get back to normal," he said.
The region affected was already difficult to reach before the quake, access to the area by foreigners is restricted and the military dominated government tends to keep a tight grip on information.
The ruling junta was widely criticised for refusing foreign assistance for weeks after cyclone Nargis wrought devastation across the Irrawaddy Delta in May 2008, leaving more than 138,000 people either killed or missing.
But Herink said his organisation, which is working in the affected areas with the Myanmar Red Cross and UNICEF, had found the government had been "proactively seeking our assistance and providing information to us".
A report by authorities in Tarlay, translated by the charity, described the emergency response, with soldiers helping to rescue people within the first hours.
The social welfare relief and resettlement minister went to Tachileik from the capital Naypyidaw on Saturday.
But one Tachileik resident, posting anonymously on an Internet forum, expressed frustration with the authorities, describing the town as "ruined".
"I hope there is not another earthquake because our situation is not very good as we cannot get any concrete assistance from the authorities."
Many people were getting their news from Thai radio, rather than sources in the country, while state media appeared keen to downplay the disaster, with the first mention of the earthquake on page 11 in Saturday's New Light of Myanmar.
"We never expected this kind of natural disaster... That is why I worry for my people," said Sai Thein Aung, a Shan Nationalities Democratic Party member of parliament for Tachileik.
The United States expressed its condolences, while Thailand donated money and said it was ready to offer additional assistance.

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6.8-magnitude quake strikes NE Myanmar; 1 dead

March 24, 2011

ANGON, Myanmar – A powerful earthquake struck northeastern Myanmar on Thursday night, killing one woman and shaking buildings as far away as Bangkok. No tsunami was generated.
The quake hit in an area where Myanmar, Thailand and Laos meet, about 70 miles (110 kilometers) from Chiang Rai. The northern Thai city sustained minor damage, according to Thai television.
A woman in an area north of Chiang Rai, just two miles (four kilometers) from the border, died when a brick wall collapsed on her, according to police Capt. Weerapon Samranjai.
"It was like somebody was running on the roof. Everybody was in a panic. They came out of their houses and wondered what happened," said Maj. Gen. Mongkol Sampawapon, a police chief from another district near Chiang Rai.
There were no immediate reports of damage from the Myanmar side, a remote area where communications, even in the best of times, are difficult. The country's military-controlled government also tightly controls information.
The 6.8-magnitude quake was just six miles (10 kilometers) deep, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. At that strength and depth, it said 600,000 people could feel shaking anywhere from strong to violent. It added that since buildings in the area are considered vulnerable, moderate to very heavy damage could be expected.
Buildings swayed in Bangkok, about 480 miles (770 kilometers) south of the epicenter.
Max Jones, an Australian resident of the Thai capital, was in his 27th-floor apartment when his building started shaking so hard he had to grab the walls to keep from falling.
"It was bloody scary, I can tell you," he said. Jones said he could see people running in the streets.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said the quake was located too far inland to create a destructive wave.



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Magnitude 6.8 - MYANMAR

2011 March 24 13:55:12 UTC

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Earthquake Details

• This event has been reviewed by a seismologist.

Magnitude	6.8
Date-Time	Thursday, March 24, 2011 at 13:55:12 UTC Thursday, March 24, 2011 at 08:25:12 PM at epicenter Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones
Location	20.705°N, 99.949°E
Depth	10 km (6.2 miles)
Region	MYANMAR
Distances	89 km (55 miles) N of Chiang Rai, Thailand 168 km (104 miles) SSW of Yunjinghong, Yunnan, China 589 km (365 miles) NE of Rangoon, Myanmar 772 km (479 miles) N of BANGKOK, Thailand
Location Uncertainty	horizontal +/- 15.4 km (9.6 miles); depth +/- 5.8 km (3.6 miles)
Parameters	NST=109, Nph=109, Dmin=234.9 km, Rmss=0.88 sec, Gp= 36°, M-type=regional moment magnitude (Mw), Version=C
Source	USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)
Event ID	usc0002aes

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Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg “in a relationship” switched his relationship status from single

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Zuckerberg Makes Things Facebook Official

March 26, 2011

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Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is officially off the market. He switched his relationship status from single to “in a relationship”.

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BY: KRISTEN BRODY
 
You're watching multisource tech video news analysis from Newsy.

Here’s a new Facebook notification for ya -- Mark Zuckerberg is no longer single. The infamous Facey Founder has changed his relationship status from single to taken. The lucky girl?  Zuck’s long time G-F Priscilla Chan.


The two have been dating since their college days at Harvard. Daniel Bates of the Daily Mail reports that Chan revealed exactly when the relationship started on her Facebook page.
(Video Source: Oprah)


He observes this date to be awfully close to another significant time in Zuckerberg’s life.

“November 7 2003, just days after Zuckerberg's infamous Facemash stunt at Harvard.”
“He was nearly expelled from the university after hacking into different colleges' websites and taking pictures of all the female students, placing them next to each other and asking other students to 'rate' their attractiveness.”


So why make it Facebook official some eight years later? A blogger for Forbes seems to think it’s because things are getting serious for the CEO and his gal.
(Video Source: 60 Minutes)


Reporting the relationship update came after a new puppy purchase between the two.
“I’ve noticed that friends on Facebook who have been dating for years who suddenly make a change to reveal they are in a relationship often follow that up soon thereafter with an “engagement” announcement.”


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Denver Lewis WINS Championship Fight Friday Night at Lebanon Cowan Civic Center - 2005 Hermann Missouri High School Graduate - Denver's Cousin Steven Cox of Berger will also Fight that evening!!!

Denver Lewis MMA Title Fight vs. Lee Lance in Lebanon, Missouri, March 25, 2011
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Rhineland resident, Denver Lewis Jr. will take his 3-0 record and square off with Lee Lance 3-1 for an MMA Capitol Entertainment 185 pound championship, Fight #14 on the card, this Friday Night at the Cowan Civic Center in Lebanon, Missouri.  Doors open at 6pm and it is Ladies night, all ladies get in FREE.   

Denver's cousin, Steven Cox we be competing in the first fight of the night, he is a 2006 Hermann Graduate and lives in Berger. It will be his first MMA fight. 

GOOD LUCK TO BOTH DENVER AND STEVEN - TEAR EM" UP!!!

Please note that the #5 Fight on the card is two Ladies, fighting it out in the 140 lbs. class! Lindie Pierce of Springfield vs Katherine Richter of Osage Beach.

Steven Cox of Berger 

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It took Rhineland resident, Denver Lewis Jr., just 25 seconds in round 1 to score a tko (Technical Knock Out) in Saturday nights fight in the 'Battle at the Capital 11', at Truman Hotel in Jefferson City. This was Denver's 3rd MMA FIGHT. His record is now 3-0

CONGRATULATION DENVER!!!

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It took just about 1 minute for, Rhineland resident, Denver Lewis Jr., to Knockout James Howland of Quincy, IL. in Saturday Nights fight in the 'Battle At The Beach 12', at Lake Ozark-Country Club Resort. This was Denver's 2nd MMA FIGHT.

CONGRATULATION DENVER!!!

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Denver Lewis Jr. 23

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Denver lands a punch in his first match about a month ago.
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January 18, 2011
By Poor Richard  2011

Rhineland resident, Denver Lewis Jr., will be testing his Martial Arts Skills, for the second time, this Saturday Night in the 'Battle At The Beach 12', at Lake Ozark-Country Club Resort. http://midmissourimma.com/events His match is in the 185 lbs weight class, 12th match of 14 featured Sat night. Lewis will be facing James Howland of Quincy, IL. Doors open at 6 PM.

Denver is 23 years old and graduated in 2005 from Hermann High School.  He is currently a tree trimmer in Columbia.  He is also in the National Guard and plans on entering the Police Academy in May 2011.

Lewis said on Tuesday, that he is, "Already starting to get that excited feeling in my stomach and the fight isn't till sat!" Also stating "I can't wait to strap em on (gloves) Saturday and throw them around a-little bit!!!!" "I'm ready to go!"

Denver fights for Capital Entertainment LLC http://midmissourimma.com and trains at Howards ATA http://www.howardsata.com/locations.htm in Jefferson City and is a registered fighter of the International Sport Combat Federation (ISCF). http://www.iscfmma.com

 

The ISCF Mission For
Mixed Martial Arts...
"Safety, Credibility, Fairness, Recognition, Support & Unification
of Mixed Martial Arts Around The World"

"The goal of the International Sport Combat Federation is to regulate safe and fair rules and regulations and help provide exposure and opportunities for local, regional, national and international competition among amateur and professional mixed martial arts fighters, trainers, promoters and officials. We will, through adherence to and enforcement of these rules and regulations, strive to make competitive mixed martial arts fighting a safe and fair sport as we continue to help bring exposure to and enhance the present as well as the future of the sport we serve, Mixed Martial Arts."
Steve Fossum, President International Sport Combat Federation

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Denver Lewis Jr. Relaxing a bit last Summer 2010

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DENVER'S 1st Fight from last year.
James Sapp (0-1-0) Vs Denver Lewis (0-0-0) MMA fight at Whiskey Tango in Grain Valley, Missouri Dec 3rd 2010.
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Ground Invasion of Libya May Start in April/May if Gaddafi Remains in Power: Russian Intelligence Source

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Ground operation in Libya could start in April - Russian intelligence

RIA Novosti
March 26, 2011
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The international coalition force is planning a ground operation in Libya that could start in late April, a high-ranking Russian intelligence service source said on Friday.
"Information coming via different channels shows that NATO countries, with the active participation of Britain and the United States, are developing a plan for a ground operation on Libyan territory," he said.
"From all indications, a ground operation will be launched if the alliance fails to force the Gaddafi regime to capitulate with air strikes and missile attacks."
If the events in Libya follow this scenario, the ground operation could start "in late April-early May," he added.
The UN Security Council imposed a no-fly zone over Libya on March 17, allowing "all necessary measures" to protect civilians from Muammar Gaddafi's attacks on rebel-held towns.
The operation to enforce the no-fly zone, codenamed Odyssey Dawn, is being conducted jointly by 13 states, including the United States, Britain and France.
Western warplanes have flown more than 300 sorties over the North African country and fired 162 Tomahawk missiles in the UN mission.
MOSCOW, March 25 (RIA Novosti)


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Video Tape of Bigfoot Caught on Camera in North Carolina

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A NORTH Carolina man is claiming to have video of the legendary Bigfoot.
Thomas Byers was driving with a friend when he said he saw Bigfoot cross Golden Valley Church Road in Rutherford County on Wednesday.
Naturally, he whipped out his video camera and was able to capture a five-second video from about 4.5 to 6m away.
"It ran across the road and into the woods right in front of us and I was able to film it," Mr Byers wrote in an email to WCNC-TV. "In the short video you can hear it snarl or growl at me."
And Bigfoot, he said, is in desperate need of a shower.

"One thing I know is the smell of it was horrid. It smelled like a cross between road kill and a skunk. And it did not like the fact that I was there on the road with it. In the video you can hear it snarl or growl at me as it crosses the road."
Mr Byers detailed the event on a personal website where he has posted the video and a handful of pictures. In the description, he explained that Bigfoot, or Knobby as the beast is known locally, has been "spotted for years".
Commenters on his site remained divided over the authenticity of the video. But Mr Byers said he was satisfied simply to have experienced the moment.
"It was truly one of the most amazing things that I have ever seen," he said on his website.
Representatives of the American Bigfoot Society and the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organisation did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

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Uploaded by knobbylives on Mar 22, 2011

On the evening of Tuesday, March 22, 2011 while driving down Golden Valley Church Road I and a friend Carolyn Wright observed the Big-Foot Knobby or one similar to it cross the road in front of the truck we were in and run into the woods. It came from out of the field from the direction of the creek and we later took photos of feet prints in a freshly plowed field. I jumped from the truck and took this video of it as it crossed the road in front of us. At one point in the video it made a snarling growling sound and looked back at me. I also shot the other video posted with this one while I and my friend Carolyn Wright were trying to see where it went to. I heard it breaking branches as it ran out of my sight into very thick brush. If you listen to the other video you can hear me and my friend talking about what just happened in front of us. You can watch and listen to me and my friend talking in the below video.
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Uploaded by knobbylives on Mar 22, 2011

This is the second video I recorded on the evening of Tuesday, March 22 2011. It is the second part of the video of what I assume is Knobby.  __________________________________________________________________________

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Heading to Camp Pendleton then Japan ? UPDATE: Humvee's Piggy-Back Train Hermann Missouri Heading West

Where were the train full of Humvees heading west through Hermann, MO on Sunday March 20, 2011 going?

Perhaps California, we found these two photos below showing
exercise Pacific Horizon 2011 held earlier this month.

Perhaps they will be sent to Japan as the US has committed to help our Pacific allies in their time of need.  Just a Thought!
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CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. (March 4, 2011) Boatswain's Mate Seaman Shane Hayne, assigned to Amphibious Construction Battalion (ACB) 1, directs a high mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicle onto a roll-on/roll-off discharge facility platform during exercise Pacific Horizon 2011. During the exercise, Marine and Navy units will establish command and control, construct an 850-person camp, execute maritime pre-positioning force operations, and retrograde and redeploy allocated forces. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Bryan Niegel/Released)

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. (March 4, 2011) A Sailor directs a high mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicle from a causeway ferry during roll-on/roll-off discharge facility operations as part of exercise Pacific Horizon 2011. During the exercise, Marine and Navy units will establish command and control, construct an 850-person camp, execute maritime pre-positioning force operations, and retrograde and redeploy allocated forces. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Bryan Niegel/Released)

PACIFIC OCEAN (March 16, 2011) Japan Ground Self-Defense Force vehicles cover the flight deck of the amphibious dock landing ship USS Tortuga (LSD 46) for delivery to Onimato, Japan. Tortuga is transporting the 93 vehicles and 273 Japan Ground Self-Defense Force troops to provide disaster relief and humanitarian assistance to Japan as directed in support of Operation Tomodachi. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Scott Bourque/Released)
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Train full of Humvees heading west through Hermann, MO on Sunday March 20, 2011
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Uploaded on YouTube by TheRepoMan1 on Mar 20, 2011

Trainload of at least 200 up-armored Humvee's just rolled through town. Say hello to the Taliban . . . or Mohammar for me.

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