A new report by the U.S. Census Bureau shows that 40 million foreign-born people were living in the country in 2010 – the highest percentage of the total population since 1920.
Just a decade earlier, only 31 million people, or 11% of the population, residing in the country were born elsewhere.
While foreign-born residents resided in every state, more than half lived in just the “gateway” states: California, New York, Texas and Florida.
The report was based on the 2010 American Community Survey, a poll of 3 million American households.
More than half (53%) of all foreign-born residents were from Latin America and the Caribbean, according to the report.
By comparison, just 28% of the foreign-born population was born in Asia, 12% in Europe, 4% in Africa, 2% in Northern America and less than 1% in Oceania.
While foreign-born residents resided in every state, more than half lived in just the “gateway” states, California, New York, Texas and Florida
Forty-four percent of all foreign-born residents were naturalized citizens.
While foreign-born residents resided in every state, more than half lived in just four states: California (25%), New York (11%), Texas (10%) and Florida (9%).
At least one in four (27%) residents in California was foreign-born.
New York, Texas and California are traditional “gateway” states for immigrants.
West Virginia had the smallest percentage, with just 1% born outside the U.S.
The new report by the census bureau revealed new information about the size of foreign-born households, their median incomes, and whether or not they lived above or below the poverty line.
According to the report, foreign-born people were more likely to be employed than native-born Americans: 68% versus 64%.
However, those people born outside the country were less likely to have health insurance and more likely to live below the poverty line.
Just 66% of the foreign-born population had health insurance, compared with 87% of the native population.
The median household income of foreign born households was $46,224 while native households made $50,541.
YouTube user “rob19791”claims he has found proof that NASA is covering up evidence of aliens because the agency’s spacecraft that monitors the Sun went offline after he spotted a “UFO” on its video feed.
On May 5, “rob19791” posted a YouTube video of a mysterious-looking “object” hovering near the sun. The footage was taken from video that the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory beamed back to Earth and streamed online.
But the claims are likely to fall on deaf ears at NASA after two other similar sightings of “alien spaceships” have been debunked with simple explanations.
The video zooms in on a pyramid-shaped object hovering above the sun’s surface.
On May 5, “rob19791” posted a YouTube video of a mysterious-looking “object” hovering near the sun
One day later, NASA shut down the spacecraft’s video feed as it went into “emergency Sun reacquisition mode”.
“This is a cover up to prevent us from seeing these things again. NASA must have seen this video and started making plans to change the way you and I are allowed to view it,” he said in a second video.
“I think this is proof that NASA is covering this up.
“NASA is clearly trying to stop us looking at the sun,” he added.
This is the third time in recent months that believers have pointed out “proof” of UFOs based on supposedly unexplained phenomena on NASA’s space-monitoring equipment.
In December, a man says he found a “cloaked” space ship orbiting Mercury.
March brought the “Death Star”, a planet-size object seen “refueling” at the Sun – similar to rob19791’s triangular discovery.
In March, NASA scientists debunked the Death Star theory by explaining that cameras had simply captured a solar filament – a tunnel of matter extending out from the sun and cooling to form a dark “spot”.
It appears this might be the explanation for the second “UFO”, as well.
While the answer is shorter on conspiracy, it is no less puzzling to scientists.
They still aren’t sure what the filaments are or what caused them to form.
Jessica Simpson has reportedly sold pictures of her newborn Maxwell Drew to People magazine for $800,000.
Jessica Simpson, whose celebrity fashion line is reported to have raked in one billion dollars in sales, gave birth to her first child, daughter Maxwell Drew, on May 1.
People magazine has done a deal with Jessica Simpson to run exclusive photos, sources told Women’s Wear Daily.
It is significantly less that some other stars received for baby pictures – Jennifer Lopez is understood to have received $6 million from People for snaps of her twins.
Jessica Simpson has reportedly sold pictures of her newborn Maxwell Drew to People magazine for $800,000
The same publication reportedly gave Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt around $11 million for the exclusive on their twins Vivienne and Knox.
Of course, not all A-list celebrities demand high fees – Beyoncé and Jay-Z declined all offers and instead posted the first pictures of Blue Ivy Carter on their Tumblr page.
It seems Jessica Simpson may be set to cash in on another front too – there are also unconfirmed reports that she is signing a her $4 million deal with Weight Watchers.
Jessica Simpson is certainly enjoying motherhood, telling her Twitter followers this week: “I am so in love with baby Maxwell. I want to cry every time I look at her.”
She added: “Motherhood is by far the best thing I’ve ever experienced.”
Jessica Simpson is currently engaged to Maxwell’s father, sportsman Eric Johnson.
Bill Clinton branded President Barack Obama as an “amateur” and urged his wife Hillary to run against him in 2012 U.S. presidential election, claims a new book,
According to Edward Klein’s new biography of Barack Obama called The Amateur, Bill Clinton tore into the president and branded him “incompetent” and that he “did not know how to be President”.
He also urged Hillary Clinton to quit her job as U.S. Secretary of State and challenge Barack Obama for the Democratic ticket as she knew how to do a better job of it.
The extraordinary claims – which have been strongly denied by Bill Clinton – came after he finally gave Barack Obama his backing and put their past differences behind them.
The two had clashed during Hillary Clinton’s failed bid for the Presidency in 2008, which she lost to Barack Obama.
According to Edward Klein’s book, however, enmity runs even deeper than it had been thought.
During a gathering at Bill Clinton’s home in Chappaqua, New York last August he supposedly told his wife: “The economy’s a mess, it’s dead flat. America has lost its Triple-A rating . . .
“You know better than Obama does. “
According to Edward Klein’s new biography of Barack Obama called The Amateur, Bill Clinton tore into the president and branded him “incompetent” and that he “did not know how to be President”
Bill Clinton supposedly claimed to have “no relationship” with President Barack Obama and spoke more often to his own successor George W. Bush.
He is said to have told his wife: “Barack Obama is an amateur.
“The country needs you! The country needs us!”
It would be highly unusual for somebody from within a serving president’s party to challenge him in the primaries.
The last time it happened was in 1980 when Ted Kennedy challenged Jimmy Carter for the Democratic nomination, though he lost, as did Carter in the election to Ronald Reagan.
According to the book, Bill Clinton’s tirade did not end there amid protestations from Hillary Clinton that she did not want to risk her legacy from her current post as U.S. Secretary of State.
Hillary Clinton, 64, also supposedly emphasized that she could run in 2016, but Bill Clinton, 65, who has been become a vegan out of concerns for his health, said it could be too late.
Bill Clinton shouted: “I know you’re young enough! That’s not what I’m worried about. I’m worried that I’m not young enough.
“I’m the highest-ranking member in Obama’s Cabinet. I eat breakfast with the guy every Thursday morning.”
Hillary Clinton is said to have responded: “What about loyalty, Bill? What about loyalty?”
Bill Clinton said back: “Loyalty is a joke, loyalty doesn’t exist in politics.”
Things remained heated when the Clintons’ daughter Chelsea walked in on the conversation and told her mother she “deserved” to be President.
Bill Clinton even offered to commission polls to see how she fared against Barack Obama, the book says, but she told him: “Go ahead and knock yourself out.”
He finally buried the hatchet with Barack Obama recently and appeared in a presidential campaign advert for him during which he praised him for hunting down Osama bin Laden.
Bill Clinton has also appeared at rallies with the President with relations appearing cordial and good humored.
Hillary Clinton has long been touted as presidential candidate in the 2016 elections.
She is currently enjoying a surge in her popularity fuelled by photos of her dancing and drinking a beer in Columbia which showed her having fun.
Bill Clinton’s spokesman Matt McKenna branded Edward Klein “a known liar” and that the claims were “totally and completely false”.
White House spokesman Eric Schultz said: “Nobody in their right mind would believe the nonsense in this one, especially since both Secretary Clinton and President Clinton have been loyal and supportive of the president at every turn.”
Researchers have discovered that crows recognize familiar human voices and the calls of familiar birds from other species.
The ability could help the intelligent birds to thrive in urban environments; using vocal cues from their human and avian neighbors to find food or be alerted to potential threats.
The team used recordings of human voices and jackdaw calls to test the birds’ responses.
They published the findings in the journal Animal Cognition.
Researchers have discovered that crows recognize familiar human voices and the calls of familiar birds from other species
Lead researcher Claudia Wascher from the University of Vienna said that, although it was widely known that crows were “very intelligent”, most studies had focused on their ability to recognize and communicate with their own species.
“In cities crows live alongside jackdaws, magpies and seagulls, and alongside humans,” said Dr. Claudia Wascher.
“Some of those people might be very nice to the crows and feed them and others might be nasty and chase them away.
“You even get some people hunting crows.”
To find out if they might be able to distinguish between these different birds and humans, the researchers studied eight carrion crows kept in the university’s aviary.
The same people feed and interact with the birds every day. So the team recorded five of these people saying “hey” and recorded the same word said by five people who “had never met the crows”.
When they played these recordings to the birds, they responded much more – looking up and turning towards the speaker – when they heard the unfamiliar human voices.
“Since humans can be a serious threat for crows it’s important that if they hear someone unfamiliar, they are on alert,” explained Dr. Claudia Wascher.
The researchers repeated the same experiment using calls from jackdaws that shared the crows’ aviaries.
They played brief “contact calls” – short vocal greetings the birds use – from these familiar jackdaws and from jackdaws the crows had never encountered.
In this experiment, the team found the opposite result – the birds responded more to the familiar than the unfamiliar birds.
Dr. Claudia Wascher said that this result suggested that crows might “team up with preferred individuals outside of their own species”.
“We already know that corvids are very specific in which other crows they choose to co-operate with,” she said.
Previous research has showed that when the birds are foraging or solving tasks, “they avoid certain individuals and choose to work with others”.
“So maybe, there’s also something [like this] going on outside the species,” Dr. Claudia Washcher suggested.
Facebook is now testing a system that allows users pay to highlight or promote posts.
By paying a small fee Facebook users can ensure that information they post on the social network is more visible to friends, family and colleagues.
The tests are being carried out among the social network’s users in New Zealand.
Facebook said the goal was to see if users were interested in paying to flag up their information.
Facebook is now testing a system that allows users pay to highlight or promote posts
The tests of the “pay to promote” system were discovered by a Facebook user in Whangarei, reported New Zealand’s news magazine Stuff.
At first, said Stuff, the user thought the offer to pay to promote a post was a con trick.
A Facebook spokesperson confirmed the offer was genuine.
“We’re constantly testing new features across the site,” said the spokesperson.
“This particular test is simply to gauge people’s interest in this method of sharing with their friends.”
Different methods of highlighting posts were being tested, said the spokesperson. These would see a range of charges being levied to make posts more visible. Comments on the tests suggest the highest price being charged was $2 while others cost 40c or 80c.
Payments could be made via credit card or PayPal.
The spokesperson said some of the methods it was trying out would incur a charge but others would highlight a post for free. The spokesperson would not be drawn on when the test would end or if it would be tried in other territories.
“We’re going to see a lot more ideas like this where they are testing out different ways to try to make money,” said Ian Maude, internet analyst at Enders Analysis.
Both Facebook’s imminent stock market flotation and a recent slowdown in revenue growth were helping to concentrate its attention on ways to make money, he said.
“In the last few years their overall revenue has grown much more quickly than their audience,” he said. However, he said, that rapid growth had slowed in the last six months and had perhaps prompted it to experiment.
The flotation will add more pressure, said Ian Maude but he added that the way the stock would be split could lighten that burden a little as Mark Zuckerberg would be left 57% of the shares.
“He’s always said he wants to make money to run the company not run the company to make money,” said Ian Maude.
Cissy Houston has released a new album of gospel tunes, her first new music since Whitney Houston’s death and in more than a decade.
Cissy Houston’s Walk on By Faith was released by Harlem Records on iTunes this week and includes songs such as Living Shall Not Be In Vain.
Harlem Records rep Bill Coyle said Wednesday Cissy Houston’s last album was in 1997. He says she started working on the album last year and musically arranged all four tracks.
Cissy Houston's Walk on By Faith was released by Harlem Records on iTunes this week and includes songs such as Living Shall Not Be In Vain
Cissy Houston has kept a low profile since her daughter Whitney died in February, giving just one interview.
Whitney Houston was 48 when she drowned in a Beverly Hills hotel bathtub on the eve of the Grammy Awards. An autopsy showed cocaine played a role in her death.
Bruce Willis became a father for the fourth time just a few weeks ago and his wife Emma Heming has given his fans a first glimpse of their baby daughter Mabel Ray.
Emma Heming has posted an adorable photo on Twitter of Bruce Willis cuddling little Mabel Ray in his arms.
Bruce Willis, 57, can be seen cradling his youngest girl and tenderly kissing her forehead as they enjoy a family break in Budapest.
Emma Heming wrote: “A beautiful day in Budapest with the loves of my life. Daddy and Mabel cracking each other up.”
Emma Heming has posted an adorable photo on Twitter of Bruce Willis cuddling little Mabel Ray in his arms
Bruce Willis looked equally happy as he smiled while putting his lips on her head.
Emma Heming, his second wife, gave birth to Mabel Ray on April Fool’s Day.
The name is said to be a shortened form of Amabel, deriving from the French phrase “ma belle”, otherwise known as “my lovely girl”.
Bruce Willis also has three grown up daughters from his previous marriage to Demi Moore.
Rumer Willis, 23, is perhaps the most well known of the trio, having secured silver screen roles in The House Bunny and Wild Cherry, along with her recurring television part as Gia in series two of 90210.
Bruce Willis and Demi Moore are also parents to Scout, 20, and Tallulah Belle, 18.
The actor married Emma Heming, 33, three years ago, with his daughters and ex-wife attending the intimate wedding in Turks and Caicos.
Julia Carta, the make-up artist who works with Simon Cowell on Britain’s Got Talent has revealed he also uses products from “Transformulas” to prevent the signs of premature ageing.
Make-up artist Julia Carta, who has also worked with stars including Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley, said she has used the “FaceContour Tightening Créme” and “Eye-lightening Serum” from the beauty range while preparing Simon Cowell for appearances on the TV talent show.
The products were developed by beauty fanatic Rosalind Chapman who, due to a fear of needles, wanted anti-ageing solutions that didn’t involve injections or surgery – that were also affordable.
The “FaceContour Tightening créme”, priced at £36.95 ($58) for 15 ml, is said to contain “potent ingredients” that “help lift, define and sculpt the face to restore its natural beauty”. According to a research, 75% of users saw a reduction in under eye bags, lines and wrinkles after using it.
Meanwhile, the “Eye-lightening serum” offers another way to tackle the appearance of ageing under the eyes. The product promises to fade black bags using nanotechnology and is priced at £29.95 ($47) for 10 ml.
Julia Carta has revealed Simon Cowell uses products from “Transformulas” to prevent the signs of premature ageing
Simon Cowell, 52, has been seeking alternative anti-ageing remedies after it appeared he had taken his reliance on Botox too far on last year’s Britain’s Got Talent.
Viewers were alarmed by the appearance of his bruised face and droopy eyelid, which was blamed on using the face-freezing injections too much.
A source from the show said at the time: “Simon had overdone things a little with the Botox and it soon showed up on camera – especially as we film in high definition, which is particularly unforgiving.”
Simon Cowell isn’t the only celeb who is a fan of Transformulas products. Victoria Beckham is said to use the brand’s EyeLifting Gel, that is said to refresh the delicate skin under the eye using plant extracts.
John Travolta is facing a new accusation of sexual harassment after a third man came forward yesterday.
Fabian Zanzi has accused John Travolta of accosting him back in 2009 while he was working on the Royal Caribbean cruise ship.
Chilean-born Fabian Zanzi was an employee on the liner at the time and was in charge of VIP guests.
Fabian Zanzi – the first of the three victims to be publicly named – told South American news website ABC.es that John Travolta approached him and offered him $12,000 to have sex with him.
He told the website he refused the actor’s advances.
Fabian Zanzi recalled: “He had something on his neck. I thought it was a fuzz. As I approached, he took off his white coat and was naked.
“He hugged me and asked me to do a massage.”
Fabian Zanzi has accused John Travolta of accosting him back in 2009 while he was working on the Royal Caribbean cruise ship
Reports suggest Fabian Zanzi has filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against John Travolta – although this has yet to be verified.
The news comes following claims from two unidentified masseurs alleging John Travolta sexually assaulted them. They are suing for $2 million in damages.
John Travolta’s lawyer, Marty Singer has strenuously denied the two initial claims and is yet to comment on the latest allegations.
The first two masseurs to come forward have been named as John Doe #1 and John Doe #2 in U.S. lawsuits. Both are being represented by lawyer Okorie Okorocha and claim John Travolta made sexually advances towards them.
Wednesday John Travolta’s camp put forward photographic evidence which appeared to provide Travolta with an alibi with regard to claims by John Doe #1, who alleges he was assaulted by the actor on January 16 of this year at a Beverly Hills hotel in Los Angeles.
John Travolta’s lawyers, however, claim the actor was in New York City on that date – releasing a restaurant receipt from the Mr. Chow restaurant in NYC and two photographs of the actor as evidence.
It is claimed by TMZ.com that two photos show him first at 4:30 p.m. and then again at 5:21 p.m., at a fitting for his upcoming movie Killing Season in the Big Apple.
In a new development today, the New York Daily News reports flight records prove John Travolta landed in Westchester, New York, hours before sunrise on the day John Doe #1 claims the alleged sexual harassment took place in Los Angeles.
It supports the actor’s alibi he was 3,000 miles away from the scene of the alleged groping.
In another bizarre twist the unidentified masseur has released a statement wishing John Travolta “health and happiness” – despite pressing ahead with the lawsuit.
In a statement to RadarOnline he said: “Even though Mr. Travolta and his counsel are on opposing sides in this matter, I do wish them good health, happiness, and want them to be judged with absolute fairness as our great nation affords all citizens regardless of their wealth or station.”
A new study has found that North Koreans have more access than ever to outside media, including radio, TV and DVDs.
North Korean government was unable to maintain a ”total monopoly” over information and the people’s ”understanding of the world is changing”, said the report.
Viewing of foreign DVDs in North Korea, especially, had risen sharply.
Most of these DVDs were South Korean dramas, and had been smuggled across the border with China, said the report, commissioned by the US government.
“When you get very well-produced, compelling South Korean dramas – a picture into a place that you’ve been fascinated with your whole life, because so much North Korean propaganda revolves around South Korea – that’s extremely powerful,” said Nat Kretchun, one of the authors of the study.
A new study has found that North Koreans have more access than ever to outside media, including radio, TV and DVDs
The study was conducted by global consulting group InterMedia over the last two years.
The findings were based on a survey of 250 North Koreans – mostly refugees and a handful of travellers, as well as expert interviews.
Almost half the respondents said they had watched a foreign DVD.
North Korea has traditionally been ranked as the country with the lowest media freedom in the world.
While the majority of North Koreans still did not have direct access to foreign media, the number of those who did ”appears to be steadily increasing”, the report said.
North Koreans are also ”less fearful of sharing that information than before”, it said.
Near the border with China and South Korea television viewing is also popular, with a third who said they watched TV claiming to have viewed foreign broadcasts.
Foreign radio broadcasts, the report added, ”remain important as a source of real-time, sensitive outside news”.
The ”elites” – those with greater financial means or influence – have more access to external sources of media.
Recently, the report found, devices such as computers, USB drives and illegal Chinese mobile phones ”have begun entering North Korea in substantial numbers, especially among the elite”.
However, a personal network – well-connected friends and ”word-of-mouth” – remain the most trusted source of unsanctioned information among those the study interviewed.
The increased access to external sources of information could lead North Koreans to view their own government with a more critical eye, the report concluded.
”While significant bottom-up pressure on the regime is unlikely in the short term, many people in North Korea are beginning to look more critically at the basic premises of their country’s power structure and policies,” it said.
Prince Charles presented the weather forecast during a tour of BBC Scotland’s Pacific Quay headquarters.
Prince Charles and his wife, the Duchess of Cornwall, visited the broadcaster as a part of their annual Holyrood Week.
BBC newsreader Sally Magnusson handed over to Prince Charles, who read his version of Reporting Scotland’s lunchtime weather.
The prince, also known as the Duke of Rothesay, had earlier met students at the City of Glasgow College.
Against a backdrop of the BBC’s weather map, Prince Charles delivered a specially written script which included references to royal residences in Scotland.
Prince Charles presented the weather forecast during a tour of BBC Scotland's Pacific Quay headquarters
Looking directly into the camera, he said: “The best of the bright and dry weather will of course be in the northern isles and the far north of the mainland. So, a little hazy sunshine for the Castle of Mey in Caithness.
“But a cold day everywhere with temperatures of just 8C and a brisk northerly wind. Thank God it isn’t a bank holiday.”
The duke and duchess spent more than an hour at BBC Scotland, which is celebrating 60 years of television broadcasting.
JPMorgan Chase, the biggest US bank, has revealed a surprise trading loss of $2 billion on complex investments made by its traders.
Overall, after accounting for other gains, losses at its chief investment office (CIO) are estimated to come in at $800 million in the second quarter.
The loss could be as big as $1 billion, chief executive Jamie Dimon said in an unscheduled conference call.
JPMorgan shares fell 6% after-hours, with other bank stocks following.
JPMorgan Chase has revealed a surprise trading loss of $2 billion on complex investments made by its traders
Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and Bank of America also suffered heavy losses in electronic trading after the market close.
The strategy taken at its CIO had been “riskier, more volatile and less effective” than previously believed, Jamie Dimon said.
“There were many errors, sloppiness and bad judgement. These were egregious mistakes.
“They were self-inflicted and this is not how we want to run a business.”
The CIO is an arm of the bank used to make broad bets to hedge its portfolios of individual holdings. Hedging is an investment practice used to reduce the risk of price fluctuations to the value of an asset.
The trading loss, revealed in a regulatory filing, is expected to hurt JPMorgan’s overall earnings in the quarter, and will come as an embarrassment to the bank.
It had emerged from the 2008 financial crisis in much better health than many of its rivals after avoiding risky investments that had hurt others.
“We will admit it, we will learn from it, we will fix it, and we will move on,” Jamie Dimon said.
He added that the bank was trying to unload the portfolio in question in a “responsible” manner in order to minimize the cost to shareholders.
Jamie Dimon said the type of trading that led to the loss would not be banned by the so-called Volcker rule, designed to censure certain types of trading by banks with their own money.
But he acknowledged that the errors would be particularly embarrassing, given his public criticism of the Volcker rule.
“It plays right into the hands of a bunch of pundits out there, but that’s life,” he said.
Prof. Mark Williams from Boston University, and a former Federal Reserve regulator, said taxpayers should be concerned about these trading losses.
“Taxpayers ultimately have to bail out these <<too big to fail>> banks. And that’s what JPMorgan is – it is too big to fail,” he said.
“How could a bank that’s supposed to be the premier bank in setting the leadership role allow such risk taking?”
The oldest-known Mayan astronomical tables have been discovered at Xultun archeological site in Guatemala, archaeologists announce.
Xultun includes the first known instance of Mayan art painted on the walls of a dwelling.
A report in Science says it dates from the early 9th Century, pre-dating other Mayan calendars by centuries.
Such calendars rose to prominence recently amid claims they predicted the end of the world in 2012.
The Mayan civilization occupied Central America from about 2000 B.C. until its decline and assimilation following the colonization by the Spanish from the 15th Century onwards. It still holds fascination, with many early Mayan sites still hidden or uncatalogued.
The ruins at Xultun were first discovered in 1912 and mapping efforts in the 1920s and 1970s laid out much of the site’s structure.
The oldest-known Mayan astronomical tables have been discovered at Xultun archeological site in Guatemala
Archaeologists have catalogued the site’s features, including a 35m-tall pyramid, but thousands of structures on the 30 sq km site remain unexplored.
In 2005, William Saturno, then at the University of New Hampshire, discovered the oldest-known Mayan murals at a site just a few kilometres away called San Bartolo.
In 2010, one of Dr. William Saturno’s students was following the tracks of more recent looters at Xultun when he discovered the vegetation-covered structure that has now been excavated.
When Mayans renovated an old structure, they typically collapsed its roof and built on top of the rubble. But for some reason, the new Xultun find had been filled in through its doorway, with the roof left intact.
Dr. William Saturno, who is now based at Boston University, explained that despite it being under just a metre of soil today, that served to preserve the site after more than a millennium of rainy seasons, insect traffic and encroaching plant and tree roots.
“We found that three of the room’s four walls were well preserved and that the ceilings were also in good shape in terms of the paintings on them, so we got an awful lot more than we bargained for,” he said.
The excavation was carried out using grants from the National Geographic Society, which has prepared a high-resolution photographic tour of the room.
It measures about 2 m on each side with a 3 m, vaulted ceiling, and is dominated by a stone bench, suggesting the room was a meeting place.
The east wall features a number of seated figures, nearly life-sized, dressed in black and wearing elaborate headdresses similar to a bishop’s mitre.
They all look toward the north wall, on which a more elaborately dressed figure in orange holds a stylus in a hand outstretched toward a figure that Dr. William Saturno believes represented the king of Xultun.
“The seated figures that we see around them are involved in some narrative in which the king is being portrayed impersonating a Mayan deity and these guys are in attendance at that impersonation,” Dr. William Saturno explained.
The relevance of the figure with the stylus seems clear: “We think this room was used as a writing room, that it’s part of a complex associated with the work being done by Maya scribes.”
Perhaps most intriguing among the finds were several finds related to astronomical tables, including four long numbers on the east wall that represent a cycle lasting up to 2.5 million days.
The east wall is mostly covered by tabulations of black symbols or “glyphs” that map out various astronomical cycles: that of Mars and Venus and the lunar eclipses.
The wall also features red marks that appear to be notes and corrections to the calculations; Dr. William Saturno said that the scribes “seem to be using it like a blackboard”.
The Xultun find is the first place that all of the cycles have been found tied mathematically together in one place, representing a calendar that stretches more than 7,000 years into the future.
The Mayan numbering system for dates is a complex one in base-18 and base-20 numbers that, in modern-day terms, would “turn over” at the end of 2012.
But Dr. William Saturno points out that the new finds serve to further undermine the fallacy that this is tantamount to a prediction of the end of the world.
“The ancient Maya predicted the world would continue, that 7,000 years from now, things would be exactly like this,” he said.
“We keep looking for endings. The Maya were looking for a guarantee that nothing would change. It’s an entirely different mindset.”
US Antiviral Drugs Advisory Committee, which advises the FDA, has for the first time backed a drug to prevent HIV infection in healthy people.
The panel of health experts recommended US regulators approve daily pill Truvada for use by people considered at high risk of contracting the AIDS virus.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is not required to follow the panel’s advice, but it usually does.
Some health workers and groups active in the HIV community have opposed the approval of the drug.
However, the move could prove to be a new milestone in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
The Antiviral Drugs Advisory Committee recommended US regulators approve Truvada for use by people considered at high risk of contracting the AIDS virus
Truvada is already approved by the FDA for people who are HIV-positive, and is taken along with existing anti-retroviral drugs.
Studies from 2010 showed that Truvada, made by California-based Gilead Sciences, reduced the risk of HIV in healthy gay men – and among HIV-negative heterosexual partners of people who are HIV-positive – by between 44% and 73%.
The Antiviral Drugs Advisory Committee voted 19-3 in favor of prescribing the drug to the highest risk group – non-infected men who have sex with multiple male partners.
They also approved it, by majority votes, for uninfected people with HIV-positive partners and for other groups considered at risk of acquiring HIV through sexual activity.
The votes followed an 11-hour meeting of the panel in Silver Spring, Maryland, and a lengthy public comments session.
Opposition to the prospect of approving the drug is based on concerns that users could gain a false sense of security, and fears of a drug-resistant strain of HIV.
There is also concern that the high cost of Truvada could divert limited funding from more cost-effective options.
“We need to slow down. I care too much about my community not to speak my concerns,” said Joey Terrill, of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, which campaigned against the drug’s approval.
Nurse Karen Haughey told the panel: “Truvada needs to be taken every day, 100% of the time, and my experience as a registered nurse tells me that won’t happen.
“In my eight years, not one patient that I’ve cared for has been 100% adherent.”
But others welcomed the panel’s recommendation.
“This brings us closer to a watershed for global HIV prevention efforts,” said Mitchell Warren, executive director of the AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition, after the vote.
The FDA is expected to make its decision by 15 June.
Early results from a US trial suggest it may be possible to use “stem cell shielding” to protect the body from the damaging effects of chemotherapy.
Chemotherapy drugs try to kill rapidly dividing cancer cells, but they can also affect other healthy tissues such as bone marrow.
The study, published in Science Translational Medicine, used genetically modified stem cells to protect the bone marrow.
The body constantly churns out new blood cells in the hollow spaces inside bone. However, bone marrow is incredibly susceptible to chemotherapy.
The treatment results in fewer white blood cells being produced, which increase the risk of infection, and fewer red blood cells, which leads to shortness of breath and tiredness.
Early results from a US trial suggest it may be possible to use "stem cell shielding" to protect the body from the damaging effects of chemotherapy
Researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, in Seattle, said these effects were “a major barrier” to using chemotherapy and often meant the treatment had to be stopped, delayed or reduced.
They have tried to protect the bone marrow in three patients with a type of brain cancer, glioblastoma.
One of the researchers, Dr. Jennifer Adair, said: “This therapy is analogous to firing at both tumor cells and bone marrow cells, but giving the bone marrow cells protective shields while the tumor cells are unshielded.”
Bone marrow was taken from the patients and stem cells, which produce blood, were isolated. A virus was then used to infect the cells with a gene which protected the cells against a chemotherapy drug. The cells were then put back into the patient.
The lead author of the report, Prof. Hans-Peter Kiem, said: “We found that patients were able to tolerate the chemotherapy better, and without negative side effects, after transplantation of the gene-modified stem cells than patients in previous studies who received the same type of chemotherapy without a transplant of gene-modified stem cells.”
The researchers said the three patients had all lived longer than the average survival time of 12 months for the cancer. They said one patient was still alive 34 months after treatment.
Beer will be allowed to be sold in stadiums at the 2014 World Cup after Brazilian Senate has passed a controversial and much-delayed bill.
When Brazil was chosen to host the event it promised to sell alcohol at matches despite a 2003 drinks ban introduced to stop violence.
Football’s world governing body, FIFA, demanded the change because brewer Budweiser is a World Cup sponsor.
President Dilma Rousseff is now expected to sign the bill into law.
Beer will be allowed to be sold in stadiums at the 2014 World Cup after Brazilian Senate has passed a controversial and much-delayed bill
Although the legislation does not specifically authorize the sale of alcohol inside stadiums, the government says it does allow Brazil to fulfill FIFA’s requirements.
“Violence in stadiums has decreased a lot because of the ban against alcoholic beverages,” said Senator Lindbergh Farias, who voted in favor.
“They will only be able to sell them during the World Cup; we’re not going to allow it in general.”
But some senators still voiced concern.
“FIFA’s demand doesn’t make sense because the most important thing is that alcoholic advertisement is freely available,” said Senator Humberto Costa.
“To liberalize the use of alcohol, imagining that 10,000 or 20,000 beers sold in a match would change a company’s economic situation is absurd,” he said.
Another sticking point in the passage of the World Cup bill has been over cut-price tickets.
In Brazil students and pensioners are entitled to half-price entry to sports matches, but FIFA did not want this extended to the World Cup because of the potential impact on revenues.
It has pledged to set aside 300,000 tickets for students, pensioners and minority groups instead.
Amid the disagreements, the law’s approval was delayed, leading FIFA’s secretary-general Jerome Valcke to say that Brazil needed a “kick up the backside”.
Brazil’s lower house passed the bill in March and at a meeting in Zurich this week Brazil and FIFA appeared to smooth over their differences.
European Parliament has passed regulations to make using a mobile phone abroad significantly cheaper.
The plans, which were voted in by a huge majority, include imposing a price cap on operators.
From July, using mobile data in Europe will not cost more than 70 eurocents per megabyte – far less than current rates.
Consumers will also be able to choose a different operator abroad from the one they use at home.
It is hoped this split-network approach – which comes into force in 2014 – will encourage greater competition.
The first changes will come into effect from 1 July. Calls will be capped at 29 eurocents per minute, plus VAT.
European Parliament has passed regulations to make using a mobile phone abroad significantly cheaper
The EU said the regulations were designed to prevent “bill shock” – the moment when travelers discover they have totted up huge bills after making calls and using data applications, such as maps, while away.
“In a borderless Europe, there is no place for charges that diverge so much at home and abroad,” said MEP Ivo Belet.
The EU said the changes could mean savings for a “typical” businessman of more than 1,000 Euros in a year.
The EU said that from 2014 customers would be able to choose their mobile networks upon arrival in a country, or signing up to a contract before leaving.
Currently, mobile users are forced to use their standard domestic operator when travelling abroad – or to use alternative arrangements, such as a cheap pre-paid handset.
Under the new regulations, customers can choose a different operator with a more attractive travel tariff before leaving – without changing their number.
Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI), one of Europe’s main contributions to the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is built and ready to ship to the US.
MIRI will gather key data as the $9 billion observatory seeks to identify the first starlight in the Universe.
The results of testing conducted at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in the UK have just been signed off, clearing MIRI to travel to America.
James Webb – regarded as the successor to Hubble – is due to launch in 2018.
It will carry a 6.5m primary mirror (more than double the width of Hubble’s main mirror), and a shield the size of a tennis court to guard its sensitive vision from the heat and strong light of our Sun.
The observatory has been tasked with tracking down the very first luminous objects in the cosmos – groupings of the first generation of stars to burst into life.
To do so, James Webb will use its infrared detectors to look deeper into space than Hubble, and further back in time – to a period more than 13 billion years ago.
“The other instruments on James Webb will do massive surveys of the sky, looking for these very rare objects; they will find the candidates,” explained MIRI’s UK principal investigator, Prof. Gillian Wright.
“But MIRI has a very special role because it will be the instrument that looks at these candidates to determine which of them is a true first light object. Only MIRI can give us that confirmation,” she said.
• James Webb’s main mirror has around seven times more collecting area than Hubble’s 2.4m primary mirror
• The sunshield is about 22m by 12m. There will be a 300-degree difference in temperature between the two sides
• James Webb’s instruments must be very cold to ensure their own infrared glow does not swamp the observations
• The mission will launch in 2018 on an Ariane rocket. The observing position will be 1.5 million km from Earth
Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI), one of Europe's main contributions to the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is built and ready to ship to the US
JWST is a co-operative project between the US (NASA), European (ESA) and Canadian (CSA) space agencies.
Europe is providing two of the telescope’s four instruments and the Ariane rocket to put it in orbit.
MIRI is arguably the most versatile of the four instruments, with a much wider range of detectable wavelengths than its peers (5-28 microns).
Fundamentally, it is a camera system that will produce pictures of the cosmos.
But it also carries a coronagraph to block the light from bright objects so it can see more easily nearby, dimmer targets – such as planets circling their stars. In addition, there is a spectrograph that will slice light into its component colors so scientists can discern something of the chemistry of far-flung phenomena.
MIRI is a complex design, and will operate at minus 266C. This frigid state is required for the instrument’s detectors to sample the faintest of infrared sources. Everything must be done to ensure the telescope’s own heat energy does not swamp the very signal it is pursuing.
The hardware for MIRI has been developed by institutes and companies from across Europe and America.
The job of pulling every item together and assembling the finished system has had its scientific and engineering lead in the UK.
MIRI has just gone through a rigorous mechanical and thermal test campaign at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL) in Oxfordshire.
This included shaking the instrument to simulate the pounding it will receive during the ascent to orbit on the Ariane.
It was also put in a vacuum chamber and subjected to the kind of temperatures it will experience in space.
“It’s been a real privilege to work on MIRI and great to see it finally ship out,” said Paul Eccleston, the engineer at RAL who has overseen the test campaign.
“It will be so exciting when we put it on top of the rocket and light the blue touch paper, so to speak, and watch it go up into space.”
The paperwork signing off the test results has now been accepted by NASA.
The next step is for MIRI to be put in a special environment-controlled shipping box, so it can travel to the US space agency’s Goddard centre. The Maryland facility is where the final integration of James Webb will take place.
MIRI will be fixed inside a cage-like structure called the Integrated Science Instrument Module and positioned just behind the big mirror.
The years to 2018 promise yet more testing.
• James Webb’s instruments will be tuned to light beyond the detection of our eyes – at near- and mid-infrared wavelengths
• It is in the infrared that very distant objects will show up, and also those objects that in the visible range are obscured by dust
• Hubble is a visible light telescope with some near-infrared capability, but its sensitivity will be dwarfed by JWST’s technologies
• Europe’s far-infrared Herschel space telescope has a bigger mirror than Hubble, but JWST’s mirror will be larger still
Recommended 16 years ago as the logical evolution beyond Hubble, the JWST has managed to garner a fair amount of controversy.
Technical difficulties and project mismanagement mean the observatory is now running years behind schedule and is billions of dollars over-budget.
Elements of the US Congress wanted to cancel the telescope last summer. That did not happen, but Capitol Hill now has James Webb on a very short leash, with NASA required to provide monthly updates on milestones met or missed.
Much of the talk around James Webb tends to centre on cost. The current estimate for the US side is $8.8 billion, which covers the full life cycle of the project from its inception to the end of initial operations. Extra to that bill is some $650 million for the European contributions like MIRI and Ariane.
Dr. Eric Smith is NASA’s deputy programme director for James Webb. He believes taxpayers do appreciate the venture.
“When you’re able to show people that James Webb will do things that not even Hubble can do – then they understand it,” he said.
“People recognize how iconic Hubble has been, and how much it has affected their lives.
“The images and scientific results that Hubble has returned have permeated popular culture. Webb pictures will be just as sharp but because the telescope will be looking at a different part of the spectrum, it will show us things that are totally new.”
The next installment of VH1 Divas will feature a tribute to one of the most renown singers: the late Whitney Houston.
The special will be taped in December in Los Angeles and aired at a date to be determined with Whitney Houston’s longtime musical director Rickey Minor handling executive producer duties.
Whitney Houston herself has been a three-time performer on Divas in 1999, 2002, and 2003. Performers for the show have yet to be announced.
“We all felt that if any show could pay tribute to Whitney’s music, it would be <<Divas>>,” VH1 president Tom Calderone said
“December felt like enough time where it wouldn’t be sad anymore, you’d want to celebrate her music.”
Whitney Houston herself has been a three-time performer on Divas in 1999, 2002, and 2003
Last year’s Divas concert paid tribute to soul music, honoring five different cities for their contribution to the genre.
The specials began in 1998 as a way to support the VH1 Save the Music Foundation, having gotten a revamp in 2009.
Bobby Brown will marry his two-year long fiancée Alicia Etheridge in Hawaii on the weekend of June 15th.
Bobby Brown, 43, and his fiancée Alicia Etheridge – who have been engaged for two years and have a son Cassius, who will turn three later this month – will tie the knot in Honolulu on the same weekend he performs on the island with his band.
According to celebrity website TMZ, the New Edition musician will also fly out some of his family and friends to witness the ceremony he has dubbed his “big day”.
It is doubtful whether his estranged daughter Bobbi Kristina Brown, 19, – his only child with former wife Whitney Houston – will attend.
Bobby Brown will marry his two-year long fiancée Alicia Etheridge in Hawaii on the weekend of June 15th
Although Bobby Brown has been engaged to Alicia Etheridge for two years, it was recently claimed he and Whitney Houston – who died in a Beverly Hills hotel room in February – had been planning to remarry in an intimate ceremony in Las Vegas with Bobbi Kristina as their only witness.
Author Derrick Handspike – who wrote Bobby Brown’s biography – said: “Bobby told me, <<Whitney and me are getting married again>>.
“They were planning a small wedding, probably in Las Vegas with just the two of them and their daughter Krissi. Bobby told me, <<The world may have thought we were history, but the reality is we were never really apart. We’ve never stopped loving each other>>.
“After his dad’s funeral in Boston in December he flew to Atlanta. For the next week Bobby holed up at Whitney’s home, where they rekindled their romance and their intimate relationship. They slept together in Whitney’s bedroom and talked about what kind of wedding they’d have.”
A number of bodies have been found by rescuers at the wreckage of Russian Sukhoi Superjet plane that crashed into mountains in Indonesia on Wednesday.
The Sukhoi Superjet 100 vanished from radar screens 50 minutes after taking off from Jakarta for a brief demonstration flight.
On Thursday a helicopter found debris on the side of a cliff near a dormant volcano.
“So far we haven’t found any survivors, but we are still searching,” rescue team spokesman Gagah Prakoso said.
About 45 people are said to have been on board the aircraft.
Russian jet crashed into Mount Salak “around 1.5km [one mile] from the spot where the plane last made contact”, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said on television earlier in the day.
“An investigation must be carried out immediately and thoroughly. Search and rescue operations must prioritize finding any survivors.”
A number of bodies have been found by rescuers at the wreckage of Russian Sukhoi Superjet plane that crashed into mountains in Indonesia on Wednesday
Eight Russian pilots and technicians, Indonesian airline representatives and journalists were among those said to be on board the plane.
Earlier reports had said 50 people were on board, but Indonesian agents of the Russian-made plane said this figure had been revised down because some people got off before take-off.
Aerial searches for the plane on Wednesday were hampered by darkness and strong winds. Fog early on Thursday also delayed search efforts.
The plane took off from east Jakarta’s Halim Perdanakusuma airport at 14:00 (07:00 GMT) on Wednesday, on its second flight of the day.
At 14:50, it was recorded as dropping from 10,000 ft (3,000 m) to 6,000 ft near Salak, a peak measuring 7,200ft (2,200 m).
Rescue teams on the ground were working to reach the site where the debris was spotted, officials said.
Sukhoi officials have been on an Asia-wide tour in recent months to show off their aircraft to airline firms.
The Superjet, a mid-range airliner that can carry up to 100 people, is military plane-maker Sukhoi’s first commercial aviation plane.
It was created by a joint venture, majority-owned by Sukhoi, with Italy’s Finmeccanica and a number of other foreign and Russian firms also involved.
Sukhoi aimed to sell 42 of its planes to Indonesia, which has witnessed a fast-expanding aviation market to cater for a growing middle class in the world’s fourth most populous nation, Reuters adds.
Facebook launches its own app store to promote mobile programs that operate using the social network.
Facebook said the App Center will become the “new, central place to find great apps like Draw Something” and other titles.
Developers will have the ability to charge a fee for apps sold in the store in the near future, Facebook said.
The announcement came as Facebook admitted growth in mobile use could hurt future advertising revenue.
Ahead of its initial public offering, Facebook told potential investors in a statement: “If users increasingly access Facebook mobile products as a substitute for access through personal computers, and if we are unable to successfully implement monetization strategies for our mobile users, or if we incur excessive expenses in this effort, our financial performance and ability to grow revenue would be negatively affected.”
Facebook launches its own app store to promote mobile programs that operate using the social network
The App Center is expected to be rolled out globally in “the coming weeks”, said Facebook’s Aaron Brady in a post on the network’s developer blog.
“All developers should start preparing today to make sure their app is included for the launch,” he wrote.
However, Aaron Brady said the store was not designed to compete head-on with the likes of Apple’s App Store and Google Play.
“The App Center is designed to grow mobile apps that use Facebook – whether they’re on iOS, Android or the mobile web,” he wrote.
“From the mobile App Center, users can browse apps that are compatible with their device, and if a mobile app requires installation, they will be sent to download the app from the App Store or Google Play.”
Only apps which make use of Facebook’s log-in system Connect are eligible to be included in the store.
Saverio Romeo, an industry analyst from Frost & Sullivan, said the store announcement suggested an aggressive push by Facebook to become a bigger player in mobile.
He said Facebook needed to become “more significant, to attract more ideas and get more experience in the mobile space”.
“I think the store is an important element – a community of developers is a fundamental element in the growth we have seen with Apple and Android,” Saverio Romeo said.
He also said he believed Facebook could position itself as the first major app store to be platform-agnostic – that is, not tied to a single platform such as iOS or Android.
“The type of applications that the Facebook community can develop can have an incredible open horizon.
“Facebook is ubiquitous – it does not have any preferential routes. The question is the monetisation of all this.”
Olympic flame which will be used for the London 2012 torch relay has been lit during a ceremony in Olympia, Greece.
The flame was kindled by a “high priestess” who captured the morning sun’s rays in a parabolic mirror.
The ceremony came amid political and economic turmoil in Greece, the home of the Ancient Olympics, where a week-long leg of the relay will be held.
The flame flies to Britain on 18 May for a 70-day relay around the UK.
The lighting ceremony took place in front of the ruins of the Temple of Hera, next to the ancient stadium.
Actresses playing Olympic priestesses danced and men dressed as heralds put on a display symbolizing athletic strength.
“High priestess” Ino Menegaki then lit the flame in the bowl-shaped mirror and used it to light a Greek Olympic torch.
The flame – an Olympic symbol meant to represent purity because it comes from the sun – was then placed in an urn and taken to the stadium where the ancient Olympic Games were staged.
Olympic flame which will be used for the London 2012 torch relay has been lit during a ceremony in Olympia, Greece
LOCOG Chairman Lord Sebastian Coe, International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge and Hellenic Olympic Committee president Spyros Capralos were in Olympia for the moment marking the countdown to London 2012.
Lord Sebastian Coe said: “Today is the rallying call to the athletes – the best athletes of their generation – to come to London. That in itself is a big moment because it’s the biggest sporting event in the calendar.”
He told assembled Greek and Olympic dignitaries and a crowd gathered on the slopes of the stadium: “We are reminded this morning of sport’s enduring and universal appeal, and the timeless Olympic values that transcend history and geography; values which, I believe, in these challenging times are more relevant than at any time before and particularly to young people the world over.
“In 1948, shortly after the Second World War, my predecessor stood where I am today and made the first tentative steps in turning the world from war to sport.
“We find ourselves in challenging times again and turn to sport once more to connect the world in a global celebration of achievement and inspiration.”
In the stadium, it lit the London 2012 torch of Liverpool-born Greek world champion 10 km swimmer Spyros Gianniotis, who will carry it on the first leg of the relay around Greece.
He passed it on to Alex Loukos, 19, the first British torchbearer, a boxer and, in 2005, one of a delegation of east London schoolchildren who travelled to Singapore as part of London’s final bid for the Games.
Alex Loukos said: “It feels like I’m coming full circle.
“I went out to Singapore before we even knew that we’d won the Games and now I’m here, sort of kicking it off. It’s a big honor and a privilege and I’m just trying to take it all in.”
The torch is due to travel 2,900 kms (1,800 miles) through the country, carried by 500 torchbearers, on a route circling the country and travelling out to Crete.
Greece has seen huge demonstrations of social unrest in previous months, sparked by financial chaos and efforts to reach a deal with the European Union on a bail-out for the Greek economy.
Talks to try to form a new government have been ongoing after elections on Sunday failed to produce a conclusive result.
Several international companies including BMW have stepped in to help fund the torch’s journey.
The Greek section of the 2012 torch relay ends at the Panathenaic Stadium, Athens, on Thursday 17 May, where the flame is handed over to London Olympic Games organizers.
The stadium hosted the first modern Olympic Games in 1896.
The last torchbearers in Greece will be Greek weightlifter Pyrros Dimas and Chinese gymnast Li Ning – who lit the cauldron at the Beijing 2008 opening ceremony.
The 2008 Olympic torch relay, which travelled the globe, was dogged by pro-Tibet, democracy and anti-China protests.
The 2012 flame will travel straight from Greece to the UK on 18 May, flying into the Royal Navy airbase at Culdrose, near Helston in Cornwall.
The UK torch relay begins at Land’s End the following morning when three times Olympic gold medal-winning sailor Ben Ainslie will be the first to carry the torch on British soil.
He wrote in the Daily Telegraph: “It is a privilege for me to be asked but, more than anything, it is an exciting moment for the country.
“The arrival of the torch on home soil really brings home how close the Games are.”
Carried by 8,000 torchbearers, the Barber Osgerby-designed torch will cover 8,000 miles across all of the country’s nations and regions.
It is due to reach the Olympic Stadium in Stratford on 27 July to light the cauldron at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games.
For the ancient Greeks, fire was a divine element believed to have been stolen from the Gods.
A flame was first lit at the modern Olympics at the Amsterdam 1928 summer games, but it was not until Berlin 1936 that a torch relay route was set out from Greece to Germany.
