Rain doesn?t dampen spirits of football prospects at Nike event

Some of South Florida?s finest high school football players were shining bright ? at least until the rain drowned them out.

The Nike 7-on-7 Football Challenge took place Saturday, featuring 24 South Florida high schools and more than 200 players. But the event was cut short when rain and lightning hit Amelia Earhart Park in the afternoon. The tournament was suspended and will resume at 9 a.m. Sunday.

Several athletes used the event as a primer to The Opening, one of the nation?s premier events for Class of 2014 recruits on Monday through Wednesday at the Nike headquarters in Beaverton, Ore.

The third-year event provides an opportunity for the nation?s best players to compete in 7-on-7 games and skill events, to nurture relationships with one another and provides a chance to sway certain players when it comes to picking a college.

Miami Central running back and University of Miami commit Joseph Yearby said he?s so excited about the opportunity that he probably won?t sleep Sunday night before flying to Oregon on Monday morning. Along with cherishing the opportunity, he has one goal in mind.

?I?m really excited to get close to Ermon Lane,? Yearby said of the 6-3, 193-pound wide receiver from Homestead who has offers to play at Miami, Alabama and Florida. ?That?s really the only person that stands out.?

Yearby?s backfield teammate, UF commit Dalvin Cook, said he isn?t going to let Yearby get the best of Lane during the festivities.

?I?m definitely not going to let that happen,? Cook said. ?We?re going to fight.?

Yearby and Cook will be joined by teammate Trevor Darling, a UM offensive tackle commit. Central and Fort Lauderdale University School, which is sending defensive lineman Richard Yeargin, safety Quincy Wilson and quarterback Sean White, are two of just five schools in the country to be sending three players. Florida and California each have 27 players participating ? the most from any state.

Other invitees from Miami-Dade and Broward counties include: Booker T. Washington quarterback Treon Harris and defensive tackle Chad Thomas; UF defensive lineman commit Anthony Moten and wide receiver Corey Holmes from Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas; Miami Northwestern wide receiver and FSU commit Jojo Robinson; Hollywood Chaminade-Madonna defensive tackle Khairi Clark; and Plantation defensive back Chris Lammons.

As for the event close to home, Yearby still took value in the exhibitions.

?The tournament is very good; these will get more competitive as it gets closer to the season,? Yearby said. ?The tournament will definitely help us a lot. Seeing the quarterbacks and receivers [and what they do], then they can go and practice what they need to.?

The teams played 7-on-7, two-hand-touch football, with the action spread over six fields. Families, friends and fans took in all the sights, with loud music and food creating a picnic-like atmosphere around the football.

By the end of play Saturday, many schools had already qualified for the playoff portion of the tournament. Booker T. Washington, Central, Northwestern, Miami Columbus, Miramar, Coral Reef, Champagnat and Northeast made it to the elimination stage, with four spots still up for grabs when play resumes Sunday morning.

Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/06/30/3477764/rain-doesnt-dampen-spirits-of.html

neil diamond kashi orange crush harden nor easter nor easter veep

Chick-fil-A president denounces rulings on gay marriage

(Chick-fil-A)

Chick-fil-A, the Atlanta-based fast-food chain known for its chicken sandwiches, waffle fries and Christian evangelism, has once again positioned itself at the center of America?s gay marriage debate, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

On Wednesday, the company?s president, Dan Cathy, sent out a tweet criticizing the Supreme Court?s rulings, which extended federal recognition to same-sex marriages and paved the way for the return of gay marriage in California.

?Sad day for our nation; founding fathers would be ashamed of our gen. to abandon wisdom of the ages re: cornerstone of strong societies,? Cathy wrote. His post was later deleted, but not before the Atlanta-Journal Constitution obtained a screenshot of it.

The company issued a statement on Thursday saying the tweet reflected Cathy?s personal views and not necessarily those of all Chick-fil-A customers and employees. The company added that it is ?focused on providing great-tasting food and genuine hospitality to everyone.?

This wasn?t the first time that Cathy has publicly come out against same-sex marriage. In July 2012, the Chick-fil-A president and COO told the Baptist Press that he was ?guilty as charged? in his opposition, saying that he and his company were ?very much supportive of the family unit?the biblical definition of the family unit.?

During the same week, Cathy also appeared on a radio show, on which he said same-sex marriage was ?inviting God?s judgment on our nation.?

He added, ?I pray God?s mercy on our generation that has such a prideful, arrogant attitude to think that we would have the audacity to try to redefine what marriage is all about."

Cathy, the son of Chick-fil-A?s founder and chairman, Truett Cathy, has a history of grabbing headlines for his unapologetic brand of social conservatism. In February 2012, students at Boston?s Northeastern University protested a proposal to put a Chick-fil-A on their campus and the school abandoned its plans.

Later that year, Boston Mayor Tom Menino sent Cathy a letter, urging him to ?back out? of his plans to open new locations in Boston because of his views on same-sex marriage. The letter was published online soon afterward.

According to ABC News, Chick-fil-A?s WinShape Foundation donated $3.2 million to advocacy groups that oppose same-sex marriage between 2008 and 2010. The company has since agreed to stop funding anti-gay groups.

More from Yahoo! and ABC News:?

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/news/chick-fil-president-denounces-supreme-court-rulings-gay-154004419.html

marco rubio marco rubio Zero Hour Funny Valentines Chris Kyle Russian meteor Meteor Hits Russia

Britain's Cameron in thwarted Afghan peace talks push

By Andrew Osborn

KABUL (Reuters) - British Prime Minister David Cameron flew into Afghanistan on Saturday to try to inject momentum into stalled peace talks, but left empty-handed after the Afghan president said his country could break up if a deal was done with the Taliban.

Cameron, who hosted President Hamid Karzai for talks in February about Afghanistan's future, has cast himself as an honest broker able to use Britain's relations with Afghanistan's influential neighbor, Pakistan, to get the Taliban to talk peace.

Speaking at a joint news conference in Kabul after a visit to British troops in the southern province of Helmand, he said the moment to pursue peace had come.

"There is a window of opportunity and I would urge all those who renounce violence, who respect the constitution, who want to have a voice in the future prosperity of this country to seize it," he said.

His comments come barely a week after the United States revealed the Taliban were to open a long-anticipated office in Qatar, making a meeting with the Afghan state and the Taliban a possibility. Those talks collapsed within days after Karzai objected to the manner in which the office was opened, however, and Taliban militants later attacked central Kabul.

On Saturday, Karzai said he hoped peace talks could begin as soon as possible. But he complained about foreign peace plans, sounded a defiant note against the United States, and warned of the dangers of doing a deal with the Taliban.

SCEPTICAL OF PAKISTAN

He also made it clear he was skeptical of Pakistan's motives in the peace process.

"Any system that is imposed on us ... the Afghan people will reject," he told a news conference inside his palace. "Delivering a province or two to the Taliban will be seen by the Afghan people as an invasion of Afghanistan, as an effort from outside to weaken and splinter this country."

When a reporter asked Cameron why he was willing to talk to the Taliban at the same time as British soldiers were fighting the insurgents, Karzai praised the question.

A British source told Reuters Karzai remained "furious" about the opening of a Taliban office in Qatar this month replete with its own flag and plaque, symbols that he felt accorded the Taliban a degree of global legitimacy.

The Afghan leader suspended talks on a long-term security deal to keep U.S. troops in Afghanistan after 2014 Washington said it was ready to talk to the Taliban and the Qatar flap. Karzai accused the Americans of duplicity.

On Saturday, he said he had held a video conference with President Barack Obama to discuss the matter, and that the U.S. leader had told him he hoped a deal could be struck by October.

Karzai's response was ambiguous. "I noted and reminded him (Obama) that Afghanistan continues to hold its unchangeable principles. If these conditions are met, the nation of Afghanistan will definitely be ready to agree to a security agreement with the U.S.," he said.

Karzai's stance underlines a dilemma for the West.

As it prepares to pull its troops out next year, it is caught between wanting to safeguard its legacy in Afghanistan - improved women's rights and access to education among other things - and allowing the Karzai government to roll back some changes to pave the way for talks with the insurgents.

SEEKING STABILITY

Britain is trying to magnify its diplomatic clout at the very moment it is reducing its contingent of some 7,000 troops.

Aides said Cameron was keen to boost political stability ahead of next year's presidential election, which he hopes will result in the first peaceful transition of power since 1901.

Karzai is not eligible to stand under the constitution and Cameron said he welcomed Karzai's "commitment to a democratic succession" after his second term expires.

Cameron flew on to Islamabad on Saturday evening for talks about Afghanistan with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari.

Pakistan could play a major role in any peace process. Its security forces backed the Taliban's rise to power in Afghanistan in the mid-1990s and continue to serve as gatekeepers to insurgent commanders living on its territory.

Cameron said he was working to try to persuade both countries they needed to cooperate, but said only "some" progress had been made.

Cameron also used his Afghan visit to reinforce the message that British troops really would be pulling out next year and that only limited financial and other aid would be made available to Afghan forces after that time.

Four hundred and forty-four British troops have been killed in Afghanistan since 2001.

A senior military source had said earlier that Western troops would have to undertake follow-on missions after 2014 that could last up to five years.

But Cameron suggested no British soldiers would be involved.

"There will be no (British) combat troops after the end of 2014. British troops are coming home," he said.

(Additional reporting by Mirwais Harooni; Writing by Andrew Osborn and Dylan Welch; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/britains-cameron-afghanistan-push-peace-talks-112358416.html

hbo Buckwild Steve Alford Phil Spector Phil Ramone louisville Kevin Ware Injury Video

Licking County energized late, rallies by Muskingum Valley in annual All-Star football game

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://zanesvilletimesrecorder.com/article/20130628/HSSPORTS01/306280037/1002/rss01

elizabeth warren puerto rico diane sawyer Washington Election Results drudge report Presidential Election 2012 Incumbent

Strong museum to house Toy Industry Hall of Fame

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) ? The great minds of the toy industry will be honored alongside their famous creations when the Toy Industry Hall of Fame combines with the National Toy Hall of Fame under a partnership announced Tuesday.

The 5,000-square-foot National Toy Hall of Fame gallery at the Strong museum in Rochester will undergo $4 million in renovations, with the goal of opening the combined hall in the fall of 2015.

The Toy Industry Hall of Fame, whose inductees have included Milton Bradley, Frederick August Otto Schwarz, Walt Disney and George Lucas, has been without a physical presence for about eight years following the closure of the International Toy Center in New York City.

Leaders of both halls have been talking for some time about combining the two as a way to raise their visibility and exposure and to promote their educational missions.

"With its unique emphasis on the power of play, the Strong is an ideal home for this homage to both the toys that have influenced generations of children and the innovative minds that brought them to life," Carter Keithley, president of the Toy Industry Association, said at a news conference at the Strong museum, where items like alphabet blocks, roller skates, the Frisbee, Lincoln Logs and the stick occupy places of honor.

The combined halls, with high-tech and hands-on interactive displays, will enable visitors to explore how cultural trends, gender and changing technologies have shaped the design, production and marketing of toys, officials said, including how games like Monopoly and The Game of Life reinforced faith in capitalism and the pursuit of the American dream.

The National Toy Hall of Fame was established in 1998 and accepts nominations from anyone. A national selection committee composed of historians, educators and others choose the annual selections. The Toy Industry Hall of Fame was established in 1985 by the Toy Industry Association and inducts about two people a year from among industry nominees.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/strong-museum-house-toy-industry-hall-fame-164643383.html

Carlos Arredondo Pat Summerall Martin Richard friends awkward awkward Girls Love Beyonce

Flowers, vegetables could affect Snowden's fate

QUITO, Ecuador (AP) -- With Edward Snowden stuck in Moscow and Washington pushing hard for his return, many Ecuadoreans began realizing Tuesday that this small country's deep economic ties with the U.S. could make it the one with the most to lose in the high-stakes international showdown over the National Security Agency leaker.

While President Rafael Correa's leftist government was virtually silent on Snowden's request for asylum, Ecuadorean analysts said his fate, or at least his safe harbor in Ecuador, could depend as much on frozen vegetables and flowers as on questions over freedom of expression and international counterterrorism.

Unlike with China, Russia or Cuba, countries where the U.S. has relatively few tools to force Snowden's handover, the Obama administration could swiftly hit Ecuador in the pocketbook by denying reduced tariffs on cut flowers, artichokes and broccoli. Those represent hundreds of millions of dollars in annual exports for this country where nearly half of foreign trade depends on the U.S.

A denial wouldn't mean financial devastation for Ecuador, which has been growing healthily in recent years thanks in large part to its oil resources. Growing ties with China also could give the Ecuadorean government a sense of diminished vulnerability. But analysts and political figures said the prospect of any economic damage could nonetheless alter the political calculus for Correa, a pragmatic leftist who's long delighted in tweaking the United States but hasn't yet suffered any major consequences.

"Much of our foreign trade is at stake," said flower grower Benito Jaramillo, president of the country's largest association of flower farmers, who shipped more than $300 million in flowers, mostly roses, to the U.S. last year. "They've been inserting themselves in a problem that isn't Ecuador's, so we're in a dilemma that we shouldn't be in."

For years, Ecuador's oil, vegetables and roses have kept flowing northward even as Correa has expelled U.S. diplomats and an American military base, publicly hectored the U.S. ambassador and harbored WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at Ecuador's embassy in London.

Correa's strongest backers have delighted in his attacks on Washington. And even his detractors have tolerated his foreign policy as the indulgence of a man who has maintained general economic and political stability, funneling billions of U.S. dollars, which are also Ecuador's currency, to social spending and infrastructure projects.

The president's office and other government agencies declined comment on Snowden, referring questions to Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino, who said only that he doesn't know where Snowden is or what travel documents he might be using.

Analysts and politicians said any potential loss to Ecuador could make hosting Snowden a tougher decision than previous ones for Correa, a member of Latin America's leftist bloc who's maintained cordial relations with countries like Cuba and Venezuela without marching in lockstep with them.

"The president's ideology toward the United States is one thing. It's another thing to be president of a country whose dependence on the U.S. is unavoidable, irreplaceable and extremely valuable, because we sell the U.S. a lot more than we could ever could to any other country," said former vice president Blasco Penaherrera, member of the center-left Liberal Party.

Many Ecuadoreans see the NSA surveillance revealed by Snowden's leaks as part of a longstanding and broad pattern of excessive U.S. interference abroad, including in Latin America. So, some people said, asylum for Snowden would be humane and wise despite any economic consequences.

"On a commercial basis, the U.S. and Ecuador are guided by pragmatism, independent of economic agendas. Businessmen set priorities based on cost-benefit and because of that I don't think there are going to be major consequences, because the commercial line is separate from the geopolitical one," said Pablo Davalos, an economics professor and analyst at the Catholic University in Quito.

But on the streets of the capital, people appeared to be increasingly feeling that their country should keep out of the affair.

"We shouldn't give him asylum," said Fredy Prado, a retired shoe company manager. "Every country needs to take care of itself, its own security."

The U.S. administration is supposed to decide by Monday whether to grant Ecuador export privileges under the Generalized System of Preferences, a system meant to spur development and growth in poorer countries. The deadline was deadline set long before the Snowden affair but conveniently timed for the U.S.

More broadly, a larger trade pact allowing reduced tariffs on more than $5 billion in annual exports to the U.S. is up for congressional renewal before July 21. While approval of the Andean Trade Preference Act has long been seen as doubtful in Washington, Ecuador has been lobbying strongly for its renewal in recent months.

"I hope the government doesn't decide to give Snowden asylum, because obviously this isn't in Ecuador's interests," said Roberto Aspiazu, chairman of a coalition of Ecuador's largest industries. "Hopefully the issue will be looked at from the perspective of Ecuador's interests, and I don't think it's in our country's interest to unnecessarily confront the U.S."

___

Michael Weissenstein on Twitter: www.twitter.com/mweissenstein

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/flowers-vegetables-could-affect-snowdens-010200174.html

Pope Benedict Jesuits percy harvin percy harvin mike wallace mike wallace Paul Bearer

Biological arithmetic: Plants do sums to get through the night

June 24, 2013 ? New research shows that to prevent starvation at night, plants perform accurate arithmetic division. The calculation allows them to use up their starch reserves at a constant rate so that they run out almost precisely at dawn.

"This is the first concrete example in a fundamental biological process of such a sophisticated arithmetic calculation." said mathematical modeller Professor Martin Howard from the John Innes Centre.

Plants feed themselves during the day by using energy from the sun to convert carbon dioxide into sugars and starch. Once the sun has set, they must depend on a store of starch to prevent starvation.

In research to be published in the open access journal eLife, scientists at the John Innes Centre show that plants make precise adjustments to their rate of starch consumption. These adjustments ensure that the starch store lasts until dawn even if the night comes unexpectedly early or the size of the starch store varies.

The John Innes Centre scientists show that to adjust their starch consumption so precisely they must be performing a mathematical calculation -- arithmetic division.

"The capacity to perform arithmetic calculation is vital for plant growth and productivity," said metabolic biologist Professor Alison Smith.

"Understanding how plants continue to grow in the dark could help unlock new ways to boost crop yield."

During the night, mechanisms inside the leaf measure the size of the starch store and estimate the length of time until dawn. Information about time comes from an internal clock, similar to our own body clock. The size of the starch store is then divided by the length of time until dawn to set the correct rate of starch consumption, so that, by dawn, around 95% of starch is used up.

"The calculations are precise so that plants prevent starvation but also make the most efficient use of their food," said Professor Smith.

"If the starch store is used too fast, plants will starve and stop growing during the night. If the store is used too slowly, some of it will be wasted."

The scientists used mathematical modelling to investigate how such a division calculation can be carried out inside a plant. They proposed that information about the size of the starch store and the time until dawn is encoded in the concentrations of two kinds of molecules (called S for starch and T for time). If the S molecules stimulate starch consumption, while the T molecules prevent this from happening, then the rate of starch consumption is set by the ratio of S molecules to T molecules, in other words S divided by T.

This research is funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/strange_science/~3/qb4963q8I7k/130624093524.htm

9/11 Memorial 911 masterchef Dictionary.com Chicago teachers strike september 11 2001 september 11 2001