Trump: All-star 'Apprentice' gets 'mean,' 'nasty'

By Ree Hines, TODAY contributor

The ultimate "Celebrity Apprentice" face-off is about to begin. The best of the best, the worst of the worst, and all the fan favorites in between are set to return for the show's first all-star season, and according to boss Donald Trump, the quest for the top job is going to be wild.

"It's probably as tough and mean and nasty as we've had so far," he told Matt Lauer during a Wednesday morning visit to TODAY.

That's not hard to imagine given the polarizing personalities ready to clash for another shot at reality TV glory. Bret Michaels, Gary Busey, Dennis Rodman, La Toya Jackson, Dee Snider, Lisa Rinna, Lil Jon, Penn Jilette, Marilu Henner, Stephen Baldwin, Trace Adkins, Claudia Jordan, Brande Roderick and classic 'Apprentice' villain Omarosa are all onboard.

In fact, from what Trump has seen of the unaired action so far, one star is at the heart of many of those clashes.

"A lot of people are not getting along with Omarosa," Trump said to the surprise of absolutely no one who watched Omarosa's first stint on the show. "She's brutal!"

But it's not all about boardroom backbiting. The stars have another big objective.

"They've raised millions and millions of dollars with 'Celebrity Apprentice' for charity," Trump boasted of the all-stars. "I'll tell you, the first night (of the new season), we raised over $1 million for one charity."

See what else the big boss and his daughter Ivanka Trump had to say about the show in the clip above, and catch the charitable acts and "mean and nasty" gameplay for yourself when the all-star season "Celebrity Apprentice" premieres Sunday at 9 p.m. on NBC.

Are you looking forward to the all-star action? Tell us on our Facebook page.

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Source: http://theclicker.today.com/_news/2013/02/27/17117226-donald-trump-promises-tough-and-mean-and-nasty-celebrity-apprentice?lite

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Silver nanoparticles may adversely affect environment, researchers demonstrate

Feb. 27, 2013 ? In experiments mimicking a natural environment, Duke University researchers have demonstrated that the silver nanoparticles used in many consumer products can have an adverse effect on plants and microorganisms.

Fifty days after scientists applied a single low dose of silver nanoparticles, the experimental environments produced about a third less biomass in some plants and microbes.

These preliminary findings are important, the researchers said, because little is known about the environmental effects of silver nanoparticles, which are found in textiles, clothing, children's toys and pacifiers, disinfectants and toothpaste.

"No one really knows what the effects of these particles are in the environment," said Benjamin Colman, a post-doctoral fellow in Duke's biology department and a member of the Center for the Environmental Implications of Nanotechnology (CEINT).

"We're trying to come up with the data that can be used to help regulators determine the risks to the environment from silver nanoparticle exposures," Colman said.

Previous studies have involved high concentrations of the nanoparticles in a laboratory setting, which the researchers point out, doesn't represent "real-world" conditions.

"Results from laboratory studies are difficult to extrapolate to ecosystems, where exposures likely will be at low concentrations and there is a diversity of organisms," Colman said.

Silver nanoparticles are used in consumer products because they can kill bacteria, inhibiting unwanted odors. They work through a variety of mechanisms, including generating free radicals of oxygen which can cause DNA damage to microbial membranes without harming human cells.

The main route by which these particles enter the environment is as a by-product of sewage treatment plants. The nanoparticles are too small to be filtered out, so they and other materials end up in the resulting wastewater treatment "sludge," which is then spread on the land surface as a fertilizer.

For their studies, the researchers created mesocosms, which are small, human-made structures containing different plants and microorganisms meant to represent the environment. They applied sludge with low doses of silver nanoparticles in some of the mesocosms, then compared plants and microorganisms from treated and untreated mesocosms after 50 days.

The study appeared online Feb. 27 in the journal PLOS One.

The researchers found that one of the plants studied, a common annual grass known as Microstegium vimeneum, had 32 percent less biomass in the mesocosms treated with the nanoparticles. Microbes were also affected by the nanoparticles, Colman said. One enzyme associated with helping microbes deal with external stresses was 52 percent less active, while another enzyme that helps regulate processes within the cell was 27 percent less active. The overall biomass of the microbes was also 35 percent lower, he said.

"Our field studies show adverse responses of plants and microorganisms following a single low dose of silver nanoparticles applied by a sewage biosolid," Colman said. "An estimated 60 percent of the average 5.6 million tons of biosolids produced each year is applied to the land for various reasons, and this practice represents an important and understudied route of exposure of natural ecosystems to engineered nanoparticles."

"Our results show that silver nanoparticles in the biosolids, added at concentrations that would be expected, caused ecosystem-level impacts," Colman said. "Specifically, the nanoparticles led to an increase in nitrous oxide fluxes, changes in microbial community composition, biomass, and extracellular enzyme activity, as well as species-specific effects on the above-ground vegetation."

The researchers plan to continue to study longer-term effects of silver nanoparticles and to examine another ubiquitous nanoparticle -- titanium dioxide.

CEINT's research is funded by the National Science Foundation and the Environmental Protection Agency.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Duke University. The original article was written by Richard Merritt.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. Benjamin P. Colman, Christina L. Arnaout, Sarah Anciaux, Claudia K. Gunsch, Michael F. Hochella, Bojeong Kim, Gregory V. Lowry, Bonnie M. McGill, Brian C. Reinsch, Curtis J. Richardson, Jason M. Unrine, Justin P. Wright, Liyan Yin, Emily S. Bernhardt. Low Concentrations of Silver Nanoparticles in Biosolids Cause Adverse Ecosystem Responses under Realistic Field Scenario. PLoS ONE, 2013; 8 (2): e57189 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0057189

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_technology/~3/EctQTz5Sylw/130227183528.htm

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Putting a Number on Federal Education Spending - NYTimes.com

Jason Delisle is the director of the Federal Education Budget Project at the New America Foundation.

In his State of the Union address, President Obama proposed to expand access to preschool, but offered few details on how much money the federal government would contribute. When the White House eventually releases that figure, everyone will want to know how it stacks up against what the federal government already spends on education each year. The trouble is, that number is tough to pin down.

You might try to look it up. But beware: most tallies, even official government figures, are incomplete or inaccurate because of the way they treat student loans, refundable tax credits and education programs run by agencies other than the United States Department of Education. Other tallies go too far, lumping veterans? education benefits and other programs into the mix.

Before explaining how to get to a good number, I?ll give you mine. The federal government spent $107.6 billion on education in fiscal year 2012. As a point of reference, that sum is about one-eighth as much as Social Security spending and about a fifth of Medicare spending. Most of our national education budget comes from state and local governments. But the $107.6 billion provides a dose of perspective for when federal policy makers pledge to ?invest in education? and make education a ?top priority.? Federal education spending accounts for just 3 percent of the $3.5 trillion the government spent in 2012.

The figure includes the annual appropriation for the entire Department of Education ($67.4 billion), so-called mandatory spending at the department ($16.3 billion), the school breakfast and lunch programs ($14.8 billion), the refundable portion of a higher education tax credit ($6.6 billion), the Head Start program ($8.0 billion) and the subsidy provided on all of the student loans the government will disburse in one year (which happened to be negative ? -$5.5 billion ? last year).

The annual appropriation for the Department of Education is an obvious figure to include, but as you can see, education spending includes a significant amount outside annual appropriations, much of which goes to support the Pell Grant program for college students from low-income families.

The school meal programs are less obvious components, but should be included. The programs help ensure that more than 31 million children each year do not go hungry at school, a prerequisite for good educational outcomes. Surely when a local district builds a new school it doesn?t consider the cafeteria an optional line item tangentially related to the school?s purpose. Feeding children during the school day is, in fact, integral to their education.

Similarly, the Head Start program, although housed in the Department of Health and Human Services, is a national preschool program dedicated to early education. When people think of federal education spending, Head Start often comes to mind.

The federal government also provides a long list of tax benefits (i.e., credits, exemptions and deductions) to support education. They totaled $33.2 billion in 2012 by one count, but I?ve excluded them in the spending tally. Experts argue over whether tax benefits are part of federal spending policy or tax policy. No funds leave the Treasury to finance these programs; instead, funds fail to arrive as revenue in the first place. Others argue that the benefits are not different from spending because a $1,000 tax credit has the same bottom-line effect on the federal budget as a $1,000 grant.

A ?refundable tax credit? is, however, a different matter. No one debates the fact that a refundable tax credit is government spending. The recipient owes no taxes but receives a refund check as if he did. He pays negative federal income taxes. Even the Treasury Department treats the payments as ?outlays.? Last year the government spent $6.6 billion in refundable payments under the America Opportunity Tax Credit, which I include in my measure of education spending. Tax filers can claim up to $1,000 of the credit against expenses for higher education, even if they have no tax liability to offset.

Finally, the federal government disbursed $112 billion in student loans in 2012. Most of that will be paid back, with interest. So what does the government spend on the loans? The government measures the cost of its loan programs by the subsidy that they provide to the borrower. Put simply, if the government lends at very favorable terms, then the borrower receives a subsidy equal to the discount the borrower received relative to a loan he or she otherwise could have taken out. Even though the benefit is spread over the life of the loan, this calculation treats the subsidy as one lump sum in the year that the loan is made.

By that measure, official figures show that the government?s student loan programs provide negative subsidies, which is to say, interest rates and fees are set high enough that the government makes money. But there is a big flaw with those figures.

The Congressional Budget Office and many economists argue that official figures don?t factor in all of the risks inherent in the loans. In response, the Congressional Budget Office publishes fair-value estimates to more fully reflect risk, and I use those figures in my tally of federal education spending. Note that even after the adjustment, the one year?s worth of loans still show a net gain to the government of $5.5 billion.

Excluded from my tally are any of the education benefits provided through the Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs. Funds for those programs should be considered military and veterans? spending rather than federal education spending. The benefits are part of the compensation packages that the government provides to support an all-volunteer military. Similarly, a housing allowance for a member of the military is not a federal housing assistance program. The benefits are in-kind costs associated with financing the military. If included, those programs would add more than $10 billion to the $107.6 billion total.

The $107.6 billion figure, despite excluding military and veterans? programs, reflects a more comprehensive measure of federal education spending than most. Even so, it is probably surprising to many that education spending comes in at just 3 percent of the $3.5 trillion the federal government spent in 2012. It is hardly the figure that comes to mind when a lawmaker or the president speaks of investments and priorities.

Source: http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/27/putting-a-number-on-federal-education-spending/

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Ohio town still grieves one year after deadly shootings

Chardon High School remembersA few red ribbons, tattered by the elements, still hang on trees along the streets of Chardon, Ohio. To some people in town, the ribbons are a necessary reminder of a shooting spree at Chardon High School a year ago that left three students dead and three others injured.

On Tuesday, just a day shy of the one-year mark of the tragedy, T.J. Lane pleaded guilty to three counts of aggravated murder and other charges in the Chardon shooting. Prosecutors say Lane fired 10 shots from a .22-caliber pistol at students milling in the school cafeteria the morning of Feb. 27, 2012.

After a year in which even deadlier mass shootings like those in Aurora, Colo., and Newtown, Conn., grabbed headlines, it could be easy to overlook the tragedy that shook Chardon, a middle-class community of 5,000 residents about 30 miles east of Cleveland.

If there are lessons to be learned from the students at the high school and the broader community, it?s that the emotional damage leaves lasting scars and heavy hearts do not heal quickly. Four adults have committed suicide in Chardon, and there have been more than a dozen attempted suicides among students since the shootings, a school official said. Counseling sessions and lessons on detecting warning signs that friends, classmates and colleagues might be suffering have become part of classroom curriculum.

Chardon High School principal Andy Fetchik tried to put an upbeat face on a grim year during a press conference last week.

?I can assure you, we?re getting better,? Fetchik said. ?There?s a lot to be done. We have a strong and compassionate community surrounding us, and we?re getting better every day.?

One-year mark

What began as a typical winter day in Chardon turned into a deadly rampage when shots rang out around 8 a.m. Lane, then a 17-year-old junior, aimed his gun at randomly targeted students, authorities said.

Students Vincent "Danny" Parmertor, Demetrius C. Hewlin and Russell D. King Jr. were killed in the attack. Students Nick Walczak, Joy Rickers and Nate Mueller were wounded.

Police captured Lane in a neighborhood near the high school. Under questioning, he reportedly admitted to shooting the students. Before the case went to adult court last year, a juvenile court judge ruled that Lane was mentally competent despite evidence he suffers from hallucinations, psychosis and fantasies. Because he was a minor when the attack occurred, the death penalty was not a consideration.

T.J. Lane enters court.

With his grandparents and family members of the victims in court on Tuesday, Lane changed his plea from not guilty by reason of insanity to guilty. Dressed in a green open-collared shirt with close-cropped hair, Lane answered "yes" or "yes, your honor" to questions from the judge about the plea agreement. After a background review is completed, Lane will return to court on March 19, when Geauga County Judge David Fuhry is scheduled to sentence him.

Lane's attorney, Ian Friedman, said the teen had undergone psychiatric evaluation, but last week declined to discuss his client's emotional state and how he might reflect on the one-year mark.

?It?s a very delicate matter,? Friedman said. ?I don?t think it would be appropriate to comment on anything beyond where the case is procedurally.?

Geauga County Prosecutor James Flaiz did not return messages seeking comment on the case.

While a public trial could have shed light on the shooter?s motives, some community members say such details could have done greater emotional harm.

?There are very good lawyers in this case representing Lane and the prosecutor,? said Carmen Naso, a law professor at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. ?And, ultimately, the judge is going to decide what happens to this kid.?

No celebration

During a media briefing last week, reporters were asked to refrain from referring to Feb. 27 as the ?anniversary? of the tragedy, which could imply a sort of celebration. Reporters were asked instead to refer to the day as a ?one-year mark.?

Chardon High School students and faculty planned to observe the day by embarking on service projects. Some were making care blankets, like those distributed by volunteers after the tragedy. Others were crafting leashes for comfort dogs, like those brought to the school in the days after the incident.

Students also planned to take a memorial walk from the high school to the village square and host a candlelight vigil and concert.

?Danny, Demetrius and Russell were our classmates,? said Chardon High School senior Will Porter. ?For a lot of us, they were our friends. They?ll never be forgotten, and we hope to honor them through this day.?

Senior Jessie Mysyk said the tragedy has inspired a strong sense of unity at the school.

?There's never a time when a student would feel alone,? she said. ?Within the school, we are a community. We're all friends. We are a family. ... We are together."

Senior Jill Allenby said the killings had pushed students to move beyond typical teenage grievances.

?We don?t have the normal kind of drama or high school cliques that everyone sees,? Allenby said. ?When you walk through the halls, you see everyone and everyone says hello.?

A memorial created for the boys killed in the attack on Feb. 27. 2012. (AP)

Must love kids, not guns

After the slaughter of 20 first-graders and six faculty members at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn., in December, the National Rifle Association suggested placing armed guards at schools and possibly training teachers to shoot as the best way to avert such a tragedy in the future.

While the idea of arming teachers has some support in Chardon, school superintendent Joseph Bergant II says it won't happen.

Bergant said it was fine for teachers to learn to use weapons in their private time. But permitting a teacher to carry a concealed gun, which is legal in Ohio, will not happen in Chardon, he said.

?That defeats our purpose,? Bergant said. ?Our purpose is to educate children in a safe, caring environment. ? We are not going to put bars on the school buildings. We are not going to put an iron dome over the top.?

Fetchik, the high school principal, agreed. The school now has an armed ?resource officer??a police officer whose salary is paid with funds from the local government and donations to the community after the shooting.

?I don?t want guns in school,? Fetchik said. ?I want a trained resource officer. ? That gentleman is prepared to deal with using that weapon, (and) not just pointing and pulling the trigger."

About the red ribbons

Red ribbon hangs on a tree in Chardon, Ohio.Gestures like hanging a ribbon on a tree still serve as a haunting reminder to many. Recently, the city has removed the frayed and faded ribbons from all public places and suggested community members follow suit.

The ribbons have been collected by the school district and will be given to the families of the boys who died, Chardon City Manager Randy Sharpe said.

Many people, he acknowledged, wish the ribbons could stay. ?But, the ones that are tired and dingy reflect poorly on the community,? Sharpe said.

Officials said the city is looking to create a permanent memorial to honor the victims, the schools and community?a process that may take another one to two years.

Chardon resident Jamie Ward is among those people ready to move on. He and his wife, Sandy, had just moved to town shortly before the tragedy and have since had a son, Peter, now 10 weeks old.

?For me, the one-year mark is hard,? said Ward as he held his young son. ?A year later, I don?t want Chardon to always be associated with such a thing."

(The Associated Press contributed information in this story.)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/high-school-mass-shooting-ohio-town-still-grieves-182122697.html

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Seals take scientists to Antarctic's ocean floor

By Pauline Askin

SYDNEY | Mon Feb 25, 2013 10:54pm EST

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Elephant seals wearing head sensors and swimming deep beneath Antarctic ice have helped scientists better understand how the ocean's coldest, deepest waters are formed, providing vital clues to understanding its role in the world's climate.

The tagged seals, along with sophisticated satellite data and moorings in ocean canyons, all played a role in providing data from the extreme Antarctic environment, where observations are very rare and ships could not go, said researchers at the Antarctic Climate & Ecosystem CRC in Tasmania.

Scientists have long known of the existence of "Antarctic bottom water," a dense, deep layer of water near the ocean floor that has a significant impact on the movement of the world's oceans.

Three areas where this water is formed were known of, and the existence of a fourth suspected for decades, but the area was far too inaccessible, until now, thanks to the seals.

"The seals went to an area of the coastline that no ship was ever going to get to," said Guy Williams, ACE CRC Sea Ice specialist and co-author of the study.

"This is a particular form of Antarctic water called Antarctic bottom water production, one of the engines that drives ocean circulation," he told Reuters. "What we've done is found another piston in that engine."

Southern Ocean Elephant seals are the largest of all seals, with males growing up to six meters (20 feet) long and weighing up to 4,000 kilograms (8,800 lbs).

Twenty of the seals were deployed from Davis Station in east Antarctica in 2011 with a sensor, weighing about 100 to 200 grams, on their head. Each of the sensors had a small satellite relay which transmitted data on a daily basis during the five to 10 minute intervals when the seals surfaced.

"We get four dives worth of data a day but they're actually doing up to 60 dives," he said.

"The elephant seals ... went to the very source and found this very cold, very saline dense water in the middle of winter beneath a polynya, which is what we call an ice factory around the coast of Antarctica," Williams added.

Previous studies have shown that there are 50-year-long trends in the properties of the Antarctic bottom water, and Williams said the latest study will help better assess those changes, perhaps providing clues for climate change modeling.

"Several of the seals foraged on the continental slope as far down as 1,800 meters (1.1 miles), punching through into a layer of this dense water cascading down the abyss," he said in a statement. "They gave us very rare and valuable wintertime measurements of this process."

(Reporting by Pauline Askin, Editing by Elaine Lies and Michael Perry)

Source: http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/scienceNews/~3/7PoVWXaCnQ0/us-australia-antarctic-seals-idUSBRE91P03020130226

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Judge refuses to toss gay Calif. veteran's lawsuit

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? A lawsuit brought by a lesbian Army veteran and her wife over the denial of disability benefits can move forward over the objections of the Department of Justice, a federal judge in California ruled Monday.

U.S. District Judge Consuelo Marshall refused to dismiss Tracey Cooper-Harris' challenge to the federal Defense of Marriage Act and to two other laws that make same-sex spouses of military veterans ineligible for benefits available to straight spouses. Marshall did not explain her reasoning in court, but said she would issue a written ruling at a later date.

The Justice Department under President Obama has refused to defend the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, and argued that the U.S. Supreme Court should strike it down as unconstitutional when it hears arguments in another lawsuit next month.

But the department had asked for Cooper-Harris' case to be tossed out on the grounds that veterans' claims can only be heard by an administrative Board of Veterans' Appeals.

Cooper-Harris suffers from multiple sclerosis and receives disability benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs. She and her wife, Maggie Cooper-Harris, got married in California during the brief period in 2008 when same-sex unions were legal in the state.

Citing the Defense of Marriage Act, which prohibits the government from recognizing same-sex marriages, and veterans' benefits laws that define a spouse as a person of the opposite sex, the VA denied the couple's application for additional money and benefits that married veterans are entitled to receive.

In the case of the couple, they would receive about $150 more a month in disability payments, and Maggie Cooper-Harris would be eligible for about $1,200 a month in survivor's benefits if her wife died, said Southern Poverty Law Center deputy legal director Christine Sun, who is representing the couple.

Even though the Supreme Court is set to examine the Defense of Marriage Act, the justices could end up issuing a narrow decision that does not settle the question of whether the act is constitutional, in which case it would remain important for Cooper-Harris' case to remain active, Sun said. Marshall has scheduled the next hearing for April 1.

"The significance of the court's ruling today is it vindicates the right of Tracie and Maggie Cooper-Harris to go forward to have their day in court," she said.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/judge-refuses-toss-gay-calif-veterans-lawsuit-020426943.html

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Swiss Red Cross cuts blood supply to broke Greece

BERLIN (AP) ? The Swiss Red Cross is slashing its supply of donor blood to Greece because the financially stricken country has failed to pay its bills on time, the head of the group's transfusion service said Tuesday.

Rudolf Schwabe confirmed Swiss media reports that Greece had run up debts of several million Swiss francs (dollars) in the past. While those debts have since been repaid, the nonprofit SRC has decided to halve its blood shipments to Greece in the coming years in order to limit its financial risk, he said.

Greece's international creditors have demanded the government cut spending on pharmaceutical products as part of bailout agreements.

The Swiss blood sent to Greece comes from unused emergency stockpiles and is designated for humanitarian use. In the past, the SRC charged Greece 5 million Swiss francs ($5.4 million) to cover its costs for supplying 28,000 blood packets a year.

The Swiss blood shipped to Greece helps meet demand from the country's thalassemia sufferers. An estimated 3,000 people in Greece with a severe form of this genetic disorder ? also known as Mediterranean anemia ? need regular transfusions amounting to some 130,000 packets a year.

"That's why we had long talks with the Greek Health Ministry," Schwabe said. The Swiss will gradually reduce their shipments to Greece to 14,000 packets a year by 2020, while at the same time providing the country with expertise to develop its own blood donor system, he said. "That way there will be no humanitarian problem."

Greek Health Ministry officials insisted that Greece had always fulfilled its side of the deal with the Swiss, and the reduction of imports was part of a plan to boost domestic donations, which currently amount to some 670,000 packets every year.

___

Nicholas Paphitis in Athens contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/bbd825583c8542898e6fa7d440b9febc/Article_2013-02-26-Switzerland-Greece-Blood%20Supply/id-2cc793c1e6b5435b84c311b0439eed95

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Teacher of Mathematics - Kent - South East, Kent

• Ofsted rated: OUTSTANDING


• Permanent Teacher of Mathematics (MPS)


• North Kent, to start in September 2013

This school is a mixed 11-18 popular and oversubscribed academy. The most recent Ofsted judged the school as outstanding in October 2009. The schools foundations are built on mutual respect and passion for learning. We seek innovative teaching methodologies that we believe will enhance and improve the learning of our young people.

I am seeking to appoint an outstanding practitioner of mathematics. The successful candidate should be able to teach across the age range, A? Level experience is not essential but welcomed. You should be an enthusiastic and driven individual who is able to inspire students to achieve.

The successful candidate must:

Applications close on 8^th March 2013

The school is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare and safety of young people. The successful candidate will be subject to an enhanced criminal records check.

For more information please contact James Fazzani at Capita Education Resourcing on 0207 202 0031 or e-mail your CV

Source: http://www.jobs.co.uk/jobs/Teacher-of-Mapematics-426366.htm

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Silicone Storage Bags Will Make You Wish Every Meal Was Leftovers

Storage containers for leftovers and other foods are usually designed to be cheap and disposable. But it turns out there's a better way. Silicone once again makes our lives easier with these reusable, sealable storage bags that are safe to microwave, boil, or steam. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/xFbk9xep4us/silicone-storage-bags-will-make-you-wish-every-meal-was-leftovers

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Gender gap disappears in school math competitions, study shows

Public release date: 25-Feb-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Joe Hadfield
joe_hadfield@byu.edu
801-422-9206
Brigham Young University

The idea that boys are better at math and in competitions has persisted for a long time, and now we know why: Nobody bothered to schedule the rematch.

Most school math contests are one-shot events where girls underperform relative to their male classmates. But a new study by a Brigham Young University economist presents a different picture.

Twenty-four local elementary schools changed the format to go across five different rounds. Once the first round was over, girls performed as well or better than boys for the rest of the contest.

"It's really encouraging that seemingly large gaps disappear just by keeping them in the game longer," said BYU economics professor Joe Price.

Price co-authored the study with the University of Miami's Christopher Cotton and Rutgers' Frank McIntyre. Their report is published by the Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization.

In the contest, students were paired against a classmate to see who got the most questions right during a 5-minute quiz. In case of a tie, the student who finished first won. The winner earned raffle tickets for a small prize.

Because the schools shared past test scores with the researchers, they could compare how similarly talented boys and girls performed. Even though these matches look even on paper, for some reason boys have the edge when it's the first foray into a competitive setting. On a test worth ten points, it usually amounts to a one-point edge for boys in the initial round.

"We don't know if it's boys getting excited and over-performing or if it's girls being too uncomfortable with the situation," Price said.

But here's another twist: Six classrooms de-emphasized the speed component. Ties weren't decided by who finished first. And though there was still just five minutes on the clock, the students were told, "It's not a race."

With those two small adjustments, girls competed evenly with boys from the start. BYU math professor Jessica Purcell, who was not involved with the study, wasn't surprised that the format adjustments resulted in more parity.

"In mathematical settings without time pressure or competition, such as classes I have taught or classes I have taken, males and females seem to do equally well," said Purcell, a recipient of the prestigious Sloan Research Fellowship.

Since boys' competitive advantage is so short-lived, the study authors suggest that a little encouragement could go a long way.

"What motivated us was how to get girls to thrive in a competitive environment," said Price, noting that he has two daughters. "You might guess that girls would shy away from competitive work environments. What our results would hint is that if you convince them to stick around and give it a shot, they will acclimate and do just fine."

###

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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 25-Feb-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Joe Hadfield
joe_hadfield@byu.edu
801-422-9206
Brigham Young University

The idea that boys are better at math and in competitions has persisted for a long time, and now we know why: Nobody bothered to schedule the rematch.

Most school math contests are one-shot events where girls underperform relative to their male classmates. But a new study by a Brigham Young University economist presents a different picture.

Twenty-four local elementary schools changed the format to go across five different rounds. Once the first round was over, girls performed as well or better than boys for the rest of the contest.

"It's really encouraging that seemingly large gaps disappear just by keeping them in the game longer," said BYU economics professor Joe Price.

Price co-authored the study with the University of Miami's Christopher Cotton and Rutgers' Frank McIntyre. Their report is published by the Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization.

In the contest, students were paired against a classmate to see who got the most questions right during a 5-minute quiz. In case of a tie, the student who finished first won. The winner earned raffle tickets for a small prize.

Because the schools shared past test scores with the researchers, they could compare how similarly talented boys and girls performed. Even though these matches look even on paper, for some reason boys have the edge when it's the first foray into a competitive setting. On a test worth ten points, it usually amounts to a one-point edge for boys in the initial round.

"We don't know if it's boys getting excited and over-performing or if it's girls being too uncomfortable with the situation," Price said.

But here's another twist: Six classrooms de-emphasized the speed component. Ties weren't decided by who finished first. And though there was still just five minutes on the clock, the students were told, "It's not a race."

With those two small adjustments, girls competed evenly with boys from the start. BYU math professor Jessica Purcell, who was not involved with the study, wasn't surprised that the format adjustments resulted in more parity.

"In mathematical settings without time pressure or competition, such as classes I have taught or classes I have taken, males and females seem to do equally well," said Purcell, a recipient of the prestigious Sloan Research Fellowship.

Since boys' competitive advantage is so short-lived, the study authors suggest that a little encouragement could go a long way.

"What motivated us was how to get girls to thrive in a competitive environment," said Price, noting that he has two daughters. "You might guess that girls would shy away from competitive work environments. What our results would hint is that if you convince them to stick around and give it a shot, they will acclimate and do just fine."

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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-02/byu-ggd022513.php

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'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' Oscars Show: 'Movie The Movie 2V' And More

Bruno Mars, Matt Damon, Bradley Cooper, Jessica Chastain and more stars join in on the parody sequel.
By Drew Taylor

Jimmy Kimmel and Jessica Chastain in "Movie: The Movie: 2V "
Photo: ABC

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1702533/jimmy-kimmel-oscars-special-2013.jhtml

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SHOW BITS: Jennifer Lawrence bleeped again

Actress Jennifer Lawrence arrives at the Oscars at the Dolby Theatre on Sunday Feb. 24, 2013, in Los Angeles. (Photo by John Shearer/Invision/AP)

Actress Jennifer Lawrence arrives at the Oscars at the Dolby Theatre on Sunday Feb. 24, 2013, in Los Angeles. (Photo by John Shearer/Invision/AP)

Actors Channing Tatum, left, and Jenna Dewan-Tatum arrive at the 85th Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre on Sunday Feb. 24, 2013, in Los Angeles. (Photo by John Shearer/Invision/AP)

Actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt arrives at the Oscars at the Dolby Theatre on Sunday Feb. 24, 2013, in Los Angeles. (Photo by John Shearer/Invision/AP)

Actress Melissa McCarthy arrives at the Oscars at the Dolby Theatre on Sunday Feb. 24, 2013, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Todd Williamson/Invision/AP)

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? It's always fun to hear what Jennifer Lawrence has to say ? even if you have to lip read because she's being bleeped.

The bleeping started early for the charmingly blunt Lawrence, a best actress nominee for "Silver Linings Playbook," as ABC silenced her cheeky red carpet response to actress Kristin Chenoweth.

The two were bonding over "Dance Moms," the Lifetime reality series, when Lawrence asked Chenoweth if she liked it too.

Chenoweth: "Is the pope Catholic?"

Lawrence: "... ?" (We can't print her reply here, but the reference was to something a bear does in the woods.)

And the night, as they say, was still very young. Stay tuned!

? Jocelyn Noveck ? Twitter http://twitter.com/JocelynNoveckAP

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Joaquin Phoenix didn't waste any time getting into the Dolby Theatre, and the Oscar-nominated actor's dash across the red carpet didn't go unnoticed.

Red carpet host Chris Connelly heckled Phoenix, who has criticized the awards show, as he rushed by, saying he was setting new speed records.

Connelly then added, "You should be at the (NFL) combine," a reference to the athletic tests NFL recruits go through.

? Anthony McCartney ? Twitter http://twitter.com/mccartneyAP

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Oscar bleacher fans got a wave from some stars such as Jane Fonda, and a peace sign from others, including Channing Tatum.

Then there were those who pulled out all the stops.

Tim Burton and Helena Bonham Carter paused on the red carpet to pose for pictures for star-struck fans.

Melissa McCarthy stopped to beam and wave at every section of the bleachers, all but ignoring the professional photographers surrounding her.

Jessica Chastain blew the crowd a kiss.

And Joseph Gordon-Levitt topped it all off with an appreciative bow to his audience.

? Anthony McCartney ? Twitter http://twitter.com/mccartneyAP

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Even the food gets the red-carpet treatment at the Academy Awards.

Celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck rolled a tray out onto the carpet to show off just a few of the goodies that will be served at the annual Governor's Ball following the show.

Making the scene were baked potatoes with caviar, smoked salmon, chicken pot pie with truffle, Kobe steak, sushi, sashimi and of course Puck's famous gold-dusted chocolate Oscar statuettes.

"It's going to be the greatest party ever," he said.

? Beth Harris Twitter http://twitter.com/bethharrisap

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With more than a half-hour to show time and the red carpet still buzzing outside, some early bird Oscar attendees were already taking their seats inside the Dolby Theatre.

And why not? It's a great place to see and hear ABC's red carpet coverage, featuring Kristin Chenoweth, as it blasted away on giant TV screens hanging above the stage.

? Derrik J. Lang ? Twitter http://twitter.com/derrikjlang

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A few months ago, Army Sgt. 1st Class Walter Talens was shooting footage in Afghanistan. On Sunday, he had a prime seat to watch the stars at the Academy Awards.

Talens was one of dozens of service members sprinkled around the fan bleachers, where he hoped to get a glimpse of actress Jennifer Lawrence from his second-row seat.

It was a new vantage point for him after working two Oscar shows filming shout-outs to troops overseas.

His boss, Maj. John Reynolds, relocated from a posting in Fort Leavenworth, Kan., a few months before last year's show and was hoping for a glimpse of Denzel Washington, Ben Affleck and Lawrence.

"I never thought I would be this close to the red carpet," said Reynolds, who had a front row seat where the stars entered the Dolby Theatre.

Talens, who noted the Oscars' longtime support of the troops, said, "I'm very happy the academy supports the military and allows us to see the glitz and glamour."

? Anthony McCartney ? Twitter http://twitter.com/mccartneyAP

___

Sometimes in Hollywood it takes more than one try to get the perfect shot.

On Sunday afternoon, that was the case for the accountants bringing in the Oscar ballot results.

The men walked calmly down the red carpet clutching briefcases as a film crew recorded their every move. But before they could enter the Dolby Theatre, they had to repeat the last leg of their walk.

This time fans in the bleachers cheered. The cameras rolled and everyone was satisfied.

Cut. The men walked into the theater.

It's Hollywood.

? Anthony McCartney ? Twitter http://twitter.com/mccartneyAP

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EDITOR'S NOTE ? Show Bits brings you the 85th annual Academy Awards in Los Angeles through the eyes of Associated Press journalists. Follow them on Twitter where available with the handles listed after each item.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-02-24-Oscars-Show%20Bits-Package/id-de5762dacd2b428783ba48fbf30d43e4

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Facebook Buzz About 'Best Picture' Oscar Nominees Is Way Up This Year

Brian Anthony Hernandez2013-02-24 15:18:34 UTC

The nine Oscar-nominated Best Picture contenders have sparked a high volume of chatter from Facebook users ? 20 times higher so far than last year, according to data Facebook and ABC shared with Mashable. Meanwhile, mentions of "Oscars" is three times higher.

And while Lincoln and Argo are the heavy favorites to take home the Best Picture statuette, the official fan pages for those two movies don't have the most Likes on Facebook.

Most-Liked Best Picture Nominees

• 1. Les Mis?rables: 1,298,730 Likes

• 2. Django Unchained: 879,079 Likes

• 3. Life of Pi: 567,998 Likes

• 4. Lincoln: 298,290 Likes

• 5. Argo: 226,018 Likes

• 6. Silver Linings Playbook: 173,752 Likes

• 7. Zero Dark Thirty: 154,943 Likes

• 8. Beasts of the Southern Wild: 58,105 Likes

• 9. Amour: 19,692 Likes

Most-Discussed Best Picture Nominees

But the most-Liked flicks aren't necessarily the most-discussed.

Gender Split for Best Picture Nominees

• Men overwhelmingly like Zero Dark Thirty. The movie?s fan base on Facebook skews 78 percent male versus 22 percent female.

• Women prefer Les Miserables and Silver Linings Playbook. These movies tied in the gender split, with 73 percent female fans versus 27 percent male fans.

Age Split for Best Picture Nominees

To see what movie fans who Liked a specific Best Picture nominee also likes on Facebook, check out the gallery above. For example, people who Liked Zero Dark Thirty also Liked Radiohead, the Rolling Stones and Mark Wahlberg.

For more social media commentary about the Oscars, tune into "Backstage Pass" starting at 4 p.m. PT at Oscar.com or on the Oscars app. Mashable's entertainment reporter Brian Anthony Hernandez is among the hosts who will provide behind-the-scenes facts and online analysis from the red carpet and in the winners' photo room.

Hernandez is part of the the first-ever Red Carpet Digital Lounge along with by Radio Disney?s Jake Whetter and PopSugar's Allison McNamara.

Other "Backstage Pass" hosts include The View?s Sherri Shepherd, TV personality Cameron Mathison, Modern Family?s Rico Rodriquez, Entertainment Weekly?s Jess Cagle, PEOPLE?s Peter Castro.

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Photo courtesy of LesMiserablesFilm.com, graphics courtesy Facebook and ABC

Topics: 85th Academy Awards, academy awards, Entertainment, Facebook, Film, gallery, oscar, Oscars, Social Media, Television

Source: http://mashable.com/2013/02/24/oscars-facebook-buzz/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter?utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter

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South Dakota legislator calls MMA ?Child porn of sports,? while governor says it?s too violent

A bill to create an athletic commission in South Dakota is going nowhere fast, largely thanks to the ignorance of Gov. Dennis Daugaard and state house Rep. Steve Hickey.

Their primary objective is to ban sanctioned mixed martial arts in the state. In a blog post, Hickey writes that, "MMA Cage Fighting is the child porn of sports."

The lack of knowledge and the lack of research both Daugaard and Hickey showed about MMA has to be frightening for persons who live in South Dakota. If they can't be bothered to do the minimal research required to learn that MMA is far safer than other "mainstream" sports, including football, it's scary to think about the laws they'll pass in the state regarding education, health care and budgets.

The UFC is the largest MMA promoter in the world. No fighter has ever suffered traumatic brain injury, let alone died, in the UFC's 20-year history. A 2006 study done by researchers at Johns Hopkins University and which appeared in the Journal of Sports Science and Medicine found MMA has far less traumatic brain injury than other sports.

Mixed Martial Arts competitions have changed dramatically since the first Ultimate Fighting Championship in 1993. The overall injury rate in MMA competitions is now similar to other combat sports, including boxing. Knockout rates are lower in MMA competitions than in boxing. This suggests a reduced risk of TBI [traumatic brain injury] in MMA competitions when compared to other events involving striking.

MMA events must continue to be properly supervised by trained referees and ringside physicians, and the rules implemented by state sanctioning?including weight classes, limited rounds per match, proper safety gear, and banning of the most devastating attacks? must be strictly enforced. Further research is necessary to continue to improve safety in this developing new sport.

A 2008 study released by the British Journal of Sports Medicine reached the same conclusions. After a five-year study, its authors wrote:

Injury rates in regulated professional MMA competition are similar to other combat sports; the overall risk of critical sports-related injury appears low. Additional study is warranted to achieve a better understanding of injury trends and ways to further lower injury risk in MMA.

The simple fact is that a random NFL player is at far greater risk of a serious brain injury than is a random MMA fighter. Sadly, neither Gov. Daugaard nor Rep. Hickey bothered to do much investigation or educate themselves before speaking out.

South Dakota state house Rep. Mark Johnston introduced a bill to create an athletic commission in the state for the express purpose of making the sport safer. According to the Argus Leader, Johnston said his goal is to prevent unregulated events where tragedies could possibly occur.

A state athletic commission's job is, at the core, to protect the fighters. It makes sure the proposed matches are fair and that promoters have doctors and an ambulance at all events. The commissions also require qualified referees, who stop fights when one fighter is in danger. It also requires fighters to undergo extensive medical examinations before fighting to make certain they are fit to compete. States such as Nevada, California and New York, with strong commissions, have discovered injuries fighters didn't know they had and prevented them from competing. That wouldn't be the case in South Dakota, with no commission to require those tests.

A fear of many states with strong commissions is that promoters will travel across state lines to put on shows in states such as South Dakota, where there is no regulation and where, as a result, costs are less. But the result is that it is far less safe for the competitors.

Sadly, neither Daugaard nor Hickey recognize that. Hickey told the Argus Leader he was angered by the thought of his state sanctioning MMA.

I'm offended that the state would legitimize cage-fighting and the bloody violence that those kinds of spectacles create. I think it's interesting that we declare that it is a crime for one human being to strike another, and yet the state now proceeds to legitimize, and label a sport, cage-fighting.

With all due respect, Gov. Daugaard, a few points:

? It is a crime for one human to strike another outside of the bounds of athletic competition. But it is no crime to strike another in the context of sport and when doctors and referees are available to protect the athletes and where the athletes have signed a contract to compete against each other.

? MMA fights sometimes get bloody. But no fighter to my knowledge has ever suffered anything worse than scarring as a result of being cut. It is important to note that a lot of the cuts are on the forehead above the eyes, where they mix with sweat and make them seem far worse than they are.

? States that have athletic commissions ban fighters who have sustained head injuries from competing again for several months. And before even being allowed to practice in a gym, the fighter needs to be cleared by a doctor.

? MMA is a combination of sports, many of which are already legal in South Dakota, including boxing, wrestling, karate, jiu-jitsu and judo.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard denies drone capture

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) ? Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard is denying that it captured a foreign unmanned aircraft during a military exercise in southern Iran.

A spokesman for the Guard, Yasin Hasanali, told The Associated Press that the drone was actually being used during the drill as a supposed enemy aircraft.

Iranian media on Saturday quoted a spokesman for the Guard as saying that its electronic warfare unit had taken control of a foreign drone's navigation system and forced it to land during the site of the military exercise.

Iran has claimed to have captured several U.S. drones, including an advanced RQ-170 Sentinel CIA spy drone in December 2011 and at least three ScanEagle aircraft.

The Guard's military exercise, code-named Great Prophet-8, ends on Monday.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/irans-revolutionary-guard-denies-drone-capture-133113900.html

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Nickelodeon, iPad i?in Nick adl? i?erik uygulamas?n? yay?nlad?

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D?nyan?n en pop?ler ?ocuk kanallar?ndan birisi olan Nickelodeon, video, oyun, ?izgi dizi gibi binden fazla i?eri?e sahip Nick uygulamas?n? iPad i?in indirmeye sundu.

Uygulama hareket eden karolara sahip bir d?zen i?erisinde geliyor ve herhangi bir y?ne karolar s?r?klenerek i?erikler ke?fedilebiliyor. Nickelodeon temal? 1000'den fazla i?erik ise ?izgi dizilerin orijinal ?izimlerini g?steren videolar, kamera arkas? klipler, kanal?n y?ld?zlar?n?n foto?raflar?, animasyon karakterleri, ?ocuk anketleri ve farkl? oyunlar i?eriyor. SpongeBob SquarePants pop?ler ?izgi serisi buna ?rnek. Kanal?n hali haz?rdaki tam b?l?mleri ise abonelik y?ntemiyle elde edilebiliyor.

?cretsiz olan uygulama ilerleyen aylarda di?er cihazlar ve ?lkeler i?in de indirmeye sunulacak.

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Source: http://www.donanimhaber.com/Nickelodeon_iPad_icin_Nick_adli_icerik_uygulamasini_yayinladi-40238.htm

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Fujitsu Stylistic S01 hands-on: a smartphone even grandma can use

Not every smartphone needs to have piles of RAM an inhumanly fast quad-core CPU and a comically large 1080p display. For some niches of the market those things are not only unnecessary, but potentially a huge negative. Fujitsu's Stylistic S01 is one of those phones that eschews high-end specs for practical features aimed at a particular segment of the market -- namely, your grandparents. The four-inch WVGA display and dual-core 1.4GHz Snapdragon would have been par for the course a year or two ago, now they're getting a bit dated. But that's ok, they're serve up the heavily skinned Ice Cream Sandwich here just fine.

The UI has large buttons and simplified widgets that are carefully crafted to be easy to manipulate for those with less dexterity in their digits. And, unlike most phones, a glancing touch wont be enough to accidentally launch the camera or maps. While an initial touch wil temporarily select an option, you'll have to actually press just a bit harder than you're accustomed to in order to confirm your selection. In addition to minimizing accidental app launches, it also gets a little bit closer to recreating the tactile sensation of dialing on a physical numeric pad.

Gallery: Fujitsu Stylistic S01 hands-on: a smartphone even grandma can use

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/25/fujitsu-stylistic-s01-hands-on-a-smartphone-even-grandma-ca/

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LA cardinal: I'm a 'scapegoat' for sex-abuse crisis

There still isn't a frontrunner to succeed Pope Benedict, and some are asking that California Cardinal Roger Mahony ? who was criticized for his role in shielding abusive priests -- skip the conclave. New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan, who is also attending the conclave, was recently deposed regarding his role in dealing with abusive priests in Wisconsin. NBC's Anne Thompson reports.

By Tracy Connor, Staff Writer, NBC News

Los Angeles' retired Cardinal Roger Mahony, who was rebuked last month for his handling of the sex-abuse crisis, suggests he was "scapegoated" in a blog post ahead of two important dates: his Saturday deposition in a lawsuit alleging that?the church hierarchy protected a priest accused of molesting children?and his trip to Rome to help pick the next pope.

The high-profile "prince of the church" is at the center of an outcry over several scandal-tainted cardinals being allowed to help choose who will succeed Pope Benedict XVI at next month's conclave at the Vatican.

Ireland's Sean Brady, Belgium's Godfried Danneels and Philadelphia's Justin Rigali have all been pilloried in the Italian press over allegations they failed to protect children from pedophiles -- but it's Mahony who has drawn the most ire.

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A group called Catholics United started a petition against his attendance at the conclave. And an Italian consumer group requested Rome prosecutors open a criminal investigation into Mahony if he travels to the Vatican, the news agency ANSA reported Friday.

Improbable as that is, it underscores the outrage in some quarters that cardinals whose reputations have been battered by cover-up allegations will have an equal say in who will next lead the world's 1.3 billion Catholics.

NBC News' Vatican expert, George Weigel, said he could not recall similar calls for abstention at other conclaves, but he noted that voting is an obligation under church law and that other "less-than-admirable" figures have attended for more than a millennium.

"If people are looking for a perfect, sinless electorate to choose religious leadership, they should look somewhere else," Weigel said.

Mahony, who retired as head of the L.A. Archdiocese last year, was stripped of his remaining diocesan duties last month over his handling of priest sex abuse cases.?He has repeatedly apologized for past mistakes but isn't bowing to pressure to skip the historic moment. No criminal charges have been filed against him.

He's raising eyebrows and hackles, however, with a series of blog posts about the rebuke.

In one this week, Mahony said he had tried to live out "the acceptance of being scapegoated, pointing out the necessary connection between humiliation and redemption."

Vincenzo Pinto / AFP - Getty Images

After Pope Benedict XVI steps down next week, the cardinals will pick his successor. Some say not everyone deserves a vote.

"This scandal is putting us, the clergy and the church, where we belong -- with the excluded ones," he added. "Jesus was painted with the same brush as the two thieves crucified with him."

The Surviviors Network of those Abused by Priests slammed the language.

"It's hurtful and disingenuous for Mahony to claim he's been scapegoated," said director David Clohessy. "He's been a bishop for almost 40 years and the sole?head of America's largest archdiocese for more than a quarter century. Few, if any, U.S. Catholic prelates have been more powerful than Mahony. So for him to somehow pretend to be a powerless pawn is pathetic."

Fueling the latest round of criticism of Mahony is last month's release of reams of confidential personnel files that, according to Reuters, showed Mahony and an aide, Thomas Curry, worked to send priests accused of abuse out of California to shield them from law enforcement scrutiny in the 1980s.

In a letter to the archdiocese about the documents and his dismissal, Mahony said that he had worked hard since 1989 to toughen guidelines for handling abuse and apologized for missteps before that.

"I have stated time and time again that I made mistakes, especially in the mid-1980s," he wrote. "I apologized for those mistakes, and committed myself to make certain that the Archdiocese was safe for everyone."

The document release -- part of a $660 million settlement with abuse victims struck in 2007-- has set the stage for this weekend's deposition by Mahony in a lawsuit by a 35-year-old man who says he was molested by a priest in the late 1980s.

The suit alleges that church officials effectively let the Rev. Nicholas Aguilar Rivera escape to Mexico after child sex-abuse complaints were made, the Associated Press reported. He remains a fugitive.

One 1988 memo made public last month revealed a top Mahony lieutenant confided that he told Rivera ?it was likely the accusations would be reported to the police and that he was in a good deal of danger."

The plaintiff?s lawyer, Anthony De Marco, will have four hours to question Mahony about Rivera and 25 other priests, attempting to show a pattern of cover-up so he can try to collect punitive damages on behalf of his client.

Then, within days, Mahony will fly to Rome to join 116 other cardinals under the age of 80 who will meet twice a day in the Sistine Chapel to elect the next pontiff.

"Mahony?s bad luck is all of these documents were released right before the pope resigned and this is why people are going after him instead of other people," said Father Thomas Reese, author of "Inside the Vatican: The Politics and Organization of the Catholic Church."

He said there was virtually no chance Mahony would be pressured to stay away.

"The last one turned away from a conclave was in the time of the Napoleon," he said.

"If Mahony can't go, then there's a whole list of other cardinals who maybe can't go, and if you say these guys can't attend for this reason, then what about other reasons."

Even after sidelining him, the L.A. Archdiocese backed Mahony's voyage to Rome. In a statement, it portrayed Catholics United as a fringe group and its petition as pointless.

"Cardinal Mahony will travel to Rome to fulfill his sacred duty under church law to vote for the next pope,? it said.

Cardinal Roger Mahony was stripped of duties last month. NBC's Brian Williams reports.

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Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/23/17057099-las-cardinal-mahony-calls-himself-scapegoat-ahead-of-deposition-conclave?lite

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