nstrument on Cassini craft working again

PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — An instrument aboard the international Cassini spacecraft is making measurements again after nine months offline.

NASA said Monday the plasma spectrometer, which measures the basketball shoes nike
energy of electrons and protons, is back in business after engineers spent months troubleshooting the problem.

The instrument was turned off as a precaution last June after Cassini experienced fluctuating voltage. The spacecraft used its other instruments to study Saturn and its many moons even with the spectrometer out of service.

An investigation pointed to "tin whiskers" growing on electronic componentscheap dunks sb
as the culprit, causing a short. NASA says these tiny metal filaments can grow in space just like on Earth.

Launched in 1997, Cassini has been exploring the Saturnian system since 2008.

Branson says Kutcher is space line's 500th client

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — British billionaire Richard Branson said Monday his venture to launch paying tourists into space has netted its 500th customer, and it's none other than Ashton Kutcher.

Branson made the announcement on his blog, saying he gave thenike shoes for cheap
actor a quick call to congratulate him.

"He is as thrilled as we are at the prospect of being among the first to cross the final frontier (and back!) with us and to experience the magic of space for himself," Branson wrote.

A representative for Kutcher did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

Kutcher is among dozens of Hollywood types, international entrepreneurs, scientists, space buffs and others who have made deposits to be among the first to reach the edge of the Earth on Branson's Virgin Galactic space line.

Branson has said the aim is to one day make traveling to space safe and affordable for the masses, not just those who can afford the current $200,000 ticket price.

Virgin Galactic is in the final stages of its test flight program. The company will launch its spacecraft from Spaceport America, a specially designed terminal and runway built in a remote stretch of desert in southern New Mexico.

The company plans to begin commercial operations next year. Branson said he and his children plan to be on the first commercial flight.

Christine Anderson, executive director of the New Mexico Spaceport Authority, congratulated Virgin Galactic on Monday for selling its 500th ticket. She said she's looking forward to "the beginning of the commercial passenger space line industry."

Virgin Galactic customers will ride in a six-seat spacecraft that looks like a small plane, with wings near the rear that sweep upward. Once the craft and its mother ship reach a certain altitude, the smaller craft is released and its rockets are fired, pushing passengers back into their seats for the trip to suborbital space.

The spaceship features two large windows for each passenger, nike men s free run
one on the side and one overhead, and small thrusters that allow the two pilots to maneuver the ship once in space.

Customers will get a 2 1/2-hour flight with about five minutes of weightlessness and views cheap sb dunks
of Earth that until now only astronauts have been able to experience.

"I still sometimes have to pinch myself that it's for real," Branson said of the venture. "Ashton is joining a fast expanding group of true pioneers who are on their way to a life changing experience and a place in the history books."

Zsa Zsa Gabor's daughter files for conservatorship

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Zsa Zsa Gabor's only daughter askedgirl nike air max
a judge on Tuesday to place her mother in a conservatorship that will independently control the ailing glamor queen's medical care and financial needs.

Constance Francesca Hilton claims Gabor's husband, Frederic von Anhalt, has been isolating her 95-year-old mother and leaving her heavily sedated. She also questioned whether her mother's finances are being properly handled by von Anhalt.

"By isolating me from my mother, not only does her current husband deprive her of my love and companionship, but he goes against estate planning documents that appear to reflect her wishes that he not be in sole control of her affairs," Hilton wrote in a declaration accompanying her petition.

Hilton is asking the court to appoint her as Gabor'sdiscount nike
conservator, although her attorney, Kenneth Kossoff, said they would be willing to have an independent third party handle all oversight duties.

Hilton and von Anhalt have squabbled for years over Gabor's care. Von Anhalt blasted Hilton in a phone interview, saying his wife is comfortable and that he cares for her every night.

"It's probably her last card she's playing now," he said of Hilton. "It's all about money. She's afraid, her mother passing away eventually, and there's nothing."

Kossoff denied the accusation, noting that the establishment of a conservatorship would require a judge to review Gabor's finances and make sure all money is "being spent in her best interests."

"It would be a strange way to get ahold of Ms. Gabor's money," Kossoff said.

Von Anhalt said he welcomed the court scrutiny of Gabor's care. "I want the court to come and see what's going on," he said. "I want the court to see how comfortable my wife is."

A news release issued before the filing stated that Hilton has been waiting for a year for financial and medical information about her mother that husband von Anhalt has refused to disclose.

"While her husband has been having her see a cardiologist and has caregivers at her house, I am very concerned that her medical needs and treatment are not being managed in her best interest," Hilton wrote in her court filing.

Von Anhalt said he is acting in his wife's best interest and is forced to sell her Bel Air mansion to cover his wife's debts and medical bills. He said expenses amount to around $30,000 a month, even though Gabor's monthly income is only $6,000.

Hilton, he said, "doesn't want me to sell the house."

Kossoff said any sale of the mansion should be handled through the conservatorship proceedings.

The first hearing on the matter was scheduled for May 2nike shoe discount
before Superior Court Judge Reva Goetz, who also oversees the conservatorship of Britney Spears.

Gabor, a Hungarian-born sexpot of the 1950s and 1960s, has been in declining health and didn't make an appearance at a February birthday party hosted at her mansion.

Kelly Clarkson: from "American Idol" champ to rival

NEW YORK, March 13 (TheWrap.com) - Maybenike outlet albertville
"American Idol" should have hired Kelly Clarkson as a judge.

The first "Idol" winner, who returned to perform on the show last year, has since moved on to not one but two other singing competitions -- including one that has usurped "Idol" as the top-rated show this season, after eight years of "Idol" ratings dominance.

Clarkson only helps mentor contestants on NBC's "The Voice," which is beating "Idol" this season with help from a post-Super Bowl debut. But this summer, she'll be one of four judges on yet another singing competition, ABC's "Duets."

On that show, she'll join Lionel Richie, Sugarland's Jennifer Nettles, and Alan Thicke by singing along with contestants as well as mentoring them.

A rep for Clarkson did not immediately return a call for comment on this story.

Fans of Clarkson, the most successful star to come out of "Idol," could make the case that she now transcends any single show -- andnike tennis shoes
shouldn't have to turn down opportunities on others.

Fox has expressed a lack of concern in the past about Clarkson appearing on "The Voice." Asked about it in January, Fox president of alternative entertainment Mike Darnell said it was a compliment to "Idol."

He quipped, "We're not hiring a lot of people fromnike outlet printable coupons
'The Voice' to be on our show."

That was before "The Voice" started beating "Idol" in the ratings -- with Clarkson's help.

(Editing By Zorianna Kit)

Puzo family fires back at studio in "Godfather" suit

(Reuters) - The estate of "The Godfather" author Mario Puzo has fired back at movie studio Paramount Pictures with a $10 million counterclaim over Paramount's attempts to block a new book in the Mafia saga.

Lawyers for the estate of Puzo also sought to nike outlet application
end Paramount's rights to the 1969 best-seller, which went on to become an Oscar-winning movie released by the studio.

"Mario Puzo brought vast wealth to Paramount at a time when they desperately needed it. Now that he's gone, Paramount's trying to deprive his children of the rights he specifically reserved," Bertram Fields, an attorney for the Puzo family, said in a statement on Tuesday.

"I promised Mario I'd protect his kids from this kind of reprehensible conduct. Paramount wanted a war, and they're going to get one - only the stakes will be much higher than they thought," Fields added.

Paramount filed a lawsuit in Manhattan federal court in February that accused Puzo's heirs of approving sequels to "The Godfather" without the studio's permission and in violation of earlier agreements.

A third book "The Family Corleone" is due to be published in May. It is billed as an all-new prequel to "The Godfather" set in New York in 1933.

The counterclaim, filed on Monday, said Puzo's estate had informed Paramount several times of the upcoming publication of "The Family Corleone" and noted that the movie studio had not objected to the book "The Godfather's Revenge" in 2006.

Moreover, the estate said, Puzo received only "minimal payment" from Paramount for the rights to "The Godfather" and that the agreement at the time excluded rights to any further books that include the characters from "The Godfather" in new and different situations.

"The Puzo Estate, representing the children of Mario Puzo, needs no permission from Paramount to use the title of their father's novel or to publish a sequel novel or to use what Paramount claims are 'the Godfather works'," the counterclaim said.

Attorneys asked the court to terminate the rights cheap shoes for men
of Paramount to the original "The Godfather" book and asked for $10 million in damages.

Paramount could not immediately be reached for comment on Tuesday.

Mario Puzo died in 1999. The two sequels to the story of the Corleone Mafia family that have been published since his death were written by U.S. author Mark Winegardner, and the forthcoming third novel is writtennike outlets locations
by Ed Falco.

(Reporting By Jill Serjeant; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

Death After Home Birth Raises Questions

Before hospitals because the go-to-places for giving birth, having a baby at home was considered the norm. Now, with celebrities including Giselle Bundchen and Jennifer Connelly publicly announcing they opted for a home birth, the method is increasing becoming more popular.

Recent studies show that home births are up 20 percent. But even with this renewed interest, less than 1 percent of babies in the United States are born at home.

However, the death of a respected home birth advocate in Australia as she, herself, gave birth at home resurrects the question of how safe home births are.

Caroline Lovell, 36, once advocated for midwife funding and legal protection in Australia. But in January, Lovell died of a heart attack just one day after giving birth at home to her second daughter, Zahra, the Australian newspaper Herald Sun reported.

One of the main appeals of home birth is the woman’s comfort from being in her own surroundings, according to Brad Imler, president of the American Pregnancy Association.

“The families that tend to elect home birth favor a natural birth,” said Imler.

The report sparked a burst of comments among mothers and mothers-to-be on online chat boards – some of whom strayed further from the idea.

“Just one reason why I would never feel comfortable planning a home birth,” one mother commented on the online community BabyCenter.com “Nothing against those that choose to, but this is too scary to convince me.”

Imler said that he found cardiac arrest an extremely uncommon complication, and it should not be attributed to the fact that Lovell had a home birth.

“Having birth at home or at a hospital does not trigger the heart attack itself,” said Imler. “We don’t really know that the home birth brought it on.”

A majority of mothers who commented on BabyCenter.com agreed.

“Things can go wrong in childbirth regardless of where you give birth,” one mother wrote.

But the difference between home birth and hospital birth lies in having quick access to care should an unforeseen complication emerge.

“The question would be: Had she been in the hospital, would there have been ample time to resuscitate and save her life?” said Imler.

The American Pregnancy Association doesn’t advocate a mother choose one birthing method over another, as long as a mother is educated about the risks and benefits. The Lovell case certainly doesn’t change its stance.

However, Imler said, there are many women who choose birthing centers that try to recreate the full home birth feel but are more medically equipped with staff and services.

“Labor and delivery is not a condition, and that tends to be one of the connotations of the hospital,” said Imler.

Many hospital maternity wards are starting to provide a more comforting feel to the birthing process.

According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), hospitals and birthing centers are the safest places to have a baby.

Evidence suggests home births carry a two- to three-fold increased risk of newborn death compared to planned hospital births, ACOG said in a public statement.

Son is pictured eating food tainted by teacher, father says - Los Angeles Times

Son is pictured eating food tainted by teacher, father says
Los Angeles Times
A sheriff's detective called a parent at Miramonte Elementary last spring and told him his now 11-year-old son appeared in photos taken by teacher Mark Berndt, who is charged with abusing 23 children at the school. The photos showed his son eating ...