WARWICK, R.I. (AP) ? Gov. Lincoln Chafee joined the Democratic Party on Thursday, leaving behind his status as the nation's only independent governor and shaking off the last of his Republican legacy.
Chafee told reporters after he changed his affiliation at Warwick City Hall that he made the switch because of his alignment with national Democrats on issues such as health care reform, and because of his respect for the leadership of President Barack Obama.
"I've got a home and it feels good," he said. He said he doesn't expect to agree with Democrats on all the issues, but that, "there comes a time when the issues are so big, you want to be part of a team."
Chafee said his priorities and beliefs have not changed and encouraged Rhode Islanders to look at his record as proof.
Chafee's late father was U.S. Sen. John Chafee, a former governor whose name was synonymous with the Republican Party in Rhode Island for decades. When asked what his father would think of the switch, Chafee replied: "He'd be standing right here patting me on the back."
A close Republican ally of Chafee's, Warwick Mayor Scott Avedisian, told The Associated Press that Chafee has always been an independent leader and a "free thinker" and he didn't expect Chafee's views or priorities to change.
Chafee was a longtime Republican who became an independent in 2007, a year after losing his seat in the U.S. Senate. When John Chafee died in office in 1999, Lincoln Chafee was appointed to fill his seat and then won re-election to the post the following year.
In the Senate, he voted to the left of many Democrats, opposing the war in Iraq, for example. But he stuck it out as a Republican through his 2006 re-election campaign, brushing off questions at the time about why he didn't switch parties. He lost to Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse.
Chafee made a political comeback in 2010, winning a four-way race for governor with 36 percent of the vote.
He is facing a tough fight when he runs for a second term next year. As governor, Chafee has struggled with poor approval ratings. Some of his policy proposals, such as an early plan to expand the sales tax, have fizzled in the face of opposition in the Democratic-controlled General Assembly.
Two well-known Democrats, Providence Mayor Angel Taveras and Treasurer Gina Raimondo, have indicated they're interested in running for governor.
Chafee is a reluctant fundraiser, and he has often relied on his personal wealth to fund his campaigns. He has said it is tough to raise money as a political independent, and told the AP in December that he was considering joining the Democrats to help his chances of winning a second term.
He may be banking in part on his strong relationship with Obama to give him a lift among voters and in his campaign account. Obama said on Wednesday he was thrilled to welcome Chafee to the party, although stopped short of an endorsement.
Although registered Democrats outnumber registered Republicans nearly 4-to-1 in Rhode Island, the state has not had a Democratic governor for years. Chafee will become the first Democrat to hold the seat since 1995.
Three years ago, the Cowboys? draft board became public thanks to owner and General Manager Jerry Jones giving interviews while standing in front of it. Now it has happened again.
Jones gave video interviews while standing in front of the draft board during this year?s draft, and BloggingTheBoys.com has been able to look at enough different angles to reconstruct the entire draft board.
This may sound like an embarrassing gaffe on the Cowboys? part, but it?s really not: The images of the Cowboys? draft board weren?t available until after the draft was over, so it didn?t give any other teams a competitive edge over the Cowboys in draft strategy or trade talks. In fact, one specific piece of information the draft board reveals ? that first-round draft pick Travis Frederick was given a second-round grade and was the No. 22 player on the board ? had already been revealed by Jones.
Still, the full draft board makes for interesting perusing, because it isn?t often that teams allow this kind of information to go public.
The most interesting aspect might be the players whose names do not appear on the draft board, presumably because of concerns about injuries or off-field problems. The players the Cowboys didn?t consider drafting at all include Jarvis Jones, Alec Ogletree, Matt Elam, Christine Michael, Keenan Allen, Marcus Lattimore and Tyrann Mathieu.
It?s also worth mentioning the players chosen far higher than the Cowboys thought they should have been. Dallas had a fourth-round grade on quarterback E.J. Manuel, whom the Bills selected in the first round, as well as third-round grades on first-round picks Kyle Long, Desmond Trufant and Datone Jones.
For football fans, this kind of thing makes for good offseason fun. Here?s hoping Jerry Jones keeps giving interviews in the team?s draft room.
KALAMAZOO (WKZO) -- You can get your pet spayed or neutered for just 20 dollars all next month, thanks to the Kalamazoo Humane Society. The organization's Aaron Winters says that the offer's coming as part of the "Did You Know?" campaign.
It's designed to inform people that they can get their pets spayed or neutered at a very young age, younger than many might realize.
He says to qualify for the 20 dollar spaying or neutering, your animal must be under six months of age. Normally, the procedure costs a lot more. It's being made possible, thanks to a grant from Petsmart Charities. To find out more, go to www.kazoohumane.org .
Online businesses can earn a lot of money. To avoid the pitfalls of losing money in any business, online owners should consider some things. Read the following tips to learn how to raise your profit.
Use multiple touches to generate continued interest in your product. When a potential customer visits your website and then leaves without making a purchase, you can ?follow? them on the Internet. Use a technique called remarketing. Make your ads and offers will appear on other pages the potential customer is viewing.
What is your customer?s goal when visiting your site? If it?s to browse management software and find new ideas then you need to deliver that experience. If it?s to get on, place an order, and then be done, you need to deliver that, too. Consider having multiple landing pages for existing customers and new customers. You can accomplish this with cookies and it will help you deliver exactly what they expect.
Start your online business by identifying and solving a profitable problem, need, or desire. A good online business idea is really just a solution to a problem, a meeting of a need, a fulfillment of a desire. Just look at any profitable business in the marketplace, they all exist for one or more of those reasons.
Use a blog for customer outreach. A blog provides the perfect platform to offer special deals to your blog readers, to increase brand awareness and encourage sales. Building strong relationships with customers is essential to your online business?s success.
Word of mouth advertising can do wonders to raise your sales. Ask your friends to spread the word about your business to their friends and coworkers. There?s nothing better than free promotion.
Start your online business by identifying and solving a profitable problem, need, or desire. A good online business idea is really just a solution to a problem, a meeting of a need, a fulfillment of a desire. Just look at any profitable business in the marketplace, they all exist for one or more of those reasons.
Profitable problems, needs, or desires usually fall into three categories: Health, Money and Relationships. When you identify a specific problem, need or desire try to narrow them down to specific and identifiable target of prospects. Peel back the layers of the market to target a subgroup within it. Doing that will make all the difference in your potential success.
Use multiple touches to generate continued interest in your product. When a potential customer visits your website and then leaves without making a purchase, you can ?follow? them on the Internet. Use a technique called remarketing. Make your ads and offers will appear on other pages the potential customer is viewing.
Go to any popular search engine and enter project management software into search box. You can find a few useful ideas about customer relationship management software you can utilize soon.
Check out your credit score. You must understand how you will obtained into this clutter for starters. It will help help you stay monitored to repay all you owed.
Enable loan companies know if you are utilizing a consolidation representative aboard. They might be happy to discuss option agreements together with you specifically. This really is essential since they is probably not conscious that you're trying to take care of your bills. It could enable them to comprehend you are producing an attempt to acquire your troubles under control.
You are going to save on fascination expenses in this way. As soon as you get the visa or mastercard amounts all on one profile, you should make sure to spend the money for balance prior to the introductory word for the special interest rate finishes.
Enable loan companies know you will be using a loan consolidation representative aboard. They might be prepared to speak with you. This will help to accept pressure and pressure from your expenses. It may also assist them to fully grasp you will be producing an endeavor to obtain your issues manageable.
Realize that consolidating debts will never affect your credit rating. Some financial debt reduction programs cause harm to your credit, but that loan for debt consolidation loans is usually simply for lowering rates of interest and minimizing the quantity of monthly bills you're paying out. It is actually pretty helpful technique for anyone able to remaining present with the obligations.
Locate a quality client counselling organization within your local area. These nonprofit businesses supply beneficial financial debt with your curiosity lowered. By using this assistance which offers client crediting guidance isn't likely to harm your credit rating as poorly as other consolidating debts providers.
Consolidating debts businesses offer aid however, but you need to prevent cons. If some thing scents fishy, then they possibly are. Get your concerns addressed prior to selecting a debt consolidation company.
Make sure to explain the complete terms of pay back whilst keeping your promise.You want to injury your partnership with an individual near you.
Ask for the charges you can expect to need to pay consolidating debts firms. You ought to acquire rear a comprehensive listing of charges they charge for their professional services. The workers are not able to acquire your consolidation has to be accomplished well before an expert service can ask for repayment. You should ensure you don't accept to any set up costs to setup a merchant account.
Request the corporation concerning their online privacy policy is. You must learn how the business shops your own personal details. Find out if their personal computer methods use encryption. If not, your documents may be offered to any person, resulting in you getting into far worse financial debt.
Do you know what obtained there is a lots of personal debt? You should consider this prior to signing a debt consolidation loan. Find the issue, cease it, spend your financial obligations and discover economic freedom.
Be sure that they have got excellent customer support staff.
The very first thing you must do when fixing your credit will be to research on refinancing possibilities, one example is www.badcredit-refinance.com and to generate a strategy to start to spend the cash off. Existing personal debt lowers a person's credit rating and will be undesirable to have. Your credit ratings might be boosted in case you can make oneself debt-free.
You are going to recover from debts more quickly for those who have a thrifty way of living.
Debt consolidation can help should you be in the middle of a individual bankruptcy. You may even meet the requirements to have all attention eliminated from the personal debt in this method.
Usually do not be enticed by any lending options from businesses that looks incredible.
Understand that payments by means of consolidating debts professional services don't improve your credit score, but spending loan providers specifically really will.It will help you get out of debts more quickly, but you will see a footnote on your credit score which says you journeyed by using a support that offers consolidating debts.
Don't let lenders have a duplicate of your credit report until finally you've consented to the conditions. This will help you avoid needless remarks on your credit report as low as possible. Permit the debt consolidation firm know that you will be.
Calculate the complete financial savings with a variety of consolidating debts software may truly allow you to. You will need to full all of your current financial obligations and attention charges. Evaluate this variety to what your debt loan consolidation will definitely cost to find out if it is a wise decision.
It's impossible to get out of debts by agreeing to more debts. A debt consolidation loans will take longer to get rid of than merely understanding how to control your finances. Phone your creditors and try to negotiate one time payment payments that are under what's owed. This will allow you to pay off your debt without paying some other company.
Most debt consolidation courses objective that you can pay off the money you owe in just five years. When the debt consolidation company you will be consulting with requires longer than five-years, you must start to find somebody who supplies a much better plan.
Make sure you get everything you put in place with all the debt consolidation loans firm in creating and recognized.Actually, in case a contract isn't presented to you whatsoever in advance, seem somewhere else to perform the debt debt consolidation company.
You might be able to transfer the money you owe to 1 charge card and spend a reduced interest rate. You can even have the ability to present the offer you to who you're handling previously to determine if they can present you with a discount.
Can you manage to combine your financial obligations? Even if you could be paying a lot less per month, consolidating debts is just not a good solution for all. You'll find yourself right back in financial very hot water if you can't make repayments. Take into consideration whether or not you need to truly enter into this is the best for you.
Your private data must be stored private.Debts consolidators have a ton of your data that's exclusive and confidential. Make sure that they may guarantee the safety of your respective info will be maintained protected. Ask for a composed privacy policy in composing.
Look out for financial debt consolidator that will make pledges that audio impractical. You almost certainly didn't obtain your personal debt developed in a few days, so don't think them that you could pay off almost everything in a couple of days. These agencies are fraudulent. These companies might also try out to obtain that you'll have to pay in advance too.
Obviously, it is important to recognize several areas of consolidating debts. The information this article has presented you happen to be sufficient to help you started off when you need to learn about this topic. Take your located knowledge and progress towards recovering your monetary flexibility.
May 29, 2013 ? Global use of nuclear power has prevented about 1.84 million air pollution-related deaths and release of 64 billion tons of greenhouse gases that would have resulted from burning coal and other fossil fuels, a new study concludes. It appears in the ACS journal Environmental Science & Technology.
Pushker A. Kharecha and James E. Hansen state that nuclear power has the potential to help control both global climate change and illness and death associated with air pollution. That potential exists, they say, despite serious questions about safety, disposal of radioactive waste and diversion of nuclear material for weapons. Concerned that the Fukushima accident in Japan could overshadow the benefits of nuclear energy, they performed an analysis of nuclear power's benefits in reducing carbon dioxide emissions and air pollution deaths.
The study concluded that nuclear power already has had a major beneficial impact, based upon calculations of prevented mortality and greenhouse gas emissions for the period 1971-2009. Nuclear power could prevent from 420,000 to 7 million additional deaths by mid-century, and prevent emission of 80-240 billion tons of the greenhouse gases linked to global warming, the study found. "By contrast, we assess that large-scale expansion of unconstrained natural gas use would not mitigate the climate problem and would cause far more deaths than the expansion of nuclear power," it notes. If the role of nuclear power declines significantly in the next 20-30 years, Kharecha added, the International Energy Agency predicts that achieving the major reductions in greenhouse gas emissions that are required to mitigate climate change would require "heroic achievements" in the use of emerging low-carbon technologies, which have yet to be proven.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by American Chemical Society.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
Pushker A. Kharecha, James E. Hansen. Prevented Mortality and Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Historical and Projected Nuclear Power. Environmental Science & Technology, 2013; 47 (9): 4889 DOI: 10.1021/es3051197
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
VIENNA (Reuters) - The U.N. nuclear watchdog acknowledged on Wednesday it might not find anything if allowed access to an Iranian military facility, in an apparent reference to suspected clean-up work there, diplomats said.
Herman Nackaerts, deputy director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), made the comment during a closed-door briefing where he showed satellite imagery indicating Iran had now partly paved the site, they said.
The picture was the latest sign of what Western officials suspect is an Iranian attempt since early last year to remove or hide any evidence of illicit nuclear-related activity at Parchin, located southeast of the capital Tehran.
In response to a question, "he (Nackaerts) said there is a chance they won't find anything", in view of the suspected sanitization efforts, said one diplomat who was at the meeting.
Nackaerts made no public comment.
The U.N. agency believes Iran may have carried out explosives tests relevant for nuclear weapons development at Parchin, possibly a decade ago, and has been pressing Tehran for more than a year to be allowed visit the sprawling facility.
Iran, which denies Western allegations that it seeking the capability to make nuclear weapons, says Parchin is a conventional military complex and rejects accusations that it is trying to remove any evidence.
The IAEA said in a report to member states last week that Iran had asphalted a "significant proportion" of the specific part of Parchin it wants to inspect.
It did not say why Iran may have decided to do this, but one Western official who attended Wednesday's briefing said it could be a bid to cover up any remaining traces there.
Iran's ambassador to the IAEA, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, declined to speak to reporters when he left the meeting room.
The U.N. agency wants to check Parchin as part of its long-stalled investigation into suspected atomic bomb research by Iran, which says its nuclear program is entirely peaceful.
Iran says it first needs to agree with the IAEA on how the broader inquiry is to be conducted before granting access.
Citing satellite imagery, Western diplomats earlier this year said that Iran appeared to be rebuilding the site, after previously razing smaller buildings and removing soil.
Experts say that while it may now be difficult to find any evidence, it could still be possible to locate any traces of nuclear materials with the IAEA's sophisticated equipment.
"The more they (Iran) do, the less likelihood there is of picking up something easily," one Western envoy said.
"(But) I think the chances of wiping out every trace of whatever might have been going on there is very slim."
JERUSALEM (AP) ? The leader of Israel's second largest party warned Monday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's ruling coalition could collapse if it fails to reform the military draft system and end exemptions for ultra-Orthodox Jewish seminary students.
Finance Minister Yair Lapid made the threat after a committee meeting tasked with changing the draft rules ended without results. Lapid's party surged in January's parliamentary election by vowing to force the ultra-Orthodox to "share the burden" of military service.
Military service is compulsory in Israel from age 18, but thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews get exemptions each year to pursue religious studies. The ultra-Orthodox insist military service would compromise their strict religious lifestyle, while Israelis who serve in the military charge that the system is unfair.
"Whoever thinks that Yesh Atid will fold on the issue of sharing the burden simply doesn't know us or understand us," Lapid said at a meeting of his party. "There will be an equal sharing of the burden, or this government will fall apart," he said.
His comments appeared to be an opening salvo in what will likely be a lengthy debate.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said there will be many "headlines and crises" until all the issues are ironed out. But he said that in the end, solutions will be found and the law will be passed.
In the early days of the Jewish state a small core of a few hundred ultra-Orthodox Jewish scholars were granted draft exemptions, partially in order to encourage scholarship after the great European schools of Jewish thought were destroyed by the Nazis and their collaborators during World War II.
Over the years the numbers of exemptions mushroomed into tens of thousands, and the legitimacy of the scholarly pursuits of so many young people came into question.
A committee tasked with composing draft reforms met late into the night Sunday but ended in acrimony over disputes about penalties for draft evaders and other clauses.
Under the new proposed system, seminary students would be allowed to continue their studies and would not be required to perform military service until age 21. That could signal a relatively easy term of service, since older soldiers typically serve for shorter periods of time and usually not in combat units.
The system under consideration would not go into effect for three years, meaning that thousands of seminary students who are studying now would not have to serve.
El actor Vin Diesel llega al estreno de la pel?cula "Fast & Furious 6" en el anfiteatro Gibson el jueves 21 de mayo de 2013 en Los Angeles, California. (Foto de Dan Steinberg/Invision/AP)
El actor Vin Diesel llega al estreno de la pel?cula "Fast & Furious 6" en el anfiteatro Gibson el jueves 21 de mayo de 2013 en Los Angeles, California. (Foto de Dan Steinberg/Invision/AP)
LOS ANGELES (AP) ? After a lackluster start to the year, the movie industry enjoyed its most robust Memorial Day weekend ever at the box office, with "Fast & Furious 6" speeding to the top spot.
The record-breaking four-day weekend generated estimated receipts of $316 million.
"Over $300 million for Memorial Day weekend has never happened before," said box-office analyst Paul Dergarabedian of Hollywood.com. "This proves that when you have a great selection of films, audiences will line up at movie theaters in record numbers."
The sixth installment of the "Fast & Furious" franchise debuted at No. 1 with $120 million, making it the biggest opening weekend for a Universal Pictures release, according to Hollywood.com.
Starring Vin Diesel and Paul Walker, the muscle-car action romp took in an additional $158 million internationally.
Fans turned out because filmmakers upped the ante, said Nikki Rocco, Universal's head of distribution.
"The creative team, the filmmakers and the studio put their heart and soul into making it bigger and better," she said. "When you have this many films in the franchise ... you have to take it in a new direction."
The street racers battle both a tank and a plane in the film.
"It is the very definition of the summer popcorn movie," Dergarabedian said. "You suspend disbelief, buckle up and go along for that ride."
"The Hangover Part III," starring Zach Galifianakis, Bradley Cooper and Ed Helms, opened in second place. The final chapter in the Warner Bros. raunchy comedy trilogy collected $51.2 million.
Paramount Pictures' "Star Trek: Into Darkness," which opened last week, added $47 million to its domestic ticket sales, landing at No. 3.
Fox' animated "Epic," the only non-sequel among the weekend's five top-grossing films, opened in the fourth spot with $42.6 million.
"We did see a hole in the release schedule that said this is the perfect time to launch an animated film," said Fox president of domestic distribution Chris Aronson. "It can be challenging to launch an original-content movie in such a competitive weekend, but this is a very special movie: A family movie as well as an all-audience movie."
Now in its fourth week of release, "Iron Man 3" ? which had the biggest opening so far this year ? hung onto fifth place with $24.4 million.
The record-breaking weekend take bodes well for the summer movie season, Dergarabedian said: "This Memorial weekend is exactly what the industry needed and this momentum will carry forward."
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Monday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Where available, latest international numbers are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Tuesday.
1. "Fast & Furious 6," $120 million ($158 million international).
2. "The Hangover Part III," $51.2 million ($19.2 million international).
3. "Star Trek: Into Darkness," $47 million ($13.1 million international).
4. "Epic," $42.6 million ($23.1 million international).
5. "Iron Man 3," $24.4 million ($17.4 million international).
6. "The Great Gatsby," $17 million ($24.4 million international).
7. "Mud," $2.5 million ($400,000 international).
8. "The Croods," $1.6 million ($5.8 million international).
9. "42," $1.6 million.
10. "Oblivion," $1.1 million ($2.3 million international).
Estimated weekend ticket sales at international theaters (excluding the U.S. and Canada) through Sunday for films distributed overseas by Hollywood studios, according to Rentrak:
1. "Fast & Furious 6," $158 million.
2. "The Great Gatsby," $24.4 million.
3. "Epic," $23.1 million.
4. "The Hangover Part III," $19.2 million.
5. "Iron Man 3," $17.4 million.
6. "Star Trek: Into Darkness," $13.1 million.
7. "The Croods," $5.8 million.
8. "Oblivion," $2.3 million.
9. "Evil Dead," $2.2 million.
10. "Only God Forgives," $1.5 million.
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Follow AP Entertainment Writer Sandy Cohen on Twitter at www.twitter.com/APSandy .
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Online:
http://www.hollywood.com
http://www.rentrak.com
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Universal and Focus are owned by NBC Universal, a unit of Comcast Corp.; Sony, Columbia, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; Paramount is owned by Viacom Inc.; Disney, Pixar and Marvel are owned by The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is owned by Filmyard Holdings LLC; 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight are owned by News Corp.; Warner Bros. and New Line are units of Time Warner Inc.; MGM is owned by a group of former creditors including Highland Capital, Anchorage Advisors and Carl Icahn; Lionsgate is owned by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.; IFC is owned by AMC Networks Inc.; Rogue is owned by Relativity Media LLC.
The world of gaming offers something for everyone. Video games can simulate all scenarios and fantasy worlds that people of all ages can enjoy. Browse the following tips and tricks to uncover all of the fun and exciting things the world of video games has to offer.
Subtitles are available for a reason, so use them! Looking for a way to hear the dialogue much better due to the overwhelming noise of those loud games? Always seek out a subtitle option. A lot of video games can be tweaked to have louder or softer sounds in the menu. You can find an option here to have subtitles on or off.
TIP! If you want to give a child a video game as a gift, be sure to check the ESRB rating. The ESRB rating lets you know what age group can play a video game appropriately.
If you are purchasing a video game for a child, make sure you have several options available before going to the store. There are tons of things to think about when choosing a game for a child, and you may not be able to get only one thing. This is why you have to have many options in case one isn?t appropriate.
Make sure you pay attention to a game?s rating when buying a gift. The ESRB rating acts as an age guideline and helps you determine if a certain game is appropriate. Do not purchase a game that would be too violent or would expose a child to sexual content.
TIP! When playing a shooter game and you have to reload a weapon, be sure to take cover. Gamers will often get their character killed by standing around and reloading in an unsafe area.
When playing video games, remember to take a stretch break three or four times hourly. Your muscles and joints are typically engaging in repetitive motions for long periods of time. Your muscles need to be stretched so they don?t get cramped up. This is good for your health.
Learn how to adjust the settings for safety and content on the video game consoles you own. Some consoles allow you to customize the security settings to match what you find to be appropriate for your family as everyone has different preferences. Sometimes you can even create individual profiles with customized settings, which allows older family members to enjoy games that aren?t appropriate for the younger set.
TIP! If you do not know whether or not your computer meets the requirements to play a game, you should look up the ?Can You Run It? website. Once you download the game, this site will help you figure out if your computer meets all the requirements for your game.
Video games are not wasted time, but escapism, education and entertainment. The benefits of gaming are endless. Now, hopefully, you are able to be better and get more rewards out of it.
NEW YORK (AP) ? Internal Affairs officers on Saturday were looking into allegations made by actress Amanda Bynes that New York Police Department officers sexually assaulted her when she was charged with heaving a marijuana bong out the window of her 36th-floor Manhattan apartment.
The 27-year-old former child star first alleged during her arraignment on Friday that police illegally entered her apartment after being called to her midtown building. But in a Twitter message believed to be from the troubled actress posted Saturday, Bynes alleged that her arresting officer also sexually assaulted her.
"As it would with any such allegation, regardless of its credibility, IAB is investigating it," said the NYPD's chief spokesman, Paul Browne, referring to the internal affairs bureau.
The Twitter handle used to make the sexual assault allegations Saturday does not appear to be verified by the social network? but Bynes' friend, former Hollywood publicist Jonathan Jaxson, said Saturday the tweet was made from Bynes' account. Twitter did not immediately return a request for comment.
In court on Friday, the former "Hairspray" star made no mention of the sexual assault allegations, though she did complain of illegal entry to her apartment. She's been charged with reckless endangerment, attempted tampering with evidence and unlawful possession of marijuana.
A law enforcement official who spoke to the Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because of an ongoing investigation said the building manager was with officers at Bynes' apartment when they arrived Thursday night. The official said officers were kept waiting approximately five minutes before she opened the door to them. The same official said the building manager told internal affair investigators nothing untoward happened.
Bynes was released by Chief New York County Judge Neil Ross on her own recognizance because, Ross said, he did not believe her to be a flight risk. But in releasing her, Ross also issued a stern warning to Bynes, telling her not to get rearrested or miss any court dates. She's due back in court on July 9.
Attempts to reach Bynes' arraignment lawyer were unsuccessful Saturday evening.
Bynes rose to fame starring in Nickelodeon's "All That" and has also starred in several films, including 2010's "Easy A." But she has been in the news more recently because of several scrapes with the law and bizarre public behavior.
Bynes was arrested Thursday night after building officials called police to complain she was rolling a joint and smoking pot in the lobby. The officers went to her apartment where they saw heavy smoke and a bong sitting on the kitchen counter. They said she tossed the bong out the window in front of them, prosecutors said Friday.
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Associated Press writer Colleen Long contributed to this report.
A colleague remarked last week that what we do isn?t science. He was referring to making decisions as news breaks, details emerge and we learn more of the truth.
Naming juveniles who have been accused of crimes has been a topic of discussion in our newsroom ? and in this column ? in recent days and weeks, what with the death of soccer referee Ricardo Portillo after allegedly being punched by a 17-year-old player.
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1st place ? Tribune staff, general website excellence; Tribune staff, front page design; Jenna Busey, single page design; David Montero, Kimball Bennion, news reporting; Kirsten Stewart, Scott Sommerdorf, health general reporting; Nate Carlisle, Cimaron Neugebauer, legal enterprise reporting; Aaron Falk, legal general reporting; Sean P. Means, arts and entertainment criticism; Ben Fulton, arts and entertainment story; Tribune staff, business enterprise reporting; Tony Semerad, business general reporting; Robert Kirby, personal/humor column; Rudy Mesicek, feature page design; Al Hartmann, spot news photography
2nd place ? Tribune staff, breaking news; Kirsten Stewart, health enterprise reporting; Brandon Loomis, environmental enterprise reporting; Brooke Adams and Melinda Rogers, legal enterprise reporting; Matt Canham, Peggy Fletcher Stack, Lee Davidson, politics enterprise reporting; Scott D. Pierce, arts and entertainment criticism; Tribune staff, business enterprise reporting; Kurt Kragthorpe, sports column; Francisco Kjolseth, feature page design
3rd place ? Heather May, Julia Lyon, Melinda Rogers, health enterprise reporting; Aaron Falk, legal enterprise reporting; Matt Canham, politics enterprise reporting; Brooke Adams, news reporting; Derek P. Jensen and Dawn House, business general reporting; Bill Oram, sports general reporting; Peg McEntee, news column; Francisco Kjolseth, news photography
?
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1st place ? Brandon Loomis, growth and environment reporting; Ben Fulton, arts and entertainment writing; Pat Bagley, editorial cartooning
2nd place ? Michael Nakoryakov and Dave Noyce, page design
3rd place ? Lisa Schencker, Kyle Goon and Melinda Rogers, sports reporting
The Salt Lake Tribune has chosen to not identify the player as his case remains in juvenile court. The policy is based on the premise that someone who is not yet an adult deserves a degree of protection for making mistakes that may be, at least in part, the result of their immaturity and will affect them for the rest of their lives. If the teenager is certified as an adult for trial, we will name him.
Our own policy placed us in a problematic position when news broke Wednesday night that two young boys were found murdered in their West Point home, and their brother was missing.
Taking the lead from police, we published online that night and in print the next morning the name and photograph of the 15-year-old, who initially was thought to possibly be in danger but who had been found by midnight. Editors discussed whether or not to publish the identifying information and decided the potential benefits (finding the boy) outweighed the possible downside (that he was involved in the crime).
Then the story changed. Police identified him as the primary suspect in the homicide Thursday morning. We removed his photograph and name from our online coverage. His name does not appear in Friday?s print story. We explained to readers that we had identified the boy in earlier stories, as he initially was the subject of a missing-person investigation by police.
We realize by doing this we are trying to ? pick your clich? ? unring the bell, put the genie back in the bottle. The boy?s name is out there. Other news media will continue to name him, and his identity likely remains somewhere in cyberspace, attached to a Tribune story, and it is in Thursday?s print edition.
But we?ve done the best we can to follow a policy we believe is sound. Juveniles are a special case and deserving of special consideration. They are still children. As in the case of the soccer player, if the courts decide the 15-year-old will be tried as an adult, we will follow suit and publish his name.
No, this isn?t science.
?
story continues below
Awards ? Spring is contest season for journalists, and Tribune reporters, photographers and editors are getting their share and more of prizes. In the Utah Press Association awards, handed out in March, The Tribune took 13 first-place awards, 29 awards overall and swept all awards in five categories: general news, investigative reporting, feature reporting, sports reporting and sports columns. The newspaper also took the top award for general excellence.
More recently, The Tribune excelled in the regional Top of the Rockies and Best of the West contests, which include newspapers from throughout the West.
In Top of the Rockies, our website, sltrib.com, took the general excellence award. We took first place for our news reporting, health care reporting, arts and entertainment criticism and reporting, spot news photography, humor columns, general and enterprise business reporting. We swept first, second and third in enterprise reporting on legal issues. Our designers took first places for their front pages, feature pages and sports pages.
In Best of the West, we took the top awards in growth and environment reporting, arts and entertainment writing and editorial cartooning.
Awards are nice, particularly when the competition includes newsrooms from throughout the region, many larger than ours. It?s a chance to reflect on a job well done. But we know the real judge is you, readers of The Salt Lake Tribune.
Terry Orme is a Tribune managing editor. Reach him at orme@sltrib.com.
Copyright 2013 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Monday is Memorial Day, a day to remember those who have died in our nation's service. Arlington National Cemetery is a place where those who have made the ultimate sacrifice are honored every day.
Besides being the final resting place for members of the armed forces, Arlington is also a popular tourist attraction. If you plan to visit our nation's capital, you should include the national cemetery on your itinerary. But before you visit the actual cemetery, visit its website at ArlingtonCemetery.mil.
The site is a tastefully designed guide to the cemetery, as well as a tribute to those interred there. A black background sets an appropriately somber mood, and the typography is conservative and restrained.
Powerful imagery
The home page features a multisubject slideshow as the main element. It consists of eight subjects, each one represented by a vertically cropped, labeled image. Hovering over a section opens up the collection of images for each subject. Clicking on one takes you to the subject's page. The subjects are: About us, Visitor Information, Funeral Information, Events, News & Updates, History, Find a Gravesite and Photo Gallery.
To the left of the slideshow is a column of text links that repeat the subjects, plus two additional links for daily funeral schedules and contact information.
The slideshow is nice if you want to look at images of the cemetery. It's full of powerful shots of neat rows of white headstones arranged on manicured lawns, and marines in full dress uniform performing traditional ceremonies, such as 21-gun salutes, changing of the guard and escorting caissons. The Photo Gallery link takes you to even more photos of cemetery events.
The text links next to the slideshow are a little more useful if you want to quickly drill down into the site to find a specific piece of information. Most of them have flyout menus that appear when you hover over them that offer links to subcategories of information.
Nice trip-planning tools
The Visitor Information, Events and News & Updates links are the most useful for planning a trip to Arlington. They provide directions to the cemetery and information on parking and getting around inside the cemetery. There are online, interactive maps as well as downloadable, printable maps. You can even download a mobile app that can serve as an electronic tour guide.
These links also provide the location and history of some of the most popular features and events, such as the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns, the shuttle disaster memorials, 9/11 memorials or President Kennedy's gravesite.
You can check the calendar of events to see if there are any special ceremonies being held while you're in town. There are also guidelines for appropriate dress for certain ceremonies, and the do's and don'ts of photography and videography. Remember, Arlington is an active cemetery that averages about 100 burials a week, so visitors need to be respectful of the ever-present bereaved. Links to Arlington's presence on popular social media sites also are available.
Interesting history
Even if you're not planning a trip to the cemetery, the website has a lot of interesting information and history on it. You can read about how during the Civil War, Northern Brig. Gen. Montgomery C. Miegs established a military cemetery on the Arlington property. The land had been confiscated from a prominent southern family with ties to George Washington. The family custodian of the property at the time it was seized was none other than Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.
Ceremony is a very important and poignant part of military funerals. You can learn about the origins of two of the most well-known rituals, 21-gun salutes and Taps, on the site.
The Arlington Cemetery website is nicely designed, useful and interesting. I did have some issues with slow load times for pages, but it's hard to tell if it was the site or my Internet connection. Either way, the site, as well as the cemetery, are worth a visit.
KEVIN O'NEILL is a graphic artist for The Times-Tribune. Contact him at koneill@timesshamrock.com or @koneillTT on Twitter with links to your favorite websites.
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WEST DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) ? Scott Walker tried to introduce himself to Iowa Republicans Thursday as so many would-be presidential candidates often do ? one of their own.
After all, the Wisconsin governor weighing a 2016 bid for president spent seven years as a young child living in Plainfield, a tiny town in northeast Iowa Walker referred to a half-dozen times during a 40 minute speech at a Republican fundraiser.
More broadly, the rising GOP figure prescribed what he characterized as a Midwestern approach to politics and the way for Republicans, back-to-back White House losers, to win again.
"I would encourage us all to be more optimistic, more relevant and more courageous," Walker told 600 GOP activists in a suburban Des Moines hotel ballroom. "I think when we do, we win in Iowa, we win in Wisconsin, and all across this great country, and we transform this place we live in."
The first-term governor, who has won party acclaim for taking on unions and overcame a contentious recall election, has been raising his national profile with speeches to national Republican audiences in recent months and headlined fundraisers in New York and Connecticut this week.
Walker was making his first visit Thursday to the state that has traditionally held the first presidential caucuses. He was the keynote speaker at the Polk County Republican Party's annual spring fundraising dinner and also met privately with leaders at a separate fundraiser before the banquet.
The audience applauded when he noted during the speech how he won a larger victory in defeating Democratic Mayor Tom Barrett of Milwaukee during the recall vote last year than he did in his 2010 election. They cheered again when he described the budget surplus Wisconsin has today, compared with the $3.6 billion deficit in place when he took office.
"Scott Walker is a great example of a courageous governor who made the tough decisions and has the state going in the right direction," said Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, a Republican who attended the event.
Walker opponents, including some who traveled from Milwaukee, said earlier Thursday that Walker had overpromised the number of jobs he would bring in. Wisconsin's unemployment has dropped during his time in office, albeit less dramatically than in other Midwestern states such as Michigan and Ohio.
Walker kept returning in his remarks to his time in Iowa, as a boy, and the son of a Baptist minister. Walker moved to southern Wisconsin when he was 10.
He ticked through the name of a former teacher, a neighbor and the state legislator-turned congressman, "a farmer down the way from us named Chuck Grassley." Grassley is now Iowa's senior U.S. senator, serving his sixth term.
Should he decide to run for president, Walker's Iowa ties and evangelical upbringing could serve him well in Iowa's Republican caucuses, where Christian conservatives make up an influential bloc.
Walker didn't touch social issues. Instead, he urged the party to reach out to voting blocs Republicans have struggled to win, such as Latinos. Walker trumpeted his success winning Hispanic-leaning precincts when he was Milwaukee County executive before being elected governor.
"We've got a message of opportunity and optimism. We've got to be willing to go to places that Republicans typically don't go," he said.
It's a style that works for Connie Schmett, a Des Moines-area Republican who contributed money to Walker's recall campaign and attended the event Thursday.
"He's like your brother, your neighbor," she said. "I've seen a lot of these guys. And he just seems like a good guy."
May 23, 2013 ? In pioneering new research at Columbia University, scientists have grown high-quality crystals of molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), the world's thinnest semiconductor, and studied how these crystals stitch together at the atomic scale to form continuous sheets. Through beautiful images of strikingly symmetric stars and triangles hundreds of microns across, they have uncovered key insights into the optical and electronic properties of this new material, which can be either conducting or insulating to form the basic "on-off switch" for all digital electronics.
The study is published in the May 5, 2013, issue of Nature Materials.
"Our research is the first to systematically examine what kinds of defects result from these large growths, and to investigate how those defects change its properties," says James Hone, professor of mechanical engineering at Columbia Engineering, who led the study. "Our results will help develop ways to use this new material in atomically thin electronics that will become integral components of a whole new generation of revolutionary products such as flexible solar cells that conform to the body of a car."
This multidisciplinary collaboration by the Energy Frontier Research Center at Columbia University with Cornell University's Kavli Institute for Nanoscale Science focused on molybdenum disulfide because of its potential to create anything from highly efficient, flexible solar cells to conformable touch displays. Earlier work from Columbia demonstrated that monolayer MoS2 has an electronic structure distinct from the bulk form, and the researchers are excited about exploring other atomically thin metal dichalcogenides, which should have equally interesting properties. MoS2 is in a class of materials called transition metal dichalcogenides, which can be metals, semiconductors, dielectrics, and even superconductors.
"This material is the newest in a growing family of two-dimensional crystals," says Arend van der Zande, a research fellow at the Columbia Energy Frontier Research Center and one of the paper's three lead authors. "Graphene, a single sheet of carbon atoms, is the thinnest electrical conductor we know. With the addition of the monolayer molybdenum disulfide and other metal dichalcogenides, we have all the building blocks for modern electronics that must be created in atomically thin form. For example, we can now imagine sandwiching two different monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides between layers of graphene to make solar cells that are only eight atoms thick -- 20 thousand times smaller than a human hair!"
Until last year, the majority of experiments studying MoS2 were done by a process called mechanical exfoliation, which only produces samples just a few micrometers in size. "While these tiny specimens are fine for scientific studies," notes Daniel Chenet, a PhD in Hone's lab and another lead author, "they are much too small for use in any technological application. Figuring out how to grow these materials on a large scale is critical."
To study the material, the researchers refined an existing technique to grow large, symmetric crystals up to 100 microns across, but only three atoms thick. "If we could expand one of these crystals to the thickness of a sheet of plastic wrap, it would be large enough to cover a football field -- and it would not have any misaligned atoms," says Pinshane Huang, a PhD student in the David Muller lab at Cornell and the paper's third lead author.
For use in many applications, these crystals need to be joined together into continuous sheets like patches on a quilt. The connections between the crystals, called grain boundaries, can be as important as the crystals themselves in determining the material's performance on a large scale. "The grain boundaries become important in any technology," says Hone. "Say, for example, we want to make a solar cell. Now we need to have meters of this material, not micrometers, and that means that there will be thousands of grain boundaries. We need to understand what they do so we can control them."
The team used atomic-resolution electron microscopy to examine the grain boundaries of this material, and saw lines of misaligned atoms. Once they knew where to find the grain boundaries, and what they looked like, the team could study the effect of a single grain boundary on the properties of the MoS2. To do this, they built tiny transistors, the most basic component in all of electronics, out of the crystals and saw that the single, defective line of atoms at the grain boundaries could drastically change the key electronic and optical properties of the MoS2.
"We've made a lot of progress in controlling the growth of this new 'wonder' nanomaterial and are now developing techniques to integrate it into many new technologies," Hone adds. "We're only just beginning to scratch the surface of what we can make with these materials and what their properties are. For instance, we can easily remove this material from the growth substrate and transfer it on to any arbitrary surface, which enables us to integrate it into large-scale, flexible electronics and solar cells."
The crystal synthesis, optical measurements, electronic measurements, and theory were all performed by research groups at Columbia Engineering. The growth and electrical measurements were made by the Hone lab in mechanical engineering; the optical measurements were carried out in the Tony Heinz lab in physics. The structural modeling and electronic structure calculations were performed by the David Reichman lab in chemistry. The electron microscopy was performed by atomic imaging experts in the David Muller lab at Cornell University's School of Applied and Engineering Physics, and the Kavli Institute at Cornell for Nanoscale Science.
The study was sponsored by the Columbia Energy Frontier Research Center, with additional support provided by the National Science Foundation through the Cornell Center for Materials Research.
Only in the last few years have I started to appreciate what the legend of Creighton Churchill ?(?"The World of Wines?"?&??"?A Notebook For the Wines of France"?) has meant to the foodservice industry. ?He is a forgotten pioneer in the art of wine selection and promotion. ??
During my brief encounters with Creighton in the mid-1970's, during the heyday of the airline industry (Jumbo 747s, piano bars, 1st class wine tasting, carved roast beef, King crab and ?wonderful deadhead flights from JFK to Paris or Puerto Rico ). ? We were both always high; ?I worked for American Airlines and was sky-high, and he was high on life and wine. ?Creighton was on a mission to bring quality wine to the masses in a New York elitist sort of way, and I was a rookie F&B purchasing agent with a $115 million budget.?
Experience teaches us that potholes, or in my case ?air-pockets? are to be avoided when buying and selling alcoholic beverages. ?While this blog is not a story about drinking causalities, before suggesting to you how to select a wine for your table or business, it would be best if you would draw a glass of your favorite port or chardonnay, as I share a few tips and quips. ? ???
Foodservice purchasing agents should not buy everything they sample.
Never play golf for money with a liquor salesmen
Deny that you have an extra set of keys to the liquor storeroom
Do subscribe to?Food & Wine Magazine?and?The Wine Spectator
Attend the???Pune Wine Tasting Festival???at least once in your life.
Read?"The Noble Grape", ?by Andre L. Simone, before your visa to India expires or they outsource your job. ?
Surprise your employees with a Hydrometer test (for alcohol contents)
Never buy anything but quality brands of liquors and wines (regardless of the price or free trip to Las Vegas)
Respect liquor controls from the Feds down through the state, county, police, health department and especially your wife.
I have always respected hotel and retail F&B executives like Don Stanczak (Interstate Hotels & Resorts) and Kevin Garvin (Neiman Marcus). ?Our consulting firm has been blessed having had a business relationship with both. Their leadership and buying savvy regarding the selection of fine wines and spirits leaves a lasting impression.?
Just like my first mentor, Creighton, both Kevin and Don used to say that they could tell their managers or Chefs? ?how to buy liquor and wine in five minutes ? but teaching them what to buy would take five years.?
The art of tasting, however, can be leaned more quickly than selection, and this can be a very enjoyable process, especially when wine is perfectly matched with great cuisine.?
Here are the basics of wine tasting:?? ?
Look ? ? (bright, clear, free of sediment, color),
Taste ? (dry, sweet, fortified, ?pluckiness? or tannin )
If you are new to wine selection and spirits purchasing, take a few years to watch and listen to the experts, learn how to spit professionally and try not to fall down along the journey.
To Higher Profits, Fred
Fred Favole is President of?Strategic Purchasing Services?(SPS), America's most experienced purchasing firm specializing in outsourcing, and cost reduction services. ?Contact Information: p: 912-634-0030, email: Fred@ StrategicPurchasingServices.com
PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) ? After months of ignoring Chinese warnings to give up nuclear weapons, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un sent a high-level confidant to Beijing on Wednesday, in a possible effort to mend strained ties with his country's most important ally and a sign that he may be giving diplomacy a chance.
The trip by Vice Marshal Choe Ryong Hae, a senior Workers' Party official and the military's top political officer, is taking place as tensions ease somewhat on the Korean Peninsula after near-daily vows from Pyongyang to attack Washington and Seoul in March and April.
The United States, Japan, South Korea, China and Russia have been busy discussing how best to engage with the North Koreans. Japan sent an envoy to North Korea last week to discuss decades-old abductions of its citizens, a move that has drawn concern among allies of Tokyo who want denuclearization to be the focus of talks.
Choe's visit is the first this year by a top North Korean official to China, which is under pressure from the U.S. and others to rein in its belligerent neighbor. It's also the first since a change of leadership in Beijing, whose new leaders have demonstrated a willingness to work with Washington to harry Pyongyang over its nuclear weapons programs even as stability in North Korea remains the Chinese government's priority.
North Korea also revealed Wednesday that a former defense minister, Kim Kyok Sik, was promoted to chief of the Korean People's Army in the latest in a series of high-level military reshuffles as Kim Jong Un elevates a new generation of military leaders.
Foreign analysts see Choe's trip as part fence-mending mission, part appeal for aid.
The last high-level North Korea-China meeting took place when Chinese Communist Party chief Xi Jinping sent a Politburo member to Pyongyang in November. Weeks later, North Korea launched a long-range rocket, followed by an underground nuclear test in February. That test, the country's third, drew tightened sanctions by the U.N. and United States.
Showing its displeasure with North Korea, China has tightened inspections on cross-border trade and its state banks have halted business with North Korea's Foreign Trade Bank ? signs that Beijing is getting serious about enforcing sanctions.
"The North Korean side has been feeling China's pressure," said Ma Xiaojun, a North Korea watcher at the Central Party School, a think tank for the leadership in Beijing.
"Our policies and stance have tended to be tougher and more clearly express our unhappiness and displeasure," said Ma. He added, quoting President Xi, "causing trouble on China's doorstep is not right, and China will not tolerate it."
Choe's priority is to mend ties, Ma said. Immediately upon landing in Beijing, Choe went to see Wang Jiarui, head of the Chinese leadership's international affairs office and long the point man for China's dealings with Pyongyang.
The North's official Korean Central News Agency said the two sides "exchanged views on matters of further improving the bilateral friendly relations at a new, higher stage."
China is impoverished North Korea's economic and diplomatic lifeline, providing nearly all of its fuel and most of its trade. China accounted for 89 percent of North Korea's exports and imports in 2011, according to the most recent figures available from Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency in Seoul, South Korea, which collects North Korean trade data.
China and North Korea are jointly developing two special economic zones: Rason on the Korean Peninsula's northeastern tip and Hwanggumphyong, an island in the Yalu River on North Korea's western border.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei reiterated Wednesday that Beijing is committed to seeing North Korea denuclearize while maintaining regional stability ? a catchphrase for continued Chinese support for Pyongyang.
Last week, a Japanese envoy traveled to Pyongyang for ongoing discussions about the decades-old abductions of its citizens by North Korea. After the envoy's return, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he would be open to holding a summit with Kim Jong Un if it would lead to a breakthrough. The issue is of great importance to Japanese, though when it returned five abduction victims in 2002, North Korea said there were no more living abductees.
Other countries are worried about focusing on Japanese abductions. Glyn Davies, the U.S. special representative for North Korea policy, warned North Korea might be trying to use talks with Japan to drive a wedge between the policies of Tokyo, Washington and Seoul.
During a summit with U.S. President Barack Obama this month, South Korean President Park Geun-hye laid out her policy of building trust with North Korea while remaining firm against provocations. Her office said she may travel to China next month.
In a sign that tensions have eased somewhat, the U.S. Air Force launched an unarmed Minuteman 3 ballistic missile in California on Wednesday, a month after postponing the test flight to avoid it being misconstrued by North Korea during the high tensions.
China wants security assurances that North Korea will act with less belligerence and make efforts to ease tensions, said Daniel Pinkston, an expert on North Korea with the International Crisis Group think tank who is based in Seoul, South Korea.
Because Choe has high-level military and ruling party positions, he can cover a variety of topics and likely will discuss security, normalization of economic ties and possible requests for aid when he meets with Chinese officials, Pinkston said.
Choe is a longtime Kim family friend who often is pictured standing next to the leader, along with Jang Song Thaek, Kim Jong Un's uncle. Jang, a top official now in charge of overseeing the push to expand North Korea's sports industry, visited China in August last year but was not in Wednesday's delegation.
Choe may also try to explain North Korea's recent military moves, including short-range projectile launches off the east coast, said Lee Ji-sue, a North Korea specialist and professor at Myongji University in Seoul.
He may also be paving the way for a visit by Kim Jong Un, who has not been to Beijing since taking power following the December 2011 death of his father, Kim Jong Il. The elder Kim visited China in August 2011.
Meanwhile, among the North Korean officials who went to the tarmac Wednesday to see Choe off was Gen. Kim Kyok Sik, North Korea's newly named chief of the armed forces.
Kim is believed to be commander of the North Korean battalions Seoul accuses of orchestrating two attacks in 2010 that killed 50 South Koreans.
Kim Kyok Sik had served as defense minister until being replaced recently by a little-known general, Jang Jong Nam, in one of several military reshuffles that have taken place since Kim Jong Un took power.
Kim's appointment to head troops suggests North Korea will maintain its hard line toward South Korea, said Han Yong-sup, a professor at Korea National Defense University in Seoul.
___
Associated Press writers Kim Kwang Hyon in Pyongyang; Sam Kim, Youkyung Lee and Hyung-jin Kim in Seoul, South Korea; Charles Hutzler in Beijing; and Eric Talmadge in Tokyo contributed to this report.
