Russia loses $200 million satellites as launch ends in firey failure

By Dmitry Solovyov

ALMATY, Kazakhstan (Reuters) - A Russian rocket carrying three navigation satellites worth around $200 million crashed shortly after lift-off from the Russian-leased Baikonur launch facility in Kazakhstan on Tuesday after its engines suddenly switched off.

The accident led to a large spill of heptyl, a highly toxic rocket propellant, but there were no reports of casualties or of any immediate threat to nearby settlements.

State-run Rossiya-24 television showed footage of the Proton-M booster rocket veering off course seconds after lift-off. It fell apart in flames in the air and crashed in a ball of fire near the launch pad.

Interfax news agency quoted an unnamed source as saying launch-pad personnel were in bunkers when the rocket lifted off.

Russia's space agency Roscosmos said the accident had been caused by the emergency switch-off of the rocket's engines 17 seconds into the flight.

Russia's state-run RIA news agency said the switch-off could have been caused by a problem with the engine or the guidance system.

The rocket contained 172 metric tons (1 metric ton = 1.1023 tons) of highly toxic heptyl propellant, Kazakh Emergencies Minister Vladimir Bozhko told an emergency government meeting.

Talgat Musabayev, head of Kazakhstan's space agency Kazcosmos, said nitric oxide - a product of burning heptyl - was much less toxic for humans. He said it was raining in the area, so toxic clouds would probably not reach the town of Baikonur some 60 km (38 miles) away.

However, the authorities instructed locals to stay at home and not to open windows, and ordered to close shops and public catering, said Kazakh Interior Minister Kalmukhambet Kasymov.

The estimated loss from the three satellites, meant for Russia's troubled Glonass satellite navigation system, was about $200 million, Rossiya-24 reported.

Russia plans to spend more than 300 billion roubles ($9.1 billion) by 2020 on Glonass, its answer to the U.S. GPS system.

The system, first conceived by the Soviet Union more than 40 years ago, has been plagued by failed launches, including one in 2010 in which three satellites were also lost, and by suspicions of corruption and embezzlement. Its chief designer was dismissed last year during a fraud investigation.

The Proton rocket, known at the time under its UR-500 code, made its first test flights in the mid-1960s.

It was originally designed as an intercontinental ballistic missile to carry a nuclear warhead targeting the Soviet Union's Cold War foe the United States. But it was never deployed as a nuclear weapon.

Several crashes of Proton rockets accompanied by spills of heptyl have led to temporary strains in relations between Russia and Kazakhstan.

Russia is increasing spending on space and plans to send a probe to the moon in 2015, but the pioneering program that put the first man in space in 1961 has been plagued in recent years by setbacks, including botched satellite launches and a failed attempt to send a probe to a moon of Mars.

(Additional reporting by Steve Gutterman in Moscow and Raushan Nurshayeva in Asatana; Writing by Dmitry Solovyov; Editing by Jon Boyle)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/unmanned-russian-rocket-crashes-launch-kazakhstan-035601691.html

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'The Killing' keeps it all in the family

TV

Will Harris TODAY contributor

13 hours ago

Carole Segal / AMC

Danette Leeds (Amy Seimetz) and Bullet (Bex Taylor-Klaus) on "The Killing."

It was all about family on AMC?s ?The Killing? this week, with virtually every key storyline revolving around motherhood, fatherhood, or the effect that moms and dads have on their kids ? and vice versa, for that matter ? even when they don?t realize it. That?s not to say that there weren?t other key developments, including the abrupt disappearance of Angie at the end of the episode and the sudden decision to consider Pastor Mike as a suspect, but this was an installment that was about more than just the flashy moments.

Too Little, Too Late?
Despite last week?s ominous conclusion, Danette Leeds managed to move fast and escape from Joe Mills, but she?s so crazed when she arrives at the police station that she?s taken into custody. When Linden arrives, she tries to stay angry at her, but she quickly realizes that Danette?s finally ? if belatedly ? become legitimately worried about her daughter, which is particularly depressing given that the transition has come at a point where the likelihood of Kallie still being alive is dropping ever lower all the time. The depth of Danette?s concern becomes evident when she even goes so far as to reach out to Bullet and asks her for help in her search, resulting in a bit of bonding between them, but when Bullet says, ?She?ll be all right,? and Danette says, ?Yeah,? it?s painfully obvious that neither of them believes it.

Goodbye, Alton; Hello, Dad
In the wake of being granted forgiveness by his siblings for having killed his parents, Alton decides that he?s had just about as much prison as he can take, and Seward, in a slightly twisted yet strangely heartfelt gesture, stands by and lets his friend ?escape? by hanging himself in his cell. With family on his mind, Seward requests a visit with his father, who ? shocker! ? is also in jail. Although viewers finally learn who hooked Seward up with the razor blade a few episodes back (now there?s a dad who knows how to pick gifts for his kid), the visit proves a waste of time for Seward, who seems reasonably horrified to discover that his father thinks he?s actually been a pretty decent parent, having taught his son how to be a man, snapping back at his dad on the way back to his cell, ?Dying in an orange jumpsuit doesn?t make you a man!?

Proud Moments in Parenting
Speaking of Sewards and their kids, Linden?s been called out for having visited Seward?s son at his school, but in the process of getting an earful from the boy?s foster parents, she picks up on a piece of information that hadn?t previously emerged in their investigation: Young Adrian has long had a tendency to sleep in the closet. Putting two and two together, Linden and Holder rush off to commit a ?class-A felony? (Holder?s words) by breaking into the former crime scene, but the end result is the discovery that Adrian saw his mother?s murderer?and it wasn?t Seward. In a desperate attempt to get access to what Adrian knows, since Skinner?s not having any of it, Linden visits Seward and begs for his assistance, admitting that she realizes he?s innocent of his wife?s murder. He snaps and storms away, screaming, ?You came to this realization three years after the fact, just 12 days before I hang? Jesus!?

Well, he has a point.

Source: http://www.today.com/entertainment/killing-keeps-it-all-family-6C10501511

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Obama visits Mandela's former jail before South Africa speech

On Sunday, the First Family visited Robben Island, which is where Nelson Mandela was held for 18 of the nearly 30 years he was in prison. NBC's Kristen Welker reports.

By Alastair Jamieson, Staff writer, NBC News

U.S. President Barack Obama and his family were visiting a former prison island off South Africa on Sunday in tribute to ailing anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela.

The visit to Robben Island ? the penal colony where Mandela spent 18 of his 27 years in jail ? was taking place hours ahead of a speech at the University of Cape Town.

Obama has already seen Mandela's cell once before, during a visit he made while still a U.S. senator in 2006.

The President and First Lady Michelle Obama made the short but spectacular flight to Robben Island from nearby Cape Town at 1:46 p.m. local time (7:46 a.m. ET).

Obama met privately Saturday with relatives of Mandela, who has been in a serious condition in a hospital in Pretoria, near Johannesburg, for three weeks.

The White House announced earlier that Obama, "out of deference to Nelson Mandela's peace and comfort and the family's wishes," would not visit Mandela, who led South Africa out of racial segregation and became its first black president.

Obama also spoke by telephone with Gra?a Machel, Mandela's wife, while she remained at the 94-year-old former statesman's beside.

"I also reaffirmed the profound impact that his legacy has had in building a free South Africa, and in inspiring people around the world -- including me," Obama said in a statement.

"I expressed my hope that Madiba draws peace and comfort from the time that he is spending with loved ones, and also expressed my heartfelt support for the entire family as they work through this difficult time," Obama said, referring to Mandela by his honorary clan name.

Obama?s Sunday speech echoes the ?Day of Affirmation? address given at the same location in 1966 by Robert Kennedy, who compared struggle to overcome apartheid with the U.S. civil rights movement.

NBC News' Daniel Arkin contributed to this report.

Related:

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This story was originally published on Sun Jun 30, 2013 9:14 AM EDT

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/663309/s/2dff1d02/l/0Lworldnews0Bnbcnews0N0C0Inews0C20A130C0A60C30A0C1921730A30Eobama0Evisits0Emandelas0Eformer0Ejail0Ebefore0Esouth0Eafrica0Espeech0Dlite/story01.htm

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Officials: Wayne County Oil Spill Leaks into River

WAYNESBORO, Miss. (AP) - Authorities are cleaning up hundreds of gallons of oil that spilled from a well in Wayne County and leaked into the Chickasawhay River.
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The Clarion-Ledger reports 945 to 2,362 gallons of oil spilled from a well owned by Logan Oil. The company notified Wayne County officials of the spill on Thursday.
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Allen Floyd, field director for the Mississippi Oil and Gas Board, said the spill had been contained and its environmental effects were expected to be "minimal."
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Joseph Dunlap, of the Wayne County Emergency Management Agency, said oil had flowed roughly four miles down the river, which is located about one mile from the oil field.
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Officials estimated the cleanup efforts could last several days.
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The cause of the spill remained under investigation Friday.
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Information from: The Clarion-Ledger

(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

6/29/2013 1:49:04 PM (GMT -5:00)

Click here to read this story on www.local15tv.com

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/id/52351472/ns/local_news-mobile_al/

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Is that bacteria dead yet? Nano and laser technology packed into small device tests antibiotic treatment in minutes

June 30, 2013 ? Researchers at EPFL have built a matchbox-sized device that can test for the presence of bacteria in a couple of minutes, instead of up to several weeks. A nano-lever vibrates in the presence of bacterial activity, while a laser reads the vibration and translates it into an electrical signal that can be easily read -- the absence of a signal signifies the absence of bacteria. Thanks to this method, it is quick and easy to determine if a bacteria has been effectively treated by an antibiotic, a crucial medical tool especially for resistant strains. Easily used in clinics, it could also prove useful for testing chemotherapy treatment.

The research is published in the latest issue of Nature Nanotechnology.

"This method is fast and accurate. And it can be a precious tool for both doctors looking for the right dosage of antibiotics and for researchers to determine which treatments are the most effective," explains Giovanni Dietler.

Laser and nanotechnology read the bacteria's metabolic activity

It currently takes a long time to measure a bacterial infection's response to antibiotic treatment. Clinicians must culture the bacteria and then observe its growth, sometimes for almost a month, as is the case with tuberculosis, in order to determine if the treatment has been effective.

Thanks to advances in laser and optical technology, the EPFL team of physicists has reduced this time to a couple of minutes. To do so, Giovanni Dietler, Sandor Kasas and Giovanni Longo have exploited the microscopic movements of a bacterium's metabolism.

These vital signs are almost unperceivable. In order to test for them, the researchers place the bacteria on an extremely sensitive measuring device that vibrates a small lever -- only slightly thicker than a strand of hair -- in the presence of certain activity. The lever then vibrates under the metabolic activity of the germs. These infinitely small oscillations, on the order of one millionth of a millimeter, determine the presence or absence of the bacteria.

To measure these vibrations, the researchers project a laser onto the lever. The light is then reflected back and the signal is converted into an electrical current to be interpreted by the clinician or researcher. When the electrical current is a flat line, one knows that the bacteria are all dead; it is as easy to read as an electrocardiogram.

A promising method for cancer treatment

The researchers have miniaturized the tool -- it is currently the size of a matchbox. "By joining our tool with a piezoelectric device instead of a laser, we could further reduce its size to the size of a microchip," says Giovanni Dietler. They could then be combined together to test a series of antibiotics on one strain in only a couple of minutes.

The researchers are currently evaluating the tool's potential in other fields, notably oncology. They are looking into measuring the metabolism of tumor cells that have been exposed to cancer treatment to evaluate the efficiency of the treatment. "If our method also works in this field, we really have a precious tool on our hands that can allow us to develop new treatments and also test both quickly and simply how the patient is reacting to the cancer treatment," says Sandor Kasas.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/1zTXeSe2UBI/130630145006.htm

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