medicate sophi: April 2013

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

First Data names JPMorgan executive Bisignano as CEO

* Nadal beats fellow Spaniard Almagro 6-4 6-3 * Wins eighth Barcelona title in nine years (Updates with details, quotes) April 28 (Reuters) - Rafa Nadal became the first player to win four titles this year when he defeated fellow Spaniard Nicolas Almagro 6-4 6-3 to win the Barcelona Open for the eighth time in nine years on Sunday. Since returning from a seven-month absence with a left knee injury in February, the world number five has reached the final at all six events he has played, his Barcelona triumph adding to the victories in Sao Paulo, Acapulco and Indian Wells. "I'm very happy. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/first-data-names-jpmorgan-executive-bisignano-ceo-201829452.html

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Monday, April 29, 2013

Hold Nails with a Bobby Pin to Spare Your Fingers

Even for skilled craftsmen, hammering nails always carries some risk of smashing a finger. Next time you pull out the toolbox, bring some bobby pins with you too.

Simply use the bobby pin like a pair of tweezers to hold the nail in place until you've driven it far enough into the wood. You might not get quite as good a grip as you would using your fingers, but if you can make it work, but it should be sufficient for most situations, and it eliminates any danger of smashing your hand. Hit up the source link for more clever uses for your spare bobby pins.

15 Clever uses for All Those Extra Bobby Pins in Your Bathroom | WonderHowTo

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/bZYAXJOn9-U/hold-nails-with-a-bobby-pin-to-spare-your-fingers-478939147

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NBA vet Jason Collins is first openly gay player in U.S. sports

(Refiling to add additional codes)

* NBA Commissioner praises Collins for breaking barrier

* Free agent Collins says hopes to find a new team

By Julian Linden

April 29 (Reuters) - Jason Collins, a veteran center in the National Basketball Association (NBA), announced on Monday that he was gay, becoming the first active player from any U.S. professional sports league to publicly reveal his homosexuality.

Collins, a free agent who played with the Washington Wizards and Boston Celtics during the NBA's 2012-13 regular season, made the announcement in an interview with Sports Illustrated that was published on Monday.

"I didn't set out to be the first openly gay athlete playing in a major American team sport. But since I am, I'm happy to start the conversation," he said.

"I wish I wasn't the kid in the classroom raising his hand and saying, 'I'm different.' If I had my way, someone else would have already done this. Nobody has, which is why I'm raising my hand."

In the ultra-scrutinized world of U.S. professional sports, there had never been an openly gay player in any of America's major professional sports leagues, although some had revealed their sexual orientation after retiring.

In a country with openly gay politicians, entertainers and even soldiers, professional sports had become a final frontier and questions were being asked why sports, which helped play a key role in changing public opinion on racial discrimination, was out of step with the rest of American society.

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton, whose daughter Chelsea was a classmate of Collins at Stanford University, applauded Collins for coming out.

"Jason's announcement today is an important moment for professional sports and in the history of the LGBT community," Clinton said in a statement.

"It is also the straightforward statement of a good man who wants no more than what so many of us seek: to be able to be who we are; to do our work; to build families and to contribute to our communities. For so many members of the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) community, these simple goals remain elusive.

"I hope that everyone, particularly Jason's colleagues in the NBA, the media and his many fans extend to him their support and the respect he has earned."

NBA Commissioner David Stern also praised Collins for breaking the barrier.

"Jason has been a widely respected player and teammate throughout his career and we are proud he has assumed the leadership mantle on this very important issue," Stern said in a statement.

Collins, 34, has played for six NBA teams since entering the league in 2001 and twice appeared in the playoffs. He said he wants to continue playing and hopes to find a new team.

It had seemed like only matter of time until an active player said he was gay after the issue had become one of the hottest topics in North America, no more so than in the National Football League (NFL), the most macho of America's pro sports.

In the days leading up to this year's Super Bowl in New Orleans, San Francisco 49ers cornerback Chris Culliver told reporters he would not welcome a homosexual teammate into the locker room.

He later retracted his comments but reports have since emerged of NFL teams asking college players about their sexuality at a scouting combine in February.

This prompted the New York State attorney general to send a letter to the NFL, urging the league to take action and adopt a formal policy of sexual discrimination.

Culliver's comments are not typical of the attitude of all professional sportsmen. Indeed, there are several high-profile NFL players, most notably Chris Kluwe and Brendon Ayanbadejo, who have advocated for gay rights.

Both believe it was only a matter of time before a professional player came out publicly. (Reporting by Julian Linden in New York; Editing by Frank Pingue)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nba-collins-comes-first-openly-gay-player-u-154748772.html

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Robert Pattinson & Kristen Stewart Talking Marriage?

Robert Pattinson & Kristen Stewart wedding? Kristen Stewart has reportedly told close pals that she is ready to settle down with her “Twilight” co-star Robert Pattinson. The 23-year-old actress confessed she plans to tie the knot with Pattinson while they hung out with friends at the Coachella Festival earlier this month. So are Kristen and Robert hearing wedding bells? Kristen Stewart ...

Robert Pattinson & Kristen Stewart Talking Marriage? Stupid Celebrities Gossip Stupid Celebrities Gossip News

Source: http://stupidcelebrities.net/2013/04/robert-pattinson-kristen-stewart-talking-marriage/

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Saturn Is Closest to Earth on Sunday: See It Live Online

The best view of Saturn available to Earth dwellers in six years should be on Sunday (April 28), with the planet reaching its opposition point, when Earth lies directly between it and the sun.

You can watch the celestial show live online via the Slooh Space Camera, which will be broadcasting a feed from its telescopes in Spain's Canary Islands. You can?watch the Saturn webcast live on SPACE.com?beginning at 9:30 p.m. EDT on Sunday (0130 GMT Monday).

The giant planet should put on a spectacular show, with its famous icy rings tilted at a perfect angle for viewing. During Saturn's close approach to Earth, the planet will be exceptionally bright, reaching about the same brightness as famous stars such as Betelgeuse. The ringed giant should be visible all night long on April 27 and 28, and its shadow will fall so that neither the east nor west side of the rings is darkened.

"Saturn is widely regarded as the most beautiful planet in the known universe," Bob Berman, contributing editor and monthly columnist for Astronomy magazine, said in a statement. "And this is the day that it is largest and hence potentially clearest not just for all of 2013, but for the past half dozen years, thanks to the greatly improved viewing tilt of its famous rings. The famous inky-black gap separating its broad white 'B' ring from its narrower 'A' ring, called the Cassini Division, should be striking."

Berman will appear as a commentator on the Slooh webcast, along with Slooh engineer Paul Cox, who will be controlling the Slooh telescopes robotically from the United Kingdom, and other experts.

Saturn's position will also give skywatchers a chance to view a mysterious storm brewing on the planet. [Stunning Photos of Saturn's Weird Vortex Storms]

"Surrounding the Saturn north pole, which is now angled toward us better than has been seen for the past two decades, lies a bizarre hexagon, each of whose six sides is larger than our entire planet Earth," Berman said. "The origin of this long-lived feature is utterly mysterious, and although its location at the very 'top' of Saturn makes it impossible to see from Earth through any telescope including Hubble, thanks to the sideways viewpoint we always have, it has given Saturn's north pole a new notoriety. No doubt, some viewers will 'tune in' to gaze at Saturn close-up and in true color on this day of its closest approach, merely because of that baffling feature."

To view the planet with your naked eye or through a telescope, stargazers in North America should look halfway up the southern sky around midnight. Saturn will shine to the left of the bright blue star Spica in the constellation Virgo.

You can also follow the Slooh webcast live via the?Slooh Space Camera website.

Editor's Note:?If you snap an amazing photo of Saturn and its rings and would like to share it with SPACE.com for a story or image gallery, please send comments and images to managing editor Tariq Malik at?spacephotos@space.com.

Follow Clara Moskowitz on Twitter and Google+. Follow us?@Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on SPACE.com.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/saturn-closest-earth-sunday-see-live-online-124011909.html

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Saturday, April 27, 2013

Betaworks acquires Instapaper, promises continued development

If you're the sort who likes to catch up on web articles through a dedicated reader app, you're likely familiar with Instapaper and its lone creator, Marco Arment. His solo work makes for a cohesive experience and a great story, but it also involves a lot of strain -- enough so that Arment is selling majority control of the app to Betaworks, the owner of Bitly and Digg. Thankfully, this shouldn't represent a classic acquire-and-absorb deal that ultimately kills the original brand. Arment says he'll remain involved as an advisor, and the takeover is arranged with promises that Betaworks will add staff and continue building the read-it-later tool. While neither side has said just where they'll take Instapaper with more resources, there's a real chance that competitors like Pocket will feel some added pressure.

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets

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Via: Marco Arment (Twiter)

Source: Marco.org

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/04/25/betaworks-acquires-instapaper-promises-continued-development/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

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Gaming Roundup: A Master Returns to His Roots | Tor.com

Gaming Roundup: A Master Returns to His Roots

Bethesda finally drew back the curtain on their latest project this week, and fans of the survival horror genre should be very, very happy. Shinji Makami, creator of the Resident Evil and Dino Crisis franchises, is returning to his survival horror roots with his new game, The Evil Within,?in hopes of steering a genre he sees as slightly off-course back in the right direction.

According to IGN, The Evil Within sees the player take on the role of Sebastian, a detective investigating a homicide at an inner-city asylum. Needless to say, things go horribly awry for our hero and he finds himself quickly bound and strung up in the mental hospital at the mercy of various murderous, unspeakable things.

Makami sees his game as an opportunity to restore true survival horror in gaming: ?Survival horror has been drifting away from what makes it survival horror. And so I want to bring it back. Bring back survival horror to where it was.? Accordingly, the game focuses on creating a theatrical, intimate, claustrophobic environment that serves to disorient and displace the player at every turn?unannounced switches in setting are reportedly influenced by the architectural design of the Winchester House.

Mikami?s team is certainly aware that it?s much harder to scare the average gamer today, and they?re doing their best to ensure that The Evil Within will not fall short on the scares front. This includes ensuring that the player isn?t empowered with any ?extraordinary powers? and the familiar survival horror staple of limited weapons and ammo on hand.

We?ll be following Bethesda?s latest offering closely as development progresses, but in the meantime, check out the trailer below.

In other gaming news this week, the new Batman: Arkham game will have a multiplayer mode, Beyond: Two Souls goes heavy on the story, and we get a date for the official next-gen Xbox reveal. Read on!

A landmark, of sorts, for the Xbox this week, as the launch of their new Pizza Hut app marks the first time an entertainment app ?has allowed for the purchase and delivery of physical goods.? Well, we suppose it?ll do until Xbox comes to an app agreement with restaurants that provide real food...
Kotaku is reporting that the next Batman: Arkham game, Origins, will include a multiplayer gameplay mode in which you may (and we stress that this is as of yet unconfirmed) have the ability to play as a member of Bane or Joker?s gang in an attempt to take down Batman and Robin. Rumored playable henchmen include Killer Croc, Deadshot, Black Mask, and Deathstroke, among others.
For those commenters asking after the fate of the Darksiders franchise post-THQ bankruptcy: some good news! Nordic Games, developers of the Painkiller franchise, purchased the Darksiders IP, as well as several others including Red Faction, from THQ during the course of their bankruptcy auction. Nordic appears to have big plans for Darksiders, so chances of seeing another game in the franchise are pretty good.
In related news, Gearbox Software landed the Homeworld IP in the same auction.?
Let the inner-12-year-old-boy in you rejoice?the Leisure Suit Larry HD remake launches May 31.
The script for Quantic Dream?s Beyond: Two Souls, the studio?s follow-up to the surprise hit Heavy Rain, currently runs about 2000 pages long. Heavy story investment, indeed. The game, which features the voice talent of Ellen Page and Willem Dafoe, is scheduled for release on October 8.

If there are games you?d like us to cover or blogs you think we should be following for more news, please let us know?@tdelucci?or?@pritpaulbains.

Source: http://www.tor.com/blogs/2013/04/gaming-roundup-a-master-returns-to-his-roots?utm_source=Feedburner:+Frontpage+Partial+RSS+Feed&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+Torcom/Frontpage_Partial+(Tor.com+Frontpage+Partial+-+Blog+and+Stories)

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ZTE's 2013 Q1 sees profits of $33 million despite three percent sales slide

ZTEs 2013 Q1 sees profits of $33 million despite three percent sales slide

ZTE has managed to break a run of two straight quarterly losses by posting a net profit of $33 million in its first 2013 financials. Unfortunately, the extra cash has come from selling a $133 million stake in surveillance firm Shenzhen ZNV, rather than any surge in handset popularity. A three percent fall in sales, project holdups, and squeezed margins have all helped to heap woes onto ZTE's plate -- not to mention the ongoing hostility from the folks in Congress.

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile

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Source: Bloomberg

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/04/26/zte-2013-q1/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

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NFL draft: Chiefs pick Central Michigan's Eric Fisher No. 1

NEW YORK (AP) ? Short on glam, slim on glitter and no sign of Manti Te'o, the NFL draft was still a solid B-plus.

As in Big, as in Brawn, as in Bulk, as in Beefy.

We're talking a scale-busting 600 pounds at the outset Thursday night with offensive tackles Eric Fisher of Central Michigan and Luke Joeckel of Texas A&M.

The first seven picks were all linemen: four on offense, three on defense.

"That's a lot of love for the big boys up front, which we usually don't get," Fisher said.

None of the teams making the first 32 selections went for Te'o, not even Minnesota, which had three first-round picks. The All-America linebacker's poor performance in Notre Dame's loss to Alabama in the national championship game surely was a factor. Still to be determined is how much the fake girlfriend hoax cost him.

Unlike the last few years when bumper crops of quarterbacks reigned, this was pure muscle, and lots of it.

Actually, not a single QB was selected until Florida State's EJ Manuel went to Buffalo at No. 16 ? the lowest since 2000, when Chad Pennington went 18th to the Jets.

No running backs were chosen, either, for the first time since 1963.

As for Te'o, he ran a 40-yard dash in 4.82 seconds at the NFL combine, slow for a linebacker. He improved at Notre Dame's pro day, but not nearly enough to go in the opening round. In January he acknowledged he was a victim of a hoax ? it turned out the dead "girlfriend" he talked about last season wasn't dead and never existed.

Fisher became the first Mid-American Conference player selected at the top when Kansas City's new regime led by coach Andy Reid chose the 6-foot-7, 306-pound offensive tackle.

"This is so surreal," Fisher said. "I'm ready to get to work right now. I'm ready to start playing some football. I can't process what's going on right now."

Fisher was followed by All-American Joeckel going to Jacksonville, defensive end Dion Jordan of Oregon to Miami, which traded up with Oakland, and Oklahoma tackle Lane Johnson to Philadelphia. Not a skill position player yet in sight ? a stark change from the last four drafts, when quarterbacks went first.

The procession of linemen continued with BYU defensive end Ziggy Ansah, born in Ghana, going to Detroit; LSU defensive end Barkevious Mingo to Cleveland; and North Carolina guard Jonathan Cooper to Arizona.

That made for a ton of beef after the first seven picks. In all, 18 linemen went in the first round, weighing an estimated 5,650 total pounds.

And they wore it well, with their designer suits that barely were ruffled when they each engulfed Roger Goodell in the now traditional bear hugs between draftee and commissioner.

"It's called a three-piece, right?" asked Joeckel, who sported blue checks with the vested suit, along with a striped tie.

Fisher was only the third offensive tackle picked No. 1, joining Orlando Pace (1997) and Jake Long (2008) since the 1970 merger of the NFL and AFL. It's also the first time since '70 that offensive tackles went 1-2.

Even without a high-profile passer, runner or tackler going at the outset, the fans in the home of the Rockettes were pumped. They chanted "U-S-A, U-S-A" when Goodell paid tribute to the first responders at the Boston Marathon bombings and to the victims of the West, Texas explosion. They roared when Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Namath began the countdown to the first outdoor Super Bowl in a cold-weather site by taking the podium and screaming: "New York; Super Bowl 48."

The crowd didn't seem to care that early on the picks were all heifers, not hoofers. No Andrew Lucks or RG3s at the top of this crop.

"What you're getting is a very athletic player, a great kid, smart kid, engineering major," Reid said of Fisher, who really began to draw attention with a strong Senior Bowl, showing he could handle the highest level of competition. "He can play any position along the line, and loves to play the game."

Joeckel didn't seem any less thrilled to go No. 2.

"I don't have words for all the emotions I feel," he said. "It's the best feeling of my entire life."

Miami, envisioning Jordan as the next Jason Taylor, sent its first-rounder (12th overall) and this year's second-rounder to Oakland. Then new Eagles coach Chip Kelly got a road-grader for his uptempo offense in Johnson.

"Tackle is not a very sexy position," Johnson said. "But it's a position of dire need."

The next big trade saw the Rams move up eight spots ? and send four picks to Buffalo to do so. St. Louis ended the pursuit of heft by grabbing West Virginia wide receiver Tavon Austin, who at 5-8, 174 pounds, could probably fit in the hip pocket of any of the guys picked ahead of him.

The New York Jets may have found a replacement for star cornerback Darrelle Revis ? traded to Tampa Bay ? when they picked Alabama All-American Dee Milliner. That was the first of three straight selections from two-time national champion Alabama: Tennessee took guard Chance Warmack and San Diego got offensive tackle D.J. Fluker.

Roll Tide, indeed.

Oakland used the pick it got from the Dolphins for Houston cornerback D.J. Hayden, who nearly died last November after a collision in practice tore a blood vessel off the back of his heart. He was taken to a hospital and underwent surgery.

Unlike with their choice of Milliner, which was met raucous cheers, the Jets next selection, defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson of Missouri, drew scattered boos and even a few "Who?" comments.

"I'm here to bring a championship back to New York," Richardson said.

Utah defensive tackle Star Lotulelei, who also had a heart scare at the NFL combine but then checked out fine, went 14th to Carolina, followed by Texas safety Kenny Vaccaro to New Orleans.

Then came Manuel, although many analysts pegged West Virginia's Geno Smith as the top quarterback.

Former Patriots guard Joe Andruzzi, who carried an injured female runner to safety after the Boston Marathon explosions, displayed a jersey with the city's 617 area code and "Boston Strong" written on the front. He was supposed to announce New England's pick, but the Patriots dealt it to Minnesota, which took Tennessee wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson.

Andruzzi, a native New Yorker, said, "There's a new saying in Boston: Boston Strong" before unveiling the jersey as "Sweet Caroline" was played on the loudspeakers.

Pittsburgh, which always seems to find standout linebackers, took the highest-rated one in Georgia's Jarvis Jones. His fellow All-American, Notre Dame's Manti Te'o, was still on the board.

But another member of the Fighting Irish, tight end Tyler Eifert, was chosen 21st overall by Cincinnati.

Atlanta's choice of Washington cornerback Desmond Trufant gave that family three brothers in the league. His older siblings Marcus and Isaiah preceded him.

One major surprise was the New York Giants' selection of Justin Pugh ? yet another tackle, but one who wasn't projected to go in the opening round by many draft analysts.

The round took 3 hours, 33 minutes.

___

Online: http://pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/bring-beef-draft-starting-ot-fisher-010459443--nfl.html

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Earth's core far hotter than thought

26 April 2013 Last updated at 05:56 ET By Jason Palmer Science and technology reporter, BBC News

New measurements suggest the Earth's inner core is far hotter than prior experiments suggested, putting it at 6,000C - as hot as the Sun's surface.

The solid iron core is actually crystalline, surrounded by liquid.

But the temperature at which that crystal can form had been a subject of long-running debate.

Experiments outlined in Science used X-rays to probe tiny samples of iron at extraordinary pressures to examine how the iron crystals form and melt.

Seismic waves captured after earthquakes around the globe can give a great deal of information as to the thickness and density of layers in the Earth, but they give no indication of temperature.

That has to be worked out either in computer models that simulate the Earth's insides, or in the laboratory.

X-ray vision

Measurements in the early 1990s of iron's "melting curves" - from which the core's temperature can be deduced - suggested a core temperature of about 5,000C.

"It was just the beginning of these kinds of measurements so they made a first estimate... to constrain the temperature inside the Earth," said Agnes Dewaele of the French research agency CEA and a co-author of the new research.

"Other people made other measurements and calculations with computers and nothing was in agreement. It was not good for our field that we didn't agree with each other," she told BBC News.

The core temperature is crucial to a number of disciplines that study regions of our planet's interior that will never be accessed directly - guiding our understanding of everything from earthquakes to the Earth's magnetic field.

"We have to give answers to geophysicists, seismologists, geodynamicists - they need some data to feed their computer models," Dr Dewaele said.

The team has now revisited those 20-year-old measurements, making use of the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility - one of the world's most intense sources of X-rays.

To replicate the enormous pressures at the core boundary - more than a million times the pressure at sea level - they used a device called a diamond anvil cell - essentially a tiny sample held between the points of two precision-machined synthetic diamonds.

Once the team's iron samples were subjected to the high pressures and high temperatures using a laser, the scientists used X-ray beams to carry out "diffraction" - bouncing X-rays off of the nuclei of the iron atoms and watching how the pattern changed as the iron changed from solid to liquid.

Those diffraction patterns give more insight into partially molten states of iron, which the team believes were what the researchers were measuring in the first experiments.

They suggest a core temperature of about 6,000C, give or take 500C - roughly that of the Sun's surface.

But importantly, Dr Dewaele said, "now everything agrees".

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-22297915#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

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Friday, April 26, 2013

Boston bombing suspect moved to prison from hospital: officials

By Scott Malone

BOSTON (Reuters) - Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has been moved to a prison at Fort Devens, Massachusetts, from the hospital where he had been held since his arrest a week ago, the U.S. Marshals Service said on Friday.

The 19-year-old ethnic Chechen, who was badly wounded in an overnight shootout last week with police hours after authorities released pictures of him and his older brother, also a suspect, had previously been held at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, where some of the victims were also being treated.

Tsarnaev's older brother, 26-year-old Tamerlan, died in the shootout.

Tsarnaev was charged on Monday with the April 15 bombing, which killed three and wounded 264 at the finish line of the Boston Marathon. If convicted, he faces the possibility of the death penalty.

"The U.S. Marshals Service confirms that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has been transported from the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and is now confined at the Bureau of Prisons facility FMC Devens at Ft. Devens, Mass.," said U.S. Marshals Service spokesman Drew Wade.

Devens, Massachusetts, is about 39 miles west of Boston. The prison there specializes in inmates who need long-term medical or mental health there, according to the Bureau of Prisons website. It currently holds about 1,000 prisoners.

NIGHT OF TERROR

Authorities say the brothers set off a pair of homemade bombs at the marathon on April 15. Three days later, the FBI and police identified the men in photos and videos taken at the scene.

The brothers are also suspected of shooting Massachusetts Institute of Technology police officer Sean Collier, 26, on April 18 and then hijacking a man in a car, which they planned to drive to New York City and set off additional explosives in Times Square.

Their plan was foiled when the car, a Mercedes sport-utility vehicle, ran low on fuel and they stopped for gas, giving the man a chance to escape.

Their carjacking victim was a 26-year-old man of Chinese origin who goes by the American nickname "Danny," the Boston Globe reported on Friday. The newspaper did not publish his Chinese name at his request.

"I don't want to die," the man recalled thinking as the brothers drove him around for some 90 minutes, making banal small talk, according to an interview with the Globe. "I have a lot of dreams that haven't come true yet."

Danny, who is trained as an engineer, kept the brothers calm by playing up his outsider status, although at first they were puzzled by his Chinese accent, the Globe said. After determining that the victim was Chinese, Tamerlan Tsarnaev identified himself as a Muslim, the newspaper reported.

"Chinese are very friendly to Muslims!" Danny said, according to the interview. "We are so friendly to Muslims."

One of the three people who died in the bombing was also Chinese, 23-year-old graduate student Lingzi Lu. An 8-year-old boy, Martin Richard, and 29-year-old restaurant manager Krystle Campbell were also killed in the attack.

The brothers' parents, father Anzor Tsarnaev and mother Zubeidat Tsarnaeva, told reporters on Thursday in Makhachkala, the capital of Russia's Dagestan region, that they believed their son was innocent.

The father said he planned to travel to Boston to bury Tamerlan.

This week, lawmakers demanded answers about what the U.S. government knew about the suspects before the bombing. In 2011, Russia had asked the FBI to question Tamerlan because of concerns that he may have been a radical Islamist.

(Reporting by Scott Malone; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/boston-suspects-had-spontaneous-bomb-plan-york-013726316--sector.html

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White House: Syria used chemical weapons

A damaged statue of Bassel Al-Assad, brother of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, is seen in Raqqa province, eastern??The U.S. on Thursday accused Syrian President Bashar al-Assad?s regime of having used chemical weapons, specifically the deadly nerve agent sarin, against rebels seeking to topple him.

But top officials, citing the flawed intelligence that led to the invasion of Iraq, said Washington needs to build what one called an ?airtight? case before escalating America's military role in the Syrian civil war.

?We still have some uncertainties about what was used, what kind of chemical was used, where it was used, who used it,? Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told reporters in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Still, he said, ?it violates every convention on warfare.?

President Barack Obama has repeatedly warned that he would consider Assad's use of chemical weapon a "red line" that could trigger the use of American military force in Syria, where the two-year conflict has left at least 70,000 dead.

"The President has made it clear that the use of chemical weapons or the transfer of such weapons to terrorist groups would be unacceptable," Hagel said. "The United States has an obligation to fully investigate ? including with all key partners and allies, and through the United Nations ? evidence of chemical weapons use in Syria."

The disclosure came after Britain, France, and Israel separately said they had evidence that chemical weapons had been used in Syria. top U.S. officials including Secretary of State John Kerry and Hagel had rebuffed reporters' questions about those findings.

Kerry, Deputy Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Admiral Sandy Winnefeld, and Deputy Director of National Intelligence Robert Cardillo planned to brief lawmakers Friday morning on Syria and North Korea.

Obama's director of legislative affairs, Miguel Rodriguez, spelled out some of the details on Assad's alleged use of chemical weapons in a letter to Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich) and Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona.

"Our intelligence community does assess with varying degrees of confidence that the Syrian regime has used chemical weapons on a small scale in Syria, specifically the chemical agent sarin," Rodriguez wrote. "Given the stakes involved, and what we have learned from our recent experience, intelligence assessments alone are not sufficient -- only credible and corroborated facts that provide us with some degree of certainty will guide our decision-making."

According to the Centers for Disease Control, sarin was used in terrorist attacks in Japan in 1995 and 1995 and potentially during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s.

The intelligence assessment sparked fresh calls from both parties in Congress for the U.S. to take a greater role in helping rebel forces looking to oust Assad.

"President Obama correctly said that Syria's use of chemical weapons would be a red line for the United States. Now that we have confirmed their use, the question is what is our plan for transition to a post-Assad Syria?" Republican House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers said in a statement. "I have laid out several steps, short of boots on the ground. The world is waiting for American leadership.?

Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Dianne Feinstein concurred saying "action must be taken" to prevent Assad from escalating its use of the deadly agent.

?I am very concerned that with this public acknowledgement, President Assad may calculate he has nothing more to lose and the likelihood he will further escalate this conflict therefore increases," Feinstein said in a statement. "It is also important that the world understands the use of weapons of mass destruction, such as sarin, will not be countenanced, and clearly Assad must go."

Not so fast, the Administration responded.?"We need all the facts. We need all the information," Hagel said.

In a conference call with reporters organized by the White House on Thursday, a senior Obama aide also pressed for more documentation.

"It?s precisely because we take this ?red line? so seriously that we believe there?s an obligation to fully investigate any and all evidence of chemical weapons use within Syria," he said.

The U.S. wants a full U.N. investigation but is also working with its allies and the Syrian opposition to gather more evidence.

"Given the stakes involved, given how serious the situation is, and what we?ve learned, frankly, from our own recent experience, intelligence assessments are not, alone, sufficient," the official said.

?I?d say that given our own history with intelligence assessments, including intelligence assessments related to weapons of mass destruction, it?s very important that we are able to establish this with certainty and that we are able to present information that is airthight in a public and credible fashion," he said, in an unmistakable reference to the flawed case for war in Iraq. "That is, I think, the threshold that is demanded."

The official said that if there was conclusive evidence the "red line" had indeed been crossed, the U.S. will consult with its allies and the Syrian opposition "to determine what the best course of action is."

The official said "all options are on the table in terms of our response" -- an expression that typically refers to the use of force.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/white-house-says-syrian-regime-used-chemical-weapons-164620417--politics.html

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You say you don?t want it, again and again, but you don?t, you don?t really mean it (Unqualified Offerings)

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May 2013

(Releads, adds Sheikh Mohammed's comments, Dubai dateline) DUBAI/LONDON, April 24 (Reuters) - Godolphin are to close the Newmarket stable of trainer Mahmood Al Zarooni while dope tests are carried out on all racehorses in his care after 11 tested positive for steroids, Dubai's ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum said on Wednesday. "There can be no excuse for any deliberate violation," Sheikh Mohammed, also Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates, said in a statement sent to Reuters. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/may-2013-172622520.html

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Putin says opportunity for better US-Russian ties in Boston aftermath

Speaking in his annual town-hall meeting, which this year ran nearly five hours, the Russian president called for greater US-Russian cooperation on terrorism after the Boston bombing.

By Fred Weir,?Correspondent / April 25, 2013

Russian President Vladimir Putin is seen on television screens in a shop as he speaks during an annual call-in show on Russian television, 'Conversation With Vladimir Putin,' in Moscow on Thursday. Mr. Putin held forth on topics ranging from Russian-US cooperation on terrorism to whether he was happy.

Mikhail Metzel/AP

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The Boston Marathon bombing offers a fresh opportunity for the US and Russia to revisit the basics in their struggling relationship and prioritize security cooperation in order to prevent any repetition of the tragedy, Vladimir Putin said in his annual electronic town-hall meeting with the Russian public Thursday.

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"I just call for this tragedy to be an incentive for us to become closer in tackling common threats, with terrorism being one of the most important and dangerous of them. If indeed we combine our efforts, we won?t take such hits and sustain such losses," Mr. Putin said.

In the wake of the bombing it became known that one of the two suspects, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, had been on the radar of both the FBI and the Russian FSB security service, and that the Russian agency had warned both the FBI and the CIA about him in 2011. Yet a subsequent FBI check failed to validate the Russians' suspicions, and the FSB itself apparently did not follow up on Tamerlan when he made a six-month visit to the Russian republics of Dagestan and Chechnya the following year.

"We always have said that we shouldn't limit ourselves to declarations about terrorism being a common threat, and [that we should] engage in closer cooperation. Now these two criminals have proven the correctness of our thesis," Putin added.

Putin's yearly telethon, which took place even during the years Dmitry Medvedev was president and Putin was prime minister, is seldom a news-breaking event. But it is a good opportunity to take the Kremlin's temperature on, literally, scores of issues. Experts argue over how tightly stage-managed the sessions are ? they combine a studio audience, telelinks with viewers across the country, and questions submitted by electronic media ? but there is no doubt about the ability of the Russian leader to field an exhausting battery of questions, on almost every imaginable subject, and provide lengthy, detailed answers. The event has grown steadily in duration, from 2 hours, 27 minutes for the first one in 2001, to 4 hours, 33 minutes last year.

Today he talked for a whopping 4 hours, 47 minutes, and answered almost 100 queries, including: How goes the fight against corruption? When will Russia's new stealth fighter be ready for service? Will he sack the government of Prime Minister Medvedev over alarming signs that the Russian economy is slipping into recession? Does he think that the current crackdown on NGOs, and upcoming prosecution of protesters connected with an alleged "riot" at a protest rally last May, suggest "overtones of Stalinism" in current Russian politics? Is he happy?

On the issue that will be of greatest interest in the US, Putin combined his plea for greater security cooperation with some tough criticism of past US policies and attitudes.

"This [slump in Russia-US relations] didn't begin yesterday," he said. "Back when our American colleagues called upon us to join in the process [leading up to the 2003 invasion of] Iraq, we told them it was a mistake. Our position was open and honest, but relations grew cooler. After that there were the events in Libya, and other states. We are watching chaos unfold everywhere."

"Must we support what we consider erroneous? Why do they demand that we accept their standards? Let's not demand anything from each other, but rather look for ways to improve mutual understanding," he said.

He also argued that Western sympathy for the Chechen side in two brutal wars in the past 20 years ? a struggle that has morphed over that time from a secular nationalist bid for Chechen independence from Russia into a more diffuse, Cacausus-wide jihadist insurrection ? has been deeply misguided.

"I always felt indignation when our Western partners and Western media referred to terrorists who conducted brutal and bloody crimes on Russian soil as 'rebels,'" Putin said.

On corruption, Putin vowed ? as he has in most telethons since 2001 ? to crush it: "We will fight against [corruption] no less stubbornly than against inflation. We will wipe it out," he said.

Russia's cool new T-50 "fifth generation" fighter plane, which is claimed to be equivalent to the US F-22 Raptor, will enter service as promised in 2016, Putin said.

Despite persistent rumors that Putin may be preparing to sack Medvedev's government, and perhaps even call fresh Duma elections, Putin insisted "there is no division between the government and the president," on the economy. He added Medvedev's government has been in place for less than a year, and needs time to work.

Putin dismissed the question about echoes of Stalinism, saying "Stalinism is connected to the cult of personality, massive legal abuses, repressions, and gulags. There are no such things in Russia, and I hope they will never happen again."

He insisted that in contemporary Russia, people are jailed "for legal violations" and not for their political views.

Many critics argue that laws are selectively applied, and bent, in Russia in order to punish political opponents such as former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the Pussy Riot performance-art band, currently on-trial protest leader Alexei Navalny, and almost 30 people soon to be tried, and facing serious jail time, over a fairly minor disturbance at a legal protest rally almost a year ago.

As for whether Putin is happy, he suggested the jury is still out on that.

"I am thankful to destiny and the citizens of Russia for showing the trust that allowed me to become Russian president," he said. "This is my whole life. Whether it's enough for happiness, that's another question."

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/cA3gEBEh0G4/Putin-says-opportunity-for-better-US-Russian-ties-in-Boston-aftermath

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Thursday, April 25, 2013

Harvard Medical School to Shutter Primate Research Center

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/127898/Harvard_Medical_School_to_Shutter_Primate_Research_Center

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Strategy Analytics: Microsoft's share of tablet market quadrupled after Windows 8

Say what you like about Windows 8, but before it arrived Microsoft's presence in the tablet sphere was as small as it was stagnant. By the reckoning of number-crunchers at Strategy Analytics, just 400,000 Windows-running slates were shipped globally in Q3 of last year -- a figure that was largely unchanged from the year before and which represented just 1.6 percent of the global tablet market. Six months later, now that the Windows-powered Acers, Lenovos and Surfaces of this world have had a chance to get their game on, Microsoft's share has quadrupled to 7.5 percent, with a total of 3 million Windows 8 and RT tablets shipped in Q1 2013. That's still pretty niche, but 3 million units would have equated to a bigger share were it not for the fact that the overall tablet market also grew over this period, from 25 million to 41 million units -- and at least Microsoft can now claim to be a part of that boom. Look past the break for the numerical breakdown.

Filed under: Tablets, Microsoft

Comments

Via: CNET, Neowin

Source: Strategy Analytics

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/04/25/strategy-analytics-microsoft-tablets-q1-2013/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

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US team speaking to suspects' parents in Russia

MAKHACHKALA, Russia (AP) ? U.S. investigators are in contact with the parents of the two Boston bombing suspects in southern Russia and working with Russian security officials to shed light on the deadly attack, a U.S. Embassy official said Wednesday.

The Americans traveled Tuesday from Moscow to the predominantly Muslim province of Dagestan "because the investigation is ongoing, it's not over," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. He said the U.S. team is working with the Russian security services, the FSB.

"This is a horrible tragedy for our country, but one positive development might be closer cooperation on this set of issues with the Russian government," the embassy official said.

Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, and his 19-year-old brother, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, are accused of setting off the two bombs near the finish line of the Boston Marathon on April 15. The elder brother was later killed in a police standoff.

Investigators are looking into whether Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who spent six months in Russia's Caucasus in 2012, was influenced by the religious extremists who have waged an insurgency against Russian security services in the area for years. The brothers have roots in Dagestan and neighboring Chechnya, but neither spent much time in either place before the family moved to the United States a decade ago.

On Wednesday, their mother, Zubeidat Tsarnaeva, was inside the FSB building in Makhachkala, the capital of Dagestan, where she was believed to be speaking further to U.S. and Russian investigators.

Heda Saratova, a prominent Chechen rights activist providing support to the distraught mother, said Tsarnaeva first went in for questioning on Tuesday, returning late at night. Saratova said she had no details about the discussions, but Tsarnaeva said they were "cordial."

The father, Anzor Tsarnaev, also was summoned to the FSB headquarters but did not go because he felt ill.

___

AP writer Nataliya Vasilyeva in Moscow contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/us-team-speaking-suspects-parents-russia-104158829.html

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Brinker International Reports Increase In Year ... - Franchising.com

DALLAS, April 23, 2013 // PRNewswire // -- Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE: EAT) today announced results for the fiscal third quarter ended March 27, 2013.

Highlights include the following:

Earnings per diluted share, excluding special items, increased 20.0 percent to?$0.72?compared to?$0.60?for the?third quarter?of fiscal?2012?(see non-GAAP reconciliation below)
On a GAAP basis, earnings per diluted share increased 26.8 percent to?$0.71?compared to?$0.56?for the?third quarter?of fiscal?2012
Restaurant operating margin¹?improved approximately 70 basis points to 17.9 percent from 17.2 percent
Brinker's operating income, excluding special items, improved 110 basis points from 9.8 percent to 10.9 percent primarily due to general and administrative savings in addition to the restaurant operating margin improvement mentioned above
Chili's?comparable restaurant sales decreased?1.1?percent for the quarter consisting of a 0.4 percent and 4.3 percent decrease in January and February, respectively, offset by a 1.3 percent increase in March
Maggiano's comparable restaurant sales increased?0.4?percent, representing the 13th consecutive quarterly increase
Franchise comparable restaurant sales increased 1.3 percent driven by a 5.1 percent increase in international franchise comparable restaurant sales
The company repurchased approximately 1.8?million shares of its common stock for?$60.4 million?in the third quarter
The company paid a dividend of?20 cents?per share in the third quarter, an increase of 25 percent over the prior year third quarter
For the?first nine months?of fiscal?2013, cash flows provided by operating activities were?$222.6 million?and capital expenditures totaled?$98.7 million

"Brinker?delivered a 20 percent increase in EPS for the quarter, despite a tough industry sales environment," said?Wyman Roberts, President and Chief Executive Officer. "We've remained steadfast in executing our initiatives and are realizing the benefits of our strengthened business model. As such, we are confident we will meet our 2010 promise of doubling EPS as early as next fiscal year."

¹	Effective for the fiscal first quarter ended Sept. 26, 2012, revenues are reported in two separate captions?Company sales and Franchise and other revenues. Restaurant operating margin is now defined as Company sales less Cost of sales, Restaurant labor and Restaurant expenses.

Table 1: Monthly and?Q3?comparable restaurant sales

Q3 13?and?Q3 12, company-owned, reported brands and franchise; percentage

Jan

Feb

March

Q3 13

Q3 12

Brinker International

(0.1)

(4.2)

1.5

(0.9)

4.5

??Chili's Company-Owned

?????Comparable Restaurant Sales

(0.4)

(4.3)

1.3

(1.1)

4.6

?????Pricing Impact

1.9

1.3

1.5

1.9

?????Mix-Shift

0.5

0.2

1.3

0.6

0.9

?????Traffic

(2.8)

(5.8)

(1.3)

(3.2)

1.8

??Maggiano's

?????Comparable Restaurant Sales

1.7

(3.4)

2.5

0.4

3.9

?????Pricing Impact

2.5

1.1

0.7

1.6

2.2

?????Mix-Shift

0.0

(1.1)

0.5

(0.2)

0.2

?????Traffic

(0.8)

(3.4)

1.3

(1.0)

1.5

Franchise¹

1.3

3.5

??Domestic Comparable Restaurant Sales

(0.3)

3.8

??International Comparable Restaurant Sales

5.1

2.6

System-wide²

(0.2)

4.2

Revenues generated by franchisees are not included in revenues on the consolidated statements of income; however, we generate royalty revenue and advertising fees based on franchisee revenues, where applicable. We believe including franchisee comparable restaurants revenues provides investors information regarding brand performance that is relevant to current operations and may impact future restaurant development.

?	?
²	System-wide comparable restaurant sales are derived from sales generated by company-owned Chili's and Maggiano's restaurants in addition to the sales generated at franchisee operated restaurants.

Quarterly Operating Performance?

CHILI'S?third quarter?company sales of?$632.6 million?represent a?0.7 percent?decrease from?$637.0 million?in the prior year period driven by traffic declines. As compared to the prior year,?Chili's?operating margin improved due to lower cost of sales. Cost of sales as a percentage of company sales was favorably impacted by mix changes related to shrimp, ribs and fajita meat coupled with increased menu pricing, partially offset by unfavorable commodity pricing primarily related to beef, pork and chicken wings. Restaurant labor was positively impacted by improved labor productivity from the installation of new kitchen equipment and lower manager bonuses, partially offset by increased health insurance claims and sales deleverage.

MAGGIANO'S?third quarter?company sales of?$92.1 million?increased?0.2 percent?primarily driven by menu pricing. As compared to the prior year, Maggiano's operating margin improved primarily due to lower cost of sales. Cost of sales was favorably impacted by decreased commodity usage from efforts to reduce waste, menu item changes, favorable commodity pricing on seafood as well as increased menu pricing. Restaurant operating margin was negatively impacted by higher workers' compensation insurance expenses and increased health insurance claims, partially offset by lower repair and maintenance expense and utilities expense.

FRANCHISE AND OTHER revenues totaled?$18.1 million?for the quarter, an increase of?38.2?percent compared to?$13.1 million?in the prior year. The increase was driven primarily by a?$5.2 million?reduction in revenues in the prior year resulting from a change in the estimate of gift card breakage. International franchise comparable restaurant sales increased?5.1 percent?while domestic franchise comparable restaurant sales decreased?0.3 percent.Brinker?franchisees generated approximately?$424 million?in sales¹?for the?third quarter?of fiscal?2013.

¹	Royalty revenues are recognized based on the sales generated and reported to the company by franchisees.

Other

Depreciation and amortization expense increased?$2.3 million?for the quarter primarily due to investments in existing restaurants and asset replacements, partially offset by an increase in fully depreciated assets.

General and administrative expense decreased?$6.0 million?primarily due to lower performance-based compensation.

Interest expense increased?$0.6 million?for the quarter as a result of higher borrowing balances.

Excluding the impact of special items, the effective income tax rate remained flat at 28.9 percent in the current quarter compared to the same quarter last year as the tax impact of increased earnings in the current quarter was offset by a credit related to the prior year. On a GAAP basis, the effective income tax rate increased to?28.7?percent in the current quarter as compared to?28.2?percent in the same quarter last year due to increased earnings in the current quarter and the tax benefit resulting from higher net charges related to special items in the prior year, partially offset by a credit related to the prior year.

Non-GAAP Reconciliation

Brinker?believes excluding special items from its financial results provides investors with a clearer perspective of the company's ongoing operating performance and a more relevant comparison to prior period results.

Table 2: Reconciliation of net income excluding special items

Q3 13?and?Q3 12; $ millions and $ per diluted share after-tax

Q3 13

EPS Q3 13

Q3 12

EPS Q3 12

Net Income

52.0

0.71

44.9

0.56

Other (Gains) and Charges¹

0.9

0.01

(0.1)

0.00

????Adjustment for Gift Card Breakage²

3.3

0.04

Net Income excluding Special Items

52.9

0.72

48.1

0.60

?	?
¹	Pre-tax Other gains and charges was a $1.6 million charge and a $0.1 million gain in the third quarter of fiscal 2013 and 2012, respectively.

?	?
²	The Company recognized a pre-tax $5.2 million reduction to revenue in the third quarter of fiscal 2012 resulting from a change in the estimate of gift card breakage.

Guidance Policy

Brinker?provides annual guidance as it relates to comparable restaurant sales, earnings per diluted share, and other key line items in the income statement and will only provide updates if there is a material change versus the original guidance. Consistent with prior practice, management will not discuss intra-period sales or other key operating results not yet reported as the limited data may not accurately reflect the final results of the period or quarter referenced.

Webcast Information

Investors and interested parties are invited to listen to today's conference call, as management will provide further details of the quarter. The call will broadcast live on the?Brinker?website (www.brinker.com) at?9 a.m. CDT?today (April 23). For those who are unable to listen to the live broadcast, a replay of the call will be available shortly thereafter and will remain on the?Brinker?website until the end of the day?May 21, 2013.

Additional financial information, including statements of income which detail operations excluding special items, franchise and other revenues, and comparable restaurant sales trends by brand, is also available on the?Brinkerwebsite under the Financial Information section of the Investor tab.

Forward Calendar

SEC Form 10-Q for third quarter fiscal 2013 filing on or before?May 6, 2013; and
Fourth quarter earnings release, before market opens,?Aug. 2, 2013.

About?Brinker

Brinker International, Inc.?is one of the world's leading casual dining restaurant companies. Founded in 1975 and based in?Dallas, Texas,?Brinker?currently owns, operates, or franchises 1,588 restaurants under the names?Chili's^?Grill?& Bar (1,544 restaurants) and?Maggiano's Little Italy^??(44 restaurants).

Forward-Looking Statements

The statements contained in this release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties and, consequently, could be affected by general business and economic conditions, financial and credit market conditions, credit availability, reduced disposable income, the impact of competition, the impact of mergers, acquisitions, divestitures and other strategic transactions, franchisee success, the seasonality of the company's business, adverse weather conditions, future commodity prices, product availability, fuel and utility costs and availability, terrorists acts, consumer perception of food safety, changes in consumer taste, health epidemics or pandemics, changes in demographic trends, availability of employees, unfavorable publicity, the company's ability to meet its business strategy plan, acts of God, governmental regulations and inflation.

BRINKER INTERNATIONAL, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME

(In thousands, except per share amounts)

(Unaudited)

Thirteen Week Periods Ended

Thirty-Nine Week Periods Ended

March 27,?
2013

March 28,?
2012

March 27,?
2013

March 28,?
2012

Revenues:

Company sales

724,693

728,868

2,057,490

2,038,333

Franchise and other revenues (a)

18,066

13,177

58,540

54,018

Total revenues

742,759

742,045

2,116,030

2,092,351

Operating Costs and Expenses:

Company restaurants

Cost of sales

198,316

205,155

567,602

571,962

Restaurant labor

231,822

233,806

667,865

664,068

Restaurant expenses

164,537

164,230

489,781

489,872

Company restaurant expenses

594,675

603,191

1,725,248

1,725,902

Depreciation and amortization

33,222

30,929

98,830

93,265

General and administrative

33,986

40,006

102,289

104,040

Other gains and charges (b)

1,550

(104)

2,227

5,614

Total operating costs and expenses

663,433

674,022

1,928,594

1,928,821

Operating income

79,326

68,023

187,436

163,530

Interest expense

7,085

6,530

21,040

20,087

Other, net

(573)

(1,072)

(2,096)

(3,018)

Income before provision for income taxes

72,814

62,565

168,492

146,461

Provision for income taxes

20,863

17,632

51,500

42,233

Net income

51,951

44,933

116,992

104,228

Basic net income per share

0.73

0.58

1.61

1.31

Diluted net income per share

0.71

0.56

1.56

1.28

Basic weighted average shares outstanding

71,067

77,582

72,511

79,722

Diluted weighted average shares outstanding

73,341

79,735

74,873

81,658

(a)?????Franchise and other revenues includes royalties, development fees and franchise fees, banquet service charge income, and gift card activity (breakage and discounts).

(b)?????Other gains and charges includes:

Thirteen Week Periods Ended

Thirty-Nine Week Periods Ended

March?27,

2013

March?28,

2012

March?27,

2013

March?28,

2012

Restaurant impairment charges

661

1,098

Restaurant closure charges

305

1,032

2,887

4,154

Severance and other benefits

1,269

100

Gain on sale of assets, net

(81)

(25)

(2,430)

(1,365)

Other

(1,111)

(160)

1,627

1,550

(104)

2,227

5,614

BRINKER INTERNATIONAL, INC.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(In thousands)
?
?	?	March?27, 2013			?	June?27, 2012
?	?	(Unaudited)			?	?
ASSETS	?	?			?	?
Current assets	?	$	214,897	?	?	$	194,846	?
Net property and equipment (a)	?	1,029,921		?	?	1,043,564		?
Total other assets	?	201,044		?	?	197,662		?
Total assets	?	$	1,445,862	?	?	$	1,436,072	?
LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY	?	?			?	?
Current installments of long-term debt	?	$	27,528	?	?	$	27,334	?
Current liabilities	?	363,107		?	?	374,415		?
Long-term debt, less current installments	?	677,309		?	?	587,890		?
Other liabilities	?	132,709		?	?	136,560		?
??????????Total shareholders' equity	?	245,209		?	?	309,873		?
Total liabilities and shareholders' equity	?	$	1,445,862	?	?	$	1,436,072	?

?
(a)????	At March 27, 2013, the company owned the land and buildings for 189 of the 865 company-owned restaurants. The net book values of the land and buildings associated with these restaurants totaled $141.4 million and $119.2 million, respectively.

BRINKER INTERNATIONAL, INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(In thousands)

Thirty-Nine Week Periods Ended

March?27,

2013

March?28,

2012

Cash Flows From Operating Activities:

Net income

116,992

104,228

Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:

Depreciation and amortization

98,830

93,265

Restructure charges and other impairments

3,792

5,042

Stock-based compensation

12,909

10,393

Net loss on disposal of assets

1,115

1,541

Changes in assets and liabilities

(11,002)

19,341

Net cash provided by operating activities

222,636

233,810

Cash Flows from Investing Activities:

Payments for property and equipment

(98,690)

(85,177)

Proceeds from sale of assets

6,535

4,344

Inves

Source: http://www.franchising.com/news/20130423_brinker_international_reports_increase_in_year_ove.html

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