Jon Stewart appears on Egyptian satirical TV show

CAIRO (AP) ? Jon Stewart took the guest's seat Friday on Egypt's top satirical TV show, modeled after his own program "The Daily Show."

Stewart was brought to the set wearing a black hood and introduced by host Bassem Youssef as a captured foreign spy.

Stewart, wearing a scruffy beard, spoke briefly in Arabic as the studio audience gave him a raucous welcome.

"Please sit down, I am a simple man who does not like to be fussed over," he said in Arabic to laughter.

Youssef, host of the show "Al-Bernameg" and one of Egypt's most popular TV presenters, has been questioned by prosecutors on accusations of blasphemy and insulting the president. Stewart defended his counterpart and friend in one of his monologues after Youssef was interrogated earlier this year, and Youssef has appeared as a guest on the popular New York-based show.

Stewart, who is on a summer-long break from anchoring the Comedy Central fake newscast is in the Middle East making his first movie. He expressed admiration for Youssef in Friday's episode, which was recorded earlier this week during a visit to Cairo.

"Satire is a settled law. If your regime is not strong enough to handle a joke, then you have no regime," Stewart said, adding that Youssef "is showing that satire can be relevant."

True to form, Youssef began the weekly show with a series of jokes about Islamist President Mohammed Morsi's appearance and address at a rally last weekend hosted by his hard-line Islamist backers.

The president, Egypt's first freely elected leader, announced at the rally a complete break of diplomatic relations with the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Youssef, however, criticized Morsi for remaining silent and wearing a stone face while one of the rally's organizers denounced as non-believers opposition protesters planning massive, anti-government demonstrations on June 30, the anniversary of the start of the president's term.

Stewart said he was overwhelmed with the generosity of Egyptians but took a jab at Cairo's horrendous traffic. "I flew in three days ago and I have just arrived to do the show," he joked.

Youssef ? known as Egypt's Jon Stewart ? was interrogated in April for allegedly insulting Islam and the country's leader. His questioning drew criticism from Washington and rights advocates. A trained heart surgeon, Youssef catapulted to fame when his video blogs mocking politics received hundreds of thousands of hits shortly after the 2011 uprising that toppled longtime leader Hosni Mubarak.

Unlike other local TV presenters, Youssef uses satire to mock fiery comments made by ultraconservative clerics and politicians, garnering him a legion of fans among the country's revolutionaries and liberals. He has 1.4 million fans on Facebook and nearly 850,000 followers on Twitter.

During his hiatus, Stewart will be directing and producing "Rosewater" from his own script, based on a memoir by Maziar Bahari. This Iranian journalist was falsely accused of being a spy and imprisoned by the Iranian government in 2009 while covering Iran's presidential election.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/jon-stewart-appears-egyptian-satirical-tv-show-211910354.html

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Mark Begich: New York Fundraiser Cancellation Had Nothing To Do With Bloomberg

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Sen. Mark Begich (D-Alaska) shrugged off the influence of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg (I) and his gun control group on Friday, saying Bloomberg had nothing to do with the cancellation of a fundraiser for the senator earlier this week.

Begich was set to hold a fundraiser in New York on Monday, hosted by financial industry titans Peter Solomon and Robert Rubin. But this week, Politico reported that the event had been canceled, just a few days after Bloomberg sent a letter to New York donors asking them to withhold contributions to senators who voted against bipartisan gun background check legislation.

Begich and three other Democratic senators joined with the majority of Republicans and opposed the bill in April, dooming it to failure.

"That event got canceled before Bloomberg even made his statement and the letter went out," said Begich in an interview with The Huffington Post on Friday at the annual Netroots Nation conference for progressive activists.

Begich said many donors who had planned to attend the fundraiser have still made contributions to his campaign, which he said would be reflected in the July fundraising report.

Solomon told Politico there was "no connection" between the fundraiser cancellation and the Bloomberg letter.

Bloomberg's group, Mayors Against Illegal Guns, has been running ads and spending money against some senators who voted against the background checks legislation. But Begich said he believes such attacks may backfire in Alaska. So far, he said, the Bloomberg criticism has not affected his fundraising.

"A New York mayor telling an Alaska senator what to do? Alaskans will reject that big time," Begich said. "Our view on outsiders -- it's like capital O. They don't like outsiders. Especially a New York mayor, telling Alaskans what to do with their personal lives and what to do with their own life -- not working."

Nick Wing contributed reporting.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/21/mark-begich-fundraiser_n_3480964.html

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U.S. files espionage charges against NSA leaker (cbsnews)

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Hack a day modder builds a custom controller for disabled gamers

Sure, when tinkerer Caleb Kraft found out that pressure switches marketed at the disabled were massively overpriced, he got mad like anybody else. But then he decided to get even the best way he knew how: by building his own, and posting the plans for all to follow on Hack a day for free. The project came about via a kid with muscular dystrophy named Thomas, who enjoyed Minecraft but may eventually lose the ability to hold a controller or use a mouse and keyboard. Caleb's idea was to build low-pressure switches using a 3D printer and simply map them to the Minecraft keyboard and mouse commands using a $20 Teensy board. He posted his plans online, but since he feels they could be improved on, also created a site called the Controller Project (see the More Coverage link). From there, those in need of a custom device can make a request, other modders can post their own plans and builders can use them to make controllers for donation. Since more is always merrier for such things, if you have those skills or know someone who needs them, hit the source for more info.

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/21/hack-a-day-modder-builds-a-custom-controller-for-disabled-gamers/

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WSJ: FAA will soon ease in-flight restrictions for some electronic devices

We've been hearing rumblings that the FAA wants to start letting you use certain gadgets on airplanes through the "terrible 10,000 feet," and according to the WSJ, it's about to do just that. A 28-member industry and government panel's draft report strongly recommended relaxing blanket rules against electronics that have been in place since 1966 due to massive changes in technology since then. The committee also cited reports showing that passengers often forget to turn off gadgets without any consequences and that airlines, left to enact their own rules, are much too conservative. If it goes along with the document, the FAA will likely allow the use of certain devices, like e-readers and music players, during all phases of flight -- though the ban on cellphones is expected to continue since the panel wasn't authorized to broach that controversial issue. As for other devices, the details are still being bandied about, and the FAA is unlikely to announce a formal decision until the end of September. Still, now might be a good time to start fortifying that music and book collection ahead of your next big trip.

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Source: WSJ (subscription)

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/MhUzjhdGeRs/

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Autopsy reveals Gandolfini died of heart attack

Celebs

Claudio Lavanga and Maria Elena Fernandez NBC News

June 21, 2013 at 11:07 AM ET

ROME -- A family friend of actor James Gandolfini announced at a news conference Friday that an autopsy showed "The Sopranos" star died of a "heart attack of natural causes" and "nothing else was found in his system."

The 51-year-old Emmy-winning actor suffered the heart attack in the bathroom of his room at the Hotel Boscolo in Rome while on vacation with his teenage son, Michael, and sister, Michael Kobold told reporters.

"James came here on vacation with family," Kobold said. "On Wednesday he went to visit the Vatican, and had dinner at the hotel with his son while waiting for his sister ... All are devastated for his loss. He was a loving father."

Kobold said that it could take up to 10 days of red tape to repatriate Gandolfini's body, but the family is hoping that, with the help of Italian authorities, it will happen in the middle of next week so that a funeral could be held in New York next Thursday, Friday or Saturday.

"He was happy, healthy, on vacation with his son," Kobold said. "He was fine."

Medical staff attempted to resuscitate Gandofini after his son found him in the bathroom, but he was pronounced dead at about 11 p.m. local time (5 p.m. ET) Wednesday at Policlinico Umberto I hospital, which is a three-minute drive from the hotel.

Famous for his role as mob boss Tony Soprano in hit HBO show "The Sopranos," Gandolfini was on a celebratory trip to Italy with his 13-year-old son, who had just graduated from junior high school and won a soccer championship.

Experts said a heart attack was a common cause of death for a man in his 50s.

Dr. John Harold, president of the American College of Cardiology and a heart specialist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, said that ?in many patients who have a heart attack, the first symptom is sudden death and they don?t even make it to a hospital.?

Tributes have flooded in for the actor, who won three Emmy Awards and three Screen Actors Guild awards for playing Soprano from 1999-2007.

He also appeared in a number of big-screen roles, including the crime drama "Killing Them Softly" and "Zero Dark Thirty," a film about the hunt for Osama bin Laden.

Academy Award winner Kathryn Bigelow, who directed Gandolfini in ?Zero Dark Thirty,? said she was devastated by the news of his death.

"James was such an enormous talent, and an even greater spirit. I will be forever grateful for the privilege of working with him, and shall cherish his memories always," she said in a statement.

Nicole Kidman said Gandolfini was ?such a great actor,? describing his death as ?a big loss.?

?Sending love and prayers to James? family. He will be greatly missed,? she said in a statement to eonline.com.

Brad Pitt described Gandolfini as ?a ferocious actor, a gentle soul and a genuinely funny man." ?I am fortunate to have sat across the table from him and am gutted by this loss.?

Gandolfini also made a good impression on the ordinary people he met.

An employee at the Hotel Boscolo told Italy's la Repubblica newspaper that during his stay the actor had signed autographs and was ?very friendly with us from hotel's staff and with other guests in the restaurant. A nice person.?

NBC News' Ian Johnston, Reuters and Mads Frese contributed to this report.

Source: http://www.today.com/entertainment/james-gandolfini-autopsy-reveals-actor-died-heart-attack-6C10407874

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2014 Nissan Versa Note Test Drive

On-Sale Date: Now

Base Price: $13,990 to $18,490

Competitors: Honda Fit, Chevrolet Spark, Hyundai Accent, Toyota Yaris, Ford Fiesta, Kia Rio5

Powertrains: 1.6-liter 4-cylinder, 109 hp, 107 lb-ft; 5-speed manual, CVT automatic, FWD

EPA Fuel Economy (city/hwy): 27/36 5-speed manual, 31/40 CVT automatic

What's New: The 2014 Nissan Versa Note is the all-new second-generation version of the outgoing Versa hatchback. The 109-horsepower 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine is more in line with the Versa sedan than the 122-horsepower 1.8-liter in the 2012 Versa hatchback. The 2014 Versa Note is offered in three trim levels: the base S, S Plus CVT (adds CVT automatic transmission and active grille shutter), and SV CVT (adds Bluetooth, upgraded interior pieces, power windows and locks). Various optional packages are also available.

Tech Tidbit: The available Around View monitor uses four cameras to create a 360-degree image of the Versa Note in its touchscreen to aid parking. With Around View, the driver can get a better read of how far away obstacles are or how much space is between the Versa Note and the curb.

Driving Character: The 2014 Nissan Versa Note handles itself well on the road. Power is down from the outgoing 2012 Versa hatchback, but the curb weight is down even more?to the tune of some 300 pounds. The result isn't exactly a corner carver, but good steering feel and an almost too responsive accelerator help to make up for a passable but occasionally lost CVT transmission and a ride that feels slightly harder than necessary. Overall, the Versa Note is a good-looking car that isn't as slow as its figures would suggest; there's a good bit of fun to be had behind its wheel.

Favorite Detail: With quick turn-in response and great all-around feel, the 2014 Versa Note's steering is an unexpected treat. With Nissan hoping to appeal to a wider consumer base, the driving input isn't tuned as sportily as, say, the Honda Fit's, but it still makes the Note feel a tick more nimble than it actually is. The Versa Note's steering is a nice little touch that, were it not there, would make the Note just another tiny five-door hatchback in an increasingly crowded subcompact market.

Driver's Grievance: Our main issue with the 2014 Nissan Versa Note is an oldie but goodie: the five-speed manual transmission is only available on the base model, while the others come with the CVT only. This is done in the name of fuel efficiency, and Nissan expects manuals to make up around only 10 percent of sales. We like the Versa Note; we would be persuaded to buy if the manual were available in higher trim levels.

Bottom Line: A cut of around 300 pounds and aerodynamic design elements all over help contribute to the 2014 Nissan Versa Note's impressive mileage figures. More impressive is how Nissan managed to integrate the aero-focused design into a car that looks as good as the Versa Note. For a subcompact, the 2014 Versa Note doesn't feel like it's lacking for power?in fact we came away from our test wondering if the throttle response was overly quick. Nissan has pulled off a fun trick with the new Versa Note: It produced a car that by rights should be a slow, plodding, uninspiring econobox, but instead is cute, reasonably comfortable, and fun to drive when you feel like having fun. Now if only we could talk Nissan into giving us the option of a five-speed manual in more than just the base model, and all would be right with this excellent new subcompact hatchback.

Source: http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/reviews/drives/2014-nissan-versa-note-test-drive-15614047?src=rss

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