What to Expect from the President's Big Climate Change Speech

On Tuesday, President Obama will use a speech at the University of Georgetown to announce new, sweeping executive orders addressing climate change that will be designed to appease critics who have attacked the President for talking the green talk and not walking the green walk. Obviously, the White House is also hoping tackling climate change will get them some decent press in the wake of that pesky surveillance scandal.?

RELATED: Five Best Tuesday Columns

RELATED: President Obama Is Waiting on One Thing

After signalling he was ready to act during a speech in Berlin last week, the White House released a video of the President teasing his plan to lay out new climate initiatives late Saturday. "This Tuesday, I'll lay out my vision for where I believe we need to go - a national plan to reduce carbon pollution, prepare our country for the impacts of climate change and lead global efforts to fight it," he says. "There's no single step that can reverse the effects of climate change. But when it comes to the world we leave our children, we owe it to them to do what we can."

RELATED: Obama on His Oil Critics: 'They Are Not Paying Attention'

The President is expected to use his executive powers to adopt a wide array of climate change measures, but no one is 100% sure what those measures are just yet. Reuters reports the President will?detail?"a strategy to limit greenhouse gas emissions from existing power plants" to cap U.S. carbon dioxide emissions. (Power plants account for more than 40 percent of domestic CO₂ emissions.) The Washington Post reports the President will also announce new short-term goals:?

In the speech at Georgetown University, according to individuals briefed on the matter who asked not to be identified because the plan was not yet public, Obama will detail a government-wide plan to not only reduce the nation?s carbon output but also prepare the United States for the?near-term impacts of global warming.

They said those measures would include programs to enhance the resilience of coastal communities as well as Agriculture Department ?climate adaptation hubs? that could help farmers cope with changes in temperature and precipitation.

The President promised big climate change initiatives during his second Inaugural address but has come under fire in some corners for not acting on those promises until now. Still, his combination of short- and long-term goals seem to fulfill his promise of responding to climate change, "knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations." The President also said the road towards climate change would be "long and sometimes difficult," maybe signalling a fight to pass bills through congress, but in reality his climate plan should be relatively easy to enact. Because Obama is using his executive powers, he avoids having to pass anything through the Republican-controlled House of Representatives. But The New York Times cautions the path towards climate change isn't exactly sunny and paved in green:

Mr. Obama?s decision to use his executive authority to regulate utilities reflects a determination that he has no prospect of passing such sweeping policies through Congress. But while the Supreme Court validated the power of the executive to regulate carbon emissions without further legislation, the president?s move may draw lawsuits and other challenges from industry and Republicans citing the economic costs.

Nothing is going to come easy for Obama when it comes to the environment, or any other issue for that matter. There's no indication as to whether or not Obama will approve the controversial Keystone XL pipeline. That move would certainly appease Republicans and make the entire climate change slate go down easier, but it would also infuriate climate change activists and potentially steal the headlines away from other initiatives.?

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/expect-presidents-big-climate-change-speech-154430321.html

UMass Dartmouth Katherine Russell MBTA Fox News Live Boston lockdown jennifer love hewitt 4/20

Giving children non-verbal clues boosts vocabularies

June 24, 2013 ? The clues that parents give toddlers about words can make a big difference in how deep their vocabularies are when they enter school, new research at the University of Chicago shows.

By using words to reference objects in the visual environment, parents can help young children learn new words, according to the research. It also explores the difficult-to-measure quality of non-verbal clues to word meaning during interactions between parents and children learning to speak. For example, saying, "There goes the zebra" while visiting the zoo helps a child learn the word "zebra" faster than saying, "Let's go to see the zebra."

Differences in the quality of parents' non-verbal clues to toddlers (what children can see when their parents are talking) explain about a quarter (22 percent) of the differences in those same children's vocabularies when they enter kindergarten, researchers found. The results are reported in the paper, "Quality of early parent input predicts child vocabulary three years later," published in the current issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

"Children's vocabularies vary greatly in size by the time they enter school," said lead author Erica Cartmill, a postdoctoral scholar at UChicago. "Because preschool vocabulary is a major predictor of subsequent school success, this variability must be taken seriously and its sources understood."

Scholars have found that the number of words youngsters hear greatly influences their vocabularies. Parents with higher socioeconomic status -- those with higher income and more education -- typically talk more to their children and accordingly boost their vocabularies, research has shown.

That advantage for higher-income families doesn't show up in the quality research, however.

"What was surprising in this study was that social economic status did not have an impact on quality. Parents of lower social economic status were just as likely to provide high-quality experiences for their children as were parents of higher status," said co-author Susan Goldin-Meadow, the Beardsley Ruml Distinguished Service Professor in Psychology at UChicago.

Although scholars have amassed impressive evidence that the number of words children hear -- the quantity of their linguistic input -- has an impact on vocabulary development, measuring the quality of the verbal environment -- including non-verbal clues to word meaning -- has proved much more difficult.

To measure quality, the research team reviewed videotapes of everyday interactions between 50 primary caregivers, almost all mothers, and their children (14 to 18 months old). The mothers and children, from a range of social and economic backgrounds, were taped for 90-minute periods as they went about their days, playing and engaging in other activities.

The team then showed 40-second vignettes from these videotapes to 218 adults with the sound track muted. Based on the interaction between the child and parent, the adults were asked to guess what word the parent in each vignette used when a beep was sounded on the tape.

A beep might occur, for instance, in a parent's silenced speech for the word "book" as a child approaches a bookshelf or brings a book to the mother to start storytime. In this scenario, the word was easy to guess because the mother labeled objects as the child saw and experienced them. In other tapes, viewers were unable to guess the word that was beeped during the conversation, as there were few immediate clues to the meaning of the parent's words. Vignettes containing words that were easy to guess provided high-quality clues to word meaning.

Although there were no differences in the quality of the interactions based on parents' backgrounds, the team did find significant individual differences among the parents studied. Some parents provided non-verbal clues about words only 5 percent of the time, while others provided clues 38 percent of the time, the study found.

The study also found that the number of words parents used was not related to the quality of the verbal exchanges. "Early quantity and quality accounted for different aspects of the variance found in the later vocabulary outcome measure," the authors wrote. In other words, how much parents talk to their children (quantity), and how parents use words in relation to the non-verbal environment (quality) provided different kinds of input into early language development.

"However, parents who talk more are, by definition, offering their children more words, and the more words a child hears, the more likely it will be for that child to hear a particular word in a high-quality learning situation," they added. This suggests that higher-income families' vocabulary advantage comes from a greater quantity of input, which leads to a greater number of high-quality word-learning opportunities. DMaking effective use of non-verbal cues may be a good way for parents to get their children started on the road to language.

Joining Cartmill and Goldin-Meadow as authors were University of Pennsylvania scholars Lila Gleitman, professor emerita of psychology; John Trueswell, professor of psychology; Benjamin Armstrong, a research assistant; and Tamara Medina, assistant professor of psychology at Drexel University.

The work was supported by grants from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/U2KmlDslfMQ/130624152529.htm

giuliana and bill bill rancic nflx giuliana rancic giuliana rancic elie wiesel temptations

The Restaurant of the Future Was Going to Revolve You

Today's restaurants love automation. Whether it's conveyor belt sushi, iPad ordering or drones that bring your food right to the table, restaurant owners are always looking for a gimmick that attracts customers and might just save them some money. But back in the 1920s, an inventor in Michigan had his own idea for automating the restaurant of the future ? instead of bringing the food to the customers, how about bringing the customers to the food?

Read more...

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/oxu7HMsPPG4/the-restaurant-of-the-future-was-going-to-revolve-you-552797287

melissa mccarthy Andy Dick Tim Hardaway Anne Smedinghoff jana kramer carrie underwood garth brooks

Erdogan defends riot police tactics in Turkey protests

By Daren Butler

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan piled ridicule on activists behind weeks of protests against his government during a rally on Sunday and defended riot police who fired water cannon at crowds in Istanbul a day earlier.

Looking out of over a sea of Turkish flags waved by his AK Party faithful in the eastern city of Erzurum, Erdogan praised his supporters and the general public for opposing what he called a plot against his country.

"The people saw this game from the start and frustrated it. They (the protesters) thought the people would say nothing. They said we will burn and destroy and do what we want but the people will do nothing," he said.

Sunday's mass rally was the fifth which Erdogan has called since protests began in Istanbul in an unprecedented challenge to his 10-year rule.

The unrest was triggered when police used force against campaigners opposed to plans to develop Istanbul's Gezi Park, but they quickly turned into a broader show of anger at what critics call Erdogan's growing authoritarianism.

The protests have underlined divisions in Turkish society between religious conservatives who form the bedrock of Erdogan's support and more liberal Turks who have swelled the ranks of demonstrators.

He ending his speech by throwing red carnations to the roughly 15,000-strong crowd in the AK Party stronghold.

MARCH ELECTIONS

The AK Party rallies are focused on boosting party support ahead of municipal elections scheduled for next March and Erdogan said voters would then give their verdict on the weeks of unrest.

"Those who came out using the excuse of Gezi at Taksim Square will get their answer at the ballot box," he said.

Erdogan, who won a third consecutive election in 2011 with 50 percent support, sees himself as a champion of democratic reform, and has been riled by the protests and by international condemnation coming mainly from key trade partner Germany.

Saturday's clashes occurred after thousands of protesters gathered in Istanbul's Taksim Square, which adjoins Gezi Park, to remember the three demonstrators and one police officer who died in earlier protests. Many refused to leave after calls from the police for them to disperse.

Erdogan defended the tactics of the police, who also used fired teargas canisters to scatter protesters in nearby streets in cat-and-mouse clashes.

"Yesterday they wanted to occupy the square again. The police were patient up to a certain point," he said. "When they didn't leave the police was forced to get them out."

There were also clashes on Saturday night in the capital Ankara, where riot police fired water cannon and teargas to break up hundreds of protesters.

The interior ministry estimates about 2.5 million people have taken part in demonstrations across Turkey since the unrest began on May 31, Milliyet newspaper reported on Sunday.

Around 4,900 protesters have been detained and 4,000 protesters and 600 police injured, the report added.

The interior ministry also said the protests had caused 140 million lira ($72 million) worth of damage to public buildings and vehicles.

($1 = 1.9388 Turkish liras)

(Writing by Daren Butler; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/turkish-police-break-protest-pm-lambasts-opponents-153851912.html

a thousand words my sisters keeper kirby sarah palin cbi the shins atomic clock

Feds: Nuclear waste may be leaking into soil from Hanford site

Mark Ralston / AFP - Getty Images file

Government officials said radioactive waste might be leaking into the soil from a nuclear site in Hanford, Washington state. Governor Jay Inslee said the situation should be treated with the "utmost seriousness."

By Shannon Dininny, The Associated Press

An underground tank holding some of the worst radioactive waste at the nation's most contaminated nuclear site might be leaking into the soil.

The U.S. Energy Department said workers at Washington state's Hanford Nuclear Reservation detected higher radioactivity levels under tank AY-102 during a routine inspection Thursday.

Spokeswoman Lori Gamache said the department has notified Washington officials and is investigating the leak further. An engineering analysis team will conduct additional sampling and video inspection to determine the source of the contamination, she said.

State and federal officials have long said leaking tanks at Hanford do not pose an immediate threat to the environment or public health.

The largest waterway in the Pacific Northwest ? the Columbia River ? is still at least 5 miles away and the closest communities are several miles downstream.

However, if this dangerous waste escapes the tank into the soil, it raises concerns about it traveling to the groundwater and someday potentially reaching the river.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said in a statement that the situation "must be treated with the utmost seriousness."

Inslee said additional testing is expected to take several days.

"Our state experts confirm that there is no immediate public health threat. Given the relatively early detection of this potential leak, the river is not at immediate risk of contamination should it be determined that a leak has occurred outside the tank," he said.

Tom Carpenter, executive director of the Seattle-based advocacy group Hanford Challenge, said, "this is really, really bad. They are going to pollute the ground and the groundwater with some of the nastiest stuff, and they don't have a solution for it."

AY-102 is one of Hanford's 28 tanks with two walls, which were installed years ago when single-shell tanks began leaking. Some of the worst liquid in those tanks was pumped into the sturdier double-shell tanks.

The tanks are now beyond their intended life span. The Energy Department announced last year that AY-102 was leaking between its two walls, but it said then that no waste had escaped.

Two radionuclides comprise much of the radioactivity in Hanford's tanks: cesium-137 and strontium-90. Both take hundreds of years to decay, and exposure to either would increase a person's risk of developing cancer.

At the height of World War II, the federal government created Hanford in the remote sagebrush of eastern Washington as part of a hush-hush project to build the atomic bomb. The site ultimately produced plutonium for the world's first atomic blast and for one of two atomic bombs dropped on Japan, and it continued production through the Cold War.

Today, it is the nation's most contaminated nuclear site, with cleanup expected to last decades. The effort ? with a price tag of about $2 billion annually ? has cost taxpayers $40 billion to date and is estimated will cost $115 billion more.

The most challenging task so far has been the removal of highly radioactive waste from the 177 aging, underground tanks and construction of a plant to treat that waste.

The Energy Department recently notified Washington and Oregon that it may miss two upcoming deadlines to empty some tanks and to complete a key part of the plant to handle some of the worst waste.

Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz visited the site Wednesday for the first time since being confirmed by the Senate in May. He said he intends to have a new plan by the end of the summer for resolving the technical problems with the waste treatment plant.

Related:

Head of company overseeing leaking nuclear tanks at Hanford to step down

Six tanks now said to be leaking at contaminated Hanford nuclear site

Tank at Hanford nuclear site leaking radioactive liquids, Washington governor says

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

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653381/s/2da47ec6/l/0Lusnews0Bnbcnews0N0C0Inews0C20A130C0A60C220C190A884810Efeds0Enuclear0Ewaste0Emay0Ebe0Eleaking0Einto0Esoil0Efrom0Ehanford0Esite0Dlite/story01.htm

nbc news msnbc reddit abc news Boston Police Scanner Jeff Bauman cbs news

FAA moving toward easing electronic device use

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Relief may be on the way for airline passengers who can't bear to be separated even briefly from their personal electronic devices. The government is moving toward allowing gate-to-gate use of music players, tablets, laptops, smartphones and other gadgets, although it may take a few months.

Restrictions on cellphone calls and Internet use and transmission are not expected to be changed.

An industry-labor advisory committee was supposed to make recommendations next month to the Federal Aviation Administration on easing restrictions on using electronic devices during takeoffs and landings. But the agency said in a statement Friday the deadline has been extended to September because committee members asked for extra time to finish assessing whether it's safe to lift restrictions.

"The FAA recognizes consumers are intensely interested in the use of personal electronics aboard aircraft; that is why we tasked a government-industry group to examine the safety issues and the feasibility of changing the current restrictions," the statement said.

The agency is under public and political pressure to ease the restrictions as more people bring their devices with them when they fly in order to read e-books, listen to music, watch videos, and get work done.

Technically, the FAA doesn't bar use of electronic devices when aircraft are below 10,000 feet. But under FAA rules, airlines that want to let passengers use the devices are faced with a practical impossibility ? they would have to show that they've tested every type and make of device passengers would use to ensure there is no electromagnetic interference with aircraft radios and electrical and electronic systems.

As a result, U.S. airlines simply bar all electric device use below 10,000 feet. Airline accidents are most likely to occur during takeoffs, landings and taxiing.

Using cellphones to make calls on planes is regulated by the Federal Communications Commission. There is concern that making calls from fast-flying planes might strain cellular systems, interfering with service on the ground. There is also the potential annoyance factor ? whether passengers will be unhappy if they have to listen to other passengers yakking on the phone.

The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that a draft report by the advisory committee indicates its 28 members have reached a consensus that at least some of the current restrictions should be eased.

A member of the committee told The Associated Press that while the draft report is an attempt to reach consensus, no formal agreement has yet been reached. The member was not authorized to discuss the committee's private deliberations and requested anonymity.

There are also still safety concerns, the member said. The electrical interference generated by today's devices is much lower than those of a decade ago, but many more passengers today are carrying electronics.

Any plan to allow gate-to-gate electronic use would also come with certification processes for new and existing aircraft to ensure that they are built or modified to mitigate those risks. Steps to be taken could include ensuring that all navigational antennas are angled away from the plane's doors and windows. Planes that are already certified for Wi-Fi would probably be more easily certified.

Although the restrictions have been broadly criticized as unnecessary, committee members saw value in them.

One of the considerations being weighed is whether some heavier devices like laptops should continue to be restricted because they might become dangerous projectiles, hurting other passengers during a crash, the committee member said. There is less concern about tablets and other lighter devices.

FAA officials would still have the final say. An official familiar with FAA's efforts on the issue said agency officials would like to find a way to allow passengers to use electronic devices during takeoffs and landings the same way they're already allowed to use them when planes are cruising above 10,000 feet. The official requested anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak by name.

FAA Administrator Michael Huerta told a Senate panel in April that he convened the advisory committee in the hope of working out changes to the restrictions.

"It's good to see the FAA may be on the verge of acknowledging what the traveling public has suspected for years ? that current rules are arbitrary and lack real justification," Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., one of Congress' more outspoken critics of the restrictions, said in a statement. She contends that unless scientific evidence can be presented to justify the restrictions, they should be lifted.

Edward Pizzarello, the co-founder of frequent flier discussion site MilePoint, says lifting the restriction is "long overdue."

"I actually feel like this regulation has been toughest on flight attendants. Nobody wants to shut off their phone, and the flight attendants are always left to be the bad guys and gals," said Pizzarello, 38, of Leesburg, Va.

Actor Alec Baldwin became the face of passenger frustration with the restrictions in 2011 when he was kicked off a New York-bound flight in Los Angeles for refusing to turn off his cellphone. Baldwin later issued an apology to fellow American Airlines passengers who were delayed, but mocked the flight attendant on Twitter.

"I just hope they do the sensible thing and don't allow people to talk on their cellphones during flight," said Pizzarello, who flies 150,000 to 200,000 miles a year. "There are plenty of people that don't have the social skills necessary to make a phone call on a plane without annoying the people around them. Some things are better left alone."

___

Mayerowitz reported from New York.

___

Follow Joan Lowy on Twitter at https://twitter.com/AP_Joan_Lowy

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/faa-moving-toward-easing-electronic-device-183139775.html

Reeva Steenkamp rubio Affenpinscher Dorner Banana Joe state of the union fat tuesday

RadioShack bundling $100 Google Play store credit with HTC One purchases

Loyal Engadget readers know that we don't normally trouble ourselves with promotions, but this one is too wild to ignore. Until June 30th, RadioShack is offering the HTC One to AT&T and Sprint customers with an added bonus -- a $100 credit for the Google Play store. Should you elect to sign up with Sprint, you'll basically get away like a bandit since RadioShack has slashed the price of the handset to $79.99 for new activations -- on two-year contracts, of course. After all is said and done, you would basically leave $20 richer than when you started (sort of). So, if you've been lusting after the HTC One but have held off on buying it, the universe might be trying to tell you something.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, HTC, Sprint, AT&T

Comments

Via: Phone Arena

Source: Radio Shack

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/t1PU03rRnYs/

911 masterchef Dictionary.com Chicago teachers strike september 11 2001 september 11 2001 blake lively

Republicans Have Already Lost the Hispanic Vote (Taegan Goddard's Political Wire)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories Stories, RSS Feeds and Widgets via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/314322858?client_source=feed&format=rss

Marcus Lattimore Tyrann Mathieu nfl draft grades Jon Jones Broken Toe matt barkley russell westbrook NFL Draft Grades 2013

Google Is Reportedly Working On A Service To Help You Share Your Gadgets, Clothes And Other Stuff With Friends

So here is one of the weirder rumors coming out of Mountain View we've seen in a while: as Google Operating System's Alex Chitu reports, Google is apparently working on an app called Google Mine that is meant to help you share real-world items, such as CDs, cars, bikes, gadgets or clothes, with your friends. The service, which is apparently closely integrated with Google+, is said to be in private beta testing within Google right now.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/ZMBvOiCMtpw/

Jessica Ghawi People Water Fred Willard Emmy nominations 2012 Ramadan 2012 Michelle Jenneke batman

UK to charge 2 journalists for The Sun newspaper

LONDON (AP) ? British officials are charging two journalists for The Sun newspaper as part of an investigation into bribery of public officials.

The Crown Prosecution Service said Friday that The Sun's Jamie Pyatt and John Edwards will be charged along with Robert Neave ? a former healthcare assistant at Broadmoor, Britain's hospital for the criminally insane ? with conspiring to commit misconduct in a public office.

Prosecutors allege that over nearly nine years, The Sun paid more than 30,000 pounds ($46,500) to public officials ? including Neave ? for information including about the health and activities of Broadmoor patients and details about a royal family member's work.

The charges are being brought as part of Operation Elveden, an investigation being run in conjunction with probes into phone hacking.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/uk-charge-2-journalists-sun-newspaper-110142653.html

matt kenseth bridge to nowhere primary results dale earnhardt jr michigan primary daytona 500 winner cleveland plain dealer

North American Birds Declining as Threats Mount

For youtube videos, paste embed code directly in the text box

- Notify me by email when future posts are made
Email:
Members do not need to provide an address

- Preview before posting

Rate Article

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5

Total votes: 0 Select Comment Validation Method
Member
Name/URL (Guest)
FaceBook (Guest) Member Commenting:

Authenticate with Facebook before submitting

OR

Login: Password:

Make your LabSpaces comments count. Start earning LabSpaces points by becoming a member! Learn more. Name: Link:(Link to your site or blog) Please verify that you are human: Register for LabSpaces
Make your LabSpaces comments count. Start earning LabSpaces points by becoming a member! Learn more.

Please authenticate before trying to post a comment.

If you would like to remain anonymous, please enter a new name and link below

Name: Link:(Link to your site or blog)

Friends

Source: http://www.labspaces.net/128742/North_American_Birds_Declining_as_Threats_Mount

Ravi Shankar Geminid meteor shower right to work Clackamas Town Center 12 12 12 Anne Hathaway Wardrobe Malfunction Adrienne Maloof

MS Dropping DRM for Xbox One Shows 'Commitment to Gamers'

by William D'Angelo, posted 1 day ago / 1,670 Views

Game boss Martyn Gibbs has told EDGE that Microsoft dropping the Xbox One's DRM and used games restrictions, shows that Microsoft is still committed to gamers. They have listened to the complaints from gamers by changing their policies.

"Microsoft have shown that they truly understand and value their fan base and the gaming community as a whole," said Gibbs. "Microsoft have listened to the feedback of recent weeks and acted on it, putting gamers and the way they wish to access and pay for their gaming at the centre of their plans for the future. I am immensely impressed with both the speed and the scope of the changes ? it shows a real commitment to gamers around the globe."

"Last night?s announcement shows that the industry is driven by the community of gamers, a community Microsoft has grown and supported over many years," a spokesperson added. "The community has the power to shape the future and I know that gamers everywhere will welcome Microsoft?s announcement ? we?re really excited about the new console and we know the gamers of the UK are too."

Source: http://www.vgchartz.com/article/251072/game-ms-dropping-drm-for-xbox-one-shows-commitment-to-gamers/

george clooney Zero Dark Thirty Academy Awards 2013 Django Unchained jennifer hudson jennifer garner jennifer garner

Pirelli, Mercedes in dock over F1 tire tests

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain backs to the pits as FIA members watch at the end of the second practice session at the Gilles Villeneuve racetrack, in Montreal, Canada, Friday, June 7, 2013. A tire testing session involving Mercedes and Pirelli that was criticized by rival Formula One teams will be referred to the FIA's international tribunal as a possible breach of the sport's rules. The Formula one race will be held on Sunday. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain backs to the pits as FIA members watch at the end of the second practice session at the Gilles Villeneuve racetrack, in Montreal, Canada, Friday, June 7, 2013. A tire testing session involving Mercedes and Pirelli that was criticized by rival Formula One teams will be referred to the FIA's international tribunal as a possible breach of the sport's rules. The Formula one race will be held on Sunday. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

A Mercedes mechanic holds a tire in the pit, at the Gilles Villeneuve racetrack, in Montreal, Canada, Thursday, June 6, 2013. A tire testing session involving Mercedes and Pirelli that was criticized by rival Formula One teams will be referred to the FIA's international tribunal as a possible breach of the sport's rules. The Formula one race will be held on Sunday. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

PARIS (AP) ? The hearing to determine whether Mercedes and Pirelli broke Formula One rules by holding in-season tire tests has opened in Paris.

The International Automobile Federation (FIA) convened the international tribunal hearing to determine whether Mercedes gained a competitive advantage from the testing session in Barcelona last month.

Laying out the case for the FIA, lawyer Mark Howard said Pirelli tried out a variety of tires in the test using Mercedes' 2013 cars, driven by current drivers Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton.

Pirelli organized the tests and paid for the Barcelona circuit where they were held, Howard said. But he argued that the testing could still have provided Mercedes with potentially valuable information about its cars and their reliability.

"Clearly there was data that was available to Mercedes," he told the panel of judges. "It is difficult to say that Mercedes gained no benefits from the test."

He said none of the other F1 teams were invited to the testing and none were aware that it was taking place.

"There is in fact very little factual dispute in this case," he said.

F1 rules ban the use of current-season cars for track tests.

Red Bull and Ferrari protested about the testing.

Pirelli has denied any rules-breach and said the 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) of testing offered no advantages to Mercedes.

Pirelli motorsport director Paul Hembery has previously said the tire compounds tested are not going to be used in the 2013 season.

"The focus was on 2014," Hembery said. "These tests were actually performed blind. Mercedes had no idea and has still no idea what was being tested. There was no benefit to them. The benefit was for Pirelli and F1 in general."

The FIA also looked into another Pirelli tire test involving Ferrari in Barcelona in April. But FIA President Jean Todt, who worked for Ferrari from 1993 to 2009, closed that case. The FIA said the Italian team used its 2011 car for the test, breaching no rules.

The FIA said the tribunal ruling "will be published as soon as possible after the hearing."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-06-20-CAR-F1-Tire-Test-Hearing/id-2eb349e392584c7da84caf70e2acd8ee

George McGovern braxton miller braxton miller Whitney Heichel Tippi Hedren Big Tex Sweetest Day

Police Officers Restrain 14-Year Old with Puppy in Arms, Cite "Dehumanizing Stares"

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/05/police-officers-restrain-14-year-old-with-puppy-in-arms-cite-deh/

will ferrell coachella zack greinke zack greinke jackie robinson Coachella 2013 Scary Movie 5