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US economy grew at sluggish 1.7 pct. pace in Q2

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The U.S. economy grew from April through June at an annual rate of 1.7 percent ? a sluggish pace but stronger than in the previous quarter. Businesses spent more, and the federal government cut less, offsetting weaker spending by consumers.

The government on Wednesday sharply revised down its estimate of growth in the January-March quarter to a 1.1 percent annual rate from a previously estimated 1.8 percent rate.

Though growth remains weak, the pickup last quarter supports forecasts that the economy will accelerate the rest of the year. Economists think businesses will step up investment, job growth will fuel more consumer spending and the drag from government cuts will fade. If so, the Federal Reserve could scale back its stimulus later this year.

The April-June growth figure indicates that "the recovery is gaining momentum," Paul Ashworth, an economist at Capital Economics, said in a note to clients.

Optimism about the second half of the year, along with higher corporate earnings, helped fuel a rally on Wall Street. The Dow Jones industrial average rose nearly 100 points in late-morning trading.

During the April-June quarter, businesses increased their spending 4.6 percent after cutting by the same amount in the January-March period. And spending on home construction grew 13.4 percent, in line with the previous quarter.

At the same time, the federal government cut spending only 1.5 percent after slashing it 8.4 percent in the first quarter. And state and local governments spent more for the first time in a year.

Still, government cutbacks have weighed heavily on the economy the past 12 months. Over the past four quarters, the economy has grown at just a 1.4 percent annual rate. But if you exclude federal, state and local governments, the private sector has expanded at a much stronger 2.3 percent rate.

The "ongoing fiscal drag is masking private sector health," said Joseph LaVorgna, an economist at Deutsche Bank, said.

The weaker growth in consumer spending last quarter was significant because consumers account for about 70 percent of the economy. And a surge in imports reduced growth by the most in three years.

Yet economists say steady job growth should provide enough money for Americans to spend more and help the economy expand at an annual rate of around 2.5 percent in the third and fourth quarters.

Some signs in the report suggest that companies expect demand to pick up. Businesses added to their stockpiles last quarter ? typically a sign that they foresee higher sales.

On Wednesday, the government also released comprehensive revisions that updated the nation's gross domestic product, or GDP, over the past several decades. Those figures showed that the Great Recession wasn't quite as steep as initially estimated and that the recovery has been stronger than earlier thought.

The revisions showed that the economy grew 2.8 percent in 2012, up from an earlier estimate of 2.2 percent. Growth in last year's first quarter was revised much higher. And growth in the fourth quarter of 2012 was reduced to an annual rate of just 0.1 percent.

GDP is the broadest measure of the nation's output of goods and services. It includes everything from manicures to industrial machinery. But the government's comprehensive revisions included changes in how GDP is defined.

Research and development spending is now counted as investment, rather than an expense. So is spending on the development of entertainment products such as movies, music, books and TV shows. Those changes increased the size of the economy by about $470 billion, or about 3 percent, as of the end of 2012.

Pension benefit promises are now counted as income. That's a shift from the previous approach, which counted only actual cash payments by companies and government agencies into pension plans. This change boosted the savings rate by 1.5 percentage points in 2011 and 2012 to about 5.6 percent. In the second quarter, Americans saved 4.5 percent of their after-tax income, up from 4 percent in the first quarter.

Despite the still-sluggish economy, recent data have been encouraging and suggest that growth will strengthen.

Home construction, sales and prices have been growing since early last year. Americans bought newly built homes in June at the fastest pace in five years. That's helped raise builder confidence to a seven-year high, which should lead to increases in construction and more jobs.

Overall hiring has accelerated this year. Employers added an average of 202,000 jobs a month from January through June, up from 180,000 in the previous six months.

A separate report Wednesday pointed to solid job gains in July. Payroll provider ADP estimated that businesses added 200,000 jobs in July, the most since December.

And auto sales topped 7.8 million in the first six months of 2013, the best first-half total since 2007. Analysts expect sales to remain solid the rest of the year.

Unemployment is still high at 7.6 percent, limiting consumer spending. And budget fights in Washington could lead to a government shutdown this fall, potentially disrupting the economy.

Federal Reserve officials have forecast better growth in the second half of the year. And Chairman Ben Bernanke has said the Fed could scale back its bond purchases later this year if the economy strengthens. But Fed officials typically put more weight on employment and inflation data than on GDP figures.

The Fed ends a two-day policy meeting Wednesday, after which it could clarify its interest-rate policies in a statement.

___

Follow Chris Rugaber on Twitter at http://Twitter.com/ChrisRugaber

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-07-31-Economy-GDP/id-e3af5ddd35324bb094963dd4193ace25

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Bejeweled Blitz: Top 8 tips, hints, and cheats to get your highest scores ever!

The definitive Bejeweled Blitz guide: How to collect more coins, get multipliers faster, and greatly increase your scores!

Bejeweled Blitz by is Popcap's most recent twist on the all-time classic puzzle game. Along the way to total jewel domination, you have the opportunity to use boosts, bonuses, and multipliers. If you aren't smart about it, you can deplete your coin bank, and potentially your actual wallet, quicker than you earned it. I've been playing Blitz for years and here are the tips, hints, and cheats I've found to be most useful in helping fly by your friends in the leaderboards in no time!

1. Four gem in a row combos - save 'em up!

As most Bejeweled Blitz users already know, creating a chain of 4 gems will give you a special gem that detonates the gems around it. Instead of detonating these right away, I always save them for as long as I possibly can so I have a ton of them left on the board. Try to avoid detonating them at all costs and work on increasing your overall multiplier before even thinking about detonating them. You'll be glad you did when you've got a cascading burst of gems detonating at 8x your original score!

2. Multipliers and speed bonuses are super key to a super high score

In Bejeweled Blitz you technically have two bonuses to help you rack up a super high score. Here's an explanation of both:

The speed bonus will go by how fast you are at swiping gems. If you slow down, you'll lose it. Pay attention to the added speed bonus. As you swipe gems you'll see it go up until it maxes out at +1000. This means that for every move you make, 1,000 points is getting added to your score. If you maintain that and keep swiping gems quickly, eventually the +1000 will go from yellow text to red and you'll hear a sizzling noise. Once the font is completely red, you'll get a fire bonus where every gem you swap explodes the ones around it. You'll want to swipe as fast as you can to get this bonus as many times in one round as you can.

The second kind of bonus is your actual multiplier. As gems fall, you will see some of them have a x2 or x3 in them. These multipliers go in consecutive order all the way up to x8. Always swipe to snag multipliers whenever you can. The earlier you get a higher multiplier in the game, the faster your score starts to climb. I always keep an eye out for multipliers on the board and go after them as soon as I see a move that will either match three to obtain it or where I can explode it.

Using speed bonuses and multipliers in conjunction with each other is really the key to obtaining an extremely high score. A +1000 speed bonus and an 8x multiplier can rack up some serious points in not a ton of time.

3. Choose your boosts carefully

Boosts are a tricky thing and if you're going to spend your heard earned (or paid for) coin on them, make sure you're picking the right ones. While everyone's preferences are different, I've found the following three boosts to be the most effective almost 100% of the time.

• +5 Seconds - adds 5 seconds to your total game play time
• Scrambler - Allows you to scramble the board twice in one game
• Bonus Multiplier - You start the game with a bonus multiplier already on the board

I always choose these three boosts for important reasons. Adding 5 seconds to your game play time may not seem like a ton but when you have a 8x multiplier, you can rack up a heck of a lot of points in those extra 5 seconds. Ultimately, it can make a huge different in leaderboard rankings.

The scrambler is a great one to have on hand for when you don't see anything on the board immediately. As previously discussed, you'll only get fire bonuses in game and keep the +1000 bonus if you're fast. You'll lose it and your main added bonuses will start back at zero if you aren't quick enough. The scrambler gives you two saves per round and I use them if I don't see my next move on the board while making the previous one. Getting fire bonuses with high bonuses equals lots of extra points!

Bonus multipliers mean that you start the game with a multiplier on the board already. Sometimes it can take several seconds for one to fall into view and then you've got to snag it still by matching it. The faster you start making your way to an 8x multiplier the better!

4. Make sure you cash out your daily spins

Daily spins give you coins. Even if you aren't going to be playing the game right at that moment, it doesn't hurt to pop into Bejeweled Blitz once a day to collect your daily spins. You'll need all the coins you can accumulate in order to purchase boosts, bonus gems, and other special items. Unless you're okay with paying for coins in real money, I suggest stock piling coins whenever you can.

5. Collect coins in-game

Cashing in daily spins isn't the only way to collect coins. In game you'll see several gems that look like they contain coins. That's because they do. I always pay attention to these gems because they put more coin in the bank for when I want to use bonuses or special items.

If you have some down time, it's never a bad idea to just play rounds without bonuses or boosts in order to accumulate coins. I do this from time to time just to build up a coin bank for the times I'm having a good play day and want to cash some out.

6. Special items and rare gems

Just like boosts, it's important to make sure you select the special items and rare gems that are most beneficial. In my experience the two that have been the most helpful in achieving high scores are the cat's eye and the phoenix prism.

The cat's eye comes around at the end of the round and blasts tons of pieces off the board. If you're at an 8x multiplier and have a speed bonus, a cat's eye can boost your score dramatically.

Phoenix prism gems are basically "wild cards". You can match them with any two gems of any color in order to create a chain reaction that clears all pieces across the board diagonally. It's one of the pricier bonuses so make sure you're cashing in coins only after you're good and warmed up. I typically like to wait to activate the phoenix prism gems on the board until after my multiplier is at least at a 5x or higher in order to take advantage of the chain reactions they cause.

7. Warm up before cashing coins in for boosts

Lastly, make sure you aren't wasting coins you've earned on boosts or special items until you've warmed up. I typically play a few rounds before I start cashing in coins. It also gives you an opportunity to earn a few more in the process.

8. Your tips, hints, and cheats!

These are the tips, tricks, and hints I've found to work for me throughout my many year long addiction to Bejeweled Blitz. I know many of you out there are just as addicted as I am, where you're ready to admit it or not!

If you have any useful tips or tricks, drop them into the comments below!

Bejeweled Blitz

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Bejeweled

Gaming Tips

Cheats

Apps

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Featured

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/J7RJfdkmnrg/story01.htm

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Chanel, UCSB's corpse flower, blooms and causes a big stink

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Chanel, UC Santa Barbara's corpse flower, has finally spread her odiferous wings, broadcasting a stench that smells like a cross between rotting flesh and Limburger cheese. "It's disgusting," said UCSB junior Connor Way, who visited Wednesday morning. "It's pretty nasty."

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/strange_science/~3/w-pQRYCCebU/130731164800.htm

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New Delhi Station Becomes First Transit Hub to Offer Free Wi-Fi in India

Waiting for a train to arrive will no longer be boring as Railways is equipping India?s busiest station with free Wi-Fi connectivity, a first in the country, to ensure value-added amenity for passengers.

New Delhi railway station, which handles about 300 trains and five lakh passengers a day, will be the first Wi-Fi enabled station in the country to have such a modern facility like major international airports.

Source: http://skift.com/2013/07/31/new-delhi-station-becomes-first-transit-hub-to-offer-free-wi-fi-in-india/

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Mesa?s Bryson Bridges Impresses at Football University?s Top Gun Event

Jul 30, 2013

admin ? Murrieta ? bridges, Bryson, Event, football, impresses, Mesa?s, Universitys ? No comments

The junior defensive lineman for Murrieta Mesa was invited to Football University's Top Gun event in Dublin, Ohio, where he ?

Read more about Mesa?s Bryson Bridges Impresses at Football University?s Top Gun Event

Source: http://inlandsocal.com/2013/07/30/mesas-bryson-bridges-impresses-at-football-universitys-top-gun-event/

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Why a dam in Afghanistan might set back peace

The water that grows western Afghanistan?s fresh produce, sprinkles its town parks with shade-giving trees, and slakes the thirst of war-weary Afghans, is becoming a point of tension with nearby Iran as a large dam under construction will constrict cross-border flow.

After nearly four decades of work, the Salma Dam ? a $200 million project paid for and built by India, yet delayed by Afghanistan?s turbulent history of occupations, civil war, and insurgency ? is slated to be finished by the end of 2014.

Afghan officials say they have no plans to negotiate water rights with Iran, although analysts and Western sources warn that lack of agreement could worsen Afghanistan?s already prickly ties with its Iranian neighbor.

?We have many projects in Afghanistan, and every project has its enemy. But unfortunately Salma Dam has three enemies,? says Fazl Ahmad Zakeri, the Ministry of Energy and Water?s acting director for the Harirud and Murghab River Basin, in Herat. ?It?s not possible [to stop work]. We will complete this dam.?

RECOMMENDED: How well do you know Afghanistan? Take our quiz.

One of those enemies, says Mr. Zakeri, is Pakistan. Islamabad is ?trying to stop the work? because it is being built by strategic rival India. In April, Afghan intelligence officials announced they had thwarted a Taliban plot to blow up the dam with about 2,860 pounds of explosives. The plan, they claimed, was aided by Pakistan?s intelligence agency.

The other two ?enemies? of the Salma Dam are Turkmenistan and Iran because it will diminish water flow to their own parched regions and dam projects. Afghan officials have often charged Iran with being behind dam-related attacks. When an Afghan district governor who had supported the project was killed in 2010, Afghan police officials suspected Iran?s involvement.

The head of the police unit guarding the dam claimed to have evidence that Iran funded a local Taliban commander and his 200 men who had ?promised Iran that he will succeed in halting work on the Salma Dam,? according to a report by the Institute for War and Peace Reporting.

Likewise, two months ago, six of the dam?s security guards were killed by a roadside bomb. Without naming Iran, the provincial security chief said that the killings had ?a political motivation. This is the work of those countries who don?t want Afghanistan to develop.?

But in Herat, water official Zakeri says that ?we don?t have any data to give us information that Iran is creating some problem.? Iranian officials say they support Afghan development, and deny conducting any destabilizing actions in Afghanistan, despite credible reports of past, limited assistance to anti-US insurgents, including the Taliban.

?Yes, the Iranians are asking for negotiations. Always they are asking for negotiations [because they will get] much less water,? notes Zakeri.

But negotiation may be easier said than done, with so much at stake for both sides.

WHAT AFGHANISTAN WANTS

For Afghanistan, key facts are clear: The Salma Dam will increase cultivatable land from 35,000 hectares to 80,000 hectares. It will also produce 42 MW of electricity, lowering the region?s dependence on Iran (which now provides 80 MW, cheaply) and Turkmenistan (which provides 50 MW).

?It will change much, because this project is not just for Herat,? says Zakeri. ?If we can produce more fruit, we can send this to Kandahar, to other provinces. This project might change the situation in all of Afghanistan.?

For Iran, too, key facts are clear: The dam will cut the flow of its own Harirud River water by 73 percent, even though the number of Iranians dependent on that water ? including the shrine city of Mashhad ? is almost three times as large as the number of Afghans.

?Iran has always criticized Afghanistan for its water policies on Helmand and Harirud Rivers,? says an Iranian analyst in Tehran who has worked on the issue of Helmand, a larger river flowing into Iran farther south, and asked not to be named. ?Iran and Pakistan are both accused of sabotage [and] Mashhad depends on the water of the Harirud. So Iran has a big concern that dams in Afghanistan [will] reduce the water as [they have] on Helmand.?

THE 'ONLY WAY FORWARD'

A 2010 report on Afghanistan?s water resources warned that ?cross-border cooperation on water is not an option; it is the only way forward? with all neighbors. Lack of bilateral or regional agreements created ?a serious threat to sustainable development and security in the region,? stated the EastWest Institute report.

The report also noted that a model for cooperation already exists, for the Helmand River. Afghanistan and Iran first created a joint commission in 1950, and in 1973 agreed that Iran would receive a precise volume.

For now, however, Kabul doesn?t ?see any reason? to hold water negotiations with Iran over the Selma Dam, says Shujaudin Ziaye, the deputy minister of Energy and Water in Kabul.

?We have no new negotiations in the past two years. The idea of building this dam emerged 40 years back. At that time, Iran had no request of water,? says Mr. Ziaye. ?Maybe they need to talk with us, but we don?t see any need to talk with Iran, to negotiate about water. Right now, no.?

HIGH PRIORITY

For many Afghans, water resources are a high priority. When President Hamid Karzai met an audience of ordinary Afghans in March for a televised program, there were nearly as many questions about water as about security.

?How much can the Afghan government defend its water resources?? asked one man, after listing the country?s water systems. Another asked why the government did not build more dams so Afghans ?will have access to electricity and the dry deserts will be irrigated.?

Mr. Karzai replied: ?We know that some of our neighboring countries do not want our dams to be built and do not want us to have our own electricity.? He also said that ?we have used our waters less throughout history and the neighbors have used them more. We know this, but we want to manage it in good relations with [them].?

But a history of mutual suspicions abounds. Iran has offered some technical expertise to Afghanistan, on water and agricultural issues. Iran?s Minister of Energy Majid Namjou visited in January to cut the ribbon on two Iranian-made electric turbines given to Herat for emergency use.

?Iran, it seems, has adopted competing policies on Afghanistan ? one of cooperation in certain cases and one that contributes to destabilizing in others,? stated the EastWest Institute report. ?Iran perceives agricultural development ? a crucial element in the Obama strategy to increase economic activity in Afghanistan ? and dam rehabilitation and reconstruction as major security threats.?

In Herat, that is also how some Afghan officials see it.

?If we have sustainable agriculture, and sustainable industries in Herat and our western zone of Afghanistan; if we have security ? especially in Herat ? then our Salma Dam will be built, and [Iran] will face many challenges, in their agriculture and industry,? says Herat Chief of Police Rahmatullah Safai.

RECOMMENDED: How well do you know Afghanistan? Take our quiz.

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/why-dam-afghanistan-might-set-back-peace-145253588.html

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