More tornadoes from global warming? Nobody knows

An American flag blows in the wind at sunrise atop the rubble of a destroyed home a day after a tornado moved through Moore, Okla., Tuesday, May 21, 2013. The monstrous tornado roared through the Oklahoma City suburb Monday, flattening entire neighborhoods and destroying an elementary school with a direct blow as children and teachers huddled against winds up to 200 mph. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)

An American flag blows in the wind at sunrise atop the rubble of a destroyed home a day after a tornado moved through Moore, Okla., Tuesday, May 21, 2013. The monstrous tornado roared through the Oklahoma City suburb Monday, flattening entire neighborhoods and destroying an elementary school with a direct blow as children and teachers huddled against winds up to 200 mph. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)

A member of a security team helps guard an area of rubble from a destroyed residential neighborhood, one day after a tornado moved through Moore, Okla., Tuesday, May 21, 2013. The huge tornado roared through the Oklahoma City suburb Monday, flattening entire neighborhoods and destroying an elementary school with a direct blow as children and teachers huddled against the winds. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)

A deadly tornado hit suburban Oklahoma City on Monday. A quick look at some basic facts:

Q. Is global warming to blame?

A. You can't blame a single weather event on global warming. In any case, scientists just don't know whether there will be more or fewer twisters as global warming increases. Tornadoes arise from very local conditions, and so they're not as influenced by climate change as much as larger weather systems like hurricanes and nor'easters. They're not easy to incorporate in the large computer simulations scientists use to gauge the impact of global warming.

And when scientists ponder the key weather ingredients that lead to twisters, there's still no clear answer about whether to expect more or fewer twisters. Some scientists theorize that the jet stream is changing because sea ice in the Arctic is shrinking. And the jet stream pattern drives weather in the Northern Hemisphere.

Q. How does this tornado season stack up against previous ones?

A. The season got off to a quiet start this year. Typically, there are more during spring, and the numbers dwindle in the worst heat of the summer. An unusually cool spring kept the funnel clouds at bay until mid-May this year. The last two seasons illustrate the extremes in tornado activity. In 2011, the United States saw its second-deadliest tornado season. Last year, it was busy in April but there were few twisters after that.

Q. What happened in Oklahoma?

A. The tornado destroyed two elementary schools and flattened neighborhoods with winds estimated between 200 and 210 mph. The National Weather Service on Tuesday gave the twister a top-of-the-scale ranking of EF5. The tornado at some points was 1.3 miles wide, and its path went on for 17 miles and 40 minutes.

Q. How did it form?

A. Like the most destructive and deadly tornadoes, this one came from a rotating thunderstorm. The thunderstorm developed in an area where warm moist air rose into cooler air. Winds in the area caused the storm to rotate, and that rotation promoted the development of a tornado.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/b2f0ca3a594644ee9e50a8ec4ce2d6de/Article_2013-05-21-US-Oklahoma-Tornado-QandA/id-5678a93e3d5e47c6ab19da2b042013ad

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Will Derek Hough be back on 'Dancing'?

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Michael Maloney TODAY contributor

6 hours ago

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Derek Hough may be back for yet another season of "DWTS."

"Dancing With the Stars" pro Derek Hough seems poised to win his fourth mirror ball trophy Tuesday night with partner Kellie Pickler. But will he return when the show comes back in September for another season?

?I don?t know yet,? he told reporters on the post-show red carpet Monday. ?Next year (2014) is going to be a little different. That?s when these projects I?m working on will come to life. Right now, they?re in the preparation stages. (So) it might be a good idea to do next season.?

As fans of Hough know, the three-time winner almost didn?t partake in this season.

?I was literally within an hour of not doing it,? he shared. ?I called the producers and said I have this weird feeling that I need to do this season. ... They said, ?Well, we need to know within the next hour.? Then, I was like, ?OK, Let?s do it.? Now, I know why.?

That reason? His amazing run with current partner, "American Idol" alum Pickler.

Judge Carrie Ann Inaba criticized the pair earlier in the season for not having enough of an emotional connection in their dances.

?That actually stuck with me,? Hough said. ?I wanted (our freestyle) to be an emotional routine. I wanted it to connect with people and connect with us. Afterwards, I looked over and saw Carrie Ann crying. That was the moment to top off the season for us.?

Hough knows he could have gone all out and added more production values to the freestyle routine, but he opted to keep it simple.

?I?m all for big productions,? he told TODAY.com. ?I love putting on shows. I wondered if it was it right to downsize the routine physically and supersize it emotionally? I wanted to make it about Kellie and not wow the audience with a spectacle, but to wow them with heart. I think it paid off, but there was definitely a ping pong match going on in my mind.?

Source: http://www.today.com/entertainment/will-derek-hough-be-back-dancing-stars-6C10017093

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Austria says peackeepers may quit Golan if EU arms rebels

By Michael Shields

VIENNA (Reuters) - Austria may pull its peacekeeping troops from the Golan Heights, evacuating the U.N. buffer zone, its defence minister warned on Tuesday, as Syria and Israel exchanged fire across a long dormant frontline now inflamed by civil war.

Vienna's warning was aimed at Britain and other allies which want to help Syrian rebels by lifting an EU arms embargo - doing so, minister Gerald Klug told Reuters, would rob Austrian troops of their neutrality in a Syrian conflict that has already seen foreign peacekeepers come under fire and some even held hostage.

He stopped short of saying an end to the EU arms ban would automatically prompt the departure of the 380 Austrian soldiers. But their withdrawal after four decades keeping the peace since the 1973 Arab-Israeli Yom Kippur war would leave a huge hole in the already troubled, 1,000-strong U.N. force separating two of the world's biggest armies, which are technically still at war.

"My view is that if the arms embargo were not extended, then the impartiality of the peace mission could no longer be maintained," Klug said in an interview a day before EU leaders in Brussels will discuss an arms embargo that expires on June 1.

"Our mission would be additionally fraught and it would no doubt come to a new assessment of the situation.

"I cannot of course prejudge the discussions," he said of the negotiations within the European Union. "But without doubt there are several options in the political discussion, and withdrawal is one of these options."

Klug's comments underscore Vienna's resistance to British-led efforts to end or dilute the arms ban in order to help the rebels fighting President Bashar al-Assad. Austria has argued that providing more weapons would only fan the fighting and may snuff out chances for peace talks.

The blue-helmeted ranks of UNDOF, the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force, have already seen Japanese and Croatian troops depart since the Syrian conflict began in 2011 and the Philippines, the other main contributor of combat troops along with Austria, has said it may also withdraw after several incidents in which Syrian rebels have held its men prisoner.

Diplomats have said that Fijian soldiers are likely to fill some of the existing gaps. But the disappearance of the critical Austrian contingent would cause the U.N. major difficulties.

Klug said it would be up to the United Nations to decide if UNDOF could live without them but added: "Given the quantitative importance that Austrian soldiers have on the Golan I would have serious doubts that the mission could be maintained."

DESPITE RISKS, WILLING TO STAY

Austrian troops have beefed up their armour and, reflecting international concern over the fate of Assad's stockpiles of unconventional weaponry, have, Klug said, been issued with new protection against nuclear, biological and chemical attack. But they were ready to continue their 39-year mission in the zone.

UNDOF, essentially with Austrians in the north and Filipinos in the south, polices a 75-km (47-mile) ribbon of demilitarised zone running from the mountainous Lebanese border in the north to Jordan in the south, separating Syria from the Israeli-held Golan Heights, a plateau first seized from Syria in 1967.

Forty-four of its members have died since it was set up in 1974, some in accidents, but the ceasefire had until the past two years proved one of the most stable in the Middle East, with neither Syria nor Israel willing to challenge the status quo.

As the neighboring U.N. force in southern Lebanon, UNIFIL, has shown in 35 years of watching Israelis and Lebanese wage wars, the peacekeepers have limited military means to prevent conflict but do represent the will of the U.N. Security Council.

UNDOF's restricted scope for action has been seen as Syria's civil strife has intruded; rival Syrian groups fight nearby and Israel is concerned about the appearance of anti-Assad forces, notably Islamist militants, willing to attack the Jewish state.

It has made clear it will act inside Syria if it sees its interests threatened; Israeli warplanes have bombed targets near Damascus, just 50 km (30 miles) from the Golan buffer zone, three times this year, targeting suspected arms shipments from Assad's ally Iran to the Lebanese Hezbollah movement.

Just on Tuesday, Syria said its troops destroyed an Israeli vehicle that crossed into its territory, while Israel said the incident took place on its side of the line and the vehicle was only damaged. Both sides said Israel fired back.

Filipino peacekeepers have on two occasions been held for days by the Syrian rebel Yarmouk Martyrs' Brigade. In November, two Austrian peacekeepers were hurt when their convoy came under fire near the airport in Damascus.

Klug called the Golan situation "tense but manageable" and declined to go into detail on what elements of EU policy changes might prompt an exit: "There is a Plan B for every foreign mission, not just for the Golan," he said. "It makes little sense to discuss red lines in public, but they are there."

Klug, a center-left Social Democrat in the right-left grand coalition in Vienna, took charge of the ministry in March and visited the Austrian troops on the Golan this month.

They had, he said, curtailed patrol areas and taken extra equipment including body armour, armoured vehicles and equipment for handling nuclear, biological or chemical (NBC) warfare - though Klug played down any risk of chemical weapons attacks.

"To me the safety of Austrian troops is the most important thing in this context," he said. "But I also say that Austria has clearly shown in years past that it is a reliable provider of troops and Austria wants to remain a reliable provider of troops."

Northern areas patrolled by the Austrians were generally less tense than the south of the zone, closer to the city of Deraa where the revolt began. But Klug said his troops, with their backs to Israeli positions on the heights, still saw a mix of both Syrian government forces and rebels on the Syrian side.

It was hard to determine who was who, he said, adding: "You can see them with binoculars. They get pretty close."

(Editing by Alastair Macdonald)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/austria-says-peackeepers-may-quit-golan-eu-arms-173932262.html

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Breakaway Scotland to face high saver protection costs - UK study

By William James

LONDON (Reuters) - The cost of protecting Scottish savers would prove difficult to bear if the country broke away from the rest of the UK, a study by the Treasury said on Monday.

The findings come in the latest paper from the British government on how independence would impact the country. On Sunday the Treasury said an independent Scotland would have a huge financial sector relative to its economy, leaving it vulnerable to a Cyprus-style banking crisis.

Existing schemes to provide a deposit guarantee to British savers and protect pension payouts would not cover Scotland if its voters decide to break away from the UK in a referendum due to be held next September, the Treasury said on Monday.

"Arrangements that protect UK savers from financial shocks could be difficult and expensive to maintain in an independent Scotland," the report said.

The UK currently guarantees bank deposits up to 85,000 pounds ($129,100), paid for by a levy on its financial sector. However the likely structure of the Scottish banking industry would prove less suited to such a system.

"The retail deposit market in a separate Scotland would be dominated by only two large banks and, if one of these were to fail, the costs for compensating the depositors would fall almost entirely on the one remaining bank," a Treasury statement accompanying the report said.

The Scottish National Party which controls Scotland's devolved government and is behind the independence campaign has dismissed the Treasury report and is due to issue its own study on Tuesday, highlighting the benefits of a split from Britain. ($1 = 0.6582 British pounds)

(Editing by Robin Pomeroy)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/breakaway-scotland-face-high-saver-protection-costs-uk-000605832.html

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Yahoo NYC press event liveblog

News of Yahoo's acquisition of Tumblr is already official, so today's NYC event will likely shed some light on that $1.1 billion deal. CEO Marissa Mayer will be on hand to address the crowd -- and we'll be there to give you the play-by-play. Will we hear exactly what Yahoo means when it says won't "screw it up?" Will Tumblr CEO be there to contribute his take on the merger? Park your browsers here to find out; the liveblog goes down at 5PM EST.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/SSEwpr-r0hA/

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Connecticut rail delays continue, seen repaired by Wednesday

By Richard Weizel

WESTPORT, Connecticut (Reuters) - Connecticut rail commuters endured crowded and rerouted rides in to work on Monday, as Metro-North worked to repair the busiest U.S. rail line after a two-train collision and derailment injured more than 70 people late last week.

Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy said commuters should expect "serious disruptions," and encouraged riders to stay home if possible as repair crews worked to fix or replace more than 2,000 feet of track as well as overhead wires and other equipment.

But by late afternoon, the railroad said that repair work was being completed well ahead of schedule and that regular train service will resume in time for the Wednesday morning commute.

"We are confident that the reconstruction work, inspection and testing will be completed in time for a normal rush hour on Wednesday," said Metro-North President Howard Permut.

On Friday evening, a Metro-North passenger train derailed between Fairfield and Bridgeport, Connecticut, and was struck by another commuter train, halting full service. The site of the crash is about 55 miles northeast of New York City.

Many morning commuters stayed home on Monday, drove to trains further up the line which had not been disrupted or took shuttle buses.

Service between New York and Boston along the busy Northeast Corridor by Amtrak, the U.S. passenger rail network, was also suspended indefinitely due to the accident.

At the train station in Westport, Connecticut, travelers stood in long lines returning from New York as they waited for shuttle buses.

"I won't be doing this again, no way," said financial consultant Joseph Calabrese, who resides in a suburb of New Haven. "I can get more done at home without all this hassle."

Lindsey Shaughnessy, 26, of New Haven, said she had returned from a safari in Kenya on Monday to learn she could not catch a train to New Haven from Grand Central Terminal in New York.

"I've been in transit now for 40 hours and I just want to get home," said Shaughnessy, dragging her luggage as she prepared to board a shuttle bus. "You expect something like this in Africa, but it's kind of a shock to come back to the States and have to go through these kinds of delays."

The New York-New Haven line is the busiest rail line in the country, serving 125,000 commuters a day, said Judd Everhart, a spokesman for the Connecticut Department of Transportation.

Kate Miller, a daily commuter from Bridgeport, said she got a ride into New York on Sunday night to avoid delays and took the train back early Monday afternoon to catch a shuttle bus in Westport.

"I haven't slept in more than 24 hours. I'm exhausted and will take the governor's advice the rest of the week and work from home," Miller said. "It just isn't worth it spending all these hours commuting."

(Additional reporting by Edith Honan; editing by Daniel Trotta, Dan Whitcomb, G Crosse)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/connecticut-governor-tells-commuters-home-week-while-crash-164252237.html

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Bloom.fm Is A Mobile-First Music Streaming Service That's Playing To A Different Tune

It's nice to see a startup trying something different and garnering some promising traction along the way. The UK's Bloom.fm is a mobile-first music streaming service -- it currently exists as an iOS app only -- that launched four months ago out of the ashes of the deadpooled music social network mflow.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/rV9njprA0Ls/

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