Sunday, August 4, 2013

Sculpture of Guillaume de Durford, Santissima Annunziata Church, Florence, c.1289

Sculpture of Guillaume de Durford, Santissima Annunziata Church, Florence, c.1289

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Source: http://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?144995-Sculpture-of-Guillaume-de-Durford-Santissima-Annunziata-Church-Florence-c-1289&goto=newpost

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Bombs damage two shrines in Egypt's Sinai

ISMAILIA, Egypt (Reuters) - Two Islamic shrines were damaged by bomb attacks in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula on Sunday, the state news agency said, in a region where Islamist militants have stepped up attacks against the state since the army deposed President Mohamed Mursi.

One of the shrines targeted was near the North Sinai town of Bir el-Abd, and the other was in the area of el-Maghara farther south. Both were badly damaged.

Often dedicated to saints or descendants of the Prophet Mohammad, such shrines are forbidden according to the puritanical Islamic vision of the militants operating in the area.

Militants mostly based in North Sinai have escalated attacks on security forces and other targets since July 3, when the army deposed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood and installed a new government in response to mass protests against his rule.

The militants have struck on an almost daily basis and killed around three dozen people, according to medical officials. Many of those killed were members of the security forces.

(Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Doina Chaicu)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/bombs-damage-two-shrines-egypts-sinai-233947323.html

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Saturday, August 3, 2013

Japan's Abe vows to help Philippines amid China row

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged to strengthen the Philippines' maritime defence capabilities on Saturday, while reassuring neighbours about Tokyo's intentions amid growing territorial disputes with regional rival China.

"For Japan, the Philippines is a strategic partner with whom we share fundamental values and many strategic interests," Abe told a joint news conference with Philippine president Benigno Aquino after their meeting in Manila.

Speaking through an interpreter, Abe said his visit was intended "to strengthen the relations with the Philippines in all areas", including politics, security, and the economy.

As part of Japan's commitment, Abe said there would be "continued assistance to the capacity-building of the Philippine coastguard".

As an example of this, he cited 10 patrol boats that Japan is providing to the poorly-equipped Philippine coast guard.

The Filipino coastguard and navy have been at the forefront of tense encounters with navy and maritime surveillance vessels from China, which claims most of the South China Sea including areas close to the Filipino coast.

China seized the Scarborough Shoal, a South China Sea outcrop just 230 kilometres (140 miles) east of the main Philippine island of Luzon, last year after Manila backed down from a lengthy stand-off.

This year the Philippines has complained about the presence of Chinese navy vessels near Filipino-held Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly islands.

Japan earlier this year announced it would make loans to the Philippines to purchase the 10 Japanese patrol vessels for its coastguard.

"The Prime Minister and I agreed to strengthen maritime cooperation which is a pillar of our strategic partnership," Aquino said Saturday.

Abe's visit came as tensions have also steadily risen between China and Japan over Japanese-controlled islands in the East China Sea.

He reiterated a call for a leaders' summit with China to discuss their territorial dispute, and assured the rest of Asia that his vision for a more robust Japanese armed forces would not threaten the region's peace and security.

Abe said Saturday his party's decisive victory in the upper house of the Japanese parliament would help him pursue his vision of Tokyo's role in the region, many parts of which were under brutal Japanese occupation in World War II.

"Against this backdrop I intend to further proceed with strategic diplomacy which will contribute to regional and global peace and security," he said.

Abe has pledged to loosen limits on the military in Japan's pacifist, post-war constitution and stand up to China over their East China Sea dispute.

He acknowledged at a separate news conference, after he appeared with Aquino, that a more assertive Japanese military was a sensitive issue in the region.

"I intend to explain politely so that the countries in the region will not have any misunderstanding," he said.

Abe said problems with China were "inevitable" being neighbours, but stressed that peaceful coexistence between the two regional powers was crucial for Asian peace and prosperity.

"It is important that we have frank and candid discussions. I have given instructions so that the foreign affairs authorities (can) proceed with dialogue without any conditions attached. Foreign ministers-level and leaders-level meetings should be promptly held."

As Abe and Aquino met at the presidential palace, about 80 protesters including elderly ladies who said they were former comfort women staged a rally nearby, holding signs demanding reparations from Japan.

Japan diplomat visits China amid strained ties
Tokyo (AFP) July 29, 2013 - Japan's vice foreign minister on Monday set off for a two-day visit to China, Tokyo said, the latest chapter in a bid by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to hold high-level talks with Beijing.

The trip comes as territorial tensions and maritime skirmishes have all but frozen relations between the Asian giants.

Akitaka Saiki, the top bureaucrat in Japan's foreign ministry, was expected to meet with his Chinese counterpart Zhang Yesui and other senior Chinese officials, Jiji Press news agency and other Japanese media reported Monday.

"We coordinated the trip as Mr Saiki has hoped to visit China as soon as possible since he assumed his post" last month, a foreign ministry official told AFP.

On Saturday, Abe told reporters in Manila that he hoped to hold top-level talks with China.

One of his closest advisers also said at the weekend that the testy neighbours could soon hold a meeting.

"I think a summit will be held in the not-so-distant future," Isao Iijima was quoted by Japan's Kyodo news agency as saying.

The diplomatic overtures come on the back of a long-running dispute between Tokyo and Beijing over ownership of an East China Sea island chain.

Since the row flare anew last year, China has become increasingly active in the seas around the disputed archipelago, while it has cancelled diplomatic and cultural events involving Japan.

On Friday, the Chinese coastguard entered disputed waters surrounding the islets for the first time, straining an already tense situation as Tokyo mulled plans to establish a US Marines-style force to protect its claim on the islands.

Although Chinese government ships have been in and out of the waters for many months, this was the first time they have ventured there since Beijing combined several agencies under the coastguard flag last week.

Source: http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Japans_Abe_vows_to_help_Philippines_amid_China_row_999.html

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Arrests made in case of University of Colorado grad missing in Nepal

Aubrey Sacco went missing in Nepal in April 2010. (Courtesy of the Sacco family)

This map shows areas searched by Paul and Connie Sacco for their missing daughter Aubrey, who vanished in the Himalayas in 2010. (Hyoung Chang, The Denver Post file)

Police in Nepal said Friday they have arrested two men suspected of being involved in the 2010 disappearance of 23-year-old University of Colorado graduate Aubrey Sacco, but family members said they have not yet heard any news from officials.

"We're kind of in shock," Sacco's father, Paul, who lives in Greeley, said in a phone interview Friday. "We have some very good people working on this case, and when they tell me this then I'll believe it. We've learned to be very cautious about these reports."

Aubrey Sacco failed to return from a solo hike in the Langtang area of northern Nepal in April 2010. The two suspects were arrested Thursday in Rasuwa, near where she went missing, and were being questioned, police official Raj

Police in Nepal have arrested two men in the disappearance of Aubrey Sacco. (Courtesy of the Sacco family)

Kumar Shrestha told The Associated Press.

Nepal has been under pressure to investigate the case. This is the first time suspects have been arrested.

Read more of the article Arrests made in case of University of Colorado grad missing in Nepal at DailyCamera.com.

Source: http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_23782008/2-arrested-nepal-case-missing-colorado-trekker-aubrey?source=rss

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Analysis: In Obamacare rate debate, price gets political

By Caroline Humer

NEW YORK (Reuters) - With the October 1 date for enrollment in the health insurance exchanges being created by Obamacare less than two months away, a war of numbers has been escalating.

Health insurance will cost way less. Or it will cost way more. It depends who you ask.

Residents of states that have embraced President Barack Obama's healthcare reform, including New York, California and Oregon, will save on health insurance, officials there say. In Indiana, Florida, Ohio and Georgia, where opposition to the healthcare law runs high, residents will suffer an unprecedented spike in costs, according to the states' insurance departments.

Fueling the divide is the creative use of statistics by states to support their political stance on Obamacare. And because there is no standard for how to compare premium prices for the new insurance plans, it is easy to turn the numbers into a political football, actuaries, exchange officials and health economists say.

"So much of what we are reading about these days is part of the ... back-and-forth of 'it's a disaster' or 'it's really going to be nirvana for consumers,'" said Jon Kingsdale, former head of the Massachusetts Health Connector insurance exchange and a managing director at the Wakely Group healthcare consultancy.

"For consumers, the real helpful information is going to come in October when they can get on the exchange and look at the full comparisons," Kingsdale said.

Enrolling enough consumers is key to making the healthcare overhaul work economically, with price considered the most important factor driving enrollment, according to insurance industry surveys.

"There is not necessarily one best way to do this," said Cori Uccello, an actuary who works as a fellow for the American Academy of Actuaries. "What is important when looking at these comparisons is understanding what the before and after are representing."

None of the figures account for the substantial government subsidies that are expected to apply to a majority of the uninsured who enroll next year. Also missing from the conversation is the makeup of each plans' doctor networks, the out-of-pocket costs like deductibles and co-insurance, and the exact premiums by age or location.

The Obama administration is counting on signing up 7 million uninsured Americans in the first full year of reform through the state exchanges, including 2.7 million younger and healthier consumers who are needed to offset the costs of sicker members.

STATE BY STATE DEBATE

States and the federal government are beginning marketing and education campaigns this month to win over the uninsured. At the same time, Obamacare's opponents are increasing calls to roll back the program. A government deadline this week to submit health plan prices for review has played into the battle, as individual states announce how prices are shaping up.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, said last month that prices for top-of-the line "platinum" and "gold" insurance plans would fall more than 50 percent compared to what individuals are paying for insurance they bought directly this year.

New York's insurance rates are currently among the highest in the country. The estimated decline in rates is based on an expectation that the number of New Yorkers who buy individual health plans will balloon from 17,000 people to 1 million in the next few years as the Congressional Budget Office has forecast, the state said.

Republican-led Indiana swung the opposite way, saying insurance costs would rise by 72 percent in 2014 compared with 2012. Indiana added to its model costs such as deductibles, prescription rates and co-insurance or co-payments, the only state that appears to have done so.

The federal government has also entered the fray, saying that prices in 10 states and Washington, D.C., on average will be 18 percent lower than what the Congressional Budget Office estimated for the mid-range or "silver" plans.

To get to the 18 percent figure, the Department of Health and Human Services compared proposed premium prices with a figure derived from a forecast by the CBO, the non-partisan research arm of Congress. HHS used the CBO forecast of an annual premium of $15,400 in 2016 for a family, and divided by 2.7 people to arrive at an estimate for an individual in 2014.

Douglas Holtz-Eakin, a former head of the Congressional Budget Office, says the HHS report relies largely on data from states taking an active role in implementing Obamacare, suggesting that the government has cherry-picked the results.

"It's not a random sample. It's from states that have set up their own exchanges and are sympathetic to the cause," said Holtz-Eakin, who now heads the center-right American Action Forum.

HHS declined to comment on the various ways that rate data are being presented. In the study, it said it aimed "to move from theoretical arguments to data-driven analysis."

But many observing the cost debate say that too many unknowns remain to say if the estimates are right - or wrong.

"I don't know whether this 18 percent is right or not," said Jay Angoff, a lawyer at Mehri & Skalet who previously worked at HHS as director of the Office of Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight, referring to the HHS report. "There are other factors than actuarial analysis that affect the rates. This is a huge new market that is going to be heavily subsidized."

(Additional reporting by Sharon Begley; Editing by Michele Gershberg and Leslie Adler)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/analysis-obamacare-rate-debate-price-gets-political-175056352.html

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Friday, August 2, 2013

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Foursquare Does Deal With Turn - Business Insider

Foursquare will allow Turn, one of Facebook's ad exchange partners, to target its users with ads based on their check-ins, according to Ad Age.

The move was expected, as Foursquare had been using an ad sales pitch deck since April that touted check-in targeting and pixel tracking. (Pixel tracking is one way that users are followed on the web by advertisers.)

What's interesting about the choice of Turn is that the company is best-known as one of the adtech world's largest "demand-side platforms" (DSPs). A DSP is basically an ad-buying system, in which clients buy inventory in a real-time bidding auction. The inventory is usually triggered by tracking cookies, so buyers can target people by their apparent interests as indicated by their web surfing history.

Turn is a major player inside FBX, Facebook's cookie-driven, RTB ad exchange.

At Foursquare, a users' interest will, obviously, be inferred from their check-in. The innovation here ? if the implication in the ad sales pitch deck is correct ? is that the ad will be triggered by the check-in as opposed to a cookie. Turn can apply its database of cookies to match that check-in with a relevant audience.

It looks like Foursquare will not be offering individual users as targets, but rather anonymous blocks of users with similar interests, such as "mass market mom," "business traveler," and "luxury affinity."

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/foursquare-does-deal-with-turn-2013-8?op=1

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UCO to host national tornado summit

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Feeling left out can lead to risky financial decisions

[unable to retrieve full-text content]People who feel isolated are more inclined to make risker financial decisions for bigger payoffs, according to new research.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/mind_brain/consumer_behavior/~3/hS7_mWq1qGU/130801180300.htm

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Thursday, August 1, 2013

New 'Magique' Show at Tropicana Atlantic City | Arts & Entertainment

?Magique? stars Kevin & Caruso have gone from cruise ships to Miami to Reno before docking for a run at Tropicana?

Born and raised in Reno, Nevada, Kevin Jeffrey met Lord Caruso there, thus beginning a 22-year partnership that has included 18 years with Carnival Cruise Lines, 10 years in Miami Beach, a stint in Reno and now a stay at Tropicana for their illusion-variety show Magique.?

The show might be filled with classic old school illusions like levitation, swords through a box, and the amazing Houdini-invented trick Metamorphosis, but it has a modern, edgier vibe, not to mention a troupe of excellent dancers/showgirls whose contributions give a sense of pageantry to the proceedings.?

Kevin & Caruso are from the new generation of illusionists, bright, fresh and full of fun.?

Kevin Jeffery gave me the scoop on how this partnership came together. He met the D.C.-born Caruso, ?when we were teenagers in Reno. We started street performing together. We got a few lucky breaks, put in a lot of hard work and here we are.??

While they are now on tour on dry land, they still are involved with Carnival Cruises. Explains Jeffrey, ?We produce all their big magic shows. We just started this tour. We were in Reno before and now here. We grew up with all the casino shows in Reno and Vegas. The whole element of razzmatazz and the costumes and the [rocking] soundtrack that was always the most important part of the show. A lot of magic shows tend to look the same with the guy in the tuxedo, and we just didn?t want to look like that.?

?Some of our [illusions] might be standards but what we do with it brings it up to date, especially with the music and special effects and the way we transition [between illusions]. We don?t like a whole lot of talking. We want it to be seamless. We understand that people?s reference point for entertainment now is 30-second YouTube videos and sound bites, and to sit still for an hour is getting harder and harder.??

Jeffrey also realizes that the small moments in magic are part of the allure, the sleight of hand, so he does a card trick, a bit with newspapers and water and with two pieces of paper, one black and one yellow. ?It?s important to engage the audience in a way that lets them understand that we haven?t forgotten where it all came from. That [paper trick] was one of the first I ever learned to do. People want to see a performer they can talk to on and off stage, especially now when entertainment is based on reality shows and personalities. As much as I like the big stuff, I always thought it was important to put in a few little sparkles of personality.??

The show is staged and directed by Mistinguett, a show runner with deep roots in Atlantic City. ?We got lucky. Mistinguett has been around here for years. She and Greg Thompson used to produce shows. She is one of the industry?s best as far as creativity working with dancers and showgirls. When Greg Thompson retired we asked her if she would freelance with us, and she has worked with us on six or seven of our shows.? n?

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    Mandy Moore is pretty smokin. I wish I was cool enough to date her. Does anybody know how I can get her number?

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    Source: http://www.atlanticcityweekly.com/arts-and-entertainment/magique-video-tropicana-Cruisin-Into-AC-217798471.html

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    Sony Japan Studio's rain Game's 1st Developer Diary Posted

    PS3 game's director, designers interviewed in 1st video focusing on game's world


    Sony began streaming a developer diary video on Thursday for Japan Studio's rain PlayStation 3 video game. The first in a series of videos focuses on the world of the game and features interviews with various staff members, including director Yuki Ikeda, lead planner Tomoharu Fujii, art director Seiichi Terashima, and designer Tomokazu Oki.

    Sony Computer Entertainment Japan announced the title at Gamescom last year along with Japan Studio's other in-development title, Puppeteer. Associate producer Dais Kawaguchi describes the story:

    The story of rain is the enchanting tale about a boy who chases after a girl with an invisible silhouette. After discovering that the girl is being hunted by ghostly creatures, he embarks on his own journey into the mysterious world of rain to save her and discovers he has also become invisible. Players will play as the boy, whose silhouette can only be seen in the rain. Using the unique ability to appear and disappear under cover players must learn to navigate through the unknown to advance. Just like in the real world, what can be seen isn't everything and using imagination is the only way to reveal the truth.

    The game will be available worldwide this fall.


    Source: http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2013-08-01/sony-japan-studio-rain-game-1st-developer-diary-posted

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    MLB tells union which players it plans to suspend

    NEW YORK (AP) ? Major League Baseball has told the union which players it intends to suspend in its drug investigation and which ones will receive lengthier penalties for their roles in the Biogenesis case.

    The sides are trying to reach as many agreements as possible that would avoid grievance hearings, and talks could push back an announcement until Friday, two people familiar with the talks told The Associated Press.

    The meeting between MLB and the union on Tuesday, first reported by the New York Daily News, signaled the final stretch of talks.

    MLB hopes to announce the penalties for all players involved at the same time, both people said, speaking on condition of anonymity because no announcements were authorized. Under baseball's Joint Drug Agreement, suspensions for violations not caused by a positive test are effective on the third business day after the discipline is issued ? another sign pointing to a Friday announcement.

    Three-time MVP Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees stands to receive the longest suspension. While 50 games is the standard for a first offense, the stiffer penalties for some players are tied to other alleged violations, including not being truthful to MLB investigators.

    Three 2013 All-Stars could face bans: Texas outfielder Nelson Cruz, San Diego shortstop Everth Cabrera and Detroit shortstop Jhonny Peralta. In a sign Peralta's suspension might be imminent, the Tigers acquired shortstop Jose Iglesias from Boston on Tuesday night as part of a three-way trade with the Chicago White Sox.

    Another 2013 All-Star, Oakland pitcher Bartolo Colon, was suspended last year following a positive testosterone test, as were Toronto outfielder Melky Cabrera and San Diego catcher Yasmani Grandal. They won't receive additional discipline for that violation, the two people said.

    Yankees catcher Francisco Cervelli and Seattle catcher Jesus Montero also have been linked in media reports to Biogenesis, a closed Florida anti-aging clinic that was accused by Miami New Times in January of distributing banned performing-enhancing drugs.

    Melky Cabrera was the 2012 All-Star game MVP while with San Francisco and Colon won the 2005 AL Cy Young Award with the Los Angeles Angels.

    Players who don't reach agreements can ask the players' association to file grievances, which would lead to hearings before arbitrator Fredric Horowitz. Discipline for first offenders under the drug agreement usually is not announced until after the penalty is upheld, but there is an exception when the conduct leading to the discipline already has been made public.

    In addition, MLB may try to suspend Rodriguez under its collective bargaining agreement instead of its drug rules, which would lead to the suspension starting before the appeal.

    Milwaukee outfielder Ryan Braun was the first player to reach an agreement with MLB. The 2011 NL MVP accepted a season-ending 65-game suspension last week. Braun tested positive for elevated testosterone in October 2011, but a 50-game suspension was overturned the following February by an arbitrator who ruled Braun's urine sample was handled improperly.

    Rodriguez faces the harshest penalty. The Yankees expected him to be accused of recruiting other athletes for the clinic, attempting to obstruct MLB's investigation, and not being truthful with MLB in the past when he discussed his relationship with Dr. Anthony Galea, who pleaded guilty two years ago to a federal charge of bringing unapproved drugs into the United States from Canada.

    "A-Rod was my teammate in New York. I'm glad he was my teammate," retired pitcher Roger Clemens said Tuesday in Boston, where he was at Fenway Park to mark the 25th anniversary of manager Joe Morgan's team that won the 1988 AL East title.

    "I did things to make him feel comfortable. I did that for all of my teammates," Clemens said. "I think I was a pretty solid teammate."

    The seven-time Cy Young Award winner was acquitted last year of federal charges he lied to Congress when he said he didn't take steroids or human growth hormone.

    Clemens would not give his thoughts on MLB's Biogenesis investigation.

    "I've got my own feelings on particular people in MLB, you know, how they approached my situation," he said. "I don't know about it, and I don't care about it, to tell you the truth."

    ___

    AP freelance writer Ken Powtak in Boston contributed to this report.

    Source: http://news.yahoo.com/mlb-tells-union-players-plans-suspend-031229010.html

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    University of Utah scientist discovers terrifying ant species

    Photo courtesy of John T. Longino, University of Utah | U. entomologist Jack Longino has discovered and identified 33 new ant species, including this Octostruma convallis, which boasts sideways-moving jaws.

    Their wedge-shaped faces are like spine-covered shields that end with beak-like jaws bristling with sharp teeth.

    "They look a little like the monster in ?Alien.? They?re horrifying to look at up close," says University of Utah biology professor Jack Longino. "That?s sort of what makes them fun."

    Longino, an entomologist, has identified 33 new species of predatory ants from Central America and the Caribbean, according to a statement from the U. He named the monstrous-looking creatures after ancient Mayan gods and demons.

    But while the ants might look fierce under the microscope, they are also tiny ??less than 1/12 to 1/25 of an inch long, far smaller than a grain of rice or common household ants.

    They?re also nearly blind, with primitive eyes that detect light but not images, and live in the rotting wood and dead leaves on Central American forest floors.

    Researchers collect the ants by sifting through the dirt with specialized tools. It?s not clear how the ants find their prey, but it?s thought they coat themselves in a thin layer of clay for camouflage.

    Once they catch it, though, the insects don?t exactly eat their prey, which researchers presume are soft-bodied insects, spiders, millipedes and centipedes. Adults only consume liquids, so they bring the hapless bugs back to their larvae, which eat the prey and regurgitate it so it can be eaten by the adults.

    Longino identified and named 14 new species of the ant genus Eurhopalothrix in a study published online Monday in the journal Zootaxa. The journal has also accepted a second, upcoming study by Longino identifying 19 new ant species from the genus Octostruma, bringing his career-long total of new ant species discovered to 131.

    The ants? namesakes include Zipacna, a violent, crocodile-like Mayan demon; Xibalba, or a "place of fear," for an underworld ruled by death gods, and Hunhau, a Mayan death god.

    story continues below

    lwhitehurst@sltrib.com

    Twitter: @lwhitehurst

    Copyright 2013 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

    Source: http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/56666430-78/species-ants-ant-longino.html.csp

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    Baseball bat murder nets US man 50-year sentence

    CAPE MAY COURT HOUSE, New Jersey (AP) A New Jersey man has been sentenced to 50 years in prison for fatally beating a college student with a baseball bat because he thought the teen had laughed at him.

    Thirty-two-year-old Alberto Martinez had been convicted of murder in the 2010 attack. Authorities have said Martinez was a homeless, unemployed laborer who got around on a bike and had been seen previously carrying a bat.

    Nineteen-year-old Vincent DeSario, died two weeks after being struck in the head.

    He and two friends had been walking along a Wildwood street when one of them tripped, causing them to laugh. Witnesses say Martinez angrily approached the group and swung the bat, hitting DeSario.

    Martinez was sentenced Tuesday. The Press of Atlantic City reports (http://bit.ly/1caHblk ) he won't be eligible for parole for about 40 years.

    This story has been automatically published from the Associated Press wire which uses US spellings

    Source: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10905912&ref=rss

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