Legislators introduce bill to resuscitate PACE program for green upgrades to homes

The PACE program, which made installations of energy-efficient solar panels, insulation and water conservation systems more affordable for homeowners, has been stalled by a technical roadblock.Brad Bartz of ABC Solar carries a solar panel to be used with a pump for a jacuzzi at a home in Palos Verdes Estates in November 2009. (Jay L. Clendenin, Los Angeles Times / July 21, 2011)A government program that helped homeowners finance and install green upgrades before a technical roadblock stalled it last year may be resuscitated by Congress.A group of legislators introduced a bill Wednesday to jump-start the Property Assessed Clean Energy program,...

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Apple updates the MacBook Air, axes the white MacBook

Apple updated its thin-and-light MacBook Air laptops on Wednesday, alongside the much anticipated release of Mac OS X Lion, while also unceremoniously discontinuing its white entry-level MacBook line. The new MacBook Air notebook computers, which lack optical drives (another example of Apple pushing users toward a disc-free future), gain speedier Intel processors -- ranging from the 1.6GHz dual-core Core i5 chip in the lower-end 11-inch-screen model, to the dual-core 1.8GHz Core i7. The i5 and i7 processors are known for being pretty powerful, with variations of this chip line running in Apple's MacBook Pros and iMac computers. A backlit...

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Fake Apple Stores popping up in China

Products get knocked off all the time -- designer bags, Oscar-night dresses, watches. But entire stores? That's something new. Which is why the Internet is going crazy over a blogger's report that three fake Apple stores have popped up in her neighborhood in Kunming, China. In a post dated Wednesday on the blog BirdAbroad, the citizen reporter (an employee of an international public health organization) said she was initially duped by the quality of the fake Apple store. It had the iconic clean wood interior, the Apple branded posters on the walls, the employees with those tell-tale blue polo shirts and chunky name tags hanging around...

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Auto cucumbered' text messages gone wrong. Oops, that's 'auto corrected'

What with all the walking and texting, dining and texting, and talking and texting that goes on, it's no wonder that communication sometimes breaks down.Throw in auto correct, and you're guaranteed some jaw-dropping mishaps. That's probably why the blog "Damn You, Auto Correct," which collects text exchanges gone wrong, has proved so popular. Since launching in October, it's garnered almost 300 million page views.Here are some gems randomly selected from the archives:Exchange #1: We need to talk "Be warned: I'm dumping you when I get home tonight." "Fine with me. I was just thinking we could use some time apart." "...JENNA??? I got autocorrected....

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Tokyo stocks flat, BOJ's ETF buying helps mood

(Reuters) - Japanese stocks were flat on Wednesday as investors, emboldened by the central bank's purchases of exchange-traded funds, hunted for bargains, offsetting worries about euro zone debt woes that have led to renewed strength in the yen.The Bank of Japan purchased 22.1 billion yen ($275 million) in Japanese ETFs the previous day, part of its asset-buying scheme to support the economy, and it has typically bought whenever the Nikkei stock average falls more than 1 percent, as it did on Tuesday."A further sell-off seems to have stopped for now," said Yumi Nishimura, a senior market analyst at Daiwa Securities, adding that the central bank's...

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Halle Berry wins stay away order against intruder

(Reuters) - A judge on Tuesday granted Oscar-winning actress Halle Berry on a stay away order against a man who she said intruded on her Los Angeles property three times in recent days, before police arrested him. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Carol Boas Goodson issued a temporary order directing Richard A. Franco, 27, to stay 100 yards from Berry and her young daughter.Franco, who has a history of violence, theft and drug offenses, was found to have a book with "nonsensical ramblings" and Berry's name in his handwriting, the actress said in court papers posted at TMZ.com.Franco first approached Berry's home on Saturday, when she...

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Obama warns on debt, deal elusive after talks

(Reuters) - President Barack Obama warned on Tuesday that elderly Americans could suffer first from a debt default, raising pressure on lawmakers as prospects for a deal to lift the debt ceiling appeared far from reach.The president and congressional leaders met at the White House for the third time in as many days, working to break a logjam over taxes and spending cuts before August 2. when the Treasury says it will run out of money to pay all of the country's bills.Obama, who has said he would meet every day this week, will convene more debt talks on Wednesday at 4 p.m. EDT.Republicans have balked at raising the debt limit without a deficit-cutting...

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Thailand's Shinawatras: From clan to dynasty

Yingluck Shinawatra is Thaksin's youngest sister and is expected to become Thailand's next prime minister Continue reading the main story THAILAND WOES New era? Profile: Yingluck Shinawatra Economic fallout Focus on reconciliation He was Thailand's prime minister for five years, his brother-in-law has served as prime minister, his youngest sister is expected to become the next prime minister - Thaksin Shinawatra once again seems to have broken the mould of Thai politics, writes Thitinan Pongsudhirak...

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Apple files patent complaint against phone maker HTC

Apple has accused the smartphone maker HTC of infringing its patents, in the latest phase of the legal battle between phone and tablet PC makers. Apple has filed a complaint against the US International Trade Commission (ITC) seeking an inquiry by the panel into the matter. The news comes just weeks after Apple and Samsung accused each other of copying designs and technology. HTC is the world's third-biggest mobile phone maker, by stock market value. However, HTC has denied Apple's allegations. "HTC is dismayed that Apple has resorted to competition in the courts rather than the market place," said...

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Drugs war strains Mexico's forensic investigators

Walk past the modern facilities of Mexico City's forensic headquarters and it is hard to imagine that the building hosts one of the grimmest aspects of Mexico's war on drugs. Inside are dozens of unidentified corpses - most believed to be the victims of the drug gang violence that has engulfed parts of this country. They were found in clandestine graves in the north of the country - a macabre twist to the bloodletting that has seen some 40,000 people killed since late 2006. Some mortuaries in the violence hot spots - mostly in the north near the US border - have been overwhelmed by the discovery of hundreds...

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Harry Potter: How do you end a movie franchise?

As the final Harry Potter film arrives in cinemas, its producers and directors explain how they steered the world's most successful film franchise to its conclusion. But what does studio Warner Bros have lined up after Potter? There is a chapter in the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows novel called The Seven Potters. Any book about making of the Harry Potter movies is likely to contain a chapter entitled The Three Davids. Producers David Barron and David Heyman, and director David Yates have been the triumvirate in creative control of the Harry Potter franchise for the final four films. Now, as Harry...

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Phone hacking: Tories join call over BSkyB bid

The Conservatives and Lib Dems are set to back a Labour motion urging Rupert Murdoch to withdraw his bid for BSkyB. They will call on Mr Murdoch's News Corporation to do so in the "public interest" while alleged phone hacking at the News of the World is probed. Prime Minister David Cameron is also set to detail the terms of a public inquiry into the hacking scandal. In a Commons statement, he is expected to outline the remit of the judicial probe and possibly who will head it. Labour says the unanimous support of MPs for News Corporation to pull out of a bid for the broadcaster will send a "clear message" to...

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NASA's Final Space Shuttle Flight Lifts Off From Cape Canaveral

In this handout provided by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the STS-135 crew (L-R), Sandra Magnus, mission specialist, Rex Walheim, mission specialist, Doug Hurley, pilot, and Chris Ferguson, commander, ride in the Astrovan to launch pad 39A to board space shuttle Atlantis on July 8, 2011 at the NASA Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. (Photo by Jerry Ross/NASA via Getty Images) A NASA Emergency Response Team member, looks out while flying near the Vehicle Assembly Building before the launch of space shuttle Atlantis July 8, 2011 in Cape Canaveral, Florida. (Photo by Bill Ingalls/NASA via Getty I...

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Devotees Mutilate Themselves At Phuket Vegetarian Festival

A devotee of the Chinese shrine of Sapam, pierces his cheeks with swords during the Phuket Vegetarian Festival on October 10, 2010 in Phuket, Thailand. Ritual Vegetarianism in Phuket Island traces it roots back to the early 1800's. The festival begins on the first evening of the ninth lunar month and lasts for nine days. Participants in the festival perform acts of body piercing as a means of shifting evil spirits from individuals onto themselves and bring the community good luck. (Photo by Athit Perawongmetha/Getty Imag...

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Contrail “Contrails (short for “condensation trails”)

“Contrails (short for “condensation trails”) or vapour trails are artificial clouds that are the visible trails of condensed water vapour made by the exhaust of aircraft engines. As the hot exhaust gases cool in the surrounding air they may precipitate a cloud of microscopic water droplets or, if the air is cold enough, tiny ice crystals.The wingtip vortices which trail from the wingtips and wing flaps of aircraft are sometimes partly visible due to condensation in the cores of the vortices. Each vortex is a mass of spinning air and the air pressure at the centre of the vortex is very low. These wingtip vortices are not the same as contrails....

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