Cespedes, Colon lead A's to 6-3 win over Mariners

SEATTLE (AP) ? Yoenis Cespedes hit a pair of two-run homers and Bartolo Colon won his seventh straight start to lead the Oakland Athletics past the Seattle Mariners 6-3 on Friday night.

Cespedes homered in the first inning and again in the ninth for his third career multihomer game ? all this month. Jed Lowrie and Coco Crisp also went deep for the Athletics, who maintained their one-game lead in the AL West over Texas.

Colon (10-2) gave up three runs and seven hits over eight innings, tying unbeaten Max Scherzer of the Detroit Tigers for most wins in the American League. Colon is 11-1 in his career at Safeco Field, the best record for any pitcher with at least seven decisions in the Mariners' home park.

Grant Balfour pitched the ninth for his 18th straight save to begin the season.

Nick Franklin hit a three-run homer for Seattle, which has lost three straight and five of six.

Hisashi Iwakuma (7-3) lost at home for the first time this season, giving up four runs and six hits ? including three homers ? in seven innings. His home ERA rose from 0.92 to 1.46.

The matchup between two of the American League's top starters turned into a relative slugfest.

Iwakuma had never given up more than two home runs in a game, and it was the first time in 18 career home starts he allowed more than one homer.

Franklin's three-run shot against Colon marked the first time the pitcher had allowed a home run or more than two earned runs in a game since May 14, before he started his winning streak.

Cespedes gave Oakland a two-run lead in the first inning with a shot that bounced off the upper-deck railing above the left field out-of-town scoreboard. It wasn't the first big hit Cespedes has had against Iwakuma ? he is 6 for 15 with three homers against the Mariners' starter.

Brendan Ryan singled with one out in the third for the Mariners' first hit, and after a single by Endy Chavez, Franklin's fourth home run gave Seattle a 3-2 lead.

Lowrie tied the game with a leadoff homer in the fourth, and Crisp pushed Oakland ahead with his solo drive that just cleared the right-field wall in the sixth.

The Mariners were hurt by a baserunning blunder in the sixth. After a leadoff single, Kyle Seager was thrown out trying to take two bases on a passed ball. Kendrys Morales' single and Raul Ibanez's walk gave Seattle two on with one out, but the Mariners were unable to push a run across.

Oakland added insurance runs in the ninth off reliever Tom Wilhelmsen. Lowrie led off with a single and Cespedes followed with another homer to left field, his 15th of the season.

NOTES: Oakland C John Jaso was a late scratch because of a left palm abrasion. ... Seattle promoted pitching prospect Taijuan Walker to Triple-A Tacoma. Walker, the Mariners' top pick in the 2010 draft, was 4-7 with a 2.46 ERA and 96 strikeouts in 14 starts for Double-A Jackson. ... Two of Seattle's 2013 draft picks, Austin Wilson (second round) and Lachlan Fontaine (13th), took batting practice before the game.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/cespedes-colon-lead-6-3-win-over-mariners-050408073.html

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Top diplomat Kerry battles to deliver on big ideas (The Arizona Republic)

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Everyday Carry Gear ? Raul Sanchez

This entry is part 14 of 14 in the series

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2013/06/21/everyday-carry-gear-raul-sanchez/

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Hong Kong silent so far on possible Snowden extradition

HONG KONG (AP) ? Hong Kong was silent Saturday on whether a former National Security Agency contractor should be extradited to the United States now that he has been charged with espionage, but some legislators said the decision should be up to the Chinese government.

Edward Snowden, believed to be holed up in Hong Kong, has admitted providing information to the news media about two highly classified NSA surveillance programs.

It is not known if the U.S. government has made a formal extradition request to Hong Kong, and the Hong Kong government had no immediate reaction to the charges against Snowden. Police Commissioner, Andy Tsang, when was asked about the development, told reporters only that the case would be dealt with according to the law.

When China regained control of Hong Kong in 1997, the former British colony was granted a high degree of autonomy and granted rights and freedoms not seen on mainland China. However, under the city's mini constitution Beijing is allowed to intervene in matters involving defense and diplomatic affairs.

Outspoken legislator Leung Kwok-hung said Beijing should instruct Hong Kong to protect Snowden from extradition before his case gets dragged through the court system. Leung also urged the people of Hong Kong to "take to the streets to protect Snowden."

Another legislator, Cyd Ho, vice-chairwoman of the pro-democracy Labour Party, said China "should now make its stance clear to the Hong Kong SAR (Special Administrative Region) government" before the case goes before a court.

China has urged Washington to provide explanations following the disclosures of National Security Agency programs which collect millions of telephone records and track foreign Internet activity on U.S. networks, but it has not commented on Snowden's status in Hong Kong.

A formal extradition request, which could drag through appeal courts for years, would pit Beijing against Washington at a time China tries to deflect U.S. accusations that it carries out extensive surveillance on American government and commercial operations.

Snowden's whereabouts have not been publicly known since he checked out of a Hong Kong hotel on June 10. He said in an interview with the South China Morning Post that he hoped to stay in the autonomous region of China because he has faith in "the courts and people of Hong Kong to decide my fate."

He and his supporters have also spoken of his seeking asylum from Iceland.

A prominent former politician in Hong Kong, Martin Lee, the founding chairman of the Democratic Party, said he doubted whether Beijing would intervene at this stage.

"Beijing would only intervene according to my understanding at the last stage. If the magistrate said there is enough to extradite, then Mr. Snowden can then appeal," he said.

Lee said Beijing could then decide at the end of the appeal process if it wanted Snowden extradited or not.

A one-page criminal complaint unsealed Friday in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, said Snowden engaged in unauthorized communication of national defense information and willful communication of classified communications intelligence information. Both are charges under the Espionage Act. Snowden also is charged with theft of government property. All three crimes carry a maximum 10-year prison penalty.

The complaint will be an integral part of the U.S. government's effort to have Snowden extradited from Hong Kong, a process that could become a prolonged legal battle. Snowden could contest extradition on grounds of political persecution.

Hong Kong lawyer Mark Sutherland said that the filing of a refugee, torture or inhuman punishment claim acts as an automatic bar on any extradition proceedings until those claims can be assessed.

"Some asylum seekers came to Hong Kong 10 years ago and still haven't had their protection claims assessed," Sutherland said.

Organizers of a public protest in support of Snowden last week said Saturday that there were no plans for similar demonstrations this weekend.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/hk-silent-far-possible-snowden-extradition-051344237.html

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Billionaire paid fines or risked canceled wedding

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ? The Big Sur resort where Sean Parker held his posh, Lord of the Rings-inspired wedding threatened to cancel it if he didn't agree to pay for the unpermitted wedding construction and the inn's past land use violations, Parker told The Associated Press on Friday.

The co-founder of Napster Inc. and former Facebook Inc. president said that after two years of wedding planning, the Ventana Inn & Spa preferred to cancel 20 days before the event rather than work out an agreement with the California Coastal Commission.

"As soon as Ventana found out there was an issue they threatened to cancel the wedding unless I entered into a broad indemnification agreement," Parker said in an email. "We had nowhere to go at that point, no backup plan, and there was no place in the Big Sur area that could accommodate 360 guests."

Multiple calls to Ventana were not returned. A spokeswoman for Oaktree Capital Management, which owns the Ventana, said the firm would not comment.

The resort is located within the coastal zone, an area regulated by the commission, an independent state agency that oversees beachside development. Any significant construction within the zone has to be permitted.

Parker, 33, who was portrayed by Justin Timberlake in the movie "The Social Network," married singer-songwriter Alexandra Lenas in a ceremony with gowns and sets made by a designer for the "Lord of the Rings" films.

But after a neighbor complained about the construction, a commission investigation found that Parker had been allowed to build fake ruins, a cottage, a large dance floor and other structures near iconic redwoods and a stream with threatened fish, all without the proper permits.

Also, the Ventana had allowed Parker to build the wedding site in a campground that had been closed to the public in violation of the inn's permits, according to the coastal commission's report.

Parker agreed to pay $2.5 million in a settlement with the commission that includes Ventana's past violations and money future conservation programs overseen by the commission.

After agreeing to pay for Ventana's $1 million fines, negotiations between Parker's attorney and the commission also led to him contributing $1.5 million for the purchase of public easements and hiking trails in the Big Sur area and as grants for nonprofits doing conservation projects.

Parker came up with that amount on a "back of the napkin" estimate of how much it would cost to purchase easements in the Big Sur area.

Also, as part of the settlement, Parker offered to produce and distribute a public education video or create a mobile app aimed at helping to identify areas where the public can access the coast.

The commission could have shut down the wedding regardless of what Ventana and Parker agreed to, but chose not to.

"After inspecting the site, commission staff determined that any potential resource impacts associated with the development had already occurred, and as long as the structures were removed properly and in a timely fashion, those impacts would not be exacerbated by the actual event. So rather than shutting down the wedding, we focused on removal and mitigation," Sarah Christie, a commission spokeswoman, said in an email.

Parker said it was unreasonable for Ventana to assume that he, as the renter of the site, should have known that coastal commission permits were needed for him to stage the event.

"Ultimately, the Ventana was unwilling to accept any financial responsibility and preferred to cancel our wedding rather than work things out with the commission," Parker said. "We had no choice but to step in and pay for all of their violations, both the unpermitted construction and also their past liability related to the campground closure."

The billionaire said he's passionate about the forest, and only agreed to the wedding site after consulting with the Save the Redwoods League.

"The idea that I was a menace to the environment, or that I trashed trees is the kind of allegation that frustrates me," Parker said. "It is really emotionally difficult and frustrates my ability to do conservation work in the future."

___

Follow Jason Dearen on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/JHDearen

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/billionaire-paid-fines-risked-canceled-wedding-191949307.html

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Paula Deen Causes Controversy With Use Of N-Word (VIDEO)

Paula Deen Causes Controversy With Use Of N-Word (VIDEO)

Paula Deen has addressed the controversy over her admission of using the N-word, caught on video during her court deposition in her lawsuit filed by a former employee. Deen’s team says she is not racist. She only used the N-word a long time ago because she’s from the South and raised during the time when ...

Paula Deen Causes Controversy With Use Of N-Word (VIDEO) Stupid Celebrities Gossip Stupid Celebrities Gossip News

Source: http://stupidcelebrities.net/2013/06/paula-deen-causes-controversy-with-use-of-n-word-video/

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NVIDIA Shield price dropped to $299, availability date set at June 27

Preorders also will see the $50 discount

NVIDIA dropped a serious stunner about the Shield this morning, announcing a new $299 price tag and general availability starting June 27. According to a post on their official blog, they got great feedback from everyone who has used the device, but there was one common sentiment amongst the early testers -- if the Shield were priced at $299 it would be even more amazing. So that's what they did.

Everyone who has already preordered will be charged the new lower price when their device ships, saving $50 off the originally advertised price of $349. That's a lot of great Tegra-optimized games from Google Play, or maybe a nice dinner to make it easier to tell the wife you just spend $300. Any way you slice it, everyone loves saving $50.

Source: NVIDIA

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/bVVdFvy2vgM/story01.htm

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