White House calls for IRS investigation

White House spokesman Jay Carney and Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell on Friday called for an investigation into the Internal Revenue Service after the federal agency apologized for placing heavier scrutiny on conservative groups than other applicants that applied for tax-exempt status between 2010 and 2012.

"What we know about this is of concern and we certainly find that the actions taken, as reported, to be inappropriate. And we would fully expect the investigation to be thorough and corrections to be made in a case like this," Carney said during his daily press briefing with reporters on Friday afternoon.

Carney emphasized that the IRS was an "independent" agency within the federal government and that any review would be handled by the Inspector General.

The IRS announced earlier on Friday that "mistakes were made" when reviewing applications of conservative groups that organized during the rise of the tea party movement between 2010 and 2012. IRS employees centralized its applicant review process in an office in Cincinnati, Ohio, after receiving an influx of requests to form tax-exempt "501(c)4" issue advocacy groups. Auditors intentionally singled out applications that included the words "tea party" or "patriot," the IRS said.

?The IRS recognizes we should have done a better job of handling the influx of advocacy applications,? an IRS statement read. ?Mistakes were made initially, but they were in no way due to any political or partisan rationale.?

Earlier in the day, McConnell called for the White House to conduct its own review of the agency's behavior.

"Today, I call on the White House to conduct a transparent, government-wide review aimed at assuring the American people that these thuggish practices are not underway at the IRS or elsewhere in the administration against anyone, regardless of their political views," McConnell, the Republican leader in the Senate, said in a statement.

"But make no mistake, an apology won?t put this issue to rest," he continued. "Now more than ever we need to send a clear message to the Obama Administration that the First Amendment is non-negotiable, and that apologies after an election year are not a sufficient response to what we now know took place at the IRS. This kind of political thuggery has absolutely no place in our politics.?

In the House, Majority Leader Eric Cantor said on Friday that the chamber would conduct its own investigation of the IRS.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/top-senate-republican-calls-irs-investigation-175210457.html

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NKorea: Detained American smuggled in propaganda

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) ? North Korea says a Korean-American man sentenced last week to 15 years' hard labor smuggled in unspecified inflammatory literature and tried to establish a base for anti-Pyongyang activities at a hotel in the border city of Rason.

The statement late Thursday from an unidentified Supreme Court spokesman provides the most in-depth look so far of Pyongyang's allegations against Kenneth Bae. But it is still short on specific details. Bae hasn't made a public statement.

Pyongyang sentenced the Washington state man for what it called hostile acts against the state.

The statement says Bae gave anti-Pyongyang lectures in China and brought about 250 students into Rason. It didn't elaborate.

Analysts say Pyongyang may be using Bae as bait to gain direct talks with Washington.

Pyongyang rejects such speculation.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nkorea-detained-american-smuggled-propaganda-164445908.html

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Canon PowerShot SX280 HS

The Canon PowerShot SX280 HS ($329.99 direct) is a pocket-size camera with a long 20x zoom lens. It packs a wealth of features into its svelte frame, including Wi-Fi and GPS. Images from the 12-megapixel CMOS sensor are sharp, although some details are smudged away at very high ISO settings. The camera doesn't have a fast lens like higher-end compacts with shorter zoom ratios, and while it's a bit on the pricey side, it isn't out of line with the competition. The SX280's combination of zoom, image quality, and extra features make for an attractive package, one that is good enough to oust the older, more expensive Sony Cyber-shot HX30V as our Editors' Choice compact superzoom.

Design and Features
It's not the smallest point-and-shoot that we've seen come through our testing lab, but the SX280 HS, available in red or black, squeezes an impressive 20x zoom lens into its frame. It measures 2.5 by 4.2 by 1.3 inches (HWD) and weighs about 8.2 ounces. It's smaller than the Samsung WB800F (2.6 by 4.2 by 1.5 inches, 8.3 ounces), but the Samsung packs a slightly more ambitious 21x zoom lens that's about a half-stop brighter and a teeny bit wider. The SX280's lens covers a 25-500mm (35mm equivalent) field of view with an aperture that starts at f/3.5 and narrows to f/6.8 when zoomed all the way in.

Controls are good for a point-and-shoot. The Power button, zoom rocker, and shutter release are on the top plate, just where you expect them to be. On the rear you'll find the mode dial and a spinning control ring. The ring doubles as a four-way controller, with button presses that give you access to exposure compensation, flash control, the self-timer, and macro focusing. Other shooting controls are accessed via the Function/Set button, located in the center of the control ring. This brings up an overlay menu from which you can enable the GPS, adjust the metering pattern, change the white balance, set the ISO, enable continuous drive shooting, adjust the flash power, and control image quality and color options.

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The rear display is a big 3 inches, and with a 460k-dot resolution, it's fairly sharp. But it's no match for the huge 4.8-inch, 920k-dot display on the Android-powered, connected Samsung Galaxy Camera. The SX280 also integrates Wi-Fi so you can transfer images to you smartphone, post directly to the Web when connected to a hotspot, transfer photos to your PC or another Canon camera, and print wirelessly to a compatible printer. Setup isn't quite as easy as with the Galaxy Camera; if you want to share photos via Facebook and Twitter directly from the camera, you'll first need to connect the SX280 to your computer via USB in order to set up Canon Image Gateway and transfer your login information to the camera. It's a painless step, but still an extra one.

A built-in GPS adds geographic coordinates to your photos. When this feature is enabled you'll be able to view the location from which you shot each photo in a map when using Picasa, Lightroom, and other image-editing applications. The GPS did take about 40 seconds to lock onto a signal the first time it was enabled, but reacquisition was much speedier. It does put a drain on the camera's battery, so it's best to turn the feature off when you're not using it.

Performance and Conclusions
The SX280 HS is fast. It starts and shoots in 1.6 seconds, focuses quickly for a 0.1-second shutter lag, and can shoot continuously at 3 frames per second. This is in stark contrast to the 21x Galaxy Camera, which is slowed by its Android operating system. It requires 2.9 seconds to wake from standby and take a photo and its shutter lag is 0.4-second. The Galaxy does shoot a bit faster in drive mode, 3.8 frames per second, but is limited to a 20-shot burst at that rate; the SX280 HS can go as long as you'd like without slowing down.

I use Imatest to check the image sharpness. We consider an image to be sharp if it scores better than 1,800 lines per picture height using a center-weighted metric on our SFR Plus test chart. The SX280 managed 1,957 lines, which is an impressive score. Samsung's similar 21x WB800F is also no slouch in this department; it scored 1,992 lines on the same test. The scores are close enough to call it a draw between the two superzooms.

Imatest also checks for noise, which is another important component in image quality. As you increase sensitivity to light, measured in ISO, noise is introduced. At its best it makes images appear a bit grainy, at its worst it wipes away image information and kills fine detail. Imatest tells us that the SX280 HS keeps noise below 1.5 percent through ISO 1600, which is impressive for a compact. The Samsung WB800F does better, keeping noise under control through ISO 3200.

But the simple score doesn't tell the whole story. We take a close look at test shots at every ISO setting on a calibrated NEC MultiSync PA271W display, checking the parts of our test scene nearest to our color test chart for signs of noise reduction. The SX280 shows some evidence of smudging at ISO 1600, but less than the WB800F. Noise is visible on the test squares is in a tight pattern, where the WB800F is a bit bigger and blockier. Either camera will do fine for online sharing at these settings, but if you want to print an image or crop heavily, you'll get better results from the SX280. Neither does as well as our Editors' Choice compact digital camera, the 10x zooming Canon PowerShot Elph 330 HS. Its images at ISO 1600 are as good as the SX280 is at ISO 800. It's worth considering if you don't require the ambitious zoom ratio of the SX280, as it also packs Wi-Fi?but not GPS.

We've criticized Canon point-and-shoots in the past for lackluster video options; the imaging processor that Canon used in the previous version of this camera, the PowerShot SX260 HS, limited capture to 1080p24. The SX280 steps up the game, giving you the option to record MP4 footage in 1080p60, 1080p30, 720p30, 480p30, or 240p240 quality. The last one isn't a typo?it's an ultra-fast capture mode that slows down footage to a 30fps file, resulting in very, very slow motion. The 1080p60 footage is extremely smooth, to the point where it's almost hyper-realistic; the 1080p30 looks more like traditional video, and is also sharp with accurate colors. The camera is quick to focus during recording, and if you're not recording in slow motion you can adjust the focal length without stopping your video. The sound of the lens is audible, though, so keep that in mind when zooming. There's a standard mini HDMI port to connect to an HDTV, as well as a mini USB port for PC connectivity. SD, SDHC, and SDXC memory cards are supported, and a dedicated battery charger is included.

The Canon PowerShot SX280 HS is one of the best compact superzooms that we've seen recently, thus it earns it our Editors' Choice award. Its image quality is a bit better than the similar Samsung WB800F at high ISO settings, and it packs a bunch of features including Wi-Fi, GPS, and 1080p60 video capture. The 20x zoom lens is sharp, and the camera is speedy in every regard. It's not perfect; images aren't quite as good as those from our Editors' Choice compact, the 10x-zooming Canon PowerShot Elph 330 HS, and it doesn't have always-on 4G connectivity like the Samsung Galaxy Camera. But if you're looking for a pocket-size superzoom that takes great pictures, and comes with travel-friendly Wi-Fi and GPS, the SX280 HS should be at the top of your list.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/IG09jjEs8JY/0,2817,2418689,00.asp

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Group of conservatives backs action on immigration

WASHINGTON (AP) ? More than two dozen conservative leaders have signed on to a statement supporting action to overhaul the nation's immigration laws and calling legislation pending in the Senate an "important starting point."

In a statement being released Thursday, the officials say: "Simply opposing immigration reform should not be the conservative response to this problem. We believe conservatives should be leading the way on this issue by supporting legislation that upholds conservative principles."

Signers include Fred Malek, chairman of the American Action Forum; Ralph Reed, chairman of the Faith and Freedom Coalition; Paul Wolfowitz, a scholar at the American Enterprise Institute; Mat Staver, president and founder of Liberty Counsel; and Lawson Bader, president of the Competitive Enterprise Institute.

The statement was organized by Al Cardenas, chairman of the American Conservative Union.

"Conservatives are ready to support immigration reform, so long as it is pro-economic growth, strengthens families, fosters assimilation and prevents another wave of illegal immigration from happening again," the statement says.

Many of those signing the declaration took part in a meeting Tuesday with Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., an author of the immigration bill who's trying to sell it to conservatives. Rubio solicited their support in part by assuring them that the bill could change as it moved forward, and in their statement the officials say they don't expect the legislation to pass as-is.

Not all of those who attended the meeting with Rubio signed on to the statement of support. Several tea party-affiliated officials were in the meeting but not on the statement.

Republicans are split on the immigration issue, with many in leadership roles or with ties to the business community coming out in favor of an overhaul, while others more driven by ideology or connected to the grass roots remain opposed.

The Senate Judiciary Committee begins considering amendments to the Senate bill on Thursday. The legislation would dramatically remake the nation's immigration laws, strengthening the border, creating new worker programs and enforcement, and providing a path to citizenship for 11 million already here illegally.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-05-09-Immigration-Conservatives/id-24e34e1539124d6ab2bcf02ba900c26f

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SEC sues China-based Subaye over 'fraudulent scheme'

By Nate Raymond

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said on Wednesday that Subaye Inc agreed to settle claims the China-based online services provider deceived auditors and misled investors about its business.

The settlement, which the agency said includes injunctions but no money, was announced as the SEC filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in New York against Subaye and its former chief financial officer. Subaye is neither admitting nor denying the allegations, the SEC said.

The lawsuit marked the latest action by the federal securities regulator related to Chinese companies listed on U.S. stock exchanges following a string of accounting scandals in 2010 and 2011.

The lawsuit alleged the company and Crane engaged in a "fraudulent scheme" in which they falsely promoted the company as having millions in dollars in revenue and focused on providing media or Internet services to Chinese businesses.

No one responded to an email listed on Subaye's website, and a lawyer the SEC said represented the company said he no longer did. NASDAQ delisted Subaye in November 2011.

Crane, who is not settling, did not respond to an email seeking comment, and a woman who answered the phone at a number listed for him in regulatory filings said it was not his number.

The SEC said that Subaye and former CFO James Crane engaged in a "fraudulent scheme" in which they falsely promoted the company as having millions in dollars in revenue and focused on providing media or Internet services to Chinese businesses.

"In retrospect, there were signs that the company was not what it held itself out to be," the lawsuit said.

Among other signs, the SEC said, the company's business kept changing, from claiming to distribute video advertising and media services to Chinese businesses from 2008 to 2010 to, starting September 2010, focusing on cloud computing.

Despite the shifts in business model, Subaye claimed to be growing, with revenues of $39 million in 2010 and projected revenues of $71 million in 2011, the year it was switching to cloud computing and stopping its other businesses.

The SEC said money was "vanishing." The company expensed $22 million in 2010, more than half its revenues, as "marketing expenses."

The SEC said the scheme began to come apart in December 2010, when it hired a new auditor, PricewaterhouseCoopers Hong Kong, which began posing questions about the company's revenues, customers and marketing expenses.

Crane, who the SEC says lives in southern California, soon after resigned. PwC resigned as well.

Facing delisting from NASDAQ, Subaye hired a new chief executive, German businessman Alexander Holtermann, to help bring it into compliance, the lawsuit said.

But according to the complaint, when Holtermann went to Subaye's headquarters in May 2011, he found the building the company's former president pointed him to was in a university building.

When he knocked on the door, no one answered, the SEC said.

"Students working in nearby offices reported that the offices had been cleared out the day before, and Holtermann's view through an outside window seemed to confirm this," the SEC said.

He eventually found himself with $200,000 and a box of documents, and was "told this was all that remained of Subaye," the SEC said.

The case is Securities and Exchange Commission v. Subaye Inc, et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 13-3114.

(Reporting by Nate Raymond in New York; Editing by Carol Bishopric)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/sec-sues-china-based-subaye-over-fraudulent-scheme-222910129.html

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APNewsBreak: Wrigley halts caffeinated gum

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Wrigley says it is taking a new caffeinated gum off the market temporarily as the Food and Drug Administration investigates the safety of added caffeine.

The company said Wednesday that it has stopped new sales and marketing of Alert Energy Caffeine Gum "out of respect" for the agency, which said it would investigate the health effects of added caffeine in foods just as Wrigley rolled out Alert late last month. A stick of the gum is equivalent to half a cup of coffee.

"After discussions with the FDA, we have a greater appreciation for its concern about the proliferation of caffeine in the nation's food supply," said Wrigley North America President Casey Keller in a statement to The Associated Press. "There is a need for changes in the regulatory framework to better guide the consumers and the industry about the appropriate level and use of caffeinated products."

Keller said the company has paused production and sales of the gum to give the agency time to regulate caffeine-added products.

Michael Taylor, FDA's deputy commissioner of foods, said Wrigley's decision to stop production for now "demonstrates real leadership and commitment to the public health." He said the company made the move after a series of discussions with the agency.

"We hope others in the food industry will exercise similar restraint," Taylor said.

Food manufacturers have added caffeine to candy, nuts and other snack foods in recent years. Jelly Belly "Extreme Sport Beans," for example, have 50 mg of caffeine in each 100-calorie pack, while Arma Energy Snx markets trail mix, chips and other products that have caffeine.

The companies say they are marketing the products to adults, but critics say that's not enough when the caffeine is added to items like candy that are attractive to children. Many of the energy foods are promoted with social media campaigns, another way they could be targeted to young people.

Major medical associations have warned that too much caffeine can be dangerous for children, who have less ability to process the stimulant than adults. The American Academy of Pediatrics says it has been linked to harmful effects on young people's developing neurologic and cardiovascular systems.

Taylor said last week that the proliferation of new foods with caffeine added ? especially the gum, which he equated to "four cups of coffee in your pocket" ? may even prompt the FDA to look closer at the way all food ingredients are regulated. The agency is already investigating the safety of energy drinks and energy shots, prompted by consumer reports of illness and death.

The only time FDA has explicitly approved the added use of caffeine in a food or drink was in the 1950s for colas. Taylor said the current proliferation of caffeine added to foods is "beyond anything FDA envisioned."

The FDA said it would look at the potential impact these new and easy sources of caffeine will have on children's health and take action if necessary. Taylor said that he and other FDA officials have held meetings with some of the large food companies that have ventured into caffeinated products, including Mars Inc., of which Wrigley is a subsidiary.

___

Follow Mary Clare Jalonick on Twitter at http://twitter.com/mcjalonick

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/bbd825583c8542898e6fa7d440b9febc/Article_2013-05-08-Caffeine%20Gum/id-97ff3bc7032045a49250a27865aeee87

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