U.S. boss held hostage now free

BEIJING (AP) ? An American boss detained nearly a week by his company's Chinese workers left the Beijing factory Thursday after he and a labor representative said the two sides reached agreement in a pay dispute.

Chip Starnes, who said he was "saddened" by the experience, told The Associated Press a deal was reached overnight to pay the scores of workers who had demanded severance packages similar to ones given to laid-off co-workers in a phased-out division, even though the company said the remaining workers weren't being laid off.

Remaining workers at the medical supply plant in Huairou district, on the outskirts of Beijing, had said they believed the entire factory was shutting down, that the company owed unpaid salary and that they saw equipment being packed and itemized for shipping to India.

Starnes said the workers' demands were unjustified. Neither he nor district labor official Chu Lixiang gave details of the agreed compensation. Chu said all the workers would be terminated, and Starnes said some of them would be rehired later.

"It has been resolved to each side's satisfaction," Chu told reporters at a conference room at the plant in late morning. She said they had been sorting out paperwork until 5 a.m. and that 97 workers had signed settlement agreements.

Starnes, a co-owner of Florida-based Specialty Medical Supplies, had quietly departed the factory grounds by the time Chu spoke, returning to his hotel in Beijing.

"Yes!! Out and back at hotel," Starnes wrote in a text message. "Showered... 9 pounds lost during the ordeal!!!!!!"

Police in Huairou district had made no moves to halt the labor action but guarded the plant and said they were guaranteeing Starnes' safety while local labor officials brokered negotiations.

It is not rare in China for managers to be held by workers demanding back pay or other benefits, often from their Chinese owners. Police are reluctant to intervene, as they consider it a business dispute, and local officials typically are eager to see the matter resolved in the way least likely to fuel unrest.

The labor action reflected growing uneasiness among workers about their jobs amid China's slowing economic growth and the sense that growing labor costs make the country less attractive for some foreign-owned factories.

About 80 workers had started blocking all exits starting last Friday, and Starnes had spoken to reporters in recent days through the barred window of his factory office.

Earlier Thursday, he said in a telephone interview that he had been forced to give in to what he considered unjustified demands. He summed up the past several days as "humiliating, embarrassing." At the beginning of his captivity, workers had deprived him of sleep by shining bright lights and banging on windows of his office, he said.

"We have transferred our funds from the U.S.," he said. "I am basically free to go when the funds hit the account here of the company."

Starnes told the AP he planned to get back to business, and even rehire some of the workers who had been holding him. "We're going to take Thursday off to let the dust settle, and we're going to be rehiring a lot of the previous workers on new contracts as of Friday," he said.

Starnes previously said the company had been winding down its plastics division, with plans to move it to Mumbai. When he arrived in Beijing last week to lay off the last 30 people, workers in other divisions started demanding similar severance packages.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/us-boss-held-china-leaves-plant-payout-044656354.html

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The Court Got Baby Veronica Wrong

Veronica and her biological father Dusten Brown on April 11, 2013

Photo by Jeremy Charles/Washington Post/Getty Images

Yesterday the Supreme Court decided Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl and although it is not clear whether it will result in a ?win? for the Adoptive Couple, Matt and Melanie Capobianco, there is no question it is a win for adoptive couples in general.

Baby Girl involves an Indian child, Veronica Capobianco, who was placed for adoption with the Capobianco?s at birth. Her biological father, Dusten Brown, never agreed to the adoption?he says he gave up his parental rights without knowing that the child?s biological mother was going to give her up for adoption. Upon receiving notice of the pending adoption, Brown immediately contested it. Brown is an enrolled member of the Cherokee tribe of Oklahoma and he argued that the termination of his parental rights was invalid under a federal statute known as the Indian Child Welfare Act, which aims to strengthen and protect Indian families by preventing their unnecessary break up.

One of the ways ICWA protects Indian families is by forbidding the involuntary termination of Indian parents? parental rights. Under the statute, such terminations are forbidden in the absence of a heightened showing that serious harm is likely to result from the parent?s ?continued custody? of the child. Brown based his argument on this statutory provision and won in South Carolina. After two years of living with the Capobiancos, Veronica was turned over to her biological father. But now, in a 5?4 decision, the Supreme Court has said that the South Carolina courts were wrong.

The court based its ruling on a very literal meaning of ?continued? (they even cited the dictionary) and found it only applied in instances where the objecting parent had previously exercised physical or legal custody of the child. In this case, because Veronica was placed with the Capobiancos at birth, the court found this provision did not apply to Brown and thus, the court found that Brown?s parental rights could be involuntarily terminated. However, since the lower court believed it did not have this power, it never terminated his parental rights. As a result, the case will now be remanded back to the South Carolina family court.

Although the family court now has the authority to terminate Brown?s rights, there is good reason to think they won?t. Veronica has been in the care of her biological father for almost two years. He is her father, he loves her, and he wants to raise her.? Hopefully, these facts will matter to the family court, but it is pretty clear they meant very little to the majority.

According to the majority opinion, written by Justice Alito, the five justices? biggest concern with ICWA and the provision that prevents the involuntary termination of Indian parents? rights is that it might ?dissuade? potential adoptive parents from seeking to adopt Indian children. Well duh, that?s the point!?

ICWA was passed to make the adoption of Indian children harder and that is precisely what the majority is objecting to. As Justice Sotomayor states in her dissent, ?the majority openly professes its aversion to Congress?s explicitly stated purpose in enacting the statute.? Instead of protecting Indian parents, the majority opinion is an ode to the virtues of adoption. In fact, the majority likes adoption so much they suggest that instead of seeking to prevent the termination of his parental rights Brown should have tried to adopt Veronica!

The above statement is made in the context of a separate section of ICWA, section 1915(a), which delineates preferences for Indian children placed for adoption. According to this section, extended family members should be given top priority when an Indian child is placed for adoption. In his briefs, Brown relied on this section to argue that even without ICWA?s prohibition on involuntary terminations, his status as Veronica?s biological relative gave him preference over the Capobiancos in any adoptive placement. The court however, disagreed.

The majority held that ?[b]iological father is not covered by [this section] because he did not seek to adopt Baby Girl.? According to the court, if Brown had truly wanted to be considered a potential parent to Veronica he should have done so as an adoptive parent rather than a biological one. So a biological parent is not preferable to a potential adoptive parent and in fact, it is only by seeking to adopt that the biological parent becomes worthy of custodial consideration? This is a shocking statement and one that, as Scalia notes in his dissent, ?needlessly demeans the rights of parenthood.?

This disagreement over the importance of biology is at the heart of the Baby Girl case and it is why this case should matter to more than just Indian families and their advocates. For the majority, biology is insignificant, but as Scalia notes, ?it has been the constant practice of common law to respect the entitlement of those who bring a child into the world to raise that child.? More importantly, this recognition of parental rights is not arbitrary. It is a recognition that biology matters. As Justice Sotomayor wrote, ?the biological bond between a parent and child is meaningful.? I have no doubt that the Capobiancos also have a deeply meaningful bond with Veronica, and I cannot imagine their pain since losing her last year. But Dusten Brown is Veronica?s biological father, he loves her and wants to raise her. This should matter.

Source: http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/doublex/2013/06/baby_veronica_indian_adoption_case_the_supreme_court_got_it_wrong.html

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Explosions, fire clear downtown St. Louis building

ST. LOUIS (AP) ? One of the largest office buildings in downtown St. Louis has been evacuated amid a fire and a series of explosions in the street outside in an area where construction work has been underway.

Occasional fireballs shot out from a hole in the pavement Tuesday evening as firefighters battled flames that appeared to come from underground. The cause was not immediately known.

There were no reports of injuries. The blasts happened just before 5 p.m. outside the One US Bank Plaza building, located across from the St. Louis Convention Center.

Several hundred people work in the office building, including bank employees, lawyers and other professionals.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/explosions-fire-clear-downtown-st-louis-building-230251887.html

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Windows 8.1: Everything You Need to Know (Updating)

Microsoft rolls out the next version of windows, 8.1, at its annual Build developers conference today. It's a big deal. Windows 8 was a crazy ambitious step, what follows is just as important. This is what Microsoft's taken from your months of feedback (or just, yelling).

Almost everything coming in 8.1 seems like a genuine improvement. The question, then, is exactly how much improvement. It's not so much good news/bad news as good news and wait that's all the good news? That's part of Microsoft's plan, though, as it's focusing on smaller, faster releases.

We'll be updating this post throughout Microsoft's keynote (refresh to see the latest updates), but we've started you with an overview of what's going into the update. You can watch the keynote live here.

To Start

Welp, you can boot to desktop now. You can also boot basically anywhere else you want, too?the All Apps screen, individual apps, the Start Menu.

The Start button also returns, but it only flings you into the Start Screen?no old school Start menu.

There are also some new tile sizes: The smaller square tiles (like Windows Phone 8's), which let you cram more stuff onto your homescreen, and the gigantic square tile, which can display a bunch of information, like emails or calendar appointments.

You can select a group of tiles at once and drag them into their own group, which you can name, like a folder.

Swiping up from the Start screen brings up All Apps, which can now be sorted in more ways. This is a nice improvement from the swipe-then-tap required to bring this up in Windows 8.

The start screen can be customized to more colors and has some "motion accents" that move as you scroll through the metro tiles. Or, blessedly, you can just put your desktop wallpaper behind the Start screen.

As a whole, the changes to the Start screen are pretty indicative of the update as a whole. A few functional improvements, some of which are highly anticipated, but just as much window dressing and little flourishes.

Wider Customization

Microsoft's big push for 8.1 is to make Windows feel more customizable, and that goes beyond the Start screen.

All your Modern/Metro apps will get automatic updates through the Windows Store in 8.1.

The most visible change is the tweak to multitasking. "Snap View", or the ability to pin a Metro app to either side of the screen, has been changed to let you drag to resize the apps. Meaning: If you want to have, say, Mail on the left side and a browser on the right, you can have each app take up 50 percent of the screen, or drag the divider around to your liking.

The new snap features open new Metro apps automatically, but we still aren't sure how this works with forcing an app to default to open in its own window.

In addition to this, you can have up to four apps snapped as vertical columns on your screen. All screens can take four apps, but obviously you're going to want a larger monitor to handle them (16:9 or 21:9 being ideal).

IE11 in Metro can now open more than one window, and can have infinite tabs.

Microsoft has looked into allowing you snap apps as horizontal rows?either at the top and bottom of the screen, or within columns created by snapped apps?but that's not currently possible. Yell about this some more and maybe it'll show up in an update down the road.

The lock screen can now be a moving collage of photos from your PC, SkyDrive, and Phone. You can also do things, like answer Skype calls, from the lock screen as well.

Mail will be updated in an upcoming build to have some new features like "sweep", which gets rid of all of the same spammy emails of a type. So, LivingSocial: you can get rid of every LS app at once, or only keep the oens from with the past 10 days or so.

Music got a new auto-generating playlist feature that makes a whole playlist from a selected artist.

Gestures

The on-screen keyboard has some new gestures. You can slide up from any key that has a number as a secondary key, and the number will be inserted automatically, instead of having to switch to a different panel.

You can use hands-free swiping to scroll through apps, which is allegedly helpful for stuff like the new Food and Drinks app, which is more or less a huge cookbook.

Multi-Monitor

We know you'll be able to keep the Start Screen pinned to one screen permanently now, but we'll have more specifics soon, hopefully.

Each monitor will now have its own scaling factor, meaning that you can zoom in with a high DPI monitor, and then move the app to a lower DPI screen without it being huge and awful. The app just resizes on its own.

SkyDrive

SkyDrive features more prominently in 8.1. You can decide in all your apps whether to view files on your PC or on SkyDrive, and where things are saved. We'll add further features as they're announced.

Settings

We're going to see a lot of new APIs today that will allow developers to make apps more customizable. We're also told that the first party Microsoft apps will have more options as well. We'll have more details as the specific APIs are announced.

Search

Search is a big addition for Windows 8.1. Well, "change" is probably more appropriate.

In Windows 8, Search was broken down to search by applications, on the web, in the store, through your files. You decided which you'd see.

In 8.1, Search is universal. Searching for any term will bring up a "hero" display if you press enter, showing you results from the web, in your files, and anywhere else, which you scroll through.

If you just type into the field, though, the pane on the right hand side of the screen will display results in real time, a lot like Apple's Spotlight. This is a good thing, in theory, but we still want to see how it works in a day to day setting.

Apps

Performance is supposed to be faster for all apps in 8.1. We'll let you know if we see the difference.

For devs, there are new performance analysis tools in Visual Studio 2014 to test network health, battery life effects, and other variables with app performance.

There's also a new tool to make push notifications easier to put into apps. So for users, notifications should be better in the apps you use.

The Store is totally remodeled, with new lists that make it easier to find things.

3D Printing

Microsoft is partnering with Makerbot, 3D Systems, Form Labs, Autodesk, and several other software and hardware companies to add 3D printing support to 8.1.

Windows Phone 8.1

Apparently we're going to be hearing about Windows Phone, too, which is unexpected. We're going to be adding details about it as we have them.

Business

Microsoft is also pushing new enterprise features, like better and easier encryption. Obviously, Windows 8 wasn't a huge hit for that sector, so this is sorely needed. More details to come here.

Good thing? Bad thing?

Windows 8.1 brings good stuff to the table. The question isn't really if it's good, but if it's good enough. A lot of that will depend on how the new developer tools are implemented going forward, and how much developer support overall improves this year.

Source: http://gizmodo.com/windows-8-1-everything-you-need-to-know-585637162

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Correction: Manning-WikiLeaks story

FORT MEADE, Md. (AP) ? In a story June 25 about Army leaker Pfc. Bradley Manning, The Associated Press reported erroneously that attorneys for Manning did not object to the judge temporarily closing his court-martial to the public and press to protect classified information in written witness statements to be read aloud in court. On Tuesday, defense attorneys did not object having the judge read those portions of the statements to herself, negating the need for courtroom closures.

A corrected version of the story is below:

Manning defense OK with plan to avoid court closure

Manning defense raises no objection to judge silently reading witness statements to avoid court closure

By DAVID DISHNEAU

Associated Press

FORT MEADE, Md. (AP) ? Lawyers for Army leaker Pfc. Bradley Manning raised no objection Tuesday to a proposal to have the military judge in the case silently read written witness statements to protect their confidentiality.

As the trial entered its fourth week, defense attorney David Coombs told the military judge, Army Col. Denise Lind, he had no objection to the plan. Classified material in the statements would be protected if the statements are not read aloud, which would mean the courtroom would not need to be closed while they are read.

Prosecutors have said they expect to present as many as 17 such statements this week. The statements, called stipulations of expected testimony, may include evidence about more than 250,000 State Department diplomatic cables Manning is accused of stealing from a classified computer database.

Manning denies the theft charge but has acknowledged he sent the cables, along with hundreds of thousands of classified war logs and some Iraq and Afghanistan battlefield videos to the anti-secrecy organization WikiLeaks. The former intelligence analyst has said he leaked the material to expose wrongdoing by American service members and diplomats.

The trial at Fort Meade, near Baltimore, is to determine whether Manning is guilty of espionage, theft, computer fraud and aiding the enemy, which carries a possible life sentence.

If Manning is convicted at the bench trial, his future will be determined by a different general than the one who ordered the court-martial.

On Monday, Maj. Gen. Jeffery S. Buchanan succeeded Maj. Gen. Michael S. Linnington as commander of the Military District of Washington. In the military justice system, court-martial verdicts and sentences can be thrown out or reduced by the convening authority ? the commander who ordered the court-martial. Upon a change of command, that authority passes to the new commander.

Buchanan's last job was as deputy commanding general of I Corps at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington. Before that, he directed strategic efforts of U.S. forces in Iraq and served as their chief spokesman there from July 2010 to December 2011.

Linnington has been nominated for promotion to lieutenant general and a Pentagon job as military deputy for readiness in the defense secretary's office.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/correction-manning-wikileaks-story-142838001.html

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Pro football player Hernandez charged with murder

ATTLEBORO, Mass. (AP) ? New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez was arrested Wednesday and charged with murder in the shooting death of a friend prosecutors say had angered the football player at a nightclub a few days earlier by talking to the wrong people.

Hernandez, 23, was taken from his North Attleborough home in handcuffs just over a week after Boston semi-pro football player Odin Lloyd's bullet-riddled body was found in an industrial park about a mile away.

Less than two hours after the arrest, the Patriots announced they had cut Hernandez, a 2011 Pro Bowl selection who signed a five-year contract worth $40 million last summer.

Lloyd was a 27-year-old athlete with the Boston Bandits who was dating the sister of Hernandez's fiancee. He was shot repeatedly in the back and chest, authorities said.

Hernandez could get life without parole if convicted.

"It is at bottom a circumstantial case. It is not a strong case," his attorney, Michael Fee, said at a court hearing during which Hernandez was ordered held without bail on murder charges and five weapons counts.

Lloyd's family members cried and hugged in the courtroom as prosecutor Bill McCauley outlined the killing. Two relatives were so overcome with emotion that they had to leave the courtroom.

McCauley said the crime stemmed from a night out at a Boston club called Rumor on June 14. He said Hernandez was upset about certain things, including that Lloyd had talked to some people Hernandez "had troubles with."

Two days later, McCauley said, on the night of June 16, Hernandez texted two friends from out of state and asked them to hurry back to Massachusetts.

Surveillance footage from outside Hernandez's home showed him leaving with a gun, and he told someone in the house that he was upset and couldn't trust anyone anymore, the prosecutor said.

The three men picked up Lloyd at his home around 2:30 a.m., according to authorities. As they drove around, they discussed what happened at the nightclub, and Lloyd started getting nervous, McCauley said.

Lloyd texted his sister, "Did you see who I am with?" When she asked who, he answered, at 3:22 a.m., "NFL," then, a minute later, "Just so you know."

Within a few minutes after that, people working the overnight shift at the industrial park reported hearing gunshots, McCauley said.

Investigators did not specify who fired the shots and did not identify the two other people who were with Hernandez.

In arguing unsuccessfully for bail, Hernandez's attorney said the athlete is unlikely to flee, is a homeowner, and lives with his fiancee and an 8-month-old baby. He also said Hernandez had never been accused of a violent crime.

As he was led from his home in the morning, Hernandez was wearing a white V-neck T-shirt, with his arms inside the shirt and behind his back. He spit into some bushes on his way to a police cruiser.

Later, as he was taken from the North Attleborough police station to court, two dozen supporters cheered, some yelling, "We love you Aaron!"

"Words cannot express the disappointment we feel knowing that one of our players was arrested as a result of this investigation," the Patriots said in a statement announcing he had been cut.

The team added: "We realize that law enforcement investigations into this matter are ongoing. We support their efforts and respect the process. At this time, we believe this transaction is simply the right thing to do."

The Patriots drafted Hernandez, who is originally from Bristol, Conn., in 2010 out of the University of Florida, where he was an All-American.

During the draft, one team said it wouldn't take him under any circumstances, and he was passed over by one club after another before New England took him in the fourth round.

Afterward, Hernandez said he had failed a drug test in college ? reportedly for marijuana ? and was up front with teams about it.

In other off-the-field troubles, a Florida man filed a lawsuit last week claiming Hernandez shot him in the face after they argued at a strip club in February.

And The Boston Globe reported that Hernandez lost his temper and threatened a teammate during an argument in the team's weight room shortly after he was drafted.

Hernandez became a father on Nov. 6, and said he intended to change his ways: "Now, another one is looking up to me. I can't just be young and reckless Aaron no more. I'm going to try to do the right things."

___

Associated Press writers Bridget Murphy in Boston and Howard Ulman in North Attleborough contributed to this story.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pro-football-player-hernandez-charged-murder-204828502.html

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In 1996, these members of Congress stood up against discrimination (video) (Americablog)

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