Casey Anthony Trial

Judge Belvin Perry has dismissed a group of at least a couple of dozen potential jurors because there was some kind of discussion of the case among them.
One juror apparently brought up the Casey Anthony case. The judge asked the group if the discussion went beyond the mention, and a number of the potential jurors said it did, so the group was dismissed.

LARGO — Just because you have kids at home and a business that needs you, don't expect to get out of going to Orlando for the six-to-eight week murder trial of Casey Anthony.
That's the message that came out of some of the juror interviews Tuesday, as a judge and lawyers continued jury selection in Pinellas County for the highly publicized murder trial.
Although most of the potential jurors have been excused from the inconvenience of the trial, attorneys are fighting to keep some people in the pool.
One man said he runs a hardware store with 34 employees and that a lot of the management and other work falls to him. "I was unloading trucks this morning before I came here." It's a family business, his father has suffered serious health problems, and the man said has a one-week business and pleasure trip to Panama coming up.
But defense attorney Cheney Mason called that an inconvenience, not a "hardship." The man is still in the jury pool.
Another man said he started a new job two weeks ago at "a huge pay cut" to be home, closer to his daughter with health problems. But his wife also cares for the girl. He's still in the jury pool.
Another man said he's on disability and couldn't afford to board his seven dogs. When Mason objected to excusing that man, Orange-Osceola Judge Belvin Perry jokingly asked if the dogs could stay at Mason's home. But for now, the man is still a possible juror.
However, others were quickly excused, such as the St. Petersburg College student who's a single mother with a 4-year-old, and the nurse who said he is in the fifth month of a six-month training program,
Twenty Pinellas County residents — 12 jurors and eight alternates — will travel to Orlando.
Media attention in Orlando prompted Perry to order that jurors come from outside Orange County.

Casey Anthony is accused of killing her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee Marie Anthony. Caylee disappeared in 2008. Her remains were discovered months later about a quarter-mile from her home.

Casey Anthony Trial

Haagen Dazs

Haagen Dazs

The flagship shop at Select City Walk has a wide selection of divine signature creations such as Seventh Heaven, Mystique, Paradise and Fruity Journey that make the perfect way to celebrate summer.

The signature creations by Häagen-Dazs are a one-of-a-kind luxuriant treat.

Seventh Heaven can best be described as paradise on a plate, a delectable offering of seven choicest Häagen-Dazs flavors, interspersed with fresh fruits, and drizzled with chocolate sauce. It’s the perfect dessert to indulge in with your beloved valentine to partner in this palatable extravagance. – Rs. 890/-

Mystique is enchantment in a bowl of chocolate, Belgian chocolate ice cream and raspberry sorbet with seasonal fruit drizzled with chocolate sauce – Rs. – 450/-
Paradise is commonly known as bliss in a heavenly dish with mini scoops of chocolate, Belgian chocolate, coffee and vanilla ice cream, raspberry sorbet and mango sorbet with chocolate and strawberry sauce – Rs. 650/-

Fruity Journey makes you go on an adventure with strawberry and strawberry cheesecake ice cream, raspberry and mango sorbet served with fruits Rs. 635/-

The menu is a journey of pure indulgence that combines the most exotic flavors and authentic ingredients to offer a sensual, luxuriant and savory dessert experience. The Häagen-Dazs menu features exotic flavours like Belgian Chocolate, Apricot, Macadamia Nut, Dulce De Leche and Green Tea, among others and signature creations like Seventh Heaven, Mystique, Paradise and Fruity Journey.

Head to Häagen-Dazs for a perfect summer indulgence!
Known for its exemplary quality and innovation around the world, Häagen-Dazs is all about indulgence and luxury. Every Häagen-Dazs ice cream contains only the finest and purest ingredients from around the world, like vanilla from Madagascar and chocolate from Belgium. These ingredients are blended together gently so each scoop of this dense and creamy ice cream melts slowly for long-lasting enjoyment.

Haagen Dazs

Cicadas

Swarms of 13-year cicada are covering swaths of the American south for the first time since 1998. Dwelling on the negative, some people are already griping over the bugs’ omnipresent “eerie” buzzing and discarded husks. They don’t know how lucky they are…
After 13 years of underground incubation, this unique cicada breed, called the Brood XIX, will soon attach itself to trees, cars and the occasional child from Arkansas to Virginia, playing their rhythmic percussion for the next five-weeks, at which point they’ll die.
Residents in Alabama and Georgia have already spotted them, and are registering complaints and concerns.
“We thought it was the nuclear power plant,” said one North Carolina woman, who also compared the cicada song to the noise of a UFO. Meanwhile, down in Tennessee, some people grimaced over the bugs’ “creepiness” and described them as a “nuisance.” But they shouldn’t be so quick to knock the cicada, because this bug is something special.
Cicadas, whose men compose varying pitched songs with the clicking of their exoskeletal tymbals, have long entranced the world’s cultures. The Chinese equate them with resurrection and rebirth, while the creature plays the “grasshopper” role in a French version of ‘The Grasshopper and the Ant.’ And mythological Greek mortal Tithonus, a lover of goddess Eros, becomes a cicada after Zeus grants him immortality, but not eternal youth.
These cultures aren’t alone in celebrating the cicada. North Carolina entomology professor Clyde Sorenson lauded this summer’s event as “really cool natural phenomenon” that only takes place “in eastern North America.” Nancy Hinkle, another etymology professor, also remarked, “This emergence is a great opportunity for an up-close view of this amazing phenomenon.”
And I have nothing but fond memories for the Ohio summers of 1987 and 1991, when the cicada Broods X and XIV made a boisterous appearance, delivering their soulful calls across the land. I approached the alien-esque insects with the wonder and curiosity found only in children.
Their call and response — one here, one there, video below — provided a fascinating relief from the rigmarole of my typical summers in the Ohio valley, and even today I can summon up faint wisps of that enchantment. It makes me wish I were in North Carolina or Georgia or elsewhere in the South, amongst the cicada call, which will no doubt become part of the backdrop for countless memories.

So those who are amidst the brood’s swarm, make a point of getting past some of the cicadas’ less alluring qualities — husks can be creepy — and appreciate the musical gifts this insect shares during its brief moment in the sun, because the cidadas are a six-legged reminder of that old life lesson: enjoy what you have now, because tomorrow it could be gone.
Here are some video of cicadas in aural action. First, the tone from the recent, 13-year outbreak in North Carolina.. Second, the one I remember, which I believe is more common among cicada in general.

Cicadas

Mississippi River

As the Mississippi River reaches its highest level in more than 70 years, threatening to inundate dozens of cities and towns, a hero has emerged: the region's $13 billion flood-control system.
Built after the devastating floods of the early 1900s, the levees and four large corridors designated as emergency flood outlets were deemed a necessity as Americans started to farm the fertile land that had been Mother Nature's flood buffer along the Mississippi.
Some 35 million acres of floodplains were eliminated as farms that feed Americans and the world moved in. The elimination of this natural release valve meant the potential for more catastrophic floods.
"This is history repeating itself," Andrew Falhund of the group American Rivers, told NBC News. "We've lost our floodplains and wetlands and people are at risk again. We can't let that happen."
The answer from government — federal and state — was not to uproot those farms, but to rely on an elaborate system to protect the four million people now living in the potential flood zone.
Managed by the Army Corps of Engineers, the system got started after a 1927 flood that killed hundreds.
The nation vowed to never again see Americans suffer in a flood of that kind, so following the disaster, Congress authorized the Army Corps of Engineers to build a 2,203-mile long levee system on the river.
The Corps now has an annual budget that hovers between $300-$400 million — some for maintenance and some to complete the system by 2030. It's about 95 percent built out, says Corps spokesman Bob Anderson.
The viability of that system was called into question after Hurricane Katrina, when when corps-built levees busted and water filled most of New Orleans, killing more than 1,600 people. But so far, the levees have been holding back the water.
"When you have a series of failures as you see with Katrina ... people are going to ask, 'What's happening?'" said Gerald Galloway, a University of Maryland civil engineer and former Army Corps officer. "The thing to do is to modernize and upgrade our infrastructure."
The nation's defense system against the Mississippi does not protect everyone: small towns and many farms get swamped every time a spillway is opened to protect more populated areas. That's likely to be the case soon along the Mississippi Delta, the flatlands that stretch about 200 miles from Memphis, Tenn., to Vicksburg, Miss.
And there's another hitch: the levees that keep the Mississippi River from flooding end up pushing water back up into tributaries, many of which aren't protected by the levee system. Towns there are pretty much on their own.
Still, for the major population areas along the lower half of the Mississippi, the system has done its job. Anderson says third-party estimates place the value of protected property over the years at $370 billion.
In addition to the thousands of miles of levees, here are the four key floodways, or spillways, as they are called:

• New Madrid Floodway. The Corps last week blew up a two-mile stretch of levee, diverting water that could have swamped the historic town of Cairo, Ill., and other communities by flooding 130,000 acres of Missouri farmland. It was only the second time the floodway was opened; the first was during the 1937 flood. Missouri had sued to block the opening this time, but lost in court.
• Bonnet Carre Spillway. In Louisiana, the Corps on Monday opened some of the spillway's gates, diverting some of the Mississippi into Lake Pontchartrain to ease pressure on New Orleans' levees. Built about 30 miles upriver from New Orleans in response to the 1927 flood, it was last opened in 2008. Monday marked the 10th time it has been opened. From the lake, the water flows east into the fertile fishing and oyster grounds of Lake Borgne and the Mississippi Sound, and ultimately the Gulf of Mexico.
• Morganza Spillway. The Corps has asked for permission to open some of the gates on this spillway, located 35 miles north of Baton Rouge, for the first time since 1973. Officials warned residents that even if it is opened, they can expect water 5 to 25 feet deep over parts of seven parishes. Some of Louisiana's most valuable farmland is expected to be inundated and towns like Houma and Morgan City would have to be evacuated. Already, communities are sandbagging as a precaution.
• West Atchafalaya Floodway. This last line of defense for New Orleans was built to take half of the Mississippi's highest flows and divert that to the Gulf. So far the Corps has not said it is considering opening this system.

In Memphis, Col. Vernie Reichling, the Army Corps commander for the region, declared victory there on Tuesday.
The protection around Tennessee's largest city is impressive: While the river crested at just under 48 feet on Tuesday, levees in the Memphis area are 58 feet high on average, and the floodwalls downtown are 54 feet.
"The levees are performing as designed I'm happy to report," he said on CBS's "The Early Show."
But Reichling noted the river isn't done yet. "I think we'll breathe a sigh of relief once this crest has passed and is in the Gulf of Mexico," he said.

Mississippi River

Rick Santorum

Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum, who turns 53 today, is trending high in the Google-sphere, but not for the reasons he’d like.
Daily Show host Jon Stewart revived Santorum’s  so-called “Google problem” last night on his show, encouraging viewers to search ‘Rick Santorum’ and see what they find.
The top results are a less than flattering mix of links to web sites that associate his name with a sex act.
“Santorum might as well change his last name to lemon party,” joked Stewart.
The search results have been the fixation of gay rights advocates since 2003, when blogger Dan Savage mobilized online supporters to create a new definition for Santorum after he publicly compared gay sex to pedophilia and bestiality.
Using a network of cross links and by driving up “clicks,” the activists have succeeded in keeping their definition at the top of search returns.
“There's no better way to memorialize the Santorum scandal than by attaching his name to a sex act that would make his big, white teeth fall out of his big, empty head,” Savage said at the time.
Santorum, who has said he believes homosexuality will “undermine the fabric of our society,” has acknowledged the controversy but sought to downplay its significance.

“It’s one guy. You know who it is. The Internet allows for this type of vulgarity to circulate,” Santorum told Roll Call's Steve Peoples in February. “It’s unfortunate that we have someone who obviously has some issues. But he has an opportunity to speak.”
At the first Republican presidential debate in South Carolina last week, Santorum presented himself as the leading social conservative candidate, opposing same-sex marriage and abortion.
"A lot of people out here can check the boxes and say they have conservative positions, but I've led on life and marriage," he said. "I've got the arrows in my back from the mainstream media to prove it."

Rick Santorum

Bethenny Ever After

The season two finale of Bethenny Ever After began by showcasing Bethenny’s Skinny Girl Speaking Engagement Tour, in which she coordinated a question and answer segment at each stop. Her tour was very personal and very much made for audience participation. She wasn’t kidding when she mentioned in a previous episode that she wanted to really open up the dialogue between her and her fans. The tour was not just about Skinny Girl but empowerment via her NY Times Best Selling book, “A Place of Yes.” She is clearly very passionate about inspiring those around her to live the best life that they can live. Even with Jason’s parents meeting up with them at the Philadelphia stop, Bethenny was still frank in her advice to her fans questions. In fact, her honesty actually reinforced her love for her in laws. Not everyone can say that, so it was more than a pleasure to see that on the small screen, specifically reality television.
Bethenny wasn’t the only person getting frank tonight. Julie, the Coordinator of Chaos had a very open conversation with Jason in the front of the tour bus about being the top assistant to Bethenny while Bethenny was in the back of the bus singing her heart out to Bryn. The cutting back and forth in this scene made for one of the most hilarious moments of the night. It’s great to see Julie use her voice on the show outside of her answering to Bethenny. When confronted, she’s not afraid to share how she’s really feeling while being professional but also talking respectfully from one human being to another. What’s so great about the Frankel-Hoppy dynamic is that they are professional and treat their staff with respect. They are a tight knit group of people who genuinely care about each other. They have fun, they voice their opinion, and they work harder than they could have ever imagined. That’s great to see…because on other shows, only the latter is seen between a staff and the talent.
“I’m like a real business person, like a real giant…I can’t believe this!” – Bethenny

Getting down to the business, if you were not aware of every major liquor company in the business wanting to get their hands on Skinny Girl, Bethenny was not shy about reminding the viewers of the potential deal every few minutes. If you had a Skinny Margarita in your possession throughout the broadcast, you could have played a drinking game based on the number of times Bethenny brought up her Skinny Girl deal. Whether she was talking about being rejected by the companies who then started making offers or caring about the money, Bethenny had a huge decision to make and it was not taken lightly in the editing room.
The finale would not have been complete without a visit to Dr. Amador in which she discussed the deal. But that wasn’t even the full circle moment. Flashbacks showing the growth of Skinny Girl, was the moment, the tearjerker moment, the “I can’t believe I’m finally here” moment. Some flashbacks included cast members fromThe Real Housewives of New Yorkwhich was a fun part of the reminiscing, but actually seeing the stages of Bethenny’s dream come into fruition was much more significant here. This was inspiration enough for us viewers to get up, go out, and make something of our dreams. As Bethenny said, there has been a lot of growing and a lot of changes. It hasn’t been easy balancing her priorities but all of the work put into every aspect was so worth it. In the words of Jason’s father, “That was awesome!”

Bethenny Ever After

MSFT

Skype

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) opened at $25.37. So far today, the stock has hit a low of $25.25 and a high of $25.70. MSFT is now trading at $25.62, down $0.21 (-0.8%). Over the last 52 weeks the stock has ranged from a low of $22.73 to a high of $29.73. This morning MSFT announced a deal to acquire privately-held internet telephone company Skype Technologies SA for $8.5 billion in cash. As part of the deal, Skype will support MSFT devices like Xbox and Windows Phone, while MSFT will connect Skype users with Lync, Outlook, Xbox Live and other communities. Microsoft said it will continue to invest in and support Skype clients on non-Microsoft platforms. Technical indicators for the stock are bullish and S&P gives MSFT a positive 4 STARS (out of 5) buy ranking. If you are looking for a hedged play on MSFT the stock seems like it could be a candidate for a July out-of-the-money bear-call credit spread above the 27 range.

MSFT