Obama: Time for excuses on immigration is over

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Declaring "the time for excuses is over," President Barack Obama is trumpeting the economic benefits of an immigration overhaul, arguing that a bipartisan bill picking up steam in the Senate would put the nation's loathed deficits and fragile entitlements on better footing.

A recent analysis from the Congressional Budget Office, lawmakers' nonpartisan scorekeeper, was Exhibit A in Obama's weekly radio and Internet address Saturday. The report shows deficits would fall nearly $1 trillion over two decades after the bill becomes law.

What's more, Obama said, the influx of immigrant-driven investment, technology and businesses would give the economy a 5 percent shot in the arm.

"This bipartisan, common-sense bill will help the middle class grow our economy and shrink our deficits, by making sure that every worker in America plays by the same set of rules and pays taxes like everyone else," he said.

Confidence that the overhaul could pass the Senate by impressive margins is growing, and leaders scheduled a test vote on the bill for Monday, with a final vote expected by the end of next week. Although the heart of the bill is a 13-year pathway to citizenship for millions living in the United States illegally, it was a military-style surge to U.S.-Mexican border security, added this week to placate wary Republicans, that was credited for giving the bill a much-needed boost.

Obama didn't specifically address the border amendment Saturday, but he did note that the bill "would continue to strengthen security at our borders." Despite concerns from some Democrats that the security provisions ? 20,000 new agents, 350 miles of new fencing, 18 new unmanned drones ? are overkill, Obama spokesman Jay Carney said Friday it would constitute a "breakthrough" that the White House applauded.

"The bill isn't perfect. It's a compromise," Obama said, reprising a line he's used throughout the process when Democrats have complained the bill has become too conservative. "But it's consistent with the principles that I and others have laid out."

In the Republican address, Rep. John Kline of Minnesota says Obama must show leadership to avoid an impending hike on student loan interest rates. He said it's fortunate that Obama and House Republicans agree on the issue and have both proposed plans that would tie interest rates to the market. He accused Senate Democrats of blocking each plan.

"If I didn't know any better, I would say they are content to let rates double," Kline said. "This eleventh-hour scrambling is a perfect demonstration of why we need to take the politics out of student loans once and for all."

___

Online:

Obama address: www.whitehouse.gov

GOP address: www.youtube.com/HouseConference

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-time-excuses-immigration-over-100152943.html

aurora borealis xbox live Psy Cat Zingano DMX spartacus spartacus

AdoptUSKids.org Celebrates 20,000 Foster Children Adopted Through Website (INFOGRAPHIC)

WASHINGTON -- Federal officials say 20,000 foster children have been adopted after being listed on a national website that links adoptive families with kids.

The number is especially significant because the majority of those adopted were not infants, but many were teens, minorities and those with disabilities.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius praised the efforts, but said Thursday that many more children still need permanent homes. More than 100,000 of the country's roughly 400,000 foster kids are looking for adoptive families.

The website, AdoptUSKids.org, gives prospective parents background information and a photo of each child. Once a parent indicates an interest, the website connects them with the child's caseworker.

Actor Bruce Willis was the face of the campaign when President George W. Bush launched it in 2002.

___

Online: http://www.adoptuskids.org/

"; var coords = [-5, -72]; // display fb-bubble FloatingPrompt.embed(this, html, undefined, 'top', {fp_intersects:1, timeout_remove:2000,ignore_arrow: true, width:236, add_xy:coords, class_name: 'clear-overlay'}); });

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/22/adoptusekids-200000-kids-adopted_n_3481754.html

daylight savings Daylight Savings Time 2013 DeAndre Jordan Oz the Great and Powerful elisabeth hasselbeck Mothers Day 2013 World Baseball Classic

What a new jumbo particle reveals about extreme matter

We're used to scientists making ever bigger atoms. Now it seems subatomic particles can be pushed to similar extremes to create new forms of matter. Researchers at two particle detectors reported on Monday the strongest evidence yet for a particle made of more than three quarks, the subatomic building blocks of matter. What does that mean for understanding of matter ? and why does that matter? New Scientist investigates

What is matter made of?
Quarks are the fundamental building blocks and come in six "flavours" ? up, down, strange, charm, bottom and top. Ordinarily, they combine in threes to form particles like neutrons and protons: two ups and one down make a proton, while two downs and one up make a neutron. Neutrons and protons make up atomic nuclei, which combine with electrons to form atoms, which link up to make molecules.

What's the maximum number of quarks that can clump together?
The theory that describes how quarks stick together, quantum chromodynamics is disappointingly mum on this, leaving physicists reliant on observations. While quarks can also pair up to form particles such as kaons and pions, no particle had ever been found to contain more than three quarks.

Eric Swanson of the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania, who was not involved in the new research, describes the hunt to find particles made of ever more quarks as looking for a horse with more than four legs. "There's nothing in nature that says you can't have an eight-legged horse, but we've never seen one," he says. "If someone found an eight-legged horse, you'd say 'Oh, that's interesting!' Then you'd want to fit it into your evolutionary theory."

What had people come up with in the past?
Various experiments have been vying to find the particle equivalent of an eight-legged horse. In 2003, results from the Belle Collaboration at the High Energy Accelerator Research Organization in Tsukuba, Japan, hinted at the existence of a pentaquark, but that was ruled out two years later. After that, focus shifted to the possibility of a tetraquark, with multiple potential candidates for such a structure, most recently in 2010.

What's special about the latest discovery?
On 17 June, Belle and the BESIII Collaboration at the Beijing Electron Positron Collider in China each independently reported evidence for the same particle, unromantically called Z_c(3900), made of four quarks. The fact that two teams saw what looks like the same combination ? as well as the number of instances of the particle seen by each team ? makes this the strongest evidence yet for a structure made of more than three quarks. "This discovery clearly indicates that there is a new particle, which may combine quarks in a way not seen before," says Hisaki Hayashii of the Belle collaboration.

Does any other structure fit the observations?
Rather than being a single particle, Z_c(3900) could also be the subatomic equivalent of a molecule, made of two particles orbiting each other. The new particle could actually be two D-mesons that form a loosely bound state called a hadron molecule.

"That would also be a new form of matter," Swanson says, although it's less exotic than a new kind of proton ? more like discovering a platypus than an eight-legged horse.

In either case, Z_c(3900) should help us to better understand how the strong force binds quarks into larger objects, says Ryan Mitchell of Indiana University.

So when will we know whether it's a platypus or an octo-horse?
So far, the two experiments have seen a combined total of 466 instances of the Z_c(3900) particle. They'll need between 10 and 100 times more sightings to be able to tell enough about it to distinguish between the two options, says Belle team member Leo Piilonen of Virginia Tech in Blacksburg.

Will that lead to new understanding of matter?
It could lead to a better understanding of quantum chromodynamics. That could, in turn, help us understand the exotic states of matter inside neutron stars or in the very early universe, Swanson says. Neutron stars have cores so dense that atomic nuclei dissolve into a neutron-rich soup, but no one knows exactly how matter behaves under these extreme conditions. Finding out could help us understand how stars evolve and how matter gets distributed throughout the universe.

Journal references: Physical Review Letters, DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.252001 and 10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.252002

If you would like to reuse any content from New Scientist, either in print or online, please contact the syndication department first for permission. New Scientist does not own rights to photos, but there are a variety of licensing options available for use of articles and graphics we own the copyright to.

Have your say

Only subscribers may leave comments on this article. Please log in.

Only personal subscribers may leave comments on this article

Subscribe now to comment.

All comments should respect the New Scientist House Rules. If you think a particular comment breaks these rules then please use the "Report" link in that comment to report it to us.

If you are having a technical problem posting a comment, please contact technical support.

Source: http://feeds.newscientist.com/c/749/f/10897/s/2d9081a4/l/0L0Snewscientist0N0Carticle0Cdn237260Ewhat0Ea0Enew0Ejumbo0Eparticle0Ereveals0Eabout0Eextreme0Ematter0Bhtml0Dcmpid0FRSS0QNSNS0Q20A120EGLOBAL0Qonline0Enews/story01.htm

Krystle Campbell Pressure Cooker MIT Shooting NFL schedule 2013 Boston Explosion West Texas American Airlines

Uncovering quantum secret in photosynthesis

June 20, 2013 ? The efficient conversion of sunlight into useful energy is one of the challenges which stand in the way of meeting the world's increasing energy demand in a clean, sustainable way without relying on fossil fuels. Photosynthetic organisms, such as plants and some bacteria, have mastered this process: In less than a couple of trillionths of a second, 95 percent of the sunlight they absorb is whisked away to drive the metabolic reactions that provide them with energy. The efficiency of photovoltaic cells currently on the market is around 20 percent. What hidden mechanism does nature use to transfer energy so efficiently?

Various research groups around the world have shown that this highly efficient energy transport is connected to a quantum-mechanical phenomenon. However, until now, no one had directly observed the possible impacts of such a quantum transport mechanism at work at room temperature.

In an article published in the journal Science, researchers from ICFO- Institute of Photonic Sciences, in collaboration with biochemists from the University of Glasgow, have been able to show for the first time at ambient conditions that the quantum mechanisms of energy transfer make phyotosynthesis more robust in the face of environmental influences. The quantum phenomenon responsible, known as coherence, is manifested in so-called photosynthetic antenna proteins that are responsible for absorption of sunlight and energy transport to the photochemical reaction centers of photosynthesis.

In order to observe quantum effects in photosynthesis, the research group led by Niek van Hulst developed a pioneering experimental technique. Energy transport during photosynthesis is extremely fast and takes place at a molecular scale. To observe these processes they pushed the ultrafast spectroscopy techniques to the single-molecule limit. This involves sending ultrafast femtosecond light flashes to capture a high-speed series of 'pictures' of the states of individual antenna proteins after light absorption (during one femtosecond light travels only one hundredth of the diameter of a human hair, while in one second it travels from earth to moon). With these "snapshots" the researchers are able to understand how solar energy is transported through single proteins. "We have been able to observe how energy flows through sunlight absorbing photosynthetic systems with unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution. This allowed us to observe the fundamental role of quantum effects in photosynthesis at ambient conditions" explains Richard Hildner, first author of the publication.

Van Hulst and his group have evaluated the energy transport pathways of separate individual but chemically identical, antenna proteins, and have shown that each protein uses a distinct pathway. The most surprising discovery was that the transport paths within single proteins can vary over time due to changes in the environmental conditions, apparently adapting for optimal efficiency. "These results show that coherence, a genuine quantum effect of superposition of states, is responsible for maintaining high levels of transport efficiency in biological systems, even while they adapt their energy transport pathways due to environmental influences" says van Hulst.

The results presented raise fascinating questions. Was the exploitation of quantum effects in photosynthesis driven by evolution to achieve the extraordinary efficiencies, or in other words did quantum transport outcompete other mechanisms during evolution? Are there other biological processes in which quantum effects play an important role? In the case of light-harvesting proteins quantum transportation allows extreme transport energy efficiency and robustness. This discovery could lead to new research lines aiming at the developments of a new generation of solar cells that mimic these quantum coherences for efficient energy transfer.

Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:

---

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by ICFO-The Institute of Photonic Sciences, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

---

Journal Reference:

1. R. Hildner, D. Brinks, J. B. Nieder, R. J. Cogdell, N. F. van Hulst. Quantum Coherent Energy Transfer over Varying Pathways in Single Light-Harvesting Complexes. Science, 2013; 340 (6139): 1448 DOI: 10.1126/science.1235820

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/strange_science/~3/b4exqHgZMzg/130620142932.htm

Lane Johnson Barkevious Mingo nfl draft 2013 NFL draft NFL.com Rebecca Martinson EJ Manuel

Watch for an Apple Sneak Attack on Living Room Gaming

How could Apple possible take on Microsoft's Xbox One and Sony's PS4? Sneakily. The Apple TV doesn't have to be the hardware processing brains of the gaming system -- your iPhone or iPad or Mac could be the processor, which is, when you think about it, the ultimate console gaming sneak attack. Boom. New rules for gaming in the living room.

Despite all the cool updates Apple promised to bring the world at its Worldwide Developers Conference -- iOS 7, OS X Mavericks, a new Mac Pro -- the most tantalizing new possibility wasn't described at all: games. Gaming. An Apple-made gaming console. A new vision for living room gaming delivered via home WiFi and an Apple TV. Since Apple wasn't out there on the stage talking about this specifically, why bother diving into the vaporous chance of a new class of Apple living room product now?

Two reasons: One, the lackluster and downright silly Anki Drive demonstration; and two, Apple released to its developer partners a new game controller framework with instructions and stipulations for building a physical game controller. If you're an Apple developer, you can access the document here.

These two essentially isolated events could mean everything or nothing, but this I know: If I were Microsoft or Sony trying to launch a snazzy and expensive new game console late this year before the holiday season, the thing I'd fear most is any Apple product that puts a physical gamepad in the hands of kids -- and worse yet, lets them gather around an HDTV in the living room.

What's Going On in Front of the Couch

There is so much going on right now in the space between your couch and your HDTV that it's hard to find a place to start. First, let's describe the landscape. Microsoft and Sony produce the popular Xbox 360 and PS3 dedicated gaming consoles.

Microsoft has been transforming its 360 console from a game-playing device into a television, movie, and music playing set-top box. If it weren't so clunky and hampered by Microsoft interface design and desperate attempts to squeeze revenue through its disingenuous Xbox Live system , it would be used by everyone in the household instead of Minecraft-playing tweeners.

Sony does better in international markets than in the U.S., where the Xbox 360 reigns, but the Sony ecosystem lacks vision and vitality. Its core reputation starts and ends with smart, dedicated console gamers.

Both companies will launch their next-generation powerhouse gaming consoles late this year in time for holiday sales .

Microsoft's Xbox One starts at US$499 and includes a mandatory Kinect so your gaming console can watch you move and speak, see your skin flush with excitement or fear, and generally give you a futuristic way to interact with your TV viewing and game playing. Sounds cool until you realize you have to trust Microsoft, which is hard to do.

Have you ever tried to disengage a credit card from your Xbox Live account without entering in a new credit card? There's a reason Microsoft doesn't make this easy, and it isn't a technical challenge a multibillion dollar corporation can't figure out. Oh, and by the way, your Xbox One requires an always- on Internet connection. If you lose your Internet connection for more than 24 hours, no more game playing for you. And used game sales? Ha ha. The hoops a player will have to jump through are many, small in diameter, and on fire.

Microsoft does have Xbox Live, which it is constantly enhancing with new apps and services, including SmartGlass that extends the Xbox Live world to and from smartphone and tablet screens. If you're cool with constantly sending money to Microsoft, the Xbox world will let you play all day and night.

Sony, on the other hand, isn't trying to control your entire world, won't impose wild DRM restrictions on pre-owned games, doesn't force the PS4 to call home or threaten to deactivate, costs $100 less ($399), and has a good library of titles to play. The problem with Sony is that it's next-generation console is a predictable, safe, old-school solution with a better haircut and faster running shoes.

Back to Apple

Most of the Apple TV hoopla has been centered on movies and TV shows, on figuring out how to replace cable and satellite television with something better, in addition to the notion that Apple could build a prettier big-screen HDTV worthy of a placing upon a pedestal of worship.

I've got problems with that.

First, I doubt Apple can shake loose the TV and movie industry from their traditional delivery models -- at least, not any time soon. There's just too much money tied up in broadcast television, hundreds of cable channels and commercials. Second, I doubt Apple can produce an HDTV that's price competitive. So, instead of a hobby, Apple would be heading toward an expensive hobby.

Unless it figures out living room gaming.

The Sneaky Backside Beatdown

Apple's iOS has already proven itself to be a freakishly popular gaming system, both due to its touch controls and despite them. The iOS gaming library is fantastically huge and has titles for every age group -- from toddlers learning ABCs to grandmothers playing Words with Friends. There are action titles, dark and scary thinker games, and even a version of Minecraft, which is both a travesty as well as a triumph of creative purity.

Apple has hundreds of thousands of developers and Apple has millions of screens.

The only thing Apple really needs is the connective glue -- the method for taking iPad, iPod touch, and iPhone games and screens and applying them to the land of dark carpeted basements.

There are multiple ways this could happen, and all of them would take a bite out the Xbox One and PS4.

First, Apple could beef up its Apple TV with a bigger processor and storage capabilities, letting customers buy and store games directly on the Apple TV. Personally, I'd like to see this, even at a price point approaching $499. The Apple TV is amazingly simple but woefully underpowered when it's time to explore the living room.

Plus, it needs a controller. Of course, you don't have to use the cute little aluminum remote control -- you can use an app on your iPad or iPhone. Nice. Even today, you can AirPlay games from your little iPhone to your HDTV via an Apple TV. The problem? Tactile feedback. You don't have it with a touchscreen. What else? The point. Why look at a big screen TV if you need to touch and tap your way along while navigating a screen to play many iOS games? Why not just look at the bright little screen?

A smarter Apple TV could connect multiple players, locally or remotely, to an Apple TV screen for new forms of collaborative game play.

Even simpler than this would be creating a set of controllers -- game pads -- that would let a gamer slip either an iPad or iPod into the controller and dive into a fast-paced action adventure using tactile controls. For an iPad, having a wireless traditional-style controller gamepad would permit you to easily play a game from your Mac's screen. . . or while watching an iPad on a stand. . . or while AirPlaying the iPad screen to your HDTV.

If you're following all this, it means the Apple TV doesn't have to be the hardware processing brains of the gaming system -- your iPhone or iPad or Mac could be the processor, which is, when you think about it, the ultimate console gaming sneak attack. Boom. New rules for gaming in the living room.

The cost of entry would be slow and incremental, and it's something inherently portable. Something that parents intuitively understand because they're already packing iPhones.

Once Apple has the mindshare, the magic of the Apple ecosystem will do the rest. The consoles will collect dust.

Why do I think this is moving from possible to likely?

For starters, Apple CEO Tim Cook shared the stage with Anki, which showed off a next-generation artificial intelligence game system where little cars drove themselves. . . and the brains were locked up in iOS devices. The prototype game was stupid, expensive, and more of an exercise in AI and robotics than anything any large number of people would ever buy. Still, Cook let them have the stage for a reason.

Then there are the APIs and specifications for third-party controllers. If Apple provides a consistent format for high-quality, simple-to-use controllers that will let you run iOS apps and games and enjoy them on your HDTV, the living room landscape will never look the same.

---

MacNewsWorld columnist Chris Maxcer has been writing about the tech industry since the birth of the email newsletter, and he still remembers the clacking Mac keyboards from high school -- Apple's seed-planting strategy at work. While he enjoys elegant gear and sublime tech, there's something to be said for turning it all off -- or most of it -- to go outside. To catch him, take a "firstnamelastname" guess at WickedCoolBite.com.

Source: http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/78319.html

what time is the super bowl groundhog day Ed Koch Groundhog Day 2013 What Time Is The Superbowl Caleb Moore House of Cards

Michael Douglas: Oral Sex Caused My Throat Cancer | Gossip Cop

Michael Douglas The Guardian

12:02 pm, June 2nd, 2013

(GettyImages.com)

Michael Douglas makes a startling admission about his throat cancer in a new interview, saying his battle with the disease was caused by oral sex.

Asked if he regretted drinking and smoking for years prior to his 2010 diagnosis, Douglas tells The Guardian, ?No. Because without wanting to get too specific, this particular cancer is caused by HPV [human papillomavirus], which actually comes about from cunnilingus.?

?I did worry if the stress caused by my son?s incarceration didn?t help trigger it,? says the Behind the Candelabra star,??but yeah, it?s a sexually transmitted disease that causes cancer.?

Douglas went on to joke,??And if you have it, cunnilingus is also the best cure for it.?

Studies in recent years have, in fact, shown an increased link between oral sex and cancer, particularly among men, who aren?t usually vaccinated against HPV.

Douglas is now cancer-free.

Follow?@GossipCop on Twitter!

Like us?on Facebook!

?

Sign up for Gossip Cop's daily newsletter.

You might like:

Source: http://www.gossipcop.com/michael-douglas-oral-sex-caused-throat-cancer-cause-hpv-human-papillomavirus-cunnilingus/

johnny damon kirk cameron news 10 hillary rosen j.k. rowling j.k. rowling axl rose

Pacers beat Knicks 102-95 in Game 1

NEW YORK (AP) ? Every time Carmelo Anthony attacked the rim, a big body seemed to be waiting.

David West, Roy Hibbert and the rest of the Pacers are classic Eastern Conference bruisers, and the New York Knicks are countering with something closer to small ball.

"It'll be, to me, a contrast in styles most of the series," Indiana coach Frank Vogel said.

So far, the Pacers' way is bigger, badder and better.

Physical beat finesse Sunday, as the Pacers outworked and outmuscled the Knicks in a 102-95 victory in Game 1 of the East semifinals.

West scored 20 points and Paul George added 19 for the Pacers, who outrebounded the Knicks 44-30, showing the smaller team that in the rugged East, size does matter.

"I thought guys did a good job just putting them on their heels," West said. "We were attacking, we were aggressive."

D.J. Augustin had 16 points for the Pacers, who built a 16-point lead while Anthony was on the bench in foul trouble in the third quarter, and easily held on to spoil the Knicks' first second-round game since 2000.

Anthony finished with 27 points and 11 rebounds, but was frustrated by the Pacers' tough defense and by the referees. He shot 10 of 28 from the field and was perhaps thrown out of sync having to defend West, a natural power forward, inside.

"Right now, they're just being really physical with him, they're trying to bang him, they're trying to frustrate him," Knicks point guard Raymond Felton said. "But we're going to be fine. He's going to be fine."

Game 2 is here Tuesday night, and then the series takes a lengthy break before Game 3 on Saturday in Indiana.

The Pacers, who allowed the second-fewest points per game and the lowest field goal percentage in the league during the regular season, mixed in solid offense as well. They outscored New York 59-38 across the middle two quarters and were comfortably ahead throughout the fourth.

"Just a strong defensive effort and then offensively guys played with great poise," Vogel said. "Just a complete team effort, very proud of them."

Hibbert scored 14 points in thoroughly outplaying counterpart Tyson Chandler, and George Hill also had 14 for the Pacers, adding seven rebounds and six assists.

Lance Stephenson added 11 points and 13 rebounds playing in his hometown.

J.R. Smith scored 17 points, but was 4 of 15. Felton had 18 and Kenyon Martin added 12 for the Knicks, who hope to have reserves Amare Stoudemire (right knee surgery) and Steve Novak (back spasms) back for Game 3 and certainly looked as if they could use the help.

Both teams wrapped up their first-round series Friday night, the Knicks' victory in Game 6 in Boston giving them their first series victory in 13 years and sending them on to face a familiar postseason foe in Indiana, which ousted Atlanta.

The teams met three straight years from 1993-95, then again from 1998-00, splitting their six series, and this was the type of slugfest so many of those matchups were.

Indiana led 60-54 when Anthony committed his fourth foul and came out of the game with 7:48 remaining in the third quarter. The Pacers then outscored the Knicks 21-11 the remainder of the period, opening an 81-65 bulge on Augustin's 3-pointer with 31.5 seconds left in the quarter.

"They did all the little things," Knicks coach Mike Woodson said. "We didn't start playing until we actually got down and it was desperation and we've got to play like that from the start."

Anthony came back on to start the fourth and scored the first six points to get the Knicks back within 10. He picked up a fifth on a questionable offensive foul call with 10 minutes left and appeared to wave off a substitution when Chandler checked in, though Woodson said Chandler was going in for Martin, who was the one who exited.

But there was no final flurry, and Chandler eventually fouled out with four points and three rebounds.

Anthony wore a sleeve under his jersey covering a strap to keep his sore left shoulder in place. It was first hurt against the Pacers in April, then aggravated when Kevin Garnett pulled on his arm while setting a screen during the first-round series.

That may have contributed to his poor shooting, but certainly the Pacers had plenty to do with it, as did having to bang inside with the bigger West ? though Anthony downplayed the toughness factor.

"The physicality of this game didn't do nothing to me, to us," he said.

"It's like Coach Woodson said and I agree with him, they beat us on the glass, they beat us to the loose basketballs out there, the hustle plays, and they outworked us. I don't think that had anything do with being more physical."

The Knicks closed the first quarter with a 9-0 spurt, taking a 27-22 lead after 3-pointers by Smith and Felton to end the period. But the Pacers tightened the defense in the second, holding the Knicks to two baskets in the final 5 minutes.

Indiana outscored New York 13-4 during that stretch, taking a 52-46 lead to halftime after George hit a 3-pointer with 2.7 seconds left.

The Pacers, who also were the league's best team at defending the 3-pointer, limited the Knicks to 19 attempts and actually made more (8-7). Augustin was 4 of 5 off the bench.

Notes: Anthony averaged 29.1 points in the first round, equaling the second-highest ever by a Knicks player. Patrick Ewing had 31.6 per game in a 1990 series. ... Anthony received the one first-place vote that kept LeBron James from being the NBA's first unanimous selection as MVP. "That's the furthest thing on my mind at this point in time," said Anthony, who was third in the voting behind Kevin Durant. "I'll take that vote." ... Indiana won both matchups in the conference semifinals, a 4-3 victory in 1995 and a 4-1 win in 1998. ... Indiana's Jeff Pendergraph was fined $5,000 by the NBA, the first player punished for violating the league's anti-flopping rules in the playoffs. ... Novak said he hurt his back while warming up at halftime of Game 5 against Boston, but has been feeling better each day since.

___

Follow Brian Mahoney on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/Briancmahoney

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pacers-beat-knicks-102-95-game-1-222436347.html

Innocence of Muslims Clara Schumann Jael Strauss Alison Pill Sam Bacile sprint britney spears