Soyuz launched on four-orbit flight to space station

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Updated 11:13 PM ET

A veteran Russian commander, a rookie cosmonaut and a Navy SEAL-turned-astronaut rocketed into space Thursday and glided to a smooth docking with the International Space Station less than six hours later, a record-setting rendezvous being tested to reduce the time crew members have to spend cooped up inside the cramped Soyuz ferry craft.

Soyuz TMA-08M commander Pavel Vinogradov, flight engineer Alexander Misurkin and shuttle veteran Christopher Cassidy blasted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 4:43:20 p.m. EDT Thursday (GMT-4; 2:43 a.m. Friday local time).

Launching almost directly into the plane of the space station's orbit, the Soyuz rocket quickly accelerated away atop a churning jet of fiery exhaust, trailing the space station by about 1,056 miles at the moment of liftoff.

Live television views from inside the command module showed Vinogradov in the cockpit's center seat, flanked by Misurkin to his left and Cassidy to his right. All three crew members appeared relaxed as they monitored the computer-orchestrated ascent.

"Everything's completely nominal up here on the spacecraft," Vinogradov reported at one point. "We feel great."

Just under nine minutes after launch, the Soyuz TMA-08 spacecraft was released into its planned orbit, followed a few moments later by deployment of the craft's solar panels and antennas.

Vladimir Popovkin, director general of the Russian federal space agency, radioed his compliments.

"Congratulations on having successfully completed stage one," he called. "We're standing by to have you guys come close to the station in about six hours from now."

"Thank you, Mr. Popovkin," Vinogradov replied.

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Soyuz launched on four-orbit flight to space station

Astronauts Launch on First ‘Express’ Flight to Space Station

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A Soyuz rocket carrying an American astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts roared into space today on the first-ever "express" flight to the International Space Station.

The rocket launched NASA astronautChris Cassidyand Russian cosmonauts Alexander Misurkin and Pavel Vinogradov into orbit at 4:43 p.m. EDT(2043 GMT) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, where the local time was early Friday. The crew's Soyuz TMA-08M spacecraft is expected to make history when it arrives at the space station later tonight.

The Soyuz crew plans to dock at the space station's Poisk module tonight at 10:32 pm EDT (0232 GMT Friday). You can watch the space docking live on SPACE.com here.

Until today, Soyuz and NASA shuttle trips to the space station typically took at least two days, but Cassidy, Misurkin and Vinogradov are due toarrive in just six hours, after making only four orbits of Earth. Some NASA officials have dubbed the flight profile, the "express" flight to the International Space Station.

"I think this is a very good thing that we are decreasing the time that it takes for crews to reach the International Space Station," Vinogradov said in a pre-launch interview. "I'm confident that both in Russia and in the United States we have excellent teams that are supporting us." [Launch Photos: Soyuz Rocket's 'Express' Flight to Station]

The quick trip to the space station has been made before by unmanned cargo spacecraft, but never by a crew. Mission managers say its benefits include less time spent in a cramped space by the crew, and a savings on expenses related to the personnel needed in Mission Control when Soyuz is flying.

Once there, they will join the existing station residents commander Chris Hadfield of Canada, Russian cosmonaut Roman Romanenko, and NASA astronaut Tom Marshburn on the station'sExpedition 35 mission. The newcomers are due to stay in space for about six months.

"It's shaping up to be a very dynamic and a very busy expedition," Cassidy said during a pre-launch interview. "We welcome that that makes us feel very rewarded and high job satisfaction. When you can deliver for people that have worked hard to produce all of those activities on the ground, that's very satisfying," he said of the ability to fulfill the goals of the Mission Control team.

Cassidy and Vinogradov are both spaceflight veterans: The former flew on the STS-127 space shuttle mission in 2009, while Vinogradov visited the Russian Mir space station in 1997 and theInternational Space Stationin 2006. Misurkin, a spaceflight rookie, is making his first journey to orbit.

"I'm just really excited and looking forward to this flight," he said in a preflight interview. "I think it would be a great experience for me and the biggest thing in my whole life."

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Astronauts Launch on First 'Express' Flight to Space Station

NASA and TopCoder to issue Robonaut 2 ‘sight’ challenge

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Posted at 02:42 PM ET, 03/29/2013

Mar 29, 2013 06:42 PM EDT

View Photo Gallery:The first humanoid robot in space has been there for two years. Robonaut 2 arrived in February 2011 and was unpacked the next month. The robot was developed jointly by NASA and General Motors.

NASA Tournament Lab is launching two new competitions, this time to give Robonaut 2, the humanoid robot aboard the international space station, the gift of improved sight. The challenges are the latest offered by the Tournament Lab in conjunction with the open innovation platform TopCoder.

The first competition calls on participants to figure out how to enable Robonaut 2, or R2, to identify buttons and switches on a console fitted with LED lights. The winning entry would be in the form of an algorithm application that works seamlessly with R2s cameras in different lighting conditions. The second competition will build off the first, calling on competitors to write an algorithm that controls the robots motions based on the new sight capability.

The first phase of the competition officially launches Saturday, with a formal announcement scheduled for Monday, according to a TopCoder spokesman. The winner of the first phase of the competition will receive $10,000.

Were right in the middle of advancing and testing robotics using the space station right now, said Jason Crusan, Director of NASAs Advanced Exploration Systems division during a call Friday. This is kind of the right time to onramp other solutions to these image processing problems other than the ones we have come up with.

Robonaut 2 was developed and designed to operate as if it were a humanoid, making sight one of its primary tools. The robot currently employs a two-camera view system. We definitely need the vision piece, said Crusan.

The technology participants will be called on to create has wider applications beyond R2, said Crusan. And the innovator who submits a solution will not be barred from being able to use the code elsewhere, including making commercial products. But the winning entry is sent back into open source to guarantee that NASA and others can use it.

Past technology to emerge from the Robonaut program, a partnership between NASA and General Motors, has been the K-glove, which GM factory workers use, said Julia Badger, the ISS Applications Lead for the Robonaut 2 project. Thats an immediate very quick thing that has spun off.

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NASA and TopCoder to issue Robonaut 2 ‘sight’ challenge

Will NASA Announce Plans to Snag an Asteroid and Fly It to Earth?

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When the Obamaadministrations2014 federal budget gets released in early April, it might include a curious item: a $100 million request for NASA to conduct a mission to capture an asteroid and bring it back to Earth.

This idea comes from an article published March 28 in Aviation Week and Space Technology, which reports on the space industry. The plan would identify a small asteroid, grab it with a robotic spacecraft, and tug it to the vicinity of our planet, perhaps somewhere near the moon. Such a mission was the subject of a two-day meeting of scientists and engineers at Caltech organized by the Keck Institute for Space Studies in 2011.

The somewhat insane-sounding idea was deemed technically feasible by attendees at that meeting, perhaps by using a large magnet or harpoon-like anchor to secure the giant space rock. The Keck meeting concluded that the entire operation would cost about $2.6 billion and require between six and 10 years to tug a roughly 7-meter asteroid back to Earth. NASA has been mulling the merits of such a plan since January. There are plenty of targets: Nearly 20,000 asteroids exist quite close to our planet and President Barack Obama has previously stated that he would like to send humans to explore one of these bodies around 2025.

Going to any asteroid in its current orbit would likely be a six-month trip. NASA Administrator Charles Bolden discussed the presidents plan in December, saying that Obama did not say NASA had to fly all the way to an asteroid. What matters is the ability to put humans with an asteroid. An asteroid that was brought nearer to Earth could conceivably take only a week or so for a round trip.

The mission would be a proving ground for new technology, help make scientific discoveries about the early solar system, and give NASA something to do with the enormous new rocket its building. It could also provide important information to several private companies that want to mine asteroids in the near future. Finally, in the aftermath of the bolide that exploded over Russia, the worlds attention is turned to the need to deflect potentially dangerous asteroids.

Rumors have often swirled around bold new plans for NASA, including a recent idea that the agency could construct a space station that would orbit the moon. That mission has yet to appear but its worth noting that the original source of it came from space policy expert John Logsdon of George Washington University and not from anyone within NASA. Aviation Week is known for having contacts inside the U.S. military and space industries.

Given the large funding needed and the cost-cutting mindset of the current Congress, its not entirely clear if NASA can afford to wrangle an asteroid for some interplanetary feng shui. The presidential budget request is set to be unveiled April 10, several months later than usual because of complications arising from the sequester, a congressionally mandated across-the-board budget cut that will be taking more than a billion dollars from NASAs overall funding. Its possible that the $100 million in the administrations request will be a down payment for the first part of such a mission.

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Will NASA Announce Plans to Snag an Asteroid and Fly It to Earth?

NASA Request for Information: Planetary Science Division Technology Infusion Study

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Synopsis - Mar 20, 2013

Technology Infusion Appendices - Posted on Mar 20, 2013 New!

General Information

Solicitation Number: NNH13ZDA008L Posted Date: Mar 20, 2013 FedBizOpps Posted Date: Mar 20, 2013 Recovery and Reinvestment Act Action: No Original Response Date: Apr 19, 2013 Current Response Date: Apr 19, 2013 Classification Code: A -- Research and Development NAICS Code: 541712

Contracting Office Address

NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA Headquarters Acquisition Branch, Code 210.H, Greenbelt, MD 20771

Description

The Planetary Science Division (PSD) within the Science Mission Directorate (SMD) at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Headquarters seeks to understand how to better realize a scientific return on spacecraft system technology investments. This Request for Information (RFI), will provide PSD with recommendations on how to effectively infuse new spacecraft systems technologies that it develops into future competed missions, enabling increased scientific discoveries, lower mission cost, or both. We are collecting input on how to maximize the return on and benefits from current technology investments and thereby improve the prospects of the inclusion of these investments within future competed missions opportunities. We are requesting from the science and mission communities input on specific questions, their assessment of barriers to technology infusion as related to infusion approach, technology readiness, information and documentation products, communication, integration considerations, interaction with technology development areas, costs capped mission areas, risk considerations, system level impacts and implementation, and mission pull. Other volunteered input not supporting one of these areas from responders will also be considered.

To this end, the PSD has formed a team comprised of Radioisotope Power Systems (RPS) Program and In-Space Propulsion Technology (ISPT) Program staff to execute this study. This team will engage the science and mission communities and seek inputs from industry, universities, and other organizations. This team also may seek opinions and analysis from consultants and contractors as needed to achieve the objective of this study.

The most recent PSD Announcements of Opportunities (AOs) have offered the availability of the following technologies to the proposers: The Advanced Stirling Radioisotope Generator (ASRG), aerocapture and aeroshell hardware technologies, the NASA Evolutionary Xenon Thruster (NEXT) ion propulsion system, and the Advanced Materials Bi-propellant Rocket (AMBR) engine. Specific input on the use of these technologies are also being requested.

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NASA Request for Information: Planetary Science Division Technology Infusion Study

NASA Spacecraft Snaps New Photo of Potential ‘Comet of the Century’

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A NASA spacecraft scanning for the most powerful explosions in the universe has captured a photo of Comet ISON, an icy wanderer that could potentially dazzle stargazers when it swings close to the sun later this year.

NASA's Swift satellite, which is typically used to track intense gamma-ray bursts from distant stars, photographed Comet ISON on Jan. 30, with the space agency unveiling the photo today (March 29). By tracking the comet over the last two months, Swift has allowed astronomers to learn new details about how large the comet is and how fast it is spewing out gas and dust.

"Comet ISON has the potential to be among the brightest comets of the last 50 years, which gives us a rare opportunity to observe its changes in great detail and over an extended period," said Lead Investigator Dennis Bodewits, an astronomer with University of Maryland at College Park (UMCP) who helped obtain the new image.

Some astronomers have predicted that ISON could be the "Comet of the Century" when it makes its closest approach to the sun in late November. But a recent analysis found that the comet is not brightening as expected, and may have a ways to go to meet such expectations.

Comet ISON was first discovered in September 2012 by Russian astronomers Vitali Nevski and Artyom Novichonok using the International Scientific Optical Network (ISON) located near Kislovodsk. The comet's official designation is Comet C/2012 S1 (ISON). [See more photos of Comet ISON]

Swift's Comet ISON view

Bodewits and his university colleagues teamed up with the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Ariz., to capture new views of Comet ISON using the Swift spacecraft. The satellite's Jan. 30 photo shows the comet as a bright, fuzzy white ball. At the time, Comet ISON was about 375 million miles (670 million kilometers) from Earth and 460 million miles (740 million km) from the sun.

"Using images acquired over the last two months from Swift's Ultraviolet/Optical Telescope (UVOT), the team has made initial estimates of the comet's water and dust production and used them to infer the size of its icy nucleus," NASA officials wrote in a statement.

Swift's observations revealed that Comet ISON is currently shedding about 112,000 pounds (51,000 kilograms) of dust and about 130 pounds (60 kg) of water every minute, an odd mismatch for such an anticipated comet.

All comets are made of dust and frozen gases that mix together to form a sort of "dirty snowball" in space, NASA officials explained. Water ice in comets typically stays frozen until the comet approaches within three times the Earth's distance to the sun, at which time the water ice heats up and changes directly into gas (a process called sublimation), creating jets of material that can brighten the comet.

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NASA Spacecraft Snaps New Photo of Potential 'Comet of the Century'

NASA Asteroid Capture Mission: First Real Step in Utilizing Extraterrestrial Resources

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NASA is about to get a chance to try something totally new: instead of just visting or landing on things in space, it is going to go grab one of those things - something that is rather huge - and bring it back to Earth. Details will be formally announced on 10 April 2013 when the new budget is rolled out.

According to Aviation Week and Space Technology: "NASA's fiscal 2014 budget request will include $100 million for a new mission to find a small asteroid, capture it with a robotic spacecraft and bring it into range of human explorers somewhere in the vicinity of the Moon."

Interesting. First the President challenges NASA to send humans to an asteroid by 2025 - but there was nothing in place to do so having just cancelled Ares and Orion. Then Orion came back and Ares was reincarnated as SLS. Then NASA loses interest in the asteroid thing and comes up with alternate plans to send people to L2 (and maybe elsewhere). Then the Keck study looks at how to grab a small NEO and bring it to near-Earth space - L2 for example. Then Charlie Bolden makes his cryptic comments at the NAS in December 2012: "when the President announced that an asteroid would be the next destination for NASA's human spaceflight program, he did not say NASA had to fly all the way to an asteroid. What matters is the ability to put humans with an asteroid.". Well, Bolden was referring to this idea which was still in flux as part of the budget process.

Add in the close approach of asteroid DA14 and the Chelyabinsk meteor impact, back-to-back congressional hearings on asteroids, and forces have all seemed to have coalesced behind a rather gutsy idea - grabbing an asteroid and bringing it back to our neighborhood. Under this plan, the robotic solar electric propelled spacecraft would leave in 2018 and perhaps as early as 2016 - possibly while the President is still in office - and bring it back to L2. A human crew would visit the parking location at L2 on the first crewed mission of Orion/SLS in 2021 - four years earlier than the President's original goal. Not only does this meet the President's goal, it merges the sometimes divergent SLS/Orion interests and the interests of the L2 proponents with the intentions of the White House.

One would hope that as NASA implements this concept that they use it as a catalyst for new ways of looking for asteroids and dealing with the threat they may pose as well as other technologies needed of the utilization of cis-lunar space, the Moon and elsewhere. Moreover, although a commercial solution could certainly be found to do this cheaper, one would hope that this initial NASA effort would be conducted with the full intention of fostering commercial means to build and expand upon what NASA wants to do.

That said, the fact that we are now capable of going out and grabbing an asteroid and moving it to a place that we have chosen signals the first major step in the utilization of extraterrestrial resources by human civilization. We are embarking on the rearrangement of our solar system to better suit human needs.

That's a paradigm shift folks.

- Bolden: NASA Does Not Have To Actually Go To An Asteroid, earlier post - Making the Case for Human Missions to Asteroids, Space Quarterly - NASA Really Doesn't Want to Do That Whole Asteroid Thing, earlier post - Asteroid Return Mission Study, Keck Institute for Space Studies

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NASA Asteroid Capture Mission: First Real Step in Utilizing Extraterrestrial Resources

Chinese medicine may hold the key to treating diabetes

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Traditional Chinese medicine could be a key weapon in the treatment of type 2 diabetes, a joint international study has found.

TCM in addition to conventional drugs could be modern medicines best way of treating type 2 diabetes, a joint international study has revealed.

Researchers, including The University of Queenslands Dr Sanjoy Paul and Peking Universitys Professor Lilong Ji from Beijing, have found that conventional drugs were significantly more effective when used alongside traditional Chinese medicine in the treatment of type 2 diabetes.

The study involved a controlled clinical trial of 800 type 2 diabetic adults, comparing anti-diabetic drug Glibenclamide as a stand-alone treatment and treatment with Glibenclamide in conjunction with traditional Chinese medicine.

Dr Paul, who is Director of the Queensland Clinical Trials and Biostatistics Centre in UQs School of Population Health, said results showed patients treated with traditional Chinese medicine were more than a third less likely to experience hypoglycaemia dangerously low levels of blood sugar than those treated with Glibenclamide only.

They were also less likely to experience other symptoms of diabetes, including fatigue, hunger and palpitation, Dr Paul said.

Traditional Chinese medicine has long been used to treat diabetes in China and around the world but until now there has been a lack of evidence regarding its safety and efficacy.

This absence of scientific understanding has caused scepticism and criticism about traditional Chinese medicine.

Dr Paul said that more studies were needed to interpret just how traditional Chinese medicine worked to reduce hypoglycaemia, but the study results highlighted its potential to reduce the treatment gap in developing countries where diabetes was at epidemic proportions.

A vast majority of people in developing countries depend on herbal medicine for basic health care, Dr Paul said.

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Chinese medicine may hold the key to treating diabetes

Methodist Orthopedics & Sports Medicine Specialists Featured in Free Hot Topics Series at Methodist Willowbrook

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HOUSTON, TX--(Marketwire - March 29, 2013) - The board certified orthopedic and sports medicine specialists of Methodist Orthopedics & Sports Medicine are featured in the free Hot Topics Physician Lecture Series atMethodist Willowbrook Hospital, to educate the community on reducing risks, recognizing symptoms and properly treating injuries and conditions affecting the hand and wrist and the neck and spine.

Recognized physicians in their area of specialty, Dr. Korsh Jafarnia, will talk about common hand and wrist conditions in an April 10 session, 5:30 - 6:30 and Dr. HoSun Hwang, will talk about relieving back and neck pain on April 17, 6:00 - 7:30 p.m. Both sessions are free and open to the community, though spaces fill quickly so register today at 281.737.2500.The series is located in the Women's & Children's Pavilion, Conference Center on the Willowbrook campus, at 18220 State Highway 249. Refreshments and door prizes are included.

"We are pleased to bring this level of expertise to the community.Our physicians are passionate about education and outreach efforts -- and our Hot Topics series is a great opportunity for them to educate the public about the latest advancements and treatment options available in health care and answer questions the public may have," said Beryl Ramsey, CEO of Methodist Willowbrook Hospital and senior vice president of The Methodist Hospital System.

"We enjoy sharing valuable information about what we're seeing everyday, as well as meeting members of the community and hearing what really concerns them.These sessions are a great opportunity for everyone to walk away with a better understanding," said Dr. Jafarnia. Dr. Jafarnia is Board Certified and Fellowship trained in hand and upper extremity surgery -- completing his residency at Baylor College of Medicine and Fellowship in Hand Surgery at Harvard Medical School -- Massachusetts General Hospital.He holds a certificate of added qualifications in surgery of the hand (CAQSH) and has studied advanced techniques at the French Institute for Hand Surgery in Paris.

Dr. Hwang is Board Certified and Fellowship trained in spinal surgery -- completing his residency at Baylor College of Medicine and Fellowship in Spinal Disorders at the University of California Davis Medical Center.

Both of these physicians are recognized among Texas Super Doctors and provide comprehensive care and rehabilitation therapies onsite at the 25,000 square foot orthopedic and sports medicine center, which includes a new state-of-the-art Hand Center and Spine Center.

To learn more about these physicians and the upcoming Hot Topics in orthopedics and sports medicine go to http://www.methodistorthopedics.com. Call to reserve a spot, 281.737.2500.Check us out on Facebook .

For more information on the comprehensive services available on the Methodist Willowbrook Hospital campus, please visit http://www.methodistwillowbrook.com. For a physician referral, call (281) 737-2500.

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Methodist Orthopedics & Sports Medicine Specialists Featured in Free Hot Topics Series at Methodist Willowbrook

Dr. Ben Carson, GOP Hero, Exiled by His Own Medical School

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Ben Carson, the neurosurgeon-turned-conservative-pundit, has accumulated legions of right-leaning fans since he stumped at the National Prayer Breakfast in February and, later, began appearing on Fox News Channel. But after delivering widely condemned comments regarding gay peopleon Fox this week, a group of students at Johns Hopkins, where Carson has worked since 1977, has successfully stopped Carson from speakingat the May commencement ceremonyof the university's medical school.Carson announced on MSNBCFriday afternoon that he would refrain from speaking because he thought the ceremony should be devoted to students, and not the controversy swirling around him:

Carson's withdrawal comes days after he appeared onSean Hannity's eponymous Fox News show Wednesday night:

Did you catch that? Here's what he said (bolding ours): "My thoughts are that marriage is between a man and a woman. It's a well-established, fundamental pillar of society and no group, be they gays, be they NAMBLA, be they people who believe in bestiality. It doesn't matter what they are. They don't get to change the definition."

Understandably, this prompted at least one student club at John Hopkins's medical school to question whether Carson is an appropriate avatar for their commencement ceremonies. Their petition to remove Carson from the ceremony reads, in part:

At the time of his nomination, Dr. Carson was known to most of us as a world-class neurosurgeon and passionate advocate for education. Many of us had read his books and looked up to him as a role model in our careers.

Since then, however, several public events have cast serious doubt on the appropriateness of having Dr. Carson speak at our graduation.

After listing a series of incidents beginning with Carson's rejection of evolutionary theory on the grounds that it implies a total rejection of "moral codes" the pitch continues:

We retain the highest respect for Dr. Carson's achievements and value his right to publicly voice political views. Nevertheless, we feel that these expressed values are incongruous with the values of Johns Hopkins and deeply offensive to a large proportion our student body.

As a result, we believe he is an inappropriate choice of speaker at a ceremony intended to celebrate the achievements of our class. We hope the administration of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine will select an alternative speaker that better represents the values of our student body and of our great University.

It's an awkward situation, even after Carson's decision to withdraw from speaking duties. With apologies to Sanjay Gupta, Carson is likely the most high-profile neurosurgeon of the moment, but continues to receive attention not for his medical accomplishments such as operating on conjoined twins but his nascent, gaffe-prone political career. (During his speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference in mid-March, Carson suggested that he was considering a run for political office.) To that end, Carson might as well have dropped out because he's pretty busy, doing hits on cable television with a regularity usually seen by political operatives and seasoned talking heads. With that kind of schedule, who has time to write an uplifting speech or even deliver one?

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Dr. Ben Carson, GOP Hero, Exiled by His Own Medical School

Liberty Interactive Corporation to Present at Morgan Stanley Retail & Restaurant Conference & Field Trip

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ENGLEWOOD, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Liberty Interactive Corporation (Nasdaq: LINTA, LINTB, LVNTA, LVNTB) announced that Mike George, President and CEO of QVC, Inc., will be presenting at the Morgan Stanley Retail & Restaurant Conference & Field Trip, on Friday, April 5th at 8:40 a.m., Eastern Time at the Loews Portofino Bay Hotel, FL. During his presentation, Mr. George may make observations regarding the company's financial performance and outlook.

The presentation will be broadcast live via the Internet. All interested persons should visit the Liberty Interactive Corporation website at http://www.libertyinteractive.com/events to register for the webcast. An archive of the webcast will also be available on this website for 30 days.

About Liberty Interactive Corporation

Liberty Interactive Corporation operates and owns interests in a broad range of digital commerce businesses. Those interests are currently attributed to two tracking stock groups: Liberty Interactive Group and Liberty Ventures Group. The Liberty Interactive Group (Nasdaq: LINTA, LINTB) is primarily focused on digital commerce and consists of Liberty Interactive Corporations subsidiaries Backcountry.com, Bodybuilding.com, Celebrate Interactive (including Evite and Liberty Advertising), CommerceHub, MotoSport, Provide Commerce, QVC and Right Start, and Liberty Interactive Corporations interests in HSN and Lockerz. The Liberty Ventures Group (Nasdaq: LVNTA, LVNTB) consists of Liberty Interactive Corporations interests in TripAdvisor, Expedia, Interval Leisure Group, Time Warner, Time Warner Cable, Tree.com (Lending Tree), AOL and various green energy investments.

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Liberty Interactive Corporation to Present at Morgan Stanley Retail & Restaurant Conference & Field Trip

Libertarian think tank sues School District for access to teacher email addresses

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By Paul Takahashi (contact)

Thursday, March 28, 2013 | 5:32 p.m.

Are teacher email addresses a matter of public record?

That's the question at the crux of Nevada Policy Research Institute's latest lawsuit against the Clark County School District. The lawsuit was filed Thursday morning.

In June 2012 and again this February, the libertarian think tank submitted formal requests with the district for a list of email addresses for nearly 18,000 Clark County schoolteachers.

NPRI communications director Victor Joecks argues teacher email addresses are public records. Joecks said NPRI was not interested in the content of teacher emails just the addresses.

"These are government-provided emails addresses, provided to government employees to do their government jobs," Joecks said. "It's public information. The School District doesn't get to act as a gatekeeper to public information."

The School District has repeatedly refused to grant NPRI's requests for a directory of teacher email addresses, arguing it is not a matter of public record.

School District email addresses are part of an employee's personnel records and therefore must be "safeguarded," district attorneys stated in letters to NPRI.

Additionally, the email directory "falls within the definition of a non-record given that it is similar to a book or pamphlet," district attorneys said. Nevada's public records laws don't apply to "non-records," which include "books and pamphlets printed by a government printer."

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Libertarian think tank sues School District for access to teacher email addresses

Editorial: San Juan Islands , a national monument indeed

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Originally published March 29, 2013 at 4:21 PM | Page modified March 29, 2013 at 4:20 PM

PRESIDENT Obamas designation of federal land on the San Juan Islands as a national monument is a point of pride for the entire state.

The recognition and preservation of the natural, cultural and historic treasures on the Puget Sound archipelago is a triumph of community effort.

The San Juans were one of five national monuments designated by Obama, who used a presidential prerogative that dates to 1906. The others are in Delaware, Maryland, New Mexico and Ohio.

Here in Washington the nearly 1,000 acres of land will continue to be managed by the federal Bureau of Land Management. As noted by Margie Van Cleve, chairwoman of the Washington State Sierra Club, This monument is good news for our community and our environment.

The united front to make this happen was impressive indeed. Washington Sens. Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray joined with Reps. Rick Larsen and Suzan DelBene to preserve the land either through legislation or executive action.

Their efforts had the support of Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, who visited the area, Gov. Jay Inslee, former Gov. Chris Gregoire, councils and commissioners from San Juan, Whatcom and Skagit counties, the Samish Indian Nation, and state Sen. Kevin Ranker, D-Orcas Island.

More than a dozen state and county organizations signed on, as did more than 150 local businesses. The list of individual supporters goes on for pages.

These designations not only protect and preserve pieces of American history, and natural beauty.

Theres no doubt that these monuments will serve as economic engines for the local communities through tourism, outdoor recreation supporting economic growth and creating jobs, Salazar said in a statement on Monday.

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Editorial: San Juan Islands , a national monument indeed

‘Just Buy Health Care ‘: Chris Verrone

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Don't hate on the market because winning sectors are traditionally defensive plays, Chris Verrone of Strategas said Thursday.

"What really strikes me is that the rally in the broader market is being discounted because health care is leading," he said. "So, just buy health care."

On CNBC's "Fast Money," Verrone said that historical stock performance shows that strength in defensive sectors can lead the market higher.

"What really strikes me is, coming off the August '82 lows, as the market was breaking out in August '82, for the next six, seven years, your leadership was consumer staples," he said. "So this entire bull market, even up through the '90s, staples were leading, health care was leading."

Verrone used Johnson & Johnson as an example of a safety stock that shows strength.

"JNJ was trying to get through $70, $75 for about 13 years. It's $82 right now," he said. "When the stock broke out in 1995, it went up for 15 of the next 19 quarters, he said. "We think this is a similar break out, and we're seeing it all across health care Bristol-Myers, JNJ, Pfizer. We like the space here."

Another stock called out for a potential breakout was Boston Scientific, which Verrone said was poised to climb toward $10 per share.

"So I don't necessarily buy the argument that health care or staples is bad leadership," he said. "I would say just buy health care or staples."

(Read More: When Defensive Stocks Outperform, Not Always a Red Flag)

Trader disclosure: On March 28, 2013, the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC's "Fast Money" were owned by the "Fast Money" traders: Enis Taner is long GS; Enis Taner is long GS PUT SPREAD; Enis Taner is long BIDU CALL SPREAD; Enis Taner is long MSFT PUTS; Enis Taner is long YHOO CALL SPREAD; Enis Taner is long FXE PUTS; Enis Taner is long XLV; Guy Adami is long C; Guy Adami is long GS; Guy Adami is long INTC; Guy Adami is long MSFT; Guy Adami is long NUE; Guy Adami is long AGU; Guy Adami is long BTU; Brian Kelly is long TREASURIES; Brian Kelly is long GOLD; Brian Kelly is long SILVER; Brian Kelly is short S&P 500; Brian Kelly is short CAC; Brian Kelly is short DAX; Brian Kelly is short EURO; Brian Kelly is short EUROSTOXX; Tim Seymour is long AAPL; Tim Seymour is long BAC; Tim Seymour is long INTC; Tim Seymour is long CSCO; Tim Seymour is long WMT; Tim Seymour is long SBUX; Tim Seymour is long CLF.

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'Just Buy Health Care ': Chris Verrone