Venus Orbiter Finds Potential Active Volcanoes

By Betsy Mason

The Venus Express spacecraft has found convincing evidence that Earth is not the only geologically active planet in the solar system.

Infrared emissions from lava flows on the surface of Venus indicate that they are relatively young, which means the planet may still be capable of volcanic eruptions.

“The solidified lava flows, which radiate heat from the surface, seem hardly weathered. So we can conclude that they are younger than 2.5 million years old — and the majority are probably younger than 250,000 years,” Jörn Helbert of the DLR Institute of Planetary Research in Germany, co-author of a study published April 8 in Science, said in a press release. “In geological terms, this means that they are practically from the present day”.

The results could explain why there are fewer asteroid impacts than expected on the planet’s surface. Volcanism has been the prime suspect, because lava flows can fill in and obscure craters. But scientists were unsure whether a major episode of volcanic activity resurfaced much of the planet all at once in the past, or if intermittent activity has slowly filled in craters over time. The existence of a recent flow suggests the latter is more likely, and that volcanism may be ongoing.

Venus is shrouded in a thick cloud cover which obscures the visible light emissions form the surface. So a team led by Suzanne Smrekar of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory studied the thermal emissions of the surface using the Visible and Infrared Thermal Imaging Spectrometer on the Venus Express orbiter. Older surfaces tend to be smoothed by weathering over time, while younger surfaces are more rough and have higher thermal emissions.

Several areas on the surface had been identified as potential volcanic centers by radar imagery data from the Magellan mission, which ended in 1994 when the spacecraft was intentionally crashed into the surface. Smrekar’s team targeted three of these areas and found they had higher thermal emissions than the surrounding areas.

“Now we have strong evidence right at the surface for recent eruptions,” Smrekar said in a press release.

Because Venus is similar in size and internal structure to Earth, comparisons between the two planets can help scientists understand our own planet’s evolution. If volcanism on Venus is also similar to Earth, as the new study indicates, that narrows the factors that could have sent the planets on such different paths that ended with Earth being habitable and Venus being bone dry and hellishly hot.

In order to determine what the young rock is made of, Helbert plans to build a lab that can heat various rock types to around 900 degrees Fahrenheit, the planet’s surface temperature, and study their thermal emission signatures to compare to the Venus Express readings.

Images: 1) 3-D radar image of Maat Mons volcano./DLR. 2) Thermal emission signature of Venutian volcano. Red is higher emissivity./NASA/JPL/ESA

Wired

Republican Party sizing up incumbent Obama

By LIZ SIDOTI (AP)

NEW ORLEANS — Let the 2012 race begin.

Little more than a year into President Barack Obama's first term, Republicans considering a challenge to the Democrat in his re-election bid were gauging their political strength at the first GOP candidate "cattle call" far from Washington — the three-day Southern Republican Leadership Conference.

Yet as Sarah Palin, Haley Barbour, Newt Gingrich and several others gather in Louisiana, they face a stark reality: The Republican Party's task will be tough no matter who wins the GOP nomination.

Toppling Obama is all but certain to be difficult, judging by history. Only five times in the last century has an incumbent lost re-election. Still, giving Republicans hope in these polarized times, among those who lost re-election were two of the last five presidents — Democrat Jimmy Carter in 1980 and Republican George H.W. Bush in 1992.

And neither was as personally popular as Obama, who became a cultural phenomenon long before he was elected the nation's first black president.

Plus, the GOP has long-term institutional challenges; its ranks have shrunk and the South is the only region Republican nominee John McCain won in 2008.

Nevertheless, no less than a dozen Republicans are mulling over candidacies. It's a wide-open field with big personalities but little issue diversity. The hopefuls are encouraged by an increasing chorus of Republicans — led by former Vice President Dick Cheney — who argue that Obama could be a one-term president.

"What we're up against is unlike we've ever seen in America. This is a secular, socialist machine" and "they lie about both of them," Gingrich told tea party activists as he started to define his potential opponent. The former House speaker called Obama a more radical version of Carter, adding: "He's a pleasant guy, but he's a terrible president".

"Run, Newt, run," responded one man in the audience.

Among an increasing number of Republicans, the theory is that Obama is overreaching in his efforts to dramatically change the country's policies on everything from health care to climate change. Republicans predict that voters — particularly independents who decide elections and GOP loyalists who are energized against Obama — may ultimately reject his sweeping government policies in a nation that tilts more conservative than it does liberal.

Indeed, the 2008 candidate who ran from the Senate with a limited record now is the president who owns all of the country's successes and failures — and must defend his first-term actions.

Still, as president, Obama has something no Republican can match — the power of the White House bully pulpit.

To be sure, there are many unknowns this far out. There's no telling what the economy will look like in 2012. There's no telling whether terrorists will strike America between now and then.

No one knows the impact of the massive health care overhaul law Obama recently signed. And, perhaps most importantly, no one knows how the fickle American electorate will feel about their president, their country and their place in it.

And yet, several GOP politicians sense opportunity, with Obama's job performance rating hovering around 50 percent, independent voters tilting away from Democrats and the Republican base far more energized than it's been in years.

Amid that backdrop, a few thousand GOP activists streamed into New Orleans for the start of the Southern Republican Leadership Conference.

The event features speeches and schmoozing from veteran Republican leaders like Barbour, Mississippi's governor who once served as national GOP chairman, and Gingrich as well as GOP up-and-comers like Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and Indiana Rep. Mike Pence. Some are seeking to raise their national profile, like Texas Gov. Rick Perry, and others are hoping for a political rebirth, like former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum.

Party rock star Palin may be the biggest draw.

Perhaps for that reason, at least four potential contenders weren't attending, choosing instead to do leg work for likely candidacies from elsewhere.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who many GOP insiders consider the front-runner after his failed 2008 candidacy, was in the midst of a book tour. Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who was on McCain's 2008 vice presidential short list, was addressing the activists by video so he could welcome home returning troops. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who won the Iowa caucuses in 2008, was focused on his cable news show. And Sen. John Thune, a rising GOP star, was attending to his South Dakota constituents.

It's not unusual for politicians eyeing the presidency to gather this early. Potential candidates usually use such forums to test their clout years before a presidential race. And the perpetual campaign is normal in modern presidential politics.

Courting voters isn't the goal; few are paying attention this early. Rather, these Republicans are trying to create buzz and draw media coverage, as well as attract donors and top political talent as they lay the ground work to take on Obama.

Associated Press

Wrong man exposed over car park killing

A storm of comments and accusations circulating on the internet in the wake of revelations over the 23-year-old suspect in the Landskrona car park killing has afflicted a man in Denmark who has no connection to the case.

The man in Denmark happens to have the same name as the 23-year-old male suspect in the investigation into the brutal assault and subsequent death of a 78-year-old woman in a car park in the southern Swedish town last Monday.

The Dane, who lives in Vejle on Jylland, was tipped off that his name and picture had been published on two Swedish Facebook group pages together with angry comments expressing outrage over the violent incident resulting from a car park dispute at a branch of the Hemköp supermarket chain.

"There were around 1,500 people logged in who voiced racist statements and threats," the man said to Danish newspaper Berlingske Tidende. 

The man has tried unsuccessfully to enlist the help of the Danish police to put a stop to the defamation, and is now considering contacting a lawyer.

A picture of the actual suspect is also circulating on the internet, as well as full personal and address details of the man and his family. At least one report of alleged defamation has been lodged with Swedish police.

Police have underlined that the publication of the man's picture and personal details only complicates the ongoing investigation into the case, with identification line-ups for example becoming impossible.

Despite the complications, Tommy Lindén, the officer leading the investigation, confirmed on Tuesday that the full details of the brutal assault will be established within three-four weeks.

"This is still our ambition," said Magnus Lord at Landskrona police, who have now taken over the investigation.

The 23-year-old was on Tuesday remanded into custody on charges of aggravated involuntary manslaughter and aggravated assault with respect to the 78-year-old woman, and assault with respect to her 71-year-old partner. 

The 78-year-old woman was punched in the face while trying to intervene on behalf of her 71-year-old partner who was being attacked by a man in a parking dispute last Monday. She lost consciousness and died after undergoing an operation at the Skåne University Hospital in Lund on Wednesday. 

The 71-year-old man escaped the incident with minor injuries.

A further man has been arrested on charges of aiding and abetting the 23-year-old suspect, but is not in custody.

After the remand hearing in Lund district court on Tuesday the 23-year-old's lawyer, Urban Jansson, indicated that his client intended to appeal the ruling. But according to Jansson, the heated atmosphere on the internet and the chain of unpleasant events that have affected the man's family have given them cause to conclude that the 23-year-old is safest in custody.

The question of whether to lodge an appeal has been left open however.

With the suspect's immigrant background a source of major debate on internet forums, police have sought to pour cold water on suggestions that the death had any connection to integration problems long evident in the southern town where the far-right Sweden Democrats claimed 23 percent of the votes in 2006 council elections. 

"This is more a question of gender than ethnicity. If there had been a woman in the car this would never have happened," Tommy Lindén told reporters at Tuesday's press conference.

TT/Peter Vinthagen Simpson

The Local | Sweden

Regulators looking at antibacterial in soap

(Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Thursday it was reviewing the safety of triclosan, a widely used antibacterial agent found in soap, toothpaste and a range of other consumer products.

The agency stressed there are no grounds to recommend any changes in the use of triclosan but said some recent studies merited a closer look.

One member of Congress, Massachusetts Democrat Edward Markey, called for strict limits.

"Despite the fact that this chemical is found in everything from soaps to socks, there are many troubling questions about triclosan's effectiveness and potentially harmful effects, especially for children," Markey said in a statement.

"I call upon the federal government to ban the use of triclosan in consumer soaps and hand-washes, products intended for use by children, and products intended to come into contact with food. In addition, I will soon introduce legislation to speed up the government's efforts to evaluate and regulate other substances that may pose similar public health concerns".

The FDA noted that there was no evidence that triclosan could be harmful to people but noted that an animal study showed the chemical may alter hormone regulation and several other lab studies showed that bacteria may be able to evolve resistance to triclosan in a way that can help them also resist antibiotics.

Other studies have shown no evidence this has actually occurred in nature, however. Nonetheless, the Environmental Protection Agency has said it will speed up its planned review of triclosan.

"FDA does not have sufficient safety evidence to recommend changing consumer use of products that contain triclosan at this time," the agency said in a statement posted here.

The Soap and Detergent Association has repeatedly defended the safety of triclosan, which has been in use for about 30 years.

One environmental group welcomed the FDA's announcement.

"It's about time FDA has finally stated its concerns about antibacterial chemicals like triclosan," said Dr. Sarah Janssen of the Natural Resources Defense Council.

"The public deserves to know that these so-called antibacterial products are no more effective in preventing infections than regular soap and water and may, in fact, be dangerous to their health in the long run".

Many experts agree that soap containing triclosan does little or nothing extra to remove bacteria that using soap without the ingredient, as washing the hands physically removes the excess bacteria.

Reporting by Maggie Fox; Editing by Eric Walsh

Reuters

John Edwards drama isn't going away

After all the confessions in the wake of his affair with Rielle Hunter, the players begin to rebuild their lives. But there's more to come in the courts and the media

By Robin Abcarian

Reporting from Chapel Hill, N.C.

What a mess. John Edwards lied. Rielle Hunter lied. Andrew and Cheri Young lied. Elizabeth Edwards didn't lie, but was unwittingly living a lie. John and Elizabeth fought about Andrew. Andrew and Cheri fought about John. Rielle and John fought about Elizabeth.

Then everybody (eventually) fessed up -- about the betrayals, the love child, the billionaires, the luxe hide outs, the coverup, the sex tape.

Wasn't that enough John Edwards drama to last a lifetime?

"This thing will never end," said a weary Andrew Young, onetime top aide to the former North Carolina senator and 2008 Democratic presidential hopeful.

Now that is the truth:

* A federal grand jury is investigating whether Edwards funneled campaign money to his mistress, Hunter, for her personal use, which could be a crime. Last summer, Hunter and Young testified for hours in the case.

* After Young revealed he discovered a tape of Edwards cavorting with a pregnant Hunter, Hunter sued the Youngs to get it back. The case could drag on for months, said attorneys on both sides. Hunter said the Youngs purloined the tape from a box she had left in a house they rented for her; the Youngs said she left it as trash.

* Elizabeth kicked John out after he finally admitted to fathering Hunter's baby. Though she is terminally ill, they are heading for divorce. She also threatened to sue the Youngs over alienation of affection and intentional infliction of mental distress.

* After John reached a child-support pact with Hunter, she posed sans pants in the April GQ, criticized Elizabeth and proclaimed her eternal love for "Johnny." She will soon bare her soul to Oprah Winfrey. National Enquirer, which broke the scandal and nominated itself for a Pulitzer Prize, remains vigilant: "John Edwards' mistress uninvited visit to kiddie gym with lovechild in tow" was a recent headline.

* And Young has penned "The Politician," a bestseller being shopped around by top Hollywood agent Ari Emanuel for the inevitable movie. The writer Aaron Sorkin and actor Tobey Maguire have both expressed interest.

You can't see any neighbors from Andrew and Cheri Young's mountaintop home, but more important, no one can see them. On 10 acres of piney woods, the expansive house -- French country meets rustic retreat -- is a 5,000-square-foot, custom-built place they don't want to live in anymore.

"We don't want to be seen, or judged," said Cheri, 36, a pediatric nurse. "We don't even go to church".

Chapel Hill is a small town. They are constantly reminded of the Very Stupid Thing they did to try to save the 2008 presidential prospects of Andrew's boss, John Edwards: agreeing to say Andrew fathered Hunter's baby.

"I feel guilty for saying yes to this horrible mess; I feel guilty for lying to America, to everybody, the world," said Cheri, sitting on a patio chair in a navy blue track suit, while their three children were in school. For years, the Youngs fought about how Andrew ignored his own family to serve the Edwardses.

Andrew, 43, has the flattened affect of a man under great strain. "I feel most guilty for what I put you and the kids through".

What about guilt toward Elizabeth Edwards?

"Sometimes," Andrew said. "But she made it difficult".

Elizabeth Edwards has said she disliked Young nearly from the beginning. Young felt she resented his closeness to her husband, but it was more than that. She also thought Young had insinuated himself into their lives for selfish reasons, and would do anything to get to the top with them.

Young recounted in his book that Elizabeth blamed him for a wave of bad publicity in 2006, on the eve of Edwards' second presidential bid, when a staffer called Wal-Mart for help getting a PlayStation 3.

At the time, Edwards was in the news for leading a campaign against the giant retailer for unfair labor practices. Wal-Mart reacted with glee: "While America's working families are waiting in line, Sen. Edwards wants to cut to the front." Young blamed an inexperienced aide, but Elizabeth demanded her husband fire Young. When he refused, she banished Young from their home.

In December 2006, wrote Young, Elizabeth answered her husband's phone and heard a woman's voice: "Hey, baby." Edwards confessed to a one-night stand with Hunter, his campaign videographer, but told Elizabeth she was actually Young's mistress. Elizabeth believed her husband; Young became the perfect fall guy for Edwards' extramarital dalliance.

In October 2007, as the Edwards presidential campaign was in full swing, National Equirer broke the scandal. Edwards and Hunter denounced the story as "ridiculous." The mainstream media let it drop.

In politics, where "obsequious underling" is a redundancy, Young's devotion to the boss was over the top. "Game Change," the other bestseller about the 2008 campaign, demeaned him as "comically servile".

But for 10 years, Young was Edwards' No. 1 aide. He worked as personal assistant, fundraiser, Senate office scheduler, driver, running partner and confidant.

He was on call when the Edwardses had a house flood. He arranged delivery of their Christmas tree. He'd meet John at the airport with his favorite Sauvignon Blanc on ice.

"People made fun of me for all the stuff I did, but I did it because I deeply believed in John," Young said. "How many times do you meet somebody who everybody is gushing over as the next JFK? They called him Bill Clinton without the baggage".

Young, who said he earned as much as $300,000 a year from various Edwards organizations, has kept reams of records -- phone logs, voice mails, e-mails, official and private documents.

"Here, look at this," said Young, holding a notarized document that appeared to be signed by Edwards. "Would you give power of attorney to someone who was your little gofer boy?" (Maybe: The power was granted only to oversee installation of utilities at the Edwardses' new home)

Young kept it all, certain the material would be a valuable addition to a presidential library.

In the end, it was very helpful -- in preparing Young's grand jury testimony and his book.

Young would like to believe his story is a call to reform a corrupt political system.

In December 2007, after National Enquirer found a pregnant Hunter living with the Youngs in Chapel Hill, Edwards' finance chairman, Dallas trial attorney Fred Baron, stepped in.

Baron, who has since died of cancer, publicly admitted spending lavishly to keep the Youngs and Hunter in luxury digs in Montecito, Aspen and San Diego as they eluded the tabloids.

That bought time for Edwards -- who dropped out of the race in Janary 2008 after a poor showing in early contests -- to try for a plum job, maybe even vice president, with Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama.

The nonagenarian heiress Bunny Mellon also opened her wallet, said Young, clueless that her money was supporting a mistress. She promised to fund a poverty center that would keep Edwards politically viable into 2012 and provide Young a job, but that fell through.

Then, said Young, Edwards distanced himself from Young after Quinn was born on Feb. 27, 2008. That summer, he promised Young a job reference, then went on TV to admit his affair but deny paternity.

Young slunk back to North Carolina, angry, unemployable and with only one viable option: to go public. He had plenty of documentation, and by then, a sex tape.

Elizabeth Edwards, 60, said in a phone interview that she was at peace. Her cancer is "minusculely" worse than it has been, and she is busy with her two youngest children, Jack, 9, and Emma Claire, 11; her Chapel Hill furniture store, the Red Window; and writing a new chapter for the paperback of her book "Resilience".

In it, she said, she will discuss the disintegration of her marriage. She has met Quinn, and her relationship with her husband is cordial.

She has reconnected with old friends on Facebook, and is taking a painting class. "I'm so happy for her," said Heather North McGraw, who was the Edwardses' nanny for five years. "She is finally doing things for herself".

Elizabeth has told people that she believed Young was the father of Hunter's baby until last summer, when John revealed the truth to her in therapy. She feels vindicated by Hunter's show of poor taste in GQ.

But she and Hunter agree on one thing: Both think Young, not Edwards, came up with the Very Stupid Idea.

Young, however, has insisted the idea was all Edwards'.

"Here we were 10 days before the Iowa caucuses," he told a friendly crowd at a book signing in St. Louis on March 18. "The senator convinced us that Elizabeth was within weeks of dying: 'I am ashamed . . . will you step up for me just for a short time and help me keep this off the front page of the newspaper?' That was the argument that got us. Did I also want to be right hand man of the leader of the free world? Of course".

Elizabeth Edwards has maintained she was never, nor is she now, near death.

Still McGraw, the former nanny, said she believes Young.

"I know for a fact that the Youngs did love Elizabeth," McGraw said. "They did think she was going to pass away, and what they did was to protect her in a sense. But I also agree with Elizabeth that John was Andrew's meal ticket. Andrew has a good heart, but he's not the most intelligent person in the world. And he was working for someone who is super-manipulative, one of the best trial lawyers in the country".

John Edwards, 56, has rented a house near Chapel Hill in Hillsborough, said his spokesperson Joyce Fitzpatrick. He hangs out at the Wooden Nickel Pub and Tupelo's Restaurant, where he soaks up the attention of friendly patrons, say people who work in both places. He visited Haiti in January to help with earthquake relief, and has been to El Salvador three times with a group that builds homes for the poor. He visits his children (all of them) and is anxiously awaiting the results of the federal grand jury probe, Fitzpatrick said.

With Hunter mum until her Oprah moment in May and John Edwards declining to speak, Young is taking advantage of his moment in the spotlight.

He has debilitating stage fright, but thanks to therapy and anti-anxiety medication, has been on TV and radio nonstop. On March 26, he panicked when he learned the Chatham County courthouse in Pittsboro was in flames. (The sex tape, which Young said "is much more bizarre than anybody has any idea," was stored off-site)

The Youngs want to leave North Carolina, maybe even return to California, where they spent the bulk of their time on the lam. Cheri could surely get a job, but so far, no one is clamoring to hire a man who acceded to one of the biggest lies in recent political history. "I left 70% out of the book because I couldn't prove it," Young told a hometown audience at his first book signing, on March 16 in Durham. "There's a lot, lot, lot more".

Los Angeles Times