Police dogs from around the nation compete in Fla.

LAKELAND, Fla. (AP) ? With barely a woof and many a sniff, police canines from around the country are gathering in Lakeland, Fla., this week to see who will be top dog.

Consider it the Westminster Dog Show of policing. For three days, the United States Police Canine Association is meeting at Florida Southern University and holding its national detector dog trials.

About eighty teams from across the U.S. ? from Maine to Minnesota to Texas to Iowa ? are competing. Dogs, guided by their human handlers, are tested on their ability to sniff out drugs, explosives, arson materials, cadavers and wild game.

Handlers and organizers say these tests are not only challenging and mentally stimulating for the dogs, but the trials also allow them to be certified by a national organization. That certification is crucial to a dog and handler's credibility when the team's evidence is presented during a criminal court case.

"You've got to have training records, you've got to prove in court that the dog was not only proficient at one given time, but is continually proficient over time," said Ron Bowling, a national judge for the USPCA, and retired Lakeland, Fla. police canine officer. "That's the purpose of these tests here today."

Most of the dogs competing are German Shepherds or Belgian Malinois, many of whom were born and trained in Europe and then sent to police departments in the United States. Dogs are generally trained to do one or two things ? sniff out drugs and find people, for instance, or sniff out explosives and find cadavers. Dogs generally are trained to sniff only one thing.

On Tuesday, each dog-handler team looped around five parked cars while a judge watched. Drugs were planted in two of the cars, and when many of the dogs got a whiff of the exteriors, they were visibly aroused. Some sat patiently, looking at their police officer, while others whined and tried to claw their way into the car.

Shea, a six-year-old German Shepherd with the Polk County Sheriff's office in Florida, panted in the heat as he searched for the drugs. When he keyed in on one car, he looked up at his handler, deputy Jody Gill, with big brown eyes.

"Good boy!" said Gill. He later mentioned that he probably spends more time with Shea than anyone else in his life.

"They've lived with us from day one. They're our dogs. They stay in our house. When I'm at home though, I don't do any work with him, any training. He's just a free dog," said Gill. "He lays on the couch and does his own thing. But then when we come to work it's time to get serious."

___

Follow Tamara Lush on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tamaralush .

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In The Elder Scrolls MMO "you're always the hero, whether you want ...

Bethesda is working to ensure that the player feels as if he is the only hero in the upcoming online MMO and are modelled their The Elder Scrolls Online accordingly.

Bethesda, the developers of The Elder Scrolls series, seem to want to translate some of their critically acclaimed single-player campaign elements to the upcoming online iteration of the game as they have expressed their determination to keep the single-player experience solely focused on one player.

Matt Firor, the game director, explained that he did not want gamers to feel crowded out from their moments of glory and wanted them to be the centre of attention in some of the more epic battles in the upcoming game.

He said, "The last thing you want to do is have the final confrontation with Mehrunes Dagon as he's stomping across the imperial city and you see like 15 guys behind you waiting to kill him because they're on the same quest."

Firor explained that the studio wanted to keep the essence of what has made all The Elder Scrolls game so great in the sense that they made the player feel like he was the only hero capable of completing a certain quest.

?We needed to make sure we hit the most was that feeling that you're awesome, you're the hero, and we do that through a mix of technology where, when I am confronting a major foe in the game I'm doing it in an instance where I'm alone."

Elaborating on that earlier statement he explained that there were sections on the MMO where all the action would be single-player only and that no other gamers could interfere in those particular sections. He said, "We have a whole part of the game that's 100 percent solo which is the main story where the world focuses on you, you're the hero. Everything you do is solo and the world reacts to you that way."

The Elder Scrolls Online MMO was announced earlier on in the year and fans of the long running series will be waiting in nervous excitement as they wait to see just how the game will turn out.

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Dart Attacks Likely From Blow Guns, NYC Cops Say

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NEW YORK -- Police in New York City are investigating an odd attack: They say someone unleashed darts that wounded three people on a street.

The New York Police Department was searching Monday for a suspect in Sunday's dart attack. Investigators believe the assailant may have used a blow gun.

Police say three men ? ranging in age from 40 to 66 ? were hit by darts around 7 p.m. Sunday in the Bath Beach section of Brooklyn. The men were hit in the back, stomach and legs.

All three were taken to a hospital in stable condition.

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Employee burnout: Around the corner? Already here? - Fortune ...

By Gary M. Stern

FORTUNE -- Here's a word that managers don't use much anymore: burnout. The term was in vogue about 15 years ago when companies began to downsize and employee workload intensified. That was just before the advent of the BlackBerry, what eventually came to be known as the ultimate work leash.

So, then, why has talking about burnout become pass?? In a struggling economy, most employees are happy to have jobs and don't want to complain or appear as if they lack enthusiasm. Everyone is expected to give 100% and be available 24/7.

A study released in April of 500 IT administrators from various firms by Opinion Matters revealed that 72% of respondents were stressed, 67% considered switching careers, 85% said their job intruded on their personal life, and 42% lost sleep over work. Can burnout be far behind?

MORE:?Opening Day: Fortune launches 'Fantasy League'

But it's not just IT administrators who may be stretched thin. Despite the nagging unemployment rates, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in March 2012 that 1.8% of full-time employees (around 2.1 million workers) quit their jobs in the private sector covering construction, manufacturing, trade, professional and business services, leisure and hospitality. The rate has made a slow, steady climb since June 2009, a potential sign of encroaching burnout, among many other things.

Jonathan Alpert, a New York psychotherapist and author of Be Fearless: Change Your Life in 28 Days, says he treats corporate workers, media and finance specialists, and nearly everyone is "facing more pressure.? With people laid off, people are taking on more responsibilities, working harder, having less support and that amounts to burnout."

"The business climate has become so fiery and competitive that leaders are focused on competition and getting the most out of their people. Everyone's working to their max," explains John Izzo, author of Values-Shift: The New Work Ethic and What It Means for Business.

Izzo says that many executives and their staffers are consumed by changing demands and spend much of their day addressing last-minute emergencies. As competitive demands escalate, many companies aren't sure exactly what to do to relieve stress, so many don't even raise the topic.

A quick jaunt from burnout to apathy

The employee that suffers from burnout becomes part of the "working wounded," Izzo says. They show up to work but have lost their motivation and are just trying to get through the day unscathed. That apathy reduces productivity, nullifies innovation, and creates inertia in the workplace.

MORE:?The toughest Fortune 500 CEO of all

Izzo relates how a CEO of a healthcare company was selecting a new executive vice president with his board. The CEO belittled one candidate by saying, "She takes her two-week vacation no matter what's on her agenda." Izzo, who was sitting in that particular meeting, says he waited for someone to speak up and disagree with the CEO's judgment, but no one did. Vacations help an executive recharge and make them more productive; she shouldn't have been maligned for taking time off, Izzo argues.

Alpert says that a couple of clients have even interrupted their therapy sessions to read Blackberry messages, indicating how much pressure they are under. Some clients "burn the candle on both ends. They work until 10 p.m. and are back at work at 7 a.m.," he says.

"No one wants to complain for fear of losing their job," Alpert says, so most employees just keep going, day after day, week after week. But he notes that the long-term effects of working in such a relentless environment can be devastating.? "Stress can wreak havoc on your body, contribute to high blood pressure and cardiac disease," he says.

Some people are so tied to work that they can barely let go. An owner of a New York social media consulting firm proudly says that he unplugs Friday night to Saturday night, neglecting to mention that the other 148 hours of a week he's plugged in and ready to answer client calls. Taking 24 hours off doesn't yield much down time.

Disconnected, disillusioned, and not very productive

A major symptom of burnout, says Ronald Downey, a psychology professor at Kansas State University, is "feeling disconnected. Staff feels disconnected from the workplace, their job, colleagues, and ultimately themselves." Another sign of burnout: when staffers begin to take additional sick days. The more alienated an employee feels, the more constant connection to the job becomes onerous and suffocating.

Steve Heckert, vice president of human resources at GFI Software, based in Clearwater, Fla., which financed the survey of IT administrators, says the escalated stress levels suggested to him that his firm should focus on making sure staff understands what's expected of them. Managers must make clear exactly what they want and expect from employees. He also says if the demands of the job are intensifying and causing stress, employees need to speak up so managers can shift some of the burden. If the manager is learning about an employee's burnout at the exit interview, something's gone wrong.

MORE:?Post-Facebook IPO wisdom, from one CEO to another

Izzo recommends that companies interested in addressing burnout ask staffers what changes they'd like to see to reduce burnout, which often lead to a host of problem-solving techniques. Companies ought to consider eliminating unnecessary tasks, such as issuing a report that was done last year but perhaps is no longer needed, or limiting lengthy meetings to no more than 15 minutes. And they can also emphasize wellness programs that give staff a sense of purpose and help reduce stress. Downey says that supervisors need to be trained on how to detect employee burnout and how to decrease or balance workloads to address it.

All of this advice might sound like common sense, but most companies don't want to broach the subject of burnout.? If they did, they'd have to "change their expectations, hire more employees, reduce demands, and most won't do that," Downey says. But they do this at their own peril.

"Ultimately the biggest price companies' pay for burnout is a loss of talented people. As the economy improves, they will leave the enterprise," Izzo says.? If a manager hears an employee saying, "I don't have a life on this job," burnout is around the corner, he says.

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UN. nuclear agency chief heads to Tehran

VIENNA (AP) ? The head of the U.N. nuclear agency flew to Tehran on Sunday on a delicate mission that ? if successful ? could finally lift the veil on whether Iran is seeking atomic arms while strengthening the Islamic Republic's negotiating hand in crucial nuclear talks with six world powers later in the week.

The trip by International Atomic Energy Agency chief Yukiya Amano is focused on getting agreement from Iran to terms that will allow the agency to resume probing whether Tehran secretly worked on nuclear arms.

Even if that happens, Western diplomats have expressed skepticism that Iran will honor a deal. But with both Iran and the IAEA reporting progress in a previous round last week, anticipation was high as Amano prepared to board his flight to Tehran.

While expressing some optimism, Amano said he could not predict whether he would clinch a deal that would allow his agency to renew its long-stalled probe.

"Nothing is certain in life, in diplomacy," he told reporters at Vienna's airport. "But there has been good progress.

"I really think this is the right time to reach agreement."

The one-day trip is significant both for what it can achieve in terms of probing Iran's secretive nuclear program and as a mood-setter for talks Wednesday in Baghdad between Iran and the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany.

The latter six nations are in the forefront of trying to persuade Tehran to curb its nuclear program and ease concerns it wants to use it to make nuclear weapons.

Iran will seek to stay looming U.S. and European Union sanctions on its oil exports at the Baghdad talks.

The six in turn will attempt to get Iran to commit to stop enriching uranium to a level that can be turned quickly into the fissile core of nuclear warheads, while ignoring ? for now? its program of lower enrichment, which would take longer to turn toward weapons-making.

Iran insists it is enriching uranium only to produce nuclear fuel. It denies that it worked secretly on developing components of a nuclear arms program, despite what the IAEA describes as credible intelligence and other evidence that it hid work "specific to nuclear weapons."

Amano's visit and the talks in Baghdad are thus separate but indirectly related ? a point that Amano touched on as well, saying he hoped they "will give (a) positive good impact (on) each other." His lead partner in the Tehran talks will be Saeed Jalili, Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, who will also lead his country's delegation to Baghdad.

Western diplomats following the IAEA's work are skeptical that Iran would honor the terms of any deal suddenly allowing the IAEA access to sites, people and documents it seeks in its probe, pointing out that Tehran has stonewalled the agency's efforts since 2007. They say Tehran is seeking to make points ahead of the Baghdad talks, where it would refer to any deal with the IAEA as a sign of its good will and demand that the upcoming sanctions on Iranian oil be suspended.

Diplomats told The Associated Press ahead of the Baghdad talks that there is agreement among the six powers not to give in to such demands. G-8 leaders last week set the stage for a united release of world oil reserves to balance any disruption in world markets when those tough new sanctions are imposed. President Barack Obama said world powers "are unified in our approach to Iran."

Still, an Iran-IAEA deal could reopen fissures among the six, with Russia and China ? traditional opponents of tough anti-Iran sanctions ? demanding that the oil penalties be held up to reward the Islamic Republic's approval of a deal with the IAEA.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said the Baghdad talks should already focus on lifting of sanctions if Iran shows signs of compromise, in comments reported Sunday by the Itar-Tass news agency.

"Russia denies the efficiency of sanctions against Iran; it thinks that the sanctions are driving the problem into an impasse," he was quoted as saying. "Yet bearing in mind the adherence of Western partners to sanctions, I think they should think about the time when the sanctions may be suspended and lifted."

Amano deferred an Iranian invitation to visit Tehran last year, saying he would go only if he was assured of progress in the standoff over the IAEA probe. Pressed at the airport whether he expected to come back with a deal in his pocket, he repeated that "nothing is certain but ... I stay positive."

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Hubble spies edge-on beauty: Galaxy NGC 891

ScienceDaily (May 21, 2012) ? Visible in the constellation of Andromeda, NGC 891 is located approximately 30 million light-years away from Earth. The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope turned its powerful wide field Advanced Camera for Surveys towards this spiral galaxy and took this close-up of its northern half.

The galaxy's central bulge is just out of the image on the bottom left.

The galaxy, spanning some 100,000 light-years, is seen exactly edge-on, and reveals its thick plane of dust and interstellar gas. While initially thought to look like our own Milky Way if seen from the side, more detailed surveys revealed the existence of filaments of dust and gas escaping the plane of the galaxy into the halo over hundreds of light-years. They can be clearly seen here against the bright background of the galaxy halo, expanding into space from the disk of the galaxy.

Astronomers believe these filaments to be the result of the ejection of material due to supernovae or intense stellar formation activity. By lighting up when they are born, or exploding when they die, stars cause powerful winds that can blow dust and gas over hundreds of light-years in space.

A few foreground stars from the Milky Way shine brightly in the image, while distant elliptical galaxies can be seen in the lower right of the image.

NGC 891 is part of a small group of galaxies bound together by gravity.

A version of this image was entered into the Hubble's Hidden Treasures Image Processing Competition by contestant Nick Rose. Hidden Treasures is an initiative to invite astronomy enthusiasts to search the Hubble archive for stunning images that have never been seen by the general public.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by NASA.

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


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Show shocker: Why did Big Show give Big Johnny the big win?

All WWE programming, talent names, images, likenesses, slogans, wrestling moves, trademarks, logos and copyrights are the exclusive property of WWE, Inc. and its subsidiaries. All other trademarks, logos and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. ? 2012 WWE, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This website is based in the United States. By submitting personal information to this website you consent to your information being maintained in the U.S., subject to applicable U.S. laws. U.S. law may be different than the law of your home country. WrestleMania XXIX (NY/NJ) logo TM & ? 2012 WWE. All Rights Reserved. The Empire State Building design is a registered trademark and used with permission by ESBC.

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Simple Ways to Update your Kitchen | Rise Furniture

If you are tired of your kitchen and want to give it a more modern look, consider doing a simple remodel. There are a variety of simple ways to change the look of your kitchen without spending too much money or time.

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Paint

Paint is a fast and inexpensive way to give your kitchen a new look. Consider the colors of your floor, cabinets, countertops and trim when choosing a shade of paint. If you have a theme in your kitchen such as apples or roosters, use a paint that works well with the theme and decorations. Paint can be purchased from department store or home improvement stores.

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Vent Hoods

Stove vent hood are an easy modification that can help make your kitchen more modern. Vent hoods come in a variety of colors. Copper vent hoods are a popular choice because they are stylish and easy to clean. Copper vent hoods can be purchased from most home improvement stores and are easy to install yourself.

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Cabinet Hardware

Updating the hinges, knobs and handles on your cabinets can give them a new and stylish look. Cabinet hardware can be purchased from department stores and home improvement stores and is easy to install and inexpensive.

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Decorations

Change your kitchen decorations to give it a new look and feel. Purchase inexpensive kitchen decorations from department stores, catalogs or online and use them to give your kitchen a fresh design. Take advantage of stores that offer layaway plans or purchase the decorations a little at a time to avoid overspending.

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Rocker Pete Doherty plays decadent dandy in Cannes

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