Review: Chrome 17, faster than ever, more secure than ever. - ZDNet (blog)

2012-02-13T04:01:00.000-05:00

Summary: Google’s popular Chrome Web browser just keeps getting faster and more secure with every release.

Google's Chrome 17 Web browser is better than ever.

Google’s been really busy lately. They may be releasing “G-Drive,” a personal cloud storage service ala Dropbox. They have released a beta of the Chrome Web browser for Android. And, with all that, their developers have also been hard at work keeping Chrome on top of the Web browser hill.

Chrome 17, the latest and greatest, is fast. But, then Chrome has long been faster than its competition: Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Internet Explorer, Opera, and Apple Safari. This latest update though has more than pure speed. It also comes with some new, useful features.

The best of these is security related. Besides such squashing potentially dangerous security bugs, Google now automatically runs checks on executable .exe and .msi files. If the program doesn’t match a built-in white list of OK programs, Chrome then automatically checks in with its Safe Browsing site to see if the Website you picked the program is known for of malicious downloads.

If the file isn’t from a known source, Chrome automatically sends the URL and IP of the host and other meta-data, such as the file’s hash and binary size, to Google. The file is then automatically classified using machine learning analysis and the reputation and trustworthiness of files previously seen from the same publisher and Web site. Google then sends the results back to Chrome, which warns you if you’re at risk.

Google also wants you to know that “It’s important to note that any time Safe Browsing sends data back to Google, such as information about a suspected phishing page or malicious file, the information is only used to flag malicious activity and is never used anywhere else at Google. After two weeks, any associated information, such as your IP address, is stripped, and only the URL itself is retained.”

Don’t trust Google? Fine. You can turn Safe Browsing off. Mind you, I think you’d be an idiot to do this. Windows users, in particular, are in constant danger from malware and this is a simple, slick way of cutting down on potential viruses. From where I sit, you’re in a lot more danger from malware than you are from paranoia about Google tracking your file downloads.

Another handy feature is what Google calls Omnibox pre-loading. What that mouthful means is that when you start typing a URL into the Chrome’s address bar, aka the Omnibox, you’ll see various suggestions about what site you might be looking for. That’s in been in Chrome for a while Google has taken the next step though. If Chrome’s is absolutely sure it knows what site you’re going to, it will start pre-loading the site. So, for example, when I start to type in “zd,” “plu,” or “Fac,” Chrome 17 will start loading, respectively ZDNet, Google Plus, and Facebook.

This can have the effect of making Chrome look even faster than it is… so long as it’s guessed correctly. In my experience, Chrome gets it right almost every time, but then I tend to visit the same dozen or so sites over and over again. If you visit dozens or hundreds of sites, you’d be unlike to notice any improvement. If it doesn’t seem to be working for you, or, worse still, it starts pre-loading the wrong sites so your performance seems worse, you can switch it off by un-checking “Predict network actions to improve page load performance” in Options > Under the Hood.

With that out of the way, let’s move to the testing. I’d been running Chrome 17 on my usual mix of PCs. That includes several Linux desktops, including my Linux Mint desktop, several Macs running Snow Leopard and Lion; and a couple of PCs running Windows XP SP3 and Windows 7 SP1. It ran on all my platforms.

Like all modern browsers, Chrome gets a perfect score on the Acid 3 compatibility test, which checks how well a browser complies with various Web standards such as CSS, JavaScript, and Extensible Markup Language (XML),

On the HTML5 Test, which checks to see how compliant the Web browser is with the HTML5 Web page standard, Chrome 15 scored 374 out of a possible 450. Coming in second was Firefox 10 with a score of 332.

For performance testing, I ran Chrome against the latest releases of Firefox, 10.0, and Internet Explorer, 9.08, on a Gateway DX4710 Windows 7 SP1 test box. This PC is powered by a 2.5-GHz Intel Core 2 Quad processor and has 6GBs of RAM and an Intel GMA (Graphics Media Accelerator) 3100 for graphics. It’s hooked to the Internet via a Netgear Gigabit Ethernet switch, which, in turn, is hooked up to a 100Mbps (Megabit per second) cable Internet connection.

For my first performance test, Chrome went up against the other contenders on Mozilla’s Kraken 1.1 benchmark. In Kraken, which like most Web browser benchmarks measures JavaScript performance, lower scores are better. Here, Chrome left Firefox and IE eating its dust with a score of 3677.6ms. This was actually slower than Chrome 16. Still, that was far faster than the others. Firefox came in next with a score of 4342.6ms. To Firefox’s credit that’s much faster than Firefox 9.

On Google own JavaScript V8 Benchmark Suite, where higher scores are better, Chrome, roared by the others with a score of 8,153. Firefox, once more, was much better than it had been, but it still came in far behind at 5,145. IE trailed well behind the open-source browsers with a score of 2,230.

On the oldest JavaScript test, SunSpider 0.9.1, where lower results are better, Chrome didn’t show well at all. IE won this one with a score of 282.6ms, Firefox came in second with 274.8ms, and Chrome was in the rear with 307.1.

On the Peacekeeper Web browser test suite, which looks at JavaScript performance and also glances at HTML5 compatibility, video codec support and other Web browser features, Chrome won once more. On this benchmark, where higher is better and Chrome took first with a score of 2,425. IE took second with 1,626 with Firefox hot on its tail with 1,619.

Taken as a whole, Chrome remains the fastest browser around. When you include its new features, it’s clear to me that Chrome is continuing to be the top Web browser.

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Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols, aka sjvn, has been writing about technology and the business of technology since CP/M-80 was the cutting edge, PC operating system

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Ten States Get Leeway on School Law - Wall Street Journal

2012-02-13T00:51:00.000-05:00

President Barack Obama on Thursday authorized 10 states to ignore key provisions of the No Child Left Behind law, a move to circumvent the unpopular legislation that won cheers from the states but prompted concern from Republicans and some civil-rights groups.

The Obama administration said it would grant Colorado, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey and Tennessee the power to design their own school accountability systems, instead of using the one mandated by the decade-old federal law. Florida, Georgia and Oklahoma received waivers on condition they adopt specific policies promised in their applications.

New Mexico had also applied for a ...

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Conservatives see tough challenges on road to White House - CNN

2012-02-12T19:14:00.000-05:00

Conservative politicos say 2012 GOP nominee must push positive agenda against President ObamaRalph Reed: Controversy over contraception coverage may push turnout in swing statesBlogger Erick Erickson: "It seems like we are setting ourselves up to lose if the economy improves"Washington Times reporter says GOP candidates haven't come up with clear message in 2012

Washington (CNN) -- Republicans looking to take back the White House in November face a challenging political environment, a trio of conservative political observers said Thursday at an annual gathering of conservative activists.

The recent controversy over health insurance coverage for contraception may help to turn out Catholic swing voters in key states, but the observers also said the Republican Party would do well to have its own positive agenda and clear messaging if it wants to unseat President Barack Obama.

"None of the signs that I see are particularly good," said Ralph Z. Hallow, chief political writer for The Washington Times.

Hallow added that polling he has seen indicates that intensity or enthusiasm about voting has moved from Republicans to Democrats. "I regard that as a very bad sign," he said.

The newspaperman continued, "The enthusiasm among Republican voters for any of the (GOP presidential) candidates is dangerously low so that ... none of these folks generates the enthusiasm needed in November to bring more Republican-voting independents and Republican activists and so on to the polls."

Conservative blogger Erick Erickson, who is also a CNN contributor, said the situation stems partly from the state of the Republican Party after the last GOP president left the White House.

"I actually blame (George W.) Bush for this," Erickson said to a packed ballroom. "Every president generally has an heir apparent when they leave office."

Vice President Dick Cheney did not succeed Bush as the GOP's presumptive standard bearer in 2008, preventing the party from having a "referendum" on Bush's legacy by either choosing Cheney or someone else as the nominee, Erickson said.

"Because (Bush and Cheney) left a void there, we went all the way back to 2000 and started over again -- a lot of us having the same fights we've had. And we're now in the situation where all the (GOP presidential) candidates, including (Mitt) Romney to a degree, are a bit of a victim of this void that was left by not having an heir," he said.

"I think the Republican Party has yet to reset itself from the Bush years to be able to move forward."

Ralph Reed, founder and chairman of the Faith and Freedom Coalition, appeared less pessimistic than Hallow and Erickson. Reed said he believes that what is shaping up to be a long Republican primary process may work to the GOP's benefit in the general election against Obama.

Reed described the 2012 GOP nomination race as "the most wide open, the most fluid, the most topsy-turvy" presidential primary he has seen since first becoming involved in presidential campaigns in 1980.

"Whoever emerges from this process -- whether it's Romney or somebody else -- is going to be a better, a more-disciplined, a tougher candidate when they have to stand on a stage with Barack Obama," Reed said.

Reed pointed to the controversy over a pending Obama administration regulation that requires religiously affiliated institutions to provide health insurance coverage for contraception to its employees as one issue that could help fill the enthusiasm gap the GOP is facing with its conservative base.

Reed said the regulation, which the White House has hinted it is looking to soften after an outcry from Catholic bishops, "shows not just an insensitivity to but an outright hostility by this president to religion and religious values."

And, Reed said, the controversy could make the difference with Catholic swing voters in key battleground states, including Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Pennsylvania and Florida.

But Reed and Erickson both opined that to maximize their chances of retaking the White House in November Republicans should have a positive agenda and not settle just for attacking the president's record and policies on the economy and other issues.

"It isn't going to be enough to just be anti-Obama," Reed said. "Whether it's Romney or (Rick) Santorum or (Newt) Gingrich, we have to have a forward-leaning, positive, conservative reform agenda that will excite and energize the grass roots."

With recent indicators suggesting the struggling economy may be improving, the GOP has a particular challenge in November. While unemployment is improving according to recent data, Reed said other economic factors could be in play for voters.

"It's not just the single unemployment number; it's whether people feel like they've got money in their pocket," Reed said.

Erickson said he sees the economy alone as a losing strategy.

"I think the race should be about more than the economy," the blogger said. "Unfortunately, I think the Republicans have decided that they're going to go with electability instead of issues. And if electability is your case and the electability is based on (fixing the economy) and the economy fixes itself, then why do we necessarily need a nominee who the Obama campaign is going to spend millions and millions of dollars on to make unlikable?

"There needs to be something more to it. (Reed) is right. We have to have more of an agenda."

Erickson added that he thought Republicans had "dropped the ball on telling the story of Barack Obama. They never have. They always thought that they could use the economy (against Obama)."

"He picks the winners and losers," Erickson said of Obama, "not the free market. And there's a story to be told there, I think, that resonates with people in the country."

By focusing so much on the economy, Erickson said he fears the GOP is setting itself up for defeat in November. "I hate to be so pessimistic about an election we should win, but it seems like we are setting ourselves up to lose if the economy improves," Erickson said.

Hallow added that he thought the Republican presidential candidates have yet to crystallize clear, concise messages in support of their Oval Office bids.

"Unless the nominee has a message -- a simple message that you can get out in three sentences -- I don't think we have a chance or Republicans have a chance," Hallow said.

Besides Rep. Ron Paul, Hallow asked about the rest of the GOP 2012 field: "Why are any of these candidates running? What is it that they're going to do to change America?"

Pointing to Romney's lengthy economic agenda that is dozens of pages long, Hallow said, "This is not how you do it."

He added, "(Ronald) Reagan did it right and that's going to be necessary again this time."

The three men spoke Thursday during the Conservative Political Action Conference in a panel discussion on the 2012 political landscape that pollster Scott Rasmussen moderated.

Get all the latest news in Campaign 2012 at CNN's Election Center. There's the latest news, a delegate counter and much more.updated 5:24 AM EST, Thu February 9, 2012 With new questions about the strength of his candidacy, Mitt Romney indicated he's prepared to wage a more aggressive campaign against Rick Santorumupdated 5:49 AM EST, Thu February 9, 2012 Analyst John Avlon notes a stubborn sign of dissatisfaction with the status quo: Republican turnout is down. Exactly why do religious conservatives love Rick Santorum? There are obvious reasons but plenty of less obvious ones, too. updated 1:15 PM EST, Wed February 8, 2012 Rick Santorum responds to an appeals court ruling against proposition 8, calling it another sign of liberal intolerance. After a drubbing by conservative rival Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich plans to head to home turf as part of his strategy to revitalize his campaign. updated 1:38 PM EST, Wed February 8, 2012 Did you ever really think a Massachusetts Mormon was going to waltz his way to the Republican presidential nomination?updated 5:12 AM EST, Wed February 8, 2012 Rep. Ron Paul says problems in the U.S. have come because those in Washington didn't take the oath of office seriously.updated 5:36 AM EST, Wed February 8, 2012 Rick Santorum awoke to a new reality Wednesday after sweeping Missouri, Minnesota and Colorado a day earlier. updated 5:09 PM EST, Tue February 7, 2012 Barack Obama's re-election campaign is returning about $200,000 in donations collected by two Chicago men.updated 2:22 PM EST, Tue February 7, 2012 Clint Eastwood's Super Bowl ad touting Detroit has a lot of people talking -- and some people say it had political undertones. updated 8:07 AM EST, Tue February 7, 2012 CNN's Gloria Borger points out that both Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich have core, basic issues they've yet to overcome.updated 9:16 AM EST, Tue February 7, 2012 Tim Pawlenty, former Minnesota governor, weighs in on Mitt Romney's campaign and explains his criticism of Rick Santorum. updated 12:35 PM EST, Mon February 6, 2012 David Frum wonders if the best route for Newt Gingrich is to quietly exit the field, hope Mitt Romney loses in November and then claim "told you so" rights.updated 9:11 PM EST, Sun February 5, 2012 Candy Crowley points out the mood of the American worker come Election Day will hold sway over any economic statistic.Most popular stories right now

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Apple said to be in 'crunch mode' to ready 'iPad 3' apps for on-stage demos, ads - Apple Insider

2012-02-12T13:20:00.000-05:00

Apple said to be in 'crunch mode' to ready 'iPad 3' apps for on-stage demos, ads

By Josh Ong

Published: 08:40 PM EST (05:40 PM PST)

As evidence continues to point toward an early March launch for the next-generation iPad, a new report claims that Apple is now in "crunch mode" as it prepares for on-stage demonstrations and television commercials highlighting apps for the device.

Sources intimated to The Next Web on Thursday that the Cupertino, Calif., company's selection process is proceeding at an "increased rate." Of course, it is to be expected that Apple would be under more pressure as the event approaches, but the report does triangulate other recent reports that have pegged a Retina Display-equipped third-generation iPad for an early March launch.

Apple has traditionally showcased some of its own apps, such as GarageBand and iMovie, as well as exemplary third-party apps at its media events for new iOS devices. According to the report, the company is placing an emphasis on "graphics-oriented applications with high-definition assets" to spotlight the rumored Retina Display on the device.

The iPad maker is also reportedly forwarding some apps to its advertising partner TWBA/Chiat/Day as the agency readies commercials for the third-generation tablet. Author Matthew Panzarino noted that the process is entering its "final phase" and is on a tight deadline for the presentation and subsequent television broadcast.

Speculation surrounding the so-called "iPad 3" has reached a fever pitch in recent days as more specific details appear to have emerged. AllThingsD reported on Thursday that the special event for the next-gen tablet will take place during the first week in March. The publication also affirmed that the tablet will have a resolution of 2,048 by 1,536 pixels, a "much faster" processor and improved graphics performance. Also on Thursday, The New York Times cited an Apple employee as saying the new iPad will have a "truly amazing" screen.

In addition, several photos purportedly of next-generation iPad components have surfaced this week. Images of an alleged back panel for the device appeared to show "very different" mounts for the logic board and a larger battery, as well as a "different" camera and LCD display. Meanwhile, a picture that may have been of the outside of a back panel suggested that Apple does not plan to make any major design changes to the form factor of the device. Finally, a photo has emerged of a high-resolution LCD panel manufactured by Sharp that "seems to be" bound for the next iPad.

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Activists: Assad Forces Kill 60 in Syria's Homs, Hospitals Overwhelmed - Voice of America

2012-02-12T09:13:00.000-05:00

Activists: Assad Forces Kill 60 in Syria's Homs, Hospitals Overwhelmed | Middle East | English /* Inside VOA|Contact VOA News

February 10, 2012 Activists: Assad Forces Kill 60 in Syria's Homs, Hospitals Overwhelmed Israel Debates Possible Fallout From Attack on Iran Deal Reached in Massive US Foreclosure Case China Shows New Assertiveness as VP Prepares For US Visit US Drone Kills Top Militant in NW Pakistan Select Your LanguageAfan OromoAlbanianAmharicArmenianAzerbaijaniAzeriBanglaBosnianBurmeseCantoneseChineseCreoleCroatianDariEnglish WorldwideFrenchGeorgianGreekHausaIndonesianKhmerKhmer (English)KinyarwandaKirundiKoreanKurdiKurdishLaoLearning EnglishMacedonianMandarinNdebelePashtoPashto - DeewaPersian PortugueseRussian SerbianShonaSomaliSpanishSwahiliThaiTibetanTibetan (English)TigrignaTurkishUkrainian UrduUzbekVietnameseZimbabwe - EnglishNewsProgramsVideoLearning EnglishLive Streams:Latest Newscast|Africa Live|Global Live News USA Africa Americas Asia EuropeMiddle EastIsrael - PalestiniansIranIraqHuman RightsMiddle East In TransitionEconomy and Business Arts and Entertainment EconomyMore TopicsEducationEnvironmentHealthNews AnalysisReligionScience and Technology Web FeaturesSpecial ReportsPhoto GalleriesInteractive YouTubeFacebookTwitter Web ServicesPodcastsRSSMobileNewsletterWebcastsLinks About the USEditorialsRFE/RLRFAPronunciation Guide News|Middle EastMiddle EastRSS Feed February 09, 2012Activists: Assad Forces Kill 60 in Syria's Homs, Hospitals Overwhelmed Edward Yeranian| Cairo

Photo: Reuters Wounded men are seen in the Sunni Muslim district of Baba Amr in Homs, Syria, February 8, 2012.

Syrian rights activists say government forces have bombarded the rebellious central city of Homs for a sixth day, killing at least 60 people and leaving makeshift hospitals overwhelmed as divided world powers struggled to end the violence.

The activists said Thursday relentless government shelling and rocket strikes on Homs were creating a worsening humanitarian crisis, with rebel-dominated neighborhoods lacking water and electricity and running low on basic supplies. They said the onslaught that began early Saturday has killed hundreds of people, making it the deadliest attack on Homs of the 11-month uprising against President Bashar al-Assad's autocratic rule.

U.S.-based rights group Human Rights Watch said those responsible for "horrific attacks" on residential neighborhoods "will have to answer for them."

VOA spoke with a Syrian activist in Homs who goes by the alias Abo Emad to conceal his identity. He said Syrian security forces are not letting up on their assault, adding that even walking one block from the building where he is hiding can be deadly.

“Everyday is worse than the day before," he said of the government assault. "More deaths, more casualties, more injured people, more destroying buildings every day.”

Abo Emad said there is very little access to mobile phones or land lines. He added that hospitals are overflowing with injured people and there are not enough doctors or medical supplies to care for the wounded.

Rami Abdel Rahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights in London told Alhurra TV that sporadic shelling is affecting parts of Homs, including Khaldiyeh and Bayadah, but that the heaviest onslaught is on the Baba Amr district, where conditions are extremely difficult.

Government forces are focusing on Baba Amr as it has been a center of the opposition.

In an opposition video, Muhammad al Muhammad, a doctor who is treating the wounded in Baba Amr, urged Syrians and the world community to protest the shelling attacks. He pointed to five children who appear to be wounded and called on Syrians to take to the streets to protest.

VOA cannot independently confirm the authenticity of the video's contents.

U.S. President Barack Obama called for an end to "outrageous bloodshed" in Syria in his latest condemnation of Mr. Assad's crackdown on the revolt. He was speaking Thursday after talks with visiting Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti.

Mr. Obama has agreed to work with Washington's European and Arab allies to organize a group of nations known as Friends of Syria to explore ways of further isolating and pressuring the Assad government to stop the violence. Western and Arab nations decided to try to form the group after seeing Russia and China block their efforts to pressure Mr. Assad through the U.N. Security Council.

Moscow and Beijing vetoed a Western and Arab-backed Syria resolution on Saturday, the second time they have done so since October. Both powers said they do not want the Council to take sides in a domestic conflict and create a possible pretext for foreign intervention in Syria.

Video footage from Homs

Arab League foreign ministers were preparing to meet in Cairo on Sunday to discuss their next moves in the crisis. Officials said the ministers will discuss whether to recognize the opposition Syrian National Council as the legitimate representative of Syria and whether to send a joint Arab League-United Nations observer mission to the country.

In other developments Thursday, Libya said it ordered Syria's top envoy and embassy staff to leave the country within 72 hours. Germany also said it is expelling four diplomats from the Syrian Embassy in Berlin after authorities arrested two men suspected of spying on Syrian opposition groups.

Rebel Colonel Riyadh al-Asaad, who heads the loosely-knit Free Syrian Army that is fighting government forces, called the Syrian regime a tyranny and asked for help to defeat it.

Hilal Khashan, who teaches political science at the American University of Beirut, says the Syrian government is trying to retake Homs in hopes of crushing the popular revolt at a key hub.

"They have been bombarding the city for the past six days," he said. "The bombarding is so heavy that it is clear that it is setting the stage for a ground offensive. The regime has made up its mind on conquering Homs, because they feel that if they conquer Homs, much of the uprising in the country will abate.”

Wire services and VOA reporter JulieAnn McKellogg contributed to this report.

Join the conversation on our social journalism site - Middle East Voices. Follow our Middle East reports on Twitter and discuss them on our Facebook page. Related Articles Activists Say Syrian Troops Kill 50 in Homs

They say troops loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad attacked Homs with gunfire, rockets and shells

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LA school in child abuse scandal reopens - CNN

2012-02-12T03:50:00.000-05:00

A Miramonte Elementary School student was among adults and children who demanded the school return to normal Thursday.NEW: Superintendent announces that ousted teachers can return if investigation clears themNEW: Teachers union says it will file a grievance on behalf of unfairly removed facultyNEW: Student attendance is only 68%, down from 90% last weekNEW: More than 100 parents and students protest the removal of their teachers

Florence, California (CNN) -- As scandal-plagued Miramonte Elementary School reopened Thursday with a completely new staff, Los Angeles school officials announced that ousted teachers could return to the school if they clear an ongoing investigation into faculty sexual misconduct.

Meanwhile, student attendance was only 68% Thursday, down from 90% last week, and the new faculty eased students into the dramatic changes by having them write goodbye notes to their old teachers.

Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent John Deasy issued a statement saying those old teachers could return as a response to the Los Angeles teachers union's claim the system didn't have a plan for the school. The union said it would file a grievance on behalf of unfairly displaced teachers.

"We again communicated with the teachers today to make explicit the fact that when the investigations are complete and nothing emerges with a particular teacher, that teacher's assignment is to be Miramonte Elementary School," Deasy said in a statement.

"Further, the ridiculous claim that LAUSD does not have a plan is, of course, also not true. We are putting our plan into action as we speak, which assures student safety and support, continues an outstanding educational experience, and helps our adults," Deasy said.

Earlier Thursday, United Teachers Los Angeles President Warren Fletcher accused the school system of "making it up as they go along and the kids are paying the price."

"Parents and students want their teachers back," Fletcher said in a statement.

In a press conference outside the school, joined by parents, Fletcher added: "Parents' concerns have reached a new height as indicated by the parents standing behind me because they know that this is a huge disruption for every child and makes a tragic situation worse."

The system shut down the school Tuesday and Wednesday and removed the entire staff, from janitors to principal, after two teachers were charged with felony lewd acts with pupils. The reconstitution meant the school's 85 teachers were abruptly removed from the year-round school, which serves about 1,400 students in kindergarten through 6th grade.

Former Miramonte teacher Mark Berndt, 61, who resigned last year amid a school board's firing proceedings, was charged last week with 23 felony counts of lewd acts with pupils, a sheriff's spokesman said Wednesday. He is accused of taking bondage photos of more than two dozen students in his classroom, including some with suspected semen-filled spoons at their mouths.

Berndt is being held in lieu of $23 million bail, authorities said.

This week, a second teacher, Martin Bernard Springer, 49, of Alhambra, was charged with three felony charges of lewd acts with a girl under age 14.

Meanwhile, the new faculty and principal worked to put pupils at ease at the school, located in unincorporated Los Angeles County within the Florence-Firestone area, about 6 miles south of downtown Los Angeles.

"We're going to try to move as quickly as possible to get back to learning, to get back to any sort of routine at a school that has been anything but routine the last several days," said school system spokesman Tom Waldman.

School officials said staff will be calling families whose kids were absent Thursday.

One parent, Yolanda Rivera, pulled her daughter out of the school Thursday because she wasn't satisfied with the new staff.

"What guarantees me that those teachers aren't going to be like the last abusive teachers?" Rivera said to CNN. "They hurt us when they closed the school for two days. Why can't I keep my kid out of school?"

Edgar Flores kept his daughter out of school Thursday, and both protested outside the structure, along with more than 100 parents and children, who chanted to live guitar music, "We want, we want, our teachers back!"

"We need to hurt the school economically, and then they're going to realize that getting rid of the teachers was wrong," Flores said.

Gina Adelman, one of the school's new counselors, said teachers broke the ice with students by going around the room and asking each student what was their name, favorite color, favorite pet or pet name, and favorite toy. Adelman said she was transferred from from a middle school.

Students also wrote a formal goodbye note to their old teachers because the school was abruptly restaffed and kids weren't allowed to extend any farewells, Adelman said.

"There were several different messages, but most of them wrote, 'I will miss you' and 'Thank you for being my teacher,'" Adelman said. "One wrote, 'I will do my best,' and I thought that was lovely.

"There was one child who in the course of writing a note, completely unaided, said, 'You had to leave because something bad happened,'" Adelman added. "I said that was a very nice letter."

The school's new principal, Dolores Palacio, 66, said many of the new teachers had been laid off because of budget cuts in the past.

"These teachers are absolutely qualified. All of them were reviewed and investigated," said Palacio, a 31-year veteran of the school district who was retired until she was called into duty at Miramonte. "They are all qualified and experienced."

She chose to come out of retirement because "it's an elementary school and I'm a principal," she said. "It's a nice community, and the parents are wonderful, and what happened was to no fault of the parents or the children. If I could do something to help, I was happy to do it.

"It will take more than two days to get to know the staff really well," Palacio added. "The most important thing is that they want to be here."

Parents can visit the school any time, she said.

CNN's Stan Wilson and Casey Wian contributed to this report.

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Zynga, Hasbro partner to make toys, games - Reuters

2012-02-11T22:14:00.000-05:00

* Hasbro licensed to make games, toys based on Zynga video games

* First products expected this fall

* Deal follows Mattel success with Angry Birds board game

* Hasbro shares climb 2.4 percent

By Alistair Barr and Dhanya Skariachan

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Is a Mafia Wars board game on the way, or a cuddly toy horse from FarmVille?

Hasbro Inc, the iconic American toy company, and social game company Zynga Inc said on Thursday they would join forces to develop toys and games based on Zynga games such as FarmVille.

The companies said Hasbro would pay for the license to make products based on Zynga's games including CityVille and Mafia Wars, which are popular on social media website Facebook. They did not disclose how much Hasbro would pay for the license.

The deal also will allow both companies to develop merchandise featuring Hasbro and Zynga brands. The first products should be available this fall, they said.

There are more than 227 million active monthly players of Zynga's games online.

Rovio, the company behind the popular Angry Birds video games, has sold millions of plush toys. Its Angry Birds: Knock On Wood board game, made by Mattel Inc, has been a bestseller on Amazon.com for several months.

"Zynga's games reach a lot of people, and as Mattel saw with its Angry Birds game, some of the games translate well into the physical world," said Sean McGowan, an analyst at Needham & Company, said. "Building a farm or a city, for example, could be a good board game."

Many Zynga game players are adults, so the demand for toys may be limited, he added.

"But the same could have been said of Angry Birds, and that was a big hit," McGowan said.

Hasbro shares closed up 2.4 percent to $36.59, while Zynga fell 3.2 percent to $13.25.

View the original article here

Chicago police announce arrests in gang and drug cases - Chicago Tribune

2012-02-11T18:00:00.000-05:00

Driving past a street corner adorned with three spray-painted tributes to young men shot and killed on the streets, Chicago police officers jumped out of their cars and pulled a suspected drug dealer from an apartment.

The scene that played out Thursday morning is a result of an initiative that Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced last month that calls for dozens of officers from several specialized units on West Side and South Side Chicago, which account for a quarter of the city's homicides.

For weeks, the undercover officers have been buying heroin in this West Side area, while other officers have been watching to see where the seller goes, whom he pays, who hands him more drugs and what that person does with the drugs and money he's handed.

That led to 17 arrest warrants for people suspected of dealing drugs in the neighborhood and on Thursday — with The Associated Press and a local television station in tow — they went out to round up suspects. By Thursday afternoon, they said the roundup that began a few days ago had led to the arrests of 11 of the 17 suspects. Most of them were arrested on drug conspiracy charges.

“The key is to get them working in concert,” said James O'Grady, the commander of the department's narcotics division, who likened the operation to a grocery store where a manager oversees the clerks and baggers. He said it doesn't matter if they are selling one bag or 50, “they're all part of the conspiracy.”

And that, he said, means more prison time than had they been arrested simply for possession for sale.

Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy, who announced the initiative with Emanuel, said the areas where police would focus their attention were those that have seen both a thriving illegal drug trade but the worst gang violence.

Thursday's roundup followed a similar one targeting gang members late last month, and police say that by targeting those areas they hope that they will drive down violent crime, an issue that has become of particular concern as statistics from late 2011 and January of this year have shown an increase in homicides.

The lethal mixture of drugs and violence was as obvious as the words scrawled on the sidewalk outside the house where one of the suspected drug dealers was captured.

“They worked on this corner, they did,” said Adolph Leggin, 66, motioning to two of the three names he recognized as local drug dealers who were shot to death last year.

McCarthy has said that the undercover operations would be part of a wider effort that will include more uniformed patrols, including foot patrols, in areas to make sure the open-air drug markets don't reestablish themselves.

That is a marked difference, he said, from the department's since-disbanded Targeted Response Unit, when the Mobile Strike Force would swoop into the neighborhood, make arrests and then leave.

O'Grady said residents will now see that the police are committed to their neighborhood.

“We want them to know we're not just an occupying force, (that) we are there every day, that they can depend on us,” he said.

The effort is just a few weeks old, clearly not enough time to determine if what is being done will bring down the crime rate in a significant way as Emanuel and McCarthy hope it will.

Tio Hardiman, executive director of CeaseFire, an anti-violence group, was skeptical that the effort will have the long term effect on the targeted neighborhoods.

“It's been tried before and we wish police the best,” said Hardiman. “At the same time we have to have other solutions than just increased police presence and mass arrests.”

But Leggin said he is encouraged by what he's seen so far in the weeks since police focused their effort on the community where he's lived for more than 50 years.

“I come home now and I see nobody (dealing drugs) on this corner,” Leggin said.

View the original article here

Sinofsky shows off Windows 8 on ARM and Office15 - Register

2012-02-11T14:52:00.000-05:00

Windows boss Stephen Sinofsky has ended months of speculation with the first (fairly) detailed drilldown into Windows 8 on ARM (WOA) platform, and says it should be ready for a simultaneous launch with its x86/64 counterpart.

Devices running WOA will come with both a Metro touch-based interface and the more traditional desktop, and will run Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote applications with full document compatibility with x86/64 systems. Photo sharing, calendar, mail, storage and contact applications will also be the same as on ARM and x86/64. But that’s it for compatibility – all other apps on WOA have to be Metro-style WinRT and come via the Windows Store.

Office 15 Excel will be compatible with your desktop

Virtualized code on the platform is out too. The process of running emulators for x86/64 applications was far too battery and processor-heavy, and too unstable Sinofsky said, so they would have to be built in an entirely new style. That said, Microsoft said it is making life as easy as possible for developers to compile WinRT applications in Visual Studio.

“If we enabled the broad porting of existing code we would fail to deliver on our commitment to longer battery life, predictable performance, and especially a reliable experience over time,” he said. “The conventions used by today’s Windows apps do not necessarily provide this, whether it is background processes, polling loops, timers, system hooks, startup programs, registry changes, kernel mode code, admin rights, unsigned drivers, add-ins, or a host of other common techniques.”

Metro-only on most WOA apps

WOA will come with Internet Explorer 10, support for HTML5 , hardware accelerated graphics and also makes greater use of integrated hardware subsystems for more power efficiency. Sinofsky claimed this would make multitasking, such as playing a movie and reading a document, much more power efficient.

Power is the key the whole deal. WOA devices aren’t designed to be switched on and off, but left in standby, for weeks it is claimed. Sinofsky stressed how closely Redmond was working with Nvidia, Qualcomm and Texas Instruments to develop these devices – almost exclusively fondleslabs one would imagine - that can match what’s on the market today, with the iPad the obvious target.

The first devices should be in the hands of a few, pre-picked developers next month and Office 15 is already out to a similar group of Microsoft testers. The Windows 8 Consumer Preview is also due out next month, and Sinofsky pointed out the name change from “beta” was because, to some companies (no names mentioned,) the meaning of the term beta as "testing release available for free to try out," seemed to have changed.

Microsoft is stressing that the two different styles will be distinctly branded to avoid consumer confusion and would have standardized connections via USB 3.0 and Bluetooth. The clunky units in the blog video will be replaced with fondleslabs designed around “industrial design, long battery life, and integrated quality,” Sinofsky promised. ®

View the original article here

FBI releases file on Apple co-founder Steve Jobs - Los Angeles Times

2012-02-11T09:44:00.000-05:00

Questionable moral character, use of illegal drugs, the abandonment of a child and a willingness to distort reality: Welcome to the FBI dossier of Steve Jobs.

On Thursday the agency released a file on Jobs that it had compiled in 1991, when the Apple Inc. co-founder was in the running for an appointment under President George H.W. Bush. Included in the 191-page document are confirmations of Jobs' dabblings in marijuana and LSD, his strained relationship with a high school girlfriend with whom he had a child out of wedlock and even some scribbled notes from a time he received a bomb threat in 1985.

Much of the information about Jobs' youth, business dealings and volatile personality have been widely known for years and received fresh attention after a lengthy biography was published after Jobs' death in October. But in interviewing dozens of friends, ex-friends, neighbors, employees and colleagues, the FBI collected a trove of firsthand opinions of Jobs, one of the most secretive figures in American business.

Though many of his acquaintances agreed that Jobs was a brilliant business man and capable candidate for the post, not all of them praised Jobs equally.

One interviewee, apparently a former colleague at Apple, said that Jobs "will twist the truth in order to achieve whatever goal he has set for himself" and that he was a "deceptive person."

The person, whose name was redacted from the report along with everyone else's, went on to say Jobs would make a fine appointee to the President's Export Council, an committee that advises the president on international trade, as "honesty and integrity are not prerequisites to assume such a position." (The same person later admitted to the agent that he did not receive any Apple stock, "which would have made him quite wealthy now.")

One woman said Jobs was a "visionary and charismatic individual who was at the same time shallow and callous to people in his personal relationships" — a trait she ascribed to Jobs' "narcissism and shallowness."

More than one interviewee brought up Jobs' troubled relationship with his high school girlfriend, Chrisann Brennan, who was also the mother of his first daughter, Lisa Brennan-Jobs. Jobs "basically abandoned [Brennan] and her daughter," one person said.

However, nearly everyone interviewed agreed that Jobs' intelligence, boundless energy and familiarity with the technology business would make him an excellent trade advisor.

Two interviewees called Jobs "strong willed, stubborn, hardworking, and driven, which they believe is why he is so successful."

The report contained some details of a bomb threat against Jobs in 1985, in which someone calling from a pay phone at the San Francisco airport claimed he had placed four bombs in the homes of Jobs and others and demanded $1 million. An investigation did not turn up any bombs and no suspect was located.

A few quirky details of Jobs' personal life were also buried in the report. He had a 2.65 grade-point average in high school, for instance. And as an adult he "did a great deal of jogging."

As far as his exercise habits, Jobs himself told agents that he was a member at the New York Athletic Club — the only organization he admitted to being part of.

Jobs was also known for being a good neighbor, who at his unadorned homes in Palo Alto and Woodside, Calif., often left his door unlocked and kept to himself.

He was a "quiet and unassuming individual," said a person who lived next door, who noted that Jobs had even "visited her last week to ensure some landscaping he was having done would not cause any problems."

david.sarno@latimes.com

deborah.netburn@latimes.com

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Catholic furor over birth control rule turns Democrats on one another - Christian Science Monitor

2012-02-11T04:17:00.000-05:00

So what does contraception at a Catholic hospital or college have to do with a $109 billion highway bill?

Skip to next paragraph

Nothing, it would seem.

But US senators can propose amendments on any subject. And the Obama administration’s proposed rule requiring church-affiliated organizations to provide health insurance that covers contraception has turned toxic.

It has thrown the White House back on defense after a rare spike of good economic news. It’s also dividing Democratic ranks at a time when both the White House and top Democratic leaders are urging a display of unity.

And that brings us back to the highway bill.

Senate Republicans wanted to get a vote on the matter as soon as possible. The amendment, proposed by Rep. Roy Blunt (R) of Missouri, would allow employers the right to provide employees with health coverage “consistent with their religious beliefs and moral convictions,” without risk of federal penalties.

“This bill would just simply say that those health-care providers don’t have to follow that mandate if it violates their faith principles,” said Senator Blunt in a floor speech on Thursday.

The measure, cosponsored by Sen. Ben Nelson (D) of Nebraska, prompted an objection by Senate majority leader Harry Reid, which blocked a floor vote.

“Republicans never lose an opportunity to mess up a good piece of legislation,” he said.

“They’re talking about a First Amendment right and I appreciate that,… but there’s no final rule," he said, suggesting that the rule is not yet set in stone. "Why don’t we just calm down and see what the final rule is.”

The US Conference of Catholic Bishops is not waiting. The USCCB, which initially opposed the health-care reform bill in 2010 in the fear that abortions could be federally funded, has called on Catholics across the nation to write to their elected representatives to protest the proposed rule.

“Never before has the federal government forced individuals and organizations to go out into the marketplace and buy a product that violates their conscience,” said USCCB President and Cardinal-designate Timothy Dolan.

On Wednesday, Speaker John Boehner (R) of Ohio pledged to overturn the rule.

While some Roman Catholic Democrats, such as Sens. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, John Kerry of Massachusetts, and Claire McCaskill of Missouri, have called on the White House to back off the proposed rule, others – also Roman Catholics – are rallying around the president.

“I am dumbfounded that in the year 2012 we still have to fight over birth control,” said Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D) of New York, in a statement on Thursday.

“It is sad that we have to stand here yet again to fight back against another overreach and intrusion into women’s lives. This is what it is – a political overreach to roll back access to birth control – not a religious issue,” she added.

View the original article here

Homeowners Get Bulk of the Benefits From Mortgage Plan - New York Times

2012-02-10T23:00:00.000-05:00

Some, like Jessica Cooper of Toledo, Ohio, will discover the program’s limitations.

Since she was laid off in June 2009, Ms. Copper and her husband have been pressing Bank of America to modify the terms of the $112,000 mortgage on their home. But because the loan is owned by the Federal Housing Administration, it is not covered. Similarly, Carlos Sandoval de Leon has been seeking a break from Wells Fargo on the $662,000 he owes on a Brooklyn brownstone. But because that mortgage is held by a private investor, it too falls outside the scope of the agreement, which mostly covers loans held by the banks themselves.

The bulk of the settlement, about $20 billion, would go to one million American homeowners who would have their mortgage debts reduced or their loans refinanced at a lower interest rate. It also includes $1.5 billion for roughly 750,000 people who lost their homes to foreclosure between 2008 and 2011, with each receiving between $1,500 and $2,000.

Economists do not expect a big boost for the economy, in part because the banks have three years to distribute the aid. Some experts questioned whether the accord would do much to stabilize the housing market and its glut of millions of foreclosed homes.

Critics also pointed to the fact that millions of mortgages owned by the government’s housing finance agencies, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, would not be covered under the deal, excluding about half the nation’s mortgages.

“The effect of this settlement will be catalytic,” Shaun Donovan, the secretary of Housing and Urban Development, said in an interview.

He predicted it would spur more loan modifications through existing government programs as well as principal reductions — when loan debt is written down for borrowers who owe more than their home is worth — as well as additional mortgage relief provided by banks.

“We do believe there should be principal reduction at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac,” he added. “We’ve been disappointed that this hasn’t happened thus far.” He said the government had proposed incentives for Fannie and Freddie to cut loan balances under an existing program, and the two mortgage giants were studying the idea.

Advocates for homeowners facing foreclosure expressed cautious optimism after the settlement was announced Thursday morning in Washington. “We’re hopeful,” said Joseph Sant, a lawyer at Staten Island Legal Services’ homeowner defense project. “But we had a lot of programs that are good on paper. What will make the difference is that it’s vigorously enforced.”

President Obama declared the deal the largest federal-state settlement in the nation’s history.

“No compensation, no amount of money, no measure of justice is enough to make it right for a family who’s had their piece of the American dream wrongly taken from them,” he said. “And no action, no matter how meaningful, is going to by itself entirely heal the housing market. But this settlement is a start.”

Homeowners in two states — Florida and California — will reap more than half of the $26 billion settlement, a reflection of the disproportionate number of loans that are delinquent or exceed the value of the underlying property there, government regulators said.

The amounts from individual banks were linked to their share of the servicing market. The biggest, Bank of America, would provide $11.8 billion, followed by $5.4 billion from Wells Fargo, $5.3 billion from JPMorgan Chase, $2.2 billion from Citigroup and $310 million from Ally. Bank of America would contribute an additional $1 billion for Federal Housing Administration loans.

And if nine other major mortgage servicers join the pact, a possibility that is now under discussion with the government, the total package could rise to $30 billion.

Banks stocks were mixed in trading Thursday, but shares of Bank of America rose 0.62 percent to $8.18, its highest level since September. Much of the money to pay for the settlement has already been reserved, and investors expect the settlement to remove at least one legal worry for Bank of America.

Shaila Dewan contributed reporting.

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Russians drill into Lake Vostok, begin search for life under Antartica's surface - Washington Post

2012-02-10T19:58:00.000-05:00

Finding microbes may not sound like much. But they were the first form of Earth life eons before plants and animals existed.

If scientists find these tiny germs in Lake Vostok, it bolsters already strong hope that elsewhere in our solar system, life also might exist where once it didn’t seem possible.

There are plenty of examples of life forms existing in the most improbable of places:

—A tiny shrimp was captured on a NASA video floating under thick ice sheets in a different part of Antarctica.

—Tubeworms somehow get needed energy from violent hydrothermal vents in the deepest Pacific and Atlantic oceans.

—A germ called “the world’s toughest bacterium” by the Guinness Book of World Records and also termed “Conan the Bacterium” was found 55 years ago in a can of meat. It survives and even repairs itself in radiation that would be deadly to cockroaches.

Some in the scientific community expressed concern that the drilling techniques used to reach Lake Vostok could contaminate the pristine lake. As Marc Kaufman explained:

The long effort has met with controversy over some of the chemicals and techniques used in the drilling. Many have been concerned that pristine Lake Vostok — which hasn’t felt the wind for more than 20 million years and may well be home to previously unknown life forms — could be contaminated by the kerosene, Freon and other materials used in the drilling.

John Priscu of Montana State University, an Antarctica specialist who has been in periodic contact with the Russian team, said rumors are flying that the lake was indeed pierced but that no information has been formally announced.

“If they were successful, their efforts will transform the way we do science in Antarctica and provide us with an entirely new view of what exists under the vast Antarctic ice sheet,” he said in an e-mail.

Many scientists see Vostok as not only a last frontier on Earth but also a potential gold mine for learning about possible conditions on Jupiter’s moon Europa or Saturn’s moon Encedadus. Each is covered by a thick shell of ice with liquid water below, warmed by either the inner heat of the moon or by tidal forces.

The United States and Britain will begin drilling later this year into small subglacial Antarctic lakes. Scientists estimate that there are about 200 of these lakes beneath the ice sheet.

Reports emerged as the drilling effort continued that Lake Vostok had been the site of a secret Nazi base. As Elizabeth Flock reported:

When state-run Russian news agency RIA Novosti released a report Monday that said Russian scientists had drilled into the deep, dark and previously untouched Lake Vostok, a curious detail was buried farther down in the story.

Ria Novosti reported that near the end of the World War II, the Nazis moved to the South Pole and began constructing a base at Lake Vostok. The agency quotes German Grand Admiral Karl Dontiz, who apparently said in 1943: “Germany's submarine fleet is proud that it created an unassailable fortress for the Fuehrer on the other end of the world,” in Antarctica.

Is there any truth to the Russian rumors? Or is this a case of a news agency implementing Godwin’s law — the longer a discussion goes, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis approaches.

Taken another way: Why isn’t it enough to relish in the sheer awe of reaching 2.2 miles below the surface of Antarctica to explore a hidden lake?

Discovery News scoffs at the idea of a Nazi base there, calling it “Nazi paranoia” and “World War II conspiracy theories” from Moscow. The Moscow Times dismisses the idea as just “rumors.” Most news sites, including The Post, ignored Ria Novosti’s theory.

More from The Washington Post

Sheltering abundant microbial life miles below icy surface

Graphic: The subglacial Lake Vostok

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Graphic words, photos mark Virginia murder trial - USA TODAY

2012-02-10T14:38:00.000-05:00

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Mike Burns testified Thursday that he saw George Huguely choking Yeardley Love little more than two months before her death in 2010.

Steve Helber, AP

Lexie Love, left, sister of Yeardley Love, and Sharon Love, the victim's mother, had front-row seats Thursday for graphic testimony and photographic evidence from first responders.

Steve Helber, AP

Lexie Love, left, sister of Yeardley Love, and Sharon Love, the victim's mother, had front-row seats Thursday for graphic testimony and photographic evidence from first responders.

Burns then played lacrosse for a rival team, North Carolina, and prosecutors say he was the romantic rival whose relationship with Yeardley Love fueled a jealous rage in Huguely, her former boyfriend.

Burns testified he was at a party when he heard a woman crying "help me, help me." Burns said he opened a door to find Huguely on his back in bed, with Love on her back on top of him. Burns said Huguely's arm was wound tightly around Love's neck.

Burns demonstrated the hold for the jury in Charlottesville Circuit Court, where Huguely is on trial for first-degree murder. Love died May 3, 2010, only weeks after the late-February party.

Burns said Huguely released his hold and rolled over when Burns came in the room and that Love ran out of the room. "She just said 'Thank you so much,' " Burns said. "She also said she couldn't breathe. She was hysterically crying."

Huguely and Love both played on lacrosse teams at the University of Virginia and Burns said he was in Charlottesville with some teammates to socialize with some UVa players.

Burns said he met Love, a native of Cockeysville, Md., at the Preakness in Baltimore in 2008 and that they also spent time together in 2009 when he worked a summer job in New York but that they were otherwise not frequently in contact. He said he slept at her apartment after the February party.

Defense attorney Francis McQ. Lawrence asked Burns if he "hooked up" with Love, a phrase Lawrence said could mean something short of sex. Burns said he and Love hooked up when they met at the Preakness, after he walked in on the choke hold and when Love and some friends visited UNC in late April.

Prosecutor Warner D. Chapman said in his opening statement Wednesday that Huguely sent Love an email that said "I should have killed you" when he learned she had slept with Burns. Lawrence said that was not a threat, just an expression.

Earlier Thursday, Love's mother, Sharon, and sister, Lexie, sobbed as the jury viewed graphic photos of Love's body. They and other trial spectators couldn't see the pictures from where they sat, but they could hear the testimony of first responders who described Love's swollen right eye and dried blood around her nose and mouth.

Huguely, who could have seen the pictures from his seat at the defense table, dipped his head and appeared to avert his eyes. He has pleaded not guilty to six charges.

K.W. Blackwell, a Charlottesville police officer, said he responded to a call for "alcohol overdose" but said when he saw Love's body he believed she had been attacked.

Michael Hanshew, an EMT that night, said medics tried to revive her for 25 minutes but there was no sign of life.

Charlottesville Police Detective Shawn Bayles testified that he treated the room as a crime scene when he saw a large hole in the door to Love's bedroom. He also said one EMT brought it to his attention that the toilet seat in Love's bathroom was left up.

Danny Mistry, a physician for many UVa teams, testified Love was in peak physical condition. He said he ran EKGs on her three times that he said showed her use of the prescription drug Adderall did not have an adverse effect on her heart.

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Pentagon to ease restrictions on women in some combat roles - Washington Post

2012-02-10T10:44:00.000-05:00

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Pentagon to ease restrictions on women in some combat rolesView Photo Gallery — Military officials say a ban on women serving in front-line infantry and armor units as well as special operations forces such as the Navy SEALs will be maintained. View photos of elite women soldiers in Afghanistan.

Text SizePrintE-mailReprints By Craig Whitlock,

The Pentagon will maintain bans on women serving in most ground combat units, defense officials said Thursday, despite pressure from lawmakers and female veterans who called the restrictions outdated after a decade of war.

After taking more than a year to review its policies on orders from Congress, the Defense Department announced that it would open about 14,000 combat-related positions to female troops, including tank mechanics and intelligence officers on the front lines.

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The Pentagon is unveiling plans Thursday to allow women to serve in thousands of military jobs closer to the front lines, reflecting the realities of the last decade of war in Iraq and Afghanistan. (Feb. 9)

But the Pentagon said it would keep 238,000 other positions — about one-fifth of the regular active-duty military — off-limits to women, pending further reviews. Virtually all of those jobs are in the Army and Marine Corps.

Pentagon officials said that they were committed to lifting barriers to women but that it was difficult to make sweeping changes on the battlefield during a time of war.

“Sometimes this takes longer than you’d like,” said Virginia S. Penrod, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for military personnel policy. “It may appear too slow to some, but I see this as a great step forward.”

In the 1970s, Penrod recalled, she was one of the first women allowed to serve at Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota. Female troops had previously been banned there because it was “too cold,” she said, adding that the military has come a long way since then.

Advocates for women in the military, however, accused the Pentagon of dragging its feet and only belatedly recognizing the critical role that female troops have played in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. They said many of the job openings announced by the Pentagon merely codify the reality on the battlefield, where commanders have stretched rules for years to allow women to bear arms and support ground combat units.

Since 2001, about 280,000 women have deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, according to Defense Department statistics; 144 have been killed, and 865 have been wounded.

The biggest previous advance for women in uniform came in 1994, when the Clinton administration removed restrictions on more than a quarter-million troop slots. Since then, however, the Pentagon has kept in place a prohibition on women serving in units whose primary mission is “direct” ground combat, such as artillery, infantry and tank units.

“Since then, it’s been drip, drip, drip,” said Nancy Duff Campbell, co-president of the National Women’s Law Center, expressing frustration with what she called incremental changes. “This is the pattern that they have been following for years.”

Pressure for more changes has been building in Congress, particularly among female lawmakers.

In March, a congressional commission recommended that the ban on women serving in ground combat units be overturned as part of a broader effort to increase diversity in the armed forces, particularly in the officer ranks.

Congress separately ordered the Defense Department to review the ban and submit recommendations. That review was due last April, but the Pentagon took an extra 10 months to complete it.

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