Obama orders review of NASA plan to return to moon

NASA's human spaceflight program gets top-level review

By Irene Klotz

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., May 7 (Reuters) - The Obama administration has ordered a top-level review of the U.S. human spaceflight program that has been focused on returning astronauts to the moon by 2020, officials said on Thursday.

Former Lockheed Martin (LMT.N: Quote, Profile, Research) Chairman and Chief Executive Norm Augustine will head a blue-ribbon panel charged with assessing NASA's progress on a space transportation system to replace the retiring space shuttle fleet.

"Clearly if we're on the wrong path, we should change, but if you're asking me do I think we're on the wrong path, the answer is no," Chris Scolese, NASA's acting administrator, said at a news conference to unveil the agency's $18.7 billion spending plan for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1.

The review, which is due by August, will focus on the U.S. space agency's Ares rocket program and the Orion capsule that is being designed to ferry astronauts to the International Space Station as well as to the lunar surface.

Prime contractors for the shuttle replacement program include Boeing Co (BA.N: Quote, Profile, Research), Alliant Techsystems Inc (ATK.N: Quote, Profile, Research), Pratt & Whitney, a United Technologies Corp (UTX.N: Quote, Profile, Research) unit, which are building the new Ares rocket; and Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N: Quote, Profile, Research), which is developing the Orion capsule spacecraft.

The space shuttles are due to be retired by Sept. 30, 2010, after eight more flights to assemble and outfit the space station and a final servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope that is scheduled for launch on Monday.

The $3.2 billion budget request for space shuttle operations includes funds for an added flight to carry the $1.5 billion Alpha Magnet Spectrometer particle physics experiment to the station for installation and operation.

Scolese said the review panel also will address extending NASA support of the space station beyond 2016 and possibly the lunar initiative.

BUSH'S MOON PLANS

In January 2004, President George W. Bush announced plans for the United States to return to the moon by 2020 and build a way station there for flights to Mars. NASA's last human flight to the moon was in 1972.

The agency also is requesting $150 million to help foster a commercially developed capsule to fly crew members to the space station.

Space Exploration Technologies, a California firm known as SpaceX, has been working under a NASA contract to develop its Dragon capsule to haul cargo to the outpost. The contract includes an option for a passenger system, which NASA said it intends to exercise.

NASA's spending plan is $2 billion richer than the budget it received two years ago, largely the result of federal economic stimulus dollars.

In part, the extra funding will go toward an expanded global climate change research program, a new initiative to develop environmentally more benign aviation technologies, and new science programs including a joint U.S.-European mission to Jupiter's ocean-bearing moon Europa.

(Editing by Jane Sutton and Will Dunham)

Google's Latest Domination

By chris.thompson - The Big Money

<. But you haven't been looking at mobile Internet devices, which everyone agrees will be the most dynamic and explosive piece of the online world for years to come. According to a new report from the Internet marketing firm Net Applications, Google accounp>You may think Google (GOOG) dominates the search market, with 63.7 percent of all searches conducted in the United States compared with Yahoo's (YHOO) 20 percentts for 97.5 percent of all mobile phone searches. 97.5 percent. Now that's what we call dominance.

And the company's fortunes keep rising elsewhere as well. BusinessWeek spreads around a rumor that Dell (DELL) is exploring the option of using the Android operating system for a new line of cheap laptops. This makes Dell the second major computer manufacturer to flirt with abandoning Windows for Android; Hewlett-Packard announced it was looking into Android a few months back. Google has an outright monopoly on mobile search, and it's threatening to eat into Microsoft's (MSFT) core business. What does it do for an encore?

Ah, yes: Twitter. For months, gossipmongers like us have been spreading word that Google might snatch up the microblogging company for a few hundred million. After all, Twitter's main potential value lies in searching all those tweets in real time and the advertising that could accompany the search results. What business model does that sound like to you?

And Google's not alone in reportedly salivating over all that searchable data. Apple has reportedly offered $700 million to make Twitter a part of the Steve Jobs family. In fact, Twitter Vice President of Operations Santosh Jayaram (who just happens to be Google's former head of search quality) just announced a new breakthrough in searching tweets. Now, Twitter's search engine will also crawl over each tweet, find any links people embedded in them, scan the linked page, and index the content to produce even more accurate results. In addition, Twitter's search engine will also rank results according to whatever Internet or cultural trend is hot at the moment, as well as the popularity of each twitterer. Now everyone searching on Twitter gets to know what Ashton Kutcher thinks, whether they want to or not.

Sounds perfect for Google, right? They've got the search know-how, and Twitter's got the next big thing. Nonetheless, Twitter co-founder Biz Stone maintains that he won't sell the company—to Google or anyone else. In case anyone didn't get the message, he even went on The View to tell Barbara Walters. Got that, Eric Schmidt? Twitter's not for sale. Until it is, of course.

© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved

New Documentary Gives Inside Look at Alzheimer's

Maria Shriver Talks About How the Disease Touched Her Life

By IMAEYEN IBANGA

When her father was diagnosed six years ago with Alzheimer's disease, California first lady Maria Shriver learned firsthand just how devastating it can be.

"At the age of 93, my dad still goes to Mass every day. And believe it or not, he still remembers the Hail Mary. But he doesn't remember me, Maria. I'd be lying if I didn't admit that still makes me cry. "

Shriver has become so passionate about the issue that she even testified before congress. Afterward, she said her office was inundated with letters from people who could relate to what's happening to her family and her father, Sargent Shriver.

Now, the author and journalist is giving others the opportunity to get the same look at the disease with her documentary "The Alzheimer's Project."

Shriver, who executive produced the program that will air on HBO beginning May 10, hopes to reach a broad audience.

Watch Maria Shriver live on "Good Morning America" Thursday as she talks about "The Alzheimer's Project."

The four-part series will tackle topics like memory loss, living with Alzheimer's disease and the science of finding a cure.

The Future of Alzheimer's

Someone gets Alzheimer's disease every 70 seconds and, currently, 5.3 million people in the United States live with the condition, according to the Alzheimer's Association.

The fight to learn more about the disease and pinpoint a cure has become more fevered as a bevy of baby boomers quickly march toward their senior years. It all adds up to a heavy burden on the health care system.

The direct and indirect costs of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias to Medicaid and Medicare amounts to more than $148 billion annually, according to the Alzheimer's Association.

The financial burden also falls to those caring for an Alzheimer's patient.

Alzheimer's Resources

Click here for more information and resources from ABC News on Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's Association CareSource offers resources to help manage caregiving responsibilities, such as financial decisions and skills for caring for loved ones every day.

On the organization's Web site, you can find message boards, create a calendar to keep track of tasks with your family, and locate assisted living facilities in your area.

The Alzheimer's Association offers a Doctor's Appointment Checklist to help family members prepare for effective doctor visits and keep track of questions.

Google CEO Says Staying on Apple Board

By SCOTT MORRISON

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--Google Inc. Chief Executive Eric Schmidt said Thursday he had not considered resigning from Apple Inc.'s board, despite news that the Federal Trade Commission is looking into whether the overlap of directors on both companies' boards violates antitrust laws.

"I don't think Apple sees Google as a primary competitor," he told reporters before the company's annual shareholder meeting.

Mr. Schmidt has previously said he recuses himself from the boardroom when Apple's directors discuss the company's popular iPhone. Google makes Android software that powers phones made by Apple rivals.

David Drummond, Google's chief legal officer, said the company feels confident that Mr. Schmidt's presence on Apple's board doesn't violate the test of "overlapping revenue."

Google makes Android available to hardware partners free.

Write to Scott Morrison at scott.morrison@dowjones.com

Let's Make Mother's Day a Global Reality

Progress is being made to save the lives of mothers and newborns around the world. Still, every minute, a woman dies of complications in pregnancy and childbirth, leaving her baby more likely to die within two years. Most of these deaths could be prevented. Join The Huffington Post and the Mothers Day Every Day campaign in the global movement to call upon world leaders to invest in health workers and strengthen health systems so that every day, everywhere in the world, all women and newborns have access to lifesaving care.

There is a saying in Africa that to find out you are pregnant is to have one foot in the grave. It must sound strange to Americans, since becoming a mother is so celebrated here. But in the developing world, more women die from pregnancy and childbirth than any other cause. In my native Ethiopia, children are treasured, yet dying in childbirth is a fact of life. I now live in the U.S. and had my two children here, where death in childbirth is almost nonexistent, so I've lived the difference. That difference leaves me haunted by what pregnancy and childbirth means for so many women in places like Ethiopia.

Every minute, a woman dies in childbirth, mostly from preventable causes. Ninety-nine percent of those deaths occur in the developing world. No other health disparity is so stark; virtually every woman who dies giving birth lives in a poor country. And as horrific as this statistic is, it hides the true scope of the problem. For every woman who dies in childbirth, twenty more will suffer debilitating and often lifelong injuries. Injuries such as fistula -- literally a hole between the mother's vagina and her bladder or rectum that is caused by obstructed labor and avoided in the developed world through medical intervention -- often leave women isolated, rejected by their communities and unable to support themselves.

When a mother is harmed, her community is devastated. Her children are up to ten times more likely to die within two years. They are less likely to be immunized, more likely to be malnourished, more likely to contract HIV and more likely to be exploited. Older children are denied an education because they must care for siblings or work to feed their families. Much attention is justifiably paid to children's health issues but one of the best ways to protect a child's health and future is to protect his or her mother.

Maternal mortality isn't just a family tragedy or a problem for the developing world. It affects us all. We can't end poverty if we fail to save the lives of our world's mothers. USAID estimates that the world economy loses $15.5 billion dollars each year because of preventable maternal deaths. When we lose our mothers, we lessen productivity, deepen gender inequality and destabilize societies. When our mothers are alive and healthy, they do extraordinary things...like the mothers of Plaza de Mayo, who marched in Argentinean plazas, defying the military junta dictatorship and demanding the whereabouts of their abducted children...or the Liberian mothers who faced down civil war armed only with T-shirts and courage. If we are going to solve the unbelievable global challenges that face us all, we're going to need our mothers.

The good news is that we can prevent these deaths. The solutions are known and relatively inexpensive. The developed world has proven that eradication is possible over time, but other countries have demonstrated that serious progress is within reach quickly. Thailand, Egypt, Nepal and Honduras have each dramatically reduced maternal mortality in the last decade -- in stark contrast to the worldwide rate, which has fallen by less than one percent since 1990. Their individual programs varied, but each country shared an overriding strategic objective: a national commitment to reducing maternal mortality.

The United States has a historic opportunity to lead the fight against maternal deaths and we should seize it. There is a bill in the House of Representatives right now -- the Newborn, Child and Mother Survival Act of 2009 -- which would put saving mothers' and children's lives at the center of U.S. foreign aid. The Newborn, Child and Mother Survival Act of 2009 (H.R. 1410) establishes a comprehensive strategy to reduce deaths and bring cost-effective health tools within reach for the world's poorest nations. However, the bill won't even come up for a vote until our representatives know that voters understand that saving the lives of mothers must be central to our investments in the developing world. And governments won't invest in women's health until they know it is a voter priority. Call or write your representative and tell them that you expect them to support this bill.

And there are other ways to get involved. You can check out my Foundation's website -- www.theliyakebedefoundation.org or learn more from the Mothers Day Every Day U.S. advocacy campaign sponsored by the White Ribbon Alliance and CARE - www.mothersdayeveryday.org.

Investing in women's lives is an investment in sustainable development, in human rights, in future generations -- and consequently in our own long-term national interests.

Mother's Day is May 10th. This Mother's Day, remember to thank your mother, but also take a moment to voice your support for the health and safety of mothers worldwide.

The White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood and CARE, two organizations at the forefront of global women's health issues, have joined Secretary Donna Shalala and UNICEF Executive Director Ann Veneman and a distinguished group of advocates to promote Mothers Day Every Day, a campaign that raises awareness and advocates for greater U.S. leadership to improve maternal and newborn health globally. To learn more, visit www.mothersdayeveryday.org.

Check out the rest of our Countdown to Mother's Day series by clicking here

Michael Jackson sued for $44m by former spokeswoman

Michael Jackson is being sued for $44 million (£29m) by his former spokeswoman Raymone Bain, who claims the singer breached an employment contract.

By Caroline Hedley in Los Angeles

The singer, who is currently rehearsing for a series of 'comeback' live dates in London in July, has been served with a lawsuit by Bain, who worked as Jackson's publicist for five years.

In a video statement released on the internet, Bain alleged that her erstwhile employer "elected not to honour the financial obligations of our contractual relationships", despite her "numerous attempts" to amicably resolve the matter.

She added that she was "sincerely disappointed in Mr. Jackson's failure to honor his obligations".

Blain worked as Jackson's representative during one of the most turbulent periods of his career - including his 2005 child abuse trial.

She added: "It is with deep regret that I find myself at this place, having to file a lawsuit against my longtime employer, and someone whom I have greatly admired and respected, Michael Jackson".

Jackson's much-vaunted comeback - over a million tickets have been sold for 50 shows at London's O2 arena - has been marred by a string of legal troubles.

He recently went to court to prevent a Los Angeles auction firm from selling the contents of his now-defunct former residence, Neverland.

Earlier this year, Jackson was sued by the director of his iconic Thriller music video. John Landis claims the 'King of Pop' failed to provide any accounting for the Thriller profits for the past four years 'and earlier', "and failed to pay Landis his 50 per cent cut of the net proceeds".

Last year, the beleaguered star was sued for $7 million (£4.6m) by a Bahraini prince, who accused him of failing to deliver an album he had financed.

Jackson has yet to comment on the latest lawsuit.

Sufi Mohammad’s son killed in Lower Dir shelling

LOWER DIR: Sufi Mohammad’s son Kifyatullah has been killed in shelling during the security forces’ operation in Lower Dir’s Maidan area, said family sources. Meanwhile, intense clashes between militants and security forces continued in Maidan as 15 troops went missing in the district.

‘I have been informed by the family of Maulana Sufi Mohammad that his son, Kifayatullah, has died and his brother-in-law is seriously injured,’ said the TNSM spokesman, Ameer Izzat Khan.

The TNSM chief, Sufi Mohammad, has been calling for an end to the military operation in the area since it started, threatening to abandon the peace deal with the government and making numerous objections to the implementation of the Nizam-i-Adl.

Following this event it is uncertain how the TNSM chief will react, making the future of the peace deal highly sketchy.

On the other hand, a militant commander in Maidan, Mifthahuddin, talking to DawnNews, claimed that they had killed at least 12 security personnel in Gumbar and their bodies were lying in the bazaar.

Security officials and independent sources are yet to confirm the death of the security personnel but have confirmed that a fierce gun battle had erupted between the militants and security forces in Gumbar and casualties were feared.