Thế giới của Sao: tháng 5 2013

Thứ Tư, 15 tháng 5, 2013

Behind the wheel of 'The Beast'

President Obama's limousine.General Motors

When it comes to transportation for the President of the United States, few details are left to chance and compromise. For long-haul travel by air, the President has Air Force One, supported by the Marine One helicopter for shorter trips.

On the ground, the preferred method for transporting the president is The Beast: a bespoke Cadillac limousine designed to securely transport the leader of the free world and his entourage in comfort and extreme safety.

To experience what it might be like to chauffeur the president, Fox News was invited to take the wheel of The Beast.

No, not the real one, but a custom-built replica created for the upcoming summer blockbuster "White House Down," an action-packed thriller starring Jamie Foxx, Channing Tatum and Maggie Gyllenhaal.

The project to build The Beast was headed by Cyril O’Neil of Ghostlight Industries, a company that produces stunt cars for Hollywood, and the film’s action sequence supervisor Graham Kelly. Even for this experienced team, trying to recreate the most top secret Cadillac in the world presented its challenges.

“No one knew what it looked like inside,” Kelly said. “We had one photograph of the door open with the president getting out.”

According to O’Neil, “a good friend of mine, relatively high up the food chain at the FBI, called a good friend of his at the Secret Service.” After repeated pleading for information, however, the Feds remained circumspect on details of the president’s limousine, which debuted in 2009. So they winged it as best they could.

“We made the assumption that the headlight was the same as in a 2007 Cadillac Escalade,” O’Neil said. “From that, we measured its headlight, and were able to extrapolate just how big the rest of the car would be.”

Starting with the underpinnings of a Chevrolet Suburban, the crew designed a fiberglass body reminiscent of the presidential limousine. Although the real Beast is believed to ride on the chassis of the larger Chevrolet Topkick medium-duty truck, the result of their efforts looks convincingly real.

Its true size reveals itself only as you approach it, when it becomes clear that The Beast is far larger than its sedan-like shape implies from a distance.

“It’s been so well designed proportionally that, when you see it without any reference to anything beside it, it looks like a Cadillac,” Kelly said.

From the outside, The Beast replica looks every bit the real thing, from its dwarfing length and height to its shockingly large 35-inch wheels. While the stunt car does not feature true armor-plating or bulletproof glass, its doors and window panes are appropriately thick. A fuel tank specifically designed for the rigors of stunt work is mounted in the trunk.

The sparsely equipped interior features rear-facing jump seats, as The Beast is presumed to have, along with a mock-up of the backseat telephone fitted with direct lines to key political figures. The non-working instrument panel and secondary controls and nicked blue vinyl upholstery are the most telling indicators that this is not, in fact, the president’s real ride.

Unlike President Obama’s reportedly diesel-fueled monster, the movie car is powered by a Chevrolet-sourced LS3 V-8 engine tasked with hauling around its 9,500-pound weight.

During a brief stint behind the wheel, on the back lot of Sony Picture Studios in Culver City, The Beast lived up to its nickname and felt positively ponderous to drive. At startup, the protester-quieting roar from the engine was loud enough to be heard on the next soundstage. Steering and braking feel was remarkably light for such a heavy vehicle, but taking a corner was similar to maneuvering a slipping Zamboni, requiring advanced planning and a fair amount of courage.

While the nearly 5-ton Beast seemed to take forever to accelerate on the short course provided, it had enough oomph to convince that it could reach and cruise at highway speeds, which Kelly was happy to confirm.

“Once you get it going, it will do 100 mph comfortably,” Kelly said. “It’s just about getting it there.”

Kelly and O’Neil were mum on specific stunts performed by the Beast and three identical vehicles constructed for the yet-to-be released film, but alluded to high-speed drifting and jump sequences.

“It was used in anger in the film,” Kelly said. “We did some pretty fast drifting on mud. We turned it into a rally car.”

While boisterous driving is far from the modus operandi of the president’s driver, a rally car as presidential transportation is an idea enthusiasts from both the left and right side of the road could get behind.

"White House Down" premieres nationwide on June 28.

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Scandals prompt comparisons between Nixon, Obama administrations

In this split image, former U.S. President Richard M. Nixon gives his farewell speech to members of his cabinet and staff in the East Room of the White House, following his resignation Aug. 9, 1974. And President Barack Obama speaks on the Internal Revenue Service's targeting of conservative groups for extra tax scrutiny in the East Room of the White House in Washington, May 15, 2013Reuters/AP

The chorus of comparisons between President Obama and the only president to resign in disgrace is growing by the day, as the administration’s scandals appear to pile up.

Whether the comparisons are fair or not, columnist George Will perhaps led the charge -- after citing the Article of Impeachment against President Nixon in an opinion piece this week.

Will recalled the line: "He has, acting personally and through his subordinates and agents, endeavored to cause, in violation of the constitutional rights of citizens, income tax audits or other income tax investigations to be initiated or conducted in a discriminatory manner."

Scores of websites and blogs have since invoked the Nixon comparison, as did Sen. Orrin Hatch, who speaking to reporters about the IRS scandal said Tuesday, "I've never seen anything quite like this, except in the past during the Nixon years."

The Boston Herald's front page on Tuesday was also emblazoned with the headline, "I Know Nothing," with a sub-headline reading: "(coincidentally, that's what Nixon said.)”

The president is dealing with several scandals at once, including the fallout from the Benghazi terror attack, the Justice Department’s seizing of phone records from the Associated Press and the IRS’ program of singling out Tea Party and other groups for scrutiny.

While Obama has called the IRS targeting of conservatives "outrageous," and late Wednesday announced the resignation of acting IRS Commissioner Steven Miller, investigations are just now getting under way.

There is no evidence, as of yet, that the scandal leads to the Oval Office. But the comparisons to Nixon are inevitable. While the disgraced Nixon did, indeed, use the IRS to target political enemies, he may have been seeking to avenge friends and supporters who, themselves, had been targeted by the IRS in earlier presidencies -- among them Elvis Presley, Billy Graham and John Wayne.

Regardless of the motive, one thing separates today’s IRS from that of earlier administrations -- its technological capability.

The IRS's mainframe computer in Martinsburg, W.Va., is among the world’s most powerful. As of October 2010, the Internal Revenue Service had the capability to sift through emailing patterns associated with millions of individual Internet addresses.

Sources tell Fox News the IRS continues to collect tax data, but they also are now acquiring huge volumes of personal information on taxpayers’ digital activities, from eBay auctions, Facebook posts, and, for the first time ever, credit card and e-payment transaction records.

And unlike in the Nixon administration, the IRS is, under the Obama Administration, set to expand its workforce by 15,000 to collect health information in accordance with provisions of the president's Affordable Care Act by the end of this year.

Jennifer Stefano, a member of Americans for Prosperity -- who gave up her own quest to form a Tea Party group with friends in 2010 after the IRS threatened to examine her emails, Facebook and Twitter accounts -- voiced concern of a scenario that was perhaps more Orwellian than Nixonian.

“What my concern is, is that four years after the IRS has expanded to police the nation's health care law, how many stories of abuse are going to emerge from this and what will be the impact? It will be far greater than sidelining political voices. It will affect their lives and their health. This is wrong,” she said.

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Benghazi emails show State Department had heavy hand in watering down account of attack

- Benghazi investigation:Questions that still need to be asked
- Where is Benghazi scandal headed?

WASHINGTON – State Department officials repeatedly objected to -- and tried to water down -- references to Al Qaeda and prior security warnings in the administration's initial internal story-line on the Benghazi attack, according to dozens of emails and notes released by the White House late Wednesday.

The documents also showed the White House, along with several other departments, played a role in editing the so-called "talking points," despite claims from the White House that it was barely involved. And they showed then-CIA Director David Petraeus objected to the watered-down version that would ultimately be used as the basis for U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice's flawed comments on several TV shows the Sunday after the attack.

The documents were released under pressure after whistle-blowers testified on the Hill and some email excerpts leaked to the media last week. The 100-page file showed that State Department officials were even more heavily involved in editing the "talking points" than was previously known.

One email sent the night of the Friday after the attack from an unknown official said: "The State Department had major reservations with much or most of the document."

Individual emails leading up to that assessment show State officials repeatedly objecting to the intelligence community's early version of events.

The early versions stated that "Islamic extremists with ties to Al Qaeda" participated in the assault and discussed links to militant group Ansar al Sharia -- and referenced prior attacks against western targets in Benghazi.

State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland complained that she had "serious concerns" about "arming members of Congress" to make assertions the administration was not making. "In same vein, why do we want Hill to be fingering Ansar al Sharia, when we aren't doing that ourselves until we have investigation results ... and the penultimate point could be abused by Members to beat the State Department for not paying attention to Agency warnings so why do we want to feed that either? Concerned ..."

She also wrote that the line saying the administration knows there were extremists among the demonstrators "will come back to us at podium."

In response to her concerns, Assistant Secretary of State David S. Adams voiced agreement. He said the line about prior incidents "will read to members like we had been repeatedly warned."

The White House had until now declined to make the documents public and had let congressional investigators review the documents without making copies.

The documents describe how the administration developed "talking points" to describe what the administration wanted to discuss publicly immediately after the Sept. 11, 2012, attack that killed U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Related Interactive

White House's Benghazi documents

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Meet the teenager who designed a safer nuclear power plant

Do nuclear power plants need a redesign? Critics of nuclear energy seem to think so, and so does nuclear energy advocate, Taylor Wilson. A physics wunderkind, Wilson became the youngest person to ever create fusion at age 14. And since graduating from high school last year, he's devoted himself to finding innovative solutions to the world's biggest problems.

The now nineteen-year-old Wilson recently spoke to a TED audience about his design for a small, modular fission reactor that is both less expensive and much safer to operate than today's nuclear reactors.

Its assembly-line construction, 30-year fuel life and low usage cost make Wilson's reactor an ideal source of electricity for both developing nations and space explorers, according to the young scientist.

To get an idea of how today's nuclear reactors work, Wilson first explained to his listeners at TED how electricity is produced using a steam turbine. In a steam turbine system, water boils and turns to steam, which turns the turbine and creates electricity.

Nuclear fission, Wilson said, is really just a fancy tool for getting the water in a steam turbine system to boil quickly and steadily.

Today's nuclear power plants produce steam for their turbines using pressurized-water reactors — or big pots of water under high pressure — which are heated up with help from uranium dioxide fuel rods encased in zirconium. These rods control and maintain the nuclear fission reaction.

When nuclear power was first used to heat water in a turbine system, it was a big advancement in existing technology. But Wilson said his idea for a redesign stemmed from the suspicion that it wasn't really the best way to do it.

"Is fission kind of played out, or is there something left to innovate here?" Wilson said he asked himself. "And I realized that I had hit upon something that I think has this huge potential to change the world."

Instead of finding a new way to boil water, Wilson's compact, molten salt reactor found a way to heat up gas. That is, really heat it up.

Wilson's fission reactor operates at 600 to 700 degrees Celsius. And because the laws of thermodynamics say that high temperatures lead to high efficiencies, this reactor is 45 to 50 percent efficient.

Traditional steam turbine systems are only 30 to 35 percent efficient because their reactors run at low temperatures of about 200 to 300 degrees Celsius.

And Wilson's reactor isn't just hot, it's also powerful. Despite its small size, the reactor generates between 50 and 100 megawatts of electricity, which is enough to power anywhere from 25,000 to 100,000 homes, according to Wilson.

Another innovative component of Wilson's take on nuclear fission is its source of fuel. The molten salt reactor runs off of "down-blended weapons pits." In other words, all the highly enriched uranium and weapons-grade plutonium collecting dust since the Cold War could be put to use for peaceful purposes.

And unlike traditional nuclear power plants, Wilson's miniature power plants would be buried below ground, making them a boon for security advocates.

According to Wilson, his reactor only needs to be refueled every 30 years, compared to the 18-month fuel cycle of most power plants. This means they can be sealed up underground for a long time, decreasing the risk of proliferation.

Wilson's reactor is also less prone to proliferation because it doesn't operate at high pressure like today's pressurized-water reactors or use ceramic control rods, which release hydrogen when heated and lead to explosions during nuclear power plant accidents, like the one at Fukushima in 2011.

In the event of an accident in one of Wilson's reactors, the fuel from the core would drain into a "sub-critical" setting- or tank- underneath the reactor, which neutralizes the reaction. The worst that could happen, according to Wilson, is that the reactor is destroyed.

"But we're not going to contaminate large quantities of land," said Wilson. "So I really think that in the, say, 20 years it's going to take us to get fusion and make fusion a reality, this could be the source of energy that provides carbon-free electricity."

Wilson said his idea could help combat climate change, bring affordable power to the developing world and power rockets to explore space.

"There's something really poetic about using nuclear power to propel us to the stars," Wilson said, "Because the stars are giant fusion reactors. They're giant nuclear cauldrons in the sky ... there's something poetic about perfecting nuclear fission and using it as a future source of innovative energy."

Email asklizzyp@gmail.com or follow her @techEpalermo. Follow us @TechNewsDaily, on Facebook or on Google+.

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Burma's president to visit White House on Monday

Published May 15, 2013

Associated Press

President Obama is set to welcome Burmese President Thein Sein to the White House Monday.

It will be the first visit by a Burma head of state in nearly 47 years and a sign of warming ties between the countries.

Last November, Obama became the first sitting U.S. president to visit the country. The trip was a step in administration efforts to end Burma's decades of diplomatic isolation and reward its shift from authoritarian rule.

White House press secretary Jay Carney says Obama looks forward to discussing the country's democratic transition, communal and ethnic tensions and providing economic opportunity for Burma's people.

An aide to Thein Sein said a cyclone due to hit western Burma on Friday could affect his decision to travel.

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Farming on Mars? NASA ponders food supply for 2030 mission

Future astronauts may grow some of their meals inside greenhouses, such as this Martian growth chamber, where fruits and vegetables could be grown hydroponically, without soil.Pat Rawlings/NASA
Food container for use aboard the International Space Station. Food not only provides nutrition for astronauts, but also enhances the psychological well-being of the crew by establishing a familiar element in an unfamiliar and hostile environmeNASA

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The first humans to live on Mars might not identify as astronauts, but farmers. To establish a sustainable settlement on Earth's solar system neighbor, space travelers will have to learn how to grow food on Mars — a job that could turn out to be one of the most vital, challenging and labor-intensive tasks at hand, experts say.

"One of the things that every gardener on the planet will know is producing food is hard — it is a non-trivial thing," Penelope Boston, director of the Cave and Karst Studies program at New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, said May 7 at the Humans 2 Mars Summit at George Washington University. "Up until several hundred years ago it occupied most of us for most of the time."

Early Mars colonists may have to revert to this mode of life to ensure their own survival, she suggested. [Cooking Lessons for Mock Mars Mission (Photos)]

Space settlers
NASA is actively engaged in researching how to farm on Mars and in space, as the agency is targeting its first manned Mars landing in the mid-2030s. And some NASA officials are wondering if that mission ought to be of long duration, rather than a short visit, given the difficulty of getting there and the possible benefits of an extended stay. "Sustained human presence — should that be our goal? I think that's a good discussion," Bill Gerstenmaier, associate administrator of NASA's Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate, said May 6.

'Gardening in a pressure suit is going to be a real trick.'

- Taber MacCallum, Paragon Space Development Corp. CEO

Yet growing food on Mars presents several significant challenges. While research on the International Space Station suggests plants can grow in microgravity, scientists don't know how the reduced gravity on Mars might affect different Earth crops. Mars' surface receives about half the sunlight Earth does, and any pressurized greenhouse enclosure will further block the light reaching plants, so supplemental light will be needed. Supplying that light requires a significant amount of power.

"In terms of the systems engineering required, it's not an insignificant challenge," said D. Marshall Porterfield, Life and Physical Sciences division director at NASA's Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. NASA has been studying using LED lighting to give plants only the wavelengths of light they need to boost efficiency, he said.

Researchers are also studying whether plants can survive under lower pressures than on Earth, because the more pressure inside a greenhouse, the more massive that greenhouse must be to contain it.

"You don't have to inflate that greenhouse to Earth-normal pressure in order for plants to grow," said Robert Ferl, director of the Interdisciplinary Center for Biotechnology Research at the University of Florida. "Maintaining a full atmosphere of pressure is difficult on a planetary surface. You can take plants down to a tenth of an atmosphere and they'll still function."

However, then, the greenhouse must be sealed off from the crew's living quarters.

"Gardening in a pressure suit is going to be a real trick," said Taber MacCallum, chief executive officer of Paragon Space Development Corp.

Radiation danger
Martian farmers must also contend with the issue of radiation. Mars lacks Earth's thick protective atmosphere, so particles from space reach its surface that would be damaging to both people and plants. Thus, some kind of shielding or mitigation will be necessary.

"To maintain the infrastructure is the expensive part to grow plants, coupled with the need for redundancy if something fails," MacCallum said. In fact, so much mass must be launched from Earth to Mars to establish a Martian garden that if missions last less than 15 to 20 years, it might require less mass to simply send along food, he said.

Despite the challenges, though, scientists said farming on Mars will eventually be achieved.

"Every great migration in history happened because we took our agriculture with us," Ferl said. "When you learn to take your plants with you, you can not only go to visit, you can go there to stay and live."

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Can you train your brain? Lumosity, BrainHQ say yes

Call it the great brain train.

Baby boomers, students, and the elderly all share at least one anxiety: Are my mental abilities holding me back? So it's not surprising that online cognitive exercises, or brain training, are finding a particularly receptive audience these days.

One popular service from Lumosity now has 40 million members. Its exercises are generally entertaining -- if a little humbling at first. New users fill out a very simple questionnaire about their concerns and focus (do you want to better remember people's names or improve your concentration and avoid distractions). Then Lumosity creates a daily regime of exercises for you.

Typical tasks include remembering ever more complex patterns, visual positions, or recalling multiple symbols or images in quick succession. The idea is to continually challenge the user in an attempt to increase particular mental functions, including working memory and executive function. Lumosity is $14.95 a month. A similar program, Posit Science's BrainHQ, is $14 a month. I've tried both and found them each to be engaging -- at least for 20 minutes a day.

'It's still the early days [in cognitive training research].'

- Dr. Joe Hardy, vice president of research and development at Lumosity

With Angelina Jolie' revelations about her breast cancer risk this week, it's particularly interesting to note a new study also released this week of women who had undergone breast cancer treatment. Dr. Shelli Kesler, a neuropsychologist at Stanford University, used a subset of Lumosity's exercises to work with 41 breast cancers survivors in order to see if it could help them overcome what can be the mentally enervating effects of cancer treatment. She focused on executive functions, the ability to make decisions.

"This approach has the advantage of adapting and changing the difficulty level," Dr. Kesler told FoxNews.com of the computer-based training, which the patients performed on their own, "but were highly motivated." She said most patients exhibited significant improvement in executive functions after the 20- to 30-minute sessions, which occurred 4 times a week for 12 weeks.

In spite of several studies that show brain training can be effective -- including a large study know as ACTIVE or the Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly that showed it can be effective even years after the training is finished -- such cognitive exercises have been controversial. A recent overview of research conducted by professors at the University of Oslo concluded that the exercises only made people better at...doing the exercises. However, the Oslo study only looked at one aspect, working memory, and did not take into account the tremendous variance in the ages of the participants in the studies. In other words, it cast a skeptical eye on cognitive training but was not by any means conclusive.

There is always reason for some skepticism. Even in research that yields positive results, not every person experiences gains. And it can vary depending on the goal. It helped women subjected to chemotherapy but does it help students with learning issues? Can people in their 50's experience improvement or is it too late? (Please don't say it's too late.)

"It's still early days," in cognitive training research Dr. Joe Hardy, vice president of research and development at Lumosity told FoxNews.com. Consequently, the company is committed to doing further studies and continually improving its exercises based on new data. He said that's why Lumosity is involved in 38 different university research projects at the moment.

True, other popular, supposedly intelligence enhancing techniques have fallen flat. Crossword puzzles, for example, were supposed to boost our intellectual prowess. However, a recent National Institutes of Health funded study of over 600 individuals demonstrated no appreciable gains from doing the Sunday puzzles, whereas cognitive training exercises did show some positive results.

It's obvious that at a very fundamental level you can train your brain. You can learn a new language or learn how to play the clarinet. But the issue isn't whether practicing an instrument makes you better at playing an instrument. The question is, can brain games make you better at other intellectual endeavors?

In at least one specific area I've found it personally effective: Driving. So-called useful field of view exercises do seem to increase awareness on the road. I found that regular training gave me a heightened focus while behind the wheel, especially in city traffic, and independent studies seem to confirm the effect.

In an era in which healthy kids are taking ADHD drugs just to get better scores on their SATs, online cognitive training looks harmless and possibly quite beneficial. But it's important to note that another factor plays an extremely important role in intelligence and mental alacrity: Exercise. Dr. Kesler emphasizes that exercise is essential in creating new neurons.

Of course, just as all the weight training and cardio workouts in the world won't turn me into Roger Federer, simply exercising your brain on Lumosity won't help you pass a test in American history if you didn't study the revolutionary war. You've got to do some work on your own.

So keep your expectations in check. Remember: Flash cards do make you better at performing mathematical calculations, just don't expect them to turn you into Einstein.

Follow John R. Quain on Twitter @jqontech or find more tech coverage at J-Q.com.

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From rich to richer: Stars who grew up with a silver spoon in their mouths

Gwyneth PaltrowMitchell Elvy/Globe Photos, Inc./ImageCollect, KGC-11/starmaxinc.com/ImageCollect
Lady GagaSeth Poppel/Yearbook Library, Nancy Kaszerman/ZUMAPRESS.com/ImageCollect
Kobe BryantSeth Poppel/Yearbook Library, Tleopold/globephotos/ImageCollect

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Everyone loves a rags to riches story - especially in Hollywood. But not every A-List actor or Billboard pop star waited tables until they got their big break. Some of them had more than a little help from their well-connected families or a top-notch theater programs at elite colleges. Our friends at Snakkle.com find out which stars went from rich to richer.

Click here to see the rest of “Stars Who Grew Up Rich—Before They Were Stars” photos

Gwyneth Paltrow

THEN: Gwyneth didn't exactly luck into fame and fortune. The star is the daughter of the late producer-director Bruce Paltrow, and her mom is actress Blythe Danner. Like many jet-setting teens, Gwyneth grew up in L.A. and New York City, where she attended the elite all-girls Spence School.

NOW: Starring in megahits like “Iron Man 3” and appearing on the 2013 cover of People magazine’s “Most Beautiful Woman” issue is only going to add to Gwyneth’s bottom line. It certainly doesn’t hurt that her husband, Chris Martin, continues to rake in millions of dollars of his own thanks to the ongoing success of his group, Coldplay.

Lady Gaga

THEN: Lady Gaga moved to New York City’s gritty Lower East Side before she hit it big, but she grew up in a duplex on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. Gaga’s father, Joe Germanotta, became rich by investing in hotel Wi-Fi services.

NOW: Gaga attended the Convent of the Sacred Heart, a Manhattan private school that cost an estimated $35,000 per year, but the pop superstar still slams "everyone that was spitting in my face and making me feel so worthless." Worthless is exactly what Gaga isn’t. She’s amassed a giant fortune over the past few years.

Kobe Bryant

THEN: Kobe Bryant’s life seemed destined to be a slam-dunk success right from the start thanks to his position as the son of NBA star Joe “Jellybean” Bryant.

NOW: Though Kobe was accused of sexual assault on a 19-year-old in 2003—rape charges were later dismissed— the basketball player managed to bounce back. He helped the Lakers make the 2008 NBA Finals. They lost, but Kobe assisted in bringing them back to win the championship title the next year. Kobe scored two gold medals as part of the U.S. basketball team during the 2008 and 2012 Olympics, and the sports star is still going strong today.

Miley Cyrus

THEN: Miley Cyrus started out life in the shadow of her famous country crooner father, Billy Ray. He made millions off his hit song, “Achy Breaky Heart,” and kept his future superstar daughter on a $300 monthly allowance (not bad if you ask us).

NOW: Miley far surpassed her father’s earning power years ago, and she’s now worth hundreds of millions of dollars. The former “Hannah Montana” star oversees a massive merchandising empire, and she now has several chart-topping albums under her belt.

PHOTOS: Stars Who Went to School Together!

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Taco Bell tests the Waffle Taco

Published May 15, 2013

FoxNews.com

Look out McGriddles, there’s a new fast food breakfast in town. Taco Bell is currently testing out the Waffle Taco as a possible breakfast item in at least one Southern California location.

Initially reported by Brand Eating, Instagrammer Sarah1ch5 took a photo of the fabled Waffle Taco while passing through a Taco Bell in Santa Ana, proving the fluffy breakfast taco does in fact exist. Her response, “It was awesome!”

The Waffle Taco, currently listed at 89 cents, features a sausage and scrambled egg folded into a waffle with a packet of syrup on the side.

"We are testing the waffle taco in a handful of Southern California restaurants," Taco Bell reps confirmed to TODAY.com. "We’re pleased with the initial reaction from our customers and if the waffle taco does well in testing, we’ll roll it out to all our restaurants that serve breakfast.”

Taco Bell started selling breakfast last year, with a list of items labeled the “FirstMeal Menu,” in about 800 locations in 10 states. Eventually, the company says, the full breakfast menu will be offered in all 6,000 locations nationwide.

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Acting IRS commissioner resigns in wake of agency scandal

President Obama announced Wednesday that acting IRS Commissioner Steven Miller has resigned in the wake of the agency scandal in which conservative groups were targeted.

The president made the announcement in a brief statement at the White House, following a meeting with Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew and other top department officials in which they reviewed a highly critical inspector general’s report on the practice. The report concluded poor management allowed agents to improperly target Tea Party and other groups for more than 18 months, starting in 2010.

Obama said Lew asked for the resignation and Miller agreed, after being on the job since November 2012.

“Americans have a right to be angry about it, and I’m angry about it,” Obama said from the White House.

Republicans, who along with Democrats have slammed the IRS for the practice, welcomed the resignation Wednesday but made clear they would continue to investigate and press for accountability.

Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., said the resignation "is a necessary first step but more heads need to roll."

Miller’s resignation was part of three-step plan Obama outlined to fix the problem.

The other steps are to put in place the safeguards recommended in the IG report and to work with Congress as it investigates.

“The good news is we can fix this,” Obama said.

Miller became acting commissioner after Commissioner Douglas Shulman completed his five-year term. Shulman had been appointed by President George W. Bush.

The president has proceeded cautiously since the IRS controversy was made public Friday. While he initially said the accusations were "outrageous," he also said he wanted to wait until the report was released before addressing what should be done to hold accountable those responsible.

Obama said he would hold a press conference Thursday.

The report lays much of the blame on IRS supervisors in Washington who oversaw a group of specialists in Cincinnati who screened applications for tax-exempt status. It does not indicate that Washington initiated the targeting of conservative groups, but it does say a top supervisor in Washington did not adequately supervise agents in the field even after she learned the agents were acting improperly.

The Justice Department is also investigating the IRS targeting, as are three congressional committees.

Sources told Fox News that Miller will remain on the job "for a couple of weeks."

The House Ways and Means Committee said after the announcement of Miller's resignation that he still will attend a hearing Friday.

And the House Committee on Oversight and Government Affairs sent a letter Wednesday afternoon to the IRS requesting five employees named in the IG audit be made available for transcribed interviews by committee staff.

The Republican-led committee wants to start the interviews Monday.

The names and titles of the IRS employees requested are Holly Paz, a director; John Shafer, a manager; Gary Muthert, a screener; Liz Hofacre, a case coordinator; and Joseph Herr, a manager.

"The resignation of Steven Miller is a positive and important step as this agency struggles to try to regain the public’s trust," said Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch, the top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee. "A clean slate at the IRS with new leadership is imperative to fix this egregious encroachment on the lives of honest, hard-working Americans whose only sin was that they want to express their beliefs."

Earlier in the day, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney sidestepped a question about whether Obama still had confidence in Miller, saying he wouldn't discuss personnel matters. He said Obama has expressed his overall view that IRS personnel had acted inappropriately.

"He wants to see that the actions taken, as revealed by the Treasury report, that are inappropriate, are met with consequences," Carney said. "He will make clear to Treasury Department leaders that he expects action."

Carney said Obama wants the public to "understand and believe that the IRS applies our tax laws in a neutral and fair way to everyone."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Lawmakers outraged as allegations against soldier said to include sexual assault, forced prostitution

The allegations against the latest military official accused of sexual assault include claims that he may have arranged for a woman to engage in prostitution, sources say.

The charges have sparked outrage on Capitol Hill, as it emerged the accused soldier, whose name has not been made public, was assigned as a coordinator of a battalion-level sexual assault prevention program at Fort Hood. He has been suspended from all duties but has not been charged with any crime.

It is the second time in the last month that a military official who led a sexual assault prevention unit was accused of sexual assault.

The nature of the accusations is still unclear. A source on Capitol Hill told Fox News the investigation includes allegations of forcing one woman into prostitution and sexually assaulting two others.

A defense official told The Associated Press the allegations include a claim that the soldier may have arranged for one of the women to have sex for money. This official said it's not yet clear whether the woman was forced into that arrangement.

George Little, spokesman for Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, said Hagel has informed President Obama about the accusations against the Army sergeant first class, and Obama made clear he wants the behavior stopped.

Little told reporters that Hagel's staff is working on a written directive that will spell out steps aimed at resolving a problem that has outraged lawmakers.

"The president has made very clear his expectations on this issue," Little said.

Lawmakers are calling for changes in the wake of the allegations.

Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., on Wednesday called for Hagel to create a tougher review process for individuals applying for sexual assault prevention unit positions.

"This crisis has reached a breaking point that requires more than the traditional process for filling military jobs," they wrote in a letter Wednesday.

Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, said in a statement: "This latest incident clearly demonstrates that the military's efforts to prevent sexual assault are failing miserably."

The case, along with another one involving an Air Force officer, highlights a problem that is drawing increased scrutiny in Congress and expressions of frustration from Hagel.

"This is sickening. Twice now, in a matter of as many weeks, we've seen the very people charged with protecting victims of sexual assault being charged as perpetrators," Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said.

Hagel said he was directing all the services to retrain, re-credential and rescreen all sexual assault prevention and response personnel and military recruiters, Little said after Tuesday's announcement that the Army sergeant was accused of pandering, abusive sexual contact, assault and maltreatment of subordinates.

The soldier was being investigated by the Army Criminal Investigation Command. No charges had been filed, but officials say they expect them fairly soon.

Little said Hagel was angry and disappointed at "these troubling allegations and the breakdown in discipline and standards they imply." He said Hagel had met with Army Secretary John McHugh and ordered him to "fully investigate this matter rapidly, to discover the extent of these allegations and to ensure that all of those who might be involved are dealt with appropriately."

The Fort Hood soldier had been assigned as an equal opportunity adviser and coordinator of a sexual harassment-assault prevention program at the Army's 3rd Corps headquarters when the allegation arose, the Army said.

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Howard P. "Buck" McKeon, R-Calif., said in a statement he was "outraged and disgusted by the reports out of Fort Hood."

Just last week an Air Force officer who headed a sexual assault prevention office was himself arrested on charges of groping a woman in a Northern Virginia parking lot.

Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said his panel was considering a number of measures to counter the problem, including changes to the Uniform Code of Military Justice, and will act on them next month.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., said she intends to present new legislation on Thursday to overhaul the military justice system by removing chain-of-command influence from prosecution of sex abuse crimes.

The Pentagon is struggling with what it calls a growing number of sexual assaults across the military. In a report last week, the Defense Department estimated that as many as 26,000 military members may have been sexually assaulted last year, based on survey results.

Of those, fewer than 3,400 reported the incidents, and nearly 800 of those simply sought help and declined to file formal complaints against their alleged attackers.

There also is an ongoing investigation into more than 30 Air Force instructors for assaults on trainees at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, as well as the recent arrest of the Air Force's head of sexual assault prevention on charges of groping a woman.

An Arlington County, Va., police report said Air Force Lt. Col. Jeffrey Krusinski was drunk and grabbed a woman's breast and buttocks in a parking lot earlier this month. The woman fought him off and called police, the report said. A judge has set a July 18 trial date for Krusinski.

Such cases and two recent decisions by officers to overturn military juries' guilty verdicts in sexual assault cases has precipitated a storm of criticism on Capitol Hill.

McCaskill is holding up the nomination of Air Force Lt. Gen. Susan Helms, tapped to serve as vice commander of the U.S. Space Command, until McCaskill gets more information about Helms' decision to overturn a jury conviction in a sexual assault case.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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World's first flat pack truck developed for emerging markets

Published May 15, 2013

FoxNews.com

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Talk about a special delivery.

A British philanthropist has built the world’s first flat-pack truck.

Automotive World reports that Sir Torquil Norman’s Global Vehicle Trust developed the simple, low-cost vehicle to service emerging markets in Africa and Asia.

The boxy, compact pickup can be disassembled in less than six hours and have all of its parts, including the four-cylinder diesel engine and independent suspension, stored within the confines of its chassis, allowing six of them to fit in a standard shipping container. Three people can then reassemble it in about 12 hours upon delivery. No special tools are required.

Shorter in length than most compact cars, the tough little front-wheel-drive truck can reportedly carry 4400 pounds and ford water two and a half feet deep. Configured for passengers, thirteen people will fit on board, including three in the front cabin. The driver sits in the middle allowing the vehicle to be used in right and left hand drive countries without requiring any extensive reengineering.

Norman says his group spent $1.5 million to build the prototype, but needs $4.6 million more to get it ready for production. He hopes to sell the vehicles to other non-profit charities and aid organizations who will distribute them throughout the developing world.

The price of the vehicle has not been determined, but the goal is to keep it as low as possible. A similar low-cost truck concept proposed by Kenya’s Mobius Motors has a target price of $6,000.

Photos: The $6,000 SUV

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Benghazi emails show State Department had heavy hand in watering down account of attack

Published May 15, 2013

FoxNews.com

WASHINGTON – Early versions of the Obama administration's internal account regarding the Benghazi attack did in fact state that "Islamic extremists with ties to Al Qaeda" participated in the assault -- though the line was later taken out -- according to emails and notes the White House released late Wednesday.

The White House released 100 pages of emails and notes related to the administration's response to the attack on a diplomatic facility in Benghazi, Libya, last September.

The White House had until now declined to make the documents public and had let congressional investigators review the documents without making copies.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Now we know -- Team Obama both corrupt and incompetent

By Michael Goodwin

Published May 15, 2013

New York Post

- President Obama agitated by scandal?
- Obama operating out of two different playbooks?

As a metaphor for big government, it is hard to top the Justice Department’s seizing of journalists’ phone records from The Associated Press.

Unless, of course, you think the best example is the Internal Revenue Service turning the screws on groups it viewed as conservative and, therefore, unworthy of fair treatment.

The Obama administration is both corrupt and incompetent. It is a double whammy that spells trouble for the nation, at home and abroad.

Or maybe the winner is the sneaky spreading of ObamaCare’s tentacles, with insurance companies now predicting the law will drive up the cost of individual premiums by as much as 400 percent.

There are no losers in this race to the bottom — except the American people. It is tempting to ask whether they’ve had enough Hope & Change, but the question is premature. With 44 months to go in the reign of the Great Mistake, the gods are not done punishing us.

To continue reading Michael Goodwin's column in the New York Post, click here.

Michael Goodwin is a Fox News contributor and New York Post columnist.

Michael Goodwin

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US homebuilder confidence rebounds on stronger outlook for sales as demand for homes improves

Published May 15, 2013

Associated Press

Confidence among U.S. homebuilders rebounded this month, reflecting improved sales trends during the spring home-selling season and the strongest outlook for sales over the next six months in more than six years.

The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo builder sentiment index climbed to 44 this month from 41 in April. It was the first increase since December.

Measures of customer traffic and current sales conditions also improved from April's reading.

Readings below 50 suggest negative sentiment about the housing market. The last time the index was at 50 or higher was in April 2006.

Concerns over rising costs for land, building materials and labor have dimmed builders' confidence in recent months.

Regardless, steady job creation, near record-low mortgage rates and rising home values have spurred sales this year.

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Sources: IRS official won't plead fifth at hearing on scandal

May 14, 2013: A general view of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Building in Washington.Reuters

Steven Miller, the embattled acting commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, has assured congressional investigators he will cooperate fully with lawmakers in upcoming Capitol Hill hearings on the IRS’ targeting of Tea Party groups, and will not exercise his constitutional right to refuse to answer questions on the grounds that doing so may incriminate him in the ongoing FBI probe, Fox News has learned.

Rather, sources say, Miller has agreed to provide his best testimony on the sudden swirl of allegations surrounding last week’s disclosure that the IRS had systematically singled out conservative-leaning groups for delays in their applications for tax-exempt status. Miller was reportedly made aware of the practice, which commenced early in 2010, as early as March 2012, but shortly thereafter assured lawmakers the IRS was not engaged in such targeting.

Congressional investigators have sought an informal deposition with Miller in advance of Friday’s hearing by the House Ways and Means Committee, but believe it unlikely Miller will grant such a session, sources said.

In addition to determining who was ultimately responsible for initiating the practice – culpability the Treasury Department’s Inspector General for Tax Administration failed to assign in his report on the subject, issued Tuesday – Capitol Hill investigators are said to be examining two other critical aspects to the scandal.

These include the dissemination of privileged tax data amassed during the targeting exercise to the left-leaning news outlet ProPublica; and allegations that conservatives listed by the targeted groups as donors were in turn singled out for adverse treatment by IRS.

The alleged improper conduct toward those donors would have been performed by a different office at IRS, sources said, than that which was responsible for the slow-walking of the conservative groups’ applications for tax-exempt status.

Both initiatives, Capitol Hill staffers told Fox News, could suggest a greater level of coordination on the overall project among – or even beyond – IRS management echelons.

Key congressional aides do not rule out the possibility that the targeting was conceived and executed by “rogue” elements in middle-management positions within IRS. But the bureaucratic culture within the agency is said to place an exceedingly high premium on compliance with orders from above – to the point of securing them, often in writing, when they are absent – and accordingly not one that would foster the emergence of so rigorous and enduring a targeting system without some measure of management supervision.

The IG report concluded that organizations with the words “Tea Party,” “Patriots” or “9/12” in their titles faced special treatment by IRS in their applications for tax-exempt status, including the agency’s application of “inappropriate criteria” to trigger reviews and other dilatory actions towards the applications.

While Miller will face more intense scrutiny, J. Russell George, the inspector general for IRS’ Tax Administration division, whose office released Tuesday’s damning intra-agency report, will also be confronted with tough questions, sources said. Capitol Hill staffers told Fox News they regard George’s report as “watered down” and are eager to ask him why his probe failed to fix ultimate responsibility for the targeting, and why he didn’t raise alarms about the practice sooner.

An IRS spokesperson did not immediately return an email seeking comment for this article.

James Rosen

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At Google I/O 2013 event, new new maps, music tools, phones, photo software

June 27, 2012: An Android display at the 2012 Google I/O conference in San Francisco. Google is expected to use its annual software developers' conference to showcase the latest mobile devices running on its Android software, while also unveiling other features in its evolving product line-up.AP Photo/Paul Sakuma

SAN FRANCISCO – Google is expected to use its annual software developers' conference to showcase the latest mobile devices running on its Android software, while also unveiling other features in its evolving product line-up.

The gathering, scheduled to begin Wednesday morning in San Francisco, provides Google Inc. with an opportunity to flex its technological muscle in front of a sold-out audience of engineers and entrepreneurs who develop applications and other features that can make smartphones and tablets more appealing.

Reporters from around the world also will be on hand, giving Google a chance to generate more hoopla about its latest innovations.

Watch Google I/O 2013 live at FoxNews.com.

The company, which is based in Mountain View, Calif., made a big splash at last year's conference by staging an elaborate production to highlight the potential of Google Glass -- an Internet-connected device and camera that can be worn on a person's face like a pair of spectacles. Google co-founder Sergey Brin wowed the crowd last year by taking to the stage and then engaging in a live video chat with a group of skydivers who were in a dirigible hovering above the convention. When they jumped, the skydivers' descent to the rooftop was shown live through the Google Glass camera.

Some of the developers in attendance last year paid $1,500 apiece for a Google Glass prototype that was delivered to them in March.

Google hasn't spelled out what its executives will discuss during this year's opening keynote, which is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. PT and last for nearly three hours. Given that Google Glass is now being tested by the developers who bought the "Explorer" edition, the device might not be one of the featured attractions.

It's a safe bet the spotlight at some point Wednesday will shine on Android, which already has been activated on more than 750 million devices around the world. Google gives the mobile operating system away, making it easier for gadget makers to sell their devices at prices below Apple Inc.'s iPhone and iPad.

Android has helped Google make more money because its search engine and other services, including maps, are usually built into the devices that rely on the software. That tie-in drives more visitors to Google, giving the company more opportunities to sell the advertising that generates most of its revenue.

Much of the speculation about the conference, dubbed "Google I/O," has centered on a possible upgrade to the Nexus 7, a mini-tablet that debuted at last year's event as an alternative to the similarly sized Kindle Fire made by Amazon.com Inc. and the larger iPad. A few months after the Nexus 7 came out, Apple released the iPad Mini to counter the threat posed by Google's entrance into the market.

The next version of the Nexus 7 is expected to feature a much faster processor and a higher resolution display screen while maintaining the same $199 sales prices. If that turns out to be true, it could siphon even more sales from the iPad Mini, which starts at $329.

There's also speculation that Google will unveil a music-streaming service that would allow Android users to listen to their favorite songs and artists for a monthly fee. Google has long been rumored to be in talks with music labels to work out the licensing rights for a service that would compete with Spotify, Internet radio provider Pandora Media Inc. and other outlets that stream digital music to Internet-connected computers, smartphones and tablets.

Another Google-designed phone under the Nexus brand is also a possibility. Google also could use the occasion to introduce a model made by its unprofitable Motorola Mobility subsidiary.

A sneak peak at the next generation of Android, code named "Key Lime Pie," could be in the offing, too.

Other potential product introductions include laptops running on Android or another Google operating system based on the company's Chrome web browser.

Google also may provide more insights into the popularity of Google Plus, a social networking alternative to Facebook that launched nearly two years ago. Google Plus had more than 135 million active users at the end of last year, based on Google's last public disclosure about activity on that network. That left Google Plus far behind Facebook, which boasts 1.1 billion active users.

In an attempt persuade more people to use its social networking service more frequently, Google has promised to keep adding tools that aren't available on Facebook.

On other fronts, Google is believed to be working on a digital gaming center that could be unveiled Wednesday. Getting into gaming would give Google an opportunity to participate in one of the most popular activities on mobile devices.

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Watch: Truck eats car

Published May 15, 2013

FoxNews.com

The next time your spouse tells you the garbage can is too full, show them this.

New Way Trucks devised a clever way to show that its refuse trucks have the stuff to crush even the most challenging trash.

The Scranton, Pennsylvania-based company loaded an entire Pontiac Grand Am into the back of one of its Cobra Magnum, which proceeded to compact it in a matter of moments and drive away like it just took in a load of defective marshmallows.

New Way says the Cobra Magnum “delivers a crushing bite to anything you throw at it,” and from the looks of the video, it ain't lying.

So, if your local sanitation department uses one of these, don’t worry about jamming another dirty diaper in the can before you take out the trash, the truck can handle it.

The sanitation workers, however, may have something to say about it.

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Jaden Smith talks emancipation: 'I'm not going anywhere'

Published May 15, 2013

FoxNews.com

Jaden Smith and Willow Smith arrive at the 2013 Kids Choice Awards in Los Angeles, California March 23, 2013.Reuters
Jaden, left, and Willow Smith, son and daughter of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, arrive for the gala presentation of the film "Free Angela and All Political Prisoners" at the 37th Toronto International Film Festival, September 9, 2012.Reuters

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On the Ellen DeGeneres show on Wednesday morning, Jaden Smith, 14, and his father Will addressed rumors that he was seeking emancipation from his famous parents.

“Here’s the thing I need to explain: I’m not going anywhere,” the teen actor told DeGeneres.

He said he plans to stay at his parents’ home because it is very convenient for him.

“The thing that people don’t get is that everything at his house is free. So I can get anything and everything I want at his house. So I think I’m going to be there for 20 [to] 30 more years. [Will Smith] says as soon as I have a movie that’s bigger than one of his movies then I have to get my own house.”

Reports that Jaden was hoping to leave home began swirling after Smith reportedly told The Sun: “I know if we do this, he can be an emancipated minor, because he really wants to have his own place.”

The father and son pair laughed about the emancipation rumors, which may be a good thing, considering we found out it would be tough for Jaden to actually get legally emancipated.

He and his dad are starring in the upcoming action, adventure movie “After Earth.”

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'Lost City of Gold' found deep in Honduras rain forest?

Lidar technology allows researchers to strip away the green forest canopy and reveals features beneath, including this mysterious mound that may be a sign of ancient civilization in the Honduras rainforest.UTL Scientific, LLC

New images of a possible lost city hidden by Honduran rain forests show what might be the building foundations and mounds of Ciudad Blanca, a never-confirmed legendary metropolis.

Archaeologists and filmmakers Steven Elkins and Bill Benenson announced last year that they had discovered possible ruins in Honduras' Mosquitia region using lidar, or light detection and ranging. Essentially, slow-flying planes send constant laser pulses toward the ground as they pass over the rain forest, imaging the topography below the thick forest canopy.

'Nature doesn't work in straight lines.'

- Colorado State University research Stephen Leisz

What the archaeologists found and what the new images reveal are features that could be ancient ruins, including canals, roads, building foundations and terraced agricultural land. The University of Houston archaeologists who led the expedition will reveal their new images and discuss them Wednesday at the American Geophysical Union Meeting of the Americas in Cancun.

Ciudad Blanca, or "The White City," has been a legend since the days of the conquistadors, who believed the Mosquitia rain forests hid a metropolis full of gold and searched for it in the 1500s. Throughout the 1900s, archaeologists documented mounds and other signs of ancient civilization in the Mosquitias region, but the shining golden city of legend has yet to make an appearance.

Whether or not the lidar-weilding archaeologists have discovered the same city the conquistadors were looking for is up for debate, but the images suggest some signs of an ancient lost civilization.

"We use lidar to pinpoint where human structures are by looking for linear shapes and rectangles," Colorado State University research Stephen Leisz, who uses lidar in Mexico, said in a statement. "Nature doesn't work in straight lines."

The archaeologists plan to get their feet on the ground this year to investigate the mysterious features seen in the new images.

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