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Spurs upbeat despite game-six meltdown

Greg Heakes, Agence France-Presse — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 15:53:51 -0700

San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich (R) and player Tony Parker from France, talk during a practice day before Game 7 of the NBA Finals at the American Airlines Arena June 19, 2013 in Miami, Florida. The Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs are tied, 2

The San Antonio Spurs must erase the memory of their epic game-six collapse if they are to become the first team since 1978 to win a game seven of the NBA Finals on the road.

"It is very important we bounce back and we forget last night," Spurs star guard Tony Parker said of Miami's rally for a 103-100 overtime win over the Spurs to level the best-of-seven championship series at three wins each.

"We don't get affected by big losses. I am not worried about our team bouncing back."

San Antonio was just seconds away from their fifth championship in game six on Tuesday when the Heat rallied from a five-point deficit to force the extra session then win it in overtime, forcing Thursday's winner-take-all matchup.

With victory almost certain for the Spurs, Heat fans started heading for the exits and arena workers began to ring the court with yellow tape to keep the crowd off the floor so the official celebration could begin.

Tony Parker of the San Antonio Spurs speaks to reporters during a practice day before Game 7 of the NBA Finals at the American Airlines Arena June 19, 2013 in Miami, Florida.

"I don't know what happened in the overtime and fourth," San Antonio's Tim Duncan said immediately following the game. "Just our shots weren't there. It is a disappointing loss."

Duncan said Wednesday that the Spurs had a team meeting over dinner after game six to discuss what went wrong and how they were going to bounce back in game seven.

"It helped. It did," Duncan said. "The other option is a bunch of us go back to our rooms and sit in our rooms and sit there by ourselves and beat yourself up.

"So it's always good to be around teammates and kind of get some stuff out in the open. We did exactly that. We'll be ready to rock."

No NBA team has won a game seven on the road in the NBA Finals since the Washington Bullets, now the Washington Wizards, defeated the Seattle SuperSonics, now the Oklahoma City Thunder, in 1978.

San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich talks with player Tim Duncan during a practice day before Game 7 of the NBA Finals at the American Airlines Arena June 19, 2013 in Miami, Florida.

Duncan came out swinging on Tuesday by scoring 25 points in the first half as he accounted for half of the Spurs' 50 points at the break.

"I made some shots. Come fourth quarter I kind of lost it. I got lost in the mix. My goal for tomorrow is to sustain it," Duncan said.

The Spurs weren't able to do that in game six as the defending champion Heat showed they are a veteran team with significant playoff experience.

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich chose to sit Duncan in the final seconds of regulation time when they had the lead but Duncan said Wednesday he wished he had been out there.

"I know we had 30 seconds left and we're up five and you are just crossing your fingers and hoping something like what happened wouldn't happen," Duncan said. "But it did, and obviously there are a lot of emotions.

"But we re-grouped for overtime. We got a lead, we made plays and they just outplayed us."

Tesla recalls Model S cars over problem weld

, Agence France-Presse — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 15:32:19 -0700

A Tesla Model S is displayed on March 28, 2013 in New York City. Tesla announced a recall Wednesday for some of its Model S vehicles over possible weak welds on back seats.

Electric sports car maker Tesla announced a recall Wednesday for some of its Model S vehicles over possible weak welds on back seats.

The recall applies to versions of the four-door sedan, which costs up to $87,000, produced between May 10, 2013 and June 8, 2013.

Founder Elon Musk said on the company's blog that the strength of the weld on a mounting bracket in a back row seat "could be weaker than intended."

"This reduces our confidence that the left hand seat back will be properly retained in the event of a crash," he wrote.

Musk emphasized that no customers have complained about the problem and no injuries have been reported related to it.

"However, given the paramount importance of safety, we would like to reinforce the left striker bracket on cars produced during this period."

"This work has already been performed on cars that were in the factory, so the recall applies only to cars delivered in mid to late May and early June."

Tesla said it will arrange to fix the problem at no cost to the owners.

Tesla shares were up 1.3 percent to $104.68 in regular trade on the Nasdaq exchange Wednesday, but fell in after-hours deals to $104.20.

FBI director says surveillance drones used in US

Michael Mathes, Agence France-Presse — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 16:36:32 -0700

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Robert Mueller testifies during a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, June 19, 2013. Unmanned drones are flying in American skies conducting surveillance on people in the United States, albeit in a "ve

Unmanned drones are roaming American skies conducting surveillance on people in the United States, albeit in a "very minimal way," the head of the FBI revealed to Congress on Wednesday.

Federal Bureau of Investigation director Robert Mueller said his agency's use of a small number of aerial drones is relatively new, and that the bureau has only begun to draw up policy and operational guidelines for the devices.

"I will tell you that our footprint is very small," Mueller testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

"We have very few (drones) and of limited use, and we're exploring not only the use but also the necessary guidelines for that use."

Mueller said the drones conduct surveillance, but that they were "seldom" used.

Other agencies are known to be using the high-technology gadgets, including the Department of Homeland Security, which uses drones to patrol the US border with Mexico.

Senator Chuck Grassley said Attorney General Eric Holder indicated to him in writing that the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives "had purchased drones and were exploring their use in law enforcement."

"I think the right of privacy is at stake. If there's a legitimate law enforcement reason for using it, they ought to say," Grassley told CNN after the hearing.

He said a simmering distrust of government is fueling suspicion about domestic spying, including recently revealed surveillance programs that gather phone logs and Internet data.

"Because of that mistrust, we've got to nail these things down. The people have a right to know."

In March Republican Senator Rand Paul blocked legislative action for nearly 13 hours on the Senate floor to protest the Obama administration's refusal to unequivocally rule out drone strikes on US soil.

Days later Holder wrote to Paul clarifying that a US president does not have the power to order a drone strike against a "non combatant" American inside the United States.

Paul expressed concern about the drone surveillance, saying it should not be used without a court-issued search warrant.

"My guess is they don't have warrants for these things, they're just flying around. That, I'm opposed to," he told AFP.

Mueller did not say whether warrants were being obtained for the use of the drones.

Paul said Americans could grow fearful of drones that are small enough to land on a house window or fly indoors.

"I think there's one that weighs less than an ounce," Paul said.

Democrats have expressed concern as well. Senator Dianne Feinstein said she believed that "the greatest threat to the privacy of Americans is the drone... and the very few regulations that are on it today."

Mueller agreed that there should be public discourse over the future of the unmanned vehicles, saying "it's worthy of debate and perhaps legislation down the road."

Congress has ordered the Federal Aviation Administration to open up airspace to unmanned aircraft by October 2015.

Doctors urge access to Guantanamo hunger strikers

, Agence France-Presse — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 15:28:43 -0700

A pre-dawn view of the US detention center "Camp Delta" at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, is pictured on October 18, 2012. More than 150 doctors from the United States and Britain have written to President Barack Obama urging him to grant independent medical care

More than 150 doctors from the United States and Britain have written to President Barack Obama urging him to grant independent medical care to hunger-striking Guantanamo detainees.

A prominent US senator who visited the facility earlier this month meanwhile called for a reevaluation of force-feeding procedures at the military prison, saying current methods raise "ethical questions."

The hunger strike, which began more than four months ago, is meant to protest the inmates' indefinite detention at the facility even though more than half have been cleared for release.

The letter, published Wednesday in the Lancet medical journal, said it was "imperative for (the detainees) to have access to independent medical examination and advice, as they ask, and as required by the UN and World Medical Association."

"Without trust, safe and acceptable medical care of mentally competent patients is impossible," the letter said.

"Since the detainees do not trust their military doctors, they are unlikely to comply with current medical advice."

The group Physicians for Human Rights has repeatedly urged Obama to halt the force-feeding of detainees.

Of the 166 inmates held at the remote US military camp in Cuba, 104 are refusing food and 44 were being provided nourishment through nasal tubes as of Wednesday, said prison spokesman Lt. Col. Samuel House.

One has been hospitalized but is not in critical condition.

"Detainees' rights to make decisions about their own health must be respected," said Vincent Iacopino, the group's medical advisor.

"Force feeding not only constitutes inhumane and degrading treatment, but is a clear violation of medical standards, and must be ended immediately."

Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein, who visited the facility on June 7, called for a change in force-feeding practices, which involve forcibly restraining inmates and feeding them through nasal tubes.

"I remain concerned that these policies are out of step with international norms, medical ethics and practices of the US Bureau of Prisons," she wrote in a letter to US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel.

"I believe that the current approach raises very important ethical questions and complicates the difficult situation regarding the continued indefinite detention at Guantanamo," she wrote.

"I urge you to reevaluate the force-feeding policies at Guantanamo Bay and to put in place the most humane policies possible."

Obama last month renewed his pledge to shutter the prison, which was set up in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks to hold terror suspects captured on foreign battlefields.

US seizure of journalist records called 'chilling'

Rob Lever, Agence France-Presse — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 13:02:22 -0700

Associated Press (AP) President and CEO Gary Pruitt speaks at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, June 19, 2013. The US government's secret seizure of AP phone records had a "chilling effect" on newsgathering by the agency and other news organizati

The US government's secret seizure of Associated Press phone records had a "chilling effect" on newsgathering by the agency and other news organizations, AP's top executive said Wednesday.

"Some longtime trusted sources have become nervous and anxious about talking with us," AP president and chief executive Gary Pruitt said in a speech to the National Press Club.

"In some cases, government employees we once checked in with regularly will no longer speak to us by phone. Others are reluctant to meet in person ... This chilling effect on newsgathering is not just limited to AP.

"Journalists from other news organizations have personally told me that it has intimidated both official and nonofficial sources from speaking to them as well."

Pruitt spoke one month after the US news agency revealed that it had been notified after the fact that the US Justice Department had secret subpoenas of two months of phone records from its news operations.

The AP has said US authorities appeared to have sought out the records as part of a criminal investigation into leaked information contained in a May 2012 AP story about a foiled terror plot.

Pruitt, who previously called the seizure "a massive and unprecedented intrusion" into newsgathering, said the Justice Department "violated its own rules" on how it handles investigations of leaks to news media.

He said the collection of records pertaining to more than 100 journalists was "an overbroad and sloppy fishing expedition" and failed to follow procedures on notification.

Pruitt said that authorities maintained that by notifying the AP ahead of the sweep "it would have tipped off the leaker" but argued "that kind of reasoning would apply in every single case."

This rationale would mean news organizations would never know when its records are being obtained, news sources would become less willing to speak and "the public will only know what the government wants them to know."

The Justice Department has told the AP "that our phone records have been and will continue to be walled off, protected and used for no other purpose other than the leak investigation," Pruitt said.

"We appreciate these assurances. But that does not excuse what they did. We need to make sure it doesn't happen again."

The AP chief said the US administration should reaffirm the right of advance notice to news organizations, and use the courts to adjudicate any disputes on whether certain records are needed.

He also called for a "federal shield law with teeth" to ensure that journalists are not prosecuted for doing their jobs.

"We do not dispute that the government has the right to pursue those who leak classified information," he said.

But he argued that "no one in this country should ever be prosecuted for committing journalism."

Last month, Attorney General Eric Holder said the leak which prompted the seizure of journalist phone records was a "very serious" matter which "puts the American people at risk."

Pruitt said Wednesday however that the AP waited five days before publishing the article, until after it had been assured by US officials that "the national security risk had passed.

The US administration under President Barack Obama has been aggressive in pursuing leaks of secret government information.

Authorities have said they had opened a probe into Edward Snowden, the former government contractor who leaked details about a cast US government electronic surveillance program.

Former CIA officer John Kiriakou was sentenced in January to two and a half years in prison for leaking the name of a secret agent implicated in harsh interrogations of Al-Qaeda suspects.

Prosecutors request secret hearings in 9/11 case

, Agence France-Presse — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 15:07:02 -0700

The Sun rises over the US detention center "Camp Delta" at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba on October 18, 2012. Prosecutors trying five men accused of plotting the September 11, 2001 attacks asked Wednesday that the defendants be excluded from their trial when class

Prosecutors trying five men accused of plotting the September 11, 2001 attacks asked Wednesday that the defendants be excluded from their trial when classified evidence is heard.

Lawyers for the five, who include self-declared 9/11 kingpin Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, strongly opposed the move on the third day of a preliminary hearing held at Guantanamo Bay and broadcast to Fort Meade near Washington.

Mohammed, known as KSM, appeared before the hearing at the US prison in Cuba wearing a camouflage jacket and sporting a thick red beard. His four co-conspirators all dressed in traditional Afghan robes and caps.

Military prosecutor Joanna Baltes asked the judge to bar the accused from attending any sessions when classified information surrounding the case is addressed.

The five men were held incommunicado in secret CIA prisons from 2002 to 2006, before they were transferred to Guantanamo.

The detainees' treatment has come under close scrutiny. Mohammed is known to have been subjected to 183 sessions of waterboarding, the technique of simulated drowning which has been decried as torture by rights groups.

Mohammed's lawyer David Nevin argued that excluding his client, who faces the death penalty if convicted, should not be allowed.

"This is a capital case, we object to him being excluded from these proceedings at any time," Nevin said.

"By virtue of charging them with capital case, by seeking the court's authority to kill them at the end of the proceedings, they become authorized to attend all relevant evidence to their case," Nevin added.

Nevin said the classified portions of the case related to Mohammed's treatment since his incarceration.

"What we're talking about is the torture. Mr Mohammed has the right to be present when we are dealing with matters that address to his torture. We're talking about a capital case, we're talking about executing him," he said.

Judge James Pohl asked prosecutors whether it would be possible to split the prosecution up, or to exclude other defendants when classified information about another defendant was being heard.

But Baltes said splitting up the case would be complicated.

Other lawyers for the men also protested against moves to exclude their clients from parts of the hearings.

The five accused had a right to be present, Cheryl Bormann argued.

"It's the foundation of fairness... they have the right to be present, that's what statutes say," she said.

The hearing, due to be completed on Friday, aims to fix a trial date for the five men, who face the death penalty if convicted of plotting the attacks on New York and Washington which left nearly 3,000 people dead.

US lashes China, Russia for human trafficking

Jo Biddle, Agence France-Presse — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 14:53:37 -0700

A group of children wait to reunite with their parents after police rescued them from human traffickers in Guiyang, southwest China's Guizhou province, on October 29, 2009. The United States on Wednesday downgraded China, Russia and Uzbekistan to the bott

The United States on Wednesday downgraded China, Russia and Uzbekistan to the bottom of a US table for failing to make greater efforts to combat human trafficking, a move that may spark sanctions.

The sharp blow came in the State Department's annual report on human trafficking after the three nations languished for years on a US watch list, having been granted past waivers amid promises to do better.

Three other countries, however -- Azerbaijan, the Congo and Iraq -- were elevated off the watch list to Tier 2 status as a reward for what US officials called "real movement" in the fight against trafficking and slavery.

The US estimates that about 27 million remain enslaved around the world.

"People get so focused on the politics behind this that they forget that every one of these is a person," Luis CdeBaca, director of the office to monitor and combat trafficking in persons, told AFP.

Under the terms of a 2008 law, the six countries could no longer stay on the Tier 2 Watch List and either had to move up to Tier 2 or be downgraded to Tier 3 -- a move that could trigger cuts in non-humanitarian and non-trade US aid.

"We have a moral obligation to meet this challenge head-on. Human trafficking is an assault on our most dearly held values of freedom and basic human dignity," US Secretary of State John Kerry said in the report's foreword.

But he stressed that "governments bear primary responsibility for responding to this crime."

The 2013 report found that "trafficking is pronounced among China's internal migrant population" and "forced labor remains a problem, including in brick kilns, coal mines and factories."

The one-child policy has resulted in "a skewed sex ratio of 118 boys to 100 girls in China, which served as a key source of demand for the trafficking of foreign women as brides for Chinese men and for forced prostitution."

Beijing had failed to "demonstrate significant efforts to comprehensively prohibit and punish all forms of trafficking," the report maintained.

Representative Chris Smith, who has authored key legislation on trafficking, said China has become the "sex and labor trafficking capital of the world."

"Women and young girls have been -- and are today being -- reduced to commodities and coerced into prostitution," he added in a statement.

Uzbekistan had reduced the number of children under 15 forced to pick the key annual cotton crop, but "continued to subject older children and adult laborers to forced labor in that harvest," the report found.

In Russia, a million people "are exposed to 'exploitative' labor conditions characteristic of trafficking cases, such as withholding of documents, nonpayment for services, physical abuse, or extremely poor living conditions."

President Barack Obama will determine whether to enact any sanctions against the three nations in September.

Such a move will also act as a warning to other nations on the watch list to improve their efforts or face relegation next year. Afghanistan, Barbados, Chad, Malaysia, the Maldives and Thailand will all no longer be eligible for a waiver and face either relegation or promotion.

It is also likely to surprise rights organizations who had feared that geopolitical considerations could halt any downgrade of key US allies.

"It is not grounds for an upgrade that a country is important, or that a country is a close ally. To get an upgrade they have to show results," CdeBaca stressed.

"By its very name, Tier 2 Watch List is saying watch out, you're about to fall down to Tier 3. Some governments take that to heart and start working on it."

Out of the 188 countries in the report, the State Department downgraded 18 others, placing them among a staggering 44 nations on the watch list. And only Madagascar moved up from Tier 3.

"It's a tough report, but fair and the conclusions that it draws are on behalf of those millions of voiceless victims who don't know if any of us know about them," CdeBaca said.

Even though more nations fell in the rankings than rose this year, CdeBaca pointed to progress, such as "a 20 percent increase in convictions worldwide," while 10 percent more trafficking victims were successfully found.

In a plus, Armenia moved up to Tier 1 in a move indicating that "political will makes a difference," CdeBaca said.

But Croatia, Lithuania, Mauritius and Georgia all lost top status to slide down to the second tier, examples of countries who get complacent and "just rest on their laurels," he added.

FBI director says surveillance drones used in US

Michael Mathes, Agence France-Presse — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 16:36:33 -0700