Lacey blog

Jay-Z wins three Grammys, Eminem just one

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Rapper Jay-Z overshadowed Grammys front-runner Eminem as the music awards show got under way on Sunday, while two-time winner Lady Gaga made a grand red-carpet entrance encased in an egg.

Jay-Z won three early awards including a pair for his duet with Alicia Keys on "Empire State of Mind," a love letter to New York that will compete for record of the year later in the ceremony. The hip-hop star received six nominations in all.

Eminem, who leads the field with 10 nominations, received a single early Grammy. He will go head-to-head with Jay-Z for both record of the year and best rap album, and will also vie for song and album of the year.

But his losses to the likes of Jay-Z, Lady Gaga and even jazz icon Herbie Hancock indicated that the awards show would not be an early valentine to the rapper.

Lady Gaga was still in her egg when she was wheeled onto the Staples Center stage to perform her newly released single "Born This Way," a plea for tolerance reminiscent of Madonna's "Express Yourself."

The flamboyant pop singer is noted for her savvy awards attire, but she opted for relatively demure garb this time after wearing a dress adorned in slabs of meat at the MTV Video Music Awards last year.

MIRANDA LAMBERT WINS FIRST GRAMMY

The performance-heavy show kicked off with a tribute to ailing "Queen of Soul" Aretha Franklin, who is battling an undisclosed illness. After performances by the likes of Christina Aguilera and Jennifer Hudson, Franklin appeared on the screen and promised to be at the show next year.

Country singer Miranda Lambert won the first Grammy of her career after making her Grammys performance debut with song of the year nominee "The House That Built Me."

British rock band Muse turned up the volume with their song "Uprising," and also won a Grammy for their efforts. The band bested the likes of Pearl Jam and Neil Young to win best rock album for "The Resistance."

The star of the show, as far as millions of young girls are concerned, was likely Justin Bieber. The 16-year-old Canadian performed acoustically, rolled out some African drummers, rapped with Will Smith's son Jaden, and danced with his mentor Usher. Bieber will compete for best new artist later in the show alongside a compatriot, hip-hop star Drake.

Jay-Z's awards were in the rap field where "Empire State of Mind" was named best rap song and best rap/sung collaboration. He shared the awards with Keys. He and Keys' husband, Swizz Beatz, shared a performance award for "On to the Next One."

Lady Gaga picked up a pair for "Bad Romance," beating Eminem to claim the short form video prize. She will also compete for album of the year, a field rounded out by Canadian rock band Arcade Fire and perky pop singer Katy Perry.

Eminem's "So Afraid" won the Grammy for best rap solo performance.

Other multiple winners included classical producer David Frost with four prizes, while British rock guitarist Jeff Beck and soul singer/songwriter John Legend had three each.

Country trio Lady Antebellum, also up for six awards, won two prizes for their song "Need You Now," which will vie for song and record of the year. Rock band the Black Keys and R&B singer Usher also scored two awards each.

Other winners among the 108 categories included veterans Paul McCartney, Neil Young, Mavis Staples and Buddy Guy. But they were spring chickens compared to 97-year-old Pinetop Perkins, who won the prize for traditional blues album, extending his record as the oldest recipient.

(Editing by Mohammad Zargham)

U.S. farmers, businesses press to pass trade deals

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. farm and business groups on Monday said they were stepping up efforts to win congressional approval of long-delayed free trade pacts with Colombia and Panama in the next five to six months.

Bill Lane, Washington director of governmental relations for Caterpillar, told reporters he was increasingly optimistic Congress would approve the two deals, and a third pact with South Korea that President Barack Obama already plans to send to Congress.

"It think all three will be done before the summer recess, will be enacted," Lane said at a briefing on a trip a U.S. business delegation is making to Panama and Colombia this week to highlight business opportunities of the pacts.

The delegation also includes representatives from Citibank, General Electric, IBM, Wal-Mart and the National Pork Producers Council.

U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk told Congress last week that President Barack Obama had directed him to intensify talks to resolve problems with the Colombia and Panama pacts, which were signed in November 2006 and June 2007, respectively.

In the case of Colombia, that requires addressing strong Democratic party concerns about killings of Colombian labor leaders and the failure of the Colombian government to prosecute many of those responsible for the crimes.

A USTR team is traveling to Colombia this week to gather the latest information on that situation.

Colombia says its overall murder rate fell 45 percent between 2002 and 2009 as the government regained control of territory previously controlled by illegally armed groups and criminal organizations.

Killings of union members also fell from 196 in 2002 to 28 in 2009, the Colombian government says.

Meanwhile, a coalition of U.S. farm and food organizations on Monday wrote Obama to urged him to finalize the Colombia and Panama agreements.

"Four years of trade benefits for U.S. farmers, ranchers and food processors have now been forfeited by our inaction on these agreements, and competitor countries have taken advantage of this lapse to grab U.S. market shares," the coalition said. "It is time to bring this situation to an end."

U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk met last week with Panama Vice President Juan Carlos Varela to discuss that pending bilateral agreement.

The United States wants Panama to make additional labor reforms and implement a tax information exchange agreement the two countries signed last year.

(Reporting by Doug Palmer; Editing by Eric Walsh)

Can Russia rival the X-37B space plane with its own robotic spacecraft?

Moscow – Russia's reviving space industry might be working on its own version of the US Air Force's reusable unmanned space plane. After all, Russian space experts seemed surprised, a little alarmed, and possibly in awe of the American X-37B when it was successfully flight-tested from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on April 22.

The head of Russia's Space Forces, Lt. Gen. Oleg Ostapenko, dropped a tantalizing hint last week that suggested that Russian researchers were working on a similar design.

"Something has been done along these lines, but as to whether we will use it, only time will tell," General Ostapenko was quoted by the official RIA-Novosti agency as saying.

IN PICTURES: The X-37 space plane

The American X-37B, which spent seven months in orbit doing secret research before returning last December, is a remotely controlled, scaled-down space shuttle-like craft that appears to be dedicated mainly to military tasks.

Most Russian media coverage about the mini-shuttle was dominated by fear. Would the US use the enhanced orbital capabilities the space plane makes possible to undercut Russia's national security? Would the X-37B threaten Russian satellites or even install space-based antimissile weapons?

"The original idea of this space plane was to destroy the enemy's sputniks," says Vladimir Shcherbakov, deputy editor of Vzlyot (Liftoff), a leading Russian aerospace journal.

"It's a kind of space fighter. If your enemy loses all his sputniks which provide his communication, intelligence, navigation, etc. he will be in a panic, he'll be helpless. So it's critical, if you're going to build one, that you state what it's for and whom it's directed against," he says. "The Americans haven't declared who their X-37 is to be used against. They just say they're developing new technologies."

Mr. Shcherbakov says it's quite likely that Russia is working on its own space plane, since the Kremlin nowadays identifies successful space projects as key to boosting Russia's international prestige and has spent a lot more money on the once-moribund space industry.

"Nowadays there's more financing, so the search for cutting-edge projects that we can accomplish is going on intensively," he says. "When the Boeing X-37 was tested, it raised questions from the bosses about whether we were building one, too. But this is a secret subject in the US, and even more so here. So no one will tell you for sure."

The once-mighty Soviet space program virtually collapsed during the 1990s, and its only big remaining project is to act as a kind of "space taxi" to ferry astronauts to the International Space Station.

The USSR built a space shuttle, the Buran, which was modeled on the US version, but only managed to test it twice before the program was scrapped in 1993. The surviving copy of the Buran serves as a children's attraction in Moscow's riverside Gorky Park amusement center.

But with growing financial resources, Russian space scientists have a lot more ideas on their drawing boards these days. These include a nuclear-powered spacecraft that could carry cosmonauts to Mars, and a Pac Man-like nuclear powered space pod that could gobble up space garbage and perhaps be used to protect the Earth from asteroid collisions.

A functioning space plane might be useful for the Russians to service the new Glonass satellite network, Russia's answer to the American GPS system, which is still on track to launch this year despite a disastrous crash that cost the program three satellites last December.

Andrei Ionin, an independent space expert, says that Ostapenko's hint about a Russian version of the X-37B is hard to interpret.

"It is the logic of space research that both Russia and the US usually find themselves doing much the same things," he says. "They built a shuttle, we built a shuttle, and so on. But comments like Ostapenko's should be followed by demonstrations and proper official statements. As things stand, who knows what he meant? Perhaps it was just a bit of PR?"

IN PICTURES: The X-37 space plane

U.S. in talks over possible Mubarak departure

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. officials said on Thursday they were discussing with Egyptians different scenarios for a transition of power, including one in which President Hosni Mubarak leaves office immediately.

"That's one scenario," said a senior Obama administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity. "There are a number of scenarios, but (it is) wrong to suggest we have discussed only one with the Egyptians."

The New York Times reported on Thursday the Obama administration was talking with Egyptian officials about a proposal for Mubarak to resign immediately.

The White House would not confirm the Times report but said discussions have been under way with Egyptians in an attempt to resolve the 10-day crisis in Egypt.

Violence has raged between pro- and anti-Mubarak demonstrators after Mubarak declared he would resist demands to leave now and would remain in power until September.

Tommy Vietor, spokesman for the White House National Security Council, said President Barack Obama has said now is the time to begin "a peaceful, orderly and meaningful transition, with credible, inclusive negotiations."

"We have discussed with the Egyptians a variety of different ways to move that process forward, but all of those decisions must be made by the Egyptian people," Vietor said.

More than one option was under discussion, a senior administration official said.

Obama and his top aides have carefully avoided calling for Mubarak's resignation, instead insisting that an orderly transition "must begin now" and raising doubts about Mubarak's plans to stay in power until September.

The Times reported that under a proposal discussed with high-level Egyptian officials, Mubarak would turn power over to a transitional government headed by Vice President Omar Suleiman with the support of the Egyptian military.

Vice President Joe Biden spoke to Suleiman on Thursday and urged that "credible, inclusive negotiations begin immediately in order for Egypt to transition to a democratic government."

Biden urged the Egyptian government to ensure no violence breaks out and appealed for the release of detained journalists and human rights advocates as the possibility of a new round of rioting loomed on Friday.

Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. military's Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that he hoped the situation would "evolve peacefully so that the Egyptian people can end up with the government that they want."

Mullen has praised the Egyptian military's restraint in the face of the anti-government protests in recent days and stressed on Thursday that Egyptian top brass had told him they would not engage in a violent crackdown.

"In discussions I've had with their military leadership, they have reassured me that they have no intent to fire on their own people," he said in an interview on "The Daily Show."

SENATE CALLS FOR TURNOVER

U.S. lawmakers applied pressure on the long-time U.S. ally, calling on Mubarak to transfer power to an inclusive caretaker government in a Senate resolution that went slightly beyond Obama's public position.

Two influential senators, Republican John McCain and Democrat John Kerry, pushed the proposal, which expanded on Obama's demand for a transition in Egypt to begin now. It was approved by the Senate on a voice vote.

The document calls for Mubarak to immediately begin an "orderly and peaceful transition to a democratic political system."

This should include "the transfer of power to an inclusive interim government in coordination with leaders from Egypt's opposition, civil society and military" to enact reforms needed to hold free and fair elections this year.

Kerry said on the Senate floor that the Egyptian government should move to an interim government "over these next days."

McCain expressed fears of a blood bath and emphasized that Egypt's military was the most respected institution there but it risked turning people against it unless it acted "as a genuine peacemaker."

Amid concerns that a wave of protests that erupted in Tunisia and then Egypt could spread to other Middle Eastern capitals, Obama phoned Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh to follow up his pledges of reform with concrete actions.

The White House said Obama also told Saleh it is imperative that Yemen take forceful action against al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

Clinton spoke to Jordan's King Abdullah -- another close U.S. ally -- on Thursday to discuss Egypt and to express support for his own recent reforms, part of a wave of change by authoritarian governments across the Middle East seeking to head off Egypt-style unrest.

(Additional reporting by Andrew Quinn, Arshad Mohammed and Phil Stewart; editing by Bill Trott and Philip Barbara)

Protest held near Berlusconi's villa in Milan

MILAN – Critics of Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi staged a protest Sunday near his Milan villa, some wearing masks of the leader while others shouted slogans against him. A small group scuffled with police.

Berlusconi is under investigation on suspicion he had sex with a 17-year-old Moroccan girl and used his office to cover it up. He denies wrongdoing.

Prosecutors have focused on Berlusconi's villa in Arcore, just outside Milan, where he reportedly throws wild parties with young women.

Hundreds gathered in Arcore to demand the premier's resignation. Some wore masks of Berlusconi's grinning face covered by underwear. One woman wore a prosecutor's black robe in a show of support for the judiciary, which Berlusconi has repeatedly attacked.

A small group of protesters who had broken away from the main demonstration and tried to reach Berlusconi's villa scuffled with police, according to the ANSA news agency. The protesters hurled bottles and other objects at a police line blocking them, and police wielding batons charged at them, ANSA said.

The reports said a handful of people, both among the protesters and police, had been injured and two protesters detained.

It was the second anti-Berlusconi demonstration in as many days. On Saturday, thousands attended a rally in a Milan sports stadium, including notable left-leaning intellectuals such as Umberto Eco and anti-mafia author Roberto Saviano.

Berlusconi insisted in a message to his supporters Sunday that he will push ahead, saying there are no alternatives to his government. Berlusconi was elected in 2008 on a five-year-term.