In-vehicle navigation sales will quadruple by 2019

By Paul A. Eisenstein, The Detroit Bureau

The number of cars, trucks and crossovers sold with in-vehicles navigation systems will quadruple in North America by 2019, according to a new study, growing to nearly 13 million new systems annually.

But that may not be as good news as it might seem for traditional navi system suppliers, such as Denso, Harman or TomTom, cautions Boston-based Strategy Analytics, Inc. It warns that high-tech firms, such as Apple, Google and Microsoft, are ?beginning to battle for share? as they grow their own automotive business.

The good news is that future navigation systems, whoever supplies them, will likely be less expensive and offer significantly more features.? Price, even more than functionality, has been a barrier to entry for many consumers ? or led them to go with aftermarket devices that can be purchased at a Costco for $100.? And now, potential buyers have the opportunity to go with smartphone navigation apps.?

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??The recent Apple announcement regarding its automotive OEM partnerships and the expansion of Apple?s mapping efforts could significantly change the in-vehicle navigation market,? says Strategy Analytics Senior Analyst John Canali.

The penetration rate of in-car navigation technology varies widely by market.? Factory navi systems are near-ubiquitous in Japan, especially in labyrinthine cities like Tokyo.? In the U.S., however, the technology got off to a slow start, and while after-market units have become popular holiday gifts, factory-installed systems have gained ground much more slowly.

That?s beginning to change.? Some makers have recognized that price is a critical obstacle.? They had to switch from a low-volume, high profit margin strategy, said Canali, to one that recognizes they can sell far more navigation systems but at a lower profit per unit.

Ford, for example, now offers navi systems on some models for as little as $600.? In fact, the basic hardware is already in the car and the motorist pays the premium for software contained on a thumbnail-sized SD card.

Meanwhile, proposed legislation that would mandate the use of back-up cameras should also help lower prices and increase sales, suggested Canali, as most of the basic hardware, notably the in-dash video screen will already be installed in most vehicles once such legislation goes into effect.?

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But the analyst notes that ?The definition of navigation has really widened,? stressed Canali.? ?It?s not just the full-screen, harddrive or DVD-based system built into the dashboard anymore.?

Ford, for example, also offers a free service through its Sync infotainment system.? There?s no video display but a motorist can call in a destination and an operator will program it in.? Then, turn-by-turn instructions will be read out by voice.? General Motors offers a similar ?off-board navigation? feature through its OnStar subsidiary, as do a number of other makers.? GM has also introduced the new Chevrolet GogoLink, a new smartphone app-based nav system that GM says will provide full-featured navigation with traffic updates at less than the cost of traditional navigation.

Ford?s Sync system, as well as Kia?s new infotainment technology, were both developed by Microsoft.? The latest Audi models, such as the 2013 S5 sedan, feature displays using Google Earth and Google StreetView images.? Apple is now getting into the act and is even negotiating with a number of manufacturers to add a ?Siri? button on the steering wheel that would directly access the high-tech firm?s voice control software on an iPhone. Among other things, that would allow a driver to simply ask for a nearby coffee shop and have the address automatically entered into the navi system.?

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?Competing against these new players will be difficult for incumbent suppliers of navigation systems because the new players are so well capitalized and can devote far more to research and development,? Richard Robinson, Director of Automotive and Multimedia Communications at Strategy Analytics.

The new study concludes that worldwide sales of in-car navigation systems will jump from 9.5 million in 2009 to 56 million by 2019. In North America volume will surge from 1.8 million in 2009 to an estimated 3 million this year and 12.9 million annually by 2019.? But, at least from a percentage basis, the biggest growth will be seen in China, Strategy Analytics forecasting navigation sales of just 355,000 in 2009 will reach 11.8 million by 2018.?

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Source: http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/07/11/12683063-in-vehicle-navigation-sales-will-quadruple-by-2019?lite

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Study: Sept. 11 most memorable TV moment

FILE - In this Sept. 11, 2001, file photo, the twin towers of the World Trade Center burn behind the Empire State Building in New York. The Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attack is by far the most memorable moment shared by television viewers during the past 50 years, a study released on Wednesday, July 11, 2012, concluded. (AP Photo/Marty Lederhandler, File)

FILE - In this Sept. 11, 2001, file photo, the twin towers of the World Trade Center burn behind the Empire State Building in New York. The Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attack is by far the most memorable moment shared by television viewers during the past 50 years, a study released on Wednesday, July 11, 2012, concluded. (AP Photo/Marty Lederhandler, File)

FILE - This Nov. 22, 1963 file photo shows President John F. Kennedy riding in motorcade with first lady Jacqueline Kenndy before he was shot in Dallas, Texas. The Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attack is by far the most memorable moment shared by television viewers during the past 50 years, a study released on Wednesday, July 11, 2012 concluded. The only thing that came close was President John F. Kennedy's assassination and its aftermath in 1963, but that was only for the people aged 55 and over who experienced the events as they happened instead of replayed as an historical artifact. (AP Photo, file)

New Orleans residents wait to be rescued from the floodwaters of Hurricane Katrina Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2005 in New Orleans. After Sept. 11, the TV event with the most impact was the coverage of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

NEW YORK (AP) ? The Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attack is by far the most memorable moment shared by television viewers during the past 50 years, a study released on Wednesday concluded.

The only thing that came close was President John F. Kennedy's assassination and its aftermath in 1963, but that was only for the people aged 55 and over who experienced those events as they happened instead of replayed as an historical artifact.

Sony Electronics and the Nielsen television research company collaborated on the survey. They ranked TV moments for their impact not just by asking people if they remembered watching them, but if they recalled where they watched it, who they were with and whether they talked to other people about what they had seen.

By that measure, the Sept. 11 tragedy was nearly twice as impactful as the second-ranked moment, which was the coverage of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Minutes after the first airplane struck New York's World Trade Center on a late summer morning, television networks began covering the events continuously and stayed with them for days.

The other biggest TV events, in order, were the 1995 verdict in O.J. Simpson's murder trial, the Challenger space shuttle explosion in 1986 and the death of Osama bin Laden last year, the survey found.

Sony was interested in the study for clues on consumer interests and behaviors and found "that television is really the grandmother of all the social devices," said Brian Siegel, vice president of television business for the company.

Going into the study, Siegel said he had anticipated that entertainment events like the final episode of "M-A-S-H" (ranked No. 42), the Beatles' appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show" (No. 43) and the "Who shot J.R.?" episode of "Dallas" (No. 44) would rank higher. Instead, television coverage of news events made the biggest difference in viewers' lives.

The Super Bowl is annually the most-watched TV event, with this year's game between the N.Y. Giants and New England Patriots setting an all-time record with 111 million viewers. The memories don't seem to linger, however: the top-ranked Super Bowl Sunday event in Sony's study came in 2004 and had nothing to do with football. It was Janet Jackson's wardrobe malfunction (No. 26).

Men and women agreed on the three most impactful television events ? Sept. 11, Katrina and Simpson. After that, some of the interests diverged.

For example, women ranked the 1997 funeral of Princess Diana as the fourth most memorable event, while men put that at No. 23. Women ranked last year's death of Whitney Houston at No. 5, with men judging it No. 21.

Similarly, the 2003 bombing of Baghdad at the start of the Iraq War was seen as the No. 14 most impactful moment by men, and No. 37 among women. Men were also far more struck by boxer Mike Tyson biting off a piece of Evander Holyfield's ear.

The passage of time has also diluted some moments once thought as unforgettable, simply because succeeding generations have no personal memory of them. Man's first moon landing in 1969 ranked No. 21.

Age also made a big difference in the survey. JFK's assassination was the second-most impactful TV event among people 55 and over, while for those between 18 and 34, it was the death of Osama bin Laden.

Young people also ranked Barack Obama's Election Night speech in 2008 at No. 3, while that didn't move older viewers quite as much (No. 24).

Simply because of their age, events like the JFK assassination, President Nixon's resignation and the moon landing didn't register at all among viewers 18 to 34. The oldest event to appear in their rankings was the 1980 shooting of John Lennon.

The study was based on an online questionnaire of 1,077 adults selected as a scientific sample from among Nielsen's panel of people measured for television ratings. It was conducted between Feb. 15-17 this year.

The study could be a good baseline for future looks at how television impacts viewers, said Paul Lindstrom, senior vice president for custom research at Nielsen.

"I'd like to see these done on a periodic basis going forward," he said.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-07-11-US-TV-Memorable-Moments/id-907290976d0440729e000bde71f60537

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Video: Pool drowning deaths on the rise

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/48145228#48145228

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Hey, Just Keeping It Real (talking-points-memo)

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Asteroid named for gay rights pioneer Frank Kameny

FILE - In this June 1, 2009 file photo, Frank Kameny is seen in his home in Washington. A Canadian amateur astronomer who discovered several asteroids has named one after U.S. gay rights pioneer Frank Kameny who died last year in Washington. Kameny, who earned a doctorate in astronomy at Harvard University, was an astronomer with the U.S. Army Map Service in the 1950s but was fired from his job for being gay. He contested the firing all the way to the Supreme Court and later organized the first gay rights protests outside the White House, the Pentagon and in Philadelphia in the 1960s. Kameny died last year at age 86. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

FILE - In this June 1, 2009 file photo, Frank Kameny is seen in his home in Washington. A Canadian amateur astronomer who discovered several asteroids has named one after U.S. gay rights pioneer Frank Kameny who died last year in Washington. Kameny, who earned a doctorate in astronomy at Harvard University, was an astronomer with the U.S. Army Map Service in the 1950s but was fired from his job for being gay. He contested the firing all the way to the Supreme Court and later organized the first gay rights protests outside the White House, the Pentagon and in Philadelphia in the 1960s. Kameny died last year at age 86. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? A Canadian amateur astronomer has named an asteroid he discovered after U.S. gay rights pioneer Frank Kameny, who died last year in Washington.

Kameny, who earned a doctorate in astronomy at Harvard University, was an astronomer with the U.S. Army Map Service in the 1950s but was fired from his job for being gay. He contested the firing all the way to the Supreme Court and later organized the first gay rights protests outside the White House, the Pentagon and in Philadelphia in the 1960s.

Kameny died last year at age 86.

When astronomer Gary Billings read Kameny's obituary, he consulted with others in the astronomy world. They decided to submit a citation to the Paris-based International Astronomical Union and the Minor Planet Center in Cambridge, Mass., seeking to designate Minor Planet 40463 as Frankkameny.

It's located in the asteroid belt, orbiting between Mars and Jupiter. The Kameny asteroid is visible through a telescope and was first discovered in 1999 using long-exposure photography.

"Frank would show up as a little dot that moves between two points," Richard "Doc" Kinne, an astronomical technologist at the American Association of Variable Star Observers in Cambridge, Mass., said in an interview. He helped write the citation that would lead to the naming.

While comets are often named for their discoverers, those who discover asteroids have 10 years to suggest a name once the discovery is verified. The submission is subject to review by a 15-member international panel, said astronomy historian David DeVorkin at the National Air and Space Museum. Astronomers often use the names as an acknowledgement of someone's contributions to science or culture.

A published citation officially naming the asteroid on July 3 notes Kameny's history as a gay rights pioneer.

"Frank E. Kameny (1925-2011) trained as a variable star astronomer in the 1950s, but joined the Civil Rights struggle. His contributions included removing homosexuality from being termed a mental disorder in 1973 and shepherding passage of the District of Columbia marriage equality law in 2009," the citation reads in the Minor Planet Circular.

Kinne said he and Billings wanted to honor Kameny for his legacy, even though he was pushed out of the astronomy field.

After Billings read Kameny's obituary, he wrote to Kinne.

"Hey, I have a few asteroids I discovered that I haven't named yet," he said. "What do you say we name one after Frank?"

"I was utterly floored," Kinne said. "To me, this is a big deal."

Billings told Kinne he was moved by hearing the story of how he had met Kameny about three years ago in Washington and many passers-by stopped to thank him for his advocacy.

"I concluded he was a man I would have admired," Billings wrote to Kinne. "Add that to the fact that I have many friends and acquaintances who are members of the LGBT community, and I felt it was something I wanted to do to honour Dr. Kameny ? and my friends!"

Before Kameny died, Kinne and others had been working to present him with a certificate of recognition from the American Astronomical Society and perhaps create and fund an award in his honor. Kameny also received an official apology from President Barack Obama's administration for his firing years ago.

"He was an astronomer," Kinne said. "The culture of the time took that away from him, and now he's getting it back. He would have liked that."

Kinne and Billings submitted the citation for the asteroid late last year. By July, they hadn't heard whether it was approved and feared it had been rejected. On July 6, though, they got word that Kameny is an asteroid.

___

Follow Brett Zongker on Twitter at https://twitter.com/DCArtBeat

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/b2f0ca3a594644ee9e50a8ec4ce2d6de/Article_2012-07-10-Asteroid-Gay%20Rights/id-51010defae1e42d793ccea7429d35356

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Samsung Galaxy Note documents pop up on T-Mobile's site, prepares for its grand entrance

If there's one thing we can be certain of, it's this: T-Mobile's been anything but cautious about keeping its own Galaxy Note variant under secretive wraps. In a matter of weeks, we've spotted it while paying Mr. Blurrycam a visit, making a short stop at the FCC offices and, most recently, showing its phablet self in some purported T-Mo press shots. And although this time it isn't being as revealing as it has in previous occasions, it's yet another sign that its eventual entrance into T-Mobile's smartphone lineup is right around the corner. As a curious TmoNews reader found out, a quick, simple search for Galaxy Note within the Magenta site brings up a plethora of support documents for the device, including bits like software overview, call functionality, media, customization and specs. In case you were planning on snagging one of these once it launches, this might be a good way to become acquainted with the Samsung's jumbo slab.

Filed under: Cellphones

Samsung Galaxy Note documents pop up on T-Mobile's site, prepares for its grand entrance originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 10 Jul 2012 14:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/07/10/samsung-galaxy-note-t-mobile-support-documents/

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Signature home health - HEALTH, BEAUTY & FITNESS

Selecting the Insurance signature home health Provider that? s Best for you Initially it might appear that you? re only evaluating medical health insurance plans and never the businesses themselves. You will get these signature home health updates even if you stay 1000? s of kilometers from your parents by using these medical alert watches VESAG health watch is a such device that will help you have a check up on the healthiness of your folks. Such situations it? on s important that you should approach the doctor and undertake proper medicinal treatment suggested by him. In early several weeks of 2009, 1000? s more health lost their health insurance their jobs as unemployment rose to a lot home more than 12 % in certain Florida areas. Kreiner Family signature Dentistry, in Bel Air, Maryland. Personality Although it isn? t a condition requirement, many Arizona companies list good communication abilities, versatility, empathy, honesty, reliability, diligence and maturity as only a couple of from the characteristics they expect in the home healthcare aide. The greater abundant the flavonoid, the much deeper the red- colored pigment. The current economic decline has managed to get more problematic for individuals to get time, entertain and utilize top health care facilities. Nearly all these doctors can title a couple of of the advantages of ehr systems. Regrettably, not every one of them could be helpful. Rather than a long- term solution this kind of medical health insurance can also be liked by many people. Listed here are five reasons why you need to find out about mental health. Natural supplements may also help in controlling your own body? s metabolic process, as well as in bone and tissue formation. Mobility ? As we grow older our joints may become health articles on smoking less fluid or moveable. For that ease of their clients, insurance providers are actually offering charge card payment schemes. Question about the standard, simplicity articles of use, functionality along with other intricacies can be a significant hurdle in implementation. Biologically, oftentimes it seems to possess a reference to the metabolic process from the body or cased of smoking thyroid problems. This can be used insurance in almost any condition and you choose your doctors. Nutrient Content of health Fennel leaves per 100 g: Iron: 2. 7mg Calcium: 109mg Carotene: 4. 7mg Folate: 100mg Ascorbic Acid: 93. 0mg Herbal Qualities: Antispasmodic, aromatic, carminative, diuretic, expectorant, galactagogue, stimulant. Cucumber, radish and bitter gourd are advantageous in diabetes. Kinds of media and technology accustomed to purify water include triggered carbon, ionizers, and Ultra violet light, reverse osmosis, sediment filters, and ultra- filtration.

Related Post Signature home health

Instaflex is really a revolutionary joint product including only natural compounds. Simultaneously, it stretches federal funding for that Kids Medical Health Insurance Program ( Healthy lifestyle options and prudent utilisation of the health care system are the most useful and simplest methods to get a grip on our Several of these diet health wellness improvement ways that embrace correct exercise, a proper mental disposition, along with a fastidiously planned diet, using the Quote Roundup: How Real Parents Take Control of the Kids? Diet Habits References: National Institutes of Health UptoDate. com USNews. com College of Florida This enzymatic system? s primary process would be to break services the meals lower in to the most fundamental components, to be able to

Source: http://curryrecipe-jp.net/health-2/signature-home-health/

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Traveling Artwork Helps Cancer Patients Cope

PEORIA -- A traveling art gallery is helping cancer patients cope with the emotional toll of the disease.

"Lilly Oncology on Canvas" has hit Peoria and is spending a week at the Humana Guidance Center.

The artwork was created by cancer patients, survivors and those affected by the disease.

Humana Guidance Center Manager Linda Greenwell said doctors can treat the medical side of cancer, but this artwork can help heal the emotional pain. "Just reading the stories and the narratives that are with each of the pieces of artwork, you can see how it has helped people to kind of come to terms and realize they can beat this," Greenwell said.

More than 20 pieces of art are available to see until July 13.

For more information on the "Lilly Oncology on Canvas" project, visit their homepage www.lillyoncologyoncanvas.com or find them on Facebook.

Source: http://centralillinoisproud.com/fulltext?nxd_id=258442

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Heat wave 2012 culprit? That pesky Atlantic oscillation

Heat wave 2012 was expected to peak Saturday, with cooler temperatures ? by as much as 15 degrees ? expected early in the week. But a hotter-than-usual pattern has been established.

By Patrik Jonsson,?Staff writer / July 7, 2012

Garrison Keeton takes a quick break for a drink, as the temperature outside hit the upper 90's in Philadelphia. The heat gripping much of the country was set to peak Saturday.

Chuck Beckley/Daily News/AP

Enlarge

Thermometers strained again on Saturday as the eastern half of the US faced Day 10 of Heat wave 2012, with temps creeping up into the humid 100s as sweaty Americans sought out pools, ponds, oceans, and rivers for relief.

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The stretch of brow-wiping weather has proven historic, shattering thousands of heat records since June, and leaving parts of the Washington, D.C. area sweltering without power and air conditioning after a rare ?derecho? thunderstorm hit the area last weekend. Authorities say 23 people across the country have died from heat-related causes in what?s on pace to become the hottest year on record, leaping ahead of 1934.

Even Atlanta, affectionately known as ?Hotlanta,? saw its single highest recorded temperature last week. And those living in places like St. Louis, Mo., have found themselves at the epicenter of a quirky set of meteorological circumstances that, were one to prognosticate, are likely to make it a particularly long July, which under normal circumstances is already the hottest month of the year.

RELATED: Are you scientifically literate? Take our quiz!

It?s the emerging seesaw pattern of intense heat separated by slightly cooler, sometimes storm-carrying weather that?s a major clue as to what?s going on with the weather, and why the rest of the summer is likely to play out largely along the same steamy lines.

Why is it so hot? Large swaths of the country are covered by a massive heat dome described by Wunderground.com meteorologist Jeff Masters as ?one of the greatest in recorded history.? A heat dome is basically a lump of high-level, slow-moving high pressure air that blocks cooling winds, leaving mammals inside the dome sweltering in very hot temperatures, medium to high humidity, and relatively still air.

The domes are formed as air moves across the high plateaus of the desert Southwest, where they?re fed by baking temperatures, and then slide eastward on the jet stream. When trees, lakes, and rivers begin to predominate as the dome moves across the Mississippi River, moisture evaporates into humidity, helping to create smog in cities and driving up the ?feel? of the heat. On Saturday, likely the peak of the current heat wave, that ?feel? was expected to rise to a blistering 112 in Washington.

So why the giant heat dome all of a sudden?

Some have pointed to urban heat island effects and suspected warming from man-made greenhouse gases as playing a role in Heat wave 2012. But one certain culprit, experts say, is the same atmospheric effect that sparked a lot of the big snow storms across the mid-Atlantic and Northeast in recent years: The North Atlantic Oscillation.

The massive oscillation helps set weather in motion, and its movement can have direct, long-term effects on specific regions. This year, the oscillation is moving particularly slowly, meaning that it?s not letting through the hot air coming off the North American shelf, causing that air, in essence, to back up across the country, pushing hotter temperatures northward.

Thankfully, many of those in the hot zone can expect some relief after Saturday, as a trough of ?cold? air ? at least 10 to 15 degrees cooler ? is managing to push the dome along from the west.

Jeff Weber, a scientist with the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo., told OurAmazingPlanet.com that the pattern is likely to keep repeating through the month, and perhaps the end of the summer, with about 10 days of uncomfortable heat at a time offset by shorter stretches of cooler weather. Rinse, dry, repeat.

With 56 percent of the US experiencing drought, the dynamics of that see-saw pattern ? extreme heat followed by cooler air and possible rain ? will continue to be closely watched, not just by cubicle workers daydreaming about the beach, but farmers across the nation?s breadbasket worrying about whether the rains will bring enough water to offset the dusty dog days.

RELATED: Are you scientifically literate? Take our quiz!

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/science/~3/cW31BFCnJiw/Heat-wave-2012-culprit-That-pesky-Atlantic-oscillation

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Harper is youngest All-Star ever

Bryce Harper missed out when the original NL roster was announced, again on the Final Vote and again as the first two NL All-Stars went down, but he will go to Kansas City after all. He was chosen as the injured Giancarlo Stanton?s replacement on the NL roster Saturday, making him the youngest position player ever to go to an All-Star Game.

Stanton is also the fifth rookie on the roster, joining Mike Trout, Yu Darvish, Ryan Cook and Wade Miley. That?s another All-Star record.

The 19-year-old Harper is batting .283/.357/.478 with eight homers and 25 RBI in 244 at-bats since being called up by the Nationals. He spoke earlier this week about maybe preferring to rest over the All-Star break, but it should be a more interesting party with him around.

Source: http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/07/07/bryce-harper-replaces-giancarlo-stanton-in-all-star-game/related

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Leaks, lies, auditions are all part of veepstakes

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Leaks are springing. Trial balloons are floating. Egos are being stroked. Wanna-bes are auditioning. And, chances are, lies are being told.

Somewhere, amid all of the shenanigans, Republican Mitt Romney is considering his choices for a running mate, one of the most significant decisions of his presidential campaign.

The secrecy that shrouds the selection of a modern presidential running mate has given rise to political sideshows that play out in public while the more serious search operation takes place at a largely subterranean level.

Names of new Romney short-listers emerge; others fall by the wayside.

Any kind of proximity to Romney ? or his opponent ? generates questions about GOP veep ambitions.

Why did Sen. Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire walk in a July Fourth parade with Romney? Why did Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana and former Gov. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota turn up in Ohio and Pennsylvania during President Barack Obama's Midwest bus trip? Why did Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio write a Cleveland newspaper column criticizing the president's policies just as Obama headed for the state?

Comments by Romney and his team are parsed for deeper meaning.

What to make of Ann Romney's remark this past week that women are under consideration? What about Romney's earlier comment that outspoken New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie "really is something?" Why did Romney pull back the veil last month to announce that Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida was being "thoroughly vetted" for vice president after reports to the contrary emerged?

Consultant Bob Shrum, who's worked on numerous Democratic presidential campaigns, says a closely held search operation is a good thing because it protects the people who open up their lives to the campaign to be thoroughly checked out as potential running mates.

But the lack of public information creates an opening for all sorts of political gamesmanship, including self-promotion by short-listers who aren't on the short list at all and denials by actual short-listers who feign nonchalance.

That makes it hard for voters to know what's real and what's simply for show. Which is just fine with Romney.

Take all the recent attention on Portman, busy raising his own profile. He invited reporters to an off-the-record dinner during the primaries, chatted them up on the press bus during a Romney tour of Ohio, and held a round-table with national media Saturday in New Hampshire, where he headlined a fundraiser for the state GOP. He said he was in the state "mostly on a college tour" with his daughter, but also expected to speak at some events in Boston on Monday to benefit Romney's campaign.

Who's really floating his name as a veep contender?

"Is that a Romney float or is that a Portman float or is that a friends-of-Portman float?" asks Paul Light, a professor of government at New York University. "You just don't know."

There's an easy remedy available to wanna-be contenders who've been left off the short list, says Light. All it takes is a well-placed whisper from a friend of a friend to land on the veep list.

"Instead of saying, 'I could've been a contender,' you can say, 'I am a contender' even if you're not," says Shrum.

No one's owning up, but Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va., managed to get mentioned as a veep contender in 2008 although the notion that he was under consideration was laughable to GOP nominee John McCain's campaign.

Shrum, who worked on Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry's 2004 campaign, when John Edwards was the running mate, says then-New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson "very much wanted to be seen as being vetted in 2004, until he pulled his own name out of contention." Shrum's theory is that Richardson never wanted to be chosen, but wanted to make a name for himself in preparation for his own 2008 run for president.

Joel Goldstein, an expert on the vice presidency at Saint Louis University School of Law, said presidential candidates may try to flatter a politician or appease a voting bloc by letting it be known that a certain person is under consideration when that person doesn't have a chance. Some call that an "ego vet."

What really matters, says Goldstein, is who's been asked by the campaign to submit documents and answer questionnaires as part of a thorough vetting process.

Steve Schmidt, a senior strategist to McCain's 2008 presidential run, said campaigns are "very careful to have a very inclusive list of people" as potential running mates to avoid giving offense.

Last month, when word surfaced that Rubio wasn't being vetted, it could have created considerable grief for Romney in Florida and with Hispanics. Romney quickly came out and said that Rubio was being "thoroughly vetted."

More often, though, Romney clams up when asked about his search efforts.

That's a far cry from the vice presidential selection process of earlier decades, when candidates were paraded before cameras and, ultimately, very publicly ruled out, causing considerable embarrassment. Walter Mondale, the Democratic nominee in 1984, would fly potential running mates to Minnesota for interviews and hold joint news conferences.

More recently, candidates have gone to great lengths to keep their deliberations secret until they're ready to announce a choice.

When George W. Bush settled on Dick Cheney in 2000 more than a week before his running mate was to be announced, aides worried the secret might not hold. Campaign architect Karl Rove's solution: lie.

Rove told a campaign aide who was known to leak information to reporters: "Don't tell anybody ? but it's going to be Danforth."

That evening, three networks reported that former Sen. John Danforth of Missouri had emerged as a top candidate for the GOP ticket.

"We'd gotten what we needed: a little breathing room for Cheney's announcement," Rove wrote in his memoir.

Too much secrecy, though, can prove problematic, particularly when a vice presidential choice is not well known.

George H.W. Bush's surprise announcement at the GOP convention in 1988 that he had selected Sen. Dan Quayle of Indiana quickly overshadowed Bush himself when questions surfaced about Quayle's service in the National Guard during Vietnam.

"Within hours, it was attracting all the ink and TV time we had counted on for George's official rollout as nominee," James Baker, Bush's campaign chairman, wrote in his memoir.

Light said leaking names of serious contenders gives campaigns an opportunity to see what unsavory issues might be dredged up by interest groups and the press, and to find out whether the questions will peter out or mushroom. He likens it to entering a horse in lower-profile races before the Kentucky Derby.

"You want to see how your horse does under real conditions against strong competitors," Light said.

Romney promises to reveal his decision on a running mate before the GOP convention in late August but won't share much more.

When his wife was asked by CBS last week if she had a favorite candidate, she said: "I like to think that I have a few that I really like a lot."

Romney himself would add just three words: "What she said."

___

Associated Press writer Kasie Hunt contributed to this report.

___

Follow Nancy Benac on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/nbenac

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/leaks-lies-auditions-part-veepstakes-122622344.html

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2 dead as violent storm lashes Great Smokies

TOWNSEND, Tenn. (AP) ? Crews spent Friday clearing trees and reaching stranded visitors at Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee, a day after violent thunderstorms swept through the popular tourist spot, killing at least two people and injuring several others.

The storms hit Thursday evening at the west end of the 500,000-acre, densely forested reserve on the Tennessee-North Carolina line. The storms then moved down the mountains to the Tennessee River Valley.

At Abrams Creek Campground, a tree fell into a swimming hole, killing 41-year-old Rachael Burkhart, of Corryton, Tenn., park officials said.

The same tree struck a family, including a 7-year-old girl, who was unconscious when pulled from the water, but revived after her mother performed CPR. The father suffered vertebrae fractures, multiple broken ribs and a collapsed lung and the mother was injured less seriously.

Carole Cooper came upon the scene when she was returning to her private cabin nearby after swimming with friends.

Campers helped bring the 7-year-old to Cooper's SUV, where Cooper performed first aid. Meanwhile Cooper's friends, one of whom is a physician, went to the creek to try to help Burkhart and the girl's father.

Cooper used her OnStar satellite communications service to call for help, but with the roads blocked, emergency workers had to walk in to the campsite, she said. Her vehicle became a makeshift command post as the rescue workers used her OnStar to communicate with other first responders.

"We were many hours with the injured because we couldn't get them out," she said.

After about four or five hours, enough trees had been cleared that emergency workers could drive Cooper's SUV partway out of the park, but they still had to walk the injured on stretchers to waiting ambulances.

The girl and her father were airlifted to a Knoxville hospital. Their conditions were not available Friday.

Also killed in the park was Ralph Frazier, 50, of Buford, Ga., who was riding a motorcycle when a falling limb struck him in the head, park officials said. His passenger was uninjured.

Most of the damage appeared to be in the popular Cades Cove area of the park and in communities just outside the park boundaries.

"At Cades Cove we had three medical emergencies, we had a cardiac involving a woman, we had a man struck by a tree who sustained a back injury and we had a third male who was injured by shattered windshield glass when the vehicle was struck by a tree," Chief Ranger Clayton Jordan said. "It took us up to six hours to be able to gain access for ambulances to get into Cades Cove and evacuate the injured there."

On Friday, the first priority was to establish an emergency path to reach stranded vehicles.

"All through the night we were finding these pockets of stranded motorists and freeing them up" he said. Rangers also were trying to account for all the occupants of the unoccupied vehicles they found along the roads and checking back-country camping permits.

"We're trying to work through all of those to make sure we don't have anyone still out there unaccounted for," he said. ..."We don't have any reports of anyone in distress or any reports of overdue campers at this point."

Marc Elder, of Winter Haven, Fla., was at Cades Cove with his children for a day hike when the storm hit, and they ended up getting stranded in his vehicle for about five hours. Given the destruction of the storm, he said it was amazing the wait was so short.

"We literally drove through just a tunnel of debris with trees across the road and over it," he said.

Linda Nguyen, a producer at WATE-TV in Knoxville, was at Cades Cove working on a special program about the Smokies when the storm hit and she also got stuck inside the park.

"There were thousands of trees that had fallen," she said. "It looked like a tornado had touched down. ...It was really kind of scary because there were areas where we were parked under downed trees that were still hanging. We thought, 'If one more storm comes through, we're going to get crushed.'"

Meanwhile, others, like Eric Breidenstein, his wife and five children, including 1-year-old twins, were trapped outside the park with only a couple of diapers after going into town for dinner.

The family spent the night in an emergency shelter set up at Tuckaleechee United Methodist Church in the small town of Townsend, which bills itself as "the backdoor to Cades Cove."

On Friday afternoon, they were waiting to go back into the park to collect their belongings.

"All our stuff is there," he said. "Well, we don't know whether it's there or whether something happened to it."

Sandy Headrick, who has owned the Highland Manor Inn in Townsend for 30 years, said the storm was very unusual in that it blew out of the north and east. The wind usually comes out of the west, she said.

"There was a lot of rain, a lot of wind. A lot of people lost power," she said.

"We had some friends who had a tree hit their home," she said. "They're all right, but the house is gone. It came through the roof and took out the kitchen, the bedroom, the living room."

Although multiple injuries were reported in the park, Headrick said she believes everyone in the town is OK.

"Everyone's out picking up branches and pulling tree limbs out of their pools. ... We got a lot of cleanup to do."

National Weather Service meteorologist Derek Eisentrout in Morristown said Friday that the severe heat that has gripped the region set up the intensity of the storms that struck Thursday.

"It was so hot and began to get humid," Eisentrout said. "The storms had a pool of cold air, which met up with that hot, humid air."

The same storm system killed a child and her grandmother in Chattanooga when high winds overturned a 30-foot double-decker pontoon boat she was on in Chickamauga Lake.

Dan Hicks, spokesman for the Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency, said the other 10 people on the boat survived.

In Blount County, a woman had to be rescued from her car when a tree blew down onto the vehicle.

___

Associated Press reporters Travis Loller and Lucas Johnson III contributed to this report from Nashville.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/2-dead-violent-storm-lashes-great-smokies-104907386.html

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