Trump ready to visit Wisconsin, but Cruz has head-start

OSHKOSH, Wisconsin — Donald Trump is planning to make his first campaign visit to Wisconsin on Tuesday, where the upcoming Republican presidential primary could mark a turning point in the unpredictable GOP race.

But rival Ted Cruz has gotten a head-start on the contest, racking up influential endorsements, campaigning in key regions and supported by bullish advertising campaign.

A solid Cruz win in Wisconsin would narrow Trump’s path to the nomination, heap pressure on the billionaire to sweep the remaining winner-take-all primaries this spring, and increase the chances of a contested party convention in July.

“The results in Wisconsin will impact significantly the primaries to come,” Cruz told The Associated Press after a rally in Oshkosh Friday. “Wisconsin, I believe, will play a critical role continuing to unify Republicans behind our campaign. The only way to beat Donald Trump is with unity.”

Cruz is positioning himself to win Wisconsin, next Tuesday’s only contest, and the first primary since he began collecting the backing of establishment Republicans, such as former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, adamant about eliminating Trump.

As Cruz campaigned across the state ahead of the Easter holiday, he was following a winning roadmap drawn by Wisconsin governor — and former 2016 presidential hopeful — Scott Walker in 2010, up Wisconsin’s rural and working-class midsection —the same demographic that has driven Trump’s success thus far.

Cruz has mined the GOP vote-rich swath of farms and factories from south-central Wisconsin, up the Fox River Valley’s corridor of paper mills, small towns — among them, some of the most swing-prone counties in the country.

The Fox River Valley, suburban Milwaukee and the rural counties outside Madison are home to 75 percent of Wisconsin’s most reliable Republican primary voters, said Keith Gilkes, a veteran Walker adviser who worked for his 2010 GOP primary campaign.

“How Gov. Walker won was basically by winning the lower Fox Valley down through the Southeast,” Gilkes said. “That’s the holy grail demographically for the Republican Party in Wisconsin.”

Trump has slightly fewer than half of the Republican delegates allocated so far, short of the majority needed to clinch the nomination before the party’s national convention this summer. Cruz has more than a third of the delegates, but is focused equally on stopping Trump and uniting most of the party against him.

If Cruz wins most of the 42 delegates — which, in Wisconsin, are allocated on the basis of state and congressional district winners — then the remaining winner-take-all contests, in Delaware, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey and North Dakota could determine the future of this competition. A solid Cruz win in Wisconsin would likely require Trump to win those five contests to avoid clawing for the nomination at the party’s national convention in Cleveland.

With that in mind, Cruz and his wife Heidi campaigned last week in Waukesha County just west of Milwaukee, where expensive homes now occupy ground dairy herds once ruled. He appeared at a conservative conference with influential radio host Charlie Sykes, a vocal Trump opponent who has a loyal suburban following and has endorsed Cruz.

Cruz then pivoted, from the national security and values-minded suburban voters, to the economic frustrations of more working-class voters in onetime industrial hub Janesville in south central Wisconsin.

“I want to take a minute here and I want to talk to all the single moms who are working two and three part-time jobs,” Cruz told more than 400 people Thursday.

Cruz rebuked Trump’s criticism of Heidi Cruz, a detour from policy to personal that received sharp condemnation from some voters.

Truda Swanson of Appleton, an undecided Republican primary voter, said Trump’s personal criticism of Cruz’s wife in the lead-up to the primary reinforced her opposition to Trump.

“It’s absolutely not why I’m against Trump. I’m against Trump for lots of things leading up to this, including his treatment of women,” the 40-year-old health care worker said.

It reinforced warning signs for Trump in Wisconsin, who led in a February poll by Marquette University’s Law School, but is now viewed unfavorably by 45 percent of Wisconsin Republicans, according to the same poll.

Cruz stuck to the blue-collar message on Friday in Oshkosh, an area surrounded by rural counties with some of the highest unemployment rates in the state.

But he struck just as hard at Trump, whose support nationally draws heavily from blue collar voters, blasting Trump’s call for a 45 percent tariff on Chinese imports.

“People are struggling already, and you want to jack up the cost of living by 45 percent?” Cruz asked hypothetically in Oshkosh

Cruz’s campaign was airing about $500,000 in advertising over the final two weeks before the primary — a sharp contrast to Trump, who aired no commercials in the state. The anti-tax group Club for Growth announced its plans to spend $1million on pro-Cruz ads, while an anti-Trump group was spending roughly $340,000 in the final two weeks.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich has also visited Wisconsin, and is advertising in the state as is a group that supports him. However, polls show him trailing both Trump and Cruz.

“Ted Cruz has a real opportunity to win the state, in a way that would be pretty resounding,” said Mark Graul, an unaffiliated Republican strategist from Green Bay.

Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Probe into Brussels bombings expands across Europe

BRUSSELS — The investigation into last week’s deadly attacks in Brussels extended farther across Europe on Sunday after Italian police arrested a new suspect thought to have helped Islamic State militants slip into Western Europe unnoticed.

Italian authorities said late Saturday that they had captured an Algerian man suspected of providing several Islamic State supporters with false identification documents, allowing them to evade authorities as they plotted attacks in Belgium and France.

“The Algerian arrested today in Salerno is part of a network of forgers of residency” documents, police said in a message on Twitter.

The arrest added to an emerging picture of the network behind the worst attack on Belgian soil since World War II and is another striking indication of the growing reach of the Islamic State beyond its strongholds in Iraq and Syria.

According to the Italian news agency ANSA, 40-year-old Djamal Eddine Ouali had been the subject of a Belgian arrest warrant since January. ANSA said he was suspected to have given the falsified papers to Salah Abdeslam, a suspected member of the cell that carried out the Nov. 13 Paris attacks, who is now in Belgian custody. Ouali is also believed to have furnished documents to Najim Laachraoui, suspected to have been one of the suicide bombers at the Brussels airport on Tuesday, and another man killed by Belgian authorities in a raid this month.

 In Belgium, another suspect linked to the attacks was charged, local media reported Sunday. The man, identified as Abderrahmane A., has been in custody since Friday and faces charges of belonging to a terrorist organization

Belgian police did not provide additional details on Sunday, as they expanded their hunt for new clues. Authorities conducted 13 searches in Brussels and other areas on Sunday, the federal prosecutor’s office said. Four people remain in custody.

The growing charge list may help ease tensions that were visible on Sunday even as Belgium, a largely Catholic country, marked Easter Sunday.

In a sign of the nervousness, riot police were deployed around a memorial site in the center of Brussels on Sunday afternoon after several hundred men dressed in black poured into the area. The men, apparently soccer fans, disrupted a mostly quiet vigil and began shouting slogans against the Islamic State and, according to some media reports, immigrants. The crowd later dispersed.

Authorities had hoped to avoid this kind of alarm when they urged organizers to postpone a solidarity rally planned for Sunday, acknowledging that police could not provide adequate security.

Across the continent, fears of renewed attacks remain elevated. In St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican, worshipers were subject to tight security as they flocked to hear Pope Francis deliver his Easter address. Speaking to the crowed, the pope labeled terrorism a “blind and brutal form of violence,” according to the Associated Press.

In Iraq and Syria, the Islamic State remains defiant even as it faces pressurefrom the United States and its allies from the air and from forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on the ground. On Saturday, Syria claimed to have recaptured the historic city of Palmyra, under Islamic State control for months.

[Security forces missed chances before the Brussels attacks]

Over the weekend, militants continued to celebrate attacks that they said had demonstrated the weakness of Western defenses. In a video released Saturday, a Dutch-speaking fighter, identified as Abu Hanifa al-Beljiki, addressed the government of Belgium.

“You learned nothing from the lessons of Paris, because you continued fighting Islam and the Muslims,” he said, according to a transcript from the SITE Intelligence Group. “For this I want to tell you that the attack in Brussels is reaping what you had sown with your own hands.”

The video followed Belgian authorities’ announcement Saturday that they may have found the most-wanted remaining suspect in Tuesday’s attacks. It was a welcome development for the government in Brussels, facing widespread criticism over its failure to chase down leads that might have helped prevent the attacks [The Islamic State is on the retreat on multiple fronts

According to a European security official, the man is Fayçal Cheffou, whose explosives-laden suitcase apparently did not detonate.

The man, whom Belgian officials have not fully identified, was charged Saturday with “participation in the activities of a terrorist group, terrorist murders and attempted terrorist murders.”

According to Belgian media, Cheffou has identified himself as a journalist in the past and has promoted radical Islamist beliefs.

Belgian authorities also have charged a man identified as “Rabah N.” with taking part in a terrorist group and another man, identified as “Aboubakar A.,” with a terrorism-related offense.

Belgian media has reported that Abderrahmane Ameroud, presumably the same person as the one charged on Sunday, is another person linked to the attacks. France sentenced the Algerian to seven years for recruiting fighters for Afghanistan. The case was tied to the 2001 assassination of Ahmed Shah Massoud, the legendary Afghan guerrilla leader.

It is not known what exactly each person is suspected to have done.

The new charges come as Belgian authorities admit missteps in their handling of terrorism investigations.

Investigators acknowledged late last week that they did not question Abdeslam extensively after his March 18 arrest, possibly missing clues that might have helped them avert the disaster four days later.

[Families still in desperate wait for news after attacks]

On Sunday, Interior Minister Jan Jambon defended to local media the government’s decision-making during last week’s attacks. He has come under fire for failing to protect Brussels after the initial attack at the airport.

More than 300 people were wounded in the attacks, Belgian officials have said. Nearly half of the victims were foreign nationals, including at least two Americans. According to Belgium’s Foreign Ministry, not all of those wounded have been identified because some of them remain in a coma.

Annabell Van den Berghe contributed to this report.

@copyright washingtonpost

Official Vatican Text of Pope's Easter Urbi Et Orbi Message

VATICAN CITY — Following is the Vatican's official English-language translation of Pope Francis' Easter "Urbi et Orbi" message delivered Sunday in Italian from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica. Spelling and style are the Vatican's.

___

"O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endures for ever" (Ps 135:1)

Dear Brothers and Sisters, Happy Easter!

Jesus Christ, the incarnation of God's mercy, out of love for us, died on the cross, and out of love he rose again from the dead. That is why we proclaim today: Jesus is Lord!

His resurrection fulfils the prophecy of the Psalm: God's mercy endures for ever; it never dies. We can trust him completely, and we thank him because for our sake he descended into the depths of the abyss.

Before the spiritual and moral abysses of mankind, before the chasms that open up in hearts and provoke hatred and death, only an infinite mercy can bring us salvation. Only God can fill those chasms with his love, prevent us from falling into them and help us to continue our journey together towards the land of freedom and life.

The glorious Easter message, that Jesus, who was crucified is not here but risen (cf. Mt 28:5-6), offers us the comforting assurance that the abyss of death has been bridged and, with it, all mourning, lamentation and pain (cf. Rev 21:4). The Lord, who suffered abandonment by his disciples, the burden of an unjust condemnation and shame of an ignominious death, now makes us sharers of his immortal life and enables us to see with his eyes of love and compassion those who hunger and thirst, strangers and prisoners, the marginalized and the outcast, the victims of oppression and violence. Our world is full of persons suffering in body and spirit, even as the daily news is full of stories of brutal crimes which often take place within homes, and large-scale armed conflicts which cause indescribable suffering to entire peoples.

The risen Christ points out paths of hope to beloved Syria, a country torn by a lengthy conflict, with its sad wake of destruction, death, contempt for humanitarian law and the breakdown of civil concord. To the power of the risen Lord we entrust the talks now in course, that good will and the cooperation of all will bear fruit in peace and initiate the building of a fraternal society respectful of the dignity and rights of each citizen. May the message of life, proclaimed by the Angel beside the overturned stone of the tomb, overcome hardened hearts and promote a fruitful encounter of peoples and cultures in other areas of the Mediterranean and the Middle East, particularly in Iraq, Yemen and Libya. May the image of the new man, shining on the face of Christ, favour concord between Israelis and Palestinians in the Holy Land, as well as patience, openness and daily commitment to laying the foundations of a just and lasting peace through direct and sincere negotiations. May the Lord of life also accompany efforts to attain a definitive solution to the war in Ukraine, inspiring and sustaining initiatives of humanitarian aid, including the liberation of those who are detained.

Continue reading the main storyThe Lord Jesus, our peace (Eph 2:14), by his resurrection triumphed over evil and sin. May he draw us closer on this Easter feast to the victims of terrorism, that blind and brutal form of violence which continues to shed blood in different parts of the world, as in the recent attacks in Belgium, Turkey, Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire and Iraq. May he water the seeds of hope and prospects for peace in Africa; I think in particular of Burundi, Mozambique, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South 

With the weapons of love, God has defeated selfishness and death. His son Jesus is the door of mercy wide open to all. May his Easter message be felt ever more powerfully by the beloved people of Venezuela in the difficult conditions which they are experiencing, and by those responsible for the country's future, that everyone may work for the common good, seeking spaces of dialogue and cooperation with all. May efforts be made everywhere to promote the culture of counter, justice and reciprocal respect, which alone can guarantee the spiritual and material welfare of all people.

The Easter message of the risen Christ, a message of life for all humanity, echoes down the ages and invites us not to forget those men and women seeking a better future, an ever more numerous throng of migrants and refugees - including many children - fleeing from war, hunger, poverty and social injustice. All too often, these brothers and sisters of ours meet along the way with death or, in any event, rejection by those who could offer them welcome and assistance. May the forthcoming World Humanitarian Summit not fail to be centred on the human person and his or her dignity, and to come up with policies capable of assisting and protecting the victims of conflicts and other emergencies, especially those who are most vulnerable and all those persecuted for ethnic and religious reasons.

On this glorious day, "let the earth rejoice, in shining splendour" (cf. Easter Proclamation), even though it is so often mistreated and greedily exploited, resulting in an alteration of natural equilibria. I think especially of those areas affected by climate change, which not infrequently causes drought or violent flooding, which then lead to food crises in different parts of the world.

Along with our brothers and sisters persecuted for their faith and their fidelity to the name of Christ, and before the evil that seems to have the upper hand in the life of so many people, let us hear once again the comforting words of the Lord: "Take courage; I have conquered the world! (Jn 16:33). Today is the radiant day of this victory, for Christ has trampled death and destruction underfoot. By his resurrection he has brought life and immortality to light (cf. 2 Tim 1:10). "He has made us pass from enslavement to freedom, from sadness to joy, from mourning to jubilation, from darkness to light, from slavery to redemption. Therefore let us acclaim in his presence: Alleluia!" (Melito of Sardis, Easter Homily).

To those in our society who have lost all hope and joy in life, to the elderly who struggle alone and feel their strength waning, to young people who seem to have no future, to all I once more address the words of the Risen One: "See, I am making all things new. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life" (Rev 21:5-6). May this comforting message of Jesus help each of us to set out anew with greater courage and greater hope to blaze trails of reconciliation with God and with all our brothers and sisters. Of which we have great need!

---

Copyright Vatican Publishing House

Syria forces retake ancient Palmyra in major victory over IS

President Bashar al-Assad hailed the victory as an "important achievement" as his Russian counterpart and key backer Vladimir Putin congratulated Damascus for retaking the UNESCO world heritage site.

An AFP correspondent inside Palmyra said monuments destroyed by the jihadists -- like the iconic Temple of Bel -- were in pieces but that much of the ancient city was intact.

Residential neighbourhoods in the adjacent modern town were deserted and damage was widespread, the correspondent said.

A group of regime fighters took time off to celebrate their win and kicked around a football in the middle of a street strewn with debris.

The jihadists sparked a global outcry after seizing Palmyra in May 2015 and setting about destroying some of its treasured monuments.

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Syrian government forces stand in military vehicles in the ancient city of Palmyra, after they recap …

But Syria's antiquities chief on Sunday said the city's priceless artefacts were in much better shape than feared.

"We were expecting the worst. But the landscape, in general, is in good shape," Maamun Abdulkarim told AFP from Damascus.

"We could have completely lost Palmyra... The joy I feel is indescribable."

The Syrian army said that Sunday's victory meant the city would now serve as a base to "broaden operations" against IS, including in its stronghold of Raqa and Deir Ezzor further east.

Backed by a barrage of Russian air strikes, Syrian troops and allied militia launched a major offensive to retake Palmyra this month.

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Syrian soldiers overlook the ancient city of Palmyra after they recaptured the site from the Islamic …

The city is both a symbolic and strategic prize for Assad's forces, as it provides control of the surrounding desert extending all the way to the Iraqi border.

At least 400 IS fighters were killed in the battle for the city, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. On the government side, 188 troops and militiamen were killed.

"That's the heaviest losses that IS has sustained in a single battle since its creation" in 2013, the director of the Britain-based monitoring group, Rami Abdel Rahman, told AFP.

He said two cars packed with explosives blew up in the afternoon, one west of Palmyra and the other northeast of the city.

- Jihadists under pressure -

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Syrian pro-government forces rest next to the Palmyra citadel (AFP Photo/Maher Al Mounes)

After seizing Palmyra last year, IS blew up two of the site's treasured temples, its triumphal arch and a dozen tower tombs, in a campaign of destruction that UNESCO described as a war crime.

The jihadists used Palmyra's ancient theatre as a venue for public executions and also murdered the city's 82-year-old former antiquities chief.

A military source told AFP on Sunday that IS militants had retreated towards the east as the army made its final push.

Army sappers defused roadside mines in both the modern part of the city and in the old ruins.

Syrian state television broadcast footage from inside Palmyra's famed museum, showing jagged pieces of sculptures on the ground and blanketed in dust.

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Islamic State fighters seized control of Palmyra -- a UNESCO World Heritage Site -- in May 2015 (AFP …

IS, behind a string of attacks in the West including last week's Brussels bombings, is under growing pressure from Syrian and Iraqi forces determined to retake bastions of its self-proclaimed "caliphate".

On Thursday, the Iraqi army announced the launch of an offensive to eventually recapture second city Mosul, held by the jihadists since June 2014.

- Palmyra 'will return' -

Russian forces, which intervened in support of longtime ally Assad last September, were heavily involved in the Palmyra offensive despite a major drawdown last week.

Russian warplanes carried out 40 combat sorties around Palmyra in the last 24 hours, striking 117 "terrorist targets" and killing 80 IS fighters, Moscow's defence ministry said Sunday.

Putin telephoned Assad to congratulate the Syrian leader, adding that "successes such as the liberation of Palmyra would be impossible without Russia's support," a Kremlin spokesman said.

Assad said the victory was "fresh proof of the efficiency of the Syrian army and its allies in fighting terrorism".

IS and its jihadist rival, the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Al-Nusra Front, are not party to a landmark ceasefire in Syria since February 27.

The month-long truce has brought relative quiet to many areas across Syria, where more than 270,000 have been killed and millions had fled their homes in the last five years.

The truce took effect before the resumption in mid-March of UN-brokered indirect peace talks between the Syrian government and the opposition.

Palmyra, northeast of Damascus, drew some 150,000 tourists a year before Syria's civil war and is known to Syrians as the "Pearl of the Desert".

Syrian officials, including antiquities chief Abdulkarim, have vowed to rebuild the ancient monuments.

"Palmyra will return to the way it was," he said.

Pakistan explosion leaves many dead at Lahore park

At least 50 people have been killed and many others injured in an explosion at a park in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore, officials say.

It happened in the early evening when the park was crowded with families.

Police told the BBC it appeared to be a suicide bomb. No group has said it was behind the blast.

There is speculation that Christian families out for the Easter weekend may have been the target, says the BBC's Shaimaa Khalil, in Lahore.

All the major hospitals in the area have been put on an emergency footing, local media report.

The explosion appears to have been at the main gate to the Gulshan-e-Iqbal park in an area where cars are usually left - and a short distance from the children's swings.

Most of the dead and injured are women and children, a senior local police officer told Reuters news agency.

One eyewitness said there was chaos, with a stampede breaking out and children separated from their parents in the rush to escape.

Study finds impact of science and religion on human brain

A new study published in the journal PLOS ONE has claimed to find the reason why there have been two segments of society; one includes those who support religion while another is of those who believe in science and not religion. According to the study team, difference which arises in perception of both groups is led by difference in their brains.

The study was conducted by researchers from Case Western Reserve University and Babson College on 159 to 527 adults. There were total eight experiments to know why some people take reference from religion to explain several things, whereas other lay emphasis on scientific evidence. The practice is continuing since centuries.

The Cognitive psychology studies claimed that people who are religious or spiritual seem to be less smart and intelligent than those who are more science centric. Also, people who are more religious turn to be also more empathic and pro-social. That is why more women than men are religious. On the other hand, atheists are found to lack empathy.

“When there's a question of faith, from the analytic point of view, it may seem absurd”, says study lead author Tony Jack. The findings also stated that more a person is religious more will be empathy in him. There is a positive correlation of faith and empathy with number of times individuals pray, meditate and engage in religious practices.

The study has its basis from the hypothesis that the human brain consists of two brain regions that oppose each other. People who are religious suppress the brain area used for analytical thinking, while the opposite is the case with people with scientific approach.

Both groups tend to ignore naturalistic view. What they should do is to have both approaches that are possible to follow together. The humans are made to both socialize and learn using the two networks of the brain. Such people are intellectually elite and understand that it is not necessary for science and religion to clash.

In a report published by the I4U, "It has now been found that in order to show belief in a supernatural entity or entities, human beings have to shut down the analytical centers of the brain. Instead the empathetic network must be activated."

"But, from what we understand about the brain, the leap of faith to belief in the supernatural amounts to pushing aside the critical/analytical way of thinking to help us achieve greater social and emotional insight."

According to a report in Tech Times by Rina Marie Doctor, "The results of the study showed that the more religious a person is, the more emphatic he or she is. However, the authors were not able to establish a cause and effect relationship for that."

They also found that both faith and empathy had a positive association with how many times individuals pray, meditate and engage in religious practices.

Despite its popularity, the team did not note a positive relationship between belief and mentalizing or interpreting behavior via intentional mental conditions such as needs, wants and goals.

"Controversy between faith and scientific evidence is deeply rooted in beliefs surrounding evolution and creationism. The recent study examines how the parts of the brain responsible for empathy and analytical reasoning are linked to faith and spiritual thinking," according to a news report published by HNGN.

"They actually might claim they are less intelligent," added Richard Boyatzis, a professor of organizational behavior at Case Western Reserve. "Our studies confirmed that statistical relationship, but at the same time showed that people with faith are more prosocial and empathic."

Japanese Fleet Kills 333 Whales In The Antarctic

Japan's whaling fleet has returned to base with the carcasses of 333 minke whales, in apparent violation of a ruling by the International Court of Justice.

Reuters quoted a statement by Japan's Fisheries Agency that said 103 male and 230 female whales were caught during the fleet's summer expedition to Antarctic waters. Ninety percent of the mature females were pregnant.

"The number of pregnant females is consistent with previous hunts, indicating that the breeding situation of minke whales in the Antarctic is healthy," Reuters quoted the agency as saying.

The Australian broadcaster ABC reports that the Japanese government's Institute of Cetacean Research said the ICR ship Nisshin Maru spent 115 days at sea, 65 of those surveying and slaughtering whales for biopsy sampling and conducting nonlethal satellite beacon experiments and marine water surveys.

Japan has said it conducts this "scientific whaling" strictly for research; however, the meat is sold commercially and government agencies say the ultimate goal is the resumption of commercial whaling.

Commercial whaling was banned by the International Whaling Commission in 1986, although killing whales for scientific research was allowed to continue. However as the Two-Way reported in 2014, the ICJ ordered a halt to all Japanese whaling:

"The court said the research program had generated only two peer-reviewed papers that together refer to nine whales.

" 'In light of the fact that [Japan's program] has been going on since 2005 and has involved the killing of about 3,600 minke whales, the scientific output to date appears limited,' the court wrote in its judgment.

"By a 12-4 vote, the court based in The Hague decided Japan must 'revoke any extant authorization, permit or license granted in relation to' its whaling program, 'and refrain from granting any further permits' related to it.

"Japanese officials have said the whaling program, called JARPA II, is for research on whales' age, sexual maturity and pregnancy rates, according to court documents. Some elements of the program were slated to go on for six to 12 years.

"But the court noted that an expert who was called on to testify ... said Japan's program 'operates in complete isolation' from other Japanese and international research efforts into Antarctica's wildlife."

Japan denies that the latest hunt violated the court's decision because it was conducted under a new research plan that has yet to be ruled on by the ICJ.

News of the hunt sparked outrage among conservation groups and a political row in Australia, where environmental activist group Sea Shepherd accused the Australian government of doing nothing to protect the whales, some of which it said were killed illegally in the Australian Whale Sanctuary.

Australia's environment minister, Greg Hunt, told AFP that the Australian government opposes whaling "clearly, absolutely and categorically."

Spots on opposite sides of Moon suggest its axis tilted

A new study hints that the Moon’s poles may have shifted over billions of years, with geological activity beneath its crust being the most likely reason behind this.

“The ice at the poles of the Moon records the interior evolution of the moon, which seems crazy — that is the last place you would think to look,” said Planetary Science Institute and Southern Methodist University researcher and study lead Matt Siegler. “Also, that means the ice has to be really old, and therefore may record the ancient delivery of ice to the inner solar system.”

Various observations from space missions over the years hints that there is a lot of water ice in the Moon, particularly in dark craters located near the poles. Keeping this in mind, Siegler’s team took data from two spacecraft – the Lunar Prospector, which went around the Moon from 1998 to 1999, and the still-active Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO).

While there was nothing shocking about the ice deposits at both of the Moon’s poles, Siegler and colleagues discovered a large ice patch near each of the poles. These were “displaced” from the actual pole by about 5.5 degrees, and located in such a way that they can be connected by an imaginary straight line through the center of the Moon. According to Siegler, that means the moon’s axis has shifted by 5.5 degrees over time.

“Models are models, so you can make the migration happen any time between 1.5-4.5 billion years ago depending on how you tweak parameters (such as the past rigidity of the lunar crust), but it most likely was around 3 billion years ago,” Siegler observed. He added that the poles eventually shifted by approximately 125 miles over the next one billion years, or about one inch per 126 years.

The researchers believe this axis shift took place because of changes in how lunar mass was distributed internally.

“Planets can change their orientation if their internal mass distribution changes. Pockets of dense material tend to be close to the equator to minimize the planet’s spin energy,” said University of California-Santa Cruz’s Ian Garrick-Bethell in a Nature editorial accompanying the study. He cited the example of New York’s latitude shifting slightly southward “if a huge pile of lead weights” appeared in the city, and shifting northward if the city’s density went down.

Devon Still, Leah to introduce Still Strong Foundation to Penn State community on day of Blue-White game Former player to introduce charitable foundation on April 16

UNIVERSITY PARK

Former Nittany Lion Devon Still will introduce a new charitable effort to the Penn State community on the day of next month’s Blue-White game.

The Still Strong Foundation, created in 2015, was inspired by Still’s daughter, Leah, and her fight with cancer after being diagnosed with Stage 4 neuroblastoma at the age of 4.

Her battle became widely known, especially after Still’s NFL team, the Cincinnati Bengals, cut him after two years with the team but then signed him to a practice contract the next day so that he could pay for Leah’s treatment (Still has since signed a futures contract with the Houston Texans).

Leah underwent a year of treatment and intensive surgery, and is now in remission. Over the course of her illness, Still said per a release from the foundation that he met many families who had to juggle working to pay for their child’s treatment and caring for the child.

“No one should have to choose between paying rent or their child’s treatment,” said the release, citing that it was after meeting these families that Still decided to create a charitable effort that would give grants to families affected by childhood cancers and “allow them to spend less time worrying about non-medical bills like mortgages and utilities, and more time supporting their child to a victorious fight against cancer.”

Still plans to present his foundation to the Penn State community at a reception at the Nittany Lion Inn on April 16, after attending the Blue-White game scheduled that day. He will also host a contingent of former Penn State players, including Tamba Hali, Derrick Williams, NaVorro Bowman, Jordan Norwood, Gerald Hodges and Jack Crawford.

More information about the foundation can be found online atwww.stillstrongfoundation.org.

Read more here: http://www.centredaily.com/sports/college/penn-state-university/psu-football/article68351552.html#storylink=cpy

Republicans losing faith in election process, poll finds

Republican voters are becoming increasingly cynical about the way the election process works in America, a Gallup Poll released Friday indicates.

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Of the 1,012 people surveyed from any party, only 30 percent said the process was working the way it should, down from 37 percent who said the same thing in January.

The difference was more stark for GOP voters. Gallup found 30 percent of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents thought the process was working, down from 46 percent who believed in the system in January.

The views of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents were only slightly higher, at 32 percent approval, and had not changed significantly in recent months, according to Gallup.

The numbers came from telephone interviews conducted March 16-17 with a random sample of adults living across the nation.

It was not entirely clear what caused the shift in views on the election process. Gallup speculated the shift was likely due to GOP front-runner Donald Trump's polarizing campaign or the establishment GOP's efforts to stop him.

As evidence for the possible cause, Gallup pointed to the 68 percent of voters who believed at least one candidate for their party's presidential nomination would make a good president. The company also pointed to a recent New York Times/CBS News survey which found that 60 percent of Republican voters felt the party's presidential campaign made them feel "mostly embarrassed by the Republican Party rather than mostly proud."

"Republican establishment leaders' attempt to prevent Trump from getting the GOP nomination may be adding to rank-and-file Republicans' views that the process is not working, either because they support or because they oppose these efforts," Gallup said in an analysis of its survey results.

According to the company, which conducted similar polls during the 2000, 2008 and 2012 election cycles, Americans were most optimistic about the process when polled in January 2008. As Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, John McCain and Rudy Giuliani battled for their party's nomination, 67 percent said they believed in the process.

Just three years later, faith in the election process plummeted to what was then its lowest point. As Barack Obama campaigned for re-election and Republicans worked to find their nominee, only 39 percent of Americans said the process was working as it should.