PASADENA, Calif. (AP) - The head of NASA is visiting the Jet Propulsion Laboratory where engineers are working on a proposed mission to lasso a small asteroid and drag it closer to Earth for astronauts to explore.

During Thursday's visit, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden viewed a prototype ion engine that JPL engineers are developing with counterparts at NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland.

NASA is under orders to send astronauts to an asteroid as a stepping stone to Mars. The space agency has decided to speed up the timeline by capturing a small rock in 2019, parking it near the moon and sending a team of spacewalking astronauts to explore it in 2021.

The White House's budget released last month proposes $105 million to jumpstart the mission, which may eventually top $2.6 billion.

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WASHINGTON (AP) - The growing use of unmanned "eyes in the sky" is raising many privacy concerns, but Congress is getting mixed advice on what to do about civilian drones.

Chris Calabrese of the American Civil Liberties Union tells a House subcommittee that a law is needed to prevent police and government officials overuse of the drones.

He raises the prospect of people finding drones hovering outside their home windows.

But Pepperdine law professor Gregory McNeal compares drones to the Internet in the 1990s.

McNeal says trying to regulate the Internet out of concern for people's privacy would have stymied its rapid growth.

Civilian drone use is now limited to government agencies and some public universities. Congress last year ordered the Federal Aviation Administration to allow widespread drone flights by 2015.

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NEWARK, N.J. (AP) - When Amtrak unveils the first of 70 new locomotives Monday at a plant in California, it will mark what the national passenger railroad service hopes will be a new era of better reliability, streamlined maintenance and better energy efficiency.

On a broader scale, the new engines could well be viewed as emblematic of the improving financial health of Amtrak, which has long been dependent on subsidies from an often reluctant Congress.

More than 31 million passengers rode Amtrak in the 2012 fiscal year, generating a record $2.02 billion in ticket revenue. Amtrak says it will be able to pay back a $466 million federal loan for the locomotives over 25 years using net profits from the Northeast Corridor line, where ridership hit a record high last year for the ninth time in 10 years.

"This is not the same organization it was a few years ago, still hoping and relying on federal handouts, limping from appropriation to appropriation," said Robert Puentes, a senior fellow in the Brooking Institution's metropolitan policy program. "Even though Washington is mired in debt and dysfunction, Amtrak is reinventing itself."

The new engines will be used on the Northeast Corridor between Washington, D.C., and Boston and on Keystone Corridor trains that run between Philadelphia and Harrisburg, Pa. Three will be unveiled Monday before being sent out for testing. The first is due to go into service by this fall, and all 70 are expected to be in service by 2016.

Amtrak awarded the contract in 2010 to Munich-based Siemens AG, which has made a big investment in the American rail industry over the last decade. The company makes about one of every three light rail vehicles in North America and is building light rail vehicles for Minneapolis, Houston and San Diego at the Sacramento plant where Amtrak's locomotives are being produced.

Among the improvements in the new locomotives are computers that can diagnose problems in real time and take corrective action and a braking system capable of generating 100 percent of the energy it uses back to the electric grid - similar to the way a hybrid automobile's motor acts as a generator when braking, according to Michael Cahill, CEO for Siemens Rail Systems. That could produce energy savings of up to $300 million over 20 years, the company estimates.

They also feature crumple zones, which are basically cages built onto the front end of the train that can absorb impact from a collision. The new models will be the first in North America to use them, in compliance with new federal safety guidelines, Cahill said.

The locomotives, called Amtrak Cities Sprinters, are based on Siemens' latest European electric locomotive and will replace Amtrak equipment that has been in service for 20 to 30 years and has logged an average of 3.5 million miles.

Simply having the same type of locomotive in operation should cut costs, according to Amtrak spokesman Steve Kulm. Amtrak now uses three locomotive models, requiring slightly different maintenance, parts and training.

"Now, we will have one model, one inventory and one training program, and all that will help efficiency," Kulm said.

About 750 people are employed at Siemens' Sacramento plant. The locomotive project also involves Siemens plants in Columbus, Ohio, Richland, Miss., and Alpharetta, Ga.

The ripple effect spreads farther. As a condition of the Department of Transportation loan, the majority of the products and materials used to build the locomotives must be made in the U.S. As a result, some lighting parts are coming from Connecticut, the driver's seat from Wisconsin, insulation from Indiana, electronics from Texas and hydraulic parts from California. In all, 70 suppliers in 23 states are providing components, Siemens said.

Amtrak must still seek federal funding for a long list of planned and ongoing improvements, including replacing sections of pre-World War II electrical systems on the Northeast Corridor that cause regular disruptions. The fact that Amtrak has reduced its debt by 60 percent over the last 10 years and its federal operating subsidy to 12 percent could make it an easier sell.

"Ten years ago we were in a tougher spot," Amtrak CEO Joe Boardman said last week. "Now Amtrak on the Northeast Corridor is in a much healthier position. We're trying to maximize that, to the extent we can, to pay for what we should pay for on the Northeast Corridor."

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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) - NASA says it could be weeks before it knows whether today's spacewalk was a success.

Two astronauts ventured out of the International Space Station to replace a pump, in hopes of plugging a serious leak of ammonia. Since the new pump was installed, no frozen flecks of ammonia have appeared, and Mission Control says it looks like the leak may have been plugged.

The leak never jeopardized the safety of the crew.

NASA will continue to watch for any seepage.

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LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Roger Corman's campy B movies, children's shows like "Sesame Street" and "Inspector Gadget," and inspirational monologues by celebrities - these are among the offerings on 30 channels that will soon require a paid monthly subscription on YouTube.

Although the world's largest video site has rented and sold movies and TV shows from major studios since late 2008, most people watch videos on YouTube for free.

It's the first time YouTube is introducing all-you-can-watch channels that require a monthly fee. The least expensive of the channels will cost 99 cents a month but the average price is around $2.99.

In the field of paid video content online, YouTube is playing catch up to services like Netflix, Hulu and Amazon, all of which have millions of paying customers.

But with a billion monthly visitors from around the globe, the Google-owned video service hopes to quickly add subscribers and add to the money it already makes from online advertising.

"This is just the beginning," said Malik Ducard, YouTube's director of content partnerships. The site plans to roll out a way for a broad number of partners to also launch pay channels on their own soon.

Corman, a producer and director whose influential cult classics like "Deathrace 2000" and "Piranha" earned him an honorary Oscar in 2009, said he's kept his 400-film library off of video streaming sites until now.

In an interview with The Associated Press, he said he turned down an offer from Hulu for about $5,000 to $6,000 per film several years ago, but sees promise in the YouTube offering. His channel, "Corman's Drive-in," will cost subscribers $3.99 per month for a rotating selection of 30 movies, refreshed with new interviews and clips from films that are in production. It is set to launch in June.

"I believed for many years that the future of motion picture distribution, particularly for the independents, is on the Internet," the 87-year-old said. "I think the time is now."

YouTube will keep slightly less than half of the revenue generated by the subscriptions.

Corman's wife and producing partner Julie Corman said they were taken aback at YouTube's potential after a clip of their 2010 movie "Sharktopus" went viral with 11 million views.

If even 1 percent of those viewers signed up for a subscription, it would amount to a healthy revenue stream, she said.

"The numbers are astonishing. We're waiting for the fireworks display," she said.

DHX Media Ltd., a Canadian company that owns the rights to 8,500 episodes of children's TV shows, is launching three paid YouTube channels, two for different age categories and one called "DHX Retro" that replays old programs such as "Inspector Gadget" and "Archie's Weird Mysteries."

It plans to launch in 10 countries and seven languages - something that is much easier online than over traditional cable or satellite networks, according to DHX executive chairman Michael Hirsh.

"Clearing a channel across 10 countries would have taken a long time," Hirsh said. Doing it with YouTube takes just a "metaphorical flip of a switch."

As is the case with free videos on YouTube, the pay channels will be available for viewing on computers, mobile devices and Internet-connected TVs.

People who are accustomed to watching videos for free on YouTube are in for a slightly new experience. When viewers stumble upon a video requiring payment, they'll get a free preview up to 2 minutes long before being asked to subscribe.

Each channel comes with a 14-day free trial, but customers have to enter their credit card information through Google Wallet if they haven't already.

Several channels offer discounts on the monthly fee with an annual subscription, and some include features on top of access to videos.

Big Think, a New York-based maker of educational videos, will give subscribers who pay $2.99 a month access to videos of luminaries like Malcolm Gladwell, but also provide live question-and-answer sessions of an hour or more with experts.

Two new experts per month will be brought in to develop a series of 4-6 videos that are 2-3 minutes long. Each lesson is meant to distill advice that viewers can act upon immediately.

"This is e-learning for the YouTube audience," said Big Think president and co-founder Peter Hopkins. "We really had to take into account how to pack much more in and deliver on the promise of `smarter, faster.' "

 

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LOS ANGELES (AP) -- YouTube is set to announce within a few weeks a series of channels that will require payment, a person familiar with the matter said Monday.

The content on the new pay channels will be in addition to the millions of videos viewers watch for free on YouTube. It's not clear whether the paid videos will come with advertising.

The person was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The Financial Times reported earlier that viewers would be charged as little as $1.99 a month for subscriptions.

In a statement, YouTube said it is looking into creating a "subscription platform" that provides its partners with a way to generate revenue beyond video rentals and placing ads in and around content. It said, however, that it had "nothing to announce at this time."

Executives hinted at the coming pay channels at a preview event in March ahead of a meeting in New York with advertisers.

Such a model could help video producers make money from niche audiences. That's different from how YouTube works now, where the most popular videos, like PSY's "Gangnam Style" music video, make the most money from advertising.

One example given by executives was of video lessons by a computer science teacher.

"For people who create great value but for only a narrow interest group, I think that the potential for pay channels unlocks opportunities for creating revenue streams," said Lucas Watson, YouTube's vice president of sales and marketing, at the time.

Introducing pay channels would also accustom fans of YouTube to paying for content, something the site is not known for, although it has sold and rented movies and TV shows from major studios since late 2008.

"It's a whole new skill set to develop: to convince people to actually take out their credit card, even for one cent," said Robert Kyncl, YouTube's vice president and global head of content partnerships, told reporters at the March event.

Google Inc. bought YouTube for $1.76 billion in 2006 when the video site had an estimated 50 million users worldwide. Today, the site boasts more than 1 billion visitors a month.

 

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MINEOLA, N.Y. (AP) - A New York community group that raised $1.3 million in a six-week Internet crowd funding effort last year has purchased a laboratory once used by visionary scientist Nikola Tesla.

Jane Alcorn is president of the Tesla Science Center at Wardenclyffe on Long Island. Her group bought the Tesla lab and property last week for $850,000.

Tesla was a rival of Thomas Edison who imagined a world of free electricity. He conducted experiments in the early 20th century at his laboratory in Shoreham, about 65 miles east of New York City.

Volunteers had struggled for nearly two decades to acquire the property. They got a jolt of support last year when Seattle cartoonist Matthew Inman promoted the effort on his website, theoatmeal.com.

Within weeks, they had $1.3 million.

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WASHINGTON (AP) - Buy anything on the Internet lately without paying sales tax? In all but a few states, you're probably a tax cheat.

That's right, even if Internet retailers don't collect sales tax at the time of purchase, you're required by law to pay it in 45 states and the District of Columbia.

Here's the problem for states: hardly anyone pays the tax and there isn't much states can do about it.

The Senate is expected to pass a bill Monday making it easier for states to collect sales taxes for online purchases.

Some of the nation's largest retailers are rejoicing. But small-business owners who make their living selling products on the Internet worry they will be swamped by new requirements from faraway states.

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PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Double-amputee Jason Koger used to fly to visit a clinician when he wanted to adjust the grips on his bionic hands. Now, he's got an app instead.

Koger this week demonstrated the i-limb ultra revolution, a prosthetic developed by the British firm Touch Bionics. Using a stylus and an iPhone, Koger can choose any of 24 grip patterns that best suit his needs.

It's the latest evolution in equipment for Koger, who lost his hands in an all-terrain vehicle accident in 2008.

"Five years ago, I couldn't pull my pants up by myself," said Koger, 34. "Today, I go hunting and do some of the things that I probably never imagined I could have done five years ago."

The technology indicates how rapidly the field of prosthetics is changing, benefiting patients from injured military members to victims of last month's Boston Marathon bombing. Practitioners say increased government research in the wake of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is driving some of the advances.

Koger received an electric shock after running into a downed power line. He went into a coma and had no idea until he woke up three days later that doctors had amputated both his limbs at mid-forearm.

Since then, he's used a variety of prostheses, which he considers like tools - different extensions for different tasks. Electric hooks have allowed him to pursue his passion for hunting. Myoelectric hands, which react to electrical impulses generated by his remaining arm muscles, offer more precise movements.

The previous version of Koger's myoelectric device required programming by a prosthetist, meaning Koger had to fly to Advanced Arm Dynamics in Dallas. The prosthetist would work with Koger to pick a few grip patterns - such as pinching, pointing or shaking hands - to program into the i-limb.

Yet sometimes Koger would get home and realize they weren't the ones he needed. Now, the latest i-limb comes with an iPhone or iPad app that allows Koger to reprogram his hand with the touch of a stylus. On Thursday, he demonstrated by gripping an orange, a baseball and a can of soda.

The i-limb allows fingers and thumbs move independently to conform around certain objects, said Ryan Spill, a prosthetist for Advanced Arm Dynamics who is working with Koger. The thumb is also motorized, not passive, as in previous prostheses.

The Boston Marathon bombings, which wounded more than 260 people, including many with serious leg injuries, have shined a light on the advances in prostheses. But experts note that technology for upper extremity bionics, which involve fine motor skills, is much different from what's needed for lower extremities, which focus on weight distribution and gait.

There have also been huge advances in computerized knees and feet, said Joe Reda, assistant director of orthotic and prosthetic services at the Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation in New Jersey.

"The changes are happening rather rapidly now, and I think it's because of our wars overseas," said Reda. "The government is trying to put more money into research and development."

The i-limb ultra revolution costs about $100,000, though some insurance might cover it. Koger received his free in exchange for testing them and providing feedback. He met Friday with other amputees interested in the new technology.

Mark Dowling, 50, lost his arm to cancer several months ago. He said he cried while watching Koger demonstrate how the hand worked.

"I'm very touched with his story," Dowling said.

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DENVER (AP) - A new report raises serious concerns about the online database used by 11 states to track the chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.

The Harvard Law School report says FracFocus, a reporting site formed by industry groups in 2011, has loose reporting standards, makes it too difficult for states to track whether companies submit chemical disclosures on time and allows for inconsistency in declaring chemicals trade secrets.

Colorado, Pennsylvania, Louisiana and Oklahoma are among the states that require companies to divulge fracking chemicals through FracFocus.

A spokesman for the Colorado Department of Natural Resources told The Denver Post Tuesday that expected improvements to the database will help ensure accurate and timely reporting soon.

Fracking involves pumping water, fine sand and chemicals underground to split open oil- and gas-bearing rocks.

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NEW YORK (AP) -- Hackers compromised Twitter accounts of The Associated Press on Tuesday, sending out a false tweet about an attack at the White House.

The false tweet said there had been two explosions at the White House and that President Barack Obama was injured. The attack on AP's Twitter account and the AP Mobile Twitter account was preceded by phishing attempts on AP's corporate network.

The AP confirmed that its Twitter account had been suspended following a hack and said it was working to correct the issue. The fake tweet went out shortly after 1 p.m. and briefly sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average sharply lower. The Dow fell about 143 points, from 14,697 to 14,554, after the fake Twitter posting, and then quickly recovered.

A Securities and Exchange Commission spokeswoman declined comment on the incident.

AP spokesman Paul Colford said the news cooperative is working with Twitter to investigate the issue. The AP has disabled its other Twitter accounts following the attack, Colford added.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said the President is fine. "I was just with him," Carney said at a news briefing.

A representative for Twitter did not immediately return messages for comment.

 

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WATERTOWN, Mass. (AP) - A round of blasts has been heard in Watertown, Mass., amid the search for the surviving suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings.

Emergency and military vehicles sped through town after an earlier burst of gunfire.

State police spokesman David Procopio says there is "renewed activity in Watertown" is connected to the search for 19-year-old college student Dzhokhar Tsarnaev (JOH'-kahr tsahr-NY'-ev).

Authorities are telling residents of the area to stay indoors.

The burst of activity came at the end of a tense day in and around Boston, and less than an hour after police announced that they were scaling back the hunt because they had come up empty-handed following an all-day search that sent thousands of SWAT team officers into the streets and paralyzed the metropolitan area.

 

 

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WALLOPS ISLAND, Va. (AP) - A commercial company contracted by NASA to make supply runs to the International Space Station has scrubbed a planned test rocket launch Wednesday.

The unmanned Antares rocket had been scheduled for liftoff Wednesday afternoon from Wallops Island on Virginia's Eastern Shore. Plans were paused minutes before a 5 p.m. window for liftoff was to open.

Officials gave no immediately details for scrubbing the launch.

The planned launch by Dulles-based Orbital Sciences Corp. was designed to test whether a practice payload could reach orbit and safely separate from the rocket.

Orbital, based near Washinton, D.C., is one of two private companies contracted to restock the space station by NASA, which ended its shuttle program in 2011. California-based SpaceX completed its third supply run to the station last month.

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CHICAGO (AP) - Google is stepping in to help family and friends of Boston Marathon runners find their loved ones after explosions near the finish line.

The site, called Google Person Finder, allows users to enter the name of a person they're looking for or enter information about someone who is there.

Cellphone use has been difficult in the Boston area. Phone companies say service is operating, but with heavy traffic.

Far-flung family members and friends are frantically using social media to check on the safety of runners and spectators after two bombs exploded near the finish line of the marathon, killing two and injuring dozens.

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WASHINGTON (AP) - If a purse with $900 is stolen, the victim probably would call the police.

If a computer hacker steals $900 from that person's bank account, what then? Call the police? Could they even help?

Police now don't have widespread know-how to investigate cybercrimes, and they rely heavily on the expertise of the federal government, which focuses on large, often international cybercrimes.

What's missing is the first response role, typically owned by local police.

Police departments around the country are now looking to boost their expertise to respond to these cybercrimes and cyberthreats.

Officials have said cyberthreats will soon become as big as or eclipse the threat of terrorism.

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NEW YORK (AP) - Verizon Wireless, the country's largest cellphone carrier, is extending the time it takes to earn a subsidized phone upgrade from 20 months on contract to 24 months.

The move will save Verizon money, since it subsidizes each new smartphone by as much as $400 to get the price down to $199 or lower. With less frequent phone upgrades, it will pay out less in subsidies.

In a statement on its website, Verizon said the move aligns its policy with the typical length of a phone contract, and with the way people buy new phones. The change takes effect with contracts expiring in January.

The change is also reflects the popularity of expensive phones. Verizon subsidized upgrades after just 13 months until January 2011, when it introduced the 20-month period.

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(AP) - E-book editions of "Dandelion Wine," ''The Illustrated Man" and other Ray Bradbury favorites are coming out this month.

Publisher William Morrow announced Thursday that 16 Bradbury works will be released in April and seven more later in the year.

The science fiction-fantasy master, who died last year at age 91, had long resisted e-books but relented late in life. In 2011, he granted electronic rights for his futuristic classic "Fahrenheit 451."

Other Bradbury e-books scheduled for this month include "Something Wicked This Way Comes," ''Quicker Than the Eye" and "Driving Blind."

Morrow is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

 

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DURANGO, Colo. (AP) - A bill to make it easier to produce hydropower from canals and ditches across the West has passed the U.S. House.

Representatives voted 416-7 in favor of the measure from Colorado's Scott Tipton on Wednesday.

It would streamline the regulatory process for building hydropower projects of 5 megawatts or less along 373 U.S. Bureau of Reclamation canals and ditches. Outside developers would do the work and they wouldn't have to do additional environmental reviews.

Wyoming has the most of those waterways - 121. Montana has 32 and Colorado has 28.

The Durango Herald reports that some Democrats objected to waiving additional reviews. Tipton argues the bill is meaningless without that provision.

A similar bill passed the House last year but never advanced beyond a hearing in the Senate.

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RIFLE, Colo. (AP) - Three hours west of Denver, across the Continental Divide, the Rocky Mountains begin the long transition into high desert plateaus.

This sparsely-populated land is dotted with ranches and small towns that were once local hubs for mining the rich minerals found under the earth.

But over the past few years, this town and others have become increasingly a local center for the hydraulic fracturing industry. Off the highway outside town in all directions, one can see evidence, large and small, of the latest local energy boom, from natural gas extraction all the way up the chain to refining.

Hydraulic fracturing - "fracking," for short - pumps millions of gallons of water mixed with fine sand and chemicals deep into oil and gas wells.

The water splits open oil- and gas-bearing rock. Specially formulated fracking fluids help carry the sand into the newly formed fissures and keep the cracks propped open.

The rapid growth of the oil industry in the region has brought opposition from those who warn of environmental costs. In some places the practice has been blamed for air pollution and gas leaks that have ruined well water. But federal and many state regulators say the practice is safe when done properly.

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NEW YORK (AP) - Google has launched a tool that lets users decide what happens with their email, Google Plus and other accounts after they die - or become inactive online for any other reason.

Called "inactive account manager," the feature lets users of Google's services tell the company what to do with email messages and other data if their account becomes inactive.

For example, Google says, users can choose to delete their data after three, six or 12 months of inactivity. Or they can choose specific people to receive the data.

Besides Gmail and Google Plus, other services covered include YouTube, the photo-sharing service Picasa and Blogger. Google Inc., based in Mountain View, Calif., says it will warn users through a secondary email address or a provided phone number before taking any action.

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