Steve Jobs, the visionary in the black turtleneck who co-founded Apple in a Silicon Valley garage, built it into the world's leading tech company and led a mobile-computing revolution with wildly popular devices such as the iPhone, died Wednesday. He was 56. Steve Jobs, Apple founder, dies |
Steve Jobs, the visionary in the black turtleneck who co-founded Apple in a Silicon Valley garage, built it into the world's leading tech company and led a mobile-computing revolution with wildly popular devices such as the iPhone, died Wednesday. He was 56. |
The hard-driving executive pioneered the concept of the personal computer and of navigating them by clicking onscreen images with a mouse. In more recent years, he introduced the iPod portable music player, the iPhone and the iPad tablet -- all of which changed how we consume content in the digital age. |
His friends and Apple fans on Wednesday night mourned the passing of a tech titan. |
"Steve's brilliance, passion and energy were the source of countless innovations that enrich and improve all of our lives," Apple said in a statement. "The world is immeasurably better because of Steve." |
More than one pundit, praising Jobs' ability to transform entire industries with his inventions, called him a modern-day Leonardo Da Vinci. |
vators in the history of modern capitalism," New York Times column |
"Steve Jobs is one of the great innovators in the history of modern capitalism," New York Times columnist Joe Nocera said in August. "His intuition has been phenomenal over the years." |
Jobs' death, while dreaded by Apple's legions of fans, was not unexpected. He had battled cancer for years, took a medical leave from Apple in January and stepped down as chief executive in August because he could "no longer meet (his) duties and expectations." |
Born February 24, 1955, and then adopted, Jobs grew up in Cupertino, California -- which would become home to Apple's headquarters -- and showed an early interest in electronics. As a teenager, he phoned William Hewlett, president of Hewlett-Packard, to request parts for a school project. He got them, along with an offer of a summer job at HP. |
Jobs dropped out of Oregon's Reed College after one semester, although he returned to audit a class in calligraphy, which he says influenced Apple's graceful, minimalist aesthetic. He quit one of his first jobs, designing video games for Atari, to backpack across India and take psychedelic drugs. Those experiences, Jobs said later, shaped his creative vision. |
"You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future," he told Stanford University graduates during a commencement speech in 2005. "You have to trust in something: your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life." |
It's long been Silicon Valley legend: Jobs and Wozniak built their first commercial product, the Apple 1, in Jobs' parents' garage in 1976. Jobs sold his Volkswagen van to help finance the venture. The primitive computer, priced at $666.66, had no keyboard or display, and customers had to assemble it themselves. |
While at HP, Jobs befriended Steve Wozniak, who impressed him with his skill at assembling electronic components. The two later joined a Silicon Valley computer hobbyists club, and when he was 21, Jobs teamed with Wozniak and two other men to launch Apple Computer Inc. |
The following year, Apple unveiled the Apple II computer at the inaugural West Coast Computer Faire. The machine was a hit, and the personal computing revolution was under way. |
Jobs was among the first computer engineers to recognize the appeal of the mouse and the graphical interface, which let users operate computers by clicking on images instead of writing text. |
Apple's pioneering Macintosh computer launched in early 1984 with a now-iconic, Orwellian-themed Super Bowl ad. The boxy beige Macintosh sold well, but the demanding Jobs clashed frequently with colleagues, and in 1986, he was ousted from Apple after a power struggle. |
On Sept. 11, 2011, business as usual at Yahoo! will pause for a Digital Moment of Silence to honor those killed in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. At 8:46 a.m. ET, the moment the first plane crashed into the World Trade Center, normal service on the site will cease for one minute. During that time, Yahoo! will encourage visitors to reflect on the victims of the attack and to share their own stories about how 9/11 affected them. Visitors will also have the opportunity to donate to the National September 11 Memorial and Museum. Yahoo!, communities across U.S. to honor 9/11 anniversary |
On Sept. 11, 2011, business as usual at Yahoo! will pause for a
Digital Moment of Silence to honor those killed in the 9/11 terrorist
attacks. At 8:46 a.m. ET, the moment the first plane crashed into the
World Trade Center, normal service on the site will cease for one
minute. During that time, Yahoo! will encourage visitors to reflect on
the victims of the attack and to share their own stories about how 9/11
affected them. Visitors will also have the opportunity to donate to the
National September 11 Memorial and Museum. |
Communities across the country will also be honoring those who were
lost in the tragedy. Below is a list of how some areas plan to remember
the fallen. If your city, town, neighborhood, or civic group is
planning to hold a ceremony or a moment of silence to honor the day, share it with us. |
Washington, D.C.: Those who died in the attack
at the Pentagon will be honored at a ceremony of 700 people, including
family members of the deceased and members of the military. It will
take place at the Pentagon Memorial, which opened in 2008. |
Shanksville, Pa.: A commemorative service to honor those who died on Flight 93
will take place at 9:30 a.m. ET on Sept. 11 at the Memorial Plaza.
Musical tributes, wreath layings, and additional activities will
continue throughout the afternoon. |
Here are other memorial events and services planned on 9/11 across the U.S.: |
U.S. authorities are scrambling to sort through information that the CIA developed in the past 24 hours indicating that at least three individuals entered the U.S. in August by air with the intent to launch a vehicle-borne attack against Washington, D.C. or New York around the anniversary of 9/11, according to intelligence officials.
Officials say the alleged terror plot was initiated by new al Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri, Osama bin Laden's successor, who had pledged to avenge bin Laden's death earlier this year in a U.S. raid. Feds: Zawahiri Launched Al Qaeda Terror Plot for 9/11 Anniversary |
U.S. authorities are scrambling to sort through information that the CIA developed in the past 24 hours indicating that at least three individuals entered the U.S. in August by air with the intent to launch a vehicle-borne attack against Washington, D.C. or New York around the anniversary of 9/11, according to intelligence officials.
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Officials say the alleged terror plot was initiated by new al Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri, Osama bin Laden's successor, who had pledged to avenge bin Laden's death earlier this year in a U.S. raid.
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Intelligence and law enforcement officials told ABC News that at least one of the individuals is a U.S. citizen and one official said that two of the individuals may have had U.S. documentation -- whether green cards or passports was unclear.
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The threat was described as specific and credible by federal officials. "Al Qaeda has shown an interest in important dates and anniversaries. In this instance it is accurate that there is credible, specific but unconfirmed information," said Janice Fedarcyk, FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the New York office, at a Thursday evening press conference.
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At a the same press conference, New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg said the NYPD was already on alert because the anniversary is seen by terrorists as an opportune time to strike, and would be deploying additional resources around the city. He also said that the threat was credible and had to be taken seriously, though "it has not been corroborated."
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"We do live in a world where we must take these threats seriously and we certainly will," said Bloomberg.
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As news of the information became public, authorities began weighing whether to raise the national threat level. The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security have sent a bulletin to 18,000 law enforcement agencies around the country warning them of the potential plot. The bulletin notes that al Qaeda might seek revenge for the death of bin Laden and other key figures on a symbolic date like the anniversary of 9/11.
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Although authorities said they had not yet identified the suspects, they are looking at multiple names of individuals who entered the U.S. after mid-August. The operatives are believed to have embarked on their journey to the U.S. from the tribal areas of Pakistan, according to two senior officials. One official said the route may have taken them through Dubai.
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The information on the plot was "very specific " said one official, adding " It seems like the information has been worked for a while." A second and third official confirmed the specifics of the possible plot added that a declassified bulletin is expected to be issued shortly.
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U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Friday said that al Qaeda was behind a specific, credible but unconfirmed report of a threat to harm Americans, notably in New York and Washington. Clinton: al Qaeda behind unconfirmed threat to U.S. |
(Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Friday said that al Qaeda was behind a specific, credible but unconfirmed report of a threat to harm Americans, notably in New York and Washington.
"We are meeting here in New York ... with the news last night of a specific, credible but unconfirmed report that al Qaeda again is seeking to harm Americans and in particular to target New York and Washington," Clinton said in a speech. President Barack Obama on Thursday ordered a redoubling of counter-terrorism efforts in the face of the threat ahead of Sunday's 10th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington, U.S. officials said. In a speech ahead of the anniversary, Clinton said it was impossible to foil every plot and that al Qaeda was still capable of regional and international attacks. However, she said Washington would wage a "relentless" campaign against it and, later this month, would set up Global Counter-Terrorism Forum to gather officials to identify threats, devise solutions and share expertise. The group, to be co-chaired by the United States and Turkey, will also include Algeria, Australia, Canada, China, Colombia, Denmark, Egypt, the European Union, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Morocco, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom, the State Department said. |
Vehicle bomb
Reports suggest that intelligence gathered in Pakistan points to a possible car or truck bomb attack against New York or Washington.
US TV network ABC News reported on Thursday evening that three individuals - one a US citizen - entered the US in August aiming to carry out a terror attack. It was unclear whether this information was linked to the threat detailed by US officials. 9/11: Clinton says Al-Qaeda behind New York threat |
Hillary Clinton: "We are asking millions of New Yorkers and Americans to be the eyes and ears of vigilance" |
The US secretary of state has warned that al-Qaeda is behind a credible threat to Americans in the run-up to the anniversary of 9/11. |
Hillary Clinton said there had been a "specific, credible but unconfirmed report" of an attempt to target New York and Washington DC. |
President Barack Obama is to visit New York and Washington on Sunday as the US marks 10 years since al-Qaeda attacked. |
Nearly 3,000 people died in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania in 2001. |
'Eyes and ears of vigilance' |
"Al-Qaeda again is seeking to harm Americans and in particular to target New York and Washington," Mrs Clinton said on Friday. |
"This should not surprise any of us. It is a continuing reminder of the stakes in our struggle against violent extremism, no matter who propagates it, no matter where it comes from, no matter who its targets might be." |
She said the decision to go public with the threat was "intended to enlist the million and millions of New Yorkers and Americans to be the eyes and ears of vigilance", adding that the threat was being taken very seriously by state and federal authorities. |
Counter-terrorism officials were particularly concerned by the threat because documents seized during the raid of Osama bin Laden's Pakistani compound in May showed al-Qaeda was considering strikes to coincide with the anniversary, Mrs Clinton said. |
The former New York senator said Americans should not change their plans, but instead be alert. |
"You have to go on with life," she said, adding, "This city is resilient." |
Events commemorating the anniversary of the attacks are scheduled throughout the weekend. |
President Obama will visit the World Trade Center site, the Pentagon, and and a memorial ceremony in Shanksville, Pennsylvania - where the fourth hijacked plane, United 93, came down. |
He will be joined in New York by former President George W Bush. |
Mr Obama, who was briefed on the alert before addressing Congress on Thursday, called on the US to "redouble" anti-terror efforts. |
Speaking on Thursday night, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the threat was "uncorroborated", but security would be boosted at bridges, tunnels and on public transport. |
Mr Bloomberg travelled on the New York subway on Friday morning in a symbolic gesture aimed at showing the city is fully prepared for a terror threat. |
Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said spot checks in the New York subway would be more frequent in coming days. |
In the US capital, police chief Cathy Lanier said the public should expect increased security measures and more stopped vehicles, the Washington Post reported. |
Police shifts have been extended indefinitely and members of the public are being asked to report abandoned or suspicious vehicles, the Post said. |
Reports suggest that intelligence gathered in Pakistan points to a possible car or truck bomb attack against New York or Washington. |
US TV network ABC News reported on Thursday evening that three individuals - one a US citizen - entered the US in August aiming to carry out a terror attack. It was unclear whether this information was linked to the threat detailed by US officials. |
Speaking at Thursday's news conference alongside Mr Bloomberg and Mr Kelly, the FBI Assistant Director in Charge of the New York office, Janice Fedarcyk, confirmed the threat. |
"Al-Qaeda has shown an interest in important dates and anniversaries. In this instance it is accurate that there is credible, specific but unconfirmed information," she said. |
An anonymous counter-terrorism official told the Associated Press that authorities had been investigating the intelligence since it was received late on Wednesday. |
Mr Kelly told the BBC earlier that the city's police would be high alert during the weekend. |
"We are worried specifically about something happening on the anniversary of 9/11 because we saw on some of Bin Laden's materials that there was discussion about the 10-year anniversary, the 10-year memorial," he said. |
"There is no doubt that New York is safer now than it was 10 years ago, but there are no guarantees. We are doing everything that I believe we can do to protect the city, but it is a dangerous world." |
Mr Bloomberg told reporters that New York police would be "deploying additional resources... some of which you will notice and some of which you will not". |
Warming could devastate fish numbers |
LA JOLLA, Calif., Sept. 8 (UPI) -- World fish stocks could plummet and more than half of some species of fish in the marine food web might die because of global warming, U.S. researchers say. |
Some of the world's richest fisheries could sustain devastating losses if, as predicted, global warming reduces the amount of oxygen dissolved in some critical areas of the ocean, researchers at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, Calif., said. |
Scripps researcher Tony Koslow analyzed survey records of California waters going back to 1951 and recording water temperature, salinity and the dissolved oxygen content, NewScientist.com reported Thursday. |
The records were compiled by California to support its sardine industry. |
"There is almost no other dataset going back so far that includes every kind of fish," Koslow said. |
Records of 86 fish species showed that the abundance of 27 of them correlated strongly with the amount of oxygen 200 to 400 yards below the ocean surface, and that a 20 per cent drop in oxygen meant a 63 per cent drop in the fish. |
Climate models predict 20 percent to 40 percent of the oxygen at these depths will disappear during the next century due to warming, Koslow said. |
The temple's religious tenets connect spirituality and sexuality, its Web site says.
Online ads for the temple offered "sensual worship" for $204 an hour and promoted the "Very Erotic Priestess Sophia."
Founder Tracy Elise, 50, who called herself the temple's "Mystic Mother," faces charges of prostitution, illegal control of an enterprise, pandering and operating a house of prostitution. Police raid sex church in Arizona |
PHOENIX, Sept. 9 (UPI) -- The founder of an Arizona sex church and 17 others have been arrested on a variety of prostitution-related charges, officials said. |
Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery said the Phoenix Goddess Temple raided by police "was no more a church than Cuba is Fantasy Island," The Arizona Republic of Phoenix reported Friday. |
The temple's religious tenets connect spirituality and sexuality, its Web site says. |
Online ads for the temple offered "sensual worship" for $204 an hour and promoted the "Very Erotic Priestess Sophia." |
Founder Tracy Elise, 50, who called herself the temple's "Mystic Mother," faces charges of prostitution, illegal control of an enterprise, pandering and operating a house of prostitution. |
Acting Phoenix Police Chief Joe Yahner said it is "particularly disheartening that some would attempt to disguise their crimes as religious freedom." |
Montgomery said his office worked with vice squad detectives from Phoenix for six months to indict 33 people associated with the temple. |
Bush: No regrets about Sept. 11 policies |
Slideshow
President George W. Bush and first lady Laura Bush attended a solem ceremony at the base of Ground Zero to mark the five year anniversary of the terrorist attacks, in New York on September 10, 2006. The president and first lady laid a wreath in a small ceremonial pool. Also on hand was New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, New York Governor George Pataki, and former NYC mayor Rudy Giuliani. (UPI Photo/G. Fabiano/Pool) 
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WASHINGTON, Sept. 9 (UPI) -- George W. Bush said he is confident objective historians will view his policies to protect the United States after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks as necessary. |
With the 10th anniversary approaching, former President Bush said he has no regrets about his decisions, USA Today reported Friday. |
Bush said the war with Iraq and the use of controversial interrogation techniques that some labeled as torture were needed to protect the country. |
He also said it was his administration that began the work that led to the discovery and death of al-Qaida leader Osama Bin Laden in May. |
"The work that was done by intelligence communities during my presidency was part of putting together the puzzle that enable us to see the full picture of how bin Laden was communicating and eventually where he was hiding," the former president said. "It began the day after 9/11." |
On Saturday, Bush and former first lady Laura Bush will lay a wreath at the Pentagon and speak at the dedication of the Shanksville, Pa. memorial to Flight 93. |
Late last month, the United States imposed new sanctions on Syria, freezing Syrian government assets and banning petroleum product imports from the country. U.S. sanctions also target Ali, Foreign and Expatriates Minister Walid al-Moallem and Bouthaina Shaaban, the presidential political and media adviser.
Syrian opposition leader Ammar Qurabi called on Moscow to do more to resolve civil strife in the country, where the United Nations says a government crackdown on pro-democracy protesters has killed more than 2,000 people, RIA Novosti reported.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said international support for the Syrian opposition could lead to "new bloodshed" there. Syrian ambassador dismisses U.S. sanctions |
BEIRUT, Lebanon, Sept. 9 (UPI) -- Ali Abdel-Karim Ali, the Syrian ambassador to Lebanon, brushed aside U.S. Sanctions, calling them a "badge of honor." |
Ali, in an interview with the Daily Star in Beirut, accused the White House of trying to "encroach on the sovereignty of states" through what the newspaper called a "campaign of misinformation." |
Late last month, the United States imposed new sanctions on Syria, freezing Syrian government assets and banning petroleum product imports from the country. U.S. sanctions also target Ali, Foreign and Expatriates Minister Walid al-Moallem and Bouthaina Shaaban, the presidential political and media adviser. |
Ali said being targeted with the sanctions should "be counted as a badge of honor … given that this was issued by a country that violates human rights on daily basis." |
"What is more astonishing and puzzling is that I should be accused for having relations with my own government and its security apparatuses," Ali said. |
Syrian opposition leader Ammar Qurabi called on Moscow to do more to resolve civil strife in the country, where the United Nations says a government crackdown on pro-democracy protesters has killed more than 2,000 people, RIA Novosti reported. |
"Russia must play a more active and positive role in settling the domestic conflict in Syria," Qurabi, a human rights activist, said at a Moscow news conference. |
Qurabi came to Russia with other Syrian opposition activists invited by non-governmental organizations in the country. |
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said international support for the Syrian opposition could lead to "new bloodshed" there. |
On Thursday, the official Syrian news agency SANA reported, 10 members of Syrian security forces and the army who died in the violence were buried. |
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