Matter of artifact

ATHENS — Dozens of archeological artifacts stolen from a museum in Olympia, Greece, were recovered after police arrested three people in connection with the thefts, authorities said.

Two armed robbers in February made off with nearly 80 artifacts from a museum dedicated to the ancient Olympic Games, including a bronze statuette of a victorious athlete, a 2,400-year-old oil jar, clay lamps, bronze tripods and miniature chariot wheels.

Greek police had earlier said that one of the suspects had been arrested at a hotel in the city of Patras Friday after trying to sell a 3,300-year-old gold ring to an undercover officer.

The man, who had asked $387,000 for the Bronze Age ring, later cracked under questioning and named his accomplices, a local police source said.

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Is the electric car dying again?

A second administration of President Barack Obama will be forced to revisit the issue of subsidies for renewable energy and, with it, those for electric vehicles. Despite the millions of dollars spent on government incentives, marketing and promotion, sales of fully electric cars are well below projected targets. Investment in vehicle charging infrastructure also has fallen victim to budget cutbacks, limited usage and concern over the return on money spent.

Indeed, only last month, a leading automotive battery manufacturer, A123 Systems, was forced to declare bankruptcy. And the founder and CEO of Better Place, Shai Agassi, whose company (in which I was employed) promotes all-electric vehicles with batteries that can be both charged and replaced, was himself replaced due to low sales figures and high capital expenses arising from the deployment of battery-switching stations.

As a result, the question is now being raised: Are we again bearing witness to the death of the electric car?

Any such conclusion over the longer term may be premature. With declining costs and gradually improving technologies that can extend battery range beyond its current limitations, the electric car continues to hold promise. Rising gasoline prices and potential disruptions in oil supply favor alternative sources of energy.

To achieve mass market adoption, however, cars running on electricity — or any other alternative energy source — must satisfy the three “C’s”: cost, convenience and connectivity.

Few buyers are able or willing to pay more for a car running on clean energy unless the upfront cost of the car roughly equals or is below its carbon-powered alternative. Advertised savings over time in powering a car using alternative “fuels” so far have failed to persuade the average driver to buy. And while government subsidies play a role in reducing initial costs to consumers, such incentives so far have not been sufficient to attract large numbers of drivers to switch to electric vehicles.

Cars driven solely or partially by electricity or other alternative energies also must be at least as convenient as those powered exclusively by internal combustion engines. Drivers appear unwilling to sacrifice the expected hundreds of miles in driving range between refuelings. Likewise, drivers demand refueling times equal to what they are accustomed — about five minutes at the gasoline station.

Further, there must be adequate infrastructure in place to enable large numbers of drivers to connect to an alternative energy source before that source can be widely adopted. While a scattering of drivers simultaneously connecting to a power grid may not have much impact, large numbers of drivers doing so can cause major power outages that escalate absent the real-time balancing of energy loads across the network. Moreover, the environmental impact of the connected cycle between car and infrastructure, often referred to as the “well-to-wheel” balance, has to result in less pollution overall for alternative energy vehicles to achieve significant market traction.

Until the fully electric car can satisfy all three C’s, any assessment of projected vehicle sales must reflect a variety of energy sourcing options, both traditional and alternative, all competing for market share.

Gasoline and diesel likely will remain the predominant source of energy in the foreseeable future for new car buyers, with hybrid vehicles that run on both petroleum and alternative energy sources taking an increasingly larger share of the market. Although more costly than pure gasoline-driven cars, hybrids do offer a more environmentally friendly solution and provide the driving range demanded by car buyers.

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West Miami-Dade hit-and-run driver convicted, awaiting sentencing

Almost four years after a hit-and-run driver killed her 11-year-old daughter, Adonay Rosete will enter the holiday season with some semblance of closure.

That’s because a jury this month convicted the driver of two felonies in the death of 11-year-old Ashley Nicole Valdes, who was struck in January 2009 in West Kendall after a bus driver dropped her off on the wrong side of the street.

The driver, Harvey Abraham, 37, was convicted of leaving the scene of an accident involving death and tampering with evidence.

He will be sentenced early next year, and faces from two to 35 years in prison.

“The trial was just very hard because it took me back to that moment of her death. He took two lives that day. The dead are dead, but the living are the ones who stay behind suffering,” Rosete said this week. “But after three years, it’s closure.”

Ashley’s death spurred Miami-Dade County to implement an “Ashley Alert” text-message system for which county residents can sign up to receive alerts on crime and traffic issues. The alerts are intended to spread the word on crimes such as hit-and-run accidents like the one that killed Ashley.

In March 2009 — in a ceremony featuring dozens of the girl’s classmates — county officials also renamed the portion of Southwest 80th Street where Ashley died after her.

Ashley had just started sixth grade at Howard Doolin Middle School in West Kendall. Her mother also cares for her younger daughter, Amanda Batista, who suffers from Angelman Syndrome, a condition similar to cerebral palsy.

Ashley was killed Jan. 8, 2009, when a substitute school bus driver dropped her off on the wrong side of the Southwest 80th Street in West Kendall. She was crossing 80th Street when a Ford F-150 plowed into her, hurling her body 80 feet. Her family later received a settlement from the Miami-Dade school district.

Two school-age sisters in a nearby car witnessed the accident.

At the time, Abraham — a father of two daughters — worked as an administrative assistant at an accounting firm. He took his truck to a body shop, and even filed an insurance claim, saying he was the victim, prosecutor Suzanne Von Paulus told jurors at his trial.

As Miami-Dade traffic homicide detectives searched for the truck and fielded more than 70 tips, Allstate insurance inspected the vehicle and mailed a check to Harvey for the damage.

While the partially disassembled truck sat outside a South Miami auto body shop, a citizen — who heard about the case through the news media — called police. The shop’s owner, working with police, called Abraham to the shop under the pretense that he needed to sign more paperwork for the repair job.

Detectives arrested Abraham, who claimed he thought he had struck a dog. Jurors took 25 minutes to convict him.

“The whole thing is tragic. There was nothing he could have done to avoid this accident,” said his defense attorney, David Donet. “From the beginning he said he never realized what he hit. But he is really devastated by what happened to Ashley and is very remorseful.”

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Secret message found with carrier pigeon may never be deciphered

British man finds carrier pigeon skeleton in his fireplace with unbreakable secret code (Reuters)

Before military forces had secure cell phones and satellite communications, they used carrier pigeons. The highly trained birds delivered sensitive information from one location to another during  World War II. Often, the birds found the intended recipient. But not always.

A dead pigeon was recently discovered inside a chimney in Surrey, England. There for roughly 70 years, the bird had a curious canister attached to its leg. Inside was a coded message that has stumped the experts.

The code features a series of 27 groups of five letters. According to Reuters, nobody from Britain’s Government Communications Headquarters has been able to decipher it. The message was sent by a Sgt. W. Scott to someone or something identified as “Xo2.”

A spokesperson remarked, “Although it is disappointing that we cannot yet read the message brought back by a brave carrier pigeon, it is a tribute to the skills of the wartime code-makers that, despite working under severe pressure, they devised a code that was indecipherable both then and now.”

The bird was discovered by a homeowner doing renovations earlier this month. In an interview with Reuters, David Martin remarked that bits of birds kept falling from the chimney. Eventually, Margin saw the red canister and speculated that it might contain a secret message. And it seems as if the message will always be secret.

Carrier pigeons played a vital role in wars due to their incredible homing skills. All told, U.K. forces used about 250,000 of the birds during World War II.

Wireless News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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Larry Hagman Dies

Larry Hagman, best known for playing Dallas villain J.R. Ewing, died Friday morning from complications stemming from his recent battle with cancer, The Dallas Morning News is reporting.

He was 81 years old.

Video: Larry Hagman Talks 'Dallas', Cancer and Veganism

"Larry was back in his beloved Dallas, re-enacting the iconic role he loved most," the family said in a statement. "When he passed, he was surrounded by loved ones. It was a peaceful passing, just as he had wished for. The family requests privacy at this time."

Hagman's Dallas co-stars Linda Gray (who played his wife Sue Ellen) and Patrick Duffy (who played his brother Bobby) were reportedly at his bedside when he died, The Sun is reporting.

Video: J.R. Menaces in New 'Dallas'

Hagman, who also starred as Air Force Captain Anthony Nelson in I Dream of Jeannie, was last seen on television in TNT’s Dallas reboot, where he returned to play his most well-known character.

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Tears for a clown

The clown who died performing at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade was much more than a goofy guy in a costume, loved ones said yesterday.

Robert Blasetti, 67, was the green thumb of his close-knit Yonkers community, and shared his produce with neighbors.

“He was a wonderful, bighearted Teddy bear,” said Dr. Anna Dolan, a psychiatrist who had employed Blasetti as an office manager for the last 30 years.

Dolan said his death, after collapsing on Sixth Avenue at West 39th Street, was a great shock.

“He was a very jolly guy and your typical bighearted New Yorker,” she recalled.

BIGHEARTED: Robert Blasetti was performing with his wife, Irene, in the Macy’s parade when he collapsed.

Help arrived in seconds after Blasetti fell as he performed alongside his wife, Irene, 62. But witnesses said there was nothing anyone could do to save him.

“He fell onto his chest,” recalled Daniel Depew, a photographer. “A police officer rushed over, and an EMT jumped the fence — there happened to be an EMT in the crowd.”

The Blasettis, who have no children, looked forward every year to donning clown clothes for the parade. They had volunteered for the festivities for six years, Dolan said.

“He passed away doing something he loved and really enjoyed,” Irene Blasetti told Dolan.

They lived for 22 years on a quiet, tree-lined street across from a park.

“Robert was always outside working on his garden,” neighbor Tatiana Hernandez said.

“The community is close, so we would give each other little gifts,” she said. “My father is a fisherman, so we would give them fish. In return, they would give us fresh tomatoes from their garden.”

Neighbors closed ranks around Irene Blasetti yesterday, and most declined to speak of the tragedy.

“The news really rocked the entire block,” Hernandez said. “It’s sad to see something like this happen to such a wonderful couple.”

Additional reporting by Dana Sauchelli

bsanderson@nypost.com

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‘App economy’ potential sizzles

Raymond Gonzalez, a Florida International University senior, is developing an iPhone application called Pet Finder that will allow users to browse the dogs and cats at the local animal shelter or request an animal for adoption. He is also part of a team creating mobile apps that track bank failures, issue alerts about earthquakes and organize homework assignments.

It’s a well-calculated effort to learn as much as he can about mobile technology as quickly as possible. “My goal is to make all these apps free and open source while using the knowledge gained to build my startup company after graduation,” said Gonzalez, who is majoring in information technology.

Whether he starts his own company or works for someone else, Gonzalez is preparing to be a player in a high-paying, sizzling new industry, one that might provide the United States with a big opportunity to increase its exports in coming years.

While the overall economy still lags, the “app economy” has created nearly 500,000 jobs in the United States since 2007, when there were none.

Companies even worry that the nation isn’t moving fast enough to produce new talent for thousands of unfilled jobs as consumers demand more and more gizmos and gadgets for their smartphones.

As a result, salaries are rising quickly: Mobile apps developers can expect pay increases of 9 percent next year, among the highest of any jobs, putting them in the range of $92,750 to $133,500 a year, according to a survey that the staffing and consulting firm Robert Half International released last month.

If the United States can maintain its dominance in the industry, many say the app economy could make a big dent in the country’s federal trade deficit. Last year, for example, more than 20 percent of the apps downloaded in China were made by U.S. developers.

“There is unprecedented opportunity for America to capitalize on exploding international markets,” Peter Farago, the vice president of marketing for Flurry, a high-tech startup in San Francisco, testified in September before the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade.

Farago said his company had more than 100 employees and 50 open positions and that “we literally cannot find the talent we need fast enough.” He told members of the subcommittee that the app economy would become increasingly international and that the United States should do more to improve education and retraining programs and to make it easier for companies to bring and keep more talent from foreign countries.

“We’re in a human capital crunch,” added Rey Ramsey, the president and chief executive officer of TechNet, a network of technology executives that promotes the industry.

According to a TechNet study released earlier this year, the 466,000 mobile-tech jobs created since the iPhone was introduced include programmers, designers, marketers, managers and support staff for Apple, Android, Facebook and other platforms. California is by far the most dominant player in the industry, accounting for nearly one of every four jobs. New York ranks second, followed by Washington state, Texas, New Jersey, Illinois, Massachusetts, Georgia, Virginia and Florida.

Among metropolitan regions, New York ranked first, followed by San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara and Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue. Miami-Fort Lauderdale ranked 19th.

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Shoppers flood South Florida stores on Thanksgiving for Black Friday deals

GeGe Williams joined 18 family members Thursday for a sprawling Thanksgiving feast of turkey, collard greens, macaroni and cheese, seafood rice, stuffing and banana pudding.

They had to eat quickly. It was 11 a.m., and they wanted to get in line to shop.

“Half of us went to Walmart and half of us came here,” Williams, a fast-food cashier from Miami, said shortly before 6 p.m. from a bench outside the Best Buy at the Dadeland Station Mall.

Williams joined tens of thousands of South Florida residents in condensing or abandoning their Thanksgiving routines Thursday to snag bargains reserved for the earliest of holiday shoppers.

At a Doral Toys R Us, more than 300 people waited in line for an 8 p.m. opening, the earliest yet for a store that four years ago kept closed through Thanksgiving. But with more retailers seeing midnight openings on Friday too long a wait for holiday sales, Toys R Us opted to move its "door buster" frenzy into Thanksgiving evening.

The earlier opening brought Rebecca Sucarino to Toys R Us at 10 a.m. to claim the first spot in line. The insurance specialist was joined by her husband and friends, while her three children ate Thanksgiving with Sucarino’s mother.

This is Sucarino’s third year at the front of the line on Thanksgiving at the same Toys R Us. She’s on the hunt for baby clothes and a $100 trampoline selling for $50.

She said she’s happy to be able to afford a big Christmas haul for her three kids (ages 11, 3 and six months) but does regret having to stake out a store on Thanksgiving.

“This is my son’s first Thanksgiving. It bothers me a lot,” she said. “But it feels good to get the kids a lot of toys and not spend as much.”

While the Toys R Us line grew throughout the evening, the second group of shoppers didn’t show up until around 5 p.m.

Such was the luck of Thanksgiving Day shopping, with some die-hards realizing they had arrived hours or even days earlier than they needed to.

At a Doral Best Buy, Valentina Sierra stood by a tent she and a fellow Starbucks worker pitched there on Monday. When did the people that snagged Spot No. 2 arrive? Wednesday, Sierra said, rolling her eyes.

She planned on buying a $499 40-inch Toshiba television on sale for $179 as a gift for her parents. About 40 spots down a line topping 200 around 7 pm, Florida International University student Jason Kalil wanted the same item. He wasn’t hopeful and blamed local police.

Kalil explained he arrived around midnight and placed his tent near Sierra’s. While charging a phone Thursday morning, Kalil saw someone had inserted their tent, claiming improper dibs on Kalil’s part. A scuffle ensued, the police summoned.

“They ordered me to the back of the line,” Kalil said.

Nationwide, a similar shopping story unfolded as shoppers put down the turkey to take advantage of Thanksgiving deals.

Stores typically open in the wee hours of the morning on the day after Thanksgiving that’s named Black Friday because that’s when stores traditionally turn a profit for the year. But Black Friday openings have crept earlier and earlier over the past few years. Now, stores are opening their doors on Thanksgiving evening, hoping Americans will be willing to shop soon after they finish their pumpkin pie.

Retailers are hoping that the Thanksgiving openings will draw shoppers who prefer to head to stores after their turkey dinner rather than braving the crowds early the next morning. Overall, about 17 percent of shoppers plan to take advantage of Thanksgiving hours, according to an International Council of Shopping Centers-Goldman Sachs survey of 1,000 consumers.

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Gabriel Aubry and Olivier Martinez Involved in Brawl

Halle Berry's ex-boyfriend Gabriel Aubry and her fiancé Olivier Martinez were involved in a Thanksgiving altercation that turned physical, with Aubry having to be transported by ambulance to the hospital due to injuries, ET confirms.

Cops responded to a 9-1-1 call at 10 a.m. at Berry's house, and according to police sources, the fight broke out when Aubry was dropping off his daughter with Berry, Nahla, 4, to her house for Thanksgiving. Aubry reportedly initiated the altercation and was arrested for misdemeanor battery.

Related: Halle Berry & Gabriel Aubry's Custody Battle Heats Up

He will be booked when/after he is released from the hospital.

Related: Berry -- My Love for Olivier Was 'Gradual'

Just Wednesday afternoon, Aubry, Berry, Martinez and Nahla were all seen together attending a pre-Thanksgiving party in Los Angeles.

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Surf's up, Jennifer!

Playing the butt-kicking, arrow-shooting hero of “The Hunger Games” has certainly paid off! Jennifer Lawrence, known to fans as Katniss Everdeen, flaunts her toned bikini bod while surfing in Hawaii. The star, 22, was taking a break ahead of filming for the franchise’s sequel, “Catching Fire.”

Splash News

Jennifer Lawrence

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