3 veteran storm chasers killed by Oklahoma tornado

This undated photo provided by The Discovery Channel shows Carl Young and Tim Samaras watching the sky. Jim Samaras said Sunday, June 2, 2013, that his brother storm chaser Tim Samaras was killed along with Tim?s son, Paul Samaras, and another chaser, Carl Young, on Friday, May 31, 2013 in Oklahoma City. The National Weather Service?s Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla., said the men were involved in tornado research.( AP Photo/Discovery Channel) MANDATORY CREDIT

This undated photo provided by The Discovery Channel shows Carl Young and Tim Samaras watching the sky. Jim Samaras said Sunday, June 2, 2013, that his brother storm chaser Tim Samaras was killed along with Tim?s son, Paul Samaras, and another chaser, Carl Young, on Friday, May 31, 2013 in Oklahoma City. The National Weather Service?s Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla., said the men were involved in tornado research.( AP Photo/Discovery Channel) MANDATORY CREDIT

FILE - In this May 26, 2006, file photo Tornado chaser Tim Samaras shows the probes he uses when trying to collect data in Ames, Iowa. Jim Samaras said Sunday, June 2, 2013, that his brother Tim Samaras was killed along with Tim?s son, Paul Samaras, and another chaser, Carl Young, on Friday, May 31, 2013 in Oklahoma City. The National Weather Service?s Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla., said the men were involved in tornado research. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File)

FILE - This May 26, 2006, file photo, shows the license plate on the truck of tornado chaser Tim Samaras, in Ames, Iowa. Jim Samaras said Sunday, June 2, 2013, that his brother Tim Samaras was killed along with Tim?s son, Paul Samaras, and another chaser, Carl Young, on Friday, May 31, 2013 in Oklahoma City. The National Weather Service?s Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla., said the men were involved in tornado research. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File)

Map shows tornado track for May

Three veteran storm chasers died doing what they loved: roaming the Great Plains in search of dangerous storms like the one in Oklahoma that ended their final pursuit.

Tim Samaras, his son Paul and colleague Carl Young, who through the years had shared dramatic videos with television viewers and weather researchers, died Friday night when an EF3 tornado with winds up to 165 mph turned on them near El Reno, Okla. They were among 13 people who died in the storm in Oklahoma City and its suburbs.

Their deaths in pursuit of the storm are believed to be the first among scientific researchers while chasing tornadoes, the Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla., said.

"They put themselves in harm's way so that they can educate the public about the destructive power of these storms," said Chris West, the undersheriff in Canadian County, where the men died.

Tim Samaras, 54, and Paul Samaras, 24, both of Bennett, Colo., were trapped in their car along with Young, 45, of South Lake Tahoe, which straddles the California and Nevada border.

Many times before, Tim Samaras had told anyone who would listen that tornadoes were unpredictable.

"I don't know if I would say I worried about it because one of the biggest things he stressed was safety," said Tim's brother, Jim Samaras, who confirmed the deaths to The Associated Press. "He knew what to look for. He knew where not to be and in this case, the tornado took a clear turn toward them."

Tim Samaras and his Twistex tornado chase team had been featured on the Discovery Channel and given grants by the National Geographic Society. They also were regular presenters at conferences dedicated to advances in meteorology.

The Oklahoma storm that killed the three chasers developed before their eyes Friday.

Tim Samaras tweeted a photo of clouds rising through a volatile atmosphere and noted: "Storms now initiating south of Watonga along triple point. Dangerous day ahead for OK ? stay weather savvy!"

It was his final tweet.

"He looked at tornadoes not for the spotlight of TV but for the scientific aspect," Jim Samaras said. "At the end of the day, he wanted to save lives and he gave the ultimate sacrifice for that."

The tornado in the classic movie "The Wizard of Oz" fascinated a then-6-year-old Tim Samaras, his brother said.

"He didn't give a crap about Toto, he didn't give a crap about the munchkins," Jim Samaras said.

The Storm Prediction Center said in a statement Sunday that it was saddened by Tim Samaras' death.

"Samaras was a respected tornado researcher and friend ... who brought to the field a unique portfolio of expertise in engineering, science, writing and videography," the center said.

The storm arrived during Friday night's rush hour, when roads were clogged with commuters and others trying to flee the storm. Video taken by a number of storm chasers showed debris pelting vehicles.

Winds swept one vehicle with a crew from The Weather Channel off the road, tossed it 200 yards and flipped it into a field. The crew members escaped without any serious injuries.

"This is a very sad day for the meteorological community and the families of our friends lost. Tim Samaras was a pioneer and great man," Weather Channel meteorologist Jim Cantore tweeted Sunday.

The Discovery Channel, which featured Tim Samaras on "Storm Chasers" until last year, planned to dedicate a show Sunday evening to the three men, noting they died "doing what they love, chasing storms."

The National Geographic Society called Tim Samaras a "courageous and brilliant scientist" and posted on its website an interview conducted with him last month.

"Being close to a tornado is one of those incredible, fleeting moments that sometimes you have to take a couple of seconds to take in," he said in the interview, which went on to describe his engineering background and the need for tornado research.

"We still don't know why some thunderstorms create tornadoes while others don't," he added. "We're trying to collect as many observations as possible, both from outside and from the inside. If we better understood some of the final mechanisms for tornado genesis, our forecasting will be greatly improved."

He told the magazine that there are probably fewer than five storm chasers who pursue tornadoes for data, while many do it for other reasons.

"On a big tornado day in Oklahoma, you can have hundreds of storm chasers lined up down the road," he said. "Oklahoma is considered the mecca of storm chasing. We know ahead of time when we chase in Oklahoma, there's going to be a traffic jam."

The Storm Prediction Center said scientific storm chasing is performed as safely as possible, with trained researchers using appropriate technology. It encouraged all, including the media and amateurs, to chase safely to avoid a repeat of Friday's deaths.

___

Kissel reported from Little Rock, Ark., and Peipert from Denver. Associated Press writer Lynn Elber in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-06-02-Severe%20Weather-Storm%20Chasers/id-0e22ad5bd0dc4568888a9cf01c59d983

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Wall Street Week Ahead: Good news on jobs may be bad for stocks

By Caroline Valetkevitch

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Standing conventional stock market wisdom on its head, investors may wish for weaker-than-expected employment numbers next Friday.

A strong jobs report could prompt an early end to the Federal Reserve's policy of pumping money into the banking system to rescue the economy and set off the stock market's long-awaited pullback.

The Fed's loose monetary policy since the end of 2008 has kept interest rates low and propelled stocks to record highs.

Last week, stocks fell and bond yields surged after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said the U.S. central bank may decide to taper its stimulus programs in the next few policy meetings if data shows the economy is gaining traction.

Stocks posted their second straight week of losses on Friday, mostly on fears that the Fed would curb its bond-buying program sooner than most people expected.

"We're in a mindset where the market seems to be very fearful of the Fed beginning a tapering," said Quincy Krosby, market strategist at Prudential Financial in Newark, New Jersey.

"Those who are in the market based on easy money ... will probably exit" if the May jobs number exceeds expectations, she said.

The market has managed to climb this year without any substantial pullback. Concerns about the Fed's next move have increased speculation that a major bout of selling is ahead.

A stronger-than-expected jobs number "would continue to produce the concerns you've seen manifested in the market over the last couple of days," said Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott in Philadelphia, which manages about $58 billion in assets.

Economists say job gains of at least 200,000 per month over several months are needed to significantly reduce high unemployment.

The Fed has said it will keep interest rates at historic lows until the U.S. unemployment rate drops to 6.5 percent.

Employers are expected to have added 168,000 jobs to their payrolls in May, according to economists polled by Reuters. That's slightly above April's count of 165,000 new positions.

The U.S. unemployment rate is expected to hold steady at 7.5 percent in May.

To be sure, better-than-expected jobs data would be evidence of strength in the economy, a positive for the market in the long run, so any pullback could be short-lived, analysts said.

"If it's a short-term correction, I think that would have to be opportunistic, in the sense that investors should take advantage of moving any sideline money into the equity market," Luschini said.

Even with the recent losses - the Standard & Poor's 500 index <.spx> fell 1.1 percent this week - the index rose 14.34 percent for the first five months of 2013. That gain marked the S&P 500's best first five months of any year since 1997.

DITCHING DIVIDEND STOCKS

A rotation out of high-yielding dividend stocks has already begun because of the rise in U.S. Treasury bond yields.

Dividend stocks had been among the market's leaders for much of this year's rally as investors favored those shares over fixed-income securities in a low interest-rate environment.

"The first crack we've seen is, as bond yields have been going up, people are moving out of that area," said Eric Kuby, chief investment officer of North Star Investment Management Corp., in Chicago.

"Managers are starting to look at things other than consumer staples with nice dividends and stable businesses. So within the stock market, you're seeing more volatility within sectors."

The S&P 500 gained 2.1 percent for the month of May, while the S&P utilities sector index <.splrcu> lost 9.6 percent and the S&P consumer staples index <.splrcs> dropped 2.4 percent.

The spread between the S&P 500 dividend yield and the 10-year U.S. Treasury note's yield this week hit its narrowest in about a year. The S&P 500 dividend yield was at 2.39 percent, while the 10-year note's yield hit 2.235 percent during the week.

By comparison, the dividend yield on the utilities sector stands at about 4 percent.

The move out of dividend-paying and other defensive shares should continue as the economy improves, Kuby said, though he pointed out that the market is still a "long way" from seeing high interest rates.

"The fact that rates are likely to creep up over time, that's a given. And it's not going to be sudden or dramatic. It's going to be more gradual."

IT'S RAINING NUMBERS

Next week will bring a snapshot of U.S. manufacturing activity from the Institute for Supply Management, which releases its May index on Monday. Economists polled by Reuters expect a reading of 50.5 for May, compared with 50.7 in April.

Monday's economic agenda also calls for April construction spending - forecast up 0.8 percent after a drop of 1.7 percent in March.

Domestic car and truck sales for May, also expected on Monday, are projected to have increased to 15.1 million units from April sales of about 14.9 million units, the Reuters Poll showed.

The U.S. international trade deficit, set for release on Tuesday, is forecast to have widened slightly to $41 billion in April from $38.8 billion in March.

A preview of the jobs picture will come on Wednesday with the release of a report from payrolls processor ADP. Economists polled by Reuters have forecast that the ADP data will show private-sector employers added 165,000 jobs in May, compared with 119,000 in April.

Wednesday's numbers to watch will include the ISM's release of its U.S. services-sector Purchasing Managers' Index for May. A reading of 53.4 is forecast for May, up from April's 53.1.

The Fed's Beige Book is expected on Wednesday afternoon. That report will give a look at the economy in 12 regional Federal Reserve bank districts.

On Thursday, initial claims for unemployment benefits will grab attention - on the day before the big payrolls report from the U.S. government. Initial jobless claims are projected to have slipped to 345,000 in the week ended June 1 from 354,000 in the previous week.

(Wall St Week Ahead runs every Friday. Questions or comments on this column can be emailed to: caroline.valetkevitch(at)thomsonreuters.com )

(Editing by Jan Paschal)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/wall-street-week-ahead-good-news-jobs-may-235641466.html

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UK doctors and nurses that are injured while treating unconscious patients cannot test them for HIV due to lack of legal protection, while in most of Europe such testing is permitted

Public release date: 1-Jun-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Dr. Andrew Hartle
startle65@aol.com
44-077-687-34008
ESA (European Society of Anaesthesiology)

Doctors and nurses in the UK that are injured in the course of treating injured patients cannot currently test that patient for HIV without their consent. In emergency situations where the patient is unconscious, such consent cannot be given, putting healthcare staff at risk of subsequent legal action if they test the unconscious patient. In a session taking place at Euroanaesthesia (the annual congress of the European Society of Anaesthesiology [ESA]), senior UK anaesthetists will discuss the need for a change in the law to protect both patients and healthcare workers.

When a doctor or nurse treating an unconscious patient in hospital is injured, for example by a needle-stick injury, they are at risk of contracting HIV and/or hepatitis B and C. In such circumstances, it is vital to determine whether or not the unconscious patient is HIV positive*, so that the injured healthcare worker can immediately begin post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) treatment to prevent any HIV infection taking hold. It's probably as important for staff to know that they don't need to take PEP, which can have unpleasant physical side-effects. Additionally, the psychological impact of not knowing if the patient is infected with HIV places staff under considerable stress, which in some cases leads to significant health issues. Staff who may be pregnant face a particularly stressful dilemma.

Until 2005, UK doctors were able to use their judgement about whether an unconscious patient should be tested for HIV in these circumstances, taking into account their age and risk profile. But when the 2005 Mental Capacity Act took effect in 2007, it enshrined patients' rights in this difficult area and led to the UK's General Medical Council issuing guidelines that meant doctors were not legally able to test for HIV in the unconscious patient since it did not perceive testing to be 'in the best interests of that patient', but instead in the interests of the healthcare worker.

Thus, any HIV test would therefore have to wait until the patient regained consciousness to give consent, often days or weeks later. "This is an issue that is coming up every day in hospitals across the UK," says Dr Andrew Hartle, Consultant Anaesthetist and Immediate Past Honorary Secretary of the Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland (AAGBI). "It happens five or six times a year in my hospital alone. It can leave the injured doctor or nurse in an extremely distressed state, not only because they must immediately begin PEP, but there is a high psychological impact on the doctor or nurse's personal life, including the stress of not knowing, and how to broach the subject with their partners, and what precautions they should take including safer sex."

Hartle says that if the patient is conscious, then 99% of the time they will consent to a HIV test to help the injured doctor or nurse plan their next steps. He adds that the UK's former Labour Government, who brought in the new law, was warned by senior anaesthetists, surgeons, and the British Medical Association that the new law would put healthcare staff at risk of legal action and make things extremely difficult when the patient was unconscious. "The government promised us an exemption for these circumstances," say Hartle, "But when the new code of conduct came into law, there was no exemption to be seen. Colleagues in many other European countries, including France, Spain, and Norway can test the patient for HIV in these awkward scenarios without fear of retribution. It's not the Human Rights Act that's preventing us doing so here in the UK, it's the Mental Capacity Act."

Hartle gives the example of a senior orthopaedic surgeon injured by a drill while performing emergency surgery on a known intravenous drug user who had been injured in a car accident. The surgeon ended up in tears, feeling let down by the system. His colleagues decided to test the patient for HIV, and the result was negative. "We should not be worrying about the law during these distressing events," says Hartle. He believes the law should be changed, to give doctors the go ahead to test when they feel it appropriate to do so. Alternatively, he says a policy can be enacted whereby all intensive care units (where these events occur most often) should test all incoming patients for HIV for the direct benefit of the patients themselves (so covered by the Act) while also acting as a protective measure for healthcare staff.

Dr Kate McCombe, Consultant Anaesthetist, Frimley Park Hospital, Surrey, UK, is also taking part in the discussion. "I would argue that it is in the patient's medical best interests to know if they are HIV positive so that they can be treated appropriately whilst they are incapacitated on ICU and begin timely medical therapy, " says McCombe. "It is in their social, emotional, cultural and often religious best interests to be tested so that they can alleviate the anxiety of the injured healthcare worker and if necessary, affect behavioural change to avoid further HIV transmission. I believe that the GMC has adopted a very blinkered view of the meaning of best interests in the 2005 Mental Capacity Act, and that their advice should be revised to allow testing of unconscious patients for HIV to occur."

###

Note to editors: Since it takes up to 3 months for antibodies to HIV to develop, a negative test result for a patient in these circumstances would not absolutely guarantee that he or she is HIV negative.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 1-Jun-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Dr. Andrew Hartle
startle65@aol.com
44-077-687-34008
ESA (European Society of Anaesthesiology)

Doctors and nurses in the UK that are injured in the course of treating injured patients cannot currently test that patient for HIV without their consent. In emergency situations where the patient is unconscious, such consent cannot be given, putting healthcare staff at risk of subsequent legal action if they test the unconscious patient. In a session taking place at Euroanaesthesia (the annual congress of the European Society of Anaesthesiology [ESA]), senior UK anaesthetists will discuss the need for a change in the law to protect both patients and healthcare workers.

When a doctor or nurse treating an unconscious patient in hospital is injured, for example by a needle-stick injury, they are at risk of contracting HIV and/or hepatitis B and C. In such circumstances, it is vital to determine whether or not the unconscious patient is HIV positive*, so that the injured healthcare worker can immediately begin post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) treatment to prevent any HIV infection taking hold. It's probably as important for staff to know that they don't need to take PEP, which can have unpleasant physical side-effects. Additionally, the psychological impact of not knowing if the patient is infected with HIV places staff under considerable stress, which in some cases leads to significant health issues. Staff who may be pregnant face a particularly stressful dilemma.

Until 2005, UK doctors were able to use their judgement about whether an unconscious patient should be tested for HIV in these circumstances, taking into account their age and risk profile. But when the 2005 Mental Capacity Act took effect in 2007, it enshrined patients' rights in this difficult area and led to the UK's General Medical Council issuing guidelines that meant doctors were not legally able to test for HIV in the unconscious patient since it did not perceive testing to be 'in the best interests of that patient', but instead in the interests of the healthcare worker.

Thus, any HIV test would therefore have to wait until the patient regained consciousness to give consent, often days or weeks later. "This is an issue that is coming up every day in hospitals across the UK," says Dr Andrew Hartle, Consultant Anaesthetist and Immediate Past Honorary Secretary of the Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland (AAGBI). "It happens five or six times a year in my hospital alone. It can leave the injured doctor or nurse in an extremely distressed state, not only because they must immediately begin PEP, but there is a high psychological impact on the doctor or nurse's personal life, including the stress of not knowing, and how to broach the subject with their partners, and what precautions they should take including safer sex."

Hartle says that if the patient is conscious, then 99% of the time they will consent to a HIV test to help the injured doctor or nurse plan their next steps. He adds that the UK's former Labour Government, who brought in the new law, was warned by senior anaesthetists, surgeons, and the British Medical Association that the new law would put healthcare staff at risk of legal action and make things extremely difficult when the patient was unconscious. "The government promised us an exemption for these circumstances," say Hartle, "But when the new code of conduct came into law, there was no exemption to be seen. Colleagues in many other European countries, including France, Spain, and Norway can test the patient for HIV in these awkward scenarios without fear of retribution. It's not the Human Rights Act that's preventing us doing so here in the UK, it's the Mental Capacity Act."

Hartle gives the example of a senior orthopaedic surgeon injured by a drill while performing emergency surgery on a known intravenous drug user who had been injured in a car accident. The surgeon ended up in tears, feeling let down by the system. His colleagues decided to test the patient for HIV, and the result was negative. "We should not be worrying about the law during these distressing events," says Hartle. He believes the law should be changed, to give doctors the go ahead to test when they feel it appropriate to do so. Alternatively, he says a policy can be enacted whereby all intensive care units (where these events occur most often) should test all incoming patients for HIV for the direct benefit of the patients themselves (so covered by the Act) while also acting as a protective measure for healthcare staff.

Dr Kate McCombe, Consultant Anaesthetist, Frimley Park Hospital, Surrey, UK, is also taking part in the discussion. "I would argue that it is in the patient's medical best interests to know if they are HIV positive so that they can be treated appropriately whilst they are incapacitated on ICU and begin timely medical therapy, " says McCombe. "It is in their social, emotional, cultural and often religious best interests to be tested so that they can alleviate the anxiety of the injured healthcare worker and if necessary, affect behavioural change to avoid further HIV transmission. I believe that the GMC has adopted a very blinkered view of the meaning of best interests in the 2005 Mental Capacity Act, and that their advice should be revised to allow testing of unconscious patients for HIV to occur."

###

Note to editors: Since it takes up to 3 months for antibodies to HIV to develop, a negative test result for a patient in these circumstances would not absolutely guarantee that he or she is HIV negative.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/eso-uda052913.php

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Pakistan's new parliament set to be sworn in

ISLAMABAD (AP) ? Newly elected members of Pakistan's National Assembly prepared to be sworn in on Saturday, officially marking the first transition of power between democratically elected civilian governments in the 66-year history of the coup-prone country.

Among the steep challenges the legislators will face: massive energy shortages that leave some Pakistanis without power for up to 20 hours a day; a badly ailing economy that might force the Muslim-majority nation to seek an international bailout; and ongoing militant activity by Taliban and other extremists whose violence has killed thousands in the past decade and badly strained Pakistan's alliance with the United States.

Dressed in their finest on a bright, hot day, the incoming lawmakers arrived at the parliament building in Islamabad under tight security and were immediately mobbed by media outlets. Among those arriving was the incoming prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, whose Pakistan Muslim League-N handily won the May 11 elections.

"We are facing many challenges, but God willing, we will overcome them," Sharif told reporters.

The PML-N won 176 seats in the 342-member lower house of Parliament and is expected to rule in an alliance with some independent legislators. The previous ruling Pakistan People's Party was crushed, earning just 39 seats.

Former cricket star Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf won 35 seats, and has pledged to act as a strong opposition. It was unclear whether Khan, who fractured three vertebrae and a rib when he fell 4.5 meters (15 feet) off a forklift in the last few days of the campaign, would be able to attend Saturday's session.

Khan and Sharif have both condemned the U.S. use of drone strikes in Pakistani territory. Such strikes typically target Al-Qaida-linked militants or Taliban extremists that the U.S. deems a threat, but Pakistanis view the strikes as a violation of sovereignty and believe they also kill many innocent civilians.

Sharif and others want to try to resolve differences with the Pakistani Taliban in particular through peace talks, and the militant group had appeared amenable to that idea. But on Wednesday, a U.S. drone strike killed the Pakistani Taliban's No. 2 leader, Waliur Rehman, according to the militant group. By the next day, the Taliban said they would not participate in any negotiations.

A statement issued by the PML-N late Friday said Sharif had expressed "deep disappointment" over the Wednesday drone strike. The statement called the strike a violation of Pakistan's sovereignty and international law. It does not refer to Waliur Rehman or the Pakistani Taliban.

The statement said a Sharif aide had conveyed his sentiments to the U.S. Embassy.

The U.S. regards such missile attacks as legal, but President Barack Obama recently described plans to further restrict drone use in the future. According to the statement, the Sharif aide described the strike as especially regrettable since it came within days of Obama's speech.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pakistans-parliament-set-sworn-055548478.html

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Azarenka rallies past Cornet at French Open

Victoria Azarenka of Belarus returns against Alize Cornet of France in their third round match at the French Open tennis tournament, at Roland Garros stadium in Paris, Saturday, June 1, 2013. (AP Photo/Michel Spingler)

Victoria Azarenka of Belarus returns against Alize Cornet of France in their third round match at the French Open tennis tournament, at Roland Garros stadium in Paris, Saturday, June 1, 2013. (AP Photo/Michel Spingler)

Japan's Kei Nishikori clenches his fist after winning against Benoit Paire of France in their third round match at the French Open tennis tournament, at Roland Garros stadium in Paris, Saturday, June 1, 2013. Nishikori won in 4 sets 6-3, 6-7, 6-4, 6-1. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Japan's Kei Nishikori returns against Benoit Paire of France in their third round match at the French Open tennis tournament, at Roland Garros stadium in Paris, Saturday, June 1, 2013. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Victoria Azarenka of Belarus returns against Alize Cornet of France in their third round match at the French Open tennis tournament, at Roland Garros stadium in Paris, Saturday, June 1, 2013. (AP Photo/Michel Spingler)

Alize Cornet of France gestures in her third round match against Victoria Azarenka of Belarus at the French Open tennis tournament, at Roland Garros stadium in Paris, Saturday, June 1, 2013. (AP Photo/Michel Spingler)

PARIS (AP) ? Former No. 1 Victoria Azarenka overcame a slow start and 10 double-faults Saturday to rally past Frenchwoman Alize Cornet 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 and reach the fourth round of the French Open.

Seeded third, Azarenka advanced despite being broken six times. She blew an easy overhead to lose the first game of the final set, then swept the last six games thanks to relentless baseline play that wore Cornet down.

American Sloane Stephens, seeded No. 17, reached the fourth round for the second consecutive year, beating Marina Erakovic 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-3.

No. 13 Kei Nishikori became the first Japanese man in 75 years to reach the fourth round at Roland Garros, beating No. 24 Benoit Paire of France 6-3, 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-1.

The center court stands were half-empty on a cloudy, mild day for Azarenka's match. Crowds will likely be bigger for her next week, and so will the stakes.

"Center court is something that motivates me every time I walk on court," she told the crowd after her victory, "and I can't wait to be back here."

Azarenka has won the Australian Open each of the past two years. Roland Garros is the only major tournament where she has yet to reach the semifinal.

Cornet, seeded 31st, stumbled and fell at the start of the second set and was slow to rise. She appeared unhurt but lost her composure as the match slipped away, screaming at herself between points and once spiking two balls in anger.

Over on court 1, Stephens won the last three games against Erakovic, who was penalized a point in the third set for getting coached.

A year ago, Stephens became the first U.S. teenager to reach the fourth round at Roland Garros since Serena Williams in 2001. She followed that up by reaching her first Grand Slam semifinal at the Australian Open this January, beating Williams to get there.

Erakovic was the first New Zealand woman ever to make the third round in Paris.

Like Erakovic, Paire was docked a point for being coached ? and at a critical time. He had a set point at 5-4 in the second set when he was given the penalty, which made the score deuce.

Paire won the set anyway but fell behind to stay when he dropped serve in the last game of the third set.

Nishikori broke serve eight times and benefited from nine double-faults by Paire. He became the first Japanese man to reach the round of 16 at Roland Garros since Fumiteru Nakano in 1938.

On Friday, Roger Federer beat 30th-seeded Julien Benneteau 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 and faces another Frenchman, No. 15 Gilles Simon, in the fourth round Sunday.

"I'm happy because I have not used much of my energy so far," said Federer, who won the French Open in 2009 and reached the semifinals last year. "Mentally, I'm OK. I'm quite confident. I can feel it, which is what you need to be if you want to go deep and have good results here at Roland Garros."

Simon, who's 28, doesn't think he can take advantage of any fitness lapses on Federer's part.

"I have never seen him look tired; I don't know about you," Simon said, jokingly, in response to a reporter's question.

Federer lost his first two career matches against Simon but has won their past three, including a 6-1, 6-2 victory at Rome in May.

"The last time I played him it wasn't so good, and I can't forget that," Simon said.

"It doesn't mean much to me," was Federer's view of that match. "He defeated me twice. It is always difficult to play against him."

Federer is seeking a record 18th Grand Slam title, and his first since last year.

"I feel good," Federer said. "I feel totally relaxed."

The same could not be said of seven-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal.

Frustrated by the scheduling of matches, he took the court at 11 a.m. local time and looked sluggish, coming from behind for the second match in a row to beat Slovakian Martin Klizan 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3.

The Spaniard is aiming to become the first man to win eight titles at the same Grand Slam event.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-06-01-TEN-French-Open/id-319ea78ce751490ea55dff25ba029ea9

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Weather Channel meteorologist injured in tornado

High winds snapped this power pole on from Highway 81 just south El Reno Okla. on Friday May 31, 2013. Tornadoes rolled in from the prairie and slammed Oklahoma City and its suburbs on Friday, killing a mother and baby and crumbling cars and tractor-trailers along a major interstate. (AP Photo/The World-Herald, Chris Machian) MAGS OUT; ALL NEBRASKA LOCAL BROADCAST; TV OUT

High winds snapped this power pole on from Highway 81 just south El Reno Okla. on Friday May 31, 2013. Tornadoes rolled in from the prairie and slammed Oklahoma City and its suburbs on Friday, killing a mother and baby and crumbling cars and tractor-trailers along a major interstate. (AP Photo/The World-Herald, Chris Machian) MAGS OUT; ALL NEBRASKA LOCAL BROADCAST; TV OUT

NEW YORK (AP) ? The next time meteorologist Mike Bettes talks about the power of tornadoes on The Weather Channel, he can speak from personal experience.

Bettes was nursing minor injuries on Saturday, a day after the "tornado hunt" SUV that he and two photographers were riding in was thrown 200 yards by a twister in Oklahoma. The Weather Channel said all of the occupants were wearing safety belts and were able to walk away from the banged-up vehicle.

It's the first time one of the network's personalities has been injured while covering violent weather, spokeswoman Shirley Powell said.

"That was the scariest moment of my life," Bettes said. "I had never been through anything like it before, and my life passed before my eyes."

He and the photographers were trying to outrun a tornado they spotted in El Reno, Okla., and failed.

Bettes said it felt like the vehicle tumbled over several times and was floating in air before crashing to the ground.

The Weather Channel quickly posted video of the experience, since the team kept cameras rolling throughout. The tape largely showed a black screen with audio of crashes, until coming to rest with the picture sideways.

It was perhaps a warning sign of the dangers inherent in the trend of "tornado chasers." People in specially equipped cars racing to get video of tornadoes touching down has become an expected byproduct of severe weather outbreaks and have even spawned their own TV shows.

Earlier this week, a storm chaser video got wide exposure because an armor-plated vehicle didn't bother trying to outrun the storm. It came back with pictures from inside the tornado itself.

It's the fourth year that The Weather Channel has sent crews out actively hunting tornadoes, Powell said. Last year, one of the network's crews was one of the first on the scene of after the devastating twister that hit Joplin, Mo., bringing back gripping video.

For the first two years, The Weather Channel was embedded with a government research team. But in the past two years, the network has sent its own crews out. Bettes' white vehicle is emblazoned with the phrase "tornado hunt" and the network's logo.

Powell said it is too early to tell how the incident will affect how the network covers tornadoes, but it will be under review.

"Tornadoes are violent and unpredictable, but covering them keeps the public at large informed and, as a result, safer," she said.

Associated Press

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Twisters, floods sweep across Midwest, Plains

Rilma Hulett carries a dish set from her friend Bobbie Steenbergen's home that was destroyed by the tornado that swept through Central Oklahoma Friday afternoon on Saturday June 1, 2013 in El Reno Okla. Emergency officials set out Saturday morning to see how much damage a violent burst of thunderstorms and tornadoes caused as it swept across the Midwest overnight. (AP Photo/Nick Oxford)

Rilma Hulett carries a dish set from her friend Bobbie Steenbergen's home that was destroyed by the tornado that swept through Central Oklahoma Friday afternoon on Saturday June 1, 2013 in El Reno Okla. Emergency officials set out Saturday morning to see how much damage a violent burst of thunderstorms and tornadoes caused as it swept across the Midwest overnight. (AP Photo/Nick Oxford)

A man stands on top of his car as it is flooded on S. May Ave near SW 25th in Oklahoma City, Friday, May 31, 2013, following flooding after a severe thunderstorm moved through Oklahoma CIty. (AP Photo/The Oklahoman, Sarah Phipps) LOCAL STATIONS OUT (KFOR, KOCO, KWTV, KOKH, KAUT OUT); LOCAL WEBSITES OUT; LOCAL PRINT OUT (EDMOND SUN OUT, OKLAHOMA GAZETTE OUT) TABLOIDS OUT

Wilburn Shaw looks for personal items in the remains of his kitchen in his home on Saturday, June 1, 2013, after Friday night's storm that passed through St. Charles, Mo., area. The storm toppled cars and left commuters trapped on an interstate highway as it bore down during Friday's evening rush hour near Oklahoma City. The National Weather Service reported "several" tornadoes rolled in from the prairie, terrifying towns along their paths. (AP Photo/St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Huy Mach)

People stop traffic to help one of several loose horses across I-40 just east of 81 in El Reno, Okla., after a tornado moved through the area on Friday, May 31, 2013. (AP Photo/The Oklahoman, Jim Beckel) LOCAL STATIONS OUT (KFOR, KOCO, KWTV, KOKH, KAUT OUT); LOCAL WEBSITES OUT; LOCAL PRINT OUT (EDMOND SUN OUT, OKLAHOMA GAZETTE OUT) TABLOIDS OUT

Overturned trucks block a frontage road off I-40 just east of 81 in El Reno, Okla., after a tornado moved through the area on Friday, May 31, 2013. (AP Photo/The Oklahoman, Jim Beckel) LOCAL STATIONS OUT (KFOR, KOCO, KWTV, KOKH, KAUT OUT); LOCAL WEBSITES OUT; LOCAL PRINT OUT (EDMOND SUN OUT, OKLAHOMA GAZETTE OUT) TABLOIDS OUT

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) ? Emergency officials set out Saturday to assess damage from a series of violent storms and tornadoes that killed nine people as it swept through Oklahoma City and its suburbs with tornadoes, large hail and heavy rain. More than six dozen people were injured.

Muddy floodwaters stood several feet deep in the countryside surrounding the metro area. Torrential downpours followed for hours after the twisters moved east, and water damage was reported at the city's airport. The storms battered a state still reeling after the top-of-the-scale EF5 tornado that ripped through suburban Moore last month, killing 24 people and decimating neighborhoods.

Water surged hood-high on many streets, snarling traffic at the worst possible time: Friday's evening commute. Even though several businesses closed early so employees could beat the storm home, highways were still clogged with motorists worried about a repeat of the chaos in Moore.

Bart Kuester, 50, a truck driver from Wisconsin, said he was driving along Interstate 35 past Moore when he realized a dangerous storm was approaching.

"I heard the sirens going off and I could see it coming," he said.

Kuester said the interstate was flooded and jammed with people trying to outrun the storm.

"Everyone was leaving. ... Just because that one that hit Moore was so fresh in their memory," he said.

Though it was in the tornado warning zone, Moore was spared major damage by the storms, but still experienced heavy rain and high wind. A convention center where the town held its graduation in the days after the storm suffered minor flooding damage, officials said.

The Oklahoma County Sheriff's Office said a man was missing from a vehicle near Harrah, east of Oklahoma City, and a pair of sinkholes were reported on each side of the metro area.

When the storm passed between El Reno and Yukon, it barreled right down Interstate 40 for more than two miles, ripping billboards down to twisted metal frames. Debris was tangled in the median's crossover barriers, including huge pieces of sheet metal, tree limbs, metal pipes, a giant oil drum and a stretch of chain-link fence.

The warped remains of a horse trailer lay atop a barbed-wire fence less than 50 yards from the highway.

Violent weather also moved through the St. Louis area. Early aerial images of the storm's damage showed groups of homes with porches ripped away, roofs torn off and piles of splintered wood scattered across the ground for blocks. Officials in St. Charles County also reported that local schools suffered some damage.

Among the nine dead in Oklahoma were a mother and a baby found in a vehicle. Amy Elliott, a spokeswoman for the state medical examiner, said Saturday the death toll was up to seven adults and two children. At least 75 people were hurt, five critically, hospital officials said.

Meteorologists had warned about particularly nasty weather Friday but said the storm's fury didn't match that of the tornado that struck Moore. The Friday storm, however, brought with it much more severe flooding. It dumped around 8 inches of rain on Oklahoma City in the span of a few hours and made the tornado difficult to spot for motorists trying to beat it home.

"Some tornadoes are wrapped in rain, so it's basically impossible to see, which is extremely dangerous," said Bruce Thoren, a meteorologist with National Weather Service in Norman. "Somebody driving along really not familiar with what's going on can basically drive into it."

Emergency officials reported that numerous injuries occurred in the area along I-40, and said the storm's victims were mostly in cars. Standing water was several feet deep, and in some places it looked more like a hurricane had passed through than a tornado. More than 86,000 utility customers were without power.

Among the injured was Weather Channel meteorologist Mike Bettes, who suffered minor injuries when his "tornado hunt" SUV that he and two photographers were riding in was thrown 200 yards. The Weather Channel said all of the people in the vehicle were able to walk away, and that it was the first time a network personality was injured in a storm.

Will Rogers World Airport was slowly reopening Saturday and some flights were resuming. But the airport reported significant damage to the roof of the terminal, and flooding damage to walls, counters and floors.

In Missouri, the combination of high water and fallen power lines closed dozen of roads, snarling traffic on highways and side streets in the St. Louis area. At the Hollywood Casino in the St. Louis suburb of Maryland Heights, gamblers rushed from the floor as a storm blew through, causing minor damage to the building.

The U.S. averages more than 1,200 tornadoes a year and most are relatively small. Of the 60 EF5 tornadoes to hit since 1950, Oklahoma and Alabama have been hit the most ? seven times each.

National Weather Service meteorologists said Saturday that it's unclear how many tornadoes touched down as part of the Friday evening storm system. Dozens of tornado warnings were issued for central Oklahoma and parts of Missouri, especially near St. Louis, they said, but crews must assess the damage before determining whether it was caused by tornadoes or severe thunderstorms.

But one thing is certain: The chances for severe weather are on the decline as a cold front moves through the region, said weather service meteorologist Gene Hatch in Springfield, Mo.

This spring's tornado season got a late start, with unusually cool weather keeping funnel clouds at bay until mid-May. The season usually starts in March and then ramps up for the next couple of months.

___

Associated Press writers Ken Miller and Tim Talley in Oklahoma City, Justin Juozapavicius in Tulsa; Erica Hunzinger in Chicago; David Bauder in New York; Jeannie Nuss in Texarkana, Texas; and Jim Salter in Maryland Heights, Mo., and freelance photographer Nick Oxfrod in Oklahoma City contributed to this report.

Associated Press

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