Pressure testing of new Alvin Personnel Sphere successful

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Contact: WHOI Media Relations
media@whoi.edu
508-289-3340
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Major milestone for Alvin Upgrade Project

The human-occupied submersible Alvin reached a major milestone in its upgrade project on June 22 when its new titanium personnel sphere successfully completed pressure testing, reports the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), the vehicle's operator.

The sphere, which holds a pilot and two scientists, is designed to descend to 6500 meters (21,000 feet or 4 miles) depths that generate nearly 10,000 pounds per square inch (psi) of pressure on the sphere. The tests validate the sphere design and fabrication and ensure it meets the requirements of the agencies that will ultimately accept the spherethe American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) and the U.S. Navy. It is the final step in the sphere construction project.

"The project team is delighted that the personnel sphere has successfully concluded its hydrostatic testing," said Susan Humphris, a WHOI senior scientist and the principal investigator on the upgrade project. "We look forward to receiving the sphere, integrating it into the submersible Alvin and resuming scientific research early next year."

The testing took place the Northrop Grumman hydrostatic test chamber in Annapolis, MD, and was overseen by a team comprising engineers from WHOI, Navy, ABS, and Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), the company that managed the design and construction of the titanium sphere as a subcontractor to WHOI.

During the testing, gauges were affixed to the interior and exterior of the sphere to measure strain and "creep," the minute change in the metal from prolonged stress. The sphere was filled with water and placed in a test tank of water. The tank was then pressurized in a series of test dives to progressively greater depths over four days. The team monitored 240 channels of data streaming from strain sensors to ensure the sphere stayed in the safe range of strain and creep. The sphere ultimately was tested to 8000 metersnearly 12,000 psito comply with engineering standards for human occupied submersibles and meet a factor of safety 24 percent deeper than the maximum operating depth of 6500 meters.

Sufficient data were collected and analyzed to support certification for human occupied operations to 6500 meters.

Construction of the personnel sphere is one of the biggest technical challenges in the Alvin upgrade project, which is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and WHOI. The sphere needs be nearly flawlessfree of any deformities that could weaken its structure and potentially cause it to crumple under pressureand as perfectly spherical as possible.

"As the project sponsor, I am very pleased to see this state-of-the-art personnel sphere can withstand the pressure at its planned operating depth of 6500 meters," said Brian Midson, the NSF program manager for the Alvin upgrade project. "This is a critical milestone toward resuming ocean science missions with Alvin in the near future."

The new sphere is capable of descending 2000 meters deeper than the previous sphere. With greater depth comes greater pressure; therefore, the new sphere is three inches thick, rather than two. The sphere's interior diameter is 4.6 inches wider than Alvin's previous sphere, increasing the interior volume by 18 percent, from 144 to 171 cubic feet, and allowing for greater ergonomics. With five viewports, it also has improved field of view for the pilots to drive the sub and use the manipulator arms and for the scientists to help guide the pilot and make better observations of the seafloor.

To build it, engineers needed more than 34,000 pounds of titanium, about the weight of a large school bus. Two huge, barrel-shaped titanium ingots were fabricated by a mill in Morgantown, Pennsylvania, and reshaped into two giant hemispheres in Cudahy, Wisconsin. These were then shipped to Los Angeles, where workers joined the two hemispheres using a special welding technique. They also cut inserts for the hatch, electrical and fiber-optic connections, and viewports.

With testing complete, the 11,000-pound sphere will be delivered to WHOI on Thursday. Upgrades are underway on Alvin's titanium frame as well as to the research vessel Atlantis, the support ship for Alvin. Over the next several months, engineers at WHOI will reassemble the submersible and should begin dock trials in November. Alvin is scheduled to begin certification sea trials in December.

Alvin is owned by the U.S. Navy and is operated by WHOI through the U.S. National Deep Submergence Facility. The Facility provides marine scientists with access to the deep ocean with Alvin, as well as the remotely operated vehicle Jason and the autonomous underwater vehicle Sentry.

"As owner of Alvin and its supporting vessel Atlantis, the Office of Naval Research is pleased with this milestone accomplishment in the development of the new Alvin personnel sphere," said Tim Schnoor, manager of ocean research facilities at ONR. "We look forward to the completion of the Alvin upgrade program and reinstatement of certification for manned operations in support of national deep submergence science objectives."

###

The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution is a private, non-profit organization on Cape Cod, Mass., dedicated to marine research, engineering, and higher education. Established in 1930 on a recommendation from the National Academy of Sciences, its primary mission is to understand the oceans and their interaction with the Earth as a whole, and to communicate a basic understanding of the oceans' role in the changing global environment. For more information, please visit www.whoi.edu.


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[ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 27-Jun-2012
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: WHOI Media Relations
media@whoi.edu
508-289-3340
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Major milestone for Alvin Upgrade Project

The human-occupied submersible Alvin reached a major milestone in its upgrade project on June 22 when its new titanium personnel sphere successfully completed pressure testing, reports the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), the vehicle's operator.

The sphere, which holds a pilot and two scientists, is designed to descend to 6500 meters (21,000 feet or 4 miles) depths that generate nearly 10,000 pounds per square inch (psi) of pressure on the sphere. The tests validate the sphere design and fabrication and ensure it meets the requirements of the agencies that will ultimately accept the spherethe American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) and the U.S. Navy. It is the final step in the sphere construction project.

"The project team is delighted that the personnel sphere has successfully concluded its hydrostatic testing," said Susan Humphris, a WHOI senior scientist and the principal investigator on the upgrade project. "We look forward to receiving the sphere, integrating it into the submersible Alvin and resuming scientific research early next year."

The testing took place the Northrop Grumman hydrostatic test chamber in Annapolis, MD, and was overseen by a team comprising engineers from WHOI, Navy, ABS, and Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), the company that managed the design and construction of the titanium sphere as a subcontractor to WHOI.

During the testing, gauges were affixed to the interior and exterior of the sphere to measure strain and "creep," the minute change in the metal from prolonged stress. The sphere was filled with water and placed in a test tank of water. The tank was then pressurized in a series of test dives to progressively greater depths over four days. The team monitored 240 channels of data streaming from strain sensors to ensure the sphere stayed in the safe range of strain and creep. The sphere ultimately was tested to 8000 metersnearly 12,000 psito comply with engineering standards for human occupied submersibles and meet a factor of safety 24 percent deeper than the maximum operating depth of 6500 meters.

Sufficient data were collected and analyzed to support certification for human occupied operations to 6500 meters.

Construction of the personnel sphere is one of the biggest technical challenges in the Alvin upgrade project, which is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and WHOI. The sphere needs be nearly flawlessfree of any deformities that could weaken its structure and potentially cause it to crumple under pressureand as perfectly spherical as possible.

"As the project sponsor, I am very pleased to see this state-of-the-art personnel sphere can withstand the pressure at its planned operating depth of 6500 meters," said Brian Midson, the NSF program manager for the Alvin upgrade project. "This is a critical milestone toward resuming ocean science missions with Alvin in the near future."

The new sphere is capable of descending 2000 meters deeper than the previous sphere. With greater depth comes greater pressure; therefore, the new sphere is three inches thick, rather than two. The sphere's interior diameter is 4.6 inches wider than Alvin's previous sphere, increasing the interior volume by 18 percent, from 144 to 171 cubic feet, and allowing for greater ergonomics. With five viewports, it also has improved field of view for the pilots to drive the sub and use the manipulator arms and for the scientists to help guide the pilot and make better observations of the seafloor.

To build it, engineers needed more than 34,000 pounds of titanium, about the weight of a large school bus. Two huge, barrel-shaped titanium ingots were fabricated by a mill in Morgantown, Pennsylvania, and reshaped into two giant hemispheres in Cudahy, Wisconsin. These were then shipped to Los Angeles, where workers joined the two hemispheres using a special welding technique. They also cut inserts for the hatch, electrical and fiber-optic connections, and viewports.

With testing complete, the 11,000-pound sphere will be delivered to WHOI on Thursday. Upgrades are underway on Alvin's titanium frame as well as to the research vessel Atlantis, the support ship for Alvin. Over the next several months, engineers at WHOI will reassemble the submersible and should begin dock trials in November. Alvin is scheduled to begin certification sea trials in December.

Alvin is owned by the U.S. Navy and is operated by WHOI through the U.S. National Deep Submergence Facility. The Facility provides marine scientists with access to the deep ocean with Alvin, as well as the remotely operated vehicle Jason and the autonomous underwater vehicle Sentry.

"As owner of Alvin and its supporting vessel Atlantis, the Office of Naval Research is pleased with this milestone accomplishment in the development of the new Alvin personnel sphere," said Tim Schnoor, manager of ocean research facilities at ONR. "We look forward to the completion of the Alvin upgrade program and reinstatement of certification for manned operations in support of national deep submergence science objectives."

###

The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution is a private, non-profit organization on Cape Cod, Mass., dedicated to marine research, engineering, and higher education. Established in 1930 on a recommendation from the National Academy of Sciences, its primary mission is to understand the oceans and their interaction with the Earth as a whole, and to communicate a basic understanding of the oceans' role in the changing global environment. For more information, please visit www.whoi.edu.


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share 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.


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MintLife Blog | Personal Finance News & Advice | Tidy Up Your - Mint

checklist

Right now, I?m in Tokyo, possibly relaxing at an?izakaya?with a glass of sake and a plate of sashimi. This is the culmination of a saving adventure that?began two years ago; the successful result involves stuffing a family of three into a 290 square foot apartment.

Any time I leave town, especially on an international trip, I make a?checklist. I?ve?written about financial checklists?before, and the concept is simple: a checklist?is a list of dumb, obvious things that you know you?re supposed to do, but in the hustle and bustle of real life, you?will?forget one or more of them. Even doctors use?checklists?with items like ?wash your hands? and ?double-check that you?re not leaving surgical tools inside the patient? to make sure they don?t forget anything. If they can do it, so can we.

Here?s the?checklist?I used before skipping the country this time around. As promised, nothing here is rocket science, but I encourage you to steal my?checklist?and make it your own.

Did I leave anything out? Since I?m actually writing this column before I go, guess I?ll find out the hard way. I?m trying to restrict this list to items with an obvious financial impact. Yes, I?ll try and remember to turn off the oven.

Pay the rent

Twice, I?ve been out of town on the first and forgotten to write the rent check early. This time, I put it on my calendar with an email reminder, but it?s going on the?checklist, too, just in case. If you have any other bills that need to be paid manually (via online bill pay, of course), put them on the list, too.

Sort out your wallet

Chances are, I?m not going to need my ?Frequent Slicer? card from my favorite Seattle pizza chain in Tokyo. Same goes for my bus pass, Safeway club card, and a couple of debit cards that don?t need to accompany me overseas. If I?m not carrying it, I can?t lose it. I?m also making sure to bring the cards that charge the lowest international fees.

Call the card issuers

If I don?t call my banks? fraud prevention departments and tell them I?ll be out of the country, my credit and debit cards won?t work when I get there.

Exchange some cash

Unfortunately, sometimes I call the banks and tell them I?ll be out of the country, and my cards?still?don?t work, if only for a day or two. So I?m bringing a couple of days? worth of yen with me. Even though there isn?t a way to buy foreign currency in the US without paying an exorbitant fee, the peace of mind is worth it.

Check the freshness date

If you?re like me, you?ve forgotten that the expiration date on your credit card is anything other than a four-digit identifier. If your card expires while you?re on a trip and the bank sends a new card to your home address, you?re hosed. Check those dates and call the bank ahead of time to figure out a solution.

Write down bank and credit card contact numbers

If I do need to call my card issuer?either because my card isn?t working or because I dropped it on the subway?I?ll need the phone number printed on the back of the card. Great, I?ll just pull out the card and?dangit!

So I made a list of those numbers?not just the 800 numbers, but also the long-distance numbers, because you?re allowed to call those collect from outside the country.?June Walbert, an experienced traveler and certified financial planner with?USAA, has a tip for making this easy: ?I make a physical copy of the front and back,? she says. ?Leave one at home and carry one with you.?

Turn it off

This one is less about financial services and more about old-fashioned conservation: I?m turning off the power at home to everything except the fridge. (Now that I think about it, I wonder if we could literally eat everything in the fridge before we go?)

Buy data

I?m planning to use Skype over wi-fi if I want to make a phone call to the US, but I definitely plan to use 3G data on my smartphone, because most streets in Tokyo are literally nameless, but Google Maps knows them all. To avoid larcenous data charges, I?m buying a block of international data usage before we go and turning off automatic email checking and other background services on my phone.

Avoid a financial car crash

?If you rent a car,? says Walbert, ?make sure you understand what?s insured and what isn?t: your credit card and your own auto policy might cover a car rental on international turf or they might not. Assume nothing.?

Keep that wound covered

You probably understand reasonably well how your medical insurance works at home, but when you travel abroad, the rules may change. Find out?before?you come down with disco fever or whatever the local ailment is.

There, that should do it. Oh, one more item: have fun and try not to worry about the stuff I left off thechecklist.?Check.

Matthew Amster-Burton is a?personal finance?columnist at Mint.com. Find him on Twitter?@Mint_Mamster.

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The Steroid Era is behind us

No-hitters, and no-hitter alerts have become frequent this season

Image: Kevin Millwood, Charlie Furbush, Stephen Pryor, Lucas Luetge, Brandon League, Tom WilhelmsenAP

Seattle Mariners pitchers, from left, Charlie Furbush, Stephen Pryor, Kevin Millwood, Lucas Luetge, Brandon League and Tom Wilhelmsen pose with the scoreboard reset to the final from two nights earlier on June 10. The six combined to throw a no-hitter in a 1-0 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

By MLB EXPERT MAILBAG

updated 4:49 p.m. ET June 26, 2012

Tony DeMarco

Baseball Expert Tony DeMarco has been covering the big leagues since 1987, and been casting Hall of Fame ballots for the last 14 years. He answers questions weekly here:

Q. It seems like we're having no-hitter alerts frequently, and offenses are struggling overall. What are the reasons for this, and is this a fluky thing, or a sign of a larger trend?
? Kurt Roberts, New York

A. There definitely is a larger trend here, and it's simply that we've fully gotten beyond the inflated offensive numbers of the Steroids Era, and returned to relative normalcy.

There has been a perfect game and two no-hitters this season, one in each month of the season: the White Sox's Philip Humber (perfect) in April, the Angels' Jered Weaver in May and a sextet of Mariners earlier this month.

The 2012 MLB average for runs per game is at 8.6 through Monday ? up a tick from last season's 8.56 mark, which was the lowest since 1992.

In contrast, the peak of the Steroids Era was 2000, when the average runs per game was 10.28. That number also exceeded 10 runs per game in 1996 and 1999, was above 9.5 for an eight-year stretch of 1994-2001, and was at least 9.0 every year from 1993 to 2009.

But notice the decline since 2006: (9.72); 2007 (9.6); 2008 (9.3); 2009 (9.2); 2010 (8.76); 2011 (8.56), 2012 (8.6).

The numbers from the last three seasons are in line with those from the early 1970s to the early 1990s. As many know, pitching mounds were lowered from 15 inches in height to 10 after the 1968 season ? the so-called Year of the Pitcher ? when runs per game average dipped to just 6.84 after being in the 7s from 1963-67, when a handful of future starting pitcher Hall of Famers were in their peak years.

Batting averages, home runs and slugging percentages have made similar declines in recent seasons:

MLB teams peaked at a .271 season batting average in 1999 (also .270 in 1994, 1996 and 2000), while the current average is down to .253.

Home runs peaked at 2.34 per game in 2000, and currently are down to 1.98 per game.

The average slugging percentage topped out at .437 in 2000, and currently sits at .402.

And in this season, the number of sub-.200 hitters ? and I'm talking about regulars or at least platoon players ? is alarmingly high. Put it this way: Mario Mendoza has plenty of company, as through Monday, there are no fewer than 14 players hitting under .200 with at least 100 at-bats:

Russell Martin (.197), Carlos Pena (.197), Jose Molina (.195), Gaby Sanchez (.194), Ike Davis (.191), Shelley Duncan (.191), Chone Figgins (.191), Rickie Weeks (.185), Brendan Ryan (.179), John Buck (.175), Nick Hundley (.172), Ryan Raburn (.168), Geovany Soto (.165), Xavier Nady (.157).

As for the reasons why, let's first give credit where it's due. Some elite-quality arms have entered the majors in the past few seasons, and they are making their marks: Stephen Strasburg, Clayton Kershaw, Chris Sale, Brandon Beachy, Yu Darvish, Madison Bumgarner, Wade Miley, Jordan Zimmerman, Matt Harrison, Ivan Nova, Jeremy Hellickson, Aroldis Chapman, Craig Kimbrel, and the list could go on.

The next reason that should be obvious is the drug-testing program ? instituted in 2006 and beefed up since ? is working.

Another perhaps underrated reason is improvements on defense ? both in the speed and range of fielders, and in the more-aggressive positioning of defenders according to charts that show where hitters are most likely to put the ball in play.

It used to be that an infield shift was isolated mostly to left-handed pull/power hitters. Now you see teams ? led by the Tampa Bay Rays ? employing shifts of infielders for several hitters in a lineup.

So even though the trend in new parks has leaned heavily to offense-friendly dimensions, other factors have led to the recent decline in runs.

Q. Josh Hamilton is skipping the Home Run Derby again, saying he doesn't want to get hurt. Boston fans are saying Adrian Gonzalez's swing hasn't been the same since last year's Derby. Are these isolated concerns, or is the Derby a real danger to players?
? Jim Alford, University City, Calif.

A. Sure, there are understandable concerns ? mostly in front offices ? that competing in the Home Run Derby ? and for that matter, All-Star Games and World Baseball Classics ? can lead to injuries.

But as far as the Home Run Derby is concerned, to say there is any longer-term negative affect on regular-season performance from altering a swing to compete in the derby is ridiculous. A couple of weeks maybe, but anything beyond that, and any hitter who's great enough to be invited to participate in the Home Run Derby should be able to make any necessary adjustments.

First of all, unless you go deep into a derby competition, you're not doing much more than a regular daily batting practice session ? although admittedly there will be adrenalin pumping as in a game situation.

Nobody is certain why Gonzalez's numbers are so far off his career norm, but to blame it on last year's derby participation makes no sense. That statute of limitations expired long ago. Other factors obviously are involved, and it usually involves pitchers finding and exploiting weaknesses. Playing out of position wasn't helping him, either.

As for Hamilton, there could be some trepidation on his part given that he's in a contract year. He's also battling a big slump right now that has tempered his awesome start to this season. We also have to consider that he's already put on what might be the greatest derby performance we'll ever see, so he really does have nothing to prove at this point.

MLB obviously would love to have Hamilton (and Matt Kemp) participate, but it's the players' call, and team front offices also are going to err on the side of caution with the long-term financial investments they've made in their superstars.

Q. With talk about bringing in the fences as a few parks, do you know if there is a basic guideline for the distances fences should be from home plate?
? Frank, Seattle

A. The official MLB rule book doesn't get any more specific than this: "A distance of 320 feet or more along the foul lines and 400 feet or more to center field is preferable.''

Obviously, there are exceptions: The 37-foot-high Green Monster in Fenway is listed at 310 feet down the left-field line, although many believe it's closer than that to home plate. The Pesky Pole in the right-field corner in Fenway is 302 feet away.

The center-field wall in Minute Maid Park is 436 feet away ? furthest in the majors, and up a hill, besides. But the left-field wall there is only 315 feet away (but 19-feet high) leading to many home runs lofted into the Crawford Boxes.

And sometimes, distance is only part of the equation. The right-field corner at AT&T Park is 309 feet, but the 25-foot wall and marine conditions make it one of the toughest right-field home run parks in the majors, unless you're Barry Bonds.

But as a whole, ballparks are more-uniform than they used to be. For example, in the Polo Grounds ? arguably the most-extreme park in history ? it was 279 feet down the left-field line, 483 feet in center, and 258 feet down the right-field line.


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NY jury awards over $950 million to Liberty Media

(AP) ? A federal jury on Monday awarded $956 million to U.S. media group Liberty Media after concluding that the French entertainment group Vivendi deceived it in a decade-old deal involving the USA Networks.

The jury in U.S. District Court in Manhattan issued the award after hearing evidence related to a stock swap involving the network. Liberty Media had accused Vivendi of deceiving it with rosy statements about its finances when executives inside the company were aware of a liquidity crisis.

After the verdict was announced, Vivendi said in a statement it will appeal, using "all available paths of action to overturn the verdict or reduce the damages award." It added that it believes "strongly that it did nothing wrong and will continue to vigorously defend itself."

Liberty Media, in a statement of its own, said it planned to seek interest.

The verdict stemmed from a lawsuit Liberty Media brought in 2003, accusing Vivendi of waiting until its transaction with USA Networks and Liberty Media officially closed before reacting publicly to a downgrade of its debt rating and addressing surrounding concerns about liquidity.

During closing arguments, Liberty Media attorney Michael Calhoon urged jurors to "look at these internal memos, inside the company, talking about what was really going on inside the company when the company was saying to the public and to Liberty something totally different."

He referenced the stock swap surrounding the transaction, saying: "We took the risk of the price falling. We didn't take the risk of fraud."

Repeatedly in the trial, jurors heard about an email in which Vivendi's chief financial officer wrote: "I feel like I'm in the death seat of a car. I hope it doesn't end in shame."

Vivendi lawyer Jim Quinn said the company had its own reasons for closing the deal and did not rely on misleading statements.

"I think we proved that in spades," he said.

He added that "despite warnings, despite the red flags, Liberty Media did nothing to investigate the problems at Vivendi."

In the end, the jurors were left to decide whether Vivendi had made false statements in its contract with Liberty. The jury found it had and assessed damages.

Calhoon had told jurors Vivendi should "pay for their fraud."

"They shouldn't get some kind of blizzard of confusion discount," he said.

Associated Press

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Morgan Stanley Germany head steps aside in email row

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The head of Morgan Stanley's German unit, one of the country's best-connected dealmakers, has been granted leave of absence by the bank following an uproar over emails he reportedly exchanged with a regional politician.

Dirk Notheis, 44, has run the U.S. investment bank's operations in Germany and Austria for more than three years, earning a reputation as an aggressive banker with close ties to Chancellor Angela Merkel's ruling conservatives.

He came under fire in the past week after German newspapers published copies of emails Notheis reportedly sent to the premier of Baden-Wuerttemberg in 2010, when the southwestern state was trying to purchase a stake in local utility EnBW from French energy group EDF .

In the emails, which could not be independently verified by Reuters, Notheis casually refers to Merkel as "Mutti", German for "mom", and sometimes appears to be ordering around regional leader Stefan Mappus, who like the banker is a member of Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU).

The reports sparked a wave of criticism, in part because it highlighted the cozy relationship between bankers and politicians at a time when many Germans are up in arms about the role banks have played in the global financial and euro-zone debt crises.

"Dirk Notheis has informed the supervisory board that he will take a leave of absence," a Morgan Stanley spokeswoman said on Monday, a day after Reuters reported that Notheis had tendered his resignation.

The spokeswoman said Notheis's responsibilities as country head for Germany and Austria would be taken over by supervisory board chairman Lutz Raettig, who is well known in the Frankfurt financial scene and served as Morgan Stanley's country head from 1995 to 2005.

The bank also retains the services of Christian Zorn and Johannes Groeller, who have been co-heads of investment banking for Germany and Austria since Notheis was elevated to his role as head of Germany back in 2009.

The move is nonetheless a blow for the U.S. investment bank, which had come to rely heavily on Notheis and his political connections to deliver lucrative advisory roles or mandates in merger and acquisition deals.

Morgan Stanley has won some big mandates from companies in which Germany retains an equity stake.

It was for example co-bookrunner for Commerzbank's 11 billion euro rights issue, was adviser to Deutsche Telekom's aborted $39 billion sale of T-Mobile USA to AT&T and was bookrunner for Deutsche Post DHL on a 750 million euro exchangeable bond for state-controlled development bank KFW.

COMEBACK UNCERTAIN

It was not clear when or if Notheis would resume his responsibilities, people familiar with the situation said.

The negative publicity could make it harder for Notheis to operate in Berlin political circles, where discretion is a key prerequisite to gaining high-level access.

Furthermore, the political firestorm and publicity about the EnBW deal will likely continue for years, thanks to an arbitration procedure reviewing the deal initiated by Baden-Wuerttemberg.

The reported Notheis emails touched on efforts by Baden-Wuerttemberg to acquire a 45 percent stake in local utility EnBW from EDF. Notheis appears to give Mappus advice on how to limit time for political debate on a renationalization of EnBW.

"Call a confidential meeting at the state ministry with three politicians but without the supervisory board chairman, initially without giving a reason," one of the emails supposedly from Notheis to Mappus published in Handelsblatt reads.

He says Merkel's assistance will be needed to persuade the EDF to sell and suggests Mappus should meet with then French President Nicolas Sarkozy. "Ask Mutti if she can arrange that," Notheis reportedly wrote.

Baden-Wuerttemberg eventually bought the EnBW stake in December 2010 for about 4.7 billion euros. But the state has since launched a probe into the deal and sued EDF, saying it overpaid to the tune of 2 billion euros.

Morgan Stanley was reported to have provided the emails to the state government as part of the probe.

Asked about the case on Monday, Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert said Berlin had not been involved in the EnBW talks and therefore could not comment on them.

"The negotiations on the purchase of EnBW stake by the regional government of Baden-Wuerttemberg were handled by the regional government. Therefore, the federal government has no knowledge of the details of these negotiations," Seibert said.

In Germany, Morgan Stanley ranked second behind Deutsche Bank and ahead of U.S. rival Goldman Sachs in mergers and acquisitions rankings in the year-to-date, measured by overall deal value, Thomson Reuters data show.

In terms of M&A fees earned from completed deals, Morgan Stanley ranked in third place, earning $8.6 million, lagging behind Lazard and Citi . Fees from deals with German involvement totaled $233.2 million so far in 2012.

This year Morgan Stanley has advised SAP on its acquisition of Ariba Inc, Outokumpu on its acquisition of ThyssenKrupp AG's Stainless division, and EQT on buying BSN Medical.

(Reporting by Philipp Halstrick, Edward Taylor, Jonathan Gould, Gernot Heller; Writing by Noah Barkin)

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Unions: Expanded gaming in Maryland would create jobs | Politics ...

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -

Promise of a special session to address expanded gaming in Maryland fell short last week, prompting organized labor to rally Monday in favor of further talks.


On Thursday, a work group of lawmakers and advisers announced it could not reach consensus over a special session that could have put into motion the necessary requirements for a sixth casino site in Maryland that would have been built in Prince George's County. The special session could have also examined lowering the current 67 percent tax rate on slot machine revenues, which House members of the work group opposed.

On Monday, union leaders demanded a special session to expand gaming in the state, and they sent every member of the General Assembly a strongly worded letter that takes a jab at the governor's economic policies citing job losses. In part, the union leaders wrote, "It's incomprehensible that lawmakers would give up the opportunity to create more than 8,000 jobs."

Organized labor framed its argument for expanded gaming in Maryland around job creation and additional revenue for the state.

"To be blunt, our members are disappointed, frustrated at the legislators -- the people we send down here to make the decision," said Vance Ayres, executive secretary and treasurer of the Washington, D.C., Building Trades Council.

The unions' letter also stated, in part, "After seeing our state listed among the nations' leaders in job losses two months in a row, we find it incomprehensible that our elected leaders would allow the opportunity to create more than 8,000 jobs in Prince George's County slip past us."

"No matter what our views on this gaming issue, we should at least let the voters decide," said Abiola Afolayan, political director at the Hospitality Workers Union.

Differences between the House and Senate over gambling on the last day of the regular session led to a breakdown on passing a budget.

The proposed legislation would let voters decide whether to allow a casino in Prince George's County. The measure would have also put table games in all the existing casino locations.

According a new poll by Opinion Works Research and Communications, 83 percent of registered voters want the issue decided by a referendum question on the November ballot, while 55 percent of voters surveyed indicated support for adding table games, shifting machine ownership from the state to the operators, reducing the tax rate on slots revenues by 10 percent and approving a casino site in Prince George's County.

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Slow-moving Debby hits Fla., spawns tornadoes

Tropical Storm Debby has hammered more than 300 miles of Florida, where there have also been three reported tornadoes. NBC's Kerry Sanders reports.

By Weather.com, msnbc.com staff and news services

Updated at 4:45 p.m. ET --?Tropical Storm Debby whipped Florida with bands of drenching rain Monday while its center was nearly stationary in the Gulf of Mexico. Its slow progress meant the most pressing threat from the storm was flooding, not wind.

Florida governor Rick Scott declared a statewide emergency, and a tropical storm warning was in effect for most of the state's Gulf Coast, as the storm parked offshore.

A tropical storm warning for the coast of Alabama was discontinued early Monday.?Yet even with the storm's center far from land, it lashed Florida with heavy rains and spawned isolated tornadoes that killed at least one person. Another person was missing in rough surf off Alabama.


Residents in several counties near the crook of Florida's elbow were urged to leave low-lying neighborhoods because of the threat of flooding.

Offshore oil and gas operators in the Gulf of Mexico are also evacuating more than 30 percent of production platforms and rigs that are in the path of Debby. The storm is moving slowly, allowing its clouds more time to unload rain.

Tropical Storm Debby is expected to move north throughout the week with as many as 15 inches of rain expected in the state. Weather Channel meteorologist Jim Cantore reports.

The Coast Guard rescued a family Sunday, who were stranded on a small island on the northwestern Florida Gulf coast due to inclement weather caused by the storm.

Officials at the Coast Guard watch center in Mobile, Ala., received a call around 12:30 p.m. from a man reporting his family of five adults, four children and two dogs were stranded in a vacation house on Dog Island, south of Carrabelle, Fla.

Water was reportedly surrounding the house, and there was no way for them to evacuate to higher ground. The ship that brought them to the island would not return for them due to rough conditions.

Rescue crews from the Coast Guard Aviation Training Center deployed a helicopter to the family?s location. The crew hoisted and transported the family, including the dogs, to Carrabelle Airport. No injuries or medical concerns were reported.?

'Heavy rain'
High winds forced the closure of an interstate bridge that spans Tampa Bay and links St. Petersburg with areas to the southeast. In several locations, homes and businesses were damaged by high winds authorities believe were from tornadoes.

"Locally heavy rain and flooding will impact much of Florida and southeast Georgia into Monday," weather.com reported. "Portions of northern Florida and southeast Georgia could see 6 to 12 inches of rain."

Weather.com severe weather expert Dr. Greg Forbes warned that?Debby could spawn isolated tornadoes in Florida through Monday.?

Tropical storm warnings?and?watches?were posted along portions of the Alabama and Florida Gulf Coasts. "Tropical-storm force winds (40 mph or higher) are possible in these areas," weather.com added. "Storm surge flooding?is also a significant threat along the Florida Panhandle coast and the western coast of Florida since Debby's circulation is embedded in a rather large wind field."

Brad Mcclenny / The Gainesville Sun via AP

Cedar Key Fire Chief Robert Robinson walks on a section of a floating dock that broke loose during a storm surge from Tropical Storm Debby in Cedar Key, Fla., on Sunday.

Debby's center was essentially stationary about 90 miles south-southwest of Apalachicola, Fla., early Monday. Debby's top sustained winds decreased to near 50 mph. The forecast map indicated the storm could inch forward through the week, eventually coming ashore over the Panhandle. However, a storm's path is difficult to discern days in advance.

Underscoring the unpredictable nature of tropical storms, forecasters discontinued a tropical storm warning Sunday afternoon for Louisiana after forecast models indicated Debby wasn't likely to turn west. At one point, forecasters expected the storm to come ashore in that state.

"There are always going to be errors in making predictions. There is never going to be a perfect forecast," said Chris Landsea, a meteorologist at the National Hurricane Center.

The Highlands County Sheriff's Office said in a news release that several tornadoes moved through the area southeast of Tampa, damaging homes.

Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Nell Hays said a woman was found dead in a house in Venus that was destroyed in the storm. A child found in the same house was taken to the hospital. No further information was available on the child's condition or either person's age.

Marina's roof torn off
Authorities urged residents to leave low-lying neighborhoods in Franklin, Taylor and Wakulla counties because of flooding. Shelters were open in the area.

Wind tore the roof off a marina in St. Pete Beach, and a pier was heavily damaged, said Tom Iovino, a Pinellas County government spokesman. He said no injuries were reported.

In Orange Beach, Ala., a 32-year-old man disappeared Sunday in rough surf kicked up by the storm, a Coast Guard official said. Further information wasn't immediately available.

As of Sunday, 23 percent of oil and gas production in the region had been suspended, according to a government hurricane response team. Employees have been evacuated from 13 drilling rigs and 61 production platforms in the Gulf of Mexico.

The storm was not expected to result in higher oil and gas prices.

"It's largely a non-event for oil," said Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst at the Oil Price Information Service.

Weather.com, msnbc.com staff and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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