G7 warns Russia on 'annexing' Crimea

Leaders of the G7 group of nations have called on Russia to stop all efforts to "annex" Ukraine's Crimea region.

They said if Russia took such a step they would "take further action, individually and collectively".

The G7 leaders also said they would not recognise the results of a referendum in Crimea this weekend on whether to split from Ukraine and join Russia.

Separately, the US president said they "will be forced to apply costs" if Russia does not change course.

Barack Obama was speaking after holding talks with Ukraine's interim 

Mr Yatsenyuk told reporters Ukraine "is and will be part of the Western world".

Earlier, Ukraine's national security chief Andriy Parubiy warned of a major Russian military build-up on Ukraine's borders.

He said Russian troops had not withdrawn since carrying out military exercises near Ukraine's eastern and southern frontiers last month, and were now "only two to three hours" from Kiev.

"In addition to its impact on the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, the annexation of Crimea could have grave implications for the legal order that protects the unity and sovereignty of all states," they said in a statement released by the White House.

They said Sunday's referendum, asking the people of Crimea if they want to be a part of Russia or Ukraine, has "no legal effect" as it is in "direct violation" of Ukraine's constitution.

"Given the lack of adequate preparation and the intimidating presence of Russian troops, it would also be a deeply flawed process which would have no moral force," they added.

Russia's military presence remains visible in the southern Ukrainian region of Crimea, where the majority of people are ethnic Russians.The world's focus is on Crimea ahead of its controversial referendum on Sunday. Citizens will vote whether they want to stay with Ukraine or join Russia. This poster reads: "Together with Russia."http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/73536000/jpg/_73536099_73533712.jpg

Galaxy S4 Group Play makes sharing easier (hands-on)

Sharing is a big part of Samsung's products (just think of all those ads in recent months, like the one with a woman giving her husband a secret video). Now the Korean electronics giant is taking that a step further with the Galaxy S4's improved Group Play.



Galaxy S3 users will recognize this as the feature that lets them share documents and photos with others in close range. I recently got some hands-on time with Group Play on the S4 and found some nice updates to the program. In particular, future S4 owners can share music and games along with photos and documents, and the group leader's device acts as the Wi-Fi access point connecting all the other devices. That means you don't have connect to any Wi-Fi or cellular data network -- a big change from the Galaxy S3 version, which relied on all devices being connected to the same Wi-Fi network.





Setting up and connecting to a group is so simple that people might actually use the feature (once they realize what it is). Samsung crams tons of capabilities in all of its devices, but few consumers know they even exist, let alone how to use them. One of the company's biggest pushes this year is to make its products easier to use. With the Galaxy S4, many features such as NFC are automatically turned on instead of defaulted to the off setting. And the device has an improved notification/settings screen that's easier to navigate.

Setup
For Group Play, you launch the program by clicking an icon on the phone. The group leader has to choose "create group," which automatically turns on the Wi-Fi access point.

All other devices joining a Group Play session will recognize the access point the same way as any other Wi-Fi network. When you launch the program, you choose "join group" instead of "create group." The program then automatically searches for available Wi-Fi networks and connects when it finds one called "Group Play XXX." If there are multiple networks with "Group Play" in their name, the program gives you the option to choose which to join.

T-Mobile's iPhone 5 ad is a low-budget revolution

It takes a revolution to effect a revolution.

This is the modest hope of T-Mobile, as it attempts to wean the American public off two-year plans.

In order to introduce the iPhone 5 to its mold-breaking community, the company has decided to keep it fairly simple.

Yes, it's co-opting the revolution for its own purposes.




It describes the iPhone 5 as having revolutionized phones. Just as T-Mobile is revolutionizing carriers.

This revolution is, though, being effected with a seemingly small budget.

Yes, there's a little shattering of glass, but it's not as if they pushed the boat out to get Catherine Zeta-Jones -- or even a look-alike -- to add a little glamor to the revolution.

And that music, I know it from somewhere. Goodness, its the "Star-Spangled Banner," isn't it? I wonder how much the rights were to that.

Study: Anxiety and alcohol use linked to Facebook

College freshmen who report higher levels of anxiety and alcohol use are more likely to feel emotionally connected with the social networking site than those who don't.







In a quest to learn what leads some people to turn to Facebook to connect with others, doctoral student Russell Clayton of the Missouri School of Journalism found that anxiety and alcohol use seem to play a big role.

For his master's thesis, which appears in the May issue of Computers in Human Behavior, Clayton surveyed more than 225 college freshman about two emotions, anxiety and loneliness, and two behaviors, alcohol and marijuana use. He found that the students who reported both higher levels of anxiety and greater alcohol use also appeared the most emotionally connected with Facebook. Those who reported higher levels of loneliness, on the other hand, said they used Facebook to connect with others but were not emotionally connected to it.

It probably isn't terribly surprising that those who are anxious may feel more emotionally connected to a virtual social setting than a public one, which Clayton acknowledges in a school news release. "Also, when people who are emotionally connected to Facebook view pictures and statuses of their Facebook friends using alcohol, they are more motivated to engage in similar online behaviors in order to fit in socially."




Marijuana use, on the other hand, predicted the opposite -- the absence of emotional connectedness to the site. Clayton has a theory about this as well: "Marijuana use is less normative, meaning fewer people post on Facebook about using it. In turn, people who engage in marijuana use are less likely to be emotionally attached to Facebook."

Whether Facebook is therapeutic for those feeling anxious is debatable. Last year one study found that people who use social networking sites regularly saw their behaviors change negatively, and that included having trouble disconnecting and relaxing. So the question becomes: Which came first, the anxiety or the networking?

Meanwhile, Facebook appears to be showing its laughter lines as teenagers "meh" their way to Twitter and Instagram. Surveys of their levels of anxiety and drug use while on those sites are surely imminent.

Helping Low-Income Seniors Build A Social Web Online

The Internet is often considered the realm of the young. But in the U.S., people over 65 are one of the fastest-growing groups to go online, and social media usage among seniors has soared.

A program in Washington, D.C., is designed to bring more seniors online, especially those who are socially isolated.

The Connecting to Community training program is sponsored by the AARP Foundation in partnership with the nonprofit Older Adults Technology Services, Comcast and the D.C. social services organization Family Matters of Greater Washington.

It puts the latest digital tools in the hands of low-income, older Americans to help them combat loneliness and develop social connections through social media and other online offerings.

The program’s pilot run just finished in Washington, D.C., and while the free iPad tablets the students received were brand new, some of the people using them were born decades before Bill Gates or Steve Jobs were out of diapers.

Volunteer trainer Karen Coville and student Ruby Lester work with Ruby’s new iPad.

Art Silverman/NPR

Learning The Tools And Privacy Basics

The students, all on limited incomes, have been attending class a couple of times each week, with instruction from volunteer trainers. They’ve learned to use touch screens and to navigate social media like Facebook and Twitter.

But what comes naturally to a 20-year-old can take time for someone three times that age. “I was trying to take a picture, and I ended up taking a picture of myself,” says student Doris Bagley at a recent class. “I want to know how the heck that happened.”

Ruby Lester gets nervous when she sees unexpected pop-ups on the screen. “That scares me, and I just cut my computer off,” she says.

And Kenneth Butler has had a difficult time using his tablet’s camera function. “I have, essentially, tremors,” he says. “When I take pictures, I [shake] so much that I don’t get a clear picture.”

The classes are designed to help the participants sort through those issues. Another important component of the Connecting to Community program, explains instructor Sheila Poole, is privacy.

“When we talk about your privacy and your settings on the social media, you need to know how to decide what you want people to be able to see, what you don’t want people to be able to see, what you possibly don’t even want to put on,” Poole tells the class.

With this group, the touch-screen technology has come easier than learning the dos and don’ts of social networking, Poole says.

“We show them … what your settings should be like for privacy,” she says. “[We] teach them how to spot spam items and [that] if you feel uncomfortable about doing something, don’t do it. We let them know these are your brakes, just like in your car.”

Patriots' Star Aaron Hernandez's Home Searched After Killing

Investigators searched the North Attleborough home of New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez today following the killing of a man police call an "associate" of Hernandez, ABC News has learned.Massachusetts State Police and prosecutors arrived at Hernandez's $1.3 million, 5,600-square foot home, which is outfitted with a home gym and a swimming pool, just before 5 p.m. and spent hours with him inside the mansion.
Two Hernandez friends tried to leave house at the time of the search, but they were stopped by a state police car at the end of driveway. Crime scene investigators later searched the car the men tried to leave in.

During the search, Hernandez received a hand-delivered package from the prominent law firm Ropes and Gray around 7:30 p.m., with the deliveryman telling reporters swarming the sidewalk outside that it was addressed to "Mr. Hernandez himself."

Hernandez was initially uncooperative with police after the body of a 27-year-old man was found in an industrial park not far from the Patriots player's home, two law enforcement sources said.

A rental vehicle with Rhode Island plates was recovered near the scene, which led investigators to Hernandez, sources told ABC News.

Bristol County District Attorney Sam Sutter confirmed in a media statement that a body was found around 5:30 p.m. Monday in a clearing near John Dietsch Boulevard. Sutter said that based on the "nature and circumstances" of the body that the investigation would be handed over to Massachusetts State Police detectives.

North Attleborough is home to many Patriots players because of its proximity to Gillette Stadium, where the Patriots play. In fact, Hernandez bought his home from a former Patriots player, Ty Warren.

Neighbors expressed concern outside of the house as it was searched.
One, Jill Cambridge, 43, wore a Patriots jersey as she defended the star tight end.
"I think the kids around here, especially, look up to the Patriots players," she said. "I just hope he's not involved in this."

Another neighbor, Susan Mayer, and her 14-year-old daughter, Rachel, described Hernandez as a very warm guy.

"There is a lot of action around here because of the Patriots,'' Susan Mayer said.
Rachel was more concerned about keeping Hernandez on the team.
"We need the Patriots to win," she said.

She added that Hernandez, along with Matt Light and other Patriots standouts, hosted a haunted house and scared dozens of kids while dressed up in costumes last Halloween.

Stacey James, a New England Patriots official, said on behalf of the team, "I am aware of the reports, but I do not anticipate that we will be commenting publicly during an ongoing police investigation."

Hernandez is spending the off-season recovering from a shoulder scope, though he was spotted at practice recently welcoming new Patriots' quarterback Tim Tebow.

George Zimmer, Men's Wearhouse Founder, Said He Was 'Inappropriately' Silenced

After retailer Men's Wearhouse [NYSE: MW] announced that it "terminated" founder and executive chairman George Zimmer, best known to consumers for his hundreds of TV commercials pitching suits, he fired back saying the company's board "has inappropriately chosen to silence my concerns."


The company said that "in light of Mr. Zimmer's termination," it is postponing its annual shareholders' meeting which had been scheduled for 11 a.m. today in California.


"Over the last 40 years, I have built The Men's Wearhouse into a multi-billion dollar company with amazing employees and loyal customers who value the products and service they receive at The Men's Wearhouse," Zimmer said in a statement. "Over the past several months I have expressed my concerns to the Board about the direction the company is currently heading. Instead of fostering the kind of dialogue in the Boardroom that has, in part, contributed to our success, the Board has inappropriately chosen to silence my concerns
by terminating me as an executive officer."
The company, based in Fremont, Calif., was founded in 1973 by Zimmer. It is one of the country's largest specialty men's retailers with 1,143 stores across the country. The company operates Moores and K&G Stores in addition to its namesake stores.


Zimmer's famous tagline was, "You're going to like the way you look. I guarantee it."
Richard Jaffe, analyst with Stifel Nicolaus, wrote in a note that Zimmer had reduced his role at the company "significantly" over the past two years. Zimmer named a new CEO, Doug Ewert, two years ago while designer Joseph Abboud was named as chief creator director in Dec. 2012.


"We believe that despite Zimmer's planned transition to a smaller role at the company, he had difficulty letting go of the reins and the leadership of the business," Jaffe wrote in his note to investors. "We believe that this led to a conflict with the board and his subsequent
termination."




Read About the 7 Worst, Recent CEO Disasters
While Zimmer has been the face of the company for decades, accumulating 500 hours of footage, Jaffe said, "The use of Zimmer as spokesperson has, coincidently been under review as management has been evaluating his effectiveness, particularly with the millennial consumer." Zimmer is 64 years old.
A spokesman for Men's Wearhouse declined to comment to ABC News.
Zimmer's most recent pay figure is $1,985,916, according to executive compensation data firm Equilar. According to the firm's most recent proxy, he has 1,771,625 shares, 3 percent of the company, that are worth about $66.4 million based on Tuesday's closing stock price of $37.47.


President and CEO Doug Ewert earned $2.1 million last year, down from $5.4 million in 2011. Executive vice president Charles Bressler earned $2 million, up from $1.8 million in 2011, according to Equilar.


The company said the annual meeting was postponed to re-nominate the existing slate of directors without Zimmer, and it will announce the meeting's rescheduled date "shortly."


The announcement didn't faze Jaffe from Stifel Nicolaus' "buy" rating for Men's Wearhouse.


"We believe current management has been running the business effectively and will continue to do so," Jaffe wrote. "While we believe near term uncertainty exists as Men's Wearhouse responds to a difficult macro-economic environment, we remain positive on the long term viability of the company, and at the current stock price, the risk/reward is attractive."


Men's Wearhouse stock was trading around $36.71 a share late Wednesday morning, down about 2 percent.


Last week, the company reported that first-quarter earnings increased by 23 Percent.