A previously unknown species of electric fish has been discovered in the so-called lost world of northeastern South America.

Researchers at the University of Toronto Scarborough say the Akawio penak, a thin eel-like fish was discovered in shallow, murky water in the upper Mazaruni River area in northern Guyana.

“The fact that this area is so remote and has been isolated for such a long time means you are quite likely to find new species,” said Nathan Lovejoy, a professor.

The upper Mazaruni River is a hotspot for biological diversity, yet remains largely unexplored because of its remote location. The area contains countless rivers on top of a series of uplands that have remained isolated for more than 30 million years.

Lovejoy’s team sequenced the fish’s DNA and discovered that it was so different from other similar fish that it represented a new genus, a taxonomic classification level above species.

While the Akawio penak does produce an electric field, it is not to stun prey but rather it is used as a navigational aid. The field also detects objects and is used to communicate with other fish, the researchers say. Given the cloudy waters in which the fish lives, the electric field is advantageous.

The species is named in honor of the Akawaio Amerindians that populate the upper Mazaruni.

“The Mazaruni contains many unique species that aren’t found anywhere else in the world. It’s an extremely important area in South America in terms of biodiversity,” said Lovejoy.

The results of the discovery are published in the recent edition of the journal Zoologica Scripta.


Court files show many lapses
in U.S. background checks


Federal prosecutors have documented at least 350 instances of faulty background investigations done by private contractors and special agents for the U.S. Office of Personnel Management in recent years, illustrating what some lawmakers call systemic weaknesses in the granting of federal security clearances.

Reporters calculated the total by reviewing court documents and press releases from prosecutors for 21 cases resulting in convictions that involved the making of false statements from December 2004 to March 2012.

These are the cases government officials have cited to assert that action is taken against investigators who falsely claim to have reviewed records or done interviews for background checks submitted to the Office of Personnel Management. Not all the cases identified a specific number of fabrications.

The 350 falsified reports represent only a small percentage of the number of background investigations conducted each year, either by the Office of Personnel Management's own investigators or a handful of private contractors it uses for most of the work.

The Government Accountability Office testified to a congressional committee in June that the Office of Personnel Management received over $1 billion to conduct more than 2 million background investigations for government employees in fiscal 2011.

But the details of the cases show how cracks in the system may allow employees to obtain clearances without proper vetting.

In one case, a private contractor investigator, who pleaded guilty to making a false statement, reported interviewing a person who had died more than a decade earlier. Another investigator was found guilty of making false statements in checks for applicants seeking top secret clearances for jobs in the Air Force, Army, Navy and U.S. Treasury.

The highest number of convictions, 11, involved special agents for the Office of Personnel Management. Another seven convictions were of employees of USIS, a Virginia-based company that has come under scrutiny for its role in vetting former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden and more recently, Washington Navy Yard shooter Aaron Alexis.

Two of those USIS investigators had the highest number - more than four dozen each - of flawed background check reports sent to the Office of Personnel Management, court documents showed.

USIS faces an ongoing investigation by the Office of Personnel Management's inspector general. The company declined to comment for this story and the inspector general's office would not comment on its probe.

The most severe punishment was given to an investigator who did not take a plea agreement and, instead, went to trial. This investigator was found guilty of six counts of making false statements and sentenced to 27 months in prison.

Those who entered plea agreements generally received sentences of probation and community service, courts records show.

In a statement last week after 13 people died in shootings at the Navy Yard, including gunman Alexis, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia said, "In light of recent events, we plan to step up our efforts to investigate and prosecute the individuals and companies who risk our security by cutting corners and falsifying information in background checks."

In pressing the cases, prosecutors have required defendants to pay more than $1.5 million in restitution to the U.S. government to recover the costs of redoing improper background investigations.

The screening process for security clearances has came under heightened scrutiny this year since Snowden, working as a contract employee assigned to the National Security Agency, used his top-secret clearance to access documents on the agency's electronic eavesdropping that he later gave to the news media.

The issue resurfaced last week with reports that Alexis held a secret security clearance despite violent episodes before and after he received it.

A secret clearance generally lasts 10 years. Ongoing checks are needed because in five to 10 years stuff happens and people change, a Senate aide said.

The Office of Personnel Management contracts out for most of the background check work. But the decision to grant security clearances rests with the government agency that intends to employ the individual.

USIS conducts about 65 percent of the background checks done by private contractors, and more than half of all the investigations conducted by the Office of Personnel Management, according to a statement issued last week by the office of Sen. Claire McCaskill, a Missouri Democrat who is a co-sponsor of legislation aimed at boosting oversight of the security clearance process.

Investigators for other government contractors, including CACI International Inc., were also convicted of making false statements in reports for security clearance background checks. CACI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A Senate aide said the USIS investigation by the Office of Personnel Management's inspector general revolves around systemic problems in the company's procedures and does not focus on individual investigators.

The inspector general also is investigating the background check done for Alexis before he received clearance to work for the Navy.

In 2012, there were 3.5 million federal employees and 1.1 million contractors who held a secret or top secret clearance and the Office of Personnel Management's security clearance and background investigations cost about $1 billion, Sen. McCaskill's office said.

The Senate Homeland Security Committee has scheduled an Oct. 1 hearing on government clearances and background checks.


U.S. stages great comeback
to prevail in America's Cup


Oracle Team USA prevailed in a dramatic winner-take-all showdown with Emirates Team New Zealand on Wednesday to win the 34th America's Cup, completing a stirring comeback that helped make the once-troubled event among the most exciting in sailing history.
 
For Oracle and its hard-charging skipper, Australian Jimmy Spithill, the win was an extraordinary sporting triumph, one that saw the team climb back from a seemingly insurmountable 8-1 deficit in the best-of-17 series to keep the trophy it won three years ago.
 
The thrilling final races were also a ringing vindication of Oracle owner Larry Ellison's controversial decision to transform a once-staid yachting event into a TV-friendly, extreme-sports spectacle featuring huge high-speed catamarans that might draw a new generation of enthusiasts to sailing.
 
Emirates Team New Zealand, a plucky challenger that lacked a billionaire sponsor but nonetheless sailed to the brink of Cup victory, must now endure the ignominy of having let the prize slip from its grasp after a grueling two-year campaign of boat development and training that unfolded almost exactly as planned until the final days.
 
Oracle dominated the last race, showcasing the dramatic  improvement in boat speed on the upwind leg of the race that began to emerge a week ago. Oracle seemed to find an extra gear after losing most of the early races, and even overcame a pre-match penalty that required it win 11 races on the water.
 
“On your own you're nothing, but with a team like this around you, they can make you look great,” Spithill said after the race.
 
Just a week ago, New Zealand fans had all but begun celebrating what seemed like an inevitable sporting and economic windfall for the longtime international sailing power, which supported the team with about $30 million in government funds in the hopes of bringing the trophy and attendant tourism and publicity back home.
 
But on Wednesday it was Ellison who was celebrating, joining the crew on the boat for a champagne shower in the moments after the finish.
 
Fans who flocked to the San Francisco bayfront by the tens of thousands for the final races were treated to a little bit of everything: tense on-the-water duels, a near-capsize, winds that were alternately too light and too strong, and even a whale that threatened to disrupt racing.
 
Until just a few weeks ago, the summer-long series of America's Cup events looked like a monumental bust. A British Olympic champion sailing for the Swedish team was killed in a training accident in May, calling the safety of the boats into question and forcing contentious rule changes.
 
New Zealand completely dominated the Louis Vuitton challenger series, which featured only three competitors and saw some races with only one boat charging around the course. A cheating scandal erupted, with Oracle ultimately being docked two races and losing a key crew member as punishment for illegal boat modifications in a preliminary series.
 
In San Francisco, many locals bristled at city support for what has often been derided as a rich man's yacht race.
 
Controversies aside, Oracle seemed to have a competitive  edge early on, with the home-team advantage and enough money to hire top sailors and build two equally matched boats to train against one another. Its team was distinctly international, with New Zealander Russel Coutts, who led the Kiwis to Cup victory in 1995 and 2000, serving as CEO and Spithill as the skipper.
 
Only one American was among the Oracle crew at the finish.
 
When only three challengers proved willing to take on the cost and complexity of the 72-foot carbon fiber yachts, Oracle's chances looked even better although it faced criticism that the dearth of competitors had made hosting the event a bad financial deal for San Francisco.
 
But the New Zealenders, led by a 56-year-old managing director, Grant Dalton, who doubled as a workhorse on-board grinder during races, proved ingenious in developing their boat, particularly in pioneering the use of hydrofoils that lift both hulls almost entirely out of the water to reduce drag.
 
Skipper Dean Barker steered nearly flawless races through most of the competition as New Zealand first crushed the Italian team, Luna Rossa, in the challenger series, and then dominated Oracle in the early races of the Cup finals.
 
But now the America's Cup, with its rich history of dueling tycoons, gamesmanship and cutting-edge boat technology, appears firmly headed in Ellison's innovative direction. Not since Australia ended the United States' 132-year-long grip on the oldest trophy in sports in 1983 has the competition taken such a sharp turn.


Senate begins consideration
of bill to avoid shutdown


The U.S. Senate has voted unanimously to begin formal consideration of a bill to keep the federal government running beyond the end of the month. President Barack Obama’s signature health care law remains at the center of a partisan battle over funding, and time is running out for a politically divided Congress to pass a unified bill before a threatened shutdown begins Oct. 1.

The Senate has started debate on a bill passed by the Republican-led House of Representatives last week that extends federal spending authority but defunds the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. The Democratic-controlled Senate is expected to restore Obamacare funding in coming days.

Majority Leader Harry Reid urged swift action. “We have a lot to do, and we should get there as quickly as we can. Every hour that we delay here is an hour closer to shutting down the government.”

The Senate acted after a marathon speech by Republican Sen. Ted Cruz. For nearly 22 hours, Cruz urged colleagues to block funding of the law.

“Small businesses are crying out that Obamacare is killing them, and unfortunately the United States Senate is not hearing their cries. For the millions of Americans who are facing skyrocketing health insurance premiums and the reality or the risk of losing their health insurance, the United States Senate is not hearing their cry,” he said.

Cruz voted with all other senators to begin debate. The seeming contradiction of pursuing a stalling tactic while voting to advance the legislative process can be explained by the fact that Cruz is expected to oppose proceeding to a final vote on a spending bill days from now.

Cruz’ stamina and oratory did not impress Reid.

“It has been interesting to watch. But for lack of a better way of describing this, it has been a big waste of time,” said Reid of the speech.

And Cruz’ effort was rejected by some of his Republican colleagues. Sen. John McCain said voters spoke on Obamacare last year. “They spoke much to my dismay, but they spoke. And they reelected the president of the United States,” he said.

Another Republican, Sen. Dan Coats, said the fight to defund Obamacare is misguided.

“Shutting down the government will not stop Obamacare. We do not have the votes to defeat it.”

Democrats were happy to join in the criticism, among them Sen. Charles Schumer, who said, “Debate Obamacare all you want. But please do not threaten to shut down the government because you cannot get your way.”

The Senate is expected to pass a funding bill by Sunday, one day before federal spending authority expires. Then, focus will shift back to the House of Representatives, where many Republicans remain committed to defunding Obamacare. A limited government shutdown will be averted only if both houses pass an identical spending bill.

The White House continues to defend Obamacare. Spokesman Jay Carney hailed a report showing that Americans in many states will have multiple low-cost health insurance plans to choose from when major components of the law are implemented next month.


Vinyl records are making
a surprising comeback


A technology thought to be obsolete only 10 years ago is making a surprising comeback.  Like the fountain pen and the film camera, the vinyl phonograph record was thought to be a thing of the past.  But not so, says Steve Gritzan, who owns a store called Iris Records in Jersey City, New Jersey and runs seven record shows across the eastern United States.

“It's a glorious time for people who like records,” he said.
 
There are numbers to back him up on that.  According to Digital Music News, it’s projected that 5.8 million vinyl records will be sold in the United States this year.  That’s up from one million in 2007.  It’s still a small segment of the music business. According to Billboard magazine, 2 percent of all the albums sold today are on vinyl. But while the sales of CDs are falling, sales of vinyl records are up 33 percent this year.

​“Everybody releases on vinyl,” Gritzan said.  “All the new indie rock groups, whether it's Bell & Sebastian, whether it's the Hold Steady, whether it's Foxygen, whether it's Washed Out.  All these groups are hot, new and young.  They release their work on vinyl and they also include a free download.”
 
And that’s in addition to artists who reach an older crowd who you might expect to be releasing their music on vinyl.
 
“When Paul Simon puts out a new record, he puts out a record,” said Gritzan. “There are not enough pressing plants to produce the amount of records that are desired.”
 
Companies like Gotta Groove Records, which started in 2009, are stepping in to help fill the gap.

“It certainly is not just us that's seeing the explosive growth,” said Matt Early, the company’s vice president for sales and marketing. “This is a time in history where the past is coming full circle.”
 
Gotta Groove founder Vince Slusarz was a lawyer at a plastics company.  He’d read about the growing popularity of vinyl records but it wasn’t until the trend literally hit home that he was moved to act.
 
“I believe it was his daughter who got a turntable for a gift,” Early said. She "was listening to records quite a bit more, and I think that really made an impression on Vince that, ‘Hey, this is real, young people are buying records and so this is something I should pay attention to.’”

Gotta Groove works mostly for small bands that put out their own records and sell them on tour. The bulk of the business is geared toward a younger audience.  College students are, once again, reading liner notes, appreciating album artwork and grabbing up their parents’ old, unused turn-tables to return to the days of getting up at the end of the record and turning it over.
 
According to Early, that kind of tangible experience is worth the extra money to younger people today.
 
“Combining those factors, it just kind of gives a perceived value that spending $20 to 25 on a record feels like it's worth it vs. spending that same amount of money on a file that you really can't touch or feel,” he said.