A Bronx woman pleaded guilty on Thursday to engaging in a fraudulent fundraising scheme related to the Newtown, Conn., school shootings.

Nouel Alba, 37, entered her guilty plea before a federal judge in Bridgeport, Conn., the FBI and U.S. Attorney's Office announced.

According to court documents, Alba falsely claimed to be the aunt of 6-year-old victim Noah Pozner, one of 20 children killed in the Dec. 14, 2012, massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

Alba set up a "funeral fund" in the days after the tragedy, using Facebook, email, text messages and telephone calls to solicit donations. According to prosecutors, she even "e-mailed Sandy Hook Elementary School PTA officers and then touted her fictional personal relationship with the PTA to support her false claim and induce donors to send her money." Alba then directed unsuspecting donors to send money to her PayPal account.

The thought that someone would scheme so quickly and deliberately to benefit from an unspeakable tragedy is beyond belief, Kimberly K. Mertz, the FBI special agent in charge of the fraud investigation, . While there wasnt a substantial loss of money in this investigation, there were losses beyond any pecuniary measure. Ms. Albas actions caused undue sadness and harm to those already suffering and to those involved with running legitimate and caring charities."

Alba, who was arrested on Dec. 27, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of making false statements to investigators. The counts carry a combined maximum prison sentence of 25 years. She is scheduled to be sentenced in Hartford, Conn., on August 29.

MIAMI, June 5 (Reuters) - When San Antonio Spurs power forward Tim Duncan takes the court for Game One of the NBA Finals on Thursday, he will be aiming to become only the second player to win championships in three different decades.

That is just one of many reasons why LeBron James of the defending champion Miami Heat believes the soft-spoken 37-year-old Duncan deserves to be counted among the game's greats.

"He is probably one of the best players to ever play the game of basketball," said James, about going up against the Duncan and the Spurs in the best-of-seven championship series.

The only other player to accomplish the feat was John Salley, a power forward who won titles with the Detroit Pistons in 1989 and 1990 and then was a bit player in the Los Angeles Lakers' run to the championship in 2000.

Duncan has been a central figure in each of San Antonio's NBA triumphs.

"If I just look at the last 15 years, he's probably been the most consistent, most dominant player that we've had as far as 15 years all together. He's won four titles, multiple All Stars, MVP, and so on and so on," James said on Wednesday.

A quick glance at Duncan's career achievements, with titles in 1999, 2003, 2005 and 2007 and league Most Valuable Player awards in 2002 and 2003, raises the question as to why he gets so little attention.

Kobe Bryant, with five rings would be the only other player of this generation who could argue his case to be above Duncan in the pecking order of NBA greats, and he certainly enjoys a higher profile.

Perhaps playing for a Spurs team which, despite their success has a lower profile in the media, has eased the spotlight on Duncan.

But James believes the modest style of the man from Saint Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands is also a factor.

"I think he doesn't get a lot of recognition because he's not flashy like a lot of guys are," said James.

"He's not jumping over people and high-flying and doing the things that attracts people to the game. But I think true basketball, true IQ people, the players, they know how great he is," said James.

James credits Duncan's ability to compete at the highest level in the sunset of his career to a smart approach to fitness and the quality of the Spurs' staff.

"I think it's about him staying in shape, his conditioning level. I think it's the great support that they have in San Antonio. Also I think it's him being a true professional," James said.

"When you give everything to the game, the game rewards you. He's a champion. He has championship DNA."

Typically, Duncan credits San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich for his long shelf life.

"I have been playing a little less in the summertime," said Duncan, saying that translates into less stress on his knees. "Then Pop has made all the other adjustments for me basically, whether I like it or not. My minutes are down.

"Every once in a while, whether healthy or not, I have a couple of games off. Don't play in many back-to-backs, things that were really wearing my body all season," he said.

Popovich, however, says playing at such a high level for such a long time is mostly about Duncan's character.

"He's a consummate pro. He takes great pride in fulfilling his responsibility to his team mates. He feels it very strongly. It's just a personal character quality that he has. It's as simple as that," said Popovich.

"He works himself hard all summer long. He's got high standards. He wants to participate and compete at a high level, and he has the discipline to do it. It's about character, and he's got it." (Reporting By Simon Evans; Editing by Larry Fine)

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Castle Connolly Medical Ltd. publishes its list of Castle Connolly Top Doctors at , as well as in a wide variety of printed directories, partner publications and on partner/affiliate websites including US News and World Report's annually updated list of "Top Doctors." All told, fewer than 35,000 physicians - less than 5% of the nation's licensed physicians - have been selected as Castle Connolly Top Doctors in their regions for their specialties.

Castle Connolly Top Doctors are selected by Castle Connolly Medical Ltd. after being nominated by peer physicians in an online nomination process. Nominations are open to all board certified MDs and DOs and each year tens of thousands of doctors cast many tens of thousands of nominations. Honorees are selected from the nominees by the Castle Connolly physician-led research team based on criteria including their medical education, training, hospital appointments, disciplinary histories and more.

About Christine Brown:a short profile by and about the honoree:

Dr. Christine Brown is a board-certified dermatologist specializing in Mohs micrographic surgery, the gold standard for the treatment of skin cancer. Trained by nationally renowned dermatologist John Zitelli, M.D., Dr. Brown is among the top in her field. In addition to her expertise in treating skin cancer, Dr. Brown offers state-of-the-art care for sun-damaged and aging skin, and other cosmetic procedures. "Training You Trust, Experience You Expect."

For more information on this Castle Connolly Top Doctor, please visit Christine Brown's profile on

Castle Connolly Medical Ltd.'s President and CEO Dr. John Connolly has this to say about Dr. Brown's recognition: "Only a small percent of physicians are selected to be Castle Connolly Top Doctors. Our goal is to make it easier for an average person to find the right doctor for them in what can be an overwhelming process at a difficult time in a person's life. Dr. Brown was nominated by Board Certified peers and selected by our research team at Castle Connolly Medical Ltd. Selection is an impressive accomplishment worthy of recognition. My congratulations to Dr. Brown."

To find out more or to contact Dr.Christine Brown of Dallas,TX, please call 214-828-0016, or visit .

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Contact Information:Dr.Christine BrownPhone: 214-828-0016Email Address:

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Kidd, 40, completed his career ranked second overall in assists (12,091) and steals (2,684) to Hall of Famer John Stockton and averaged 12.6 points and 8.7 assists per game.

He earned All-Star honors 10 times while playing for Dallas, Phoenix, New Jersey and New York. He won an NBA title with Dallas and played on two gold medal-winning U.S. Olympic basketball teams.

"My time in professional basketball has been an incredible journey, but one that must come to an end after 19 years," Kidd said in a statement.

"I look back fondly at every season and thank each every one of my teammates and coaches that joined me on the court."

He said it was time to think about coaching or working as a broadcaster.

"One of the best point guards ever and one of the fiercest competitors I have ever played with," Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki, who won an NBA title with Kidd in 2011, said on Twitter.

"Amazing career. He always put the team and winning first."

To Brooklyn Nets General Manager Billy King, Kidd, who captained the Nets to NBA Finals appearances in 2002 and 2003, "is considered the greatest player in the Nets' NBA history."

His retirement came two days after the Los Angeles Clippers' Grant Hill, also 40, announced he was leaving the game. The two shared rookie of the year honors in 1995.

Highly respected around the league, Kidd became the first back-to-back winner of the NBA's sportsman of the year award in April.

"Jason provided an incredible voice inside our locker room and I considered it an honor to say I coached him," Knicks coach Mike Woodson said.

Kidd started 48 of the Knicks' 76 games last season, posting averages of 6.0 points and 3.3 assists.

He had two years remaining on his Knicks contract but said he decided over the weekend now was the time to retire.

"We told them (earlier) that I wanted to come back and play," Kidd said. "But this weekend was when we got a chance to relax... . It is the right thing to do."

(Reporting by Gene Cherry in Raleigh, North Carolina; Editing by Julian Linden and Frank Pingue)

The 35-year-old Froch, who lost to Kessler in Denmark three years ago, put on a typically gutsy performance to win with a scorecard that read 115-113, 116-112 and 118-110 in favor of the Nottingham fighter to the delight of the 20,000 crowd.

Froch's record is now 31-2, with his only other defeat coming at the hands of American Andre Ward in Atlantic City in 2011, compared to Kessler's 46-3 after an action-packed fight that saw the Dane hanging on near the end of the final round.

"It feels really, really good, only thing that feels bad is I have had to beat a real gentleman and a nice man, Mikkel Kessler," Froch told Sky Sports. "It's 1-1 now, who knows do you fancy a third one? Best of three maybe?

"I deserved to win, but he won't lie down for any man and massive respect to him," added Froch before turning his thoughts to a possible rematch with unbeaten WBA title holder Ward who was watching at ringside.

"The winner of this fight should be moving on to avenge their other loss and now I move on to the second best boxer in the world," said Froch. "Let's get Andre Ward over to the UK and fight him here."

The 34-year-old Kessler, whose only other defeats were against unbeaten Welshman Joe Calzaghe in 2007 and Ward in 2009, said: "I gave it my all but didn't have the energy and couldn't cope with Carl. It is nice to fight such a warrior."

(Writing by Ken Ferris; Editing by Greg Stutchbury)

Funnels of various sizes touched the ground Friday evening near El Reno, 25 miles west of downtown Oklahoma City, and at other times funnel clouds remained aloft. Cameras captured debris flying through the air, though radar indicated the storm was going through a mostly rural area south of Interstate 40.

The storm was headed toward Oklahoma City, which has more than a million people in the metro area.

A storm May 20 at Moore killed 24 people, including 10 children. Moore borders Oklahoma City's south side.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks rose on Thursday, rebounding from the previous session's losses, as tepid economic data eased concerns the Federal Reserve would begin to gradually scale back its policy of stimulating growth.

The day's gain put the S&P 500 on track to end the month about 3.6 percent higher, while the Dow was up 3.3 percent for the month so far. The Nasdaq was up 4.9 percent.

Stocks have been volatile recently and closely tied to alternating views of the future of the Fed's loose monetary policy. Shares tumbled on Wednesday on concern the Fed would curb its bond-buying because of signs the economy was strengthening. U.S. Treasury bond yields rose to the highest in 13 months the same day, also influenced by concern about possible Fed tapering.

"It won't be until around September before we really hear about possible changes in Fed (policy), but the market is volatile because at these levels, profit-taking is part of a hedging method to protect against possible downsides," said Randy Frederick, director of trading and derivatives at Charles Schwab in Austin, Texas.

"After the profit-taking, the market moves right back up because it's a great buying opportunity, like today."

The Dow Jones industrial averagewas up 21.73 points, or 0.14 percent, at 15,324.53. The Standard & Poor's 500 Indexwas up 6.05 points, or 0.37 percent, at 1,654.41. The Nasdaq Composite Indexwas up 23.78 points, or 0.69 percent, at 3,491.30.

Data showed first-time claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly rose in the latest week while the government's latest reading on first-quarter gross domestic product came in slightly below forecasts.

Loose monetary policies by central banks around the world have helped drive both the Dow and the S&P 500 to record highs. The S&P 500 is up more than 16 percent this year so far.

Even if U.S. economic data signals strength, "the stock market has yet to fully embrace the notion that the economy has reached take-off velocity and is ready to contend with a removal of stimulus," said Andrew Wilkinson, chief economic strategist Miller Tabak & Co in New York.

Pending home sales rose 0.3 percent in April to the highest since April 2010, but analysts had expected a 1.1 percent rise.

In company news, Costco Wholesale Corp , the largest U.S. warehouse club chain, reported third-quarter earnings that beat expectations by a penny, though sales were below forecasts. Shares fell 0.9 percent to $111.88.

Semiconductors were higher after chipmaker Avago Technologiesforecast current-quarter revenue largely above expectations. Avago shares jumped 9.8 percent to $37.82 while the PHLX semiconductor indexclimbed 1.5 percent.

NV Energy Incsurged 22.5 percent to $23.62 after a unit of Berkshire Hathaway Incagreed to buy the electric utility for $5.6 billion. Berkshire class B shares rose 1.6 percent to $114.84.

Shares of EMC Corp , the data storage equipment makers, rose 5.4 percent to $24.93 after instituting a quarterly dividend and increasing its stock buyback program to $6 billion from $1 billion.

Volume was roughly 6.5 billion shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange, the Nasdaq and the NYSE MKT, slightly above the average daily closing volume of about 6.4 billion this year.

Advancers outpaced decliners on the NYSE 1,756 to 1,208. On the Nasdaq, advancers beat decliners 1,728 to 772.

(Reporting by Angela Moon; Editing by Kenneth Barry)

If youre familiar with , the idea to print out the entire Internet may not be a surprise: Currently serving as the , and the founding editor of , a sprawling online archive of avant garde creativity, Goldsmith is an unusual thinker, to say the least. His books include Day (which involved retyping an edition of The New York Times); Solilquy (which documentedevery word that he spoke for an entire week); the recent(transcripts of media reports from 9/11, the day John F. Kennedy was shot, and so on); and(which makes the case for repurposing existing texts into new forms of literature).

Still, even by Goldsmiths standards, this scheme sounds like a doozy. In cooperation with UbuWeb and , a gallery in Mexico City, Goldsmith has issuedto print out as much as of the web as you want be it one sheet or a truckload, and send the printouts to the gallery.

Not surprisingly, some have reacted to this with eye-rolling, or outrage. . ? . And so on.

While we could theorize printing out the internet in its entirety -- something that a conceptual art piece would do -- the sheer bulk and physicality of the act needs to be materialized to be able to understand the sheer magnitude, he told me via email.

Sure the task seems impossible, he conceded, but even a small portion of the printed Web would overwhelm any space.

I think it's fair to say that most of us spend more time organizing and managing our cultural artifacts that we do actually interacting with them. This is a new condition, something that the concept of this show wishes to underscore.

Amusingly, this gesture toward grappling with endless digital documentation will in fact be documented at where anyone who donates printed Web material will be listed as a contributing artist. But Goldsmith has hopes for the physical hoard avoiding death by recycling in August: Id love to see it grow and travel, moving to Biennials, getting larger and larger, he mused.

When Linda and Jay Mathews moved back to their native California nearly two years ago after 20 years in New York and Washington they found their dream home in Pasadena. It had everything they wanted, plus a few items not on their shopping list. Among the latter:on the roof that keep their electric bill to about $100 a year, less than what they paid each month when they were living in the East.

Moreover, because the power generated by their panels contributes to the region's overall electric grid, they also receive credit for energy they produce but don't use a policy known as "net metering," which adds additional savings to their overall electric costs.

"We weren't looking for a house with solar panels, but we are very happy we have them," said Linda, a retired editor. "Our electric bills are so much lower, and I love the notion that we are not dependent on electricity from coal-fired plants, those big villains that spew out all those toxic chemicals. We also appreciate that California is very environmentally conscious, which makes it easy to afford solar energy."

All indications are that the vast majority of Americans would love to have solar energy, if they could. The industry enjoys widespread public support that cuts across geographic, economic and political demographics. For example, aconducted last fall for the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) found that nine out of 10 Americans believe it's important for the nation to develop and use solar power.

But not everyone who wants solar energy can have it. "The challenge the solar industry faces is bridging the gap from overwhelming public support to mass public adoption," said Monique Hanis, a former spokeswoman for the SEIA. "Solar is already more accessible and affordable to Americans than ever before, but we still have work to do before we get mass adoption."

The reasons for that gap range from upfront costs to the many hurdles companies and consumers must clear in order to install residential panels for example, permits and inspections required by many municipalities. There also are practical matters, such as whether a property receives enough sun during the day to make installing solar panels worth the investment.

Also, utility companies, required by many states to include a specific percentage of renewable energy in their portfolios, now are trying to eliminate net metering, arguing that it increases costs for their non-solar customers.

"They seemed to be comfortable with our business when it was a boutique thing, something just for the wealthy," said Will Craven, a spokesman for SolarCity, one of the nation's largest solar companies. "But now that it genuinely is competitive, they are threatened by it."

The cost of the Mathews' system was part of the price of their new home, but most homeowners are not always so lucky. It can be expensive to add a system, even though ultimately it will pay for itself, and then some. []

Solar companies have been trying to make this burden easier by offering the option of no-money-down solar leases, where the company owns and maintains the solar installation on the customers' roof, then sells the power to the customer at a price lower than the utility would charge.

For consumers who want to own systems, the good news is that the cost of materials and installation have been dropping rapidly recently an estimated 70 percent in the last two years, according to the American Solar Energy Society (ASES).

The bad news, however, is that the hassles of meeting state and local requirements can raise the price consumers ultimately pay, and subject them to bureaucratic procedures that can be time-consuming and frustrating. Requirements differ among states, with some California, New Jersey, Maryland and North Carolina, among them being more solar friendly than others. Requirements also differ among local municipalities.

A single federal policy would simplify the process greatly.

"If you buy a new water heater or a new furnace for your house, a plumber comes and installs it, and that's it but if you want to install solar panels, multiple agencies have to approve it," said Susan Greene, president of the ASES. "It's almost impossible for solar companies to work nationally, so they usually only focus on certain states because it's too much work and too expensive to do it in the others."

Moreover, many advocates believe that solar entrepreneurs must step up within their communities to build relationships with policymakers and the media "to show that solar is working for their community," Hanis said. "They have to aggressively market to the families and small businesses in their community to show that this is something that can be viable in their neighborhoods."

There are encouraging signs that this already is happening.

SolarCity, for example, has installed panels nationwide on more than 100 Walmart stores, and in numerous school districts. One school district near Fresno, for example, saved enough money in electricity costs to restore its music program, suspended in a cost-saving measure in 2009.

In some communities where consumers can't install their own panels, it may be possible for them to buy shares in a solar "farm" located elsewhere and receive a credit against their utility bill. "It's not wired directly into your house, but it's going into the grid," Greene said. []

Also, new crowd-sourcing models are beginning to draw both investors and consumers. For example, , which funds solar projects and pays its investors back with interest. "Pretty brilliant stuff," said Jeff Siegel, managing editor of Green Chip Stocks, an alternative energy research firm.

Siegel is confident there will be more of this. "As far as closing the gap, I definitely see it happening," he said. "Solar installations in the United States continue to soar. Leasing models are going gangbusters. I believe the industry is continuing to grow quite well, and is likely to do so well throughout the rest of this decade and beyond."

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LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - In adapting Neil Gordon's novel about members of the Weather Underground still on the lam decades later for their violent actions, director Robert Redford and screenwriter Lem Dobbs ("The Limey") could have tackled big ideas about dissent and protest, honed a character study about aging radicals and the young journalist chasing after them, or even dug into Redford's past as the star of "All the President's Men" and "Three Days of the Condor" and crafted a gripping thriller.

Option four was apparently to make a dull and uninvolving drama that flirts with big ideas without saying anything new or interesting about them, while offering up flat characters that feel stale and familiar. Sadly, that's what we get with "The Company You Keep," a thoroughly stodgy exploration of the ghosts of the past that has exceedingly little to say about the Vietnam era, the ethics of violent protest or the standards of what's left of the newspaper business.

Redford stars as Jim Grant, a widowed lawyer in upstate New York raising a young daughter. When former Weather Underground member Sharon (Susan Sarandon) comes in from the cold after 30 years and gets taken in by the FBI for a bank robbery that led to the death of a guard, Jim turns down the opportunity to represent her.

With information from old college pal Diana (Anna Kendrick), who's now with the FBI, Albany reporter Ben Shepard (Shia LaBeouf) figures out that Sharon deliberately turned herself in. A little more digging makes him realize that Jim, who has been avoiding an interview, is actually Nick Sloan, a co-conspirator of Sharon's. Soon, Jim and his daughter are on the run, with Ben in pursuit. After Jim drops his child off with his brother (Chris Cooper), he heads to his old haunts in Ann Arbor, Mich., connecting with former cohorts while Ben chats up a retired police chief (Brendan Gleeson) who knows more than he initially admits. All roads lead to what's supposed to be Jim's fiery reunion with his ex Mimi (Julie Christie), who has walked out of six identities over the last three decades while still sticking it to The Man as a pot smuggler. There was a time when the pairing of Robert Redford and Julie Christie would have promised genuine cinematic fireworks, but when they finally meet up, we get a damp fizzle of questionable chemistry and uninteresting dialogue about the system, man.

Viewers would be forgiven for wondering why characters keep saying "thirty years ago" when talking about the fatal bank robbery, since the early 1980s were less known for radical activism and more for the likes of Jerry Rubin getting jobs on Wall Street. "The Company You Keep" squeaks by on a technicality - the Weathermen did carry out a 1981 armored-truck robbery - but the timing generally seems off. The 76-year-old Redford was already in his 30s when Nixon went into office, so he and most of his co-stars seem a touch long in the tooth to play 1960s radicals.

Granted, the age thing would be forgiven in a movie interesting enough to keep you from doing math in your head, but this is a singularly dreary bit of business. The film shouldn't have to come down on one side or the other when discussing the Weathermen and their abandonment of non-violent civil disobedience, but there's not a single exchange that feels remotely provocative or insightful.

Given "All the President's Men," it's sort of amusing to see Redford play a character with little love of investigative journalists, but that's about the wittiest concept "The Company You Keep" has to offer. Redford elicits a handful of memorable performances from his cast - this ranks among LaBeouf's finest work, for whatever that's worth - but it feels like a wasted opportunity to explore one of the last great moments of American dissent. We have met the enemy, and it is dull.