NEW YORK (AP) -- A decade ago, large investors in so-called clean technology had a straightforward goal: finance companies that would help eliminate the world's dependence on oil, natural gas and coal.

But as profits from wind, solar, biofuels and other alternatives consistently fell short of expectations and as the fossil fuel business boomed things got complicated. Venture capitalists and other investment funds started stretching the definition of clean technology almost beyond recognition in an effort to make money while clinging to their environmental ideals.

Today, clean technology investment funds are not trying to replace the fossil fuel industry, they're trying to help it by financing companies that can make mining and drilling less dirty. The people running these funds acknowledge the apparent hypocrisy, but defend a more liberal definition of clean technology.

"Oil and gas will be with us for a long time. If we can clean that up we will do the world a great service," says Wal van Lierop, CEO of Chrysalix, a Vancouver, Canada-based venture capital firm founded in 2001.

Chrysalix still backs companies that fit the more traditional definition of clean energy including Bridgelux, which makes more efficient light bulbs, and Agilyx, which turns plastic waste into fuel. But the firm, whose website boasts that it is "100 percent focused on clean energy" is a backer of MineSense, which helps miners operate more efficiently by assessing the quality of ore as it is being scooped. It also supports GlassPoint, which helps drillers extract more oil by using steam generated with solar power.

Environmentalists have mixed feelings. They welcome technologies that reduce the environmental footprint of oil and gas development. But they worry the newfound abundance of oil and natural gas and all the money that can be made helping drillers has distracted clean technology backers from what once seemed to be their main goal: to make oil and gas a thing of the past.

Mark Brownstein, who runs the energy and climate program at the Environmental Defense Fund, says "some don't have the stomach for that and are simply going with the flow."

The shift has made even those who are helping to drive it squirm.

"We've wrestled with it," says Alan Salzman, managing partner of VantagePoint Capital Partners, one of Silicon Valley's most prominent venture firms focused on clean technology. "If someone comes up with a more benign way of (exploiting fossil fuels), is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

If fossil fuels become more palatable to society, Salzman says, we may end up burning more of them.

Ten years ago it seemed as if the world was running out of oil, and what was left of it was in the Middle East. Oil and natural gas prices spiked to alarming highs. And scientists showed that fossil fuels were causing troubling changes to the climate. Pushing for an end of the fossil age made sense for economic, political and environmental reasons.

This had Silicon Valley venture capitalists drooling. "Cleantech" as they called it, would be the next big thing. And it was going to be very, very big. These firms saw a chance to profit from what many thought would be the biggest economic shift in history from fossil energy to renewable energy.

But the new energy technologies proved much harder to master than predicted. And oil and gas drillers, using technology advances of their own, learned how to unlock enormous new reserves of fossil fuels.

Dozens of solar, biofuels and battery companies failed, unable to show enough promise to go public or attract the attention of bigger companies. "Investors are still waiting for their cleantech investments to produce returns," says Dallas Kachan, who runs the San Francisco clean technology consulting firm Kachan & Co. "Nobody's seen the stellar home runs they were hoping for 5 years ago."

Even when clean energy companies have gone public, they haven't fared well. An index of clean energy companies is down 69 percent since it began in 2005. A similar index of traditional energy companies is up 75 percent over the same period.

The value of global clean technology deals fell 29 percent last year to $7 billion, from a record $9.9 billion in 2011, according to the Cleantech Group. But the portion of that sum focused on conventional fossil fuels nearly tripled, to a record $556 million.

A few clean technology investors have stayed away from oil and gas despite the temptation. Khosla Ventures, for example, has been a major backer of advanced biofuels even as most of these companies have failed to live up to their promise. The firm does not invest in companies that support fossil fuels.

But the drilling boom has led to countless investments in this gray area between clean and dirty.

Axine, which is backed by Chrysalix and Royal Dutch Shell, wants to make the drilling process known as fracking less dangerous by treating wastewater produced during drilling without chemicals.

Picarro, one of the cleantech investments of Greylock Partners, is attempting to make natural gas production less harmful to the climate with its leak-detection system.

Neos Geosciences is backed by a "greentech" fund at Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers, where Al Gore is a partner. The company helps oil and gas companies find the most promising places to drill for oil and gas and avoid drilling in ecologically sensitive locations using sensors mounted on helicopters.

In 2007, a Sunnyvale, California-based company called Liquid Robotics, Inc. began developing a seagoing drone that required no fuel. Its original purpose was to transmit live songs of humpback whales over the Internet.

VantagePoint's Alan Salzman thought Liquid Robotics' technology was great, and he had a good idea who might agree. He set up a meeting with Schlumberger, the giant oil and gas drilling services company. The two companies have since formed a joint venture.

Liquid Robotics' drones will likely be used to help detect leaks from drilling operations and make sure the water is free of whales when oil companies search for oil. But the robots will also help locate new deposits of oil and gas.

"We are not philosophical purists," Salzman says. "We're investors."

MARINA DI ASCEA, Italy (Reuters) - Luca Paolini timed his effort perfectly to win the third stage of the Giro d'Italia and snatch the overall leader's pink jersey at the end of an eventful ride on Monday.

Paolini, whose Katusha team were a late inclusion in the race after they won a place on the World Tour (elite) following an appeal before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), attacked in the final descent of the 222-km trek from Sorrento.

Australian Cadel Evans and defending champion Ryder Hesjedal of Canada finished second and third respectively, taking precious time bonuses.

"I raced today as if it were a one-day classic," Paolini told reporters.

"I suffered in the last climb but I knew there was a descent afterwards so I did not give up. We will now enjoy the pink jersey and will try to keep it as long as we can."

Pre-race favorites Bradley Wiggins of Britain and Italian Vincenzo Nibali finished safe in the lead chase group.

Italian Michele Scarponi, a potential race winner, crashed in the descent and lost one minute while Hesjedal rode in a surprisingly aggressive fashion for a defending champion.

The Canadian climber, who gave his Garmin-Sharp team their maiden Grand Tour title last year, put his rivals under pressure with repeated attacks in the final climb and descent.

"I felt there was an opportunity today. You can get something out of it everyday," Hesjedal told reporters.

"It's better to be up front."

Paolini, a one-day race specialist, was the strongest on the day and chose the right moment to surge away from the lead group that had formed after one of Hesjedal's numerous attacks.

Riding his first Giro at 36, Paolini, who won the Het Nieuwsblad one-day race in February, barely looked back and crossed the finish line 16 seconds ahead of the chasing group.

Paolini leads the overall standings by 17 seconds heading into Tuesday's fourth stage, a 244-km hilly ride between Policastro Bussentino and Serra San Bruno.

Bradley Wiggins is in second for Team Sky and his Colombian team mate Rigoberto Uran is third, also 17 seconds back, while Nibali is fifth 31 seconds off the pace.

Hesjedal, whose Garmin-Sharp team produced a below-par performance in Sunday's team time trial, lies seventh, 34 seconds behind Paolini.

Evans, who is 12th overall, eight seconds further adrift, was just happy he stayed out of trouble.

"I was just looking to avoid trouble like the problems Michele Scarponi had after the two Blanco riders crashed in front of him," the 2011 Tour de France winner said.

"Like everything that counts for the race, we prepare for it as best as we can."

(Writing by Julien Pretot; Editing by Toby Davis)

Saudi Arabia's official press agency, SPA, reported that private girls' schools are now allowed to hold sports activities in accordance with the rules of Shariah, or Islamic law. Students must adhere to "decent dress" codes and Saudi women teachers will be given priority in supervising the activities, according to the Education Ministry's requirements.

The decision makes sports once again a stage for the push to improve women's rights, nearly a year after two Saudi female athletes made an unprecedented appearance at the Olympics.

"It's about time," said Aziza Youssef, a professor at King Saud University. "Everything is being held back in Saudi Arabia as far as women's rights."

Youssef said she sees the decision to allow sports for girls in private schools as part of package of wider reforms targeting women, but that continued restrictions on sports is a discrimination that negatively impacts women's health.

Education Ministry spokesman Mohammed al-Dakhini was quoted in SPA saying that the decision to allow girls to play sports in private schools "stems from the teachings of our religion, which allow women such activities in accordance with Shariah."

The government had previously quietly tolerated physical education in some private schools, but there is no set curriculum.

The decision, which also orders private girls' schools to provide appropriate places and equipment for sports, is a monumental step that will likely soon affect public schools and universities, which are also gender segregated, Youssef said.

The Saudi government plays a role in private schools, providing text books and directors.

Deputy Minister of Education for Women's Affairs, Nora al-Fayez, was quoted in local press saying recently that there is a plan in place to expand sports education in public schools. It remains unclear if girls would have access to the same level of physical education as boys.

Sports for women in Saudi Arabia have been largely a pastime of elites who can afford expensive health club memberships. They are often attached to hospitals since women's gyms were closed in 2010 on grounds they were unlicensed.

Saudi Arabia allowed two female athletes to compete in last summer's Olympics only after the International Olympics Committee had put intense pressure on the kingdom to end its practice of sending only male teams to the games. Their participation was not shown on Saudi TV stations.

Women's sports remain nearly an underground activity in the kingdom, which is home to Islam's holiest site in Mecca.

Only the largest female university in the kingdom Princess Nora Bint Abdul Rahman Unviersity has a swimming pool, tennis court and exercise area for its students. No other university in Saudi Arabia has sports facilities for its female students and staff.

Women are also bound by strict rules when it comes to their attire, so they cannot, for example, be seen by men while jogging in sweat pants. Almost all women in Saudi Arabia cover their face with a veil known as the "niqab," and even foreigners are obliged to respect local culture and wear a loose black dress known as the "abaya."

Female athletes cannot register for sports clubs or league competitions. They are banned from entering national trials, which makes it impossible for them to qualify for international competitions.

The government has turned a blind eye, though, to tournaments where all female teams play against one another.

Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah is seen as pushing for these reforms. Other Saudi rulers have also quietly tried to modernize the country, with King Faisal's wife opening the first school for girls in the late 1950s.

But the monarch is facing edicts from powerful and influential senior Saudi clerics who are against all types of sporting activities for women. They argue that in order for a woman to remain protected from harassment, she must avoid public roles.

Despite such rhetoric, thousands of women work as doctors and professors in Saudi Arabia. Women will be allowed to run for office and vote for the first time in the 2015 municipal elections.

There have also been a number of incremental and significant changes that have afforded women new roles in recent months.

A law was implemented last year to allow women sales clerks' jobs, and women now have seats on the country's top advisory council. A woman was licensed to practice law for the first time last month, and a ban was lifted on allowing women to ride motorbikes and bicycles.

But with each move comes restrictions.

Women are only allowed to sell at female apparel outlets, such as lingerie stores. The 30 women who now serve on the country's Shura Council, which advises the king, were segregated from the 130 men in the chamber, and plans for a proposed barrier that would separate the genders remains under discussion. Moreover, there are no guarantees that women who become licensed lawyers will not face discrimination in the courtroom. Lastly, women may be allowed to ride bikes in parks, but they have to be accompanied by a male relative and dressed in the "abaya."

In other areas, women's freedoms are still severely limited. They are not allowed to drive nor are they allowed to travel or attend school without the permission of a male guardian.

A 52-page report on women's sports in Saudi Arabia issued by Human Rights Watch last year urged the government to set benchmarks for physical education, to set a curriculum to follow and to launch a public outreach campaign about girls' rights to physical education.

"Although religious views opposing prohibition on women's participation in sport are less frequently pronounced than those in favor, government policy is only inching toward realizing women's right to sport rather than taking bold steps to realize it," the report said.

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Batrawy reported from Cairo.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Eric Church, Luke Bryan and Miranda Lambert are the lead nominees for this year's CMT Music Awards.

The trio of country music's newest stars are nominated for the top honor, video of the year, along with nine others.

The show airs live June 5 on CMT from Nashville, Tenn. Jason Aldean and Kristen Bell host.

Aldean, Kenny Chesney, Rascal Flatts and first-time nominees Florida Georgia Line have three nominations each. Nine others have two nominations apiece, including Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood.

A news release says fan voting is open at the network's website until June 2. Six finalists for video of the year will be announced at the top of the show, and fans will choose a winner during the broadcast.

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CMT is owned by Viacom Inc.'s MTV Networks.

Mobile phone video popped up across the Web on Monday showing a male fan rushing toward the 19-year-old performer, who was sitting at a piano on the edge of the stage.

Security guards tackled the young man from behind, spilling into Bieber and tipping over the piano.

Bieber twisted away and then strolled offstage while the guards dragged away the fan.

The concert Sunday the second of a two-performance stand in Dubai resumed after a short break and Bieber appeared calm and unharmed.

He later tweeted: "Dubai. Nothing stops the show."

In one of his last major addresses before departing for the Bank of England next month, Carney says the Canadian central bank is in the process of researching the impact of policies and possible approaches for future potential crises.

One thing that appears clear, he says, conventional policy of strictly targeting a set inflation marker is not adequate in all circumstances, particularly during exceptional economic times.

He notes the success of the policy itself might have exacerbated the 2008-09 financial crisis by instilling a false sense of security among market players and consumers that led to greater risk-taking.

And he points out that low and predictable inflation did little to prevent the crisis from happening.

In exceptional circumstances, he says the Bank of Canada has learned it might need to use monetary policy, such as raising interest rates, not strictly to meet an inflation target, but to cool down an overheated housing market, or other asset bubbles.

And he says central bankers have learned to use forward guidance, that is conditional pledges about policy direction, to try an influence how people borrow and spend.

The speech, advertised as wide-ranging lecture to University of Alberta faculty and students, will likely be closely read by policy-makers in England for clues on how their star catch is likely to conduct himself when he takes over the Bank of England on July 1.

But many of her colleagues don't believe it. The man convicted of the crime was tortured into a confession, they allege. And the magazine she works for says state officials discussed sending police across the country in an attempt to hunt down and seize another reporter who raised questions about the death, which is one of a growing list of killings that have put Mexico among the most dangerous places in the world to be a journalist.

Some 400 people gathered Sunday in the center of Veracruz's state capital, Xalapa, for a march to demand justice in the Martinez case and an end to attacks on the press. Many held up posters suggesting the government had a hand in the case, some describing it as "a state killing." Dozens also protested in Mexico City.

The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists said in a February report that 12 Mexican journalists went missing in 2006-2012 and 14 were killed because of their work.Mexico's federal Human Rights Commission lists 81 journalists killed since 2000.

Martinez was the Xalapa correspondent for Proceso, one of Mexico's most respected investigative newsmagazines, and she was one of the few in the state who continued to work on stories related to drug cartels. Her last story for the magazine was about the arrest of nine police officers accused of links to traffickers.

State officials accused a man named Jorge Antonio Hernandez Silva of taking part in the killing, saying it came during a robbery, and he was sentenced this month to 38 years in prison. But he asserted he was forced to confess through several days of torture, and Proceso's editors don't believe the killing has been solved, noting that none of the fingerprints found at the scene of the killing match those of Hernandez Silva.

"Those who are truly guilty have not been identified," the magazine said in an online statement.

Mike O'Connor, Mexico representative for the Committee to Protect Journalists, said federal officials have doubts, too.

"The federal government is not convinced that Hernandez Silva is guilty because a very active investigation by the federal government is continuing," he said.

Proceso issued a statement this month alleging that some current and former state officials had met to plan the capture of a reporter who questioned the verdict and "to do him harm if he resists." Veracruz Gov. Javier Duarte later met with editors of Proceso and promised an exhaustive investigation.

His Gulf coast state, plagued by clashes among powerful drug cartels, has been one of the most dangerous for journalists. Twelve reporters have been slain or gone missing there since the start of 2010, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Less than a week after Martinez was slain, three local reporters were dismembered, stuffed into black plastic bags and dumped into a waste canal, apparently by people linked to drug gangs that demand either favorable coverage or none at all.

Among those still missing is Sergio Landa Rosado, who vanished on Jan. 23, his first day back at work at Diario Cardel in the town of Cardel after being away for more than a month because of an earlier kidnapping that followed his reporting on the slaying of a taxi driver.

Attacks have become so common that many Mexican news media have announced they will no longer cover stories related to drug cartels.

As in the case of Martinez, it often can be difficult to determine whether a killing is directly related to a reporter's work, and who might be responsible. Press rights groups say officials are often sluggish in trying to answer those questions, and few of the slayings have led to convictions.

The hacked-up body of 22-year-old photojournalist Daniel Martinez Bazaldua and that of another young man were found in the northern Mexico city of Saltillo on April 24.

Coahuila state officials said signs left at the scene suggested the two men had deserted from a drug gang and state Attorney General Homero Ramos told reporters later that investigators had testimony indicating both men "were participating in illegal activities."

Editors at Martinez Bazaldua's newspaper, Vanguardia, said state officials provided no evidence that the photographer, at least, had any links to drug gangs.

"We think it is sad and alarming that Coahuila has become a state in which the authorities condemn murdered people, converting them into criminals, without offering the least evidence," the newspaper wrote.

The issue has become so serious that Mexico's congress passed a bill this month that would allow journalists to request that federal prosecutors and federal judges investigate attacks on them, and would make federal intervention mandatory in some cases. It has been sent to the president for his signature.

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Associated Press writer Rodrigo Soberanes reported this story in Xalapa and Galia Garcia Palafox reported from Mexico City.

DENVER (Reuters) - The author of a hiking guidebook suffered multiple injuries and her climbing partner was presumed killed when an avalanche swept the pair off a ridge inside Colorado's Rocky Mountain National Park, authorities said on Monday.

Lisa Foster, author of "Rocky Mountain National Park: The Complete Hiking Guide," and her companion David Laurienti were reported overdue for a weekend climb at the park, about 60 miles northwest of Denver, park spokeswoman Kyle Patterson said.

Rangers located Foster, 45, Monday afternoon, and rescuers treated her for "numerous injuries" as they brought her down the rugged mountainside by toboggan, Patterson said. Further details of her condition were not immediately available.

Laurienti, 43, was presumed killed in the fall, and recovery crews have yet to retrieve his body, she said.

Foster, who is also a park service biology technician, told rescuers that the snowslide hit about 6 p.m. Sunday as she and Laurienti were on the north side of Ypsilon Mountain.

Patterson said the 12,500-foot (3,810-meter) ridge where the pair was climbing is a challenging mountaineering route that includes technical rock climbing sections.

Laurienti was the fourth avalanche-related fatality in Colorado so far this season, according to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center, which said the avalanche danger was "considerable" in the park over the weekend.

(Editing by Tim Gaynor and Lisa Shumaker)

But thats exactly what happened in Wisconsin on Thursday .

As ridiculous as that sounds, its not the only recent time someone has called 911 to report on a cat. Back in February, a . But, at least in that case, the man was calling out of concern for the cats welfare (it was cold outside), rather than to complain about its mere presence.

The Wisconsin Rapids Police Department included the truly unusual call in their public list of request calls received. However, theres still no word on how the department responded to the unnamed womans call.

And besides, at least , saying waiting on 911 responders may not loner be their best option after budget cutbacks have delayed response times.

Either way, we doubt this incident will be making it into the next installment of the book series.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) -- Population declines and concerns over how to pay for a college education contributed to a roughly 9 percent decline in applications to Penn State this year, university officials said.

There were nearly 54,000 applications for all Penn State campuses from potential first-year undergraduates applying to start this fall, according to figures provided to The Associated Press, down from the more than 59,000 applications received to start last fall.

The admissions office cited long-term demographic trends and economic concerns. Industry analysts also have found enrollment declines in many schools nationwide amid worries about the affordability of a college education.

"Affordability and cost are on the minds of families in determining where to go to college," Anne Rohrbach, executive director for undergraduate admission, wrote in an email this week. "The impact is greatest in the Northeast where the number of high school seniors is declining."

The number of applications still far exceed the number of students who get admitted. There were nearly 8,000 first-year undergraduate students enrolled in fall 2012 at the main University Park campus in State College, and more than 20,600 systemwide, according to figures from a university website.

The school has not heard that the Jerry Sandusky scandal is a factor in the choices of high school seniors, university spokeswoman Lisa Powers said Thursday. She cited focus groups of college-bound seniors over the past year in which participants said the scandal had no bearing on their choices.

Sandusky, a former assistant football coach, was arrested in November 2011. He was convicted last summer of dozens of criminal counts of child sex abuse and sentenced to at least 30 years in prison.

"Most students and their parents just want to make sure that they receive a quality education and that in the end, they will be able to obtain a good job," Power wrote in a separate email. "I think Penn State is well known for its ability to deliver these two things, as well as its vast network of alumni that can assist new graduates in a job search."

Applications from Pennsylvania students were down about 6 percent to about 23,500. Applications from out-of-state students were down more than 11 percent to more than 30,000.

There were fewer high school graduates in Pennsylvania and a leveling of the rate of college-bound students, Rohrbach said.

Overall undergraduate applications rose slightly, by about 2 percent, the previous year, between 2011 and 2012.

Penn State's total undergraduate enrollment, not counting online students, was more than 75,000 in 2012, down slightly from more than 76,000 the previous year.

Worries about how to pay for a school appear to be a nationwide concern. A survey of 300 colleges released by Moody's Investors Service in January found that enrollment fell in about half of colleges. That survey also found that about one-third of colleges were expecting tuition revenue this year either to decline or fail to keep pace with inflation. Virtually all colleges were seeing tuition revenue rise a few years ago.

Tuition at Penn State can depend on class standing, major and campus. Main campus tuition for in-state freshmen and sophomores this year was $15,562 for the academic year. Tuition nearly doubled to $27,864 for the year for out-of-state students.

Powers said there was no way to know everything that affects a high school senior's decision.

"We all face a declining demographic combined with a really tight economy and concerns about costs, as well as a lot of questions being asked nationally about the value of a degree and significant declines in state funding," she said. "For higher education in general, these are big challenges that are being discussed on a regular basis."

As of this week, about 54 percent of students admitted for fall 2012 to the University Park campus were from Pennsylvania, up slightly from 53 percent last year.

Penn State has also named Johns Hopkins engineering school dean Nicholas Jones as its new executive vice president and provost, or chief academic officer. University trustees are expected to formally approve his hiring next week.