The women wear prayer shawls and other religious articles that ultra-Orthodox tradition holds are strictly for men.

Police escorted the women to and from the site Sunday morning. Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said some ultra-Orthodox men shouted insults, but police made no arrests.

Last month's prayer service by the Women of the Wall, a women's prayer group that seeks equality of worship at the Western Wall, was marred by violence as some protesters yelled obscenities and scuffled with police.

The group has been holding monthly prayer services on the first day of the Hebrew month at the Western Wall, the holiest site where Jews can pray, for more than two decades.

Until recently, many of the group's members had been arrested, accused by ultra-Orthodox leaders of violating "local custom." They have also faced legal battles in their bid to pray as they choose, and one of the group's leader's homes was recently vandalized. Then in April, a court order backed their right to pray at the Western Wall.

Women of the Wall said that more than 300 women attended the Sunday's prayers, which took place in a fenced-off area near the wall. The group said it was "one step closer to equality."

Israeli officials and lawmakers have been attempting to find a compromise that will satisfy both the women's group and the ultra-Orthodox. They have proposed establishing a new section at the Western Wall where men and women can pray together. The Women of the Wall insist on their right to pray as they want in the current women's section.

Under Orthodox Jewish practice, only men are wear prayer shawls and skullcaps, and most Orthodox Jews insist that only men may carry a Torah scroll. By contrast, the more liberal Reform and Conservative streams of Judaism, the largest denominations in the United States which are marginal in Israel, allow women to wear prayer shawls, be ordained as rabbis, lead services and read from the Torah.

Israel's ultra-Orthodox establishment opposes any inroads from these groups, fearing their customs and authority could be eroded. They maintain that visitors to the Western Wall, whose rabbi is ultra-Orthodox, must respect their practices.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - In a scene right out of Star Trek, a Texas company is developing a 3-D food printer for astronauts to create custom meals on the fly.

With support from NASA, the firm, Systems and Materials Research Corp of Austin, intends to design, build and test a food printer that can work in space.

"This project is to demonstrate we can create and change the nutrition of the food and be able to print it in a low-gravity environment," the company's research director and lead chemist, David Irvin, told Reuters.

Three-dimensional printers create solid objects by depositing droplets of material one layer at a time.

Systems and Materials intends to create nutritionally rich, aesthetically appealing and tasty synthetic food by combining powdered proteins, starches, fats and flavors with water or oil to produce a wide array of digital recipes.

All the ingredients are designed for extremely long shelf-lives, making them suitable for long stays in space.

"The 3-D printing system will provide hot and quick food in addition to personalized nutrition, flavor and taste," the company wrote in its proposal to NASA.

"The biggest advantage of 3-D printed food technology will be zero waste, which is essential in long-distance space missions," it added.

Ultimately, the company sees food printers as a way to help feed a world population that is estimated to reach 12 billion by the end of the century. The technology may also have implications for the military.

"A 3D-printed food system can reduce military logistics, disposal waste, increase operational efficiency and mission effectiveness especially during wartime," the company said.

"In addition, 3-D printed food can provide optimal nutrient to the soldiers depending on their personal needs and level of physical activities."

Eventually Irvin sees a day when food printers will play a role in everyday diet and nutrition.

"The initial plan is to work with NASA and the astronauts and then as things become commercially viable, we will definitely consider weight loss and weight gain" applications, Irvin said.

The company's six-month, Small Business Innovation Research study contract, worth up to $125,000, is pending, said NASA spokesman Allard Beutel.

"These are very early stage concepts that may or may not mature into actual systems. This technology may result in a Phase 2 study, which will still be several years from flight hardware," Beutel added.

(Editing by Kevin Gray and Christopher Wilson)

After Thursday's play was scrubbed following lightning and torrential rain, Pressel led the morning wave with a four-under-par 68, taking advantage of soft greens for a one-shot lead over fellow American Brittany Lincicome.

Another stroke back were South Korean Hall of Famer Pak Se Ri and American Jessica Korda, who shot rounds of two-under 70.

Among the afternoon starters were defending champion Shanshan Feng of China and seven-times major winner Karrie Webb of Australia. The 38-year-old Webb is coming off a victory in last week's ShopRite Classic.

Despite 2.5 inches of rain (6.3 cm) dumped on the layout of the year's second major championship, groundskeepers were able to prepare the course for play after getting to work at 4 a.m. (0800 GMT)

Pressel said she was surprised to tee off as scheduled.

"I thought that we would probably tee off at about noon, having seen photos of what the golf course looked like," said Pressel. "And it didn't stop raining just about all night.

"But the ground staff here did an incredible job getting the course ready. I don't think the greens could be any more perfect. There's some casual out there but that's to be expected. We're just happy to get out on the golf course.

Three tees were moved forward in consideration of the conditions and hitting fairways became a key with the water-logged rough even more penal than usual.

"The rough is nasty," said Korda, who had five birdies and three bogeys.

The leaderboard demonstrated that short hitters like Pressel and bombers such as Korda and Lincicome all had a chance to score at Locust Hill.

"If you don't hit the fairway you can be as long or as short as you want, but it's still going to play at a disadvantage," Korda said about settling into the rough. "That ball sits down, you can't even get it out."

Organizers planned to stage the second round on Saturday and squeeze in 36 holes to finish up on Sunday.

Three shots off the pace at 71 were 2009 champion Anna Nordqvist of Sweden, 1994 and 1996 winner Laura Davies, Catriona Matthew of Briton, South Korean Amy Yang and 18-year-old American Lexi Thompson. (Reporting by Larry Fine in New York; Editing by Frank Pingue)

The Universal Pictures release is expected to add another $34.5 million to its North American ticket sales, keeping it in the No. 1 spot after opening to more than $120 million over the Memorial Day holiday weekend.

Box office analyst Paul Dergarabedian said the sixth installment in the street-racing franchise was "preordained to be No. 1 again." But in a season of sequels, three original films were among the most popular at cinemas over the weekend.

"Ordinarily, summer and sequel go together," he said. "This is a step in the direction of originality."

Among the new original offerings was the magic-heist thriller "Now You See Me," which exceeded industry expectations to debut in second place with $28.1 million. The Lionsgate/Summit Entertainment release features an ensemble cast, including Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine and Woody Harrelson, in a tale of illusionists who rob banks and share the spoils with their audience.

"It certainly has been magic for us to watch the numbers this weekend," said Richie Fay, Lionsgate's president of domestic distribution, who attributes the film's success to a "brilliant marketing campaign" and positive word of mouth.

"After Earth," the futuristic caper starring father-and-son team Will Smith and Jaden Smith, opened to $27 million, good for third place but still disappointing for Sony Pictures.

"It's below our expectations here domestically," said Rory Bruer, Sony's president of worldwide distribution. But he anticipates it will play well overseas.

"We feel very good about the potential of the film on a worldwide basis," he said. "It will open 60 countries next week."

Fox's animated "Epic" and Paramount's "Star Trek: Into Darkness" tied for fourth place with $16.4 million each, while "The Hangover Part III" was fifth with $15.9 million.

Also edging into the top 10 was the Indian film "Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani." It opened in 162 theaters in the United States and Canada Friday and earned $1.6 million, good for eighth place.

"It's very unusual, but Bollywood films sometimes do crack into the top 20 or top 15 (domestically)," Dergarabedian said. "They're usually not in that many theaters, but they make a big splash."

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Where available, latest international numbers are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.

1. "Fast & Furious 6," $34.5 million ($75 million international).

2. "Now You See Me," $28.05 million. ($600,000 international).

3. "After Earth," $27 million ($2.6 million international).

4. (tie) "Epic," $16.4 million ($28.5 million international).

4. (tie) "Star Trek: Into Darkness," $16.4 million ($37.6 million international).

5. "The Hangover Part III," $15.9 million ($82.3 million international).

6. "Iron Man 3," $8 million ($9.9 million international).

7. "The Great Gatsby," $6.3 million ($22.6 million international).

8. "Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani," $1.6 million ($900,000 international).

9. "Mud," $1.2 million ($350,000 international).

10. "The Croods," $615,000 ($3.7 million international).

___

Estimated weekend ticket sales at international theaters (excluding the U.S. and Canada) for films distributed overseas by Hollywood studios, according to Rentrak:

1. "The Hangover Part III," $82.3 million.

2. "Fast & Furious 6," $75 million.

3. "Star Trek: Into Darkness," $37.6 million.

4. "Epic," $28.5 million.

5. "The Great Gatsby," $22.6 million.

6. "Iron Man 3," $9.9 million.

7. "Oblivion," $5.9 million.

8. "The Croods," $3.7 million.

9. "After Earth," $2.6 million.

10. "The Big Wedding," $1.75 million.

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Follow AP Entertainment Writer Sandy Cohen on Twitter: www.twitter.com/APSandy .

___

Online:

http://www.hollywood.com

http://www.rentrak.com

___

Universal and Focus are owned by NBC Universal, a unit of Comcast Corp.; Sony, Columbia, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; Paramount is owned by Viacom Inc.; Disney, Pixar and Marvel are owned by The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is owned by Filmyard Holdings LLC; 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight are owned by News Corp.; Warner Bros. and New Line are units of Time Warner Inc.; MGM is owned by a group of former creditors including Highland Capital, Anchorage Advisors and Carl Icahn; Lionsgate is owned by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.; IFC is owned by AMC Networks Inc.; Rogue is owned by Relativity Media LLC.

The Department of Health and Human Services said the money will be used to award and evaluate projects that test new payment and delivery models for federal programs including Medicare, Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program.

The announcement marks the second round of innovation initiatives for the administration under President Barack Obama's 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

The government is looking for models that can quickly cut costs in outpatient or post-acute settings, improve care for people with special needs, transform healthcare providers' financial and clinical models or improve health conditions by clinical category, geographic area or socioeconomic class.

The application period runs from June 14 to August 15.

(Reporting by David Morgan; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick and Vicki Allen)

* Bill could see English introduced as teaching language

* Opponents fear French language under threat

By Nicholas Vinocur

PARIS (Reuters) - Defenders of the French language are furious at plans to introduce courses taught in English at public universities, arguing that France must protect itself against linguistic encroachment or risk losing its cultural identity.

Parliament started to debate the issue on Tuesday as part of a bill on a broader reform of higher education, but all attention has focused on an article that would abolish a 19-year ban on English as a teaching language at public universities.

President Francois Hollande's Socialist government backs the change, which it says would help to attract foreign students and help French graduates compete in a global economy as the country struggles to regain competitiveness.

More French students fearing dismal job prospects at home, where youth unemployment is nearly 25 percent, are studying and working abroad, notably in London, which has become the city with the sixth largest French population in the world.

However, opponents of the law, who include professors, lawmakers and the French language oversight body Academie Francaise, say "la francophonie" must be defended and that the change would be a betrayal of other French-speaking nations.

"If France gives other Francophone countries the wrong signal by leading an assault against the language, that would be a very, very regrettable thing indeed," said Claude Hagege, a linguist at the College de France state research centre.

France has long defended its culture at home and abroad, most recently in a debate over a trade deal between Europe and the United States, which Hollande says must respect a French tradition of subsidizing everything from art to cinema.

In 1994, the so-called "Loi Toubon" made the use of French mandatory in all TV broadcasts, meaning all foreign-language programs are dubbed, while radio stations must play at least 40 percent of French music for most of the day.

Seeking to promote a French world view, former president Jacques Chirac launched the France24 international news network, which now hosts 24-hour channels in French, English and Arabic, while Hollande started a Ministry for Francophone Affairs.

Business leaders decry France's low ranking for English proficiency - it placed 23rd in a 2012 global ranking published by education company Education First - even though the use of English has grown, notably in academic circles.

Higher Education Minister Genevieve Fioraso said offering English would boost the appeal of French universities at a time when they are falling further behind in international rankings.

In a 2011-2012 survey by Britain's Times newspaper, the highest-ranked French university is in 59th position. Private business schools where English is taught rank higher.

(Editing by Brian Love and Raissa Kasolowsky)

Once youve reached the last month of the tax year, your options are limited to minimize your income taxes. But there are a few things that could still be done, so dont give up hope.

For example, you could double up your real estate taxes by prepaying next years tax during December. Doing this with, for example, a $3,000 per year real estate tax bill could result in a reduction of tax for the year of $750 if youre in the 25% bracket. Keep in mind though, that youll have forked out this money long before it is actually due in most cases, and for the next year you wont have this deduction available if you used it in this year.

The same could be done with your charitable contributions - theres no reason that you cant make additional contributions to your favorite charities at the end of this year instead of waiting until next year.

You could also send your final estimated state income tax payment due in January of next year during December and claim that payment on this years itemized deductions as well.

Prepaying your January mortgage payment will credit that mortgage interest to this year as well, further increasing your itemized deductions.

Other itemized deductions could be stacked in one year, such as medical expenses (subject to the 7.5% floor) and miscellaneous deductions (subject to the 2% floor).

Its important to keep in mind that the moves that you make this year might reduce your tax now - but you might have an adverse impact on next years income tax by doing so. It will pay to run the calculations based on what you know about this years tax and next years tax to make sure that it is in your best interest to do this.

Heres how it might play out: if you prepaid your next years real estate tax during this year, it might reduce your deductions below the Standard Deduction - which could be a good thing. In doing this, you would get to use the Standard Deduction to increase your tax deductions on next years return when you specifically reduced your deductions for that year by prepaying the deductible real estate tax in during this year. In this fashion you might be making the most of the standard deduction and your itemized deductions year after year - one year using the stacked deductions, the next using the standard deduction.

These prepayment options could have a negative affect if you are subject to the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT). Prepaying your state tax, mortgage interest and some medical expenses might trigger or cause an increase in AMT. One tactic that you might consider is selling a taxable investment that has an inherent loss; this is especially useful if youve sold another investment at some point in the tax year that has resulted in a taxable gain. Losses can be used to offset those capital gains dollar for dollar, and an additional $3,000 in capital losses can be used to reduce your ordinary income as well.

You can also make up for underpayment of estimated tax by taking a withdrawal from an IRA (especially if youre over age 59) and having tax withheld from the withdrawal. This can also be accomplished by having more tax withheld from your paycheck if youre still working, by filing a new W4. Another significant move you can make includes the Qualified Charitable Distribution from your IRA, 401(k) or 403(b) - allowing you to bypass recognizing that income, including your RMD. This can only be done if youre at least age 70 and subject to Required Minimum Distributions. The charity receives a contribution, and you get to lower your year-end balance in your account, therefore reducing your RMD for next year. For more details on this, you should check out the .

You can also delay your first RMD (if you reached age 70 this year) until as late as April 1 of next year, although that will mean you have to take two RMDs next year. But in some circumstances that may be the better option.

You can also make a deductible contribution to your IRA, if you qualify - but you dont have to do that before the end of the year, you have until April 15 to do that.

This isnt an exhaustive list of year-end tax moves, just several of the more prominent ones. Hopefully youll find what you need here to help with your year-end tax plans.

We have been through a lot, including my struggle with various health issues. Throughout this he has become an insensitive person who treats me like garbage. There has been a lot of emotional abuse happening, and it has taken me quite a while to be able to see it.

The other night I was about to break up with him. Then he suddenly changed his tune. He said: "I'm listening. You're right. I need to change. I love you."

Abby, at this point I really don't care, but I gave him another chance. Was I wrong to do that? He has changed for now -- quite drastically -- but I know he could easily go back.

I no longer love him. I also no longer find him attractive, and I actually think he's immensely annoying. He's trying to get me to fall back in love with him, but I really don't want to. So do I stay or do I go? -- WAVERING IN CANADA

DEAR WAVERING: Re-read the last paragraph of your letter, and you will see in your own words why it's time for you to go. He may be trying, but frankly, it is too late. Pack your bags. There's nothing deader than a dead romance.

DEAR ABBY: A friend recently shared some great advice. Her mom is 86 and in poor health, so my friend put together an emergency information briefcase for the trunk of her car and another one by the front door.

If anyone needs to take her mother to the ER, all her important information is in two places. This includes medications, doctors, insurance cards, Living Will, power of attorney and family emergency numbers.

I took my friend's advice, and it turned out to be a godsend when I had to take my 79-year-old mother to the ER after a serious fall. The admitting clerks said they wished everyone would do this. (I also included $100 in cash in a small envelope.) I hope you think her idea is worth sharing. -- GLAD I DID IN ALABAMA

DEAR GLAD: If the admitting clerks said they wished everyone would do this, then it's worth a mention in my column. Readers, advance planning such as this could save precious minutes in an emergency.

DEAR ABBY: Due to an accident I had as a teenager, I can't father a child. How far into a relationship should I wait to tell a woman this? While I wouldn't mention it on the first date, I don't want someone to feel betrayed if she wasn't informed.

There's also the issue of finding a woman who's OK with it. So far, the ones I have dated ended the relationship because they couldn't accept being childless or adopting. -- GUY WHO NEEDS AN ANSWER

DEAR GUY: Mention it when the subject of children comes up. Not every woman wants children. It's nothing to be ashamed of.

P.S. If you include the fact that you can't father a child on your dating profile, it will filter out those women who do. I'm advising you to prepare for an avalanche.

Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Write Dear Abby ator P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.

Abby shares more than 100 of her favorite recipes in two booklets: "Abby's Favorite Recipes" and "More Favorite Recipes by Dear Abby." Send your name and mailing address, plus check or money order for $14 (U.S. funds) to: Dear Abby, Cookbooklet Set, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, IL 61054-0447. (Shipping and handling are included in the price.)