New York's Office of General Services has turned to eBay in an attempt to sell off a huge, steel morgue refrigerator now located at a Manhattan psychiatric hospital.

Bidding on Saturday afternoon was up to $475 for the four-drawer unit, but that price doesn't include delivery. Buyers have to be willing to remove the fridge themselves from the Manhattan Psychiatric Center.

Office of General Services spokeswoman Heather Groll tells the New York Post (http://bit.ly/11htBpM ) that the ad is no hoax.

She says the agency does get unusual surplus items to sell from time to time, including barber chairs from prisons and police cars, but she doesn't recall a previous sale of a morgue cooler.

The auction runs through June 6.

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Information from: New York Post, http://www.nypost.com

Every day. Every call.

Here's what you need to know about the secret program and how it works:

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Q: What happened and why is it a big deal?

A: The Guardian newspaper published a highly classified April U.S. court order that allows the government access to all of Verizon's phone records on a daily basis, for both domestic and international calls. That doesn't mean the government is listening in, and the National Security Agency did not receive the names and addresses of customers. But it did receive all phone numbers with outgoing or incoming calls, as well as the unique electronic numbers that identify cellphones. That means the government knows which phones are being used, even if customers change their numbers.

This is the first tangible evidence of the scope of a domestic surveillance program that has existed for years but has been discussed only in generalities. It proves that, in the name of national security, the government sweeps up the call records of Americans who have no known ties to terrorists or criminals.

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Q: How is this different from the NSA wiretapping that was going on under President George W. Bush?

A: In 2005, The New York Times revealed that Bush had signed a secret order allowing the NSA to eavesdrop on Americans without court approval, a seismic shift in policy for an agency that had previously been prohibited from spying domestically. The exact scope of that program has never been known, but it allowed the NSA to monitor phone calls and emails. After it became public, the Bush administration dubbed it the "Terrorist Surveillance Program" and said it was a critical tool in protecting the United States from attack.

"The NSA program is narrowly focused, aimed only at international calls and targeted at al-Qaida and related groups," the Justice Department said at the time.

But while wiretapping got all the attention, the government was also collecting call logs from American phone companies as part of that program, a U.S. official said Thursday. After the wiretapping controversy, the collection of call records continued, albeit with court approval. That's what we're seeing in the newly released court document: a judge's authorization for something that began years ago with no court oversight.

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Q: Why does the government even want my phone records?

A: They're not interested in your records, in all likelihood, but your calls make up the background noise of the global phone system.

Look at your monthly phone bill, and you'll see patterns: calls home as you leave work, food delivery orders on Friday nights, that once-a-week call to mom and dad.

It's like that, except on a monumentally bigger scale.

The classified court ruling doesn't say what the NSA intends to do with your records. But armed with the nation's phone logs, the agency's computers have the ability to identify what normal call behavior looks like. And, with powerful computers, it would be possible to compare the entire database against computer models the government believes show what terrorist calling patterns look like.

Further analysis could identify what are known in intelligence circles as "communities of interest" the networks of people who are in contact with targets or suspicious phone numbers.

Over time, the records also become a valuable archive. When officials discover a new phone number linked to a suspected terrorist, they can consult the records to see who called that number in the preceding months or years.

Once the government has narrowed its focus on phone numbers it believes are tied to terrorism or foreign governments, it can go back to the court with a wiretap request. That allows the government to monitor the calls in real time, record them and store them indefinitely.

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Q: Why just Verizon?

A: It's probably not. A former U.S. intelligence official familiar with the NSA program says that records from all U.S. phone companies would be seized, and that they would include business and residential numbers. Only the court order involving Verizon has been made public.

In 2006, USA Today reported that the NSA was secretly collecting the phone call records of tens of millions of Americans. The newspaper identified phone companies that cooperated in that effort. The newspaper ultimately distanced itself from that report after some phone companies denied being part of such a government program.

The court document published by The Guardian, however, offers credence to the original USA Today story, which declared: "The NSA program reaches into homes and businesses across the nation by amassing information about the calls of ordinary Americans most of whom aren't suspected of any crime."

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Q: But in this case, a judge approved it. Does that mean someone had to show probable cause that a crime was being committed?

A: No. The seizure was authorized by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, which operates under very different rules from a typical court. Probable cause is not required.

The court was created by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 and is known in intelligence circles as the FISA court. Judges appointed by the president hear secret evidence and authorize wiretapping, search warrants and other clandestine efforts to monitor suspected or known spies and terrorists.

For decades, the court was located in a secure area at Justice Department headquarters. While prosecutors in criminal cases must come to court seeking subpoenas, the FISA judges came to the Justice Department. That changed in 2008 with the construction of a new FISA court inside the U.S. District Court in Washington. The courtroom is essentially a vault, designed to prevent anyone from eavesdropping on what goes on inside.

In this instance, Judge Roger Vinson authorized the NSA to seize the phone records under a provision in the USA Patriot Act, which passed shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and vastly expanded the government's ability to collect information on Americans.

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Q: If not probable cause, what standard did the government use in this case?

A: The judge relied on one of the most controversial aspects of the Patriot Act: Section 215, which became known colloquially as the "library records provision" because it allowed the government to seize a wide range of documents, including library records. Under that provision, the government must show that there are "reasonable grounds to believe" that the records are relevant to an investigation intended to "protect against international terrorism or clandestine intelligence activities."

Exactly what "relevant" meant has been unclear. With the release of the classified court order, the public can see for the first time that everyone's phone records are relevant.

The Justice Department has staunchly defended Section 215, saying it was narrowly written and has safeguarded liberties.

Some in Congress, however, have been sounding alarms about it for years. Though they are prohibited from revealing what they know about the surveillance programs, Democratic Sens. Ron Wyden of Oregon and Mark Udall or Colorado have said the government's interpretation of the law has gone far beyond what the public believes.

"We believe most Americans would be stunned to learn the details of how these secret court opinions have interpreted section 215 of the Patriot Act," the senators wrote in a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder last year.

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Q: Why don't others in Congress seem that upset about all this?

A: Many members of Congress have known this was going on for years. While Americans might be surprised to see, in writing, an authorization to sweep up their phone records, that's old news to many in Congress.

"Everyone should just calm down and understand that this isn't anything that's brand new," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said Thursday. "It's been going on for some seven years."

Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Vice Chairman Saxby Chambliss issued a similar statement:

"The executive branch's use of this authority has been briefed extensively to the Senate and House Intelligence and Judiciary Committees, and detailed information has been made available to all members of Congress."

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Q: What does the Obama administration have to say about this?

A: So far, very little. Despite campaigning against Bush's counterterrorism efforts, President Barack Obama has continued many of the most controversial ones including, it is now clear, widespread monitoring of American phone records.

The NSA is particularly reluctant to discuss its programs. Even as it has secretly collected millions of phone records, it has tried to cultivate an image that it was not in the domestic surveillance business.

In March, for instance, NSA spokeswoman Vanee Vines, emailed an Associated Press reporter about a story that described the NSA as a monitor of worldwide internet data and phone calls.

"NSA collects, monitors, and analyzes a variety of (asterisk)(asterisk)(asterisk)FOREIGN(asterisk)(asterisk)(asterisk) signals and communications for indications of threats to the United States and for information of value to the U.S. government," she wrote. " (asterisk)(asterisk)(asterisk)FOREIGN(asterisk)(asterisk)(asterisk) is the operative word. NSA is not an indiscriminate vacuum, collecting anything and everything."

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Q: Why hasn't anyone sued over this? Can I?

A: People have sued. But challenging the legality of secret wiretaps is difficult because, in order to sue, you have to know you've been wiretapped. In 2006, for instance, a federal judge in Detroit declared the NSA warrantless wiretapping program unconstitutional. But the ruling was overturned when an appeals court that said the plaintiffs civil rights groups, lawyers and scholars didn't have the authority to sue because they couldn't prove they were wiretapped.

Court challenges have also run up against the government's ability to torpedo lawsuits that could jeopardize state secrets.

The recent release of the classified court document is sure to trigger a new lawsuit in the name of Verizon customers whose records were seized. But now that the surveillance program is under the supervision of the FISA court and a warrant was issued, a court challenge is more difficult.

Suing Verizon would also be difficult. A lawsuit against AT&T failed because Congress granted telecommunications companies retroactive immunity for cooperating with warrantless surveillance. In this instance, Verizon was under a court order to provide the records to the government, making a lawsuit against the company challenging.

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Q: Can the government read my emails?

A: Not under this court order, but it's not clear whether the NSA is monitoring email content as part of this program.

In 2006, former AT&T technician Mark Klein described in federal court papers how a "splitter" device in San Francisco siphoned millions of Americans' Internet traffic to the NSA. That probably included data sent to or from AT&T Internet subscribers, such as emails and the websites they visited.

Most email messages are sent through the Internet in "plain-text" form, meaning they aren't encrypted and anyone with the right tools can view their contents. Similar to an old-fashioned envelope and letter, every email contains details about whom it's from and where it's supposed to go.

Unlike postal letters, those details can include information that can be linked to a subscriber's billing account, even if he or she wants to remain anonymous.

In May 2012, Wyden and Udall asked the NSA how many people inside the United States had their communications "collected or reviewed."

The intelligence community's inspector general, I. Charles McCullough III, told the senators that providing such an estimate "would likely impede the NSA's mission" and "violate the privacy of U.S. persons."

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Associated Press writers Jack Gillum and Lara Jakes contributed to this report.

The case of the 22-year-old woman known only as Beatriz has drawn international attention as she sought to end the pregnancy in a country with some of the strictest abortion laws in Latin America.

The move by Health Minister Maria Isabel Rodriguez came a day after the Supreme Court ruled that Beatriz, who is six months pregnant, could not have an abortion even though she suffers from lupus and kidney failure. Ultrasound images indicate that her fetus is developing with only a brain stem and is given no chance of surviving.

Because the pregnancy is 26 weeks along, abortion laws are no longer at play, according to women's groups who have supported her petition. Rather, the health ministry can determine what's most medically sound for the mother versus the unborn baby.

"She is in the hands of top-notch doctors," Rodriguez said. "The medical team at the Maternity Hospital is ready to act immediately at the slightest sign of danger."

The Central American country's laws prohibit all abortions, even when a woman's health is at risk, and the woman and any doctor who terminated her pregnancy would face arrest and criminal charges.

The Health Department hasn't given a day or time for when Beatriz will deliver the baby by cesarean section, said Morena Herrera, a member of the Feminist Collective for Local Development, an organization that has been supporting Beatriz.

"She is going through all the medical exams to be ready for surgery," Herrera said.

The Supreme Court said physical and psychological exams done on the woman by the government-run Institute of Legal Medicine found that her diseases are under control and she can continue the pregnancy.

The judges voted 4-to-1 to reject the appeal by the woman's lawyers, who argued that continuing with the pregnancy put her life at risk.

The ruling brought widespread criticism, including a statement by Amnesty International calling the court decision "cruel and callous" and "a potential death sentence for Beatriz."

Abortion opponents said the case is being used to press for legalized abortion in El Salvador.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Google Inc is in talks to buy Waze, an Israeli mapping start-up that has held discussions with several large technology companies, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday.

Google's discussions with Waze, which one of the sources told Reuters remained fluid and could change in tenor at any time, come amid reports Facebook is willing to pay $1 billion for the crowd-sourced service, which relies on information provided by its 47 million members to craft its mobile-oriented maps.

By buying Waze, the Internet search giant would prevent the company from falling into the hands of Facebook, which is delving deeper into mobile technology as it tries to grow its user base.

Mapping services are among the five most-used applications on smartphones and are crucial to engaging and retaining mobile users. The key advantage of owning, rather than licensing, a mapping service is that it allows for the product to be tailored and personalized for users.

"Whoever holds the mapping data is going to be a hot commodity," said Brian Proffitt, author of several books on mobile technology and an adjunct instructor of management in the University of Notre Dame. "As larger vendors acquire mapping data, businesses and consumers will discover that it's more difficult to gain free access and correct errors."

Waze's real-time traffic information, generated continuously from data on users' smartphones about traveling speed and direction, is considered a particularly valuable asset that poses a threat to the search giant's existing offering, Google Maps.

"Sometimes the best offense is defense," said a third source close to the situation, explaining Google's motivation to acquire Waze.

Still, Marcus Thielking, co-founder of rival mapping service, skobbler, said Facebook could easily develop a real-time traffic service similar to Waze's, thanks to its massive social network of more than one billion users.

As a result, he said, it would be "shortsighted" for Google to acquire Waze strictly to keep it away from Facebook.

"I can't really see much sense in a Google acquisition, especially not at a price that's close to what we're talking about," said Thielking.

Indeed, deals are heating up in the tech-startup space. This week, Yahoo Inc announced a $1.1 billion acquisition of widely used blogging service Tumblr, in one of the largest purchases this year of an Internet company.

Due diligence between Waze and Facebook had been under way and a term sheet signed after six months of discussions, Israeli business daily Calcalist reported this month.

But talks stalled over Facebook's demand that the Waze team, working in Israel, relocate to California, the publication reported days later.

Last year, Apple Inc began offering its own maps, in competition with Google's more widely used application.

There had been media reports earlier this year that Apple was in talks to acquire Waze, but both companies declined to comment on Friday.

Google also declined to comment.

MAPPING CONUNDRUM

Waze has enjoyed years of spectacular growth. About 12 percent of its users hail from the United States, and it also has high penetration in Italy and Brazil. Its user base has skyrocketed to 47.5 million now, from about 7 million in 2011.

Four-year-old Waze was the brainchild of Ehud Shabtai, a software engineer with a degree in philosophy and computer science from Tel Aviv University, who hit upon the idea when he realized commercially available GPS software could not reflect real-time conditions speedily enough, or provide certain useful data - such as speed traps.

According to Waze's website, Shabtai teamed up with entrepreneurs Uri Levine and Amir Shinar to found Waze in 2008. It has raised $67 million in funding to date from firms including Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Blue Run Ventures, Hong Kong media and real-estate mogul Li Ka-shing's Horizon Ventures and semiconductor company Qualcomm Inc. According to Calcalist, Microsoft Corp owns 10.2 percent of the company, but Waze did not comment on that.

Waze Chief Executive Noam Bardin and a small staff now operate out of their U.S. headquarters in Palo Alto, California, while about 90 employees are based in home country Israel.

The startup partnered with Facebook in October 2012, when Waze released an updated version of its app that allowed users to share their drive with their Facebook friends.

(Editing by Bernadette Baum)

After she graduated from the University of Southern California and returned home to Taiwan, her initial attempts to break into the island's music scene hit a brick wall. But trying acting at the advice of a talent manager, she landed a few film and television roles, then shot to stardom with "You Are the Apple of My Eye."

The 29-year-old actress said she poured her heart and soul into her first studio album, "Me Myself and I."

"It is really an album about me because I wrote most of the songs. I wrote the lyrics. And I wrote this album about my family and friends, my . maybe lovers," Chen told The Associated Press in a recent interview.

One song is written to her fans, and she says "I think the audience can really, really get to know who Michelle Chen is through the album."

Crediting the late Mandarin pop legend Teresa Teng as one of her major musical influences, Chen said she wrote one of the songs on the album as a tribute to Teng and also to a close family member who introduced her to Teng's music.

"Uncle Grandpa's Small City Story" is a tribute to the first pop song Chen listened to, Teng's "Small Town Story,'" because it was a favorite of Chen's great-uncle.

Chen sang part of "Small City Story" on her own song and says she was amazed while studying Teng's live performances.

"When I was trying how to sing that song, you will realize how much detail that she put into the song, like maybe in one sentence with three words, she has to make three different turns (vibrato three of four times)," Chen said. "No wonder she is like the diva of the century."

Some fans who were holding their breath to see how Chen would follow up her success on "You Are the Apple of My Eye" were surprised that she chose to switch gears and start fresh in music. Chen finds that both a burden and a blessing.

"It's very lucky because now people kind of know me already, so I get to have the chance to release my album and a lot of people will pay more attention to my album," she said.

But with every performance, "people seem to magnify everything I do." She said she hopes to look for the bright side. "I just hope that every time I try to sing, more people will hear that I can do it."

She's performing in China, Taiwan and Southeast Asia to promote the album.

William Roache said in a statement Thursday he is "deeply horrified" by the charges and "strenuously" denies them.

The 81-year-old actor has played Ken Barlow on the popular show since it was first broadcast in 1960. The soap, set in a fictional working-class district in northwestern England, is among the longest-running programs on British television.

He is charged with raping the girl between April and July of 1967. He is scheduled to appear at Preston Magistrates' Court on May 14.

Roache was arrested at his home Wednesday. Broadcaster ITV said Roache wouldn't appear in "Coronation Street" until his legal case was over.

We have two children. One is away at college and the other starting high school. When I talk to my husband about wanting to do things, he says I should have done them when I was younger. But I married him before I was even an adult!

Is it wrong to want to go out and do things I never got to do when I was a teenager? It makes me question whether or not I want to be married to him anymore. I still love him, but I have changed.

Jake insists we don't need counseling and I just need to get over it and accept that this is my life. What if I don't want to regret what I have never had a chance to do? -- WANTS MORE OUT WEST

DEAR WANTS MORE: I'm sorry, but you can't relive your lost teenage years.

I wish you had been more specific about what it is you want to do. If it's go out and have some fun, perhaps some of your girlfriends would like to go with you. Instead of sitting home, you and Jake could socialize with other couples. If you're into sports, why not join a women's sports team? If you're not, how about a book club? You don't have to sit around and vegetate.

You also didn't mention whether you completed high school. If you didn't receive a diploma, you would be well-served to work on earning your GED, which could widen your horizons and opportunities considerably.

DEAR ABBY: I have two daughters, 11 and 14. They fight over many things, but what gets to me is the way they fight over what television shows to watch.

My younger daughter has nightmares if she watches even mildly dramatic cop/lawyer-type shows. However, my older daughter loves them.

At home, I'd have one kid watch TV in one room and the other in the other room. However, when they're at the sitter's house, which has only one TV, they call me at work and fight over the phone over who watches what. They both accuse me of favoring the other.

How do I deal with this fairly without upsetting them? And how do I keep my younger daughter from having nightmares? -- DOING MY BEST IN KENTUCKY

DEAR DOING: Because your younger daughter has nightmares after viewing shows that create anxiety, she shouldn't be forced to do it. When they are at their sitter's, they should alternate days when each has control of the remote control. When your older girl has it, the younger one should be encouraged to read a book of her choosing and/or listen to music. When the younger one gets to do the choosing, the older one should do the same.

DEAR ABBY: Christmas and birthday gifts I will never use have accumulated around my house. I'd like to have a yard sale, but many of the items came from close friends and family. I feel guilty getting rid of them because the people who gave them to me obviously meant well. Would selling them be wrong?

One gift was from my mother. I live at home, so she will notice if I stick it in the garage sale. I can't let this extra stuff sit around. It's taking up space and I need the money for a very expensive college. But I'm afraid of people finding out that I don't want their presents. What should I do? -- DOWNSIZING IN NEW YORK

DEAR DOWNSIZING: Selling the items would not be wrong. Once a gift is given, it is yours to do with as you please. If you offer them for sale online, it will be less obvious and cause fewer hurt feelings.

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.

For everything you need to know about wedding planning, order "How to Have a Lovely Wedding." Send your name and mailing address, plus check or money order for $7 (U.S. funds) to: Dear Abby, Wedding Booklet, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, IL 61054-0447. (Shipping and handling are included in the price.)

The remarks carried by Jaheshnews.ir come days after a constitutional watchdog disqualified him from running in June 14 presidential elections. They are unusually strongly worded for Rafsanjani, considered a centrist who generally defers to the supremacy of the ruling clerics.

The comments are among Rafsanjani's harshest criticisms of the Islamic Republic's rulers since he condemned a crackdown on protests that followed 2009 elections. Because of his stance then, Rafsanjani's 2013 candidacy revitalized reformist hopes.

Rafsanjani has not made any direct public statements since his Tuesday disqualification. The quote was not carried on his official website, and the report could not independently verified.

"I think it is not possible to run the country worse than this," he was quoted as saying.

He singled out the Guardian Council, the watchdog dominated by clerical hardliners that disqualified him, for condemnation.

"Wisdom suggests letting him_Rafsanjani_run," he said. "You should have let people come to the ballots hopefully. They do not know what they are doing."

Rafsanjani said the Council's decision help foreign enemies of Iran. Iranian leaders are believed to want a high turnout in elections to show that the Islamic Republic is still politically strong.

The ex-president's campaign manager has said that he will not protest the decision. But in the remarks carried by Jaheshnews.ir, Rafsanjani said he hoped the Council would reconsider.

"I am still hopeful. There is a hope that they take a serious decision and give another chance to us and the people," said Rafsanjani.

Rafsanjani is a founder of the 1979 Islamic revolution that brought the clerics to power. He was the closest confident of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, spiritual leader of the revolution.

His rejection deals a demoralizing blow to pro-reform groups and boosts the chances of a candidate loyal to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei winning the election.

Hassan Khomeini, grandson of the late founder of the Islamic Republic who has joined the reform movement, called Rafsanjani's disqualification "unbelievable." But in a letter published in several pro-reform newspapers, it said it also transformed Rafsanjani into a symbol of "hope" for the movement.

Rafsanjani also remarked ruefully on the country's international isolation, linked to sanctions over its disputed nuclear program. The West accuses Iran of trying to develop weapons technology, a charge Iran disputes.

He said that prior to the Iranian revolution, he once drove his car across Europe without hassle. But now, he said, Iranian travelers fear to travel because of the disrespect they will encounter.

(Reuters) - Twitter Inc unveiled technology to boost security for its users, following a spate of attacks on accounts of prominent media outlets including the Associated Press, the Financial Times and The Onion.

The micro blogging site, which transmits some 400 million messages a day, said on Wednesday that it had begun rolling out an optional "login verification" service to thwart hackers seeking to hijack accounts with stolen passwords.

Security experts welcomed the move as a positive step toward securing a service that is widely used by consumers, political activists, advertisers and news outlets around the globe to quickly exchange information.

Twitter had come under fire over the past year for failing to offer such an option, which is known as two-factor authentication, amid a surge in breaches of high-profile accounts. That criticism intensified in April after a fake tweet about a non-existent White House explosion sent from the Associated Press account briefly roiled U.S. financial markets.

"It's been a long time coming," said Jeremiah Grossman, chief technology officer of White Hat Security. "It's not going to solve all problem, but it's a step in the right direction."

When users log in to Twitter via a web browser, they must confirm their identity by entering a six-digit code that Twitter delivers to their smartphones. To access the service through applications for PCs and smartphones, users must use an automatically generated temporary password for each of the programs.

Twitter described the offering in a blog post, reminding users that they still need to use strong passwords to keep accounts secure.

The approach is similar to security tools previously introduced by other Internet services from companies including Facebook Inc, Google Inc and Microsoft Corp.

"This would have made the AP hack and other hacks against Twitter more difficult to accomplish," said Jeffrey Carr, CEO of cyber security firm Taia Global Inc.

Yet he added that hackers looking to break into corporate accounts will still be able to do so if they can take control of PCs or smartphones running applications authorized to use the service.

"Two-factor authentication isn't perfect," Carr said. "If you own the machine, it really doesn't matter."

(Reporting by Jim Finkle; Editing by Phil Berlowitz)

Doug Bracewell, who missed the first two drawn tests of the series against England in New Zealand this year after cutting his foot on glass, and was not selected for the third test, will come into the side.

Former captain Vettori joined the test squad in England this week after being called up as replacement for spinner Bruce Martin who has been ruled out of the rest of the tour with a calf injury.

Vettori, 34, has not played a test for 10 months, however, and has been struggling with a long-term Achilles injury.

"Dan is out of tomorrow's game unfortunately. We obviously gave it our best shot but he didn't scrub up that well today and just the confidence to go into a five-day game, with the workload he's had, is just a bridge too far," McCullum told a news conference on Thursday.

"It's disappointing but it does give Dougie the opportunity to make his way back after sitting on the sidelines."

New Zealand lost the first test at Lord's by 170 runs on Sunday after being skittled out for 68 in their second innings. (Reporting by Justin Palmer, Editing by Ed Osmond)