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VIDEO: Today's Headline News from Associated Press

SUPER FULL MOON SHINES BRIGHTLY THIS WEEKEND

 

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A "supermoon" rises this weekend.

 

The biggest and brightest full moon of the year graces the sky early Sunday as our celestial neighbor swings closer to Earth than usual.

 

While the moon will appear 14 percent larger normal, skywatchers won't be able to notice the difference with the naked eye. Still, astronomers say it's worth looking up and appreciating the cosmos.

 

"It gets people out there looking at the moon, and might make a few more people aware that there's interesting stuff going on in the night sky," Geoff Chester of the U.S. Naval Observatory said in an email.

 

Some viewers may think the supermoon looks more dazzling but it's actually an optical illusion. The moon looms larger on the horizon next to trees and buildings.

 

The moon will come within 222,000 miles of Earth and turn full around 7:30 a.m. EDT, making it the best time to view.

 

As in any supermoon event, high tides are forecast because of the moon's proximity, but the effect is expected to be small.

 

Forget about the myths that swirl every time a supermoon appears. There's no link to higher crime or bizarre behavior. Scientists say that's just lunacy.

 

ICELAND BUSINESSMAN SAYS PLANE READY FOR SNOWDEN

 

REYKJAVIK, Iceland (AP) -- An Icelandic business executive said Friday that a private plane is on standby to transport National Security Agency secrets leaker Edward Snowden from Hong Kong to Iceland.

 

Olafur Vignir Sigurvinsson said he has not spoken directly with Snowden but has been in touch with a third party representing him.

 

The businessman, who has connections to the WikiLeaks secret-spilling organization, said he has access to planes in Hong Kong and mainland China that Snowden could use.

 

But Iceland's government says it has not received an asylum request from Snowden, who has revealed his role in providing secret NSA documents about widespread surveillance programs.

 

Iceland Interior Ministry spokesman Johannes Tomasson said Snowden hasn't approached the ministry and could initiate an asylum request if he was already in Iceland.

 

REVIEW: INSTAGRAM VIDEO A SAVVY MOVE BY FACEBOOK

 

NEW YORK (AP) -- If you think Instagram snapshots of lunch plates, drooling babies and random desk objects are exciting, just wait until your friends start posting 15-second videos.

 

You won't have to wait long. On Thursday, Facebook's popular Instagram photo-sharing app added a video feature. Much like its competitor Vine, which is owned by Twitter, Instagram now lets you record and share short videos using a few taps of a finger on a mobile device.

 

Most people don't do this. Vine has just 13 million users (one-tenth of Instagram's user base), and no other video-sharing apps have attracted mass appeal. Part of the reason: technical limitations. Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom said during the service's unveiling that the video feature was initially left out of Instagram because the "speed, simplicity and beauty" the creators strived for in the app "were definitely possible with photos - but it was really hard for video."

 

It's easier now. Internet connections have become faster and mobile phones are snappier and equipped with better cameras. And as Systrom promised, Instagram's video feature is certainly simple. Download the latest version on your iPhone or Android device. Open it and tap the camera icon on the bottom of the screen. This will take you to a new screen with a video camera icon. Another tap and you're ready to go.

 

You can record whatever your little heart desires. I opted for a shaky panorama of the newsroom with close-ups on coworkers' faces, which I deleted. Another video featuring different types of hot sauce and other things on my desk was better received by my friends on Instagram.

 

Instagram's video tool lets you delete individual video segments, which is nice. The Vine app is all or nothing.