Asteroid to Make Closest Flyby in History

Talk about too close for comfort. In a rare cosmic encounter, an asteroid will barnstorm Earth next week, missing our planet by a mere 17,200 miles (27,700 kilometers).

Designated 2012 DA14, the space rock is approximately 150 feet (45 meters) across, and astronomers are certain it will zip harmlessly past our planet on February 15—but not before making history. It will pass within the orbits of many communications satellites, making it the closest flyby on record. (Read about one of the largest asteroids to fly by Earth.)

"This is indeed a remarkably close approach for an asteroid this size," said Paul Chodas, a research scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory Near Earth Object (NEO) program office in Pasadena, California.

"We estimate that an asteroid of this size passes this close to the Earth only once every few decades."

The giant rock—half a football field wide—was first spotted by observers at the La Sagra Observatory in southern Spain a year ago, soon after it had just finished making a much more distant pass of the Earth at 2.6 million miles (4.3 million kilometers) away.

This time around however, on February15 at 2:24 pm EST, the asteroid will be passing uncomfortably close—ten times closer than the orbit of the moon—flying over the eastern Indian Ocean near Sumatra (map). (Watch: "Moon 101.")

Future Impact?

Chodas and his team have been keeping a close eye on the cosmic intruder, and orbital calculations of its trajectory show that there is no chance for impact.

But the researchers have not yet ruled out future chances of a collision. This is because asteroids of this size are too faint to be detected until they come quite close to the Earth, said Chodas.

"There is still a tiny chance that it might hit us on some future passage by the Earth; for example there is [a] 1-in-200,000 chance that it could hit us in the year 2080," he said.

"But even that tiny chance will probably go away within the week, as the asteroid's orbit gets tracked with greater and greater accuracy and we can eliminate that possibility."

Earth collision with an object of this size is expected to occur every 1,200 years on average, said Donald Yeomans, NEO program manager, at a NASA news conference this week.

DA14 has been getting closer and closer to Earth for quite a while—but this is the asteroid's closest approach in the past hundred years. And it probably won't get this close again for at least another century, added Yeomans.

While no Earth impact is possible next week, DA14 will pass 5,000 miles inside the ring of orbiting geosynchronous weather and communications satellites; so all eyes are watching the space rock's exact trajectory. (Learn about the history of satellites.)

"It's highly unlikely they will be threatened, but NASA is working with satellite providers, making them aware of the asteroid's pass," said Yeomans.

Packing a Punch

Experts say an impact from an object this size would have the explosive power of a few megatons of TNT, causing localized destruction—similar to what occurred in Siberia in 1908.

In what's known as the "Tunguska event," an asteroid is thought to have created an airburst explosion which flattened about 750 square miles (1,200 square kilometers) of a remote forested region in what is now northern Russia (map).

In comparison, an impact from an asteroid with a diameter of about half a mile (one kilometer) could temporarily change global climate and kill millions of people if it hit a populated area.

Timothy Spahr, director of the Minor Planet Center at Cambridge, Massachusetts, said that while small objects like DA14 could hit Earth once a millennia or so, the largest and most destructive impacts have already been catalogued.

"Objects of the size that caused the extinction of the dinosaurs have all been discovered," said Spahr. (Learn about what really happened to the dinosaurs.)

A survey of nearly 9,500 near-Earth objects half a mile (one kilometer) in diameter is nearly complete. Asteroid hunters expect to complete nearly half of a survey of asteroids several hundred feet in diameter in the coming years.

"With the existing assets we have, discovering asteroids rapidly and routinely, I continue to expect the world to be safe from impacts in the future," added Spahr.

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Monster Blizzard Takes Aim at Northeast

A blizzard of possibly historic proportions is set to strike the Northeast, starting today and bringing up to 2 feet of snow and strong winds that could shut down densely populated cities such as Boston and New York City.

A storm from the west will join forces with one from the south to form a nor'easter that will sit and spin just off the East Coast, affecting more than 43 million Americans. Wind gusts will reach 50 to 60 mph from Philadelphia to Boston.

"[It] could definitely be a historic winter storm for the Northeast," Adrienne Leptich of the National Weather Service in Upton, N.Y., said. "We're looking at very strong wind and heavy snow and we're also looking for some coastal flooding."

The snow began falling in New York City shortly before 7 a.m. ET. The snow is expected to mix with some sleet and then turn back into snow after 3 p.m.

New York City is expecting up to 14 inches, which is expected to start this morning with the heaviest amounts falling at night and into Saturday. Wind gusts of 55 mph are expected in New York City and Cape Cod, Mass., could possibly see 75 mph gusts.

Boston, Providence, R.I., Hartford, Conn., and other New England cities canceled school today. Boston and other parts of New England could see more than 2 feet of snow by Saturday.

Weather Forecast: Northeast Braces for Monster Blizzard Watch Video

Winter Storm to Hit Northeast With Winds and Snow Watch Video

Beach erosion and coastal flooding is possible from New Jersey to Long Island, N.Y., and into New England coastal areas. Some waves off the coast could reach more than 20 feet.

"Stay off the streets of our city. Basically, stay home," Boston Mayor Tom Menino warned Thursday.

Blizzard warnings were posted for parts of New Jersey and New York's Long Island, as well as portions of Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut, including Hartford, New Haven, Conn., and Providence. The warnings extended into New Hampshire and Maine.

To the south, Philadelphia was looking at a possible 4 to 6 inches of snow.

Thousands of flights have already been canceled in anticipation of the storm. Amtrak said its Northeast trains will stop running this afternoon.

Bruce Sullivan of the National Weather Service says travel conditions will deteriorate fairly rapidly Friday night.

"The real concern here is there's going to be a lot of strong winds with this system and it's going to cause considerable blowing and drifting of snow," he said.

Parts of New York, still reeling from October's Superstorm Sandy, are still using tents and are worried how they will deal with the nor'easter.

"Hopefully, we can supply them with enough hot food to get them through before the storm starts," Staten Island hub coordinator Donna Graziano said.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said plows and 250,000 tons of salt were being put on standby.

"We hope forecasts are exaggerating the amount of snow, but you never can tell," Bloomberg said Thursday.

Residents of the Northeast have already begun to hit stores for groceries and tools to fight the mounting snow totals.

The fire department was called in to a grocery store in Salem, Mass., because there were too many people in the store Thursday afternoon trying to load up their carts with essential items.

"I'm going to try this roof melt stuff for the first time," Ian Watson of Belmont, Mass., said. "Just to prevent the ice dam. ... It's going be ugly on that roof."

ABC News' Max Golembo and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Radical reforms might not save Europe's fish stocks

There certainly aren't plenty more fish in Europe's sea. Its stocks have crashed, and imports now account for more than half the fish consumed in the European Union. Now, the EU hopes that radical reforms to its system of fishing quotas will restore fisheries by 2020. The plan is a big step forward, but experts are concerned that politicians could yet ignore scientific recommendations in implementing it.

The Common Fisheries Policy, set up in 1970, governs the European fishing industry, with annual fishing quotas for each EU member state. These are set by a gathering of ministers called the Council of the European Union.

"Almost everyone agrees it has been a complete failure," says Markus Knigge, a Belgium-based adviser to the Pew Charitable Trusts' European Marine Programme. Despite the quotas, overfishing has continued for decades, fish populations have dwindled and the industry is dependent on subsidies. "We are importing 60 per cent of our fish consumption in the EU," says Knigge.

The problem is that the Council tends to ignore scientific evidence on the state of the fisheries and then sets quotas too generously, says Callum Roberts of the University of York, UK. He has shown that, between 1987 and 2011, European fishing quotas were on average a third higher than scientific recommendations (Marine Pollution Bulletin, doi.org/bwrrgc).

The proposed reforms aim to make European fishing sustainable by 2015, and to restore stocks by 2020. That will require limiting catches to sustainable levels, allowing the fish to maintain their populations. "That is a complete paradigm shift," says Knigge.

Not watertight

But Roberts says the system will not be watertight. The maximum sustainable yields will not be written into law, so the Council will still be able to set quotas too high. "There is no commitment on ministers to binding targets."

Instead the annual quotas will be replaced by longer-term plans spanning several years, making it harder for ministers to push quotas up. "That's good if you stick to the plan," says Roberts. But at December's meeting, it emerged that North Sea cod was not recovering as planned. That should have meant a 20 per cent cut in the quota – but it never happened. "Instead the ministers abandoned the recovery plan ."

Restoring fish stocks is in everyone's interest. Falling yields have made fishing unprofitable: in 2010 Roberts found that the commercial productivity of UK fisheries fell 94 per cent between 1889 and 2007 (Nature Communications, doi.org/dt8nts).

Last year the New Economics Foundation, a think tank based in London, claimed that paying fishermen not to do any fishing for 10 years would pay for itself in higher yields within five years once fishing had resumed.

It's not just about fish as a food source. Overfishing damages marine ecosystems that are beneficial to humanity, says Roberts. The sea is losing its ability to process human waste, and it may also struggle to take up carbon dioxide, a major greenhouse gas.

Overfishing also makes the ocean more prone to toxic algal blooms, jellyfish blooms and dead zones.

"The functionality of the marine ecosystem is at stake," Roberts says. "That in turn will impact on human welfare."

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Possible SIA revamp on the cards

SINGAPORE: As the aviation industry continues to be plagued by rising fuel costs and weakness in the global economy, Singapore Airlines has seen its profits being squeezed as more travellers turn to cheaper alternatives.

The airline, which is Asia's second largest by market capitalisation, cautioned on Thursday that loads and yields for its passenger and cargo businesses are expected to remain under pressure.

In an effort to further slash costs, SIA has also recently reduced its cockpit crew.

Competition from gulf carriers and budget airlines has significantly affected the profits of legacy carriers. With costs of jet fuel set to rise even further, analysts say it is imperative for legacy carriers such as SIA to revamp itself, either with new product offerings or new destinations.

"SIA has always done exceptionally well with its offering of premium products... But perhaps it's time for them to re-look the premium economy segment... which is an area where many other competitors are looking at," said Shukor Yusof, an aviation analyst with Standard & Poor's.

"If they were to come up with something that would entice passengers that are currently flying low cost carriers and if they can manage the fares in a way that would attract large numbers on board, then it would work," he said.

Besides SilkAir, SIA has also started its long-haul low-cost offshoot Scoot, in an attempt to glean some profits from the low cost carrier segment.

However some believe SIA should continue to pump money to protect its premium seats segment.

"Their premium sector is what holds them up. They've high yielding passengers and if they try to reduce that, they will lose them to other premium carriers like Cathay, Qantas, (or) Emirates," said Shashank Nigam, CEO of Simpliflying.

"Singapore airlines, while they're part of Star Alliance, they're not very close to their members so certainly after having sold (their) Virgin Atlantic stake, they should be looking at other partnerships to enhance passenger experience," he added.

Besides teaming up with Emirates, competitor Qantas has also announced its intention to form stronger links to the key hubs of Singapore and Hong Kong, paving the way for more head-on competition with SIA.

Analysts say some of these enhancements should include more technology updates to appeal to the well-connected traveller.

- CNA/jc

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Tablet Thursday: Get a Motorola Xoom 2 + 4G LTE for $219 shipped

The Motorola Xoom 2, aka Droid Xyboard, comes in your choice of 8.2" or 10.1", both with Verizon-powered 4G LTE.

(Credit:
Daily Steals)

So here's something I didn't know: When Motorola released the inevitable successor to its popular Xoom tablet, it was called the Xoom 2 -- in Europe. Here in the states, Motorola decided to call it the Droid Xyboard.

Droid Xyboard. I'll let that sink in for a moment. That may not rank among the dumbest tech-product names of all time, but it's up there.

How about we just agree to call it the Xoom 2 and get on with our lives, 'kay? Good. Today only, and while supplies last, Daily Steals has the refurbished Motorola Xoom 2 + 4G LTE tablet for $219 shipped. And here's where it really gets interesting: You get to choose between 8.2- and 10.1-inch screens.

Zuh? Yep, the Xoom 2 comes in two sizes. Why Daily Steals has them priced the same, I have no idea. But as much as a 4G-capable 10.1-inch
tablet for $219 rocks, I can see the appeal of choosing the smaller model. It's a little lighter, a little more compact, a little easier to wield one-handed.

In any case, both Xoom 2s net you a 1.2GHz processor, 16GB of expandable storage, dual cameras, Bluetooth, and the option of sweet, sweet 4G LTE from Verizon. (Note I said "option": You don't have to activate service, nor do you need to sign up for a contract if you do.) I think that gives the Xoom 2 a big leg up on competing tablets, few of which even offer 4G, and definitely not at this price point.

I've not used a Xoom 2 myself, but CNET said it "feels like an amalgamation of all our favorite
Android tablets of 2011." (It debuted in late 2011, so it's just over a year old.) Although it ships with Android 3.2 (Honeycomb), you can easily upgrade it to Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich).

Because it's a refurb, you get only a 90-day warranty. And because it's sold by Daily Steals, it could take a couple weeks to arrive on your doorstep. (This is par for the course; don't order this if you're in a hurry.)

Those nits aside, this is one of the better deals I've seen on a big (or bigger) 4G-capable tablet. Might be worth a look!

Bonus deal: The Cortex Camera app for iOS helps you snap better low-light photos. It normally sells for $2.99, but for a limited time, you can get Cortex Camera for free. Said CNET's Matt Elliott: "In my experience, I found that Cortex Camera greatly reduced noise in low-light conditions." Sold!

Bonus deal No. 2: I haven't forgotten you, Android users: Today only, the Amazon Appstore has Mobiata's FlightBoard for Android absolutely free. Regular price: $3.99. It's a top-rated real-time flight tracker -- and a very cool one, IMHO.

Deals found on The Cheapskate are subject to availability, expiration, and other terms determined by sellers.

Curious about what exactly The Cheapskate does and how it works? Read our FAQ.

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Severed Heads Were Sacrifices in Ancient Mexico

Archaeologists have uncovered the remains of more than 150 skulls from an ancient shrine in central Mexico—evidence of one of the largest mass sacrifices of humans in pre-Hispanic Mesoamerica.

The skulls, many facing east, lay beneath a crude, slightly elevated mound of crushed stone on what was once an artificial island in a vast shallow lake, now completely dry.

"The site is barely a bump on the horizon in the middle of nowhere," said lead archaeologist Christopher Morehart, of Georgia State University. And that was baffling. Previous evidence of such sacrifices came from grand pyramids in large ceremonial centers.

The discovery suggests that the site—near the town of Xaltocan (named after the ancient lake)—played a significant role in the political turmoil during the period between the years 650 and 800. The great city of Teotihuacan, only nine miles (15 kilometers) away, had suddenly begun to collapse, and the power it once exerted over the region was slipping away. Many experts believe this turn of events was triggered by a massive drought.

What followed was a time of  "political, cultural, and demographic change," according to Morehart, a National Geographic research grantee. As people left Teotihuacan and moved to the surrounding areas, new communities formed and new leaders competed for power. "There's a good chance that the sacrifices are related to these competitions," Morehart said.

The sacrificed individuals could even have been war captives—often the case in Mesoamerican cultures. The site itself was probably not a battlefield, though. It was a sacred space that was specially prepared for rituals.

The people who lived in this area appear to have performed elaborately choreographed rituals at the shrine before the fall of Teotihuacan, but they didn't include human sacrifice. Because of its water-bound location and the presence of freshwater springs nearby, the shrine was likely the site of ceremonies that petitioned gods associated with rain and fertility. Artifacts uncovered include clay images of Tlaloc, a rain god.

The rituals began to include sacrifices, though, as power struggles gripped the parched region. Morehart and his colleagues from the National University of Mexico believe that victims were first killed and dismembered. The body parts may then have been thrown into the lake, while the heads were carefully arranged and buried. Incense was burned during this ceremony, along with the resinous wood of pine trees. Flowers added their own perfume to the fragrant smoke, and foods such as ritually burned maize were presented as additional offerings.

Over the following centuries, new peoples arrived in the area and political power ebbed and shifted, yet the sacred nature of the site persisted. Morehart and his team found evidence for rituals here during both the Aztec and colonial periods, and they even came across a recent offering.

"As we were digging we found a black plastic bag. Inside was a hardboiled egg, a black candle, and some photos of people," he said. "It's a fascinating example of continued ritual activity in a place despite dramatic changes in social, political, and cultural contexts."

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Ex-LA Cop Sought in Shootings of 3 Cops, 2 Slayings

Police in Southern California say they suspect that a fired cop is connected to the shootings -- one fatal -- of three police officers this morning, as well as the weekend slayings of an assistant women's college basketball coach and her fiancé in what cops believe are acts of revenge against the LAPD, as suggested in the suspect's online manifesto.

Former police officer Christopher Jordan Dorner, 33, who's a U.S. Navy reservist, has been publically named as a suspect in the killings of Monica Quan, 28, and her 27-year-old fiancé, Keith Lawrence, Irvine police Chief David L. Maggard said at a news conference Wednesday night.

"We are considering him armed and dangerous," Lt. Julia Engen of the Irvine Police Department said.

Police say Dorner shot at four officers in two incidents overnight, hitting three of them: one in Corona, Calif., and two in Riverside, Calif.

Sgt. Rudy Lopez of the LAPD said two LAPD officers were in Corona, and were heading out on special detail to check on one of the individuals named in Dorner's manifesto. Dorner allegedly grazed one of them but missed the other.

The Riverside Police Department said two of its officers were shot before one of them died, KABC-TV reported. The extent of the other's injuries is unclear.

Police suspected a connection to Dorner.

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"They were on routine patrol stopped at a stop light when they were ambushed," Lt. Guy Toussant of the Riverside police department said.

Police around Southern California are wearing tactical gear, including helmets and guns across their chests. The light-up signs along California highways show the license plate number of Dorner's car, and say to call 911 if it is seen. The problem, police say, is that they believe Dorner is switching license plates on his car, a 2005 charcoal gray Nissan Titan pickup truck.

Lawrence was found slumped behind the wheel of his white Kia in the parking lot of their upscale apartment complex in Irvine Sunday and Quan was in the passenger seat.

"A particular interest at this point in the investigation is a multi-page manifesto in which the suspect has implicated himself in the slayings," Maggard said.

Police said Dorner's manifesto included threats against members of the LAPD. Police say they are taking extra measures to ensure the safety of officers and their families.

The document, allegedly posted on an Internet message board this week, apparently blames Quan's father, retired LAPD Capt. Randy Quan, for his firing from the department.

"Your lack of ethics and conspiring to wrong a just individual are over," he allegedly wrote.

One passage from the manifesto reads, "I will bring unconventional and asymmetrical warfare to those in LAPD uniform whether on or off duty."

"I never had the opportunity to have a family of my own," it reads. "I'm terminating yours."

Dorner was with the department from 2005 until 2008, when he was fired for making false statements.

Randy Quan, who became a lawyer in retirement, represented Dorner in front of the Board of Rights, a tribunal that ruled against Dorner at the time of his dismissal, LAPD Capt. William Hayes told The Associated Press Wednesday night.

According to documents from a court of appeals hearing in October 2011, Dorner was fired from the LAPD after he made a complaint against his field-training officer, Sgt. Teresa Evans, saying in the course of an arrest she had kicked a suspect who was a schizophrenic with severe dementia.

After an investigation, Dorner was fired for making false statements.

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Lifelogging captures a real picture of your health

Claire O'Connell, contributor

(Image: Jacqueline Kerr et al.)

What difference does it make to your lifestyle if you've got a camera hanging around your neck that is recording every move? A clutch of papers in a special issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine aims to answer that question by looking at how so-called lifelogging can influence behaviour.

Much of the research involves Microsoft's SenseCam, which is worn on a lanyard around the neck so it can automatically take hundreds of first-person-view images each day.

One study asked 40 people to wear a SenseCam and an accelerometer to compare how the devices tracked their movements each minute. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the camera gave richer information about context, and it picked up on subtleties such as standing rather than sitting - accelerometers tended to classify both as sedentary behaviour.

Meanwhile, active volunteers - trainee jockeys, Gaelic football and university students - wore SenseCams and kept food diaries for one day. The camera picked up on factors such as portion size, forgotten foods, leftovers and brand names, and the pictorial evidence often revealed a higher estimated calorie intake than the wearers themselves reported. This suggests that combining a conventional food diary and a SenseCam could offer a more accurate picture of total energy intake for people who are closely monitoring their diets, such as athletes.

And if a SenseCam is out of reach, a smartphone slung onto a lanyard might do the trick instead. One of the studies asked 47 volunteers to wear a smartphone equipped with lifelogging software that collected data from built-in functions including the accelerometer, compass, camera and GPS. There were some issues with battery life - plus using the phone to track your behaviour means you can't easily use it as a phone. But the authors note that platforms such as smartphones could make camera-wearing more feasible in a wider range of populations.

Wearable cameras have "exciting potential" in health studies, but there are still hurdles to clear before the equipment becomes more widely adopted, says Aiden Doherty from the Centre for Sensor Web Technologies at Dublin City University in Ireland.

Not least is how to process the vast amount of image data produced. "We are working on the challenge of automatically identifying lifestyle behaviour from wearable camera data," he says.

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Euro not currently overvalued, Germany says

BERLIN : The euro is not currently overvalued and exchange rates should not be used to try and boost competitiveness, the German government said Wednesday, rejecting French calls for ways to cap the single currency's recent rise.

"The German government is of the conviction that the euro, historically speaking, is currently not overvalued," government spokesman Steffen Seibert told a news briefing.

"What we're currently seeing is a rise in the value of the euro which is a counter-reaction to the massive depreciation in the wake of the eurozone crisis," Seibert said.

Earlier in Paris, French Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici had said an overvalued euro hurts economic growth and the issue should be discussed among eurozone finance ministers and the group of 20 leading economies.

But Berlin sees no cause for alarm.

The latest rise in the euro "shows that financial markets' confidence in the euro is returning. That's not a bad thing," government spokesman Seibert continued.

Germany believes that a currency's exchange rate should reflect its economic fundamentals "and flexible exchange rates are the best to way to achieve this," he said.

"I can only point out that both the G8 and the G20 separately agreed that it made sense for the markets to set exchange rates," the spokesman noted.

French minister Moscovici said that while the euro's recent rise was partly explained by the abatement of the eurozone crisis, the monetary policy of other countries was also to blame.

Moscovici said it is "legitimate" to discuss with European finance ministers what could be the fair value of the euro and the right way to get there.

But while Seibert acknowledged that the topic would likely be discussed, "from our point of view, exchange rate policy is not an appropriate tool to boost competitiveness.

"The effects of things like targeted devaluation tend to be rather short-term. You can't use it to achieve a lasting boost in competitiveness," Seibert said.

A day earlier, French President Francois Hollande had said the euro's value cannot not be left to the whims of the market.

Speaking to European Parliament in Strasbourg said "a single currency zone must have a foreign exchange policy otherwise it will see an exchange rate imposed on it (by the markets) which is out of line with its real competitive position."

The euro has strengthened sharply in the past few months as the eurozone appeared to have finally got the better of a debt crisis which at one stage looked likely to sink the whole project.

On Friday, the single currency hit US$1.3711, a level last seen in mid-November 2011, stoking concerns that it could begin to hurt exports, a key growth driver at a time when the overall eurozone economy is struggling badly.

For several months some emerging countries have objected that monetary policy by leading central banks, in injecting liquidity into their own economies, tends to depress their currencies and amounts to a policy of competitive devaluation.

Analysts say that the policy of the European Central Bank is showing signs of being somewhat less relaxed and this is one factor tending to push up the euro.

- AFP/ch

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YouTube mulling $50 million investment in Vevo -- report

YouTube might soon invest some cash in Vevo, according to a new report.

Google's video site could invest $50 million in Vevo, a joint venture established by Universal Music and Sony Music Entertainment, Bloomberg is reporting today, citing people who claim to have knowledge of their negotiations. In return for the $50 million, YouTube would acquire less than 10 percent of the company, indicating Vevo might be valued at over $500 million.

Perhaps more importantly for Google, the deal would also ensure that Vevo's music videos stay on YouTube, according to Bloomberg.

Rumors have been swirling for months that Vevo is looking to raise some cash, and Google might just be the company to help it do so. In May, for example, the New York Post reported that Google was looking to acquire an equity stake in Vevo on a valuation of $1 billion. It was believed at that time that Facebook might also try to acquire equity in Vevo.

The YouTube-Vevo investment rumor was rekindled last month in a report from All Things Digital. That report didn't include mention of the possible investment.

CNET has contacted YouTube for comment on the Bloomberg report. We will update this story when we have more information.

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