Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Milan-to-N.Y. flight diverts to London for sick passenger

By msnbc.com news services

An American Airlines flight from Milan to New York made an unscheduled stop at London?s Heathrow Airport on Monday.

A man onboard needed medical attention, according to airline spokesman Matt Miller, though no specific information regarding the man's symptoms or condition was available.

American Airlines Flight 199 is carrying 156 passengers and 12 crew members, Miller said.

The flight was originally scheduled to land at New York?s JFK airport at 1:15 p.m. ET. The post-diversion arrival time is 3:10 p.m., according to FlightStats.com.

More stories you might like:

Source: http://overheadbin.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/30/10271467-milan-to-ny-flight-diverts-to-london-for-sick-passenger

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Homeless Science Whiz Goes to Washington

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Intel Science Talent Search semifinalist Samantha Garvey got a grand tour of Washington this week.

Source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=19c8336e9e51cd79548b1a1b88b0efaf

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Clerk charged with stealing $1 million from NY archdiocese

By msnbc.com staff and nbcnewyork.com

A longtime worker for the Archdiocese of New York has been accused of using accounting tricks to steal more than?$1 million from the church, law enforcement officials and church leaders said.

Anita Collins was arrested Monday after an investigation by?Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance?s?office. She was expected to be arraigned?later in the day.

Prosecutors alleged Collins spent $18,000 of the stolen money on furniture from Bloomingdale's; $23,000 on clothing at Barney's; $14,000 on clothing at Brooks Brothers; and $19,000 on trinkets from an Irish gift store.

Read more on nbcnewyork.com

Collins allegedly engaged in a ?sophisticated fraud to manipulate the accounts payable system in the Department of Education Finance Office,? Joseph Zwilling, director of communications for the Archdiocese of New York, said in a statement.

Zwilling said Archdiocese officials uncovered what they initially believed to be at least $350,000 in stolen funds and reported their suspicions to the Manhattan DA.

?As a result of the investigation conducted by the Manhattan D.A. and with the full cooperation of the Archdiocese, it has been determined that the amount stolen is approximately $1 million,? Zwilling said.

Collins began working for the Archdiocese in 2003 and was fired Dec. 6 when the alleged fraud was discovered, Zwilling said.

?This defendant is accused of stealing from the Archdiocese for seven and a half long years,? said Vance. ?It appears that she only stopped because she finally got caught. I would like to thank the Archdiocese for detecting the initial fraud, referring the matter to my Office, and for its full cooperation throughout the investigation.?

Collins was promoted to manage the Archdiocese finances at the main office after having earlier worked in the education finance office, according to the New York Post.

Police told the Post she allegedly issued 450 checks for phony invoices, each deposited into bank accounts she controlled. The checks allegedly totaled less than $2,500 -- an amount that would trigger a sign-off from a supervisor.

The Bronx woman has a criminal record for grand larceny in 1999 in an earlier job and the Archdiocese never ran a background check on her, the Post reported.

?Sadly, there will always be individuals who seek to exploit and circumvent whatever system is established, but we will remain vigilant in our oversight,? Zwilling said.

Collins remained in jail Monday evening.

Her lawyer's name wasn't immediately available, according to the Associated Press.

The New York Times first reported Collins' arrest.

More content from msnbc.com and NBC News

Source: http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/30/10273124-clerk-charged-with-stealing-1-million-from-ny-archdiocese

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Monday, January 30, 2012

SAG Awards 2012 Winners List

'The Help' nabs Best Ensemble' in a stunning upset, while awards-show fave 'The Artist' leaves light on wins.
By Eric Ditzian


Octavia Spencer at the SAG Awards on Sunday
Photo: Jason Merritt/Getty Images

The SAG Awards, as we have noted, often have a curious way of letting us know what the Oscars are going to deliver. So when the Screen Actors Guild doled out its golden statuettes on Sunday night (January 29), we couldn't help but feel there were more than a few hints at how the Academy Awards might shake out in a few weeks.

What are we to make of the upset SAG win for "The Help" in outstanding cast in a movie, for instance? Where does this leave "The Artist," which had been looking increasingly, inevitably like the big champ come Oscar night, yet only won outstanding male performance (Jean Dujardin) at the SAGs?

Things were more predictable on the TV side of things. In 2012, for the second year in a row, "Modern Family" (Outstanding Cast in a Comedy) and "Boardwalk Empire" (Outstanding Cast in a Drama and a Lead Actor win for Steve Buscemi) had strong showings. Check out the full list of winners:

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
"Bridesmaids"
"The Artist"
"The Descendants"
"The Help"
"Midnight in Paris"

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
George Clooney, "The Descendants"
Demian Bichir, "A Better Life"
Leonardo DiCaprio, "J. Edgar"
Jean Dujardin, "The Artist"
Brad Pitt, "Moneyball"

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
Michelle Williams, "My Week With Marilyn"
Glenn Close, "Albert Nobbs"
Viola Davis, "The Help"
Meryl Streep, "The Iron Lady"
Tilda Swinton, "We Need to Talk About Kevin"

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
Nick Nolte, "Warrior"
Kenneth Branagh, "My Week With Marilyn"
Armie Hammer, "J. Edgar"
Jonah Hill, "Moneyball"
Christopher Plummer, "Beginners"

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
Octavia Spencer, "The Help"
Berenice Bejo, "The Artist"
Jessica Chastain, "The Help"
Melissa McCarthy, "Bridesmaids"
Janet McTeer, "Albert Nobbs"

Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture
"The Adjustment Bureau"
"Cowboys & Aliens"
"Harry Potter and the Deahtly Hallows - Part 2"
"Transformers: Dark of the Moon"
"X-Men: First Class"

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie Or Miniseries
Laurence Fishburne, "Thurgood"
Paul Giamatti, "Too Big to Fail"
Greg Kinnear, "The Kennedys"
Guy Pearce, "Mildred Pierce"
James Woods, "Too Big to Fail"

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie Or Miniseries
Diane Lane, "Cinema Verite"
Maggie Smith, "Downton Abbey"
Emily Watson, "Appropriate Adult"
Betty White, "The Lost Valentine"
Kate Winslet, "Mildred Pierce"

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series
Patrick J. Adams, "Suits"
Steve Buscemi, "Boardwalk Empire"
Kyle Chandler, "Friday Night Lights"
Bryan Cranston, "Breaking Bad"
Michael C. Hall, "Dexter"

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series
Kathy Bates, "Harry's Law"
Glenn Close, "Damages"
Jessica Lange, "American Horror Story"
Julianna Margulies, "The Good Wife"
Kyra Sedgwick, "The Closer"

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series
Alec Baldwin, "30 Rock"
Ty Burrell, "Modern Family"
Steve Carell, "The Office"
Jon Cryer, "Two and a Half Men"
Eric Stonestreet, "Modern Family"

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series
Julie Bowen, "Modern Family"
Edie Falco, "Nurse Jackie"
Tina Fey, "30 Rock"
Sofia Vergara, "Modern Family"
Betty White, "Hot In Cleveland"

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
"Boardwalk Empire"
"Breaking Bad"
"Dexter"
"Game of Thrones"
"The Good Wife"

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
"30 Rock"
"The Big Bang Theory"
"Glee"
"Modern Family"
"The Office"

Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Television Series
"Dexter"
"Game of Thrones"
"Southland"
"Spartacus: Gods of the Arena"
"True Blood"

Screen Actors Guild Awards 48th Annual Life Achievement Award
Mary Tyler Moore

Stick with MTV News all night for the 2012 SAG Awards winners, and don't miss all the fashion from the red carpet!

Related Photos

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1678105/screen-actors-guild-sag-awards-winners-list.jhtml

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Sunday, January 29, 2012

Romney and Gingrich stay focused on Florida

AAA??Jan. 28, 2012?3:27 AM ET
Romney and Gingrich stay focused on Florida
The Associated Press?THE ASSOCIATED PRESS STATEMENT OF NEWS VALUES AND PRINCIPLES?The Associated Press

Republican presidential candidate, Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, joins Colby College students Brian Russo, of Wakefield, Mass., left, and Jack Harris of Greenwich, Conn., in a sustainability salute, at campaign stop, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012, in Waterville, Maine. The three fingers stand for balancing environment, economics, and society. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Republican presidential candidate, Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, joins Colby College students Brian Russo, of Wakefield, Mass., left, and Jack Harris of Greenwich, Conn., in a sustainability salute, at campaign stop, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012, in Waterville, Maine. The three fingers stand for balancing environment, economics, and society. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. step off a charter plane in Pensacola, Fla., Friday, Jan. 27, 2012. Romney and Gingrich square off over immigration and other issues as they look to woo Hispanics a day after a feisty, final debate before Tuesday?s Florida primary. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Republican presidential candidate former House Speaker Newt Gingrich shakes hands with a supporter during a Republican Jewish Coalition rally at the South County Civic Center, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012, in Delray Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

The two leading candidates in Florida's Republican primary, Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich, are staying focused on voters with events around the state this weekend.

On Saturday, Romney has events planned in Pensacola and Panama City. Gingrich will be in Stuart, Port St. Lucie, Brooksville, Orlando, Winter Park and West Palm Beach.

Far away from Florida, Ron Paul is hosting a town hall Saturday morning at the University of Southern Maine, in Gorham, and similar events later in the day in the Maine towns of Freeport and Alfred.

Rick Santorum left Florida for a quick trip to Pennsylvania and plans to host a fundraiser Saturday night in Washington, D.C.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2012-01-28-GOP%20Campaign/id-279a90ed6c0c43f8ac48d6faeb3e57c2

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Saturday, January 28, 2012

Automotive Glass: Protecting Passengers from Collisions | Window ...

Car accidents are nearly becoming commonplace among motorists and pedestrians. however, this doesn?t mean that automobile country should be set aside. As a matter of fact, about 115 people in the United Says die regular due to automobile crashes. this is why when purchasing vehicles, country should be the main concern. While the latest country features can help lower the risk automobile crash fatality, one often overlooked part that you might want to focus on is the kind of high impact?resistant automotive glass Calgary automobile owners prefer.

Automotive glass comprises the car?s rear glass, side glass, rear/side mirrors, and the windshield. The glass is a very important part of a vehicle, as it protects passengers from the heat of the sun, the wind, rain showers, and bugs.

In addition, the front and rear windshields wage structural strength and act as pillars to hold the roof up.

Unlike those of windows in most homes, automotive glass is prefabricated of more durable materials because they receive massive amounts of strain. They are manufactured into two types which are laminated glass (used for the windshield) and tempered glass (used for the vehicle?s back and side windows). Both have different functions, but both can protect passengers against glass shards, retain the roof?s firmness in rollovers, and grant side airbags to protect passengers when deployed.

Automotive glass Calgary residents would like to have does not shatter upon impact. Automotive glass is prefabricated with a layer of resin which prevents it from breaking into several pieces.

There is also bullet proof glass acquirable for better protection. Bullet proof glass is commonly used in war automobiles and in automobiles used by VIPs and government officials.

However, even with high-class automotive glass, there is no guarantee that the automobile will be entirely safe. The glass is only meant to reduce the alteration passengers will sustain in a collision. Automotive glass plays an important role on your country when you?re on the road. thus, being knowledgeable in automotive glass repair and maintenance is highly recommended.

When looking for automotive glass, browse the World wide web for a list of reputable Calgary auto glass specialists near your area. these specialists will take care of the repair or installation of high impact?resistant glass. They are guaranteed to give you peace of mind and increased country in regular traveling. it is also prudent to acquire a automobile window breaker from these professionals. A automobile window breaker is crucial when you want to get out a automobile that is rapidly descending into a river or lake.

Source: http://windowreplacementusa.com/car-glass-repair/automotive-glass-protecting-passengers-from-collisions/

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Academy of Country Music Award Nominations: Announced!


The 47th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards will be handed out live in Las Vegas on April 1, in a ceremony hosted by Reba McEntire and Blake Shelton.

And who is up for these prestigious trophies? Good question! The nominees were announced today...

ACM Awards

Entertainer of the Year
Jason Aldean
Kenny Chesney
Brad Paisley
Blake Shelton
Taylor Swift

Male Vocalist of the Year
Jason Aldean
Kenny Chesney
Brad Paisley
Blake Shelton
Chris Young

Female Vocalist of the Year
Sara Evans
Miranda Lambert
Martina McBride
Taylor Swift
Carrie Underwood

Vocal Duo of the Year
Love and Theft
Montgomery Gentry
Steel Magnolia
Sugarland
Thompson Square

Vocal Group of the Year
The Band Perry
Eli Young Band
Lady Antebellum
Rascal Flatts
Zac Brown Band

Album of the Year
Eric Church, Chief
Miranda Lambert, Four the Record
Kenny Chesney, Hemingway's Whiskey
Jason Aldean, My Kinda Party
Lady Antebellum, Own the Night

Single Record of the Year
Eli Young Band, "Crazy Girl"
Jason Aldean with Kelly Clarkson, "Don't You Wanna Stay"
Toby Keith, "Red Solo Cup"
Chris Young, "Tomorrow"
Kenny Chesney featuring Grace Potter, "You and Tequila"

Song of the Year
Eli Young Band, "Crazy Girl"
Dierks Bentley, "Home"
Lady Antebellum, "Just a Kiss"
Vince Gill, "Threaten Me With Heaven"
Kenny Chesney featuring Grace Potter, "You and Tequila"

Songwriter of the Year
Rhett Akins
Dallas Davidson
Ben Hayslip
Luke Laird
David Lee Murphy

Video of the Year
"Homeboy," Eric Church
"Just a Kiss," Lady Antebellum
"Mean," Taylor Swift
"Red Solo Cup," Toby Keith
"Tattoos on This Town," Jason Aldean

Vocal Event of the Year
Aaron Lewis featuring George Jones & Charlie Daniels, "Country Boy"
Jason Aldean with Kelly Clarkson, "Don't You Wanna Stay"
Brad Paisley featuring Alabama, "Old Alabama"
Brad Paisley Duet with Carrie Underwood, "Remind Me"
Kenny Chesney featuring Grace Potter, "You and Tequila"

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2012/01/academy-of-country-music-award-nominations-announced/

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Friday, January 27, 2012

SEC charges trader with hijacking accounts (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? Securities regulators charged a Latvian trader with reaping more than $850,000 in illegal profits by hacking into online brokerage accounts and manipulating more than 100 securities.

In a complaint filed in federal court in San Francisco on Thursday, the Securities and Exchange Commission said Igors Nagaicevs broke into accounts at large U.S. brokerages and drove up stock prices by making unauthorized purchases and sales.

The SEC complaint gave Nagaicevs' address in Jurmala, Latvia, and said he was 34 years old but gave no further information on his current whereabouts. The SEC wants him to pay an unspecified amount in disgorgement and penalties.

The SEC also took administrative enforcement action on Thursday against four electronic trading firms and eight executives, saying they all enabled Nagaicevs's scheme by giving him "anonymous and unfiltered access" to the U.S. market.

The SEC said the trading firms also failed to properly register as brokers.

Two individuals and one firm have agreed to settle the matter, the agency said.

As part of its broader review of market structure issues, the SEC has flagged a practice known as "sponsored access" - in which brokerages with approval to trade on exchanges rent their access to traders - as a problem area.

Last year, new SEC rules took effect that target sponsored access by requiring brokerages to implement risk controls and increase their supervision over unlicensed high-speed traders who gain unfettered access to the markets.

The rules also effectively banned what is known as "naked access" in which brokers do not screen the orders en route to the markets.

The alleged conduct in the complaint occurred before those rules took effect.

The SEC's complaint said trading firms Alchemy Ventures Inc, KM Capital Management, Zanshin Enterprises and Mercury Capital all received "sponsored market access" from brokerages registered in the United States and then "passed the sponsored access on to the Latvian trader" who used it to manipulate the markets.

"These firms provided unfettered access to trade in the U.S. securities markets on an essentially anonymous basis," said Daniel Hawke, head of the SEC's Market Abuse Unit, in a statement.

"By failing to register as brokers, the firms and principals in this case exposed U.S. markets to real harm by evading crucial safeguards of the federal securities laws. We will not allow firms like these to fly under the radar and become safe havens for market abuse."

Mercury Capital and its president Lisa Hyatt agreed to settle the matter, as did Richard Rizzo, an associate of Zanshin Enterprises, the SEC said. Hyatt and Rizzo will each pay a $35,000 penalty.

Michael Bachner, an attorney for Rizzo, said the SEC has acknowledged in the settlement that his client had no knowledge of the illegal activities and that he never "intentionally furthered them."

Frank Razzano, an attorney for Mercury Capital and Hyatt, said his clients are happy to put this matter behind them.

Attorneys for the other firms and executives charged could not be immediately reached for comment, and Nagaicevs has no known defense counsel.

(Reporting By Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by John Wallace, Gary Hill)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/stocks/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120126/us_nm/us_sec_hacking

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Brad Pitt on quitting 'way too much dope'

Paul Buck / EPA

By Access Hollywood

Oscar nominee Brad Pitt has come a long way from his early days of stardom where he battled depression and drug use.

The 48-year-old star opened up about his past struggles with The Hollywood Reporter, saying he used drugs in attempt to escape the spotlight.

VIEW THE PHOTOS: Big Screen Gentlemen: Hollywood?s Leading Men

?I got really sick of myself at the end of the 1990s: I was hiding out from the celebrity thing; I was smoking way too much dope; I was sitting on the couch and just turning into a doughnut; and I really got irritated with myself,? he told THR. ?I got to: ?What?s the point? I know better than this.??

In addition to drug use, the ?Moneyball? and ?Tree of Life? star revealed he had his fair share of dark thoughts.

VIEW THE PHOTOS: Hollywood Dads & Their Adorable Little Ones!

?I used to deal with depression, but I don?t now, not this decade -- maybe last decade. But that?s also figuring out who you are,? he continued. ?I see it as a great education, as one of the seasons or a semester: ?This semester I was majoring in depression.? I was doing the same thing every night and numbing myself to sleep --?the same routine: Couldn?t wait to get home and hide out. But that feeling of unease was growing and one night I just said, ?This is a waste.??

Trips to Yugoslavia and Morocco in the late '90s, where the actor said he saw ?poverty to an extreme I had never witnessed before,? was the wakeup call he needed to change his life.

?I just quit. I stopped grass then -- I mean, pretty much -- and decided to get off the couch,? he recalled. (Check out Pitt below as the stoner character Floyd in the 1993 film "True Romance.")

Pitt then looked to one of music?s biggest philanthropist for inspiration.

?I sought out Bono and sat down with him a few times and got involved in some of the stuff he was doing. But it all started before that. It started with private acts,? he explained, adding that his newfound passion to help others connected him with longtime partner Angelina Jolie.

VIEW THE PHOTOS: Hot Shots Of Brad Pitt!

?That may have been one of the things that brought us together,? Pitt said of Jolie. ?Certainly, I?ve met very few people more dedicated than she is. She is always studying issues, daily. She has such compassion for the people she works with.?

Looking back, Pitt is at peace with past struggles.

VIEW THE PHOTOS: Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie

?This idea of perpetual happiness is crazy and overrated, because those dark moments fuel you for the next bright moments; each one helps you appreciate the other,? he said. ?We are all searching for meaning in our lives, love and betterment for ourselves and those around us.?

Related slideshows:

Source: http://todayentertainment.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/25/10234995-brad-pitt-reveals-why-he-quit-smoking-way-too-much-dope

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Thursday, January 26, 2012

Make way for cyclists in Tel Aviv

The 'Amsterdam of the Middle East,' Tel Aviv has miles of urban cycling paths and a new bike-share program.

? A local, slice-of-life story from a Monitor correspondent.

Skip to next paragraph

Back in the 1990s, Tel Aviv?s bicycles were pushed to the margins of the urban landscape, which lacked bike lanes or bike racks.

In the past decade, however, Israel?s cosmopolitan capital has reimagined itself as an Amsterdam of the Middle East with miles of bike paths on sidewalks, boulevards, and in the streets.

With its generally flat terrain and temperate climate, Tel Aviv is an ideal city to navigate on two wheels. The network, marked with bicycle stencils, runs the length of the city?s Mediterranean seacoast, reaches down leafy historical avenues, and sweeps through the commercial center. The city also inaugurated a bike rental system, the Tel-O-Fun, with some 150 rental stations throughout the city. Usage has exceeded expectations, and the distinctive green and gray bikes with upright seating have become ubiquitous. A leading enthusiast is Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai, who test-drove one of the Tel-O-Fun bikes and christened a bike traffic light.

Let?s be clear: Tel Aviv is no Amsterdam ? most of the bike lanes are on sidewalks. On trendy Rothschild Boulevard, the cyclists must dodge cafe tables, and on Ibn Gavirol, the bike path is interrupted by trees, benches, and building columns. But in a country where the volatile Israeli driver dominates the roads, some of that turf is being retaken by cyclists.

Think you know the Middle East? Take our geography quiz.

Get daily or weekly updates from CSMonitor.com delivered to your inbox.?Sign up today.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/csmonitor/globalnews/~3/J-6g-6HQtwI/Make-way-for-cyclists-in-Tel-Aviv

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Nielsen's top prime-time programs for Jan. 16-22 (AP)

Prime-time viewership numbers compiled by Nielsen for Jan. 16-22. Listings include the week's ranking and viewership.

1. NFC Championship: N.Y. Giants vs. San Francisco, Fox, 57.64 million.

2. "NFC Championship Post-Game Show," Fox, 31.04 million.

3. "American Idol" (Wednesday), Fox, 21.93 million.

4. "American Idol" (Thursday), Fox, 18.02 million.

5. "The Big Bang Theory," CBS, 15.84 million.

6. "Person of Interest," CBS, 14.4 million.

7. "The Mentalist," CBS, 14.22 million.

8. "Betty White's 90th Birthday," NBC, 13.86 million.

9. "NCIS," CBS, 13.23 million.

10. "Two and a Half Men," CBS, 13.02 million.

11. "Criminal Minds," CBS, 13 million.

12. "Off Their Rockers," NBC, 12.26 million.

13. "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," CBS, 12.02 million.

14. "Modern Family," ABC, 11.89 million.

15. "Rob," CBS, 11.41 million.

16. "2 Broke Girls," CBS, 11.4 million.

17. "Mike & Molly," CBS, 11.09 million.

18. "Hawaii Five-O," CBS, 10.73 million.

19. "How I Met Your Mother," CBS, 10.08 million.

20. "Alcatraz," Fox, 10.05.

___

ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Co.; CBS is a division of CBS Corp.; Fox is a unit of News Corp.; NBC is owned by NBC Universal.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tv/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120124/ap_en_tv/us_nielsens_list

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Obama and GOP candidates offer a campaign preview (AP)

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. ? On a day that combined two campaigns into one, President Barack Obama on Wednesday challenged Republicans to raise taxes on the rich as GOP rivals Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich swiped at him on the economy and criticized each other over immigration.

With a week to go before the Jan. 31 Florida Republican presidential primary, the polls suggested a tight race, although Romney and his allies seized a staggering advantage in the television ad wars. They have reported spending $14 million combined on commercials, many of them critical of Gingrich, and a total at least seven times bigger that the investment made by the former House speaker and an organization supporting him.

Obama's political timeline was a different one, Election Day on Nov. 6. In a campaign-style appearance in Iowa, he demanded Congress approve a tax increase for anyone like Romney whose income exceeds $1 million a year.

"If you make more than a million dollars a year, you should pay a tax rate of at least 30 percent. If, on the other hand, you make less than $250,000, which includes 98 percent of you, your taxes shouldn't go up," he said after touring a manufacturing plant in Cedar Rapids and in a state that he won in 2008 that was expected to be a battleground in the fall.

"This is not class warfare," he said. "That's common sense."

As Obama surely knew, it was an offer Gingrich, Romney and the anti-tax Republicans in Congress are likely to find easy to refuse.

Referring to Obama's call in the speech for Congress to end tax breaks that encourage companies to ship jobs overseas, Romney said he didn't know of any.

Instead, he said the president presides over "the most anti-business, anti-investment, anti-job creator administration I've ever seen, and so, what I'll do ? I'll get America to work again. I spent 25 years in business."

Gingrich was far harsher at an appearance in Miami.

"If he actually meant what he said it would be a disaster of the first order," Gingrich said of the president's call for higher taxes on millionaires.

The former House speaker said the president's proposal would double the capital gains tax and "lead to a dramatic decline in the stock market, which would affect every pension fund in the United States."

"It would affect every person who has a 401(k). It would attack the creation of jobs and drive capital outside of the United States. It would force people to invest overseas. It would be the most anti-jobs single step he could take," he said.

Under current law, investment income is taxed as the rate of 15 percent, a fact that has come to the fore of the campaign in recent days with the release of Romney's income tax return.

Wages, by contrast, are taxed at rates that can exceed 30 percent.

Electability is the top concern for GOP primary voters, according to polls taken in the early primary and caucus states, so both Republicans were eager to paint a contrast with the president.

But Romney and Gingrich also focused on the Florida primary now seven days distant.

Romney has long led in the state's polls, but Gingrich's upset victory last Saturday in the first-in-the-South primary in South Carolina revitalized his candidacy and raised questions about the former Massachusetts governor's staying power.

Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum is also on the ballot, as is Texas Rep. Ron Paul.

But Santorum has been sinking in the polls as Gingrich rises, and Paul has indicated he intends to bypass the state to concentrate on caucuses to be held elsewhere.

That gives Florida the feel of a two-man race, and Romney and Gingrich are treating it that way. The two men sparred heatedly Monday night in a debate that virtually relegated Santorum and Paul to supporting roles.

A second debate is set for Thursday in Jacksonville. And if their separate appearances during the day on the Spanish-language television network Univision is a guide, it will be as feisty as the first.

Gingrich referred acidly to Romney describing a policy of "self-deportation" as a way of having illegal immigrants leave the country without a massive roundup.

"You have to live in a world of Swiss bank accounts and Cayman Island accounts and automatically $20 million income for no work to have some fantasy this far from reality," he said, referring to some of the details disclosed this week when the former Massachusetts governor released his tax returns.

"For Romney to believe that somebody's grandmother is going to be so cut off that she is going to self-deport, I mean, this is an Obama-level fantasy."

Romney's campaign swiftly produced evidence that aides to Gingrich had used the term "self-deport" approvingly, and the former governor attacked.

"I recognize that it's very tempting to come out to an audience like this and pander to the audience," Romney said. "I think that was a mistake on his (Gingrich's) part."

Gingrich also ran into trouble over a radio ad his campaign was airing that called Romney "anti-immigrant." Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., who is neutral in the presidential race, criticized the commercial, and Romney said the term "anti-immigrant" was an epithet. The campaign took the ad off the air.

Gingrich made a stop in Cocoa, center of the state's now-withered space industry, and he cheered his audience by envisioning construction of the first permanent base on the moon. He also promised a "robust industry" of "commercial near-earth activities" to include science, tourism and manufacturing.

He said he hopes to stimulate investment by having the government offer prizes to private companies, but he did not elaborate. For Obama, Iowa was the first of five stops in three days following a State of the Union speech in which he stressed the theme of income equality that is expected to be one of the cornerstones of his re-election campaign. He also wove in proposals to help restore the U.S. manufacturing base that has withered in the course of the recession that began in 2008.

"Our economy is getting stronger, and we've come too far to turn back now," he told workers and guests at a conveyor manufacturing plant in Cedar Rapids. Speaking of Republicans, he said, "Their philosophy is simple: We're better off when everyone is left to fend for themselves and play by their own rules."

It's a message that may be received differently depending on the local economy.

Iowa's unemployment was most recently measured at 5.6 percent, well below the national average. In Arizona, which has its primary in four weeks, joblessness is 8.7 percent, while Nevada's at 12.6, the highest in the country. Its caucuses are Feb. 4.

___

Associated Press writers Brian Bakst, Kasie Hunt and Steve Peoples in Florida contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120126/ap_on_el_pr/us_campaign_rdp

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Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Rep. Keith Ellison: Two Years After Citizens United, Time to Get Corporate Money out of Politics (Huffington post)

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China's New Year: there be dragons, but not enough train tickets

This weekend, hundreds of millions of Chinese will return to hometowns to celebrate the Chinese New Year of the Dragon. But the annual pilgrimage is marked by the annual struggle at the train station.

Is this any way to run a railroad? Some 235 million Chinese travelers have their doubts.

Skip to next paragraph

Every year at the Chinese New Year the Ministry of Railways has the same problem: carrying the hundreds of millions of people who want to go home to celebrate the new year, China?s biggest holiday with their families. And every year it is a nightmare.

Passengers have long complained about endless lines at ticket offices or about paying high prices to scalpers who corner the market; and that?s before they even get on the train to brave agonizingly long and cramped journeys. Being with family at new year is like Thanksgiving and Christmas wrapped into one for Chinese.?

So this year, as China prepares to usher in the Year of the Dragon on Sunday, the Ministry offered holidaymakers the chance to buy their tickets online.

That would have been a good idea, except that its server collapsed under the strain.

On Jan. 9, the ticket booking website took 1.4 billion hits, the Ministry said.

The ensuing crash left a lot of disgruntled customers.?

?I tried on the Internet for a whole day but I never managed to log on,? says Fan Zhixin, who works in a website?s finance department, as she lined up for a ticket outside Beijing?s central station on Thursday.

Eventually, she recounted, she had reached the sales office on the phone, ?but by the time I got through all the seats had been sold, so I had to buy a standing only ticket.?

Since her journey to Ulanhot, in Inner Mongolia, was going to take 20 hours and the idea of standing in a crowded corridor for that long was too appalling, Ms. Fan was making one last bid for a seat.

As she dreaded, there were none. ?This will be very terrible,? she says, wheeling her imitation Louis Vuitton suitcase through the crowd toward the platform.

Ma Anjia, a migrant construction worker heading for his hometown in Shanxi, 16 hours West of Beijing, had secured a seat, but no thanks to the new Internet booking system. In fact, that had made it harder for him.

?I don?t know how to use the Internet,? Mr. Ma laughs. ?I queued up.?

But because tickets became available online two days before they were sold at railroad ticket offices, he kept finding the agencies had sold out. ?I went to five or six different places and waited hours at each one before I managed to buy the tickets I needed,? Ma says.

Still, at least he should be home before the weekend.

Travelers leaving things until the last minute have something else to worry about: Weather forecasters are warning that a wave of snow and rain over the coming days could make travel even more tricky.?

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/csmonitor/globalnews/~3/buJoeKDkNlM/China-s-New-Year-there-be-dragons-but-not-enough-train-tickets

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Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Braun makes passing reference to drug test

(AP) ? Ryan Braun referred only in passing to his positive drug test and possible 50-game suspension as he accepted the National League MVP award at a black-tie dinner Saturday night.

After congratulating other award winners and thanking teammates, family, and the Milwaukee organization, the Brewers left fielder, speaking before a crowd of around 800 in a hotel ballroom, thanked the Major League Baseball Players Association for supporting him through his entire career, "especially for supporting me through everything I've went through over the last couple of months."

ESPN.com first reported in December that Braun had tested positive in October. Braun's grievance appeal before arbitrator Shyam Das to avoid a suspension began Thursday.

"You know, sometimes in life, we all deal with challenges we never expected to endure," Braun told the crowd. "We have an opportunity to look at those challenges and view them either as obstacles or as opportunities, and I've chosen to view every challenge I've ever faced as an opportunity and this will be no different. I have always believed that a person's character is revealed through the way they deal with those moments of adversity."

Braun, the NL Rookie of the Year in 2007, hit .312 with 33 home runs and 111 RBIs last season in leading Milwaukee to the NL Central title. He was not available to take questions from reporters Saturday night, his first public appearance since news broke about the positive test.

Braun's appearance overshadowed a sometimes funny, sometimes poignant 89th dinner of the BBWAA's New York chapter that honored, among others, former Mets catcher Gary Carter, who is fighting brain cancer. The Hall of Fame slugger was represented by his three children.

Carter received the "You Gotta Have Heart" award. Fighting tears, his pregnant daughter, Chrissy, said: "I'll tell my dad about the standing O ? he'll like that."

Also honored was Yankees head athletic trainer Gene Monahan, who retired at the end of last season after 49 years with the organization.

Monahan, the night's final award recipient, was honored for long and meritorious service to baseball. He was introduced, appropriately, by Yankees closer Mariano Rivera ? who had earlier received the "Toast of the Town" award. In an emotional speech, Monahan acknowledged late Yankees owner George Steinbrenner on several occasions and concluded by saying, "To do what you do the best and love the most, that's what happiness is all about."

Don Newcombe, 85, elicited laughter as he introduced Tigers ace Justin Verlander, who joined the former Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher as the only players to win a Cy Young Award, MVP trophy and Rookie of the Year.

On a Mets-themed evening that acknowledged the 50th anniversary of the team's first season, Frank Thomas, Jay Hook and Al Jackson spoke on behalf of the 1962 Mets, remembered for their 40-120 record.

Former Mets player and manager Bobby Valentine was lightly and briefly booed when introduced as Boston's new manager. Valentine joked about traveling from the Boston chapter's Thursday dinner before introducing Yankees reliever David Robertson, who received an award for community service.

Former Mets and new Miami shortstop Jose Reyes accepted the writers' "Good Guy" award, and outfielder Tommy Davis received the "You Could Look It Up" award, honoring the 50th anniversary of his 153-RBI season with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Stu Sternberg, principal owner of the Tampa Bay Rays, accepted Manager of the Year and AL Rookie of the Year on behalf of Joe Maddon and Jeremy Hellickson, respectively. Maddon, who spoke by video, is on vacation with his wife in the Greek islands, a trip planned in early September, before the Rays made their big comeback to reach the AL playoffs.

Cardinals third baseman David Freese was in attendance to accept the Babe Ruth award as postseason MVP.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-01-22-BBWAA%20Dinner-Braun/id-ac12ff2befc94266b4d9cd551782426f

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Mailing it in: In South Carolina, a trip to the post box says everything about the GOP campaign (The Ticket)

CampaignMail1_2

ELGIN, S.C.--It can take my mail-lady more than the average 10 seconds to fill my box these days. Earlier this week, she even had to roll back, because she thought she might have missed something. I was able to walk out to greet her before she got through cramming everything in.

"Make sure all my campaign stuff is there," I said.

"Oh absolutely," she said. "We have to suffer to put it in, and you have to suffer to take it out."

That day's mess of campaign pottage brought the usual: two flyers from Mitt Romney, one from Ron Paul and, bless his heart, a flyer from Rick Perry--who had already dropped out of the race and endorsed Newt Gingrich.

His flyer had a different message. It urged me not to waste my vote on Newt Gingrich, or Rick Santorum.

After resigning from Congress, the flyer said, Gingrich made $1.6 million from Freddie Mac, a lending institution that "helped create the housing crisis." Gingrich advised both lenders, "in his capacity as a 'historian,'" the flyer added. "But Americans have had enough history with insiders who use their previous service to make a quick buck."

Also, Santorum "sold out his conservative principles" when he backed Sen. Arlen Specter, who turned Democrat and helped pass Obamacare.

It was, obviously, too little and way too late, but the bad timing of this missive offers some insight into just how nervous campaigns become in the final clinch.

Looking at that sad little flyer from Perry, I could sense the sheer sweaty anxiety as his campaign finally crumbled. Surely a flurry of phone calls went back and forth: Have you sent out that Perry flyer? No? Well hold off, let me call headquarters ... Yes, they're saying don't send it ?no, they're saying do send it, yes, go, get to the P.O. by five ? Hi, me again, you didn't already send it, did you? You did? Damn?

If you let your campaign mail pile up for a week instead of throwing it away, and stop clicking the channel when attack ads come on--both of which I did for the sole purpose of writing this article--the daily barrage serves as a barometer of who's leading, who is closing in, who has the most cash, and who is desperate.

The flyer was the first piece of mail I'd seen from Perry in weeks. Newt Gingrich, who at this writing is either threatening Romney's lead or has overtaken it, hasn't been much of a mail guy either: two flyers, both hitting Romney, one for his "Pro-Abortion Record" and one for his deficit-reduction plan. Not only that, Romney is the "second most dangerous man in America."

Yes, it's that time in the campaign. If you have red meat, please throw it to the crowd.

I haven't received squat from Santorum (but you can't miss him on TV, either boosting himself in his own ads or being attacked in someone else's). The only real players in the mailbox battle, so far as I can tell, are Mitt Romney and Ron Paul?the leading candidate and the man in third.

The Romney flyers are confident. They are the work of someone shoring up his base. Although the former Massachusetts governor is trying to remind everyone that he is not a so-called "Washington insider," he is also letting people know that he has the approval of the establishment. He has the endorsement of South Carolina's governor, Nikki Haley, and he kinda sorta has the blessing of Jim DeMint, South Carolina's U.S. senator from the tea party. (Actually, DeMint hasn't endorsed anyone, but he did say something Romneyish in 2007, and again in 2012. Both quotes are on one of the flyers.)

Romney's attack mail focuses squarely on Gingrich and Santorum, easily and effectively using images to make his case: Newt's scowling, porcine head versus? Romney's tall, Lincolnesque bearing; ?Santorum biting his lip in frustration versus smiling, confident Romney, backed by an American flag and an applauding Nikki Haley.

Romney doesn't, so far as I can tell, even acknowledge Ron Paul, although Paul obviously can't afford not to notice Romney. The other day I got a letter from Paul: "Do you believe Palmetto State workers should be forced to pay a union boss just to have a job and feed their families?"

Although Paul lets his libertarian freak flag fly during debates, on the home front he knows that you can't really win my state without appealing to the hard right: against unions, against abortion, against Obamacare. A few days ago, he sent a long letter detailing his anti-abortion stance. Just after that, he sent a DVD.? He says everything pro-lifing, climate change-denying, immigrant-loathing voters want to hear: Romney "said abortion should be legal"; Gingrich "wants to give illegal aliens citizenship"; Perry "endorsed environmental fraud Al Gore for President." He's a 76-year- old man with a one-time title shot, and it shows.

By its nature, the TV campaign is louder and more relentless, as every commercial break on the Today show and the local evening news is filled with voices cancelling each other out, as each candidate proclaims he's the only one who can beat Obama.

Ron Paul goes after Gingrich and Santorum as "serial hypocrites" who "can't be trusted." Gingrich likewise attacks Romney as a pro-abortion governor who "can't be trusted." Romney's Restore America's Future Super PAC, in an ad of perhaps questionable effectiveness, hits Gingrich because he keeps on admitting to making mistakes-- a bad thing, apparently. More to the point, Paul outlines Gingrich's contradictions, using clips of Rush Limbaugh, Megyn Kelly and Ed Schultz, while a creepy Phillip Glass-like score plays ominously in the background.

"This is the cauldron," Henry McMaster, the state attorney general, told me last week at the University of South Carolina's Moore School of Business, where his candidate Jon Huntsman was fielding questions. "We're out of the frying-pan and into the fire, because South Carolina, historically, beginning in 1980, is the one who picked the president."

Last weekend, his man had picked up the endorsement of The State newspaper. He dropped out mere hours later.

That's how fast it goes in this ongoing battle for the vote of Current Resident, set to conclude today. The mail lady and I are looking forward to it.

Rodney Welch is a writer in South Carolina. He reviews books for the Free-Times in Columbia, S.C..

Other popular Yahoo! News stories:

? Chuck Norris endorses Newt Gingrich

? The 2012ers take a hard line against immigration--illegal and legal--in SC primary

? The evangelical dilemma in South Carolina: adulterer or Mormon?

Want more of our best political stories? Visit The Ticket or connect with us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, or add us on Tumblr.

Handy with a camera? Join our Election 2012 Flickr group to submit your photos of the campaign in action.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/gop/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_theticket/20120121/el_yblog_theticket/mailing-it-in-in-south-carolina-a-trip-to-the-post-box-says-everything-about-the-gop-campaign

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Monday, January 23, 2012

Make an Impromptu Heat Pad [DIY]

Make an Impromptu Heat PadSeveral years ago we covered how you can make a DIY heating pad by sewing a pocket out of an old t-shirt and adding dried beans and/or rice, but if you need it now or don't have sewing skills you can get the same effect by putting dried beans or rice in a clean sock or pillowcase.

Just make sure you tie the sock or pillow so the rice or beans can't escape. Tool blog Cool Tools recommends microwaving for 1-2 minutes to produce up to 10 minutes of heat. They also note that after several uses as a heat pad the rice will start to break down, so you may want to retire the rice after a few days of heavy use. You can also experiment with spices and herbs to add in elements of aromatherapy as well. Photo by Linda

Homemade Hot Pad | Cool Tools

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/KyAaaVLPdwc/make-an-impromptu-heat-pad

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Sundance Today: Joshua Jackson, Alison Brie, Neil Young

There are two words that can best describe Sundance: pizza tacos.
Okay, maybe those are just the two words best fit to describe the way the MTV Movies team has been chowing down here in Park City over the past two days. There are better words to describe the film festival experience as a whole, [...]

Source: http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2012/01/21/sundance-joshua-jackson-alison-brie-neil-young/

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Sunday, January 22, 2012

Full Disclosure of Romney's Faith and Finances Is a Must (ContributorNetwork)

COMMENTARY | At Thursday's Republican debate in South Carolina, the pressure got turned up a notch on Mitt Romney to release his tax returns. Given how removed his financial situation is from that of most Americans, this seems a reasonable request.

In any case, and despite the candidate's obvious reluctance, it is one that is likely to be fulfilled. There is another matter Romney is even more unwilling to discuss but which is guaranteed to cause an even bigger problem for Republicans if not brought out into the open at the earliest possible date: his faith. Just as Romney's finances are foreign to most Americans, so is his Mormon religion. Full disclosure is required in each case.

I take it that unless we want to be accused of ascribing to a massive double standard we can put aside the question of whether a candidate's faith is a legitimate subject of inquiry. The obsessive coverage in 2008 of President Barack Obama's relation with Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago has demonstrated that a potential president's religious affiliation is a justified focus of press coverage.

Indeed, the controversy surrounding the teachings of Rev. Jeremiah Wright provides a single standard that could be reasonably applied to any candidate's religious affiliation: When a candidate's faith, creed, or teaching veers wildly from mainstream religious thought, it deserves an added level of scrutiny.

If there is one defining trait of the three great world Abrahamic religions -- Judaism, Christianity, and Islam--it is that they all are monotheistic. That is, they all believe there exists a single, all-powerful God. This contrasts with polytheism found in many ancient religions as well as with the conception of divinity in Hinduism or Buddhism. By comparison, Mormonism teaches that there are many Gods and that humans can become gods and goddesses in the celestial kingdom. As it was famously put by Lorenzo Snow, fifth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, "As man is, God once was; as God is, man may be." So when Bob Jones III declares, as he recently did on CNN, that "Mormonism is not Christianity," he is not uttering hateful or even untrue words but stating what is theologically uncontroversial.

Given that a large majority of Americans identify themselves as Christian, this puts Romney's church outside of mainstream American religious thought. Of course in a country that is founded on religious freedom, this does not disqualify Romney from the presidency. But it does make it more than likely that a full accounting of Romney's faith will be even more essential than a full accounting of his finances if America is ever to become comfortable enough with the man to elect him president.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/oped/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20120121/cm_ac/10861349_full_disclosure_of_romneys_faith_and_finances_is_a_must

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Saturday, January 21, 2012

Ex-Israeli intelligence chief: Iran can build bomb (AP)

JERUSALEM ? A former Israeli military intelligence chief says Iran has all the components to build a nuclear bomb, an Israeli newspaper reported Thursday.

It was not clear whether Amos Yadlin, who retired in November 2010, was referring to the mechanical elements of a bomb or implying the Iranians have sufficient weapons-grade uranium, a critical ingredient for bombmaking.

Still, his remarks reflect the prevalent view in Israel that Iran is on the cusp of producing a bomb ? a view at odds with the American assessment that Iran won't have bombmaking capabilities for years.

"If the Iranians get together tonight and decide to secretly develop a bomb, then they have all the resources and components to do so," Yadlin told Maariv.

Israel considers Iran to be the most fearsome of its foes, citing its nuclear program, arsenal of long-range missiles and repeated references to Israel's destruction. It has been lobbying the international community for years to block Tehran from becoming a nuclear power.

Tehran claims its nuclear program is designed solely to produce energy and medical isotopes, not weapons. But a report late last year by the U.N. atomic energy agency bolstered the Israeli and U.S. contention that Iran wants to manufacture weapons.

On Wednesday, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Iran has not started to actually make bombs because that could draw harsher international sanctions and other actions against it.

International anxieties over Iran's intentions have intensified in recent weeks over U.S. and European moves to step up sanctions against Tehran, Iranian threats to shut down a key channel for the world's oil supply if Iranian oil exports are blocked, and the assassination of the deputy director of an Iranian uranium enrichment site.

In this jittery climate, the U.S. military chief, Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, is due to arrive later Thursday in Israel on his first official visit. Israeli media analysts have speculated he will warn Israel not to launch a military assault against Iran.

Israel, which targeted an unfinished Iraqi nuclear reactor in a 1981 airstrike, has said it prefers to pressure Iran through sanctions. But Yadlin, in his interview with Maariv, reiterated Israel's longstanding position that "the military option must be on the table" as a deterrent.

President Barack Obama seemed to be making the same point when he told Time magazine in an interview extract released on Wednesday, "We don't take any options off the table in preventing (Iran) from getting a nuclear weapon."

Israeli Defense Minister Barak said Israel was "very far off" from deciding whether to launch a military strike on the Iranian nuclear program, though he didn't give a timeline for a decision.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iran/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120119/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_israel_iran

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Book author: Kim Jong Il's eldest son wants reform (AP)

TOKYO ? The author of a new book on North Korea says late leader Kim Jong Il's eldest son believes the country now run by his young half brother could fail without economic reforms.

In his book "My Father, Kim Jong Il, and Me," which went on sale this week, Tokyo-based journalist Yoji Gomi describes the oldest son, Kim Jong Nam, as an intelligent gentleman who understands his country's problems.

Gomi says he met Kim Jong Nam by chance in Beijing in 2004. The brief encounter gave him just enough time to ask him who he was and hand him his business card. That led to over 150 emails spanning nearly eight years, and two interviews last year totaling seven hours, he told The Associated Press on Friday.

The book is a rare view into the family that has led the secretive country for decades. Since Kim Jong Il's death on Dec. 17, North Korea has been led by his youngest son, Kim Jong Un.

The book cites Kim Jong Nam's concerns over his brother's inexperience. In an email dated Jan. 3, Gomi's last contact from him, Kim Jong Nam wrote that "Jong Un will just be a figurehead, and the existing group of people who wield power are likely to take over my father's work," Gomi writes.

Kim Jong Nam believes that rigid North Korea must make Chinese-style economic reforms, and as a result fell from favor with his father, said Gomi, a Tokyo Shimbun newspaper journalist who had assignments in Seoul and Beijing.

"He dropped out of the succession race because he angered his father by calling for economic reforms and an open-door policy," Gomi said.

"Without reforms and liberalization, the collapse of the economy is within sight," he quoted Kim as saying in the book. "But reforms and opening up could also invite dangers for the regime."

Kim Jong Il is known to have three sons ? one from his second wife and two from his third.

Kim Jong Nam was seen as a possible successor until 2001, when he embarrassed the government by being caught trying to enter Japan with a fake passport. He said he wanted to visit Tokyo Disneyland.

He now spends much of his time in mainland China or in Macau ? the center of Asian gambling.

Gomi says his image in the media as a frivolous spendthrift is not what he really is.

"He had a very courteous demeanor, he was intelligent and very gracious in the way he spoke," Gomi said. "After having deeper conversations with him, I felt his analysis was insightful and he understands North Korea's weaknesses."

Soon after Kim Jong Il's funeral, Kim Jong Nam suggested in an interview with a Japanese TV network that he opposed the hereditary transfer of power to his young half brother ? a rare public sign of discord in the tightly choreographed succession process.

Gomi said Kim Jong Nam doesn't seem eager to become leader but is envious of his half brother's ascension.

"I get the impression that he thinks 'I used to be in that position, but now someone who's much younger than I, in his 20s, is in that seat. That isn't right. I can do a better job,'" he said.

Gomi said he thinks Kim Jong Nam is likely to continue living abroad, mostly in China.

"I would have liked to see him take the leadership. It's fun to imagine at least," he said. "If he were leader, I think North Korea would become much closer to Japan and South Korea. But because he is easy going, the country might collapse anyway."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/nkorea/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120120/ap_on_re_as/as_japan_nkorea

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Video: Add kick to any dish with Ethiopian berbere

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Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/45768003#45768003

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Friday, January 20, 2012

AP source: All 6 killed in crash were Marines

(AP) ? A senior U.S. defense official says all six reported killed in the crash of a U.S. helicopter in Afghanistan were U.S. Marines.

The helicopter crashed Thursday in Afghanistan's southern province of Helmand.

The defense official who said all six were Marines spoke on condition of anonymity because the U.S. command in Afghanistan had not yet publicly released details, including the nationalities of the dead.

The official says there is no indication that the helicopter was hit by enemy fire.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-01-20-US-Afghanistan-Helicopter%20Crash/id-62858d54cdc3440896591f30229de43c

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Ethiopia: Journalists, politician found guilty (AP)

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia ? An Ethiopian court on Thursday found three journalists, a politician and a politician's assistant guilty of conspiring to commit acts of terrorism, in a case that drew rebukes from rights groups who fear the country's anti-terrorism law is being used to suppress dissent.

The five were charged under Ethiopia's controversial anti-terrorism laws. Government spokesman Shimeles Kemal has said they were involved in planning attacks on infrastructure, telecommunications and power lines.

Alemu Gobebo, a private lawyer and a father of one of the defendants, called the case politically motivated. The five will be sentenced Jan. 26. They could face the death penalty.

Among the three journalist convicted were Reeyot Alemu, a columnist for the independent weekly Fetah and a former opposition member; Elias Kifle, editor-in-chief of a U.S.-based opposition website, who was tried in absentia; and Wubshet Taye, deputy editor-in-chief of the recently closed-down weekly newspaper Awramba Times.

International rights groups have been calling for the release of the journalists. Ethiopia recently found two Swedish reporters guilty of supporting terrorism and sentenced them to 11 years in prison.

Ethiopia has arrested close to 200 people, among them journalists and opposition politicians and members, under last year's anti-terrorism proclamation.

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, more journalists have fled Ethiopia than any other country in the world.

Amnesty International said it does not believe there is any evidence that the five were guilty of any criminal wrongdoing. Claire Beston, the group's Ethiopia researcher, called the five "prisoners of conscience." She said a significant amount of the prosecution's evidence relied on the defendants' reporting of and alleged involvement in calls for peaceful protest against the government.

Human Rights Watch said the anti-terrorism law violates free expression and due process rights.

"The verdict against these five people confirms that Ethiopia's anti-terrorism law is being used to crush independent reporting and peaceful political dissent," said Leslie Lefkow, senior Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch. "The Ethiopian courts are complicit in this political witch-hunt."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/africa/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120119/ap_on_re_af/af_ethiopia_journalists

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Thursday, January 19, 2012

Clijsters, Li into 3rd round at Australian Open (AP)

MELBOURNE, Australia ? Defending champion Kim Clijsters cruised into the third round of the Australian Open and then showed just how much support she has at Rod Laver Arena by getting the crowd to sing 'Happy Birthday' to her younger sister.

Clijsters only needed 47 minutes to beat Stephanie Foretz Gacon of France 6-0, 6-1 on Wednesday, showing no signs of a hip problem that forced her to retire during a semifinal against Daniela Hantuchova at a warmup tournament two weeks ago.

She will meet Hantuchova in the next round here, and has a potential rematch of the 2011 Australian Open final with French Open champion Li Na in the fourth round.

Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer took differing paths against German rivals to the next stage. Nadal beat Tommy Haas 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 in the last afternoon match on Rod Laver Arena. Second-seeded Nadal had his right knee heavily taped again after hurting it while sitting in a hotel chair on the weekend, but it didn't seem to restrict him.

"Much better, I am very happy about how the knee is improving," Nadal said. "I am playing without problems, so that's OK."

Federer, who has won four of his 16 Grand Slam titles in Australia, got a walkover into the third round when Andreas Beck withdrew from their scheduled Hisense Arena match due to a lower back injury. It deprived Federer of a different view at Melbourne Park, where he has played every match in Rod Laver Arena since the third round of the 2004 Australian Open.

Eighth-ranked Mardy Fish became the first top 10 player on the men's side to lose, falling 7-6 (4), 6-3, 7-6 (6) to Colombia's Alejandro Falla.

No. 7 Tomas Berdych advanced 6-1, 6-0, 7-6 (4) over Olivier Rochus of Belgium, 2009 U.S. Open champion Juan Martin del Potro, No. 18 Feliciano Lopez and No. 30 Kevin Anderson all advanced.

On the women's side, 10th-seeded Francesca Schiavone was eliminated 6-4, 6-3 by fellow Italian Romina Oprandi and No. 16 Peng Shuai lost 6-2, 6-4 to Iveta Benesova of Czech Republic. Former No. 1-ranked Jelena Jankovic beat Chang Kai-chen of Taiwan 6-4, 6-2.

Clijsters and No. 20 Hantuchova, a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 winner over Lesia Tsurenko, have been playing each other for years.

"When the injury happened, it happened against Daniela," Clijsters said of the hip muscle spasms she had at the Brisbane International. "She's been playing well this season so far.

"We both go back a long way ? we grew up playing under-14s together. Now almost 30 ? still battling it out."

This was Clijsters best run at a major since the last Australian Open ? she lost in the second round at the French Open and didn't play Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.

Li is also returning to form, going further than she has a Grand Slam tournament since her breakthrough win at the French Open. She next plays No. 26 Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain, who beat Olga Govortsova of Belarus 6-1, 6-0.

Li said she loved being back on Rod Laver Arena, where she burst onto the global tennis scene last year, while Clijsters still clearly feels at home on a court where she's still known as "Aussie Kim" long after her relationship with Lleyton Hewitt ended.

In a post-match TV interview, she asked presenter Rennae Stubbs a favor, saying her brother-in-law phoned her from Belgium to ask if she could convince the crowd to sing a birthday song for Elke, Clijsters' younger sister.

The crowd obliged, after Clijsters kicked it off.

Li took longer for her second-round win, saying it was harder than the scoreline suggested. She also has fond memories of Melbourne

Her form dipped after the French Open, with losses in the second round at Wimbledon and the first round at the U.S. Open, until she returned to Australia.

Coming off a run to the final at last week's Sydney International, Li was the first woman into the third round.

Li, who will be 30 next month and is seeded No. 5 at Melbourne Park, said she had great memories of the start of 2011.

"I'm feeling always good to come back to Rod Laver Arena," she said, reflecting on how her life had changed dramatically since last season started. "This year is much better than last year ? more fans come to watch me play, not only from China but all over the world."

Serena Williams advanced to the second round in a match that finished after midnight, her ankle holding up to its first test since she sprained it in Brisbane two weeks ago. The only thing that bugged her, despite the 11:32 p.m. start on Tuesday, were the insects in a 6-3, 6-2 win over Tamira Paszek.

"I hate bugs more than you can imagine," Williams said. "Like, they kept jumping on me. Yuck!"

"I'm going to request not to play at night anymore because I hate bugs, except for the final. I heard it's at night," Williams said. "I'll try to get used to them."

She's now on a 15-match winning streak at Melbourne Park with back-to-back titles in 2009-10 and missing last year due to injuries.

Williams was playing only her third match since losing the U.S. Open final to Sam Stosur last September, so she admitted being "a wee bit tight." Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova and No. 4-ranked Maria Sharapova also advanced.

Stosur didn't make the second round, losing 7-6 (2), 6-3 to No. 59-ranked Sorana Cirstea, but fans hung around to watch another Aussie hope. Hewitt, a two-time major winner, gave the night session crowd something to cheer when he beat Cedrik-Marcel Stebe of Germany 7-5, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5, winning the last six games to overcome two service breaks in the last set.

Hewitt's win put him into a second-round match against old rival Andy Roddick.

Defending champion Novak Djokovic beat Paolo Lorenzi of Italy 6-2, 6-0, 6-0. Both the men he has beaten in Australian finals advanced in four sets. Andy Murray, runner-up the last two years, defeated American teenager Ryan Harrison and 2008 runnerup Jo-Wilfried Tsonga eliminated Denis Istomin.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120118/ap_on_sp_te_ne/ten_australian_open

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