Indian air force to buy 126 Rafale fighter jets (AP)

NEW DELHI ? India has decided to buy 126 French-made Rafale combat aircraft for the Indian air force, clinching a massive $11 billion defense deal, a top government official said Tuesday.

The French aviation company Dassault snapped up the $11 billion deal after emerging with the lowest bid in a two-way competition against the Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft, the official said.

The official was speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters about the sensitive defense deal.

Planes from Boeing Co. and Lockheed Martin of the United States and from Russian and Swedish makers were dropped from consideration earlier.

The deal is the 1st foreign deal for Dassault's Rafale fighter jets.

India, the world's biggest arms importer, is being wooed by major international arms manufacturers as it replaces its obsolete Soviet-era weapons.

Eighteen fighter aircraft will be delivered in "fly away" condition within 36 months and the remaining 108 are to be built by state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. through technology transfers.

Defense ministry experts were still fine-tuning pricing details, including the cost of on-board weaponry and royalties for producing the aircraft in India.

Olivier Dassault, a French lawmaker and the son of Groupe Dassault chairman Serge Dassault, said the deal was very good news for the French aviation industry.

"It's a program on which more than 500 companies are cooperating," he said. "It's a victory for all these small- and medium-sized, high-tech companies who take part in building the most beautiful airplane in the world."

The French have for years been trying to get an export deal. Just last month, French Defense Minister Gerard Longuet warned the Rafale program could be stopped if foreign buyers don't materialize.

Longuet maintained that the Rafale is an "excellent plane" but acknowledged it is handicapped by its price, which is higher than its U.S. rival.

The Rafale, in service for the French Air Force since 2006, has been flying air support roles in Afghanistan since 2007, and was a big part of the NATO air campaign against Moammar Gadhafi's forces in Libya in 2011.

___

Associated Press writer Greg Keller contributed to this report from Paris.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120131/ap_on_bi_ge/as_india_fighter_aircraft

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Koobe's Jin Yong Reader gets Mirasol, brings color to Taiwanese hearts

It's no accident that Koobe's Jin Yong Reader bears a striking resemblance to Kyobo's eReader and Shanda's Bambook which we toyed with back at CES. But while those e-readers brought Mirasol to their respective South Korean and Chinese markets, Koobe's entrant will do the same for Taiwan. As for the trio's striking resemblance, know that they're all based on the same Qualcomm-heavy reference hardware, which pairs a 1GHz Snapdragon S2 with a 5.7-inch 1024 x 728 XGA Mirasol display. For those unaware, the addition of the latter part means the e-readers boast limited color on their non-backlit displays, all while retaining an E Ink-like low power draw. The trinity also feature a highly customized layer atop Gingerbread, and in Koobe's case, come pre-loaded with 15 novels by, you guessed it, Jin Yong. Naturally, pricing and exact availability have yet to be announced, but we're told they'll be available "soon." PR for those interested awaits after the break.

Continue reading Koobe's Jin Yong Reader gets Mirasol, brings color to Taiwanese hearts

Koobe's Jin Yong Reader gets Mirasol, brings color to Taiwanese hearts originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 Jan 2012 01:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nevada officials: Luxor guests had Legionnaires' (AP)

LAS VEGAS ? Health officials in Las Vegas said Monday that the bacteria that causes Legionnaires' disease was found in water samples at the Luxor hotel-casino this month after a guest died of the form of pneumonia.

The Southern Nevada Health District said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention national surveillance program reported three cases in the past year of Luxor guests being diagnosed with the disease caused by Legionella bacteria.

The Las Vegas Strip resort's water was tested after the first two cases were reported during the spring of last year, but no Legionella bacteria was detected, district officials said. Those guests recovered.

Officials say the Luxor, owned by MGM Resorts International, immediately began a remediation process once the bacteria was found.

MGM Resorts spokesman Gordon Absher said treatment procedures include superheating and super-chlorination of the water system.

"We are confident in the integrity of our systems and the safety protocols we follow at all our hotels. Guest and employee safety is always a top priority at our company," Absher said. "Even before last summer, MGM Resorts led the industry with aggressive and stringent programs to control Legionella issues common to all large buildings."

Absher said the company's resorts regularly test for Legionella and treat water systems preventatively, before bacteria are detected.

The new cases come as the company is already facing a civil lawsuit from guests who said they were infected with Legionella at the Aria Resort & Casino, part of the CityCenter complex that is half-owned by MGM Resorts.

MGM Resorts notified guests that they might have been exposed to the bacteria between June 21 and July 4 after the district reported six cases of Legionnaires' disease in July. The district said those guests recovered after treatment.

Eight guests sued in August, seeking $337.5 million in damages from the resort and its builders. An MGM Resorts spokesman at the time denied negligence, saying hotel officials carefully communicated with its guests and reimbursed them fairly for legitimate medical expenses. The case is still pending in federal court in Las Vegas.

Legionella is commonly found in the environment in fresh water, the district said. Symptoms of Legionnaires' disease usually begin within two weeks of being exposed to the bacteria, the district said.

Most people who are exposed to the bacteria don't get sick, according to the CDC. Smokers, people over age 50 and those who have chronic lung disease or weak immune systems are most susceptible, the CDC said.

The bacteria isn't spread between people. It grows most often in warm water, infecting people when they breathe in mist or vapor that has been contaminated.

District officials said between 8,000 and 18,000 people are hospitalized with Legionnaires' disease each year, and can cause death in up to 30 percent of cases. Officials said as many as one-fourth of reported Legionnaires' cases are associated with travel, so health investigators typically ask for travel histories when they look into individual cases.

The disease takes its name from an outbreak at the Pennsylvania American Legion convention held at the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia in 1976.

___

Oskar Garcia can be reached at http://twitter.com/oskargarcia

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/health/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120130/ap_on_he_me/us_legionnaires__disease_luxor

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Snoop Dogg Offers Really NSFW Advice to Kris Humphries

Snoop Dogg does not believe Kim Kardashian is the marrying type.

That's the PC, G-rated version of the following video, condensed into a single, far less funny sentence than what this rapper randomly goes off about in a new message for Kris Humphries.

"The first advice is, you dumb ass n-gga, you shouldn't have tried to wife the b-tch," Snoop says below. "She gets around, man. Did you see when Reggie took the b-tch to Africa? She was looking at the Africans cause they had bigger d-cks than his... She's cold-blooded.."

Man, Dogg. Kris could have used these words of wisdom months ago. Watch for yourselves, readers, and see what else has to say about Kim Kardashian:

Snoop Dogg Slams Kim Kardashian

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2012/01/snoop-dogg-offers-really-nsfw-advice-to-kris-humphries/

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Hawaii musician pleads no contest in molestation (AP)

HONOLULU ? Cecilio Rodriguez, one-half of a popular and longtime Hawaii musical duo, pleaded no contest to molesting two young California girls in the 1990s and was sentenced Friday to a year in jail, prosecutors in Los Angeles said.

A judge in Los Angeles also sentenced Rodriguez to 52 weeks of sexual-offender counseling and five years' probation. If Rodriguez violates probation, he faces a six-year state prison term.

Rodriguez, 67, was arrested in September in Los Angeles County and charged with lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14.

Rodriguez is part of the singing group Cecilio & Kapono, which formed on Oahu's North Shore in 1973 when Rodriguez and Henry Kapono were introduced by mutual friends. Kapono could not immediately be reached for comment Friday. At the time of his musical partner's arrest, Kapono expressed shock and said he was saddened for Rodriguez and heartbroken for the family involved.

The Los Angeles District Attorney's Office said Rodriguez was on tour and staying with the victims' family in Carson, Calif., at various times when the assaults occurred, Hawaii News Now reported. One victim was between 7 and 8 years old at the time, and the other was between 8 and 9.

Rodriguez is expected to surrender to police on March 9.

Both victims, sisters who are now adults, tearfully told the judge that Rodriguez violated their parents' trust, KHON-TV reported.

Prior to the arrest, the group, also known simply as C&K, was on the mainland for their "Back in the Day Good Times Together" tour.

In 1994, Rodriguez pleaded no contest to attempted sexual assault in Hawaii.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/music/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120128/ap_en_mu/hi_musician_sentenced

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Fitch cuts Italy, Spain, other euro zone ratings (Reuters)

NEW YORK (Reuters) ? Fitch downgraded the sovereign credit ratings of Belgium, Cyprus, Italy, Slovenia and Spain on Friday, indicating there was a 1-in-2 chance of further cuts in the next two years.

In a statement, the ratings agency said the affected countries were vulnerable in the near-term to monetary and financial shocks.

"Consequently, these sovereigns do not, in Fitch's view, accrue the full benefits of the euro's reserve currency status," it said.

Fitch cut Italy's rating to A-minus from A-plus; Spain to A from AA-minus; Belgium to AA from AA-plus; Slovenia to A from AA-minus and Cyprus to BBB-minus from BBB, leaving the small island nation just one notch above junk status.

Ireland's rating of BBB-plus was affirmed.

All of the ratings were given negative outlooks.

Fitch said it had weighed up a worsening economic outlook in much of the euro zone against the European Central Bank's December move to flood the banking sector with cheap three-year money and austerity efforts by governments to curb their debts.

"Overall, today's rating actions balance the marked deterioration in the economic outlook with both the substantive policy initiatives at the national level to address macro-financial and fiscal imbalances, and the initial success of the ECB's three-year Long-Term Refinancing Operation in easing near-term sovereign and bank funding pressures," Fitch said.

Two weeks ago, Standard & Poor's downgraded the credit ratings of nine euro zone countries, stripping France and Austria of their coveted triple-A status but not EU paymaster Germany, and pushing struggling Portugal into junk territory.

With nearly half a trillion euros of ECB liquidity coursing through the financial system, some of which has apparently gone into euro zone government bonds, and with hopes of a deal to write down a slab of Greece's mountainous debt, even that sweeping ratings action had little market impact.

The euro briefly pared gains against the dollar after Fitch cut the five euro zone sovereigns but soon jumped to a session high of $1.3208, according to Reuters data, its highest since December 13.

Italy is widely seen as the tipping point for the euro zone. If it slid towards default, the whole currency project would be threatened.

Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti, a technocrat who has won plaudits for his economic reform drive, said he reacted to Fitch's downgrade of Italy with "detached serenity."

"They signal things that are not particularly new, for example, that Italy has a very high debt as a percentage of GDP and they signal that the way the euro zone is governed as a whole is not perfect and we knew that too," he said during a live interview on Italian television.

"They also say things that give a positive view of what is being done in Italy because there is much appreciation for policies of this government and this parliament," he said.

Fitch said of Italy: "A more severe rating action was forestalled by the strong commitment of the Italian government to reducing the budget deficit and to implementing structural reform as well as the significant easing of near-term financing risks as a result of the ECB's 3-year Longer-term Refinancing Operation."

(Reporting by Rodrigo Campos, Daniel Bases, Philip Pullela and Pam Niimi, writing by Mike Peacock, Editing by James Dalgleish)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120128/bs_nm/us_eurozone_fitch

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Bus-Size Asteroid to Give Earth Close Shave Friday (SPACE.com)

A small asteroid will make an extremely close pass by Earth Friday (Jan. 27), coming much nearer than the moon, but the space rock poses no danger of impacting our planet, NASA scientists say.

The newfound asteroid 2012 BX34, which is about the size of a city bus, will pass within 36,750 miles (59,044 kilometers) of Earth at about 10:30 a.m. EST (1530 GMT) Friday, astronomers with NASA's Asteroid Watch program announced via Twitter.

The space rock is about 36 feet (11 meters) wide, making it much too small to pose a threat to Earth.

"It wouldn't get through our atmosphere intact even if it dared to try," Asteroid Watch scientists tweeted today (Jan. 26). Asteroid Watch is based at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.

Asteroid 2012 BX34 will zip by at a distance about 0.17 times that separating Earth and the moon. The moon orbits Earth at an average distance of about 240,000 miles (386,000 km). [Video and image of asteroid 2012 BX34's orbit]

While the near-Earth asteroid won't hit Earth, it may offer seasoned amateur astronomers a great show ? if they are in the right viewing location and have good equipment.

"Advanced amateur astronomers might be able to observe the flyby as the asteroid brightens to 14th magnitude just before closest approach on Friday," the website Spaceweather.com reported today.

In astronomers' classification system, higher magnitudes correspond to dimmer objects. The full moon, for example, has a magnitude around -12.75. A magnitude of +14 would put 2012 BX34 roughly on par with the maximum brightness of the distant dwarf planet Pluto.

NASA scientists and other astronomer teams regularly monitor the skies in search of asteroids that could pose a danger to Earth. Experts estimate that asteroids measuring about 460 feet (140 m) across can cause widespread destruction near their impact sites, but they'd need to be even larger to cause devastation on a global scale.

Last September, NASA announced that it had catalogued about 90 percent of the largest asteroids whose orbits bring them near Earth ? a major goal set by Congress in 1998. Using NASA's recent WISE asteroid-mapping mission as a guide, scientists estimate that there are about 981 near-Earth asteroids the size of a mountain or larger. About 911 of those space rocks have been spotted, WISE mission scientists said.

Finding and mapping the orbits of such potentially hazardous space rocks is a task crucial to the long-term survival of our species, many scientists say.

Throughout history, asteroids big enough to cause major damage and disruption to the global economy and society (were they to strike a populated area today) have hit Earth, on average, every 200 or 300 years, according to former astronaut Rusty Schweickart.

Schweickart chairs the B612 Foundation, a group dedicated to predicting and preventing cataclysmic asteroid impacts on Earth. The group's chief message is that humanity's survival will someday depend on our ability to deflect a killer asteroid away from Earth.

The dinosaurs possessed no such technology, of course, and a catastrophic impact wiped them out ? along with many other plant and animal species ? 65 million years ago.

You can follow SPACE.com senior writer Mike Wall on Twitter: @michaeldwall. Follow SPACE.com for the latest in space science and exploration news on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/space/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/space/20120126/sc_space/bussizeasteroidtogiveearthcloseshavefriday

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Video: Remembering actor Robert Heyges

Best known for his role in ?Welcome Back, Kotter,? Heyges died Thursday at age 60. NBC?s Brian Williams reports.

>>> robert hchb egyes has died. he was best known playing the jewish puerto rican student juan epstein alongside john travolta in the '70s in "welcome back cotter." he was later a regular in "cagney and lacy." he passed away thursday morning after suffering cardiac arrest. he was 60 years old.

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nightly-news/46169962/

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Dem NC governor faced tough re-election fight (AP)

RALEIGH, N.C. ? Gov. Beverly Perdue said Thursday she will not seek re-election because she fears a fight with Republicans over public education would become too political. But she entered the election year with some baggage: a campaign finance investigation, sagging poll numbers and worries from fellow Democrats she would drag them down in a key battleground state for President Barack Obama.

Perdue, the state's first woman governor, rode into office partly on the coattails of Obama's surprise 2008 victory in North Carolina. Her departure created a wide-open gubernatorial primary in a state that is so key to Obama, Democrats are hosting their national convention in Charlotte in September.

Perdue, a former school teacher, said her decision was about protecting public education from spending cuts by the GOP-led Legislature. She said in highly partisan times, her re-election bid would "only further politicize the fight to adequately fund our schools."

"The thing I care about most right now is making sure that our schools and schoolchildren do not continue to be the victims of shortsighted legislative actions and severe budget cuts inflicted by a legislative majority with the wrong priorities," Perdue said in a statement.

The statement made no mention of what Perdue, 65, planned to do in the future. Perdue campaign spokesman Marc Farinella said the governor declined to speak to reporters Thursday because she is spending time with her family after making "this very difficult decision."

"For now she wants her statement to speak for itself," he said.

Perdue's decision caught many by surprise, and means it will be the first time a sitting North Carolina governor has failed to get elected to a second term since voters gave chief executives authority to succeed themselves in the 1970s.

"It is really uncommon for a sitting governor to have the opportunity to run for re-election to not do so, even in a harsh political climate," said Steven Greene, a political science professor at North Carolina State University. "But an objective analysis of the political situation suggests she'd have an extremely uphill fight for re-election."

Perdue faced a tough rematch against former Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory, a Republican she narrowly defeated in 2008 in the state's closest gubernatorial contest since 1972. Only two Republicans have been governor in more than 100 years.

Obama's win here was the first in 32 years for a Democratic nominee for president. He praised Perdue for breaking down barriers during her political career.

"For over 25 years, she has fought for the people of the Tar Heel state ? working to transform the state's public schools, improve the health care system, protect and attract jobs for members of the military and their families, and create the jobs of the future," Obama said in a statement.

Perdue's decision could help Obama and the party's eventual nominee by removing Perdue as a liability, said Brad Crone, a Raleigh-based Democratic consultant.

"It strengthens the Democratic Party's top of the ticket, and that's definitely going to be good news for Obama," Crone said.

Perdue faced scrutiny about her 2008 campaign and more than three dozen flights that she didn't initially report on campaign filings required by state election officials. A local prosecutor has said the governor wasn't the focus of his investigation, but four people were indicted last year related to the flight investigation, including her former campaign finance director.

"To those of you who have supported me throughout my years of public service, I will always be grateful for the confidence you have placed in me," Perdue said. "In my remaining months in office, I look forward to continuing to fight for the priorities we share, by putting North Carolinians back to work and investing in our children's future."

She also struggled with a state economy hit hard by the recession and an unemployment rate persistently above the national average. Perdue and fellow Democrats raised the sales tax by a penny in 2009 and had to make deep cuts to education and health care.

Republicans let the temporary sales tax increase expire last summer. Just last week, Perdue proposed raising it nearly a penny again for education. At least one legislative leader called her proposal dead on arrival.

Perdue often clashed with the new Republican leadership in the General Assembly, which swept into power after the 2010 elections and gave GOP control of the Legislature for the first time since the 1870s. In a sign of the tension, she vetoed a record 16 bills last year.

Polling throughout her term has consistently shown her approval ratings hovering around 40 percent.

Perdue's re-election campaign raised more than $2.6 million in 2011 ? only slightly more than what McCrory had raised during last year ? a poor showing in a state where Democratic candidates routinely outspend Republicans in statewide elections.

A native of Virginia, Perdue moved in the 1970s to the coastal town of New Bern, where she became director of geriatric services at a hospital before entering politics. She served in the Legislature and as the state's first female lieutenant governor before being elected governor.

As word of her exit spread, several candidates said they were considering jumping into the fray, and Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton, another Democrat elected in 2008, announced he would run. Dalton had nearly $600,000 in cash on hand as of Dec. 31.

Democratic state Rep. Bill Faison, a Perdue critic, said he'll make an announcement soon, setting up a May 8 primary. He said prominent leaders in the party worried for weeks about Perdue's low poll numbers and had suggested she not run.

Former State Treasurer Richard Moore, who lost to Perdue in the 2008 primary, and Winston-Salem Mayor Allen Joines, also are considering bids. Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx also said he's considering future plans.

Candidate filing begins Feb. 13.

Longtime Washington-based Perdue pollster Fred Yang said he believed she still had a pathway to victory and knew how much she liked being governor.

"I know how hard she tried," Yang said.

___

Associated Press writers Michael Biesecker and Tom Breen in Raleigh and Ken Thomas in Washington also contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/education/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120126/ap_on_re_us/us_nc_governor

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USDA sets guidelines for healthier school meals (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? School meals for millions of children will be healthier under obesity-fighting U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) standards unveiled on Wednesday that double the amount of fruits and vegetables in cafeteria lunches - but won't pull French fries from the menu.

In the first major changes to school meals in more than 15 years, the new USDA guidelines will affect nearly 32 million children who eat at school. They will cost about $3.2 billion to implement over the next five years.

"Improving the quality of the school meals is a critical step to building a healthy future for our kids," Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a statement.

The new meal requirements are part of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act championed by first lady Michelle Obama. President Barack Obama approved the measure in late 2010.

The guidelines double the amounts of fruits and vegetables in school lunches and boost offerings of whole grain-rich foods. The new standards set maximums for calories and cut sodium and trans fat, a contributor to high cholesterol levels.

Schools may offer only fat-free or low-fat milk varieties and must assure that children are getting proper portion sizes, the USDA said.

The new standards will be largely phased in over a three-year period, starting in the 2012-13 school year.

About 17 percent of U.S. children and teenagers are obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About one-third of U.S. adults are obese.

FRIES WITH THAT?

Lawmakers altered the guidelines in November. They barred the USDA from limiting French fries and ensured that pizza counted as a vegetable because of its tomato paste.

Trade associations representing frozen pizza sellers like ConAgra Foods Inc and Schwan Food Co as well as French fry sellers McCain Foods Ltd and J.R. Simplot Co were instrumental in blocking changes to rules affecting those items.

Margo Wootan, nutrition policy director for the non-profit Center For Science in the Public Interest, said that the new standards were a big improvement despite food industry lobbying and the congressional revamp.

"The new school meal standards are one of the most important advances in nutrition in decades," she said in a statement.

The Environmental Working Group said the changes could pack a financial punch since they may help reduce medical bills related to diabetes and other obesity-related chronic diseases.

"A healthier population will save billions of dollars in future health care costs," said Dawn Undurraga, EWG's staff nutritionist.

As an example of a new meal, the USDA said an elementary school lunch could be whole wheat spaghetti with meat sauce and a whole wheat roll, green beans, broccoli, cauliflower, kiwi, low-fat milk, low-fat ranch dip and soft margarine.

That lunch would replace a meal of a hot dog on a bun with ketchup, canned pears, raw celery and carrots with ranch dressing, and low-fat chocolate milk.

As part of the new standards, schools will receive another 6 cents a meal. The USDA also will increase the number of inspections of school menus.

Food and beverages sold in vending machines and other school sites "will also contribute to a healthy diet," the USDA statement said.

The USDA gives school districts funds for meals through its National School Lunch and School Breakfast programs.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/health/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120125/hl_nm/us_usda_meals

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DMCA jailbreak exemption set to expire, EFF asks for your help to get it renewed and expanded

The EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation) notes that jailbreaking your iPhone or iPad may soon become illegal under the DMCA, and lend suggestions on how you can prevent it.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/foY1jtnwjFI/story01.htm

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Wizards fire coach Saunders, promote Wittman

Washngton Wizards president Ernie Grunfeld, left, with coach Randy Wittman speaks to reporters during a news conference in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012. Wittman replaces Flip Saunders who was fired as coach of the Wizards on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Washngton Wizards president Ernie Grunfeld, left, with coach Randy Wittman speaks to reporters during a news conference in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012. Wittman replaces Flip Saunders who was fired as coach of the Wizards on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Washington Wizards coach Flip Saunders watches as his team plays against the Philadelphia 76ers in the first half of an NBA basketball game Monday, Jan, 23, 2012, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/H. Rumph Jr )

FILE - In this Jan. 13, 2012, file photo, Washington Wizards head coach Flip Saunders walks across the court during an NBA basketball game against the Philadelphia 76ers in Philadelphia. A person familiar with the decision says Saunders has been fired as coach of the Wizards, who have the NBA's worst record at 2-15. Saunders will be replaced by assistant Randy Wittman, the person told The Associated Press on Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)

FILE - In this March 2, 2011, file photo, Washington Wizards assistant coach Randy Wittman gives instructions during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Golden State Warriors in Washington. A person familiar with the decision says Flip Saunders has been fired as coach of the Washington Wizards, who have the NBA's worst record at 2-15. Saunders will be replaced by Wittman, the person told The Associated Press on Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)

FILE - In this Jan. 13, 2012, file photo, Washington Wizards head coach Flip Saunders looks on during an NBA basketball game against the Philadelphia 76ers in Philadelphia. A person familiar with the decision says Saunders has been fired as coach of the Wizards, who have the NBA's worst record at 2-15. Saunders will be replaced by assistant Randy Wittman, the person told The Associated Press on Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Seeking different strategies at both ends of the court and improvement from a roster filled with young players such as John Wall, the NBA-worst Washington Wizards fired coach Flip Saunders on Tuesday after a 2-15 start and replaced him with assistant Randy Wittman.

"I'm not the miracle-maker here," said Wittman, who was given the top job through the end of the season. "We've got to change our outlook on how we play. Sometimes, when you have such a young team, players get a little confused, I think, when the word 'development' is used; that they're going to be able to develop just playing. Development has to happen on the practice floor."

The Wizards fell to 0-7 on the road with a 20-point loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday. Washington's next game is at home Wednesday against the Charlotte Bobcats.

A 25-minute news conference Tuesday with Wittman and team president Ernie Grunfeld ended with Grunfeld answering a question by saying: "Just because you're losing, you're not a loser."

It began with him explaining the coaching switch.

"I felt like at this time, our players were not responding, and I think we needed a different voice. This doesn't change our overall plan, which always has been very transparent for us, which is to build through the draft, get salary-cap space going forward and develop our young players," Grunfeld said. "They probably haven't developed as quickly as we'd like for them to develop. That's something we need to continue to work on."

He and Wittman spoke about playing a faster-paced, running game on offense and perhaps using more press tactics on defense. They also emphasized that younger players ? no names were mentioned, but JaVale McGee, Andray Blatche and Nick Young might have been among those being referenced ? need to understand that floor minutes are not guaranteed.

"We have to develop these kids, there's no question about it," Wittman said. "There comes a point, if you know you're going to be out there, you'll play whatever way you want to play. And I think that has to change a little bit."

Grunfeld said the coaching change was his decision, although he got approval from owner Ted Leonsis ? whose NHL team, the Washington Capitals, fired coach Bruce Boudreau in November.

"Any time you rebuild, you have to go through some tough times, and that's what we're going through now," Grunfeld said. "We're trying to build a foundation right now."

Saunders was in his third season with the Wizards, going 51-130. When he was hired, the roster featured All-Stars Gilbert Arenas, Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler, but the franchise is now starting over around point guard Wall, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2010 draft.

But there is not a lot of help for Wall, and the Wizards have been prone to inconsistent play, often failing to even be competitive this season.

Talking about Wall, Wittman said: "He is a talented player that I think I need to coach ? and he has to be willing to be coached. And if he does that, that's where good players become great players."

Acknowledging he's been a part of the coaching staff during the recent struggles, Wittman said: "This is a black mark on all of us, absolutely."

Back in December, before the lockout-shortened season began, Saunders tried to look on the bright side, saying he could envision how the young Wizards might be able to improve on their 23-59 record from 2010-11.

"I want to compete for the playoffs," Saunders said then.

But Washington got off to a franchise-worst 0-8 start ? half of the losses were by at least 18 points ? before beating the Toronto Raptors. Curiously, the Wizards' only other victory came against Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Saunders tried tinkering a bit with the lineup and sought ways to motivate players, including making Blatche a captain for the season-opening game. But nothing seemed to get things going in the right direction; after a loss in Game 1, Blatche openly questioned how he was being used on offense.

Before joining the Wizards, Saunders coached 13 NBA seasons with the Minnesota Timberwolves and Detroit Pistons, reaching the conference finals a total of four times.

He was hired by Washington in April 2009, and given a four-year contract.

Wittman gets his third job as an NBA head coach, after going 100-207 ? a .326 winning percentage ? with Minnesota and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Wittman was drafted by Washington with the 22nd overall pick in the 1983 draft.

Perhaps mindful that he's working in the nation's capital, Wittman threw out quite a non sequitur during the news conference, mentioning Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney while answering a question about what Wizards' fans might be thinking these days.

"I'm not running against Romney. I'm not getting any votes here. I'm not looking for votes," Wittman said. "I'm looking to get this team going in a positive direction."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-01-24-Wizards-Saunders%20Fired/id-fd1accfc211f4d67a88b4408e796455b

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Tornado creates worries in bankrupt Ala. county (AP)

CENTER POINT, Ala. ? Willie Williams Jr. was worried as he walked through his tornado-tossed neighborhood to his daughter's elementary school.

His home is in Jefferson County, which filed the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history in November, and Williams wonders how the county will rebuild the school as well as pay crews to clear debris and do other services.

"We're lacking. We need more help," Williams said. "Everybody just needs to pray."

After months of hearing how the county government is broke, residents are curious about how much local assistance is available to help them recover from tornadoes that killed two and wiped out scores of homes and businesses.

Touring the area, Gov. Robert Bentley promised the state will do everything it can to help Jefferson County, the state's largest county.

"We'll do whatever is necessary," Bentley said outside the mangled shell of Center Point Elementary School. As he spoke, chainsaws screamed in the distance.

Bentley wasn't specific about what help may be coming, but county emergency management coordinator Allen Kniphfer said the answer may be a combination of federal and state dollars, plus equipment and personnel loans from cities.

"If people want to donate to help us we'll take it," Kniphfer said.

The National Weather Service said at least six different tornadoes skipped across central Alabama, causing damage across a wide area. The strongest hit Jefferson County with winds up to 150 mph.

Jefferson County leaders have said they would likely use reserve money to pay for emergency assistance, but the state and federal governments could end up reimbursing part or all of the cost.

The director of the Alabama Emergency Management Agency, Art Faulkner, said state troopers have provided traffic control and additional security to help Jefferson County.

"We are there to help the local government when they get to the point where they can't effectively respond," said Faulkner.

Jefferson County has reduced its payroll by more than 500 people through layoffs and attrition. With the county citing more than $4 billion in debt and in search of new revenue to replace a tax that was struck down by courts, leaders have closed satellite courthouses and curtailed operating hours in some offices.

Clara Carlin, 74, sat outside her home of 30 years as a Southern Baptist relief team removed fallen trees that punched holes in her roof. Carlin said she has a hard time trusting assurances of aid from Washington all the way down to City Hall.

"I don't think that it's anytime soon that the government can help anybody get over this," said Carlin, who plans to move in with her sister temporarily.

Monica Finley, a second-grade teacher at Center Point Elementary, had her own concerns about government response as she awaited Bentley's arrival at the school. She looked across a neighborhood that was heavily damaged by a twister and feared for the displaced residents. "They're going to need housing," she said.

During his visit to the school, Bentley received a report that included 20 suggestions from the Tornado Recovery Action Council, which he appointed after twisters killed about 250 people across the state last April. Bentley said he will immediately implement two of the suggestions, one for using $72 million in federal relief money to building community and individual shelters and safe rooms, and the other urging local governments to develop disaster plans.

Storms could hit the state again Thursday, although not with the ferocity of the system Monday. Weather service meteorologist Mark Linhares said while it was somewhat uncommon to have tornadoes in January, such storms are hardly rare.

The state is so close to the Gulf of Mexico that moist air moves inland year-round, helping create instability and bringing with it the possibility of storms.

"We can have severe weather any month of the year," Linhares said.

___

Associated Press writer Bob Johnson contributed to this report from Montgomery.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/weather/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120125/ap_on_re_us/us_severe_weather

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Paul to skip Florida, look for delegates in Nevada, Minnesota (Daily Caller)

COLUMBIA, S.C. ? Ron Paul will not compete in Florida?s Republican primary, instead focusing on the caucus states of Nevada and Minnesota.

In his victory speech Saturday night after finishing fourth in the South Carolina primary, Paul told supporters he would promote his message as cheaply as possible.

?We will certainly be promoting this in the most frugal way,? he said. ?We will be going to the caucus states, and we will be promoting the whole idea of getting more delegates, because that?s the name of the game.?

The campaign has made substantial ad buys in Nevada and Minnesota, both states with February?caucuses. Florida is the largest of the early primary states and?arguably the most grueling early state in which to campaign. It also has some of the most expensive media markets in America.

The cash-flush Mitt Romney is already running ads there. And Newt Gingrich, though he won the South Carolina primary decisively, is expected to face serious challenges in organizing a strong Florida campaign.

Twenty-eight Republican delegates are up for grabs in Nevada, 40 in Minnesota.

Paul, with his message of auditing and then ending the Federal Reserve, using the gold standard for U.S. currency and bringing the troops home from abroad, insisted in his Saturday night speech that he is trying to win, despite pundits? general agreement that he is merely a ?message candidate.?

?I?ve been in this process of promoting the cause of liberty in the electoral process for a long time. At the beginning, I thought it was going to be a promotion of a cause,? Paul said. ?Then it dawned on me that if you win elections and win delegates, that?s the way you promote a cause.?

Paul was largely absent from South Carolina during the week leading up to Saturday?s primary, traveling to Washington, D.C. to vote against the latest proposal to raise the federal debt ceiling. He participated in a pro-life forum Wednesday via satellite, participated in Thursday?s debate and held a half-dozen public events Friday.

Paul?s supporters showed their appreciation Saturday night for his decision to leave the campaign trail to cast a vote in Congress.

?Looking ahead, we see a lengthy, 50-state national campaign,? said Paul?s national campaign chairman Jesse Benton in a statement. ?Dr. Paul is fully prepared to win.?

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Rep. Mulvaney on what the media missed during the SC Republican primary [VIDEO]

Paul to skip Florida, look for delegates in Nevada, Minnesota

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WaPo's Jennifer Rubin tweets venom about Newt's win, Romney's defeat in SC

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Dyslexia's Brain Changes May Occur Before Kids Learn to Read (HealthDay)

MONDAY, Jan. 23 (HealthDay News) -- New imaging research shows that the reduced brain activity associated with the onset of dyslexia appears to develop before, not after, a child starts to read.

Key parts of the brain's rear left hemisphere critical to language processing do not undergo activity changes as a consequence of dyslexia, the study suggests, but may instead be part of the cause.

The finding could ultimately help clinicians screen for at-risk children at an early pre-reading age, when interventions to reduce the severity of the condition might be most effective.

"We already knew that children and adults with a diagnosis of dyslexia show brain alterations within the left posterior -- back -- part of the brain," said study co-author Nadine Gaab, an assistant professor of pediatrics in the neuroscience program at Harvard Medical School and Children's Hospital Boston. "However, it was unclear whether these alterations are a result of dyslexia [that] show up after years of reading failure or whether they predate the reading onset," she noted.

"[Here] we could show that they predate reading onset," Gaab said. "This suggests that children are either born with it or that it develops within the first few years of life."

The study, published in the Jan. 23 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, focused on 36 healthy kindergarteners aged 5 and 6 years who had not begun to read.

Half of the children were at a high risk for developing dyslexia, as at least one of their immediate family members had been previously diagnosed with the disability. None of the children had difficulty with hearing or vision, and none had a history of either neurological or psychological illness.

After completing standard pre-reading language and vocabulary skills assessments, all of the children participated in a couple of audio-identification tasks. First, they were asked to listen to a male or female voice uttering a single word twice and then indicate if the two words sounded the same. Next, they listened to a pairing of words and were asked to indicate if the gender of the voice uttering each successive word was the same.

Throughout the testing, the children also underwent functional MRI (fMRI) to monitor their brain activity, with particular focus on two regions of the rear, left brain: the bilateral occipitotemporal and left temporoparietal areas. Both have previously been shown to have a role in dyslexia.

The results: Children in the at-risk group were found to have reduced brain activity in the two key brain areas, compared to their peers with similar age and IQ who did not have family risk factors.

In addition, the research team found that among at-risk pre-reading children there was no evidence of activity increases in key frontal lobe brain regions previously linked to dyslexia. This, they said, suggested that the brain's method for trying to compensate for the problems associated with dyslexia does not appear to be set in motion until after children begin to read.

"Early identification of children at risk in kindergarten or even before then offers a chance to reduce the clinical, psychological and social implications of reading disability/dyslexia," Gaab said. "Identifying early predictors will also help educators, parents and scientists to find ways to support the academic and cognitive development of children with reading disability/dyslexia and may also lead to strategies that will reduce the severity of reading disability."

Guinevere Eden, director of the Center for the Study of Learning and a professor of pediatrics at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., expressed enthusiasm for what she deemed to be "the first study of its kind."

"The question has always been, are these physiological changes the result of dyslexia or are they there to begin with?" said Eden, who is also the immediate past-president of the International Dyslexia Association.

"And so what's interesting about this study, is that by using non-invasive tools, they were able to find that the kind of differences that have been shown in older people with dyslexia are apparently already present in children at risk for dyslexia before they even begin to read," Eden said.

"And that means they have found a physiological signature for a child who is likely at risk for dyslexia, which will be of great help in doing what everyone really wants to do: identifying and treating children with dyslexia as early as possible," Eden added.

More information

Visit the U.S. National Library of Medicine for more on dyslexia.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/parenting/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20120124/hl_hsn/dyslexiasbrainchangesmayoccurbeforekidslearntoread

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PHOTO: Whitney Houston and Jordin Sparks in 'Sparkle'

Remember when Whitney Houston was an actress? Long before that disastrous reality show with ex Bobby Brown, Houston showed off her star wattage in three big-screen hits: The Bodyguard (1992), Waiting to Exhale (1995) and The Preacher's Wife (1996). Now for the first time in 15 years, she's returning to the movies, costarring with American Idol winner Jordin Sparks in the song-fueled drama Sparkle. See the first photo from the film above!

Source: http://www.ivillage.com/photo-whitney-houston-and-jordin-sparks-sparkle/1-a-421101?dst=iv%3AiVillage%3Aphoto-whitney-houston-and-jordin-sparks-sparkle-421101

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Dante Autullo, Illinois Man, Recovering After 'Miracle' Surgery Removes Nail From His Brain (PHOTOS)

OAK LAWN, Ill. -- Dante Autullo was sure he'd merely cut himself with a nail gun while building a shed, and thought doctors were joking when they told him what an X-ray revealed: A 3 1/4-inch nail was lodged in the middle of his brain.

Autullo was recovering Friday after undergoing surgery at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where doctors removed the nail that came within millimeters of the part of the brain controlling motor function.

"When they brought in the picture, I said to the doctor `Is this a joke? Did you get that out of the doctors joke file?'" the 32-year-old recalled. "The doctor said `No man, that's in your head.'"

As he was rushed by ambulance to another hospital for surgery, he posted a picture of the X-ray on Facebook.

Autullo, who lives in Orland Park, said he was building a shed Tuesday and using the nail gun above his head when he fired it. With nothing to indicate that a nail hadn't simply whizzed by his head, his long-time companion, Gail Glaenzer, cleaned the wound with peroxide.

"It really felt like I got punched on the side of the head," he said, adding that he continued working. "I thought it went past my ear."

While there are pain-sensitive nerves on a person's skull, there aren't any within the brain itself. That's why he would have felt the nail strike the skull, but he wouldn't have felt it penetrate the brain.

Neither he nor Glaenzer thought much about it, and Autullo went on with his day, even plowing a bit of snow. But the next day when he awoke from a nap, feeling nauseated, Glaenzer sensed something was wrong and suggested they go to the hospital.

At first Autullo refused, but he relented after the two picked up their son at school Wednesday evening.

An X-ray was taken a couple hours later. And there, seeming to float in the middle of his head, was a nail.

Doctors told Autullo and Glaenzer that the nail came within millimeters from the part of the brain that controls motor function, and he was rushed by ambulance to the other hospital for more specialized care.

"He feels good. He moved all his limbs, he's talking normal, he remembers everything," Glaenzer said earlier Friday. "It's amazing, a miracle."

Neurosurgeon Leslie Schaffer acknowledged that Autullo's case was unusual, but not extremely rare. Schaffer said having a nail penetrate the skull is not like being shot in the head, noting that a bullet would break into multiple pieces.

"This (the nail) is thinner, with a small trajectory, and pointed at the end," he said. "The bone doesn't fracture much because the nail has a small tip."

Schaffer said the man's skull stopped the nail from going farther into his brain. He said he removed the nail by putting two holes in Autullo's skull, on either side of the nail, then pulled the nail out along with a piece of the skull.

The surgery took two hours, and the part of the skull that was removed for surgery was replaced with a titanium mesh, Hospital spokesman Mike Maggio said.

Glaenzer said Autullo hasn't really talked about how scared he was about what might have happened, but he did express a recognition about coming close to death.

"He was joking with me (after surgery), `We need to get the Discovery Channel up here to tape this,'" she recalled him saying. "`I'm one of those medical miracles.'"

PHOTOS of Autullo, who is now recovering from surgery to remove the 3 1/4-inch nail he accidentally shot into his brain with a nail gun:

Neurosurgeon Leslie Schaffer, left, smiles with his patient Dante Autullo, and Dante's fiance, Gail Glaenzer during a news conference at Advocate Christ Medical Center Friday, Jan. 20, 2012, in Oak Lawn, Ill. The trio spoke a day after Autullo underwent surgery to remove a 3 1/4 inch nail lodged in his brain after accidentally shooting himself with a nail gun. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)

Neurosurgeon Leslie Schaffer, left, smiles with his patient Dante Autullo, and Dante's fiance, Gail Glaenzer during a news conference at Advocate Christ Medical Center Friday, Jan. 20, 2012, in Oak Lawn, Ill. The trio spoke a day after Autullo underwent surgery to remove a 3 1/4 inch nail lodged in his brain after accidentally shooting himself with a nail gun. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)

MORE SLIDESHOWS NEXT?> ??|?? <?PREV

Neurosurgeon Leslie Schaffer, left, smiles with his patient Dante Autullo, and Dante's fiance, Gail Glaenzer during a news conference at Advocate Christ Medical Center Friday, Jan. 20, 2012, in Oak Lawn, Ill. The trio spoke a day after Autullo underwent surgery to remove a 3 1/4 inch nail lodged in his brain after accidentally shooting himself with a nail gun. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/21/dante-autullo-illinois-nail_n_1221059.html

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Mild winter offers break from high heating costs (AP)

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. ? Ashley Tatum was three months behind on utility payments after leaving her job at a coffee shop because of pregnancy complications. The mother of two owed $648, and the tough economy did not offer many options.

The Milwaukee resident had one small reason to hope: The winter has been mild and her heating bills low, offering an unexpected chance to catch up on overdue payments.

"It was helpful because then I wouldn't have to stress about getting all this extra money," she said.

Although there have been some cold snaps and storms, the moderate weather has been a boon to millions of Americans, allowing them to save money on snow removal and permitting outdoor activities to continue well beyond autumn. But few have been more grateful than low-income families, who are getting a break from high heating costs.

Tatum first noticed the lower charges in November. Her bill covering most of December was $164, less than half the price from a year earlier.

"I was surprised," Tatum said. "I called my sister and said, `Girl, is your bill cheaper, too?' I'm happy that we had those nice warm days."

Initially, forecasters made grim predictions that this winter could rival or exceed the cold, snowy assault of 2010-11. But average temperatures have been well above normal across the Upper Midwest and Northeast. Combined with a lack of snow and ice, the unseasonable conditions have been a blessing for many families who normally devote much of their budgets to natural gas, propane or heating oil.

In Michigan, temperatures have been 15 percent above normal since October, and plentiful fuel supplies are driving down natural gas prices.

"It's helping all customers," said Judy Palnau, spokeswoman for the Michigan Public Service Commission.

Utility company Consumers Energy says its 1.7 million natural gas customers in Michigan are paying about 20 percent less than a year ago. The average residential bill for January will be $112, down from about $140.

Marc Ryan of Traverse City is living in a friend's trailer for the winter. His latest utility bill was for $90 ? about $25 less than last year.

"It's not a lot, but 25 bucks is 25 bucks," Ryan said. "It's half a tank of gas in my pickup truck. I'll take that."

Advocacy groups and government agencies agree the weather has been helpful ? to a point. Demand for heating assistance remains high, they say, partly because so many Americans are unemployed or working at low-paying jobs.

Congress in December slashed the federal program that provides low-income heating and utility subsidies from $4.7 billion to $3.5 billion for this year. But because of the moderate weather, assistance agencies that had been turning people away now have money to give.

Still, many recipients will be getting less. Minnesota's average grant is now $400, down from $500 to $600 a year ago. The state is helping 190,000 households with heating expenses ? more than last year, despite a 23 percent drop in federal payments.

"There are households that are calling. They're wondering, `What are we going to do? The grant I was provided will barely get me one fill of my propane tank,'" said Judd Schultz, housing director for Minnesota Valley Action Council, one of 28 nonprofit agencies through which the money is distributed.

In Indianapolis, employment coach Janice Duffey of Southeast Community Services said she's been flooded with calls for heating help and expects no letup anytime soon.

"The weather could go berserk in a week," Duffey said.

The owner of an oil company in Scarborough, Maine, said heating oil usage among his customers dropped about 25 percent in November and 18 to 20 percent in December.

Les Thomas, who runs Cash Energy, has two tanks in his house. "I've usually filled them up again around Christmastime," he said. This year, he didn't need to.

One couple's oil supply lasted so long that they stopped checking it regularly.

"I got home last night and realized my tank was just about empty. It's been so warm, I forgot about our oil," said Angie Tapper, a waitress who lives with her husband in Lewiston, Maine.

She also got used to having some extra money. "It's been a welcome break for our bank account," she said.

Still, Tapper knows there's still plenty of winter ahead.

"I've got to get into a January-February mindset," she said, "until I see flowers."

___

Associated Press writers Carrie Antlfinger in Milwaukee; Kathy Barks Hoffman in Lansing, Mich.; Corey Williams in Detroit; Carrie Schedler in Indianapolis; Alexandra Tempus in Minneapolis; and Glenn Adams in Augusta, Maine, contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120122/ap_on_re_us/us_mild_winter_cheap_heat

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Mitt Romney's Hypocrisy on Keystone XL, Eminent Domain (ContributorNetwork)

COMMENTARY | Mitt Romney drilled into President Barack Obama for rejecting the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline during last night's CNN Southern Republican Debate.

The former Massachusetts Governor accused Obama of having "to bow to the most extreme members of the environmental movement."

"He turns down the Keystone Pipeline, which would bring energy and jobs to America," Romney said, according to the official debate transcript posted by CNN.

In a statement released on his campaign website Wednesday, Romney made similar comments.

"By declaring that the Keystone pipeline is not in the 'national interest,' the President demonstrates a lack of seriousness about bringing down unemployment, restoring economic growth, and achieving energy independence," he said. "He seems to have confused the national interest with his own interest in pleasing the environmentalists in his political base."

In his jobs plan, Romney promises to "ensure rapid progress on the Keystone XL Pipeline," and to "pave the way for the construction of additional pipelines that can accommodate the expected growth in Canadian supply of oil and natural gas in the coming years."

But Romney's support for the proposed oil pipeline contradicts his answer to a question posed by John Distaso, a veteran political reporter for the Union Leader, at a debate last summer in New Hampshire.

"Should governments at any level be able to use eminent domain for major projects that will reduce America's dependence on foreign oil?" Distaso queried.

"Well, I don't believe that land should be taken -- the power of government to give to a private corporation," Romney responded. "And so, the right of eminent domain is a right which is used to foster a public purpose and public ownership for a road, highways, and so forth. And so my view is, if land is going to be taken for purposes of a private enterprise, that's the wrong way to go."

Beyond the bright lights and shallow rhetoric of the campaign trail, opposition to Keystone XL is hardly limited to radical environmentalists. Even the conservative National Review Online has acknowledged that eminent domain is "an issue brewing that could derail the pipeline."

A report published by the New York Times last fall found that TransCanada, the foreign company behind the Keystone XL project, had already filed eminent domain lawsuits against 56 landowners in Texas and South Dakota.

It's something Mitt Romney should consider before he continues to attack President Obama and environmentalists for opposing the project.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20120120/us_ac/10860081_mitt_romneys_hypocrisy_on_keystone_xl_eminent_domain

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Watch This Delightful Crowdsourced Star Wars Fan Film Immediately

You can't always count on the wisdom of crowds. But this particular project turned out not merely good, but amazing. Star Wars Uncut is a project by filmmakers Aaron Valdez and Michael Pugh, in which Star Wars: A New Hope was divided into 15-second segments, each of which was replicated by fans in whatever way they chose. Connect the new segments and voila! Crowdsourced magic. Watch the video inside.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/6BQ2-tb0eEA/

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Reductio Creep (Theagitator)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories News, RSS and RSS Feed via Feedzilla.

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Mexico catches alleged Sinaloa cartel gun runner (AP)

MEXICO CITY ? Mexican police say they have captured one of the main smugglers of illegal weapons for the Sinaloa drug cartel.

Federal police say Eduardo Avila Ojeda smuggled guns, ammunition and explosives into Mexico to be used by the cartel.

Police said Thursday that the 34-year-old suspect was captured Wednesday in the northern city of Culiacan.

Culiacan is the capital of Sinaloa state, home to the cartel of the same name.

Mexican officials have long blamed weapons smuggled in from the United States for fueling drug violence that has claimed more than 47,500 victims in five years.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/latam/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120119/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_drug_war_mexico

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Americans raid savings, putting recovery at risk

NEW YORK?? More than four years after the United States fell into recession, many Americans have resorted to raiding their savings to get them through the stop-start economic recovery.

In an ominous sign for America's economic growth prospects, workers are paring back contributions to college funds and growing numbers are borrowing from their retirement accounts.

Some policymakers worry that a recent spike in credit card usage could mean that people, many of whom are struggling on incomes that have lagged inflation, are taking out new debt just to meet the costs of day-to-day living.

American households "have been spending recently in a way that did not seem in line with income growth. So somehow they've been doing that through perhaps additional credit card usage," Chicago Federal Reserve President Charles Evans said on Friday.

"If they saw future income and employment increasing strongly then that would be reasonable. But I don't see that. So I've been puzzled by this," he said.

After a few years of relative frugality, the amount of money that Americans are saving has fallen back to its lowest level since December 2007 when the recession began. The personal saving rate dipped in November to 3.5 percent, down from 5.1 percent a year earlier, according to the U.S. Commerce Department.

Jeff Fielkow, an executive vice president at a recycling company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, contributed less to retirement savings and significantly cut back on dining in restaurants and taking vacations in order to keep college savings on track for his two children. "We would love to save more," he said, "but we're doing the best we can."

There have been some signs of a quickening in U.S. economic growth recently after it emerged from recession in mid-2009.

Hiring was stronger than forecast in December and confidence among consumers rose to its highest level in eight months in January.

But many see a long, hard slog ahead and economic growth this year is not expected to be much more than 2.0 percent, barely up from 2011's growth pace.

The big risks include Europe's debt crisis as well as the shaky finances of many Americans, hit by a five-year decline in house prices and still high unemployment. U.S. consumers account for about two thirds of the country's economic output measured by total spending.

Retail sales rose at the weakest pace in seven months in December, according to data published last week.

Sales in 2012 are expected to grow at slower rate than last year, an industry group said on Monday. The National Retail Federation projected sales would rise 3.4 percent this year, compared with than 4.7 percent in 2011.

"When the stock market and the housing market were booming, we saw that a lot of people would take on more debt and save less. They felt the saving was being done for them," said Mark Vitner, managing director and senior economist at Wells Fargo Securities in Charlotte, North Carolina.

"Today, the saving rate is falling out of necessity. Food and energy prices have risen and folks don't have as much money to spend on the things that they would like."

Just as Americans used to borrow against the value of their homes before the property crash, now many are taking out loans from their 401(k) retirement savings plans.

Almost a third of plan participants currently have a loan outstanding, according to an upcoming survey of 150,000 holders of 401(k)s by consulting firm Aon Hewitt.

"People are at a loss, and they are struggling," said Pam Hess, director of retirement research at consulting firm Aon Hewitt.

Loans taken from retirement savings accounts jumped 20 percent last year across all demographics, according to a survey to be published in March. Among lower earners they leapt by as much as 60 percent, said Aon Hewitt's Hess. The vast majority of borrowers, she said, need the money for essential expenses like bills, car repairs and college tuition.

The non-profit Employee Benefit Research Institute's (EBRI) annual retirement confidence survey hit a new low in 2011 with 27 percent of workers saying they're "not at all confident" they'll have enough for a comfortable retirement. Almost 15 percent expect to work until at least the age of 70, up from 11 percent in 2006.

New York real estate broker Leila Yusuf had been very conscientious about saving for retirement, typically socking away $5,000 to $10,000 a year. But her income slid by 30 percent in the last two years as the housing market hit the doldrums and she stopped making contributions.

"I couldn't afford to do it after four deals didn't go through," said Yusuf, 37. "I need money to live on."

In another sign of Americans struggling to make ends meet, EBRI found that more than 20 percent of those aged 50 or older changed their medical prescriptions to save money and almost as many had skipped or postponed doctor appointments for the same reason. Almost 28 percent reported having difficulty paying their monthly bills.

College savings hit
The amount of money Americans put aside for their children's college fees is taking a hit too. Assets in the popular state-managed college savings funds known as 529s dipped more than 10 percent in the third quarter of 2011. Estimated outflows were $354 million between July and September contrasted with inflows of $927 million in the same period of 2010, according to Financial Research Corp.

Indicative of the trend, contributions to the 529 plans managed by investment management firm Vanguard dropped 1.0 percent in 2011 after climbing 17 percent from 2009 to 2010. Parents of younger children are continuing to save, according to Vanguard, "but they may be concerned about the economy and market conditions and have cut back a little."

At the same time, college students are borrowing twice as much as they did a decade ago when adjusted for inflation, according to the College Board, and Americans now owe more on student loans than on credit cards.

Household borrowing on cards, car loans, student loans and other installment debt jumped almost 10 percent from October to November, according to the Federal Reserve, its biggest jump in a decade.

Welcomed by some as a sign of confidence in the economic recovery, others worried it was really a reflection of desperation.

"Apparent stronger consumption at year-end was associated with falling savings rates, compensating for stagnating income growth," Dennis Lockhart, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta said on Jan. 11.

"I question whether this consumer spending momentum will be sustained without a pickup in income growth."

In a sign of concern among policymakers about the weak finances of many Americans, the Federal Reserve this month suggested an array of ways the U.S. government could help shore up the housing market.

House prices have fallen 33 percent from their 2006 peak, resulting in an estimated $7 trillion in household wealth losses and about 12 million homeowners are saddled with mortgages worth more than their properties.

Americans are steadily working off their overall debt levels, including their mortgages. Credit card balances, while little changed compared to a year ago, are down 18 percent from a peak in September 2008.

"It's not like it was a year or two ago when it really felt like a recession, and there was no job growth," said Scott Hoyt, a senior director of consumer economics at Moody's Analytics. "It's better than that and you can see that in the spending. But there's still no reason to go back to the free-spending

Copyright 2012 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46025535/ns/business-stocks_and_economy/

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