Warm weather due for Rose Parade

PASADENA, Calif. ? Southern California will enter the New Year with Chamber of Commerce weather as a high-pressure ridge building in through the weekend combines with an offshore flow to bring above-normal afternoon temperatures.

The National Weather Service says Jan. 1 will bring daytime highs in the 70s to around 80 in greater Los Angeles.

In Pasadena, crowds gathered for Monday's 123rd Rose Parade and 98th Rose Bowl football game will see temperatures climb toward the upper 70s. The high will be back up around 80 on Tuesday.

Nighttime lows through the period will be in the 40s and 50s.

The Rose Parade has only rarely been dampened by rainfall.

The Associated Press

Source: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/dec/30/warm-weather-due-for-rose-parade/

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Welfare hit by perfect storm in California: slashed funds, dismal job market

By SHEILA V. KUMAR, Associated Press

SACRAMENTO -- Advocates of welfare reform in California often cite one, eye-popping statistic as they have pressed for cuts and changes to the program in recent years: The state has one-eighth of the nation's population but one-third of all welfare recipients.

Yet steps taken in recent years to cut costs and get more recipients back in the workforce have run head-on into the worst economic conditions since the Great Depression. Recipients have been left with fewer training programs, shrinking welfare checks and a shorter period during which they are eligible to receive assistance at a time when employment prospects for even highly qualified job-seekers are dim.

That has led to fear and uncertainty among welfare recipients, many of whom have spent a year or more in job-preparation programs without success.

"I've been trying to look for work, but everyone has been losing their jobs and work was hard to find," said David Balaba of Sacramento, who has been on welfare since being laid off in 2009 as a merchandiser for a beverage-packaging company.

His wife lost her job working at a cafe in the Sacramento Zoo a month before his layoff, and their daughter was born shortly after.

"From there, it started to go downhill," said Balaba, 27. "We couldn't find work, we lost everything. It was like a snowball effect."

To help cut their childcare costs and living expenses, his family moved in with his parents in south Sacramento, a few miles from the state

Capitol. For almost two years, Balaba has been drawing welfare checks while participating in state-funded programs designed to help him find work.

None of those programs has paid off, and with state spending cuts to welfare programs, he is receiving $300 a month from the state, less than half his previous check of $661.

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Balaba is one of 4.6 million Americans on welfare amid a lasting recession that has forced lawmakers to slash budgets across the country, including for many safety-net programs.

California will spend $6 billion this fiscal year on its welfare programs, or roughly 7 percent of a general fund budget that has shrunk by $17.5 billion over the past three years.

Former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Republican lawmakers pushed successfully for welfare reforms in 2004 and have won other cutbacks and concessions since then.

Funding for CalWorks, the welfare-to-work program that is the state's main welfare service, was cut by $1 billion this year. The legislation that reduced the spending also shortened the amount of time a recipient can stay on welfare, from 60 months to 48, while also reducing monthly checks by at least 8 percent.

Lawmakers also suspended a program called Cal-Lean, which offers incentives and services for teenage parents who had dropped out of high school.

Many Republican lawmakers say the cuts need to continue because California can no longer afford all the program's costs. They say the relatively generous benefits have made California a magnet for those seeking welfare assistance.

The Legislature's budget cuts and reform measures in recent years are steps in the right direction but don't go far enough, said state Assemblyman Brian Jones, a Republican from La Mesa, near San Diego.

He said he would support cutting the amount of time adults can remain on welfare even further.

"By the time someone is on welfare for 48 months, I think they're trained to be on that system," he said. "I think we need to make it more attractive in California to get folks off of welfare instead of onto it."

The Legislature focuses too much on trying to micromanage people's lives, he said, while failing to devise productive ways to get Californians back to work.

"The welfare numbers are high because the economy is in the pits, and there doesn't seem to be a political force in Sacramento to push the reforms we need to get our economy going," said Jones, vice chairman of the Assembly Human Services Committee.

Yet recipients say a persistent recession that has given California the nation's second highest unemployment rate is just the reason not to cut welfare benefits further.

Theresa Hooks had been working as a mobile notary in Arizona when she decided in 2009 to move to California, where her grandmother had offered to help care for her children.

Shortly after the 35-year-old divorced mother of three moved to Hemet, in a semi-rural area about 90 miles east of Los Angeles, her grandmother developed an illness that left her unable to care for Hooks' children. Hooks said she then lost the three-bedroom apartment she had been living in because she couldn't afford the rent.

"That's when I ended up homeless," she said. "I could not find a job anywhere, and I applied everywhere. Not Kmart, not McDonald's. There was not one company in Hemet that would hire me."

She is among the 1.5 million Californians who depend on monthly welfare grants. California's caseload far outnumbers the rest of the country, with 3.8 percent of its population on welfare in 2010.

According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Health and Human Services, Maine, the state with the second highest percentage, had 2.9 percent of its population on welfare. Tennessee, New Mexico and Washington, the next three states, were at 2.5 percent.

The states with the lowest proportion of residents on welfare -- Wyoming, Idaho, Georgia, Texas and Illinois -- had less than one half of 1 percent of their population receiving state assistance.

The main reason California has such a high percentage of the nation's welfare cases is because it is one of the few states that continue to provide welfare checks for children once their parents are no longer eligible.

About three-quarters of California's welfare recipients are children age 18 and younger. Just three other states -- Indiana, Oregon and Rhode Island -- provide assistance checks to minors after their parents no longer qualify for welfare.

Yet even with the state's promise to support children, families are finding it harder to move from welfare to employment amid a stagnant job market.

California's unemployment rate has been dropping in recent months but is still second highest in the nation behind Nevada, at 11.3 percent, and remains far higher than the national rate of 8.6 percent.

After applying for welfare, Hooks moved her family into a one-bedroom apartment in the San Fernando Valley. For the past two years, she has been studying for a degree in public relations while struggling to pay her bills with a welfare check that shrank by $76 a month to $752 in the latest round of state budget cuts. She said her ex-husband sends a little money, but she still finds herself short of cash every month.

She said her job prospects are uncertain, at best.

"I'm not trying to stay on this," she said of the state's welfare rolls. "I'm trying to get off as soon as possible."

Former President Bill Clinton supported an overhaul of the nation's traditional welfare system in 1996 by giving states more control over the money that came from the federal government, which had been used to fund cash payments. States used the new flexibility to begin funding child care services and job-assistance programs.

Welfare rates plummeted across the nation as the promise of assistance checks was connected to mandatory welfare-to-work programs.

Some 12.6 million people were on welfare nationally at the time of the overhaul, with 2.6 million of those in California. Some states have seen the number of welfare recipients decline by almost 50 percent since those changes were made. California's lowest figure was in 2007, when an average of 1.2 million people applied for state assistance.

The numbers have been creeping up since the recession began in 2007, said Jean Ross, executive director of the California Budget Project.

California's relatively high cost of living and its large number of low-wage jobs make it difficult for residents to make ends meet, she said. By 2009, California saw 1.3 million apply for state assistance, and the number has continued to climb.

"California is widely recognized as having one of the most effective programs, which is why the caseload dropped," Ross said. "What's unfortunate is that all the best pieces that work are the very pieces that have been scaled back."

The Sacramento-based nonprofit, which often advocates for union-friendly changes to state budgeting, estimates that $3.5 billion has been cut from California's welfare-to-work program since 2008. Welfare spending as a percentage of the state's overall budget has dropped by more than half since 1996, the group says.

As the Legislature cuts funding to welfare programs, the consequences are being felt by the people who rely on them.

Cal-Learn, which helped teenage parents finish their high school diplomas and gain job skills, assisted more than 11,700 people during the last year it was fully funded. Its suspension has left many of them stuck at home caring for their children because they cannot afford reliable child care.

Among them is Dana Woolensack, who said she was kicked out of her house when her family learned she was pregnant. The 19-year-old praised her Cal-Learn caseworkers for pushing her to finish a high school degree after her son was born in the hope that she could find a job and support herself.

But the program's suspension this year means she can no longer afford to go to school. She says Cal-Learn gave her a cash grant of $530 a month plus an additional $133 for transportation. Now she gets $490 a month from the state's welfare program, a reduction of $173 a month, and she has rent to pay on a Sacramento apartment.

"I know that I can do it, but it's hard, and especially when you're doing it all on your own," she said. "The program you did have is getting cut now, so it's only going to be harder."

Source: http://www.dailynews.com/ci_19631541?source=rss_viewed

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E. Africa Warns of Possible Terror Attacks During Holiday Season

Companies and officials in East Africa are strengthening security and issuing safety warnings during the Christmas season due to worries about possible al-Shabab attacks in public places. The Kenyan government says it received a credible threat to assassinate a Kenyan minister and deputy speaker.

Securex Agencies communication officer in Nairobi, Brian Sagala, says his company is struggling to fill the demand for extra guards, dogs, metal detectors and other equipment.

"We are selling more walk-throughs - those are the ones when someone just passes [through] it, it beeps. Most companies that even have our guards are asking for the guards to be given the hand-held metal detectors. And we are also having more queries, people just asking us, which is the right thing to put in my building to vet people when they are coming in," Sagala stated.

Sagala says the demand for such equipment started last month, following two grenade attacks in Kenya's capital, and has accelerated.

The Kenyan government issued a warning advising people to be cautious during the Christmas season in shopping malls, hotels, places of worship and other public venues.

Kenya recently sent troops into Somalia, where they joined the African Union peacekeeping force AMISOM, to battle al-Shabab militants who had launched attacks inside Kenya. During the past few weeks, scores of al-Shabab fighters were reportedly killed by Kenyan troops in Somalia.

Two national newspapers are reporting a December 15 "Situation Report" from the Office of the President claims al-Shabab operatives had instructions to assassinate Minister of State for Defense Yusuf Haji and Deputy Speaker Farah Maalim.

When contacted by VOA, Kenyan government spokesman Alfred Mutua said his government's warning was only indirectly and distantly related to the alleged assassination threats and recent military battles. "We were going to do it [issue the warning] anyway. You know, just a normal, let us be careful during this holiday season. We have got some bad guys out there who do not really care much about human life," he said.

But Ugandan Army Spokesman Colonel Felix Kulayigye, whose country has troops in AMISOM in Somalia, says Kenyans have reason to worry.

"Of course, Kenya, being the latest entrant into the Somali fray, makes it the most recent target for al-Shabab. Certainly, Kenya is generally under threat from the al-Shabab bombing," Kulayigye said. "It therefore requires extra vigilance on the part of both the security agencies and the civilians."

Kulayigye says the same situation applies to Uganda. "Oh yes, we have concerns. We have concerns, and indeed, we are extra vigilant," he added.

Kulayigye says he thinks it is unlikely al-Shabab would specifically target the Kenyan minister and deputy speaker, rather preferring to carry out large-scale attacks in public places to cause panic and raise publicity. He says he received a death threat from al-Shabab last year, but the militant group instead bombed soccer fans watching the World Cup on television in a restaurant and a club, killing 74.

Source: http://feeds.bignewsnetwork.com/?sid=202182228

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Video: Fireplace safety tips every family should know

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Ben Nelson retirement: How does it affect the Senate landscape? (Washington Post)

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

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Tougher foreign policy vital to Canada: Baird - Montreal Gazette

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Joe Lieberman: "I don't think Congress has ever been as bad as it is today." (The Christian Science Monitor)

Independent Senator Joseph Lieberman chairs the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Elected to the Senate in 1988, he ran as an independent in 2006 after losing Connecticut's Democratic primary. He spoke at the Dec. 13 Monitor breakfast in Washington.

Why public approval of Congress is so low:

"Because I don't think Congress has ever been as bad as it is today. Here is a time of very serious, painful economic hardship ... and a debt that is threatening our future, national debt, and we really haven't done anything about it."

Whether members of Congress are using non-public information for personal financial gain:

"I don't have any evidence that there is insider trading by members of Congress.... A lot of people around the country ... think there is.... It is very important that Congress make clear with legislative action that members of Congress ... are covered by insider-trading laws."

President Obama's response to Iran's capture of an American spy drone:

"I wish that we had found a way to at least go in and destroy it.... It would have been very difficult to rescue it.... I say that with humility because I wasn't in the [White House] Situation Room...."

US policy toward Iran:

"I don't think we have done enough to support regime change. It needs to be done artfully because it is not one of those cases where we want to go in and start endorsing opposition" candidates.

Former Speaker Newt Gingrich saying the Palestinians are an "invented" people:

"To me, the important fact is, the Palestinians are a people today and any resolution of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians has to be between two peoples, two nations."

Calls for the Transportation Security Administration to create passenger advocates at airports to deal with complaints about searches:

"It is worth thinking about, but I am not jumping to endorse it.... I am an admirer of TSA."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/terrorism/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20111225/ts_csm/437874

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Cruise's 'Mission' accomplishes box-office win (AP)

LOS ANGELES ? Hollywood has picked up a little Christmas bonus.

Studios generally underestimated the size of their movie audiences over the weekend, and they're now revising the holiday revenues upward.

Leading the way is Tom Cruise's "Mission: Impossible ? Ghost Protocol," which pulled in $29.5 million for the weekend. That Monday figure is $3 million more than distributor Paramount estimated a day earlier.

For the four-day period Friday to Monday, Paramount estimates "Ghost Protocol" will have taken in $46.2 million to raise its domestic total to $78.6 million. That's on top of $140 million the film has taken in overseas, giving it a worldwide haul of $218.6 million.

Studios Monday also reported stronger results than they did a day earlier for Robert Downey Jr.'s "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows," which was No. 2 at $20.3 million for the three-day weekend and $31.8 million for the four-day period; Steven Spielberg's "The Adventures of Tintin" at No. 5 with $9.7 million over three days and $16.1 million for four days; and Matt Damon's "We Bought a Zoo" at No. 6 with $9.5 million over three days and $15.6 million for four days.

In a tight race for the No. 4 spot were David Fincher's "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" and the family sequel "Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked."

"Dragon Tattoo" did $12.8 million over three days and $19.4 million for four days. "Chipwrecked" took in $12.7 million over three days and $20 million for four days.

A few films debuted on Christmas Day, among them Spielberg's World War I epic "War Horse," which took in $7.5 million Sunday. Through Monday, its estimated two-day total is $15 million.

Also debuting was Emile Hirsch's action thriller "The Darkest Hour," which earned $3 million Sunday and had a two-day total of $5.5 million through Monday.

Opening solidly in just six theaters was Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock's Sept. 11 drama "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close," which took in $71,000 Sunday and $136,000 through Monday. The film expands to nationwide release in January.

Despite the upward revision on some movies' revenues, the Christmas weekend continued a box-office slide that has persisted since Thanksgiving. Overall revenues from Friday to Sunday totaled $128 million, down 10 percent from Christmas weekend last year, according to box-office tracker Hollywood.com.

The top 20 movies at U.S. and Canadian theaters Friday through Monday, followed by distribution studio, gross, number of theater locations, average receipts per location, total gross and number of weeks in release, as compiled Monday by Hollywood.com are:

1. "Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol," Paramount, $46,210,000, 3,448 locations, $13,402 average, $78,645,000, two weeks.

2. "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows," Warner Bros., $31,810,000, 3,448 locations, $9,226 average, $90,564,000, two weeks.

3. "Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked," Fox, $20,000,000, 3,734 locations, $5,356 average, $56,940,187, two weeks.

4. "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," Sony, $19,400,000, 2,914 locations, $6,658 average, $27,716,000, one week.

5. "The Adventures of Tintin," Paramount, $16,100,000, 3,087 locations, $5,215 average, $24,107,000, one week.

6. "We Bought a Zoo," Fox, $15,600,000, 3,117 locations, $5,005 average, $15,600,000, one week.

7. "War Horse" (opened Sunday), Disney, $15,025,000, 2,376 locations, $6,324 average, $15,025,000, one week.

8. "The Darkest Hour" (opened Sunday), Summit, $5,500,000, 2,324 locations, $2,367 average, $5,500,000, one week.

9. "New Year's Eve," Warner Bros., $4,950,000, 2,585 locations, $1,915 average, $34,287,000, three weeks.

10. "The Descendants," Fox Searchlight, $3,425,000, 813 locations, $4,213 average, $33,716,552, six weeks.

11. "The Muppets," Disney, $3,355,000, 1,752 locations, $1,915 average, $76,911,000, five weeks.

12. "Hugo," Paramount, $3,300,000, 1,256 locations, $2,627 average, $44,927,000, five weeks.

13. "Arthur Christmas," Sony, $3,100,000, 1,804 locations, $1,718 average, $44,062,000, five weeks.

14. "The Sitter," Fox, $3,000,000, 1,786 locations, $1,680 average, $23,488,202, three weeks.

15. "Young Adult," Paramount, $2,775,000, 987 locations, $2,812 average, $8,184,000, three weeks.

16. "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn ? Part 1," Summit, $2,150,000, 1,603 locations, $1,341 average, $270,951,901, six weeks.

17. "The Artist," Weinstein Co., $1,402,000, 167 locations, $8,395 average, $2,900,430, five weeks.

18. "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy," Focus, $1,210,160, 55 locations, $22,003 average, $2,311,670, three weeks.

19. "My Week with Marilyn," Weinstein Co., $888,000, 602 locations, $1,475 average, $7,307,196, five weeks.

20. "Puss in Boots," Paramount, $685,000, 389 locations, $1,761 average, $143,935,000, nine weeks.

___

Estimated weekend ticket sales at international theaters (excluding the U.S. and Canada) for films distributed overseas by Hollywood studios, according to Rentrak:

1. "Mission: Impossible ? Ghost Protocol," $43 million.

2. "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows," $22.3 million.

3. "Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked," $20.1 million.

4. "Puss in Boots," $17 million.

5. "Arthur Christmas," $9.7 million.

6. "The Darkest Hour," $3.5 million.

7 (tie). "Hugo," $2 million.

7 (tie). "In Time," $2 million.

7 (tie). "Rubbeldiekatz," $2 million.

10. "Real Steel," $1.9 million.

___

Online:

http://www.hollywood.com

http://www.rentrak.com

___

Universal and Focus are owned by NBC Universal, a unit of Comcast Corp.; Sony, Columbia, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; Paramount is owned by Viacom Inc.; Disney, Pixar and Marvel are owned by The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is owned by Filmyard Holdings LLC; 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight are owned by News Corp.; Warner Bros. and New Line are units of Time Warner Inc.; MGM is owned by a group of former creditors including Highland Capital, Anchorage Advisors and Carl Icahn; Lionsgate is owned by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.; IFC is owned by AMC Networks Inc.; Rogue is owned by Relativity Media LLC.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/movies/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111226/ap_en_mo/us_box_office

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2012 MMA crystal ball: Who?s a UFC champ 12 months from now?

We keep hearing about mixed martial being in a period of dominant champions. Is that really true? Try to project the champions in each UFC weight class for the end of 2012 and see what you come up with.

Yahoo! Sports' Kevin Iole, Frank Trigg and myself debated four of the UFC's title belts during our "The MMA Insiders" show on ESPN1100/98.9 FM in Las Vegas.

My choices are:

125 pounds - Joe Benavidez

135 pounds - Urijah Faber

145 pounds - Jose Aldo Jr.

155 pounds - Gray Maynard

170 pounds - Georges St-Pierre

185 pounds - Anderson Silva

205 pounds - Jon Jones

Heavyweight - Junior dos Santos

Trigg and Iole disagreed with me on 155 and heavyweight. They also came up with a few deep sleepers at lightweight and welterweight.

Other popular stories on Yahoo! Sports:

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? Get a peek at what Floyd Mayweather's cell will look like

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Obama has options to delay Keystone pipeline (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? President Barack Obama has options to kill or delay the Canada-to-Texas oil sands pipeline despite language in the payroll tax bill that forces him to make a decision on a permit by late February.

Obama signed into law on Friday the bill containing a measure ordering him to grant the permit for TransCanada Corp's Keystone XL oil sands pipeline in 60 days, unless he determines the line does not serve the national interest.

"The project now faces further uncertainty following its entanglement in Congressional maneuvering around the payroll tax extension legislation," Robert Johnston, a director for energy and natural resources at the Eurasia Group, said in a research note.

Last month, Obama bowed to pressure from environmentalists, who are an important part of his base, to delay the project past the 2012 election.

Thousands of them staged high-profile protests at the White House this year to stop the pipeline that would deliver oil sands crude from the boreal forests of Alberta to refineries in Texas.

In November, the State Department, which has the power to give the project a final permit because it would cross the national border, announced it would delay its decision until after next year's presidential election.

Environmentalists oppose the project for the carbon emissions that come from processing oil sands. The line's route also faced stiff opposition from greens and Republicans in Nebraska because of concerns a pipeline spill would contaminate a huge aquifer that serves millions and spoil the state's fragile Sandhills region.

Pipeline supporters say Keystone would bolster U.S. energy security and relieve a buildup of crude in the Midwest. TransCanada claims it would create 20,000 jobs, though the State Department said the number is closer to 7,000.

Despite the language in the tax package, Obama can kill the project and likely can still delay it. He could reject it based on the national interest argument, or he could give it a thumbs up, but delay it by awaiting a route study.

If Obama decides the pipeline is not in the national interest, "it would effectively be the end of the project," said Johnston, although TransCanada would likely still move forward with a smaller leg of the pipeline from the Cushing, Oklahoma oil hub to Texas.

Even if Obama approves it within 60 days, he could do so conditionally by declaring the project is in the national interest, but contingent on the completion of the State Department's study on alternative routes through Nebraska.

The State Department based its delay in November on a need to study alternative routes in Nebraska.

That decision came a day after some 10,000 environmentalists and other opponents of Keystone circled the White House in protest.

Obama did not mention Keystone at a brief press conference on Friday after he signed the bill. But earlier this month White House officials said the congressional maneuvering does not help the project.

Dan Pfeiffer, a White House communications director, tweeted before the Senate passed its version of the payroll tax bill last week: "How will (Republicans) explain to their members that the bill doesn't force the President to approve Keystone, it essentially kills it?"

Daniel Weiss, of the Center for American Progress, said last week that even if Obama approves the line, it would not survive the court process, as U.S. law clearly states that environmental impact statements have to be fully completed before the government can determine whether a project is in the national interest.

If Obama kills the project, Republicans would likely try to use that against him in the campaign, particularly if oil prices rise next summer due to strife in the Middle East or other reasons, and as the jobless rate remains stubbornly high.

TransCanada, whose stock rose 1.6 percent on Friday and was higher than the overall market, maintains it wants to proceed with the project. It said because of demand from shippers, it has boosted capacity of the pipeline to 800,000 barrels per day from 700,000 bpd.

The oil industry will be strongly pushing the project, in part to relieve a flood of crude that is bottled up at Cushing, Oklahoma, on a shale oil bonanza in North Dakota and a lack of pipeline capacity.

"It's another step in a muddled battle over the pipeline, but at least this means we're closer to a decision," said Peter Beutel, an energy analyst at Cameron Hanover in New Canaan, Connecticut.

Environmentalists, who vow to keep fighting the line, slammed Republicans in Congress for including the pipeline rider in the legislation.

"It is bad policy because it is likely to force the Obama Administration to turn down the application without further analysis," said David Moulton, the senior director for legislative affairs at the Wilderness Society.

"In essence, (Republicans in the House) have now created a scenario where the Keystone XL pipeline must be rejected on the basis of procedure rather than on the merits."

(Editing by Russell Blinch and Bob Burgdorfer)

(Reporting By Timothy Gardner, additional reporting by Robert Gibbons in New York)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/energy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111223/wl_canada_nm/canada_us_usa_keystone_pipeline

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New payroll tax cut: Hard on the rich

The Senate's revised version of the payroll tax cut prevents a handful of very high wage earners from potentially enjoying a huge windfall from the two-month tax break

The fate of The Temporary Payroll Tax Cut Continuation Act of 2011 remains uncertain. But thanks to a carefully crafted technical change to the current payroll tax cut, the Senate version prevents a handful of very high wage earners from potentially enjoying a huge windfall from the two-month tax break.

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The legislation would cut the payroll tax that funds Social Security from 6.2 percent of earnings to 4.2 percent, the same as this year. Over a year, the tax applies up to an earnings cap?$110,100?so the maximum tax savings would be $2,202. But the temporary extension would set a cap one-sixth that size, reflecting its two-month duration and reducing the maximum tax savings to $367.

Under the Senate bill, workers with annual earnings under the full year cap would get the same increase in their paychecks during January and February as they would in those two months if the cut lasted through 2012. But people who earn more will see their take-home pay go up exactly the maximum $367 during the two-month period. Without this provision, a CEO drawing a $6 million salary would get the full $2,202 tax savings in his first 2012 paycheck. The temporary Senate bill would give her only one-sixth as much. Call it the 16-Percent Solution.

The drafters of H.R. 3630 recognized that simply extending the 2011 tax cut with a two-month life could give much larger tax cuts to high earners, measured as a percentage of income. Very high earners can exceed the $110,100 tax cap in their first paycheck or two and thus could get the full annual tax savings in the two-month window before the temporary extension would expire. By limiting the tax cut to the first $18,350 of earnings, the Senate bill prevents that possibility. The limitation will have no effect over the full year if Congress eventually extends the tax cut through December but protects against the tax cut?s being highly regressive if it actually expires on March 1.

The hit on high earners is not much more than a curiosity?it affects only a tiny fraction of workers and those affected are the most likely to bank the tax savings rather than boost their spending and hence stimulate the economy. And if Congress does extend the cut for the full year, they?ll eventually get the full $2,202 savings.

But the tax cap in the bill does show the great concern for detail on the part of the congressional experts who drafted the tax legislation, even when Congress is in a rush to finish business and head off for the holidays.

The Christian Science Monitor has assembled a diverse group of the best economy-related bloggers out there. Our guest bloggers are not employed or directed by the Monitor and the views expressed are the bloggers' own, as is responsibility for the content of their blogs. To contact us about a blogger, click here. To add or view a comment on a guest blog, please go to the blogger's own site by clicking on taxvox.taxpolicycenter.org.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/cQ34pxxgS7A/New-payroll-tax-cut-Hard-on-the-rich

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Peterson, Ponder hurt; Vikings top Redskins 33-26

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updated 4:10 p.m. ET Dec. 24, 2011

LANDOVER, Md. - The Minnesota Vikings survived injuries to Adrian Peterson and Christian Ponder on back-to-back plays Saturday to end a six-game losing streak, beating the Washington Redskins 33-26.

Toby Gerhart filled in for Peterson and set up a touchdown with a 67-yard run, and Joe Webb threw for two touchdowns and ran for another while subbing for Ponder.

Webb's 8-yard pass to Percy Harvin broke a 23-all tie early in the fourth quarter, and rookie Mistral Raymond's first career interception set up Ryan Longwell's 23-yard field goal that gave the Vikings a 10-point lead with 4:05 to play.

The Vikings are 3-12. The Redskins lost their sixth straight home game to fall to 5-10.

Peterson's left knee was hurt on the first offensive play of the second half. Ponder suffered a concussion.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Tebow throws 4 INTs in loss

??Jairus Byrd and Spencer Johnson returned Tim Tebow interceptions for touchdowns on consecutive plays in the fourth quarter to help the Buffalo Bills snap a seven-game skid and seal a 40-14 win over the Denver Broncos on Saturday.

Raiders stay alive with 16-13 OT win over Chiefs

??Sebastian Janikowski kicked a 36-yard field goal 2:13 into overtime Saturday, giving the Oakland Raiders a 16-13 victory over Kansas City that eliminated the Chiefs from the playoff race and kept their own AFC West hopes alive.

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/45784455/ns/sports-nfl/

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Ann Brenoff: STDs Rising Among Boomers (Huffington post)

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Analysis: What's the plan if North Korea collapses? (Reuters)

SEOUL (Reuters) ? North Korea appears to be making an orderly transition after the death of leader Kim Jong-il last week, but the risk of collapse is higher than before and regional powers need to start discussing that contingency with China, diplomats and analysts say.

The problem is China refuses to contemplate any unraveling of North Korea which has nuclear ambitions and is its long-term ally. Beijing has rebuffed such overtures from the United States, Japan and South Korea.

"Secret talks with China to plan for contingencies have long been overdue," said Douglas Paal, vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in a paper this week.

"Beijing has been reluctant to engage in this kind of dialogue, although Chinese thinkers have increasingly acknowledged privately the need for such an authoritative conversation."

Yet little evidence has emerged that such talks have taken place or are being planned, despite a flurry of discussions between the four countries in the aftermath of Kim's death last Saturday.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda travels to Beijing at the weekend, but it is unlikely that China would entertain anything more than platitudes. No contingency plan can be coordinated without China's agreement, since it borders North Korea and supplies much of its food and fuel.

Christopher Hill, a former envoy to the six-party talks on North Korea nuclear disarmament, said it was difficult to raise North Korean instability scenarios with China.

"The Chinese are always skittish about these things," he said, adding that the disclosure of secret U.S. diplomatic cables by WikiLeaks have made them especially wary of contingency planning.

Still, the transition of power in North Korea from the departed "Dear Leader," Kim Jong-il, to his son, the "Great Successor" Kim Jong-un, is going smoothly so far.

"We hope it stays that well," said Pentagon spokesman George Little. "We have not seen any unusual North Korean troop movements since the death of Kim Jong-il. That would be one indicator of a less than smooth transition."

The real worry is further down the road if a contest for power develops and piles stresses on a state that is already perilously close to economic collapse.

China, the United States and other regional powers around the peninsula may face a number of daunting scenarios if the transition goes badly over the medium term. These could include civil conflict, a mass exodus of refugees, military mutiny, lost control of the North's small nuclear arsenal or military attack.

A CHANGE IN CHINA?

China is however undergoing its own leadership transition in 2012 and down the line it's not impossible that there may be some changes in its steadfast refusal to work with the United States and its allies on contingency planning for North Korea.

In one Feb 22, 2010 cable by then U.S. ambassador to Seoul Kathleen Stephens, a top South Korean diplomat cited private conversations with two high-level Chinese officials who said China could live with a reunified Korea under the control of South Korea.

The then South Korean vice foreign minister, Chun Yung-woo, who was also a delegate at the six-party talks, said the two Chinese officials told him privately that China "would clearly not welcome any U.S. military presence north of the Demilitarized Zone in the event of a collapse."

But the Chinese officials told him Beijing "would be comfortable with a reunified Korea controlled by Seoul and anchored to the United States in a 'benign alliance' - as long as Korea was not hostile towards China."

The United States maintains 28,500 troops in South Korea and remains the Supreme Commander of unified American and South Korean troops in the event of a crisis with the North.

Chun, now the South Korean president's national security adviser, did not respond to a request for comment.

Chun also told the U.S. ambassador in that cable that China would not militarily intervene in the event of a North Korea collapse, and he expected that to happen within two to three years after the death of Kim Jong-il.

The alleged remarks from the two Chinese diplomats do not represent China's official position on North Korea. But China's ability to influence North Korea is sometimes over-estimated. In April 2009, He Yafei, then China's vice foreign minister, told a U.S. diplomat in Beijing that North Korea acted like a "spoiled child" to attract U.S. attention through steps such as firing a three-stage rocket over Japan.

The official line from Beijing, repeated during a visit by Kim Jong-il to China in May, is that the relationship remains "sealed in blood" of the allies that fought together in the Korean War.

"For China, the core imperative remains the avoidance of anything that might compromise North Korea's stability," said Sarah McDowall, an analyst at IHS Jane's.

"Occasionally, however, when North Korea commits particularly blatant provocations, this priority comes into conflict with another of China's over-riding diplomatic objectives - its desire to be seen as a responsible global player. China's behavior with regards to North Korea in recent years has been a struggle to balance these two objectives."

PEACEFUL REUNIFICATION

In another Wikileaks cable from Astana, Kazakhstan on June 8, 2009, Chinese ambassador Cheng Guoping told his U.S. counterpart Richard Hoagland that China opposes North Korea's nuclear tests and hopes for peaceful reunification of the peninsula over the long term.

Cheng said China's objectives in North Korea were to ensure their commitments on non-proliferation, maintain stability, and 'don't drive (Kim Jong-il) mad,'" Hoagland said in the cable.

John Park, at the United States Institute of Peace in Washington, used a medical analogy to describe the difference in the U.S. and Chinese approaches.

"The way contingency planning is framed by the U.S. is, 'Let us coordinate so that if the North Korean state does collapse we can harvest the organs, and we think they should be implanted in a unified Korea, and the more the U.S. and China coordinate on this, the more smooth and stable it will be.'

"Whereas China's view is, 'Why would you wait for until the patient dies? Why wouldn't you prevent the death of the regime.' So there the Chinese are adopting almost this preventive medicine approach."

Jia Qingguo, professor of international relations at Peking University, said prospects for political stability in North Korea were bleak and interested powers needed "to step up communications, especially now the risks of a crisis are quite high."

The loyalty of those around the "Great Successor" is difficult to ascertain, Jia said.

"Add to that all the many problems, domestic and external, confronting North Korea. In these circumstances, I think it's very difficult to say whether Kim Jong-un will be able to master the political apparatus."

Kim Jong-un, who is in his late 20s, has little experience. His father Kim Jong-il had 20 years to prepare for rule under the tutelage of his father, Kim Il-sung, the charismatic founding father of the North Korean state.

Analysts have said senior officers were replaced after young Kim was made a four-star general last year, though he had never served in the military.

Issues that need to be urgently addressed in contingency planning include how to provide aid in the face of a collapse or crisis, and how to ensure the safety of the North's nuclear materials, Jia said.

"I think from the viewpoint of China and the United States, it may be up to one of them to assume control of the nuclear weapons and avoid proliferation."

A former Japanese diplomat who dealt with North Korean issues, Hitoshi Tanaka, questioned whether any measures would be effective in the event of "internal domestic turmoil" in North Korea.

South Korea, China, Japan and the United States "are very busy collecting and exchanging information and comparing notes" about North Korea's future, but that information is "very, very limited."

"It is extremely important...to let China work in the most constructive way, because clearly, China is the last resort in the context of helping North Korea," he said.

(Additional reporting by Chris Buckley in Beijing, Paul Eckert and Warren Strobel in Washington, Linda Sieg in Tokyo and Jack Kim in Seoul; Editing by David Chance)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111223/ts_nm/us_korea_north_collapse

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Slim Dunkin Reportedly Murdered After Fight Over Candy

The Waka Flocka Flame affiliate fought with man over stolen piece of candy, Atlanta police say.
By Rob Markman

Slim Dunkin and Waka Flocka
Photo: MTV News

Atlanta police are still on the hunt for the man who shot and killed up-and-coming rapper "Slim Dunkin" on December 16, but new disturbing details have emerged in the case.

On Tuesday, WSB-TV in Atlanta reported that the Waka Flocka Flame affiliate and Brick Squad Monopoly member was shot in an altercation that began over a stolen piece of candy.

"The information we're getting, it's unconfirmed, but witnesses are saying this whole thing started over a piece of candy," homicide detective David Quinn told "Action News" on camera.

According to witnesses, Dunkin, born Mario Hamilton, grabbed a piece of candy from another man while inside an Atlanta recording studio, which led to an argument and then a fistfight. The scuffle ended with Slim being shot once in the chest. He was then transported to Grady Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

There were a number of witnesses at the scene, but because police first arrived at the hospital and not the scene of the crime, they didn't have the opportunity to properly interview all of the people who were present.

There will be a public viewing on Thursday at Atlanta's Willie A. Watkins Funeral Home, located at 1003 Ralph David Abernathy Boulevard, from the hours of 6 p.m. ET to 9 p.m. ET.

Dunk was an emerging star in Waka Flocka Flame's Brick Squad Monopoly crew. Aside from key appearances alongside Flocka on his 2010 debut album, Flockaveli, and on Gucci Mane and V-Nasty's BAYTL LP, Slim was also beginning to make waves as a soloist. This past Halloween the street-bred MC released Menace II Society, a 20-track mixtape that featured Gucci Mane, Roscoe Dash and Pastor Troy.

Dunkin's death has sent waves through the rap community; his close collaborators were undoubtedly hit hard. The day after he was murdered Waka took to Twitter to express his grief. "WISH IT WAS ME ... MY F---ING RIGHT HAND IS GONE," Flocka wrote the day after the murder.

The "O Let's Do It" MC continued to vent over Twitter, writing, "damn I feel dead" and "IM LOST" in reaction to the tragic news. Police are asking anyone with information to come forward and call 404-577-TIPS.

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1676333/slim-dunkin-murder.jhtml

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Chinese 'water army' hijacks online product reviews

Bob Holmes, consultant

Looking for online product reviews before you buy holiday gifts? Watch your step. Many of those "user reviews" may come from professionals paid to post favourable comments about their employers' products and denigrate their competitors', says a computer scientist who worked undercover in the industry.

Fortunately, though, there may be a way to spot the fakery automatically.

Cheng Chen of the University of Victoria, Canada, worked as a paid poster in China's "Internet water army", so-called because its soldiers flood websites with posts about particular products. In a paper posted on arXiv, Chen and his colleagues describe how project managers organise teams of paid posters, supplying them with comments and video clips to post, and setting rules for when and how often to post, so that they avoid appearing part of a coordinated campaign.

To see if they could recognise paid posters despite this deception, Chen's team focused on online comments relating to a dispute between two Chinese antivirus companies. The researchers sifted through two months' worth of comments on one of China's leading internet news sites and pulled out 552 users who commented on the antivirus companies. Based on his experience in the industry and the contents of their posts, Chen suspected 70 of these might be paid posters.

These suspected paid posters had a higher proportion of new comments (as opposed to replies), posted more often but for a shorter period of time, and were more likely to post similar comments several times than posters not suspected of being paid.

Sure enough, when the researchers applied these criteria to comments on a second news site, the suspected paid posters they flagged matched Chen's subjective classification with a false-positive rate of 1 per cent and a false negative rate of 10 per cent. With a little more refinement, the algorithm could lead to software that screens comments automatically, they say.

Source: http://feeds.newscientist.com/c/749/f/10897/s/1b310641/l/0L0Snewscientist0N0Cblogs0Conepercent0C20A110C120Cchinese0Ewater0Earmy0Ehijacks0Eonl0Bhtml0DDCMP0FOTC0Erss0Gnsref0Fonline0Enews/story01.htm

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Rebecca Black tops all other YouTube videos in '11

This Nov. 11, 2011 file photo shows Rebecca Black as she arrives at the premiere of "Jack and Jill," in Los Angeles. With some 180 million views, Rebecca Black's infamous ?Friday? video topped all YouTube videos in 2011. The Google Inc. video site announced its most-viewed videos of the year Tuesday. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles, file)

This Nov. 11, 2011 file photo shows Rebecca Black as she arrives at the premiere of "Jack and Jill," in Los Angeles. With some 180 million views, Rebecca Black's infamous ?Friday? video topped all YouTube videos in 2011. The Google Inc. video site announced its most-viewed videos of the year Tuesday. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles, file)

NEW YORK (AP) ? Rebecca Black's infamous "Friday" video has topped all other YouTube videos of 2011 with 180 million views.

The Google Inc. video-sharing site announced its most-viewed clips of the year Tuesday.

The 14-year-old Black was turned into a viral video celebrity after her parents paid a production company to make the music video for her. "Friday" became an unlikely, off-key global hit. Because of a legal dispute with Ark Music Factory, the video has had two YouTube incarnations, both of which were tabulated in the year-end count.

The second most popular video was "Ultimate Dog Tease," in which an owner taunts a dog with food and voices its reactions. Third was the "Saturday Night Live" digital short featuring Michael Bolton as a rabid "Pirates of the Caribbean" fan.

___

Online:

http://www.youtube.com

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2011-12-20-YouTube-Top%20Videos/id-17d026032f5d40008bce640f49e2bd85

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Mobile Communications Industry's Matket Analysis of China Based ...

home > Economics papers > Mobile Communications Industry?s Matket Analysis of China Based on the Theoretical Framework of R-SCP

?Abstract? China?s mobile communications started late, but developed rapidly. The first TACS analogue cellular mobile telephone system has been completed and put into the business in Guangdong Province in 1987 with the only 700 users which has exceeded 600 million on half of 2008, representing 18% of the world?s mobile users. However, at the same time China?s mobile communication market is extremely uneven. There are only two operators from 1994 to half of 2008, and during 14-year-long competition China Mobile has been a dominant enterprise while China Unicom has started to the edge which has only 4 percent share of profits on the first half of 2008. For optimizing the market structure, the restructuring plan which had been under discussion for a long time finally came ture in May 2008. After the reorganization, through buying China Unicorn?s CDMA network China Telecom is coming to the mobile market and a new round of competition is to begin soon. After the reorganization, market supervision and the development pattern of the whole market have become the focus of attention. In this condition, the review and a comprehensive analysis of the mobile communications market are necessary. Through the market analysis of the changes of the mobile communications industry, it will help to guide China?s mobile communications industry to better development.This paper build a R-SCP theoretical framework for monopoly industries with certain competitive based industrial organization theory for competitive industries and the regulation theory of monopoly industries, and used to analysis China?s mobile communications industry. In review of the development courses of world?s mobile communications and China?s mobile communications, the analysis of China?s mobile communications industry drivers came out. And then under the guidance of the R-SCP theoretical framework, the market structure, business behavior, market performance and market regulation of China?s mobile communications industry have been analysised. In the analysis, market structure is the starting point and the center of analysis, and a great deal of data was collected for analysis combinating qualitative and quantitative. The oligopoly model of Stackelberg is used to analysis and disscuse market structure. Based on the analysis of market structure, corporate behavior, market performance and regulatory were analysised and government regulation and other aspects of the direction of constructive recommendations are disscused after-competitive behavior.

Title: Mobile Communications Industry?s Matket Analysis of China Based on the Theoretical Framework of R-SCP
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Peek Inside Jennifer Aniston, Justin Theroux's Hawaiian Lovenest (omg!)

When Jennifer Aniston and her boyfriend Justin Theroux jet off on vacation, they sure know how to do it in high style.

PHOTOS: Why 2011 was Jen Aniston's best year ever

Case in point: The duo's two-week summer getaway to the Hawaiian island of Kauai, where they spent their hybrid business/pleasure vacation (to celebrate Theroux's 40th birthday and work on a script) at a $7,000-per-night estate on the ultra-exclusive Kauapea Road.

As these new images from real estate Web site Trulia.com show, Aniston, 42, and Theroux lounged in the master suite with sprawling ocean views and enjoyed entertaining in their luxe living room. The 3,104-square foot home they rented includes three bedrooms, four baths and unobstructed views of the island's North Shore.

PHOTOS: Celebrity dream homes

Although the Wanderlust actress and her beau made a couple public appearances -- shopping at a local gallery, grabbing coffee and a roadside coconut -- their trip was mostly a quiet, intimate one. The couple indulged in daily yoga, oceanfront jog, massages and bike trips around the estate.

PHOTOS: Jen's 10 best bikini moments

The Hawaiian hideaway isn't the couple's only pricey pad. Earlier this year, Aniston ditched her palatial Beverly Hills pad and moved with Theroux into a 1,761-square foot house in the Hollywood Hills.

The master suite includes vaulted ceilings and French doors, which lead to an ozone pool and spa. The home also features a converted garage that has been turned into a family room, three fireplaces and a hidden garden.

VIDEO: How Jen and Justin's secret romance began

"It is a really romantic house with great views and a warm feeling in every room," a source tells Us of their Hollywood home.

Get more Us! Follow us on Twitter, Friend us on Facebook, Subscribe to Us Weekly

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/omg_rss/rss_omg_en/news_peek_inside_jennifer_aniston_justin_therouxs_hawaiian_lovenest194915988/43938358/*http%3A//omg.yahoo.com/news/peek-inside-jennifer-aniston-justin-therouxs-hawaiian-lovenest-194915988.html

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Kelp-like structure sways underwater to harness energy from the ocean?s waves (Yahoo! News)

What's the best way to harness?wave energy? Australian company BioPower Systems asked?nature for the answer, and came up with?bioWAVE ? a system that harnesses wave power by imitating the movement of kelp.

Kelp are large seaweeds that grow vertically from the ocean floor, and constantly sway in the water. The bioWAVE system is designed to mimic these plants with its floats that keep the structure upright, and a pivot near the bottom that makes back-and-forth motion possible. This movement is then used to spin an onboard generator that produces electricity delivered to shore by a cable.

One of the good things about bioWAVE is that it's designed to survive even extremely powerful waves. In case a?tsunami or a typhoon arrives, the floats are flooded so the structure falls flat on the ocean floor, protecting it from destruction.

The company recently received a $5.1 million funding from the Australian government that will be applied toward its $14 million, 250 kilowatt pilot demonstration unit currently being built on one of the country's coasts. If successful, BioPower hopes to build a commercial scale wave farm that can offer consumers competitively-priced electricity.

[via?Gizmodo]

This article was written by Mariella Moon and originally appeared on Tecca

More from Tecca:

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/techblog/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_technews/20111216/tc_yblog_technews/kelp-like-structure-sways-underwater-to-harness-energy-from-the-oceans-waves

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Glowing Apple Logo iPhone Mod Will Soon Be Gone (The Lawyers Are Circling) [Video]

Perhaps realizing that Apple will quickly put an end to this unofficial mod, the K.O. Store is only selling this DIY luminescent logo iPhone kit for just over 36 more hours. So if you want one, you better act fast. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/qihkzlJYRyY/glowing-apple-logo-iphone-mod-will-soon-be-gone-the-lawyers-are-circling

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Sneaking Into Iraq With Hitchens

?I don?t usually start this early,? he said, his glass already gratefully extended, ?but holding yourself to a drinking schedule is always the first sign of alcoholism.? With our soldiers already rolling across the desert, the humanitarian channels to hitch rides were gummed up, stranding hundreds of reporters on the bench. But Hitchens would not be deterred. On assignment for Vanity Fair, he only had a few days to touch Iraqi soil, and watching him get there was a study in forward motion, as he charged just as hard, if not harder, than Lord Cardigan?s Light Brigade.

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=5eb97be21392d6f751c4f65da03d7af4

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GOP senators say Bernanke plans no Europe bailout (AP)

WASHINGTON ? Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has assured Republican senators that the Fed does not intend to bail out Europe from its debt crisis, according to participants in the meeting Wednesday.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said Bernanke told the group that he did not "have the intention or the authority" to provide bailout support to Europe.

Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., said Bernanke had offered this assurance "multiple times" during the closed-door meeting, which lasted about an hour.

"I think people walked away knowing he has no intentions whatsoever of furthering U.S. involvement in the crisis," Corker told reporters.

Lawmakers in both parties have expressed sharp opposition to any U.S. support for Europe that might put taxpayer money at risk, especially after the uproar that followed the $700 billion bailout of U.S. financial institutions beginning in 2008.

Bernanke was invited to meet with GOP senators by Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, the chairman of the Senate Republican conference. The session came after a similar discussion Bernanke held with Senate Democrats on Oct. 20.

Senators said Bernanke told them that the Fed was studying developments in Europe and their possible impact on the U.S. economy.

"He's very concerned," Sen. Orin Hatch, R-Utah, told reporters. "He did say, if they can't get their fiscal situation under control, it could affect us. A collapse over there would be detrimental to us."

Fed policymakers held their final meeting of the year Tuesday. In a statement afterward, they portrayed the economy as slightly healthier despite risks from the European crisis. The Fed held off on any new steps to boost U.S. growth.

In its statement Tuesday, the Fed warned of risks to the economy from strains in global financial markets, a reference to Europe's problems

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111215/ap_on_bi_ge/us_bernanke_europe

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Take off that tie to save energy, Chilean men told (Reuters)

SANTIAGO (Reuters) ? Chile's government wants men in the South American country to take off their ties to help fight global warming, hoping the campaign will save on air conditioning as summer starts in the southern hemisphere.

"Let's all take our ties off this summer to save energy," Economy Minister Pablo Longueira says in television spots airing around the country.

In the commercial, he undoes the knot of his pink and white tie and whips it off with gusto, unbuttoning the top of his shirt and smiling. A tie-less energy minister and other senior government officials also appear in the TV spot.

Mornings and evenings are still cool in Chile's capital Santiago but the midday sun has already become quite strong and will remain so until fall begins in March.

While many men welcome the idea of a tie-less summer, others are put off, saying that serious people need to dress the part.

"There are things that really go along with being formal and well-structured," said Santiago resident Gonzalo Castro. "The president can't go around without a tie. Nor should a government minister, an engineer, a doctor or a journalist."

(Reporting By Hugh Bronstein and Esteban Medel)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/oddlyenough/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111214/od_nm/us_chile_energy_ties

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