Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Eurozone unemployment ends 2011 at record high (AP)

LONDON ? Unemployment across the 17 countries that use the euro ended 2011 at a record high of one person in every 10, official figures showed Tuesday, a day after EU leaders acknowledged that they would have to boost economic growth with the same urgency that they had shown in combating their nations' debts.

Eurostat, the EU's statistics office, said the 10.4 per cent unemployment rate in December was unchanged at its highest level since the euro was launched in 1999, as November's was revised upward from a previous estimate of 10.3 percent. Unemployment has been steadily rising over the past year ? in December 2010, it stood at 9.5 percent ? largely because of Europe's debt crisis.

There are huge disparities across the eurozone, however, with those countries at the front line of Europe's current financial turmoil, such as Greece and Spain, suffering record rates of unemployment that are stoking concerns about the social fabric of their societies ? Spain's unemployment stands at a staggering 22.9 percent and Greece's is not far behind at 19.2 percent.

What even those figures mask is that unemployment among the young is much, much higher. Latest figures from Spain show unemployment among people aged under 25 was 48.7 percent, prompting concerns that an entire generation of people could fail to accumulate the necessary skills and experience for a prosperous life.

At the other end of the scale, some countries like Austria are operating not far off what is considered to be the natural rate of unemployment in an economy of 4.1 per cent, while Germany's rate at a post-unification low of 5.5 per cent.

Since Europe's debt crisis exploded around two years ago, the focus has been on austerity, with governments getting their houses in order with big, often-savage spending cuts, and tax increases.

However, there are growing signs that Europe is changing tack, and that measures to boost growth and jobs are now central to the crisis resolution effort.

On Monday, at a summit in Brussels designed to shore up the euro's budgetary defenses against debt, EU leaders promised to stimulate growth and create jobs across the region.

"Yes we need discipline, but we also need growth," said Jose Manuel Barroso, the president of the European Commission, the EU's executive arm.

The leaders pledged to offer more training for young people to ease their transition into the work force, to deploy unused development funds to create jobs, to reduce barriers to doing business across the EU's 27 countries and ensure that small businesses have access to credit.

The task is hand is massive, with just under 16.5 million people unemployed in the eurozone, up 751,000 on the year before. Across the EU, which includes non-euro countries such as Britain and Poland, the number of unemployed stands at 23.8 million, or 9.9 percent of the potential work force.

Even if reforms to economies across Europe help boost growth and potential employment opportunities, there are many headwinds that will be difficult to overcome, not least the fear that many economies will slip back into recession in the wake of ongoing austerity measures and subdued global demand.

"Governments in these countries urgently need to deliver labor market reforms that make it more attractive to hire workers and ensure that young people in particular are not put at risk of permanent exclusion from the work force," said Tom Rogers, a senior economic adviser at consultants Ernst & Young .

"Such reforms, if swiftly implemented, could have a powerful impact on confidence in the near term, and help ease the burden of the current crisis," Rogers added.

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

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Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet joining the Ice Cream Sandwich party in Q2?

Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet joining the Ice Cream Sandwich party in Q2?
Wondering who's next in line to promise a tasty Ice Cream Sandwich update? According to PC World, Lenovo has said that it plans on bringing the latest and greatest from the Android platform to its ThinkPad Tablet sometime during Q2 of this year. As we've become accustomed to of late, Lenovo joins other fellow manufacturers on the pledge to update its devices to ICS. Unfortunately, there's no details past its estimated second quarter availability, so while we know you're eager to get your hands on the holo-coated upgrade, you'll have to keep waiting like the rest of the frowning pack.

Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet joining the Ice Cream Sandwich party in Q2? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Jan 2012 19:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/30/lenovo-thinkpad-tablet-ice-cream-sandwich-update-coming-in-q2/

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Monday, January 30, 2012

Oil spill brings attention to delicate Gulf coast (AP)

TIVOLI, Texas ? For decades, farmers and fishermen along the Gulf of Mexico watched as their sensitive ecosystem's waters slowly got dirtier and islands eroded, all while the country largely ignored the destruction.

It took BP PLC's well blowing out in the Gulf ? and the resulting environmental catastrophe when millions of gallons of oil spewed into the ocean and washed ashore ? for the nation to turn its attention to the slow, methodical ruin of an ecosystem vital to the U.S. economy. Last month, more than a year and a half after the spill began, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced a three-year, $50 million initiative designed to improve water quality along the coast.

"I'm not going to say that it's the silver lining," Will Blackwell, a district conservationist with the USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Services, said of the oil spill. Blackwell is one of many regional officials who have long worked with farmers and ranchers to fence cattle, reseed native grasses and take on other seemingly inane projects that go a long way toward preventing pollution and coastal erosion.

"I'm going to say that it will help get recognition down here that we have this vital ecosystem that needs to be taken care of," he said. "This will keep it at the forefront."

NRCS administrators struggled for years to divide a few million dollars among farmers and ranchers in the five Gulf states. Now, they are getting an eleven-fold increase in funding, money that will allow them to build on low-profile programs that already have had modest success in cleaning crucial waterways by working with farmers and ranchers to improve land use practices.

The nation's focus turned sharply to the Gulf when the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig blew up in April 2010. Images of oil-coated birds and wetlands were splashed across newspapers and cable news networks. Coastal wetlands that are habitat to all sorts of wildlife were soiled and oyster beds were wiped out, underscoring the Gulf's ecological and economic importance.

The project is called the Gulf of Mexico Initiative, the first concrete step from a year's worth of meetings, studies and talking by the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force, a committee formed by President Barack Obama in the spill's wake.

Sometimes, the money is spent on simple projects, such as building fences and installing troughs to keep cattle away from rivers and creeks that flow into the Gulf. The minerals in cow manure can pollute those upstream waters and then flow into the ocean. Those minerals can deplete oxygen in the Gulf, creating "dead zones" where wildlife can't thrive.

Other times, the program pays for expensive farming equipment that turns soil more effectively and creates straighter rows. That helps keep fertilizers on the farm ? where it helps crops ? and out of the Gulf, where the nutrients choke oxygen from the water. This equipment also decreases erosion, which has eaten up hundreds of miles of Gulf Coast habitat in the past century.

Until now, most counties in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida and Texas got right around $100,000 apiece to spend annually on these programs. The demand was far greater in many areas, but money was hard to come by, Blackwell said, highlighting the popularity of the program in Refugio County, Texas ? the rural area of Southeast Texas he oversees.

The influx of money has many farmers and ranchers ? especially those who have reaped the program's benefits in the past ? eager for more opportunities to improve the environment they rely upon for their livelihood.

Now, they are hurriedly filling out applications and waiting for officials to rank the paperwork ? those considered to have the greatest possible impact are the most likely to be approved.

"Fifty million dollars sounds like a lot. But when you consider ? Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida and Texas, it's not going to be enough," said Glen Wiggins, a Florida farmer applying for help buying new farming equipment.

"But it'll help."

Dallas Ford, owner of the 171-acre Smoky Creek Ranch in Tivoli, Texas, first worked with the NRCS to build fences and strategically located troughs. The fences keep cattle in separate fields and allow him to rotate the cows between the fields, a practice that helps keep grass longer and better able to recover when it rains. The troughs ensure the cattle remain in the area and keep away from Stony Creek ? a bountiful tributary of the Gulf's Hynes Bay.

Ford estimates he has between $15,000 and $20,000 worth of additional work to do on his ranch ? all of which will ultimately improve water quality in Stony Creek ? but he will be able to do it only if he can get another contract with NRCS, which would cover about half the costs.

The cash infusion reminded him of a mentor who once said you could cook anything with time and temperature. In this project, Ford said, time is plentiful ? the temperature is money and manpower.

"We might be able to cook something a little faster," Ford said. "Now, maybe I can get you a nice steak."

About 685 miles away, Wiggins has been buying new tilling equipment to use on his 800-acre peanut and cotton farm that straddles the Alabama-Florida line. The high-tech farming equipment helps him better turn the soil and plant straighter rows, which ultimately prevent erosion and keep nutrients in the soil rather than allowing them to flow downstream and into the Gulf.

Wiggins' land sits on three watersheds ? Canoe Creek and Pine Barren Creek that are part of Sandy Hollow Creek, and Little Pine Barren Creek. With the work he's already done, Wiggins estimates he has reduced erosion by at least 50 percent. Now, he wants to further reduce it, mostly through the use of new equipment that will decrease conventional, and more destructive, tillage of his land.

"I'd like to get it down to zero, but if I could get it to 10 percent conventional tillage, I would be tickled to death," Wiggins said.

He estimated the new equipment will cost about $70,000. The only way he can make that purchase is with NRCS' help ? and now it may be within reach.

"The oil spill has been a powerful force to get people's attention," Wiggins said.

___

Ramit Plushnick-Masti can be followed on Twitter at https://twitter.com//RamitMastiAP

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/environment/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120129/ap_on_re_us/us_gulf_oil_spill_restoration

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Calories count, but source doesn't matter: study (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? People trying to lose weight may swear by specific diet plans calling for strict proportions of fat, carbs and protein, but where the calories come from may not matter as much as simply cutting back on them, according to a study.

Researchers whose results were published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found there were no differences in weight loss or the reduction of fat between four diets with different proportions of fat, carbohydrates and protein.

"The major predictor for weight loss was 'adherence'. Those participants who adhered better, lost more weight than those who did not," said George Bray, at Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, who worked on the study.

Earlier research had found that certain diets -- in particular, those with very low carbohydrates -- worked better than others, Bray told Reuters Health in an email, but there had been no consensus among scientists.

Bray and his colleagues randomly assigned several hundred overweight or obese people to one of four diets: average protein, low fat and higher carbs; high protein, low fat and higher carbs; average protein, high fat and lower carbs; or high protein, high fat and lower carbs.

Each of the diets was designed to cut 750 calories a day.

After six months and again at two years after starting the diets, researchers checked participants' weight, fat mass and lean mass.

At six months, people had lost more than 4.1 kg (9 lbs) of fat and close to 2.3 kg (5 lbs) of lean mass, but they regained some of this by the two-year mark.

People were able to maintain a weight loss of more than 3.6 kg (8 lbs) after two years. Included in this was a nearly 1.4 kg (3 lb) loss of abdominal fat, a drop of more than seven percent.

But many of the people who started in the study dropped out, and the diets of those who completed it were not exactly what had been assigned.

For example, the researchers had hoped to see two diet groups get 25 percent of their calories from protein and the other two groups get 15 percent of their calories from protein. But all four groups ended up getting about 20 percent of their calories from protein after two years.

"If you're happier doing it low fat, or happier doing it low carb, this paper says it's OK to do it either way. They were equally successful," said Christopher Gardner, a Stanford University professor uninvolved in the study.

"They did have difficulties with adherence, so that really tempers what you can conclude," he added.

In the end, he said, people should choose the diet that's easiest for them to stick with. SOURCE: http://bit.ly/zUm9ep

(Reporting from New York by Kerry Grens; editing by Elaine Lies and Ron Popeski)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/health/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120130/hl_nm/us_calories

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Romney: Gingrich Can't 'Re-Write History' to Get Elected (ABC News)

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Sunday, January 29, 2012

Sanctions to hit EU buyback firms: Iran oil chief (Reuters)

TEHRAN (Reuters) ? European companies owed oil by Iran could lose out if Tehran imposes a ban on crude exports to the European Union next week, the head of Iran's state oil company said on Saturday.

Iran's parliament is due to debate a bill on Sunday that would cut off oil supplies to the EU in a matter of days, in revenge for a decision last Monday by the 27 EU member states to stop importing crude from Iran as of July 1.

"Generally, the parties to incur damage from the EU's recent decision will be European companies with pending contracts with Iran," Ahmad Qalebani, head of the National Iranian Oil Co. told the ISNA news agency.

"The European companies will have to abide by the provisions of the buyback contracts," he said. "If they act otherwise, they will be the parties to incur the relevant losses and will subject the repatriation of their capital to problems."

By turning the sanctions back on the EU, Iranian lawmakers hope to deny Europe the six-month window it had planned to give those countries most dependent on Iranian oil - including some of the most economically fragile - time to adapt.

The EU banned imports of oil from Iran on Monday and imposed a number of other economic sanctions, joining the United States in a new round of measures aimed at deflecting Tehran's nuclear development programme.

Under buyback contracts, a common feature of the Iranian oil industry, investments in oil field projects are paid back in oil, often over many years.

Italy's Eni says it is owed $1.4-1.5 billion in oil for contracts in Iran dating from 2000 and 2001 and has been assured by EU policymakers its buyback contracts will not be part of the European embargo but the prospect of Iran acting first may put that into doubt.

The EU accounted for 25 percent of Iranian crude oil sales in the third quarter of 2011.

(Writing by Robin Pomeroy; Editing by David Stamp)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/science/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120128/ts_nm/us_iran_oil_sanctions

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Tight-fisted mortgage lenders pressure home sales

By John W. Schoen, Senior Producer

Home prices have fallen by a third since 2006, creating tremendous bargains for home buyers. Mortgage rates are at rock-bottom lows, making houses more affordable than they have been in decades. Yet home sales last year fell to the lowest levels since the government began keeping records in 1963.

One big reason: mortgage bankers have gotten a lot choosier about approving loans, according to a report by Goldman Sachs economists Hui Shan and Jari Stehn. By some measures, they're pickier than they were before the housing boom took off.?

With anecdotal evidence showing that home mortgages are harder to get, the economists crunched Federal Reserve data to show just how much tighter lending standards have become. Using the results of the Fed's survey of loan officers, the report found that lending standards rose sharply after the mortgage market collapsed and the financial system imploded in 2008. Since the recession ended in 2009, lenders haven?t eased their tight grip on mortgage money.

Part of the reason is that there?s less money available to lend. During the housing boom, as brokers produced a flood of new mortgages, Wall Street bankers churned out a torrent of mortgage-backed bonds for investors waiting to snap them up. That market has all but vanished; 90 percent of new mortgages written today are backed by the government. ??

The new mortgage pipeline also has slowed because it is clogged with paperwork. These days, you?ll have to fill out many more forms and produce a lot more documentation, on average, just to get your loan considered.

The percent of loans that required ?full documentation? declined steadily from 2000 through 2006, hitting a low of less than 60 percent. Those ?no-doc? loans were a big part of the reason mortgage bankers made the bad underwriting decisions that created the mortgage mess. Today, nearly 90 percent of mortgage applications require full documentation. That?s much higher than the pre-bubble level.

You?ll also have to show a much higher credit score than you did in the go-go days of the housing boom. In a separate report, Mortgage Marvel, an online mortgage-shopping website, analyzed data from more than 700,000 mortgage applications filed last year and found that the average FICO score was 730. That?s a significant jump from the days when borrowers with scores in the high 500s were routinely steered to high-cost subprime loans.

Applications with highest credit scores concentrated in California, Oregon, Wisconsin, District of Columbia and Hawaii, the company said. The states with the lowest credit scores were Mississippi, Arkansas, West Virginia, Louisiana? and Oklahoma.

Have you had trouble getting a mortgage approved?

Join the discussion on Facebook

Source: http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/27/10252614-tight-fisted-mortgage-lenders-pressure-home-sales

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Saturday, January 28, 2012

NASA discovers 26 new alien planets in 11 solar systems

The findings nearly double the number of bona fide planets found outside our solar system by the Kepler space observatory.

NASA's prolific planet-hunting spacecraft has hit the jackpot again, discovering 11 new planetary systems with 26 confirmed alien planets among them.?

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The findings nearly double the number of bona fide?planets found outside our solar system by the Kepler?space observatory.

"Prior to the Kepler mission, we knew of perhaps 500 exoplanets across the whole sky," Doug Hudgins, Kepler program scientist at NASA headquarters in Washington, said in a statement. "Now, in just two years staring at a patch of sky not much bigger than your fist, Kepler has discovered more than 60 planets and more than 2,300 planet candidates. This tells us that our galaxy is?positively loaded with planets?of all sizes and orbits."

The newly detected worlds vary in size from 1.5 times the radius of Earth to larger than Jupiter; 15 of the 26 planets fall between Earth and Neptune in size. While all of the planets tightly orbit their parent stars, more research will be required to determine which worlds are rocky like Earth, and which have thick, gaseous atmospheres like Neptune, the scientists said.

Still, all of the 26 new planets orbit closer to their stars than Venus does to our sun. This means that their orbital periods ? or the time it takes for them to complete one orbital lap around the star ? range from ?six days to 143 days, according to the researchers. [Gallery: A World of Kepler Planets?]

By studying these?different planetary systems, scientists can glean valuable information about how planets form.

Hunting for planets

The Kepler spacecraft, which orbits the sun, stares at a patch of sky that contains 150,000 stars and locates potential alien planets by measuring the tiny change in brightness that occurs when a planet transits ? that is, passes in front of ? a star.

Once a planetary candidate is identified, further observations are conducted by ground-based observatories to weed out the?false positives.

"Confirming that the small decrease in the star's brightness is due to a planet requires additional observations and time-consuming analysis," Eric Ford, associate professor of astronomy at the University of Florida, explained in a statement.

Ford is the lead author of a study that confirms two of the new systems, Kepler-23 and Kepler-24.

"We verified these planets using new techniques that dramatically accelerated their discovery," Ford said.

Each of the?newly found planetary systems?holds two to five closely spaced transiting planets, the researchers said. Since these systems are tightly packed, the planets exert gravitational forces on one another, speeding up or slowing down their orbits. The orbital period of each planet is altered in the process.

By measuring the orbital changes, Kepler can identify potential planets in the system. This method, known as Transit Timing Variation, can be used to verify alien planets without extensive ground-based observations. The technique also increases Kepler's ability to confirm planetary systems around fainter and more distant stars, the researchers said. [Video: Kepler Reveals Lots of Planets: Some Habitable?]

"By precisely timing when each planet transits its star, Kepler detected the gravitational tug of the planets on each other, clinching the case for 10 of the newly announced planetary systems," Dan Fabrycky, of the University of California, Santa Cruz, said in a statement.

Fabrycky is the lead author of the paper that confirms the Kepler-29, -30, -31 and -32 systems.

Alien planets and their host stars

Five of the systems (Kepler-25, -27, -30, -31 and -33) contain a pair of planets, the inner one circling its star twice in the time it takes the outer planet to make one lap.

Four of the systems (Kepler-23, -24, -28 and -32) are home to a pair of planets where the outer one orbits the star twice for every three times the inner planet circles the parent star.

"These configurations help to amplify the gravitational interactions between the planets, similar to how my sons kick their legs on a swing at the right time to go higher," Jason Steffen, a postdoctoral fellow at Fermilab Center for Particle Astrophysics in Batavia, Ill., said in a statement. Steffen is the lead author of a paper confirming the Kepler-25, -26, -27 and -28 systems.
The system with the most planets is Kepler-33. The star, which is older and more massive than the sun, hosts five planets that range in size from 1.5 to five times that of Earth. All of these planets orbit closer to their star than any planet circles our sun.

Once the properties of a star are understood, such as the telltale light signature of a planet crossing in front, it becomes easier to eliminate false positives, the researchers said.
"The approach used to verify the Kepler-33 planets shows the overall reliability is quite high," said Jack Lissauer, planetary scientist at NASA Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, Calif., and lead author of the paper on Kepler-33. "This is a validation by multiplicity."

The newly discovered planets increase the?Kepler mission's tally of confirmed planets?to 61, with 2,326 other planetary candidates.

The four separate papers appear in the Astrophysical Journal and the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

Follow SPACE.com for the latest in space science and exploration news on Twitter?@Spacedotcom?and on?Facebook.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/science/~3/rPbVtLA0IBs/NASA-discovers-26-new-alien-planets-in-11-solar-systems

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US women's soccer team qualifies for Olympics

Team United States celebrates their 3-0 win over Costa Rica in CONCACAF women's Olympic qualifying soccer game action at B.C. Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Jonathan Hayward)

Team United States celebrates their 3-0 win over Costa Rica in CONCACAF women's Olympic qualifying soccer game action at B.C. Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Jonathan Hayward)

United States' Alex Morgan (13) celebrates her team's 3-0 win over Costa Rica in CONCACAF women's Olympic qualifying soccer game action at B.C. Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Jonathan Hayward)

United States' Carli Lloyd (10) fights for control of the ball with Costa Rica's Wendy Acosta (20) during the first half of CONCACAF women's Olympic qualifying soccer game action at B.C. Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Jonathan Hayward)

United States goalkeeper Hope Solo (1) clears the ball from in front of her net during the second half against Costa Rica at the CONCACAF women's Olympic qualifying soccer game action at B.C. Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Jonathan Hayward)

United States' Abby Wambach, center, crashes into Costa Rica goalkeeper Erika Miranda, left, during the first half of CONCACAF women's Olympic qualifying soccer game action at B.C. Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Jonathan Hayward)

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) ? The final goal in the game that put the U.S. women's soccer team into the Olympics was scored by Alex Morgan, the super-sub who made her name at last year's World Cup.

That's the same Alex Morgan who wasn't a sub at all in the Americans' previous game, leading to an interesting moment in a meeting with coach Pia Sundhage.

The formality is that the U.S. beat Costa Rica 3-0 Friday night to earn a ticket to London. The game was quite a bit more suspenseful than expected, with the Americans overcoming some early sloppiness and waiting until deep into the second half to put the game away.

The real fun now begins over the next six months as Sundhage figures out how best to use the best, deepest roster of women soccer players in the world. For instance, the newest hot-off-the-presses talent is Sidney Leroux, who got the call instead of Morgan in the second half of the big win over Mexico three days earlier.

"I asked her how she felt when Sidney Leroux came in the game and she didn't," Sundhage said. "I wanted an honest answer. She said 'I don't think you want that answer.' Great. That tells a little about how badly she wants to play."

Morgan felt she got her point across.

"We both laughed," Morgan said. "And she said 'That's all I need to know.' ... But that's the great thing with Pia. She lets you feel you can be honest with her. She lets you feel very comfortable around her."

Morgan's goal in the 89th minute made the score 34-0 ? the margin by which the Americans have outscored their opponents at the CONCACAF qualifying tournament. The only one that wasn't as lopsided as the score was Friday's London-or-bust semifinal.

"There were moments where I think Costa Rica were outplaying us, and it just shows you how important it was to all of us," forward Abby Wambach said. "Nobody wanted to make that mistake. And luckily we didn't."

Tobin Heath scored in the 16th minute to give U.S. all the offense it needed, and Carli Lloyd (72nd) and Morgan (89th) provided the insurance.

But the top-ranked Americans were certainly not as crisp as they were when they were drawing criticism for running up the score. Bad passes led to giveaways in the first half, forcing goalkeeper Hope Solo to work harder than she has all tournament.

Then again, so much was on the line that some jitters were understandable.

"We know that sometimes under big game circumstances players can get a little tight," Wambach said. "And you've just kind of got to deal with it. ... It was almost as if we scored that goal and nobody wanted to get stuck into a tackle. We were kind of playing a little bit soft, and we fixed that in the second half."

Costa Rica is ranked No. 41 in the world, has never qualified for an Olympics or a World Cup and has never scored on the U.S. in eight meetings. Las Ticas proved to be scrappy opponents, however, occasionally frustrating the Americans with physical play and just missing on two solid scoring chances in the first half in the London-or-bust match. As the possibility of an upset lingered deep into the second half, the plucky team in red gained the rousing support of the Canadian fans at BC Place.

"We put together three great games in group play," said Solo, who played despite a slightly pulled right quadriceps that had been bothering her all week. "You can't play four, five, six. Not every team is going to play perfectly every single game, but we got the job done."

The U.S. will be the two-time defending champions in London, having taken gold in Athens in 2004 and in Beijing in 2008. It will be the third straight Olympics in which the Americans will be trying to make amends for World Cup disappointment from the previous year. They finished second at last year's World Cup in Germany, losing to Japan in the final.

The victory also puts the Americans into the tournament final Sunday, a bragging-rights-only game against Canada, a 3-1 winner over Mexico in the second semifinal.

Sundhage's team arrived in Canada with a bit of apprehension. The Americans, having become somewhat complacent from years of uncontested success in the region, were stunned in a World Cup qualifier by host Mexico in November 2010, forcing them into a home-and-away playoff with Italy just to get for the World Cup. Also, the format for Olympic qualifying is such that everything hinges on one game ? the do-or-die semifinals ? regardless of how a team performs in the rest of the tournament.

Determined to take nothing for granted, the Americans had been full throttle for every game. They set a U.S. team record for goals in a game in a 14-0 win over the Dominican Republic, then nearly matched the feat in a 13-0 rout of Guatemala. Then came a 4-0 win in the much-anticipated rematch with Mexico to set up the semifinal against Costa Rica.

And even though the vital game didn't go quite as planned, the outcome was all that mattered.

"We," Sundhage said, smiling, "are going to London."

__

Joseph White can be reached at http://twitter.com/JGWhiteAP

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/apdefault/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-01-28-SOC-US%20Qualifies/id-ebddfd10528a44728c2d8fde076e2b9d

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Friday, January 27, 2012

If Round 1 is the war of words, Phil Davis leads 10-8 over Rashad Evans

CHICAGO -- In most interviews Phil Davis comes off as a reserved young man. He's not out to ruffle any feathers, but those of us who've had a chance to speak to him repeatedly always knew there was a potential media darling behind that conservative facade.

In the lead-up to Saturday's UFC on Fox 2 card, Rashad Evans has brought out the beast in Davis and the former UFC light heavyweight hasn't reacted too well.

It started last week when Evans flipped out on Davis calling him a "boy." Yesterday during the UFC on Fox 2 prefight press conference, Evans shook his head, appeared annoyed and even looked flustered on several occasions.

As the banter began, Evans tried to play it cool.

"For the most part, I've got nothing against Phil, but you we've got a fight so I've got a lot against him right now. It's personal, but not really PERSONAL personal," said Evans, who had heated prefight words with previous opponents like Tito Ortiz and Quinton Jackson.

Evans got irked when the issue of college wrestling came up. Phil Davis, a more accomplished NCAA star at Penn State than Evans was at Michigan State, laughed when someone asked if his opponent could beat him in a straight wrestling match. Evans kept saying "your technique is trash."

Then Davis was asked about missing the opportunity to face Evans back in August in Philadelphia. Davis quickly pointed out that he didn't get to fight in front of his friends and family from nearby Harrisburg, Pa. Evans took issue with the fact that Davis didn't say he was sad to lose out on the opportunity to fight him. Davis fired back, "Nobody heard me say that!"

Evans snapped again when Davis explained his understanding of what the result of a win could be, a possible title shot against Jon Jones.

"The winner of this fight will fight for the title, but in the event that I hit him too hard and break my hand ... it might lead to somebody else getting the title shot first," said Davis.

"You don't punch nobody hard. Phil can't hit. Phil punches with his hands open and everything," Evans said. "He couldn't bust a grape. You look like Arsenio Hall."

Davis laughed.

"Give him a hand y'all. Give him a hand," said Davis.

That opened the door for a female fan to ask Davis whether he looked more like Hall or NBA star Dwight Howard? Davis handled it gracefully as he done throughout the lead-up to Saturday's tilt. We'll see if his poise remains intact in the fight. Either way, this week showed he'll be a valuable asset on main cards for years to come in the UFC.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/round-1-war-words-phil-davis-10-8-154948395.html

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Adjustable Goals Make It Fun To Play With Foosball Jocks Again [Games]

Everyone has that friend who grew up with a foosball table, or had one in college, and is impossible to beat. To the point where it's not even fun to play with them, unless it's on this table that introduces handicaps. More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/-Fxg01WjqgE/adjustable-goals-make-it-fun-to-play-with-foosball-jocks-again

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Thursday, January 26, 2012

AT&T posts 4Q loss on charges; revenue increases (AP)

NEW YORK ? AT&T Inc. is still the home of the iPhone. It activated 7.6 million of them in the latest quarter, accounting for one out of every five iPhones sold globally.

And AT&T remains heavily dependent on the iPhone to gain and keep customers, despite a vow by CEO Randall Stephenson a year ago to "very aggressively" market competing smartphones in 2011. That vow came in the wake of AT&T's loss of an exclusive right to sell the iPhone in the U.S.

The iPhone accounted for about 80 percent of the smartphones AT&T activated in the fourth quarter of 2011, up from 70 percent just before Stephenson made his vow.

The figures are somewhat skewed because the fourth quarter of 2011 saw the launch of a new iPhone model, the iPhone 4S, whereas the fourth quarter of 2010 didn't. Looking at annual sales instead, there's a decline in the iPhone's percentage of AT&T smartphones ? to 69 percent last year, from 79 percent in 2010.

The Dallas-based company has also retained its position as the premier U.S. iPhone carrier, beating Verizon Wireless' 4.3 million iPhone activations handily.

AT&T's iPhone dependency comes at a heavy cost. The phone is more expensive than many other smartphones, and AT&T needs to subsidize each iPhone with hundreds of dollars to put it in customers' hands for as little as $1.

That, together with massive charges for adjustments in the value of the company's pension plans, the breakup of a deal to buy T-Mobile USA and a writedown of the value of its phone-directory business, forced AT&T to report a massive loss on Thursday of $6.68 billion, or $1.12 per share, for the fourth quarter.

It was the first quarterly loss for AT&T in three years. An adjustment of pension-plan obligations was also the main culprit behind the previous loss, in the fourth quarter of 2008.

AT&T took a charge of $4.2 billion for the compensation it's paying T-Mobile USA. When AT&T made the $39 billion bid in March, it promised T-Mobile cash and wireless licenses if the deal fell through. The deal was squelched by federal regulators, who saw reason to believe that the No. 2 wireless carrier buying No. 4 would reduce competition.

On Thursday, Stephenson said the company's Plan B consists of trying to buy more wireless spectrum in smaller deals, selling low-performing units and instituting a share-buyback program.

AT&T said it has board authorization to buy back 300 million shares, worth about $9 billion, and will start doing so immediately.

Excluding charges, net income was 42 cents per share in the latest quarter, a penny shy of Wall Street expectations, according to a survey by FactSet.

The loss compares with net income of $1.09 billion, or 18 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier.

Revenue rose 3.6 percent to $32.5 billion, helped by the smartphone sales. Analysts were expecting revenue of $31.99 billion, on average.

After stripping out the jump in smartphone sales, which constitute an immediate loss for the company, revenue grew 0.6 percent from last year. Wireless service fees are growing slower than before, barely making up for the decline of AT&T's traditional-phone business.

AT&T said it expects earnings per share to grow by a mid-single-digit percentage in 2012, a bit lower than analysts had expected.

In afternoon trading Thursday, shares of AT&T Inc. fell 68 cents, or 2.3 percent, to $29.53.

Most of the iPhone activations were upgrades for people who were already AT&T subscribers. The carrier gained a net 717,000 subscribers on contract plans in the quarter. That was the best result all year, but didn't match Verizon's 1.2 million. AT&T has been lagging Verizon in this important measure for more than a year.

For all of 2011, AT&T earned $3.9 billion, or 66 cents per share, on $126.7 billion in revenue. That compares with $19.9 billion, or $3.35 per share, on $124.3 billion in revenue in 2010.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120126/ap_on_hi_te/us_earns_at_t

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Wednesday, January 25, 2012

We?re Talking Oscars

Is The Artist the favorite to win best picture? Which of the ?bubble? best actresses doesn?t actually deserve her nomination? Was Uggie robbed in the best actor category? How much Billy Crystal is too much Billy Crystal? Slate critics Dana Stevens and Troy Patterson are joining senior editor Dan Kois to answer all of your questions about Tuesday?s Oscar nominations announcement and what to expect from this year?s Academy Awards. Check back here on our Facebook page on Tuesday at 3 p.m. EST to participate in the chat!

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=b85971b580fae31a90d1072d47fe935b

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Playtech gears up for global expansion (Reuters)

LONDON (Reuters) ? Playtech, the world's biggest provider of online gaming software, said it saw increasing opportunities as gambling laws are relaxed across the world and was confident of meeting full year expectations following a surge in revenues.

The Estonia-based firm, which operates a joint venture with Britain's biggest bookmaker William Hill, said total revenue increased by 89 percent year-on-year in the fourth quarter to 69.6 million euros ($90.8 million).

"The board is very comfortable with market expectations for the year ended December 31 2011 and looks forward to 2012 with confidence," Chief Executive Mor Weizer said in a statement on Tuesday.

Market expectations for Playtech's full-year earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) currently range between 105.4 million euros and 120.6 million euros with the average at 116.7 million according to a Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S poll of 7 analysts.

The company, in which billionaire Israeli founder Teddy Sagi holds a 46.6 percent stake, said the opening up of online gambling markets would present opportunities for global expansion.

"Playtech is well positioned to take advantage of market opportunities wherever as and when they appear," Weizer said.

Playtech raised 100 million pounds through a share placing last November to finance acquisition opportunities.

The industry is preparing itself for the possible legalization of some forms of online gambling this year.

The United States Justice Department said in December that only online betting on sporting contests is unlawful, clearing the way for other types of Internet gambling such poker and casino games to be legalized.

Playtech has already positioned itself for the U.S. market re-opening, signing a deal to provide software to the California Online Poker Association (COPA) last year.

"The U.S. Department of Justice's pre-Christmas guidance has provided further encouragement for those looking to achieve regulation in the U.S. Playtech is preparing itself for each and every market," Weizer said.

($1 = 0.7665 euros)

(Reporting by Matt Scuffham; editing by Lorraine Turner)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/videogames/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120124/wr_nm/us_playtech

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Tuesday, January 24, 2012

(AP)

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Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120123/ap_on_re_as/as_apnewsalert

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News Corp plans US Spanish-language TV network (AP)

LOS ANGELES ? Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. is launching a Spanish-language broadcast TV network that aims to bring the flavor of the Fox network to Hispanic audiences in the U.S.

The move is touted as a bold entry into a market dominated by top-ranked Univision and No. 2 Telemundo, in the same way that Fox rattled broadcasters ABC, CBS and NBC with its debut a quarter century ago.

The company said Monday that the new network, MundoFox, will be launched in September or October in partnership with Colombia-based RCN Television Group. RCN already produces popular shows for one of Univision's junior networks in the U.S., TeleFutura. RCN's biggest hits include "El Capo" and "La Hija del Mariachi."

"Just think of Fox vs. ABC, CBS and NBC," said Hernan Lopez, president of Fox International Channels, which is a 50-50 partner in the network with RCN. "Much of the content that we will create will have the same effect on Spanish viewers."

Over the next couple of years, RCN's programming will be available exclusively on MundoFox as its agreements with other networks such as Univision's TeleFutura expire, Lopez said.

MundoFox aims to be carried on stations covering 75 percent of U.S. households. RCN chief executive Gabriel Reyes said the network will be launched in major U.S. cities with large Hispanic populations such as Miami, Los Angeles, New York, Dallas and San Diego.

Lopez said MundoFox is seeking affiliate agreements with large TV stations that are independent and already broadcast in Spanish, although it would also seek English-language or other language stations willing to make the switch.

The new network will be based in Los Angeles and will feature telenovelas ? nightly dramas that can run to 200 episodes ? teleseries with less than half as many episodes, and two daily newscasts, which would draw on the resources of RCN's 24-hour news channel NTN24.

MundoFox has yet to hire a chief executive.

Lopez declined to say if MundoFox news would take its conservative leanings from the Fox network, saying it would be editorially independent and its tone would be up to the joint venture's CEO.

RCN's director of content, Fernando Gaitan, said NTN24 "tends to be very neutral" and will likely continue that editorial stance at MundoFox.

There are 50 million Latinos among the 309 million residents of the U.S., accounting for about 60 percent of the population growth in the country in the 2010 census, Lopez said. Relative to its share of the population, the estimated $3.6 billion spent on TV advertising to that group last year was a fraction of an estimated domestic ad market of more than $80 billion.

"We think there's opportunity for growth," Lopez said. "We're going to capture a big part of that growth."

___

Associated press writer Edwin Tamara in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tv/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120123/ap_en_tv/us_news_corp_mundofox

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Monday, January 23, 2012

Yemeni president departs for Oman (AP)

SANAA, Yemen ? A spokesman for Yemen's embattled president says Ali Abdullah Saleh has left the country for the Persian Gulf country of Oman.

Ahmed al-Soufi said Saleh flew out of Yemen's capital Sanaa late Sunday.

Saleh's departure follows a farewell speech in which he passed power to his deputy, slated to be rubber-stamped as the country's new leader on Feb. 21. The move could help push forward a U.S.-backed deal brokered by Yemen's neighbors that seeks to end the country's political crisis.

For nearly a year, Yemeni protesters have called for the end of Saleh's 33-year rule. Protesters and human rights groups have criticized the power transfer deal for granting Saleh immunity from prosecution. They want to see him tried for his alleged role in protester deaths.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

SANAA, Yemen (AP) ? Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh said Sunday he will travel to Washington for medical treatment and he asked Yemenis for forgiveness, saying it is time to hand over power in a farewell speech, state media reported.

The mercurial president told Yemeni TV networks that he had formally handed power to his vice president but would return to his homeland before early presidential elections scheduled for next month as the head of the General People's Congress Party.

An official at Sanaa airport said that a presidential plane had left the country Sunday morning, but he declined to say who was on board. Two other airport officials said that Saleh had already left the country, but the claims could not be confirmed.

The reports come a day after Yemeni parliament approved a law that gives Saleh immunity from prosecution and is in line with the timetable set in a U.S.-backed power-transfer deal aimed at ending months of political stalemate and violence.

Facing continued protests demanding his ouster, Saleh in November agreed to step down. A unity government between his party and the opposition has since been created. However, Saleh ? still formally the president ? has continued to influence politics from behind the scenes through his family and loyalists in power positions.

The deal was widely rejected by millions of street protesters who have staged anti-Saleh demonstrations inspired by the Arab of revolutions that have successfully led to the ouster of autocratic leaders in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya. Protesters reject the immunity clause, insisting Saleh should be prosecuted for the alleged killings of protesters and corruption.

The president, who has ruled for more than 33 years, left the country once before, traveling to Saudi Arabia for medical treatment after coming under attack and he has repeatedly gone back and forth on whether he would leave again.

His remarks, reported by the official Yemeni news agency, were the strongest indication that he was preparing to leave as he said Vice President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi "is the one responsible now" and urged rival political parties and youth to unite and achieve "reconciliation."

Saleh gave no date for his departure, and it was not clear if he would go directly to Washington. Yemeni officials said Saturday that the president planned to travel to Oman first.

Washington has been trying for weeks to find a country where Saleh could live in exile to allow a peaceful transition from his rule of more than 33 years, since it does not want him to settle permanently in the United States.

Aides to the president told The Associated Press that Saleh gathered top political, military and security officials and announced Hadi to the rank of marshal. He is set to replace Saleh.

"I appeal to you to forgive my past mistakes," one top ruling party official who was there quoted Saleh as saying. "Today, I leave the country in your hands," he was quoted as saying.

Another aide who attended the meeting quoted Saleh as saying, "I am leaving this good country, today. I want to bid you farewell from this place. I thank each one of you and offer my apology to the people and ask for forgiveness."

A third official said that Saleh declined to hold a public departure ceremony and preferred to offer his farewell behind closed doors.

All the officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to reporters.

After signing the deal in November, civil servants and employees have staged almost daily protests, each in front of their institution and agency demanding uprooting Saleh's regime members from the top government positions.

Among the latest protests, army forces used armored vehicles to briefly close runways at the military air base, which is attached to Sanaa airport, early Sunday, demanding that the commander of the country's air force be replaced. The commander is Saleh's brother, Maj. Gen. Mohammed Saleh.

Later Sunday, Republican Guard forces, which are commanded by Saleh's son, Ahmed, stormed the airport, fired rubber bullets and water cannons, dispersing the protesters and reopening the airport.

In the southern city of Taiz, security officers staged similar protests demanding the ouster of their commander.

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

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Sunday, January 22, 2012

Abortion doctor facing murder charge free on bail

By The Associated Press and msnbc.com staff

Lawyers for a Utah abortion doctor charged with murder for the death of a fetus in Maryland asked a judge Friday to throw out the charges, arguing she is immune from prosecution and that the state is trying to infringe upon a woman's right to terminate a pregnancy.

Dr. Nicola Riley and her former colleague, Dr. Steven Brigham of New Jersey, were indicted last month under a law that allows murder charges to be brought in the death of a viable fetus. The 2005 law had only been used previously for cases in which defendants were accused of assaulting or killing pregnant women, and prosecutors have acknowledged they are in uncharted territory by using it to charge doctors who perform abortionds. Thirty-seven other states have similar statutes.

At Riley's bail review hearing Friday in Cecil County Circuit Court in Elkton, Md., attorney Stuart O. Simms argued that prosecutors were attempting to criminalize constitutionally protected medical treatment.

"Based on their interpretation of the statute, they are now threatening to charge any medical professional in Cecil County with a state crime," Simms told The Associated Press after the hearing.

Court: No forced abortion for Mass. woman

In Maryland, licensed physicians can perform abortions before the fetus is deemed capable of surviving outside the womb, and abortions of viable fetuses are permitted to protect the life or health of the mother or if the fetus has serious genetic abnormalities.

The state's fetal homicide law was approved in 2005 in the wake of the highly publicized slaying of Laci Peterson in Modesto, Calif. Peterson was seven months pregnant, and her husband, Scott Peterson, was convicted of killing both her and their unborn son.

The law specifically exempts licensed physicians performing abortions. Before the bill was passed, its sponsor, Delegate Charles Boutin, wrote in a letter to a committee chairman that it is "clearly and solely a victim's rights bill. It takes care of the 'Laci Peterson' issue in Maryland, while protecting a woman's right to choose."

Judge Keith Baynes set bail for Riley at $300,000, the amount requested by Deputy State's Attorney Kerwin Miller, who argued that the evidence against the 46-year-old Salt Lake City resident is strong and characterized her as a flight risk. She was arrested Dec. 28 on a fugitive warrant and was extradited to Maryland on Thursday.

She is charged with one count each of first- and second-degree murder stemming from an abortion in Elkton, Md., ?16 months ago involving a teenager who was 21 weeks pregnant, according to the Baltimore Sun.

"It gets no bigger than this," Miller said in reference to Riley's first-degree murder charge, the Cecil Whig of Elkton reported.

Miller also told the Cecil Whig that?the "evidence is overwhelming" in the case, because Riley admitted to performing the procedure to Union Hospital officials, according to a Maryland Board of Physicians report.

Riley posted bail shortly after the hearing and was released from custody. As a condition of her release, she was ordered not to perform abortions.

The charges against Riley stem from a botched abortion in August 2010 at Brigham's Elkton clinic. The 18-year-old patient suffered serious injuries, and Riley drove her to a nearby hospital rather than call 911, according to medical regulators. The fetus was 21 weeks old. Doctors generally consider fetuses to be viable outside the womb starting around 23 weeks.

Brigham, of Voorhees, N.J., has been charged with murder in the death of that fetus and four others. He was released from custody Jan. 6 after posting a $500,000 bond. His attorney has also argued that Brigham has not violated the fetal homicide law.

Anti-abortion activists have hailed the arrests of Brigham and Riley, saying the charges shed light on the troubling practices of certain abortion doctors. A search of Brigham's Elkton clinic revealed a freezer containing 35 late-term fetuses, including one believed to have been aborted at 36 weeks, according to documents released by medical regulators.

More content from msnbc.com and NBC News

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

Source: http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/20/10200832-abortion-doctor-free-on-bail-after-being-charged-with-murder

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Gingrich denies asking wife for an 'open marriage' (AP)

CHARLESTON, S.C. ? Newt Gingrich is denying that he ever asked his ex-wife for an open marriage and is angrily denouncing the moderator of Thursday night's Republican debate for raising the issue.

Gingrich blasted what he called the "destructive, vicious, negative nature of much of the news media."

The former House speaker slammed CNN moderator John King during the debate, saying that he was "appalled" that King would begin a presidential debate on such a topic. Gingrich called the question about his ex-wife's allegations, in his words, "as close to despicable as anything as I can imagine."

The former speaker's second wife, Marianne Gingrich, says in an interview with ABC News that when she discovered Gingrich was having an affair he asked her for an open marriage.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120120/ap_on_el_pr/us_gop_debate_gingrich_ex_wife

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Saturday, January 21, 2012

PSU trustees: No timetable for internal probe

Penn State Board of Trustees Chairman Steve Garban, right, looks on as Penn State President Rodney Erickson, left, answers a Board of Trustees member's question during the board's regularly scheduled meeting in State College, Pa., Friday, Jan. 20, 2012. Erickson is using the meeting as an opportunity to address the perception that the university isn't being as open and honest as it could be in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky scandal. (AP Photo/Andy Colwell)

Penn State Board of Trustees Chairman Steve Garban, right, looks on as Penn State President Rodney Erickson, left, answers a Board of Trustees member's question during the board's regularly scheduled meeting in State College, Pa., Friday, Jan. 20, 2012. Erickson is using the meeting as an opportunity to address the perception that the university isn't being as open and honest as it could be in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky scandal. (AP Photo/Andy Colwell)

FILE - In this Oct. 15, 2011, file photo, Penn State head coach Joe Paterno watches warm ups before an NCAA college football game against Purdue in State College, Pa. In his first public comments since being fired two months ago, former Penn State coach Paterno told the Washington Post he "didn't know which way to go" after an assistant coach came to him in 2002 saying he had seen retired defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky sexually abusing a boy, the Post reported on Saturday, Jan. 14, 2012. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

Former Penn State football player Franco Harris listens to remarks by Penn State President Rodney Erickson during the regularly scheduled Penn State Board of Trustees meeting in State College, Pa., Friday, Jan. 20, 2012. Erickson is using the meeting as an opportunity to address the perception that the university isn't being as open and honest as it could be in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky scandal. (AP Photo/Andy Colwell)

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett, left, speaks with governor's office communication director Kevin Harley before the start of the regularly scheduled Penn State Board of Trustees meeting in State College, Pa., Friday, Jan. 20, 2012. Penn State President Rodney Erickson is using the meeting as an opportunity to address the perception that the university isn't being as open and honest as it could be in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky scandal. (AP Photo/Andy Colwell)

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) ? The Penn State trustee overseeing the school's internal investigation into child sexual abuse allegations against a former assistant coach says there's no timetable for results of the probe.

Ken Frazier had said last month he hoped to have the results by May. But he told trustees at a meeting Friday that results may not come now until next fall.

Frazier then added there was no "artificial timetable" ? he wants to give investigators ample time for thorough questioning.

Trustees are meeting for the first time since the chaotic week in November after dozens of child sex abuse charges were filed against Jerry Sandusky.

Trustees have tabbed former FBI director Louis Freeh as their lead investigator.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-01-20-Penn%20State-Trustees/id-c42095c20b6449848bd0db5392b772ed

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Obama campaign launches 1st TV ad (AP)

WASHINGTON ? President Barack Obama launched his first television ad of his re-election campaign, defending his energy record against criticism from a Republican-leaning outside group in a sign that the presidential race is entering a new phase even though Republicans have yet to pick a challenger.

The ad, released Wednesday, responds to a $6 million ad campaign by a group backed by the billionaire Koch brothers accusing Obama of conducting pay-for-play politics in the bankruptcy of California energy company Solyndra, which imploded despite a $528 million federal loan.

Obama's ad opens by citing "secretive billionaires attacking President Obama with ads fact-checkers say are not tethered to the facts." It says that the president has added 2.7 million clean energy jobs while reducing the nation's dependence on foreign oil, calling Obama's record on ethics "unprecedented."

The voiceover ends by saying, "President Obama. Kept his promise to toughen ethics rules and strengthen America's energy economy."

The Obama campaign has bought ad time in Michigan, Virginia, Ohio, North Carolina, Wisconsin and Iowa and on national cable television, according to a campaign official. The official spoke on condition of anonymity and was not authorized to speak publicly about internal campaign strategy.

Obama's campaign was expected to launch the television advertising on Thursday, the official said, showing that the president's advisers are moving to directly rebut attacks from super PACs and Republican presidential candidates who have assailed the president in early voting states such as Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. The ad comes in the aftermath of Obama's decision to reject a job-producing oil pipeline running from Canada through Texas, citing environmental and public safety concerns.

It directly responds to a spot released by Americans for Prosperity charging Obama's campaign with collecting funds from Solyndra investors in exchange for the large federal loan, which failed to prevent the bankruptcy and the loss of more than 1,000 jobs. "Tell President Obama American workers aren't pawns in your political games," the ad says.

Americans for Prosperity, a conservative group headed by billionaires Charles and David Koch, began airing the 1-minute ad in the same six states where Obama's campaign will run its first advertising. The Koch brothers' energy company has bankrolled right-leaning causes and drawn frequent criticism from liberal groups.

Obama's new ad will be coupled with stepped-up travel surrounding Tuesday's State of the Union address. The president heads to Florida on Thursday and then visits five states over three days next week to discuss the policies he'll pursue leading up to his re-election campaign.

The president's advisers had anticipated a lengthy fight in the Republican primaries, but the decision to begin airing ads reflects the need to respond to criticism from outside Republican groups and prepare for a campaign against Mitt Romney. The former Massachusetts governor has won contests in Iowa and New Hampshire and shown strength in upcoming contests in South Carolina and Florida, giving him an inside track to the nomination.

Obama has raised more than $220 million for his campaign and the Democratic National Committee through the end of 2011, giving him a strong foundation to run a national campaign across the airwaves and on the ground.

In the State of the Union address, Obama is expected to draw parallels to a speech he delivered in Kansas in December, when he said the nation's middle class and those aspiring to the middle class faced "a make-or-break moment" and the nation needed economic policies that would give everyone a "fair shot and a fair share."

The White House has not outlined specific policy proposals that the president intends to make in the address. But with the nation trying to move forward from a deep economic recession, White House press secretary Jay Carney said Wednesday the speech would carry economic themes similar to those the president has been discussing in other forums.

"He is fiercely focused on economic growth and job creation and ... using every tool available to him to assist him in that project," Carney said.

The president will discuss proposals from Tuesday's State of the Union address in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and Phoenix on Jan. 25 and in Las Vegas and Denver on Jan. 26. On Jan. 27, Obama will speak in Detroit.

All five states are considered critical to Obama's re-election. He won the Iowa caucuses in 2008, sending him on a path to the White House, but the state looks like a toss-up this year. Colorado, Nevada and Arizona are three Western states the president's campaign covets, while Michigan is expected to get ample attention from Republicans after the economic recession hurt the state's manufacturing base.

Republicans said Obama's travels were politically motivated, accusing the president of being focused entirely on his re-election campaign.

"It's clear President Obama has abandoned governing and is in complete campaign mode," said Republican National Committee spokeswoman Kirsten Kukowski.

Of the 10 states Obama will visit in the next week or air TV advertising, he carried all in 2008 except Arizona.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120119/ap_on_el_pr/us_obama_campaign

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