Tax break extensions lose momentum before election (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? The Congress is unlikely to renew before November elections 67 temporary tax measures that expired at the end of 2011, Senator Orrin Hatch, the top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, told Reuters on Tuesday.

"I doubt it," he said of the possibility of restoring the breaks - known as tax extenders - as part of an expected renewal of payroll tax cuts before those cuts expire at the end of February.

Groups interested in extending the tax breaks, ranging from blue-chip companies to small businesses in poor communities, hope to revive the 67 tax breaks that expired at the end of 2011, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation in Congress.

The interest groups are pushing to get the costly tax provisions attached to the payroll tax extension for the rest of 2012. That bill is currently in a conference committee between the Republican-led House and the Democratic-led Senate.

Some lawmakers are worried that knitting tax extenders into the payroll tax cut bill is politically risky and are wary of doing anything that might hurt them and their parties in the run-up to the November elections.

A Senate staff source said House Speaker John Boehner, a Republican, was unlikely to attach the tax extenders to the payroll tax extension. A spokesperson for Boehner did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Tuesday.

Democrats, including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, are pushing for the tax breaks to be part of the payroll tax bill. Republicans, including House Ways and Means chairman Dave Camp, are leery of that approach.

Baucus and Camp are both payroll tax conference members.

Many of the tax extenders can be revived retroactively. But some, such as a tax exclusion for mass transit and a work opportunity tax credit, are more difficult to renew retroactively.

No estimate for their collective value was immediately available.

The last two tax extender bills were passed almost a year after the tax breaks expired.

Lobbyists said they saw the payroll tax cut bill as the only tax bill with a chance of passage before the general election on November 6. A new Congress will take office in January 2013.

BUDGET CONCERNS

Lobbyists vying for a quick extension are trying to work together to get the tax extenders passed en masse.

"We are all trying to pull with the same oar at this point," said Bob Rapoza, who is leading a coalition that supports a new markets tax credit designed to promote investment in low-income communities.

Without a clear way to pay for the tax breaks, coalitions may splinter, leaving some tax breaks behind.

"This time around, some Republicans may say, 'I'd like to see some spending cuts,'" said Ken Kies, a tax lobbyist and managing director of the Federal Policy Group. "That could make this more complicated," he said.

A full year extension of the payroll tax cut alone is estimated to add $99.5 billion to the budget deficit, according to the Congressional Research Service.

(Reporting By Patrick Temple-West; Editing by Eric Walsh)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/gop/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120131/pl_nm/us_usa_tax_extensions

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Mexican diplomat freed after abduction in Caracas (AP)

CARACAS, Venezuela ? A Mexican diplomat in Venezuela says the country's ambassador has been freed by captors hours after he and his wife were kidnapped.

Mexican Embassy spokesman Fernando Gondinez tells the Venezuelan news website Noticias 24 that Ambassador Carlos Pujalte was kidnapped Sunday night in Caracas and was freed hours later.

Gondinez says both the ambassador and his wife are in good condition. He did not offer details about how the abduction occurred or about the liberation.

Venezuela has one of Latin America's highest murder rates, and the numbers of kidnappings have risen in recent years.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mexico/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120130/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_venezuela_mexico_kidnapping

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Iraq officials: Baghdad bomb blast kills 1 (AP)

BAGHDAD ? A roadside bomb targeting a police patrol in southeastern Baghdad killed one person on Sunday, officials said. The attack came two days after a blast in the same area claimed the lives of 33 people.

The bomb in Baghdad's predominantly Shiite neighborhood of Zafaraniyah wounded nine others, police said. A police vehicle and a civilian car were damaged by the explosion, they added.

Hospital officials confirmed the casualties.

All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information.

On Friday, a suicide car bomber struck a Shiite funeral procession in Zafaraniyah. Many Iraqis suspect al-Qaida militants of engineering a recent series of attacks on Shiites to provoke a counterattack by Shiite militias, and rekindle widespread sectarian conflict now that U.S. troops have left Iraq.

Al-Qaida and other Sunni extremist groups are also thought to be exploiting sectarian tensions in the wake of a political crisis which erupted last month, after authorities in the Shiite-dominated government issued an arrest warrant against the Sunni Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi on terrorism charges.

In protest, the Sunni-backed bloc has been boycotting parliament and Cabinet sessions.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120129/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iraq

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Sudan says to release ships seized from South Sudan (Reuters)

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) ? Sudan will free ships carrying cargos of crude it seized from South Sudan to ease tensions between the former civil war foes and help the two states agree on a deal over oil revenue, Sayed El-Khatib, deputy head of negotiating team said on Saturday.

"President Bashir is ready to make this gesture. Sudan is going to release the vessels detained in Port Sudan," he told a media conference in the Ethiopian capital.

South Sudan became independent in July under a 2005 peace agreement with Khartoum that ended decades of conflict but both sides have failed to agree how to untangle their oil industries.

The new landlocked nation needs to use a northern pipeline and the port of Port Sudan to export its crude but has failed to reach an agreement with Khartoum over a transit fee, prompting Sudan to start seizing oil as compensation.

South Sudan said on Monday it had started shutting down oil production and accused Sudan of seizing $815 million worth of crude.

South Sudan's top negotiator said on Friday his country would complete the shutdown by Saturday, after Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and South Sudan's President Salva Kiir met on the sidelines of a meeting of East African officials in Ethiopia.

Sudan said it was freeing the ships to help end the deadlock.

"By doing this step, we expect the cover agreement to be signed, the shutdown to be halted, and the terms of the cover agreement to be respected," said El-Khatib.

"Before the end of today, we could be able to sign the cover agreement. We, at least, are ready to sign."

Officials said in November South Sudan was producing about 350,000 barrels of oil per day.

China is the biggest buyer of oil from the two countries, some 12.99 million barrels last year. That amounted to five percent of last year's crude imports by China, which is also the top investor in South Sudan's oilfields.

(Writing by James Macharia; Editing by Toby Chopra)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120128/wl_nm/us_sudan_oil

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Santorum cancels morning events to be with child (The Arizona Republic)

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The Supreme Court Pulled a Miracle for Your Privacy [Privacy]

The highest court of the land scored a victory for your privacy versus the cops this week, but the worst threats of digital surveillance remain standing. The good news? These justices aren't backing down anytime soon. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/DWlfQk47Shk/the-supreme-court-pulled-a-miracle-for-your-privacy

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Greece, creditors edge closer to deal (Reuters)

ATHENS (Reuters) ? Greece and its private creditors made progress on Thursday in talks on restructuring its debt, both sides said, and they will continue negotiating on Friday with the aim of sealing an agreement within a few days.

Athens needs a deal quickly to avert a chaotic default when a major bond redemption comes due in March. Greece's creditors are demanding that the European Central Bank contribute to a deal to put the country's messy finances back on track.

"The talks focused on legal and technical issues and progress was made. They will continue on Friday and probably on Saturday too," a senior Greek government official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

"We aim to conclude the deal very soon."

The Institute of International Finance, which leads talks on behalf of creditors, similarly cited progress and said work would continue Friday. Neither side disclosed any details.

After weeks of wrangling over the coupon, or interest rate, Greece must pay on new bonds it will swap for existing debt, attention has shifted to whether the ECB and other public creditors will follow private bondholders in swallowing losses.

A day after International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde said the ECB may need to accept losses on its Greek holdings, the European Union's top economic official also warned more public money will be needed to make up a shortfall in the country's second bailout.

EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn told Reuters "there is likely to be some increased need of official sector funding, but not anything dramatic." It was the first time a top EU official had said more public money than a planned 130 billion euro package would be required to rescue Greece.

Private bondholders have added to the pressure by insisting that others who bought bonds, and in particular the ECB, which is Athens' single biggest creditor, take part in the bond swap.

The swap, also known as the Private Sector Involvement, is aimed at slashing Greece's debt by getting creditors to write down their holdings by 50 percent nominally. Real losses are expected to be higher, depending on the terms involved.

"It would be outrageous if the ECB doesn't take part in the PSI as keeping their Greek bonds to maturity would allow them to make a profit, while everybody else is taking 70 percent (losses) or even more," one source close to the talks said.

The IIF wants public sector officials to be more decisive in negotiations over Greek debt, the bank lobby group's chairman and Deutsche Bank CEO Josef Ackermann told CNBC.

The ECB, which owns roughly 40 billion euros worth of Greek bonds, is no closer to agreeing on whether or not it will take losses on the Greek bonds it owns after a late night Wednesday meeting, euro zone central bank sources told Reuters.

Either way, a debt deal at the very latest must be clinched a month before 14.5 billion euros of bond redemptions fall due on March 20, the first source said, i.e., in just over three weeks.

If a deal is not reached by then, Greece could sink into an uncontrolled default that would trigger a banking crisis spreading contagion through the euro zone, though the ECB's creation of nearly half a trillion euros of three-year money for the banks in December has tempered that fear.

Debt-laden Italy saw its government bond yields and the cost of insuring against a default fall on Thursday, helped by solid demand for short-term debt at an auction.

COUPON STUMBLE

So far the coupon on the new bonds had been the main stumbling block in the negotiations.

On Monday, euro zone ministers rejected the creditors' offer of a 4 percent coupon on new bonds after Greece and its EU/IMF lenders held out for a 3.5 percent interest rate. They want the lower coupon to ensure the country's debt falls to a target of 120 percent of GDP by 2020, from around 160 percent now.

A second source familiar with the negotiations said the "coupon is parked for current time until we can get closer on detail of the overall package". Asked if that would include the ECB, the source said: "We would expect it to, still to be determined though."

Greek bankers and government officials said they had not heard of any new proposal from creditors, after local media reported they were willing to improve their "final offer" of a 4 percent interest rate on the new bonds to about 3.75 percent.

One Greek daily, Kerdos, said participation of public sector creditors including the ECB in the swap deal was a pre-condition for that offer.

"Until last week, we knew that the steering committee was authorized to concede up to 3.8 percent for the average coupon," one senior Greek banker told Reuters.

"But things are once again up in the air. You have to deal with politicians and 15 different governments asking for different things."

Exact details of Friday's meetings have yet to be scheduled, after IIF chief Charles Dallara left a meeting with Prime Minister Lucas Papademos late on Thursday.

Earlier, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the debt swap talks were on a "good path".

Senior EU, IMF and ECB officials are holding talks with the Greek government in parallel with the debt swap talks, to flesh out a new 130-billion euro bailout for Greece. They have warned they need the debt swap to cut Greece's debt substantially in order to go ahead with the new loans.

Talks with the "troika" inspectors on the new bailout program are expected to go well into next week.

A senior German official said Greece was not expected to play a major role at the EU leaders summit on Monday and that Germany does not expect the troika to deliver a report on Greece's progress before the summit.

Greece has made little progress on reforms as it stumbles through its worst post-World War II economic crisis. The task facing the country has been made harder with anger against austerity measures and squabbling politicians running high.

A poll on Thursday showed Greece's conservatives had widened their lead over socialist coalition partners ahead of elections expected in April, but they would not win an absolute majority if elections were held now.

Eurogroup chairman Jean-Claude Juncker was quoted in a German newspaper as saying the euro zone would probably have to support Greece longer than expected -- more than 10 years.

(Additional reporting by Sarah White and Sophie Sassard in London, Paul Taylor and Axel Threlfall in Davos, Harry Papachristou, Tatiana Fragou, Renee Maltezou and Karolina Tagaris in Athens; Writing by Deepa Babington; Editing by Dan Grebler)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120126/bs_nm/us_greece

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This Is a Billion Euro House. Literally. [Video]

What do you do when you're an unemployed artist watching your country dive into financial ruin on the back of the euro? You craft a grandiose social statement about the whole thing of course. In the case of Irish artist Frank Buckley, that means building an entire domicile out of 1.4 billion euros worth of decommisioned bills. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/XcW-zHgTZKE/this-is-a-billion-euro-house-literally

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The games kids no longer play

Experts say the more creatively children play, the less lucrative it is for toy makers. They advocate returning to the games kids no longer play.

Once upon a time, a typical gift for a child was a set of blocks. Plain old blocks with no batteries or screens, no electronic voice asking to be friends, no game of Angry Birds somehow embedded in their cubic walls.

Skip to next paragraph

No longer.

As anyone who braved toy stores this past holiday season knows, the bulk of gear for children these days is far more technologically decked out, with everything from flashing lights to 3-D computer screens to disembodied voices. And this, say child development experts, is turning into a massive problem.

High-stimuli toys, even many of those advertised as "educational" or "interactive," actually serve to diminish children's creativity, many experts say. Instead of using their minds to imagine how to use a toy ? how to build a castle with blocks, say ? they simply push a button or watch a flashing light. The toy is doing the work, which is the reverse of what researchers say is ideal.

"The best toy is 90 percent child and 10 percent toy," says Susan Linn, a Harvard University psychiatry instructor and cofounder of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood. "The [perfect] toy's meaning and its use changes at the child's behest."

At the same time, a large percentage of children's toys are based on media characters ? Transformers, for instance, were top sellers this past holiday season. The problem with this, says Diane Levin, an education professor at Wheelock College in Boston, is that when a child plays with a toy that already has a character description, the play tends to be limited; the child doesn't invent the figure's personality or actions because those characteristics are already determined.

"Play material is very important," Ms. Levin says. "When they have something that is just something they saw on TV, they will use it the same way. They will imitate."

And of course, there is the issue of screen time. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, 8-to-18-year-olds now spend 7.5 hours a day in front of one or more screens. This, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, is too much. It recommends no screen time for children 2 years old and younger, and no more than two hours a day for older ones.

But some top-selling toys this past season ? including infant toys ? were screen-based. (Teachers Resisting Unhealthy Children's Entertainment named a tablet computer for babies the worst toy of the year; a similar device was in the Toys "R" Us Top 15 Christmas gifts for 2011.)

Many of these screen toys advertise themselves as educational, tapping into parents' desire to help children get ahead in a technologically focused world. In a December Monitor TIPP poll, for instance, two- thirds of Americans agreed with the statement "the earlier a child can use technology, the better off he or she will be." Yet numerous studies have found no educational benefit ? and possibly some harm ? in early screen time.

It comes down, child advocates say, to money.

"One of the reasons that creative play has been diminishing in the United States is that it's not lucrative," Dr. Linn says. "Companies make less money when children play creatively. Children who play creatively need less stuff, and they can use the same thing over and over again ? mud, water, blocks, dolls that don't do anything."

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/UM76_nfHIVA/The-games-kids-no-longer-play

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No to love: Uzbekistan nixes Valentine's Day shows

	Essential News from The Associated Press

? ?Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/aa9398e6757a46fa93ed5dea7bd3729e/Article_2012-01-24-AS-ODD-Uzbekistan-Valentine's-Day/id-053cad773fef483fb622a0c4caccdf06

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Romney preparing for the long haul in 2012 race (AP)

GREENVILLE, S.C. ? Preparing for the long haul, Mitt Romney said Saturday's South Carolina presidential contest "could be real close" and he agreed to two more debates with his rivals ahead of the Florida primary.

In the face of questions about releasing his tax returns and struggling with a renewed threat from Newt Gingrich, Romney lashed out at the former speaker, calling on the former House speaker to better explain his contractual ties to Freddie Mac, the quasi-government mortgage company. Gingrich served as a consultant to Freddie Mac over a period of eight years.

Romney said he would attend a debate Monday in Tampa, Fla., and his campaign confirmed he would be at one Thursday in Jacksonville, Fla., ahead of the state's primary Jan. 31. His planned appearances are an acknowledgment that the former Massachusetts governor will have to continue the battle with Gingrich longer than expected or hoped.

But Romney avoided confronting Gingrich, his chief rival in South Carolina's first-in-the South vote, at a stop at Tommy's Country Ham House.

Both men had scheduled campaign events for the same time on primary day. Romney stopped by the breakfast restaurant 45 minutes ahead of schedule. When Gingrich arrived at the restaurant ? just minutes after Romney's bus left the parking lot ? he said: "Where's Mitt?"

About an hour earlier, Romney was outside of his Greenville headquarters, launching a new attack on the speaker. He called on Gingrich to further explain his contracts with Freddie and release any advice he had provided. "I'd like to see what he actually told Freddie Mac. Don't you think we ought to see it?" Romney said.

It was another response to pressure on Romney to release his tax returns before Republican voters finish choosing a nominee. A day earlier, Romney had called on Gingrich to release information related to an ethics investigation of Gingrich in the 1990s.

Romney says he will release several years' worth of tax returns in April. Gingrich has called on him to release them much sooner. On Saturday, Romney refused to answer questions from reporters about the returns and whether his refusal to release them had hurt him with South Carolina voters.

Romney still has significant advantages over his three remaining Republican rivals, including an enormous financial edge and a well-organized campaign. But with his Iowa victory now rescinded, losing in South Carolina would be a setback that could draw the primary contest out much longer. Just 10 days ago, Romney's campaign was looking ahead to the general election as they anticipated a quick sweep in early primaries.

"This could be real close," said Romney as he chatted on the phone with a voter he called Saturday morning. He urged the man to go vote.

And as he stood on a chair inside Tommy's, where it was impossible to tell who in the tightly packed crowd was there to see him and who was there to see Gingrich, a woman shouted her thanks for buying breakfast.

"I'm happy to pay for breakfast," Romney responded, "but there's no free lunch."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120121/ap_on_el_pr/us_romney

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DARPA + Makers + School = the Future of Innovation

"Makers" are apparently people who have built 3D printers and think that this is the be-all and end-all of manufacturing technology.

Sure, the fact that you can build one for $100 now is pretty neat. However, CAD/CAM was in vogue back when I was in high school. It indeed has changed the world, but not because anytime somebody wants a widget they take 3 hours to have some laser mill carve it out of steel.

3D printers, and CAM in general are great for prototyping, but they're not going to make a dent in the cost of finished goods. Right now maker bots can only make 99 cent plastic toys - which some guy in China can already make for two cents, and which probably costs $1.50 in materials to make using a 3D printer. If you want to make new gears for your bike then you're going to need something capable of cutting through hard steel, and that isn't going to be $50 and made out of plastic. About the only thing you'd save making such things yourself is any patent rights for the design, and those aren't much compared to manufacturing costs.

About the only thing manufacture-at-home is likely to be cost-effective at is counterfeiting currency - since its value is almost entirely fiat. I saw a neat documentary about some guy who was doing just that with casino chips. The neat thing about it was that when they finally traced him they couldn't arrest him since he lived in a state that didn't have legalized gambling and forging casino chips was consequently not considered a crime. He wasn't using 3d printers though - this was serious die-pressing equipment/etc.

Source: http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~3/IpOzr6J9_Vw/darpa--makers--school--the-future-of-innovation

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Breast Cancer Before 50 Linked to More Distress - Health News ...

FRIDAY, Jan. 20 (HealthDay News) ? Younger women with breast cancer may experience a decrease in their health-related quality of life because of increased mental distress, weight gain and other factors, a new study finds.

Decreased physical activity, infertility and early-onset menopause were among the other problems these women faced, according to the report published Jan. 20 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

The findings were based on data from 28 previous studies, conducted between 1990 and 2010, which focused on how breast cancer affects the quality of life of breast cancer patients aged 50 and younger.

The review revealed that overall quality of life was reduced in these patients, and that mental issues were more severe than physical problems, said Dr. Patricia Ganz, director of cancer prevention and control research at the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of California, Los Angeles, and colleagues.

The investigators also found that younger breast cancer patients were more depressed than women of the same age without cancer in the general population, or breast cancer patients older than 50. Premature menopause, infertility and menopause-related symptoms were more common among patients 50 and younger and contributed to their levels of distress, the findings showed.

Even though exercise rates among younger patients generally increased after treatment, weight gain and physical inactivity were common among these women, the study authors pointed out in a university news release.

The findings suggest that personalized treatment is particularly important for younger women with breast cancer, the researchers said.

?By tailoring adjuvant therapy regimens and giving cytotoxic therapy [such as chemotherapy] only to those who may benefit, we can mitigate some of these side effects, but the long life expectancy for these younger women also provides a window of opportunity for cancer prevention and health promotion activities,? the study authors concluded in their report.

More information

The American Cancer Society outlines lifestyle changes to consider during and after breast cancer treatment.

? Robert Preidt

SOURCE: University of California, Los Angeles, news release, Jan. 20, 2012

Last Updated: Jan. 20, 2012

Copyright ? 2012 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Source: http://news.health.com/2012/01/20/breast-cancer-before-50-linked-to-more-distress/

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Ratings king 'American Idol' ready for 11th season

LAS VEGAS (AP) ? "American Idol" is having a bit of a Goldilocks moment.

When the nation's favorite TV addiction debuted 10 years ago, critics complained the judges were too mean to the hordes of would-be singers seeking celebrity.

But after pop icons Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler became judges last year, some fans complained the show had lost its bite. "American Idol," critics complained, had become too nice.

Now in its 11th season, the Fox show that spawned a dozen pop stars and copycat talent competitions is hoping to get it just right.

With the second post-Simon Cowell season under way, Lopez and Tyler said they are striking a balance between showing compassion and respect for their fellow artists, while also not mincing their words.

"Last year was kind of our first year and we were kind of finding our way and figuring out how we were going to do things," Lopez said during a press conference in between filming the show in Las Vegas on Wednesday, hours before the Season 11 premiere. "But I just think we are more to the point now. We understand how to do it."

Tyler joked that he was peppering his encouragement with "well-rounded, slanderous attacks."

Tyler and Lopez's still-evolving shtick will likely determine whether "Idol" can match its previous successes. In an era of social networking, where YouTube videos result in record contracts, does America still want pop stars invented by a TV show?

All signs say yes.

It's been a decade since Texas native Kelly Clarkson was plucked from obscurity and turned into the nation's first American Idol in 2002 and by all accounts the show has retained its dominance over the nation's TV viewers.

Lopez and Tyler's debut year saw the show maintain its spot as the nation's most-watched TV show, making it No. 1 for the eighth-straight season. Scotty McCreery, last season's winner, became the first "Idol" to start his post-show career with a No. 1 album since Ruben Studdard in 2003.

No major changes have been announced for the show's 11th season. The season is opening with taped audition episodes before it shifts to live shows in Los Angeles that include audience voting. The show's season premier Wednesday was to focus on Savannah, Georgia, before continuing in Pittsburgh on Thursday.

Veteran music producer Jimmy Iovine, chairman of Interscope-Geffen-A&M, is returning as the in-house mentor for the contestants. Finalists will once again compete midway through the competition on the Las Vegas Strip, where 42 contestants practiced singing Wednesday morning.

Tyler said soul music has emerged has this season's genre of choice, with many of the contestants looking to channel chart-topper and British soul diva Adele.

The season could mark Ryan Seacrest's last year hosting the show. He has said he would like to stay on as the show's host past 2012, but his contract ends this year. There have been several reports that Seacrest could replace Matt Lauer, should he decide to leave the "Today" show on NBC.

Season 11 opens in a different era from when the show launched in 2002. Then, former judge Cowell helped turn the competition into a national phenomenon with his harsh feedback for the show's less-than-stellar contestants. It was the only singing competition of its kind at the time.

But last year Lopez, Tyler and lone original judge Randy Jackson seemed reluctant to point out contestants' shortcomings in the same blunt manner that helped make "Idol" must-see entertainment.

The TV landscape has also changed. "Idol" now faces challenges from NBC's competition "The Voice," and Fox's "The X Factor," which stars Cowell.

The show has helped launched the careers of pop stars Clarkson, Jennifer Hudson, Chris Daughtry and Carrie Underwood.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-01-18-American%20Idol/id-a981b50cd9224105a15bc6cd63a732d1

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Anti-whaling activists clash with Japan harpoon ship (Reuters)

SYDNEY (Reuters) ? Japanese whalers and protesters clashed on Wednesday in the Southern Ocean, with activists saying three of their crew were injured by grappling hooks and a bamboo pole and Japan claiming the anti-whalers tried to cut ropes and tangle propellers.

The clash took place in the seas about 300 miles north of Mawson Peninsula off the coast of Antarctica, the anti-whaling Sea Shepherd group said on its Internet site.

"Our small boats were attempting to slow down the Japanese harpoon vessel Yushin Maru No. 2, which is aggressively tailing the Steve Irwin," said Captain Paul Watson.

The Steve Irwin is the Sea Shepherd flagship.

The statement said an American crewmember, Brian Race, suffered lacerations above his right eye and on his nose from a bamboo pole, while cameraman Russell Bergh of South Africa and photographer Guillaume Collet of France suffered bruising from iron grappling hooks.

Japanese video released by the whalers showed a water cannon on the Japanese ship being fired at a black rubber dingy, while unidentified projectiles appeared to be thrown at the Japanese ship by activists on the small vessel.

Japan's Institute of Cetacean Research website said the activists used knives to try to cut ropes, threw hooks at nets and tried to tangle the ship's propellers with ropes.

"Two of the deployed ropes had iron weights attached to both ends. The SS activists threw ropes with hooks attached to their ends several times," said the Institute, adding the anti-whaling protesters also hurled 30 bottles of paint.

"When the activists started using a knife to cut the...float fender rope and net, the Japanese vessel crew used bamboo poles as a measure to push the boat back."

ICR spokesman Glenn Inwood said "there's also every chance they were hurt by their own hooks."

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is a hardline anti-whaling organization. It attempts to disrupt or stop the Japanese annual whale hunt in the Southern Ocean by using "direct action."

Three Australian anti-whaling protesters who were detained after boarding the Shonan Maru 2 vessel in darkness off the coast of Western Australia last week were released to an Australian customs ship.

Sea Shepherd captain Watson has previously said this year would be the most dangerous campaign yet against the Japanese in a protest he dubbed "Operation Kamikaze."

Last season, Japan cut short its hunt with less than a fifth of its quota in response to harassment by Sea Shepherd, which saw an activist boat sunk in a collision with a Japanese ship.

An international moratorium on whaling has been in place since 1986, but Japan exploits a loophole allowing whaling for scientific purposes to justify its annual hunt.

Australia filed a complaint against Japan at the world court in The Hague to stop Southern Ocean scientific whaling. A decision is expected in 2013 or later.

(Reporting by Ed Davies; Editing by Ron Popeski)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/pets/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120118/wl_nm/us_australia_japan_whaling

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2009 FORD MONDEO ZETEC MB $26,990 - Condobolin

Used 2009 FORD MONDEO ZETEC MB Car For Sale
	CAR DETAILS Location: Central West Condobolin, NSW Price: $26,990 Km: 24,000 Body: Hatchback Colour: MORELLO Interior: GREY Transmission: Tiptronic Engine: 2.3L Fuel: Unleaded Petrol VIN: WFOEXXGBBE9C54824 Registration: 6MTHS Reg Expiry: 6MTHS 09/09 BUILT, 11/09 COMPLY, 1ST REGISTERED JAN 2010, NEW CAR WARRANTY TO JAN 2013, ONLY 24000 KMS, TOW BAR & ROOF RACKS, LOVELY CAR, TRADE-INS WELCOME, will sell no trade for $25,990, FINANCE AVAILABLE. A PERSONAL LOOK BEFORE YOU BUY DELIVERY CAN BE ARRANGED SUBJECT TO LOCATION, CALL PAT ANYTIME ON 0428952209. THANK YOU FOR LOOKING. CALL 1300 780 726 Local call charges apply ? CAR FEATURES ? Air Conditioning??? ? Climate Control??? ? CD Player??? ? Trip Computer??? ? Power Steering??? ? Power Windows??? ? Driver Airbag??? ? Passenger Airbag??? ? Cruise Control??? ? Electric Seats??? ? Metallic Paint??? ? Alloy Wheels??? ? Central Locking??? ? Disc Brakes??? ? ABS Braking??? ? Traction Control??? ? Towbar??? ? Engine Immobiliser??? ? Full Service History??? ?
SELLER DETAILS Location: Central West Condobolin, NSW Type: Car Dealer Ref: 102 Updated: 18th Jan 12 AdLinx: 977713 DLN: 614 Print car details Back to cars for sale All advertisements on this site have been fully prepared by the sellers without any input from Countrycars. Countrycars has no means of verifying any aspects of the advertisements whether the existence, quality, title, encumbrance, state-of-repair or condition or value of the vehicle described by any seller or any representation made by any seller. Countrycars does not and cannot make any representation with regard to any goods advertised in any respect. Countrycars strongly recommends that buyers do all due diligence including inspection, testing, obtaining expert's reports, reference checks and of-course, a REVS check (REVS can be reached on 133 220) Pricing applicable for location listed above unless otherwise indicated

Used 2009 FORD MONDEO ZETEC MB Car For Sale in Condobolin Central West, NSW

Source: http://www.countrycars.com.au/977713

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How to access Wikipedia during the SOPA blackout

Wikimedia

Screenshot of Wikipedia Mobile for iOS devices

By Athima Chansanchai

Those wondering how to get around the Wikipedia SOPA blackout can breathe a little easier:?the crowd-sourced encyclopedia?is still available through the mobile versions, disabling Javascript or translating another language's version of it.

So really folks, there's no need to panic. You?can still look up every little curiosity that crosses your mind if you try to following options (it helps if you have a smartphone or tablet):

• Download an app that can access Wikipedia, such as?Wikidroid?for Android, or Wikipedia Mobile?for the iOS devices. I have Wikidroid on my Samsung Droid Charge and it was working fine this morning. (The apps also work while offline, too.)?
• You can pull up the mobile version of the site, that seems to be functioning normally as well.?
• For those who really want to see it on their laptops and desktops, you can disable Javascript. (Thanks to NewScientist for that resource.) You can pull up the main Wikipedia page and choose a different country to access, because only the English version is doing the blackout in protest today. If you are on the Chrome browser, it will ask you if you want the page translated. Answer oui. (Yes.) and voila?(here), you have Wikipedia again. (I picked the French version because it's the second largest repository of articles, about 1.2 million, next to the English version, which has 3.8 million.)

Some people, though, have become even more creative in the wake of the one day that people can't seem to live without Wikipedia. Just look at former "Jeopardy" champ and human encyclopedia?@KenJennings?and what he is willing to do to help people out:

Twitter

Ok, ok, maybe that's not the way to go, but you've got to applaud the guy for some effort, right?

Live Poll

Did it annoy you that Wikipedia was harder to get to today?

• 173694

  YES. What the heck does SOPA have to do with my insatiable need to know?

  12%

• 173695

  NO. I understand why they're protesting, and I can find alternatives for a day.

  88%

VoteTotal Votes: 322

You can also turn to Twitter for help. The Guardian?says it'll try to answer questions posted with the #altwiki hashtag, conscripting journalists from the Washington Post and National Public Radio to help, too. The Guardian is going?old school as well via Guardipedia, with?editor Patrick Kingsley using Encyclopaedia Britannica and Who's Who to help folks who long ago ditched their volumes (or never had them).

Of course, you can go the old school route too, locally, and call your public library for help. Librarians are amazing resources and I'm sure they'd be glad to be of service since sites like Wikipedia have largely eliminated the questions that used to go their way.

(Msnbc.com is a joint venture of Microsoft and Comcast/NBC Universal. Microsoft publicly opposes SOPA in its current form, while?Comcast/NBC Universal is listed as a supporter of SOPA?on the House Judiciary Committee website.)

More SOPA protest/blackout stories:

Check out Technolog on?Facebook, and on Twitter, follow?Athima Chansanchai, who is also trying to keep her head above water in the?Google+?stream.

Source: http://technolog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/18/10181429-how-to-access-wikipedia-during-the-sopa-blackout

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Goldfish Awards: Finance | Ads of the World?

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://adsoftheworld.com/media/print/goldfish_awards_finance

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Mayor: Ambitious new London airport gets support

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Source: www.wtop.com --- Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Support is growing for constructing a brand-new London airport in the Thames Estuary region of southeast England, the capital's mayor said Wednesday. ...

Source: http://www.wtop.com/?sid=2710962&nid=628

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Non-debate open thread (Balloon Juice)

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

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Infants Possess Intermingled Senses

Head Lines | Mind & Brain See Inside

Babies are born with their senses linked in synesthesia

By Maria Konnikova ?| January 15, 2012?|

Image: Courtesy of Karen Dobkins and Katie Wagner University of California, San Diego

What if every visit to the museum was the equivalent of spending time at the philharmonic? For painter Wassily Kandinsky, that was the experience of painting: colors triggered sounds. Now a study from the University of California, San Diego, suggests that we are all born synesthetes like Kandinsky, with senses so joined that stimulating one reliably stimulates another.

The work, published in the August issue of Psychological Science, has become the first experimental confir?mation of the infant-synesthesia hy?pothesis?which has existed, unproved, for almost 20 years.

Researchers presented infantsand adults with images of repeating shapes (either circles or triangles) on a split-color background: one side was red or blue, and the other side was yellow or green. If the infants had shape-color asso?ciations, the scientists hypoth?esized, the shapes would affect their color preferences. For in?stance, some infants might look significantly longer at a green back?ground with circles than at the same green background with triangles. Absent synesthesia, no such dif?ference would be visible.

The study confirmed this hunch. Infants who were two and three months old showed significant shape-color associations. By eight months the preference was no longer pronounced, and in adults it was gone altogether.

The more important implications of this work may lie beyond synesthesia, says lead author Katie Wagner, a psychologist at U.C.S.D. The finding provides insight into how babies learn about the world more generally. ?In?fants may perceive the world in a way that?s fundamentally different from adults,? Wagner says. As we age, she adds, we narrow our focus, perhaps gaining an edge in cognitive speed as the sensory symphony quiets down.

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=9af4cd5e02d696fa87c385f3d86d2231

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Harbaugh stunned by San Francisco victory (Reuters)

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) ? Jim Harbaugh, the first year coach of the San Francisco 49ers, could not disguise his delight after watching his team beat the New Orleans Saints 36-32 in a thrilling NFL playoff on Saturday.

A former NFL quarterback with the Chicago Bears and Indianapolis Colts, Harbaugh had already experienced many highs and lows in the game but he had no doubt this was something unique.

"That was special, I don't know if there was anything better than that, I can't remember winning a game in such a spectacular fashion as this one," he said after the 49ers triumphed following four lead changes in a dramatic final four minutes.

"Both teams made plays, we knew it would be that kind of game and that there would be ebb and flow but that we would prevail and make more plays - and our guys executed it," he said.

San Francisco's defense, ranked number one in the NFC, triumphed against the top rated offense in the entire league, producing five turnovers and restricting quarterback Drew Brees, particularly in the early parts of the game.

"They got some spectacular stops, on third down they were outstanding, they got five takeaways ... they very opportunistic and got pressure on their quarterback and made plays on the ball and our guys in the secondary made them.

"It was a terrific job by our defense once again, you just love the way they compete and work hard on the field," he said.

Harbaugh was also full of praise for quarterback Alex Smith who threw for three touchdowns and 299 yards and tight end Vernon Davis who collected on two of those touchdowns, including the superbly executed game winner.

"I thought Alex played really boldly, it might be time to give him a little credit, it was a spectacular performance by him," Harbaugh said.

"We put things in his and our offenses' hands and they really did a great job, learning this game plan and then going out there and executing it."

Saints head coach Sean Payton said the 49ers defense caused his team problems but losing in the final few seconds made it hard to take.

"It is a real good front seven, they can apply pressure with the pass rush," he said.

"It was a good, hard fought game, it is disappointing to lose but both teams played hard, it certainly wasn't a perfect game.

"But it is hard when you get that close and it slips away, it is difficult."

(Reporting by Simon Evans in Miami; Editing by Julian Linden)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120115/sp_nm/us_nfl_playoffs49ers_quotes

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Penn State president faces more Paterno questions (AP)

NEW YORK ? Penn State President Rodney Erickson wrapped up three cities in three days of often tense meetings with alumni assuring this: "We're going to be OK."

And that was one thing frustrated graduates could applaud.

Erickson faced about 300 alums in a packed hotel ballroom in lower Manhattan on Friday night, the last stop on a road trip intended to calm anger about how the university has dealt with a child sex abuse scandal involving longtime assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky. Instead, the sessions have triggered more anguish and another round of introspection for the people who love the school and its football program.

The questions Friday were similar to the previous two nights in Pittsburgh and outside Philadelphia. A teary-eyed woman asked: "How do you explain the lack of due process for Joe Paterno?" That drew sustained if not unanimous applause. The largest ovations came for queries criticizing the Board of Trustees and the school's public relations efforts.

"I can assure you that as I go back to the Penn State campus, I will think deeply about the messages you have provided me," Erickson said in his closing remarks. "I have listened well. I listen and I learn. I hope you all keep that faith that we will move forward."

The school has yet to start making plans on how to honor Paterno, Erickson said earlier, though he promised again that a tribute was coming. As in previous meetings, the president spent several minutes listing the university's many accomplishments in academics and athletics. But that was little solace to alumni distressed by the way the scandal has overshadowed all that.

The perceived lack of communication by trustees in the two months since Paterno's firing Nov. 9 has roiled many graduates.

"Honestly, I feel like I was given the company line," Virginia Alvarez, a lawyer from the Class of 1997 who asked the question about due process, said afterward. "I don't feel like we have the answers. I think the people who need to call into question are the Board of Trustees. Show us the minutes of those meetings."

Erickson emphasized that the trustees are his bosses, and not the other way around. He explained how the university's land-grant history resulted in the composition of the board, which includes nine of 32 trustees elected by alumni. The charter would have to be altered to change that, he said.

Appointed president after the scandal also cost Graham Spanier his job, Erickson plans to retire in 2014.

He reiterated that he supported the trustees' decision to fire Paterno.

"There comes a time to look at more than legal issues and look at the ability to lead, and I think at that point ability to lead was compromised," he said. "That in no way should reflect my feelings about the wonderful things Joe has contributed over the years."

Erickson offered his best wishes to Paterno, saying he was "very sad" to hear the Hall of Famer was readmitted to the hospital Friday with complications from his treatment for lung cancer.

Matt Kalafat, Class of 1991, made a long statement saying that although he long loved Penn State's coach and probably still did, "Joe Paterno is not a victim." That drew little applause.

Erickson heard several questions asking why the university's PR response wasn't better prepared since trustees were aware Sandusky was being investigated.

"I think most people didn't really see the direct relationship to the university; there was no sense that I'm aware of that anyone at Penn State was targeted as part of that," he said. "Time passed. I suppose the assumption was there wasn't anything there."

The 67-year-old Sandusky is charged with sexually abusing 10 boys over a 15-year period. He maintains his innocence and remains out on $250,000 bail while awaiting trial. A charity he founded called The Second Mile, through which he met many of his alleged victims, said Friday it was selling a 60-acre property where it had been building an educational center.

Two Penn State administrators are facing charges they lied to a grand jury investigating Sandusky and failed to properly report suspected child abuse. Gary Schultz, a former vice president, and Tim Curley, the athletic director, have denied the allegations and await trial.

Paterno in early 2002 passed along a report of alleged sex abuse by Sandusky to his bosses but did not notify police. Paterno is not a target of the criminal investigation, but his lack of further action spurred the calls for his firing.

In terms of public relations, Penn State has continuously been playing catch-up, said Jeremy Robinson-Leon, a principal for the New York-based crisis management firm, Group Gordon.

The school, he said, has two constituencies: the public at large, which is critical to maintaining Penn State's national brand, and the community of students, alumni and other supporters, who are important from a community-building and fundraising perspective.

"In order to get past the problem, you have to figure out who you're talking to, who your constituencies are, and so I don't think the board has figured it out," Robinson-Leon said.

Erickson said he had been in contact with Larry Foster, an alumnus who directed Johnson & Johnson's public relations response to the Tylenol crises in 1982 and 1986.

The top two leaders of the trustees released a statement Thursday evening responding to alumni questions. Paterno, they said, was removed in November instead of being allowed to retire after the season because of "extraordinary circumstances."

"The details of his retirement are being worked out and will be made public when they are finalized," said the statement from Chairman Steve Garban and Vice Chairman John Surma. "Generally speaking, the University intends to honor the terms of his employment contract and is treating him financially as if he had retired at the end of the 2011 football season."

Robinson-Leon said it appears to be important from the Penn State community's perspective that the trustees take full responsibility for their decisions.

"They were trying to move toward owning that decision, but you can't do it halfway," he said. "At some point, the leadership of the board has to get out there and face the critics."

___

AP Writer Genaro C. Armas in State College, Pa., contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120114/ap_on_sp_ot/us_penn_state_abuse_alumni

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TiVo users watch less Live TV than everyone else

If you're a TiVo user it might shock you to learn that the vast majority of TV today is still consumed live in the US. TiVo's latest study shows that its users who have broadband connected DVRs only watch live TV 27% of the time. This just reaffirms what is obvious to some, that if people have an enjoyable way to access on-demand (streaming and recorded) content, they'll prefer it to live TV. These types of numbers do make one wonder whether the cable and satellite DVRs on the market are bad intentionally, or if its just because those companies are incapable. Either way, the mix of streaming options with recorded TV is a powerful one and the perfect stop gap while we all wait for the future to get here.

Continue reading TiVo users watch less Live TV than everyone else

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EPA: Low asbestos in wood chips from Libby, Mont. (AP)

BILLINGS, Mont. ? Test results from huge piles of woodchips that were being sold from a Montana Superfund site for use in landscaping show they contain some asbestos, but at levels so low federal officials said they measured no danger to humans.

The results obtained Friday by The Associated Press appear to offer a rare bit of relief for the town of Libby, where widespread asbestos contamination has killed an estimated 400 people and sickened 1,750.

The tests followed concerns raised by residents, local officials and business owners who bought loads of the wood chips to spread around their homes, in parks and for use as erosion control. Thousands of tons were shipped out of the Libby area, and the sales went on for years before federal regulators stepped in last year to halt the practice.

But the new results from the Environmental Protection Agency found no asbestos in air tests designed to mimic human exposure from spreading the wood chips. The agency said a "very low level" of asbestos was found in one of 15 chip samples.

"It was all good news," said Rebecca Thomas of the EPA's regional headquarters in Denver. "There simply is no measured exposure."

It remained uncertain whether sale of the wood chips will resume. The head of the local economic development agency that was selling the material cited lingering uncertainties over the dangers posed by Libby's asbestos because the EPA has yet to complete its risk assessment for the town.

Initial results from that pending study on the toxicity of Libby asbestos has found even minute amounts of the asbestos fibers can cause non-cancerous illnesses.

"We might not allow it to be taken until the final results are out on the tox study," said Paul Rummelhart, executive director of the Kootenai River Development Co., which controls the abandoned timber mill that contains the sprawling, open-air piles of wood chips.

Libby councilman and landscaping business owner Allen Olsen said he won't use the wood chips despite the results.

Olsen, who used the material by the truckload in the past, said he has developed a mistrust of the EPA in the decade that it has overseen the cleanup in Libby that cost more than $370 million to date.

"I absolutely, positively will not sell it or let a person have any of it," Olsen said Friday. "There's just been too many controversies."

Samples of the wood chips and bark were first collected in 2007, and subsequent tests found asbestos in four of 20 samples analyzed under an electron microscope. The EPA at the time did not attempt to quantify how much asbestos was present.

The AP reported last July that more than 15,000 tons of the chips and bark were sold or distributed and much of that material shipped across the country, despite evidence it contained an unknown level of asbestos.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/environment/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120113/ap_on_re_us/us_asbestos_town_wood_chips

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