Experts, officials to testify on Cuba oil drilling (AP)

MIAMI ? Members of the U.S. Coast Guard, experts and U.S. officials will testify on the risk of oil drilling off the coast of Cuba, and whether the U.S. is prepared for any possible spill.

Those expected to speak Monday at the satellite congressional sub-committee hearing in Sunny Isles, just north of Miami Beach, include U.S. Rep Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Also on the list, fellow South Florida Cuban-American U.S. Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart and David Rivera. They will discuss possible impacts of the deep-water oil drilling Cuba is seeking to begin.

Ros-Lehtinen wants to deny U.S. visas to anyone helping the Cuban government advance its oil drilling plans.

Florida University Professor John Proni says spills could reach U.S. coastal waters, seriously damaging the nation's ecology and economy.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/latam/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120130/ap_on_re_us/us_cuba_oil_drilling

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Ex-Pakistani envoy to US wins court victory (AP)

ISLAMABAD ? Pakistan's former envoy to Washington says a court commision probing his alleged role in a controversial memo sent to Washington has dropped a travel ban imposed upon him.

Husain Haqqani said Monday he intended to travel to the United States to join family there.

Haqqani resigned in November and returned to Islamabad to answer allegations that he masterminded a memo sent to Washington that requested its help in reining in the Pakistani army.

The memo outraged the country's powerful army, and at the height of the scandal led to speculations it could lead to the demise of the government.

Haqqani has denied any involvment in the memo.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120130/ap_on_re_as/as_pakistan

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NBC wins the night with pro bowl; CBS most-watched (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES, Jan 30 (TheWrap.com) ? The Pro Bowl gave NBC a decisive win in the key adults 18-49 demographic Sunday night, though CBS took the win for most-watched network of the evening, according to preliminary numbers.

Though the Pro Bowl numbers are subject to revision, the game, which ran from 7:30 to 11 p.m., drew a 3.6/9 in the demo and 10.5 million total viewers. It was down 18 percent from last year's telecast, which aired on Fox. The pre-game program at 7 was the night's highest-rated program, with a 3.9/11 in the demo and 12.2 million total viewers. Overall, the network averaged a 3.7/9 in the demo to take the night's top ratings.

CBS came in second in the demo but took the night's largest audience, thanks largely to "Undercover Boss," which had the night's most total viewers. "60 Minutes" at 7 posted a 1.5/4 in the demo and 11.2 million total viewers. "Undercover Boss" aired the following hour, growing 30 percent over last week's airing with a 3.0/7 in the demo and 13 million total viewers. "The Good Wife" at 9 received a 2.2/5 in the demo and 10.9 million total viewers, while "CSI: Miami" closed the night at 10, slipping 15 percent from its last original airing three weeks ago with a 2.2/6 in the demo and 10.4 million total viewers. The network averaged 11.4 million total viewers throughout the night.

ABC's "America's Funniest Home Videos" at 7 grew had a 1.9/5 in the demo and 7.3 million total viewers, while "Once Upon a Time" at 8 received a 3.4/8 in the demo and 10.7 million total viewers. The network finished off the night with the movie "A Smile As Big As the Moon" at 9, which received a 1.5/4 in the demo and 6.8 million total viewers.

Fox's animated shows dipped dramatically since new episodes last aired two weeks ago, when they were boosted by football. Following a "Bob's Burgers" repeat at 7, "The Cleveland Show" at 7:30 posted a 0.7/2 in the demo and 2.7 million total viewers. "The Simpsons" at 8 dropped 56 percent from two weeks ago for a 2.4/6 in the demo and 5.1 million total viewers. "Napoleon Dynamite" at 8:30 was off 52 percent versus two weeks ago for a 2.1/5 in the demo and 4.4 million total viewers, while "Family Guy" at 9 dropped 32 percent for a 3.0/7 in the demo and 5.9 million total viewers. "American Dad" capped the night at 9:30 with a 2.4/5 in the demo and 4.7 million total viewers.

(Editing By Zorianna Kit)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/enindustry/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120130/media_nm/us_ratings_network

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2 convicted in Norway of plotting terror attack (AP)

OSLO, Norway ? Two men accused of plotting to attack a Danish newspaper that caricatured the Prophet Muhammad were found guilty Monday of terror charges in Norway, the first convictions under the country's anti-terror laws.

The Oslo district court sentenced alleged ringleader Mikael Davud to seven years in prison and co-defendant Shawan Sadek Saeed Bujak to three and a half years.

Judge Oddmund Svarteberg said the court found that Davud "planned the attack together with al-Qaida."

A third defendant, David Jakobsen, was cleared of terror charges but convicted of helping the others acquire explosives. Jakobsen, who assisted police in the investigation, was sentenced to four months.

Investigators say the plot was linked to the same al-Qaida planners behind thwarted attacks against the New York subway system and a British shopping mall in 2009.

The case was Norway's most high-profile terror investigation until last July, when a right-wing extremist killed 77 people in a bomb and shooting massacre.

The three men, who were arrested in July 2010, made some admissions but pleaded innocent to terror conspiracy charges and rejected any links to al-Qaida.

During the trial Davud denied he was taking orders from al-Qaida, saying he was planning a solo raid against the Chinese Embassy in Oslo. He said he wanted revenge for Beijing's oppression of Uighurs, a Muslim minority in western China.

Davud, a Norwegian citizen, also said his co-defendants helped him acquire bomb-making ingredients but didn't know he was planning an attack.

Prosecutors said the Norwegian cell first wanted to attack Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, whose 12 cartoons of Muhammad sparked furious protests in Muslim countries in 2006, and then changed plans to seek to murder one of the cartoonists instead.

Bujak, an Iraqi Kurd, said the paper and the cartoonist were indeed the targets, but described the plans as "just talk."

Prosecutors had to prove the defendants worked together in a conspiracy, because a single individual plotting an attack is not covered under Norway's anti-terror laws.

During the trial, prosecutors presented testimony obtained in the U.S. in April from three American al-Qaida recruits turned government witnesses.

Jakobsen, an Uzbek national who changed his name after moving to Norway, provided some of the chemicals for the bomb, but claims he did not know they were meant for explosives. Jakobsen contacted police and served as an informant, but still faced charges for his involvement before that.

The men had been under surveillance for more than a year when authorities moved to arrest them in July 2010. Norwegian investigators, who worked with their U.S. counterparts, said the defendants were building a bomb in a basement laboratory in Oslo.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/terrorism/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120130/ap_on_re_eu/eu_norway_terror_trial

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Penguins: Crosby dealing with neck injury (AP)

PITTSBURGH ? Sidney Crosby isn't just dealing with the lingering effects of a concussion. A California doctor says the Pittsburgh Penguins' star also is recovering from a neck injury.

Crosby visited with neurological spine specialist Dr. Robert S. Bray in Los Angeles this week as he continues treatment for symptoms that resurfaced during a loss to Boston on Dec. 5.

While Crosby initially said he didn't sustain a concussion against the Bruins, the team says Bray diagnosed Crosby with one and also discovered an unspecified neck injury, though Bray told the team the neck injury is "fully healed."

Crosby missed more than 10 months after sustaining head shots in consecutive games in early January 2011. He returned on Nov. 21 and had 12 points in eight games before the symptoms resurfaced following a physical game against the Bruins.

The team said Bray's findings will be evaluated by independent specialists.

General manager Ray Shero said at the All-Star game in Ottawa that Crosby had returned from California and that he was "optimistic" Crosby will play again this season.

"He's back in Pittsburgh now, hopefully we'll see next week where he is and we'll get the reports from California and compare notes to what's been done so far," Shero said.

The Canadian web site sportsnet.ca, citing unidentified sources, reported Crosby visited with a doctor in Utah, where an MRI revealed an abnormality in two vertebrae in Crosby's neck.

Crosby's agent, Pat Brisson, did not immediately return a request for comment from The Associated Press.

The 24-year-old Crosby acknowledged earlier this month he was still experiencing headaches and motion problems. He traveled to Atlanta recently to visit with Dr. Ted Carrick, a chiropractic neurologist who successfully treated Crosby last summer.

Crosby has been cleared for light exercise and skated with his teammates during a road trip through Florida two weeks ago.

The Penguins entered the All-Star break on a seven-game winning streak. Pittsburgh returns to practice Monday and will host Toronto on Tuesday night.

The team has stressed Crosby will not play until he is ready.

"The thing with Sidney is we want to continue to look to see how we can get this under control and manageable so he can return to play," Shero said. "As I said before he's not (playing) until those symptoms resolve but hopefully have him back at some point here soon."

___

AP Sports Writer John Wawrow in Ottawa contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120129/ap_on_sp_ho_ne/hkn_crosby_injury

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Contradictions Don't Deter Conspiracy Theorists (LiveScience.com)

Did Princess Diana fake her own death to escape the public eye? Or was she killed by a rogue element of the British secret service?

If you agree with one of these theories, there's a good chance you'll subscribe to both even though one suggests Princess Diana is alive, the other dead, a new study indicates.

It's known that people who believe one conspiracy theory are inclined to endorse others as well. But new research shows that conspiracy theorists aren't put off by contradictory theories and offers a reason why.

"They're explained by the overarching theory that there is some kind of cover-up, that authorities are withholding information from us," said Karen Douglas, a study researcher and reader in the school of psychology sciences at the University of Kent in the United Kingdom. "It's not that people are gullible or silly by having those beliefs. ? It all fits into the same picture." ?[Is This Article Part of a Conspiracy?]

In the first of two experiments, Douglas and colleagues asked 137 students to rate how much they agreed with five conspiracy theories surrounding the death of Princess Diana in a car crash in 1997.

"The more people were likely to endorse the idea Princess Diana was murdered, the more they were likely to believe that Princess Diana is alive," explained Douglas. People who thought it was unlikely she was murdered were also unlikely to think she did not die.

They also asked 102 students about the death of Osama bin Laden last year. The students rated how much they agreed with statements purporting that: bin Laden had died in the American raid; he is still alive; he was already dead when the raid took place; the Obama administration appears to be hiding information about the raid.?

Once again, people who believed bin Laden was already dead before the raid were more likely to believe he is still alive. Using statistical analysis, the researchers determined that the link between the two was explained by a belief that the Obama administration was hiding something.

The central idea ? that authorities are engaged in massive deceptions intended to further their malevolent goals ? supports any individual theory, to the point that theorists can endorse contradictory ones, according to the team.

"Believing that Osama bin Laden is still alive is apparently no obstacle to believing that he has been dead for years," they write in a study published online Wednesday (Jan. 25) in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science.

You can follow LiveScience senior writer Wynne Parry on Twitter @Wynne_Parry.?Follow LiveScience for the latest in science news and discoveries on Twitter @livescience?and on Facebook.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/science/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20120127/sc_livescience/contradictionsdontdeterconspiracytheorists

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Friend says on 911 call Demi Moore was convulsing (AP)

LOS ANGELES ? Demi Moore smoked something before she was rushed to the hospital on Monday night and was convulsing and "semi-conscious, barely," according to a caller on a frantic 911 recording released Friday by Los Angeles fire officials.

The woman tells emergency operators that Moore, 49, had been "having issues lately."

"Is she breathing normal?" the operator asks.

"No, not so normal. More kind of shaking, convulsing, burning up," the friend says as she hurries to Moore's side, on the edge of panic.

The recording captures the 10 minutes it took paramedics to arrive as friends gather around the collapsed star and try to comfort her as she trembles and shakes.

Another woman is next to Moore as the dispatcher asks if she's responsive.

"Demi, can you hear me?" she asks. "Yes, she's squeezing hands. ... She can't speak."

When the operator asks what Moore ingested or smoked, the friend replies, but the answer was redacted.

"Some form of ... and then she smoked something. I didn't really see. She's been having some issues lately with some other stuff. So I don't know what she's been taking or not," the friend says.

The city attorney's office advised the fire department to redact details about medical conditions and substances to comply with federal medical privacy rules.

"She smoked something. It's not marijuana. It's similar to incense," the friend says to the 911 operator.

While Moore's friends don't say exactly what she smoked, an increasingly popular drug known as Spice is sometimes labeled as "herbal incense."

Spice is a synthetic cannabis drug and also called K2. It's sold in small packets over the Internet, in smoke shops and at convenience stores. The packaging sometimes reads "not for human consumption" to conceal its purpose.

In 2011, there were twice as many spice-related calls to Poison Control Centers nationwide as in the previous year, according to the National Office of Drug Control Policy.

The adverse health effects associated with synthetic marijuana include anxiety, vomiting, racing heartbeat, seizures, hallucinations, and paranoid behavior.

Asked if Moore took the substance intentionally or not, the woman says Moore ingested it on purpose but the reaction was accidental.

"Whatever she took, make sure you have it out for the paramedics," the operator says.

The operator asks the friend if this has happened before.

"I don't know," she says. "There's been some stuff recently that we're all just finding out."

Moore's publicist, Carrie Gordon, said previously that the actress sought professional help to treat her exhaustion and improve her health. She would not comment further on the emergency call or provide details about the nature or location of Moore's treatment.

The past few months have been rocky for Moore.

She released a statement in November announcing she had decided to end her marriage to fellow actor Ashton Kutcher, 33, following news of alleged infidelity. The two were known to publicly share their affection for one another via Twitter.

Moore still has a Twitter account under the name mrskutcher but has not posted any messages since Jan. 7.

Meanwhile, Millennium Films announced Friday that Sarah Jessica Parker will replace Moore in the role of feminist Gloria Steinem in its production of "Lovelace," a biopic about the late porn star Linda Lovelace. A statement gave no reason for the change. The production, starring Amanda Seyfried, has been shooting in Los Angeles since Dec. 20.

During the call, the woman caller says the group of friends had turned Moore's head to the side and was holding her down. The dispatcher tells her not to hold her down but to wipe her mouth and nose and watch her closely until paramedics arrive.

"Make sure that we keep an airway open," the dispatcher says. "Even if she passes out completely, that's OK. Stay right with her."

The phone is passed around by four people, including a woman who gives directions to the gate and another who recounts details about what Moore smoked or ingested. Finally, the phone is given to a man named James, so one of the women can hold Moore's head.

There was some confusion at the beginning of the call. The emergency response was delayed by nearly two minutes as Los Angeles and Beverly Hills dispatchers sorted out which city had jurisdiction over the street where Moore lives.

As the call is transferred to Beverly Hills, the frantic woman at Moore's house raises her voice and said, "Why is an ambulance not on its way right now?"

"Ma'am, instead of arguing with me why an ambulance is not on the way, can you spell (the street name) for me?" the Beverly Hills dispatcher says.

Although the estate is located in the 90210 ZIP code above Benedict Canyon, the response was eventually handled by the Los Angeles Fire Department.

By the end of the call, Moore has improved.

"She seems to have calmed down now. She's speaking," the male caller told the operator.

Moore and Kutcher were wed in September 2005.

Kutcher became a stepfather to Moore's three daughters ? Rumer, Scout and Tallulah Belle ? from her 13-year marriage to actor Bruce Willis. Moore and Willis divorced in 2000 but remained friendly.

Moore and Kutcher created the DNA Foundation, also known as the Demi and Ashton Foundation, in 2010 to combat the organized sexual exploitation of girls around the globe. They later lent their support to the United Nations' efforts to fight human trafficking, a scourge the international organization estimates affects about 2.5 million people worldwide.

Moore can be seen on screen in the recent films "Margin Call" and "Another Happy Day." Kutcher replaced Charlie Sheen on TV's "Two and a Half Men" and is part of the ensemble film "New Year's Eve."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120128/ap_on_en_mo/us_people_demi_moore

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Gingrich, Romney play for cheers in Florida debate (Reuters)

JACKSONVILLE, Florida (Reuters) ? Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney opened a debate on Thursday night that had the makings of a raucous encounter between increasingly bitter rivals five days before Florida's pivotal Republican presidential primary vote.

Unlike Monday's subdued debate in Tampa, in which the crowd was urged to remain silent and not cheer candidates' answers, this debate will allow cheering.

Gingrich, the former House of Representatives speaker who in previous debates seemed to feed off the energy from vibrant crowds, said after Monday's debate he did not want to attend any more debates in which there was no cheering.

Gingrich and Romney, the former Massachusetts governor and private equity executive, are in a close race in a politically divided state whose primary may set the tone for the rest of the state-by-state campaign to pick a Republican challenger to Democratic President Barack Obama in the November 6 election.

Increasingly, establishment Republicans are trying to stop Gingrich, believing the party would have little chance of capturing the White House with him at the top of the ticket.

Striking a blow on Thursday was former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole, who served in Congress when Gingrich was House speaker.

"Gingrich had a new idea every minute and most of them were off the wall," Dole told National Review Online.

If Gingrich pulls off a second straight victory after his decisive triumph in last Saturday's primary in South Carolina, he would be seen as the front-runner in the race despite Romney's advantages in fundraising and organization.

It would be another improbable turn for Gingrich, whose campaign collapsed last summer only to come back to life on the strength of strong performances in debates.

A Romney victory could resurrect his status as the man to beat in the Republican field, which also includes former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum and Texas Representative Ron Paul.

UP FOR GRABS

Recent polls suggest Florida is up for grabs between Romney and Gingrich.

Gingrich surged into the lead in some polls in Florida after his South Carolina win, but Romney in recent days has climbed back on top, barely, on the strength of a string of negative attacks against Gingrich.

That makes the debate, a two-hour affair sponsored by CNN, particularly important. A solid performance by Gingrich could give him a burst of momentum heading into a busy final weekend of campaigning.

Gingrich's strong showing in a South Carolina debate was fueled by a conservative audience that cheered when Gingrich blasted CNN moderator John King over a question about Gingrich's personal life.

King had asked him about allegations made by Gingrich's second wife that he had asked her to have an "open marriage" so Gingrich could continue an affair with another woman. Gingrich turned the question into a strident attack on the news media, which he said was trying to shoot down Republican candidates.

In Thursday's debate, "it's important for Romney to have another good debate and for Newt not to score one of his 'drama queen' moments again," said Republican strategist Charlie Black, a Romney supporter.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/gop/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120127/pl_nm/us_usa_campaign_debate

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Surprise! Zawadzki steals show, wins short program

Agnes Zawadzki reacts after finishing her routine in the ladies short program at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in San Jose, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Agnes Zawadzki reacts after finishing her routine in the ladies short program at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in San Jose, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Agnes Zawadzki reacts after receiving a first place score in the ladies short program at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in San Jose, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Agnes Zawadzki smiles after finishing her performance during the Ladies Short Program competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in San Jose, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Agnes Zawadzki competes in the ladies short program at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in San Jose, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Agnes Zawadzki performs during the Ladies Short Program competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in San Jose, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) ? Agnes Zawadzki sure knows how to shake things up.

The U.S. junior champ only two years ago, Zawadzki outskated not one, not two, but three former winners Thursday night to claim the short program at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships. One of the few women to skate cleanly, her sultry routine to a blues medley earned her 66.24 points and put her three points ahead of defending champion Alissa Czisny going into the free skate Saturday. Ashley Wagner was third.

Mirai Nagasu, the 2008 U.S. champ, was fifth after botching her opening jump. Rachael Flatt, the 2010 winner, was way down in ninth after a lackluster performance in front of an enthusiastic hometown crowd.

"I'm really excited," Zawadzki said, still grinning 15 minutes after she got off the ice. "Everything's finally clicked."

Earlier Thursday, Mary Beth Marley and Rockne Brubaker took a big lead in the pairs competition, winning the short program by more than four points. Marley and Brubaker, who already has two U.S. senior titles with former partner Keauna McLaughlin, scored 65.80 points with their delightfully peppy "Singing in the Rain" program.

Amanda Evora and Mark Ladwig, runners-up last year, were second again (61.27), followed by Caydee Denney and John Coughlin (60.88), winners of the last two pairs titles with different partners. The free skate is Saturday.

The U.S. women have been stuck in a rut since Michelle Kwan and Sasha Cohen hung up their skates. They've gone five years without a medal at the world championships, came up empty at the Vancouver Olympics and will have only two spots at worlds for a fourth year in a row. Czisny, Flatt and Nagasu have all tried ? and failed.

All Zawadzki wants is a chance.

"I'd put her talent up against anybody," coach David Santee said about Zawadzki. "I think it was just a matter of time until it was going to come out."

Zawadzki has medals from the last two junior world championships. But skating stopped being fun last season, and she was so unhappy over the summer that she seriously considered quitting.

"I wasn't really enjoying skating," she said. "But I wanted to try something before I stopped."

A senior in high school, Zawadzki didn't want to leave Colorado Springs, Colo., where she'd spent the last several years training with Tom Zakrajsek. She began working with another coach at the rink, Christy Krall, who also coaches world champion Patrick Chan, and then called Santee, her old coach in her native Chicago, and asked if he'd help train her, too.

"I hung up and thought, 'How's this going to work?'" Santee said. "But it's worked out great."

Santee likened the arrangement to "a corporation," with Krall as the chief operating officer in charge of day-to-day training and Santee the chief executive officer. He's traveled to Colorado three times since he resumed working with Zawadzki, and she's come back to Chicago once to work with him.

Though Zawadzki had a rough Grand Prix season, she and her coaches knew she was on the verge of doing something big. Where better than at the U.S. championships?

Her program to a blues medley was so captivating you could almost see the thick fog of smoke hanging over the bar and hear the clink of bottles. She opened with a monstrous triple toe loop-triple toe combination ? one of only a handful of women to even try a triple-triple combo ? that seemed to last for ages yet didn't take a second off her speed. Her triple lutz was explosive, and her double axel done with ease.

The crowd was on its feet before she finished her final spin, and Zawadzki grinned and clapped before she buried her face in her hands.

"Not at all," Santee said when asked if he was surprised by Zawadzki's performance. "Because we know what she's capable of doing. We said all along she came in to win."

If she skates like this again Saturday, the rest of the favorites can't afford to make the errors they did Thursday night.

Czisny had no trouble with her triple lutz-double toe combination or her triple loop. But she botched the double axel, the easiest jump in her program, drawing a gasp from the arena.

"I hesitated just a little bit going into the jump and that usually doesn't work," she said.

But Czisny is one of the most elegant and beautiful skaters around, and her component scores were strong enough to hold her up.

"Considering (the double axel) is worth the least amount of points, it's probably the best one miss if you're going to miss one. Which I'd prefer not to," Czisny said.

Nagasu stumbled out of the landing of her triple loop ? she did manage to do it in time to the music, at least ? and she lost whatever spark she had. Oh, her spins were gorgeous as always, the combination spin centered as perfectly as if she'd used a protractor. But it was like watching a movie in black-and-white instead of in HD.

"I'd say it was disappointing," coach Frank Carroll said. "When the loop was not good, the spark was gone so the program looked flat. When she's in character, it's great."

___

Follow Nancy Armour at http://www.twitter.com/nrarmour

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-01-27-US%20Championships/id-f6d06fe3e0ce48d4afaedd05f93c23d9

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IAEA checks Japan reactor pending safety approval

OHI, Japan (AP) ? Experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency on Thursday began their first inspection of a Japanese nuclear power plant that has undergone official "stress tests" ? a key step required to restart dozens of nuclear plants idled in the wake of the Fukushima crisis.

A 10-member IAEA team was inspecting the No. 3 and No. 4 reactors at the Ohi nuclear power plant in Fukui, western Japan, where 13 reactors are clustered in four complexes along the snowy Sea of Japan coast, making it the country's nuclear heartland.

"We look forward to seeing the types of specifications and types of improvements that Kansai Electric Power Co. has made at the Ohi nuclear plant," mission leader James Lyons said at the outset of the plant visit. "Because that would give us opportunity to see how nuclear utilities are responding to these instructions."

After exchanging views at a meeting, members of the IAEA mission inspected an emergency power unit set up behind the No. 3 reactor building. They watched three plant workers plug in several cables and start the generator as black smoke rose up to the gray sky in heavy snow.

The inspection comes a week after Japanese nuclear safety officials gave preliminary approval on the Ohi reactors, a step closer to restarting them.

Authorities have required all reactors to undergo stress tests in the wake of Fukushima nuclear crisis and make necessary modifications to improve safety. The stress tests, similar to those used in France and elsewhere in Europe, are designed to assess how well the plants can withstand earthquakes, tsunamis, storms, loss of power and other crises.

Only four of Japan's 54 reactors are currently operating, and if no idled plants get approval to go back on line, the country will be without an operating reactor by the end of April.

Another hurdle will be gaining local approval for the plants to restart. While local consent is not legally required for that to happen, authorities generally want to win local support and make efforts to do so.

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has said that the final decision on whether to restart the nuclear plants would be political, suggesting that the government would override possible local opposition if Japan's energy needs were dire.

Public concerns about the safety of nuclear power have grown after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami knocked out the vital cooling system at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, sending three of its reactors to meltdowns and releasing massive radiation into the environment.

Noda has promised to reduce Japan's reliance on nuclear power over time and plans to lay out a new energy policy by the summer. But the nation obtained about 30 percent of its electricity from nuclear power before the crisis, and it could face power shortages if it cannot get more nuclear plants back on line soon.

Japan has temporarily turned to oil and coal generation plants to make up for the shortfall, and businesses have been required to reduce electricity use to help with conservation efforts.

Some experts have been critical of the stress tests, saying they are meaningless because they have no clear criteria. They also say that the government's simulations of crises based on a single event are not realistic because disasters often occur in a string of events.

(This version corrects that local approval isn't required for plants to restart, but is generally a precondition.) )

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-01-25-AS-Japan-Nuclear/id-e081315bff974f8caac4dfce7b8d1b75

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Roche plans a tender offer for DNA co Illumina

Swiss drugmaker Roche said early Wednesday that it plans to offer shareholders $5.7 billion for DNA diagnostics company Illumina.

Roche Holding AG said the deal would accelerate routine clinical use of DNA testing. And it said that buying San Diego-based Illumina Inc. will strengthen Roche's position in diagnostics because the companies' technologies are complementary.

Roche's planned tender offer of $44.50 per share would represent an 18 percent premium over Tuesday's closing price of $37.69 for Illumina shares.

Roche said the offer price also is 64 percent higher than the last closing price before speculation surfaced in December that Roche was considering acquiring Illumina.

Roche, which has more than 80,000 employees and specializes in cancer diagnosis and diabetes management, said it has tried to negotiate a deal, but Illumina has declined to participate.

The deal will depend on a majority of Illumina shareholders tendering their stock.

Illumina representatives did not return calls for comment overnight. But the company released a statement acknowledging the unsolicited offer and advising shareholders not to respond until Illumina's board issues a recommendation. Illumina said the board will thoroughly review Roche's proposal.

Roche said it plans to nominate a slate of independent candidates for a majority of the seats on Illumina's board of directors and to propose measures for shareholders to consider at their 2012 annual meeting.

Roche CEO Severin Schwan said Roche remains open to talking with Illumina and developing a joint strategy for the combined businesses.

If the buyout proceeds, Roche plans to move the headquarters for its applied science business to San Diego but maintain operations for the unit in Penzberg, Germany, where it's now based.

Roche Chairman Franz Humer said in a letter to Illumina President and CEO Jay Flatley included in Roche's statement that Roche hopes to retain Illumina's managers and employees.

Illumina's board confirmed last week that it wasn't interested in negotiating a deal, according to Humer's letter. It plans to announce its fourth-quarter results and hold a conference call with investors on Tuesday.

Illumina shares, which rose $1.38, or 3.8 percent, to close Tuesday at $37.69, didn't change with the news. They had risen 2 cents soon after U.S. stock markets closed.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-01-25-Roche-Ilumina/id-2503667f169a4f1e83c354129c741d7d

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This Giant Chunk of Metal Is 4 Kilobytes of Memory [Past Perfect]

What's this gent holding? A toaster? Farm equipment? Part of an engine? Wreckage from a destroyed tank? Nope—that's 4KB of ol' fashioned IBM memory. That's enough to hold 12% of my Facebook profile picture! More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/YKkG0PWZxKg/this-giant-chunk-of-metal-is-4-kilobytes-of-memory

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7 Indian soldiers missing in Kashmir avalanche (AP)

SRINAGAR, India ? The Indian army says seven soldiers are missing after being hit by an avalanche in the Himalayan heights of disputed territory of Kashmir.

Army spokesman Lt. Col. J.S. Brar says five army and two paramilitary soldiers were clearing a road near the de-facto border dividing Kashmir between India and Pakistan when a mass of snow and ice tumbled from above early Tuesday.

He says rescuers from Indian army's High Altitude Warfare School and local border guards are searching for the soldiers.

Frequent rain and heavy snowfall often trigger avalanches and landslides that block roads and cut off mountainous areas in Kashmir.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120124/ap_on_re_as/as_kashmir_avalanche

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RolePlayGateway?

Note: starred positions are wanted roles.
*Oyabun [Chairman/patriarch] ? Your quintessential godfather. The oyabun knows all, hears all, and wears the best ties. He is the overseer to his family. No proposal is enacted upon without his word.

*Ane-san [Older sister] ? Under normal circumstances, an ane serves as little more than a wife, and her authority is severely limited. But she is more than mother?she is queen. What elevates the ane-san is, indeed, her status as the Demon Queller. There are others who possess her gift, but none who wield it with such magnitude, the perks of being an ancestral wonder. Utilizing Shinto artifacts and daily prayer, her presence is what keeps malicious influence at bay. This role is exclusively Terajima.

*Saiko komon [Senior adviser] ? One of the oyabun's most trusted. As primarily administrative assistant, the saiko komon deals quite formally, situated at the business end of the organization, but he does maintain several areas throughout the territory. Underneath him are several accountants, enforcers, and junior advisers. Any decisions that the patriarch considers are usually first told to the saiko komon to then be relayed to the rest of the family.

So-honbucho [Headquarters chief] ? Just as his title proclaims. The so-honbucho is master of the domain, the captain. His influence is not as far-reaching as others', as it is focused on keeping the yakuza base afloat. Frequently in cahoots with the saiko kamon and the oyabun, he is a powerful man with several gangs in tow.

*Waka-gashira [Second-in-command] ? Head underboss and fortified pimp. As lieutenant, the gashira serves as a middle man, a keeper of several regions, and a leader of gangs. Most importantly, he sees that the oyabun's orders are properly carried out by younger brothers.

Fuku-honbucho [Assistant] ? Right-hander of the waka-gashira and... yep, right-hander of the waka-gashira.

Shatei-gashira [Third-in-command] ? Like the waka-gashira, property and members are his to govern. He is leader of the kyodai and ensures that their jobs are performed efficiently.

Kyodai [Senior bosses/older brothers] ? Headed by the shatei-gashira, the kyodai are also entitled to individual gangs, but territory is not theirs to control, merely to protect.

*Shatei [Junior bosses/younger brothers] ? As one would suspect, shatei are headed by kyodai. The shatei, in turn, lead sub-divisions of wakashu, who may refer to their older brothers as aniki.

*Wakashu [Gang members/young men] ? Foot soldiers. Wakashu do not have their own gangs--they are the gangs. Supervised by their brothers, they perform without a moment's hesitation, and they know well that they are fully disposable.

Tsume [Trainees] ? Entry-levels. Tsume are not field hands; rather, their duties are more low-key, often unseen, and they would be more readily found preparing for banquets or cleaning headquarters than wielding arms.

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/RolePlayGateway

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Rights group says Iraq becoming 'police state' (AP)

BAGHDAD ? Iraq's Shiite-led government cracked down harshly on dissent during the past year of Arab Spring uprisings, turning the country into a "budding police state" as autocratic regimes crumbled elsewhere in the region, an international rights groups said Sunday.

Security forces abuse protesters, harass journalists, torture detainees and intimidate activists, Human Rights Watch said in the Iraq chapter of its annual report.

"Iraq is quickly slipping back into authoritarianism," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director for the New York-based group. "Despite U.S. government assurances that it helped create a stable democracy (in Iraq), the reality is that it left behind a budding police state," she said.

Protests against Iraq's U.S.-backed and democratically elected government erupted around the country in February 2011, alongside other demonstrations in the Arab world.

While protests in other countries demanded the downfall of autocratic regimes, most of the demonstrations in Iraq pushed for improved services like reliable electricity and water, and an end to corruption.

The government clamped down, sometimes sparking bloody clashes ? as when 14 were killed in confrontations between security forces and civilians across the country during the Feb. 25 protests billed as the "Day of Rage."

A year later, with U.S. troops withdrawn and Iraq's government mired in a political crisis, the protest movement has all but died out. Demonstrators who gather in Baghdad's central Tahrir Square are usually outnumbered by the security forces watching over them.

"Iraqis are quickly losing ground on the most basic of rights, including the right to free speech and assembly," said Samer Muscati, an Iraq researcher for the group. "Nowadays, every time someone attends a peaceful protest, they put themselves at risk of attack and abuse by security forces or their proxies," he said.

Prison brutality, including torture in detention facilities, was a major problem throughout the year, the group's annual report said.

In February 2011 Human Rights Watch uncovered a secret detention center, controlled by elite forces who report to the prime minister's military office.

The group claimed authorities transferred more than 280 detainees to the facility since the beginning of 2010 and charged detainees were tortured there with impunity. Government officials denied the facility's existence and alleged abuses.

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

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Saudis quit Arab monitoring mission in Syria

CAIRO?? Arab foreign ministers agreed Sunday on a new political roadmap for Syria that sees President Bashar Assad delegating power to a deputy and setting up a unity government as a prelude to early parliamentary and presidential elections.

Qatari Prime Minister Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani told a news conference after a meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Cairo that the Arab League would take its initiative to the U.N. Security Council and ask for its endorsement.

Earlier Sunday, the ministers extended a much-criticized monitoring mission to Syria for a month, but Saudi Arabia said it was withdrawing its observers.

"My country will withdraw its monitors because the Syrian government did not execute any of the elements of the Arab resolution plan," Prince Saud al-Faisal told fellow Arab foreign ministers meeting in Cairo.

"We are calling on the international community to bear its responsibility, and that includes our brothers in Islamic states and our friends in Russia, China, Europe and the United States," Saud said, calling for "all possible pressure" to push Syria to adhere to the Arab peace plan.

Saudi Arabia has been one of the harshest Arab critics of the crackdown, It recalled its ambassador from Damascus last year in protest.

Also Sunday, Syrian forces and army defectors clashed in a suburb of the tightly held capital of Damascus ? a sign that citizen protests against President Bashar Assad might turn into civil war.

The observer mission is supposed to be the first step toward implementing an Arab League plan to end the Syria crisis. Other points are pulling heavy Syrian weapons out of cities, stopping attacks on protesters, opening talks with the opposition and allowing foreign human rights workers and journalists in.

"There is partial progress in the implementation of the promises," Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby said in Cairo about Syria's implementation of the plan. Syria "did not carry out all its promises, although there are some implementation of pledges."

He added that the use of "extreme force" by Syrian forces have led to a reaction by the opposition "in what could lead to civil war."

So far the observer mission has not gone well. Though some credit it with tamping down violence in some places, the Local Coordination Committees activist group said Sunday that 976 people, including 54 children and 28 women, have been killed since the observers began their mission last month.

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The U.N. estimates some 5,400 have been killed since it began in March.

The New York-based Human Rights Watch called on the Arab League to "maximize" the effectiveness of the mission of the observers in Syria "to stop the killings."

"The deployment of the observers, has been disappointing ... Assad played games with observers," by moving around forces instead of removing them from cities, while the killing continues, Kenneth Roth, the executive director of Human Rights Watch, said in a statement.

The Arab League faced three options Sunday: ending the mission and giving up its initiative, extending it, or turning the crisis over to the U.N. Security Council, as some opposition groups have urged. There, however, it would face a possible stalemate because of disagreements among permanent members over how far to go in forcing Assad's hand.

Story: Rights group: West hasn't embraced Arab Spring

The mission's one-month mandate technically expired on Thursday.

The pullout of Assad's security forces from the Damascus suburb of Douma marked the second time in a week that troops have redeployed from an area near the tightly-controlled Syrian capital, an indication that Assad might be losing some control.

Diplomacy has taken on urgency as opponents of Assad's regime and soldiers who switched sides increasingly take up arms and fight back against government forces.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights' head Rami Abdul-Rahman said government troops had pulled back early Sunday to a provincial headquarters and a security agency building in the Damascus suburb of Douma after hours of clashes, although they still controlled the entrances. The clashes broke out after Syrian troops opened fire at a funeral on Saturday.

On Sunday afternoon, the battles resumed between the defectors and troops loyal to Assad, according to the Observatory and the Local Coordination Committees, another activist group. The LCC said that heavy machine gun fire was used in the clashes, and five people were killed.

Abdul-Rahman had no information on casualties from the clashes but said security forces at an entrance checkpoint shot dead one man who was passing by on Sunday. He added that one person was shot dead in a nearby town of Rankous as well as another person in the northwestern province of Idlib.

The LCC said 12 people were killed in Syria Sunday. The LCC and the Observatory reported intense gunfire in the central city of Homs that left at least one person dead.

State-run news agency SANA said gunmen opened fire at the car of an army brigadier general, killing him and another army officers who was in the vehicle.

Syria-based activist Mustafa Osso confirmed that security forces had abandoned Douma.

A video posted by activists on social media showed five masked gunmen, one of them in uniform, who read a statement saying, "the city of Douma has been liberated from Assad's gangs." He warned Syrian troops not to try enter Douma or defectors would "fire rockets at the presidential palace" in Damascus and execute five prisoners they are holding.

The Associated Press could not verify the authenticity of the video.

Also Sunday, state-run SANA, said an estimated 5,255 Syrian prisoners have been released over the past week under an amnesty, raising the total freed since November to more than 9,000. Opposition groups say thousands are still being held.

The U.S. has imposed sanctions on Syria as the bloodshed escalates. The U.S. has long called for Assad to step down, and officials say his regime's demise is inevitable.

Two U.S. Senators plan to introduce a bill to stiffen the sanctions.

The bill, sponsored by Democratic Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York would require President Barack Obama to identify violators of human rights in Syria, call for reform and offer protection to pro-democracy demonstrators. It would also block financial aid and property transactions in the United States involving Syrian leaders involved in the crackdown.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46091558/ns/world_news-mideast_n_africa/

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Video: Hidden danger for women

>>> we're back now with the important health news that affects millions of women who face a hidden danger as they age. doctors are sounding the alarm about osteoporosis, urging more older will to be screened. at the same time, there are concerns the tests are done too often. at least for some women . we get our report from our chief science correspondent robert bazell .

>> reporter: a bone density test usually done on older women measures the risk of getting osteoporosis and dangerous fractures that often follow. but women with healthy bones do not need to be tested as often as they have been because few will actually develop osteoporosis.

>> it is unnecessary to keep screening every two or three years.

>> reporter: dr. ethel cyrus, an osteoporosis specialist, agrees with the study's results, but emphasizes the importance of getting an initial test at age 65.

>> medicare says when you're 65, if you haven't had a bone density , you should have one. and yet only about 20% of general medicare recipients do the test. it should be probably 95%.

>> reporter: and what about younger women ? well, the bone starts to thin after menopause, usually around age 50. experts say it is not worth the money to test most women at that age, because there is not much risk.

>> i think the issue has to do with resources, health care resources and how we spend our money.

>> reporter: she says a woman at age 50 should get the test, because she had a fracture since age 45. a parent who fractured a hip, takes certain medications, or has certain diseases that cause bone thinning. she reiterates that all women should get the test at age 65. the latest study finds that if their bones are strong, they don't need another test for 15 years.

>> be grateful you had good genes, continue to do the good things everybody should do for bone health, get enough calcium, enough vitamin d , be physically acti active. as you grow older, be aware if something changes, you need to revisit the whole question.

>> reporter: if the test finds thinning bones, she and many experts say the woman needs treatment with medication and frequent follow-up scans to reduce the risk of fractures that can be dangerous, even deadly. robert bazell , nbc news, new york.

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nightly-news/46094027/

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Phoenix transient accused of skinning, eating cat

PHOENIX (AP) ? A transient has been arrested after police say he skinned and ate a cat while camping inside a Phoenix warehouse and music venue.

Authorities say the building's owners reported a burglary after they opened the warehouse Wednesday and heard blaring music.

Police found 24-year-old Russell Christopher Hofstad inside with his face painted and the cat's tail and intestines around his neck.

Hofstad told police he killed the cat because he was hungry. He also said he was going to use its skeleton as party decorations.

He was arrested on suspicion of burglary and animal cruelty.

The Arizona Republic (http://bit.ly/xyh0aX) reports Hofstad had been released from jail Jan. 10 and told police he had nowhere to go. He decided to camp in the building because he had attended music events there.

___

Information from: The Arizona Republic, http://www.azcentral.com

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/apdefault/aa9398e6757a46fa93ed5dea7bd3729e/Article_2012-01-19-Phoenix-Skinned%20Cat/id-5df3ceac8ff54ab1bf9b9b11cffa59d0

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Search resumes above waterline after ship shifts (AP)

ROME ? The cruise ship grounded off Tuscany shifted again on its rocky perch Friday, forcing the suspension of diving search operations for the 21 people still missing and raising concerns about the stability of the ship's resting place.

However, crews began combing the area above the waterline in the evening after officials determined the ship had stabilized enough, and they will evaluate the situation Saturday morning to see if the diving operation can resume, said Coast Guard spokesman Cmdr. Cosimo Nicastro.

The diving operation focuses on an area where passengers would have sought lifeboats, Nicastro said.

"We are ready to go for the morning," he said, as long as the partially submerged ship is not shifting.

The $450 million Costa Concordia was carrying more than 4,200 passengers and crew when it slammed into well-charted rocks off the island of Giglio a week ago. Eleven people have been confirmed dead.

It was not clear if the slight movements registered by sensors placed on board the Costa Concordia were just vibrations as the ship settles on the rocks off the Tuscan island of Giglio or if the massive ocean liner is slowly slipping off the reef.

The sensors detected that the ship's bow was moving about 15 millimeters (half an inch) an hour and the stern about 7 millimeters (one-quarter inch) an hour, said Nicola Casagli of the University of Florence, who was called in by Italian authorities to monitor the ship's stability.

The Concordia's movements are being watched since any significant shift could be dangerous for divers trying to locate those missing since the Concordia ran aground Jan. 13. An additional fear is that movement could damage tanks holding a half-million gallons of fuel oil and lead to leaks.

The sea floor drops off sharply a few meters (yards) from where the ship is resting, and Italy's environment minister has warned it risks sinking.

Capt. Francesco Schettino, who was jailed after he left the ship before everyone was safely evacuated, is under house arrest, facing possible charges of manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning his ship.

On Friday, relatives of some of the 21 missing were at Giglio's port getting briefings from rescue teams.

Casagli told Sky TG24 that some movement in the Concordia was only natural given the immense weight of the steel-hulled ship, which is being held in place by two huge rocks at bow and stern.

But the latest movements indicate it isn't stable, he said. "These are small, regular movements that are being monitored because they're going in the same direction," he told Sky.

Late Thursday, Costa-owner Carnival Corp. announced it was conducting a comprehensive audit of all 10 of its cruise lines to review safety and emergency response procedures in the wake of the Costa disaster. The evacuation was chaotic and the alarm to abandon the ship was sounded after the Concordia had capsized too much to get many life boats down.

____

Andrea Foa contributed from Giglio, Italy.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120120/ap_on_re_eu/eu_italy_cruise_aground

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Gingrich angrily denies he sought open marriage

Republican presidential candidate former House Speaker Newt Gingrich reacts to a question at the start of the Republican presidential candidate debate at the North Charleston Coliseum in Charleston, S.C., Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012. Gingrich is denying that he ever asked his ex-wife for an open marriage and angrily denounced CNN's John King, 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." (AP Photo/David Goldman)

Republican presidential candidate former House Speaker Newt Gingrich reacts to a question at the start of the Republican presidential candidate debate at the North Charleston Coliseum in Charleston, S.C., Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012. Gingrich is denying that he ever asked his ex-wife for an open marriage and angrily denounced CNN's John King, 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." (AP Photo/David Goldman)

Republican presidential candidate, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich shakes hands with supporters while standing with his wife Callista Gingrich before speaking at Mutt's Barbeque in Easley, S.C. Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012. (AP Photo/The Independent-Mail, Nathan Gray) THE GREENVILLE NEWS OUT, SENECA NEWS OUT

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) ? Presidential contender Newt Gingrich on Thursday angrily denied that he asked his second wife for an "open marriage" that would allow him to have a mistress as she claims in an interview broadcast two days before the South Carolina primary.

"Let me be quite clear. The story is false," Gingrich said at a debate, without elaborating.

At the same time, his campaign released his tax returns, showing that he paid more than $994,000 in federal taxes on more $3.1 million in income in 2010.

It was a day of ups and downs for Gingrich, who picked up the endorsement for former rival Texas Gov. Rick Perry. The former House speaker is working to consolidate the support of conservatives behind his candidacy with polls showing him rising in his bid to overtake Republican front-runner Mitt Romney.

"Newt is not perfect but who among us is," Perry said as he bowed out of the race, seeking to provide Gingrich with some political cover in a state filled with evangelicals likely to cringe at Gingrich's two divorces and acknowledged infidelity.

Gingrich's ex-wife threatened to throw his campaign off course.

In excerpts the network released earlier in the day, Marianne Gingrich told ABC News in an interview being broadcast late Thursday that when she discovered Gingrich was having an affair with Callista Bisek, a congressional staffer, he asked his wife to share him.

"And I just stared at him, and he said, 'Callista doesn't care what I do,'" Marianne Gingrich told ABC News. "He wanted an open marriage, and I refused."

She confirmed to The Associated Press that the former speaker had asked her for an open marriage, but she refused his request. She declined to comment further.

At the debate Thursday, Gingrich forcefully denied his ex-wife's charges and castigated debate moderator ? CNN's John King ? for raising the issue at the start of the two-hour long event.

"I think the destructive, vicious, negative nature of much of the news media makes it harder to govern this country, harder to attract decent people to run for public office," Gingrich said. "And I am appalled that you would begin a presidential debate on a topic like that."

As he stood on stage in Charleston, his campaign released his 2010 income tax returns, which showed he paid roughly 31.6 percent of his adjusted income in taxes, giving about 2 percent to charity. Gingrich criticized rival Romney ? who is worth more than $250 million ? this week for saying he paid only 15 percent.

Gingrich gave $81,133 in cash or checks to charities, about 2.6 percent of his income. That is considerably less than the average of $259,692 that households earning at least $2 million a year gave to charities in 2009, according to research from the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University.

Personal financial disclosure forms filed last summer show Gingrich is worth more than $6.5 million. He reported at least $500,000 in assets from Gingrich Productions, his media company that produces books and films.

Two days before the pivotal South Carolina primary, Gingrich's political and private life were clashing just as new polls showed him rising as he looks to overtake Romney in the third state to weigh in on the presidential race. Gingrich has seen his crowds grow in recent days after a strong performance in a debate Monday.

It was unclear how the new revelations from Marianne Gingrich would play in a state where religious and socially conservative voters hold sway. The interview's mere existence shines a spotlight on a part of Gingrich's past that could turn off Republican voters in a state filled with religious and cultural conservatives who may cringe at his two divorces and acknowledged marital infidelities.

Marianne Gingrich has said Gingrich proposed to her before the divorce from his first wife was final in 1981; they were married six months later. Her marriage to Gingrich ended in divorce in 2000, and Gingrich has admitted he'd already taken up with Bisek, the former congressional aide who would become his third wife. The speaker who pilloried then President Bill Clinton for his affair with Monica Lewinsky was himself having an affair at the time.

Earlier in the day, a Gingrich spokesman suggested, like Gingrich's daughters did a day earlier, that Marianne Gingrich's comments may be suspect given the emotional toll divorce takes on everyone involved.

"Divorces are very tough and people have very different recollections of how things happen," R.C. Hammond said.

Equally uncertain was whether Gingrich would get a boost from Perry's endorsement, given that the Texas governor had little support in the state, and get conservative voters to coalesce behind his candidacy. Complicating Gingrich's effort is another conservative, Rick Santorum, who threatens to siphon his support.

A CNN/Time South Carolina poll released Wednesday showed Gingrich in second place with support from 23 percent of likely primary voters, having gained 5 percentage points in the past two weeks. Romney led in the poll with 33 percent, but he had slipped some since the last survey. Santorum was third, narrowly ahead of Texas Rep. Ron Paul and well ahead of Perry.

Regardless of the South Carolina outcome, Gingrich was making plans to compete in Florida's primary on Jan. 31.

Confidence exuded from Gingrich, who rose in Iowa only to be knocked off course after sustaining $3 million in attack ads from an outside group that supports Romney. Gingrich posted dismal showings in both Iowa and New Hampshire.

By the time the race turned to South Carolina, he was back on course ? and criticizing Romney as a social moderate who is timid about attacking the nation's economic troubles.

___

Ray Henry in Atlanta and Jack Gillum in Washington contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2012-01-19-Gingrich/id-4d997a2f794b40c3929c385c796b8fa3

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Editorial: Everybody always is working on better battery life

In the news business, it's what we call a "no shit" headline.

• Samsung aims for better smartphone battery life in 2012
• Samsung promises better battery life in 2012
• Samsung aiming for extended battery life in 2012
• Samsung pledges a full day of life on single charge for 2012
• Samsung aims for all-day smartphone batteries in 2012
• Samsung looks to beef up batteries and tweak radios in 2012 for extended life
• Samsung joins the fight against short battery life, promises 2012 phone will be all-day strong for most users
• Samsung promises full day of battery life for 2012 smartphones
• Samsung commits to increasing smartphone battery life in 2012, hopes for all-day use

Every one of those headlines comes today from rereporting a CNET story  -- a story from Jan. 12 at that -- with a single direct quote from Samsung VP of product innovation, Kevin Packingham. (Note to self: Maybe pare down your Google Reader feeds a tad. Things are looking a wee bit similar.) Packingham said "When you wake up to when you go to bed, we don't want you feeling anxiety about your battery life." The transition to the quote says Samsung's goal for smartphones coming out this year is all-day use under average to moderately heavy use. It's a great line. And it's hardly new. And I still have no idea what average to moderately heavy use is. It's different for all of us.

From the beginning of smartphone time, manufacturers have sought better battery life. Carriers have sought better battery life. Customers have sought better battery life. Hell, from the first moment humans harnessed fire and started carrying it around with torches (early experiments with fire in a cup ended pretty horribly), we've wanted more bang for our buck. So what, exactly, in that one line quote from Samsung has changed in the 17 days since 2011?

We suppose it could be argued that nobody cared about battery life last year. Just look at the initial crop of 4G LTE phones for that statement to be relatively true. Except it's not true. Not in the least. We're not engineers (as anyone who managed to pass high-school algebra will tell you). But we're willing to bet that power consumption is among the top three factors that go into smartphone design. And while battery life certainly was traded for data speeds (more accurately, radio power consumption, we reckon) of the early 4G LTE devices, to suggest that the likes of Samsung, Motorola, LG and HTC didn't care about battery life for the entire year and will just now pay attention to it is ridiculous. Besides, think back to all of the updates your phone's gotten. How many of them included lines about "Improved battery life" in the changelog?

That's not to say that some sort of paradigm shift in mobile battery technology isn't sorely needed. It's great that manufacturers are cramming more cells into smaller spaces -- like what Motorola's doing with the Droid RAZR MAXX, and what we presume we'll see the other manufacturers do as well. But that's just moving the wall a little farther away, not finding away up and over it, which is what really needs to be done. Some of that will be done on the software side, with improvements to the operating systems and well-coded applications. But most of the innovation will be done on the hardware side. If Intel can do what it's promising with its Atom processor in phones, we might finally see some movement. Dual- and quad-core processors are steps in the right direction. But what we really need is some sort of Mr. Fusion for smartphones. Something to really change the way we power our phones.  

Anyhoo, yes. Samsung's working on better battery life in 2012. So is Motorola. So is HTC. So is LG. So is Lenovo. So is ASUS. So is Toshiba. So is NVIDIA. So is Qualcomm. So is Intel. Everybody is working on better battery life, every day of the week. Right now we just have to be content with baby steps. 

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/ne1GQ_u3ax8/story01.htm

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