FDA whistleblowers sue, alleging electronic spying

By Miranda Leitsingermsnbc.com

The Food and Drug Administration electronically spied on whistleblowers who alerted the Obama administration and Congress of alleged misconduct in the agency, particularly relating to what they claim was the push to approve unsafe and ineffective medical devices, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court.

The lawsuit, filed on behalf of six former and current employees, alleges that the FDA and a number of others violated a host of the plaintiff's rights, including freedom of speech, association and due process; unreasonable search and seizure; and the right to petition Congress. Named as defendants are the FDA and several of its employees, the Surgeon General, the Health and Human Services Secretary, among others.

?The heart of it is an injunction prohibiting the government from targeting whistleblowers or anyone who engages in First Amendment protected speech for surveillance. You know, routine monitoring or monitoring done to everybody on an equal basis is fine, but you can?t select people because of their whistleblowing for this type of instrusive, over-the-top surveillance, which is done without a warrant, without any limitations whatsoever," said Stephen Kohn, executive director of the National Whistleblowers Center and lead attorney on the case.

---

The FDA said Monday it would not comment on ongoing litigation.

Known originally as the ?FDA nine,? the employees -- some still current, other former --?alerted the House and Energy Committee in a letter dated Nov. 17, 2008, that the administration?s Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH) ?had ?ordered, intimidated, and coerced FDA experts to modify their scientific reviews, conclusions and recommendations in violation of the law,? according to? the lawsuit, which was filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday.

In a second letter to the Obama transition team,?dated Jan. 7, 2009, the scientists ?raised issues of public concern, including, but not limited to, corruption within the FDA device review process, managerial misconduct, dangers to public health, welfare and safety, and retaliation against whistleblowers,? the lawsuit said.

The FDA then embarked upon a "covert and secret search and seizure operation," including intercepting private communications sent by the plaintiffs to congressional representatives, emails sent from private accounts to other private accounts under "circumstances in which the plaintiffs had a reasonable expectation of privacy," and secretly "installed or activated spyware on all of the government-owned computers, electronic hardware, and networks used by the plaintiffs," the lawsuit alleged.

"This spyware allowed defendants to secretly conduct additional surveillance of the plaintiffs, including ... real-time pictures or 'screen shots' of the computer screens opened by the plaintiffs," the complaint read. "These screen shots enabled defendants to secretly view information on each of the plaintiffs? computer screens, even if the information was not saved by plaintiffs."

Kohn said the center had learned about the surveillance through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, personnel actions and responses from the Inspector General to two unsuccessful requests by the FDA to investigate the whistleblowers.

"I have never seen this level of monitoring. I was never even aware that they could go in and to do the Gmail-to-Gmail," he said, noting the FDA could also ?figure out who?s giving information ? therefore any employee who associates with a whistleblower could find themself the target of a surveillance.?

The plaintiffs had permission to use their government-issued computers for personal purposes, the lawsuit said. Four of the original "FDA nine" chose to pursue the lawsuit.

The number of whistleblowers grew over time, and the FDA, through the alleged spying over two years, learned of the group's strategy to alert the Inspector General, among others.

"These numerous attempts by defendants to have the whistleblowers prosecuted for so-called unauthorized disclosures of confidential or agency information were continuously rejected by appropriate law enforcement officials," the complaint said. "Defendants completely ignored the warnings that the disclosures were authorized and protected by law. Instead, defendants continued to conduct their surveillance activities and continued to try to convince law enforcement agencies to charge one or more of the plaintiffs with a crime."

Eventually, two of the whistleblowers, including one acting as counsel for the group, did not have their contracts renewed by the FDA, creating a "chilling effect on all similarly situated employees/contractors/officers of the defendants," the lawsuit said. Two more of the whistleblowers are no longer with the FDA: one was allegedly fired related to the whistleblowing and another was essentially removed from their post, Kohn said.

The lawsuit highlighted areas that had raised the concerns of the FDA whistleblowers: In the 2009 letter, the group had warned that in the past, "computer-aided detection devices (?CAD?) to be used with breast mammograms were not safe or effective, but the FDA approved the devices anyway in a flawed process that ignored the science" and noted that this "type of behavior had not changed, was ongoing, and that FDA managers were still trying to approve similarly flawed CAD devices."

In another example, a doctor had determined in early 2009 that a CT colonography device was neither safe nor effective for population screening due to a high radiation dose -- thereby raising the risk of induced cancer -- but "FDA managers indicated that they would clear the device anyway," the complaint alleged.

"They?re very upset but they're primarily concerned as physicians to the harm that patients are suffering," Kohn said of the whistleblowers. "They?re looking at ... the dosages of radiation that people get from some of these devices or how some of the devices fail to detect cancers.?

The doctors were being treated like "CIA agents," Kohn added. "They?re acting as if medical information is the same as ? classified information on terrorism and it?s not ? it?s information that patients need.?

The FDA has?60 days to respond to the lawsuit.

Source: http://openchannel.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/30/10270292-fda-whistleblowers-sue-alleging-electronic-spying

nascar bcs standings 2011 rhodes scholarship rhodes scholarship ufc 139 results lee corso lee corso

How Gossip Saves Society [Science]

Everybody loves to talk about other people. It's human nature. But our society seems to stigmatize gossip, branding it as common, rude and just a little bit shameful. Turns out, though, it's not all bad. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/NYpB-YLOq5g/how-gossip-saves-society

sopa blackout southland protect ip act wisconsin recall wisconsin recall jim caldwell internet blackout

Need for courtroom artists fade as cameras move in (AP)

CHICAGO ? One marker in hand and one in his mouth, Lou Chukman glances up and down from a sketchpad to a reputed Chicago mobster across the courtroom ? drawing feverishly to capture the drama of the judge's verdict before the moment passes.

Sketch artists have been the public's eyes at high-profile trials for decades ? a remnant of an age when drawings in broadsheet papers, school books or travel chronicles were how people glimpsed the world beyond their own.

Today, their ranks are thinning swiftly as states move to lift longstanding bans on cameras in courtrooms. As of a year ago, 14 states still had them ? but at least three, including Illinois this month, have taken steps since then to end the prohibitions.

"When people say to me, `Wow, you are a courtroom artist' ? I always say, `One day, you can tell your grandchildren you met a Stegosaurus," Chukman, 56, explained outside court. "We're an anachronism now, like blacksmiths."

Cutbacks in news budgets and shifts in aesthetic sensibilities toward digitized graphics have all contributed to the form's decline, said Maryland-based sketch artist Art Lien.

While the erosion of the job may not be much noticed by people reading and watching the news, Lien says something significant is being lost. Video or photos can't do what sketch artists can, he said, such as compressing hours of court action onto a single drawing that crystallizes the events.

The best courtroom drawings hang in museums or sell to collectors for thousands of dollars.

"I think people should lament the passing of this art form," Lien said.

But while courtroom drawing has a long history ? artists did illustrations of the Salem witch trials in 1692 ? the artistry can sometimes be sketchy. A bald lawyer ends up with a full head of hair. A defendant has two left hands. A portly judge is drawn rail-thin.

Subjects often complain as they see the drawings during court recesses, said Chicago artist Carol Renaud.

"They'll say, `Hey! My nose is too big.' And sometimes they're right," she conceded. "We do the drawings so fast."

Courtroom drawing doesn't attract most aspiring artists because it doesn't afford the luxury of laboring over a work for days until it's just right, said Andy Austin, who has drawn Chicago's biggest trials over 40 years, including that of serial killer John Wayne Gacy.

"You have to put your work on the air or in a newspaper whether you like it or not," she said.

The job also involves long stretches of tedium punctuated by bursts of action as a witness sobs or defendant faint. It can also get downright creepy.

At Gacy's trial, a client asked Austin for an image of him smiling. So, she sought to catch the eye of the man accused of killing 33 people. When she finally did, she beamed. He beamed back.

"The two of us smiled at each other like the two happiest people in the world until the sketch was finished," Austin recalled in her memoirs, titled "Rule 53," after the directive that bars cameras in U.S. courts.

There's no school specifically for courtroom artists. Many slipped or were nudged into it by circumstance.

Renaud drew fashion illustrations for Marshall Field's commercials into the `90s but lost that job when the department store starting relying on photographers. That led her to courtroom drawing.

Artists sometime get to court early and sketch the empty room. But coming in with a drawing fully finished in advance is seen as unethical.

Some artists use charcoal, water colors or pungent markers, which can leave those sitting nearby queasy. Most start with a quick pencil sketch, then fill it in. Austin draws right off the bat with her color pencils.

"If I overthink it, I get lost," she said. "I have a visceral reaction. I just hope what I feel is conveyed to my pen."

These days, Chukman and Renaud fear for their livelihoods. They make the bulk of their annual income off their court work. Working for a TV station or a newspaper can bring in about $300 a day. A trial lasting a month can mean a $6,000 paycheck. Chukman does other work on the side, including drawing caricatures as gifts.

Austin is semiretired and so she says she worries less. She also notes that federal courts ? where some of the most notorious trials take place, like the two corruption trials of impeached Gov. Rod Blagojevich ? seem more adamant about not allowing cameras.

Still, though Rule 53 remains in place, federal courts are experimenting with cameras in very limited cases.

"If federal courts do follow, that will be the end of us," Austin said.

Renaud holds out hope that, even if the worst happens, there will still be demand from lawyers for courtroom drawings they can hang in their offices. Lien plans to bolster his income by launching a website selling work from historic trials he covered, including of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh.

Chukman, a courtroom artist for around 30 years, jokes that if asked for his opinion, he'd have told state-court authorities to keep the ban in place a few more years until he retires.

"I recognize my profession exists simply because of gaps in the law ? and I've been grateful for them," he said wistfully. "This line of work has been good to me."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120127/ap_on_re_us/us_camera_in_courts_sketch_artist

nexus prime new iphone new iphone tmobile iphone van jones van jones dark energy

Huawei Ascend II (U.S. Cellular)

The original Huawei Ascend was a low-end, free-with-contract smartphone?released on a number of different carriers. It sold well because of its low price, but it wasn't a very good device. The Huawei Ascend II for U.S. Cellular addresses some of that phone's issues, but it's a case of too little, too late. The Ascend II won't cost you a dime, but you can get a much better phone if you're willing to spend some cash.

Design and Call Quality
Like a diet-version of the original, the Ascend II measures 4.6 by 2.4 by 0.5 inches (HWD) and weighs 4.1 ounces. It looks and feels nicer than the Ascend, clad all in black with a soft touch plastic back and a shiny plastic ring around the display. The display is the same 3.5-inch, 320-by-480-pixel capacitive touch screen as the last time around, which looks reasonably sharp and bright. There are four haptic feedback-enabled touch keys beneath it, and typing on the on-screen keyboard felt fine.

The Huawei Ascend II is a dual-band EVDO Rev A (850/1900 MHz) device with 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi. In New York where we test, U.S. Cellular phones use Sprint's network. Signal reception was fine, and it connected to my WPA2-encrypted Wi-Fi network without a problem. It can also function as a mobile hotspot with the appropriate data plan.

Call quality was decent on the Ascend. Voices sound clear, but thin and a touch robotic. Calls made with the phone are easy to understand and feature good noise cancellation, but can sound a bit muffled. The speakerphone sounds fine and is loud enough to use outdoors. Calls sounded clear through a?Jawbone Era?Bluetooth headset ($129, 4.5 stars) and voice dialing worked fine. Battery life was on the shorter side of average at 5 hours, 8 minutes of talk time.

Android and Apps
The Ascend II runs Android 2.3.5 (Gingerbread). There's no word on whether it will receive an update to Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich), but we wouldn't hold out hope. Huawei has added some very limited customizations to the UI. Unfortunately, they give off a bargain bin vibe; Huawei would've fared better leaving well enough alone in this case.

There are five customizable home screens you can swipe between, which come preloaded with a number of useful apps and widgets, along with a bunch of nonremovable bloatware.

Everything is powered by a 600MHz Qualcomm S1 MSM7627 processor. This was standard for lower-end smartphones a year ago, but it's really starting to show its age. The Ascend II turned in some of the worst benchmarks we've seen for a device sporting these specs, and you can really feel that while using the phone. Most tasks felt sluggish, and it took longer to open and close apps than usual.

App-wise, you get Google Maps Navigation for free voice-enabled, turn-by-turn GPS directions, along with all that bloatware from U.S. Cellular. You should also be able to run most of the 300,000+ third-party apps in the Android Market, but again, be prepared to encounter stalls and crashes.

Multimedia, Camera, and Conclusions
The Ascend II has 146MB of internal memory, along with a 2GB microSD card; my 32GB and 64GB SanDisk cards worked fine as well. Thankfully, the phone has a standard 3.5mm headphone jack this time around, which makes it easy to find a pair of earbuds. Music tracks sounded fine over both wired earbuds and Altec Lansing BackBeat?Bluetooth headphones ($99.99, 3.5 stars). I was able to play AAC, MP3, OGG, and WAV files, but not FLAC or WMA.

Video playback is lackluster. I was able to watch movies at resolutions up to 800-by-480, but anything above 640-by-480 looked choppy. I could play H.264 and MP4 files, but not AVI, DivX, or Xvid.

The Ascend II's 5-megapixel camera lacks auto-focus and an LED flash. Test photos looked soft and dark, with muted color detail. The camera also records 640-by-480 video at 16 frames per second indoors and 19 outside.

The Huawei Ascend II isn't a terrible phone, it's just not a very good one. It's sluggish today; a year from now, it will probably feel glacial. If you're looking to score a smartphone on the cheap, you'll get a faster processor but slower Internet with the Samsung Repp?(Free, 3 stars). For $49.99 there's the LG Genesis?(3 stars), which gets you two higher-res displays, along with a physical QWERTY keyboard. But you'd do best to spend $100 and pick up the HTC Hero S?(3.5 stars), or $149.99 for the Motorola Electrify?(4.5 stars). Both phones feature faster processors, sharper displays, and better cameras than the Ascend II. The Electrify can even convert into a laptop PC with the proper accessories. And even better, in both cases you won't be itching to upgrade your phone in just a few months.?

Benchmarks
Continuous talk time: 5 hours 8 minutes

More Cell Phone Reviews:
??? Huawei Ascend II (U.S. Cellular)
??? ZTE Score (Cricket Wireless)
??? RIM BlackBerry Curve 9370 (Verizon Wireless)
??? Samsung Replenish (Boost Mobile)
??? HTC Titan (AT&T)
?? more

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/Ui3j0zUK4Hk/0,2817,2399392,00.asp

lakers news rachel crow rachel crow steelers browns albert pujols pau gasol va tech

American economy not healthy yet, but it's healing (AP)

WASHINGTON ? The American economy may not be truly healthy yet, but it's healing.

The 2.8 percent annual growth rate reported Friday for the fourth quarter was the fastest since spring 2010 and was the third straight quarter that growth has accelerated.

Experts cautioned, however, that the pace was unlikely to last and that it's not enough to sharply drive down the unemployment rate.

Unemployment stands at 8.5 percent ? its lowest level in nearly three years after a sixth straight month of solid hiring. And Friday's Commerce Department report suggests more hiring gains ahead.

For the final three months of 2011, Americans spent more on vehicles, and companies restocked their supplies at a robust pace.

Still, overall growth last quarter ? and for all of last year ? was slowed by the sharpest cuts in annual government spending in four decades. And many people are reluctant to spend more or buy homes, and many employers remain hesitant to hire, even though job growth has strengthened.

The outlook for 2012 is slightly better. The Federal Reserve has estimated economic growth of roughly 2.5 percent for the year, despite abundant risk factors: federal spending cuts, weak pay increases, cautious consumers and the risk of a European recession.

Economists noted that most of the growth in the October-December quarter was due to companies restocking their supplies at the fastest rate in nearly two years. That pace is expected to slow.

"The pickup in growth doesn't look half as good when you realize that most of it was due to inventory accumulation," said Paul Ashworth, an economist at Capital Economics.

Ashworth expects annualized growth to slip below 2 percent in the current January-March quarter. Other economists have similar estimates.

Stocks opened lower after the government reported the growth figures. The Dow Jones industrial average closed down about 74 points. Broader indexes were mixed.

In a normal economy, roughly 3 percent growth is a healthy figure. It's enough to keep unemployment down ? but not so much growth as to ignite inflation.

But coming out of a recession, much stronger growth is needed. By some estimates, the economy would have to expand at least 5 percent for a full year to drive down the unemployment rate by 1 percentage point.

In many ways, the economy did end 2011 on a strong note. Companies invested more in equipment and machinery in December.

People are buying more cars, and consumer confidence has risen. Even the depressed housing market has shown enough incremental gains to lead some economists to detect the start of a turnaround.

In the final three months of 2011, consumer spending grew at a 2 percent annual rate. That was up modestly from the July-September quarter. Consumer spending is critical because it fuels about 70 percent of the economy.

Much of the growth was powered by a 15 percent surge in sales of autos and other long-lasting manufactured goods.

Incomes, which have been weak because of still-high unemployment, grew ever so slightly, at a tepid 0.8 percent annual rate, following two straight quarterly declines. Unless pay picks up, consumers who have dipped into savings in recent months may pull back.

"Consumers don't have much income growth, and to even achieve a 2 percent growth rate in spending in the fourth quarter, they had to run down their saving rate," said Nigel Gault, chief economist at IHS Global Insight.

And government spending at all levels fell at an annual rate of 4.6 percent in the fourth quarter and 2.1 percent for the year ? the sharpest drop since 1971. Defense cuts at the start and end of the year were a key factor. With Congress aiming to shrink budget deficits, the likelihood of further federal spending cuts could weigh on the economy.

Economic growth is measured by the change in the gross domestic product, or GDP. The GDP reflects the value of all goods and services ? from machinery to manicures to hotel bookings to jet fighters ? produced in the United States.

Friday's estimate of GDP growth was the first of three for the October-December quarter. The figure will be revised twice, in February and then in March.

Ian Shepherdson, an economist at High Frequency Economics, is among the more optimistic analysts. He said he thought business investment in capital goods would be stronger and consumer spending higher this year.

Many fear that a likely recession in Europe could cool demand for U.S. manufactured goods. Growth would slow. Without many more jobs and better pay, consumer spending could weaken.

The Fed signaled this week that a full economic recovery could take at least three more years.

Although things may not be good, they're getting better.

Gault predicts the economy will create an average of 150,000 jobs a month in 2012 based on his expectation that the year will be slightly stronger than 2011. Last year, the economy created an average 133,000 jobs a month.

"We are starting to see improvements in the housing market, and consumers are working down their debt levels," Gault said. "That is all good and will help us this year."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/economy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120127/ap_on_re_us/us_economy

pancreatic cancer steve jobs aapl stock aapl stock apple ii pixar growing pains

Keep This Inflatable RC R2-D2 Away From Jawas and Thumbtacks [Toys]

He's not quite as big as the droids seen in the Star Wars movies, but Bladez Toyz's upcoming Pump & Play remote control R2-D2 also won't cost you as many republic credits as a full-scale replica. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/Oke69J8qWqY/keep-this-inflatable-rc-r2+d2-away-from-jawas-and-thumbtacks

ufc 141 appetizer recipes insight bowl deep impact julia child russell brand files for divorce bowl game schedule

Workers to pump oil from Costa Concordia on Saturday

Actual pumping of the oil isn't expected to begin until Saturday, but teams from the Dutch shipwreck salvage firm Smit were working on the bow of the?Concordia?on Tuesday and divers were to make underwater inspections to identify the precise locations of the fuel tanks.

A barge carrying a crane and other equipment hitched itself to the toppledCosta?Concordia?on Tuesday, signaling the start of preliminary operations to remove a half-million gallons of fuel from the grounded cruise ship before it leaks into the pristine Tuscan sea.

Skip to next paragraph

Actual pumping of the oil isn't expected to begin until Saturday, but teams from the Dutch shipwreck salvage firm Smit were working on the bow of the?Concordia?on Tuesday and divers were to make underwater inspections to identify the precise locations of the fuel tanks.

They were at work on the now-hitched Meloria barge as divers who blasted through a submerged section of the third-floor deck located another body from the wreckage, bringing the death toll to 16.

The?Concordia?ran aground and capsized off the Tuscan island of Giglio on Jan. 13 after the captain veered from his approved course and gashed the ship's hull on a reef, forcing the panicked evacuation of 4,200 passengers and crew.

The 16 bodies found so far include the one located on the third-floor deck Tuesday. Seven of the badly decomposed bodies remain unidentified and are presumed to be among some of the 17 passengers and crew still unaccounted for. On Tuesday, the U.S. ambassador to Italy David Thorne was at Giglio's port where he had lunch with relatives of two missing Americans, Gerald and Barbara Heil of Minnesota.

"I think it's a tragedy, we feel very badly for all the families," Thorne told journalists after the meeting.

Giglio and its waters are part of a protected seven-island marine park, favored by VIPs and known for its clear waters and porpoises, dolphins and whales.

Officials have identified an initial six fuel tanks that will be drilled into, tapped and outfitted with hoses to vacuum out the oil from the?Costa?Concordia. Franco Gabrielli, head of the national civil protection agency, told reporters Tuesday that once those initial six tanks are emptied, 50 percent of the fuel aboard the ship will have been extracted.

The pumping will continue 24 hours a day barring rough seas or technical glitches, he said, noting that these six tanks are relatively easy to access.

"At this stage we don't see a big risk in an oil spill, but if weather deteriorates nobody can tell what the vessel will do," Bart Huizing, head of operations at Smit, told The Associated Press.

The disaster prompted the U.N. cultural organization to ask the Italian government to restrict access of large cruise ships to Venice, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. UNESCO charged that the liners cause water tides that erode building foundations, pollute the waterways and are an eyesore.

Italy's environment minister, Corrado Clini, appeared to take up the cause Tuesday. "The aim is to free St. Mark's basin from the big ships once new canals have been dug," Clini was quoted by the Italian news agency ANSA as saying during a public appearance in northern Italy. He did not elaborate.

But Clini added that "in the meantime, it will be up to the port authority and to the city to decide which (sea) traffic is sustainable and compatible" with Venice's particular situation."

Venice officials have said that since tug boats guide the big cruise ships through the part of the lagoon weaving through the city, the risk of accidents is virtually eliminated.

Divers, meanwhile, continued blasting holes inside the steel-hulled ship to ease access for crews searching for the missing. The search and rescue operation will continue in tandem with the fuel removal operation.

Smit officials say the first thing divers will do is drill holes into the tanks and attach valves onto them. The sludge-like oil will then be heated and hoses attached to the valves to suck out the oil as seawater is pumped into displace it.

"It's never a routine, there is always a risk, but we've done this before, so at this moment we don't see any problems," Huizing told AP. "But still it is difficult because it's really heavy fuel oil which we most probably need to heat before we can pump."

On Monday, islanders and officials spotted an oil film on the water about 300 meters (yards) from the wreck. Absorbent panels were put around the oil to soak up the substance and officials said Tuesday it was a very thin film that didn't present any significant levels of toxicity.

Gabrielli said he had formally asked?Costa?Crociere SpA, the owner of the?Concordia, to come up with a plan for what to do with the innards of the ship that are floating away ? the tables and chairs and other furniture that are knocking into divers and being hauled away by barge on a daily basis. And he said he had asked provincial authorities to designate a site on the mainland where the material can be dumped.

Costa?is a unit of Miami-based Carnival Corp., the world's biggest cruise operator.

It has blamed the captain, Francesco Schettino, for the disaster, saying he made an unauthorized and unapproved deviation from the route. Schettino remains under house arrest facing accusations of manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning the ship before all passengers were off.

Early Tuesday, amid continued outrage by passengers of the chaotic evacuation,?Costa?promised to refund the full cost of the cruise, reimburse all travel expenses to and from the ship, all on-board expenses and any medical expenses incurred as a result of the grounding.

"Every effort will be made to return the valuables left in the cabin safe,"?Costa?said in a statement.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/miyf-9BKqvo/Workers-to-pump-oil-from-Costa-Concordia-on-Saturday

survivor south pacific house of wax survivor north korea news

Sumatran elephants could be extinct in 30 years (AP)

JAKARTA, Indonesia ? Environmentalists say the Sumatran elephant could be extinct in the wild within the next three decades unless steps are taken to slow the breakneck pace of deforestation.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature recently listed the animals as "critically endangered," after their numbers dropped to between 2,400 and 2,800 from an estimated 5,000 in 1985.

The decline is largely because of destruction of their habitat, with forests all across the Indonesian island of Sumatra clear-cut for timber, palm oil or agricultural plantations.

Carlos Drews of the environmental group WWF says if urgent action is not taken to reverse this trend, "these magnificent animals are likely to go extinct" in less than 30 years.

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

beanie wells beanie wells dina manzo dina manzo once upon a time once upon a time demarco murray

Diamondback to settle insider-trading charges (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? Diamondback Capital Management will pay more than $9 million to settle allegations of insider trading at the Stamford, Connecticut-based hedge fund.

Diamondback will give up $6 million in ill-gotten gains and pay a $3 million penalty, as part of the proposed settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and a non-prosecution agreement with the Justice Department.

In reaching the settlement, the SEC said it credited Stamford, Connecticut-based Diamondback for its "substantial" cooperation, including a statement of facts that the hedge fund provided to the SEC and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York.

In a letter to investors on Monday, the hedge fund said it was "gratified" to announce the news and that no investors will take a financial hit from the deal.

The SEC's proposed settlement, which is still subject to court approval, comes less than a week after U.S. prosecutors announced charges against seven people who worked for five different hedge funds in connection with an alleged $62 million insider-trading scheme.

Among those arrested included Todd Newman, who headed technology trading for Diamondback. Newman, along with Level Global Investors co-founder Anthony Chiasson were both accused of trading ahead of Dell Inc's earnings announcements for the first and second quarters of 2008.

Prosecutors also last week publicly disclosed that several other hedge fund employees, including former Diamondback analyst Jesse Tortora, had already pleaded guilty for their roles in the scheme.

The SEC's parallel civil case, also filed last week, had charged all seven individuals involved in the criminal matter as well as both Diamondback and Level Global.

Diamondback's proposed settlement would resolve charges of insider trading in shares of Dell and Nvidia Corp.

The settlement marked the latest in a series of high-profile cases aimed at combating insider trading by hedge funds.

The investigations of insider trading began at least eight years ago, and many of the cases have been based in part on the use of wiretaps. So far, Galleon Group hedge fund founder Raj Rajaratnam has remained the most well-known person to be convicted as part of the probe.

"We are pleased to have reached a prompt resolution of the charges against Diamondback," said George Canellos, the director of the SEC's New York Regional Office.

"If approved by the court, we believe that the proposed settlement appropriately sanctions the misconduct while giving due credit to Diamondback for its substantial assistance in the government's investigation and the pending actions against former employees and their co-defendants."

The non-prosecution agreement with the U.S. Attorney's Office, dated January 20, also highlights the hedge fund's quick and voluntary cooperation.

SETTLEMENT CHANGE

Monday's SEC settlement with Diamondback does not contain the usual "neither admit nor deny" language typically found in most civil settlements.

The absence of the language marks the first use by the SEC of a new policy announced earlier this month.

Under the change, the SEC said it would no longer allow defendants to "neither admit nor deny" charges if the defendant had already admitted to a set of facts in a parallel criminal proceeding, such as a non-prosecution agreement.

The change was made after a federal judge in New York rejected a proposed $285 million settlement between the SEC and Citigroup, in part because the bank had not admitted to wrongdoing. An appeals court is reviewing the judge's decision.

(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Additional reporting by Basil Katz and Grant McCool in New York; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick, Tim Dobbyn and Bernard Orr)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/stocks/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120123/bs_nm/us_sec_diamondback

nj plane crash plane crash new jersey beef o bradys bowl the hobbit the hobbit an unexpected journey dark knight rises trailer dark knight rises trailer

Russia says liberal leader can't seek presidency (AP)

MOSCOW ? Russia's elections commission said Tuesday a prominent opposition leader will be disqualified from running for president in March, a move that would prevent his party from fielding observers.

Russian news agencies quoted elections commission secretary Nikolai Konkin as saying Tuesday that the body would formally block Grigory Yavlinsky from the ballot later this week, after finding that hundreds of thousands of the signatures submitted on his nominating petition were invalid.

Yavlinsky is leader of the liberal Yabloko party and a critic of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who is seeking a return to the presidency in the March 4 election.

The election commission already has registered Putin and three other contenders: Communist Party chief Gennady Zyuganov, ultranationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky and socialist Just Russia leader Sergei Mironov. Since their parties are represented in the parliament, their registration is easier than for other potential candidates.

The rejection of Yavlinsky's candidacy, however, is likely to sharpen political tensions that have been strong since last month's unprecedented massive protests sparked by alleged fraud in parliamentary elections.

Although Yavlinsky has not been a key figure of those protests, his party fielded thousands of election observers in the December election who documented evidence of fraud in favor of Putin's United Russia party.

On Monday, Yavlinsky said authorities wanted to prevent him from running in order to block genuine competition. He says other candidates are only nominal rivals and are following Kremlin guidance.

Yabloko has not had any seats in the parliament since 2007. Politicians who want to run for president but whose parties are not in parliament must submit 2 million signatures in support of their candidacy.

Konkin said that examinations of about 600,000 of the signatures submitted to support Yavlinsky's nomination found some 25 percent of them to be invalid, largely because the signatures were photocopied. That is higher than the 5-percent rejection level allowed by law.

"At the end of the week, the Central Elections Commission will hold a session, at which the registration of Yavlinsky will be officially refused," he said, according to the state news agency RIA Novosti.

By excluding him from the presidential race, the commission would prevent Yabloko from sending observers for the presidential election. Observers at the polls can only be named by participants in the race.

Excluding Yavlinsky would be "a blow to the legitimacy of the election for president of the Russian Federation," the ITAR-Tass news agency quoted candidate Mikhail Prokhorov as saying Monday. Prokhorov, the billionaire owner of the New Jersey Nets basketball team, also had to submit millions of signatures and election officials said they fell within the validity criteria.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/russia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120124/ap_on_re_eu/eu_russia_election

caleb hanie nascar bcs standings 2011 rhodes scholarship

Identity theft insurance not always worth the cost ? Maine Business ...

The phrase ?identity theft? has become one of those terms that makes one?s blood run cold. We?ve heard so many stories of financial losses, ruined credit and related horrors that we react emotionally to the subject.

That emotional response has prompted many consumers to buy insurance that kicks in if some form of identity theft strikes the insured. The question before us is, is such insurance worth the cost?

There?s no simple answer, as is usually the case in consumer matters. The quick historical view back to 2006 finds Consumer Reports said such coverage was ?typically not worth the money.? The magazine notes more than half of ID theft protection is sold by banks, and that those premiums amount to a consumer subsidy for federally required loss protection through credit card and bank account fraud. The passing of time hasn?t changed CR?s opinion that you can ? and should ? take more effective steps yourself to protect your credit and good name.

ID theft insurance typically costs $120 to $300 a year. That?s more than victims often incur through the theft and misuse of their credit card numbers, the most frequent type of ID theft. Federal law limits liability in such cases to $50 per card.

Those who sell the coverage point to the time-consuming process of restoring credit and correcting information on their credit histories. The insurers say their policies can help consumers cope with what can be a trying and frustrating process.

Most people in the insurance industry give the same advice they would when buying other types of coverage. Find out what the policy limits are; the National Association of Insurance Commissioners says most ID theft policies have policy limits of $10,000 to $15,000. If the policy covers lost wages, find out how the coverage is triggered and what limits apply. Know if there is a deductible; some policies require the holder to pay as much as $500 toward the cost of reclaiming your financial identity before the insurer pays a penny.

Before buying, check your homeowner?s insurance policy. It may include ID theft coverage, or you might be able to add coverage more affordably than buying separate coverage. If you decide to buy a separate policy, compare the coverage of several companies.

The insurance commissioners warn against becoming a victim of insurance fraud by making sure the agent and company you?re dealing with are licensed to do business in Maine. Find the Bureau of Insurance online ( http://www.maine.gov/pfr/insurance), by phone (207-624-8475 or TTY 888-577-6690) or by writing to the Bureau at 34 State House Station, Augusta ME 04333.

David Leach, principal consumer credit examiner for the Maine?s Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection, advises people to be their own advocates. Leach says it?s critical for each of us to get one free credit report from one of the reporting agencies (Experian, Equifax and Trans Union) every four months. Do this by visiting www.annualcreditreport.com and only that site. That, plus keeping a close watch on all credit card activity, will help keep identity thieves at bay.

As to separate insurance, Leach says, ?Consumers who sign up for these types of services are paying close to $250.00 a year for a service they can essentially run themselves.? He notes that most financial institutions that issue credit cards will waive all losses in cases of identity theft or fraud. Visit the bureau?s website at www.credit.maine.gov.

For a rundown on federal ID theft laws and tips to protect yourself, visit the Federal Trade Commission website, www.consumer.gov/idtheft.

Consumer Forum is a collaboration of the Bangor Daily News and Northeast CONTACT, Maine?s membership-funded, nonprofit consumer organization. Individual and business memberships are available at modest rates. For assistance with consumer-related issues, including consumer fraud and identity theft, or for information, write: Consumer Forum, P.O. Box 486, Brewer 04412, or go to necontact.wordpress.com, or email atcontacexdir@live.com.

Source: http://bangordailynews.com/2012/01/22/business/identity-theft-insurance-not-always-worth-the-cost/

gary johnson stephen curry girl with the dragon tattoo hes just not that into you hes just not that into you monta ellis kawasaki disease

Forecasters see small pickup in growth for 2012 (AP)

LOS ANGELES ? A new economic forecast calls for the U.S. economy to make some modest growth strides this year, but not quite enough to significantly reduce the number of jobless Americans looking for work.

About two-thirds of the economists who participated in the latest National Association for Business Economics survey expect the nation's gross domestic product, or GDP, to grow at a rate above 2 percent this year, according to the outlook released Monday.

GDP reflects the economy's total output of goods and services. The latest forecast is in line with one issued by the group in November that called for the economy to grow 2.4 percent this year.

"That is not the sort of GDP growth that's really going to dramatically improve our labor market, but it's certainly not going to make it worse," Nayantara Hensel, professor of industry and business at National Defense University and chair of the NABE survey, said in an interview.

GDP growth needs to be above 3 percent to significantly lower unemployment, which is at its lowest rate in nearly three years, but remains at a troubling 8.5 percent.

The NABE economists previously forecast growth of 1.8 percent for all of 2011. Final GDP numbers for the last three months of 2011 are due out Friday.

The recent improvement in the unemployment rate, a pickup in retail sales during the holiday season, and hopefulness that Congress will be able to reach a debt reduction deal, are among the factors behind the rosier GDP outlook among better than 60 percent of the survey respondents.

Almost two-thirds of respondents said they expect no change in employment, the highest share of survey participants to hold that view in recent quarters. And the share of those who expect hiring to pick up in the next six months declined to 27 percent from 29 percent in the previous survey.

That doesn't bode well for new job growth, but it also suggests employers don't expect to slash payrolls further.

A majority of the respondents said wages and salaries are unchanged, while nearly all expect either no change in prices or increases by their companies of 5 percent or less.

The holding pattern on prices could reflect a caution on the part of businesses due to uncertainty in the economy, given the burgeoning debt crisis in Europe, rising tensions with Iran and the potential for higher oil prices, Hensel said.

On the sales front, about 81 percent of the survey participants, which include some company managers, said sales were either unchanged or rising along with profit margins. But 19 percent said sales were falling.

Some 63 percent of the NABE forecasters on the panel expect that there will be no impact from the European debt crisis on sales over the next six months. While about 29 percent reported sales fell 10 percent or less due to the region's lingering debt woes.

The survey was conducted between Dec. 15 and Jan. 5. It is derived from responses given by 63 NABE members

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/economy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120123/ap_on_bi_ge/us_nabe_survey1st_ld_writethru

team america snow day snow day neti pot iron chef bath and body works coupons jeff probst

AP sources: US seeks new home for Yemen strongman (AP)

WASHINGTON ? The Obama administration is engaged in an intensive effort with Yemen's embattled strongman Ali Abdullah Saleh to find him a new home, preferably not in the United States, so that his violence-wracked Arabian homeland can proceed with a transition to democracy, U.S. officials say.

President Barack Obama's counterterrorism adviser, John Brennan, is leading the diplomacy, which appears to have gained steam this week when Saleh sought out U.S. Ambassador Gerald Feierstein in the capital, Sanaa, to discuss where he could go. The meeting came shortly after Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called out Saleh for not living up to his commitments to leave Yemen and allow elections ending his 34-year dictatorship, the officials told The Associated Press on Thursday.

But Saleh has few options, leaving the administration in a bind as it tries to find a nation willing to host a wily leader accused of committing gross human rights violations over a year of internal conflict. The 69-year-old leader may have transformed himself from a firm Arab ally of Saddam Hussein into a vital counterterrorism ally of the United States, but even Washington doesn't want to be the one forced to provide him a new home.

The administration's unwillingness in part reflects the shifting U.S. foreign policy calculus prompted by the Arab Spring. Political asylum for Saleh in the United States, or the appearance of preferential treatment from an administration that has championed peaceful and democratic change, would be highly unpopular with Yemeni political groups likely to take part in future governments. It also could anger people across the Arab world fighting to oust corrupt and authoritarian rulers.

Despite agreeing last year to transfer power to his vice president ahead of planned February presidential elections, Saleh is continuing to wield power behind the scenes and frustrate the efforts of Yemen's would-be reformers. Talk from Saleh allies about possibly postponing next month's vote has only further enraged Yemen's opposition. Meanwhile, al-Qaida has taken advantage of the political instability to enlarge its foothold in the country.

Al-Qaida's advance, in particular, has Washington on alert. Brennan and other officials are looking for ways to remove Saleh from Yemen as soon as possible so Yemen's political elites can get back to the business of fighting terrorists instead of each other. Earlier this week al-Qaida's Yemen-based branch seized the town of Radaa, an outpost 100 miles south of the capital and a key gateway to the regional center of Zinjibar, which has been under the terror group's control since last spring.

Without an end to the power vacuum in Yemen, officials fear al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula will be able to raise funds, win recruits and increase the possibility of another international terrorist attack. The group is blamed for trying to blow up a Detroit-bound airliner on Christmas 2009 and cargo planes bound for the United States a year later.

Speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing sensitive diplomacy, U.S. officials said Saleh has resubmitted a visa application to enter the United States and that the administration is actively considering his request. Fearful of appearing to harbor an autocrat with blood on his hands, the U.S. has withheld approval for a visa since December when Saleh asked to visit the U.S. to get medical treatment for injuries he sustained in a June assassination attempt.

Officials had demanded assurances that Saleh wouldn't remain in the country, but acknowledge now that if they let him into the United States it would be to stay. They said no final decision has been made.

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates already have rejected Saleh, officials said. They said other possibilities are still out there, but if no country steps forward the United States might be forced to choose between Yemen's future stability and America's own popularity in the Middle East. In that case, the administration likely would let Saleh in, administration officials said.

Demonstrators began protesting against Saleh and calling for his ouster in February. The Yemeni government responded with a bloody crackdown, leaving hundreds of protesters dead and sparking wider violence in the capital with rival militia.

International pressure has mounted for months for Saleh to step aside. A June rocket attack on his compound left him badly burned and wounded, and led Saleh to seek medical treatment in neighboring Saudi Arabia for three months. American officials had hoped he would remain there, but the Yemeni leader returned and violence worsened.

In November, Saleh agreed to a Saudi-backed deal to hand power to his vice president and commit to stepping down completely in exchange for immunity. The deal further angered Saleh's opponents, who demanded he be tried for his attacks on protesters. While he has transferred authority, in principle, to his vice president, he has continued to pull strings in Yemen's government through loyalists and relatives still in positions of power. Many fear he'll continue to rule in practice if he remains in Yemen.

"The instability in Yemen is of great concern, first and foremost to the Yemeni people, but also to the region and to the world," Clinton told reporters this week during a trip to the Ivory Coast.

Saleh has made "agreements with respect to the way forward that have not been fulfilled," she said. "We regret that the president has thus far failed to comply with his own commitments to leave the country, to permit elections to go forward that give the people a chance to be heard and be represented."

Even before Yemen's uprising began, it already was the poorest country in the Arab world, with a weak central government, deep tribal divisions and several separate conflicts.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120120/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_us_yemen

pat buchanan susan sarandon susan sarandon motorola razr

Vodafone not liable for $4.4B India tax bill (AP)

MUMBAI, India ? British telecom giant Vodafone is not liable for up to $4.4 billion in back taxes and penalties, India's top court said Friday, in a ruling that removes significant uncertainty for foreign companies investing in the country.

The decision will come as a relief to international investors who feared the Vodafone precedent would expose them to unforeseen tax liabilities.

"We welcome the Supreme Court's decision, which underpins our confidence in India," Vodafone chief executive Vittorio Colao said in a statement. "We will continue to grow our Indian business ? including making significant investments in rural areas and in 3G network coverage ? for the benefit of Indian consumers."

Faced with flagging growth and investment and a weakening currency, the Indian government has been scrambling to rekindle foreign investment.

Analysts say the Vodafone tax case had cast a chill on investor sentiment, serving as a powerful emblem of the danger of shifting regulations in Asia's third largest economy.

At the same time, the Indian government is eager to boost revenues to help balance its budget and pay for planned increases in spending on social programs in a country where some 800 million live on less than $2 a day.

Analysts say at least eight other companies are facing similar litigation, as India steps up tax collection efforts to help plug its growing fiscal deficit.

"This will improve investor sentiment tremendously," said Mumbai lawyer Nishith Desai. "Rule of law is re-established."

He said the verdict will hasten dealmaking which had stalled as companies awaited clarity on tax law.

"We will see a lot of interest in India in terms of FDI (foreign direct investment) and outbound investment as well," said Desai, who has done work for Vodafone.

The dispute centered on Vodafone's $11 billion acquisition of the Indian telecom assets of Hong Kong's Hutchison Telecommunications in 2007.

In May 2007, Vodafone International Holdings BV ? a Dutch subsidiary of the British telecom giant ? acquired a 67 percent stake in CGP Investments Ltd., a Cayman Islands company which held the Indian telecom assets of Hutchison.

Vodafone says it doesn't owe tax on the deal because it took place between two foreign entities.

Friday's ruling overturns a high court decision which favored Indian tax authorities. Mumbai's high court had found that the deal was taxable in India because it involved the indirect transfer of Indian assets, which accrue revenue in India.

The government said Vodafone owed 112.2 billion rupees ($2.2 billion) in tax and interest, plus up to 100 percent in penalties.

Vodafone said the Supreme Court's decision absolved it of liability.

Vodafone said the court would also refund, with 4 percent interest, the 25 billion rupee ($496 million) deposit it made on the potential tax bill in November 2010.

GE, SAB Miller, Cadbury, AT&T, Sanofi, and Vedanta are among the companies fighting tax cases in India that could be affected by the Vodafone precedent, said Sandeep Ladda, executive director at PricewaterhouseCoopers in India.

"This settles a prolonged litigation which had created a lot of uncertainty for multinationals," he said. "This should provide much needed respite to other litigants in other cases."

But he cautioned that the legal precedent may have limited impact on new deals. India's new Direct Tax Code, likely to be implemented in 2013, currently contains provisions that would make transactions similar to the Vodafone deal liable to Indian tax, he said.

Desai said he hoped the new tax code would be changed to reflect Friday's judgment.

India is an increasingly important market for Vodafone. It was home to 145 million of Vodafone Group Plc's 391 million mobile customers worldwide as of September.

Vodafone lost 9 million pounds in India during the six months ending in September, but counted on the country for 9 percent of the group's 23.5 billion pound global revenues during the period.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120120/ap_on_bi_ge/as_india_vodafone

carlos santana new years ball drop new years rockin eve michael dyer suspended new york times square jaws brock lesnar

Video: From the Archives: ?Reagan sworn in, Iran hostages released

January 20, 1981: Minutes after Ronald Reagan was inaugurated 40th President of the United States the Americans held hostage in Iran for 444 days were released.? The timing purposely coincided with Reagan?s arrival and President Jimmy Carter?s departure.? NBC?s ?John Chancellor, ?Jim Bittermann, John Hart, ?Judy Woodruff and ?Roger Mudd report.?

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nightly-news/46063294/

miracle berry billy crystal veterans day thank you veterans day thank you nigel tufnel day black friday deals molokai

Roche melanoma pill spurs growth of other cancers (Reuters)

CHICAGO (Reuters) ? A new study helps explain why up to a third of advanced melanoma patients who take Roche Holding's pill Zelboraf develop a less deadly form of skin cancer known as cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, and points to a potential fix.

Researchers said combining drugs like Zelboraf, which block a mutation known as BRAF, with a second melanoma drug that blocks a different mutation known as MEK helped to solve this problem in lab mice.

GlaxoSmithKline has already shown early promise in a trial combining drugs that block both MEK and BRAF, and the study shows why this duo may be more effective and have fewer side effects than drugs that target either mutation separately.

Both MEK and BRAF are mutations in the same pathway and are used by the cancer to drive tumor growth.

"The combination of BRAF and the MEK inhibitors gives you a better response, and also prevents the emergence of these secondary tumors," said Professor Richard Marais of the Institute of Cancer Research in London, whose study appears in the New England Journal of Medicine.

About 50 percent of patients who get melanoma have the BRAF mutation and can be treated with Zelboraf, known generically as vemurafenib. But doctors noticed that many of these patients developed another type of skin cancer called cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, which had to be removed surgically.

To understand why, the team -- which included researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles, Roche and Daiichi Sankyo's Plexxikon -- studied squamous cell cancer tissue from 21 malignant melanoma patients who had been treated with vemurafenib in a clinical trial.

They found about 60 percent also had RAS mutations, likely caused by sun exposure, that could predispose them to squamous cell cancer. And unlike melanoma cells, when these mutated cells became exposed to a BRAF inhibitor, they tend to grow.

"It's not that these drugs (BRAF inhibitors) are tumor promoters. What they do is accelerate growth of preexisting but asymptomatic tumors in the skin of patients who are susceptible to that disease," he said.

Treatment with a MEK inhibitor blocks this side effect, Marais said.

Tests in lab mice found that those with both types of skin cancers who were treated with a combination of a BRAF and MEK drug had fewer lesions.

And there are hints that process may work in people.

In June, GSK presented the first data from its combination BRAF and MEK inhibitors at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting.

"One of the things they found is the patients had fewer skin lesions. It actually works in people," Marias said.

He said the findings may spur more companies to combine their BRAF and MEK inhibitors.

"Not only will it give you the best response but it won't give you the secondary events," he said.

Melanoma globally afflicts nearly 160,000 new people each year. It can spread quickly to internal organs and average survival is six to nine months.

Zelboraf was developed in partnership with Daiichi Sankyo and is the second drug to be approved for melanoma in recent months. Prior to 2011, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had not approved a new melanoma drug in 13 years.

SOURCE: http://bit.ly/zAkxlQ New England Journal of Medicine, online January 19, 2012.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/diseases/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120119/hl_nm/us_cancer_melanoma_drugs

cma awards christmas tree tax cmas cmas

Marine's trial in Iraq deaths to continue Friday (AP)

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. ? Proceedings were stalled for a second day Thursday in the military trial of a major Iraq war crimes case, but court was expected to reconvene Friday.

A military judge excused the all-Marine jury Wednesday and lawyers were asked to explore their options, fueling speculation that a plea deal was in the works that could end the trial of Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich of Meriden, Conn.

Wuterich led a squad that killed 24 unarmed Iraqi civilians during raids on homes in the town of Haditha in 2005 after a roadside bomb killed one Marine.

But defense attorney Neal Puckett told The Associated Press late Thursday that he expected a full day of testimony Friday, with a squad mate and a forensic scientist with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service expected to take the stand.

Puckett said prosecutors also will show outtakes that Wuterich gave in 2007 to CBS's "60 Minutes." The trial was delayed for years by pre-trial wrangling between the defense and prosecution, including over whether the military could use the unaired outtakes. Prosecutors eventually won the right to view the footage.

Wuterich has said he regretted the loss of civilian lives but believed he was operating within military combat rules.

Prosecutors have argued Wuterich lost control of himself after seeing the body of his friend blown apart by the bomb.

The incident still fuels anger in Iraq today and was a main reason behind the country's demands that U.S. troops not be given immunity from its legal system. Those demands were the deal breaker in keeping forces there after the war ended in December.

Wuterich is one of eight Marines initially charged. None has been convicted.

His squad members have testified during the trial, which started 10 days ago. Several said they did not positively identify their targets before opening fire and tossing grenades into two homes near the bomb site. Some also said they did not believe the squad did anything wrong because they believed insurgents were in the homes.

The raid went on for 45 minutes. The Marines found no weapons or insurgents, and they met no gunfire in the homes. Among the dead were women, children and elderly, including a man in a wheelchair.

Six squad members have had charges dropped or dismissed, and one was acquitted.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/crime/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120120/ap_on_re_us/us_marines_haditha

leonard cohen napoleon napoleon wish you were here lyrics wish you were here lyrics mine mine

androinica: Sony?s 2012 launch schedule leaks: 12 Android smartphones coming this year! http://t.co/BeDaekWt

• Passer la navigation
• Twitter sur votre mobile ? Cliquez ici m.twitter.com!
• Passer cette ?tape
• Connexion

• Connexion
• Rejoignez Twitter !

Sony?s 2012 launch schedule leaks: 12 Android smartphones coming this year! goo.gl/fb/iFcQG Il y a environ 1 heure via Google Retweeted by 1 person

androinica

Androinica

Pied de page

• ? 2012 Twitter
• ? propos de nous
• Contact
• Blog
• Statut
• Ressources
• API
• Entreprises
• Aide
• Offres d'emploi
• Conditions
• Confidentialit?

Source: http://twitter.com/androinica/statuses/159590935381032960

no child left behind byu skylab skylab all my children moneyball moneyball

Snooki?s Main Man: Her Dad!

Move over, Jionni! Nicole ?Snooki? Polizzi?s hands-down favorite guy is none other than her dear ol? dad, Andy. ?We?re really close,? Snooki told In Touch with her proud pop by her side at the launch of Team Snooki Boxing in New York. ?But I never get to see him!?

In order to spend more time with him, Jersey Shore?s mini mogul decided to venture into the boxing world with her father as a business partner. Team Snooki Boxing, featuring the Hyland Brothers, will first hit the ring at Resorts Casino Hotel in Atlantic City, N.J., on January 28. ?The Hyland Brothers are awesome!? she added.

And though Daddy?s always No. 1, there?s no rift between Snooki's boyfriend of more than a year, Jionni, and Andy. ?Jionni?s terrific,? Andy told In Touch at the event. ?He goes with her everywhere and takes care of her. I could take him as my son-in-law, definitely!?

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/InTouchWeekly/~3/EECuVCUzvPc/snookis_main_man_her_dad.php

sweet potato recipes green bean casserole recipe karina smirnoff pumpkin cheesecake

A tamer Gervais leads predictable Golden Globes (AP)

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. ? The Hollywood Foreign Press Association dared to let Ricky Gervais come back and host the Golden Globe Awards, a year after he insulted the organization and nearly everyone in the star-studded room with his lacerating wit.

But Gervais and the show seemed tamer and more predictable this year, not quite living up to outrageous reputations. Even the winners themselves, including "The Descendants" and its star, George Clooney, were predictable.

The victory for "The Descendants" in the best drama category sets it up in an expected battle at the Academy Awards with "The Artist," which won the award for best musical or comedy. Both had been frontrunners all along among people who are the business of prognosticating these things; Oscar nominations will be announced Jan. 24, with the ceremony itself coming Feb. 26.

Clooney won for his portrayal of a middle-aged husband struggling to raise his two daughters while their mother is in a coma. Jean Dujardin won the same award in the musical or comedy category for "The Artist" as a silent film actor whose career derails with the arrival of sound. ("The Artist" won the most film awards with three total, including one for Ludovic Bource's original score.)

It took the presenters and winners themselves to liven up the program ? and that includes Uggie, Dujardin's scene-stealing Jack Russell terrier in "The Artist," who performed some of his signature tricks on stage toward the end of the night.

While Gervais dropped an F-bomb a couple hours into the broadcast ? likely an accident after some imbibing on and offstage ? he also took aim at easy targets like Kim Kardashian. Later, wine glass in hand, he emerged from the wings to express delight in having "a job where you can get drunk and say what you want, and they still pay you."

After he introduced Madonna with a series of hackneyed puns about her song titles, including "Like a Virgin," the pop star shot back.

"If I'm still just like a virgin, Ricky, then why don't you come over here and do something about it?" she deadpanned. "I haven't kissed a girl in a few years ? on TV."

Male genitalia was a frequent theme. Tina Fey and Jane Lynch teamed up to make a penis pun inspired by "Hung" star Thomas Jane. Seth Rogen, taking the stage with the gorgeous Kate Beckinsale, cracked: "Hello, I'm Seth Rogen, and I'm currently trying to conceal a massive erection." And Clooney, in accepting his best-actor award, made a joke about fellow nominee Michael Fassbender, who plays a sex addict in "Shame."

"I'd like to thank Michael Fassbender for taking over the full-frontal nudity responsibility that I had," and Clooney then went on to suggest Fassbender could play golf with his hands behind his back.

Even Meryl Streep ? the grand dame of them all who won for best actress in a drama for her portrayal of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in "The Iron Lady" ? let an expletive slip during her acceptance speech. Streep got flustered when she realized she forgot her glasses at her table; instead she winged it, giving a rambling (but gracious) speech praising other actresses' performances, including some who hadn't even been nominated that night.

Two of Hollywood's most veteran and esteemed directors also were winners Sunday night, both of whom were venturing into 3-D for the first time: Martin Scorsese for best director for the family fantasy "Hugo" and Steven Spielberg for best animated film for "The Adventures of Tintin." Meanwhile, Woody Allen won for his screenplay for "Midnight in Paris" ? but naturally, he wasn't there to accept the statue in person. The comedy is his biggest hit in decades but he's typically reluctant to attend awards shows.

Things were much more fresh and inspired on the television side of the ceremony, with daring shows earning honors and longtime stars going home with statues for new roles.

"Homeland" on Showtime, which explores terrorism and an Iraq war veteran, earned awards for best drama and best actress in a drama for star Claire Danes. It was Danes' third Globe; she won her first when she was just 15 for "My So-Called Life."

Former "Frasier" star Kelsey Grammer won best actor in a drama for Starz's "Boss," while former "Friends" star Matt LeBlanc won best actor in a musical or comedy for Showtime's "Episodes."

ABC's "Modern Family" was the big winner among commercial broadcast networks, following up its Emmy for best television comedy by winning the Golden Globe. Creator Steve Levitan and actress Sofia Vergara accepted the award with a comic riff in which she spoke in Spanish and Levitan "translated."

Let's hope the after-parties got wilder.

___

AP Television Writer David Bauder contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120116/ap_en_ot/us_golden_globes

ed lee garmin nuvi 1450 amzn tommy john surgery colorado weather alcohol poisoning alcohol poisoning

Obama jobs panel pushes tax reform, domestic drilling (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? President Barack Obama's jobs council called on Tuesday for a corporate tax overhaul, expanded domestic drilling and new regulatory reforms, a set of proposals unlikely to provide a quick fix for high unemployment or gain much traction in an election year.

A panel of business leaders advising Obama - whose re-election chances could hinge on whether he can boost the fragile U.S. economy - offered its latest job-creation prescriptions at a meeting with him at the White House.

Obama's Council on Jobs and Competitiveness has generated dozens of ideas, many of them modest in scope, since it was created last February.

The president has acted on many of them through his use of executive powers, but some of the larger recommendations have lagged and the overall benefits remain uncertain.

"This has not been a show council. This has been a work council," Obama said as the meeting got under way. "It will pay off in terms of solidifying this recovery and allow us to move forward in a way where it actually translates into jobs."

General Electric Chief Executive Jeffrey Immelt, who chairs the non-partisan panel, acknowledged the tough challenges that remained, saying, "None of us believes there is one silver bullet on competitiveness and job creation."

But Immelt insisted that a number of the panel's earlier proposals, such as streamlining infrastructure building permits,

were bearing fruit and the new ones deserved bipartisan support.

That could be a tall order in a divided Congress where much of the Democratic president's jobs agenda has stalled in in the face of Republican resistance and election-year gridlock.

ECHOING REPUBLICAN THEMES?

Republicans, who accuse Obama of pursuing "job-killing" policies, made clear they see the presidential panel as "job-creators" echoing their own themes on taxes, energy and regulations. But given the level of dysfunction in Washington, that may not translate into legislative action any time soon.

"With this report, President Obama's own panel of experts has endorsed the approach to job creation House Republicans have been pursuing for more than a year," Republican House Speaker John Boehner said in a statement.

While the council used two earlier reports to present specific, mostly narrowly focused jobs proposals, the latest - with the lofty title "Road Map to Renewal" - lays out a broader strategy to promote manufacturing, education and innovation.

"Investing in our future, building on our strengths, and playing to win - these are mantras we must adopt, along with the specific policies and initiatives that back them up, if we are going to renew our competitiveness," the report states.

That was the focus of Obama's meeting with the CEOs, the latest in a series of White House events aimed at showing voters he is doing all he can to tackle unemployment as he seeks a second term.

The U.S. jobless rate dropped to a near three-year low of 8.5 percent in December, but employment remains about 6.1 million jobs below its pre-recession level.

The November 6 election is widely seen as a referendum on Obama's economic leadership, and his record is under sharp attack from Republican presidential contenders, including front-runner Mitt Romney.

Among the steps the council sees as urgently needed is long-delayed reform of the corporate tax system, which it says is outdated and "hurts both business competitiveness and American workers."

"The council urges Congress and the administration to begin work on tax reform immediately," the report says.

The panel calls for lowering corporate tax rates to "internationally competitive levels" while broadening the corporate tax base by eliminating deductions and loopholes.

But the report notes disagreement among council members over whether to shift to a "territorial" system that exempts most or all foreign income from corporate taxes when it is repatriated.

The administration said last summer it was developing a broad corporate tax reform plan, an idea Republicans have also pushed for years, but one never materialized.

The mammoth U.S. tax code has not been thoroughly overhauled in 25 years, and most analysts see little chance in an election year. But they expect that growing budget deficits and public dissatisfaction may open the door to reform efforts in 2013.

'ALL-IN' ENERGY STRATEGY

In a proposal likely to be opposed by environmentalists - part of Obama's liberal base - the report calls for an "all in" strategy on energy that would seek to further exploit domestic fossil-fuel supplies to reduce reliance on foreign imports.

But it also urges a stepped-up federal role in developing cleaner energy sources and promoting energy efficiency.

Republicans and oil and gas companies have blasted the Obama administration for scrapping plans to begin leasing some areas off the east coast for drilling in the wake of the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

"The Jobs Council recommends expanding and expediting the domestic production of fossil fuels - including allowing more access to oil, gas, and coal opportunities on federal lands - while ensuring safe and responsible development of those sites," the report said.

In addition, the report called for a series of reforms to further streamline government rules and reduce the regulatory burden on businesses, which it said would enhance U.S. competitiveness.

Even though there is some common ground between Obama's Democrats and opposition Republicans, little movement is expected on these issues between now and the 2012 election.

Obama's strategy has been to cast Republicans as obstructing his economic recovery efforts, especially after they blocked much of his $447 billion jobs plan in September. Republicans charge that Obama has pursued failed spending policies.

(Additional reporting by David Alexander, Ayesha Rascoe and Kim Dixon; Editing by Paul Simao)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120117/pl_nm/us_obama_jobs

giants vs jets ny jets ny jets chargers seahawks jets air jordans

Romney hits back at rivals after debate (CNN)

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

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/187863095?client_source=feed&format=rss

bedlam cotto vs margarito 2 cotto vs margarito cotto vs margarito