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Iran Welcomes US Rescue of Sailors From Pirates Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman has welcomed the U.S. Navy's rescue of 13 Iranian fishermen held by pirates. Ramin Mehmanparast was quoted by state TV's Al-Alam Arabic channel as saying the rescue was a "humanitarian" gesture by the American warship and Iran welcomes that. In this Jan. 5, 2012 handout photo released by the US Navy, A U.S. Navy SH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter provides support to a visit, board, search and seizure (VBSS) team in a 7-meter rigid-hull inflatable boat, assigned to the guided-missile destroyer USS Kidd (DDG 100). The VBSS team boarded the Iranian-flagged fishing dhow Al Molai after the dhow's master claimed he was being held captive by pirates. Kidd's VBSS team detained 15 suspected pirates who were reportedly holding a 13-member Iranian crew hostage for the last two months. Kidd is conducting counter-piracy and maritime security operations while deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility. U.S. military officials say the Navy has rescued an Iranian fishing boat that had been commandeered by suspected Somali pirates. The rescue Thursday comes amid escalating threats from Iran that it could block the Strait of Hormuz in response to stronger economic sanctions against Tehran over its disputed nuclear enrichment program. (AP Photo/ U.S. Navy) Close But the hard-line Fars news agency called the rescue operation a Hollywood dramatization of a routine incident. U.S. officials announced Friday that the fishermen had been rescued by a U.S. Navy destroyer the day before, more than 40 days after their boat was commandeered by suspected Somali pirates in the northern Arabian Sea.

Romanov Descendant Looks for Love on Ukraine Show He is a descendant of Russia's last czar - and has lived in the jungle, starred in Bollywood movies and trained as a stuntman. Now Scottish photographer Francis Mathew is in a new adventure: finding a bride on a reality TV show in Ukraine. Mathew, the great-great-nephew of Nicholas II, is the star of the second season of Ukraine's version of the popular U.S. show "The Bachelor" - in which an unmarried man picks a fiancee through a series of dates and romantic getaways. "I've been very lucky in life, but very unlucky in love," the 33-year-old, who comes across as a romantic behind bad-boy looks, told The Associated Press in an interview. "I am actually ready for a proper relationship, I have been for a couple of years," he said. I am pretty fussy when it comes to choosing a longterm girlfriend, it's very difficult to find someone to be compatible with. As many as 16,000 young women from across Ukraine and beyond auditioned to compete for the heart of "a prince" - as Mathew is billed by the show's producers, even though he has no royal title. Twenty-five contestants were selected for the show, also called "The Bachelor" in Ukrainian, and some have gotten into shouting matches and even fights over who gets to spend more time with him, according to the STB Channel, which is set to air the show in March. The 12 episodes, which are currently being filmed in Ukraine, Finland, Sri Lanka and elsewhere, entail romantic dinners, a helicopter ride and Mathew taking on a 350-kilogram (750-pound) bull as a matador. Mathew speaks little Ukrainian or Russian, so both he and the contestants wear earpieces and rely on simultaneous translation. He hopes the project will help him reconnect with his Slavic roots. Matthew admits that the show, in which he eliminates women one by one based on their date performance until he proposes to one of the two finalists, may be provocative. "Honestly, the concept is crazy, absolutely crazy," Mathew said. You have to be of a certain mindset to enter a contest like that, I think it takes courage. But he says he has met attractive and interesting women on the show and hopes to fall in love. "Love works in very mysterious ways," Mathew said. It does come from the most random places sometimes, the most unexpected places, so why not TV? The odds of finding true love, however, appear to be against Mathew. His predecessor on the show, a Ukrainian-American ballroom dancer, split with his newfound fiancee shortly after it ended last summer. Only one of the 15 seasons of "The Bachelor" in the U.S. resulted in marriage. Mathew is the son of Princess Olga Andreevna Romanov, 61, whose father, Prince Andrei Alexandrovich, was the nephew of Nicholas II, Russia's last czar. Nicholas II was assassinated by the Bolsheviks shortly after the 1917 Revolution together with his wife and children. Mathew's grandfather was able to escape and settled in Britain. Born in London and raised in Scotland, Mathew decided against going to university and chose to become a stuntman instead. He spent more than five years studying martial arts and other sports, while working in landscape gardening to pay for his living. Stunt acting "was my childhood dream," Matthew said. I was always a very adventurous child ... I climbed every building I could jump off. I used to do crazy things.

Natural gas price plunge aids families, businesses NEW YORK (AP) - The price of natural gas is plummeting at a pace that has caught even the experts off guard. A 35 percent collapse in the futures price over the past year has been a boon to homeowners who use natural gas for heat and appliances and to manufacturers who power their factories and make chemicals and materials with it. The country is flush with natural gas as a result of new drilling techniques that have enabled energy companies to tap vast supplies that were out of reach not so long ago. The country's natural gas surplus has been growing even as the country burns record amounts. This winter's warm weather slowed the growth in demand, however, and created a glut. In the Northeast, December was the fourth warmest in the last 117 years. Winter supplies are 17 percent above their five-year average. The natural gas futures price fell 13 percent last week, to $2.67 per 1,000 cubic feet. That's the lowest winter-time level in a decade. "The market has been overwhelmed with gas," says Anthony Yuen, a commodities analyst at Citibank. He and other analysts expect the price to average near $3 for all of 2012. If the weather stays mild, the price could even dip below $2, a level not seen since 2002. Cheap natural gas is mainly a good thing for the economy: _ More than half of U.S. households use natural gas for heat, and a quarter of the nation's electricity is made from it. Falling heating and electric costs are offsetting the impact of high gasoline prices and enabling families and small businesses to spend on other things. Residential gas and electric customers are saving roughly $200 a year, according to a study by Navigant Consulting. _ For companies that make plastics, fertilizer and other chemicals derived from natural gas, the falling prices are nothing short of a windfall. The same goes for makers of products from steel to bricks to beer. All use a lot of natural gas to heat their furnaces. U.S. manufacturers are becoming more competitive globally as a result of the country's cheap natural gas, industry officials say. Some industries aren't cheering, though. With electricity prices falling, the profits of all electric power producers - whether they rely on coal, nuclear or wind - are shrinking. Companies that drill solely for natural gas are earning less these days, too. That's prompting some to hunt instead for oil, whose price is near $100 a barrel. Still, drillers aren't reducing natural gas production as much as they would have during previous periods of low prices. They've found ways to produce the fuel at much lower cost so they can be profitable at much lower prices. And, in many cases, natural gas is a byproduct of oil drilling, which is so profitable that companies are going after every barrel they can find. Analysts say in some oil and gas fields, drillers could give the gas away and still be hugely profitable just from selling the oil. The benefit of falling natural gas prices to homeowners is not as big as a major drop in oil and gasoline prices would provide. The average household's annual gasoline bill is about $4,000, roughly double the average annual gas and electric bill. Also, the fuel cost is only half of a customer's bill. The rest is transmission and delivery charges, which don't change along with fuel prices. Homeowners are paying $10.18 per 1,000 cubic feet of gas on average, including transmission and delivery charges, according to the Energy Information Administration. Over a year, a customer will burn an average of 75,000 cubic feet, or about $760 worth. The multi-year drop in natural gas prices caught most industry experts by surprise. In the middle of the last decade, natural gas looked to be in short supply. Production in the U.S. was slowing, imports from Canada were rising and plans for importing liquefied natural gas from the Middle East and elsewhere were drawn up. Natural gas futures hit nearly $15 in 2005. Chemical and metals manufacturers were shutting U.S. factories and moving overseas, where gas was abundant and cheaper. Farmers in need of fertilizer were turning to inexpensive imports from Canada, Trinidad and Asia. But over the next few years, drillers perfected methods first tried in 1981 that now allow them to profitably extract gas trapped in shale formations - layers of fine-grained rock that in some cases have trapped ancient organic matter that has cooked into oil and natural gas. Engineers combined the ability to drill horizontally into shale with a technique called hydraulic fracturing. Millions of gallons of water, sand and chemicals are pumped into wells to break rock and create escape routes for the gas. In doing so they unlocked natural gas deposits deep underground across the East, South and Midwest that are large enough to supply the U.S. for decades. This eventually turned the shortage into a glut, and reversed the fortunes of some industries. An ammonia plant owned by CF Industries in Donaldsville, La., that was shuttered by its former owner in 2004 is running again. Steel maker Nucor Corp. is building a factory in Louisiana; Shell Oil Co. is planning a petrochemical plant in Appalachia; and Dow Chemical is building a type of chemical feedstock plant it hasn't built in the U.S. since 1995. "A whole slice of American industry is benefiting," says Steve Wilson, the CEO of CF Industries, which makes ammonia and other fertilizer ingredients. CF Industries, which is based in Deerfield, Ill., has seen its daily natural gas costs fall from $6 million to $2 million over the past few years. The company is planning to spend more than $1 billion expanding its U.S. plants. While industrial customers are betting on low prices for years to come, things could change if demand increases sharply because of extreme weather or faster-than-expected economic growth, or if the U.S. begins exporting gas. It's also possible that natural gas drilling could be curtailed by environmental regulations designed to protect drinking water from hydraulic fracturing. Legislators in New York and New Jersey have banned hydraulic fracturing temporarily, and the Environmental Protection Agency is studying it and may propose national regulations. The most likely near-term scenario is that prices keep falling, according to Rusty Braziel, an analyst at Bentek Energy. "This ain't the bottom," he says. Jonathan Fahey can be reached at http://twitter.com/JonathanFahey.

Domestic Violence and Abuse Help Here are sources of help and information for women who may be suffering domestic violence. National Domestic Violence Hotline: 800-799-SAFE National Network to End Domestic Violence Futures Without Violence, formerly Family Violence Prevention Fund, works to prevent and end violence against women and children around the world. The Nicole Brown Foundation: The nonprofit and advocacy group raises awareness against domestic violence surrounding women. National Teen Dating Abuse Helpline: 866-331-9474 Love Is Respect: This website, and the help line directly above, are geared toward people in their teens and early 20s, as well as their parents. Dr. Jill Murray is an expert in improving destructive relationships. Day One: This organization works in the five boroughs of New York City to combat dating abuse and domestic violence by empowering young people to seek and keep safe relationships. Day One offers community education, supportive services, legal advocacy and leadership development. According to their website, the group has educated more than 20,000 youth since 2003. Watch the amazing story of Nancy Tyler, whose ex-husband held her hostage at the home they once shared, on "20/20" Friday at 10/9c.

CAS delays Contador verdict The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) expects to announce their verdict on three-time Tour de France winner Alberto Contador's doping case "during the week of January 31," the organisation said Monday. A verdict was initially set for mid-January, but CAS opted to delay the ruling, blaming the delay because of media allegations of bias against the three-man arbitration panel. CAS asked the parties to clarify whether, at this stage in the procedure, any of them wanted to challenge the composition of the arbitration panel. As all answers were negative, the Panel will be able to resume its mission," read a statement issued by sport's highest court. This regrettable incident has slightly delayed the work of the Panel and the publication of the final decision should now take place during the week of 31 January 2012. Contador tested positive for the banned anabolic agent clenbuterol during the 2010 Tour de France, but the Spaniard was cleared by the Spanish Cycling Federation (RFEC) in February 2011, prompting the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and International Cycling Union (UCI) to appeal the decision to CAS. The 29-year-old Spaniard claimed he had ingested the banned substance by eating a contaminated steak, an explanation which satisfied the RFEC but which failed to pass muster with the International Cycling Union (UCI) and World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). If CAS upholds the appeal the Spaniard faces a competition ban and being stripped of his 2010 Tour de France title and the Giro d'Italia, which he won for a second time last year, and any other victories since July 2010.

The Real Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines: A Wonderland Film, BBC Two, preview For most of us, flying isn't a relaxing experience. But in the bizarre world of microlighting, where enthusiasts head for the skies in their rag-tag planes, often patched together from household appliances and referred to by one fan as a "deck chair with a lawnmower attached," there's no better place to kick back than up in the clouds. This Wonderland documentary follows the stories of three sets of competitors who enter a microlight rally around Britain. Rather than simply head from A to B, the competitors must cover as much ground, and fly over the top of as many landmarks as possible in three days. It feels like an aerial Wacky Races as they dash off in their personalised vehicles, with little in mind by way of strategy beyond staying airborne. There's the father-and-son team, a pair of recently reunited old flying chums, and eccentric veteran Richard Meredith-Hardy, who has flown over Everest in his bespoke plane. Though the racers share a certain blasé bonhomie, the dangers are real - tales of deaths and injuries abound. But, from the comfort of the ground, these wonderfully maverick microlighters are a joy to watch. The Real Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines: a Wonderland Film is on Monday 23 January on BBC Two at 9.00pm

Producers Guild top 10 nominees By Dave Karger, EW.com January 3, 2012 -- Updated 2202 GMT (0602 HKT) "The Tree of Life," which has done well in the critics awards so far, clearly takes the biggest hit in the overall Oscar race. Expected contenders are "The Artist," "War Horse," "The Descendants," "The Help" Left off the list, meanwhile, were "Drive," "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close" "The Tree of Life" is no longer a sure thing for a Best Picture nomination (EW.com) -- The Producers Guild of America has announced its 10 nominees for Best Picture of the Year, and along with expected contenders like "The Artist," "War Horse," "The Descendants," "The Help," and "Hugo" were two minor surprises: "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" and "The Ides of March." Left off the list, meanwhile, were "Drive," "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close," and most interestingly, "The Tree of Life." That polarizing film, which has done well in the critics awards so far, clearly takes the biggest hit in the overall Oscar race and is no longer a sure thing for a Best Picture nomination. Last year, the PGA honorees matched the eventual Best Picture nominees nine for 10, but this year it may not be as easy to compare the two -- the Academy's new voting rules dictate that there will be somewhere between five and 10 Best Picture nominees this go-round, depending on how many films receive at least 5 percent of the overall No. 1 votes. The PGA awards will take place on Jan. 21; all the nominees are listed below. Best Picture The Artist Bridesmaids The Descendants The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo The Help Hugo The Ides of March Midnight in Paris Moneyball War Horse Best Animated Film The Adventures of Tintin Cars 2 Kung Fu Panda 2 Puss in Boots Rango Best Documentary Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest Bill Cunningham New York Project Nim Senna The Union Long-form Television Cinema Verite Downton Abbey The Kennedys Mildred Pierce Too Big to Fail TV Comedy 30 Rock The Big Bang Theory Glee Modern Family Parks and Recreation TV Drama Boardwalk Empire Dexter Game of Thrones The Good Wife Mad Men Live Entertainment & Talk The Colbert Report The Ellen DeGeneres Show Real Time with Bill Maher Saturday Night Live The 64th Annual Tony Awards Competition Television The Amazing Race American Idol Dancing With the Stars Project Runway Top Chef Non-Fiction TV American Masters Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations Deadliest Catch Undercover Boss

Katherine Kelly: Coronation Street star back on stage

Ayman Nour sees Mubarak's Egypt in army rule CAIRO (Reuters) - Ayman Nour's attempt to win Egypt's presidency from Hosni Mubarak was followed by nearly four years in prison on charges widely seen as trumped up. He says an official vendetta against him continues under the generals ruling Egypt today. The 47-year-old lawyer believes his experience with Egyptian officialdom shows how little has changed since Mubarak was toppled from power last February and replaced by the army council which has promised to steer Egypt toward democracy. "We have taken one step forward but a number back," Nour said during an interview at his Cairo home. "The military council is still a prisoner of the same old ideas, methods and enmities which were present in the Mubarak days," he said. It is Mubarak's shadow. In the last year, Nour said, an attempt to clear his name in court hit a dead-end and his efforts to set up a new political party were obstructed. In both cases he blamed state bias against him. Because of his outstanding conviction, he will not be able to contest the presidential election this year. He also had faced a travel ban pending investigations on what he called "farcical accusations" of inciting violent protests in December. The investigating judge removed the ban Wednesday, the state MENA news agency reported. He campaigned against the odds in 2005, coming a distant second to Mubarak in a vote that was Egypt's first multi-candidate presidential election. "It is no easier," said Nour, comparing those days to now. There was an improvement for the first two or three months. Then things turned worse and it was as if we were back in Mubarak's days," he said. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces has governed since February 11, when Mubarak stepped down in the face of mass protests in Cairo's Tahrir Square and other parts of the country. The ruling generals have promised to hand power to an elected, civilian president by the end of June. They have presented themselves as guardians of a revolution, allowing Egypt's most free legislative election since military officers overthrew the king in 1952. Pro-democracy activists, however, accuse them of trying to hang on to power. "On January 25, 2011, a revolution started, but it is now ending in a military coup, without positive changes," Nour said. "Perhaps we made a mistake on February 11, 2011, a huge mistake, when we left Tahrir Square," he said. He plans to take part in new protests called for January 25, the first anniversary of the anti-Mubarak uprising. The date is proving divisive, with the military, it supporters and Islamist parties calling for celebrations rather than more protest. Nour spent close to four years in jail after his 2005 conviction for forging signatures required for the formation of his original party. He was let out early on health grounds. A court rejected his appeal for a retrial in October, leaving the mark against his name that stops him from contesting the presidency. After months of trying, Nour said, his attempt to set up a new party ended with success just one day before the start of official campaigning for the legislative election. "So we had only 24 hours to enter the elections," he said. One member of his party said they were told by officials that Nour's outstanding conviction was the reason that last year's application had been initially rejected. "They agreed to the Brotherhood, the Salafis," he said, referring to the official body which licensed parties for the Islamist groups which dominated the election that began in November and has concluded this month. Liberals fared badly. Nour, who won 7 percent of the vote in the 2005 presidential election, estimated his new "Ghad Revolution Party" had won just one seat in parliament. Even were he to get his conviction quashed in time, Nour hinted that he might not run in the presidential election expected to be held by the end of June. We will not take part in beautification of a game that is not serious. We do not have confidence in the military council steering the interim period, or the presidential elections. It wants, 100 percent, to have a role in picking the new president. Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Alison Williams

Obama to hit road after State of the Union WASHINGTON, Jan. 18 (UPI) -- U.S. President Barack Obama will hit the road after his State of the Union speech, traveling to five states in three days, his spokesman said Wednesday. White House press secretary Jay Carney told reporters the day after Obama delivers the annual address Tuesday, the president will make appearances in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and Phoenix before ending the day in Las Vegas. He will attend events in the Las Vegas area and the Denver area Jan. 26 before traveling to Detroit that evening. On Jan. 27, the president will deliver remarks in the Detroit area before returning to Washington. Carney said the president would be "talking about the subjects that he [will have] raised in the State of the Union," including economic growth and job creation. Asked about Republican criticism of Obama's planned trip to Florida Thursday -- while GOP presidential hopefuls are still hammering each other ahead of the South Carolina primary -- Carney said the Orlando trip is part of the president's policy of trying to meet with people from as many states as possible. He said Obama would "unveil a strategy that will significantly help boost tourism and travel, which is an important and sometimes overlooked sector in the U.S. economy." He said it would be part of Obama's "We Can't Wait" series of executive actions to boost job growth. Carney said waiting for the Republican nominating process to play out "would make it impossible for us for -- if we were guessing in the weeks in advance that we make travel arrangements like this, it would make it very hard for us to go to many, many places." "This is -- it's obvious when you're making a tourism and travel announcement that one of the premier sites of U.S. tourism industry is Orlando, so it seems pretty self-evident that you would do that," Carney said.

A "now hiring" sign and job applications are posted outside of the soon-to-be-open Marin Ace Hardware store in San Rafael, Calif. Applications have declined steadily over the past three months and have dropped in four of the past five weeks. The four-week moving average fell 11 percent in 2011, evidence that companies are laying off fewer workers. U.S. private employers added 325,000 jobs in December, according to the ADP National Employment Report jointly developed with Macroeconomic Advisers LLC. Joel Prakken of Macroeconomic Advisers struck a note of caution, telling reporters that the December surge in hiring might have been caused in part by year-end seasonal factors and revisions were possible. Still, economists took a positive view of the data, saying that if Friday's crucial monthly employment report from the Labor Department matches the ADP surge, it could boost optimism that the U.S. recovery, at least, is on solid ground. Economists predict that employers added 150,000 net jobs, which would be an improvement from November's gain of 120,000. The ADP number was a gigantic figure. Even if they're only 50 percent right, the number is still a huge improvement," Landcolt Trading Managing Director Todd Schoenberger told Reuters. An improving labor market has boosted the view the economy wrapped up 2011 on better footing, leaving it well positioned to deal with headwinds from Europe's debt crisis and fiscal tightening at home. Still, a moribund U.S. housing market and persistently high unemployment threaten the recovery. This number is the continuation acceleration of employment began in late summer of 2011, says Joel Prakken, Macroeconomic Advisers, who says GDP numbers is expected to rise in Q4, and a breakdown of the numbers with CNBC's Steve Liesman.

The best new Android tablets: Do they stand a chance? At each Consumer Electronics Show, there seems to be at least one gadget type which just plain takes over the place. Two years ago it was e-ink readers, now practically invisible on the show floor. Last year it was the 3-D TV. This year, Android tablets are all the rage. Yes, there were so many Android tablets this year that some of us started to become slightly queasy each time yet another such device was announced. Was the revulsion justified? Or does this latest batch of Android devices stand a chance to succeed? Let's talk tablets! Pantech Pantech Element The Pantech Element is a fun (not-so-little) 8-inch tablet. It has a 1.5GHz processor, 16GB of memory, (which can be expanded up to 32GB thanks to a microSD slot), a 5-megapixel rear-facing camera, and a 2MP front-facing camera. It'll run on AT&T's 4G LTE network, so it should be pretty darn speedy. Oh, and did I mention that the Element is waterproof? The gadget can apparently be submerged in one meter of water for up to 30 minutes without any troubles. In theory, this means that you wouldn't have to worry if you ever spill coffee onto the tablet. Toshiba Excite X10 One of my favorites in the latest Android tablet batch - appearance-wise, at least - is the Toshiba Excite X10. This particular gadget has been available in other countries for a while, but it's finally coming to the U.S. soon. It's an eye-catching 10-inch beauty which measures in with a thickness of only 0.3 inches. The X10's display is covered in super tough Corning Gorilla Glass and behind it there's a Texas Instruments OMAP 4430 processor (that's 1.2 GHz of horsepower), 16GB or 32GB of storage (depending on your choice of configuration), a 2MP front-facing camera, a 5MP rear-facing camera (with an LED flash), and an assortment of ports including Micro USB and Micro HDMI. There are also a gyroscope, an accelerometer and GPS capabilities as well as eCompass and ambient light sensors. The Toshiba Excite X10 will set you back $530 if you're getting the 16GB model and $600 if you opt for the 32GB version. Asus Asus Eee Pad MeMO 370T With its rather reasonable $249 pricetag, the Asus Eee Pad MeMO 370T - try wrapping your tongue around that name - is far too tempting of a device. It's a 7-inch gadget, has a 1.2 GHz Nvidia Tegra 3 processor on the inside, pen-input on the outside, and a 5MP camera in the back. Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 As its name might suggest, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 is the big brother of the Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus. It's a - wait for it - 7.7-inch device and it has a 1280 x 800 Super AMOLED display, a 1.4 GHz dual-core processor, a 3MP rear-facing camera, a 2MP front-facing camera, and the usual assortment of ports. It's very much worth noting that the Tab 7.7 is going to offer 4G LTE connectivity through Verizon Wireless. (Oh, yes! That's speedy.) The next-generation Iconia Tab Oh, what a tease Acer can be! The company briefly showed off the next-generation Iconia Tab tablet during a CES press conference and it certainly caught my attention. The gadget is a quad-core device with a lovely 1080p screen and a Nvidia Tegra 3 processor. Not too much is known about this particular tablet at the time, but it's definitely a powerful little beast. What's the problem here? The trouble with most of the tablets presented lately is not the hardware but the software. Time after time the same lines keep appearing in press releases. The devices are "ready" for Android 4.0, but shipping with Honeycomb 3.2, in other words "last year's OS." Their makers promise that the hardware will be updated to Ice Cream Sandwich shortly after launch, software updates are coming, pinky swear, cross our hearts and hope to die, but even the manufacturers don't necessarily have a firm grasp of the upgrade timing. The reality is that customers are often left waiting for their new toys to actually feel new - to receive the latest and greatest in Android software. And perhaps I'm simply a spoiled iPad user, but to me that seems unacceptable. Many Android tablet makers have the hardware handled and are handing out mind-blowing spec sheets - but until they give their devices brains to match their guts, I'm saying "no dice." The moment Android tablets take a page from the Apple manual and start selling the experience and the - get ready to cringe - magic of software and apps, the moment that developers feel that the time is right to launch an all-out Android tablet software assault, the moment that together, both hardware makers and software developers showcase what you can do with these things, rather than just throw around spec sheets, that's when these new tablets will succeed.

ICE at Santa Monica - Santa Monica Outdoor Ice Skating Rink - Santa Monica, CA 90401 - FindLocal Los Angeles Times Recreation and Sports Activities Ice Skating What's near ICE at Santa Monica?

Thousands of herring wash up in Norway NORDREISA, Norway, Jan. 3 (UPI) -- Experts said they do not know why 22 tons of dead herring washed up on the western coast of Norway. The Norwegian Institute of Marine Research said thousands of herring were found on Kvaenes beach in Nordreisa in late December, and experts with the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim said the amount of dead fish is unprecedented, Britain's The Sun newspaper reported Tuesday. "We have seen herring stranded before but never this much," biologist Ole Kristian Berg said. Berg said the fish may have been stranded by tides, chased into the area by a predator or killed by freshwater from a river that flows into the ocean.

Flybe plunges on fresh profit warning Flybe shares plunged on Tuesday after Europe's largest regional airline announced a fresh profit warning as a deteriorating UK air travel market weighs on sales. The group blamed poor sales during December in particular for creating "a significant shortfall against our revenue expectations" in the third quarter, which ended on December 31. UK domestic air travel, which represents about 70 per cent of Flybe's activity from UK airports, had experienced a 6 per cent year-on-year decline in the first half of the year, it said. That had swollen to an 8 per cent year-on-year fall by the end of the third quarter. The company added that volumes were stable, so it was increasing market share in a declining market. "The UK domestic market is clearly challenging," said Jim French, Flybe's chief executive. Under such circumstances I believe that maintaining volumes and growing market share at the expense of planned yield increases was the correct decision to protect the long-term potential of Flybe. Shares in Flybe, which floated in late 2010 at a price of 295p, were 24 per cent lower at 52p in early London trading. Investec, the airline's in-house broker, revised its full-year forecast to a pre-tax loss of £8.5m from a pre-tax profit of £6.4m. Andrew Fitchie, an analyst at the broker, said: "It's a tricky one - they are doing everything they can but when the tide is going out, it's going out. The revenues they've been getting are flat, but they need higher prices to offset higher fuel charges. Last October, Flybe shares tumbled by more than one-third to a then record low of 65p after the company reported a significant slowdown in sales during September. The following month, Flybe said it was cutting the number of flights it offers in the UK by 6 per cent during winter in response to slack demand and rising oil prices. Bigger rival Ryanair has also grounded aircraft this winter, prompted by higher fuel costs.

Romney Defeats Conservative Candidates in Two-Way Contests WASHINGTON, Jan. 19, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A new national Clarus Poll of Republican voters shows Mitt Romney leading all top GOP rivals in two-way contests. "As candidates drop out of the race, it becomes increasingly interesting to see what two-way matchups look like," said Ron Faucheux, president of Clarus Research Group, a non-partisan polling and research organization based in Washington D.C. The Clarus Poll of Republican voters nationwide finds Romney now leading his top three opponents--Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum and Ron Paul--in head-to-head races. Santorum does slightly better against Romney than Gingrich does. But Romney leads both by double-digits. The poll shows that Paul would be the weakest alternative to Romney. In head-to-head trial heats, voters were asked their preferences in two-way nomination contests, with the following results: Romney 50 percent over Santorum 36 percent (14-point margin) Romney 50 percent over Gingrich 34 percent (16-point margin) Romney 62 percent over Paul 24 percent (38-point margin) Questions in this survey were not asked on behalf of, or paid for by, any client, political candidate or party organization. This survey was conducted for the internal use of Clarus Research Group. Clarus conducted the nationwide survey among 381 Republican voters, based on a representative sample. The margin of error is +/- 5.02 percent. The poll was conducted January 16 - 18 by live telephone calls to landlines and cells. Clarus Research Group is a full-service, nonpartisan, survey research firm based in Washington, D.C. that provides market insights and practical analysis for corporate, association, nonprofit and advocacy clients. More information on Clarus clients and service offerings may be found on the Web at www.ClarusRG.com http://www.clarusrg.com/ Poll questions and responses Of the candidates now running for president, which ONE would you most like to see win the Republican presidential nomination... (ROTATE) Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, Rick Perry...or... Rick Santorum? Romney 30% 2. Gingrich 19% 3. Paul 12% 4. Perry 6% 5. Santorum 15% 6. (DO NOT READ) None of the above/other/someone else 4% 7. (DO NOT READ) Undecided/don't know 14% If there were only two candidates in the race for the Republican presidential nomination... would you most likely vote for (ROTATE) Mitt Romney ...or... Newt Gingrich? Romney 50% 2. Gingrich 34% 3. (DO NOT READ) None of the above/other/someone else 6% 4. (DO NOT READ) Undecided/don't know 10% If the only two candidates for the Republican nomination were (ROTATE) Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum, which one would you vote for? Santorum 36% 3. (DO NOT READ) None of the above/other/someone else 4% 4. (DO NOT READ) Undecided/don't know 10% If the only two candidates for the Republican nomination were (ROTATE) Mitt Romney and Ron Paul, which one would you vote for? Romney 62% 2. Paul 24% 3. SOURCE Clarus Research Group

APNewsBreak: Mars Rocks Fell in Africa Last July Scientists are confirming a recent and rare invasion from Mars - meteorite chunks that fell from the red planet over Morocco last summer. This is only the fifth time experts have chemically confirmed fresh Martian rocks fell to Earth. The last time was in 1962. Scientists believe this meteorite fell last July in North Africa because there were sightings of it. A special committee of meteorite experts, which includes some NASA scientists, confirmed the test results Tuesday. They certified that 15 pounds of meteorite recently collected came from Mars. The biggest rock weighs over 2 pounds. Astronomers think that millions of years ago something big smashed into Mars that sent fragments hurtling through the solar system. Occasionally, some fall on Earth.

New Report Highlights the Role Universities Play in Driving Entrepreneurship, Job Creation, and Economic Growth LOS ANGELES and WASHINGTON, Jan. 24, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The USC Stevens Institute for Innovation today announced a new report titled Universities in Innovation Networks: The Role and Future Promise of University Research in U.S. Science and Economic Policymaking by USC Vice Provost for Innovation Krisztina "Z" Holly. This is the fourth report in a series on U.S. science and economic competitiveness from the Doing What Works and Science Progress projects at the Center for American Progress. The report outlines 5 key opportunities to tap into universities in order to stimulate economic growth, develop skills for a 21st century workforce, and build the technologies to advance our country's competitiveness in manufacturing, energy, biomedicine, and other key industries. It also includes five specific policy recommendations for our nation to pursue in order to boost the global strength of our economy. Download the report (pdf) Download the introduction and summary (pdf) Read the full report in your web browser (Scribd) Recently, the Obama administration announced a proposal to reorganize federal agencies to create a focus on innovation and competitiveness. The new CAP paper series further explores the idea of government agency reorganization, as well as other building blocks of national competitiveness including a proposed "common application" to streamline the interface for small businesses in need of federal assistance, improvements to federal innovation statistics systems, high-skill workforce development, and university-driven technology innovation. The report is part of a packaged set of policy proposals that the Obama administration and Congress can adopt to help the United States retain its economic and innovation leadership and ensure all Americans have the opportunity to prosper and flourish now and well into the 21st century. Universities play a vital and extensive role in driving innovation in the United States. They offer a vast research base (a total of $50 billion nationwide), the ability to teach and develop a fresh new workforce (3 million graduates each year), goodwill of successful alumni, ability to convene disparate expertise, and a deep commitment to local communities. Universities have been important players to date, and we have an opportunity to further nurture these vibrant ecologies to sustainably generate greater innovation and economic growth. In the context of the declining state of innovation in the United States, The US has an opportunity to tap into universities in a variety of ways, among them: Stoking the engine of innovation - supporting university research, the foundation for the most groundbreaking innovations and innovators that can create new industries Supporting the flow and application of knowledge - bringing industry expertise to academia and reducing scientific risk to enable early discoveries to advance to the stage where the private sector is willing to invest and capitalize on them Seeding innovation ecosystems - creating the culture, human capital, and connections necessary to form innovation networks where researchers, entrepreneurs, investors, manufacturers, and other research interests can collaborate and compete Measuring for success - developing the right framework and infrastructure for measuring innovation to guide policymaking and investments Preparing for shifts in competitiveness - rethinking assumptions and trying new approaches so that policy can drive new frontiers of innovation Increasing globalization, connectivity, access, and acceleration of technology only make the need to invest in innovation all the more urgent. And ultimately, the nation must realize that the landscape is shifting, and what worked yesterday may not be as effective today, nor be the best approach in the future. The United States and its universities should not only accelerate its investments in research and innovation but also continually reevaluate and redesign the traditional mechanisms for doing so to prepare for the changing face of innovation long-term. The report examines all five of these ways to stoke innovation through and around universities, relying on public and private sector support and collaboration. The report includes specific policy recommendations at the end of each chapter of this report, but here is a brief synopsis: Increase investments in early-stage research, targeting part of these investments toward high-risk, large-scale, transformational projects, with an emphasis on the development of talent Bridge the gap between early-stage research and the marketplace through policies that support technology transfer, programs that increase knowledge flow between academia and industry, and partnerships that support translational research and proof-of-concept projects Refocus federal economic development funding on regional and local ecosystems that develop talent and create links between researchers and the private sector Develop new, more comprehensive methodologies to measure the linkages between investments in innovation and the broader impacts in human capital, new products, and jobs to drive better policy decisions and incentives for innovation Develop radical policy experiments and incentives to enable universities to be at the forefront of trends in innovation and competitiveness as the future mechanisms of innovation change The report will demonstrate that these recommendations are definitively appropriate for the nation to pursue in order to boost the global strength and competitiveness of science and the economy. To speak with a Krisztina "Z" Holly on this topic after the State of the Union Address, please contact Ian Murphy on his mobile at 310.689.6397 or [email protected] Bio for Krisztina "Z" Holly Vice Provost for Innovation, University of Southern California Executive Director, USC Stevens Institute for Innovation As vice provost for innovation at the University of Southern California and founding executive director for the USC Stevens Institute for Innovation, Krisztina "Z" Holly leads a team of over 30 to translate USC's most groundbreaking ideas to market and develop educational programs to help faculty and students make maximum impact with their ideas. Holly curates TEDxUSC, the original independently organized TED event that has spawned over 1,200 similar events worldwide. Her columns have appeared in BusinessWeek, the Huffington Post, CNN.com, Forbes, and the Economist. Before USC, Holly was an engineer and entrepreneur. Also, as the founding executive director of MIT's Deshpande Center for Technological Innovation, she helped spin off nine startup companies from MIT research that raised over $40M in venture capital. Named one of the Champions of Free Enterprise by Forbes in 2010, she serves on various advisory boards in the United States and abroad, including the U.S. National Advisory Council of Innovation and Entrepreneurship. The USC Stevens Institute for Innovation (http://stevens.usc.edu) is a university-wide resource in the Office of the Provost at the University of Southern California that helps identify, nurture, protect, and transfer to the market the most exciting innovations from USC. It also provides a central connection for industry seeking cutting-edge innovations in which to invest. As part of this role, the USC Stevens Institute manages the university's intellectual property portfolio stemming from its $560M annual research program. Furthermore, the USC Stevens Institute develops the innovator as well as innovations, through educational programs, community-building events, and showcase opportunities. The Center for American Progress is a nonpartisan research and educational institute dedicated to promoting a strong, just and free America that ensures opportunity for all. We believe that Americans are bound together by a common commitment to these values and we aspire to ensure that our national policies reflect these values. We work to find progressive and pragmatic solutions to significant domestic and international problems and develop policy proposals that foster a government that is "of the people, by the people, and for the people." See also: Overview: Series on U.S. Science, Innovation, and Economic Competitiveness, Rewiring the Federal Government for Competitiveness by Jonathan Sallet and Sean Pool, Economic Intelligence by Andrew D. Reamer, Building a Technically Skilled Workforce by Louis Soares and Stephen Steigleder, Immigration for Innovation by Marshall Fitz CONTACT: Ian Murphy, USC Stevens Institute, +1-310-689-6397, [email protected] SOURCE USC Stevens Institute for Innovation

German man arrested in LA arson attacks Los Angeles officials say police have arrested a German man as the prime suspect in a four-day arson spree that caused millions of dollars in property damage in the second largest US city. "Around 3 am, the sheriff's department detained a 24-year-old man named Harry Burkhart, who has subsequently been charged with one count of arson of an inhabited dwelling and is currently being held without bail," Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said late Monday. "We expect that as the investigation continues he will face additional charges," the mayor said about Burkhart, who also was identified by news outlets as a German national living in Hollywood. In all, there have been 53 deliberately-set fires in Hollywood and surrounding parts of Los Angeles, causing more than $2 million in damage, said officials, who launched a massive taskforce to reel in the city's most prolific arsonist in years. No one was killed or seriously injured in the attacks -- although one firefighter was injured -- but residents were clearly rattled by the fires, most of which targeted cars parked either outside homes or in car ports under buildings. "Our long four-day nightmare is over," said Zev Yaroslavsky, a member of the LA Board of Supervisors representing West Hollywood. I haven't had a good night's sleep since last week, and I'm looking forward to one tonight. Los Angeles police chief Charlie Beck said: "I feel very good that we've got the right guy.... Two other suspects, age 55 and 22, were detained after the attacks started last week but it was not clear whether they had been released or were being held in connection with possible copy-cat arson attacks. The task force had released surveillance video of the man suspected of setting the blazes, and the Los Angeles Times reported that an official involved in an immigration court case attended by Burkhart quickly identified him as the man in the tape. The Times reported that Burkhart may have been upset about his mother's legal woes, but authorities declined to comment about reports that an immigration dispute with his mother could have been a factor in the crimes. Hours after the release of the video, a Beverly Hills attorney who works as a reserve police deputy for just $1 a year spotted the suspect and made the arrest on the streets of West Hollywood. "Thank you to the two officers who backed me up," Shervin Lalezary told a press conference. As soon as I put on my lights and initiated a traffic stop of the suspect vehicle, I had an LAPD vehicle behind me ready to go. The suspect arrested in the early hours of Monday was shown in news footage, with a ponytail and smiling as officers discussed what to do with him.

Mark Gold step down president Heal the Bay Mark Gold, the president and public face of Heal the Bay -- one of California's leading environmental advocacy groups -- is stepping down after 23 years with the Santa Monica-based nonprofit, the group announced Tuesday. Gold is leaving to accept a position as associate director of the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, where he has taught as an adjunct professor and serves on its board. Heal the Bay is best known for its Beach Report Card that gives letter grades to hundreds of beaches in California, Oregon and Washington based on water quality. The group also advocates against water pollution and marine debris, for environmental education and marine habitat conservation, and operates the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium. Gold, 48, joined Heal the Bay as a volunteer in 1986 and was hired as its first employee, a staff scientist, in 1988. He went on to become the group's executive director in 1994, was named its president in 2006, and has been the public face of the group, an outspoken environmental watchdog who often appears at public hearings and pushes for state and local coastal protection laws. Gold, who earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in biology and his doctorate in environmental science and engineering at UCLA, said he was excited by the opportunity to return to his alma mater and try something new and different: building up its environmental program. Gold has spent his entire adult life building the group into what it is today and said its hard work has helped make a huge difference in quality of life for Southern Californians and aquatic creatures alike. "Think about where Santa Monica Bay is today versus where we were when I first started," he said. We don't have a dead zone in the bay, we don't have fish with tumors ... the beaches are so much cleaner. We don't have these sewage spills that were commonplace in the 1980s. We have marine protected areas. Currents may hold secret to gulf oil spill mystery Farm conservation program under the gun

French, Italian leaders meet as crisis rolls on PARIS (AP) - Grim economic news from across Europe greeted the leaders of France and Italy as they prepared to discuss in Paris on Friday the spiraling debt crisis that threatens to engulf both of their economies. The crisis, which began as a problem of over-indebtedness in small, weaker countries, is now knocking at the door of core economies like Italy and France. It is pushing much of the region toward a new recession and is sending the euro - which has been resilient over the past two years of the debt crisis - to 16-month lows. The interest rate, or yield, on Italy's 10-year bond rose above 7 percent again Friday, a level that has eventually forced other countries to seek bailouts. The problem is Europe cannot afford to rescue Italy as it has smaller economies. Economic indicators also show that even the richer countries, like Germany, are no longer immune to the debt market jitters. Economic sentiment and retail sales are falling across the region, according to new data released Friday, while unemployment in the 17-nation eurozone is stuck at 10.3 percent. European governments are trying to regain investors' confidence in their public finances, but doing so will be all the more difficult as their economies slow down or contract. In Italy's case, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and other European leaders last year pressured Rome to adopt stringent austerity measures after its yield first rose above 7 percent. That forced out Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and brought in a technocratic government under economist Mario Monti that initially calmed investors. But pressure is rising again, adding urgency to Monti's drive to pass the promised austerity measures. Monti told a conference in Paris on Friday that Italy would meet its target of balancing its budget by next year and said that, if successfully managed, the crisis would eventually bring the 17 countries that use the euro closer together. But, he added, that they need help. "To save the union, new powers must be given to the European Central Bank," he said. Many have argued that austerity measures like the ones Italy has under taken will work - but need time to bear fruit. In the meantime, they need a respite from incessant market pressure that only the central bank can provide by gobbling up bonds and thus driving down borrowing costs. The ECB has intervened cautiously in bond markets, but some within the bank are concerned that even those limited moves overstep its mandate. Those pushing for greater ECB intervention argue that, without it, yields will continue to rise and could eventually force Italy to seek help as other economies have. While stocks and bonds appeared shaky, the euro continued to fall, trading as low as $1.2706 on Friday, its weakest since early September, 2010. France, whose bond yields have also been rising steadily, though less dramatically than Italy's, faces the loss of its prized AAA credit rating. Any downgrade would have far-reaching consequences for Europe since Paris' credit rating is one of the bedrocks of the continent's bailout system. In comments that could indicate what Sarkozy and Monti will discuss, French Finance Minister Francois Baroin told a conference in Paris on Friday that the first responsibility of Europe's leaders is to make good on promises to bring public debt and spending under control. "We have to eliminate in the mind of the markets the existence of doubt on the question of unity in the eurozone," Baroin said. There cannot be any doubt. In a scramble to stem the crisis' march, European leaders pledged at a recent summit to hand sweeping powers over to Brussels, giving bureaucrats the power to send back irresponsible national budgets for revision. The routine violation in the past of European rules on overspending is partially responsible for over-indebtedness. But Poland's finance minister warned Friday that such plans for closer ties among the countries that use the euro need democratic legitimacy before they can be put into place. Finance Minister Jacek Rostowski told a conference in Paris that tighter eurozone integration is necessary, but that before vast powers are handed over to the EU executive, European citizens must have a say. "For something that far reaching as far as national sovereignty to be accepted then there would have to be some form of deep democratic legitimization," he said. That would either require a co decision with European Parliament or a majority of national parliaments or something like that. In the interest of calming financial markets - which can't wait for the kind of messy parliamentary votes and national referendums that have dogged the EU in the past - leaders pledged to sign up to tighter integration at the summit. But many question whether such sweeping powers can be handed over without some kind of consultation with European citizens. Rostowski also bemoaned that Britain didn't sign up to the new treaty proposed at the summit. All other EU countries did, though some have since expressed reservations. "It would be catastrophic for the whole of Europe if the further integration of the eurozone, which we fully support, were to lead to division," he said. Although the crisis has focused largely on the eurozone countries, financial turmoil was also growing on its fringes, in Hungary. Market confidence in the country is fading quickly, as evident in a bond auction in which investors this week demanded 10 percent to lend it 12-month money. On Friday, Fitch Ratings downgraded Hungary's credit grade to junk status, as Moody's and S&P had already done. The country has said it is open to negotiating a standby loan from the EU and IMF, but doubts remain about some of the government's policies. The uncertainty has sent the Hungarian currency, the forint, to all-time lows this week.

GE 4Q profit falls, sales miss estimates NEW YORK (AP) - General Electric says its fourth-quarter earnings fell 18 percent as sales fell after its sale of its stake in the NBC network. The Fairfield, Conn., industrial conglomerate said Friday it earned $3.73 billion, or 35 cents per share, compared with $4.54 billion, or 36 cents per share a year earlier. Revenue fell 8 percent to $37.97 billion. Last year, GE sold a majority stake in NBC Universal to Comcast. The company also saw slower growth in Europe. Excluding discontinued businesses and certain pension costs, earnings were 39 cents a share. Analysts had forecast 38 cents. Revenue fell below Wall Street's $40.05 billion estimate and shares fell 3 percent in premarket trading. General Electric Co. says infrastructure orders rose 15 percent in the quarter, leaving it with its biggest-ever order backlog.

Obama to Accept Nomination in Stadium After Shortened Convention January 17, 2012, 12:10 pm President Obama once again will accept the Democratic presidential nomination from a football stadium to accommodate tens of thousands more supporters, and after a shorter-than-usual convention, convention planners announced on Tuesday. Capping a three-day national convention in Charlotte, N.C., Mr. Obama will give his acceptance speech and officially kickoff the general-election campaign against Republicans" nominee on Sept. 6 at the Bank of America Stadium, home field of the Carolina Panthers professional football team, said Steve Kerrigan, chief executive officer for the Democrats" convention committee. In August 2008, the emotional climax of the Democratic convention in Denver was Mr. Obama's twilight speech before an estimated 84,000 people at Invesco Field at Mile High, home of the Denver Broncos. Mr. Kerrigan, in an e-mail to party supporters, said the convention would be shorter than the traditional four days, opening on the Tuesday after Labor Day. But on Labor Day an event will be held at the Charlotte Motor Speedway - a site recommended online by an Obama supporter, "Jerry in Tryon, N.C." - to kick-off get-out-the-vote efforts to mobilize voters not only in North Carolina but in Virginia. The Obama campaign has targeted both battleground states, hoping to repeat Mr. Obama's victories in each in 2008 but in a tougher political environment given voters" unhappiness with continued high unemployment. Republicans will nominate their candidate in August in Tampa, Fla.

At last, festive results bring some good news for troubled high street By Scott Reid Published on Friday 6 January 2012 00:00 HOPES that the high street managed to avoid a festive sales meltdown were boosted yesterday as two struggling household names revealed surprisingly robust figures. JJB Sports, which last year came close to collapse, told investors that trading had improved in its second half with like-for-like sales up 5 per cent in the four weeks to Boxing Day. Crucially for a company that has been forced to issue a long line of profit warnings, gross margins have also risen. It described the performance as broadly in line with expectations, but pointed out that trading during the January sales, European football championships and London Olympics would be key to its revival in the year ahead. Last year, the group was forced to tap shareholders, who include billionaire Bill Gates, for almost £100 million, close a string of unprofitable stores and place others under review in a bid to stave off administration. News of the improved performance at JJB came as Clinton Cards posted a rise in its Christmas sales. The greetings and gift card chain, which operates 630 Clintons stores and 141 Birthdays outlets, has been on the retail critical list after plunging to a £10.7m annual loss amid falling sales. Yesterday's trading update showed that sales at stores open for more than a year had risen by 0.4 per cent in the five weeks to New Year's Day. That compares with a fall of 2.4 per cent in the 16 weeks to 20 November. The rebound highlights the impact of a change in strategy implemented by Darcy Willson-Rymer, who took up the reins of chief executive in October. The former Starbucks executive said his firm's "single-minded focus" on the customer helped deliver improved trading over the crucial festive period. He added: "There is clearly more work to be done and I am looking at this within my strategic review. Despite a tough retail climate, we remain in line with the board's expectations. The core Clintons brand enjoyed a 0.8 per cent rise in sales over the five weeks, but there was a 2.7 per cent decline at Birthdays, where the Irish business was put into liquidation in March. With shoppers" disposable incomes squeezed by rising prices, muted wages growth and government austerity measures, UK retailers faced the toughest trading conditions since 2008 at Christmas. Fashion stalwart Next kicked off the festive reporting season on Wednesday with disappointing figures for its high street stores. The overall picture was boosted by strong growth online. At the same time, John Lewis flagged healthy year-on-year growth and yesterday revealed that its Waitrose supermarket arm had delivered a strong festive performance both in-store and online. The grocery business, which has 271 shops across the UK, said like-for-like sales in December increased 3.8 per cent on last year, after recording its highest-ever sales for a single week in the run-up to Christmas. Despite signs of a turnaround at JJB, analysts questioned whether the pace could be maintained. Freddie George, retail analyst at brokerage Seymour Pierce, said the update was "against very easy comparatives" and the company was "running out of time to turn this business around"

Higher Taxes Help the Richest, Too TAXES and regulation will occupy center stage in the presidential contest. One debate, for example, will focus on whether tax cuts for the wealthiest families should expire as scheduled at year-end - an issue that could gain traction now that Mitt Romney, the possible Republican nominee, has disclosed that he and his wife paid an effective federal rate of just 13.9 percent on their huge 2010 income. And on the regulation side, there will be attempts to repeal rules like the recently adopted Environmental Protection Agency standards that limit highly toxic mercury emissions. Surveys indicate that most voters now favor higher taxes on the rich. But many wealthy people are determined to hang on to their tax cuts, and because recent changes in campaign finance law have greatly increased their political leverage, they may prevail. If so, however, it could prove a hollow victory. Beyond some point, there seems to be little gain in satisfaction from bolstering your private spending. When mansions grow to 15,000 square feet from 10,000, for instance, the primary effect is merely to raise the bar that defines an adequate home among the superwealthy. By contrast, higher spending on many forms of public consumption would produce clear gains in satisfaction for the wealthy. It's reasonable to assume, for example, that driving on well-maintained roads is safer and less stressful than driving on pothole-ridden ones. But that raises an obvious question: If wealthy taxpayers would be happier to drive slightly less expensive vehicles on better roads, why are so many of them vehemently opposed to the higher taxes needed for improved infrastructure? One possible explanation is that they suffer from a simple cognitive illusion when they think about how higher taxes would affect them. If you pay higher taxes, you obviously have less money to spend on what you want. So the prospect of a tax increase naturally inclines people to think that they'll be less able to satisfy their desires. But once incomes rise beyond a modest absolute threshold, many of the things that people want are what economists call positional goods. These may be things that are inherently in short supply, like gorgeous waterfront property; or things whose value depends heavily on context, like precious stones or sure-footed sports cars. Because positional goods are in short supply, they go to the highest bidders. The tendency to overlook that fact distorts how people think about the effects of higher taxes. The cognitive illusion occurs because most financial setbacks that people experience in life stem from events that affect them alone. They may suffer health emergencies, for instance, or problems at work. Marriages may fail, jewelry may be stolen, and floods may damage homes. In each case, the effect is to limit the ability to bid for positional goods. Because an overwhelming majority of financial setbacks occur for such idiosyncratic reasons, it's natural to think that the income decline from higher taxes would have similar effects. But a tax increase is different. It affects all participants in the bidding for positional goods. And because it leaves everyone with less to spend, it has essentially no effect on the outcomes of those contests. The same paintings and the same marina slips end up in the same hands as before. Context shapes demand not just for the wealthy, but also for consumers further down the income scale. As Adam Smith observed more than two centuries ago, for example, a linen shirt is not, strictly speaking, a necessity of life. The wealthiest ancient Greeks, for example, lived satisfying lives without any linen at all. But Smith noted that in 18th-century Scotland, even the lowliest laborer couldn't appear in public without shame unless he owned a linen shirt, "the want of which would be supposed to denote that disgraceful degree of poverty, which, it is presumed, nobody can well fall into without extreme bad conduct." If what people feel they need depends on what others spend, the same cognitive illusion that affects wealthy Americans" attitudes toward taxes creates a more general bias against government. Opponents of workplace safety regulation, for example, often denounce the lower wages made necessary by its cost. For families already struggling to make ends meet, that objection resonates. But safety regulation requires an across-the-board decline in wages, which is much less painful than one that occurs in isolation. Once absolute incomes exceed a certain threshold, lower wages are easily tolerated when they don't entail relative disadvantage. Additional safety, bought collectively, entails a less onerous sacrifice than it does when an individual buys it for himself. The tax and regulatory issues in the coming election are clearly important. Millions of workers will retire over the next two decades, so spending cuts alone can't eliminate deficits. We need additional revenue, too. And as population density increases, we can't prevent dangerous environmental spillovers without intelligent regulation. It would be one thing if lobbying against taxes and regulation brought wealthy Americans a world more to their liking. But if their goal is to buy a home with a more spectacular view, for example, they will be disappointed. There are only so many such homes to go around, and they'll be bought by the very same people as before, since everyone will be bidding more. So when the anti-tax wealthy make campaign contributions, they are buying only the deeper potholes and dirtier air that inevitably result when tax revenue is low. Robert H. Frank is an economics professor at the Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University.

Falkland Islands oil excites explorers Against a background of tension between Britain and Argentina over claims to the Falkland Islands, oil companies say there could be more than eight billion barrels of oil in fields around the islands - that is three times the UK's current reserves. One of those firms, Rockhopper Exploration says it expects to find a partner soon while another, British oil explorer Falkland Oil and Gas, is also looking for investors. However some big companies, such as BP or Spain's Repsol, who have Argentinian interests are not likely to risk partnering with those companies. Industry sources said the support of South American oil producers such as Brazil and Venezuela for Argentina's claims on the islands they call Las Malvinas, means companies which have interests in those countries could also shy away from Falklands players. More about: Oil market, United Kingdom

US Election 2012: Newt Gingrich promises American colony on the Moon He brushed aside criticism from his rival Mitt Romney, who has repeatedly pointed to Mr Gingrich's space ambitions as evidence of a chaotic mind and a planet-sized ego. "Here's the difference between romantics and so-called practical people," Mr Gingrich said. "I wanted every young American to say to themselves, "I could be one of those 13,000, I could be a pioneer."" To laughter from the crowd that gathered in Cocoa, a small city on Florida's 'Space Coast', Mr Gingrich admitted that proposing a US state on the Moon was "the weirdest thing I've ever done" but said it was part of a larger plan to "unleash" the potential of the American people. He added America should not settle for the the Moon and promised manned missions to Mars by the end of his second term. Does that mean I'm a visionary? You betcha," he said. While the speech, which Mr Gingrich happily compared to the John F Kennedy address that set America on course for the first Moon landing, drew howls of derision on the internet, it may prove wise politicking ahead of Tuesday's primary. The space industry is a huge employer in Florida, and the state reacted with dismay to President Barack Obama's decision to end the US space shuttle programme.

Carbonite, Inc. Announces Date of Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2011 Financial Results Release BOSTON, Jan. 11, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Carbonite, Inc. (NASDAQ: CARB), a leading provider of online backup solutions for consumers and small and medium sized businesses, today announced it will report its fourth quarter and full year 2011 financial results after the U.S. financial markets close on Thursday, February 9, 2012. In conjunction with this announcement, Carbonite will host a conference call on Thursday, February 9, 2012, at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) to discuss the company's fourth quarter and full year financial results and its business outlook. To access this call, dial 877-879-6203 (domestic) or +1-719-325-4780 (international). The presentation will be webcast live and available in the investor relations section on the Company's website at http://investor.carbonite.com under "Events & Presentations." Following the conference call, a replay will be available until February 16, 2012 at 877-870-5176 (domestic) or +1-858-384-5517 (international). The replay pass code is 3741335. An archived web cast of this conference call will also be available in the investor relations section on the Company's website at http://investor.carbonite.com under "Events & Presentations." About Carbonite (NASDAQ: CARB), is a leading provider of online backup solutions for consumers and small and medium sized businesses. Subscribers in more than 100 countries rely on Carbonite to provide easy-to-use, affordable, unlimited and secure online backup solutions with anytime, anywhere data access. Carbonite's online backup solution runs on both the Windows and Mac platforms. The company has backed up more than 100 billion files, restored more than 7 billion files and currently backs up more than 200 million files each day. For more information, please visit www.carbonite.com, twitter.com/carbonite, twitter.com/carbonitebiz, or facebook.com/CarboniteOnlineBackup Investor Relations Contact: Staci Mortenson ICR 617-587-1102 [email protected] Media Contact: Erin Delaney Carbonite 617-421-5637 [email protected] SOURCE Carbonite, Inc.

Asia stocks up amid positive US jobs data BANGKOK (AP) - Asian stock markets rose Friday, as strong earnings and positive jobs data out of the U.S. added to hopes that the economic recovery in the world's largest economy is for real. Japan's Nikkei 225 index rose 1.2 percent to 8,744.15. South Korea's Kospi rose 0.9 percent to 1,932.71. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index added 0.2 percent to 19,989.15 and Australia's S&P ASX 200 was 0.5 percent higher at 4,234.70. Benchmarks in Singapore, New Zealand and mainland China were also higher. Taiwan markets were closed ahead of Chinese New Year, which starts Monday. Strong corporate earnings reports in the U.S. boosted investor tolerance for risk assets like stocks. Bank of America and Morgan Stanley both reported results that were better than analysts were expecting. IBM Corp.'s fourth-quarter earnings also beat Wall Street expectations. On top of earnings came data that showed the U.S. job market is strengthening. France and Spain also held successful bond auctions, easing concerns about the debt crisis in Europe. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 0.4 percent to close at 12,623.98. The Standard & Poor's 500 index added 0.5 percent to close at 1,314.50. Both averages are at their highest since July. The Nasdaq added 0.7 percent to close at 2,788.33.

CES unveils bigger and smarter TVs, and other tech news TV manufacturers transformed this year's Consumer Electronic Show, in Las Vegas, in a battleground for new technologies. Television sets are not only getting bigger, but also thinner and smarter - offering a wealth of online features.

Capitalism 'nothing to do with responsibility' Prime Minister David Cameron has said the UK must "build a better economy" that is fair and worthwhile. Deputy PM Nick Clegg and Labour leader Ed Miliband have also made speeches on the faults of unrestrained free markets. But, the Marxist historian Eric Hobsbawm told Newsnight's Jeremy Paxman that capitalism was concerned only with growth and making profit, not responsibility.

Human rights groups denounce Duvalier decision A Haitian judge says Jean-Claude Duvalier will face corruption charges But he says the statute of limitations has run out on human rights violations Global rights monitors say Duvalier must face justice The former dictator is accused of the rape, torture and killing of Haitians (CNN) -- Human rights activists decried Tuesday a Haitian judge's decision not to try former dictator Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier for human rights violations. The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said Duvalier must be prosecuted for alleged crimes that include torture, rape and extrajudicial killings. "The high commissioner has consistently reminded Haiti of its absolute obligation to investigate these well-documented serious human rights violations and to prosecute those responsible for them," spokesman Rupert Colville said. Human Rights Watch echoed those concerns in what it called the most important criminal case in Haitian history. "This ruling is another reminder that Haiti's justice system has almost always been on the side of the powerful, no matter how gruesome or destructive their crimes," said Reed Brody, special counsel for the organization. We hope that it will be overturned on appeal. Haiti, said Brody, "has an obligation to its people to investigate and prosecute the grave violations of human rights under Duvalier's rule." The investigative magistrate overseeing the case, Carves Jean, ruled that Duvalier will face trial on corruption charges stemming from his 15 years in rule but not for human rights abuses, the Haitian Press Agency reported. Jean said the statute of limitations had run out on those alleged crimes. Duvalier, who called himself "president for life," fled Haiti in 1985. He stunned the world by returning from 25 years of exile in France to his homeland a year ago. Within days of his return to Port-au-Prince, he was charged with human rights crimes as well as financial wrongdoing: He allegedly embezzled hundreds of millions of dollars on which he lived in exile. As such, the statute of limitations has not run out on those allegations. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have documented what they call systematic violations under Duvalier's rule. Both organizations accuse Duvalier of imprisoning and torturing hundreds of Haitians, including journalists, and using violent means to silence voices of opposition. Amnesty gave the public prosecutor in the Duvalier case 100 documents that it said detailed cases of human rights violations. "The cases of human rights abuses we documented in Haiti are likely to be only a small proportion of what really happened during Duvalier's rule," Javier Zuniga, a special adviser at Amnesty International, said last year. We will probably never know the true extent of the horror, but carrying out effective investigations will go a long way towards delivering justice. Amnesty International's documents told the experiences of cobblers, taxi drivers, filmmakers, mechanics, distillers and even hairdressers, all of whom, they say, were arrested for anti-government activity. Human Rights Watch said the statute of limitations ruling contravenes the decisions of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, by whose judgments Haiti is legally bound. The United Nations human rights office, which had offered technical assistance to Haitian authorities to bring the case to trial, said it was deeply disappointed. "It is clear under international law that there is no statute of limitations for such crimes, and the U.N. human rights office has provided technical assistance and legal advice stressing this point," Colville said. We urge the relevant authorities to ensure that justice is, belatedly, delivered to the many victims of human rights abuses committed under the government of Mr. Duvalier. There can be no true reconciliation and forgiveness without justice.

Examining Herb Kohl's indecisiveness on 2012 The Fix: Examining Herb Kohl's indecisiveness on 2012 By Rachel Weiner Wednesday, March 9, 2011; 6:36 PM Questioned Tuesday on his 2012 re-election plans, Wisconsin Democratic Sen. Herb Kohl didn't exactly give a straight answer. He asked rhetorically, "Am I running?" and shrugged. Kohl then asked, "Are you are a reporter?" Told "yes," he walked away. Kohl sought to bring some level of clarity to the proceedings today, saying in a statement: "I believe that the people of Wisconsin prefer that I work rather than campaign, but rest assured that when it's time to make my plans for 2012, I will share them." That statement is, of course, far less than a definitive pledge to run again and ensures political tea-leaf-reading about Kohl's plans will continue. Back in January, Kohl's decision to loan his campaign $1 million was widely seen as a sign that he was going to run. But the wealthy senator -- he is an heir to the Kohl's department store fortune -- could just as easily take that money back if he decides not to run. He'll be 77 next year and, at the start of the cycle, was prominently featured on both parties' retirement watch lists. He's also declined to take a visible role in the protests galvanizing liberals against Gov. Scott Walker's (R) budget plan. "The state is obviously going through a period of turmoil where the U.S. Senate race is the last thing on anyone's mind," said Paul Maslin, who has served as Kohl's pollster and is based in Wisconsin. Maslin added that the incumbent "has the luxury of some time before absolutely committing one way or the other." What would a race look like if Kohl did step aside? Republicans scored across-the-board victories in 2010 in Wisconsin -- beating Sen. Russ Feingold (D), winning the open governor's seat and taking back two U.S. House seats -- and almost certainly would make a major push in the Badger State. Rep. Paul Ryan (R) has been discussed as a potential Senate candidate almost since he came to Congress from the swing 1st district in 1998. But, Ryan now sits on a plum post as chairman of the House Budget Committee, making it something short of a slam dunk for him to run statewide in an open-seat scenario. Former Rep. Mark Neumann (R), who came within a hair's breadth of beating Feingold in 1998 but ran a more quixotic primary campaign against Walker last year, would almost certainly take a serious look as well. And there would almost certainly be some chatter about freshman Rep. Sean Duffy, a rising star within the national GOP, stepping up to the Senate race as well. On the Democratic side, Feingold would be the obvious choice. When he was defeated last fall, Feingold declared: "It's on to the next fight. ... It's on to 2012. That statement left many political observers puzzled and speculation immediately began about the idea of Feingold challenging President Obama from the ideological left. But, Feingold -- via a spokesman -- rejected the idea out of hand. Eric Ostermeier, a research associate at the University of Minnesota and author of the blog Smart Politics, suggests that Kohl could be delaying a retirement announcement so that Republicans are slower to get in the race, giving Feingold an easier path back into office. It's not clear though that Feingold would have the primary field to himself. Rep. Ron Kind, for example, has long been talked about as a statewide candidate and might find it hard to resist an open seat race. But Fred Yang, a Democratic pollster who has worked extensively in Wisconsin politics, suggested that the wild speculation about Kohl's future is much ado about not much. "He's different from everyone else and he's on his own timetable," Yang said, adding that Kohl's hard-to-read responses are "all just sound and fury, signifying nothing."

Thousands of veterans line up in Washington for job fair Army Staff Sgt. Adam Porras was one of thousands of veterans and service members who showed up for the Veteran Career Fair and Expo, hosted by the VA. After meeting with a résumé coach, Porras waited patiently in the federal job center line, hoping to find an employer willing to talk to him about a job as he prepares to leave the Army. "With the job market the way it is, I'm not sure how it will go," Porras said. Porras, who suffered a traumatic brain injury during a 2009 rocket attack at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, also suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. Porras's service dog, Atlas, lay at his feet, helping to keep his owner balanced and calm. "Were it not for him, I'd be running out of here," said Porras. It's too big of a crowd for me. The large turnout, at least in part, reflected the high unemployment rate for post-9/11 veterans, which stood at 13.1 percent as of last month. About 6,400 jobs in the public and private sectors were advertised as being available, including 800 with the federal government. "The whole federal government is stepping up here," John Berry, director of the Office of Personnel and Management, said during a visit to the expo. It's a phenomenal response - all the agencies are here. "We're telling the federal agencies, "We've got hiring authority: Use it, use it, use it," said Mary Santiago, director of the VA's federal employment services office. The Defense Department, Labor Department and Department of Homeland Security had job openings, as well as the Philadelphia Police Department and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. VA Secretary Eric Shinseki said more job fairs will be held. "This is just one piece," Shinseki said. We'll take lessons from this and go to other regions. As of mid-afternoon, more than 3,600 veterans had registered for the fair, and more than 2,500 had met with coaches to improve and create new résumé . At the halfway point, more than 1,200 interviews had taken place, including 830 veterans being considered by private sector companies and 400 being considered by federal agencies. Some in attendance said that they were frustrated by the long waits and chaotic atmosphere. Long lines of a hundred or more people waiting to speak to résumé coaches snaked through the hall. "You learn each time," Berry said. We learned we need more coaches. Dozens more job-seekers milled in the hallway outside interview rooms. Those chosen for interviews were taken behind drawn blue curtains on the second floor. Janeka Jones, a 39-year-old retired Air Force captain from Stafford County, emerged with a job with the workforce management and consulting office at the Veterans Health Administration. Jones has been working as a technical writer for a federal contractor but was worried her position might be eliminated. "I was looking for some level of stability," she said. The DHS Immigration and Customs Enforcement table was swamped with applicants. "It was pretty hectic there," said Chad Fraley, an Air Force veteran who flew from Little Rock and received a job offer from ICE. A lot of people looking for jobs. Not all were lucky. "Today was mostly unproductive, unfortunately," said Farlan Bingham, a 35-year-old Army veteran who lost his job last month. Bingham waited in a long line to speak to a résumé coach, but when he got to the front, he was told he needed to print out documents. When he returned with the documents, he was directed back to the end of the line. He spent four hours in various lines, but in the end, he said, "I really didn't get to talk to anyone." Adam Porras did not receive any job interviews. A jobs fair worker was apologetic, explaining that there was a large backlog because of the heavy turnout, and assured him he would receive a follow-up phone call. "It's still promising," Porras said.

Ms Sturgeon was giving evidence to the Health Committee on the 31st January 2012. The evidence session was on the same day the University of Sheffield published its remodelling of the impact of a minimum price. It found a minimum alcohol price would have a slightly smaller affect on consumption than first estimated. The University of Sheffield was asked to look at data and suggest a unit figure for a minimum price. The researchers say a minimum price of 45p per unit of alcohol would reduce consumption by 4.3% rather than 4.7%. Ms Sturgeon told the committee: "I firmly and passionately believe minimum pricing will be effective." The health secretary said she had not decided to put a sunset clause into the bill but added she was "open to persuasion." She also confirmed she will be travelling to Brussels to discuss the Scottish government's intentions on minimum pricing with European Commissioners. Before taking evidence from Ms Sturgeon, MSPs quizzed Alan McCreadie from Law Reform and Jim McLean from the Law Society of Scotland . The Law Society of Scotland had noted that while the imposition of a minimum price of alcohol was a devolved matter within the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament, compatibility with EU Duty Directives must be taken into account.

Mailbag: No, Howard hasn't quit on Magic Grueling schedule and Nelson's point guard issues have led to their recent slump Q. Has Dwight Howard quit on the Magic? Is he sending a message that he wants out now? They're terrible. I can't even watch anymore. - Sandra, The Villages, Fla. A. I wouldn't put Dwight anywhere near the top of the list when it comes to the Magic's woes. (And, please, a little perspective, too. They still have a winning record.) To a degree, Dwight is the best thing they have going for them. I would put the schedule up there, however. Perhaps it's exaggerated because of the notice that their low scoring totals have received, but it sure seems like Magic are playing just about every night. The schedule appears to be taking a toll. Then there is the situation at point guard. I've never been a Jameer Nelson fan, and remember that their run to the 2009 Finals came with Rafer Alston at point, with Nelson returning for that series and Orlando then somewhat bogging down. But it's not even so much Jameer and his recent absence, but rather the lack of quality ballhandling depth. Opponents are harassing the Magic out of any semblance of offense, often before the ball can even make its way into the post. All of that said, Dwight, with his trade demand, made the situation toxic from the outset. And that gets back to the debate of whether he should have taken the LeBron approach and simply played out his contract and moved on, or whether doing it the Carmelo way at least afforded the only team he has played for the opportunity to get something in return prior to free agency. What I do know is Ryan Anderson is having a Most Improved Player-type season, Stan Van Gundy remains one of the league's best coaches, and Otis Smith has done everything and anything he could in a bid to placate Dwight in recent seasons. In the end, a series of questionable personnel moves and staying too long with Jameer might wind up undoing it all. But when it comes to Dwight, he has not quit on the Magic or on this season. The recent collapse seemingly comes from elements beyond even his control. Q: What moron would have the Celtics keep Paul Pierce and then suggest they still could rebuild? - Anthony, Newton, Mass. A. First, thanks for reading. Second, a moron who doesn't believe Danny Ainge necessarily has to blow it up, and one who sees Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett as expiring, aging commodities who are older than Pierce. Yes, Pierce has probably outlasted his salary scale, but he's still a quality finisher and should be able to offer that for at least two more seasons, matching the time he has left on his contract. Sorry, but Rajon Rondo and Pierce plus any potential young players or draft picks that could be acquired for Allen and Garnett should keep the Celtics competitive in the East. Look, without a lottery breakthrough, that's going to be as good as it gets in Boston. The point I tried to make in my piece was I don't know if there is any chip the Celtics can add through cap space who could offer what Pierce still could over the next season or two. He's still someone you consider when filling out your All-NBA ballots at season's end. Q. Why is Mike D'Antoni still coaching the Knicks? - Steve, Bay Shore, N.Y. A. Because Isiah Thomas has not yet been able to get out of his coaching contract at Florida International University? OK, I kid. And Mike still is in place. And I'm not sure anyone could do much more with what Mike has in place. You at least have to give Mike the benefit of the doubt until Baron Davis is in the lineup. If the system doesn't work with a true point guard, then the Knicks might have to punt Mike aside, merely to have a fall guy. But the greater truth is whether you can play team ball with a pair of ball-stoppers in the lineup, in Carmelo and Amare. One? But two? That's where Baron comes in, and whether he create some sort of great compromise. But even while Baron would make the bench somewhat better, with Shumpert going back to the second team, it still would leave New York with precious little in reserve. The Knicks' problem is not a coaching problem, it is a personnel issue. Q. Is the East better than the West? - Art, St. Louis. A. I know this is where I'm supposed to say it's cyclical, but I'm not sure the standings, at this early juncture, necessarily paint a true portrait of the league's power base. On one hand, you glance at the standings at the start of the week and five teams have six or fewer losses in the East, compared to three in the West. But is anyone truly sold on the 76ers or Hawks or Pacers? Do any of them win a playoff series (well, I guess one or two would have to, but you get the general point). It seems, to a degree, that the older teams in the West are somewhat pacing themselves. That clearly is the case with the Mavericks and seems to be the case with the Spurs, as well. The Lakers are another team still finding their way, but one with enough playoff-tested components. Put it this way, if the opening round of the playoffs were contested between conferences, I'd say it is more likely that the Thunder, Spurs, Mavericks, Lakers and Clippers would advance than the Pacers, 76ers or possibly even Hawks (depending on Al Horford's health) or Magic. For now, the Thunder stand alone in the West among the league's elite. But the top of those power rankings likely will have more of a West flavor by the end of the regular season. You can follow him on Twitter at http.//twitter.com/IraHeatBeat.

Mayor: Detroit Won't Run out of Cash by April Detroit's mayor says the city no longer is at risk of running out of cash by April as previously expected. Mayor Dave Bing on Thursday released a financial and operational restructuring plan update. It highlights cost savings from 1,000 imminent layoffs, overdue payments from the Detroit Public Schools district and a corporate tax increase that Bing says will mitigate a cash shortfall. Bing is presenting the update to the Detroit City Council. A review team has been looking into Detroit's finances - a step in a process that could lead to Michigan taking over the city's government. Its recommendations will be forwarded to Gov. Rick Snyder. Auditors said last month that Detroit could run out of money as early as April.

Businesses seek state's new 'benefit corporation' status Reporting from Sacramento A dozen companies committed to maximizing social good while turning a profit have filed papers with the state to become California's first "benefit corporations." Chief executives, led by Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia Inc., a maker and seller of outdoor apparel and equipment, marched into the secretary of state's office in Sacramento shortly after it opened Tuesday morning. It was the first business day they could register under a recently approved state law that gives companies a way to legally structure their businesses to consider social and environmental efforts as part of their missions. While that may sound like marketing hype, it's important from a legal standpoint because it helps shield benefit corporations from lawsuits brought by shareholders who say that company do-gooding has diluted the value of their stock. California becomes the seventh state to adopt this relatively new corporate structure. Until now, California corporate law mandated that shareholders' interests trump those of all other parties. Entrepreneurs who wanted to incorporate green initiatives or social causes into their businesses were often forced to become nonprofits, limiting their ability to raise venture capital. Benefit corporations offer for-profit companies a way to do well and do right, said Assemblyman Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael), the author of AB361, the legislation that created the new type of business. "There is a way to create jobs and grow the economy while raising the bar for social and environmental responsibility," Huffman said at a news conference outside of the secretary of state's office. With this new law, we are attracting new socially conscious companies, investors and consumers. California's new category allows corporations to officially adopt policies "that create a material positive impact on society and the environment" as an integral part their legal charter. The Huffman legislation also expands the fiduciary duty of executives and board members to include the interests of workers and the community. Approval from two-thirds of a company's outstanding shareholders is needed to become a benefit corporation. A similar vote is needed to return to the traditional type of corporation. Vermont and Maryland approved similar laws in 2010, followed by New York, New Jersey, Virginia and Hawaii in 2011. Nationwide, as many as 100 companies have become benefit corporations, most of them privately held, supporters of the Huffman bill said. The California bill passed last year with bipartisan support. It had strong backing from the Green Chamber of Commerce, the Silicon Valley Leadership Group and other business organizations that want to clearly distinguish their members from firms that claim to be environmental advocates but don't meet certain standards of accountability and transparency. Corporate law specialists at the State Bar of California opposed the bill, arguing that it did not clearly spell out the responsibility of company officials to shareholders. The growing interest in benefit corporations reflects a "sense that there's a better way of doing business out there," said John Montgomery, a Menlo Park lawyer who helped draft the new California law. I think this is the vanguard of a movement. It takes iconic companies like Patagonia getting on the bandwagon. Staying true to its mountaineering roots, using sustainable manufacturing techniques and earmarking at least 1% of revenues to support groups that protect the environment have been core values at the Ventura County-based Patagonia since its founding in 1956, Chouinard said. "Patagonia is trying to build a company that could last 100 years," he said. Benefit corporation legislation creates the legal framework to enable mission-driven companies like Patagonia to stay mission-driven through succession, capital raises and even changes in ownership by institutionalizing the values, culture, processes and high standards put in place by founding entrepreneurs.

Hungary faces ruin as EU loses patience "We'll use all our powers to make sure that Hungary complies with the rules of the EU," said European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso. Mr Orbán said his country was the victim of "international leftists" in Brussels. A zealous anti-Communist, he insists that Hungary's Stalinist past must be ripped out at the roots. The immediate dispute centres on three laws in Hungary's new constitution pushed through despite EU warnings. Commission officials say these are just the "tip of the iceberg." Over 300 laws have been passed since Fidesz took power in 2010, giving the party sweeping control over the country's institutional system. Amnesty International said last week that Hungary's media clamp-down breaches human rights. The Commission is taking aim at a law forcing retirement of judges at age 62 instead of 70, widely viewed as a ploy to stack the courts with political loyalists. The new head of the judicial office has overweening powers to manage the courts, appoint judges, and allocate cases. The central bank law allows ministers to vet the agenda of Monetary Council and take part in meetings. The governor has to swear an oath of loyalty and lacks secure tenure. "Governments must refrain from seeking to influence their central bank," said EU economics commissioner Olli Rehn. Certain provisions in the new constitution are in breach of these principles. This needs to be addressed before we can start formal negotiations on the requested EU/IMF financial system. The warning is clear. Hungary will be left at the mercy of hostile markets until it bows to EU pressure. Deputy premier Tibor Navracsics played down concerns yesterday, saying a solution could be found to concerns about the central bank and data protection. He yielded no ground on treatment on the judiciary.

Not Allowed to Vote for Stephen Colbert? Oh Yes You Cain! As we've known for a while, Stephen Colbert's satirical run in the South Carolina GOP Presidential primary has one minor hitch: you can't vote for him. That is, the filing deadline to get on the ballot has passed, and the state does not allow write-ins. The ballot is locked. But last night, Colbert announced on the Report that he's found a way to turn that to his advantage, by urging his supporters to show their support for him by voting for Herman Cain, the GOP now-non-candidate who is still on the ballot in the Palmetto State. "If our message is going to be taken seriously," he said, "we're going to have to do more than raise money and raise awareness. We're going to have to raise Cain. But there's more! Out of sheer coincidence-because as we learned at the GOP debate last night, candidates have no control over the Super PACs-the Definitely Not Coordinating with Stephen Colbert Super PAC released an ad that also urges South Carolinians to vote for Cain. The guy in the ad may not look like Herman Cain, but he sure stares like him.

Marlins strike Oviedo deal pending legal issues Wed Jan 18, 2012 12:08am EST (Reuters) - Miami Marlins closer Juan Carlos Oviedo agreed to a one-year deal with the team on Tuesday provided the Dominican player is able to return to the United States this season. The Marlins announced the deal, worth $6 million according to local reports, that helped them avoid arbitration on their website (Miami.marlins.mlb.com) but it is pending legal issues. Oviedo, formerly known as Leo Nunez, was forced to return to the Dominican Republic last September after it was discovered he had been playing under a different name. He is still working to return to the U.S. and is still listed on MLB's restricted list until that time. Oviedo recorded 36 saves for the Marlins last season in his second straight year as the team's closer. He had 30 saves in 2010.

BREAKING: Donald Trump Announces... Celebrity Apprentice Cast Mitchell Haaseth/NBC Twisted Sister's Dee Snider wants to rock--the Boardroom. I know that the NBC publicity department exists to draw attention for NBC's shows, not for Donald Trump's political aspirations. I know that the fact that NBC announced the cast of the next Celebrity Apprentice, debuting next month, is probably just coincidence and not an effort by Trump to inject himself, again, into the conversation the morning after the Iowa caucuses. And yet it probably does not hurt NBC that Trump will soon benefit, and probably encourage, another round of speculation that he will run for President as an independent - which he will not, of course, but if history is a guide he will wait until after the season finale to say so. So what better time than a morning that the news is dominated by politics to announce that Trump is working hard to stimulate the economy, by creating jobs for Dee Snider, Debbie Gibson and the stars of American Chopper and The Real Housewives of New Jersey? Still, the timing's a shame. Just a day or two more, and he could have had Rick Perry and Michele Bachmann! Excerpts from the announcement after the jump: NEW YORK, NY - Wednesday, January 4 - Donald Trump, executive producer and star of "Celebrity Apprentice," announced today the newest and largest-ever lineup of famous faces appearing on the fifth installment of the series, premiering Sunday, February 12 at 9pm EST/PST on NBC. The men are: late-night legend Arsenio Hall, pop star Clay Aiken, radio host Adam Carolla, the "Incredible Hulk" Lou Ferrigno, magician/comedian Penn Jillette, rock star Dee Snider, actor George Takei, IndyCar legend Michael Andretti, and star of "American Chopper," Paul Teutul, Sr. The women are: supermodel Cheryl Tiegs, pop star Debbie Gibson, actress and multi-Grammy winner Tia Carrere, author and reality star Victoria Gotti, comedienne Lisa Lampanelli, former Miss Universe Dayana Mendoza, singer and actress Aubrey O'Day, actress and model Patricia Velásquez, and star of "Real Housewives of New Jersey," Teresa Giudice. Unsurprisingly grandiose quotations from Trump about the "amazing!" upcoming season redacted. All 18 business-savvy celebrity contestants will compete with the goal of raising money and awareness for their charity of choice. The last person standing will be chosen as the Celebrity Apprentice and have the honor of delivering a $250,000 bonus check to their designated charity, following in the footsteps of previous winners Piers Morgan, Joan Rivers, Bret Michaels and John Rich. The celebrities will be subject to long hours, grueling deadlines, intellectual challenges, personality clashes, and intense scrutiny under the careful watch of Donald Trump and his advisors, Don Jr., Ivanka, and Eric Trump. Last season, "Celebrity Apprentice" raised a record amount for the contestants" charities, donating over $3.1 million to charity.

FT Alphaville " Fiscal flailing, continued Goldman Sachs has updated this chart, which shows the projected impact of fiscal policy on GDP growth, to reflect its latest assumptions (see the previous version here): The dotted line that dips through 2012 is what would happen if, um, nothing happens - that is, no new fiscal measures are passed in 2012. The bars and the black line are Goldman's forecast. Goldman's assumptions include the payroll tax cut's extension through the end of the year. Emergency unemployment benefits will also probably be extended, but the analysts expect that the maximum duration will be reduced from 99 weeks to 79 weeks. The obvious barrier is that Congress will have trouble agreeing on offsetting spending cuts. The two-month extension through the end of February is being paid for primarily through higher fees on mortgages sold to the GSEs. Finding offsets for the remainder of the year - another $170bn would be needed - will be more difficult. And as Goldman reminds us, emphasis ours... This will mark the fourth attempt in the last year to reach agreement on a package of specific spending cuts-the first was in the debt limit deliberations, where negotiators instead opted for broad spending caps; the second the super-committee deliberations in November, and the third the payroll tax cut negotiations in December-so it will clearly be a challenge to come up with the $170bn or so needed to cover the cost of extending these provisions for the remainder of the year. In theory, if an agreement on spending cuts and/or revenue increases is not reached, it could threaten extension of these measures. However, it is also possible that in that event Congress would simply resort to using accounting strategies, such as counting paper savings from the likely drawdown of troops overseas over the next several years. (At this point it's not considered politically feasible to simply ignore the offsets, finance the extensions through the deficit and leave medium-term deficit reduction to a more comprehensive legislative act later. But for what it's worth, that would be FT Alphaville's preference.) Anyways, you can expect the deliberations to be dragged out until the end of February. The extension of emergency unemployment benefits is the much smaller issue in macroeconomic terms - we don't mean to ignore the human side of this - but is more complicated, and Goldman provides a handy explainer: The current unemployment benefit structure consists of three pieces: (1) regular state benefits (up to 26 weeks), (2) federal "emergency unemployment compensation" (EUC), which provides up to 53 additional weeks of benefits, and federal "extended benefits" (EB) which provides up to 20 more weeks, for a total of up to 99 weeks. The Senate is likely to push to maintain the full 99 weeks, as it did in December in the two-month extension. The legislation that the House passed in December 2011, but which failed to become law, would eliminate two of the EUC tiers, shortening the maximum benefit duration to 79 weeks. In addition to the "hard" cap on benefits of 99 weeks under current policy (79 weeks under the House proposal), benefits also fluctuate based on the unemployment rate within each state. The main issue is that the formula for EB eligibility depends not only on the level of unemployment within a state but also the increase in that level over the last few years. In order to maintain broad eligibility, Congress at the end of 2010 extended the normal two year "lookback" period to three years, in order to allow more states to demonstrate the minimum increase in the unemployment rate necessary to qualify. The most recent two-month extension does not extend this further, and it seems unlikely that a full-year extension will do this either. Thus, over the first half of 2012, it is likely that eligibility for EB will phase out in many states, reducing benefits by another 20 weeks. The upshot is that unemployment benefits are likely to be renewed, but probably at a reduced level from current policy. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that the House bill would result in benefit payments of roughly $35bn through early 2013, or roughly $15bn less at an annual rate than extending current policy. This reduction in fiscal transfers would most likely be concentrated in Q2 2012. Incorporating this into our fiscal policy assumptions produces the path for the overall effect on growth of fiscal policy (including state/local government) shown below (also shown is the effect of current law through 2012, which reflects the scheduled expiration of the payroll tax cut and emergency unemployment benefits-EUC and EB-at the end of February). It's been obvious for some time that there's likely to be a fiscal drag on growth this year. State and local governments could well outperform expectations here, but almost certainly not by enough to bring the government's contribution to growth back to neutral. And as we explained in a prior post, this doesn't even get into the various fiscal policy issues that the federal government might have to contend with in after the presidential election and before the end of 2012: renewed debate over the sequestration cuts from the Supercommittee impasse, the expiration of the Bush tax cuts, the debt ceiling (yep), and if the economy is worse than expected, looking anew at again extending the payroll tax cut and emergency unemployment benefits. Gonna be another busy year, as if you needed to be reminded. Related links: Fiscal flailing - FT Alphaville What awaits you, Mr President (-elect?) - FT Alphaville This entry was posted by Cardiff Garcia on Tuesday, January 10th, 2012 at 20:57 and is filed under Capital markets. Tagged with fiscal policy, goldman sachs.

Fashion Fund Confidential - NYTimes.com January 26, 2012, 12:21 pm It seems hard to imagine that there is a great consumer desire for another documentary following the lives of impoverished fashion designers as they struggle to succeed. And yet I found myself oddly compelled by a new Web series that goes behind the scenes of the most recent CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund competition, namely because the directors Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg managed to pull back the curtain well beyond the typical gloss. The first episode of "The Fashion Fund," which had its premiere today on Hulu, begins with the predictable angst of applicants preparing to drop off their applications, and a lot of footage of sketching and sewing and making things. Where it gets interesting is about 17 minutes into the 23-minute episode, when the viewer actually gets to see how the normally secretive judging meetings unfold. (New episodes in the six-part series will be released every Thursday. The clip above shows a scene from the second episode.) In one scene, each judge makes a case for the applicants they want to be among the 10 finalists. Anna Wintour champions Joseph Altuzarra and Antonio Azzuolo. Jenna Lyons from J. Crew makes the case for the jewelry designer Dana Lorenz. Andrew Rosen supports Carlos Campos, and the retailer Jeffrey Kalinsky argues for Nice Collective, though the latter gets shot down by Ms. Wintour. "Well, this is just generic," Ms. Wintour says as she flips through a Nice Collective catalog. I mean, it's fine, it's not offensive. Mr. Kalinsky replies, "I don't know why you're so dismissive of Nice as opposed to Carlos Campos." Well, by the end of the episode, we know who won that argument.

Manchester United to snatch youngster Frederic Veseli from Manchester City Manchester United are on the brink of snaring former Switzerland Under-17 skipper Frederic Veseli from Manchester City, according to reports. The 19-year-old is still to make his debut for the Blues and it appears United have stepped in to sign the defender. Whilst there has been no official comment from the Red Devils, it is thought the player has undergone a medical. And his agent, Adam Bouskouchi - while not indicating where Veseli was heading for - did advise that news could be expected "very soon" on his Twitter account. It is not known at this stage whether United manager Sir Alex Ferguson would regard Veseli as a member of his first-team squad. However, beset by injuries at the moment, Veseli would be a useful addition.

Crystal Palace v Cardiff City: live 19.35 Freedman on the virus and his team selection: "I've looked a few guys in the eye at five o'clock and decided to play them. It's such a big game. One or two do miss it but for the rest a couple of tablets will get them right. Fantastic old school management from one of the bright young things in the game there. Lifts the heart. 19.30 Only half an hour to go now until what Sky are billing as the chance of a lifetime. As if getting to a cup final only to be beaten by a Premier League club is something that never happens to either of these teams, eh? Anyway, hyperbol aside, a trip to Wembley is not to be sniffed at. I've got Cardiff winning by the odd goal in five tonight - yeah, that's right, five. 19.25 ...ews team news team news team n... Crystal Palace: Speroni; Ramage, McCarthy, Gardner, Parr; Zaha, Jedinak, Dikgacoi, Ambrose; Martin; Murray. Cardiff City: Heaton; McNaughton, Hudson, Turner, Taylor; Whittingham; Cowie, Gunnarsson, Ralls; Mason; Miller. 19.10 Henry Winter has had more than the normal amount of trouble getting to Palace's home (which is a lot). But is he down hearted? He tweets that he is not... Worth the traffic & the tyre blow-out to get to Selhurst Park: #cpfc v #cardiffcity + 2 of the best young managers around, Freedman & Mackay 18.50 So how did it come to this? Well, Cardiff needed extra time to see off Oxford United and Huddersfield in earlier rounds, as well as a penalty shoot-out to get past Leicester City, before pretty straightforward wins over Burnley and Blackburn. Palace, meanwhile got the better of Crawley, Wigan, Boro and Southampton. And one other, that you can relive through Darren Ambrose's Old Trafford screamer below. Or, if you don't like your pictures moving, via this slideshow of the win over United. 18.20 While we're waiting for news of which of Palace's Under 16 side will be asked to do a job tonight beyond cleaning boots (if they still do that, which they probably don't), you could do a lot worse than read today's 'Trending'. For no other reason than it contains Martin Keown being hit on the head with a ball when he wasn't looking... 18.00 Matt Damon and Dougie Freedman, on the face of it at least, have very little in common. Yet today Freedman has been having a fair tilt at reprising Damon's role of Mitch in the Steven Soderbergh pandemic alarm-fest Contagion, looking increasingly fraught and twitchy while desperately looking for a cure to a sudden and unexplained outbreak of the poorlies at, erm, Selhurst Park. No fewer than half a dozen of the Palace first team have this week made croaky-voiced phone calls to their boss to explain they won't be coming in to work today, what with them feeling a bit, you know, blruuuggh. The cause of the illness that has swept through Freedman's squad has not yet been identified (though man flu is, worryingly, the most likely explanation so far put forward) but it's playing merry heck with the Crystal Palace manager's team selection. "Hopefully it's not going to get any worse; we've just got to get on with it," the Palace manager stoically and correctly reasoned yesterday, of the news that Julián Speroni, Paddy McCarthy, Anthony Gardner, Nathaniel Clyne, Mile Jedinak and Sean Scannell have all been struck down. The players have been coming in throughout the day and have trained in different units. At the moment I am just dreading a phone call in the morning from the doctor. I will not know my team until 5pm. Speroni is expected to be a brave soldier and turn out - though probably wrapped up warm in something like loosely fitting tracky bottoms. And it now being after Freedman's own self imposed deadline for sick notes to call in, he should have a team in mind. Just probably not the one he would have liked for a Carling Cup semi-final. Cardiff City, meanwhile, couldn't be in ruder health if they were all simultaneously doing 100 squat thrusts while chugging down pint after pint of those fizzy vitamin c drinks and giving the collective bird out of the team bus window at a group of passing nuns. Kevin McNaughton and Rudy Gestede, both recently exiled from the treatment room for tonight's game, have both been declared fit to play after recovering from cases of calf and ankle ouch respectively. No one would reason that this tie is the glamour one of the pair, but with two Championship sides, and fairly decent ones at that, bidding for the right to meet either Manchester City or Liverpool at Wembley, it shouldn't be any the less compelling for that. Assuming Palace can get 11 bodies on the pitch.

Pakistan v England: hosts fighting hard to win back hearts and minds of their people after spot-fixing scandal Under the steady guidance of Misbah-ul-Haq, a 37-year-old journeyman batsman, the Pakistan cricket team have begun to regain the respect of other teams and, more importantly, their own people losing only one of their past 12 Tests. The spot-fixing issue almost finished Pakistani cricket but somehow they rebounded and for the first time people back home are looking forward to Pakistan upsetting an England side top of the world rankings. This series has a made-for-TV feel to it with small attendances likely for the Tests which will be played at a purpose-built stadium sitting amid the abandoned buildings of Dubai Sports City, a project sinking into the sand thanks to the recession. But television is as close as Pakistani supporters can get to see their team play, a situation unlikely to change in the near future. "I don't know how long we can carry on like this," Raja said. We have been lucky in finding new players. But in the long term it can only harm us and the international community has to rescue Pakistan by at least asking the Asian block to play here again. Dav Whatmore was due to meet the Pakistan Cricket Board on Monday about taking over as new coach after the England series and is likely to have been told of the progress made under Misbah. Selection, for once, has been consistent with the opening partnership of Taufeeq Umar and Mohammad Hafeez given time to succeed. This is also a mature Pakistan side with more than half their side 30 or over. "They know their limitations and play well within those limitations," said Raja. Some have criticised them for being defensive but they know their strengths and by working within those strengths they have won matches. England have been warned.

Should horseback riding be allowed on Ocean City beaches? An Ocean City beach: suitable for horses? ((Astrid Riecken photo)) Here is the extent to which non-Ocean City residents think about Ocean City in late January: "I really wish I was at the beach." But here is an actual reason, beyond daydreaming, for non-Ocean City residents to think about Ocean City in the winter: to ponder the question of whether people should be allowed to ride horses on the beach. The Town Council has been wrestling with an idea to allow horseback riding during the slow winter months to help generate tourism dollars during a time when nobody is really thinking about Ocean City. The proposed ordinance, which would permit horseback riding on Ocean City beaches between Nov. 1 and March 30 with a $50 permit, narrowly survived a 4-3 Town Council vote this week, according to The Daily Times. A second second reading is scheduled for next month. Not surprisingly, the primary concern is poop. Councilman Lloyd Martin, according to the paper, "doesn't think the town could get every equestrian to be responsible for disposing of their horse's excrement" even though a $500 fine would be imposed on any rider caught not scooping poop. Brent Ashley, another councilman, countered with an Environmental Protection Agency report that said horse poop was not technically hazardous, which might be true, but Councilwoman Mary Knight "is more worried," according to the paper, "about the perception people will have that horse manure is on the resort's beaches, whether it can be harmful to health or not." Manure and politics - two subjects often meant for each other. What a surreal Town Council meeting this must have been. Okay, People of Maryland, let me ask you: Is horseback riding on Ocean City beach a good idea? Or is it gross? Or is beautiful?

Mansfield lottery couple: a £41m win? Let's buy a new carpet "I did say a carpet for my landing because it's terrible, nobody's allowed upstairs," she said. It bothers me. I get to the top of the stairs every day and I'm like 'I hate that carpet'. Mr Bull, known as "Bully" who has operated GDB Building for more than 20 years, said they do not plan to their six-bedroom house he built three years ago. Mrs Bull, who plans to continue working in health insurance, also admitted to reporters at Nottingham's Eastwood Hall that she would get a haircut more than twice a year but would not splurge on shopping, a pastime she detests. They said they would also donate a substantial amount to charity after Mr Bull's mother Edith, 67, also from Mansfield, recently recovered from breast cancer. A friend of Mrs Bull's is currently being treated for the same illness. A friend of the couple, who did not want to be named, told The Daily Telegraph: "I grew up with Gareth and so have known him all his life. He was an amazing sportsman at school and a devout Christian. He used to sing in the choir and had a stunning voice as a treble. I recall his singing Ave Maria when the Arch Bishop visited. He took a gap year travelling through Africa and worked in an AIDS clinic in Malawi. He met Catherine there and it was love at first sight. She is a beautiful women with a heart of gold. They added: "They are always thinking of other people. I am sure that a large part of their winnings will go to charitable causes. Mr Bull and two friends, Sam Giles, 42, and Paul Bingley, 40, pitched in with £105,000 each to buy a large plot of land where a cottage and orchard had stood previously, and built adjoining houses for each of them on the land. Each property is currently worth over £335,000. It is the second house Mr and Mrs Bull, who only married around four years ago, have built from scratch. Della Needham, 37, who lives in one of the houses with her partner, Mr Bingley, an electrician and childhood friend of Mr Bull, said Mr Bull was a football and darts fanatic. Her partner and he, along with other friends, would also go to the World Darts Championship every year at the Lakeside in Surrey. She said: "He goes out on his bike with his kids, he's devoted to them." She said Catherine was a keep fit fan who would often go running. I went out with her once and she was a lot fitter than me. We did about six to eight miles and I was done at the end and stopped but she carried on going. Cath's really sociable; she's always out and about. Mrs Bull has a sister, Keeley, who runs a hairdressers in Mansfield, Notts, and two half siblings from her mother's first marriage. She said the friends had supported each other through some difficult times whilst the building work was going on. "It costs a lot of money," she said. And it soon runs out. There have been difficult times but I'm really, really pleased for them. I saw lots of cars around outside the house over the weekend so I guess they were celebrating. Mr Giles said: "He's just a hard-working, good bloke. We've known each other for years and would go on holiday together. Earlier the couple told how they had won the lotto thanks to the weather. Describing the moment he bought the winning ticket, at a Nisa store in Aspley, Nottingham, Gareth added: "Thank God for the rain. I just wanted to kill a bit of time while I was waiting for it to stop. I was going to play the lottery that day, but not at that shop. Her husband was unable to believe he had won when he checked his ticket, even though he thought his ticket matched a few of the numbers. He had to fetch his wife who was not too pleased at being "teased" while she was straightening her hair and getting their sons ready for football. When they did realise they were winners, they still could not work out how much they would get. "I was trying to get my kids ready for football, I was straightening my hair, and I had a thousand things to do," Mrs Bull said. Gareth's face was white, and he was shaking. The ticket was shaking in his hand. I thought he was pulling my leg. I accused him of lying to me, then checked myself and it was true. There was a list of amounts, and we said, 'Surely it's not £40m?' My head was in bits and I thought the numbers matched we had won £4,000. Then I thought it was £40,000, but the zeros and comma's were all in the wrong place and we couldn't work it out. At one point, we thought it was much as £4m, but we couldn't see straight and it didn't seem real. They told their sons to get ready for their football match so they could call Camelot, which confirmed the jackpot total. But they put the win to the back of their minds because they had to take the children to the match, had a children's sleepover planned and were entertaining friends that evening. Mrs Bull said: "A sleepover is cheaper than a party! It got to the point where I felt I was going to explode, so I just kept walking around the football pitch. I met a lady who was thrilled because she had won £500 on the HotPicks lottery, and I told her that was fantastic. It is only now they can really start celebrating as it starts to sink in, they said. Mr Bull, who works with a team of only two or three other builders, added: "All of this has happened at a crazy fast speed since Saturday and it is hard to keep up. Mrs Bull added that she wanted to go back to work. She said: "Ideally I would look to go back. I'm 35, it's a long, long time so I've got to be realistic because I'll go out of my mind at home. I clearly don't like shopping so I'm not going to fill my days doing that. It might be just worth doing something. They said they hoped the win would not change them and they planned to be sensible with their money. Mrs Bull added: "It's not just our money. I've got two boys, I want to be a Grandma and I want to look after them, it's not all about today and tomorrow - it's years. They could also find themselves coming into even more money in the near future if an unchecked scratchcard Mrs Bull has in her purse proves as lucrative as the Lucky Dip ticket. Mr Bull's winning numbers were 02, 10, 22, 27, 28, with the Lucky Star numbers 06 and 08.

RSM Tenon shares plunge 29pc on profits warning RSM on Monday saw the resignations of Andy Raynor, chief executive, and, Bob Morton, chairman, as the firm revealed it may have to restate its accounts. Mr Morton, who holds 8pc of the firm, will stay on as an independent director. RSM, which has 50,000 customers including the British Government, now faces a potential covenant breach over its £88m debt pile. It has also launched a full review into how accounts misjudged its debts and credits, leaving it on alert to swing from a £6m profit to a possible £10m loss. Adrian Martin, who was promoted to executive chairman from a non-exec role, said the board could not allow the situation to continue deteriorating and were forced to push for changes. Mr Martin is a former managing partner of rival BDO-Stoy Hayward, and has already enlisted former colleague Jeremy Newman as a consultant to help the business recover. Adrian Gardner, who was brought in as finance director in October in the first wave of the shake-up, said financial assumptions at RSM had been "too stretchy." Revenue is expected to be down 10pc from £240m, said Mr Gardner, who added this did not include any re-calculations on prior assumptions in the 2011 accounts. RSM, an "award winning company" that operates across audit, advisory, risk and financial management, could now be vulnerable to clients moving firms. RSM has been a strong advocate for new regulation to challenge the dominance of the Big Four auditors. But according to a rival accountancy company, "today's news is likely to confirm companies" faith in the bigger firms." Mr Martin strongly denied this - insisting there was no read-across in clients" faith in RSM's work and the firm's management of its own accounts and risks. RSM pays £4m of interest a year and has a debt-to-earnings covenant that prevents it from having more than three times leverage. In July the company also has to pay back part of its overdraft and long term loans - meaning a reduction of £38m at the end of June. "RSM used to be a series of partnerships," said Mr Odey. These partnerships cared about costs. When they went, people went soft on costs and made questionable acquisitions. There is no reason why a company with £245m of sales shouldn't make margins of 10pc.

Lost in Jerusalem - NYTimes.com Rina Castelnuovo for The New York Times A pizza restaurant in the new city. As a traveler, I am not a particularly choosy person. I will go pretty much anywhere, anytime. Wander on horseback into the mountains of Kyrgyzstan? Spend the night in a sketchy Burmese border town? Sure! Eat my way through Bridgeport, Conn.? Loved it. Once, I even spent four consecutive Sunday nights in Geneva - in midwinter - an ordeal to which no rational adventurer would willingly submit. In fact, of all the world's roughly 200 nations, there was only one - besides Afghanistan and Iraq (which my wife has deemed too dangerous) - that I had absolutely zero interest in ever visiting: Israel. This surprised friends and mildly annoyed my parents, who had visited quite happily. As a Jew, especially one who travels constantly, I was expected at least to have the Jewish state on my radar, if not to be planning a pilgrimage in the very near future. Tel Aviv, they'd say, has wonderful food! But to me, a deeply secular Jew, Israel has always felt less like a country than a politically iffy burden. For decades I'd tried to put as much distance between myself and Judaism as possible, and the idea that I was supposed to feel some connection to my ostensible homeland seemed ridiculous. Give me Montenegro, Chiapas, Iran even. But Israel was like Christmas: something I'd never do. Then, last fall, my friend Theodore Ross - author of the forthcoming book "Am I a Jew?" - suggested I see Jerusalem. And suddenly feeling life calling my bluff, I booked a flight. I'd spend six December days in the holiest place on the planet and, surrounded by the Old City's 500-year-old stone walls and legions of Christians, Jews and Muslims, I would be the lone unbeliever, walking a tightrope between belonging and individualism, observing not necessarily my faith but the faithful. The Old City itself, however, turned out to be, at least in terms of geography and architecture, exactly the kind of place where I feel comfortable. Within those 40-foot-high walls was the dense warren I'd expected, laid out with seemingly no sense of order - or perhaps an order I couldn't yet perceive. Either way, it was a visceral pleasure to master its paths, to dart down the covered, crowded market streets, past the char-grilled lamb-kebab shop (name? "Kebab Shop," said its chef) and then up the easily missed stairs off Habad Street to the empty roofs above the market itself, where the noise of commerce barely filtered through. I loved the feeling of worn stones slipping under my sneakers, and the astringent smell of herbs as I passed Palestinian women selling bundles of sage near Damascus Gate. The boundary between the modern and the medieval was shaky here. Cybercafes were ensconced in cavelike nooks; market stalls sold plush rams, lions and donkeys (actually Donkey, from "Shrek"); Israeli soldiers lurked with their machine guns inside ancient fortified gates. And just as fluid - to me, if not to residents - were the lines between neighborhoods. I'd turn a corner and suddenly find myself in the new construction of the Jewish Quarter, where informational plaques spelled out the history of rebuilt synagogues. Another corner, and I'd wind up in the too-quiet Armenian Quarter, whose closed-off courtyards allegedly held networks of secret streets I'd never penetrate. My own secret hideout became the Austrian Hospice, a huge, mid-19th-century guesthouse visited by everyone from Franz Joseph I to the musician Nick Cave and whose unassuming ground-floor walls you'd pass right by unless you knew it was there. My room, up on the second floor, was a comfortably large space with black-and-white checkerboard floors, simple wood furniture and highly functional Wi-Fi. From its windows I'd gaze out at church towers to the west and - almost close enough to touch - the golden Dome of the Rock, reflecting the raw sun at midday and the moon at midnight. Every time I turned my key in the hospice door and ascended from the street, I marveled at my luck: The place had been recommended by a German doctor, Christoph Geissler, whom I'd met in the shared taxi from Tel Aviv airport. When I asked his specialty, he'd told me, grinning, "I am anesthetized!" The Old City did present one problem: I couldn't get out of it. Not that I couldn't find the way, but I kept getting distracted, and happily so. I'd come to this place to wander its winding streets without benefit of map or guidebook to let me know what was where, and every discovery of a world-famous landmark stopped me in my tracks. The Church of the Holy Sepulcher? Holy cow, it was right here, mere steps from the Kebab Shop, a vast, stern emblem of Christianity, with none of that Renaissance sentimentality that turns me off churches in Western Europe. A tumult of visitors swarmed through - Poles and Spaniards and Greeks and Ukrainians. They rubbed their scarves on the Stone of Unction where Jesus" body was said to have been prepared for burial, and they lighted candles next to the sepulcher itself before immediately snuffing them out. Tradition, they explained without elaborating. Nearby lay the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, now my favorite church in the world. Built at the very end of the 19th century, it is impossibly elegant and spare, all pale gray stone arches, with almost no ornamentation aside from small, jagged, brightly colored stained-glass windows. Several times I returned to the church just to ogle its curves, and once to attend Sunday-morning services - in unfamiliar Arabic. "All the languages are in God's light," said Rafiq, the old man who greeted me. Translation: Even if I didn't understand the words, the meaning would filter through. MATT GROSS, the former Frugal Traveler, is writing a book about independent travel, to be published by Da Capo Press.

At ABC, CBS and NBC News, Accentuating the Differences There was a time when each of the Big Three nightly newscasts on American television tended to open with the same story - the latest campaign speech, a new government study or perhaps a big snowstorm. That time is gone. Influenced by cable and the Internet, the nightly newscasts are shaking up conventions that stretch back 50 years, seeking to distinguish themselves by picking different stories and placing them in different orders. On any given night, one might lead with the Republican campaign, another with extreme weather and the third with an exclusive interview. "The three evening newscasts have become more different from one another than at any time I can remember," said Bill Wheatley, who worked at NBC News for 30 years and now teaches at Columbia. The differences provide a stark illustration of the state of the news media - much more fragmented than ever, but also arguably more creative. Viewers these days "make their own choices," said Ben Sherwood, the president of ABC News. They pick what matters most to them, and we are trying to be adaptive and responsive to those sweeping changes. In the mornings, too, the networks are highlighting their differences. On Monday, CBS, which has been stuck in last place for decades, will introduce a new morning show featuring Charlie Rose that promises more hard news than NBC and ABC and no cooking segments or couch chitchat. Steve Capus of NBC, the longest-serving of the three current network news chiefs, called the "different tacks" taken by the networks in the last year a positive development. "What is going to rule the day, in this age, is unique content," he said. On some days, the differences at 6:30 p.m. are substantive; on a Thursday in December, CBS led with Iran's capture of a United States drone surveillance aircraft, NBC opened with an investigation into the mishandling of soldiers" remains, and ABC with the mysterious shooting of a police officer at Virginia Tech. On other days, they are stylistic; on Tuesday, as the Iowa caucus commenced, ABC led with a piece on Rick Santorum's surge, CBS led with a news-making interview of Newt Gingrich, and NBC with a recap of the day's campaigning. There are differences in tone, as well. Scott Pelley of CBS evokes anchors of yesteryear while ABC's Diane Sawyer radiates empathy for her subjects. These are "eye of the beholder" factors, as Brian Williams of NBC put it. "We are different people," he said, "so naturally we all bring a different "voice" to our on-air writing and our delivery style." The main public TV nightly newscast, "PBS NewsHour," also differs from the three commercial newscasts; it tends to have more coverage about government and international events and much less about crime and disasters, according to the Project for Excellence in Journalism, an arm of the Pew Research Center that studies the nation's news output. For decades, there were only "marginal differences" among NBC, ABC and CBS, said Tom Rosenstiel, who directs the project. When one tried something new that viewers apparently liked, the others would assimilate it. Now, instead, they are counterprogramming. The biggest changes are apparent on CBS and ABC, which have long trailed NBC in the news ratings. ABC's new push to humanize the news and CBS's heavily promoted emphasis on hard news may make NBC News the Goldilocks news division - not too hot, not too cold, just right. Then again, some people have different tastes. "I think it's a great sign of the times that everybody's not in lockstep on the first story every night," Ms. Sawyer said. Her staff members, she said, start each day by discussing "the questions that we think people at home are going to be asking." Some staff members at ABC's competitors privately criticize "World News" for bending too far toward human interest stories; on Wednesday, for instance, the broadcast talked about the tax code by highlighting a California union's ad that compares the millionaire Kim Kardashian's tax bill to that of a middle-class Californian. Is that hard news or soft? ABC would say that question is outdated.

Theo Angelopoulos - Telegraph His films were mostly episodic, told in the form of a journey in quest of some forgotten person or byway of history. But characterisation was not his strong point. Though he sometimes used international stars, such as Harvey Keitel and Marcello Mastroianni, their roles were generally symbolic. In this respect, the films were in the tradition of Brechtian theatre. This did not make for easy acceptance by the public or the critics, some of whom found his work ponderous and pretentious. They had a point. At his most self-indulgent, he could be grandiose to the point of parody. If he had a sense of humour, he never showed it on screen, with a result that some scenes meant to be profound raised an involuntary smile. A typical example was the moment in Ulysses" Gaze when Harvey Keitel arrives slap in the middle of a Balkan town with shells exploding all round and stops one of the fleeing populace to ask: "Is this Sarajevo?" Theo Angelopoulos was born into an upper-middle-class Athenian family on April 27 1935. He studied Law at the University of Athens between 1953 and 1957 but never took his degree. Instead he was drawn to the arts and began publishing volumes of verse, essays and short stories. After military service he went to Paris and enrolled as a literature student at the Sorbonne - but again did not complete the course, switching to the Institut des Hautes Etudes Cinématographiques (IDHEC), the French film school. Too poor to live in central Paris, he took digs on the outskirts, with a 10-kilometre walk every day to the nearest Métro stop. To finance himself, he worked part-time in a rug merchant's shop. The proprietor took such a shine to him that he wanted to adopt him and went to Athens to ask his mother's permission. She was in favour, but young Theo, seeing a lifetime peddling rugs stretching before him, declined and insisted that he wanted to make movies. His course at the IDHEC came to an abrupt end when he was expelled for defying his teachers on a 16mm film he was making. They told him to use conventional shots and reaction shots, but he ignored them and peppered the film with complex 360-degree pans, in which the camera turned full circle. They told him to pack his bags and "sell his genius back in Greece." He did just that, but not before taking a job at the Musée de l'Homme under the cine-ethnographer Jean Rouch, who pioneered cinéma-vérité. While working there Angelopoulos completed the Kafkaesque 16mm short he had begun at IDHEC, but could not afford to retrieve the film from the labs - so it was never shown. Returning to Greece in 1963, he became film critic of the Left-wing Athens daily Dimokratiki Allaghi, which was closed by the Colonels in 1967 . During this time, Angelopoulos began another short - a semi-documentary called Formix Story (1965), about a pop group - but he lasted only two weeks on the set. According to his version , there were creative differences about the tone of the picture; others claimed he was sacked for being too slow. His third short, The Broadcast (1968), fared better. Influenced by Jean Rouch's 1961 film Chronicle of a Summer, it consisted of cinéma-vérité interviews with passers-by on the subject of their ideal mate. It won a prize at the Thessaloniki Festival. His first feature came two years later. Reconstruction (1970) was shot on location in a remote village in northern Greece on a shoestring budget stumped up by the film's electrician. Based on a newspaper item about a man murdered by his wife and her lover, it had parallels to the myth of Agamemnon's murder by Clytemnestra and Aegisthus. The villagers, mostly played by locals, were used rather like a chorus, while the murder took place off-screen, as it would have done in ancient Greek tragedy. Days of "36 (1972), his next film, was an audacious political allegory attacking the Colonels in the guise of targeting an earlier regime (the rise to power of the dictator Metaxas). It was followed by The Travelling Players (1975), his most ambitious work and generally considered his masterpiece. A huge, sweeping saga, it traced the fortunes of a troupe of mummers performing all over Greece in the 13 years between the fall of Metaxas in 1939 and the election of Alexander Papagos in 1952. This historical background was depicted obliquely as a series of events continually interrupting the actors" performance of the popular pastoral play Golfo the Shepherdess. The plot also borrowed from Euripides, casting Orestes and Elektra as communist sympathisers who assassinate their mother and her fascist lover for engineering their father's death. The film's length taxed some audiences" patience, especially when the leader of the troupe launches into a protracted account of the Greek defeat by the Turks at Sakarya in 1922. But eventually it was a huge success, winning prizes all over Europe . That the film was slipped out under the Colonels" noses was considered a small miracle. In fact, Angelopoulos had submitted a false script, shot the film in remote locations and trusted the local people not to betray him. The third panel in Angelopoulos's modern historical triptych was The Huntsmen (1977). Indirectly it tackled the Civil War period of 1947-49. A shooting party uncovers the frozen body of a partisan dating from 30 years before, and each of them is questioned about his conduct during and since that war. Financed by German television, the film lacked the epic quality of The Travelling Players and was thought to be marred by mannerisms. The closing scene, in which the tone shifts to fantasy as the corpse returns to accuse them, was regarded as an error of judgment. Though Angelopoulos retained a loyal nucleus of critical admirers, his films seldom won popular acclaim. Some were not seen outside the narrow festival circuit. His Alexander the Great (1980), which took the top prize at the Venice Film Festival, was not a biography of the conqueror of the ancient world but a three-and-a-half-hour yarn spun round the modern mythical hero Megalexandros - a superman figure expected to lead his people to freedom. In the film he was depicted as a bandit who turns a socialist commune into a concentration camp and assumes the mantle more of Stalin than of his historical namesake. Angelopoulos intended it as a critique of the cult of personality. Again it had to be financed from abroad (Italian and German television). It met with a mixed reception, international audiences finding it too esoteric, especially as it drew on a little-known incident of 1870 in which a party of British aristocrats was kidnapped and slain by brigands. Other films attracted a similar response. Voyage to Cythera (1984), The Beekeeper (1986, with Marcello Mastroianni), Landscape in the Mist (1989) and The Suspended Step of the Stork (1991, with Jeanne Moreau) trundled through the film festivals of the Eighties to critical applause but public indifference. In Ulysses" Gaze (1995), however, he returned to form with another epic Odyssey drawing together three separate narrative strands: Greek mythology, the plight of the former Yugoslavia and the centenary of cinema. Harvey Keitel was cast as an émigré film director who scours the war-torn Balkans in search of a surviving scrap of film by the brothers Yannakis and Miltos Manakis who, at the dawn of cinema, celebrated everyday life in the region without regard for ethnic and religious distinctions. Allusive and poetic, the film struck a universal chord, contrasting past glories (historical and cinematic) with present tragedy. Three years later Angelopoulos won the Palme d'Or at Cannes for Eternity and a Day, a slow and gloomy study of a poet facing death from cancer, starring the Swiss actor Bruno Ganz. In 2004 Angelopoulos embarked on a new trilogy of films framed around recent events in Greek history. He had completed the first two films in the series, The Weeping Meadow (2004) and The Dust of Time, of which the first won the International Film Critics" Special Award, and was working on the closing chapter in the trilogy when he was knocked over by a motorcycle while crossing a road near Piraeus. He died of his injuries. Theo Angelopoulos married, in 1980, Phoebe Economopolou, who survives him with their three daughters. Theo Angelopoulos, born April 27 1935, died January 24 2012

List Of 69th Annual Golden Globe Winners Winners of the 69th annual Golden Globe Awards, announced Sunday in Beverly Hills, California: Picture, Drama: "The Descendants." Picture, Musical or Comedy: "The Artist." Actor, Drama: George Clooney, "The Descendants." Actress, Drama: Meryl Streep, "The Iron Lady." Director: Martin Scorsese, "Hugo." Actor, Musical or Comedy: Jean Dujardin, "The Artist." Actress, Musical or Comedy: Michelle Williams, "My Week With Marilyn." Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer, "Beginners." Supporting Actress: Octavia Spencer, "The Help." Foreign Language: "A Separation." Animated Film: "The Adventures of Tintin." Screenplay: Woody Allen, "Midnight in Paris." Original Score: Ludovic Bource, "The Artist." Original Song: "Masterpiece" (music and lyrics by Madonna, Julie Frost, Jimmy Harry), "W.E." Series, Drama: "Homeland," Showtime. Series, Musical or Comedy: "Modern Family," ABC. Actor, Drama: Kelsey Grammer, "Boss." Actress, Drama: Claire Danes, "Homeland." Actress, Musical or Comedy: Laura Dern, "Enlightened." Actor, Musical or Comedy: Matt LeBlanc, "Episodes." Miniseries or Movie: "Downton Abbey (Masterpiece)," PBS. Actress, Miniseries or Movie: Kate Winslet, "Mildred Pierce." Actor, Miniseries or Movie: Idris Elba, "Luther." Supporting Actress, Series, Miniseries or Movie: Jessica Lange, "American Horror Story." Supporting Actor, Series, Miniseries or Movie: Peter Dinklage, "Game of Thrones." Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award: Morgan Freeman.

Pictures released of Declan Hainey murder flat

Networks Embrace Cable's Way of Introducing New Shows Will Hart/NBC A scene from the pilot of the music drama "Smash." The network NBC will make the episode available on some downloading and streaming platforms starting Monday and, a week before the Feb. 6 premiere, on NBC.com and Hulu. PASADENA, Calif. - Broadcast network executives departing the informal chats known as the Television Critics press tour last week pretty much agreed on one thing: It is time to start acting more like cable networks. That applies not only to the newest roster of network programs, which are increasingly being influenced by standout cable series like "Homeland," "Breaking Bad" and "Justified," but also to how forthcoming network entries like "Smash" on NBC, "The River" on ABC, and "Touch" on Fox, are going to be marketed and scheduled. The networks have embraced the idea - originally hatched by cable networks - of introducing initial episodes of their shows through other distribution outlets like YouTube before they have their premiere on their own schedules. And executives also suggested that a growing number of series might shift to the cable model of 10 to 13 episodes a season - to be run consecutively with no pre-emptions or repeats - rather than 22 to 24 episodes spread out over nine months. That the strategies found on cable are infiltrating the broadcast networks comes as little surprise, since three of the four network programming chiefs built their reputations at cable networks: NBC's Bob Greenblatt at Showtime; Fox's Kevin Reilly at FX; and ABC's Paul Lee at Disney Family Channel. "The beauty of cable is you make three pilots, you pick up three pilots, and you declare them hits, and they run for five years," Mr. Greenblatt said during the press tour here. He pointed to the drama "Prime Suspect," a conspicuous flop for NBC last fall. "At Showtime, "Prime Suspect" would have been picked up in the third episode and declared a hit," Mr. Greenblatt said. Mr. Reilly said much the same thing about the disastrous debut of the Fox drama "Lone Star" last year. "If I was still at cable, I would have gotten genius points" for that show, he said. Both "Prime Suspect" and "Lone Star" drew audiences of about three million, tiny by network standards, but substantial for cable, making it possible to declare a network failure a hit for cable. The programmers" commitment to reshaping network strategy is most apparent in their move toward introducing series in more aggressive ways. For example, ABC's plan for its new horror drama, "The River," calls for its pilot episode to be shown on numerous Internet outlets, including YouTube and Hulu, as well as in movie theaters in several cities and on college campuses. "We feel strongly that presampling is a great thing to do," Mr. Lee said. He and other network executives cited the example this season of the Fox comedy "New Girl." That show was aggressively sampled on Web sites and proved to be such a success on iTunes - where it totaled about two million downloads - that some Fox marketing executives feared those might have undercut the ratings for its premiere on the network. Instead, the show was a breakout ratings hit. "What we have found again and again," Mr. Lee said of ABC's experiments in sampling, "was that the amount of buzz you create from somebody who loves the show and will talk about it on Facebook is going to give you far more audience than it takes away." That is certainly what NBC is hoping for with its most promoted show of the year, the music drama, "Smash." Mr. Greenblatt tried to ease some of the pressure on "Smash" by saying, "You need four or five shows to start to turn things around. "Smash" could be one of those. I hope it is one of those. If it isn't, you know, it's not like we're going to go into receivership. But he conceded that NBC, in clear need of a game-changing show, plans a "full court press" of promotion, including a heavy presence during the network's coverage of the Super Bowl - one day before the "Smash" premiere on Feb 6. The all-out effort began with screenings of the pilot in 10 cities on Jan. 9. NBC also will make the pilot available on other downloading and streaming platforms starting Monday, including XFinity, iTunes, Amazon, Xbox, PlayStation, Voodoo and Samsung Media Hub. Then, a week before the premiere, NBC will start making it available for streaming on NBC.com and Hulu. "We're doing everything we can think of to generate buzz for this show," Mr. Greenblatt said. "Smash" also will benefit from being able to run straight through on Monday nights for 15 episodes - with no disruptive breaks filled with repeats. Several other midseason shows will do the same thing, like the sci-fi family drama "Touch" on Fox, with 13 episodes. "The River," which depends on scare tactics, will try to grab viewers with an eight-episode miniseason. Mr. Reilly said this scheduling - which is essentially how cable networks schedule their programs - had a chance to gain traction at the networks. "I'd like to try it," Mr. Reilly said. I do think we're at a place where the 13-episode pattern is appealing. There are a lot of shows that would be better off creatively doing fewer than 22 episodes and the viewers would probably enjoy them more. When you sit down to 13 from the get-go, the end is in sight, so it feels doable. One network, CBS, does not have a program chief who graduated from cable and has no plans for short-run cable-style series or free giveaways of pilots. CBS is sailing along, knee-deep in hits, holding to the same network course it has always followed. "The philosophy we live by is: if it ain't broke don't fix it," said Nina Tassler, the president for entertainment for CBS. We're doing something right, and not just good enough to get by. We're doing really well.

Egyptians Move to Reclaim Streets Through Graffiti The conflict between Egypt's ruling military and pro-democracy protesters isn't just on the streets of Cairo, it's on the walls as well, as graffiti artists from each side duel it out with spray paint and stencils. Earlier this month, two young supporters of the ruling generals wearing Guy Fawkes masks - the grinning face made famous by the movie "V for Vendetta" - painted over part of the largest and most famous anti-military graffiti pieces in the capital. The two made a 15-minute video of themselves stenciling slogans declaring, "The police, military and people are one hand," and, "The military is a red line." They posted the video online, calling themselves the "Badr Battalion" and describing themselves as "distinguished Egyptian youth who are against the spies and traitors that burn Egypt." It was an ironic turnabout, with backers of the authorities picking up the renegade street art medium of revolutionary youth - and even adopting masks that have become an international symbol of rebellion against authority. During the regime of Hosni Mubarak, Egypt had almost no graffiti on the walls of its cities. But when the uprising against Mubarak's rule erupted a year ago, there was an explosion of the art. Egyptian protesters sit in front of graffiti showing protesters chat slogans and the on the right side the face of Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, the head of Egypt's ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), with arabic writing, center, that reads "if you see the fangs of the lion bared, then don't think the lion is smiling," at a rally to mark the first anniversary of the "Friday of Rage," in Tahrir Square, in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012. Taking control of the streets was critical for the thousands of Egyptians who eventually overthrew the country's authoritarian leader. The battle continues to be fought by graffiti artists who support the country's military rulers and those who want them to relinquish power. Since Mubarak's fall on Feb. 11, graffiti is everywhere in Cairo and other cities, proclaiming the goals of the revolution and mocking the regime. Graffiti artists have continued to work, using walls, buildings, bridges and sidewalks as a canvas to denounce the generals who took power after Mubarak as new dictators and to press the revolution's demands. Usually anti-military graffiti has a short lifetime before it is quickly painted over or defaced with black spray paint. And just as quickly the artists put up more. The graffito that the "Badr Battalion" painted over had survived remarkably long. Mohamed Fahmy, known by his pseudonym Ganzeer, put it up in May under a bridge. It depicts a military tank with its turret aimed at a boy on his bike who balances on his head one of the wooden racks that are traditionally used to deliver bread - though instead of bread, he's carrying a city. It was a symbolic reference to revolutionary youth who care for the nation, heading into a collision with the generals. Quickly after it was partially stenciled over, a new graffiti was up, depicting the country's military leader as a large snake with a bloody corpse coming out of his mouth. Graffiti has turned into perhaps the most fertile artistic expression of Egypt's uprising, shifting rapidly to keep up with events. Faces of protesters killed or arrested in crackdowns are common subjects - and as soon as a new one falls, his face is ubiquitous nearly the next day. The face of Khaled Said, a young man whose beating death at the hands of police officers in 2010 helped fuel the anti-Mubarak uprising, even appeared briefly on the walls of the Interior Ministry, the daunting security headquarters that few would dare even approach in the past. Other pieces mock members of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, the council of generals that is now in power, or figures from Mubarak's regime.

Did British Spies Collude in the Torture of Libyan Rebels? On Sept. 15, 2011, as Colonel Muammar Gaddafi scurried from one hideout to another, British Prime Minister David Cameron traveled to Benghazi to congratulate rebel leaders on their victory. Aware that the U.K. had supported their cause with air strikes and strong diplomatic posturing, a sea of Libyans chanted, "Thank you, Cameron!" If accusations currently under investigation by Scotland Yard prove to be true, however, those chants of goodwill may soon give way to hisses. On Jan. 12, British authorities launched two criminal investigations into whether, years before the uprising, British spies had actually helped deliver two Libyan rebels - and their families - to Gaddafi and his henchmen. The announcement comes at a time those two rebels are poised to launch lawsuits against the British government. The Metropolitan Police made the announcement in a joint statement with the Crown Prosecution Service, which oversees prosecutions in England and Wales: "The allegations raised in the two specific cases ... are so serious that it is in the public interest for them to be investigated now rather than at the conclusion of the Detainee Inquiry [a separate and ongoing inquiry into the treatment of detainees after 9/11]." The first case involves Abdel Hakim Belhaj, a founder of the militant Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG), which strived to overthrow Gaddafi from 1994 onward. In 2004, as part of a joint CIA and MI6 operation, authorities arrested him and his pregnant wife at the Kuala Lumpur Airport as a suspect in the U.S.-led war on terror. CIA agents then delivered him to the Abu Salim prison in Libya, where he says he was routinely beaten, suspended from the ceiling by his wrists and forced to take drugs. He claims that during interrogations led by British security agents he made hand gestures to covertly express he was being tortured. "The British people nodded, showed they understood," he told the Independent. But nothing changed. The torture continued for a long time afterwards. Among other things, Belhaj says he was denied a bath for three years out of the seven he was imprisoned. His wife was also imprisoned for several months, but was released shortly before giving birth. Libya released Belhaj and around 200 other Islamists in March 2010. He went on to command rebel forces in Tripoli in August 2011. The second case involves Sami al-Saadi, another member of the LIFG and an opponent of the Gaddafi regime. Authorities detained him, his wife and their four children in Hong Kong in 2004, subsequently forcing them on a plane to Tripoli. Upon arrival, they were allegedly handcuffed and hooded, and had to sit with their legs bound together with wire. He watched his young daughter lose consciousness before being separated from his family and imprisoned. It's one of the few known rendition cases involving an entire family (with children ages between 6 and 13). Al-Saadi claims that as a result of the MI6-mounted operation - launched in conjunction with Gaddafi's intelligence chief and Foreign Minister, Moussa Koussa - he suffered years of torture until his release in early 2010. Lawyers for the men say that documents obtained by Libyan security services after Gaddafi's fall detail the U.K."s role in the alleged abuse. In one letter, Mark Allen, the former head of counterterrorism at MI6, thanks Koussa for arranging a visit for then Prime Minister Tony Blair to Libya in 2004. He then refers to Belhaj using the Libyan's alias. "Most importantly, I congratulate you on the safe arrival of Abu Abd Allah Sadiq," it says. This was the least we could do for you and for Libya to demonstrate the remarkable relationship we have built over the years. I am so glad. I was grateful to you for helping the officer we sent out last week. Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said he rejected torture and the ill-treatment of detainees. "We will never support it, we won't ask other people to do it on our behalf," he said. He also pledged that the government and intelligence agencies would give their "complete and full cooperation" to each investigation. Despite the rising tension over those two cases, the top brass at MI5 and MI6 can breathe easier over previous allegations of abuse in Afghanistan and Guantánamo Bay. Prosecutors announced that they would not bring charges against British agents involved in the case of Binyam Mohamed - a British man arrested by American authorities in Pakistan in 2002. SEE: Faces of Guantánamo - Profiles of the Unjustly Imprisoned. Mohamed claims that the CIA took him to Morocco, where he was abused for 18 months, before moving him to Afghanistan and finally Guantánamo Bay. Although British agents did question Mohamed in Pakistan and subsequently supplied information to the Americans, police did not find sufficient evidence to suggest these agents knew he was at risk of torture. Regardless, prosecutors still maintain that he could have endured ill-treatment. Mohamed has already received compensation for his ordeal. But for Belhaj, who is now suing the U.K. government, money may be an afterthought. He hopes his case will ultimately pave the way for healthier relations between London and Tripoli. "I believe the new Libya and the United Kingdom must forge a positive relationship looking forward," Belhaj said yesterday. But to start on a good footing, Libyans need justice for the crimes of the past. Adams is a staff writer at the London bureau of TIME. Find him on Twitter at @willyleeadams or on Facebook.

No injuries in nuclear power plant leak RED WING, Minn., Jan. 5 (UPI) -- No injuries were reported when 522 gallons of chlorine bleach leaked from a broken pipe in a nuclear plant near Red Wing, Minn., Thursday, officials said. Workers at the Prairie Island nuclear power plant discovered the leak at 3:53 a.m. and reported it to state officials as required by law. The leak occurred in a "screen house," a facility where water pumped in from the Mississippi River is treated to be used to cool nuclear reactors. The bleach is used to kill bacteria in the water. Emergency Management Director Kris Eide told the St. Paul Pioneer Press, "This is a non-radioactive event." Dennis Koehl of Xcel Energy is investigating why the PVC pipe leaked. He said bleach did not contaminate the Mississippi River or anywhere else beyond the contained area. Koehl expects the cleanup to be completed by 6 p.m. Eide says the public was in no danger, and city officials do not need to take any cautionary action.

'Path open' for North Korea talks, neighbours say

Japan to Release 3 Activists Who Boarded Whaler Japan has agreed to release without charge three Australian activists who boarded a Japanese vessel off southwest Australia as part of a campaign to stop whale hunting in Antarctic waters, Australia's attorney-general said Tuesday. The three men boarded the security ship Shonan Maru No. 2 on Sunday as it tailed the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's flagship the Steve Irwin. Attorney-General Nicola Roxon the two governments were negotiating details for safely offloading the three men: Geoffrey Owen Tuxworth, 47, Simon Peterffy, 44, and Glen Pendlebury, 27. They are all from Western Australia state. "We are pleased that the Japanese government has made a decision that these three men won't be charged and will be released," Roxon told Nine Network television on Tuesday. "But we can't be confident that that will happen next time if people take action - take the law into their own hands," she added. Australian officials had spoken to the men and all were well, she said. Retrieving them posed challenges. "Obviously the logistics are difficult when you are in open seas," Roxon said. The three activists, who are members of an environmental group, said they were helping Sea Shepherd "end illegal whale poaching." The whale hunts, which Japan says are for scientific purposes, are allowed by the International Whaling Commission as an exception to the 1986 ban on whaling. But opponents say they are a cover for commercial whaling because whale meat not used for study is sold for consumption in Japan. Pete Bethune, a Sea Shepherd activist, boarded the same Japanese ship in 2010. Bethune, a New Zealander, spent five months in a Japanese jail before being convicted of an array of offenses and deported. Sea Shepherd said the three activists reached the Japanese vessel - a former harpoon boat that now performs a security role for the whaling fleet - in two small boats and climbed over its rails. They came with the message, "Return us to shore in Australia and then remove yourself from our waters," Sea Shepherd said. The three activists are members of the environmental group Forest Rescue. The Shonan Maru No. 2, which collided with the Sea Shepherd speed boat the Ady Gil in 2010, tailed the Steve Irwin as it escorted the anti-whaling vessel Brigitte Bardot to the Australian port of Fremantle last week for repairs. The Brigitte Bardot had been damaged by a rogue wave. Japanese surveillance of Sea Shepherd vessels helps the fleet avoid the protesters as the whalers go about their annual hunt. Sea Shepherd founder Paul Watson, captain of the Steve Irwin, said the three activists had hoped to divert the Shonan Maru No. 2 off the Steve Irwin's tail as it searched for the whalers.

American Airlines and Delta Compete for Japan Airlines With the ink barely dry on a landmark aviation treaty between the United States and Japan, a billion-dollar bidding war escalated Wednesday over which American carrier would team up with troubled Japan Airlines. Tomohiro Ohsumi/Bloomberg News Gerard J. Arpey, left, chief of American Airlines, met with Seiji Maehara, Japan's minister for land and transport, Wednesday. American seeks a partnership with Japan Airlines. Multimedia The chief executive of American Airlines, Gerard J. Arpey, offered to raise his airline's $1.1 billion investment proposal for the Japanese carrier, known as JAL. At a news conference in Tokyo, he argued that a competing bid by Delta Air Lines would undermine the new treaty, which is meant to open up competition over the Pacific. Delta Air Lines, meanwhile, countered that its bid would provide more passengers and revenue from tickets to JAL. Its president, Edward H. Bastian, said in an interview he was confident that American regulators would grant antitrust immunity to a deal with JAL, something American has yet to receive for a longstanding deal with British Airways. The battle over JAL highlights the importance of routes over the Pacific, industry experts said. Although the Japanese economy is stagnant, its airports are still important transfer points for flights to other destinations in Asia. Further, Japan remains the world's second-biggest economy, and is a major destination for business travelers and companies shipping goods abroad, said Matthew J. Slaughter, an associate dean at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. "It's big," he said of the tussle between the airlines over JAL. If you suddenly liberalize the flow between the world's two biggest economies, you can see why companies would want to take advantage of the situation. Late Friday, American and Japanese negotiators reached a preliminary agreement on an open skies treaty, similar to one reached earlier this decade between the United States and Europe. The agreement will allow airlines to fly more routes between the United States and Japan, and also opens up Haneda Airport in Tokyo to limited flights from the United States. International carriers largely serve Narita Airport, 40 miles from central Tokyo. However, Japanese officials said they would not sign the final treaty, set to take effect next fall, unless the country's two main carriers, All Nippon Airlines and JAL, find American partners and receive antitrust immunity from the Transportation Department. The applications must be filed by mid-February. All Nippon, known as A.N.A., is already a partner with United Airlines through the Star Alliance, a group of international airlines, and the two carriers plan to seek antitrust immunity. The government also wants JAL to seek assistance from another airline as part of a revamping plan. JAL, mired in red ink after years of mismanagement and the global economic downturn, is seeking a government bailout, but progress has stalled over steep pension reductions that will be required if the airline receives government assistance. JAL posted a loss of 32.2 billion yen ($360 million). But last month, Delta and SkyTeam said they were willing to provide a package of more than $1 billion in financial assistance to JAL, if it would become its partner and join its alliance. As the competition has heated up, the chief executives of both airlines have traveled to Japan to meet with JAL and government officials. Both argue that their experience in revamping, which took place through the bankruptcy process at Delta, and out of court at American, would be valuable in an overhaul of JAL. On Wednesday, Mr. Arpey said American, along with the Oneworld alliance and the investment advisers TPG, were willing to increase their offer above $1.1 billion. The bid "will enhance JAL's opportunity for long-term success, and it will inject a large amount of much-needed capital in the short term," he said. American's partnership with T.P.G. would increase its ability to "gather up the necessary capital," Mr. Arpey added. An arrangement with Delta, however, would create a true trans-Pacific powerhouse. Delta, which acquired Northwest Airlines last year, already operates about one-third of flights between the United States and Japan. Mr. Arpey also said that the costs and risks JAL would incur in switching alliances, at a time that it was also trying to restructure, would far outweigh the benefits. But Delta, which flies to Tokyo from 12 destinations, said its larger network would bring approximately $1 billion a year in revenue to JAL, double the $500 million a year in revenue JAL receives from the Oneworld alliance. Though international air travel has been weak for more than a year because of the global recession, industry officials say they believe it will improve in 2010, especially in Asia, which was hit hard by the economic decline. The anticipation of better days ahead explains why the two airlines are so eager to claim JAL as a partner, Mr. Slaughter said. "Japan still has very prominent business activity," he said. For passenger traffic and cargo traffic, an agreement makes total sense. Hiroko Tabuchi contributed reporting. Correction: December 18, 2009 An article on Thursday about two American airline companies that are vying to team up with Japan Airlines gave an incorrect conversion into dollars of JAL's most recent quarterly losses. JAL lost $360 million in its latest quarter, not $360 billion.

Facebook has fallen behind Google and Apple in Mobile Gaming Jason Alden / Bloomberg via Getty Images Here is a sobering thought with which to start 2012. The human brain has more neural connections than there are particles in the known universe. We are complex, we are magnificent. But what if the destiny of this most marvelous creation is simply to play Fruit Ninja, or Angry Birds, on a smartphone? That thought might strike you as shallow, but there is reason to think it's true - and that it will have a profound impact on the future of our culture, our economy, and our business landscape. To point to one notable example, I believe that a handful of relatively young gaming outfits are among the only companies in the world currently in a position to challenge Facebook's growing dominance of social media. Mobile gaming is growing at a staggering clip. It already rakes in more money than the combined revenues of Nintendo and Sony. Yet we are just at the start. According to market forecaster Gartner, the U.S. mobile gaming market was worth $1.53 billion last year. By the end of the decade that number is expected to rise to $7.8 billion. Globally, Gartner thinks that mobile game sales could be worth $11.4 billion by 2014, up from $5.6 billion in 2010. Facebook and its social gaming partner Zynga have gotten a great deal of attention lately, and for good reason. But Facebook doesn't dominate mobile. Apple and Google's Android operating system do: They make money from the sale of apps and advertising that takes place on their mobile sites. Gartner estimates that mobile apps and advertising are growing at close to 160% a year, and last year generated $12 billion globally. Google and Apple took the largest slice of those revenues. MORE: SOPA Protests Gain Steam as Web Activists Flex Growing Clout Facebook, meanwhile, was slow in adapting its site to the mobile internet. Only a third of Facebook's traffic is said to come from mobile, compared to over 55% for Twitter. So the question is whether Facebook can mount a serious challenge to Apple and Google as a storefront for independent game developers. It's no slam dunk. Not only must Facebook compete with the two smartphone giants, it also has to compete with a clutch of new wave social networking sites focused on mobile gaming. Chief among the upstarts is Gree, a Japanese quoted company whose stock rose more than 130% last year. Gree claims to have 150 million users but plans to ramp that to a billion after it launches a global mobile social gaming network sometime in the next few months. Can it achieve those numbers? I think it's distinctly possible. Facebook currently has around 800 million users. That's a lot, but it only amounts to 12% of the global population. Meanwhile, there are roughly the same number of smartphones in the world, just a fraction of the 5.6 billion people world-wide who own a conventional mobile phone. That will change soon. Perhaps the single most important shift in technology in the coming years will be the replacement of most of those 5-plus-billion handsets with low-cost smartphones capable of playing games and social networking. The trend, being led by Chinese handset makers such as ZTE, is to crash the price of smartphones so that more people in developing markets can afford one. Analysts expect that some 650 million smartphones will be shipped globally this year alone. MORE: Davos 2012: "The Great Transformation: Shaping New Models" And where will all those new smartphone owners go to find, and buy, their games and to play against their friends? In the PC world, game developers like Zynga have been happy to use Facebook to reach their audience, and Facebook has profited handsomely from the arrangement. Each time a Facebook user downloads a Zynga game, the social networking site takes a 30% cut of the revenue. But Apple and the Google Android App site offer the same deal - and they have much more to offer mobile game developers than Facebook does. For instance, Apple has 250 million credit card details, which makes it easy to collect payment. Furthermore, because they control the software that runs their handsets, both Google and Apple can offer developers better support, so the games will work more smoothly and make better use of the phone's features, such as the camera or motion control. In short, Facebook probably made a serious tactical error by not partnering with one of the two biggest forces in mobile, and Apple ended up allying itself with Twitter for social networking. LIST: Ten Prominent Websites Protesting SOPA and PIPA In addition, sites like Gree and Papayamobile - a Beijing- and Silicon Valley-based mobile gaming company that's also hoping to surf the smartphone tsunami to global dominance - provide a more focused user base than Facebook can for both game players and advertisers. And these sites are gaining momentum. Late last year Gree sealed a deal with Paypal to provide a mobile payment mechanism. And last April it paid $104 million for OpenFeint, a U.S. mobile gaming network that Gree will use as the spring board to hit its target of signing up 1 billion gamesters. Facebook is not standing still, of course. It has developed a mobile social gaming network itself. But Facebook CEO Zuckerberg must know that it has been exceedingly rare for a company that dominates one type of computer, such as the PC, to then dominate the next generation of computing device. Facebook and Zynga will have their work cut out trying to keep up with smartphone focused companies such as Apple and fast growing mobile gaming networks like Gree and Papayamobile.

Wal-Mart promotes woman to run Sam's Club (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N) on Friday named Rosalind Brewer president and chief executive of its Sam's Club warehouse retail chain, marking the first time that the world's largest retailer will have a woman and an African-American leading one of its three business units. Brewer, 49, will replace Brian Cornell on February 1 at the start of the company's fiscal year, Wal-Mart said. She most recently ran Walmart U.S. operations on the East Coast. Cornell, 52, recently told Bentonville, Arkansas-based Wal-Mart that he and his wife want to move back to the Northeast to be closer to their children. Wal-Mart also promoted two other women on Friday, naming Gisel Ruiz to the role of Walmart U.S. chief operating officer and Karenann Terrell as chief information officer. The appointments come after Wal-Mart last year won a historic U.S. Supreme Court decision when the court rejected a nationwide class-action lawsuit brought by women who alleged that they were denied raises and promotions because of their gender. Some are regrouping to file smaller lawsuits. Cornell's departure is not the first time that a Sam's Club CEO has left Wal-Mart and its small-town Arkansas way of life. Kevin Turner started his Wal-Mart career working as an hourly store employee in 1986. He moved up the ranks and ran Sam's Club from 2002 until 2005, when he left to become Microsoft Corp's (MSFT.O) chief operating officer. "Wal-Mart has the ongoing challenge of maintaining talent because their best people are very desirable to places where they can make a lot more money," said Consumer Edge analyst Faye Landes. Cornell, in a statement, said that he felt at home at Wal-Mart, but that after 30 years of moving around it was time to put his family first. "My wife and I want to put down roots in the Northeast and live in the same ZIP code as our children - not just occasionally seeing them in hotels and restaurants," he said. Shares of Wal-Mart were up 0.7 percent at $61.04 near midday on Friday. As president and CEO of Sam's Club since April 2009, Cornell led growth at the chain including the launch of new private-label goods and using analytics to learn more about shoppers, an effort Wal-Mart is now expanding throughout the entire company. "He was a very strong contributor," said Landes, who said that Brewer comes across as "extremely capable and charismatic." Sam's Club, with 610 stores and $49 billion in fiscal 2011 sales, is a smaller business than the Walmart division Brewer previously ran. It trails warehouse club leader Costco Wholesale Corp (COST.O), which has roughly 600 stores and $88.9 billion in fiscal 2011 revenue. In her most recent role, president of the Walmart U.S. East business unit, Brewer was responsible for more than $100 billion in annual revenue, representing almost 1,600 stores and more than 500,000 employees. Brewer joined Wal-Mart in 2006 as a regional vice president after spending years at Kimberly-Clark Corp (KMB.N). She was selected as one of the most powerful women in business by Fortune magazine in 2010 and 2011 and sits on the board of Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N). She was also the first chair of the Walmart President's Council of Global Women Leaders. Walmart U.S., the retailer's largest division in terms of sales, is run by Bill Simon, who also joined the company in 2006. Walmart International, the second-largest division, is led by Doug McMillon, who previously served as CEO of Sam's Club. Wal-Mart also promoted Rollin Ford to chief administrative officer, overseeing areas including information systems and sourcing. He was most recently chief information officer, and will continue to report to President and Chief Executive Mike Duke. Reporting by Jessica Wohl in Chicago; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick and Matthew Lewis

Republicans Campaign on Martin Luther King's Birthday Newt Gingrich attended an awards breakfast in Myrtle Beach, S.C., on Monday commemorating Martin Luther King's birthday. MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. - On Martin Luther King's Birthday, Newt Gingrich spoke to black voters about growing up in segregated Georgia. Gov. Rick Perry of Texas said he had appointed a "descendant of slaves" as the Texas Supreme Court's first black justice. And Mitt Romney said "we must never rest" until Americans are judged for their merits, not their race. The Republican presidential candidates spent the holiday on Monday reaching out to wary black Americans. In the struggle for every last vote, some candidates were hoping to appeal to a small number of black voters in the South Carolina primary on Saturday - even if those voters end up supporting President Obama in the fall. The King holiday gave the all-white Republican field an opportunity to speak about race - and their work on civil rights - as the candidates try to unseat the nation's first black president. But it is a challenge to reach black voters in South Carolina, where they made up only 2 percent of Republican primary voters in 2008. "It would be nice if I thought black voters would give the Republicans more due as the party of Lincoln," said Chip Felkel, a Republican consultant in Greenville, who is unaffiliated with any campaign. There may be marginal improvement, but not much. That has not stopped some candidates from challenging the conventional wisdom that Republicans and black voters go together like oil and water. Republican strategists say that without Mr. Obama in this primary, they hope at least to improve on the participation in the 2008 primary. South Carolina does not register voters by party and allows any resident to vote in either primary. Mr. Gingrich veered from the traditional campaign trail on Saturday for a stop at Jones Memorial A.M.E. Zion Church, a black church in Columbia. One of the largest crowds at the state Tea Party convention in Myrtle Beach on Monday was for Representative Tim Scott, who represents this coastal district as one of two black Republicans in Congress. "I think you're going to see more blacks at the Republican primaries this year," Mr. Scott said. Some were already planning to be there. Aundrea Rue, 30, a high school teacher in Myrtle Beach, said she was going to vote for Rick Santorum. She said she admired his Christian values, opposition to abortion and Tea Party support. "When I vote for a president, I'm not so much looking for someone who looks like me as someone who protects the country and represents what I believe," Ms. Rue said. I respect President Obama, but I don't agree with him on many issues. But most black voters at Republican campaign events this week responded more like Lavern Wilson, 69, a retired machine operator who is a Democrat. After listening to Mr. Gingrich and Mr. Perry speak about civil rights on Monday, Mr. Wilson described their words as "way too little, way too late." "They're just pandering because there's an election," he said. They're courting black voters, and it ain't going to work. Race has been an issue several times in this election. Mr. Gingrich has been criticized for saying African-Americans should "demand paychecks and not be satisfied with food stamps." And reports that Mr. Perry's family owned hunting grounds in Texas named with a racial epithet caused a awkward start to his candidacy. Republicans are looking for a candidate who speaks eloquently about race, said Mark Tompkins, a political science professor at the University of South Carolina. "It's about reassuring your base that they're well-intentioned conservatives, not racists," Professor Tompkins said.

Blood donor wins Super Bowl tickets LAFAYETTE, Ind., Jan. 30 (UPI) -- An Indiana woman who has donated 143 units of either whole blood or platelets since 2003 said she was shocked to win Super Bowl tickets. The Indiana Blood Center said Carol Sikler, 50, of Lafayette gave blood frequently enough to qualify for the contest, which was open to anyone who donated blood or blood products four or more times in the space of three months, and she has now been announced as the winner of two tickets to Sunday's Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis, The Journal & Courier, Lafayette, reported Monday. Sikler said she has been giving blood in a bid to "break even" for the blood made available to her husband Chuck during a pair of lengthy hospital stays prior to his death in 2003. She said she recently surpassed her goal and decided to keep donating. It's a way for me to do something for someone that can't ever thank me or pay me back personally. It's giving without expectation," she said. Sikler said she was shocked to win the contest. "I'm not the kind of person who wins things," she said.

Marks and Spencer Christmas sales boosted by food

BBC Sport - ECB chairman Giles Clarke wants 'total vigilance' on match-fixing

As New Hampshire waits, GOP battle plays out in TV ads Reporting from Manchester, N.H. - The presidential circus -- candidates, campaigns, trailing reporters -- is still more than a day away from the state that will hold the nation's first primary, but that doesn't mean New Hampshire has ceded the commander-in-chief contest to Iowa. Signs touting the favorites adorn lawns and businesses, candidate ads are badgering television viewers, and the state's powerhouse station, ABC affiliate WMUR, is telling the state's residents that -- sorry, Iowa -- "it all starts right here in New Hampshire." Ads promoting Mitt Romney and Ron Paul were most prominent on the airwaves Monday and offer an instructive distinction between the appeals - and approaches - of the two candidates. Romney appears before a giant American flag, promising in a lushly filmed pitch to bring America back from dismal circumstances that he implies are wholly President Obama's fault. If not exactly Ronald Reagan's optimistic "morning in America" vibe, it at least suggests Romney is the only vehicle to make the dawn rise sunnily again. "It's time for this pessimistic president to step aside," Romney says in the ad, which closes with a photograph of Romney and his wife, Ann, in full Ronnie-and-Nancy togetherness. Paul plays not on America's reach for optimism but on its anger. His ad, airing repeatedly throughout the day, opens with the blunt dismissals of a succession of visibly irked Paul supporters: "America is in trouble. Washington is a disgrace. Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, is described as a "flip-flopper," and he is shown in an old clip advocating a stimulus plan. Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker whose post-official years were spent consulting for mortgage giant Freddie Mac, among others, is described as guilty of "serial hypocrisy." Paul, in contrast, is described as never having voted for a tax increase. And his ad includes subtle suggestions that voters of all stripes could find faith with him. The voice criticizing Romney is that of Fox News anchor Chris Wallace; praising Paul in a television clip as "so consistent from the very beginning" is liberal Bill Press, former head of the California Democratic Party. Ironically, given the man Paul would like to replace, the congressman's ads echo a line of Obama's much maligned by Republicans, who in 2008 contended it suggested a Messiah complex on the part of the Democrat. "We are the ones we have been waiting for," Obama told his supporters nearly four years ago on a primary election night. "Ron Paul is the one we have been looking for," the 2012 candidate's ads conclude.

Last Night's Viewing: Timeshift: The Smoking Years BBC4<br />How to Cook Like Heston Channel 4 I went to see The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo the other day and was a little startled by how much smoking there was in it. Then I remembered that it was an 18 certificate movie and therefore licensed for the display of transgressive behaviour, whether that took the form of a violent rectal assault on an abusive therapist or the oral inhalation of burning tobacco. As it happens, films in which people smoke don't yet automatically receive an 18 certificate, though after watching Timeshift: The Smoking Years you wouldn't bet against it happening one day because, among other things, Borja Cantera's film was a study of how quickly the universally acceptable can flip into the untolerated. Presented as the evolutionary history of the smoker, it began with the democratisation of the fag with the invention of the first cigarette-rolling machine in 1880 and closed with a hideous vista of extinguished stub-ends, smouldering gently like a post-apocalyptic landscape. In between those two extremes the popularity of smoking described a perfect parabola, launched upwards by industrialisation and the First World War (there's nothing like shellfire for making a smoker of a man), and then given a second-stage boost by the sexual potential of what Dennis Potter once called "this lovely tube of delight." Distressed that social taboos were limiting the number of people they could poison, American tobacco companies retained Edward Bernays to break the taboo on women smoking in public in the US, a mission he brought off by arranging for flappers to march in parade down a Manhattan street flaunting their "torches of freedom." It didn't escape anyone's notice that the cigarette had an inherent sexiness too, not just because a woman who would might do other things too but because of all the oral play involved in smoking them. As one male contributor put it, describing the erotic power of the thing: "You just wanted to be where the cigarette was, didn't you?" The evidence of smoking's near-universal adoption (it has been estimated that more than 80 per cent of British troops returned from the Second World War as smokers) is almost comical these days, viewed from a smoke-free perspective. As Stuart Maconie, Barry Cryer and others recalled the hazy days when virtually no public space was free of cigarette smoke, it was slightly startling to remember how ghastly it could be. Because, even if smokers obeyed the imaginary demarcations between smoking and non-smoking areas in public spaces, the smoke itself was usually less biddable. Curiously, it was ex-smokers, rather than cigarette virgins, who eventually proved the fiercest campaigners against the weed, including a Glasgow GP called Lennox Johnston and Cecilia Farren, who had the radical idea of asking restaurant diners whether they would prefer to have their food without fumes and was astonished to find that 80 per cent were in favour of no-smoking areas but had never thought to complain. Some aspects of the film were a little low-tar for my tastes (it lacked the back-of-the-throat rasp of libertarian rage the subject can inspire), but its compression offered an almost timelapse vision of social change. Smoke everywhere and then, almost magically, it had gone. In How to Cook Like Heston, smoke unsurprisingly turned out to be one of the ingredients, a smouldering bed of wood chips adding a bonfire perfume to his chilli con carne. But the bottom line here is that this is actually a pretty useful cookery programme, delivering a high tip-to-packaging ratio and some intriguing kitchen demonstrations. Some idiot out there probably now thinks it is crucial to get a large man to stand on top of a steak before you serve it up, but for those of us paying attention it was a memorable demonstration of why you must always rest it for a few minutes first.

Businessman Steve Bryson Applauds Private Sector for Supporting Communities During Slow Economy, but Warns That More Needs to be Done to Avoid Total Collapse LONG BEACH, Calif., Jan. 16, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Steve Bryson, a long-time supporter of the Long Beach Rescue Mission, learned of some much-needed renovations while delivering an annual Christmas delivery of food and supplies through his non-profit, The Never Forgotten Foundation. Though this year's bounty surpassed the goal of serving 100,000 people in need, Bryson feels more needs to be done. Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120116/SF35820-a Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120116/SF35820-b "The economy has affected so many Americans, who have been suffering and going without basic needs for so long, and there is seemingly no end in sight," Bryson says. Without the help of the private sector, our communities will collapse and we will see a dramatic increase in crime and displaced Americans. I am doing what I can for my community and urge those who can to help their communities as well. The Long Beach Rescue Mission's President and CEO, Jim Lewis hopes the renovations will help avoid closure due to public health inspections as well as providing a tranquil and safe environment for the homeless. "We provide a place of healing and hope," Lewis says, "and as people enter to receive services, the feeling should be hospitable and welcoming. The building should reflect that. The renovations come at a crucial time, considering no improvements have been made for the last 30 years and health inspections have become a real concern. When asked about Bryson's additional donation this year, Lewis replied "Stepping up beyond his annual donation of food and supplies, providing sustenance to disadvantaged Americans and helping us further sustain and extend our ability to serve at such a critical time is beyond impactful. Steve has truly had the largest impact on our ability to provide service to those in need for years. He is now helping us rehabilitate not only the individual, but the actual building as well. The Never Forgotten Foundation was founded to provide resources and aid to underprivileged men, women and children locally and around the world. The Long Beach Rescue Mission has provided food, clothing, shelter and spiritual guidance to thousands of the less fortunate since 1972. SOURCE Never Forgotten Foundation

Living with autism can be difficult, and helping children live with it can be overwhelming for parents. Education can play a key role. In this edition of Learning World we explore projects in China and Canada, and talk to Théo Peters, a neuro-linguist from Belgium. Deserving recognigion, China In China, millions of children have Autism Spectrum Disorders, but because the condition is not widely recognised in the country, many of them do not get any help. However there is work going on to raise parental awareness about their children's behaviour. One school in Beijing is a bit different from the others; the mothers do not leave their children at the school gates, they go to school with them. The Stars and Rain Centre is the first NGO in China helping children with autism - a condition which literally translates to "the loneliness disease" in Chinese - and which has only been officially recognised since 2006. The centre aims to help autistic children learn, develop, and lead as normal life as possible; they also help parents understand the condition. For more information see: usa.chinadaily.com.cn guduzh.org Understanding autism Théo Peeters is a neuro-linguist who is fascinated by autism. We met him in Dijon, France, where he was speaking at one of the many events he organises around the world to spread his vision of autism. theopeeters.be A lot to say, Canada Technology can provide useful tools for engaging autistic children. In Toronto, Canada, the Beverley School caters for children with all kinds of difficulties, including autism. Children with autism often find it difficult to say what they have to say. They find it hard to express their needs. The introduction of electronic tablets in the classrooms at the Beverley School has been a great help. theautismnews.com More about: Canada, China, Education, Health

Beijing Releases Key Air Pollution Data Caving to public pressure, Beijing environmental authorities started releasing more detailed air quality data Saturday that may better reflect how bad the Chinese capital's air pollution is. The initial measurements were low on a day where you could see blue sky. After a week of smothering smog, the skies over the city were being cleared by a north wind. The readings of PM2.5 - particulate matter less than 2.5 micrometers in size or about 1/30th the average width of a human hair - were being posted on Beijing's environmental monitoring center's website. Such small particulates can penetrate deep into the lungs, so measuring them is considered a more accurate reflection of air quality than other methods. It is the first time Beijing has publicly revealed PM2.5 data and follows a clamor of calls by citizens on social networking sites tired of breathing in gray and yellow air. The U.S. Embassy measures PM2.5 from a device on its rooftop and releases the results, and some residents have even tested the air around their neighborhoods and posted the results online. Beijing is releasing hourly readings of PM2.5 that are taken from one monitoring site about 4 miles (7 kilometers) west of Tiananmen Square, the monitoring center's website said Saturday. It said the data was for research purposes and the public should only use it as a reference. FILE - In this Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2012 file photo, a man rides an electric bike crossing a street shrouded by haze in Beijing, China. Caving to public pressure, Beijing environmental authorities started releasing more detailed air quality data Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012, that may better reflect how bad the Chinese capital's air pollution is. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, File) Close The reading at noon Saturday was 0.015 mg/m3, which would be classed as "good" for a 24-hour exposure at that level, according to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standards. The U.S. Embassy reading taken from its site on the eastern edge of downtown Beijing said its noon reading was "moderate." Its readings are posted on Twitter. Steven Andrews, an environmental consultant who has studied Beijing's pollution data since 2006, said he was "already a bit suspicious" of Beijing's PM2.5 data. Within the 24-hour period to noon Saturday, Beijing reported seven hourly figures "at the very low level" of 0.003 milligrams per cubic meter. "In all of 2010 and 2011, the U.S. Embassy reported values at or below that level only 18 times out of over 15,000 hourly values or about 0.1 percent of the time," said Andrews. PM2.5 concentrations vary by area so a direct comparison between sites isn't possible, but the numbers being reported during some hours seem surpisingly low. The Beijing center had promised to release PM2.5 data by the start of the Chinese Lunar New Year on Monday. It has six sites that can test for PM2.5 and 27 that can test for the larger, coarser PM10 particles that are considered less hazardous. The center is expected to buy equipment and build more monitoring sites to enable PM2.5 testing. Beijing wasn't expected to include PM2.5 in its daily roundups of the air quality anytime soon. Those disclosures, for example "light" or "serious," are based on the amount of PM10, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide in the air. Beijing interprets air quality using less stringent standards than the U.S. Embassy, so often when the government says pollution is "light," the embassy terms it "hazardous." "There has been tremendous amounts of attention in the Chinese media - whichever newspaper you pick up, whichever radio station you listen to, channel you watch - they are all talking about PM2.5 and how levels are so high," said Andrews. "What has been so powerful is that people are skeptical, and I think rightly skeptical," about the government's descriptions of data, he said. Beijing center's readings (in Chinese): http://zx.bjmemc.com.cn/ The U.S. Embassy's Twitter feed: https://twitter.com/beijingair

Reports: Drug-related deaths up in Mexico MEXICO CITY, Jan. 3 (UPI) -- About 12,000 people were killed in 2011 because of drug violence in Mexico, with annual data indicating beheadings and the slaying of women increased. The daily newspaper Reforma reported 12,359 drug-related killings last year, a 6.3 percent increase from the previous year. Other media reported similar numbers, The Washington Post reported Tuesday. For example, the Daily Milenio recorded 12,284 drug-related deaths last year. A spokesman for President Felipe Calderon said the government would release its figures later in January, the Post reported. Reforma reported 1,079 bodies exhibited signs of torture. Beheadings were nearly 600, up from 389 in 2011. Reforma also reported more women were victims of drug violence, with more than 900 slain last year. The newspaper did not provide a count of the number of children killed. The Post said the homicide rate seemed to be down by about a third in Ciudad Juarez, Baja California and Tijuana. However, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, Tamaulipas -- Mexican states abutting Texas -- were the most deadly and violence spread to the state of Veracruz.

"Underworld - Awakening," With Kate Beckinsale - Review - NYTimes.com Milla Jovovich may have the zombie post-apocalypse covered with the "Resident Evil" series (guided by her husband, Paul W. S. Anderson). But in vampire-werewolf warfare, Kate Beckinsale rules, with the "Underworld" movies (guided by her husband, Len Wiseman). No wan, moony "Twilights" these: we're talking more than a thousand years of battle between Lycans (werewolves) and vampires, recounted in three installments before the latest, "Underworld: Awakening." "Underworld" scholars, see Chapter 3, "Rise of the Lycans," for some origin details. Now the weaponry of choice, depending on your persuasion, fires slugs containing silver nitrate for offing Lycans, or ultraviolet light for vampires (although Lycans in full-fur mode just use teeth and claws). Dank, clanky settings; a bluish palette; and chewy bits of gore are the order of the day, er, night. Perhaps you remember Selene, Ms. Beckinsale's vampire and former scourge of Lycans (a death dealer, in franchise parlance), she of the pale complexion, black bodysuit and blazing twin automatics. Previously, she and Michael, a werewolf-vampire hybrid, hooked up, to their peers" outrage. Now they've been cryogenically preserved for more than a decade after the Purge - an ethnic cleansing by humans against both species - and somehow have a daughter, Eve (India Eisley). In the prequels, Bill Nighy, as the top vampire-villain, munched on flesh and scenery in equal measure; here, Stephen Rea, as a scientist after Eve's DNA, and Charles Dance, as a vampire elder, assume that duty. While vampires live underground and mangy Lycans dwell in alleys, Selene is sprung from captivity and must rescue Eve and Michael, allowing for lean, lively sparring and splattery gun-muzzle encounters with neo-Harryhausen-esque werewolves. The combat quotient, to the movie's credit, is way up, with narrative folderol kept to a minimum. Is another sequel a possibility? Do vampires get thirsty? "Underworld: Awakening" is rated R (under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian) for slaughter and werewolf breath. Directed by Marlind & Stein; written by Len Wiseman, John Hlavin, J. Michael Straczynski and Allison Burnett, based on a story by Mr. Wiseman and Mr. Hlavin and characters created by Kevin Grevioux, Mr. Wiseman and Danny McBride; director of photography, Scott Kevan; edited by Jeff McEvoy; music by Paul Haslinger; production design by Claude Paré; costumes by Monique Prudhomme; produced by Tom Rosenberg, Gary Lucchesi, Mr. Wiseman and Richard Wright; released by Screen Gems. WITH: Kate Beckinsale (Selene), Stephen Rea (Dr. Jacob Lane), Michael Ealy (Detective Sebastian), Theo James (David), India Eisley (Eve), Sandrine Holt (Lida) and Charles Dance (Thomas).

Pharmaceutical M&A in the Asia Pacific Region Slowing growth continues in major developed markets, prompted by generic erosion of branded sales and increasing regulatory and cost containment pressures. Expansion into emerging Asia Pacific (APAC) markets is appealing not only because of their rapid growth and sizeable patient populations, but also because operating environments are improving as these countries open up to global trade. Overview of drivers, resistors and trends within the Asia Pacific M&A landscape.* Summary of geographic M&A activity on a regional and country-specific basis.* Analysis of the types of acquisitions and healthcare sectors targeted.* Examination of transaction values and leading dealmakers. India, Japan and Australia all continued to record frequent deal activity, although China increased its lead in terms of total deal numbers in 2010 and early 2011. However, Chinese companies continue to focus primarily on domestic transactions.Japanese companies still account for the majority of M&A deal value. The first half of 2011 has already surpassed previous peak M&A deal values in APAC, continuing the annual upward trend seen in transaction values when outlying multi-billion dollar deals are excluded.While most M&As involving APAC-based players target pharmaceutical and biological products companies, such as generics and active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) manufacturers, medical devices and equipment firms have recently taken over as the leading sector targeted for M&A. Which are the most highly valued pharmaceutical sectors for acquirers, and which companies have been the most acquisitive in APAC in recent years?* Which APAC markets have been most frequently targeted through M&As, and which have attracted the attention of Big Pharma? Strategic scoping and focusKey findingsM&A in APAC are driven by slowing growth in major markets and domestic consolidationAcquisitions are often used to gain a foothold in new Asian markets, where better healthcare is driving increased demand for quality Western medicinesChina, India, and Japan continue to dominate M&A activity in the APAC regionKey definitionsCompany classificationsAcquisition typesGeographic classificationsOtherRelated reportsUpcoming related reportsOVERVIEW OF M&A ACTIVITYKey findingsDrivers and resistors of APAC M&AStronger growth forecast in emerging compared to developed marketsChanging socio-demographics create patient demand for better healthcarePolicy and regulation changes are creating a more certain business environment in APAC marketsProduct development costs are rising rapidly in developed markets, particularly for clinical trialsOverview of M&A activity by geographyChina is the most common target location for acquisitionsChinese companies are the most common acquirersIndia is the leading APAC target for top ranking pharma companies, but China is catching upDomestic and intra-APAC deals still dominate in the regionOverview of M&A activity by deal type and size100% acquisitions are the principal deal type involving APAC companiesMinority acquisitions are not common, but are often used to solidify other types of relationshipsAcquisitions of complete business units are the most common form of asset purchaseM&A were performed by existing shareholders in a quarter of deals analyzedM&A value is likely to reach the highest annual levels in 2011The value of 100% acquisitions has been rising year-on-year in APACOverview of M&A activity by healthcare sector and therapy areaTherapeutics-focused companies are the most common APAC M&A targetsMedical technology is the most frequent target sector for M&ALeading pharma players differ slightly in their targeted sectorsAcquirers target highest value and volume therapeutic areasCOUNTRY-SPECIFIC M&A ACTIVITYKey findingsAPAC markets with significant M&A activityChinese companies continued to focus on mainly domestic M&A activityM&A activity in India is inconsistent on an annual basisJapanese companies dominated APAC M&A activity in terms of deal valueAustralian assets attracted significant international investmentAPAC markets with moderate M&A activitySingaporean companies have become more frequent targets for M&AM&A activity in South Korea increased consistently to 2010New Zealand attracted M&A partners from only a limited number of developed marketsMalaysian M&A deals are slowly increasing in frequencyThe largest proportion of M&A deals in Taiwan took place in 2008Other APAC countries were involved in few M&A dealsForeign M&A in Thailand was based on pre-existing relationshipsOnly other APAC-based companies sought deals in the PhilippinesIndonesia's single deal involved the sale of a local Big Pharma subsidiaryVietnam is still emerging as an M&A targetBIBLIOGRAPHYPublications and online articlesCompany press releasesDatamonitor productsAPPENDIXMethodologyKey definitionsCompany classificationsAcquisition typesGeographic classificationsOtherExchange rates To order this report:Pharmaceutical Industry: Pharmaceutical M&A in the Asia Pacific Region

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The End of Sneaky Airfare Price Ads? You've seen those gotta-fly prices - deals from Long Beach to Vegas for just $29 - but is that what it really costs? Advertised airfares do not line up with reality. Some call this dishonest pricing, but it's all perfectly legal, as long as the price includes that little asterisk leading to the fine print explaining that $29 is a one-way base price and that "additional taxes and fees may apply." They apply, alright and will and bloat a 29 buck fare to about $80 round-trip total. In case you're wondering, I saw that $29 special on JetBlue but I'm not trashing them. All the airlines do this and so do all the ticket agencies, for now. But wait a couple of weeks. Changes are coming to airfare pricing regulations, and high time, too, especially in the arena of international fares. Delta recently advertised a sale from New York to London "starting at just $259*." When I tried finding that fare, I was actually shown a cheaper base price of $151 but the taxes and fees rocketed the entire round-trip ticket price to $735. That is actually a good deal, but it is not the deal you thought you were promised. Same thing for the $29 fare. The Department of Transportation (DOT), taking note of this, pointed out that some consumers see this as a bait-and-switch tactic and decided to act. There were some delays but now, beginning Jan. 26, any fares you see advertised are must be "the full price to be paid by the consumer including all mandated government taxes and fees." In other words, what you see is what you'll get and what you'll pay for, and this affects all airfare advertisers, including the airlines, online and offline travel agencies, meta-search sites and potentially anyone that provides billboard space to sellers or quoters of airline tickets. Just FYI, my site - FareCompare - has always shown the total price of a ticket from the get-go, because we believe in transparency. So problem solved? I wish. For consumers, knowing the total price with taxes/fees included will make it much easier to compare prices a la apples to apples. Plus shoppers will avoid the nasty surprise of discovering at the end of the booking process that their steal-of-a-deal airfare isn't anything of the sort. However, winning the airfare game will still require skill and fortitude. For instance, I don't know how many times I've heard from people who say, "I'd love to buy that cheap fare if only I could find the darn thing!" What a lot of folks don't know is when airlines have a publicly advertised sale, they never put an entire plane-load of seats on sale. All the Dept. of Transportation says about that is "a reasonable number of seats" must be part of any sale, and that is understood to be about 10 percent of all seats. Of course, sales have lots of other restrictions these days such as forcing you to fly on a Tuesday or Wednesday only. So even if you're armed with the knowledge of the total airfare price, when you start looking for that special deal on Day 2 or 3 of a three-day sale, you could be out of luck. Don't tell us about being out of luck! That's what I figure the airlines are saying right about now. The new airfare/transparency regulations mean lots of problems for them (I can imagine the shouts ricocheting off the walls right now in airline IT departments). You better believe they fought the DOT on this; Southwest, Allegiant and Sprit even filed a suit to halt implementation of the rule with the argument, what other business has to disclose all taxes in ads? The DOT, however, gave the airlines one stay of execution last summer and has declined to do so again. The airlines have a point. When they argue that other businesses don't have to disclose taxes up-front they're thinking of that big-screen TV special at a Los Angeles Best Buy which won't cost California shoppers the advertised price of $400, it'll cost $435 after taxes. But that's nothing compared with airline tickets taxes and fees which add an estimated 20 percent or more to the cost of many airline tickets and sometimes much, much more depending on the destination. Don't bring up the auto industry in front of airline execs, either, or you'll hear plenty about nobody's-ever-given-us-a-bailout. Too big to fail? They simply point to venerable American Airlines' recent bankruptcy filing as Exhibit A. Did anyone hear the feds say anything about bailing AA out? Not a peep. Another problem for carriers: figuring out the specific taxes and fees mandated by different airports and governments in a panoply of countries can be a nightmare especially for international flights. A lot has to do with routing, since some fees are based on the number of take-offs/landings (or 'legs' of a trip) plus the different fees mandated by airports. Say you search for a flight from New York to Rome. The airlines can show you a bunch of different routes and the prices can be all over the place map depending on how you travel. A direct flight may be more expensive (the airlines sometimes build in a premium for what I call the convenience factor) but there may be more taxes associated with routes with connecting flights. How will they show you a "best" price? Then there's the advertising venue problem. If the DOT decides to fine an airline for advertising violations -- and always camera-ready Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has a track record of zealously pursuing rule violators with well-publicized fines -- who shares in the penalty? Will billboards, newspapers and websites be fined as well? It's not that farfetched when you recall that Google agreed to pay half a billion dollars earlier this year to settle allegations that ads for online Canadian pharmacies on its website allowed illegal imports of prescription drugs. But let's get back to you, the passenger. The new DOT rules are a good thing. Honest pricing always is. However, it doesn't mean your job is done. Airlines will always try to get you to pay the most money possible every time you fly, so you will still have to be a smart shopper. The good news is, that playing field that used to slope away from us just got a little bit more level. Department of Transportation Fines Airtrain for Deceptive Price Ads Google Fined for Canadian Pharmacy Ads Google Founder Attacks Piracy Bill Set for House Panel Vote When to Buy Airline Tickets Are Super Low Airfares for Real? New Protections Likely to Increase Fares

Video: US Election 2012: Michele Bachmann says she has no regrets as she steps aside from Republican race The congresswoman from Minnesota, a Christian evangelical who was an early favorite of the conservative Tea Party movement, said that she had decided to "stand aside" because the "people had spoken" in Iowa. We must rally around the person that our people select. Make no mistake, I will continue to be a strong voice," she added. The congresswoman made a swipe at Obamacare, President Obama's controversial health reforms, during her speech. What Obama and the Congress did in passing Obamacare endangered the status of the Republic. I ran because I realised 2012 is our last chance to repeal Obamacare. Mrs Bachmann did not indicate which candidate she will now support for the US Republican presidential nomination.

New Country Intelligence Reports for Latin America from Pyramid Research CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Jan. 4, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- As an active subscriber to Pyramid's Latin America research and analysis, you know the value of high-quality, timely information covering the telecom trends in the region. We at Pyramid Research wanted to inform you of some new Country Intelligence Reports now available. Pyramid's Country Intelligence Reports offer detailed analysis of market trends, regulatory environments and competitive dynamics for 60 different countries worldwide, including 18 markets in Latin America. Here are some of the new reports: Guatemala: Data Services and Pay-TV Present Numerous Opportunities The telecommunications market in Guatemala, the largest in Central America, is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.6 percent between 2011 and 2016, driven by an increase in data services (fixed and mobile) and growth in pay-TV household penetration. Opportunities in the mobile segment exist in mobile data services, particularly mobile broadband. The fixed market remains largely underpenetrated, and multiplay bundling presents interesting opportunities for increasing uptake of several services - adoption of prepaid TV and broadband, and PC bundling for both fixed and mobile broadband - while also raising brand loyalty. Download the report excerpt here. Puerto Rico: Regional LTE Pioneer Preps for More LTE Launches in 2012 Data service revenue in Puerto Rico is expected to nearly double from 17 percent in 2011 to 32 percent in 2016, supported by a surge in mobile data services thanks to the implementation of broadband development schemes launched by the FCC. As LTE networks expand across Puerto Rico, Pyramid Research expects infotainment to gain share in the total data and by 2015 infotainment will be the largest source of revenue in the mobile data segment, generating 45 percent of revenue. Bolivia: Mobile Operators Hope for a 3G Boost Bolivia's telecommunications market is one of the smallest in the region in terms of aggregate revenue, but it is among the fastest growing markets in Latin America, given its continued adoption of mobile services. Pyramid Research expects revenue to grow at a compound annual rate of 6.9 percent through 2016, reaching US$1.46 billion by the end of the period. After growing 12.5 percent combined from 2010 to 2011, mobile voice and data services will continue to grow at a 7 percent CAGR through 2016. As mobile operators extend their 3G coverage, Pyramid Research expects to see more mobile data users that will fuel the growth of mobile services in the future. These new reports are priced at $990 each. To view other reports or to purchase these online, click here. For more information, contact us at [email protected].

Sunderland 2 Swansea City 0: match report Swansea were taught a lesson in the harsh realities of the Premier League, brought back down to earth as their five-game unbeaten run came to a halt thanks to two moments of stand-out quality in an otherwise largely forgettable affair. From the high of putting Arsenal to the sword, a week on they were left to reflect on what might have been after failing to make the most of their hegemony when it came to possession. They eventually succumbed to well-taken goals in each half from Stephane Sessegnon, the Benin international, and substitute Craig Gardner to leave them with just a single visit from their 12 visits to Wearside. With Gylfi Sigurdsson, the midfielder on loan from Hoffenheim making his full debut at the heart of most of their good work, the visitors should have emerged with at least a share of the spoils from a spectacle hardly helped by the blustery conditions. However, they were left to rue a pivotal passage of play which led to Sessegnon breaking the deadlock in the 14th minute. Wes Brown's mistake allowed Sigurdsson's astute pass to pick out Nathan Dyer, whose low cross from the right found its way to Scott Sinclair, unmarked at the far post. The midfielder's rushed finish from five yards succeeded only in finding the crowd behind Simon Mignolet's goal. Within 60 seconds, the hosts were ahead. Sessegnon cut in from the left flank and although James McClean, stationed inside the area, was unable to control the in-coming pass, fortunately for the hosts, the ball fell invitingly for Sessegnon, who, still with plenty to do, curled a memorable right-foot finish past Michel Vorm into the top corner from a narrow angle for his fifth goal of the season. After losing forward Nicklas Bendtner to a gashed eye following a clash with Angel Rangel, the hosts almost took an early lead when Vorm blocked Seb Larsson's near-post effort, but the visitors carved out chances of their own, and Danny Graham should have done better with a close-range header from Sigurdsson's inviting cross. After the break, Sigurdsson's 30-yard free-kick forced Mignolet into a hurried save, while an ugly two-footed lunge by Larsson on Sinclair went unpunished by Chris Foy, the referee who sent off Manchester City's Vincent Kompany for a challenge that was no more offensive in the Manchester derby earlier this month. Sessegnon came close to doubling his tally with a near post header from McClean's cross, and substitute Connor Wickham should have done better when shooting wide from close range. The second goal came five minutes from time, Gardner making an almost immediate impact after coming off the bench, controlling a Sessegnon pass with his chest to send a looping 25-yard effort into the top corner to seal a sixth victory of manager Martin O'Neill's nine-match reign, leap-frogging their opponents in mid-table in the process.

EU raises stakes with oil embargo Summary Box: EU raises stakes with oil embargo Jan 23 02:38 PM US/Eastern TURNING UP THE HEAT: The European Union and Iran raised the stakes Monday in their test of wills over Iran's nuclear program. The EU banned the purchase of Iranian oil and Iran again threatened to retaliate by closing the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's crude is transported. EU officials say the tighter sanctions are part of a carrot-and-stick approach, an effort to increase pressure while at the same time emphasizing their willingness to talk. U.S. THUMBS UP: U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner welcomed the EU decision, calling it "another strong step in the international effort to dramatically increase the pressure on Iran." They said EU sanctions, combined with earlier ones imposed by the U.S. and the international community, `will sharpen the choice for Iran's leaders and increase their cost of defiance of basic international obligations.

Cyber Culture: How Zuckerberg's plans for a sharing society could help us (and make him richer) Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has recently come up with a theory that's been branded "Zuckerberg's Law," namely that we double the amount of stuff we share online every 12 months. This is a convenient prediction for him to make, bearing in mind that he's the one largely responsible for making it happen and that he benefits financially as a result. But how is he aiming to fulfil this utopian vision of his in 2012? The answer: to move away from asking us to explicitly endorse each piece of content we consume (as we have been via "Like" buttons) and automatically collecting information instead - an act becoming known as "frictionless sharing." Facebook has launched a protocol called Open Graph, which allows participating clients such as Spotify, Digg and this newspaper to announce each piece of media you're consuming on Facebook - provided, of course, you've granted your overall approval. This makes a great deal of sense for these sites and services, because when we see the web habits of people we like, we tend to follow suit and click through. And clicks, after all, are the currency of the web. Those of us unwittingly doing the sharing aren't always so enthusiastic, however. While the majority of information revealed by Open Graph is pretty benign, it's not out of the realms of possibility that privacy-related issues could occur as your predilection for articles about breast augmentation suddenly becomes public knowledge. If the idea of getting recommendations from the web from like-minded people appeals to you but Facebook's privacy policies don't, a service called Voyurl looks interesting: it collects your browsing information anonymously and feeds suggestions back to you based on its corpus of data. But Facebook is attempting to win back our hearts by rejigging everyone's profiles to resemble a timeline stretching right back to when we first joined the site. By doing this, it's repositioning itself as a personal scrapbook, a complete history of what we've been doing and when, thus making a virtue out of storing our information when we previously balked at it. And who's to say that we won't eventually be persuaded that it's a good idea. All about me: Flipboard is a beautiful expression of the new individuality In the list of must-have iPhone apps in the closing weeks of 2011 was Flipboard, a beautifully designed media viewer that pulls information from sources such as Facebook friends, people you're following on Twitter, Google Reader subscriptions and Flipboard's own choices. It's been knocking around on the iPad for a while, but the huge amount of interest in the iPhone version (1 million downloads in the first week) along with the launch of similar apps such as Zite, Google Currents for Android, Streamglider, and Pulse for Amazon's Kindle, feels like it's facilitating that law of Zuckerberg's: that we'll end up consuming all our media through the sharing process, curating for each other by cherrypicking the best of the web. It's hard to use Flipboard and not see it as a tipping point. I've noticed how social media contacts are increasingly shaping my own media consumption; new music in particular comes almost entirely from tip-offs on Facebook and Twitter. And yes, some of those contacts are DJs and journalists, but it's refracted through a social media prism. Observing this phenomenon, Techcrunch ran the following headline: "You can't spell media without 'me'." Trite, perhaps, but it signals a year in which the power of the individual on the web will eat more frantically into that of the traditional media. Sssh, don't tell everybody, but I think I've found a way to get in Frivolous 30-second web distraction of the week goes to hackertyper. com, which allows you to hammer randomly at your keyboard and produce screens full of complex-looking code, thus allowing you to emulate your heroes from films such as Wargames and Tron. Tap the ALT key three times and the message "ACCESS GRANTED" pops up, at which point you have permission to whisper dramatically: "We're in." Is Franklin's hard-fought freedom under threat from bungled legislation? A bill entitled the Stop Online Piracy Act (Sopa) is currently before the US House Judiciary Committee, having been introduced in the House Of Representatives back in October as a solution to the problem of rampant copyright violation. While copyright holders from the worlds of film, music and publishing are lining up to thank politicians for taking their grievances seriously, the bill's content is being given a roasting on the internet for its vague language and its worrying implications for the future. "We're operating on the internet without any doctors or nurses in the room," is the quote that's littering blog posts about the subject, and it encapsulates the main fear: that politicians without much of a handle on technology are hurriedly drafting bad legislation that could end up having alarming repercussions. One wonders what one of America's founding fathers Benjamin Franklin (whose statue, above, sits in Congress), a believer in "God and liberty," would have made of it all. The main gripe with the proposed legislation is that it allows the government and copyright holders to serve court orders upon - and thus shut down - websites accused of enabling or infringing copyright. Now, if that website is, say, torrent site the Pirate Bay you might think well, fair enough. But terms within the bill are so poorly defined that sites such as YouTube and Flickr could also be under threat. Of course, we have had our own poorly worded legislation rushed through in the UK in the form of the Digital Economy Act - a process that was subsequently criticised by The Hargreaves Review of Intellectual Property last May. The lack of business consensus, the "extraordinary" degree of lobbying and the one-sided research supporting copyright holders were all taken to task in the review, which also stated that "we should be wary of expecting tougher enforcement alone to solve the problem of copyright infringement." This is not a line you're likely to hear from anyone speaking in defence of Sopa... Worshippers at the Church of Kopism forgive the sin of illegal downloading ...The Swedish government, meanwhile, has been described as having a more "twisted" view of copyright, following its decision just before Christmas to recognise the Church of Kopimism as an official religion. The recently formed "church" succeeded on its third attempt in persuading Sweden's oldest public authority, the Kammarkollegiet, that one can worship information and the right to copy it, that downloading for free is a faith, and that "Kopyactings" are effectively religious services. Which might all seem like playful nonsense perpetrated by an offshoot of Sweden's Pirate Party (which, let us not forget, snapped up two European Parliament seats in the last elections) but it's triggered argument as to whether laws covering religious freedom could thwart future prosecutions of copyright violators. Rick Falkvinge, founder of the Pirate Party, has suggested in a blog post that communication between the operators of downloading hubs and Kopimism "worshippers" could have "confessional status" and thus not be permissible in evidence. Bless me, Father, for I have downloaded. Frankly, mate, I wouldn't worry about it.

Suspect in shooting of Ky. mayor appears in court Jan 24 04:13 PM US/Eastern (AP) - A 30-year-old man charged with using a shotgun to kill the mayor of a small Kentucky town remains in jail without bond after his initial court appearance. The court in Fulton County on Tuesday entered an automatic not guilty plea for Thomas Joseph "Tommy" Lattus on a charge of murder. He's accused of the Monday morning shooting of 68-year-old Hickman Mayor Charles Murphy. Police Chief Tony Grogan says Lattus walked into a police station early Monday and said he'd shot Murphy, who had dated his adoptive mother. Grogan said Lattus broke into the side door of Murphy's house and killed him. Lattus is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Jan. 31. He was assigned a defense lawyer Tuesday. A message left seeking comment from the lawyer wasn't immediately returned.

Venice: readers' tips, recommendations and travel advice Rather than pay for all the museums and attractions, invest in a good guidebook showing local churches. The joy of discovering treasures in these can outweigh what you'll get from more organised and commercial pleasures. Don't confine your wanderings to the San Marco area; explore the other five 'sestieri," or districts, as well. Dorsoduro, for example, holds the Accademia and the Peggy Guggenheim Collection; Cannaregio has vibrant streets and churches full of treasures such as Tintoretto's parish church; San Polo contains the breathtaking Frari, an enormous Gothic church with an exquisitely carved choir stalls and monuments to Titian and Canova. If you eat a short distance away from the main drag, prices fall. We had a delicious lunch in the alleys behind the Rialto Bridge for a fraction of the cost charged along the canal bank. It was, by far, our best meal in Venice. Linda Kerr, Manchester Your say: Win a spa break for two at Champneys At some point, preferably when you first arrive at the railway station or Piazzale Roma, be sure to take a vaporetto (water taxi) along the Grand Canal to San Marco or San Zaccaria, just beyond (wherever you're staying). It's a compelling, low-cost and hugely memorable introduction to the city. The No 1 and 82 boats run down the canal; the No 1 makes more stops. Be sure to get on a boat going in the right direction. Bill Monroe, London Find and book at the best hotels in Venice at the lowest prices I recommend staying at the San Cassiano (0039 041 524 1768; sancassiano.it). If you're on a really tight budget, try the Miramare campsite (camping-miramare.it) at Punta Sabbioni. Either way, the first view of Venice must be from the sea, perhaps on the traghetto (ferry) from the airport. Martin Turff, Cornwall The Hotel Al Ponte dei Sospiri (041 241 1160; alpontedeisospiri.it) has a perfect location, a minute's walk from St Mark's Square. We stayed in a room that had a view of a canal and we could watch the gondolas going past. Good value for money, even if the hotel could do with a bit of renovation. Audrey Jestin, Cambridgeshire I don't think it can be said enough - you simply must walk around Venice at night as much as possible. It's safe, and the streets, given the number of people on them by day, are incredibly empty. Just you, a medieval city, and the only sounds the lap of water and your echoing footsteps. Clare Weber, West Sussex We went to Venice on our honeymoon. Before we went some friends advised us not to sit in the cafés in St Mark's Square or go on gondola rides as these were so expensive. They were right about the expensive bit. But for once we were glad to have ignored the advice. For us, this was the trip of a lifetime and one of the few we would have as a couple for a long time - our first child was born two years later. Save before you go to Venice and live for the moment. We have not been back since our honeymoon but still have the memories of a magical place, and of drifting silently through the canals on a gondola. Anne-Marie Kesselman, Middlesex We had a memorable weekend celebrating my husband's significant birthday one November. Venice was magical and atmospheric at that time, no floods or crowds. We enjoyed a superb meal at the Corte Sconta (Castello 3886, Calle del Pestrin, Arsenale; 041 522 7024), where we ate what we were given; wonderful atmosphere and not at all stiff and starchy. I would suggest booking. Venice may seem expensive, but you will never forget it. Penny White, Chester If you stay in the centre try to ensure a room at the back of the hotel because the noise of all the wheeled traffic (carts, suitcases, and so on) on the cobbles goes on all night. For true local life, walk along past the Arsenale towards the gardens and stroll among narrow workers" houses rather than the tourist hot spots - this area is also excellent for reasonably priced coffee or meals. Diane Cornforth, Lancashire When I first contemplated going to Venice I asked a friend how often he'd been. Forty-three times was the reply - it's that sort of place. Do the sights, but also take time to get lost in the back streets. Don't ignore the island of Torcello, nor the cemetery island (for Ezra Pound, Diaghilev and Stravinsky). It is vital to stay in Venice itself, perhaps near the Rialto Bridge, to savour the bustle of the early morning and the fish market. Another essential experience is the Secret Tour of the Doge's Palace, bookable online (further information at museiciviciveneziani.it or venice-museum.com), getting into the very roofs of the state rooms. I have only been to Venice four times, but another visit is looming. It's that sort of place. Diggory Seacome, Glos Get to St Mark's Square by 9am. You will have it virtually to yourselves before the day visitors arrive. Take the trip up the Campanile, the bell tower of St Mark's. From the top, via a lift, you will get a fine view of the city's roof tops and wonderful buildings. Directly below you are St Mark's and the Doge's Palace. You will be able to follow the Grand Canal on its winding journey through the city and see the domes of the most wonderful churches. Anne Graham, North Yorkshire The Campanile offers a good view of the city; fewer people know about the view from the tower of San Giorgio Maggiore, on the island of the same name. In many ways it is a better view, for it includes a broad sweep of the city that includes the lagoon, St Mark's and the Campanile itself. Tim Cooper, London Didn't we pass this earlier? You're in a square with lots of streets radiating from it; which is the one you need? Oh, and by the way, there may not be any street signs. So pack a compass! Knowing which way is north (or south, east or west) could be useful. Janie Saunders, London When my fiancé and I went to Venice we wanted a gondola ride but found it pricey, so we asked four people in the queue if they wanted to share the boat and they did. Not only did it work out a lot cheaper for all of us but we also met some lovely people. Another tip: if your budget does not stretch to a hotel in Venice, stay in a nearby town or island. I stayed in Lido di Jesolo, which was close enough to be able to get to Venice to visit, but the accommodation cost a lot less and was still nice. Sian Dare, Essex The island of Torcello was once the lagoon's most important settlement, founded more than 1,300 years ago around the Byzantine Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta. Don't miss the mosaics of The Virgin and Child and The Last Judgment. The campanile is well worth climbing for fine island views and next door are the 11th‑century Santa Fosca Church and a small museum. Locanda Cipriani (041 730150; locandacipriani.com) is the place to eat and stay. Seventy-five years ago, Giuseppe Cipriani, founder of the prestigious Venice bar, developed the Locanda as a rustic retreat. Having seduced authors such as Hemingway, this refuge has entranced guests and celebrities ever since. Brian Robinson, Newcastle upon Tyne Venice doesn't have any hidden corners unknown to outsiders, but the north of the city is definitely quieter than some. Check out the area in and around the old Ghetto, and in particular the new breed of small restaurant opening along Fondamenta degli Ormesini to the east. Calle Lunga San Barnaba, five minutes from the Accademia, is another emerging dining area. Tom Ellis, London What to avoid Don't necessarily stay in Venice itself - fly to Treviso with a budget airline and stay at BHR Treviso Hotel (0039 0422 3730; bhrtrevisohotel.com), the best four-star hotel I have stayed in. It is easy and cheap to get to Venice, 45 minutes away by rail, and the money saved on accommodation will get you a lovely meal in one of the many good restaurants in Treviso. John Bray, County Waterford The busiest months are June, September and October, especially September and the first three weeks of October. Foreigners and Italians come in droves, especially at weekends. While the weather may be more comfortable, the discomfort caused by the crowds is far worse than hot weather. Also, in mid to late-October there can be flooding, which makes St Mark's and other places difficult for the four hours it lasts. Steven Green, address withheld Please don't take a cruise to Venice. Wherever you are in the city, you can't miss seeing giant cruise ships dwarfing everything and ruining the skyline. The lagoon is only 12ft deep, so has to be dredged to allow these monsters to dock. Venice was built on a bed of thousands of wooden piles, hammered into the mud. If the mud is removed, the algae preserving these wooden foundation posts also disappears. The wood then rots. Myra Robinson, Newcastle upon Tyne

Costa Offers $14,460 Per Person for Ruined Cruise Costa Crociere SpA is offering uninjured passengers euro11,000 ($14,460) apiece to compensate them for lost baggage and psychological trauma after its cruise ship ran aground and capsized off Tuscany when the captain deviated from his route. Costa, a unit of the world's biggest cruise operator, the Miami-based Carnival Corp., also said it would reimburse passengers the full costs of their cruise, their travel expenses and any medical expenses sustained after the grounding. The agreement was announced Friday after negotiations between Costa representatives and Italian consumer groups who say they represent 3,206 cruise ship passengers from 61 countries who suffered no physical harm when the Costa Concordia hit a reef on Jan. 13. The deal does not apply to the hundreds of crew on the ship, the roughly 100 cases of people injured or the families who lost loved ones. Passengers are free to pursue legal action on their own if they aren't satisfied with the deal. Some consumer groups have already signed on as injured parties in the criminal case against the Concordia's captain, Francesco Schettino, who is accused of manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning the ship before all passengers were evacuated. He is under house arrest. AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia In addition, Codacons, one of Italy's best known consumer groups, has engaged two U.S. law firms to launch a class-action lawsuit against Costa and Carnival in Miami, claiming that it expects to get anywhere from euro125,000 ($164,000) to euro1 million ($1.3 million) per passenger. Codacons has also called for a criminal investigation into the not-infrequent practice of steering huge cruise ships close to shore to give passengers and residents on land a bit of a thrill. The chief executive of Costa, Pier Luigi Foschi, told an Italian parliamentary committee this week that so-called "tourist navigation" wasn't illegal, and was a "cruise product" sought out by passengers and offered by cruise lines to try to stay competitive. The Concordia gashed its hull on reefs off the island of Giglio after Schettino made an unauthorized deviation from its approved route to bring it closer to Giglio. Some 4,200 passengers and crew were hastily evacuated after the Concordia ran aground and capsized a few kilometers away near the port of Giglio. Sixteen bodies have been recovered and another 16 remain unaccounted for and presumed dead. Search efforts for them resumed Friday as salvage crews prepared to begin extracting some 500,000 tons of heavy fuel oil before it leaks. Passengers have said the evacuation was chaotic. Coast guard data shows the captain only sounded the evacuation alarm an hour after the initial collision, well after the Concordia had listed to the point that many lifeboats couldn't be lowered. Schettino has admitted he had taken the ship on "touristic navigation" but has said the rocks he hit weren't charted on his nautical maps.

Young cancer patient Perez's ultimate warrior (Reuters) - When Eloy Perez fights holder Adrien Broner for the WBO super featherweight title next month in St. Louis, he will have in his corner an inspirational nine-year-old boy whom he regards as the ultimate warrior. Sy Sherman, the boxer's official belt carrier, was diagnosed with primary liver cancer 11 months ago but he has been a source of optimism ever since he joined the Perez team last year. "Sy lifts up our spirits and he's fun to have around," Mexican-American Perez told Reuters. He just smiles like nothing bothers him, even when he is hurting. He's more a fighter than I am. I am the softy. He's coming to St. Louis with us to watch us win that title and he's going to be the one holding that belt afterwards. He deserves it. He's just nine years old and he's already been through 11 rounds of (chemotherapy). He has spirit and a big heart, a heart of steel. I can't wait for that moment when I win in St. Louis and he will get on my shoulders and hold that belt high so we can all be proud. Perez, who has a professional career record of 23-0-2 with seven knockouts, was introduced to Sherman by his assistant trainer, Sam Garcia, at their training base in Salinas, California. "Sam heard about Sy's story and I know financially it's very hard for any parent to go through something like this," Perez said. So Sam found him and brought him on to our team. We wanted to help him out and so I met him and we all fell in love with him. Sy keeps smiling and, since I met him, he has come to my training sessions and to the last couple of fights. It's great having him around. Sherman, who lives with his family in Salinas, was aged eight when he learned he had hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the third leading cause of cancer death worldwide, accounting to the Mayo Clinic. The most common form of primary liver cancer, HCC usually affects people age 50 or older and if the cancer cannot be completely removed, the disease is usually fatal within three to six months. Since his diagnosis, Sherman has undergone 11 rounds of chemotherapy and is now taking Nexavar pills, which are typically given to liver cancer patients who cannot be treated with surgery. "Unfortunately we were not able to continue the chemotherapy," said Sherman's father Matt. He was already in the danger zone with the amount of toxins in his body. Remarkably, though, the cancer seems to be slowly but surely going away. It's a miracle. He shouldn't be here today is what it came down to and here he is, stronger than ever. In Matt's eyes, Sy's regular visits to the Salinas gym where he chats to Perez, the boxer's trainer Max Garcia, assistant trainer Sam Garcia and manager Kathy Garcia have been a significant factor in his son's improving health. "It has given him something to look forward to and has kept his mind off of his cancer," Matt said. It's kind of like a mind-over-matter feeling for him. He doesn't think about cancer, he is just thinking about Eloy, the Garcias and the next trip he gets to go on with the team. He talks and talks non-stop, and they spoil him every day with little presents and stuff. I've got to thank the whole Garcia boxing camp for just brightening Sy's day more than anyone could have done up to this point. They are all like family now. With Sy in his corner, Perez is confident he will take the WBO super featherweight title from the unbeaten Boner (22-0, 18 KOs) on February 25. "My training is going according to plan and I have been sparring with some incredible partners, all very talented and none of them have cut me any slack," the 25-year-old said. I can't wait for February 25th, I will own the night. I've worked so hard for many years for this opportunity and now it's just six weeks' away. I have my eyes on the prize, I'm not going all the way to St. Louis to lose. It's not an option. Reporting by Mark Lamport-Stokes; Editing by Frank Pingue

Egypt's first post-Mubarak parliament holds opening session Several independent MPs and others representing the liberal groups that engineered the anti-Mubarak uprising wore yellow scarves saying, "No to military trials for civilians," a reference to the hauling of at least 12,000 civilians before military tribunals since the generals took over power 11 months ago. El-Saqqah began the proceedings by ordering MPs to stand in silence for a minute in memory of the hundreds of protesters killed during the protests. Mubarak, 83, is on trial for complicity in the killing of the protesters. He could face the death penalty if convicted. What was supposed to be a quiet procedural session turned briefly chaotic when some MP improvised additions to the text of the oath they were taking in turn, provoking angry protests from the speaker. The oath ends with a pledge to respect the constitution and law, but an Islamist MP added "God's law." Two pro-reform MPs pledged to "continue the revolution" and "be loyal to its martyrs." Security was tight in the area around the parliament building, scene of recent deadly clashes between troops and protesters demanding that the generals immediately step down. The building is also a short distance away from Tahrir Square, birthplace of the uprising that topped Mubarak's 29-year regime.

Rep. Peter King's hearings on radicalization among American Muslims: Details and background Compiled by Justin Bank Washington Post staff Thursday, March 10, 2011; 12:59 PM The Rep. Peter King helmed hearing on radicalization among American Muslims began on Thursday: Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.), who chairs the House Committee on Homeland Security, opened the much anticipated congressional hearing with a statement that steered clear of his most controversial statements from the past, when he said more than 80 percent of American mosques were tainted by radicalism. But, King said, reports from law enforcement and the Obama administration indicated that Islamic terrorists were seeking to recruit American Muslims. And he cited a public opinion poll that showed support for suicide bombings among a small fraction of Muslim men. "The overwhelming majority of Muslim Americans are outstanding Americans," King said. But there are realities we cannot ignore. "Moderate leadership must emerge from the Muslim community," King said. But an emotional rebuttal came from the hearing's first witness, Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.). Ellison, one of two Muslims in Congress, said he feared that the hearings could tar the entire Muslim community because of the actions of a few. We need to conduct a thorough, fair analysis and to do no harm. The approach of today's hearing, I fear, does not meet these standards," Ellison said. These hearings have a precedent from previous Congressional sessions: Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.) held 14 such hearings between 2006 and 2009, and then-Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.) held six. Public opinion about Muslims hasn't changed much in recent years. In the fall, a Washington Post-ABC News poll asked whether mainstream Islam "encourages violence." Among all respondents, 31 percent said yes, slightly less than the recent high of 34 percent in 2003. What's different now is the tone of the discussion - in Congress and across the country. In Lieberman's hearings, most witnesses preceded their comments by saying that the problem was not Islam itself. That was an echo of what President George W. Bush said just days after 9/11, when he went to a D.C. mosque and declared, "Islam is peace." The president's remark and others that followed had the effect of constraining criticism. Felicia Sonmez and Michelle Boorstein are liveblogging the hearing at the 2Chambers blog. They've been highlighting notable exchanges, such as this one during the testimony of Zuhdi Jasser, a prominent Navy veteran from Scottsdale, Arizona: Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-Fla.), meanwhile, asked for thoughts from the panelists on how to combat the use of the Internet and other technologies by terrorist organizations overseas. Jasser responded that "we need your support to do that and we can do it with the right resources." He said that the U.S. strategy so far has been to try to break down Islamist propaganda. "That's wrong," he said. Look at what happened in Egypt and Tunisia. That was simply through social networking. Jasser also criticized the investigation into the Fort Hood attack and others for not specifically mentioning the words "Islam" or "jihad." "It's like trying to treat cancer without saying the word," Jasser said, adding: "We've surrendered the constitution to the jihadists." World: On Libya, Obama willing to let allies take the lead Yemen: President Saleh offers plan to amend constitution World: Gaddafi showers strategic oil port with rockets

Campaigning gets major -- in Hollywood Actress Jennifer Lawrence and Tom Sherak, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences president, announce the nominees. Jo Piazza: Campaign of prettier people with better hair rages on in Hollywood Campaigning costs more than $100 million a year, but stakes are huge, she says Piazza: Spin, trade ads, publicists, party planners, consultancies cost fortunes Stars do as much glad-handing and promoting, she says, as politicians in election season Editor's note: Jo Piazza began her career as a staff writer at the New York Daily News. She wrote the "Celebenomics" column on AOL's PopEater site, and her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Daily Beast, and Slate. She has also appeared as a commentator on CNN, Fox News, MSNBC and NPR. Her book, "Celebrity Inc.: How Famous People Make Money," was released in November. (CNN) -- The Republican presidential candidates are preening and prancing throughout the Sunshine State in the hopes of winning the state's 50 precious delegates. Out in Hollywood, another kind of campaign -- one with prettier people, with better hair, but equally sharp nails -- will rage over the next three weeks for Oscar. The comparison is apt in the vast sums of money spent, the lobbyists hired, and the number of backsides kissed in order for studios to ensure their films pick up Oscars at the end of the campaign season, capped by a red carpet of triumph and tears the evening of February 26. To that end, studios spend millions of dollars to make sure their projects take home those little gold men. As in the presidential race, we've seen primaries leading up to the main event. Candidates were given tacit endorsements at the Golden Globes and again at Sunday evening's Screen Actors Guild Awards. After "The Help" took home a surprise win at the SAG Awards, the race for Best Picture has narrowed to that film and "The Descendants" and "The Artist," both big winners at the Globes. For the next few weeks, until the close of Academy voting on the Sunday before the Oscars, the studios and distributors behind those three pictures -- Disney, 20th Century Fox and The Weinstein Company, respectively -- will be aggressively wooing the Academy's 6,000 members into their camps. As in a political campaign, you simply cannot win an Oscar without spending money. It doesn't matter who spends the most, but it does matter who spends it best. One of the better campaigns of the past five years was the 2010 win for the little war flick that could: "The Hurt Locker." Despite its critical acclaim and high-quality cinematography and script, it was the lowest-grossing best picture winner of all time, competing against the highest-grossing movie in recent history, "Avatar." Besides quality, of course, what did it have going for it? One hell of an Oscar campaign. Its studio, Summit Entertainment, was flush with vampire money from the "Twilight" series. Oscar watchers, including studio executives, film journalists and fellow Oscar campaigners, told me that Summit spent between $3 million and $5 million for the campaign, which consisted mainly of hiring consultants to spin "Hurt Locker" and "Avatar" in a battle of good versus evil within the press. "Hurt Locker" actually lost out to "Avatar" in the Globes race, and that might have been a well-timed boon for the small flick. It positioned it perfectly as the underdog going into the home stretch of the campaign. Besides the cachet of an Oscar win, the successful campaign typically pays for itself in dividends. In the nine months after "The Hurt Locker's" Oscar win, the film sold more than $31 million worth of DVDs in the United States, 214% of its U.S. box office gross of $14.7 million. That's what makes Oscar campaigning more than a $100 million-a-year cottage industry within the movie industry. Persuading members of the Academy to first nominate your film and then vote for it is tremendously similar to how political operatives get candidates elected. There is no single strategy for a successful Oscar campaign, but momentum is key. Peak too early and excitement peters out; peak too late and you've spent millions of dollars without enough time to get voters invested. Building momentum involves racking up accolades and awards from individual guilds and film festivals before the nomination voting in January. This year Weinstein is making sure "The Artist" gathers momentum at just the right time. It took home a Golden Globe and its lead actor, Jean Dujardin, brought home a Best Actor SAG. But it has yet to peak. How is momentum built? And why does it cost millions? After all, word of mouth is free. But an intricate web of gypsy publicists, rogue party planners, and entire full-service consultancies to generate that all-important buzz that drives a campaign can run more than $2 million. Sure, a DVD can be mailed for less than $2. But with elaborate packaging, express mailing and hand delivery, the cost can increase to $200 each. With 6,000 Academy members, that translates to more than $1 million to get the films in front of voters. One of the stealthier tactics of good campaigners is the third-party Oscar party, where someone who is not in the Academy hosts an event celebrating a film starring one of their good friends. The expenses for these can easily run to $2 million, which is often somehow subsidized by the studio. Like a good show-pony politician, the cast of a film needs to be tirelessly glad-handing voters and going to every event to fluff their film. If a movie's main players aren't willing to commit to living and breathing and fighting for their film for the two months leading up to the Oscars, they can forget about taking home a statue. Bills can run into the millions to fly the talent back and forth across the country and keep them upright and happy during the final stretch. Then there are screening costs and advertising costs. Full-page ads in trade magazines like Variety and The Hollywood Reporter can cost $25,000 each, with ad budgets ranging from $15,000 to $1 million. Political campaign tricks are obvious. Not so for Oscar campaigns. Selecting the leader of the free world may hold far greater stakes than what to put on your Netflix queue, but they both deserve a high level of transparency. Audiences deserve to know what goes into an Oscar win before they give it credence. The opinions in this commentary are solely those of Jo Piazza.

Police hunt for gunman in park ranger murder

China apologizes for Indians' torture NEW DELHI, Jan. 5 (UPI) -- China said it began criminal proceedings against five people accused of torturing two Indian traders near Shanghai and promised to safeguard Indian nationals. Chinese ambassador Zhang Yan provided the country's response Wednesday to the alleged torture of the two Indians in Yiwu to S.M. Krishna, India's external affairs minister, and a senior official during separate meetings, Press Trust of India reported. Indian officials said they were satisfied with the response to the torture of the two traders. I had detailed discussion with your foreign minister. The Chinese government attaches great importance to this matter. We are working very hard to find a solution to this issue and to resolve it as early as possible," Zhang told reporters after meeting with Krishna. Krishna said he and Zhang agreed safety of all Indians in China is of "utmost importance." "I am immensely pleased and satisfied with the quick response I got from the Chinese ambassador and also pleased and satisfied with the local authorities in China, who have been cooperative," Krishna said.

OFT to probe Western Isles' fuel prices

Health Premium Increases - NYTimes.com Re "U.S. Seeks Rollback of a Health Insurer's "Excessive" Rate Increase" (news article, Jan. 13): As a freelance writer and editor, I've paid my own health insurance costs since 1986. Even when I've been given staff jobs, my employers have insisted that I work part time so they won't have to pay benefits. When my old insurer wanted to raise my premium by 33 percent to more than $1,000 - even though I have no pre-existing conditions, diseases or other health problems - I shopped around and found a much more affordable plan. Then last year, this company also raised my premium by 33 percent. While the new health care law will require insurers to justify rates of more than 10 percent, my insurer has already scored a major slam dunk. If my premium goes up much more, I may have to join the uninsured and wait for Medicare to kick in five years from now.

L.A. Arson Suspect Heads to Court The German man who authorities have called "the most dangerous arsonist in L.A. history" will appear in court Wednesday to face charges that he allegedly set a series of 52 blazes in the Los Angeles area over the past four days. Harry Burkhart, of Hollywood, was arrested early Monday after a rookie reserve sheriff's deputy spotted the 24-year-old in a vehicle, which matched the description of the suspect. Authorities said they were "very confident" in the arrest of Burkhart, who told police officers, "I hate America" as they placed him under arrest. For four days, someone has been terrorizing our community. Our four day nightmare is over," Los Angeles police chief Charlie Beck said at a press conference Monday night where he announced Burkhart's arrest. Burkhart, a German national, may have been motivated by his anger at U.S. immigration authorities that stemmed from a deportation hearing involving his mother, Dorothee, that took place in Los Angeles County about a week and a half ago, sources told ABC News exclusively. Burkhart reportedly broke into in a tirade, spewing angry anti-American statements, during the hearing for his mother, said the subject of a provisional arrest request by Germany. It was this incident that eventually led police to zero in on Burkhart as a suspect after a tip came from an official at the State Department. ABC News has learned from sources that a possible reason for his mother's deportation may be that her address and phone number -- and that of her son -– were linked to a business, specifically a massage website, Hollywoodtantramassage.com. Burkhart was traced on-the-ground by his identifying ponytail and the Canadian license plates on his van. Los Angeles Police Deputy Shervin Lalezary spotted a minivan Monday with British Columbia plates that matched the description of a vehicle seen at several of the vehicle and carport fires ignited around Hollywood and West Hollywood, beginning Dec. 30. When Lalezary initiated a traffic stop, he discovered the van's driver, Burkhart, also resembled the person of interest seen in a videotape released by the multi-agency arson task force assigned to the case. Grainy security footage from a parking garage that was set on fire showed a man in a ponytail, too. Police seized flammable materials that matched the materials used in the blazes during the search of the minivan, according to sources. Initially identified by police as a person of interest, Burkhart soon became a prime suspect. He was detained and questioned and, after subsequent interviews with police, was arrested. On Monday afternoon he was charged with one count of arson of an inhabited dwelling, with more charges expected as the investigation proceeds, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said. Burkhart is currently being held on $250,000 bail. The fires were mostly ignited around vehicles, and then spread to structures, eventually causing hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage. Since Burkhart's arrest on Monday, there have been no new fires set in the Los Angeles area -- a promising clue that the right man is in custody. Burkhart was uncooperative and was to be asked to sit for a polygraph as part of the investigation, sources said on Monday afternoon. Although the suspect was considered the most likely person to have set all the blazes, a second suspect was still being detained by authorities and interrogated in connection with them on Monday. Police said at a news conference Monday that they were following hundreds of clues, tips and leads, and would be interviewing dozens more witnesses in the case. They would continue to be on high alert during patrols throughout the night and day. The Associated Press reports that two other suspects, age 55 and 22, were also detained after the attacks began last week. It is not clear, however, whether the two suspects have been released, or remain held by authorities in connection with possible copy-cat arson attacks. For the victims of the arsonist, nothing can justify what he did to them, and many are searching for answers. Carole Shandler's car was among those burned. It feels like an act of terrorism. That we're being targeted to have spread fear throughout a community and in people's hearts. I just want to know what the reason is," Shandler said. ABC News' Kevin Dolak and Colleen Curry contributed to this report.

Magnes Judaica Museum Joins Berkeley Library Keegan Houser Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life A Bay Area museum is part of the University of California, Berkeley. Above left, Italian Book of Esther scroll; right, German Torah binder, both 18th century. BERKELEY, Calif. - The story of how the Judah L. Magnes Museum - whose collection of Judaica is the third largest in the country - became the Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life at the Bancroft Library of the University of California, Berkeley, might not seem terribly ripe with complication or implication. In recent years small private museums facing financial strain have often sought refuge by negotiating new lives within universities. Perhaps on Sunday, when the Magnes opened its doors to the public in a building it had long owned near the campus here, it was simply inaugurating another phase of its 50-year life. But along the way the Magnes has had more than its share of high drama, including a much anticipated union with another local Jewish museum in 2002, closely followed by a quickie divorce on grounds of irreconcilable differences. Then, the Magnes had to watch as its onetime partner achieved local glory as the Contemporary Jewish Museum, opening in downtown San Francisco in 2008 in a new building designed by Daniel Libeskind. Meanwhile the Magnes struggled to map out a future for its rambling and exotic collection of some 15,000 objects and manuscripts, which since 1966 had been housed in a rambling and exotic mansion on a residential street. It attracted no more than 10,000 visitors annually and cost $2 million a year to maintain. The story also has larger resonance. The fate of the Magnes has much to do with the evolution of the American identity museum, with its chronicles of ethnic liberation amid hardship. And it is also intimately connected to the political and cultural temperament of the Bay Area. But to understand those issues it is best, first, to consider the collection itself. The Magnes was created in 1962 by Seymour Fromer, a Jewish educator, and Rebecca Camhi Fromer, his wife. Its artifacts were deliberately wide-ranging, including not just Jewish ritual objects but manuscripts, music and ephemera. As the collections grew they shed light on Jewish life in the pioneering era of the American West, on Jewish observance in communities in India or Tunisia, and on artworks that testified in some way to Jewish experience in the 20th century. Over the decades scholarly catalogs were published and exhibitions were mounted in the museum's Berkeley mansion, examining, say, the culture of Kurdish Jews or the nature of Jewish cemeteries during the Gold Rush. I visited the Magnes only once in its old home, and its slightly ramshackle style, along with its displays mixing the eccentric traditional and the provocatively experimental, gave it an almost esoteric charm. Only a small fraction of the collection was on site, and only a small part of that was ever on display. But the place, even in its late days, was clearly the work of particular personalities with their own idiosyncrasies and preoccupations. It was not an "objective" museum; it was personal, invitational, as if saying, "Come and look at what we have gathered and learned." Now all that has been - as was once said - "modernized." The Magnes Collection, donated to the university along with a lease on its new building, is still under the directorship of the Russian-born art historian Alla Efimova, who is partly revisiting her past: before joining the Magnes in 2003 she had taught in Berkeley's art history department and had worked in the school's art museum. The Magnes's Italian-born curator, Francesco Spagnolo, who holds a doctorate from Hebrew University in Jerusalem and has taught both philosophy and music, remains in place as well. Eighty percent of the collection is now on site; a digital catalog of its riches is developing, along with an online photographic record. But the new Magnes Collection bears little resemblance to the old Magnes Museum. The new building, near the campus, once a printing plant, filters away most glints of personality. The San Francisco architect Peter Pfau has made it crisp, spare, rectilinear and clean. Its design also ensures that archival storage drawers and cabinets can be seen on either side of a central 1,500-square-foot exhibition gallery. Function has changed along with design. Its largest space is a gathering place for events, concerts and lectures: an auditorium. Another room is designed for researchers to examine material from the archives. The Magnes, we sense, is primarily a place for study, lectures and social gatherings, the main modes of university life. The museum aspect - the public display of artifacts and interpretations - is more muted. Partly this is because the largest gallery space is temporarily given over to a video art installation, "Dissolving Localities," created by Emmanuel Witzthum and Arik Futterman; it overlays sounds and images from Jerusalem on one large screen and of Berkeley on the other. It wasn't complete when I visited, but it was difficult to imagine it as much more than a conceptual commentary on the collection. The central gallery is where we are meant to focus, where the first temporary exhibition is titled "The Magnes Effect: Five Decades of Collecting." It is a sampling of the museum's holdings. There is a marriage contract from 1915 from the Kochi Jewish community of India and a Jewish wedding dress from 19th-century Rhodes, Greece. A painting shows the early-20th-century incarnation of San Francisco's Temple Emanu-El. A poster advertises the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival, which the Magnes helped establish. And a sword and scabbard are shown from 19th-century Palestine: they were presented by the Ottoman government to the Jerusalem-born businessman Yosef Navon to honor his role in the creation of the Jaffa-Jerusalem railway in 1892. Each object, of course, could easily become a centerpiece of another exhibition, but their presentation here seemed less important than the suggestion that these were markers for a profusion of other objects, which could be seen on either side, encased in the archival cabinetry. The point of the display is how much more there is to display. But this means that being a museum has become secondary to the other roles the Magnes is taking on. This may simply be the price a private institution must pay to ensure that its collection is cared for, that it will serve scholars and that it will, over time, become a center for social and intellectual life. Its current annual budget is $820,000. But the compromises are significant; it is also unfortunate that one of the cores of the Magnes, the collections relating to Western Jewish life, are being folded into the Bancroft Library. They will fill out the university's collection about the history of the American West instead of serving the Magnes's survey of Jewish life and history. The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life is at 2121 Allston Way, near Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley, Calif.; magnes.org.

Indignation Over Immigration Marks Beginning of Debate January 26, 2012, 8:40 pm Interesting start to the debate, with a question from the audience about illegal immigration. Though it at first seemed likely to prompt a more civil debate - especially since Wolf Blitzer, the moderator, chose to direct the question to Rick Santorum - it ultimately yielded the kind of vitriol between Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney that some expected. Mr. Blitzer tried to get some engagement by asking why Mr. Gingrich called Mr. Romney's "self-deportation" plan a "fantasy." Mr. Gingrich chose not to begin an attack, saying only, "I don't think that grandmothers and grandfathers will self-deport." Asked to respond, Mr. Romney also held his fire - but that did not last long. Within minutes, he became the first candidate to win the audience by expressing outrage and indignation tonight. After Mr. Gingrich said that he still believes Mr. Romney is the most "anti-immigrant" of the four presidential candidates, Mr. Romney puffed out of his chest and complained. "The idea that I'm anti-immigrant is repulsive," Mr. Romney said, adding that he was angry about that "kind of over the top rhetoric." He added that Mr. Gingrich "should apologize for" what he said were "highly charged epithets." The audience roared their approval. Mr. Gingrich responded by asking Mr. Romney to "tell me what language you would use to describe someone who would deport a grandmother." But Mr. Romney again won the approval of the crowd by responding that "our problem is not 11 million grandmothers."

Meditation and mindfulness may give your brain a boost By Carolyn Butler Monday, February 14, 2011; 8:17 PM They are the simplest instructions in the world: Sit in a comfortable position, close your eyes, clear your mind and try to focus on the present moment. Yet I am confident that anyone who has tried meditation will agree with me that what seems so basic and easy on paper is often incredibly challenging in real life. I've dabbled in mantras and mindfulness over the years but have never really been able to stick to a regular meditation practice. My mind always seems to wander from pressing concerns such as the grocery list to past blunders or lapses, then I get a backache or an itchy nose (or both) and start feeling bored, and eventually I end up so stressed out about de-stressing that I give up. But I keep coming back and trying again, every so often, because I honestly feel like a calmer, saner and more well-adjusted person when I meditate, even if it's just for a few minutes in bed at the end of the day. Now there's even more reason to give it another go: New research from Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston indicates that meditating regularly can actually change our brain structure for the better, and in just a few months. The small study, published last month in Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging, tracked 16 people who took a course on mindfulness-based stress reduction - a type of meditation that, besides focusing your attention, includes guided relaxation exercises and easy stretching - and practiced for about 30 minutes a day. After eight weeks, MRI scans showed significant gray matter density growth in areas of the brain involved in learning and memory, empathy and compassion, sense of self and emotional regulation, when compared with a control group. In addition, the researchers referred to an earlier study that found a decrease in gray matter in the amygdala, a region of the brain that affects fear and stress, which correlated with a change in self-reported stress levels. "This is really, clearly, where we can see, for the first time, that when people say, 'Oh, I feel better, I'm not as stressed when I meditate,' they're not just saying that - that there is a biological reason why they're feeling less stress," says senior author Sara Lazar, a psychology instructor at Harvard Medical School. She notes that these findings build on prior research that has found positive brain changes in long-term meditators: "But this is proof that it's really meditation that's making the difference," as opposed to other potential factors such as diet or lifestyle, she says. And it doesn't take long to get there. None of this comes as a surprise to dedicated meditators or to doctors who regularly prescribe the practice. "The study shows that meditation induces certain physiological brain changes that are consistent with many of the health benefits we see clinically," says family medicine and chronic pain specialist Gary Kaplan, director of the Kaplan Center for Integrative Medicine in McLean, who recommends meditation as part of a treatment plan for every one of his patients. He reports that patients who follow this advice typically sleep better, have less pain, less anxiety and depression, and a better general sense of well-being. Kaplan adds that this admittedly anecdotal evidence comes on top of at least a decade's worth of research showing that meditation can have a range of benefits such as reduced stress and blood pressure, migraine relief, an improved attention span and better immune function. Given that meditation is readily accessible, cheap and portable and has few if any risks, there's really no harm in giving it a try, says Kaplan, who suggests that getting a book or CD on the topic or taking a basic class is a good way to start. He acknowledges that the practice is far from easy, at least in part because the mind is bound to wander. "We spend a whole bunch of time time-traveling - a lot of time in the future, worrying, and a lot in the past, dwelling on regrets and grief and loss - and we spend very little time in the present, focused on what's going on at this moment," he explains. So allowing that chatter to quiet and becoming present in the moment, while being gentle with the thoughts that come in and out of the mind and any anxiety that's there, that can be difficult. For those who are skeptical or who continue to struggle, Hugh Byrne, a senior teacher with the Insight Mediation Community of Washington, suggests some tips for getting going - and sticking with it: Seek the right style. There are many forms of meditation, with different objectives, and it's important to do some research and find the one that works best for you, whether it involves walking, chanting or deep-breathing exercises. Practice, practice, practice. It's essential to cultivate a regular, daily routine to get your mind in the habit of meditating, even if it's just five or 10 minutes to start, says Byrne, who recommends slowly increasing that to 30 minutes or more every day. Be mindful all day long. Meditation "isn't just about bringing awareness to your experience while you're sitting cross-legged with eyes closed," says Byrne. It's also a practice that you can bring into the rest of your life: when you're eating, sitting in a traffic jam, or relating to a partner, spouse, kids or colleagues at work. He suggests finding a few minutes here and there to get centered. Don't be discouraged by a wandering mind. It's totally normal. "The important thing is just to notice when you move into planning the future or ruminating on the past or daydreaming, just notice that and gently bring attention back to the present," says Byrne. And come back into the body, without judgment or criticism.

Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini bemoans lack of depth in squad If we are unlucky and we have three or four players injured, like at this moment, we can have a problem. The club knows this. The spectre of Uefa's Financial Fair Play regulations means Mancini may have to sell before he can bring anyone else in. Yet the Italian claims there has, so far, been no movement on the potential departures of Nedum Onuoha and Wayne Bridge, who is likely to be on the radar of new QPR boss Mark Hughes. And, whilst Carlos Tévez is now being courted by Inter as well as AC Milan, at present there is no deal. It all adds to Mancini's sense of frustration, in a period he always felt would be pivotal to his side's chances of landing some silverware. "I said four weeks ago that December and January would be crucial months," he said. Until three weeks ago we didn't have any injuries. Now, we have a problem. We have players injured and others who went to the African Nations Cup at a crucial moment. I am not happy about this but we can't do anything about it. If we don't get the players back we will play with the young players. If we don't have a central defender we will play with (Karim) Rekik. Rekik will not be required to start against Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium tomorrow night. Even if Kompany's ban is upheld, Stefan Savic would be available to partner Joleon Lescott and Micah Richards also has plenty of experience in that role. However, to lose the Belgian for four matches would place City in a perilous position, with the Toure brothers not due back until the middle of next month. Little wonder therefore that Mancini is refusing to spend much time contemplating a failure with Kompany's appeal, even if history, and TV replays, suggest overturning a verdict seen by many as understandable from referee Chris Foy may be tough. "My opinion has not changed," said Mancini. I am confident because Vinny only played 10 minutes. He was sent off for nothing. He has already missed one game. I don't think about this (being banned). It would be not correct if that happened. Mancini also claimed he was right to point out that Wayne Rooney gestured to referee Chris Foy for Kompany to be sent off, even though the United star claims to only have been pointing out it was a two-footed tackle. I joked with Wayne Rooney. But he did it," said Mancini. Nani was there. He didn't say anything.