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'V' season finale; Kathy Griffin on 'Glee' TV Highlights: 'V' season finale; Kathy Griffin on 'Glee' Tuesday, March 15, 2011; C05 Comedian Kathy Griffin shows up on "Glee" (Fox at 8 p.m.), playing a judge at the regionals competition, along with fellow guest-star judge Loretta Devine. Meanwhile, the glee clubs gear up to compete as Sue coaches the rival Aural Intensity, the Warblers create a great set list, and the New Directions underdogs decide to write and perform original songs. Where's Rachael Ray when you need her?! The contestants on "The Biggest Loser" (NBC at 8) have to cook delicious - and healthy - meals in 30 minutes. Plus, they learn they can all win immunity if they conquer their weight loss from last week. Humanity is about to be destroyed on the second-season finale of "V" (ABC at 9), and Erica, Diana and Lisa join to stage a coup and try to overthrow the evil Anna. Their plan doesn't exactly go well, but in other exciting news, actor Marc Singer from the original '80s "V" series guest-stars as a member of a top-secret organization. Joan & Melissa: Joan Knows Best? (WEtv at 9) wraps up for the season as Joan and Melissa try to make up after a big fight. But all may be forgiven when Melissa goes to the doctor with stomach pains, and Joan is thrilled when the doctor recommends a pregnancy test. Burt feels slighted when Jimmy chooses Sabrina as Hope's guardian in his will on "Raising Hope" (Fox at 9), though Sabrina isn't sure she's ready for the massive responsibility. Luckily, Maw Maw is there for comic relief when she is certain that mongooses are running wild in the house. Unhappy that Alexia's Cuban-themed dinner party involves meat, vegetarian Lea causes a fuss about the menu that doesn't suit her dietary needs on "Real Housewives of Miami" (Bravo at 10). "Family Guy" creator Seth MacFarlane serves as roast master on the "Comedy Central Roast of Donald Trump" (Comedy Central at 10:30), and Trump sits back to hear all the jabs from roasters including Larry King, Snoop Dogg, Whitney Cummings, Lisa Lampanelli and, because why not, the Mike "the Situation" Sorrentino from "Jersey Shore." Actor Bradley Cooper stops by "Late Show With David Letterman" (CBS at 11:35) along with actress Mindy Kaling and musical guest Bob Geldof. "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" (NBC at 11:35) hosts comedian Wanda Sykes, actor Simon Pegg and musician Juanes. Emily Yahr

California Sex Offender Sentenced To 195 Years In Prison Published January 25, 2012 A convicted Californian sex offender, who cut an electronic tracking device from his leg and assaulted four women in 2010, was Tuesday sentenced to 195 years in prison, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported. A San Diego jury last month found 34-year-old Leonard Scroggins guilty of seven felonies -- including committing a forcible lewd act on a child, attempted kidnapping, robbery and assault with a deadly weapon. The jury found that Scroggins, who already had a rape conviction, cut a GPS tracking bracelet off his ankle on May 17, 2010 and drove to the San Diego area, where he tried to rob a teenage girl and kidnap a woman a day later. A day after that, the transient from California's Napa County stole a woman's purse and then used a knife in an attempt to kidnap a 13-year-old girl.

Newt Gingrich has created a "food stamp king," Clyburn says Former House speaker Newt Gingrich's (R-Ga.) victory in Saturday's South Carolina primary was fueled in part by comments aimed at driving a wedge between voters on the issue of race, House Assistant Minority Leader James Clyburn (D-S.C.) said Sunday. Gingrich's campaign-trail remarks, argued the No.3 House Democrat and highest-ranking African American in Congress, are the latest iteration of a GOP tactic that stretches back to Richard Nixon's Southern strategy and Ronald Reagan's criticism of so-called "welfare queens" during his 1976 presidential bid. "Well, sure it resonated -- not that it was true," Clyburn said during an appearance on C-SPAN's "Newsmakers" the morning after Gingrich's primary win. The fact of the matter is we all know the records are very clear: 49 percent of the people who are on welfare are white. We know that. But people think otherwise. We know that there never existed a "welfare queen." The admission was made long after Ronald Reagan that they created that out of whole cloth. But it worked. "And so, we had a welfare queen created by Ronald Reagan," he added. "So Newt Gingrich, seeing all of this, decided that he would create a "food stamp king." And that's what he did, and sure it resonated. But the fact of the matter is, nobody wants to be on food stamps. Everybody would want a job. Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich speaks during a campaign stop at Tommy's Ham House in Greenville, S.C. on Saturday. Gingrich won the state's primary. (John W. Adkisson - GETTY IMAGES) Clyburn spoke the morning after Gingrich swept the first-in-the-South state of South Carolina, besting former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney (R) by 12 points in a come-from-behind victory that has upended the GOP White House race. "He went after the media down in Myrtle Beach," Clyburn said of Gingrich. "He "put Juan Williams in his place." These little words and phrases that he used - calling President Obama a "food stamp president" - these are things that were reminiscent of the Southern strategy of Richard Nixon and the "welfare queen" created by Ronald Reagan. He understands all of that. He played into it very well and did a masterful job of connecting with the Republican voter. In addition to what Clyburn argued were Gingrich's use of race as a wedge issue and his criticism of the news media, the No. 3 House Democrat also contended that Gingrich won in part due to Romney's inability to "come clean with the American people, at least in their minds, as to who exactly and what he is." "His answers to questions seem to be filibusters," Clyburn said of Romney. He would never talk about that 15 percent tax rate in a way that people could identify with it. He would never talk about his relationship with Bain and what it did to Georgetown and Gaffney, two outstanding communities here where jobs were lost. And people just didn't feel him. This week, all eyes will be on the Capitol when Obama delivers his State of the Union address on Tuesday. Clyburn - who sat next to House Republican Conference Chairman Jeb Hensarling (Texas) last time - said Sunday that he has not yet made any plans to sit with a Republican counterpart this time around. "Well, I'm not making any plans to do so, though I would not be opposed to doing that," Clyburn said. Jeb and I are very friendly toward each other. Remember we sat in the same room with each other for several weeks as members of the so-called supercommittee. ... All of that style is good, but there is no substitute for substance. I will always go for substance over style. On the upcoming payroll tax fight on Capitol Hill, Clyburn said Sunday that Democrats are looking to the overseas contingency account - the savings from the winding down of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan - as one potential pay-for. Democrats are likely to face stiff opposition from Republicans on that front, however, since many GOP lawmakers have made it clear over the past year that they view the use of "war savings" as a budgetary gimmick. He also predicted that Democrat Susan Bonamici will prevail over Republican Rob Cornilles in the Jan. 31 special House election in Oregon, and said that he expects Democrats will re-capture the House in November and that current Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) will return to her former spot as speaker. "I think she is acquitting herself amiably in the position she is currently in," Clyburn said of Pelosi. I think she is articulating the vision for the country that the president is laying out in a way that's helpful to the president. And I do believe she will be speaker next January. Clyburn - who is 71 and has served in the House for nearly two decades - declined to speculate about his own political future. "By the same token, I don't know what the future holds for me," he said. I am very pleased to be in the leadership of the party. ... Whatever the future holds, I hope to be prepared to receive it. Watch his full Newsmakers interview by clicking here.

Syracuse, 1 of 4 unbeatens, still No. MCLEAN, Va., Jan. 2 (UPI) -- Syracuse remains one vote short of a unanimous No. 1 ranking and an 0-2 week dropped Louisville six places in the USA Today/ESPN coaches basketball poll. Syracuse (15-0) again earned 30 of the 31 first-place votes, with the other going to Kentucky (13-1), which goes from No. 3 to second this week. Duke (12-1) sits in third and North Carolina (13-2) is fourth. Big 12 rivals Baylor and Missouri are both 13-0 and up two spots to fifth and sixth, respectively. They are two of the four remaining undefeated teams, joining Syracuse and No. 18 Murray State (14-0). Ohio State (13-2) goes from second to seventh, with Connecticut (12-1) and Georgetown (12-1) in eighth and ninth and Louisville (12-2) falls from fourth to 10th. Michigan State (13-2) jumps from 17th to No. 11 and Indiana (13-1), which lost to the Spartans, goes up three places to 12th. Michigan (12-2), another Big 10 member, is 13th with Florida (11-4) down from 10th to 14th and Kansas (10-3) in at No. Mississippi State (13-2) is 16th ahead of Nevada Las Vegas (15-2) and Murray State. Wisconsin (12-3) slides eight places to 19th and Marquette is down seventh to No. Harvard (12-1) takes the No. 21 spot with Kansas State (11-1) at No. 22 going into a week in which the Wildcats play Kansas and Missouri. Virginia (12-1) is 23rd and Creighton (11-2) No. San Diego State (12-2), at 25th, is the lone new entry to the poll this week. Pittsburgh, which was 0-2 last week, drops out of the rankings.

Listeria threat prompts fourth Wisconsin cheese recall MILWAUKEE (Reuters) - A fourth cheesemaker said on Wednesday it was pulling some products from store shelves as a result of listeria contamination at a Wisconsin processing plant. Bekkum Family Farms LLC of Westby, Wisconsin said it was recalling some 8-ounce packages of its Nordic Creamery Grumpy Goat Shreds. The cheese, with an expiration date of March 12, 2012, was sold in Wisconsin, Minnesota and California beginning November 11, according to a statement from the company. "Public safety is our main concern in a situation like this," said Al Bekkum, the company's spokesman. Even though our product has not tested positive for the bacteria, we are conducting this recall out of an abundance of caution. The voluntary recall, the fourth this week, was prompted by the detection of listeria bacteria on a shredding line at the Alpine Slicing and Cheese Conversion plant, where several cheesemakers have their products processed and packaged. Brennan's Cellars, World Cheese Company and the Miller's Cheese Corp. have also recalled shredded cheese products in recent days as a result of the plant's listeria issues. No illnesses have been reported, according to Wisconsin's Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection. Listeria can cause high fever, severe headaches, neck stiffness and nausea. It is especially dangerous to pregnant women, the elderly and those with compromised immune systems. Reporting by Brendan O'Brien; Editing by James B. Kelleher and Greg McCune

Boris Johnson: 50p tax rate 'unlikely' to be axed Boris Johnson said it was "unlikely" to be axed in the current climate, but warned that in the long term the City must be able to compete internationally. Earlier this month David Cameron said he still regarded the rate - introduced by Labour in 2010 - as a "temporary" measure following reports that the Government had accepted it could not be axed before the 2015 general election. Asked if the 50 per cent rate was "here to stay," he told Sky News' Murnaghan programme: "It certainly looks that way, we have got to be realistic about that. I don't see any sign of it going soon. All my job is to do is to argue that in the long term you can't hope for London, a great international market city, to compete with other capitals if we have tax rates significantly higher than our major competitors, and that's a point that I think it's my duty to make. I'd like to take people on low incomes out of tax, I'd like reduce tax across the board. He added: "I think you are probably right in your political analysis Dermot (Murnaghan) that to go for the 50p tax rate in the current climate is probably unlikely."

Police question witnesses in Hollywood severed head LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Authorities have identified the man whose severed head, hands and feet were found in the hills below the famed Hollywood sign overlooking Los Angeles, but declined to release his name on Friday as homicide detectives questioned witnesses in the bizarre case. Two women walking dogs stumbled upon the decapitated head in Griffith Park earlier this week, and a search later turned up the hands and feet, which Los Angeles police said came from the same person. Investigators have so far been unable to say how the man, whose age had been estimated at between 40 and 60, died or came to be dismembered, but a Los Angeles police spokesman said his identity had been established. "We have identified the victim but we have not released that," Lieutenant Andrew Neiman said. He said homicide detectives were questioning witnesses and potential suspects but that no arrests had been made. Neiman declined to comment on reports in the local media that a search warrant had been served at an apartment building in Hollywood in connection with the case. "Most homicide investigations involve the service of search warrants and various locations, and certainly that is something that will probably be part of this investigation," he said. Police said detectives had canvassed the area near the 4,200-acre Griffith Park in the heart of Los Angeles looking for clues or potential witnesses before the section of the park where the body parts were found reopened to the public on Friday. Commander Andrew Smith said he believed that a bodyguard for actor Brad Pitt was among those witnesses interviewed but said the man was not considered a suspect. The sensational case began on Tuesday when a mother and daughter walking dogs came across the head in a plastic bag and reported it to park rangers. The hands were found the following day in the same general area, one by a cadaver-sniffing dog and the other by a crime scene investigator. Later on Wednesday, a coroner investigator discovered the feet, together, in the same area. Neiman said investigators theorize that the head, hands and feet were hidden together in the park and later scattered by animals. "The hands and feet were found in the same general area and the head was in a different location," he said. We believe an animal may have pulled that body part and the first hand away. Police have found no link between the Hollywood Hills case and a torso found in Arizona missing a head, hands and feet, and said there was no evidence the man was a victim of organized crime or a serial killer.

US border crossed by man using iPad as ID

Politics Washington bureau chief David Leonhardt reports on the President's address and how it previews the coming election season. Article: Obama Speech Makes Pitch for Economic Fairness Article: Critiques for Capitalists in Obama's Speech, With One in Particular in His Sights Multimedia: President Obama's Fourth State of the Union Speech Produced by Ben Werschkul

Google TV LG is also showing off sets with Google TV software that will launch in the U.S. in the first half of 2012 and later for the rest of the world. Among LG's Google TV offerings will be a 55-inch model, and each Google TV set from LG will include a Magic Remote with a built-in keyboard. Google TV will run on LG's TVs alongside its Smart TV platform unveiled last year. Since last year's CES, LG said it had added more than 1,200 apps to its Smart TV offerings. Vizio Inc., the bargain-priced TV maker, is also releasing a lineup of Google TV products including TVs running the Google TV software, Google TV Blu-ray player and a set-top box called the Stream Player that will enable Google TV to run on any HDTV. Other notable TV announcements Sony is rolling out TVs featuring screens made of Corning Inc.'s Gorilla Glass, which is easy to clean and scratch resistant, as well as thin and light. The HX series with the Gorilla Glass will be available in 46-inch and 55-inch sizes, each with a 1080p resolution. Sony's EX line won't have Gorilla Glass or 3-D, but these TVs will have built-in Wi-Fi and Sony apps and will be available in 40-inch, 46-inch and 55-inch sizes, each with a 1080p resolution. Samsung also announced an update to its high-end Smart TV line - which runs apps such as Netflix on its TVs - that it says will enable users to control their sets with voice and motion control and facial-recognition technology. For example, users can turn the TV on or off, activate selected apps or search for content in the Web browser simply by speaking in any of the 20 to 30 languages supported by the technology. A built-in camera in the top-of-the-line Smart TV sets "recognizes movement in the foreground, and two unidirectional array microphones recognize voice at an incredibly accurate rate. Noise cancellation technology helps separate any background noise from the users' commands.

Kenya travel warning, plus the lowdown on redundancy cover for holidays Q. We have booked to go to Mombasa in July for a week's safari and a week's beach holiday. How concerned should I be at the new security alert? Should I cancel? Marc Grant, Ilford A. Halfway through last weekend, the Foreign Office took the unusual step of issuing a travel warning to Kenya, saying that terrorists may be in the final stages of planning attacks in the capital, Nairobi: "We strongly advise British nationals to exercise extra vigilance" especially in "places where expatriates and foreign travellers gather, such as hotels, shopping centres and beaches." Kenya is no stranger to terrorist attacks. In 1998 suicide bombers attacked the US Embassy and more than 200 people died. A decade ago, an attack on an Israeli-owned hotel in Mombasa killed 13 people, while a simultaneous missile attack on an Israeli charter plane failed. Holidaymakers are already warned to avoid the coast near the Somalian border after two attacks on tourists last year. Having said all that, Kenya is a wonderful destination for beaches and wildlife, and I would not hesitate to make the trip. The specific intelligence refers to Nairobi and I imagine you are not planning to go near the capital. Also, since the Foreign Office stops well short of advising against travel, you would lose your deposit - and, if you cancel nearer the time, a bigger proportion of the holiday cost. Q. I'm thinking of booking a package holiday. Are these "Redundancy Protection" offers worthwhile? Robert James, Northampton A. That depends. A number of tour operators offer the right to cancel your holiday with a full refund if you get made redundant. In these difficult economic times, that sounds like a valuable benefit. But read the small print: you need to have been in the same full-time job for two years. If, before you booked the trip, your employer had announced that redundancies were on the way, you don't qualify - even if you had no reason to believe your job was to go. And should you be unfortunate enough to get made redundant less than four weeks before departure, there is no right to cancel and get a refund.

Wheels Come Off for Knicks Against Rockets HOUSTON - Down one All-Star, with no reliable playmaker, a bruised and bedraggled lineup and the losses piling up, the Knicks were left Saturday to a mission best described as hunting and pecking. Those were Coach Mike D'Antoni's words before tip-off, when he was discussing the Knicks" rotating door at point guard. But it soon applied to the entire rotation as the Knicks dragged through their fourth road game in five nights, in search of anyone who could score or provide some energy on the final night of this trip. Jeremy Lin, the seldom-used point guard, played critical minutes for the first time, in a three-guard alignment in the third quarter. Lin, Renaldo Balkman and Steve Novak - all end-of-the-bench players - started the fourth quarter. All the hunting and pecking went for naught, as the Knicks absorbed a 97-84 rout by the Houston Rockets to conclude a 1-3 trip. They have lost nine of their last 10 games, the last two without the injured Carmelo Anthony, to fall to 7-13. The game was lost in the third quarter, when the Knicks scored only 14 points and fell behind by double digits. Houston (12-8) pushed the lead to 20 points early in the fourth quarter against that awkward lineup featuring Lin, Balkman and Novak alongside Amar'e Stoudemire and Iman Shumpert. The game was a reflection of the Knicks" lack of depth, as well as the expected fatigue of a difficult trip. Anthony missed his second straight game to rest ankle, wrist and thumb injuries. The Rockets were also missing their leading scorer, Kevin Martin, who was resting a sore foot. But Houston got huge bench performances from Chase Budinger (19 points), Goran Dragic (16 points) and Jordan Hill, the former Knicks draft pick, who added 14 points and 11 rebounds. Stoudemire continued to find his stride, finishing with 23 points and 8 rebounds, while shooting 10 for 20 from the field. Otherwise, Tyson Chandler was the only other Knick who brought any consistent effort. Chandler had 14 points and 11 rebounds and was the Knicks" most animated player, whether keeping possessions alive or barking at the officials. He picked up a technical foul at the end of the third quarter for complaining about a non-call on his desperation shot at the buzzer. On the play, Chandler picked up a loose ball on defense and led a one-man fast break with time running down, but he tripped over Samuel Dalembert, who had fallen on the court, just as he released his shot. Stoudemire had 14 points by halftime, and it was the way he got them that was most encouraging for the Knicks. His midrange jumper looked sharp again, and he was active around the basket. Shumpert was the only other Knick to finish the game in double figures, with 11 points. Toney Douglas made his second straight start at point guard - a reflection both of his improved play and Shumpert's recent struggles. Shumpert's production has waned as the bumps and bruises have accumulated, and he is not showing quite the same swagger that he did in early January. "This is probably the most banged up I've ever been during the season," Shumpert said before the game. I don't usually get hurt much. I expected it. So now you just got to play through it. It's all part of being a rookie, just getting your body used to it. As if to illustrate the point, Shumpert had wires attached to his left knee as he spoke. He has been receiving electrical simulation before the last several games to deal with inflammation below the knee. Shumpert missed four games earlier in the season because of a sprained right knee. On Friday in Miami, he twisted an ankle while stripping LeBron James. A few weeks ago, Shumpert supplanted Douglas as the starting point guard and was emerging as the Knicks" fourth star. Now he is reacclimating to a reserve role and spending more time at shooting guard, where he has less playmaking responsibility. D'Antoni attributed Shumpert's struggles to a combination of injuries, fatigue "and having everything thrown at him so fast" - including the point guard job, which might have been too much for a rookie who did not have the benefit of summer league and a full training camp. "There's just a lot of factors that can go in and weigh you down a little bit," D'Antoni said. And I do think some of the brilliance of his athleticism has worn off a little bit. So he's got to get it back. Baron Davis probably will not make his Knicks debut for another week or two, according to people familiar with his rehabilitation. Davis, who is recovering from a herniated disk, is considered physically sound, but he is still working his way back into basketball shape after nine months of relative inactivity. He only began practicing last Monday.

Border agents, clown couple team up on new 'The Amazing Race' A pair of border agents, a married clown couple and last season's winner of CBS' "Big Brother" will be among the contestants competing in the upcoming 20th season of "The Amazing Race" premiering Feb. 19 on CBS. The series this season will make first-time visits to Paraguay, Azerbaijan and other exotic locations. Along the way, the teams will travel five continents, 22 cities and nearly 40,000 miles. One team will be composed of last year's winner of "Big Brother," Rachel Reilly, and her fiancé and fellow Houseguest, Brendon Villegas. Other teams include: U.S. Army Officer Dave Brown Jr. and his wife, project manager Rachel Brown, of Madison, Wis. Motorcycle mechanic William "Bopper" Minton and best friend, former state inspector Mark Jackson, both of Manchester, Ky. Federal agent Nary Ebeid and federal agent Jamie Graetz, both of Los Angeles. They are best friends. Trainer/supplement company owner Joey "Fitness" Lasalla of Whitestone, N.Y. and his friend Danny Horal, a nightclub promoter from Holbrook, N.Y. Car buyer Misa Tanaka and her sister, professional golfer Maiya Tanaka, of San Diego. Married couple and "Ambassadors of Laughter" Dave Gregg and Cherie Gregg of New Port Richey, Fla. They are clowns. Musician Elliot Weber of Scottsdale, Ariz., and his twin brother, professional soccer player Andrew Weber, of Menlo Park, Calif. Program coordinator Kerri Paul, and her cousin Stacy Bowers, both of Gulfport, Miss. Freelance writer Vanessa Macias and bar owner Ralph Kelley, both of of San Antonio. They are "dating divorcées." Border partol agents and best friends, Art Velez of Temecula, and J.J. Carell of Carlsbad. Late night: Jon Stewart thinks Mitt Romney should pay more taxes "Justified" recap: Wily Boyd Crowder Photo: The cast of the upcoming season of "The Amazing Race." Credit: CBS

LA Arson Suspect Motivated by Deportation? The prime suspect in the series of up to 55 blazes in the Los Angeles area told authorities upon his detention, "I hate America," according to ABC News sources directly involved in the case. The sources told ABC News exclusively that the man identified by police as a "person of interest" is now considered a "prime suspect" and is believed to be a German national who may have been motivated by a deportation hearing against his mother that took place in LA County about a week and a half ago. The information was given to the intelligence and operational task forces involved in the manhunt from the state department, according to the sources. Earlier today, police seized flammable materials during the search of a mini-van which matched the materials used in the blazes, according to sources. Police arrested the man this morning following 11 fires ignited overnight, the latest in a series of vehicle and carport fires around Hollywood and West Hollywood since Dec. 30. Sources said that the suspect is being uncooperative and will be asked to sit for a polygraph as part of the investigation. Warrants for a search of the suspect's residence were in the process of being executed. Although this suspect is 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. Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck said today he believed officers apprehended the sole arsonist. I feel very good that we've got the right guy. [The suspect] had the right stuff in his van, and we are very confident we found our man," Beck said. This morning, arson investigators and sheriff deputies swarmed the scene where the man -- said to resemble the person in a surveillance video released Sunday by Los Angeles police -- was stopped and detained. He was the fourth person detained in connection with the tidal wave of arson fires that has engulfed the city. Capt. Moore confirmed that 10 of the fires set overnight Sunday were in Los Angeles, while two were in West Hollywood.

Kobe Bryant sheds 3 homes in divorce deal SANTA ANA, Calif., Jan. 21 (UPI) -- Kobe Bryant's estranged wife, Vanessa, got the keys to three upscale Southern California homes as part of the couple's divorce settlement, court records said. The trio of mansions in Newport Beach is valued at nearly $19 million and mark the beginning of the formal distribution of assets in the proceedings under way in Orange County. Mrs. Bryant filed for divorce in December due to irreconcilable differences. The Los Angeles Times said the lack of a prenuptial agreement means Vanessa will likely walk away with half of the NBA star's $150 million net worth plus spousal and child support. The Bryants have not spoken publicly but released a written statement saying the matters were being resolved, the Times said.

Prediction: Magazine, TV ads on way out LOUIS, Jan. 15 (UPI) -- Traditional advertising for products -- magazine ads and 30-second television commercials -- may go the way of the rotary phone, a U.S. researcher predicts. Seethu Seetharaman of Washington University in St. Louis said so-called crowdsourcing, viral Internet campaigns, product placements and guerrilla promotions will dominate the marketing and advertising landscape going forward. "Traditional expensive advertising is no longer effective given all the clutter, as well as the emergence of technologies, like digital video recorders, that block the ads from even being viewed, much less absorbed, by consumers," Seetharaman said in a statement. Product placements -- branded goods or services placed in a context usually devoid of ads, such as movies, music videos, TV or news programs will continue to gain popularity, Seetharaman said. "I think crowdsourcing is only going to increase," Seetharaman said. Crowdsourcing refers to the open innovation model, pioneered by sites such as Threadless.com, where customers design and vote on new product designs. This allows them to take active charge of the product development process, rather than reacting to concepts developed by firms, Seetharaman said. Given the popularity of campaigns such as the T-Mobile Flash Mob, one is more likely to see non-traditional "grassroots" campaigns get more noticed than traditional billboard advertising. "With the explosion of smartphones, these grassroots campaigns are swiftly recorded by people and then posted on YouTube in short order, which then makes these guerrilla campaigns go viral in a big way," Seetharaman said. This 'guerrilla promotion' style of advertising will blossom in 2012 and beyond.

Mortgage demand fell at year-end, purchases sag Wed Jan 4, 2012 7:01am EST (Reuters) - Demand for loans to buy homes and refinance mortgages slid in the final week of 2011, even as mortgage rates dipped, an industry group said on Wednesday. Applications for U.S. home mortgages fell 4.1 percent in the week ended December 30, weighed down by a 9.6 percent drop in purchase loan requests and a 2.5 percent decline in refinancing requests, seasonally adjusted data from the Mortgage Bankers Association showed. Average 30-year conforming mortgage rates dipped to the year's low of 4.07 percent from 4.10 percent the prior week, and well below 4.82 percent at the end of 2010. The slide to near-record-low borrowing rates has spurred more homeowners to seek refinancing, propelling that index up more than 60 percent in 2011. But demand for loans to buy homes fell in the year, as borrowers struggled to come up with enough cash for down payments or stayed on the sidelines due to worries about unemployment. Some buyers had also leapt into the market in 2010 to take advantage of a first-time buyer tax credit. The MBA said it does not expect any quick rebound in the mortgage market. "As part of legislation to extend the payroll tax holiday, guarantee fees for loans purchased by the GSEs and mortgage insurance premiums for FHA loans will eventually increase," Michael Fratantoni, MBA's vice president of research and economics, said in a statement. Given the announced implementation of this change, we do not expect to see an impact on mortgage rates and application activity until at least February. Bob Moulton, president of Americana Mortgage Group in Manhasset, New York, said the company's pipeline of loan requests is off to a better start in 2012 than the same time a year ago, boosted by refinancing. But caution prevails with a big overhang of unsold homes and the presidential election looming, he said. Refinancing applications represented about 82 percent of total mortgage activity in the latest week, the highest share of the year. "It's going to be another couple of years until these short sales and foreclosures are flushed out of the system, so you might see a little weakness in prices this year," Moulton added. We're feeling a little better about 2012 than 2011, but you're always waiting for the next shoe to drop. The MBA released data for two weeks on Wednesday, rather than one, because of the Christmas and New Year holidays. In the week ended December 23, total mortgage demand climbed 0.3 percent, with refinancing up 0.5 percent and purchase applications down 0.1 percent. The survey covers over 75 percent of U.S. retail residential mortgage applications, according to MBA.

Four Industries Apple Can Disrupt in the Near Future Over the last 10 years, Apple has done a rather amazing job of disrupting quite a few industries. By my account, it has dramatically impacted the PC, tablet, consumer electronics, telecom, music and TV industries in a big way. And I believe that Apple is on the cusp of disrupting at least four more major industries in the next three to five years. The first industry I believe Apple will shake up is the TV industry. Just about every major PC and consumer electronics company is trying to break into interactive TV (or "ITV" as it is called) and be the first to own this market. To date, Google, Microsoft, Samsung, Sony and even Apple have tried desperately to create the next big thing in TVs and, perhaps more importantly, find a way to integrate the internet and internet video channels into their new visions for the TV. MORE: Apple TV: 5 Rumored Features In Walter Isaacson's biography of Steve Jobs, Steve tells Isaacson that he has "cracked the code" for ITV and, of course, everyone is wondering what this means. The most logical answer is that Apple will apply Siri voice comprehension technology to the TV user interface and then tie it to the iCloud service, marrying all of your digital content together for viewing on multiple screens-with the TV being the one focused on entertainment. Whether it will be delivered in an Apple TV-like box outside the TV or an actual TV itself is still a big question, but Apple's attempt at creating a new approach to the TV interface and linking it to unified personal content, if done right, could be revolutionary. Imagine being able to just tell your TV, "Find Big Bang Theory," and it goes right to all available versions on broadcast, cable, your digital video recorder or online. Or ask it about a football player you just saw make a touchdown, and on the bottom of the screen it shows you his stats. Or if you want to find out about Yosemite, just ask Siri and it will find all related video and web content available and give you exact answers to your query on the TV. But perhaps its greatest feat will most likely be to instantly decipher the plethora of web-based video content that is online, and neatly show what is available for a given topic right on your TV screen. For example, let's say you want to see something about how to roast a turkey. Siri could search its database and find out all of the best shows on TV, your DVR or the web and then post them on your screen for you to pick. And I mean any database, including things you've bookmarked about roasting turkeys on any of your Macs or Apple devices that are connected via iCloud. Those results could be added to the list of available shows to watch on that topic. LIST: The 10 Most Memorable Apple Commercials This could be the most disruptive thing in the television industry to happen since the introduction of color, eventually burying the remote control by putting the entire TV industry on a course to use voice as the new remote instead. It will find ways to marry broadcast, cable, satellite, DVR and internet content into manageable channels that bring all of it together in the cloud and display it via voice command on the TV screens throughout the home. And it looks like Apple could be the company to take the TV industry into this new century. article continues on next page...

Red Hands midfielder Colm Cavanagh suffers broken ribs

Hundreds attend funeral mass for ex-Franco minister Hundreds attended Saturday a public funeral mass for Manuel Fraga, the last major survivor from the Franco dictatorship, including Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and other leaders of the Popular Party Fraga founded. Fraga, who died on Sunday at the age of 89, straddled Spain's historic 1977 transition from dictatorship to democracy, serving in government both during and after the rule of General Francisco Franco and helping to shape the modern Spanish right. During the service in the cathedral in the pilgrimage city of Santiago de Compostela in Fraga's native Galicia, Archbishop Julian Barrio hailed him as someone who had defended "the great values of Western civilisation in Europe." A giant screen was set up in the square outside the cathedral for those who were unable to find room inside to follow the service. After the mass highlights of his career were shown on the screen, including his 1966 dip in the Mediterranean with the then US ambassador, in a propaganda stunt to reassure the public over nuclear pollution after unexploded US atom bombs landed accidentally nearby. Rajoy, a native of Galicia like both Fraga and Franco, was accompanied by his wife and Justice Minister Alberto Ruiz Gallardon, Health Minister Ana Mato and Infrastructure Minister Ana Pastor. Also present was the leader of the opposition Socialist Party in Galicia, Manuel Pachi Vazquez, who said he wanted to show his respect for someone who had headed the regional council from 1990 to 2005. Fraga was buried Tuesday at Perbes, on Spain's northeast coast near Coruna, in a private ceremony attended by former conservative prime minister Jose Maria Aznar. Born November 23, 1922, Manuel Fraga Iribarne was one of the "fathers of the constitution" that sealed the transition in 1977, and a founding member of the conservative Popular Party which returned to power in November under Rajoy. Rising through various posts under Franco, he served in the 1960s as minister for information -- the chief censor, and the bane of journalists -- and for tourism, which he helped make Spain's biggest industry at the time. He also served as Spain's ambassador to London from 1973 until Franco's death in 1975, and as interior minister immediately after it. He continued in politics as a senator for Galicia up until September 2011, when he retired because of his declining health.

Masschusetts rabies case blamed on little brown myotis bat By Zach Howard CONWAY, Mass (Reuters) - A Massachusetts man critically ill with the first reported case of human rabies in state since 1935 was infected by a type of bat called a little brown myotis, state health officials said on Tuesday. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health said last week that the man, who has not been publicly identified, was diagnosed with the rare and potentially fatal disease and hospitalized in critical condition. "I can confirm it was a little brown bat," said Jennifer Manley, spokeswoman for the Department of Health referring to a type of mouse-eared bat that is one of the most common varieties in North America. Most cases of human rabies in the United States have been linked to exposure to bats, and Massachusetts officials had been awaiting confirmation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as to which species infected the man. South Carolina health officials said last month that a middle-aged woman died after contracting the state's first case of human rabies in half a century. The rabies virus, which is carried in the saliva of infected animals, is generally spread when an animal bites or comes in close contact with a human or another animal, Massachusetts health officials said. The virus infects the central nervous system, ultimately causing disease in the brain and death. Early symptoms of rabies in people are similar to those of many other illnesses, including fever, headache and general weakness or discomfort, according to the CDC. Disease in humans can often be prevented by administering vaccine and antibodies quickly, if a person knows he or she has been exposed to rabies, officials say. One to three human rabies cases are reported in the United States each year, mostly due to exposure to rabid bats. About 55,000 people die of rabies every year in other parts of the world, largely due to exposure to rabid dogs, officials say. Rabies was first found in bats in Massachusetts in 1961.

Editorial - Act III for former Haitian president Jean-Bertrand Aristide Act III for former Haitian president Jean-Bertrand Aristide By Editorial Friday, March 18, 2011; 8:42 PM JEAN-BERTRAND ARISTIDE, the former president of Haiti who staged a dramatic return to Port-au-Prince on Friday from seven years' exile in Africa, is a man for whom defiance is a stock in trade. Early in his career, as a priest ministering to Haiti's slum-dwelling poor, he defied the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic church by preaching liberation theology. Twice elected president in landslides driven by the country's downtrodden, he defied the country's minuscule but powerful elite, which despises him. And in staging his dramatic homecoming Friday, injecting further stress at a volatile moment two days before a runoff presidential election, he defied Western governments and the Obama administration, which explicitly sought to prevent his return. It would be a terrible mistake - though hardly his first - if Mr. Aristide sought to destabilize Haiti's shaky political situation by capitalizing on what remains of his once-formidable popular appeal. Still physically devastated by the January 2010 earthquake, the country has been cursed by ineffectual leadership, unacceptably slow flows of foreign aid, the ravages of a deadly cholera outbreak and, for the past several months, a confused, contentious and convoluted attempt to elect a new president. It hardly needs more instability. Unfortunately, that's what Mr. Aristide's arrival may portend. A gifted orator whose sweeping democratic elections, in 1990 and 2000, represented a stunning break from decades of violently repressive autocracy, he was twice overthrown - once by military coup, once by armed revolt - and sent into exile. In a nation severely polarized by class, he played on the resentments of the poor, who represent the vast majority of Haitians, while doing little to lift them from poverty. Nor did he attempt to capitalize on his democratic legitimacy by building a broader social consensus for reforms. Things got worse in Mr. Aristide's second term. He used thugs to intimidate and attack political opponents, the media and human rights groups. Amid allegations that Mr. Aristide and his immediate inner circle of presidential guards and high-ranking police were turning the country into a narco-state, there was a spike in transshipments of cocaine and other illegal drugs through Haiti to the United States. An investigation by a federal grand jury in Miami led to convictions of smugglers, former police officers and other figures, some of whom said Mr. Aristide received large payoffs from traffickers in return for allowing the drug trade to thrive. While Mr. Aristide was not indicted, he may have delayed his return to Haiti partly for fear of being charged and facing extradition to the United States. As for why he has chosen this moment to come home, that remains a mystery. Having served two terms in office (though both were cut short), he is not eligible to run again. He has not taken sides in Sunday's runoff election, which pits a former carnival singer notorious for taking down his pants on stage against a 70-year-old former first lady. His political intentions remain unclear. What is clear is that Mr. Aristide retains at least something of his ability to inspire enthusiasm among his supporters, throngs of whom greeted him with cheers Friday, as well as fear and distrust among his opponents and critics - including both presidential candidates. This is, in a sense, the third act for Mr. Aristide. Given the fragility of Haitian politics and society, he would be wise to move more carefully and exercise greater restraint in his public statements then he did in his first two acts in public life.

Microsoft sues Comet over counterfeit Windows CDs Microsoft said it is suing the UK's second-largest electricals retailer Comet for allegedly creating and selling "counterfeit" recovery CDs of its flagship Windows operating system. In a statement on its website, Microsoft said the retailer created more than 94,000 sets of Windows Vista and XP recovery CDs and sold them to customers buying Windows-loaded PCs and laptops. Comet is owned by Kesa Electricals, Europe's third biggest electricals retailer, but is in the process of being sold to private equity group OpCapita. A Kesa spokesman told Reuters that Comet provided the disks as a service to its customers between March 2008 and December 2009. It stopped the practice when Microsoft raised objections. Consumers buying PCs or laptops could create their own recovery CDs but many did not, and faced problems when their computers failed, he said. Microsoft, or the PC manufacturer, used to provide the recovery disks but stopped doing that in 2007, the spokesman said. There was a number of disks made, on which there was a cost and Comet charged this to the customer. Comet believes the supply of the recovery CDs was in the best interests of its customers and "has a good sense of its claim and will defend its position vigorously," he said.

Photos of an Isolated Region in Tajikistan Along a nearly inaccessible road in Tajikistan, the Greek photographer Myrto Papadopoulos is pursuing a quiet story of growth and change in a small, isolated society. Ms. Papadopoulos's project, "The New Plastic Road," follows Liu Xin Jun, a Chinese truck driver, and Davlat, a Tajik merchandiser, along a trade route in the Pamir Mountains. From the town of Khorog, the most developed in the region, east to Murghab, a former Russian military post at high altitude close to the Chinese border, she sought to explore socioeconomic and political development in an area known as Badakhshan. Basic necessities - food, water and electricity - are lacking in the area, in part because it is so far from the capital of Tajikistan, Dushanbe. Ms. Papadopoulos sought images of the road, and life on the road. "What we wanted to see is how this road really affects the society," Ms. Papadopoulos said. And do people receive what they want now with this opening of trade. Tajikistan is a very poor former Soviet state. Its nearly inaccessible roads have hurt development. To reach Khorog, Ms. Padadopoulos endured a long and difficult drive through the mountains. "That's how the region is," she said. There are very difficult places to reach. Virtually unreachable in the winter months, it is anything but a haven for tourism. Aside from a group of bikers and one or two mountaineers, Ms. Papadopoulos met few other travelers. "If something happens to you there," she said, "it just happens." The road, which was reconstructed by China and opened in 2004, has also been a haven for drug-trafficking. With China's trade increase in central Asia, though, the situation has been changing. "All these things are suddenly moving," Ms. Papadopoulos said. Ms. Padadopoulos was featured on Lens in September 2011 ("In the Grecian Caves Where Time Slows Down," Sept. This was her first trip to central Asia. She plans to go to China and find the source of the trade, "where all these things are and where do they go." The project will ultimately become a film about China's investments in central Asia, which she is working on with her partner, Angelos Tsaousis. The first trip was, for the most part, exploratory. "I tried to photograph what I saw," Ms. Padadopoulos said. In a way, she said, the environment - always very dark at night - felt peaceful. She especially felt that peace when photographing women. I really enjoyed sharing moments with the women. I felt very strong. And yet she felt a sense of melancholy, which comes out in the pictures - painterly, almost mystical. "I felt there was a sadness to them," she said.

Iran launches Spanish TV in jab at US 'dominance' TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iran's president on Tuesday lauded his country's newly launched Spanish-language satellite TV channel, saying it would deal a blow to "dominance seekers" - remarks that were an apparent jab at the U.S. and the West. The launch is Tehran's latest effort to reach out to friendly governments in Latin America and follows Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's four-nation tour of the region earlier in January, which included stops in Cuba and visits to Venezuela, Nicaragua and Ecuador. It also comes as Washington and Europe have imposed tougher sanctions on Tehran over its controversial nuclear program. The EU last week imposed an oil embargo against Iran and froze the assets of its central bank. In December, the United States said it would bar financial institutions from the U.S. market if they do business with Iran's central bank. Iran's broadcasting company said Hispan TV - the first Spanish-language channel airing from the Middle East - will broadcast news, documentaries, movies and Iranian films 24 hours a day. Iran's state TV said the channel, which had been on air on a trial basis since October with a 16-hour daily program, will target millions of Spanish-speaking people throughout the world. "The new channel will limit the ground for supremacy of dominance seekers," Ahmadinejad said during a Tehran ceremony marking the inauguration. It will be a means for better ties between people and governments of Iran and Spanish-speaking nations. Ahmadinejad ended his speech in Spanish: "Viva la Paz! Viva el Pueblo! Viva America Latina! Iran broadcasts daily in five other foreign languages, including in English through state-run Press TV and in Arabic via Al-Alam TV. The West suspects Iran is pursuing a nuclear weapon, a charge that Tehran denies, insisting its atomic program is only for peaceful purposes such as power generation.

Man Reaches Plea Deal in Oregon Bear Cub Shooting A man has pleaded no contest to animal abuse after being accused of fatally shooting a 90-pound bear cub rummaging in his neighbor's garbage. But the case could be dismissed if he doesn't break the law for six months. Blake Christensen of Florence said he reached the plea deal with prosecutors to avoid the costs and risk of a trial, The Eugene Register-Guard (http://bit.ly/xvth4E) reported Friday. The bear, its mother and two other cubs were in a neighborhood west of U.S. 101 in November when Christensen hit it with a pellet gun from 15 feet. Christensen, 29, initially said he would fight the charge. He argued he was doing what coastal Oregonians do for protection when bears invade their property. "He should have let the professionals do their job," countered city prosecutor Floyd Prozanski. Prozanski, also a state senator, said shooting the cub put the neighborhood at risk from the enraged mother bear, which broke a fence running from the area. Police likely would have tried to use an air horn to get the bears to leave, he said. Police said a state police trooper initially investigated and decided against recommending charges against Christensen. State law allows a person to kill a wild animal that is causing damage or is a public nuisance. City police asked Prozanski to review the case. He charged Christensen with first-degree animal abuse - a misdemeanor typically used to prosecute people who injure, neglect or kill pets and livestock. A charge of violating an ordinance against discharging a weapon in the city limits was dropped as part of the plea agreement. Information from: The Register-Guard, http://www.registerguard.com

Justin Long plays Mitt Romney in new 'Office' parody [Video] Actor Justin Long -- you know him from TV's "Ed" and such films as "Going the Distance" (wait, maybe you don't know him) -- portrays Mitt Romney in a new parody video making the rounds on the Web. The video is the work of MoveOn.org, the liberal advocacy group, so you know that it's not going to be a loving tribute to the Republican presidential contender. The video pokes fun at Romney's now-infamous comments earlier this month about how he likes "being able to fire people who provide services to me." Romney was talking about improving consumers' choices among private health insurers, but as politics goes, his words were quickly compressed by his critics to Romney "liking to fire people." Romney has also been under assault by Democrats -- and Newt Gingrich -- over his work in the private sector for Bain Capital, a private equity firm that became a buyout specialist. They say Romney destroyed jobs while at Bain, by downsizing; Romney argues that he created more than 100,000 jobs while he was with the company. Romney has already been roasted by the folks at "Saturday Night Live" for his "fire people" remarks, and now Long stars in what is intended to be a parody of NBC's"The Office,"with the actor playing Romney as a Michael Scott-type character. If Romney successfully secures the GOP presidential nomination, this kind of thing isn't likely to go away. And it didn't help that, at Thursday night's CNN debate in Florida, Romney again used the "f-word," saying he would fire anyone in his company who came to him proposing to build a base on the moon. Yes, that was indeed the context. It's been a long month. Anyway, here's the video:

Danny Granger Leads Pacers Over the Hawks Danny Granger scored 24 points to break out of a shooting slump in the Indiana Pacers" 96-84 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday night. Roy Hibbert added 12 points and 11 rebounds, and David West and Lance Stephenson also had 12 points each to help the Pacers improve to 7-3 and remain undefeated in four games at home. Indiana won for just the second time in its last 11 games against the Hawks. Josh Smith led Atlanta with 16 points, Joe Johnson had 15, Zaza Pachulia 11 and Willie Green 10. The Hawks dropped to 7-4. Granger was 9 of 16 from the field, including 3-of-5 from 3-point range. Granger and Hibbert scored all the points as the Pacers, up by 53-50 at the half, put together a 16-2 run in the third quarter for a 71-54 cushion with 5 minutes 7 seconds to go in the period. Indiana pushed the lead to 24 points during the final quarter. KINGS 98, RAPTORS 91 Tyreke Evans scored a season-high 29 points while DeMarcus Cousins had 21 points and a career-high 19 rebounds as Sacramento snapped a seven-game losing streak in Toronto. Isaiah Thomas scored 12 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter, and Jimmer Fredette had 10 for the Kings, who had not win in Toronto since Feb. 22, 2004. The Kings had lost two straight and four of five coming in, but held on to record their first road victory in five tries. Leandro Barbosa came off the bench to score a season-high 24 points for the Raptors, who have lost four of five. DeMar DeRozan and Jose Calderon each had 13 for the Raptors. ROSE SIDELINED The 2011 most valuable player, Derrick Rose, was ruled out of the Chicago Bulls" game Wednesday night against the Washington Wizards because of a sprained left big toe. Rose hurt the toe during the first quarter Tuesday night in a win at Minnesota but stayed in the game. He scored a season-high 31 points against the Timberwolves and is averaging 20.7 points and 8.6 assists during the Bulls" 9-2 start. Chicago also was without the injured guards Richard Hamilton (groin) and C. J. Watson (elbow) Wednesday for its third game in three nights. Earlier Wednesday, the Bulls signed the veteran guard Mike James for depth. John Lucas III was slated to start at point guard in Rose's place. SPURS WAIVE DIOGU The San Antonio Spurs waived the former lottery pick Ike Diogu and signed forward Malcolm Thomas from the N.B.A."s development league. Diogu played sparingly in two games after being signed Jan. 3.

Crude oil prices steady, near $100 NEW YORK, Jan. 27 (UPI) -- Crude oil prices climbed close to $100 per barrel after the Commerce Department said the U.S. gross domestic product rose 2.8 percent in the fourth quarter. Friday's report puts the GDP short of the expected 3 percent growth but respectable next to fourth-quarter contractions in Britain and Germany. The fourth quarter's figure is also close to the Federal Reserve's forecast for U.S. economic growth for 2012, which is 2.7 percent. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate crude added 27 cents to reach $99.87 per barrel. Home heating oil added 2.92 cents $3.0638 per gallon. Reformulated blendstock gasoline added 4.24 cents to $2.8932 per gallon. Henry Hub natural gas prices lost 2.3 cents to $2.631 per million British thermal units. At the pump, the national average price of unleaded gasoline added one penny overnight, jumping from $3.379 per gallon to $3.389, AAA said.

Florida Legislature drops anti-videotaping language The Florida Legislature has dropped a controversial provision that would have made it a crime to photograph or videotape on agricultural facilities without consent. We have reported previously on this blog that several states have attempted to thwart whistle-blowers and animal rights activists by making it a crime to record images on a farm, lab or other animal enterprise. Of course, many other actions such as trespassing, removing animals and other acts are already illegal. Florida was taking a lead in this push, but in the last few days its legislature has removed the image collection language - derisively called an "ag gag" provision by activists - from state House Bill 1021 and state Senate Bill 1184. "These bills threaten animal welfare," says Suzanne McMillan, director of Farm Animal Welfare for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, who has monitored these bills. However, they also threaten constitutional rights, they have a chilling effect on speech. Which is a serious concern. Any time you limit speech, legally, a higher threshold needs to be met and it's certainly not being met in this case. The animal welfare organization points out that an undercover video made at a Florida dairy farm was used to pass humane slaughter and euthanasia laws. That video showed calves with gunshot wounds left in a watery pit to drown. Video and photos gathered by undercover activists and even news reporters has been a mainstay of investigative journalism for decades. There has been some question as to whether the actual gathering of images also violates the broad federal 2006 Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act, which makes it illegal to negatively affect the profits of an animal enterprise. The Center for Constitutional Rights is currently challenging that financial harm provision in court. Four other states are now considering such video and photo bans, including Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota and Nebraska. "These bills are a direct threat to us controlling our food supply and to the American public understanding where it's food comes from," McMillan adds . If large animal agribusiness has nothing to hide, why is it supporting these kinds of bills? Time and again, undercover investigations have revealed these exact problems: food safety concerns, animal welfare violations, environmental violations. Scientists were asked to downplay Deepwater Horizon spill rates

Leicester Tigers coach Richard Cockerill insists his job is safe However, Cockerill added: "You will have to speak to the chairman but, as far as I am aware, I have his full support. I'm not here to give in at the first bit of hardship. We will work through it. I've got thick skin, and I know that I'm good at what I do. Look at the record? It's the best in the Premiership in the last three or four years. The indications from England are that Toby and Manu Tuilagi will be with us for a game or two before they go back to them. But we will see what happens," he said. Both Floodie and Manu should be available to play the weekend of Feb 11 when we go to Exeter in the Premiership, or certainly in and around that time. Meanwhile, Danny Care received encouragement from his Harlequins' director of rugby Conor O'Shea on Tuesday as the scrum-half returned to training after an impressive performance for his club at the weekend. Care's contribution to the 20-14 defeat of Gloucester suggested his game will not be affected by a £3,000 fine and 16-month driving ban he was given for drink-driving, and offence that led to him being overlooked by England. "In the long-term for Danny and for England it is going to be a good thing," O'Shea said. Sometimes you don't miss something until it has gone. And when you are the one responsible, when you are in control of getting yourself dropped from the England squad, it hurts all the more and you will make sure it never happens again. Danny is still only 25 and he will win a lot more England caps and will hopefully be part of a very successful England team at the 2015 World Cup. It will be tough for him right now but Stuart Lancaster made the right decision and Danny is already learning from the experience. To play to the levels he has played recently, given everything, shows what kind of form he is in and, although Ben Youngs is a very fine scrum-half England are going to miss Danny and there is no point pretending otherwise.

Santorum hammers Romney over felon voting rights Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, left, speaks as former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney listens at the South Carolina Republican presidential candidate debate in Myrtle Beach, S.C., Monday, Jan. 16, 2012. Credit: Pool,AP Photo/Charles Dharapak Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum on Monday took GOP frontrunner Mitt Romney to task for opposing voting rights for felons who have served their time -- and for what Santorum cast as a flip-flop on the issue from his time as Massachusetts governor. During Fox News/Wall Street Journal-hosted Republican presidential debate ahead of the January 21 South Carolina primary, Santorum spun a question about the place of attack ads on the campaign trail into a back-and-forth with Romney over whether or not felons should be allowed voting rights after they have been released. The candidate, who is making a hard push to emerge as the race's consensus anti-Romney candidate, appeared to have prepared the line of attack in advance. When asked if the GOP field should abandon negative attacks against their opponents, Santorum claimed to have maintained a largely positive campaign before quickly turning to Romney with a direct question."Governor Romney's super PAC has put an ad out there suggesting that I voted to allow felons to be able to vote from prison," he said. I would ask Governor Romney, do you believe people who have -- who were felons, who served their time, who have extended, exhausted their parole and probation, should they be given the right to vote? Romney, in response, attempted to address the more general question about the role of super PACs in politics. But Santorum was not having it. "I'm looking for a question -- an answer to the question first," Santorum said, cutting Romney off. "We have plenty of time," Romney responded. I'll get there. I'll do it in the order I want to do. Santorum pointed out that he had yielded Romney his own time in order to ask him the question, and reiterated his demand: "I'm asking you to answer the question, because that's how you got the time. It's actually my time. The former Pennsylvania repeated his original question, noting that "This is Martin Luther King Day. This is a huge deal in the African-American community, because we have very high rates of incarceration, disproportionately high rates, particularly with drug crimes, in the African-American community. "The bill I voted on was the Martin Luther King Voting Rights bill," he continued. And this was a provision that said, particularly targeted African-Americans. And I voted to allow -- to allow them to have their voting rights back once they completed their sentence. Do you agree with that?" he prompted. I don't think people who have committed violent crimes should be allowed to vote again. That's my own view," Romney answered. Santorum was ready with a cross-examination-style response. You know, it's very interesting you should say that, Governor Romney, because in the state of Massachusetts, when you were governor, the law was that not only could violent felons vote after they exhausted their sentences, but they could vote while they were on probation and parole, which was a more liberal position than I took when I voted for the bill in the Congress. Santorum continued: "If, in fact, you felt so passionately about this that you are now going to go out and have somebody criticize me for restoring voting rights to people who have -- who have exhausted their sentence and served their time and paid their debt to society, then why didn't you try to change that when you were governor of Massachusetts?" Romney, who appeared blindsided by the question, reiterated the fact that, as governor, he presided over a largely Democratic electorate. "I had an 85 percent Democratic legislature," he said. This is something we discussed. My view was people who committed violent crimes should not be able to vote, even upon coming out of office. He pivoted quickly to the question of super PACs, reiterating candidates' legal obligations not to involve themselves in super PAC ads. He reminded the audience that "there have been some attacks on me, I mean, that have just been outrageous and completely inaccurate and have been shown to be inaccurate." "That's the nature of the process," Romney said. Santorum was not satisfied with the response. I need to respond to this. What the governor said is he didn't propose anything to change that law, and what he's saying is that the -- the ad that says that I said that -- or I voted to allow felons to vote is inaccurate. And it is inaccurate," he said. And if I had something -- the super PAC that was supporting me -- that was inaccurate, I would go out and say, 'Stop it.'

Want kids to do better in school? Give them recess Give them recess - Children's health Children's health Children who get more exercise also tend to do better in school, whether the exercise comes as recess, physical education classes or getting exercise on the way to school, according to an international study. The findings, published in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, come as U.S. schools in general cut physical activity time in favor of more academic test preparation. Amika Singh, who worked on the study, said the findings meant that schools should prioritize both academics and exercise and that families could have the same attitude at home. "Maybe it's an activity break, stand up every half an hour in class and do something," said Singh, from VU University Medical Center in Amsterdam. It might mean going to school by bike ... Any kind of physical activity you can think of. It doesn't mean only the physical education standard class. Singh and her colleagues reviewed 14 studies that compared kids' physical activity with their grades or scores on math, language and general thinking and memory tests. Those included two types of reports, such as 10 so-called "observational studies" in which researchers asked parents, teachers or students themselves how active they were, then followed them for a few months to a few years to track their academic performance. In the four other studies, one group of kids was given extra time for physical education classes and other health and fitness exercises, and their test scores were later compared against a group of kids who didn't get extra exercise. When researchers asked students how much time they spent exercising, they found that those with higher rates of physical activity did better in the classroom. Three of the four studies involving an exercise intervention found that students given more exercise time scored higher on measures of academic performance. In one report from the United States, second and third graders who got an extra 90 minutes of physical activity per week did better on a test of spelling, reading and math, along with gaining less weight over the next three years. That may be because children are better behaved and can concentrate better when they get enough exercise, or because physical activity improves blood flow to the brain and boosts mood, the researchers wrote. "There's obviously the long-term links between physical activity and health," said Sandy Slater, who has studied recess and physical education at the University of Illinois at Chicago but wasn't involved in the latest study. But this is another reason to try to continue to keep some dedicated amount of time for physical education or recess or some other types of physical activity in the school day. Recent research has suggested that many U.S. children are not getting the recommended amount of physical education and recess endorsed by the American Heart Association, which includes two and a half hours of physical education a week and 20 minutes of recess every day. More from Children's health

Libyan PM calls for security meeting over weapons ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Libyan Prime Minister Abdurrahim al-Keib called on Sunday for a regional security conference to tackle a proliferation of weapons by exiled supporters of former leader Muammar Gaddafi. The Libyan civil war may have given militant groups in Africa's Sahel region like Boko Haram and al Qaeda access to large weapons caches, said a U.N. report released on Thursday. (There is) still a real threat from some of the armed remnants of the former regime who escaped outside the country and still roam freely. This is a threat for us, for neighboring countries and our shared relations," Keib told African Union leaders in Addis Ababa. "My country calls for a regional security conference in Libya of interior and defense ministers of neighboring countries," he told the summit, the first since Gaddafi's death last year. A U.N. report said the Libyan civil war may have created a proliferation of small arms, giving militant groups like Boko Haram and al Qaeda access to large weapons caches in Africa's Sahel region that straddle the Sahara, including Nigeria, Niger and Chad. The report said some countries believe weapons have been smuggled into the Sahel by former fighters in Libya - Libyan army regulars and mercenaries who fought on behalf of Gaddafi, who was ousted and killed by rebels. Links between al Qaeda and Boko Haram have become a growing source of concern for the countries of the region, the U.N. report said. The Islamist sect Boko Haram has killed at least 935 people since it launched an uprising in Nigeria in 2009, including 250 in the first weeks of this year, Human Rights Watch said last week. Reporting by Yara Bayoumy; Editing by James Macharia

Sundance 2012: Tim and Eric walk into a film festival Nobody does absurdity quite like Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim, better known by their personas of Tim and Eric: hapless bunglers with a mean streak, part lovable friends, part total jerks. So it somehow makes sense they should have two very different projects this year at Sundance, a place where absurdity often reigns, a weird mix of glitz and grunge, scrounging and branding, swag in the snow. The duo premiered their own debut feature film, "Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie" here as part of the Midnight section, playing to crowds beyond their usual fans. They also both appear as actors in the Narrative Competition film "The Comedy," directed by Rick Alverson. One film is a ridiculous tour of their comedic world and the other a quietly crushing look at coming to the stark realization of what a mess you are. "Billion Dollar Movie" follows the characters of Tim and Eric -- well-known to fans of their cult Cartoon Network show "Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!" -- as they blow through a billion dollars making a movie they don't even finish. Money only goes so far when you start to get suits made of diamonds. Needing to pay it back, they get jobs managing a run-down shopping mall. With cameos by Zach Galifianakis, Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly, the film captures the askew worldview of Tim and Eric, strange and fresh. In "The Comedy," Heidecker plays a guy who seems to just laze around all day. When he gets together with his friends (including Wareheim and LCD Soundsystem's James Murphy), it is for escalating flights of male bonding and low-simmering cruelty. The film deconstructs the so-called hipster persona while providing a vivid emotional life to a character that is easier to dismiss than consider. And for a film called "The Comedy," it is extremely sad. Having two films at Sundance at the same time presented certain challenges in keeping them distinct. What I kept saying to Rick was, 'Just so you know, this is going to be an issue for your audience. There is going to be a natural confusion,'" Heidecker said in an interview this week. I thought at the time it could be a problem. Not for us, because the work was fun to do and if the movie doesn't work out, who cares? But I thought Rick and the producers could have a problem with the film, that people would not understand that this wasn't a Tim and Eric thing. There were practical concerns as well. "It shouldn't say 'Tim and Eric's 'The Comedy' at the same time 'Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie' is coming out," added Heidecker. It's been handled pretty well, considering. For Alverson, a former construction contractor turned musician turned filmmaker, having Heidecker and Wareheim in roles that played off their personas as Tim and Eric was partly the point. Working from an outline, Alverson prefers to improvise scenes, in particular the long sessions of aimless drinking and hanging out that form the backbone of the film. "Their chemistry was really important to me," Alverson said of casting the duo"I work a lot from that to try to recontextualize certain aspects of people's personalities and the chemistry that they have. So I was happy they would both be involved in the core group of friends for the movie considering they have this real palpable energy between the two of them that works. Heidecker and Wareheim were at Sundance last year with their short film "The Terrys," but this year, with two films and busy schedule of press for their "Billion Dollar Movie," has been completely different. Both films this year have been met by reports of scattered walk-outs and some confusion from audiences as to just what they're seeing. "The crowds here are very different from what Tim and I are used to," said Wareheim. When we do our live tours it's 100% Tim and Eric fans and this is an interesting mix, where not everyone is aware of us. It's just a different vibe. "Some people have said how silly it is it's at Sundance or how weird it is, but to me it is an independent film in the strictest sense," Heidecker said of "Billion Dollar Movie." It may be this wacky comedy and Sundance is seen as this prestigious thing, but the film really is the ultimate expression of what independent film is about. It came from two guys, it's not meant to appeal to everybody and just because we're not dealing with sober social issues doesn't mean it doesn't belong. "Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie" will open in theaters in early March and is available on video-on-demand as of Friday. It was announced during the festival that Rough House Pictures, the production company of Danny McBride, David Gordon Green and Jody Hill, would partner with the Jagjaguwar record label to present "The Comedy." The scene in the clip below, in which Heidecker and Wareheim berate a cab driver while Murphy looks on, was posted online by Jagjaguwar as a taste of the film's style. The Comedy (Clip) from Rick Alverson on Vimeo. Sundance 2012: A child's-eye view in "Kid Thing" Photo: Comedians Tim Heidecker, left, and Eric Wareheim pause on Main Street in Park City, Utah, during a day of press at the Sundance Film Festival, for their film "Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie," Jan. 20, 2012.

Syria: Bashar al-Assad given ultimatum to oversee transition to democracy Saudi Arabia, the major Gulf power, announced it was pulling its observers out. "It is not a quality of Arab leaders to kill their people," a statement by its foreign minister, Prince Saud al-Faisal, said, accusing the Assad regime of using the mission to "hide its crimes." The offer that emerged was a compromise, but a detailed one. It said Mr Assad should open a dialogue with the opposition within two weeks, form a coalition government in two months, and then allow free elections. It was not clear whether the League had sought a response in advance from Mr Assad, but he was also facing an ever bleaker situation at home. Activists said they were in control of Douma, a town on the outskirts of Damascus itself and just 10 miles from the city centre, after the army was forced to withdraw. Clashes began on Saturday evening at the funeral of Mohammed Said Maddah, a protester who had been shot dead, according to Omar al-Khani, of the Syrian Revolutionary Command in Damascus. "When the martyr's body arrived, along with the funeral procession, the criminal Assad gangs waged a surprise attack and shot at them," he said. Gun battles with the rebel Free Syrian Army led to the government troops eventually withdrawing. "The FSA gathered near Hawwa mosque," said an activist who claimed to have been present at the funeral. Douma is the second town near Damascus to have declared itself free of government control, after Zabadani to the west. Rebels hope that they can become hubs of further resistance, as Benghazi did in Libya. Mr al-Araby said the presence of monitors was softening the regime's stance. It may also have been keen to avoid the fighting necessary to reclaim the two towns while the Arab League decided on its next steps.

Cameron urges Saudis to turn on the oil taps David Cameron has called on the King of Saudi Arabia to step up his country's oil production in the face of Iranian threats to block off the sea corridor through which one sixth of the world's oil supplies pass. In private talks with King Abdullah during an official visit to the Kingdom yesterday, Mr Cameron expressed Britain's fears that a blockade could destabilise the world economy. Iran has threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz, which links the Persian Gulf with international ports, if the EU imposes sanctions on its crude exports. About 15.5 million barrels of oil pass through the Strait every day. Saudi oil would continue flow through the kingdom's East-West Pipeline, which can carry as much as 5 million barrels a day. Mr Cameron is thought to have asked that Saudi Arabia increase production regardless of any blockade, to guarantee oil supplies to countries which rely on Iranian oil - which would be effected by EU sanctions. Some of the most economically vulnerable EU countries, including Greece, Spain and Italy, are among the largest importers of Iranian oil and this has delayed the imposition of sanctions. Downing Street refused to comment last night but one source said: "It is in no one's interest for the price of oil to be destabilised." Mr Cameron said: "It is in the interests of the whole world that those straits are open and, if there was any threat to close them, I am sure the whole world would come together and make sure they stayed open." The United States has warned leaders of the regime in Iran through back-channels that any attempt to close down the Strait of Hormuz would not go unanswered. "That's another red line for us and ... we will respond to them," the US Secretary of Defence, Leon Panetta, said this week. The two leaders also discussed the situation in Syria, and Mr Cameron later indicated that Britain would be prepared to lead UN action against the country - in the face of Russian opposition. In an interview he said: "We stand ready as a permanent member of the UN Security Council to take a fresh resolution to that Council, based on what the Arab League is doing and saying, and daring others that if they want to veto that resolution to try to explain why they are willing to stand by and watch such appalling bloodshed by someone who has turned into such an appalling dictator." Hundreds of protesters took to the streets yesterday in eastern Saudi Arabia after a Shiite youth was killed in a clash with security forces. Despite calls for Mr Cameron to be "completely frank and firm" about human rights concerns in Saudi Arabia, he is believed to be more concerned about securing Saudi support for sanctions. He is also keen to boost trade with the Kingdom. Saudi Arabia is Britain's biggest trading partner in the Middle East with bilateral trade worth £15bn a year. Tim Hancock, the UK campaigns director for Amnesty International, said: "There is shocking disrespect for basic human rights in Saudi Arabia and David Cameron should be completely frank and firm with King Abdullah about this. If Mr Cameron is discussing arms deals on this trip he must ensure that they will be subject to rigorous controls. Saudi-British trade in numbers £2.5bn: Value of British exports to Saudi Arabia, equivalent to just 1.1% of the total, making it only our 24th biggest trading partner (smaller than Poland or Turkey). 27%: Proportion of UK exports of "armoured fighting vehicles" sold to Saudi Arabia in 2009, making it the second biggest buyer of UK arms. 72: The number of Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets bought by Saudi Arabia in a multibillion-pound deal with BAE Systems. Reportedly the British firm is negotiating to secure more sales. £62bn: The value of Saudi investment in the UK each year.

New nursing program said more 'real life' HOUSTON, Jan. 3 (UPI) -- Students get more real-world training in the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston's redesigned, four-semester nursing program, officials say. The Pacesetters track gives students their in-classroom course work, plus an opportunity to work a full-time clinical rotation schedule for 16 weeks during the final semester of their bachelor of science program. The concept was developed by a task force chaired by Cathy Rozmus, associate dean of the School of Nursing -- who said, thanks to clinical partners such as the Memorial Hermann Healthcare System, the nursing students experience 12-hour work shifts, continuity of care with patients and become acquainted with the hospital's system of care. In addition, students have had the opportunity to work in a variety of nursing settings, such as in local schools and community sites, and obstetric, acute and pediatric nursing units, Rozmus said. In a typical nursing school curriculum, the student might not get continuity-of-care experience and usually have only brief, limited contact with each hospital's system of care, location of supplies and charting methods, Rozmus said. "I've been able to connect with patients and follow them throughout the course of their treatment because we work three rotation shifts in a week," one of the students said.

How proposed Metro fare changes could affect riders Though Dyke is the board's most recent addition, the majority of his colleagues have just a slight advantage on him in seniority, given the dramatic turnover in membership last year. In fact, only a handful of the current board members were serving in 2010, the last time the panel approved fare increases. The riders are going to have to help them through this. But the board has not decided on the range of proposals it will send out for public hearings. These are some of the issues the board began to struggle with during its discussion Thursday. General manager's budget Metro's budget season always starts the same way. In the winter, the general manager makes his proposals for fare increases or service cuts, the board accepts some ideas and shreds others, then sets up public hearings. After reviewing the riders" comments, the board tinkers some more, then votes by June on a budget that takes effect July 1. This year, General Manager Richard Sarles proposed no service cuts. But he did propose changes in fares that could please riders who travel at certain peak times or use bike lockers, but the changes would generally mean people would pay more to park, ride buses, or travel by train. He said rush-hour SmarTrip rail fares would increase by an average of less than 5 percent. Peak of the peak The best idea in the budget is the proposed elimination of the peak-of-the-peak fare, the ­20-cent surcharge for Metrorail travel at the height of rush hour. Sarles said the peak of the peak was designed to raise revenue and to manage congestion. In theory, it created a financial incentive for riders to avoid the most crowded times. "That simply didn't happen," Sarles told the board members, but "we certainly complicated the fare system." Commuters have been saying that they're pretty much locked into their travel times. If they could respond to an incentive, the idea of escaping crowded trains would have provided it long ago. Flat fares Paper is so 20th century. Metro is steering people from paper fare cards in favor of electronic ­SmarTrip cards, which are now used by most riders. Sarles proposed to further isolate the fare card by charging a flat fee of $4 for off-peak travel and $6 for rush-hour. You might look at that as a user-friendly fare. Occasional riders, who are more likely to use the paper fare cards, wouldn't have to waste time staring at the charts on the vending machines to calculate a fare down to the nickel. But this is really sticking it to the tourists and other occasional riders. A family of four, traveling off-peak, would pay $32 for a round-trip between Union Station and Smithsonian, stations that are less than two miles apart. The transit staff wants people to consider buying SmarTrip cards, so they'd pay the $5 fee for the card, then load fare value on top of that. If that family of four is in town for a few days, the investment would start to be worthwhile, but it still represents an initial payment of $20 just to get everyone a card.

Oscar show may exit Hollywood After a decade of holding Hollywood's biggest night of the year at the Kodak Theatre, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences is considering moving its annual Academy Awards ceremony to the Nokia Theatre in downtown Los Angeles. Preliminary discussions about the potential relocation are underway between the academy and AEG, owner of the Nokia Theatre, according to a person familiar with AEG's operations who was not authorized to speak publicly. Officials at both the academy and AEG declined to comment. The move downtown would be a big blow for the 3,500-seat Kodak Theatre, which was built specifically to the academy's requirements ahead of the 2002 Oscar broadcast and has served as the cornerstone to the Hollywood and Highland entertainment complex. This year's ABC telecast Feb. 26 will mark the 10th annual show to be held at the theater. It also marks a point in the academy's long-term contract with the CIM Group, the landlord of the Kodak Theatre, that allows the organization to explore cheaper lease options for the 2014 show. CIM also declined to comment. The Hollywood Reporter, an industry trade publication, first reported the discussions Wednesday. There is a chance that the academy could renegotiate its lease with CIM and keep the Oscars rolling at the Kodak. A move to the Nokia would enable the academy to more than double the occupancy of its annual broadcast. The cavernous, 7,100-seat theater also hosts the annual Emmy Awards and the American Music Awards shows. The Grammy Awards have been handed out at the adjacent Staples Center 11 times in the last 12 years. Proponents of the Nokia say the venue, which is part of AEG's larger L.A. Live complex, would also offer the academy more room for outdoor activities. The X Games sports competition and "American Idol" television show have incorporated Nokia's plaza into their events. The space also offers three ballroom options with the J.W. Marriot and Ritz-Carlton hotel complex next to the theater. A tunnel connecting the theater to Staples Center would enable the academy to make use of the locker rooms and other facilities in the arena. From a logistical standpoint, the Kodak Theatre has consistently served the needs of the academy and it's changing cadre of producers. Bill Condon, producer of the 81st Academy Awards in 2009, says the Kodak was built to do the show and it's only gotten better since Cirque du Soleil's "Iris" show came into the theater and excavated 40 feet under the stage for its elaborate sets. It has a very intimate feel. Technically there is nothing wrong with it," Condon said. The camera can go almost anywhere. And the backstage space is massive enough to hold everything needed to put on a television show. Plus there are endless dressing rooms. Leron Gubler, the president/CEO of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, said that should the Oscars move out of Hollywood, it would be a big blow to the community. Obviously, we'd be very disappointed. The Kodak Theatre was designed for the academy but more then that, historically the academy is tied to Hollywood with the first Academy Awards held in Hollywood," Gubler said. This, on top of the academy's decision to move their museum out of Hollywood an onto Wilshire Boulevard would send a very negative message to the community. A representative for City Councilman Eric Garcetti spoke up for the Kodak. The Academy Awards belong in Hollywood," chief of staff Yusef Robb said. Criticism of the Kodak has often centered on the theater's tinny acoustics; its steep 37-step grand staircase that leads into the lobby that has often proved treacherous to many female guests in long ball gowns, and the complex's mass-market shopping galleria that stands in stark contrast to the elegant tenor of the Oscars. Should the academy move downtown, it can still expect its after-ceremony celebration to be served by celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck. He's the official caterer for both L.A. Live and Hollywood and Highland.

Minnesota man charged with horse neglect EAST BETHEL, Minn., Jan. 12 (UPI) -- A Minnesota horse boarder was charged Thursday with animal neglect after 17 malnourished animals were seized from his East Bethel ranch. Lowell Friday, 72, faces 35 gross-misdemeanor counts for alleged neglect of the horses, which investigators said were emaciated and being kept in squalid conditions. The Animal Humane Society, based in Minneapolis-St. Paul, had investigated Friday several times in the past 13 years and had previously seized stricken animals in August and November, the (Minneapolis) Star Tribune said. The horses were nursed back to health at the University of Minnesota and sent to rescue ranches for further rehabilitation, the newspaper said. The charges were filed after a court denied a request by Friday to have one of his mares returned to him. Friday said the horse was in fairly good health but investigators said it was sick and suffered a heart murmur caused by malnutrition.

Father of Indian student killed on Boxing Day flies to UK The parents of the Indian engineering student who was shot dead in Salford meet Keith Vaz, chairman of the home affairs select committee Link to this video The father of the Indian student who was shot dead in Salford on Boxing Day has called for justice for his son and pleaded with the UK to ensure that foreign students are better protected in future. Anuj Bidve, a 23-year-old engineering student from Pune, in western India, died after he was shot in the head while visiting Manchester with a group of fellow Indian students. Kiaran Stapleton, 20, of Ordsall, has been charged with his murder and remanded in custody. Bidve's parents arrived in the UK on Wednesday to bring his body home. They met Keith Vaz, the chairman of the home affairs select committee, in Westminster on Thursday. The family is due to return to India on Friday, and will visit the scene of the murder in Ordsall Lane, Salford, during the morning. Flowers and candles have been left by wellwishers. Earlier this week, hundreds of residents took part in a vigil. Speaking outside parliament, Bidve's father, Subhash, said he hoped no parent would have to endure a similar ordeal. "It was really unfortunate that I lost my son," he said. But I feel myself as a father this should not happen again because a lot of Indian students come here for their education and they go back to their own countries. I humbly request to you all kindly do justice for Anuj and kindly make sure that students who come here for their studies ... they have their own studies and go back to their own countries. He described his son as "really straightforward, very disciplined, very softly spoken and very friendly to everyone, and a very good son to me." He added: "I wanted to give him the best. As a father that's what I wanted. He said he had been very happy while studying for a micro-electronics postgraduate qualification at Lancaster University, and that his death was a terrible loss to his field. "He was a very great asset not just to India but the whole globe - that was the kind of work he was doing," he said. Vaz said he had promised the Bidves a full report on their son's death, adding: "As a parent myself, I cannot imagine the grief that Mr and Mrs Bidve are going through. They want to know what happened. They were due to come to England in September for his ceremony of convocation. They never thought they would come in circumstances of this kind. Unless they have full information there can never be closure, because they simply can't understand how this has happened. Vaz also said he had passed on the condolences of many well-wishers during his 35-minute meeting with the family. "There are many people who have contacted me who wish to acknowledge the memory of Anuj and express their sadness as to what has happened," he said. I have therefore asked them to contact the family direct. They are very keen to set up a fund - not the family, but the people who have contacted us - to honour the memory of Anuj and to help the family. I will pass all that information directly on to the family. That is at very early stages, of course, but it was important that the family knew about it. The select committee chairman and MP for Leicester East also called on Facebook to reopen Bidve's homepage at the request of his family. Shortly after the murder, it e,erged that the student's father had found out about his son's death on Facebook before police in the UK could contact him. Vaz said the family felt this was the only way many people could leave tributes and express condolences for their son, and contact them directly.

How to live as long as the rich A recent study released in the U.K. revealed that the gap in life expectancy between the rich and poor is widening. At age 65, men in the highest socio-economic group are living, on average, 3.5 years longer than those in the lowest socio-economic group. Twenty years ago, this difference in life expectancy was just 2.3 years. Similar gaps in life expectancy have been reported in the United States, Canada, and Finland. Is this another instance where life is unfairly stacked in favor of the privileged? Maybe not, but the reasons are instructive. The U.K. study attributed the differences in life expectancy to factors completely within an individual's control, factors that aren't related to wealth: smoking, obesity and alcohol consumption. Another study that was published in the British Medical Journal study concurred, noting that when differences in smoking are considered, there's no difference in life expectancy between the rich and poor. Want to live like the rich? Then stop smoking, control your weight through diet and exercise, and limit your consumption of alcohol. Easier said than done, I know, but that's the reality. And I'm sure you've heard these recommendations before -- the latest insight is that here's an area where you have the power to put yourself on the same playing field as the rich. There's another benefit to making these changes: You'll save lots of money by following these guidelines. Then invest the savings, and you'll be richer as well!

Stocks up on first day of 2012 Summary Box: Stocks up on first day of 2012 Jan 3 05:46 PM US/Eastern BIG GAINS ON FIRST DAY: Stocks rose sharply in the first trading of 2012 after investors returned from the holiday and found encouraging economic reports from the United States and around the world. The Dow closed up 179.82 points. ECONOMIC NUMBERS: Manufacturing expanded in December at the fastest rate in six months. Germany reported that the average number of people unemployed last year was the lowest in two decades. JANUARY EFFECT: The market could be getting an extra boost from what's known as the January effect: Investors sell stocks at the end of the year to lock in losses for tax purposes, then come back in January and reinvest their money in stocks. January is also fairly good predictor of the year to come. Only seven times since 1950 has January turned out to be totally wrong in predicting the year to come.

'Magic/Bird' To Land at the Longacre Theater January 17, 2012, 2:04 pm "Magic/Bird," Eric Simonson's play about the rivalry and friendship between Larry Bird, the former Boston Celtics forward, and Magic Johnson, the Los Angeles Lakers point guard, has a Broadway theater and a complete cast. The play, to be directed by Thomas Kail, will open on April 11 at the Longacre Theater, the show's producers announced Tuesday. Previews begin March 21. Additional casting was also announced. Kevin Daniels and Tug Coker, already cast in the roles of Johnson and Bird, will be joined by Deirdre O'Connell, Peter Scolari, Rob Ray Manning, Jr. and Francois Battiste, all of whom will play several roles in the six-person cast. Mr. Simonson's "Lombardi" ran for 244 performances on Broadway in the 2010-11 season.

Aerospace Corp. researchers study space junk "Well, here it is," said aerospace engineer William Ailor as he paused next to the hulking metal shells arrayed along the plaza outside a visitors entrance at Aerospace Corp.'s El Segundo headquarters. The stuff is junk. But, Ailor said, it's no ordinary junk. This garbage has traveled to space and back. A 150-pound hollow sphere of blackened titanium is all that remains of a motor casing from a Delta II rocket that fell to Earth in 2001, landing in the Saudi Arabian desert west of Riyadh. A 600-pound stainless-steel fuel tank, also from a Delta II rocket, sits nearby, dented, gashed and rusty - scarred by its descent from space to a farm near Georgetown, Texas, in 1997. An artist once asked whether he could use the mangled metal in a sculpture. It was Air Force property, so the answer was no. Ailor said he has occasionally worried about thieves dragging the tanks off to sell as scrap. But he and the dozen or so researchers he works with at Aerospace Corp.'s Center for Orbital and Reentry Debris Studies, or CORDS, where he is the principal scientist, usually don't concern themselves with space trash's artistic or monetary value. They're interested in the science of it - and in safety. "We worry about orbital debris," Ailor said. Aerospace Corp. is a nonprofit research and development organization that provides technical advice to the military, NASA and other government and commercial customers. The job of Ailor's group is to see how space debris affects satellites and what hazards it poses when it reenters the atmosphere. CORDS also publishes predictions of when larger items might crash to Earth so that some debris might be recovered and returned for analysis. It is the only group in the world that systematically brings fallen space junk back to the laboratory for testing, Ailor said. Over 37 years, the researchers have collected about 10 or so samples of the detritus, including the Delta rocket components, in an effort to better understand how scraps in space behave when they reenter Earth's atmosphere. The team analyzes the size and shape of the debris and uses sophisticated computer programs to reconstruct its fall to the ground. It examines melted holes and compositional properties of the found metal to estimate how much heating the space junk underwent during reentry - which tells scientists the maximum temperatures reached and helps explain why these types of objects survive. The hope is to keep satellites, and people, from harm. There are more than 22,000 pieces of space debris larger than 4 inches orbiting the Earth, and millions of smaller items in orbit that are too small to be tracked with precision, according to a 2011 report commissioned by NASA. Even tiny bits of debris, such as paint chips, can damage satellites and manned spacecraft when they're traveling in low-Earth orbit at about 21,600 mph. An aluminum sphere half an inch in diameter has the potential to do as much damage upon collision as a 400-pound safe traveling at 60 mph. Larger items such as defunct satellites can pulverize the objects they hit in space, generating ever more pieces of dangerous floating trash. Debris could hurt humans. In just the last four months, three very large spacecraft, including the failed Russian Mars lander Phobos-Ground, have plunged to Earth. To date, no one has been injured, thanks to good luck and the fact that more than two-thirds of the surface of Earth is covered by ocean. Jumbo junk like this - objects that weigh at least 1,000 pounds before falling, large enough to not entirely burn up during descent - interests Ailor and his team. Finding it isn't easy, because so little survives and lands on the ground. But three or four times a year, witnesses on the ground see debris fall - and if the researchers are very lucky, they'll get an email letting them know. If the item has come from an Air Force launch, the military picks it up and brings it back to El Segundo. One specimen, a steel tank from a Delta II, fell in Mongolia but couldn't be collected for months because the de-icing equipment at the airport there couldn't accommodate the Air Force's huge transport planes. Fortunately, just one rusty fuel tank can help scientists figure out what happens to space junk as it reenters the atmosphere. First, the Aerospace team reconstructs the item's plunge, using radar information, weather records, details about the object's size, shape and composition and other data to create as accurate a record of its path as possible.

Festive cheer for New Look after challenging year The company, owned by private equity funds Apax and Permira, said that UK sales for the five weeks to December 31 had risen 3.4pc, excluding VAT, or 3.6pc like-for-like. The festive cheer came after a difficult year for retailers, with New Look's UK sales for the financial year-to-date down 1.7pc excluding VAT, and 3.7pc like-for-like. New Look said that trading conditions had remained "challenging" but that multi-channel shopping initiatives such as a new 'click and collect' service had helped sales. Alistair McGeorge, executive chairman, said: "Our online business continues to grow strongly and customers now have the choice of whether to buy online via their PC, their smart-phone or in store through a new till system, rolled out across our branch network during 2011. Our recent performance demonstrates that our hard work is beginning to pay off and we are pleased that both sales and profitability are responding positively. We are nevertheless mindful that we are operating against a backdrop of a tough and potentially worsening economic climate and remain cautious about the outlook for the next few months. Simon Chinn, lead consultant at Conlumino, said that New Look's results for the Christmas period had "mirrored to some degree" those of other clothing specialists and that the chain had not discounted as heavily as some struggling retailers. He added: "Clothing sales in the months before Christmas were generally weak due to the weather. In December, people that had not thought about buying clothes were out in the shops anyway, and picking up a bargain.

South Carolina Debate Fact Check Times reporters take a closer look at some of the statements made by the Republican presidential candidates during Monday night's debate in Myrtle Beach, S.C. Obama and Food Stamps Newt Gingrich described President Obama as "the best food stamp president in American history" and said the growth of food aid tended to "maximize dependency." "More people have been put on food stamps by Barack Obama than any president in American history," Mr. Gingrich said Monday. Agriculture Department statistics show that the number of food stamp recipients has increased 44 percent, to 46.2 million in October 2011, from 32 million in January 2009, when Mr. Obama took office. The total cost of the program, now known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, increased to $75.3 billion in fiscal year 2011, from $53.6 billion in fiscal year 2009 and $33 billion in fiscal year 2007, before the recession began. The growth partly reflects an increase in need, as millions of Americans have lost income and lost jobs or remain out of work. In addition, food prices have increased, eligibility has been expanded, and the 2009 economic stimulus law temporarily increased benefits. Before Mr. Obama took office, food stamp participation was rising, in part because of federal policies that encouraged low-income people to seek aid for which they were eligible. Nearly half of food stamp recipients are under age 18. Nearly 30 percent of food stamp households have earned income. Only 15 percent of such households have income above the poverty level ($18,500 for a family of three in 2011). Robert Pear Gingrich and U.N. Program Mr. Gingrich said Mitt Romney's "super PAC" had distorted his record on a bill he co-sponsored with Representative Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, with Mr. Romney saying that the bill would have given $60 million a year to a United Nations program supporting China's brutal one-child policy. The bill actually attempted to address climate change, PolitiFact says, and a third of the House members were co-sponsors. "The bill did propose money for the United Nations Population Fund, but it stated specifically that its funding could not be used for "involuntary sterilization or abortion or to coerce any person to accept family planning," " PolitiFact said. Katharine Q. Seelye Gingrich on Balanced Budgets While making the case for why his plan to privatize Social Security would not add to the national debt, Mr. Gingrich argued that he was responsible for four balanced federal budgets - and so could be trusted to be fiscally responsible. It is a claim Mr. Gingrich makes almost every day on the campaign trail, but it is based on an odd timeline. The years of balanced budgets in question are from fiscal 1998 through 2001, but Mr. Gingrich was in office for only the first two. He left the House in January 1999 and had no role in crafting the budgets for the subsequent two years. When pressed on this discrepancy, Mr. Gingrich sometimes argues that he deserves credit for policies enacted in the 1990s that promoted economic prosperity and established a climate for balancing budgets that carried beyond his time in office. This is at least the third time The Times has fact-checked this claim. PolitiFact has also looked into it repeatedly, most recently at the last Fox News debate in Iowa in December, when it was rated "false." Trip Gabriel Obama and Military Spending Mr. Romney was wrong in stating that Mr. Obama wants to cut $1 trillion from military spending. The administration is committed to reductions of less than half that amount over 10 years - about $450 billion, or roughly 8 percent of the Pentagon budget over a decade. Moreover, Congressional Republicans as well as Democrats support the level of cuts that Mr. Obama seeks. The cuts were mandated as part of the bipartisan deficit-reduction agreement with Mr. Obama in August. That bipartisan deal does include another round of cuts in January 2013 that would be automatic, half in domestic programs and half in the military, and it would bring total military reductions to about $1 trillion over 10 years. But the administration opposes that outcome for the Pentagon. Mr. Obama's defense secretary, Leon Panetta, has said reductions on that scale would be ruinous. Mr. Obama has proposed alternative deficit-reduction measures to avoid the threatened automatic cuts, but Republicans oppose his plan because it calls for additional revenues from higher taxes on the wealthy as well as spending reductions in entitlement benefit programs like Medicare, farm subsidies and federal pension programs. Jackie Calmes Negotiating With the Taliban Mr. Romney says he would never negotiate an end to the war in Afghanistan with the Taliban. Instead, he argued, "we should kill the Taliban." On this issue, he is at odds with not only the Obama administration, but also with many of his fellow Republicans. As Henry Kissinger, among others, have pointed out, you don't end wars negotiating with your friends. You end them negotiating with your enemies. It was a Republican president - Dwight D. Eisenhower - who negotiated a cease-fire in Korea in the early 1950s, and another Republican, Richard M. Nixon, who negotiated an exit from Vietnam. And it was the most recent Republican president, George W. Bush, whose administration took the position that the United States needed to defeat Al Qaeda but not the Taliban. The latter, argued Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, can be diminished, and forced to the bargaining table. But Mr. Romney would take a far harder-line position. What he did not say is how many troops it would take - and how many years it would take - to defeat the Taliban. But in his critique that Mr. Obama weakened the American negotiating position by setting a date for American withdrawal, Mr. Romney is very much in the mainstream - many in the Pentagon agree with him. So do some Democratic strategists. David E. Sanger Gingrich on Private Retirement Accounts Mr. Gingrich called for major changes in Social Security, saying that younger workers should be allowed to put their share of the Social Security payroll tax into voluntary private accounts. "It makes every American an investor when they first go to work,"" Mr. Gingrich said of the proposal. "They all have a buildup of an estate, which you do not get in the current system."" Mr. Santorum and Mr. Romney ripped into the proposal, saying it could increase federal deficits and debt at a time when the government should be reducing them. Supporters of individual investment accounts say they would allow workers to earn a higher rate of return than they get from the Social Security trust fund. Mr. Gingrich did not say exactly how he would pay the costs of making this change, which could be huge. Economists say that money diverted to private Social Security accounts would otherwise be available to pay benefits of current retirees, and that the government would need to find other ways to cover these costs. Mr. Santorum said he had favored private accounts for 15 years, but thought the idea would be "fiscal insanity"" at the moment. If Mr. Gingrich is right in suggesting that 95 percent of younger workers would establish private accounts, Mr. Santorum said, "there'll be hundreds of billions of dollars in increased debts,"" and "we're going to be borrowing money from China to fund these accounts, which is wrong."" Mr. Romney said, "We simply can't say we're going to go out and borrow more and more money to let people set up new accounts that take money away from Social Security and Medicare today." One way to offset the cost, Mr. Gingrich said, is to consolidate "185 different federal bureaucracies that deal with low-income Americans."" Mr. Gingrich said the government could slash overhead costs by consolidating these programs into a single block grant and sending it to the states. Romney on Tax Returns Mr. Romney declined to commit to release his income tax returns when challenged twice, first by Mr. Gingrich and then by a debate questioner, but said he might do so in April. Last month, he said in an interview that he doubted that he would release the returns. The nonpartisan fact-checking organization PolitiFact said in December that a Democratic National Committee claim that presidential candidates have traditionally released their income tax returns was "mostly true." The group reviewed the post-Watergate presidential races and found that of 34 presidential and vice-presidential candidates, seven declined to release their returns. PolitiFact noted that Mr. Romney did not release his returns when he ran for governor and senator in Massachusetts and for president in 2008. It estimated his fortune at $190 million and $250 million, based on financial disclosure forms required of all presidential candidates by the Federal Election Commission. Obama and International Trade Reprising a charge he leveled against President Obama in New Hampshire, Mr. Romney suggested tonight that Mr. Obama had done nothing to advance trade with other countries. "This president has opened up no new markets for American goods around the world in his three years, even as European nations and China have opened up 44," Mr. Romney charged. Not true: Mr. Obama has signed three trade deals since taking office, one each with South Korea, Panama and Colombia. The South Korean deal was characterized by Bloomberg News as the largest trade deal since the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1994. Pushed by the Web site PolitiFact on the discrepancy, aides to Mr. Romney said the criticism was accurate because the deals originated in negotiations under the Bush administration, before Mr. Obama took office. But the fact remains that all three were signed by Mr. Obama in October 2011. Indeed, PolitiFact noted that all three agreements faced significant resistance from the president's own party, but ultimately passed after extensive negotiations between Mr. Obama and Congress. Nicholas Confessore Santorum on Education Rick Santorum's call earlier in the debate for the federal government to get out of elementary and secondary education was a crowd pleaser for an audience full of conservatives. He may have also had in mind Christian home schoolers in South Carolina. Mr. Santorum and his wife home-schooled their children. But the full ramifications of such a withdrawal are perhaps not fully appreciated. Historically, public education has been a responsibility of state and local governments, with the federal government imposing standards meant to raise the achievement of disadvantaged students and to ensure that students with disabilities receive an equal education. According to the Department of Education Web site, the federal government currently contributes 10.8 percent of the cost of elementary and secondary education. Much of the department's $68 billion budget supports classroom enrichment for poor students and aid for students with disabilities. The federal money is both carrot and stick to compel school districts to enforce federal laws. All of the Republican candidates have called for a significant cutback in this formula, which has had bipartisan support since the 1960s. The candidates often say they would give the money as block grants to states and local districts, while repealing federal requirements. But many education experts, including in conservative research groups, doubt that many states would continue to uphold federal standards for poor and disabled students. Jackie Calmes and Trip Gabriel Romney on Obama's Job Plan Mr. Romney said that while he already has a jobs plan even though he is not "yet" president, President Obama does not have a jobs plan. This is incorrect. Mr. Obama sent legislation to Congress in early September that called for $447 billion in temporary tax cuts and spending initiatives that private-sector macroeconomic forecasters said would create up to 1.9 million additional jobs in 2012 and add up to two percentage points to the rate of economic growth. More than half of the package consists of tax cuts, including an extension and expansion of the current two-point cut in workers" 6.2 percent payroll tax for Social Security contributions, which would increase it to 3.1 percent for employees and provide relief to employers as well. Mr. Obama also called for financing for infrastructure projects to create jobs and subsidies to states to keep teachers and first responders in their jobs. Republicans have blocked much of the package because Mr. Obama and Congressional Democrats proposed to offset the cost of the package with higher taxes on the wealthiest individuals. Congress and Mr. Obama agreed in December to a two-month extension of the current worker payroll tax relief and are negotiating on a full-year extension, but the partisan split over how to pay for the tax cut remains. Paul on Overseas Bases Representative Ron Paul's argument for closing American bases overseas goes to a critical question in American defense strategy: In the long run, is it more or less expensive to keep troops "forward deployed"? It is not an easy question to answer, but it is also not as black and white as Mr. Paul made it sound. Some major allies, like Japan, pay to keep American troops on their soil. And in many cases, keeping troops abroad is considered a way to deter bad behavior - that is why the Fifth Fleet, based in Bahrain, is focused on keeping the Strait of Hormuz open, despite Iranian threats. David Sanger Romney's 120,000 Jobs While defending his record as a corporate buyout specialist at Bain Capital, Mr. Romney said tonight that companies he had invested in while at Bain "ended up today having some 120,000 jobs." Mr. Romney arrives at the 100,000 jobs number by combining the current employment figures of three main companies that Bain Capital invested in - Staples, Sports Authority and Domino's Pizza. However, that number only addresses a small group of companies that Mr. Romney was successful in starting or turning around, and does not take into account the less successful companies that Bain Capital invested in, some of which went bankrupt or were forced to lay off workers. It is also worth noting that Bain Capital was not always a controlling investor in these companies. Tonight, according to his campaign, Mr. Romney was specifically referring to four start-up companies - Staples, Sports Authority, Bright Horizons and Steel Dynamics. Mr. Romney's 100,000 figure (or, in the case of tonight's debate, the 120,000 figure) only takes into account his successful instances of job creation, and does not offset the number of jobs created by the number of jobs lost. Ashley Parker "Super PAC" Coordination When Mr. Romney was criticized tonight for attack ads that a "super PAC" supporting him has run against his opponents, he dismissed the suggestion that he could do anything about it. Romney's Record on Taxes Mr. Gingrich declared that Mr. Romney "raised taxes" as governor of Massachusetts. Mr. Romney argues that he actually reduced taxes 19 times. Mr. Romney is correct. So is Mr. Gingrich - sort of. Mr. Romney, who ran for governor on a pledge of no new taxes, closed about a dozen loopholes that allowed Massachusetts corporations to avoid paying various taxes. Corporations in the state viewed the moves as tax increases, as did Grover Norquist, the influential head of Americans for Tax Reform; Mr. Romney rejected that description, saying he was merely demanding that companies pay their fair share. By the end of Mr. Romney's term, the loophole closings required companies to pay about $370 million a year in additional taxes, a nearly 20 percent increase from the period before he took office, according to an analysis of government data by the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, a nonprofit research group that receives financing from corporations. The Romney administration also increased dozens of fees for Massachusetts residents and business (like the cost of a road test for a commercial driver's license, to $40 from $20). As with the loophole closings, these were not taxes, per se, but close to it, critics said. But the distinction is crucial for Mr. Romney, who has long run on an antitax campaign message. Michael Barbaro

Protests erupt after Poland approves its SOPA WARSAW, Poland - Poland on Thursday signed an international copyright agreement, sparking more demonstrations by Internet users who have protested for days over fear it will lead to online censorship. After the signing, protesters rallied in the Polish cities of Poznan and Lublin to express their anger over the treaty. Lawmakers for the left-wing Palikot's Movement wore masks in parliament to show their dissatisfaction, while the largest opposition party, the right-wing Law and Justice party, called for a referendum on the matter. Controversy in Poland has been deepening over the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, or ACTA. Though many other industrialized countries have signed it, popular outrage appears to be greater in Poland than anywhere else. Hysterical over SOPA for all the wrong reasons SOPA is dead, Smith pulls bill PIPA, SOPA put on hold in wake of protests ACTA is a far-reaching agreement that aims to harmonize international standards on protecting the rights of those who produce music, movies, pharmaceuticals, fashion, and a range of other products that often fall victim to intellectual property theft. ACTA also takes aim at the online piracy of movies and music; those opposed to it fear that it will also lead authorities to block content on the Internet. A prominent Polish rock start, Zbigniew Holdys, has come out in support of ACTA, accusing the Internet activists, mostly young people, of profiting from pirated material online and trying to hold onto that practice. ACTA shares some similarities with the hotly debated Stop Online Piracy Act in the U.S., which was shelved by lawmakers last week after Wikipedia and Google blacked out or partially obscured their websites for a day in protest. Poland's ambassador to Japan, Jadwiga Rodowicz-Czechowska, signed it in Tokyo. Speaking on Polish television, she said that Poland was one of several European Union countries to sign ACTA Thursday, including Finland, France, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Romania and Greece. Several other industrialized countries, including the United States, Canada and South Korea, signed the agreement last year. Poland's support for ACTA has sparked attacks on Polish government websites by a group calling itself "Anonymous" that left them several of them unreachable off and on for days. Street protests of hundreds, and in some cases thousands of people, have broken out across Poland for the past three days. In reaction to the widespread opposition, Polish leaders have been struggling to allay fears over it. Poland's Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski defended his government's position in a TV interview Wednesday evening, arguing that ACTA is not as threatening as young people fear. But he said the Internet should not be allowed to become a space of "legal anarchy." "We believe that theft on a massive scale of intellectual property is not a good thing," Sikorski said. In the Czech Republic, a local group aligning itself with Anonymous attacked the website of a group that supports ACTA. The group collects money for music production and distributes it to artists.

S&P "to cut some euro zone countries" ratings" France, Austria and Slovakia are about to have their credit ratings downgraded by the rating agency Standard & Poor's according to French government and eurozone sources quoted by various news agencies. Reportedly Germany, The Netherlands, Finland and Luxembourg will not be effected. A downgrade of France from its AAA status would have a knock-on effect on the eurozone's current bailout fund, the European Financial Stability Facility, as France is a major contributor and its borrowing costs would rise. "The consequence (if France is downgraded) is that the EFSF cannot keep its triple-A rating," said Commerzbank chief economist Joerg Kraemer. That may irritate markets in the short term but wouldn't be a big problem in a world where the US and Japan also don't have a AAA rating anymore. AAA is a dying species," he said. The reports pulled down European shares and the euro which fell more than one percent against the dollar. In December, S&P placed the ratings of 15 eurozone countries on credit watch negative - including those of top-rated Germany and France, the region's two biggest economies - and said "systemic stresses" were building up as credit conditions tighten in the 17-nation bloc. Since then, the European Central Bank has flooded the banking system with cheap three-year money to avert a credit crunch. More about: Austria, Economic crisis, Eurozone in crisis, France, Slovakia, Standard & Poor's

Nine held over racist football chants Nine men were arrested today by police investigating suspected racist chanting by football fans. Police received reports of a group of Charlton Athletic supporters singing racist songs on a train following their FA Cup tie at Fulham on January 7. Officers from British Transport Police (BTP) and the Metropolitan Police, accompanied by Charlton Athletic officials, visited homes in Bexley, Greenwich, Lewisham and Bromley, all in south east London, early today and arrested nine men. Detective Inspector Ashley Cooper, leading the BTP investigation, said the suspects, aged from 20-30, were taken to a north London police station and are helping police with their inquiries. We launched Operation Midas after a group of men, who we believe to be Charlton Athletic supporters, boarded a train at Putney and were heard chanting racist songs - something which was both offensive and extremely intimidating for other passengers on board. "My team of detectives have worked quickly to gather evidence and, by working closely with Charlton Athletic FC, coupled with excellent CCTV footage, intelligence reports and statements from witnesses, we've been able to move swiftly and make this morning's arrests," he said. Charlton Athletic chief executive Stephen Kavanagh said: "This kind of abhorrent behaviour is totally condemned by our club and, in addition to assisting the police, for our own part we will be seeking to ban for life anyone who is found guilty of racially offensive chanting. We have been a pioneer of anti-racism and anti-discrimination initiatives in football, so, although these are isolated incidents and in no way reflect the overwhelming majority of Charlton supporters, these recent arrests are saddening to all those who have worked so hard over many decades. On Saturday, a 48-year-old man, believed to be a Chelsea fan, was arrested at London's Liverpool Street station on suspicion of racially abusing a woman hours after the club's Premier League match. The arrest came shortly after a separate incident when a group of Chelsea supporters were allegedly embroiled in racist chanting on a train back from the 0-0 draw against Norwich City. No arrests have been made in connection with that incident.

Starbucks to open 50 stores in India this year Starbucks to open 50 stores in India this year - World business Coffee giant forms 50-50 joint venture with Tata to expand global market MUMBAI, India - Starbucks aims to open 50 outlets in India by year's end, through a 50-50 joint venture with Tata Global Beverages, the companies said Monday. Tata Starbucks Ltd., as their venture is known, hopes to capitalize on the rising aspirations - and fattening wallets - of many Indians, who are eager to partake of the global latte life. "What we are seeing is an evolution in lifestyles," said R.K. Krishnakumar, vice chairman of Tata Global Beverages. In some ways the distinctions between the developed world and the developing world are blurring. He said the partners would initially invest 4 billion rupees ($80 million), with the first outlet to open in Mumbai or New Delhi by September. Long known as a nation of tea drinkers - despite a rich tradition of coffee in the south - India has embraced coffee house culture with a vengeance. Last year, India had 1,600 cafes, up from just 700 in 2007, according to Technopak Advisors, which expects India's $170 million cafe market to grow 30 percent a year, adding up to 2,700 more outlets over the next five years. "We're going to move as fast as possible in opening as many stores as we can so long as we are successful and so long as we are embraced by the Indian consumers," said John Culver, president of Starbucks China and Asia Pacific. Unusually, the stores will be cobranded "Starbucks Coffee: A Tata Alliance." The companies will also develop a tea for the Indian market under the Tata Tazo brand. Last January, Starbucks signed an agreement with Tata Coffee, a unit of Tata Global Beverages, to source and roast coffee beans in India. The alliance with Tata could help ease one of the main burdens for retailers in India: the high cost of real estate. Krishnakumar said the joint venture would open outlets at properties owned by group companies, for example at the Taj chain of luxury hotels. Culver said the company would also look at opening outlets in shopping malls, office parks, universities, airports and train stations. The alliance will also help Tata Global Beverages expand its international footprint. All coffee beans for the cafes in India will be sourced from Tata Coffee, which also hopes to ramp up exports to regional Starbucks outlets, Krishnakumar said. He said other Tata Beverage brands, like Himalayan water, should also find their way into Starbucks outlets globally. Culver said Starbucks did not consider trying to go it alone in India, despite the government's recent decision to allow foreign companies to operate single-brand retail outlets without a local partner. A storm of populist fury forced New Delhi to pull back a parallel proposal that would have allowed multi-brand retailers, like Wal-Mart, to open retail outlets with local partners. "We never considered 51 percent," Culver said. When we looked at the opportunity to enter India, understanding the complexities of the market and the uniqueness that is India, we wanted to find a local business partner. Starbucks currently operates over 17,000 stores in 57 countries. Its India venture will face competition from existing players like Cafe Coffee Day, which dominates the market. Technopak founder Arvind Singhal said India's flourishing cafe culture has less to do with coffee than a social need for clean, safe gathering places for young and old alike, who often live in cramped quarters. "India doesn't have too many places for people of any age to just go out," he said. It's not about a coffee culture. It's a gathering place where people can sit and meet. He added that Starbucks' entry, however much delayed, is likely to fan competition and speed the proliferation of coffee shops. It could also help boost flagging investor confidence in India. "It's almost like an endorsement that India's still a good story," he said.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The regulator for Fannie Mae (FNMA.OB) and Freddie Mac (FMCC.OB) told lawmakers that forcing the government-controlled mortgage firms to write down the principal on underwater home loans would require more than $100 billion in fresh taxpayer funds. In that situation, the mortgage is deemed "underwater." About 22 percent of U.S. home mortgages have negative equity totaling about $750 billion, meaning that about one in five U.S. home mortgages is "underwater" with the amount owed exceeding the home's value, according to CoreLogic, a financial information and analytics company based in Santa Ana, California. The Federal Housing Finance Agency said it had determined that such reductions would be more costly for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac than forbearance, which was the less expensive option by comparison. The two mortgage firms have been using forbearance to help borrowers struggling to make payments. Forbearance lets the borrow reduce or suspend payments on a loan for a specific amount of time. The regulator, also known as the FHFA, has been under pressure from Democrats to permit the writedown of principal by the two government-controlled mortgage finance providers as a way to help some of the millions of U.S. homeowners whose mortgages are "underwater." Representative Elijah Cummings of Maryland, the top Democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, has pushed the housing regulator to explain its thinking in deciding not to offer principal reductions. The FHFA, however, has maintained that widespread principal forgiveness would undercut the finances of Fannie and Freddie, which have already received about $169 billion in taxpayer aid. Republicans have supported the FHFA's decision. The Obama administration wants to secure widespread principal reductions in a legal settlement between the government and some of the biggest mortgage servicers. The settlement is aimed at cleaning up alleged foreclosure abuses. In 2008, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were taken over by the government as mortgage losses mounted. Millions of loans issued during the housing bubble, many of them made to subprime borrowers with spotty credit histories, soured after the housing bust -- yet they remain on Fannie's and Freddie's books. Delinquencies on those loans continue to rise. Of the approximately 30 million mortgages guaranteed by the two firms, close to 3 million of those loans were held by underwater borrowers as of last summer, according to an analysis provided in the letter. Another barrier to principal writedowns, aside from pushing losses at the two firms even higher, DeMarco said, was the cost associated with new technology and training to servicers that would be needed to launch a program that offers principal forgiveness. The FHFA told lawmakers that forbearance is a less costly option. Principal forbearance limits accounting losses and allows Fannie and Freddie to recoup the principal at some later point, according to the regulatory agency's letter. "The net result of the analysis is that forbearance achieves marginally lower losses for the taxpayer than forgiveness, although both forgiveness and forbearance reduce the borrower's payment to the same affordable level," the FHFA's letter said. The housing regulator also assured lawmakers that the FHFA remains committed to helping borrowers stay in their homes and will continue to work on such principal forbearance plans and government initiatives to modify or refinance loans. Reporting By Margaret Chadbourn; Editing by Jan Paschal

24-Year-Old Arrested In Los Angeles Arson Spree LOS ANGELES - Authorities arrested a German man Monday in connection with dozens of suspected arson attacks that destroyed parked cars, scorched buildings and rattled much of the nation's second-largest city over the New Year's weekend. Harry Burkhart, 24, was booked for investigation of arson of an inhabited dwelling and was being held without bail, authorities said. He is a German national, but authorities said they didn't know how long he's been in the United States. Police said he told arresting officers he's from Frankfurt. Burkhart was arrested earlier in the day because he resembled a "person of interest" captured on surveillance video. He was stopped by a reserve sheriff's deputy in a van being sought by arson investigators, who did not rule out the possibility that others may be involved. More than 50 blazes have flared since Friday in Hollywood, neighboring West Hollywood and the San Fernando Valley, causing about $3 million in damage. Firefighters have not responded to any other suspicious fires since Burkhart was detained. Police declined to reveal any motive for the fires. When asked at a news conference about reports that an immigration problem with Burkhart's mother may have been a factor, authorities declined to comment. "We are very confident in this arrest, but we have a long way to go," said Police Chief Charlie Beck, who mentioned receiving information from federal authorities who recognized Burkhart from the video. They believed he had been involved in removal hearings in immigration court, but they didn't specify how he was involved. Galina Illarionova, who lives in the same apartment complex as the suspect, told reporters through a Russian translator that an agitated Burkhart visited her Sunday and said his mother was having some kind of legal trouble. He told her his mother was in trouble with authorities and wanted Illarionova to attend a legal hearing with him, but he later said he didn't need her help. The blazes forced many apartment dwellers from their homes. But there were no serious injuries -- one firefighter was hurt in a fall from a ladder, and another person suffered smoke inhalation. Most of the fires began in cars, and authorities have not said how they were started. One of Saturday's fires occurred at the Hollywood and Highland entertainment complex, a popular tourist destination bordered by the Walk of Fame in a neighborhood that includes Grauman's Chinese Theatre. Damaged buildings included a former home of Doors singer Jim Morrison in Laurel Canyon. The onslaught of intentionally set fires left residents on edge over the holiday weekend in some of the most densely populated areas of the city. Hundreds of investigators, police officers and firefighters raced to deal with the blazes. Police conducted extra patrols all weekend, and the noise of helicopters and sirens persisted virtually nonstop in Hollywood. Even long-time firefighters struggled to recall an arson outbreak involving so many fires. Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Division Chief James Lopez recalled a notorious case from a generation ago, when California arson investigator John Orr was sentenced to life in prison without parole for the 1984 killings of four people in one of multiple arsons he set over the course of years. "Sometimes it's pathological in nature," Lopez said. I think motives are going to be hard to come by. We may never know. Investigators were still busy Monday mapping out the sequence of the blazes, examining more than 100 clues and interviewing witnesses. The fires left behind a trail of smoldering debris. Police urged residents to check their cars for any signs of tampering and to take simple precautions such as locking vehicles, keeping garage and carport lights on at night and reporting suspicious activity. Despite the arrest, authorities continued to urge vigilance. "We're not resting, and we're not stopping" the extra patrols, police Cmdr. Andrew Smith said. If you have lights in your carport area, keep them on tonight. Some other deliberately set fires were reported Thursday in Hollywood, and two people were arrested. But police said Monday that those suspects were not connected with the 52 other blazes.

Playing Games Without Sore Thumbs January 10, 2012, 9:33 pm LAS VEGAS - The electronics casemaker Speck has rolled out an iPhone cover that is supposedly kind to the thumbs. The new CandyShell Grip is an iPhone case designed especially with gamers in mind, adding soft-finned grips so that Doodle Jump fiends and other game aficionados won't suffer fatigue no matter how many levels they clear. The case is made of a glossy hard polycarbonate shell with a rubber lining to protect the phone from knocks. That same soft rubber is placed strategically where thumbs and fingers rest when hard at play. The raised fins allow ventilation in case the action is intense enough to moisten your grip. The case come in black, yellow, red and white and is available through Speck for $35. While the case may help your game, there is no guarantee that it will save you from the dreaded "Blackberry Thumb," so you may want to put the games away once in a while, no matter how confortable your fingers may feel.

Mystery Surrounds Disappearance Of Virginia College Student On Trip To New York City The father of a missing Virginia college student is asking for the public's help in finding his son, who disappeared almost two weeks ago while on a trip to New York City. Ian Burnet, a 22-year-old student on full scholarship at Virginia Commonwealth University, was last heard from on Dec. 30 while touring Manhattan. "This is not something we'd expect from Ian, to just drop off the map," his father, Mark Burnet, told FoxNews.com by phone from his home in Richmond, Va. We're mystified. Burnet said he last heard from his son when he received a text message from him on Dec. 28. His son left by bus for New York City on Dec. 26 and was staying with friends in a subletted apartment on 139th St. and Riverside Drive. He said his son also sent a text message to his female college roommate on Dec. 30 at around 4 p.m., mentioning sites he had visited in the city -- including Central Park -- and discussing plans upon his return to school. That was the last known communication from Ian, his father said. There has been no activity on Burnet's credit card or bank accounts since his disappearance, according to his father. His cellphone was left at the apartment -- which his father noted was typical of Ian, an Eagle Scout, who he said enjoys running and walking through parks. Burnet also said his son, an engineering student who was valedictorian of his high school class, had no history of drug or alcohol abuse. Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne said Wednesday that the New York City Police Department is working with authorities in Virginia to locate Burnet. "Friends said he stayed with them in an apartment on 139th St in Manhattan where they said they last saw him Dec 30, and where he left behind his personal belongings, including his cell phone," Browne said in an email. Burnet's father said hundreds of volunteers from New York and New Jersey have so far assisted in the search, distributing fliers with his son's photograph. The young man's family has established a website, www.FindIanBurnet.com, devoted to the search for him. A Facebook page for him has also been created with more than 1,700 members. Ian Burnet is described as 5-foot-8 and weighing 131 pounds. He has green eyes and curly dark brown hair. Anyone with information on his disappearance is being urged to call the New York City Police Department at 212-690-8811.

Overdue vindication for the security services It has taken four long years, but the investigation into allegations that officers working for MI5 and MI6 colluded in the torture of al-Qaeda suspects has finally concluded that there is no case to answer. The police were originally asked to investigate accusations made against MI5 officers by the former Guantanamo detainee Binyam Mohamed, a British resident originally from Ethiopia who claimed that he was tortured - with the knowledge of MI5 - after his arrest in Pakistan in 2002. This was expanded to include MI6, thanks to an incident involving a detainee at a US-run prison in Afghanistan. Following an exhaustive study of both cases, Keir Starmer QC, the Director of Public Prosecutions, has concluded that no charges should be brought. The announcement yesterday by Mr Starmer and Lynne Owens, assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, will come as a great relief to the intelligence and security services. For the past four years, they have had to carry out their vital work in the most trying of circumstances, contending with a barrage of accusations from civil liberties activists more concerned with their own political agenda than the available facts - or the security of the nation. This sustained legal campaign against the intelligence services played into the jihadists" hands; it is very much to MI5 and MI6"s credit that, whatever the effect on morale, they did not allow it to distract them from their mission. The reason the investigation took so long, we are told, is that the police were determined to leave no stone unturned. That makes it all the more depressing that the matter does not end there. As one inquiry closed, Scotland Yard announced that it was starting another, into claims that Britain was involved in the "judicial rendition" of two Islamist militants to Libya. In addition, "wider allegations of ill-treatment" are to be examined by the Detainee Inquiry, chaired by Sir Peter Gibson. Where will it all end? Of course, in a civilised country we need a system to ensure that our intelligence services are accountable for their actions. At the same time, they need to be able to work effectively in what are challenging conditions. Not only have MI5 and MI6 had to divert significant amounts of manpower and resources into assisting with these investigations, but their officers have had to act in the knowledge that they may be the subject of spurious and deeply damaging allegations, which will result in their every action being picked over years later. The legal system must safeguard individual liberties - but it must also give the intelligence services the protection they need if they are to maintain this country's security.

Free Webinar to Explain EPA NESHAP Rule 6X JONESBORO, Ark., Jan. 10, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Camfil Farr Air Pollution Control (APC), a leading worldwide producer of industrial dust and fume collectors, will host a free educational webinar titled: "The New EPA National Emission Standard for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP), Rule 6X: Are You Compliant?" The webinar will take place on Thursday, February 16th from 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM Central Standard Time (CST). To see more information or register for the event, visit www.farrapc.com/rule6x. The EPA NESHAP standard is a sweeping new requirement that impacts thousands of companies in the metalworking industries. This free webinar is designed to help metalworking professionals to understand and comply with the new EPA regulation, which imposes stringent requirements for the exhausting of welding fumes and other processes that may contain hazardous air pollutants. This one-hour interactive webinar will explain the regulation and how to determine if your facility is impacted; the monitoring and test methods required for compliance; and equipment strategies that can help achieve compliance while also reducing energy costs. The speaker will be Greg Schreier, metalworking market manager for Camfil Farr APC and a frequent speaker on regulatory topics. This webinar will be available for viewing on-demand after the event, with registration. Camfil Farr APC is a leading global manufacturer of dust collection equipment and is part of Camfil Farr, the largest air filter manufacturer in the world. For webinar information and registration, visit www.farrapc.com/rule6x. For general information, contact Camfil Farr APC at (800) 479-6801 or (870) 933-8048; e-mail filterman@farrapc.com; web www.farrapc.com. SOURCE Camfil Farr Air Pollution Control

Design Sets Tone at Square, a Mobile Payments Start-Up The headquarters of the start-up Square would be the absolute worst place to play hide-and-seek. There are no offices. Executives sit in open cubicles. All of the conference rooms, large and small, are surrounded by walls of clear glass. The only real place to hide, thankfully, would be the toilet. This openness might seem odd given what Square does. It manages more than $2 billion a year in credit card transactions made through mobile phones. But the company is set up this way by Jack Dorsey, Square's chief executive and co-founder, for a reason: to promote trust and transparency in its employees, which it hopes will translate to its customers. Design, he believes, has the power to determine a distinct mind-set, something he needs if Square is to succeed as a mobile payment system. If Willy Wonka built a financial institution, instead of a chocolate factory, it would look something like Square. During an interview at the company's San Francisco offices with Mr. Dorsey, we sat at a square table, in a square glass conference room - all of which are named after a famous town squares from around the world. Mr. Dorsey was eating nuts out of a square bowl. Don't worry, the nuts were still round, I checked. Employees are even referred to as Squares. "We believe strongly that the company is going to be reflected in the product and vice-versa," Mr. Dorsey said. The internal matches the external and the external matches the internal, and if we can't provide a clean, simple, well-designed experience in here, it's not going to be reflected in our identity. It's in our DNA. Mr. Dorsey also is the chairman and co-founder of Twitter, where his obsession with openness is not as extreme. Square also borrows metaphors from traditional institutions, including the old United States Mint building, which sits across the street from the company's office. "It looks like something that is built to last; it looks like it will stay up forever," he said. So how do you build that into pixels instead of stone? For centuries banks were built with thick stone walls, marble slab floors and heavy metal doors, all of which gave customers the feeling that bankers were dependable and trustworthy. Square transactions primarily occur on a small plastic plug, inserted into a smartphone's headphone jack, through which people swipe credit cards. A hefty chunk of marble it is not. Square's front door to customers is a smartphone application. Square has to provide the simplest experience possible, Mr. Dorsey believes, because, along with good design, it will evoke trust and confidence in a new financial institution that lives in a smartphone. "We need to build something that never gets in the way of our users doing what they want to do," he said. That concern is necessary because Square lacks the money to use mass media to show people how it works. When JPMorgan Chase introduced a new mobile feature that gave its banking customers the ability to deposit checks with their mobile phones, the financial behemoth spent millions of dollars on charming television and print ads of newlyweds in bed getting their wedding haul of checks into the bank. Square has accrued a million customers just by word of mouth. That's a tiny portion of all merchants accepting credit cards, so it still has a lot of work to do. "Traditionally in a financial institution, you have massive barriers to working together, you have a risk-averse culture and you have a lot of fear," Mr. Dorsey said. It's rare for a financial institution to focus on design first. While the approach sounds very New Age-Touchy Feely-California, Silicon Valley companies have shown over and over again - think Apple, Google, Intuit - that clean and thoughtful design can win converts to a new way of doing things.

Hariri tribunal says work not yet finished LEIDSCHENDAM, Netherlands, Jan. 18 (UPI) -- The tribunal probing the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri said it wants its mandated extended because its work isn't finished. The U.N.-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon announced in a question-and-answer session conducted through its Twitter account Wednesday that it wanted an extension for its mandate. "The agreement between the U.N. and Lebanon states that our mandate will be renewed if our work isn't finished," a statement read. Our work is not over yet. The tribunal added that U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will decide on how long to extend the mandate after consulting with authorities in Lebanon and at the U.N. Security Council. The court was established through an agreement between the United Nations and Beirut in 2006 and endorsed the following year. Last year, the tribunal issue arrest warrants for four members of Hezbollah wanted for Hariri's assassination. The tribunal had said the trial in the Hariri case would start this year regardless of whether suspects are in custody. Lebanese authorities reporting to the tribunal said they didn't have any luck in apprehending the suspects. Hezbollah tried to discredit the tribunal's evidence in the case, which relies in part on cellphone activity. Hezbollah claims Israel has infiltrated much of the Lebanese telecommunications sector, making the tribunal's case dubious.

Lt. Gen. William Boykin, Known for Anti-Muslim Remarks, Cancels West Point Talk Plans for a talk at West Point by a retired general known for his harshly anti-Muslim remarks were abruptly canceled on Monday after a growing list of liberal veterans" groups, civil liberties advocates and Muslim organizations called on the Military Academy to rescind the invitation. Lt. Gen William G. Boykin "has decided to withdraw speaking at West Point's National Prayer Breakfast" on Feb. 8, said a statement issued Monday by the academy's office of public affairs. In fulfilling its commitment to the community, the United States Military Academy will feature another speaker for the event. General Boykin, a longtime commander of Special Operations forces, first caused controversy after the Sept. 11 attacks when, as a senior Pentagon official, he described the fight against terrorism as a Christian battle against Satan. His remarks, made in numerous speeches to church groups, were publicly repudiated by President George W. Bush, who argued that America's war was not with Islam but with violent fanatics. Since his retirement in 2007 and a new career as a popular conservative Christian speaker, General Boykin has described Islam as "a totalitarian way of life" and said that Islam should not be protected under the First Amendment. Last week, after learning that General Boykin would be speaking at the prayer breakfast, a liberal veterans" group, VoteVets.org, demanded that the invitation be revoked. In a letter to West Point's superintendent, the group said General Boykin's "incendiary rhetoric regarding Islam" was "incompatible with Army values" and would "put our troops in danger." Lt. Col. Sherri Reed, West Point's director of public affairs, defended the invitation on Friday, saying that "cadets are purposefully exposed to different perspectives" and that the breakfast "will be pluralistic with Christians, Jewish and Muslim cadets participating." But by Monday, several other groups had condemned the invitation and concern was also reportedly being voiced by some faculty members and cadets. The Forum on the Military Chaplaincy (a liberal group of retired military chaplains), the Military Religious Freedom Foundation and the Council on American-Islamic Relations made public appeals to the Pentagon to cancel General Boykin's appearance. A fourth-year cadet at West Point, speaking on the condition of anonymity because he feared reprisals for breaking military discipline, said in a telephone interview before the cancellation was announced that "people are definitely talking about it here." "They're inviting someone who's openly criticizing a religion that is practiced on campus," he said. I know Muslim cadets here, and they are great, outstanding citizens, and this ex-general is saying they shouldn't enjoy the same rights. The cadet asked, "Are we supposed to take leadership qualities and experience from this guy, to follow in his footsteps?" A similar controversy erupted last week, in the days before General Boykin spoke at the mayor's annual prayer breakfast in Ocean City, Md. The general made no inflammatory statements about Islam, instead describing how prayer had helped him through dangerous military operations. But Peter Montgomery, a senior fellow at People for the American Way, a liberal advocacy group, said the West Point invitation was a mistake. West Point, Mr. Montgomery said, would have given "a platform to someone who is publicly identified with offensive comments about Muslims and about the commander in chief." General Boykin is a leader of an evangelical group called Kingdom Warriors and a visiting professor at Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia. He did not respond to telephone and e-mail requests seeking comment.

World News 1/26: President Obama Exclusive Interview Full Episode

With Hours to Decide, Few in S. Carolina Are Willing to Commit People at a debate-viewing party in Greer, S.C., on Thursday backed different candidates. BELTON, S.C. - Heidi Trull does not usually allow customers to talk politics or religion at Grits and Groceries, her restaurant here in the farmland that defines the northwest corner of the state. People's opinions are usually too strong. And a heated argument can ruin a good dish of Carolina shrimp and grits. But Friday afternoon, less than 24 hours before the state's Republican presidential primary, her ban on political talk did not matter one bit. No one had found a candidate they liked enough to argue for. From country restaurants like this one to suburban shopping malls in Spartanburg and espresso bars in Greenville, voters facing four options in the Republican primary seemed to shrug and say, "I haven't decided." Polls, which have Newt Gingrich gaining ground on Mitt Romney while Ron Paul and Rick Santorum battle for third place, do not always reflect what is happening on the ground, particularly in a region that has emerged as a coveted electoral battleground. Thursday's debate swung some undecided voters from one camp to another and back again. A relentless barrage of political ads only added to the confusion. Thus, in a state known for its fickle, independent political nature, people appear to be waiting until they step into a voting both to decide. "I said I was going to vote for Newt, but now I don't know," said Kathy Matasavage, 53, who moved here nine years ago and waits tables at Grits and Groceries. All of these ads and debates are just so negative. You think you have your mind made up, and then there is craziness and more craziness. Thursday's debate, which pivoted partly around demands that Mr. Romney release his tax returns and accusations by one of Mr. Gingrich's former wives that he had asked for an open marriage, had an effect. Kim Raines, 35, who was shearing a schnauzer named Dickens at a pet grooming shop in Spartanburg, was all set to vote for Mr. Gingrich until she heard part of an interview with his second wife, Marianne Gingrich, that was shown Thursday after the debate. "I'm a cheated-on woman, so Newt getting in that scandal was a big thing to me," she said. So now Ms. Raines, who has two children, is leaning toward Mr. Romney because he seems more of a leader. Conversely, the interview and Mr. Gingrich's combative response to questions about his marital past pushed C. W. Harris, a life insurance salesman in Greenville, into the Gingrich camp. "The more they attack Newt, the more I want to support him," he said. The issue of Mr. Romney's wealth, how he got it and whether he should release his tax returns seemed to have less resonance with some voters. At a small debate viewing party in Greer on Thursday night filled with people supporting different candidates, no one said that seeing Mr. Romney's tax returns would make a difference. Nor did they care that he made millions as head of the private equity firm Bain Capital, which his opponents claim ruined lives by closing companies. "It doesn't bother me that he is wealthy," said Linda Tapp, 65, a retired medical office worker. That tells me he knows how to handle finances. To be sure, some voters know exactly what they want. Patricia Seiber, a school secretary, will vote for Mr. Santorum. "I have 5 sons and 17 grandchildren, and we are all for him," she said. Sandra Sperry, who was buying toys for her grandchildren, is a Gingrich supporter all the way. "He is a smart politician, and I want someone who can beat Obama," she said. It is going to take one to beat one. In South Carolina, the primaries are open, meaning registered Democrats can vote in the Republican primary on Saturday and still vote for their own party in the presidential election. Some more conservative Democrats and independents will be doing just that. Janie Dillard, 63, is one of them. She calls herself a yellow-dog Democrat, but will vote for Mr. Romney on Saturday. "He's as close as you can get to Obama on the Republican side," she said.

Hague to meet Suu Kyi and Burma president NAYPYITAW, Burma, January 5 - William Hague, British foreign secretary, began a landmark visit to Burma on Thursday to get a first-hand view of "encouraging" reforms being pursued by its civilian leadership, but officials said he would set out conditions for the lifting of sanctions. The two-day visit by Mr Hague is the first by a British foreign minister since the military seized power in 1962. As the former colonial power, a visit by a British cabinet minister is seen as one of the most significant diplomatic initiatives since the army-backed civilian government embarked on a series of reforms last year. Britain has maintained a tough stand on human rights issues in Burma, but expressed guarded optimism after the release on October 12 of 230 political prisoners, with freedom for remaining hundreds a key demand by the west for the lifting of sanctions. Mr Hague arrived in Naypyitaw, the capital built in secret six years ago, where he will meet Thein Sein, president and former junta general, on Thursday. He will travel to the main city, Rangoon, and is due to hold talks on Friday with Aung San Suu Kyi, Oxford-educated pro-democracy leader and Nobel peace laureate. "This visit ... has been made possible by the encouraging recent steps taken by the Burmese government," Mr Hague said. I am visiting the country to encourage the Burmese government to continue its path of reform and to gauge what more Britain can do to support this process. His trip follows one late last year by Hillary Clinton, US secretary of state, who promised concrete support from Washington if Burma released more political prisoners and made more concessions, including dialogue with ethnic separatists. Britain will seek similar proof of good faith, a British official said in London before Mr Hague left. It would push within the European Union for the easing of sanctions if there was substantial progress on three benchmarks: the release of all remaining political detainees, the holding of free and fair by-elections in April and bringing ethnic groups into the mainstream political process, he said. Just 12 political detainees were thought to have been freed this week among 900 prisoners freed as an Independence Day gesture. As many as 600 may remain behind bars. In a speech carried in Wednesday's state media to mark Burma's independence from Britain on January 4 1948, Thein Sein warned of "powerful nations" seeking to impinge on the "independence and sovereignty" of weaker countries - comments typical of the ultra-nationalist junta regime. The visit is a tricky balancing act for Mr Hague, who will face criticism at home if he is seen as appeasing a government stacked with former members of the military regime slammed for its human rights record and brutal suppression of dissent. Rights violations by the army are still reported from areas where the army and ethnic groups are fighting. Hague can't appear to go soft. The Burma issue has become a political football at home and if he's not forthright, he will be criticised," said Derek Tonkin, a prominent Burma analyst and former British diplomat. But there's a feeling that we have been battering away at the Burmese for 22 years and not got anywhere. Britain is very much under the influence of the Americans," he said, noting Britain's discouragement of trade, tourism and investment was far heavier than that of the EU in general. Both the EU and US have voiced qualified support for the new government and Burma's neighbours in Asia, especially India, Thailand and China, are rushing to snap up deals to build infrastructure and invest in natural resources including oil, gas, gemstones and timber. British firms in the energy and financial services sectors in particular are believed to be interested in Burma, but Mr Hague's visit is likely to be little more than a testing of the water before the EU holds its annual sanctions review in April. He could discuss possible inducements such as development aid or humanitarian assistance, which, if supported by Ms Suu Kyi, could placate his staunchest critics at home. She has shown a willingness to compromise in recent months, notably by agreeing to run as a candidate in an April by-election after letting her party re-enter the political process. "Hague could offer some small concessions but at the moment, he's there to deliver the message that lifting economic sanctions requires more genuine reforms," said Mark Farmaner, director of the UK Burma Campaign. Britain will be very careful. There's broad support for engagement, but I don't think they'll move too fast," he added, noting that reforms could take a long time.

Drogba seals Ivory Coast victory; Manucho winner fires Angola January 22, 2012 -- Updated 2147 GMT (0547 HKT) Dider Drogba scored the winner as the Ivory Coast defeated Sudan 1-0 at the Africa Cup of Nations. Didier Drogba seals victory for Ivory Coast as they win their African Cup of Nations opener Chelsea striker's goal helps his country to edge past Sudan 1-0 in Group B clash Angola beat Burkino Faso 2-1 thanks to a 68th minute winner from Manucho (CNN) -- Dider Drogba scored the only goal of the game against Sudan as much-fancied Ivory Coast got their Africa Cup of Nations campaign off to a winning start. Drogba, who currently plays for English Premier League club Chelsea, grabbed the winner just before half time but Ivory Coast, nicknamed The Elephants, struggled for much of the game. But the nation who many fancy for the title, especially given the absence of African heavyweights like Nigeria, South Africa and Egypt, got the job done to get off to a good start in Group B. Ivory Coast dominated the opening half with Gervinho, who plays for English club Arsenal, squandering two good opportunities to score. But Drogba pounced on 39 minutes to nod home a left wing cross from Chelsea teammate Salomon Kalou. The goal stirred Sudan into action against a team ranked 102 places above them in the world soccer standings, as Eltaib Mudathe's shot was tipped onto the crossbar by Ivory Coast keeper Boubacar Barry. Alaadine Yousif tested Barry after the interval but the keeper was equal to it, while at the other end Drogba again went close before substitute Max Gradel fired wide when well placed. Ahmed Nazar had Sudan's last chance of the match but he shot wide of the target. In the Group's other game, Angola beat Burkino Faso 2-1 thanks to a 68th minute winner from former Manchester United player Manucho. Mateus had put Angola ahead just after half time but Alain Traore leveled the scores with a well taken free kick before Manucho's precise shot from outside the penalty area ensured Angola went joint top of Group B with Ivory Coast.

Maldives Asks UN Help to Resolve "Judicial Crisis" The Maldives asked the United Nations on Sunday to send a group of international jurists to resolve what it calls a judicial system failure that has resulted in the military's detention of a senior judge. A government statement said Foreign Minister Ahmed Naseem made the request in a letter to the office of the U.N High Commissioner for Human Rights. President Mohamed Nasheed's government is under heavy pressure. Street protests have broken out in the capital Male following last week's arrest of Criminal Court Chief Justice Abdulla Mohamed after he ordered the release of a government critic. Vice President Mohammed Waheed Hassan has also joined calls for the release of the judge, saying that he is ashamed by his government's action. The government has accused Mohamed of corruption and political bias. On Sunday, hundreds of protesters gathered in Male to demand the resignation of Nasheed and the release of the judge. Police used tear gas to break up the gathering, but protesters through the capital and demonstrated outside the homes of the president, home minister and police commissioner. Naseem in his letter explained that the dispute with the criminal court judge was not an isolated incident but "represents a systemic failure of the judicial checks and balances foreseen in the constitution." "This system failure led directly to the president's decision, as the ultimate guarantor of the constitution and of rule of law in the Maldives, to detain Justice Abdulla Mohamed," the statement said. The Judicial Service Commission mandated by the constitution to examine the conduct of judges has failed in its responsibilities by not taking action on any of the 143 complaints it received in 2010 alone, the statement said. Judge Mohamed remains in custody on an island the military uses for training in the Indian Ocean archipelago despite calls for his release by the country's Supreme Court and the prosecutor general. The Maldives human rights commission has also called the arrest unlawful. Nasheed's critics say that his government is using the military and police to crack down on dissidents and intimidates the media from reporting on the dispute. Both Nasheed and his deputy Waheed were leading pro-democracy campaigners before being elected to office in the country's first multiparty election in 2008. Maldives is known for its idyllic resorts for upmarket tourists.

Talks on Greek Debt Are Halted LONDON - Talks between Greece and private sector creditors over a restructuring of the country's crushing debt paused on Friday amid a continuing disagreement over how much of a loss banks and investors should take on their holdings. In a statement, Charles Dallara of the Institute for International Finance, the bank lobby that represents private sector bond holders, said that discussions had "not produced a constructive consolidated response by all parties, consistent with a voluntary exchange of Greek sovereign debt." The statement came at the conclusion of talks between Mr. Dallara and the Greek finance minister, Evangelos Venizelos, in Athens on Friday. While people involved in the talks described it as a negotiating tactic, the disagreement is a reminder of how wide the gap remains between the two sides, even after months of discussions, and underscores how close Greece is to defaulting on its debt. At issue, bankers and government officials say, is less the 50 percent haircut that investors would absorb with their new bonds and more the coupon or interest these new instruments would carry. Investors are pushing for a higher interest payout to mitigate both their loss and the fact that their exposure to Greece will be lengthened considerable with the new bonds. The International Monetary Fund and Germany, both of whom have become increasingly worried about Greece's ability to service its debts as its economy continues to plummet, are pushing for a lower rate, which would ease Greece's debt payments and force investors to take a bigger loss on their holdings. As foreseen, the deal is expected to lower Greece's debt to 120 percent of its gross domestic product by 2020 from about 150 percent currently. But the I.M.F. in particular has become pessimistic about Greece's ability to recover economically and believes its debt burden must decrease at a faster rate. Within the fund, as well as in Europe, there is a view that the private sector needs to pay a larger share. Europe's sickly banks counter that they are in no position to take on more losses. In its statement, the bank lobby said that "discussions with Greece and the official sector are paused for reflection on the benefits of a voluntary approach." The not-so-subtle message is that if Europe pushes too hard on this point, then the creditors can no longer accept the agreement as a voluntary one. This is important as an involuntary restructuring would be seen by creditors as a default and would trigger credit default swaps - a step Europe and Greece are trying hard to avoid. One person involved in the discussions said that the move should be seen more as a negotiating tactic than a sign than a sign that Greece was going to default. The person, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the talks would resume Wednesday. That may be so, but for every day's delay, the stakes increase as Europe and the I.M.F. have said repeatedly that without a private sector deal, Greece will not get the 30 billion euros in bailout money that it needs to avoid bankruptcy. Greece faces a critical 14 billion euro bond payment on March 20. A delegation from the I.M.F is due in Athens next week to start talks with the government on the progress or lack thereof in enacting major reforms and raising money via state asset sales. The negotiations on the debt have been complicated by the increased influence of a bloc of investors, largely hedge funds, who have bought billions of euros of discounted Greek debt and have said they will not participate in a restructuring. They are betting that Europe will blink and give Greece its money, and because the deal would be voluntary, these holdouts would get their pay day. With the breakup of the talks, and the increased threat of a default, these investors may well choose to participate in the deal - in the hopes of getting something as opposed to the very little they would get if Greece went bankrupt.

Rory Lamont apologises after Twitter blast at Barack Obama

State Department Preparing To Close Embassy In Syria, No Final Decision Made The State Department is preparing to close the U.S. embassy in Damascus amid worsening security conditions in Syria, senior U.S. officials said Friday. The Obama administration is first asking the Syrian government "to take additional security measures." The State Department later put out a written statement saying that "unless concrete steps are taken in the coming days we may have no choice but to close the mission." "While no decision has been made, we have serious concerns about the deteriorating security situation in Damascus, including the recent spate of car bombs, and about the safety and security of embassy personnel," the State Department said. The department said Syria is "considering" the Obama administration's security request. The move comes as the Obama administration continues to condemn the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad for using violence against protesters in the country. The uprising against Assad has killed an estimated 5,400 people since March. Although the revolt began with mostly peaceful protests, an increasingly strong armed element has developed, and many people are now fighting the regime. The U.S. removed its ambassador to Syria, Robert Ford, from Damascus in October over security concerns. He returned to Syria in December. The administration argued at the time that Ford's presence in Syria was important for advancing U.S. policy goals by meeting with opposition figures and serving as a witness to the ongoing violence. The Obama administration has long called for Assad to step down, and officials say his regime's demise is inevitable. U.S. officials say Syria has become increasingly isolated, with Iran as one of its last remaining allies, and point to recent defections by some military and government leaders as a sign that Assad's grip on power is unraveling. The 10-month uprising against Assad has turned increasingly militarized and chaotic as more frustrated regime opponents and army defectors arm themselves and fight back against government forces.

British sprinter James Ellington fears the £32,500 anonymous eBay sponsorship bid was just a 'sad hoax I've spoken to the guys at eBay and they say they are still trying to get in touch with the highest bidder, but they are finding it difficult and they are not sure whether the top bids may be people just messing around. They're just checking out whether the bids are genuine. They haven't got to the bottom of it yet so I'm still waiting to find out what's going on, which is a bit frustrating. It obviously concerns me because it was for a good cause and it's a serious thing that I'm doing. If people have been bidding just to mess about, then it's annoying but hopefully there are some genuine bids there. After the 10-day auction closed in December, Ellington told Telegraph Sport that he "couldn't be happier" with the result, saying he planned to use some of the money to fund a warm-weather training camp in Florida. He added that he hoped to scale back on some of his coaching commitments to dedicate himself to his goal of a top-two finish in the 200 metres final at the Olympic trials in Birmingham in June to book his place at London 2012. But on Wednesday he insisted he would not allow himself to be distracted by the latest setback and that he remained hopeful a sponsor would still come forward. "Throughout my life I've had so many let-downs that I never count my chickens before they hatch," he said. I was just optimistic and thought to myself, 'If I get the money then I get the money. If I don't, I won't even focus on it. I'm just trying to get on with things and focus on my training. If you get too engrossed in everything it can just eat you up, so I'm just trying to keep my head down, keep training and focus on my goal. Hopefully, something will come through and I'll get some sponsorship. If it doesn't come through, then I would have to look at other ways to try to raise the money. A lot of private people have contacted us, so if eBay doesn't work, we may be able to sort something out. Ellington, 26, receives around £11,000 in Lottery cash as a "podium relay" athlete but missed out on individual funding after long-standing injury problems. He is now fully fit and has already run the 200m Olympic qualifying 'A" standard after clocking 20.52sec in Metz in June. He is due to open his 2012 campaign in a 400m race at the South of England Indoor Championships at Lee Valley, north London, on Jan 15. An eBay spokeswoman said: "It's unfortunate that this top bidder doesn't appear to be bona fide. We are a trading platform and ultimately we need people to play by the rules. It's pretty rare and I'm confident that James will still get some sponsorship out of this. He's obviously had tremendous publicity from just being on eBay, so I think the outcome for him will be a good one.

Jobs was told anti-poaching idea likely illegal SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - In the summer of 2007, Apple's Steve Jobs received a note from then-Palm chief executive Ed Colligan, according to correspondence revealed in a lawsuit over employee poaching. "Your proposal that we agree that neither company will hire the other's employees, regardless of the individual's desires, is not only wrong, it is likely illegal," Colligan wrote to the now-deceased Apple chief. The note was made public in a court filing on Thursday in a proposed class action brought by five software engineers against Apple Inc and other tech companies including Google Inc and Intel Corp. The lawsuit accuses the companies of conspiring to keep employee compensation low by eliminating competition among them for skilled labor. The filing has several redactions, and it is unclear whether Jobs responded to Colligan's note. Apple declined to comment on Friday. Hewlett-Packard Co, which acquired Palm, also declined to comment. Google, Apple, Adobe Systems, Intel, Intuit Inc and Walt Disney Co's Pixar unit settled a U.S. Justice Department probe in 2010, which bars them from agreeing to refrain from poaching each other's employees. In announcing the settlement, the Justice Department confirmed the existence of agreements between the companies to avoid cold-calling each other's workers. However, the civil court filing on Thursday reveals details on how those mutual understandings functioned in practice. In 2005, then-Adobe CEO Bruce Chizen forwarded an internal Adobe email to Jobs, according to the court document. In it, an Adobe human relations executive says Adobe is not to solicit any Apple employee, due to an agreement between "Bruce and Steve Jobs." The executive said Adobe would have to "back off" one solicitation of an Apple employee that had been in the works. Adobe did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday. The plaintiffs also cite correspondence from Pixar confirming a "gentleman's agreement" with Apple. Disney did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The tech companies are seeking to dismiss the civil lawsuit, saying that the excerpted communications at most refer to bilateral business arrangements and not an "overarching conspiracy." But the plaintiffs argue that these documents demonstrate a "multi-faceted illegal agreement," and that the case should move forward. A hearing in the lawsuit is scheduled for January 26 in a San Jose, Calif. federal court. The case in U.S. District Court, Northern District of California is In Re: High-Tech Employee Antitrust Litigation, 11-cv-2509. Reporting By Dan Levine, editing by Matthew Lewis

French President Faces Uphil Re-Election Battle Michel Euler / AP French President Nicolas Sarkozy waits for International Monetary Fund head Christine Lagarde to arrive for a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2012. To get an idea about the state of France's looming presidential election, think of it as something like the American situation in reverse - especially in the all-important "likeability" factor. In France, the incumbent is facing an uphill (and still undeclared) re-election battle handicapped by approval ratings so poor they make the sub-50% numbers of his U.S. peer appear stratospheric. And in contrast to the American scenario, the enmity of the French public towards its president is so strong it makes the modest appeal of his main rival seem almost unbeatable. While in the U.S., polls suggest voters may lift the politically unpopular Barack Obama to a second term because they don't see a more alluring option, a majority of France's electorate appear ready to back a thus far dutiful and untested rival simply to turn Nicolas Sarkozy out of the Elysée.An important French disclaimer is required: With over three months before the two rounds of France's presidential voting on April 22 and May 6, too much time remains to count a formidable campaigner like Sarkozy out yet - especially given his incumbent-during-a-crisis advantage, and the almost certain bounce in polls he'll likely experience once he declares his candidacy (probably late in the game - perhaps in early March). No one is predicting anything - at least not yet. Despite that cautionary note, however, odds remain long on Sarkozy's re-election. While recent waves of projected voting polls have slightly improved for Sarkozy of late, he hasn't managed to erase the commanding lead Socialist Party (PS) candidate François Hollande has held for months. Worse still, Sarkozy's ability to work his usual magic on the stump will be complicated by what surveys reflect as the dark view most people in France have of his presidency. A January poll showed a whopping 70% of voters condemning his record in office as "negative" or "very negative" (versus a mere 3% hailing it as "very positive"). A monthly job approval poll released recently registered a renewed slump in Sarkozy's enduringly depressed level to its previous all-time low mark of 30% - a record, by far, for a French president expected to run for re-election. And that was before reports Friday that France is set to lose its triple-A credit rating as part of an agency downgrade of many debt-troubled euro zone economies-and despite tax hikes and austerity measures introduced by Sarkozy's government to avert the downward revision. Critics previously warned that cost-cutting won't suffice to calm debt-worried markets and places the brunt of the pain on middle class families (which tend to vote), while largely sparing the rich. Though France's credit downgrade (perhaps by two ranks) has long been anticipated, if reports are correct that France and Austria will lose their AAA rating over the weekend as part of a European-wide cut, it would further inflame the French public's anger and doubt in Sarkozy's leadership - and probably make it even harder for Paris to deal with its deepening debt. Voter unhappiness with Sarkozy's performance may now become even sterner. From that vantage point, Obama's current and unimpressive 46% job approval score - a level that U.S. pundits have long described as a serious threat to his re-election hopes - has to be the source of no little envy in the Elysée. Ditto recent projections showing the unpopular Obama beating contenders in the Republican primary from around 2% to nearly 10% in simulated general elections - thanks in large part to his problematic approval rating still towering over those of GOP primary contenders. All those numbers and relative advantages can evolve considerably ahead of the French (and U.S.) elections, of course. Still, change afoot in the French race may not suffice for Sarkozy to retain the presidency. A poll by agency BVA and published Tuesday in le Parisien shows the 36% backing Hollande won in simulated first-round presidential voting in November had dropped to 28% this month. Yet despite the slight petering out of Hollande's surge in support following his high-profile PS primary victory in October, Sarkozy's own score has also declined, and now flattened out at around 25% (see results for all probable French presidential candidates here). Hollande's falling first-round figures, in other words, haven't been matched with a rise by Sarkozy. Meanwhile, those same surveys also show Hollande beating Sarkozy in a second round run-off stage of voting by 8% to 14% - if the incumbent even makes it that far. Indeed, with extreme-right leader Marine Le Pen getting 17% to 19% of first-round votes in current polls, concerns are high she may reverse her father's 2002 coup of edging out over-abundant and divided leftist candidates to secure the second run-off spot against then-incumbent President Jacques Chirac. This time, it's feared, a multitude of conservative candidates may split the traditional rightist vote and allow a potential surge of protest ballots to propel Marine Le Pen past Sarkozy to face Hollande. That's far from an idle dark fantasy. A January survey showed 26% of voters saying they want Marine Le Pen to qualify for the 2012 run-off. Another poll published Thursday registered a record high of 31% of respondents saying they agree with anti-immigrant, anti-European, nationalistic positions of Le Pen's National Front (FN) party (5% more than in 2002, and 9% higher than before Marine Le Pen became its leader 11 months ago). That's an evolution political analysts ascribe in part to Marine Le Pen's success in "de-demonizing" the long-shunned far-right among the mainstream public. But some analysts also say Sarkozy's repeated attempts to embrace FN policies as his own to lure back the party's voters who backed his campaign in 2007 have been responsible in removing the stigma from once untouchable far-right positions. Either way, all the elements required for a potential electoral shock for French conservatives are currently lined up. Still, Hollande must do more than depend on the favorable comparison he enjoys with the unpopular Sarkozy. Two Hollande proposals have created significant controversy under attack from the right (including a partial phase out of nuclear energy), and members of his campaign at times emit woefully contradictory messages. Meantime, the ruling conservative Union for a Popular Majority (UMP) party is as accomplished at campaign warfare - and as bruising a political street fighter as Sarkozy himself - and is deploying a thus far successful tactic of engineering scandal out of each new statement issued by Hollande's camp. True, polls show French voters are tired of that kind of aggressive and divisive leadership, but it could yet prove effective against a lower-key, consensus-building, issues-focused Hollande campaign. But despite the intimidating political talents of Sarkozy and his UMP, there remains one very important factor that will prove very difficult to alter: the French public deeply dislikes the president, including many conservative voters who say they've had enough of him. Whether it's been fueled by his bling-bling style, proximity to and perceived favoritism of the super-rich, habit of unapologetically contradicting himself, his controversial initiatives courting the extreme-right, or even alleged nepotism, resentment and impatience with Sarkozy and his rule has spread on the right as well as left - including among life-long conservatives. As a result, many conservatives and centrists who have rarely or never considered voting for a Socialist now view Hollande as not only a potentially more staid and stable option for the French presidency, but also the best way of bringing the Sarkozy era to an end. Yet another survey published this month in poll-happy France indicates how negative the French view of Sarkozy, his leadership, policies and accomplishments is now. Fully 57% of participants felt Sarkozy had failed to fulfill campaign pledges - and did so (they said) because he never planned to respect them. Another 49% said democracy had suffered under his scandal-punctuated reign. In characterizing Sarkozy's action in office, 42% of respondents described his leadership as "hard," 29% as economically "liberal," and 21% as "populist." "Humanist" was cited just 2% of the time. Another poll (seriously) published Wednesday found a modest 13% of people saying Sarkozy is a better leader now than he was when he assumed the presidency, versus 28% who said he is worse, and 56% who said he hadn't changed. Those aren't results bristling with the hope of a brighter future under France's current leadership. Other indicators are equally glum. Studies have repeatedly shown a majority of French people saying things in the country are going in the wrong direction; passing negative judgment on many Sarkozy policy and reform results; and expressing disdain for the president personally. And that may be Sarkozy's biggest handicap of all. While French polls don't generally score presidents" personal approval or likeability, past qualitative studies have indicated Sarkozy suffers badly in the latter area. As U.S. pundits and Republican officials alike have noted, it's been Obama's personal approval and likeability (currently at nearly 48%) that have kept his job rating from falling much further below 50% - and left his re-election chances strong in the face of less popular GOP aspirants. Though Obama is no slam-dunk for re-election, his success in getting personal appeal to limit the spread of negative views on his performance is a trick Sarkozy needs to learn - and fast. Three months is an eternity in politics, and anything remains possible in the France election. That's particularly true for a political and campaign animal like Sarkozy, who seems to thrive on and surpass himself in the face of adversity. His backers had better hope he can rise to the challenging occasion again this time, and soon. If he doesn't, he faces the fate Obama and his supporters are also seeking to avoid: the status of a one-term president.

Horden shooting: Michael Atherton got gun from car

Lunch boxes recalled over leaking freezer gel Lunch boxes recalled over leaking freezer gel - More health news WASHINGTON - California Innovations Inc is voluntarily recalling about 248,000 insulated lunch boxes because chemicals can leak from damaged freezer gel packs, the Consumer Product Safety Commission said. The gel contains diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol and can be poisonous if ingested, the commission said in a Monday statement on its website. The company has gotten two reports of a dog chewing and ingesting gel from the gel pack. One dog died and a second was treated and recovered, the statement said. The lunch boxes were sold by Costco Wholesale Clubs, Leon Korol and Cost U Less stores between May 2007 and September 2008 for about $10. They were made in China. The product is a Ci Sport three-piece, expandable, insulated lunch box set. It includes the lunch box, aluminum bottle and the freezer gel pack. Man shot nail into brain and didn't know it Substance found in nuts may thwart food poisoning Gastric bypass may be better than banding in long term Conjoined twin separated in 1984 gives birth

Gabrielle Giffords Resigns from Congress in Video Newt Gingrich Says He Can 'Shake Up Washington' George Stephanopoulos talks to Gingrich on his South Carolina primary comeback. Newt Gingrich Makes Comeback in South Carolina The former speaker of the House won the South Carolina Republican primary. Giffords Resigns in Video Jake Tapper reports on the Arizona congresswoman's announcement of resignation. Gabrielle Giffords: 'I Will Be Back' Giffords announces she is stepping down from Congress to concentrate on recovery George's Bottom Line Gingrich and Romney: Make or Break Time in Florida

Ability to Beat Obama Tops S.C. Voters" Concerns, According to Exit Polls Voters in South Carolina's primary today showed a preference for picking a candidate who can beat President Obama, according to preliminary exit polls. Also, more than half of voters said they hadn't made a choice until the last few days, according to the polls. And as expected, evangelicals turned out in large numbers. "By wide margins, voters say they are primarily interested in a candidate who can defeat Barack Obama - nearly half call it the top candidate attribute, vs. two in 10 who are looking chiefly for the candidate with the best experience and fewer than that who've focused chiefly on the candidates moral character or conservative credentials," said ABC News" Gary Langer, of Langer Research Associates. More cite electability as their top issue than did so in either Iowa or New Hampshire. One finding sheds light on the effect that attacks on Mitt Romney's tenure at Bain Capital has had: Two-thirds of voters said his background is generally positive, and only 27 percent said they viewed it negatively. "Nearly four in 10 describe themselves as "very" conservative. That's more than in New Hampshire (21 percent) but fewer than in Iowa (47 percent)," Langer said. Just over a third also describe themselves as strong supporters of the tea party movement - again substantially more than in New Hampshire, although about the same as in Iowa.

Djokovic wins Australian Open - Sport - ITN.co.uk © Reuters/Mark Blinch Novak Djokovic managed to outlast Rafael Nadal to retain his Australian Open title in a gruelling five-set match that goes into the record books as the longest grand slam final of all time. The world number one won the epic encounter 5-7 6-4 6-2 6-7 (5/7) 7-5 in five hours and 53 minutes, beating the previous record of four hours and 54 minutes set by Ivan Lendl and Mats Wilander at the 1988 US Open. The win in what was also the longest match ever at the Australian Open meant Djokovic became just the fifth man to win three successive grand slam titles following his victories at Wimbledon and the US Open last year.

He added that there would still be some flexibility in the system to help struggling families who were genuinely attempting to get back into work. Mr Duncan Smith said: "For people who fall out of work, we have always said there will be discretionary measures to make sure that this does not punish people but we make sure that we help them to change their circumstances. For those who are doing the right thing who have fallen out of work, we will support them and make sure they get back to work. Councils will be able to work with certain key families who may need a little bit more time to make some changes to their circumstances while they push them through the cap and into new housing. Speaking on Sky News, he added: "I simply make the point to them that the purpose of this is not to punish people but it is to give fairness to people who are paying tax, who are commuting large distances because they can only afford to live in the houses that they have chosen. It is also about fairness to those who are on these benefits; it is not fair to trap somebody in an expensive house which they cannot afford then to go to work on the back of, because they would lose their housing benefit if they went to work - so they are disincentivised from going to work. This is a ridiculous system that we have inherited. Mr Duncan Smith's remarks came as ministers braced themselves for a bruising clash with the House of Lords over the planned reforms. Labour will also seek to embarrass the Government over his concerns about the economy by claiming today that spiralling unemployment will add £5 billion to the benefits bill by 2013, despite the cuts. Deputy Prime Minister Mr Clegg said that ministers were looking at "transitional arrangements" for introducing the benefits cap, although sources played down suggestions that details of these arrangements would be published today. If the Government brings into operation those transitional measures that I know Nick is arguing for and that Mr Duncan Smith has promised us, that might be different but in their present form, I won't support them Mr Duncan Smith added: "The public thinks that homelessness is about not having any accommodation to go to. That's not the definition, inside Government and things like Shelter. It's if children have to share rooms. For most people who are working whose children share rooms, they would find that a strange definition. Nobody will be made homeless in the sense of the public's view of it, without a home to go to. This is about fairness to the taxpayer and fairness to those trapped. Is it fair to trap people, as we have done, in houses they cannot afford to go to work from, because they can't afford, if they go to work, because they will lose their housing benefit? They are therefore disincentivised from taking work and they are incentivised, many of these families, to find more children so that they can stay out of work. This is utterly wrong and it's a benefits system which desperately needs change.

U.S. News - Tanker reaches ice-bound Alaskan coast A Russian tanker hauling fuel across the ice-packed Bering Sea has made it to Alaska's coastline near the town of Nome and crews were assessing ice conditions Friday morning in hopes of making a long-awaited delivery. The 370-foot tanker, called Renda, has been guided through hundreds of miles of sea ice by the Healy, a Coast Guard icebreaker. On Friday morning, the vessels were less than 10 miles offshore, U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer David Mosely told NBC News. Mosely said crews were evaluating the ice conditions to ensure a safe transfer of the fuel to shore. Of particular concern is making sure the vessels are in a position to break free from the ice after the completition of the delivery, he said. Work could begin at daylight, which doesn't come to that part of Alaska until about 1:30 p.m. Residents of Nome have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of the ships. Without the 1.3 million gallons of fuel, the city could run out of heating oil and gasoline by March. Flying supplies in was an option but would have added $3-4 a gallon to the cost of fuel, which already runs $6 a gallon in Nome, population 3,500.

Revealing Slain Victims' Rap Sheets Draws Fire As Mike Ainsworth walked his two sons to a school bus stop, he heard a woman being carjacked scream, and ran to help. The woman was not hurt, police said, but the Good Samaritan was shot to death by a suspect who fled. When police gave out the details of Ainsworth's killing, they also announced he had been arrested for drugs and other non-violent crimes, keeping with a year-old policy in which criminal records for slain victims are released - sometimes before they've been publicly identified. New Orleans police say revealing a victim's rap sheet lets the public know that much of the violence is happening between people with similar criminal backgrounds. Families of the slain victim's say the practice is insensitive, and others outraged with the policy say it has racial overtones and sends a message that the victims got what was coming to them. "I don't understand why they want to do it," said Kathryn White, whose 25-year-old son was gunned down in what she said was a case of mistaken identity. White said her son was arrested just once for a small amount of marijuana. You are already in so much pain and then you have to see people saying bad things about your dead child. What good does that do anyone," she said. In a city often cited as the nation's murder capital - more than 20 people have been slain so far in January - police are hard-pressed to find solutions. Police Superintendent Ronal Serpas said publicizing arrest records gives a better picture of the killing, which authorities said usually involves young men who are killing people with similar backgrounds. Serpas estimated 62 percent of those killed in 2011 had prior felony arrests. He said 40 percent of people arrested for murder in 2011 - and 39 percent of those killed - had previous arrests for illegal possession of a firearm If I walked into the doctor's office and he told me there was a 40 percent certainty that something I was doing would affect my life, don't you think I would want that knowledge? Serpas said. This is knowledge people need to know, and talk about. The stakes are high for New Orleans, a city where tourism and free-wheeling visits are promoted for events like the Sugar Bowl, the Final Four basketball tournament this spring and the 2013 Super Bowl, not to mention Mardi Gras and Jazz Fest. Mayor Mitch Landrieu and Serpas acknowledge New Orleans' per capita murder rate is 10 times the national average. In 2011, there were 199 murders in a city of 344,000, up from 175 in 2010. However, those numbers are far less than the 400-plus killings during some years in the 1990s when the pre-Hurricane Katrina population was higher. Landrieu hopes to fight the crime surge with an emphasis on mental health, education and employment, as well as more patrols and targeting hotspots. Many big-city police departments avoid a blanket policy of releasing criminal information on victims. In Baltimore, police track whether homicide victims had criminal histories, but people who inquire are referred to online court records. In 2011, 80 percent of murder victims had criminal records, according to Baltimore police. "We may confirm whether the person was known to the police if we're asked, but we try not to disclose too much information about victims for their privacy and security," said department spokesman Anthony Guglielmi.

In schools, self-esteem boosting is losing favor to rigor, finer-tuned praise To get students through the shaky first steps of Spanish grammar, Hellie spent many years trying to boost their confidence. If someone couldn't answer a question easily, she would coach him, whisper the first few words, then follow up with a booming "Muy bien!" But on a January morning at Rocky Hill Middle School in Clarksburg, the smiling grandmother gave nothing away. One seventh-grade boy returned to the overhead projector three times to rewrite a sentence, hesitating each time, while his classmates squirmed in silence. You like that? Hellie asked, when he settled on an answer. He nodded. Finally, she beamed and praised the progress he was making - in his cerebral cortex. "You have a whole different set of neurons popping up there!" she told him. A growing body of research over three decades shows that easy, unearned praise does not help students but instead interferes with significant learning opportunities. As schools ratchet up academic standards for all students, new buzzwords are persistence, risk-taking, and resilience - each implying more sweat and strain than fuzzy, warm feelings. "We used to think we could hand children self-esteem on a platter," Stanford University psychologist Carol Dweck said. That has backfired. Dweck's studies, embraced in Montgomery schools and elsewhere, have found that praising children for intelligence - "You're so clever!" - also backfires. Children rewarded for being smart, in study after study, become more likely to shy away from hard assignments that might tarnish their star reputations. Instead, children praised for trying hard or taking risks tend to enjoy challenges and find greater success. Children also perform better in the long term when they believe that their intellect is not a birthright but something that grows and develops as they learn new things. Brain imaging literally shows how this is true, how connections between nerve cells in the cortex of the brain multiply and grow stronger as you learn and practice new skills. This bit of science has proved to be motivating to struggling students because it gives them a sense of control over their success. It's also helpful for students on an accelerated track, the ones often told how "smart" they are, who are vulnerable to coasting or easily frustrated when they don't succeed. That's how teachers at Rocky Hill Middle started talking about "neuroplasticity" and "dendritic branching" during training sessions. They also started the school year by giving all 1,100 students a mini-course in brain development.

Wine: "Italy's aromatic fiano wine is now a success story, appearing on many mainstream wine lists" By BRIAN ELLIOTT Published on Sunday 29 January 2012 14:00 JUST as simple labelling and fruit-forward flavours assisted the rise of New World wines in the 1990s, so imaginative experimentation with unfamiliar regions or grapes in Europe could help the pendulum swing back. After all, Italy's nutty and aromatic fiano wine is now a major success story, appearing on many mainstream wine lists after narrowly escaping oblivion. Falanghina, like fiano, was an old grape variety from southern Italy that was facing extinction. But it, too, has been rescued and now gives the world gentle white wine with excellent lime-based acidity that, like sauvignon blanc, will go well with shellfish. I found three versions on the high street. The 2010 Via Collina Falanghina Puglia (£8.99, Waitrose) had the sharpest zestiness but complemented that with appealing celery and spice undertones and touches of pear to mellow those long, lime-based flavours. Finest Falanghina Puglia 2010 (£5.99, Tesco) is a notch rounder, courtesy of hints of ripe melon and nutmeg, without compromising the crisp and floral lime and pear fruit and rhubarb-style tanginess. These wines are from the heel of Italy whereas the softer 2010 Falanghina Beneventano (£5.99, M&S) is from nearer Naples. It nevertheless has zingy green apple influences, nicely supplemented by a minty freshness that drifts into a faintly orange finish. Among the hearty reds of Languedoc, we find the white wine oasis of Picpoul de Pinet - and another comeback story. The revival of the picpoul (meaning "lip-stinger") blanc grape in today's acidity-friendly world is understandable - regardless of its low yields and propensity to disease. Since its main UK stockists are still trying to establish its place on the wine radar, it was no surprise to find that all four high street examples I tried were well made. The lightest in texture and clearest in minerality is 2010 Picpoul de Pinet (£7.29, M&S). Though there are touches of orange, the main influences are clean melon flavours with a distinctive flinty backdrop. A little less mineral-based is 2010 Domaine Felines Picpoul de Pinet (£8.49, Waitrose), which is more substantial yet still delivers some sharp, prickly, grapefruit-based flavours. However, 2010 Finest Picpoul de Pinet (£7.29, Tesco) is a smoother and softer version, with restrained lemon and lime acidity, gentle kiwi fruit flavours and an attractive flowery backdrop. Finally, I sampled the newly arrived 2011 Villemarin Picpoul de Pinet (£6.49, Majestic), and this too was a rather soft wine with, given its youth, surprisingly rounded tropical fruit flavours. Of course, newcomers are not restricted to white wines, as evidenced by the rise of Priorat - not a grape variety but a region just over the Spanish border from Languedoc. These Catalonian wines made a step change in quality when the full potential of its slate and quartz terroir was recognised, about 30 years ago. The harsh, rocky conditions not only make the wine concentrated (because yields are so low) but also seem to add complexity and an underlying tingle of minerality. That high quality and the small size of the region (and of its harvests) means prices can be high. The Wine Society has several vintages from Clos Mogador for around £40 a bottle, but for an inexpensive idea of what it's all about try 2008 Taste the Difference Priorat (£9.99, Sainsbury's). It has powerful and structured black cherry and bramble fruit with pronounced touches of chocolate on the finish. So, for anyone with "trying something new" among their New Year resolutions, this could be a good time to head for the shops. 2010 Canyon Creek Merlot Lodi, California, 13.5 per cent This excellent-value, soft, fleshy and smooth red has classic New World intense, blackcurrant-centred flavours and associated acidity. £4.99 (half price until 5 February), Morrisons 2008 Organic Chablis Jean-Marc Brocard Chablis-Prehy, France, 12.5 per cent It costs a little more than most selections here but this beautiful chablis is clean and smooth with excellent buttery and lemon-based fruit and a balanced yeasty backdrop. £12.99 (down £2), M&S

Round-Up: Ulster forced to settle for away tie after failing their French test Leinster and Ulster were assured of their places in the Heineken Cup quarter-finals before they played on Saturday. Of the two Irish provinces, Leinster were more satisfied with how things then turned out. Joe Schmidt's side, the Heineken Cup holders, beat Montpellier 25-3 in Dublin, scoring three tries. Munster's subsequent victory over Northampton secured the top seeding for the quarters but Leinster will still have a home draw. Ulster will have to travel, after they lost 19-15 at Clermont Auvergne. Ruan Pienaar kicked five penalties for Ulster but Morgan Parra kicked four for Clermont and converted Ti'i Paulo's second-half try. Ulster have played a round 100 European games but have still yet to win in France. Brian McLaughlin, Ulster's head coach, said: "We came here wanting to get a home quarter-final for our fans and I think that's why we're exceptionally disappointed." He added, however, that he was "exceptionally proud" of a team who were "more than capable of going further in this competition." The Scarlets won in France on Saturday, to book themselves a place in the quarter-finals of the Amlin Challenge Cup. Tries from Aaron Shingler and Mat Gilbert helped the Welsh region beat Castres 16-13 after Northampton's collapse opened the door into the Amlin. A knee injury suffered by the fly-half Rhys Priestland, however, will be a worry for the Wales coach Warren Gatland. Asked about the injury, the Scarlets coach, Nigel Davies, said: "We will have to wait and see. Hopefully, it is not too serious. There was only one proper dead rubber on Saturday and Bath had more bounce in their step after it than Glasgow, having won 23-18 at The Rec. Ben Skirving and Tom Biggs scored tries for Bath and Tommy Seymour and Rob Harley scored tries for Glasgow. The Scottish side finished a distant second to Leinster in Pool Three but were a long way off the pace for a consolatory place in the Amlin. In Pool Four, Leicester's home match against Aironi wasn't without interest at kick-off, as the Tigers could have caught Clermont if the French club had slipped up. That didn't happen, so Leicester's 33-6 win had no bearing on anything other than their professional pride.

Not Perfect, But Significant Reform of Mortgage Servicing WASHINGTON, Jan. 24, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Based on what we've heard, the settlement between major banks and states' Attorneys General (AGs), the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Department of Justice would represent an important step forward in addressing foreclosure abuses. The settlement would include key reforms to clean up unfair mortgage servicing practices. It would also provide an important template for ways banks can use principal reduction to reduce unnecessary foreclosures and put the country back on a path to economic recovery. Not all details are available yet, and we will continue evaluating the agreement as it becomes available. Based on current information, we are pleased to see a number of key reforms, including: No more robo-signing. Banks would agree that key foreclosure documents will be individually reviewed as required by law. End of many servicing abuses. The banks would agree to adopt many practices that will result in better communication, fewer delays, and fairer treatment for homeowners who are late on house payments. More sustainable loan modifications. The settlement would require banks to get serious about reducing the principal balances on mortgages for struggling homeowners, possibly preventing hundreds of thousands of unnecessary foreclosures. Banks remain accountable. While the state AGs would not be able to bring additional origination or servicing claims against the participating banks, the settlement would preserve the ability of homeowners to pursue claims against banks. Moreover, the settlement would not shield banks from prosecution related to criminal activities, claims based on mortgage securities violations, fair lending suits, or claims against MERS. Finally, the settlement would be enforceable in court by an independent monitor. This settlement would wrap up a year-long investigation focused on robo-signing and other abusive and fraudulent practices by mortgage servicers. This action is a crucial to containing the damaging effects of foreclosures on our economy, but it is only one response - and one that is necessarily limited by legal and practical restraints. Addressing the massive foreclosure crisis requires additional policy actions on multiple fronts. More than 20,000 new families face foreclosure each month, including a disproportionate percentage of African-American and Latino households. CRL research indicates that we are only about halfway through the crisis. For more information: Kathleen Day at (202) 349-1871 or kathleen.day@responsiblelending.org; Ginna Green at (510) 379-5513 or ginna.green@responsiblelending.org; About the Center for Responsible Lending The Center for Responsible Lending is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research and policy organization dedicated to protecting homeownership and family wealth by working to eliminate abusive financial practices. CRL is affiliated with Self-Help, one of the nation's largest community development financial institutions. SOURCE Center for Responsible Lending

Rivals" discounting takes toll on Next A solid performance from Next's online directory business offset a "slightly disappointing" fall in sales at its retail division, as heavy discounting from competitors and warmer winter weather took their toll on the clothing chain. Next attributed the 2.7 per cent slide in retail sales in the five months to December 24 to the "continuing credit squeeze on businesses and consumers" and the impact of the eurozone crisis on confidence. The decline in sales at the FTSE 100 group's roughly 500 UK and Ireland retail outlets came in spite of last year's comparative period being adversely affected by heavy snowfall, which kept consumers away from its stores. Furthermore, with expansions and new stores adding roughly 4 per cent to the group's retail sales over the five-month period, the 2.7 per cent fall equates to a slip in like-for-like sales of nearly 7 per cent. "In spite of a good final week before Christmas, November and December sales were disappointing given that snow adversely impacted sales in 2010," Next said. A number of factors have subdued sales in the final quarter and it is hard to judge to what extent warm winter weather and higher levels of competitor discounting masked the deeper, longer lasting, economic effects. The figures were rosier at Next Directory, the online division, where sales excluding VAT rose by 16.9 per cent as consumers increasingly migrate to the internet. After wading through murky trading conditions during 2011, including a poor start to the festive season, UK retailers received a boost in the post-Christmas sales as aggressive promotions lured cash-strapped shoppers through their doors. However, the heavy discounting is likely to have come at the cost of margins for many retailers, although Next on Wednesday said that it had steered clear of this strategy. "We did not discount our products in the run-up to Christmas and maintained operating margins," it said. However, it narrowed its full-year pre-tax profit for the second time in two months to between £558m-£572m. Previous forecasts had been as high as £590m. Total sales of Next brand items rose by 3.1 per cent in the period, in line with the full year guidance range given in November of between 2.5-4 per cent. Next shares, which have risen by more than on-third over the past 12 months, fell 4 per cent in early London trading to £26.32, valuing the group's equity at £4.65bn. "The trading statement is relatively gloomy and management expects only a slight increase in pre-tax profits in full-year 2013," said Freddie George of Seymour Pierce. However, Next will continue with its share buyback programme - £200m planned in 2013 - and we believe the company still has good opportunities to open new space and develop its online offer in the UK and the Directory overseas.

@MentionMachine tracks the presidential candidates: Who's up, who's down on Twitter? Posted at 12:01 AM ET, 01/03/2012 When Texas Gov. Rick Perry declared his candidacy for the Republican nomination Aug. 13, the same day as the Ames Straw Poll, those watching social streams could have rightfully assumed he had won the Iowa contest. Twitter exploded with Perry mentions, even though he didn't participate in the straw poll, while the winner, Rep. Michele Bachmann (Minn.), drew far less attention. Social media was the writing on the wall. Perry would soon trend up in polls, surpassing Bachmann and the rest of the field. Twitter was the early - scratch that - Twitter was the real-time warning system. The chart above shows the number of times Bachmann, Perry and Mitt Romney were mentioned on Twitter during the weekend of the straw poll. Shortly after Bachmann lost the buzz war to Perry, her poll numbers plummeted. Traditionally, several barometers have been used to gauge the success of a campaign: polling data, fundraising totals, ad spending and endorsements, among others. Now social media success, especially via Twitter, is the newest measurable campaign benchmark. @MentionMachine is a new Washington Post news app that monitors Twitter and media across the Web for political candidate mentions, revealing trends and spikes that show where the conversation is and why. It launched Jan. 3, the day of the Iowa caucuses, and will run through the presidential election in November. There are a few ways Twitter variables, or mentions, can be measured or extrapolated to examine trends in campaigns. Growth in number of legitimate followers or a high recurrence of retweets are both indicative of growing grass-roots support. A spike in the number of times a candidate is mentioned on Twitter might signal an event that could alter a campaign. There are many engagement presentations across The Washington Post site that will display @MentionMachine counts to show these variables. How @MentionMachine Works Toolbar - An overlay on Washington Post campaign coverage showcases @MentionMachine "scores" for each presidential candidate. These scores represent the total number of Twitter mentions per candidate in the last week: Candidate analysis - Data-rich pages for each presidential candidate include interactive charts detailing Twitter trends and spikes over the last week, along with media mentions and recent headlines for each candidate: Candidate comparisons - A leaderboard tracks Twitter and media mention "scores" for all the presidential candidates: Michele Bachmann, Newt Gingrich, Jon Huntsman, Ron Paul, Rick Perry, Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum and Barack Obama. @MentionMachine on Twitter - Follow @MentionMachine for daily stats on the presidential candidates, Top Tweets and our analysis into the latest presidential campaign tags and trends. @MentionMachine Methodology and Functionality @MentionMachine was developed exclusively by The Washington Post. It leverages the Twitter streaming API to capture and analyze Tweets that include either the candidate's official Twitter handle or mentions the candidate's first and last name together in a tweet. Top Tweets are identified as tweets driving the conversation around a candidate at a given period of time. These tweets are scored by @MentionMachine based on the similarity of keywords within candidate streams; to provide a greater variety of tweets, this Top Tweet calculation factors overall keyword mentions (not just retweets). Some tweets may be filtered out based on Washington Post conversation standards, but will still be counted in overall candidate scores. Media mention counts are derived by leveraging the Trove API to count candidate mentions from across more than 10,000 blog and news sites. Trove is a personalized news platform owned by The Washington Post Co. The @MentionMachine Roadmap The January 2012 launch of @MentionMachine is our first release. Our team will begin developing additional releases shortly thereafter. While we have many ideas - ranging from integrating sentiment analysis, sourcing from more social media streams, creating public widgets to pulling paid search data - we are eager to hear what you think about the machine. Tweet your thoughts to @MentionMachine or e-mail haikc[at]washpost[dot]com. @MentionMachine, Brought to You By... Cory Haik , Executive Producer Sean McBride and Jesse Foltz, Developers Amanda Zamora , Digital Editor Katie Parker, Designer Natalie Jennings , Social Producer

Derby County plans for new Pride Park plaza approved

Edinburgh bids for new Green Bank

Call for Costa Concordia to be chained down Divers searching for missing passengers will be allowed back on the Costa Concordia on Saturday after being evacuated due to movement of the ship. Photograph: Vincenzo Pinto/AFP/Getty Images An Italian government minister has called for the marooned cruise ship Costa Concordia to be chained to the sea bed to stop it slipping into deep water as a British passenger said she would sue the owners after she lost her husband's ashes while abandoning ship. Experts using sensors to monitor the movement of the vessel, which is lying on its side in 37 metres of water off the Tuscan island of Giglio, said it was shifting at a rate of about 7mm an hour. Divers searching for missing passengers were due to be allowed back on board the ship on Saturday after being evacuated for the third time on Friday when sensors picked up movement from the vessel. If the wreck moves 30 metres offshore it will fall into depths of 70 metres. Eleven passengers are known to have died after the captain, Francesco Schettino, steered the 114,000-tonne vessel carrying more than 4,200 passengers and crew into a rocky outcrop on 13 January while attempting to "salute" a Giglio resident. Schettino, who then grounded the ship and went ashore while 300 passengers were still on board, is currently under house arrest, accused of manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning ship. Eleven people are known to have died. A miniature robot submarine was in action on Friday under the ship's hull, checking the stability of the ship, which is lodged on three granite outcrops. They are searching for places the ship could be anchored after Italy's environment minister, Corrado Clini, asked the liner's owner, Costa Crociere, to draw up a plan for tying the ship down to prevent it slipping into the deeper water. Luca Cari, a spokesman for divers from Italy's fire service, said the robot had used its pincer arms to pick up two suitcases found on the sea bed. Clini has warned that approaching bad weather may shunt the ship out to sea, where its fuel tanks could rupture, creating an oil slick. Divers have said they will continue their search effort until they find all 21 passengers still unaccounted for, although Dutch salvage workers are gathering in the port of Giglio to start drilling into the ship's fuel tanks to extract 2,400 tonnes of fuel. The shipwreck could yet see the largest insurance payout of any maritime disaster, said Antonio Coviello, an insurance expert at the University of Naples. As passengers who escaped from the listing vessel prepared legal action against Costa Crociere, one British passenger said she was suing after losing the ashes of her late husband during the evacuation. Sandra Rodgers, 62, said she had been planning to scatter the ashes of her husband, Barry, when the cruise reached Monaco because he had dreamed of seeing the Monaco Grand Prix. "It's dreadful but his ashes were lost on board the Concordia as well as other family heirlooms from my late mother and father," she said. Rodgers said the evacuation was completely chaotic: "There was certainly no 'women and children first' policy. We were also told by crew that we should go back to our cabin. Thank God we didn't do as they had told us as we may not have made it off the ship alive. Newly released video footage taken on board after the ship collided with rocks shows a female member of the crew telling passengers wearing lifejackets: "On behalf of the captain, kindly go back to your cabins." She adds: "We have solved the problem, which was an electrical problem ... All is under control. Schettino's lawyer said on Friday the captain was "ready to take responsibility" for his actions and denied allegations he had freely drunk red wine shortly before taking the helm on the night of the collision. Schettino said he had kept officials at Costa Crociere informed of the ship's plight, a claim rejected on Friday by the chief executive, Pier Luigi Foschi, who said lives would have been saved if the ship had been abandoned faster. Foschi denied the firm encouraged Schettino to delay abandoning ship for about an hour after the collision for fear that payouts to passengers would be triggered. "I can assure you absolutely that no one was thinking in financial terms, which would have been in contravention of our code of ethics," he told Corriere della Sera. Foschi said the firm has suspended Schettino and would not pay his legal fees. He may have the odd little character problem, although nothing has ever been reported formally. He was seen as being a little hard on his colleagues. He liked to be in the limelight. On the quayside at Giglio on Friday, police formed human chains to keep camera crews away from relatives of some of the 21 missing passengers as they climbed on board a coastguard launch to throw flowers into the sea beside the Costa Concordia.

Two arrested after drugs found at East Lothian property

Apple to allow monitoring of suppliers At least 12 Foxconn workers have committed suicide and around 150 workers at a Foxconn factory in Wuhan spent two days on the roof, threatening mass suicide, in a protest over plans to move them to a new production line. Those workers were involved in producing Microsoft's Xbox but Foxconn also makes products for Amazon, Microsoft and HP, among others. Tim Cook, Apple's chief executive, told the Wall Street Journal that his company wanted to be more transparent about standards in its supply chain. He said the company was "raising the bar" for the technology industry. According to the report, Apple found that suppliers were in compliance with its policies preventing underage working 97 per cent of the time but complied only 38 per cent of the time with Apple's policy of restricting working time to 60 hours per week. "Working hours is a complex issue," Mr Cook told the Wall Street Journal. But he said he was confident that the company could improve the situation. The report also monitors the environmental impact, management systems, ethics and other areas of the suppliers' business. In cases where a company repeatedly breaches Apple's guidelines, the company says it terminates the relationship with the supplier. Auret van Heerden, the president of the Fair Labour Association, said that standards set by suppliers could often do more than governments can. He said: "If you're a 16-year-old girl in a developing country, your best chance of enjoying proper rights is if you get to work at a multinational. The power of their contract is more powerful than the power of law.

Liverpool must avoid Arsenal's Carling Cup complacency when they face Cardiff at Wembley says Steven Gerrard A big 'well done' to everyone who has taken part in the Carling Cup so far but the key message now is that it's not done. Arsenal slipped up against Birmingham last year when they were massive favourites. I'm sure we'll be massive favourites but we've got to show Cardiff respect and put in the kind of performance we put in last night. It's going to be the game of their lives. They're going to be right up for it. They are going to play at a level they've not played at before so it's important that we don't drop our standards. We've got to raise our game and if we do, I'm sure we can lift the cup. Key to last night's success was former City striker Craig Bellamy, whose goal 16 minutes from time secured the draw which knocked out his former employers. It was the second time in game Liverpool had come from behind after Gerrard's contentious penalty had equalised Nigel de Jong's long-range strike only for Edin Dzeko to put City ahead again on the night in the second half. Bellamy, who re-signed for Liverpool in August, has now scored eight goals in 22 appearances, many as substitute, which is just one short of the tally he managed in 42 games in his first short spell at Anfield in 2006/2007. Gerrard believes the 32-year-old is having a similar impact to that of Gary McAllister, who joined Liverpool aged 35 and helped the club win an impressive treble of the Carling Cup, FA Cup and Uefa Cup in his first season. Craig has been superb since he's come in. He's a fantastic professional who works really hard and he got his rewards here," Gerrard said. He was a menace all night - that's what type of player he is. He's in your face, he runs in behind, he doesn't let you settle on the ball and I'm sure if he carries on he can have the impact at this club that Gary McAllister did.

Channel Surfing: 'Portlandia' - NYTimes.com January 6, 2012, 1:30 pm The second season of Carrie Brownstein and Fred Armisen's rigorously lo-fi comedy "Portlandia" arrives on IFC on Friday night riding a relentless wave of hype. Not many shows this small-bore - six half-hour episodes in the first season, expanded to 10 for Season 2 - get this kind of attention, with late-night guest spots, a red-carpet New York premiere (for the second season!) and a tour, which comes to Brooklyn and Manhattan on Jan. 20 and 21. Does the promotional effort correspond to the show's actual popularity? The series premiere last January drew a measly 236,000 viewers according to Nielsen, though that number grows to more than a million when you thrown in replays and DVR and online viewing. Here's the statistic IFC really cares about, though: according to figures from the network, around 70 percent of the "Portlandia" audience is in the advertiser-friendly 18-to-49-year-old demographic. What is that audience really getting, though, besides a shared sense of being in on the joke? Ms. Brownstein and Mr. Armisen's game is to skewer the pretensions and smugness of the advanced Portland lifestyle - eco-friendliness, enlightened consumer culture - without openly mocking the young people who move there in search of that life, despite its pieties, and who might want to watch "Portlandia." However old you are, it should always feel like someone just a little older than you is being made fun of. Consequently there's a mildness to the show that keeps it from being as funny as it should. Being twee and understated and generally silly isn't an indefensible position - it worked for "Flight of the Conchords," a much funnier show - but you need to demonstrate a dark side, a willingness to pull your viewers up short and implicate them in the madness. "Portlandia" always backs away, letting us off the hook with a visual gag or a chanted catchphrase. The other problem with the show - and it's one that's uncomfortable to talk about, given the earnestness of everyone involved - is that it exposes the shortcomings of Mr. Armisen and Ms. Brownstein as performers. He has the comedian's chops and professionalism born of a decade on "Saturday Night Live," but as an actor he doesn't do anything to move the "Portlandia" material beyond its sketch-comedy roots. And at this stage Ms. Brownstein, a much-loved musician, is not much more than an enthusiastic amateur on camera. Luckily for IFC, quite a few 18- to 49-year-olds appear to identify with that.

Survival story The Grey wins weekend box office LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Survival story "The Grey" starring Liam Neeson topped the weekend movie box office charts with an estimated $20 million in U.S. and Canadian ticket sales, according to studio estimates released on Sunday. "The Grey" knocked last weekend's winner, "Underworld: Awakening," to second place. The vampire and werewolf sequel starring Kate Beckinsale brought in $12.5 million from Friday through Sunday. New Katherine Heigl comedy "One for the Money" finished third with $11.8 million. Open Road Films, a joint venture between theater owners Regal Entertainment Group and AMC Entertainment Inc, released "The Grey." The film unit of Sony Corp distributed "Underworld: Awakening." "One for the Money" was released by Lions Gate Entertainment. Reporting By Lisa Richwine; Editing by Xavier Briand

Google searches to become personalised Google has wielded its dominance of web search as a key weapon in its battle with Facebook, with a new approach that draws information from its Google+ social network directly into users" search results. By including more personal and social information in its results, the new feature also takes Google a big step towards fulfilling a dream long talked about by its top executives: to create a personalised search engine that "knows" its users so well that all the results are tuned directly to their interests. Known as Search plus Your World, the new approach marks the most direct attempt yet by Google to use its core service to help it make up lost ground in social networking. However, favouring its own Google+ network at the expense of rivals could heighten regulatory concerns at a time when the company's behaviour is already under the microscope in Brussels and Washington. "They could have done this for Facebook and Twitter and they didn't," said Danny Sullivan, editor of Search Engine Land. That will probably make some antitrust people even more anxious over what [Google] is doing. Alex Macgillivray, Twitter's general counsel, tweeted that it was "a bad day for the internet. I can imagine the dissension @Google to search being warped this way. The immediate impact on the rivalry with Facebook is likely to be limited given the newness of the Google+ network and the relative lack of content posted on it, some observers said. "The intent [behind personalisation] is great but I'm not sure today Google+ is of sufficient volume or sophistication," said Martin McNulty, general manager at Forward3D, a UK search marketing firm. Google said it would "certainly be open" to including other services, but justified the current exclusion because it "does not have access to crawl all the information on some sites." It also said it only has "persistent access to information from Google+." With the new feature, content shared privately with contacts on Google+ will be included in search results, though Google said it would ensure that it kept the same levels of privacy as applied on its social network. Google also said it would be able to show profiles of friends when a user enters a name in its search box, and that it would suggest interesting people or pages to follow on Google+ in response to some standard search queries. The changes are part of a shift towards including personal and social information that marks "the most radical transformation ever" for Google's search service, Mr Sullivan said, while also meeting a long-held ambition of the company's leaders. Eight years ago, Eric Schmidt, then Google chief executive, said: "We would like to have a Google that knows you, that understands your preferences." Making search more personalised, meanwhile, could make it harder for brand owners to use search engine optimisation techniques to ensure their pages appear at the top of "organic" or natural results for particular keywords, some experts warned. As a result, advertisers are likely to switch some their marketing spending away from optimisation, said Stefan Bardega, managing partner at MediaCom, WPP's media agency. All of this pours more money into the core business of Google, which is the pay-per-click AdWords model. It will become almost impossible to get the same level of effectiveness in organic results," he said.

He might be a stay-at-home husband, but no one wants a self-maid man The main problem is housework. Now, now, calm down dears! It's not that you chaps are bad at it; quite the reverse. But you are good at it in a very bad way. In my experience, men tend to go a bit tiresomely OCD whenever they finally (alleluia!) get round to chores. For instance, my single-minded husband will take a scrupulous two hours to do the washing up, which I can rattle through in a matter of minutes while singing nursery rhymes and making French toast. Admittedly, all three tasks will be executed with a slapdash lack of care, but they will be executed quickly and, given I don't intend to perform open-heart surgery on the worktop using a sterilised fish slice, what's the difference? Men have little idea what women want at the best of times, and are resigned to the fact that no matter what they do, they Always Get It Wrong, as in What the hell do you mean you've got us tickets for the cinema/opera/a romantic weekend in Rome? This accounts for their default state of insensate torpor, because at least if they do nothing, then they have some inkling of why their lawfully wedded termagant is yelling at them again. The average man will, if put in charge of the house and the children, misguidedly strive for perfection (wrong!), carefully prioritise (also wrong!) and point out, quite reasonably, that he simply didn't have time to do everything (wrong, wrong, so wrong!). So I think for the sake of my marriage I'll pass on the meticulous man about the house. What I really need is a multi-tasking missus. Spiced nut salad with everything Olympic gentrification fever has London's East End in its clammy grip and just (ngrnngggh!) won't let go, no matter how much we tug. The latest victim is our local park, which has been given a £9 million facelift, in the course of which the lovely cheap'n"cheerful cafe catering for ravenous children has been transformed into a genteel whited sepulchre more suited to Blenheim Palace. "Chips, please," my friend Suzi ordered. "Chips?" repeated the waitress, picking the word up with a pair of tongs. We don't serve [cue tiny consumptive cough for dramatic effect] ... chips. We promote healthy eating; perhaps your five-year-old would like to try the cumin, roast carrot, couscous and spiced nut salad? I think I shall draw a veil over the ensuing conversation there and simply refer you to the pointed sighing of the beau monde three-wheeled buggy brigade who were queuing behind us and disdainfully tutting. Until that is, they reached the counter. Chocolate cake, please. We don't have chocolate cake. But we do have beetroot cake. Perhaps your screaming twins would... This exchange, too, is best left to your imagination. Apparently, by way of a concession, the café does serve beans on toast - or rather a chi-chi ramekin of beans with two slices of unbuttered toast enigmatically balanced on top. Words fail me (apart from salty ones). It has been revealed that the French Olympic squad will be bringing over their own chefs as they, quite wisely, want to avoid British food every bit as much as the British. They'll be cooking 2,000 portions of Vendée canard a day as well as necking back 15,000 bottles of champagne to celebrate medal victories. And will probably get the frites of their lives when Hackney's ravenous rosbifs descend on them for supper. Taking a Twitter tip from me means never having to tweet you're sorry Dear Lord, please don't let me near one of Tom Stoppard's infernal Twitter Machines. Being of an excitable nature, I am not to be trusted with instant messaging any more than instant Scratchcards or Instant Whip. I am probably the only person in the land who sympathises with the lawyer who tweeted "Let the whoring recommence" during a trial this week because, frankly, I have enough traumas over emails fired off when I'm fired up and texts misconstrued after being sent from pubs late at night without agonising over indiscretions shared with all nine of my loyal followers. You see, like a smoker-turned-anti-tobacco zealot, I have a Twitter account. I set it up several years ago, but almost immediateIy foreswore it. Not because it was banal or narcissistic, but because I knew in my very marrow that self-annihilation was a mere 140 characters away.

Beyonce baby complaints at NYC hospital dismissed Beyonce and Jay-Z arrive at the 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Jan. 11, 2009. (CBS/AP) NEW YORK - Health officials in New York have reviewed and dismissed complaints that patients in a hospital neonatal unit were mistreated while Beyonce was there giving birth to her and Jay-Z's daughter. Health department spokesman Jeffrey Gordon says they received two complaints about Manhattan's Lenox Hill Hospital. He says both were dismissed by Wednesday night. Pictures: Beyonce Pictures: Celebrity babies Beyonce and Jay-Z's baby causes controversy, makes music history Beyonce gave birth to the couple's daughter, Blue Ivy Carter, on Saturday. "Her birth was emotional and extremely peaceful, we are in heaven," the couple said in a statement Monday. Media reports said the couple paid $1 million to take over a floor and their security guard blocked parents from the neonatal unit for hours. But hospital spokeswoman Barbara Osborn says the hospital's executive director is conducting an inquiry into the complaints about treatment of neonatal unit patients.

Inquest over Laura Morgan sail death to start

9 Georgetown beats No. 20 Marquette 73-70 updated 9:24 p.m. WASHINGTON - Jason Clark scored 26 points, and Hollis Thompson's tiebreaking 3-pointer with less than 30 seconds left capped a comeback from a 17-point deficit, helping No. 9 Georgetown beat No. 20 Marquette 73-70 on Wednesday night. The Hoyas (13-1, 3-0 Big East) ran their winning streak to 11 games, their longest in five years. They got 16 points from Thompson, 13 from Henry Sims, and key contributions from four freshmen who played significant minutes in the second half. Marquette (12-3, 1-1) lost for the third time in five games, despite 18 points from Darius Johnson-Odom, 17 from Jae Crowder, and 16 from Todd Mayo. The Golden Eagles led 43-29 at halftime and stretched that to 56-39 on Mayo's 3-pointer with 13:10 left. But Clark brought Georgetown back, making 6 of 7 shots in the second half, when he scored 18 points. With starters Sims and Thompson sitting with three fouls each in the second half, Georgetown went with a lineup of freshmen Jabril Trawick, Otto Porter, Greg Whittington and Mikael Hopkins, along with senior guard Clark. Something clicked, because the Hoyas starting chipping away at that big deficit. Clark did most of the scoring, including a 3-pointer and a three-point play. And when Sims went back in and made 1 of 2 free throws, then assisted on Porter's backdoor cut for a layup, suddenly Marquette's lead was down to 62-57 with a little more than 7 minutes remaining. It helped that Marquette went cold for a stretch, going more than 7½ minutes between field goals. When Thompson swished a 3, the Hoyas were only down 66-64, and his fallaway baseline jumper tied it. After yet another Marquette turnover, Sims' layup put Georgetown ahead 68-66 with a little more than 2 minutes to go. After the teams traded scores, the game was tied at 70-all when Thompson made his biggest shot of the game. Johnson-Odom and Crowder both got late looks at potential tying 3s, but both missed. Both of these teams entered Wednesday holding opponents under 39 percent shooting this season, but the offenses dictated things in the early going. The Hoyas made their first six shots - the first miss came 5 minutes in, on a 3-point try by Markel Starks - and the Golden Eagles opened 8 of 10 (80 percent). For Georgetown, in particular, that represented quite an improvement from its previous game, a 49-40 victory over Providence in which the Hoyas kept getting good looks at the basket and kept misfiring, ending up at 30.5 percent. Wednesday's success on offense didn't last long, though. Georgetown started missing shots - and taking bad ones - and went more than 6½ minutes in the second half without a field goal. After one rather egregious attempt - 6-foot-10 center Sims' jumper from near the top of the arc - Hoyas coach John Thompson III put his palms up and yelled something at the senior. That came during a 14-1 run by Marquette, which went from trailing by a point to leading 37-25 with 2 minutes left in the first half. Johnson-Odom and Mayo each scored six points during that stretch. Marquette's lead grew as large as 16 points in the first half. The Golden Eagles scored inside seemingly at will at times, often getting unchallenged looks at the basket, and outscored the Hoyas 22-8 in the paint during the first half. Add in another 10 points off turnovers, and it was easy to see why Marquette took control early. There was a scary moment about 5½ minutes into the game, when Marquette's Jamil Wilson tumbled on top of Georgetown's Starks and both stayed down on the court for a couple of minutes. Eventually, Wilson walked to the sideline and returned to action shortly. Starks wobbled a bit as he was helped up, then was helped off the court, but he returned later in the first half, too.

Center for American Progress, group tied to Obama, under fire from Israel advocates The Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank closely aligned with the White House, is embroiled in a dispute with several major Jewish organizations over statements on Israel and charges that some center staffers have used anti-Semitic language to attack pro-Israel Americans. The controversy reflects growing divisions among important allies of President Obama over Middle East policy that could complicate the president's reelection outreach to some Jewish voters, just as he is seeking to assure them of his commitment to Israel's security amid fears of an Iran nuclear threat. Among the points of contention are several Twitter posts by one CAP writer on his personal account referring to "Israel-firsters." Some experts say the phrase has its roots in the anti-Semitic charge that American Jews are more loyal to a foreign country. In another case, a second staffer described a U.S. senator as showing more fealty to the prime U.S. pro-Israel lobby, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, than to his own constituents, replacing a standard identifier of party affiliation and state with "R-AIPAC" on his personal Twitter account. The first writer has since left the staff. Critics are also pointing to writings on the CAP Web site, where staffers have suggested the pro-Israel lobby is pushing the U.S. toward war with Iran and likened Israel's treatment of Palestinians in Gaza to the policies of the segregated American South. Those statements, among others, have gained notice largely because of CAP's influential role in Obama's Washington. Founded and chaired by John Podesta, a onetime chief of staff in the Clinton White House, the center is an idea generator for the administration and a source for many of its top officials. The executive who headed the arm overseeing the CAP bloggers, Jennifer Palmieri, recently became a top communications official in the White House, and Podesta is now a part-time adviser to the State Department. Several major Jewish groups have demanded corrective action by the think tank and asked for answers from friends in the White House. "The language is corrosive and unacceptable," said Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate director of the Simon Wiesenthal Center. He added that the blog posts and tweets from CAP staffers "are the responsibility of the adults who run the place, not only the kids who play." Cooper conveyed his concerns about CAP during a private White House meeting last week with Obama's newly hired Jewish community liaison. The White House official, Jarrod Bernstein, told Cooper that the situation at CAP was "troubling," adding "that is not this administration." A White House spokesman, Matt Lehrich, declined to comment on CAP. He said Obama "has repeatedly reiterated America's unshakable commitment to Israel's security and stood up against attempts to single out Israel in international forums." He added that the administration has "ratcheted up unprecedented pressure on Iran." Abraham Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League, said some of the statements from CAP staffers "are anti-Semitic and borderline anti-Semitic."