Duke Energy cleared to build high voltage line near reservation

State regulators have cleared Duke Energy? ? Duke Energy Latest from The Business Journals Report: Progress Energy reaches million deal to lease out Raleigh towerTrotter to fill Union County ED seatRed Hat cuts M real estate deal with Progress Energy Follow this company to go ahead with plans to upgrade power lines near the Eastern Band of Cherokee?s reservation in the North Carolina mountains.

The N.C. Utilities Commission ruled against the tribe and other residents in the Kituwah Valley? a site sacred to the Cherokee ? that Duke had acted illegally in starting construction of a 161-kilovolt transmission line up grade designed to serve the Harrah?s Cherokee hotel and casino in Murphy.

The groups had contended that the construction harmed property values by destroying the scenic beauty of the region. They asked that the project be halted or that they be compensated for the loss of value to their property.

The commission ruled Wednesday that the complaining parties had not carried their ?burden of proof to show that Duke acted unreasonably and inappropriately? in planning the upgrade. It declined to halt the project. And it said it did not have the authority to order compensation for any loss of property value. ?The complainant?s members will need to pursue that remedy in the appropriate court,? the commission said.

The Cherokee also objected in the original complaint to Duke?s plans to locate an electrical tie station near Kituwah, a sacred place for the Cherokee on the Tuckaseegee River east of Bryson City. But Duke voluntarily relocated that station.

---

John Downey covers the energy industry for the Charlotte Business Journal. Click here to read more recent postings on Power City.

To get an RSS feed for Power City click here.

John Downey covers utilities, public companies and the courts for the Charlotte Business Journal.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/vertical_30/~3/QD6GlAQZI0g/duke-energy-cleared-to-build-high.html

hanukkah gpa calculator menorah snooki chanukah chanukah david archuleta

Video: Marine vet: Being shot in robbery was ?unfathomable?

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

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/45824433#45824433

iron chef bath and body works coupons jeff probst jeff probst king jong il dead south korea baron davis

Anti-union group files case against Boeing Machinists through NLRB

An anti-labor group contends that right-to-work states lost an opportunity to land Boeing manufacturing due to a "backroom deal" between Boeing and Machinists District Local 751 that ended the NLRB case. Above, the first 787 to roll on its own wheels at Boeing's plant in North Charleston, S.C.

A Virginia anti-union organization has filed what it called a ?federal retaliation charge? against the Machinists District Lodge 751 through the National Labor Relations Board? ? National Labor Relations Board Latest from The Business Journals Cooper Tire to resume negotiations with locked-out workersNLRB delays employee rights notice ruleNLRB delays employee rights notice rule Follow this company .

In a Dec. 28 release, the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation contended that Boeing? ? Boeing Latest from The Business Journals BEST OF 2011: Charleston's ChallengeThe Street's Jim Cramer: 'Boeing has become one of my favorite stocks'Financial analyst high on Boeing stock in 2012 Follow this company workers in Charleston who had opposed unionization there were ?denied participation in the hearing concluding the case.?

According to the release, union leaders ?abused the NLRB?s adjudicative process to bully Boeing in locating production of the company?s 737 Max and future airplane production in Washington State.?

NLRB Spokeswoman Nancy Cleeland, in Washington, D.C., hadn?t heard about the charge until contacted by Puget Sound Business Journal.

?I am sure we will investigate because we investigate all charges against us, and we?ll take it from there,? she said.

The foundation, according to its website, is a ?nonprofit, charitable organization providing free legal aid to employees whose human or civil rights have been violated by abuses of compulsory unionism.?

The Machinists had originally charged that Boeing had violated federal law by deciding to build the North Charleston factory as ?retaliation? for earlier labor activities in Washington state.

The foundation filed its charges on behalf of three Charleston-area Boeing employees who had earlier opposed unionizing there, the foundation release said.

NLRB Acting General Counsel Laef Solomon National Labor Relations Board? ? National Labor Relations Board Latest from The Business Journals Cooper Tire to resume negotiations with locked-out workersNLRB delays employee rights notice ruleNLRB delays employee rights notice rule Follow this company .

In a Dec. 28 release, the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation contended that Boeing? ? Boeing Latest from The Business Journals BEST OF 2011: Charleston's ChallengeThe Street's Jim Cramer: 'Boeing has become one of my favorite stocks'Financial analyst high on Boeing stock in 2012 Follow this company workers in Charleston who had opposed unionization there were ?denied participation in the hearing concluding the case.?

According to the release, union leaders ?abused the NLRB?s adjudicative process to bully Boeing in locating production of the company?s 737 Max and future airplane production in Washington State.?

NLRB Spokeswoman Nancy Cleeland, in Washington, D.C., hadn?t heard about the charge until contacted by Puget Sound Business Journal.

?I am sure we will investigate because we investigate all charges against us, and we?ll take it from there,? she said.

The foundation, according to its website, is a ?nonprofit, charitable organization providing free legal aid to employees whose human or civil rights have been violated by abuses of compulsory unionism.?

The Machinists had originally charged that Boeing had violated federal law by deciding to build the North Charleston factory as ?retaliation? for earlier labor activities in Washington state.

The foundation filed its charges on behalf of three Charleston-area Boeing employees who had earlier opposed unionizing there, the foundation release said.

NLRB Acting General Counsel Laef Solomon dropped charges against Boeing Dec. 9, two days after the union approved a four-year contract extension with the company Dec. 7.

STEVE WILHELM covers manufacturing, aerospace and trade for the Puget Sound Business Journal. Phone: 206-876-5427 | Email: swilhelm@bizjournals.com | Twitter: stevewilhelm108 Click here to sign up for the PSBJ Daily Update.

Source: http://feeds.bizjournals.com/~r/bizj_seattle/~3/m1t6N4A8stM/anti-union-group-files-case-against.html

vt vt cleveland browns fred thompson fred thompson los angeles angels los angeles angels

Crosby still out as Pens host Jagr, Flyers (AP)

PITTSBURGH ? When Jaromir Jagr chose to sign with the Philadelphia Flyers over the summer after a three-year sabbatical, the 39-year-old Russian knew it wouldn't go over well in Pittsburgh.

And to be honest, he doesn't care.

Jagr will make his first appearance in Pittsburgh since his return to the league following a three-year absence on Thursday when the Penguins host the Flyers. He understands there will be some animosity. He also doesn't care.

"To me, it doesn't matter," Jagr said. "I just play every game the same -- Pittsburgh, Rangers, Tampa Bay. It doesn't matter."

Yet he knows he'll hear it from the Consol Energy Center crowd. It's to be expected considering the way he toyed with the Penguins in the offseason. Jagr hinted over the summer that he'd be interested in returning to the city where he won a pair of Stanley Cups alongside Mario Lemieux two decades ago. Yet he joined the hated Flyers instead, in part because the Flyers offered more money.

Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma was intrigued about the possibility of pairing Jagr and star Sidney Crosby. Instead Crosby remains sidelined with concussion-like symptoms while Jagr is playing as if he never left the NHL. Jagr enters the game with 30 points (11 goals, 19 assists) in 31 games for Philadelphia.

Bylsma is curious to see how Jagr is received, but isn't exactly expecting Jagr to be rattled.

"It's not the first time that Jaromir Jagr has come into a building and not been liked," Bylsma said. "I'm sure he's going to expect it and hear it. You hear players who hear the crowd and feed off it as well."

Jagr isn't the only former Penguin to trade black-and-yellow for the Flyers' orange-and-white. Winger Max Talbot, a popular figure who helped the Penguins win the 2009 Stanley Cup, left as a free agent over the summer to join Philadelphia.

The venom for Talbot, however, will likely be muted compared to the welcome awaiting Jagr.

Don't expect Jagr to try do something extra to quiet things down.

"That would be the worst thing ... to show somebody you still have it," Jagr said. "I don't to prove anything to anybody; I don't think I'd be playing my game if I wanted to show somebody."

The Penguins have certainly seen enough.

"We see a lot of highlights," Bylsma said. "You what he's been able to do for their (power play). What he's been able to do for (Claude) Giroux has been very good. Those are a lot of things they've saw him doing with our team with a (Evgeni) Malkin and a Crosby."

Instead the Penguins will face their two old friends without Crosby, who hasn't played since Dec. 5 after having a recurrence of concussion-like symptoms. Bylsma said Wednesday that his 24-year-old captain is going through "light exercise" but remains sidelined indefinitely.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111228/ap_on_sp_ho_ne/hkn_penguins_old_faces

new orleans jazz fest dwight howard louis ck michelle duggar heisman cp3 lakers news

McDonald's and the legal academy

Get your copy today! My new book tackles the question of why so many bad ideas come from the law schools. "Cutting-edge commentary, hard-hitting, witty, astute." -- Publisher's Weekly. "Excellent... A fine dissection of these strangely powerful institutions" -- Wall Street Journal.

Source: http://overlawyered.com/2011/12/mcdonalds-and-the-legal-academy/

live with regis and kelly heavy d funeral oklahoma state university osu football osu football christopher walken ok state

European stocks edge up, euro stuck before Italy auction (Reuters)

LONDON (Reuters) ? European stocks crept higher on Tuesday, catching the tailwind of a pre-holiday U.S. rally, while the euro was hamstrung by the prospect of a large Italian debt auction later in the week.

Oil prices were buoyed by positive U.S. jobs and housing data late last week as well as the prospect of sanctions against Syria choking off production there.

At 1130 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 (.FTEU3) index of top European shares was up 0.2 percent at 992 points. Stock markets in Britain, Hong Kong and Australia remained closed.

Asian shares eased as investors squared positions before U.S. markets reopen after a long weekend, leaving the MSCI world equity index (.MIWD00000PUS) fractionally higher on the day.

U.S. stock futures pointed to a steady start on Wall Street.

"With U.S. and European players in holiday mood, there is no incentive except for year-end position adjustments," said Hirokazu Yuihama, senior strategist at Daiwa Capital Markets.

"But concerns about euro zone debt will resurface ... with the focus on refinancing needs facing Italy and Spain, and whether sovereign yields of these countries would shoot above levels considered unsustainable," he said.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) slipped 0.3 percent and has shed 17 percent so far this year. It has underperformed the pan-European index, which is down 12 percent. Japan's Nikkei stock average (.N225) closed down 0.5 percent and has also lost 17 percent this year.

The euro traded at $1.3075, little changed on the day. A fall below $1.2945, a level touched earlier in the month, would take the single currency to its weakest since January.

German government bond futures were up 33 ticks due to investors seeking safe harbour ahead of Thursday's Italian debt auction to raise up to 8.5 billion euros via three- and 10-year bonds.

"I think there could be some downside risks for the euro. (Thursday's auction) will be more of a test of the market, given that the bonds auctioned are longer maturities," said Sverre Holbek, currency strategist at Danske in Copenhagen.

"A further rise in Italian yields should almost certainly be euro negative, and thin liquidity may exacerbate the move."

Italian 10-year borrowing costs rose 8 basis points on the day to 7.10 percent, a level viewed as unsustainable in the long-run for a country facing a national debt of around 120 percent of GDP. It faces around 150 billion euros of debt refinancing in February-April alone.

HOPES FOR U.S.

After upbeat U.S. reports last week, investors will be looking for more positive signs when the S&P Case-Shiller house price index for October and consumer confidence data for December are released later on Tuesday.

U.S. holiday season retail sales were expected to rise 3.8 percent to a record $469.1 billion, the National Retail Federation said, slower than last year's growth but stronger than its pre-season forecast.

Brisk sales would reinforce signs the U.S. economy is recovering, following data showing the number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits hit a 3-1/2-year low in the week before Christmas while new U.S. single-family home sales rose to a seven-month high.

The Standard & Poor's 500 Index (.SPX) broke through its 200-day moving average on Friday after a four-day rally lifted the index into positive territory for the year.

U.S. crude oil futures and gold have been among the top performing assets in 2011, with year-to-date rises of about 9 percent and 12 percent respectively.

Brent crude rose slightly to trade above $108, supported by supply disruptions in Syria and Iranian naval exercises in a key shipping lane, while improved U.S. home sales data and year-end short-covering also supported prices.

Arab League peace monitors arrived in the Syrian city of Homs on Tuesday for a first look after tanks were seen leaving the hotbed of anti-government unrest where hundreds have been killed during nine months of military crackdowns on protesters.

Syrian Oil Minister Sufian Alao said on Saturday that his country's oil production had fallen by about 30 to 35 percent as a result of sanctions imposed on Syria over its nine-month crackdown on anti-government protests.

"Syria could be a support factor for the time being, but we will not see a big climb or rocket high prices because of that," Ken Hasegawa, a derivatives manager with brokerage Newedge in Tokyo, said.

Gold hovered around $1,600 an ounce, as investors stayed on the sidelines in the final week of the year.

(Editing by Patrick Graham)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/eurobiz/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111227/bs_nm/us_markets_global

sugar cookie recipe sugar cookie recipe robert deniro how the grinch stole christmas macaroni and cheese festivus festivus

Sunlight and bunker oil a fatal combination for Pacific herring

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

The 2007 Cosco Busan disaster, which spilled 54,000 gallons of oil into the San Francisco Bay, had an unexpectedly lethal impact on embryonic fish, devastating a commercially and ecologically important species for nearly two years, reports a new study by the University of California, Davis, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The study, to be published the week of Dec. 26 in the early edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggests that even small oil spills can have a large impact on marine life, and that common chemical analyses of oil spills may be inadequate.

"Our research represents a change in the paradigm for oil spill research and detecting oil spill effects in an urbanized estuary," said Gary Cherr, director of the UC Davis Bodega Marine Laboratory and a study co-author.

On the foggy morning of Nov. 7, 2007, when the container ship collided with the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, bunker oil contaminated spawning habitats for the largest U.S. coastal population of Pacific herring?a month before spawning season.

The new study, which analyzed Pacific herring embryos following the spill, highlights the effects of bunker oil on fish embryos in shallow water, the potential significance of sunlight interacting with oil compounds, and the extreme vulnerability of fish in early life stages to spilled oil.

Specifically, the study found that components of Cosco Busan bunker oil accumulated in naturally spawned herring embryos, then interacted with sunlight during low tides to kill the embryos. Laboratory fertilized eggs, caged in deeper waters, were protected from the lethal combination of sunlight and oil, but still showed less severe abnormalities associated with oil exposure.

Crude oil is naturally occurring, liquid petroleum. Bunker oil is a thick fuel oil distilled from crude oil and burned on ships to fuel their engines. It is contaminated with various, sometimes unknown, substances.

The study builds on research following the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill, which released up to 32 million gallons of crude oil into the comparatively pristine environment of Prince William Sound, Alaska. That research established a new paradigm for understanding the effects of oil toxicity on fish at early life stages.

The new study suggests that this old paradigm is inadequate to explain the dramatic, lethal effects of very low levels of oil on fish embryos, even in an urban estuary with preexisting background pollution.

"Based on our previous understanding of the effects of oil on embryonic fish, we didn't think there was enough oil from the Cosco Busan spill to cause this much damage," Cherr said. "And we didn't expect that the ultraviolet light would dramatically increase toxicity in the actual environment, as we might observe in controlled laboratory experiments."

Researchers began the new study in February 2008. They analyzed the levels of oil-based compounds in caged herring embryos at four oiled and two non-oiled subtidal sites, all of which were at least 1 meter below the water's surface. Naturally spawned embryos from shallower sites were also analyzed.

Three months after the spill, caged embryos at oiled sites showed nonlethal heart defects typical of oil exposure.

But embryos from the shallower, intertidal zone not only exhibited the nonlethal heart defects, they also showed surprisingly high rates of dead tissue and mortality unrelated to heart defects.

"These embryos were literally falling apart with high rates of mortality," said Cherr.

In 2008, almost no live larvae hatched from the natural spawn collected from oiled sites.

The high death rates did not seem to be caused by natural or manmade causes unrelated to the spill, the researchers report. No toxicity was observed in embryos from unoiled sites, even those near major highways.

Embryos sampled two years later from oiled sites showed modest heart defects but no increased death rates.

Pacific herring is a commercially and ecologically important species. The fish travel in large schools, typically from the San Francisco Bay north to the Bering Sea, and serve as a forage fish for humpback whales, other mammals, birds and salmon. After two years at sea, they spawn in shallow areas of bays and estuaries.

"In San Francisco, herring is one of the last urban fisheries, and herring is an indicator for the health of the Bay," said Cherr.

###

University of California - Davis: http://www.ucdavis.edu

Thanks to University of California - Davis for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

This press release has been viewed 48 time(s).

Source: http://www.labspaces.net/116325/Sunlight_and_bunker_oil_a_fatal_combination_for_Pacific_herring

voting sharon bialek call of duty elite dragonfly courtney stodden drake take care herman cain accuser

DiscloseTV: Israel: EU paying lip service over Iran http://t.co/zqnzjGbI #news #breakingnews

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

• Connexion
• Rejoignez Twitter !

Israel: EU paying lip service over Iran bit.ly/rMrkIV #news #breakingnews Il y a environ 2 heures via twitterfeed

DiscloseTV

Breaking News

Pied de page

• ? 2011 Twitter
• ? propos de nous
• Contact
• Blog
• Statut
• Ressources
• API
• Entreprises
• Aide
• Offres d'emploi
• Conditions
• Confidentialit?

Source: http://twitter.com/DiscloseTV/statuses/151367659651465216

jfk assassination pie crust recipe heritage foundation dancing with the stars results 2011 ali fedotowsky ali fedotowsky krill oil

North Carolina Tar Heels vs Missouri Tigers LIVE NCAA Football Independence Bowl 2011

[unable to retrieve full-text content]

Source: androidcommunity.com --- Monday, December 26, 2011
Hey NCAAFB Fans ! Watch live NCAAFB match on your PC. Watch AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl game North Carolina vs Missouri will be exiting and interesting. Wellcome to watch North Carolina vs Missouri live NCAAFB match online. Yes man watch your hot sports match North Carolina vs Missouri in a NCAAFB match. Watch North Carolina vs Missouri live streaming NCAAFB match today. Watch this important and favorite match of NCAAFB North Carolina vs Missouri on your PC CLICK HERE TO WATCH North Carolina vs Missouri LIVE NCAA Football Match details NCAA College Football North Carolina vs Missouri Kick off Time : 5:00 PM ET Date: December 26 2011 CLICK HERE TO WATCH North Carolina vs Missouri LIVE NCAA Football Watching sports on the go has never been easier. Watch all the big games, match highlights and player interviews live on any computer! Access all sports all the time! Waiting in the airport or on a long train ride? Watch your favorite sport on your laptop! North Carolina vs Missouri Live Streaming, North Carolina vs Missouri Live Video, North Carolina vs Missouri online, Watch North Carolina vs Missouri NCAA- ...

Source: http://androidcommunity.com/forums/f231/north-carolina-tar-heels-vs-missouri-tigers-live-ncaa-football-independence-bowl-2011-a-83706-new/

bon vivant gop debate republican debate zynga ipo zynga ipo joe arpaio sam hurd arrested

Smart ForTwo EV gets delayed until September, 'unspecified problems' to blame

Bad news for those of you waiting on that updated Smart EV. The faster and longer-lasting third generation city-dweller previously scheduled for delivery in "early 2012," has just been delayed until September. According to Daimler, the culprit is "unspecified problems" at battery cell provider, Li-Tec. But before jumping to explosive conclusions, the auto maker quips there aren't any "technical or quality problems with the batteries." Curious, yet also a bummer, as frankly, a $22,000 EV with 87 miles of range couldn't come soon enough.

Smart ForTwo EV gets delayed until September, 'unspecified problems' to blame originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 26 Dec 2011 13:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink AutoBlog Green  |  Automotive News  | Email this | Comments

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/12/26/smart-fortwo-ev-gets-delayed-until-september-unspecified-probl/

playstation network down martin scorsese kim zolciak kim zolciak jerry sandusky interview white house shooting internet censorship

Hundreds pack Bethlehem church for Christmas Mass

Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Fouad Twal carries the statuette of baby Jesus during the Christmas midnight Mass at the Church of the Nativity, traditionally believed to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ, in the West Bank town of Bethlehem early Sunday, Dec. 25, 2011. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed, Pool)

Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Fouad Twal carries the statuette of baby Jesus during the Christmas midnight Mass at the Church of the Nativity, traditionally believed to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ, in the West Bank town of Bethlehem early Sunday, Dec. 25, 2011. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed, Pool)

Nuns read prayers during the Christmas midnight Mass at the Church of the Nativity, traditionally believed to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ, in the West Bank town of Bethlehem early Sunday, Dec. 25, 2011. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed, Pool)

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas attends the Christmas midnight Mass at the Church of the Nativity, traditionally believed to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ, in the West Bank town of Bethlehem early Sunday, Dec. 25, 2011. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed, Pool)

Christian pilgrim prays during the Christmas midnight Mass at the Church of the Nativity, traditionally believed to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ, in the West Bank town of Bethlehem early Sunday, Dec. 25, 2011. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed, Pool)

Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Fouad Twal leads the Christmas midnight Mass at the Church of the Nativity, traditionally believed to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ, in the West Bank town of Bethlehem early Sunday, Dec. 25, 2011. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed, Pool)

BETHLEHEM, West Bank (AP) ? Hundreds of Christian faithful, defying lashing rains and wind, celebrated Christmas Mass at Jesus' traditional birthplace on Sunday, spirits high despite the gloomy weather.

Worshippers dressed in their holiday best rushed under cover of umbrellas into St. Catherine's Church on Manger Square, leaving the plaza, with its 50-foot-tall (15-meter-tall) Christmas tree, deserted. The church was packed, and the overflow crowd waited eagerly in an arched corridor for a chance to enter.

Inside, supplicants, some dressed in the traditional attire of foreign lands, raised their voices in prayer, kissed a plaster statue of a baby Jesus and took communion. St. Catherine's is attached to the smaller Church of the Nativity, which is built over a grotto where devout Christians believe Jesus was born.

"Lots of pilgrims from around the world are coming to be here on Christmas," said Don Moore, 41, a psychology professor from Berkeley, Calif., who came to Bethlehem with his family. "We wanted to be part of the action. This is the place, this is where it all started. It doesn't get any more special than that."

With turnout at its highest in more than a decade, proud Palestinian officials said they were praying the celebrations would bring them closer to their dream of independence.

Bethlehem, like the rest of the West Bank, had fallen onto hard times after the Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation broke out in late 2000.

Although civil affairs in the biblical town on Jerusalem's southeastern outskirts are run by Palestinian authorities, security control remains in the hands of Israel, which built a barrier around three sides of the town to keep Palestinian attackers out.

Palestinians say the barrier has badly hurt its economy, which depends heavily on tourism, by severely restricting movement in and out of the town.

But as the violence has subsided, tourists have returned in large numbers. An estimated 100,000 visitors streamed into Manger Square on Christmas Eve, up from 70,000 the previous year, according to the Israeli military's count.

With the barrier looming large over the celebrations in Bethlehem, Palestinians have tried to draw attention to their quest for an independent state with this year's Christmas slogan, "Palestine celebrating hope."

Late Saturday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told a meeting of Christian leaders that he is committed to reaching peace with Israel.

"I hope they will come back to their senses and understand that we are seekers of peace, not seekers of war or terrorism," said Abbas, a Muslim like most Palestinians. "The mosque, church and synagogue stand side by side in this Holy Land."

Israel had allowed about 500 members of Gaza's tiny Christian minority to travel through its territory to the West Bank to celebrate Christmas in Bethlehem. Most of Gaza's 3,000 Christians belong to the Greek Orthodox denomination, which celebrates Christmas next month.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2011-12-25-ML-Holy-Land-Christmas/id-57403cdac5d24e88bc4580ff8e71d5fd

bil keane storm in alaska storm in alaska asteroid eric johnson eric johnson russell pearce

James Westbrook, 78, Fort Walton Beach, Florida

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

Source: http://wala.tributes.com/show/James-Westbrook-92977207

san diego weather tropic thunder justin bieber baby justin bieber baby credit unions tower heist reviews recursion

Study linking virus and chronic fatigue retracted

NEW YORK (AP) ? A prestigious scientific journal is retracting a controversial 2009 report that linked chronic fatigue syndrome to a virus.

In an unusual move, the journal Science is taking that step on its own. Normally, authors retract their own research papers when serious problems arise after publication.

But Science has lost confidence in the report and the validity of its conclusions, editor-in-chief Bruce Alberts writes in Friday's issue. He said most of the authors have agreed in principle to retract the paper "but they have been unable to agree on the wording of their statement." A retraction signed by all the authors "is unlikely to be forthcoming," Alberts wrote.

Chronic fatigue syndrome is characterized by severe fatigue for at least six months, impaired memory and other symptoms.

The 2009 paper, from scientists at the Whittemore Peterson Institute in Reno, Nev., the Cleveland Clinic and the National Cancer Institute, reported finding a virus called XMRV in blood cells of some patients with chronic fatigue syndrome. That raised hope that a cause of the mysterious illness had been found, although other viral suspects over the years had proven to be false leads.

But follow-up studies found no evidence of such a link. Last May, Science published two reports suggesting the original finding was due to lab contamination.

At the time, Alberts published a statement declaring that the validity of the study was "now seriously in question."

Then in September, the authors retracted some of the data, citing contamination.

In his statement on the full retraction, Alberts said the authors had also acknowledged omitting important information about the study's procedures in an illustration of some lab results.

Robert Silverman of the Cleveland Clinic, one of the paper's 13 authors, said in a statement Thursday that he was pleased by the full retraction. He said he had sought one this summer after finding that blood samples were contaminated.

Through a spokeswoman, another study author, Francis Ruscetti of the cancer institute, declined to comment.

Annette Whittemore, president of the Whittemore institute, said in a statement that her organization remains committed to discovering the roots of the disorder. "It is not the end of the story, rather it is the beginning of our renewed efforts," she said. "We ... look forward to the rigorous review of our scientific research."

A key figure in the research, Judy Mikovits, is no longer with the Whittemore institute.

___

Online:

Science: http://www.sciencemag.org

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2011-12-22-Chronic%20Fatigue/id-fdd408b951a14ca2b2abcb644c2ccf3a

harp harp world series game 5 moammar gadhafi harry connick jr rightnow bf3

Texas City: Teen suspects sought in attempted home invasion

by Chris Paschenko/ The Daily News

khou.com

Posted on December 21, 2011 at 8:47 AM

TEXAS CITY ??Officers surrounded an apartment complex Tuesday morning, searching for a pair of boys suspected of trying to kick in a resident?s door, authorities said.

Texas City police responded to a burglary-in-progress call shortly after 11 a.m. at Green Meadows apartments, 3501 25th Ave. N., police Capt. Brian Goetschius said.

"This was a couple of juveniles that tried to get into an apartment," Texas City police Chief Robert Burby said. "They found the owner home and fled."

Police believed the boys were between 12 and 15, Burby said.

Click here for more on this story from The Galveston County Daily News.

Source: http://www.khou.com/news/neighborhood-news/Texas-City-Teen-suspects-sought-in-attempted-home-invasion-135993498.html

google music willis mcgahee willis mcgahee 2013 ford escape stop online piracy act protect ip act spear of destiny

Foundation Announces Free College Tuition for Buffalo Students

BUFFALO, N.Y. - Christmas came early to kids in?Buffalo public?schools on Tuesday.

Starting with this year's junior class, any kid that graduates will have their tuition paid for to any SUNY school.

George Weiss is the philanthropist who founded the "Say Yes To Education" program.

Buffalo is the second city in the state to be chosen for the program, which?will provide $100 million in scholarships over the next 20 years.

Scott Brown:?"Do you know how many problems and how dysfunctional the educational system here is?"

George Weiss: "What makes it work is a city realizing what they've done hasn't worked and they are suddenly about change. This is the only way people put aside their political differences."

School Board President Lou Petrucci:?"We hope it improves attendance, we hope it improves grade point average, we hope it improves their graduation rate, we hope it improves everything."

Scott Brown:?"How much more incentive does this give you to do well in school?"

Terrel Harris, Performing Arts student: "It definitely gives us a lot to see that we have a purpose, that we can do stuff in the future and that college is there, it's a reachable goal."

The "Say Yes" program also insists that it have a major say in how the school system is run in terms of curriculum, tutoring, and summer school.

Syracuse was the first city in the state to get the program. It now has over 100 colleges - SUNY and private schools - taking part in the program.

Starting in January, members of the Bufffalo Say Yes program will begin to negotiate with local private colleges to say whether they'll take part in the program.

The program is funded through the Say Yes Foundation and local foundations and donors.

?

?

?

?

?

?

?

?

?

?

?

?

?

?

?

?

?

?

?

?

?

?

?

?

?

?

?

?

?

?

?

?

The organization Say Yes to Education is partnering with the Buffalo Public Schools to invest $15 million into the school system and offer a scholarship for free tuition for students to attend state schools.

The scholarship is part of a "promise" fund for students in the Buffalo Public School system to cover up to 100% of their tuition at a SUNY school. The class of 2013 will be the first class eligible for the scholarships.

The tuition is offered to students who complete all four years of high school. Nearly 1,000 students have received scholarship in Syracuse where the program has been operating for four years.

Source: http://southbuffalo.wgrz.com/news/news/61805-foundation-announces-free-college-tuition-buffalo-students

veterans barbados resorts the call helen mirren surrogates surrogates james garner

How Best Buy Stole Christmas

"I wouldn't touch you with a thirty-nine-and-a-half foot pole." There's a bit of inherent risk when shopping online. You're handing over your credit card to a retailer that promises to ship you something in return. Most of the time transactions are completed without issue and orders are fulfilled as promised. Sometimes things go awry, though. And sometimes Best Buy ruins Christmas. Best Buy started reaching out to customers earlier this week -- you know, mere days before Christmas -- that the retailer was unable to fulfill orders placed as far back as November. Big Blue was sorry but they were canceling the affected orders. Happy holidays! Signed, your merry friends at Best Buy!

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/9cMLzCHcafg/

nhl realignment nhl realignment kristin chenoweth country music awards new earth light year light year

Will Real-Life Google Goggles Replace Your Dorky Eyeglasses? [Rumors]

Recently there have been reports that Google is working on wearable computing. But the latest rumor suggests that it's actually planning to gives us all our own heads-up displays. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/NLu-c-VETCQ/will-real+life-google-goggles-replace-your-dorky-eyeglasses

college football scores arkansas razorbacks arkansas football maggie daley black friday online deals black friday news gamestop

AP source: Paterno out of hospital, improving (AP)

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. ? Joe Paterno has been released from the hospital and has shown improvement after being treated for lung cancer, a person close to the former Penn State coach's family said Monday.

ESPN, citing an anonymous source, first reported Paterno's release.

Paterno's tumor was showing substantial reduction following radiation and chemotherapy, according to the person who spoke on condition of anonymity Monday to The Associated Press due to the family's desire for privacy. He was released Sunday.

Paterno, who turns 85 on Wednesday, was admitted last week after breaking his pelvis again in a fall at home. Doctors kept him hospitalized to make it easier to administer cancer treatments while he recovered from the fracture.

He initially injured his pelvis and right shoulder in August after getting blindsided accidentally by a receiver during preseason practice. The injuries kept Paterno in the press box most of the season before trustees fired him Nov. 9 in the aftermath of child sex abuse charges against retired assistant coach Jerry Sandusky.

Paterno testified before a grand jury investigating Sandusky, but prosecutors have said he is not a target of the investigation. Sandusky, who has pleaded not guilty, is awaiting trial.

Paterno hasn't spoken publicly since his firing. He was diagnosed with cancer several days later during a follow-up visit to the doctor for a bronchial illness, his family has said.

The person close to the family told the AP on Monday that Paterno was in great spirits while continuing to fight the illness.

Earlier Monday, Penn State fullback Michael Zordich said a few players visited Paterno in recent weeks.

"He's a strong person, a fighter, a leader," Zordich said before practice. "He's been going through a lot right now ... We're giving him space, and we'll go see him when can. Hopefully we can get there soon."

Longtime defensive coordinator Tom Bradley said he has not spoken with Paterno since the day after he was appointed the interim head coach. Bradley, who is applying for the job permanently, gets updates from Paterno's son, quarterback coach Jay Paterno.

"I know what (Joe Paterno) is going to say. `Tom, you're wasting your time. You know what you've got to do,'" Bradley said Monday.

Paterno has called the allegations against Sandusky troubling and urged the public to let the legal process unfold. He initially announced his retirement taking effect at the end of the season.

In his retirement statement, Paterno called the scandal "one of the great sorrows of my life. With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more." The trustees fired him anyway, about 12 hours later.

The Nittany Lions' head coach for 46 seasons, Paterno amassed 409 career victories ? a Division I record.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111220/ap_on_sp_co_ne/fbc_penn_state_paterno

lavar arrington hope solo dancing with the stars hope solo dancing with the stars jack wagner matt jones snow white and the huntsman trailer snow white and the huntsman trailer

Bieber stages concert at low-income Vegas school (AP)

LAS VEGAS ? Fifth-grader Jolie Leach says she "was gonna explode" with excitement when Justin Bieber performed a concert at her Las Vegas school, and vowed she'd never wash her hand after he gave her a high-five.

Leach was one of hundreds who showed clear symptoms of Bieber fever after the 17-year-old teen pop sensation staged a private show Friday at low-income Whitney Elementary School. The concert was filmed for an episode of "The Ellen Degeneres Show" and came two months after Bieber promised the school's 650 students a $100,000 donation.

"He really came for us. I'm so glad that he really came for us," said fourth-grader Kynedi Harris, holding a fluffy white stuffed dog picked from a truckload of toys Bieber distributed at his show.

Tucked in a downtrodden neighborhood on the east side of Las Vegas, Whitney Elementary has garnered publicity, including a September segment on Degeneres' show, for providing needy students' families with food, clothes, money for utility bills ? and just about everything in between.

Principal Sherrie Gahn said more than 85 percent of the school's 600-plus students receive free or reduced-price lunch. The school also has one of the highest homeless student populations in the Clark County School District.

Gahn, who said she used to see students pocketing ketchup packets from the cafeteria in hopes of having dinner at night, told "The Ellen Degeneres Show" she made a pact with families after she arrived about eight years ago.

"I'll pay your electrical bill, your utilities, I'll give you food or clothes, whatever you need, as long as you give me your child and then help raise that child as a person of character," she said.

Families at the school told the show Gahn has stayed true to her promise. One girl said Gahn provided her with a bed. A mother said the principal bought her son glasses. Another mother said the school provided her children with Christmas presents when she planned to skip the gift-giving.

Gahn said most of the donations come from individuals or businesses, and she said the show has brought hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations and an outpouring of support from across the country. The school also posts a "wish list" on its website, asking for granola bars, pop-top cans of soup and other non-perishable foods that homeless students can eat for dinner or over the weekend.

Bieber's gift matches a $100,000 donation from Target that was announced on the September TV special about the school. Most of the money will be used to continue basic support ? such as rent assistance ? to keep families off the street and children coming to class.

"My biggest motivator for the kids and the thought and the hope that they don't have to live in this existence when they grow up ? that they break the cycle," Gahn said.

Inside the closed event, Gahn said Bieber toured the campus and told students the story of his family's own financial struggles, including visits to a food bank when he was young. He performed songs from his Christmas album, "Under the Mistletoe," and invited the crowd to dance along to his hit "Baby."

Outside, dozens of squealing high school girls with camera phones jockeyed for a glimpse of the star as he was rushed into the building. Brittany Ellis, 14, had pulled out a scrap of paper just in time for a mobbed Bieber to autograph, and was showing her friends an indecipherable pencil scrawl.

Another girl, 17-year-old Kiersten Umberger, said she nearly cried when she saw Bieber.

"It was the best moment of my life," she said.

Teens from the neighborhood say the worn area is quiet, and certainly not the typical Vegas haunt for celebrities.

But parents and school officials said they were as grateful for the gifts from Bieber and Degeneres as the children were starstruck.

"In a world where these kids live in that things are not always their own or they're taken away," Gahn said, "they gave them memories that no one can ever take."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111217/ap_en_ot/us_people_justin_bieber

christmas tree tax cmas cmas world series of poker joe walsh zsa zsa gabor heavy d dead

Cash Flow

The story of how Jay-Z acquired that fortune ? as the subtitle says, making the move ?from street corner to corner office? ? is well told in Zack O?Malley Greenburg?s slender but entertaining Empire State of Mind. Tales of how artists rose from difficult backgrounds to stardom are familiar, as are accounts of how entrepreneurs built business empires from nothing. What is striking about the Jay-Z saga is that it is both. A teenager growing up with an absent father in a tough New York housing estate in the 1980s, Shawn Carter, as he was born, became a crack dealer and continued selling even as he tried to get his music career off the ground in the early 1990s. (His performing name comes from the intersection of the J and Z subway lines near the Marcy Houses ? typically dour, brown New York public housing in six-storey apartment buildings ? where he grew up.) Today, as O?Malley Greenburg puts it, ?As much as Martha Stewart or Oprah [Winfrey], he has turned himself into a lifestyle.? Jay-Z?s personal brand has been extended to clothes, shoes, cologne, Manhattan?s Spotted Pig restaurant and the New Jersey Nets basketball team, through licensing deals and shareholdings. The common thread is that ?Jay-Z has a nose for money?. In whatever form his entrepreneurship has manifested itself, as a crack dealer, a rapper or an executive, he has had an acute sense of commercial opportunities, and the determination to exploit them to the full.

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=4116e51443c4bd71e5ef2f131651a40b

oakland texas judge texas judge tom brokaw maria shriver andy irons ethan zohn

Libya to allow UK police to probe Lockerbie: minister (Reuters)

LONDON (Reuters) ? The Libyan government will allow British police to go to Libya to investigate the 1988 Lockerbie bombing and the unsolved 1984 killing of a policewoman in London, a British minister said on Thursday.

Foreign Office Minister Alistair Burt, who held talks with Libyan ministers in Tripoli last week, said the Libyan government had given permission for British police to carry out fresh investigations into the two shadowy episodes that occurred under the rule of late strongman Muammar Gaddafi.

"I have absolute confidence that the police from Dumfries and Galloway (in Scotland) and the Metropolitan Police (in London) will be going back to Libya to get their investigations going again and they will be given a positive opportunity to do so by the Libyan authorities," Burt told Reuters in a telephone interview.

Burt, the Foreign Office minister responsible for North Africa and the Middle East, said no date had been set yet for a police visit, noting that Libyan authorities had a lot of other issues to deal with in a turbulent post-Gaddafi transition.

But he said that in his talks with Libyan Interior Minister Fawzi Abd al All and Foreign Minister Ashour bin Hayal, both had recognized the importance of the so-called "legacy" issues.

They include the bombing of a U.S. airliner over Lockerbie, Scotland, the killing of policewoman Yvonne Fletcher outside the Libyan embassy in London and Libyan aid for Irish Republican Army guerrillas during 30 years of violence in Northern Ireland.

Fletcher, 25, died after being hit by a shot fired from the embassy during a demonstration against Gaddafi. After an 11-day siege, 30 Libyans in the embassy were deported and no one was ever charged with her killing.

Libyan Abdel Basset al-Megrahi was convicted in 2001 of playing a "significant part in planning and perpetrating" the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie that killed 270 people, including 189 Americans.

He was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum jail term of 27 years but was returned to Libya in August 2009 after being freed from a Scottish jail on the grounds he was suffering from terminal prostate cancer. He remains alive today.

The decision angered many victims' relatives and strained traditionally strong ties between Britain and the United States, with some U.S. politicians asking whether it had been designed to help oil giant BP secure contracts in Libya.

Prime Minister David Cameron, who took office in May 2010, has called the release a mistake. However, Scotland has responsibility for its own legal system following devolution in 1999.

In August, a British newspaper said Libyan officials knew the whereabouts of a former diplomat wanted for Fletcher's killing. In the same month, officials from Libya's National Transitional Council (NTC) gave conflicting statements about whether they would permit any suspect to be tried abroad.

Britain played a leading role in the NATO air campaign that helped NTC fighters topple Gaddafi in August.

(Reporting by Adrian Croft)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/britain/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111215/wl_nm/us_libya_britain

exotic animals exotic animals scott hall lra lra collegeboard kelsey grammer

Washington, Vernon say they're leaving Miami early (AP)

CORAL GABLES, Fla. ? Miami officials announced Friday that offensive lineman Brandon Washington and defensive end Olivier Vernon are skipping their final college seasons for the NFL draft.

Washington was one of nine players to start all 12 games for the Hurricanes this past season. Miami has now had five underclassmen declare for the 2012 draft, including running back Lamar Miller, wide receiver Tommy Streeter and defensive lineman Marcus Forston.

Vernon was suspended for the first six games this season after an investigation showed he took extra benefits from a former booster during the recruiting process. He had 18 tackles in six games this season with the Hurricanes.

Miami is losing two other offensive line starters to graduation, along with quarterback Jacory Harris and top linebacker Sean Spence.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111216/ap_on_sp_co_ne/fbc_miami_players_leaving

steve williams mike wallace mike wallace koch brothers dash diet weather phoenix dippin dots

Bradys vs Tebows in spotlight (AP)

In honor of Pro Picks' skill at picking Best Bets ? 2-12 against the spread, no winners since Week 6 ? we offer a Worst Bet to go along with it this week.

First, though, a look at the juiciest game on the schedule, the Bradys vs. the Tebows, uh, the Patriots against the Broncos in Denver.

For those still in wonderment over the Broncos' six-game winning streak built on a solid defense and the magic of quarterback Tim Tebow late in games, Patriots coach Bill Belichick offers this:

"We brought Tim in and spent a whole day with him here, in addition to our other interactions with him. He's an impressive young man. He had great success in college. I think all his attributes are pretty well documented. He's a strong guy, smart, works hard, a great leader, great football character."

Sounds like Belichick is a believer, too. But his Patriots can clinch the AFC East with a win. New England's defense has been torn up by two weak offenses, Indianapolis and Washington, the last two weeks, yet the Patriots still have won five in a row. Win this and Belichick can tool with the D as the playoffs approach.

Las Vegas doesn't adhere to Tebowmania, apparently, making New England a 6-point favorite. We sort of believe ? by a point.

PATRIOTS, 23-18

As for the Best Bet ? and Worst Bet:

Cleveland (plus 7) at Arizona

Browns come off long layoff, which won't help against streaking Cardinals.

BEST BET: CARDINALS, 27-14

New York Jets (plus 2 1-2) at Philadelphia

Jets are 0-8 against Eagles. Make it 0-9.

But it's so dangerous to trust Philly.

WORST BET: EAGLES, 21-17

Detroit (minus 1) at Oakland

Raiders must send Lions into Black Hole or forget about postseason.

UPSET SPECIAL: RAIDERS, 24-23

Jacksonville (plus 11) at Atlanta, Thursday night

Falcons can put vice grip on wild-card berth.

FALCONS, 28-15

Dallas (minus 7) at Tampa Bay, Saturday night

So close to being comfortable, Dallas now is desperate.

COWBOYS, 27-17

Washington (plus 7) at New York Giants

If Giants win out, they are in playoffs. Nice place to start.

GIANTS, 30-20

Green Bay (minus 13 1-2) at Kansas City

At least Todd Haley won't have to watch this from the sideline.

PACKERS, 33-13

New Orleans (minus 7) at Minnesota

Saints won't need missed call by officials on last play to win.

SAINTS, 33-13

Baltimore (minus 2 1-2) at San Diego

Ravens are league's most-balanced team, but struggle on road.

RAVENS, 21-20

Seattle (plus 4) at Chicago

Both teams trying to stay in wild-card chase. Bears barely will.

BEARS, 16-13

Carolina (plus 6 1-2) at Houston

With first playoff berth secured, Texans seek AFC's top seed.

TEXANS, 31-20

Tennessee (minus 6 1-2) at Indianapolis

Two years ago, Colts were unbeaten at this point. They remain winless ...

TITANS, 17-14

Cincinnati (minus 6 1-2) at St. Louis

If things break right, Bengals can take control of final wild-card again.

BENGALS, 20-7

Pittsburgh (OFF) at San Francisco, Monday night

Wonder what the spread would have been if Ben Roethlisberger was healthy.

49ERS, 20-17

Miami (OFF) at Buffalo

Lovely way to spend a December afternoon for Floridians.

DOLPHINS, 16-13

___

RECORD:

Against spread: 6-7 (overall 101-89-4); straight up 12-4 (overall 135-73).

Best Bet: 2-12 against spread, 9-5 straight up.

Upset Special: 9-5 against spread, 7-7 straight up.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111214/ap_on_sp_fo_ne/fbn_pro_picks

robert wagner live with regis and kelly heavy d funeral oklahoma state university osu football osu football christopher walken

Russia scrambles to save some 100 trapped whales (AP)

MOSCOW ? Russian agencies are scrambling to some 100 beluga whales ? an endangered species ? that are trapped among large chunks of polar ice floating in the frigid Bering Sea.

Russia's nature protection watchdog says there is a chance that the whales might perish. Authorities say the ice is 10-15 centimeters (4-6 inches) thick and is preventing the whales from reaching the open sea where they can swim freely.

Russia's Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology said Thursday that it has asked the Transportation Ministry for help and that an inter-departmental group is working on how to save the whales.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature listed the beluga whale as an endangered species in 2008.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111215/ap_on_re_eu/eu_russia_trapped_whales

brandon lloyd brandon lloyd publishers clearing house scare tactics stacy keibler stacy keibler dancing with the stars season 13 cast

Dems may drop millionaires tax in year-end dispute (AP)

WASHINGTON ? Democrats may jettison their demand for higher taxes on millionaires as part of legislation to extend Social Security tax cuts for most Americans, officials said Wednesday as President Barack Obama and Congress struggled to clear critical year-end bills without triggering a partial government shutdown.

Republicans, too, signaled an eagerness to avoid gridlock and adjourn for the holidays. With a massive, $1 trillion funding bill blocked by Democrats, GOP lawmakers and aides floated the possibility of a backup measure to keep the government in operation for several days after the money runs out Friday night.

It all comes at the close of a year of divided government ? with a tea party-flavored majority in the House and Obama's allies in the Senate ? that has veered from near- catastrophe to last-minute compromise repeatedly since last January.

The rhetoric Wednesday was biting at times.

"We have fiddled all year long, all year," the Republican leader, Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, complained in a less-than-harmonious exchange on the Senate floor with Majority Leader Harry Reid. McConnell accused Democrats of "routinely setting up votes designed to divide us ... to give the president a talking point out on the campaign trail."

Reid shot back that McConnell had long ago declared Obama's defeat to be his top priority. And he warned that unless Republicans show a willingness to bend, the country faces a government shutdown "that will be just as unpopular" as the two that occurred when Newt Gingrich was House speaker more than a decade ago.

It was a reminder ? as if McConnell and current Speaker John Boehner of Ohio needed one ? of the political debacle that ensued for Republicans when Gingrich was outmaneuvered in a showdown with former President Bill Clinton.

At issue now are three year-end bills that Obama and leaders in both parties in Congress say they want. One would extend expiring Social Security payroll tax cuts and benefits for the long-term unemployed, provisions at the heart of Obama's jobs program. Another is the $1 trillion spending measure that would lock in cuts that Republicans won earlier in the year. The third measure is a $662 billion defense bill setting policy for military personnel, weapons systems and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, plus national security programs in the Energy Department.

After a two-day silence, the White House said Obama would sign the measure despite initial concern over a provision requiring the military to take custody of any suspect deemed to be a member of al-Qaida or its affiliates and involved in plotting or committing attacks on the United States. U.S. citizens would be exempt.

Reid and other top Democratic senators met with Obama at the White House at mid-afternoon, and congressional aides said the topic was the end-of-year legislation.

Democrats have made the proposed millionaires' tax central to their plan for the payroll tax cut extension, and officials stressed no decision had been made on whether to drop it. They spoke on condition of anonymity to talk about legislative strategy.

Any such move would represent a concession to the Republicans in both houses who are opposed to the surtax. But it could also require Democrats to agree to politically painful savings elsewhere in the budget to replace the estimated $140 billion the tax would have raised over a decade.

In its most recent form, the surtax would have slapped a 1.9 percent tax on income in excess of $1 million, with the proceeds helping pay for the extension of tax cuts for 160 million workers. Senate Democrats have twice forced votes on the proposal in what officials have described as a political maneuver designed to force GOP lawmakers to choose between protecting the wealthy on the one hand and extending tax cuts for millions on the other.

Wednesday's maneuvering occurred the day after the House passed a payroll tax extension that contained no higher taxes. That House measure drew a veto threat from Obama that cited spending cuts the White House said would harm the middle class without requiring a sacrifice from the wealthy.

The bill would extract nearly $43 billion from the year-old health care bill; extend a pay freeze on federal employees while also increasing their pension contributions and raise Medicare premiums on seniors with incomes over $80,000 beginning in 2017. It also would raise a fee that is charged to banks whose mortgages are guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Obama's veto message also alluded to a requirement for the construction of an oil pipeline from Canada to Texas that Republicans said would create 20,000 jobs. The provision is designed to force the administration's hand, since Obama announced recently that despite three years of review under two administrations, he was putting off a decision until after the election.

The measure would permit Obama to block the Keystone XL project if he deemed its construction to be not in the national interest.

The House-passed bill also includes an extension of unemployment benefits that would scale back what is currently in place. The White House said 3.3 million people would be cut off under its terms. Another part of the bill, to block proposed regulations limiting toxic emissions from industrial incinerators, drew objections from the White House.

The legislation would avert a threatened 27 percent cut in payments to doctors who treat Medicare patients, and Obama and Democrats are willing to accept that.

___

Associated Press writers Donna Cassata, Alan Fram and Andrew Taylor contributed to this story

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111214/ap_on_go_co/us_congress_rdp

chris bosh world series october 28 2011 october 28 2011 jenelle evans jenelle evans miami hurricanes

Mixed messages? Syrian concessions, show of force

David R Arnott writes

Mixed messages emanated from Syria on Monday. At the same time as the government announced that it will comply with an Arab League request that aims to enforce a cease-fire, state media released images of weekend war games and declared that troops were "ready to defend the nation and deter anyone who dares to endanger its security."

The Associated Press reports from DAMASCUS, Syria:

Syria has accepted an Arab League request to send observers to the country in an effort to end its eight-month crisis, a move that could ease Arab sanctions on Damascus, the foreign ministry spokesman said Monday.

The Syrian statement came after Damascus announced it has conducted wide military maneuvers over the weekend in an apparent show of force as President Bashar Assad's regime defies pressures over its deadly crackdown on opponents.

Syria's state-run media said military war games over the weekend included test-firing of missiles and air force and ground troop operations "similar to a real battle."

Syria's military conducts war game every year but these maneuvers were of a higher-level, combining missile tests, the air force and ground troops.

State TV said the exercise was meant to test "the capabilities and the readiness of missile systems to respond to any possible aggression." Read the full story.

Related content:

Source: http://photoblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/05/9220637-syrian-governments-diplomatic-concession-coincides-with-show-of-force

war eagle war eagle pawn stars restrepo nba news nba news florida gators

John W. Whitehead: America the Battlefield: The End of the Rule of Law (Huffington post)

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

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/170595193?client_source=feed&format=rss

san francisco 49ers san francisco 49ers lauren alaina lowes 49ers best buy black friday bath and body works coupons