Monday, October 31, 2011

Israel-Gaza violence appears to ease after overnight airstrikes

Palestinian rocket fire had spurred Israel-Gaza violence over the weekend, but Hamas ? whose militants were not involved ? seems eager to end the flare-up.

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A bout of weekend violence between Israel and militants in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip appears to be quieting down, bringing relief on both sides. Hamas, still awaiting the release of more than 500 prisoners under a recent prisoner swap deal, appears eager to avoid confrontation with Israel but must also balance pressure from more hard-line militants in the Gaza Strip.

Haaretz reported Sunday night that Israel planned to reopen the Kerem Shalom border crossing, through which goods enter Gaza from Israel, on Monday after keeping it closed Sunday because of the violence.

Israel launched airstrikes on Gaza overnight Sunday, killing two Palestinians who, according to the Israeli Defense Forces, were part of a cell that launched rockets into southern Israel earlier that night.

The Israeli overnight airstrikes came hours after a cease-fire agreement was reportedly reached, only to be immediately broken by the launch of three Kassam rockets into southern Israel close to midnight, according to The Jerusalem Post. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak defended Israel's strikes, saying in an interview with Israeli Army Radio that the IDF "does not pay attention to empty calls for cease-fires from various terrorist groups," according to the Post. Mr. Barak added that the groups need to "actually stop their attacks" for Israel to follow suit.

The latest round of violence began with a rocket launched into Israel from Gaza last week. Israel retaliated with an airstrike on Saturday on the cell that it said was responsible for the rocket earlier in the week, The Christian Science Monitor reports. A tit-for-tat series of Palestinian rockets and Israeli airstrikes ensued. The overnight violence brings the death toll up to 12 Palestinians and one Israeli, according to the Associated Press.

While Islamic Jihad and other Palestinian factions claimed responsibility for the rockets, Israel holds Hamas responsible since it is the political authority in Gaza. In a cabinet meeting Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Hamas ?is responsible for keeping the quiet and preventing fire from Gaza, even if those who carry it out are Islamic Jihad men," according to The Jerusalem Post.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/hhFiEO4_FOE/Israel-Gaza-violence-appears-to-ease-after-overnight-airstrikes

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Mom says son convicted of killings raped as teen (AP)

NEW HAVEN, Conn. ? The mother of a Connecticut man facing a possible death sentence for a brutal fatal home invasion broke down crying Friday as she told jurors her son was raped as a teenager and described her frantic efforts to save him after his behavior changed dramatically.

Jude Komisarjevsky said her son Joshua had run away when he was nearly 15 and when he came home, he looked transformed.

"There was tremendous pain in his expression," she said. "His eyes were absolutely dead."

Komisarjevsky was convicted of killing Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her two daughters in their Cheshire home in July 2007. The girls died of smoke inhalation after the house was doused in gas and set on fire.

He faces life in prison or the death penalty. His accomplice, Steven Hayes, is on death row.

The defense filed a motion to subpoena Komisarjevsky's 9-year-old daughter to testify, possibly by videotape. An attorney for the girl filed a motion to quash the subpoena, and a hearing is planned next week.

His mother, testifying during the sentencing phase of her son's trial, said she didn't know at the time what happened, but noticed her son grew angry and had satanic symbols in his room along with the words "death, die and suicide." She said she learned years later from her son ? when he was in prison ? that he was raped by someone he trusted.

But under cross-examination, prosecutors showed a police report on the incident that made no mention of satanic symbols and asked whether her son could have been under the influence of drugs. Komisarjevsky's mother also said she was describing an incident weeks earlier.

Prosecutors also said Komisarjevsky's defense cited the same incident a decade ago as a possibly contributing factor to 19 burglaries he committed.

Joshua Komisarjevsky was hospitalized a short time later after he set a vacant gas station on fire. The psychiatric hospital recommended he be medicated, but his mother said she was concerned about the drug's effects and that her son would abuse it.

"I wouldn't give that to an enemy," she said. "I've seen the effects of it."

The hospital also wanted to put Komisarjevsky in a program, but his mother said there were insufficient details. She also said they suggested the family give up her son for foster care.

"We weren't giving him up, we were dedicated to him," she said.

Jude Komisarjevsky said she packed suitcases and took her son to New Hampshire to get him into a religious residential treatment program.

"I didn't know what was going to happen, but we were going to save Josh," she said, sobbing.

The defense says Komisarjevsky's deeply religious family opposed psychological counseling or medications that could have helped him. The defense says he was raped for years as a child by a foster teen the family took into their home.

Jude Komisarkevsky also described an incident when her son was about 16.

"He said he saw demons and they were after him," she said.

His mother said she couldn't recall a probation officer recommending her son get a psychiatric evaluation and counseling.

Under cross-examination, she said her son may have had pending court cases when he claimed to see demons.

The defense also showed a series of letters Komisarjevsky wrote to his mother in 1999 after he joined the Army Reserves. He said he was doing well and thanked her for instilling discipline in him.

"Prayer really does work," he wrote. "I'm finding things work out better when you do it God's way."

His mother said her son went through cycles of progress followed by setbacks apparently caused by depression.

"He said because I'm not really worth anything good," she said, crying.

The family's pastor, John Bubar, testified earlier that Komisarjevsky was smart and caring as a teenager, but he admitted he saw only one side of him and was heartbroken by the crime.

Bubar said Komisarjevsky was so smart he could take apart and reassemble engines. He said he would volunteer to help others, such as the time he cut his firewood.

But under cross-examination, he described the home invasion as "horrible" and said he was heartbroken for Komisarjevsky and Dr. William Petit, the victims' husband and father and the sole survivor of the attack.

Prosecutor Michael Dearington reminded jurors that Komisarjevsky was convicted within a few years of 19 nighttime residential burglaries.

Komisarjevsky's mother detailed Christian materials she used to home-school her son. The materials focused heavily on the importance of scripture, moral purity, idolatry and, on a section on rebellion, referred to Satan's downfall.

Komisarjevsky's uncle, Chris, attended the trial Friday and said he and his wife talked to the Petit family "to express our sorrow and to apologize for this horrible crime."

"We support them 100 percent," said his wife, Reina. "Wonderful people."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/crime/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111028/ap_on_re_us/us_home_invasion

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Sunday, October 30, 2011

Score-settling after Libya's war casts shadow

BEST QUALITY AVAILABLE - In this Friday, Oct. 28, 2011 photo, a road sign pointing to the town of Tawergha, a former bastion of support for Moammar Gadhafi, has been painted over with "Misrata," in Arabic, as part of score-settling following Libya's eight-month civil war. Tawergha's roughly 25,000 residents have fled, fearing retribution from the neighboring city of Misrata who suffered at the hands of Tawergha during the war and now vow not to let anyone return there. (AP Photo/Walid Mukhtar)

BEST QUALITY AVAILABLE - In this Friday, Oct. 28, 2011 photo, a road sign pointing to the town of Tawergha, a former bastion of support for Moammar Gadhafi, has been painted over with "Misrata," in Arabic, as part of score-settling following Libya's eight-month civil war. Tawergha's roughly 25,000 residents have fled, fearing retribution from the neighboring city of Misrata who suffered at the hands of Tawergha during the war and now vow not to let anyone return there. (AP Photo/Walid Mukhtar)

(AP) ? This town once loyal to Moammar Gadhafi is no more: its 25,000 residents have fled, fearing retribution from vengeful victors from the neighboring city of Misrata who have burned and ransacked homes, crossed out Tawergha's name on road signs and vowed not to let anyone return.

Tawergha, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) south of Misrata, is just one casualty of score-settling following Libya's 8-month civil war that ended with Gadhafi's Oct. 20 capture and death.

The country's interim leaders have appealed for restraint, but seem unable to control revolutionary forces whose recent vigilante acts, including the suspected killing of Gadhafi while in custody, have begun to tarnish their heroic image abroad.

A Western diplomat said Libya's new leaders need to come out more strongly against the culture of revenge, and hold the former fighters accountable for their actions.

Failure to resolve such conflicts and bring regime supporters, including in the badly damaged loyalist towns of Sirte and Bani Walid, into the fold could destabilize Libya and hamper the attempted transition to democracy, the diplomat warned, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive subject matter.

However, people in Misrata, which was heavily damaged during the war, are in no mood for reconciliation. The port city of 300,000 rose up early against Gadhafi and came under a weekslong siege by Gadhafi fighters, many from Tawergha which served as a staging ground for the loyalists. Nearly 1,300 Misrata residents were killed and thousands wounded in the fighting, city officials say.

Misrata officials have accused the Tawerghans, some of them descendants of African slaves, of particular brutality during the war, including alleged acts of rape and looting. During the siege, Gadhafi fighters sniped at residents from roof tops and shelled the city indiscriminately.

Ibrahim Beitelmal, spokesman for Misrata's military council, said he believes Tawergha should be wiped off the map, but that the final decision is up to the national leadership. "If it was my decision, I would want to see Tawergha gone. It should not exist," said Beitelmal, whose 19-year-old son was killed in the fighting on Tripoli Street.

Misrata fighters captured Tawergha in mid-August, just days before the fall of the capital Tripoli dealt a fatal blow to the Gadhafi regime and forced the dictator into hiding in his hometown of Sirte.

Most of Tawergha's residents fled as the Misrata brigades approached, according to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

For the past two months, Tawergha has been a ghost town, with access roads blocked by earthen mounds and other obstacles. Road signs pointing to Tawergha have been painted over. Misrata brigades have scribbled slogans on the walls of abandoned homes.

"The Tawergha are the rats of Gadhafi," read graffiti on one facade, using Gadhafi's derogatory name for his opponents. The fallen regime had tried to ensure Tawergha's loyalty with promises of jobs and investment, and while some of the homes there were ramshackle, the town also boasted a modern school, medical clinic and rows of new apartment buildings.

A tour of Tawergha on Friday showed widespread vandalism. The school, clinic, small shops and modern apartments had been ransacked, with some rooms burned and contents of closets strewn on the ground. Human Rights Watch researchers have said Tawergha homes have been set on fire since the town's capture, and the group is to release an extensive report Sunday.

Two Misrata fighters driving through Tawergha on Friday said the town's residents are no longer welcome. "They will have to find a different place and build houses there," said 22-year-old Naji Akhlaf, standing outside a small grocery that had been largely emptied out, with cartons of juice strewn across the entrance.

"This is the best solution so we can relax and get on with our lives," he said.

Tawerghans also lived in other parts of Libya, including in Misrata where a rundown apartment complex that once housed hundreds of them is to be razed. City officials say the complex is also home to non-Tawerghans and is being torn down because it's unsanitary and unsafe. Tawerghans have fled those apartments and their neighbors said they won't allow them back.

About 10,000 Tawerghans have reached two camps on the outskirts of the eastern city of Benghazi, until recently the seat of the National Transitional Council, and U.N. officials say that number is growing. Thousands more have sought refuge near Tripoli, Tarhouna and in remote areas of the south.

An NTC-funded aid group, LibAid, is providing food and other supplies to some of the displaced, said Mohammed el-Sweii, an official in the group. El-Sweii said guards have been stationed at the camps to prevent acts of revenge, amid reports that Misrata fighters have gone to great lengths to track down and capture Tawerghans in Gadhafi's employ.

A similar conflict has been brewing between the town of Zintan in Libya's western mountain range and the nomadic Mushashya tribe which settled nearby after being awarded land by Gadhafi several decades ago.

The Mushashya sided with the dictator in the civil war and fled their homes with retreating Gadhafi forces in the summer. Zintan officials said at the time they would not let the Mushashya return to their homes which, as in Tawergha, had been ransacked and in some cases burned. The U.N. said some 8,700 Mushashya have been reported displaced.

Aid officials believe it's unlikely the Tawergha and Mushashya will be able to return home anytime soon because emotions are still running high.

Tens of thousands who fled Bani Walid and Sirte, the two last Gadhafi bastions to fight the revolutionary forces during the war, likely stand a better chance, once their towns have been rendered habitable again. The two towns are home to the Warfala, Libya's largest tribe with some 1 million members, or one-sixth of the population.

Many former rebels are also Warfala and the sheer size of the tribe would likely protect its members against retribution.

Richard Sollom, deputy director of Physicians for Human Rights, said the interim government must quickly establish the rule of law and allow investigators from the International Criminal Court to examine allegations of war crimes by both sides.

Libya's interim leader, Mustafa Abdul-Jalil, has called for restraint, specifically mentioning the Misrata-Tawergha and Zintan-Mushashya conflicts in a news conference earlier this month. He promised that those guilty of abuses during the war would eventually be punished by the authorities, though it's unclear how quickly a justice system could be set up.

"Taking the lives of people in an illegal manner will set back our revolution," he warned at the time. "The law should be the decisive factor and ... we must believe God will dispense justice in the appropriate manner."

___

Associated Press writer Rami al-Shaheibi in Misrata, Libya, contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2011-10-29-ML-Libya-Settling-Scores/id-8374c3f556984e7e8f59aea3d55751b7

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Saturday, October 29, 2011

A look at economic developments around the globe (AP)

BEIJING ? A look at economic developments and activity in major stock markets around the world Thursday:

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BRUSSELS ? European leaders clinched a deal they hope will mark a turning point in their two-year debt crisis, agreeing after a night of tense negotiations to have banks take bigger losses on Greece's debts and to boost the region's weapons against the market turmoil.

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LONDON ? Global stock markets soared as investors waded into riskier assets, emboldened by EU leaders' pre-dawn agreement to slash Greece's massive debts and use their bailout fund to contain any further turmoil.

Britain's FTSE climbed 2.9 percent. Germany's DAX jumped 5.4 percent and France's CAC-40 gained 6.3 percent.

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TOKYO ? In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 index rose 2 percent. South Korea's Kospi added 1.5 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 3.3 percent. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 jumped 2.5 percent.

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ATHENS, Greece ? Shares on Greece's stock market closed sharply up following a debt deal reached by European leaders that the country's finance minister described as a new starting point for the country.

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As Europe's leaders struggle toward a solution to its debt crisis, hopes are growing that cash-rich China will take a major role in a rescue ? expectations that are likely to be dashed.

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ROME ? Italian union leaders vowed to call strikes if Premier Silvio Berlusconi's government acts on its promise to make it easier to fire workers as a way to convince the European Union it is serious about reviving the country's anemic growth.

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BERLIN ? An official estimate shows that Germany's annual inflation rate slipped to 2.5 percent in October after hitting a three-year high the previous month.

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NICOSIA, Cyprus ? Cyprus' two largest banks which are heavily exposed to Greece say they can cover needed capital buffers and are moving to boost their liquidity.

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SHANGHAI ? China's chronic fuel shortages are worsening with the onset of winter, as output lags behind surging demand following price cuts that are worsening refiners' losses.

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TOKYO ? Japan's central bank kept its key interest rate at nearly zero and will expand the size of an asset buying program to lend stronger support to the economy.

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BEIJING ? Hundreds of migrant small business owners in an eastern Chinese town have protested over a tax dispute, some of them torching vehicles, in the latest unrest resulting from growing economic pressure and anger over the unfair treatment of migrants.

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JOHANNESBURG ? Young South Africans brought their frustration over poverty and joblessness to the streets, responding to a call by the tough-talking youth leader of the governing African National Congress who has clashed with older party leaders over economic policy.

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CAIRO ? Moody's Investors Service says it has cut Egypt's government bond rating by one notch, citing the country's weak economy, political instability and declining foreign reserves.

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TBILISI, Georgia ? Georgia has accepted a Swiss proposal that could open the way for Russia to join the World Trade Organization.

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WARSAW, Poland ? Hundreds of business people from Poland and China are meeting at a major conference to establish ties and develop wide-ranging trade cooperation.

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SYDNEY ? Australia's stock market was halted for several hours following a technical glitch.

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Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111027/ap_on_bi_ge/economy_countries_glance

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Celeb birthdays for the week of Oct. 30-Nov. 5 (AP)

Oct. 30: Actor Dick Gautier is 74. Actor Ed Lauter is 73. Songwriter Eddie Holland is 72. Singer Grace Slick is 72. Singer Otis Williams of The Temptations is 70. Actor Henry Winkler is 66. Bassist Timothy B. Schmit of The Eagles (and Poco) is 64. Actor Harry Hamlin is 60. Actor Charles Martin Smith is 58. Country singer T. Graham Brown is 57. Actor Kevin Pollak is 54. Actor Michael Beach ("Soul Food," "Third Watch") is 48. Singer-guitarist Gavin Rossdale of Bush is 44. Actor Jack Plotnick ("Reno 911!") is 43. "Cash Cab" host Ben Bailey is 41. Actress Nia Long is 41. Country singer Kassidy Osborn of SHeDAISY is 35. Actor Matthew Morrison ("Glee") is 33. Actor Tequan Richmond ("Everybody Hates Chris") is 19.

Oct. 31: Folk singer Tom Paxton is 74. Actor Ron Rifkin ("Alias") is 72. Actress Sally Kirkland is 70. Actor David Ogden Stiers ("M.A.S.H.") is 69. Actress Deidre Hall ("Days of Our Lives") is 63. Director Peter Jackson ("Lord of the Rings") is 50. Drummer Larry Mullen of U2 is 50. Guitarist Johnny Marr of Modest Mouse (and The Smiths) is 48. Actor Dermot Mulroney is 48. Drummer Mikkey Dee of Motorhead is 48. Country singer Darryl Worley is 47. Actor Rob Schneider is 47. Actor Mike O'Malley ("Glee") is 46. Guitarist Adrock of the Beastie Boys is 45. Musician Adam Schelsinger of Fountains of Wayne is 44. Musician Rob Van Winkle (Vanilla Ice) is 43. Singer Linn Berggren of Ace of Base is 41. Actor Eddie Kaye Thomas ("American Pie") is 31. Guitarist Frank Iero of My Chemical Romance is 30. Singer-actress Willow Smith is 11.

Nov. 1: Country singer Bill Anderson is 74. Actress Barbara Bosson ("Murder One," "Hill Street Blues") is 72. Actor Robert Foxworth ("Falcon Crest") is 70. "Hustler" publisher Larry Flynt is 69. Actress Marcia Wallace is 69. Country singer Kinky Friedman is 67. Music producer David Foster is 62. Saxophonist Ronald Khalis Bell of Kool and the Gang is 60. Country singer-songwriter-producer Keith Stegall is 57. Singer Lyle Lovett is 54. Actress Rachel Ticotin is 53. Bassist Eddie MacDonald of The Alarm is 52. Singer Anthony Kiedis of Red Hot Chili Peppers is 49. Singer-keyboardist Mags Furuholmen of A-ha is 49. Drummer Rick Allen of Def Leppard is 48. Country singer Big Kenny of Big and Rich is 48. Singer Sophie B. Hawkins is 47. Rapper Willie D of the Geto Boys is 45. Actress Toni Collette ("The United States of Tara," "Little Miss Sunshine") is 39. Actress Jenny McCarthy is 39. "American Idol" runner-up Bo Bice is 36. Actor Penn Badgely ("Gossip Girl") is 25. Actor-drummer Alex Wolff ("The Naked Brothers Band") is 14.

Nov. 2: Actress Anne Rutherford ("Gone With the Wind") is 94. Singer Earl "Speedo" Carroll of The Cadillacs and The Coasters is 74. Singer Jay Black (Jay and the Americans) is 73. Actress Stefanie Powers is 69. Keyboardist Keith Emerson of Emerson, Lake and Palmer is 67. Singer J.D. Souther is 66. Drummer Carter Beauford of the Dave Matthews Band is 54. Singer k.d. lang is 50. Bassist Bobby Dall of Poison is 48. Actress Lauren Velez ("Dexter") is 47. Actor David Schwimmer ("Friends") is 45. Singer Alvin Chea of Take 6 is 44. Bassist Fieldy of Korn is 42. Singer-guitarist John Hampson of Nine Days is 40. Rapper Nelly is 37. Rapper Prodigy of Mobb Deep is 37. Guitarist Chris Walla of Death Cab for Cutie is 36. Actor-singer Kendall Schmidt ("Big Time Rush") is 21.

Nov. 3: Actor-dancer Ken Berry ("Mayberry R.F.D.," "Mama's Family") is 78. Actor-radio personality Shadoe Stevens is 65. Singer Lulu is 63. Actress-comedian Roseanne Barr is 59. Actress Kathy Kinney ("The Drew Carey Show") is 58. Actress Kate Capshaw is 58. Comedian Dennis Miller is 58. Singer Adam Ant is 57. Actor Dolph Lundgren ("Rocky IV") is 54.

Nov. 4: Actress Doris Roberts ("Everybody Loves Raymond") is 81. Actress Loretta Swit ("M.A.S.H.") is 74. Singer Harry Elston of Friends of Distinction is 73. Singer Delbert McClinton is 71. Actress Markie Post is 61. Singer-guitarist Chris Difford of Squeeze is 57. Country singer Kim Forester of the Forester Sisters is 51. Actress Kathy Griffin is 51. Actor Ralph Macchio is 50. "Survivor" host Jeff Probst is 50. Actor Matthew McConaughey is 42. Rapper-producer Diddy (Sean Combs) is 42. Singer Shawn Rivera of Az Yet is 40.

Nov. 5: Actor Chris Robinson ("General Hospital") is 73. Actress Elke Summer is 71. Singer Art Garfunkel is 70. Actor-playwright Sam Shepard is 68. Singer Peter Noone of Herman's Hermits is 64. Actor Nestor Serrano ("24") is 56. Actor Robert Patrick ("The X-Files") is 53. Singer Bryan Adams is 52. Actress Tilda Swinton is 51. Actress-singer Andrea McArdle is 48. Actress Tatum O'Neal is 48. Singer Angelo Moore of Fishbone is 46. Actress Judy Reyes ("Scrubs") is 44. Keyboardist Mark Hunter of James is 43. Country singers Jennifer and Heather Kinley of The Kinleys are 41. Guitarist-keyboardist Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead is 40. Actor Corin Nemec ("Parker Lewis Can't Lose") is 40. Singer-guitarist Ryan Adams is 37. Guitarist Kevin Jonas of The Jonas Brothers is 24.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/celebrity/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111027/ap_en_ce/us_celeb_birthdays

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Friday, October 28, 2011

Deal of the Day: Incipio Feather Ultralight Hard Shell Case for Samsung Droid Charge

Incipio Feather Ultralight Hard Shell Case for Samsung Droid ChargeThe Oct. 27 Deal of the Day brings us the Incipio Feather Ultralight Hard Shell Case for the Samsung Droid Charge. This guy's less than 1mm thin and is made of an ultra light, ultra strong polymer for light as a feather, form-fitting durable protection without the added bulk. It's got a soft-touch matte finish and is thin enough to be used with many Droid Charge docks. And best of all, it's available today for just $12.95 in either black, magenta, red or purple. Get yours while supplies last!


Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/9_3w9uvhoc8/deal-day-incipio-feather-ultralight-hard-shell-case-samsung-droid-charge

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Turkey survivor emerges from quake rubble

Turkish rescuers tend Ferhat Tokay, 13, after he was pulled from the rubble of a collapsed building in Ercis, Van, Turkey, early Friday, Oct. 28, 2011. Rescuers, working under floodlights, pulled the 13-year-old boy alive from the rubble of the collapsed apartment building 108 hours after Sunday's earthquake that hit eastern Turkey. (AP Photo)

Turkish rescuers tend Ferhat Tokay, 13, after he was pulled from the rubble of a collapsed building in Ercis, Van, Turkey, early Friday, Oct. 28, 2011. Rescuers, working under floodlights, pulled the 13-year-old boy alive from the rubble of the collapsed apartment building 108 hours after Sunday's earthquake that hit eastern Turkey. (AP Photo)

An unidentified earthquake survivor carries free soup and lemons distributed by Turkish Red Crescent in a tent city set up in a soccer field in Ercis, Van, Turkey, Thursday, Oct. 27, 2011. The death toll after the powerful Sunday quake hit eastern Turkey has now reached over 500. (AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici)

Earthquake survivor Bilal Kilic, 70, father of 12 stands in front of a tent where 15 his family members has spent the night without any heating in a tent city set up in a soccer field in Ercis, Van, Turkey, Thursday, Oct. 27, 2011. The death toll after the powerful Sunday quake hit eastern Turkey has now reached over 500. (AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici)

In this image taken from a video footage by Anatolia, rescuers pull Ferhat Tokay, 13, center left, from the rubble of a collapsed building in Ercis, Van, Turkey, early Friday, Oct. 28, 2011. Rescuers, working under floodlights, pulled the 13-year-old boy alive from the rubble of the collapsed apartment building 108 hours after Sunday's earthquake that hit eastern Turkey. (AP Photo/Anatolia via APTN) EDITORIAL USE ONLY, TURKEY OUT, ROJ TV OUT, TV OUT

Turkish rescuers carry Ferhat Tokay, 13, after he was pulled from the rubble of a collapsed building in Ercis, Van, Turkey, early Friday, Oct. 28, 2011. Rescuers, working under floodlights, pulled the 13-year-old boy alive from the rubble of the collapsed apartment building 108 hours after Sunday's earthquake that hit eastern Turkey. (AP Photo)

(AP) ? Rescuers, working under floodlights, pulled a 13-year-old boy alive from the rubble of a collapsed apartment building early Friday, over 100 hours after a massive earthquake leveled many buildings in eastern Turkey, killing at least 550 people.

A picture by the state-run Anatolia news agency showed a rescue team carrying, Ferhat Tokay, out of the debris, wearing a neck brace. In other pictures from a field hospital, he appeared conscious and looking at his rescuers.

Tokay's rescue came 108 hours after Sunday's 7.2-magnitude earthquake, the agency said.

The agency said the boy was injured but did not give further details. The collapsed building from which Tokay was rescued was in Ecris, the town worst hit by the quake.

The temblor has killed at least 550 people and injured 2,300 others, according to the country's disaster management, AFAD, website updated Thursday evening. Thousands of homeless in tents were struggling in the bitter cold as rain and snow brought on more hardship.

Television footage on Thursday showed a rescue team cheering and clapping as another young man, wearing a red sweater and strapped to a stretcher, was also carried out of the debris. His eyes were shut most of the time, but he opened them at one point.

The Anatolia agency identified the man as 18-year-old Imdat Padak. He was rescued by an Azerbaijani crew.

Padak was flown to the nearby city of Van and was dehydrated, but in good condition, according to the news agency.

Emergency officials said 187 have been rescued from the rubble. About 2,000 buildings have been destroyed and authorities declared another 3,700 buildings unfit for habitation.

More aid began to reach survivors, with Turkish authorities delivering more tents after acknowledging distribution problems that included aid trucks being looted even before they reached Ercis.

Families who did snag precious aid tents shared them with others. But some people spent a fifth night outdoors huddled under blankets in front of campfires, either waiting for news of the missing or keeping watch over damaged homes.

As survivors gathered pieces of wood to light campfires or stove-heaters, The Red Crescent and several pro-Islamic groups set up kitchens and dished out soup or rice and beans.

Sermin Yildirim, eight months pregnant, was sharing a tent with a family of four who were distant relatives, along with her own twins and husband. Her family was too afraid of returning to their apartment.

"It's getting colder, my kids are coughing. I don't know how long we will have to stay here," Yildirim said. "We were not able to get a tent. We are waiting to get our own."

Muhlise Bakan, 41, was not happy to share her tent with her husband's second wife, Hamide.

"I have four children, she has five," Bakan said. "We were sleeping in separate rooms at our house, and now we are sleeping side by side here."

However, she acknowledged the two women were now "closer" as they struggled together in hard times. Turkish law does not recognize second marriages, but some conservative men in the country's southeast still marry more than one wife in religious ceremonies.

Health problems increased the hardship.

"I am very sick, I need medicine," said Kevsel Astan, 40, who had a kidney transplant four years ago.

She said she was being treated at the state hospital until the quake struck. The damaged hospital was evacuated and doctors were focusing on emergency cases.

Burke Cinar, a sociologist with a Turkish foundation, said the group was trying to get tents for the families of 15 children with leukemia in Ercis.

Looking ahead, Turkey's weather agency predicted intermittent snowfall for the next three days.

Foreign assistance also began arriving. Israel, which has a troubled political relationship with Turkey, sent emergency housing units, blankets and clothing. Britain said it was dispatching 1,000 tents and Germany, Russia, Romania and Ukraine also contributed. A Japanese disaster rescue team was working alongside Turkish rescuers.

Saudi King Abdullah ordered a $50 million donation to help Turkey deal with the aftermath of the quake, the official Saudi Press Agency said.

Syrians who had fled across the border to Turkey to escape violence in their homeland donated blood for the injured, the Anatolia news agency reported.

Search and rescue operations ended in the provincial capital of Van, state-run TRT television said. But searchers in bright orange raincoats continued digging through debris in Ercis, 55 miles (90 kilometers) to the north.

They pulled out the bodies of two dead teenage sisters and their parents who were holding hands, and a mother clutching her baby boy, according to media reports.

Two teachers and a university student were rescued from ruined buildings Wednesday. One of the teachers later died in the hospital.

Some media reports said rescuers pulled out a 19-year-old alive early Thursday, but rescue team chief Mustafa Ozden told The Associated Press the youth was rescued on Tuesday.

The region has been rocked by hundreds of aftershocks. On Thursday, a 5.4-magnitude tremor hit the neighboring province of Hakkari, sending people rushing out of buildings in panic. No damage was reported but NTV television said some people were slightly injured trying to escape through windows.

Turkish television stations, meanwhile, organized a joint aid telethon that brought in just under 62 million Turkish Lira ($37 million).

___

Suzan Fraser reported from Ankara, Turkey.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2011-10-28-EU-Turkey-Quake/id-76b478f1c8ed4f2097dd77db743533da

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Thursday, October 27, 2011

Samsung's SCH-i929 and SCH-W999 dual-screen clamshell get certified in China

Ready for a heavy dose of Android this morning? Then enjoy this Samsung double whammy freshly delivered from China. On the left we have the China Telecom-branded SCH-i929, a 9.7mm-thick handset featuring a Snapdragon MSM8660 chip (likely clocked at 1.5GHz), 4.5-inch 480 x 800 AMOLED display, eight-megapixel camera and GSM plus CDMA2000 connectivity. All of this makes the i929 a near-identical cousin of the Galaxy S II LTE -- same processor, same chassis, but obviously with different network compatibility.

Of course, the real star of the show is the SCH-W999, a follow-up to the SCH-W899 of the same dual-screen clamshell form factor. As you can see on the right, on the outside this phone features a 3.5-inch 480 x 800 AMOLED display along with three touch buttons, while on the inside it packs a similar screen plus a physical keypad. Like the i929 above, this funky flip phone is also powered by a MSM8660 chip and supports both GSM and CDMA2000 on China Telecom, though its camera is limited to five megapixels instead. Anyhow, we'd certainly love to get hold of a world-friendly version of this 204 gram beast, so what do you say, Won-Pyo Hong?

Samsung's SCH-i929 and SCH-W999 dual-screen clamshell get certified in China originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 Oct 2011 05:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceTENAA (SCH-i929), (SCH-W999)  | Email this | Comments


Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/eZa8ykEAibY/

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Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Unruly passenger diverts flight from Las Vegas

Delta Flight 1702 from Las Vegas to Atlanta had to return to McCarran International Airport Sunday morning because of an unruly passenger, NBC affiliate WXIA-TV reports.

A passenger on the plane told? the television station, 11Alive, "It was a pretty intense eight to?10 minutes on the plane."

Ray Wronker emailed the 11Alive newsroom after arriving back in Atlanta Sunday night. 11Alive's Duffie Dixon spoke to Wronker by phone.

"Apparently the person sitting in the window seat in the?exit row had undone the flap that gets you access to the handle of the [emergency] exit row?door," said Wronker. "[Passengers] had jumped up trying to get the flight attendants' attention. When they did that, he reached for the emergency door handle."

Passengers wrestled the suspect to the ground, and the pilot returned Flight 1702 to the Las Vegas airport. Police detained the suspect and the flight took off for Atlanta a second time.

The Las Vegas Police Department did not return a call to 11Alive Sunday night.

More on Overhead Bin

?

?

Source: http://overheadbin.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/10/24/8465958-unruly-passenger-diverts-flight-from-las-vegas

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Oil above $88 amid signs of Asia economic strength (AP)

SINGAPORE ? Oil prices rose above $88 a barrel Monday in Asia amid signs of resilience in the economies of Japan and China.

Benchmark crude for December delivery was up 65 cents at $88.05 a barrel at midday Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $1.33 to settle at $87.40 in New York on Friday.

Brent crude was up 70 cents at $110.26 a barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange in London.

Japan's Finance Ministry said Monday that exports rose 2.4 percent in September from a year earlier, marking the second consecutive month of growth as the country recovers from the March earthquake and tsunami.

Meanwhile, HSBC said Monday that its preliminary China Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index, which measures industrial production, rose to 51.1 from 49.9 in September. A result above 50 indicates an expansion from the previous month. The preliminary indicator is often subject to substantial revision.

The Chinese and Japanese data also helped to boost Asian stock markets Monday.

Investors are also closely watching for clues about a plan to contain Europe's debt crisis. European leaders didn't give details of the plan after meeting Sunday but are expected to do so Wednesday.

"Oil is moving tick-for-tick with global equity markets, which in turn, are gyrating with the latest headline handicapping the euro bailout fund," energy trader and consultant The Schork Group said in a report.

In other Nymex trading, heating oil rose 1.6 cents to $3.03 per gallon and gasoline futures jumped 2.1 cents at $2.68 per gallon. Natural gas slid 0.4 cent to $3.63 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/energy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111024/ap_on_bi_ge/oil_prices

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Monday, October 24, 2011

Can NSAIDs Cut Colorectal Cancer Deaths in Older Women? (HealthDay)

SUNDAY, Oct. 23 (HealthDay News) -- Older women who take nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs -- such as aspirin or ibuprofen -- appear to have a lower risk of death from colorectal cancer than women who don't use these medications, a large new study suggests.

Women who reported using these drugs, called NSAIDs, at the beginning of the study and three years later had a roughly 30 percent lower rate of death from colorectal cancer than women who did not take the drugs, or women who took them at only one of these two points in time, according to an American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) news release.

"Our results suggest that nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug use is associated with lower colorectal cancer mortality among postmenopausal women who use these medications more consistently and for longer periods of time," Anna Coghill, a doctoral student in epidemiology at the University of Washington and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, said in the news release.

In the study, researchers examined the use of aspirin and non-aspirin NSAIDs among more than 160,000 postmenopausal women in relation to deaths from colorectal cancer.

Study participants were enrolled in the Women's Health Initiative, which "represents a large and well-characterized cohort [group] of postmenopausal women, and the medication data collected in this cohort made it possible for us to investigate multiple types, durations and strengths of NSAID use," Coghill explained.

The researchers confirmed 2,119 cases of colorectal cancer and 492 deaths due to the disease.

"The results of our study help to further clarify the importance of different durations of NSAID use over time for the risk for dying from colorectal cancer," Coghill noted in the news release.

While the study found an association between NSAID use and a reduced risk of colorectal cancer, it did not prove a cause-and-effect.

The findings were slated for presentation on Sunday at the AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research, in Boston.

Experts say that for studies presented at medical meetings, data and conclusions should be viewed as preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

More information

The U.S. National Cancer Institute has more about colon and rectal cancer.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/cancer/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20111023/hl_hsn/cannsaidscutcolorectalcancerdeathsinolderwomen

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Shock image tolerance rises with Internet pressure

The threshold for publishing gruesome images like those of Muammar Gaddafi's death is falling as the Internet and social media make many of the editorial decisions that used to be left to a small group of professional journalists.

The shaky video footage of Gaddafi's last moments was such a dramatic end to Libya's months-long struggle against its former dictator that many television stations around the world rushed to broadcast much of what they received.

Newspapers followed up on Friday morning, some splashing graphic photos of the bloodied former Libyan leader across their front pages while others opted for pictures of victorious anti-Gaddafi troops or file shots of Gaddafi in his heyday.

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Showing images of a person in the throes of death used to be a newsroom taboo, but even this is now giving way under the pressure of instant Internet publishing and ? thanks to camera phones ? the increasing availability of strong news footage.

"Over the past 10 years, whatever your society's standards were, they're notching toward more gruesome images," said Kelly McBride, ethics expert at the Poynter Institute journalism training center in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Story: Battle over body delays Gadhafi's burial

In many cases, she said, news organizations now deal mostly with the question of how to publish a graphic but newsworthy picture rather than whether they should run it at all.

"News editors are very aware that these images are available anyway," said Ivor Gaber, professor of political journalism at City University in London.

Historic images
Steven Barrett, professor of communications at London's Westminster University, said there was no doubt the images would be used. "This was a momentous event in world history," he said. Showing it was "not just to boost ratings."

Showing the footage was especially important in Libya and the Middle East, since the lack of such photographic proof of Osama bin Laden's death prompted many people in the region to ask whether the al Qaeda leader had really been killed.

"I doubt the vast majority of Libyans, and possibly the populace in the region, will raise any objections to the images," said Hayat Alvi, professor of Middle East studies at the U.S. Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island.

Many television stations in Europe and the United States prefaced their broadcast of the Gaddafi death videos with a clear warning that disturbing images were about to be shown.

The main stations in Spain and Belgium gave no warnings, while the German channel ZDF showed a few images in its main evening news broadcast and then said: "There are others we don't want to show ? it's a question of human dignity."

European and United States newspaper front pages on Friday morning showed even wider differences in the way the print media handled those images.

No major U.S. newspapers ran pictures of the dying Gaddafi on their front pages. Of the 424 newspapers surveyed by Newseum, a Washington journalism museum, only about two dozen had page one images of him near or after death.

By contrast, London's Daily Telegraph, Guardian and Sun splashed grim photos across their front pages. The Guardian website balanced that with an op-ed piece entitled "Even Muammar Gaddafi deserved a private death."

Milan's Corriere della Sera printed a photo of the dead Gaddafi, blood trickling down his bare chest. De Morgen in Brussels covered its tabloid front page with a shot of him in agony, near death, with the quote "the people love me."

German newspapers were more discreet than ZDF television, showing few bloody images of the former dictator. French front pages seemed evenly divided between discretion and disrespect.

Le Monde in Paris printed a small black-and-white photo on its second page of Gaddafi's half-naked corpse displayed in Misrata, while Madrid's El Pais displayed the same shot large and in full color on its front page.

Rising tolerance for gruesome images
"Tolerance for gruesome images is going up because more people search for them on the Internet than we would have expected," McBride said. "So when it's delivered to them by a publication, they don't have the same righteous indignation."

Still, she said, the main check on media from publishing shocking pictures is the backlash from their audiences.

"U.S. audiences have the least tolerance for graphic images," she said, despite the high level of violence they accept in entertainment films. "It's a weird paradox."

While all the media experts said editors had to consider a mix of factors when deciding whether to run an explicitly violent image, Barnett stressed the key factor in any ethical assessment was the editor's intent in publishing it.

"If it's just to gratify, to maximize shock and horror, it's unacceptable," he said.

McBride, who often gets urgent calls from editors on deadline asking for ethical advice, said she gives them a rough checklist of the issues to consider before publishing.

They should ask what the news value of the picture is, whether it will in any way harm to the publication's audience and whether the publication can find alternative material to publish with fewer ethical concerns.

"There is so much that changes from one story to the next that it's hard to write rules for how to treat these images," she said. "Newsrooms have to go through this questioning process and figure it out for themselves."

Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44993860/ns/technology_and_science-tech_and_gadgets/

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Sunday, October 23, 2011

German satellite expected to hit Earth Sunday (AP)

BERLIN ? A defunct satellite hurtled toward the atmosphere and pieces of it were expected crash to the Earth within hours, the German Aerospace Center said early Sunday.

Pieces of the ROSAT scientific research satellite were expected to hit Sunday morning European time, or between about 0030 and 0530 GMT (8.30 p.m. EDT Saturday or 11.30 p.m. EDT Saturday), the agency said.

Most parts of the minivan-sized satellite were expected to burn up during re-entry into the atmosphere but up to 30 fragments weighing 1.87 tons (1.7 metric tons) could crash into Earth at speeds up to 280 mph (450 kph).

The satellite orbits every 90 minutes and it could hit almost anywhere along its path ? a vast swath between 53-degrees north and 53-degrees south that comprises much of the planet outside the poles, including parts of North America, South America, Europe, Africa and Asia.

"According to the data we currently have, we expect it not to hit over Europe, Africa or Australia," agency spokesman Andreas Schuetz said. "The satellite is still orbiting and we are observing the data for other parts of the world," he added.

Fluctuations in solar activity and the fact that scientists are no longer able to communicate with the dead satellite render predictions of where and when it will come down yet more difficult.

The 2.69-ton (2.4 metric ton) scientific ROSAT satellite was launched in 1990 and retired in 1999 after being used for research on black holes and neutron stars and performing the first all-sky survey of X-ray sources with an imaging telescope.

The largest single fragment of ROSAT that could hit into the earth is the telescope's heat-resistant mirror.

During its mission, the satellite orbited about 370 miles (600 kilometers) above the Earth's surface, but since its decommissioning it has lost altitude, circling at a distance of only 205 miles (330 kilometers) above ground in June for example, the agency said.

A dead NASA satellite fell into the southern Pacific Ocean last month, causing no damage, despite fears it would hit a populated area and cause damage or kill people.

Experts believe about two dozen metal pieces from the bus-sized satellite fell over a 500-mile (800 kilometer) span of uninhabited portion of the world.

The NASA climate research satellite entered Earth's atmosphere generally above American Samoa. But falling debris as it broke apart did not start hitting the water for another 300 miles (480 kilometers) to the northeast, southwest of Christmas Island.

Earlier, scientists had said it was possible some pieces could have reached northwestern Canada.

The German space agency puts the odds of somebody somewhere on Earth being hurt by its satellite at 1-in-2,000 ? a slightly higher level of risk than was calculated for the NASA satellite. But any one individual's odds of being struck are 1-in-14 trillion, given there are 7 billion people on the planet.

___

Online:

The German space agency on ROSAT: http://bit.ly/papMAA

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/science/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111023/ap_on_re_us/falling_satellite

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Saturday, October 22, 2011

It's just another Urban Legend, right?

A group of Teenagers perform a Ritual that summons Demons from Urban Legends into their World., and the Demons, they're pissed.

Basically I need people to Roleplay. I need both Humans and Demons. Basically, the Teens have summoned the Demons from another Dimension or something, and the Demons have attached themselves to one of them. The Demons then pursue the Humans until they kill them or the Teens find a way to send them back. I have a certain ending in mind, but I'm still debating whether I'll go with it, or just create a new one.

roleplay/its-just-another-urban-legend-right/

Please at least consider joining, as we need more Characters before we start.

- zody

"You think you know hate, misery, sorrow, loneliness and anger? Take all of these emotions you'd feel in your lifetime and times them by 100, then you know me." - Me

"People will hurt you in life, but when they do, just shrug it off, tell em to get f**ked and keep your head high, soldier" - My Grandad

"You know me? Do you really? I'm like a poisoned lolly, nice out the outside, but on the inside I could kill you easily." - Me

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RolePlayGateway/~3/FfUfAzsnBK0/viewtopic.php

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Summary Box: Stock mixed as Europe remains divided (AP)

EUROPE: Signs of division among European leaders over how to handle the region's debt crisis kept markets on edge Thursday. Germany and France called for a second emergency summit next week after it became clear that they would not be able to bridge their difference in time for a key meeting Sunday.

HOPEFUL SIGN: The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said regional manufacturing showed signs of recovery. Its manufacturing index was far better than economists expected.

EARNINGS: Newfield Exploration plunged 14.8 percent, the largest decline in the S&P 500 index, after the oil and gas producer reported disappointing quarterly results.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111020/ap_on_bi_ge/us_wall_street_summary_box

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Friday, October 21, 2011

Realtors learning fine art of 'cash for keys'

John Moore / Getty Images

An eviction team removes furniture during a home foreclosure this year in Longmont, Colo. Real estate agents increasingly try to prevent scenes like this one.

By Jane Hodges

When Mary Poland-Smith went into real estate 14 years ago, she never imagined that part of her job would involve handing out ?cash for keys,? to persuade former home owners or renters to vacate their premises.

?It did feel uncomfortable in the beginning,? says Poland-Smith, an agent with Better Homes Realty Inc. in Montclair, Va.

For real estate agents across the country, getting people to move out of their homes without a costly and time-consuming eviction is increasingly part of the job description.

Sales of so-called ?distressed? properties, meaning those in or near foreclosure, make up about 30 percent of home resales in today?s extremely depressed housing market.

Foreclosures have slowed this year largely due to legal issues resulting from so-called ?robo-signing? but are expected to accelerate again soon as lenders move forward with sales of repossessed homes, according to RealtyTrac, which tracks the foreclosure market. The company projects about?2 million?foreclosures this year, 30 percent below last year's?levels.

That is a lot of added inventory in a market where less than 5 million units are selling annually.

The rise in sales of distressed properties calls for new skills. The National Association of Realtors reports that 21 percent of its members now hold special certifications to handle distressed property, up from 12 percent last year. Agents pursuing the credentials take courses on how to work with buyers and sellers in various?scenarios, and how to work with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac programs.

Not all agents set out to become distressed property specialists. Poland-Smith, for instance, says banks would call her for ?broker price opinions? on various properties, a form of valuation that could be used for multiple purposes?including for a bank to estimate value in an eventual sale. Within a few years, banks began calling her to represent foreclosures.

Poland-Smith says she begins the process of selling a foreclosed home by checking to see whether the property appears occupied: Cars in the driveway, toys in the yard or lights on at night.

She then typically contacts residents three ways: She slips a hand-delivered letter under the door and also sends a letter in both regular mail and certified mail. All the letters state that eviction is avoidable and money to move is available?if the occupants call her within a few weeks. In 90 percent of cases, they do, she said.

She?s typically able to offer them between $500 and $2,500, depending on the lender, if they agree to move out within 30 days, leaving the place ?broom-swept? clean.

Foreclosure experts note that ?cash for keys? may become more mainstream not just for foreclosures but also for short sales, where an owner is trying to sell their home for less than they owe. In those cases, the lender must agree to accept the sale price.

Earlier this month, Bank of America began piloting a program in Florida that pays short sellers up to $20,000 ?cash for keys,? and also forgives their loan shortage (or deficiency). It?s a nice hunk of money for owners otherwise facing eventual foreclosure and a ruined credit profile, although it?s not an option for all sellers.

?The reality is that (cash for keys) saves a lot of money for both the owner and the bank,? says Cliff Roe, a broker and distressed property specialist at Cliff Roe Realty Inc. in Seminole, Fla., who has been briefed on the new program. ?Other banks are going to follow suit.?

Lenders lose money on a short sale or on a foreclosure, so their willingness to pay ?cash for keys? may depend on how much they stand to lose. According to RealtyTrac CEO James Saccacio, the typical foreclosed, bank-owned home sells for 40 percent below a comparable non-distressed property, while a short sale typically sells for 20 percent less. Capturing a home before it falls into foreclosure might make financial sense to lenders in some cases, he says.

?At some point the equilibrium line gets crossed,? Saccacio says. ?Everyone is realizing that the discount on (bank-owned) ?properties can be mitigated by treating them as short sale properties.?

?Not all distressed properties require cash for keys before hitting the market. But increasingly lenders are paying handsomely to preserve rapidly diminishing value in their properties, said Benjamin Barber, a senior sales specialist Green River Capital LC in West Valley, Utah, which manages distressed properties nationwide.

?The more the inventory builds up, the more generous the cash for keys from clients,? Barber says.

Evictions are typically more time-consuming, more expensive, and require more after-care than paying an owner or renter to move and leave the place clean.

Oddly enough, evicting renters can be complicated.?Depending on the state,?out-of-court evictions cost $400 to $1,100, while a ?contested? eviction involving litigation can cost $15,000 or more, Barber says.

PhotoBlog:?Eviction scene in Colorado

?Some clients use an algorithm and calculate how much they?d pay in a contested eviction, and then offer half to the tenants,? he says.

For agents, offering bigger checks to residents and in earlier stages of the distressed property spectrum raises mixed feelings.

?But typically these people in the homes are depressed Roe,? the Florida broker. ?They don?t know where they?re going or how they?re going to get there. So in the end, it?s the humane thing to do.?

?You get a little numb to it,? Poland-Smith says. ?But you have to keep your humanity?and that means you take this work home with you sometimes.?

Click on the video below for a different view:

CNBC's Rick Santelli responds to former Fed VP Alan Blinder's op-ed about a sustainable fix in the troubled housing market.

?

Source: http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/10/20/8419205-in-tough-housing-market-agents-learn-to-trade-cash-for-keys

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U.S. Man Diagnosed With HIV Develops Leprosy (HealthDay)

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 19 (HealthDay News) -- Ohio doctors report they got a diagnostic surprise when an HIV patient tested positive for the bacterium that causes leprosy.

What was even more surprising was that the initial infection most likely occurred decades earlier, from exposure to an armadillo.

Soon after starting treatment for the HIV infection, the Ohio man developed lesions on his skin that didn't respond to antibiotic treatment. His doctors eventually confirmed that the lesions were caused by Mycobacterium leprae bacteria, an infection more commonly known as leprosy.

"With the way he presented, typically, any clinician would think of an infection with bacteria, and that's what we were thinking, but he was not responding to regular antibiotic treatment," said Dr. Madhuri Sopirala, the lead author of a letter on the unusual case in the Oct. 20 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

And, it was his failure to respond to antibiotic treatment that prompted his physicians to look for less common reasons for the man's condition.

Leprosy, which is also called Hansen's disease, is quite uncommon in the United States. In 2008, the last year for which statistics are available, just 150 people contracted Hansen's disease in the United States, according to the National Hansen's Disease Program. The majority of these cases occurred in California, Florida, Hawaii, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New York and Texas.

The main symptom of the disease is skin lesions that may be raised or flat, light-colored or pigmented, and there may be no feeling within the skin lesion. The disease can only be diagnosed through a skin biopsy, and long-term treatment with antibiotics is effective when started early.

People who live in Texas or Louisiana are more likely to contract Hansen's disease, as are people who've traveled to parts of the world where leprosy is still common.

In April, Hansen's disease experts added armadillo exposure to the list of possible risk factors, cautioning that people should stay away from armadillos.

In the case of the Ohio man, however, he hadn't been around armadillos since he was a teenager. He was 41 when he was diagnosed with Hansen's disease. He had never traveled outside of the United States, and said he hadn't been around anyone who had lived in areas where leprosy was still common. He had lived in Ohio all of his adult life, but had grown up in Mississippi, where he hunted armadillos as a teenager and touched their carcasses.

"The long duration of incubation is not a surprise to people who deal with this disease -- 20 years' incubation is not outside of our experience," said Dr. David Scollard, chief of the clinical branch and a pathologist at the National Hansen's Disease Program. "And, we have certainly seen this turn up as an opportunistic infection in people who are immunosuppressed: people with HIV, people who have had heart or kidney transplants, people receiving chemotherapy, [and people on certain medications that dampen the immune system response]. The biggest problem we have is that most clinicians don't think of it."

Sopirala, who is with the Ohio State University Medical Center in Columbus, said that if someone has symptoms consistent with leprosy, such as skin lesions that have no feeling of pain, and the symptoms don't improve with antibiotic treatment, leprosy should be considered as a possible diagnosis, especially if someone lives or has lived in an area of the southern United States where armadillo exposure is a possibility.

"This was a nice piece of detective work," Dr. Richard Truman said of the study. "Leprosy remains a very rare disease, but it's another one of the diseases that should be considered with chronic [skin] lesions that don't respond to treatment," he said. Truman is a research scientist from the National Hansen's Disease Program at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge.

More information

Learn more about leprosy from the National Hansen's Disease Program.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/aids/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20111020/hl_hsn/usmandiagnosedwithhivdevelopsleprosy

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Thursday, October 20, 2011

Fiery volcano offers geologic glimpse into land that time forgot

ScienceDaily (Oct. 19, 2011) ? The first scientists to witness exploding rock and molten lava from a deep sea volcano, seen during a 2009 expedition, report that the eruption was near a tear in Earth's crust that is mimicking the birth of a subduction zone.

Scientists on the expedition collected boninite, a rare, chemically distinct lava that accompanies the formation of Earth's subduction zones.

Nobody has ever collected fresh boninite and scientists never had the opportunity to monitor its eruption before, said Joseph Resing, University of Washington oceanographer and lead author of an online article on the findings in Nature Geoscience. Earth's current subduction zones are continually evolving but most formed 5 million to 200 million years ago. Scientists have only been able to study boninite collected from long-dead, relic volcanos millions of years old.

Resing was chief scientist on the expedition, funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Science Foundation, that pinpointed the location of the West Mata volcano, erupting 4,000 feet (1,200 meters) below the surface in the Southwest Pacific Ocean.

"Everything about the eruption itself -- how fast, how intense, the ratio of lava to explosive fragments, the amount and composition of gas released -- is new to us," said co-author Kenneth Rubin, University of Hawaii geologist. "Plus, having a young, fresh occurrence of this very rare rock type to study gives us the opportunity to examine subtle chemical and mineralogical variations in a pristine specimen."

At subduction zones the oceanic crust on one tectonic plate slides beneath another, producing abundant volcanism and contributing heat, gases and mineral-laden fluids to ocean waters. Scientists have long studied the impact of subduction zones on geological and geochemical cycles. To puzzle out how subduction zones form and evolve they study inactive contemporary marine volcanos that do not produce boninite and they collect and study boninite lavas collected on land and examine cores collected from the deep sea.

"West Mata lies above the subducting Pacific plate and is part of the rapidly expanding Lau Basin, which is bounded by Samoa, Tonga and Fiji," Resing said. "The large bend at the northern end of the Tonga trench produces a tear in the Pacific plate and creates unusual lavas that usually only form at very young subduction zones."

Conditions are right for boninite to form, there's lots of seawater released from subducting rock that mixes into relatively shallow mantle that has previously melted, causing the mantle to remelt at high temperatures. Boninite lavas are believed to be among the hottest from volcanos that erupt on Earth.

"What makes this exciting is how uncommon these eruptions of boninite are, both now and in the past," Rubin said. "Locked within the boninite is critical information about the rates and magnitudes of subduction-zone magmatism and global geochemical cycles."

The scientists writing in Nature Geoscience think the release of gaseous water, carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide from the slab is the reason the eruption was so explosive. No one realized such energetic eruptions happened so deep, Resing says. Streams of red and gold lava 35 feet long shot through the water and lava-skinned bubbles some three feet across emerged.

West Mata, which the scientists estimate has been erupting for at least three years, and eight other elongated volcanoes that overlap each other in the northeast Lau Basin sit within one of the most magmatically active areas on Earth, Resing says.

"The basin may prove an important place to study submarine volcanic eruptions in relation to early stages of subduction," he said.

Rubin and Robert Embley, with NOAA's Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, Newport, Ore., and co-author on the paper, will return to the area in November for further study and to try to determine if the volcano is still actively erupting.

"Observing the eruption in real time was a rare and special opportunity because we know so little about how submarine volcanic activity behaves," Embley said. "This is one of only a handful of 'glimpses' of the process we've had to date and is the first time we've actually observed natural submarine 'earthlight' from the glowing magma."

Resing's UW appointment is through NOAA and the Joint Institute for the Study of the Atmosphere and Oceans based at the UW. Other co-authors from the UW and the joint institute are Marvin Lilley, David Butterfield and Nathaniel Buck. Other co-authors are from NOAA-Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratories, Oregon State University, ETH Zurich, Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institutions, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, University of Tulsa, Oregon Health & Science University and Portland State University.

The project was funded by NSF, NOAA and the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Washington. The original article was written by Sandra Hines.

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Journal Reference:

  1. Joseph A. Resing, Kenneth H. Rubin, Robert W. Embley, John E. Lupton, Edward T. Baker, Robert P. Dziak, Tamara Baumberger, Marvin D. Lilley, Julie A. Huber, Timothy M. Shank, David A. Butterfield, David A. Clague, Nicole S. Keller, Susan G. Merle, Nathaniel J. Buck, Peter J. Michael, Adam Soule, David W. Caress, Sharon L. Walker, Richard Davis, James P. Cowen, Anna-Louise Reysenbach, Hans Thomas. Active submarine eruption of boninite in the northeastern Lau Basin. Nature Geoscience, 2011; DOI: 10.1038/ngeo1275

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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/vRHNhS7bO1s/111019170404.htm

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