Huge asteroid may be packed with water ice

The surface of Vesta ? the second-largest object in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter ? appears to be quite dry. But water ice may lurk underground over roughly half of the huge space rock's area, particularly near the poles, researchers said.

The giant asteroid Vesta may contain a vast supply of water ice, a supply that has sat frozen for billions of years, a new study reveals.

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The?surface of Vesta?? the second-largest object in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter ? appears to be quite dry. But water ice may lurk underground over roughly half of the huge space rock's area, particularly near the poles, researchers said. And it may have been there for billions of years.

"Near the north and south poles, the conditions appear to be favorable for?water ice?to exist beneath the surface," study co-author Timothy Stubbs,? of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., said in a statement.

Asteroid ice underground?

Vesta has an average diameter of about 330 miles (530 kilometers). It probably doesn't have any permanently shadowed craters where water ice could stay frozen at the surface, researchers said. [NASA Photos of Asteroid Vesta]

That's because the asteroid is tilted on its axis at about 27 degrees,?giving Vesta seasons?akin to the ones we experience on Earth. So every part of the space rock's surface likely sees the sun at some point during a Vestan year.

However, the research team ? using models based on data gathered by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and other instruments ? determined that average annual temperatures near Vesta's poles are probably less than minus 200 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 129 degrees Celsius). Below this threshhold, water ice is thought to be able to survive in the top 10 feet (3 meters) or so of Vestan soil, or regolith.

The average temperatures near Vesta's equator, however, are roughly minus 190 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 123 Celsius), according to the study ? too high to allow water to remain within a few meters of the surface.

This band of relatively warm temperatures extends from the equator to about 27 degrees north and south latitude, researchers said.

"On average, it's colder at Vesta's poles than near its equator, so in that sense, they are good places to sustain water ice," Stubbs said. "But they also see sunlight for long periods of time during the summer seasons, which isn't so good for sustaining ice. So if water ice exists in those regions, it may be buried beneath a relatively deep layer of dry regolith."

Water ice might be stable at the bottom of some craters for much of the Vestan year (about 3.6 Earth years), the study found. But at some point during the summer, sunlight would probably drive it off the surface, either to be lost into space or redeposited somewhere else on the asteroid.

A spacecraft's view of Vesta

Modeling results such as those presented in the new study could soon be vetted by a robotic visitor to Vesta.

NASA's Dawn spacecraft?entered into orbit around the huge space rock in July 2011 and has been studying it ever since. Part of the probe's work involves searching for water with its gamma ray and neutron detector (GRaND) spectrometer, and Dawn recently spiraled close enough to Vesta to get a good look.

"The Dawn mission gives researchers a rare opportunity to observe Vesta for an extended period of time, the equivalent of about one season on Vesta," Stubbs said. "Hopefully, we'll know in the next few months whether the GRaND spectrometer sees evidence for water ice in Vesta's regolith."

Dawn will stay at Vesta until July, when it will depart and journey to Ceres, the largest object in the?asteroid belt. It should arrive there in February 2015.

Both Vesta and Ceres are so large that scientists consider them protoplanets ? baby planets whose growth was interrupted when Jupiter formed. Scientists hope Dawn's observations shed light on the role water has played in the evolution of planets.

"Our perceptions of Vesta have been transformed in a few months as the Dawn spacecraft has entered orbit and spiraled closer to its surface," said Lucy McFadden, a planetary scientist at NASA Goddard and a Dawn mission co-investigator. "More importantly, our new views of Vesta tell us about the early processes of solar system formation. If we can detect evidence for water beneath the surface, the next question will be is it very old or very young, and that would be exciting to ponder."

Follow SPACE.com for the latest in space science and exploration news on Twitter?@Spacedotcom?and on?Facebook.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/science/~3/v32_LX3SZ44/Huge-asteroid-may-be-packed-with-water-ice

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Egypt's military considers speeding up transition (AP)

CAIRO ? A spokesman for an advisory body to Egypt's military rulers says the army is studying ways to accelerate the transition to civilian rule, including moving up the timetable for presidential elections.

Mohammed El-Kholy said Monday the panel of civilian advisers wants to "ease the tension" following street protests on the anniversary of last year's uprising that toppled President Hosni Mubarak, leaving the generals in charge.

The protesters want an immediate end to military rule, and accuse the army of mismanaging the transition and committing human rights violations.

El-Kholy says one suggestion is to hold presidential elections earlier than by the end of June ? the military's current schedule.

Activists say the new proposals could inflame tensions because they squeeze the time allotted for drafting a new constitution.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

CAIRO (AP) ? An Egyptian security official says gunmen have stormed the branch of a major international bank and robbed an armored car in separate parts of Cairo.

The official said that seven gunmen charged Monday into the New Cairo branch of HSBC Bank on the city's outskirts, firing their weapons in the air, and took money from tellers.

The same day, he said, three gunmen robbed an armored car as it unloaded money at another bank in southern Cairo, fleeing with over 3 million Egyptian pounds ($542,000 dollars).

He spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to talk to the media.

Armed bank robberies are rare in Egypt. Monday's daring daytime raids come amid reduced police deployments following the uprising that forced President Hosni Mubarak from power last year.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120130/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_egypt

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Teens migrating to Twitter ? sometimes for privacy (AP)

CHICAGO ? Teens don't tweet, will never tweet - too public, too many older users. Not cool.

That's been the prediction for a while now, born of numbers showing that fewer than one in 10 teens were using Twitter early on.

But then their parents, grandparents, neighbors, parents' friends and anyone in-between started friending them on Facebook, the social networking site of choice for many ? and a curious thing began to happen.

Suddenly, their space wasn't just theirs anymore. So more young people have started shifting to Twitter, almost hiding in plain sight.

"I love twitter, it's the only thing I have to myself ... cause my parents don't have one," Britteny Praznik, a 17-year-old who lives outside Milwaukee, gleefully tweeted recently.

While she still has a Facebook account, she joined Twitter last summer, after more people at her high school did the same. "It just sort of caught on," she says.

Teens tout the ease of use and the ability to send the equivalent of a text message to a circle of friends, often a smaller one than they have on crowded Facebook accounts. They can have multiple accounts and don't have to use their real names. They also can follow their favorite celebrities and, for those interested in doing so, use Twitter as a soapbox.

The growing popularity teens report fits with findings from the Pew Internet & American Life Project, a nonprofit organization that monitors people's tech-based habits. The migration has been slow, but steady. A Pew survey last July found that 16 percent of young people, ages 12 to 17, said they used Twitter. Two years earlier, that percentage was just 8 percent.

"That doubling is definitely a significant increase," says Mary Madden, a senior research specialist at Pew. And she suspects it's even higher now.

Meanwhile, a Pew survey found that nearly one in five 18- to 29-year-olds have taken a liking to the micro-blogging service, which allows them to tweet, or post, their thoughts 140 characters at a time.

Early on, Twitter had a reputation that many didn't think fit the online habits of teens ? well over half of whom were already using Facebook or other social networking services in 2006, when Twitter launched.

"The first group to colonize Twitter were people in the technology industry ? consummate self-promoters," says Alice Marwick, a post-doctoral researcher at Microsoft Research, who tracks young people's online habits.

For teens, self-promotion isn't usually the goal. At least until they go to college and start thinking about careers, social networking is, well, ... social.

But as Twitter has grown, so have the ways people, and communities, use it.

For one, though some don't realize it, tweets don't have to be public. A lot of teens like using locked, private accounts. And whether they lock them or not, many also use pseudonyms, so that only their friends know who they are.

"Facebook is like shouting into a crowd. Twitter is like speaking into a room" ? that's what one teen said when he was participating in a focus group at Microsoft Research, Marwick says.

Other teens have told Pew researchers that they feel "social pressure," to friend people on Facebook ? "for instance, friending everyone in your school or that friend of a friend you met at a football game," Pew researcher Madden says.

Twitter's more fluid and anonymous setup, teens say, gives them more freedom to avoid friends of friends of friends ? not that they're saying anything particularly earth-shattering. They just don't want everyone to see it.

Praznik, for instance, tweets anything from complaints and random thoughts to angst and longing.

"i hate snow i hate winter.Moving to California as soon as i can," one recent post from the Wisconsin teen read.

"Dont add me as a friend for a day just to check up on me and then delete me again and then you wonder why im mad at you.duhhh," read another.

And one more: "I wish you were mine but you don't know wht you want. Till you figure out what you want I'm going to do my own thing."

Different teenagers use Twitter for different reasons.

Some monitor celebrities.

"Twitter is like a backstage pass to a concert," says Jason Hennessey, CEO of Everspark Interactive, a tech-based marketing agency in Atlanta. "You could send a tweet to Justin Bieber 10 minutes before the concert, and there's a chance he might tweet you back."

A few teens use it as a platform to share opinions, keeping their accounts public for all the world to see, as many adults do.

Taylor Smith, a 14-year-old in St. Louis, is one who uses Twitter to monitor the news and to get her own "small points across." Recently, that has included her dislike for strawberry Pop Tarts and her admiration for a video that features the accomplishments of young female scientists.

She started tweeting 18 months ago after her dad opened his own account. He gave her his blessing, though he watches her account closely.

"Once or twice I used bad language and he never let me hear the end of it," Smith says. Even so, she appreciates the chance to vent and to be heard and thinks it's only a matter of time before her friends realize that Twitter is the cool place to be ? always an important factor with teens.

They need to "realize it's time to get in the game," Smith say, though she notes that some don't have smart phones or their own laptops ? or their parents don't want them to tweet, feeling they're too young.

Pam Praznik, Britteny's mother, keeps track of her daughter's Facebook accounts. But Britteny asked that she not follow her on Twitter ? and her mom is fine with that, as long as the tweets remain between friends.

"She could text her friends anyway, without me knowing," mom says.

Marwick at Microsoft thinks that's a good call.

"Parents should kind of chill and give them that space," she says.

Still, teens and parents shouldn't assume that even locked accounts are completely private, says Ananda Mitra, a professor of communication at Wake Forest University in North Carolina.

Online privacy, he says, is "mythical privacy."

Certainly, parents are always concerned about online predators ? and experts say they should use the same common sense online as they do in the outside world when it comes to dealing with strangers and providing too much personal information.

But there are other privacy issues to consider, Mitra says.

Someone with a public Twitter account might, for instance, retweet a posting made on a friend's locked account, allowing anyone to see it. It happens all the time.

And on a deeper level, he says those who use Twitter and Facebook ? publicly or privately ? leave a trail of "digital DNA" that could be mined by universities or employers, law enforcement or advertisers because it is provided voluntarily.

Mitra has coined the term "narb" to describe the narrative bits people reveal about themselves online ? age, gender, location and opinions, based on interactions with their friends.

So true privacy, he says, would "literally means withdrawing" from textual communication online or on phones ? in essence, using this technology in very limited ways.

He realizes that's not very likely, the way things are going ? but he says it is something to think about when interacting with friends, expressing opinions or even "liking" or following a corporation or public figure.

But Marwick at Microsoft still thinks private accounts pose little risk when you consider the content of the average teenager's Twitter account.

"They just want someplace they can express themselves and talk with their friends without everyone watching," she says.

Much like teens always have.

___

Online:

Microsoft Research: http://research.microsoft.com/

Pew: http://www.pewinternet.org

___

Martha Irvine can be reached at mirvine(at)ap.org or via http://twitter.com/irvineap

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120129/ap_on_bi_ge/us_tweeting_teens

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DOE Joint Genome Institute 7th Annual Meeting on March 20-22, 2012

Public release date: 30-Jan-2012
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Contact: David Gilbert
degilbert@lbl.gov
925-296-5643
DOE/Joint Genome Institute

The 7th Annual Genomics of Energy and Environment Meeting of the U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute will be held at the Marriott in Walnut Creek on March 20-22, 2012. The talks will focus on genomics research in the fields of clean energy generation and the environment. Keynote speeches will be delivered by Steven Benner, Distinguished Fellow of The Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution and Carl Zimmer, a science writer for The New York Times.

Since 2005, the DOE Joint Genome Institute has focused on the application of genomics to bioenergy and environmental issues. Organisms are selected for sequencing based on their relevance to the DOE missions, judged by an independent peer review process. Many of the projects focus on one of three key aspects: the development of biofuel feedstocks; the identification of enzymes that can effectively break down plant fibers into sugar; and the development of processes to ferment plant-derived sugars into liquid biofuel.

The annual meeting draws several hundred researchers working in the fields of genomics, bioenergy, carbon cycling and biogeochemistry from around the world. To learn more about this year's event, visit http://bit.ly/JGI_UM.

###

For more information and free media registration, contact David Gilbert, DOE Joint Genome Institute Public Affairs Manager at degilbert@lbl.gov.

The U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, supported by DOE's Office of Science, is committed to advancing genomics in support of DOE missions related to clean energy generation and environmental characterization and cleanup. DOE JGI, headquartered in Walnut Creek, Calif., provides integrated high-throughput sequencing and computational analysis that enable systems-based scientific approaches to these challenges. Follow DOE JGI on Twitter and Facebook.

---

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?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 30-Jan-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: David Gilbert
degilbert@lbl.gov
925-296-5643
DOE/Joint Genome Institute

The 7th Annual Genomics of Energy and Environment Meeting of the U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute will be held at the Marriott in Walnut Creek on March 20-22, 2012. The talks will focus on genomics research in the fields of clean energy generation and the environment. Keynote speeches will be delivered by Steven Benner, Distinguished Fellow of The Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution and Carl Zimmer, a science writer for The New York Times.

Since 2005, the DOE Joint Genome Institute has focused on the application of genomics to bioenergy and environmental issues. Organisms are selected for sequencing based on their relevance to the DOE missions, judged by an independent peer review process. Many of the projects focus on one of three key aspects: the development of biofuel feedstocks; the identification of enzymes that can effectively break down plant fibers into sugar; and the development of processes to ferment plant-derived sugars into liquid biofuel.

The annual meeting draws several hundred researchers working in the fields of genomics, bioenergy, carbon cycling and biogeochemistry from around the world. To learn more about this year's event, visit http://bit.ly/JGI_UM.

###

For more information and free media registration, contact David Gilbert, DOE Joint Genome Institute Public Affairs Manager at degilbert@lbl.gov.

The U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, supported by DOE's Office of Science, is committed to advancing genomics in support of DOE missions related to clean energy generation and environmental characterization and cleanup. DOE JGI, headquartered in Walnut Creek, Calif., provides integrated high-throughput sequencing and computational analysis that enable systems-based scientific approaches to these challenges. Follow DOE JGI on Twitter and Facebook.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-01/dgi-djg013012.php

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Indy battens down hatches for Super Bowl security

In this Jan. 28, 2012 photo, a pedestrian passes by a manhole cover outside Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Indianapolis Power & Light has spent nearly $200,000 to replace 150 manhole covers in the Super Bowl Village and in other areas expected to draw high pre-game traffic after a series of underground explosions last year turned the covers into dangerous projectiles that damaged cars. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

In this Jan. 28, 2012 photo, a pedestrian passes by a manhole cover outside Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Indianapolis Power & Light has spent nearly $200,000 to replace 150 manhole covers in the Super Bowl Village and in other areas expected to draw high pre-game traffic after a series of underground explosions last year turned the covers into dangerous projectiles that damaged cars. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

Officer David Bryant, right, of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police, watches the crowd at the Super Bowl Village in Indianapolis Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. From pickpockets and prostitutes to dirty bombs and exploding manhole covers, authorities are bracing for whatever threat Super Bowl XLVI might bring. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

In this Jan. 28, 2012 photo, a security guard works at a concert in Super Bowl Village in Indianapolis. From pickpockets and prostitutes to dirty bombs and exploding manhole covers, authorities are bracing for whatever threat Super Bowl XLVI might bring. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) ? From pickpockets and prostitutes to dirty bombs and exploding manhole covers, authorities are bracing for whatever threat the first Super Bowl in downtown Indianapolis might bring.

Some ? nuclear terrorism, for instance ? are likely to remain just hypothetical. But others, like thieves and wayward manhole covers, are all too real.

Though Indianapolis has ample experience hosting large sporting events ? the Indianapolis 500 attracts more than 200,000 fans each year, and the NCAA's men's Final Four basketball tournament has been held here six times since 1980? the city's first Super Bowl poses some unique challenges.

Unlike the Final Four, which is compressed into a weekend, the Super Bowl offers crowd, travel and other logistical challenges over 10 days leading up to the Feb. 5 game. And unlike the 500, where events are largely concentrated at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway about seven miles from Lucas Oil Stadium, the NFL's showcase event will consume 44 blocks ? about a mile square ? in the heart of the city, closing off streets and forcing an anticipated 150,000 or more NFL fans to jockey with downtown workers for space much of the week.

"This is clearly bigger in terms of the amount of people who will be downtown over an extended period of time," city Public Safety Director Frank Straub said.

Under a security risk rating system used by the federal government, the Super Bowl ranks just below national security events involving the president and the Secret Service, said Indianapolis Chief of Homeland Security Gary Coons. The ratings are based on factors including international attention, media coverage, the number of people the event attracts and visits by celebrities and foreign dignitaries, he said. The Indianapolis 500 ranks two levels below the Super Bowl.

The city has invested millions of dollars and worked with local, state and federal agencies to try to keep all those people safe. Up to 1,000 city police officers will be in the stadium and on the street, carrying smartphones and other electronic hand-held devices that will enable them to feed photos and video to a new state-of-the-art operations center on the city's east side or to cruisers driven by officers providing backup, Straub said. Hundreds of officers from other agencies, including the state police and the FBI, will be scanning the crowd for signs of pickpocketing, prostitution or other trouble.

One concern has been a series of explosions in Indianapolis Power & Light's underground network of utility cables. A dozen underground explosions have occurred since 2005, sending manhole covers flying.

Eight explosions have occurred since 2010. The latest, on Nov. 19, turned a manhole cover into a projectile that heavily damaged a parked car and raised concerns about the safety of Super Bowl visitors walking on streets and soaring above the Super Bowl village on four zip lines installed for the festivities.

Since December, IPL has spent about $180,000 to install 150 new locking manhole covers, primarily in the Super Bowl village and other areas expected to see high pre-game traffic.

IPL officials say the new Swiveloc manhole covers can be locked for security reasons during the Super Bowl. In case of an explosion, the covers lift a couple of inches off the ground ? enough to vent gas out without feeding in oxygen to make an explosion bigger ? before falling back into place.

An Atlanta consultant hired by the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission last summer to audit IPL's underground network of cables for a cause of the explosions says the new covers are merely a Band-Aid.

"We've argued it's better to prevent," said Dan O'Neill of O'Neill Management Consulting, which filed its report in December.

O'Neill's team couldn't pinpoint an exact cause for the explosions but said a flawed inspection process contributed, noting that IPL workers missed warning signs such as road salt corroding an old cable or leaks in nearby steam pipes. In a report filed Jan. 19 with Indiana utility regulators, the power company said it had overhauled its inspection process.

IPL will dispatch extra crews to the area around the stadium in case of power-related problems, such as a recent breaker fire that left 10,000 customers in homes south of downtown without power. Spokeswoman Crystal Livers-Powers said the company doesn't anticipate any power issues.

Straub, the public safety director, said he's confident the city is prepared and notes that Indianapolis hosts major events "pretty regularly."

Special teams from the Department of Energy will sweep Lucas Oil Stadium and the surrounding area for nuclear terror threats, and a new $18 million high-tech communications center that opened in time for the lead-up to the game will tie it all together.

"We're using more technology, and state of the art technology, than has been used in any Super Bowl before this one," Straub said.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-01-30-Super%20Bowl-Security/id-f2f01197fac24ea8989acfba48c95f54

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HBT: Cards deny they have deal with Oswalt

There was increasing chatter late last night about Roy Oswalt closing in on an agreement with the Cardinals. Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com was even told by a source that the veteran right-hander was headed to St. Louis. Those reports were downplayed early this morning and now we have an official denial from the team?s general manager.

Matthew Leach of MLB.com was told?by Cardinals GM John Mozeliak via email this morning that rumors of an agreement are ?not true.? Another club official indicated that no roster moves appear to be imminent.

Does this mean it won?t happen? Of course not. We?ve heard multiple times this week that Oswalt wants to pitch closer in proximity to his Mississippi home and would prefer to join either the Cardinals or the Rangers. And it sounds like he means business. According to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com, Oswalt recently turned down a one-year, $10 million contract from the Tigers. It?s highly unlikely he?ll get that much guaranteed cash from anyone else.

UPDATE: Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com reports that while the Rangers are interested in Oswalt, they have not made him an offer.

Source: http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/01/28/cardinals-gm-denies-team-has-deal-in-place-with-roy-oswalt/related/

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Researchers find cancer in ancient Egyptian mummy | The ...

A professor from American University in Cairo says discovery of prostate cancer in a 2,200-year-old mummy indicates the disease was caused by genetics, not environment.
The genetics-environment question is key to understanding cancer.
AUC professor Salima Ikram, a member of the team that studied the mummy in Portugal for two years, said Sunday the mummy was of a man who died in his forties.
She said this was the second oldest known case of prostate cancer.
"Living conditions in ancient times were very different; there were no pollutants or modified foods, which leads us to believe that the disease is not necessarily only linked to industrial factors," she said.
A statement from AUC says the oldest known case came from a 2,700 year-old skeleton of a king in Russia.

Source: http://www.sfexaminer.com/news/health/2012/01/researchers-find-cancer-ancient-egyptian-mummy

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St. Louis hosting 1st big parade on Iraq War's end

Stephanie King holds a picture of her uncle, Col. Stephen Scott who was killed in Iraq in 2008, as she prepares to participate in a parade to honor Iraq War veterans Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012, in St. Louis. Thousands turned out to watch the first big welcome home parade in the U.S. since the last troops left Iraq in December. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Stephanie King holds a picture of her uncle, Col. Stephen Scott who was killed in Iraq in 2008, as she prepares to participate in a parade to honor Iraq War veterans Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012, in St. Louis. Thousands turned out to watch the first big welcome home parade in the U.S. since the last troops left Iraq in December. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Participants in a parade to honor Iraq War veterans make their way along a downtown street Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012, in St. Louis. Thousands turned out to watch the first big welcome home parade in the U.S. since the last troops left Iraq in December. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Spectators cheer and wave as they watch a parade to honor Iraq War veterans pass Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012, in St. Louis. Thousands turned out to watch the first big welcome home parade in the U.S. since the last troops left Iraq in December. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Maj. Rich Radford, who became a symbol of the parade to honor Iraq War veterans thanks to a photo of his young daughter taking his hand while welcoming him home from his second tour in Iraq in 2010, smiles before the start of the parade Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012, in St. Louis. Thousands turned out to watch the first big welcome home parade in the U.S. since the last troops left Iraq in December. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Army Sgt. 1st Class Randy Jemerson, a veteran of two tours in Iraq, takes a picture of a staging at the start of a parade to honor Iraq War veterans Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012, in St. Louis. Thousands turned out to watch the first big welcome home parade in the U.S. since the last troops left Iraq in December. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

ST. LOUIS (AP) ? Looking around at the tens of thousands of people waving American flags and cheering, Army Maj. Rich Radford was moved that so many braved a cold January wind Saturday in St. Louis to honor people like him: Iraq War veterans.

The parade, borne out of a simple conversation between two St. Louis friends a month ago, was the nation's first big welcome-home for veterans of the war since the last troops were withdrawn from Iraq in December.

"It's not necessarily overdue, it's just the right thing," said Radford, a 23-year Army veteran who walked in the parade alongside his 8-year-old daughter, Aimee, and 12-year-old son, Warren.

Radford was among about 600 hundred veterans, many dressed in camouflage, who walked along downtown streets lined with rows of people clapping and holding signs with messages including "Welcome Home" and "Thanks to our Service Men and Women." Some of the war-tested troops wiped away tears as they acknowledged the support from a crowd that organizers estimated reached 100,000 people.

Fire trucks with aerial ladders hoisted huge American flags in three different places along the route, with politicians, marching bands ? even the Budweiser Clydesdales ? joining in. But the large crowd was clearly there to salute men and women in the military, and people cheered wildly as groups of veterans walked by.

That was the hope of organizers Craig Schneider and Tom Appelbaum. Neither man has served in the military but came up with the idea after noticing there had been little fanfare for returning Iraq War veterans aside from gatherings at airports and military bases. No ticker-tape parades or large public celebrations.

Appelbaum, an attorney, and Schneider, a school district technical coordinator, decided something needed to be done. So they sought donations, launched a Facebook page, met with the mayor and mapped a route. The grassroots effort resulted in a huge turnout despite raising only about $35,000 and limited marketing.

That marketing included using a photo of Radford being welcomed home from his second tour in Iraq by his then-6-year-old daughter. The girl had reached up, grabbed his hand and said, "I missed you, daddy." Radford's sister caught the moment with her cellphone camera, and the image graced T-shirts and posters for the parade.

Veterans came from around the country, and more than 100 entries ? including marching bands, motorcycle groups and military units ? signed up ahead of the event, Appelbaum said.

Schneider said he was amazed how everyone, from city officials to military organizations to the media, embraced the parade.

"It was an idea that nobody said no to," he said. "America was ready for this."

All that effort by her hometown was especially touching for Gayla Gibson, a 38-year-old Air Force master sergeant who said she spent four months in Iraq ? seeing "amputations, broken bones, severe burns from IEDs" ? as a medical technician in 2003.

"I think it's great when people come out to support those who gave their lives and put their lives on the line for this country," Gibson said.

With 91,000 troops still fighting in Afghanistan, many Iraq veterans could be redeployed ? suggesting to some that it's premature to celebrate their homecoming. In New York, for example, Mayor Michael Bloomberg recently said there would be no city parade for Iraq War veterans in the foreseeable future because of objections voiced by military officials.

But in St. Louis, there was clearly a mood to thank the troops with something big, even among those opposed to the war.

"Most of us were not in favor of the war in Iraq, but the soldiers who fought did the right thing and we support them," said 72-year-old Susan Cunningham, who attended the parade with the Missouri Progressive Action Group. "I'm glad the war is over and I'm glad they're home."

Don Lange, 60, of nearby Sullivan, held his granddaughter along the parade route. His daughter was a military interrogator in Iraq.

"This is something everyplace should do," Lange said as he watched the parade.

Several veterans of the Vietnam War turned out to show support for the younger troops. Among them was Don Jackson, 63, of Edwardsville, Ill., who said he was thrilled to see the parade honoring Iraq War veterans like his son, Kevin, who joined him at the parade. The 33-year-old Air Force staff sergeant said he'd lost track of how many times he had been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan as a flying mechanic.

"I hope this snowballs," he said of the parade. "I hope it goes all across the country. I only wish my friends who I served with were here to see this."

Looking at all the people around him in camouflage, 29-year-old veteran Matt Wood said he felt honored. He served a year in Iraq with the Illinois National Guard.

"It's extremely humbling, it's amazing, to be part of something like this with all of these people who served their country with such honor," he said.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-01-28-Iraq%20War-Parade/id-2423f57659b34184a4f60f2722cc7d8f

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Economic growth for the past 4 years, at a glance (AP)

Skip to navigation ? Skip to content ? By The Associated Press The Associated Press ? Fri?Jan?27, 3:37?pm?ET

The annual performance of the U.S. economy in each of the past four years as measured by the gross domestic product. GDP is the country's total output of goods and services.

2011 1.7 percent

2010 3.0 percent

2009 -3.5 percent

2008 -0.3 percent

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Copyright ? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120127/ap_on_bi_ge/us_economy_annual_gdp_glance

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College presidents wary of Obama cost-control plan

President Barack Obama speaks at the University of Michigan's Al Glick Field House, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012, in Ann Arbor, Mich. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)

President Barack Obama speaks at the University of Michigan's Al Glick Field House, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012, in Ann Arbor, Mich. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)

President Barack Obama greets supporters after his speech at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Mich., Friday, Jan. 27, 2012. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

President Barack Obama speaks at the University of Michigan's Al Glick Field House, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012, in Ann Arbor, Mich. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

President Barack Obama speaks at the University of Michigan's Al Glick Field House, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012, in Ann Arbor, Mich. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)

President Barack Obama speaks at the University of Michigan's Al Glick Field House, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012, in Ann Arbor, Mich. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Public university presidents facing ever-increasing state budget cuts are raising concerns about President Barack Obama's plan to force colleges and universities to contain tuition prices or face losing federal dollars.

Illinois State University President Al Bowman says the reality is that deficits in many public schools can't be easily overcome with simple modifications. Bowman says he's happy to hear Obama call for state-level support of public universities but adds that, given the decreases in state aid, tying federal support to tuition is a product of "fuzzy math."

Obama spelled out his proposal Friday at the University of Michigan.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/apdefault/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-01-28-Obama-College%20Costs/id-9705e2b8e4e0444a8566bc077eadea11

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150 arrested in daylong Occupy Oakland protests (AP)

OAKLAND, Calif. ? Oakland police say they arrested a total of about 150 people Saturday as protesters spent a portion of the day trying to get into a vacant convention center, and later broke into City Hall and tried to occupy a YMCA.

Police spokesman Jeff Thomason says most of the arrests came around 8 p.m. That's when police took about 100 protesters into custody as they marched through the city's downtown, with some entering a YMCA building.

About 20 demonstrators were arrested earlier in the afternoon, after police say they threw rocks, bottles and other objects at officers and tore down fencing.

Police say three officers were injured. Officers used tear gas and "flash" grenades on the protesters after they refused to leave.

Authorities were still tabulating the exact number of arrests late Saturday.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

Police were in the process of arresting about 100 Occupy protesters for failing to disperse Saturday night, hours after officers used tear gas on a rowdy group of demonstrators who threw rocks and flares at them and tore down fences.

Police Sgt. Christopher Bolton said the arrests came after protesters marched through downtown Oakland a little before 8 p.m. Saturday, with some of them entering a YMCA building.

Meanwhile, about 100 police officers surrounded City Hall while others were swept the inside of the building to see if any protesters broke in.

More help from other police agencies was also on the way, with busloads of Alameda County sheriff's deputies arriving in the downtown area late Saturday.

The nighttime arrests came after 19 people were taken into custody in Occupy Oakland protests hours earlier.

Police used tear gas and "flash" grenades on the group Saturday afternoon after some demonstrators threw rocks and other objects at them. Police said three officers were hurt, but they released no details.

Police said the group assembled at a downtown plaza Saturday morning, with demonstrators threatening to take over the vacant Henry Kaiser Convention Center. The group then marched through the streets, disrupting traffic.

The crowd grew as the day wore on, with afternoon estimates ranging from about 1,000 to 2,000 people.

The protesters walked to the vacant convention center, where some started tearing down perimeter fencing and "destroying construction equipment" shortly before 3 p.m., police said.

Police said they issued a dispersal order and used smoke and tear gas after some protesters pelted them with bottles, rocks, burning flares and other objects.

Most of the arrests were made when protesters ignored orders to leave and assaulted officers, police said. By 4 p.m., the bulk of the crowd had left the convention center and headed back downtown.

The demonstration comes after Occupy protesters said earlier this week that they planned to move into a vacant building and turn it into a social center and political hub. They also threatened to try to shut down the port, occupy the airport and take over City Hall.

In a statement Friday, Oakland City Administrator Deanna Santana said the city would not be "bullied by threats of violence or illegal activity."

Interim police Chief Howard Jordan also warned that officers would arrest those carrying out illegal actions.

Oakland officials said Friday that since the Occupy Oakland encampment was first established in late October, police have arrested about 300 people.

The national Occupy Wall Street movement, which denounces corporate excess and economic inequality, began in New York City in the fall but has been largely dormant lately.

Oakland, New York and Los Angeles were among the cities with the largest and most vocal Occupy protests early on. The demonstrations ebbed after those cities used force to move out hundreds of demonstrators who had set up tent cities.

In Oakland, the police department received heavy criticism for using force to break up earlier protests. Among the critics was Mayor Jean Quan, who said she wasn't briefed on the department's plans. Earlier this month, a court-appointed monitor submitted a report to a federal judge that included "serious concerns" about the department's handling of the Occupy protests.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120129/ap_on_re_us/us_occupy_oakland

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Video: Chatzky: Paper trail ?best defense? in tax audit

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Finance chiefs reassure CEOs over European crisis

French Finance Minister Francois Baroin, left, speaks with his German counterpart Wolfgang Schaeuble, right, during a plenary session at the 42nd annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, WEF, in Davos, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012. The meeting lasts until Jan. 29. (AP Photo/Keystone, Jean-Christophe Bott)

French Finance Minister Francois Baroin, left, speaks with his German counterpart Wolfgang Schaeuble, right, during a plenary session at the 42nd annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, WEF, in Davos, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012. The meeting lasts until Jan. 29. (AP Photo/Keystone, Jean-Christophe Bott)

US Secretary of Treasure Timothy F. Geithner talks about US Economy during a plenary session at the 42nd annual meeting of the WEF in Davos, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012. The meeting lasts until Jan. 29. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)

President of the European Central Bank Mario Draghi speaks during a session at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012. Draghi said that new, tougher rules restricting government budget deficits are the prerequisite before the troubled eurozone can move toward more central control of finances. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

President of the European Central Bank Mario Draghi pauses as he speaks during a session at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012. Draghi said that new, tougher rules restricting government budget deficits are the prerequisite before the troubled eurozone can move toward more central control of finances. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

President of the European Central Bank Mario Draghi pauses as he speaks during a session at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012. Draghi said that new, tougher rules restricting government budget deficits are the prerequisite before the troubled eurozone can move toward more central control of finances. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) ? Leading finance chiefs sought to reassure anxious global business leaders on Friday that Europe is on track to solve its crippling debt crisis before it drags the world's economies down. Europe's top banker said investors, burned after trusting the region's governments too much, now trust them too little.

The finance chiefs said the picture in Europe has changed over the past two months as the European Central Bank has loaned billions of euros to fragile banks, indebted countries have pushed through convincing reforms and EU leaders have come near to building a closer fiscal union that would make their common currency stronger.

Several also signaled Friday that Greece is close to clinching a crucial debt-reduction deal with private bondholders ? a key element in Europe's efforts to stem a two-year debt crisis that is causing ripples around the globe. The crisis is a central topic at the World Economic Forum, a gathering of government and business leaders at the Swiss ski resort of Davos.

"They're making progress on reforms, they're changing the institutions of Europe to put better discipline on fiscal policy," said U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. "You have three new governments doing some very tough things. You have an ECB doing what central banks have to do. You see them move to try to strengthen the financial sector."

Mario Draghi, head of the European Central Bank, said a combination of actions ? including super-cheap, long-term loans to shaky banks on the continent and a couple of interest rate cuts ? have helped Europe avoid deeper financial trouble.

"We have avoided a major credit crunch, a major lending crisis," he said.

Draghi said borrowing rates would remain high "for quite a while" because bond markets are overestimating the risk involved in holding European government debt after years of underestimating it. But he called market pressure "the most potent engine for reform in different governments."

Geithner said the fate of the U.S. economy ? and by extension of the rest of the world ? hinges on Europe's debt crisis, along with potential tensions with Iran. He said the main piece of unfinished business for Europe is building a bigger fund to help troubled economies survive.

But while French Finance Minister Francois Baroin said that fund needs to be increased to calm markets, his German counterpart, Wolfgang Schaeuble, indicated that his government is not prepared to do so. Germany, as Europe's biggest economy, would face the biggest bill.

"We must not give the wrong incentives," Schaeuble said. "You can make any figure. It will not work if the real problems will not be solved."

Both, together with Spanish Economy Minister Luis de Guindos Jurado and European Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn, agreed that the idea of issuing "eurobonds" backed jointly by all eurozone governments is a nonstarter for now. They didn't rule out the possibility that such bonds could be introduced once confidence in Europe's public finances is restored, with Guindos calling that a "final target."

Schaeuble said eurobonds would provide bad incentives by allowing debt-ridden countries to "spend money you don't have on the bill of others."

Many economists have said eurobonds are needed to solve the crisis as they could reduce the borrowing costs of heavily indebted countries by pooling them with bonds of stronger economies like Germany's.

Professor Nouriel Roubini, the renowned economist who predicted the financial crash of 2008, is one who thinks that eurobonds have to form part of a eurozone strategy to fend off the possibility of a breakup.

The eurozone "could be a slow-motion train wreck," Roubini said.

Europe has been grappling with the crisis ever since Greece conceded at the end of 2009 that its public finances were in far worse shape than previously thought. Greece remains at the epicenter of the crisis over two years later. Its borrowing costs remain too high for it to borrow in the markets so a second European-led bailout is in the offing.

The finance chiefs signaled Friday that a deal is at hand that could help ease some of the near-term tensions.

Greece has been negotiating with the a group representing banks and other lenders in the hopes that they will forgive half of Greece's debt in exchange for Greek assurances that it will pay back the other half without defaulting on its loans. The deal would also let Greece repay over a longer period at a lower interest rate ? negotiators have been trying to agree on what that rate will be.

Schaeuble said he is "quite optimistic" about a deal, while Rehn said he hopes a deal can be reached "if not today, maybe by the weekend."

Agreement between Greece and its creditors is needed before Europe and the International Monetary Fund agree to a second multibillion-euro bailout package.

At the heart of the problem is that the 17 countries that use the euro use a single currency but have different fiscal policies. That changes the nature of their debt, said Adair Turner, chairman of Britain's banking regulator the Financial Services Authority.

"That debt is more equivalent to the State of California debt than the U.S. federal debt," he said.

That's why all but one of the 27 EU countries ? the United Kingdom has refused to participate ? are discussing a closer fiscal union. On Monday, leaders meet in Brussels to work out the details of that new compact.

Schaeuble and Baroin noted that even the agreement in principle to forge closer ties has calmed markets since a December summit, as borrowing rates have dropped and stock markets have risen.

"It's amazing," Draghi said. "If you compare today with even five months ago, the euro area is another world."

The crisis threatens more than Europe: the U.N.'s refugee chief warned Friday that it is fueling conflicts around the world. Antonio Guterres told The Associated Press that rising food prices and growing unemployment are hitting those already at the bottom hardest, sparking conflict in places like South Sudan and exacerbating hotspots including Afghanistan, Iraq and Somalia.

_____

Frank Jordans and Edith Lederer in Davos and David McHugh in Frankfurt, Germany contributed to this story.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-01-27-EU-Davos-Forum/id-330211d176f14538b31f604ba42cee04

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President Obama?s class-warfare speech-Charles Gasparino - NYPOST.com

Three years after the Hope and Change president took office, Hope turns out to mean high taxes and lots of regulations, and Change consists of celebrating the government?s takeover of General Motors and belittling technological progress that destroys some jobs even as it creates others. The Great Uniter is all about class warfare.

Such was President Obama?s latest State of the Union Address.

At times during the speech Tuesday night, it was hard to hold a straight face. Here he was, telling us first how bad things are because of vast income inequalities that he wants to address through higher taxes on the rich, but also how much better things have been since he?s been elected, with 3 million jobs created in the last 22 months.

AP

Contradictions flying fast: Obama talks of cutting small-biz taxes ? and also raising them.

Huh? The jobs that were created came after the Republicans began to thwart his push for a huge tax hike like the one he?s still touting.

The contradictions flew hard and fast. The president wants more domestic-energy production, he says ? less than a week after he blocked the Keystone oil pipeline. He basically called for a trade war with China, even though he needs Beijing to help finance his endless spending.

He talked about expanding ?tax relief? for small businesses, which create many jobs during most normal economic recoveries. But he also called for higher tax rates on those same small businesses ? though he relabeled them ?millionaires? ? ignoring the fact that as small businesses, they file their taxes under the individual income-tax code.

His plan to tax small businesses is called the Buffett Rule, named after the president?s (and the media?s) favorite fat-cat investor, Warren Buffett. But Buffett made his billions feasting off of low taxes on capital gains ? and so avoiding the income-tax code.

Obama calls his economic plans ?common sense,? but wouldn?t it make more sense to offer that 15 percent tax rate (which helped Buffett become so successful) to small businesses, so they could expand and hire?

It?s said economics has never been Obama?s strong suit. Maybe that?s why he let left-wingers like Valerie Jarrett and David Plouffe chase away Bill Daley, Larry Summers and the other best economic minds in his administration.

Possibly the lowest point of the speech was the president?s portrayal of America as a nation of rigid classes, rather than a place to which millions of immigrants flock for opportunity, even during these tough times.

It?s one thing to beat up on the big banks that caused the financial crisis; it?s another to hammer any family that earns a combined income of $250,000 a year as ?millionaires,? pretending they didn?t work for their success and thus ought to pay the government more hard-earned money.

Will the great-uniter-turned-divider strategy work? The weak Republican field helps. Mitt Romney, once the GOP front-runner, offers nonsensical answers to questions about his years in private equity and how he accumulated his massive wealth. Newt Gingrich has surged largely by attacking Romney?s success.

But America is not (yet) Europe. People here still aspire to be rich more than they hate success, no matter how many times the media extols the virtues of Occupy Wall Street and its attacks on the 1 percent.

Plus, Obama is clearly alienating former supporters in the business community, like JP Morgan chief Jamie Dimon ? who has the distinction of running a bank that stayed away from the risk-taking that doomed the rest of the business.

Dimon, a life-long Democrat, backed Obama strongly in 2008, but now is undecided. He?s not crazy about the GOP?s right wing, but he also notes that he?s now ?barely a Democrat, because I think the left side of the party is really destructive.?

Too bad Obama doesn?t agree.

Have a comment on this PostOpinion column? Send it in to LETTERS@NYPOST.COM!

Source: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/adding_up_to_nothing_8K1eBN3afYXNELupfK8tRL

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Zusi's goal lift US men to 1-0 win over Panama

/

By The Associated Press

updated 1:38 a.m. ET Jan. 26, 2012

Five months before the start of World Cup qualifying, the United States got an exhibition win in Central America under some of the conditions the players will face on the road to the 2014 tournament in Brazil.

Graham Zusi scored his first international goal in the eighth minute, and the Americans beat Panama 1-0 Wednesday night at Panama City for their third straight win.

"We wanted to introduce the players to those difficult games in different environments, especially away from home outside of their comfort zone," U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann said. "We wanted them to come here and experience this atmosphere and a different way of doing things. I think they did very well with all that."

Using mostly backups while the regulars remained with their European clubs and playing nearly the entire second half a man short, the Americans evened their record at 4-4-1 under Klinsmann, who replaced Bob Bradley as coach last summer.

"It was fun. The crowd was great. It was a fun environment to play in," Zusi said. '

Panama, which upset the U.S. in the first round of last year's CONCACAF Gold Cup, had a man advantage after Geoff Cameron received a red card in the 52nd minute for shoving Blas Perez from behind on a breakaway just outside the penalty area.

Perez nearly tied it in the 78th but sent a short downward header wide.

"In the first half I think we were the better team," said midfielder Jermaine Jones, who served as the U.S. captain for the second straight match. "The second half was difficult because we were a man down and Panama pushed hard."

Other than the goal, the Americans rarely threatened ? the U.S. didn't have its first corner kick until the fifth minute of stoppage time in the second half, just before the final whistle.

Goalkeeper Nick Rimando, making his first national team appearance in a year, had several difficult saves to prevent the hosts from scoring. The U.S. was coming off a 1-0 win over Venezuela on Saturday at Glendale, Ariz., its first victory over a South American opponent in nearly five years.

"To get two victories and come down to Central America and beat Panama is huge," Rimando said. "It's a testament to all the hard work everyone has put in."

During a three-week training camp, Klinsmann got to test the depth of his player pool as the Americans prepare for their opening qualifier, on June 8 against Antigua and Barbuda.

"It was good to help us prepare for what we will see in World Cup qualifying," midfielder Brek Shea said. "It's a battle. It's not always pretty, but you have to get the results."

Most of the top American players will return for the next game, an exhibition against Italy at Genoa on Feb. 29.

Zusi, a 25-year-old midfielder with Major League Soccer's Sporting Kansas City, made his national debut last weekend. His goal came after left back Zach Loyd's cross fell at Teal Bunbury at the top of the 6-yard box and appeared to bounce off him to Zusi, who slammed it in with a right-footed shot from 7 yards.

"Zach sent a ball in that took a fortuitous bounce in my direction, and I was just there to clean it up," Zusi said. "It's a cool experience to get that first goal, but the win is still the most important thing."

Rimando dove midway through the first half to block Luis Renteria's point-blank shot, which bounded in front of the net. Rimando then got up and managed to poke the ball away before the rebound could be knocked in.

Jones nearly made it 2-0 in the 30th, but goalkeeper Luis Mejia parried his 30-yard shot, then dived back to save Chris Wondolowski's header at the goal line. Five minutes later, Rimando athletically got his left leg out to block Perez's close-range shot.

"Our team had a very hard three weeks, and they had tired legs today and you could see that," Klinsmann said. "A lot of the young players learned their lesson today."

NOTES: After scoring in the seventh minute of stoppage against Venezuela. MF Ricardo Clark had started for the first time since June 26, 2010, when he was stripped of the ball leading to Ghana's opening goal in the 2-1 overtime loss that eliminated the U.S. from the World Cup. ... D Jeff Parke made his debut in the 55th minute, coming in for Wondolowski after Cameron's red card.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Barca holds off Madrid rally

Pedro Rodriguez and Daniel Alves scored first-half goals, and Barcelona held off a spirited Real Madrid comeback attempt to eliminate the defending Copa del Rey champion with a 2-2 tie Wednesday night.

Do-or-die

The U.S. women's soccer team was still on the field, having dispatched rival Mexico, when Abby Wambach gathered her teammates for a little speech.

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/46141711/ns/sports-soccer/

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Beyonce's Sister Solange Plans To 'Spoil' Blue Ivy

'I'm excited to let the baby do whatever it wants,' the younger Knowles laughs to In Style of her niece.
By Rebecca Thomas

Solange Knowles
Photo: Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic

These days, it's hard to thumb through a magazine without stumbling across a famous sister act. The Kardashians and the Braxtons are reigning reality TV divas. The fashionable Fannings have young Hollywood on lock. And the Williams sisters have been known to spark a rap beef when they're not racking up grand slams. But for sheer show-stopping glam, few girl duos gleam brighter than the Knowleses.

Houston natives Beyoncé and Solange have each carved out distinctively impressive lanes, with B owning the pop diva crown while Brooklyn-dwelling Solo has been shutting it down as a turntablist with a playlist as enviable as her closet.

And there's no sibling rivalry from this vantage point: Although Beyoncé celebrated the arrival of baby girl Blue Ivy Carter with husband Jay-Z just this month, she got a head start on motherhood by playing doting auntie to little sis Solange's one and only, 7-year-old Julez. So how does Solo plan to welcome big sister into the exclusive mommy club?

"This may sound awful, but I'm excited to let the baby do whatever it wants," she teased in the February issue of In Style, "in the same way my sister's done with my son."

Eagle-eyed Beyoncé fans know that nephew Julez has made a number of cameos in the superstar's reel. Among the more adorable was his feature in her Nintendo DSi spot, which found the green-eyed cutie cuddled on a couch with Aunt B as she enjoys some rare offstage downtime. Little J also turned up in the MTV doc "Year of 4," joining the Carters on a trip to Paris. Now, the fashion-blog favorite intends to return the favor.

"I'm going to get her back for all those late-night popcorn sessions and just spoiling my child to no end!" Solo added with a laugh.

When the youngest Knowles isn't DJ'ing, she's hard at work on her forthcoming album, for which she promised the mag she would walk in the funky footprints of '80s hitmakers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.

Do you think Solange will make a good aunt to Blue Ivy? Share your thoughts on our Facebook page!

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Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1677774/beyonce-blue-ivy-solange-in-style.jhtml

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Wash. state to be 7th for gay marriage (Politico)

Washington state is set to become the seventh in the country to legalize gay marriage, according to a report Monday.

Democratic Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen announced she would be the 25th vote needed to pass the same-sex marriage bill out of the state Senate, The Associated Press reported Monday. The Washington state House already has the necessary support for the measure, and Gov. Chris Gregoire publicly announced her support for gay marriage earlier this month.

Continue Reading

Washington would then become the seventh state to legalize same-sex marriage along with New York, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Iowa, Connecticut and Vermont. The District of Columbia also recognizes same-sex marriage.

?I know this announcement makes me the so-called 25th vote, the vote that ensures passage,? Haugen said in a statement, according to the AP.

Haugen said she made her decision after taking time ?to reconcile my religious beliefs with my beliefs as an American, as a legislator, and as a wife and mother who cannot deny to others the joys and benefits I enjoy. This is the right vote and it is the vote I will cast when this measure comes to the floor.?

Gregoire announced her support at a news conference on Jan. 4, saying, ?It is time in Washington state for marriage equality. It is time; it?s the right thing to do.?

The state Senate began considering the bill during a morning committee hearing, the AP reported.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/politico_rss/rss_politico_mostpop/http___www_politico_com_news_stories0112_71835_html/44276850/SIG=11movdna4/*http%3A//www.politico.com/news/stories/0112/71835.html

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Colleagues blame Syria for French reporter's death (AP)

GENEVA ? Two Swiss journalists said Sunday that Syrian authorities were to blame for the death of award-winning French TV reporter Gilles Jacquier, who was killed earlier this month in the restive city of Homs.

The 43-year-old correspondent for France-2 Television was the first Western journalist to die since the uprising began in March. Syrian authorities have said he was killed in a grenade attack carried out by opposition forces ? a claim questioned by the French government, human rights groups and the Syrian opposition.

Patrick Vallelian of the weekly L'Hebdo and Sid Ahmed Hammouche of the daily La Liberte newspaper, who were with Jacquier the day he died, said they believed the attack was part of an elaborate trap set up by Syrian authorities.

"It felt like it was all planned in advance," Vallelian told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.

He described how a group of foreign journalists including Jacquier were on their way to visit a hospital in Homs on Jan. 11 when their escort of Syrian soldiers and intelligence officials ordered them to make an unscheduled stop to interview traders in a pro-government part of the city.

Shortly afterward, an explosion was heard and soldiers told the foreign journalists to run to the detonation site to film what had happened, Vallelian said.

While Jacquier and others went to the site, Vallelian and Hammouche said they stayed behind, suspicious of the fact that the soldiers were encouraging journalists to move toward, not away, from the danger zone.

Hammouche, who speaks Arabic, said it appeared the soldiers had known in advance that the attack was going to happen. Plainclothes intelligence officials even predicted the site of a subsequent explosion before it occurred, he said.

"For me, it was a trap," said Hammouche.

According to the two Swiss journalists, other incidents that followed the attack also point to government involvement. These included the theft of Jacquier's notes on meetings with opposition supporters, and remarkably consistent accounts of the attack given by pro-government figures who weren't present when it happened.

Vallelian said he plans to meet next week with French police. Paris prosecutors have launched a preliminary murder investigation into Jacquier's death.

Syria has banned almost all foreign journalists since the start of the uprising, in which the United Nations estimates more than 5,000 people have died. Authorities recently started issuing short-term visas for a limited number of journalists, who are allowed to move only accompanied by government minders.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120122/ap_on_re_eu/eu_syria_journalist_killed

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