Tech's biggest misfires of 2011

The past 12 months have been a boon of technological innovation, particularly in the world of mobile devices, where top companies have been waging an arms race for the top of the smartphone and tablet hills. Not everything has been smooth sailing, however -- 2011 has also been dotted by delays, false starts, security breeches and straight up technological turf outs. Check out some of the lowlights from the year that was after the break.

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Tech's biggest misfires of 2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Dec 2011 13:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/12/29/techs-biggest-misfires-of-2011/

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NKorea calls Kim Jong Un 'supreme leader' (AP)

PYONGYANG, North Korea ? North Korea declared Kim Jong Il's son and successor "supreme leader" of the ruling party, military and the people during a memorial Thursday for his father in the government's first public endorsement of his leadership.

Kim Jong Un ? head bowed and somber in a dark overcoat ? stood watching from a balcony at the Grand People's Study House overlooking Kim Il Sung Square, flanked by the top party and military officials. Also on the balcony was Kim Jong Il's younger sister, Kim Kyong Hui, who is expected to play a guardian role for her young nephew.

Given Kim Jong Un's inexperience and age ? he is in his late 20s ? there are questions outside North Korea about whether he is equipped to lead a nation engaged in sensitive negotiations over its nuclear program and grappling with decades of economic hardship and chronic food shortages.

But support among North Korea's power brokers was unequivocal at the memorial service, attended by hundreds of thousands of people filling Kim Il Sung Square and other plazas in central Pyongyang.

"The fact that he completely resolved the succession matter is Great Comrade Kim Jong Il's most noble achievement," Kim Yong Nam, president of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, told the massive audience at the Kim Il Sung Square.

"Respected Comrade Kim Jong Un is our party, military and country's supreme leader who inherits great comrade Kim Jong Il's ideology, leadership, character, virtues, grit and courage," said Kim, considered North Korea's ceremonial head of state.

Life in Pyongyang came to a standstill as mourners packed the plaza from the Grand People's Study to the Taedong River for the second day of funeral ceremonies for the late leader.

Kim Jong Il, who led his 24 million people with absolute power for 17 years, died of a heart attack Dec. 17 at age 69, according to state media. He inherited power from his father, North Korea founder Kim Il Sung, who died of a heart attack in 1994, in what was the communist world's first hereditary succession.

Attention turned to Kim Jong Un after he was revealed last year as his father's choice among three sons to carry the Kim dynasty into a third generation.

The process to groom him was rushed compared to the 20 years Kim Jong Il had to prepare to take over from his father, and relied heavily on Kim family legacy as guerrilla fighters and the nation's founders.

Kim Jong Un was made a four-star general last year and appointed a vice chairman of the Central Military Commission of the ruling Workers' Party. Since his father's death, state media have bestowed on him a series of new titles signifying that his succession campaign was gaining momentum: Great Successor, Supreme Leader and Sagacious Leader.

Kim Jong Un's leadership is not expected to become formal until top party, parliamentary and government representatives convene to confirm his ascension.

He is expected to formally assume command of the 1.2 million-strong military, and become general secretary of the Workers' Party and chairman of the party's Central Military Commission, said Yoo Ho-yeol, a professor at Korea University in South Korea.

In a speech during the memorial, Gen. Kim Jong Gak, a top political officer in the Korean People's Army, said the military will dedicate itself to protecting Kim Jong Un, calling him the "supreme leader of our revolutionary armed forces."

This week's events have been watched closely for clues to who in the military and Workers' Party will form Kim's inner circle of trusted aides during the sensitive transition to leadership.

During the mourning period, Kim made at least five visits to his father's begonia-bedecked bier when the late leader was lying in state at the Kumsusan Memorial Palace, accompanied at times by the old guard that is expected to support him.

At Wednesday's funeral procession, he was accompanied by Jang Song Thaek, Kim Jong Il's brother-in-law and a vice chairman of the powerful National Defense Commission, who has family ties to the military and is expected to be crucial in giving his nephew guidance.

On Thursday, North Koreans packed the main square as well as the plaza in front of a Workers' Party monument of a hammer, sickle and writing brush.

They bowed their heads as eight artillery guns fired; military officers removed their hats while the booms resonated across the square.

North Korea's senior officials, including Kim Jong Il's sister, Kim Kyong Hui, stood in silence on the platform during the gun salute.

Workers, citizens, children and soldiers across the country then bowed for three minutes of tribute to Kim Jong Il as trains and boats blew their sirens.

State TV showed people lined up neatly in rows, or outside their places of work, on sidewalks, in squares, beneath giant portraits of Kim Jong Il.

His two other sons, Kim Jong Nam and Kim Jong Chol, were not spotted at either the funeral or memorial.

___

Associated Press Korea bureau chief Jean H. Lee and writers Hyung-jin Kim, Foster Klug and Sam Kim in Seoul, South Korea, contributed to this report. Follow AP's North Korea coverage at twitter.com/newsjean, twitter.com/APKlug and twitter.com/samkim_ap.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111229/ap_on_re_as/as_kim_jong_il_the_funeral

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Friend: Texas man suspected of killing his family upset that estranged wife was doing well

LANCASTER, Texas - Family friends say a Texas man accused of killing six relatives in a Christmas Day murder-suicide was struggling financially and didn't like that his estranged wife was doing well.

Authorities say 56-year-old Aziz Yazdanpanah (ah-ZEEZ' YAWZ'-dahn-pahn-aw) was dressed as Santa when he fatally shot his estranged wife, their two teenage children and three other relatives Sunday inside an apartment in the Dallas-Fort Worth suburb of Grapevine.

After a private burial for the six victims Thursday, family friend Azar Shahbazi (AH'-zahr shah-BAH'-zee) said she believed Yazdanpanah was upset because his wife "was doing good on her own."

The wife's brother, Ali Rahmaty (AH'-lee rah-MAH'-tee), says he'd been financially supporting the family. He says Yazdanpanah had been unemployed for more than a decade, but says he never thought Yazdanpanah would become violent.

Source: http://www.startribune.com/nation/136414413.html

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Indiana man accused in hacksaw death had ties to South Florida

The man who confessed to police this week that he bludgeoned a 9-year-old Indiana girl to death with a brick then dismembered her had run afoul of the law in Florida.

Michael Plumadore, 39, is a former Miami resident and a fugitive wanted in Florida for the past 11 years after violating probation in 2000, according to the Florida Department of Corrections.

Plumadore was sentenced to one year of probation after pleading guilty to battery in Miami-Dade Circuit Court in 2000, records show. Plumadore also had a prior arrest in Miami-Dade for auto theft in 1999, records show.

An arrest warrant was issued for Plumadore in June 2000, after Plumadore failed to report to his probation officer and failed to attend a court-ordered anger-management class, said Ann Howard, communications director for the Florida Department of Corrections.

"We have been looking for him since 2000," Howard said.

Allen County sheriff?s investigators said in an affidavit that Plumadore admits he killed Aliahna Lemmon on Thursday.

According to the affidavit, Plumadore told police that after beating Aliahna to death on the front steps of the home in the early morning hours, he stuffed her body into trash bags and hid her in the freezer at the home in a rundown trailer park in Fort Wayne. He said he later chopped up her body with a hacksaw and stuffed her remains into freezer bags.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/12/27/2563190/indiana-man-accused-in-hacksaw.html

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Preventive care: It's free, except when it's not (AP)

CHICAGO ? Bill Dunphy thought his colonoscopy would be free.

His insurance company told him it would be covered 100 percent, with no copayment from him and no charge against his deductible. The nation's 1-year-old health law requires most insurance plans to cover all costs for preventive care including colon cancer screening. So Dunphy had the procedure in April.

Then the bill arrived: $1,100.

Dunphy, a 61-year-old Phoenix small business owner, angrily paid it out of his own pocket because of what some prevention advocates call a loophole. His doctor removed two noncancerous polyps during the colonoscopy. So while Dunphy was sedated, his preventive screening turned into a diagnostic procedure. That allowed his insurance company to bill him.

Like many Americans, Dunphy has a high-deductible insurance plan. He hadn't spent his deductible yet. So, on top of his $400 monthly premium, he had to pay the bill.

"That's bait and switch," Dunphy said. "If it isn't fraud, it's immoral."

President Barack Obama's health overhaul encourages prevention by requiring most insurance plans to pay for preventive care. On the plus side, more than 22 million Medicare patients and many more Americans with private insurance have received one or more free covered preventive services this year. From cancer screenings to flu shots, many services no longer cost patients money.

But there are confusing exceptions. As Dunphy found out, colonoscopies can go from free to pricey while the patient is under anesthesia.

Breast cancer screenings can cause confusion too. In Florida, Tampa Bay-area small business owner Dawn Thomas, 50, went for a screening mammogram. But she was told by hospital staff that her mammogram would be a diagnostic test ? not preventive screening ? because a previous mammogram had found something suspicious. (It turned out to be nothing.)

Knowing that would cost her $700, and knowing her doctor had ordered a screening mammogram, Thomas stood her ground.

"Either I get a screening today or I'm putting my clothes back on and I'm leaving," she remembers telling the hospital staff. It worked. Her mammogram was counted as preventive and she got it for free.

"A lot of women ... are getting labeled with that diagnostic code and having to pay year after year for that," Thomas said. "It's a loophole so insurance companies don't have to pay for it."

For parents with several children, costs can pile up with unexpected copays for kids needing shots. Even when copays are inexpensive, they can blemish a patient-doctor relationship. Robin Brassner of Jersey City, N.J., expected her doctor visit to be free. All she wanted was a flu shot. But the doctor charged her a $20 copay.

"He said no one really comes in for just a flu shot. They inevitably mention another ailment, so he charges," Brassner said. As a new patient, she didn't want to start the relationship by complaining, but she left feeling irritated. "Next time, I'll be a little more assertive about it," she said.

How confused are doctors?

"Extremely," said Cheryl Gregg Fahrenholz, an Ohio consultant who works with physicians. It's common for doctors to deal with 200 different insurance plans. And some older plans are exempt.

Should insurance now pay for aspirin? Aspirin to prevent heart disease and stroke is one of the covered services for older patients. But it's unclear whether insurers are supposed to pay only for doctors to tell older patients about aspirin ? or whether they're supposed to pay for the aspirin itself, said Dr. Jason Spangler, chief medical officer for the nonpartisan Partnership for Prevention.

Stop-smoking interventions are also supposed to be free. "But what does that mean?" Spangler asked. "Does it mean counseling? Nicotine replacement therapy? What about drugs (that can help smokers quit) like Wellbutrin or Chantix? That hasn't been clearly laid out."

But the greatest source of confusion is colonoscopies, a test for the nation's second leading cancer killer. Doctors use a thin, flexible tube to scan the colon and they can remove precancerous growths called polyps at the same time. The test gets credit for lowering colorectal cancer rates. It's one of several colon cancer screening methods highly recommended for adults ages 50 to 75.

But when a doctor screens and treats at the same time, the patient could get a surprise bill.

"It erodes a trust relationship the patients may have had with their doctors," said Dr. Joel Brill of the American Gastroenterological Association. "We get blamed. And it's not our fault,"

Cindy Holtzman, an insurance agent in Marietta, Ga., is telling clients to check with their insurance plans before a colonoscopy so they know what to expect.

"You could wake up with a $2,000 bill because they find that little bitty polyp," Holtzman said.

Doctors and prevention advocates are asking Congress to revise the law to waive patient costs ? including Medicare copays, which can run up to $230 ? for a screening colonoscopy where polyps are removed. The American Gastroenterological Association and the American Cancer Society are pushing Congress fix the problem because of the confusion it's causing for patients and doctors.

At least one state is taking action. After complaints piled up in Oregon, insurance regulators now are working with doctors and insurers to make sure patients aren't getting surprise charges when polyps are removed.

Florida's consumer services office also reports complaints about colonoscopies and other preventive care. California insurance broker Bonnie Milani said she's lost count of the complaints she's had about bills clients have received for preventive services.

"`Confusion' is not the word I'd apply to the medical offices producing the bills," Milani said. "The word that comes to mind for me ain't nearly so nice."

When it's working as intended, the new health law encourages more patients to get preventive care. Dr. Yul Ejnes, a Rhode Island physician, said he's personally told patients with high deductible plans about the benefit. They weren't planning to schedule a colonoscopy until they heard it would be free, Ejnes said.

If too many patients get surprise bills, however, that advantage could be lost, said Stephen Finan of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network. He said it will take federal or state legislation to fix the colonoscopy loophole.

Dunphy, the Phoenix businessman, recalled how he felt when he got his colonoscopy bill, like something "underhanded" was going on.

"It's the intent of the law is to cover this stuff," Dunphy said. "It really made me angry."

___

AP Medical Writer Carla K. Johnson can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/CarlaKJohnson

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111228/ap_on_bi_ge/us_med_preventive_care_confusion

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Retail sales resilient in final holiday stretch (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? Retail sales look poised for a solid finish to the holiday season as warm weather and deep discounts encouraged shoppers to hit stores or go online to snap up last-minute gifts, according to data released on Wednesday.

Sales in the week ending December 24 soared 14.8 percent from a year ago to about $44 billion, helped by Christmas Eve falling on a Saturday, according to ShopperTrak, which monitors traffic at shopping malls. Good weather also helped as snowstorms had blanketed some areas at the same time last year.

Sales on December 26, a public holiday this year, soared 25.5 percent to $7.1 billion, ShopperTrak said.

Steep discounts were prevalent throughout the season and drove the sales growth, but could crimp retailers' profits.

"The real issue is, what margins were those sales generated at because it was a very heavily promotional season," said Al Ferrara, director of BDO USA's national retail practice. "The retailers, to capture market share, were obviously marking down very heavily."

Amid concerns about profit margins, the latest data had little impact on retail stocks with the S&P Retail index ending down 1.05 percent, only slightly better than the 1.25 percent drop in the broader S&P 500 index.

Sales at stores in the week ending December 24 soared 37.8 percent from sales in the week ending December 17, ShopperTrak said, suggesting procrastinators were drawn in by offers.

"Consumers are willing to get up and go out there if they feel like they're going to get some value for their dollars," ShopperTrak Founder Bill Martin told Reuters.

Besides ShopperTrak, two other sets of data indicated solid sales last week. The ICSC/Goldman Sachs weekly chain store sales index rose 4.5 percent during the week ending December 24, versus a holiday-shortened pre-Christmas Day week in 2010. Redbook Research put the year-over-year gain at 4.3 percent.

Adjusted for the calendar mismatch, the ICSC/Goldman index rose 0.9 percent for the week ending December 24, compared with the prior week.

"The finish is solid and the season itself was good," said ICSC Chief Economist Michael Niemira. "November was on the soft side but December will be better."

December sales so far are up 4.7 percent, while November sales rose 4.1 percent, ShopperTrak's Martin said.

ShopperTrak predicted in mid-December that sales for the two months combined would rise 3.7 percent, while the National Retail Federation expects a rise of 3.8 percent and the International Council of Shopping Centers is looking for a 3.5 percent increase.

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Graphic: U.S. chain store retail sales: http://link.reuters.com/beq75s

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Analysts previously said they expect Macy's and Wal-Mart Stores Inc to be among the big winners this holiday season as they had the right level of promotions for their shoppers, while Gap Inc and Abercrombie & Fitch Co may have missed the mark.

Visits to stores rose 6.5 percent in the week ending December 26, according to the NPD Group, a market research firm. The conversion rate, which measures the proportion of shoppers making a purchase, was 67.9 percent. That was down slightly from the previous week, but ahead of the first part of December, NPD data show.

"Major players, such as Macy's, are fine," Niemira added. "Specialty stores are likely to be more uneven. Specialty apparel seems to have been hit by abnormally warm weather. Sales were on the slow side and there has been more discounting consequently."

The biggest shopping malls and regional malls saw the strongest customer traffic since the first week of 2011. Factory outlets remained busy, but less so than the prior week, he said.

THE RISE OF ECONOMY AND E-COMMERCE

Wednesday's retail data points underscore recent economic data that show the U.S. economy is in recovery mode, albeit slowly. U.S. consumer confidence rose more than expected in December, hitting an eight-month high, as Americans grew more upbeat about the labor market and their financial situation, the Conference Board said on Tuesday.

That followed a report early in December showing U.S. unemployment at the lowest level since March 2009.

However, U.S. house prices are still falling, tempering economic optimism, and some retailers, such as Sears Holdings Corp, are suffering.

Part of the problem for chains such as Sears and the now-shuttered Borders Group may be competition with online retailers, who saw faster sales growth this holiday season, suggesting e-commerce took market share from brick-and-mortar stores.

Online sales, still a small component of overall sales, continued to grow at a faster clip than sales in stores, according to comScore data on Wednesday.

Online spending in the United States reached a record $35.27 billion from November 1 through December 26, up 15 percent versus the corresponding period last year, comScore reported.

For the week ending December 25, consumers spent $2.83 billion online, up 16 percent from the corresponding period in 2010, comScore also said.

"E-commerce is going to be awesome this holiday and retail will be mediocre," said Michael Rubin, head of Kynetic, which owns online retail businesses Fanatics, Rue La La and ShopRunner.

(Reporting by Alistair Barr in San Francisco and Jessica Wohl in Chicago, additional reporting by Phil Wahba in New York; editing by Matthew Lewis, Phil Berlowitz)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111228/bs_nm/us_usa_retail_holiday

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Brees sets passing mark, Saints top Falcons 45-16 (AP)

NEW ORLEANS ? Quite a night for Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints ? a record and a rout.

Brees set the NFL mark for yards passing in a season, breaking a record that Dan Marino had held for nearly three decades, and New Orleans clinched the NFC South title with a 45-16 victory over the Falcons on Monday night.

Brees threw for 307 yards and four touchdowns, the last a 9-yard strike to Darren Sproles that set the record with 2:51 to go.

"Honestly, I was really trying not to think about the record or anything," Brees said. "I knew we were close. A couple guys mentioned stuff to me on the sideline. I didn't want to hear it. It's like a pitcher with a no-hitter, I guess."

It was Brees' final pass of the game and it gave him 5,087 yards passing ? with one game still to play. Marino finished with 5,084 yards for the Miami Dolphins in 1984.

Minutes after Brees broke the record, Marino offered congratulations on his Twitter account.

"Great job by such a special player," Marino wrote.

As Sproles spiked the ball, Brees thrust his fist triumphantly in the air and started walking toward midfield while the Superdome crowd went wild and his teammates chased him down. Offensive guard Carl Nicks was the first one to get there and tried to lift Brees onto his shoulder, but couldn't do it as teammates swarmed around.

"If I could have put him on my shoulders and paraded him around the whole stadium I would have done that. He deserves it," Nicks said. "It's like a movie, man. Just a movie ending. It's beautiful. ... You could tell by everyone's reaction after he did it how much people care about that guy. We all love him."

Brees' four touchdown passes gave him 276 for his career, moving him ahead of Joe Montana (273) and Vinny Testaverde (275) for ninth all-time. He is the first quarterback in NFL history to pass for more than 5,000 yards twice ? he had 5,069 in 2008.

Brees' first scoring pass went for 8 yards to Marques Colston and the second for 9 yards to Jimmy Graham. Graham's TD catch was his 10th of the season, a new franchise high for a tight end. In the third quarter, Brees hit Robert Meachem for a score from 24 yards, which made it 28-10.

"I love the fact that everybody could be part of this on Monday Night Football," Brees said. "There's so many people that are a part of this. It's not about me. It's about this team, it's about this city, it's about these fans. So many people contributed to this, and I'm happy for them."

The Saints (12-3) also had 463 total yards, giving them more than 6,857 offensive yards for the season, breaking the 2008 club record of 6,571. New Orleans continues to close in on the NFL record of 7,075 offensive yards in a season set by the 2000 St. Louis Rams.

Brees might have broken the record in the third quarter if not for Sproles' 92-yard kickoff return, which set up John Kasay's 29-yard field goal. Brees also was intercepted twice, once in the Falcons end zone, but New Orleans was still dominant enough to take a three-score lead.

The game became a romp when Julio Jones was stripped by Scott Shanle and Malcolm Jenkins returned it 30 yards for a score to make it 38-16 in the fourth quarter. The Superdome crowd was in full celebration by then, but the play also meant fans would have to wait until later in the fourth quarter before Brees finally got his chance to break the passing record.

"Obviously, it's a special moment for the players, especially Drew," Saints coach Sean Payton said. "I couldn't be more proud of him."

The Saints can earn the No. 2 seed and a first-round playoff bye with a win Sunday over Carolina and a San Francisco loss at St. Louis, which is 2-13.

Atlanta, which won the NFC South last season, is headed to the playoffs as a wild card.

Uncharacteristically, Brees had only a yard passing during a span of a little more than 18 minutes. Knowing he was closing in the record, the crowd howled, "Drehttp://wwww" each time he took the field. He finally gave the fans what they wanted after Atlanta failed on a fourth-down try at its own 33. That gave Brees, who needed only 30 yards for the record at that point, just enough space to work with.

"I knew after the touchdown to Meachem that we were really close," Brees said. "I didn't know how close, but really close, and then we had a couple of those drives that stalled out and I thought, `You've got to be kidding me' ? especially since the whole game we had been converting first downs, doing all the right things offensively, both the run and the pass, yet we couldn't put a drive together in the fourth quarter and I thought, we've got to get this ball back, we've got to go down and score and put one together."

Matt Ryan had 373 yards passing and one TD, including a 21-yard scoring strike to Jones that gave the Falcons (9-6) a 10-7 lead late in the first quarter.

"We didn't really play well enough in any phase of the game to give ourselves a chance to win," said Falcons coach Mike Smith, whose team came in with a chance to stay in the hunt for the division title. "There were some opportunities early on, and then it kind of got out of hand there at the end. ... It's not the type of effort that you want to have with so much on the line with what the outcome could have meant to our team."

New Orleans responded to Atlanta's first TD with a 10-play, 81-yard scoring drive that put the Saints in the lead for good. Brees completed four of six passes for 48 yards, the last three to Colston, who finished with seven catches for 81 yards.

The result might have been even more lopsided if Brees' pass intended for Graham in the end zone had not been broken up by linebacker Curtis Lofton, and then batted in the air by safety William Moore before coming to rest in the arms of Dominique Franks for an interception.

New Orleans bounced back on its final drive of the second quarter, covering 80 yards in 10 plays and only 1:55, capped by Graham's TD catch.

Both teams scored on all their possessions in the opening quarter, with the Saints briefly pulling in front 7-3 on Pierre Thomas' 4-yard touchdown run, after which he pulled a bow from his uniform pants, put it on the football and offered it as a gift to a woman with a parasol in the front row behind the end zone.

The referees weren't cutting Thomas any slack on his Christmas-themed celebration, flagging him for a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

The score capped an eight-play, 84-yard scoring drive on which Brees completed two passes for 49 yards.

Notes: Brees has passed for 300 yards or more an NFL-record 12 times this season. ... New England quarterback Tom Brady could also pass Marino next week ? and maybe even Brees, too. Brady has thrown for 4,897 yards this season. ... The Saints are 7-0 at home and never have gone undefeated at home in a full season. ... The Falcons were 0-3 on attempted fourth-down conversions.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111227/ap_on_sp_fo_ga_su/fbn_falcons_saints

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elnuevoherald: Aprobaci?n a Evo Morales cae un 50 % en dos a?os, seg?n encuesta http://t.co/RuuvjFlY

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North Korean power-behind-throne emerges as neighbors meet (Reuters)

SEOUL/BEIJING (Reuters) ? North Korean television Sunday showed power-behind-the-throne Jang Song-thaek in the uniform of a general in a sign of his growing sway after the death of Kim Jong-il, and Japan's prime minister said the region faced a new phase with Kim's demise.

Footage that North Korean television said was shot on Saturday showed Jang on the frontrow of top military officers who accompanied Kim Jong-un, the youngest son of Kim Jong-il and his anointed successor, paying their respects before Kim's body.

The choreography around Kim's death is one of the secretive North's few, opaque clues to the emerging configuration of power in this poor and isolated state that has rattled neighbors with nuclear tests and military brinkmanship.

A Seoul official familiar with North Korea affairs said it was the first time Jang has been shown on state television in a military uniform. His appearance suggested that Jang has secured a key role in the North's powerful military, which has pledged its allegiance to Kim Jong-un.

North Korea announced Monday Kim Jong-il had died of a heart attack on December 17. His body is lying in state in a mausoleum in Pyongyang. He was believed to be 69.

Kim Jong-un was hailed by state media Saturday as "supreme commander" of the North's 1.1 million-strong armed forces, the title held by his father.

A senior source told Reuters this week Pyongyang will shift from a strongman dictatorship to a coterie of rulers including the military and Jang, Kim Jong-un's uncle.

Jang married the daughter of the country's revolutionary founder, Kim Il-sung, in 1972, joining the ruling family that has forged its own form of dynastic rule.

"AN NEW PHASE"

In Beijing, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda told Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao that their two countries shared a stake in preserving stability in North Korea in a "new phase."

"The death of Secretary-General Kim Jong-il has brought East Asia to a new phase," Noda told Wen at the start of bilateral talks in China's capital.

Noda is the first regional leader to visit Beijing since Kim Jong-il's death was announced Monday, leaving his young son Kim Jong-un as leader of North Korea, which has rattled the region with nuclear tests and military confrontation.

But Beijing is acutely sensitive about upsetting North Korea, especially during the current delicate transition, and Wen and Noda kept their public remarks free of controversy.

"Both sides agreed that preserving the peace and stability of the Korean peninsula serves the interests of all sides," the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in its account of their talks, according to the ministry website (www.mfa.gov.cn).

Wen and Noda also agreed on seeking an early restart of the six-party nuclear disarmament talks that North Korea abandoned.

China is North Korea's sole major economic and diplomatic partner, and the United States and its regional allies have long pressed Beijing to use its influence to rein in Pyongyang.

China has sought to defuse confrontation by hosting six-party nuclear disarmament talks since August 2003. The now-stalled negotiations bring together North and South Korea, China, the United States, Japan and Russia.

In April 2009, North Korea said it was quitting the talks and reversing nuclear "disablement" steps, unhappy with implementation of an initial disarmament deal.

Constraining North Korea is especially important for Japan, which is well within range of the North's long-range missiles and wants Pyongyang to resolve the emotive issue of the fate of Japanese citizens kidnapped to help train spies decades ago.

"It is very significant that we affirmed close communication with China, the chair country of the six-party talks," Noda told reporters after his meeting with Wen.

"We agreed that we need to address the (North Korean) issue calmly and properly and to keep close contact with each other."

(Writing and additional reporting by Chris Buckley; Editing by Yoko Nishikawa)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/nkorea/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111225/wl_nm/us_korea_north_power

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Wedding Bells

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veteranstoday: Weekly Address: The President and First Lady Thank our Troops for their Service as we Celebrate the Holiday Season http://t.co/jvwBh4gY

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UPS Delivery Fail: Driver Sends Message to Customer

This UPS guy was apparently having a bad day ... or woke up determined to get fired by upstaging the now-famous FedEx delivery video from earlier this week.

Either way, you need to watch this clip.

In the guy's slight defense, he was only dropping off a Zappos box (online shoes), so the package can take a little wear and tear ... unlike, say, a computer monitor.

But giving a security camera the finger? At a private residence? Even if no one's home, it's obviously being recorded! Baffling. But hilarious. Check it out below:

UPS Guy Flips Off Camera

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2011/12/ups-delivery-fail-driver-sends-message-to-customer/

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John Edwards asks to delay trial, citing illness

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) ? Former presidential candidate John Edwards says he has been diagnosed with a medical condition that would make it difficult for him to attend his approaching criminal trial over campaign finances and is asking for it to be delayed.

In a motion filed Thursday, Edwards' lawyers asked a federal judge to delay the start of the Jan. 30 trial for at least two months. They did not disclose his illness and filed sealed records with the court.

"The Defendant has a medical issue ... that will prevent a trial of this matter during the January 2012 Criminal Term," the motion says. "The failure to grant a continuance would be likely to result in a miscarriage of justice."

Members of the defense team could not immediately be reached for comment.

Federal prosecutors did not take a position on the medical issue.

However, prosecutors filed a separate motion opposing another Edwards request for more time to prepare. Prosecutors said they are ready to try Edwards on six felony and misdemeanor counts related to nearly $1 million from wealthy donors used to help hide his pregnant mistress during his 2008 run for the While House.

Edwards, a Democrat, denies knowingly violating the law and has pleaded not guilty.

The start date of the trial has already been put back once after Edwards said he needed more time to prepare his defense and attend his daughter's wedding.

Edwards appeared healthy last week at a pretrial hearing in the case.

___

Follow AP writer Michael Biesecker at twitter.com/mbieseck

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2011-12-22-Edwards%20Investigation/id-0fb58e6c74284d279634f753278a7222

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A Chuck Christmas: The Return of Daniel Shaw, the "Muahaha" Bad Guy (omg!)

Have Chuck and Sarah been naughty this year? On Friday's Chuck (8/7c, NBC), it looks like Santa is bringing them something far worse than a lump of coal: their old nemesis Daniel Shaw!

"We wanted to do a Christmas story, and Christmas is such a holiday that's haunted, like in the Charles Dickens tradition," Chuck co-creator Chris Fedak tells reporters during a December set visit. "We thought, 'Let's bring a monster from our past.' At the end of Season 3, Brandon [Routh] was such a good 'muahaha' bad guy. I was like, I've got to bring back the 'muahaha.'"

From Chuck to Hawaii Five-0: TV's sexiest crime fighters

But wait, isn't he dead ... or something? Rogue agent Daniel Shaw (guest star Brandon Routh) has already had two faked deaths on the show, and last we saw him, he was knocked out cold in the Buy More before Morgan (Joshua Gomez) accidentally detonated a bomb planted there. It's assumed that Shaw was taken into CIA custody off-screen before the store exploded.

"He died a couple times. Well, not really. He's tough," says Zachary Levi, whose character Chuck has a bitter history with Shaw, both personally and professionally. Not only did he kill Chuck's dad (Scott Bakula), but he also once dated and later tried to kill Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski). "Other bad guys we've had on the show, like Roark or Volkoff are different types of enemies. It's more of a 'How does the team, together, take down this empire?' as opposed to just this one guy and his vendetta.

The Year in Rewind: The worst of 2011

"I feel like Daniel Shaw and Chuck Bartowski, we're both the same age, we were contemporaries and we were enemies and friends at one point ... Frenemies," Levi continues. "And also, you know, in some ways vying for the love of the same girl and that Sarah had killed his wife, that was very messy. It's cool to have even more closure than what was the closure before."

Check out this preview of "Chuck vs. the Santa Suit":

Uh-oh! Is that the Buy More in the backdrop we see? "This season's been [about] nods and homage to other episodes and having characters like Shaw come back. I fought him in the Buy More last time I fought him," confirms Levi. "[This time] I beat the crap out of him. I don't do it without taking a few licks myself, obviously. It wouldn't be a fair fight."

How the battle ends remains to be seen, but Fedak is happy that Routh did indeed bring the "muahaha" back. "It's one of our most crazy, intense episodes," Fedak says. " Brandon came back and he was great. He just plays an icy killer like nobody else."

Chuck airs Fridays at 8/7c on NBC.

?

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/omg_rss/rss_omg_en/news_chuck_christmas_return_daniel_shaw_muahaha_bad_guy020000800/43988373/*http%3A//omg.yahoo.com/news/chuck-christmas-return-daniel-shaw-muahaha-bad-guy-020000800.html

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NKorea media dubs young Kim 'outstanding leader'

In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, North Koreans gather in front of the statue of the country's founder Kim Il Sung at Mansu Hill in Pyongyang, North Korea, to pay their respects to their leader Kim Jong Il, son of Kim Il Sung, on Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2011. Kim Jong Il died on Saturday, Dec. 17, North Korean state media announced Monday. (AP Photo/Xinhua, Zhang Li) NO SALES

In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, North Koreans gather in front of the statue of the country's founder Kim Il Sung at Mansu Hill in Pyongyang, North Korea, to pay their respects to their leader Kim Jong Il, son of Kim Il Sung, on Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2011. Kim Jong Il died on Saturday, Dec. 17, North Korean state media announced Monday. (AP Photo/Xinhua, Zhang Li) NO SALES

In this image made from KRT television, Kim Jong Un grimaces in front of the body of his father and North Korean leader Kim Jong Il at the Kumsusan Memorial Palace in Pyongyang, North Korea, Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2011. North Korea's anointed heir Kim Jong Un led a solemn procession of mourners Tuesday to the glass coffin of his father and longtime ruler, a strong indication that a smooth leadership transition was under way in the country known for secrecy and unpredictability. (AP Photo/KRT) TV OUT NORTH KOREA OUT

In this photo released by the Korean Central News Agency and distributed in Tokyo by the Korea News Service, senior North Korean officials visit the Kumsusan Memorial Palace to pay their respects to their leader Kim Jong Il in Pyongyang, North Korea, Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2011. Kim died on Saturday, Dec. 17, North Korean state media announced Monday. (AP Photo/Korean Central News Agency via Korea News Service) JAPAN OUT UNTIL 14 DAYS AFTER THE DAY OF TRANSMISSION

In this photo released by the Korean Central News Agency and distributed in Tokyo by the Korea News Service, North Korean military personnel cry as they visit the Kumsusan Memorial Palace to pay their respects to their leader Kim Jong Il in Pyongyang, North Korea, Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2011. Kim died on Saturday, Dec. 17, North Korean state media announced Monday. (AP Photo/Korean Central News Agency via Korea News Service) JAPAN OUT UNTIL 14 DAYS AFTER THE DAY OF TRANSMISSION

In this photo released by the Korean Central News Agency and distributed in Tokyo by the Korea News Service Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2011, the body of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il is laid in the Kumsusan Memorial Palace in Pyongyang, North Korea. Kim died on Saturday, Dec. 17, North Korean state media announced Monday. (AP Photo/Korean Central News Agency via Korea News Service) JAPAN OUT UNTIL 14 DAYS AFTER THE DAY OF TRANSMISSION

PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) ? The handover of power in North Korea to Kim Jong Il's young son appeared to be going smoothly Thursday, with official media calling him the "outstanding leader" and no outward unrest in the capital or troop movements along its borders.

Foreign governments have focused intense scrutiny on North Korea since Kim's death was announced Monday because of concerns over his untested heir's rise in a country with a nuclear program, 1.2-million strong military and a history of deep animosity toward its neighbors.

But the capital remained a scene of mourning ? not protest ? on Thursday. U.S. and South Korean military officials said there had been no unusual military movements by the North Koreans in recent days.

"This appears to be a relatively smooth transition on the peninsula, and we hope it stays that way," Pentagon spokesman George Little said in Washington, adding that there has been no increase in force protection levels for U.S. troops in South Korea.

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak sought to assure Pyongyang that his country was "not hostile," despite putting its front-line troops on alert since Kim's death was announced.

South Korean Defense Ministry spokesman Yoon Won-sik said North Korea's military isn't showing any particular movement and that the South's troops are operating normally despite the alert.

In a clear signal to North Korea's people and the outside world, the North's main newspaper Rodong Sinmun in a lengthy editorial urged the country to "rally, rally and rally behind great comrade Kim Jong Un and faithfully uphold his leadership."

It called him "the outstanding leader of our party, military and people and a great successor."

Ratcheting up the personality cult it builds around the Kim family, North Korea claimed that Kim Jong Il's death generated a series of spectacular natural phenomena, creating a mysterious glow atop a revered mountain, cracking a sheet of ice on a lake with a loud roar and inspiring a crane to circle a statue of the nation's founder before perching in a tree and drooping its head in sorrow.

Dramatic scenes of mourning in the capital have continued nearly nonstop since Monday's announcement of Kim's death, which the government says happened two days earlier when he suffered a massive heart attack while on a train.

On Thursday, a long line of North Koreans filed past the body of Kim Jong Il, which lay in state in the Kumsusan Memorial Palace. With a military band playing a funeral dirge and a flag flying at half staff above the palace, mourners in black suits slowly circled Kim's glass coffin, Kim's head and shoulders bathed in a spotlight, a red cloth pulled tight around his body.

Outside powers, including the United States, Japan and South Korea, are watching with keen interest to see how the transition proceeds.

Communication between the United States and North Korea still appears open as the North continues its official 11-day mourning period. This is in sharp contrast to the confusion that followed the death of North Korean founder Kim Il Sung in 1994 and an indication that discussions may resume after the mourning period on food aid and efforts to rid North Korea of its nuclear arms programs.

The State Department said it wasn't expecting any meeting with the North Koreans this week, and little contact before the mourning period ends Dec. 29.

"We want to be respectful of the period of mourning, but the ball's in North Korea's court," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters. "We are also appreciative that this is not a moment in Pyongyang where we're likely to have fresh instructions until after the mourning period."

South Korea sent its nuclear envoy to China on Thursday for talks on ways to restart international negotiations to rid North Korea of its nuclear programs.

Despite the signs that North Korea is consolidating power behind Kim Jong Un, fears of instability remain high.

Chinese boatmen along a river separating North Korea and China told The Associated Press that North Korean police have ordered them to stop giving rides to tourists, saying they will fire on the boats if they see anyone with cameras.

Kim Jong Un only entered the public view last year and remains a mystery to most of the world.

South Korea's intelligence agency has told Parliament members that an ad hoc committee in which Kim Jong Un is a vice chairman is expected to handle key state affairs before he formally becomes the country's leader.

The agency predicts Kim Jong Un's aunt Kim Kyong Hui, a key Workers' Party official, and Jang Song Thaek, her husband and a vice chairman of the powerful National Defense Commission, will play larger roles supporting the heir, according to a lawmaker who spoke to the AP.

___

Reporting from Pyongyang by Associated Press Television News senior video journalist Rafael Wober. AP writers Foster Klug, Hyung-jin Kim, Sam Kim and Eric Talmadge in Seoul, South Korea, Lolita Baldor in Washington, and Korea bureau chief Jean H. Lee contributed to this story.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2011-12-22-AS-Kim-Jong-Il/id-ac984cb274404f668b8f1914981854e5

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Washington: NASA Selects Firms For Advanced Entry System Technology Development

??Washington: NASA Selects Firms For Advanced Entry System Technology Development

NASA has selected Airborne Systems North America of Santa Ana, Calif ., ILC Dover LP of Frederica, Del ., and Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company of Littleton, Colo ., to support agency inflatable aerodynamic decelerator research and development, including work on the Space Technology Program's Hypersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator (HIAD) project.

Inflatable aerodynamic decelerators are lightweight outer shells that slow and protect spacecraft as they enter planetary atmospheres. This technology allows increased payload mass, makes it possible to reach higher surface elevations for robotic and human exploration of solar system destinations, and improves cargo return capabilities from the International Space Station.

Contractors will provide NASA with services for the design, analysis, fabrication and testing of project systems, including the thermal protection system and inflatable structures for aerocapture and direct entry applications.

The cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity task order contracts have a maximum cumulative agency value of $47 million over a five-year performance period. NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va ., will administer the contracts for the agency.

For more information about NASA and agency programs, visit

http://www.nasa.gov

Contacts:
http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2011/dec/HQ_C11-054_Inflatable_decelerator.html

Reported by: NASA

Published on: 2011-12-22

Limited copyright is granted for you to use and/or republish any story on this site for any legitimate media purpose as long as you reference 7thSpace and any source mentioned in the story above. Please make sure to read our disclaimer prior to contacting 7thSpace Interactive. To contact our editors, visit our online helpdesk. If you wish submit your own press release, click here.
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Two under 30 (Powerlineblog)

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Cato throws 2 TD passes, Marshall beats FIU 20-10 (AP)

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. ? Rakeem Cato threw for 226 yards and two touchdowns and Tyler Warner kicked a pair of field goals, helping Marshall beat Florida International 20-10 in the Beef `O'Brady's Bowl on Tuesday night.

Cato threw TD passes of 31 and 35 yards to Aaron Dobson, the latter putting the game away in the closing seconds. Warner's 39-yard field goal set up by a blocked punt snapped a 10-10 with 5:16 remaining.

Marshall (7-6) overcame a slow start to win five of its last seven games and avoid a losing record in its second season under coach Doc Holliday.

FIU (8-5) was denied a school-record ninth victory and there was speculation that coach Mario Cristobal may be a leading candidate to fill a job opening at Pittsburgh.

Cato, a freshman from Miami who is one of 28 players on Marshall's roster recruited from the state of Florida, completed 27 of 39 passes and was intercepted once. Dobson had seven receptions for 81 yards, including a TD catch that wiped out a 10-3 FIU lead just before halftime.

All-purpose threat T.Y. Hilton scored on a 2-yard run for FIU, which also got a 46-yard field goal from Jack Griffin. Hilton had eight catches for 88 yards, ran for 22 yards on three carries and returned two kickoffs for 36 yards, but quarterback Wesley Carroll had difficulty getting the ball to him in open space in the second half.

Carroll was 19 of 29 passing for 150 yards.

Marshall struggled early against a tough schedule, losing in September to West Virginia, Ohio and Virginia Tech before regrouping late win four of six down the stretch to become bowl eligible and finish second behind Southern Mississippi in the Conference USA East Division standings.

FIU is a relative newcomer to the Football Bowl Subdivision. The Panthers launched their program in 2002, joined the Sun Belt Conference in 2005 and has made steady progress in five seasons under Cristobal, who led the school to its first Sun Belt championship a year ago.

Hilton has been a big part of that success, setting FIU and Sun Belt records for career receiving and all-purpose yards. The senior from Miami caught a TD pass and scored on an 89-yard kickoff return to help the Panthers beat Toledo in last year's Little Caesars Bowl, and FIU showcased his versatility early against Marshall.

The 5-foot-10, 185-pound receiver took a handoff on FIU's first play from scrimmage and ran for 20 yards before fumbling 5 yards backward. He had a 17-yard reception on the next play, then later in the opening quarter gained 14 yards on a catch-and-run to the Marshall 2.

Hilton scored his first rushing touchdown of the season on the next play, giving the Panthers a 7-3 lead.

Marshall answered Jack Griffin's 46-yard field goal that put FIU up 10-3 with a six-play, 55-yard drive that Cato finished with his 31-yard TD pass to Aaron Dobson to make it 10-10 with 23 seconds left in the first half.

Neither team was able to generate much offense in the third and fourth quarters. Zach Dunston blocked a punt to set up Warner's go-ahead field goal, and Cato began the clinching drive from his own 40 after FIU fumbled.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111221/ap_on_sp_co_ga_su/fbc_beef__o__brady_s_bowl

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Virginia Tech seeks to block $55,000 fine

FILE - In this Jan. 21, 2008, file photo Suzanne Grimes holds up a picture of her injured son, Virginia Tech shooting victim Kevin Sterne, during a Senate Courts of Justice committee hearing on a bill to close the gun show loophole at the Capitol in Richmond, Va. Virginia Tech will begin making its case Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2011, before an Education Department judge, hoping to erase a government levied fine for acting too slowly in notifying students, faculty and staff and therefore in violation of a federal law requiring timely warnings when there are safety threats. Grimes is scheduled to testify. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File)

FILE - In this Jan. 21, 2008, file photo Suzanne Grimes holds up a picture of her injured son, Virginia Tech shooting victim Kevin Sterne, during a Senate Courts of Justice committee hearing on a bill to close the gun show loophole at the Capitol in Richmond, Va. Virginia Tech will begin making its case Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2011, before an Education Department judge, hoping to erase a government levied fine for acting too slowly in notifying students, faculty and staff and therefore in violation of a federal law requiring timely warnings when there are safety threats. Grimes is scheduled to testify. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? More than four years after the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history, the horrors of that day on the Virginia Tech campus are about to be relived in court.

An administrative judge is to begin hearing testimony Wednesday on whether the school should pay $55,000 in fines in connection to the 2007 shooting rampage on its campus that left 33 dead, including the shooter.

University officials and families of the victims are among those expected to testify.

The Education Department says Virginia Tech was too slow in notifying students, faculty and staff of the safety threat on April 16, 2007. It says the school violated the law by waiting more than two hours after two students were fatally shot in a dorm before sending out a warning by email. By that time, student gunman Seung-Hui Cho was chaining closed the doors to a classroom building where he killed 30 more people and then himself. The department also says the email was too vague because it mentioned only a "shooting incident" but did not say anyone had died.

Specifically, the university faces charges of failure to issue a timely warning and failure to follow its own procedures for providing notification.

The university says it acted appropriately in how it notified the campus that day and has exercised its right to an appeals hearing. It says that it followed standard protocols in place on campuses then and that the department is holding it to a higher standard than was in place at the time.

At the time the email was sent, the university has argued, it was believed that the two students were shot in an isolated domestic incident and that the shooter was no longer on the campus. The school also contends it had planned a news conference to discuss the dorm shootings until the later shootings intervened.

The hearing before an Education Department administrative judge, Ernest C. Canellos, is expected to last two or three days. Canellos is not expected to issue a ruling until after the hearing.

The fines by the Education Department were levied under a 1990 law known as the Clery Act, which requires colleges and universities to provide warnings in a timely manner and to report the number of crimes on campus. The law was named after Lehigh University student Jeanne Clery, who was raped and murdered in her dorm room by another student in 1986. The maximum fine per violation under the law is $27,500. Institutions can also lose their ability to offer federal student loans, but that has never happened.

An appeals hearing in Clery Act cases is rare. Experts say institutions typically agree to fines and take corrective action or reach an agreement with the Education Department.

The Clery Act has gotten recent attention because of sex scandals at Penn State and Syracuse universities.

At Penn State, the department is conducting an investigation into whether the university failed to report incidents of sexual abuse in connection to allegations against former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky. An Education Department spokesman has said the department is also reviewing whether a similar investigation will take place at Syracuse. Three men, including two former ball boys, have accused former assistant basketball coach Bernie Fine of molesting them as minors.

___

Kimberly Hefling can be followed at http://twitter.com/khefling

___

Online:

Virginia Tech: http://www.vt.edu/

VTV Family Outreach Foundation: http://www.vtvfamilyfoundation.org

Clery Act: http://tinyurl.com/82kvc52

Security on Campus: http://www.securityoncampus.org

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2011-12-07-US-Virginia-Tech-Shootings/id-214c646c618c487dab24dce50de007d9

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Siri Dragged Into Nuclear Husband-Wife Argument

Poor Siri. We feel for her, getting caught up in this one.

Steve Jobs probably never had this in mind when he invented you ... or did he? Who knew the helpful, virtual iPhone assistant was so adept at damage control?

Even Apple technology has some limitations, though.

In this hilarious College Humor video, a husband and wife argue so vociferously that even the highly trained, perpetually even-keeled Siri became overwhelmed ...

Siri Argument

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2011/12/siri-dragged-into-nuclear-husband-wife-argument/

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Four dead in Bayonne, NJ, shooting

By WNBC

Three people, including an infant, were shot dead in Bayonne, N.J., Monday evening before the shooter turned the gun on himself, authorities told WNBC-New York.

The gunman shot two adults and the infant, then killed himself, based on initial reports from the scene, Mayor?Mark Smith said at the scene.

Another adult was also shot and is being treated at Bayonne Medical Center for injuries, he said.

A next-door neighbor told NBC New York his brother heard fighting coming from the home before the shots were fired.

The brother "saw some suspicious activity through the glass door, he heard some loud voices," said the neighbor, who did not wanted to be named. "He goes back in the house to report a domestic dispute and as he's calling it in, he hears some gunshots."

Smith would only say at the scene there was "some type of dispute in the home," and that it?"progressed from there."

He would not immediately identify the relationship of the shooter to the victims.

Source: http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/06/9238857-four-dead-in-bayonne-nj-shooting

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Meathead: Chestnuts Roasted On An Open Fire, In The Oven, In The Microwave, Steamed Or Boiled

Warm fresh chestnuts are soft, fleshy, sensuous, creamy and sweet. They are best served with a glass of port or a mug of hot gl?gg and, on the bearskin rug, in front of the fireplace, with Nat King Cole in the background.

For a sinful treat, dip them in melted butter and sprinkle a little salt on them. Chestnuts also make great soups, stews, stuffings, candies and desserts.

Chestnuts are grown on trees, harvested in September and October, and they keep a few months if refrigerated. Problem is, most grocers do not refrigerate them. So they get moldy, especially in December and beyond. Problem is you usually cannot see the mold until you peel them. If you buy chestnuts in late December or January, you run the risk of 1/3 or more being inedible. If you can, toss them in a bucket of water before you buy. Good nuts will usually sink, and moldy ones will usually float. Problem is you can't very well do this in a store. One thing you can do is select those that are not cracked. Cracked nuts won't get moldy, but they will get hard as rocks.

If the nuts are very fresh, you need to only prepare exactly what you need. If they are getting a bit old, or if your grocer has not kept them chilled, prepare about 50% more knowing that several will be moldy. Do not eat moldy nuts.

The solution is to buy chestnuts early in the season and refrigerate them. Otherwise, buy them frozen or dried. If you buy them dried you need to rehydrate them by soaking in water.

Do this first

There are several ways to prepare chestnuts. All methods start by rinsing and scoring them. Rinsing gets off any dirt and residue that can get on your hands when you peel and eat. It also will moisten and soften the shell slightly. Then sit them on a counter flat side down, and make a long cut or an X in the shell on the round side by placing a serrated knife on the shell and drawing it towards you. This is necessary so they don't explode from steam buildup. You can then choose your cooking method from those below. I prefer roasting, grilling or broiling for the best flavor. Microwaving is fastest. Boil them if they are old and hard.

Cooking

Roasting chestnuts over an open fire. Rinse and score the shells, then put the nuts in a cast iron frying pan flat side down. If you have a fireplace or campfire going, move things around so there is a bed of glowing coals upon which the pan can rest. Place the pan on the coals for about 5 minutes. With a potholder remove the pan, roll the nuts over, and back they go for another 5 minutes or so. The exact time will depend on how hot things are.

Grilling chestnuts. Rinse and score the shells. Fire up your grill to medium-high. Put the nuts on the grates cut side down and close the lid. Roast until the shell peels back and begins to scorch and the meat starts to turn golden, perhaps 10 minutes.

Broiling chestnuts in an oven. This is the indoor method I use most often. Rinse and score the shells. Turn the oven on broil and put a rack on the highest level. Put the nuts in a pan cut side up on the top rack. Cook for about 10 minutes, depending on how close they are to the heat, until the shell curls and scorches and the meat begins to turn golden. Don't let the meat burn.

Roasting chestnuts in the oven. Rinse and score the shells. Preheat the oven to 300?F. Roast on a center shelf until the meats are tender and easily pierced by a knife or toothpick, about 25-30 minutes.

Boiling chestnuts. Rinse and score the shells. Start a pot of water boiling. Drop in the nuts and boil for about 15 minutes. Boiled chestnuts can be hard to peel.

Steaming chestnuts. Rinse and score the shells. Start the steamer, and after the water is boiling put the nuts in the steamer compartment. Steam for 15 minutes. They come out nice and soft and moist but they they are a bit harder to peel, and the flavor is not as rich as the dry heat methods.

Microwaving chestnuts. Rinse and score the shells. Set your microwave on 100 percent power, place them on a plate and nuke them for a measly 1 minute or until tender. The exact time may vary from microwave to microwave and depending on how many nuts you are cooking.

Peeling and serving

Chestnuts are easiest to peel when they are warm. As soon as you can handle them, peel off the shell and the papery cuticle that is underneath. Some of this skin may get wedged into the cracks, and if necessary you may have to break the nutmeat in half to pull it out. A toothpick helps. Discard any if there are black spots after you peel them. The black is likely mold.

I like serving warm chestnuts with a hot drink, especially gl?gg, hot buttered rum or herb tea. They also go well with port, sherry and other fortified wines as well as a good brandy such as Cognac. How do you serve chestnuts?

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/craig-goldwyn/homemade-roasted-chestnuts_b_1128545.html

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