Romney confident as Florida prepares to vote

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney makes a campaign stop at Ring Power Lift Trucks on Monday, Jan. 30, 2012 in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/Florida Times-Union, Bruce Lipsky)

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney makes a campaign stop at Ring Power Lift Trucks on Monday, Jan. 30, 2012 in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/Florida Times-Union, Bruce Lipsky)

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, campaigns at Lake Sumter Landing, The Villages, Fla., Monday, Jan. 30, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) ? Mitt Romney is starting primary day in Florida leading in statewide polls and already looking to the next round of nomination contests in the Republican presidential race.

Romney is widely expected to do well against chief rival Newt Gingrich in Tuesday's voting.

The Romney who campaigned Monday was dramatically more confident than the candidate who flew here a week ago from South Carolina, where Gingrich won convincingly.

"It feels good at this point," Romney told reporters aboard his campaign plane Monday. "The crowds are good and you can sense that it's coming our way. It's getting better and better every day."

Romney and his allies have pummeled Gingrich on the air in Florida, spending millions on negative ads. Gingrich has complained that the assault is a "carpet-bombing" that has left him unable to retaliate.

Romney has also repeatedly attacked Gingrich in speeches around the state. On Monday he labeled Gingrich an untrustworthy Washington influence peddler. His constant linking of Gingrich with the federally backed mortgage giant Freddie Mac has hurt the former speaker in a state wracked by the foreclosure crisis.

After he left Congress in 1999, Gingrich's consulting firm received more than $1.5 million from Freddie Mac, which Romney calls "the very institution that helped stand behind the huge housing crisis here in Florida."

Romney is preparing to move his campaign to Nevada and, beyond that, Minnesota. While he didn't have any events scheduled before Tuesday evening, he planned a campaign stop in Minnesota before flying to Las Vegas on Wednesday for an evening campaign event.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2012-01-31-Romney/id-cdf05bb7602341b194f77d329511c02f

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Video: Clearing Up Facebook Fallacies

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Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/cnbc/46191090/

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Weaker banks, commodities drag Britain's FTSE lower (Reuters)

LONDON (Reuters) ? Weakness in banks and commodity stocks dragged Britain's leading share index lower on Monday as the protracted search for a Greek bond deal and concerns about economic growth kept investors nervous.

The FTSE 100 (.FTSE) index closed down 62.36 points, or 1.1 percent, at 5,671.09, extending Friday's falls and retreating further from Thursday's six-month closing high.

The FTSE volatility index (.VFTSE) was also active, up over 10 percent, its biggest daily percentage rise in a month and signaling an increase in risk aversion.

Banks (.FTNMX8350) were the biggest blue-chip casualties, hit by concerns that extra liquidity injections from central banks had not addressed the sector's fundamental problems.

Credit Suisse reduced its recommendation on the European Banking sector to "underweight" as it said the direct earnings impact of the European Central Bank's (ECB) late-December splurge of cheap, long-term cash for the banks appeared to be over-estimated.

Barclays (BARC.L) was the UK sector's biggest faller, down 4.2 percent, while Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY.L) shed 4.1 percent, and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L) fell 3.5 percent.

EU leaders met in Brussels on Monday, the first summit of 2012, to sign off a permanent rescue fund for the euro zone -- Britain's biggest trading partner -- though the meeting was overshadowed by the unresolved Greek debt problems.

To avoid a chaotic default, which could have grave ramifications for sentiment and financial systems across the globe, Greece must secure a deal with its private bond holders and persuade international lenders it is serious about reforms in order to secure much-needed cash.

Fresh tensions between Greece and the euro zone's biggest economy Germany over the weekend regarding the debt bail-out terms also knocked sentiment.

"This isn't the first time Greece has shown resistance to accepting certain EU bailout terms and conditions, and given their weak position they may need to concede again, otherwise risk defaulting on the debt repayments due in March," said Jordan Lambert, Trader at Spreadex.

U.S. blue chips (.DJI) were down 0.6 percent by London's close, also suffering on concerns over the Greek debt situation, and after further dull U.S. economic data.

U.S. consumer spending was flat in December as households took advantage of the largest rise in income in nine months to boost their savings, setting the tone for a slowdown in demand early in 2012.

COMMODITIES DIP

Weakness in commodity issues also weighed on blue chips in London, with a retreat in crude knocking the integrated oils (.FTNMX0530) as an expected Iranian vote to suspend crude exports to Europe was postponed, easing supply concerns.

Miners (.FTNMX1770) also moved lower in tandem with weaker metal prices, as softer-than-expected U.S. economic data fuelled concerns about demand levels.

Defensive stocks dominated on the short list of blue chip gainers, led by drugmakers, with AstraZeneca (AZN.L) and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK.L) up 0.6 percent and 0.5 percent.

AstraZeneca will post fourth-quarter results on Thursday.

Utilities were in demand, with energy generator International Power (IPR.L) up 0.6 percent, and power distributor National Grid (NG.L) ahead 0.5 percent. Both firms are due to issue trading updates later this week.

And chip designer ARM Holdings (ARM.L) gained 0.3 percent, with its fourth-quarter results due tomorrow.

(Reporting by Jon Hopkins; Editing by Will Waterman)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/eurobiz/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120130/bs_nm/us_markets_britain_stocks

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Hands on with Garmin Pilot My-Cast for iPhone and iPad

Garmin may best be known for their driving navigation apps and devices, but they also have Pilot My-Cast, an iPhone and iPad app for pilots to plan their flights by

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/Y5anP4kZ7DM/story01.htm

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Ahead in Florida, Romney turns focus back to Obama (AP)

MIAMI ? Mitt Romney is striding into the homestretch of the pivotal GOP Florida presidential primary with the confidence of a resurgent front-runner.

His main rival, Newt Gingrich, is hustling around the state as he tries to rekindle the energy that lifted him to victory in the South Carolina primary. He says he could lose Tuesday in Florida but promises to soldier on.

Gingrich picked up the endorsement Saturday of Herman Cain, a Georgia businessman, tea party favorite and former presidential hopeful. Cain's bid for the White House was derailed by allegations he sexually harassed several women.

Rick Santorum cancelled his Sunday campaign events after his young daughter was hospitalized. She suffers from a serious genetic disorder.

Ron Paul has invested little time and effort in the Florida contest.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/gop/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120129/ap_on_el_pr/us_gop_campaign

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Something's fishy in urban backyards

The aquarium in the living room of Meir and Leah Lazar's home isn't just for decoration. The tilapia and bluegills packed into the 50-gallon glass tank are waiting their turn to wind up on dinner plates.

Out back, Meir Lazar is putting the finishing touches on a bigger new home for the fish inside a plastic-covered greenhouse. There, he hopes, the waste from the fish he's tending will help him raise enough lettuce, tomatoes and other produce to feed his family of five year-round.

Sustainability is more than a buzzword for Lazar, 32, a computer systems administrator and teacher who's pursuing aquaponics in his small suburban backyard off Greenspring Avenue. He said he's inspired in part by news reports about food tainted by pesticides, bacteria and even radiation from the Japanese nuclear disaster last year.

"I think it's incumbent on every person to start growing their own food so they can take back some of the control over their health, over what's in their food," he said. "Plus, you have a deeper appreciation of what you've grown and what you're about to eat."

Aquaponics has been around at least since the early 1970s, when the New Alchemy Institute in Massachusetts started promoting backyard fish farming and organic gardening inside greenhouses it dubbed "bioshelters."

It has gained new attention in recent years, not just from advocates of sustainable agriculture but from those who believe aquaponics can help fill needs in poor urban communities for healthier food and jobs.

One of the aquaponics ventures taking shape in Baltimore is at the Cylburn Aboretum. Sponsored by the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future, it would raise tilapia and produce for sale in the city's "food deserts," where fresh locally grown produce isn't readily available at corner markets and convenience stores.

With a budget of about $10,000 and the help of interns, friends and volunteers, microbiologist Dave Love has assembled his fish and produce farm. Four blue 250-gallon plastic tanks will be used to raise tilapia, which are hardy and fast-growing. The fish excrement and nutrient-fouled water are to be piped from the bottom of the tanks into a couple of other tanks where the ammonia in the wastewater is converted by bacterial action into a form of nitrogen that can feed plants.

The enriched water is then to be piped through two large shallow troughs in which Love plans to raise leafy greens and other vegetables. Thus cleaned up, the water is then pumped back to the fish tanks.

"It's sort of like the next step into urban agriculture," Love said.

Love said he hoped to put fish in the tanks by spring and to open the operation to researchers, visiting school groups and others. Before the year is out, if all goes well, the operation will be producing 120 pounds of tilapia for consumption every six weeks.

Lazar said if he can feed his family this way, anyone can. He started out with a hydroponics garden a few years back, he recalled, then tried his hand a couple of years ago with an indoor aquaponics operation ? in their basement bedroom ? after a friend turned him on to it.

Lazar decided last year to scale up, and he moved his aquaponics operation to the backyard in the spring, raising his fish at first in an in-ground pond. He said his neighbors weren't wild at first about how he was transforming his backyard, so he has worked to win them over with homemade jam.

Once cold weather hit, Lazar said, he realized he needed to enclose his entire operation. Tilapia are tropical fish and will start dying if water temperatures dip to 50 degrees Fahrenheit. His turned belly-up one frigid day, though many revived once rescued and moved indoors.

Before he can put the tilapia back, though, Lazar has to complete construction of a "rocket mass heater," a special type of wood-burning brick fireplace, to warm the water. Once everything's finished and fine-tuned, Lazar said, he hopes to harvest 100 full-size tilapia a year from his operation, and plenty of greens.

"It doesn't look like much, but it works," he said. "I want to show that anybody can do it."

tim.wheeler@baltsun.com

Source: http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/news/science/~3/NdW0Lk6dpnI/la-na-fish-farming-20120129,0,78187.story

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Hall Automotive Acquires a new Ford Hyundai Franchise ...

Elizabeth City, NC (Vocus) June 4, 2010

Hall Automotive, a division of MileOne Automotive, announces today they have acquired a new Ford Hyundai franchise, which is located at 1310 N. Road Street (more commonly known as Business Route 17) in Elizabeth City. The new Ford Hyundai store will open under the Hall Automotive name. The store was previously known as Courtesy Ford Hyundai. This will be MileOne?s forth Hyundai dealership joining two other locations in Virginia and one in Wilkes-Barre, PA. MileOne has one other Ford dealership in Newport News, Virginia, making this new Elizabeth City location the second.

?Ford and Hyundai will make great additions to our company?s presence in Elizabeth City, we couldn?t be acquiring these franchises at a better time,? Bill Baker ? President COO of Hall Automotive. The Ford Hyundai store will join one of Hall Automotive?s Honda locations also in Elizabeth City. ?These two brands offer a very exciting vehicle line-up. Ford offers the well-hyped new Fiesta, the best-selling Taurus, the award winning F150, as well as the new Fusion Hybrid. Hyundai also has much to offer including the fully redesigned Sonata and Tucson, as well as the brand-new Genesis and upcoming Equus. Plus America?s Best Warranty?

Hall Ford Hyundai will be overseen by General Manager, Nick Vendt. ?I am very excited to be working with two of the most innovative auto brands on the market today. Each brand has a great line-up and a quickly growing customer base. We are looking forward to working with both new and existing customers of these brands.?

Current Ford and Hyundai customers in and around Elizabeth City will be able to take advantage of Hall Ford Hyundai?s 30 plus service bays with state of the art diagnostics equipment and certified technicians. Customers will quickly see the high level of customer service that Hall represents. In addition to sales and service, Hall Ford Hyundai Elizabeth City offers one of the area?s most modern collision center. While waiting for service Hall Ford Hyundai will offer a quiet service waiting area with internet access, comfortable seating, refreshments and a child?s play area. Service shuttle, loaners, and rentals are all available on site.

Ford Hyundai sales, service, and body shop operations have begun and a ?Grand Opening? celebration is being planned for a later date. Customers can go to hallfordelizabethcity.com or hallhyundaielizabethcity.com to schedule service online and browse inventory. Hall Ford Hyundai is located at 1310 N. Road Street (Business Route 17) Elizabeth City, North Carolina 27909.

About MileOne Automotive

MileOne Automotive operates 63 retail automotive franchises representing 27 different brands and 9 collision centers in Pennsylvania, Maryland, North Carolina and Virginia with a focus on the Baltimore-Washington, Hampton Roads/Virginia Beach, Nags Head/Elizabeth City and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton major metro areas. MileOne.com allows customers to research new, used and fuel-efficient luxury, import and domestic cars and trucks, send information about vehicles to their mobile device, schedule service appointments, buy parts and accessories, play automotive games, and download automotive wallpaper and mobile ring tones. For more information or to find a quality MileOne dealership near you, please visit http://www.mileone.com.

###

Related Hyundai Sonata Press Releases

Source: http://carkeylocksmiths.org/2012/01/27/hall-automotive-acquires-a-new-ford-hyundai-franchise/

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Nuclear Waste Panel Urges ?Consent-Based? Approach

[unable to retrieve full-text content]With local cooperation, the panel said, the government might avoid the kind of conflicts that led to the cancellation of plans to create a vast repository at Yucca Mountain.

Source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=e796546b9fc38789b412c1ca3742ca28

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Dow approaches highest level since 2008 crisis (AP)

The Dow Jones industrial average was trading near its highest close since the 2008 financial crisis Thursday afternoon after solid news on factory orders and strong earnings from U.S. manufacturers highlighted the economy's growing momentum.

Broader market indexes edged lower, though they are also sharply higher this year. Traders appear less afraid of spillover damage from the European debt crisis, and data on jobs and manufacturing have been consistently strong.

"With global risk off center stage and attention going back to the fundamentals, this market was ready to explode, which is exactly what it is doing," said Doug Cote, chief market strategist with ING Investment Management.

Before the market opened, the government reported that unemployment claims rose only modestly last week after a steep decline the week before. The long-term trend still indicates an improving job market.

Orders to factories for long-lasting manufactured goods increased in December for the second straight month, and a key measure of business investment rose solidly.

That strong demand was apparent in quarterly earnings reports from U.S. manufacturers. 3M stock rose 1.1 percent after its fourth-quarter profit beat Wall Street's estimates.

Caterpillar, the world's biggest heavy equipment maker, soared 3 percent, the most of the 30 companies in the Dow, after beating analysts' estimates last quarter. The company expects to do the same this year as global demand remains high.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 14 points, or 0.1 percent, at 12,771 shortly after noon. 3M and Caterpillar led the gains.

The Dow is within reach of its post-financial crisis high of 12,810, reached in April 2011. The last time it closed higher than that was on May 20, 2008, when it settled at 12,826. The Dow's post-crisis high during the trading day was 12,928, reached in May 2011.

The Dow is up nearly 5 percent so far this year. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq have gained even more.

The Dow would need to rise another 11 percent to get to its record high close of 14,164, reached on Oct. 9, 2007.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell three points to 1,322. It was dragged lower by volatile financial companies and telecommunications firms. The Nasdaq composite index shed seven points to 2,811.

AT&T fell 2 percent, by far the most of the 30 companies in the Dow, after its earnings missed Wall Street's forecasts. The company remains heavily dependent on the Apple iPhone, which it pays to subsidize, but recently lost its exclusive rights to sell the phone in the U.S.

Stocks had their highest close in eight months Wednesday after the Federal Reserve said it plans to keep interest rates extremely low until late 2014 to encourage lending and investment and support the economic recovery.

The announcement lifted investments across many markets and continents. Bond prices rose in the U.S. and Europe. So did commodities, the euro, emerging market currencies and European stocks.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 1.95 percent from 1.99 percent late Wednesday. The prospect of more bond-buying by the Fed helped make Treasurys more attractive. A bond's yield falls as demand for it increases.

A strong bond auction by Italy also brightened Europe's outlook, signaling to investors that lenders believe Italy will not be dragged into the debt crisis. And Greece resumed talks with its lenders over writing off some of its crushing debt.

Benchmark indexes in France, England, Germany and Italy closed up 1 to 2 percent.

Among the other U.S. companies making big moves after reporting quarterly earnings:

? Time Warner Cable Inc. rose 7 percent after the company reported earnings that were far above analysts' estimates. The national cable TV provider also raised its dividend 17 percent to 56 cents per share and announced plans to buy back more of its own stock.

? United Continental Holdings, the parent company of United and Continental airlines, surged 7.4 percent. The company's fourth-quarter loss narrowed, its adjusted earnings were more than double what analysts had expected and the cost of integrating the two companies fell.

? Netflix soared 21.5 percent, the most of any stock in the S&P 500, after the video streaming and DVD-by-mail company reported a huge gain in customers and a bigger fourth-quarter profit than analysts had expected.

? Colgate-Palmolive rose 1.3 percent after saying it will raise prices in the U.S. for the first time in years to cover higher costs for materials. The company's profit declined last quarter, but core sales in emerging markets were much stronger.

___

Follow Daniel Wagner at http://www.twitter.com/wagnerreports.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120126/ap_on_bi_st_ma_re/us_wall_street

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Jumping Spiders see clearly by blurring their vision

Researchers in Japan have now discovered that the arachnids accurately sense distances by comparing a blurry version of an image with a clear one, a method called image defocus.

Jumping spiders, which hunt by pouncing on their prey, gauge distances to their unsuspecting meals in a way that appears to be unique in the animal kingdom, a new study finds.

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The superability boils down to seeing green, the researchers found.

There are several different visual systems that organisms use to accurately and reliably judge distance and depth. Humans, for example, have binocular stereovision. Because?our eyes?are spaced apart, they receive visual information from different angles, which our brains use to automatically triangulate distances. Other animals, such as insects, adjust the focal length of the lenses in their eyes, or move their heads side to side to create an effect called motion parallax ? nearer objects will move across their field of vision more quickly than objects farther away.

However,?jumping spiders?(Hasarius adansoni) lack any kind of focal adjustment system, have eyes that are too close together for binocular stereovision and don?t appear to use motion parallax while hunting. So how are these creatures able to perceive depth?

Researchers in Japan have now discovered that the arachnids accurately sense distances by comparing a blurry version of an image with a clear one, a method called image defocus.

Jumping spiders have four eyes densely packed in a row: two large principal eyes and two small lateral eyes. The spider uses its lateral eyes to sense the motion of an object, such as a fly, which it then zeros in on using its principal eyes, Akihisa Terakita, a biologist at Osaka City University in Japan and lead author of the new study, explained in an email to LiveScience.

Rather than having a single layer of?photoreceptor cells, the retinas in the spider?s principal eyes have four distinct photoreceptor layers. When Terakita and his colleagues took a close look at the spider's principal eyes, they found that the two layers closest to the surface contain ultraviolet-sensitive pigments, whereas the deeper layers contain green-sensitive pigments.

However, because of the layers' respective distances from the lens of the eye, incoming green light is only focused on the deepest layer, while the other green-sensitive retinal layer receives defocused or fuzzy images. The researchers hypothesized that the spiders gauge depth cues from the amount of defocus in this fuzzy layer, which is proportional to the distance an object is to the lens of the eye.

To test this, they placed a spider and three to six?fruit flies?in a cylindrical plastic chamber, housed in a white styrene foam box. They then bathed the bugs in different colored lights: If the defocus of green light is important to the spiders, then they should not be able to accurately judge jumping distance in the absence of green light.

Sure enough, the spiders could easily catch the flies under green light, but consistently underestimated their jumps under red light (which doesn't contain shorter-wavelength light, such as green and blue). The researchers suggest that green light is just right to produce the image defocus necessary to gauge distances, unlike other wavelengths of light.

The team doesn?t know if any other animals employ similar depth-perception techniques, though they think the findings could have important implications for the future design of?visual systems in robots.

"Further investigation of the optics, retinal structure and neural basis of depth perception in jumping spiders may provide biological inspiration for computer vision as well," they write in their study, published in the Jan. 27 issue of the journal Science.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/science/~3/aC8TqWrXnqg/Jumping-Spiders-see-clearly-by-blurring-their-vision

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American hostage in Somalia freed in US Navy raid

U.S. military forces launched a dramatic raid in Somalia that freed an American and a Dane held hostage. NBC's Jim Miklaszewski reports.

By Jim Miklaszewski, NBC News chief Pentagon correspondent

Updated at 8:15 a.m. ET: A U.S. official tells The Associated Press that the Navy SEAL team that rescued the American and Danish hostages in Somalia was the same one that killed Osama bin Laden.

Published at 1:15 a.m. ET: WASHINGTON -- In a daring nighttime raid Tuesday, U.S. Navy SEALs rescued two hostages, including one American, who were being held by kidnappers in Somalia, U.S. officials tell NBC News.

American Jessica Buchanan, 32,?and a 60-year-old Dane, Poul Thisted, were working for a Danish relief organization in northern Somalia when they were kidnapped last October.?U.S. officials described their kidnappers as heavily armed common criminals with no known ties to any organized militant group.

---

According to the U.S. officials, two teams of?Navy SEALs landed by helicopter near the compound where the two hostages were being held.?

As the SEALS approached the compound on foot gunfire broke out, the U.S. officials said, and several of the militants were reportedly killed. There is no word that any of the Americans were wounded.

Danish Refugee Council

Poul Hagen Thisted, a Danish national who was taken hostage in Somalia alongside American Jessica Buchanan in October 2011. The pair were freed by a U.S. Navy SEALS raid.

The SEALs gathered up Buchanan and Thisted, loaded them onto the helicopters and flew them to safety at an undisclosed location. The two hostages were not injured during the rescue operation and are reported to be in relatively good condition.

The two had been working for the Danish Refugee Council on a demining project in northern Somalia. The humanitarian group has been providing relief to some 450,000 refugees in the Somalia-Kenya border region.

News reports at the time said the two were kidnapped Oct. 25?along with a Somali colleague when their three-car convoy was stopped on the way to an airport. A self-proclaimed Somali?pirate said they had been kidnapped?for ransom by?pirates?stymied by Western nations' efforts to stop the seizure of ships off the coast. The fate of the Somali colleague was unclear.????

Related: American kidnapped by gunmen in Somalia

The first indication of the rescue operation came Tuesday night in Washington from President Barack Obama himself.?

As the president entered the House chambers to give his State of the Union Speech, he pointed to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta standing in the crowd and said, "Leon. Good job tonight. Good job tonight."

The president made no mention of the hostage rescue, but finished his speech with a reference to the killing of Osama bin Laden last May in a similar operation to the one conducted by Navy SEALs Tuesday night.?

Updated at?5:57 a.m. ET: In a statement sent?to NBC News and other media, Obama says that he authorized the operation to rescue Buchanan.

"Thanks to the extraordinary courage and capabilities of our Special Operations Forces, yesterday Jessica Buchanan was rescued and she is on her way home," he says. "As Commander-in-Chief, I could not be prouder of the troops who carried out this mission, and the dedicated professionals who supported their efforts."

Obama, who spoke to Buchanan's father Tuesday night,?says she?was "selflessly serving her fellow human beings when she was taken hostage by criminals and pirates who showed no regard for her health and well-being."

He says he told her father that "all Americans have Jessica in our thoughts and prayers, and give thanks that she will soon be reunited with her family."

"The United States will not tolerate the abduction of our people, and will spare no effort to secure the safety of our citizens and to bring their captors to justice,"?Obama adds.?"This is yet another message to the world that the United States of America will stand strongly against any threats to our people."

Updated at 6:50 a.m. ET: A statement from U.S. Africa Command says U.S. forces had received "actionable intelligence" about Buchanan and Thisted and decided to take action.

"During the course of the operation, the rescue force patrolled to the location and confirmed the presence of Mrs. Buchanan and Mr. Thisted guarded by nine captors," the statement says. "All nine captors were killed during the assault."

General Carter F. Ham, of U.S. Africa Command,?says in the statement that the raid, which took place?near Gadaado, was "boldly conducted by some of our nation's most courageous, competent, and committed special operations forces."

"Thanks to them a fellow American and her Danish co-worker are safe and will soon be home with their families," he adds.

Updated at 6:55 a.m. ET: A statement from Panetta?says?he is "grateful to report that there was no loss of life or injuries to our personnel."

He says the rescue --?"undertaken in a hostile environment" -- showed the "superb skills of courageous service members who risked their lives to save others."?

"They are heroes and continue to inspire all of us by their bravery and service to our nation," he says.

Updated at 10:35 a.m. ET: Pentagon officials tell NBC News that they are characterizing the people who took Buchanan and Thisted hostage as "criminal suspects,"? rather than pirates. They says the U.S. military has no firm information about whether the captors were connected to pirates or an Islamic militant group like al-Shabaab.

See more of Jim Miklaszewski's reporting on the SEALs raid tonight on NBC's Nightly News with Brian Williams.

?More from msnbc.com and NBC News:

?

Source: http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/25/10229917-american-hostage-in-somalia-rescued-by-us-navy-seals-in-overnight-raid

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"The Artist," "Hugo" lead the way in Oscar nods (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) ? Silent-era throwback film "The Artist" and Martin Scorsese's "Hugo" led the pack of Oscar nominees on Tuesday, including nods in the best film category, in the race for the world's top movie honors.

"Hugo," Scorsese's 3D film exploring the magic of moviemaking, earned the most nominations with 11 overall, including one for him in the director category. "The Artist," which has swept through the awards season this year taking many pre-Oscar honors, had 10 nominations in total.

The two easily outdistanced other top nominees including baseball movie "Moneyball," with six nods, and Steven Spielberg's World War One tale "War Horse," also with six nominations.

Joining those four films in the race for best movie are family drama "The Descendants," civil rights movie "The Help," Woody Allen's "Midnight in Paris," Terrence Malick's "The Tree of Life," and 9/11 movie "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close."

Although it had 11 nominations, the nods for "Hugo" came largely from relatively minor categories such as art direction and costume design. The 10 nods for "The Artist," by contrast, were in a wide-range of groups including best supporting actress for Berenice Bejo and director for Michel Hazanavicius.

Best actress nominees were led by Meryl Streep portraying former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in "The Iron Lady," Glenn Close in a gender-bending role in "Albert Nobbs," Viola Davis for "The Help," Rooney Mara in "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," and Michelle Williams in "My Week with Marilyn."

CLOONEY VS PITT

The best actor race sets up an intriguing match between friends George Clooney and Brad Pitt. Clooney was nominated for his role as a father trying to keep his family together in a time of crisis in "The Descendants," and Pitt in his turn as a numbers-crunching baseball executive in "Moneyball."

But the pair of Hollywood A-listers face stiff competition from Frenchman Jean Dujardin playing a fading silent picture star redeemed by love in "The Artist," as well as Gary Oldman in "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" and Demian Bichir in "A Better Life."

The Oscars are given out by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and this year's winners will be named at a gala ceremony in Hollywood on February 26.

The awards included a wide variety of films from heart-warming "The Artist" to serious dramas like "The Descendants" and "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close" to art films such as "The Tree of Life."

"I don't see a trend at all this year. You never want to see anyone left out but it (diversity) does make for great conversation," said Tom Sherak, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

"The Artist" has been a Hollywood darling this awards season winning best film honors from critics groups and taking the Golden Globe award for best film musical or comedy. In the best picture race, it may face its stiffest competition from "The Descendants," which was named the Golden Globe best film drama winner and also has been a critical hit.

"Filming 'The Artist' in Los Angeles was a dream come true, and to receive this recognition today is far beyond what I ever imagined," Hazanavicius said in a statement.

With so many nominees among best picture contenders, clues in the race come from the best director category because in the Oscar's 83 previous awards there has been a strong correlation between the best director and best film winners.

Joining Hazanavicius in that category are "The Descendants" maker Alexander Payne, Scorsese with "Hugo," Allen and his "Midnight in Paris" and Malick with "Tree of Life." Shut out was Tate Taylor, director of widely touted "The Help."

In other key awards, Bejo will be joined in the best supporting actress race by Jessica Chastain and Octavia Spencer, both in "The Help," Janet McTeer for "Albert Nobbs" and Melissa McCarthy for comedy "Bridesmaids."

Best supporting actor nominees were Kenneth Branagh in "My Week with Marilyn," Jonah Hill for "Moneyball," Nick Nolte in "Warrior" and veterans Christopher Plummer for "Beginners" and Max von Sydow in "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close."

Foreign language film nominees were Belgian movie "Bullhead," Canada's "Monsieur Lazhar," Iranian film "A Separation," "Footnote" from Israel and Poland's "In Darkness."

(Reporting By Bob Tourtellotte; Editing by Will Dunham)

(This story corrects the name of the film "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close," in paragraphs 10 and 17.)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/celebrity/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120124/en_nm/us_oscars_nominations

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[OOC] InuXBoku Secret Service

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If only I could actually make a cheeto gun..

Shoujo manga addict~ <3

SunniBunny

Member for 1 years

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Okay~! Please turn in your charrie with 24 hours! ^^

SunniBunny

Member for 1 years

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Anime, and a hint for you is to read the rules and info, because it says "Anime Picture Only" besides reading the rules is nessecary to get your character accepted

I don't hate anything unless it gives me a reason to
I'm sorry..for blaming you for everything I couldn't do..and I hate myself for hating you... -someone
Can you look me in the eye and tell me everything is going to be alright?

Pet's name: Ciel
Adopt virtual pets at Chicken Smoothie!

Luna Star

Member for 1 years

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Read the introduction please~

SunniBunny

Member for 1 years

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Post a reply

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Investing For Beginners and How To Start Online Investing Safely ...

The process of investing for beginners can be a quite intimidating event. Even very experience professional investors started somewhere to find their comfort level. You can bet it wasn?t that easy their first day or two. Our world is changing so rapidly that we all wish that we had easy answers to the success of online investing. Either way, if you want to be a great trader then you might want to make the effort to trade stocks and options the right way.

Online investing gives access to an exciting platform for earning money when performed appropriately. Investing for beginners must face huge challenges, which has everything to do with learning to trade the right way. An effective method to learn about professional stock trading and options strategies is to spend time for studies each night before bed. If you take steps to learn correctly, the progress of investing for beginners will be improved.

It is most appealing to invest conveniently and this has been growing continuously with the widespread availability of Internet access. Since it takes a lot of thought, it isn?t exactly as simple as signing up and earning money automatically. Honestly, you need to manage the stocks that you will be investing in carefully and give an earnest attempt to evaluate online brokers you might trade with. Decisions like this should never be made lightheartedly.

A broker you select must be well equipped to assist you with all types of trading. It should be noted that the automation of stock markets and online brokers has revolutionized the world of online investing. Beginner investors are supplied with many options to use with their investing. With that being said, there is a need to be familiar and comfortable with online investing before taking advantage of its benefits.

A large amount of online brokers have this one good thing in common. They have an online investing for beginners course or applicable articles on their site dealing with the subject. You should compare brokers while you investigate their website and use this section for additional information about trading stocks and options.

We should all be wary about the fee that can be charged to us as part of the service broker?s provide. The convenience of trading online is undeniable, however an online brokering site is able to make money off of the actions that you take with your account. Don?t let this be a deal-breaker since it is commonly practiced. It is still important to keep all fees being charged to a minimum. Consider the fees of the trades you choose at all times.

Most fees are commonly associated with trading commissions, but there can be others such as wire transfer fees, inactivity fees, account maintenance fees, and a whole host of others. Investors need to be aware of these expenses and their responsibilities for them as well. This is one of the important items needed to be evaluated in order to determine the most appropriate broker.

Seek out familiarity with the kind of trading platform being used by your broker. By nature it is confusing, especially if you are new to this and just starting out. Either way, choosing the broker with the best trading platform is crucial to your success and this item can have a significant effect on your profits.

Generally, there are two simple ways to acquaint yourself with the trading process. Most sites offer free virtual stock trading and free virtual options trading that you can help you a great deal. Here, you can trade with a practice account so that you can avoid losing real money in the process. Secondly, you can call your broker?s customer service and have them walk you through placing your first few trades for stocks and options.

Most traders or investors make the mistake of trading too frequently. Mainly, low commissions and fast access to the Internet are usually the reason for this hurried approach. No matter what, the more practical thing to do is to trade smartly and less frequently. This plays a part in minimizing your fees, but it also lets your portfolio grow along with the company stocks that you have purchased. Be practical, trade smartly and use patience if you want to be successful.

Free Virtual Stock Trading Brings Good Luck To Traders!

For those of you that wonder about free virtual stock trading, we have some information for you. We would like to tell you more on online investing and help you out.

Source: http://www.ourtoolbox.net/2012/01/23/investing-for-beginners-and-how-to-start-online-investing-safely/

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Only 1 in 4 Young Teens Uses Sunscreen Regularly, Study Finds (HealthDay)

MONDAY, Jan. 23 (HealthDay News) -- Despite the fact that sunburn in childhood greatly raises a person's lifelong risk for skin cancer, just 25 percent of 14-year-olds in a new U.S. study said they used sunscreen regularly.

What's more, behaviors linked to risky sun exposure increased as kids got older, with older teens reporting more time in the sun and less use of sunscreen than when they were young.

In the study, published in the February issue of Pediatrics, researchers led by Dr. Stephen Dusza of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, in New York City, examined data on 360 fifth graders in Massachusetts who were surveyed in 2004 and again three years later in 2007.

Looking at changes in sun-protective behaviors over that period of time, the team found that more than half (53 percent) of the youngsters had already suffered at least one sunburn by the age of 11 and that that rate of sunburn remained constant over the next three years.

But during that same time period, rates of using sunscreen "often or always" actually dropped: While half of the kids used such products at the beginning of the study, only 25 percent still did so three years later.

The authors noted that the proportion of children who admitted to "liking a tan and spending time outside to get a tan significantly increased" as they grew older, as well.

The years of "periadolescence" covered by the study (ages 11 to 14) appear to be "a crucial period" when young people often either "increase or decrease their use of sun protection, obtain sunburns, or change their tan-promoting attitudes," the authors wrote.

"Adolescence and teenage years are tremendously difficult because it is a period of flexing independence, coupled with feelings of invincibility," they added. Dusza and his team believe that educational outreach during these years will be key to ensuring kids make healthier choices that can help ward off skin cancers over their lifetime.

More information

For more on skin cancer, head to the Skin Cancer Foundation.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/diseases/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20120123/hl_hsn/only1in4youngteensusessunscreenregularlystudyfinds

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Croats vote in EU membership referendum

Croatia's president Ivo Josipovic casts his ballot at a polling station in Zagreb, Croatia, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2012. Croatians vote Sunday in a nationwide referendum on whether to join the European Union, a test of how much the debt-stricken 27-nation bloc has lost its appeal among potential new members. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

Croatia's president Ivo Josipovic casts his ballot at a polling station in Zagreb, Croatia, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2012. Croatians vote Sunday in a nationwide referendum on whether to join the European Union, a test of how much the debt-stricken 27-nation bloc has lost its appeal among potential new members. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

A voter casts his ballot at a polling station in Zagreb, Croatia, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2012. Croatians vote Sunday in a nationwide referendum on whether to join the European Union, a test of how much the debt-stricken 27-nation bloc has lost its appeal among potential new members. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

A voter casts his ballot at a polling station in Zagreb, Croatia, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2012. Croatians vote Sunday in a nationwide referendum on whether to join the European Union, a test of how much the debt-stricken 27-nation bloc has lost its appeal among potential new members. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

Voters cast their ballots at a polling station in Zagreb, Croatia, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2012. Croatians vote Sunday in a nationwide referendum on whether to join the European Union, a test of how much the debt-stricken 27-nation bloc has lost its appeal among potential new members. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

Croatia's president Ivo Josipovic, left, fills his ballot paper at a polling station in Zagreb, Croatia, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2012. Croatians vote Sunday in a nationwide referendum on whether to join the European Union, a test of how much the debt-stricken 27-nation bloc has lost its appeal among potential new members. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) ? Croatians voted Sunday in a referendum on whether to join the European Union ? a test of how much the debt-stricken 27-nation bloc has lost in its appeal among aspiring new members.

Several pre-vote surveys suggest that between 56 and 60 percent of those who take part in the vote will answer "yes" to the question: "Do you support the membership of the Republic of Croatia in the European Union?"

Those who support the EU say their Balkan country's troubled economy ? burdened by recession, a euro48-billion ($61-billion) foreign debt and a 17 percent unemployment rate ? will revive due to access to wider European markets and job opportunities that the membership should bring.

"It's a big moment in our history ... we are joining more successful countries in Europe," Croatia's President Ivo Josipovic said after casting his ballot, adding that he expects a "Yes" vote in the referendum.

Opponents say Croatia has nothing to gain by entering the bloc, which is fighting off the bankruptcy of some of its members. They say that Croatia will only lose its sovereignty and the national identity it fought for in a war for independence from Yugoslavia in the 1990s.

About 11 percent of the voters cast their ballots four hours into the referendum, the state electoral commission said. That is nearly five percent less than during parliamentary elections in December when a left-wing coalition ousted the conservatives.

"I voted against because I don't think we'll do well in the EU," said university student Matea Kolenc, 23. "I heard a lot of bad things about the EU, its economic situation and what it has to offer."

Croatia signed an EU accession treaty last year and is on track to become a member in July 2013, if Croat voters say yes and all of the bloc's states later ratify the deal.

The Balkan nation started negotiating its EU entry six years ago, but since then the popularity of the bloc has faded, as Croats realize that EU membership would not automatically lead to prosperity.

In a sign of deep divisions in Croatia over the membership, police clashed Saturday in downtown Zagreb with a group of nationalist protesters who attempted to take down an EU flag.

"We won't have any say in our own affairs any more," Natko Kovacevic, one of the organizers of the protest, told the crowd carrying banners reading "No to EU" and "I love Croatia."

Croatian officials, who have launched a pro-EU campaign ahead of the referendum, warned that a "no" vote would deprive the country of the much-needed accession funds, and that even the payment of pensions for retirees and war veterans could be in jeopardy.

Croatia has received around euro150 million ($193 million) in pre-accession assistance since 2007. It is to receive another euro150 million for 2012 and euro95 million ($122 million) in 2013.

"Clearly all that funding will be stopped if the Croats say no in the referendum," Croatia's Foreign Minister Vesna Pusic said.

___

Eldar Emric contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-01-22-EU-Croatia-EU-Referendum/id-bdbce312a237486fb8dd8653e06a13ec

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Multiple attacks in Nigeria kill at least 143 (The Christian Science Monitor)

A coordinated attack by a radical Islamist sect in north Nigeria's largest city killed at least 143 people, a hospital official said Saturday, representing the extremist group's deadliest assault since beginning its campaign of terror in Africa's most populous nation.

Soldiers and police officers swarmed Kano's streets as Nigeria's president again promised the sect known as Boko Haram would "face the full wrath of the law." But the uniformed bodies of security agents that filled a Kano hospital mortuary again showed the sect can strike at will against the country's weak central government.

Friday's attacks hit police stations, immigration offices and the local headquarters of Nigeria's secret police in Kano, a city of more than 9 million people that remains an important political and religious center in the country's Muslim north. A suicide bomber detonated a car loaded with powerful explosives outside a regional police headquarters, tearing its roof away and blowing out windows in a blast felt miles away as its members escaped jail cells there.

Authorities largely refused to offer casualty statistics as mourners began claiming the bodies of their loved ones to bury before sundown, following Islamic tradition. However, a hospital official told The Associated Press at least 143 people were killed in the attack.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to release the death toll to journalists. The toll could still rise, since other bodies could be held at other clinics and hospitals in the sprawling city.

State authorities enforced a 24-hour curfew in the city, with many remaining home as soldiers and police patrolled the streets and setup roadblocks. Gunshots echoed through some areas of the city into Saturday morning.

Nwakpa O. Nwakpa, a spokesman for the Nigerian Red Cross, said volunteers offered first aid to the wounded, and evacuated those seriously injured to local hospitals. A survey of two hospitals by the Red Cross showed at least 50 people were injured in Friday's attack, he said.

A Boko Haram spokesman using the nom de guerre Abul-Qaqa claimed responsibility for the attacks in a message to journalists Friday. He said the attack came because the state government refused to release Boko Haram members held by the police.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague said Saturday that he was "shocked and appalled" by the attacks in the former colony.

"The full horror of last night's events is still unfolding, but we know that a great many people have died and many more have been injured," Hague said in a statement. "The nature of these attacks has sickened people around the world and I send my deepest condolences and sympathies to the families of those killed and to those injured."

The U.S. Embassy said it had canceled all staff travel to northern Nigeria after Friday's attacks.

President Goodluck Jonathan also condemned an attack he said saw innocent people "brutally and recklessly cut down by agents of terror."

"As a responsible government, we will not fold our hands and watch enemies of democracy, for that is what these mindless killers are, perpetrate unprecedented evil in our land," Jonathan said in a statement. "I want to reassure Nigerians ... that all those involved in that dastardly act would be made to face the full wrath of the law."

But Jonathan's government has repeatedly been unable to stop attacks by Boko Haram, whose name means "Western education is sacrilege" in the Hausa language of Nigeria's north. The group has carried out increasingly sophisticated and bloody attacks in its campaign to implement strict Shariah law and avenge the deaths of Muslims in communal violence across Nigeria, a multiethnic nation of more than 160 million people.

Authorities blamed Boko Haram for at least 510 killings last year alone, according to an AP count, including an August suicide bombing on the U.N. headquarters in the country's capital Abuja. So far this year, the group has been blamed for at least 219 killings, according to an AP count.

Boko Haram recently said it specifically would target Christians living in Nigeria's north, but Friday's attack saw its gunmen kill many Muslims. In a recent video posted to the Internet, Imam Abubakar Shekau, a Boko Harm leader, warned it would kill anyone who "betrays the religion" by being part of or sympathizing with Nigeria's government.

"I swear by Allah we will kill them and their killing will be nothing to us," Shekau said. "It will be like going to prayers at 5 a.m."

Friday's attacks also could cause more unrest, as violence in Kano has set off attacks throughout the north in the past, including postelection violence in April that saw 800 people killed. Kano, an ancient city, remains important in the history of Islam in Nigeria and has important religious figures there today.

Amid the recent unrest and attacks, at least two journalists have been killed in Nigeria. Journalist Enenche Akogwu, who worked as a correspondent in Kano for private news station Channels Television, was shot Friday while reporting on the attacks, colleagues said. In central Nigeria's city of Jos, Nansok Sallah, a news editor for a government-owned radio station called Highland FM, was found dead in a shallow stream Thursday, the victim of an apparent murder, the Committee to Protect Journalists said.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/terrorism/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20120121/wl_csm/453916

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Sarah Palin to South Carolinians: Vote For Newt!

Sarah Palin hasn't endorsed Newt Gingrich in the GOP presidential race, but says she would vote for the former House Speaker if she were a South Carolinian.

Way to really put yourself out there.

"If I had to vote in South Carolina, in order to keep this thing going I'd vote for Newt and I would want this to continue," the 2008 V.P. nominee told Fox News.

Sarah Palin Supports Newt

"These guys are getting better in their debates, they are getting more concise, more grounded in what their beliefs are and articulating what their ideas are."

"If I had to vote in South Carolina, in order to keep this thing going I'd vote for Newt and I would want this to continue. More debates, more vetting of candidates."

"I want to see that taking place this time because America is on this precipice, it's that important. We need this process to continue on," she added.

Todd Palin, Sarah's husband, recently endorsed Gingrich, and Sarah's comments show she thinks of him favorably despite a lack of overt endorsement.

Whether it does him any good in Saturday's primary remains to be seen. Newt's showing at the first South Carolina debate was strong, with another coming up tonight.

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2012/01/sarah-palin-to-south-carolinians-vote-for-newt/

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Strong earthquake strikes off New Zealand (AP)

INVERCARGILL, New Zealand ? A strong earthquake has struck off the coast of New Zealand's South Island, but there are no reports of damage or injuries and no tsunami warning has been issued.

The 6.1-magnitude quake struck Thursday 126 miles (203 kilometers) west of New Zealand's southernmost city, Invercargill, at a depth of 11 miles (18 kilometers).

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center did not issue an alert.

A devastating quake ravaged the New Zealand city of Christchurch last year, killing 182 people.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/oceania/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120119/ap_on_re_as/as_new_zealand_earthquake

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Dre Kirkpatrick Arrest Details: NFL Draft Prospect Denied Knowledge Of Drugs

Read More: Chris Rogers (DB - Alabama), Dre Kirkpatrick (DB - Alabama), Alabama Crimson Tide

A day after news emerged that former Alabama Crimson Tide cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick had been arrested just after midnight Tuesday in Florida for possessing a small amount of marijuana, more details about the case have come out. Kirkpatrick was a passenger in a rental car driven by former Tide defensive back Chris Rogers, AL.com's Don Kausler, Jr. reports.

Both were released on $120 bond, with court dates set for Feb. 21. According to the report, Kirkpatrick admitted to being present when Rogers purchased drugs, but said he didn't know drugs had been bought. However, police reported that Kirkpatrick was under the influence of drugs at the time.

How this affects his NFL Draft standing remains to be seen, obviously. Last year, Arkansas Razorbacks quarterback Ryan Mallett saw his stock plummet after questions about his drug use emerged, and there wasn't even an arrest to cite in his case. However, if Kirkpatrick accepts full responsibility and pledges he's learned his lesson, surely some sympathetic NFL general manager will find it in his heart to let one little old drug arrest slide.

For more on Kirkpatrick and the Tide, visit Alabama blog Roll Bama Roll. For more NFL Draft, visit Mocking the Draft.

Source: http://www.sbnation.com/2012-nfl-draft/2012/1/18/2715763/dre-kirkpatrick-arrested-marijuana-possession-nfl-draft

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All right in a sort of a limited way (Balloon Juice)

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

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Genes May Give Clues to Severe Form of Lupus (HealthDay)

WEDNESDAY, Jan. 18 (HealthDay News) -- Researchers have identified a DNA sequence that appears to speed up the progression of lupus, an autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system attacks healthy tissues.

"Enhancers" are DNA sequences that accelerate the activation of neighboring genes, according to Italian researchers. In the case of lupus, researchers identified a particular DNA sequence, called HS1.2, which may play a role in the most severe cases of the disease, which can cause joint pain, fever, skin rashes, hair loss and anemia.

The study's authors explained that HS1.2 leads to increased activation of the "transcription factor NF-KB" (a molecule that "reads" the genes to make them work). As a result, this accelerator boosts the production of antibodies that attack the tissues, and increases the aggressiveness of the disease.

The discovery of the accelerator could lead to more effective treatments for lupus, such as medications that "turn off" the accelerator, the study authors said.

The study appears in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.

"Our results suggest that new drugs that turn off the enhancer HS1.2, or inhibit its effect on NF-KB, can stop the disease without the need for immunosuppressive drugs or other therapies with many side effects," the study's leader, Gianfranco Ferraccioli of the Catholic University of Sacred Heart in Rome, said in a university news release. "Moreover, the discovery of the role of this enhancer allows us to better classify patients and formulate a precise prognosis for each one moving toward more personalized care."

Treatments for lupus include cortisone, antimalarial drugs, immunosuppressants and biologic drugs.

HS1.2 also plays a role in other autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, and may increase susceptibility to autoimmune diseases, according to the news release.

More information

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office on Women's Health has more about autoimmune diseases.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/science/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20120118/hl_hsn/genesmaygivecluestosevereformoflupus

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