Now it?s India: Mahindra Reportedly Sniffs Around Saab?s Carcass

While the bankruptcy curtain has finally fallen on Saab, the Swedish automaker?s saga continues, as Bloomberg reports that Indian car manufacturer Mahindra is interested in purchasing at least part of the brand and possibly the entire company. Seeing as Mahindra has its own fair share of troubles, namely its long-delayed entry into the U.S. market, the idea of the automaker purchasing anything ? let alone another car company ? seems like bad comedy.

Mahindra is reportedly in the process of setting up a meeting with Saab?s two court-appointed bankruptcy administrators in order to discuss the possibilities. The meeting has yet to take place, and it?s currently unknown what kind of deal will be discussed by the two parties. A Mahindra spokesperson declined to comment on the matter to Bloomberg.

As you may recall from our previous coverage, Mahindra has been trying to import its compact, diesel-powered pickup trucks into the U.S. for years now, and has also toyed with the idea of developing a manufacturing plant here as well, but its efforts have been thwarted at every turn. Saab, on the other hand, was recently denied a last-ditch Chinese lifeline by GM, who has veto power over any potential Saab-saving deal, and is now dead in the bankruptcy water.

Still, according to Bloomberg, Saab CEO Victor Muller has said the company still has a chance to emerge from bankruptcy in some form, as several parties have expressed interest in the now-defunct brand. While Mahindra may be one of those interested parties, we have our doubts that it will be the one to pull Saab from the ashes.

Source: Bloomberg

Source: http://rumors.automobilemag.com/now-it%E2%80%99s-india-mahindra-reportedly-sniffs-around-saab%E2%80%99s-carcass-97767.html

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Fisker Automotive Recalls Karma Over Battery Issue | EarthTechling

by Nino Marchetti, December 29th, 2011

Green car manufacturer Fisker Automotive has had its share of challenges on the way to introducing the Karma to the American market, including criticism and delays in delivery. Now, in light of a recent problem from its battery supplier, a recall is thrown into the mix.

Fisker?s battery supplier for the Karma, A123, recently said that it found a potential safety issue in which the hose clamps that are part of the battery?s internal cooling system were misaligned, being positioned in such a way that it could potentially cause a coolant leak that could cause an electrical short circuit. Initially it was said only 50 or so vehicles were impacted by this, but now, in a recall filing with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, that number has jumped to 239 models (less than 40 are ?believed to have been delivered to consumers? though, with the remaining still in dealer inventory).

image via Fisker Automotive

Fisker said in this filing that certain model 2012 Karmas manufactured from July 1 through November 3 of this year are impacted by the issue which, if a short occurs, could potentially start a fire. The auto manufacturer noted it plans to notify owners that its dealers will replace the high-voltage battery at no cost to the owner, and that the safety recall is expected to commence in January 2012.

The over $100,000 luxury green car from Fisker is certainly not the first of its kind this year to have this type of high profile safety issue. GM?s Chevy Volt, for example, is being looked at for potential fire issues related to its battery packs that could occur a short time after an accident in the vehicle happens. Nissan, for its part, says its growing in popularity Leaf electric vehicle?s batteries were ?tsunami tested? and quite safe.

Related Stories

Tags a123 systems, fisker, karma, plug-in hybrids, recalls

Posted in Electric Vehicles, Hybrids, Transportation

Source: http://www.earthtechling.com/2011/12/fisker-automotive-recalls-karma-over-battery-issue/

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Fuhu Nabi Kids Tablet

With tablets?finding their way into more and more households, there is a sensible need for a child-friendly solution. For most, giving your child free rein over an expensive device like the iPad 2?($499-$829, 4.5 stars) may not be the best idea. Not only are parents afraid of damage to their precious pads, but they should also be concerned about exposure to inappropriate content. That's where Fuhu's Nabi Kids Tablet ($199.99, sold exclusively at Toys R Us) steps in. The 7-inch? tablet features two distinct Android environments; one sheltered interface catering to kids and one nearly full featured, traditional Android interface. The Nabi is not a toy, but it is also not quite a tablet either. It packs a collection of pre-loaded apps and content, and a customizable child-safe interface, in a tablet that comes with a thick rubber bumper. But some problems with functionality and responsiveness hold the Nabi tablet back.??

Design and Display
The first thing you will notice about the Nabi is its striking red, oversized rubber bumper. This thing is really solid and looks like it could withstand most anything a child might throw at it (or throw it at). But the bumper isn't integrated into the tablet; it's just a peel-off gel case. It's too easily removable and doesn't make the tablet waterproof. It does offer solid drop protection, but it also makes the Power and Volume buttons difficult to press.

Under the rubber bumper is an unassuming white plastic slab. Together with the bumper, the Nabi measures 10.6 by 7.7 by 3.5 inches (HWD) and weighs 1.2 pounds; bigger and heavier than the Kindle Fire?($199, 4 stars) at 7.5 by 4.7 by .45 inches (HWD) and 14.6 ounces, but far better equipped for the rigors of playtime. The Nabi sports a 7-inch, 800-by-480-pixel TFT display, a low resolution you're more likely to find on a phone than a tablet. It's an upgrade over child-oriented tablets like the LeapFrog LeapPad Explorer's ($99, 4.5 stars) 480-by-272-pixel display, but not as nice as the 1,024-by-600 screens on high-quality 7-inch tablets like the the Kindle Fire or Nook Tablet?($249, 4 stars). The screen is bright, and viewing angles are pretty narrow. The biggest problem with the Nabi's display is unresponsiveness. In my tests, it often took multiple touches to get the desired response. This was while navigating through the tablet's interface, and playing games like Cut the Rope.

The tablet is equipped with a mini HDMI port, so you can connect it to an HDTV for playback, and a front-facing camera. For connectivity, there's 802.11b/g Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

OS, Apps, Performance
The real draw of the Nabi Kids Tablet is the kids-only interface it lays on top of the now-obsolete Android 2.2. Kidz Mode is a child-safe, stripped-down environment that basically consists of oversized app icons, as well as shortcuts to Nabi's child-friendly Web and multimedia content. Any parent worried about what kind of trouble their kids can get into will appreciate the walled-off nature of Kidz Mode.

Parents can customize what apps appear in Kidz Mode, deciding for themselves what is or is not appropriate for their child. The tablet comes preloaded with games, educational apps, and childrens' books and videos. You get Angry Birds and Cut the Rope, 30 preloaded childrens' books with audio tracks for reading along, and Fooz Kids University, which is math training software for elementary schoolers. Kidz Mode also features a section of kid-safe Web shortcuts to third-party sites like Cartoon Network.

Though the browser supports Flash, which is used heavily in the third-party websites, the games and content didn't work very well on the Nabi in my tests. The sites were clearly meant to be enjoyed on a real computer, with little mobile, let alone tablet, optimization. For instance, one Cartoon Network link leads to a Flash-based game, which loads properly, but requires keyboard and mouse controls to work, which the Nabi lacks.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/x3r4SDvt9vo/0,2817,2397906,00.asp

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NKoreans salute, cry for late leader Kim Jong Il

In this image made from KRT video, Kim Jong Un, center, Kim Jong Il's youngest son and successor, walks next to his father's hearse during a funeral procession for the late North Korean leader in Pyongyang, North Korea Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2011. (AP Photo/KRT via APTN) TV OUT, NORTH KOREA OUT

In this image made from KRT video, Kim Jong Un, center, Kim Jong Il's youngest son and successor, walks next to his father's hearse during a funeral procession for the late North Korean leader in Pyongyang, North Korea Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2011. (AP Photo/KRT via APTN) TV OUT, NORTH KOREA OUT

In this image made from KRT video, North Korean successor Kim Jong Un salutes as the funeral procession of late leader Kim Jong Il returned to the Kumsusan Memorial Palace in Pyongyang, North Korea Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2011. (AP Photo/KRT via APTN) TV OUT, NORTH KOREA OUT

In this image made from KRT video, North Korean military personnel cry during a funeral for late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, in snowy Pyongyang, North Korea, Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2011. (AP Photo/KRT via APTN) TV OUT, NORTH KOREA OUT

In this image made from KRT video, Kim Jong Un, foreground, Kim Jong Il's youngest son and successor, salutes as he walks next to his father's hearse during a funeral procession for the late North Korean leader in snowy Pyongyang, North Korea Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2011. Walking behind Kim Jong Un is Jang Song Thaek, Kim Jong Il's brother-in-law and a vice chairman of the powerful National Defense Commission. (AP Photo/KRT via APTN) TV OUT, NORTH KOREA OUT

In this image made from KRT video, North Korean military personnel attend the funeral for late leader Kim Jong Il, in Pyongyang, North Korea Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2011. (AP Photo/KRT via APTN) TV OUT, NORTH KOREA OUT

PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) ? North Korea's next leader escorted his father's hearse in an elaborate state funeral on a bitter, snowy day Wednesday, bowing and saluting in front of tens of thousands of citizens who wailed and stamped their feet in grief for Kim Jong Il.

Son and successor Kim Jong Un was head mourner on the gray day in Pyongyang, walking with one hand on the black hearse that carried his father's coffin on its roof, his other hand raised in salute, his head bowed against the wind.

At the end of the 2 1/2-hour procession, rifles fired 21 times as Kim Jong Un stood flanked by the top party and military officials who are expected to be his inner circle of advisers. Kim then saluted again as goose-stepping soldiers carrying flags and rifles marched by.

Although analysts say Kim Jong Un is on the path toward cementing his power and all moves in North Korea so far ? from titles giving him power over the ruling party and military and his leading position in the funeral procession ? point in that direction, his age and inexperience leave questions about Kim's long-term prospects. Whereas his father was groomed for power for 20 years before taking over, the younger Kim has had only about two years.

He also faces the huge challenges of running a country that struggles to feed its people even as it pursues a nuclear weapons program that has earned it international sanctions and condemnation.

Kim Jong Il ? who led with absolute power after his father Kim Il Sung's death in 1994, through a famine that killed hundreds of thousands and the pursuit of nuclear and missile programs ? died of a heart attack Dec. 17 at age 69.

Mourners in parkas lined the streets of Pyongyang, waving, stamping and crying as the convoy bearing his coffin passed. Some struggled to get past security personnel holding back the crowd.

"How can the sky not cry?" a weeping soldier standing in the snow said to state TV. "The people ... are all crying tears of blood."

The dramatic scenes of grief showed how effectively North Korea built a personality cult around Kim Jong Il despite chronic food shortages and decades of economic hardship.

A large challenge for North Korea's propaganda apparatus will be "to counter the public's perception that the new leader is a spoiled child of privilege," said Brian Myers, an expert on North Korean propaganda at Dongseo University in Busan, South Korea.

"Having Kim Jong Un trudge mournfully next to the hearse in terrible weather was a very clever move," Myers said.

Even as North Koreans mourned the loss of the second leader the nation has known, the transition of power to Kim Jong Un was well under way. The young man, who is in his late 20s, is already being hailed by state media as the "supreme leader" of the party, state and army.

Kim wore a long, dark overcoat as he strode alongside his father's hearse accompanied by top party officials behind him and key military leaders on the other side of the limousine ? a lineup that was a good look at who will be the core leadership in North Korea.

North Korea now turns to Thursday's memorial ceremony. Although there will be tributes to Kim Jong Il, the country will be turning toward Kim Jong Un, analysts said.

"The message will be clear: Kim Jong Un now leads the country and there is no alternative," said Kim Yeon-su, a North Korea expert at the state-run Korea National Defense University in South Korea.

There will also be more attention paid to the inner circle forming around Kim Jong Un.

On Wednesday, 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 is expected to be crucial in helping Kim Jong Un take power.

Also escorting the limousine were military chief Ri Yong Ho and People's Armed Forces Minster Kim Yong Chun. Their presence indicates they will be important players as the younger Kim consolidates his leadership. Top Workers' Party officials Choe Thae Bok and Kim Ki Nam and senior military officer Kim Jong Gak also took prominent positions.

The early part of Wednesday's funeral ceremony was shrouded in secrecy, as in 1994, when Kim Il Sung died. Back then, Kim Jong Il and top officials held a private, hourlong ceremony inside the Kumsusan palace before the procession through the city, according to his official biography.

Pyongyang's foreign diplomats were invited to attend the procession, though few other outsiders appeared to be allowed into the country for the funeral. One foreign diplomat in Pyongyang, who asked not to be named because of the sensitive nature of her work, said funereal music played and people wept as the convoy left Kumsusan followed by a large number of vehicles and army jeeps.

After showing taped footage of mourners and documentaries of Kim Jong Il, state TV began airing the procession, showing cars moving slowly through the snowy city, led by a limousine carrying a huge portrait of a smiling Kim Jong Il.

Wednesday's procession had a stronger military presence than 1994.

Kim Jong Il, who ushered in a "military first" era when he took power, celebrated major occasions with lavish, meticulously choreographed parades designed to show off the nation's military might, such as the October 2010 display when he introduced his son to the world.

Kim Jong Un was made a four-star general and appointed a vice chairman of the Central Military Commission of the ruling Workers' Party last year.

After the funeral, the young Kim is expected to solidify his power by formally assuming command of the 1.2 million-strong military, and becoming 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.

Kim Jong Il's two other sons, Kim Jong Nam and Kim Jong Chol, were not spotted at the procession.

___

Associated Press Korea bureau chief Jean H. Lee and writers Hyung-jin Kim, Foster Klug, Scott McDonald 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.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2011-12-28-AS-Kim-Jong-Il-The-Funeral/id-fc33535138e14cd58d8fcf1e6878cfd1

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2011 Bowl Predictions: Military Bowl Presented by Northrop Grumman

Every year, there are bowl games that have a reputation of being offensive showcases.? Even though this is only going to be the fourth Military Bowl, the game in the nation?s capital is becoming one of those games that is just fun to watch.? The first three contests have had at least 48 points combined between the two teams and last year?s game had 71 points scored.? This year?s edition of the Military Bowl features two very potent offenses and there is the potential for a lot of yards and points at RFK Stadium.

Air Force, as usual, has one of the best rushing attacks in the nation.? While the offense is very productive, that did not translate into wins in the first half of this season.? They started the year 3-4 with the wins coming against FCS teams South Dakota and Tennessee State and they just got by Navy by a point in overtime after blowing an 18-point fourth-quarter lead.? But things came together in the latter part of the year.? Air Force won four of its last five games with the only loss to bowl-bound Wyoming.? That got them to seven wins and playing in their fifth consecutive bowl game.

Toledo has a very potent offense as well.? But they got off to a worse start than Air Force did this season.? The Rockets lost three of their first four games with the only win against FCS New Hampshire.? They were much better in Mid-American Conference play, winning seven of their eight games.? Unfortunately, the one conference loss was a wild 63-60 loss to eventual MAC champion Northern Illinois that prevented them from winning their division.? Regardless, Toledo racked up eight wins this season and is playing in their second consecutive bowl game.

So, will this be the highest-scoring bowl game of the 2011-2012 season?? Read on for the preview of the 2011 Military Bowl.

?

Air Force Offense vs. Toledo Defense

As mentioned above, the Falcons had another great year running the ball.? They finished second in the nation in rushing averaging with just over 320 yards per game and they have a great senior leader running the attack.? Tim Jefferson has been the focus of this offense since he took over as the starter.? Asher Clark and Mike DeWitt are the other major contributors in the rushing attack.? When they throw the ball, Jonathan Warzeka and Zack Kauth are the main pass catchers this season.? It will be an interesting battle because the Toledo defense is much better at stopping the run than the pass.? The Rockets finished 28^th in rushing defense, but 109^th in passing defense this season.? They?ll have had time to look at the Air Force attack, so we?ll have to see how much the Falcons could throw early to try and loosen up the defense.

Edge: Air Force

?

Toledo Offense vs. Air Force Defense

As potent as Air Force?s offense was this season, Toledo?s was even better and they did it with balance.? They averaged over 220 yards rushing and 270 yards passing per game this season which led them to have the eighth-best total and scoring offense in the nation.? The Rockets are led by the QB tandem of Terrance Owens and Austin Dantin.? Both of them averaged more than 150 yards of total offense and have kept defenses guessing all year.? The skill positions around them are loaded as well.? RB Adonis Thomas averaged 107 yards per game on the ground and WR Eric Page averaged more than nine catches and 93 yards receiving per game.? This offense is loaded and will be a big problem for the Air Force defense.? The Falcons were mediocre at best all season and will have a tough challenge trying to keep these Rockets grounded.

Edge: Toledo

?

Special Teams

Neither special team unit has been stellar as a whole, but one player could prove to make a big difference in the game.? In addition to being Toledo?s leading receiver, Page finished in the top 20 in punt returns and averaged more than 23 yards per kickoff return.? He can turn the momentum in a game in a hurry and could make a big impact in this contest.

Edge: Toledo

?

Coaching

This will be a heck of a debut game for Matt Campbell.? The interim head coach for Toledo after Tim Beckham left for Illinois, he had the interim tag lifted on December 9^th and is now the youngest head coach in FBS at 32.? This is his offense that is on display this year and he?ll get a chance to continue to build from a solid season this year.? Troy Calhoun has done a fine job in his five seasons, winning at least eight games in each of the first four.? This is also the fifth straight bowl under Calhoun and they have won two in a row.? He will be in line for a job in a BCS conference if he ever decides if he wants to make that type of move.

Who will win the 2011 Military Bowl?

Who will win the 2011 Military Bowl?

• Air Force

• Toledo

Total votes: 0

Edge: Air Force

?

This and That

I?ll be curious to see how full RFK Stadium is for this game.? Neither school is close to the bowl site, so that will probably hold down attendance.? The magic number for Toledo in this game is 30.? They were 1-2 when they scored less than 30 points this season and 7-2 when they scored over 30.? Amazingly, Air Force is 10-10-1 in its bowl history after winning the last two bowl games.

?

So, What Will Happen in the 2011 Military Bowl

This has got an offensive explosion written all over it.? It?s two of the best offenses in the country against a couple of mediocre defenses.? This could be a classic case of who has the ball last wins.? Toledo has the balance on offense and the versatility of Eric Page to pull out the victory.

?

Line: Toledo by 3

?

The Sports Mac Prediction: Toledo 52, Air Force 48

Source: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/998758-2011-military-bowl-presented-by-northrop-grumman-preview-from-the-sports-mac

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Brain cell malfunction in schizophrenia identified

ScienceDaily (Dec. 28, 2011) ? Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have discovered that DNA stays too tightly wound in certain brain cells of schizophrenic subjects. The findings suggest that drugs already in development for other diseases might eventually offer hope as a treatment for schizophrenia and related conditions in the elderly.

The research, now available online in the new Nature journal, Translational Psychiatry, shows the deficit is especially pronounced in younger people, meaning treatment might be most effective early on at minimizing or even reversing symptoms of schizophrenia, a potentially devastating mental disorder associated with hallucinations, delusions, and emotional difficulties, among other problems.

"We're excited by the findings," said Scripps Research Associate Professor Elizabeth Thomas, a neuroscientist who led the study, "and there's a tie to other drug development work, which could mean a faster track to clinical trials to exploit what we've found."

A Promising New Field

Over the past few years, researchers have increasingly recognized that cellular-level changes not tied to genetic defects play important roles in causing disease. There is a range of such so-called epigenetic effects that change the way DNA functions without changing a person's DNA code.

One critical area of epigenetic research is tied to histones. These are the structural proteins that DNA has to wrap around. "There's so much DNA in each cell of your body that it could never fit in your cells unless it was tightly and efficiently packed," said Thomas. Histone "tails" regularly undergo chemical modifications to either relax the DNA or repack it. When histones are acetylated, portions of DNA are exposed so that the genes can be used. The histone-DNA complexes, known as chromatin, are constantly relaxing and condensing to expose different genes, so there is no single right or wrong configuration. But the balance can shift in ways that can cause or exacerbate disease.

DNA is the guide that cellular machinery uses to construct the countless proteins essential to life. If portions of that guide remain closed when they shouldn't because histones are not acetylated properly, then genes can be effectively turned off when they shouldn't be with any number of detrimental effects. Numerous research groups have found that altered acetylation may be a key factor in other conditions, from neurodegenerative disorders such as Huntington's disease and Parkinson's disease to drug addiction.

A Good Idea

Thomas had been studying the roles of histone acetylation in Huntington's disease and began to wonder whether similar mechanisms of gene regulation might also be important in schizophrenia. In both diseases, past research in the Thomas lab had shown that certain genes in sufferers were much less active than in healthy people. "It occurred to me that we see the same gene alterations, so I thought, 'Hey, let's just try it,'" she said.

Working with lead author Bin Tang, a postdoctoral fellow in her lab, and Brian Dean, an Australian colleague at the University of Melbourne, Thomas obtained post-mortem brain samples from schizophrenic and healthy brains held at medical "Brain Banks" in the United States and Australia. The brains come from either patients who themselves agreed to donate some or all of their bodies for scientific research after death, or from patients whose families agreed to such donations.

A great deal of epigenetic research has focused on chemical alterations to DNA itself. Histone alterations have been much more difficult to study because such research requires that the histones and DNA remain chemically intact. Many researchers feared that these bonds were disrupted in the brain after death. However, Thomas's group was able to develop a technique for maintaining the histone-DNA interactions. "While many people thought this was lost, we were able to show that indeed these interactions are preserved in post-mortem brain, allowing us to carry out these studies," said Thomas.

Compared to healthy brains, the brain samples from subjects with schizophrenia showed lower levels of acetylation in certain histone portions that would block gene expression. Another critical finding was that in younger subjects with schizophrenia, the problem was much more pronounced.

Need for New Treatment Options

Just what causes the acetylation defects among schizophrenic subjects -- what keeps certain pages of the DNA guide closed -- isn't clear, but from a medical perspective it doesn't matter. If researchers can reliably show that acetylation is a cause of the problem, they can look for ways to open the closed guide pages and hopefully cure or improve the condition in patients.

Thomas sees great potential. Based on the more pronounced results in younger brains, she believes that treatment with histone deacetylase inhibitors might well prove helpful in reversing or preventing the progression of the condition, especially in younger patients. Current drugs for schizophrenia tend to treat only certain symptoms, such as hallucinations and delusions, and the drugs have major side effects including movement problems, weight gain, and diabetes. If deacetylase inhibitors effectively treat a root cause of the disease and prove sufficiently non-toxic, they might improve additional symptoms and provide a major expansion of treatment options.

Interestingly, some of the cognitive deficits that plague elderly people look quite similar biologically to schizophrenia, and the two conditions share at least some brain abnormalities. So deacetylase inhibitors might also work as a treatment for age-related problems, and might even prove an effective preventive measure for people at high risk of cognitive decline based on family history or other indicators.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Scripps Research Institute.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

---

Journal Reference:

1. B Tang, B Dean, E A Thomas. Disease- and age-related changes in histone acetylation at gene promoters in psychiatric disorders. Translational Psychiatry, 2011; 1 (12): e64 DOI: 10.1038/tp.2011.61

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/_w5iw65ZQd0/111228111731.htm

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Texas police find 7 dead in Dallas-area apartment

Story Published: Dec 25, 2011 at 1:40 PM PST

Police tape stretches through a Grapevine, Texas, apartment complex where police found seven people dead in an apartment on Sunday, Dec. 25, 2011 in Grapevine, Texas. (AP Photo/Mike Fuentes)

GRAPEVINE, Texas (AP) - Six members of a Texas family apparently opened Christmas presents just before a relative dressed as Santa Claus showed up, opened fire and killed them before killing himself, police said Monday.

Grapevine police spokesman Sgt. Robert Eberling said the shooter showed up in the Santa outfit shortly before gunfire erupted and was a member of the family. The identity of the shooter and the victims will be released after autopsies are conducted Monday, he said.

Police went to the apartment midday Sunday after receiving a 911 call in which no one was on the other line. They found four women and three men, aged 18 to 60, dead. A motive for the shootings remains unclear.

Investigators worked overnight, meticulously searching the apartment, along with three vehicles parked outside.

"It appears they had just celebrated Christmas. They had opened their gifts," Grapevine Police Sgt. Robert Eberling said Sunday, adding that the apartment was decorated for the holiday, including a tree.

Two handguns were found near the bodies, and it appears all died of gunshot wounds, he said.

Grapevine Police Lt. Todd Dearing said investigators believe that the victims were related, though some were visiting and didn't live in the apartment. He said police are looking for other relatives to inform of the deaths.

"Seven people in one setting in Grapevine, that's never happened before. Ever," Dearing said.

Police and firefighters first rushed to the Lincoln Vineyards complex after receiving the open-ended 911 call at about 11:30 a.m., Eberling said.

"There was an open line. No one was saying anything," he explained.

So police went into the apartment, located in the middle-class neighborhood of Grapevine, not far from the upscale Fort Worth suburb of Colleyville. The apartment was at the back of the complex, overlooking the athletic fields of Colleyville Heritage High School.

Many of the nearby apartments are vacant, and police said no neighbors reported hearing anything on a quiet Christmas morning when many people were not around.

Jose Fernandez, a 35-year-old heavy equipment mechanic who moved to the complex with his family about six months ago, said he always felt safe in the area, but is now afraid to let his 10-year-old son play freely outside.

"This is really outrageous especially on Christmas," said Fernandez, who was visiting family for the holiday and returned to find several police cars parked outside his home.

"This has shocked everybody. It has scared everybody. I guess something like this can happen anywhere, but seven people dead. It's just very scary," he added.

Eberling agreed the area is fairly quiet, saying the shootings involved the first homicides in Grapevine since 2010.

Christy Posch, a flight attendant who moved to the complex about six months ago so her son could attend the high school, said she lives a few buildings away and did not hear any gunshots.

"It's all families. That's why I moved here. No burglaries, no nothing," Posch said.

---

Associated Press writer Ramit Plushnick-Masti in Houston contributed to this report.

Source: http://www.keprtv.com/news/national/Texas-police-find-7-dead-in-Dallas-area-apartment--136208528.html

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Syria pulls tanks from 'capital of the revolution'

BEIRUT?? After days of punishing assaults, Syria's army began withdrawing tanks from the restive city of Homs on Tuesday just as a team of Arab League observers was on its way to the central city, according to activists and an Arab official.

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Opposition activist Mohammed Saleh said the heavy bombardment of Homs stopped Tuesday morning and tanks were seen pulling out of the streets. Another Homs-based activist said he saw armored vehicles leaving early Tuesday on a highway leading to the city of Palmyra to the east. He asked that his name not be made public for fear of retribution.

For days, military forces had pounded Homs with artillery despite agreeing to an Arab League plan to stop the bloodshed. The Arab monitoring mission is meant to ensure the government complies with the deal to halt the nine-month crackdown on dissent.

Opponents of President Bashar Assad, however, doubt that the Arab League can budge the autocratic leader at the head of one of the Middle East's most repressive regimes.

The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told Reuters 20,000 protesters gathered in Homs early Tuesday ahead of the scheduled tour of the city by Arab League peace monitors.

Video: Thousands reported dead in Syria crackdown (on this page)

It said the activists were gathering in Khalidiya, one of the four parts of Homs where there has been heavy bloodshed as armed rebels fight security forces using tanks.

Elsewhere, several men from an "armed terrorist group" trying to cross from the Turkish border into Syria were shot dead, the state news agency said.

"Special forces were able to kill and wound several gunmen and seized some weapons, ammunitions, army uniforms, communication tools and fake identity cards," SANA said, but it did not give a specific casualty count.

SANA also reported that a "terrorist group" had attacked a gas pipeline near Homs but there were no further details immediately available.

Syria's top opposition leader Burhan Ghalioun called Sunday for the League to bring the U.N. Security Council into the effort . The U.N. says more than 5,000 people have been killed since March in the political violence.

In Cairo, an official at the Arab League's operations room said the Sudanese head of the mission to Syria, Gen. Mohamed Ahmed Mustafa al-Dabi, was leading a team of at least 12 observers on their way to Homs Tuesday. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to journalists, gave no further details.

'Yesterday was terrible'
The observers began their visit by meeting the governor of Homs, Syria's Dunia television channel said. According to opposition activists at least 34 people were killed in the city on Monday as tanks fired at targets among apartment blocks.

"Today is calm, unlike pervious days," Saleh said on Tuesday. "The shelling went on for days, but yesterday was terrible."

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights cited reports from opposition activists in Homs saying at least 11 tanks had left a district they attacked on Monday, and that other tanks were being hidden.

Homs, Syria's third-largest city, has a population of 800,000 and is at the epicenter of the revolt against Assad, located about 100 miles north of the capital, Damascus. Many Syrians refer to Homs as the "capital of the revolution."

Video: Bloody crackdown continues in Syria (on this page)

Parts of Homs are defended by the Free Syrian Army, made up of defectors from the regular armed forces, who say they have tried to protect civilians.

The Arab League plan agreed to by Assad last week requires the government to remove its security forces and heavy weapons from city streets, start talks with opposition leaders and allow human rights workers and journalists into the country. Before Tuesday's redeployment of at least some tanks, there had been no sign that Assad was implementing any of the terms, much less letting up on his brutal crackdown.

Assad's opponents fear that the monitors ? who arrived in the country on Monday after weeks of negotiations with Arab states ? will be used as a cloak of respectability for a government that will hide the extent of violence.

'Guests of the government'
The teams will use government transport, according to Dabi. But that arrangement likely to fuel charges by the anti-Assad opposition that the monitoring mission will be impeded and hoodwinked from the outset.

Dr Mousab Azzawi, chief co-ordinator of Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, told msnbc.com: "We do not believe the monitors will be able to change anything.

"They are not free to see what they want, they cannot move anywhere without giving the government two hours' notice. They are essentially guests of the government they are supposed to be checking on."

Arab League delegates insist the mission will nevertheless maintain the "element of surprise" and be able to go wherever it chooses with no notice.

The monitoring mission launch marks the first international intervention on the ground in Syria since the start of the popular revolt inspired by Arab pro-democracy uprisings that have toppled several dictators this year.

Assad says he is fighting Islamist terrorism directed from abroad and that some 2,000 people have been killed, mainly soldiers and police.

The Associated Press, Reuters and msnbc.com's Alastair Jamieson contributed to this report.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45794794/ns/world_news-mideast_n_africa/

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Top Ten Free Must-Have Apps for iPad, iPhone

You're just dying to show off the new iPad or iPhone you've bagged this Christmas. The only problem... you may not want to admit it but you're clueless when it comes to figuring out the hottest apps to download.

With thousands of apps making their way to the market every year, it can be quite overwhelming for someone whose knowledge of apps stops with "Angry Birds".

Apple newbies can rest assured. This handy guide to the top ten free apps is guaranteed to put your shame to rest.

1.?Facebook - This is, of course, one of the most heavily used and a must have for every device! The Facebook app makes it easy to check and post status updates all through the day. The interface allows you to navigate quickly and provides room for interaction.

2.?Flipboard - Flipboard has finally made its long overdue arrival on the iPhone and is a pleasure to use while browsing through Twitter, Facebook or other social media Web sites. With visually stunning elements splashed across a sleek magazine-like layout, you can now surf the web in style.

3. Photosynth - This Microsoft creation is a top favorite with users of both the iPad and the iPhone. It allows you to, by simply panning your camera, quickly capture panoramic 360-degree gyroscopic images.

4. Google Translate - This awesome app helps you quickly translate spoken words into other languages. Besides being able to translate across 60 languages, you can also bookmark notable translations for future reference.

5. Oink - Oink is a wonderful app that lets your inner critic post reviews and draw user feedback. By using this app, you can rate just about anything from your favorite pizza joint to a rare piece of art. By building credibility around the subject through reviews and pictures, this app will help you find the best items or places in town.

6. Skype - In this day and age, we require more than basic phone calls and text messages to communicate with each other. Skype lets us do just that. This app allows free (Skype-to-Skype) voice and video calls, over both 3G and Wi-Fi networks. Be sure to download the 3.5 version, which offers anti-shake video calls.

7. Mint for iPad - What a convenient way to manage your bank account! The personal finance app helps you perfectly manage your budgets while tracking accounts from debit cards, credit cards, loans and investments portfolios. The app also provides advice on spending habits, along with bill reminders and account alerts.

8. Slacker Radio - Turn up the heat with this outstanding streaming music service that gives you access to over a million songs with excellent sound quality. You can even cache your favorite radio stations on your iPhone or iPad without a wireless connection, by subscribing to Slacker Radio Plus.

9. Netflix - This entertainment app gives you instant access over a Wi-Fi connection to streaming television shows and movies with great picture and sound quality. The Netflix app also gives you the chance to add star recommendations to favorites. Although the app is free, you'll need to subscribe to the service to take advantage of the streaming content.

10.?Words with Friends - It's not just "Angry Birds" getting rave reviews. "Words with Friends" is a highly addictive app that is similar to Scrabble. With over 20 million people playing, this game is a must-have on every iPad and iPhone.

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Source: http://hken.ibtimes.com/articles/272681/20111226/top-ten-free-apps-ipad-iphone.htm

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Hundreds pack Bethlehem church for Christmas Mass

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Associated Press

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

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Police in Berkeley end overnight Occupy camping (Reuters)

BERKELEY, Calif (Reuters) ? A camp of anti-Wall Street protesters in Berkeley, California, has all but vanished under pressure from police, who have returned repeatedly to enforce a nighttime curfew, authorities said on Friday.

The Occupy Berkeley camp in the liberal Northern California college town was one of a dwindling number of similar sites where protesters camped overnight on public property.

Police in Berkeley made two arrests of people who refused to leave Civic Center Park on Thursday night, following another two arrests the night before, but most protesters left voluntarily, said Berkeley Police Lieutenant Andrew Greenwood.

Police leafleted the Occupy Berkeley camp on Wednesday, warning they would no longer tolerate violation of an ordinance that closes city parks between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. As a result, many protesters began packing up their tents.

The camp, which had about 50 tents at its height, had become increasingly violent, police said. And protesters told Reuters there were conflicts within their ranks as mentally ill people took up residence.

By Thursday afternoon, most tents were gone and public works employees guarded by police picked up tents and other items left behind, Greenwood said.

Protesters returned on Friday morning and pitched three tents. "It has been made clear to them that they will have to be out of there by 10 p.m.," Greenwood said.

The Occupy movement, which argues the U.S. economic system is unfair with too much wealth and power held by a few, began in New York in September and quickly spread to other cities.

But many of the encampments have since been cleared by authorities, often on the basis that they had become unsanitary or had growing safety and crime problems.

(Reporting by Laird Harrison: Editing by Alex Dobuzinskis and Jerry Norton)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111224/us_nm/us_protests_berkeley

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Army thanks Big Apple Bagels

U.S. Army 1st Lt. Michele Duffy of Ramona presents a certificate of recognition from the Department of the Army to Bob Davidson, owner of Big Apple Bagels. For the past six to eight months, Davidson has been donating bags of bagels? to the Army Reserves? Family Readiness Group, which assists military families by helping prepare them when a member is deployed and by offering a variety of programs and parties for military spouses and children. Once a month the group has a breakfast table at the Admiral Baker Field where Davidson?s bagels, coffee and other items are sold. Duffy said the military families enjoy Big Apple?s variety of bagels, and her sons, Sean, 12, and Colin, 11, spend those weekends working and selling at the breakfast table. Before Davidson began donating, the FRG had to purchase bagels, Duffy noted. ?He?s just great,? she said of Davidson.

Sentinel photo/Karen Brainard

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From Washington To Obama, Judging Presidential Greatness

The American predisposition to rank pretty much everything seeps into nearly every facet of national discourse. Usually the domain of academia, the economy and sports, our tendency to create a hierarchy has crossed into more malleable arenas like the arts and politics -- the sort of hard-to-quantify categories that fuel heated debate and endless reconfigurations.

So naturally, after 44 presidents and well over two centuries, Americans have spent a great deal of time ranking their current and former leaders. Names like George Washington and Abraham Lincoln naturally rise to the top after benefitting from the kindness of history and a sense of mammoth achievement. But what of the last eight decades or so?

The Modern U.S Presidency: Unique Challenges

The era of the modern Presidency has been marked by tectonic shifts in society, technology and the unlocking of a once-hermetic outside world. Who, since the advent of television, airplanes, atomic bombs, and the Internet, ranks foremost in American minds? And, more importantly, why? The former question is easy to quantify among the living who remember. The latter question is a wholly different matter.

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A recent poll conducted by the Pew Research Center delineated Presidents along generational lines, asking Americans of various ages "Which President during your lifetime has done the best job?" The results were scattershot, depending on the age of the respondent.

Respondents were separated along four generational categories: Millennial; Gen X; Baby Boomers; and the Silent Generation (colloquially termed the "Greatest Generation.")

The two biggest winners across the board were Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton, with 34 percent and 49 percent of the vote respectively across all four generations. Third? The shocking (to some) pick of Barack Obama.

Along age lines, Millenials and Gen X-ers showed the strongest affinity for Clinton, while Boombers and the Silents prefer Reagan (though it should be noted a substantial number of Gen X-ers still have a place in their heart for Reagan).

The results present a quandary. Clinton and Reagan are miles apart by nearly every policy measure, as well as their approach to the job. So how, in our hyper-speed television, radio and internet era, did Clinton and Reagan manage to mingle in American minds? Achievements matter a great deal, but so does the ability to leave a substantive imprint on the collective social conscious and a legacy worth talking about. ?Academics have their own theories.

According to Dr. Meena Bose, Director of Hofstra University's Peter S. Kalikow Center for the Study of the American Presidency, a mix of circumstances, happy memories and lasting impact dictate perceptions.

The modern Presidential era has been colored by campaigns to outline history's draft assessment with Presidential Libraries, memoirs, speaking engagements and the prolonged stints in the spotlight well after leaving office.

Clinton unabashedly falls into the category, with a memoir and more recently a policy tome "Back To Work." But according to Bose, his efforts in the long term may all be for naught.

"While President's have become much more attentive to their legacies, I think their legacy is largely dependent upon what the perception is of what they accomplished in office," she said.

Bose, who co-edited "Making the Grade: The Uses and Abuses of Presidential Ratings," said all the libraries and memoirs in the world can't change the substance of a President's stay in office.

Reagan's legacy remains intact largely due to the efforts of his party and former colleagues in holding him as an exemplar of Republican values.

"I think that illustrates his continuing dominance within the party, and that there hasn't been a Republican leader with that force since," Bose said. "It's what they did, how they shaped American politics through the force of their personality."

That "force of personality" is arguably one of the only connectors between Reagan and Clinton, according to Barbara Perry, Senior Fellow at the Miller Center at the University of Virginia, a nonpartisan institute that studies the presidency.

Charisma - Important Factor in Presdential Success

John F. Kennedy had a strong showing in Pew's poll, and Perry believes Clinton and Reagan can draw similarities to the 35th president -- namely their outsized charisma.

"What makes them different and sets them apart? It's charisma," Perry said. "They are larger than life. These three men all had that in spades."

Serving two terms doesn't hurt either, Perry and Meena said.

"Almost by definition two terms presidents have an advantage when it comes to ratings," Meena said. "But that indicates less of an interest in creating a legacy."

Which brings us to the bizarre case of Barack Obama, a man able to control a podium and speak with a commanding cadence. The tools, according to Perry, are there. But the execution falls short.

"Part of it is the way he chooses to present himself," she said, noting an admittedly scrawny physique that isn't complimented by the grandiosity of the White House's environs. "The stagecraft was very poor for him. I have made this case that he has not seized the symbolic presidency."

That failure to capture the "symbolic presidency" has Obama walking down a cavernous hallway to announce the successful killing of Osama bin Laden. It has him speaking at podiums, camera's trained so far back the presidential seal looks like a nickel. Such a faux pas may seem trivial, but in the modern era of continuous coverage, a President's image is definitive.

"It taps into their hearts and minds of the American people," Perry said. "It taps into ideas that may not be true but that people want to believe in as true."

Obama's performance at mastering the presidency in time for next year's election will likely open or close the door to a second term -- and keep alive some hope that he'll be counted among presidential greats.

--

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Source: http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/272476/20111224/washington-obama-judging-presidential-greatness.htm

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IMF urges members to boost funding under 2010 plan (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? IMF chief Christine Lagarde on Thursday urged member countries to quickly sign off on an agreement last year to double IMF resources and give under-represented nations, such as China, greater voting power in the global lender.

The changes to members' quotas, which determine how much each country contributes to the IMF and their voting shares, are critical as a euro zone debt crisis escalates and is set to slow global growth in 2012.

Lagarde said the IMF's 187 countries had until October 2012 to get the necessary votes to implement the 2010 decision to double quotas, which would make China the Fund's third-largest member country.

The deal was clinched in South Korea in October 2010, which agreed to shift more than 6 percent of voting shares to dynamic countries such as China and double the IMF's quotas, which would make available about $755 billion to the fund.

The IMF said Lagarde "called on members to use their best efforts to make the 2010 reform package effective before the 2012 annual meetings." The meetings take place in Tokyo in mid-October.

An IMF staff paper said "efforts to meet the 2012 deadline should not be spared."

As of December 12, just 53 countries, holding 36 percent of total IMF quotas, had approved the increases. Approval by members holding about 70 percent of quotas is needed to implement the changes. Some countries require their legislatures to authorize the changes.

The measure still requires approval by the U.S. Congress, where Republicans are taking aim at any IMF move to bail out troubled euro zone countries, saying they don't want American funds involved.

The lawmakers are trying to snatch back a $100 billion line of credit the U.S. approved for an IMF crisis fund in 2009 at the height of the global financial crisis.

(Reporting By Lesley Wroughton; Editing by Gary Hill)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111223/bs_nm/us_imf_quotas

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Shootings in Mexico's Veracruz kill 16

MEXICO CITY?? At least 11 people were killed by an armed gang on Thursday in the Mexican Gulf coast state of Veracruz, where drug-related violence flared this autumn, before five gunmen were shot dead by security forces.

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A spokeswoman for the state government told local television the gunmen killed four people in the small town of El Higo then attacked three buses on a highway about 60 miles southwest of the port of Tampico, killing seven others.

Five armed men were killed in a shootout with security forces, the spokeswoman said.

Story: Mexico disbands entire police force in top port of Veracruz

Mexican authorities in October blamed a surge of killings in the city of Veracruz ? some 300 miles south of Tampico ? on a group linked to the country's most powerful drug lord, Joaquin "Shorty" Guzman.

Guzman has been fighting a turf war with the violent Zetas cartel, which authorities say controls Veracruz.

More than 45,000 people have been killed since President Felipe Calderon launched a war on drug cartels in late 2006.

Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

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Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45770652/ns/world_news-americas/

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UH-OH: Chinese And Australian Stock Markets Are Diving, Shanghai Composite Down 1.3%

Image: AP

The Shanghai Composite is down 1.3% right now, extending a three day sell-off. ?Investors seem to be getting increasingly worried about a hard landing scenario.

All of the other Asian markets are also trading down.

Korea's Kospi is down 0.5%.

Japan's Nikkei is down 0.6%.

Australia's S&P/ASX is down 1.2%.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng is down 0.8%.

Shanghai Composite is down 1.7%

After being in the red for most of day, U.S. markets closed modestly higher. Earlier today, the ECB announced that it loaned nearly half a trillion euros to banks through its LTRO plan.

DON'T MISS:?MORGAN STANLEY: The Complete Guide To China's Economy In 2012 And 2013

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/asian-markets-21-2011-12

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Automatic Updates Coming To Internet Explorer (NewsFactor)

Microsoft intends to begin delivering automatic updates of its Internet Explorer browser beginning next year to ensure that as many machines as possible running Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7 are protected from the latest malware schemes of cyber criminals.

"Automatic updates are a very good idea based on every piece of security research I've seen," said White Hat Security CTO Jeremiah Grossman. "Keeping software up to date -- particularly Web browsers -- is critical for online security."

The new service will be available initially to those Windows customers who have activated the automatic update feature in Windows. The plan is to introduce automatic IE upgrades gradually -- with the first Windows users to see the new offering located overseas and then scaling up delivery over time.

"This is an important step in helping to move the Web forward," noted Ryan Gavin, the general manager of Internet Explorer business and marketing at Microsoft.

"We will start in January for customers in Australia and Brazil who have turned on automatic updating via Windows Update," he wrote in a blog Thursday.

Increased Protection

According to Microsoft's latest security intelligence report, the biggest online threat that Windows users face comes from socially engineered malware targeting outdated Web browsers and other aging software. Making the move to the most current products and services helps PC users increase their protection against the most prevalent online threats, the software giant said.

One of the popular features of Google's Chrome Web browser has long been its seamless, out-of-sight upgrades under the hood. Earlier this year, Mozilla likewise indicated that it would emulate Google's browser upgrade strategy by early 2012 and now Microsoft intends to follow suit.

On desktop PCs, notebooks and netbooks, IE currently holds a 52.6 percent share of the global browser market -- down from 58.8 percent in December of 2010, according to Net Applications. By adding automatic updates, however, Microsoft stands a better chance of hanging on to the IE users it already had locked in.

"I do think it will affect the rates at which people change browsers -- mainly because I think people consider switching when they are going through an upgrade cycle," said Net Applications Executive Vice President Vincent Vizzaccaro. "If the upgrade cycle happens in the background, that will take away that reminder to consider switching browsers."

An Enterprise Opt-Out

Large corporations, educational institutions and other organizations which need time to evaluate and fully integrate the latest browser upgrades will have the ability to opt out of the automatic upgrade program and develop customized browser upgrade schedules that best fit their respective business requirements.

"The Internet Explorer 8 and Internet Explorer 9 Automatic Update Blocker toolkits prevent automatic upgrades of IE for Windows customers who do not want them," Gavin wrote.

Individual consumers with automatic updating via Windows Update switched on will retain the same personal home page, search provider and default browser settings after receiving each new browser upgrade. Additionally, consumers who have previously declined invitations to install IE8 or IE9 on their PCs will not be forced to do so.

"Future versions of IE [also] will provide an option in the product for consumers to opt out of automatic upgrading," Gavin said.

Individual IE users also will be able to uninstall any IE browser update and continue receiving support for the specific version of IE that they prefer to run on their machines. Still, Gavin noted that "the Web overall is better -- and safer -- when more people run the most up-to-date browser."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nf/20111216/tc_nf/81421

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Video: Money In Motion Web Extra

Web-only advice and information for currency traders, with CNBC's Melissa Lee and the Money In Motion traders.

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Barracuda babies: Novel study sheds light on early life of prolific predator

Friday, December 16, 2011

For anglers and boaters who regularly travel the coasts of Florida the great barracuda (Sphyraena barracuda) is a common sight. Surprisingly, however, very little is known about the early life stage of this ecologically and socio-economically important coastal fish.

In the journal Marine Biology, lead author Dr. Evan D'Alessandro and University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science colleagues Drs. Su Sponaugle, Joel Llopiz and Robert Cowen shed light on the larval stage of this ocean predator, as well as several other closely related species.

"Due in large part to the expense and difficulty of collecting fish larvae from the open ocean, the larval ecology of barracuda were a mystery until now," said D'Alessandro. "A research study led by Dr. Robert Cowen, which sampled the Straits of Florida regularly for two years, provided a unique opportunity to catch a glimpse of the larval life of many fishes."

The study samples included great barracuda (92.8%) and their relatives Sphyraena borealis and Sphyraena picudilla (6.6%), commonly known as sennets.

In their larval stage, which generally lasts several weeks, barracuda and sennets remain in the upper 25 m of the ocean and live on a similar diet. They start out consuming copepods, or small crustaceans, but make an early switch to a diet of fish larvae, much like several larval billfishes and tunas.

"Barracuda are an important element in the marine food chain; they are voracious predators of other fishes as juveniles and adults on reefs and other nearshore habitats. Now we know this holds true for their larval stage before they reach an inch in length, as well," said D'Alessandro. "This novel study unlocks important aspects of the barracuda's life cycle. It also identifies an important size advantage within the larval stage (bigger larvae are more likely to survive) and provides insight that resource managers can use to better manage this species."

###

University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science: http://www.rsmas.miami.edu

Thanks to University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science for this article.

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

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/116109/Barracuda_babies__Novel_study_sheds_light_on_early_life_of_prolific_predator

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