PFT: Embattled LB McClain near deal with Ravens

AP

With almost a month of free agency in the books, here is our rundown on the best players still available at each position ? a list that includes some of PFT?s top 100 free agents as of earlier in the offseason.

Quarterback: Byron Leftwich.

The Seahawks? move for Brady Quinn made a lot of sense ? he was probably the best backup option left. Leftwich has a strong arm and plenty of experience but has struggled to stay healthy.

Down the road, Tim Tebow seems a solid bet?to join the jobless QB ranks, and the moment he does, he becomes the X-factor of the group. Will another team give him a chance?

Running back:?Ahmad Bradshaw.

Durability looms as the major concern with Bradshaw, who has had foot issues.

Fullback: Mike Cox.

Cox started 12 games in the last two seasons for Atlanta.

Wide receiver: Brandon Lloyd, Julian Edelman.

Lloyd would be a fine short-term solution for a team looking for an outside receiver.? Edelman?s youth and versatility give him a slight nod over other candidates for this spot, but can he stay healthy in a regular role?

Tight end: Dallas Clark.

The best receiving option at his position still left on the market. However, he turns 34 in June.

Offensive tackle: Andre Smith, Bryant McKinnie.

Smith has a strong 2012 season but comes with injury and consistency risk. Nevertheless, the young right tackle is the best free agent available. McKinnie gets the nod over Tyson Clabo and Eric Winston on account of his long track record at left tackle.? That said, McKinnie will be 34 in September, and his conditioning can be an issue.

Offensive guard: Brandon Moore, Stephen Peterman.

Moore started 137 connective games for the Jets, while Peterman played every game the last three seasons before being released by the Lions. Both can be serviceable for 2013.

Center: Dan Koppen.

Started 12 games for the AFC West-winning Broncos in 2012. Turns 34 in September.

Defensive end: Dwight Freeney, John Abraham.

They are both pass-rushing aces, but they?re on the wrong side of 30.

Defensive tackle: Sedrick Ellis, Richard Seymour.

Ellis never lived up to his first-round status in New Orleans, but he will only be 28 at the start of the season. Seymour could still help a team, but Jason Cole of Yahoo! Sports reported in March that it might take a lucrative deal to get the longtime standout lineman back onto the field in 2013.

Outside linebacker: Shaun Phillips, Daryl Smith.

Phillips will be 32 in May, but he?notched 9.5 sacks in 2012, so it?s not as if he couldn?t be of assistance to a defense that uses 3-4 looks.?Smith was limited to two games a season ago with a groin injury, but he?s the best 4-3 outside linebacker available. Age could also be a concern with Smith, who turned 31 in March. Let?s also mention James Harrison, like Phillips an interesting short-term option for a club employing a ?30? front.

Inside linebacker: Karlos Dansby, Brian Urlacher.

Dansby lost his job when the Dolphins added Dannell Ellerbe, but he comes off a 134-tackle season and has a long track record of success. There?s probably still a place for him in the league, and the Bengals are meeting with him on Wednesday. Urlacher fit best in Chicago, but the door seems to have closed on his return.? Besides, he?ll be 35 in May. Honorable mention goes to Nick Barnett, who has notched more than 100 tackles in every season in which he?s played even close to 16 games.

Cornerback: Antoine Winfield, Quentin Jammer.

Winfield is reportedly getting a good deal of attention in free agency; the ex-Viking is tough and skilled. Reliability and availability are Jammer?s strengths at this stage of the game. He?s made 161 career starts and missed just four games in 11 NFL seasons, all with San Diego.

Safety: Kerry Rhodes, Charles Woodson.

This position was thinned further Tuesday when Dawan Landry agreed with the Jets. Rhodes, who intercepted four passes a season ago, has shown a playmaking flair throughout his career, but he will be 31 this season. Woodson can play multiple secondary spots but has said his phone isn?t exactly ringing off the hook just yet.

Placekicker: Steven Hauschka.

Only 27 years old, Hauschka connected on 24-of-27 field goals in 2012 for Seattle.

Punter: Brian Moorman.

Bounced back in 2012 stint with Cowboys, posting a 38.9-yard net average in 12 games.

Return specialist: ?Josh Cribbs.

Cribbs, who had knee surgery earlier in the offseason, can be a difference-making returner and coverage player.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/04/10/report-rolando-mcclain-nearing-deal-with-ravens/related/

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5 UN peacekeepers, at least 7 civilians killed in ambush in South Sudan

By Charlton Doki and Nirmala George, The Associated Press

JUBA, South Sudan -- Five United Nations peacekeepers from India, and at least seven civilians, were killed Tuesday when armed rebels opened fire on a convoy in South Sudan.

South Sudan's military spokesman, Col. Philip Aguer, blamed the attack on fighters led by David Yau Yau, a Sudan-backed rebel leader South Sudan's military has battled for months.

The top U.N. envoy in South Sudan, Hilde Johnson, said in a statement that five peacekeepers and seven civilians working with the U.N. mission were killed. She said at least nine additional peacekeepers and civilians were injured and some remain unaccounted for.

Aguer said the attack took place on a convoy traveling between the South Sudanese towns of Pibor and Bor on Tuesday morning.

"Definitely this attack was carried out by David Yau Yau's militia," Aguer said. "They have been launching ambushes even on the SPLA for about six months now," he said, using the acronym for South Sudan's military.

South Sudan ended decades of civil war with Sudan in 2005 and peacefully formed its own country in 2011. But the south is still plagued by internal violence and shaky relations with Sudan. Leaders in Khartoum, Sudan's capital, deny that they are arming Yau Yau.

Syed Akbaruddin, spokesman of India's Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi, India, said the convoy, which included 32 Indian soldiers, was attacked by rebels in Gurmukh in the volatile state of Jonglei. He said the casualties are being brought to the capital of South Sudan, Juba, and the injured will be sent to the U.N. mission hospital. The Indian embassy will work with the U.N. to bring the bodies back to India, he said.

India has about 2,200 Indian army personnel in South Sudan. They are in two battalions. One is based in Jonglei and the other is in Malakal, in the Upper Nile, on the border with Sudan.

The Indian embassy said it will inform families before releasing the names of the soldiers killed.

The top U.N. envoy in South Sudan, Johnson, sent condolences to the families of the dead and injured.

Related:

South Sudan prisons in tatters after decades of war

S. Sudan president: Sudan has declared war on us

PhotoBlog: Building South Sudan from scratch

? 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Strict school meal standards associated with improved weight status among students

Strict school meal standards associated with improved weight status among students

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

A study suggests that states with stricter school meal nutrition standards were associated with better weight status among students who received free or reduced-price lunches compared with students who did not eat school lunches, according to a report published Online First by JAMA Pediatrics, a JAMA Network publication.

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) was started in 1946 to improve student nutrition by providing school lunches according to standards sets by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). However, the program has faced criticism that the lunches did not meet USDA nutrient-based standards, and the NSLP may be a missed opportunity to improve students' weight status and reduce the health consequences of obesity, the authors write in the study background.

Daniel R. Taber, Ph.D., of the University of Illinois at Chicago and colleagues conducted a study using a sample of 4,870 students in 40 states. Student data were obtained from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class, which began collecting data from a nationally representative sample of kindergarten students in fall 1998.

In states that exceeded USDA school meal standards, the difference in obesity prevalence between students who received free or reduced-price lunches and students who did not get lunches was 12.3 percentage points smaller compared with states that did not exceed USDA standards.

"In states that did not exceed USDA standards, students who obtained free/reduced-price lunches were almost twice as likely to be obese than students who did not obtain school lunches (26 percent and 13.9 percent, respectively), whereas the disparity between groups was markedly reduced in states that exceeded USDA standards (21.1 percent and 17.4 percent, respectively)," according to the study results.

Researchers also found that there was little evidence that students compensated for school meal laws by buying sweets, salty snacks or sugar-sweetened beverages from other school venues, such as vending machines, or from other sources, such as fast food restaurants.

"The evidence in this study suggests that ongoing changes to school meal standards have the potential to reduce obesity, particularly among students who are eligible for free/reduced-price lunches, though additional longitudinal research is needed to confirm this," the study concludes.

(JAMA Pediatr. Published online April 8, 2013. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2013.399. Available pre-embargo to the media at http://media.jamanetwork.com.)

Editor's Note: Support for the research was provided by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and a grant from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, financial disclosures, funding and support, etc.

Editorial: School Meals a Starting Point for Countering Childhood Obesity

In a related editorial, Marion Nestle, Ph.D., M.P.H., of New York University, writes: "In this issue of JAMA Pediatrics, Taber and colleagues provide important evidence to support the value of strong, far-reaching public health initiatives to counter childhood obesity."

"In short, the study found an association between more stringent school meal standards and more favorable weight status, especially among low-income students," Nestle continues.

'The study produced one other noteworthy result. Students did not compensate for the healthier school meals by buying more snacks or sodas on school premises," Nestle concludes.

(JAMA Pediatr. Published online April 8, 2013. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2013.404. Available pre-embargo to the media at http://media.jamanetwork.com.)

Editor's Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, financial disclosures, funding and support, etc.

###

The JAMA Network Journals: http://www.jamamedia.org

Thanks to The JAMA Network Journals 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/127633/Strict_school_meal_standards_associated_with_improved_weight_status_among_students

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AZ Electronic shares slide after profit warning

LONDON (Reuters) - AZ Electronic Materials, a maker of chemicals for Apple's iPad displays and memory chips, warned that profit would be lower than expected in the first half, wiping a quarter of the value of its share price.

The company said on Tuesday that its core earnings margin for the first six months of the year would dip below 30 percent, resulting in 2013 group margins coming in below normal levels. It forecast an improvement in the second half.

A weaker than expected performance in the part of its business which provides materials used in integrated circuits was to blame, said the company.

Shares in AZ Electronics crashed 27 percent to 269 pence at 3:43 a.m. ET, hitting their lowest level for around nine months and leading the FTSE 250 losers board.

"Softness in demand patterns within the integrated circuit industry was compounded by increased pressure from dual sourcing by certain customers," AZ said in a statement.

Analysts at Singer called the update "disappointing" and said that the lower than normal margin implied a possible 2013 earnings downgrade of over 10 percent.

"We believe that a number of the challenges are likely to be short term ... but we expect the shares to come under some pressure pending visibility of the anticipated second half recovery," they said.

AZ said discussions with customers meant it was confident of a stronger second half. It also gave assurances on profit growth beyond 2013 citing encouraging progress on the development of new products.

(Reporting by Sarah Young, editing by James Davey)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/az-electronic-shares-slide-profit-warning-081723369--finance.html

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Sustainability, wellness expo set for Saturday | Health and Fitness ...

BLOOMINGTON ? The annual Illinois Sustainable Living and Wellness Expo will be 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Illinois Wesleyan Shirk Center, 302 E. Emerson St. The free expo includes about 100 exhibits, in addition to information sessions and ?

Best Prices on all YOUR Health and Fitness Requirements! CLICK HERE

Source: http://www.16g.org/sustainability-wellness-expo-set-for-saturday/

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Profiles in Science: Elizabeth Blackburn: Molecular Biologist Charts Her Own Course

[unable to retrieve full-text content]A Nobel-winning molecular biologist explores the connections of emotional stress, health and DNA.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/09/science/elizabeth-blackburn-molecular-biologist-charts-her-own-course.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

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Calif. governor looks to China for investments

FILE - In this Nov. 19, 2005 file photo, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger waves while taking the stage to begin a rally to promote California's products in Hong Kong, Saturday Nov. 19, 2005. California has the highest population of Chinese-Americans and is China's top trade partner among U.S. states. Yet it has no trade offices in China, opting to eliminate them in a cost-cutting move a decade ago, and is feeling the pressure from other states that have been far more aggressive in pursuing business from the world's second-largest economy. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)

FILE - In this Nov. 19, 2005 file photo, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger waves while taking the stage to begin a rally to promote California's products in Hong Kong, Saturday Nov. 19, 2005. California has the highest population of Chinese-Americans and is China's top trade partner among U.S. states. Yet it has no trade offices in China, opting to eliminate them in a cost-cutting move a decade ago, and is feeling the pressure from other states that have been far more aggressive in pursuing business from the world's second-largest economy. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)

FILE - In this Feb. 17, 2012 file photo, Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping is greeted by California Governor Jerry Brown as Commerce Secretary John Bryson looks on at the JW Marriott hotel before attending the US-China Economy and Trade Cooperation Forum in Los Angeles. California has the highest population of Chinese-Americans and is China's top trade partner among U.S. states. Yet it has no trade offices in China, opting to eliminate them in a cost-cutting move a decade ago, and is feeling the pressure from other states that have been far more aggressive in pursuing business from the world's second-largest economy. (AP Photo/Los Angeles Times, Robert Gauthier, Pool , File)

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) ? California Gov. Jerry Brown has designs on building some of the most expensive public works projects in the nation and wants to keep the state moving forward in its slow recovery from the recession.

Where better to go searching for the money to further those interests than the world's second largest economy and a country that has piles of cash to invest around the globe?

The governor of the most populous U.S. state heads to China next week to begin a weeklong trade mission that he hopes will produce investments on both sides of the Pacific. Brown will lead a delegation of business leaders in search of what he calls "plenty of billions."

"They've got $400 billion or $500 billion they're going to invest abroad, so California's got to get a piece of that," Brown said in an interview last week ahead of his seven-day trip to China.

The governor and business leaders accompanying him are trying to rebuild the state's official relationship with China after the state closed its two trade offices and others around the world a decade ago in a cost-cutting move. California finds itself playing catch-up to other states that have had a vigorous presence in China for years.

California, which would be the world's ninth largest economy if it were a separate country, will open a trade office in Shanghai during Brown's visit. The Bay Area Council, a coalition of business interests from the San Francisco Bay Area and Silicon Valley, is raising about $1 million a year in private money to operate it.

"California shouldn't be the only state in the union not to have a presence with key foreign trading partners like China," said Jim Wunderman, president of the group.

The council opened its own office in Shanghai in 2010 to fill the void after the closure of the trade offices. Bruce Pickering, executive director of the Northern California office of the Asia Society, called the 2003 decision "penny wise but pound foolish."

"We've basically said, 'We're California, show up and stand in line with everybody else,'" Pickering said. "You have to do a little more than just say you're welcoming a business. ... You have to really send a message that you are ready for it."

Asia Society, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that promotes collaboration between the U.S. and Asia, reported in 2011 that businesses from China have established operations and created jobs in at least 35 of the 50 U.S. states, including California.

Pickering said California is behind other states in recruiting Chinese investment, while states as varied as Pennsylvania, Missouri, Florida and Arkansas have had an official presence there. The Republican governors of Iowa, Virginia, Wisconsin and Guam also are visiting China this month and meeting with provincial leaders to discuss trade and the environment.

"I would think it would be very difficult to try to attract investment without having someone on the ground there on your behalf," said Joe Holmes, a spokesman for the Arkansas Economic Development Agency.

Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe led a mission to China last year, and a number of deals are being discussed as a result, Holmes said.

Asia Society reported this year that China's direct foreign investment is poised to skyrocket to between $1 trillion and $2 trillion by 2020. California is ideally situated to capture some of that money if it goes after it: China already is California's third-largest export partner after Mexico and Canada.

And Brown already has a relationship with President Xi Jinping. The two met to discuss trade issues last year when the then-vice president visited California.

Technology, life sciences, real estate, banking, health care and agriculture are among the industries state business leaders and officials hope to target. The concentration of skilled technical engineers and the clean-energy sector in the Silicon Valley also are a draw for emerging companies, along with Chinese tourism to California.

State and local tourism officials are among those joining Brown on the trip, along with winemakers, cheese proprietors and almond growers. In all, about 75 business and policy leaders from a cross-section of California industries are joining the mission, which will include stops in the capital city, Beijing, as well as Shanghai and Guangzhou.

Those cities are among the most developed and important in China. Shanghai, a port city, is an important center of industry and finance, while Guangzhou is in the heartland of the Pearl River Delta region, which is home to the myriad processing and assembling factories that have made China the world's factory floor.

The nearly $4 billion a year in computer and electronic products California sends to China account for the state's largest export, followed by waste and scrap, non-electrical machinery and transportation equipment. The agriculture products such as strawberries, almonds and lettuce are fifth.

According to the governor's office, the vast majority of Chinese exports headed to the United States go through California ports.

The trip also signals a pivot for Brown as he seeks to rebuild California's nearly $2 trillion economy after the state's tumultuous ride during the Great Recession. It was the epicenter of the housing crisis and weathered double-digit unemployment for nearly four years.

Brown said the state budget has stabilized, in large part because of voter-approved tax increases, and that he is now moving on to broader policy issues.

"California is a place where it's a cauldron of creative activity, and I see that China has some of that, maybe a lot of that," Brown said in the interview. "You have always got to find a way to renew things, and that's what I see as my job here."

The governor's boldest and most expensive projects are a $68 billion high-speed rail system that is expected to start construction this summer and a $24 billion project to build massive water-delivery tunnels and restore parts of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, the largest estuary on the West Coast.

Brown is especially interested in studying China's extensive high-speed rail system and use it as a way to promote his own plan, which has come under intense criticism and has been losing public support as its projected cost has soared. The governor is scheduled to ride part of China's rail system from Beijing to Shanghai, accompanied by the chairman of California's high-speed rail board, Dan Richard.

China has the world's longest high-speed rail system, covering 5,800 miles, and has tried to turn it into a showcase. But the system also has faced problems: Part of a line collapsed in central China after heavy rains and a crash in 2011 killed 40 people. The former railway minister, who spearheaded the bullet train's construction, and the ministry's chief engineer, were detained in a corruption investigation.

Brown said he likes "the exuberance" with which Chinese officials approached building high-speed rail and would welcome investment in the California system or any other infrastructure projects in the state.

Despite the governor's enthusiasm, it's not clear how applicable the Chinese system is to a major infrastructure project in the U.S. The Chinese high-speed rail network benefits from heavy government financing and faces few of the environmental and legal hurdles in California. The land needed to build the Chinese system is often forcibly procured at below market prices.

___

Associated Press writer Charles Hutzler in Beijing contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-04-06-California-China/id-2a6a818963da48539453c038bb5e7274

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NKorea aggression could strengthen US-China bond

WASHINGTON (AP) ? North Korea's latest outburst of nuclear and military threats has given the U.S. a rare opportunity to build bridges with China ? a potential silver lining to the simmering crisis that could revitalize the Obama administration's flagging policy pivot to Asia.

The architect of the administration's Asia policy described a subtle change in Chinese thinking as a result of Pyongyang's recent nuclear tests, rocket launches and abandonment of the armistice that ended the 1950-53 war with South Korea.

Pyongyang has taken similar actions in the past, prompting Washington to step up military readiness in the region to soothe allies South Korea and Japan. But in an unusual rebuke this week, Beijing called North Korea's moves "regrettable" ? amounting to a slap from Pyongyang's strongest economic and diplomatic supporter.

"They, I think, recognize that the actions that North Korea has taken in recent months and years are in fact antithetical to their own national security interests," former Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell told a panel Thursday at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.

"There is a subtle shift in Chinese foreign policy" toward North Korea, said Campbell, who retired in February as the administration's top diplomat in East Asia and the Pacific region. "I don't think that provocative path can be lost on Pyongyang. ... I think that they have succeeded in undermining trust and confidence in Beijing."

State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland described "good unity" between the U.S. and China in responding to North Korea.

"The issue here is to continue to recognize that the threats we share are common, and the approaches are more likely to be more effective if we can work well together," she told reporters Thursday.

President Barack Obama recently called China's new president, Xi Jinping, as part of an effort to brief the Chinese about American plans to take steps to deter the threats coming from the North, The New York Times reported on its website Friday night.

For now, the crisis has given new rise to the White House's decision to bolster U.S. economic and security in the region that for years was sidelined as a priority by war and terrorism in the Middle East and North Africa.

Much of the policy has centered on China ? both in strengthening diplomatic ties and economic trade. But China is an unreliable American ally and has been suspicious about the U.S. entreaty, which it sees as economic competition on its own turf.

Now, North Korea's threats have focused China and the U.S. on a regional security threat instead of an economic rivalry.

"Part of the pivot is to also take a more active interest in the security issues in Asia," Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., who chairs a committee overseeing East Asia, said in an interview this week. "And clearly, North Korea is the most difficult country and one that represents security issues for the countries in Asia, as well as indirectly affects U.S. interests."

"With North Korea making these noises, it will require the U.S. to deal with security issues in Asia," Cardin said.

North Korea has ratcheted up an almost daily string of threats toward the U.S., South Korea and Japan and moved a missile with "considerable range" to its east coast, South Korea's defense minister said Thursday. But he emphasized that the missile was not capable of reaching the United States, and officials in Seoul and Washington agree there are no signs that Pyongyang is preparing for a full-scale conflict.

Last year, North Korea launched two long-range rockets ? it claims they were satellites but were widely believed to be missiles ? and in February announced it conducted an underground nuclear test. A month later, the country declared its 1953 armistice with South Korea void. And this week, Pyongyang said it would restart a shuttered nuclear reactor and ramp up production of atomic weapons material, and began turning away South Korean workers from jointly run factories in the North.

Much of the bellicosity is seen as an effort to shore up loyalty among citizens and the military for North Korea's young leader, Kim Jong Un. But U.S. and U.N. sanctions against Pyongyang after the February nuclear test fueled tensions and began the unusually high level of threats.

It's also a response to annual U.S.-South Korean military drills that ? intentional or not ? antagonize the North. The ongoing drills have shown a conspicuous display of firepower, including flying American bombers and fighter jets in recent weeks over South Korea and off the Korean peninsula's coast, where a U.S. missile-defense ship also has been deployed.

North Korea's military issued a statement saying its troops have been authorized to counter U.S. "aggression" with "powerful practical military counteractions," including nuclear weapons. Experts doubt Pyongyang is able to launch nuclear-tipped missiles, although the extent of its nuclear arsenal is unclear.

China historically has been lax on enforcing international sanctions against the North. But in what the U.S. took as a positive development, China signed on to stiffer measures in the latest round of U.N. Security Council sanctions announced after the February nuclear test, and there are initial indications that it's increasing cargo inspections. Whether this will lead to concrete steps that will crimp North Korea's weapons' programs and illicit trade in arms, however, remains to be seen.

Patrick Cronin, an Asia expert at the Center for a New American Security and a senior State Department official during the George W. Bush administration, said Beijing also is helping set up back-channel negotiations with North Korea to ease the tensions.

But ultimately, he said, the U.S. isn't likely to succeed in winning China over as a reliable partner against North Korea beyond the current flare-up.

"There is an opportunity for the U.S. and China to renew cooperation on a North Korean strategy," Cronin said. "But we can't put all of our hopes on that cooperation, because it's been less than satisfying in the past. There are limits to how far China and the U.S. have coincidental interests with regard to North Korea. But it's not enough ? because, more likely, we're likely to fail."

Asia expert and peace activist Hyun Lee agreed that Washington will be unlikely to turn Beijing against North Korea in the long run. But she said China does not want to see a stepped-up U.S. military presence in the region, and Beijing certainly doesn't want a war on its borders.

China "doesn't want to deal with headaches like the tension between the U.S. and North Korea," said Lee of the Working Group for Peace and Demilitarization in Asia and the Pacific. "I think China is trying to restrain both sides."

___

Follow Lara Jakes on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/larajakesAP

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nkorea-aggression-could-strengthen-us-china-bond-072505915--politics.html

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Android this week: Facebook Home phones, software, privacy and fragmentation potential

Another tech giant is building off of Google Android, using the platform to expand its potential influence. Facebook didn?t introduce its own phone, but instead debuted Facebook Home software and a partner handset with HTC. The HTC First has mediocre specifications and will cost $99 with contract on AT&T?s network when it launches on April 12. Facebook Home will appear in the Google Play store that same day, but only for five current Android phones initially.

Will people install it? Out of 622 GigaOm readers that responded to our poll asking that question, 63.02 percent said no, although 21.54 percent said they will at least try it. I certainly will install it, but mainly for work and testing purposes.

Facebook Home will appeal to those who spend more time in Facebook apps than in any others. The home screen shows updates from friends and can easily be liked with a double-tap. The new ChatHeads feature allows for Facebook messages to appear atop any other open app. And it?s easy to navigate to other Facebook apps.

As a Facebook user, it sounds great except for one thing, at least to me: I want my home screen to have information relevant to me and my environment. Things like local weather, my scheduled events, breaking news and such.

Jason Perlow wrote a thought-provoking piece on the potential fragmentation that Facebook Home could bring. I don?t see as huge an issue, however, as Facebook Home is, at least for now, just a launcher. There are numerous launchers and hundreds of launcher themes available on Google Play but they don?t introduce fragmentation. On your own Android phone, you can choose to install and use, install and disable, or simply not install Facebook Home. Even on the HTC First, you can disable the Facebook Home launcher and the phone will revert to the native Android Jelly Bean look and feel.

Perlow notes that if Facebook adds deeper hooks into the Android system, APIs and its own app store, that could cause problems. I agree but think it?s unlikely to happen. The only companies that completely take over an Android phone are the ones that build their own hardware: HTC, Samsung, even Amazon. Even Amazon?s forked version of Android and app store isn?t creating much, if any, of a fragmentation issue for users or developers. We?ll have to see if Facebook Home works out any differently; it?s certainly a situation work watching.

The more immediate issue is one of privacy. My colleague, Om Malik, wrote a fantastic post on greater mistrust of Facebook Home and use of data, so I won?t rehash the privacy concerns. I don?t really see Facebook Home having any greater (or lesser) impact on privacy, however.

Why? Because Facebook already has deep hooks into user data on Android and other devices. Once I can install the Facebook Home software next week, I?ll be looking to see if the launcher has any additional data permissions even though Facebook has already said it won?t. I?ll then compare them to the current app permissions, which include these abilities and more:

• Access to photos and videos
• Both approximate and precise location from the phone?s GPS
• Reading and modifying your contacts, including the ability to see who you contact the most
• Your phone number as well as the recipient phone number when on a voice call; access to full call logs
• Getting a list of all other app/data accounts on your phone

I understand Om?s points on privacy in regards to Facebook. I still use the service, however, I think the bigger privacy issue should be focused on Facebook itself, not Facebook Home; unless I see something new in the permissions when Facebook home arrives.

Source: http://gigaom.com/2013/04/06/android-this-week-facebook-home-phones-software-privacy-and-fragmentation-potential/

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Microsoft Game Studios creative director Adam Orth took to Twitter today to air...

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Source: http://www.facebook.com/VG247/posts/508813595823032

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Researchers show stem cell fate depends on 'grip'

Friday, March 29, 2013

The field of regenerative medicine holds great promise, propelled by greater understanding of how stem cells differentiate themselves into many of the body's different cell types. But clinical applications in the field have been slow to materialize, partially owing to difficulties in replicating the conditions these cells naturally experience.

A team of researchers from the University of Pennsylvania has generated new insight on how a stem cell's environment influences what type of cell a stem cell will become. They have shown that whether human mesenchymal stem cells turn into fat or bone cells depends partially on how well they can "grip" the material they are growing in.

The research was conducted by graduate student Sudhir Khetan and associate professor Jason Burdick, along with professor Christopher Chen, all of the School of Engineering and Applied Science's Department of Bioengineering. Others involved in the study include Murat Guvendiren, Wesley Legant and Daniel Cohen.

Their study was published in the journal Nature Materials.

Much research has been done on how stem cells grow on two-dimensional substrates, but comparatively little work has been done in three dimensions. Three-dimensional environments, or matrices, for stems cells have mostly been treated as simple scaffolding, rather than as a signal that influences the cells' development.

Burdick and his colleagues were interested in how these three-dimensional matrices impact mechanotransduction, which is how the cell takes information about its physical environment and translates that to chemical signaling.

"We're trying to understand how material signals can dictate stem cell response," Burdick said. "Rather than considering the material as an inert structure, it's really guiding stem cell fate and differentiation ? what kind of cells they will turn into."

The mesenchymal stem cells the researchers studied are found in bone marrow and can develop into several cell types: osteoblasts, which are found in bone; chondrocytes, which are found in cartilage; and adipocytes, which are found in fat.

The researchers cultured them in water-swollen polymer networks known as hydrogels, which share some similarities with the environments stem cells naturally grow in. These materials are generally soft and flexible ? contact lenses, for example, are a type of hydrogel ? but can vary in density and stiffness depending on the type and quantity of the bonds between the polymers. In this case, the researchers used covalently cross-linked gels, which contain irreversible chemical bonds.

When seeded on top of two-dimensional covalently cross-linked gels, mesenchymal stem cells spread and pulled on the material differently depending on how stiff it was. Critically, the mechanics guide cell fate, or the type of cells they differentiate it into. A softer environment would produce more fat-like cells and a stiffer environment, where the cells can pull on the gel harder, would produce more bone-like cells.

However, when the researchers put mesenchymal stem cells inside three-dimensional hydrogels of varying stiffness, they didn't see these kinds of changes.

"In most covalently cross-linked gels, the cells can't spread into the matrix because they can't degrade the bonds ? they all become fat cells," Burdick said. "That tells us that in 3D covalent gels the cells don't translate the mechanical information the same way they do in a 2D system."

To test this, the researchers changed the chemistry of their hydrogels so that the polymer chains were connected by a peptide that the cells could naturally degrade. They hypothesized that, as the cells spread, they would be able to get a better grip on their surrounding environment and thus be more likely to turn into bone-like cells.

In order to determine how well the cells were pulling on their environment, the researchers used a technique developed by Chen's lab called 3D traction force microscopy. This technique involves seeding the gel with microscopic beads, then tracking their location before and after a cell is removed.

"Because the gel is elastic and will relax back into its original position when you remove the cells," Chen said, "you can quantify how much the cells are pulling on the gel based on how much and which way it springs back after the cell is removed."

The results showed that the stem cells' differentiation into bone-like cells was aided by their ability to better anchor themselves into the growth environment.

"With our original experiment, we observed that the cells essentially didn't pull on the gel. They adhered to it and were viable, but we did not see bead displacement. They couldn't get a grip," Burdick said. "When we put the cells into a gel where they could degrade the bonds, we saw them spread into the matrix and deform it, displacing the beads."

As an additional test, the researchers synthesized another hydrogel. This one had the same covalent bonds that the stem cells could naturally degrade and spread through but also another type of bond that could form when exposed to light. They let the stem cells spread as before, but at the point the cells would begin to differentiate ? about a week after they were first encapsulated ? the researchers further "set" the gel by exposing it to light, forming new bonds the cells couldn't degrade.

"When we introduced these cross-links so they could no longer degrade the matrix, we saw an increase toward fat-like cells, even after letting them spread," Burdick said. "This further supports the idea that continuous degradation is needed for the cells to sense the material properties of their environment and transduce that into differentiation signals."

Burdick and his colleagues see these results as helping develop a better fundamental understanding of how to engineer tissues using stem cells.

"This is a model system for showing how the microenvironment can influence the fate of the cells," Burdick said.

###

University of Pennsylvania: http://www.upenn.edu/pennnews

Thanks to University of Pennsylvania 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/127524/Researchers_show_stem_cell_fate_depends_on__grip__

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Probiotics help fish grow up faster and healthier

ScienceDaily (Dec. 3, 2012) ? Probiotics like those found in yogurt are not only good for people -- they are also good for fish. A new study by scientists at the Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology found that feeding probiotics to baby zebrafish accelerated their development and increased their chances of survival into adulthood.

This research could help increase the success of raising rare ornamental fish to adulthood. It also has implications for aquaculture, since accelerating the development of fish larvae--the toughest time for survival--could mean a more efficient and safe system for bringing fish to the dinner table.

Tiny zebrafish are often used in genetic research because scientists can easily track changes in their development and the fish grow quickly. They also share many of the same genes as humans and can be used for studying cellular and physiological processes and their impact on human disease.

"This is really exciting," said Jacques Ravel, a leading genomic scientist studying the role of the human microbiome in health and disease at the University of Maryland School of Medicine Institute for Genome Sciences. "Knowing you can colonize the gut of a zebrafish with a probiotic strain and improve its development becomes an interesting model for us to study the beneficial effect of probiotics in children and adults." He and his colleagues are currently looking into the effect of Lactobacillus rhamnosus probiotics on the gut development of premature infants.

In the zebrafish experiment, researchers added Lactobacillus rhamnosus, a probiotic strain sometimes used in yogurt, to the zebrafish water. The fish drank the probiotic through their gills, and it landed in their gastrointestinal tract, preventing bad bacteria from taking over and promoting growth, including advancing the development of bone, vertebrae, and gonads.

"If you have increased growth and survival from each batch of hundreds of thousands of eggs, that is a huge benefit," said study co-author Dr. Allen Place of the Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology.

Probiotics helped the zebrafish get through the touch-and-go time when their gastrointestinal tract is maturing. They are still living off yolk with which they are born, and it is during this weaning period when most mortality occurs. Adding probiotics to the water increases the survival rate of zebra fish larvae from 70% to 90%.

"We did not anticipate the enhancement in maturation," said Place. "When you look at various molecular markers of stress, the overall stress in the fish that were treated with the probiotic were lower--which may be the reason for the development."

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science.

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Journal Reference:

1. Matteo A. Avella, Allen Place, Shao-Jun Du, Ernest Williams, Stefania Silvi, Yonathan Zohar, Oliana Carnevali. Lactobacillus rhamnosus Accelerates Zebrafish Backbone Calcification and Gonadal Differentiation through Effects on the GnRH and IGF Systems. PLoS ONE, 2012; 7 (9): e45572 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0045572

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

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_environment/~3/ZTOqnEMYvuI/121203163534.htm

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Olly Murs tops UK single and album charts

Who are the suckers now? While bragging about hanging out with tech guru turned murder suspect John McAfee, Vice accidentally revealed his location?today?by leaving the meta-data on a photo taken with him. Looks like McAfee is indeed out of Belize, as he claimed this morning. The GPS data, discovered by hacker @SimpleNomad, puts him just over the border, in Guatemala, as you can see below. (Cleverly in the exact?opposite?direction as the Belize-Mexico border, where his double was captured.)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/olly-murs-tops-uk-single-album-charts-190537926.html

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A-Rod needs hip surgery, will miss season's start

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) ? Alex Rodriguez will start the season in what's become a familiar place: the disabled list.

The New York Yankees said Monday the third baseman will have surgery on his left hip, an injury that could sideline him until the All-Star break and may explain his spectacularly poor performance during the playoffs.

"It's a significant blow," Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said. "But we've dealt with significant blows and, hopefully, we'll be able to deal with this one, as well."

A 14-time All-Star and baseball's priciest player at $275 million, Rodriguez has a torn labrum, bone impingement and a cyst. He will need four to six weeks of physical therapy to strengthen the hip before surgery, and the team anticipates he will be sidelined four to six months after the operation.

This will be Rodriguez's sixth trip to the disabled list in six seasons. A-Rod had right hip surgery on March 9, 2009, and returned that May 8.

"It is a more complicated surgery with a longer recovery time because there is a little bit more that needs to be done," Cashman said, citing the bone impingement. "I don't think it's age related. Butt at the same time, the older you are, the slower you're going to recover regardless. But the bottom line and the message I've been receiving is that this is a solvable issue."

Rodriguez, who turns 38 in July, complained to manager Joe Girardi of a problem with his right hip the night Raul Ibanez pinch hit for him ? and hit a tying ninth-inning home run ? against Baltimore during Game 3 of the AL division series in October. He went to New York-Presbyterian Hospital's emergency room and was checked out then.

"Up to this point, there was no complaints of any nature at all from his hip, or anything really," Cashman said. "At that point Joe went to Alex in the dugout and said, 'I'm going to pinch hit for you and we're going to pinch hit Ibanez,' and Alex said to Joe at that moment, 'OK,' he said, 'I've got to talk to you about something. I think my right hip needs to be looked at. I just don't feel like I'm firing on all cylinders.'"

Cashman said the test on the right hip "was clean" and the left hip was not examined.

"I can tell you if a patient shows up in the emergency room with a complaint, they're going to focus on where the complaint is, not something else," he said.

Rodriguez, owed $114 million by New York over the next five years, remained a shell of his former self on the field. He was benched in three of nine postseason games and pinch hit for in three others. He batted .120 (3 for 25) with no RBIs in the playoffs, including 0 for 18 with 12 strikeouts against right-handed pitchers.

A-Rod broke his left hand when he was hit by a pitch from Seattle's Felix Hernandez on July 24. He returned Sept. 3 and hit .195 with two homers and six RBIs over the final month of the regular season.

Cashman said Rodriguez's left hip injury was detected last month when he had an annual physical in Colorado with Dr. Marc Philippon, who operated on the right hip 3 1-2 years ago. Rodriguez got a second opinion from Dr. Bryan Kelly of New York's Hospital for Special Surgery, who will operate on A-Rod next month, and the injury was made public Monday by the New York Post.

Cashman said "they're not your typical injuries" but wouldn't speculate whether they are related to steroids use. Rodriguez admitted in 2009 that he used steroids while with the Texas Rangers from 2001-03.

"It doesn't matter what I wonder," Cashman said.

With Derek Jeter, who turns 39 in June, coming off surgery to repair a broken ankle, the left side of the Yankees' infield could be even more of a defensive problem.

Jeter expects to be ready for opening day. Eric Chavez, who filled in for Rodriguez for parts of the last two seasons, is a free agent and Cashman said there are few options on the market.

Rodriguez had a strained quadriceps in 2008, the hip surgery in 2009, a strained calf in 2010, knee surgery in 2011 and the broken hand this year. While he is fifth on the career list with 647 home runs, he had just 34 the last two seasons.

"When he's healthy ? obviously at one point he was spectacular," Cashman said. "One player doesn't make a team, and so we have a full roster of guys plus our farm system behind that that's going to have to fill in. We've done it before."

NOTES: Toronto claimed C Eli Whiteside off waivers from the Yankees, who claimed him from San Francisco last month.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/rod-needs-hip-surgery-miss-seasons-start-184706677--mlb.html

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Spectator falls from stands at ACC Championship

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) ? Authorities say a spectator has life-threatening injuries after falling about 40 feet from a ramp outside Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte on Saturday night at the ACC Championship football game between No. 13 Florida State and Georgia Tech.

Michael Stanford, the supervisor of special operations for Mecklenburg County EMS, says his agency responded to an incident in which a spectator fell from the ramp leading to the stands shortly after the 8 p.m. kickoff. The fall is the first of its kind from Bank of America Stadium, home of the Carolina Panthers.

The stadium opened in 1996.

Stanford says the spectator was transported by ground to the trauma center at Carolinas Medical Center with "life-threatening injuries."

Stanford would not say if the spectator was a male or female.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/news/spectator-falls-stands-acc-championship-021246960--spt.html

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The red beans mud detoxification anti-acne mask | Health and ...

Material: 100 grams of red beans, water a little

Method: Wash red beans into the boiling water and cook for about 30 minutes, until soft and rotten red beans; boiled red beans and stir into the blender, labeled as red bean mud cooling can be used. The mask evenly to the face and wrap it in about 15 minutes, wash with warm water.

Efficacy: detoxification effect, can promote skin quickly discharged grease effectively control of acne skin healthier, more tender and perfectly clear.

Added: natural mask deterioration, should not be saved, the best run out of one time. In addition, make sure the red beans boiled after use, to prevent rough red beans particles rubs skin.

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• DIY tomato anti acne skin whitening mask
  Tomato not only anti acne can also make the skin moist, soft white, soft, for oily skin of blackheads and acne are particularly effective. Tomato anti acne skin whitening mask method: Ingredie...
• Homemade Carrot anti-acne mask DIY
  Ingredients: fresh carrots 500 grams, flour 5 grams Method of making: 1, Take fresh carrots washed, mashed 2, the mashed carrot and carrot juice, add the flour in mash mud 3 the carrot mud, pai...

Tags: anti-acne mask, detox mask, detoxification mask, red beans mud mask
This entry was posted on Sunday, December 2nd, 2012 and is filed under Beauty, Health Tips, Skin Care. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Source: http://www.hhtip.com/the-red-beans-mud-detoxification-anti-acne-mask/

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Pope greets clowns, acrobats: Circus comes to town

AAA??Dec. 1, 2012?9:46 AM ET
Pope greets clowns, acrobats: Circus comes to town
By NICOLE WINFIELDBy NICOLE WINFIELD, Associated Press??

Pope Benedict XVI strokesa lion cub as he greets circus artists and workers, during an audience he held in the Pope Paul VI hall, at the Vatican, Saturday, Dec. 1, 2012. Benedict clapped and watched amused as circus workers flipped, flopped, juggled and twisted before him in what the Vatican has called a historic audience to make street performers and other itinerant entertainers feel like they belong to the church. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Pope Benedict XVI strokesa lion cub as he greets circus artists and workers, during an audience he held in the Pope Paul VI hall, at the Vatican, Saturday, Dec. 1, 2012. Benedict clapped and watched amused as circus workers flipped, flopped, juggled and twisted before him in what the Vatican has called a historic audience to make street performers and other itinerant entertainers feel like they belong to the church. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

In this photo made available by the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano,Pope Benedict XVI watches as circus artists and workers perform during an audience he held in the Pope Paul VI hall, at the Vatican, Saturday, Dec. 1, 2012. Benedict clapped and watched amused as circus workers flipped, flopped, juggled and twisted before him in what the Vatican has called a historic audience to make street performers and other itinerant entertainers feel like they belong to the church. (AP Photo/L'Osservatore Romano)

In this photo made available by the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, Pope Benedict XVI strokes a lion cub as he greets circus artists and workers during an audience he held in the Pope Paul VI hall, at the Vatican, Saturday, Dec. 1, 2012. Benedict clapped and watched amused as circus workers flipped, flopped, juggled and twisted before him in what the Vatican has called a historic audience to make street performers and other itinerant entertainers feel like they belong to the church. (AP Photo/L'Osservatore Romano)

In this photo made available by the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano,Pope Benedict XVI watches as circus artists and workers perform during an audience he held in the Pope Paul VI hall, at the Vatican, Saturday, Dec. 1, 2012. Benedict clapped and watched amused as circus workers flipped, flopped, juggled and twisted before him in what the Vatican has called a historic audience to make street performers and other itinerant entertainers feel like they belong to the church. (AP Photo/L'Osservatore Romano)

In this photo made available by the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, Pope Benedict XVI, right, watches as circus artists and workers perform during an audience he held in the Pope Paul VI hall, at the Vatican, Saturday, Dec. 1, 2012. Benedict clapped and watched amused as circus workers flipped, flopped, juggled and twisted before him in what the Vatican has called a historic audience to make street performers and other itinerant entertainers feel like they belong to the church. (AP Photo/L'Osservatore Romano)

VATICAN CITY (AP) ? Pope Benedict XVI greeted thousands of clowns, acrobats, puppeteers and even a pair of lion cubs on Saturday as the circus came to town for an unusual papal performance.

Benedict clapped and watched amused as circus workers flipped, flopped, juggled and twisted before him in what the Vatican has called a historic audience to make street performers and other itinerant entertainers feel like they belong to the church.

Benedict, a known cat lover, paid particular attention to a pair of lion cubs that were brought up to him, stroking them and chatting with their trainers. At one point Benedict even bent down to caress one ? not an easy feat given the 85-year-old pope has trouble with his knees and occasionally uses a cane.

Benedict acknowledged the sacrifices circus workers make to bring joy to young and old alike, traveling constantly and living on the margins of society. He noted they lack schools for their children or parish churches to call home. But he urged them to keep the faith.

"I hope that you can find, in the communities where you stay, people who are welcoming and available and able to care for your spiritual needs," Benedict said. He urged governments to better integrate itinerant entertainers in the social fabric.

A big top tent and carousel were mounted in St. Peter's Square to make the scene complete, and thousands of entertainers from a dozen countries filled a Vatican audience hall for the papal performance that featured acrobats and a puppet show.

Benedict has been entertained before by various circus troupes, but Vatican officials said Saturday's audience was unusual in that it involved so many different types of traveling performers from around the world, and was dedicated to them alone.

The event was organized by the Vatican office that looks out for the welfare of migrants, refugees, seamen as well as prostitutes and street children ? people who by force or choice live without stable homes.

_____

Follow Nicole Winfield at www.twitter.com/nwinfield

Associated PressNews Topics: General news, Christianity, Circuses, Animals, Roman Catholicism, Lions, Puppetry, Religion, Social affairs, Spectaculars, Entertainment, Arts and entertainment, Living things, Mammals, Performing arts

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-12-01-Vatican-Circus/id-75f75018db2a47a489d28a058c649330

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Video: Norquist analyzes Geithner?s remarks

A Second Take on Meeting the Press: From an up-close look at Rachel Maddow's sneakers to an in-depth look at Jon Krakauer's latest book ? it's all fair game in our "Meet the Press: Take Two" web extra. Log on Sundays to see David Gregory's post-show conversations with leading newsmakers, authors and roundtable guests. Videos are available on-demand by 12 p.m. ET on Sundays.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032608/vp/50046598#50046598

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No charges against Chris Brown in Fla. phone grab

MIAMI (AP) ? Grammy-winning singer Chris Brown will not face criminal charges for snatching a woman's cellphone when she tried to snap a photo of him outside a Miami Beach club, prosecutors said Friday.

A memo released Friday by Miami-Dade County State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle concludes there is no evidence that Brown intended to steal the phone in February or that he deleted any photos. One or the other is necessary for him to be charged with robbery or theft.

Prosecutors said that Brown tossed the phone from his limo and that it was picked up by Devon Blanche, head of security for rapper Tyga, who had performed with Brown at the Cameo club that night. According to the memo, Blanche tried to find out if someone had lost the phone, ultimately took it with him to Atlanta during the rapper's tour and said he intended to find its owner.

A felony charge against Brown, 24, might have triggered a violation of his probation for his 2009 assault on singer Rihanna, who was his girlfriend at the time. The two have recently collaborated on a new duet, "Nobody's Business," and have been spotted out together in recent weeks.

Rundle said the investigation's findings would be forwarded to probation officials in Los Angeles for review.

"We are grateful for the decision and the thorough investigation," Brown's attorney Mark Geragos said in an email.

According to the memo, after Brown and Tyga ? real name Michael Stevenson ? finished their performances, both got into separate limos to head for their hotels. Witnesses told prosecutors about 30 female fans gathered outside Brown's vehicle, at least one of whom reached inside to take a photo. Brown was accompanied by at least two women in the limo.

Stevenson told prosecutors that he saw Brown throw a white cellphone out of the limo. The phone's owner, Christal Spann, said Brown used a derogatory term for women and said "this will not run the website" when he grabbed the phone. Spann began beating on the limo's windows, according to the memo, until someone in a front seat told her the phone had been tossed out. She could not find it, however.

"She used to be a fan of Brown's, but no longer," the memo notes of Spann.

Blanche, the security man, told investigators he thought Brown was upset because "if photographs of himself with two females got out, it might cause him problems with Rihanna."

___

Follow Curt Anderson on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Miamicurt

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/no-charges-against-chris-brown-fla-phone-grab-191545785.html

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2012 White House Holiday Craft: Pomegranate Tree Ornaments

Joy to All, from the White House to your house...

First Lady Michelle Obama invited children from military families for a craft-making session in the State Dining Room when she unveiled this year's 'Joy to All' Christmas decor.? Led by Executive Pastry Chef Bill Yosses, Mrs. Obama and the kids used whole pomegranates, ribbon, glitter glue and plastic doves to create sparkling ornaments.? The kids had a lot of fun making their keepsakes, and it's an easy and fun craft that can be recreated at home.? (Above:? Mrs. Obama at the craft table; Yosses is at left)

The pomegranates are briefly baked to dry out, to ensure that the ornaments last through the holiday season.? The First Lady and her junior guests drew designs on the pomegranates with the glitter glue--Mrs. Obama penned? a sparkly heart--and then wound green, red and gold ribbons around their fruit. The doves were pinned into the top, but any holiday decoration can be used, such as stars, snowmen, or tiny reindeer. White House Pomegranate Tree Ornaments
Supplies
*Large pomegranates

*Glitter glue in holiday colors:? Sliver, blue, red, green, gold

*Holiday ribbon

Method
1.? Preheat over to 190 degrees F.

2.? Place pomegranates on a baking sheet and dry in the oven for at least fifteen minutes.

3.? Decorate pomegranates with glitter glue, with polka dots, hearts, stars.? Let dry.

4.? Tie a ribbon around the pomegranate and leave some long ends to tie a loop to hang on the tree.

5.? Pin a holiday decoration on top of the pomegranate, such as a snowman, star or dove.

Above, Yosses displays a completed ornament.
______________________
Check the side bar for all White House recipes.? Click here for links to all posts about the 2012 holidays.

Download:? The 2012 Official White House Holiday Tour Booklet [PDF].?
?
*Photos by Eddie Gehman Kohan/Obama Foodorama

Source: http://obamafoodorama.blogspot.com/2012/11/2012-white-house-holiday-craft.html

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