Mali: German killed; Dutch, SAfrican, Swede seized (AP)

BAMAKO, Mali ? Gunmen killed a German man in Mali's most famous city of Timbuktu and seized three men from the Netherlands, South Africa and Sweden, their tour guide said, as officials on Saturday ordered a plane to evacuate foreigners from the tourist destination.

Ali Maiga was with the tourists during Friday's attack at a Timbuktu restaurant. A witness and an official said gunmen burst into the restaurant, grabbed four tourists dining there and executed one when he refused to climb into their truck.

Officials on Saturday evacuated foreigners from Timbuktu to the capital, said a man who owns a hotel in Bamako where the tourists previously stayed. He asked for anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Ward Bezemer confirmed later that one Dutch man was among those kidnapped.

"In the interests of the people involved, we never comment on these cases," Bezemer told The Associated Press.

The kidnapping comes ahead of an official visit by Mali's president to the Netherlands next week.

Until a few years ago, Timbuktu was one of the most visited destinations in Africa, but it is now one of the many former tourist hotspots in Mali that have been deemed too dangerous to visit by foreign embassies because of kidnappings by the local chapter of al-Qaida.

Friday's incident comes after two French citizens were grabbed in the middle of the night from their hotel in the Malian town of Hombori on Thursday. French judicial officials have opened a preliminary investigation into their kidnappings.

Neither kidnapping has yet been claimed by al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, or AQIM, whose members have kidnapped and ransomed more than 50 Europeans and Canadians since 2003.

If Friday's kidnapping is by AQIM, it will mark the first time they have taken a hostage inside of Timbuktu's city limits. Thursday's kidnapping would be another first ? the first hostage taking south of the Niger River.

The group's footprint has grown dramatically since 2006, when the Algerian-led cell first joined al-Qaida. Security experts estimate the group has been able to raise around $130 million from ransom payments alone.

___

Associated Press writer Mike Corder contributed to this report from The Hague; writer Anita Powell contributed from Johannesburg.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/africa/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111126/ap_on_re_af/af_mali_kidnapping

james ray williston nd williston nd mists of pandaria mists of pandaria 20 20 war in iraq

Texas Democrat Gonzalez won't run again for House (reuters)

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

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/166750983?client_source=feed&format=rss

gop debate live nome alaska nome alaska alaska map bil keane storm in alaska storm in alaska

Fitch cuts Portugal rating on high debts, worse outlook (Reuters)

LISBON (Reuters) ? Fitch downgraded Portugal's credit rating to junk status on Thursday, citing large fiscal imbalances, high debts and the risks to its EU-mandated austerity program from a worsening economic outlook.

The ratings agency cut Portugal to BB+ from BBB-, which is still one notch higher than Moody's rating of Ba2. S&P still rates Portugal investment grade.

Fitch said a deepening recession makes it "much more challenging" for the government to cut the budget deficit but it still expects fiscal goals to be met both this year and next.

"However, the risk of slippage - either from worse macroeconomic outturns or insufficient expenditure controls - is large," Fitch said.

The challenging economic environment was clear in a Reuters poll on Thursday, where economists forecast Portugal's economy will contract by 2.9 percent next year, the deepest recession since the 1970s, and 1.6 percent this year, in line with the government's estimates.

Portugal's 10-year bond prices plunged, sending yields surging more than 100 basis points to 13.85 percent -- the second highest level in the euro zone after Greece. The spread to German Bunds also rose more than 100 basis points to 1,168.

The downgrade of Portugal came after the dramatic deterioration of the euro zone crisis in recent weeks as it spread to bigger countries like Italy and Spain.

"The worsening regional outlook helped inform the downgrade (of Portugal)," Rabobank said in an analyst note. "This, in turn, underlines the mounting risk of systemic downgrades."

Portugal sought a 78-billion-euro bailout from the European Union and IMF earlier this year and has adopted sweeping austerity measures to bring public accounts under controls.

Under the loan program Portugal must cut the budget deficit to 5.9 percent of gross domestic product this year from around 10 percent in 2010. Next year it must cut the deficit further to 4.5 percent.

STATE COMPANIES A RISK

Fitch said the state-owned "enterprise sector is another key source of fiscal risk" and has caused a number of upward revisions to the country's debt and budget deficit figures this year. The government has said there was an unexpected fiscal shortfall of about 3 billion euros this year.

"Given these downside risks, Fitch sees a significant likelihood that further consolidation measures will be needed through the course of 2012," Fitch said.

It sees Portugal total debt peaking at 116 percent of GDP in 2013 from 93.3 percent at the end of last year.

Filipe Garcia, an economist at Informacao de Mercados Financeiros, said that while the downgrade does not change the government's financing conditions as it is under a bailout, it could worsen the situation for companies.

"Where (the downgrade) has an impact is on companies, such as banks and other issuers like EDP or Brisa, whose ratings are greatly influenced by the sovereign rating, leaving them in a more difficult situation," said Garcia.

The agency said Portugal's debt crisis poses big risks for the country's banks. "Recapitalisation and increased emergency liquidity provision from the ECB to Portugal's banks will, in Fitch's view, be needed and provided," it said.

Under Portugal's bailout, 12 billion euros has been set aside for funding banks if necessary.

Fitch said a worsening fiscal or economic situation could lead to further downgrades. "Furthermore, although Portugal is funded to end-2013, sovereign liquidity risk may increase materially toward the end of the program if adverse market conditions persist," Fitch said.

The government hopes to return raising debt in financial markets at the end of 2013.

(Additional reporting by Patricia Rua; Editing by Toby Chopra/Anna Willard)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/economy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111124/bs_nm/us_portugal_fitch

occupy chicago occupy chicago ron white ron white alcs alcs miguel cabrera

Concurring Opinions ? On the New York Times and Legal Education

posted by Daniel Solove

Much has already been written about David Segal?s article in the N.Y. Times, What They Don?t Teach Law Students: Lawyering.? I join the strong critiques of this piece in condemning it as a lousy piece of journalism ? more of a one-sided hack job, riddled with errors.? It belongs on the op-ed page of a trashy paper.

Segal seems to believe that if law professors just wrote less theoretical scholarship and if law schools taught more skills, then suddenly, the legal market would become a bonanza once again for law students.? The problem with this argument is that a theoretical education and scholarship by faculty does not seem to have much connection to a student?s success in the job market.? If this were the case, then nobody would hire Yale Law School graduates.

But Yale Law School graduates are doing quite well in the legal marketplace, which demonstrates that despite all the grumblings we hear about too much theory being taught, legal employers are not behaving consistently with what they are saying.

I also think Segal?s article paints a very false picture of legal education ? there?s a lot of theory, but there?s also a lot of practical skills taught too as well as practical scholarship and law professors very involved in legal practice and policymaking.? One needs only to look at the many law professors who took leaves of absence from their law schools to work in government.? Countless members of my faculty have submitted briefs and argued cases.

Beyond this point, theory is not an irrelevant waste of time.? It is essential to practice.? True, there are lawyers out there who are nothing but glorified mechanics, but the best lawyers are often ones who think deeply, who are interested in legal scholarship and ideas,.? It is easy and glib to just brush aside all legal scholarship as ?irrelevant theory? but this seems to be just an excuse for laziness.? There are a lot of great scholarly pieces out there.? With anything, there?s a lot of bad stuff too.? I could readily find many practicing lawyers who aren?t very good.? That doesn?t mean that all aren?t good.? A member of the profession would say: ?Take a closer look and consider the best practitioners before you rush to judgment.??? The same holds true for legal scholarship.? It is far too easy to make glib generalizations and find one piece with an obscure title to illustrate the point.

There are certainly problems with legal education.? But when the thoughtful points being raised by Brian Tamanaha and others are misunderstood by ill-informed hacks, the discussion devolves into irrelevancies, and there isn?t a productive conversation about how to solve legal education?s problems.? There has been a lot of criticism of legal education of late, and although some of it is justified, it is important to note that a law school education actually is a good thing for many people.? There are a number of unfortunate cases where students would have been better off without having gone to law school.? But we shouldn?t forget that there are also many success stories ? students who went to law school and got the jobs they wanted.? Students should be given a more realistic picture going into law school ? there?s no guaranteed pot of gold at the end ? but there are students for whom law school is not a good investment.? It is a problem to entice students to law school when it isn?t a good investment, but it is also a problem to dissuade students for whom law school is a good investment.

?November 24, 2011 at 11:51 pm ? Posted?in:?Uncategorized ???Print This Post

Source: http://www.concurringopinions.com/archives/2011/11/on-the-new-york-times-and-legal-education.html

threadworm nick swisher pirates of silicon valley htc flyer tablet htc flyer tablet hank williams bruins

Bachmann: Fallon song choice shows sexism, bias (omg!)

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) ? GOP presidential candidate Michele Bachmann lashed out Wednesday at NBC for not apologizing or taking immediate disciplinary action for an off-color song played during her appearance on Jimmy Fallon's "Late Night."

In her first comments on the flap, Bachmann said on the Fox News Channel that the Fallon show band displayed sexism and bias by playing a snippet of a 1985 Fishbone song as she walked onstage for Tuesday's show. The title of the song is "Lyin' Ass B----."

"This is clearly a form of bias on the part of the Hollywood entertainment elite," Bachmann said. She added, "This wouldn't be tolerated if this was Michelle Obama. It shouldn't be tolerated if it's a conservative woman either."

Fallon has tweeted an apology to Bachmann, saying he was "so sorry about the intro mess." Bachmann said she hoped to speak with Fallon later Wednesday and wouldn't mind going on his show again.

But Bachmann expressed surprise that she's heard nothing from the TV network. She suggested that discipline for the show's Roots band was in order.

One of Bachmann's congressional colleagues, New York Democrat Nita Lowey, had called on NBC to apologize for its "insulting and inappropriate" treatment of its guest.

An NBC spokeswoman didn't immediately return a phone message from The Associated Press.

The Roots' bandleader, Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson, has said the song was a "tongue-in-cheek and spur-of-the-moment decision."

Bachmann, who is lagging in presidential polls, has spent the week promoting her new autobiography in national television interviews.

___

AP Television Writer David Bauder contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/omg_rss/rss_omg_en/news_bachmann_fallon_song_choice_shows_sexism_bias165708397/43695596/*http%3A//omg.yahoo.com/news/bachmann-fallon-song-choice-shows-sexism-bias-165708397.html

darrell hammond darrell hammond tcu boise state boxer rebellion boxer rebellion stanford football

Science & the Public: Lost to history: The ?churk?

Chickens and turkeys weren't meant to cross

Web edition : 12:07 pm

More than a half-century ago, researchers at the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center outside Washington, D.C., engaged in some creative barnyard breeding. Their goal was the development of fatherless turkeys ? virgin hens that would reproduce via parthenogenesis. Along the way, and ostensibly quite by accident, an interim stage of this work resulted in a rooster-fathered hybrid that the scientists termed a churk.

The creatures were literally twisted, with crooked legs and beaks and feathers exhibiting a strange torsion.

Adding insult to injury, the crosses were mentally retarded, possessing only about half of the intelligence of their parents, according to Marlow Olsen, who headed the fowl research project.

It would be tempting to call this bird an ugly chuckling or pathetic gobbler ? except that the hybrid remained largely silent unless disturbed. Then it emitted a puny chickeny chirp.

But that didn?t prevent Science News from crowing about the animal as a ?history making cross? in its November 5, 1960, cover story. The story billed it as "the first known hybrid of two families of birds."

The text also suggested why we?d hear little more of the animal. The hybrids were all male, so they couldn?t reproduce ? except, I guess, by cloning (which wasn?t an option at the time). The offspring proved devilishly difficult to nurture, even just to hatching. The three Beltsville birds that lived to seven months of age were the sole survivors of 2,900 artificially-inseminated eggs.

Olsen was not the first to encounter trouble creating a chicken-turkey hybrid. A 1960 paper he authored in the Journal of Heredity cited a reference to 12 trials, none of which resulted in a single hatchling. Several additional reports claimed to produce a few live young, he says, but offered no details. Part of the problem likely traced to a dramatic mismatch in the parents? genomes.

Chickens possess six pairs of chromosomes, turkeys have nine. Each offspring receives one-half of each pair from its mom and dad, which are supposed to then create new matched pairs. Except that the 15 chromosomes that each hybrid started with had no chance of pairing appropriately.

Mother Nature, however, has created what looks like a healthy chicken-turkey hybrid: the colorfully named Transylvanian Naked Neck bird. There are no turkeys in this animal?s ancestry, however.?Once dubbed a Churkey or a Turken because of its hybrid appearance, this chicken developed?its distinctive look from a complex genetic mutation.

And as their name implies, these chickens have featherless necks. ? We initially worked on identifying the mutation that causes the naked neck trait in chickens as we are interested in understanding how patterns arise during development,? explains Denis Headon of The Roslin Institute and University of Edinburgh?s Royal School of Veterinary Studies in Scotland. He says his team traced the trait to where ?part of chromosome 1 had moved across to chromosome 3 and inserted there.? Followup studies, he adds, showed that the neck skin of birds ?is generally primed to allow loss of feathering. His team described some of their findings, earlier this year, in PLoS Biology.

As for Transylvania as the birds? ancestral home: ?This seems quite unlikely,? Headon says. ?Domestic animals often have geographically misleading names (the turkey itself being a great example).? Naked necked chickens occur around the world. In some parts of the Middle East, Africa and Asia, he ventures, ?this may be partly because they are more tolerant of heat than are fully feathered chickens.?

Found in: Agriculture, Biology, Science & Society and Zoology

Source: http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/336385/title/Lost_to_history_The_%E2%80%9Cchurk%E2%80%9D

marcel the shell with shoes on ecu john wooden pujols mirror mirror tanuki mirror mirror trailer

Fewer plan to shop on Black Friday 2011, survey finds. What do they know?

Forty-four percent of Americans plan to shop on Black Friday 2011, a new survey shows. That compares with 47 percent in 2010 and 52 percent in 2009. Today's shoppers have more bargain-hunting tools.

Sigh. Black Friday just isn't what it used to be.

Skip to next paragraph

That's partly because the economy is so lackluster, according to a new holiday shopping survey released by Accenture, a global management consulting company. But it's also because consumers are better equipped ? with smart phones and other devices ? to help them land the best bargains, whether they occur on Nov. 25, this year's Black Friday, or another day between now and Christmas.?

"This holiday season will see the balance of power continue to tip in favor of the consumer,? says Janet Hoffman, managing director of Accenture?s Retail practice.?

Black Friday, traditionally the biggest shopping day of the year, has become something of a tea-leaf-reading exercise for those seeking to gauge the health and direction of US consumerism. The expectations this year?

Nearly three-quarters of respondents in the Accenture survey expect their spending to be ?careful? or ?controlled.? Eighty-eight percent intend to spend the same or less than last year.

Moreover, the importance of Black Friday is sliding, its research shows. Forty-four percent say they are likely to shop that day, compared with 47 percent in 2010 and 52 percent in 2009.

Compared with last year, a larger proportion of shoppers say they'll leave their holiday shopping until after Black Friday (52 percent versus 41 percent in 2010), and one-third will leave the bulk of their purchases until December.

One-quarter of shoppers plan to have a ?thrifty? holiday season, and almost 1 in 5 (18 percent) claim they will be "focused on necessities," with only 6 percent acknowledging plans for ?extravagant? or ?unrestrained? holiday spending. Ninety-three percent say discounts are important this year.

While discount stores remain the top holiday shopping destination, their dominant position is beginning to fade, the Accenture survey found.?Seventy-three percent of respondents say they will shop at a discount retailer this year, compared with 81 percent last year and 85 percent in 2009.

One significant development that complicates matters for retailers, but that enhances the position of consumers, is the rising use of mobile and smart phones and tablet computers to compare prices online while in stores. Buyers can do a quick search to see if the same item is selling for less elsewhere. Forty-three percent of holiday shoppers who use such devices believe they will snag a better price as a result, and one-third say they will use their devices to receive alerts concerning when a product is in stock.

Another development is that the percentage of shoppers expecting to buy more than half of their holiday gifts online has jumped 18 percent (from 41 to 59 percent) over last year.

?Retailers must not ignore the challenge presented by the mobile shopper checking prices using their device in-store,? says Ms. Hoffman.

The slow economic recovery has been socking it to retailers this year.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/ZzPk0kVBPAw/Fewer-plan-to-shop-on-Black-Friday-2011-survey-finds.-What-do-they-know

tropic thunder justin bieber baby justin bieber baby credit unions tower heist reviews recursion amy schumer

NBC apologizes to Bachman for Fallon song choice (omg!)

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) ? GOP Presidential candidate Michele Bachmann has received an apology from an NBC executive after an off-color song was played during her appearance on Jimmy Fallon's "Late Night" show.

Bachmann spokeswoman Alice Stewart told The Associated Press late Wednesday that the Minnesota congresswoman received a personal letter from Doug Vaughan, NBC's vice president for late night programming.

The band played a snippet of a 1985 Fishbone song as Bachmann walked onstage for Tuesday's show. The song's title uses an expletive to refer to a woman who lies.

Stewart says Vaughn wrote that the incident was "not only unfortunate but also unacceptable." She says the executive offered his sincerest apologies and said the band had been reprimanded.

Stewart also says Jimmy Fallon apologized to Bachmann when they spoke earlier Wednesday and called the host "extremely nice."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/omg_rss/rss_omg_en/news_nbc_apologizes_bachman_fallon_song_choice025800493/43701301/*http%3A//omg.yahoo.com/news/nbc-apologizes-bachman-fallon-song-choice-025800493.html

florida gators norman mailer steve mcnair brooklyn bridge lady antebellum marques colston dez bryant

Cirago BTA 7300 Lightning Review—Boom! Instant Connectivity [Lightning Review]

Getting my geriatric laptop to play with whichever Wi-Fi network I'm using is always an adventure. Almost as fun as trying to pair my wireless headphones with the machine's non-existent Bluetooth connection. If only there were a single dongle to do both—easily. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/WqAFjpf9YC8/cirago-bta-7300-lightning-reviewboom-instant-connectivity

drake take care herman cain accuser herman cain accuser election day kawasaki disease joe frazier conrad murray

Stocks tumble amid fears over Europe

By msnbc.com news services

NEW YORK ? Stock indexes fell Tuesday after the U.S. government lowered its estimate of economic growth in the third quarter. Higher borrowing costs for Spain also renewed worries about Europe's debt crisis.

Hewlett-Packard Co. sank 2.8 percent, dragging down the Dow Jones industrial average. H-P lowered its earnings forecast for the 2012 fiscal year after the market closed Monday. The tech giant said it was being "cautious," citing Europe's debt crisis and weak consumer spending.

The Commerce Department said the U.S. economy grew at a 2 percent annual rate in the July-September period, down from its initial estimate of 2.5 percent. Economists had expected the figure to remain unchanged.

At the closing bell, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 53.51 points, or 0.46 percent, at 11,493.80. The Dow had been down as many as 113 points shortly before noon. After H-P, aluminum maker Bank of America Corp. had the biggest fall among the 30 stocks in the index, 2 percent.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index was down 4.93 points, or 0.41 percent, to 1,188.05. Both the Dow and S&P briefly turned slightly higher in early afternoon trading.

The S&P has lost 5.2 percent over the past week on worries that Spain could get dragged into Europe's debt crisis and as Congress neared a deadlock over cutting the U.S. budget deficit.

The Nasdaq composite dipped 1.86 points, or 0.07 percent, to 2,521.28.

The Dow plunged 249 points Monday as a congressional committee failed to reach a deal to cut budget deficits. The congressional impasse raised fears that rating agencies might lower the U.S. government's credit rating if Congress tries to circumvent the automatic spending cuts that are supposed to occur in the event of an impasse. Some Republicans have said they would try to block cuts to defense spending.

"Markets are looking for clarity, and you didn't get that from the super-committee," says Steven Ricchiuto, chief economist at Mizuho Securities. "There's no reason to believe the economy is going to get stronger."

Across the Atlantic, there were more signs of trouble in Europe's debt crisis. Spain was forced to pay sharply higher interest rates in an auction of short-term debt. The higher rates suggest that investors are still skeptical that the country will get its budget under control despite a new, center-right government coming to power this week.

Investors have been worried that Spain could become the next country to need financial support from its European neighbors if its borrowing rates climb to unsustainable levels. Greece was forced to seek relief from its lenders after its long-term borrowing rates rose above 7 percent on the bond market. The rate on Spain's own benchmark 10-year bond is dangerously close to that level, 6.58 percent.

In other trading, Netflix Inc. sank 3.6 percent. The online video rental company said it raised $400 million from selling debt and stock as it tries to recover from a consumer backlash following price hikes.

Campbell Soup Co. sank 5.5 percent after reporting a 5 percent drop in net income. The company said price increases were not enough to offset lower volume in its soup and beverage businesses.

Medtronic Inc. rose 4.8 percent. The world's largest medical device maker reported higher-than-expected earnings and reaffirmed its full-year earnings outlook.

Associated Press contributed to this report.?

Source: http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/11/22/8958957-stocks-slide-on-concerns-over-us-economy-europe-debt-crisis

lana turner bcs standings bcs standings donald glover julio cesar chavez jr usc football jason segel

Mila Kunis attends Marine Corps Ball in N.C.

Justin Timberlake kept his promise ? and so did his ?Friends with Benefits? co-star, Mila Kunis.

Kunis accompanied Sgt. Scott Moore to the Marine Corps Ball on Friday night in Greenville, N.C., according to several local news reports in Greenville.

VIEW THE PHOTOS: Hoo-Rah! Stars Who Got Invited To Marine Corps Balls?

The actress arrived into the Pitt-Greenville Airport around 2:30 p.m. local time on Friday and was quickly whisked to the Greenville Convention Center, the site of the ball.

Local news station WNCT was able to capture a brief shot of Kunis arriving to the venue before disappearing inside.

VIEW THE PHOTOS: From Small Screen Star To Blockbuster Beauty ? Mila Kunis!

No media were allowed inside the event, however, Marine spokesperson Capt. Scott Sasser said that Kunis and Sgt. Moore were both ?enjoying the night.?

A rep for Kunis was not immediately available for comment when contacted by Access Hollywood.

Back in July, Sgt. Moore asked Kunis to be his date for the night via a YouTube proposal.

VIEW THE PHOTOS: Funny Ladies! The Glorious Women Of TV Comedy?

?Hey Mila. It?s Sergeant Moore, but you can call me Scott,? he said from a base in Afghanistan. ?I just wanted to take a moment out of my day to invite you to the Marine Corps Ball on November 18th in Greenville, North Carolina, with yours truly. So take a second, think about it and get back to me.?

1. More Entertainment stories
   1. Pass the turkey: TV's classic Thanksgivings

      The dining room table typically hosts the most memorable Turkey Day moments, but worthwhile ones have taken place on the b...

   2. 'Planes, Trains' is best Thanksgiving movie
   3. ?X Factor?s? Astro says he?s sorry for outburst
   4. 'Muppets' make welcome return
   5. The Muppets take ?Saturday Night Live?

Kunis accepted the offer of the Marine, whose unit recently returned from a seven-month deployment to Afghanistan. The unit reportedly lost seven members during the tour of duty.

Shortly after being invited to the Ball by Sgt. Moore, Kunis' ?Friends with Benefits? leading man, Timberlake, received his own YouTube invitation by Marine Cpl. Kelsey De Santis to attend another ball, which he attended last week.

Following the event, Justin said it was one of the ?most moving evenings I?ve ever had.?

His date, Cpl. De Santis, spoke to Access Hollywood about the big night and said her superstar date was a perfect gentleman.

?[I was surprised by] how genuine of a person he seems to be. He seems very selfless to me, so it was nice having him there. It was kind of like having one of our good friend?s at the table,? she told "Access Hollywood Live?s" Billy Bush and Kit Hoover on Tuesday. ?He asked me a lot of questions about what I do and about me, which was really, really nice.?

Copyright 2011 by NBC. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/45368168/ns/today-entertainment/

war of 1812 jeffrey eugenides jeffrey eugenides volcker rule matthew stafford rosie o donnell brady quinn

Video: Perfect smoked potato puree

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/44949617#44949617

tigers tigers rangers nlcs nlcs josh beckett 999 plan

Two Afghan police killed in clash with foreign troops (Reuters)

GHAZNI CITY, Afghanistan (Reuters) ? Two Afghan police officers were killed in a clash with foreign troops conducting a night raid southwest of the Afghan capital, Kabul, early on Saturday, police and military officials said, adding to Afghan pressure to stop the raids.

Night raids, which foreign troops say are one of their most effective weapons in the fight against insurgents, are a major cause of friction between President Hamid Karzai and his Western backers. Karzai has said repeatedly he wants them stopped.

Saturday's incident happened when the soldiers, who were involved in a night raid which had not been coordinated with the police, ignored orders to halt when spotted by officers in Ghazni province, said Ghazni police chief Zorawar Zahid.

Shots were fired in the resulting clash, he said.

"Foreign troops were planning to conduct night raids but a firefight took place when they failed (to obey) police orders to stop," Zahid said.

The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said a combined coalition and Afghan force called in air support after being fired on at a checkpoint by rocket-propelled grenades, mortar bombs and guns.

"After multiple attempts to identify themselves as friendly forces, the security force was unable to stop the threat and engaged the checkpoint in self-defense, killing two individuals," ISAF said in a statement.

Afghanistan wants the United States and NATO to agree to stop carrying out night raids on Afghan homes as a precondition to signing a long-term alliance with Washington, Karzai said at a meeting of Afghan political and community leaders on Wednesday.

That meeting, at which the future of Afghanistan's relationship with America is under discussion, is due to finish on Saturday.

Parts of Ghazni province are expected to be included in the next phase of a security handover to Afghan forces under a plan agreed by the coalition and for foreign combat troops to leave Afghanistan by the end of 2014.

(Additional reporting by Hamid Shalizi; Writing by Jan Harvey; Editing by Daniel Magnowski and Paul Tait)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111119/wl_nm/us_afghanistan_police

blackhawks tigers tigers rangers nlcs nlcs josh beckett

Bank Of America's Latest Grand Idea: Send Malcolm Gladwell To Talk To Small-Business Owners

As loyal readers probably know, Bank of America has been having problems of late, owing to its serial awfulness and constant mistakes. As Bloomberg reported in October, the beleaguered bank was ranked the "lowest in a 24-bank survey of small business customer satisfaction from J.D. Power and Associates." And recently it achieved the distinction of being named the country's second-worst company by Consumerist.com after BP Plc, the firm blamed for the worst U.S. offshore oil spill.

So, what's Bank of America to do? Well, it could make a company-wide commitment to offering better customer service and undertake a systemic reform of its business practices. But instead, the bank hired Malcolm Gladwell as a shill and put him in front of small-business owners to get 'em all riled up.

According to a press release, Bank of America delivered "quality education and actionable advice to small business owners in various markets throughout the country." At these meet-ups, which "attracted close to 200 small business owners in Los Angeles, Dallas and Washington, D.C.," Gladwell was the closing act for a moderated "panel discussion on relationship capital." All of which sounds like a furtive stab of pre-crash nostalgia. In fact, the notion of having Malcolm Gladwell provide happy talk for the banking industry channels the year 2006 so hard that it's amazing this guy wasn't invited back to reprise his U2 karaoke act:

Gladwell, of course, is best known as the author of The Tipping Point and Blink, the latter book being a treatise on how "spontaneous decisions are often as good as -- or even better than -- carefully planned and considered ones." It seems pretty clear that Bank of America has fully embraced this premise in its foreclosure practices, which is a big part of the reason why the bank's brand has taken a beating in recent years.

But concerns that Gladwell's teachings don't exactly pair well with the current state of the banking industry and what we've learned about the practices that nearly brought the economy to a crashing halt in 2008 don't end there. As Chris Lehmann wrote in his book Rich People Things:

Regardless of whether Gladwell is describing the way we actually behave and absorb new ideas and social trends, he is clearly offering a very appealing picture of how his readership wishes the world works. The chief hero in his work is the intuitive manager -- a new millenial upgrade of the plucky upward-striving protagonists in the Gilded Age fiction of Horatio Alger. But where Alger stressed the character-building individualist virtues of thrift, hard work, and self-sacrifice -- themselves already endangered traits in the new industrial order of the robber baron age -- Gladwell is preaching an entirely consumption-driven model of the gospel of success. The idea in his market fables is not to light out for new economic territory with grit and invention; it is, rather, to establish a mystical bond with market forces and to surmise how the market most wants you to behave.

Yeah, you know, given the fact that U.S. taxpayers donated several trillion dollars to failed banks under the (apparently fraudulent) premise that they would "light out for new economic territory" and begin lending money to the productive side of the economy again, thereby stirring the economy from its recession-induced torpor, it doesn't exactly fill me with confidence to hear that Bank of America is pimping out an author who'll only reaffirm its faith-based belief in the infallibility of the quantitative models it believed provided a risk-free environment in which to sell synthetic crap-derivatives to everybody.

In short, if heaven is a place where horned demons are laying the foundation for a "Gymnasium of the Damned" for Jerry Sandusky in bottomless pools of red-hot magma, then Gladwell and Bank of America are a match made in it.

[Would you like to follow me on Twitter? Because why not? Also, please send tips to tv@huffingtonpost.com -- learn more about our media monitoring project here.]

'; var coords = [-5, -72]; // display fb-bubble FloatingPrompt.embed(this, html, undefined, 'top', {fp_intersects:1, timeout_remove:2000,ignore_arrow: true, width:236, add_xy:coords, class_name: 'clear-overlay'}); });

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/17/bank-of-america-malcolm-gladwell_n_1099689.html

philip rivers chanukah chanukah 11 11 11 meaning miracle berry billy crystal veterans day thank you

Cops: NYC waiters stole $1 million in credit card scam

More than two dozen current and former waiters and their associates from some of the city's top steakhouses have been arrested in an alleged identity theft ring, accused of stealing credit card numbers from wealthy customers, authorities said Friday.

The Manhattan district attorney, police and the U.S. Secret Service announced the arrests Friday involving a 28-person ring that operated at top metro-area restaurants like Smith & Wollensky, Capital Grille and Wolfgang Steak, as well as Morton?s in Stamford, Conn. and the Bicycle Club in New Jersey.

The story was first reported Thursday by NBC New York.

The alleged scam targeted customers who often paid with American Express Black cards and other high-limit credit cards.

Prosecutors said restaurant workers used handheld scanners to copy the credit card information as they walked away to process the bill. Later, that information would be sent to leaders of the alleged fraud ring, who would forge new credit cards with the stolen information and test them out on taxis.

If the cards worked, the suspects would go on major shopping sprees, buying up expensive goods like Chanel goods and Jimmy Choo shoes. The thieves would then re-sell the luxury brand items for cash.

Officials estimate profits totaled at least $1 million, sources said.

?The high-end targets of this case make it notable, but disturbingly this case is far from unique,? said Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, Jr. ?Every day, hardworking New Yorkers find themselves the victims of identity theft -- their financial information stolen from ATMs, from internet transactions, from financial institutions and from retailers."

In all, seven waiters were charged, plus their associates. Many of the suspects were to be arraigned in Manhattan criminal court on Friday.

The Capital Grille said in a statement it had not been contacted by authorities about the arrests, but said it was likely connected to an incident in January "involving a single former employee" of the restaurant.

"We have a zero tolerance policy when it comes to something like this," the restaurant said.

1. Only on msnbc.com

   1. Captain: Wagner responsible for Natalie Wood death
   2. Dying and disabled in Honduras, in pursuit of lobster to sell to U.S.
   3. Why Syria?s revolution needs a Benghazi
   4. Pakistan's list of banned words met with ridicule
   5. Feds consider launching Sandusky investigation
   6. Who pays most for electricity?
   7. Berlusconi?s next act: Love song CD

Managers at Smith & Wollensky and the Bicycle Club restaurants declined to comment.

A manager at one Wolfgang?s restaurant said he believed all workers on the schedule Thursday had arrived and was unaware of any law enforcement allegations against any worker.

Read the original story at NBCNewYork.com

A manager at Morton's also referred calls to its corporate headquarters.

Officials stress restaurant operators had no knowledge of the alleged crimes by the few employees.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45353793/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/

real steel real steel iphone 4 cases dean ornish dean ornish yom kippur yom kippur

Cancer's sweet tooth may be its weak link

ScienceDaily (Nov. 16, 2011) ? Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have discovered that cancer cells tap into a natural recycling system to obtain the energy they need to keep dividing. In a study with potential implications for cancer treatments, Einstein researchers used genetic manipulation to turn off this recycling system within the walls of cells and stop both tumor growth and metastasis (cancer spread).

The findings were published in today's online edition of Science Translational Medicine.

Scientists have known that cancer cells require a large amount of energy in the form of glucose (sugar) to support their abnormally rapid growth. But it wasn't clear how cancer cells met those energy needs. The study shows that cancer cells fuel their growth by revving up autophagy, a recycling process that occurs in cell compartments called lysosomes.

During autophagy, which literally means "self-eating," Pac-Man-like lysosomes digest worn-out proteins and other damaged cellular components. "But lysosomes are not merely trash containers," said Ana Maria Cuervo, M.D., Ph.D., the paper's senior author and professor of developmental and molecular biology, of anatomy and structural biology and of medicine. "They are more like little recycling plants in which cellular debris is transformed into energy. Cancer cells seem to have learned how to optimize this system to obtain the energy they need."

Dr. Cuervo and her colleagues detected unusually high levels of chaperone-mediated autophagy, one of the types of autophagy, in cells from more than 40 types of human tumors -- but not in healthy tissue surrounding the tumors. (In chaperone-mediated autophagy, small proteins guide debris to the lysosomes for digestion.)

"When we used genetic manipulation to block the activity of this recycling process, the cancer cells stopped dividing and most of them died," Dr. Cuervo said. "We also applied this procedure to tumors in mice, resulting in dramatic tumor shrinkage and almost complete blockage of metastasis."

The researchers believe that selectively blocking this type of autophagy in cancer cells could be a useful strategy for shrinking tumors and halting metastasis. "In future research, we hope to develop drugs that can mimic what we have done using genetic manipulation," said Dr. Cuervo. "We are also exploring using genetic manipulation itself for treating different types of lung cancer."

The paper is titled "Chaperone-mediated autophagy is required for tumor growth." Maria Kon, an M.D./Ph.D. student at Einstein, is the first author. Other contributors include Roberta Kiffin, Ph.D., Hiroshi Koga, Ph.D., Javier Chapochnick, M.D., and Fernando Macian-Juan, M.D., Ph.D., all of Einstein, and Lyuba Varticovski, M.D., of the National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland.This research was supported with grants from the National Institute on Aging and the National Cancer Institute, both parts of the National Institutes of Health.

Recommend this story on Facebook, Twitter,
and Google +1:

Other bookmarking and sharing tools:

---

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

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

---

Journal Reference:

1. Maria Kon, Roberta Kiffin, Hiroshi Koga, Javier Chapochnick, Fernando Macian, Lyuba Varticovski, Ana Maria Cuervo. Chaperone-Mediated Autophagy Is Required for Tumor Growth. Science Translational Medicine, 2011; 3 (109): 109ra117 DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.3003182

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://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/11/111116143045.htm

dexter season 6 homeland homeland andy rooney 60 minutes andre johnson andre johnson arrested development

WWE.com Exclusive: Paul Heyman on "Stone Cold's" ECW matches

All WWE programming, talent names, images, likenesses, slogans, wrestling moves, trademarks, logos and copyrights are the exclusive property of WWE, Inc. and its subsidiaries. All other trademarks, logos and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. ? 2011 WWE, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This website is based in the United States. By submitting personal information to this website you consent to your information being maintained in the United States, subject to applicable U.S. laws. U.S. law may be different than the law of your home country.

Source: http://www.wwe.com/shows/ecw/heyman-on-austin

the killing fields the killing fields texas killing fields burzynski pete seeger gazelle gazelle

Perry town hall guests asked to prove citizenship

Republican presidential candidate, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, speaks to employees during a campaign stop at Granite State Manufacturing, Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2011 in Manchester, N.H. (AP Photo/Jim Cole)

Republican presidential candidate, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, speaks to employees during a campaign stop at Granite State Manufacturing, Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2011 in Manchester, N.H. (AP Photo/Jim Cole)

Republican presidential candidate, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, speaks to employees during a campaign stop at Granite State Manufacturing, Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2011 in Manchester, N.H. (AP Photo/Jim Cole)

Republican presidential candidate, Texas Gov. Rick Perry controls a robot during a campaign stop at Granite State Manufacturing, Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2011, in Manchester, N.H. (AP Photo/Jim Cole)

MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) ? People attending a Rick Perry presidential campaign event Wednesday were asked to prove they are American citizens.

The town hall-style meeting at Granite State Manufacturing, the first of two events Perry was holding in New Hampshire, was open to the public.

But campaign officials said federal regulations required proof of citizenship because the company handles defense contracts. A Granite State employee sat beside a Perry campaign staffer at the door and asked attendees whether they were citizens.

The employee, who refused to give her name, said non-citizens wouldn't be admitted.

While Perry's rivals have faced similar restrictions when they held events on the premises of federal defense contractors, the issue Wednesday brought unwanted attention to Perry's complicated immigration record at a critical point in his quest for the Republican presidential nomination.

Some of his rivals privately seized on his decision to hold an event with such restrictions. The leader of a regional immigration advocacy group was more vocal.

"It's disturbing, especially given his record on immigration," said Eva Millona, executive director of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition.

Perry, the governor of Texas, has faced sustained criticism over a Texas policy that allows in-state college tuition for illegal immigrants. He also has struggled to win over some conservatives for being against putting up a fence along the border with Mexico.

John Stephen, a prominent Perry supporter in New Hampshire and recent Republican gubernatorial candidate, defended Perry.

"This is a manufacturing business where the governor wanted to meet with workers," Stephen said. "There is no one that's done more through action to oppose illegal immigration than Rick Perry."

A Granite State employee, assembly manager Shawn O'Hagan, later said immigrants should not have been blocked from attending the event. But he said those without proof of citizenship would need to be escorted inside.

It was unclear whether any immigrants attended.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2011-11-16-Perry-Citizens%20Only/id-df7de37b29de4e8eba9865381db6207b

roddy white roddy white green river killer bohemian grove amazing race michael oher showtime

Mobile Nations 10: The F-word

Our podcast feed: Audio | Video Download directly: Audio | Video Subscribe in iTunes: Audio | Video Subscribe in Zune Phil Nickinson, Rene Ritchie, and special guest Michael DeGusta talk about fragmentation, legacy, forks, and flexibility and how they challenge developers,...

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/xuIb5ExDDNQ/story01.htm

pawpaw pawpaw cantaloupe cantaloupe credit union greys anatomy greys anatomy

Wal-Mart's 3Q profits down 2.9 percent (AP)

NEW YORK ? Wal-Mart is reporting that the third-quarter profits slipped 2.9 percent and offered a conservative fourth-quarter outlook. But the world's largest retailer announced its first quarterly gain in its U.S. namesake business, reversing a more than two year sales slump.

Wal-Mart, based in Bentonville, Ark., said Tuesday it earned 97 cents per share, or $3.33 billion in the three-month period ended Oct. 31. That compares with 95 cents per share, or $3.43 billion, in the year-ago period. Net sales rose 8.2 percent to $109.5 billion. Wal-Mart's U.S. namesake division's revenue at stores opened at least a year rose 1.3 percent, beating estimates for a 0.3 percent increase.

Analysts had expected 98 cents per share on $108.86 billion, according to Factset.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111115/ap_on_bi_ge/us_earns_wal_mart

breast cancer awareness breast cancer awareness guinea worm weather los angeles kristin cavallari the others the others

Merck's anti-clotting drug flops in key trial

ORLANDO, Florida (AP) ? A blood thinner being developed by Merck has flopped in a major study aimed at preventing heart attacks, strokes and other problems in people who had suffered a heart attack or severe chest pain from clogged arteries.

The drug, vorapaxar, gave no significant benefit when added to standard medicines in a study of 13,000 patients around the world. It also raised the risk of serious bleeding. Merck officials say results due out early next year from another large study testing the drug in different types of patients will tell more about its potential.

Results were reported Sunday at an American Heart Association conference in Florida.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/bbd825583c8542898e6fa7d440b9febc/Article_2011-11-13-Merck%20Heart%20Drug/id-bbf9addebbe74d978382c5398cefd45a

justin bieber paternity justin bieber paternity denver news kym johnson how old is justin bieber how old is justin bieber north dakota jobs

Liam Neeson Would Like To Try Comedy (Theagitator)

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

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/161290968?client_source=feed&format=rss

helen mirren the call surrogates surrogates james garner veteran aircraft carrier

Acer Aspire TimelineX AS4830T-6841

The Acer Aspire TimelineX AS4830T-6841's pleasing aesthetics and powerful Core i5 processor are reason enough to consider it for your next mainstream laptop; its nine-plus hour battery life sweetens the deal. Available at Costco for $649.99, this durable 14-inch laptop has a lot going for it but it comes up short in terms of features.

Design
The TimelineX AS4830T-6841 uses the same design as the 15-inch TimelineX 5830TG-6402 ($799.99 direct, 3.5 stars); its sturdy aluminum lid is done up in a nice cobalt-blue finish and contains a polished Acer logo in its center. Like the Dell Inspiron 14z ($750 direct, 4 stars), the TimelineX weighs 4.5 pounds. It measures just 1.2 inches at its thickest point and is an easy-to-shoulder travel companion. Comparatively, the Asus U46E-BAL5 ($699.99 list, 4.5 stars) weighs 4.9 pounds and Samsung QX411-W01 ($799.99 list, 4 stars) comes in at 5.1 pounds. The AS4830T-6841 uses a sealed 6-cell battery, so it wouldn't be considered user replaceable, which may be a deal breaker for some users.

There's no room for a dedicated number pad on the brushed silver keyboard deck, but the chiclet-style keyboard offers decent sized keys that are easy to type on. The multi-gesture touchpad embedded in the cobalt-blue wrist rest has a smooth surface and is responsive, as are the two barely audible mouse buttons. Above the keyboard are a power switch on the left and a programmable hot key on the right. There are also two speakers up there that, with the help of two additional speakers in the base, deliver impressive audio output. You won't get much in the way of bass response but the quad speaker array is a certainly a step up from the usual laptop fare.

The AS4830T-6841's 14-inch display has a resolution of 1366-by-768 pixels, which is the norm for laptops of this size. You'll have to move up in class (and price) to a model such as the Sony VAIO VPC-SA2FGX/BI ($1,199.99 list, 3.5 stars) if you want to enjoy full HD on a 1920-by-1080 screen. That said, the AS4830T-6841's panel is bright and does a good job of displaying 720p HD. It has a glossy coating that is reflective but provides wide side viewing angles.

Features
Of the AS4830T-6841's three USB ports only one is of the 3.0 variety, whereas the Dell 14z gives you two of the speedy connections. Still, one USB 3.0 port is better than no USB 3.0 ports, which is what you get with the Sony VAIO VPC-EG27FM/W ($779.99 list, 3.5 stars). Additionally, the AS4830T-6841 features HDMI and VGA video outputs, while the Dell 14z offers two digital video ports with HDMI and DisplayPort connections. Other features include headphone and microphone jacks, a LAN port, an embedded webcam, a multi-format card reader, and a DVD multi-drive. It has Wi-Fi Ethernet and can transmit audio and video over WiDi 2.0 (wireless HDMI) to a TV equipped with Netgear's Push2TV receiver (a $99 option), but it doesn't support Bluetooth wireless or WiMAX broadband communications. The Dell 14z, on the other hand, offers both WiDi 2.0 and WiMAX.

The 640GB hard drive spins at 5,400 rpm and comes with Windows 7 Home Premium and Acer's Clear.fi streaming software, which lets you share multimedia files with other Clear.fi enabled devices. You also get Microsoft Office Starter 2010, Microsoft Security Essentials, Skype, and Zune music and video software. Because this laptop offered through Costco, the AS4830T-6841 comes with a two-year warranty as opposed to the standard one-year manufacturer's warranty. It also comes with Costco's Concierge troubleshooting and support service, in case you run into any speed bumps setting up your new PC. And Costco's 90-day return policy helps with any possible feelings of Buyer's remorse.

Performance
Powered by a 2.4GHz Intel Core i5-2430M CPU and 6GB of system memory, the AS4830T-6841 is a top shelf performer. Its 2,381 PCMark 7 score is the highest of the current 14-inch group, if only by a small margin, thanks to a slightly faster CPU. The Dell Inspiron 14z scored 2,308 on this test, and the Samsung QX411W01 scored 1,848. Results from our multimedia tests were similar; the AS4830T-6841's Handbrake time of 1 minute 57 seconds was a hair faster than then the Dell 14z (1:58) and Samsung QX411-W01 (1:59), but a tad slower than the Asus U46E-BAL5 (1:53). Its Cinebench R11.5 score of 2.7 led the field, as did its Photoshop CS5 time of 4:08.

The integrated Intel HD Graphics 3000 chip performed as expected, grinding out 20.3 frames per second (fps) on the DirectX 9 Lost Planet 2 gaming test and 23.7 fps on the DirectX 10 Crysis test, both of which were run at a low resolution (1,024-by-768) with most effects set to medium. As it is, these frames rates are barely playable (if at all); running at full resolution (1,366-by-768) with effects set to high will bring this laptop to its knees.

The 6-cell battery may be permanently sealed off, but that didn't stop it from blowing the completion out of the water. It's MobileMark 2007 score of 9 hours 19 minutes was nearly 40 minutes longer than the Dell 14z and beat the Asus U46E-BAL5 by two full hours. It lasted more than four hours longer than the HP Envy 14 ($1,079.99 direct, 4 stars) (5:15).

Outstanding performance and a relatively light, durable chassis make the Acer Aspire TimelineX AS4830T-6841 a great choice for a mainstream laptop that won't weigh you down on the road. And, with more than nine hours of battery life, you can put in a full work day without recharging. However, another USB 3.0 port would be nice, as would a few more wireless features. Still, this laptop should be on your short list, along with our current Editors' Choice, the Dell Inspiron 14z, which has a more robust feature set and a removable battery.

BENCHMARK TEST RESULTS

COMPARISON TABLE
Compare the HP TouchSmart 620-1080 3D with several other desktops side by side.

More desktop reviews:
??? Dell XPS 8300 (X8300-7008NBK)
??? HP Compaq 8200 Elite USDT
??? Lenovo ThinkCentre M91p
??? HP TouchSmart 620-1080 3D
??? Sony VAIO VPC-L231FX/W
?? more

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/HVaTY7q7RVI/0,2817,2396201,00.asp

michelle duggar ohio issue 2 ohio issue 2 mississippi personhood mississippi personhood issue 2 ohio issue 2 ohio

Federer wins Paris Masters for 69th career title

Switzerland's Roger Federer returns the ball to France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, during their final match of the Tennis Masters tournament, in Paris, Sunday, Nov.13, 2011.(AP Photo/Lionel Cironneau)

Switzerland's Roger Federer returns the ball to France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, during their final match of the Tennis Masters tournament, in Paris, Sunday, Nov.13, 2011.(AP Photo/Lionel Cironneau)

France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga reacts after missing a point during his final match against Switzerland's Roger Federer, of the Tennis Masters tournament, in Paris, Sunday, Nov.13, 2011.(AP Photo/Lionel Cironneau)

France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga returns the ball to Switzerland's Roger Federer, during their final match of the Tennis Masters tournament, in Paris, Sunday, Nov. 13, 2011. (AP Photo/Lionel Cironneau)

Switzerland's Roger Federer returns the ball to France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, during their final match of the Tennis Masters tournament, in Paris, Sunday, Nov.13, 2011.(AP Photo/Lionel Cironneau)

Switzerland's Roger Federer returns the ball to France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga , during their final match of the Tennis Masters tournament, in Paris, Sunday, Nov.13, 2011.(AP Photo/Remy de la Mauviniere)

PARIS (AP) ? Roger Federer beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-1, 7-6 (3) on Sunday to win the Paris Masters for the first time and clinch the 69th title of his glittering career.

The 16-time Grand Slam champion had never previously reached the final in Paris, but gave the sixth-seeded Frenchman little chance after saving two break points in his opening service game.

"I've been waiting for this for a long time," Federer said. "I'm really happy to have finally made it."

Federer's 18th Masters title puts him one ahead of Andre Agassi and one behind all-time leader Rafael Nadal. The 30-year-old from Switzerland is on a 12-match winning streak after winning the Swiss Indoors last week.

Tsonga improved his serve in the second set, but Federer was simply too strong in the tiebreaker, taking victory on his third match point when Tsonga's return landed out.

Tsonga won the tournament in 2008 but was let down by too many unforced errors on his forehand as he tried to find a way to pressure Federer in their sixth meeting this year.

"I just wish I could have competed more," said Tsonga, who this year beat Federer in the quarterfinals at Wimbledon, but lost at the same stage to the Swiss star at the U.S. Open. Overall, Federer now leads Tsonga 6-3.

Federer took only 80 minutes to beat Tomas Berdych in straight sets in Saturday's semifinals, while Tsonga labored for three hours and saved three match points before getting the better of unseeded American John Isner.

Federer's sharpness showed as he mercilessly attacked Tsonga's weak second serve in the first set. He opened a 4-0 lead after Tsonga, who was visibly frustrated over too many loose forehands, double-faulted.

The opening set lasted only 30 minutes, Federer clinching it with a whipped winner into the open court after Tsonga returned a strong second serve to Federer's forehand.

Tsonga had to raise his game in the second set or risk a thrashing, and he dug out a crosscourt winner with a booming forehand in the fourth game to set up break point. With Federer on second serve, Tsonga missed his chance when his hurried forehand went out.

With Federer's seemingly impregnable serve dipping for the first time in the match, the Frenchman missed another opportunity at 30-40 in the eighth game when he sent a forehand long.

Federer hardly had to dig deep, but he did thrill the crowd at the Bercy arena with one moment of brilliance in the next game.

A closely-contested rally saw Tsonga send Federer scampering to the back of the court to retrieve a lob. Federer waited for the ball to sit up nicely, span around and hit a devastating backhand pass without even needing to look where Tsonga was.

Tsonga looked nervous in the tiebreaker, netting a forehand long and a backhand into the net ? either side of Federer's forehand winner and service winner ? to trail 0-4.

Federer raced to a 6-1 lead, and though Tsonga saved two match points with a neat drop shot and a service winner, it was a brief reprieve from an inevitable ending.

Having won the Swiss indoors and Paris Masters back-to-back, Federer heads to London in fine form for the eight-man ATP World Tour Finals.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2011-11-13-TEN-Paris-Masters/id-7a72c90aef8549aaabe7a3b57ebc06c1

walking dead season 2 walking dead season 2 saving private ryan world series tickets world series tickets nelson cruz nelson cruz