Gene Mutation May Be Key to Familial Pancreatic Cancer (HealthDay)

THURSDAY, Dec. 29 (HealthDay News) -- Individuals may face a higher hereditary risk for developing pancreatic cancer if they carry abnormalities in the so-called "ATM" gene, new research reveals.

The finding, reported in an upcoming issue of Cancer Discovery, stems from genetic-sequencing work conducted among 166 pancreatic cancer patients. For comparative purposes, 190 other individuals who did not have pancreatic cancer also underwent sequencing.

The study was led by Alison Klein, an associate professor of oncology at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins and director of the National Familial Pancreas Tumor Registry.

Noting that 10 percent of pancreatic cancer patients are from families in which more than one member has battled the disease, Klein pointed out in a news release from the American Association for Cancer Research that "there was significant reason to believe this clustering was due to genetics."

But she added that no previous effort had "been able to find the causative genes that explained the cluster of pancreatic cancer for a majority of these families."

Among the pancreatic cancer patients examined, four were found to have the ATM gene mutation. By contrast, none of the healthy individuals who were sequenced carried the abnormality, according to the report.

Ultimately, the finding could lead to the development of a new screening option for a disease that kills 95 percent of patients within five years of diagnosis, according to the release. Though endoscopy is under study as another possible screening tool, there are as yet no other recommended screening alternatives for the number four cause of cancer-related death.

More information

For more on pancreatic cancer, visit the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/diseases/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20111230/hl_hsn/genemutationmaybekeytofamilialpancreaticcancer

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US to pay family $17.8M for military jet crash

FILE - In this Dec. 8, 2008 file photo, smoke rises from a fire after an F-18 military jet crashed into a suburban neighborhood in San Diego. A federal judge on Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2011, ordered the U.S. government to pay $17.8 million to a Korean family that lost four members when the Marine Corps fighter jet crashed into their San Diego home in 2008. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy, File)

FILE - In this Dec. 8, 2008 file photo, smoke rises from a fire after an F-18 military jet crashed into a suburban neighborhood in San Diego. A federal judge on Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2011, ordered the U.S. government to pay $17.8 million to a Korean family that lost four members when the Marine Corps fighter jet crashed into their San Diego home in 2008. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy, File)

File - This file photo provided by the Korean United Methodist Church of San Diego shows Young Mi Yoon, left, and her husband Dong Yun Yoon at the San Diego church in 2001. A federal judge on Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2011, ordered the U.S. government to pay $17.8 million to the Korean family that lost four members, including Young Mi Yoon and Dong Yun Yoon, when a Marine Corps fighter jet crashed into their San Diego home in 2008. (AP Photo Courtesy of Korean United Methodist Church of San Diego, File)

SAN DIEGO (AP) ? A federal judge on Wednesday ordered the U.S. government to pay $17.8 million to a Korean family that lost four members when a Marine Corps fighter jet crashed into their San Diego home in 2008.

U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Miller's ruling came after a nonjury trial between the Department of Justice and the family, who sought $56 million for emotional and monetary loss. The Marine Corps blamed the crash on mechanical failure and human error.

Don Yoon lost his 36-year-old wife, Youngmi Lee Yoon; his 15-month-old daughter, Grace; his 2-month-old daughter, Rachel; and his 59-year-old mother-in-law, Seokim Kim Lee, who was visiting from Korea to help her eldest daughter take care of their children.

Yoon said in a statement that Miller's ruling was "thoughtful, reasoned and just." He broke down crying throughout his testimony, which came three years to the day after he buried his wife and girls in the same casket. He told the judge he only looks forward to the day when he can join them.

"Our family is relieved this part of the process is over, but no sum of money will ever make up for the loss of our loved ones," he said.

The Marine Corps has said the plane suffered a mechanical failure but a series of bad decisions led the pilot ? a student ? to bypass a potentially safe landing at a coastal Navy base after his engine failed on Dec. 8, 2008. The pilot ejected and told investigators he screamed in horror as he watched the jet plow into the San Diego neighborhood, incinerating two homes.

Yoon said he harbors no ill will toward the Marine pilot "who did everything he could to prevent this tragedy" but added that his family believes "that misguided attempts by the military to save money and cut costs" contributed to the crash.

The military disciplined 13 members of the Marines and the Navy for the errors.

The case was unique in that the government admitted liability but disputed how much should be paid. Government lawyers had put economic losses at about $1 million but left it up to the judge to decide how much should be paid for the emotional loss.

The judge ordered Yoon to be awarded nearly $10 million, and his father-in-law, Sanghyun Lee, to be given nearly $4 million. The rest should go to the father-in-law's three adult children for the loss of their mother, Seokim Kim Lee.

Department of Justice attorneys had offered their condolences during the trial but questioned how much the family members depended on each other.

Department of Justice officials declined to comment Wednesday.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/apdefault/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2011-12-28-Military%20Jet-Crash/id-e8b2840eb22e48dd8fb290f239c9eceb

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'Octomom' in one-child China stuns public (AP)

BEIJING ? The photo was undeniably cute: a studio portrait of eight babies in identical onesies and perky white cotton hats, sporting an array of expressions from giggly to goofy, baffled to bawling.

Intended as an advertisement for the studio, the photo grabbed a different kind of attention: In a country that limits most couples to one child, many Chinese were amazed to learn that a couple had spent nearly a million yuan ($160,000) and illegally enlisted two surrogate mothers to help have the four boys and four girls.

The incident has highlighted both the use of birth surrogates, a violation of Chinese law, and how wealthy Chinese do as they please, with scant regard for the rules that constrain others. The most common reaction, though, has been simple disbelief.

"Heavens. To have one family with eight kids ... in an era of family planning where most people have just one, the contrast is just too much," said popular Chinese Central Television news anchor Bai Yansong as he introduced a 20-minute special report on the babies last weekend. "It doesn't sound like news. It sounds more like a fairy tale."

Chinese media are calling the mother "babaotai muqin," or "octomom," a reference to the American woman who gave birth to octuplets using in vitro fertilization.

Much remains uncertain about the family from Guangzhou, the capital of south China's Guangdong province. According to the Guangzhou Daily, a government newspaper, the biological mother carried two of the babies, while two surrogates gave birth to three each. After the babies were born in September and October last year, 11 nannies were hired to help take care of the children, the report said.

While some suspect a hoax, a media officer with the Guangdong Health Department said the case was real and under investigation. He declined to identify the couple, citing privacy concerns.

The story has captivated the public because it symbolizes a bold defiance of the country's strict family planning rules, said Liang Zhongtang, a demography expert at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences.

"People are very interested in the policy these days and the need for changes to it," he said. "A lot of people think it should have been dropped a long time ago, or relaxed at least."

A 2001 law prohibits Chinese medical institutions and personnel from performing gestational surrogacy services, in which an embryo created from a couple is implanted into another woman who carries the baby to term.

Still, an underground market is thriving as more couples put off marriage and childbirth until later in life, only to find they are unable to conceive. The law forbids only the medical procedures, and agencies connecting couples and surrogates are easy to find online.

The Guangzhou Daily said the octomom couple resorted to in vitro fertilization and surrogates after years of failed attempts to conceive.

A manager for the Guangdong branch of the Daiyunguke surrogacy agency, Liu Jialei, said that this has been the busiest of his company's seven years in business, with more than 600 surrogates matched to families. His customers are Chinese, but the medical procedures are carried out abroad, in Southeast Asia and Japan, to circumvent the law.

Chinese media reports say many procedures are also done illegally at hospitals in China.

Many Chinese frown on surrogacy, which is often portrayed as a way for the rich to avoid going through pregnancy.

An opinion piece about the eight babies in the China Daily denounced surrogacy as something done by wealthy women unwilling to disrupt their careers or ruin their figures.

Author Cai Hong, a senior writer for the newspaper, wrote that the practice would inevitably give rise to "a breeder class" of poor women who end up "renting their wombs to wealthy people."

But Therese Hesketh, a University College London professor who has done numerous field studies in China on family planning issues, says that her impression is that Chinese who can afford surrogates tend to seek out attractive university graduates, not the underprivileged.

Chinese media say octomom and her family have gone into hiding. A Chinese Central Television investigative report could only dig up former neighbors who described seeing a pack of nannies taking the babies for strolls and to a toddler center for playtime.

A series of outtakes from the portrait session posted to a blog show the logo for the QQ Baby studio prominently displayed in the background, but staff at the shop in Guangzhou denied knowing anything about the photos.

Only the relatively well-off can afford in vitro fertilization and surrogacy or to live in a villa, as this couple reportedly did.

The rich also find it easier to flout the one-child limit, because they are better able to afford the hefty fines for doing so. Some also acquire foreign citizenship, which exempts them from the birth quotas.

On the popular Sina microblog, one user posted an article about the couple and commented: "If you have money, what does the law mean?"

All the hoopla may be boosting the surrogacy business. At Daiyun.com ? an agency whose website is splashed with photos of babies nestled in flowers ? a manager said all the attention made it inconvenient for any staff to speak with reporters.

"But one thing is for sure, our business is getting better and better," said the woman, who would only give her surname, Liu. "More and more people come to us for services."

___

Associated Press researchers Zhao Liang and Yu Bing in Beijing contributed to this report.

___

Online:

Photos on a Chinese blog: http://bit.ly/uxwW80

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/china/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111230/ap_on_re_as/as_china_octomom

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Was at Freedom Park to cover pro-Anna protests.Very few people compared to thousands last time round.Organisers say due to college holidays

Maya Sharma wrote a status message :

Was at Freedom Park to cover pro-Anna protests.Very few people compared to thousands last time round.Organisers say due to college holidays 5 hours ago

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Toledo holds off Air Force 42-41 in Military Bowl

Toledo players including Diauntae Morrow (5) celebrates with the trophy after they won the Military Bowl college football game against Air Force, Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2011, in Washington. Toledo won 42-41. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Toledo players including Diauntae Morrow (5) celebrates with the trophy after they won the Military Bowl college football game against Air Force, Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2011, in Washington. Toledo won 42-41. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Toledo wide receiver Bernard Reedy (11) holds up the Most Valuable Player trophy after they beat Air Force 42-41 in the Military Bowl college football game, Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2011, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Toledo quarterback Terrance Owens (2) looks to pass against Air Force during the second half of the Military Bowl college football game, Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2011, in Washington. Toledo won 42-41. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Toledo head coach Matt Campbell holds the trophy after the beat Air Force 42-41 in the Military Bowl college football game,Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2011, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Toledo safety Jermaine Robinson, left, runs with the ball after he intercepted a pass, as Air Force offensive linesman Jason Kons (75) pursues during the second half of the Military Bowl college football game,Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2011, in Washington. Robinson scored a touchdown on the interception as Toledo won 42-41. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Even the youngest head coach in the country knows not to expect the conventional from Air Force. After all, the Falcons had already scored three fourth-down touchdowns, including the one that had just made the Military Bowl a one-point game with 52 seconds to play.

So 32-year-old Matt Campbell, leading Toledo for the first time, wasn't surprised when Air Force lined up to kick the extra point and then ran a fake, going for two to win the game instead of sending it to overtime.

The Rockets were ready.

Holder David Baska got bottled up trying to run the option. The ball squirted toward kicker Parker Herrington, who chased it until it went out of bounds in the end zone, and Toledo started celebrating its 42-41 victory Wednesday night at RFK Stadium.

"We talked about it, first and foremost, because they fake some extra points and fake some field goals," said Campbell, the Toledo offensive coordinator who was promoted this month to the head job after Tim Beckman left for Illinois. "Ironically, we were in the same situation last year in our bowl game. I give credit to our staff. We got ourselves into a defensive call. We were not in a 'block' look."

Toledo succeeded in taking a one-point lead with a 2-point conversion near the end of last year's Little Caesars Pizza Bowl, but the Rockets lost the game to Florida International on a field goal on the game's final play.

This time, the wild ending to a wild game went their way in the school's first bowl win since 2005.

Bernard Reedy's third touchdown of the game ? a 33-yard catch, spin and run on a pass from Terrance Owens ? gave Toledo a 42-35 lead with 5:01 remaining and put the Rockets (9-4) over the 40-point mark for a sixth straight game.

"We have 1,000 playmakers on our team," said Reedy, who had a career-high 126 yards receiving on four catches and was named the game's MVP. "You never know who's going to step up. It's fun to watch everybody catch and run with it."

The game matched two of the top 25 scoring teams in the country, and they wasted little time living up to their reputations. It was Mid-American Conference member Toledo's spread offense against Mountain West Air Force's triple option, and the idea of a huddle seemed a quaint, antiquated concept.

Back and forth they went. A kickoff return for 87 yards. A pitch around the left end for 60. Touchdown passes for 49 and 37 yards. A pair of botched onside kicks.

And that was just the first half.

Toledo's Adonis Thomas finished with 108 yards on 22 carries. Paul Hornung Award finalist Eric Page caught 13 passes for 59 yards, but his biggest play was an 87-yard kickoff return in the first half.

Owens, getting most of the work at quarterback, completed 19 of 24 passes for 210 yards and three touchdowns. Owens got the nod over Austin Dantin, who started the first 10 games of the season before sitting out the last two with a concussion.

Tim Jefferson, the first quarterback in service academy history to lead his team to four consecutive bowl games, completed 13 of 22 passes for 159 yards with two touchdowns and one interception for Air Force (7-6). Jonathan Warzeka had a career-best 60-yard run to set up one touchdown, and his 37-yard reception on fourth-and-3 tied the game 28-all heading into halftime.

There was even room for a defensive score: Toledo safety Jermaine Robinson's 37-yard interception runback after he corralled a tipped pass deep in the secondary.

"At the pregame meal, all the DBs will sit together," Robinson said, "and we talk about what we're going to do in the game, and I told them I'm like Eric Page and Adonis together. ... I almost dropped it, and finally I got it together. Once I get it in my hands, the rest is history."

But it all came down to a gutsy decision on a 2-point conversion. It appeared that Baska tried to pitch the ball to Herrington, but Air Force coach Troy Calhoun said the ball just popped out.

Either way, the coach wasn't about to second-guess himself.

"I thought we had an excellent chance to seal and win the game right there. It didn't work out," Calhoun said. "We didn't convert it, so you better be able to live with it. We're a group that over the last six years, we're going to go for it on fourth down if we think there are chances we can take. When we have a pretty darn good opportunity to convert one, we're going to do it. That's the way we're going to play."

___

Joseph White can be reached at http://twitter.com/JGWhiteAP

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/apdefault/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2011-12-28-Military%20Bowl/id-f3ad25273d9c44ee85b09ebe03d1ec6d

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'Glee' Michael Jackson Episode: Rumored Set List Leaks

Perez Hilton reports that January 24 episode includes a 'Beat It' and 'Billie Jean' mash-up.
By Jocelyn Vena

Darren Criss, Damian McGinty, Chord Overstreet, Mark Salling, Cory Monteith and Harry Shum Jr. perform on "Glee"
Photo: Adam Rose / FOX

"Glee" has already dedicated entire episodes to Madonna, Britney Spears and Lady Gaga, and come 2012, it's the King of Pop's turn.

A rumored set list for the January 24 "Glee" Michael Jackson tribute episode has hit the Web, and it features some of the late singer's greatest hits. Perez Hilton reports that 14 tracks have made the final cut, although the list has yet to be confirmed by anyone connected with the show.

The set list (along with who will perform the track) reportedly includes "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' " (Blaine), "Bad" (the New Directions and the Warblers), "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" (Finn and Rachel), "Smooth Criminal" (Santana and Sebastian), "Never Can Say Goodbye" (Quinn), "In the Closet" (Brittany and Santana), "We Are the World" (the New Directions and the Warblers), "Black and White" (Puck), "Ghost"/"Monster" (New Directions), "Beat It"/"Billie Jean" (Warblers), "The Way You Make Me Feel" (Kurt) and "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" (Artie).

This is hardly the first time the show has paid homage to Jackson. Back in 2010, the New Directions performed his track "Thriller," complete with zombie garb, during an episode that aired after the Super Bowl. The show has also previously covered "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)" and "Man in the Mirror."

Back in 2010, the cast of the hit Fox show had only imagined what it would be like to have an entire episode dedicated to Jackson. "I would love to do a Michael Jackson episode," Amber Riley told MTV News at the time. "You know, it's so many [songs that I love], but my favorite song by him is 'Human Nature.' I love that song."

While Riley seemed psyched about the opportunity, castmate Jenna Ushkowitz found the possibility a little more daunting. "That's a scary, scary episode to do," she said. "[But] that would be absolutely amazing."

Are you happy with the rumored set list? What's missing? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Related Photos

• Michael Jackson: A Life In Photos

Related Artists

• Michael Jackson

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1676521/glee-michael-jackson-tribute-set-list.jhtml

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Why Unwrap Presents When You Have X-Ray Gift Vision? [Shooting Challenge]

Shaking gifts. It's never worked because unless someone gave you broken glass, there's no way to hear what's inside. Besides, it's almost 2012, the Future. Instead, these 19 photographers let us look through the gift wrap with x-ray vision. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/C9O5HkfFo0w/why-unwrap-presents-when-you-have-x+ray-gift-vision

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Japan says it, India close to deciding dollar swap pact (Reuters)

TOKYO (Reuters) ? Japan and India are in the final stages of deciding on a dollar swap agreement and expect to reach agreement during Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's visit to India this week, Japan's finance minister said on Tuesday.

An earlier $3 billion arrangement came into force in 2008 but expired in June. The Nikkei business newspaper reported on Sunday that the new one would be set at $10 billion.

Further financial cooperation as well as Japanese support for infrastructure in India will be a key focus at talks between the leaders of the two countries, Finance Minister Jun Azumi told a news conference.

Azumi also said he expects Japan's exports will pick up early next year if the European economy stabilizes and currency levels reflect Japan's economic fundamentals.

(Reporting by Kaori Kaneko; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/japan/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111227/bs_nm/us_japan_economy_azumi

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What NFL teams have won back 2 back super bowls?

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If Ron Paul wins in Iowa, does that make the state irrelevant?

Some Republicans worry that if Ron Paul wins in Iowa, the state will be seen as ridiculous for backing a fringe candidate. But others say it would be a 'victory for retail politics in Iowa.'

While the national headlines have swirled in recent days around the troublesome, racist newsletters in Rep. Ron Paul?s past, the candidate himself has continued his formidable ground campaign in Iowa, where he?s at the head of the pack in recent polls.

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However his lead there, along with a strong showing in New Hampshire, is prompting alarm in some Republican corners. If Iowa delivers a win for Mr. Paul, some pundits are warning, the state will be seen as ridiculous ? as fringe as the libertarian-leaning Paul is in many mainstream Republican eyes.

?If Paul wins Iowa, Iowa relegates itself to almost complete and total political obscurity,? says Patrick Griffin, an unaligned GOP strategist and senior fellow at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at St. Anselm College in Manchester.

Iowa conservative radio talk show host Sam Clovis said recently, ?I am not sure that [a Paul victory] is in the best interests of the state ... because I don?t think he is going to get any traction the rest of the way,? according to Newsmax.com.

But there?s a counternarrative too, one that argues that Iowa?s relevance isn?t based on picking the person most likely to become the nominee for president ? for which it already has a poor track record ? but on showing, through its caucus system, who the favorite is among committed partisans in the state.

If Paul wins, ?it?s a victory for retail politics in Iowa,? says David Peterson, a political science professor at Iowa State University in Ames. Besides being first, ?what makes [Iowa] relevant is that it winnows the field,? providing a graceful place for candidates to exit if they do poorly, he says.

Paul?s campaign has been organizing support in the state for years, and he seems to be picking up more voters along the way as his small-government message connects with their disgust over Washington gridlock, and national debt.

?Ron Paul is a serious candidate ...?[who has] spent days on end in both New Hampshire and Iowa, developed significant organizations in each state, and has respected officials involved in his campaign.?If [he] does well in either state it simply illustrates the importance of working hard to earn votes in the early contests,? writes Michael Dennehy, an unaligned GOP strategist in New Hampshire, in an e-mail to the Monitor.

Even if Paul can?t win the GOP nomination, his strong performance in some states pushes other candidates to take parts of his message seriously, political experts say.

The conversation about how relevant early states like Iowa are if they aren?t more representative of the mainstream views comes up to some degree with each presidential election cycle.

But it?s perhaps more pronounced this time because Iowa has become more conservative, with a stronger Christian-conservative element, and ?establishment Republicans would say that moves them further away from the center, further away from independent voters, and further away from electibility [of their top choice],? says?Wayne Lesperance Jr., a political science professor at New England College in Henniker, N.H.

Like the argument between voting with your heart or your head, Professor Lesperance says, the establishment argues, ?We can nominate someone with a point of view ... or we can nominate someone who can beat Obama,? and the latter is the priority.

But the ?Iowa may be crazy? narrative could also be a strategic attempt by Romney supporters to dampen expectations so that if he doesn?t win in Iowa, it won?t be viewed as a huge disappointment ? and any bump that Paul or another winning candidate might get could be mitigated, says Professor Peterson.

RealClearPolitics shows Paul with 23.8 percent support in Iowa among likely caucus participants, Romney with 20.3 and Gingrich with 17.3 in its average as of Dec. 19.

It?s too early for polls to reflect whether the stories this week about Paul?s controversial newsletters are biting into his support in Iowa or elsewhere.

But it?s unlikely, Peterson says. ?The thing about Ron Paul supporters is they are deeply committed ... and if you have decided to back someone and you hear something negative, you?ll counterargue for him in your head.?

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/bHKh4olSVJ0/If-Ron-Paul-wins-in-Iowa-does-that-make-the-state-irrelevant

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Waves: Sports TV/Radio listings for Saturday, Dec. 24-Sunday, Dec. 25

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Source: jacksonville.com --- Friday, December 23, 2011
Listings for Jacksonville Comcast cable system and subject to change without notice. (*-indicates a channel only available on digital cable and satellite systems.) Sports TV Channel Guide for the Jacksonville area SATURDAY, DEC. 24 read more ...

Source: http://feeds.jacksonville.com/~r/JacksonvillecomSports/~3/THAwGLXcOI8/waves-sports-tvradio-listings-saturday-dec-24-sunday-dec

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California Teen Becomes Youngest To Climb '7 Summits'

BIG BEAR, Calif. -- A Southern California teenager became the youngest person to successfully climb to the summit of the seven tallest mountains on Earth's seven continents, according to his website.

Jordan Romero, 15, called his mother Leigh Ann Drake on Saturday to confirm that he'd achieved his goal of reaching the top of Mt. Vinson Massif in Antarctica.

The Big Bear, Calif.-native beat the record previously held by British climber George Atkinson, who completed the ascents at age 16 in May.

Romero's team began the climb Wednesday. Romero's Facebook page, "Find Your Everest," marked reaching the summit, but the climb is hardly over.

"It's in the books. The kid and team summit with all fingers and toes. Descent still to come then we celebrate," a post to the Facebook page read.

Romero completes the climbs with his father and stepmother.

"It's my dream we are following to the highest points on every continent," Jordan says on his blog. "I know it's a big goal and lucky for me my family is supporting me every step of the way."

At age 10, Romero climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa, and at age 13 he climbed the world's highest mountain, at 29,035 feet, Mt. Everest in Asia.

Drake declined further comment, saying the family is not seeking attention for the boy's achievement.

___

Online:

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/24/jordan-romero-mt-vinson-calif-teen-seven-summits_n_1169101.html

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VIDEO: Daniel Craig Tried to Get Fat for 'Dragon Tattoo'

 

Source: http://www.ivillage.com/daniel-craig-tried-get-fat-girl-dragon-tattoo/1-a-413163?dst=iv%3AiVillage%3Adaniel-craig-tried-get-fat-girl-dragon-tattoo-413163

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1997 Ford Econoline E150 from North America

We use Ford Cargo vans for pick-ups around town lugging medical equipment. We currently own 3 Ford Cargo Vans, and they are all extremely reliable.

The gas mileage ranges from 13-16 MPG, depending on driver / traffic.

The drivers seat is comfortable if equipped with armrests, otherwise - not so great. I never understood why Ford could not put a glove box in the cab, but the center console will do.

We run Hankook tires and have found them to be the best fit for the Ford vans, as well as Motorcraft spark plugs and Mobil 1 synthetic oil.

We plan on adding more vehicles to our fleet, and they will be Fords.

Source: http://www.carsurvey.org/reviews/ford/econoline/1997/

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smallwars: AP: 10,000 US Troops Leave Afghanistan - http://t.co/csu4RjgX

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AP: 10,000 US Troops Leave Afghanistan - tinyurl.com/8ykjfjm Il y a environ 9 heures via web Retweeted by 2 people

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Mexico Mayan region launches apocalypse countdown (AP)

MEXICO CITY ? Seize the day.

Only 52 weeks and a day are left before Dec. 21, 2012, when some believe the Maya predicted the end of the world.

Unlike enthusiasts of other doomsday theories who suggest putting together survival kits, southeastern Mexico, the heart of Maya territory, plans a yearlong celebration.

Mexico's tourism agency expects to draw 52 million visitors by next year only to the regions of Chiapas, Yucatan, Quintana Roo, Tabasco and Campeche. All of Mexico usually lures about 22 million foreigners in a year.

It's selling the date, the Winter Solstice in the coming year, as a time of renewal. Many archeologists argue that the 2012 reference on a 1,300-year-old stone tablet only marks the end of a cycle in the Mayan calendar.

"The world will not end. It is an era," said Yeanet Zaldo, a tourism spokeswoman for the Caribbean state of Quintana Roo, home to Cancun. "For us, it is a message of hope."

Cities and towns in the Mayan region on Wednesday will start the yearlong countdown. In Chiapas the town of Tapachula on the Guatemalan border will start a countdown on an 8-foot digital clock in the main park exactly a year before the mysterious date.

In the nearby archaeological site of Izapa, Maya priests will burn incense, chant and offer prayers.

In the tropical jungle of Quintana Roo, between the resorts of Cancun and Playa del Carmen, people are putting messages and photos in a time capsule that will be buried for 50 years. Maya priests and Indian dancers will perform a ritual at the time capsule ceremony.

Yucatan state has announced plans to complete the Maya Museum of Merida by next summer.

"People who still live in Mayan villages will host rites and burn incense for us to go back in time and try to understand the Mayan wisdom," Zaldo said.

The Maya reputation for wisdom has people taking the alleged prediction seriously.

The Mayan civilization, which reached its height from 300 A.D. to 900 A.D., had a talent for astronomy

Its Long Count calendar begins in 3,114 B.C., marking time in roughly 394-year periods known as Baktuns. Thirteen was a significant, sacred number for the Mayas, and they wrote that the 13th Baktun ends on Dec. 21, 2012.

The doomsday theories stem from a stone tablet discovered in the 1960s at the archaeological site of Tortuguero in the Gulf of Mexico state of Tabasco that describes the return of a Mayan god at the end of a 13th period.

Believers have taken the end-of-the world fears to the Internet with hundreds of thousands of websites and blogs.

"The Maya are viewed by many westerners as exotic folks that were supposed to have had some special, secret knowledge," said Mayan scholar Sven Gronemeyer. "What happens is that our expectations and fears get projected on the Maya calendar."

Gronemeyer of La Trobe University in Australia compares the supposed Mayan prophecies to the "Y2K" hype, when people feared all computer systems would crash when the new millennium began on Jan. 1, 2000.

For some reason, Gronemeyer says, people have ignored evidence that dates beyond 2012 were recorded.

The blogosphere exploded with more speculation when Mexico's archaeology institute acknowledged on Nov. 24 a second reference to Dec. 21, 2012, on a brick found at other ruins.

"Human beings seem to be attracted by apocalyptic ideas and always assume the worst," Gronemeyer said.

It's all a bit frustrating for serious Mayan researchers whose field has made huge strides in recent years.

"This new historical and archaeological knowledge is so much more interesting and mind-blowing than the fantastical claims about Maya prophecies one sees on TV, books or on the Internet," David Stuart, a specialist in Mayan epigraphy at the University of Texas at Austin, said in an email to The Associated Press. "We're dealing with thousands of newly deciphered texts and trying to weave together a coherent picture of Maya history and culture, which to me is as exciting as it gets."

While the 2012 hype might increase interest in the Maya, "that will probably be offset by the long and difficult effort ahead to correct the ubiquitous lies and misconceptions, even after 2012 has come and gone," he wrote.

Jonnie Channell of Albuquerque, New Mexico, says that 2012 "is going to be one of those things where people are definitely going to have to plan," not because of impending apocalypse, but because hotel rooms in the Maya region are probably going to be full.

Channell, who owns Maya Sites Travel Services, is surprised that she already has 24 reservations for three tour packages she is offering to major Mayan ruin sites in the week leading up to the solstice.

She named one "Beginning the New Calendar Era Under the Yucatan Stars."

"We put together these tours, and we've got lots of signups, and people are excited about it," she said. "If anybody think it's going to be the end of the world, then they better stay home."

___

Associated Press writer Mark Stevenson contributed to this report

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/latam/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111221/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_mexico_apocalypse2012

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AP source: Paterno out of hospital, improving (AP)

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. ? Joe Paterno has been released from the hospital and has shown improvement after being treated for lung cancer, a person close to the former Penn State coach's family said Monday.

ESPN, citing an anonymous source, first reported Paterno's release.

Paterno's tumor was showing substantial reduction following radiation and chemotherapy, according to the person who spoke on condition of anonymity Monday to The Associated Press due to the family's desire for privacy. He was released Sunday.

Paterno, who turns 85 on Wednesday, was admitted last week after breaking his pelvis again in a fall at home. Doctors kept him hospitalized to make it easier to administer cancer treatments while he recovered from the fracture.

He initially injured his pelvis and right shoulder in August after getting blindsided accidentally by a receiver during preseason practice. The injuries kept Paterno in the press box most of the season before trustees fired him Nov. 9 in the aftermath of child sex abuse charges against retired assistant coach Jerry Sandusky.

Paterno testified before a grand jury investigating Sandusky, but prosecutors have said he is not a target of the investigation. Sandusky, who has pleaded not guilty, is awaiting trial.

Paterno hasn't spoken publicly since his firing. He was diagnosed with cancer several days later during a follow-up visit to the doctor for a bronchial illness, his family has said.

The person close to the family told the AP on Monday that Paterno was in great spirits while continuing to fight the illness.

Earlier Monday, Penn State fullback Michael Zordich said a few players visited Paterno in recent weeks.

"He's a strong person, a fighter, a leader," Zordich said before practice. "He's been going through a lot right now ... We're giving him space, and we'll go see him when can. Hopefully we can get there soon."

Longtime defensive coordinator Tom Bradley said he has not spoken with Paterno since the day after he was appointed the interim head coach. Bradley, who is applying for the job permanently, gets updates from Paterno's son, quarterback coach Jay Paterno.

"I know what (Joe Paterno) is going to say. `Tom, you're wasting your time. You know what you've got to do,'" Bradley said Monday.

Paterno has called the allegations against Sandusky troubling and urged the public to let the legal process unfold. He initially announced his retirement taking effect at the end of the season.

In his retirement statement, Paterno called the scandal "one of the great sorrows of my life. With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more." The trustees fired him anyway, about 12 hours later.

The Nittany Lions' head coach for 46 seasons, Paterno amassed 409 career victories ? a Division I record.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111219/ap_on_sp_co_ne/fbc_penn_state_paterno

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Rebel China villagers demand elections, turn to central leaders (Reuters)

WUKAN, China (Reuters) ? Protesting Chinese villagers on Sunday demanded that central leaders defuse grievances about what they called crooked land deals and a suspicious death, as a revolt that has tested Communist Party authority in this semi-rural area neared its second week.

Residents of Wukan Village in Guangdong province have driven off officials, erected makeshift barricades to deter police, and held protest gatherings and marches daily after the death in custody last weekend of Xue Jinbo, one of the organisers of a months-long campaign over former farmland that residents say was illegally seized for commercial development

Xue's death, which officials said was caused by heart failure, triggered visceral anger among the village's 10,000 residents, who believe he was abused by police.

On Sunday evening, residents vowed to take their protests into a second week unless central officials step in.

"We've completely lost trust in the local government," said one villager, a 35-year-old surnamed Wu. "They've said they will solve our problems, but it's all lies. They've cheated the ordinary people."

"We hope that the central government will give us justice," said another villager, surnamed Lin.

Police appear to be exerting their own pressure by blocking trucks from taking food into Wukan.

The swirling sentiments of the Wukan villagers -- mixing fury at the local government with hopes directed at Beijing -- underscored the volatility of the dispute and the difficulty that any officials will have in regaining their trust.

"Collusion between government and business, give me back my home," declared one of the many handwritten banners strung across the village square. "Democratic elections are the heartfelt voice of the people."

LAND AT HEART OF STANDOFF

Rural land in China is mostly owned in name by village collectives, which are in theory under leaders elected by residents. But in fact, higher officials can mandate seizing for development in return for compensation, which residents often say is inadequate and does not reflect the profits reaped.

The government of Shanwei, the area including Wukan, said this week that some Communist Party members and officials accused of misdeeds over the disputed land were detained and that the main land development project had been suspended.

But villagers' fury has turned to Xue's death and demands that officials return his body to the grieving family.

Wukan, with its clannish unity and big stake in rising land values, is an example of the kind of slow-burning discontent that is corroding party power at the grassroots.

Residents say hundreds of hectares of land was acquired unfairly by corrupt officials in collusion with developers. Anger in the village boiled over in September this year after repeated appeals to higher officials. Residents ransacked a government office and skirmished with police.

Protests and other bursts of what officials call "mass unrest" have risen with China's rapid economic transformation and urbanisation, which has consumed farmland, often sparking contention over compensation.

"Land is the last public good in China that can be privatized. Local governments need the land to get money to run the governments and second, local officials take the land to fill their pockets, so it's both of these issues," said David Zweig, a professor who studies Chinese politics at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

"This problem used to happen more in the suburbs because as urbanisation expanded, they needed the land. But now it seems to be happening all over the country."

Between 1993 and recent years, the number of recorded "mass incidents" grew from 8,700 to about 90,000, according to most experts. Some estimates go higher.

Conflicts over land requisitions accounted for more than 65 percent of rural mass incidents, the China Economic Times reported earlier this year, citing survey data.

But most of these flare-ups are briefer and smaller than Wukan's, and do not attract the same international attention.

China's state-controlled media have reported sporadically on the protests, only citing official statements, and checks for "Wukan" on popular microblogging sites have been blocked, reflecting official wariness about spreading news about the confrontation.

Xue's eldest daughter Xue Jianwan, in an interview published this week by an online Hong Kong magazine, said there were signs of bruising and physical abuse on her father's body. Officials said doctors found the apparent bruising was caused by blood settling after his death, said the official Xinhua news agency.

The daughter, Jianwan, also said authorities refused initially to tell the family where her father had been taken, asking only later for his medical records.

(Additional reporting by Chris Buckley in Beijing and Lee Chyen Yee in Hong Kong)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111218/wl_nm/us_china_unrest_village

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The lunatic is in my head (Balloon Juice)

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Amazon selling over 1 million Kindles a week (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? Amazon.com Inc said on Thursday it is selling more than one million Kindle devices a week, an unusual disclosure from the largest Internet retailer that comes in the wake of some negative reviews of its new Kindle Fire tablet.

Amazon said customers are buying "well over" one million Kindles per week. This level of sales has occurred for three straight weeks, it added in a statement.

The sales numbers include the Kindle Fire tablet and all the versions of the Kindle e-reader. The company did not break out sales numbers for the Fire tablet alone.

However, Amazon executive Dave Limp said Kindle Fire sales increased week over week for each of the last three weeks.

Amazon previously said it sold "millions" of Kindles, but the company has never before given a sales number for a week, according to a spokeswoman.

The disclosure comes after a spate of negative reviews of the Kindle Fire that focused on issues such as slow response from the user interface and Web browser, the need for more privacy and child settings, and the lack of external volume control.

"The press release was very bullish and clearly a response to the few high-profile negative articles," said Ben Schachter, an analyst at Macquarie.

Amazon shares climbed 1.1 percent to $182.18 at mid-afternoon on Thursday. The stock fell to almost $170, its lowest level since March, on Wednesday.

Recent reviews and articles have been "overdone," partly because they often compare the $199 Kindle Fire to Apple Inc's iPad, which starts at $499, the analyst added.

"That's like comparing a $20,000 car with a $50,000 car," Schachter said. "These reviews certainly hurt because people read them. Will it work as well as the iPad? No."

Despite the negative coverage, Schachter is sticking to his forecast of about five million Kindle Fire sales in the fourth quarter.

Amazon said earlier this week that it plans a software upgrade to the Kindle Fire in coming weeks that will "improve performance, touch navigation, and give customers the option to choose what items display on the carousel."

The carousel refers to windows that appear on the home display of the Kindle Fire showing what applications ran most recently. Some users have complained that exposing what they last did with the device is a privacy problem.

"It's a new product that can be improved," Schachter said. "We don't think any of the problems discussed are deal breakers."

(Reporting by Alistair Barr; Editing by Gunna Dickson and Richard Chang)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/internet/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111215/tc_nm/us_amazon_kindle

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Video: Jon Corzine to Face More Questions

Insight on what Congress hopes to get out of Jon Corzine in his questioning on Capitol Hill today, with Rep. Randy Neugebauer, (R-TX).

Related Links:

Business & financial news headlines from msnbc.com

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/cnbc/45681587/

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Sniping pits old foes, new allies: France, Britain (AP)

PARIS ? France and Britain escalated an unusual bout of sniping Friday, as Prime Minister David Cameron took a swipe at religious freedoms in France while the French finance minister criticized the U.K. economy.

The latest cross-Channel squabbling ? triggered in part over a tense European Union summit last week ? bared efforts to win political points at home at a time when the financial crisis has pinched both governments.

The rabble-rousing also comes despite the lockstep military effort between the two countries in the NATO-led air campaign that helped spell the end of Moammar Gadhafi's longtime reign in Libya.

France and Britain, rivals for centuries, have been strong ? if at times uncomfortable ? allies since the 20th century. As western Europe's top military powers, they cooperate closely on defense and were joint pillars of the NATO-led air campaign that helped spell the end of Moammar Gadhafi's reign in Libya.

Friday's war of words got going as French Finance Minister Francois Baroin sought to deflect investor fears across the Channel to Britain, hours after the national statistics agency predicted France will slide into recession.

"We would prefer to be French right now than British, in terms of the economy," Baroin told Europe-1 radio.

Echoing comments from several top French officials this week, Baroin suggested ratings agencies should be paying more attention to Britain: "The economic situation of Britain is worrying today."

With French presidential and legislative elections on tap next spring, President Nicolas Sarkozy's conservatives have been on the defensive in recent weeks amid rumblings that France ? the eurozone's No. 2 economy after Germany ? may soon face a credit-rating downgrade.

Late Friday, Fitch ratings agency said it was keeping France's credit grade at Triple-A, but was revising its outlook on French sovereign debt to negative, from stable.

In Brussels last week, Cameron was the only European Union leader out of 27 to refuse to consider a new treaty that would impose tougher controls on state budgets to avert wider financial crisis. His decision left him isolated.

But in Britain, Cameron has been praised by many for his decision to hardball his European allies over their fiscal pact ? and some opinion polls show his governing Conservative Party winning a clear boost from the tough stance.

In a speech on religion in Oxford, Cameron appeared to take a swipe at France, switching focus from the economy to tolerance for minorities in the two countries. "Many people tell me it is much easier to be Jewish or Muslim here in Britain than it is in a secular country like France," Cameron said.

Britain's deputy prime minister Nick Clegg, leader of the pro-European Liberal Democrats who opposed Cameron's move to snub the European pact, urged French Prime Minister Francois Fillon to end the sniping from Paris.

During a trip to Brazil on Thursday, Fillon ? whose wife Penelope is Welsh ? acknowledged to reporters that France's debt was too high, before pointing to "our British friends who are even more indebted than we are."

"For the moment, the ratings agencies don't seem to notice," he said.

Clegg's office said Fillon had called him from Brazil to say that "it had not been his intention to call into question" Britain's credit rating.

Meanwhile, Clegg told Fillon that the recent remarks by some French officials about the British economy were "simply unacceptable and that steps should be taken to calm the rhetoric," the statement said.

Late Thursday, French statistics agency Insee forecast that the country's economy would shrink this quarter and next amid a worsening outlook for the whole 17-nation eurozone. Insee predicted the economy would contract 0.2 percent in the fourth quarter and 0.1 percent in the first quarter of 2012, and forecast renewed but weak growth in the second quarter.

___

David Stringer in London contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111216/ap_on_re_eu/eu_france_britain

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