Iran says it has laser-guided artillery shells

TEHRAN?? Iran said on Monday it had manufactured laser-guided artillery shells that were capable of spotting and hitting moving targets with a high degree of precision, state-run television reported.

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Iran does periodically unveil military advancements, but this latest report comes as tension between Iran and the West escalates over Iran's disputed nuclear program.

Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi hailed what he described as "intelligent munitions" as a new chapter in the country's weapons and military equipment.

"Besides America and Russia, there are only three other countries which have this technology," Vahidi was quoted as saying during the unveiling ceremony.

State television also showed footage of the shell, called Basir (insightful), being fired by an artillery piece. No more details were given in the report.?

Video: Nuclear inspectors go to Iran (on this page)

Also Monday, Iran's top diplomat offered to extend the current visit of U.N. nuclear inspectors and expressed optimism their findings would help ease tensions despite international claims that Iran is trying to build nuclear weapons.

The comments by Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi, reported by Iran's official news agency, underscored efforts to display cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency team and downplay the expectations of a confrontation atmosphere during the three-day visit that began Sunday.

The IAEA mission is the first to Iran since a report in November that suggested some of the Islamic Republic's alleged experiments ? cited in intelligence documents ? can have no other purpose than developing nuclear weapons. The current inspection team includes two senior weapons experts, hinting that Iran may be prepared to discuss specific points on the claims it seeks to develop warheads after three years of rebuffing U.N. calls for answers.

Salehi, attending an African summit in Ethiopia, repeated remarks that he was "optimistic about the results of the visit" without offering more details. He also told Turkish state television that the U.N. mission could be "extended if necessary," according to the official Islamic Republic News Agency.

The findings from the visit could greatly influence Western efforts to expand economic pressures on Iran over its uranium enrichment ? which Washington and allies fear could eventually produce weapons-grade material. Iran has declined to abandon its enrichment labs, but claims it seeks to fuel reactors only for energy and medical research.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46190610/ns/world_news-mideast_n_africa/

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Nevada officials: Luxor guests had Legionnaires'

LAS VEGAS (AP) ? Health officials in Las Vegas said Monday that the bacteria that causes Legionnaires' disease was found in water samples at the Luxor hotel-casino this month after a guest died of the form of pneumonia.

The Southern Nevada Health District said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention national surveillance program reported three cases in the past year of Luxor guests being diagnosed with the disease caused by Legionella bacteria.

The Las Vegas Strip resort's water was tested after the first two cases were reported during the spring of last year, but no Legionella bacteria was detected, district officials said. Those guests recovered.

Officials say the Luxor, owned by MGM Resorts International, immediately began a remediation process once the bacteria was found.

MGM Resorts spokesman Gordon Absher said treatment procedures include superheating and super-chlorination of the water system.

"We are confident in the integrity of our systems and the safety protocols we follow at all our hotels. Guest and employee safety is always a top priority at our company," Absher said. "Even before last summer, MGM Resorts led the industry with aggressive and stringent programs to control Legionella issues common to all large buildings."

Absher said the company's resorts regularly test for Legionella and treat water systems preventatively, before bacteria are detected.

The new cases come as the company is already facing a civil lawsuit from guests who said they were infected with Legionella at the Aria Resort & Casino, part of the CityCenter complex that is half-owned by MGM Resorts.

MGM Resorts notified guests that they might have been exposed to the bacteria between June 21 and July 4 after the district reported six cases of Legionnaires' disease in July. The district said those guests recovered after treatment.

Eight guests sued in August, seeking $337.5 million in damages from the resort and its builders. An MGM Resorts spokesman at the time denied negligence, saying hotel officials carefully communicated with its guests and reimbursed them fairly for legitimate medical expenses. The case is still pending in federal court in Las Vegas.

Most people who are exposed to the bacteria don't get sick, according to the CDC. Smokers, people over age 50 and those who have chronic lung disease or weak immune systems are most susceptible, the CDC said.

The bacteria isn't spread between people. It grows most often in warm water, infecting people when they breathe in mist or vapor that has been contaminated.

The disease takes its name from an outbreak at the Pennsylvania American Legion convention held at the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia in 1976.

___

Oskar Garcia can be reached at http://twitter.com/oskargarcia

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/bbd825583c8542898e6fa7d440b9febc/Article_2012-01-30-Legionnaires'%20Disease-Luxor/id-0a271db704234bffb00115e2bee3d30e

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Oh yeah! 'Ferris Bueller' Honda ad recreates film

Honda

As he did in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," Matthew Broderick sings on a float in a parade in the Honda CR-V Super Bowl ad.

By Gael Fashingbauer Cooper

In the 1986 hit film?"Ferris Bueller's Day Off," Ferris (Matthew Broderick) argues that he shouldn't have to study for a test on European socialism because "I'm not European, I don't plan on being European. So who gives a crap if they're socialists? They could be fascist anarchists, it still doesn't change the fact that I don't own a car."

He owns one now.

After a short tease?that buzzed around the Internet?last week, Honda has now released?its full?much-talked-about Ferris Bueller Super Bowl commercial, and Ferris fans are in luck. The two-and-a-half-minute long ad does a fine job of recreating the day off Ferris and pals shared in Chicago, just transported to Los Angeles.

Broderick, in a luxurious hotel room, calls in sick to whatever movie he's filming, and heads out on the town. Many of the famous quotes from the film are revisited here, with a hotel valet calling out "Broderick ... Broderick" instead of economics?teacher Ben Stein droning "Bueller ... Bueller" in the film.

His day of adventure lacks pals Cameron and Sloane (come on, were Alan Ruck and Mia Sara that busy?), and he's driving a Honda CR-V instead of the famous red Ferrari, but many of the activities mirror those from the movie. He's seen cheering in the stands (and is almost spotted by his boss, the obvious Ed Rooney fill-in), but at a racetrack, not a Cubs game. He pauses and contemplates museum exhibits, but at the Natural History Museum, not the Art Institute of Chicago. (Note that he stares down a walrus, which seems like a tie-in to his movie quote "I could be the walrus, I'd still have to bum rides off people.") He joins a parade and sings on a float, but it's a Chinatown parade, not the German-American Von Steuben Day parade from the movie.

Other scenes from the movie are recreated too -- including the one where he's almost spotted while driving, and only a quick?seat changeover saves him.

Fans will see plenty of other homage moments, including the boogeying construction workers at the parade, the CR-V's license plate, the valet who makes off with the car, the "Oh Yeah" song by Yello, the famed "life moves pretty fast" line, and even Ferris' reappearance after the ad appears to be over. Savvy listeners will also hear what sounds to us like the voice of Broderick's wife, Sarah Jessica Parker, in one scene.

{"contentId":"10271026","totalVotes":"3997"}

What's your favorite moment from the ad?

Honda promises more than two dozen references to the movie in the ad, and says "some are obvious, some are VERY subtle," and encourages readers to tweet their finds with the Twitter hashtag #dayoff.

Some fans are excited to see the homage to the movie, but others are disappointed because they thought the teaser hinted at a "Ferris" big-screen sequel.?Until that happens (and really, could it be anything but a disappointment?), this is the best we got. He's still a righteous dude.

The ad will air during the Super Bowl on Sunday, Feb. 5. on NBC.

What movie moments did you find recreated in the ad? Tell us on Facebook.

Related content:

Car switcheroo at spotlight	? 22.6% (905 votes)
Broderick tells audience to leave after ad appears to be over	? 14.6% (585 votes)
Singing on parade float	? 13.9% (557 votes)
No favorite moment, it just wasn't that great	? 12.6% (503 votes)
The fake sick phone call	? 11.8% (471 votes)
"Broderick ... Broderick"	? 8.9% (355 votes)
Valet steals car	? 7.2% (288 votes)
Other	? 4.9% (195 votes)
Broderick almost spotted on TV screen	? 3.5% (138 votes)

Source: http://theclicker.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/30/10271026-oh-yeah-ferris-bueller-honda-ad-recreates-film

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Video: America?s heartland welcomes home troops

>>> as the last american troops left iraq late last year, we saw a lot of heart warming gatherings at airports and military bases across the country. but what we didn't see were the big ticker tape parades like they used to do at the end of a war. but two friends from st . louis decided to change that. starting a grass roots campaign on facebook and it culminated today with a rousing welcome home . here's nbc's john yang .

>> reporter: today america's heartland answered the call. st . louis held the nation's first parade to mark the end of the nine-year u.s. military mission in iraq . new york city said there won't be a parade any time soon like the one after the first gulf war in 1991 . pentagon officials say it would be premature with troops still in afghanistan. but in st . louis, friends tom appelbaum and craig schneider disagreed.

>> there was this like national conversation in the media about should we or shouldn't we have a parade for the iraq vets, and that was like the first thing, like, well, that's silly. of course they deserve a parade.

>> that was less than a month ago. they started a facebook page and harnessed the power of social media .

>> we didn't do this. we put up a call for help . at first the city rallied and then the country rallied.

>> reporter: tens of thousands lined the main thoroughfare to salute hundreds of thousands from across the country. it had a home spun feel. from the crowd, heart felt thanks.

>> i think you need to say thank you to the people protecting our country.

>> reporter: service members were grateful too.

>> it's something we'd like to see for everybody to remember the sacrifices.

>> reporter: for those who lost loved ones it was a bittersweet day. edward forrest sr.'s son died during his third tour of duty in iraq .

>> eddie's parade. that's what i call this.

>> reporter: more than marking the service members' return organizers hope today will focus attention on the groups serving their need now that they're back home. this man lost both his legs when his army humvee hit an ied and he got a segue while in rehab.

>> to take the trash out felt good.

>> reporter: and rick radford has flown home after serving in iraq .

>> you can drop me in any city in the united states , because i was home.

>> reporter: today he was touched by the outpouring of his hometown.

>> completely overwhelmed.

>> reporter: john yang , nbc news, st .

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nightly-news/46176625/

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MOTU sneaks in MicroBook II post-NAMM, ships this Spring for $269

Looking to add some muscle to your mobile recording kit? MOTU waited to pull the curtain back on the MicroBook II until after NAMM, revealing a revamped portable audio interface for those who fancy tracking on-the-go. The studio-quality kit plays nice with both Mac and PC, offering a compact 4-input / 6-output, bus-powered recording option with 96kHz recording and playback support. Sporting inputs for mics (XLR), guitar, keyboard and powered speakers, the MicroBook II connects to your computer of choice via USB 2.0 and boasts on-board volume controls. All four inputs can be recorded simultaneously while internal CueMix tech allows for a unique stereo mix for each output pair. Speaking of outputs, the dimunuative box houses six of said channels alongside TRS 1/4-inch, stereo mini, S/PDIF, and 1/4-inch headphone offerings. You'll have to wait until Spring to snag one, but for now hit the PR after the break for a full list of specs.

Continue reading MOTU sneaks in MicroBook II post-NAMM, ships this Spring for $269

MOTU sneaks in MicroBook II post-NAMM, ships this Spring for $269 originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 28 Jan 2012 12:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fitch downgrades credit ratings for 5 EU nations (AP)

LONDON ? U.S. ratings agency Fitch says it is downgrading the credit ratings for five European nations including leading economic heavyweights Italy and Spain.

The agency on Friday lowered credit ratings for the five nations by one notch and placed a negative outlook on all of them, as well as on Ireland. Those nations downgraded included Belgium, Cyprus, Italy, Slovenia and Spain.

Italy went down to A- credit rating while Spain was downgraded to A. Ireland's BBB+ rating was affirmed but it also received a negative outlook.

Fitch Ratings blamed the revisions on "the marked deterioration in the economic outlook" in Europe and "the absence of a credible financial firewall against contagion and self-fulfilling liquidity crises."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/eurobiz/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120127/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_europe_credit_ratings

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Newt Gingrich 2012: Republican Insiders Rise Up To Cut Candidate Down To Size

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Republican insiders are rising up to cut Newt Gingrich down to size, testament to the GOP establishment's fear that the mercurial candidate could lead the party to disaster this fall.

The gathering criticisms are bitingly sharp, as if edged by a touch of panic, a remarkable development considering the target once was speaker of the House and will go down in history as leader of the Republicans' 1994 return to power in Congress. The intended beneficiary is Mitt Romney, a once-moderate Massachusetts governor whom many rank-and-file Republicans view with suspicion.

"The Republican establishment might not be wild about Mitt Romney, but they're terrified by Newt Gingrich," said Dan Schnur, a former GOP campaign strategist who teaches politics at the University of Southern California.

The anti-Gingrich statements have come from conservative columnists, talk show hosts including Ann Coulter, former Reagan administration officials and others. One of the harshest was written by former Sen. Bob Dole, the party's 1996 presidential nominee.

"I have not been critical of Newt Gingrich but it is now time to take a stand before it is too late," Dole wrote in the conservative magazine National Review. "If Gingrich is the nominee it will have an adverse impact on Republican candidates running for county, state, and federal offices."

As speaker from 1995 through 1998, Gingrich "had a new idea every minute and most of them were off the wall," Dole wrote. He said he struggled against Democrats' TV attacks in his 1996 campaign, "and in every one of them, Newt was in the ad."

Gingrich has reacted unevenly to the accusations, sometimes denouncing them, other times wearing them like a badge of honor.

"The Republican establishment is just as much as an establishment as the Democratic establishment, and they are just as determined to stop us," he told a tea party rally Thursday in central Florida.

The crowd cheered. But lingering near the back was an example of how the Romney campaign is taking advantage of the whacks at Gingrich: GOP Rep. Jason Chaffetz of Utah. Chaffetz is beloved by many conservatives, and he goes from one Gingrich event to another to tell reporters why he thinks Romney would be a stronger challenger against President Barack Obama in the fall.

Gingrich aide R.C. Hammond confronted Chaffetz on Friday at an event in Delray, Fla., noting that some Republican officials criticize such shadowing tactics. Chaffetz defended his presence, saying Gingrich has vowed to show up everywhere Obama campaigns this fall, if several hours later.

Romney has drawn other high-ranking surrogates, with mixed results. South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley annoyed some of her tea party supporters when she campaigned throughout her state for Romney, who lost to Gingrich by 12 percentage points.

It's unclear whether the anti-Gingrich push is driving a new wedge between establishment Republicans and anti-establishment insurgents such as the tea partyers.

"We don't like the Republican establishment anyway," said Mark Meckler, a Californian and co-founder of Tea Party Patriots. He said tea partyers are heavily focused on state and local races, and are wary of getting drawn into the presidential quarrels.

After all, Meckler said, "it's not as though Newt Gingrich hasn't been part of the Republican establishment."

Many other conservative activists also noted Gingrich's long history as a Washington insider, including 20 years in Congress and 13 as a well-paid consultant, writer and Fox News commentator. His history complicates his efforts to rally angry, working-class Republicans who feel that an "elite" cadre of officials, journalists and others look down on them.

"He's in one sense attacking the establishment he says he helped lead," said John Feehery, a former top House GOP aide who contends the tea party's influence is often overstated. The chief complaints about Gingrich focus more on his personality than his politics, which are hard to nail down, Feehery said.

The most damaging criticisms have come from former friends and colleagues who worked closely with him in Congress. It's Gingrich's egotistic behavior, more than ideology, that is driving the attacks, Feehery said.

Among those defending Gingrich are Sarah Palin, the 2008 vice presidential nominee who is admired by many tea partyers.

"Look at Newt Gingrich, what's going on with him via the establishment's attacks," Palin said this week on Fox Business Network. "They're trying to crucify this man and rewrite history and rewrite what it is that he has stood for all these years."

Palin and Rep. Michele Bachmann, who dropped out of the presidential race, are tea party favorites with minimal experience in Washington and in top GOP circles. Gingrich is trying to tap the sense of resentment among their followers. But his long and complicated Washington record and reputation for intra-party quarrels seem to leave some tea partyers unimpressed.

"It's truly a shame that this is where the Republican establishment has chosen to focus their energy," said Marianne Gasiecki, a tea party activist in Ohio. She added, however, that political activists should focus on congressional races. "If we have a conservative House and Senate," she said, "the power of the president is really insignificant."

As Gingrich's broadcast ads in Florida become more pointed, prominent Republicans are chiding him without endorsing Romney or any other candidates. Gingrich stopped running a radio ad that called Romney anti-immigrant after Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said it was unfair and damaging to the party.

So long as party insiders' complaints about Gingrich focus on his personality and quirks, the GOP can postpone a more wrenching debate about ideology, which may be in store if the once-moderate Romney is nominated. For now, conservative stalwarts seem determined to depict Gingrich as too erratic to be the party's standard bearer, let alone president.

Columnist Charles Krauthammer told Fox News: "Gingrich isn't after victory, he's after vengeance." He added: "This is Captain Ahab on the loose."

Some Republican voters are pushing back. "I want so badly to be for Gingrich, and I'm not going to be bullied out of my vote," said Barb Johnson, 52, who attended the tea party rally in Mount Dora, Fla., on Thursday. "I like his strong presence."

Florida's primary is Tuesday.

___

Associated Press writer Brian Bakst contributed to this report from Delray, Fla.

Also on HuffPost:

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/28/newt-gingrich_n_1239109.html

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Gay actors still worry that coming out will hurt careers (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES, Jan 26 (TheWrap.com) ? There's still a celluloid closet in Hollywood.

Gay actors are far more open about their sexuality with friends and co-workers, than their agents, according to a new survey by the British trade union Equity.

Only 57 percent say that they are openly gay with their agents. Despite the success of gay and lesbian actors like Neil Patrick Harris, Jane Lynch and Ian McKellen, the indication seems to be that actors and actresses fear that their choice of roles will be affected if they come out of the closet publicly.

Rupert Everett, once eager to become the next James Bond, has for years spoken frankly the price he's paid for being openly gay, lambasting Hollywood as "very, very conservative" in a late 2010 interview.

He said that he didn't blame those who chose to remain in the closet, calling it "very sensible."

McKellen, Lynch, Harris and others have made great strides for the gay community and frequently play straight people on television and in movies, but there are no A-list film stars who are openly gay. Rumors have swirled for years about the sexuality of major stars such as Jodie Foster, but so far the actress has avoided any explicit public declarations.

At this year's Golden Globe awards, host Ricky Gervais riffed on the those rumors, and the title of Foster's recent film, "The Beaver."

"I haven't seen it myself," Gervais said. 'I've spoken to a lot of guys -- they haven't seen it either, but that doesn't mean it's not good."

Beyond a reticence to broadcast their sexuality, 35 percent the actors surveyed said they have experienced homophobia in their professional lives.

"I have never felt that being gay has worked against me but the finding in Equity's own survey that just under half of all gay performers are not out to their agent in the U.K. is worrying," Malcolm Sinclair, actor and president of Equity, said in a statement. "But then work is scarce and, whether sexuality is a barrier or not, people may just err on the side of caution. They don't want to test the water to see if it's all right."

The same anxiety does not appear to exist among co-workers. Ninety four percent of those polled said they are honest about their sexuality with their fellow performers and 81 percent were out in their professional lives.

(Editing By Zorianna Kit)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/movies/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120126/en_nm/us_gayactors

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President Obama?s class-warfare speech-Charles Gasparino - NYPOST.com

Three years after the Hope and Change president took office, Hope turns out to mean high taxes and lots of regulations, and Change consists of celebrating the government?s takeover of General Motors and belittling technological progress that destroys some jobs even as it creates others. The Great Uniter is all about class warfare.

Such was President Obama?s latest State of the Union Address.

At times during the speech Tuesday night, it was hard to hold a straight face. Here he was, telling us first how bad things are because of vast income inequalities that he wants to address through higher taxes on the rich, but also how much better things have been since he?s been elected, with 3 million jobs created in the last 22 months.

AP

Contradictions flying fast: Obama talks of cutting small-biz taxes ? and also raising them.

Huh? The jobs that were created came after the Republicans began to thwart his push for a huge tax hike like the one he?s still touting.

The contradictions flew hard and fast. The president wants more domestic-energy production, he says ? less than a week after he blocked the Keystone oil pipeline. He basically called for a trade war with China, even though he needs Beijing to help finance his endless spending.

He talked about expanding ?tax relief? for small businesses, which create many jobs during most normal economic recoveries. But he also called for higher tax rates on those same small businesses ? though he relabeled them ?millionaires? ? ignoring the fact that as small businesses, they file their taxes under the individual income-tax code.

His plan to tax small businesses is called the Buffett Rule, named after the president?s (and the media?s) favorite fat-cat investor, Warren Buffett. But Buffett made his billions feasting off of low taxes on capital gains ? and so avoiding the income-tax code.

Obama calls his economic plans ?common sense,? but wouldn?t it make more sense to offer that 15 percent tax rate (which helped Buffett become so successful) to small businesses, so they could expand and hire?

It?s said economics has never been Obama?s strong suit. Maybe that?s why he let left-wingers like Valerie Jarrett and David Plouffe chase away Bill Daley, Larry Summers and the other best economic minds in his administration.

Possibly the lowest point of the speech was the president?s portrayal of America as a nation of rigid classes, rather than a place to which millions of immigrants flock for opportunity, even during these tough times.

It?s one thing to beat up on the big banks that caused the financial crisis; it?s another to hammer any family that earns a combined income of $250,000 a year as ?millionaires,? pretending they didn?t work for their success and thus ought to pay the government more hard-earned money.

Will the great-uniter-turned-divider strategy work? The weak Republican field helps. Mitt Romney, once the GOP front-runner, offers nonsensical answers to questions about his years in private equity and how he accumulated his massive wealth. Newt Gingrich has surged largely by attacking Romney?s success.

But America is not (yet) Europe. People here still aspire to be rich more than they hate success, no matter how many times the media extols the virtues of Occupy Wall Street and its attacks on the 1 percent.

Plus, Obama is clearly alienating former supporters in the business community, like JP Morgan chief Jamie Dimon ? who has the distinction of running a bank that stayed away from the risk-taking that doomed the rest of the business.

Dimon, a life-long Democrat, backed Obama strongly in 2008, but now is undecided. He?s not crazy about the GOP?s right wing, but he also notes that he?s now ?barely a Democrat, because I think the left side of the party is really destructive.?

Too bad Obama doesn?t agree.

Have a comment on this PostOpinion column? Send it in to LETTERS@NYPOST.COM!

Source: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/adding_up_to_nothing_8K1eBN3afYXNELupfK8tRL

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HBT: Tigers' Cabrera looks amazingly fit

I share Aaron?s dubiousness about Miguel Cabrera playing third base for the Tigers. ?And I laughed during the Prince Fielder press conference when Fielder said this:

?I?m confident in Miguel doing a good job. That?s where he started out, at third base.?

Which is why Chipper Jones will be playing shortstop for the Braves, Jim Thome will be playing third base for the Phillies and Rick Ankiel will be the opening day starter for the Nationals.

But maybe we shouldn?t mock. ?During that press conference, Jim Leyland made an allusion to Miguel Caberea losing weight and being just fine at third base. ?Then a recent picture of Miguel Cabrera ? courtesy of his personal trainer Radhi Muhammad of 4.40 Fitness and Athlete Development?? was forwarded to me. ?Check this out:

Mercy me. Two tickets to the gun show, please!

I have no idea if that translates to better-than-expected play at third base. But I?m just sayin?, maybe we need to revise this whole ?the Tigers infield is fat? thing. Because it doesn?t seem to apply to Miguel Cabrera at the moment.

Source: http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/01/26/miguel-cabrera-is-in-the-best-shape-of-his-life/related/

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Iran says sanctions to fail, repeats Hormuz threat (Reuters)

TEHRAN (Reuters) ? Iranian politicians said on Tuesday they expected the European Union to backtrack on its oil embargo and repeated a threat to close the vital Strait of Hormuz shipping lane if the West succeeds in preventing Tehran from exporting crude.

A day after the EU slapped a ban on Iranian oil, Iran's tone appeared defiant, even skeptical, with Tehran insisting that, with the EU faced with its own economic crisis, it needs Iran's oil more than Iran needs its business.

The ban is expected to take full effect within six months.

"The West's ineffective sanctions against the Islamic state are not a threat to us. They are opportunities and have already brought lots of benefits to the country," Intelligence Minister Heydar Moslehi told the official IRNA news agency.

Speaking in London, Saudi Arabia's ambassador to Britain Prince Mohammad Bin Nawaf said the region was witnessing "a very difficult and a very tense situation".

"We are seeing every day an escalation in the rhetoric and this definitely does not help in stabilizing the area," he told a briefing.

"I think the next couple of weeks will be very critical for the whole region. Hopefully, Iran will adhere to the proposals presented to them."

He said Iran's threats to block the strait of Hormuz would have grave consequences on the Islamic Republic and the region.

"It will be very difficult to maintain such a blockade against the export of oil but the ramifications of such a decision would be very grave and definitely would escalate the whole situation and God knows where it would lead.

"Definitely the Iranians will pay a very heavy price if they gamble and take such a decision," the Saudi envoy said.

The EU wants to press Iran into curbing its contested nuclear program and engage in talks with six world powers.

"The global economic situation is not one in which a country can be destroyed by imposing sanctions," Moslehi said.

A spokesman for the oil ministry said Iran had had plenty of time to prepare for the sanctions and would find alternative customers for the 18 percent of its exports that up to now have gone to the 27-nation European bloc.

"The first phase of this (sanctions action) is propaganda, only then it will enter the implementation phase. That is why they put in this six months period, to study the market," Alireza Nikzad Rahbar said, predicting the embargo could be rescinded before it takes force completely.

"This market will harm them because oil is getting more expensive and when oil gets more expensive it will harm the people of Europe," state TV quoted him as saying. "We hope that in these six months they will choose the right path."

EMBARGO PLANS

The embargo will not kick in completely until July 1 because the bloc's foreign ministers who agreed the ban at a meeting in Brussels were anxious not to penalize the ailing economies of Greece, Italy and others to whom Iran is a major oil supplier.

The strategy will be reviewed in May to see if it should proceed.

Iran, which denies international suspicions that it is trying to design atomic bombs behind the facade of a declared civilian atomic energy program, has scoffed at efforts to bar its oil exports as Asia lines up to buy what Europe rejects.

Iran's foreign ministry summoned the Danish ambassador on Tuesday to complain about the EU's "illogical decision", accusing Europe of doing the bidding of the United States.

Emad Hosseini, spokesman for parliament's energy committee, said that if Iran encountered any problem selling its oil, it would store it, adding Tehran retained its threat to shut the Gulf to shipping.

The United States, which sailed an aircraft carrier through the strait into the Gulf accompanied by British and French warships on Sunday, has said it would not tolerate the closure of the world's most important oil shipping gateway.

Fitch Ratings issued an assessment of the embargo's market impact saying it would likely cause an oil price increase.

"However, prices may not necessarily increase markedly from current levels as some of the risks related to the EU ban on Iranian oil appear factored in already," it said.

The embargo decision had no discernible impact on oil prices as it was a move that had been flagged well in advance and the threat to close Hormuz seemed remote. Brent crude down slightly at $110 per barrel on Tuesday.

U.S. President Barack Obama said on Monday that the EU sanctions underlined the strength of the international community's commitment to "addressing the serious threat" presented by Iran's nuclear program.

"The United States will continue to impose new sanctions to increase the pressure on Iran," he said in a statement.

Washington applied its own sanctions to Iran's oil trade and central bank on December 31 and on Monday extended them to the third largest Iranian bank, state-owned Bank Tejarat, and a Belarus-based affiliate for allegedly helping Tehran's nuclear advance.

The EU sanctions were also welcomed by Israel, which has warned it might attack Iran if sanctions do not deflect Tehran from a course that some analysts say could potentially give Iran the means to build a nuclear bomb next year.

(Additional reporting by Samia Nakhoul in London)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iran/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120124/wl_nm/us_iran

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NC man who ran tortuous Afghan jail dies (AP)

RALEIGH, N.C. ? Jonathan "Jack" Idema, a former Green Beret from North Carolina convicted of running a private jail in Afghanistan where he tortured terrorism suspects, has died. He was 55.

The director-general of police in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo, Arturo Olivares Mendiola, said Idema died of AIDS on Saturday. No one has shown up to claim his body from the medical examiner's office, Mendiola said.

Idema had moved to Mexico at some point after being released from prison in Afghanistan in 2007, when he was pardoned by President Hamid Karzai as part of a general amnesty.

A native of Poughkeepsie, N.Y., Idema joined the Army in 1975 and was an active duty Special Forces soldier until 1978. He eventually settled in Fayetteville and began a long series of bizarre and sometimes criminal misadventures while pursuing the national spotlight.

Idema was, among other things, a plaintiff in numerous unsuccessful lawsuits, including one against filmmaker Stephen Spielberg, who Idema claimed stole his life story for a movie. He also spent three years in jail in the 1980s after being convicted of a fraud charge.

"He had charisma," Penny Alesi, a former girlfriend, told The Fayetteville Observer. "He was funny. He was smart ? oh, my God, smart and well-read, but toxic. Truthfully, he was a sociopath."

Following the terrorist attacks of 9/11, Idema traveled to Afghanistan, claiming he was close to catching Osama bin Laden. His claims led to his being featured in several books and television programs.

In 2004, he returned to the country along with another former Fayetteville soldier and a freelance videographer. They ran a private jail in which terrorism suspects were tortured for information. Although convicted of the offenses, Idema denied them in a 2004 interview with The Associated Press.

"Nobody was hung upside down. Nobody was burned with cigarette butts ... nobody was beaten, nobody was tortured, nobody had boiling water poured on them," he said. "Did we interrogate people? Absolutely. Did we keep them up with sleep deprivation? Absolutely."

The two other Americans were released from prison before Idema. He claimed that his operation was conceived with the knowledge and support of American and Afghan military authorities, which they denied, saying any connection was entirely in his imagination.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/terrorism/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120125/ap_on_re_us/us_obit_idema

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Tracy Morgan of '30 Rock' collapses at Sundance (AP)

PARK CITY, Utah ? The publicist for comedian and "30 Rock" cast member Tracy Morgan says the actor suffered from a combination of exhaustion and altitude when he collapsed at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah.

Publicist Lewis Kay says Morgan is grateful to the medical center staff for their care Sunday in Park City, where the elevation is 7,000 feet.

Morgan was escorted from the Creative Coalition Spotlight Awards ceremony Sunday night at the festival.

Kay says Morgan is seeking medical attention and is with his fiancee. He says hospital officials report no drugs or alcohol were found in Morgan's system.

Morgan is attending Sundance in connection with the comedy film "Predisposed," one of the 100 films at the festival, in which he plays a drug dealer named Sprinkles.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/music/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120123/ap_en_mu/us_film_sundance_tracy_morgan

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Source: http://gamingeverything.com/14286/european-metal-gear-solid-hd-collection-trailer/

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Nook Simple Touch gets USB host mode support via hack, plays nice with low-power devices (video)

Codemonkeys exhibiting the kindness of strangers? Why, yes, this is such a tale. When XDA Developers member verygreen came across the pleas of one user obsessed with attaching an external USB keyboard to an eReader, he did what any decent hacker would and created a workable solution. Using a loaned Nook Simple Touch, this self-styled Make-A-Wish Hack was able to patch Barnes & Noble's existing kernel, which already supported USB host mode, and send commands over ADB to enable the connection. It's not a foolproof workaround, though, as only low-power devices will function without additional juice and even so, at a great cost to the greyscale device's battery life. Sure, this may not excite you much, but it's certainly made for one very satisfied forum dweller out there in cyberland. After all, isn't that what haxxors are for?

Continue reading Nook Simple Touch gets USB host mode support via hack, plays nice with low-power devices (video)

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Ship search finds 12th body, captain's documents

An Italian fireman descends from an helicopter to the grounded cruise ship Costa Concordia off the Tuscan island of Giglio, Italy, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012. The cruise captain who grounded the Costa Concordia off the Tuscan coast with 4,200 people on board did not relay correct information either to the company or crew after the ship hit rocks, the cruise ship owner's CEO said as the search resumed for 21 missing passengers. (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito)

An Italian fireman descends from an helicopter to the grounded cruise ship Costa Concordia off the Tuscan island of Giglio, Italy, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012. The cruise captain who grounded the Costa Concordia off the Tuscan coast with 4,200 people on board did not relay correct information either to the company or crew after the ship hit rocks, the cruise ship owner's CEO said as the search resumed for 21 missing passengers. (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito)

A woman checks if her clothes are dry as the grounded cruise ship Costa Concordia is seen in background, off the Tuscan island of Giglio, Italy, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012. The cruise captain, Capt. Francesco Schettino, who grounded the Costa Concordia off the Tuscan coast with 4,200 people on board did not relay correct information either to the company or crew after the ship hit rocks, the cruise ship owner's CEO said as the search resumed for 21 missing passengers. (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito)

The grounded cruise ship Costa Concordia lays off the Tuscan island of Giglio, Italy, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012. The cruise captain who grounded the Costa Concordia off the Tuscan coast with 4,200 people on board did not relay correct information either to the company or crew after the ship hit rocks, the cruise ship owner's CEO said as the search resumed for 21 missing passengers. (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito)

An Italian Coast Guard boat patrols the area around the grounded cruise ship Costa Concordia off the Tuscan island of Giglio, Italy, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012. The cruise captain who grounded the Costa Concordia off the Tuscan coast with 4,200 people on board did not relay correct information either to the company or crew after the ship hit rocks, the cruise ship owner's CEO said as the search resumed for 21 missing passengers. (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito)

Fuel spilling experts work on the grounded cruise ship Costa Concordia off the Tuscan island of Giglio, Italy, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012. The cruise captain who grounded the Costa Concordia off the Tuscan coast with 4,200 people on board did not relay correct information either to the company or crew after the ship hit rocks, the cruise ship owner's CEO said as the search resumed for 21 missing passengers. (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito)

GIGLIO, Italy (AP) ? Divers plumbing the capsized Costa Concordia's murky depths pulled out the body of a woman in a life vest Saturday, while scuba-diving police swam through the captain's cabin to retrieve a safe and documents belonging to the man who abandoned the cruise liner after it was gashed by a rocky reef on the Tuscan coast.

Hoping for a miracle ? or at least for the recovery of bodies from the ship that has become an underwater tomb ? relatives of some of the 20 missing appealed to survivors of the Jan. 13 shipwreck to offer details that could help divers reach loved ones while it is still possible to search the luxury liner. The clock is ticking because the craft is perched precariously on a rocky ledge of seabed near Giglio island.

"We are asking the 4,000 persons who were on board to give any information they can about any of the persons still missing," said Alain Litzler, a Frenchman who is the father of missing passenger Mylene Litzler. "We need precise information to help the search and rescue teams find them."

The death toll rose to at least 12 Saturday after a water-logged body was extracted from a passageway near a gathering point for evacuation by lifeboats in the rear of the vessel, Coast Guard Cmdr. Filippo Marini said. It was not immediately clear if the woman was a passenger or crew member. A female Peruvian bartender and several adult female passengers were among the 21 people listed as missing before the latest corpse was found.

Relatives of the bartender and of an Indian crewman, along with two children of an elderly couple from Minnesota who are among the missing, boarded a boat Saturday to view the wrecked Concordia Saturday, said a maritime official, Fabrizio Palombo.

Family members tossed flowers near the site while islanders standing on the rocky edge of the island also strew bouquets on the water in a tribute to the victims.

Another Coast Guard official, Cosimo Nicastro, said the woman's body was found during a particularly risky inspection.

"The corridor was very narrow, and the divers' lines risked snagging" on furniture and objects floating in the passageway, Nicastro said. To help the coast guard divers reach the area, Italian navy divers had preceded them, setting off charges to blast holes for easier entrance and exit.

Meanwhile, police divers, carrying out orders from prosecutors investigating Captain Francesco Schettino for suspected manslaughter and abandoning the ship, swam through the cold, dark waters to reach his cabin. State TV and the Italian news agency ANSA reported that the divers located and remove his safe and two suitcases. His passport and several documents were also pulled out, state media said.

Searchers inspecting the bridge Saturday also found a hard disk containing data of the voyage, Sky TG24 TV reported.

Three bodies were found in waters around the ship in the first hours after the accident. Since then, divers have gone inside the Concordia to recover all the reamining victims, who were apparently unable to escape the lurching ship during a chaotic evacuation launched almost an hour after the liner hit a reef.

Some survivors who couldn't board lifeboats waited for hours aboard the capsizing craft for rescue by helicopters while others jumped into the water and swam to safety.

The last survivor, found aboard 36 hours after the crash, was an Italian crewman who broke his leg in the confusion and couldn't leave the ship.

The Concordia hit the reef, well-marked on maritime and even tourist maps, while most of the passengers sat down to dinner in the main restaurant, about two hours after the ship had set sail from the port of Civitavecchia on the Tyrrhenian Sea.

Costa Crociere, the ship's operator and subsidiary of U.S.-based Carnival Cruise Lines, has said the captain had deviated without permission from the vessel's route in an apparent maneuver to sail close to the island of Giglio and impress passengers.

Schettino, despite audiotapes of his defying Coast Guard orders to scramble back aboard, has denied he abandoned ship while hundreds of passengers were desperately trying to get off the capsizing vessel. He hs said he coordinated the rescue from aboard a lifeboat and then from the shore.

The effort to find survivors and bodies has postponed an operation to remove heavy fuel in the Concordia's tanks; specialized equipment has been standing by for days.

Light fuel, apparently from machinery aboard the capsized ship, was spotted in nearby waters, authorities said Saturday.

But Nicastro said there was no indication that any of the nearly 500,000 gallons (2,200 metric tons) of heavy fuel oil has leaked from the ship's double-bottomed tanks, seen as a risk if the ship's position changes. He said the leaked substance appears to be diesel, which is used to fuel rescue boats and dinghies and as a lubricant for ship machinery.

There are 185 tons of diesel and lubricants on board the crippled vessel, which is lying on its side just outside Giglio's port. Nicastro described the fuel in the sea as "very light, very superficial" and appearing to be under control.

But an official leading rescue, search and anti-pollution efforts for the ship suggested that the luxury liner would have leaked contaminants on board when it tipped over.

"We must not forget that on that ship there are oils, solvents, detergents, everything that a city of 4,000 people needs," Franco Gabrielli, the head of Italy's civil protection agency, told reporters in Giglio.

Gabrielli was referring to the roughly 3,200 passengers and 1,000 crew who were aboard the cruise liner when it ran into the reef and, with seawater rushing into a 230-foot (70-meter) gash in its hull, listed and fell onto its side. "Contamination of the environment, ladies and gentlemen, already occurred" when the liner capsized, Gabrelli said.

Vessels equipped with machinery to suck out the light fuel oil were in the area. Earlier on Saturday, crews removed oil-absorbing booms used to prevent environmental damage in case of a leak. Originally white, the booms were grayish.

Schettino, is under house arrest for investigation of alleged manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning the ship before all were evacuated.

The search had been suspended Friday after the Concordia shifted, prompting fears the ship could roll off a rocky ledge of sea bed and plunge deeper into the pristine waters around Giglio, part of a seven-island Tuscan archipelago.

___

D'Emilio reported from Rome. Colleen Barry contributed from Milan and Andrea Foa from Giglio.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-01-21-Italy-Cruise%20Aground/id-568050706f794e66ba8879faa0af65ff

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Former kidnapping victim Elizabeth Smart is engaged

By msnbc.com staff and news services

Kristin Murphy / AP file

Elizabeth Smart. (AP Photo/Deseret News, Kristin Murphy)

?

Elizabeth Smart, the Utah woman who was kidnapped at age 14 and?held captive for nine months,?is engaged, a spokesman?said Friday.

The 24-year-old Smart accepted the proposal last weekend and?plans to?marry this year.

No details about the groom-to-be were disclosed and Smart plans to keep her personal life private, Thomas said.

According to the Salt Lake Tribune, wedding registries online at Williams-Sonoma and Pottery Barn list an April 7 wedding date for an Elizabeth Smart and Matthew Gilmour in Utah.

Smart's father, Ed Smart, told The Associated Press his future son-in-law is a "fine young man." He said he was pleased for his daughter and hopes she will have a happy life.??

Thomas told the Tribune that Smart plans to continue her public advocacy work.

"She is going to be involved in child advocacy work for a long, long time and really decided that she wants to keep her husband and [future] children out of the public spotlight."

Smart, who is of Mormon faith, completed her mission in France last year.

'Nine months of hell'
Onetime itinerant street preacher Brian David Mitchell was convicted in 2010 of Smart's 2001 kidnapping and sexual assault. He's serving a life prison sentence.

Smart had described her heartbreaking ordeal during Mitchell's trial as "nine months of hell."

Smart was 14 when she was abducted from the bedroom of her family home in Salt Lake City. She had testified in excruciating detail during Mitchell's trial about waking up in the early hours of June 5, 2002, to the feel of a?cold knife at her throat and being whisked away by Mitchell to his camp in the foothills near the Smart family home.

Within hours of the kidnapping, she testified, she was stripped of her favorite red pajamas, draped in white, religious robes and forced into a polygamous marriage with Mitchell. She was tethered to a metal cable strung between two trees and subjected to near-daily rapes while being forced to use alcohol and drugs.

She?said she was?forced to live homeless, dress in disguises and stay quiet or lie about her identity if ever approached by strangers or police. Daily, her life and those of her family members were threatened by Mitchell, she has said.

A jury earlier unanimously convicted the 57-year-old Mitchell in December 2010 of kidnapping and unlawful transportation of a minor across state lines for sex.

Wanda Barzee, Mitchell's estranged wife and a co-defendant in the case, is already serving a 15-year sentence in a federal prison hospital in Texas for her role in the kidnapping.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Source: http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/20/10201087-former-utah-kidnapping-victim-elizabeth-smart-gets-engaged

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Spice Girls Getting Back Together for London Olympics?

The Spice Girls might be reuniting for their biggest performance yet! The hit '90s band is rumored to be in talks to get back together for a musical appearance at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

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Video: The countdown to South Carolina

Eating out tonight? Choose these skinnier options

??For most people, eating out is a normal part of their weekend routine, and you don?t have to avoid restaurants just because you?re watching your weight. Click for more and to join Joy Bauer's 25,000 pound Weight-loss Challenge.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036697/vp/46062561#46062561

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Power outages in Northwest could continue for days (AP)

SEATTLE ? A Pacific Northwest storm that brought snow, ice and powerful winds left a mess of fallen trees and power lines Friday as tens of thousands of residents already without power faced the prospect of a cold, dark weekend and flooding became a top region-wide concern.

While temperatures warmed and the icy, snowy conditions abated in western Washington and Oregon, slick roads and fast-melting snow brought challenges for road workers, city officials and rescue crews. The region also faces more rain as swelling rivers lead to the worst flooding some Oregon counties have seen in more than a decade.

"It's definitely a trial we get to endure," said Jeanette Donigan, whose Turner, Ore., home was surrounded by floodwater, leaving her and her family to seek shelter nearby. "But earthly possessions can be replaced, as long as we got our children to higher ground."

The storm system has been blamed for three deaths that include those of a mother and her 1-year-old boy, who died after torrential rain swept away a car from an Albany, Ore., grocery store parking lot on Wednesday night; and an elderly man fatally injured Thursday by a falling tree as he was backing an all-terrain vehicle out of a backyard shed near Seattle.

On Mount Rainier, a blizzard kept rescuers from continuing a search Friday on Washington's Mount Rainier for two campers and two climbers missing in the storm since early this week.

Meanwhile, the system continued its plod east, bringing a first major snowstorm for the winter to parts of the Midwest. More than 700 flights were cancelled in Chicago, the bulk of them at O'Hare International Airport.

The rain in western Oregon resumed Friday, though not as heavily as the previous two days, and forecasters said the Northwest can expect more rain, mountain snow and winds for a week.

A 35-year-old woman who drove a Ford Mustang into 4 feet of floodwaters in Oregon's Willamette Valley was plucked from the roof Friday by deputies who arrived by boat to save her. It was one of a number of dramatic rescues in western Oregon, left sodden by as much as 10 inches of rain in a day and a half that has brought region's worst flooding in 15 years.

Interstate 5, the main arterial connecting Seattle and Portland, was briefly closed Friday morning in both directions near Centralia so crews could remove fallen power lines. Amtrak trains weren't running Friday between Seattle and Portland, because of trees and other debris that fell on the tracks.

Northbound lanes of the interstate in Everett, north of Seattle, were closed much of the morning following a tractor-trailer accident. Around midday, Washington State Patrol troopers closed both Tacoma Narrows bridges, which connect Tacoma with communities to the west, because of large ice chunks falling onto the bridge deck.

In Seattle, residents were asked for help clearing the city's 80,000 storm drains.

Puget Sound Energy used three helicopters Friday to check its transmission lines as crews repair damage from Thursday's ice storm. There were still about 240,000 without power late Friday afternoon, including 230,000 PSE customers, mostly around Seattle, Tacoma and Olympia. New outages were still being reported Friday. The utility it could take into the weekend or later to get the power back on.

Much of Washington's capital city, Olympia, was without power. Gov. Chris Gregoire's office, legislative buildings and other state agencies in Olympia lost electricity for several hours before power was restored. Lawmakers are in the midst of a 60-day session, but some hearings were canceled on Friday. On the main street through downtown, tree limbs littered a park and sidewalks. Main roads were clear, but many residential roads in the area weren't plowed, and at least one power line had fallen.

Cathie Butler, a spokeswoman for the City of Olympia said they were dealing with "the fallout from all of the heavy ice and snow on the trees."

Butler said that in addition to first dealing with downed trees and limbs and power lines, the city wants to get snowplows back out to clear primary roads and snow that is piled up on drains.

"We want to try to clear some of that away from the drains so as it starts to rain this weekend the snow and ice have somewhere to go," she said.

Nancy Kolnen of Issaquah was without power, and had to throw out food in the fridge and layer up to keep warm at night. By Friday, power hadn't returned and she had no idea when it would.

"Well, going into the weekend, I'm kind of looking forward to (the snow) because it's nice if you don't have to drive in it, but if I get home and don't have power all weekend, I won't enjoy that," Kolnen said.

It was still snowing in the Cascades, with up to 2 feet possible in the mountains over the weekend. In Eastern Washington, forecasters expect more snow Friday or freezing rain before warming temperatures on Saturday raise the snow level above the valley floors in some areas.

Sea-Tac Airport was open Friday, and airlines were trying to accommodate passengers whose flights were canceled Thursday. The largest carrier at the airport, Alaska Airlines, canceled 50 of its 120 daily departures Friday. On Thursday, Alaska and sister airline Horizon canceled 310 flights to and from Seattle, affecting 29,000 passengers.

In Seattle, Carly Nelson was negotiating an icy sidewalk on her way to Starbucks. Nelson has been frequenting her neighborhood coffee shop to avoid cabin fever.

"I'm pretty tired of it. It gets old pretty fast. All my friends are stranded in little pockets and you can't get together to go to yoga," she said. "I'm just looking forward to being able to go wherever I want to go."

___

Cooper reported from Oregon. Associated Press writers Doug Esser, Ted Warren, Rachel La Corte, Nigel Duara and Nicholas K. Geranios contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/weather/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120121/ap_on_re_us/us_northwest_storm

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Man who took Rockefeller name faces murder charge

FILE - In this July 8 2011 file photo, Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter, a German man who masqueraded as a member of the famous Rockefeller family, appears in an Alhambra, Calif. court. Gerhartsreiter faces a preliminary hearing Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012 in the cold case murder of John Sohus, 27, who disappeared from San Marino, Calif. in 1985. (AP Photo/Sarah Reingewirtz, Pool, File)

FILE - In this July 8 2011 file photo, Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter, a German man who masqueraded as a member of the famous Rockefeller family, appears in an Alhambra, Calif. court. Gerhartsreiter faces a preliminary hearing Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012 in the cold case murder of John Sohus, 27, who disappeared from San Marino, Calif. in 1985. (AP Photo/Sarah Reingewirtz, Pool, File)

ALHAMBRA, California (AP) ? A man who once masqueraded as American aristocracy has been brought to a suburban Los Angeles County court in a baggy prison jumpsuit to face a murder charge and been told he will not be referred to as Clark Rockefeller.

Superior Court Judge Jared Moses appeared taken aback Wednesday when lawyers for Christian Gerhartsreiter asked if he could be referred to as Clark Rockefeller because that is the name by which many witnesses know him.

The judge ruled that Gerhartsreiter will be called by his true name during the case's preliminary hearing.

The German immigrant is charged with the murder of a San Marino man who disappeared in 1985. Gerhartsreiter was previously convicted of kidnapping in Boston, where he posed as an heir to the Rockefeller oil fortune.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-01-18-Rockefeller%20Mystery/id-aeaf45de2cb142afbd71b26e839cc78e

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Crystal Bell: Revenge Recap: Did Victoria Tell The Biggest Lie Yet?

Note: Do not read on if you have not seen Season 1, Episode 13 of ABC's "Revenge," entitled, "Commitment."

Everyone has secrets, and if we learned anything from tonight's "Revenge," it's that once you have a secret, you'll do anything to keep it hidden, even if it means telling a few lies here and there.

Daniel tells Conrad that he plans to marry Emily, and Conrad then inquires as to whether Emily knows Daniel wants to marry her in order to get his share of the company. It looks like the only thing Conrad and Victoria can agree on these days is the fact that they don't want Daniel marrying Emily.

Emily, however, is too caught up greeting Jack and Amanda at the dock after their spontaneous trip to Atlantic City. Unfortunately, for the couple, they didn't have much luck at the tables, coming back significantly poorer. (Perhaps this explains what happened to the rest of her shorts.) But Amanda doesn't have too much time to worry about that because Emily warns her that Victoria (aka Ms. Moneybags) is trying to blame Treadwill's fire on her.

After his less-than-successful meeting with Daniel, Conrad treats Charlotte and Declan to lunch, and he surprisingly offers to pay for Delcan to attend school with Charlotte. Looks like Daddy Grayson will do anything for his little girl.

But, of course, that all changes when the the Hamptons' worst kept secret is finally out of the bag and Conrad finds out that Victoria had an affair with David Clarke -- and that his darling daughter Charlotte isn't actually his. Lunchtime packages are the worst ... right, Conrad?

You see, that's the problem with keeping secrets. Sooner or later, someone tattles. But who gave him the video? Of course, the obvious offender would be Emily. After all, there's nothing else that she'd love more than to see Victoria's empire crumble.

Conrad confronts Victoria about her affair with the "terrorist." It looks like Emily isn't the only one who gets upset when someone disgraces David's name. "David Clarke was no terrorist, and he was twice the man that you ever were," Victoria snaps back.

Now H.B.I.C. Victoria is convinced that "Amanda Clarke" isn't who she says she is. So how does she test her? Inviting her over for tea and strawberries, of course! How can the real Amanda possibly enjoy a strawberry when she's terribly allergic to them?

In order to make sure that Charlotte and Amanda really are half-sisters, Conrad takes hair from Charlotte's brush and Victoria uses the spoon Amanda licked for DNA. Although Victoria has her suspicions (i.e. fake "Amanda" eats the strawberries, trouble-free!), her lawyer assures her that Amanda and Charlotte are indeed related via the results of the DNA test.

But who switched the DNA results? Was it Emily? Nolan? It turns out that Victoria's lawyer was working for Emily all along, and he's the one who ended up switching "Amanda's" DNA with Emily's. Too bad a suspicious Victoria fired him.

Meanwhile, Emily plants Treadwill's tapes in Amanda's room, telling Jack to be careful around her.

Charlotte then goes to talk with her father about Declan's school, but he unexpectedly kicks her out, saying she has to move in with her mother. Charlotte is clearly hurt, especially because if there's anyone who hates Victoria as much as Emily, it's (her half-sister) Charlotte. So they have that in common.

Meanwhile, Daniel finally proposes to Emily, and he goes all out. I mean, nothing says love like a string quartet, twinkle lights and a rainy kiss. (Except maybe an equally wet a synchronized pool performance to Rihanna's "We Found Love.")

Back at the Grayson homestead, Victoria finds out that Daniel asked Emily to marry him. Needless to say, she's not thrilled, but she puts on a good happy face -- or, as happy as Victoria Grayson's face can look after all of that botox.

Charlotte, distraught after being kicked out by her father, runs to Daniel, but when she can't find her older brother, she confides in Emily.

"I've always wanted a sister," she cries onto Emily's shoulder. Oh Charlotte, if you only knew.

Jack, on the other hand, has his own mess to deal with, after he catches someone snooping around "Amanda's" room. It turns out that the snooper is a convict, hired by the Graysons, to look for Treadwill's tapes, and he gives Jack one hell of a beating.

It looks like Emily's secrets have just put Jack in a life-or-death situation, and Nolan is done with Emily's games.

Overwhelmed with guilt over Jack's near-death beat down, Emily comes clean to "Amanda," telling her about her father's innocence and the Graysons' lies. Not wanting "Amanda" to get caught up in her mess anymore, Emily tells her to leave the Hamptons for her own safety. Okay, so maybe Emily sent the fake Amanda away because she seems to mess up all of her plans, but at least it means she's gone, right?

That girl had to go. She just wasn't fitting in with the Hamptons crowd. But I don't think we've seen the last of this stripper and her barely-there daywear.

After cleaning up a few of her messes, Emily tells a very emo Nolan that she plans on giving Daniel back his ring, halting her masterplan to destroy Victoria. Nolan is relieved ... but not for long.

Back at the Graysons, Victoria comes clean to Daniel. Or does she? What looked like a heartfelt moment between mother and son -- or as heartfelt as Victoria's face could muster -- was actually just another lie, spun by Victoria, who told Daniel that Charlotte is the product of David raping her.

Whatever doubts Emily had about her plot to take down the Graysons were gone after Daniel dropped that bomb on her.

Poor Daniel. He has no idea his mother's lie just sealed the deal to his impending fate.

Obsessed with "Revenge"? You're not the only one. Click through these Twitter reactions to "Commitment." You might even see one of your tweets!:

Hallie Thurman

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Follow Crystal Bell on Twitter: www.twitter.com/newyorkbell

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/crystal-bell/revenge-recap-commitment_b_1215026.html

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