Honda slashes annual profit outlook on disasters, yen (Reuters)

TOKYO (Reuters) ? Honda Motor Co forecast a worse-than-expected 65 percent drop in profit for the year to March after natural disasters in Japan and Thailand hammered it harder than its rivals while the strong yen delivered an added blow.

Japan's No.3 automaker was the slowest to recover from supply chain disruptions after the earthquake and tsunami in March, while it was alone in having a car factory inundated by historic floods in Thailand, Southeast Asia's export hub.

In 2011, Honda's global output dropped by a fifth to 2.91 million cars, slipping below 3 million for the first time in eight years. All other Japanese automakers, except Nissan Motor Co, also built fewer cars, but the declines were far less severe than at Honda.

For the business year to March 31, 2012, Honda said it expects operating profit of 200 billion yen ($2.6 billion), hit also by an estimated 8-yen fall in the dollar to 78 yen.

The new profit forecast is far short of the 270 billion yen it projected in August before withdrawing that guidance, citing uncertainty over when car production could restart in Thailand. Honda typically provides cautious projections.

Consensus forecasts from 24 analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S put annual operating profit at 283 billion yen. Honda is the first Japanese automaker to report third-quarter earnings.

The "third quarter was worse than everybody thought," said CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets analyst, Christopher Richter.

"But actually their new guidance does imply a pretty good fourth quarter for them and our expectations are for them to enjoy some pretty robust growth next fiscal year as they recover from the twin disasters of the earthquake and the flood."

The Thai floods have hurt other Japanese companies as well. Toshiba on Tuesday posted a 72 percent decline in quarterly operating profit, partly a result of the disaster.

Honda, whose bottom-line has been propped up by its leading motorcycle business and strong finance arm, expects annual net profit to fall 60 percent to 215 billion yen. The figure, reported under U.S. accounting standards, includes earnings made in China.

With production steadily recovering in the final months of 2011, investors have turned their attention to an anticipated jump in sales as Honda restocks its depleted inventory.

Honda said on Tuesday it expects its Thai car factory to be up and running by the end of March, working at full speed in April. It lost an estimated 260,000 vehicles of production globally from supply disruptions caused by the floods, chief financial officer Fumihiko Ike said.

So far this year, Honda's stock is the best performer among Japanese automakers, rising 14.2 percent as of Monday. Tokyo's auto sector index has gained 8.9 percent.

LONGER-TERM WORRIES

Still, concern has lingered over whether Honda might be losing its edge after its top-selling Civic got panned in the United States when it was remodeled last year.

Competition in the United States is set to heat up this year as resurgent giants Ford Motor Co and General Motors Co and South Korea's fast-rising Hyundai Motor Co flex their muscles in the sedan segment that has been dominated by Honda and Toyota Motor Corp.

For the October-December third quarter, Honda's operating profit fell 65 percent to 44.3 billion yen, far short of an average estimate of 81.2 billion yen in a poll of nine analysts by Reuters. Net profit 41 percent to 47.66 billion yen.

"They are not good numbers," said a trader at a foreign bank. "Chances are it will get hit. Honda has outperformed the Core 30," the trader added. "But most of the guys who bought it are long-term guys. We will see how it goes."

While acknowledging the criticisms of the revamped Civic, Honda's chief executive, Takanobu Ito, stressed this month that the car had topped the country's compact sedan segment in the latest quarter, outselling Toyota's Corolla.

Honda is targeting a 25 percent jump in its U.S. sales this calendar year also by shoring up its struggling Acura premium brand.

Before the results were announced, Honda's shares ended down 0.6 percent, while the benchmark Nikkei average ticked up 0.1 percent.

Domestic rivals Toyota and Nissan are scheduled to announce third-quarter earnings next week, with Toyota reporting on February 7 and Nissan on February 8.

($1 = 76.3900 Japanese yen)

(Additional reporting by Yoko Kubota and Dominic Lau; Editing by Matt Driskill and Edwina Gibbs)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120131/bs_nm/us_honda

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Emily VanCamp: Seeking Revenge, Boyfriend

Emily VanCamp stars on Revenge on ABC. If you don't know who she is, and haven't seen the show ... check out this magazine article and start watching!

VanCamp, who plays Emily Thorne, swears she is nothing like her vengeful character, and that she is still looking for "the one" in real life.

Most recently connected to The Vampire Diaries' Joseph Morgan, VanCamp tells her native Canada's Flare magazine that distance is to blame for their split.

"I'm working non-stop in L.A., he's in Atlanta. It kind of makes it impossible ... It doesn't take away from the love two people have, and I think he's extraordinary."

Another extraordinary (fictional) thing: Juggling two suitors on Revenge - humble Jack (Nick Wechsler) and current fiance, rich Daniel Grayson (Josh Bowman).

That doesn't mean life imitates art for VanCamp.

"It's all about making me laugh. I can be quite serious sometimes so laughing is key," the 25-year-old says of what she looks for in the perfect boyfriend.

"I think it's important to be with a guy who has a strong sense of integrity. That's how I was raised, and that's something I look for. And humility."

"I think people who lack humility are really annoying."

There's your blueprint, fellas. Make your move.

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2012/01/emily-vancamp-seeking-revenge-the-one/

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Time short for Gingrich to close gap in Florida

Republican presidential candidate, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, speaks to media during a news conference outside the Exciting Idlewild Baptist Church, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012, in Lutz, Fla. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Republican presidential candidate, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, speaks to media during a news conference outside the Exciting Idlewild Baptist Church, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012, in Lutz, Fla. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, left, watches Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich on television as he rides his campaign bus with his brother Scott, and sister-in-law Sheri, to Hialeah, Fla., after campaigning in Naples, Fla., Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Republican presidential candidate, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, speaks to media during a news conference outside the Exciting Idlewild Baptist Church, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012, in Lutz, Fla. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, rides in his campaign bus with his grandson Parker, 5, as they drive from Naples, Fla., to Hialeah, Fla., to continue campaigning Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Jameson Williams, 2, of Sarasota, holds a sign outside a scheduled campaign event for Republican presidential candidate, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, at Sarasota Bradenton International Airport in Sarasota, Fla., Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. Santorum is staying home in Philadelphia to be with his 3-year-old hospitalized daughter Isabella, and is canceling campaign stops in Florida. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

MIAMI (AP) ? Newt Gingrich slammed GOP rival Mitt Romney on Sunday for the steady stream of attacks he likened to "carpet-bombing," trying to cut into the resurgent front-runner's lead in Florida in the dwindling hours before Tuesday's pivotal presidential primary.

Surging ahead in polls, Romney kept the pressure on Gingrich, casting him at an appearance in south Florida as an influence peddler and continuing his heavy advertising blitz questions the former House speaker's ethics.

In what has become a wildly unpredictable race, the momentum has swung back to Romney, staggered last weekend by Gingrich's victory in South Carolina. Romney has begun advertising in Nevada ahead of that state's caucuses next Saturday, illustrating the challenges ahead for Gingrich, who has pledged to push ahead no matter what happens in Florida.

An NBC News/Marist poll published Sunday showed Romney with support from 42 percent of likely Florida primary voters, compared with 27 percent for Gingrich.

Romney's campaign has dogged Gingrich at his own campaign stops, sending surrogates to remind reporters of Gingrich's House ethics probe in the 1990s and other episodes in his career.

Gingrich reacted defensively, accusing the former Massachusetts governor and a political committee that supports him of lying, and the GOP's establishment of allowing it.

"I don't know how you debate a person with civility if they're prepared to say things that are just plain factually false," Gingrich said during appearances on Sunday talk shows. "I think the Republican establishment believes it's OK to say and do virtually anything to stop a genuine insurgency from winning because they are very afraid of losing control of the old order."

Gingrich objected specifically to a Romney campaign ad that includes a 1997 NBC News report on the House's decision to discipline Gingrich, then speaker, for ethics charges.

Romney continued to paint Gingrich as part of the very Washington establishment he condemns and someone who had a role in the nation's economic problems.

"Your problem in Florida is that you worked for Freddie Mac at a time when Freddie Mac was not doing the right thing for the American people, and that you're selling influence in Washington at a time when we need people who will stand up for the truth in Washington," Romney told an audience in Naples.

Gingrich's consulting firm was paid more than $1.5 million by the federally-backed mortgage company over a period after he left Congress in 1999.

Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, trailing in Florida by a wide margin, stayed in his home state, where his 3-year-old daughter, Bella, was hospitalized. She has a genetic condition caused by the presence of all or part of an extra 18th chromosome. Aides said he would resume campaigning as soon as possible.

Texas Rep. Ron Paul, who has invested little in Florida, looked ahead to Nevada. The libertarian-leaning Paul is focusing more on gathering delegates in caucus states, where it's less expensive to campaign. But securing the nomination only through caucus states is a hard task.

The race began moving toward a two-person fight in South Carolina, and has grown more bitter and personal in Florida.

The intense effort by Romney to slow Gingrich is comparable his strategy against Gingrich in the closing month before Iowa's leadoff caucuses Jan. 3.

Gingrich led in Iowa polls, lifted by what were hailed as strong performances in televised debates, only to drop in the face of withering attacks by Romney, aided immensely by ads sponsored by a "super" political action committee run by former Romney aides.

Gingrich has responded by criticizing Romney's conservative credentials. Outside an evangelical Christian church in Lutz, Gingrich said he was the more loyal conservative on key social issues.

"This party is not going to nominate somebody who is a pro-abortion, pro-gun-control, pro-tax-increase liberal," Gingrich said. "It isn't going to happen."

But Gingrich, in appearances on Sunday news programs, returned to complaining about Romney's tactics, rather than emphasizing his own message as that of a conservative with a record of action in Congress.

"When we get to a positive idea campaign, I consistently win," Gingrich said. "It's only when he can mass money to focus on carpet-bombing with negative ads that he gains any traction at all."

Romney and the political committee that supports him had combined to spend some $6.8 million in ads criticizing Gingrich in the Florida campaign's final week. Gingrich and a super PAC that supports him were spending about one-third that amount.

Gingrich worked to portray himself as the insurgent outsider, collecting the endorsement of tea party favorite Herman Cain, whose own campaign for president foundered amid sexual harassment allegations.

It was unclear how aggressively Gingrich would be able to compete in states beyond Florida. The next televised debate, a format Gingrich has used to his advantage, is not until Feb. 22, more than three weeks away.

Romney already has campaigned in Nevada more than Gingrich, is advertising there, and stresses his business background in a state hard-hit by the economy. His campaign welcomed the Sunday endorsement of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Nevada's largest newspaper.

Michigan and Maine, states where Romney is well-positioned, also hold their contests in February. Arizona, a strong tea-party state where Gingrich could do well, has its primary Feb. 28.

___

Associated Press writers Steve Peoples in Naples and Shannon McCaffrey in Lutz contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2012-01-29-US-GOP-Campaign/id-376a7ec40e984d4bb69ca1b0185477d4

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PFT: Bears hire Chiefs' Emery as GM

Getty Images

For many younger football fans, the name ?Joe Namath? doesn?t conjure memories of Broadway Joe or Super Bowl III but a drunken pass at ESPN sideline reporter Suzy Kolber during a December 2003 edition of Sunday Night Football.? His ?I wanna kiss you? moment became the stuff of TV legend, even making its way into an epic auto-tune mash-up from D.J. Steve Porter, who coincidentally now crafts similar projects for the four-letter network.

In an HBO documentary on Namath?s life, which debuted at 9:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, Kolber addresses the incident for the first time.? Without saying ?don?t blame us, we didn?t know Joe was drunk,? she seems to try a little too hard to offer up not-so-subtle excuses for not knowing Joe was drunk, even though perhaps everyone involved should have known, or at least suspected, that Joe was drunk.

Especially once he started talking.

?Joe was escorted onto the field by a number of Jets personnel,? Kolber says of the subject of her eventual interview.? ?And what I recall is that he and I never really had a chance to chat, because he wouldn?t stand still.?

Kolber creates the impression that she didn?t have any opportunity to observe his behavior (Namath admits that he?d been drinking all day and night) until the interview started.? ?When we were really getting to close to when our producer wanted to have him on, I took his arm because I just didn?t want him to walk away,? Kolber says.

And even when the interview began, Kolber explains (with her trademark perky nonchalance) that no one thought anything was amiss as he gave a stumbling, incomprehensible answer to the first question:? ?What impresses you about Chad [Pennington]??

?I believe that anything anyone else has watched Chad play impresses me the same thing impresses them,? Namath said at the time, clumsily and awkwardly.

She attributed his off-kilter behavior to, yes, the weather.? ?When we first started talking and he was slow and deliberate in his speech,? Kolber says, ?what was going through my head was, ?Maybe it?s just really cold.??

But here?s the kicker from Kolber, the thing that made me think for the first time that ESPN adroitly has been able to avoid for more than eight years the question of how they put him on the air in the first place, and why they didn?t kill the interview after his initial rambling response.? ?None of the executives in the truck were alarmed either, because nobody said, ?Stop,?? Kolber says.? ?The direction in my ear was, ?Keep going.??

None of this changes the fact that Namath was at fault for drinking too much and agreeing to go on camera and then acting like a jerk by saying ?I wanna kiss you,? not once but twice.? But I?ve been involved in the TV side of this business long enough now to realize that there are (or at least should be) layers of folks who when trouble pops up can make good decisions in the blink of an eye, or even faster.? Still, until seeing Kolber?s roundabout effort to help ESPN continue to sidestep shrapnel for allowing the ?I wanna kiss you? moment to happen by not ending the interview (or by never doing it in the first place), I never made the connection.? Joe was always the bad guy, and ESPN and Kolber were always without blame of any kind.

After hearing Kolber?s explanation, I?m starting to think that maybe a few tougher questions should have been asked back in late 2003.? It?ll be interesting to see if any of those questions are asked now.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/01/28/bears-name-phil-emery-g-m/related/

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Gillmor Gang 01.28.12 (TCTV)

The Gillmor Gang ? Doc Searls, Danny Sullivan, John Taschek, Kevin Marks, and Steve Gillmor ? debut the latest Google catchphrase to replace Do No Evil: We Really Don't Care! @stevegillmor, @dsearls, @dannysullivan, @jtaschek, @kevinmarks, @tinagillmor

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/HwOo54sfw9s/

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Biden Prediction: Dems Will Retake House (Michellemalkin)

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Obama courts Latino vote on economic tour

President Barack Obama speaks at UPS, Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)

President Barack Obama speaks at UPS, Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)

President Barack Obama walks to the podium before speaking at Buckley Air Force Base, Colo., Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)

President Barack Obama greets service members before speaking at Buckley Air Force Base, Colo., Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)

President Barack Obama speaks at UPS, Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)

President Barack Obama speaks at a UPS facility, Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

BUCKLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. (AP) ? President Barack Obama is courting Hispanics in politically important states, setting himself up as a champion of the crucial Latino voting bloc and as a foil to Republican candidates fighting for a share of support from the same groups.

With Latino voters voting overwhelmingly Democratic, Obama is not in danger of losing the support of a majority of Hispanics. But he does need their intensity, and a Gallup tracking poll shows that while a majority of Hispanics approve of Obama, that approval is not as high as it is among black voters.

Pitching his economic agenda during a three-day, five-state trip this week, Obama has not ignored the fact that three of the states ? Nevada, Arizona and Colorado ? all have Hispanic populations of 20 percent or more. A majority of them are Democratic, but they also could be a factor in upcoming nominating contests in those states. Nevada and Colorado hold caucuses within two weeks and Arizona has a primary Feb. 28.

In Arizona Wednesday, where he was drawing attention to his efforts to increase manufacturing, Obama playfully interacted with a supporter who shouted out: "Barack es mi hermano! (Barack is my brother!)"

"Mi hermano ? mucho gusto (My brother, a real pleasure)," Obama shouted back.

And it was no accident that he scheduled an interview with Univision, the Spanish language network that reaches a broad swath of the U.S. Latino population, while he was in Arizona and with local Telemundo affiliates Thursday in Las Vegas and in Denver. All that while former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and the rest of the Republican presidential field were battling in Florida, another state with a key Latino voting bloc.

"It's an important community in this country and he will continue to have those interactions," White House spokesman Jay Carney said of Obama's efforts to reach out to Spanish language media.

No issue reverberates more in the appeal to Latinos than immigration.

For Obama, it reared up suddenly for him Wednesday when Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, a Republican who signed one of the toughest laws to curtail illegal immigration, greeted him at the airport tarmac in Mesa, Ariz., with a handwritten invitation for the president to join her in a visit to the Mexican border.

Obama replied coolly, noting that he did not appreciate the way she had depicted him in a book she published last year, "Scorpions for Breakfast." In the book, Brewer writes that Obama was condescending and lectured her during a meeting at the White House to discuss immigration. "He was a little disturbed about my book," Brewer told two reporters shortly after the encounter.

Obama continued to promote his economic plan Thursday in Nevada and Colorado, focusing on energy policy and his attempts to expand oil and gas exploration while also emphasizing clean energy.

"Doubling down on a clean energy industry will create lots of jobs in the process," the president said at Buckley Air Force Base in Colorado, where the Air Force has installed solar panels and tested jets that run on biofuels.

As such, he was indirectly pitching to Hispanics as well. A new Pew Research Center poll found that 54 percent of Latinos believe that the economic downturn has been harder on them than on other groups in the U.S.

"There is no question that Latinos were hard hit, especially by the bursting of the housing bubble and the resulting steep decline in construction work," Carney said Thursday. "Latinos are overrepresented in the construction industry. It's one of the reasons why, certainly, Latinos would greatly benefit from infrastructure investments that put construction workers back to work."

In 2008, Obama beat Republican John McCain by a 2-1 margin among Hispanics.

To win again, he will need that level of enthusiasm to make up for weaknesses elsewhere in his voter support. In a bright spot for Obama, the Pew poll found that even though Hispanics believe their economic condition is poor, two-thirds of those polled said they expect their financial situation to improve over the next year, whereas 58 percent of the overall population expect the same.

In his interview with Univision, Obama made a point of noting that both Romney and Gingrich have said they would veto legislation, known as the DREAM Act, that would give a pathway to citizenship to children who came to the United States illegally but who attend college or enlist in the military.

"They believe that we should not provide a pathway to citizenship for young people who were brought here when they were very young children and are basically American kids but right now are still in a shadow," Obama said. "They've said that they would veto the DREAM Act. Both of them."

At a debate Monday on NBC, however, both Gingrich and Romney said they would support modified legislation that only applied to young people who joined the military. "I would not support the part that simply says everybody who goes to college is automatically waived for having broken the law," Gingrich said.

Obama, in the interview, explicitly connected the Republican presidential field to congressional Republicans, who suffer from bottom-dwelling approval ratings right now. Asked why he had been unable to deliver on his promise for overhauling the immigration system, Obama replied:

"Well, it's very simple. We couldn't get any Republican votes. Zero. None," he said. "So this is the kind of barrier that we're meeting in Congress. We're just going to keep on pushing and pushing until hopefully we finally get a break."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2012-01-26-US-Obama/id-61aa05f4ba7a49aab8288fe8fcd3d846

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Rousseff to visit Cuba, focus on post-embargo era (Reuters)

BRASILIA (Reuters) ? Some forty years ago, Dilma Rousseff was a guerrilla fighter working clandestinely to bring a version of Cuban leader Fidel Castro's communist revolution to Brazil.

How times change. When Rousseff makes her first visit to Cuba next week as Brazil's president, she'll have capitalism on her mind, specifically the building of a container terminal at the port of Mariel aimed at future trade with the United States when Washington one day lifts its 50-year-old embargo on Cuba.

The $800 million modernization of the natural harbor west of Havana is being done by Brazilian engineering firm Odebrecht with funding from Brazil's state development bank BNDES. It is part of a vast and growing constellation of Brazilian-run projects in Latin America, Africa and elsewhere that has paralleled Brazil's recent rise as an economic power.

The business-focused nature of Rousseff's Cuba trip highlights a shift in Brazil's foreign policy since she took office early last year, with trade trumping all other considerations.

Her predecessor Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva valued commercial ties too but also sought more overtly political relations with controversial leaders such as Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad - whom Rousseff has all but ignored since taking office.

Rousseff's interest in business ventures abroad has been heightened by the global slowdown that brought the booming economy of Latin America's largest nation to a halt in the third quarter of 2011, forcing her to focus on restoring growth.

Her first major trip abroad after taking office in January 2011 was to China, which dislodged the United States as Brazil's top trading partner in 2009.

Rousseff's advisers say that her focus in Cuba will be on economic cooperation but that she has also asked to meet with Castro, who inspired a generation of left-wing Latin Americans.

Rousseff was a committed leftist who joined an armed group to fight military dictatorship in Brazil in the late 1960s. She was arrested in 1970, tortured and imprisoned for three years.

After democracy was restored in 1985, Rousseff evolved into a pragmatic, left-leaning politician. A year ago she became Brazil's first woman president, running an economy that has relied on foreign investment and smart financial management to lift tens of millions of Brazilians out of poverty -- thus accomplishing one of the dreams of her socialist youth.

SYMPATHY FOR CUBA

Rousseff's trip means she will visit Havana before she goes to Washington - a decision that has raised some eyebrows given Brazil's recent confrontations with the United States over trade and other issues.

Advisers play down any symbolism, and note that Rousseff is due to visit President Barack Obama in Washington early this year, though no date has been decided.

"We have good relations with the United States, even though we have differences in international affairs," said Rousseff's foreign policy adviser Marco Aurelio Garcia.

Brazil is offering Cuba sugar-cane ethanol technology and $200 million in credit for small private farmers to acquire tractors and harvesting and irrigation equipment.

Garcia said sympathy for Cuba in its David-versus-Goliath Cold War era feud with the United States runs deep in Brazil and other Latin American nations that reject the U.S. trade embargo on the Caribbean island.

Brazilian sources say the government would like to see a democratic opening in Cuba and is closely watching economic reforms adopted by President Raul Castro, but that it will not push hard.

Garcia said political reform was up to the Cubans. "We will not tell them what to do."

The death last week of a hunger-striking dissident in a Cuban jail has put pressure on Rousseff to raise the issue of human rights in Havana. Dissidents have asked to meet with her, but Brazilian media reports said she is unlikely to and would only raise human rights concerns privately.

IRRITATING IRAN

Once a victim of abuses, Rousseff has made human rights a priority of her government and she has changed Brazil's foreign policy stance, most notably by supporting a U.N. human rights investigation on Iran last March.

That shift cooled growing ties between Brazil and Iran, much to the relief of U.S. officials in Washington who see the chance for better relations with Brazil under Rousseff.

In his last year in power, Rousseff's predecessor and mentor Lula led a diplomatic campaign to mediate on Iran's nuclear program, angering the United States and other Western powers.

Rousseff has taken a lower profile internationally as she concentrates on pressing challenges at home like upgrading the country's decrepit infrastructure in time for hosting the 2014 soccer World Cup and the 2016 Olympic games.

"Her government is more grounded in reality," said Michael Shifter, president of the Inter-American Dialogue think tank in Washington, who sees Brazil as "less aggressive in tone and less defiant" towards the United States than it was under Lula.

Iran's government is not happy with Rousseff. The Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper reported that Iran held up thousands of tons of beef exports by Brazilian company JBS for three weeks in port out of irritation with her change of policy.

"The Brazilian president undermined everything Lula had achieved. She destroyed years of good relations," the spokesman for Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Ali Akbar Javanfekr, told the newspaper this week. "We miss Lula a lot."

(Reporting by Anthony Boadle; Editing by Brian Winter and Kieran Murray)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120125/wl_nm/us_brazil_cuba

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Obama Has Tense Exchange with Brewer (Taegan Goddard's Political Wire)

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Finance Director Job Description

1. Nature of the job

?Basic tasks

Finance director frequent asked questions and characteristics

Finance directors are also known as ?CFO?s? or chief financial officer of a company. A CFO is the person in charge of managing and organizing finances (money) from a company, planning and creating financial reports etc. depending on the company?s size CFO?s report their activities to the chief executive officer CEO of the company.

The main objective of finance director actions and strategies is to maximize the profit. This is the first part of determining the total amount of money used by the company. Finance directors utilize analysis, planning and control tools while assigning and obtaining more financial resources for his company.

Finance directors must plan objectives to obtain or provide financial resources in a very efficient way as well as to project those resources in ways that will benefit companies the most according the company?s financial situation. Depending on the possible fluctuations for projections planned by financial directors these strategies must offer a benefit to the company despite any possible scenario.

Finance directors must determine the best mix of applications for financial resources, considering different options to utilize assets. Finance directors consider the most appropriate capital structures to be applied and explore any type of financial levers to better understand financial risks and its relation with any risk that can appear depending on the economy or the market.

?Most frequent tasks Finance directors perform

• Improvement and maintenance of company?s financial protocols and procedures
• CFO?s are the budget guardians of a company
• Catalyst of new rolls taken by the financial department
• Strategist. Finance directors must implement and develop new ways and techniques to assure proper usage of the company?s financial resources to obtain the best possible benefits from them.
• Efficiently assigning spending limits within the organization
• Obtaining funds in best terms and conditions possible
• (see more in the finance director job description)

?2. Qualifications and expertise required

Education and training for Finance directors

Becoming finance director of a company is not an easy task; usually it takes a person many years working in a company to obtain the experience needed and have the knowledge necessary to take charge and being responsible of all finances of a company. Candidates considered for this position must have at least a bachelor?s degree but usually having a master?s degree will improve their chances of getting the positions, clearly to say that experience is a most (at least 2 years) in finances, business administration or economics.

3. Career growth

Finance director job outlook

Finance directors can make anywhere from $ 60 to $ 150 thousand depending on the company?s size and prestige, nevertheless finance director?s position is very competitive therefore to be considered for one, applicants must be able to proof experience and education required to create a positive impact for the company.

Source: http://aboutjobdescriptions.com/finance-director-job-description.htm

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Mitt Romney Stumped By Open-Ended Personal Question in Florida Debate

"Well, number one, I've raised a family," Mitt Romney said during Monday night's Florida GOP debate when asked what he'd done to further the conservative movement.

"And I've - I've, with my wife, we've raised five wonderful sons, and we have 16 wonderful grandkids," he awkwardly continued, before finally answering the question.

He went on to mention his private sector and gubernatorial experience, but the reference to his family stuck, highlighting his inability to connect to many voters.

It's a problem evident in his defeat in South Carolina last week. He's skilled at detailing the X's and O's of policy, but falls short in efforts to prove he's authentic.

Newt, meanwhile, talked about helping Barry Goldwater's campaign in 1964 and later Ronald Reagan's successful 1980 bid, as well as his own efforts as Speaker.

The Gingrich campaign certainly reveled in Romney's non-answer. Minutes after the debate, it sent an e-mail titled "Mitt Romney's Top Conservative Achievements."

It was blank.

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2012/01/mitt-romney-stumped-by-open-ended-personal-question/

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Biomarkers in Cancer Research ? High Unmet Need in Cervical ...

Biomarkers in Cancer Research ? High Unmet Need in Cervical Cancer and Lung Cancer to Drive Growth?

Cancer Research?Market?

GBI Research, the leading business intelligence provider, has released its latest report, ?Biomarkers in Cancer Research ? High Unmet Need in Cervical Cancer and Lung Cancer to Drive Growth? that provides key data, information and analysis of the major trends and issues affecting the biomarkers in cancer research. The report provides a comprehensive insight into the history of biomarkers, its uses, efficiency as well as their limitations. The report also provides a detailed analysis of cancer biomarkers market characterization in terms of its market size, segmentation by key cancer types and the major market drivers and barriers. The report also talks about the patent landscape for cancer biomarkers and provides comprehensive analysis. The report also looks into the cancer biomarkers pipeline along with analysis on the pipeline by indication, phase of development and geography of development. The report also provides competitive landscape of the market that profiles key market players along with their brief business description, pipeline, major products and major M&A and partnership deals. The report also provides detailed analysis of major partnership deals that have taken place in the cancer biomarkers market since 2006 along with segmentation by number of deals per year, indication, deal type, geography and companies. In addition, the report also talks about the major M&A deals in the cancer biomarkers market since 2005 along with segmentation by value, geography and companies. Finally, the report provides the major conclusions from the report.

This report is built using data and information sourced from proprietary databases, primary and secondary research and in house analysis by GBI Research?s team of industry experts.

Scope

The scope of the report includes:

• Detailed overview of biomarkers in pharmaceutical industry along with their use, efficiency and limitation
• Annualized market data from 2007 and forecast forward till 2016 along with segmentation by cancer types including breast cancer, colorectal cancer, prostate cancer, lung cancer, cervical cancer, head and neck cancer, pancreatic cancer, ovarian cancer and stomach cancer
• Key market drivers and restraints shaping the cancer biomarkers market
• Patent analysis of the cancer biomarkers along with segmentation by patent type, company and geography
• Pipeline analysis of the cancer biomarkers along with segmentation by indication, phase and geography
• Analysis of partnership deals from 2006 to 2010 along with segmentation by indication, deal type, geography and companies
• Analysis of M&A deals from 2005 to 2010 along with segmentation by value geography and companies

Reasons to buy

The report will enhance your decision making capability. It will allow you to

• Develop better strategies for cancer biomarkers research by understanding the market dynamics of the cancer biomarker research industry
• Develop market-entry and market expansion strategies by identifying the key cancer areas for high growth and high opportunities
• Understand the factors shaping the cancer biomarkers research market
• Reinforce R&D pipeline by identifying the key biomarker tests which can provide more accurate and early diagnosis of cancer
• Identify the key players best positioned to take the advantage of the opportunities in the global cancer biomarkers research market
• Exploit partnership and acquisition opportunities by identifying the products that could fill the portfolio gaps.

Table of Contents

1 Table of Contents 3
1.1 List of Tables 6
1.2 List of Figures 7

2 Introduction 8
2.1 GBI Research Report Guidance 8

3 Biomarkers Overview 9
3.1 History of Cancer Biomarkers 9
3.2 Use of Cancer Biomarkers 10
3.2.1 Screening and Early Detection 10
3.2.2 Diagnosis of Cancer 11
3.2.3 Prognosis and Measuring Effectiveness of Treatment 12
3.2.4 Detecting Recurrent Cancer 13
3.3 Efficiency of Cancer Biomarkers 14
3.3.1 Speed and Accuracy of Diagnosis 14
3.3.2 Optimize Costs 14
3.3.3 Increased Survival Rates 15
3.3.4 Non Invasive Techniques 15
3.4 Limitations of Cancer Biomarkers 16
3.5 Key Takeaway 16

4 Market Characterization 17
4.1 Market Overview 17
4.2 Market Size and Forecasts 17
4.2.1 Segmentation by Indication 19
4.3 Drivers and Restraints 29
4.3.1 Market Drivers 30
4.3.2 Market Barriers 31
4.4 Key Takeaway 31

5 Patent Analysis 32
5.1 Segmentation by Patent Type 32
5.2 Segmentation by Company 33
5.3 Segmentation by Geography 34
5.4 Key Takeaway 35

6 Pipeline Analysis 36
6.1 Biomarkers in Cancer Research Pipeline by Indication 36
6.2 Biomarkers in Cancer Research Pipeline by Phase 37
6.3 Biomarkers in Cancer Research Pipeline by Geography 38
6.4 Key Takeaway 38

7 Competitive Landscape 39
7.1 Clarient, Inc. 39
7.1.1 Business Description 39
7.1.2 Pipeline 39
7.1.3 Major Products 40
7.1.4 Partnership and M&A Deals 40
7.2 Qiagen N.V. 41
7.2.1 Business Description 41
7.2.2 Pipeline 42
7.2.3 Major Products 42
7.2.4 Partnership and M&A Deals 44
7.3 Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings 46
7.3.1 Business Description 46
7.3.2 Pipeline 46
7.3.3 Major Products 46
7.3.4 Partnership and M&A Deals 47
7.4 bioMerieux S.A. 49
7.4.1 Business Description 49
7.4.2 Pipeline 49
7.4.3 Major Products 49
7.4.4 Partnership and M&A Deals 50
7.5 Biomoda, Inc. 52
7.5.1 Business Description 52
7.5.2 Pipeline 52
7.5.3 Major Products 52
7.5.4 Partnership and M&A Deals 53
7.6 Exiqon A/S 53
7.6.1 Business Description 53
7.6.2 Pipeline 54
7.6.3 Major Products 54
7.6.4 Partnership and M&A Deals 55
7.7 Beckman Coulter, Inc. 55
7.7.1 Business Description 55
7.7.2 Pipeline 55
7.7.3 Major Products 56
7.7.4 Partnership and M&A Deals 56
7.8 A&G Pharmaceutical, Inc. 57
7.8.1 Business Description 57
7.8.2 Pipeline 57
7.8.3 Major Products 58
7.8.4 Partnership and M&A Deals 58
7.9 AdnaGen AG 59
7.9.1 Business Description 59
7.9.2 Pipeline 59
7.9.3 Major Products 59
7.9.4 Partnership and M&A Deals 60
7.10 Rosetta Genomics, Ltd. 61
7.10.1 Business Description 61
7.10.2 Pipeline 62
7.10.3 Major Products 62
7.10.4 Partnership and M&A Deals 63

8 Deals Analysis 64
8.1 Partnership Deals 64
8.1.1 Partnership Deals by Year 64
8.1.2 Partnership Deals by Indication 65
8.1.3 Partnership Deals by Deal Type 66
8.1.4 Partnership Deals by Geography 67
8.1.5 Partnership Deals by Companies 68
8.2 M&A Landscape 69
8.2.1 M&A Deals by Value 69
8.2.2 M&A Deals by Geography 70
8.2.3 M&A Deals by Companies 71
8.2.4 Top Five M&A Deals by Value 71
8.3 Key Takeaway 73

9 Conclusion 74

10 Appendix 75
10.1 Market Definitions 75
10.2 Abbreviations 75
10.3 Research Methodology 76
10.3.1 Coverage 76
10.3.2 Secondary Research 77
10.3.3 Primary Research 77
10.3.4 Expert Panel Validation 77
10.4 Contact Us 78
10.5 Disclaimer 78
10.6 Sources 78

List of Table:
Table 1: Biomarkers in Cancer Research, Global, Cancer Biomarkers Market Revenues ($bn), 20072016 18
Table 2: Biomarkers in Cancer Research, Global, Breast Cancer Biomarkers Market Revenues ($m), 20072016 20
Table 3: Biomarkers in Cancer Research, Global, Prostate Cancer Biomarkers Market Revenues ($m), 20072016 21
Table 4: Biomarkers in Cancer Research, Global, Lung Cancer Biomarkers Market Revenues ($m), 20072016 22
Table 5: Biomarkers in Cancer Research, Global, Colorectal Cancer Biomarkers Market Revenues ($m), 20072016 23
Table 6: Biomarkers in Cancer Research, Global, Cervical Cancer Biomarkers Market Revenues ($m), 20072016 24
Table 7: Biomarkers in Cancer Research, Global, Head & Neck Cancer Biomarkers Market Revenues ($m), 20072016 25
Table 8: Biomarkers in Cancer Research, Global, Pancreatic Cancer Biomarkers Market Revenues ($m), 20072016 26
Table 9: Biomarkers in Cancer Research, Global, Ovarian Cancer Biomarkers Market Revenues ($m), 20072016 27
Table 10: Biomarkers in Cancer Research, Global, Stomach Cancer Biomarkers Market Revenues ($m), 20072016 28
Table 11: Biomarkers in Cancer Research, Global, Patent Analysis by Company, 2010 33
Table 12: Biomarkers in Cancer Research, Global, Patent Analysis by Territory, 2010 34
Table 13: Biomarkers in Cancer Research, Global, Pipeline by Indication and Stage of Development, August 2010 36
Table 14: Biomarkers in Cancer Research, Clarient Pipeline, August 2010 39
Table 15: Biomarkers in Cancer Research, Clarient, Major M&A Deals, 20052010 40
Table 16: Biomarkers in Cancer Research, Clarient, Partnership Deals, 20062010 41
Table 17: Biomarkers in Cancer Research, Qiagen Pipeline, August 2010 42
Table 18: Biomarkers in Cancer Research, Qiagen, Major M&A Deals, 20052010 44
Table 19: Biomarkers in Cancer Research, Qiagen, Partnership Deals, 20062010 45
Table 20: Biomarkers in Cancer Research, Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings, Pipeline, August 2010 46
Table 21: Biomarkers in Cancer Research, Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings, Major M&A Deals, 20052010 47
Table 22: Biomarkers in Cancer Research, Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings, Partnership Deals, 20062010 48
Table 23: Biomarkers in Cancer Research, bioMerieux Pipeline, August 2010 49
Table 24: Biomarkers in Cancer Research, bioMerieux, Major M&A Deals, 20052010 50
Table 25: Biomarkers in Cancer Research, bioMerieux, Partnership Deals, 20062010 51
Table 26: Biomarkers in Cancer Research, Biomoda Pipeline, August 2010 52
Table 27: Biomarkers in Cancer Research, Biomoda, Partnership Deals, 20062010 53
Table 28: Biomarkers in Cancer Research, Exiqon Pipeline, August 2010 54
Table 29: Biomarkers in Cancer Research, Exiqon, Major M&A Deals, 20052010 55
Table 30: Biomarkers in Cancer Research, Beckman Coulter Pipeline, August 2010 55
Table 31: Biomarkers in Cancer Research, Beckman Coulter, Major M&A Deals, 20052010 56
Table 32: Biomarkers in Cancer Research, Beckman Coulter, Partnership Deals, 20062010 57
Table 33: Biomarkers in Cancer Research, A&G Pharmaceutical Pipeline, August 2010 57
Table 34: Biomarkers in Cancer Research, A&G Pharmaceutical, Major M&A Deals, 20052010 58
Table 35: Biomarkers in Cancer Research, AdnaGen Pipeline, August 2010 59
Table 36: Biomarkers in Cancer Research, AdnaGen, Major M&A Deals, 20052010 60
Table 37: Biomarkers in Cancer Research, AdnaGen, Partnership Deals, 20062010 61
Table 38: Biomarkers in Cancer Research, Rosetta Genomics Pipeline, August 2010 62
Table 39: Biomarkers in Cancer Research, Rosetta Genomics, Partnership Deals, 20062010 63
Table 40: Biomarkers in Cancer Research, Global, Partnership Deals by Indication, 20062010 65

List of Charts:
Figure 1: Biomarkers in Cancer Research, Global, Cancer Biomarkers Market Revenues ($bn), 20072016 17
Figure 2: Biomarkers in Cancer Research, Global, Market Segmentation by Indication, 2009 19
Figure 3: Biomarkers in Cancer Research, Global, Breast Cancer Biomarkers Market Revenues ($m), 20072016 20
Figure 4: Biomarkers in Cancer Research, Global, Prostate Cancer Biomarkers Market Revenues ($m), 20072016 21
Figure 5: Biomarkers in Cancer Research, Global, Lung Cancer Biomarkers Market Revenues ($m), 20072016 22
Figure 6: Biomarkers in Cancer Research, Global, Colorectal Cancer Biomarkers Market Revenues ($m), 20072016 23
Figure 7: Biomarkers in Cancer Research, Global, Cervical Cancer Biomarkers Market Revenues ($m), 20072016 24
Figure 8: Biomarkers in Cancer Research, Global, Head & Neck Cancer Biomarkers Market Revenues ($m), 20072016 25
Figure 9: Biomarkers in Cancer Research, Global, Pancreatic Cancer Biomarkers Market Revenues ($m), 20072016 26
Figure 10: Biomarkers in Cancer Research, Global, Ovarian Cancer Biomarkers Market Revenues ($m), 20072016 27
Figure 11: Biomarkers in Cancer Research, Global, Stomach Cancer Biomarkers Market Revenues ($m), 20072016 28
Figure 12: Biomarkers in Cancer Research, Market Drivers and Restraints, August 2010 29
Figure 13: Biomarkers in Cancer Research, Global, Patent Analysis by Patent Type, 2010 32
Figure 14: Biomarkers in Cancer Research, Global, Patent Analysis by Company, 2010 33
Figure 15: Biomarkers in Cancer Research, Global, Patent Analysis by Territory, 2010 34
Figure 16: Biomarkers in Cancer Research, Global, Pipeline by Indication (%), August 2010 36
Figure 17: Biomarkers in Cancer Research, Global, Pipeline by Phase of Development (%), August 2010 37
Figure 18: Biomarkers in Cancer Research, Global, Pipeline by Geography (%), August 2010 38
Figure 19: Biomarkers in Cancer Research, Global, Partnership Deals by Year, 20062010 64
Figure 20: Biomarkers in Cancer Research, Global, Partnership Deals by Indication, 20062010 65
Figure 21: Biomarkers in Cancer Research, Global, Partnership Deals by Deal Type, 20062010 66
Figure 22: Biomarkers in Cancer Research, Global, Partnership Deals by Geography, 20062010 67
Figure 23: Biomarkers in Cancer Research, Global, Partnership Deals by Companies, 20062010 68
Figure 24: Biomarkers in Cancer Research, Global, M&A Deals by Value (%), 20052010 69
Figure 25: Biomarkers in Cancer Research, Global, M&A Deals by Geography (%), 20052010 70
Figure 26: Biomarkers in Cancer Research, Global, M&A Deals by Companies (%), 20052010 71

Source: http://www.wpt9.com/biomarkers-in-cancer-research-high-unmet-need-in-cervical-cancer-and-lung-cancer-to-drive-growth/

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Apple Talks Retail: 110 Million People Visited Apple Stores In Q1

I'm not a huge fan of schlepping around needlessly when I can do most of my shopping from the comfort of my chair, but Apple fans don't seem to have much trouble going to their local Apple store when the urge strikes. According to their recent earnings call, 110 million people went to an Apple store in Q1, which breaks down to roughly 22,000 customers per Apple store per week.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/QiPJp-W7VwQ/

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DLD 2012 ? @Jack Dorsey: ?Twitter Has A Business Model That Works?

Earlier this fine Sunday afternoon, Twitter and Square founder Jack Dorsey took the stage at the DLD Conference, the annual pre-Davos meeting of minds held in Munich, Germany. In an interview with not one but two journalists (Holger Schmidt from FOCUS Magazine and Techonomy's David Kirkpatrick), Dorsey talked a great deal about Twitter and a little bit about Square. Dorsey didn't reveal anything spectacular about either company, emphasizing once more how Twitter is not your traditional social network (here's my counterpoint) and that its business model works, thanks very much for asking.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/pYE9xXNmC7E/

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Florida State ends No. 4 Duke's home streak at 45

Florida State's Michael Snaer shoots the game-winning basket during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Duke in Durham, N.C., Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012. Florida State won 76-73. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

Florida State's Michael Snaer shoots the game-winning basket during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Duke in Durham, N.C., Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012. Florida State won 76-73. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

Florida State's Michael Snaer (21) and Ian Miller celebrate Snaer's game-winning shot against Duke during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Durham, N.C., Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012. Florida State won 76-73. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

Florida State's Michael Snaer (21) and Ian Miller celebrate Snaer's game-winning basket against Duke during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Durham, N.C., Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012. Florida State won 76-73. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) ? Michael Snaer acknowledged he never felt comfortable playing in one of college basketball's most hostile environments, from the rowdy fans perched on the sideline to the way Duke tried to pressure the Seminoles out of their offense.

One shot changed everything ? and ended Duke's long reign on its famed home court.

Snaer hit a 3-pointer as time expired and Florida State beat the fourth-ranked Blue Devils 76-73 on Saturday, snapping Duke's 45-game home winning streak.

With the game tied, Luke Loucks sprinted up the middle of the court before zipping a pass to Snaer on the right side in front of the FSU bench. Snaer quickly launched the shot over Andre Dawkins that dropped cleanly through the net at the horn, stunning the once-rowdy crowd at Cameron Indoor Stadium and sending the Seminoles' bench spilling onto "Coach K Court" in celebration.

"When it went in, I didn't know what to think," Snaer said. "It was amazing."

Snaer's basket gave the Seminoles (13-6, 4-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) a fourth straight win, which includes last weekend's 33-point home rout of preseason No. 1 North Carolina. It marked only the second time in school history that the Seminoles have beaten both Duke and North Carolina in the same season, the other time coming in 2002.

It marked the first home loss for the Blue Devils (16-3, 4-1) since falling to the eventual national champion Tar Heels in February 2009. It also ended Duke's 64-game home winning streak against unranked opponents, which began after a one-point loss to Florida State five years ago.

"There's not too many times teams can come in and win at a hostile environment like Duke and a great team like Duke," Loucks said. "We just kind of saw an opportunity here and went ahead and seized it. After the jubilation and jumping around in the locker room, the whole speech was that we're not finished. We only have four ACC wins right now, and that's not going to get us into the (NCAA) tournament."

Xavier Gibson led Florida State with 16 points, while Snaer scored 14 ? including a banked-in 3 to beat the buzzer on the final play of the first half.

Duke led by nine in the first half and by eight midway through the second, but the Seminoles just wouldn't let the Blue Devils pull away to tie a school and ACC record for the longest home winning streak. Instead, they kept attacking and knocking down tough shots.

In fact, Snaer knocked down a pair of clutch shots in the final minute. On the first, he drove into the paint and knocked down a pull-up for a 71-70 lead with 55.8 seconds left. Then ? after Austin Rivers tied the game on a driving basket with 4.9 seconds left ? Snaer answered with an even bigger one, putting him at the center of a celebration that migrated all the way across the court to stand in front of a stunned group of Cameron Crazies.

"The kid hit a beautiful shot," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said.

FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said the shot looked good to him, prompting a reporter to ask him if he had any doubts it would go in.

"None whatsoever," Hamilton said as he playfully looked to the ceiling. "That's my story and I'm sticking to it."

Duke came in ranked last in the ACC in field goal percentage defense, an unusual stat for Krzyzewski's program. Florida State finished this one at 54 percent, including 67 percent (18 for 27) in a tense second half. The Seminoles scored 50 points after halftime.

Rivers hit a free throw to give Duke a 70-69 lead with 1:13 left, but he missed the second and Snaer followed with his basket for the lead. But Loucks and Gibson each went 1 for 2 at the line in the final 35 seconds, setting up Rivers' final basket that put Duke within reach of overtime.

Duke had won 46 straight at home from 1997-2000, and most of the wins in the current 45-game streak had come by double-digit margins. Duke overcame its own 40-percent shooting by knocking down 10 3-pointers. The Blue Devils also dominated the offensive boards and outscored Florida State 20-6 on second-chance points, but they couldn't come up with a final stop.

"It's so frustrating because we prepare so well and work so hard," Rivers said. "Everybody fought. I don't think anybody was lazy. We were blow for blow and they got that last blow in, the last shot at the last second."

Rivers had 19 points to lead Duke, while Dawkins had 14.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-01-21-BKC-T25-Florida-State-Duke/id-063701c5957e438a82f4f93a07c261d9

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Texas formally introduces Japanese pitcher Darvish (AP)

ARLINGTON, Texas ? Yu Darvish leaned over and looked at his name and the No. 11 on the back of his Texas Rangers jersey. Then he looked up and smiled.

"Excited, that's all I feel right now," Darvish said through a translator. "Just excited going forward."

Japan's best pitcher is now officially a member of the two-time defending American League champions, with his formal introduction Friday night in Texas coming two days after the right-hander agreed to a six-year contract that guarantees him $56 million.

The 25-year-old Darvish, who exceled in Japan's Pacific League the past seven seasons, said he wasn't prepared to go into specifics about the several different reasons why he decided to make the move to United States now.

But he said he felt no pressure and planned to keep an open mind and be relaxed ? with his new team and in a new country.

"I have no worries," he said. "What I'm looking forward to is a different environment, a different league and different hitters. I'm looking forward to it full of excitement."

There is a lot of excitement in Texas, where fans are hoping Darvish is the missing piece that will help lift the Rangers to their first World Series title.

The Rangers spent more than two years scouting Darvish and getting to know him personally before committing more than $107 million to get him. On top of his contract, they had to pay a record $51,703,411 posting bid to the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters, Darvish's team in Japan.

Rangers pitchers and catchers are scheduled to report to spring training in Arizona on Feb. 22, and Darvish said he was planning to immediately return home to Japan.

Darvish said he would continue with his offseason workouts there and hold another news conference to express his feelings to fans in Japan.

Joe Furukawa, a Rangers scout in the Pacific Rim and one of their primary contacts with Darvish over the last couple of years, will spend this season with the pitcher to help his transition to the major leagues and the United States. Furukawa sat to his right on Friday night and served as the translator during the bilingual news conference.

Darvish smiled often during the question-and-answer session, though he said he wasn't prepared yet to say anything in English.

The press conference was broadcast live in Darvish's homeland, where it was Saturday morning. It was held in a much bigger room that is part of the team's Hall of Fame area at Rangers Ballpark, instead of the usual interview room down the hall from the clubhouse.

Among those sitting in the front row were Ray Davis and Bob Simpson, the oil-and-gas billionaires who are co-chairmen of the Rangers ownership group, and slugger Josh Hamilton. Simpson smiled when he walked in and saw the room full of international media.

"We've had a lot of big moments on the field the last couple of years, in October and the things we've accomplished," general manager Jon Daniels said while introducing Darvish. "There haven't been many bigger off-the-field moments than what brings us here."

After the news conference, the 6-foot-5 Darvish donned his new jersey and went on the field, where he stood on the mound and tossed a couple of balls toward the plate.

Highlights of Darvish's career in Japan were being shown on the huge videoboard high above right field. The two-time Pacific League MVP had a 93-38 record and 1.99 ERA in 167 games.

The electronic ribbon boards around the stadium were lit up with Darvish's image with his number and name, switching back and forth between English and Japanese.

Darvish's contract is worth up to $60 million including bonuses and incentives, but there was one thing he apparently didn't get in his deal after standing on the mound and looking out to the right-center field fence in his only other visit to Rangers Ballpark two weeks ago.

"It seemed a little close, I asked my GM if they could back that up a little bit, not sure where they are on that," he said.

When asked about that, Daniels laughed and motioned toward Hamilton.

"I don't think Josh wants us to move them back," Daniels said. "We'll let them arm wrestle and figure it out."

Hamilton was one of his new teammates that he met during his trip to Texas earlier this month.

"He has confidence in his ability and all the things he does as a player," Hamilton said. "I think he's going to enjoy it here and is going to have a good time."

Darvish arrived about three hours earlier at Dallas-Fort Worth Airport, where he was greeted by a large group of media cameras and a handful of Rangers fans.

There was a bit of a stir created by the photos of the arrival, when Darvish wore a T-shirt with the phrase "I Will Survive" surrounding the image of a Japanese Maple Leaf, which looks similar to a marijuana leaf.

"In Japan, anything that's like a T-shirt with English words on it," he said. "We just tend to wear it, we don't really actually know what it means."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120121/ap_on_sp_ba_ne/bba_rangers_darvish

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Federal prosecutors shut down Megaupload file-sharing site, founders charged

Details are still somewhat light at the moment, but reports are now coming out that the popular Megaupload file-sharing site has been shut down by Federal prosecutors in the US, and that the site's founders and other individuals have been charged with violating piracy laws. According to The New York Times, the indictment says that the company has cost copyright holders some $500 million in lost revenue, and that the site was at one time the 13th most popular on the internet. As the Times also notes, this news comes a day after Megaupload voluntarily blacked out its website to protest the SOPA and PIPA anti-piracy legislation now being considered by Congress.

Update: As The Verge reports, the indictment itself doesn't mince any words, calling Megaupload an "international organized criminal enterprise allegedly responsible for massive worldwide online piracy," and alleging that Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom generated more than $175 million in "criminal proceeds." Those charges also come with some potentially hefty prison sentences, including a maximum 20 years for conspiracy to commit racketeering, five years for copyright infringement, 20 years for money laundering, and five years for each of the substantive charges of criminal copyright infringement.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Federal prosecutors shut down Megaupload file-sharing site, founders charged originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 Jan 2012 15:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/SzuO7gVl7hQ/

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Washington Monument gets $7.5M for repairs (AP)

WASHINGTON ? A billionaire history buff has stepped forward to donate a $7.5 million matching gift that's needed to start repairing cracks near the top of the Washington Monument caused by last summer's East Coast earthquake.

Businessman David Rubenstein said he was inspired to help fund the repairs to the 555-foot obelisk when it became clear how severely damaged it was by a 5.8-magnitude earthquake Aug. 23. The National Park Service and nonprofit Trust for the National Mall announced Rubenstein's gift Thursday morning. It is the largest gift to the nonprofit group, which aims to raise $350 million to restore the mall's grounds and facilities.

Rubenstein came forward very soon after the earthquake.

"I would suggest it hadn't even stopped shaking before David Rubenstein came to me and asked if he could help," said National Park Service Director Jonathan Jarvis said.

The famous landmark received about 1 million visitors a year before it was closed to the public after the quake. The Park Service hopes to have a contractor begin work by the end of August.

Bob Vogel, superintendent of the national mall, said the park service is working to get the monument reopened as quickly as possible. He said repairs will likely take a year to complete, but such an undertaking has never been done before, so the exact timeline is uncertain.

"This is a complex job," Vogel said. "This is a one-of-a-kind structure that poses challenges for repair that other buildings don't."

Congress allocated $7.5 million in December on the condition that private donations would match that amount. The combined $15 million in public and private funds is expected to cover the cost of repairing damage directly caused by the quake, said National Park Service spokeswoman Carol Johnson. Repairing water damage will cost more, as would a seismic study or reinforcements to strengthen the structure against future earthquakes, she said.

Rubenstein is a co-founder of The Carlyle Group, a private equity firm.

"This Washington Monument is probably one of the most recognizable buildings in the United States next to the Capitol and the Empire State Building," he said. "It could use a little repair work, and I wanted people to get to see it as soon as possible."

He also acknowledged some of the large gifts he's made in recent years to the Smithsonian Institution, the National Archives, the Library of Congress and the Kennedy Center. Last month, Rubenstein gave $4.5 million to the National Zoo to fund its giant panda reproduction program for five more years.

"I don't think I want to be buried with my wealth," he said. "I want the pleasure of giving it away while I'm alive."

The August quake was centered some 40 miles west of Richmond, Va., and felt from Canada to Georgia. It damaged the Washington National Cathedral, where pieces of mortar rained down from its vaulted ceiling. At the Washington Monument, panicked visitors fled down flights of stairs on the day of the big shake, but there were no deaths or serious injuries in the region.

The earthquake caused numerous cracks to form in the obelisk, which was the tallest man-made structure in the world when it was completed in 1884.

Surveillance video taken the day of the quake showed the spire shaking violently. Daylight could be seen through some of the cracks, the largest of which was reported to be at least 4 feet long and about an inch wide.

A report in December recommended extensive repairs and reinforcements to preserve the spire. It said some marble panels were cracked all the way through near the top portion of the monument. Cracks near its peak also have left the monument vulnerable to water damage from rain, engineers noted.

Last fall, daredevil engineers rappelled from the top to conduct a visual inspection of the exterior. They documented the damage but noted the monument is structurally sound.

Officials said it's unclear whether the work will require scaffolding to be built around the monument, similar to what was erected during a restoration project from 1999 to 2001.

Caroline Cunningham, president of the Trust for the National Mall, said Rubenstein's gift "demonstrates how much people care about this space."

There has long been talk of sprucing up the mall at the heart of the nation's capital.

A design competition is under way to develop ways to improve the mall, including the Washington Monument grounds. Finalists will be chosen in May, and the group will seek funding for each project. The nonprofit group has targeted parts of the mall that are run down from over use and neglect as a focus for its restoration efforts.

The monument was built with private $1 donations eventually totaling over $1 million, Rubenstein said. Construction began in 1848, but funds ran out during the Civil War when the monument was left as an embarrassing stump for years. It was finally completed in 1884 and was the world's tallest man-made structure until it was eclipsed by the Eiffel Tower. It remains the tallest structure in Washington.

Rubenstein owns a copy of the Magna Carta, among other historical documents, and reveres George Washington.

"I like to remind people about American history," Rubenstein said. "George Washington is an incredible figure. When he was the head of the Revolutionary War Army, he could have stayed on as really the head of the government when we won the Revolutionary War, but he put down his arms."

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Trust for the National Mall: http://www.nationalmall.org

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Follow Brett Zongker at https://twitter.com/DCArtBeat

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120119/ap_on_re_us/us_washington_monument

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