Morocco accuses Algeria and Polisario of destabilizing the Sahara ...

By Youssef El Kaidi

Morocco World News

Fez, April 30, 2013

It seems that the US withdrawal of its draft resolution to expand the mandate of the MINURSO to monitor human rights in the Sahara was disillusioning and traumatic to the Polisario and Algeria. Following the adoption by the UN Security Council of the resolution on the Moroccan Sahara by consensus?the resolution that makes no mention of a human rights monitoring mechanism in the Moroccan Sahara?the separatists in the southern provinces went into riots in Laayoune and Boujdour to provoke the security forces and instigate violence.

The US withdrawal of its draft resolution, which is perceived as a political victory for Morocco, puts Algeria and Polisario in an embarrassing situation. In response to this political victory, Algeria and Polisario plan to sow the seeds of discord and anarchy in the Moroccan Sahara by ?inciting minors to engage in clashes with Moroccan security forces to promote the claim that Morocco does not respect human rights,? the mayor of Laayoune Khalil Eddakhil said in a press conference on Monday.

The mayor added that there is information indicating that a number of ?young men benefit from training in the Tindouf camps (of Polisario in the Algerian territory) and then infiltrate Morocco?s southern provinces to carry out acts of sabotage.?

The plan to drag the region into instability, of which Morocco is fully aware, is carried out by the separatists in the cities of the Moroccan Sahara. These individuals were not arrested despite the damage that they caused to public property in these cities. ?No one was arrested despite the acts of vandalism and serious damage that occurred to public property, as well as the injury of a number of members of the security forces who were pelted with stones,? says Mr. Khalil Eddakhil who also stressed that ?Morocco is committed to the policy of restraint so as to not give the opponents of its territorial integrity excuses that they later may use against it.?

? Morocco World News. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, rewritten or redistributed

Source: http://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2013/04/89065/morocco-accuses-algeria-and-polisario-of-destabilizing-the-sahara/

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FDA will investigate added caffeine in foods

This product image provided by the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company shows packaging for Alert Energy Caffeine Gum. (AP Photo/Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company)

This product image provided by the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company shows packaging for Alert Energy Caffeine Gum. (AP Photo/Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company)

This product image provided by the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company shows the back of packaging showing the nutritional facts for Alert Energy Caffeine Gum. (AP Photo/Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Trail mix. Potato chips. And now gum.

With a growing number of foods boasting added caffeine for an energy boost, the Food and Drug Administration says it's time to investigate their safety.

The FDA's new look at added caffeine and its effects on children and adolescents is in response to a caffeinated gum introduced this week by Wrigley. Called Alert Energy Gum, it promises "The right energy, right now." The agency is already investigating the safety of energy drinks and energy shots, prompted by consumer reports of illness and death.

Michael Taylor, FDA's deputy commissioner of foods, said Monday that the only time FDA explicitly approved the added use of caffeine in a food or drink was in the 1950s for colas. The current proliferation of caffeine added to foods is "beyond anything FDA envisioned," Taylor said.

"It is disturbing," Taylor said in an interview with The Associated Press. "We're concerned about whether they have been adequately evaluated."

Taylor said the agency will look at the potential impact these "new and easy sources" of caffeine will have on children's health and will take action if necessary. He said that he and other FDA officials have held meetings with some of the large food companies that have ventured into caffeinated products, including Mars Inc., of which Wrigley is a subsidiary.

Wrigley and other companies adding caffeine to their products have labeled them as for adult use only. A spokeswoman for Wrigley, Denise M. Young, said the gum is for "adults who are looking for foods with caffeine for energy" and each piece contains about 40 mg, or the equivalent amount found in half a cup of coffee. She said the company will work with FDA.

"Millions of Americans consume caffeine responsibly and in moderation as part of their daily routines," Young said.

Food manufacturers have added caffeine to candy, nuts and other snack foods in recent years. Jelly Belly "Extreme Sport Beans," for example, have 50 mg of caffeine in each 100-calorie pack, while Arma Energy Snx markets trail mix, chips and other products that have caffeine.

Critics say it's not enough for the companies to say they are marketing the products to adults when the caffeine is added to items like candy that are attractive to children. Major medical associations have warned that too much caffeine can be dangerous for children, who have less ability to process the stimulant than adults. The American Academy of Pediatrics says caffeine has been linked to harmful effects on young people's developing neurologic and cardiovascular systems.

"Could caffeinated macaroni and cheese or breakfast cereal be next?" said Michael Jacobson, director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, which wrote the FDA a letter concerned about the number of foods with added caffeine last year. "One serving of any of these foods isn't likely to harm anyone. The concern is that it will be increasingly easy to consume caffeine throughout the day, sometimes unwittingly, as companies add caffeine to candies, nuts, snacks and other foods. "

Taylor said the agency would look at the added caffeine in its totality ? while one product might not cause adverse effects, the increasing number of caffeinated products on the market, including drinks, could mean more adverse health effects for children.

Last November, the FDA said it had received 92 reports over four years that cited illnesses, hospitalizations and deaths after consumption of an energy shot marketed as 5-Hour Energy. The FDA said it had also received reports that cited the highly caffeinated Monster Energy Drink in several deaths.

Agency officials said then that the reports to the FDA from consumers, doctors and others don't necessarily prove that the drinks caused the deaths or injuries but said they were investigating each one. In February, FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg again stressed that reports to the agency of adverse events related to energy drinks did not necessarily suggest a causal effect.

FDA officials said they would take action if they could link the deaths to consumption of the energy drinks, including forcing the companies to take the products off the market.

In 2010, the agency forced manufacturers of alcoholic caffeinated beverages to cease production of those drinks. The agency said the combination of caffeine and alcohol could lead to a "wide-awake drunk" and has led to alcohol poisoning, car accidents and assaults.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-04-29-FDA-Added%20Caffeine/id-967c10a2a76149708cc64c44ba110ef8

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These Minimalist Cards Are Almost Too Pretty to Play With

Sometimes it's not what you include but what you exclude that matters?which is the idea behind this beautiful pack of playing cards by designer Joe Doucet.

Dubbed IOTA, the idea behind the cards was a simple one: just how much could be taken away while still maintaining a deck which could actually be used to play? Turns out the answer is quite a lot.

Using simple geometric shapes?triangles represent both spades and hearts, for instance?he's managed to convey just enough information to players using the bare minimum of visual cues. Incidentally, while it would be nice to have blank backs, that's not allowed for regulation playing cards, so Doucet opted for a simple, single diagonal.

All told, the result is a deck of cards which is stunningly beautiful?perhaps even too beautiful to play with. The cards will make an official debut at Doucet's Play exhibition at Wanted Design in New York, between May 17th and 20th. [Joe Doucet via Design Milk]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/these-minimalist-cards-are-almost-too-pretty-to-play-wi-485560244

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Japan's ANA takes its first 787 back into the air since grounding

TOKYO (Reuters) - All Nippon Airways , the Japanese launch customer for Boeing Co's 787, flew its first Dreamliner in more than three months on Sunday to test reinforced batteries installed by the U.S. aircraft maker.

The ANA flight was the second by an airline since aviation regulators on Friday gave permission for 787 operations to restart after batteries on two of them overheated in mid January. One was on an ANA plane in Japan and another on a Japan Airlines jet parked at Boston's Logan airport.

Ethiopian Airlines on Saturday became the world's first carrier to resume flying Dreamliner passenger jets since the global fleet was grounded three months ago, carrying passengers to neighboring Kenya from Ethiopia.

The ANA flight, with company president Shinichiro Ito and Boeing's chief of commercial aircraft, Ray Conner, among those on board, left Tokyo's Haneda airport at 8:59 a.m. local time. It returned without incident at 10:54 a.m., a spokesman for the airline said.

ANA plans at least 230 test flights through May before resuming commercial operations. In addition to the battery fix approved by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the United States, Japan's Civil Aviation Bureau has requested its airlines monitor the battery current while the jet is in the air and inspect used batteries.

ANA owns 17 of the 50 Dreamliners, which have been grounded since mid January, while local rival JAL has seven of the carbon composite aircraft in its fleet.

JAL will start test flying its Dreamliners early next month with the aim of returning to normal operation in June. Neither Japanese carrier, which on Tuesday will release their earnings results for the three months that ended March 31, have said how much the 787 grounding has cost them in lost revenue.

(Reporting by Tim Kelly; Editing by Ron Popeski)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/japans-ana-takes-first-787-back-air-since-025408006.html

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Shropshire's County Show's ?13k loss as footfall disappoints ...

Shropshire?S County Show made a ?13,000 loss last year after visitor numbers fell short of organisers? expectations, new accounts show.

Figures in the accounts of Shropshire and West Midlands Agricultural Society show that despite the society investing in improvements to the showground, the rise in footfall did not match expectations and brought in only ?3,000 more than the previous year.

But because an extra ?22,000 was spent on the main events in the ring, the show lost ?13,000.

However, the society, a charitable company, still made an overall ?9,531 profit for the year.

Staff costs accounted for just ?30,000 of the year?s outlay of ?250,000.

The society is due to pay ?30,000 to creditors as part of the Company Voluntary Arrangement for the old West Mids Show, while the rent paid by the society is also set to be increased, making the current year a ?difficult and challenging? one for the company, the report adds.

In the report, society chairman Neale Sadler said: ?In a year that a substantial number of shows and events were cancelled due to the appalling weather, we have to feel extremely lucky that for us, for once, luck really was on our side and we had glorious weather for our first one-day county show.?

He added: ?Unfortunately we weren?t so lucky for the inaugural Shropshire County Horse Show the week before, which was preceded by a very wet night causing a few problems getting the horseboxes on to the showground. However the day itself was mostly fine and not too cold so we can be a little relieved.?

The document, filed with Companies House, also outlines plans for this year?s show. Both the county show and the horse show will be held on a single day, it says, after the inaugural one-day show this year suited farm traders, as well as meeting more widespread approval.

The buoyancy of agricultural trade helped the show, although there were concerns about the sluggish general trade entries.

Source: http://www.shropshirestar.com/news/2013/04/27/shropshires-county-shows-13k-loss-as-footfall-disappoints/

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NASA Sun Video: Three Years Condensed Into Three-Minute Time Lapse!

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Grandmas and gravity help deter teens from tattoos

?What is it??

That?s the question Gable Rhoads often fields about one of her tattoos, a black-and-red creature that crawls up her left arm. Is it a skeleton? A bird? A bat?

It?s a dragon. But you might not know it, she says, because not only have the colors and lines of the 27-year-old tattoo faded, but "it was just too large to properly visualize on my upper arm in the first place."

Rhoads, now 49, was no kid when she chose her tattoos. "I got my first tattoo when I was 22 and a recent graduate from Marine Corps boot camp; I thought my tattoo signaled to the world there was a tough woman under my shy, quiet exterior," she says.

But one of her daughters, Jade, was not quite an adult yet when she wanted to get hers. And that, as they say, can be a whole different story.

Rhoads' first-person account for Yahoo News was in response to our question: How do parents, especially those tattooed themselves, advise their children against them? That quandary arose somewhat amusingly on Wednesday when President Barack Obama told NBC?s "Today" show that he had warned his daughters that if they got tattoos, he and first lady Michelle Obama would get the same tattoos in the same place?a ?family tattoo,? if you will?and show them off on YouTube. Embarrassment, he implied, is ample deterrence.

Time speeds forward inexorably, and many who get inked face a problem: The tattoo that screamed undying love for a high-school cheerleader, say, or a boyfriend, or paid passionate allegiance to Def Leppard may have been badass back then, but now, not so much.

So, first family aside, what strategies do everyday parents employ to dissuade their kids from getting inked? Yahoo News asked them to share their tactics.

?I never forbade my daughters from getting a tattoo, but I did tell them to think long and hard before permanently changing their bodies,? Rhoads, who also has ?Semper Fi? and her ex-husband's name on her arm, says. ?The Minnie Mouse tattoo may be cute now, but what will the grandkids think when Minnie is wide and wrinkled??

Her ex-husband, she says, was more direct: He told Jade?now 25 with a tattoo of her own daughter's name and another of a flower?that women with tattoos were trashy. He later gave her the silent treatment. Those ploys didn't work.

"[My] tattoos are a part of me, and I do not regret them,? Rhoads, of Highland, Ind., says. ?Time will tell if she will come to regret [hers].?

Grandma is the first line of defense

The admonishment of ?Just Say No? worked in keeping Daniel A. Willis? teen boys from drugs. But keeping them from tattoos? Not so much.

When Joey, Willis? older son, turned 15, he offered the logic of "I want a tattoo, all my friends have one, I don't fit in without one.?

Enter Grandma.

Willis says his mother-in-law, Charlotte, is a very conservative woman. Raised in post-World War II Germany, she readily offers her perspective and doesn?t hesitate to dole out punishment. So, Willis issued Joey two ground rules: First, no tattoos on the face or below the shirt-sleeve. Second, he had to show the tattoo to his grandmother.

Condition No. 2, says Willis, who lives in Denver, was ?a show-stopper.?

Now 29, Joey didn?t get a tattoo until college. His younger brother, 27-year-old Keith, is ink-free.

Gravity can lead to regret

R.D. Hayes had trouble responding to her 7-year-old daughter?s pleas for a tattoo on her arm. Gracie?s age wasn?t the issue. It was because she was intent on copying her mom?s memorial tattoo of Gaje, Gracie's 6-year-old brother, who had been killed in an automobile accident.

Hayes, who lives in Oklahoma City, decided to simply tell the truth: Tattoos mean pain, gravity and regret.

?I remind [my kids] of all the dangers that can come from tattoos and how they may wake up one day and regret it,? Hayes, 28, says. ?I told them that gravity seems to take over as we age and, besides, tattoos can be some of the [worst] pain that you ever felt.?

Hayes, who had been a rebellious kid, says when she got her first tattoo?a small dot between her thumb and index finger?she waited patiently for her father to notice. She doesn't expect her kids will show any less spirit.

Her stepson, Brie, got his tattoo, a colorful teepee on his foot, right after he turned 18. ?It looked a bit girlish,? Hayes says. ?It was something that I wouldn't have placed on my body. He said it was to show off his Native American pride, but I couldn't help but laugh. [H]e now regrets it."

Which added fuel to her belief that parents should stress regret. Failing that, she recommends taking teens to a professional tattoo artist who can explain why it?s important to wait?or not get tattooed at all.

Read other parents? strategies:

Fake Infections Convinced Our Kids to Abhor Tattoos

How I Kept My Son from Getting a Spider-Man Tattoo

Mom to Kids: If You Really Want the Tattoo, Wait for It

No Tattoos?at Least in Inappropriate Places

In Warning Kids Against Tattoos, Sometimes Logic Actually Works

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/gravity-grandma-prove-time-tested-deterrents-teens-tattoo-210315072.html

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Italy poised to final get new government

ROME (AP) ? Italy appeared poised Saturday to finally get a new government, a broad coalition which brings media mogul Silvio Berlusconi's forces back to power, this time in tense alliance with center-left rivals.

Premier-designate Enrico Letta was summoned to an appointment (1300 GMT) with Italy's president, a development widely seen as indicating the center-left leader had succeeded in forming a government commanding strong support in Parliament.

However, it was possible Letta might also seek more time to knit together coalition agreements between archrival blocs.

Earlier, Berlusconi, who has three times served as premier, told reporters he believed a government would be formed though he would not be in the Cabinet being created by Letta.

Napolitano earlier in the week had tapped Letta to lead the latest bid to end the political deadlock that has gripped recession-mired Italy since inconclusive elections in February.

Viewed as a political bridge-builder, Letta is a nephew of a longtime Berlusconi adviser, Gianni Letta. The premier-designate met for two hours Saturday morning with Berlusconi as both sides hashed out Cabinet assignments.

The elections left the top vote-getter, Letta's Democratic Left party, badly fractured by infighting after it won control of the Chamber of Deputies but failed to do the same in the Senate. That result made runner-up Berlusconi a political kingmaker, since the center-left needs backing from his center-right bloc for a Parliamentary majority.

The third big bloc in Parliament, the anti-establishment 5 Star Movement, is led by comic Beppe Grillo, who ruled out any alliance with the largely sullied political class that has ruled Italy for decades.

Napolitano agreed to serve an unprecedented second term given the political instability.

Anxious financial markets and Italians fed up with joblessness and austerity spending cuts are counting on the next government to quickly roll out political and economic reforms.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-04-27-EU-Italy-Politics/id-d6c33d2ccf6242ca8b19af1ac1847017

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Over 1,000 women sue Nuvaring maker over blood clots

A NuvaRing contraceptive. (Sandy Huffaker/Getty)Rachel Lietzke Payne started using Nuvaring in 2008, when she was a 20-year-old college student. The contraceptive device appealed to her because it was easy to use. Birth control pills have to be taken every day, but Nuvaring, which came onto the market in 2001, is inserted into the vagina and removed each month?and is just as effective at preventing pregnancy.

One Monday in October of 2010, more than a year after she first began using the vaginal ring, Payne met her father for a standing lunch date at Buffalo Wild Wings in Casselberry, north of where they lived in Orlando. When she and her dad walked out of the restaurant, Payne suddenly fell ill and spat up quarter-size chunks of blood onto the cement.

Payne was rushed to the hospital, where she spent 10 days being pumped with anti-coagulants to thin her blood. She was diagnosed as having developed a blood clot in her lung, a condition that could have been fatal. ?It took them a while to figure out that it was blood clots because I was 22 at the time,? said Payne, who is now a married 25-year-old aspiring air traffic controller with a toddler son. She was also a non-smoker, fit, and had no family history of blood clots, all potential risk factors.

But the doctors landed on what they believed might have caused the clotting: the Nuvaring.

Payne is now one of more than 1,000 women suing Merck & Co?the pharmaceutical company that manufactures the birth control?in a federal district court in Missouri. They allege that the company?s device caused them to suffer blood clots?in a few cases, fatal ones?the risks of which they say they were inadequately warned about.

The suits are the latest in a pricey legal backlash over a variety of hormonal contraceptives that have come to the market in the past 10 years. Thousands of women sued over the Ortho Evra patch, citing studies that showed a higher blood clot risk compared to traditional birth control pills, costing Ortho McNeil, a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary, millions of dollars. And as of 2012, more than 10,000 suits had been filed against Bayer, the makers of Yaz and Yasmin birth control pills, which has set aside more than $1.5 billion to settle claims against them.

Roger Denton, the lead counsel for the multi-district litigation against Nuvaring in Missouri, said he thinks the case could be as lucrative for his clients as Bayer?s litigation over Yaz and Yasmin. (Bayer has settled for an average of $216,000 with each plaintiff in that case.)

Hormonal contraceptives inhibit ovulation by releasing a combination of estrogen and progestin. While earlier iterations of progestin have shown only a slight increase in blood clot risk, recent studies have shown that newer forms of progestin?called third- and fourth-generation progestins, which were developed in the 1990s and 2000s?are associated with higher rates of blood clotting among women who take them compared to second-generation iterations of the hormone.

In fact, more than a dozen studies conducted over more than a decade have shown that women taking contraceptives containing a third-generation progestin?such as that used in Nuvaring and some birth control pills?have a 1.4 to 4 times higher risk of developing blood clots than women on contraceptives containing second-generation progestin.

The studies include a recent one funded by the FDA that tracked the health records of more than 835,000 women. It found that those who used the vaginal ring were more likely to experience venous thrombosis than women who took oral contraceptives. But the researchers warned that the finding is ?new and raises concern,? and ?needs to be replicated in other studies.?

A handful of other studies, however, have shown no increased risk. Overall, the risk is still very low, with only around six to 10 out of 10,000 women developing blood clots over a year.

The plaintiffs in the Nuvaring case allege it's not just the hormone in the device that caused their blood clots, but also the delivery system. Unlike other forms of birth control, Nuvaring dispenses hormones directly into the bloodstream, which the plaintiffs' expert witness argues could cause "spikes" of hormones that make women more susceptible to blood clots. There's currently no large study that backs up that claim.

Some experts, however, warn the results of the studies are being overblown by the media and trial lawyers, and may be scaring women away from effective birth control. More than 20 international researchers published an open letter in the Journal of Family Health and Reproductive Planning earlier this month saying the media and attorneys are creating a ?scare? that is not based on adequate research and could create more harm than good. They argue that large database studies, such as the one funded by the FDA, can be inaccurate because they don?t take into account all the confounding variables, such as obesity, that could affect blood clotting.

The letter notes that third- and fourth-generation hormonal contraceptives overall contain a very low risk of blood clots, and that more studies are needed before that risk can be determined. Overall, it notes, about four to six additional women out of every 10,000 on the newer forms of birth control would suffer a blood clot compared to women taking the older form of birth control. The risk of blood clotting goes up dramatically for pregnant women: 29 per 10,000 pregnant women develop a blood clot, meaning that the risks of unintended pregnancy are far greater than that of any hormonal birth control on the market.

The plaintiffs in the Nuvaring case say Merck did not adequately test or label the Nuvaring product to warn of these risks. Merck has disputed this, saying the company is confident its product is safe, and that it followed U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines for its packaging.

The company was awarded a judicial victory last week, when a judge in New Jersey threw out seven separate suits against Nuvaring, saying the plaintiffs did not prove that Nuvaring was the cause of their blood clots. New Jersey courts have tougher standards for suing an FDA-approved product than the federal court system, however, where some of the more than 1,000 suits face trial beginning in October.

?We are confident the company has provided appropriate and timely information about Nuvaring to consumers and the medical, scientific and regulatory communities,? Lainie Keller, a spokeswoman for Merck, said in a statement. ?We remain confident in the efficacy and safety profile of Nuvaring, and will continue to always act in the best interest of patients.?

But Denton, the lead attorney for the plaintiffs, said he?s sure his cases in the district court won?t be dismissed.

?That?s what all these drug companies say,? Denton said. ?'It?s good enough for the FDA, that?s the end of the story.? But under our law that doesn?t matter. The jury decides.?

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/more-1-000-suits-against-nuvaring-trial-fall-103903135.html

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Fossilized Elephant bird egg sells at auction for more than $100,000

It's generally understood that in the Fox News and Glenn Beck breakup, Fox was the dumper and Beck the dumpee. But, in most breakups where the couple shares a social circle, neither party wants a reputation as the dumpee. Beck says he's the one who wanted to leave -- because the network was so depressing. "I remember feeling, 'If you do not leave now, you won?t leave with your soul intact,'" Beck said Friday, according to Forbes' Jeff Bercovici. Roger Ailes tried to talk him out of it. "Roger said to me, 'You're not going to leave.' And I said, 'I am. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/fossilized-bird-egg-sells-auction-more-100-000-212736083.html

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Overseer of U.S. victim funds says work wrenching

BOSTON (AP) ? Massachusetts lawyer Kenneth Feinberg has been near the heart of some of the worst catastrophes, dealing with people who've faced profound loss after 9/1l, the BP oil spill, the Virginia Tech shootings, and the Colorado movie theater ambush.

Now, he's adding the Boston Marathon bombings to his workload, managing a victims' compensation fund as he did after the previous tragedies.

The 67-year-old Feinberg said his work takes an emotional toll but is about wanting to help, in the same spirit as those who donate.

The experiences are wrenching, he said. And recipients invariably resent him, thinking he's trying to put a price on the priceless things they've lost.

"Don't expect thanks or appreciation or gratitude, none of that," Feinberg said. "We have very emotional victims and you're offering them money instead of a limb, instead of the return of a family member. This is a no-win situation."

But he keeps saying yes to the work because he wants to help.

"Look at the amount of money that pours in from private people, private citizens?" he said. "How do you say no if the governor calls, the mayor?"

In 1984, the Brockton native was appointed to distribute money from a $180 million settlement for military veterans exposed to Agent Orange. His work was stellar enough to prompt a call when President George W. Bush was looking for someone to manage the 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund. Since then, the calls have come regularly.

Currently, he is advising a panel distributing money after the December school massacre in Newtown, Conn., and mediating settlement discussions between Penn State and alleged sex abuse victims of former football coach Jerry Sandusky.

The One Fund ? now nearing $26 million ? was established to help victims of the April 15 marathon explosions that killed three people and injured more than 260. Feinberg has established an aggressive timeline in Boston. He hopes to meet with families by June 15 and get checks out by June 30.

Most of the work is pro bono, including the Boston Marathon job, though Feinberg was paid for his work with the 9/11 fund and the BP oil spill, the job that earned Feinberg the most abuse.

In his 2012 book, "Who Gets What," he said he became a "human pinata." Residents complained about the speed and distribution of the payouts, and insults flew at public meetings. "You are such a lying piece of (garbage)," one person said.

Meanwhile, lawyers scoffed at his vigorous declarations of independence from BP, a claim Feinberg said now widely believed.

Attorney Anthony Tarricone, now of the Boston firm Kreindler & Kreindler, who represented both BP and 9/11 victims, called Feinberg the perfect person to manage the marathon fund. Tarricone cited Feinberg's legal skills and the respectful, kind manner in which he dealt with 9/11 families.

"He was fair, he listened to the families, the families felt as if they were being listened to, and that he was understanding what they were going through," Tarricone said.

Former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft, who worked with Feinberg when he was handling the 9/11 fund, said Feinberg balances compassion for the victims with vigilance in protecting the money from abuse.

"I can't say exactly how he handles it emotionally and psychologically, I just know that he does it professionally," Ashcroft said. "I don't think the world would keep going back, knocking on his door, saying 'Ken, we need you again,' if they were displeased because there's nothing that locks him into this responsibility."

The eventual total of the One Fund will determine who can be helped. Payment for deaths takes priority, followed by compensation for physical injuries. Payment for mental health issues comes if money is available, Feinberg said.

His principle is to pay the same amount on all deaths. His top indicator for determining the seriousness of the injuries is the length of the hospital stay.

Feinberg has established an aggressive timeline. He hopes to meet with families by June 15 and get checks out by June 30. Along the way, the classical music aficionado will most likely take refuge in music when he can.

"During the day, I'm working on a project that shows you how uncivilized some people can be and how they willy-nilly, at random, kill and maim people," he said. "And at night you turn on Mozart, and it's the height of civilization." It reminds him "that mankind isn't all bad."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/overseer-us-victim-funds-says-wrenching-070532658.html

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Iraqi soldiers retake control of Sunni town

BAGHDAD (AP) ? Iraqi soldiers backed by tanks retook control of a Sunni town north of Baghdad on Friday after gunmen withdrew without a fight, although violence erupted at three Sunni mosques and clerics called for the formation of a tribal army to protect Sunni cities.

The Sunni gunmen had seized Suleiman Beg on Thursday after a firefight with security forces, one in a string of incidents that have killed more than 170 people in a spate of violence and clashes in Sunni Muslim towns in western and northern Iraq during the past four days.

The growing turmoil prompted the top United Nations official in Iraq on Friday to warn that the country is "at a crossroads."

Police and military officials said army units entered the town after negotiations with local tribal leaders.

The recent unrest in the country followed a deadly security crackdown on a Sunni protest in the northern town of Hawija four days ago.

In Iraq's predominantly Sunni provinces, anti-government rallies continued as preachers at protest sites called for the formation of tribal army that would protect Sunni areas from attacks by government forces.

In Samarra, Sunni cleric Najih al-Mizan lashed out at what he said were "the policies of tyranny and repression" adopted by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. He said al-Maliki's resignation was the only solution to save the country from the current crisis.

"We call upon our tribes to form an army that can protect us from a government that does not hesitate to kill its people," said al-Mizan.

In Fallujah, Sunni cleric Ali al-Basra repeated the call to form a tribal army to protect Sunni cities. Several protesters held aloft al-Qaida flags during the rally.

The new calls for Sunnis to take up arms could further raise the tension between the government and the Sunni minority. Al-Maliki appeared on national television on Thursday to appeal for calm.

The U.N. envoy to Iraq, Martin Kobler, underscored growing concern about the deteriorating situation in a renewed call for restraint.

"The country is at a crossroads," he said. "It is the historical responsibility of all Iraqi leaders to assume leadership and take bold initiatives, such as sitting together and calling in one voice for immediate restoration of calm and for a broad-based national dialogue."

Violence continued on Friday.

A bomb blast hit Sunni worshippers as they were leaving a mosque in western Baghdad after the end of Friday prayers, killing five worshippers and wounding 22 others. Minutes later, a Sunni was killed and six others were wounded when a bomb struck Sunnis near a mosque in the Rashidiyah area, 20 kilometers north of the capital. Also, a bomb exploded near a third Sunni mosque in northeastern Baghdad, killing two people.

There was no claim of responsibility for the attacks against Sunni mosques, which have now happened for two Fridays in a row. Last Friday, a pair of bombs struck outside a Sunni mosque north of Baghdad, killing at least 11 people.

Also on Friday, police said a bomb exploded shortly after sunset near a small restaurant in Baghdad's Shiite neighborhood of Sadr city, killing four people and wounding 20 others. Later on, police said three people were killed and 17 others wounded after a car bomb went off in a commercial street in southern Baghdad.

Al-Qaida's Iraqi branch, known as the Islamic State of Iraq, frequently carries out attacks against civilian targets such as mosques, markets and restaurants. The terrorist group mainly target Shiites, but it has also struck Sunni targets in an attempt to re-ignite the sectarian strife that pushed the country to the brink of civil war in the years following the 2003 U.S. led-invasion.

Medics in nearby hospitals confirmed the death toll. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to talk to media.

___

Associated Press writer Adam Schreck in Baghdad contributed.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/iraqi-soldiers-retake-control-sunni-town-115409591.html

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Politics on hold at the dedication of Bush library

DALLAS (AP) ? George W. Bush shed a sentimental tear. Barack Obama mused about the burdens of the office. Bill Clinton dished out wisecracks. Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush chimed in, too, on a rare day of harmony at the dedication of the younger Bush's presidential library that glossed over the hard edges and partisan divides of five presidencies spanning more than three tumultuous decades.

"To know the man is to like the man," Obama declared of his Republican predecessor, speaking Thursday before a crowd of 10,000 at an event that had the feel of a class reunion for the partisans who had powered the Bush administration from 2001 to 2009. Dick Cheney was there in a white cowboy hat. Condoleezza Rice gave shout-outs to visiting dignitaries. Colin Powell and Karl Rove were prominent faces in the crowd.

On this day, there was no mention of Iraq or Afghanistan, the wars that dominated Bush's presidency and so divided the nation. There were only gentle references to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. And praise aplenty for the resolve that Bush showed in responding to the 9/11 terror attacks.

Clinton joked that the dedication of the George W. Bush Presidential Center was "the latest, grandest example of the eternal struggle of former presidents to rewrite history." But he also praised Bush for including interactive exhibits at the center that invite visitors to make their own choices on major decisions that he faced.

Bush, 66, made indirect reference to the polarizing decision points of his presidency, drawing a knowing laugh as he told the crowd: "One of the benefits of freedom is that people can disagree. It's fair to say I created plenty of opportunities to exercise that right."

He said he was guided throughout his presidency by a determination "to expand the reach of freedom."

"It wasn't always easy, and it certainly wasn't always popular."

It was a day for family and sentimentality, Bush choking up with emotion at the conclusion of his remarks.

The 43rd president singled out his 88-year-old father, another ex-president, to tell him: "41, it is awesome that you are here today."

The elder Bush, wearing jaunty pink socks, spoke for less than a minute from his wheelchair, then turned to his son and quipped, "Too long?" He has a form of Parkinson's disease and has been hospitalized recently for bronchitis.

Just as the public tends to view presidents more kindly once they've left office, ex-presidents, too, tend to soften their judgments ? or at least their public comments ? with time.

Obama once excoriated Bush for his "failed policies" and "disastrous" handling of the economy, for expanding budget deficits, and for drawing the nation into war in Iraq.

On Thursday, he took a detour around those matters and instead praised Bush for his strength after 9/11, compassion in fighting HIV/AIDS in Africa, bipartisanship in pursuing education reforms and restarting "an important conversation by speaking with the American people about our history as a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants."

If the country is eventually able to enact immigration changes this year, Obama added, "it will be, in large part, thanks to the hard work of President George W. Bush."

Obama said the living presidents make up an exclusive club ? but it's more like a support group for the men who have held the position.

"No matter how much you may think you are ready to assume the office of the presidency, it's impossible to truly understand the nature of the job until it's yours," Obama said. "And that's why every president gains a greater appreciation for all of those who served before them."

The other presidents struck a similar tone.

Clinton praised Bush for his efforts to combat AIDS in Africa, his work on global health and even for the paintings he's doing in retirement. And he said he'd gotten so close to the Bush family that there were jokes that "I had become the black sheep son."

Carter praised Bush for his role in helping secure peace between North and South Sudan in 2005 and the "great contributions you've made to the most needy people on earth."

Bush has kept a decidedly low profile since leaving office four years ago with an approval rating of just 33 percent. That figure has been gradually climbing and now is at 47 percent ? about equal to Obama's own approval rating, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll released ahead of the library opening.

If politics was absent from the podium on Thursday, it was still a prominent subtext.

Those in attendance included a number of potential candidates for president in 2016 ? another Clinton (Hillary) and Bush (Jeb) among them.

George W. Bush in recent days played up the idea of his younger brother, the former governor of Florida, seeking the White House, telling C-SPAN, "My first advice is: Run."

Their mother, former first lady Barbara Bush, did the opposite.

"We've had enough Bushes," she said Thursday on NBC's "Today" show.

The presidential center at Southern Methodist University includes a library, museum and policy institute. It contains more than 70 million pages of paper records, 200 million emails, 4 million digital photos and 43,000 artifacts. Bush's library will feature the largest digital holdings of any of the 13 presidential libraries under the auspices of the National Archives and Records Administration.

A full-scale replica of the Oval Office as it looked during Bush's tenure sits on the campus, as does a piece of steel from the World Trade Center and the bullhorn that Bush used to punctuate the chaos at ground zero three days after 9/11. In the museum, visitors can gaze at a container of chads ? the remnants of the famous Florida punch card ballots that played a pivotal role in the contested 2000 election that sent Bush to Washington.

Laura Bush led the library's design committee, officials said, with a keen eye toward ensuring that the family's Texas roots were conspicuously reflected. Architects used local materials, including Texas Cordova cream limestone and trees from the central part of the state, in its construction.

___

Follow Josh Lederman on Twitter: http://twitter.com/joshledermanAP .

___

Associated Press writer Nancy Benac contributed from Washington.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/politics-hold-dedication-bush-library-200154350.html

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Nokia hosting Lumia event on May 14th, invites us to 'see what's next'

The next couple months are gearing up to be pretty busy, and Nokia's joining the fun with a press event on May 14th. The Finnish company is putting out a rather hefty teaser to get us intrigued, stating that the Nokia Lumia story continues, and we'll get to "see what's next." The timing of this new device is rather curious, given the fact that the flagship Lumia phones typically get shown off later in the fall. Is this the rumored 41MP PureView Windows Phone we've been hoping for ever since the 808 came out? Perhaps we'll see the Lumia 928 that we hear is supposed to hit Verizon in May (though London would be an odd and unlikely locale for a US-only handset unveiling). Could it simply be a lower-end device along the lines of the 520 or 620? We doubt that as well, but either way, we'll be there to get the scoop as Mr. Elop (we'd expect) shows off the latest Windows Phone coming out of Espoo.

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, Nokia

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Via: TechnoBuffalo

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/If7Eac5AlwM/

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BPI to pay EPA fine for 2007 Waterloo accident

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) -- Beef Products Inc. has agreed to pay a $450,000 civil penalty to settle alleged violations of Clean Air Act regulations from a 2007 incident at a now-closed Waterloo packing plant which killed a worker and injured another.

In the accident more than 1,000 pounds of anhydrous ammonia was released into an area occupied by workers and two became trapped. The EPA determined in an investigation that the company failed to implement its risk management plan.

The company says it is working with EPA to resolve past concerns about its refrigeration systems and that includes enhancing existing controls and procedures.

The company has agreed to conduct audits of its compliance with risk management regulations at the South Sioux City, Neb., facility and correct any identified problems.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/bpi-pay-epa-fine-2007-155344508.html

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After foiled plot, Canada focuses on rail transport weaknesses

By Ian Simpson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An alleged al Qaeda-backed plot to derail a U.S. passenger train in Canada sought to exploit the vulnerabilities of railroads that have not gotten much attention from the American public.

While the United States has sharply tightened security around airlines since the September 11, 2001, attacks, trains are far harder to police, with masses of passengers getting on and off and stops at many stations on a single line. Thousands of miles (km) of track, bridges and tunnels present a major challenge to monitor.

Even though the United States has largely been immune from attacks, extremists around the world have frequently exploited rail transport's vulnerability, said Brian Michael Jenkins, a security expert with the Mineta Transportation Center at California's San Jose State University.

"Surface transportation really has become the terrorists' killing fields," he said.

Two suspects were arrested in Canada on Monday charged with conspiring to blow up a trestle on the Canadian side of the border as the Maple Leaf, the daily Amtrak connection between Toronto and New York, passed over it. Amtrak is the U.S. passenger rail service.

The two men charged in the plot made their first court appearances on Tuesday. A lawyer for one said his client would fight the charges vigorously.

Jenkins and Steve Kulm, an Amtrak spokesman, said trains presented a unique security challenge, different from airports with their screening process for passengers.

Amtrak coordinates security with local law enforcement, does counterterrorism exercises and patrols its tracks and stations, Kulm said. It also is reconfiguring stations to make them safer from potential attack.

"It's no surprise and no secret that overseas terrorists have targeted rail transportation, and so we have, as I say, many seen and unseen measures that we have put in place and continue to improve upon," Kulm said.

MORE FATALITIES IN RAIL ATTACKS

Although popular attention has tended to focus on airliner attacks, far more people have died worldwide from surface rail assaults, Jenkins said.

Since the September 11, 2001, militant attacks on the United States, there have been 75 assaults on airliners, with 157 fatalities, he said.

During the same period, there were 1,800 attacks on surface transport, with nearly 4,000 people killed. Among them were attacks on Madrid in 2004 and on Mumbai in 2006 that each killed about 200 people, and a 2005 London bombing that claimed 52 lives.

In the United States, only one person has died from an extremist rail attack in recent decades, when Amtrak's Sunset Limited was derailed in Arizona in 1995. Responsibility was claimed by a group calling itself Sons of the Gestapo and the saboteurs have not been found.

The United States has more than 200,000 miles of railroad, with about 21,000 milesused by Amtrak. Amtrak carried 31.2 million passengers in the last fiscal year, its ninth record year in the last 10, Kulm said.

Elliot G. Sander, a former chief executive of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority of New York, which runs two of the biggest U.S. commuter railroads, said public awareness was critical to countering potential attacks.

"One cannot understate the importance of the participation of the public, in terms of eyes and ears," he said.

The Department of Homeland Security spent $136 million in the 2013 fiscal year on surface transportation security, with 775 personnel. Aviation security received $5.3 billion and has 53,000 personnel.

Special Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response (VIPR) teams have the job of carrying out random baggage and security checks at train, subway and bus stations as well as truck weighing stations.

Created after the Madrid railway bombing, the VIPR teams carried out more than 9,300 operations in fiscal 2011, according to the Department of Homeland Security's 2013 budget request.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) was criticized last year by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), an investigative arm of Congress, for failing to carry out analysis of railroad security information.

The GAO also criticized the TSA for inconsistent reporting requirements from rail agencies and failure to inspect a rail service the GAO did not name. The TSA concurred with the GAO's recommendations for improvement.

(Reporting by Ian Simpson and Hilary Russ; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/alleged-canada-plot-turns-focus-rail-transports-vulnerability-235221707.html

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Lawmakers ask if intel blocked before Boston bombs (The Arizona Republic)

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Steve Martin does baby talk on 'Late Show'

CBS

By Drusilla Moorhouse, TODAY contributor

Steve Martin starred in "Parenthood" and the "Father of the Bride" films, but he didn't become a daddy until the age of 67.

And the comedian is taking his new role very seriously.

Appearing on "The Late Show With David Letterman" Tuesday night, Martin plunked a baby monitor on the talk-show host's desk, saying, "I'm a responsible (dad)."

The men listened in as the remote device picked up sham sounds from his "baby back at the hotel" -- including a car alarm, a barking dog, coughing, and the baby playing the banjo.

Like father, like daughter: Martin just showed off his banjo skills on TODAY?on?Monday, promoting his new musical collaboration with New Bohemians singer-songwriter Edie Brickell.

When Letterman asked about his experience as a parent, Martin praised his wife of nearly six years, Anne Stringfield.

"It's going great because I have a wonderful wife and mother," he enthused, which drew chuckles from the host and his audience.

"I'm paying her a compliment," he insisted. "Everything is funny when I try to be serious!"

The notoriously private musician, author, producer and movie star deftly deflected Letterman's question about his daughter's name, teasing that they've considered a very unique choice: Conquistador.

"We've thought about the name quite a bit. Conquistador. What do you think? I didn't want to go with one of those Hollywood ... weird names," he deadpanned.

"Conquistador is a statement."

At least he didn't name her Navin!

Source: http://theclicker.today.com/_news/2013/04/24/17897146-steve-martin-opens-up-to-david-letterman-about-baby-daughter?lite

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Suspect in Canada terror plot denies charges

TORONTO (AP) ? A man accused of plotting with al-Qaida members in Iran to derail a train in Canada rejected the charges and said Tuesday that authorities were basing their conclusions on appearances. Law enforcement officials in the U.S. said the target was a train that runs between New York City and Canada.

Canadian investigators say Raed Jaser, 35, and his suspected accomplice Chiheb Esseghaier, 30, received guidance ? but no money ? from members of al-Qaida in Iran. Iran released a statement saying it had nothing to do with the plot, even though there were no claims in Canada that the attacks were sponsored directly by Iran.

But the case raised questions about the extent of Shiite-led Iran's relationship with the predominantly Sunni Arab terrorist network. It also renewed attention on Iran's complicated history with the terror group, which ranges from outright hostility to alliances of convenience and even overtures by Tehran to assist Washington after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.

"We oppose any terrorist and violent action that would jeopardize lives of innocent people," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said Tuesday.

Charges against the two men in Canada include conspiring to carry out an attack and murder people in association with a terrorist group. Police ? tipped off by an imam worried by the behavior of one of the suspects ? said it was the first known attack planned by al-Qaida in Canada.

Law officials in New York with knowledge of the investigation told The Associated Press the attack was to take place on the Canadian side of the border. They are not authorized to discuss the investigation and spoke only on condition of anonymity.

Amtrak and Via Rail Canada jointly operate routes between the United States and Canada, including the Maple Leaf from New York City to Toronto.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Canada has kept New York posted on the investigation.

"I can just tell you that you are probably safer in New York City than you are in any other big city," Bloomberg told reporters Tuesday without discussing details.

In a brief court appearance in Montreal, a bearded Esseghaier declined to be represented by a court-appointed lawyer. He made a brief statement in French in which he called the allegations against him unfair.

"The conclusions were made based on facts and words which are only appearances," he said in a calm voice after asking permission to speak.

Jaser appeared in court earlier Tuesday in Toronto and also did not enter a plea. He was given a new court date of May 23. He had a long beard, wore a black shirt with no tie, and was accompanied by his parents and brother. The court granted a request by his lawyer, John Norris, for a publication ban on future evidence and testimony.

Norris questioned the timing of the arrests, pointing to ongoing debates in the Canadian Parliament over a new anti-terrorism law that would expand the powers of police and intelligence agencies.

He said his client would "defend himself vigorously" against the accusations, and noted Jaser was a permanent resident of Canada who has lived there for 20 years. Norris refused to say where Jaser was from, saying that revealing his nationality in the current climate amounted to demonizing him.

Canadian police also declined to release the men's nationalities, saying only they had been in Canada a "significant amount of time."

Muslim community leaders who were briefed by the RCMP ahead of Monday's announcement of the arrest said they were told one of the suspects is Tunisian and the other from the United Arab Emirates.

Esseghaier's LinkedIn profile lists him as having studied in Tunisia before moving to Canada, where he was pursuing a PhD in nanotechnology at the National Institute of Scientific Research, a spokeswoman at the training university confirmed.

In Abu Dhabi, a UAE source informed about the attack plot said there was "no UAE citizen" with the name Raed Jaser. The source spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief media.

The investigation surrounding the planned attack was part of a cross-border operation involving Canadian law enforcement agencies, the FBI and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Canadian police said the men never got close to carrying out the attack.

The warning first came from an imam in Toronto, who in turn was tipped off by suspicious behavior on the part of one of the suspect.

"I was involved in alerting police about the suspect. I made some calls on behalf of the imam over a year ago," Toronto lawyer Naseer Syed said. He would not say what, exactly made the imam suspicious.

"The Muslim community has been cooperating with authorities for a number of years and people do the right thing when there is reason to alert authorities," Syed said, adding that he was speaking for the imam, who wished to remain anonymous.

___

Associated Press writers Charmaine Noronha in Ontario, Shingler in Montreal, Tom Hays and Jennifer Peltz in New York, Kimberly Dozier in Washington and Brian Murphy in the United Arab Emirates contributed to this story.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/suspect-canada-terror-plot-denies-charges-220238197.html

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NFL draft: 10 things to watch for during draft

FILE - In this April 26, 2012, file photo, North Carolina defensive end Quinton Coples, right, hugs NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell after being selected as the 16th pick overall by the New York Jets in the first round of the NFL football draft in New York. How many hugs can Roger Goodell endure from all the burly offensive and defensive players expected to be selected in the first round? Last year, he embraced many first-round picks who took the stage and was nearly hugged into submission_one of the things to watch for during the three-day NFL draft beginning Thursday, April 25, 2013. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow, File)

FILE - In this April 26, 2012, file photo, North Carolina defensive end Quinton Coples, right, hugs NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell after being selected as the 16th pick overall by the New York Jets in the first round of the NFL football draft in New York. How many hugs can Roger Goodell endure from all the burly offensive and defensive players expected to be selected in the first round? Last year, he embraced many first-round picks who took the stage and was nearly hugged into submission_one of the things to watch for during the three-day NFL draft beginning Thursday, April 25, 2013. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow, File)

FILE- This combo image of March 2013 file photos shows quarterbacks, from top, Geno Smith, E.J. Manuel and Matt Barkley during their respective NFL football pro days. Will any quarterbacks be taken in the first round? Possibilities include Geno Smith, Matt Barkley and E.J. Manuel_one of the things to watch for during the three-day NFL draft beginning Thursday, April 25, 2013. (AP Photos/File)

FILE - In this April 26, 2012, file photo, quarterback Robert Griffin III, right, poses for photographs with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell after he was selected as the second pick overall by the Washington Redskins in the first round of the NFL football draft in New York. Fashionistas surely will be tracking the expensive, colorful designer suits, hairstyles (think dreadlocks) and even socks of the draftees as they take the stage after being selected. (Think Robert Griffin III, the Redskins' top pick in 2012, who wore a baby blue jacket, checkered-patterned shirt, purplish tie with horizontal stripes, and burgundy and gold socks. Fashion is one of the things to watch for during the three-day NFL draft beginning Thursday, April 25, 2013. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow, File)

FILE - In this March 26, 2013, file photo, linebacker Manti Te'o runs the 40 yard sprint during Notre Dame's NFL football pro day in South Bend, Ind. Some analysts have Notre Dame's All-American linebacker Mante Te'o back to being a first-round cinch, even after a great season was marred by a poor game against Alabama followed by the hoax involving a deceased "girlfriend." He did not perform well at the NFL combine but did better at pro day in South Bend. Te'o is one of the people to watch for during the three-day NFL draft beginning Thursday, April 25, 2013. (AP Photo/Joe Raymond, File)

NEW YORK (AP) ? Since 1936, the NFL has picked the best of college football to join the pro league. From the very first pick ? Jay Berwanger, who also was the first bust, never playing a down in the NFL ? to last year's No. 1, Andrew Luck, the draft has always offered plenty of intrigue for teams and fans.

Here are 10 things to watch for during the three-day NFL draft beginning Thursday night:

___

COMMISSIONER HUGGY BEAR

How many hugs can Roger Goodell endure from all the burly offensive and defensive players expected to be selected in the first round? Last year, he embraced many first-round picks who took the stage and was nearly hugged into submission by the likes of Fletcher Cox, Dontari Poe and Melvin Ingram.

___

SHOW ME A QUARTERBACK

Will any quarterbacks be taken in the first round? Possibilities include Geno Smith, Matt Barkley and EJ Manuel, but this is far from the glamour year of 2012, when QBs were huge: Luck, No. 1; Robert Griffin III, No. 2; Ryan Tannehill (No. 8); Brandon Weeden (No. 22). The last time no quarterback was taken in round one was 1996 (Tony Banks was a second-rounder, No. 42, by the Rams); the last time only one was taken was 2001 (Michael Vick, first overall) and the last time two were taken was 2010 (Sam Bradford and Tim Tebow).

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FASHION STATEMENT

Fashionistas surely will be tracking the expensive, colorful designer suits, hairstyles (think dreadlocks) and even socks of the draftees as they take the stage after being selected. (Think Griffin, the Redskins' top pick in 2012, who wore a baby blue jacket, checkered-patterned shirt, purplish tie with horizontal stripes, and burgundy and gold socks with the words "GO CATCH YOUR DREAM."

___

TE'O TIME

When that will be exactly is anyone's guess. Some analysts have Notre Dame's All-American linebacker Manti Te'o back to being a first-round cinch, even after a great season was marred by a poor game against Alabama followed by the hoax involving a deceased "girlfriend." He did not perform well at the NFL combine, but did better at pro day in South Bend.

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BEEFING UP EARLY

Watch for all the beef early in the first round. There's a chance seven of the first 10 picks could be really big fellas. Among them are offensive linemen Luke Joeckel (306 pounds), Eric Fisher (306), Chance Warmack (317), Lane Johnson (303) and Jonathan Cooper (311); and defensive linemen Sharrif Floyd (297) and Ziggy Ansah (271).

___

WILL TIDE ROLL AGAIN IN 1ST ROUND?

A year ago, the national champions had four players picked: RB Trent Richardson (No. 3), SS Mark Barron (No. 7), CB Dre Kirkpatrick (No.17) and LB Dont'a Hightower (No. 25). National champs again, there are five that could end up as first-rounders: Warmack, cornerback Dee Milliner, offensive tackle D.J. Fluker, defensive tackle Jesse Williams, and running back Eddie Lacy.

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FAMILY TIES

Every year, a slew of players with family ties to the NFL are draft eligible. This year is no exception, with a few dozen all-in-the-family connections. Among them are QBs Nate Montana (son of Joe Montana) and Jordan Rodgers (brother of Aaron Rodgers), Jake Ryan (son of Pat Ryan), Duron Carter (son of Cris Carter), Luke Tasker (son of Steve Tasker), Kyle Long (son of Howie Long, brother of Chris Long) and Baker Steinkuhler (son of Dean Steinkuhler).

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HALL OF FAME PICKERS

A total of 32 former NFL players will be announcing second- and third-round picks for teams, including newly elected Hall of Famers Jonathan Ogden (Ravens), Warren Sapp (Buccaneers) and Dave Robinson (Packers). Others making picks for their former teams include Deion Sanders (Falcons) and Larry Little (Dolphins).

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BEST STORYLINES

Houston cornerback D.J. Hayden and South Carolina running back Marcus Lattimore.

Hayden was moments from death last November after an on-field collision with a teammate tore a blood vessel off the back of his heart. He was taken to a hospital, underwent lifesaving surgery, and now could be a first-round pick. He ran a 4.33 40-yard dash at Houston's pro day in March, and now he'll wait to see if a team believes his talent and speed is worth the risk.

In 2011, Lattimore tore the ACL in his left knee midway through the season. He returned last year, and in October, the star running back suffered a horrific injury to his right knee against Tennessee ? it was dislocated and ligaments were damaged as he was tackled. He had surgery a month later, continued rehabbing, and at South Carolina's pro day recently he impressed NFL scouts so much they applauded after his workout. He says he's confident he'll be ready to play when the 2013 season starts.

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MR. IRRELEVANT

As the draft draws to a close Saturday, the fun revs up with the final pick, aka Mr. Irrelevant. As they did last year, the Colts have the honor at pick No. 254. Last year, they went for Northern Illinois quarterback Chandler Harnish (Andrew Luck was the Colts' other QB pick ? at No. 1 overall). The last pick will be awarded the Lowsman (opposite of Heisman) Trophy during a weeklong celebration at the Balboa Bay Club in Newport Beach, Calif. In 2012, Harnish's first trip to California included golf at Big Canyon Country Club, a visit to Disneyland and parties galore. The founder of Irrelevant Week is Paul Salata, a former USC and NFL receiver. The first Mr. Irrelevant was WR Kelvin Kirk in 1976.

Associated Press

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S.Africa's central bank sentiment indicator rises in February

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - The South African Reserve Bank's monthly leading business cycle indicator increased 0.1 percent in February from January, as the number of residential building plans approved went up, the bank said on Tuesday.

The indicator collates data such as vehicle sales, job advertisements, business confidence and money supply to gauge the economic outlook.

Indices: 2000 = 100 Feb Jan Dec

Leading Indicator 133.3 132.2 131.8

12-mth percentage change 1.0 1.9 1.2

Coincident Indicator 166.0 166.1

12-mth percentage change 6.7 7.0

Lagging Indicator 106.7 105.9

12-mth percentage change 0.2 0.6

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/africas-central-bank-sentiment-indicator-rises-february-072012609--business.html

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Chrissy Amphlett dies at 53 after losing breast cancer battle ...

Lead singer of legendary Aussie band Divinyls, Chrissy Amphlett, has lost her battle with breast cancer at age 53.

AUSTRALIAN rock singer Chrissy Amphlett has been remembered as a musical pioneer.

Amphlett, 53, passed away in her adopted home of New York after fighting dual battles with breast cancer and multiple sclerosis.

Her cousin, Patricia `Little Pattie' Thompson and family were with the singer, who fronted rock band Divinyls.

Her husband, musician Charley Drayton, who was due to support Aerosmith in Australia with the band Dead Daisies, cancelled the trip to be with his wife.

The family's statement read: "Our beloved Chrissy peacefully made her transition this morning. Christine Joy Amphlett succumbed to the effects of breast cancer and multiple sclerosis, diseases she vigorously fought with exceptional bravery and dignity. She passed gently, in her sleep, surrounded by close friends and family, including husband of fourteen years, musician Charley Drayton, her sister, Leigh, nephew, Matt, and cousin Patricia Thompson.

"Chrissy's light burns so very brightly. Hers was a life of passion and creativity; she always lived it to the fullest. With her force of character and vocal strength she paved the way for strong, sexy, outspoken women. Best remembered as the lead singer of the ARIA Hall of Fame inductee, Divinyls, last month she was named one of Australia's top ten singers of all time. Chrissy expressed hope that her worldwide hit I Touch Myself would remind women to perform annual breast examinations. Chrissy was a true pioneer and a treasure to all whose lives her music and spirit touched."

Singer Chrissy Amphlett, who has passed away after losing her battle with breast cancer. Photo: Supplied by the Amphlett Family

Countdown host Ian `Molly' Meldrum was a friend of Amphlett and Drayton.

"It's devastating news," Meldrum said yesterday.

" Chrissy was just such a wonderful person and so, so talented. It's incredibly sad news."

"She broke ground for women in Australian music, she was amazing and fearless," Meldrum said.

"Divinyls were an incredible band, they helped open the doors for Australian acts to tour America in the '80s.

"I absolutely adored her. And she terrified me. But right at the start, around Boys in Town, I remember going to see them at the Prince of Wales and Chrissy did this whole thing on stage of looking me straight in the eye and lifting her skirt. We became good friends after that. I became friends with her mother as well. Chrissie was really into football, so we'd occasionally have fights over that.

"She was a wonderful person, and so, so talented it didn?t matter. She had such a powerful voice and wrote such great songs with Mark (McEntee) in the Divinyls, some real classics that have stood the test of time. And Chrissy was one of the best on stage performers Australia has produced.

"She'd come around to my house with her husband Charley and she'd go and make herself a cup of tea. It was just odd to see Chrissy Amphlett from the Divinyls in my kitchen, making tea. Because she had that wild persona.

"I remember once I said to her 'Chrissie, you had this amazing persona with the Divinyls, you use to frighten the hell out of me. How can you go from that to playing Judy Garland in The Boy From Oz?' And she said 'They're both the same character Molly'."

Her death brought sadness to the local music industry. Her peers voted her the No.9 best Australian singer of all time in a News Limited poll last month.

The Australian music legend and Divinyls lead singer Chrissy Amphlett has died, aged 53.

Melbourne singer Kate Ceberano said Amphlett was her all-time favourite singer, songwriter and performing artist, and a huge influence on her career.

"The news about Chrissy has hit me like a punch in the chest," Ceberano said yesterday.

"She was such a high-voltage Amazon that it's hard for me to imagine that she's gone. I remember sitting side of stage watching her as a teenager and was attracted and frightened in equal measure, as one minute she would spit on the crowd and in the very next minute turn them all on. She was a masterclass in womanhood. I absolutely worshipped her."

Icehouse's Iva Davies remembered Amphlett as a pioneer and a great spirit.

"Chrissy and the Divinyls played with us on scores and scores of occasions and I was always a great admirer of her as both a writer and a performer," Davies said. "Chrissy did me the great honour of recording her version of one of my songs, Love in Motion, in the early nineties. She made the song distinctively hers, with her own smoking, seductive and unmistakable style. I was recently asked to nominate my choice of the Top 10 Australian singers of all time. Chrissy was among my choices, of course."

Divinyls' breakthrough hit Boys in Town made No.8 in 1982. A string of hits followed, including Science Fiction, The Good Die Young, Pleasure and Pain, Sleeping Beauty, Back to the Wall and I'm Jealous. Their biggest hit, 1990's I Touch Myself, made No.1 in Australia, No.4 in America and No.10 in the UK.

Amphlett was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2006 with Divinyls band mate Mark McEntee. The band, who had split acrimoniously in 1997, reformed for a tour in 2007 before finally disbanding in 2009.

Amphlett flew into Melbourne in 2009 to induct her cousin Little Pattie into the ARIA Hall of Fame.

"I think Divinyls is done," she said at the time. "Mark (McEntee) isn't into playing and Divinyls is Mark and I. It's about time I did something on my own."

The singer was working on new music in New York, where she was receiving medical treatment.

Last month Amphlett took to her Facebook page to update fans on her health.

"Unfortunately the last 18 months have been a real challenge for me having breast cancer and MS and all the new places that will take you. You become sadly a patient in a world of waiting rooms, waiting sometimes hours for a result or an appointment and you spend a lot time in cold machines like MRI, CT machines,hospital beds,on your knees praying for miracles, operating rooms, tests after tests, looking at healthy people skip down the street like you once did and you took it all for granted and now wish you could do that."

The singer said she still planned to make a return to music and had been working with songwriter Kraig Jarret.

"My illnesses have really exhausted this little body of mine that I have thrown from one end of a stage to another and performed thousands of shows that's sadly some of you missed. With that said I am getting stronger but there is still some fine tuning and work to be done on myself. It's a different self but my voice is strong and not affected by the MS as some reviewers have cruelly reported. I can walk although sometimes I wobble but try to wobble with the beat. I look after myself and my husband has been through this with me every part of the way and I cannot imagine what I would have done without him and his kindness. I did something right.

Hoodoo Gurus singer Dave Faulkner referred to Amphlett as "the Divine Miss A" and a "musical force of nature".

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In tribute, ABC-TV has broadcast an episode of the musical quiz show Spicks & Specks featuring the late star.

During the show, Amphlett, who also suffered from multiple sclerosis, was helped to and from the microphone by comedienne Denise Scott.

The episode, on ABC 2, had Amphlett as a contestant on the team of Scott and Myf Warhurst.

On the show, Amphlett talks of being "shy" and "vulnerable" before her legendary performances on stage in a school uniform and fishnet stockings.

Amphlett had declared herself cancer-free two years ago, telling fans "I was given a chance to reflect on my own mortality; given a chance to choose life over the fear of death. Thank you to those who have given their support and love. Now let's celebrate Life!!!!!!"

The singer was diagnosed with MS in 1998 and would appear on stage with a cane. She revealed her battle with MS in 2007, and in 2011 announced she was also fighting breast cancer.

Amphlett was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2006 with Divinyls band mate Mark McEntee

Her was documented by Channel 7's Sunday Night program in which she revealed she would be a "warrior" and not a victim.

The Divinyls hits include I Touch Myself, Pleasure and Pain and Boys in Town.

Tributes have already begun flooding social media networks.

?Other celebrities and fans have also posted their tributes online.

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Back in 2012, Amphlett kept her Facebook fans informed of her struggles with cancer and MS. She was always honest and open about what she was facing.

A Facebook message to fans sent by Chrissy Amphlett in 2012. Photo: Facebook Source: Supplied

Born in October, 1959, Chrissy Amphlett will be best-remembered for her hit single I Touch Myself and for singing on stage dressed in a school uniform and fishnet stockings.

Released in 1991, I Touch Myself reached Number 1 in Australia, 10 in the UK and 4 in the US.

Her skill as a songwriter is underlined by Science Fiction, which the Australian Performing Rights Association (APRA) selected in 2001 as one of the top Australian songs of all time.

Amphlett wrote the song with Divinyls front man Mark McEntee, with whom she had a volatile relationship over the 16 year life of the band.

The cousin of 1960s Australian pop icon, Patricia "Little Pattie" Amphlett, Chrissy Amphlett was a hugely talented, if untamed free spirit who started out young on the road and had occasional brushes with the law, once ending up in jail in Europe for singing on the streets.

In 1999, Chrissy married drummer Charley Drayton, who played on the Divinyls? eponymous album and who now plays with Cold Chisel.

Amphlett moved to New York, where she concentrated on a solo career and writing her autobiography Pleasure and Pain: My Life.

In 2007, she revealed she was suffering from multiple sclerosis.

Three years later, she announced she had been diagnosed with breast cancer, but was thought to have since beaten the disease.

Listen to Chrissy Amphlett's famous hits here:

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Source: http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/entertainment/music/chrissy-amphlett-dead-at-53-after-losing-breast-cancer-battle/story-e6frexl9-1226626029214

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