Best Buy gets it right, joins early holiday winners (Reuters)

NEW YORK (Reuters) ? Having the right products at the right price at the right time helped make Best Buy Co Inc one of the early winners in what was a record start for U.S. retailers to the holiday shopping season.

The electronics retailer, which was one of the biggest losers in 2010, drew in shoppers by being one of the companies that opened its stores at midnight Thanksgiving night, and unlike in 2010, it focused more on having lower prices for big TVs and other popular items.

"Last year, they weren't as responsive with their pricing as they needed to be. We are seeing a different set of behaviors from them this time around," Lawrence Creatura, a portfolio manager at Federated Clover Investment Advisors, said.

Overall, shoppers will have spent a record $52.4 billion, up 16.4 percent from 2011, from Thursday through Sunday, according to a survey for the National retail Federation, conducted by online research firm BIGreasearch.

Many retailers opened at midnight or earlier on Thanksgiving, pulling in younger people who were willing to stay up late for deals on electronics and toys instead of getting up before dawn on Friday.

"Consumers have finite cash. If you can be the retailer who gets that cash first, you are likely to be more successful in the holiday selling season," Creatura said.

Aside from Best Buy, analysts and investors also named Macy's Inc and Wal-Mart Stores Inc among those that were strong starters.

"Best Buy's success is partially due to locking in compelling exclusive deals, better than Amazon's, and having unique in-store-only offers forcing the visit," Credit Suisse analyst Gary Balter said.

Lee Johnson, 46, shopping at a mall in El Segundo, California, bought a computer at Best Buy on Sunday.

He said online shopping is usually a better idea, but he needed the computer for an employee who is starting tomorrow.

"I just didn't have time."

Fifty million Americans visited online retail sites on Black Friday, representing an increase of 35 percent versus a year ago, and online retail sales in the United States on Black Friday jumped 26 percent this year, ComScore data showed.

Each of the top five retail websites saw double-digit gains in visitors versus last year, led by Amazon.com. Wal-Mart ranked second, followed by Best Buy, Target and Apple, ComScore said.

"Amazon.com once again led the pack, with 50 percent more visitors than any other retailer, while also showing the highest growth rate versus last year," ComScore Chairman Gian Fulgoni said.

Amazon has used "every method at hand, old and new to promote their business this holiday season so far," WSL Strategic Retail CEO Wendy Liebmann said, referring to the online chains promotions in print, online and circulars.

About 122.9 million Americans plan to shop on Cyber Monday this year, up from the 106.9 million who shopped on Cyber Monday in 2010, NRF vice president Ellen Davis said on Sunday, citing a survey conducted by BIGresearch.

POTENTIAL LOSERS

Retailers that opened late or held the line on promotions failed to impress.

"Office supply seemed among the least busy as they opened later and had fewer high-profile deals than in years past," Balter said.

Retailers Gap Inc and Sears also "need to step up," Craig Johnson, president of consulting firm Customer Growth Partners said, adding that he worries the two chains may be too late already as the "horse is out of the barn."

"We would be most cautious on Sears due to their cash flow and serious appliance competition," Balter said.

The holiday shopping season that traditionally kicks off on Black Friday -- the biggest day of the year for retailers -- is closely watched by investors as consumer spending accounts for about 70 percent of the U.S. economy.

The National Retail Federation, an industry trade group, forecast a 2.8 percent increase in sales for the November-to-December holiday season, down from the 5.2 percent increase in 2010.

Despite the strong start, many remain skeptical if retailers will be able to maintain the sales momentum seen this weekend.

"One swallow does not a holiday season make. After the deepest recession in decades, the solid Black Friday weekend is welcome news, but we're only in the second quarter of a long playoff game," Johnson said.

(Reporting by Dhanya Skariachan in New York, Alistair Barr in San Francisco and Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles; Editing by Brad Dorfman, Maureen Bavdek and Diane Craft)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111127/bs_nm/us_usa_retail_holiday

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Pakistan buries troops amid fury over NATO strike (Reuters)

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) ? Pakistan on Sunday buried 24 troops killed in a NATO cross-border air attack that has pushed a crisis in relations between the United States and an ally it needs to fight militancy toward rupture.

The incident was the latest perceived provocation by the United States, which infuriated Pakistan's powerful military with a unilateral U.S. special forces raid that killed Osama bin Laden in May.

U.S. and NATO officials are trying to defuse tensions but the soldiers' deaths are testing a bad marriage of convenience between Washington and Islamabad.

NATO helicopters and fighter jets based in Afghanistan attacked two Pakistan military outposts on Saturday, killing the soldiers in what Pakistan said was an unprovoked assault.

"This was a tragic unintended incident," NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said in a statement, adding that he fully supported a NATO investigation that was under way. "We will determine what happened, and draw the right lessons."

That is unlikely to cool tempers. Many Pakistanis believe their army is fighting a war against militants that only serves Western interests and hurts their country.

"U.S. stabs Pakistan in the back, again," said a headline in the Daily Times, reflecting fury over the attack in Pakistan, a regional power seen as critical to U.S. efforts to stabilize neighboring Afghanistan.

Television stations showed the coffins of the soldiers draped in green and white Pakistani flags in a prayer ceremony at the headquarters of the regional command in Peshawar attended by army chief General Ashfaq Kayani.

Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar spoke with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton by telephone early on Sunday to convey "the deep sense of rage felt across Pakistan."

"This negates the progress made by the two countries on improving relations and forces Pakistan to revisit the terms of engagement," a Foreign Ministry statement quoted Khar as telling her U.S. counterpart.

Khar also informed Clinton that Pakistan wants the United States to vacate a drone aircraft base in the country.

Pakistan shut down NATO supply routes into Afghanistan -- used for sending in nearly half of the alliance's land shipments -- in retaliation for the worst such attack since Islamabad uneasily allied itself with Washington following the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.

About 500 members of Jamaat-e-Islami, Pakistan's most influential religious party, staged a protest in Mohmand tribal area, where the NATO attack took place.

"Down with America" and "Jihad is The Only Answer to America," they yelled.

Pakistan is reviewing whether it will go ahead with plans to attend a major international conference in Bonn next month on the future of Afghanistan in light of the NATO attack.

Around 40 troops were stationed at the outposts at the time of the attack, military sources said.

"They without any reasons attacked on our post and killed soldiers asleep," said a senior Pakistani officer.

BLUNT STATEMENTS

The border is often poorly marked, and Afghan and Pakistani maps have differences of several kilometers in some places, military officials have said.

Pakistan responded with unusually blunt condemnations and said it reserved the right to retaliate.

Pakistan is a vital land route for nearly half of NATO supplies shipped overland to its troops in Afghanistan. Land shipments account for about two thirds of the alliance's cargo into Afghanistan.

A similar incident on Sept 30, 2010, which killed two Pakistani service personnel, led to the closure of one of NATO's supply routes through Pakistan for 10 days.

U.S. ties with Pakistan have suffered several big setbacks starting with the unilateral U.S. special forces raid in May that killed bin Laden in a Pakistani town where he had apparently been living for years.

Pakistan condemned the secret operation as a flagrant violation of its sovereignty, while suspicions arose in Washington that members of Pakistan's military intelligence had harbored the al Qaeda leader.

The military came under unprecedented criticism from both Pakistanis who said it failed to protect the country and American officials who said bin Laden's presence was proof the country was an unreliable ally in the war on militancy.

Pakistan's army, one of the world's largest, may see the NATO incursion from Afghanistan as a chance to reassert itself, especially since the deaths of the soldiers are likely to unite generals and politicians, whose ties are normally uneasy.

Pakistan's jailing of a CIA contractor, Raymond Davis, and U.S. accusations that Pakistan backed a militant attack on the U.S. embassy in Kabul have added to the tensions.

"From Raymond Davis and his gun slinging in the streets of Lahore to the Osama bin Laden incident, and now to the firing on Pakistani soldiers on the volatile Pakistan-Afghan border, things hardly seem able to get any worse," said the Daily Times.

Islamabad depends on billions in U.S. aid and Washington believes Pakistan can help it bring about peace in Afghanistan ahead of a combat troop withdrawal at the end of 2014.

"The fact is that such incursions of our sovereignty have become routine and we have become so dependent on the U.S. that we just have to grin and bear it," said an editorial in Pakistan's Express Tribune.

In Karachi port, dozens of truck drivers who should have been transporting supplies to Afghanistan were idle.

Taj Malli braves the threat of Taliban attacks to deliver supplies to Afghanistan so that he can support his children. But he thinks it is time to block the route permanently in protest.

"Pakistan is more important than money. The government must stop all supplies to NATO so that they realize the importance of Pakistan," he said.

But some Pakistanis doubt their leaders have the resolve to challenge the United States.

"This government is cowardly. It will do nothing," said Peshawar shopkeeper Sabir Khan. "Similar attacks happened in the past, but what have they done?"

(Additional reporting by Zeeshan Haider in Islamabad, Izaz Mohmand in Peshawar, Imtiaz Shah in Karachi and David Brunnstrom in Brussels; Writing by Michael Georgy; Editing by Nick Macfie)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/terrorism/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111127/wl_nm/us_pakistan_nato

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Mexico acknowledges 2nd Mayan reference to 2012 (AP)

MEXICO CITY ? Mexico's archaeology institute downplays theories that the ancient Mayas predicted some sort of apocalypse in 2012, but now acknowledges that a second reference to the date exists on a carved fragment from a ruin site in the country's south.

Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History has long said rumors of a world-ending or world-changing event in late December 2012 are a Westernized misinterpretation of Mayan calendars.

The institute repeated Thursday that "western messianic thought has twisted the Mayan cosmovision."

Most experts cite only one surviving reference to the date in Mayan script, a stone tablet from the Tortuguero site. But the institute's statement said there is in fact another from the nearby Comalcalco ruin site.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/latam/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111124/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_mexico_apocalypse2012

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CA-CANADA Summary (Reuters)

TSX hits seven-week low on euro zone fears

TORONTO (Reuters) ? Toronto's main stock index hit a seven-week low on Thursday morning, as materials and financial issues retreated in response to euro zone debt fears, sparked by rising German government bond yields. Wednesday's German bond auction pushed the cost of borrowing over 10 years for the European heavyweight above those of the United States for the first time since October.

Canada farmers earned more in 2011's first 9 months

(Reuters) - Canadian farmers earned nearly 11 percent more during the first nine months of 2011 than they did in the year-before period, Statistics Canada reported on Thursday. Farm cash receipts, which include market receipts from the sale of crops and livestock plus government program payments, climbed 10.9 percent to C$35.8 billion ($34.1 billion) between January and September.

Ontario cuts growth targets, says budget on track

TORONTO (Reuters) - The Ontario government cut its growth, revenue and reserve targets on Wednesday, but said it was still on track to balance the budget in six years, without lowering total program spending or raising taxes. In its fall economic statement, the government of Canada's most populous province said the timetable for eliminating its 2011-12 deficit of C$16 billion ($15.2 billion) by 2017-18 remains intact, as do medium-term targets, despite pressures from economic turmoil in the United States and Europe.

Provincial court upholds ban on polygamy

VANCOUVER (Reuters) - A Canadian provincial court on Wednesday upheld the country's ban on polygamy, saying the harm that plural marriage causes to women and children outweighed any infringement of religious freedoms. The landmark case was brought by the British Columbia government to test the constitutionality of a 120-year-old ban on polygamy in Canada.

Canada bank regulator warns on Basel supervision

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Global regulators must step up supervision of how so-called Basel III bank standards are implemented in order to ensure a level playing field among lenders, the head of Canada's banking watchdog said on Wednesday. Julie Dickson, who heads the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI), said the regulator has been emphasizing internationally that capital rules must be accompanied by "intensive supervision" to be effective and that there was an effort underway to increase scrutiny.

Police clear Occupy Toronto with few detentions

TORONTO (Reuters) - City workers dismantled tents and cleared debris from a downtown park on Wednesday as part of a restrained, daylong operation by police to peacefully end a five-week encampment by Occupy Toronto protesters. Backed by a court order, police arrived at dawn at St. James Park, a few blocks from the city's financial district, and workers began taking down unoccupied structures and cleaning up the site.

Carney urges immediate Europe debt action

MONTREAL (Reuters) - European leaders need to act "this week, not next year" to fix their debt crisis, Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney said on Wednesday as fears grew that the crisis is starting to hit the big economies of Germany and France. In a stiff warning that described the sovereign debt crisis in Europe as "barely contained," Carney said the euro zone has the resources needed to clean up the mess, but has not provided enough details on how it plans to put those resources to use.

WestJet wins slots at New York's LaGuardia airport

(Reuters) - WestJet Airlines Ltd said on Wednesday it had won eight takeoff and landing slots at New York's LaGuardia Airport, a shot in arm for the carrier's plans to expand its service in the East. WestJet, Canada's second biggest airline, is locked in a battle for passengers in Eastern Canada and into the United States with No. 1 carrier Air Canada and smaller privately-owned rival Porter Airlines.

Imperial Oil sees no Syncrude expansion before 2020

CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - Imperial Oil Ltd does not expect to expand production capacity at the Syncrude Canada oil sands project in northern Alberta at least until 2020, breaking from the expectations of the other partners in one of the oil sands' biggest operations. Imperial is concentrating on improving reliability at the sprawling oil sands mining and synthetic crude processing development before moving forward with multibillion-dollar plans to boost output beyond the current capacity of 350,000 barrels a day, spokesman Pius Rolheiser said.

Pozen sells migraine drug's U.S. rights to Canada fund

(Reuters) - Pozen Inc sold its right to receive American royalties from its migraine drug to Canada's national pension fund, sending the pharmaceutical company's shares up as much as 32 percent in extended trade. The company received $75 million for the deal and would get a fifth of any royalties received by the fund, CPPIB Credit Investments, from April 1, 2018, Pozen said in a filing.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/stocks/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111124/wl_canada_nm/canada_summary

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PFT: Suh's ex-teammate says Lion's 'out of control'

AP

We handle the biggest injury news all day in the rumor mill.?

The rest goes right here, in America?s most popular injury segment that always listens to the National Anthem.

1. Kevin Kolb is officially questionable after being limited in practice all week with his toe injury. ?We won?t know his status until gametime, but signs are pointing towards Kolb playing.

2. The Rams? two best defenders are questionable.?Linebacker James Laurinaitis (foot) and defensive end Chris Long (ankle) practiced in a limited fashion during the week, so they should play.

3. The Bills have a sadly big list of starters that are out this week. Some of the players are already on injured reserve, but we?ll reprint here: Running back?Fred Jackson (fibula), wideout Donald Jones (ankle), kicker Rian Lindell (shoulder), cornerback Terrence McGee (knee), and safety George Wilson (neck) are out. ?Backup wide receiver Naaman Roosevelt (shoulder) is also out.

4. The Jets are healthy, with the exception of kick returner?Jeremy Kerley (knee) and running back LaDainian Tomlinson (knee). Both are questionable, but they didn?t practice all week.

5. Tight end Dallas Clark (fibula) is out once again. Running back Joseph Addai (hamstring) should be back after practicing fully all week.

6. The Raiders will be without?wide receiver Jacoby Ford (foot), running back Darren McFadden (foot), and defensive end Jarvis Moss (hamstring). ?Half the team is questionable, including two players that didn?t practice all week: running back?Taiwan Jones (hamstring) and wide receiver Denarius Moore (foot).

7. A few extra days off did the Broncos some good. The entire active roster should be available to face San Diego.

8. The Chargers got some good news on Friday. Running back Ryan Mathews (knee) is probable despite missing practice Thursday, and their best pass rusher Shaun Phillips (foot) was upgraded to questionable this week.

The bad news:?Defensive end Luis Castillo (tibia), wideout Malcom Floyd (hip), and tackle Marcus McNeill (neck) are all still out. Two other guards are doubtful. The offensive line is in bad shape.

9. Andre Johnson (hamstring) is officially probable as he returns from his lengthy injury. ?He should be happy about his matchup with Jacksonville because . . .

10. The Jaguars defense is banged up. Cornerback Derek Cox went on injured reserve Friday. Fellow starter Rashean Mathis is already there. Defensive line starters?Terrance Knighton (ankle) and Matt Roth (concussion) are both out.

11. The Falcons will be short in the secondary. Luckily, they are playing the Vikings. ?Cornerback Kelvin Hayden (toe) is out and cornerback Brent Grimes (knee)?is questionable despite not practicing all week.

12. Patriots wideout?Chad Ochocinco (hamstring) is officially questionable after missing practice Friday. There are nine other Patriots that are questionable, but they all practiced in a limited fashion during the week. Linebacker Brandon Spikes (knee) remains out.

13. Redskins receiver Santana Moss (hand) is back in the mix. He?s probable.

14. The Steelers list linebacker?LaMarr Woodley (hamstring) as questionable, but there is doubt locally that he?ll suit up.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/11/25/ndamukong-suh-out-of-control-college-teammate-says/related/

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Thanksgiving kicks off fight for holiday sales (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? The holiday shopping season starts in earnest on Thursday, with retailers anxious to see how willing U.S. consumers are to spend despite an endless stream of scary headlines about the fragile economy and their own precarious finances.

The shopping period, which accounts for about one-third of annual sales for many chains, has been churning along for some time as retailers such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc and Toys R Us started early by offering layaway programs, and others offering major discounts to encourage buying.

But shoppers' verve has cooled of late and retail executives are predicting a more competitive season than 2010.

So when millions of Americans are done with their turkey dinners on Thursday, then head to stores to get a jump-start on "Black Friday" -- the single biggest shopping day of the year -- it will set the tone for the entire season.

"If Thursday and Friday are not very good, chances are it will not pick up going up to Christmas," said Keith Jelinek, a director at consulting firm AlixPartners's retail practice.

Wal-Mart, Gap Inc's Old Navy and Sears Holdings' Kmart are again open on Thanksgiving Day to get a headstart, while Toys R Us opens Thursday evening.

To narrow the gap in store hours with rivals, discounter Target Corp, electronics chain Best Buy and department store chains Macy's Inc and Kohl's Corp will open at midnight, their earliest-ever starts.

Others, including J.C. Penney Co Inc are opening early Friday morning as they did last year.

Retailers concede the pressure is on.

"At the end of the day, we are trying to respond to what our customers want to do, and they are telling us that's when they want to shop," Mike Vitelli, president, Americas and enterprise executive vice president of Best Buy, told Reuters.

The National Retail Federation expects sales in November and December to be up 2.8 percent over last year, but below 2010's 5.2 percent gain. So retailers, online and offline, see little margin for error.

BARGAINS OR BUST

Wal-Mart starts its Black Friday "doorbuster" deals on Thursday at 10 p.m. at its stores. Amazon.com Inc, not to be outdone, will offer its deals online at 9 p.m.

Newspaper inserts on Thursday morning were boasting of the usual Black Friday bargains designed to draw people into stores. For example, Old Navy was selling jeans for more than half off while Target was offering 46-inch, high-definition televisions for about 45 percent off.

The knock-down-drag-out fight comes as the rebound in sales cooled in October, when many top chains like Macy's and Saks reported disappointing sales.

It will be even tougher for chains that have struggled with sales declines lately, like Gap and Penney.

The NRF expects 152 million people to hit stores this weekend, up 10.1 percent from last year.

But much of that traffic will be fueled by bargain hunting, analysts said, with the real test coming after the weekend, when retailers see if spending happens only if there are big bargains on the table.

Last year, after a strong Black Friday weekend, shoppers sat on their hands until closer to Christmas.

This year, those looking for steals beyond the requisite Black Friday specials may be disappointed.

In a research note on Tuesday, Wells Fargo economist Mark Vitner said: "Bargain hunters may have a tougher time finding those markdowns this year, as retailers are keeping a sharper eye on profit margins."

After the weekend blitz ends, it may become a game of who blinks first -- the consumer or the merchant.

"I think as time goes on, you're going to see a leveling and a softness in the numbers," said Al Ferrara, director of BDO USA's national retail practice.

(Reporting by Phil Wahba in New York, additional reporting by Dhanya Skariachan; Editing by Bernard Orr and Maureen Bavdek)

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

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Insect cyborgs may become first responders: Search and monitor hazardous places

ScienceDaily (Nov. 23, 2011) ? Research conducted at the University of Michigan College of Engineering may lead to the use of insects to monitor hazardous situations before sending in humans.

Professor Khalil Najafi, the chair of electrical and computer engineering, and doctoral student Erkan Aktakka are finding ways to harvest energy from insects, and take the utility of the miniature cyborgs to the next level.

"Through energy scavenging, we could potentially power cameras, microphones and other sensors and communications equipment that an insect could carry aboard a tiny backpack," Najafi said. "We could then send these 'bugged' bugs into dangerous or enclosed environments where we would not want humans to go."

The principal idea is to harvest the insect's biological energy from either its body heat or movements. The device converts the kinetic energy from wing movements of the insect into electricity, thus prolonging the battery life. The battery can be used to power small sensors implanted on the insect (such as a small camera, a microphone or a gas sensor) in order to gather vital information from hazardous environments.

A spiral piezoelectric generator was designed to maximize the power output by employing a compliant structure in a limited area. The technology developed to fabricate this prototype includes a process to machine high-aspect ratio devices from bulk piezoelectric substrates with minimum damage to the material using a femtosecond laser.

In a paper called "Energy scavenging from insect flight" (recently published in the Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering), the team describes several techniques to scavenge energy from wing motion and presents data on measured power from beetles.

This research was funded by the Hybrid Insect Micro Electromechanical Systems program of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency under grant No. N66001-07-1-2006. The facilities used for this research include U-M's Lurie Nanofabrication Facility.

The university is pursuing patent protection for the intellectual property, and is seeking commercialization partners to help bring the technology to market.

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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/XNBRevQcmzY/111123133510.htm

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Same Sex Romance Comes to a Galaxy Far, Far Away (Newsarama.com)

Same-sex relationships are coming to the "Star Wars" universe, courtesy of video game developer BioWare and publisher Electronic Arts' new massively multiplayer online role- playing game (or "MMORPGs" or "MMOs" for short), "Star Wars: The Old Republic," and the decision is getting people talking.

MMOs are games that create immersive virtual environments in which millions of players can interact with computer-generated characters as well as characters created by fellow gamers. While this is BioWare's first MMO, the developer is known among fans for the emphasis they place on romantic relationships between characters in their single-player role-playing games. In the past, BioWare games have featured same-sex relationships between men and women, and in the case of the immensely popular sci-fi game "Mass Effect," relationships between men and women with an asexual alien.

BioWare originally announced that players and their companions in "Star Wars: The Old Republic" would only be able to experience mixed-gender romantic relationships. After many inquiries from fans asking the developer to explain the decision, earlier this week a new forum post by Stephen Reid, the senior online community manager for the game, showed up on the company's official website announcing that those fans had been heard and same-sex romance will be added to the game.

BioWare's statement explained that while the game will still launch with only male/female relationships, they will be adding same gender romance options in future updates.

"Due to the design constraints of a fully voiced MMO of this scale and size, many choices had to be made as to the launch and post-launch feature set. Same gender romances with companion characters in 'Star Wars: The Old Republic' will be a post-launch feature. Because 'The Old Republic' is an MMO, the game will live on through content expansions which allow us to include content and features that could not be included at launch, including the addition of more companion characters who will have additional romance options."

"Companion characters" are computer-controlled characters that follow player-created characters around the virtual world, aiding them as gamers maneuver through the story.

The response to BioWare's announcement has been massive. There are 326 pages of comments as of Friday afternoon on the official "Star Wars: The Old Republic" forum alone. They range from "thank you for listening to our requests" to "how dare you expose my children to this."

The game has no firm release date, only a release window of "holiday 2011." It has also already received an ESRB rating of "T for Teen," meaning the game is recommended for players 13 and older. Neither facts have stopped detractors from crying foul, such as John Nolte on the blog "Big Hollywood," who starts his post on the subject with "Say goodbye to your child's innocence," and ends with the inaccurate proclamation, "Announcing the gay relationships AFTER the game has been sold is pure bait and switch."

The game already has reportedly broken preorder records for publisher Electronic Arts.

Got a comment? There's lots of conversation on Newsarama's FACEBOOK and TWITTER!

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Newsarama.com is the go-to source for the latest comic book and genre entertainment news, reviews and commentary. Newsarama's passionate audience contributes to lively discussions ranging from classic and new comics to movies, TV, manga, anime and more. Watch previews, interviews and more on our video player, sneak peeks of new comics on our Comic Book Viewer and sign up for our RSS feeds. And be sure to join our community so you can voice your opinion on our articles and in our lively forums.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/videogames/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/newsarama/20111123/en_newsarama/samesexromancecomestoagalaxyfarfaraway

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Teamsters expand lawsuit against Mexican trucks (AP)

WASHINGTON ? The International Brotherhood of Teamsters on Wednesday expanded its lawsuit against the government in a long-running battle that has stopped Mexican trucks from coming deep into the United States.

In papers filed in federal appeals court in Washington, the union said the government must first assess the environmental impact of a pilot project before letting it continue. The first Mexican truck in the pilot program crossed the border last month.

Teamsters President James P. Hoffa said opening the border to the trucks is an attack on the environment, on highway safety and on American truckers and warehouse workers.

"It's outrageous enough that we've outsourced millions of jobs to foreign countries, but now we're bringing foreign workers here to take our jobs," Hoffa said in a statement. "This is another pressure the American middle-class doesn't need."

Under the North American Free Trade Agreement signed nearly two decades ago, trucks from both countries were supposed to have unhindered access to highways on either side of the border.

Mexico's Ambassador to the U.S., Arturo Sarukhan, said that the Teamsters are engaging in protectionism.

"First it was about the safety of Mexican rigs; now, with nowhere to run with that argument, the new red herring is an alleged environmental impact," Sarukhan said in a statement.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mexico/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111123/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_teamsters_mexico

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Oil prices fall on fears of slow economic growth (AP)

NEW YORK ? Oil prices fell Monday on fears that the world economy will weaken and push down demand for crude.

West Texas Intermediate oil, which is used as a benchmark to price oil in much of the U.S., fell 75 cents to finish at $96.92 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, which is used to price oil produced in many foreign countries, fell 74 cents to end at $106.66 a barrel in London.

The global economy is under assault from several directions. The inability of Europe to deal with its crushing debt problems is raising concerns that the region will fall into recession. Also, as long as the crisis continues, the fear remains that the world financial system could seize up if European banks and banks with ties to Europe stop lending.

"The market's biggest concern is the ongoing strife in Europe and the uncertainty that brings," said Phil Flynn, an analyst at PFG Best in Chicago.

When the economy slows, demand for crude oil and refined products like diesel and gasoline falls because fewer goods are produced and shipped, and people travel less.

The U.S. national average for a gallon of regular gasoline fell about half a cent to $3.35 on Monday, according to AAA, Oil Price Information Service and Wright Express.

Another concern is that the Congressional committee set up to reduce U.S. spending, known as the super committee, will fail to come up with a plan. That could lead to further gridlock in Washington at a time when the U.S. economy is fragile.

"The supercommittee isn't looking very super," Flynn said.

Economic fears also sent major stock indexes down about 2 percent Monday. In the past, stocks and oil prices often moved in opposite directions because high oil prices often led to high inflation, which hurt stock prices. In recent years, however, inflation worries have receded and oil and the stock market have tended to move in the same direction. Both have risen when it appears the economy will grow, and fallen when it looks like the economy will shrink.

"The oil market is moving in tandem with the big swings we are seeing in the stock market," said energy consultant Jim Ritterbusch.

The price of oil was also pushed lower by a stronger dollar. Oil is priced in dollars, so when the dollar becomes more valuable compared with other currencies, oil becomes more expensive to holders of foreign currency and they tend to buy less of it.

Benchmark U.S. crude spiked to nearly $103 a barrel last Wednesday after a pipeline company announced plans to try to relieve a glut of landlocked oil at a major hub in Oklahoma by shipping it to the gulf coast. Brent crude fell because the plan would add to supplies of oil that can be shipped by sea, relieving a relative shortage.

Now both are falling because economies around the world may need less oil no matter how it is delivered.

In other energy trading in New York, natural gas rose 8 cents to finish at $3.399 per 1,000 cubic feet, gasoline futures rose 1.06 cents $2.4890 a gallon and heating oil fell 3.82 cents to $2.9943 a gallon..

Jonathan Fahey can be reached at http://twitter.com/JonathanFahey

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/economy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111121/ap_on_bi_ge/us_oil_prices1st_ld_writethru

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Cops: Woman kills 2, injures 4, then kills self (AP)

GREENSBORO, N.C. ? Mary Ann Holder wanted to see her married former flame one last time as their bitter love triangle threatened to open a new and potentially costly chapter in court.

The meeting ended with Randall Lamb, 40, being shot and Holder, 36, taking her own life Sunday. Later, police found that Holder gunned down four children living in her home, including her two sons, and the older boy's girlfriend. Two are dead. Three of the children survived and were in critical condition Monday.

Investigators were trying to unravel the violent chain of events and understand why Holder took out her rage on children. Holder left notes taking responsibility for the shootings and apologizing for the pain she was causing, Guilford County Sheriff BJ Barnes said. The notes also indicate Holder was angry about how her relationship with Lamb ended.

"They were obviously shot for the purpose of killing them. You can call it an execution, you can call it a shooting, you can call it whatever you want. The result is the same," he said. "We may never know exactly what her thoughts were and why."

Investigators said Holder and Lamb had been having an affair for almost four years and it was grinding to an acrimonious end.

In February, Lamb's wife, Jennifer, sought a court order to keep Holder away from her and her husband. Jennifer Lamb stated in the complaint that Holder would constantly call and text their cell phones and that Holder also sent nude pictures of herself. In June, Holder filed restraining orders against Lamb and his wife, saying they stalked and harassed her and that Lamb constantly drove past her house.

Authorities said Lamb agreed to meet Holder at a community college parking lot around 9 a.m. Sunday. His wife was about to file an alienation of affection lawsuit against Holder. North Carolina law allows a married person to sue the person with whom his or her spouse had an affair.

Holder shot at him multiple times and hit him once in the shoulder, the sheriff said. Lamb called his wife, who reported the shooting to 911 dispatchers. He was in stable condition on Monday.

Holder then drove off to pick up her 14-year-old son. Phone records indicate that about 45 minutes later, Zachary Smith was sending a text message thanking his hosts for letting him stay over the previous night.

Nearly half an hour later, a sheriff's deputy on the lookout for Holder's black SUV drove past it and turned around after seeing what he thought was a puff of smoke inside the vehicle. Holder was found dead inside with a gunshot to the head, and Zachary critically wounded was in the SUV's back seat. Deputies recovered two handguns inside the vehicle, one in Holder's lap, the sheriff said.

The officers then went into Holder's home in the Pleasant Garden community south of Greensboro and found her son, 17-year-old Robert Dylan Smith, dead. Smith's girlfriend, Makayla Woods, 15, and Holder's nephew, Richard Suttles, 17, were also shot inside the home and were in critical condition Monday. Holder's niece, Hannaleigh Suttles. 8, died Monday.

The victims appeared to have been shot while they slept in a bedroom and the home's living room, said Barnes's chief deputy, Col. Randy Powers.

Holder's decision to take in her dead sister's children appeared to add to the pressures of what appeared to be a life in turmoil, neighbor Teresa Scott said.

"Why would you take them children, keep them children, when your life's rocky, up and down?" said Scott, who said Holder began renting the home across the street about four years ago.

Holder's children were kind and vigilant toward the elderly couple across the road, Teresa Scott said. They volunteered to help with yard maintenance and inquired about the health of her husband, Joe, who has had recent health problems.

In the past, Lamb also appeared to like Holder's children, Teresa Scott said. "They'd pack up things and go places together," she said.

But it was also clear the affair between Holder and Lamb had become rancorous, Teresa Scott said. Robert Smith posted no trespassing signs on trees in the front yard this year in response to the rising level of tension between Holder and Lamb, Scott said.

No one answered the door at Lamb's home or at the homes of neighbors at the end of long driveways.

The multiple shootings stunned law officers, Barnes said.

"We've got death. We've got drama. We've got a situation basically no one could ever imagine," Barnes said.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/crime/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111122/ap_on_re_us/us_greensboro_shootings

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ReCell Kit Grows Spray On Skin At Your Bedside In Just Half an Hour [Medical]

While skin grafts are an essential tool for treating severe burns, Avita Medical has developed a compact kit that grows replacement skin that can be sprayed on. Which has resulted in faster healing and better cosmetic results in patient testing. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/KZnK9L0gxHk/recell-kit-grows-spray-on-skin-at-your-bedside-in-just-half-an-hour

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Resolution on Iran nuclear program hailed by US, but lacks teeth

The US lauds the 'unified message' sent by the UN's nuclear watchdog expressing 'deep and increasing concern' over the Iran nuclear program. But the resolution lays no groundwork for action.

A resolution Friday by the UN nuclear watchdog expressing ?deep and increasing concern? over Iran?s nuclear program achieved the first goal the United States sought from its adoption: international unity.

Skip to next paragraph

China and Russia signed on to the resolution, which expresses a new level of urgency, allowing both the White House and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to say that the world has sent a ?unified message? to Iran that it must answer growing questions about signs of a military dimension to its program.

But now comes the even harder part: getting the international community to move beyond rhetoric to act on its ?increasing? concerns.

No one expects the adoption of a resolution by the International Atomic Energy Agency?s Board of Governors alone will prompt Iran to alter a program that the IAEA says shows signs of research and development in areas that could only have a military application.

Indeed if there were any doubts about how Iran would respond to the resolution, Iranian officials quickly laid them to rest. In comments after the vote, Iran?s representative to the IAEA, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, said his country would not bow to international pressure over allegations which he said are ?fabricated.?

Iran, he said, ?will never ever suspend our [uranium] enrichment,? one of the elements of Iran?s nuclear program that is progressing and that worries the international community.

But Secretary Clinton made clear in her comments after the resolution?s adoption that the US plans to use the IAEA vote to spur the world on to increased pressure on Iran to alter its course.

?In the coming weeks we will work with our international partners to increase the pressure on Iran?s government until it decides to meet its international obligations,? she said.

Other Western leaders spoke with similar certainty about prospects for additional pressure on Iran if it does not respond to the IAEA demands for explanations.

?If Iran refuses to comply with her international obligations ? very clearly reiterated again today ? we shall, along with all of our partners, adopt sanctions on an unprecedented scale,? said French Foreign Minister Alain Jupp?.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/zSMMzHi68aA/Resolution-on-Iran-nuclear-program-hailed-by-US-but-lacks-teeth

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Steve Ettlinger: Shocker: Brooklyn Jobs and Housing the Old-Fashioned Way

We need more Red Apples and fewer Barclays Centers.

The Brooklyn Paper just reported that the new Red Apple supermarket that just opened on Myrtle Avenue in Fort Greene hired over 70 workers, many of whom are from the public housing projects sitting across from it. In fact, the human resources director for the chain says, "Almost all the jobs have gone to people from the area."

Wouldn't we love it if more major construction could generate that kind of result!

In light of the all the subsidies given to major corporations to create jobs, like Chase and Forest City Ratner, it stands out. After all, Chase, the original downtown Brooklyn subsidy magnet for job creation, has either eliminated or moved most of its jobs.

However, because only the arena is being built at this time, there are few regular jobs being created; an arena is not the same job-generator as an office building, of course. Nor is a residential building going to create that many jobs, and only one is likely to rise next year.

FCR's subsidies for its Atlantic Yards/Barclays Center will total almost $2 billion. Well, Red Apple says they only got this: a job fair and training sessions at the Ingersoll Community Center put together by Councilmember Letitia James and District Leader Lincoln Ressler, among others. The city did re-zone the area, but that was a planned re-zoning for a larger area, not a special exception for a well-connected developer like FCR.

Furthermore, the store is part of a 95-unit apartment building. Hmmm ... they created jobs and housing, and did it on their own? No lobbying Albany or City Hall? No extended relationships with officials indicted for bribery? Owner John Catsimatidis of the Red Apple Group says the project was privately financed. How refreshing! No crony capitalism here, it seems.

And what about the market? The building, known as The Andrea, was entirely rented within six months of completion (These are on the low end of the market, great deals for a new building, with rents just below and just above $2000 a month for a one-bedroom -- but not classified as "affordable" -- those will come in later construction).

Our city is filled with developments that don't feed at the public trough, even if they do quite often get some tax breaks or other routine encouragement. Even better, some government projects simply but profoundly stimulate development, such as the incomparable High Line Park in Manhattan, where many self-selected, motivated developers have profited by building, on their own, cool new hotels and apartment buildings.

Makes you wonder, doesn't it? I certainly had always wondered why the city didn't simply build over the Vanderbilt Yards, an 8-acre site, and create a park, leaving the development around it to organic market forces. No need to override zoning, no muss, no fuss.

Meanwhile, kudos to Catsimatidis and Red Apple Group for their development the old-fashioned way, with their own cash and vision, and congratulations to the city government for making this all work.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steve-ettlinger/shocker-brooklyn-jobs-and_b_1100364.html

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UFC 139 postfight: ?Shogun? says fifth could?ve been a 10-8 and wants a rematch against Henderson

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Many along press row at the HP Pavilion were a little surprised not one judge gave Mauricio "Shogun" Rua a 10-8 for his efforts in the fifth round of his fight against Dan Henderson. It turns out Rua was surprised as well.

"I don't know how the judges scored the last round. It could have been or should have been a 10-8 round. But that doesn't take anything away from Dan Henderson. He is a legend and those are the type of fights that create a legacy," said Rua.

Rua is looking forward to seeing a replay of the fight.

"I'm going to rest with my family now and take care of myself. Then I'm going to go back and look at the tapes. I want a rematch and I think this would be another great battle and one the fans would definitely want to see," said Rua.

FightMetric backed up Rua. The Brazilian outlanded Henderson 26-0 in significant strikes over the final minutes and 79-8 overall in the fifth.

John Morgan, 2009 MMA Journalist of the Year, scored it a draw as did Adam Hill from the Las Vegas Review-Journal. ESPN.com's Brett Okamoto scored it 48-46 for Rua.

Will Angland at Bleacher Report wrote a strong piece saying Rua was robbed.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/UFC-139-postfight-8216-Shogun-8217-says-fif?urn=mma-wp9815

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Iranian official clashes with msnbc TV hosts

In a heated television exchange, a top Iranian official called the United States the world's largest source of state-sponsored terrorism, called Israel's government a "racist regime" and rejected an international report saying that Iran was trying to develop nuclear weapons.

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Mohammad Javad Larijani, secretary general of the High Council for Human Rights of Iran, clashed with hosts and other guests on the MSNBC show "Morning Joe."

Larijani dismissed as "laughable" an IAEA report last week assessing that Iran has been conducting research and experiments geared to developing a nuclear weapons capability.

Video: Iran official: Iran?s nuclear program not for making arms (on this page)

He said the IAEA's allegations were "based on a document put to us four years ago," adding: "It [was] discussed with the agency and the conclusion was that none of these allegations could be verified."

The whole issue was ?closed? at that time, he said, because the evidence was "totally inconclusive."

He claimed Iranian transparency on nuclear programs exceeded that of Western nations and said there was "no single secret activity" concealed from international inspectors and that the United States was guilty of the "demonization of Iran," adding that Tehran had "fantastic relations with all of our neighbors."

He said Iran was not interested in producing nuclear weapons because that would be "against Islamic code." He called nuclear weapons "more liability than asset for us" and said the country's "military muscle is strong enough to repel or deter any imminent threat.?

Larijani's claims about the nuclear program were rejected as "preposterous" by fellow studio guest Dr. Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations. He said anyone who believed an oil-rich country was building underground and undeclared nuclear facilities and using nuclear energy only to produce electricity "would seriously have to believe in the tooth fairy."

Larijani compared Iran's nuclear program to Israel's, noting that Israel already has nuclear weapons and does not disclose any details of its program.

When Larijani complained that his country did not have access to nuclear fuel for electricity generation, Haas said that is because of American concerns about Iran's track record on terrorism.

"The United States of America is the largest and the greatest country supporting terrorism," Larijani protested. "The record of terrorist activity which is supported by tax money of these people is enormous."

"That's absurd, saying that America is the biggest terrorist nation in the world," commentator Mike Barnicle said.

Later, Larijani called Israel a "renegade state" that is "the source of all tension in the region."

Asked directly if he supported Israel's right to exist, Larijani called Israel a "racist regime."

The exchanges came after a report that the U.N. atomic agency reached agreement with Russia and China on a resolution criticizing Iran's nuclear defiance, The resolution document, obtained by The Associated Press, stops short of setting an ultimatum for allowing a probe of its alleged secret work on atomic weapons.

The resolution document is expected to be circulated and voted on Friday by the International Atomic Energy Agency's 35-nation board.

The IAEA resolution had been eagerly awaited as a signal of how harshly Iran would be treated for ignoring both IAEA and U.N. Security Council demands that it stop activities that could be used to make nuclear arms and allow the agency to probe its alleged secret weapons work.

It was also an indication that the six world powers at the forefront of trying to engage Iran on cooperating with the international community on its nuclear program had surmounted a difficult hurdle testing their unity.

The organization wants to send a high-level mission to Iran to address mounting concerns it may be seeking to design atom bombs.

The U.S. and its Western allies ? Britain, France and Germany ? had come to the meeting saying they were seeking a tough warning to the Islamic Republic to start cooperating or face renewed referral to the Security Council. But Russia and China were opposed to any harsh criticism or an overt time frame on Iran to act or face further punishment.

The text, shared with the AP, reflected compromise on both sides. It expressed "serious concern that Iran continues to defy the requirements and obligations contained in the relevant IAEA Board of Governors and UN Security Council Resolutions."

It also spoke of "deep and increasing concern about the unresolved issues regarding the Iranian nuclear program, including those which need to be clarified to exclude the existence of possible military dimensions."

"Serious concern," and "deep and increasing concern" are strong terms in the diplomatic world. At the same time, the text had no reference to Security Council referral if Tehran remained defiant, although two Western diplomats said that could still happen at the next IAEA meeting in March.

In opening comments to the meeting, IAEA chief Yukiya Amano also repeated his concerns "regarding possible military dimensions to Iran's nuclear program," saying such work may extend into the present.

The West had hoped that an unprecedented detailing of Iran's alleged secret weapons work contained in a restricted Nov. 8 IAEA report could sway Moscow and Beijing. For the first time, the agency said Iran was suspected of clandestine work that is "specific to nuclear weapons."

In comments to the closed meeting made available to reporters, Amano said his agency finds the information leading to such suspicions to be generally credible.

"The information indicates that Iran has carried out activities relevant to the development of a nuclear explosive device," he said. "It also indicates that, prior to the end of 2003, these activities took place under a structured program, and that some activities may still be ongoing."

Amano said he has written Iranian officials proposing that a high-level IAEA mission go to Tehran to try and jump-start his agency's stalled probe and is awaiting a reply.

Story: Iran's nuclear defiance taps deep points of pride

Western diplomats defended the compromise late on Wednesday. One ? who, like others, asked for anonymity in exchange for discussing the document ? said the compromise text would likely be supported by almost all 35 board members with the probable exception of Cuba, which always votes against resolutions critical of Iran.

Avoiding a big power split along East-West lines is taking on increased urgency as Tehran advances in enriching uranium, which can be used for making weapons as well as fueling reactors.

European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said on Thursday she was "still waiting" for Iran to propose ways to prove to the IAEA and the world that it is not seeking nuclear weapons.

In talks with Iran early this year, six global powers offered "a series of ideas for ways in which Iran could move forward with all of us and demonstrate to the IAEA that it was serious about turning away from the path of nuclear weapons and was seeking a civil nuclear programme," Ashton told reporters in Moscow after talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

She said she had told the Iranian negotiator at the time "that we left those (ideas) on the table and we were open for their ideas to put on the table. And I'm still waiting."

Tehran denies hiding a weapons program and insists its enrichment activities are meant only as an energy source. But as Iran gets closer to bomb-making ability, Israel may opt to strike militarily rather than take the chance that its arch foe will possess nuclear weapons.

Amano said he had written to the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, Fereydoun Abbasi-Davani, earlier this month to suggest a visit, which would air issues raised by the hard-hitting IAEA report on Iran.

"Preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons is one of the IAEA's core responsibilities," the veteran Japanese diplomat told the closed meeting, according to a copy of his speech.

"Throughout the past three years, we have obtained additional information which gives us a fuller picture of Iran's nuclear program and increases our concerns about possible military dimensions," Amano said.

"The information indicates that Iran has carried out activities relevant to the development of a nuclear explosive device," he said, in his toughest public statement so far on Iran's contested nuclear program.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45337442/ns/world_news-mideast_n_africa/

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Republican Candidates on Abortion (ContributorNetwork)

Even though most Americans mention the economy as the most important problem facing the nation, abortion is still the most divisive topic. According to Gallup, the country is split almost 50-50 on the legality of abortion and this divide has remained virtually constant for more than 25 years.

It is a debate that is particularly intense because it deals with people's morals. Notice the principled desire to uphold justice in the severity of the opposing views: some view abortion as infanticide, murder. Others see it as a completely moral, personal choice for a woman.

The debate becomes even more complex when one takes into account the different nuances positions that exist. Given this context, it is essential to have a sense of where the candidates stand on abortion before voting. Here are some quotes and excerpts on abortion by each of the major Republican candidates:

Ron Paul

* Would define "life as beginning at conception by passing a 'Sanctity of Life Act.'"

* Would repeal Roe v. Wade and preventing activist judges from interfering with state decisions on life by removing abortion from federal court jurisdiction through legislation modeled after his 'We the People Act.'"

* Paul has a pro-life ad that can be seen here.

Herman Cain

* "What it comes down to is not the government's role or anybody else's role to make that decision. Secondly, if you look at the statistical incidents, you're not talking about that big a number. So what I'm saying is it ultimately gets down to a choice that that family or that mother has to make."

* "Yesterday in an interview with Piers Morgan on CNN, I was asked questions about abortion policy and the role of the president. I understood the thrust of the question to ask whether that I, as president, would simply 'order' people to not seek an abortion. My answer was focused on the role of the President. The President has no constitutional authority to order any such action by anyone. That was the point I was trying to convey. As to my political policy view on abortion, I am 100% pro-life. End of story."

Mitt Romney

* "I am pro-life and believe that abortion should be limited to only instances of rape, incest, or to save the life of the mother. I support the reversal of Roe v. Wade, because it is bad law and bad medicine. Roe was a misguided ruling that was a result of a small group of activist federal judges legislating from the bench. I support the Hyde Amendment, which broadly bars the use of federal funds for abortions. And as president, I will support efforts to prohibit federal funding for any organization like Planned Parenthood, which primarily performs abortions or offers abortion-related services.

* "I will advocate for and support a Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act to protect unborn children who are capable of feeling pain from abortion. And perhaps most importantly, I will only appoint judges who adhere to the Constitution and the laws as they are written, not as they want them to be written."

Newt Gingrich

* "I think that abortion should not be legal, and I think that how you would implement that I'm not sure."

* "People should select adoption rather than abortion and that choosing abortion is not acceptable."

* "I think that Planned Parenthood should be defunded, and I think it's a very significant issue to say to people, 'Should your tax money go to pay the leading abortion provider in America?'"

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/gop/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20111116/us_ac/10444107_republican_candidates_on_abortion

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Play an enormous game of Angry Birds on the world?s largest Android tablet (Yahoo! News)

If even 10" tablets are too small for you, then this comparatively gargantuan 65" slate may suit your taste better. Developed by Istanbul-based company Ardic, what could be the world's largest Android tablet is a touchscreen high-definition LCD with support for basic gestures like scrolling and pinch and zoom. The LCD isn't a full-fledged tablet, however ? it still needs to be controlled by a dock-connected 10" Honeycomb slate made possible by modifying Android to support 1080p high-definition output.

Once connected to the smaller tablet, the 65" giant works like any other Honeycomb device out there, including the capacity to play games like Fruit Slice as the developer demonstrates on the video above. Right now, the display can only recognize two-finger input but Ardic plans to incorporate multi-touch input soon. While it still depends on another device to work, the gigantic tablet has features akin to other slates on the market like front and rear cameras, a microSD card slot, and even 3G and wifi internet connectivity.

As Engadget puts it, this isn't just another crazy prototype. The company is marketing the product as an alternative to touch-enabled interactive white boards called Smart Boards, and is already in talks with some customers from the education and business sectors.

[via Engadget]

This article was written by Mariella Moon and originally appeared on Tecca

More from Tecca:

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_technews/20111115/tc_yblog_technews/play-an-enormous-game-of-angry-birds-on-the-worlds-largest-android-tablet

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Stocks edge higher on retail spending gains (AP)

NEW YORK ? Technology stocks led a late afternoon rally on Wall Street Tuesday. The Dow Jones industrial average rose nearly 80 points, led by Hewlett-Packard Co. and Intel Corp.

The Dow had been down for much of the day as investors balanced new worries about Europe's financial crisis against hopeful signs for the U.S. economy.

Americans spent more on autos, electronics and building supplies in October, raising retail sales for a fifth straight month. Sales increased 0.5 percent from the previous month, a faster rate than economists expected.

In Europe, higher interest rates on government debt issued by Italy, Spain and other countries rattled stock markets. The market rate for Italy's 10-year bond jumped back above 7 percent. When rates crossed the 7 percent threshold last week, it raised worries about the country's ability to manage its debts. Greece, Ireland and Portugal were forced to seek financial lifelines when their borrowing rates crossed the same mark.

The retail sales report helped the U.S. stock market "show a certain degree of resilience in the wake of the negative headlines out of Europe," said Todd Salamone, director of research at Schaeffer's Investment Research.

The Dow was up 74 points, or 0.6 percent, to 12,151 as of 3:30 p.m. Eastern. The S&P 500 rose 11, or 0.9 percent, to 1,262. The Nasdaq composite gained 35, or 1.3 percent, to 2,692.

Traders remained cautious. The prices of assets investors use as havens from market turmoil, like U.S. government debt and gold, held steady. The yield on the 10-year Treasury edged up to 2.06 percent from 2.04 percent late Monday. Bond yields rise when their prices fall. Gold rose $3.80 to $1,782.20 an ounce.

In corporate news, sales at Staples Inc. fell short of analysts' expectations, and the company also cut its earnings forecast for the year. Its stock dropped 5.5 percent, the most in the S&P 500 index.

Department store chain Saks Inc. rose 2 percent after reporting stronger sales. Dell Inc. reports quarterly results after the market closes.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111115/ap_on_bi_st_ma_re/us_wall_street

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Ind. couple: School didn't shield son from bullies (AP)

ST. JOHN, Ind. ? A couple is suing their northwest Indiana school district, claiming school officials failed to protect their son from prolonged bullying over his Middle Eastern background that culminated in an attack this month that left him with a brain injury.

In their lawsuit filed Monday in Lake Superior Court, Osama and Hind Haddad contend that officials at Lake Central High School in St. John, about 35 miles southeast of Chicago, failed to protect their son, David Osama Haddad, from at least seven bullies even after it was brought to their attention. They are seeking unspecified damages.

Hind Haddad said at a news conference Monday that her son is being treated for a traumatic brain injury and is having trouble with his vision and balance since the Nov. 8 attack in a school hallway. Haddad's parents say they are natives of Jordan and that they've lived in the United States for more than 30 years.

Police are investigating the alleged attack, and charges could be filed within days, St. John Police Chief Fred Frego told The Associated Press on Tuesday. He said the Haddads had not contacted the department before last week.

Lawrence Veracco, the superintendent of the local district, the Lake Central School Corp., did not immediately respond to a phone message seeking comment left Tuesday at his office.

The family's attorney, Kenneth Allen, said the bullying started with verbal harassment, with Haddad being called "Little bin Laden" or "Little Osama," before it escalated threats of physical violence. Haddad's parents said a group of boys showed up at their house in January and tried to lure him outside to beat him up.

"The administration turned a blind eye to threats of violence ? to bullying," Allen said.

Allen said students gave Haddad gifts after Osama bin Laden and Moammar Gadhafi were killed.

Haddad's parents said he hasn't returned to school since the beating. Hind Haddad said she's afraid to send him back.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/education/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111115/ap_on_re_us/us_school_bullying_lawsuit

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Asia stocks rise as Europe stabilizes, Japan grows (AP)

BANGKOK ? Asian stocks rose sharply Monday after Japan's economy grew for the first time in four quarters and Europe moved closer to resolving a debt crisis that threatens to hurl the region into recession.

The Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo rose 1.2 percent to 8,617.03. Hong Kong's Hang Seng surged 2.2 percent to 19,552.55 and South Korea's Kospi added 2 percent to 1,901.05. Benchmarks in Singapore, Australia, and mainland China were also higher.

Hopeful signs emerged over the weekend from Italy after Premier Silvio Berlusconi reluctantly bowed to market pressure and resigned. His successor, economist Mario Monti, faces the monumental task of enacting profound reforms aimed at preventing Italy from defaulting on its huge debts.

Unlike Greece, Portugal and Ireland ? which have received emergency financial help from international lenders ? Italy is considered much too big to bail out. Its next government must push through austerity measures to deal with euro1.9 trillion ($2.6 trillion) in debt.

Investment confidence was also boosted after Japan released data showing its economy ? horrifically shaken from a record earthquake in March ? had surged in the latest quarter.

The economy surged 6 percent in the latest quarter, the first expansion for the world's No. 3 economy in four quarters. It comes as Japan claws its way out of a crisis stemming from an earthquake and tsunami that decimated factories across the country's northeast on March 11.

Since then, the country has steadily restored its factories, helping the economy rebound despite the threats of a financial crisis in Europe, slowing global economy and a strong yen.

In Greece, there was good news Friday, as former central banker Lucas Papademos was sworn in as interim prime minister following a political crisis that jeopardized the country's ability to continue receiving emergency loans.

Papademos must now get his government to agree to a debt deal that will net the country billions of euros in acutely needed rescue money ? provided that it enacts painful austerity measures including tax hikes and sharp cuts in public spending.

Without the rescue money, Greece's faces insolvency and a massive default on its debts ? an event that experts believe would set off a regional banking crisis and eventually blow up into an all-out European recession.

On Wall Street, stocks surged Friday after Italy and Greece moved closer to getting their financial crises under control.

The Dow Jones industrial average jumped or 2.2 percent to 12,153.68. The S&P 500 rose 1.9 percent to 1,263.85. The Nasdaq composite rose or 2 percent to 2,678.75.

Uncertainty still hangs over financial markets, however, as traders await U.S. economic data. Reports on October retail sales, inflation and housing data are due this week, starting Tuesday.

Despite its 2.5 percent growth rate last quarter, the U.S. economy remains fragile. The Federal Reserve recently lowered its economic outlook for 2012. The central bank predicted that the economy will grow at a rate of about 2.7 percent next year. That is a full percentage point below a forecast from June, and below the 3 to 5 percent annual growth rate that is considered healthy.

Benchmark crude for December delivery was up 9 cents at $99.08 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $1.21 to settle at $98.99 in New York on Friday.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111114/ap_on_bi_ge/world_markets

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Israeli official: military could topple Hamas (AP)

REIM MILITARY BASE, Israel ? Weeks after a new round of fighting with Gaza militants subsided, a senior Israeli military official said Sunday that Israel is ready and able to topple the territory's Hamas government, though it has no immediate plans to do so.

The official also said Gaza militants have steadily built up an already formidable arsenal, in part with weapons smuggled out of Libya, and now have rockets capable of striking Tel Aviv, Israel's cultural and business hub.

"If we have to conquer the whole Gaza Strip, we'll do it," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity under Israeli military guidelines. Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005 after a 38-year military occupation.

Israel's volatile front with Gaza, a crowded seaside strip along Israel's southwest flank, has been largely quiet since an Israeli military offensive three years ago. The operation, launched in response to heavy barrages of rocket fire, killed some 1,400 people, including hundreds of civilians, and inflicted heavy damage on Hamas.

But since then, Hamas has restocked its arsenal, and fighting has sporadically flared up, most recently late last month when one Israeli and 10 Gaza militants were killed over several days of violence.

Hamas officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Hamas, along with smaller militant groups, now possess sophisticated anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons, the official said. He said they also have rockets capable of reaching the northern suburbs of Tel Aviv, roughly 50 miles (80 kilometers) from Gaza, meaning that Israel's main population center is now within range.

The official said many arms have flooded into Gaza in the wake of the Libyan revolution, with looted weapons making their way through Egypt's Sinai peninsula and into Gaza through the border tunnels. He said the weapons shipping is taking place despite improved efforts by Egypt's new government to stop the smuggling.

He said the weapons have not changed militants' abilities, since armed groups already possessed these arms. But he said the amount of weapons has grown substantially.

One beneficiary, he said, is Islamic Jihad, a smaller armed group that sometimes rivals Hamas. Islamic Jihad was responsible for most of the latest wave of fighting against Israel.

"Hamas has more of everything and good stuff, but the Jihad ... got stronger by far, not stronger than Hamas, but it's a very strong organization now," he said.

Abu Ahmad, spokesman for Islamic Jihad's military wing, confirmed his group had beefed up its capabilities, including the new use of mobile rocket launchers. But he said there is still "a big difference between our humble arsenal and the occupation army's weapons."

"What I can say here is that the occupation army commanders and soldiers will find themselves in trouble if they commit any folly against Gaza," he said. "We have many new things that will be used if there is a new Zionist escalation."

For the past three years, Israel has generally been in a tit-for-tat cycle against militants, responding to rocket fire with pinpoint strikes against the attackers. Israel holds Hamas, which seized control of Gaza in 2007, for all attacks that emanate from the territory.

The official cited several scenarios that could trigger a heavier Israeli response against Hamas, including a deadly rocket attack on a school or school bus, a kidnapping of an Israeli soldier or the introduction of a new strategic weapon.

He warned, however, that a broad operation would carry a heavy price that would likely include military and civilian casualties both on the Israeli and Palestinian sides. "If you want a bigger achievement, then you pay a bigger price," he said.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111113/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_israel_palestinians

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