Harnessing the predictive power of virtual communities

ScienceDaily (Jan. 30, 2012) ? Scientists have created a new algorithm to detect virtual communities, designed to match the needs of real-life social, biological or information networks detection better than with current attempts. The results of this study by Lovro ?ubelj and his colleague Marko Bajec from the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia have just been published in The European Physical Journal B.

Communities are defined as systems of nodes interacting through links. So-called classical communities are defined by their internal level of link density. By contrast, link-pattern communities -- better suited to describe real-world phenomena -- are characterised by internal patterns of similar connectedness between their nodes.

The authors have created a model, referred to as a propagation-based algorithm, that can extract both link-density and link-pattern communities without any prior knowledge of the number of communities, unlike previous attempts at community detection. They first validated their algorithm on several synthetic benchmark networks and with random networks. The researchers subsequently tested it on ten real-life networks including social (members of a karate club), information (peer-to-peer file sharing) and biological (protein-protein interactions of a yeast) networks. By this, it was found that the proposed algorithm detected the real-life communities more accurately than existing state-of-the-art algorithms.

They concluded that real-life networks appear to be composed of link-pattern communities that are interwoven and overlap with classical link-density communities. Further work could focus on creating a generic model to understand the conditions, such as the low level of clustering, for link-pattern communities to emerge, compared to link-density communities. The model could also help to explain why such link-pattern communities call the existing interpretation of small-world phenomena (six degrees of separation between nodes) into question.

Applications include the prediction of future friendships in online social networks, analysis of interactions in biological systems that are hard to observe otherwise, and detection of duplicated code in software systems.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Springer Science+Business Media, via AlphaGalileo.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

---

Journal Reference:

1. L. ?ubelj, M. Bajec. Ubiquitousness of link-density and link-pattern communities in real-world networks. The European Physical Journal B, 2012; 85 (1) DOI: 10.1140/epjb/e2011-20448-7

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120130093921.htm

nbc sports

What do killer whales eat in the Arctic?

ScienceDaily (Jan. 29, 2012) ? Killer whales (Orcinus orca) are the top marine predator, wherever they are found, and seem to eat everything from schools of small fish to large baleen whales, over twice their own size. The increase in hunting territories available to killer whales in the Arctic due to climate change and melting sea ice could seriously affect the marine ecosystem balance. New research published in BioMed Central's re-launched open access journal Aquatic Biosystems has combined scientific observations with Canadian Inuit traditional knowledge to determine killer whale behaviour and diet in the Arctic.

Orca have been studied extensively in the northeast Pacific ocean, where resident killer whales eat fish, but migrating whales eat marine mammals. Five separate ecotypes in the Antarctic have been identified, each preferring a different type of food, and similar patterns have been found in the Atlantic, tropical Pacific, and Indian oceans. However, little is known about Arctic killer whale prey preference or behaviour.

Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) is increasingly being used to supplement scientific observations. Researchers from Manitoba visited 11 Canadian Nunavut Inuit communities and collated information from over 100 interviews with hunters and elders.

The Inuit reported that killer whales would 'eat whatever they can catch', mainly other marine mammals including seals (ringed, harp, bearded, and hooded) and whales (narwhal, beluga and bowhead). However there was no indication that Arctic killer whales ate fish. Only seven of the interviewees suggested that killer whales ate fish, but none of them had ever seen it themselves.

The type of reported prey varied between areas. Most incidents of killer whales eating bowhead whales occurred in Foxe Basin and narwhal predation was more frequent around Baffin Island. Inuit were also able to describe first-hand how killer whales hunted, including several reports of how killer whales co-operated to kill the much larger bowhead. During the hunt some whales were seen holding the bowhead's flippers or tail, others covering its blowhole, and others biting or ramming to cause internal damage. Occasionally dead bowheads, with bite marks and internal injuries but with very little eaten, are found by locals.

'Aarlirijuk', the fear of killer whales, influenced prey behaviour with smaller mammals seeking refuge in shallow waters or on shore and larger prey running away, diving deep, or attempting to hide among the ice. Even narwhal, which are capable of stabbing a killer whale with their tusks (although this is likely to result in the deaths of both animals), will run to shallow waters and wait until the whales give up.

Killer whales are seasonal visitors to the area and have recently started colonising Hudson Bay (possibly due to loss of summer sea ice with global warming). Local communities are reliant on the very species that the orcas like to eat. Dr Steven Ferguson from the University of Manitoba who led this research commented, "Utilising local knowledge through TEK will help scientists understand the effects of global warming and loss of sea ice on Arctic species and improve collaborative conservation efforts in conjunction with local communities."

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Journal Reference:

1. Steven H Ferguson, Jeff W Higdon and Kristin H Westdal, Aquatic Biosystems. Prey items and predation behavior of killer whales (Orcinus orca) in Nunavut, Canada based on Inuit hunter interviews. Aquatic Biosystems, 2012 (in press)

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120129232818.htm

three stooges

T-Mobile keen to help iPhone users, plans to offer new procedures for unlocked phones

The iPhone might not officially be on the magenta network, but T-Mobile isn't about to turn its back on a million paying customers, either. According to a document obtained by TmoNews, the network plans to offer new "common procedures, information about feature and specifications and other basic device questions" to iPhone users starting Monday. T-Mobile has long had an open-door policy for customers with unlocked iPhones, since it doesn't have its own to sell -- though T-Mo CTO Neville Ray is hoping really hard that will change. Someday.

T-Mobile keen to help iPhone users, plans to offer new procedures for unlocked phones originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 29 Jan 2012 23:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/tnT4ubt9e3o/

starz

Signs point to strong Jan. finsh for stocks

NEW YORK?? January has turned out strong for equities with just two trading days to go. If you're afraid to miss the ride, there's still time to jump in. You just might want to wear a neck brace.

The new year lured buyers into growth-related sectors, the ones that were more beaten down last year. The economy is getting better, but not dramatically. Earnings are beating expectations, but at a lower rate than in recent quarters. Nothing too bad is coming out of Europe's debt crisis ? and nothing good, either ? at least not yet.

"No one item is a major positive, but collectively, it's been enough to tilt it towards net buying," said John Schlitz, chief market technician at Instinet in New York.

Still, relatively weak volume and a six-month high hit this week make some doubt that the gains are sustainable.

But then there's the golden cross.

Many market skeptics take notice when this technical indicator, a holy grail of sorts for many technicians, shows up on the horizon.

As early as Monday, the rising 50-day moving average of the S&P 500 could tick above its rising 200-day moving average. This occurrence ? known as a golden cross ? means the medium-term momentum is increasingly bullish. You have a good chance of making money in the next six months if you put it to work in large-cap stocks.

In the last 50 years, according to data compiled by Birinyi Associates, a golden cross on the S&P 500 has augured further gains six months ahead in eight out of 10 times. The average gain has been 6.6 percent.

That means the benchmark is on solid footing to not only hold onto the 14 percent advance over the last nine weeks, but to flirt with 1,400, a level it hasn't hit since mid-2008.

The gains, as expected, would not be in a straight line. But any weakness could be used by long-term investors as buying opportunities.

"The cross is an intermediate bullish event," Schlitz said. "You have to interpret it as constructive, but I caution people to take a bullish stance, if they have a short-term horizon ."

Less than halfway into the earnings season and with Greek debt talks over the weekend, payrolls data next week and the S&P 500 near its highest since July, there's plenty of room for something to go wrong. If that happens, the market could easily give back some of its recent advance.

But the benchmark's recent rally and momentum shift allow for a pullback before the technical picture deteriorates.

"We bounced off 1,325, which is resistance. We're testing 1,310, which should be support. We are stuck in that range," said Ken Polcari, managing director at ICAP Equities in New York.

"If over the weekend, Greece comes out with another big nothing, then you will see further weakness next week," he said. "A 1 (percent) or 2 percent pullback isn't out of the question or out of line."

On Friday, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite closed their fourth consecutive week of gains, while the Dow Jones industrial average dipped and capped three weeks of gains. For the day, the Dow dropped 74.17 points, or 0.58 percent, to close at 12,660.46. The S&P 500 fell 2.10 points, or 0.16 percent, to 1,316.33. But the Nasdaq gained 11.27 points, or 0.40 percent, to end at 2,816.55.

For the week, the Dow slipped 0.47 percent, while the S&P 500 inched up 0.07 percent and the Nasdaq jumped 1.07 percent.

Next week is filled with heavy-hitting data on the housing, manufacturing and employment sectors.

Personal income and consumption on Monday will be followed by the S&P/Case-Shiller home prices index, consumer confidence and the Chicago PMI ? all on Tuesday.

Wednesday will bring the Institute for Supply Management index on U.S. manufacturing and the first of three key readings on the labor market ? namely, the ADP private-sector employment report. Jobless claims on Thursday will give way on Friday to the U.S. government's non-farm payrolls report. The forecast calls for a net gain of 150,000 jobs in January, according to economists polled by Reuters.

Another hectic earnings week will kick into gear with almost a fifth of the S&P 500 components posting quarterly results. Exxon Mobil, Amazon, UPS, Pfizer, Kellogg and MasterCard are among the names most likely to grab the headlines.

With almost 200 companies' reports in so far, about 59 percent have beaten earnings expectations ? down from about 70 percent in recent quarters.

Copyright 2012 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46181761/ns/business-us_business/

blackhawks

Video: Yemeni president on way to US

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh is heading to the United States to seek medical treatment after stops in Oman and London. NBC?s Kate Snow reports.

>>> leader of yemen has arrived in the united states for medical treatment a week after leaving his country under a u.s.-backed plan to end his 30-year reign of power. he was injured during an attack and he'll be treated here

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nightly-news/46176616/

cmas

Arsenal relies on patched up defense in FA Cup

By STUART CONDIE

AP Sports Writer

Associated Press Sports

updated 3:01 p.m. ET Jan. 27, 2012

LONDON (AP) -Arsenal needs a swift turnaround against Aston Villa in the FA Cup on Sunday to get fans back on side.

For so long a hero to Arsenal fans, manager Arsene Wenger was jeered during last weekend's 2-1 Premier League defeat against Manchester United.

Wenger said he has nothing to prove after leading the Gunners to three Premier League titles but knows the only way to get supporters cheering again is for the team to start picking up positive results.

"I always believe the fans' reaction depends on us," Wenger said Friday. "It is the team which has to get the fans behind them and the fans have to be proud of the team. The vibes have to come from us."

But Wenger will again be relying on a patched up defense against a Villa side that has scored nine goals in its last three away games.

Out of contention for the Premier League title, Arsenal's injury problems mean it has been playing without specialist fullbacks since early December. Now it needs the likes of teenagers Nico Yennaris and Ignasi Miquel to plug the gaps at the back against Villa to prolong its interest in England's premier cup competition.

The 18-year-old Yennaris has started only once for Arsenal and made two more appearances as a substitute but knows how important the FA Cup is.

As an Arsenal fan, Yennaris is steeped in the club's history and watched his team win three of four finals between 2001 and 2005.

And this season's tournament represents arguably the club's best chance of ending a near seven-year streak without a trophy.

"I remember going to those four finals with my dad," Yennaris said. "Some were good, some not so good. The Liverpool one was the first I went to at the Millennium Stadium and we lost that game, Michael Owen scored in the last 10 minutes.

"Then there was Chelsea where Ray Parlour and Freddie Ljungberg scored a couple of screamers, Southampton where Pires scored and then Man United where Vieira scored the winning penalty."

Yennaris made his Premier League debut as a halftime substitute for Johan Djourou in last weekend's 2-1 defeat against Manchester United. With Kieran Gibbs, Andre Santos, Carl Jenkinson and Bacary Sagna all injured, he and the 19-year-old Miguel could be the fullbacks against Villa - even though Yennaris isn't a full-time fullback himself.

"When I came to Arsenal I was actually a striker and then I went to right back," Yennaris said. "Through the ranks I was playing at center back and then in central midfield but I probably wasn't tall enough for center back.

"(But) I'm quite quick. I can move up and down the line quite well so I think I probably am quite suited."

Villa is struggling to make an impression in the Premier League but manager Alex McLeish knows how to beat Arsenal, having led Birmingham to a shock victory over the Gunners in last season's League Cup final.

"We'd like to climb the table as high as we can," McLeish said. "But the magic of the FA Cup dictates you can't leave anything to chance and you have to go and do your utmost to get through to the next round. We have a tough away tie, we know that, but the top clubs have proven this season that they are not unbeatable."

Villa will be without winger Charles N'Zogbia, defender Carlos Cuellar and midfielder Chris Herd, but striker Gabriel Agbonlahor has recovered from illness. Forward Emile Heskey and midfielder Stephen Ireland are also back in contention after recovering from injury.

Also Sunday, Sunderland hosts local rival Middlesbrough.

Liverpool hosts record 11-time FA Cup champion Manchester United in the pick of Saturday's 12 matches, with United missing as many as 11 players because of injury.

Anderson, Tom Cleverley, Ashley Young, Michael Owen, Darren Fletcher and Nemanja Vidic were already out before Rio Ferdinand missed last weekend's win over Arsenal because of a back problem. Phil Jones and Nani were substituted because of injury, while Wayne Rooney, Patrice Evra and Michael Carrick also picked up knocks.

"Hopefully we'll have two or three training this morning and we'll be better by tomorrow," United manager Alex Ferguson said. "It is not the best situation for us."

? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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More newsJavier Soriano / AFP - Getty Images

'Bad losers' and?'animals'

Barcelona midfielder Xavi Hernandez has labeled Real Madrid's players bad losers and animals after his club won their latest ill-tempered matchup.

Hope for Solo

Ailing U.S. goalie Hope Solo practices ahead of Friday's do-or-die game vs. Costa Rica.

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/44031201/ns/sports-soccer/

tim hightower

Eco-Markets: Business, Regulation, and Sustainability ? Eco Matters ...

Category> Ecosystems ? Tags> eco matters

Interested in learning more about environmental markets and the nexus between business, regulation, and sustainability? How does an organization trade carbon credits? Find out with your colleagues and friends at the Center for Environmental Research and Conservation.

A downed tree in in Manhattan's East Village after Hurricane Irene - Photo by David Shankbone

Environmental Markets: The Nexus of Business, Regulation, and Sustainability
Richard Weihe
Managing Director, Karbone
This course integrates business practices and environmental regulations with sustainability issues. It examines environmental markets that address pollution related problems, such as the use of tradable carbon credits. The course reviews the regulatory, political and economic contexts of these markets using real-world examples through professional experience, case studies, and guest speakers. Learn how environmental markets are currently used to regulate climate change, acid rain, air quality, wetlands, and renewable energy mandates, including benefits and limitations.
Tuesdays, Feb. 28, Mar. 6, 20, 27, Apr. 3 (5 sessions, 6:10-8:10PM, skip Mar. 13 ? Spring Break)

Richard Weihe has over seventeen years experience in the environmental and energy sectors in a variety of roles including risk and investment management, environmental and emissions credit trading, and engineering consulting project management. He is currently Managing Director at Karbone, an environmental credit brokerage and renewable energy finance/advisory firm.

This first session is free and open to the public. Registration is required to attend the full 10-hour course.

Interested in learning more? Visit our website or

Contact Desmond Beirne for more information:
djb2104@columbia.edu or 212-854-0149.

This course is part of CERC?s Certificate Program in Conservation and Environmental Sustainability. Courses may be taken on an individual basis or you may pursue the full 12-course Certificate.

Source: http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2012/01/27/eco-markets-business-regulation-and-sustainability/

apple earnings

Just Show Me: Great free to-do apps for your iPhone (Yahoo! News)

Welcome to?Just Show Me on?Tecca TV, where we show you tips and tricks for getting the most out of the?gadgets in your life. In today's episode we'll show you two amazing to-do apps for your?iPhone.

In addition to the Reminders app that comes on iOS 5 devices, these to-do apps will help you stay on task like never before! You'll be able to sync your to-dos with multiple devices; including on your web browser and on your iPhone. Check 'em out and?increase your productivity!

Take a look at these other episodes of Just Show Me that'll help you become an iPhone master:

For even more episodes of Just Show Me?check out our complete episode list. If you have any topics you'd like to see us cover, just drop us a line in the comments.

This article originally appeared on Tecca

More from Tecca:

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/personaltech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_technews/20120127/tc_yblog_technews/just-show-me-great-free-to-do-apps-for-your-iphone

person of interest

Fun Personal Finance Game

What's worth a splurge? Spending and saving money is highly subjective: what some of us see as a necessity, others might view as a frivolous waste. Play our What Would You Rather Spend Money On? face-off game and tell us which expense you value the most.

The choices are endless, from gym memberships to having a kid to premium cable channels; you never know what crazy matchup will come next. Pick which one you'd rather spend money on and see if your peers agree. The pairs won't always be apples-to-apples comparisons ? say, taking a honeymoon vs. eyebrow shaping! ? but they are designed to inspire tough choices, which is what personal saving is all about.

Source: http://www.savvysugar.com/Fun-Personal-Finance-Game-21491560

waldorf school

Developer Spotlight: Ray Marshal of mSecure

iMore’s developer spotlights are like DVD/iTunes Extras for the App Store — a weekly look behind the scenes at the programers and designers that bring you the iPhone, iPod touch,

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/nZr1exsegKE/story01.htm

prius c

SOTU verdict: Predictably partisan (Politico)

Top Hill lawmakers handed down their judgment on President Barack Obama?s State of the Union address ? and not surprisingly, the verdict was split along predictable partisan lines.

At a post-speech briefing hosted by POLITICO, Republicans accused Obama of divisive rhetoric and not delivering on ambitious policy promises ? driving the message that he has fallen short as he amps up for a competitive reelection campaign. And Democrats cheered Obama?s address, arguing that public opinion weighed in favor of Democrats and the president?s goals on jobs and the economy.

Continue Reading

?Most of the president?s speech was about a campaign,? said House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).

?My first reaction to the president?s speech was, he seems to have an alternative reality in terms of where we are,? added freshman Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.). ?When you think about the last four years, you ask yourself the question, ?Are we better off today than when we were four years ago???

Republicans are hoping that voters answer ?no? to that question this November, and several GOP lawmakers at POLITICO?s briefing listed Obama?s policy achievements that they said would turn against Democrats at the polls ? such as the economic stimulus package and his health care law.

?Like most of the other speeches, I find myself agreeing with about 80 percent of what he says, but disagreeing with about 80 percent of what he does,? said Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas)

The House Republican Conference chairman pointed to the current fight over the Keystone XL oil pipeline as an example of Obama not following through on a broader goal of energy independence. The Obama administration has blocked approval of the permit for the controversial 1,700-mile pipeline ? a project that Republicans strongly support as part of their energy and jobs agenda.

?Again, his actions belie his words,? Hensarling said of Obama.

?I would argue the challenge is the president delivering,? said Rep. Aaron Schock (R-Ill.).

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/politico_rss/rss_politico_mostpop/http___www_politico_com_news_stories0112_71953_html/44302825/SIG=11meq9j7p/*http%3A//www.politico.com/news/stories/0112/71953.html

kim delaney

Stat Alert: More connected phones than computers in key markets, says Google (updated)

There are obvious stats, bizarre ones, and then the good old informative ones. New data from Google revealed by Ad Age, falls into the latter category. According to Goog's numbers, more people have a mobile internet-capable device than a PC or laptop in the five key markets it tested (US, UK, Germany, France and Japan). In the US, this figure is nearly 10% more, some 76% against 68%. The numbers were taken in September and October last year, which means any impact Christmas may have had won't be taken into account. The trend away from feature phones towards smartphones is also drilled home, but that won't be news to many people 'round these parts. No matter how you connect these days, any savvy netizen will tell you: it's quality, not quantity that counts anyway.

Update: The complete report is now up online and, while smartphone and tablet use is skyrocketing, it doesn't appear to be eating into PC sales. Check out the more coverage link for all the slides.

Stat Alert: More connected phones than computers in key markets, says Google (updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 Jan 2012 09:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/-02ra5lETmI/

paul simon

Obama's State of the Union: Jobs, re-election time (AP)

WASHINGTON ? Vilified by the Republicans who want his job, President Barack Obama will stand before the nation Tuesday night determined to frame the election-year debate on his terms, using his State of the Union address to outline a lasting economic recovery that will "work for everyone, not just a wealthy few."

As his most powerful chance to make a case for a second term, the prime-time speech carries enormous political stakes for the Democratic incumbent who presides over a country divided about his performance and pessimistic about the nation's direction. He will try to offer a stark contrast with his opponents by offering a vision of fairness and opportunity for everyone.

In a preview Saturday, Obama said in a video to supporters that the speech will be an economic blueprint built around manufacturing, energy, education and American values.

He is expected to announce ideas to make college more affordable and to address the housing crisis still hampering the economy three years into his term, people familiar with the speech said. Obama will also propose fresh ideas to ensure that the wealthy pay more in taxes, reiterating what he considers a matter of basic fairness, the officials said.

His policy proposals will be less important than what Obama hopes they all add up to: a narrative of renewed American security with him at the center, leading the fight.

"We can go in two directions," Obama said in the campaign video. "One is toward less opportunity and less fairness. Or we can fight for where I think we need to go: building an economy that works for everyone, not just a wealthy few."

That line of argument is intended to tap directly into concerns of voters who think America has become a nation of income inequality, with rules rigged to help the rich. The degree to which Obama or his eventual Republican opponent can better connect with millions of hurting Americans is expected to determine November's presidential election.

Obama released his video hours ahead of the South Carolina primary, where Republican candidates fought in the latest fierce contest to become his general election rival.

The White House knows Obama is about to get his own stage to outline a re-election vision, but carefully. The speech is supposed to an American moment, not a campaign event.

Obama didn't mention national security or foreign policy in his preview, and he is not expected to break ground on either one in his speech.

He will focus on the economy and is expected to promote unfinished parts of his jobs plan, including the extension of a payroll tax cut that is soon to expire.

Whatever Obama proposes is likely to face long odds in a deeply divided Congress.

More people than not disapprove of Obama's handling of the economy, and he is showing real vulnerability among the independent voters who could swing the election. Yet he will step into the moment just as the economy is showing life. The unemployment rate is still at a troubling 8.5 percent, but at its lowest rate in nearly three years. Consumer confidence is up.

By giving a sneak peek to millions of supporters on his email list, Obama played to his Democratic base and sought to generate an even larger audience for Tuesday's address. He is unlikely to getter a bigger stage all year.

More people watched last year's State of the Union than tuned in to see Obama accept the Democratic presidential nomination in Denver in 2008.

The foundation of Obama's speech is the one he gave in Kansas last month, when he declared that the middle class was at a make-or-break moment and he railed against "you're on your own" economics of the Republican Party. His theme then was about a government that ensures people get a fair shot to succeed.

The State of the Union will be the details to back that up.

But even so, the speech will still be a framework ? part governing, part inspiration.

The details will be rolled out in full over the next several weeks, as part of Obama's next budget proposal and during his travels, which will allow him more media coverage.

On national security, Obama will ask the nation to reflect with him on a momentous year of change, including the end of the war in Iraq, the killing of al-Qaida terrorist leader Osama bin Laden and the Arab Spring protests, with people clamoring for freedom. He is expected to note the troubles posed by Iran and Syria without offering new positions about them.

Despite low expectations for legislation this year, Obama will offer short-term ideas that would require action from Congress. For now, the main looming to-do item is an extension of a payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits, both due to expire by March.

His travel schedule following his speech, to politically important regions, offers clues to the policies he was expected to unveil.

Both Phoenix and Las Vegas have been hard hit by foreclosures. Denver is where Obama outlined ways of helping college students deal with school loan debt. Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and Detroit are home to a number of manufacturers. And Michigan was a major beneficiary of the president's decision to intervene to rescue the American auto industry.

Republican leaders in Congress say Obama has made the chances of cooperation even dimmer just over the last several days. He enraged Republicans by installing a consumer watchdog chief by going around the Senate, which had blocked him, and then rejected a major oil pipeline project the GOP has embraced.

Obama is likely, once again, to offer ways in which a broken Washington must work together. Yet that theme seems but a dream given the gridlock he has been unable to change.

The address remains an old-fashioned moment of national attention; 43 million people watched it on TV last year. The White House website will offer a live stream of the speech, promising extra wrinkles for people who watch it there, and then invite people to send in questions to administration officials through social media such as Twitter and Facebook.

Obama's campaign is also organizing and promoting parties around the nation for people to watch the speech.

__

AP deputy director of polling Jennifer Agiesta and Associated Press writer Ken Thomas contributed to this report.

__

Online:

White House: http://www.whitehouse.gov

___

Follow Ben Feller at http://twitter.com/BenFellerDC

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120122/ap_on_bi_ge/us_obama_state_of_the_union

aubrey o day

French parliament passes Armenian 'genocide' bill (AP)

PARIS ? France's parliament voted Monday to make it a crime to deny that the killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks nearly a century ago constituted a genocide, risking more sanctions from Turkey and complicating an already delicate relationship with the rising power.

Turkey, which sees the allegations of genocide as a threat to its national honor, suspended military, economic and political ties and briefly recalled its ambassador last month when the lower house of parliament approved the same bill.

Before Monday's Senate vote, Turkey threatened more measures if the bill passed, though did not specify them. President Nicolas Sarkozy, whose party supported the bill, still needs to sign it into law, but that is largely considered a formality.

The debate surrounding the measure comes in the highly charged run-up to France's presidential elections this spring, and critics have called the move a ploy to the garner votes of the some 500,000 Armenians who live in France.

Valerie Boyer, the senator from Sarkozy's conservative UMP party who wrote the bill, did not deny that, saying that politicians are supposed to pass laws that they think their constituents want.

"That's democracy," she said.

But this domestic gamble could have major international consequences. France's relations with Turkey are already strained, in large part because Sarkozy opposes Turkey's entry into the European Union. The law will no doubt further sour relations with a NATO member that is playing an increasingly important role in the international community's response to the violence in Syria, the standoff over Iran's nuclear program and peace negotiations in the Middle East.

"It is null and void for us," Turkey's Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin said on live TV immediately after the bill's passage Monday. "It is a great disgrace and injustice against Turkey. I want to tell to France that you have no value for us in the slightest degree, we don't care."

The bill has also drawn massive protests in Paris, with thousands of Turks converging on the city this weekend to denounce it. On Monday, smaller rival demonstrations, separated by a substantial police presence, gathered outside the Senate.

The Senate voted 127 to 86 to pass the bill late Monday. Twenty-four people abstained. The measure sets a punishment of up to one year in prison and a fine of euro45,000 ($59,000) for those who deny or "outrageously minimize" the killings.

Despite the potentially serious consequences, many senators did not show up for the vote, instead allowing colleagues to serve as proxies. Those in the Senate chamber, however, fiercely debated the measure over several hours.

For some in France, the bill is part of a tradition of legislation in some European countries, born of the agonies of the Holocaust, that criminalizes the denial of genocides. Denying the Holocaust is already a crime in France.

Most historians contend that the 1915 killings of 1.5 million Armenians as the Ottoman Empire broke up was the 20th century's first genocide, and several European countries recognize the massacres as such. Switzerland has convicted people of racism for denying the genocide.

But Turkey says that there was no systematic campaign to kill Armenians and that many Turks also died during the chaotic disintegration of the empire. It also says that death toll is inflated.

Boyer, the bill's author, said Monday that it seeks to protect the very human rights that France first defined during its revolution.

Others warn that it threatens those same rights, especially to freedom of expression. A Senate commission, in fact, recommended against the passage of the law, saying it raised hairy constitutional questions, and the law could still face constitutional challenges.

"It's not up to parliament to define history," said Jean-Jacques Pignard, a senator who spoke against the measure in an hourslong debate. "We can't impose repentance. Repentance is a long personal journey."

But the senators who spoke for it on Monday said it was their duty to fight against those who would deny settled history.

"Once it's written, isn't it up to us to take notice?" asked Yannick Vaugrenard, a Socialist senator. "The truth is not always strong enough to conquer lies."

While senators debated the law Monday afternoon, about 150 pro-Armenian protesters and the same number of pro-Turkish demonstrators gathered outside the building.

Those in the pro-Turkish camp held banners declaring, "Liberty, Equality, Stupidity" and "It's not up to politicians to invent history."

But Alexis Govciyan, national president of the Council of Coordination of Armenian Organizations in France, said passage would bring solace to the descendants of those killed, many who live in France.

"We are hoping that today the Senate will pass this law and that we will finally have a law of protection and that the memory of the victims of the genocide and the dignity of their descendants like us will be respected," he said.

___

Associated Press writers Selcan Hacaoglu in Ankara, Turkey, and Jeffrey Schaeffer and Nicolas Garriga in Paris also contributed.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120123/ap_on_re_eu/eu_france_turkey_genocide

melissa mccarthy

Administration nominees awaiting next move by GOP (AP)

WASHINGTON ? Senate Republicans are returning to Washington in an angry mood over President Barack Obama's appointments to two key agencies during a year-end break.

More than 70 nominees to judgeships and senior federal agency positions are awaiting the next move from Republicans, who can use Senate rules to block votes on some or all of Obama's picks.

While Republicans return Monday to discuss their next step, recess appointee Richard Cordray is running a new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and the National Labor Relations Board ? with three temporary members ? is now at full strength with a Democratic majority.

Obama left more than 70 other nominees in limbo, well aware that Republicans could use Senate rules to block them.

The White House justified the appointments on grounds that Republicans were holding up the nominations to paralyze the two agencies. The consumer protection agency was established under the 2010 Wall Street reform law, which requires the bureau to have a director in order to begin policing financial products such as mortgages, checking accounts, credit cards and payday loans.

The Supreme Court has ruled that the five-member NLRB must have a three-member quorum to issue regulations or decide major cases in union-employer disputes.

Several agencies contacted by The Associated Press, including banking regulators, said they were conducting their normal business despite vacancies at the top. In some cases, nominees are serving in acting capacities.

At full strength, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has five board members. The regulation of failed banks "is unaffected," said spokesman Andrew Gray. "The three-member board has been able to make decisions without a problem." Cordray's appointment gives it a fourth member.

The Comptroller of the Currency, run by an acting chief, has kept up its regular examinations of banks. The Federal Trade Commission, operating with four board members and one vacancy, usually makes decisions unanimously.

The State Department, however, said it's important to U.S. diplomacy to fill the post of assistant secretary for western hemisphere affairs and the ambassadorships to El Salvador and Ecuador.

""We value highly our relationship with our hemispheric partners and consider diplomatic representation at the level of ambassador a top priority. This is especially true of the top diplomat charged with hemispheric relations, the assistant secretary," said William Ostick, a State Department spokesman.

Republicans have pledged retaliation for Obama's recess appointments, but haven't indicated what it might be.

"The Senate will need to take action to check and balance President Obama's blatant attempt to circumvent the Senate and the Constitution, a claim of presidential power that the Bush administration refused to make," said Sen. Charles Grassley, an Iowa Republican who is his party's top member on the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Grassley wouldn't go further, and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky hasn't tipped his hand after charging that Obama had "arrogantly circumvented the American people." Before the Senate left for its break in December, McConnell blocked Senate approval of more than 60 pending nominees because Obama wouldn't commit to making no recess appointments.

Republicans have to consider whether their actions, especially any decision to block all nominees, might play into Obama's hands.

Obama has adopted an election-year theme of "we can't wait" for Republicans to act on nominations and major proposals like his latest jobs plan. Republicans have to consider how their argument that the president is violating Constitutional checks and balances plays against Obama's stump speeches characterizing them as obstructionists.

Senate historian Donald Ritchie said the minority party has retaliated in the past for recess appointments by holding up specific nominees. "I'm not aware of any situations where no nominations were accepted," he said. The normal practice is for the two party leaders to negotiate which nominations get votes.

During the break, Republicans forced the Senate to convene for usually less than a minute once every few days to argue that there was no recess and that Obama therefore couldn't bypass the Senate's authority to confirm top officials. The administration said this was a sham, and has released a Justice Department opinion backing up the legality of the appointments.

Obama considers the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau a signature achievement of his first term. Republicans have been vehemently opposed to the bureau's setup. They argued the agency needed a bipartisan board instead of a director and should have to justify its budget to Congress instead of drawing its funding from the independent Federal Reserve.

Cordray is expected to get several sharp questions from Republicans when he testifies Tuesday before a House Oversight and Government Reform panel.

The NLRB has been a target of Republicans and business groups. Last year, the agency accused Boeing of illegally retaliating against union workers who had struck its plants in Washington state by opening a new production line at its non-union plant in South Carolina. Boeing denied the charge and the case has since been settled, but Republican anger over it and a string of union-friendly decisions from the board last year hasn't abated.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120123/ap_on_go_co/us_nominations_spat

cheryl cole x factor

Newsmaker: Megaupload a story of Dotcom boom and bust (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? Among the roll-call of hip-hop artists and other celebrities plugging Megaupload.com's digital storage services in an online promotional video, a cameo from the website's founder would have gone unnoticed by many.

As the voiceover boasts of the site's billion users and four percent share of all Internet traffic, a colossal figure clad in black appears in a music studio.

"Bit by bit, it's a hit, it's a hit!" founder Kim Dotcom booms in a slight accent that hints at his German roots.

The hits may have just run out for Dotcom, also known as Kim Schmitz and Kim Tim Jim Investor, who spent his 38th birthday on Saturday in a New Zealand jail after 70 police raided his country estate and cut him out of a safe room he had barricaded himself in.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, which requested the raid, says Dotcom masterminded a scheme that made more than $175 million in a few short years by copying and distributing music, movies and other copyrighted content without authorization.

Megaupload's U.S. lawyer said the company merely offered online storage, would "vigorously defend itself" and was trying to recover its servers and get back online.

The arrest marks the latest twist in the checkered story of Dotcom, a former hacker who got his first computer at nine before going on to build an Internet fortune and friendships with music stars including Alicia Keys, Will.i.am and P.Diddy who appeared on the Megaupload.com promo video.

EARLY STARTER

Born in the German city of Kiel, Dotcom -- who was then known as Schmitz -- grew up in northern Germany.

As a child, he made copies of computer games to sell to his friends, and in the early days of the Internet, began hacking into computers via telephones, according to reputed German daily Die Welt.

Schmitz has made no secret of his controversial past as a cyber-raider, hacking into computer networks at NASA, the Pentagon and at least one major bank.

As the hacker pioneer generation came of age, so did Schmitz. After being convicted of computer hacking in 1998, he made a fortune providing computer security consulting and venture capital investment via the firm Kimvestor.

According to German magazine Der Spiegel, Schmitz once boasted he would become one of the richest men in the world. How was he so sure? "I'm smarter than Bill Gates," he said.

Schmitz, who also called himself Kimble after the wrongly convicted doctor-on-the-run in the film "The Fugitive," became well known for his lavish lifestyle as much as his computer skills.

He briefly became a fixture in Germany's nouveau riche party scene and made his own film, shot with a hand-held camera, Kimble Goes Monaco. The hulking Schmitz -- reportedly two meters tall and weighing more than 130 kg -- was often shown in Germany's tabloid press with fast cars and a model on his arm.

Schmitz's website at one point featured photographs of him racing cars, shooting an assault rifle and flying around the world in his private jet on lavish vacations.

"I have a different attitude towards money than those who rather hoard it," he said during an appearance on the Harald Schmidt Show, a popular late-night talk show in Germany. "I would rather spend it and have a lot of fun."

A documentary about the outlaw Gumball 3000 road race of 2001 by German TV station RTL filmed Schmitz driving the Russian leg of the rally in excess of 240 kph (150 mph) in a 480-horsepower Mercedes sedan, and then laughing when an opponent is pulled over by police in Finland. "Our competition is out of the way!" he says in jubilation.

Schmitz liked promoting himself through stunts such as offering up to $10 million for information leading to the arrest of Osama bin Laden in the wake of terror attacks against the United States.

THE NAME'S DOTCOM. KIM DOTCOM

But in 2002, he was convicted in what was then the largest insider-trading case in German history.

Prosecutors said Schmitz bought shares in an online business and drove up the share price by announcing plans to invest millions to rescue the company from insolvency. After selling his shares for a profit, he fled to Thailand, was arrested and deported.

A Munich court sentenced the then 28-year-old to 20 months probation and a 100,000-euro fine.

After his conviction, Schmitz disappeared from public view, reappearing a couple of years ago in New Zealand, having legally changed his name to Dotcom.

He and his family moved into a multimillion dollar mansion outside Auckland and were granted residency after promising to invest at least NZ$10 million ($8 million) in New Zealand.

The leased 20-hectare property, set in rolling hills northwest of Auckland, is one of the largest and most expensive in the country, featuring manicured lawns, fountains, pools, palm-lined paths and extensive security.

In an interview with the New Zealand Herald Newspaper last year, Dotcom said residency would allow him, his wife, Mona, and their three children to live in a country that would become a "rare paradise on Earth."

"I might be one of the most flamboyant characters New Zealand has ever seen but my intentions are good and I would like to see New Zealand flourish to its fullest potential," he said.

Dotcom reportedly paid $500,000 for a massive New Year's Eve fireworks display over Auckland which he and Mona watched from their private helicopter.

The FBI estimates that Dotcom personally made around $115,000 a day during 2010 from his empire. The list of property to be forfeited, including almost 20 luxury cars, one of them a pink Cadillac, hints at a lavish lifestyle which may be about to be put on hold.

Dotcom and three fellow accused will appear in a New Zealand court on Monday and face extradition to the United States. ($1 = 1.2433 New Zealand dollars)

(Reporting by Lincoln Feast in SYDNEY and Sarah Marsh in FRANKFURT; Additional reporting by Peter Maushagen in FRANKFURT, Mantik Kusjanto in WELLINGTON and Brian Rohan in BERLIN; Editing by Nick Macfie)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/internet/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120122/wr_nm/us_internet_megaupload

lettuce recall

Exit poll shows SC voters made up their minds late

Republican presidential candidate, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, right, campaigns at Whiteford's Restaurant, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012, in Laurens, S.C. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Republican presidential candidate, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, right, campaigns at Whiteford's Restaurant, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012, in Laurens, S.C. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, speaks at his South Carolina primary election night reception at the South Carolina State Fairgrounds in Columbia, S.C., Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012. Republican candidate Newt Gingrich stormed to an upset win in the South Carolina primary Saturday night. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

South Carolina's late-deciding voters pushed Newt Gingrich to victory, according to exit polls in the state. The former House speaker's strong performances in the debates leading up to the contest plus a conservative-leaning electorate led to a sizable win for Gingrich.

LATE DECIDERS: A majority of South Carolina Republican voters said they decided on a candidate in the last few days, and they favored Gingrich by a double-digit margin. Santorum and Romney were about even for second among this group.

BROADLY CONSERVATIVE: About 7 in 10 voters in South Carolina said they tilt conservative on most political matters, according to exit polls. That group gave Gingrich a broad advantage over Mitt Romney. Moderate and liberal voters split between Romney and Gingrich.

RELIGIOUS VOTERS: Almost two-thirds of voters in South Carolina said they are born again or evangelical Christians, and about one-quarter said it was deeply important that a candidate share their religious views. Voters in both groups preferred Gingrich to Romney by wide margins.

SEEKING A WINNER: Almost half of voters said the most important trait they sought in a candidate was ability to beat President Barack Obama in November, and these voters favored Gingrich. That's a reversal from New Hampshire and Iowa, where voters prioritizing electability backed Romney. Only around 4 in 10 would support Romney enthusiastically should he win the nomination.

READING THE RESUME: About two-thirds of South Carolina voters said they had a positive impression of Romney's background investing in and restructuring companies, and Romney held a slim edge among those voters. However, he carried less than 5 percent of the vote among those with a negative view of his time as a venture capitalist.

FACING ECONOMIC CHALLENGES: Almost 8 in 10 voters said they were very worried about the future of the nation's economy, and about a third said someone in their household had lost a job since the start of Obama's term. These voters and those who called the economy their top issue tilted toward Gingrich.

These results are from an exit poll conducted for AP and the television networks by Edison Research as voters left their polling places at 35 randomly selected sites in South Carolina. The survey involved interviews with 2,381 Republican primary voters and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2012-01-21-GOP%20Campaign-Voter%20Attitudes-Glance/id-d2ad90f3f0db466f9eb4b35b4478a3d7

machine gun preacher

Video: American Migration Patterns

A look at where Americans are moving and what it says about a housing recovery, with Brian Iles, UniGroup Worldwide president.

Related Links:

Business & financial news headlines from msnbc.com

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/cnbc/46059912/

williams syndrome

Mark Wahlberg Apologizes For Inane 9-11 Remark

Give Mark Wahlberg credit for a swift, simple and seemingly sincere apology after a boast that he would have fended off 9/11 hijackers and prevented a plane from crashing.

For reasons unknown, he said this to Men's Journal. The quote:

"If I was on the [hijacked] plane with my kids, it wouldn't have went down like it did. There would have been a lot of blood in that first-class cabin and then me saying, 'Okay, we're going to land somewhere safely, don't worry.'"

This came up because Mark was initially booked on one of the fights that was hijacked, only to change it serendipitously. He mused about what might've been.

It did not go over well.

Wahlberg's reps promptly issued a statement from the 40-year-old Contraband star admitting the foolishness of his statements and expressing remorse.

"To speculate about such a situation is ridiculous to begin with, and to suggest I would've done anything differently than the passengers on that plane was irresponsible," Wahlberg wrote. "I deeply apologize to the families of the victims."

"My answer came off as insensitive, and that was certainly not my intention."

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2012/01/mark-wahlberg-apologizes-for-inane-9-11-remark/

nate robinson

Murdoch to pay Jude Law and others hacking damages

FILE - A Thursday, Dec. 8, 2011 photo from files showing actor Jude Law as he poses for photographers at the European Premiere of Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, at a central London cinema. Rupert Murdoch's British newspaper company on Thursday agreed to pay damages to 36 high-profile victims of tabloid phone-hacking, including actor Jude Law, soccer player Ashley Cole and former British Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott. In the 15 settlements whose financial terms were made public, amounts generally ran into the tens of thousands of pounds (dollars) _ although Law received 130,000 pounds (about $200,000/156,000 euro) to settle claims against the now-shuttered News of the World tabloid and its sister paper, The Sun. (AP Photo/Joel Ryan)

FILE - A Thursday, Dec. 8, 2011 photo from files showing actor Jude Law as he poses for photographers at the European Premiere of Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, at a central London cinema. Rupert Murdoch's British newspaper company on Thursday agreed to pay damages to 36 high-profile victims of tabloid phone-hacking, including actor Jude Law, soccer player Ashley Cole and former British Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott. In the 15 settlements whose financial terms were made public, amounts generally ran into the tens of thousands of pounds (dollars) _ although Law received 130,000 pounds (about $200,000/156,000 euro) to settle claims against the now-shuttered News of the World tabloid and its sister paper, The Sun. (AP Photo/Joel Ryan)

Rupert Murdoch and his wife Wendi arrive at the 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards Sunday, Jan. 15, 2012, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles)

LONDON (AP) ? Rupert Murdoch's British newspaper company has agreed to pay damages to 37 high-profile victims of tabloid phone-hacking, including actor Jude Law, soccer player Ashley Cole, a friend of Prince William's and former Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott.

In the 15 settlements whose financial terms were made public Thursday, amounts generally ran into the tens of thousands of pounds (dollars) ? although Law received 130,000 pounds (about $200,000) to settle claims against the now-shuttered News of the World tabloid and its sister paper, The Sun.

Law was one of 60 people who have sued News Group Newspapers, claiming their mobile phone voicemails were hacked. Other cases whose settlement was announced at London's High Court on Thursday included claims by former government ministers Chris Bryant and Tessa Jowell, rugby player Gavin Henson and Sara Payne, the mother of a murdered girl.

It was the biggest number of settlements yet in the long-running hacking scandal, which has shaken Murdoch's global empire, spurred the resignations of several of his top executives and reverberated through Britain's political, police and media elite.

News Group Newspapers admitted that 16 articles about Law published in the News of the World tabloid between 2003 and 2006 had been obtained by phone hacking, and that the actor had also been placed under "repeated and sustained physical surveillance." The company also admitted that articles in The Sun tabloid misused Law's private information ? although it didn't go so far as to admit to phone hacking.

In a statement, Law said Murdoch's tabloids had been "prepared to do anything to sell their newspapers and to make money, irrespective of the impact it had on people's lives."

The claimants described feeling mistrust, fear and paranoia as phone messages went missing, journalists knew their movements in advance or private information appeared in the media.

"I changed my phones, I had my house swept for bugs but still the information kept being published," Law said, adding that the phone hacking had made him "distrustful of people close to me."

"For me, this case was never about money. It was about standing up for myself and finding out what had happened. I owed it to my friends and family as well as myself to do this," he said.

Law's ex-wife, actress Sadie Frost, received 50,000 pounds (about $77,000) in damages plus legal costs for phone hacking and deceit by the News of the World. Bryant received 30,000 pounds (about $46,000) in damages plus costs, while Prescott ? a prominent member of the Labour Party ? accepted 40,000 pounds (about $62,000).

After each victim's statement, News Group lawyer Michael Silverleaf stood to express the news company's "sincere apologies" for the damage and distress that its illegal activity had caused.

Frost said the paper's activity caused her and Law to suspect one another. Henson said he accused the family of his then-wife, singer Charlotte Church, of leaking stories to the press.

Other claimants included Guy Pelly, a friend of Prince William, who was awarded 40,000 pounds (about $62,000), and Tom Rowland, a journalist who wrote for one of Murdoch's own newspapers, the Sunday Times. He received 25,000 pounds ($39,000) after News Group admitted hacking his phone.

In some cases the company admitted hacking into emails, as well as telephone voice mails. Christopher Shipman, son of serial killer Harold Shipman, had emails containing sensitive legal and medical information intercepted by the News of the World. He was awarded "substantial" undisclosed damages.

Many victims had earlier settled with the company, including actress Sienna Miller and the parents of murdered teenager Milly Dowler, who were awarded 2 million pounds (about $3.1 million) in compensation.

The slew of settlements is one consequence of the revelations of phone-hacking and other illegal tactics at the News of the World, where journalists routinely intercepted voicemails of those in the public eye in a relentless search for scoops. The wide-ranging scandal prompted Murdoch to close the 168-year-old paper in July.

British politicians and police have also been ensnared in the scandal, which exposed the cozy relationship between senior officers, top lawmakers, and newspaper executives at Murdoch's media empire. A government-commissioned inquiry set up in the wake of the scandal is currently investigating the ethics of Britain's media ? and the nature of its links to police and politicians.

The settlements announced Thursday amount to more than half of the phone-hacking lawsuits facing Murdoch's company, but the number of victims is estimated in the hundreds. Mark Lewis, a lawyer for many of the phone hacking victims, said in an email that the fight against Murdoch wasn't over.

"While congratulations are due to those (lawyers) and clients who have settled their cases, it is important that we don't get carried away into thinking that the war is over," Lewis said. "Fewer than 1 percent of the people who were hacked have settled their cases. There are many more cases in the pipeline. ... This is too early to celebrate, we're not even at the end of the beginning."

Ten further cases are due to go to court next month, though lawyers said more settlements are likely.

___

Associated Press Writer Raphael Satter contributed to this report.

Jill Lawless can be reached at: http://twitter.com/JillLawless

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-01-19-Britain-Phone%20Hacking/id-88ba62d9b1e54d9c99009c0f6aa57d82

david crowder band

Scientists pause research with lab-bred bird flu

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Scientists who created easier-to-spread versions of the deadly bird flu said Friday they are temporarily halting more research, as international specialists debate what should happen next.

Researchers from leading flu laboratories around the world signed onto the voluntary moratorium, published Friday in the journals Science and Nature.

What the scientists called a "pause" comes amid fierce controversy over how to handle research that is high-risk but potentially could bring a big payoff. Two labs ? at Erasmus University in the Netherlands and the University of Wisconsin-Madison ? created the new viruses while studying how bird flu might mutate to become a bigger threat to people.

The U.S. government funded the work but last month urged the teams not to publicly reveal the exact formula so that would-be bioterrorists couldn't copy it. Critics also worried a lab accident might allow the strains to escape. The researchers reluctantly agreed not to publish all the details as long as the government set up a system to provide them to legitimate scientists who really need to know. The National Institutes of Health is creating such a system.

"We recognize that we and the rest of the scientific community need to clearly explain the benefits of this important research and the measures taken to minimize its possible risks," lead researchers Ron Fouchier of Erasmus and Yoshihiro Kawaoka of Wisconsin wrote Friday in the letter. They were joined by nearly three dozen other flu researchers.

They called for a public international meeting to debate how to learn from the work, safely. And they agreed to hold off on additional research with the existing lab-bred strains or that leads to any new ones for 60 days.

A U.S. official praised the development.

The moratorium "is a really good idea, because a lot of very important issues are at hand," said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, who expects most flu researchers doing such work to sign on. "There aren't a lot of people who are doing that, I can assure you."

The U.S. also wants international input; researchers are talking with the World Health Organization.

Today, the so-called H5N1 bird flu only occasionally infects people, mostly those who have close contact with sick poultry. But when it does, it is highly lethal. The lab-bred H5N1 strains were a surprise because they showed it was easier than previously thought for the virus to mutate in a way that lets it spread easily between at least some mammals ? in this case, ferrets.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/b2f0ca3a594644ee9e50a8ec4ce2d6de/Article_2012-01-20-Bird%20Flu/id-e2be1da7ca81493280eae06ccf262bc2

porphyria

Yahoo co-founder Yang resigns (Reuters)

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) ? Yahoo Inc co-founder Jerry Yang has quit the Internet company he started in 1995, appeasing shareholders who had blasted the Internet pioneer for pursuing an ineffective personal vision and impeding investment deals that may have transformed the struggling company.

Yang's abrupt departure comes two weeks after Yahoo appointed Scott Thompson its new CEO, with a mandate to return the once-leading Internet portal to the heights it enjoyed in the 1990s.

Wall Street views the exit of "Chief Yahoo" Yang as smoothing the way for a major infusion of cash from private equity, or a deal to sell off much of its 40-percent slice of China's Alibaba, unlocking value for shareholders.

Shares of Yahoo gained 3 percent in after-hours trade.

"Everyone is going to assume this means a deal is more likely with the Asia counterparts," Macquarie analyst Ben Schacter said. "The perception among shareholders was Jerry was more focused on trying to rebuild Yahoo, than on necessarily on maximizing near-term shareholder value."

"It certainly seems things are coming to a head as far as realizing the value of these assets."

Yang - who is severing all formal ties with the company by resigning all positions including his seat on the board of directors - has come under fire for his handling of company affairs dating back to an aborted sale to Microsoft in 2008.

The company did not say where Yang was headed, or why he had suddenly resigned. CEO Thompson offered few clues in a memo to employees obtained by Reuters following the announcement.

"I am grateful for the support and warm welcome Jerry provided me in my early days here. His insights and perspective were invaluable, helping me to dig deeper - more quickly than I could have on my own - into some of the key elements of the company and how it operates.

Yang and co-founder David Filo, both of whom carry the official title "Chief Yahoo," own sizable stakes in the company. Yang owns 3.69 percent of Yahoo's outstanding shares, while Filo owns 6 percent, as of April and May 2011.

CHIEF YAHOO ... NO LONGER

In a letter to Yahoo's chairman of the board, Yang said he was leaving Yahoo to pursue "other interests outside of Yahoo" and was "enthusiastic" about Thompson as the choice to helm the company.

Yang, 43, is also resigning from the boards of Yahoo Japan and Alibaba Group Holdings.

Respected in the industry as one of the founding figures of the Web, Yang has come under fire from investors, and to some extent within the company's internal ranks, over the years.

"Lots of people think he holds up innovation there with old ideas and (is) slow to decide; and that he's not an innovator himself for being at such a high level," said one former Yahoo employee.

"People have very high expectations for founders. Everyone wants a Steve Jobs," the employee said, referring to Apple's co-founder who brought the company back from near death and transformed it into the world's most valuable tech company.

Some analysts say the Yahoo board's indecision stems in part from Yang's sway in the company. Disillusioned by the company's flip-flopping, they warn that the rest of the board remained much the same as the one that rejected Microsoft's $44 billion bid in 2008 - an ill-advised move in hindsight.

"Jerry Yang was certainly an impediment toward anything happening," said Morningstar analyst Rick Summer. "This is a company that's been mired by a bunch of competing interests going in different directions. It was never clear what this board's direction has been."

In 2008 when Yang was CEO, Yahoo rejected an unsolicited takeover bid from Microsoft Corp worth about $44 billion. Its share price was subsequently pummeled by the global financial crisis and its current market value stands at about $20 billion.

More recently, Yang and Yahoo chairman Roy Bostock have incurred the wrath of some major Yahoo shareholders for their handling of the "strategic review" the company was pursuing, in which discussions have included the possibility of being sold, taken private or broken up.

"I had thought that Jerry Yang was a lifer at Yahoo," said Susquehanna analyst Herman Leung. "Without him on the board, this could smooth a potential transaction. What that transaction is, is any of our guesses right now."

(Reporting By Alexei Oreskovic; Editing by Bernard Orr)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120118/bs_nm/us_yahoo

sharia law

Call him 'speedy': Baby born on commuter train

A New Jersey woman on her way to the doctor gave birth to a baby boy on a train. TODAY.com's Richard Lui reports.

By Katy Tur, NBCNewYork.com

NEW YORK -- Maybe they should have called him Hudson.

A? New Jersey husband and wife are the proud parents of a bouncing baby born on the PATH train Monday morning.?

The expectant couple took the train from Harrison, N.J., to the city at about 10:30 a.m. Monday because the soon-to-be mother felt pain. She thought it was a false labor because the pain was not as severe as she was told childbirth would be, the couple said.

For more, visit NBCNewYork.com

As it happened, the woman, who did not give her name, gave birth to a son on the floor of the PATH train as it crossed New Jersey to Manhattan.?

"I was like, 'What is going on?' Something is happening every two minutes.' And then I felt the baby come out. I could feel something coming out. I wasn't sure if it was the baby," the woman said.

?

Louis Lanzano / AP

A New Jersey couple poses for a photo with their baby boy who was born on the PATH train from New Jersey to New York. The couple declined to give their names.(AP Photo/ Louis Lanzano)

After her husband confirmed she was indeed having the child, the woman said "something else took over."

"I lost all sense of consciousness and I was only thinking about the baby," she said.

The new parents said they wanted to withhold their names publicly until they had the chance to tell their friends and family the good news. But they did share their new nickname for their little bundle of joy: Jhatpat.

That means "quick" or "speedy" in? Hindi, the duo said.

Jhatpat indeed.?

More content from msnbc.com and NBC News:

Source: http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/17/10173709-call-him-speedy-baby-born-on-commuter-train

lisa lampanelli

NYC folk museum celebrates optimistic future

NEW YORK (AP) ? The American Folk Art Museum, long plagued by financial problems, is celebrating its 50th anniversary with a new exhibition, renewed optimism for its future and its collection intact.

At a preview of a new exhibition celebrating its anniversary Tuesday, museum officials discussed its financial status and projection of its future.

The museum in September received a $2 million pledge from a longtime trustee and an additional $1 million commitment from other trustees and supporters, said Monty Blanchard Jr., president of the museum board of trustees. Those pledges gave the museum "significant runway to continue the operations of the museum and built it to new heights of artistic greatness," Blanchard said.

In addition, he said, the museum has received $500,000 from the Ford Foundation.

As late as this summer, the board had been in discussions about possibly turning its collection over to another institution but with the goal of keeping it in New York City.

But "the pledges and other money we had put us in a financially solvent position," Blanchard said. "The pledges provided that ballast for future operations" and allowed the museum to make the decision to remain independent.

He identified the long-term trustee as Joyce B. Cowin.

The museum, founded in 1961, houses traditional folk art dating to the 18th century, including 5,000 quilts, weather vanes, textiles, sculptures, paintings and decorative arts in a 6,000-square-foot space in Lincoln Square, across from Lincoln Center. It also has a large collection of works by self-taught artists, including thousands of drawings, watercolors and unpublished manuscripts by Henry Darger.

The institution has faced financial challenges for a long time but they took a turn for the worse in 2009 when it defaulted on a $32 million debt. The museum had taken out the money to build a new midtown Manhattan museum, on the same block as the Museum of Modern Art.

To pay off the debt, it sold the building to MoMA in July, but continued operating at its Lincoln Square branch, a location it has owned since 1989.

The folk art museum is searching for a new director and recently added a new member to its board of trustees. It anticipates adding up to two other new members by June. Several previous members had left during its financial trials.

The museum's other strategic plans include long-term loans to other institutions and collaborative arrangements with other museums.

"Our first goal is 'get the art out there,' to develop collaborative opportunities for positioning the art that we love within or with other institutions," Blanchard said.

The museum currently has 14 iconic pieces on extended loan at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's new American Wing galleries for paintings, sculptures and decorative arts.

A traveling exhibit, "Kaleidoscope Quilts: The Art of Paula Nadelstern" will be shown at Endicott College in Massachusetts in the spring. A number of other works are currently on loan at the Hancock Shaker Village in Pittsfield, Mass., and the museum is in active talks about a possible exhibition this summer of works from its collection at the South Street Seaport Museum.

"These are examples of activities we are doing to fulfill our mission of getting our art out there," Blanchard said.

He said there are no plans to reduce staff and, in fact, once a new director is hired, the number will probably rise and the museum will embark on a longer-term fundraising plan that would involve raising endowment money.

Blanchard anticipates operating costs to range from $2.5 million to $3 million annually.

The anniversary exhibition that opened Tuesday, "Jubilation/Rumination: Life, Real and Imagined," features nearly 100 highlights that represent the scope of traditional folk art and outsider art, or works by self-taught artists.

It includes a Darger illustration, "Gigantic Roverine with Young" from his 15,000-page manuscript, "In the Realms of the Unreal," and a metaphorical self-portrait by Nellie Mae Rowe titled, "Cow Jump Over the Mone."

"We have been ruminating on our past," he said, referring to the exhibition title. "But we are jubilant about our future and the art that we present."

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Online: www.folkartmuseum.org

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2012-01-17-Folk%20Art%20Museum/id-e76fa44cfaf749bc994d704db8cb3de1

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