Officer shot, killed by fellow police in Calif.

SANTA MARIA, Calif. (AP) ? A police officer under investigation for sexual misconduct with a teenage minor was shot and killed while on duty by fellow officers Saturday as they tried to arrest him on California's central coast, authorities said.

The officer was manning a DUI checkpoint when the shooting occurred shortly after 1 a.m. He was declared dead after emergency surgery at Marian Medical Center, Santa Maria police Chief Danny Macagni said in a statement.

The officer, a four-year Santa Maria department veteran, had just learned of the internal investigation of an alleged sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl, and it became necessary to arrest him immediately, Macagni said.

"We had no choice," Macagni said in video of an afternoon news conference posted by KCOY-TV. He said investigators had evidence "that demanded that we go out and take this officer off the street immediately."

Supervising officers were sent to make a felony arrest, but he struggled with them when they arrived, first putting up a physical fight, then firing his gun but hitting no one, Macagni said.

"He chose to resist, he drew his weapon, a fight ensued, he fired his weapon," the chief said.

Several officers came to help the police making the arrest, and one of them shot the suspected officer in the chest once, Macagni said.

Detectives had begun investigating the alleged relationship on Thursday night, and minutes before the shooting had confirmed that an "inappropriate" and "very explicit" relationship had been going on, Macagni said.

He said he could not give details because of the sensitivity of the investigation, but "there was some witness intimidation involved" and the arrest couldn't wait for a more proper time or place.

"The information that we had in hand demanded that we not let him leave that scene, get in a car, drive somewhere, it would put the public at risk," Macagni said at the news conference. "We just did not know what was going to happen, we did not expect him to react the way that he did."

Macagni said police had expressed condolences to the officer's family.

The officer who fired the fatal shot, an eight-year department veteran, has been placed on administrative leave, and the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department was investigating the shooting, Macagni said.

The name of the officer killed has not been released because some family members were still being notified, and the name of the officer who fired the shot was withheld while the incident was under investigation, police said.

Santa Maria is a city of some 100,000 people about 60 miles northwest of Santa Barbara and 160 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-01-28-Police%20Shoot%20Officer/id-5adb4b1778114d93b27ce1bd715be399

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P&G's net income falls, hobbled by higher costs (AP)

NEW YORK ? Procter & Gamble Co.'s net income fell 49 percent in its fiscal second quarter, hobbled by higher materials costs and a writedown in the value of some of its businesses. P&G also lowered its earnings predictions for the year.

P&G's stock fell 30 cents to $64.50 in premarket trading Friday.

The maker of Tide laundry soap and Crest toothpaste said its net income fell to $1.69 billion from $3.33 billion. Still, adjusted earnings per share of $1.10 beat analysts' estimates of $1.07. Including one-time charges, net income was 57 cents per share.

Cincinnati-based P&G is the world's largest consumer-products company and the maker of many well-known household brands, including Luvs diapers, Bounty paper towels and Charmin toilet paper.

The bulk of the one-time charges stemmed from the company's decision to write down the value of the appliances unit, where the biggest seller is electric shavers, and the salon professional unit.

The company noted that those items tend to be discretionary purchases, and it can be hard to persuade shoppers to buy things they don't absolutely need in a weak economy. Western Europe, where concerns about a debt crisis are crimping the economy, accounts for about half the sales for both units.

Revenue grew 4 percent to $22.1 billion, helped by higher prices. That was roughly in line with the expectations of analysts polled by FactSet.

But P&G cautioned that sales volume slowed in the U.S., even as it grew in developing countries. That is similar to trends that many companies are noticing as U.S. customers keep a tight rein on spending. Executives also said that they didn't expect commodity costs to come down, but only to stabilize. Costs for many materials skyrocketed last year.

Like other U.S. companies that do business in foreign markets, P&G isn't getting the same benefits from foreign currency exchanges that it enjoyed last year. When the dollar is weak, as it was for most of last year, revenue raised overseas translates into more dollars when converted at headquarters. Executives said that was the main reason for its decision to downgrade its earnings estimate for the fiscal year, to $4 to $4.10 per share from $4.15 to $4.33.

In recent quarters, P&G has taken a strategy of selling to both high- and low-income consumers, betting that better-off customers will pay more for premium products like Tide Pods, a single-dose laundry detergent, while lower-income customers will spend on cheaper, more basic brands.

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

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Hispanics in focus as GOP race intensifies

Republican presidential candidate former House Speaker Newt Gingrich disembarks from a airplane Friday, Jan. 27, 2012, in Miami, Fla. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Republican presidential candidate former House Speaker Newt Gingrich disembarks from a airplane Friday, Jan. 27, 2012, in Miami, Fla. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Republican presidential candidates, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney talk during a commercial break at the Republican presidential candidates debate in Jacksonville, Fla., Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Republican presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, participates in the Republican presidential candidates debate in Jacksonville, Fla., Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Republican presidential candidate former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum participates in the Republican presidential candidates debate in Jacksonville, Fla., Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) ? More than a million Hispanic voters are the prize as Republican presidential rivals Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich resume campaigning after a feisty, final debate before Florida's GOP primary.

Romney was the aggressor in the second debate in four days Thursday night, pressing Gingrich to apologize for an ad labeling him as anti-immigrant and calling the idea "repulsive."

Both men arranged for appearances Friday in Miami with the Hispanic Leadership Network on the day after the debate. The state has roughly 1.5 million Hispanic voters, who figure to play prominently in next Tuesday's Florida primary.

Immigration sparked the first clash Thursday night, moments after the debate opened, when Gingrich responded to a question by saying Romney was the most anti-immigrant of all four contenders on stage. "That's simply inexcusable," the former Massachusetts governor responded.

Gingrich fired back that Romney misled voters by running an ad accusing the former House speaker of once referring to Spanish as "the language of the ghetto." Gingrich claimed he was referring to a multitude of languages, not just Spanish.

Romney initially said, "I doubt it's mine," but moderator Wolf Blitzer pointed out that Romney, at the ad's conclusion, says he approved the message.

Gingrich rushed out an ad using debate footage that raised questions about Romney's credibility, including his ownership of the language-driven commercial. "If we can't trust Romney in a debate, how can we trust him in the White House," a narrator says in the Gingrich ad.

The debate was the 19th since the race for the Republican nomination began last year, and came five days before the Florida primary. Opinion polls make the race a close one, showing a slight advantage for Romney, with two other contenders, former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania and Texas Rep. Ron Paul far behind.

Paul has already made clear his intention to skip Florida in favor of smaller, less-expensive states. And Santorum, who had been campaigning aggressively here, conceded Thursday that he's better off sitting at his own kitchen table Saturday doing his taxes instead of campaigning in a state where he simply can't keep up with the GOP front-runners.

Outside advisers are urging him to pack up in Florida completely and not spend another minute in a state where he is cruising toward a loss.

The cash-strapped Santorum seemed to be listening. He'll make a handful of Florida campaign stops early in the day, but will finish Friday with his family in Pennsylvania, where he'll spend all day Saturday before returning to Florida.

Despite the shift, Santorum stood out at times Thursday night.

While the clashes between Gingrich and Romney dominated, Santorum drew applause when he called on the front-runners to stop attacking one another and "focus on the issues."

"Can we set aside that Newt was a member of Congress ... and that Mitt Romney is a wealthy guy?" he said in a tone of exasperation.

In the days since Romney's loss in South Carolina, he has tried to seize the initiative, playing the aggressor in the Tampa debate and assailing Gingrich in campaign speeches and a TV commercial. An outside group formed to support Romney has spent more than his own campaign's millions on ads, some of them designed to stop Gingrich's campaign momentum before it is too late to deny him the nomination.

With polls suggesting his South Carolina surge is stalling, Gingrich unleashed a particularly strong attack earlier in the day, much as he lashed out in Iowa when he rose in the polls, only to be knocked back by an onslaught of ads he was unable to counter effectively.

But he struggled to find an effective attack in the debate and was more often on the defensive.

Romney pounced when the topic turned to Gingrich's proposal for a permanent American colony on the moon ? an issue of particular interest to engineers and others who live on Florida's famed Space Coast.

A career businessman before he became a politician, Romney said: "If I had a business executive come to me and say I want to spend a few hundred billion dollars to put a colony on the moon, I'd say, 'You're fired.'"

Gingrich tried to raise questions about Romney's wealth and his investments. "I don't know of any American president who's had a Swiss bank account," Gingrich said.

Romney replied that his investments were in a blind trust over which he had no control. "There's nothing wrong with that," declared Romney, who has estimated his wealth at as much as $250 million.

Earlier Thursday, it was disclosed that Romney and his wife, Ann Romney, failed to list an unknown amount of investment income from a variety of sources including a Swiss bank account on financial disclosure forms filed last year. His campaign said it was working to correct the omissions.

Gingrich also failed to report income from his 2010 tax return on his financial disclosure. The former Georgia congressman will amend his disclosure to show $252,500 in salary from one of his businesses, spokesman R.C. Hammond said.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2012-01-27-GOP-Campaign/id-3974ede1e2994a749e3cfbd3d2b19d0d

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The Brittle Star's Apprentice (preview)

Feature Articles | More Science See Inside

Chemist Joanna Aizenberg mines the deep sea and the forest wetlands for nature's design secrets and uses them to fashion new materials that may change the world

By Gareth Cook ?| January 26, 2012

Image: Photograph by Jared Leeds

In Brief

• Who: Joanna Aizenberg
• Vocation|Avocation: Runs a biomimetics lab
• Where: Harvard University
• Research Focus: Takes inspiration from nature for designing new types of materials.
• Big Picture: ?What we do, then, is study interesting biological systems, but with the eyes of a physical scientist.?

Among the first things you notice when you step into the corner office of Harvard University professor Joanna Aizenberg are the playthings. Behind her desk sit a sand dollar, an azure butterfly mounted in a box, a plastic stand with long fibers that erupt in color when a switch is pulled, and haphazard rows of toys. Especially numerous are the Rubik?s cubes?the classic three-by-three, of course, but also ones with four, five, six and even seven mini cubes along each edge. An eight-year-old would be in heaven.

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Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=ea503c3e455461bac8b6b4dc299e8470

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A Scalpel, Not a Hatchet

Second, 100,000 troops just left Iraq; another 33,000 will leave Afghanistan by the end of this year. If Panetta didn?t deactivate some of them, where would they all go? Where, for what contingency or threat, are they needed? For instance, part of Panetta?s plan, which was fully coordinated with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is to deactivate two of the remaining four brigades stationed in Europe. Does anybody have a problem with that?

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=7893fac458b759fe96b5735ef0ad925d

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What Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich Could Learn from Gabrielle Giffords (ContributorNetwork)

COMMENTARY | TAMPA, Fla. -- On its politics page, NBC News defines Monday night's Republican presidential debate with the terminology of old Hollywood Westerns. In the description, the meeting between dueling frontrunners Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich is called a "showdown" that set "a combative tone" leading up to Florida's Jan. 31 primary.

Like two grizzled gunslingers of old meeting at sundown, both candidates came ready to spar, with Romney leading the offense. While it made for interesting television, the majority of the debate seemed designed to make headlines out of the two men's rivalry rather than shed light on what they -- or for that matter, the much-ignored Rick Santorum and Ron Paul -- would do for the country once in office.

The evening was more fight-to-the-death than a discussion about policies for the future. While Romney and Gingrich battled for their party's nomination, two days earlier, a different politician gracefully bowed out of her congressional seat, reminding us all of what maturity looks like in the political world.

'We can change things for the better'

"I know on the issues we fought for, we can change things for the better," said Arizona Representative Gabrielle Giffords as she stared confidently into the camera. This is from "A Message from Gabby," a Youtube video released on Sunday by Giffords' office announcing the Congresswoman's decision to step down from office to focus on her continued recovery following last year's tragic Tucson, Arizona shooting.

Watching Giffords' video, with the representative facing the camera, speech halting, yet looking strong and assured, it was hard not to stare on disapprovingly two days later at the mud-slinging both onstage and off leading to the Florida primary. In an age of Super PACs and politicians who will do anything in order to gain more votes, Giffords reminded all of us what real leadership is.

"I will never forget the trust you placed in me to be your voice," Giffords said, "to do what is best for Arizona, I will step down this week." Absent was the language of self-aggrandizement. What was in its place? Humility, for one. Giffords stressed that she was elected as her people's voice, and while she would step down, she would not stop believing in and supporting the policies that got her elected in the first place. In light of the puffed-up posturing seen by many candidates in an election year, it was nice to be reminded that politicians are elected to help their constituents and not look out primarily for their own self-interest.

Unfinished business

Before she officially left office on Monday, Giffords still had one piece of unfinished business to attend to. She returned to her office to finish the "Congress on Your Corner" event that ended in tragedy last January.

"What I saw this morning was the bravest thing that I've ever seen anybody do, to put herself aside for the good of her constituents," Suzie Heilman said when interviewed by CBS News after the event. For Heilman -- who had brought 9-year-old neighbor Christina Taylor-Green to the Giffords' event last year when gunman Jared Loughner allegedly opened fire, killing the young girl and five others -- and the others who were personally touched by Giffords strength, real leadership means sometimes stepping aside.

As a special election to fill Giffords' absent seat looms in the near future, the politicians planning on running could learn a lot from both their brave predecessor and the current crop of presidential hopefuls. They should learn that while honesty and humility do not often win races, it is better and braver to take the high road.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/gop/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20120124/pl_ac/10876787_what_mitt_romney_newt_gingrich_could_learn_from_gabrielle_giffords

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Dropped heart successfully transplanted in Mexico

MEXICO CITY?? A heart that was dropped on the ground while being transported to a hospital has been successfully transplanted into a 28-year-old hair stylist.

However Dr. Jaime Saldivar said Erika Hernandez doesn't yet know that her new heart made national news when a medic stumbled and the plastic-wrapped heart tumbled out of a cooler onto the street two weeks ago.

Saldivar said it would be up to the family to tell her.

Video: Watch the moment the heart fell out (on this page)

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A rosy-cheeked Hernandez spoke briefly with reporters on Tuesday and thanked the donor's family, saying "I have no words to express what I'm feeling right now."

Hernandez was born with a congenital heart defect. She received the heart of a man who died in a car accident.

The heart was taken from Guanajuato state to Mexico city, a distance of 280 miles, traveling in an ambulance, then a plane, and then a helicopter, according to The Guardian newspaper. The nation's media followed every step of the journey.

'Rapid, precision maneuver'
Mexico City police had described the operation to deliver the heart as a "rapid, precision maneuver."

Everything appeared to be going smoothly as traffic was stopped to allow the helicopter to land near the hospital.

However, after leaving the helicopter one of the two medics wheeling the cooler that contained the plastic-wrapped heart stumbled.

The lid of the cooler came off and the heart fell out onto the street.

Story: Heart patients have higher hospital readmission rates

The medics are seen on video hurriedly pushing it back inside, leaving some ice packs behind, and continuing the short journey to the hospital.

In one of the more printable online comments made after the incident, newspaper reader Christian Sabido said that, "Anybody can make a mistake, but with this type of thing you should be careful."

At the time, doctors said the transplant operation had gone ahead, but added that they wanted to wait to confirm it had been successful.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46127543/ns/world_news-americas/

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Tablet ownership nearly doubles in January (Digital Trends)

According to new information from the?Pew Research Center?s Internet and American Life Project, tablet ownership has jumped from about 1 out of every 10 Americans to approximately 19 percent. The previous study was conducted around the middle of December, thus the massive increase in tablet ownership can likely be attributed to the holiday shopping season. While Apple?s iPad definitely helped boost that percentage, less expensive tablets like Amazon?s Kindle Fire and?Barnes and Noble?s Nook Tablet were also partial contributors. Analysts have estimated that Apple sold approximately 13 million iPads over the holiday season while Amazon sold between four to five million Kindle Fire tablets.?In addition to tablet ownership increasing rapidly, e-book reader ownership also spiked from 18 percent in December 2011 to 29 percent in January 2012.?

With Apple making a big push into the education market with the iBooks 2 application and its partnerships with textbook publishers, it?s clear that the company is interested in expanding beyond selling the tablet to the mainstream consumer during 2012. According to a report from Global Equities Research, Apple has seen?approximately?350,000 textbook downloads?in the first three days of release. While the $15 price of a textbook on the iPad seems?detrimental?to publishers, production costs are cut by up to 80 percent and the publishers don?t have to deal with third parties in order to get the textbook into educational retailers. With over 5 million in textbook sales in the first three days, publishers are likely encouraged by the potential of more educators adopting the platform.

Apple?s efforts are also likely to be encouraged by the findings of a recent year-long study that discovered students were able to produce higher math scores by using an iPad application over a traditional textbook. ?According to a recent study conducted by PBS LearningMedia, over four out of five teachers believe that tablets enrich the classroom experience, yet only 22 percent of teachers reported that they have the right kind of technology in the classroom. The study also found that teachers working in?affluent school districts are twice as likely to have access to tablets like the iPad. ?

If?Apple has plans to become an influential force in the education system with iBooks 2, the company will have to work with school districts on providing iPad hardware for students either through the school system or encouraging parents to purchase the tablet. However, many teachers have already began an effort to obtain iPads and other tablets through sites like?DonorsChoose.Org. According to a recent Forbes article, the dollar amount for requests of Apple products rose from $50,000 over the?2009-2010 school year to?$800,000 during the following school year. While some of the requests were for Macbook laptops and the iPod Touch, the vast majority of Apple requests were related to the iPad. Officials at?DonorsChoose.org said that the company plans to distribute 40 million dollars between?80,000 classroom project requests during 2012.

At the?Menlo School in Atherton, California, the private school has been operating a?pilot program with iPads for the last year as reported by Venturebeat. According to school officials, students in the eighth and tenth grade are given an iPad to carry use during the entire school year. While the expensive tablets are still owned by the school, the student is free to take the iPad home in order to complete homework. According to Menlo School?director of technology?Eric Spross, he stated ?We choose iPads because they?re lightweight, portable, have a long battery life, and are self-service. They?re easier to support.?

However, the situation for public schools is vastly different from the Menlo School.?Beyond monetary deficits for technology like tablets, public schools also have to deal with regulations from?state and federal entities in regards to what technology the school is allowed to purchase. These same regulations dictate which textbooks have to be purchased, thus a textbook on the iPad platform may not be authorized. ?

This article was originally posted on Digital Trends

More from Digital Trends

Survey: Consumers hoping for a tablet, not a laptop, this holiday season

Analyst puts Kindle Fire holiday sales at 5.5 million

Google tablet could be out in the next six months, says Schmidt

Is Microsoft Office coming to the iPad?

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/personaltech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/digitaltrends/20120123/tc_digitaltrends/tabletownershipnearlydoublesinjanuary

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Is there anyway to get decent homeowners insurance at a cheap ...

.

My husband and are in the process of purchasing a small home. We are seniors living on a fixed income and have to watch every penny. We have two weeks to find the homeowners insurance and they all seem to be so high in price. Does anyone have any ideas how we find an affordable homeowners insurance?

Chosen Answer:

Not having any idea WHY they?re so high in price, they?re probably all going to be in the same ballpark.

It could be your claims history, it could be your location (Florida?), but if you?ve gotten multiple quotes, all in the same range, then that?s how much it?s going to cost.

You can lower your cost without sacrificing coverage by raising your deductible ? A LOT, or maybe you want to eliminate theft coverage from your policy.

There?s no shortcut, and there?s no ?secret? way to cut your insurance in half. I?m thinking you?re going to have to rethink this purchase, because insurance is usually part of the deal.
by: mbrcatz
on: 2nd August 10

Source: http://unoccupied-propertyinsurance.com/is-there-anyway-to-get-decent-homeowners-insurance-at-a-cheap-price/

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2 dead, 100 hurt in Ala. as storms pound South

Residents walk around through the debris of their neighborhood after a severe storm ripped through the Trussville, Ala., area in the early hours of Monday, Jan. 23, 2012. Jefferson County sheriff's spokesman Randy Christian said the storm produced a possible tornado that moved across northern Jefferson County around 3:30 a.m., causing damage in Oak Grove, Graysville, Fultondale, Center Point, Clay and Trussville. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

Residents walk around through the debris of their neighborhood after a severe storm ripped through the Trussville, Ala., area in the early hours of Monday, Jan. 23, 2012. Jefferson County sheriff's spokesman Randy Christian said the storm produced a possible tornado that moved across northern Jefferson County around 3:30 a.m., causing damage in Oak Grove, Graysville, Fultondale, Center Point, Clay and Trussville. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

Rescue workers help a family out of their neighborhood after a severe storm ripped through the Trussville, Ala. area early Monday, Jan. 23, 2012. Tornado warnings were issued in parts of central and northern Alabama in the early morning hours Monday as powerful storms rolled across the state. There were several reports of severe damage to homes. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

Residents walk around through the debris of their neighborhood after a tornado ripped through the Trussville, Ala. area in the early hours of Monday, Jan. 23, 2012. Jefferson County sheriff's spokesman Randy Christian said the storm produced a possible tornado that moved across northern Jefferson County around 3:30 a.m., causing damage in Oak Grove, Graysville, Fultondale, Center Point, Clay and Trussville. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

Residents walk around through the debris of their neighborhood after a tornado ripped through the Trussville, Ala. area in the early hours of Monday, Jan. 23, 2012. Jefferson County sheriff's spokesman Randy Christian said the storm produced a possible tornado that moved across northern Jefferson County around 3:30 a.m., causing damage in Oak Grove, Graysville, Fultondale, Center Point, Clay and Trussville. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

Residents walk around through the debris of their neighborhood after a tornado ripped through the Trussville, Ala. area in the early hours of Monday, Jan. 23, 2012. Jefferson County sheriff's spokesman Randy Christian said the storm produced a possible tornado that moved across northern Jefferson County around 3:30 a.m., causing damage in Oak Grove, Graysville, Fultondale, Center Point, Clay and Trussville. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

CLAY, Ala. (AP) ? Severe storms and possible tornadoes pounded the South on Monday, injuring more than 100 people and killing at least two in Alabama, including a man who lived in an area devastated by a deadly twister outbreak in the spring.

Homes were flattened, windows were blown out of cars and roofs were peeled back in the middle of the night in the rural community of Oak Grove near Birmingham. As dawn broke, residents surveyed the damage and officials used chainsaws to clear fallen trees.

Oak Grove was hit hard in April when tornadoes ravaged Alabama, killing about 240 people, though officials said none of the same neighborhoods was struck again. Officials had to reschedule a meeting Monday to receive a study on Alabama's response to the spring tornadoes.

"Some roads are impassable, there are a number of county roads where you have either debris down, trees down, damage from homes," said Yasamie Richardson, a spokeswoman for the Alabama Emergency Management Agency.

An 82-year-old man died in Oak Grove and a 16-year-old girl was killed in Clay, Jefferson County sheriff's spokesman Randy Christian said.

The storm system stretched from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico, producing a possible tornado that moved across northern Jefferson County around 3:30 a.m., causing damage in Oak Grove and other communities, Christian said.

As day broke, searchers went door-to-door calling out to residents, many of whom were trapped by trees that crisscrossed their driveways.

In Clay, northeast of Birmingham, Stevie Sanders woke up around 3:30 a.m. and realized bad weather was on the way. She, her parents and sister hid in the laundry room of their brick home as the wind howled and trees started cracking outside.

"You could feel the walls shaking and you could hear a loud crash. After that it got quiet, and the tree had fallen through my sister's roof," said Sanders.

The family was OK, and her father, Greg Sanders, spent the next hours raking his roof and pulling away pieces of broken lumber.

"It could have been so much worse," he said. "It's like they say, we were just blessed."

In Clanton, about 50 miles south of Birmingham, rescuers were responding to reports of a trailer turned over with people trapped, City Clerk Debbie Orange said.

Also south of Birmingham, Maplesville town clerk Sheila Haigler said high winds damaged many buildings and knocked down several trees. One tree fell on a storm shelter, but no one was injured, Haigler said. Police had not been able to search some areas because trees and power lines were blocking roads.

In Arkansas, there were possible tornadoes in several areas Sunday night. The storms also brought hail and strong winds as they moved through parts of Arkansas, Tennessee, Illinois and Mississippi.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-01-23-Severe%20Weather/id-14750f164fad444c8eb06b03c04f307c

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Study: Stem cells may aid vision in blind people

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Scientists?are reporting hints that embryonic stem cells?can ease blindness in some people.

It's the first results from the use of embryonic stem cells in humans.

The research published online Monday in the journal Lancet involved two legally blind patients. They received an injection of cells derived from embryonic stem cells in one eye.

One had the "dry" form of age-related macular degeneration and the other had a rare disease that causes serious vision loss.

After four months, both did better on a standardized eye test.

The work was done by scientists at the University of California, Los Angeles and Advanced Cell Technology in Massachusetts. A third patient in London last week underwent a similar stem cell injection as part of the company's ongoing tests.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/bbd825583c8542898e6fa7d440b9febc/Article_2012-01-23-Stem%20Cells-Blindness/id-6a6834e42e2c490baab0b3d45bf017cc

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Minn. bear delivers at least 2 cubs on Internet

ELY, Minn. (AP) ? A 3-year-old bear in Minnesota has given birth to at least two cubs before an Internet audience.

Lynn Rogers of the Wildlife Research Institute, affiliated with North American Bear Center, says Jewel gave birth in a den near Ely to the first cub at 7:22 a.m. Sunday, and a second at 8:40.

According to the Duluth News Tribune (http://bit.ly/xuFrjP), Rogers says a third cub might have been born at 9:08 a.m., but the den camera's view was blocked.

Rogers and his colleagues recorded the birth of a bear named Hope in 2010. A Hunter killed Hope last year.

Jewel is the younger sister of Lily, who gave birth to Hope. A hunter killed Hope last year.

___

Online:

North American Bear Center: http://www.bear.org

___

Information from: Duluth News Tribune, http://www.duluthsuperior.com

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-01-22-US-Internet-Bear-Sister/id-203799182ea4455cbba6af0e99be3812

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How Do I Quit a Job I Just Started? [Ask Lifehacker]

Dear Lifehacker,
I started a new job a month ago and now realize it's not really a good fit for me. Even after a month I'm still not comfortable and I dread going in every morning. Can I quit without looking like a total jerk?

Photo by Quinn Dombrowski.

Sincerely,
Anxious About Quitting

Dear Anxious,
Ouch. We've all had that sinking feeling. You get home from work and realize you're unhappy and it dawns on you: You may have made a bad job decision. It is possible to leave without screwing everyone over, but you should consider a few things before you make your choice.

How to Know It's Time to Quit

Starting a new job is jarring. Your schedule changes, your workday is mixed around, and you're bombarded with new information around every corner. You have to learn the politics, people's names, your boss' quirks, and new systems for everything. For the first few days or weeks, you might be anxious and confused. If a month or two pass and you still don't feel comfortable, it might be time to think about leaving. Career coach Jeanne Knight suggests asking yourself a few questions first.

• Is it just the newness of the job?
• What will I learn if I stay in this job?
• If the scope of the job has changed, can it be renegotiated?

Answering these questions can shed some light on why you feel the need to leave. If the workload is more than you expected, you can try to renegotiate your pay or benefits accordingly. Think about the schedule change and the newness of the job as well. Did you go from waiting tables to a 9 to 5 office job? It might take longer to grow accustomed to a new routine.

Sometimes, though, you just know in your gut a job isn't right for you. I once worked at a Papa John's restaurant for a single evening and knew within the first hour I was never going back. My solution? Like the pompous teenage jerk I was, I no-called, no-showed. Don't do that. Instead, let's look at a few of the best ways to make a respectable exit. Photo by Rusty Haskell.

How to Give Your Notice

If you answered the questions above and decided your new job isn't right for you, it's time to give your notice. It's easy to just stop showing up (it's not like you've formed any lasting bonds), but it will burn the bridges you made with the company and your coworkers, and, frankly, it's just poor form.

I talked with Julia Nelson, lead recruiter at First Western Trust Bank to see how a human resources department prefers to handle a situation like this. She has two suggestions for two different types of circumstances:

Once you start, if something about the job, your manager, or the company comes as a surprise and clashes with your moral or other values (for example, they're asking you to steal puppies, never mentioned puppy stealing before, and stealing puppies makes you feel terrible), give a courtesy two week notice, but mention that you would feel more comfortable quitting right now.

The above advice can also be applied if you're feeling overwhelmed at a position where you're relied on for the safety of others. Whether it's caring for senior citizens or teaching snowboarding to children, if you don't feel like you can do the job right, ask to leave immediately. But what about when you just think the job sucks and it's not what you want? Julia offers this advice:

If it is something more than boredom and uncertainty, speak to your manager openly about your concerns. Maybe you can unearth why they weren't brought up in the interview process and move forward on better footing. Maybe you will mutually decide this is just not a good fit. In this instance you can offer two weeks notice, but they may ask you to leave sooner. I suggest offering two weeks notice because you don't want to burn any bridges, but exhaust all options before you come to the conclusion to leave.

Finally, if it's absolutely time to drop the position, job search engine Monster adds that you should be completely honest and apologetic when giving your notice in person. Don't lie about the reasons or make excuses, just tell your employer how it is. Leaving is beneficial for them in the long run if you're not a good fit, so don't feel guilty or make excuses. Photo by CedarBendDrive.

Don't Forget to Sweat the Small Stuff

No matter how rough a job is, don't forget to factor in the income and benefits you lose when you leave. If you don't have another job lined up, make sure you have enough cash tucked away to cover your living expenses before you put in your notice. Even if you leave because you found a better job, benefits can take anywhere from a month to a year to set in. If you're reliant on health insurance consider the time you won't be covered. We've looked at how to find health insurance on your own before, but the options, unfortunately, aren't great. The same goes for other benefits you're leaving behind, including retirement plans, flex plans, or other investments. Check with your boss or human resources department for how to transfer your plans into a new or personal account.

Prevent it from Happening Again

Hopefully you learned from your mistake, but if you decide to leave, chances are you're already planning on interviewing again. Julia has one simple suggestion for preventing the situation from happening again:

As a job seeker, you have the right to ask many, many questions of the hiring manager and HR team before you decide if you would like to take a position. You are interviewing a company just as much as they are interviewing you. Before you accept a position you should be able to envision yourself in the office, know some of the team you would be working with, understand what is expected of you in the role, and have a good "gut" feeling about going to that job everyday.

It's good advice regardless of when you're interviewing, but if you're coming hot off the heels of a poor job choice, it's a solid technique to assure yourself you're making the right decision. Hopefully you're comfortable with your decision to leave (or stay), and good luck in your next job search! Photo by Samuel Mann.

Sincerely,
Lifehacker

P.S. Have you walked out of a job right after starting? We'd love to hear your experiences in the comments.

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/L9TGruJ7-dM/how-do-i-quit-a-job-i-just-started

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Comet's fiery plunge may tell us how planets form

For the first time, scientists have caught a glimpse of a comet's final minutes before it was vaporized by the sun.?The comet was flying at about 1.4 million miles an hour.

For the first time, scientists have caught a comet in the Icarus-like act of zipping too close to the sun ? and watched as it paid the ultimate price.

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In catching a glimpse of the comet's final vaporization, researchers not only have been able to piece together a detailed picture of the comet itself ? something usually reserved for spacecraft fly-bys. They also may have a found a way to use similar comets as test dummies for making key measurements of the sun's atmosphere, or corona.

And by throwing the break-up process into reverse, they may be able to answer a nagging question tied to the formation of planets in the solar system some 4.5 billion years ago: How does the clumping process that gathers tiny dust grains into ever bigger lumps and finally to planet-size objects really work?

The comet observations, published in the Jan. 20 issue of the journal Science, "are pioneering a new form of cometary study," writes Carey Lisse, a researcher at the Johns Hopkins University's Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md.

The comet, C/2011 N3, was discovered July 4, 2011, a scant two days before its demise, as researchers looked at data from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) spacecraft, a joint NASA-European Space Agency project.

Sun-grazing comets, such as C/2011 N3, are nothing new to SOHO. It has observed more than 2,100 of them, according to NASA. It finds them with an instrument designed to mask the sun's disk so the instrument can observe the glowing corona.

But that's also a problem. Sun-grazers SOHO sees vanish behind this mask. And like Las Vegas, what goes on behind the mask stays behind the mask.

It took data from three craft ? SOHO, as well as NASA's STEREO and Solar Dynamics Observatory ? to piece together the full picture of C/2011 N3's final 20 minutes.

The C/2011 N3 belongs to a family known as Kreutz sungrazers ? a vast collection of comet fragments thought to have come from the break-up of a larger comet around 2,500 years ago. Scientists estimate that the parent object's nucleus was as large as 60 miles across. Comet Halley, which makes its closest approach to the sun every 75 years, has a nucleus roughly 7 miles across.

Based on its observations, the team, led by Lockheed Martin Corporation solar physicist Karel Schrijver, estimates that C/2011 N3 was hurtling toward the sun at about 1.4 million miles an hour ? fast enough to turn a three-day trip to the moon into a four-hour sprint. When it vanished, it had closed within 62,000 miles of the sun's surface.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/science/~3/vVYBZ8PIa4U/Comet-s-fiery-plunge-may-tell-us-how-planets-form

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Pet People: Understanding Our Pet's Intuition | Petside

The inordinate numbers of animal lovers I have encountered over the years have always shown me how gifted they are when it comes to communicating with their pets. Not only do they understand what their pets are ?talking? about, but they are also enthralled with what they are ?saying?. I just adore the words they use to relate to fellow animal lovers about what their pets are doing, and especially how deeply they treasure each and every moment they spend with them.

Since these devoted pawrents are often audaciously accused of being anthropomorphic by those with little or no experience with furry companions, I think it?s high time we pet lovers take a stand and ?tell them how it is?, letting them know that pet people rock!

For instance: Today, with the easy access to the Internet many pets enjoy, there is nothing more delightful than reading the message boards that some communities provide for pets to express their feelings. And while it takes a little practice to become fluent in ?cat-speak? or ?canine-chatter?, in my humble opinion, it?s always a good idea to now and again check out what Fluffy or Fido may be saying about their human companion.

To demonstrate exactly what I am talking about, the other day one of my ?cyber-sisters? sent me an email with a link to a video which proves my point. While the original video uploaded to YouTube by hkbecky of two cats appearing to be boxing with one another was amusing, JustinCElliott, one very ?tuned-in? cat lover, grasped the true meaning about what these kitties are actually doing while they play with one another.?

With total comprehension about these two adorable felines? behavior, Justin cleverly voiced over hkbecky?s presentation, capturing its true essence (which I imagine is the reason Justin's version recieved over 13,240,465 hits while hkbecky's only recieved 175,582). This dubbed video clearly demonstrates how those blessed with feline purrception exemplify the need to delve a little more deeply into similar situations in order to appreciate the incredible range of feline play.

So take a moment to enjoy ?meeting? Goo and Yat Jai, the stars in this video gone viral, ?Patty Cake Cats?.

Cats are so talented, don?t you agree? Share your thoughts in a comment.

Source: http://www.petside.com/article/pet-people-understanding-our-pets-intuition

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The Amazing Gecko-Man: a superhero future made possible by probable science

There's no superhero origin story that begins with a bite (or a lick?) from a gecko. Plain 'ol wall climbing powers are, it seems, just not as sexy as wearing skintight suits, slinging webs and crawling up buildings. But if a few bright minds at the University of Southampton have anything to say about it, we could soon find ourselves walking like real-life lizard people (V, anyone?) and suctioning onto various surfaces using the managed properties of light. Lead researcher John Zhang and his UK team have predicted the existence of a force more powerful than gravity and the short-range pull of the Casimir effect, whereby plasmons (electromagnetic waves) captured on a metamaterial and the electrons on a metal resonate and form a bond of attraction. The resultant particle field is supposedly strong enough to "overcome the Earth's gravitational pull" and could even be used to alter the reflectivity of a material. Obvious military and aerospace applications aside, this invisible adhesive could also make its way into our everyday lives -- they just need to need to prove that it, y'know, actually exists first.

The Amazing Gecko-Man: a superhero future made possible by probable science originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Jan 2012 10:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/18/the-amazing-gecko-man-a-superhero-future-made-possible-by-proba/

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Sundance time: Indie film world gathers in Utah (AP)

PARK CITY, Utah ? Independent films that may have been years in the making get their first audiences at this week's Sundance Film Festival. That could also mean careers in the making for unknown directors and actors whose movies connect with the right crowds.

Robert Redford's independent-cinema showcase was opening Thursday with 117 feature-length films, 64 short films and a lot of anxious filmmakers on the agenda during its 11-day run.

Some are established directors showing their latest work, such as Spike Lee with his urban drama "Red Hook Summer," in which he reprises the character he played in "Do the Right Thing"; Stephen Frears with his sports-wagering caper "Lay the Favorite," starring Bruce Willis, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Rebecca Hall; documentary veteran Joe Berlinger with his Paul Simon portrait "Under African Skies"; and Julie Delpy with her relationship comedy "2 Days in New York," in which she stars with Chris Rock.

Other films are from up-and-comers competing for prestigious Sundance prizes, such as Sheldon Candis' coming-of-age story "Luv," featuring rapper Common and Danny Glover; Ry Russo-Young's domestic drama "Nobody Walks," with John Krasinski, Olivia Thirlby and Rosemarie DeWitt; and Youssef Delara and Michael D. Olmos' hip-hop story "Filly Brown," starring newcomer Gina Rodriguez, Lou Diamond Phillips and director Olmos' father, Edward James Olmos.

What makes Sundance the place to be for rising film talent every January?

"There's a combination of factors. First, it's the beginning of the year. That's a very good time to start the year with a whole variety of new films, which Sundance brings together and curates rather well," said James Marsh, who returns to the festival for the third time with his Northern Ireland drama "Shadow Dancer," featuring Clive Owen and Andrea Riseborough.

"And Sundance has an international profile beyond North America. We know it's a place that careers can get made and films get noticed," said Marsh, whose Academy Award-winning "Man on Wire" premiered at the festival in 2008 and won Sundance's top honor for world-cinema documentaries.

Sundance organizers say this year's films are all over the map in style, story and tone. Yet they see a general theme of unease and uncertainty about life that may have grown out of worldwide political, social and economic unrest of the last few years.

"We're seeing people questioning the status quo of the American dream. Like what is family, having babies, should I get married, is marriage even something I want to consider?" said festival director John Cooper. "A lot of stuff we took as status quo is being put to the test these days."

Along with a program of short films, the festival was beginning Thursday night with one film from each of its four main competitions:

? Actor-turned-director Todd Louiso's U.S. dramatic entry "Hello I Must Be Going," a love story between a 19-year-old man and a 35-year-old divorcee that stars Melanie Lynskey.

? Australian filmmaker Kieran Darcy-Smith's world-cinema drama "Wish You Were Here," a dark story of a vacation gone wrong featuring Joel Edgerton and Teresa Palmer.

? Swedish director Malik Bendjelloul's world-cinema documentary "Searching for Sugar Man," a portrait of promising 1970s singer-songwriter Rodriguez and his fade into obscurity.

? Lauren Greenfield's U.S. documentary "The Queen of Versailles," examining the housing boom-and-bust story of a couple trying to build a palatial 90,000-square-foot mansion.

The competitions, a midnight film program and Sundance's star-laden lineup of non-competition premieres have produced many critical and commercial hits over the years, including "sex, lies and videotape," "Precious," "The Blair Witch Project," "Clerks," "Winter's Bone" and "In the Bedroom."

Actors and filmmakers owe their careers to Sundance and the exposure they got there, among them "Super Size Me" director Morgan Spurlock, "Girlfight" star Michelle Rodriguez and "Napoleon Dynamite" star Jon Heder, who returns to the festival this year with writer-director So Yong Kim's child-custody tale "For Ellen," starring two other Sundance veterans, Paul Dano ("Little Miss Sunshine") and Jena Malone ("Donnie Darko").

"I feel like I owe Sundance everything as a filmmaker," said "Queen of Versailles" director Greenfield, a photographer whose debut film, the eating-disorder documentary "Thin," premiered at Sundance in 2006.

"I feel like I had a really charmed entrance into the documentary world by being able to have my first film at Sundance," he continued. "I wasn't really looking for a second career, but Sundance allowed me to feel like a filmmaker and really get confidence in that part of my voice as an artist."

Delpy, whose Sundance premiere "2 Days in New York" is a sequel to her 2007 film "2 Days in Paris," said the warm and appreciative audiences at the festival help take the edge off the nerve-racking experience of showing a film for the first time.

She likened filmmaking to laying an egg ? not as in something she expects to bomb at the festival but as in something that cost her effort and struggle.

"It was painful and it hurts, but it's an egg, and it's out of me," said Delpy, who does not want to be so attached to her creation that its Sundance reception could do her harm.

"I take the business very seriously, and I'm super-professional," Delpy said. "But at the same time, I'm not going to kill myself about it. I'm very happy with the film, and we'll see. You never how people react until you show the film."

___

Online:

http://www.sundance.org

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120118/ap_en_ot/us_film_sundance

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Bestselling books the week of 1/19/12, according to IndieBound*

1. Death Comes to Pemberley, by P.D. James, Knopf
?2. Believing the Lie, by Elizabeth George, Dutton
?3. The Sense of an Ending, by Julian Barnes, Knopf
?4. The Paris Wife, by Paula McLain, Ballantine
?5. 11/22/63, by Stephen King, Scribner
?6. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, by Stieg Larsson, Knopf
?7. State of Wonder, by Ann Patchett, Harper
?8. The Night Circus, by Erin Morgenstern, Doubleday
?9. 1Q84, by Haruki Murakami, Knopf
?10. The Marriage Plot, by Jeffrey Eugenides, FSG
?11. The Art of Fielding, by Chad Harbach, Little Brown
?12. The Orphan Master's Son, by Adam Johnson, Random House
?13. A Dance With Dragons, by George R.R. Martin, Bantam
?14. The Cat's Table, by Michael Ondaatje, Knopf
?15. The Litigators, by John Grisham, Doubleday

ON THE RISE:
?16. How It All Began, by Penelope Lively, Viking
?Lively's latest novel explores the powerful role of chance in people's lives and the surprising ways lives intersect.

Published Thursday, January 19, 2012 (for the sales week ended Sunday, January 15, 2012). Based on reporting from many hundreds of independent bookstores across the United States. For information on more titles, please visit IndieBound.org

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/p7HALXgZSUc/Bestselling-books-the-week-of-1-19-12-according-to-IndieBound

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Portugal launches labor reforms amid recession (AP)

LISBON, Portugal ? Portugal is to cut holiday entitlement, introduce more flexible working hours and cut compensation for layoffs in a package of labor reforms aimed at reversing the country's steep economic decline, officials said Tuesday.

Outdated labor practices were among the factors blamed for a decade of slender growth and mounting debts that compelled Portugal to take a euro78 billion ($99.6 billion) financial rescue package last year.

Its financial plight has aggravated Europe's sovereign debt crisis and brought fears that its economic downturn, compounded by austerity measures, could eventually force it to follow Greece and restructure its debt.

Standard & Poor's last week downgraded Portuguese debt to junk status amid forecasts the economy will contract by 3.1 percent this year. Portugal went into a double-dip recession last year when Moody's and Fitch Ratings, the other two leading ratings agencies, classified the country's debt as junk. The yield, the interest rate Portugal pays on its debt, for a 10-year bond has risen to 14.2 per cent following the S&P downgrade.

The jobless rate, meanwhile, has climbed to a record 13.2 percent, with unions staging strikes and protests against the center-right government's policies.

The labor law changes were agreed in the early hours of Tuesday morning after 17 hours of talks between the government, trade unions and business leaders.

Portugal committed to the reforms in return for the bailout granted by its European partners and the International Monetary Fund. The European union and other international bodies had long pressed Portugal to modernize its labor laws.

The bailout deal was signed by all the country's main political parties, but agreement on detailed measures required months of negotiations with unions and business confederations.

Economy and Employment Minister Alvaro Santos Pereira said the reforms would make the Portuguese economy more competitive and drive fresh growth.

He said the agreement "shows the world and the markets ... that we are laying the foundations to beat this crisis."

Full details of the agreement, which is due to be signed at a ceremony with Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho on Wednesday, were not immediately available.

However, delegates who attended the talks did say the changes included: shortening workers' annual vacation entitlement from 25 days to 22, scrapping at least three public holidays, reducing layoff payouts, cutting overtime pay levels, and giving companies 150 work hours per employee without overtime to be used by employer as and when they were needed.

Also, jobless people who accept work that pays less than their unemployment benefit are to keep 50 percent of that benefit.

But the government had to ditch its controversial proposal allowing companies to demand that staff work an extra 30 minutes a day without overtime pay. The novel measure, the government claimed, would have reduced unit labor costs and thereby made exports cheaper.

But trade unions balked at the idea, saying it would overturn labor movements' long struggle for an eight-hour day, and the main opposition Socialist Party also opposed it, arguing there was no economic study to support the government's claim. Business leaders were also lukewarm on the measure, saying it would bring limited benefits.

Tuesday's agreement won the blessing of the General Workers' Union, one of the country's two main trade union confederations. However, the General Confederation of Portuguese Workers, the other group, said it would fight the measures.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/eurobiz/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120117/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_portugal_financial_crisis

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A Second Science Front: Evolution Champions Rise To Climate Science Defense

Science Talk | More Science

Eugenie Scott, executive director of the National Center for Science Education, long the nation's leading defender of evolution education, discusses the NCSE's new initiative to help climate science education.

January 16, 2012?|

More Science Talk

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Eugenie Scott, executive director of the National Center for Science Education, long the nation's leading defender of evolution education, discusses the NCSE's new initiative for climate science education. ??

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=f5d7f381caa053927d4cfceba700ea7f

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Perry: Marines in video are 'kids,' not criminals

WASHINGTON?? Republican presidential hopeful Rick Perry on Sunday accused the Obama administration of "over-the-top rhetoric" and "disdain for the military" in its condemnation of a video that purportedly shows four Marines urinating on corpses in Afghanistan.

Perry's comments put him at odds with Sen. John McCain, the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, who said the images could damage the war effort.

"The Marine Corps prides itself that we don't lower ourselves to the level of the enemy," McCain said when asked about Perry's position. "So it makes me sad more than anything else, because ... I can't tell you how wonderful these people (Marines) are. And it hurts their reputation and their image."

No one has been charged in the case, but officials in the U.S. and abroad have called for swift punishment of the four Marines. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said last week that he worried the video could be used by the Taliban to undermine peace talks.

1. Other political news of note

   1. Huntsman wins key SC newspaper endorsement
   2. Perry: Marines in video are 'kids,' not criminals
   3. Evangelical leaders back Santorum
   4. NYT: For Romney, Bain attacks have upside
   5. Gingrich booed over Romney jab

A military criminal investigation and an internal Marine Corps review are under way. The Geneva Conventions forbid the desecration of the dead.

Texas Gov. Perry said the Marines involved should be reprimanded but not prosecuted on criminal charges.

"Obviously, 18-, 19-year-old kids make stupid mistakes all too often. And that's what's occurred here," Perry told CNN's "State of the Union."

He later added: "What's really disturbing to me is the kind of over-the-top rhetoric from this administration and their disdain for the military."

Later appearing on the same show, McCain said he disagreed.

"We're trying to win the hearts and minds" of the Afghanistan population, he said. "And when something like that comes up, it obviously harms that ability."

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

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46004399/ns/politics/

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Katy Perry's Colorist: Why She Dyed Her Hair Blue After Split (omg!)

Feelin' blue and lookin' blue, too?

Katy Perry may be licking the wounds from her failed 14-month marriage to Russell Brand -- he pulled the trigger with a Dec. 30 divorce filing -- but that has nothing to do with her latest hair color, which she debuted Thursday in Santa Barbara, Calif. during a shoot for an Adidas ad.

PHOTOS: Katy's drastic hair evolution

"Katy wanted to go this particular color blue for a few weeks now," the newly single singer's colorist Rita Hazan told Us Weekly in an exclusive chat.

The blonde shade that Perry, 26, showed off in December (with Brand, 36, at her side!) "was not an interim shade," Hazan points out. "She knew it wouldn't be permanent -- just another Katy Perry look!"

PHOTOS: Katy's crazy cleavage

"It didn't take long to transition to this color as we have been working together previously," the celeb stylist adds. "We have a great relationship -- Katy is the ideal client because she loves to be creative and unpredictable with her look."

PHOTOS: Katy and Russell's bygone romance

"She was great, really nice. She seemed happy," Perry fan Eric Berlanger said of Perry's demeanor on the Adidas set Thursday.

Adds a pal close to the "Firework" singer: "She is all about moving on now."

Get more Us! Follow us on Twitter, Friend us on Facebook, Subscribe to Us Weekly

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/omg_rss/rss_omg_en/news_katy_perrys_colorist_why_she_dyed_her_hair010022626/44182124/*http%3A//omg.yahoo.com/news/katy-perrys-colorist-why-she-dyed-her-hair-010022626.html

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