HBT: Aramis Ramirez becomes free agent

Desiring another multiyear contract at age 33, Aramis Ramirez declined his half of a mutual option to remain with the Cubs on Sunday, Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Ramirez would have made $16 million under the terms of the option. His decision means the Cubs are off the hook for a $2 million buyout they would have had to pay had they declined their half of the?option. It also puts them in position to recoup two draft picks this winter, as Ramirez is unlikely to accept an arbitration offer.

Ramirez rebounded from a poor 2010 to hit .306/.361/.510 with 26 homers and 93 RBI in 565 at-bats last season. He rates as the top third baseman in a weak free agent class also set to include Wilson Betemit, Kevin Kouzmanoff, Mark DeRosa and a question mark in Casey Blake.

The Angels, Rockies, Tigers,?Brewers, Dodgers, Diamondbacks, Blue Jays, Indians and Marlins are among the teams that could consider adding a third baseman this?winter.

Source: http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/10/31/aramis-ramirez-declines-mutual-option-becomes-free-agent/

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Many cities leaving Wall Street protesters alone (AP)

NEW YORK ? While more U.S. cities are resorting to force to break up the Wall Street protests, many others ? Philadelphia, New York, Minneapolis and Portland, Ore., among them ? are content to let the demonstrations go on for now.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, for example, said Friday that the several hundred protesters sleeping in Zuccotti Park, the unofficial headquarters of the movement that began in mid-September, can stay as long as they obey the law.

"I can't talk about other cities," he said. "Our responsibilities are protect your rights and your safety. And I think we're trying to do that. We're trying to act responsibly and safely."

Still, the city made life a lot harder for the demonstrators: Fire inspectors seized a dozen cans of gasoline and six generators that powered lights, cooking equipment and laptops, saying they were safety hazards.

In the span of three days this week, police broke up protest encampments in Oakland, Calif., Atlanta and, early Friday, San Diego and Nashville, Tenn.

State troopers in Nashville cracked down after authorities imposed a curfew on the protest. Twenty-nine people were arrested and later released after a judge said the demonstrators were not given enough time to comply with the brand-new rule. They received citations for trespassing instead.

Fifty-one people were arrested in San Diego, where authorities descended on a three-week-old encampment at the Civic Center Plaza and Children's Park and removed tents, canopies, tables and other furniture.

Officials there cited numerous complaints about human and animal feces, urination, drug use and littering, as well as damage to city property ? problems reported in many other cities as well. Police said the San Diego demonstrators can return without their tents and other belongings after the park is cleaned up.

Earlier this week, in the most serious clashes of the movement so far, more than 100 people were arrested and a 24-year-old Iraq War veteran suffered a skull fracture after Oakland police armed with tear gas and bean bag rounds broke up a 15-day encampment and repulsed an effort by demonstrators to retake the site.

But other cities have rejected aggressive tactics, at least so far, some of them because they want to avoid the violence seen in Oakland or, as some have speculated, because they are expecting the protests to wither anyway with the onset of cold weather.

Officials are watching the encampments for health and safety problems but say that protesters exercising their rights to free speech and assembly will be allowed to stay as long as they are peaceful and law-abiding.

"We're accommodating a free speech event as part of normal business and we're going to continue to enforce city rules," said Aaron Pickus, a spokesman for the mayor of Seattle, where about 40 protesters are camping at City Hall. "They have the right to peacefully assemble. Ultimately what the mayor is doing is strike a balance."

Authorities have similarly taken a largely hands-off approach in Portland, Ore., where about 300 demonstrators are occupying two parks downtown; Memphis, Tenn., where the number of protesters near City Hall has ranged from about a dozen to about 100; and in Salt Lake City, where activists actually held a vigil outside police headquarters this week to thank the department for not using force against them.

In the nation's capital, U.S. Park Police distributed fliers this week at an encampment of more than 100 tents near the White House. And while the fliers listed the park service regulations that protesters were violating, including a ban on camping, a park police spokesman said the notices should not be considered warnings.

In Providence, R.I., Public Safety Commissioner Steven Pare said the protesters will not be forcibly removed even after the Sunday afternoon deadline he set for them. He said he intends to seek their ouster by way of court action, something that could take several weeks.

"When you see police having to quell disturbances with tear gas or other means, it's not what the police want and it's not what we want to see in our society," Pare said.

Similarly, in London, church and local government authorities are going to court to evict protesters camped outside St. Paul's Cathedral ? though officials acknowledged Friday it could take weeks or months to get an order to remove the tent city.

Several hundred protesters against economic inequality and corporate excesses have been camped outside the building since Oct. 15. On Oct. 21 cathedral officials shut the church, saying the campsite represented a health and safety hazard.

It was the first time the 300-year-old church, one of London's best-known buildings, had closed since German planes bombed the city during World War II.

In Minneapolis, where dozens have been sleeping overnight on a government plaza between a county building and City Hall, the three-week-old occupation has been far tamer than those in other cities, with only a few arrests.

Sheriff Rich Stanek has made it a practice to meet with protesters daily to talk about their issues and the day ahead, and he has refused to engage what he called "the 1 percent" who want to cause trouble.

"We decided that's not the tactic we want to take. Doing that sometimes requires biting your tongue," he said. He added: "Some people have said that's `Minnesota nice.' It's a balance."

___

Niedowski reported from Providence, R.I.

___

Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Doug Glass in Minneapolis; Lucas L. Johnson II in Nashville, Tenn.; Samantha Gross in New York; Terry Collins in Oakland, Calif.; Jonathan J. Cooper in Portland, Ore.; Josh Loftin in Salt Lake City; Julie Watson in San Diego; Chris Grygiel in Seattle; Ben Nuckols in Washington; and Laura Crimaldi in Providence, R.I.

Niedowski can be reached at http://twitter.com/eniedowski

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/stocks/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111028/ap_on_re_us/us_occupy_wall_street

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Reader: Give Gisele's son a big cookie

Our readers continue to contribute some funny, smart and incisive comments to our Today Entertainment Facebook page. Every Friday, we'll highlight those that really stood out. If you see a great comment throughout the week, click the ?Like? button underneath it to draw it to our attention.

1. On "Gisele: My toddler thinks broccoli is dessert"
Juanita Cross: " Didn't she also say her labor was completely pain and drug free? Yeah, I am not taking advice from her and if I ever see her son I am giving him a big cookie."

2. On "Steven Tyler talks tooth and consequences from his bathroom fall"
Peg Marston Trimper:? "OK, maybe now, Steven Tyler, you will think you're getting a little too old for concerts. Gee, you're my mom's age."

3. On 'Hours after release, Michael Lohan back in jail"
Daiv Ericksen:? "So this is the new father-daughter project. Hmm...nah, I pass. I would rather train her to play soccer."

4. On "Teenage Frances Bean Cobain is engaged"
Ripleigh Degenhardt: "I got married at 19 and 6 years later we're doing great! She doesn't have her mom in her life, a big bonus! If you take divorce off the table from the word go and you force yourself to work it out, then you can survive anything."

Story: Reader: Americans are violent prudes

5. On "Miley Cyrus to cover Bob Dylan on tribute album"
Teddy Quinn: "I love the fascist Dylan fans, 'she shouldn't be allowed to sing...' Really? Wow, what a bunch of uptight jerks. Of course Dylan knows who she is. He is extremely up on pop culture. He probably loves that she's covering him, as any songwriter would be. Leave the little girl alone, meanies."

Join the discussion, and help us find next week's Comment of the Week, on our Facebook page.

? 2011 MSNBC Interactive.? Reprints

Source: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/45075976/ns/today-entertainment/

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Cain: 'We weren't trying to say it's cool to smoke'

WASHINGTON?? Republican presidential hopeful Herman Cain said Sunday that an Internet ad featuring his campaign manager smoking conveyed a message about letting "people be people" and was not intended to suggest that smoking is cool.

1. Other political news of note

   1. Iowa Poll: Cain, Romney top field ahead of caucuses

      First Read: The two candidates who least frequently visit Iowa are currently leading in the race to win the state's January caucuses, a new Des Moines Register poll shows.

   2. Bachmann defends stance on kids of illegal immigrants
   3. Updated 2 minutes ago 10/30/2011 5:24:10 PM +00:00 Cain: 'We weren't trying to say it's cool to smoke'
   4. NJ: Cain underscores Romney's authenticity gap
   5. NYT: Obama 'bundlers' sport close ties to lobbies

The video went viral this month with some 1 million clicks on Cain's campaign website. The ad shows Cain's top adviser, Mark Block, taking a deep drag from a cigarette and slowly exhaling into the camera.

"I'm not a smoker. But I don't have a problem if that's his choice," Cain said on CBS' "Face the Nation."

"So let Herman be Herman. Let Mark be Mark. Let people be people. This wasn't intended to send any subliminal signal whatsoever," the candidate said.

Iowa Poll: Cain, Romney top field ahead of caucuses

Cain, who was diagnosed with liver and colon cancer in 2006 and has said he's been cancer-free since 2007, was chided about the ad by his interviewer, Bob Schieffer, a bladder cancer survivor.

"Mark Block smokes. That's all that ad says," Cain said. "We weren't trying to say it's cool to smoke. You have a lot of people in this country that smoke. But what I respect about Mark as a smoker ... he never smokes around me or smokes around anyone else. He goes outside."

Cain said the video was meant "to be informative. If they listen to the message where he said America has never seen a candidate like Herman Cain, that was the main point of it. And the bit on the end, we didn't know whether it was going to be funny to some people or whether they were going to ignore it or whatever the case may be."

Cain said he understood the objection and that about 30 percent of the feedback the campaign had received to the video was similar to Schieffer's.

Schieffer pressed Cain to send an anti-smoking message on the show. Cain complied.

"Young people of America, all people, do not smoke. It is hazardous and it's dangerous to your health. Don't smoke. I've never smoked and I have encouraged people not to smoke," he said.

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

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45095363/ns/politics-decision_2012/

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Lego man to stay in police custody in Florida

SARASOTA, Fla. (AP) ? Lego man is going to stay in police custody for three months.

Lego man, a 100-pound, 8-foot-tall sculpture, didn't do anything wrong except wash up on a Florida beach. Sarasota County Sheriff Tom Knight says his office will hold the fiberglass sculpture for 90 days just like all other lost and found property.

During that time, authorities will try to determine who the owner is.

The Sarasota Herald-Tribune (http://bit.ly/uExBYk) reported that the local tourism bureau had hoped to use the Lego man to promote the area, but the sheriff says it needs to remain in police custody a little longer.

The sculpture mysteriously appeared on a Siesta Key beach Tuesday.

A Legoland recently opened in Winter Haven, which is about 70 miles northwest of Siesta Key.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/aa9398e6757a46fa93ed5dea7bd3729e/Article_2011-10-29-Lego%20Man%20Found/id-cdac817e1368434a8868de313545c518

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Apple investigation iPhone 4S battery life complaints

Apple is reportedly looking into complains about iPhone 4S battery life. Apple has done this before, typically after the release of new versions of the operating system, like 3.0, and asked users to install diagnostic utilities to help them track down the problem. Previously on TiPb we’ve run...

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/2KlgSDt2AiY/

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Morocco court issues death sentence in cafe attack

Polices officers stand next to an entrance as relatives of suspects in the Marrakech Argana cafe bombing react at the Sale court, near Rabat, Morocco, Friday Oct. 28, 2011. A Moroccan court on Friday found the chief suspect, Adel al-Othmani, guilty in the April bombing of a Marrakech cafe that killed 17 people, mostly tourists, and sentenced him to death. (AP Photo/Abdeljalil)

Polices officers stand next to an entrance as relatives of suspects in the Marrakech Argana cafe bombing react at the Sale court, near Rabat, Morocco, Friday Oct. 28, 2011. A Moroccan court on Friday found the chief suspect, Adel al-Othmani, guilty in the April bombing of a Marrakech cafe that killed 17 people, mostly tourists, and sentenced him to death. (AP Photo/Abdeljalil)

Jacques Sombret, father of a victim of the Marrakech bombing reacts outside the Sale court, near Rabat, Morocco, Friday Oct. 28, 2011. A Moroccan court on Friday found the chief suspect, Adel al-Othmani, guilty in the April bombing of a Marrakech cafe that killed 17 people, mostly tourists, and sentenced him to death. (AP Photo/Abdeljalil Bounhar)

Nadine Asnar and Christophe Asnar, mother and brother of a Eric Asnar, a victim of the Marrakech bombing react outside the Sale court, near Rabat, Morocco, Friday Oct. 28, 2011. A Moroccan court on Friday found the chief suspect, Adel al-Othmani, guilty in the April bombing of a Marrakech cafe that killed 17 people, mostly tourists, and sentenced him to death. (AP Photo/Abdeljalil Bounhar)

Fran?is Gautier and his wife Martine Gautier, parents of a victim of the Marrakech bombing react outside the Sale court, near Rabat, Morocco, Friday Oct. 28, 2011. A Moroccan court on Friday found the chief suspect, Adel al-Othmani, guilty in the April bombing of a Marrakech cafe that killed 17 people, mostly tourists, and sentenced him to death. (AP Photo/Abdeljalil Bounhar)

Fran?is Gautier and his wife Martine Gautier, parents of a victim of the Marrakech bombing react outside the Sale court, near Rabat, Morocco, Friday Oct. 28, 2011. A Moroccan court on Friday found the chief suspect, Adel al-Othmani, guilty in the April bombing of a Marrakech cafe that killed 17 people, mostly tourists, and sentenced him to death. (AP Photo/Abdeljalil Bounhar)

RABAT, Morocco (AP) ? A Moroccan court on Friday convicted all defendants for their role in a cafe bombing that killed 17 people, mostly tourists, sentencing the chief suspect to death.

The court erupted into chaos with the reading of the verdicts following five hours of deliberation. Families of the defendants shouted that they were unjust while the relatives of the victims wept and hugged each other.

Prosecutors had accused Adel al-Othmani of dressing like a tourist and planting the bomb in the Argana cafe, before setting it off with his mobile phone. He was convicted of premeditated murder and building explosives, among other charges.

The April 28 blast killed eight French tourists in addition to British, Swiss, Moroccan and Portuguese victims.

The court handed down a life prison term for al-Othmani's associate, Hakim Dah, and gave four-year terms for four other defendants charged with having knowledge of the crime. Three were given two-year prison terms.

Police cleared the court of the families of the accused, who then demonstrated outside the courtroom. The sister of al-Othmani began banging her head against the windows of the courthouse in grief and had to be restrained by her relatives.

"We saw our brother the morning of April 28," screamed al-Othmani's brother hysterically as he ran out of the courtroom. "Morocco is a country that kills, it wants to kill my brother," he yelled at people walking by along the busy street.

Before the verdict was issued, al-Othmani and the other defendants were given a last chance to address the court. All protested their innocence.

"They've arrested an innocent man to sort out their own political problems," said al-Othmani, wearing a New York Yankees sweatshirt and Adidas sweatpants, to the judge. The arrests came as Morocco was swept by a wave of pro-democracy protests demanding political reform.

Abdel Hamid Bettar, the spokesman for the defendants' families, said they would appeal the sentence.

"It is an injustice, my brother did nothing, neither did the others," he said as other relatives shouted around him outside the courthouse.

Relatives of the victims were present for all the court sessions and some burst into tears, in apparent relief, over the verdict. Others, however, expressed anger over the lesser sentences.

"In four years it will be them taking up the jihad and killing Europeans," shouted Jacques Sombret. "This is not justice, this is clemency."

He was echoed by Eric Bedier, who said while he was satisfied with the penalties for the two main defendants, the other's got off too lightly.

"If you know about a crime, it's as bad as committing it," he said.

The families of the victims, however, have said they were against the death penalty. Morocco has not executed anyone since 1993, but there are 107 people on death row.

The two sets of families were separated in the court by a line of police and would often exchange harsh words during the recesses of the trial.

The attack shook relatively peaceful Morocco, a staunch U.S. ally that drew nearly 10 million tourists last year to its sandy beaches, desert and mountain landscapes and historic sites.

Moroccan authorities moved swiftly in the aftermath of the blast, eventually rounding up what they said was a nine-person cell inspired by al-Qaida, but not necessarily with direct links to the group.

Defense attorneys countered that the case against their clients was based on confessions coerced through torture and lacked hard evidence.

"In the absence of evidence, the sentence is very severe," said Mohammed Sadko, one of the defense attorneys. "We hope the court of appeals overturns it."

Morocco has been spared attacks by organized militant groups like al-Qaida, which has a strong presence in neighboring Algeria, but is plagued by so-called "lone-wolf" attacks of small cells inspired by extremist ideology.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2011-10-28-ML-Morocco-Bombing-Trial/id-09433a8bbb87486aa26879add4c73074

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How biological capsules respond under stress

ScienceDaily (Oct. 28, 2011) ? Cosmetics and pharmaceutical drug delivery systems could be improved thanks to a new method developed to precisely measure the capability of capsule-like biological membranes to change shape under external stress. This work is outlined in a study about to be published in EPJ E? by Philippe M?l?ard and Tanja Pott from the Rennes-based Institute of Chemical Sciences at the European University of Brittany and their colleagues from the Center for Biomembrane Physics at the University of Southern Denmark in Odense.

The authors found that, by using a statistical method, they could evaluate the bending elasticity of biological membrane models, a key factor in understanding their physical properties. They relied on a series of video-microscopy images of giant liposomes, which are artificial spherical vesicles of more than ten micrometers in diameter made of a bi-layer of fatty substance called lipids. They studied the membrane deformations triggered by thermal agitation of molecules in the liquid surrounding them, over time. Previous approaches used the average of deformation amplitudes observed in these images, which meant a loss of accuracy of up to 20 percent.

Instead, in this study, the authors focused on evaluating the statistical distribution of the membrane deformation, which yielded unprecedented precision. This method relies on the so-called Maxwell-Boltzman statistical distribution, named after James Clerck Maxwell and Ludwig Boltzmann, who studied the kinetic theory of gas using this approach.

The method presented in this paper could be of interest to industry scientists in devising both cosmetic and pharmaceutical applications. For example, industry often needs to encapsulate products such as cytotoxic cancer drugs or antimicrobial peptides in biological membranes prior to delivering them into patients' bodies. Ultimately, it could help industry scientists determine what type of biological membrane is best suited for their specific purpose.

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Story Source:

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

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

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Journal Reference:

1. P. M?l?ard, T. Pott, H. Bouvrais, J. H. Ipsen. Advantages of statistical analysis of giant vesicle flickering for bending elasticity measurements. The European Physical Journal E, 2011; 34 (10) DOI: 10.1140/epje/i2011-11116-6

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://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/Bhfii4KeuYE/111028121230.htm

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Ellie Williams: Thoughts 10 Years Down the Road (Huffington post)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories News, RSS Feeds and Widgets via Feedzilla.

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IndyCar has issues to fix beyond Wheldon accident (AP)

IndyCar made gains this year in building a buzz about the series that many believed would carry over into the 2012 season.

Even so, there was obvious work that still had to be done during the offseason. Though the investigation of two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Dan Wheldon's death now takes top priority, other pressing issues can't be forgotten.

First up is the 2012 car that Wheldon, the primary test driver, helped develop. The investigation into Wheldon's death ? the result of a 15-car accident in the early laps of the Oct. 16 season finale at Las Vegas ? could reveal information that potentially could be applied to the car.

Four-time series champion Dario Franchitti got his first laps in the car this week during a two-day test at Sebring, and said Thursday that drivers have a long way to go in getting the car ready for next season.

"I'm really appreciative of Dallara naming the car after Dan; he did put a lot of work into it, and he did a really good job of not telling us anything," Franchitti said. "He was very secretive about what went on so he didn't give anyone an advantage, and a few of us tried to tap him for information.

"We're at the beginning of a long development process. ... We still have a lot of work to do. It will be a busy couple of months."

Although the new car has been touted as both safer and technologically improved, Wheldon's accident has led to a call for a variety of new features such as increased horsepower, less downforce and a closed canopy cockpit, which driver Will Power said isn't realistic.

"It's no question better than the old car, a little easier to drive and it's definitely faster," said Power, who has tested. "But I think a canopy itself would be a very long-term project. You've got to be able to get out of the car if there happened to be a fire; you've got to be able to be extracted quickly. It's not something that can be put on in the next three months."

Franchitti also downplayed the calls for a canopy.

"This is the problem with these knee-jerk things," said Franchitti, "how big a canopy would there have had to have been for Dan to survive? How thick would it have had to have been? You know?"

While the teams work on car development, CEO Randy Bernard must address the 2012 schedule, which is unfinished.

Bernard previously had announced that the series will return next season to Detroit's Belle Isle Park, and he's been working hard on a deal to stage an event in China.

Although Las Vegas already had been announced as the season finale, a return to that track or any other high-banked oval is up for debate.

NASCAR five-time champion Jimmie Johnson was blasted by fans for calling on IndyCar to stop racing on ovals, but Johnson specifically meant the high-banked tracks. Franchitti and Power, two of IndyCar's most visible drivers, said Johnson is not off the mark.

"I absolutely understood what he meant, and I think that was totally taken the wrong way," Power said. "But my personal thought is that all those tracks, the high-banked tracks, were built for NASCAR. Las Vegas used to be a track we could race, and then they added the banking. The fact is, a stock car is three times the weight of an IndyCar, and that it makes it very difficult to get the formula right for many of those big ovals."

IndyCar wants to mix ovals with street and road courses as Bernard tries to market the series as the most versatile in motorsports. His struggle now will be finding enough suitable venues. Texas Motor Speedway, a banked oval, presumably will be on the 2012 schedule, but a sanctioning agreement has not been completed yet with a track many consider to be second in prestige only to Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Texas Motor Speedway president Eddie Gossage said he wants IndyCar back, and the lack of a deal right now is strictly business related. It doesn't help that Gossage loved Texas running after the Indy 500 ? the date Belle Isle now has.

Penske Racing president Tim Cindric said completing a schedule is paramount.

"There's a lot of priorities, and one is to understand what the schedule is for next year because people have to plan," Cindric said. "We have to establish how we are going to compete so that the manufacturers that have come into the series have a level playing field, and the drivers that are competing in the series are confident that we're going to continue to improve the areas of competition and the areas of safety."

Bernard also has two very serious areas of competition to address.

This past season was controversial as drivers openly complained of inconsistent officiating. Although the politically correct way to fingerpoint was to blame a muddled rule book that leaves much room for interpretation, drivers also lashed out at race director Brian Barnhart.

In August, Power jumped out of his car, hopped over a wall and then flashed two middle fingers at race officials following an aborted restart on a wet track at New Hampshire. He later was fined $30,000 and put on probation for the obscene gesture. A month later, three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves called Barnhart a "circus clown" during a Twitter rant about a penalty imposed on the final lap at Japan. He also was fined $30,000.

Before the season ended Bernard promised an offseason "scrubbing" of the rule book. In a recent interview, he told The Associated Press that's still the plan.

"Our goal was always to have this done by mid-December, but it might take an extra couple of weeks with the investigation now being the priority," he said. "We know we need to tighten the rule book, and we'll debrief over the next few weeks with many people in the series and react with an appropriate plan."

Bernard would not speculate about Barnhart's future.

"We're debriefing on all elements," he said.

Power suggested creating a team of stewards similar to Formula One so that one person in race control doesn't have the authority to make every decision. But even if nothing changed, a tighter rule book could alleviate some of the controversy.

"I'd add people up there to make the decision, to make it easier on the race director so he doesn't have to do everything. It will make things easier and make the decisions fair, no question," Power said. "But the rule book absolutely needs to be black and white, clear as day. Whoever is calling the race has to be able to make clear decisions and understand exactly what the penalty is. That's something that absolutely has got to be changed."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111027/ap_on_sp_au_ra_ne/car_indycar_what_s_next

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Charlie Sheen's new sitcom airing on FX in 2012

FILE - This Jan. 28, 2009 file photo shows Charlie Sheen in Los Angeles. Sheen is coming back to TV in a new sitcom. The FX channel says it has acquired the series "Anger Management," based on the 2003 Adam Sandler-Jack Nicholson movie. The show will air in summer 2012. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)

FILE - This Jan. 28, 2009 file photo shows Charlie Sheen in Los Angeles. Sheen is coming back to TV in a new sitcom. The FX channel says it has acquired the series "Anger Management," based on the 2003 Adam Sandler-Jack Nicholson movie. The show will air in summer 2012. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Fired "Two and a Half Men" star Charlie Sheen will try to return to a winning TV sitcom next summer in FX's new "Anger Management."

The cable channel said Thursday it has acquired the series loosely based on the 2003 Adam Sandler-Jack Nicholson movie of the same name, about a troubled therapist who disrupts his patients' lives.

FX ordered an initial 10 episodes of "Anger Management" starring Sheen, with production set to begin early next year. The series was announced in July by Lionsgate subsidiary Debmar-Mercury, which had shopped it to various broadcast and cable networks.

If the comedy catches on with viewers, FX will pick up an additional 90 episodes that will air first on the channel and then in broadcast syndication starting in fall 2014. The same model was used by Debmar-Mercury on the Ice Cube comedy series "Are We There Yet?" and on "Tyler Perry's House of Payne" and "Meet the Browns," all of which air on TBS.

FX Networks head John Landgraf called "Anger Management" a "wonderful, hilarious vehicle for Charlie's acting talents."

Sheen's new show will air on the same cable home as his old one: "Two and a Half Men" has been in returns on FX for more than a year.

The actor was fired from CBS' top-rated comedy by studio Warner Bros. Television because of his erratic personal life and public ridicule of the show's producer. On the new series, he will be answering in part to himself.

He will have a significant ownership stake in the series, FX said. Sheen noted in July that he will also gain "a certain amount of creative control."

Sheen's new producer, Revolution Studios founder Joe Roth, has worked successfully with him before, and the pair are expected to have cordial relations. Their feature films together include "Major League," ''Young Guns" and "Three Musketeers."

The producers and distributors would be a key selling point for the new series, TV analyst Bill Carroll of media buyer Katz media said in July.

"I have to assume what you're really buying is Joe Roth's ability to produce and deliver a show with Charlie Sheen ... and Lionsgate's track record and the ability of them and Debmar-Mercury to deliver shows. Whoever picks up the show is making a deal with them, not Sheen," Carroll said.

Writer-producer Bruce Helford, a TV veteran whose credits include "The Drew Carey Show," will have hands-on responsibility for the series as its "showrunner," FX said.

A revamped "Two and a Half Men," with Ashton Kutcher added to the cast as a new character, returned for its ninth season on CBS this fall and has remained a top 10 show with solid ratings.

Warner said last month it had reached a settlement in the $100 million wrongful termination lawsuit Sheen had brought over his dismissal. During his bitter public spat with the studio, Sheen became known for pronouncements including "winning!" and that he had "tiger blood."

___

FX is part of News Corp.'s Fox Networks Group.

___

Online:

http://www.FXnetworks.com

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2011-10-27-TV-Sheen's%20New%20Series/id-589ee9c65d7749ef842d18500be70e8c

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Report: Facebook plans huge server farm in Sweden (AP)

STOCKHOLM ? Facebook plans to build a large server farm in northern Sweden near the Arctic Circle, taking advantage of the chilly climate to keep its equipment cool, a Swedish newspaper reported Wednesday

The Norrbottens Kuriren newspaper said the American social network will announce its plans Thursday in Lulea, site of the operation, which is 60 miles (100 kilometers) south of the Arctic Circle. The paper cited Jan Fredriksson of Helm1 PR, a public relations agency that represents Facebook in Sweden.

Fredriksson and Facebook officials didn't return calls and emails seeking comment Wednesday.

Servers inside data centers are the backbone of Internet services such as Facebook, which has an estimated 800 million active users worldwide. The servers store and transmit billions of status updates, links, photos and all the outside apps used by Facebook's members.

City officials in Lulea have said earlier they were in talks with an "American world-leading company" to build the 5-acre (2-hectare) data center near the Lulea University of Technology. They declined to comment Wednesday.

The three server halls are expected to take three years to build at a cost of up to 5 billion kronor ($760 million).

Lulea officials have stressed the city's access to renewable energy from hydropower facilities near the city and its solid power grid. In case of a blackout, construction designs call for each building to have 14 backup diesel generators with a total output of 40 MW. Officials also emphasize Lulea's favorable climate for the cooling of server halls, with winter temperatures below freezing and summertime highs that rarely climb above 80F (25 C).

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111026/ap_on_hi_te/eu_sweden_facebook_server_farm

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SkimLinks Harnesses Atma Links Acquisition To Power SkimWords 2.0

One of the most popular ways for publishers to monetize their content ? aside from basic banner and AdSense ads ? is through affiliate programs. These are often transparent to users: you'll click a link to an online store, and if you buy something, the publisher gets a percentage of the purchase price (each program varies a bit, but that's the standard way they operate). Of course, signing up for each of these programs takes work. SkimLinks is a UK-based company that helps publishers monetize their content by inserting these affiliate links automatically, and today it's harnessing a recent acquisition that will make one of its products significantly more efficient (and useful for a broader set of links). The startup makes two main products. The first is its namesake?SkimLinks, which will identify any link that's been included in a publisher's content and automatically convert it to an affiliate link whenever possible (this saves the publisher the hassle of having to sign up for affiliate programs with each merchant).

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/kY3hHYX9joE/

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Religious, spiritual support benefits men and women facing chronic illness, study finds

ScienceDaily (Oct. 26, 2011) ? Individuals who practice religion and spirituality report better physical and mental health than those who do not. To better understand this relationship and how spirituality/religion can be used for coping with significant health issues, University of Missouri researchers are examining what aspects of religion are most beneficial and for what populations. Now, MU health psychology researchers have found that religious and spiritual support improves health outcomes for both men and women who face chronic health conditions.

"Our findings reinforce the idea that religion/spirituality may help buffer the negative consequences of chronic health conditions," said Stephanie Reid-Arndt, associate professor of health psychology in the School of Health Professions. "We know that there are many ways of coping with stressful life situations, such as a chronic illness; involvement in religious/spiritual activities can be an effective coping strategy."

Religious and spiritual support includes care from congregations, spiritual interventions, such as religious counseling and forgiveness practices, and assistance from pastors and hospital chaplains. The recent publication from the MU Center for Religion and the Professions research group, authored by Reid-Arndt, found that religious support is associated with better mental health outcomes for women and with better physical and mental health for men.

"Both genders benefit from social support -- the ability to seek help from and rely on others -- provided by fellow congregants and involvement in religious organizations," said co-author Brick Johnstone, health psychology professor. "Encouragement to seek out religious and spiritual supports can assist individuals in coping with stress and physical symptoms related to health issues. Health care providers can urge patients to take advantage of these resources, which provide emotional care, financial assistance and opportunities for increased socialization."

The study examined the role of gender in using spirituality/religiosity to cope with chronic health conditions and disabilities, including spinal cord injury, brain injury, stroke and cancer. Using measures of religiousness/spirituality, general mental health and general health perception, the researchers found no differences between men and women in terms of self-reported levels of spiritual experiences, religious practices or congregational support. This finding contrasts with other studies that suggest women may be more spiritual or participate in religion more frequently than men.

"While women generally are more religious or spiritual than men, we found that both genders may increase their reliance on spiritual and religious resources as they face increased illness or disability," Johnstone said.

For women, mental health is associated with daily spiritual experiences, forgiveness and religious/spiritual coping, the study found. This suggests that belief in a loving, supportive and forgiving higher power is related with positive mental coping for women with chronic conditions. For men, religious support -- the perception of help, support and comfort from local congregations -- was associated with better self-rated health.

Johnstone is director of the MU Spirituality and Health Research program. He has completed several studies examining the relationships that exist among religion, spirituality and health, particularly for individuals with different chronic disabling conditions and for those from different faith traditions.

The study was published in the Journal of Religion, Disability & Health. It was funded by the Center on Religion and the Professions at MU, funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Missouri-Columbia.

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

---

Journal Reference:

1. Stephanie Reid-Arndt, Marian Smith, Dong Pil Yoon, Brick Johnstone. Gender Differences in Spiritual Experiences, Religious Practices, and Congregational Support for Individuals with Significant Health Conditions. Journal of Religion, Disability & Health, 2011; 15 (2): 175 DOI: 10.1080/15228967.2011.566792

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://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/m3p-7MVC6Jw/111026143811.htm

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Deficit Super Committee Interrupted by Protests (ABC News)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories News, RSS Feeds and Widgets via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/153734280?client_source=feed&format=rss

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James Van Der Beek to be a dad again

"Dawson's Creek" had better make room for some more babies!

Actor James Van Der Beek announced that he and wife Kimberly Brook are expecting another child. And, as you probably guessed, he did it through a tweet....

MORE: James Van Der Beek Introduces New Baby!

"Just when we thought we couldn't feel any more blessed, it seems the universe has plans to give our daughter a sibling... #humbled"

1. More Entertainment stories
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      With Halloween just around the corner, ?The Biggest Loser? gang celebrated with sweet temptations, romantic relations and one scary weigh-in Tuesday night.

   2. 'Dancing' finally boots a less talented hopeful
   3. Huge 'X-Factor' episode cuts 5 acts
   4. They don't make shows like 'Barney Miller' now
   5. 'Jurassic Park' has one of scariest scenes ever

The couple have a little girl, Olivia, who was born in September of last year.

"Had the blessing of becoming a father over the weekend.... Couldn't come close to describing this bliss even if I had 140 million characters," Van Der Beek wrote about his firstborn. "I apologize in advance for any obnoxiously precious new-dad tweets that may follow, I'm under her spell..."

PHOTOS: Baby Bumpin'

Can't wait to get another round of dad tweets! Congrats!

? 2011 E! Entertainment Television, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Source: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/45043848/ns/today-entertainment/

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NASA Invites Public to Tour Voluminous Vehicle Assembly Building (SPACE.com)

With no more space shuttles to prepare for launch, and years to go before its next-generation heavy-lift rocket is ready to fly, NASA is re-opening its 52-story Vehicle Assembly Building to the public after more than three decades of it being closed for general tours.

Beginning next month, visitors to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida will be able to purchase tickets for a new "Up-Close" tour, which in addition to allowing spectators to see launch pads and other facilities around the spaceport, will take them insidethe Vehicle Assembly Building, or VAB.

The huge building ? the largest single-story structure and the fourth largest by volume in the world ? was used for 30 years to stack shuttle orbiters with their boosters and fuel tanks for 135 missions. Before then, the VAB's original use was to assemble the stages that formed the 363-foot (110-meter) Saturn V rockets that launched Apollo astronauts to the moon.

The building ? its side adorned with a painted U.S. flag so large that a city bus could fit within any one of its red and white stripes ? has attracted tourists since it was built in 1966. But since 1978, spectators have had to settle for an outside view only as the solid fuel in the shuttle's boosters made the building too dangerous to allow in large groups of visitors.

With the shuttle program over, the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex (KSCVC) is now able to offer limited daily tours to bring guests into the VAB.

Shuttle sighting

Once inside the 525-foot (160-m) tall Vehicle Assembly Building, tour-goers will walk along the edge of the transfer aisle, a 700-foot (213-m) long corridor that divides the voluminous hangar's north and south sides. The aisle was used to move the behemoth segments of Saturn rockets and space shuttles among the four high bays within the building.

It is within one of these high bays that some visitors may still spot one of NASA's retired shuttles, waiting inside the VAB to be readied for its public display.

With three orbiters to prepare ? Discovery, Endeavour and Atlantis ? and only two operational processing facilities, the space center has taken to temporarily parking one of the shuttles inside the VAB. Currently, Endeavour is inside High Bay 4, but it is expected to trade places with another orbiter soon.

Beginning next year, NASA will start shipping the orbiters out to their respective museums, with Discovery slated as the first to leave in April. The shuttle encounter inside the VAB will therefore be available for a limited time only.

Signs of things to come

Even without the rare shuttle sighting, spectators will find plenty to see inside the building.

Tour guides will provide overviews of the work done in the VAB, and colorful signage will offer tourists a view of the past engineering feats that have taken place behind the 456-foot-tall (139-meter-tall) high bay doors, such as the work of the building's two 325-ton bridge cranes that were used to lift the shuttle orbiters and mate them to their external tank and boosters with pinpoint accuracy.

Visitors will also preview the planned operations that will take place in the coming years to support NASA's next space exploration program: the Space Launch System, or SLS. The Congressionally-authorized heavy-lift rocket and its Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) ? which when fully assembled will tower as tall, if not taller than the Saturn V ? is being developed to launch astronauts on exploration missions .

Continue reading at collectSPACE.com to learn about the other sights on the new "KSC Up-Close" tour outside of the Vehicle Assembly Building.

Follow collectSPACE on Facebook and Twitter @collectSPACE and editor Robert Pearlman @robertpearlman. Copyright 2011?collectSPACE.com. All rights reserved.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/space/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/space/20111025/sc_space/nasainvitespublictotourvoluminousvehicleassemblybuilding

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Hurricane Rina scattering cruise ships

By Jamey Bergman and Ashley Kosciolek, Cruise Critic

Rina, the 17th named storm of the 2011 Atlantic Hurricane Season, is currently a Category Two hurricane but is steadily gaining strength.

According to the National Hurricane Center's latest advisory, Rina is located about 280 miles east-southeast of Chetumal, Mexico, and currently has maximum sustained winds of about 105 miles per hour. The storm is moving toward the west-northwest at 3 m.p.h. (Click the image to see a larger version of the forecast path.)

Related: Hurricane Rina gaining strength on path to Cancun

At the moment, the storm is on a collision course with the popular Mexican ports of Costa Maya and Cozumel.

Cruise ship itinerary changes
At present, Carnival Cruise Lines is reporting the majority of the itinerary changes, with one additional change from Celebrity Cruise Lines:

Carnival Inspiration, on a five-night cruise from Tampa, is visiting Progresso on Tuesday instead of Cozumel.

Carnival Freedom, on an eight-night cruise from Fort Lauderdale, will call on Montego Bay on Wednesday instead of Limon, and it will stay at sea on Thursday, foregoing a call on Colon. A stop at Grand Turk on Friday will replace an originally scheduled sea day.

Carnival Destiny, on a five-night cruise from Miami, will forego a visit to Grand Cayman Tuesday in exchange for a sea day, and a sea day scheduled for Wednesday will be replaced with a call on Nassau.

Carnival Liberty, on a seven-night cruise from Miami, will substitute Ocho Rios in place of Grand Cayman on Wednesday and call on Grand Turk on Thursday instead of Ocho Rios.

Carnival Legend, on a seven-night cruise from Tampa, will switch its calls on Belize and Cozumel, visiting the former on Tuesday and the latter on Wednesday. It will also call on Progreso on Thursday instead of Roatan and swap Friday's planned Grand Cayman visit with a sea day.

Carnival Valor, on a seven-night cruise from Miami, will forego Belize on Wednesday for a sea day. The ship will also call on Grand Cayman on Thursday instead of spending the day at sea.

Carnival Triumph, on a five-night cruise from Galveston, is replacing Progreso with Cozumel on Wednesday and Cozumel with Progreso on Thursday.

Carnival Imagination, on a four-day cruise from Miami, is scrapping Cozumel for a sea day on Wednesday and replacing a sea day on Thursday with a visit to Nassau.

Instead of calling on George Town, Grand Cayman, today and spending tomorrow, Wednesday, October 26 at sea, Celebrity Millenium will spend today at sea and call on Nassau, Bahamas, tomorrow.

Weather outlook: Next affected ships and ports
Rina is currently a Category Two hurricane, but additional strengthening is expected and it could become a major hurricane by Tuesday evening. A hurricane warning is now in effect for the east coast of the Yucatan Peninsula from north of Punta Gruesa to Cancun. Hurricane-force winds are expected to reach the coast by early Thursday, with eight to 16 inches of rain predicted to impact the eastern Yucatan.

New updates are released by the NHC every three hours, and we'll keep you in the loop as new information becomes available.

More from Cruise Critic:

Source: http://overheadbin.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/10/25/8483900-hurricane-rina-scattering-cruise-ships

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Karzai: Afghanistan with Pakistan in US-Pak war (AP)

KABUL, Afghanistan ? Afghan President Hamid Karzai said that if the United States and Pakistan ever went to war, his country would back Pakistan ? a statement that contrasts with his harsh criticism of his eastern neighbor during U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's recent visit to Kabul.

Such a scenario is exceedingly unlikely, and Karzai's remarks appear to be less a serious statement of policy than an overture to Pakistan, whose cooperation is sorely needed if Afghanistan is to have a chance at stability after years of conflict and civil war.

Nonetheless, Karzai's comments during an interview with the private GEO television station in Pakistan broadcast on Saturday contrasted starkly from his show of alliance with Washington during Clinton's visit last week, during which the U.S. secretary ramped up the pressure on Islamabad to crack down on militants using its territory for attacks into Afghanistan.

"If fighting starts between Pakistan and the U.S., we are beside Pakistan," Karzai said. "If Pakistan is attacked and the people of Pakistan need Afghanistan's help, Afghanistan will be there with you."

The Afghan president said his country was indebted to Pakistan for taking in millions of Afghan refugees over the years and stressed that Afghanistan would not allow any nation ? be it the U.S., India, Russia, China or anyone else ? to dictate its policies.

"Anybody that attacks Pakistan, Afghanistan will stand with Pakistan," he said. "Afghanistan will never betray their brother."

Both the U.S. and Afghanistan have repeatedly said Pakistan is providing sanctuary to terrorist groups launching attacks in Afghanistan.

Clinton, joined by a bevy of top U.S. officials including CIA director David Petraeus, flew to Pakistan after her Kabul visit with the blunt message that if Islamabad was unwilling or unable to take the fight to the al-Qaida and Taliban-linked Haqqani network operating from its western border with Afghanistan, the U.S. "would show" Pakistan how to eliminate that militant group's safe havens.

Even so, she said the U.S. has no intention of deploying U.S. forces across the border in Pakistan. She suggested that the favored solution would be reconciliation and peace efforts and that Pakistan needs to cooperate.

The focus on reconciliation with the insurgents, while fighting those who refuse to embrace peace efforts, is pivotal in NATO's push to try to stabilize and secure Afghanistan as much as possible by the end of 2014, the date by when foreign troops will have been withdrawn or moved into support roles.

But the insurgents have remained intransigent and attacks and bombings plague Afghanistan, claiming the lives of civilians as well as those of Afghan and international forces.

Five villagers were killed while trying to remove a roadside mine planted by the Taliban in the Pashtun Zarghun district of the western province of Herat, the provincial governor's spokesman, Mohyaddin Noori, said Sunday.

The villagers had found six mines that were planted to target Afghan security forces in the area and, instead of notifying authorities, tried to move them themselves. They were able to safely remove five of the mines, said Noori. But the sixth device exploded as they were moving it, he said, adding that another three people were injured in the explosion on Saturday.

In the eastern part of the country, NATO said one of its service members was killed following an insurgent attack on Saturday.

The international coalition did not provide additional details, but the death raises to 472 the number of NATO service members killed so far this year.

NATO and Afghan forces have been expanding their operations in the east, targeting the Haqqani network that operates out of Pakistan's North Waziristan region. Pakistan has been reluctant to move more forcefully against the Haqqani, arguing such an act could spark a broader tribal war in the region with which it is militarily ill-equipped militarily to handle.

___

Associated Press writer Amir Shah in Kabul contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111023/ap_on_re_as/as_afghanistan

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Yukon River Dumping More Mercury Thanks to Climate Change

Image: USGS

The Yukon River is delivering upwards of five tons of mercury a year to the Arctic environment, likely in response to a warming climate, scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey announced Tuesday.

The river is pumping three to 32 times more mercury into the environment than similarly sized river basins, based on limited data. And while scientists don't know the reason for the Yukon's big mercury load, they say evidence points strongly to two suspects: Melting permafrost, and the Yukon basin's unique placement as a catchment for pollution from Asia and Europe.

"What has been happening in that part of the world for the past 30 years has been unprecedented in terms of environmental pollution," said Paul Schuster, a USGS hydrologist who was the lead author of the study, published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology.

"What we might be seeing is a combination of the release of (mercury) reserves from thawing permafrost and the more recent anthropogenic contamination."

Mercury is a potent neurotoxin and takes several different forms in the environment. Methylated mercury ? the type most easily absorbed and therefore harmful to food webs and humans ? was found in the Yukon River but at very low levels.

The vast bulk of the Yukon's mercury load ? upwards of 90 percent of what scientists measured ? consists of less bio-available "particulate mercury:" mercury bound to an organic compound like carbon. Such mercury isn't as readily available to organisms, but it is important nonetheless, Schuster cautioned.

"No. 1, it's a vector by which you move mercury into the environment," he said. "And No. 2, it's an eventual source of mercury for methylation."

Mercury comes from various sources but today is released into the environment in large quantities by the burning of fossil fuels, primarily coal. Coal plants in Asia are one of the largest sources, accounting for 860 metric tons, according to the United Nations Environmental Program. Cement production, waste disposal and metal foundries are also major sources. The amount of mercury being ferried annually by the Yukon is one-twentieth the annual emissions from U.S. coal plants and roughly equal to emissions from U.S. iron and steel production, according to the UN.

The source of the Yukon's mercury puzzles scientists. Permafrost in the Yukon basin has been absorbing naturally occurring mercury ? chiefly from volcanoes ? since the end of the last ice age 10,000 years ago. Now those soils, as a result of changing climate conditions, are thawing at increased rates. That could be releasing a substantial reservoir of the metal into the marshes and streams feeding the Yukon River, the world's 19th largest river.

More recently, industrial pollution has coated the basin. Prevailing winds from Europe and Asia funnel industrial pollution, including mercury, directly to interior Alaska and the Yukon River drainage, Schuster said.

"If we had funding, we could prove this. We could determine whether this comes from coal or volcanoes. But that's very expensive," he said.

Much of what is known about mercury transport in rivers comes from studies of small streams and lakes. Data exist only on eight major river basins, Schuster said, and this was the first to look at total mercury load.

"What we can say, is that of those eight basins, the Yukon seems to be pumping out a lot more mercury," he said. "That's where we basically have to stop."

DailyClimate.org is a nonprofit news service that covers climate change. Contact editor Douglas Fischer at dfischer [at] DailyClimate.org

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=2d3c27129b02ac8cc0a5fd28c4c61751

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`Paranormal 3' sets record with $52.6M debut (AP)

LOS ANGELES ? "Paranormal Activity 3" had a supernatural hold on moviegoers, luring them in with a record-setting $52.6 million opening.

Monday's final figure was slightly lower than the $54 million Sunday estimate from Paramount Pictures, but it's still the biggest debut for a horror movie and the biggest October opening ever. The third film in the low-budget fright franchise is a prequel featuring found home-movie footage from 1988.

The top 20 movies at U.S. and Canadian theaters Friday through Sunday, followed by distribution studio, gross, number of theater locations, average receipts per location, total gross and number of weeks in release, as compiled Monday by Hollywood.com are:

1. "Paranormal Activity 3," Paramount, $52,568,183, 3321 locations, $15,829 average, $52,568,183, one week.

2. "Real Steel," Disney, $10,824,512, 3412 locations, $3,172 average. $66,732,152, three weeks.

3. "Footloose," Paramount, $10,351,207, 3555 locations, $2,912 average, 30,364,238, two weeks.

4. "The Three Musketeers," Summit, $8,674,452, 3017 locations, $2,875 average, $8,674,452, one week.

5. "The Ides of March," Sony, $4,853,051, 2042 locations, $2,377 average, $29,112,377, three weeks.

6. "Dolphin Tale," Warner Bros., $4,217,260, 2828 locations, $1,491 average, $64,407,935, five weeks.

7. "Moneyball," Sony, $3,981,852, 2353 locations, $1,692 average, $63,640,746, five weeks.

8. "Johnny English Reborn," Universal, $3,833,300, 1552 locations, $2,470 average, $3,833,300, one week.

9. "The Thing," Universal, $3,069,875, 2995 locations, $1,025 average, $14,049,220, two weeks.

10. "50/50," Summit, $2,835,208, 1932 locations, $1,467 average, $28,820,748, four weeks.

11. "Courageous," Sony, $2,494,020, 1195 locations, $2,087average, $24,975,186, four weeks.

12. "The Big Year," Fox, $1,681,040,2150 locations, $782 average, $6,000,418, two weeks.

13. "The Lion King in 3-D," Disney, $1,254,237, 1091 locations, $1,150 average, $92,608,537, six weeks.

14. "Dream House," Universal, $1,132,170, 1224 locations, $925 average, $20,179,850, four weeks.

15. "The Mighty Macs," Quaker Media, $963,221, 975 locations, $988 average, $963,221, one week.

16. "Contagion," Warner Bros., $853,062, 901 locations, $947 average, $73,474,354, seven weeks.

17. "The Help," Disney, $713,054, 776 locations, $919 average, $166,190,995, 11 weeks.

18. "Drive," Film District, $608,534, 367 locations, $1,658 average, $33,188,983, six weeks.

19. "Abduction," Lionsgate, $581,021, 753 locations, $772 average, $26,792,620, five weeks.

20. "Margin Call," Roadside Attractions, $561,904, 56 locations, $10,034 average, $561,904, one week.

___

Universal and Focus are owned by NBC Universal, a unit of Comcast Corp.; Sony, Columbia, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; Paramount is owned by Viacom Inc.; Disney, Pixar and Marvel are owned by The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is owned by Filmyard Holdings LLC; 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight are owned by News Corp.; Warner Bros. and New Line are units of Time Warner Inc.; MGM is owned by a group of former creditors including Highland Capital, Anchorage Advisors and Carl Icahn; Lionsgate is owned by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.; IFC is owned by Rainbow Media Holdings, a subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corp.; Rogue is owned by Relativity Media LLC.

___

Online:

http://www.hollywood.com

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111024/ap_en_ot/us_box_office

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Justin Timberlake Discusses Mind-Bending, Otherworldly In Time Role

Justin Timberlake makes his first turn as an action star In Time, out Friday. Now a bona fide A-list actor, the 30-year-old plans a futuristic James Bond of sorts.

“I got to live out a lot of boyhood fantasies in this movie shooting guns and getting to learn how to stunt drive,” Timberlake told our partner site, Movie Fanatic.

In Time follows Timberlake’s character in a world where money has been replaced by time. What would he personally do if he only had 24 hours to live?

Moreover, what age would he not want to revisit, and what causes does he help advance when he's not singing, acting and being the coolest guy alive?

His answers are both fun and enlightening. Check out the In Time trailer below and follow the link for Movie Fanatic's interview with Justin Timberlake ...

In Time Trailer

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2011/10/justin-timberlake-speaks-on-in-time-role/

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Tecca TV: TechLife on Android 4.0, the new RAZR, America?s first civilian spaceport, and more! (Yahoo! News)

Thanks for joining us here at TechLife on Tecca TV, where we give you the 5 best technology-meets-lifestyle news stories in only 5 minutes! We enjoy bringing you a bit of Friday Fun to you each week.

Be sure to peruse the detailed show notes below to find more information on all the stories we covered in this episode. And if you missed our episode last week, be sure to check it out for our take on the iOS 5 launch, Japanese face monsters, unleashing the kraken, and more.

As always, we would love your feedback on this week's episode of TechLife! Please let us know your thoughts in the comments, and be sure to tune in next Friday for another episode of TechLife on Tecca TV!

This article originally appeared on Tecca

More from Tecca:

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/techblog/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_technews/20111021/tc_yblog_technews/tecca-tv-techlife-on-android-4-0-the-new-razr-americas-first-civilian-spaceport-and-more

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