Chris Christie says Obama 'kept every promise' on storm aid

HIGHLANDS, N.J. (AP) ? New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said Monday that President Barack Obama "has kept every promise he's made" about helping the state recover from Superstorm Sandy.

Speaking on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" program on the 6-month anniversary of the deadly storm, the Republican governor said presidential politics were the last thing on his mind as he toured storm-devastated areas with Obama last fall.

"The president has kept every promise he's made," said Christie, widely considered a potential candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016. "I think he's done a good job. He kept his word."

Christie's warm embrace of Obama after the storm angered some Republicans, who said it helped tip a close presidential election to the Democrat and away from Mitt Romney, who Christie endorsed and for whom he campaigned last fall.

Christie says he and Obama have fundamentally different views on governing. But he said the two men did what needed to be done for a devastated region.

"I've got a job to do," he said. "You wake up and 7 million of your 8.8 million citizens are out of power, you're not thinking about presidential politics."

Christie challenged his critics to put themselves in his shoes while dealing with the massive storm, predicting none of them would have done anything differently.

"I have a 95 percent level of disagreement with Barack Obama," Christie said. But that did not come into play while dealing with the storm.

"We saw suffering together," Christie said. "Everything the president promised me they'd do, they've done. I don't have any complaint this morning on the issue of disaster relief."

Sandy destroyed about 360,000 homes or apartment units in New Jersey, and some areas along the shore are still devastated.

Later Monday, U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan is to appear with Christie at a press conference, where it is expected the secretary will announce federal approval of New Jersey's plans to spend more than $1.8 billion in federal grants on storm rebuilding and recovery.

"We'll start to see that aid start flowing this week," Christie said on the show. "We still have tens of thousands of families who aren't back in their homes. Job One is to get the grant program going."

Congress approved more than $60 billion in Sandy relief funds, most of it for New Jersey and New York, despite opposition from many Congressional Republicans who wanted to spend less.

___

Wayne Parry can be reached at http://twitter.com/WayneParryAC

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/christie-obama-kept-every-promise-storm-aid-115719276.html

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Election manifestoes: Parties criticised for ignoring home-based ...

NGO pushes for acknow?ledgem?ent of home-based worker?s as labour?ers.

Attendees at the press conference included representatives of trade unions, labour leaders and civil society. PHOTO: FILE

LAHORE:?

A nongovernmental organisation has criticsed mainstream political parties for not acknowledging home-based workers (HBWs) as labourers in their manifesto, calling it ?extremely shocking and depressing?.

?We have been holding consultations with all political parties to press them to include some points about the betterment of HBWs in their manifestos but no party has done this,? Umme Laila Azhar, the chief executive of NGO HomeNet told the Express Tribune?on the sidelines of a press conference organised in connection with International Labor Day at Lahore Press Club.

She added HomeNet had pinned hopes on Pakistan Teehrik-e-Insaf but even their manifesto is silent on HWBs. ?We sent our recommendations to all mainstream political parties ? but unfortunately they simply ignored them,? she added.

?Around 12 million women are working as HBWs but they have no legal protection since no legislation has been done to register them as labourers. Many factory-owners and small industries prefer to give work to women at their homes rather than having them at a specific workplace,? she said.? There is a dire need for legislation on this subject but no political party has shown any interest.

Attendees at the press conference included representatives of trade unions, labour leaders and civil society. They said the role of the state in ensuring that the fundamental rights of workers should include both formal and informal workers, specifically HBWs. Through policy legislation, HBWs could be included in the workforce and political parties should focus on this issue in the upcoming elections.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 30^th, 2013.

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Source: http://tribune.com.pk/story/542375/election-manifestoes-parties-criticised-for-ignoring-home-based-workers/

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American charged, ex-general held in Venezuela

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) ? An American filmmaker was formally charged late Saturday by Venezuelan officials who accuse him of paying right-wing groups to foment postelection unrest on behalf of U.S. intelligence.

The federal prosecutor's office said Timothy Tracy, 35, of West Hollywood, California, was charged with crimes including conspiracy, association for criminal purposes and use of a false document.

On Thursday, President Nicolas Maduro said he had personally ordered Tracy's arrest on suspicion of "creating violence in the cities of this country" in the wake of an April 14 presidential election narrowly won by the hand-picked successor to Hugo Chavez.

Opposition candidate Henrique Capriles contends the election was stolen from him by fraud, setting up postelection tensions and bitter accusations between Venezuela's government and opposition.

Friends say Tracy is an innocent, self-funded documentary filmmaker with no political aims or government ties.

The U.S. government has also said Tracy is innocent but declined comment on the specifics of his case.

Venezuela's national prosecutor's office said a judge had ordered Tracy held until further notice in a jail run by the national intelligence service in the capital, Caracas, because he presented a risk of flight.

Tracy had a translator and private lawyers hired by him, or on his behalf, during the hearing, prosecutors said.

The Georgetown University English graduate was a story consultant on the 2009 documentary "American Harmony," about competitive barbershop quartet singing, and produced the recent Discovery Channel program "Under Siege," about terrorism and smuggling across the U.S.-Canada border as well the History Channel series "Madhouse," on modified race-car drivers in North Carolina.

Separately, Venezuelan officials said Saturday that they have arrested a retired general who had become a fierce critic of the government, a detention the opposition called part of a hardening crackdown in the wake of the disputed election.

Retired Brig. Gen. Antonio Rivero gained fame for denouncing Cuban involvement in the Venezuelan military in 2010 and became a prominent member of the opposition, participating in post-vote protests this month.

Rivero appeared in a brief video of a postelection protest that prosecutors played for the press Thursday after announcing Tracy's arrest. They said the video was taken from Tracy's belongings, along with another short video that shows a group of young people talking, in what appears to be a joking, sarcastic manner, about being paid many millions of dollars to participate in anti-government demonstrations.

In a snippet that is clearly heavily edited, Rivero discusses demonstrators' use of clubs and rocks in a clash with National Guard members. It is unclear, because of the editing and brevity of the clip, whether he is encouraging them to use weapons or discouraging them.

The footage appeared to be taken at a protest in Caracas soon after the vote results were announced, in which university students and National Guard members traded rocks and tear gas.

Leopoldo Lopez, national coordinator of the opposition Voluntad Popular party, called Rivero's detention illegal and part of a campaign to arrest and "morally assassinate" Venezuela's opposition leadership.

"The government errs if it thinks we are going to falter in our just solicitude that the truth be known about the April 14" election, Lopez said. Rivero is a member of Lopez's party.

Venezuela's Public Ministry released a statement saying that Rivero would be presented before a tribunal "for his presumed connection to violent acts that have occurred recently in this country."

The statement said the retired general was arrested by Venezuela's intelligence service on Saturday.

The government says postelection attacks by Capriles supporters killed nine members of the ruling Chavista movement, left dozens injured and damaged government offices and medical clinics.

The opposition vehemently denies the accusations.

_______

Associated Press Writers Christopher Toothaker in Caracas contributed to this report.

____

Michael Weissenstein on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mweissenstein

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/american-charged-ex-general-held-venezuela-030249423.html

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Former Madagascar president Ratsiraka to contest July election

By Alain Iloniaina

ANTANANARIVO (Reuters) - Madagascar's former president Didier Ratsiraka will contest national elections in July in a bid to become the Indian Ocean island state's leader for the third time, his supporters said on Saturday.

Madagascar has been in crisis since Andry Rajoelina, now president, led an uprising that ousted former President Marc Ravalomanana from office in 2009, triggering turmoil that scared off investors and devastated the vital tourism sector.

Both Rajoelina, a former disc jockey, and Ravalomanana, a wealthy businessman now in exile in South Africa, have said they will not contest the July 24 presidential election.

Regional powers put pressure on Rajoelina to stand aside, fearing fresh turmoil after this year's vote, while Ravalomanana was sentenced in absentia to life in prison after he was accused of ordering elite troops to kill Rajoelina's supporters.

Ratsiraka returned to Madagascar earlier this month after an 11-year exile in France. He left Madagascar in 2002 after refusing to concede the previous year's poll defeat to Ravalomanana.

Before he was ousted, Ratsiraka, known locally as "Deba", or the Big Man, had ruled Madagascar for 23 of the previous 26 years.

The 76-year-old first became president in 1975 when he seized power as a young naval officer, governing Madagascar until 1993. His second stint as president lasted from 1996 to 2002.

"It is a joy for us to know that we have filed (papers for) the candidacy for President of Didier Ratsiraka," said Monfort Razafimahefa, a member of the Ratsiraka campaign.

Ratsiraka is due to hold a news conference later in the day to explain his motives for contesting the election.

A Madagascan court had sentenced Ratsiraka to 10 years hard labour for embezzlement in 2003, but the current president, Rajoelina, often said the former admiral was free to come home.

Earlier this week Ravalomanana's wife put herself forward to run in July's presidential election, a move analysts say could be aimed at preparing a comeback by the fallen leader.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/former-madagascar-president-ratsiraka-contest-july-election-082511803.html

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Joe Manchin Wants to Bring Gun Reform Back to the Senate

Sen. Joe Manchin wants to bring that ol' background check bill back to the Senate floor, he revealed on Fox News Sunday. "The only thing we've asked for is for people to read the bill," the Democratic Senator said. "I truly believe that if we have time to sell the bill and if people will read the bill," Manchin said, then it will pass. He also expects his old partner, Republican Senator Pat Toomey, will be along for the ride again. (Toomey has said in the past that it's time to move on.) "I don't think he's done," Manchin said. "I was with Pat last night and Pat's totally committed to this bill. And I believe that with all my heart. And we're gonna work this bill," he added. Host Christopher Wallace asked Manchin to clarify whether what he was saying really means he's going to bring the bill back to the Senate floor. "Absolutely," Manchin replied. So we're going to do gun control again. Fun!?

RELATED: Graham Isn't Afraid of Hillary; Malloy Calls LaPierre a Clown

Sen. John McCain argued the Syrian conflict is going to get out of control now that the U.S. passed the "red line" threat of chemical weapons and didn't act while appearing on NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday morning. "The president drew a red line on chemical weapons, thereby giving a green light to Bashar al-Assad to do anything short of that, including Scud missiles and helicopter gun ships and air strikes and mass executions," McCain said. He thinks the U.S. needs to "change the balance of power by not using incrementalism when then there's every risk of a stalemate that could go on for months and months while the jihadists flood in." If it were up to John McCain, the U.S. would have intervened long ago. "Our actions should not be dictated by whether Bashar al-Assad used these chemical weapons or not," he said. "Sooner or later, he probably would in order to maintain his hold on power."

RELATED: Colin Powell Approves of Chuck Hagel

RELATED: Graham to Romney: 'Stop Digging'; McCain Wants Clinton to Lead Israel Peace Talks

Sen. Lindsey Graham thinks the U.S. surveillance system failed to do its job when it comes to Tamerlan Tsarnaev. This all came out during an interview on CBS's?Face the Nation.?"The FBI investigated the older brother but never shared the information with the fusion cell in Boston so people in the Boston area could be on the lookout," the Republican said. "When he goes back to Russia in January 2012, the system pings at the Department of Homeland Security, but DHS doesn't share their information with the FBI or CIA. And when he comes back in 2012, he creates a YouTube channel of his own making where he's got radical extremist videos that he's watching and interacting with. It's a failure to share information and missing obvious warning signs." Graham couldn't believe that officials could have missed the obvious warning signs of that one guy on the internet looking at some things. Like, who misses that stuff? "We've got to up our game," Graham said. "When one of these guys goes into the system and they leave the country, we need to make sure where they're going and interview them and when somebody in the database like this begins to openly interact with radical Islamist websites, an FBI agent should knock on his door and say, 'You told us before that you wanted to be an Olympic boxer. You love this country. What the hell is going on here? We're watching you.'" ?

RELATED: McCain Wants to Leave Abortion Alone; Republicans Move Away from Grover

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/joe-manchin-wants-bring-gun-reform-back-senate-190212395.html

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Deal of the Day ? Loaded 15.6? Dell Inspiron 15R Special Edition Core i7 1080p laptop

LogicBUY’s Deal for Sunday is the configurable?15.6″ Dell Inspiron 15R Special Edition Laptop for $789.99. ?Starting configuration: 3rd gen Core i7 CPU 8GB 1600MHz RAM 1TB Hard Drive, 32GB mSATA SSD, 8-in-1 card reader 1080p display and 2GB Radeon HD 7730M discrete graphics ?Four USB 3.0 ports, HDMI v1.4a HD webcam Waves MaxxAudio 4 and [...]

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Syrian officials deny use of chemical weapons

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) ? Two Syrian officials denied Friday that government forces had used chemical weapons against rebels, the first response from President Bashar Assad's regime to U.S. assertions that it had deployed such weapons during the 2-year-old civil war.

On Thursday, the White House and other top Obama administration officials said that U.S. intelligence had concluded with "varying degrees of confidence" that the Syrian government has twice used chemical weapons in its battle against rebels trying to oust Assad.

In the Syrian capital of Damascus, a government official said Assad's military "did not and will not use chemical weapons even if it had them." Instead, he accused opposition forces of using them in a March attack on the village of Khan al-Assal outside of the northern city of Aleppo, the largest in Syria. The official said the Syrian army had no need to use chemical weapons because it can reach any area in Syria it wants without them.

He spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to give official statements.

His comments were echoed by Sharif Shehadeh, a Syrian lawmaker, who said the Syrian army "can win the war with traditional weapons" and has no need for chemical weapons.

Syria's official policy is not to confirm nor deny it has chemical weapons.

Shehadeh called the U.S. claims "lies" and likened them to false accusations that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction ? a claim U.S. policymakers had used to justify the invasion of that country in 2003.

"What is being designed for Syria now is similar to what happened in Iraq when Colin Powell lied in the Security Council and said Iraq possesses weapons of mass destruction prior to the U.S. invasion and occupation of that country," he said.

President Barack Obama has said that the use of chemical weapons would be a "red line" that could result in a significant military response. But the administration said on Thursday that the new revelation won't immediately change its stance on intervention.

Following the Khan al-Assal attack, the government called for the United Nations to investigate alleged chemical weapons use by rebels.

Syria, however, has still not allowed a team of experts into the country because it wants the investigation limited to the single Khan al-Assal incident while U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is urging the Syrian government to accept an expanded U.N. probe into alleged chemical weapons use.

"They want this team to be similar to the inspection teams in Iraq that destroyed the country after it became clear that it was all a great lie," Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi said in comments published on Syria's state-run news agency SANA.

On the streets of Damascus, the conflict dragged on Friday. Government troops pushed into two northern neighborhoods, triggering heavy fighting with rebels as they tried to advance under air and artillery support, activists said. The drive was the latest in a days-long offensive by government forces in and around the capital, an apparent bid to secure Assad's main stronghold against rebel challenges.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the fighting between rebels and soldiers backed by pro-government militiamen was concentrated in the Jobar and Barzeh areas. The Local Coordination Committees, another activist group, said troops also used mortars and multiple rocket launchers to bombard the nearby neighborhood of Qaboun.

SANA said troops killed five rebels in clashes near the main mosque in Jobar. It added that many other "terrorists," the term the government uses for rebels, were killed in the area and the nearby neighborhood of Zamalka.

The regime has largely kept the rebels at bay in Damascus, although opposition fighters control several suburbs of the capital from which they have threatened the heart of the city. Last month, government troops launched a campaign to repel the opposition's advances near the capital, deploying elite army units to the rebellious suburbs and pounding rebel positions with airstrikes.

The Observatory also reported clashes in Aleppo between rebels and Kurdish gunmen in the contested Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood. It also said there was fighting around the sprawling Abu Zuhour air base in the northwestern Idlib province.

Syria's conflict started with largely peaceful protests against Assad's regime in March 2011 but later degenerated into a civil war, which has left an estimated 70,000 dead.

___

AP reporter Zeina Karam and Bassem Mroue contributed from Beirut.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/syrian-officials-deny-chemical-weapons-113003061.html

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Debris could be part of hijacked 9/11 jetliner, police say

A piece of wreckage from 9/11 believed to be one of the commercial jets that brought down the World Trade Center was uncovered near Ground Zero. Police have now turned the area into a crime scene. If the pieces contain human DNA, scores of victims who have never been positively identified may bring closure to many families. NBC's Stephanie Gosk reports.

By Shimon Prokupecz, NBCNewYork.com

A 5-foot-long chunk of airplane debris found near the World Trade Center site is believed to be a piece of landing gear from one of the planes that hit the towers more than 11 years ago, NBC 4 New York first reported.

Police confirmed Friday that?the part was found wedged between two buildings in a very narrow alley only about 18 inches wide between the rear of 50 Murray St. and back of 51 Park Place, the site where a mosque and community center has been proposed three blocks from ground zero.

See original report at NBCNewYork.com

---

The part bears a "Boeing" stamp, followed by a series of numbers, as seen in an exclusive photo obtained by NBC 4 New York.?

Police Commissioner Ray Kelly visited the alley Friday evening and viewed the debris from about 30 feet away.?

"It brings back terrible memories to anyone who's here, and obviously I think the families could very well be impacted by this finding," he said.?

Kelly described the piece as being about 5 feet by 4 feet and around 17 inches high, lying in a "very, very narrow, confined area."?

"It's difficult to get in there and see," he said.?

NYPD

The narrow alley in lower Manhattan where debris that might be pieces of landing gear from one of the commercial airliners destroyed on Sept. 11, 2001 was found.

He said there was rope intertwined in part of the gear, and there were no marks on the buildings indicating the piece hit the walls on the way down.

"It would have had to fall down at a certain angle," said Kelly.

Asked whether he was surprised to see such a large plane part anchored in such a tight area, Kelly said: "If you see how confined this space is, and you realize the chaos that existed down here on this street, it's not surprising. It's very, very confined. No cleanup went on in this 18-inch space between these two buildings."?

The NYPD said the landing gear was found after surveyors hired by the property owner inspecting the rear of 51 Park Place called police on Wednesday.

Police spokesman Paul Browne said the NYPD has?secured the location "as it would a crime scene," and investigators are photographing the scene and restricting access until the medical examiner completes a health and safety evaluation.

Officials said the soil below the piece of debris could also be searched for remains.?

Police officials say the part could be difficult to remove, and may require demolition work that would destroy the two surrounding buildings. Officials are expected to be back at the scene on Monday to see if it can be removed.

"It really is a historical artifact," Kelly said.

On Sept. 11, American Airlines flight 11 hit the north tower at 8:46 a.m., and United flight 175 hit the south tower at 9:03 a.m.

The rubble from the 9/11 attack was cleared from the 16-acre site by the spring of 2002. Other debris, including human remains, has been found scattered outside the site, including on a rooftop and in a manhole, in years since.

A Boeing representative declined comment.

NBC New York

The name Boeing and a serial number is visible on a piece of the debris.

This story was originally published on Fri Apr 26, 2013 4:43 PM EDT

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UK growth boosts sterling, world shares gain

By Richard Hubbard

LONDON (Reuters) - Surprisingly strong British growth lifted sterling on Thursday, while world shares rose for a fifth day as a recent run of weak data from other major economies raised expectations of looser central bank policies.

U.S. stock index futures signaled that Wall Street would start firmer as well, although a flurry of major corporate earnings could influence sentiment. <.n/>

The British economy grew by 0.3 percent in the first three months of 2013, beating forecasts of a 0.1 percent increase, as gross domestic product avoided a second successive quarter of decline that would have marked a formal return to recession.

Year-on-year, Britain's GDP expanded by 0.6 percent in the first quarter, its strongest performance since the end of 2011, sending the pound up nearly one percent to a two-month high of $1.

"The markets expected a moderate return to growth, and sterling had appreciated ahead of the announcement. But such a strong rebound promptly sent it skywards," said Chris Redfern, senior dealer at foreign exchange traders Moneycorp.

Sterling rose 1.2 percent against the dollar to $1.5450, its strongest level since February 20, as the GDP figures lessened the likelihood of the Bank of England opting for more quantitative easing. The yield on 10-year gilts also rose 3 basis points to 1.72 percent.

Britain's top share index the FTSE100 <.ftse>, was little changed after the data, which traders saying was largely due to the fact that a large proportion of big British firms generate revenues overseas.

Downbeat earnings weighed on the market on Thursday, with drugmaker AstraZeneca off 2.6 percent, leading the decliners after its sales dropped by a bigger-than-expected 13 percent in the first quarter as patent expiries took a heavy toll. <.l/>

ECB RATE CUT

The strong British data went against a recent disappointing run of economic news from Germany, China and the United States which has fuelled speculation about central bank action.

Senior sources have told Reuters that momentum is building for monetary action to help the recession-hit euro zone and the European Central Bank is likely to cut interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point next week.

Those expectations of an ECB rate cut have lifted European shares back towards their 2013 highs over the past week and kept the euro near a three-week low to the dollar,

On Thursday the FTSE Eurofirst 300 index <.fteu3> index of top European shares was up 0.5 percent at 1,198.50 points and close to the 1,209.05 peak hit in mid-March. Frankfurt's DAX <.gdaxi> was 0.7 percent higher and the Paris CAC-40 <.fchi> rose 0.25 percent. <.eu/>

MSCI's world equity index <.miwd00000pus> had gained 0.5 percent to 346.75 points and was edging back towards its high of for the year of 366.58, hit two weeks ago.

The euro was up 0.4 percent to $1.3070 despite the ECB rate cut talk, moving away from a low of $1.2954 recorded on Wednesday after a German survey of business morale was weaker than expected.

Yields on Italian and Spanish bonds turned higher on Thursday as investors took profits after a recent rally, leaving the Italian 10-year yield up 13 basis points at 4.13 percent. Spain's equivalent bond yield rose 14 basis points on the day to 4.43 percent.

DOLLAR DIP

The dollar was weak, easing 0.6 percent against a basket of major currencies <.dxy>, following news on Wednesday of the biggest drop for seven months in orders for long-lasting U.S. manufactured products. Against the yen it had dropped 0.4 percent to around 99.10 yen.

"Talk about an earlier than expected end to the Fed's quantitative easing program has certainly diminished in recent weeks, which has no doubt played a role in taking some of the wind out of the dollar's sails," said Westpac strategist Jonathan Cavenagh.

The dollar's falls gave a lift to gold and copper prices to recover to near one-week highs.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange rose to $7,046.25 a metric ton, close to its highest level since April 18.

Gold stood at $1,444.11 an ounce up nearly one percent and near its highest level since April 15, when it posted its biggest ever daily drop in dollar terms.

Brent crude oil was steady as the recent disappointing data from Europe and top oil consumers the United States and China, which have stoked worries about global demand for oil, kept a lid on prices.

June Brent crude futures, which have fallen over 5 percent since the start of April, gained 2 cents at $101.75 a barrel, while U.S. crude was up 14 cents at $91.57 a barrel.

(Additional reporting by Anirban Nag and Ana Nicolaci da Costa; Editing by David Stamp and Alastair Macdonald)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/asian-shares-tick-support-seen-global-monetary-stimulus-003433327--finance.html

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US economy accelerates at 2.5 percent rate in Q1

WASHINGTON (AP) ? U.S. economic growth accelerated to an annual rate of 2.5 percent from January through March, buoyed by the strongest consumer spending in more than two years. Government spending fell, though, and tax increases and federal budget cuts could slow growth later this year.

The Commerce Department said Friday that the economy rebounded from an anemic 0.4 percent annual growth rate in the October-December quarter. Much of the gain reflected a jump in consumer spending, which rose at an annual rate of 3.2 percent. That was the biggest such jump since the end of 2010.

Growth was also helped by businesses, which responded to the greater demand by rebuilding their stockpiles. And home construction rose further.

But government spending fell at a 4.1 percent rate, led by another deep cut in defense spending. The decline kept last quarter's increase in economic growth below expectations of a 3 percent rate or more.

Many economists say they think growth as measured by the gross domestic product is slowing in the April-June quarter to an annual rate of just 2 percent. Most foresee growth remaining around that subpar level for the rest of the year.

GDP is the broadest gauge of the economy's health. It measures the total output of goods and services produced in the United States, from haircuts and hamburgers to airplanes and automobiles.

Across-the-board government spending cuts, which began taking effect March 1, have forced federal agencies to furlough workers, reduced spending on public projects and made businesses more nervous about investing and hiring.

Consumers' take-home pay has also fallen because President Barack Obama and Congress allowed a Social Security tax cut to expire. A person earning $50,000 a year has about $1,000 less to spend this year. A household with two high-paid workers has up to $4,500 less. Consumers' take-home pay is crucial to the economy because their spending drives roughly 70 percent of growth.

Americans appeared to shrug off the tax increase at the start of the year. They spent more in January and February, helped by a stronger job market. In part, that's why growth is expected to be solid in the first quarter.

But hiring slowed sharply in March. And consumers spent less at retail businesses, a sign that many were starting to feel the tax increase. Economists expect spending to stay weak in the second quarter as consumers adjust to their smaller paychecks.

Ben Herzon, an economist at Macroeconomics Advisers, said the tax increases could shave roughly 1 percentage point from growth this year. He also expects the government spending cuts to reduce growth by about 0.6 percentage point.

The drop in government spending cut growth in the January-March quarter by 0.8 percentage point. Three-fourths of that decline came from defense spending.

Income growth slowed sharply after a big surge in the final three months of 2012. The fourth-quarter gain had reflected a rush to pay dividends and make bonus payments before higher tax rates took effect on Jan. 1. Incomes were also held back in the first three months by the increase in Social Security taxes.

The big jump in consumer spending, along with slower income growth, meant that the saving rate fell to 2.6 percent of after-tax income in the first quarter. That was down from 4.7 percent in the fourth quarter.

The first-quarter growth figures will be revised twice more based on more complete data.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-04-26-Economy-GDP/id-afd6e0dceb494d2895dc69aa24fd41e4

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Pot smokers aren't totally off the hook in Colorado

DENVER (AP) ? Medical and recreational marijuana may be legal in Colorado, but employers in the state can lawfully fire workers who test positive for the drug, even if it was used off duty, according to a court ruling Thursday.

The Colorado Court of Appeals found there is no employment protection for medical marijuana users in the state since the drug remains barred by the federal government.

"For an activity to be lawful in Colorado, it must be permitted by, and not contrary to, both state and federal law," the appeals court stated in its 2-1 conclusion.

The ruling concurs with court decisions in similar cases elsewhere and comes as businesses attempt to regulate pot use among employees in states where the drug is legal. Colorado and Washington state law both provide for recreational marijuana use. Several other states have legalized medical use. Police departments have been especially concerned since officers are sworn to uphold both state and federal laws.

The Colorado case involves Brandon Coats, 33, a telephone operator for Englewood, Colo.-based Dish Network LLC. Coats was paralyzed in a car crash as a teenager and has been a medical marijuana patient in the state since 2009.

He was fired in 2010 for failing a company drug test, though his employer didn't claim he was ever impaired on the job.

Coats sued to get his job back, but a trial court dismissed his claim in 2011. The judge agreed with Dish Network that medical marijuana use isn't a "lawful activity" covered by a state law intended to protect cigarette smokers from being fired for legal behavior off the clock. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, more than half of all states have such laws.

Dish Network did not return a call seeking comment.

Coats' attorney, Michael Evans, issued a statement saying the ruling has wide implications for Colorado marijuana laws.

"This case not only impacts Mr. Coats, but also some 127,816 medical marijuana patient-employees in Colorado who could be summarily terminated even if they are in legal compliance with Colorado state law," Evans noted.

Evans plans to ask the state Supreme Court to review the case.

Morgan Fox, spokesman for the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington, called it a setback.

"It's unfortunate, considering how much support there is for medical marijuana, that employers don't see this like any other medication," Fox said.

The Marijuana Policy Project said the ruling appears to be limited to state law because it does not fall under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act.

Judge John Webb dissented in the split decision, saying he couldn't find a case addressing whether Colorado judges should consider federal law in determining the meaning of a Colorado statute.

Marijuana supporters say the courts are discriminating against them because Colorado's Lawful Off-Duty Activities law protects workers being fired for legal behavior off the clock, citing cigarette smoking as a protected activity.

The court said lawmakers could act to change the law to protect people who use marijuana, but there have been no plans to do that at the state Capitol.

Colorado's amendment legalizing recreational marijuana doesn't give people a constitutional right to smoke pot and doesn't protect users from criminal prosecution, from being fired or from other negative consequences. Backers said smoking off the job was a gray area and warned people to be familiar with their employers' drug policies.

Coats told reporters Thursday afternoon that he obtained a prescription for medical marijuana to deal with debilitating muscle spasms that would otherwise prevent him from working. He has been looking for a job ever since being dismissed by Dish.

"I'm not going to get better anytime soon," said Coats. "I need the marijuana, and I don't want to go the rest of my life without holding a job."

The Washington state Supreme Court also has found that workers can be fired for using marijuana, even if authorized by the state's medical marijuana law.

Last year, a federal appeals court ruled against a cancer survivor in Battle Creek, Mich., who was fired from his job with Wal-Mart Stores Inc. after failing a drug test for marijuana. Joseph Casias had a medical marijuana card and said he used pot to alleviate symptoms of an inoperable brain tumor.

According to the Marijuana Policy Project, the California Supreme Court also has ruled that people could be fired for testing positive for marijuana. The Legislature passed a bill to change that in 2008, but it was vetoed.

In Arizona, however, a law approved by voters in 2010 forbids employers from terminating someone who possesses a state-issued card allowing them to use marijuana medically.

___

Associated Press writers Colleen Slevin, Peter Banda, Nicholas Riccardi and Eugene Johnson contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/court-says-pot-smokers-fired-even-colo-200634860.html

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Britain avoids recession with faster than expected growth

By David Milliken and William Schomberg

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain skirted a "triple dip" recession by growing faster than expected in the first three months of the year, providing some cover for a government under fire over its austerity drive.

The Office for National Statistics said on Thursday that Britain's gross domestic product rose 0.3 percent in the first quarter, above forecasts for a 0.1 percent rise.

It shrank 0.3 percent quarter-on-quarter in late 2012, and another quarterly contraction would have put Britain into its third recession in less than five years.

The data will have come as relief to Prime Minister David Cameron's coalition government. It is banking on an economic upturn before the next general election but has been accused by critics of stifling growth with too much budget cutting.

The International Monetary Fund - previously supportive of Britain's approach to deficit reduction - has also suggested some cuts may need to be deferred given the weakness in demand.

Thursday's data was also released just days after ratings agency Fitch stripped Britain of its top-notch credit status.

Chancellor George Osborne said the GDP data was encouraging and showed his strategy was working. He promised to stay the course on fixing Britain's budget problems.

"We all know there are no easy answers to problems built up over many years, and I can't promise the road ahead will always be smooth, but by continuing to confront our problems head on, Britain is recovering and we are building an economy fit for the future," he said in a statement.

The opposition Labour Party said the figures were "lacklustre" and showed the economy had only got back to where it was six months ago.

"David Cameron and George Osborne have now given us the slowest recovery for over 100 years," Ed Balls, Labour's economics spokesman, said in a statement, a complaint amplified in a new party political poster.

Sterling hit its highest level in two months against the dollar after the data and British government bond prices fell.

Britain's preliminary GDP figures are one of the first for a major advanced economy, and based mostly on estimated data. But it would be rare for a reading this high to be revised down into negative territory.

Year-on-year, the latest GDP reading was 0.6 percent higher, very low, but still the strongest rise since the end of 2011.

PITFALLS AHEAD

Nick Clegg, the deputy prime minister in the coalition government, said it was too early to declare an end to the country's economic crisis.

"I don't want anyone to think somehow we're out of the woods yet," he told a London radio station.

Osborne is sticking to his commitment to eliminate Britain's underlying budget deficit in five years. The stronger-than-expected GDP reading may help him when he tries to convince visiting economists from the IMF next month that Britain's economy is on track for recovery.

Analysts, however, warn of a broader problem of stagnation that has led some to warn that Britain risks a Japanese-style 'lost decade of near-zero growth.

Britain's GDP remains 2.6 percent below its peak in the first quarter of 2008 and even with Thursday's data, has stagnated for the past 18 months.

Rob Wood, an economist at Berenberg Bank, said a recovery appeared to be on the horizon but pitfalls lay ahead.

"The economy seems to have done a little better than the main surveys suggested but it is hardly a picture of rude health right now," he said. "We suspect there will be another couple of disappointing quarters to get through before the UK can see a return to sustainable growth."

The first-quarter rise in output was driven by a broad-based increase in services output, building on a strong January, with the motor trade particularly strong.

Industrial output was lifted by the biggest rise in the mining and quarrying sector since 2002, as some North Sea oil and gas fields came back on line after lengthy maintenance that depressed output in 2012.

(Additional reporting by Li-mei Hoang and Andrew Osborn; Editing by Jeremy Gaunt)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/uk-learn-entered-triple-dip-recession-042332800--business.html

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New matter-antimatter difference observed in LHCb experiment at CERN

Apr. 24, 2013 ? The LHCb collaboration at CERN today submitted a paper to Physical Review Letters on the first observation of matter-antimatter asymmetry in the decays of the particle known as the B⁰_s. It is only the fourth subatomic particle known to exhibit such behaviour.

Matter and antimatter are thought to have existed in equal amounts at the beginning of the universe, but today the universe appears to be composed essentially of matter. By studying subtle differences in the behaviour of particle and antiparticles, experiments at the LHC are seeking to cast light on this dominance of matter over antimatter.

Now the LHCb experiment has observed a preference for matter over antimatter known as CP-violation in the decay of neutral B⁰_s particles. The results are based on the analysis of data collected by the experiment in 2011. "The discovery of the asymmetric behaviour in the B⁰_S particle comes with a significance of more than 5 sigma -- a result that was only possible thanks to the large amount of data provided by the LHC and to the LHCb detector's particle identification capabilities," says Pierluigi Campana, spokesperson of the LHCb collaboration. "Experiments elsewhere have not been in a position to accumulate a large enough number of B⁰_s decays."

Violation of the CP symmetry was first observed at Brookhaven Laboratory in the US in the 1960s in neutral particles called kaons. About 40 years later, experiments in Japan and the US found similar behaviour in another particle, the B⁰ meson. More recently, experiments at the so-called B factories and the LHCb experiment at CERN have found that the B⁺ meson also demonstrates CP violation.

All of these CP violation phenomena can be accounted for in the Standard Model, although some interesting discrepancies demand more detailed studies. "We also know that the total effects induced by Standard Model CP violation are too small to account for the matter-dominated Universe," says Campana. "However, by studying these CP violation effects we are looking for the missing pieces of the puzzle, which provide stringent tests of the theory and are a sensitive probe for revealing the presence of physics beyond the Standard Model."

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research.

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. LHCb collaboration. First observation of CP violation in the decays of Bs mesons. Physical Review Letters, 2013 (submitted); [link]

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

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

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/1L5XiFpwIpM/130424094512.htm

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Sprint delays Galaxy S 4 in-store launch due to inventory issues, online and phone sales aren't affected (update: Samsung responds)

After T-Mobile said yesterday that it won't be able to offer Samsung's Galaxy S 4 through its online store quite as soon as it expected, Sprint has today announced a similar delay. The carrier originally planned to have Sammy's latest flagship available through all retail channels this Saturday (April 27th), but "unexpected inventory challenges from Samsung" have meant that although online and phone-based sales will open on that date as planned, you won't be able to wander into a Sprint store and pick one up until those supply issues are solved. When that'll be is anyone's guess, but we imagine Sprint will get them into consumers' hands as soon as possible in the hope of improving its balance sheet. See Sprint's full statement after the break.

Update: Samsung has also responded with an official statement, citing "overwhelming global demand" leading to inventory shortages. We've added the comment underneath Sprint's.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Samsung, Sprint

Comments

Via: AllThingsD

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/4qryomVI5Qs/

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Turkish PM rejects U.S. request to delay Gaza visit in May

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan will not reschedule his trip to the Palestinian Gaza strip, he said on Tuesday, despite a request to do so from the United States that had irked Ankara.

During a visit to Turkey on Sunday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry urged Erdogan to delay his visit to avoid endangering U.S. efforts to revive Ankara's ties with Israel and Middle East peace talks.

Erdogan, who has always underlined his desire to visit the Palestinian enclave, said last week he planned to go to Gaza following an official visit to the United States in May.

"Delaying my trip (to Gaza) is out of question. As I said in the past the Gaza trip will take place after my trip to the United States. There will be no delay," Erdogan told reporters, according to state media.

Erdogan's trip would take place at a critical period for Turkish-Israeli relations, frozen after the 2010 killing by Israeli marines of nine Turks aboard a Gaza-bound aid ship.

In March U.S. President Barack Obama brokered a first step in reconciliation between Israel and Turkey, which cut its once extensive ties with the Jewish state after the incident.

Persuaded by Obama, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu apologized last month and an Israeli delegation traveled to Ankara on Monday to discuss compensation to the victims' families.

Erdogan said his trip to Washington would be on May 14, while Turkish officials said earlier this month that his planned visit to Washington to meet Obama was on May 16.

(Writing by Parisa Hafezi; editing by Mike Collett-White)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/turkish-pm-rejects-u-request-delay-gaza-visit-122721218.html

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What drives activity on Pinterest?

Apr. 23, 2013 ? Researchers at Georgia Tech and the University of Minnesota have released a new study that uses statistical data to help understand the motivations behind Pinterest activity, the roles gender plays among users and the factors that distinguish Pinterest from other popular social networking sites.

Led by Assistant Professor Eric Gilbert of Georgia Tech's School of Interactive Computing, working in collaboration with Professor Loren Terveen from the University of Minnesota's College of Science and Engineering, the study reveals findings that could have implications for both academia and industry:

1. Female users have more re-pins, regardless of geographical location

2. Men typically have more followers on Pinterest than women

3. Four verbs set Pinterest apart from Twitter: "use," "look," "want" and "need"

"Those four verbs uniquely describe Pinterest and are particularly interesting," said Gilbert, who runs the Comp.Social Lab at Georgia Tech. "Words encapsulate the intent of people, revealing the motivations behind their actions. You can use the word 'this' after all of these verbs, reflecting the 'things' at the core of Pinterest. Many press articles have focused on Pinterest's commercial potential, and here we see verbs illustrating that consumption truly lies at the heart of the site."

Pinterest, which reached 10 million users faster than any other social network, revolves around the metaphor of a pin board: users "pin" photos they find on the web and organize them into topical collections. Pinterest users can follow one another and also re-pin, like and comment on other pins. After examining more than 200,000 pins, Gilbert and his team were able to compile the first statistical overview of the site.

"We wanted to take a closer look at Pinterest because of its differences compared to other social media, including its focus on pictures and products and the large proportion of women users," said Terveen, a co-author of the study. "These findings are an important early snapshot of Pinterest that help us begin to understand people's activity on this site."

Understanding the motivations behind activity on Pinterest is key, not only for researchers but also for business wishing to utilize the site for marketing purposes. A recent market survey showed that a higher proportion of Pinterest users click through to e-commerce sites -- and when they go there, they spend significantly more money than people who come from sites like Facebook or Twitter.

"There are several social networking sites that marketers and advertisers can take advantage of these days," said Gilbert. "After conducting this research, if I had to choose where to put my money and marketing, Pinterest would probably be my first choice."

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Georgia Institute of Technology.

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

---

Journal Reference:

1. Eric Gilbert, Saeideh Bakhshi, Shuo Chang, Loren Terveen. ?I Need to Try This!?: A Statistical Overview of Pinterest. Sociology of Education, 2013

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/most_popular/~3/qBhD0J55Poc/130423135722.htm

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Spring Homebuying &#39;Stuck&#39; Under Tight Inventory ... - AOL Real Estate

By Diana Olick

Like everything else in the spring, housing supply is supposed to grow. That's because warmer weather and the convenience for families to move during the summer make spring the busiest homebuying season historically. That is not the case this year. Home sales have been "stuck," according to Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, because there is just not much out there to buy.

The number of homes listed for sale increased by just 1.6 percent in March from February, according to the NAR, but supplies are still 17 percent below where they were a year ago. Realtors usually see listings swell by about 100,000 in March, but this year they saw just 30,000 more. They are hoping to see 200,000 to 300,000 more in April, but that seems unlikely, given potential seller reaction to the recent fast price appreciation in the market.

"If I am underwater in my equity and now suddenly I'm not, but I'm up 5 percent and the market around me is appreciating 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 percent, why don't I wait and perhaps get a 10 percent return on my investment, not a 5 percent return," noted Richard Smith, CEO of Realogy Holdings.

Inventories are tightest on the low end of the market, where investors came in and bought most of the distressed properties and are now holding them as single-family rentals. There is about a four-month supply of homes priced under $100,000, while there is around a 12-month supply of homes priced over $500,000. That's why sales of those low-end homes are down 16 percent from a year ago, and sales of higher-end homes are up 25 percent, according to the NAR.

"The housing shortage is going to continue," claimed Yun, who says the builders need to ramp up housing starts by 50 percent. He admits that is unlikely to happen due to land, labor and supply constraints. Weak supplies are pushing home prices up far faster than wage growth, which is keeping first-time buyers especially on the sidelines. These buyers made up just 30 percent of the market in March, compared to the historical norm of 40 percent to 45 percent. They just can't compete with all-cash investors.

But if prices get too high, investors could leave the market. Their share was already down in March to 19 percent compared to 22 percent just one month ago. The danger is that they will start to unload the homes they own, which would bring much-needed supply back but which could also turn home prices in the other direction.

See more on CNBC:
Why Housing Stalled: $1 Trillion in Student Debt
CNBC Explains REO
CNBC Explains Jumbo Mortgage

More on AOL Real Estate:
Find out how to calculate mortgage payments.
Find homes for sale in your area.
Find foreclosures in your area.
Find homes for rent in your area.

Follow us on Twitter at @AOLRealEstate or connect with AOL Real Estate on Facebook.

Source: http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/04/23/spring-home-sales/

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Appeals court upholds EPA block on W.Va. mine

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency had the legal authority to retroactively veto a water pollution permit for one of West Virginia's largest mountaintop removal coal mines years after it was issued, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia reversed a lower court's ruling in a case that has economic implications across coal country and potentially the nation. The case goes back to U.S. District Court for further proceedings.

The appellate court directed Judge Amy Berman Jackson to address the coal industry's argument that the EPA's action was an "arbitrary and capricious" violation of the Administrative Procedure Act, an issue she has not previously ruled on.

The holder of the permit, St. Louis-based Arch Coal, said it was disappointed in the ruling, but downplayed it as being "related to procedural aspects" of the case.

But U.S. Rep Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., warned the ruling could "open the floodgates to disrupting coal mining in West Virginia and elsewhere" and "upend the traditional balance that has existed between the states and the federal government in the permitting process."

He vowed to reintroduce the Clean Water Cooperative Federalism Act, which made it through the Republican-controlled House last year, to the bar EPA "from using the guise of clean water" to hinder the industry.

In January 2011, the EPA revoked a permit that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had issued four years earlier to Arch and its Mingo Logan Coal Co. subsidiary. The EPA concluded that destructive and unsustainable mining practices at the 2,300-acre Logan County mine would cause irreparable environmental damage and threaten the health of communities nearby.

Jackson later ruled that EPA had overstepped its authority by revoking a permit that had been thoroughly reviewed and properly issued by the corps.

Her ruling was panned by environmentalists and widely praised by coalfields politicians, both Democrats and Republicans who regularly complain about what they describe as a "war on coal" by President Barack Obama's administration.

Coal companies and other industries argued that the EPA's maneuver effectively such prevents permits from ever being considered final, and that could have a chilling effect on new construction and economic development nationwide.

Mountaintop removal is a highly efficient but destructive form of strip mining that blasts apart mountain ridge tops to expose multiple coal seams. The resulting rock and debris is dumped in streams, creating so-called valley fills. Spruce No. 1 would have buried nearly 7 miles of streams.

It was only the 13th time since 1972 that the EPA had used the veto authority and the first time it had acted on a previously permitted mine. The agency said it reserves the power for rare and unacceptable cases, but Jackson declared the action "incorrect and unreasonable."

Last fall, Arch argued that Congress never intended to give the EPA "unbridled power" over water-pollution permits for coal mines, and that final authority to issue, oversee and enforce permits issued under section 404 of the Clean Water Act lies solely with the corps.

The EPA countered that while the Clean Water Act lets the corps issue permits for the dumping of fill material, another section of the law gives the EPA the unambiguous right to "prohibit, deny, restrict or withdraw specification of fill disposal sites."

That power was created in a legislative compromise the EPA says was intended to let the agency do its job and prevent unacceptable environmental damage. The EPA says it can invoke that authority before, during or after the corps' permitting process.

The appellate decision, written by Judge Karen LeCraft Henderson, says Congress made its intent plain in "unambiguous language" giving EPA "a broad veto power extending beyond the permit issuance." Nor does the law impose a time limit for EPA to act, she wrote, instead empowering it to do so whenever it determines an "unacceptable adverse effect" will result.

National Mining Association President Hal Quinn said the decision "has pulled the regulatory rug out from under the feet of U.S. companies."

"As a result, a cloud of uncertainty now hangs over any project," he said, "and companies will no longer have the assurance required to encourage investments, grow our economy and create U.S. jobs."

U.S. Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., said the "misguided" decision could translate to lost jobs.

"If the EPA can take back a permit from a coal mine in West Virginia," she said, "they can do the same to any business in America."

But Dianne Bady of the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition called the ruling "a logical understanding of EPA's role to protect the environment and to protect people from environmental harm."

"The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has literally overseen the destruction of Central Appalachia and EPA oversight is needed to stop it," said Joe Lovett of Appalachian Mountain Advocates,

Earthjustice attorney Emma Cheuse said communities "can finally breathe a sigh of relief knowing that EPA always has the final say to stop devastating permits for mountaintop removal mining.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/appeals-court-upholds-epa-block-160331695.html

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Was Samsung caught fighting dirty in war against Apple?

Samsung

Samsung recently admitted fault ? to an extent ? after being accused of?false?advertising when a group of paid bloggers flooded the web with posts that attacked HTC and its devices. Samsung issued a statement saying that the posts were the result of a misunderstanding, but that might not mean these aggressive tactics are being cast aside. CNNMoney?s Phillip Elmer-DeWitt on Saturday published an article discussing a ?somewhat paranoid theory? that Samsung has quietly declared war on Apple after being called an iPhone copycat. The response to his article, as it turns out, suggests that the theory might not be so paranoid after all.

[More from BGR: iPhone sales projections are now so low it?s ridiculous]

Elmer-DeWitt?s initial post covered a theory being passed around among Apple investors that accuses Samsung of launching a multi-pronged attack against Apple using everything from anti-iPhone TV commercials to ?paying students and other heavy users of social media to post anonymous messages talking up the virtues of Samsung?s products and spreading fear, uncertainty and doubt about Apple and other competitors.?

[More from BGR: The cost of iPhone quality control: $1.2B in faulty phones returned by Apple in 2013 alone]

Seems a bit paranoid, no? But then,?Elmer-DeWitt?s article received more than 450 comments and, within the span of a few hours, more than a thousand votes were cast on the site?s commenting system up-voting anything positive about Samsung or negative about Apple (and about Elmer-DeWitt), and down-voting anything negative about Samsung.

A follow-up piece from the author on Sunday discussing the response to his first post was fairly damning:

The post drew more that the usual number of comments. Twenty six hours later, we?re up to 343 messages and counting. Some readers supported the thesis. Some ridiculed it. Some attacked Apple. Some attacked me.

That kind of thing comes with the territory, although not usually in such numbers or with such vehemence. But what happened at about 2 a.m. EST ? Sunday afternoon in Seoul, South Korea ? was new.

In the space of a few hours, more than a thousand votes were cast on the DISQUS feedback system, voting down any comment remotely anti-Samsung and voting up anything ? no matter how inane, in-artful or wrong ? that disparaged Apple, the thesis, or me.

This follow-up post had 373 comments as of the time of this writing, many of which sing Samsung various praises and accuse?Elmer-DeWitt of spreading pro-Apple?propaganda.

This article was originally published on BGR.com

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/samsung-caught-fighting-dirty-war-against-apple-145050429.html

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High school sports this week (4/22/13 ? 4/28/13) - My Southborough

by susan on April 22, 2013

Above: Algonquin girls lacrosse fell to Hopkinton last week by a score of 13-4 (photo by?Chris Wraight)

Here are the high school games on tap this week. Listed below are Algonquin varsity games. You?ll find a complete schedule of Algonquin sports, including JV and freshmen match ups,?here. Follow these links for the?Assabet sports schedule?and the?St. Mark?s sports schedule.

Monday, Apr 22, 2013

• 3:30 pm ? ARHS Boys Tennis vs. Wachusett Regional @ Algonquin
• 3:30 pm ? ARHS Girls Tennis vs. Wachusett Regional @ Wachusett Reg. High School
• 4:00 pm ? ARHS Baseball vs. Quabbin Regional High School @ Algonquin
• 4:00 pm ? ARHS Softball vs. Quabbin Regional High School @ Algonquin
• 6:30 pm ? ARHS Volleyball vs. Millis @ Millis

Tuesday, Apr 23, 2013

• 3:30 pm ? ARHS Girls Outdoor Track vs. Fitchburg @ Algonquin
• 3:30 pm ? ARHS Boys Outdoor Track vs. Fitchburg @ Fitchburg High School
• 4:00 pm ? ARHS Girls Lacrosse vs. Shrewsbury @ Algonquin
• 4:00 pm ? ARHS Boys Lacrosse vs. Shrewsbury @ Shrewsbury High School
• 4:00 pm ? ARHS Volleyball vs. Clinton @ Algonquin

Wednesday, Apr 24, 2013

• 3:30 pm ? ARHS Girls Tennis vs. Groton ? Dunstable Regional School District @ Algonquin
• 3:30 pm ? ARHS Boys Tennis vs. Groton ? Dunstable Regional School District @ Groton-Dunstable Regional High School
• 4:00 pm ? ARHS Baseball vs. Marlborough High School @ Marlborough High School
• 4:00 pm ? ARHS Softball vs. Marlborough High School @ Marlborough High School

Thursday, Apr 25, 2013

• 4:00 pm ? ARHS Boys Lacrosse vs. North Middlesex Regional @ Algonquin
• 4:00 pm ? ARHS Girls Lacrosse vs. North Middlesex Regional @ North Middlesex Regional High School
• 4:00 pm ? ARHS Rugby vs. North Quincy @ Algonquin
• 4:00 pm ? ARHS Volleyball vs. Wachusett Regional @ Algonquin

Friday, Apr 26, 2013

• 3:30 pm ? ARHS Boys Tennis vs. Shrewsbury @ Algonquin
• 3:30 pm ? ARHS Girls Tennis vs. Shrewsbury @ Shrewsbury High School
• 4:00 pm ? ARHS Baseball vs. Wachusett Regional @ Algonquin
• 4:00 pm ? ARHS Softball vs. Wachusett Regional @ Algonquin

Saturday, Apr 27, 2013

• TBD Outdoor Track:Boys Varsity District Relays vs. TBA @ TBA
• TBD Outdoor Track:Girls Varsity District Relays vs. TBA @ TBA
• 1:00 pm ? ARHS Boys Lacrosse vs. Longmeadow @ Algonquin
• 2:30 pm ? ARHS Girls Lacrosse vs. Concord-Carlisle @ Algonquin

Sunday, Apr 28, 2013

Source: http://www.mysouthborough.com/2013/04/22/high-school-sports-this-week-42213-42813/

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Terry&#39;s Restaurant in Betim Goa | Food | Know your city

It?s said that the fun dining and drinking in Goa happens North of the Mandovi. One visit to Terry?s in Betim and Revati Upadhya is their newest convert.

Any true-blooded Goan will tell you that all the fun to be had lies across the Mandovi. The hip and happening nightclubs, the choicest restaurants and the best foodie finds are in the belt that hosts the influx of tourists for half the year. But what about those of us who don?t want to trudge twenty kilometres or more, northwards, just for a good time with music, food, and drink?

The truth is, you don?t really have to go all the way up to the corners of Goa that are brimming with tourists. As we happily discovered, sometimes the fun is just a hop, skip and a splash away. For those of you living or holidaying in Panjim, Terry?s is a must-visit. Located in the village of Betim, this inconspicuous restaurant is best known for its steaks, sizzlers and continental fare. Along with some fresh draught beer (and a selection of other alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages), you can head here for an evening by the wharf, overlooking the glistening lights of Panjim in the distance.

We kept it simple with our drinks, choosing to cool off on a summer evening with a chilled Tuborg Tower that is a tall contraption designed to sit on your table and keep your beer chilled, while you use a nifty tap to pour yourself a mug and keep topping it up as you go. For Rs 400, this tower is good for at least five mugs. Starters included Bacon-wrapped sausages ? aptly called Choplater (Rs 180), which were recommended by our waiter. Delicious bits of peppered sausages enveloped in crispy bacon strips, fried to a crisp ? a fitting companion with our amber drink.

Photograph courtesy: ?Suraj Rivonkar

The good thing about Terry?s is that the menu caters to a wide selection of cuisines, with continental as its mainstay. Also on the menu are North Indian, Goan, Italian pastas and bakes, and a few Chinese rice, noodles and gravy options. It?s not often that multi-cuisine restaurants can flaunt promising options like French Onion Soup and Thai salads, so we tried a Chicken Thai Salad (Rs 170) instead, veering away from the Goan staples of fried fish and prawns, for a change.

Onward to the main course, we picked the simple Southern Fried Chicken (Rs 280) ? chicken breast stuffed with cheese and crumb-fried to a golden crisp. This is served with generous portions of saut?ed vegetables and the creamiest mashed potatoes.

In a happy coincidence, the live musical act for the evening played some classic rock, as we sipped on our beer and dug into the chicken drenched in pepper sauce. Live acts, karaoke and theme nights ensure you will have your feet tapping, a song on your lips and a swing in your step right through the night. But if you?re there just for the food and drink, choose the outdoor seating to kick back and enjoy the evening with nothing but the sound of the river lapping by and the intermittent ferry lolling along, to keep you company.

If you?re looking for an all-day dining option with family, a pleasant place to catch a drink with friends, or a cheery hideaway for your Friday night date, pick Terry?s. Lets sweeten the deal with the fact that you can have a great time without burning a mighty hole in your pocket.

Must try: Southern Style Chicken, Thai Chicken Salad

Meal for two: Rs 1000 + taxes (inclusive of drinks)

Source: http://know.burrp.com/food-dining/terrys-restaurant-in-betim-goa/51250

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