Fujifilm X10

The Fujifilm X10 ($599.95 direct) may look like an older camera on the outside, but it's a purely digital point-and-shoot with some nice features that photographers should appreciate. Along with the X100 and recently announced X-Pro1, the camera is part of Fuji's X series?a group of unique cameras that are aimed at enthusiasts. The X10 is set apart from other point-and-shoots by its larger image sensor, bright optical viewfinder, abundant physical controls, and Raw shooting capability. It doesn't manage to oust the Canon PowerShot S100 ($429.99, 4.5 stars) as our Editor's Choice for high-end compacts, but if you're looking for a zooming compact with a good optical viewfinder, the camera is worth consideration.

Design and Features
From a distance, the X10 could easily be mistaken for a 1970s-era 35mm camera. Its all-black finish and optical viewfinder fit the bill, but the camera's disguise is betrayed by the modern rear LCD and an abundance of button and dials. It's a bit larger than most compact cameras, measuring 2.7 by 4.6 by 2.2 inches (HWD) and weighing in at 12.3 ounces. The Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5 ($499.99, 3.5 stars), which delivers a similar zoom range but lacks an optical finder, is only 2.6 by 4.3 by 1.7 inches and a bit lighter at 9.5 ounces.

Unlike most modern cameras, the X10 lacks a power switch. To turn the camera on, you must remove the lens cap and twist the lens away from its Off position. You also twist the lens to change its focal length?there are no power zoom controls like on other compact cameras. This gives you more control over the zoom action, but also makes the camera a bit awkward to use?especially if you're shooting via the optical viewfinder. Other cameras in this class have optical finders, including the Canon PowerShot G12 ($499.99, 2.5 stars), but they are generally much smaller and don't lend themselves to regular use.

The viewfinder is bright and clear enough for regular use, but it is not without its foibles. It doesn't cover the entirety of the frame, only about 80 percent, so for tightly-composed photos you'll probably want to use the rear LCD. It is also without any sort of information display. There is no focus confirmation, so you'll have to place your trust in the camera's autofocus system. By default, the camera uses a center focusing point, although you can change that manually. If you use something other than center as the point, it's up to you to remember where in the frame the camera is focusing and translate that to a position in the finder.

Placing trust in the autofocus is not something to be worried about?I was able to raise the camera to my eye for quick street shots and the X10 nailed the focus quickly and consistently. There is an option to have the camera make an audible beep when focus is locked, but street shooters are likely to disable this. There is no way to separate the focus confirm beep and the shutter sound clip, which is unfortunate as the desire to have an audible confirmation of focus lock does not go hand-in-hand with that to have the camera play a fake shutter noise when a photo is snapped.

I also found that using the zoom lens and the optical finder together could be a bit awkward. My hand would generally get in the way of the finder when adjusting the focal length, which makes grabbing quick shots difficult. I also inadvertently added fingerprints to the front of the finder when operating the zoom on several occasions, which very noticeably affected its clarity.

The 4x zoom lens is the equivalent of a 28-112mm f/2-2.8 in 35mm photography. It's a very sensible zoom range?although it lacks the telephoto reach needed for sports, birding, and similar applications. Other top-end compacts feature similar zoom ranges and fast lenses, although the Nikon Coolpix P7100 ($499.95, 4 stars) leads the pack with a 7.1x (28-200mm f/2.8-5.6) lens. The camera has a very nice macro mode to allow you to focus on objects that are very close to the lens. Enabling it also enables the rear LCD, as you cannot get accurate framing with the optical finder when shooting on a close object due to parallax. This is true for any camera that has a viewing lens that is offset from its taking lens.

The X10's rear LCD isn't the best in its class. It is 2.8 inches in size, a bit smaller than the 3-inch displays?that are par for the course in this class of camera, but does offer the same 460k dot resolution that is common to the Canon PowerShot S100, Panasonic LX5, and Canon G12. Both the Nikon P7100 and the Samsung TL500 ($449, 3 stars) offer 921k dot screens. The X10's LCD is bright, so you won't have any trouble using it on a sunny day?and the optical finder is there if you're in a situation where glare cannot be avoided?but it's easier to confirm critical focus on a higher-resolution display.

You'll find a number of physical controls on the X10. The top-mounted Mode Dial allows you to toggle between shooting modes, and another dial makes it easy to dial in EV compensation from -2 EV to +2 EV in third-stop increments. The shutter button features a standard thread, which makes it possible to add a soft release button or to use a manually shutter release cable to grab a photo. Rear controls include a 4-Way Command Dial, AE-L/AF-L, and a button to switch from JPG to Raw shooting for a single shot. There is also a standard rear command dial which will adjust aperture in A mode, shutter speed in S mode, and can be used to navigate through menus.

The menu system isn't the most intuitive; in my testing, some of the settings were a bit hard to find. The Raw shooting mode is actually located in the Settings area rather than the Shooting Menu where I'm used to seeing it. Once the initial setup is complete you won't have to spend a lot of time diving into menus?there are enough physical controls so you can avoid that. The X10 also supports a few film emulation modes, including Provia, Velvia, and Astia film stocks as well as a few different black and white shooting modes.

Even though the 2/3-inch image sensor in the X10 is larger than those found in most point-and-shoots, it is smaller than that found in interchangeable lens cameras like the Nikon J1 ($649.95, 3.5 stars), Olympus E-PM1 ($499.99, 4 stars), and our Editors' Choice, the Sony Alpha NEX-C3 ($649.99, 4.5 stars)?all of which are similarly priced to the X10. The main reason to opt for a compact over one of these mirrorless shooters is portability. Larger lenses are required to capture enough light to cover larger image sensors, where a compact camera like the X10 is able to get the job done with a much smaller lens. Canon's recently announced G1 X ($799.99) is set to change this a bit, as its sensor is larger than that of a Micro Four Thirds camera, but the camera itself is only slightly larger than the X10.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/3I62bOo2nhM/0,2817,2399338,00.asp

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Kelly Clarkson Announces New Single, Pays Tribute to Etta James

While Christina Aguilera had the floor during Etta James' funeral on Saturday, and used it to belt out a version of "At Last," former American Idol champion Kelly Clarkson paid tribute to the late, great artist in her own way last week, as well.

"This isn’t ‘At Last’ because everyone really covers that and so I wanted to do my favorite, actually," Kelly told a crown in New York City. "My favorite song is ‘I’d Rather Go Blind.’ So, this is for Etta!”

Kelly Clarkson - I'd Rather Go Blind (Live)

On Saturday night, meanwhile, during a performance in Pennsylvania, Clarkson also announced her next single, "I Forgive You." It will hit the radio any day now.

We can't wait!

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2012/01/kelly-clarkson-announces-new-single-pays-tribute-to-etta-james/

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London Bus Checker makes a stop on Android, wants to make London travel a bit easier

Anyone who lives in or has ever visited London will be well aware of the often nightmarish transportation around the city. A new app to stop by the Android Market, London Bus Checker, aims to take away some of the pain of using a bus in the Capital. 

We'll get the boring bits out of the way first: It is a paid app, setting you back a very reasonable £1.24. There is a "lite" version though which offers up a 30-day free trial before you have to open your wallet. 

The idea behind it is very simple, to provide anyone planning to use a bus in London with as much real time information as possible across the 20,000 bus-stops in the city. The implementation is what sets it apart though, as the information is pulled live from the Transport for London services which provides accurate, up to the minute data. 

The app will locate you via GPS, and then by selecting the relevant stop you can see live arrival/departure information, full route maps, and real time diversion and cancelation information. There's even a homescreen widget that you can set for your local stop and receive the same real-time information right there. 

Applications like this and Hailo (for taxis), are brilliant reasons why smartphones are fast becoming an everyday necessity. Hit the break for download links to the free 30-day lite version and a short promo video from the developers. 

read more

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/zkIIUa00G4Y/story01.htm

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Santorum's Hypocrisy Highlighted by Daughter's Illness (ContributorNetwork)

COMMENTARY | Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum suspended his bid for the GOP nod to run against Barack Obama when his daughter, Bella Santorum, was hospitalized, according to the Associated Press. Bella suffers from Trisomy 18, a rare genetic disorder in which a baby has some or all of an extra chromosome. While it is always tragic for a parent to face losing a child, the situation highlights a political issue: Santorum's hypocrisy on health care, abortion and embryonic stem cell research.

Santorum's campaign website discusses his views on these matters. He is emphatically against a woman's right to control her own body in reproductive matters and is adamantly opposed to embryonic stem cell research. He is against a single-payer national health care system provided to all citizens. He opposes the first two on religious grounds on the third for reasons of political dogma.

As to abortion, Santorum flip-flops on his opposition, according to a Care2.com report. It's easy for him to rail against abortion when such ranting might win him votes.

It's also easier for him to oppose it because he has the best health care in America available to him and his family -- provided at taxpayer expense, no less. He never had to consider whether care for a terminally ill child would destroy his family financially.

Unless the U.S. enacts a national health care plan most families will never be able to afford the care needed for a child with Trisomy 18. Santorum's family will never lack for health care or face crippling medical debt -- but as far as he's concerned it's fine for your family to have those problems.

Santorum's opposition to embryonic stem cell research is ludicrous for two reasons. First, such research involves the collection of cells from a blastocyst, a blob of about 150 cells so small the human eye cannot detect it, according to the National Institute for Health. Second, such research could save the lives of his daughter and countless others suffering from her condition. It's despicable for him to fight against the best possible hope for a cure to the very condition killing his child.

It makes me wonder how Santorum's opinion might change if he was an average American with a household income of less than $50,000 per year and no health insurance. I bet he'd sing a different tune.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20120129/pl_ac/10899655_santorums_hypocrisy_highlighted_by_daughters_illness

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Cain backs Gingrich's presidential bid

WEST PALM BEACH, Florida (AP) ? Former presidential hopeful Herman Cain is backing Newt Gingrich's White House bid.

Cain endorsed Gingrich Saturday, just days before Florida's primary, at a Republican fundraiser.

Gingrich was also slated to speak to the group later Saturday night.

Gingrich, a former House of Representatives speaker, is in a fierce fight for Tuesday's Florida's Republican primary with Mitt Romney.

Cain, a favorite of the conservative tea party movement and a former pizza executive, left the race before the first nominating contests facing accusations of unwanted sexual advances. He remains popular, however, and would be a late boost for Gingrich.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2012-01-28-Cain-Gingrich/id-31ba59c2604845ac90e64d6e9fd6d5d5

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Smartphones drive record Samsung profit (Reuters)

SEOUL (Reuters) ? Samsung Electronics Co posted a record $4.7 billion quarterly operating profit, driven by booming smartphone sales, and will spend $22 billion this year to boost its production of chips and flat screens to further pull ahead of smaller rivals.

The South Korean firm, the world's top technology firm by revenue, is locked in breakneck competition with Apple Inc in the red-hot smartphone market, and said its telecoms business earned a record 2.64 trillion won profit in October-December on increased sales of its flagship Galaxy smartphones.

October-December operating profit of 5.3 trillion won was broadly in line with its earlier estimate and topped the previous record profit of 5 trillion won in the second quarter of 2010. The profit was up 76 percent from a year ago and 25 percent higher than in the third quarter.

"This year, the smartphone market will expand to more mid-and low-end models that are affordable to the wider public," said Baik Jae-yer, fund manager at Korea Investment Management.

"Rather than focusing on market share, I would point out the strong contribution of Samsung's handset business to earnings growth and margins. The battle of the two big smartphone powers, Apple versus Samsung, will go on."

Samsung trails Nokia in the overall mobile phone market, competes with Sony Corp and LG Electronics Inc in televisions, Toshiba and Hynix in chips and LG Display in displays.

Samsung said it will increase its investment this year by 9 percent to 25 trillion won, with 15 trillion won of that going to the chips division, 6.6 trillion won on flat screens and the rest mainly to boost capacity at overseas production sites and to build research and development centers.

RIVALRY WITH APPLE

Apple, overtaken by Samsung as the world's biggest maker of smartphones in the third quarter, looks certain to have regained the top spot in the fourth quarter with record sales of 37.04 million iPhones.

Samsung did not provide its own sales volume data for the fourth quarter, but said smartphone shipments rose by around 30 percent, suggesting sales of around 36 million, in line with analysts' estimates of 35-37 million.

Samsung only entered the smartphone market in earnest in 2010, some three years after Apple first introduced the iPhone with the touchscreen template.

Samsung may not have come up with the concept, but it has adopted Apple's breakthrough idea perhaps better than any other handset maker - and now seeks to offer the Apple experience at a better price, with better functionality.

Apple is Samsung's biggest client, buying mainly chips and displays, and the two firms are locked in a bruising patent battle in some 10 countries from the United States to Europe, Japan and Australia as they jostle for top spot in the booming smartphone and tablet market.

Apple, though, is streets ahead in profitability. Apple, which generates half its revenue from the iPhone, boasts a 37.4 percent operating margin versus Samsung's 11 percent, and its $17.3 billion operating profit is almost four times what Samsung earned from selling phones, chips, flat screens and TVs combined.

"Apple had good sales, but it's very unlikely this will be a trend that will overwhelm Samsung later," said Kim Young-chan, analyst at Shinhan Investment & Securities.

"There were many end-of-year promotions and, most importantly, the impact from (Apple founder Steve Jobs') death on sales growth can't be ruled out.

"It's unlikely Samsung and Apple will fight over each other's market share, but they will eat up the market share of smaller companies like HTC and RIM."

Shares in Samsung, also the world's top maker of memory chips and TVs, have risen by close to a fifth in the past three months and hit a life high of 1.125 million won earlier this week, outperforming a 3 percent gain on the KOSPI.

The stock was up 0.3 percent in early Seoul trading at 1.116 million won, while the broader market was a touch lower.

(Additional reporting by Seoul newsroom; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Jonathan Hopfner)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120127/bs_nm/us_samsung

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Romney is the aggressor in final Florida debate

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

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

CORRECTS LOCATION TO THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH FLORIDA, INSTEAD OF UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA - Republican presidential candidates former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney participate in the Republican presidential candidates debate at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, Fla., Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

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

CORRECTS LOCATION TO THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH FLORIDA, INSTEAD OF UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA - Republican presidential candidates, from left, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, stand during the National Anthem at the Republican presidential candidates debate at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, Fla., Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Republican presidential candidates former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney participates in the Republican presidential candidates debate in Jacksonville, Fla., Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) ? An aggressive Mitt Romney repeatedly challenged Republican rival Newt Gingrich Thursday night in the final debate before next week's critical Florida primary, demanding an apology for an ad saying he harbors anti-immigrant sentiments and ridiculing the former House speaker's call to colonize the moon.

"If I had a business executive come to me and say I want to spend a few hundred billion dollars to put a colony on the moon, I'd say, 'You're fired,'" Romney declared. That was just one particularly animated clash between two rivals struggling for supremacy in the race to pick an opponent to President Barack Obama in the fall.

Gingrich responded heatedly. "You don't just have to be cheap everywhere. You can actually have priorities to get things done." He said that as speaker of the House he had helped balance the budget while doubling spending on the National Institutes of Health.

The debate was the 19th since the race for the Republican nomination began last year, and the second in four days in the run-up to Tuesday's Florida primary. Opinion polls make the race a close one ? slight advantage Romney ? with two other contenders, former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania and Texas Rep. Ron Paul far behind.

Gingrich's upset victory in the South Carolina primary last week upended the race for the nomination, and Romney in particular can ill-afford a defeat on Tuesday.

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

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

There were some moments of levity, including when Paul, 76, was asked whether he would be willing to release his medical records. He said he was, then challenged the other three men on the debate stage to a 25-mile bike race.

He got no takers.

In the days since Romney's loss in South Carolina, he has tried to seize the initiative, playing the aggressor in the Tampa debate and assailing Gingrich in campaign speeches and a TV commercial.

An outside group formed to support Romney has spent more than his own campaign's millions on ads, some of them designed to stop Gingrich's campaign momentum before it is too late to deny him the nomination.

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

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

"Mr. Speaker, I'm not anti-immigrant. My father was born in Mexico. My wife's father was born in Wales. ... The idea that I'm anti-immigrant is repulsive. Don't use a term like that," he added.

At the same time, Romney noted that Gingrich's campaign had been pressured to stop running a radio ad that called Romney anti-immigrant after Florida Sen. Marco Rubio called on Gingrich to do so.

He called on Gingrich to apologize for the commercial, but got no commitment.

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

The audience erupted in cheers when Romney said he'd fire an executive who came to him with such a costly plan, but he wasn't finished.

He said the former speaker had called for construction of a new Interstate highway in South Carolina, a new VA hospital in northern New Hampshire and widening the port of Jacksonville to accommodate the larger ships that will soon be able to transit the Panama Canal.

"This idea of going state to state and promising people what they want to hear, promising hundreds of billions of dollars to make people happy, that's what got us into trouble in the first place," Romney said.

Gingrich responded that part of campaigning is becoming familiar with local issues, adding, "The port of Jacksonville is going to have to be expanded. I think that's an important thing for a president to know." He went on to refer to completion of an Everglades project that he did not describe, then noted he had worked to expand NIH while he was speaker.

Gingrich raised questions about Romney's wealth and his investments. "I don't know of any American president who's had a Swiss bank account," Gingrich said. Romney replied that his investments were in a blind trust over which he had no control. "There's nothing wrong with that," declared Romney, who has estimated his wealth at as much as $250 million.

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

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

Debating in a state with a large and influential Jewish population, Romney and Gingrich vied to stress their support for Israel rather than criticize one another.

And all four men were quick to name prominent officials of Hispanic descent who deserved consideration for the Cabinet. Gingrich trumped the other three, saying, "I've actually thought of Marco Rubio in a slightly more dignified and central role," an evident reference to the vice presidential spot on the ticket.

Immigration was a recurring theme.

Gingrich said Romney was misleading when he ran an ad accusing the former House speaker of once referring to Spanish as "the language of the ghetto." Gingrich claimed he was referring to a multitude of languages, not just Spanish.

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

As for immigration policy, it was difficult to discern their differences.

Both men said they want to clamp down in illegal immigration, create programs to make sure jobs go only to legal immigrants and deport some of the 11 million men and women in the country unlawfully.

Gingrich has never said how many illegal residents he believes should be deported, preferring to say that the United States is not going to begin rounding up grandmothers and grandfathers who have lived in the United States for years.

Romney agreed that was the case ? and Gingrich said that marked a switch in position.

"Our problem is not 11 million grandmothers," Romney said. "Our problem is 11 million people getting jobs that many Americans, legal immigrants would like to have."

Romney and Gingrich also exchanged jabs over investments in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, two mortgage giants that played a role in the national foreclosure crisis that has hit Florida particularly hard.

Gingrich said Romney was making money from investments in funds that were "foreclosing on Floridians."

Romney quickly noted that Gingrich, too, was invested in mutual funds with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. He then added that the former House speaker "was a spokesman" for the two. That was a reference to a contract that one of Gingrich's businesses had for consulting services. The firm was paid $300,000 in 2006.

___

Associated Press writers Brian Bakst, Kasie Hunt and Steve Peoples contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2012-01-27-Republicans-Debate/id-4d502c9bfd304ace8b300406743beb30

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Bugging equipment found in Mexico lawmaker offices (AP)

MEXICO CITY ? A search of several Mexican lawmakers' offices turned up recording equipment, leading legislators to believe they have been spied on for years, a congressman said Wednesday.

Congressman Armando Rios said security personnel found microphones and other devices that seemed to have been installed years ago.

"Some of the equipment has newer technology, but other devices are from a long time ago, which leads us to believe they were installed years ago," said Rios, a member of the leftist Democratic Revolution Party, or PRD.

Rios said the offices of key committees and of several lawmakers from different political parties were bugged.

"What is at stake is the vulnerability of the legislature, of one of the powers of the union," Rios said.

Congress president Guadalupe Acosta, also of the PRD, on Tuesday filed a complaint with federal prosecutors, who opened an investigation.

Acosta wouldn't identify the lawmakers who were being spied on or who he thinks was behind the espionage. Rios blamed the government of President Felipe Calderon, who belongs to the conservative National Action Party, or PAN.

Interior Secretary Alejandro Poire denied Rios' accusations and said the government has done nothing illegal.

Mexico's main intelligence agency allegedly spied on the government's political opponents during the 71 years of rule by the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI.

After PAN candidate Vicente Fox won the 2000 presidential election, he announced that the agency, the Center for National Security and Investigation, would no longer spy on political opponents. But in 2008, under Calderon, the agency hired a private company to monitor the activities of legislators.

Legislators complained they were being spied on but the government said it was simply collecting public information.

Several secretly recorded telephone conversations of government officials or politicians have been made public in Mexico in the last few years.

In 2006, the former governor of Puebla state, Mario Marin, was implicated in a revenge plot against a journalist after Mexican news media released a recorded telephone conversation. In it, he allegedly speaks with a businessman about punishing Lydia Cacho, who had written a book that accuses one of their acquaintances of being a child molester.

In 2010, a radio station broadcast a telephone conversation between then federal lawmaker Cesar Godoy and alleged drug trafficker Servando Gomez, known as "La Tuta." In it, Godoy and Gomez express support for each other and discuss bribing a reporter.

Shortly after the recording was released, Godoy, who is now a fugitive, was charged with aiding drug trafficking and money laundering.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mexico/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120126/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_mexico_lawmakers_espionage

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Colts hire Ravens' Pagano as new head coach (AP)

INDIANAPOLIS ? The Indianapolis Colts hired Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano as their new head coach on Wednesday.

The team said Pagano will be introduced at a news conference on Thursday. It will be the first head coaching job for the 51-year-old Pagano, who has been a career assistant until now with stops in Oakland and Cleveland in the NFL and stints at schools including Miami and North Carolina.

He replaces Jim Caldwell, who was fired after the Colts' 2-14 season in which quarterback Peyton Manning never played a down as he recovered from neck surgery.

The move is just the latest in a dizzying series of changes by owner Jim Irsay.

The Colts fired Caldwell last week after three seasons. The team went to the Super Bowl during Caldwell's first year, but this year locked up the No. 1 overall draft pick with a horrid performance that also cost team vice chairman Bill Polian and his son, general manager Chris, their jobs.

Irsay has since hired 39-year-old Ryan Grigson as the new GM while letting go of Caldwell's staff. In all, 11 of the 20 coaches who started the season are gone and others they may go, too, once Pagano arrives.

Pagano spent three years as the Ravens' secondary coach before replacing Bryan Mattison as Baltimore's defensive coordinator a year ago. The Ravens ranked third in total defense and allowed the third-fewest points in the NFL.

Marvin Lewis, Mike Nolan and Rex Ryan all held the position before becoming head coaches in the NFL, and now it's Pagano's turn.

The Wyoming graduate and former strong safety for the Cowboys began his coaching career in 1984 as a graduate assistant at Southern California and spent time at in the college ranks at Boise State, UNLV, East Carolina and Miami before joining Cleveland to coach the secondary. In 2005-06, he was defensive backs job at Oakland, then served as defensive coordinator at North Carolina before joining the Ravens when John Harbaugh became head coach four years ago.

"Chuck is unorthodox," Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs said. "He's like The Joker. You never really expect what he's going to do, and everything has a motive."

The Ravens considered Pagano to be just one of the guys.

"What makes him good? He relates to the players a whole lot," defensive end Cory Redding said. "He's almost like a player in a D-coordinator's position. The guy has so much fun with us. He treats you like more than a player. It's like we're his sons. He wants us to do well. He keeps it fresh. He knows everybody's strengths and puts them in position to make plays."

Asked last month if he had aspirations to be a head coach, Pagano replied, "When I was a kid growing up, my dad being a football coach, he asked the same question of all the assistants that he ever hired: `Is your goal to be a head football coach?' He always said if somebody had answered him, `Not really, I'm OK just being a position coach,' then I don't think he really wanted him on his staff because he wanted ambitious guys.

"I think if you ask anybody they'd say yeah. That would be something you always work for and toward."

Ravens linebacker Paul Kruger believes Pagano has what it takes to be a head coach in the NFL.

"Chuck has a leadership quality about him. He's humble but he also knows when to take the reins and take charge," Kruger said. "He doesn't try to dominate you in every meeting. He's just a coach that knows exactly how players are and what direction they need. He's a hell of a coach and I really think he'll be a head coach one day."

___

AP Sports Writer David Ginsburg in Baltimore contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120125/ap_on_sp_fo_ne/fbn_colts_pagano

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Obama pushes energy plan in campaign-style tour (Reuters)

LAS VEGAS (Reuters) ? President Barack Obama pitched a plan on Thursday to boost U.S. use of natural gas and open more land for offshore drilling during a campaign-style tour aimed at bolstering confidence in his economic stewardship.

At a stop in Las Vegas, Nevada, the Democratic president sought to counter Republican criticisms of his energy policies as he proposed tax incentives for companies to buy natural gas trucks, which would help build demand for abundant domestic supplies of the fuel.

Republicans have hammered Obama on his handling of the energy issue, and were angered by his decision to block the Keystone XL Canada-to-Texas oil pipeline, which they say would have created jobs and reduced U.S. dependence on oil from the Middle East.

Obama said the United States needs an "all-out, all-in, all-of-the-above strategy" to develop energy resources at home and that doing so would create American jobs. Critics complain that Obama, gearing up for the November 6 election in which he is seeking a second term, favors a green agenda over traditional oil and gas energy development.

"A great place to start is with natural gas," Obama said during a visit to a UPS facility in Las Vegas, which received stimulus funding to invest in liquefied natural gas vehicles and build a public LNG refueling station.

"We've got a supply of natural gas under our feet that can last America nearly a hundred years," he said. "Developing it could power our cars, our homes, and our factories in a cleaner and cheaper way. The experts believe it could support more than 600,000 jobs by the end of the decade."

Obama, seeing some improvement in his poll numbers, is touring five states - Iowa, Arizona, Nevada, Colorado and Michigan. The trip follows his State of the Union address on Tuesday in which he took a combative tone toward congressional Republicans and spoke of the need to reduce income inequality.

Obama's overall approval ratings had sagged amid voter concern over the lackluster economy, but his popularity has inched higher and in some recent surveys has climbed above the important 50 percent threshold.

In Tuesday's address to a joint session of Congress, Obama spoke of the nation's booming natural gas sector, which has grown dramatically in recent years as advances in technology have unlocked vast new reserves.

Later on Thursday, Obama will visit Buckley Air Force Base in Aurora, Colorado, where the Air Force is installing a one-megawatt solar panel system, and where last year it test-piloted jets that run on advanced biofuels.

A CLEAN ALTERNATIVE?

Increasing domestic natural gas consumption would benefit drillers, as U.S. natural gas prices have fallen sharply because of the growing glut and the relatively warm winter.

Using domestic natural gas as a cleaner alternative to importing foreign oil has been heavily promoted by Texas oil billionaire T. Boone Pickens and has attracted support from both sides of the aisle in Congress.

Still, Obama's natural gas truck proposal, which would need congressional approval, could face an uphill battle to make it into law. Republicans, campaigning on promises to cut government spending, would likely resist costly energy subsidies.

Similar measures aimed at expanding tax breaks for natural gas vehicles have failed to break through partisan gridlock, and conservative groups have opposed such legislation on the grounds that government should not be in the business of picking winners and losers in the energy sector.

Obama also announced that the Interior Department will hold the last scheduled offshore lease sale of the government's current five-year drilling plan in June, offering 38 million acres (15 million hectares) for development in the central Gulf of Mexico.

In December, the department held its first offshore lease sale since the massive BP oil spill in April 2010. Companies successfully bid more than $337 million for rights to drill in the Gulf.

Analysts said those results were a sign that drilling is rebounding in the Gulf after the administration temporarily shut down deepwater exploration after the BP disaster.

Still, oil and gas industry backers have complained that the administration has hindered drilling through slow permitting and a raft of new rules implemented since the 2010 oil spill.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/science/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120126/pl_nm/us_obama_energy_natgas

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After Penn State, states reconsider sex abuse laws (AP)

HARTFORD, Conn. ? The child sexual abuse scandal at Penn State University has prompted state lawmakers across the nation to take another look at laws designed to protect children and punish child predators.

Thirty-eight legislatures are back in session this month, most for the first time since retired assistant Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky was charged in November with child sex abuse and two school officials were charged with failing to properly report abuse allegations. At least 12 states are considering mandatory reporting legislation this year, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, and more are expected to craft bills as their sessions get into full swing.

In addition to measures to improve the reporting of suspected child sex abuse, bills have been drafted across the country that would increase or even eliminate the statutes of limitations for bringing criminal or civil cases against alleged abusers.

"The alleged incidents at Penn State I think awakened something in our national consciousness about protecting our kids," said Mike Feuer, a California assemblyman and chairman of that legislature's Judiciary Committee.

Feuer, a Los Angeles Democrat, is sponsoring a bill that would have employees at universities added to the list of mandated reporters in his state, which already includes teachers, doctors and others.

"If we were to fail to pass a bill like the one I have introduced in California only to have subsequent abuse occur, we will look back on this moment as a wasted opportunity to protect a child who will never get that moment back," he said.

Forty-eight states currently require at least some professionals to immediately report knowledge or suspicion of child sexual abuse to some authority, according to the NCSL. Eighteen of those states require every adult to be a mandated reporter.

New Jersey is another state looking to expand its mandated reporter law, and is also considering legislation that would remove a two-year time limit for bringing civil lawsuits against alleged abusers.

Assemblyman Peter J. Barnes III, D-Middlesex, the chairman of his chamber's Judiciary Committee, said he and others have been trying to get the legislation passed for years. He said now seems to be the perfect time.

"I think Penn State will be the watershed moment," he said. "Many states are going to be prompted to strengthen not only their criminal laws, but their civil laws as well, which is what we're doing."

States, including Pennsylvania, are setting up task forces or holding informational public hearings in an attempt to draft comprehensive legislative packages that might address several concerns.

Connecticut lawmakers held a hearing this week as mourners gathered at Penn State for a series of public memorial events honoring former football coach Joe Paterno, who died Sunday of lung cancer. Penn State's board of trustees fired Paterno after he was criticized over his handling of the child sex abuse allegations against Sandusky.

As the Connecticut legislature considers how to move forward, it will consider mandated reporting, setting standards for youth camps and programs at the state's public college, said state Rep. Diana Urban, co-chairwoman of the Select Committee on Children.

She said the key is making sure the proper authorities have all the information they need.

"We don't want information to go awry and to have children exposed to situations that will impact them for the rest of their lives."

Sandusky, 67, is accused of sexually abusing 10 boys over a 15-year period. He and the two school officials maintain their innocence.

Advocates for abuse victims are pushing hard for legislation to be passed this year, recognizing that the Penn State scandal presents an opportunity to cut through the government's red tape.

"It is a mobilization time. But just as important, it is a public information time," said Jim Hmurovich, chief executive of Prevent Child Abuse America. "We need to get the message out that sex offender registries and treatment services for victims and mandatory reporting requirements are important, but they're not the whole picture. Let's think about way up the river so the child never gets hurt in the first place."

Jetta Bernier agrees. A national child-abuse expert who runs Massachusetts Citizens for Children, she said the lessons learned from the recent scandal involving the Catholic church is that it doesn't help to have stiff penalties, if the warning signs of abuse are ignored or go unnoticed. She supports legislation like a bill being considered in West Virginia that would spend $1.1 million in public funds to increase child-abuse education and prevention efforts.

""It's good to begin strengthening reporting requirements, but if people don't know what to look for, the reporting just isn't going to cut it," she said. "People need to know how to identify and how to prevent. That's a piece that I have found missing in a lot of these attempts to push legislation forward."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120125/ap_on_sp_ot/us_penn_state_legislation

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Heated charges, counter-charges in Florida debate (AP)

TAMPA, Fla. ? Republican presidential contenders Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich clashed repeatedly in heated, personal terms Monday night in a crackling campaign debate, the former Massachusetts governor tagging his rival as a Washington "influence peddler," only to be accused in turn of spreading falsehoods over many years in politics.

"You've been walking around the state saying things that are untrue," Gingrich told his rival in a two-hour debate marked by occasional interruptions and finger-pointing.

The event marked the first encounter among the four remaining GOP contenders ? former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and Texas Rep. Ron Paul shared the stage ? since Gingrich won the South Carolina primary in an upset last weekend.

His double-digit victory reset the race to pick a rival to challenge Democratic President Barack Obama this fall, and the next contest is the Jan. 31 Florida primary.

With a week of campaigning ahead, Romney is expected to release his income tax return for 2010 as well as an estimate for 2011 on Tuesday. He said it will show he paid all the taxes he was obligated to pay, adding, "I don't think the voters want a president who pays more than he owes."

Following his defeat in South Carolina, Romney can ill afford to lose in Florida, and he was the aggressor from the opening moments Monday night. He said Gingrich had "resigned in disgrace" from Congress after four years as speaker and then had spent the next 15 years "working as an influence peddler."

In particular, he referred to the contract Gingrich's consulting firm had with Freddie Mac, a government-backed mortgage giant that he said "did a lot of bad for a lot of people and you were working there."

Romney also said Gingrich had lobbied lawmakers to approve legislation creating a new prescription drug benefit under Medicare.

"I have never, ever gone and done any lobbying," Gingrich retorted emphatically, adding that his firm had hired an expert to explain to employees "the bright line between what you can do as a citizen and what you do as a lobbyist."

Romney counterpunched, referring to the $300,000 that Gingrich's consulting firm received in 2006 from Freddie Mac, the government-backed mortgage giant.

And when Gingrich sought to turn the tables by inquiring about the private equity firm that Romney founded, the former Massachusetts governor replied: "We didn't do any work with the government. ...I wasn't a lobbyist."

As for the Medicare prescription drug benefit, Gingrich expressed pride in having supported it. "It has saved lives. It's run on a free enterprise model," he said in a state that is home to millions of seniors.

Whatever the stated subject, the debate's subtext was character ? and electability, the quality that Republican voters say consistently matters most to them in the race.

Gingrich said voters don't want a president who will "manage the decay," but change the country. "That requires sending somebody who's prepared to be controversial when necessary."

Romney pointed to his career in business, his turn as head of the Salt Lake City Olympics and a term as governor of Massachusetts.

Obama took his lumps, as customary in a Republican debate.

Romney said the president lacks a vision for NASA, and said, "There are people on the Space Coast that are suffering and Florida itself is suffering as a result."

He proposed that "a collection" of academics and private investors consult with the president on a new mission for the space agency and have the program funded jointly by the government and private industry.

Gingrich called that answer "building a bigger bureaucracy" and instead proposed handing out prizes to people who come up with ways to "make the Space Coast literally hum with activity." Going back to the moon permanently, putting a man on mars and building space stations should be priorities, he said.

When the debate turned to immigration, one moderator noted that Romney and Santorum have said they would veto the "Dream Act," which would create conditions under which illegal immigrant minors might achieve U.S. citizenship, and asked if Gingrich agreed.

"No, I would work to get a signable version," he said. "I think any young person brought here by their parents when they were young should have the same opportunity to join the American military and earn citizenship."

Romney said that was the same as his position.

Moments later, he was asked to reconcile two other statements he has made about immigration, that while he doesn't want to deport millions of illegal immigrants, he wants them to return to their home countries and apply for citizenship. "The answer is self-deportation, which is people decide they can do better by going home," he said.

At times, the other two contenders on stage were reduced to supporting roles.

Asked if he could envision a path to the nomination for himself, Santorum said the race has so far been defined by its unpredictability.

He jumped at the chance to criticize both Romney and Gingrich for having supported the big federal bailouts of Wall Street in 2008.

He also said both men had abandoned conservative principles by supporting elements of "cap and trade" legislation to curb pollution emissions from industrial sites. "When push came to shove, they were pushed," he said.

Paul sidestepped when moderator Brian Williams of NBC asked if he would run as a third-party candidate in the fall if he doesn't win the nomination. "I have no intention," he said, but he didn't rule it out.

Paul has said he will largely bypass Florida to concentrate on states that are holding caucuses.

Hit at the outset with Romney' charge that he had resigned Congress in disgrace and went on to a career peddling his own influence, Gingrich said two men who had run against the former governor in the 2008 campaign, John McCain and Mike Huckabee, had said he couldn't tell the truth.

The polls post-South Carolina show Gingrich and Romney leading in the Florida primary. That and the former speaker's weekend victory explained why the two were squabbling even before the debate began, and why they tangled almost instantly once it had begun.

Romney began airing a harshly critical new campaign ad and said the former House speaker had engaged in "potentially wrongful activity" with the consulting work he did after leaving Congress in the late 1990s.

Gingrich retorted that Romney was a candidate who was campaigning on openness yet "has released none of his business records."

He followed up two hours before the debate by arranging the release of a contract his former consulting firm had with the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. for a retainer of $25,000 per month in 2006, or a total for the year of $300,000. The agreement called for "consulting and related services."

Despite Romney's attempts to call Gingrich a lobbyist, the contract makes no mention of lobbying.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/gop/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120124/ap_on_el_ge/us_republicans_debate

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Another side of Ai Weiwei shown in Sundance film (Reuters)

PARK CITY, Utah (Reuters) ? A new documentary film offers a glimpse into the life of Chinese artist and dissident Ai Weiwei, conveying a creative, brave, yet humble man who has become more cautious following his 81-day government detention in 2011.

"Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry," which premiered at the Sundance film festival on Sunday, features interviews China's leading artists and activists and people who surround Ai in is life.

It includes footage that humanizes the man, showing suprising tears from his mother worried about his safety, the artist playing with his young son, and highlights from his projects such as a poor response to the 2008 Sichuan earthquake.

Ai, who was named the world's most powerful artist by U.K-based ArtReview magazine in October since his release, appears in interviews only before his detention, but not after his release.

The 54-year-old bearded, burly Chinese artist wanted to attend the Sundance screening "but felt it was just going to invite too much trouble," the film's director Alison Klayman told the audience after a standing ovation in Park City, Utah, where the festival takes place.

Ai became a symbol for China's crackdown on artists and dissidents when his disappearance and secret detention after battling Chinese authorities sparked an international outcry.

Last November he paid a bond of 8.4 million yuan (then $1.3 million) on a tax evasion charge, which he denies, while his supporters continued to raise the full, combined bill of 15 million yuan (then $2.4 million.)

Klayman spent several years chronicling his rise to prominence and told the audience she believed the detention of the artist, which became a rallying point for China's free speech and other movements, had changed him.

"There was absolutely a change. I really think about it as: there was the time before the detention and there was the time after," she said. "The big thing is that he is constantly changing, he always has been, so I don't know where it is going to end up."

INSIGHT INTO AI

The film offers audiences some insight into Ai's childhood, family, formative time spent living for years in New York and his reasons for often criticizing China's government, which is expressed in many of his contemporary works.

"If you don't act, the danger becomes stronger," says Ai, who had a hand in designing the Bird's Nest stadium at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and has had installations at some of the world's major museums including London's Tate Modern Gallery.

"Never Sorry" shows his efforts gathering and listing more than 5,000 names of students who died in the Sichuan earthquake,

pointing to shoddy school construction and claiming that he was punched in the head by police in Sichuan's capital Chengdu.

But it also offers glimpses of a loving father and stoic son rarely publicly separated from his art and activism.

"Every night I can't sleep," his mother, Gao Ying, says to him in the film before breaking down in tears because she is worried she will not see him again.

"We'll endure what we can," he answers calmly, before later calling himself "an eternal optimist."

Klayman, who doubted there would be a public screening of the film in China, told the audience it was clear that being a father had altered Ai's life, too, along with detention.

He seems more careful, she said, when talking about footage in the documentary showing that upon his release, Ai uncharacteristically speaks little to reporters.

"He does have to be a lot more cautious. If this was a year ago he would be here," said Klayman.

(Reporting By Christine Kearney; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/movies/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120123/stage_nm/us_sundance_aiweiwei

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ASUS sneak attacks the business world with 12.5-inch B23E laptop

ASUS was plenty busy at CES last week, but it held back at least one product on us -- the B23E. This 12.5-inch business laptop packs a Core i5 or i7, up to 8GB of RAM and a maximum 750GB hard drive in a magnesium-aluminum alloy case. Other expected Pro-series niceties are also in tow, including a fingerprint reader, spill-proof keyboard and an anti-shock mounted hard disk. Looking at the spec sheet though, it's not all gravy for this 3.4-pound PC. For one ASUS doesn't state how long it will last on a charge, but we can't imagine the three-cell 4,400mAh battery is going to impress with its longevity. We're also sad to see resolution top out at a pedestrian 1366 x 768. For more details hit up the product page at the source link.

Gallery: ASUSPRO B23E laptop

ASUS sneak attacks the business world with 12.5-inch B23E laptop originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 22 Jan 2012 09:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/LssQmPhx0ow/

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Seth Smigelski: 5 Hiking Trails for Dogs in Los Angeles (PHOTOS)

The cast of Modern Family took a stroll down this ridge in season two and the trail is even better in real life. Westridge-Canyonback Wilderness Park has some of the most liberal dog rules around L.A., allowing dogs to be off leash under their owner's immediate control. The three-mile roundtrip hike on Canyonback Ridge is a favorite for pet owners and has big views over L.A. Find the trailhead two miles west of the 405 on Mulholland Drive.

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/seth-smigelski/dog-friendly-hikes-la_b_1224843.html

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Sen. Brown, rival agree to curb Mass. attack ads (AP)

BOSTON ? Republican U.S. Sen. Scott Brown and his chief Democratic rival, Elizabeth Warren, have signed a pledge to curb political attack ads by outside groups in their Massachusetts Senate race.

Under the terms of the deal, each campaign would agree to donate half the cost of any third-party ad to charity if that ad either supports their candidacy or attacks their opponent by name.

At least one outside group that has targeted Warren immediately raised objections to the deal, while two outside groups that have targeted Brown said they were inclined to respect the deal, with one pledging to suspend its advertising.

Brown first laid out the basic terms of the deal last week, but top-level staffers for both candidates were unable to reach a final deal on Friday.

Then early Monday morning, Warren responded, saying she was ready to sign off on the deal as long as it included a few final changes, such as adding Internet advertising to the deal and closing any other loopholes that could permit third parties to help one campaign or the other by running ads.

Even as she agreed to the deal, Warren conceded she wasn't absolutely sure it would hold.

"Do we know it will succeed? No. But I do know that we go into this in good faith to try to have a chance to make our best case to the voters of Massachusetts," Warren told reporters Monday. "I think that's worth trying."

Brown quickly agreed to the changes, and signed what he described as the "People's Pledge."

"This is a great victory for the people of Massachusetts, and a bold statement that puts Super PACs and other third parties on notice that their interference in this race will not be tolerated," Brown said in a statement.

Both campaigns then quickly pointed out that each has already been the target of outside advertising.

The U.S. Supreme Court has paved the way for millions of dollars in spending by super PACs following a trio of decisions capped by the landmark Citizens United case in 2010, which eased restrictions on the use of corporate money in political campaigns.

Referring to Warren's background as a Harvard professor, Brown said "the extreme liberal groups who planned to pollute the airwaves with their false and misleading ads in support of Professor Warren can now pack their bags and find someplace else to do their dirty work."

Brown has come under fire from the League of Conservation Voters and the League of Women Voters, which have spent a total of about $3 million on separate ad campaigns criticizing him.

The League of Women Voters' ad rapped Brown for voting with other Senate Republicans to ban the Environmental Protection Agency from controlling gases blamed for global warming. They urged Brown to "protect the people and not the polluters." Another spot by the League of Conservation Voters slammed Brown for siding with "big oil."

The League of Conservation Voters issued a statement Monday saying it was inclined to honor the agreement.

"The only thing oil companies have going for them are their deep pockets, so if this agreement will help sideline them, we welcome it," said Navin Nayak, the group's senior vice president of campaigns. "We hope that Scott Brown will honor his end of the deal when Crossroads and the Koch Brothers inevitably break it."

Warren also pointed to outside ads that have targeted her campaign, specifically Crossroads GPS, an affiliate of American Crossroads, a group with ties to GOP political operative Karl Rove, has already sponsored two ads.

One Crossroads ad used spliced images of Warren with rowdy Occupy Wall Street protesters to claim that she "sides with extreme left" protesters who "attack police, do drugs and trash public parks." A second ad by the group then painted Warren as being too cozy with Wall Street.

The president of American Crossroads, Steven Law, criticized the deal, saying it fails to cover union phone banks, direct mail, and get-out-the-vote drives, "all union core specialties."

"Warren's latest agreement has loopholes the Teamsters could drive a truck though, the longshoremen could steer a ship through," Law wrote.

Warren said she wasn't surprised by Law's comments.

"So let me get this straight. Karl Rove, the king of dirty tricks, doesn't like this agreement?" she said. "Ultimately I don't kid myself about this. The law is what the law is following Citizens United. These groups can legally come in and play these dirty tricks."

The Crossroads GPS ads and the ads from the League of Women Voters and the League of Conservation Voters would all appear to come under the terms of the agreement.

Brown's campaign has also pointed to online ads from Rethink Brown ? a political action committee formed last year "to encourage Massachusetts voters to make up their own minds about U.S. Senator Scott Brown's actual record."

The group said Monday it will suspend its advertising as long as other outside groups adhere to the deal.

"Rethink Brown will comply with this agreement between the two candidates, while continuing to educate the voters about the real Scott Brown record," the group said in a statement.

A spokesman for Warren's campaign said joint letters signed by Warren and Brown will be going out to third-party groups ? including Rethink Brown and American Crossroads ? asking them to pull their ads.

The Senate campaign is expected to be one of the costliest in state history.

Warren has reported raising $5.7 million during the final three months of 2011, eclipsing Brown's $3.2 million for the same period. Brown still enjoys an overall money advantage with $12.8 million in cash on hand, compared to the more than $6 million Warren has in her account.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/uscongress/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120123/ap_on_el_se/us_massachusetts_senate_attack_ads

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Is South Carolina Primary A Must-Win For Mitt Romney?

A clear victory could all but secure the nomination for Romney, but a close call or loss would be detrimental, experts say.
By Gil Kaufman

Mitt Romney
Photo: Joe Raedle/ Getty Images

No Republican has ever won his party's presidential nomination without notching a win in South Carolina. That's just one reason former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney is hoping that when the dust clears Saturday night (January 21), he will be celebrating his second primary win in a row and, in theory, the key to his party's nomination.

South Carolina was expected to present Romney with his biggest challenge to date, due to its heavy Evangelical population. The man vying to be the Republican Party's first Mormon presidential nominee was up by anywhere from 11 to 15 points in polls taken in the week before Saturday's vote, with some predicting he'd get more than 40 percent of the vote. By Friday morning, however, a number of polls had him in either a dead heat with or trailing former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. Both men were well ahead of former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum and Congressman Ron Paul.

In addition to his eroding poll numbers, Romney suffered a series of unfortunate events Thursday when a further analysis of the vote in Iowa revealed that Santorum had actually won the too-close-to-call Iowa caucus by 34 votes, erasing Romney's razor-thin eight-vote win and his bragging rights for going 2-and-0. A short time later, Texas Governor Rick Perry abruptly dropped out of the race, throwing his support behind Gingrich.

"If [Romney] wins South Carolina, it depends by how much. If he wins by 15, I would say, yes, he's [the presumptive nominee]; if it's in the close single digits, he's not running at a pace to get the majority of the delegates," said Columbia University professor of political science Robert Y. Shapiro, an expert in voting and political behavior. "All Gingrich has to do is stay in and if can run close enough and continue to raise money he could keep running."

Romney, who still has his solid New Hampshire win in pocket, has been taking heavy fire from Gingrich over the past few weeks. The former congressman has taken Romney to task for what he has deemed his opponent's "vulture capitalist" ways while running the investment firm Bain Capital, where Romney oversaw the shuttering of a number of businesses, resulting in numerous layoffs. Romney has hit back at Gingrich for what he labeled an attack on "free enterprise," accusing him of sounding like a Democrat in his criticisms.

Larry Parnell, an associate professor and program director of the graduate school of political management at George Washington University, said the net effect of a potential Romney win and a possible shift in Perry voters to Gingrich could turn what he described as a "circular firing squad" of GOP nominees into a duel between the two men. "If [Romney] wins South Carolina, he will still have to deal with Gingrich, and it could slow him down," said Parnell, a former press aide for the presidential campaign of Democrat Jimmy Carter.

In terms of appearances, Parnell said even with a win in South Carolina, Romney is not likely to declare himself the presumptive candidate, because it could draw even more fire from his remaining opponents. "It's in his best interest to keep conducting himself the way he has," he said. "To say that now he's ready to take on President Obama is just waving a red flag in front of Gingrich." As long as he continues on the slow-and-steady path of wins, Parnell said, Romney should be able to weather the storms and likely come out on top.

After the now-narrow loss in Iowa and a more convincing win in independent-leaning New Hampshire, observers have been looking to the solidly red state of South Carolina as the first test of whether Romney can convince traditional Evangelical voters that he is the right choice for the party. Parnell said that given South Carolina's record in picking the eventual establishment candidate, any deviation from that norm (i.e., a too-close-to-call Gingrich finish or win) could cause some serious problems for Romney. A win, however, would prove Romney is a viable national candidate and ease the pressure on him to win over the party's still-reluctant-to-commit base.

Over the past week, Gingrich urged Santorum and Perry to drop out of the race so conservative voters can rally behind just one "anti-Romney" candidate, arguing that he is the only remaining candidate who knows how to build a national campaign. Even as his poll numbers jumped, though, Gingrich faced another obstacle Thursday when his second ex-wife appeared in an ABC News interview in which she claimed the former speaker had urged her to have an "open" marriage so he could continue an affair with his then-mistress, now-wife Callista.

Both men agreed a solid Romney win in South Carolina could all but ensure his eventual path to the nomination, though a close Gingrich finish could propel the ex-congressman to Florida's primary January 31.

Check back for up-to-the-minute coverage on the primary races and stick with PowerOf12.org throughout the 2012 presidential election season.

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1677670/mitt-romney-south-carolina-primary-preview.jhtml

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Darfur peacekeeper killed, three wounded: U.N. (Reuters)

KHARTOUM (Reuters) ? One international peacekeeper was killed and three others wounded in Sudan when gunmen ambushed their patrol in the troubled Darfur region on Saturday, UNAMID peacekeepers said.

The Western region is the scene of an almost decade-long insurgency by non-Arab tribes against the government in Khartoum, which they accuse of political and economic marginalization.

Unknown gunmen attacked the patrol near El Daein in South Darfur and killed one peacekeeper, a spokesman for the joint African Union/U.N. Mission UNAMID said.

Two of the wounded peacekeepers were in critical condition, he said, without giving the nationalities of the peacekeepers.

The United Nations has said as many as 300,000 people may have died in Darfur, where Khartoum has mobilized troops and mostly Arab militias to crush the uprising. Khartoum puts the death toll at 10,000.

Qatar brokered a peace deal which Sudan signed this year with the Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM), an umbrella association of smaller groups. But major other rebel groups have refused to sign the document.

In November, Darfur's main insurgent groups and rebels in two border states said they had formed an alliance to topple Bashir.

(Reporting by Ulf Laessing Editing by Maria Golovnina)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/africa/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120121/wl_nm/us_sudan_darfur

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Small SC wildly succeeded at making voice heard (AP)

CHARLESTON, S.C. ? South Carolina Republicans established their presidential primary more than three decades ago as way to raise the state's national political profile. They wildly succeeded.

Ever since 1980, when Ronald Reagan won, every candidate who has won the GOP primary in this Southern state of fewer than 5 million has gone on to claim the Republican presidential nomination. State party officials are fond of saying the road to the White House passes straight through South Carolina.

Harry Dent, the late South Carolinian who engineered Richard Nixon's 1968 Southern strategy of appealing to Southern conservatives, and the late state GOP Chairman Dan Ross are generally credited with planting the seeds for the primary.

Former Gov. James B. Edwards, who in the 1970s was the first GOP governor of the state in modern times, says no one at the time thought the presidential primary would morph into what it has become today bringing all the major GOP candidates to crisscross the state with hundreds of reporters in tow.

"I wasn't that foresighted and I don't know that anybody else was or not. I doubt it," said Edwards, who is now 84.

South Carolina is a different battleground from the corn fields of Iowa and predominantly white New Hampshire. The state is poorer, more conservative and has a population that is 28 percent black. Voters don't register by parties so Democrats and independents enter the mix in the primary.

The state has also proven a second-chance for candidates who have stumbled in earlier contests with their different constituencies.

In the GOP primary in 2000, Texas Gov. George W. Bush beat Sen. John McCain of Arizona after he was upset by McCain in New Hampshire. Four years ago, it was McCain who capped a comeback following a dismal showing in Iowa with a win in New Hampshire and another in South Carolina.

Republican state Sen. John Courson, elected to the Senate in 1984, was a Reagan delegate in 1976 when Reagan lost the nomination to President Gerald Ford. Reagan supporters wanted a primary in 1980 because they believed Reagan would fare better against former Texas Gov. John Connelly in an open primary than in a traditional nominating convention.

Courson said two elements have helped to make the primary a success: It's always been the first in the South and has always been held on a Saturday, which party leaders knew would bring conservative Democrats to the polls.

"We had to be the first-in-the-South primary. If any other Southern large state, like Texas or Florida, were before us, we would not see the candidates," he said.

What is lost with all the candidates trooping through is that the primary also helped build the modern Republican Party in South Carolina. Until 2008, the party ran the primary using volunteers. Now it's the job of the State Election Commission.

Getting volunteers involved was central to building the GOP.

"If you start working with the party and working at the polls and organizing the primary, that gives you the stimulus to be a real party," Edwards said.

Much of the proof is in the office-holding.

In 1980, when the GOP presidential primary was established, only 23 of the 170 South Carolina state lawmakers and one of the nine statewide office-holders were Republican. Today, there are 103 GOP lawmakers and the party holds all nine statewide offices.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120121/ap_on_el_pr/us_south_carolina_primary_history

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