ABC nixes 'Extreme Makeover: Home Edition'

What's going to make us sob like little babies now?!

  1. More Entertainment stories
    1. Stern's new gig has some 'AGT' fans fuming

      When NBC announced that the self-proclaimed King of All Media has indeed signed on to join the show, the immediate respons...

    2. Report: 'Teen Mom' Amber violated probation
    3. 'Toddlers' mom says pageants are like drugs
    4. 2011's most searched person? Justin Bieber
    5. Sandra Bullock talks big screen return

ABC has canceled "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" after nine heartwarming seasons of tear-jerking tales of sorrow and hardship bookended by even more tear-jerking scenes of joy and excitement when a family gets the keys to their brand-new house.

MORE: Michelle Obama Visits Extreme Makeover: Home Edition

"For nine seasons, I was blessed to have been given the opportunity to change lives across the globe with the help of loving communities, generous sponsors, and a cast that has become my second family," interior designer Michael Moloney said in a statement. "I was lucky to have this show as a perpetual reminder of my own blessings, but my work won't stop with the end of the series. It is with a somber heart I close this chapter, but with such excitement I begin the next one."

ABC says that "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" ? which back in 2005 was pulling in an average 16 million viewers a week but dipped to less than 9 million last season ? will continue in the form of periodic TV specials.

The Emmy-winning series will sign off in true "Extreme Makeover" fashion on Jan. 13 with its 200th episode, shot in the tornado-ravaged town of Joplin, Mo.

    1. 'Like'?The Clicker

      Get the latest TV and reality TV news by following?our blog?on Facebook and Twitter!

    2. 'Like' us on Facebook
    3. @TODAY_Clicker on Twitter

Ty Pennington and crew headed over there in October to help not one, not two, but seven families who lost their homes.

That's seven-times the tears, people!

GALLERY: DVR DOA: The Shows You're Deleting

Which episode in the show's history was the most memorable for you? Share your thoughts on the Facebook page for our TV blog, The Clicker.

Source: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/45689473/ns/today-entertainment/

condoleezza rice road house who do you think you are frank mccourt ricin in god we trust ben gibbard

Judge Dismisses Sony "Other OS" PS3 Class Action

ps3Back in mid 2010, Sony made the decision to remove a feature from the PS3 firmware that was much beloved by the modding community. Of course we?re referring to the ?Install other OS? option. Well, a cadre of angry nerds filed a class action suit shortly thereafter, but a judge has just dismissed the case once and for all.

Judge Richard Seeborg expressed sympathy for the plaintiffs, but ruled that the case lacked merit. In accordance with applicable law, he found that the distressed gamers failed to show they were legally entitled to the feature. In February of this year the same court struck down most of the case, but allowed the aggrieved party to amend the complaint. This time it?s game-over.

Users of the classic ?fat? PS3 that wanted to continue running Linux on the device had to give up Blu-Ray playback and PSN access. While many found this unacceptable, it looks like Sony won?t be penalized for making them choose.?

Source: http://www.maximumpc.com/article/news/judge_dismisses_sony_other_os_ps3_class_action

walmart black friday 2011 packers vikings bob costas jerry sandusky chelsea clinton kat von d tiki barber minnesota vikings

Tennessee home burns as firefighters watch (AP)

SOUTH FULTON, Tenn. ? A Tennessee couple has lost everything after their home burned to the ground as firefighters watched and did nothing.

Vicky Bell told WPSD-TV that she called 911 when her mobile home in Obion County caught fire. Firefighters responded but did not put out the blaze because she does not subscribe to the local fire service ( http://bit.ly/t639Wo).

Bell says she could "look out my mom's trailer and see the trucks sitting at a distance."

Rural residents who want fire protection can get service from the nearby town of South Fulton, but they must pay a $75-a-year fee. South Fulton Mayor David Crocker said that if the city's firefighters responded to people who didn't pay there would be no incentive for anyone to subscribe. He said firefighters will help when people are in danger, regardless of whether they have paid.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111206/ap_on_re_us/us_home_left_to_burn

tropic thunder justin bieber baby justin bieber baby credit unions tower heist reviews recursion amy schumer

Few teens sexting racy photos, new research says (AP)

CHICAGO ? Teen sexting of nude photos online or via cellphone may be far less common than people think, new research suggests.

Only 1 percent of kids aged 10 to 17 have shared images of themselves or others that involve explicit nudity, a nationally representative study found. Roughly the same number said they'd shared suggestive but less graphic photos; while 7 percent said they'd received either type of picture.

The research focused on teens only ? not young adults, an age group included in some earlier studies which showed considerably higher sexting participation. The new study suggests texting of sexual photos among younger kids is rare.

The results are reassuring, showing that teen sexting isn't rampant, usually isn't malicious, and is generally not something parents should panic over, said lead author Kimberly Mitchell, a research assistant psychology professor at the University of New Hampshire.

Previous reports said as many as 1 in 5 young people, or 20 percent, have participated in sexting. But some surveys included older teens and people in their early 20s. And some used definitions of sexting that included racy text messages without photos, or images "no more revealing than what someone might see at a beach," authors of the new study said.

In the new study, researchers focused only on pictures, and asked more detailed questions about the kinds of racy photos kids are sharing.

The researchers did a separate study on how police deal with teen sexting of photos. Contrary to some reports, that research suggests few kids are being prosecuted or forced to register as sex offenders for sexting. It estimates that nearly 4,000 teen sexting cases were reported to police nationwide in 2008 and 2009.

Slightly more than one-third of those cases resulted in arrests. About one-third of all cases involved teens and young adults; the adults were much more likely to be arrested.

The studies were released Monday in the journal Pediatrics.

The research shows that sexting can range from incidents that some teen health experts consider typical adolescent exploring ? the 21st century version of sneaking a look at dad's Playboy magazine, to malicious cases with serious consequences made possible by today's technology.

For example, one case involved a 10-year-old boy who sent a cellphone picture of his genitals to an 11-year-old classmate "to gross her out." The girl's mother called police; the boy cried when questioned by police, who concluded he didn't understand the magnitude of his actions and left the matter to his parents.

Another involved a 16-year-old girl who said she accidentally posted a nude photo of herself on a social networking site. A 16-year-old boy at her school found the photo and distributed it to 100 people when she refused his demand to send him more nude pictures. He was charged with a felony and was put on probation.

The results suggest that police generally aren't overreacting to teen sexting, said Janis Wolak, lead author of the second study. Some cases that aren't clearly criminal are still worrisome and warrant intervention by parents or others, she said.

In the first study, researchers questioned 1,560 kids nationwide by phone, with parents' permission, between in August 2010 and January of this year. The second study is based on mailed questionnaires to nearly 3,000 police departments and follow-up phone interviews with investigating officers about sexting cases handled in 2008 and 2009.

The studies illustrate how sexting may include a wide range of teen behavior, and highlight an issue "about which we as a society have gotten pretty hysterical and probably blew out of proportion," said Dr. Michael Rich, director of the Center on Media and Child Health at Children's Hospital Boston.

Exploring sexuality is normal behavior for teens and taking pictures of themselves and others is one way "just to find out what it is like," he said. "We've been doing that since somebody scribbled a picture of a nude woman on the side of a cave and the guys gathered around to check it out."

Sexting is different only because it is happening "in an environment that the adult community doesn't understand as well as kids," Rich said.

Dr. Victor Strasburger, an adolescent medicine expert at the University of New Mexico, said parents, schools and law enforcement authorities "need to understand that teenagers are neurologically programmed to do dumb things." Their brains aren't mature enough to fully realize the consequences of their actions, including sexting, until early adulthood, he said.

Instead of prosecution, he said, there should be more emphasis on teaching teens to be responsible with new technology. Kids need to be told "that when you put things online and even when you send them via cellphone, they're potentially there forever."

___

Online:

American Academy of Pediatrics: http://www.aap.org

___

AP Medical Writer Lindsey Tanner can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/LindseyTanner

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111205/ap_on_he_me/us_med_teen_sexting

cyber monday 2011 cyber monday 2011 turkey pot pie turkey pot pie southern university regenesis land of the lost

Obama defends American faith amid GOP critique (AP)

WASHINGTON ? Republican Mitt Romney accuses President Barack Obama of considering America "just another nation." To other GOP politicians running for the White House, Obama has apologized for the United States and is presiding over the nation's decline.

Now comes the counteroffensive.

The president of the United States is defending his faith in America, confronting GOP efforts to undercut his leadership and raise questions about his patriotism as he seeks re-election.

In the battle over "American exceptionalism," Obama used a recent trip to Asia to highlight America's role as the strongest and most influential nation on earth. In this election season, responding to the Republican critique is essential for Obama, the only incumbent ever compelled to show a birth certificate to defend his legitimacy.

"Sometimes the pundits and the newspapers and the TV commentators love to talk about how America is slipping and America is in decline," Obama said Wednesday at a New York fundraiser. "That's not what you feel when you're in Asia. They're looking to us for leadership. They know that America is great not just because we're powerful, but also because we have a set of values that the world admires."

"We don't just think about what's good for us, but we're also thinking about what's good for the world," he said. "That's what makes us special. That's what makes us exceptional."

Republicans have seized on "American exceptionalism," a belief among many in the nation that the U.S. is special among global powers, and tried to portray Obama as expressing ambivalence about the promise of his own country. The message resounds with party activists who still admire President Ronald Reagan, who memorialized America as that "Shining City on a Hill" during the 1980s.

"We have a president right now who thinks America's just another nation. America is an exceptional nation," Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, said during a GOP debate in Las Vegas last month. Even his campaign slogan ? "Believe in America" ? suggests that the current president doesn't.

Others have tried to use it to their advantage.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry, in an interview with Fox News' Bill O'Reilly last month, said Obama had "traveled around the country making excuses for America, apologizing for America, saying that America is not an exemplary country."

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich criticized Obama after 16 Latin American and Caribbean nations filed "friend of the court" briefs in a Justice Department lawsuit against a tough new immigration law in South Carolina, home to an important GOP primary. "It makes you wonder what country does President Obama think he is president of," Gingrich said.

Obama has given detractors ample material for their attacks.

At a San Francisco fundraiser in October, the president talked about the importance of investing in education, new roads and bridges and other ways to build the economy.

"We used to have the best stuff. Anybody been to Beijing Airport lately?" Obama said, asking what has changed. "Well, we've lost our ambition, our imagination, and our willingness to do the things that built the Golden Gate Bridge and Hoover Dam." Republicans picked up on the comments, accusing Obama of calling Americans unambitious.

During a meeting with business executives in Honolulu last month, Obama was asked about impediments to investment in the U.S. He said many foreign investors see opportunity here, "but we've been a little bit lazy, I think over the last couple of decades." The "lazy" comments were quickly turned into an attack ad from Perry.

During a 2009 news conference, Obama was asked whether he subscribed to the concept of American exceptionalism. He said he believed in American exceptionalism, "just as I suspect that the Brits believe in British exceptionalism and the Greeks believe in Greek exceptionalism."

The president said he was "enormously proud of my country" and highlighted the nation's "core set of values enshrined in our Constitution" that ensure democracy, free speech and equality. Words that voters are likely to hear more of during the next year.

A Gallup poll in December 2010 found that 80 percent of Americans thought the U.S. had a unique character that made it the greatest country in the world. The survey found that 91 percent of Republicans agreed with the statement.

In the same poll, 34 percent of Republicans said Obama believed the U.S. was the greatest country in the world, while 83 percent of Democrats said he did.

The American exceptionalism argument has traditionally signaled U.S. strength overseas and the promotion of American values such as freedom of speech and religion. But with Obama's rise, it has taken on a new meaning.

At a time of economic discord, it builds on the notion that America's weakened economy could hurt its standing across the globe. It offers a critique of Obama's foreign policy credentials, even as troops begin heading home from Iraq and the U.S. role in Afghanistan is transitioning.

It also represents a subtle way to question Obama's patriotism, the seeds of which reside in the "birther" movement that questioned the legitimacy of Obama's presidency. Suspicions over Obama's citizenship eventually prompted the White House to produce the president's long-form birth certificate showing he was born in Hawaii.

Yet Democrats don't see this as a debilitating issue for the president, but more a matter of fodder in the Republican primary. Obama, they say, can draw upon it to show optimism in the country.

"Obama is powerful proof of American exceptionalism, that this country has certain set of ideals," said Democratic consultant Bob Shrum. "His election and his presidency is a testament to the character of the country."

Obama has been assertive in recent weeks about America's unique role in the world as it shifts away from conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. During his nine-day Asian trip last month, the president reiterated the U.S.'s growing role in the region and stressed that "American leadership is still welcome."

___

Follow Ken Thomas on Twitter at http://twitter.com/AP_Ken_Thomas

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111204/ap_on_el_pr/us_obama_defending_america

oakland strike new gmail new gmail oakland general strike oakland general strike houshmandzadeh houshmandzadeh

Insurance - Mexico - S&P affirms rating on MBIA unit but keeps negative outlook

Standard & Poor's (S&P) has affirmed the national scale financial strength rating of MBIA Insurance M?xico at mxBB+, with the outlook remaining negati...

Free trial ended?

Ask for your subscription.

Contact Us

If you have any questions or need aditionalinformation, please write to us.

Source: http://www.bnamericas.com/news/insurance/s-p-affirms-rating-on-mbia-unit-but-keeps-negative-outlook

hot chelle rae guile alton brown weather los angeles caleb hanie nascar bcs standings 2011

Insight: Stem cell therapy poised to come in from the cold (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? A rogue surgeon injects stem cells from a fetus into a sick man's brain. The cells morph and form body parts. When the man dies, the pathologist finds cartilage, skin and bone clumped in his brain.

The scene is not from a horror movie; it happened to Max Truex, a former Olympic runner who suffered from Parkinson's disease. The case sent a chill through the scientific community when it came to light 15 years ago and typifies some of the hurdles researchers have faced while trying to bring stem cell therapies to the market.

Now, it appears, their efforts are closer than ever to paying off.

Dozens of adult stem cell treatments are moving through clinical trials and showing early success, raising hopes that some could reach the market within five years.

"It will only take a few successes to really change the field," said Gil Van Bokkelen, chief executive of Athersys Inc and chairman of the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine. "As you see things getting closer and closer to that tipping point, you're going to see a frenzy of activity take place."

Many of the trials focus on heart disease and inflammatory conditions, some of the biggest markets in medicine. The cells used are derived from adult tissue such as fat, or bone marrow, thereby circumventing the ethical concerns raised by the use of cells derived from embryos.

Data for the most part remains early, but as more results emerge, pharmaceutical companies are beginning to take note.

"A lot of big companies are looking to place bets on some Phase II products once that data has been confirmed," said Paul Schmitt, managing partner at venture capital firm Novitas Capital. "Even now they're attending all the medical meetings and talking to all the stem cell companies."

Venture funds like Novitas are taking different approaches to playing the emerging field. Novitas invested $4 million in Amorcyte Inc, a company recently acquired by NeoStem Inc that is developing a treatment for heart disease. It is sticking to that investment for now.

By contrast, Aspire Capital Partners LLC is investing more broadly in the hope that one success will offset the inevitable failures.

"My philosophy in the stem cell space is that it's very difficult at this point to pick the winners and losers," said Steven Martin, managing member at Aspire. "We believe that over time there will be some very significant clinical progress, and valuations will improve, but we're still a long way from an approved therapy."

In the meantime, he said, "we are willing to be patient because we think the upside is tremendous."

GROWING INTEREST

Aastrom Biosciences Inc recently presented promising results from a mid-stage trial of its treatment for patients with critical limb ischemia, a disease in which blood flow to the extremities is restricted, at the American Heart Association's annual meeting. A mid-stage trial from Australia's Mesoblast Ltd showed its stem cell product reduced the rate of heart attacks and the need for artery clearing procedures by 78 percent.

"We're actually developing products now," said Timothy Mayleben, chief executive of Aastrom, which is using cells derived from a patient's own bone marrow to develop treatments for cardiovascular disease. "For the first time you are starting to see data being presented at major medical meetings."

Mesoblast has attracted more interest from investors than most. In late 2010, Cephalon Inc took a 20 percent stake in the company, which now has a market value of $2 billion -- far greater than any other pure play company in the space. Cephalon was bought this year by Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd..

"Mesoblast gets this out-sized valuation by being a standard bearer in a risky field that everyone feels has a lot of promise," said Raghuram Selvaraju, an analyst at Morgan Joseph TriArtisan.

Shire Plc said in May it planned to establish a new regenerative medicine business, and kick-started it with the $750 million purchase of Advanced BioHealing Inc, which makes a skin substitute for treating diabetic foot ulcers.

Pfizer Inc, Johnson & Johnson and Roche Holding AG are members of the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine, a nonprofit group that promotes awareness of the field. Pfizer has a regenerative medicine unit and a partnership with Athersys. But their projects are small.

"Big pharma companies will be more interested in investing once they see data in hundreds of patients," said Schmitt.

Once that happens, there will be a land rush, he said, just as there was with monoclonal antibodies, genetically engineered molecules such as Roche's breast cancer drug Herceptin and Abbott Laboratories' rheumatoid arthritis drug Humira.

"Monoclonal antibodies were a missionary effort for many years, all through the eighties and nineties," Schmitt said. "They were called silver bullets, and eventually those bullets turned to gold."

According to GBI Research, the market for monoclonal antibodies was worth $15.6 billion in 2010 and is expected to reach $31.7 billion by 2017.

Stem cell therapy, which once promised to deliver cures for everything from Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's to spinal cord injury, has followed a similar path of enthusiasm followed by disappointment.

"There was a lot of hype around the industry early on and the industry failed to live up to that hype," said Aastrom's Mayleben.

Now stem cell therapy is gaining credibility again as real clinical data begins to emerge.

"From an investor standpoint, the time lines are long, but the opportunity to transform medicine and science is unlike anything else out there," said Aspire's Martin.

MASTER CELLS

The promise of stem cells, which have been used for 40 years in bone marrow transplants, lies in their ability to repair tissue, reduce inflammation, regulate the immune system, and respond to calls for help from multiple places inside the body. Stem cells are the body's master cells - blank slates that renew themselves and mature into specific cell types in the heart, muscle and other organs.

Embryonic stem cells are uniquely capable of differentiating into every type of mature cell in the body, and were long viewed as the most promising for regenerating tissue.

But harvesting stem cells from embryos requires the destruction of the embryo itself, a process opposed by conservative Christian groups. Moreover, their endless capacity to divide can lead to the formation of teratomas, or stem cell cancers.

Recently, Geron Corp, the world's leading embryonic stem cell company, said it could no longer fund its stem cell work and would focus on developing cancer drugs. It closed its trial for spinal cord injury.

Unlike embryonic stem cells, adult stem cells have a more limited capacity to differentiate, but appear able to reduce inflammation and promote blood vessel formation. Furthermore, they can respond to damage in the body in a flexible and dynamic way, offering advantages over traditional drugs.

"They seem to be preprogrammed to act some way in tissue repair, not to form an organ or a tissue," said Douglas Losordo, head of stem cell research at Baxter International Inc, which is developing cell therapies for heart disease. "The cells that we use are very effective at stimulating the formation of new blood vessels, but if I wanted to make a brain cell out of those cells they would not be very good at it."

These are the type of stem cell treatments, delivered by infusion, injection or catheter, that are being developed today.

Some companies, such as Celgene Corp, Pluristem Therapeutics Inc, Athersys and Mesoblast are developing so-called allogeneic products designed to be sold with the ease and scale of a traditional pharmaceutical. Cells are taken from a single donor, expanded, frozen and shipped for use in thousands of people.

"We wanted to create a product that everyone could receive and not have to match every donor to every recipient," said Robert Hariri, chief executive of Celgene's Cellular Therapeutics unit.

Aastrom, Baxter, NeoStem and Cytori Therapeutics Inc use cells taken from a patient's own body in what is known as an autologous transfer. This personalized approach eliminates the risk that the cells will be rejected.

"There are going to be dividing lines in the industry between autologous and allogeneic and there are some indications where one will be better than the other," said Jason Kolbert, head of business development at NeoStem.

"It may be that immediately following a heart attack you would want to use an allogeneic therapy to limit the damage in those first few hours, and then follow up after day five with an autologous product like ours."

Different types of stem cell are being used for different diseases. Cytori is developing a heart disease product derived from fat cells, for example, while Celgene is using placental cells for Crohn's disease and rheumatoid arthritis therapies.

Fetal cells are also being explored. Neuralstem Inc, for example, is developing treatments for neurological disorders from an aborted fetus and is in the early stages of testing a treatment for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, known also as Lou Gehrig's disease.

"I think Neuralstem is one to watch," said Aspire's Martin.

CHALLENGES AHEAD

As cell therapies move further through clinical trials, companies will need more money, and funding is scarce. Aastrom's shares have fallen 37 percent since reaching a year high of $3.47 in June as investors brace for another dilutive capital-raising effort.

Companies with credible partners will likely have an advantage. Athersys has a partnership with Pfizer; Cytori has a partnership with General Electric Co; Pluristem has a partnership with United Therapeutics Corp. Celgene, which makes cancer drug Revlimid, has resources of its own.

Yet even if companies remain afloat long enough to bring a product through late-stage clinical trials, it is unclear what regulators like the Food and Drug Administration will require in order to approve them.

Some believe the regulatory hurdles for treatments derived from a patient's own cells will be lower than those where the cells come from donors, since there is less risk of cell rejection. However, no clear pathway has yet been established.

"We need a clear, consistent and rigorous regulatory framework," said Athersys's Van Bokkelen "The FDA is actually willing to provide lots of guidance and assistance to sponsors, if you just ask them."

(Reporting by Toni Clarke in Boston and Deena Beasley in Los Angeles; Editing by Michele Gershberg, Edward Tobin and Tim Dobbyn)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/biotech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111204/hl_nm/us_insight_stem_cell_therapy

fracking drosselmeyer drosselmeyer pacific standard time local time lsu alabama earthquake

EU Commission extends bank aid rules, cites market tensions (Reuters)

BRUSSELS (Reuters) ? European Union regulators extended looser rules allowing governments to bail out troubled banks until market conditions improve, citing the sovereign debt crisis and banks' resulting funding difficulties for the move.

New guidelines, valid from January 1, will make it easier for governments to help struggling banks as the 27-country EU grapples with a credit squeeze, a capital shortfall and the sovereign debt crisis.

"My intention had been to put an end to the crisis regime... this month," EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia told a news conference on Thursday, adding the rules had already been extended by 12 months until the end of 2011.

"But since last summer I was obliged to change my mind, given the stronger tensions in sovereign debt markets and the transmission of those tensions to interbank markets and to the funding conditions for banks."

The rules were introduced during the credit crisis in 2008 for lenders that received a capital injection or transferred loans into so-called "bad banks."

Under some revisions, the fees paid by banks for guarantees on their liabilities will reflect their intrinsic risk, rather than their country's risk or market conditions, the Commission said.

The average price for a guarantee will be about 1 percent, including a minimum fee of 0.4 percent. The terms apply to bonds with a term of 1-5 years or 7 years for covered bonds.

The Commission said it expected guarantee costs to fall about 0.2 percent due to the new pricing policy, adding it also expected banks would increasingly use shares rather than cash to remunerate the state for support.

Lenders benefiting from recapitalization or other support will still need to restructure to win regulatory approval and banks that are "heavy users" of state guarantees will need to show they are viable.

Almunia said he would have preferred a mutualized or pooled system of EU state guarantees for banks seeking to borrow.

But the bloc's finance ministers decided on Wednesday to leave it to individual member states to back their banks alone, a move that will do little to lift confidence in struggling financial institutions based in countries too weak to help them.

EU governments injected 1.6 trillion euros ($2.15 trillion)into the financial sector via state guarantees, recapitalization and impaired asset and liquidity measures between October 2008 and December 2010, Commission data showed. That was equivalent to 13 percent of the region's gross domestic product.

($1 = 0.7429 euro)

(Editing by Rex Merrifield and Dan Lalor)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111201/bs_nm/us_eu_banks_stateaid

portland news portland news tibetan mastiff manny pacquiao pacquiao blanche blanche

Apple's request to block Samsung Galaxy tablet, phone sales in the US is denied

As the patent saga between Apple and Samsung drags on around the world, US District Court Judge has rejected Apple's request to block the sales of Galaxy devices.

...developing

Apple's request to block Samsung Galaxy tablet, phone sales in the US is denied originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 03 Dec 2011 00:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceReuters  | Email this | Comments

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/12/03/apples-request-to-block-samsung-galaxy-tablet-phone-sales-in-t/

storm in alaska storm in alaska asteroid eric johnson eric johnson russell pearce russell pearce

End of an era: US hands over Camp Victory to Iraqis

The U.S. military said it handed over Camp Victory to the Iraqi government early Friday, marking the end of an era at the sprawling base that included palaces built by Saddam Hussein.

U.S. military spokesman Col. Barry Johnson said Victory Base Complex ? as it's formally called by the U.S. military ? was transferred to the "full authority" of the Iraqi government.

Camp Victory has served as the headquarters for the U.S. military and home to the military's commanding general.

Some parts of the compound are already being used by the Iraqi military, but the government is still deciding what to do with the prime real estate like the palaces used by the U.S. military.

Ever since the soldiers of the 3rd Infantry Division fought their way into the Baghdad airport grounds nearly nine years ago, the sprawling area they renamed Camp Victory has held a special place in the American military experience in Iraq.

From here, the highest-ranking generals sitting behind banks of telephones and video screens communicated with commanders in the field and political leaders in Washington and dictated strategy that unfolded on the streets of Fallujah, Mosul and Najaf.

It was an intersection in the war where U.S. troops, hot and dusty after traveling across Iraq's deadly roads and highways, could relax with a latte or bootlegged movie before heading back out again.

Country club for elite
On Friday, the base that at its height was home to 46,000 people was handed over to the Iraqi government as part of American efforts to move all U.S. troops out of the country by the end of the year.

"The base is no longer under U.S. control and is under the full authority of the government of Iraq," said U.S. military spokesman Col. Barry Johnson.

The area, which the military formally calls Victory Base Complex, was originally used as a country club for the Baghdad elite under Saddam. A visitor can still find small relics of that era, such as signs advising patrons where to park or the hours in which the casino was open.

Saddam built the palace complex near the airport out of embarrassment. During the 1978 Arab League summit he was forced to house incoming dignitaries in private homes in Baghdad because he had no proper accommodations, according to Robert O. Kirkland, a former U.S. military historian who interviewed former Foreign Minister Tariq Aziz and other Iraqis who were once in American custody.

To rectify the problem, Saddam went on a palace-building spree, eventually building nine buildings of varying size and impressiveness. He gave some of them names that reflected his often convoluted view of the world: Victory over America, Victory over Iran and Victory over Kuwait.

In the run-up to the war, U.S. military planners were confused by a cone-shaped structure they could see from satellite imagery, said Col. Les Melnyk, another former U.S. military historian in Iraq. They labeled it a possible prayer site. It turned out to be a pigeon coop.

Maj. William Sumner was a captain when his unit arrived at Camp Victory in mid-April 2003. He remembers how Iraqi looters managed to get into the complex and make off with geese, pelicans and other animals from a small zoo Saddam had built.

"I think that's when the cougar got out of the enclosure," he said. For weeks afterward, a large feline that Sumner said could have also been a bobcat was spotted wandering around the base.

In the early days after the invasion, soldiers swam in the man-made lakes or toured the islands with paddle boats.

But quickly the atmosphere became more like bases back in the U.S. That meant rules and regulations ? and military police to enforce them. Sumner said during his unit's second week at Victory he was pulled over for speeding.

"After we moved onto our other place, we just tried to refuse to go back there whenever possible," he said.

No plans yet
Victory Base Complex was essentially a city, often hit by rockets or mortar shells. One time the violence came from within. In May 2009, a U.S. soldier shot and killed five fellow troops at a combat stress clinic.

The facility was so big it was divided into sections with different names. Troops could travel from Camp Stryker to Camp Liberty without leaving the base. A public bus system with posted routes transported people to the dining facilities, the gym or a dirt speedway where troops and contractors would race remote-controlled cars.

By the numbers supplied by the U.S. military, it was a substantial operation:

? The incinerators destroyed an average of 178,000 pounds of waste a day.

? A water purification plant produced 1.85 million gallons of water a day.

  1. Only on msnbc.com

    1. Myanmar?s new capital: a vast, empty city
    2. Gay groups boycott Salvation Army red kettle drive
    3. Nation's food banks taxed by lingering joblessness
    4. Mass. AG sues five major banks over foreclosures
    5. From housewife to managing $822 billion for USAF
    6. Japan?s car makers try to rev-up market
    7. Biden: Not 'closing the door' on a presidential run

? A bottled water plant filled 500,000 one-liter bottles a day.

? Three separate plants produced 60 megawatts of power a day.

If soldiers grew tired of food at the massive chow halls, they could grab takeout at Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Cinnabon, Burger King or Subway.

At various stores they could buy anything from illegal DVDs to a Harley Davidson motorcycle delivered straight to their door back in the U.S. when they returned from the war. In the early days of the war, troops could even buy Saddam Hussein's personal silverware and place settings.

Troops and contractors visiting from other bases took tours of the palaces.

One particularly entertaining pastime was feeding the carp in the lake surrounding Al Faw palace, where the top generals and U.S. military officials were based. The aggressive fish would jump out of the water for cereal, Girl Scout cookies and Pop Tarts.

Off-limits to most troops: the jail used to house Saddam and some of his cohorts. In a dilapidated, bomb-damaged building encircled by concertina wire, American troops interrogated and guarded the former dictator before he was handed over to the Iraqis and executed in 2006.

The Iraqi government has not yet announced plans for the complex, prime real estate in a country sorely lacking in parks and public spaces. The Iraqi military is already using some parts, and there is talk of turning Saddam's jail cell into a museum.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45520785/ns/world_news-mideast_n_africa/

world aids day 2011 rockefeller center chester mcglockton chester mcglockton arsenic los angeles weather big ten acc challenge