Zero-emission Ford Focus Electric now available for pre-order (Yahoo! News)

All-electric Focus carries a $40,000 price tag, but gas savings will pile up

Green transportation is a hot topic these days, but the options for consumer-level electric vehicles are rather modest compared to the army of gas-guzzling models on the road. This week, Ford took a big step in the zero-emission world by offering its 2012 Ford Focus Electric for pre-order. The vehicle takes the extremely popular Focus brand in an extremely eco-friendly direction, but a higher-than-average price point may concern some potential buyers.

The Focus Electric ditches the futuristic motif of many electric concepts and is nearly indistinguishable from the company's line of gas-powered sedans and hatchbacks. Its power comes from a magnetic electric motor that produces 123 horsepower, which should be plenty for moving the compact ride swiftly in both city and highway environments. The lithium-ion battery can be recharged in around 18 hours on a normal 120v outlet, but that can be sped up to around 4 hours with a special 240v charger.

While a base, gas model of the Ford Focus rings up at roughly $17,000, the lowest retail price for the 2012 Focus Electric is $40,000. That price can be bumped up with things like special paint hues and leather seats. Even with the government's $7,500 green vehicle tax credit, the price is double that of the gas version. However, with fuel prices on a never-ending march upward, investing in an all-electric model just might pay for itself before you know it.

[via Autoblog Green]

This article originally appeared on Tecca

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Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_technews/20111104/tc_yblog_technews/zero-emission-ford-focus-electric-now-available-for-pre-order

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Derailed by Cancer at the Height of the Recession (ContributorNetwork)

With one year to go before the 2012 general election and on the heels of October's jobless report, Yahoo! News asked readers and contributors to share their personal employment stories. Below is one perspective.

FIRST PERSON | In late 2006, I was a busy massage therapist working in a hospital for a program I had helped start. Between my 32-hour week at the hospital, my private clients, and some child support, I had a decent income for a single mom in San Mateo, Calif.

I had excellent health care benefits, without which I am sure I would not be alive today. My income was right around the median of $60,000 a year. Supporting my two children on this was tight in this expensive part of the world, but we managed.

In early 2007, I was diagnosed with Stage IIIC Inflammatory Breast Cancer and knocked abruptly out of the working world. The next 14 months were devoted to fighting for my life. I had aggressive treatment, and my oncologist did not want me exposed to the germs my clients would bring me. Fortunately, I was immediately qualified for disability, evidently because I was not expected to live.

In early 2008, I jubilantly rejoined the work force, cancer-free, just as the recession was gathering momentum. The massage department shut down. I had to have health insurance because I knew I was at high risk for recurrence and no private insurer would cover me. I became a secretary for another department, and the long hours at the computer were disastrous. I developed lymphedema in my left arm, which caused it to ache and swell. In August of 2009, that department shut down. My disability resumed, and the hospital's insurer, MetLife, supplied the difference between what Social Security Disability paid and two-thirds of my previous income.

I haven't had even a half-time job since.

Now, in 2011, I have patched together a work life of several jobs that allows me to work within my limitations. With the current national unemployment rate at 9 percent, I am just happy to work at all. When I lost my secretarial job, my fiance and I moved up our wedding date and I was able to get health insurance. I shudder to think of what could have happened to me otherwise, if my cancer had come back! MetLife decided after two years that my memory problems (chemo-brain) and gimpy left arm allowed me to work as a file clerk for 40 hours per week, and informed me two weeks after they sent their last check. They declined to clarify where I could actually find this job.

I currently provide massage therapy to children at Lucille Packard Children's Hospital for about 20 hours a month. I teach theater arts to children. I visit elderly people with mild dementia and keep them engaged. I blog and advocate for the end of breast cancer. I see the occasional private client and elevate my arm afterward. I earn about one-third of what I earned before. I hope that 2012 will open doors to more hours, more jobs, or both.

My husband is still supporting his own children, so our combined income is barely sufficient. We are fed, clothed and sheltered, but braces for my teenagers will have to wait.

This Saturday I celebrate my 50th birthday and I'm still here. For now that's enough.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/cancer/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20111104/us_ac/10364659_derailed_by_cancer_at_the_height_of_the_recession

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Will and Kate visit UNICEF center in Denmark (AP)

COPENHAGEN, Denmark ? Prince William and his wife, Kate Middleton, on Wednesday helped pack dozens of U.N. emergency supplies in Denmark to be distributed in East Africa, where a food shortage is affecting an estimated 13 million people.

The British royal couple visited a UNICEF warehouse in Copenhagen to draw attention to the crisis, which Middleton called "shocking." They were assisted by Denmark's Crown Prince Frederik and Australian-born Crown Princess Mary, who were married in 2004.

The United Nations says hundreds of thousands of Somalis, many fleeing fighting and drought in their home country, are especially at risk of starvation.

Prince William appealed for help and said the crisis had been going on for "at least 100 days now, and it's not getting any better."

"The rains have come now and ... that doesn't necessarily mean things are going to get better at all. In fact, disease becomes a huge issue," William said. "And so it's very much a case of anyone who can do anything to help, please do."

The royals were each assigned a packer inside the U.N. warehouse where they stacked medicine and basic emergency medical supplies in cardboard boxes on conveyor belts. Later in the day, the cargo was to be flown to the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.

Before helping in the packing, William and his wife were treated to lunch at the Amalienborg Palace, home of the Danish royals. They were also briefed on nutrition and watched a video on the East Africa situation.

"It's really just how shocking the situation still is," said Middleton, who bears the title Duchess of Cambridge. "A huge amount still has to happen with hundreds of children still malnourished at the moment."

The UNICEF supply division in the Danish capital coordinates the distribution of emergency food and medical supplies worldwide, including nutritional treatments for some 320,000 severely malnourished children in East Africa.

Established in 1962, the 270,000-square-foot (25,000-square-meter) storehouse has its own loading port. Supplies include 30 different prepackaged kits, which are usually transported by ship, although aircraft are used in emergencies including volcanoes, earthquakes, civil unrest, tsunamis and wars.

The visit to Denmark is the British royal couple's first overseas trip since a lengthy sojourn to Canada and the United States during the summer.

Africa has been of special interest to William, who has traveled there many times. He proposed to Middleton while on vacation in Kenya in 2010.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/un/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111102/ap_on_re_eu/eu_denmark_britain_royals

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With few options, Fed turns to 'jawboning'

Live Poll

What do you think of the job the Fed is doing on monetary policy?

  • 165758

    Their actions have helped the economy.

    16%

  • 165759

    Their actions have hurt the economy.

    36%

  • 165760

    Their actions have had little impact.

    47%

VoteTotal Votes: 5510

By John W. Schoen, Senior Producer

With little ammunition left in its armory, the Federal Reserve has entered the "jawboning" phase of its campaign to spur stronger economic growth.

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and his fellow policymakers emerged from a two-day meeting to declare they planned no major changes in their policy of using low interest rates to get the job and housing markets back on track.?In a statement, the Fed?pointed to a recent improvement in the outlook but warned that the recovery is still very fragile.

"Economic growth strengthened somewhat in the third quarter," the Fed said in its post-meeting statement. "There are significant downside risks to the economic outlook, including strains in global financial markets."

At least one committee member believes talk alone won?t cure the economy's ills. Charles Evans, president of the Chicago Fed, formally dissented from the decision, saying he thinks his colleagues should be taking?further action to revive growth.

So far, the Fed?s strongest artillery has had little apparent impact. Shortly after the Panic of 2008 rocked?global financial markets, the central bank flooded the system with cash, slashing to zero the rate banks pay to borrow overnight. That move was followed by a massive program of buying nearly $2 trillion in?bonds to force long-term rates sharply lower. But three years after embarking on its easy-money policies, unemployment remains stuck above 9 percent and the housing market is mired in its worst downturn since the 1930s.

"I think they're now in Phase Three which is really jawboning,? said private economist and longtime Fed watcher Gary Shilling. ?They want to show they're not hiding in the marble mausoleum in Washington. So (Fed chairman Ben) Bernanke's got all the allies on the board out there on the circuit telling people that they care. They're really trying to demonstrate that they're out of bullets, but they still are concerned.?

The Fed?s ?communications? policy has produced some historic changes in the central bank?s typically opaque pronouncements, including an unprecedented promise to keep interest rates low for years, at least mid-2013. The Fed also has launched a PR offensive, making Bernanke available for periodic news conferences, the third of which was planned for Wednesday afternoon.

As part of its new strategy, Fed officials are?mulling the idea of setting specific targets for inflation and unemployment, but so far they have not taken explicit action. Instead, Wednesday?s upbeat comments appeared aimed at helping to?prop up flagging consumer confidence, spur businesses to hire and get bankers in a lending mood.

Though critics may see the latest talk strategy as inadequate, Fed watchers say the central bankers believe their words still pack an important punch.

?Whether or not we agree it's effective, I don't think they think it's jawboning one bit,? said Diane Swonk, chief economist at Mesirow?Financial. ?Everyone over there believes it's a reasonable course to take. They believe that talk will make a difference.?

Central bankers may have good reason to take a breather and leave stronger actions on the back burner. Thought the economy remains weak, recent data have shown improvement. Gross domestic product advanced by a 2.5 percent annual rate in the third quarter, according to figures published last week, pushing back fears of a "double-dip" recession. Other recent data point to a job market that is not growing much, but not shrinking either.

?The good news is that employment growth appears stable,? said Paul Ashworth, chief U.S. economist at Capital Economics. ?The bad news is that gains of 100,000 or slightly less a month won't be sufficient to reduce the unemployment rate or generate a pickup in income growth.?

The Fed has other reasons to stand pat. The Fed noted Wednesday that?inflation is still within the central bank?s comfort zone. Corporate profits are holding up. So is the stock market. With rates at or near record lows, there?s plenty of money in the system.

And, despite a history of independent decision making, the Fed faces?an unusually high?level of political backlash, including? from?several Republican presidential candidates,?to the idea of pushing more money into the system with another round of bond buying.

?Watching the GOP debates, about the only thing they agree is that they can't stand Bernanke,? said Steve Cortes, founder of Veracruz Research. ?I think the bar is incredibly high (for more bond buying.)?

Policymakers and?global financial markets also are waiting for clearer signs of what lies ahead? -? especially in the ongoing debt crisis in Europe, where leaders of the world's advanced economies are gathering this week for a summit meeting.

Hopes were raised by this week's?announcement that European leaders had worked out a deal for a ?voluntary? write-down of Greek?s massive debt.?But this week?s news that Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou called a surprise referendum on the proposal has thrown that plan, along with the future of the current Greek government, deeply in doubt.

Even if the outlook clears, the Fed has few tools left in its policy toolshed beyond more bond buying. One idea periodically floated involves cutting the interest rate banks get on?money they keep stashed in the Fed?s electronic vaults. That might?spur them to seek a higher return?by writing more loans. But the?Fed already is only paying an annual rate of 0.25?percent. And the amount of reserves the Fed holds is relatively small, according to former Fed Gov. Mark Olson.

And with so much uncertainty facing policymakers, divisions on the board have made it difficult to agree on even the wording of the Fed?s regular pronouncements. Until the economy shows clear signs of improvement, that?s unlikely to change.

?They will disagree very amicably,? said Olson. ?But they will continue to disagree.?

Related:

Word cloud of the Fed statement

Wall Street?s rally holds after Fed?s rate decision

Full text of the Fed statement

Fed sees stronger growth, holds off on further actions

CNBC's Steve Liesman shares key takeaways from the 12:30pm ET Fed decision.

Source: http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/11/02/8599181-with-few-options-fed-turns-to-jawboning

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Apple confirms iOS 5 bugs causing battery drain, promises a fix 'in a few weeks'

iOS 5
Anecdotal reports have been pouring in since iOS 5 landed that battery life had suddenly dropped off on some people's iPhones. A full 15-percent of you who responded to our poll reported suffering from the issue. Now Apple has officially confirmed that several bugs are negatively affecting battery life. In a statement given to All Things D the Cupertino company acknowledged the problem and said it would "release a software update to address those [bugs] in a few weeks." In recent days the complaints in both the Apple forums and our own tips box have reached a deafening volume but, sadly, Apple isn't offering any temporary work arounds or advice for those constantly attached to a charger. So there you go folks -- Apple is working on it. You're the patient type, right?

Update: Well, iOS 5.0.1 Beta, which includes the aforementioned bug fixes, just landed for devs. So Apple isn't just working on it, they've fixed it... theoretically. Lets hope this test run is a bit shorter than expected.

Apple confirms iOS 5 bugs causing battery drain, promises a fix 'in a few weeks' originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 02 Nov 2011 18:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/02/apple-confirms-ios-5-bugs-causing-battery-drain-promises-a-fix/

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Officials: US vexed by Israeli move on settlements (AP)

WASHINGTON ? The Obama administration is planning to express its disappointment with Israel's decision to accelerate settlement construction in east Jerusalem and the West Bank in retaliation for the Palestinians winning membership from the United Nation's cultural organization.

Two U.S. officials say the administration intends to make that position clear on Wednesday.

The administration is trying to figure out how to deal with actions by both sides that it considers detrimental to restarting peace talks.

The U.S. officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the administration's thinking before the release of the public statement.

Israel is accelerating housing construction in both east Jerusalem, which the Palestinians as their capital, and the nearby West Bank.

The U.S. opposes Israeli settlement activity as well as the Palestinians' bid for membership in U.N. organizations.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111102/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_us_mideast

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NRA-ILA :: D.C.: Lanier needs to chill out on legal guns

D.C.: Lanier needs to chill out on legal guns

The real deal is that neither the chief nor the mayor wants law abiding folks carrying weapons. And they voiced such displeasure when Congress considered a law that would have allowed out of towners with duly registered guns to possess them in the District. Guns in and of themselves are not the problem. A gun cannot jump into the hand of an individual, aim itself and fire itself.



Posted: 11/3/2011 9:34:16 AM


Note: Many news sites archive stories after a short period of time. If the link above is expired please contact the site for information about accessing this story.

Source: http://www.nraila.org/News/Read/InTheNews.aspx?ID=15724

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Khamenei accuses U.S. of "terror" attacks in Iran (Reuters)

TEHRAN (Reuters) ? Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday he had 100 "undeniable documents" proving the United States has been behind "terrorist acts" in the Islamic state and elsewhere in the Middle East.

His comments come after Washington accused Iran of being involved in a plot to kill Saudi Arabia's ambassador to Washington, a claim Iran has dismissed as baseless.

"We have undeniable documents which show America was behind the curtain of terror in Iran and the region," Khamenei said during a commemoration of the 1979 storming of the U.S. embassy in Tehran by revolutionary students.

"By presenting those 100 documents, we will disgrace America in the world," he added. He did not make it clear when he would produce the documents and to whom.

Last month, the United States said it had uncovered a plot by two men with links to Iran's Revolutionary Guards to assassinate the Saudi envoy by planting a bomb in a Washington restaurant. The Iranian government denies any involvement.

"America tried to exert pressure on Iran and rescue itself from the Wall Street movement and its problems by the absurd terrorist scenario," Khamenei said during a televised address to an audience of students.

"They want to accuse the most virtuous warriors and fighters in Iran of terrorism.

"The course of events have changed in the world and by the grace of God the fight of virtue, with the pioneering of Iran, has started against the pharaoh of hegemony and will continue to its final collapse."

U.S. President Barack Obama hopes the foiled alleged plot will lead to tighter sanctions against Iran -- already under several rounds of U.N. measures over its nuclear program -- and repeated that all options are on the table to deal with the Islamic republic -- a tacit threat of possible military action.

(Reporting by Hossein Jaseb; Writing by Ramin Mostafavi Editing by Maria Golovnina)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111102/wl_nm/us_iran_us_khamenei

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Dress Your iPad 2 in Dinosaur Bones and Diamonds for $8 Million (Mashable)

We've seen many expensive gadget makeovers, but this one probably takes the cake for being over the top: An iPad 2 dressed in gold, diamonds and bones of a 65-million-year-old Tyrannosaurus rex. Stuart Hughes's iPad 2 Gold History Edition, as this ultra-high-end gadget is called, is a regular iPad 2 on the inside.

[More from Mashable: iPhone 4S Makes Its Debut in Hong Kong & 14 Countries November 11]

On the outside, however, it's encrusted with 53 flawless diamonds, 24-carat gold, and the thigh bone of the aforementioned predator, splintered and shaved into an ammolite rock that covers the front frame of the device.

Only two units will be made, so if you've got ?5 million ($8 million) to spend, hurry up. Just remember you can buy 16,000 regular iPad 2s for the price.

[More from Mashable: Behind the Tweets: New Twitter Site Reveals Users? Stories]

This story originally published on Mashable here.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/personaltech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/mashable/20111101/tc_mashable/dress_your_ipad_2_in_dinosaur_bones_and_diamonds_for_8_million

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