Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Asian shares mostly higher on record Dow, yen slips

By Chikako Mogi

TOKYO (Reuters) - Wall Street's record close overnight bolstered most Asian shares on Tuesday as growing confidence in the U.S. economy underpinned investor risk appetite, while the yen slipped to fresh lows on speculation over imminent monetary easing.

The benchmark Standard & Poor's 500 stock index <.spx> extended its winning streak to seven sessions and touched its highest intraday level since October 15, 2007 on Monday while the Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> closed at a record 14447.29.

Reflecting rising risk appetite in the wake of Friday's solid U.S. jobs data, the CBOE Volatility Index or VIX, <.vix> which is often used as a gauge for risk, ended Monday at the lowest level since February 2007.

The MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan <.miapj0000pus> was up 0.2 percent, led by its financials sector <.miapjfn00pus> with a 0.5 percent gain.

"It looks as if it's an echo of U.S. trading overnight where the finance sector was the best performing sector," said Michael McCarthy, chief market strategist at CMC Markets.

Australian shares <.axjo> erased earlier gains to inch down 0.1 percent after hitting a fresh 4-1/2-year high. South Korean shares <.ks11> fell 0.3 percent.

Hong Kong shares <.hsi> and Shanghai shares <.ssec> each rose 0.5 percent.

Japan's Nikkei stock average <.n225> added 0.4 percent after reaching a fresh 4-1/2-year high, encouraged by the yen's drop which helps boost the earnings of exporters. The Nikkei was on track for a ninth straight day of gains. <.t/>

DOLLAR EYES UPSIDE

The dollar has benefited from last week's strong U.S. jobs data while the yen remained under pressure from expectations for further easing steps from the Bank of Japan to bring the country out of deflation.

"The latest rise in the dollar/yen stems from U.S. factors, such as improving economic indicators, rising stocks and yields climbing, and 97 yen looks to be in sight," said Koji Fukaya, CEO and currency strategist of FPG Securities in Tokyo.

The dollar/yen may pause in the second quarter, when U.S. economic indicators typically show seasonal weakness, but even so the dollar's downside will be limited to around 92 yen, with a fall below 90 yen becoming increasing less likely, he said.

The dollar rose to 96.71 yen on Tuesday, its highest since August 2009, while the Australian dollar climbed to fresh 4-1/2 year highs on the yen of 99.55 yen, aided by a report the incoming Bank of Japan governor might convene an extraordinary meeting soon after taking office later this month.

The Nikkei news reported Haruhiko Kuroda, the nominee for BOJ governor, may launch new monetary easing steps soon after he takes office next week, rather than waiting for the bank's first regular policy board meeting in early April.

"Dollar/yen was already very bid overnight, consistent with the backup in U.S. Treasury yields. The Nikkei story has just given it a bit of a kick and its certainly adding to yen weakness," said Sue Trinh, senior currency strategist at RBC in Hong Kong.

The euro was trading up 0.2 percent against the yen at 125.84 yen.

Against the dollar, the common currency was down 0.1 percent at $1.3031, weighed by worries about Italy's inconclusive elections last month delaying the country's fiscal reform efforts.

Strength in equities weighed on assets typically linked with risk aversion, with the 10-year U.S. Treasury yields pinned near an 11-month high around 2.07 percent in Asia.

Spot gold edged up 0.2 percent to $1,582.74 an ounce, caught in a range and capped by a key technical resistance of its 14-day moving average, which stood at $1,583.32 on Tuesday.

U.S. crude was up 0.2 percent to $92.21 a barrel and Brent crude steadied around $110.20.

(Additional reporting by Ian Chua and Thuy Ong in Sydney; Editing by Eric Meijer)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/asian-shares-inch-record-dow-yen-slips-025118615--finance.html

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Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Man convicted in deadly Craigslist plot in Ohio

Richard Beasley slumps over after being found guilty of aggravated murder in a deadly plot to lure men with Craigslist job offers and then rob them, Tuesday, March 12, 2013, in Summit County Common Pleas Court Judge Lynne Callahan's courtroom in Akron, Ohio. He was charged with killing two men from Ohio and one from Norfolk, Va. (AP Photo/Akron Beacon Journal, Phil Masturzo, Pool)

Richard Beasley slumps over after being found guilty of aggravated murder in a deadly plot to lure men with Craigslist job offers and then rob them, Tuesday, March 12, 2013, in Summit County Common Pleas Court Judge Lynne Callahan's courtroom in Akron, Ohio. He was charged with killing two men from Ohio and one from Norfolk, Va. (AP Photo/Akron Beacon Journal, Phil Masturzo, Pool)

Richard Beasley slumps over after being found guilty of aggravated murder in a deadly plot to lure men with Craigslist job offers and then rob them, Tuesday, March 12, 2013, in Summit County Common Pleas Court Judge Lynne Callahan's courtroom in Akron, Ohio. He was charged with killing two men from Ohio and one from Norfolk, Va. (AP Photo/Akron Beacon Journal, Phil Masturzo) MANDATORY CREDIT

A tearful Carol Beasley, mother of convicted murderer Richard Beasley, talks to reporters upon leaving the Summit County Courthouse on Tuesday, March 12, 2013, in Akron, Ohio. Richard Beasley was found guilty with aggravated murder in the killing two men from Ohio and one from Norfolk, Va. by luring them with Craigslist job offers. (AP Photo/Akron Beacon Journal, Phil Masturzo, Pool)

Richard Beasley slumps over after being found guilty of aggravated murder in a deadly plot to lure men with Craigslist job offers and then rob them, Tuesday, March 12, 2013, in Summit County Common Pleas Court Judge Lynne Callahan's courtroom in Akron, Ohio. He was charged with killing two men from Ohio and one from Norfolk, Va. (AP Photo/Akron Beacon Journal, Phil Masturzo, Pool)

Jack Kern, father of victim Timothy Kern, right, hugs BCI Special Agent Mark Kollar after a guilty verdict was reached in the murder trial of Richard Beasley in Summit County Common Please Court Judge Lynne Callahan's courtroom on Tuesday, March 12, 2013, in Akron, Ohio. At left is Scott Davis, who was shot in the arm but survived after hiding in the woods for seven hours. (AP Photo/Akron Beacon Journal, Phil Masturzo, Pool)

(AP) ? A self-styled street preacher accused of teaming up with a high school student in a deadly plot to lure men with Craigslist job offers and then rob them was found guilty Tuesday of aggravated murder and could face the death penalty.

A jury in Akron returned the verdict in the case against Richard Beasley, who was charged with killing two men from Ohio and one from Norfolk, Va. A man from South Carolina was shot but survived and testified about running for his life and hiding in the woods, scared he would bleed to death.

Family members of the victims hugged and wiped away tears as the verdict was read. Beasley, who also was convicted of aggravated robbery, kidnapping and attempted murder in wounding the lone survivor, slumped in his wheelchair, which he uses because of back problems. His mother leaned over and sobbed in the hushed courtroom.

The jury that convicted Beasley will return March 20 to consider whether to recommend the death penalty for him.

Prosecutors, who had asked jurors to use common sense and return a guilty verdict, labeled the 53-year-old Beasley the triggerman in the 2011 plot with a student he mentored. The 16-year-old student, Brogan Rafferty, was convicted and sentenced last year to life in prison without the chance of parole.

Prosecutor Jonathan Baumoel told jurors there was no reasonable doubt that Beasley plotted the killings, and he presented three possible theories for aggravated murder ? planning the crimes, done with a kidnapping or done with a robbery. He said there was "prior calculation and design," a component of the death penalty aggravated murder charge.

"He was the mastermind behind this plot," Baumoel said.

Prosecutors said the victims, all down on their luck and with few family ties that might highlight their disappearances, were lured with offers of farmhand jobs.

One man was killed near Akron, and the others were shot at a southeast Ohio farm during bogus job interviews.

The slain men were Ralph Geiger, 56, of Akron; David Pauley, 51, of Norfolk, Va.; and Timothy Kern, 47, of Massillon.

The survivor, Scott Davis, testified that he heard the click of a gun as he walked in front of Beasley at the reputed job site. Davis, who was shot in an arm, knocked the weapon aside.

"I spun around," testified Davis, who told a harrowing story of running through the woods and hiding for seven hours. "I was worried about bleeding to death."

Prosecutors said it was a miracle that Davis, who also was the star witness at Rafferty's trial, survived the encounter with Beasley in Noble County, 60 miles east of Columbus.

"Only by the grace of God did he escape with his life," Baumoel told the jury.

It was Davis' escape on Nov. 6, 2011, that led authorities to find Pauley's body in the same area where Davis was shot. Geiger's body also was found in Noble County. Kern's body was found in a shallow grave near an Akron-area shopping mall.

Kern's father, Jack Kern, watched the Beasley verdict from the front row of the courtroom's gallery and said later he was satisfied.

"I didn't have a doubt," he said.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys, governed by a gag order, left the court without commenting.

Beasley, who returned to Ohio from Texas in 2004 after serving several years in prison on a burglary conviction, testified that he met with Davis and that Davis was the one who pulled a gun.

"It misfired three times about 2 feet from my face, and I ran into the woods, and he ran after me," Beasley said.

He testified that the two wrestled on the muddy ground and Davis ended up firing six shots.

"I said, 'That's your six,' so if he was going to kill me, he was going to have to do it with his hands," Beasley testified.

Beasley's lawyers had said that investigators targeted him based only on a hunch and that the identity theft and robbery motives prosecutors offered were baseless.

Beasley's testimony came after the prosecution rested its case without calling Rafferty, who had been subpoenaed to testify for the prosecution. There was no explanation why he didn't testify.

When the Beasley jury reconvenes to hear evidence on whether to recommend the death penalty, prosecutors will get a chance to argue for his execution based on the crimes, and the defense can offer reasons to spare his life.

Rafferty, from Stow, was tried as an adult but didn't face a possible death penalty because he was a juvenile when the crimes occurred.

Rafferty, now 18, had said the crimes were horrible but he didn't see any chance to stop the killings. He said he feared Beasley would kill him and his family if he tipped off police.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-03-12-Craigslist-Jobseekers%20Killed/id-bba3bdc3f9f74adbb9190df4c4302a79

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US, South Korea start drills despite North's threats

Ahn Young-Joon / AP

South Korean soldiers set up barbed-wire fencing during an exercise against possible attacks by North Korea near the border village of Panmunjom in Paju, South Korea, on Monday.

By Hyung-Jin Kim, The Associated Press

SEOUL -- South Korea and the United States began annual military drills Monday despite North Korean threats to respond by voiding the armistice that ended the Korean War and launching a nuclear attack on the U.S.

After the start of the drills, South Korean officials said their northern counterparts didn't answer two calls on a hotline between the sides, apparently following through on an earlier vow to cut the communication channel because of the drills.

Pyongyang has launched a bombast-filled propaganda campaign against the drills, which involve 10,000 South Korean and about 3,000 American troops, and last week's U.N. vote to impose new sanctions over the North's Feb. 12 nuclear test. Analysts believe that much of that campaign is meant to shore up loyalty among citizens and the military for North Korea's young leader, Kim Jong Un.

Pyongyang isn't believed to be able to build a warhead small enough to mount on a long-range missile, and the North's military has repeatedly vowed in the past to scrap the 1953 armistice. North Korea wants a formal peace treaty, security guarantees and other concessions, as well as the removal of 28,500 U.S. troops stationed in South Korea.

Still, South Korean and U.S. officials have been closely monitoring Pyongyang's actions and parsing the torrent of recent rhetoric from the North, which has been more warlike than usual.

North Korea regularly claims South Korea-U.S. drills are a preparation for invasion, but Pyongyang has signaled more worry about the drills that began Monday. The drills follow U.N. sanctions that the North says are the result of U.S. hostility aimed at toppling its political system.

North Korea has also warned South Korea of a nuclear war on the divided peninsula and said it was cancelling nonaggression pacts.

Under newly inaugurated President Park Geun-hye, South Korea's Defense Ministry, which often brushes off North Korean threats, has looked to send a message of strength in response to the latest threats. The ministry warned Friday that the North's government would "evaporate from the face of the Earth" if it ever used a nuclear weapon. The White House also said the U.S. is fully capable of defending itself against a North Korean ballistic attack.

North Korea has said the U.S. mainland is within the range of its long-range missiles, and an army general told a Pyongyang rally last week that the military is ready to fire a long-range nuclear-armed missile to turn Washington into a "sea of fire."

Related:

North Korea threat of nuclear attack predictable but worrisome

UN passes sanctions despite North Korea threats

North Korea warns of 'miserable destruction' over drills

?

?

? 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/11/17267164-us-south-korea-start-joint-military-drills-despite-norths-nuclear-threats?lite

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Monday, March 11, 2013

Heavy workload awaits next pope; church in turmoil

AAA??Mar. 11, 2013?3:01 PM ET
Heavy workload awaits next pope; church in turmoil
By RACHEL ZOLLBy RACHEL ZOLL, AP Religion Writer?THE ASSOCIATED PRESS STATEMENT OF NEWS VALUES AND PRINCIPLES?

FILE - This Aug. 21, 2011 file photo shows pilgrims greeting Pope Benedict XVI in his vehicle, bottom, as he arrives at Cuatro Vientos, near to Madrid, Spain. At the moment Cardinal Albino Luciani learned his colleagues had elected him pope, he responded, "May God forgive you for what you've done.'' The remark, by the man who became Pope John Paul I, was seen as an expression of humility, but also a commentary on the mammoth task ahead. There is no job like that of the pope. He is the CEO of a global enterprise, head of state, a moral voice in the world and, in the eyes of Roman Catholics, Christ's representative on earth. The man who emerges as pontiff from the conclave starting Tuesday has a crushing to-do list as he leads the world's 1.2 billion Catholics. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos, file)

FILE - This Aug. 21, 2011 file photo shows pilgrims greeting Pope Benedict XVI in his vehicle, bottom, as he arrives at Cuatro Vientos, near to Madrid, Spain. At the moment Cardinal Albino Luciani learned his colleagues had elected him pope, he responded, "May God forgive you for what you've done.'' The remark, by the man who became Pope John Paul I, was seen as an expression of humility, but also a commentary on the mammoth task ahead. There is no job like that of the pope. He is the CEO of a global enterprise, head of state, a moral voice in the world and, in the eyes of Roman Catholics, Christ's representative on earth. The man who emerges as pontiff from the conclave starting Tuesday has a crushing to-do list as he leads the world's 1.2 billion Catholics. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos, file)

FILE - This Oct. 27, 2011 file photo shows from left, the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Douglas Williams, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, Pope Benedict XVI and Rabbi David Rosen looking on as a person holds a dove prior to releasing it during a peace meeting in front of the St. Francis Basilica in Assisi, central Italy. At the moment Cardinal Albino Luciani learned his colleagues had elected him pope, he responded, "May God forgive you for what you've done.'' The remark, by the man who became Pope John Paul I, was seen as an expression of humility, but also a commentary on the mammoth task ahead. There is no job like that of the pope. He is the CEO of a global enterprise, head of state, a moral voice in the world and, in the eyes of Roman Catholics, Christ's representative on earth. The man who emerges as pontiff from the conclave starting Tuesday has a crushing to-do list as he leads the world's 1.2 billion Catholics. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, files)

FILE - In this Dec. 22, 2012 file photo released by the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, former pope's butler Paolo Gabriele, right, is received in a private audience by Pope Benedict XVI, at the Vatican. At the moment Cardinal Albino Luciani learned his colleagues had elected him pope, he responded, "May God forgive you for what you've done.'' The remark, by the man who became Pope John Paul I, was seen as an expression of humility, but also a commentary on the mammoth task ahead. There is no job like that of the pope. He is the CEO of a global enterprise, head of state, a moral voice in the world and, in the eyes of Roman Catholics, Christ's representative on earth. The man who emerges as pontiff from the conclave starting Tuesday has a crushing to-do list as he leads the world's 1.2 billion Catholics. (AP Photo/L'Osservatore Romano, files)

FILE - This Nov. 30, 2006 file photo shows Pope Benedict XVI, center, standng with Muslim clerics, security officers and other prelates, during a visit to the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey. At the moment Cardinal Albino Luciani learned his colleagues had elected him pope, he responded, "May God forgive you for what you've done.'' The remark, by the man who became Pope John Paul I, was seen as an expression of humility, but also a commentary on the mammoth task ahead. There is no job like that of the pope. He is the CEO of a global enterprise, head of state, a moral voice in the world and, in the eyes of Roman Catholics, Christ's representative on earth. The man who emerges as pontiff from the conclave starting Tuesday has a crushing to-do list as he leads the world's 1.2 billion Catholics. (AP Photo/Patrick Hertzog, pool, file)

FILE - This Nov. 30, 2006 file photo shows Pope Benedict XVI, looking on during a solemn ceremony with Ecumenical Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew I, unseen, in the Patriarchal Church of St. George, in Istanbul, Turkey, At the moment Cardinal Albino Luciani learned his colleagues had elected him pope, he responded, "May God forgive you for what you've done.'' The remark, by the man who became Pope John Paul I, was seen as an expression of humility, but also a commentary on the mammoth task ahead. There is no job like that of the pope. He is the CEO of a global enterprise, head of state, a moral voice in the world and, in the eyes of Roman Catholics, Christ's representative on earth. The man who emerges as pontiff from the conclave starting Tuesday has a crushing to-do list as he leads the world's 1.2 billion Catholics. (AP Photo/Patrick Hertzog, pool, file)

(AP) ? The moment Cardinal Albino Luciani learned his colleagues had elected him pope, he responded: "May God forgive you for what you've done." The remark, by the man who became Pope John Paul I, was seen as an expression of humility ? but also a commentary on the mammoth task ahead.

There is no job like that of pope. He is the CEO of a global enterprise, head of state, a moral voice in the world and, in the eyes of Roman Catholics, Christ's representative on earth.

And the man who emerges as pontiff from the conclave starting Tuesday has a particularly crushing to-do list.

Here are some of the challenges awaiting the next pope:

___

REFORM: The next pope will have to restore discipline to the scandal-plagued central administration of the church. Benedict XVI, the former pope, commissioned a report on the Vatican bureaucracy, or Curia, that will be shown only to his successor. Benedict's butler had leaked the pope's private papers revealing feuding, corruption and cronyism at the highest levels of administration. The secretive Vatican bank recently ousted a president for incompetence and is under pressure for greater financial transparency. Bishops in several countries say nonresponsive Vatican officials are hampering local churches. The Curia decides everything from bishop appointments and liturgy, to parish closings and discipline for abusive priests.

___

SEX ABUSE: The Vatican remains under pressure to reveal more about its past role in the church's failures to protect children worldwide. The issue erupted ahead of the conclave, when victims from the U.S., Chile and Mexico pressured cardinals to recuse themselves because they had shielded priests from prosecution. Benedict instructed bishops around the world to craft policies to keep abusers from the priesthood, but church leaders in some nations haven't yet complied. "There's still the victims," Chicago Cardinal Francis George said in a news conference last week. "The wound is still deep in their hearts, and as long as it's with them it will be with us. The pope has to keep this in mind."

___

EMPTY PEWS: Secularism has already taken a toll on churches in Europe and the U.S., where a growing number of people don't identify with a faith. The move away from organized religion is also hurting parishes in Latin America. Churches in Brazil and other predominantly Catholic countries in South America already had been losing members to the spirited worship found in independent Pentecostal movements. As the church loses members, it also loses influence in public life in many countries. Church opposition to same-sex marriage has been largely ineffective in the West. The next pope must be a missionary-in-chief, with the gravitas, charisma and personal holiness to bring Catholics back to church.

___

EMPTY PULPITS: Europe and North America need more priests. Clergy in developing countries need more resources. And everywhere, priests are struggling with the outsized burdens of the modern-day pastor. The job requires fundraising, personal counseling and an ability to uphold doctrine, often to Catholics who don't want to listen. The abuse crisis, meanwhile, casts a shadow on today's clergy, even though most known molestation cases occurred decades ago. In recent years, some priests have made their own proposals to strengthen their ranks. Clergy in heavily Catholic Austria in 2011 called for ordaining women and relaxing the celibacy requirement. Benedict rebuked them.

___

RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION: Catholics and other Christians live as religious minorities in many countries, including Syria, India and China, where they face discrimination, government interference and, in many cases, violence as they try to practice their faith. The issue is a rare one that unites religious leaders across faiths. The pope is considered a key voice in the fight. Some of the tougher conditions are in Muslim nations, which often ban and punish Christian evangelizing. Addressing the issue requires utmost diplomacy; a misstep can cost lives.

___

GLOBALIZATION: While the church is shrinking in the West, it's booming in Africa and Asia. The new pope will have to shift much of his attention to the challenges for these relatively new dioceses: a life-and-death fight against poverty; threats from radical Muslim movements; and maintaining Catholic orthodoxy while leaving room for local styles of worship.

___

OTHER FAITHS: The new pope will have to keep up friendships with a long list of other Christian groups and other religions, including Orthodox Christians, Anglicans and Jews. But his most pressing task will be navigating relations with Islam. The importance of the issue was made starkly clear in the fallout from Benedict's 2006 speech in Regensburg, Germany, in which he cited the words of a Byzantine emperor who characterized some teachings of the Prophet Muhammad as "evil and inhuman." Benedict made many efforts to mend fences, including praying beside an imam that same year at the historic Blue Mosque in Istanbul.

___

UNITY: The next pontiff inherits a church divided over the role of lay people and women, on doctrine and social justice teaching ? even on what is required to be considered Catholic. In Benedict's final audience with cardinals, he urged them to work "like an orchestra" where "agreement and harmony" can be reached despite diversity. He could have been talking to the whole church.

_____

Follow Rachel Zoll at www.twitter.com/rzollAP

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-03-11-Pope-Church%20Challenges/id-362ab334ddbe4e69861d07fb4991adee

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San Francisco's Bay Bridge lights up with 25,000 computer controlled LEDs


San Francisco's Bay Bridge gets the LED treatment, lights up just in time for Expand

For decades, tourists have gaped at San Francisco's brightly colored Golden Gate Bridge, often overlooking the Oakland-connected Bay Bridge's less flashy looks. Luckily, the old bridge is being gussied up for onlookers -- Artist Leo Villareal has kitted out the 1.8-mile span with over 25,000 computer controlled LEDs. "My inspiration comes from the motion of the bridge," the artist explained, describing how he designed the display. "I'm interpreting all the kinetic activity around the bridge: the traffic, the motion of water, the sky -- it's such a rich environment to draw upon." "The Bay Lights" project will illuminate the bridge for the next two years, silently shining carefully programmed patterns of light across the water of the bay. Sound gorgeous? Consider it just one more reason to visit the City by the Bay.


[Thanks, Charles]

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Via: NY Times

Source: The Bay Lights

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/0puzuJzucCQ/

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'Quakes?top self-destructing NY

If anyone remembers how the New York Red Bulls lost a lead last week against Portland, walking back a potential win into a draw, well, know this:

That was nothing!

The Red Bulls had a late lead Sunday night, about to make their way back east with four points (of a possible six) from two matches away from home to open 2013, darn good work by almost any measure. (Especially considering the matches meant two cross-country road trips.)

But things unraveled spectacularly for Mike Petke?s team over the last 10 minutes Sunday; San Jose scored in the 83rd minute and again in stoppage time for a 2-1 win at Buck Shaw Stadium.

Red Bulls star Thierry Henry, remember, had some less than flattering things to say about his teammates after last week?s second-half clunker, about the club?s need for more high-level know-how. ?So what in the world will the famous Frenchman think now? (And more to the point, will he keep it to himself?)

Credit the San Jose Earthquakes, who finally found a little of that missing 2012 magic, concocting a big rally that looked so familiar from last year?s sensational Supporters Shield run.

It seemed quite unlikely, too. Still missing from San Jose?s selections are bothersome strikers Alan Gordon and Steven Lenhart, speedy Marvin Chavez and skillful Simon Dawkins in the midfield and Steven Beitashour coming forward from his right back position. (All are injured except for Dawkins, who is back in England, now with Aston Villa.)

But second half sub Adam Jahn got the Earthquakes first goal of the season 83 minutes into Sunday evening when left unmarked at the far post.

Then, it was Jahn once again making something happen in stoppage time. Red Bulls left back Roy Miller was waving and arm where arms don?t need to be, preventing Jahn?s header off a corner kick from going goal-ward.

Goalkeeper Luis Robles, who had his share of shaky moments Sunday, came up with a huge stop. But Miller ? well, what got into the man?

He was responsible for two late fouls that gave San Jose dangerous free kicks. Then his hand ball gifted San Jose with the penalty kick. And to put the cherry on this parfait of awful, Miller stepped into the penalty area so early prior to Wondolowski?s spot kick, referee Ricardo Salazar had little choice but to call for the re-kick.

Red Bulls players protested, but Miller was in so ridiculously early, Salazar made the correct call.

The 10-minute spell was an absolute fiasco.

Here?s Jahn?s 83rd minute equalizer. (Full highlights will go up as soon as the package is available.)

.

Source: http://prosoccertalk.nbcsports.com/2013/03/11/holy-self-destruction-red-bulls-fall-apart-against-san-jose/related/

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Sunday, March 10, 2013

Gay marriage, Minnesota style (Powerlineblog)

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Japan's cleanup lags from tsunami, nuke accident

In this Wednesday, March 6, 2013 photo, workers haul a bag of radiation-contaminated leaves during a cleanup operation in the abandoned town of Naraha, just outside the exclusion zone surrounding the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant in Japan. Two years after the triple calamities of earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster ravaged Japan's northeastern Pacific coast, radioactive and chemical contamination remains a threat. (AP Photo/Greg Baker)

In this Wednesday, March 6, 2013 photo, workers haul a bag of radiation-contaminated leaves during a cleanup operation in the abandoned town of Naraha, just outside the exclusion zone surrounding the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant in Japan. Two years after the triple calamities of earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster ravaged Japan's northeastern Pacific coast, radioactive and chemical contamination remains a threat. (AP Photo/Greg Baker)

In this Wednesday, March 6, 2013 photo, workers pick up radiation-contaminated leaves during a cleanup operation in the abandoned town of Naraha, just outside the exclusion zone surrounding the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant in Japan. Two years after the triple calamities of earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster ravaged Japan's northeastern Pacific coast, radioactive and chemical contamination remains a threat. (AP Photo/Greg Baker)

In this Tuesday, March 5, 2013 photo, bags of radiation-contaminated leaves and soil sit in a stand of trees in the abandoned town of Naraha, just outside the exclusion zone surrounding the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant in Japan. Two years after the triple calamities of earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster ravaged Japan's northeastern Pacific coast, radioactive and chemical contamination remains a threat as clean-up projects face troubles with organized crime and mishandling. (AP Photo/Greg Baker)

In this Monday, March 4, 2013 photo, a sign warns people to say out of an area where piles of radiation-contaminated soil sit on the sports field of a school in the abandoned town of Yamakiya, outside the exclusion zone surrounding the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant in Japan. Two years after the triple calamities of earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster ravaged Japan's northeastern Pacific coast, radioactive and chemical contamination remains a threat as clean-up projects face troubles with organized crime and mishandling. (AP Photo/Greg Baker)

In this Tuesday, March 5, 2013 photo, swans swim in a river near bags of radiation-contaminated leaves and soil in the abandoned town of Naraha, just outside the exclusion zone surrounding the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant in Japan. Two years after the triple calamities of earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster ravaged Japan's northeastern Pacific coast, radioactive and chemical contamination remains a threat as clean-up projects face troubles with organized crime and mishandling. (AP Photo/Greg Baker)

NARAHA, Japan (AP) ? Two years after the triple calamities of earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster ravaged Japan's northeastern Pacific coast, debris containing asbestos, lead, PCBs ? and perhaps most worrying ? radioactive waste due to the crippled Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant looms as a threat for the region.

So far, disposal of debris from the disasters is turning out to have been anything but clean. Workers often lacking property oversight, training or proper equipment have dumped contaminated waste with scant regard for regulations or safety, as organized crime has infiltrated the cleanup process.

Researchers are only beginning to analyze environmental samples for potential health implications from the various toxins swirled in the petri dish of the disaster zone ? including dioxins, benzene, cadmium and organic waste-related, said Shoji F. Nakayama of the government-affiliated National Institute for Environmental Studies.

Apart from some inflammatory reactions to some substances in the dust and debris, the longer-term health risks remain unclear, he said.

The mountains of rubble and piles of smashed cars and scooters scattered along the coast only hint at the scale of the debris removed so far from coastlines and river valleys stripped bare by the tsunami. To clear, sort and process the rubble ? and a vastly larger amount of radiation-contaminated soil and other debris near the nuclear plant in Fukushima, the government is relying on big construction companies whose multi-layer subcontracting systems are infiltrated by criminal gangs, or yakuza.

In January, police arrested a senior member of Japan's second-largest yakuza group, Sumiyoshi Kai, on suspicion of illegally dispatching three contract workers to Date, a city in Fukushima struggling with relatively high radioactive contamination, through another construction company and pocketing one-third of their pay.

He told interrogators he came up with the plot to "make money out of clean-up projects" because the daily pay for such government projects, at 15,000-17,000 yen ($160-$180), was far higher than for other construction jobs, said police spokesman Hiraku Hasumi.

Gangsters have long been involved in industrial waste handling, and police say they suspect gangsters are systematically targeting reconstruction projects, swindling money from low-interest lending schemes for disaster-hit residents and illegally mobilizing construction and clean-up workers.

Meanwhile, workers complain of docked pay, unpaid hazard allowances ? which should be 10,000 yen, or $110, a day ? and of inadequate safety equipment and training for handling the hazardous waste they are clearing from towns, shores and forests after meltdowns of three nuclear plant reactor cores at Fukushima Dai-Ichi released radiation into the surrounding air, soil and ocean.

"We are only part of a widespread problem," said a 56-year-old cleanup worker, who asked to be identified only by his last name, Nakamura, out of fear of retaliation. "Everyone, from bureaucrats to construction giants to tattooed gangsters, is trying to prey on decontamination projects. And the government is looking the other way."

During a recent visit to Naraha, a deserted town of 8,000 that is now a weedy no-man's land within the 20-kilometer (12-mile) restricted zone around the crippled nuclear plant, workers wearing regular work clothes and surgical masks were scraping away topsoil, chopping tree branches and washing down roofs.

"They told me only how to cut grass, but nothing about radiation," said Munenori Kagaya, 59, who worked in the nearby town of Tomioka, which is off-limits due to high radiation.

Naraha's mayor, Yukiei Matsumoto, said that early on, he and other local officials were worried over improper handling of the 1.5 trillion yen ($16 billion) cleanup, but refrained from raising the issue, until public allegations of dozens of instances of mishandling of radioactive waste prompted an investigation by the Environment Ministry, which is handling decontamination of the 11 worst-affected towns and villages.

"I want them to remind them again what the cleanup is for," Matsumoto said in an interview. "Its purpose is to improve the environment so that people can safely return to live here. It's not just to meet a deadline and get it over with."

The ministry said it found only five questionable cases, though it acknowledged a need for better oversight. Another probe, by the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry found rampant labor violations ? inadequate education and protection from radiation exposure, a lack of medical checks and unpaid salaries and hazard pay ? at nearly half the cleanup operations in Fukushima.

About half of the 242 contractors involved were reprimanded for violations, the ministry said.

An Environment Ministry official in charge of decontamination said the government has little choice but to rely on big contractors, and to give them enough leeway to get the work done.

"We have to admit that only the major construction companies have the technology and manpower to do such large-scale government projects," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, citing the sensitivity of the issue. "If cleanup projects are overseen too strictly, it will most likely cause further delays and labor shortages."

Minoru Hara, deputy manager at a temporary waste storage site in Naraha, defended the 3,000 workers doing the work ? the only people allowed to stay in the town.

"Most of the cleanup workers are working sincerely and hard," Hara said. "They are doing a good job of washing down houses and cleaning up gardens. Such criticism is really unfair, and bad for morale."

Labor shortages, lax oversight and massive amounts of funds budgeted for the clean-up are a recipe for cheating. And plenty of money is at stake: the cleanup of a 20-kilometer (12-mile) segment of an expressway whose worst contamination exceeds allowable radiation limits by 10 times will cost 2.1 billion yen ($22.5 billion), said Yoshinari Yoshida, an Environment Ministry official.

"While decontamination is a must, the government is bearing the burden. We have to consider the cost factor," said deputy Environment Minister Shinji Inoue as he watched workers pressure wash the road's surface, a process Yoshida said was expected to reduce contamination by half.

The cleanup is bound to overrun its budget by several times, as delays deepen due to a lack of long-term storage options as opposition among local residents in many areas hardens. It will leave Fukushima, whose huge farm and fisheries industry has been walloped by radiation fears, with 31 million tons of nuclear waste or more. Around Naraha, huge temporary dumps of radioactive waste, many football fields in size and stacked two huge bags deep, are scattered around the disaster zone

The cleanups extend beyond Fukushima, to Iwate in the north and Chiba, which neighbors Tokyo, in the south. And the concerns are not limited to radiation. A walk through areas in Miyagi and Iwate that already were cleared of debris finds plenty of toxic detritus, such as batteries from cell phones, electrical wiring, plastic piping and gas canisters.

Japan has the technology to safely burn up most toxins at very high temperatures, with minimal emissions of PCBs, mercury and other poisons. But mounds of wood chips in a seaside processing area near Kesennuma were emitting smoke into the air one recent winter afternoon, possibly from spontaneous combustion.

Workers at that site had high-grade gas masks, an improvement from the early days, when many working in the disaster zone had only surgical masks, at most, to protect them from contaminated dust and smoke.

Overall, how well the debris and contaminants are being handled depends largely on the location.

Sendai, the biggest city in the region, sorted debris as it was collected and sealed the surfaces of areas used to store debris for processing to protect the groundwater, thanks to technical advice from its sister-city Kyoto, home to many experts who advised the government in its cleanup of the 1995 earthquake in the Kobe-Osaka area that killed more than 6,400 people.

But Ishinomaki, a city of more than 160,000, collected its debris first and is only gradually sorting and processing it, said the U.S.-educated Nakayama, who worked for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency before returning to Japan.

"There were no technical experts there for the waste management side," he said. "They did some good work with chemical monitoring but in total, risk assessment, risk management, unfortunately they did not have that expertise."

Ultimately, just as they are choosing to live with contamination from chemicals and other toxins, the authorities may have to reconsider their determination to completely clean up the radiation, given the effort's cost and limited effectiveness, experts say.

Regarding the nuclear accident, "there has been so much emphasis on decontamination that no other options were considered," said Hiroshi Suzuki, a professor emeritus at Tohoku University in Sendai and chairman of the Fukushima Prefectural Reconstruction Committee.

Some places, such as playgrounds, obviously must be cleaned up. But others, such as forests, should just be left alone, since gathering or burning radioactive materials concentrates them ? the opposite of what is needed since the more diluted they are, the better.

To a certain extent, policy is being dictated by politics, said Suzuki.

Before the accident, residents believed they were completely safe, he said. "The authorities want to be able to tell them once again that the area is safe. To do this they need to return it to the state that it was in before the accident."

Naraha resident Yoshimasa Murakami, a 79-year-old farmer, said he has low expectations.

A month after the government started cleaning his spacious home he has not seen a major decrease in radiation, he said while sitting on a balcony overlooking his traditional Japanese garden.

He set a dosimeter on the grass. It measured radiation nearly five times the target level and almost the same as the 1.09 microsieverts per hour found when officials surveyed it in December.

Murakami had come to the house for the day. He, his wife and daughter now live 50 kilometers (30 miles) away in Koriyama city.

He visits a few times a week to keep an eye on the cleanup workers. At nearly 80, Murakami says he doesn't mind about the radiation, but his wife does. And if he returns, his other relatives and grandchildren will be afraid to visit.

"Then, what's the point?" he said.

"I don't think decontamination is going to work," Murakami said. "The nuclear crisis is not fully over, and you never know, something still can go wrong."

__

Yamaguchi reported from Naraha and Tokyo, and Kurtenbach from Tokyo and Minami Sanriku.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-03-10-Japan-Tsunami-Dirty%20Cleanup/id-8dd42b374d8b4305b9c5536aa75e77fc

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Green cleaning for humans can still sicken pets | Wichita Eagle

? As the time nears for spring cleaning and companies offer more environmentally friendly alternatives to toxic cleaners, veterinarians say pet owners should keep in mind that what?s green to a human can be dangerous ? even deadly ? to animals.

?People expose their animals without even realizing the risk,? said Karl Jandrey, who works in the emergency and critical care units at the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital at the University of California, Davis. ?That?s the most common thing that happens when you come to our emergency room ? the clients put their pets at risk because they were unaware of how significant the damage could be.?

Most household cleaners are safe if used as directed on labels, but pet owners who make their own cleansers using natural ingredients don?t have the warnings or instructions that come with commercial products.

Cats, for example, can get stomachaches from essential oils added for orange, lemon or peppermint scents in cleaners, said Camille DeClementi, a senior toxicologist at the Animal Poison Control Center run by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Urbana, Ill.

Most commercial green products are safe for animals, DeClementi said, but owners should still exercise the same precautions as with chemical alternatives, such as keeping pets away from an area being cleaned, not using sprays directly on a pet and making sure that dogs don?t chew on the products.

If a product says ?Keep out of reach of children,? keep it away from pets too, DeClementi said.

Caroline Golon, an Ohio mother of two children under 5 and owner of two Persian cats, said she became concerned about cleaning products before her children were born, when she noticed how often the cats jumped between floors and counters. The Columbus resident uses only unscented green products or vinegar and water to clean, a water-only steam mop on floors and washes the cats? dishes and litter boxes with hot water and green dish soap.

?There are varying degrees of green, and there are a lot of mainstream brands now that have a green version. You have to do a little research to see what you like best,? said Golon, a pet blogger.

The ?green? label on products can be misleading because it still can be dangerous, Jandrey added. ?Some still have their own toxicities. In general, they probably are a little less toxic, but not free of toxic potential. They just have a need for a larger dose to cause the same kind of symptoms,? he said.

He cited antifreeze as an example. The pet-friendly version of antifreeze, propylene glycol, is ?still an antifreeze product. It?s still intoxicating to patients, our dogs and cats. It?s just not as intoxicating as ethylene glycol.?

It takes more of the propylene glycol to be as deadly as the ethylene glycol, ?but it is still intoxicating though it might say pet-friendly in the ads or on the bottle,? Jandrey said.

Labels can?t always account for every reaction, Jandrey said. ?Each intoxicating product has different concentrations and each dog or cat, each species, has a different sensitivity to that product. So what might be intoxicating to a dog is really, really intoxicating to a cat because cats might be more sensitive,? he said.

Nancy Guberti, a New York City nutritionist and healthy lifestyle coach for the past 15 years, said some products will say green when they are not.

?Natural means nothing. The consumer has to be educated. It?s all about awareness,? she said.

Extra care also should be taken when cleaning around a pet?s area, such as its toys or bedding, the experts say. Don?t use fabric softener sheets that contain cationic detergents because they will give your pet ? especially cats ? stomach distress, DeClementi said, referring to a type of chemical soap that kills bacteria.

Such detergents and soaps, normally associated with helping to get clothes clean and fresh-smelling, can have chemicals that can sicken humans and pets alike.

Guberti switched to green cleaners out of necessity when her youngest son developed a liver disorder and many allergies. Guberti said the whole family became green ? even their family?s 6-year-old Shih Tzu, Flower, because her son can?t hold Flower ?if she is full of toxic chemicals or perfumes.?

She recalled how she took the dog to a groomer for the first time, and Flower came out covered in perfume. Guberti washed her again at home, and now she brings her own bottles to the groomer.

?I have a bottle of shampoo and a bottle of conditioner with her name on it. I always remind them: ?No perfumes whatsoever,?? Guberti said.

Golon, who uses a maid service once a month, said she had the same problem when they brought their own products when they first started cleaning the house.

?I hadn?t thought about it but the smell was so overpowering, it really bothered me. I can just imagine what it was doing to the cats with their sensitivity to scents,? she said.

Source: http://www.kansas.com/2013/03/09/2708530/green-cleaning-for-humans-can.html

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Saturday, March 9, 2013

Army must do more to address soldiers' mental health, review says

SEATTLE ? Problems with combat stress in soldiers have escalated so rapidly that the Army has doubled its behavioral health workforce over the last five years and still needs to hire more help, according to a nationwide review of the military's troubled system for handling the mental wounds of war.

The review, released Friday, said about 4% of those returning from combat come home with behavioral health problems. In seeking help, they face a confusing array of programs,?inconsistencies in training for mental health workers and gaps in mental health records because of uncoordinated record-keeping systems.

Army officials say they are already moving to correct some of the problems identified in the report, commissioned after a record number of suicides and complaints by soldiers at the Madigan Army Medical Center that their diagnoses of post-traumatic stress disorder and related medical benefits were being inappropriately reversed. The medical center is located on Joint Base Lewis-McChord just outside of Tacoma, Wash.

Lt. Gen. Howard B. Bromberg, deputy Army chief of staff, says commanders are moving behavioral health specialists into combat zones to give immediate aid to soldiers. They are also reducing delays in processing for those seeking help for behavioral health problems, many of whom must wait more than a year for their cases to be finalized.

"The Army is committed to taking care of our soldiers, who have given so much to our nation over the last 12 years of war," said Lt. Gen. Patricia Horoho, the Army's surgeon general.

Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), former chairwoman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, had sought the report after concerns were raised that a screening team of forensic psychiatrists at Madigan were refusing PTSD diagnoses for service members who had been clearly identified with such problems by their own Army counselors and psychiatrists.

"The sheer number of changes this report recommends is indicative of the size and scope of the problem. This report lays out shortcomings in diagnosing, identifying and providing standardized care for PTSD and a wide range of behavioral health issues," Murray said in a statement.

"It also focuses on the painfully long delays that have plagued a joint disability system that many service members and their families have given up on," she said.

Overall, Murray's office found that more than 40% of the diagnoses of PTSD for patients under consideration for medical retirement at Madigan had been overturned by a forensic psychiatry screening team ? the only one of its kind operating at a major Army medical hub.

But Army officials said the review, expanded to include behavioral health at Army facilities worldwide, did not turn up evidence of substantial false PTSD claims, or that financial issues were playing a role in combat stress diagnoses.

"We didn't see anything in this look that was related to monetary incentives in the system," Bromberg said.

In a review of more than 154,000 behavioral health cases across the Army, independent reviewers agreed with 88% of the PTSD diagnoses. Because mental healthcare "is an art and a science," differences in diagnoses between providers are not unusual, Horoho said.

In the remaining 12% of cases, independent reviewers disagreed with the original diagnosis. The initial variance rate at Madigan, where the forensic psychiatry team was at work, was 21%.

"This revalidation rate is extraordinary when you compare it to the diagnostic revalidation rates from the civilian sector," Horoho said.

She emphasized that the study found no inappropriate actions on the part of the forensic team at Madigan. Rather, she said, the team was dismantled in order to ensure that service members at all medical centers were receiving the same diagnosis regime.

kim.murphy@latimes.com

Source: http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/news/science/~3/aLSLuT435r8/la-na-army-ptsd-20130309,0,6800734.story

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Lost Photos Finds Old Pictures You've Misplaced, Is Free This Weekend

Lost Photos Finds Old Pictures You've Misplaced, Is Free This WeekendWindows/Mac: You've probably received a ton of photos over email in the past few years, but never really added them to your photo library. Lost Photos is an app that scrubs your email for all those missing pictures, and it's free this weekend only.

We've talked about Lost Photos before, and it's a pretty handy little app. Lost Photos is always free on Windows, but Mac users usually have to pay $2.99. This weekend, it's on sale thanks to AppyFridays, so head over to the Mac App Store and check it out while you can.

Lost Photos (Free)

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Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/db3mSbvCugQ/lost-photos-finds-old-pictures-youve-misplaced-is-free-this-weekend

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U.S. Captures bin Laden Son-in-Law (WSJ)

Share With Friends: Share on FacebookTweet ThisPost to Google-BuzzSend on GmailPost to Linked-InSubscribe to This Feed | Rss To Twitter | Politics - Top Stories News, RSS and RSS Feed via Feedzilla.

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Friday, March 8, 2013

Democrats face challenging Senate landscape

WASHINGTON (AP) ? After a surprising string of victories last fall, Democrats now face a challenging terrain as they look to hold onto their Senate majority in 2014 and prevent Republicans from gaining full control of Congress during President Barack Obama's final two years. His party must defend a hefty 21 seats, including seven in largely rural states that the president lost last fall.

The task of maintaining control of the Senate has grown more daunting in recent weeks, with four Senate Democrats announcing plans to retire. Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan disclosed his decision on Thursday, following Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin and West Virginia Sen. Jay Rockefeller. New Jersey Sen. Frank Lautenberg has also said he will retire, but Democrats will be heavily favored to hold the seat. A fifth Democratic retirement could come soon from South Dakota Sen. Tim Johnson, who has not yet announced his intentions.

Democrats control 55 seats in the Senate, after November elections in which they did better than expected and gained two seats to pad their majority. That means Republicans would need to pick up six seats next year to take control for the first time since 2006.

Twenty months before the mid-term elections, Republicans are laying the groundwork to try to capitalize on the defense-playing Democrats, working to recruit strong candidates in Arkansas, Alaska, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Dakota and West Virginia ? all states carried by Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney last year. They're also buoyed by history, which shows the party controlling the White House typically loses seats during the midterm of a second-term president.

"The map looks pretty good" for the GOP, said Greg Strimple, an Idaho-based Republican pollster for Senate and gubernatorial candidates. "If I had a deck of cards to play, I'd rather play the Republican deck than the Democratic deck."

Indeed, Republicans have only 14 of their seats up for re-election and only one ? Sen. Susan Collins of Maine ? is in a state Obama carried last year. Just two GOP senators have said they will retire ? Mike Johanns of Nebraska and Saxby Chambliss of Georgia ? and they represent states that favor Republicans.

Democrats say 2014 could be a repeat of the past two election years, when their well-funded candidates benefited from the missteps of tea party Republicans who were nominated in bruising primaries over more mainstream GOP candidates.

Mindful of those scars, Republicans are watching to see if such polarizing primaries materialize in states like Georgia, Michigan, Iowa and South Dakota. The outcome of those primaries could determine whether the GOP will try to take advantage of Democratic retirements.

Jim Manley, a former aide to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., doesn't deny that the spate of Democratic retirements make it that much tougher to keep control in 2014. "The math is very much against Democrats," he said. Even so, he adds, "The real question, however, is whether Republicans are going to keep on nominating extremists or they're going to finally figure out that they've got to go mainstream."

At this early stage, both sides are focusing mostly on recruiting candidates ? and watching for signs of how the opposition is positioning.

An early skirmish has emerged in Kentucky, where Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell faces re-election next year and is working to prevent both Republican and Democratic challenges. Among the Democrats talking about running: actress Ashley Judd, who grew up in Kentucky but lives in Tennessee.

Some of the states that could turn into Senate battlegrounds next year include:

MICHIGAN: Republicans see a pickup opportunity with Levin's departure even though the party last won a Senate race in 1994. Several Republicans may seek the nomination, including members of the state's veteran congressional delegation, including Reps. Mike Rogers, Dave Camp and Justin Amash, a favorite of libertarians. Democrats could turn to Rep. Gary Peters, who represents suburban Detroit, or Mark Schauer, a former congressman from a rural district south of Lansing.

IOWA: Harkin's decision not to seek a sixth term has created the state's first open Senate race since 1974. Rep. Bruce Braley, who has tried to position himself in the mold of the liberal Harkin, is the only Democrat to declare his candidacy. Among Republicans, Rep. Tom Latham declined to run while Rep. Steve King, a conservative, has expressed interest but has also been counseled by GOP Gov. Terry Branstad to wait. Lesser-known GOP prospects Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Branstad prot?g? who is also popular with the state's evangelical right, and state Agriculture Secretary Bill Northey, popular with the state's agribusiness community, are exploring candidacies.

SOUTH DAKOTA: Republicans view South Dakota as a key potential pick-up, especially if Johnson retires. Johnson has made huge strides in recovering from a debilitating 2006 brain hemorrhage, but the state has trended sharply Republican in the past six years. Former two-term Gov. Mike Rounds began campaigning for the GOP Senate nomination shortly after the 2012 election, but it's not clear if Rounds, vulnerable to attack from spending hawks on his right, will face a primary challenge. If Johnson retires, former Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin and Johnson's son, Brendan Johnson, the state's U.S. attorney, are potential prospects.

LOUISIANA: Democrat Mary Landrieu is again a prime target for Republicans as she seeks a fourth term. Republicans have yet to identify a challenger and Landrieu, the daughter of one of the state's most durable political families, has $2.5 million in her campaign account. Two Republican congressmen, Charles Boustany and Steve Scalise, have taken their names out of consideration while two House colleagues, physicians John Fleming and Bill Cassidy, are mulling bids, along with Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne, a favorite of moderates. Tea party conservatives are pushing former Rep. Jeff Landry.

Republicans view West Virginia Rep. Shelley Moore Capito as a strong candidate to capture the seat of retiring Rockefeller. In North Carolina, Democrats are defending Sen. Kay Hagan in a state narrowly lost by Obama. And Alaska could be pivotal, with Sen. Mark Begich, a Democrat, potentially facing a challenge from Republican Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell.

__

Beaumont reported from Des Moines, Iowa. Associated Press writer Bill Barrow in Atlanta contributed to this report.

___

Follow Ken Thomas on Twitter: http://twitter.com/AP_Ken_Thomas and Thomas Beaumont http://twitter.com/TomBeaumont.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/democrats-face-challenging-senate-landscape-214523665--politics.html

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Blackhawks win 11th straight, extend points streak

CHICAGO (AP) ? The Chicago Blackhawks were tired, hurting and often on their heels Wednesday night against Colorado.

But despite skating without three key forwards, playing their second game in two nights and falling behind after two periods, they pulled out yet another win.

Daniel Carcillo scored the tiebreaking goal with 49.3 seconds left and the Blackhawks won their 11th consecutive game, beating the Avalanche 3-2 on Wednesday night to extend the best start in NHL history.

"Being down, resiliency, perseverance, whatever you want to call it, there's a belief in this locker room that whatever position we're in, we can come back," Carcillo said. "That's one of our biggest assets."

Jonathan Toews and Andrew Shaw also scored for Chicago (21-0-3), which reached the halfway point of a lockout-shortened season without losing in regulation. The remarkable Blackhawks have earned at least one point in their first 24 games, an NHL record.

Dating back to last year's regular season, the streak is 30 games.

The Blackhawks broke the previous team record for consecutive wins with their 10th in a row Tuesday night, 5-3 over Minnesota.

Chicago's overall points streak is the second-longest in NHL history. The 1979-80 Philadelphia Flyers set the league record at 35 games with a 25-0-10 run.

Carcillo knocked in a rebound with a backhand shot, his first goal of the season, after Semyon Varlamov made two in-close stops on Viktor Stalberg during a scrum in the crease.

Carcillo is better known as an agitator than a scorer, but he punched in a puck when it counted.

"I want to be more than an enforcer on this team," Carcillo said. "Just to be able to step in with some key guys going down and helping wherever I can, in this particular situation scoring a game-winner, that's what we play for."

Toews scored a highlight-reel, short-handed goal early in the third period, beating two Avalanche players to tie the score at 2. Chicago trailed after two periods for only the fourth time this season.

John Mitchell and Matt Duchene scored for Colorado, which has lost six of seven.

"It's just frustrating right now," Avalanche coach Joe Sacco said. "We had some things go well, and to come up again without any points, it's disappointing."

Ray Emery made 20 saves for the Blackhawks to improve to 10-0. Varlamov finished with 29 stops.

Chicago forward Marian Hossa sat out with an upper-body injury. Shaw left the game late in the second period and teammate Patrick Sharp left midway through the third.

"It says a lot in this situation," Toews said. "That team, they were hungry to be the spoiler, and with a couple of guys going down, it's not easy to keep going.

"But we had a lot of positive talk going into the third period. With what we've been through lately, it really helps give us that confidence we somehow, some way, are going to find a way."

Shaw's power-play goal on a deflection opened the scoring midway through the first. Shaw was parked in front of the crease, and Brent Seabrook's drive from the right point ticked in off the shaft of Shaw's stick.

Mitchell tied it with 1:40 left in the first, exploiting a rare Chicago coverage mix-up. Mitchell skated alone to the right side of the net, took a quick pass across the crease from Chuck Kobasew and lifted a backhand past Emery.

Varlamov stopped Patrick Kane on a 2-on-1 break and Carcillo on a point-blank chance early in the second.

Kobasew missed on a breakaway at 6:11 of the second moments after he jumped back on the ice from the penalty box.

Duchene put Colorado ahead 2-1 with 6:43 left in the second, moments after Varlamov made a point-blank pad save on Sharp.

Duchene streaked down the left side, slipped past Seabrook and took a pass from P.A. Parenteau. Duchene fired from a sharp angle near the goal line, but the puck struck Emery and slipped in under his right arm.

Toews scored at 2:19 of the third to tie it 2-all. He moved down the right wing, then cut to the net around Ryan O'Reilly. Toews skated across the crease ? behind both O'Reilly and Jamie McGinn ? and banked in a shot off the left post.

O'Reilly and McGinn are forwards who got caught as the two men back during the Colorado power play.

"You have a power play and you give up a chance," Sacco said. "It's a good play by a real good player on the other team, but I want to watch the tape again.

"I'm pretty sure O'Reilly got his stick slashed out of his hands (by Chicago's Dave Bolland). It led to a 1-on-1 situation. If it did, it's a bad non-call, but there's nothing I can do about it now."

Carcillo's game-winner was his first goal since returning from a knee injury on Feb. 22.

"We had a big breakdown at the end of the game," Sacco said.

NOTES: Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville offered a postgame injury update. He said Hossa "is close to playing" and might be ready Friday at Colorado. Quenneville said the team would know more about Shaw on Thursday, but Sharp could be out longer and "may get some time." ... The Blackhawks finished the 2011-12 regular season with a 3-0-3 spurt before losing to Phoenix in the first playoff round. ... The Blackhawks assigned LW Brandon Bollig to the Rockford IceHogs of the AHL. Bollig had played in only two of seven games since Carcillo returned from his knee injury. ... Chicago RW Michael Frolik missed his second game with an illness. ... Colorado played its second game without injured RW Milan Hejduk (torso). D Erik Johnson (head) missed his 11th game and D Ryan Wilson (ankle) his 14th.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blackhawks-win-11th-straight-extend-points-streak-042606637--spt.html

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