The Scott County Iowa Republican Party holds a caucus training for precinct leaders, caucus chairmen and secretaries for the January 3, 2012 Iowa Caucuses.
It was held at the Bettendorf Community Center in Bettendorf Iowa. Scott County Republican Party Chairwoman Judy Davidson leads the? meeting.
Source: http://www.c-span.org/Campaign2012/Iowa-GOP-Caucus-Training-Dec-7/10737426698-1/
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JOHANNESBURG?? A record number of rhinos were poached this year in South Africa, home to the greatest number of the animals, as rising demand in Asia for their horns led to increased killings of the threatened species.
At least 443 rhinos have been killed in South Africa in 2011, up from 333 last year, according to National Geographic News Watch.
The street value of rhinoceros horns has soared to about $65,000 a kilogram (2.2 pounds), making it more expensive than gold, platinum and in many cases cocaine, as a belief ? with no basis in science ? has taken hold in recent years in parts of Asia that ingesting it can cure or prevent cancer.
South Africa, home to more than 20,000 rhinos, was losing about 15 animals a year a decade ago. But poaching increased dramatically from about 2007 as a growing affluent class in places such as Vietnam and Thailand began spending more on rhino horn for traditional medicine.
The number of rhinoceroses dying unnatural deaths in South Africa, either through illegal poaching or legal hunts, has reached a level likely to lead to population decline, according to a study by Richard Emslie, an expert in the field.
About half of poaching takes place in Kruger National Park, the country's flagship park covering an area about the size of Israel, where soldiers and surveillance aircraft have been deployed in recent months to slow the carnage.
The park has been the focal point of an arms race as gangs of poachers sponsored by international crime syndicates have used high-powered weaponry, night vision goggles and helicopters to hunt the animals, investigators said.
In a separate study, the number of large scale ivory seizures is likely set a record this year, pointing to increased African elephant poaching.
South Africa, home to over 90 percent of the rhinos in Africa, grants licenses for legal hunts, with a growing number of the horns then mounted as trophies, shipped to Asia and sold on the black market, according to police and customs officials.
Many poachers were trained by Mozambique's military or police and are now living in squalor in the border region next to Kruger, South African investigators said.
Their cut of the rhino money is relatively small compared to other players in the international trade but is considered a fortune at home.
Rhino horn has been used for centuries in Chinese medicine, where it was ground into a powder and often mixed with hot water to treat a variety of maladies including rheumatism, gout, high fever and even devil possession.
In recent years, it has also taken on a reputation for being an aphrodisiac and cancer cure.
"Nothing is more tragic than to see this totally unnecessary and brutal killing of an animal for its horn, and the horn in turn has zero medicinal value," said Pelham Jones, a leader of the South Africa Private Rhino Owners Association.
Campaigners in South Africa are urging President Jacob Zuma to uphold a 1993 treaty on international trade in endangered species and to engage with China, Vietnam and Thailand with a view to ending the trade in rhino horn and other animal parts.
In September the country's Department of Water and Environmental Affairs signed a memorandum of understanding with Vietnam which it hoped would lead to an agreement to help curb rhino poaching in South Africa. The department is seeking similar agreements with Thailand and China.
Reuters and msnbc.com staff contributed to this report
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45823839/ns/world_news-africa/
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NEW YORK ? Stocks ended barely changed in light trading Tuesday amid mixed economic news. Consumer confidence surged to an eight-month high, but home prices dropped in major cities. Sears plummeted after reporting that it would close more than 100 stores around the country.
The Dow Jones industrial average closed down just 2 points after staying in a narrow range all day. The S&P 500 index and Nasdaq eked out small gains.
In the latest sign of a bumpy recovery in the housing market, home prices fell in 19 of the 20 cities tracked by the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller index. Atlanta, Detroit and Minneapolis posted the biggest declines. Prices in Atlanta and Las Vegas fell to their lowest points since the housing crisis began.
That report dampened investors' enthusiasm about a jump in consumer confidence to the highest level since April. The New York-based Conference Board reported that its Consumer Confidence Index rose almost 10 points to 64.5 in December. Economists watch the numbers closely because consumer spending accounts for about 70 percent of U.S. economic activity.
Henry Herrmann, chief executive officer at the investment management firm Waddell & Reed, said the increase reflected the fact that more jobs have been created in recent weeks, which will likely lead to "a more sustained" economic recovery.
"If job creation will come with wage improvement in the coming weeks, it will boost confidence further," Herrmann said.
The Dow Jones lost 2.65 points, or 0.02 percent, to close at 12,291.35. The S&P 500 was up 0.10 points, or 0.01 percent, to 1,265.43. The Nasdaq composite rose 6.56, or 0.3 percent, to 2,625.20.
The most the Dow rose during the day was 34 points, and the most it fell was 24. It was the narrowest trading range in 5 months. Stocks are expected to trade within a narrow range all this week as trading remains light between the Christmas holiday and New Year's. The volume of shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday was 2 billion, less than half the average daily volume this month.
Sears Holding Corp. plunged 27 percent to $33.38, the most in the S&P 500. The retailer warned it would close between 100 and 120 Sears and Kmart stores following poor sales during the holidays, the most crucial time of year for retailers.
The Sears news also dragged Whirlpool Corp. down 9 percent to $46.62. Investors worried the store closings would hurt sales of Whirlpool and Maytag washers and dryers the company makes.
A run of strong economic data in the U.S. has boosted the stock market in recent days. However analysts expect any gains to be tempered by worries over the European debt crisis.
Italy's borrowing costs rose Tuesday, reflecting a continued high level of investor anxiety. The yield on the country's ten-year bonds hit 7 percent again, which is considered unsustainable in the long run. Greece, Ireland and Portugal had to seek relief from their lenders after their own borrowing costs rose that high.
Italy is the euro zone's third-largest economy and is considered too big to get bailed out by its neighbors. Mario Monti, the country's new premier, got parliamentary approval last week for a big austerity package that is intended to save the country from financial disaster.
Markets have grown increasingly fearful over the past few months that Italy will find it difficult to pay off its massive debts, which stand at around $2.5 trillion.
In other corporate news:
? Computer Sciences Corp. fell 9 percent after warning that it will write down the value of an investment by about $1.5 billion.
? U.S. oil and gas explorer Endeavour International Corp. rose 24 percent after the company announced an agreement to buy ConocoPhillips' interest in three U.K. oil fields in the Central North Sea for $330 million.
? International Game Technology shares gained 5 percent following news that some states might be closer to permitting online gambling.
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NEW YORK ? Producing and sustaining a horror show for the American television audience is not a mission for the squeamish.
Over television's 60-some years, very few continuing horror series have truly taken hold in this country. "Dark Shadows" survived five years in the 1960s by blending camp and soap opera. Joss Whedon succeeded by making "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" into a "Beverly Hills, 90210" of the undead. "Supernatural" works because it is, in effect, about two brothers on a really long road trip, and "True Blood" pins its allure on sex and deep bayou weirdness.
Then there's "American Horror Story," the brainchild of "Glee" creators Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk, which finished its addictively off-kilter first season last week on FX. Against every single odd, this haunted-Hollywood saga managed to take all the horror cliches in the book and, using those ingredients, spin a thought-provoking stew of compelling originality. (Warning to DVR jockeys: Read on and you WILL encounter spoilers.)
The show's first season documented the travails of the Harmon family in a 1908 mansion known as the "Murder House" for all the bad things that happened there. Now here's why the Golden Globe-nominated series shouldn't work:
Watching an episode of it is like leafing through a "Bartlett's Familiar Quotations" of old dark-house movies through the ages. Aside from the obvious prerequisite ? a menacing mansion with a murderous history and an abundance of creepy nooks and crannies ? pretty much everything you've seen in every horror show rears its head here.
There's the disembodied child's ball that rolls into the scene, the creepy and blank-eyed twins from beyond the grave, and the magnificently undulating Steadicam work ("The Shining"). There's the white rocking chair, the smarmy real-estate agent, and the menacing cellar with wooden steps that contains more than its share of dark corners and terrifying secrets ("The Amityville Horror").
There's the lens-blur of intense scenes and the muffled hallway sounds that might or might not be a supernatural force ("The Haunting"). There's the absurd abundance of doors ("The House on Haunted Hill") and the fact that they open and close on their own (fill in your own horror-movie title here). And, of course, there's the misshapen creature in the attic, the wide and looming staircase and the elaborate chandeliers (pretty much every other episode of "Scooby-Doo"). Occasional fragments from Vincent Price's oozy oeuvre and the famous horror films from the British studio Hammer in the 1950s and 1960s also pop up in cameos throughout the show.
Now. Here's a passel of fragments that explain why "American Horror Story" DOES work, and brilliantly:
The murderer in the full-body black rubber suit that might be living, might be dead. The decor-obsessed dead gay couple. The misunderstood teenage boy, dead 17 years, who turns out to be a Columbine-style killer but just wants to be understood. The maid who was murdered in 1983 while young and sexy and now is seen by some as a middle-aged woman and by others as the sexy young siren she was. The fact that dead people can be seen by the living, and interact with them physically, if they wish it. The dead wife of the 1920s abortion doctor who simply wants a child, no matter the cost. The gratuitous explanations of some of American history's more pernicious mysteries, including the Black Dahlia case and ? wait for it ? the disappearance of the Roanoke colony in 1590.
And then there is Jessica Lange, in a piercing performance that somehow manages to be simultaneously over the top and restrained and, as Salon TV critic Matt Zoller Seitz points out, channels the Southern Gothic sensibility of Bette Davis' terrifying turn in 1965's "Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte."
"If it were possible to take a classic early '60s camp horror movie, feed it massive amounts of cocaine, then turn it into a basic cable drama, the result might look like this," Seitz wrote last month.
Why does horror have such a difficult path in continuing to succeed over time, particularly in series form? Mostly it's because the conventions of fear, particularly the supernatural kind, rely upon the unknown itself being terrifying. But when the unknown keeps doing the same creaky, thumpy, door-slamming thing and remains unknown, it makes for a less scary story. (Perhaps that accounts for the popularity of torture horror such as the "Saw" franchise; the fear is in the gore, not the possibility of it.)
"American Horror Story," though, takes the opposite path.
Here, the living seem kind of dull but there's major character development among the dead. The house that belonged to Ben and Vivien Harmon and their daughter Violet (Dylan McDermott, Connie Britton and Taissa Farmiga) is not a single-family dwelling. It is occupied by the people who have lived there ? and, what is more important, died there ? over the decades, and they somehow coexist in the same space. Some are kinder and more benign; others aren't done making misery for the living or for each other. "This," says a psychic assessing matters, "is a very crowded house."
As the season progressed, the emphasis shifted to the house's dead occupants. Or, put another way, as more people were offed, the majority of the cast became ghosts, and the center of gravity moved to the afterworld. In one of the season's more extraordinary scenes, we saw the teenage Violet gazing upon her own decomposing body in the house's bowels and realizing, wrenchingly, that she had been dead for weeks.
We were offered ghosts who decorate nurseries, ghosts who sweep up their messes, ghosts who complain that there's no Ramones album available, ghosts who trim Christmas trees, ghosts who have varying degrees of knowledge that they are, in fact, dead. And like the dead who occasionally appeared during episodes of the late HBO funeral-home drama "Six Feet Under" ? albeit as hallucinations of the show's living characters ? the dearly departed of "American Horror Story" offer us insights into our own lives and how transitory our problems are when compared to death itself.
"The word ancient loses all its meaning when your entire existence is one long today," the middle-aged incarnation of Moira the housekeeper (Frances Conroy) says in the season finale.
Ultimately, "American Horror Story" is a fresh take on the tale of the immigrant experience. Death is the undiscovered country of destination, the place where people must build their world anew. It took the entire first season, but this much about the show has become clear: Dying is a starting point for exploration of the human condition. And what better way to look upon the living than through the eyes of the formerly living, which share traits with us but are also permanently, irrevocably different?
Thornton Wilder dealt with this notion in the final scene of "Our Town," which unfolds in a rural graveyard. A main character, Emily Webb, has died young during childbirth ? just like Vivien Harmon ? and is just arriving among the dead of her community. "Live people don't understand, do they?" she says to her late mother-in-law. "They're sort of shut up in little boxes, aren't they?" That's "American Horror Story" in a nutshell.
Now, in the past few days, we find that Murphy and Falchuk planned all along to end the saga of the Harmons and their LA house with the season finale. Next season, they say, they'll move on to an entirely different tale somewhere else in the vast and haunted American republic ? a place with different homeowners, different themes and different ghosts with different stories to tell.
"Houses don't have memories," George Lutz said as he moved into his house in "The Amityville Horror." He was, he quickly realized, as wrong as wrong can be. Or, as the Murder House's real-estate agent lobbies a family of prospective buyers, teeing up the second season of "American Horror Story" perfectly: "No matter where you go, you'll be moving into somebody's history."
___
EDITOR'S NOTE ? Ted Anthony writes about American culture for The Associated Press. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/anthonyted
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CAIRO (Reuters) ? Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, charged with the killing of protesters and abuse of power, was wheeled into court on a hospital trolley on Wednesday as his trial resumed after a delay of almost two months while lawyers demanded a new judge.
Many Egyptians hope the trial will heal some of the scars of his autocratic rule and help the country find stability after nearly a year of political turmoil under the military generals who replaced him in power.
But the multitude of witnesses and the complexity of the charges mean the case could drag on for months, perhaps years.
Mubarak, his two sons, the former interior minister and senior police officers face charges ranging from corruption to involvement in the deaths of hundreds of protesters in the uprising that unseated him.
The former leader, who is being held under guard at a military hospital near Cairo as doctors say he has a heart condition, was brought into the court on a hospital trolley, covering his eyes with his arm and surrounded by police.
Previous sessions were marred by clashes outside the Cairo court building between Mubarak supporters and Egyptians demanding the death penalty for him, but there were no scuffles as Mubarak arrived on Wednesday.
He was widely believed to be grooming his son Gamal to succeed him but any such plan was overturned when disgust at poverty, corruption and the brutality of Egypt's security forces boiled over and millions took to the streets in January.
Around 850 people were killed in the 18-day uprising that overthrew him, with the police accused of shooting live rounds at unarmed demonstrators. Much of the trial centers on who gave the order to fire.
The case has gripped the Middle East, a region ruled mostly by autocrats who seemed unassailable until this year when Mubarak and the leaders of Tunisia and Libya were toppled in popular revolts.
The sight in August of Mubarak, the man who ruled the Arab world's most populous nation for three decades, appearing behind bars in a Cairo courtroom on charges that could bring the death penalty was one of the defining moments of the Arab Spring.
Later that month the presiding judge Ahmed Refaat ordered television cameras out of the courtroom until the case concludes, ensuring key testimony by top officials took place beyond public view.
Lawyers representing families of those killed filed a suit in September calling for Refaat and the two other judges to be replaced.
They had complained that the judges had failed to give them enough time to question Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, who heads the army council now ruling Egypt, during his court appearance. Their request was rejected.
TEST FOR ARMY
Former Interior Minister Habib al-Adli and six senior police officers are also standing trial. Businessman Hussein Salem, a close associate of Mubarak, is being tried in absentia.
The judge was due on Wednesday to take requests from lawyers and set dates for questioning of more witnesses. A lawyer asked that the deputy head of the military council, General Sami Anan, give testimony, a witness in the court said.
The case is a test for the army, which may be uncomfortable at the prospect of a public humiliation for Mubarak, a former air force head.
Whatever the outcome, his overthrow ensures his successors cannot ignore the power of the public.
But those who hoped that the revolt would lead quickly to a return to stability and an improvement in their lives have been disappointed.
Egyptians began choosing a new parliament a month ago in elections due to last until mid-January, but the vote has taken place in the shadow of violence and an economic crisis.
Protesters demanding the army cede power more swiftly fought troops in Cairo for five days until calm was restored last week. The Health Ministry put the death toll at 17.
The Muslim Brotherhood, whose party is leading in the election, said the army's timetable for handing power to civilians after a presidential vote, due before mid-2012, should not be changed as it would wreak chaos.
(Additional reporting by Marwa Awad; Writing by Tom Pfeiffer; Editing by Giles Elgood)
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Members of Congress gathered in the Capitol Rotunda to dedicate a statue of former President Gerald Ford as one of Michigan's statues. Two of the former president's children spoke. President Ford served in the U.S. House from 1949 until taking the office of vice president in 1973. He served as the Republican minority leader for his last eight years in the House.
Source: http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/299307-1
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Holland Taylor offers no apologies for never settling down, getting married or having children.
The 68-year-old Emmy-winning actress, currently starring in her one-woman show "Ann" at Washington D.C.'s Kennedy Center, simply never had the time.
"I always did think I would be married and settled down by now but maybe I ain't ready," she said, sounding a lot like the over-the-top mother of Jon Cryer she portrays in the CBS comedy "Two and a Half Men." "Then again, maybe I won't ever be ready."
Taylor's career blossomed in her mid-30s and the New Yorker with Pennsylvania roots has been on a dizzying pace ever since, starring on the stage, in television and on film.
Having a family just wasn't in the script.
"I'm very, very happy. I just never was the marrying kind," she said. "I am a serial monogamist. I don't have multiple relationships at once.
"I've had a long life and a lot of relationships and not one of them do I wish -- well, I take that back -- there are a couple I could have done without," she added with a chuckle.
Taylor's current love is "Ann," which is based on the life of quick-witted, sharp-tongued former Texas Gov. Ann Richards.
Seconds after a recent performance at the Kennedy Center, the audience was on its feet, cheering wildly for the show and its star.
While the applause was quick that night, overall it was a long time coming for Taylor. The actress conceived the show nearly six years ago and has been researching it and writing it ever since. She admits to being captivated about the dynamic Richards, who died in 2006 of esophageal cancer.
"I had a lot of creative feelings about her," Taylor told Reuters. "If I had been a painter, it would have been a painting. If I had been a composer, it would have been a piece of music. I had to do something with my feelings about this loss."
Taylor said the idea of taking Richards' story to the stage "came to me very suddenly."
"I was literally driving to work at my television show one day and I had to pull off the highway onto the service road," she recalled. "I had the idea it should be a play because of her liveliness and her contact with the audience.
"She herself said, 'I was good as a candidate over the years only because I connect with people one on one.' I decided right then a play is how it should be done."
NO LOOKING BACK
Taylor has perfected Richards' Southern drawl and eerily looks like the Texas politician whose energizing keynote address at the 1988 Democratic National Convention elevated her to widespread prominence.
The actress insists she brought Richards' story to the stage not because she could play the role but to celebrate the politician's life.
"She was not a person who looked back. Ever," Taylor said. "She did not revisit things. She was rolling along, like a wheel that goes under and then over. Under and over. But always moving forward.
"If she fell, she fell forward. And that is not the way I am. I get very upset. I can get very waylaid. I get blue. I can become chicken little.
"And now when I do, I think, 'What would Ann Richards think of this behavior?'"
During breaks in the show's pre-Broadway tour -- it is playing now through January 15 at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts -- Taylor will continue her role on "Two and a Half Men." She is glad its former star, Charlie Sheen, survived his firing and public meltdown earlier this year and has moved on.
"It was painful for me to see him in pain and he did something very, very dangerous by first of all, obviously doing drugs to that degree is dangerous, but quitting very violently is very dangerous too," she said.
"And he went through really an amazing thing out in public. I just was terrified for him. I think everybody was. But he got through it alive which is all anybody wanted."
Taylor said she would see his daily rants and described them as "very scary."
"There were a few days there where I would open the paper, and I would be so frightened to see that something really terrible happened," she said. "I'm glad he escaped that."
Holland Taylor is in a good spot these days, healthy, happy and with more job offers than she knows what do with. Just don't expect her to slow down anytime soon.
With a laugh, she said she would "commit an ax murder" before attempting to conceal her age.
"It would seem so silly," she said backstage at the Kennedy Center. "I really, truly genuinely struggled quite hard until I was in my mid-30s. "I personally was at sea.
"But that's long gone. I'm doing OK. I'm better than OK."
(Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)
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Source: www.nytimes.com --- Saturday, December 24, 2011
Hours after the killing of at least eight protesters in Yemen?s capital, Sana, President Ali Abdullah Saleh said he would be leaving soon for the United States. ...
Source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=e983b37b476af25f505da2309ca3ea0b
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Publicado: 26 dic. 2011 7:16 AM
En el partido disputado en el Staples Center de Los ?ngeles ante 18.997 espectadores Derrick Rose anot? a 4,5 segundos la canasta de la victoria.
Con 54,6 segundos para concluir el partido los Lakers ten?an seis puntos de ventaja en el marcador.
Antes de llegar la canasta "milagrosa" de Rose, que concluy? el partido con 22 puntos y cinco asistencias, para ser el l?der de los Bulls, Los Angeles desarrollaba una gran labor defensiva.
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Source: http://iowacaucus.com/2011/12/23/gazette-seeking-community-contributors-for-caucus-night-coverage/
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Republican presidential candidate, Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., sits on a motorcycle during a campaign stop at the National Motorcycle Museum in Anamosa, Iowa, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2011. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Republican presidential candidate, Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., sits on a motorcycle during a campaign stop at the National Motorcycle Museum in Anamosa, Iowa, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2011. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) ? The Hamburg Inn in Iowa City has long been a popular stop for presidential candidates, but it probably won't be high on Rep. Michele Bachmann's list anymore.
About two dozen activists with Occupy Iowa City packed the diner before Bachmann arrived Thursday, then loudly chanted in unison as she tried to mingle with supporters. Their chant blasted the Minnesota congresswoman's position on gay rights, health care and taxes and ended with: "You're not wanted here. So go, just go."
The restaurant's manager says the campaign blared Christmas songs over a sound system to drown out the protesters. Police arrived as tensions rose, but no one was arrested.
Bachmann seemed undeterred. Before leaving, she thanked the owner, praised the food and said it was great to be in Iowa City.
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HARDING, N.J.?? A small plane heading for Georgia crashed Tuesday on a major New York-area highway, spiraling out of control, breaking up and scattering wreckage across the road. All five people aboard were killed.
Federal investigators said the pilot had discussed icing with controllers just before the plane went down but were unsure what role, if any, icing played in the crash.
"(The icing conversation) was described to me as not a distress call, but as more of a conversation," NTSB spokesman Robert Gretz told The Star-Ledger.
The New York investment banking firm Greenhill & Co. said two of its managing directors, Jeffrey Buckalew, 45, and Rakesh Chawla, 36, as well as Buckalew's wife and two children, were on the plane that crashed on Interstate 287. No one on the ground was injured.
Buckalew was the registered owner of the single-engine plane and had a pilot's license.??
Wreckage was scattered over at least a half-mile-wide area, with a section found lodged in a tree of a home about a quarter-mile away, near a highway entrance ramp.
Chris Covello of Rockaway Township said he saw the plane spin out of control from the car dealership where he works in Morristown, near the site of the crash.
"It was like the plane was doing tricks or something, twirling and flipping. It started going straight down. I thought any second they were going to pull up. But then the wing came off and they went straight down," he said.
The high-performance, Socata TBM-700 turboprop had departed from nearby Teterboro Airport in New Jersey and crashed about 14 minutes into its flight. It was headed for DeKalb Peachtree Airport near Atlanta.
The pilot had a seven-second call with a controller about icing shortly before the crash, said Robert Gretz, an investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board, told a late-day news conference.
Gretz said he did not know if the pilot was reporting icing had occurred or was questioning the location of possible icing conditions. He said he was unaware of any icing on the ground that would have required deicing.
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The Federal Aviation Administration said the pilot had requested clearance to a higher altitude shortly before the plane dropped off radar. The NTSB said the plane had climbed to 17,500 feet.
On an audio recording available online, an air traffic controller is heard telling the pilot about "moderate rime," or a coating of ice particles, up to 17,000 feet.
"We'll let you know what happens when we get in there," the pilot says. "If we can go straight through it, that's no problem for us."
A few minutes later, a different controller is heard telling another pilot about reports of moderate to severe icing up to 14,000 feet and moderate icing up to 17,000. "Pretty much everyone I'm talking to has had at least light to moderate," she says. "I've had one report of extreme at 14."
The crash left charred wreckage across the median and the highway, a heavily used route that wraps around the northern and western edges of the New York City area. A huge ball of charred metal sat in the middle of the northbound lanes. Both sides of the highway were shut down, only partly reopening by late afternoon.
Gretz said the plane just missed a truck on the southbound lanes before crashing into the median, then scattering wreckage across the wooded area and into the northbound lanes.
'Really scary'
David Williamson, 19, was doing maintenance at a golf course in Morristown when he spotted a plane in trouble, with smoke coming off both sides of the wings.
"It was really scary," he said.
When the plane crashed, he said, it sent up a "huge plume of thick black smoke."
Gretz said witnesses interviewed by investigators also described the descent as an uncontrolled spin.
Greenhill & Co. said Buckalew's wife, Corinne, and the couple's two children, Jackson and Meriwether, were traveling with him.
"Jeff was one of the first employees of Greenhill. He and Rakesh were extraordinary professionals who were highly respected by colleagues and clients alike," Greenhill Chairman Robert Greenhill and Chief Executive Scott Bok said in a joint statement. "They will be sorely missed and our sympathies go out to their families and friends."
Buckalew joined Greenhill in 1996 from Salomon Brothers. He was an experienced pilot with a passion for flying, Greenhill said.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Buckalew was played a key role in the merger of Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines in 2008.
"The firm is in deep mourning over the tragic and untimely death of two of its esteemed colleagues and members of Jeff's family," the company statement said.
Authorities said a dog aboard the plane was also killed.
The occupants of the plane were headed to Georgia for a combination of personal and business reasons, Gretz said.
NBC News, The Associated Press contributed to this report, as did msnbc.com staff.
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45737902/ns/us_news-life/
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VIENNA (Reuters) ? Iran has invited the U.N. nuclear watchdog to visit for talks, a senior Western diplomat said on Tuesday, but it was not clear whether the IAEA would accept without a commitment from Tehran to address suspicions it is seeking atomic weapons.
Reflecting widespread Western skepticism, the envoy said the invitation included no promise that talks would cover issues raised last month in an International Atomic Energy Agency report that suggested Iran had worked on developing the means to build a nuclear weapon.
"Apparently the Iranians have invited agency officials, but the offer is clearly just part of their amateurish charm offensive," the diplomat said. There is "no commitment to talk substance ... same old movie."
IAEA chief Yukiya Amano has made clear that any new visit must address the agency's concerns about potential military aims of the nuclear program, which Iran says is strictly peaceful.
A second Vienna-based diplomat was unable to confirm that Iran had issued an invitation, but said the IAEA and Tehran had been in contact about a possible visit which could take place early next year. If agreed, this could be "good news," he added.
There was no immediate comment from the IAEA, the Iranian mission in Vienna or Iranian officials in Tehran.
The IAEA carries out regular inspections of Iranian nuclear sites but has not sent a senior official for talks since August, before it released its latest report containing what was described as intelligence showing Iran's nuclear military aims.
Western countries seized on the IAEA report last month to ratchet up economic sanctions.
Previous visits by senior IAEA officials have failed to make significant progress towards resolving the long-running row over Iran's nuclear program, which has the potential to spark a wider conflict in the Middle East.
IAEA Deputy Director General Herman Nackaerts, head of the agency's safeguards inspections worldwide, was granted rare access to a facility for developing advanced uranium enrichment machines when he visited in August.
But Western diplomats tend to see such invitations as attempts by Iran to buy time.
The head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, Fereydoun Abbasi-Davani, wrote to the IAEA in late October suggesting that a senior IAEA delegation headed by Nackaerts should visit for talks.
But Iran's angry response to the IAEA report cast doubt on those plans. Iran's IAEA ambassador said last month that "everything is messed up" by the report.
Amano said in November he had proposed sending a high-level team to Iran to "clarify the issues" raised in the report.
Another Vienna-based Western diplomat said the IAEA director general would probably only agree to send his officials to Tehran in order to specifically discuss such issues.
"I don't think they want to have talks about talks," the diplomat said.
(Reporting by Fredrik Dahl)
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By Brian Hamacher, NBCMiami.com
The holiday spirit is alive and well in Miami after an anonymous donor dropped a diamond ring into a Salvation Army kettle Friday.
Miami-Dade Salvation Army Capt. Linda Payton said her office received a call around 1 p.m. from a woman who wanted to remain anonymous.
"She said that she had just left something in the kettle in front of Kmart and that it was something special," Payton said.
Read the original story at NBCMiami.com
Payton said she personally went to the Kmart in Pinecrest to retrieve the kettle and bring it back to the office.
"Inside the kettle was, wrapped in a rubber band, a $50 bill and inside the $50 bill was a note, and inside the note was a ring," Payton said.
"They need more than I. Do good! A Friend," the simple note read.
The ring, which features two diamonds and a sapphire, was immediately appraised at $2,000, Payton said.
It was the second time in two years that something "special" had been dropped in a Salvation Army kettle in the area.
Last year a gold nugget, which was later auctioned for $4,000, was found with a similar note.
"It's just wonderful for the community, we're just the conduit, they're the ones who will receive it," Payton said.
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December 15th at 5:30pm by John Spence
Tom Lydon appeared on CNBC?s ?Closing Bell? today to discuss the current markets and investing strategies.? Lydon pointed out how investors can get creative in searching for yields with ETFs. Watch the CNBC video to see the full interview.
Source: http://www.etftrends.com/2011/12/tom-lydon-on-cnbc-discusses-investing-and-yield/
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The allure of more forward-looking wrist candy from Tokyoflash, who could resist a peak? Those not interested in looking like a steampunk gentleman may prefer these more conventional watches, which pack touchscreen capabilities into their low-energy LCDs. You can afford to be a little choosy too. Besides the black and silver models, there are also several combinations of LCD colors to be had, including natural [above, right], red [above left], green, blue and orange. The watch is currently on a limited time launch offer, slicing twenty bucks off the $199 MSRP. Anyone wanting another taste of future timepieces can peruse the gallery below.
Tokyoflash Kisai On Air floats the idea of multicolored touchscreen watch faces originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Dec 2011 23:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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BANGKOK?? Thai transsexual ladyboys are taking to the air as flight attendants for a new airline, a move that some said could be a key step towards still broader acceptance in a nation where they are already unusually visible.
Don't miss these Travel stories
Unless you?re a member of the 1 percent, you?re probably not buying that special someone a trip to Tahiti or round-the-world cruise. Luggage and other travel accessories, however, are useful and affordable.
Known as "katoeys" or "ladyboys," transgenders and transsexuals hold mainstream jobs in a variety of fields in Thailand. They are especially common in cosmetics shops or health stores, which almost always have a ladyboy shop assistant.
Working for new charter airline PC Air, transsexual flight attendants including 22-year-old Tanyarat Jirapatpakorn made their debut on a flight from Bangkok to the southern city of Surat Thani on Thursday, serving drinks and snacks and carrying out safety demonstrations.
"This is the beginning of the acceptance of transsexuals in Thailand, giving the opportunity for us to work in various fields," said Tanyarat.
"Maybe in the future we can get any job that transsexuals never did before, such as police, soldiers or even pilots."
PC Air, whose name comes from the initials of president Peter Chan, originally planned only to hire male and female flight attendants, but changed its mind after more than 100 transsexuals and transvestites applied as well.
Four were chosen, along with 19 female and 7 male flight attendants. The airline said qualifications for the ladyboy flight attendants were the same as for female flight attendants, with the additional provisos that they be like women in how they walked and talked, and have a feminine voice.
Chan, the airline president, said the ladyboy flight attendants actually might have a special advantage.
"They might provide better services because they understand both males and females. And they're well trained according to the aviation standard," he added.
The new recruits were chosen in February and have been training since in security measures, in-flight services, and make-up application.
PC Air flies domestically as well as to several Asian destinations, including Japan and South Korea.
Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45693412/ns/travel-news/
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Michael Loccisano / Getty Images
Radio personality Howard Stern is joining "America's Got Talent."
By Ree Hines
Shortly after the first rumors surfaced about the possibility of Howard Stern joining "America's Got Talent," the self-proclaimed King of All Media predicted that he'd outperform past panelist David Hasselhoff. While few Stern fans could doubt that, he'll soon have a chance to prove it to "Got Talent" viewers.
On Thursday morning, NBC announced that it's official: Stern will get a spot on the panel.
(FYI: TODAY.com is powered by msnbc.com, which is a joint venture between Microsoft and NBC Universal.)
Paul Telegdy, president of alternative and late night programming for NBC, said, "Howard Stern?s larger-than-life personality will bring a thrilling new dynamic to ?America?s Got Talent? starting this summer. He?s a proven innovator and his track record in broadcasting is truly remarkable. Howard is very passionate about this show and is fully committed to its future success.?
Stern will be stepping in to replace former "Got Talent" judge Piers Morgan, who decided the reality TV competition was just too much to juggle with his CNN show.
On Stern's Thursday morning Sirius XM radio show, the shock jock confirmed the news.
The show's official Twitter feed has since featured updates.
"Howard says he'll start shooting in February and actually be traveling the country to do the audition rounds. ?#H100 ?#AGT," one update read.
But once those auditions are over, Stern won't have to worry about hitting the road for the regular rounds. Production of the live show will travel to him in New York.
What do you think of the big announcement? Will Stern be a good fit for the show? Share your thoughts on our Facebook page.
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CHICAGO ? Rod Blagojevich was clearly the ringleader of the schemes for which he was convicted, a federal judge said Tuesday at the sentencing hearing for the ousted Illinois governor on corruption charges that include trying to sell an appointment to President Barack Obama's former Senate seat.
U.S. District Judge James Zagel also said he believed there was ample evidence Blagojevich wanted $1.5 million in campaign contributions for the seat ? comments that could signal a harsher sentence.
Calling "absurd" a defense suggestion that Blagojevich was being manipulated by staffers and advisers, Zagel said it was apparent from secretly made FBI recordings that Blagojevich relentlessly worked to use his authority to benefit himself.
"There is no question from his tone of voice that he was demanding," said Zagel, who added that he did not believe Blagojevich when he testified that he planned to name Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan to the Senate. "His role as leader is clearly shown by his actions."
Blagojevich, who sat at a defense table in a dark pinstripe suit, was expected to address Zagel later in the day. Before proceedings began, he stood, rubbing his hands and occasionally biting his lip. His wife Patti sat behind him on a spectators' bench, and her brother put his arm around her. Blagojevich's two daughters were not present.
The impeached state executive-turned-reality TV star has good reason to feel anxious at the two-day hearing. He faces the prospect of 10 or more years behind bars. If Zagel settles on a sentence of more than a decade, that would make it one of the stiffest penalties imposed for corruption in a state with a long history of crooked politics.
Prosecutors want the twice-elected governor sentenced to 15 to 20 years, arguing that he has not only shirked all responsibility for his crimes but repeatedly thumbed his nose at the U.S. justice system.
Blagojevich's attorneys have said he has already paid a price in public ridicule and financial ruin, and propose a term of just a few years. They have also taken an approach judges often frown upon at the sentencing stage: Continuing to insist their client is innocent.
Legal experts have said Blagojevich needs to display some remorse when he addresses Zagel. But the big unknown is whether the often cocksure ex-governor will beg for mercy or yet again protest his innocence.
A flat-out apology isn't always considered a must. If it isn't sincere, it could only anger a judge.
Defense attorney Carolyn Gurland told the judge that it isn't true Blagojevich hasn't grasped the severity of his legal plight, but she seemed to stop short of saying he accepted responsibility, saying only "Mr. Blagojevich has faced up to the fact of his conviction."
But she also argued that the case was exceptional, saying the public wasn't harmed. Gurland said Zagel should take into account the fact that Blagojevich did not "receive a single penny" in ill-gotten gains ? unlike other cases in which politicians were convicted of public corruption.
"Rod Blagojevich received nothing," she said, adding that Blagojevich was doing what politicians do ? seeking campaign contributions, not "money stuffed into envelopes."
Both sides could finish their pitches to Zagel during Tuesday's hearing, which was moved to a large ceremonial courtroom to accommodate expected crowds. Among the attendees were more than a dozen jurors from both trials, including both foremen. Zagel says he'll wait until Wednesday to pronounce a sentence.
The 70-year-old judge must answer nuanced questions according to complex sentencing considerations, including whether any good Blagojevich accomplished as governor counterbalances the bad.
The first person to testify on Blagojevich's behalf was Dr. Deanna Monroe. The Chicago pediatrician praised Blagojevich for creating the "All Kids" health insurance program, saying many children wouldn't be treated without it.
Also among those in attendance at court was Sister Susanne Kullowitch, 78, who said she believed Blagojevich deserved mercy, noting the good she said he had done as governor for the elderly.
"I was here to tell the governor I was praying for him," she said during a break. She said she went up to Blagojevich before proceedings began, and she said he responded, `Keep praying."
In describing the humiliation his family has faced, the defense cited Blagojevich's appearances on NBC's "Celebrity Apprentice," where he struggled to use a cell phone, and his wife, Patti, eating a tarantula on the reality show, "I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!"
After sentencing, Zagel will likely give Blagojevich weeks before he must report to prison. Once there, the man heard scoffing on FBI wiretaps about earning a low six-figure salary would have to take a prison job ? possibly scrubbing toilets ? at just 12 cents an hour.
Blagojevich's sentencing comes just days before his 55th birthday and three years to the week of his Dec. 9, 2008, arrest. The jury deadlocked in his first trial, agreeing on just one of 24 counts ? that Blagojevich lied to the FBI. Jurors at his recent retrial convicted him on 17 of 20 counts, including bribery.
___
Michael Tarm can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/mtarm
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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.
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December 5th, 2011
The Chronicle of Higher Education has a piece??announcing the ?Better Buildings Initiative, an effort to improve building efficiency by 20 percent?will get $2-billion from government agencies through a? presidential memorandum, and colleges and universities, cities, private companies, and other entities will collectively contribute the other $2-billion.?
So, this appears to be a subsidy to nudge building managers to pursue energy efficiency. ?If the price of electricity is expected to go up, and if managers must pay their own electricity bills, then will energy efficiency be pursued? ?Why is government intervention necessary here? ?Will you point to the carbon externality associated with electricity consumption? Or will you point to soft budget constraints? ?Or inertia and a lack of information about the future benefits of such long term investments relative to the upfront costs? ?For a subtle discussion, see Tom Tietenberg?s paper in REEP.
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