As Florida votes, Romney seems in driver's seat (Reuters)

COCOA BEACH, Florida (Reuters) ? Florida's Republican voters go to the polls on Tuesday in a high-stakes presidential primary election, with former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney holding a commanding double-digit lead in polls over rival Newt Gingrich.

Florida is the largest state to hold a presidential primary so far this year and a Romney victory would give him a big boost in the state-by-state battle to decide who will face President Barack Obama in the November election.

Polls opened at 7 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. local time. Most of the state is on Eastern Time (plus 5 hours GMT), except the western Panhandle region, which is on Central Time and where polls will close an hour later.

Gingrich, a former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, was riding high just 10 days ago after an upset win in South Carolina's January 21 primary and led in Florida polls as recently as early last week.

But the well-funded and well-organized Romney took back the lead after his two strong debate performances and a blizzard of television advertisements attacking Gingrich.

On the stump on Monday, Romney was breezy and Gingrich combative, reflecting the respective states of their campaigns. Romney cancelled a scheduled Tuesday morning campaign event; Gingrich scheduled four appearances in a final appeal for support on primary day.

Gingrich said Republicans needed to shun Romney and unite behind him if they wanted to defeat Democratic President Barack Obama in November's general election.

"If you watch tonight, my prediction is that the conservative vote will be dramatically bigger than Governor Romney's but it will be split, so we've got to find a way to consolidate conservatives and I am clearly the frontrunner among conservatives," Gingrich said on Fox News.

Gingrich has derided Romney as a "Massachusetts moderate" who raised taxes and fees as governor, enforced a healthcare mandate, and will not provide a sharp enough contrast to Obama.

Romney's attacks have focused on Gingrich's work for troubled mortgage giant Freddie Mac, an ethics probe and his resignation as speaker in early 1999. It has also mocked Gingrich's attempt to ride the coattails of former president Ronald Reagan, a conservative hero.

BIG SPENDING

The campaigns and allied Super PAC fundraising groups had until the end of Tuesday to report whose money they are spending, and how, in an increasingly expensive campaign. Campaign finance filings to the Federal Election Commission will for the first time officially show who contributed money to the Super PACs and fueled their multimillion-dollar spending sprees.

Reuters/Ipsos poll data on Monday showed Romney's support in Florida at 43 percent versus Gingrich at 28 percent.

When voters hear Gingrich in person they often come away impressed, praising his intellect and toughness.

"I was a little undecided between Newt and Mitt but I have decided for sure that Newt's going to get my vote. He's forthright. He says what he means and means what he says," Gene Vandevander of Tampa said at a Gingrich rally.

A straw poll of conservative Tea Party sympathizers in the state released on Monday gave Gingrich 35 percent support against former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum at 31 percent, Romney at 18 percent and Texas congressman Ron Paul at 11 percent.

But other major voting blocs in Florida, including Hispanics, seem to be heavily favoring Romney.

Florida allows early voting at polling stations and by mail, and more than one-third, or 35 percent, of respondents in the Reuters/Ipsos poll said they had already voted. They favored Romney by a wide margin, the Reuters/Ipsos poll showed.

As Gingrich vows to keep fighting until the nominating convention in August, some voters worried that a nasty, prolonged primary fight would hurt the eventual nominee.

"We don't want to attack each other, but to focus on the issues," said voter Jonathan Sanchez of Orlando. "We don't want to seem divided."

Florida's 50 delegates are given on a winner-take-all basis. The two other Republicans on the ballot, Santorum and Paul, have moved on to other states.

After Florida's primary, Nevada's February 4 caucuses are the next contest in the process of choosing a Republican nominee.

(Additional Reporting by Steve Holland and Sam Youngman in Florida and Paul Simao in Washington; Writing by Ros Krasny and Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Eric Beech and Paul Simao)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/gop/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120131/ts_nm/us_usa_campaign

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Former Italian President Scalfaro dies at 93 (Reuters)

ROME (Reuters) ? Former Italian President Oscar Luigi Scalfaro, who was head of state during the "Bribesville" corruption affair which overturned the old political order during the 1990s, has died, officials said on Sunday. He was 93.

Scalfaro, a former interior minister and speaker of the lower house of parliament, was appointed president in 1992 as the scandal was sweeping aside a party system which had run Italy since World War Two.

Both Scalfaro's own conservative Christian Democrat party and the centre-left Socialists were revealed to have been deeply corrupted by a web of bribery and illegal funding which destroyed Italians' confidence in government.

With preparations well under way for Italy to join the embryonic single European currency, Scalfaro had to defend the basic institutions of the Italian state at a time of corrosive mistrust of the political system.

"As President of the Republic, he faced some of the most difficult periods of our history firmly and steadfastly," the current president, Giorgio Napolitano, said in a statement.

(Reporting By James Mackenzie, editing by Tim Pearce)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obits/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120129/wl_nm/us_italy_expresident

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Time short for Gingrich to close gap in Florida

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, left, watches Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich on television as he rides his campaign bus with his brother Scott, and sister-in-law Sheri, to Hialeah, Fla., after campaigning in Naples, Fla., Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, left, watches Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich on television as he rides his campaign bus with his brother Scott, and sister-in-law Sheri, to Hialeah, Fla., after campaigning in Naples, Fla., Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Republican presidential candidate, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, speaks to media during a news conference outside the Exciting Idlewild Baptist Church, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012, in Lutz, Fla. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, rides in his campaign bus with his grandson Parker, 5, as they drive from Naples, Fla., to Hialeah, Fla., to continue campaigning Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Republican presidential candidate, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, speaks to media during a news conference outside the Exciting Idlewild Baptist Church, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012, in Lutz, Fla. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Jameson Williams, 2, of Sarasota, holds a sign outside a scheduled campaign event for Republican presidential candidate, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, at Sarasota Bradenton International Airport in Sarasota, Fla., Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. Santorum is staying home in Philadelphia to be with his 3-year-old hospitalized daughter Isabella, and is canceling campaign stops in Florida. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

POMPANO BEACH, Fla. (AP) ? Newt Gingrich slammed GOP rival Mitt Romney on Sunday for the steady stream of attacks he likened to "carpet-bombing," trying to cut into the resurgent front-runner's lead in Florida in the dwindling hours before Tuesday's pivotal presidential primary.

And despite surging ahead in polls, Romney wasn't letting up, relentlessly casting Gingrich as an influence peddler with a "record of failed leadership."

In what has become a wildly unpredictable race, the momentum has swung back to Romney, staggered last weekend by Gingrich's victory in South Carolina. Romney has begun advertising in Nevada ahead of that state's caucuses next Saturday, illustrating the challenges ahead for Gingrich, who has pledged to push ahead no matter what happens in Florida.

An NBC News/Marist poll published Sunday showed Romney with support from 42 percent of likely Florida primary voters, compared with 27 percent for Gingrich.

Romney's campaign has dogged Gingrich at his own campaign stops, sending surrogates to remind reporters of Gingrich's House ethics probe in the 1990s and other episodes in his career aimed at sowing doubt about his judgment.

Gingrich reacted defensively, accusing the former Massachusetts governor and a political committee that supports him of lying, and the GOP's establishment of allowing it.

"I don't know how you debate a person with civility if they're prepared to say things that are just plain factually false," Gingrich said during appearances on Sunday talk shows. "I think the Republican establishment believes it's OK to say and do virtually anything to stop a genuine insurgency from winning because they are very afraid of losing control of the old order."

Gingrich objected specifically to a Romney campaign ad that includes a 1997 NBC News report on the House's decision to discipline Gingrich, then speaker, for ethics charges.

Romney continued to paint Gingrich as part of the very Washington establishment he condemns and someone who had a role in the nation's economic problems.

"Your problem in Florida is that you worked for Freddie Mac at a time when Freddie Mac was not doing the right thing for the American people, and that you're selling influence in Washington at a time when we need people who will stand up for the truth in Washington," Romney told an audience in Naples.

Gingrich's consulting firm was paid more than $1.5 million by the federally-backed mortgage company over a period after he left Congress in 1999.

Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, trailing in Florida by a wide margin, stayed with his 3-year-old daughter, Bella, who was hospitalized with pneumonia. Sunday night he told supporters, "She without a doubt has turned the corner," but he cautioned she "isn't out of the woods yet."

Aides said Santorum would resume campaigning Monday in Missouri and Minnesota.

Texas Rep. Ron Paul, who has invested little in Florida, looked ahead to Nevada. The libertarian-leaning Paul is focusing more on gathering delegates in caucus states, where it's less expensive to campaign. But securing the nomination only through caucus states is a hard task.

The intense effort by Romney to slow Gingrich is comparable to his strategy against Gingrich in the closing month before Iowa's leadoff caucuses Jan. 3. Gingrich led in Iowa polls, lifted by what were hailed as strong performances in televised debates, only to drop in the face of withering attacks by Romney, aided immensely by ads sponsored by a "super" political action committee run by former Romney aides.

But Romney aides say they made the mistake of assuming Gingrich could not rise again as he did in South Carolina. Romney appears determined not to let that happen again.

"His record is one of failed leadership," Romney told more than 700 people at a rally in Pompano Beach Sunday evening. "We don't need someone who can speak well perhaps, or can say things we agree with, but does not have the experience of being an effective leader."

Gingrich has responded by criticizing Romney's conservative credentials. Outside an evangelical Christian church in Lutz, Gingrich said he was the more loyal conservative on key social issues.

"This party is not going to nominate somebody who is a pro-abortion, pro-gun-control, pro-tax-increase liberal," Gingrich said. "It isn't going to happen."

But Gingrich, in appearances on Sunday news programs, returned to complaining about Romney's tactics. "It's only when he can mass money to focus on carpet-bombing with negative ads that he gains any traction at all," he said.

Romney and the political committee that supports him had combined to spend some $6.8 million in ads criticizing Gingrich in the Florida campaign's final week. Gingrich and a super PAC that supports him were spending about one-third that amount.

Gingrich worked to portray himself as the insurgent outsider, collecting the endorsement of tea party favorite Herman Cain, whose own campaign for president foundered amid sexual harassment allegations.

It was unclear how aggressively Gingrich would be able to compete in states beyond Florida. The next televised debate, a format Gingrich has used to his advantage, is not until Feb. 22, more than three weeks away.

Romney already has campaigned in Nevada more than Gingrich, is advertising there, and stresses his business background in a state hard-hit by the economy. His campaign welcomed the Sunday endorsement of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Nevada's largest newspaper.

Michigan and Maine, where Romney won during his 2008 campaign, also hold their contests in February. Arizona, a strong tea-party state where Gingrich could do well, has its primary Feb. 28.

___

Associated Press writers Steve Peoples in Naples and Shannon McCaffrey in Lutz contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-01-29-GOP-Campaign/id-2b516d1cc64749779f5d6a1a53760bd7

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Plummer, Spencer win SAG supporting-actor prizes (AP)

LOS ANGELES ? Christopher Plummer of the father-son tale "Beginners" and Octavia Spencer of the Deep South drama "The Help" won supporting-acting honors at Sunday's Screen Actors Guild Awards, firming up their Academy Awards prospects next month.

Plummer, who won for his role as an elderly dad who comes out as gay after his wife's death, would become the oldest actor ever to win an Oscar at age 82, two years older than Jessica Tandy when she won best actress for "Driving Miss Daisy."

Backstage, Plummer joked about whether he would like to win an Oscar, an honor so elusive during his esteemed 60-year career that he did not even receive his first Academy Award nomination until two years ago, for "The Last Station."

"No, I think it's frightfully boring," Plummer said. "That's an awful question. Listen, we don't go into this business preoccupied by awards. If we did, we wouldn't last five minutes."

Spencer, a veteran actress who had toiled in small TV and movie parts previously, had a breakout role in "The Help" as a brassy maid joining other black housekeepers to reveal uneasy truths about their white employers in 1960s Mississippi.

"I'm going to dedicate this to the downtrodden, the under-served, the underprivileged, overtaxed ? whether emotionally, physically or financially," Spencer said.

On the television side, comedy series awards went to "Modern Family" for best ensemble; Alec Baldwin as best actor for "30 Rock"; and Betty White as best actress for "Hot in Cleveland."

"You can't name me, without naming those other wonderful women on `Hot in Cleveland,'" White said. "This nomination belongs to four of us. Please, please know that I'm dealing them right in with this. I'm not going to let them keep this, but I'll let them see it."

For TV movie or miniseries, Kate Winslet won as best actress for "Mildred Pierce," while Paul Giamatti was named best actor for "Too Big to Fail."

Before the official ceremony, the Screen Actors Guild presented its honor for best film stunt ensemble to "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2." The TV stunt award went to "Game of Thrones."

Nominees for the lead-acting honors, which were to come toward the end of the ceremony, include Globe winners George Clooney for the family drama "The Descendants," Meryl Streep for the Margaret Thatcher tale "The Iron Lady," Michelle Williams for the Marilyn Monroe story "My Week with Marilyn" and Jean Dujardin for the silent film "The Artist."

Spencer's "The Help" co-star Viola Davis also is in the running, along with Leonardo DiCaprio for the J. Edgar Hoover biography "J. Edgar," Brad Pitt for the baseball story "Moneyball" and Glenn Close for the Irish drama "Albert Nobbs."

The winners at the SAG ceremony typically go on to earn Oscars, whose ceremony is Feb. 26. All four acting recipients at SAG last year later took home Oscars ? Colin Firth for "The King's Speech," Natalie Portman for "Black Swan" and Christian Bale and Melissa Leo for "The Fighter."

The same generally holds true for the weekend's other big Hollywood honors, the Directors Guild of America Awards, where Michel Hazanavicius won the feature-film prize Saturday for "The Artist." The Directors Guild winner has gone on to earn the best-director Oscar 57 times in the 63-year history of the union's awards show.

SAG also presents an award for overall cast performance, a prize that's loosely considered the ceremony's equivalent of a best-picture honor. However, the cast award has a spotty record at predicting what will win best picture at the Oscars.

While "The King's Speech" won both honors a year ago, the SAG cast recipient has gone on to claim the top Oscar only eight times in the 16 years since the guild added the category.

Mary Tyler Moore received the guild's lifetime-achievement award, an honor presented to her by Dick Van Dyke, her co-star on the 1960s sit-com "The Dick Van Dyke Show."

SAG President Ken Howard put in a plug during the show for the guild's planned merger with another Hollywood union, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. The boards of both groups have approved the merger, and ballots will be sent to members of each union.

"As one union, SAG-AFTRA will support a future of great entertainment for all of us," Howard said.

___

Associated Press Entertainment Writer Anthony McCartney contributed to this report.

___

Online:

http://www.sagawards.com

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/movies/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120130/ap_on_en_mo/us_sag_awards

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Sarah Jessica Parker to Replace Demi Moore in Lovelace (omg!)

Sarah Jessica Parker will replace Demi Moore in Lovelace, Entertainment Weekly reports.

Parker will take over the role of feminist Gloria Steinheim in the biopic, which stars Amanda Seyfried as the titular character, pornstar Linda Lovelace.

Demi Moore's 911 Call released

Moore dropped out of the film earlier this week after being hospitalized.

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Verizon-bound ZTE V66 slate gets photographed, looks just like you imagined

It wasn't long ago that we first crossed paths with the ZTE V66 tablet, though at the time we were unfortunate to only meet its dull black-and-white renders. Those of you unfamiliar with the tab won't have your jaws dropped by its innards, which are expected to be missing out on the Ice Cream Sandwich treatment. Aside from the OS letdown (still, it's not as bad as shipping with Gingerbread), the V66 is pretty standard fare for a modern tablet. It'll be running on Verizon's speedy LTE network, sporting a 7-inch (1,280 x 800) display, a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM and a 4,000mAh battery will help keep it chugging along. We've yet to hear an official word from the Big Red about price and availability, so we'll let you know how deep into your wallet you'll have to dig as soon as we find out.

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Groups sue over Navy sonar use, effect on whales

FILE - A beached pilot whale is seen in this Jan. 15, 2005 file photo taken near Oregon Inlet on North Carolina's Outer Banks by the U.S. Coast Guard. In a lawsuit being filed Thursday Jan. 26, 2012 by the environmental law firm Earthjustice, the Natural Resources Defense Council and other groups claim the National Marine Fisheries Service was wrong to approve the Navy?s plan for the expanded training in the Pacific Northwest. Regulators determined that while sonar use by navies has been associated with the deaths of whales around the world _ including the beachings of 37 whales on North Carolina?s Outer Banks in 2005 _ there was little chance of that happening in the Northwest. (AP Photo/U.S. Coast Guard, File)

FILE - A beached pilot whale is seen in this Jan. 15, 2005 file photo taken near Oregon Inlet on North Carolina's Outer Banks by the U.S. Coast Guard. In a lawsuit being filed Thursday Jan. 26, 2012 by the environmental law firm Earthjustice, the Natural Resources Defense Council and other groups claim the National Marine Fisheries Service was wrong to approve the Navy?s plan for the expanded training in the Pacific Northwest. Regulators determined that while sonar use by navies has been associated with the deaths of whales around the world _ including the beachings of 37 whales on North Carolina?s Outer Banks in 2005 _ there was little chance of that happening in the Northwest. (AP Photo/U.S. Coast Guard, File)

SEATTLE (AP) ? Conservationists and Native American tribes are suing over the U.S. Navy's expanded use of sonar in training exercises off the country's west coast, saying the noise can harass and kill whales and other marine life.

In a lawsuit being filed Thursday by the environmental law firm Earthjustice, the Natural Resources Defense Council and other groups claim the National Marine Fisheries Service was wrong to approve the Navy's plan for the expanded training.

They said regulators should have considered the effects repeated sonar use can have on those species over many years and should have restricted where the Navy could conduct sonar and other loud activities to protect orcas, humpbacks and other whales, as well as seals, sea lions and dolphins.

Instead, the Navy is required to look around and see if sea mammals are present before they conduct the training.

Kristen Boyles, an attorney with Earthjustice, said it's the job of the fisheries service to balance the needs of the Navy with measures to protect marine life.

"Nobody's saying they shouldn't train," she said. "But it can't be possible that it's no-holds-barred."

In 2010, the fisheries service approved the Navy's five-year plan for operations in the Northwest Training Range Complex, an area roughly the size of California that stretches from the waters off California to the Canadian border. The Navy has conducted exercises there for 60 years but in recent years proposed increased weapons testing and submarine training.

The environmental groups want the permit granted to the Navy to be invalidated. They are asking the court to order the fisheries service to study the long-term effects of sonar on marine mammals, in accordance with the Endangered Species Act and other laws.

Regulators determined that while sonar use by navies has been associated with the deaths of whales around the world, including the beaching of 37 whales on North Carolina's Outer Banks in 2005, there was little chance of that happening in the U.S. Northwest. The short duration of the sonar use, typically 90 minutes at a time by a single surface vessel, and reduced intensity would help prevent whale deaths, they said. Regulators required the Navy to shut down sonar operations if whales, sea lions, dolphins or other marine mammals were spotted nearby.

The lawsuit, being filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, claims that the Navy's sonar use in the Northwest might be strong enough to kill the animals outright. But even if it doesn't, it claims, the repeated use of sonar in certain critical habitats, such as breeding or feeding grounds, over many years could drive those species away, making it more difficult for them to eat or reproduce. The fisheries service should have ordered the Navy to keep out of such areas, at least seasonally, the environmental groups said.

A spokeswoman for the Navy declined to comment on Wednesday, saying she had not seen the lawsuit, and the fisheries service did not immediately return an email seeking comment.

The plaintiffs include People for Puget Sound, a Seattle-based nonprofit, and the InterTribal Sinkyone Wilderness Council, which represents 10 Northern California American Indian tribes.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-01-26-Navy-Whales/id-9e06cc00d20246dd9e827391ab203298

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Funeral service for Paterno as thousands mourn (AP)

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. ? Quiet mourners lined the route of Joe Paterno's funeral procession Wednesday, watching with grief and reverence as the electric-blue hearse carrying the Penn State coach's casket slowly drove by.

Some took pictures with their cell phones, or waved to his widow. Others craned their necks hoping for a better glimpse through the crowd sometimes four deep or more.

The private funeral and burial service capped another emotional day for a campus and community pained over Paterno's death from lung cancer Sunday at age 85, and over the way his stellar career ended ? being fired by university trustees Nov. 9 in the wake of child sex-abuse charges against a former assistant.

Thousands of students, alumni and fans took to the streets in and around Penn State to say their last goodbyes to the football coach who grew into a beloved figure in Happy Valley, not only for his five undefeated seasons but for his love of the school and his generosity.

"He cared about the kids. He wanted to see us succeed. So for a lot of us, he became a grandfather-like figure," Jordan Derk, a senior from York, said after the procession went past Beaver Stadium.

"He loved us and we loved him back," Derk said. "So saying goodbye is very tough."

Jay Paterno, the coach's son and quarterbacks coach, sent a message to the mourners via Twitter.

"Thank you to all the people who turned out for my father's procession," he wrote. "Very moving."

The elder Paterno won two national titles and a Division I record 409 games over 46 seasons as head coach. His cancer was disclosed just nine days after he was forced to leave the football program he had worked with since 1950.

But Wednesday was once again a salute to Paterno's life and accomplishments. The service, a Roman Catholic Mass, was attended by a veritable who's who of Penn State and Paterno connections.

Paterno's family arrived about an hour before the funeral service on two blue school buses, the same kind the coach and his team rode to home games on fall Saturdays. His wife of nearly six decades, Sue, sat in the seat traditionally reserved for her husband and was first off the bus, followed by Jay.

Former defensive coordinator Tom Bradley walked to the service with NFL great Franco Harris. Also in attendance were other ex-NFL players including Matt Millen and Todd Blackledge, both now TV analysts. Nike founder Phil Knight and actor William Baldwin were there, too.

"Today's Mass was a celebration. We laid to rest a great man," Bradley said. "Not so much for the football victories ... He meant so much to so many people."

Charles Pittman, who played for Paterno in the 1960s, also was at the Mass.

"It really focused on the type of person Joe Paterno was ? his devotion to his family, his wife, his grandkids," said Pittman, a senior vice president for publishing at Schurz Communications Inc., an Indiana-based company that owns television and radio stations and newspapers, and a member of the Board of Directors of The Associated Press.

A family spokesman, Dan McGinn, said Paterno's grandchildren escorted the casket down the aisle during the opening procession, and again at the end of the service. Jay Paterno and his brother, Scott, were among the pallbearers.

In between, during the service, all of Paterno's children spoke except for Jay, who is scheduled to talk at a campus memorial service Thursday at the Jordan Center. Two of Paterno's 17 grandchildren also talked and shared the favorite moments collected among the rest of the grandkids ? including one instance when Paterno mistakenly drove over a bicycle after returning home from work.

Former defensive tackle Anthony Adams, who carried a program with a black-and-white picture of a smiling Paterno on the cover, said the service was befitting of his former coach, who loved to be surrounded by family and just talk.

On the other hand, Paterno also was notorious for trying to avoid the spotlight himself.

"He would've been embarrassed. He would've hated it," Millen said. "He would've told us to shut up already. I guarantee it."

Paterno didn't focus on the scandal that led to his stunning ouster, Scott Paterno has said, and neither did mourners.

Jerry Sandusky, the former assistant coach at the center of the abuse scandal, has been charged with molesting 10 boys over a period of 15 years. He has pleaded not guilty and is out on bail, awaiting trial. Paterno was criticized in the days after Sandusky's arrest for not going to authorities outside campus when he was told of an allegation against the retired assistant in 2002. Paterno did notify two of his superiors at Penn State.

Mike McQueary, the then-graduate assistant who told Paterno about the alleged assault, went both to the public viewing and the funeral. Also at the service was former athletic director Tim Curley, who along with former university official Gary Schultz, is charged with perjury and failure to notify authorities about the 2002 allegation.

They melted into the crowd on a day when Paterno was the center of attention.

"The things he did for athletes, the things he did for all students actually ? that alone earns our respect to say one final goodbye," said Alex Jimenez, a sophomore from Manapalan, N.J., standing directly across from Paterno Library. The procession went right past the library to which the Paterno family has donated millions of dollars.

And the procession rolled past Beaver Stadium, the 100,000-plus seat facility that Paterno helped turn into a college football landmark. Thousands watched in silence there until the convoy reached "Paternoville," the makeshift campground outside the stadium used by students the week before games.

There, as the procession slowed nearly to a stop to negotiate a curve, someone in the throng screamed, "We are!"

"Penn State!" came the crowd's reply.

___

Associated Press writer Michael Rubinkam and AP freelance writer Emily Kaplan contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120126/ap_on_sp_co_ne/fbc_penn_state_paterno

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Herman Cain Praises Stephen Colbert In Tea Party State Of The Union Response (VIDEO)

In delivering the Tea Party response to President Barack Obama's State of the Union speech on Tuesday night, Herman Cain showered praise upon comedian Stephen Colbert.

"I think Stephen Colbert's endorsement of me is a marvelous thing," explained the former Republican presidential contender. "And here's why: One of the things that I and my organization has as an objective is to keep the youth vote inspired, keep the college vote inspired."

Cain continued, "They're not gonna watch the shows that some of us more mature people watch to find out what's going on in the race. We have to go where they are. They're watching the Stephen Colberts. They're watching the Jon Stewarts."

Ahead of South Carolina's primary election, Colbert launched a satirical bid for the White House. Because his name could not appear on the state's ballot; however, the Comedy Central star encouraged voters to vote for Cain instead.

"I accepted his endorsement, but like I told the people at the College of Charleston, I'm not on the ballot, so don't waste it," Cain said on Tuesday night. "I thought it was very clever of Stephen Colbert to come up with the idea that he couldn't get on the ballot, I couldn't get off. So he said, I will endorse my man Herman Cain."

The pair held a rally together in the Palmetto State ahead of the primary contest. Colbert ended his quest for the presidency earlier this week.

Related on HuffPost:

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/25/herman-cain-stephen-colbert_n_1230094.html

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National Science Foundation supports research aimed at reducing the use of fertilizer

Public release date: 25-Jan-2012
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Contact: Melanie Bernds
mbernds@danforthcenter.org
314-587-1647
Donald Danforth Plant Science Center

Project includes student mentoring program

ST. LOUIS, MO, January 25, 2012 The National Science Foundation awarded $1.3 million to support research to reduce the amount of fertilizer used required to grow maize led by Ivan Baxter, USDA Research Scientist, Assistant Member, Donald Danforth Plant Science Center. The program includes collaboration with the University of Minnesota, Purdue University and Cornell University. The three year grant will also support training opportunities for young scientists, aspiring scientists, teachers and international scientists.

Maize is the most widely adapted and adopted crop on the planet. This is largely due to the high degree of genetic and phenotypic diversity that can be harnessed into adaptation for local conditions. While progress has been made in understanding some aspects of adaptation such as flowering time, little progress has been made with respect to adaptation to soil conditions.

Mineral Nutrient Gene Discovery and Gene X Environment Interactions in Maize will focus on Nested Association Mapping (NAM) population, a unique and powerful genetic resource, to identify genes controlling the elemental composition of maize. Baxter's research will identify how different genes interact with mineral nutrients and toxic elements from various soil conditions to create a better understanding how soil environments play a role in the functional state of maize. The goal is to use this information to produce a more nutritious crop that can grow in more environments while using less fertilizer, thereby preserving the environment.

"The USDA-ARS lab at the Danforth Center can rapidly analyze large genetic populations of the diverse staple crop with the statistically powerful resource of Nested Association Mapping," said Baxter. "The grant addresses issues critical for agriculture, the environment and human health and will further our understanding of how soil conditions affect the elemental composition of maize."

To further education on this important topic, student and teacher internships will be sponsored in St. Louis, MO, St. Paul, MN and Ithaca, NY. In addition, educational resources will be developed to assist high school teachers in incorporating bioinformatics and plant molecular biology into their curricula. Participants will also mentor high school students in science through eScience, a program utilizing technology to link students and scientists.

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About The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center

Founded in 1998, the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center is a not-for-profit research institute with a mission to improve the human condition through plant science. Research at the Danforth Center will feed the hungry and improve human health, preserve and renew the environment, and enhance the St. Louis region and Missouri as a world center for plant science. The Center's work is funded through competitive grants and contract revenue from many sources, including the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Energy, National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Agency for International Development and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center invites you to visit its new website, www.danforthcenter.org, featuring interactive information on the Center's scientists, news and research, including the Enterprise Rent-A-Car Institute for Renewable Fuels, the Center for Advanced Biofuel Research, and the National Alliance for Advanced Biofuels and Bioproducts. Public education outreach, RSS feeds and the brand-new "Roots & Shoots" blog help keep visitors up to date with Center's current operations and areas of research. Follow us on Twitter at @DanforthCenter.

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Public release date: 25-Jan-2012
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Contact: Melanie Bernds
mbernds@danforthcenter.org
314-587-1647
Donald Danforth Plant Science Center

Project includes student mentoring program

ST. LOUIS, MO, January 25, 2012 The National Science Foundation awarded $1.3 million to support research to reduce the amount of fertilizer used required to grow maize led by Ivan Baxter, USDA Research Scientist, Assistant Member, Donald Danforth Plant Science Center. The program includes collaboration with the University of Minnesota, Purdue University and Cornell University. The three year grant will also support training opportunities for young scientists, aspiring scientists, teachers and international scientists.

Maize is the most widely adapted and adopted crop on the planet. This is largely due to the high degree of genetic and phenotypic diversity that can be harnessed into adaptation for local conditions. While progress has been made in understanding some aspects of adaptation such as flowering time, little progress has been made with respect to adaptation to soil conditions.

Mineral Nutrient Gene Discovery and Gene X Environment Interactions in Maize will focus on Nested Association Mapping (NAM) population, a unique and powerful genetic resource, to identify genes controlling the elemental composition of maize. Baxter's research will identify how different genes interact with mineral nutrients and toxic elements from various soil conditions to create a better understanding how soil environments play a role in the functional state of maize. The goal is to use this information to produce a more nutritious crop that can grow in more environments while using less fertilizer, thereby preserving the environment.

"The USDA-ARS lab at the Danforth Center can rapidly analyze large genetic populations of the diverse staple crop with the statistically powerful resource of Nested Association Mapping," said Baxter. "The grant addresses issues critical for agriculture, the environment and human health and will further our understanding of how soil conditions affect the elemental composition of maize."

To further education on this important topic, student and teacher internships will be sponsored in St. Louis, MO, St. Paul, MN and Ithaca, NY. In addition, educational resources will be developed to assist high school teachers in incorporating bioinformatics and plant molecular biology into their curricula. Participants will also mentor high school students in science through eScience, a program utilizing technology to link students and scientists.

###

About The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center

Founded in 1998, the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center is a not-for-profit research institute with a mission to improve the human condition through plant science. Research at the Danforth Center will feed the hungry and improve human health, preserve and renew the environment, and enhance the St. Louis region and Missouri as a world center for plant science. The Center's work is funded through competitive grants and contract revenue from many sources, including the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Energy, National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Agency for International Development and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center invites you to visit its new website, www.danforthcenter.org, featuring interactive information on the Center's scientists, news and research, including the Enterprise Rent-A-Car Institute for Renewable Fuels, the Center for Advanced Biofuel Research, and the National Alliance for Advanced Biofuels and Bioproducts. Public education outreach, RSS feeds and the brand-new "Roots & Shoots" blog help keep visitors up to date with Center's current operations and areas of research. Follow us on Twitter at @DanforthCenter.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-01/ddps-nsf012512.php

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Obama, Italian PM to discuss financial crisis

WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Barack Obama will meet with Italy's prime minister next month to discuss the European financial crisis.

Obama and Prime Minister Mario Monti will meet at the White House on Feb. 9.

The White House says the two leaders will discuss structural reforms the Italian government is taking to restore market confidence, as well as the prospect of expanding Europe's financial firewall.

Since taking office late last year, Monti has announced several emergency measures to reduce Italy's dangerously high sovereign debt, a problem plaguing other European nations.

The White House is concerned that financial woes in Europe could hurt the chances of an economic recovery in the U.S.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-01-23-Obama-Italy/id-5f82e72c81634db7ad4c1d55f20e8e83

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Boy meets girl, grandpa meets robot in quirky Sundance comedies (omg!)

PARK CITY, Utah, Jan 22 (TheWrap.com) - Saturday's substantial snowfall may have slowed the Park City shuttle buses that take Sundance audiences from screening to screening, but the film festival kept on keeping on, with two afternoon world premieres that -- like previous Sundance hits "Little Miss Sunshine" and "The Kids Are All Right" -- tweak genre conventions while remaining exceedingly audience-friendly.

Frank Langella gives another compelling performance in "Robot and Frank," a movie that often felt like a cross between "Driving Miss Daisy" and the senior-citizens-rob-a-bank comedy "Going in Style," with a science fiction twist.

Set in the near future (you can tell because the adults all have names like "Hunter" and "Madison"), the film sees the elderly Frank (Langella), who's fighting off dementia, being left in the care of a nurse robot (voiced by Peter Sarsgaard) provided to Frank by his estranged son (James Marsden). We come to realize that Frank used to be a cat burglar, and since the robot hasn't been programmed with a moral compass, Frank teaches him how to pick locks and to be the perfect criminal sidekick.

The pensioner's health blossoms now that he has a new project to tackle, but what if he gets caught? What if his hippie-dippie, anti-robot daughter (Liv Tyler) moves back in to take care of him? And what about Frank's romance with the sexy local librarian (Susan Sarandon)?

"Robot and Frank" often winds up being the sum of its gimmick, but this talented cast (assembled by first-time director Jake Schreier) makes the movie loads of fun. Screenwriter Christopher D. Ford, also making his debut, even tosses in a few surprising third-act twists, and when's the last time you didn't see one of those coming?

The dialogue of teen rom-com "The First Time" winds up being one of the film's big flaws, but the cast and storytelling is so charming that you forgive the fact that almost all of the characters talk like screenwriters. (In this case, Jonathan Kasdan, who also directed.)

Kasdan's TV credits include "Dawson's Creek" and "Freaks and Geeks," but you'd never guess it from the quippy, artificial banter that takes up so much of this often delightful story about two high-schoolers who meet, fall hard and have sex over the course of one weekend. The sex part, of course, winds up complicating matters more than they ever could have expected, and the two have to figure out if they have a future together after that first awkward naked encounter.

It's hard not to be won over by "The First Time," though, since TV vets Britt Robertson ("The Secret Circle") and Dylan O'Brien ("Teen Wolf") are so utterly charming. Robertson, in particular, brings a brainy-pixie vibe that reminded me of the late, great Adrienne Shelley in those early Hal Hartley movies.

As for O'Brien, he's certainly charismatic, but he's tough to buy as the nerdy sensitive guy (who another character actually calls "average-looking") when he could clearly be an underwear model.

Nonetheless, the two actors click as slightly eccentric adolescents who feel like real people, even if they don't always talk like them.

Still, even if Kasdan bobbles the dialogue, he gets a lot of high school life just right, from messy keggers to Saturday night at the multiplex to the difference between calling a girl on her cell and calling her parents' number. Teenagers are probably likely to be way more forgiving of the beyond-their-years sophistication of the witty chat, and they might even make "The First Time" a hit.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/omg_rss/rss_omg_en/news_boy_meets_girl_grandpa_meets_robot_quirky_sundance222909632/44266652/*http%3A//omg.yahoo.com/news/boy-meets-girl-grandpa-meets-robot-quirky-sundance-222909632.html

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Purported Bonnie and Clyde guns sells for $210K

KANSAS CITY, Missouri (AP) ? Two guns thought to have been used by bank-robbing fugitives Bonnie and Clyde have snatched $210,000 at an auction.

The Joplin Globe (http://bit.ly/A9BRHg) reported an online bidder from the East Coast on Saturday bought the weapons believed to have been seized from the outlaw couple's Joplin hideout in 1933.

Sold were a .45-caliber, fully automatic Thompson submachine gun ? better known as a Tommy gun ? and a 1897 Winchester 12-gauge shotgun. Mayo Auction, of Kansas City, was not given permission to release the name of the buyer.

Two law enforcement officers died during a shootout at the Joplin apartment where the couple and members of their gang were holed up, but all the members of the Clyde Barrow gang escaped.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-01-22-Bonnie%20and%20Clyde%20Guns/id-198cbc3b78a34ada936a2b0a6d8e2b8f

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Marine's Iraq killings trial resumes in California (AP)

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. ? A major war crimes trial resumed Friday after lawyers worked on unspecified negotiations for two days, with the prosecution showing outtakes of a "60 Minutes" interview in which a Marine squad leader charged with killing unarmed Iraqis says he felt no emotion and "was essentially like a machine."

Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich made the comments in response to a question about whether he felt angry after a roadside bomb killed a fellow Marine.

Wuterich, 31, is the last defendant in the biggest criminal case to emerge from the Iraq war. He was charged with nine counts of voluntary manslaughter after his squad killed 24 unarmed Iraqis ? including women and children ? during a series of raids on homes after the bomb exploded.

Prosecutors have argued that Wuterich lost control of himself after seeing his friend blown apart by the bomb. The father of three said after he learned he had killed women and children that day, he could not sleep and was afraid of his dreams. His mother cried Friday as she listened to the tape.

Defense attorneys have said Wuterich did the best he could in the fog of war. He said in the interview that immediately after the explosion, his mind went into another place and his training kicked in.

"I didn't have any emotion at that point," Wuterich said in the interview. "I was essentially like a machine."

Jurors have been tasked with trying to decipher whether Wuterich acted appropriately as a squad leader that fateful Nov. 19, 2005, day: Did he protect his Marines by going after the threat following the explosion, or did he go on a rampage, disregarding combat rules and leading his men to indiscriminately kill Iraqis?

The judge excused the jurors suddenly Wednesday afternoon and told lawyers to explore options, fueling speculation a plea deal was in the works. On Friday, Lt. Col. David Jones convened the court and advised the all-Marine jurors at Camp Pendleton not to speculate on the reasons for the delay. Lawyers did not respond to repeated inquiries asking if there was talk of a plea deal.

"There were some negotiations going on and some other legal issues," Jones told the court before jurors entered.

The jury spent much of Friday watching three hours of Wuterich's 2007 "60 Minutes" interview. Legal wrangling between the defense and prosecution over the video, including unaired outtakes, delayed the case from going to trial for years. Prosecutors later won their right to use it and told jurors Friday it is a key part of their case.

Wuterich told "60 Minutes" he gave the interview because he wanted the truth to be told after being called a "monster, baby killer."

The young squad leader said he had never been in combat before that day but he had been trained to positively identify his targets before shooting to kill.

He described how parts of a Marine Corps Humvee rained down from the sky when the bomb detonated, and he fired on five Iraqi men near a car because the car was the "only thing there," the men started to run, and he feared it was a car bomb or they had triggered the roadside explosion. After that, he and the squad stormed nearby homes believing they were chasing insurgents. The search continued throughout the day. He said he saw some of the Iraqis as threats because they were military-age men and wore black robes.

After the first home, Wuterich said in the interview that he saw women and children had been killed, but he didn't call for his squad to stop firing, saying he believes he could not risk hesitating before acting and that his all that was on his mind was protecting his fellow Marines.

"You can't hesitate to make a decision," Wuterich said in the interview. "Hesitation equals being killed. I lost a fire team. I couldn't afford to lose anymore."

Wuterich also said he understood before going into the town of Haditha in 2005 that it was a dangerous place. Twenty-three Marines in the battalion before him were killed and 36 were wounded, the most casualties that any company had suffered in the war at that time.

Wuterich of Meriden, Conn., is one of eight Marines initially charged. None has been convicted.

Wuterich has said he regretted the loss of civilian lives but believed he was following the rules of engagement.

One of his squad mates took the stand Friday. Sgt. Humberto Mendoza told jurors that after he helped remove the bodies of women and children who were riddled with bullets in a back bedroom of one of the homes, he felt himself questioning "things" that 2005 night.

Mendoza acknowledged he lied to investigators at first about what happened and wanted to cover it up to protect his squad, but he told jurors he decided it's time to tell the truth. Defense attorneys have pointed out many squad members had their cases dropped in exchange for testifying for the prosecution.

"Up to this day, I really don't know what happened in the back bedroom," Mendoza said.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/crime/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120121/ap_on_re_us/us_marines_haditha

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Yemeni parliament limits sweeping immunity law

SANAA, Yemen (AP) ? Yemen's parliament approved on Saturday a law that it said would limit immunity for officials who worked under President Ali Abdullah Saleh to "political" crimes they committed in an official capacity.

Immunity for Saleh and his allies was a key part of a November power deal brokered by Yemen's powerful Gulf neighbors, under which he is to step down.

But the extent of that immunity has been a contentious issue in Yemen, which has been in a state of turmoil for over a year, with numerous factions demanding that he leave office. Hundreds have been killed in government crackdowns on demonstrators.

A new wave of protests broke out earlier last week when it emerged that the draft law applied to all crimes by all members of Saleh's government during his entire 33-year reign.

Responding to the public outcry, Yemen's vice president, opposition parties and members of Saleh's party agreed to limit the sweeping immunity.

The statement offered "immunity from criminal prosecution for those who worked for the president in the security, military or civil capacity in connection with politically-motivated acts."

It said that the immunity does not apply if there was proof of any "acts of terrorism."

Saleh himself would still enjoy complete immunity, the statement said.

The president has not yet stepped down, despite having signed the November deal to do so.

(This version CORRECTS Corrects immunity related to acts of terrorism, adds details and text of agreement, adds byline)

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-01-21-ML-Yemen/id-2fbe8bf7b89f4c3dbee73c6a08e9721a

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DoD Using Plant DNA To Combat Counterfeit Parts

According to this whitepaper, the DNA sequencing is "unequivocally uncopyable".

A bit further on, they only say 'resistant to reverse engineering or replication', which is probably closer to the truth. Here's a patent filed by the company, which looks like it might be referring to the same technology:

http://www.google.com/patents/US20100285985 [google.com]

My reading of the simplest version of this is that they take some target DNA (e.g. derived from a plant genome, and possibly cut up and re-ligated to swap things around), and design a single 'forward' PCR primer and multiple 'reverse' primers that bind the target sequence at various positions. They retain the forward primer and template DNA , and paint the object to be protected with a pooled selection of the reverse primers (different objects or companies could use different selections of reverse primers).

To authenticate an object, they extract DNA from the object (i.e., the pool of reverse primers) and mix it together with their single forward primer, template, and standard PCR reagents. Running the PCR gives them a series of amplification products of defined sizes (determined by the selection of reverse primers), which effectively 'fingerprint' the object. To make things difficult for a forger, the pool of primers painted on the object will probably contain a complex mixture of confounding sequences that don't bind the target sequence, and there may also be multiple genuine primer sets designed to different target sequences. Since the forger won't have access to the target sequence(s), they'll have no way of knowing which primers are important, and will therefore have to determine the sequence of all of them and then have them re-synthesised.

tl;dr - Replicating the label is not trivial.

Source: http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~3/IPflB0yHTjY/dod-using-plant-dna-to-combat-counterfeit-parts

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Ambush of police truck in Syria kills 14

Syrian army defectors stand guard in front of closed shops at the mountain resort town of Zabadani, Syria, near the Lebanese border, on Friday Jan. 20, 2012. President Bashar Assad's forces attacked Zabadani, some 17 miles (27 kilometers) west of the capital, for six days, sparking fierce fighting that involved heavy bombardments and clashes with army defectors. On Wednesday, government tanks and armored vehicles pulled back, leaving the opposition in control of the town. Buoyed by the opposition's control of a town near the Syrian capital, thousands of people held anti-government protests Friday, chanting for the downfall of the regime. At least eight people were killed by security forces across the country, activists said. (AP Photo)

Syrian army defectors stand guard in front of closed shops at the mountain resort town of Zabadani, Syria, near the Lebanese border, on Friday Jan. 20, 2012. President Bashar Assad's forces attacked Zabadani, some 17 miles (27 kilometers) west of the capital, for six days, sparking fierce fighting that involved heavy bombardments and clashes with army defectors. On Wednesday, government tanks and armored vehicles pulled back, leaving the opposition in control of the town. Buoyed by the opposition's control of a town near the Syrian capital, thousands of people held anti-government protests Friday, chanting for the downfall of the regime. At least eight people were killed by security forces across the country, activists said. (AP Photo)

Syrian army defectors gather at the mountain resort town of Zabadani, Syria, near the Lebanese border, on Friday Jan. 20, 2012. President Bashar Assad's forces attacked Zabadani, some 17 miles (27 kilometers) west of the capital, for six days, sparking fierce fighting that involved heavy bombardments and clashes with army defectors. On Wednesday, government tanks and armored vehicles pulled back, leaving the opposition in control of the town. Buoyed by the opposition's control of a town near the Syrian capital, thousands of people held anti-government protests Friday, chanting for the downfall of the regime. At least eight people were killed by security forces across the country, activists said. (AP Photo)

A Syrian army defector stand guards in front of closed shops at the mountain resort town of Zabadani, Syria, near the Lebanese border, on Friday Jan. 20, 2012. President Bashar Assad's forces attacked Zabadani, some 17 miles (27 kilometers) west of the capital, for six days, sparking fierce fighting that involved heavy bombardments and clashes with army defectors. On Wednesday, government tanks and armored vehicles pulled back, leaving the opposition in control of the town. Buoyed by the opposition's control of a town near the Syrian capital, thousands of people held anti-government protests Friday, chanting for the downfall of the regime. At least eight people were killed by security forces across the country, activists said. (AP Photo)

Anti-Syrian regime protesters hold up placards with the names of opposition detainees during a demonstration at the mountain resort town of Zabadani, Syria, near the Lebanese border, on Friday Jan. 20, 2012. President Bashar Assad's forces attacked Zabadani, some 17 miles (27 kilometers) west of the capital, for six days, sparking fierce fighting that involved heavy bombardments and clashes with army defectors. On Wednesday, government tanks and armored vehicles pulled back, leaving the opposition in control of the town. Buoyed by the opposition's control of a town near the Syrian capital, thousands of people held anti-government protests Friday, chanting for the downfall of the regime. At least eight people were killed by security forces across the country, activists said. (AP Photo)

Anti-Syrian regime protesters gather at a square as they hold an Arabic banner, center, reading, "hey, the miserable, the tyrant, what else," during a demonstration at the mountain resort town of Zabadani, Syria, near the Lebanese border, on Friday Jan. 20, 2012. President Bashar Assad's forces attacked Zabadani, some 17 miles (27 kilometers) west of the capital, for six days, sparking fierce fighting that involved heavy bombardments and clashes with army defectors. On Wednesday, government tanks and armored vehicles pulled back, leaving the opposition in control of the town. Buoyed by the opposition's control of a town near the Syrian capital, thousands of people held anti-government protests Friday, chanting for the downfall of the regime. At least eight people were killed by security forces across the country, activists said. (AP Photo)

BEIRUT (AP) ? A string of explosions struck a police truck transporting prisoners in a tense area of northwestern Syria on Saturday, killing at least 14 people, the country's state-run news agency and an opposition group said.

Troops fought intense battles against defectors elsewhere in northern Syria, activists said, leaving "dozens" of people wounded. The 10-month uprising against Syrian President Bashar Assad has turned increasingly militarized and chaotic as more frustrated regime opponents and army defectors arm themselves and fight back against government forces.

SANA news agency blamed the attack on the police truck on "terrorists" and said it occurred on the Idlib-Ariha highway, an area near the Turkish border that has witnessed intense fighting with army defectors recently.

Four bombs that went off in "two phases" hit the truck, and then attackers targeted an ambulance that arrived to assist the wounded, SANA reported.

Six policemen who were accompanying the prisoners were also wounded, some of them in critical condition, it said.

The British-based opposition activist group, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, confirmed the incident Saturday and said 15 prisoners were killed.

Rami Abdul-Rahman, director of the group, said the truck was hit by several roadside bombs, but it was not clear who was behind the attack.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but members of the so-called Free Syrian Army are known to be active in the area.

A Syria-based activist said the area has several army encampments and is full of roadside bombs planted to target army tanks passing by, adding that the truck carrying prisoners may not have been the intended target.

The activist spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.

Abdul-Rahman and other activists in the country's northern Idlib province also reported heavy clashes between Syrian troops and defectors in the Jabal al-Zawiya region, along the Turkish border.

He said "dozens" of people from both sides were wounded in the fighting, some of them in serious condition.

The Local Coordination Committees activist network said five other people were killed in Syria Saturday, including three in the central city of Homs, one in the eastern city of Deir el-Zour and another in Douma, a suburb of the Syrian capital.

The conflict in Syria has marked the most serious challenge to Assad, who took over from his father in 2000. The U.N. estimates some 5,400 have been killed since March, when the uprising began.

The capital has seen three suicide bombings since late December which the government blamed on terrorist extremists.

The violence comes as the head of an Arab League observers mission was to submit his report to the League's Cairo headquarters. Foreign ministers for the Arab League will meet Sunday in Cairo to discuss the future of the mission, which expired Thursday.

Arab League officials said the organization is likely to extend its observer mission in Syria and increase its numbers, despite complaints from the Syrian opposition that it has failed to curb the bloodshed in the country.

Members of the Syrian opposition have said Arab observers in Syria have failed to curb the bloodshed and many have called for the dispatch of foreign troops to Syria to create safe zones for dissidents, or even a more wide-ranging military mission similar to the air campaign which helped Libyan rebels bring down dictator Moammar Gadhafi last year.

Burhan Ghalioun, head of the main opposition group, the Syrian National Council, was in the Egyptian capital Saturday for talks with Arab League officials ahead of Sunday's meeting.

Security officials in Lebanon meanwhile said the Syrian navy arrested three Lebanese fishermen and confiscated their boat Saturday in Lebanese waters off the northern town of Arida.

The two brothers and their nephew were taken after Syria soldiers aboard a naval vessel fired in the direction of the boat, the officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

After the incident, angry residents of Arida blocked the highway linking Lebanon and Syria for hours with burning tires.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-01-21-ML-Syria/id-87d65981c02a478981e5708e1fcee11e

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Investors like the back-to-basics Bank of America (AP)

NEW YORK ? Bank of America is back to basics ? slimmed down, stripped of its swagger and no longer the biggest bank in the country. And investors, after pummeling the company for two years, finally like what they see.

The stock soared 4 percent Thursday after Bank of America reported that it made $2 billion from October through December, reversing a $1.2 billion loss from a year earlier. The stock is up 27 percent this year.

Almost none of the profit came from improvements in Bank of America's basic businesses. In fact, it lost money in the fourth quarter in real estate and investment banking.

But the bank raised $2.9 billion by selling its stake in China Construction Bank and $2.4 billion more by selling debt and issuing common stock to replace its higher-cost preferred stock, which paid out annual dividends as high as 8 percent.

"We enter 2012 stronger and more efficient after two years of simplifying and streamlining our company," CEO Brian Moynihan said.

The cash has strengthened Bank of America's balance sheet, a key factor as it undergoes a Federal Reserve "stress test" and tries to meet international regulatory standards that demand banks hold more cash against risky loans.

"It would be a big step if Bank of America can prove to the Street it doesn't need to raise additional capital," said Shannon Stemm, a banking analyst Edward Jones, a financial advice company Edward Jones.

After the stock dropped 63 percent drop in 2010 and 2011, Bank of America is eager to start over. But it won't be easy.

Paying $4 billion for Countrywide Financial Corp., the nation's largest subprime mortgage lender, in 2008 seemed like a bargain but has cost Bank of America tens of billions in mortgage losses, fines and litigation.

"The biggest problem with Bank of America is that you never know what litigation expense lurks around the corner," Stemm said.

The bank has also been forced to buy billions of dollars' worth of mortgages from the government-sponsored mortgage financing companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

In 2011, the bank lost about $14 billion just on legal settlements tied to mortgages issued in years past. On Thursday, the bank said it put aside an additional $1.5 billion in the fourth quarter for future litigation, most of it tied to mortgages.

In addition to the legal costs, the Federal Reserve last year refused to let Bank of America increase its stock dividend, citing uncertainty about the depth of its mortgage problems.

It was the only denial issued to any of the four largest U.S. banks by the Fed, which is closely monitoring how the largest banks use their cash since the bailouts of 2008.

This year, Bank of America hasn't asked the Fed to raise its dividend.

As the U.S. economy slowly comes back, investors are betting Bank of America is poised to capture some of that growth. But that won't be easy, either.

Loans to people and businesses aren't as profitable as they were before the financial crisis. Not only are interest rates at historic lows, but regulators have limited the fees banks can collect for overdrafts and late credit card payments. The government has also reduced the fees banks can ollect from stores on debit-card transactions.

Bank of America knows something about debit card fees. Last fall, it caused a public uproar when it announced it would charge customers $5 a month to use debit cards. The bank quickly backed off.

Bank of America serves about half of American households, and its results showed that housing continues remains a concern in the economy. The bank's real estate business lost $1.5 billion after a 74 percent decline in new home loans. The bank lost some market share and closed a division that helped third-party home lenders.

But Americans seemed to be getting their financial houses in order by paying off more debt on time.

Bank of America, one of the largest credit card issuers, said customers who paid bills a month late declined for the 11th consecutive quarter. New credit card accounts also grew 53 percent, and the division posted a profit of $1 billion.

Bank of America's investment banking business reported a loss of $433 million due to lower investment banking fees and lower sales and trading driven by the rocky stock and bond markets in the last three months of the year.

The bank's quarterly earnings came to 15 cents per share, which was less than the 22 cents expected by analysts surveyed by FactSet, a provider of financial data. The earnings were in line with other estimates.

The bank reported fourth quarter revenue rose 11 percent to $25.1 billion from last year. For the year, the bank made $1.4 billion. It lost $2.2 billion in 2010.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/personalfinance/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120119/ap_on_bi_ge/us_earns_bank_of_america

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