Singer India.Arie laughs off skin-lightening talk

NEW YORK (AP) ? India.Arie is laughing off talk that she may have lightened her skin.

The R&B songstress is known for singing about being authentic and celebrating one's true self. But some accused India.Arie of lightening her skin when a publicity photo for her song "Cocoa Butter" released this week made it look as though she were several shades lighter than her dark brown complexion.

But India.Arie took to Twitter on Friday to deny the accusations, saying she has no desire to bleach her skin because she loves herself and her brown skin "more than ever." She also said that "magnificent lighting" is the cause for her "glow."

She added that she'd like to keep the conversation going, though, on the issue of racism and colorism in the black community.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/singer-india-arie-laughs-off-skin-lightening-talk-231340708.html

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Man held in Paris over sawed off elephant tusk

PARIS (AP) ? Authorities say a man has been arrested overnight for allegedly breaking into Paris' Museum of Natural History and cutting off a tusk from a centuries-old elephant skeleton with a chainsaw.

A police official said a neighbor of the Left Bank museum alerted authorities after hearing the sawing sound at around 3 a.m. Saturday.

The suspect, about 20 years old, had the tusk in his possession when police arrested him soon afterward outside the museum. Paris prosecutors' office spokeswoman Agnes Thibault-Lecuivre said the motive of the suspect wasn't immediately clear.

Museum official Jacques Cuisin told BFM-TV that the skeleton, which was draped under a plastic covering Saturday, belonged to an elephant that Portugal's king gave to French King Louis XIV in the late 17th century. Cuisin said it can be repaired.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/man-held-paris-over-sawed-off-elephant-tusk-201654767.html

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Hubble observes the hidden depths of Messier 77

Friday, March 29, 2013

Messier 77 is a galaxy in the constellation of Cetus, some 45 million light-years away from us. Also known as NGC 1068, it is one of the most famous and well-studied galaxies. It is a real star among galaxies, with more papers written about it than many other galaxies put together!

Despite its current fame and striking swirling appearance, the galaxy has been a victim of mistaken identity a couple of times; when it was initially discovered in 1780, the distinction between gas clouds and galaxies was not known, causing finder Pierre Mechain to miss its true nature and label it as a nebula. It was misclassified again when it was subsequently listed in the Messier Catalogue as a star cluster.

Now, however, it is firmly categorised as a barred spiral galaxy, with loosely wound arms and a relatively small central bulge. It is the closest and brightest example of a particular class of galaxies known as Seyfert galaxies -- galaxies that are full of hot, highly ionised gas that glows brightly, emitting intense radiation.

Strong radiation like this is known to come from the heart of Messier 77 -- caused by a very active black hole that is around 15 million times the mass of our Sun. Material is dragged towards this black hole and circles around it, heating up and glowing strongly. This region of a galaxy alone, although comparatively small, can be tens of thousands of times brighter than a typical galaxy.

Although no competition for the intense centre, Messier 77's spiral arms are also very bright regions. Dotted along each arm are knotty red clumps -- a signal that new stars are forming. These baby stars shine strongly, ionising nearby gas which then glows a deep red colour as seen in the image above. The dust lanes stretching across this image appear as a rusty, brown-red colour due to a phenomenon known as reddening; the dust absorbs more blue light than red light, enhancing its apparent redness.

###

ESA/Hubble Information Centre: http://www.spacetelescope.org

Thanks to ESA/Hubble Information Centre for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/127517/Hubble_observes_the_hidden_depths_of_Messier___

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Authors Guild head blasts Amazon buy of Goodreads

NEW YORK (AP) ? Authors Guild president and best-selling novelist Scott Turow is condemning Amazon.com's purchase of Goodreads, a leading book recommendation website.

In a statement posted Friday on the Guild home page, Turow called the acquisition a "textbook example" of how a monopoly is built. Seattle-based Amazon.com Inc. announced Thursday that it had bought Goodreads, a favorite Internet stop for readers to review and discuss books. Founded in 2007 and based in San Francisco, Goodreads has 16 million subscribers.

Goodreads co-founder Otis Chandler is defending the sale, which has set off a debate about Amazon's market power. In a blog posting Thursday on Goodreads, Chandler said that Goodreads would continue to operate independently and that Amazon's resources would help his company reach more readers.

___

Online:

www.authorsguild.org

www.goodreads.com

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-03-29-Books-Turow-Amazon/id-87ab7d0fbf06411bb40c793e0d29eac6

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Termites are the 'fairies' behind weird desert rings

It seems the culprit behind the mysterious "fairy circles" of the Namib desert has been under our noses all along.

The fairy circles are discs of barren sand several metres across, surrounded by lush grasses that stand out against the sparse vegetation. Since the 1960s, theories about their origin have been raised and quickly shot down. A study in 2004 seemed to rule out the three leading theories: radioactive soil, toxic debris left by plants, and termites.

But perhaps the researchers didn't look hard enough. When Norbert J?rgens of the University of Hamburg in Germany examined hundreds of fairy circles in over 2000 kilometres of the Namib desert in southern Africa, he found a species of sand termite, Psammotermes allocerus, was the only organism consistently present.

J?rgen observed the insects eating grass roots, killing plants before they could sprout through the soil. With no foliage for water to transpire from, the water is retained in the ground beneath the patches, helping the termites survive the dry conditions. Their burrows make the soil more porous, allowing rainwater to percolate down to the cooler, deeper sand, again reducing the amount of water lost from the surface.

The extra water in the soil means that grasses spring up at the boundary of the insects' circular foraging area, attracting other life. "They are turning desert into grassland inhabited by numerous plant and animal species," says J?rgens.

"This is an amazing phenomenon" but unsurprising, says Nathan Lo from the University of Sydney. In arid regions of northern Australia, termites build mounds that trap nutrients, and an ecosystem develops around them. The circles are "like flattened termite mounds", he says.

But not everyone is convinced. Walter Tschinkel, a biologist from Florida State University in Tallahassee who has previously published work on fairy circles, suspects J?rgens is confusing correlation with causation. "It is more plausible that the grass died of other causes and was then consumed by termites," he says.

Lo disagrees, pointing to photographs J?rgens took showing the termites nesting in the roots of plants that are still alive. "This is about as good as you can get," he says. "It's very strong evidence."

J?rgens says he cannot exclude the possibility that "there could still be an unknown invisible bacterium, fungus or fairy", but so far none has shown itself.

Journal reference: Science, DOI: 10.1126/science.1222999

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Stocks Rise In Mixed Trade - Investors.com

Stocks pushed into new high ground Thursday despite ? or because of ? some disappointing economic data.

The Dow Jones industrial average and the S&P 500 each rose 0.4%, while the Nasdaq added 0.3%.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq hit their highest points in years, while the Dow industrials gauge saw its best price ever.

Volume in the stock market today was split: a tad higher on the Nasdaq and a bit lower on the NYSE, according to preliminary data.

GDP in Q4 climbed at an upwardly revised 0.4% annualized pace. That's an upward revision from the previously announced 0.1% rise, but less than the 0.6% improvement predicted in an Econoday survey of economists.

Initial jobless claims last week rose 16,000 to 357,000, more than Econoday's poll showing a 340,000 reading. This throws some cold water on recent hopes that the nation's job market is on the mend.

The Chicago-area Purchasing Managers Index dropped to 52.4 in March from February's 56.8. The March reading was a big miss of the 56.1 looked for by the Econoday consensus.

So investors looked at slower-than-expected GDP growth, more-than-expected people freshly laid of from work and signs of slower-than-expected Midwest factory activity.

While the economy's much-ballyhooed rebound may be sputtering, one can hardly expect the Fed to seriously contemplate a rate hike or an end to its aggressive quantitative-easing program. So maybe this economic bad news was good news for the market.

Stocks achieving heavy volume are all the more notable in a dull preholiday session like Thursday's. Biotech Biogen Idec (BIIB) was one issue that did just that: It gapped up and added 5% to a second-straight record high.

Biogen Idec had already gained 3% Wednesday on news that the Food and Drug Administration approved its new multiple sclerosis treatment, Tecfidera. The stock is 24% past a 155.40 buy point from flat base cleared in late January. JMP Securities started coverage of the biotech with a market outperform rating.

Recent IPO ExOne (XONE) shot up 9% in double-paced trade. The maker of 3D printers and custom-made components (a process that is much facilitated by 3D printers) reported late Wednesday its Q4 results: The company netted $902,000 vs. a year-ago loss of $2.8 million. Sales soared 369% to $12.7 million.

Dollar General (DG) dipped 1% in heavy trading. The company late Wednesday priced an offering of 30 million shares at 50.75 each. The stock shows a 38-week consolidation running 29% deep.

Five Below (FIVE) sank 3% in four times its usual trade after the company offered a weak outlook. Shares gapped below the 50-day moving average in heavy volume. The stock fell as much as 9% before rebounding some. But Thursday's loss was Five Below's fourth in a row, three in heavy volume. That losing streak has lopped 12% off its recent intraday high.

Source: http://news.investors.com/investing-stock-market-today/032813-649735-stocks-rise-in-mixed-volume.htm

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This Bizarre Media Streamer Is Your Deal of the Day

The Boxee Box came out in November 2010, which is eons ago in gadget time. Since then, there has been a new Apple TV, two new flagship Rokus, and even a new Boxee. The king of the streamer world is now the $100 Roku 3. Still—this absurdly shaped open-source streamer has quite the following, and that's because it's the last major set top box to embrace a maximalist, open philosophy: wanna plug in a hard drive and play some Xvid files? Sure! Channels for MLB.tv, or Netflix or Youtube? Got 'em. Hey, want to catch some over-the-air television? You can do that with a $50 dongle. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/Fnhr1oFYEKA/this-bizarre-media-streamer-is-your-deal-of-the-day

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FX network to start a younger-skewing channel, FXX

NEW YORK (AP) ? FX says it's spinning off a new cable network aimed at young adult viewers.

Launching Sept. 2, FXX will join big brother FX along with the movie-oriented FXM as the brand's trio of channels.

The company says Thursday that the lineup for FXX will consist of original series, movies and acquired series targeting adults 18 to 34, a slightly younger audience than FX attracts. The new channel will be anchored by the comedies "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" and "The League," two veteran series that until now have been telecast on FX.

Coming to FX this July is a new drama series titled "The Bridge." Starring Demian Bichir and Diane Kruger, it centers on two detectives hunting down a killer operating on both sides of the U.S.-Mexican border.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-03-28-TV-FX%20Networks/id-5a913d0227c64bd7b02c172d9da05c23

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NYC appeals ruling striking down soda size limit

NEW YORK (AP) ? New York City is asking appeals judges to reinstate a ban on supersized sodas and other sugary drinks, which was struck down by a Manhattan judge the day before it was to go into effect.

The city had vowed an appeal and said Thursday that lawyers had filed it late Monday.

In his decision on March 11, State Supreme Court Justice Milton Tingling said the 16-ounce limit on sodas and other sweet drinks arbitrarily applies to only some sugary beverages and some places that sell them.

"The loopholes in this rule effectively defeat the stated purpose of this rule," Tingling wrote in his ruling, which was seen as a victory for the beverage industry, restaurants and other business groups that called the ban unfair.

In addition, the judge said the Mayor Michael Bloomberg-appointed Board of Health intruded on the City Council's authority when it imposed the rule.

In its appeal, the city disputed those points.

"The rule is designed to make consumption of large amounts of sugary drinks a conscious and informed choice by the consumer," it said. "Thus, although a consumer is free to consume more than 16 ounces by ordering a second drink, getting a refill, or going to another store, he or she will be making an informed choice."

The city also said the Board of Health had legislative authority, and "is empowered to issue substantive rules and standards in public health."

Said American Beverage Association spokesman Christopher Gindlesperger, referring to the initial decision overturning the ban, "We feel the justice's decision was strong and we're confident in the ruling."

Also on Thursday, the city announced that other organizations had filed legal briefs in support of the city's appeal. Those organizations include the National Alliance for Hispanic Health and the National Association of Local Boards of Health, as well as 30 others.

Bloomberg has made public health a cornerstone of his administration, from requiring calorie counts to be posted on menus and barring trans fats in restaurant foods.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nyc-appeals-ruling-striking-down-soda-size-limit-195645851.html

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New evidence ancient asteroid caused global firestorm on Earth

Mar. 27, 2013 ? A new look at conditions after a Manhattan-sized asteroid slammed into a region of Mexico in the dinosaur days indicates the event could have triggered a global firestorm that would have burned every twig, bush and tree on Earth and led to the extinction of 80 percent of all Earth's species, says a new University of Colorado Boulder study.

Led by Douglas Robertson of the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, or CIRES, the team used models that show the collision would have vaporized huge amounts of rock that were then blown high above Earth's atmosphere. The re-entering ejected material would have heated the upper atmosphere enough to glow red for several hours at roughly 2,700 degrees Fahrenheit -- about the temperature of an oven broiler element -- killing every living thing not sheltered underground or underwater.

The CU-led team developed an alternate explanation for the fact that there is little charcoal found at the Cretaceous-Paleogene, or K-Pg, boundary some 66 million years ago when the asteroid struck Earth and the cataclysmic fires are believed to have occurred. The CU researchers found that similar studies had corrected their data for changing sedimentation rates. When the charcoal data were corrected for the same changing sedimentation rates they show an excess of charcoal, not a deficiency, Robertson said.

"Our data show the conditions back then are consistent with widespread fires across the planet," said Robertson, a research scientist at CIRES, which is a joint institute of CU-Boulder and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. "Those conditions resulted in 100 percent extinction rates for about 80 percent of all life on Earth."

A paper on the subject was published online this week in the Journal of Geophysical Research-Biogeosciences, a publication of the American Geophysical Union. Co-authors on the study include CIRES Interim Director William Lewis, CU Professor Brian Toon of the atmospheric and oceanic sciences department and the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics and Peter Sheehan of the Milwaukee Public Museum in Wisconsin.

Geological evidence indicates the asteroid collided with Earth about 66 million years ago and carved the Chicxulub crater in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula that is more than 110 miles in diameter. In 2010, experts from 33 institutions worldwide issued a report that concluded the impact at Chicxulub triggered mass extinctions, including dinosaurs, at the K-Pg boundary.

The conditions leading to the global firestorm were set up by the vaporization of rock following the impact, which condensed into sand-grain-sized spheres as they rose above the atmosphere. As the ejected material re-entered Earth's atmosphere, it dumped enough heat in the upper atmosphere to trigger an infrared "heat pulse" so hot it caused the sky to glow red for several hours, even though part of the radiation was blocked from Earth by the falling material, he said.

But there was enough infrared radiation from the upper atmosphere that reached Earth's surface to create searing conditions that likely ignited tinder, including dead leaves and pine needles. If a person was on Earth back then, it would have been like sitting in a broiler oven for two or three hours, said Robertson.

The amount of energy created by the infrared radiation the day of the asteroid-Earth collision is mind-boggling, said Robertson. "It's likely that the total amount of infrared heat was equal to a 1 megaton bomb exploding every four miles over the entire Earth."

A 1-megaton hydrogen bomb has about the same explosive power as 80 Hiroshima-type nuclear bombs, he said. The asteroid-Earth collision is thought to have generated about 100 million megatons of energy, said Robertson.

Some researchers have suggested that a layer of soot found at the K-Pg boundary layer roughly 66 million years ago was created by the impact itself. But Robertson and his colleagues calculated that the amount of soot was too high to have been created during the massive impact event and was consistent with the amount that would be expected from global fires.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Colorado at Boulder.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

---

Journal Reference:

1. Douglas S. Robertson, William M. Lewis, Peter M. Sheehan, Owen B. Toon. K-Pg extinction: Reevaluation of the heat-fire hypothesis. Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, 2013; DOI: 10.1002/jgrg.20018

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/k2wC9zxC0PY/130327144249.htm

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Court reverses Fla. mogul's adoption of girlfriend (Providence Journal)

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Sweet Short Wedding Dress Gives You A Good Memory

A blog is your easy-to-use web site, where you can publish your thoughts, share your ideas & experiences with other professionals, gather feedback and do more.

It's a simple way to create your professional online presence. It only takes seconds and is FREE

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/recentlyposted/~3/08U-AVL9214/Sweet-Short-Wedding-Dress-Gives-You-A-Good-Memory-bid-XMGsF1Qe48478155.html

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My journey to a peaceful garden | MNN - Mother Nature Network

A few years ago, when I went in for my yearly check-up (okay, I?m not that good. It had been a couple years since I?d been to the doctor), I was a bit surprised to see that I had high blood pressure. The doctor said that it wasn?t at a super concerning level, but that I should search for ways to relax, and be sure to engage in healthy living habits. He gave me a list of activities that are supposed to be soothing and help lower blood pressure. I looked at the list skeptically. Meditation, yoga, exercise, gardening. If I was overly stressed, it was because I was low on time. Trying to make time for this extra stuff wasn?t going to help anything.

?

?

I?ll admit it. I didn?t start working out after that. The thought of working out made me feel good for a couple of days. Then it started making me feel horrible because I hadn?t followed through. Then I stopped thinking about it and went back to my day-to-day activities. Life went on, and every time I thought about my blood pressure, it probably experienced a little spike.

?

Then spring came. The grass started growing, and my lawn started to need attention. I was looking into my backyard and thought that maybe I would plant some shrubs, since the yard was looking a little sparse. Yard work is supposed to be good for you, so maybe I could get some healthy activity done while making my yard look better.

?

Then I made the mistake that has probably had the most positive impact on my life out of all the other choices I?ve made. I went to the home and garden store to get some supplies and a couple plants. What I didn?t know is that I was entering my new second home.

?

I had looked up a couple things about landscaping before I went to the store. Certain plants did better in certain soils, look for native plants, blah blah blah. I had helped my mom in the garden when I was a kid. I had helped friends with landscaping projects before. I could figure it out.

?

Ha.

?

Having never actually planned a landscaping project, I ended up standing in the store?s greenroom staring at my options for quite some time. I denied several offers of assistance before finally saying. ?I?m looking for ? plants? To put in my ? backyard?? I felt like a self-conscious teenage girl. I was sure the attendant was judging me, thinking, ?What is this guy even doing here? He doesn?t have a clue.?

?

But she wasn?t. The nice lady had dealt with probably 100 other people every month who were just as clueless as I was. She started asking me questions. ?What kind of soil is in your yard?? ?Um?? ?What color is it? Does it feel like sand, or is it more gravelly??

?

She asked me a million questions. How much time did I plan on spending on maintenance? Did I want a flowering bush or just something green? I had to think. I had to make decisions. I had to buy something instead of giving up. She was that awesome.

?

That weekend I dug up a corner of my lawn. I drank a lot of water. I planted my newly acquired shrubbery. I gave it the proper amount of water, as well as putting down the special soil I had purchased. I stepped back and admired my work. Then my eye was drawn to a section of my lawn to my right. It looked kind of shabby comparatively.

?

That whole summer I kept coming up with yard projects. I planted trees. I put flower beds against my house. I replaced my front sidewalk with stepping stones shaped like paw prints. My creativity was sparked, and the completion of one project always led to the anticipation of the next one.

?

I started reading about gardening. It was too late to start a garden, but I could prepare for next year. I read about which plants benefitted each other. I spent weeks trying to find the perfect tomato cage. I had caught a disease, and it was saving my life.

?

Okay, that last line was a bit cheesy. Don?t worry. I didn?t start dating the lady from the plant store or anything else rom-com like. But I did have an amazing summer, and it has led to me having a beautiful yard, a productive garden, and a great way to reduce stress in my life.

?

So for those who say that they don?t have time to garden, I say yes. It is a lot of work. It is a time commitment. But it?s a great way to bring beauty and relaxation to the stressful world we live in.

?

Daniel Novak is a writer and lifelong learner. He maintains a vegetable garden and several flower beds and is always looking for new ways to add plants to his home. Because of this, he has a shameful amount of indoor and outdoor plant stands.

?

Related gardening stories on MNN:

?

Do you want to be a?guest?columnist??Send your pitch to?bcohen@mnn.com?with "I want to be a?guest?columnist" in the headline.?Plus,?visit our?guest column archive?to find a variety of topics and opinions.

?

Photo provided courtesy of Daniel Novak.

Source: http://www.mnn.com/home-blog/guest-columnist/blogs/my-journey-to-a-peaceful-garden

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PFT: Broncos now turn to Freeney or Abraham

Getty Images

It makes no sense to do mock drafts before free agency starts, even though everyone does.? It makes somewhat less nonsense to do one two weeks into free agency, but things can still change until it?s time for the first pick to be made.

Then again, it arguably makes no sense to do mock drafts at all, since it?s inherently a crapshoot that gives the experts and those who think they are something to do.

It?s even more of a crapshoot in 2013.

But we?ll shoot the crap anyway, since we haven?t done it yet this year and plenty of you have been asking for us to do one.

Probably so that you can complain about how bad it is.

So complain away.

1.? Chiefs:? DE Dion Jordan, Oregon.

2.? Jaguars:? OT Luke Joeckel, Texas A&M.

3.? Raiders:? DT Sharrif Floyd, Florida.

4.? Eagles:? DT Sheldon Richardson, Missouri.

5.? Lions:? CB Desmond Trufant, Washington.

6.? Browns:? DE Ziggy Ansah, BYU.

7.? Cardinals:? DE Barkevious Mingo, LSU.

8.? Bills:? QB Matt Barkley, USC.

9.? Jets:? CB Dee Milliner, Alabama.

10.? Titans:? OG Chance Warmack, Alabama.

11.? Chargers:? OT Eric Fisher, Central Michigan.

12.? Dolphins:? OT Lane Johnson, Oklahoma.

13.? Buccaneers:? WR Tavon Austin, West Virginia.

14.? Panthers:? DT Star Lotulelei, Utah.

15.? Saints:? WR Keenan Allen, California.

16.? Rams:? OG Jonathan Cooper, North Carolina.

17.? Steelers:? RB Eddie Lacy, Alabama.

18.? Cowboys:? S Kenny Vaccaro, Texas.

19.? Giants:? DE Bjoern Werner, Florida State.

20.? Bears:? LB Jarvis Jones, Georgia.

21.? Bengals:? DT Sylvester Williams, North Carolina.

22.? Rams (from Redskins):? OT D.J. Fluker, Alabama.

23.? Vikings:? QB Geno Smith, West Virginia.

24.? Colts:? WR Cordarrelle Patterson, Tennessee.

25.? Vikings (from Seahawks):? LB Manti Te?o, Notre Dame.

26.? Packers:? TE Tyler Eifert, Notre Dame.

27. ?? Texans:? WR Deandre Hopkins, Clemson.

28.? Broncos:? S Matt Elam, Florida.

29.? Patriots:? CB Xavier Rhodes, Florida State.

30.? Falcons:? DE Cornellius Carradine, Florida State.

31.? 49ers:? NT John Jenkins, Georgia.

32.? Ravens:? OT Kyle Long, Oregon.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/03/24/as-broncos-close-door-on-dumervil-they-open-it-for-freeney-abraham/related/

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Has Obama's Mideast trip changed the game on the ground?

Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP

US President Barack Obama, left, listens to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during their visit to the Children's Memorial at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem, Israel, on Friday.

By Martin Fletcher, Correspondent, NBC News

News analysis

TEL AVIV ? The verdict among Israeli pundits was unanimous: if President Barack Obama was an Israeli politician, he'd be a shoo-in to lead the liberal left.

His call for the Israeli government to halt Jewish settlement building in the West Bank, for a Palestinian state, his recognition of Israel's historical claim to the land and his demand for a secure Israel, is all straight out of the playbook of what remains of Israel's left.

---

His speech to Israeli students Thursday, who were carefully vetted to make sure they were in political agreement with him, was greeted numerous times by applause and a few standing ovations. And while many Israelis may have disagreed with the content of the speech, Obama's sincerity was felt by all.

?

Obama drew a clear parallel between the Passover story of Jewish slaves fleeing Egypt and fighting for their rights, and the African-American struggle out of slavery and fight for their rights. That bond of shared experience, and the genuineness of his feelings, really came through.

So when Obama insisted that "all options are on the table" to stop Iran's nuclear program, he sounded convincing. And when he moved on to demand that Israel stop building settlements and make tough decisions to reach peace with the Palestinians, his words met with a more receptive audience.

For many Israelis, Obama won their hearts and their minds, but as one said to this reporter: "What now?"

President Obama spoke to an audience of more than 2,000 Israeli citizens at the Jerusalem Convention Center and stressed the necessity of peace between Israel and Palestine.

Any closer to peace talks?
Are Israel and the Palestinians closer to peace talks than they were before Obama came? Did the fine words add up to momentum?

That will be up to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to discover when he returns to Jerusalem Saturday to try, as so many have before him, to kick-start the peace process.?

Overall, Obama's message had something for everyone.

The first half of Obama's speech, in which he confirmed Israel's right to the land, pleased Israel's right wing. The second half, in which he called for compromise with the Palestinians and a Palestinian state, pleased the left wing.

When he said this is a Jewish democratic state, Jews were thrilled and Palestinians were furious.

When he said Israel will not survive as a Jewish democratic state with settlements on Palestinian land, Palestinians were thrilled and many Israelis were furious.

But after trying to be all things to all people, Obama departed leaving behind a question: What just happened? Was there any American commitment to get started with the talks?

Israelis charmed, Palestinians insulted
The answer is: no. The message was: we are here to help, but first you have to do the work. In other words, nothing changed, beyond people?s impression of Obama as a leader.

President Obama, alongside and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, says the U.S. remains "deeply committed" to the creation of an independent and sovereign state of Palestine.

Israelis were encouraged that Obama really does like them; Operation Charm worked.

But Palestinians were left fuming, and many say they were insulted.

They complained that he mentioned a Jewish rocket victim by name, but didn?t mention any of the many Palestinian victims, or the approximately 4,500 prisoners in Israeli jails. He visited the grave of two Israeli icons, Theodor Herzl and Yitzhak Rabin, but refused even to walk by the shrine to Yasser Arafat. He did not repeat the Palestinian demand that Israel stop building settlements as a condition for peace talks.

In short, Palestinians got very little, and Israel got a bit more.

At least, that's what the public saw.

Big brother still calling the shots
There was at least one big surprise from the backroom talks between Obama and Netanyahu that should go a long way toward improving frayed ties between two important U.S. allies in the region.?

After three years of refusing to do so, Netanyahu called his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan Friday to apologize for "any error" that may have led to the deaths of nine Turkish activists during a 2010 raid on a boat off the Gaza Strip.

The two agreed to normalize relations ? a major breakthrough. It means the two big U.S. allies can now resume military cooperation, which should help to contain the spillover of the Syrian civil war in the region ? and lessen Israel's isolation in the volatile region.

What isn't known yet is what was agreed to behind closed doors about how to deal with the twin threats of Iran and Syria.

In the press conference that followed their discussions, both sides seemed satisfied with the current degree of military and intelligence cooperation on both subjects.

But did Obama leave with the certainty that Israel would not interfere with the American timetable for dealing with the Iranian threat?

We don?t know more than we knew before, which is that impatient little Israel can't do much without their more patient bigger brother.?

But at least, after this visit by the American president, the brotherly relationship appears more credible than before.

?

Related:

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Obama visits a Bethlehem in midst of change, Islamization

Obama appeals to Israelis: Give justice to the Palestinians

Iran threatens to destroy Tel Aviv, Haifa if Israel attacks

Obama: 'Still time' for diplomatic solution to Iran nuke dispute

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Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653387/s/29e82b1e/l/0Lworldnews0Bnbcnews0N0C0Inews0C20A130C0A30C230C174171340Ehas0Eobamas0Emideast0Etrip0Echanged0Ethe0Egame0Eon0Ethe0Eground0Dlite/story01.htm

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The problem, in a picture (Powerlineblog)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories News, News Feeds and News via Feedzilla.

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Push to arm Syrian rebels after mysterious 'chemical weapon' attack

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - French and British foreign ministers expressed concern on Friday over what they said was President Bashar al-Assad's willingness to use chemical weapons in the civil war in Syria.

The Syrian government and rebels accused each other of using such weapons in a rocket attack near Aleppo on Tuesday that killed 26 people.

However, a U.S. official has said it increasingly appeared that a chemical weapon was not used. Nor has any previous such deployment been confirmed.

But in a letter to EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, sent before a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Dublin to discuss Syria, ministers Laurent Fabius and William Hague said: "The crisis is increasingly threatening regional stability... and we are increasingly concerned about the regime's willingness to use chemical weapons."

In the letter, a copy of which was seen by Reuters, Fabius and Hague reiterated calls for the European Union to ease its arms embargo on Syria to allow for more help to the opposition. The issue will be discussed in Dublin on Friday.

The two ministers also said it would be increasingly difficult for the European Union to maintain its sanctions against Syria without exemptions for the opposition.

(Reporting by Justyna Pawlak; Editing by Rex Merrifield and Angus MacSwan)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/france-uk-increasingly-concerned-over-chemical-arms-syria-121515882.html

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Phoenix Using Reverse Psychology To Advance In MTV's Musical March Madness

'We'd prefer to lose,' Phoenix say of their hopes for MTV's Musical March Madness tournament.
By James Montgomery

MTV News' James Montgomery and Phoenix
Photo: MTV News

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1704110/musical-march-madness-2013-phoenix-arcade-fire.jhtml

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Calif corruption trial ends in mistrial

Defense attorneys, from left, Ronald Kaye, Stanley Friedman, and Shepard Kopp comment on their clients, after a judge declared a mistrial Thursday on dozens of remaining counts against five former city of Bell elected officials accused of misappropriating public funds, in Los Angeles Thursday, March 21, 2013. Jurors had reached mixed verdicts on Wednesday, convicting the former mayor and four former Bell City Council members of 21 counts of misappropriating public funds and acquitting them of 21 other counts. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Defense attorneys, from left, Ronald Kaye, Stanley Friedman, and Shepard Kopp comment on their clients, after a judge declared a mistrial Thursday on dozens of remaining counts against five former city of Bell elected officials accused of misappropriating public funds, in Los Angeles Thursday, March 21, 2013. Jurors had reached mixed verdicts on Wednesday, convicting the former mayor and four former Bell City Council members of 21 counts of misappropriating public funds and acquitting them of 21 other counts. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Former Bell City council member George Cole arrives at the Los Angeles Courthouse Thursday, March 21, 2013. Cole was found guilty Wednesday of two counts of misappropriation of funds related to the city of Bell's solid waste and recycling. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)

Former Bell city council member Teresa Jacobo arrives at Los Angeles Courthouse Thursday, March 21, 2013. Jacobo was found guilty Wednesday of five counts of misappropriation of funds related to the city's solid waste and recycling. (AP Photo/Nick Ut )

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? For more than three weeks jurors heard testimony about former elected officials who were accused of a salary-inflating scheme that drove a working-class Los Angeles suburb to the brink of bankruptcy. The panel deliberated for roughly as long.

A judge declared a mistrial Thursday after jurors, who spent more than 19 days weighing the evidence, said they were deadlocked on the remaining 42 counts. The decision to end the trial came after a series of notes from jurors that not only questioned their previous finding of guilt against the former leaders of Bell but showed tensions had boiled over.

In Superior Court Judge Kathleen Kennedy's estimation, "all hell has broken loose in the jury deliberation room."

On Wednesday the panel of seven woman and five men convicted the former mayor and four former Bell council members of a total of 21 counts of misappropriating public funds and acquitted them on 21 other counts. A sixth former official was acquitted of all charges.

The convictions were the first to come after revelations more than a year ago that Bell's leadership had illegally raised taxes, business license fees and other sources of income to pay huge salaries to the city manager, police chief, City Council members and others.

On Thursday, deliberations resumed on the remaining counts.

After jurors indicated they might be able to break a 9-3 stalemate, Kennedy asked them to keep deliberating. It was later disclosed the vote was in favor of guilt.

But the amount of time spent deliberating apparently was getting to jurors. One juror sent a note Thursday that read: "Your honor, I respectfully ask if you could please remind the jury to remain respectful and to not make false accusations or insults to one another."

The revelation came after another juror said in a note that "due to the pressure and stress of the deliberation process" the jury may have given an improper guilty verdict.

"It is better to be certain beyond a reasonable doubt to give a verdict of guilty than send someone innocent to prosecution," the note read. Kennedy ruled the verdicts would stand and not be revisited.

Jurors said they did not want to speak to the news media or attorneys and asked to be escorted privately from the courthouse. Prosecutors also declined to comment.

Defense attorneys said they planned to file a motion for a new trial based on possible juror misconduct.

"I think our clients were vilified in the court of public opinion. The call for their guilt has been ringing out," said Alex Kessel, former Councilman George Mirabal's attorney.

A hearing was scheduled for April 23 to determine whether the deadlocked counts will be retried. Sentencing on the guilty verdicts was not immediately set. Defense attorneys said their clients are eligible for probation.

The case involving the modest 2?-square-mile city has become a national symbol of political greed. Authorities said the scheme was masterminded by former City Manager Robert Rizzo that enriched him, the council members and other top city officials. Rizzo and his former assistant, Angela Spaccia, are scheduled to face trial later this year on similar charges.

The city of Bell has about 36,000 residents, with one in four people living below the poverty line.

As its manager, Rizzo had an annual compensation package of about $1.5 million. His salary alone was about $800,000 a year or twice that of the president of the United States. The six former City Council members were each paid about $100,000 a year.

The convictions were all related to the money the five were paid for their service on Bell's Solid Waste and Recycling Authority, an entity prosecutors said was a sham agency created only to pay them money. Records show the authority met only one time between 2006 and 2010 and there was no evidence any waste was ever collected or recycled.

The defendants, many of whom took the witness stand during the trial, insisted they earned their salaries by working around the clock to help residents. They and their lawyers blamed Rizzo for creating the fiscal mess in Bell.

"We were never part-time employees of the city," Mirabal said outside court Friday.

The other defendants declined comment.

___

AP Special Correspondent Linda Deutsch contributed to this report

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-03-22-City%20Corruption/id-d8b6e5f481d041498ecf93113c35fc91

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EXCLUSIVE! Go Behind the Scenes of 'This Is 40'

In This is 40 (the "sort of" sequel to Knocked Up), Leslie Mann and Paul Rudd return as bickering couple Debbie and Pete, who are trying to navigate their way through turning 40 and raising their two daughters, Sadie (Maude Apatow) and Charlotte (Sadie Apatow).

Source: http://www.ivillage.com/judd-apatow-takes-you-behind-scenes-movie-40/1-a-529353?dst=iv%3AiVillage%3Ajudd-apatow-takes-you-behind-scenes-movie-40-529353

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Whisper App - Business Insider

There's a hot new app taking college campuses by storm.

It's called Whisper.

Whisper is an iOS app that lets you anonymously share secrets in the form of digital postcard.

You don't have to interact with other people on the platform, but Whisper does enable you to leave hearts on posts you like, respond to a post with a Whisper of your own, and send messages.

Click here to jump straight to the walkthrough of the app >

The first conversation you start is free, but if you want to interact with other people, you'll need to pay a monthly subscription fee.?

Whisper is reminiscent of Post Secret, the mail-based community art project that lets users anonymously send in their secrets on the back of postcards.?

PostSecret even launched an iOS app in September 2011, but decided to pull it from Apple's App Store three months later due to abusive content.

"Those memories are kind of bittersweet for me," PostSecret founder Frank Warren tells Business Insider. "It had a short but brilliant life."

For the three months the app was live, people created and shared millions of secrets, Warren says. And a lot of the stories were really moving and deep, Warren says.

But once inappropriate content started appearing on the app, Warren had to call it quits.

To prevent malicious content from appearing on Whisper, there's a flagging feature for users to report inappropriate content.?

But despite having the flagging feature in place, Whisper already seems to be causing trouble.?

Whisper has reportedly sparked fights?at high school in South Florida, as well as a couple of fights at Marathon High School in New York.

Warren's advice for Whisper: Be aware of all that can happen when you allow strangers to anonymously share secrets and privately communicate.

"When you're talking about hundreds, or tens of thousands of users, you're talking about people who don't have the best intentions," Warren says. "And you're talking about young boys and girls, teenagers, sharing very intimate details in private. I just would hope they're aware of all the potentialities an app can enable between people and I hope they're careful with it."

As of December 2012, Whisper had more than 100,000 users. While we don't have updated numbers for Whisper,?lots of?college newspapers?are?talking about?it. And a VC tells us that the app is doing well and has good engagement.

Business Insider reached out to Whisper co-founder Michael Heyward, but he declined to comment.?

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/whisper-app-2013-3

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Ancient Chinese bowl sells for over $2.22M

NEW YORK (AP) ? A rare Chinese bowl bought at a tag sale for $3 has sold at a New York auction for more than $2.22 million.

The 1,000-year-old bowl was part of the opening session of Sotheby's fine Chinese ceramics and works of art auction Tuesday.

Sotheby's says it was sold to a London dealer for $2.225 million, far above the presale estimate of $200,000 to $300,000.

The person who put the bowl up for auction bought it at a tag sale in 2007 and had it displayed in the living room for several years before becoming curious about its origins and having it examined.

The bowl is 5 inches in diameter, white in color and from the Northern Song Dynasty.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/1-000-old-chinese-bowl-sells-over-2-233804822.html

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Less Than Perfect: Before the Funeral

Almost twenty years have passed since I got the call. ?If I close my eyes, I can still feel the grating of the ringing phone jolting me awake as I slept alone in my dorm room. ?It was my aunt, my mother's sister. ?I can't recall the specifics of the conversation, only that at some point my aunt interrupted me saying, "You can't what?"

What was she talking about? ?Only then did I become aware that I had been chanting the words, "I can't, I can't, I can't." ?It came out unconsciously, but the sentiment encompassed exactly what I needed to convey. ?I can't cope with this news. ?I can't understand what is happening. ?I can't lose my mother. ?I can't.

Days and calls and car rides went by in a blur. ?Those times are just flashes for me, my memory allowing me a glimpse here and there but not a full review of the time. ?Perhaps this is the protective nature of my memory; more likely the result of the shock.

As with all deaths, especially those involving a younger person (my mother was 44), there were lots of family dynamics to negotiate. ?Divorced parents, step parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents. ?I followed in a daze, staying where the adults told me. ?I stayed near my aunt's side and held all others at arm's length.

My step father was the furthest. ?We had never had a good relationship, and now my feelings for him bubbled with rage and hatred. ?Why did he get to live while she was gone? ?Why was my access to all that she ever was now to be run through him?

On the day of the viewing (a word I have always hated, a word that makes it sounds like you're going to see a lovely movie), I made it into the front door of the funeral home and immediately found a small anteroom where I sat alternately crying quietly and staring off into space. ?I can't say how much time went by. ?I heard the tears and cries from the next room. ?I heard my grandmother's screams as she tried to say goodbye to her oldest child. ?Still, I sat in that room. ?I made no attempt to rise. ?I was not ready to see her body.

Eventually, my absence registered with grieving family members. ?Who it was that came to find me initially I cannot recall. ?What I do remember is that my aunt, my most trusted confidant so far, and her husband eventually got me to stand. ?I started to walk with them and then knew, knew that it wasn't time yet. ?But they thought otherwise, taking me by my arms and pulling me, pushing me, dragging me across the lobby toward the room where my mother's body lay. ?I began to struggle, to cry, but their grip tightened. ?And then, suddenly, he was there. ?My step father. ?Taking my arm himself, ?insisting that I didn't have to go if I didn't want to. ?Opening the front door of the funeral home and taking me outside for a walk. ?Giving me the moment I so desperately needed to gather up my courage. ?When we returned, I was finally able to face the goodbye ahead of me.

Twenty years later, I see that time through a lens fogged by time and experience. ?The 39 year old me is a kinder, gentler and much more forgiving version of that 19 year old girl. ?But I see her and I know what she didn't know at that time: her step father had just planted the seed of kindness that would surprise her beyond belief by flourishing into a rich, vital relationship in her life.

He is not, never was, a perfect man. ?Theirs was not a perfect relationship. ?But I those moments, I was first able to realize that he had genuine love for me, for our family. ?While other family members spent time trying, successfully, to take my mother's things for themselves from his home, he guarded things, saved them for me. ?Gave me her engagement ring and clothing and cedar chest. ?Hauled around large items through years and moves until I was ready to settle down and collect them for myself. ?Helped me buy a car and pay for my wedding and buy a tank of gas each time I saw him.

There are family and friends who will never understand why I remain close with him, but for me, it all comes down to that moment before the funeral. ?There I was, needing to be saved, and there he was, ready to save me. ?Just like a father would. ?It was then that our relationship really began. ?My brother had always called him "Pop, a term I had rejected because I refused to give him that much respect. ?The child that I was could only see his flaws and would grant him no mercy from them. ?The woman I became is honored to have him in her life, grateful for all he has ever given, honored to call this broken, imperfect man her Pop. ?And so lucky that he was there for me, before, and after, the funeral.

Source: http://lessthanperfectmel.blogspot.com/2013/03/before-funeral.html

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World Briefing | Asia: China: More Pigs Found in River

[unable to retrieve full-text content]The number of dead pigs found in the river near Shanghai rose to more than 13,000 over the weekend.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/19/world/asia/china-more-pigs-found-in-river.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

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Stacy Lewis rallies to win LPGA Founders Cup

PHOENIX (AP) ? Stacy Lewis won the LPGA Founders Cup on Sunday to jump to No. 1 in the world, taking advantage of Ai Miyazato's collapse on the 16th hole.

A day after Lewis was penalized two strokes for her caddie's blunder on the short par 4, the American took a two-stroke lead with a birdie on the hole after Miyazato made a double bogey following an errant approach shot that left her with an unplayable lie in a desert bush.

Coming off a victory two weeks ago in Singapore, the 28-year-old Lewis won for the seventh time in her LPGA Tour career to end Yani Tseng's 109-week run at No. 1.

Lewis closed with an 8-under 64 in perfect conditions at Desert Ridge to finish with a tournament-record 23-under 265 total on the cactus-lined Wildfire layout.

Miyazato finished second, three strokes back after a 71.

The Japanese star took a four-stroke lead over Lewis and Jee Young Lee into the final round when Lewis was penalized after play Saturday when it was ruled that caddie Travis Wilson tested the sand before Lewis played out of a bunker on No. 16.

Forced to wear a back brace for six years as a teen because of scoliosis, Lewis is the second American to top the ranking that began in 2006. Cristie Kerr was No. 1 for five weeks over three stints in 2010.

Miyazato took a one-stroke lead into the 16th and was seemingly in perfect position after hitting in the middle of the fairway on the 307-yard hole. But her pitching wedge sailed left, hit on the bank near the edge of the green and rolled into the desert bush.

Instead of playing again from the fairway, she elected to drop in sand in the desert, leaving her with an uphill shot with little green to work with. Hitting her fourth, her shot from the desert went to the far edge of the green and she two-putted for a double-bogey 6.

Lewis, the Texan who won 12 tournaments in her college career at the University of Arkansas, found the right fairway bunker off the tee, hit to 15 feet and holed the putt for a birdie. She then made an 18-footer on the par-3 17th for her third straight birdie and a three-stroke lead.

Miyazato was playing for the first time since sustaining a whiplash injury in a five-vehicle crash in Bangkok after the LPGA Thailand. She withdrew the following week in Singapore as a precaution because of stiffness in her neck, shoulder and back.

Miyazato also tied for second last year at Desert Ridge, a stroke behind Tseng.

DIVOTS: Lewis earned $225,000 in the $1.5 million event. ... Angela Stanford was third at 17 under after a 68. ... Tseng shot a 70 to tie for 59th at 4 under. ... Jee Young Lee, the second-round leader after opening 65-64, closed 72-72 to tie for fourth at 16 under.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/stacy-lewis-rallies-win-lpga-founders-cup-230718940--spt.html

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Top general urges caution on Syria options, rebels

By Phil Stewart

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States has a less clear understanding of Syria's opposition than it did last year, the top U.S. military officer said on Monday, in comments likely to disappoint rebels hoping that America might be inching toward a decision to arm them.

"About six months ago, we had a very opaque understanding of the opposition and now I would say it's even more opaque," said General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the U.S. military's Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Dempsey, who is President Barack Obama's top uniformed military adviser, said he would also advise extreme caution when deliberating any military options in Syria - saying the conflict posed "the most complex set of issues that anyone could ever conceive, literally."

"I don't think at this point I can see a military option that would create an understandable outcome," Dempsey told the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank. "And until I do, it would be my advice to proceed cautiously."

More than 70,000 Syrians have been killed in a fierce conflict that began with peaceful protests against the government of President Bashar al-Assad two years ago. Some 860,000 Syrians have fled abroad and several million are displaced within the country or need humanitarian assistance.

In a sign of the complexities of the conflict, Syrian government aircraft fired rockets into northern Lebanon, in what the U.S. State Department described on Monday as a "significant escalation." Rebels said they had fired mortar bombs at the presidential palace in Damascus.

Dempsey along with former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and the heads of the CIA and State Department favored the idea of arming Syrian rebels during discussions within the Obama administration last year.

He told reporters last month he thought it might help end the crisis more quickly and avert the collapse of government institutions.

Still, there was never a specific plan under review and Obama decided against that option. U.S. officials have voiced concerns that any weapons provided by the United States could fall into the wrong hands.

Dempsey, asked whether he would consider more robust support for Syrians that stopped short of direct U.S. military intervention, acknowledged there were "opportunities" in Syria but suggested any actions would be led by U.S. allies.

"We very much do believe that the answer to Syria is through partners, because ... there's a greater likelihood that they'll understand the complexities than we would," he said.

(Editing by Warren Strobel and Paul Simao)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/top-general-urges-caution-syria-options-rebels-203123774.html

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Pregnant Coach Dies in Horrifying Bus Crash and Every Mom's Heart Breaks

A 30-year-old lacrosse coach who was pregnant with her second child died in a bus crash as her college team was on its way to a game. It's a tragedy that makes every mom feel like weeping.

Kristina Quigley, a coach of Seton Hill University's lacrosse team, was the only passenger of 23 to die when the bus slid off the Pennsylvania Turnpike and slammed into a tree early Saturday morning. The 61-year-old driver was also killed.

The college girls' team was on its way to play a game at Millersville University. Quigley, who was six months pregnant and has a young son, was flown to the hospital but died later of her injuries. And honestly, just writing this story makes my eyes fill with tears and my heart break for this woman with so much ahead of her, for her family, and for her unborn baby -- who never had the chance to live.

Any woman who's been pregnant knows what an amazing, emotional time those nine months are. Even if it's your second baby, as it was in Quigley's case, you still feel some of the same excitement, joy, and nervousness you experienced when you were expecting your first child. Your body goes through tremendous changes, and so do you. You grow -- literally and figuratively -- in ways you could never quite have dreamed of before. Pregnancy really does make you appreciate the miracle of life.

To have that all taken away in an instant is just beyond devastating. I can't even imagine what Quigley's husband, little boy, and other family and friends are going through right now. And for what? A senseless car crash that should never have happened and could probably have been avoided.

There's no word yet on the cause of the accident and whether driver error or weather or something else was to blame. The bus company, Mlaker Charter & Tours, had reportedly been up to date on all safety inspections, including checks on that specific vehicle and driver, but authorities are still investigating.

Does it really matter, though? Quigley and her unborn child are gone. Her family's lives will never be the same. I think one reason this has hit me so hard is that I, too, am pregnant with my second baby and have an older child, a little girl, at home. In that way, I was in her shoes. And a random tragedy like this could happen to any one of us. My heart feels so heavy for Quigley's husband and son and other loved ones right now. There truly are no words.

Do you have any comforting words for this pregnant coach's family? How does news like this affect you?

Source: http://thestir.cafemom.com/pregnancy/152671/pregnant_coach_dies_in_horrifying?utm_medium=sm&utm_source=rss&utm_content=pregnancy_rssfeed

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