Smart Move? Costs and Benefits of a Smart Grid (BLOG)

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcRI46PU1KBINCLdseibRk0YgE7vhfm3PBWJIbfazQWRRX5zcC9_2rpmd2oUkIqFIRA8m5g4w_lyInKsdS_NubWCEvyU3v2Qj5M4K1kFZHQn4mUtgtJ5uUKdwIUhhHcU69lchlSt032Fo/s1600/smartgrid_02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="158" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcRI46PU1KBINCLdseibRk0YgE7vhfm3PBWJIbfazQWRRX5zcC9_2rpmd2oUkIqFIRA8m5g4w_lyInKsdS_NubWCEvyU3v2Qj5M4K1kFZHQn4mUtgtJ5uUKdwIUhhHcU69lchlSt032Fo/s320/smartgrid_02.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1387684436045_21058" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Simply put, a smart grid is an electrical grid that's integrated with computerized, two-way communication networks. In addition to sending electricity from a power plant to homes and offices, smart grids also provide feedback to system operators regarding power interruptions and electrical use.</div><div class="body-slot-mod" style="background-color: white; clear: right; float: right; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 1.1em 10px; max-width: 300px;"><div class="yom-remote"><div class="" id="mediacontentrelatedstory_container"></div></div></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1387684436045_21856" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"A <a data-rapid_p="8" href="http://www.livescience.com/41920-smart-grid.html" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">smart grid</a> is one that has real-time monitoring and reaction, which allows the system to constantly modify and tune itself to an optimal state," said Massoud Amin, professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Minnesota and an outspoken proponent of smart-grid development.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"It also has anticipation, which enables the system to automatically look for problem areas that could trigger larger problems and disturbances," Amin told LiveScience. "And it has rapid isolation, which allows the system to isolate parts of the network that are going through failure — or about to fail — from the rest of the system, enabling a more rapid restoration." [<a data-rapid_p="9" href="http://www.livescience.com/11390-readers-pick-top-10-alternative-energy-bets.html" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Top 10 Alternative Energy Bets</a>]</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Indeed, the advantages of a smart grid are almost too numerous to list, but according to SmartGrid.gov (a website developed by the Department of Energy), a smart grid will permit more efficient transmission of electricity, lower operating and kilowatt costs, quicker restoration of electricity after outages and reduced energy use during peak-demand hours.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;"><strong>Greener energy</strong></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">In addition to keeping your lights on and your <a data-rapid_p="10" href="http://www.livescience.com/29482-cellphone-conversation-distraction.html" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">cellphone</a> charged, the development of a smart grid would have substantial environmental and economic benefits, proponents say.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1387684436045_21860" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"Today, power generation currently accounts for 40 percent of the U.S. <a data-rapid_p="11" href="http://www.livescience.com/13772-city-slicker-country-bumpkin-smaller-carbon-footprint.html" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">carbon footprint</a>, so we as a world must find a way to do more with less, and we have to do it quickly," John McDonald, director at GE Digital Energy, said at a 2008 conference organized by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1387684436045_21860" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">As <a data-rapid_p="12" href="http://www.livescience.com/38542-renewable-energy-2012.html" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">renewable energy</a> sources such as wind and solar slowly make up a larger portion of the U.S. energy picture, a smart grid will be better able to integrate and transmit that energy across the power grid.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"Renewable resources are not concentrated near places where there are industrial parks and cities. They happen to be located in the central part of the United States, where there's a large wind resource, or in the<a data-rapid_p="13" href="http://www.livescience.com/31889-creosote-bushes-photos.html" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Southwest desert</a>," Clark Gellings of the Electric Power Research Institute said at the IEEE conference.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"What the smart grid will do is let us collect those renewable energy resources and deliver them to cities and homes and urban areas where they're needed," Gellings said.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">One way that the smart grid would run more efficiently is by monitoring and controlling appliances that have a wireless connection to the grid. When energy demand is high, the smart grid can automatically reduce the energy demand of home appliances by, for instance, turning off the heat in a clothes dryer for 30 seconds.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The dryer's drum would continue to spin, and the operator wouldn't even know that the heat had been turned off for a few seconds. Multiplied over millions of energy-using appliances, the net effect will allow grid operators to prevent power outages and use available electricity more efficiently.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;"><strong>Follow the money</strong></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Developing a nationwide smart grid wouldn't be cheap, of course: "The cost of a smarter grid would depend on how much instrumentation you actually put in, such as the communications backbone and security," Amin said. "The total price tag ranges around $340 billion to $480 billion, which over a 20-year period would be something like $20 billion per year."</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">But these costs have immediate rewards, Amin asserts. "Right off the bat, the benefits are $70 billion per year in reduced costs from outages, and in a year where there are lots of hurricanes, lots of ice storms and other disturbances, that benefit even goes further. In addition, it would increase system efficiency by 4.5 percent — that's another $20.4 billion a year," Amin said.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Simply put, for every dollar spent on the development of a smart grid, "the return is about $2.80 to $6 to the broader economy. And this figure is very conservative," Amin said.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">These potential long-term savings are one reason so many countries worldwide have jumped on the smart-grid bandwagon. <a data-rapid_p="14" href="http://www.livescience.com/27862-china-environmental-problems.html" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">China</a>, for example, hasinvested $7.3 billion in smart-grid technology, and is expected to spend $96 billion more by 2020, according to figures provided by Amin. South Korea, Chile, Colombia and other nations are also ramping up smart-grid investments.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The United States, meanwhile, has spent about $7.8 billion, a figure Amin refers to as "a good down payment," though much more work needs to be done, especially with an aging electrical infrastructure.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">There were 149 outages that affected 50,000 or more consumers in the United States from 2000 to 2004, according to Amin's research. But from 2005 to 2009, the number of large-scale U.S. outages jumped to 349. The electrical infrastructure in America is aging rapidly, to the point that 18 years ago depreciation started exceeding the actual investment. [<a data-rapid_p="15" href="http://www.livescience.com/11324-power-future-10-ways-run-21st-century.html" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Power of the Future: 10 Ways to Run the 21st Century</a>]</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Furthermore, the utility industry spends notoriously little on research and development — just 0.17 percent of their net sales are reinvested in R&D, Amin said. Only the pulp and paper industry spend less on R&D than utilities.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;"><strong>American know-how</strong></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">But the entire U.S. electrical system got a shot in the arm in 2007, with the passage of the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA). EISA established a Federal Smart Grid Task Force and authorized the Department of Energy to develop a federal funding program for smart grid investments. And in 2009, the<a data-rapid_p="16" href="http://www.livescience.com/37730-obama-climate-change-speech.html" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Obama administration</a> announced $3.9 billion in grants to integrate renewable energy development with smart grid technology.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Those U.S. investments should come as welcome news to job seekers: "Adding about 42,000 miles of high-voltage transmission lines to the existing 450,000 miles … will cost about $82 billion, and will provide 210,000-214,000 sustainable, good-paying jobs," Amin said.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Do the American people and the U.S. government have the drive and the vision to make the smart grid a reality in the foreseeable future? Amin is confident that it will happen, likening this effort to landing on the moon.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"If you look at a macro picture," Amin said in an email, "whenever we make this type of a big advancement, such as the <a data-rapid_p="17" href="http://www.livescience.com/28428-conspiracy-beliefs-by-political-party.html" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">moon shot</a> or the national highway system, and when we put the American will, know-how, and passion behind any big, hairy, audacious goal, we succeed."</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1387684436045_21870" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;"><em>Follow Marc Lallanilla on </em><a data-rapid_p="18" href="https://twitter.com/MarcLallanilla" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;"><em>Twitter</em></a><em> and </em><a data-rapid_p="19" href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/109190543834426006249/posts" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;"><em>Google+</em></a><em id="yui_3_9_1_1_1387684436045_21869">. Follow us </em><a data-rapid_p="20" href="https://twitter.com/LiveScience" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;"><em>@livescience</em></a><em>, </em><a data-rapid_p="21" href="http://www.facebook.com/#!/livescience" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;"><em>Facebook</em></a><em> & </em><a data-rapid_p="22" href="https://plus.google.com/101164570444913213957/posts" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;"><em>Google+</em></a><em>. Original article on <em><a data-rapid_p="23" href="http://www.livescience.com/41936-smart-grid-energy-benefits.html" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">LiveScience</a></em>.</em></div></div>

Smart Move? Costs and Benefits of a Smart Grid (BLOG)

Simply put, a smart grid is an electrical grid that's integrated with computerized, two-way communication networks. In addition to sending electricity from a power plant to homes and offices, smart grids also provide feedback to system operators rega…

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In Hawaii, Obama tries for uninterrupted vacation (BLOG)

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9agv7hgFKGygiiPIgaU0M0vYib38Kzw-bngswP5AImI8naxXRBp9azWkLKlSUISYmNw3yoaALukDAU9cQceYcWX6C96xBz-k9ZdUTktKdrm0aQDROqk3YlfNCK6Q6A67xdI7oQwUfB5E/s1600/4842fd7ef811982a460f6a7067003520.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9agv7hgFKGygiiPIgaU0M0vYib38Kzw-bngswP5AImI8naxXRBp9azWkLKlSUISYmNw3yoaALukDAU9cQceYcWX6C96xBz-k9ZdUTktKdrm0aQDROqk3YlfNCK6Q6A67xdI7oQwUfB5E/s320/4842fd7ef811982a460f6a7067003520.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1387684436045_12874" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">HONOLULU (AP) — An ocean away from Washington worries, President Barack Obama opened his annual Hawaii vacation Saturday on a quiet note — and hoped it would stay that way for the next two weeks.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1387684436045_12834" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">This year, Obama was cleared for an on-time departure by Congress, which defied pessimistic expectations last week by passing a bipartisan budget deal, all but ensuring the government won't shut down over the next two years. It was a far cry from presaging a new era of cooperation, to be sure, but a silver lining for Obama a day earlier as he acknowledged a year of frustrating "ups and downs" in an end-of-year news conference.Every year, Obama and his family prepare to return to his birth state here on the sun-scorched shores of Oahu. And every year — until now — congressional squabbling has forced the Obamas to delay their trip.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The president, first lady Michelle Obama, daughters Sasha and Malia, and first dogs Sunny and Bo hopped an overnight flight Friday aboard Air Force One to Honolulu, where they were whisked by motorcade to a beachside home in Kailua, a sleepy suburb with a five-mile stretch of beach popular among windsurfers and tourists.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The next morning Obama, typically an early riser, got a late start, staying at the home until early afternoon, when he headed to the golf course at a nearby Marine Corps base. Joining Obama for the round of golf were Sam Kass, the White House chef; Marvin Nicholson, Obama's trip director; and presidential friend Bobby Titcomb, the White House said.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Obama, in white golf shirt, hat and sunglasses, was all smiles as he drove past reporters accompanying him to the coastal golf course.</div><div class="body-related" style="background-color: white; clear: right; float: right; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; position: relative;"><a class="body-related-link body-related-image go-to-slideshow-lightbox rapid-noclick-resp landscape onesize get-lbdata-from-dom" data-rapid_p="13" data-uuid="7226e2e8-8a0c-3044-ac40-c84323846311" href="http://news.yahoo.com/photos/president-barack-obama-first-lady-michelle-obama-left-photo-124131176.html" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 300px; position: relative; text-decoration: none;" title="President Barack Obama, right, and first lady Michelle&nbsp;&hellip;"><div class="img-wrap" style="position: relative;"><div class="cta-overlay" style="-webkit-transition: background-color 0.24s linear; font-size: 13px; height: 273px; left: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; transition: background-color 0.24s linear; width: 300px;"><span class="clearfix title cta-text medium" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.24s linear; color: white; font-size: 16px; left: 5px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; top: 5px; transition: opacity 0.24s linear; white-space: pre-wrap; width: 270px; zoom: 1;"></span><span class="cta-text xsmall" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.24s linear; bottom: 5px; color: white; font-size: 16px; margin-left: 42px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; transition: opacity 0.24s linear;">View gallery</span><span class="icon-slideshow icon-white-slideshow-xsmall" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.16s linear; background-color: #324fe1; background-image: url(data:image/svg+xml; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; background-size: cover; border-bottom-left-radius: 4px; border-bottom-right-radius: 4px; border-top-left-radius: 4px; border-top-right-radius: 4px; bottom: 5px; cursor: pointer; height: 23px; left: 5px; line-height: 0; opacity: 0; padding: 0px; position: absolute; text-indent: -1000em; transition: opacity 0.16s linear; width: 32px; z-index: 1;"></span></div><img alt="President Barack Obama, right, and first lady Michelle&nbsp;&hellip;" class="body-related-thumb" data-src-2x="" height="273" src="http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/pv3PbPOTRAYF.Y1R5MhbTg--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTI3MztxPTc1O3c9MzAw/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/ap_webfeeds/126388f2db5d8a2a460f6a706700db2f.jpg" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; display: block; opacity: 1 !important; transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; vertical-align: baseline; visibility: visible !important;" width="300" /></div></a><div class="body-related-title photo-caption" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: grey; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%; padding: 5px 5px 0px 0px; position: relative; width: 300px;">President Barack Obama, right, and first lady Michelle Obama, left, along with their daughter Sasha, …</div></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The president has no public events scheduled during his vacation, which is expected to last through Jan. 5. In previous years, frequent golf outings have accompanied trips to local restaurants and other island outings.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">A few weeks of low-key rest and relaxation would be a welcome change of pace for Obama, who reflected on a high-stakes year of brinkmanship and health care woes as he packed his bags for Hawaii.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"The end of the year is always a good time to reflect and see what can you do better next year," Obama said Friday. "I'm sure that I will have even better ideas after a couple days of sleep and sun."</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1387684436045_12892" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Last year, Obama had to temporarily abandon his vacation to fly home amid a congressional standoff over the so-called fiscal cliff. The year before, a showdown over payroll tax cuts forced him to delay the start of his Hawaii hiatus. In 2010, it was congressional wrangling over repeal of the ban on gays in the military and other issues that delayed the trip. And in 2009, Senate deliberations over Obama's signature health care law meant that Honolulu had to wait another few days.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Conditions seem ripe this year for a few weeks of interrupted family time. Obama did spend part of Saturday morning conferring with top national security aides about the situation in South Sudan, where U.S. military aircraft evacuating Americans from the violence-plagued African nation came under gunfire and had to divert to Uganda. The White House said four U.S. troops were injured in that incident.</div><div class="body-related" style="background-color: white; clear: right; float: right; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; position: relative;"><a class="body-related-link body-related-image go-to-slideshow-lightbox rapid-noclick-resp landscape onesize get-lbdata-from-dom" data-rapid_p="14" data-uuid="e3d4b51e-6191-386b-b408-c710e1fdb5c7" href="http://news.yahoo.com/photos/president-barack-obama-first-lady-michelle-obama-greeted-photo-124131104.html" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 300px; position: relative; text-decoration: none;" title="President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama&nbsp;&hellip;"><div class="img-wrap" style="position: relative;"><div class="cta-overlay" style="-webkit-transition: background-color 0.24s linear; font-size: 13px; height: 263px; left: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; transition: background-color 0.24s linear; width: 300px;"><span class="clearfix title cta-text medium" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.24s linear; color: white; font-size: 16px; left: 5px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; top: 5px; transition: opacity 0.24s linear; white-space: pre-wrap; width: 270px; zoom: 1;"></span><span class="cta-text xsmall" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.24s linear; bottom: 5px; color: white; font-size: 16px; margin-left: 42px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; transition: opacity 0.24s linear;">View gallery</span><span class="icon-slideshow icon-white-slideshow-xsmall" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.16s linear; background-color: #324fe1; background-image: url(data:image/svg+xml; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; background-size: cover; border-bottom-left-radius: 4px; border-bottom-right-radius: 4px; border-top-left-radius: 4px; border-top-right-radius: 4px; bottom: 5px; cursor: pointer; height: 23px; left: 5px; line-height: 0; opacity: 0; padding: 0px; position: absolute; text-indent: -1000em; transition: opacity 0.16s linear; width: 32px; z-index: 1;"></span></div><img alt="President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama&nbsp;&hellip;" class="body-related-thumb" data-src-2x="" height="263" src="http://l3.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/HTMCwJaE9YsWW0r4tu.JBg--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTI2MztxPTc1O3c9MzAw/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/ap_webfeeds/53017919db798a2a460f6a7067009e5b.jpg" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; display: block; opacity: 1 !important; transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; vertical-align: baseline; visibility: visible !important;" width="300" /></div></a><div class="body-related-title photo-caption" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: grey; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%; padding: 5px 5px 0px 0px; position: relative; width: 300px;">President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama are greeted by, from left, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard,  …</div></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Throughout his vacation Obama will continue to get regular briefings from advisers traveling with him, White House officials said. Obama and his supporters were hoping those routine updates wouldn't interfere with regular rounds of golf and family outings for shave ice, the Hawaii version of a snow cone.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"I don't want any interruptions. He deserves a vacation," Brian Pritchett, an assistant principal visiting from Mount Vernon, N.Y., said as he sipped a rum-infused drink dubbed the "Obama Mama" at a Honolulu hotel. "He puts in too many hours to not have his vacation with his family. I know that's what I would do."</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">___</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Associated Press writers Oskar Garcia and Heidi Chang contributed to this report.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">___</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1387684436045_12907" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Reach Josh Lederman on Twitter at http://twitter.com/joshledermanAP</div></div>

In Hawaii, Obama tries for uninterrupted vacation (BLOG)

HONOLULU (AP) — An ocean away from Washington worries, President Barack Obama opened his annual Hawaii vacation Saturday on a quiet note — and hoped it would stay that way for the next two weeks.This year, Obama was cleared for an on-time departure b…

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Hospital: Teen who was shot at Colo. school dies (BLOG)

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXks2yrETDyJCY3aUHeuIiMZGe-kadulDmdGkpIL5587ZsPXa3msveTeYXK5CjMwZFFmwjexz3YhVz2EFj-B1CMCQxaxYt-61mZSDo1hLfO6iYdLaw90iIJ_ML6IvkATVTuUIbp8PeIzI/s1600/3d33c92df83b982a460f6a7067003180.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXks2yrETDyJCY3aUHeuIiMZGe-kadulDmdGkpIL5587ZsPXa3msveTeYXK5CjMwZFFmwjexz3YhVz2EFj-B1CMCQxaxYt-61mZSDo1hLfO6iYdLaw90iIJ_ML6IvkATVTuUIbp8PeIzI/s320/3d33c92df83b982a460f6a7067003180.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1387684436045_4446" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">LITTLETON, Colo. (AP) — A suburban Denver high school student who was shot in the head by a classmate died Saturday afternoon, hospital officials and her family said.</div><div class="body-slot-mod" style="background-color: white; clear: right; float: right; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 1.1em 10px; max-width: 300px;"><div class="yom-remote"><div class="" id="mediacontentrelatedstory_container"><br /><section class="yom-mod " data-ylk="mid:mediacontentrelatedstory;mpos:1;elm:hdln;elmt:ct;cat:Related Stories;rspns:nav;t1:a3;itc:0;sec:lst-ct;" id="mediacontentrelatedstory" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><div class="yom-related-story-module story" style="font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 40px;"><div class="hd"><h2 style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">Related Stories</h2></div><div class="bd"><div class="latest-content-inline"><ul style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><li class="list-item story" data-uuid="ed39aec4-6f95-34a1-a5c4-4aa0745f29ff" style="display: block; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 10px; overflow: hidden; position: relative; zoom: 1;"><a data-rapid_p="8" data-ylk="itc:0;tar:news.yahoo.com;ct:1;sec:lst-ct;cpos:1;test:gs126;g:ed39aec4-6f95-34a1-a5c4-4aa0745f29ff;pkgt:2;prov:Associated Press;" href="http://news.yahoo.com/sheriff-colorado-gunman-wanted-hurt-many-more-010739865.html" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; margin-right: 6px; text-decoration: none;">Sheriff: Colorado gunman wanted to hurt many more</a> <span class="source" style="color: #1e7d8e;">Associated Press</span></li><li class="list-item story" data-uuid="c8b364c9-61f7-39ba-9faf-e39c3492d0ac" style="display: block; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 10px; overflow: hidden; position: relative; zoom: 1;"><a data-rapid_p="9" data-ylk="itc:0;tar:news.yahoo.com;ct:1;sec:lst-ct;cpos:2;test:gs126;g:c8b364c9-61f7-39ba-9faf-e39c3492d0ac;pkgt:2;prov:Reuters;" href="http://news.yahoo.com/colorado-student-17-wounded-school-shooting-dies-005229726.html" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; margin-right: 6px; text-decoration: none;">Colorado student, 17, wounded in school shooting, dies</a> <span class="source" style="color: #1e7d8e;">Reuters</span></li><li class="list-item story" data-uuid="824b6493-b289-35fd-8dd1-2b9e741637e3" style="display: block; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 10px; overflow: hidden; position: relative; zoom: 1;"><a data-rapid_p="10" data-ylk="itc:0;tar:news.yahoo.com;ct:1;sec:lst-ct;cpos:3;test:gs126;g:824b6493-b289-35fd-8dd1-2b9e741637e3;pkgt:2;prov:Associated Press;" href="http://news.yahoo.com/colorado-governor-visits-school-shooting-victim-205917977.html" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; margin-right: 6px; text-decoration: none;">Colorado governor visits school shooting victim</a><span class="source" style="color: #1e7d8e;">Associated Press</span></li><li class="list-item story" data-uuid="45727218-c8f4-36b1-9187-6e9751abbef1" style="display: block; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 10px; overflow: hidden; position: relative; zoom: 1;"><a data-rapid_p="11" data-ylk="itc:0;tar:news.yahoo.com;ct:1;sec:lst-ct;cpos:4;test:gs126;g:45727218-c8f4-36b1-9187-6e9751abbef1;pkgt:2;prov:Associated Press;" href="http://news.yahoo.com/prayers-support-pour-wounded-colo-student-214440377.html" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; margin-right: 6px; text-decoration: none;">Prayers, support pour in for wounded Colorado student</a> <span class="source" style="color: #1e7d8e;">Associated Press</span></li><li class="list-item story" data-uuid="3581d571-cba8-35c7-bfc3-2dd4d6d8c3a0" style="display: block; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 10px; overflow: hidden; position: relative; zoom: 1;"><a data-rapid_p="12" data-ylk="itc:0;tar:news.yahoo.com;ct:1;sec:lst-ct;cpos:5;test:gs126;g:3581d571-cba8-35c7-bfc3-2dd4d6d8c3a0;pkgt:2;prov:Associated Press;" href="http://news.yahoo.com/memorial-wounded-colorado-student-growing-190034639.html" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; margin-right: 6px; text-decoration: none;">Memorial for wounded Colorado student growing</a><span class="source" style="color: #1e7d8e;">Associated Press</span></li></ul></div></div></div></section></div></div></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1387684436045_4418" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Claire Davis, 17, was in critical condition after being shot at point-blank range at Arapahoe High School on Dec. 13.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1387684436045_4491" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"It is with heavy hearts that we share that at 4:29 p.m. this afternoon, Claire Davis passed away, with her family at her side," a statement from Littleton Adventist Hospital said.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1387684436045_4501" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"Despite the best efforts of our physicians and nursing staff, and Claire's fighting spirit, her injuries were too severe and the most advanced medical treatments could not prevent this tragic loss of life. Claire's death is immensely heartbreaking for our entire community, our staff and our families."</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1387684436045_4511" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The Davis family said in a statement that they are grateful for the 17 years they had with their daughter.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"The grace, laughter and light she brought to this world will not be extinguished by her death; to the contrary, it will only get stronger," the statement said.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The family said they appreciated the outpouring of support from the community and thanked the efforts of law enforcement, school officials and medical staff.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The date for a public memorial to honor the teen would be announced later, the hospital's statement said.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Friends and well-wishers had posted prayers online and raised money to help pay for Claire Davis' medical care in days following the shooting. The Denver Foundation set up a fund for donations to the Davis family on Friday, the same day about 100 people gathered at a church near the school to pray for the teen.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Karl Pierson, 18, shot Davis, who just happened to be sitting nearby with a friend as Pierson, armed with a shotgun, ammunition strapped to his body, Molotov cocktails and a machete, entered the school and headed toward the library. Davis appeared to be a random target, Arapahoe County Sheriff Grayson Robinson has said.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Pierson likely intended to track down a librarian who had disciplined him, but Robinson said Pierson's arsenal suggested Pierson intended to hurt many others at the school just 8 miles from Columbine High School.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Pierson set off one of the incendiary devices and fired five shots before killing himself just one minute and 20 seconds after entering the building. He knew a sheriff's deputy assigned to the school was closing in, Robinson said at a news conference.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Senior Chris Davis, who is not related to Claire Davis, said she loved horses, had a lot of friends and always seemed happy. Chris Davis, whose locker is next to Claire's, helped organize a fundraising effort for her family.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Students held vigils for Davis after the shooting. Typical was a story told by classmate Maggie Hurlbut.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"One time I remember I was upset in the hallway, and she came up to me and she just — it was like, 'Hey Maggie, I know we don't know each other well but are you doing OK?' And I told her yeah, and she was like, 'Anything you need, I'm here for you,'" Hurlbut said. "Again, that's who she is, and she just wants to take care of others, and that was really just a good representation of her character and who she was."</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Gov. John Hickenlooper visited Davis and her family at the hospital and had asked for prayers.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Sheriff Robinson called Davis "a young woman of principle" and "an innocent young lady."</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Pierson's original target was believed to be a librarian who coached the school's speech and debate team. Pierson was a skilled speaker and debater on the team. The librarian, whose name was not released, had disciplined the teen in September for reasons that haven't been disclosed. Robinson said Pierson had made some sort of threat against the librarian in September.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"We are looking into that, to the degree that it was understood, and then what interactions or interventions took place," the sheriff said.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The librarian was able to escape the school unharmed, Robinson said.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Pierson legally purchased his shotgun at a local store a week before the shooting and bought the ammunition the day of the shooting. Anyone 18 and older is allowed to buy a shotgun in Colorado; only those over 21 can legally buy a handgun.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Pierson, whose parents were divorced, lived at least part of the time with his mother in a higher-end neighborhood in suburban Highlands Ranch.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1387684436045_4529" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The Arapahoe shooting came a day before the one-year anniversary of the Newtown, Conn., attack in which a gunman killed 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1387684436045_4529" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">-Yahoo News</div></div>

Hospital: Teen who was shot at Colo. school dies (BLOG)

LITTLETON, Colo. (AP) — A suburban Denver high school student who was shot in the head by a classmate died Saturday afternoon, hospital officials and her family said.Related StoriesSheriff: Colorado gunman wanted to hurt many more Associated PressCol…

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Person of the Week: Jesus Christ!

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="MsoNormal">IWS Radio is proud to announce that our Person of the Week is the King of Kings, Lord of Lords, the Prince of Peace himself …. Jesus Christ!! <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCOYnSJ9bgiN-RUCcV6hqzKW3zwykDTD8XJA8slG7OElLw5xar2NoFpQp0AQCL1NJUkQXE-FG-rTo0_drDVPAbLvQIThJhTqxwwCMuf97O5rja0Zz7kqf60KCs6h47PXY5vxOD-s_3eSAU/s1600/Jesus+H+Christ.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCOYnSJ9bgiN-RUCcV6hqzKW3zwykDTD8XJA8slG7OElLw5xar2NoFpQp0AQCL1NJUkQXE-FG-rTo0_drDVPAbLvQIThJhTqxwwCMuf97O5rja0Zz7kqf60KCs6h47PXY5vxOD-s_3eSAU/s320/Jesus+H+Christ.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p><br /></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal">Jesus was born a really long time ago in Bethlehem (or Nazarene or Galilee or whatever) sometime between early fall and late spring, but we celebrate his birthday on December 25^th!! <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7BYne-y_0wSozFYG9AkPtJqwteyags4BPPBt94kk05PAterOW6ftOzrajrGGTFD_zzk4OiudHlwFmRmu4vM7QLg49P4vY18avnUvmIDOagap0dCOgUXcp-3jiQN_jPjQrP8JnoB4ciI_h/s1600/Baby+Jesus+Manger+Nativity+Set.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7BYne-y_0wSozFYG9AkPtJqwteyags4BPPBt94kk05PAterOW6ftOzrajrGGTFD_zzk4OiudHlwFmRmu4vM7QLg49P4vY18avnUvmIDOagap0dCOgUXcp-3jiQN_jPjQrP8JnoB4ciI_h/s320/Baby+Jesus+Manger+Nativity+Set.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p><br /></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal">Jesus was a great guy who liked to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. He turned water into wine then got drunk and tipped over the bingo tables and drove out the money changers. Then he went and hung out with the strippers and hookers and other sinners. (Just like Jayman does!) <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUqman3WUX5fLkG90DjBRH6LguzVvpOoc8qvFGB_n9x1t7e3C01Wq8eRkqzTvp3u5kQd_tABLAqfzKEBPi_3blzSK1-zJDFtsFmW9YelUJYkR2NfA7VTcPlh__iK1svv2d2edS2IIRd9Xj/s1600/Natalie+Portman+Nude+Hot+Jesus+Strip+Club.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUqman3WUX5fLkG90DjBRH6LguzVvpOoc8qvFGB_n9x1t7e3C01Wq8eRkqzTvp3u5kQd_tABLAqfzKEBPi_3blzSK1-zJDFtsFmW9YelUJYkR2NfA7VTcPlh__iK1svv2d2edS2IIRd9Xj/s400/Natalie+Portman+Nude+Hot+Jesus+Strip+Club.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p><br /></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal">He is also the all-time Hide-and-Seek champion of the WORRLLLLLLDDDD! <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm7Q3yD5ZnRiwklzRvxyWJrwlJIqzvL6Evt6HBU9StW1BNSJGiia6R98kPOVubij25zke2wUnlq68lzRqOy9nuEnGJPY3MAnog5fyzx7NI6xmZrw3eICUcHB5SN_DzWJMj2ziI1Hg7du0V/s1600/Jesus+Hide+and+Seek.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm7Q3yD5ZnRiwklzRvxyWJrwlJIqzvL6Evt6HBU9StW1BNSJGiia6R98kPOVubij25zke2wUnlq68lzRqOy9nuEnGJPY3MAnog5fyzx7NI6xmZrw3eICUcHB5SN_DzWJMj2ziI1Hg7du0V/s320/Jesus+Hide+and+Seek.jpeg" width="277" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p><br /></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal">So, from all us here at IWS Radio, a very sincere and heartfelt Happy Birthday Jesus!!! <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaqiDRuWHOQdX-1Ib85ogtMBQXdcXAKlsY9u5cr_7bvMjkIOzzoyig_DDgi_u9AgBJpJwitAqePfCfLQyljSAz3COSkGftDLpiycCTeOgk-Ihs9607aPHAUUAcpQ4eBSLkl5ewFX45jsdU/s1600/black-jesus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="287" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaqiDRuWHOQdX-1Ib85ogtMBQXdcXAKlsY9u5cr_7bvMjkIOzzoyig_DDgi_u9AgBJpJwitAqePfCfLQyljSAz3COSkGftDLpiycCTeOgk-Ihs9607aPHAUUAcpQ4eBSLkl5ewFX45jsdU/s320/black-jesus.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p><br /></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Don’t forget to join us for a <a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/im-with-stupid/2013/12/22/a-holly-jolly-festivus" target="_blank">Holly Jolly Festivus</a> as we continue to celebrate Christmas and throw in a little Festivus at 12 Noon ET on IWS Radio!!! <o:p></o:p></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div></div>

Person of the Week: Jesus Christ!

IWS Radio is proud to announce that our Person of the Week is the King of Kings, Lord of Lords, the Prince of Peace himself …. Jesus Christ!! Jesus was born a really long time ago in Bethlehem (or Nazarene or Galilee or whatever) sometime between ear…

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Wait, WHAT? It's HOW MUCH?!!

Holy Moly I'm in the wrong business.<br /><br />I was out Christmas shopping today (strike 1) and had to go to Wally World (strike2) for something on the wife's list.<br />Some fucking hair curler dealie.<br />I had <i>The List</i> wadded up in my pocket so I didn't fuck anything up.<br />She wrote the list knowing full well that if she didn't spell it out for me the odds were good I would fuck it up.<br /><br />So I have <i>The List</i> and I head over to Wally World not too long after I was in Best Buy to get this hair curler.<br />Don't ask me what is so special about a hair curler, I have no fucking clue.<br />It's a round plastic stick looking thing with a long clamp thingie down one side and it gets hot.<br />That's what I know about hair curlers and that's ALL I <i>ever wanted </i>to know about hair curlers.<br /><br />So I'm in the Freak Zone, wandering around looking for this thing and sure enough., they have a whole shit load of 'em.<br /><br />This is why I have <i>The List</i>, so I get the right one.<br /><br />I'm looking and I'm looking at these things and I'm thinking, these things gotta be cheap, there ain't nothin' to 'em.<br /><br />Au Contrare Mon Ami, they have a rather wide price selection.<br />Who knew?<br /><br />So I find the one I'm after, it's the only fucking one left, and it's got some kind of weird alarm kinda thing wrapped around it.<br /><br />I'm not talking about some little tag, this thing is big... and round.<br />Almost as big as a fucking hockey puck and it's wrapped around the box like a love starved octopus.<br /><br />I'm looking at this thing and wondering What The Fuck?<br />It's at the very top of the rack too.<br /><br />What, it's a display model or something?<br />Fuck it, I'll just find out.<br /><br />So I snag the damn thing and throw it in the cart and off I go.<br />Get, the fuck, outta this Freak Show Zone and go kick my feet up, after I throw it in one of those stupid assed fancy bags of course.<br /><br />Amazingly, I didn't have to wait in some huge line and pretty quick, for Wal Mart anyway, I'm at the register.<br /><br />I got her a Sea Hawks T shirt too because she is a maniac for that shit.<br /><br />The lady scans the shirt while we exchange pleasantries and then scans the hair curler.<br /><br />Did my eyes just deceive me?<br /><br />Wait, how much was that thing again?<br />As I stand there with my VISA card in hand.<br /><br />$98.89 she says.<br />Would I like the extended warranty for another $20?<br /><br /><b>Holy Fucking Shit!!</b><br /><br />Are You Fucking Kidding Me?<br />A Hundred bucks for a Hair Curler?!!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFM1Mp5w7Uux1LH5ATyu3L71sfoCNoXnLe3MOWQ4RbqftDCp_XiceiDalkWNGcr1Fy4djIxkpegdlp-hU6-SUfWGHg5qbmD5Wnb8PbCL3C6cvFsWTD8aarxyhzz5u36ljoC2w0H0kCnbb9/s1600/hair+curler.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFM1Mp5w7Uux1LH5ATyu3L71sfoCNoXnLe3MOWQ4RbqftDCp_XiceiDalkWNGcr1Fy4djIxkpegdlp-hU6-SUfWGHg5qbmD5Wnb8PbCL3C6cvFsWTD8aarxyhzz5u36ljoC2w0H0kCnbb9/s640/hair+curler.jpg" /></a></div><br />Jesus H. Christ!<br /><br /><i>Hell NO </i>I don't want the warranty.<br /><br /><br />There better be some FAAAAAAAABULOUS fucking hair dresser come to my house and do it for her for that kinda money!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ27DpRkOsTZ1gaEaog8zqqdL-emcwEmTw07UFYOzx1x9-tRAydbqHFiCJ7j_64Y7nT_S-4noaHJVhJPnxo0hLFauQ8AePO0K1YBwLVt3dbUf1AJfBbQoW4RvGUBGL2W3D0tHmoz5RGzTf/s1600/gay-hair-stylist.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ27DpRkOsTZ1gaEaog8zqqdL-emcwEmTw07UFYOzx1x9-tRAydbqHFiCJ7j_64Y7nT_S-4noaHJVhJPnxo0hLFauQ8AePO0K1YBwLVt3dbUf1AJfBbQoW4RvGUBGL2W3D0tHmoz5RGzTf/s640/gay-hair-stylist.jpeg" /></a></div>I didn't know Snap On Tools made one of these things!<br /><br />So I grab the box and take a closer look.<br />This don't look like any Hair Curler I've ever laid eyes on.<br /><br />Great, it ain't Snap On, it's freakin' NASA!!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAcqE0GnkEZFv3K4jt1Fq7vw6oOChwXKRK2DmW5T1wM8TA85rVwRnC63q8dn0RWXABoMb3nWh5ktW5t1jGwv4OdyrKsBBs-Y3SLQiyS_XSfuT9_WPvrgMSPNAVj10PpCQUvu__Ovgoxc3F/s1600/Conair-Curl-Secret-8647.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAcqE0GnkEZFv3K4jt1Fq7vw6oOChwXKRK2DmW5T1wM8TA85rVwRnC63q8dn0RWXABoMb3nWh5ktW5t1jGwv4OdyrKsBBs-Y3SLQiyS_XSfuT9_WPvrgMSPNAVj10PpCQUvu__Ovgoxc3F/s640/Conair-Curl-Secret-8647.jpg" /></a></div><br /><br />No wonder!<br />Were talking serious power tools here.<br /><br />Now I get it.<br /><br />Dayum.<br />The little woman did good, threw me a curve ball.<br />I'm going to have to pay a little closer attention now.<br /><br />

Wait, WHAT? It's HOW MUCH?!!

Holy Moly I'm in the wrong business.I was out Christmas shopping today (strike 1) and had to go to Wally World (strike2) for something on the wife's list.Some fucking hair curler dealie.I had The List wadded up in my pocket so I didn't fuck anything …

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Howard dominant, Rockets roll past Pistons 114-97 (BLOG)

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbVvEC1aYTuPaXaP6hNR5Ng6j3of-4s6ww-TVsygTR8DjZ1LnRimq_mmAS98jD5b05mTlgGnlXrMKlqV7zS3MyyrqfzSHa3pAXijy_XIv7TWnYkUgyvT0dPjB5muQYZfnYHpmB1RMmsds/s1600/201312211943709916166.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbVvEC1aYTuPaXaP6hNR5Ng6j3of-4s6ww-TVsygTR8DjZ1LnRimq_mmAS98jD5b05mTlgGnlXrMKlqV7zS3MyyrqfzSHa3pAXijy_XIv7TWnYkUgyvT0dPjB5muQYZfnYHpmB1RMmsds/s320/201312211943709916166.jpg" width="212" /></a></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1387685278586_5654" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) -- <a class="yom-entity-link yom-entity-sports_player" data-rapid_p="8" href="http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3818" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Dwight Howard</a> had 35 points and 19 rebounds, leading the short-handed <a class="yom-entity-link yom-entity-sports_team" data-rapid_p="9" href="http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/teams/hou" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Houston Rockets</a>to a 114-97 victory over the <a class="yom-entity-link yom-entity-sports_team" data-rapid_p="10" href="http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/teams/det" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Detroit Pistons</a> on Saturday night.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1387685278586_5641" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The Rockets also were without Jeremy Lin, who has been bothered by back spasms, and they lost guard <a class="yom-entity-link yom-entity-sports_player" data-rapid_p="18" href="http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/4647" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Patrick Beverley</a> to a fractured right hand.In one of his best games since joining the Rockets in the offseason, Howard dominated <a class="yom-entity-link yom-entity-sports_player" data-rapid_p="16" href="http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/5015" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Andre Drummond</a>, Detroit's promising 20-year-old big man, and helped Houston control the game despite the absence of star guard <a class="yom-entity-link yom-entity-sports_player" data-rapid_p="17" href="http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/4563" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">James Harden</a>, who was out with a sprained right ankle.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Josh Smith scored 19 points for the Pistons.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">It was the most points Howard has scored as a member of the Rockets. He went 13 of 18 from the field.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Detroit blew a 20-point lead and allowed 72 points in the second half of Friday's loss to Charlotte. The Pistons again struggled defensively against Houston, especially against Howard.</div><div class="body-slot-mod" style="background-color: white; clear: right; float: right; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 1.1em 10px; max-width: 300px;"><div class="yom-remote"><div class="" id="mediasportsmatcharticlescore_container"><div class="yom-mod yom-app yom-scores yom-sports-match-score yom-sports-scorething js" id="mediasportsmatcharticlescore" style="border: 1px solid rgb(229, 229, 229); color: #f0f0f0; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding: 10px; zoom: 1;"><div class="hd" style="color: black; font-size: 15px; margin-bottom: 0px; position: relative; text-transform: capitalize; zoom: 1;"><h3 style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; font-size: 17px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">Sat, Dec 21, 2013</h3></div><div class="bd" style="color: black; line-height: 13px; margin: 0px; min-width: 280px; padding: 0px; zoom: 1;"><div class="yom-sports-scorething-day"><table class="nba boxes" style="border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px !important; margin: 0px auto; width: 280px;"><tbody class=" final game link" data-index="0" data-url="/nba/houston-rockets-detroit-pistons-2013122108/" style="background-color: inherit; border: none;"><tr class="team away winner" style="background-color: inherit; border: none;"><th class="" style="background-color: inherit; border: none; font-weight: normal; padding: 3px 8px 1px; width: 140px;"><span class="logo yom-logo-nba large hou" style="background-color: #cc1144; background-image: url(http://l.yimg.com/os/mit/media/m/sports/images/team-logos/sprites/nba-40-1550761.png); background-position: -1040px 0px; display: inline-block; float: left; height: 40px; margin-right: 3px; vertical-align: middle; width: 40px;"></span><span style="color: #3f3f3f; display: inline-block; float: left; font-weight: bold; line-height: 20px; margin: 13px 0px 0px 5px; max-width: 92px; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis;">Houston</span></th><td class="score" style="background-color: inherit; border: none; padding: 3px 0px 0px; text-align: right; width: 1px;"><span style="border-top-left-radius: 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px; color: #3f3f3f; font-size: 22px; font-weight: bold; padding: 15px 10px 11px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;">114</span></td><td class="links" colspan="1" rowspan="2" style="background-color: inherit; border: none; padding: 5px;"><span class="meta" style="color: #888888; display: block; font-size: 11px; line-height: 17px; text-align: center;"><a class="no-pjax" data-rapid_p="19" data-ylk="lt:s;sec:mod-sch;slk:game;itc:0;ltxt:;tar:sports.yahoo.com;" href="http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/houston-rockets-detroit-pistons-2013122108/" style="color: #888888; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Final</a></span></td></tr><tr class="team home " style="background-color: inherit; border: none;"><th class="" style="background-color: inherit; border: none; font-weight: normal; padding: 0px 8px 3px; width: 140px;"><span class="logo yom-logo-nba large det" style="background-color: #046ab4; background-image: url(http://l.yimg.com/os/mit/media/m/sports/images/team-logos/sprites/nba-40-1550761.png); background-position: -280px 0px; display: inline-block; float: left; height: 40px; margin-right: 3px; vertical-align: middle; width: 40px;"></span><span style="color: #3f3f3f; display: inline-block; float: left; line-height: 20px; margin: 13px 0px 0px 5px; max-width: 92px; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis;">Detroit</span></th><td class="score" style="background-color: inherit; border: none; padding: 0px 0px 3px; text-align: right; width: 1px;"><span style="border-bottom-left-radius: 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px; color: #3f3f3f; font-size: 22px; padding: 15px 10px 11px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;">97</span></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div></div></div></div></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Drummond looked overmatched as Howard scored 23 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in the first half. Houston led 61-53 at the half and 86-71 after three quarters.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Drummond's tip-in made it 92-82, but Howard responded by simply backing Drummond down again for two more points.<a class="yom-entity-link yom-entity-sports_player" data-rapid_p="20" href="http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3949" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Francisco Garcia</a>'s 3-pointer put the Rockets up 97-84.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The Pistons shot 1 of 12 from 3-point range, and they also missed a number of shots inside from point-blank range. Houston lost Friday at Indiana in a 114-81 rout, but the Rockets overcame all their injury problems against Detroit.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Chandler Parsons scored 20 points on 9-of-15 shooting for Houston, and Garcia added 16 points starting in place of Harden. Omri Casspi and Aaron Brooks had seven assists each off the bench.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Drummond finished with nine points, although he blocked four shots. Brandon Jennings had eight points and 10 assists for Detroit before being ejected with 2:10 to go. After a foul call, a clearly frustrated Jennings tossed the ball away for one technical foul, then earned another for arguing.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1387685278586_5666" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">NOTES: Detroit was averaging an NBA-best 51.5 points in the paint coming into the game, while Houston was third at 49.2. The teams finished tied at 62 in that department Saturday. ... The Rockets began the fourth quarter by going 8 of 9 from the field. ... Howard scored 33 points in a Nov. 20 loss at Dallas. ... Beverley scored 10 points in the first half but didn't play in the second.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1387685278586_5666" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">YAHOO NEWS</div></div>

Howard dominant, Rockets roll past Pistons 114-97 (BLOG)

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) -- Dwight Howard had 35 points and 19 rebounds, leading the short-handed Houston Rocketsto a 114-97 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Saturday night.The Rockets also were without Jeremy Lin, who has been bothered by back sp…

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Pressure builds as retailers near the holiday finish line (BLOG)

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikO_offpwDFC3_pzFSS_6UQ_C4ms6pY54U5AUqWAgenkzB3QEEJ69xK8GJPO-7iP7VbgysqnpIcNqwmmeEyqKZAkkC-mXHBdGdByTyH6qcUMdUN1IGGKWC4yx2uYH1_IdaBlWqNNrFt_U/s1600/2013-12-21T063120Z_1_CBRE9BK0I4F00_RTROPTP_3_USA-RETAIL_original.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikO_offpwDFC3_pzFSS_6UQ_C4ms6pY54U5AUqWAgenkzB3QEEJ69xK8GJPO-7iP7VbgysqnpIcNqwmmeEyqKZAkkC-mXHBdGdByTyH6qcUMdUN1IGGKWC4yx2uYH1_IdaBlWqNNrFt_U/s320/2013-12-21T063120Z_1_CBRE9BK0I4F00_RTROPTP_3_USA-RETAIL_original.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1387612596996_1345" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - After buying and remodeling a home, Karin Gilles and her husband, Dave Muilenburg, are not splurging on holiday gifts this year - no matter how drastically retailers slash prices to lift sales in a shopping season that peaks this weekend.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1387612596996_1343" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The couple, instead, is focusing on "a few, more-meaningful gifts," said Gilles, 41, who works in public relations for a technology company in California's Silicon Valley.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1387612596996_1341" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">That approach is not unusual. Many Americans are either spending less or making more practical purchases - some because they haven't benefited from the economic recovery, and others because they have purchased new cars, homes or appliances, leaving less for discretionary items.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1387612596996_1347" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Holiday sales are expected to be the same or only slightly stronger than last year, according to the quarterly Global Retail Manufacturers and Importers Survey by Capital Business Credit, which provides funding to retailers' suppliers.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1387612596996_1349" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">For the final weekend leading up to Christmas, retailers are planning for longer hours and even more aggressive advertising and discounts. Saturday is expected to be the second busiest shopping day of the holiday season, after Black Friday.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"You'll see heavier promotions than last year, pretty much across the board," said Charles O'Shea, senior analyst at Moody's Investors Service.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The biggest discounts, he said, would be at apparel stores - especially those competing for shoppers who are also interested in buying video game consoles.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"These next few days will determine quite a few things." said O'Shea. "Is 50 percent off enough, or do you have to go 60 percent off?"</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">A new Ipsos/Reuters poll released on Friday found that consumers plan to spend about a third less this year than last year on items such as jewelry, toys and electronics. Eight percent said they would spend more on jewelry, 13 percent more on toys and 17 percent more on electronics.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Sales of major appliances, however, rose 18.1 percent in the month ended November 23, according to the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers,</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"Santa is still going to come, but the goodies in his bag are going to be slightly different," said Patty Edwards, managing director of investments for the Private Client Reserve at U.S. Bank. "There's more of a focus on necessities. We're seeing more need-driven shopping than want-driven shopping.'"</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">SPENDING LESS</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Thom Blischok, chief retail strategist and a senior executive adviser with Booz & Company's retail practice in San Francisco, said many U.S. shoppers are holding back this season because they have fewer discretionary dollars.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"Sixty-five percent of (Americans) are survivalists. They are living from paycheck to paycheck," he said. "Those folks simply don't have any money to celebrate Christmas."</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">People with annual income of $70,000 and up account for 33 percent of U.S. households, but 45 percent of spending, according to U.S. Census data crunched by AlixPartners. That group has seen the most benefit from the improving economy as rising home and stock prices bolster their net worth.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">But even those with higher incomes are holding back.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"The era of 'living large' is now officially in the rear-view mirror," said Ryan McConnell, who heads the Futures Company's US Yankelovich Monitor survey of consumer attitudes and values.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Responses to the 2013 survey suggested that the "hangover effect" of the so-called Great Recession remained prevalent with 61 percent of respondents agreeing with the statement: "I'll never spend my money as freely as I did before the recession."</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Albert Sandoval, who does budgeting at a university in Flagstaff, Arizona, agrees with that sentiment. He and his wife feel better about the economy and recently purchased a new car and a 55-inch flat-screen TV. But, both were value-priced model close-outs.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Sandoval, 47, said they changed their shopping habits after the economy tanked in 2008: "If we can't find a deal, we won't buy it."</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">FINAL PUSH</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Competing for shoppers led major retailers to significantly ramp up the frequency of their promotions in the first part of December, according to data prepared for Reuters by Market Track, a firm that provides market research for top retailers and manufacturers.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">A group of eight major retail chains, including J.C. Penney Co Inc (<a data-rapid_p="8" href="http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=jcp" style="color: #324fe1; text-decoration: none;">JCP</a>), Wal-Mart Stores Inc (<a data-rapid_p="9" href="http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=wmt" style="color: #324fe1; text-decoration: none;">WMT</a>) and Best Buy Co Inc (<a data-rapid_p="10" href="http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=bby" style="color: #324fe1; text-decoration: none;">BBY</a>), increased the number of circulars they published between December 3 and December 18 nearly 16 percent over the comparable period a year earlier.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Those retailers, which also include Sears (<a data-rapid_p="11" href="http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=shld" style="color: #324fe1; text-decoration: none;">SHLD</a>) and Kmart, Macy's Inc (NYS:M), Kohl's Corp (<a data-rapid_p="12" href="http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=kss" style="color: #324fe1; text-decoration: none;">KSS</a>) and Target Corp (<a data-rapid_p="13" href="http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=tgt" style="color: #324fe1; text-decoration: none;">TGT</a>), ramped up the online deals even more, increasing the number of promotional emails by 54.5 percent, according to the Market Track data.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The battle for shoppers has also led to the most discount-driven season since the recession, according to analysts and executives.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1387612596996_1354" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"There is a quicker turnover of promotions this year, and now several times, within a day," eBay Enterprise (<a data-rapid_p="14" href="http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=ebay" style="color: #324fe1; text-decoration: none;">EBAY</a>) CEO Chris Saridakis said. "It's an all-out war."</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1387612596996_1354" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">By Phil Wahba, Dhanya Skariachan and Lisa Baertlein</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1387612596996_1352" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">(Editing by Jilian Mincer and Gunna Dickson)</div></div>

Pressure builds as retailers near the holiday finish line (BLOG)

NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - After buying and remodeling a home, Karin Gilles and her husband, Dave Muilenburg, are not splurging on holiday gifts this year - no matter how drastically retailers slash prices to lift sales in a shopping season tha…

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Mike Will Made It Remixes Future With Diddy, Schoolboy Q – Premiere (BLOG)

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZhr2j2V81J8HZOI02O8LjrUkc1b_IvOAK77v91U9-sSxxp-KBjpK0yzLFmnzgwLRwlc7QgSujLK7SLm7gEADX-r-sWSllOapmYDshYPbIu3tc17lqtGkrhiru3epcCW5WRzLEjG5xFj4/s1600/Mike_Will_Made_It_Remixes-7d51f537b6cb9c46eea6125a231133a3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZhr2j2V81J8HZOI02O8LjrUkc1b_IvOAK77v91U9-sSxxp-KBjpK0yzLFmnzgwLRwlc7QgSujLK7SLm7gEADX-r-sWSllOapmYDshYPbIu3tc17lqtGkrhiru3epcCW5WRzLEjG5xFj4/s320/Mike_Will_Made_It_Remixes-7d51f537b6cb9c46eea6125a231133a3.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1387612000796_1717" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Producer Mike WiLL Made-It went from big to huge in a few short years. He started his career with eccentric MC Gucci Mane and then quickly worked his way up the latter, producing beats for Rick Ross, 2 Chainz and <a data-rapid_p="8" href="http://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/kanye-west" id="yui_3_9_1_1_1387612000796_2302" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Kanye West</a>. Earlier this year, he served as the co-executive producer on Miley Cyrus’ <a data-rapid_p="9" href="http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/bangerz-20131004" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;"><em>Bangerz</em></a>album. Now, he's closing out the year with a remix of Future's "Sh!t," which adds P. Diddy and Schoolboy Q to the mix and is off the upcoming <em id="yui_3_9_1_1_1387612000796_1838">#MikeWiLLBeenTrill</em> mixtape.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1387612000796_1848" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;"><a class="inStoryLink" data-rapid_p="10" href="http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/100-best-songs-of-2013-20131204" id="yui_3_9_1_1_1387612000796_1853" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">See Which Tracks Made Our 100 Best Songs of 2013 List</a></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1387612000796_1716" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"Sh!t" has been released in several versions, including one with a controversial Drake verse. This incarnation is still rooted in Mike Will Made It's thick trap beats, with a simple drum part driving the song forward through layered synth beds that create a massive sound. Future starts the attack, calling out faux-gangstas with a loose, explosive delivery that makes him sound at times more like a barking Rottweiler than an MC. Diddy is in classic form, delivering unadorned, literal lines that make it clear that Diddy gets what Diddy wants. Schoolboy Q's pinched voice contrasts with the deeper tones of hte other MCs. He spits out raspy, rapid verses that quickly abandon the beat only to snap back in line. Haters watch out.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1387612000796_2317" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;"><em>#MikeWiLLBeenTrill</em> will be available <a data-rapid_p="11" href="http://www.livemixtapes.com/mixtapes/24891/mikewillbeentrill.html" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">here</a> on December 23rd.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1387612000796_2317" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">-Rolling Stone</div></div>

Mike Will Made It Remixes Future With Diddy, Schoolboy Q – Premiere (BLOG)

Producer Mike WiLL Made-It went from big to huge in a few short years. He started his career with eccentric MC Gucci Mane and then quickly worked his way up the latter, producing beats for Rick Ross, 2 Chainz and Kanye West. Earlier this year, he ser…

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The Weight Loss Salt Lake City Citizens Seek Calls For Hard Work

<div style='font-style:italic;' class='uawbyline'>By Roxy Albright</div><br /><br /> <div class='uawarticle'>Yes, there are many great ideas for getting the weight loss Salt Lake City citizens may want. But what is the most important idea? Get ready to work hard. There are some helpful products, services and information available that can aid you in losing some weight, but a good effort is almost always necessary from you to get results. This short article will talk about some ways to have a more successful journey toward the weight loss Salt Lake City residents are often after. We will even talk about how the lip injections Utah beauty centers can offer could potentially contribute to your efforts. There are lots of little tricks that may help you out, but a strong commitment to taking action and working hard will do the most for you.<br /> <br /> To begin, we will talk about how adjusting to and maintaining a quality and healthy diet will frequently help to earn better results. Further, we are going to have a look at some things you can certainly do to further your weight loss in Salt Lake City through action. To conclude, we should talk about how enhancing your self-confidence can further success in reducing the surplus weight.<br /> <br /> We often hear about how a healthy diet is a major part of getting the weight loss Salt Lake City residents may be seeking. You should think thoroughly about what you're eating each week. Write down the drink and food from your own past week. Look for healthy things that are missing and that you could use more of, but also look at the non-healthy items you could omit from your daily diet. This is a valuable activity.<br /> <br /> You often hear all over the place that exercise is a large part of being healthy, but many people find it difficult to fit it into their busy lifestyle. There are some approaches to this dilemma that can help you be more active and contribute to the weight loss Salt Lake City residents want. Think about opportunities all around you. If you reside in Utah, you likely have plenty of mountains near you that abound with ways to be active and thrive. Biking, kayaking, and hiking are among the many activities that could be available not too far from you. Or you may need activities at home. Buying a pedometer to measure the number of steps you are taking each day might help you get a bit more movement in. Just try to keep yourself busy with things that call for physical activity. Many projects around the home can provide decent workouts.<br /> <br /> Growing in confidence in yourself and your appearance may help to improve your efforts. Having treatments done such as the facials, laser skin resurfacing, or lip injections Utah providers can perform may help boost your confidence. Perhaps you just need a new haircut. Whatever you do, the more confidence you find in yourself, the more you will typically want to work hard at losing weight and improving you.<br /> <br /> The weight loss Salt Lake City inhabitants want could or could not include interesting options like getting the lip injections Utah medical aesthetics centers provide, but consulting with a physician and expending a good amount of effort at it are both things that should really be involved.<br /> <br /> </div><br /> <div class='uawresource'><br /> <div style='font-style:italic;' class='uawabout'><br /> About the Author:<br /> </div><br /> <div class='uawlinks'>Learn more about <a href='http://www.elase.com/utah/vive-weight-loss'>weight loss Salt Lake City</a>. Stop by Lucy Cho's site where you can find out all about this and options like <a href='http://www.elase.com/utah/lip-augmentation'>lip injections Utah</a> and what they can do for you.</div><br /> </div><br />

The Weight Loss Salt Lake City Citizens Seek Calls For Hard Work

By Roxy Albright Yes, there are many great ideas for getting the weight loss Salt Lake City citizens may want. But what is the most important idea? Get ready to work hard. There are some helpful products, services and information available that can …

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Eagles QB Foles fined $10K for illegal block (BLOG)

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuRe5xDOGcZZcLlRXsmnfodbZLZs5dZOotYjK7aOyS-J4Z4pFvTkwVSUHVcScf6F7dW4PQL5S3qxCnmA3ciF1uh8_sSacqs5mGx5cd5u3g6nkEzSk2QOIxBw_75ODVSk_W9_bdDLJLfKY/s1600/201312151433523814953.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuRe5xDOGcZZcLlRXsmnfodbZLZs5dZOotYjK7aOyS-J4Z4pFvTkwVSUHVcScf6F7dW4PQL5S3qxCnmA3ciF1uh8_sSacqs5mGx5cd5u3g6nkEzSk2QOIxBw_75ODVSk_W9_bdDLJLfKY/s320/201312151433523814953.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1387611619321_3970" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">NEW YORK (AP) -- <a class="yom-entity-link yom-entity-sports_team" data-rapid_p="8" href="http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/teams/phi" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Philadelphia Eagles</a> quarterback Nick Foles was fined $10,000 by the NFL on Friday for an illegal peel-back block on Minnesota's <a class="yom-entity-link yom-entity-sports_player" data-rapid_p="9" href="http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/players/9045" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Erin Henderson</a> during the Eagles' loss Sunday.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1387611619321_3988" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Foles went down low at Henderson's knees, drawing a penalty and negating <a class="yom-entity-link yom-entity-sports_player" data-rapid_p="10" href="http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/players/8826" id="yui_3_9_1_1_1387611619321_3997" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">DeSean Jackson</a>'s 18-yard touchdown in the second quarter.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1387611619321_5302" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Arizona's <a class="yom-entity-link yom-entity-sports_player" data-rapid_p="11" href="http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/players/9532" id="yui_3_9_1_1_1387611619321_5301" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Marcus Benard</a> was fined $15,750 for roughing the passer on a hit on Tennessee's <a class="yom-entity-link yom-entity-sports_player" data-rapid_p="12" href="http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/players/7426" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Ryan Fitzpatrick</a>. Cardinals linebacker <a class="yom-entity-link yom-entity-sports_player" data-rapid_p="13" href="http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/players/24022" id="yui_3_9_1_1_1387611619321_5319" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Daryl Washington</a> was also docked $5,000 for unsportsmanlike conduct.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1387611619321_5330" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Also in that game, Titans defensive end <a class="yom-entity-link yom-entity-sports_player" data-rapid_p="14" href="http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/players/7762" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Kamerion Wimbley</a> was fined $10,000 for hitting Arizona quarterback Carson Palmer in the knee area.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1387611619321_5340" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Fined $7,875 by the NFL were: Indianapolis' Gosder Cherilus (for punching Houston's J.J. Watt), Cincinnati's Dre Kirkpatrick (facemask), Baltimore's Matt Elam (hitting a quarterback who slid feet-first) and St. Louis' Eugene Sims (for a hit on New Orleans' Darren Sproles).</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1387611619321_5350" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">---</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1387611619321_5360" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org</div></div>

Eagles QB Foles fined $10K for illegal block (BLOG)

NEW YORK (AP) -- Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Nick Foles was fined $10,000 by the NFL on Friday for an illegal peel-back block on Minnesota's Erin Henderson during the Eagles' loss Sunday.Foles went down low at Henderson's knees, drawing a penalty…

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Pacers snap 2-game skid by routing Houston 114-81 (BLOG)

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7gfhIY0NUS7EhhEEBpCTAN22PbnbCkkFZjAQn1gVHkdlziZW3vC8gTOAh9vdblEHnTC5RnJn4bSfZUPwJ9Jtx_Q3XnRHPqR8hkHUJ_44unY8KjQkZSt3szFffwSy8xaxogcO7JBhkT_s/s1600/111.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7gfhIY0NUS7EhhEEBpCTAN22PbnbCkkFZjAQn1gVHkdlziZW3vC8gTOAh9vdblEHnTC5RnJn4bSfZUPwJ9Jtx_Q3XnRHPqR8hkHUJ_44unY8KjQkZSt3szFffwSy8xaxogcO7JBhkT_s/s320/111.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1387611333314_8639" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- The Pacers responded to Friday night's challenge like a champion.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1387611333314_8614" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">''This team doesn't like losing,'' coach Frank Vogel said. ''We talked about playing mad for four quarters.''After taking two big hits this week - losing at home and dropping back-to-back games for the first time all season - Indiana struck back by playing its most complete game of the year. <a class="yom-entity-link yom-entity-sports_player" data-rapid_p="13" href="http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/4725" id="yui_3_9_1_1_1387611333314_8629" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Paul George</a> finished with 24 points and nine rebounds, Lance Stephenson added 16 points and six assists, and the defense completely shut down Houston in a 114-81 rout.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1387611333314_8668" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">By following Vogel's plan, the Pacers continued to add to an already strong resume.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1387611333314_8678" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">While some try to discount Indiana's quick start because they're playing in the struggling Eastern Conference, the Pacers still have a firm grip on the conference's best record (21-5) and have already beaten three of the Western Conference's top teams - the Clippers, Spurs and now the Rockets.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The way Indiana has been winning is just as impressive.</div><div class="body-slot-mod" style="background-color: white; clear: right; float: right; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 1.1em 10px; max-width: 300px;"><div class="yom-remote"><div class="" id="mediasportsmatcharticlescore_container"><div class="yom-mod yom-app yom-scores yom-sports-match-score yom-sports-scorething js" id="mediasportsmatcharticlescore" style="border: 1px solid rgb(229, 229, 229); color: #f0f0f0; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding: 10px; zoom: 1;"><div class="hd" style="color: black; font-size: 15px; margin-bottom: 0px; position: relative; text-transform: capitalize; zoom: 1;"><h3 style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; font-size: 17px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">Fri, Dec 20, 2013</h3></div><div class="bd" style="color: black; line-height: 13px; margin: 0px; min-width: 280px; padding: 0px; zoom: 1;"><div class="yom-sports-scorething-day"><table class="nba boxes" style="border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px !important; margin: 0px auto; width: 280px;"><tbody class=" final game link" data-index="0" data-url="/nba/houston-rockets-indiana-pacers-2013122011/" style="background-color: inherit; border: none;"><tr class="team away " style="background-color: inherit; border: none;"><th class="" style="background-color: inherit; border: none; font-weight: normal; padding: 3px 8px 1px; width: 140px;"><span class="logo yom-logo-nba large hou" style="background-color: #cc1144; background-image: url(http://l.yimg.com/os/mit/media/m/sports/images/team-logos/sprites/nba-40-1550761.png); background-position: -1040px 0px; display: inline-block; float: left; height: 40px; margin-right: 3px; vertical-align: middle; width: 40px;"></span><span style="color: #3f3f3f; display: inline-block; float: left; line-height: 20px; margin: 13px 0px 0px 5px; max-width: 92px; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis;">Houston</span></th><td class="score" style="background-color: inherit; border: none; padding: 3px 0px 0px; text-align: right; width: 1px;"><span style="border-top-left-radius: 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px; color: #3f3f3f; font-size: 22px; padding: 15px 10px 11px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;">81</span></td><td class="links" colspan="1" rowspan="2" style="background-color: inherit; border: none; padding: 5px;"><span class="meta" style="color: #888888; display: block; font-size: 11px; line-height: 17px; text-align: center;"><a class="no-pjax" data-rapid_p="14" data-ylk="lt:s;sec:mod-sch;slk:game;itc:0;ltxt:;tar:sports.yahoo.com;" href="http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/houston-rockets-indiana-pacers-2013122011/" style="color: #888888; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Final</a></span></td></tr><tr class="team home winner" style="background-color: inherit; border: none;"><th class="" style="background-color: inherit; border: none; font-weight: normal; padding: 0px 8px 3px; width: 140px;"><span class="logo yom-logo-nba large ind" style="background-color: #1c365c; background-image: url(http://l.yimg.com/os/mit/media/m/sports/images/team-logos/sprites/nba-40-1550761.png); background-position: -320px 0px; display: inline-block; float: left; height: 40px; margin-right: 3px; vertical-align: middle; width: 40px;"></span><span style="color: #3f3f3f; display: inline-block; float: left; font-weight: bold; line-height: 20px; margin: 13px 0px 0px 5px; max-width: 92px; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis;">Indiana</span></th><td class="score" style="background-color: inherit; border: none; padding: 0px 0px 3px; text-align: right; width: 1px;"><span style="border-bottom-left-radius: 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px; color: #3f3f3f; font-size: 22px; font-weight: bold; padding: 15px 10px 11px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;">114</span></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div></div></div></div></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1387611333314_8688" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Despite taking Dwight Howard's best shot Friday - Houston's center had 19 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks - Indiana still managed to manhandle the usually potent Rockets' offense. Houston (17-10) entered the game second in scoring average and third in field goal percentage. It left Indianapolis having shot 38.1 percent in the game, compiling a season-low in points and losing to Indiana for the fourth straight time.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1387611333314_8698" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Even James Harden, the league's No. 6 scorer, couldn't get started. He was just 3 of 14 from the field and scored only 12 points, primarily against George. It was a disturbing twist for Houston, which had won three of its previous five, had beaten Chicago by 25 points on Wednesday and was trying to keep pace with division-leading San Antonio.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Heck, it couldn't even figure out how to beat the Pacers' stout defense.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">''We had no answers for them. They played way better than we did,'' coach Kevin McHale said. ''We weren't moving, we weren't attacking, they had us on our heels all night.''</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">But Indiana also had something else - motivation.</div><div class="body-slot-mod" style="background-color: white; clear: right; float: right; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 1.1em 10px; max-width: 300px;"><div class="yom-remote"><div class="" id="mediasportsgameleaders_container"><div class="yom-mod yom-app yom-game-leaders" data-gid="nba.g.2013122011" id="mediasportsgameleaders" style="border: 1px solid rgb(229, 229, 229); color: #f0f0f0; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 1px; padding: 10px; zoom: 1;"><div class="hd" style="color: black; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 5px 0px 5px 5px; position: relative; text-transform: capitalize; zoom: 1;"><h3 style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">Game Leaders</h3></div><div class="bd league-nba" style="color: black; margin: 0px; min-width: 280px; padding: 0px; zoom: 1;"><ul class="players" style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><li style="clear: both; display: block; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: top; width: 280px;"><a data-rapid_p="15" data-ylk="lt:s;" href="http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3818/" style="color: #949494; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" title="Dwight Howard"><img alt="Dwight Howard" class="photo" height="66" src="http://l.yimg.com/iu/api/res/1.2/PjOJVrb5lusNQaYIehQuUQ--/YXBwaWQ9eXZpZGVvO2NoPTg2MDtjcj0xO2N3PTY2MDtkeD0xO2R5PTE7Zmk9dWxjcm9wO2g9MjE1O3E9MTAwO3c9MTY1/http://l.yimg.com/j/assets/i/us/sp/v/nba/players_l/20121217/3818.jpg" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 1px solid rgb(127, 127, 127); float: left; height: 66px; margin: 0px 8px 8px 0px; opacity: 1 !important; transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; vertical-align: baseline; visibility: visible !important; width: 50px;" title="" width="50" /></a><div class="name" style="line-height: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 2px;"><a data-rapid_p="16" data-ylk="lt:s;" href="http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3818/" style="color: #949494; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" title="Dwight Howard">Dwight Howard</a></div><div class="number team" style="line-height: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 2px;">#12, <a class="team" data-rapid_p="17" href="http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/teams/hou/" style="color: #949494; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Houston</a></div><div class="stats" style="line-height: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 2px;"><table style="border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px !important; margin: 0px; width: auto !important;"><tbody style="border: 0px;"><tr style="background-color: transparent;" title="Points Scored: 19"><th class="stat" scope="row" style="background-color: #e3e7ec; border: 0px; font-weight: normal; padding: 8px;">Pts:</th><td class="value" style="border: 0px; padding: 0px 5px 0px 0px;">19</td></tr><tr style="background-color: transparent;" title="Total Rebounds: 12"><th class="stat" scope="row" style="background-color: #e3e7ec; border: 0px; font-weight: normal; padding: 8px;">Reb:</th><td class="value" style="border: 0px; padding: 0px 5px 0px 0px;">12</td></tr><tr style="background-color: transparent;" title="Assists: 2"><th class="stat" scope="row" style="background-color: #e3e7ec; border: 0px; font-weight: normal; padding: 8px;">Ast:</th><td class="value" style="border: 0px; padding: 0px 5px 0px 0px;">2</td></tr></tbody></table></div></li><li style="clear: both; display: block; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: top; width: 280px;"><a data-rapid_p="18" data-ylk="lt:s;" href="http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/4725/" style="color: #949494; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" title="Paul George"><img alt="Paul George" class="photo" height="66" src="http://l.yimg.com/iu/api/res/1.2/fR7eilJJEvVNpVZd12iAOA--/YXBwaWQ9eXZpZGVvO2NoPTg2MDtjcj0xO2N3PTY2MDtkeD0xO2R5PTE7Zmk9dWxjcm9wO2g9MjE1O3E9MTAwO3c9MTY1/http://l.yimg.com/j/assets/i/us/sp/v/nba/players_l/20121217/4725.jpg" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 1px solid rgb(127, 127, 127); float: left; height: 66px; margin: 0px 8px 8px 0px; opacity: 1 !important; transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; vertical-align: baseline; visibility: visible !important; width: 50px;" title="" width="50" /></a><div class="name" style="line-height: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 2px;"><a data-rapid_p="19" data-ylk="lt:s;" href="http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/4725/" style="color: #949494; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" title="Paul George">Paul George</a></div><div class="number team" style="line-height: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 2px;">#24, <a class="team" data-rapid_p="20" href="http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/teams/ind/" style="color: #949494; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Indiana</a></div><div class="stats" style="line-height: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 2px;"><table style="border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px !important; margin: 0px; width: auto !important;"><tbody style="border: 0px;"><tr style="background-color: transparent;" title="Points Scored: 24"><th class="stat" scope="row" style="background-color: #e3e7ec; border: 0px; font-weight: normal; padding: 8px;">Pts:</th><td class="value" style="border: 0px; padding: 0px 5px 0px 0px;">24</td></tr><tr style="background-color: transparent;" title="Total Rebounds: 9"><th class="stat" scope="row" style="background-color: #e3e7ec; border: 0px; font-weight: normal; padding: 8px;">Reb:</th><td class="value" style="border: 0px; padding: 0px 5px 0px 0px;">9</td></tr><tr style="background-color: transparent;" title="Assists: 4"><th class="stat" scope="row" style="background-color: #e3e7ec; border: 0px; font-weight: normal; padding: 8px;">Ast:</th><td class="value" style="border: 0px; padding: 0px 5px 0px 0px;">4</td></tr></tbody></table></div></li></ul></div></div></div></div></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The Pacers were determined to make someone pay for this week's earlier stumbles, and they didn't care much about who showed up Friday.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Not only did the Pacers finish with a season high 12 3-pointers, but they also had a season high point total, their largest victory margin (33) of the season and their second best field goal percentage of the season (53.1).</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Six players scored in double figures and they did all that on a night Roy Hibbert finished with nine points, six rebounds and one block.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">How did they do it? The same way the Pacers usually win - with a balanced and a relentless defense.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">''It's a good feeling because when we're at our best, we feel like we're unstoppable,'' George said. ''It was good to come out and play with high energy against a high-energy team.''</div><div class="body-related" style="background-color: white; clear: right; float: right; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; position: relative;"><a class="body-related-link body-related-image go-to-slideshow-lightbox rapid-noclick-resp portrait onesize get-lbdata-from-dom" data-rapid_p="21" data-uuid="6d41b69e-c976-38ce-9368-6cd3eb42cf2f" href="http://sports.yahoo.com/photos/pacers-snap-2-game-skid-photo-034932173--nba.html" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 300px; position: relative; text-decoration: none;" title="Pacers snap 2-game skid by routing Houston 114-81"></a><br /><div class="img-wrap" style="position: relative;"><div class="cta-overlay" style="-webkit-transition: background-color 0.24s linear; font-size: 13px; height: 451px; left: 0px; 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position: relative; text-decoration: none;" title="Pacers snap 2-game skid by routing Houston 114-81"><img alt="Pacers snap 2-game skid by routing Houston 114-81" class="body-related-thumb" data-src-2x="" height="451" src="http://l2.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/KdT0IaEfnC7cEVdm6DCidQ--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTQ1MTtxPTc1O3c9MzAw/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/Sports/ap/201312202042745233552" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; display: block; opacity: 1 !important; transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; vertical-align: baseline; visibility: visible !important;" width="300" /></a></div><a class="body-related-link body-related-image go-to-slideshow-lightbox rapid-noclick-resp portrait onesize get-lbdata-from-dom" data-rapid_p="21" data-uuid="6d41b69e-c976-38ce-9368-6cd3eb42cf2f" href="http://sports.yahoo.com/photos/pacers-snap-2-game-skid-photo-034932173--nba.html" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 300px; position: relative; text-decoration: none;" title="Pacers snap 2-game skid by routing Houston 114-81"></a><br /><div class="body-related-title photo-caption" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: grey; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%; padding: 5px 5px 0px 0px; position: relative; width: 300px;">INDIANAPOLIS - DECEMBER 20: <a class="yom-entity-link yom-entity-sports_player" data-rapid_p="22" href="http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3943" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Danny Granger</a> #33 of the Indiana Pacers drives against the Houston Rocke …</div></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The Rockets never had a chance on a celebratory night for the Pacers.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1387611333314_8710" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Indiana fans gave former All-Star Danny Granger a standing ovation when he made his season debut in the first quarter and chanted his name when he finally made his first basket, a 3-pointer, early in the fourth. Granger missed all but five games last season because of a left knee injury and he was sidelined all of this season by a strained left calf. If he is healthy, and he looked rusty on offense in his first game back, he would give the Pacers even more scoring punch as they try to dethrone two-time defending champion Miami.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1387611333314_8720" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">But by the time Granger made his entrance, Indiana was already taking control.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Indiana went ahead 12-11 early in the first and spent the rest of the night pulling away.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">It led 25-20 after one, made it 41-29 early in the second and then fended off Houston's only real challenge, a 10-0 run that made it 41-39, by closing the half on a 17-6 burst to make it 56-45. Indiana quickly made it 64-49 in the third, sealed the game with a 17-4 spurt.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">''They played harder than we did,'' Howard said. ''They brought a lot of extra energy at the beginning of the third quarter and that's what set us apart.''</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">And before it ended, the Pacers led by as many as 36.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">''We always say that good teams will bounce back,'' said George Hill, who had 12 points. ''That showed we're a good team.''</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1387611333314_8734" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">NOTES: Reserve Luis Scola finished with 13 points and made his first 3-pointer since joining the Pacers during the offseason. ... Houston played without guard Jeremy Lin (back) and Omar Asik (thigh). Asik, who has been the subject of trade rumors, did not make the trip. ... The Rockets were just 13 of 24 from the free throw line.</div></div>

Pacers snap 2-game skid by routing Houston 114-81 (BLOG)

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- The Pacers responded to Friday night's challenge like a champion.''This team doesn't like losing,'' coach Frank Vogel said. ''We talked about playing mad for four quarters.''After taking two big hits this week - losing at home an…

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