Mother Arrested After 6-Year-Old Amber Alert Girl Found (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/AVvXsEhTUM1MILJmfX8v2cmmStV8bsFNEq1DaHwC3s5ym5aW_ujASpzeW0IaiKWEy_aPyPaIejkvNBHQRc4s8f-J3DPZesl9eA1WtvRlm8MTyo9DNeOrM7O_wxCT40CJ9LsJua3C9XlSMhbmnA4/s1600/gi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTUM1MILJmfX8v2cmmStV8bsFNEq1DaHwC3s5ym5aW_ujASpzeW0IaiKWEy_aPyPaIejkvNBHQRc4s8f-J3DPZesl9eA1WtvRlm8MTyo9DNeOrM7O_wxCT40CJ9LsJua3C9XlSMhbmnA4/s320/gi.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1389638629115_22835" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The mother of a 6-year-old Massachusetts girl has been charged with <a data-rapid_p="8" href="http://abcnews.go.com/topics/news/crime.htm" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="external">kidnapping</a> after she allegedly abducted her daughter to avoid losing her to state child protective services.</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"><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;"></section></div></div></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1389638629115_22845" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The district attorney overseeing the case said officials believed the girl had been in "immediate danger."</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1389638629115_22855" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Alize Whipple, 6, was found at a relative's home in Shelby, N.C., Saturday along with her mother Leeanna Wilson, 50, who was stripped of custody of the girl on Friday.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1389638629115_22865" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Alize had last been seen boarding a school bus to go home on Wednesday.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1389638629115_22875" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Police issued the Amber Alert Friday after the Department of Children and Families went to court to legally take custody of the girl, according to the Fitchburg Police Department. They would not comment on why social services decided to take legal custody of the girl.</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;">Wilson was charged with kidnapping and reckless endangerment, Worchester District Attorney Joseph Early Jr. 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;">He told ABC affiliate <a data-rapid_p="10" href="http://www.wcvb.com/news/local/central-massachusetts/ambert-alert-issued-for-missing-fitchburg-girl/-/11983998/23876450/-/tdeu5w/-/index.html" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="external">WCVB-TV</a> in Boston that there were allegations of abuse in Wilson's home.</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;">"When she was notified she was going to lose custody of the child, that's when all of this started," Early said in a press conference. "Once this Amber Alert went out we received approximately 100 tips that led us to safe return of this child."</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;">Officials from the state Department of Children and Families decided to move Alize into state custody after visiting Wilson's home on Wednesday, according to WCVB-TV.</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 believed that the child was in imminent danger, that's when the Amber Alert was requested," said Early.</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;">Wilson has other children and Early said she was "known" to the state's Department of Children and Families since the 1990s, according to WCVB-TV.</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;">Alize's step-aunt Debbie Jackson told WCVB-TV that she was happy the pair were "safe" in custody, but questioned why Wilson was charged with kidnapping, since the state did not have legal custody of the girl until 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 guys went after the fact and went ... got custody of her after she had already gone with the child," Jackson said of the Department of Children and Families.</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;">Jackson also questioned why the Amber Alert was not issued till Friday.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1389638629115_22929" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Early said in a press conference the requirements to issue an Amber Alert were not met until Friday.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1389638629115_22919" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Alize was with a foster family in North Carolina today and Jackson told WCVB-TV she plans on trying to get custody of the girl.</div></div>

Mother Arrested After 6-Year-Old Amber Alert Girl Found (BLOG)

The mother of a 6-year-old Massachusetts girl has been charged with  kidnapping  after she allegedly abducted her daughter to avoid losing h...

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Monday, Monday

<span style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.archidose.org/wp/">A Weekly Dose of Architecture</a> Updates:</span><br /><br />This week's dose features the <a href="http://archidose.org/wp/2014/01/13/hohenrausch-3/">Höhenrausch.3</a> in Linz, Austria, by Various Architects and Artists:<br /><a href="http://archidose.org/wp/2014/01/13/hohenrausch-3/"><img alt="this week's dose" src="http://archidose.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Jan14-13.jpg" title="This week's dose" width="640" /></a><br /><br />The featured past dose is the <a href="http://www.archidose.org/Aug08/25/dose.html">Field Installation 14</a> in Houten, Netherlands, by JSA Rotterdam:<br /><a href="http://www.archidose.org/Aug08/25/dose.html"><img border="0" src="http://www.archidose.org/Aug08/25/image03.jpg" title="The featured past dose" width="640" /></a><br /><br />This week's book review is <a href="http://archidose.org/wp/2014/01/13/s-am-11-lookout/"><i>S AM 11 / Lookout. Architecture with a View</i></a> by Hubertus Adam (L):<br /><a href="http://archidose.org/wp/2014/01/13/s-am-11-lookout/"><img alt="this week's book review" height="300" src="http://archidose.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/SAM_N%C2%B011_UG_P_FILE_U1_CMV.jpg" title="This week's book review" /></a> <a href="http://archidose.org/wp/2013/07/01/postmodernism-was-almost-all-right-s-am-10-building-images/"><img alt="this week's book review" height="300" src="http://archidose.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/sam-10.jpg" title="This week's book review" /></a><br />(R): The featured past book review is <a href="http://archidose.org/wp/2013/07/01/postmodernism-was-almost-all-right-s-am-10-building-images/"><i>S AM 10 / Building Images: Photography Focusing on Swiss Architecture</i></a> by Hubertus Adam, Elena Kossovskaja.<br /><br />: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : :<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">American-Architects <a href="http://www.american-architects.com/en/pages/50x50">Building of the Week</a>:</span><br /><br /><a href="http://www.american-architects.com/en/projects/44003_Turnagain_Beach_House">Turnagain Beach House</a> in Anchorage, Alaska, by kpb architects:<br /><a href="http://www.american-architects.com/en/projects/44003_Turnagain_Beach_House"><img alt="this week's Building of the Week" src="http://www.american-architects.com/files/projects/44003/images/kpb-Turnagain-001.jpg" title="Current Building of the Week on american-architects.com" width="640" /></a>

Monday, Monday

A Weekly Dose of Architecture Updates: This week's dose features the Höhenrausch.3 in Linz, Austria, by Various Architects and Artists...

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Power under the hood, luxury inside at Detroit auto show (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/AVvXsEhYbArIdMST3yNk1Xa0HeVPtIayxqcQifO_UsF0rfgj3IIPG4Khsq3myOaUrpTn6cYTirEmGR23XcwNPYrI-N6v4qhf0BuHYu6bEWLHZmqH3nN1RwSNag3bPVYn4AeOFWCBxtltHPO6wT4/s1600/car.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYbArIdMST3yNk1Xa0HeVPtIayxqcQifO_UsF0rfgj3IIPG4Khsq3myOaUrpTn6cYTirEmGR23XcwNPYrI-N6v4qhf0BuHYu6bEWLHZmqH3nN1RwSNag3bPVYn4AeOFWCBxtltHPO6wT4/s320/car.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1389638629115_16964" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Detroit (AFP) - The Detroit auto show opened with a renewed optimism Monday as confident carmakers forecast more growth and unveiled powerful new trucks, sexy sports cars and an abundance of luxury.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1389638629115_16976" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The bullish mood is on show in the Motor City, where more than a dozen carmakers will be unveiled during two days of press previews.After years of mass layoffs and painful restructuring which brought the US auto industry to its knees, the darkest days of the recession are receding into the rear-view mirror amid booming sales.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1389638629115_16996" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Manufacturers may struggle to capture the attention of the 5,000 journalists amidst back-to-back reveals and they have poured more than $200 million into dazzling displays.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1389638629115_17006" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">General Motors logged an early win after its Chevrolet brand swept the car and truck of the year awards with the Corvette Stingray sports car and the Chevy Silverado pickup truck.</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;">"Chevrolet is in the midst of the most aggressive product transformation in the brand’s more than 100-year history," Chevy chief Alan Batey said.</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="8" data-uuid="3a3a27a7-ed93-309d-b850-7148f32ae8b3" href="http://news.yahoo.com/photos/chief-engineer-gm-39-full-mid-size-trucks-photo-151732086.html" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 300px; position: relative; text-decoration: none;" title="Chief Engineer of GM&#39;s full and mid-size trucks,&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: 200px; 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="Chief Engineer of GM&#39;s full and mid-size trucks,&nbsp;&hellip;" class="body-related-thumb" data-src-2x="" height="200" src="http://l1.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/aee3gFkSfmabEs9zE0z2vQ--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTIwMDtxPTc1O3c9MzAw/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/afp.com/c2ccd6058630d6caf94b5338cd81f32f9ba1d236.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;">Chief Engineer of GM's full and mid-size trucks, Jeff Luke (C) accepts the North American Car an …</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 Corvette and Silverado truly embody the passion, commitment and focus that is driving us to deliver the most expressive designs, innovative technologies and engaging performance in every vehicle that wears the bowtie."</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;">All eyes were on Ford, however, as it unveiled a new F-150 pickup, redesigned with a plethora of new technology and features and a drastically lower body weight to help boost fuel economy.</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;">Replacing steel with aluminum -- which helped Ford slash the truck's weight by 700 pounds (317 kilos) -- is seen as a big risk, because truck buyers are so focused on strength, towing capacity and performance.</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 F-150 has been the best-selling vehicle in the United States for 32 consecutive years and is a critical part of Ford's portfolio.</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 number two US automaker insisted that the new model is the "the toughest, smartest and most capable F-150 ever."</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="9" data-uuid="3abe4550-1d0f-36ea-a120-6323e85a2124" href="http://news.yahoo.com/photos/mary-barra-ceo-general-motors-gm-attends-unveiling-photo-151732330.html" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 300px; position: relative; text-decoration: none;" title="Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors (GM), attends the&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: 365px; 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="Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors (GM), attends the&nbsp;&hellip;" class="body-related-thumb" data-src-2x="" height="365" src="http://l1.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/I4HK5iV3bRubmgwXdbHtDw--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTM2NTtxPTc1O3c9MzAw/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/afp.com/bc6a967269b0b4c04bc9a2ef0961aba32ad0f325.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;">Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors (GM), attends the unveiling of the North American Car and Truck of …</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;">Toyota revved up its design credentials with a provocative new concept for a sports car aimed at helping to reshape the previously staid Japanese automaker's reputation.</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 race car pit crew opened a shiny red box to reveal the gull-winged FT-1 sports concept -- Future Toyota 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;">Chrysler unveiled its hotly-anticipated revamp of the 200 sedan, which aims to bring a new level of luxury and styling to its midsized offering with an entry price of just $21,700.</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 designed a car to take on every other vehicle in its class, feature by feature and prove that a quality sedan doesn't have to cross an ocean to be worthy of an American driveway," Chrysler brand chief Al Gardner told reporters.</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;">Mercedes got a jump on its competitors by hiring Kelly Rowland of Destiny's Child to serenade its sleek and luxurious new C class sedan at an elegant invite-only event at the Westin Hotel on Sunday.</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;">General Motors sought to steal some of Ford's truck thunder by revealing its GMC Canyon, a mid-sized pickup truck, on Sunday at a revitalized industrial complex.</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 all eyes were on incoming chief executive officer Mary Barra, the first woman to be tapped to lead a major automaker.</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;">Barra -- who was previously in charge of global product development and has been hailed within the industry as a "car guy" -- signaled that the accountants will not be allowed to dominate business plans.</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;">"At today's GM, our products are the result of putting the customer at the center of everything we do. That has fostered a bold new culture at our company, a culture that promotes innovation and encourages risk taking," she 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;">After years of painful restructuring and mass layoffs, the Detroit Three automakers are racking in massive profits as major product revamps allowed them to take advantage of resurgent demand.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1389638629115_17022" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">US auto sales have finally returned to the levels seen in the 14 years prior to the devastating 2008 crash, growing 7.6 percent to 15.6 million vehicles in 2013. They are forecast to keep growing this year, but at a slower pace.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1389638629115_17032" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">And nearly every automaker in the highly competitive market -- which offers consumers a choice between 340 different models -- has been able to profit from the growing sales.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1389638629115_17032" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;"><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/confidence-canapes-ahead-detroit-auto-show-034546891.html">http://news.yahoo.com/confidence-canapes-ahead-detroit-auto-show-034546891.html</a></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1389638629115_17032" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;"><br /></div></div>

Power under the hood, luxury inside at Detroit auto show (BLOG)

Detroit (AFP) - The Detroit auto show opened with a renewed optimism Monday as confident carmakers forecast more growth and unveiled powerfu...

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Don't Piss Off The Maintenance Guy

He could be evil like me.<br /><br /><br /><br /> <br /> <blockquote>A certain private Catholic school was recently<br /><br />faced with a unique problem. A number of 12-year-old girls were beginning <br /><br />to use lipstick and would put it on in the bathroom. That was fine provided <br /><br />it was of a natural or neutral skin tone, but after they put on their <br /><br />lipstick, they would press their lips to the mirror leaving dozens of <br /><br />little lip prints.<br /><br /> <br /><br />Every night the maintenance man would remove them; and the next day the <br /><br />girls would put them back. Finally, the principal, Sister Mary, decided <br /><br />that something had to be done. She called all the girls to the bathroom and <br /><br />met them there with the<br /> maintenance man. She explained that all these lip <br /><br />prints were causing a major problem for the custodian, who had to clean the <br /><br />mirrors every night (you can just imagine the yawns from the little <br /><br />princesses).<br /><br /> <br /><br />To demonstrate how difficult it had been to clean the mirrors, Sister Mary<br /><br />asked the maintenance man to show the girls how much effort was required. He <br /><br />took out a long-handled squeegee, dipped it in the toilet, and cleaned the <br /><br />mirror with it.<br /><br />Since then, there have been no lip prints on the mirror.<br /><br />''There are teachers...... And then there are educators!"</blockquote>

Don't Piss Off The Maintenance Guy

He could be evil like me. A certain private Catholic school was recently faced with a unique problem. A number of 12-year-old girls were b...

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Ex-Biogenesis director says he gave A-Rod HGH, testosterone (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/AVvXsEjUPbSkVZsn4oYHZ9qWhyMs46TJ5z2ovA_QQzf8vJ8yPZ-NrmBf3wWv2pcgol_aIeah4PHYdwmP67kIK-yrWswpt1ny1ImPOx5Lw9m-9_nCCZ8Ndk9KxbmUwbIert6uq6m85Zz_rJITYQc/s1600/aar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUPbSkVZsn4oYHZ9qWhyMs46TJ5z2ovA_QQzf8vJ8yPZ-NrmBf3wWv2pcgol_aIeah4PHYdwmP67kIK-yrWswpt1ny1ImPOx5Lw9m-9_nCCZ8Ndk9KxbmUwbIert6uq6m85Zz_rJITYQc/s320/aar.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1389638629115_11517" 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 (AFP) - Anthony Bosch says he ran a secret doping program for US athletes out of his Miami clinic, including one specifically tailored for Alex Rodriguez that included testosterone and human growth hormone.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1389638629115_11546" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"Alex cared. Alex wanted to know. He would study the product. He would study the substance. He would study the dosages," Bosch said.Speaking publicly for the first time, the former Biogenesis director told American news programme "60 Minutes" that he was being paid $12,000 a month in cash by Rodriguez before a probe by Major League Baseball into performance-enhancing drugs forced them to halt their complex doping scheme.</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 show, which aired Sunday night, also detailed Bosch's falling out with Rodriguez and the bribes and death threat that Bosch says he received after they stopped working together.</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;">Bosch, the main witness against Rodriguez in the major league probe, said the New York Yankee third baseman's main motivation for taking performance-enhancing drugs was so he could become the first American baseball player to hit 800 home runs.</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;">"He wanted to achieve all his human performance or in this case, sports performance objectives. And the most important one was the 800 home run club. Which was only going to have one member, Alex Rodriguez," Bosch 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;">After Bosch was exposed, Rodriguez and 13 others were suspended. All accepted their fate except Rodriguez who appealed. Rodriguez was given a harsher ban after evidence showed he tried to interfere with the probe.</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;">Bosch spent five days testifying at Rodriguez's appeal hearing which the public was barred from attending.</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-slideshow go-to-slideshow-lightbox rapid-noclick-resp landscape onesize " data-list-id="d5e9fcb9-9840-3e6e-b7f0-31d6c1a76f02" data-rapid_p="8" data-type="slideshow" href="http://news.yahoo.com/photos/alex-rodriguez-1384971483-slideshow/" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 300px; position: relative; text-decoration: none;" title="Alex Rodriguez"><div class="img-wrap" style="position: relative;"><div class="cta-overlay" style="-webkit-transition: background-color 0.24s linear; font-size: 13px; height: 196px; 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="Alex Rodriguez" class="body-related-thumb" data-src-2x="" height="196" src="http://l2.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/BhrW53d2ZTodKMl2zycsdA--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTE5NjtxPTc1O3c9MzAw/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/ap_webfeeds/3cb3d20f9048a101480f6a7067004742.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;">FILE - In this Aug. 13, 2013 file photo, New York Yankees' Alex Rodriguez reacts after striking  …</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;">Bosch said he personally injected Rodriguez and once had to draw blood from Rodriguez in the men's stall of a bathroom at a nightclub.</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;">Bosch says he gave Rodriguez a cocktail of performance-enhancing drugs, including a testosterone lozenge the slugger could ingest in the dugout or on the field during games.</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're so small that you could literally while sitting in the dugout take it, put it in your mouth, and people could think it’s sunflower seeds or a piece of candy or a piece of gum, for that matter," Bosch 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;">"It gives him more energy. It gives him more strength. It gives him more focus. And in combination with the growth hormone, that combination would make playing the game of baseball a lot easier."</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;">Bosch said he has hundreds of text messages that he exchanged with Rodriguez to back up his claim. He said they would use code words for the illegal drugs such as "cohete" for injectable drugs and "night cream" for testosterone.</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;">He said Rodriguez's people tried to buy his silence by offering to fly him to Colombia where they would pay him over $20,000 a month and when things quiet down he could return to America and receive another $150,000.</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;">Bosch declined and said he then started to worry for his safety. He said his then girlfriend received a text message saying that he would not live to see the end of the 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;">The MLB Players' Association issued a statement Sunday, criticizing Bosch for talking to "60 Minutes".</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 is unfortunate that Major League Baseball apparently lacks faith in the integrity and finality of the arbitrator's decision and our Joint Drug Agreement, such that it could not resist the temptation to publicly pile-on against Alex Rodriguez," the release 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;">"It is equally troubling ... that Tony Bosch, MLB's principal witness, is appearing on the program with MLB's blessing."</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;">Rodriguez, who has vehemently denied that he took performance-enhancing drugs while a member of the Yankees, says he will pursue the case in US federal court.</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;">Rodriguez, the highest-paid player in MLB, was slapped with a record 162-game doping suspension by an arbitrator on Saturday, banning him for the entire 2014 season and playoffs.</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;">Arbitrator Fredric Horowitz upheld most of the 211-game ban imposed upon Rodriguez last August for his role in the Biogenesis doping scandal.</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;">Despite the reduction in total games missed, the suspension remains the longest in the history of MLB for doping, and "A-Rod" remains the highest-profile baseball player ever banned.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1389638629115_11598" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Rodriguez, whose 654 career homers are 108 shy of Barry Bonds' all-time record, will lose $25 million in salary from the Yankees this year, or about $154,000 for every game missed in 2014 under the record 10-year deal for $275 million he signed in 2007.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1389638629115_11598" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;"><br /></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1389638629115_11598" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">YahooNews</div></div>

Ex-Biogenesis director says he gave A-Rod HGH, testosterone (BLOG)

New York (AFP) - Anthony Bosch says he ran a secret doping program for US athletes out of his Miami clinic, including one specifically tailo...

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Target apologizes for data breach, retailers embrace security upgrade (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/AVvXsEiVa84Bkx4LSmOG7Uu4y8k2bnN6H6AuYxFD5ySjNOZsz32xm-v9AJVg_vV3m1tqXbdvnf9QqZa5bIjvM996HmA2fc9JupqE6ViNFYVP_BO7HwlRSgTT2UQEZIQ2-1t8Q36gJikJsls1PH8/s1600/targ.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVa84Bkx4LSmOG7Uu4y8k2bnN6H6AuYxFD5ySjNOZsz32xm-v9AJVg_vV3m1tqXbdvnf9QqZa5bIjvM996HmA2fc9JupqE6ViNFYVP_BO7HwlRSgTT2UQEZIQ2-1t8Q36gJikJsls1PH8/s320/targ.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1389638629115_6083" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">By Ross Kerber, Phil Wahba and Jim Finkle</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1389638629115_6065" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The company has so far disclosed that the breach started in late November and lasted 19 days over the peak holiday shopping season, resulting in the theft of about 40 million credit card records and 70 million other records containing customer data.BOSTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Target Corp began a major public relations effort on Monday to apologize to customers for an unprecedented cyber attack on its network, but the No. 3 U.S. retailer was vague in providing details about what it knew and when.</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;">Target is trying to woo back customers after sales dropped off at the end of the holiday season. Its campaign included full-page newspaper advertisements on Monday apologizing for the attack and the first interview since the breach by chief executive Gregg Steinhafel.</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;">He told CNBC TV business network that Target wanted to lead the retail industry's move to adopt payment card technology that stores customer information on computer chips and requires users to type in personal identification numbers.</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;">On Sunday, a top executive with the National Retail Federation called for tougher security standards that could mean more spending for the industry, its banks and business partners following the breaches at Target and other retailers in the United States.</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;">Steinhafel said he was proud of the way Target employees had responded once the breach was confirmed, yet he provided few details about what had happened.</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;">Target disclosed on December 19 that it was victim to one of the biggest credit card breaches on record. It said it ran for 19 days in the busy holiday shopping season through December 15.</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're going to get to the bottom of this," Steinhafel told CNBC. "We're not going to rest until we understand what happened and how that happened."</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 company declined to say precisely when it first came to suspect its systems might have been compromised.</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 the CNBC interview, Steinhafel said the company "confirmed" that it had been victim of a breach on December 15, but he provided no account of what happened in preceding weeks.</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="8" data-uuid="cfe4cb8b-ca09-3b3e-a98e-5b1bf310947f" href="http://news.yahoo.com/photos/file-photo-shopper-entering-neiman-marcus-store-oak-photo-172658284.html" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 300px; position: relative; text-decoration: none;" title="File photo of a shopper entering a Neiman Marcus store&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: 224px; 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="File photo of a shopper entering a Neiman Marcus store&nbsp;&hellip;" class="body-related-thumb" data-src-2x="" height="224" src="http://l1.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/AxkkPnshsM7ACTIPL7ewiw--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTIyNDtxPTc1O3c9MzAw/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/Reuters/2014-01-13T172658Z_5_CBREA0B07LJ00_RTROPTP_2_NEIMANMARCUS-DATABREACH.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;">A shopper enters a Neiman Marcus store in Oak Brook, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, in this May 2, 2 …</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;">"December 15. That was the day we confirmed that we had an issue," he 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;">Sources familiar with the investigation have previously told Reuters that Target learned about the attack only after receiving warnings from financial industry sources who reported seeing a surge in fraudulent credit card activity from accounts of customers who had shopped at the retailer.</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;">Another retailer, Neiman Marcus, disclosed on Friday that it was warned about a possible breach in mid-December and that an outside forensics firm confirmed a breach on January 1, saying it found evidence that some payment card data may have been compromised.</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;">Target and Neiman Marcus are not the only U.S. retailers whose networks were breached over the holidays, according to sources familiar with attacks on other merchants that have yet to be publicly disclosed.</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;">Smaller breaches at least three other well-known U.S. retailers took place over the holiday season and were conducted using similar techniques as the one on Target, according to the people familiar with the attacks. Similar breaches may have occurred earlier last 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;">Stores and card processing companies have reported a steady stream of security breaches for years without a major backlash from consumers, such as those disclosed by TJX Cos in 2007 and by Heartland Payment Systems Inc in 2009.</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 latest thefts could mark a watershed moment for security standards as calls grow for changes in the protection of consumer information.</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;">'CHIP-AND-PIN' CARDS</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 sign of the change is the new enthusiasm for "Chip-and-PIN" payment cards, which have computer chips built into them and require users to type in PINs.</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;">Mallory Duncan, general counsel of the National Retail Federation that represents Target, Wal-Mart and other stores, said on Sunday that the trade group encouraged its members to upgrade to the higher-security cards even though they cost more than old systems that store data on magnetic stripes.</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 breaches are "unfortunate but we're not entirely surprised," Duncan said at his organization's annual convention in New York.</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 technology that exists in cards out there is 20th-century technology and we've got 21st-century hackers," he 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;">Duncan said the trade group had only made its backing for the higher-security cards public since the Target breach. Banks have quietly begun to offer the cards but mainly for customers to use while traveling. Big U.S. card networks led by Visa Inc will not require the higher security until next year at the earliest.</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 is not clear that "Chip-and-PIN" technology would have prevented the breaches at Target and elsewhere. At the very least they make stolen data harder to re-use, a reason the technology has caught on widely in Europe and Asia.</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 have met with much less enthusiasm in the United States, in part because losses to fraud - just 5 cents for every $100 spent via plastic - have been manageable for merchants and their banks. But rising fraud rates, and the risk of identity theft, could change the calculation.</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 new scrutiny began after Target disclosed its breach. Investigators believe hackers used malware that captured data on customers from the magnetic stripes on their payment cards.</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;">Duncan said no other members had told the NRF they had been breached.</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;">Executives of several other companies said over the weekend that they were not aware of breaches at their companies. The executives included representatives of Sears Holdings Corp, JCPenney Co, Macy's Inc and Gap Inc.</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;">Still, the breach was the talk of the retail conference with 29,000 attendees. Several speakers cited it in remarks and some tried to distance their companies from vulnerabilities.</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;">Stan Lippelman, vice president of marketing at Bass Pro Shops, a privately-held outdoor goods seller, said: "We feel very comfortable with where we are at. But...the fact that it happens to Target means it can happen to anybody, right?"</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1389638629115_6709" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">(Additional reporting by Dhanya Skariachan in New York,; Bill Trott in Washington and; Sruthi Ramakrishnan in Bangalore; Editing by Stephen Coates and Grant McCool)</div></div>

Target apologizes for data breach, retailers embrace security upgrade (BLOG)

By Ross Kerber, Phil Wahba and Jim Finkle The company has so far disclosed that the breach started in late November and lasted 19 days over ...

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We offer Web Design Services to fit your budget!!!

<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/AVvXsEi-6lx7VON84eg7yME4YUUhxuIsEpkpEuwkQv4Z8e2QoRtD9oAH_1TbM8OeRghgIwm2QJDCNLWJdlF8q7zu2AQSE2ICNJxmYTeGc_-kBNPlWhN2LITFoSJqlGeC0mxqxyWLhyphenhypheniTeuqdvnY/s1600/Web-Design1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-6lx7VON84eg7yME4YUUhxuIsEpkpEuwkQv4Z8e2QoRtD9oAH_1TbM8OeRghgIwm2QJDCNLWJdlF8q7zu2AQSE2ICNJxmYTeGc_-kBNPlWhN2LITFoSJqlGeC0mxqxyWLhyphenhypheniTeuqdvnY/s1600/Web-Design1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="color: #46463a; font-family: Open Sans, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 16px;">Are you in need of a website or blog created and managed for you to help you succeed in social media and grow your business? </span></span><br /><span style="color: #46463a; font-family: Open Sans, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 16px;"><br /></span></span><span style="color: #46463a; font-family: Open Sans, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 16px;">Over Time Grind is your solution!</span></span><br /><span style="color: #46463a; font-family: Open Sans, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 16px;"><br /></span></span><span style="color: #46463a; font-family: Open Sans, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 16px;">See list of web deign services listed below and contact to get started today!</span></span><br /><span style="color: #46463a; font-family: Open Sans, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 16px;"><br /></span></span><br /><div style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #46463a; direction: ltr; font-family: 'Open Sans', Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.45; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit;">Blog Design/</strong>Blog Creation</strong> -</div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #46463a; direction: ltr; font-family: 'Open Sans', Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.45; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">A Blog is a hub for your personal or business needs. 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Well don’t worry! We have a system that can take every blog post and send it out to our network! Amplifying your chances of getting traffic to your blog immediately! <em style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit;">Already have a blog?</strong> No Problem!</em> We can get your blog pumping out over the super information highway in 24 hours! 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We offer Web Design Services to fit your budget!!!

Are you in need of a website or blog created and managed for you to help you succeed in social media and grow your business?  Over Time Grin...

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Who's on Hillary Clinton's 'hit list'? (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/AVvXsEh8rY_4LhNcTgczv4dafwjaLEmANfjFZfvwkwJQ5s9nnhtukiFEti7w2bQGIDhFW8NPcC9n1isOvcDGVot7h9bXt66JuiMuZSVkMTAZKerboeOdWBm7XsaGvqZ05YoUtgvY39z9wudDhbc/s1600/hillary-clinton-awarded-2013-lantos-20131206-183615-981.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8rY_4LhNcTgczv4dafwjaLEmANfjFZfvwkwJQ5s9nnhtukiFEti7w2bQGIDhFW8NPcC9n1isOvcDGVot7h9bXt66JuiMuZSVkMTAZKerboeOdWBm7XsaGvqZ05YoUtgvY39z9wudDhbc/s320/hillary-clinton-awarded-2013-lantos-20131206-183615-981.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1389638629115_2393" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">During her 2008 presidential campaign, Hillary Clinton's aides kept a meticulous "political hit list" containing the names of members of Congress who had "burned her" by endorsing Barack Obama, <a data-mce-href="http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/01/hillary-clinton-hit-list-102067.html" data-rapid_p="9" href="http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/01/hillary-clinton-hit-list-102067.html" id="yui_3_9_1_1_1389638629115_2402" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">an upcoming book on Clinton's political "rebirth" reveals</a>.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1389638629115_2346" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">“We wanted to have a record of who endorsed us and who didn’t and of those who endorsed us, who went the extra mile and who was just kind of there," a member of Clinton's 2008 campaign team told Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes, the authors of "<a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/HRC-Secrets-Rebirth-Hillary-Clinton/dp/0804136750" data-rapid_p="10" href="http://www.amazon.com/HRC-Secrets-Rebirth-Hillary-Clinton/dp/0804136750" id="yui_3_9_1_1_1389638629115_2414" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">HRC: State Secrets and the Rebirth of Hillary Clinton</a>," in an excerpt published by Politico. "And of those who didn’t endorse us, those who understandably didn’t endorse us because they are [Congressional Black Caucus] members or Illinois members. And then, of course, those who endorsed him but really should have been with her.”</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 data "ensured that the acts of the sinners and saints would never be forgotten," the authors wrote. "There was a special circle of Clinton hell reserved for people who had endorsed Obama or stayed on the fence after Bill and Hillary had raised money for them, appointed them to a political post or written a recommendation to ice their kid’s application to an elite 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;">The list, kept on an Excel spreadsheet, included ratings for each member on a scale from 1 ("most helpful") to 7 ("most treacherous").</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;">So just who were the "most treacherous"? According to the excerpt, Sens. John Kerry, Jay Rockefeller, Claire McCaskill, Bob Casey, Patrick Leahy the late Ted Kennedy, and Reps. Chris Van Hollen, Baron Hill and Rob Andrews each were assigned a rating of 7 for their public endorsements of Obama.</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;">McCaskill's endorsement, in particular, irked Clinton because the Missouri Democrat had already publicly dinged Bill Clinton. “He’s been a great leader,” McCaskill said on "Meet the Press" in 2006, “but I don’t want my daughter near him.” McCaskill later apologized, but in 2008 became the first female senator to endorse Obama.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1389638629115_2441" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Kennedy, though, "had slashed Hillary most cruelly of all, delivering a pivotal endorsement speech for Obama just before the Super Tuesday primaries that cast her as yesterday’s news and Obama as the rightful heir to Camelot."</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1389638629115_2431" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">According to the book, Clinton aides would later joke among themselves about those they felt had betrayed them: “Bill Richardson: investigated; John Edwards: disgraced by scandal; Chris Dodd: stepped down; Ted Kennedy: dead.”</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1389638629115_2431" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;"><br /></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1389638629115_2431" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">YahooNews.</div></div>

Who's on Hillary Clinton's 'hit list'? (BLOG)

During her 2008 presidential campaign, Hillary Clinton's aides kept a meticulous "political hit list" containing the names of ...

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Réunion d’information collective "Développer son auto-entreprise"

</br>Vous avez créé votre auto-entreprise et vous souhaitez développer votre auto-entreprise.</br>Vous vous posez des questions sur ce régime.</br>Vous souhaitez changer de statut.</br>Vous souhaitez échanger avec d’autres autoentrepreneurs.</br></br>La <a href="http://www.bge.asso.fr/pages_locales/BGE_LOIRET/edito/">BGE Loiret</a> organise une réunion d’information collective :<UL><LI><b>Jeudi 23 janvier 2014</b><LI><b>De 9H30 à 12H00</b><LI>Lieu : <b>BGE LOIRET – 18, Avenue de la Bolière – 45100 ORLEANS</b></UL> <b>SUR INSCRIPTION UNIQUEMENT</b> 02 38 22 20 09 - <a href="mailto:contact@bge45.fr">contact@bge45.fr</a></br></br>

Réunion d’information collective "Développer son auto-entreprise"

Vous avez créé votre auto-entreprise et vous souhaitez développer votre auto-entreprise. Vous vous posez des questions sur ce régime. Vous s...

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Magnesium—The Missing Link to Better Health

<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="248" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/d55y4yOnn3c" width="440"></iframe><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">'Magnesium is perhaps one of the most overlooked minerals. This is especially important because, an estimated 80 percent of Americans are deficient in it. The health consequences of deficiency can be quite significant, and can be aggravated by many, if not most, drug treatments.</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">In the featured video, Carolyn Dean, a medical and naturopathic doctor, discusses the importance of this mineral.</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">Dr. Dean was the lead author on the seminal paper “Death by Medicine” back in 2003, showing that modern medicine is in fact one of the leading causes of death in the United States. She also authored the book Death by Modern Medicine.</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">Last year, she was awarded the Arrhythmia Alliance Outstanding Medical Contribution to Cardiac Rhythm Management Services Award 2012. It was given by the Heart Rhythm Society of the UK, which is a major allopathic organization.'</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Read <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d55y4yOnn3c">more... </a></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>

Magnesium—The Missing Link to Better Health

'Magnesium is perhaps one of the most overlooked minerals. This is especially important because, an estimated 80 percent of Americans ar...

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‘Unequivocal’ – cell phones cause cancer

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‘Unequivocal’ – cell phones cause cancer

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7 Health Benefits of Meditation

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><img alt="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvsUmPJPzNA_2xvmT1yOyRbDJtsCsPz949AWPJf0u14xkA_isUPbi2PxACjk57O9tRz87x6NKV1Fg38WchCwzChBxoIg5u8-zzekIvXFfNQiWrgkDpxB-QEuywJqEhcxn193g1oV0X6KKY/s1600/Meditation%25E2%2580%25A6+Why+you+need+to+do+it.png" class="shrinkToFit decoded" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvsUmPJPzNA_2xvmT1yOyRbDJtsCsPz949AWPJf0u14xkA_isUPbi2PxACjk57O9tRz87x6NKV1Fg38WchCwzChBxoIg5u8-zzekIvXFfNQiWrgkDpxB-QEuywJqEhcxn193g1oV0X6KKY/s400/Meditation%25E2%2580%25A6+Why+you+need+to+do+it.png" width="400" /> </b></span></div><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b>'It's a piece of advice yogis have given for thousands of years: take a deep breath and relax. Watch the tension melt from your muscles and all your niggling worries vanish. Somehow we all know that relaxation is good for us.</b></span> <br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br />Now the hard science has caught up: a comprehensive scientific study showing that deep relaxation changes our bodies on a genetic level has just been published. What researchers at Harvard Medical School discovered is that, in long-term practitioners of relaxation methods such as yoga and meditation, far more ''disease-fighting genes'' were active, compared to those who practiced no form of relaxation.'</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Read <a href="http://foodmatters.tv/articles-1/7-health-benefits-of-meditation">more... </a></span>

7 Health Benefits of Meditation

'It's a piece of advice yogis have given for thousands of years: take a deep breath and relax. Watch the tension melt from your mu...

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Activate Your Daily Water—5 Ways to Enhance the Water You Drink

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Green Tea" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-18037" height="265" src="http://renegadehealth.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Green-Tea.jpg" width="400" /></div><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Green tea is often a healthier alternative for hydration to pure water.</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">Recently, I began to question how good water is for health. It makes sense to drink pure water…or does it? How much do we really need every day? Do water filters make a significant difference on your health? Is bottled water a need, or a corporate scheme to monetize a popular health trend?</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">My four decades of fieldwork with traditional indigenous people contradicts our modern notion of 4-6 glasses of pure water a day.'</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Read <a href="http://renegadehealth.com/blog/2014/01/10/activate-your-daily-water-5-ways-to-enhance-the-water-you-drink">more... </a></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>

Activate Your Daily Water—5 Ways to Enhance the Water You Drink

Green tea is often a healthier alternative for hydration to pure water. Recently, I began to question how good water is for health. It makes...

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The Oil that May Help Relieve Arthritis, Sciatica and Back Pain

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><img alt="http://www.shininghealth.com/sites/default/files/content_images/castor_oil_1_350x256.jpg" class="decoded" height="292" src="http://www.shininghealth.com/sites/default/files/content_images/castor_oil_1_350x256.jpg" width="400" /></div>Photo Credit:www.shininghealth.com<br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">'You are probably aware that castor oil is regarded by some as a <a href="http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/04/11/natural-constipation-relief-strategies-you-should-know-about.aspx">constipation remedy</a>. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;">But you may not be aware of its reported use as an antiviral, antibacterial, and antifungal, or that it has been used topically to treat a variety of skin conditions, reduce pain, and stimulate your immune system.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;">Read on, because I'm about to explore the myth and mystery of this unusual oil, and of course, investigate what modern science has to say about it. </span> <span style="font-size: large;"></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br />However, regardless of what some of the research has suggested, you should be <i>very</i> cautious when experimenting with castor oil since the science is sparse at best, and there are several known reports of unpleasant side effects experienced by some users.'</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Read <a href="http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/04/28/castor-oil-to-treat-health-conditions.aspx">more... </a></span>

The Oil that May Help Relieve Arthritis, Sciatica and Back Pain

  Photo Credit:www.shininghealth.com 'You are probably aware that castor oil is regarded by some as a constipation remedy .  But you ma...

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No No, Don't Tell Me

It's Monday again already.<br /><br />They start to blend together when ya work six days a week.<br /><br />Might as well get on it.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_0-K25odQSMG_yqD6InZwasR-Gf7OGWJo5_MkcvCzyuIBNMiv9oIAX9ACEz3IvHHNxFLCK40B53H9kEQ5wfvzYw_gP0IMGpSbgBoi9WqH4h1f9QVBKRO_6shAomr-b9I4b0tR9FkGF928/s1600/bra.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_0-K25odQSMG_yqD6InZwasR-Gf7OGWJo5_MkcvCzyuIBNMiv9oIAX9ACEz3IvHHNxFLCK40B53H9kEQ5wfvzYw_gP0IMGpSbgBoi9WqH4h1f9QVBKRO_6shAomr-b9I4b0tR9FkGF928/s640/bra.jpg" /></a></div>

No No, Don't Tell Me

It's Monday again already. They start to blend together when ya work six days a week. Might as well get on it.

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2014 goals

The time has come for me to put down my goals for the year on paper, or uh screen, so that I am held accountable come December 31. If I don't put them out there for y'all to read I won't have the fear of judgement as my motivation. And really, isn't that what gets us all out of bed in the morning? Right. So I spent the weekend shaking my magic eight ball and I've narrowed down my list to these five challenges, in no particular order. In honor of the Golden Globes...may I have the envelope please.<br /><br />1. Fix the backyard. <br />I've <strike>whined</strike> discussed my backyard as long as this blog has been around (and even before that). And each year I talk about working on some privacy, but this is the year. And here's the reason - I can't look at my neighbors any more. They really are lovely people, but I just can't. While our side yard is vast and relatively private, our backyard, the space right past our <a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/p/outside.html" target="_blank">deck and patio</a> is rather close to our neighbors. And over the years our neighbors have added on to their homes, making our breathing room even smaller. And with the addition of a new neighbor and his many outdoor apparatuses, this is the year damn it.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiatmUiYHcvH2lHjkiQMwNj3_n4_ZFQRLCPxFL6Lvi8wAYZy6RI7epDFRIy85G8ToBdOKd8hSjj3hSDUZgS-u40jO26L-NImTMJgNMLC4QpoSI7o02aqJwO1s98ER8hQXoCGEgJjb1c6IXh/s1600/48b8bb1f1a7f438fc0d03e31e8ce11df.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiatmUiYHcvH2lHjkiQMwNj3_n4_ZFQRLCPxFL6Lvi8wAYZy6RI7epDFRIy85G8ToBdOKd8hSjj3hSDUZgS-u40jO26L-NImTMJgNMLC4QpoSI7o02aqJwO1s98ER8hQXoCGEgJjb1c6IXh/s1600/48b8bb1f1a7f438fc0d03e31e8ce11df.jpg" width="295" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/6896205653270226/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a></td></tr></tbody></table> And while I'd love a tall ivy covered stone wall and boxwood hedges,<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEbxDlto0kZY7Jn4YtxIH6JUB1J04yorlwZErGmJYehJSogDbrZ-KXNYX5bpmRihqEjf7VGr5QaAhB87GHTp-BOZ29jhTx41yCJu9fjkRgxu9eoOOfK2PEQpoC90V-5DJMdK6EjQrputwE/s1600/f786686f8df2712ae79b49273296fc30.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEbxDlto0kZY7Jn4YtxIH6JUB1J04yorlwZErGmJYehJSogDbrZ-KXNYX5bpmRihqEjf7VGr5QaAhB87GHTp-BOZ29jhTx41yCJu9fjkRgxu9eoOOfK2PEQpoC90V-5DJMdK6EjQrputwE/s1600/f786686f8df2712ae79b49273296fc30.jpg" width="267" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://almbacken.blogspot.se/2010/03/tradgard-tradgard-tradgard.html" target="_blank">Almbacken</a></td></tr></tbody></table>we are probably looking at something more economical. I know, economical and landscaping never really go together, but I'm going to try my best. We were able to redo our <a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2012/06/i-wear-my-sunglasses-at-night-deck.html" target="_blank">deck</a> on a budget, so who knows what we will come up with. Maybe we'll find more <a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2011/10/five-dollar-investment.html" target="_blank">$5 trees</a>.<br /><br />2. Organize closets<br />I have something that is a rarity in a house this age and size - two walk in closets. But I'm ashamed to say that I don't use them to their full potential. And in a house this size, that just isn't cool.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUPmWTU4s8Nc7rzqXwRgZqcaDRE5pe3PdhDzAfEXr4J0vB70F_8sZ1ZkgDzaxD5fAXgAbjJwme1xnF7KaASTX_UH0AGXxuFn1YDApftVW22p3Z3lSXBKD3Vzc-L-gzwdaVYl2X2ONJ66Ur/s1600/485f32f7bed03fe2e858a760799b17bb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUPmWTU4s8Nc7rzqXwRgZqcaDRE5pe3PdhDzAfEXr4J0vB70F_8sZ1ZkgDzaxD5fAXgAbjJwme1xnF7KaASTX_UH0AGXxuFn1YDApftVW22p3Z3lSXBKD3Vzc-L-gzwdaVYl2X2ONJ66Ur/s1600/485f32f7bed03fe2e858a760799b17bb.jpg" width="302" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/6896205649170547/" target="_blank">Eva Jeanbart-Lorenzotti's amazing closet</a></td></tr></tbody></table>So I've got painting, construction, elbow grease and a lot of DIYs up my sleeve for these suckers. Note - I can not guarantee they can stay organized. (Do I hear a goal for 2015?)<br /><br />3. Find a dishwasher that doesn't suck and a vacuum that does.<br />I told you <a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2013/08/i-hate-my-maytag-dishwasher.html" target="_blank">how much my Maytag sucks</a> and this is the year I'm doing something about it. There has got to be a high performance dishwasher out there and I am on the hunt.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh09TCAZ80Tgwj-I2vxBOJ8RpMtLO4sXR6Z1_FAKBOmrwyfShl7iTLiXVf5Dfg52lNpIdo6Ng6Ig5q5-FqQqAiy9uz5m7tP3h5EXal3Dw0gtuyettb1wH0Ug7IkuogUPyyiap9KQa8gEFXs/s1600/zoeyinthedishwasher.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh09TCAZ80Tgwj-I2vxBOJ8RpMtLO4sXR6Z1_FAKBOmrwyfShl7iTLiXVf5Dfg52lNpIdo6Ng6Ig5q5-FqQqAiy9uz5m7tP3h5EXal3Dw0gtuyettb1wH0Ug7IkuogUPyyiap9KQa8gEFXs/s1600/zoeyinthedishwasher.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zoey cleans better than my Maytag does</td></tr></tbody></table>I also have a vacuum on its last suck. Hmm, I need a new dishwasher and vacuum. Maybe it would just be cheaper to get a maid.<br /><br />4. Focus on the details.<br />I find myself looking at different things these days. Table linens, candle sticks, picture frames, vases. The cherries on top of the sundae. The things that take a room from done to complete. And a hard, and dangerous rule for me this year - only permanent pieces. I'm not getting something just because it was cheap. I have a basement full of those purchases. Quality, unique and long term are the key this year.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAL4O3Kh6FLXZRi_GNQfbyzCxNkqkdOFUpLQ0ockcBwMFO8GdlJkWcIBziTnnNfQE9cF4EvAybn9wdr88CdKqXdPXkH7OICX4pw5LXj84wsRlpfhrcQxbVIBismU9sdhkEFDBCpw0N-TPn/s1600/c6ea7820beeda8dd1a3855fc48417364.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAL4O3Kh6FLXZRi_GNQfbyzCxNkqkdOFUpLQ0ockcBwMFO8GdlJkWcIBziTnnNfQE9cF4EvAybn9wdr88CdKqXdPXkH7OICX4pw5LXj84wsRlpfhrcQxbVIBismU9sdhkEFDBCpw0N-TPn/s1600/c6ea7820beeda8dd1a3855fc48417364.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/6896205653330159/" target="_blank">Lesley Glotzl</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />5. Post more.<br />I really do have the best time getting to know you all and I think we have a really good time together. And well, we've been dating for a few years now, so I think it's time to take our relationship to the next level. Do I sound like The Bachelor?<br /><br />I've got a lot to say, a whole backlog in fact, of things that I just don't get around to. So this year I'm going to make a hard effort to work four posts a week into my schedule. Gulp. And I want you all sharing more on here with me as well. You all are the best and I want to give more. 4 days a week. There I said it.<br /><br />So ta-da, there she blows. My list for the year. What do you think? Do you make yourself a guideline for the year? Did you think Tina and Amy did a good job last night? Can you believe that Jordan Catalano won an Golden Globe?!

2014 goals

The time has come for me to put down my goals for the year on paper, or uh screen, so that I am held accountable come December 31. If I don&...

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Hit Me With Your Best Shot

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="MsoNormal">Last night was yet another EPIC episode of IWS Radio. Matt and Jay are normally not all that confrontational and they HATE to criticize, but sometimes it’s necessary to call some people out. That’s exactly what your heroes at IWS did. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Matt and Jay took down just about everyone at MSNBC and only really had one conflict. Matt is a fan of cute little Ethra Klein while Jay doesn’t find him all that appealing. Matt also heaped praise on Morning Joe which Jay has no opinion on because the show is over before he gets out of bed each morning. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Some other people that were roasted (kinda) include Tina Fey, Chuck Todd, Bill Simmons, Jalen Rose, Doug Collins, Harold Ford Jr, and of course, Chris Christie. In fact, we had exclusive audio from Chris Christie doing karaoke this weekend at a dive bar in Jersey City. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">In addition to that excitement, Dixie Ozark had an exclusive interview with Chris Christie “associate” Jimmy “Three Fingers” Tortelli which was eye-opening and a little scary. Kirk Douglas chimed in with the weather and (s)he talked about some of the strange changes (s)he has undergone since being sick. Al Sharpton sat in for Paul Piatt, Slyder Ballzcock celebrated the Russian ladies curling team and then took a run at Bob Costas. Bobby Kraft went in on President Obama, Tom Cotton and Congressman Cotton’s prissy, finger-wagging mother. Aaaaaaaaaand Rachel Maddow contributed in a big way to the show. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Then we took a call from JesseFerg and um, “celebrated” another one of the great shows on the BlogTalkRadio Network. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal">All in all, a great show! Definitely check it out!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="370" src="https://player.cinchcast.com/?show_id=5906293&platformId=1&assetType=single" width="400"></iframe><br /><div style="font-size: 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;">Popular Comedy Internet Radio with <a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/im-with-stupid" rel="nofollow">IWS Radio</a> on BlogTalkRadio</div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />Yeah, I know I've been a little critical of her in the past (and maybe last night) but doesn't Tina Fey look terrific? And JesseFerg insists that she hasn't had any work done. He knows these things.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpvgnRoSnZ0oobSHQy3pT1hJUTIbVbyFLnPEJwLl6sejJn1wchAfylZSotlSNZvKfqLCOdmba7yuhvWUP-6Sythcdg9p92z2chN265DkXeOOnID63DiFUS584zQpMUli-xzPbZijkuqPgp/s1600/tina+fey+amy+poehler+hot+gold+globes+2014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpvgnRoSnZ0oobSHQy3pT1hJUTIbVbyFLnPEJwLl6sejJn1wchAfylZSotlSNZvKfqLCOdmba7yuhvWUP-6Sythcdg9p92z2chN265DkXeOOnID63DiFUS584zQpMUli-xzPbZijkuqPgp/s1600/tina+fey+amy+poehler+hot+gold+globes+2014.jpg" /></a></div><br /><br /></div></div>

Hit Me With Your Best Shot

Last night was yet another EPIC episode of IWS Radio. Matt and Jay are normally not all that confrontational and they HATE to criticize, but...

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‘Mile 420’ marker replaced in Colorado after repeated thefts from pot fans (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/AVvXsEgKTRZ7AYVl5kBRbUUlODCNvbnp2IW28jWcvKiPfNmTVQs66ObsavJTBJQYxWiLTRMLC7pjtzXKg2d2eKYwkS8cjMOj83mYKqtWakg8GkjMz3RMxdVEtvfF2JIb7M5pePkMpJiZhW81qDQ/s1600/f2eb4502-2b13-4af6-9d46-b852ea6a5c8f_419-sign.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKTRZ7AYVl5kBRbUUlODCNvbnp2IW28jWcvKiPfNmTVQs66ObsavJTBJQYxWiLTRMLC7pjtzXKg2d2eKYwkS8cjMOj83mYKqtWakg8GkjMz3RMxdVEtvfF2JIb7M5pePkMpJiZhW81qDQ/s320/f2eb4502-2b13-4af6-9d46-b852ea6a5c8f_419-sign.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1389575441106_7861" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Sorry pot heads, if you’re looking for a sign <a data-mce-href="http://news.yahoo.com/mile-marker-420-becomes-419-99-thwart-thieves-235742124.html" data-rapid_p="10" href="http://news.yahoo.com/mile-marker-420-becomes-419-99-thwart-thieves-235742124.html" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">it’s no longer “420” on Colorado’s Interstate 70</a>.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1389575441106_7851" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">That’s because while buying marijuana may now be legal in Colorado, stealing a sign with a slang reference to the drug is still frowned upon. But state officials said that just wasn’t stopping the repeated theft of a sign with a popular numerical term that for many is a common reference to marijuana.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1389575441106_7941" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">It sounds like the kind of solution only a pot smoker would come up with. But it turns out marijuana signage enthusiasts are the ones forcing Colorado officials to think creatively.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1389575441106_7951" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">On Colorado’s Interstate 70, there is a sign marked “MILE 420.” And for those not in the know, “ <a data-mce-href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/420_%28cannabis_culture%29" data-rapid_p="11" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/420_%28cannabis_culture%29" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">420</a>” is a common shorthand used by fellow pot smokers. Like the effects of smoking the plant itself, the term has hazy origins but is said to have originated as code amongst a group of California teens when they wanted to signal each other for a smoking excursion.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1389575441106_7962" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">So, after the sign has been stolen a number of times in recent years, Colorado officials decided to move the sign slightly up the road and change its name to <a data-mce-href="http://imgur.com/wTdReCr" data-rapid_p="12" href="http://imgur.com/wTdReCr" id="yui_3_9_1_1_1389575441106_7961" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">MILE 419.99</a>.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1389575441106_7980" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">In fact, it has been <a data-mce-href="http://kdvr.com/2014/01/10/cdot-replaced-420-mile-marker-sign-with-419-99-sign-because-of-thieves/" data-rapid_p="13" href="http://kdvr.com/2014/01/10/cdot-replaced-420-mile-marker-sign-with-419-99-sign-because-of-thieves/" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">stolen so many times,</a> state officials weren't sure of the exact number.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1389575441106_7989" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"Obviously people steal these signs," Amy Ford of the Colorado Department of Transportation told the <a data-mce-href="http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_24889289/colorado-hopes-mile-419-99-sign-interstate-70" data-rapid_p="14" href="http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_24889289/colorado-hopes-mile-419-99-sign-interstate-70" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Denver Post</a>. "In the past, if a sign was stolen too much, we wouldn't replace it. This is sort of an innovative way for us to keep the sign there."</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;"><br />Ford told the Associated Press that it’s the only sign of its kind that has been replaced so far, as most highways do not extend out to the 420-mile marker point.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1389575441106_7999" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">But they did take inspiration from another bit of signage tweaking in the state. A previous marker reading “MILE 69,” which some took as reference to a sexual practice,” was replaced with “MILE 68.5” after repeated thefts.</div></div>

‘Mile 420’ marker replaced in Colorado after repeated thefts from pot fans (BLOG)

Sorry pot heads, if you’re looking for a sign  it’s no longer “420” on Colorado’s Interstate 70 . That’s because while buying marijuana may ...

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Restaurants reopen with bottled water after West Virginia spill (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/AVvXsEiBeJu4i6SQzes16vWPhyphenhyphengU8dlMbsFofLq2RalINnlysRW_2Gmr5sE2rlmE5S1JlJkgasc9gFOnRd24E86eyKoTFCVfZGvWF4yS73_dzrhJ-5LWdvO4KO3BwnpdwHYwkcOQP3mfCi-esvY/s1600/4864c7bc-01ee-4593-b195-4669b233c235_AP918197219916_5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBeJu4i6SQzes16vWPhyphenhyphengU8dlMbsFofLq2RalINnlysRW_2Gmr5sE2rlmE5S1JlJkgasc9gFOnRd24E86eyKoTFCVfZGvWF4yS73_dzrhJ-5LWdvO4KO3BwnpdwHYwkcOQP3mfCi-esvY/s320/4864c7bc-01ee-4593-b195-4669b233c235_AP918197219916_5.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1389575441106_5684" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">By Ann Moore</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1389575441106_5695" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">State government officials, the utility company West Virginia American Water and the National Guard were continuing to test the water supply on Sunday after as much as 7,500 gallons (28,000 liters) of an industrial chemical leaked into the Elk River on Thursday.CHARLESTON, West Virginia (Reuters) - Restaurants and shops were reopening on Sunday in parts of West Virginia where the water supply was poisoned by a chemical spill, although up to 300,000 people spent a fourth day unable to use tap water for anything besides flushing toilets.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1389575441106_5724" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">It could still be several days before people in nine counties and Charleston, the state capital and largest city, can once again use the water from their faucets for drinking, cooking and bathing.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1389575441106_5734" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">A dozen restaurants in Charleston had been allowed to reopen by Sunday afternoon by the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department after assuring officials that they have secured a source of potable water.</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 feels very expensive," said Keeley Steele, who bought hundreds of bottles of water in order to reopen her comfort-food restaurant, the Bluegrass Kitchen, in Charleston on Sunday. "This is all coming at such a huge cost."</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;">Nearly 200 groceries, supermarkets and drugstores also have been allowed to reopen across the affected area. Hotels were allowed to continue operating as long as they steer clear of using tap water, although several hotel owners said they were only honoring existing reservations to reduce the expense of shipping out linens for cleaning.</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;">Officials have so far declined to estimate the economic cost of the spill.</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;">Frustrations, however, continue to mount, with West Virginians lamenting the toll the outage has taken on their health and personal hygiene.</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 feels like we've all been living on junk food these past couple days," Josephine Ritter, a 40-year-old hairstylist, said outside a recently reopened 7-Eleven convenience store in Charleston. "You can't cook or clean or anything. It's just bottled water and potato chips every day."</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 emergency began last week after a spillage from a tank belonging to Freedom Industries, a Charleston company that makes chemicals for the mining, steel and cement industries, authorities 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 spill happened about a mile upriver from a West Virginia American Water treatment plant. President Barack Obama declared it an emergency, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency has sent dozens of tractor trailers loaded with clean water.</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;">Water tainted by the spilled 4-methylcyclohexane methanol, or Crude MCHM, smells faintly of licorice. Contact with the water can cause nausea, vomiting, dizziness, diarrhea, rashes and reddened skin. More than 70 people had visited emergency rooms with these symptoms by Saturday, according to the state's health department.</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;">Nearly 1,000 people have called the West Virginia Poison Center since the spill to say they or someone in their household had been exposed, Elizabeth Scharman, the center's director, said on Sunday.</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 "vast majority" of those people reported symptoms of some kind, she said. While there is little data on the chemical's effect on humans, she said most symptoms were easily treated and that rashes and feelings of nausea would soon fade.</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 not a highly toxic chemical, it's an irritant chemical," she said, adding that less than 10 people had required being admitted to a hospital. More than 60 people had also called to say their livestock or pets had been exposed.</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;">Earl Ray Tomblin, the governor of West Virginia, and other officials said at a press conference on Saturday evening that efforts to flush the chemical from the water supply were showing some progress.</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;">Most of the water samples tested on Saturday were found to be within safety limits. But officials say they need to see all samples register within safety limits over at least a 24-hour period before they can consider lifting the tap water ban.</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 governor and other officials said they would hold another press conference at 4:30 p.m. EST (2130 GMT) on Sunday.</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;">Meanwhile, some West Virginians are anticipating a disheveled start to the new work week.</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'm not looking forward to going back to work on Monday without a shave or shower," said Clark Mills, a 51-year-old contractor in Charleston. He has sent his family to stay with relatives in an unaffected part of the state while he waits out the problem.</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 have a 6-month-old baby," he said. "We can't live like this."</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1389575441106_5774" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">(Reporting by Ann Moore; Writing by Jonathan Allen; Editing by Barbara Goldberg)</div></div>

Restaurants reopen with bottled water after West Virginia spill (BLOG)

By Ann Moore State government officials, the utility company West Virginia American Water and the National Guard were continuing to test the...

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