Obama targets college sexual assault epidemic (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/AVvXsEhsgxHmdLKfpxXvc-HrTQCqKqLPK7251_P8cLSoG2JtSeabG5tap695tHcmAP7hoVNom85PiOcuVZUihn10ZwdnFDIJIr5kK_M18NnJf3E-iqLwyjyNmzGbuoPxZfbwjvbkcvLx-Y5TqI0/s1600/dd89bc1d4628432692725a4d247def63.jpeg" 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/AVvXsEhsgxHmdLKfpxXvc-HrTQCqKqLPK7251_P8cLSoG2JtSeabG5tap695tHcmAP7hoVNom85PiOcuVZUihn10ZwdnFDIJIr5kK_M18NnJf3E-iqLwyjyNmzGbuoPxZfbwjvbkcvLx-Y5TqI0/s1600/dd89bc1d4628432692725a4d247def63.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390441625499_18164" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama shone a light Wednesday on a college sexual assault epidemic that is often shrouded in secrecy, with victims fearing stigma, police poorly trained to investigate and universities reluctant to disclose the violence.</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: 17.307693481445313px; margin: 0px 0px 1.1em 10px; max-width: 300px;"><div class="yom-remote"><div class="" id="mediacontentrelatedstory_container"></div></div></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390441625499_18202" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">A White House report highlights a stunning prevalence of rape on college campuses, with 1 in 5 female students assaulted while only 1 in 8 student victims report it.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390441625499_18212" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"No one is more at risk of being raped or sexually assaulted than women at our nation's colleges and universities," said the report by the White House Council on Women and Girls.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390441625499_18222" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Nearly 22 million American women and 1.6 million men have been raped in their lifetimes, according to the report. It chronicled the devastating effects, including depression, substance abuse and a wide range of physical ailments such as chronic pain and diabetes.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390441625499_18232" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The report said campus sexual assaults are fueled by drinking and drug use that can incapacitate victims, often at student parties at the hands of someone they know.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Perpetrators often are serial offenders. One study cited by the report found that 7 percent of college men admitted to attempting rape, and 63 percent of those men admitted to multiple offenses, averaging six rapes each.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Obama, who has overseen a military that has grappled with its own crisis of sexual assaults, spoke out against the crime as "an affront on our basic decency and humanity." He then signed a memorandum creating a task force to respond to campus rapes.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Obama said he was speaking out as president and a father of two daughters, and that men must express outrage to stop the crime.</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: 24.000001907348633px; 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="845d3865-41e2-3a0d-86e0-f94d2d8b99cb" href="http://news.yahoo.com/photos/president-barack-obama-vice-president-joe-biden-center-photo-172944481--election.html" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 300px; position: relative; text-decoration: none;" title="President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden,&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: 195px; left: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; transition: background-color 0.24s linear; width: 300px;"><span class="clearfix title cta-text medium" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.24s linear; color: white; font-size: 16px; left: 5px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; top: 5px; transition: opacity 0.24s linear; white-space: pre-wrap; width: 270px; zoom: 1;"></span><span class="cta-text xsmall" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.24s linear; bottom: 5px; color: white; font-size: 16px; margin-left: 42px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; transition: opacity 0.24s linear;">View gallery</span><span class="icon-slideshow icon-white-slideshow-xsmall" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.16s linear; background-color: #324fe1; background-image: url(data:image/svg+xml; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; background-size: cover; border-bottom-left-radius: 4px; border-bottom-right-radius: 4px; border-top-left-radius: 4px; border-top-right-radius: 4px; bottom: 5px; cursor: pointer; height: 23px; left: 5px; line-height: 0; opacity: 0; padding: 0px; position: absolute; text-indent: -1000em; transition: opacity 0.16s linear; width: 32px; z-index: 1;"></span></div><img alt="President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden,&nbsp;&hellip;" class="body-related-thumb" data-src-2x="" height="195" src="http://l1.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/JhmRXCn49zZ2ov77FilYBg--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTE5NTtxPTc1O3c9MzAw/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/ap_webfeeds/d0224c7c1cbaa903490f6a706700abca.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: 16.5px; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%; padding: 5px 5px 0px 0px; position: relative; width: 300px;">President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, center, meet with, from left, White House Senio …</div></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"We need to encourage young people, men and women, to realize that sexual assault is simply unacceptable," Obama said. "And they're going to have to summon the bravery to stand up and say so, especially when the social pressure to keep quiet or to go along can be very intense."</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Obama gave the task force, comprised of administration officials, 90 days to come up with recommendations for colleges to prevent and respond to the crime, increase public awareness of each school's track record and enhance coordination among federal agencies to hold schools accountable if they don't confront the problem.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Records obtained by The Associated Press under the federal Freedom of Information Act illustrate a continuing problem for colleges in investigating crime. The documents include anonymous complaints sent to the Education Department, often alleging universities haven't accurately reported on-campus crime or appropriately punished assailants as required under federal law.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">A former Amherst College student, Angie Epifano, has accused the school of trivializing her report of being raped in a dorm room in 2011 by an acquaintance. She said school counselors questioned whether she was really raped, refused her request to change dorms, discouraged her from pressing charges and had police take her to a psychiatric ward. She withdrew from Amherst while her alleged attacker graduated.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Among the federal laws requiring colleges to address sexual assault are: Title IX, which prohibits gender discrimination in education; the renewed Violence Against Women Act, which was signed into law last year with new provisions on college sexual assault; and the Clery Act, which requires colleges and universities to publicly report their crime statistics every year.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The Education Department has investigated and fined several schools for not accurately reporting crimes. Most notably was a 2006 case at Eastern Michigan University, in which the government eventually fined the school a then-record $357,000 for not revealing a student had been sexual assaulted and murdered in her dorm room.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Violent crime can be underreported on college campuses, advocates say, because of a university's public-image incentive to keep figures low, or because crimes can occur off campus and instead investigated by local police. Other times, schools put such suspects before a campus court whose proceedings are largely secret and not subjected to judicial review.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Students Active for Ending Rape, a nonprofit group that works with student activists to push for sexual assault policy changes on their campuses, said in a report last year that schools often do not fully address the problem. The report gave more than 80 percent of college policies a grade C or below, an F to nearly one-quarter and said one-third don't fully comply with the Clery Act.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390441625499_18242" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The White House report also declares that the criminal justice response to sexual assault broadly is too often inadequate and lays out a goal of increasing arrest, prosecution and conviction rates without any specific targets.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390441625499_18252" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The report blames police bias and a lack of training to investigate and prosecute sex crimes for low arrest rates and says the federal government should promote training and help police increase testing of DNA evidence collected from victims.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The report mentions sexual assaults in the military — Obama last month directed the Pentagon to better prevent and respond to the crime within its ranks or face further reforms. White House officials say they want to set the example by turning around the sexual assault problem in the military. "I've made it clear I expect significant progress in the year ahead," Obama said.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">___</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390441625499_18283" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Associated Press writer Jack Gillum contributed to this report.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390441625499_18256" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">___</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390441625499_18271" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Follow Nedra Pickler on Twitter at https://twitter.com/nedrapickler</div></div>

Obama targets college sexual assault epidemic (BLOG)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama shone a light Wednesday on a college sexual assault epidemic that is often shrouded in secrecy, wit...

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Continued Claims

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZktof6L1QZAtHKM75p0a9kRBslW81e3DO12iRIwylmwL32GaOD5crglQ9iNe5hwNSvk5iw1_u0b3l3y-Yh9WvLnaxiOcDfotMGtqRsoCyfn8MtxdLtlHk7_MpsUX-orl0im6XY08vupk/s1600/Continued+Claims.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZktof6L1QZAtHKM75p0a9kRBslW81e3DO12iRIwylmwL32GaOD5crglQ9iNe5hwNSvk5iw1_u0b3l3y-Yh9WvLnaxiOcDfotMGtqRsoCyfn8MtxdLtlHk7_MpsUX-orl0im6XY08vupk/s320/Continued+Claims.jpg" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">Click to enlarge.</span><br /><br /><b>January 23, 2014</b><br /><a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-23/treasuries-hold-back-to-back-drop-on-growth-fed-taper-pressure.html">U.S. 10-Year Yield Falls to Six-Week Low After Economic Reports</a><br /><br /><div style="color: #666666;"><i>Treasuries rose, pushing 10-year note yields to a six-week low, after <span style="color: red;">continuing jobless claims rose last week more than forecast</span> and a manufacturing gauge unexpectedly fell this month, reflecting an uneven economic expansion.</i></div><br />This is not investment advice. If slapping parabolic trend lines onto a series of data points could accurately predict the future then historians would all be billionaires. That said, damn. Bad chart. Bad. Bad.<br /><br /><b>Source Data:</b><br /><a href="http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/graph/?g=rgO">St. Louis Fed: Continued Claims</a>

Continued Claims

Click to enlarge. January 23, 2014 U.S. 10-Year Yield Falls to Six-Week Low After Economic Reports Treasuries rose, pushing 10-year note yie...

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Mob Wives: Sneak Peek "Eat Worms B*tch" Ep 8

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid3ppoHe3T2Hh7jCPWqeLSHP3UoJjjYhRTAmADTq1GUUJjRcmAzkuTqHXrW0uuiaADuor9tWJCqcI2-WhWJQfL_LgksoyYw6KD_VL3FaJ4tBRfROCovi6g3wFvv73olA78LlsiTWloPMI/s1600/renee+tells+off+alicia.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid3ppoHe3T2Hh7jCPWqeLSHP3UoJjjYhRTAmADTq1GUUJjRcmAzkuTqHXrW0uuiaADuor9tWJCqcI2-WhWJQfL_LgksoyYw6KD_VL3FaJ4tBRfROCovi6g3wFvv73olA78LlsiTWloPMI/s1600/renee+tells+off+alicia.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>Renee tells Alicia off! Yes!</b></div><br /><br />Well, well looks like Renee has had enough of Alicia! Join the club Renee! I don't know who Alicia thinks she is, but her inflated ego is getting knocked down a few pegs by Renee and I couldn't be happier. I am Team Renee. Renee has been nothing but supportive of Alicia and Alicia turned on her two times without reason. Let's sum up Alicia's record so far...let's see if that "innocent" act holds water! Here's my two cents worth...<br /><br />It's true I have been having a little fun on the blog at Alicia’s expense. I consider it like a “hazing” or initiation like to the Mob Wives sorority. She is the new comer and she immediately got off on the wrong foot by throwing Karen’s and her father’s name around right off the bat. It came across badly to anyone who is a fan of Karen Gravano or has a sense of right and wrong. The things she was saying weren’t true. To make matters worse, Karen wasn’t even on the show to defend herself. So that was my first impression of Alicia, and it wasn’t good.<br /><br />And then Alicia’s issues with Renee started when she heard her name mentioned on the wire tap recordings. I have a big problem with this. Alicia and Eddie were arrested three years ago and she already pled guilty before the show started filming, so WHY is she just now listening to wire taps and just learning Renee’s name was mentioned in them? Interesting.<br /><br />Then, we come across conflicting stories on the show and in the media for just about everything that concerns Alicia. She swears she did not have a clue her husband worked for the mob. Big Ang says she had to have known, his father was whacked by the mob, what else could she think?  Did she know her husband worked for the mob or not? Like Big Ang, I find it hard to believe that she was that naïve and didn’t know about it…so I think that was a LIE.<br /><br />Next she says she was arrested by the Feds for embezzling money, but swears she never “cooked the books.” The Feds have five years of wire taps recorded and she is on them. They felt there was enough evidence there to convict her of embezzlement. Alicia pled guilty to the charges, even though she still claims she is “innocent” and it was all her husband’s fault. She was the bookkeeper. She saw where the money went. I think she is guilty as charged. The innocent act sounds like a LIE.<br /><br />The Feds asked Alicia to fill out papers disclosing her income before she was cast on Mob Wives. She failed to go back and correct the disclosure when she learned she would be earning roughly $8,000 an episode or $96,000 for the season. The Feds want her to pay restitution and fines to the truckers whose pension funds she allegedly pocketed. Failure to report her Mob Wives income may appear to some as a LIE.<br /><br />Then I read about the Gucci lawsuit. According to several media stories, Gucci believed that she was selling items with their logo and passing it off as theirs. We don’t know all the details, but Alicia says they have dropped their lawsuit. Apparently, from what I gather, the boutique was selling handmade baby items adorned with little frills made with material that had designer logo patterns all over them. Maybe that’s not an infringement on their logo? Who knows? Gucci will not return my calls. I’ll give this one to Alicia.<br /><br />In her personal life, at least  on the show, she is crying a river over Eddie, who was imprisoned three years ago. One would think she “doesn’t know what to do” when he comes out. She loves him, but this was such a huge betrayal. Should she stay or go…that’s the impression I got. After all he was her one true love. Turns out, according to people in Philly, that Alicia found herself a new man very soon after Eddie’s incarceration. Alicia says he is an old family friend, there is no truth to the rumors they are “together.” Yet, people are saying he rarely leaves her side and his car is always parked outside her house. Who are we to believe, the people from Philly, the city of love, or Alicia? I’m going with the word on the Philly street, which would make Alicia’s version a LIE.<br /><br />Now for the Vegas picture and newspaper articles! According to Alicia, it’s NOT the picture that’s the problem, it’s the lies told to the newspapers about her going to visit her son in WV and then going to Vegas instead. She blames Renee for leaking the information. Why? I don’t get it. Why would Renee tell the media lies and why would the judge be upset by the content of the article? Alicia is not responsible for what the media prints or what their sources may tell them. The judge evidently knows that Alicia asked to go to Vegas, it was approved and her lawyer did not seem concerned about that. BUT, Alicia is responsible for tweeting out her own picture in a skimpy swimsuit with Drita...the picture that Alicia discussed with her attorney on the show...the picture he was concerned about because it could leave the judge with a negative image of her as a party girl and not the stay at home mom she tried to portray to the court. So, the way it was presented on the show, it leaves us to believe that the pictures were indeed the problem. The pictures that, by Alicia’s own admission, were released on her social media accounts by her. So which one is the problem…the pictures or the content of the article? Maybe neither? After all who stands to benefit from those articles? Everyone! The media, VH1, Mob Wives Producers, the cast and Alicia herself, because it has created drama for the show to film…and drama = $$$.<br /><br />Let's go to the video tape! May the best Mob Wife win!<br /><br /><div style="background-color: black; width: 520px;"><div style="padding: 4px;"><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="288" src="http://media.mtvnservices.com/embed/mgid:uma:video:vh1.com:996087/cp~channelId%3D3%26id%3D1720820%26vid%3D996087%26instance%3Dvh1%26uri%3Dmgid%3Auma%3Avideo%3Avh1.com%3A996087" width="512"></iframe></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 4px; padding: 4px; text-align: left;">Get More: <a href="http://www.vh1.com/shows/mob_wives/season_4/series.jhtml" style="color: #439cd8;" target="_blank">Mob Wives (Season 4)</a></div></div></div>

Mob Wives: Sneak Peek "Eat Worms B*tch" Ep 8

Renee tells Alicia off! Yes! Well, well looks like Renee has had enough of Alicia! Join the club Renee! I don't know who Alicia thinks s...

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Bird flu spikes in China ahead of Lunar New Year (BLOG, PICS)

<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/AVvXsEjkGqDOlfV6wZoEmbMmIKBQuGSGB6UmZzMguHYqEsjmctM_2jdCJwvY7ayOidG8g7d9hybPGHQ8Gd02A3mT9doT4Padml_uxQYvaViLpA1VrLZZPlpc1LBkqxObLGtMh2d42-To9K5XGYU/s1600/a8cc0df61ad4a003490f6a706700a590.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkGqDOlfV6wZoEmbMmIKBQuGSGB6UmZzMguHYqEsjmctM_2jdCJwvY7ayOidG8g7d9hybPGHQ8Gd02A3mT9doT4Padml_uxQYvaViLpA1VrLZZPlpc1LBkqxObLGtMh2d42-To9K5XGYU/s1600/a8cc0df61ad4a003490f6a706700a590.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390441625499_14352" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">A spate of bird flu cases since the beginning of the year in China has experts watching closely as millions of people and poultry are on the move ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday, the world's largest annual human migration.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390441625499_14366" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">For those who track influenza, the holiday, which begins Jan. 31, is always worrying because it comes during the winter months when flu typically rages. Add that to hundreds of millions of people — and often birds — crammed together on buses and other forms of transportation going home, and it's always a bit of a gamble. China estimates 3.6 billion trips will be taken over the holiday season.China has reported more than 50 H7N9 infections in 2014 after the strain jumped from birds to people for the first time last year. The virus remains hard to catch and most cases have been linked to contact with poultry, but scientists worry that could change if it mutates into a form that allows it to spread easily among people.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"This is the first winter we've seen H7N9. We are in uncharted territory," said Gregory Hartl, World Health Organization spokesman in Geneva. "We have seen an upstart in cases, which we are attributing basically to the fact that it's winter. That combined with a lot of movement of people in crowded trains with chickens could give rise to a lot more infections, but we've also seen in past years where it hasn't."</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390441625499_14321" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The first H7N9 cases were reported in late March near Shanghai, and more than 200 others have since been identified, including some 50 deaths. A 31-year-old doctor became one of the latest fatalities, raising fears he may have been infected at the hospital where he worked, but none of his patients or other close contacts have reported flu symptoms, according to the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Health and Family Planning.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390441625499_14331" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">There have been a handful of family clusters, but WHO says no sustained human-to-human transmission has occurred. However, scientists warn that the H7N9 virus contains genetic markers that could help it infect mammals easier than other avian flus. Infected birds also do not show symptoms, making it harder to track the disease. Cases declined in China over the summer, which is typically slower for influenza viruses, after some local live poultry markets were temporarily closed.</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: 24.000001907348633px; 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="2a49bedc-363f-392c-9bf5-646b2f091c2a" href="http://news.yahoo.com/photos/tuesday-jan-21-2014-photo-man-picks-chickens-photo-081715209.html" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 300px; position: relative; text-decoration: none;" title="In this Tuesday Jan. 21, 2014 photo, a man picks chickens&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="In this Tuesday Jan. 21, 2014 photo, a man picks chickens&nbsp;&hellip;" class="body-related-thumb" data-src-2x="" height="200" src="http://l2.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/XcjT2bnomOmkWKyj5ifp_g--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTIwMDtxPTc1O3c9MzAw/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/ap_webfeeds/474813771ad3a003490f6a7067009eae.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: 16.5px; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%; padding: 5px 5px 0px 0px; position: relative; width: 300px;">In this Tuesday Jan. 21, 2014 photo, a man picks chickens at a wholesale poultry market in Shanghai. …</div></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">In Hong Kong, which has logged three cases, officials will test all poultry for the virus beginning later this week. Taiwan has reported two cases.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">In past years, it was the H5N1 bird flu virus that spiked during this time of year. That strain, which has killed at least 386 people since 2003, is still circulating widely in poultry stocks and kills about 60 percent of the people it infects.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">On Tuesday, Vietnam, which has long battled the virus, confirmed its first H5N1 death in nine months. Earlier in January, the first human case was reported in North America after a person traveling back from a trip to Beijing became ill and died in Canada.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390441625499_14380" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Both bird flus cause high fever and respiratory problems, including pneumonia and shortness of breath. Scientists have repeatedly warned that the viruses cannot be ignored because of their potential to possibly spark a global pandemic. But after years of campaigning in countries where it's common for chickens and pigs to live closely with people, sometimes in the same house, that message is often a hard sell.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"After almost a decade of sitting on the proverbial edge of the H5N1 pandemic cliff and not falling off, people are beginning to think that we never will fall," Michael Osterholm, an infectious disease expert at the University of Minnesota, said by email. "But the best scientific assessment of microbial genetics tells us we could still fall off of that cliff and if we do, the global consequences could be devastating."</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Poultry is a central part of many families' dinner tables during the Lunar New Year festivities, and it's often bought live and killed at home in China and elsewhere across the region. The WHO urges care when slaughtering and preparing birds, including frequent hand washing. However, well-cooked meat and eggs do not pose a threat.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390441625499_14406" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">____</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1kEOGyqKNqRSEjSnsKDWLQCTnzM9J9CeocRNh3FrucbwPInWrKGo1lRMFubYukyGJMYvvWhtr9_bHqXqBl9A1HpYqBM49FsuIF45csEk8HCKNDwz_qxLxQoIrfENNkp41gHb2GidPY-0/s1600/474813771ad3a003490f6a7067009eae.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390441625499_14391" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">AP Medical Writer Margie Mason covers health issues across the Asia-Pacific. Follow her on Twitter: twitter.com/MargieMasonAP</div></div>

Bird flu spikes in China ahead of Lunar New Year (BLOG, PICS)

A spate of bird flu cases since the beginning of the year in China has experts watching closely as millions of people and poultry are on the...

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Carla Bruni on the pages of The Edit

<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7bsj88ERwscNQtJ0Lm2qYr02YsE4vVvJLkcqDZtOxLiumamMhxLc3dHWnZj8sl1e2zq8Zj-EO6gfQeJcga7c7KTty4Ee0YQzv_7Fet9fyJliUfE-rTtd_qVQHywtDzPoL7oMtTPbh/s1600/Carla+Bruni+on+the+pages+of+The+Edit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7bsj88ERwscNQtJ0Lm2qYr02YsE4vVvJLkcqDZtOxLiumamMhxLc3dHWnZj8sl1e2zq8Zj-EO6gfQeJcga7c7KTty4Ee0YQzv_7Fet9fyJliUfE-rTtd_qVQHywtDzPoL7oMtTPbh/s1600/Carla+Bruni+on+the+pages+of+The+Edit.jpg" /></a></div><br /><b><span style="font-size: large;">Carla Bruni:</span></b>Italo-French top model, singer, and former first lady of France once again delighted us with excellent work - stylish photo wants to examine again and again.<br /><br /><script type="text/javascript"><!-- google_ad_client = "ca-pub-8441125172513237"; /* biner3 */ google_ad_slot = "7346003106"; google_ad_width = 468; google_ad_height = 60; //--></script><script type="text/javascript" src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"></script><br /> <br /> Recall that recently celebrated its Bruni 46 years, but never looking at her and not think of this. Aristocratic beauty is admired all star!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSYFhhAnecGrkerQt51tufHcE80HZHFFF3x-LzKoa_ocjuI7jdkrFZyBOlFNHCUFI4lumjbzo-gBV6bbdqvmTVlJZRubZFZfXJsI4V00jcBvTMGxo4caxpJ8Pks76GMxJmAgaOIriK/s1600/Carla+Bruni+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Carla Bruni photo shoot " border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSYFhhAnecGrkerQt51tufHcE80HZHFFF3x-LzKoa_ocjuI7jdkrFZyBOlFNHCUFI4lumjbzo-gBV6bbdqvmTVlJZRubZFZfXJsI4V00jcBvTMGxo4caxpJ8Pks76GMxJmAgaOIriK/s1600/Carla+Bruni+1.jpg" title="Carla Bruni photo shoot " /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy6R31Xf8AvCBj13qg1Sg3mbA361vJaOxo8A3HqM4Repy4-BQNGW_oaywI8LSvawwl4OuNazO0pAfd2m1lecDi6u8AAlpd9lJ0WUTT4kwyQqk_tgbSDy2uvJPl-wBNIA6FKjOjM6hv/s1600/Carla+Bruni+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Carla Bruni photo shoot " border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy6R31Xf8AvCBj13qg1Sg3mbA361vJaOxo8A3HqM4Repy4-BQNGW_oaywI8LSvawwl4OuNazO0pAfd2m1lecDi6u8AAlpd9lJ0WUTT4kwyQqk_tgbSDy2uvJPl-wBNIA6FKjOjM6hv/s1600/Carla+Bruni+2.jpg" title="Carla Bruni photo shoot " /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEickABaPGE69-O9TxVVc6WFsRwn2UkybWKBbdJXv3AOGCMGCIpTspXFtW1Tvutffn6ytJxOOEHgP8YQmGGFYtSen_PQUT9ZB3AtvjFkka3v1mJ4Uep2Vv9HW0rmfzCKTfziJTbJJxGd/s1600/Carla+Bruni+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Carla Bruni photo shoot " border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEickABaPGE69-O9TxVVc6WFsRwn2UkybWKBbdJXv3AOGCMGCIpTspXFtW1Tvutffn6ytJxOOEHgP8YQmGGFYtSen_PQUT9ZB3AtvjFkka3v1mJ4Uep2Vv9HW0rmfzCKTfziJTbJJxGd/s1600/Carla+Bruni+3.jpg" title="Carla Bruni photo shoot " /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB3Z841jZplQvD8Kq08ZWlbI0xFyShJEJK9lhCzMXkRhGDcIjMcZkLIIEaDGJehYsIvav2Ve8rKqwcLNHK0g267fcn6V8JfX2jRSGJyTch3V6_Z2BgwtcTb8H2vV8wWH9ReJQJuJQK/s1600/Carla+Bruni+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Carla Bruni photo shoot " border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB3Z841jZplQvD8Kq08ZWlbI0xFyShJEJK9lhCzMXkRhGDcIjMcZkLIIEaDGJehYsIvav2Ve8rKqwcLNHK0g267fcn6V8JfX2jRSGJyTch3V6_Z2BgwtcTb8H2vV8wWH9ReJQJuJQK/s1600/Carla+Bruni+4.jpg" title="Carla Bruni photo shoot " /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNtOKrobWk7KWl3hyphenhyphenPXtlijMJ8vE5a5m47ritRpgqnyuUAJm3cFtv11CDdghp3tF0RfJwg9Jl7UzA1sUoknPFnZ7iTNGUT8vjmIjLdOvW168u_Lfl380KTOWMqA13VGgHkJ2n14Yt7/s1600/Carla+Bruni+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Carla Bruni photo shoot " border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNtOKrobWk7KWl3hyphenhyphenPXtlijMJ8vE5a5m47ritRpgqnyuUAJm3cFtv11CDdghp3tF0RfJwg9Jl7UzA1sUoknPFnZ7iTNGUT8vjmIjLdOvW168u_Lfl380KTOWMqA13VGgHkJ2n14Yt7/s1600/Carla+Bruni+5.jpg" title="Carla Bruni photo shoot " /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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Carla Bruni on the pages of The Edit

Carla Bruni: Italo-French top model, singer, and former first lady of France once again delighted us with excellent work - stylish photo wa...

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Justin Bieber arrested for drunk driving

<script type="text/javascript"><!-- google_ad_client = "ca-pub-8441125172513237"; /* bleu 280 */ google_ad_slot = "8164661108"; google_ad_width = 336; google_ad_height = 280; //--></script><script type="text/javascript" src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"></script><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiECOgHynDy8bx3O6_Y4ELkvPhJT39sS6zn0hbSIhVEHzBiXBCxobsXMXURSAZi8RuGgwT-Y44_zde0yWcpQf5Iip8TEKJB8N68bazrsIcm_kkrhsM_sPDeEm4AOgGLZGpkimHR-Y6Z/s1600/Justin+Bieber+arrested+for+drunk+driving.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Justin Bieber " border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiECOgHynDy8bx3O6_Y4ELkvPhJT39sS6zn0hbSIhVEHzBiXBCxobsXMXURSAZi8RuGgwT-Y44_zde0yWcpQf5Iip8TEKJB8N68bazrsIcm_kkrhsM_sPDeEm4AOgGLZGpkimHR-Y6Z/s1600/Justin+Bieber+arrested+for+drunk+driving.jpg" title="Justin Bieber " /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Justin Bieber</b> arrested - tells the world press. Singer arrested today in Miami, Florida. It is known that the cause was driving while intoxicated, as well as participation in prohibited street races. It is reported that the singer was driving a rented Lamborghini.</span> <br /> <script type="text/javascript"><!-- google_ad_client = "ca-pub-8441125172513237"; /* biner3 */ google_ad_slot = "7346003106"; google_ad_width = 468; google_ad_height = 60; //--></script><script type="text/javascript" src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"></script><br /><br /><br /> News comes tweeted Miami Beach police: officers of the law stated that more complete information will be available later. <br /> <br /> According to media reports in recent days Bieber active "club" night clubs in Miami. <br /> <br /> This is not the first scandal on account of 19-year-old artist: so the other day at his house taking the drug. Also recently turned to the police neighbor musician: he complained that Justin with friends pelted his home with eggs. <br /> <br /> Latest news was the same information that the weekend Bieber spent time at a strip club, where for One night spent 75 thousand dollars.<br /><br /><script type="text/javascript"><!-- google_ad_client = "ca-pub-8441125172513237"; /* boton */ google_ad_slot = "4392536701"; google_ad_width = 200; google_ad_height = 90; //--></script><script type="text/javascript" src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"></script>

Justin Bieber arrested for drunk driving

Justin Bieber arrested - tells the world press. Singer arrested today in Miami, Florida. It is known that the cause was driving while int...

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Detroit judge rejects request from creditors to value city art (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/AVvXsEhjvKL109DWvPlaRQfHYduYvCSSen2x3yiTEoNswnYqsLQ4W0lZd6D1NrxNUsNIckgHhSHJ1AQTD0wnE4k3pYVZYZnrXxSvFZ_eqN32GQH4nw1s5fBRXCjNPNKFOnNcTrAUR8ro2qrFdOs/s1600/2014-01-23T003316Z_1_CBREA0M01K200_RTROPTP_2_USA.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/AVvXsEhjvKL109DWvPlaRQfHYduYvCSSen2x3yiTEoNswnYqsLQ4W0lZd6D1NrxNUsNIckgHhSHJ1AQTD0wnE4k3pYVZYZnrXxSvFZ_eqN32GQH4nw1s5fBRXCjNPNKFOnNcTrAUR8ro2qrFdOs/s1600/2014-01-23T003316Z_1_CBREA0M01K200_RTROPTP_2_USA.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390441625499_10944" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">By Joseph Lichterman</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390441625499_10902" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Rhodes said he did not have the legal authority to approve the creation of the creditors' committee that would have examined the works of the Detroit Institute of Arts.DETROIT (Reuters) - The judge overseeing Detroit's bankruptcy denied a request from creditors to have an official say in valuing the city's art collection and said he will announce his decision next Tuesday on a request from Detroit retirees to block cuts to their healthcare.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390441625499_10970" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">But even if he could have legally done so, Rhodes said he would not have approved the creation of the committee because discussion of the art should wait until after Detroit submits its plan of adjustment to the court by March 1.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390441625499_10980" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Rhodes implored the city and its creditors to do their best to negotiate settlements before that deadline.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390441625499_10990" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"Now is not the time for defiant swagger or for dismissive pound-the-table-take-it-or-leave-it proposals," Rhodes said.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">He said it was critical for the city and its creditors to reach agreements that will not further cripple the city and allow it to recover financially.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"The court will not permit the confirmation of the city's plan to be another bad deal like all the other ones the city entered into of which we are now all too familiar," Rhodes said. "The plan must be feasible."</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">HEALTHCARE BURDEN</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Detroit, which filed the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history, is struggling under more than $18 billion in debt, including, it says, $5.7 billion in liabilities for healthcare and other retiree benefits.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">To deal with its healthcare burden, the city has proposed that retirees over 65 would be moved to Medicare and those under the age of 65 would be given a monthly stipend to purchase insurance through the exchanges of the Affordable Care Act.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The changes to Detroit retiree healthcare are scheduled to take place on March 1.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Attorney Sam Alberts, representing the Official Committee of Detroit Retirees, said in court Wednesday morning that the city's plan was "such a reduction in healthcare that it violates the constitution."</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">But Rhodes, who is overseeing the case, questioned why the retirees' health care claims against the city should get special treatment.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"I've got adversaries from financial creditors claiming the same special or elevated treatment," Rhodes said during the hearing Wednesday morning. "I've got the swap counterparties claiming hundreds of millions of dollars. I've got a debtor who arguably can't pay any of it. What do I do except deal with all of these claims of special treatment in the context of a plan?"</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">In response, Alberts said that "for these people who don't get healthcare, it's literally life or death."</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The healthcare cuts have been subject to mediation discussions, but Alberts said the negotiations over healthcare had "basically fallen off the table since December."</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"There has been no effort to reach an accord in the interim," Alberts said.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Mediation sessions were ongoing Tuesday and Wednesday, but those discussions, which are confidential, have been focused on the city's pension liabilities, Detroit attorney Heather Lennox said in court.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390441625499_11038" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">In his closing charge to the city and its creditors Wednesday afternoon, however, Rhodes said that in order for a plan to be feasible, the city might need to make "a fundamental and profound change" to health benefits and pensions.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390441625499_11028" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">(Reporting by Joseph Lichterman; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)</div></div>

Detroit judge rejects request from creditors to value city art (BLOG)

By Joseph Lichterman Rhodes said he did not have the legal authority to approve the creation of the creditors' committee that would have...

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Ukraine opposition sets 24-hour deadline (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/AVvXsEiFN9bW12Wr2L44nQqGh4WY6D2GFaNFJVIy5vqxkn5Y9-kcx0HkLwIevCfNzqR4DkhpOhkYoHG8n8_DY0XwGJJdJriFNrpDJIx_PAsVtAMARQ8lM04TMHpJuu3d8S1NARMZNVz8bkw7R1c/s1600/a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFN9bW12Wr2L44nQqGh4WY6D2GFaNFJVIy5vqxkn5Y9-kcx0HkLwIevCfNzqR4DkhpOhkYoHG8n8_DY0XwGJJdJriFNrpDJIx_PAsVtAMARQ8lM04TMHpJuu3d8S1NARMZNVz8bkw7R1c/s1600/a.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390441625499_7134" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian opposition leaders issued a stark ultimatum to President Viktor Yanukovych on Wednesday to call early elections within 24 hours or face more popular rage, after at least two protesters were killed in confrontations with police in a grim escalation of a two-monthlong political crisis.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390441625499_7187" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">With a central Kiev street ablaze and covered with thick black smoke from burning tires and several thousand protesters continuing to clash with riot police, opposition leaders urged tens of thousands of demonstrators in a nearby square to refrain from violence and remain in the main protest camp for the next 24 hours.The protesters' deaths, the first since the largely peaceful protests started in November, fueled fears that the daily demonstrations aimed at bringing down the government over its decision to shun the European Union for closer ties to Moscow and over human rights violations could turn more violent.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">They demanded that Yanukovych dismiss the government, call early elections and scrap harsh anti-protest legislation. It was last week's passage of the laws cracking down on protests that set off the violent clashes.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"You, Mr. President, have the opportunity to resolve this issue. Early elections will change the situation without bloodshed and we will do everything to achieve that," opposition leader Vitali Klitschko told some 40,000 people who braved freezing temperatures on Kiev's Independence Square late Wednesday.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">If Yanukovych does not concede, "tomorrow we will go forward together. And if it's a bullet in the forehead, then it's a bullet in the forehead, but in an honest, fair and brave way," declared another opposition leader, Arseniy Yatsenyuk</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: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; position: relative;"><a class="body-related-link body-related-video go-to-slideshow-lightbox rapid-noclick-resp landscape onesize get-lbdata-from-dom" data-rapid_p="8" data-uuid="4e011276-5d5a-3590-845c-e091186a13ea" href="http://news.yahoo.com/video/protesters-killed-kiev-unrest-173602991.html" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 300px; position: relative; text-decoration: none;" title="Protesters Killed in Kiev Unrest"><div class="img-wrap" style="position: relative;"><div class="cta-overlay" style="-webkit-transition: background-color 0.24s linear; font-size: 13px; height: 161px; 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;">Protesters Killed in Kiev Unrest</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;">Play video</span><span class="icon-play icon-white-play-xsmall" style="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; padding: 0px; position: absolute; text-indent: -1000em; width: 32px; z-index: 1;"></span></div><img alt="Protesters Killed in Kiev Unrest" class="body-related-thumb" data-src-2x="" height="161" src="http://l2.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/o9eyBIiwvmWQyG.o_pMZ4Q--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTE2MTtxPTc1O3c9MzAw/http://media.zenfs.com/en-GB/video/video.storyful.com/eec2506521df94369820df5db9b36e31" 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><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Yanukovych has showed little willingness to compromise, however. A three-hour meeting with opposition leaders accomplished "nothing," said Oleh Tyahbnybok, who attended the session.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Meanwhile, the government handed security forces extra powers, including closing off streets and firing water cannon against protesters despite the freezing temperatures. Police have already used water cannon but insisted it was only to put out fires. The government also deployed an armored personnel carrier at the site of the clashes.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">During Wednesday's confrontations, riot police violently beat and shot at protesters, volunteer medics and journalists. The Interior Ministry announced that 70 protesters had been arrested.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said the police did not have live ammunition and that opposition leaders should be held responsible for the deaths.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390441625499_7206" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">City health officials and police said that two people died of gunshot wounds during the clashes Wednesday morning, while the opposition contended as many as five people died. Oleh Musiy, coordinator of the protesters' medical corps, told the Associated Press that four people died of gunshot wounds and the fifth died after falling from a colonnaded gate at a sports arena near the site of the clashes. Health officials contend that man survived and is in the hospital. Hundreds of others were injured in the clashes, Musiy 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: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; position: relative;"><a class="body-related-link body-related-video go-to-slideshow-lightbox rapid-noclick-resp landscape onesize get-lbdata-from-dom" data-rapid_p="9" data-uuid="bbad6afb-e3f7-3db6-a9aa-72fa8224c021" href="http://news.yahoo.com/video/outside-view-kiev-protest-standoff-165110073.html" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 300px; position: relative; text-decoration: none;" title="Outside View of Kiev Protest Standoff"><div class="img-wrap" style="position: relative;"><div class="cta-overlay" style="-webkit-transition: background-color 0.24s linear; font-size: 13px; height: 161px; 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;">Outside View of Kiev Protest Standoff</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;">Play video</span><span class="icon-play icon-white-play-xsmall" style="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; padding: 0px; position: absolute; text-indent: -1000em; width: 32px; z-index: 1;"></span></div><img alt="Outside View of Kiev Protest Standoff" class="body-related-thumb" data-src-2x="" height="161" src="http://l3.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/foeaJ4uNYNrwS.k4CZBXaA--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTE2MTtxPTc1O3c9MzAw/http://media.zenfs.com/en-GB/video/video.storyful.com/5fe52b66243023d3d23e7b5227a47e08" 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><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Meanwhile, another protester, Yuri Verbitsky, was found dead in a forest outside Kiev on Wednesday, according to his niece Oksana Verbitska. His friends and supporters believe he was kidnapped.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The United States responded by revoking the visas of Ukrainian officials linked to violence and threatened more sanctions. But it also condemned the extreme-right radical protesters for their aggressive actions. The EU condemned the violence and said it was also considering action against the Ukrainian government.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">One of the victims was identified as Sergei Nigoyan, a 20-year-old ethnic Armenian who joined the protests in December after traveling from his home in the eastern city of Dnipropetrovsk. A video shows Nigoyan reciting poetry in the protest camp in Kiev's Independence Square, also known as the Maidan. He then clenched his fist in a victory sign as a yellow-and-blue Ukrainian flag flapped in the background.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">A Ukrainian journalist, Kristina Berdinskikh, who has been profiling protesters for several weeks, interviewed Nigoyan in early January.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"I saw on TV what is happening on the Maidan, I didn't sleep at night, I was following the news," Nagoyan said, according to a transcript of the interview posted online. "Then I decided to come. This is also my future."</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: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; position: relative;"><a class="body-related-link body-related-video go-to-slideshow-lightbox rapid-noclick-resp landscape onesize get-lbdata-from-dom" data-rapid_p="10" data-uuid="0569dbe6-f402-3748-8f5e-5a31f048e963" href="http://news.yahoo.com/video/clashes-turn-deadly-ukraine-39-142632819.html" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 300px; position: relative; text-decoration: none;" title="Clashes Turn Deadly in Ukraine&#39;s Capital Kiev"><div class="img-wrap" style="position: relative;"><div class="cta-overlay" style="-webkit-transition: background-color 0.24s linear; font-size: 13px; height: 161px; 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;">Clashes Turn Deadly in Ukraine's Capital Kiev</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;">Play video</span><span class="icon-play icon-white-play-xsmall" style="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; padding: 0px; position: absolute; text-indent: -1000em; width: 32px; z-index: 1;"></span></div><img alt="Clashes Turn Deadly in Ukraine&#39;s Capital Kiev" class="body-related-thumb" data-src-2x="" height="161" src="http://l3.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/UEoPB.8WfxtKCCo6g8VesQ--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTE2MTtxPTc1O3c9MzAw/http://media.zenfs.com/en-GB/video/video.storyful.com/ecf9f9793433351af85b36de5112af7e" 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><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390441625499_7215" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The mass protests erupted after Yanukovych spurned a pact with the European Union in favor of close ties with Russia, which offered him a $15 billion bailout. They swelled to hundreds of thousands after a small peaceful rally on Nov. 30 was violently broken up by police.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Seeing the government ignore their demands and opposition leaders unable to present a coherent plan or select a single leader, radical protesters have clashed with riot police since Sunday, hurling fire bombs and stones as police fired back with tear gas, stun grenades and rubber bullets.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The two victims' bodies were found before police moved to tear down protesters' barricades near official buildings in central Kiev and chase demonstrators away.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Helmeted riot police moved in on hundreds of protesters, dismantling barricades, beating many with truncheons and firing shots at some. One man was attacked by over a dozen policemen, then forced to take off his winter jacket before being dragged away, where he was beaten again.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The police drove demonstrators down a hill toward the main protest site on Independence Square, where protesters have set up an extensive tent camp and rallied around the clock since Nov. 21. But the protesters soon returned, building barricades from giant sacks of snow and hurling rocks and firebombs at police lines. There was no immediate police move on the main camp.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Oleksandr Turchynov, one of the opposition leaders, called on Ukrainians to rush to the center of Kiev to defend their country. "Ukraine will not be a dictatorship, it will be an independent, European country," he said. "Let us defend Ukraine!"</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The protests were the biggest since the peaceful 2004 Orange Revolution, which annulled Yanukovych's fraud-tinged victory in a presidential election and forced a new vote that brought his pro-Western rival to power. Largely peaceful, the rallies turned violent after Yanukovych, elected in 2010, pushed through sweeping anti-protest legislation and ignored all the protesters' demands. The deaths mark a turning point in the standoff that could lead to more violence.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390441625499_7230" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"Look, the deaths and the injuries speak to the actions of those in power. They've crossed the line," said Andriy Kolosovich, a 20-year-old protester who was injured in the legs by a stun grenade and was being treated in a medical unit set up by the protesters.</div></div>

Ukraine opposition sets 24-hour deadline (BLOG)

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian opposition leaders issued a stark ultimatum to President Viktor Yanukovych on Wednesday to call early electio...

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5% Interest Rates and $500 Gold! Hahaha!

The following chart shows the natural log of the quarterly average of the 10-year treasury yield. When using natural logs, constant exponential growth (or decay) is seen as a straight line.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqs4pT6dqIflrJnCoUlxfrhzYeldFa4H8gm6q3aUTBeUPNqtii2kD1UHokIT7jEsJWklP-qR5lS6WpTjbG6kaf0xeLiJFv1HmK4M6whYDkLIxyB0IIEn0ZF9t83ai2Chqu4cZ_QBabtTE/s1600/The+Rising+Interest+Rate+Environment+v.2.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqs4pT6dqIflrJnCoUlxfrhzYeldFa4H8gm6q3aUTBeUPNqtii2kD1UHokIT7jEsJWklP-qR5lS6WpTjbG6kaf0xeLiJFv1HmK4M6whYDkLIxyB0IIEn0ZF9t83ai2Chqu4cZ_QBabtTE/s320/The+Rising+Interest+Rate+Environment+v.2.jpg" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">Click to enlarge.</span><br /><br />I have added a parabolic trend channel in red that uses the data points shown in red. I have also added a parabolic trend in blue that uses all of the data points. Note that the correlation of the blue trend line is 0.89.<br /><br />The long-term trend shows that the 10-year treasury yield has been decaying (not exactly rocket science here). It's not a pure exponential decay though. Since a parabola fits the data extremely well, I think the best way to describe it is as an exponential decay trend that has been accelerating to the downside. In other words, it has been exponentially decaying at a faster and faster rate. Hello Japan?<br /><br />I know past performance is not necessarily indicative of the future, but where is the actual evidence that we are in a long-term rising interest rate environment? (And not just a short-term cyclical bounce within a declining trend channel?)<br /><br />You may be wondering why I singled out the 5% interest rate target in the chart (with a natural log of 1.61). Well, wonder no more! It is inspired by the financial "experts" at MSN Money. Long time readers know that I'm not all that bullish on inflation adjusted gold prices at these levels, but I believe that the following article is a study in ridiculousness. I am therefore willing to place a "gold bug" hat on my head, if only for a day. You know, it's just an effort to balance things out a bit.<br /><br /><b>January 22, 2014</b><br /><a href="http://money.msn.com/top-stocks/post--how-gold-can-fall-below-dollar500-an-ounce">MSN Money: How gold could fall below $500 an ounce</a><br /><br /><div style="color: #666666;"><i>If the 10-year Treasury yield rises to 5 percent, gold will fall to $471 an ounce.</i></div><br />If ifs and buts were candy and nuts then we'd all have a Merry Christmas. What hubris! The price of gold is pegged to 3 digits of "scientific" precision. All you need to know is a future long-term nominal interest rate? Forehead. Desk. Whack. Whack. Whack.<br /><br /><div style="color: #666666;"><i>To be sure, a comprehensive model of gold's price needs to include more than just interest rates.</i></div><br />You think? Yeah, inflation might be a good backup plan if nominal interest rates aren't enough I suppose. For example, if inflation is running at 10% and the 10-year treasury yields 5% then I think we can pretty much forget about $500 gold. Call me silly if you must. (This is not a prediction that we will see 10% inflation and 5% interest rates of course. It's just an example.)<br /><br /><div style="color: #666666;"><i>But, according to Claude Erb, who conducted these statistical analyses, we should not be too quick to reject his simple "behavioral" model relating gold's price to the 10-Year Treasury yield.</i></div><br />I wish you could have seen how quick I was to reject his simpleminded "behavioral" model. It may have even been a personal best! Unfortunately, I did not have a stopwatch at the time. And even if I had a stopwatch handy, I'm 49 years old and my reflexes aren't what they once were. I'm therefore not entirely sure I could have accurately timed such a short period to 3 digits of "scientific" precision.<br /><br /><div style="color: #666666;"><i>In the case of the gold-interest rate correlation over the last decade, Erb told me in an interview, the r-squared is a very high 0.78. ( Click here for a summary of his findings. )<br /><br />Most correlations on Wall Street don’t come anywhere close to being that high. Indeed, many of the drugs that get FDA approval have lower r-squareds between their use and positive medical outcomes.</i></div><br />Wow! 10 years of cherry picked data offered up a very high 0.78! Color me impressed. Of course, it is based on the premise that my 28 years of cherry picked data (as seen in the chart above) with a much higher 0.89 correlation has to fail spectacularly before his prediction even kicks in. In order to get to 5% interest rates, the natural log needs to rise to 1.61 on my chart. That is well outside the channel and well removed from the blue trend line. It would indeed be a spectacular fail. Could it happen? Of course it will, someday. That someday could be a very, very long time from now though. And in the meantime, who really knows what gold will be doing?<br /><br />So, in the battle between cherry picked data sets, who are you going to believe? The very highly correlated 10 year model for gold's price that does not concern itself with inflation or the extremely highly correlated 28 year model of long-term interest rates that has a certain Japanese housing bust feel to it?<br /><br />Put another way, if one assumes that we are in a rising interest rate environment when we very well might not be, then all kinds of crazy predictions are possible. Why stop at 5% interest rates? What will gold's price be if interest rates hit 50%? Better not tell me $47.10 or I will laugh my motherf#$%ing @$$ off! Seriously, lol.<br /><br />This is not investment advice. I'm simply offering up an alternative theory for where interest rates are headed that matches my own beliefs. It is not proof of anything. If I had a crystal ball that could accurately predict the future, then I certainly wouldn't spend time making charts or offering up gold price predictions with a whopping 3 digits of "scientific" precision. Now would I? No, sir. I'm compelled to heckle instead. It might even be a disease. Please, for the love of all that's holy, someone help me stop! :)<br /><br /><b>See Also:</b><br /><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-pulp-fiction-of-rising-interest.html">The Pulp Fiction of Rising Interest Rates</a><br /><br /><b>Source Data:</b><br /><a href="http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/graph/?g=rgs">St. Louis Fed: Custom Chart</a>

5% Interest Rates and $500 Gold! Hahaha!

The following chart shows the natural log of the quarterly average of the 10-year treasury yield. When using natural logs, constant exponent...

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Angelina Jolie plans a new operation

<script type="text/javascript"><!-- google_ad_client = "ca-pub-8441125172513237"; /* bleu 280 */ google_ad_slot = "8164661108"; google_ad_width = 336; google_ad_height = 280; //--></script><script type="text/javascript" src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"></script><br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>A</b></span><span style="font-size: large;"><b>ngelina Jolie</b> - the perfect woman with many sides. She is also a talented actress, and an exemplary mother, and UN goodwill ambassador and simply beautiful. However, not all of a suit Jolie. Actress decided that her hands do not look aesthetically pleasing, in connection with what she wants to do an operation to correct hands. Vienna Angelina strongly convex and surgery hide this shortcoming.</span><br /><br /><script type="text/javascript"><!-- google_ad_client = "ca-pub-8441125172513237"; /* biner3 */ google_ad_slot = "7346003106"; google_ad_width = 468; google_ad_height = 60; //--></script><script type="text/javascript" src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"></script><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAxbiwZL1OVoU8LGAkmhQ9sfZ33H4B_5CbToP0b_C5GMKqBv8TP_UyuaHMuj9vD_acw27Za7pTceuHUpS1rlRBmf5GfUIuCHHP_q5oEGsYiS0uB1yiqiYz1BIdTMch0Tt97_e8KuIN/s1600/Angelina+Jolie+plans+a+new+operation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAxbiwZL1OVoU8LGAkmhQ9sfZ33H4B_5CbToP0b_C5GMKqBv8TP_UyuaHMuj9vD_acw27Za7pTceuHUpS1rlRBmf5GfUIuCHHP_q5oEGsYiS0uB1yiqiYz1BIdTMch0Tt97_e8KuIN/s1600/Angelina+Jolie+plans+a+new+operation.jpg" /></a></div><br />Why actress conceived to carry out such a procedure is not yet clear. But in Hollywood already rumors that the 39-year-old <b><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2013/05/angelina-jolies-aunt-died-from-breast.html" target="_blank">Angelina Jolie</a></b> getting ready to marry Brad Pitt and wants everything to be perfect on this day, and to start to tidy up their appearance: "Angie always complexed about their hands. They seemed to her bony, and in addition to this - strongly bulging veins. Jolie already chose a wedding dress without sleeves and the last thing she wants - it look like a freak in the pictures "(vocabulary saved). <br /> <br /> Approximate the actress people say that Angelina operation is not necessary. She stands just a bit to gain weight, then wrists will not be as noticeable. But, with such dedication to the job as she is unlikely to get better, "Jolie every time with his head immersed in work and often simply forget to eat. It seems that it is absolutely not necessary. " Actress also believes that its thinness gives her sexuality and unlikely to follow the advice of others ". <br /> <br /> Seems Angelina really have no choice other than surgery. We wish good luck to the actress for completing the procedure.<br /><br /><script type="text/javascript"><!-- google_ad_client = "ca-pub-8441125172513237"; /* boton */ google_ad_slot = "4392536701"; google_ad_width = 200; google_ad_height = 90; //--></script><script type="text/javascript" src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"></script>

Angelina Jolie plans a new operation

A ngelina Jolie - the perfect woman with many sides. She is also a talented actress, and an exemplary mother, and UN goodwill ambassador ...

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Lawyers: Case against ex-Va. governor no slam dunk (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/AVvXsEjjwDOBVNY8S8-zymZaFfWZml0rYi7npdnz-Vx01Sgb9z7M02GdlS-3wG1caxXB20GTuprqGiGcxPNA-yQb-GbxXkMpof3kN_aCVolopva8ZrLjkPNfQ995adEcTXrYOLoAP94Mo7D2rpI/s1600/11.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/AVvXsEjjwDOBVNY8S8-zymZaFfWZml0rYi7npdnz-Vx01Sgb9z7M02GdlS-3wG1caxXB20GTuprqGiGcxPNA-yQb-GbxXkMpof3kN_aCVolopva8ZrLjkPNfQ995adEcTXrYOLoAP94Mo7D2rpI/s1600/11.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390441625499_4725" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell and his wife are accused of taking at least $165,000 in loans and gifts to help the chief executive of a health supplement company peddle his products. But proving the couple broke the law may be difficult.</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: 17.307693481445313px; margin: 0px 0px 1.1em 10px; max-width: 300px;"><div class="yom-remote"><div class="" id="mediacontentrelatedstory_container"></div></div></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390441625499_4783" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Legal experts say the case hinges on whether prosecutors can show that McDonnell agreed to provide specific favors in exchange for the gifts, a tough task given the fine line between what is illegal versus what is unseemly. And prosecutors will need to prove the McDonnells abused their positions and conspired together to sell their influence.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390441625499_4793" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"The indictment, as I read it, points to a lot of smoke, but I don't see any fire," said Peter White, a defense lawyer and former federal prosecutor in Virginia.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">If the gifts-for-favors theory doesn't stick, prosecutors can still secure convictions if they prove the McDonnells tried to hide the loans and their relationship and dealings with Jonnie Williams, the former head of Star Scientific.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">A 14-court indictment Tuesday accused the couple of accepting gifts such as a Rolex watch, a Ferrari ride and a spa resort vacation. Prosecutors said the couple in turn promoted Star Scientific's products and gave special treatment to Williams, including arranging for him to meet a state health official. The couple also opened up the Executive Mansion for a launch party for the company's signature product.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">An arraignment and bail hearing is set for Friday.</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: 24.000001907348633px; 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="27e02ed5-dfbf-3190-911b-72bc5c989e6a" href="http://news.yahoo.com/photos/former-virginia-gov-bob-mcdonnell-makes-statement-wife-photo-030524644.html" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 300px; position: relative; text-decoration: none;" title="Former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell makes a statement&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: 214px; 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="Former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell makes a statement&nbsp;&hellip;" class="body-related-thumb" data-src-2x="" height="214" src="http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/TmUvg4EZBaTsJIiZkufZoQ--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTIxNDtxPTc1O3c9MzAw/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/ap_webfeeds/85140f6d194a9903490f6a70670087f8.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: 16.5px; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%; padding: 5px 5px 0px 0px; position: relative; width: 300px;">Former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell makes a statement as his wife, Maureen, listens during a news con …</div></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The McDonnells and their attorneys have launched a counteroffensive, saying the former governor and first lady did nothing for Star Scientific that they wouldn't have done for any other company.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The gifts weren't bribes, McDonnell's lawyers said, because the governor never gave Williams anything that wasn't a routine courtesy doled out by every politician.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">McDonnell's legal team focused on gifts received by U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, a Democrat who was Virginia's governor from 2006 to 2010. According to court records and published media accounts, those gifts included use of a private Caribbean island called "Mustique" from James B. Murray Jr., an investor who Kaine reappointed to a state commission on higher education board appointments.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">A Kaine spokeswoman said the senator was confident he followed ethics laws.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The defense said the decision to charge McDonnell was not much better than the Roman Emperor Caligula, who "imprisoned people for violating laws written in tiny lettering on a pillar too high to see."</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: 24.000001907348633px; 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="d13e1da9-ea70-3c57-9cb7-e4ceae389a9b" href="http://news.yahoo.com/photos/former-virginia-gov-bob-mcdonnell-makes-statement-wife-photo-091948409.html" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 300px; position: relative; text-decoration: none;" title="Former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell makes a statement&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: 355px; 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="Former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell makes a statement&nbsp;&hellip;" class="body-related-thumb" data-src-2x="" height="355" src="http://l1.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/vm0Sw.woed0.OTECWCNnwQ--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTM1NTtxPTc1O3c9MzAw/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/ap_webfeeds/44f2af1d19fd9c03490f6a70670053a7.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: 16.5px; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%; padding: 5px 5px 0px 0px; position: relative; width: 300px;">Former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell makes a statement as his wife, Maureen, listens during a news con …</div></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">One problem for prosecutors may be showing McDonnell took official actions to help the company. Courts have generally understood this as introducing legislation or ensuring a person or company is awarded a contract, White said. Arranging a meeting, or hosting an event, don't fall into the same category, he said.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"If it is the case that hosting an event at the governor's mansion is an official act, which I guess they believe is the case, that's going to change how politics is practiced wildly in the country," White said.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">McDonnell, a once rising star in the Republican Party who had been seen as a possible running mate for Mitt Romney, was limited to one, four-year term and left office earlier this month. The investigation has crippled his political future and sullied the reputation of a leader who had won praise for bipartisan appeal.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The indictment portrays Maureen McDonnell as a central driver in the relationship, telling Williams, for instance, that she needed a dress for the inauguration and asking him to buy a Rolex watch her husband. Her lawyers can argue that as an unelected official, she didn't have any direct executive power, though prosecutors may have overcome that hurdle by charging the McDonnells together in a conspiracy.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Several counts of the indictment were brought under the anti-fraud "honest services" law, which the Supreme Court in 2010 weakened considerably in the case against former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling. The court appeared to limit the law, which defense lawyers had long criticized as overly vague, to cases where bribes or kickbacks were paid.</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: 24.000001907348633px; 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="10" data-uuid="16f19b9d-9d4f-3dae-a294-ff3649fc088c" href="http://news.yahoo.com/photos/former-virginia-gov-bob-mcdonnell-makes-statement-wife-photo-030524555.html" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 300px; position: relative; text-decoration: none;" title="Former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell makes a statement&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: 227px; 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="Former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell makes a statement&nbsp;&hellip;" class="body-related-thumb" data-src-2x="" height="227" src="http://l3.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/AMX.JE8vYg9tg_XOM.jkJA--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTIyNztxPTc1O3c9MzAw/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/ap_webfeeds/eac8ef9d19489803490f6a706700c5cb.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: 16.5px; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%; padding: 5px 5px 0px 0px; position: relative; width: 300px;">Former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell makes a statement as his wife, Maureen, listens during a news con …</div></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"Clearly, if the government can tie a gift to an expectation with respect to a specific act, that is going to be sufficient to make out the charge of honest services," said Barry Pollack, a white-collar defense attorney in Washington. "But if all they're able to do is to show that when the gifts were made, Gov. McDonnell intended that he would provide some general consideration in return — but no specific act was in mind — that may or may not be sufficient."</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Barbara Van Gelder, a criminal defense attorney, said a quid-pro-quo doesn't have to be a direct exchange if prosecutors can show that a "stream of benefits" intended to influence actions changed hands.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"They don't have to say that on 'x' day, my kids went golfing, and 2 days later, I let them use the governor's mansion. It can be far more amorphous than that," she said.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Apart from the quid-pro-quo theory, prosecutors accused Maureen McDonnell of lying to investigators about the date she met Williams. She also tried to impede the investigation by sending Williams a handwritten note to make it appear as if they had a standing agreement for her to return certain luxury gifts, the indictment said.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The former governor is accused of failing to disclose loans from Williams on loan paperwork.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Such charges, typically less cumbersome to prove than outright bribery, are useful for the government to argue a pattern of dishonesty. Or they can help convince a jury that there are grounds for some sort of conviction in cases where juries "don't want to let these people walk completely," said defense lawyer William Lawler.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390441625499_4819" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">___</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390441625499_4809" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Tucker reported from Washington.</div></div>

Lawyers: Case against ex-Va. governor no slam dunk (BLOG)

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell and his wife are accused of taking at least $165,000 in loans and gifts to help the ...

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Kim Kardashian pays the tailor to 5000 dollars a day

<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_sb-brnwLQx-oZ4LIjdbY3EVYQu7WgJFanMFMU8DffcE8AZBp6D0ROI1s_BrmMHFnOKZCj8pf6cyGugOlW1rZQWXGI05hkp5u1CkndVgbZ4kbCijLgxilbJzo5b1bPK7NEEtoj2iX/s1600/Kim+Kardashian+pays+the+tailor+to+5000+dollars+a+day.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Kim Kardashian pays the tailor to 5000 dollars a day" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_sb-brnwLQx-oZ4LIjdbY3EVYQu7WgJFanMFMU8DffcE8AZBp6D0ROI1s_BrmMHFnOKZCj8pf6cyGugOlW1rZQWXGI05hkp5u1CkndVgbZ4kbCijLgxilbJzo5b1bPK7NEEtoj2iX/s1600/Kim+Kardashian+pays+the+tailor+to+5000+dollars+a+day.jpg" title="Kim Kardashian pays the tailor to 5000 dollars a day" /></a></div><br /><br /><h3><b><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/search/label/Kim%20Kardashian" target="_blank">Kim Kardashian</a></b> often buys things bigger: the owner of a narrow waist, buttocks volume and short legs can not find ready-made jeans with a perfect fit. </h3><br /><script type="text/javascript"><!-- google_ad_client = "ca-pub-8441125172513237"; /* biner3 */ google_ad_slot = "7346003106"; google_ad_width = 468; google_ad_height = 60; //--></script><script type="text/javascript" src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"></script><br /><br /> Logically, the reality TV star stylist Cornelius Clay hired at a salary of 3000 pounds Day: Kim and Kanye can call him at any time and ask for a "fit" thing on the figure. <br /> <br /> Source Grazia magazine reports: <br /> <br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"> This means that Kim can buy jeans, take in them, and a few hours later it had already photographed them. </blockquote><br /> curious that Kardashian even have to redo your own collection of jeans Kardashian Kollection. <br /> <br /> insider continues: <br /> <br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"> Kim 4th American waist size and 10th thigh size, so she has to buy things a size larger to take in their waist. Her height of 159 centimeters, so too is shortened sleeve.<br /> <br /> Kim spends thousands of dollars on jeans. But most importantly - they are perfect to sit on it. Yes, it can take advantage of free services in the store Neiman Marcus, but Kim and Kanye felt that the result may not meet their expectations.<br /> <br /> Cornelius can make jeans for 50 pounds is that they are not otlichsh of couture. </blockquote><br /><br /> add that Kim Kardashian and her mother Kris Jenner will soon launch a children's clothing line, as reported yesterday in Jenner Instagram. <br /> <br /> Note stylist Clay himself claims that his idols are Nicki Minaj and Anna Dello Russo.<br /><br /><br /><center><script async src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script><!-- bleu 280 --><ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:inline-block;width:336px;height:280px" data-ad-client="ca-pub-8441125172513237" data-ad-slot="8164661108"></ins><script>(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); </script></center><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuQ8aUfJE9VdOu1I2KerHuwcMj6JPCr1-NWOTOvrld39_Jdm8sJttUOpP73VKadUITrg4qoPuFdRpUNwbmZ9RSiVJsFTQwkHLp8hfJIt4bdG-NYUH47ffO1Q7pHFSjn5-J0GvNL6He/s1600/Kim+Kardashian+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Kim Kardashian " border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuQ8aUfJE9VdOu1I2KerHuwcMj6JPCr1-NWOTOvrld39_Jdm8sJttUOpP73VKadUITrg4qoPuFdRpUNwbmZ9RSiVJsFTQwkHLp8hfJIt4bdG-NYUH47ffO1Q7pHFSjn5-J0GvNL6He/s1600/Kim+Kardashian+1.jpg" title="Kim Kardashian " /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdXPbJ4zW7s1hQPicZfuQSjrI3oXj0qtllBn6048FTZZhhXl7FJTF0lQcZ9bV8UmJ6zE6IOdk4_2sW4VtOSbllkKZr3KIRQfoaFw3QqiugWVDiIK25tTqGmXe_whaw48TjapbMKahO/s1600/Kim+Kardashian+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Kim Kardashian " border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdXPbJ4zW7s1hQPicZfuQSjrI3oXj0qtllBn6048FTZZhhXl7FJTF0lQcZ9bV8UmJ6zE6IOdk4_2sW4VtOSbllkKZr3KIRQfoaFw3QqiugWVDiIK25tTqGmXe_whaw48TjapbMKahO/s1600/Kim+Kardashian+2.jpg" title="Kim Kardashian " /></a></div><br /><script type="text/javascript"><!-- google_ad_client = "ca-pub-8441125172513237"; /* boton */ google_ad_slot = "4392536701"; google_ad_width = 200; google_ad_height = 90; //--></script><script type="text/javascript" src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"></script>

Kim Kardashian pays the tailor to 5000 dollars a day

Kim Kardashian often buys things bigger: the owner of a narrow waist, buttocks volume and short legs can not find ready-made jeans with a ...

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