Obama warns S. Sudan against military coup (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/AVvXsEg-PYNqJ_KTaW6REN9RzUPlqQGPM71vYmO1u2j9QBt1Op4rKiUAdgxZ0hvrMCawIHyd64PsqJbeswb9gl1Nt5O1_82-wmTuRlt4yvYyBlLP1Iwo-CiWboWGpDqepSZhaSynPO5bGD082ew/s1600/329a01422a1b1f5c7373702a040df5105d4d12d7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-PYNqJ_KTaW6REN9RzUPlqQGPM71vYmO1u2j9QBt1Op4rKiUAdgxZ0hvrMCawIHyd64PsqJbeswb9gl1Nt5O1_82-wmTuRlt4yvYyBlLP1Iwo-CiWboWGpDqepSZhaSynPO5bGD082ew/s320/329a01422a1b1f5c7373702a040df5105d4d12d7.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1387684436045_8255" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Washington (AFP) - President Barack Obama warned South Sudan on Saturday that Washington and its allies would cut aid to the country over any attempted military coup, amid growing fears of civil war.</div><div class="body-slot-mod" style="background-color: white; clear: right; float: right; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 1.1em 10px; max-width: 300px;"><div class="yom-remote"><div class="" id="mediacontentrelatedstory_container"><br /><section class="yom-mod " data-ylk="mid:mediacontentrelatedstory;mpos:1;elm:hdln;elmt:ct;cat:Related Stories;rspns:nav;t1:a3;itc:0;sec:lst-ct;" id="mediacontentrelatedstory" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><div class="yom-related-story-module story" style="font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 40px;"><div class="hd"><h2 style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">Related Stories</h2></div><div class="bd"><div class="latest-content-inline"><ul style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><li class="list-item story" data-uuid="6a3cff8b-916b-3297-ba27-d16921701404" style="display: block; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 10px; overflow: hidden; position: relative; zoom: 1;"><a data-rapid_p="8" data-ylk="itc:0;tar:news.yahoo.com;ct:1;sec:lst-ct;cpos:1;test:;g:6a3cff8b-916b-3297-ba27-d16921701404;pkgt:2;prov:Associated Press;" href="http://news.yahoo.com/obama-keeps-eye-tense-situation-south-sudan-212342990--politics.html" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; margin-right: 6px; text-decoration: none;">Obama keeps eye on tense situation in South Sudan</a> <span class="source" style="color: #1e7d8e;">Associated Press</span></li><li class="list-item story" data-uuid="a793da45-f271-3019-92f7-9984c12d9ec1" style="display: block; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 10px; overflow: hidden; position: relative; zoom: 1;"><a data-rapid_p="9" data-ylk="itc:0;tar:news.yahoo.com;ct:1;sec:lst-ct;cpos:2;test:;g:a793da45-f271-3019-92f7-9984c12d9ec1;pkgt:2;prov:Reuters;" href="http://news.yahoo.com/obama-warns-south-sudan-u-military-aircraft-attacked-213242080.html" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; margin-right: 6px; text-decoration: none;">Obama warns South Sudan after U.S. military aircraft attacked</a> <span class="source" style="color: #1e7d8e;">Reuters</span></li><li class="list-item story" data-uuid="3784123a-7e25-310a-8c30-0a083dde9b6a" style="display: block; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 10px; overflow: hidden; position: relative; zoom: 1;"><a data-rapid_p="10" data-ylk="itc:0;tar:news.yahoo.com;ct:1;sec:lst-ct;cpos:3;test:;g:3784123a-7e25-310a-8c30-0a083dde9b6a;pkgt:2;prov:AFP;" href="http://news.yahoo.com/us-aircraft-shot-south-sudan-sources-002900023.html" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; margin-right: 6px; text-decoration: none;">Obama warns South Sudan after US servicemen wounded</a> <span class="source" style="color: #1e7d8e;">AFP</span></li><li class="list-item story" data-uuid="3dbe2bbf-364a-3d92-a0b6-bff3799b1081" style="display: block; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 10px; overflow: hidden; position: relative; zoom: 1;"><a data-rapid_p="11" data-ylk="itc:0;tar:news.yahoo.com;ct:1;sec:lst-ct;cpos:4;test:;g:3dbe2bbf-364a-3d92-a0b6-bff3799b1081;pkgt:2;prov:Associated Press;" href="http://news.yahoo.com/3-us-military-aircraft-hit-sudan-4-wounded-164730096.html" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; margin-right: 6px; text-decoration: none;">3 US military aircraft hit in S. Sudan, 4 wounded</a><span class="source" style="color: #1e7d8e;">Associated Press</span></li><li class="list-item story" data-uuid="9c72694b-126c-3e43-ab8c-528667ecbd05" style="display: block; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 10px; overflow: hidden; position: relative; zoom: 1;"><a data-rapid_p="12" data-ylk="itc:0;tar:news.yahoo.com;ct:1;sec:lst-ct;cpos:5;test:;g:9c72694b-126c-3e43-ab8c-528667ecbd05;pkgt:2;prov:AFP;" href="http://news.yahoo.com/us-sends-envoy-violence-plagued-sudan-031502262.html" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; margin-right: 6px; text-decoration: none;">US sends envoy to violence-plagued South Sudan</a><span class="source" style="color: #1e7d8e;">AFP</span></li></ul></div></div></div></section></div></div></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1387684436045_8277" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">And top US diplomat John Kerry called South Sudanese President Salva Kiir to stress that the renewed violence endangers the independence of the young nation born in July 2011 with backing from the United States, breaking away from Sudan after a five-decade struggle.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1387684436045_8287" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Obama also urged South Sudan's leaders to help protect US personnel and citizens in the conflict-ravaged country, after American military aircraft were hit, wounding four servicemembers.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Three US military Osprey aircraft came under fire as they headed to the rebel-held city of Bor in Jonglei state to help evacuate Americans, the Pentagon said.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">All four wounded servicemembers were in "stable condition," it added. The targeted Bell Boeing CV-22 Ospreys are hybrid tiltrotor aircraft that can take off vertically like a helicopter but resemble a normal plane in flight.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Obama was updated about the incident aboard Air Force One as he landed overnight in Hawaii for his Christmas vacation.</div><div class="body-related" style="background-color: white; clear: right; float: right; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; position: relative;"><a class="body-related-link body-related-image go-to-slideshow-lightbox rapid-noclick-resp landscape onesize get-lbdata-from-dom" data-rapid_p="13" data-uuid="765b6539-835a-3bee-8a2b-871011b333b1" href="http://news.yahoo.com/photos/us-army-soldier-stands-guard-us-army-aircraft-photo-184349773.html" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 300px; position: relative; text-decoration: none;" title="A US army soldier stands guard as a US army aircraft&nbsp;&hellip;"></a><br /><div class="img-wrap" style="position: relative;"><div class="cta-overlay" style="-webkit-transition: background-color 0.24s linear; font-size: 13px; height: 221px; left: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; transition: background-color 0.24s linear; width: 300px;"><a class="body-related-link body-related-image go-to-slideshow-lightbox rapid-noclick-resp landscape onesize get-lbdata-from-dom" data-rapid_p="13" data-uuid="765b6539-835a-3bee-8a2b-871011b333b1" href="http://news.yahoo.com/photos/us-army-soldier-stands-guard-us-army-aircraft-photo-184349773.html" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 300px; position: relative; text-decoration: none;" title="A US army soldier stands guard as a US army aircraft&nbsp;&hellip;"><span class="clearfix title cta-text medium" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.24s linear; 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cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 300px; position: relative; text-decoration: none;" title="A US army soldier stands guard as a US army aircraft&nbsp;&hellip;"><img alt="A US army soldier stands guard as a US army aircraft&nbsp;&hellip;" class="body-related-thumb" data-src-2x="" height="221" src="http://l3.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/CAEdhSAZl.KeY4Lh9BPm3w--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTIyMTtxPTc1O3c9MzAw/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/afp.com/f7fe7e5f8650faa7542bcf7f849e82133b869ed8.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" /></a></div><a class="body-related-link body-related-image go-to-slideshow-lightbox rapid-noclick-resp landscape onesize get-lbdata-from-dom" data-rapid_p="13" data-uuid="765b6539-835a-3bee-8a2b-871011b333b1" href="http://news.yahoo.com/photos/us-army-soldier-stands-guard-us-army-aircraft-photo-184349773.html" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 300px; position: relative; text-decoration: none;" title="A US army soldier stands guard as a US army aircraft&nbsp;&hellip;"></a><br /><div class="body-related-title photo-caption" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: grey; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%; padding: 5px 5px 0px 0px; position: relative; width: 300px;">A US army soldier stands guard as a US army aircraft remains on the runway ready to evacuate America …</div></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"He underscored that South Sudan's leaders have a responsibility to support our efforts to secure American personnel and citizens in Juba and Bor," a White House statement said.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"Any effort to seize power through the use of military force will result in the end of longstanding support from the United States and the international community."</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Obama separately participated in a secure call about the situation in South Sudan with National Security Adviser Susan Rice, her deputies Tony Blinken and Ben Rhodes, as well as White House Senior Director for African Affairs Grant Harris, also a member of the president's national security team.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"More broadly, the president underscored the urgency of helping to support efforts to resolve the differences within South Sudan through dialogue," the White House added.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"This conflict can only be resolved peacefully through negotiations."</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">It called for an end to the recent surge of violence that has killed at least 500 people in the capital Juba alone in six days of fighting.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"Secretary Kerry made clear that continued violence endangers the vision set forth at the time of South Sudan's independence," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">During their call, Kiir and Kerry "discussed the need to prevent ethnic violence, their concern for the welfare of thousands of internally displaced persons fleeing the conflict, as well as for the safety of US citizens in South Sudan, and they agreed to speak again soon," she added.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Kerry was also sending his special envoy for the Sudans, Donald Booth, to the region to seek a solution to the crisis.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">On Wednesday, the United States deployed 45 combat-equipped troops to the country to protect its embassy and American personnel.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Kenya and Uganda have also sent in troops to help evacuate stranded nationals.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Two Indian peacekeepers were killed on Thursday when attackers stormed a UN base in Jonglei state. There are fears that 36 civilians sheltering in the base were also killed.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1387684436045_8306" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The upsurge in hostilities in South Sudan, which gained independence from Sudan in 2011, came despite an offer from the president to open talks with his former deputy, Riek Machar, whom Kiir accuses of having started the fighting last week by attempting a coup.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1387684436045_8306" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">-Yahoo News</div></div>

Obama warns S. Sudan against military coup (BLOG)

Washington (AFP) - President Barack Obama warned South Sudan on Saturday that Washington and its allies would cut aid to the country over an...

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3 Television Shows That Bombed in 2013 (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/AVvXsEhGlCcoUFQpkbmsFdyH_cvcJAn24ojqJrhQgKv2Cbyq1-FJxGxeQ6Zc23A8SSKf_2ldoLev-YfeyK3enTF13KS5jJsOd7PiE9QVaODd2HNDe3fXtsFid548yrZcaM1hxyKNFAYA28Yu1Lc/s1600/ironside-tv-series-600x337_large.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/AVvXsEhGlCcoUFQpkbmsFdyH_cvcJAn24ojqJrhQgKv2Cbyq1-FJxGxeQ6Zc23A8SSKf_2ldoLev-YfeyK3enTF13KS5jJsOd7PiE9QVaODd2HNDe3fXtsFid548yrZcaM1hxyKNFAYA28Yu1Lc/s320/ironside-tv-series-600x337_large.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 11px; margin-top: 11px; padding: 0px;">Broadcasters don't have it easy anymore. Cable television and <strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Netflix</strong> are drawing in audiences en masse while some once-popular TV franchises are struggling to recover from historical lows.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 11px; margin-top: 11px; padding: 0px;">Take <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">CSI</em>, which set a series low in February drawing just 8.6 million viewers. <strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">AMC Networks</strong>, by contrast, has regularly topped 10 million with <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The Walking Dead</em> while the series finale for <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Breaking Bad</em> drew 10.3 million.  Niche programming -- on niche networks -- is<a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2013/10/07/3-ways-breaking-bad-shows-the-future-of-television.aspx" style="border: 0px; color: #339933; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">a serious and growing threat</a> to the Big Four.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 11px; margin-top: 11px; padding: 0px;">The result? Broadcast TV shows either win early or die fast, as these three did in 2013:</div><div class="image small" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px 0px 5px; padding: 0px;"><img alt="" src="http://g.foolcdn.com/editorial/images/87644/ironside-tv-series-600x337_large.jpg" style="border: none; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /></div><div class="caption" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-color: rgb(170, 170, 170); border-bottom-style: dotted; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; color: #999999; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px 5px 5px;">Blair Underwood starred in NBC's detective reboot. Source: NBCUniversal.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 11px; margin-top: 11px; padding: 0px;"><em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Ironside</strong></em><br />Episodes before cancellation: 4<br />Avg. viewers: 5.16 million<br />Distributor: NBCUniversal</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 11px; margin-top: 11px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Why it bombed</strong>: Remakes are a tough sell to begin with. (Remember 2008's rehash of<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Knight Rider</em>? How about 2011's <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Charlie's Angels</em> do-over?) NBC didn't do itself any favors in deciding not to cast a disabled actor as wheelchair-bound detective Robert Ironside, choosing instead to go with veteran performer Blair Underwood. The ensuing controversy, which led to at least one outright boycott of the show, may have been the killing blow.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 11px; margin-top: 11px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">State of the network:</strong> <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Ironside</em>'s poor performance notwithstanding, NBC has hit its stride recently. Look at the spy-cum-crime drama <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The Blacklist</em>, which drew some 17 million viewers in its Monday night time slot. The network has already ordered a second season while star James Spader is up for a Golden Globe for his portrayal of professional troublemaker Red Reddington. On the other hand, as an earnings driver, NBC's broadcast TV operation contributes just 13% of <strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Comcast</strong>'s (<span class="ticker" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">NASDAQ: <a class="qsAdd qs-source-isssitthv0000001" data-id="203139" href="http://caps.fool.com/Ticker/CMCSA.aspx?source=isssitthv0000001" style="border: 0px; color: #339933; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">CMCSA</a></span> <a class="addToWatchListIcon qsAdd qs-source-iwlsitbut0000010" href="http://my.fool.com/watchlist/add?ticker=CMCSA&source=iwlsitbut0000010" style="background-image: url(http://g.foolcdn.com/common/img/buttons/BtnAdd.gif); background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; color: #339933; display: inline-block; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: middle; width: 16px;" title="Add CMCSA to My Watchlist"> </a>) revenue and 2% of operating income. One big win (or loss) won't mean much for the business at its present scale.</div><div class="image small" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px 0px 5px; padding: 0px;"><img alt="" src="http://g.foolcdn.com/editorial/images/87644/lucky-7-widescreen_large.jpeg" style="border: none; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /></div><div class="caption" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-color: rgb(170, 170, 170); border-bottom-style: dotted; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; color: #999999; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px 5px 5px;">ABC's show about lottery winners wasn't relatable enough for audiences. Source: ABC.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 11px; margin-top: 11px; padding: 0px;"><em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Lucky 7</strong></em><br />Episodes before cancellation: 2<br />Avg. viewers: 3.53 million<br />Distributor: ABC Television</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 11px; margin-top: 11px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Why it bombed:</strong> Yes, we've all dreamed about winning the lottery. But a TV show that asks what if the dream came true? We've seen the concept before and it didn't work then, either. NBC cancelled <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Windfall</em> in 2006 after 13 episodes, going so far as to allow affiliates the option of airing preseason football rather than the season's final installment.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 11px; margin-top: 11px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">State of the network:</strong> ABC is getting good performances from a handful of key shows. For example, <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Scandal</em> does well on Thursday nights in spite of declining viewership for lead-in<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Grey's Anatomy</em>. There's also <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.</em>, which has the <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2013/12/14/marvels-agents-of-shield-doesnt-need-a-new-night.aspx" style="border: 0px; color: #339933; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">highest live+7 day rating</a> of any Tuesday night broadcast TV show. What's that mean financially? Not much, unfortunately. ABC's operating income dipped slightly in the third quarter as revenue improved just 1% year-over-year. </div><div class="image small" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px 0px 5px; padding: 0px;"><img alt="" src="http://g.foolcdn.com/editorial/images/87644/we-are-men-widescreen_large.jpg" style="border: none; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /></div><div class="caption" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-color: rgb(170, 170, 170); border-bottom-style: dotted; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; color: #999999; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px 5px 5px;"><em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">We Are Men</em> starred Kal Penn, Chris Smith, Jerry O'Connell, and Tony Shalhoub. Source: CBS.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 11px; margin-top: 11px; padding: 0px;"><em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">We Are Men</strong></em><br />Episodes before cancellation: 2<br />Avg. viewers: 6.01 million<br />Distributor: <strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">CBS</strong> (<span class="ticker" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">NYSE: <a class="qsAdd qs-source-isssitthv0000001" data-id="206636" href="http://caps.fool.com/Ticker/CBS.aspx?source=isssitthv0000001" style="border: 0px; color: #339933; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">CBS</a></span> <a class="addToWatchListIcon qsAdd qs-source-iwlsitbut0000010" href="http://my.fool.com/watchlist/add?ticker=CBS&source=iwlsitbut0000010" style="background-image: url(http://g.foolcdn.com/common/img/buttons/BtnAdd.gif); background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; color: #339933; display: inline-block; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: middle; width: 16px;" title="Add CBS to My Watchlist"> </a>)</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 11px; margin-top: 11px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Why it bombed:</strong> Divorced men trying to pick up women while teaching the ways of the world to a young neighbor who's just been left at the altar? OK, but history shows that you need brilliant writing and top-notch talent (e.g., <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Parks and Recreation</em>) to make absurd concepts work. Critics panned <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">We Are Men</em>'s scripts as "lazy" and "boring," among other things.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 11px; margin-top: 11px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">State of the network:</strong> CBS is still home to TV's most-watched show (<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">NCIS</em>) and possesses a powerful catalyst in Showtime, which is gaining influence thanks to <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2013/07/28/the-worlds-most-popular-serial-killer-says-goodbye.aspx" style="border: 0px; color: #339933; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">edgy new dramas</a> such as<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Ray Donovan</em> and Emmy contender <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Homeland</em>. Ad revenue at CBS Television increased 13% year-over-year in the third quarter. Content licensing and distribution increased 11% with new shows added to the network's syndication slate, including <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">NCIS: Los Angeles</em> and <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The Good Wife</em>.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 11px; margin-top: 11px; padding: 0px;">Now it's your turn to weigh in. What shows were you surprised to see bomb in 2013? What shows do you expect to be cancelled next? Leave a comment below to let us know what you think.</div></div>

3 Television Shows That Bombed in 2013 (BLOG)

Broadcasters don't have it easy anymore. Cable television and  Netflix  are drawing in audiences en masse while some once-popular TV fra...

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Leonardo DiCaprio bet half a million dollars on her wedding

<br /><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/search/label/Leonardo%20DiCaprio" target="_blank">Leonardo DiCaprio</a> is about to win 500 thousand dollars from his fellow actors Tobey Maguire and Ben Affleck in a dispute that began three years ago. Maguire and Affleck put every 250 thousand. the fact that for 40 years DiCaprio is already married and had a baby.<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 /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCSvUHkZy8HYT5x9wPIO_KrP_LtXkW4Y2mfaFlvqcm3PROP4E2cGl1SOXZLIdZytLc3YMTduVCn5kGY4JHWBLEmBzW2aGIJA28Dgdq6b7tAR0wDEQZ3JSEchqAzVXyAWqRORYIn83GI3U/s1600/Leonardo+DiCaprio+bet+half+a+million+dollars+on+her+wedding.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCSvUHkZy8HYT5x9wPIO_KrP_LtXkW4Y2mfaFlvqcm3PROP4E2cGl1SOXZLIdZytLc3YMTduVCn5kGY4JHWBLEmBzW2aGIJA28Dgdq6b7tAR0wDEQZ3JSEchqAzVXyAWqRORYIn83GI3U/s1600/Leonardo+DiCaprio+bet+half+a+million+dollars+on+her+wedding.jpg" width="144" /></a></div>Leo agreed to the dispute and in all that time he changed several supermodels, but no one he does not come to the wedding. Perhaps it is because of the dispute, and may, indeed, have not met the very unique. <br /> <br /> Anyway, Leonardo and 11 months banging 40 years, and on the horizon is not visible yet no wife, no children so that Toby and Ben was worried that they will have to shell out a quarter of a million dollars each!<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><br />

gossip Leonardo DiCaprio wedding Leonardo DiCaprio bet half a million dollars on her wedding

Leonardo DiCaprio is about to win 500 thousand dollars from his fellow actors Tobey Maguire and Ben Affleck in a dispute that began three ...

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Beyonce: I want to follow in the footsteps of Madonna!

<br /><b>Yesterday in New York, held a party in honor of the release of the new album of the same name Beyonce Beyonce. </b><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 /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipF4nQ7IvZ6IbM4SlBuBUze90wJu5VgauAWHJGdl4KxlHSjRTDNYx6Oo1MLKQRBHeIPEYIoOa2-afvXWGD571TgOet70uxlyPx_xJqTKQlKsQJhU6g1XL4j994-EI9IJm7RqyRl5aLfmI/s1600/Beyonce.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipF4nQ7IvZ6IbM4SlBuBUze90wJu5VgauAWHJGdl4KxlHSjRTDNYx6Oo1MLKQRBHeIPEYIoOa2-afvXWGD571TgOet70uxlyPx_xJqTKQlKsQJhU6g1XL4j994-EI9IJm7RqyRl5aLfmI/s1600/Beyonce.jpg" /></a></div><br />The singer arrived at the event in a black dress designer Tom Ford's spring collection of 2014 and jackboots with open cape. <br /> <br /> Numerous directors of 17 video clips from the album also came to the party. Of course, fans of <a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/search/label/Beyonce" target="_blank">Beyonce</a>, who won invitations to the radio, gathered to hear his wife Jay-Z. <br /> <br /> Once guests watched all the videos, Beyonce climbed on stage to answer questions submitted by fans on Instagram. <br /> <br /> 32-year-old singer said that he personally selects each of the directors. On the question of why she opened the heart on a plate on the relationship with Jay-Z, Beyonce said: <br /> <br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"> I guard my personal life, I'm secretive, but after I became a mother, I realized that it is necessary to break the four walls seclusion. Now I feel free. </blockquote><br /> What, according to the singer, the audience to take away from the new album? <br /> <br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"> Take your flaws and all those features that make you interesting to other people. </blockquote><br /> What thinks Beyonce during work on the show? <br /> <br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"> The main goal - happiness ... When people come to my concerts, I want to give them a sense of hope. </blockquote><br /> The singer said that she wanted to make a record as a surprise gift to his fans. She thanked all members of the team for the music that they were silent, adding: <br /> <br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"> I was nervous as it was a huge risk. The purpose of the new album - not one hundred percent hit, but a demonstration of my development. I put it all fears, doubts. All what they have learned in 17 years. All embedded in Beyonce. </blockquote><br /> Where does the nickname Yonce, who named one of the songs? It was invented Beyonce producer The-Dream, when Justin Timberlake thump in the recording studio. <br /> <br /> Speaking of idols, and life goals, the singer wants to become a "powerhouse" and follow in the footsteps of Madonna.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU0qF2IWZUM-FIHIAcWQw0GFyZOUpnWecYsy6h3Zgs0n7He8sab94phF6Baq-YbEjVKOv40kHQO76FptEeeddTMxlUkLqHs2R3kpFCdmVGOXQ3CeyT8fd1p52hSywmRxNnNK76ewqDF7M/s1600/Beyonc%C3%A9,+Beyonce+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU0qF2IWZUM-FIHIAcWQw0GFyZOUpnWecYsy6h3Zgs0n7He8sab94phF6Baq-YbEjVKOv40kHQO76FptEeeddTMxlUkLqHs2R3kpFCdmVGOXQ3CeyT8fd1p52hSywmRxNnNK76ewqDF7M/s1600/Beyonc%C3%A9,+Beyonce+1.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5hhWpgCTWTftljOdBgNNS_3zkbHij3s5OCuvGCHn3FUKhoBUMV4Tp7dqmACMG7_yhTeMDCjCYESxnycrR0fFJaUgVFR1C4QCSmD0RmDtgRwzm-Ns4z4wQNZyDAVGzara9pJxOjVGbDv0/s1600/Beyonc%C3%A9,+Beyonce+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5hhWpgCTWTftljOdBgNNS_3zkbHij3s5OCuvGCHn3FUKhoBUMV4Tp7dqmACMG7_yhTeMDCjCYESxnycrR0fFJaUgVFR1C4QCSmD0RmDtgRwzm-Ns4z4wQNZyDAVGzara9pJxOjVGbDv0/s1600/Beyonc%C3%A9,+Beyonce+2.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEKIFmMjo9XGpqR-Ckof7Ci8IFQ_lNlLg0li6z1TUOUVUMt4tL7N1WoW5zTmBaTpmXWIbj0YQkk-kqIeEjPQOWqcnbty_8J7mf2ykvsJvUCaGtsAiUiK-HTsIAMMnjP617uI6WoZJYvQo/s1600/Beyonc%C3%A9,+Beyonce+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEKIFmMjo9XGpqR-Ckof7Ci8IFQ_lNlLg0li6z1TUOUVUMt4tL7N1WoW5zTmBaTpmXWIbj0YQkk-kqIeEjPQOWqcnbty_8J7mf2ykvsJvUCaGtsAiUiK-HTsIAMMnjP617uI6WoZJYvQo/s1600/Beyonc%C3%A9,+Beyonce+3.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghkvynRMZci6oZcFA2HADwxx0sm8ABAfCs8MkF2DNWtu1fVc629n3c3PkS2YFJNxA2lpjW3EF6ijTDgPNNmb73rwHbKkVGsHMBq4nrqKC7yXQYamu-9tfqX_RQF2ghr1WEjLCAlipMiQ8/s1600/Beyonc%C3%A9,+Beyonce+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghkvynRMZci6oZcFA2HADwxx0sm8ABAfCs8MkF2DNWtu1fVc629n3c3PkS2YFJNxA2lpjW3EF6ijTDgPNNmb73rwHbKkVGsHMBq4nrqKC7yXQYamu-9tfqX_RQF2ghr1WEjLCAlipMiQ8/s1600/Beyonc%C3%A9,+Beyonce+4.jpg" /></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><br />

Beyonce: I want to follow in the footsteps of Madonna!

Yesterday in New York, held a party in honor of the release of the new album of the same name Beyonce Beyonce.  The singer arrived at the ev...

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Angelina Jolie flew with children from Australia

<br /><b>Two days ago, Angelina Jolie and six children actress flew from Australia to celebrate the Christmas holidays.</b><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 /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgusooRhdTzycJvmNLa0VEiT2XgTlVq6ZYQHL1dOKrnK9bOZaH3heu5-_wpZTaF6pFGN7SXme-lq-AL1osN37f38uyyeYFaUz-gUEZWI-cNQsXbRMFOjzKOhzNpzKq6wOjOUTKAE21zhi0/s1600/Angelina+Jolie+flew+with+children+from+Australia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgusooRhdTzycJvmNLa0VEiT2XgTlVq6ZYQHL1dOKrnK9bOZaH3heu5-_wpZTaF6pFGN7SXme-lq-AL1osN37f38uyyeYFaUz-gUEZWI-cNQsXbRMFOjzKOhzNpzKq6wOjOUTKAE21zhi0/s1600/Angelina+Jolie+flew+with+children+from+Australia.jpg" /></a></div><br />38-year-old <b><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/search/label/Angelina%20Jolie" target="_blank">Angelina Jolie</a></b> filmed in Sydney drama "Unbroken" and her beloved 50-year-old <b><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/search/label/Brad%20Pitt" target="_blank">Brad Pitt </a></b>was in London, where he was finishing work in the military ribbon "Rage" is directed by David Eyre. <br /> <br /> So during departure Angelina 12 -year-old Maddox, Pax 10-year-old, 8-year-old Zahara, Shiloh 7-year-old and 5-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne were always close to his mother. Celebrity-Jolie-Pitt family boarded a private plane: Angelina wore a black top with a coat of the same color, and hair pulled back in a low bun. Note that the muscles and tattoos on his arms actress particularly striking because of a heavy bag on her shoulder. <br /> <br /> Recall December 18 Pitt celebrated anniversary. According to an insider in an interview with Us Weekly, Brad did not suit the lush holiday: <br /> <br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"> He did not do anything special and said he did not want any surprises. He really wants to talk about his birthday. </blockquote><br /> Nevertheless, the actor still planned to celebrate the 50th anniversary later - this weekend, but with the family.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBh6t_el988AaYqm6HEttythprzWNoK0_FDu5jkGt-V9om7NPQoAgzd2LtrgXuQuZkiT4LDduaZtE6wMrA0tfuB1zTE1ixDMGOyhtzoLTHKVqLHrZRuivxov9jcCLDqfvsZXWVpUDL1Rw/s1600/Angelina+Jolie+flew+with+children1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBh6t_el988AaYqm6HEttythprzWNoK0_FDu5jkGt-V9om7NPQoAgzd2LtrgXuQuZkiT4LDduaZtE6wMrA0tfuB1zTE1ixDMGOyhtzoLTHKVqLHrZRuivxov9jcCLDqfvsZXWVpUDL1Rw/s1600/Angelina+Jolie+flew+with+children1.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN7LtPuwd4jipEDXTrxdL4znv1bi5zSnsviv8iohVuiR6gmPF9gu7XiVO9TDE4zTp6F8k0_dGIUr6lTzPTcxtEBNqdmfPNYmh51-vdgQRQ0tukzyXCwtGMw-KpIkOX9K7sZQ04ZKP5DiI/s1600/Angelina+Jolie+flew+with+children+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN7LtPuwd4jipEDXTrxdL4znv1bi5zSnsviv8iohVuiR6gmPF9gu7XiVO9TDE4zTp6F8k0_dGIUr6lTzPTcxtEBNqdmfPNYmh51-vdgQRQ0tukzyXCwtGMw-KpIkOX9K7sZQ04ZKP5DiI/s1600/Angelina+Jolie+flew+with+children+2.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA5StqA1bVTYfXl87nyIrcOR_OuHRgx0lPO_uro6laL-cY9lktonIb8xvxhWJUJHCbEdt2FfVAz-35UP5M9FBRT9gzwzyBTNjpCrjLnkSkEeXGdlHzqImzOHXaHcZlYnpJRC4_sgl1TuA/s1600/Angelina+Jolie+flew+with+children+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA5StqA1bVTYfXl87nyIrcOR_OuHRgx0lPO_uro6laL-cY9lktonIb8xvxhWJUJHCbEdt2FfVAz-35UP5M9FBRT9gzwzyBTNjpCrjLnkSkEeXGdlHzqImzOHXaHcZlYnpJRC4_sgl1TuA/s1600/Angelina+Jolie+flew+with+children+3.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKsPMKybPz06G9MtTywuc4e4SJSiYt6X-ROymUFuIERs4M06G7F8K8oatnIrB0Ur35CRGECpndmHp26xq9bMnB6dCDMMkE1Uq8gOZyHcS_1fvKM1AnMnP_tC8kbWQV3hvP3CIc71tSF0I/s1600/Angelina+Jolie+flew+with+children+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKsPMKybPz06G9MtTywuc4e4SJSiYt6X-ROymUFuIERs4M06G7F8K8oatnIrB0Ur35CRGECpndmHp26xq9bMnB6dCDMMkE1Uq8gOZyHcS_1fvKM1AnMnP_tC8kbWQV3hvP3CIc71tSF0I/s1600/Angelina+Jolie+flew+with+children+4.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg88b5RjQiFs4neW0DtjqHo_Cu22J2-ObHRfM08dZvtruccpasKs6EPkQxSItJ74FoffnVIELHFBhyphenhyphenlofvNx530Uo64kVNY54HihqYsBtJomh2dSn8lGXrurNwFi4AXkjaGNN0oyuJjhuA/s1600/Angelina+Jolie+flew+with+children+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg88b5RjQiFs4neW0DtjqHo_Cu22J2-ObHRfM08dZvtruccpasKs6EPkQxSItJ74FoffnVIELHFBhyphenhyphenlofvNx530Uo64kVNY54HihqYsBtJomh2dSn8lGXrurNwFi4AXkjaGNN0oyuJjhuA/s1600/Angelina+Jolie+flew+with+children+5.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnAVT_GxkJQPXvQ0zJzrba9hRIClGAmW0wnwlII1BzXCgncV9tSlTWyrCebUuDYhVea9RpYNRQf44Aa_Ef74GNgFaX2GBjSLlnE82hkffl1Pbnea1trsz5BBZvuwR5Va4QeUekOioQIwY/s1600/Angelina+Jolie+flew+with+children+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnAVT_GxkJQPXvQ0zJzrba9hRIClGAmW0wnwlII1BzXCgncV9tSlTWyrCebUuDYhVea9RpYNRQf44Aa_Ef74GNgFaX2GBjSLlnE82hkffl1Pbnea1trsz5BBZvuwR5Va4QeUekOioQIwY/s1600/Angelina+Jolie+flew+with+children+6.jpg" /></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><br />

Angelina Jolie flew with children from Australia

Two days ago, Angelina Jolie and six children actress flew from Australia to celebrate the Christmas holidays. 38-year-old Angelina Jolie f...

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Wages vs. Personal Consumption Expenditures

The following chart shows wages and salary accruals divided by personal consumption expenditures.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUryqZTp0AbsUes3Zl8El0dlQmPCX5xVpGJqwQTpU9RFm4HVXp1gBgdbWArEkaNVAS5bOBD70ZWNHlPdEultciLMURmrTESnfB04twJIoHNuSsEUrCfsWqVQN1ysoAgTtGrrsMg7YI_-k/s1600/Wages+vs.+Personal+Consumption+Expenditures.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUryqZTp0AbsUes3Zl8El0dlQmPCX5xVpGJqwQTpU9RFm4HVXp1gBgdbWArEkaNVAS5bOBD70ZWNHlPdEultciLMURmrTESnfB04twJIoHNuSsEUrCfsWqVQN1ysoAgTtGrrsMg7YI_-k/s320/Wages+vs.+Personal+Consumption+Expenditures.jpg" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">Click to enlarge.</span><br /><br />This truly is a typical post-recession recovery! Note the lack of anything significant happening to the upside again.<br /><br />I probably should have put quote marks around the word recovery to imply sarcasm.<br /><br />If the overall downward trend in this chart is a good thing, then we clearly need more recessions. That's pretty much when the perma-drop (a drop with no recovery) happens.<br /><br />More spending! Less pay! Long-term! Food-stamp utopia!<br /><br /><b>December 18, 2013</b><br /><a href="http://www.nationaljournal.com/economy/most-americans-want-tougher-food-stamp-requirements-20131218">Most Americans Want Tougher Food-Stamp Requirements</a><br /><br /><div style="color: #666666;"><i>National Journal poll finds two in three people think the biggest problems with the program are waste, fraud, and abuse.</i></div><br />Those are certainly the "biggest" problems with the food-stamp program, right behind <a href="http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/GINIALLRH">rising income inequality</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dot-com_bubble">bubble growth</a>, and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Recession">Lesser Depression</a> of course. That said, <a href="http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2013/11/01/Food-stamp-cuts-affect-1-in-7-Americans/UPI-91301383287400/">one in seven people</a> may strongly disagree with two in three people. Hard to say!<br /><br />Whew! Got those sarcastic quote marks around the word that time! Yes!<br /><br /><b>Source Data:</b><br /><a href="http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/graph/?g=qgU">St. Louis Fed: Custom Chart</a>

Wages vs. Personal Consumption Expenditures

The following chart shows wages and salary accruals divided by personal consumption expenditures. Click to enlarge. This truly is a typical ...

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Wizards erase 18-point deficit, top Celtics 106-99 (BLOG)

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguBYRXrnGzBTQyi2QxVKPHmBtMOeJwS1GdMm8g6WonaB-ORDmyBbLqkdCdVIyNa4eIPb1hnZSHh8ixUiaK4moeFgDAmJVkFE1WZFv5OWwH18UWXkV3TjVHg9QJAeWTHxWxWvdcfA6Jd3o/s1600/201312211356502164916.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguBYRXrnGzBTQyi2QxVKPHmBtMOeJwS1GdMm8g6WonaB-ORDmyBbLqkdCdVIyNa4eIPb1hnZSHh8ixUiaK4moeFgDAmJVkFE1WZFv5OWwH18UWXkV3TjVHg9QJAeWTHxWxWvdcfA6Jd3o/s320/201312211356502164916.jpg" width="212" /></a><br /><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1387685278586_9481" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">BOSTON (AP) -- The <a class="yom-entity-link yom-entity-sports_team" data-rapid_p="8" href="http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/teams/was" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Washington Wizards</a> didn't get flustered when they trailed by 18 points. The <a class="yom-entity-link yom-entity-sports_team" data-rapid_p="9" href="http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/teams/bos" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Boston Celtics</a>couldn't hold a big lead for the second straight game.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1387685278586_9502" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">''We don't let anything rattle us too much,'' Ariza said. ''We just play and chip away and know things are going to happen. It's a long game. We know teams can go on runs. They went on a run and we did, too.''<a class="yom-entity-link yom-entity-sports_player" data-rapid_p="15" href="http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3860" id="yui_3_9_1_1_1387685278586_9507" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Trevor Ariza</a> scored 27 points capped by a 3-pointer that highlighted a fourth-quarter run as the Wizards rallied for a 106-99 victory Saturday.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1387685278586_9520" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">After Jeff Green's layup with 6:14 left gave the Celtics a 92-84 lead, they went nearly six minutes without a field goal. Meanwhile, the Wizards were going on a 14-1 run that Ariza started with a jumper from the right corner. John Wall had five of his 20 points in the surge, which was interrupted only by a free throw by <a class="yom-entity-link yom-entity-sports_player" data-rapid_p="16" href="http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/5055" id="yui_3_9_1_1_1387685278586_9525" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Jared Sullinger</a> that gave Boston a 93-91 lead with 3:39 remaining.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">''It was just, 'Ok. We fought back. Let's get some stops here and keep going. Keep stepping on them and let's runaway with this one,''' Ariza said.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Nene tied it with a short baseline jumper and Wall gave the Wizards their first lead, 95-93, with a 20-footer with 2:51 to go. Marcin Gortat then blocked Sullinger's shot and Ariza hit his 3-pointer with 2:25 remaining to put Washington ahead 98-93.</div><div class="body-slot-mod" style="background-color: white; clear: right; float: right; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 1.1em 10px; max-width: 300px;"><div class="yom-remote"><div class="" id="mediasportsmatcharticlescore_container"><div class="yom-mod yom-app yom-scores yom-sports-match-score yom-sports-scorething js" id="mediasportsmatcharticlescore" style="border: 1px solid rgb(229, 229, 229); color: #f0f0f0; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding: 10px; zoom: 1;"><div class="hd" style="color: black; font-size: 15px; margin-bottom: 0px; position: relative; text-transform: capitalize; zoom: 1;"><h3 style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; font-size: 17px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">Sat, Dec 21, 2013</h3></div><div class="bd" style="color: black; line-height: 13px; margin: 0px; min-width: 280px; padding: 0px; zoom: 1;"><div class="yom-sports-scorething-day"><table class="nba boxes" style="border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px !important; margin: 0px auto; width: 280px;"><tbody class=" final game link" data-index="0" data-url="/nba/washington-wizards-boston-celtics-2013122102/" style="background-color: inherit; border: none;"><tr class="team away winner" style="background-color: inherit; border: none;"><th class="" style="background-color: inherit; border: none; font-weight: normal; padding: 3px 8px 1px; width: 140px;"><span class="logo yom-logo-nba large was" style="background-color: #e41e3c; background-image: url(http://l.yimg.com/os/mit/media/m/sports/images/team-logos/sprites/nba-40-1550761.png); background-position: -560px 0px; display: inline-block; float: left; height: 40px; margin-right: 3px; vertical-align: middle; width: 40px;"></span><span style="color: #3f3f3f; display: inline-block; float: left; font-weight: bold; line-height: 20px; margin: 13px 0px 0px 5px; max-width: 92px; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis;">Washington</span></th><td class="score" style="background-color: inherit; border: none; padding: 3px 0px 0px; text-align: right; width: 1px;"><span style="border-top-left-radius: 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px; color: #3f3f3f; font-size: 22px; font-weight: bold; padding: 15px 10px 11px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;">106</span></td><td class="links" colspan="1" rowspan="2" style="background-color: inherit; border: none; padding: 5px;"><span class="meta" style="color: #888888; display: block; font-size: 11px; line-height: 17px; text-align: center;"><a class="no-pjax" data-rapid_p="17" data-ylk="lt:s;sec:mod-sch;slk:game;itc:0;ltxt:;tar:sports.yahoo.com;" href="http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/washington-wizards-boston-celtics-2013122102/" style="color: #888888; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Final</a></span></td></tr><tr class="team home " style="background-color: inherit; border: none;"><th class="" style="background-color: inherit; border: none; font-weight: normal; padding: 0px 8px 3px; width: 140px;"><span class="logo yom-logo-nba large bos" style="background-color: #04864c; background-image: url(http://l.yimg.com/os/mit/media/m/sports/images/team-logos/sprites/nba-40-1550761.png); background-position: 0px 0px; display: inline-block; float: left; height: 40px; margin-right: 3px; vertical-align: middle; width: 40px;"></span><span style="color: #3f3f3f; display: inline-block; float: left; line-height: 20px; margin: 13px 0px 0px 5px; max-width: 92px; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis;">Boston</span></th><td class="score" style="background-color: inherit; border: none; padding: 0px 0px 3px; text-align: right; width: 1px;"><span style="border-bottom-left-radius: 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px; color: #3f3f3f; font-size: 22px; padding: 15px 10px 11px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;">99</span></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div></div></div></div></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The Celtics had led 32-14 early in the second quarter. But in the last six minutes of the game, they were outscored 22-7, committed four turnovers and had two shots blocked.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">''They came out and punched us right in the face in the first quarter,'' Washington coach Randy Wittman said, ''but I never saw any downness from our guys.''</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Avery Bradley, an outstanding defender, scored 18 of his 26 points for Boston in a span of 8:01 in the second half. He started with a layup with 4:01 left in the third quarter that gave the Celtics a 66-59 lead and ended with a jumper with 8:00 left in the fourth that made it 88-82. Bradley then went to the bench and the Wizards began their comeback.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">''He had a good roll,'' Boston coach Brad Stevens said. ''His effectiveness on the offensive end is just going to continue to improve.''</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Washington (12-13) won its third straight game, all on the road. It started the day in fourth place in the Southeast Division but has a better record than Boston (12-16), which entered the game in first place in the Atlantic Division.</div><div class="body-slot-mod" style="background-color: white; clear: right; float: right; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 1.1em 10px; max-width: 300px;"><div class="yom-remote"><div class="" id="mediasportsgameleaders_container"><div class="yom-mod yom-app yom-game-leaders" data-gid="nba.g.2013122102" id="mediasportsgameleaders" style="border: 1px solid rgb(229, 229, 229); color: #f0f0f0; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 1px; padding: 10px; zoom: 1;"><div class="hd" style="color: black; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 5px 0px 5px 5px; position: relative; text-transform: capitalize; zoom: 1;"><h3 style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">Game Leaders</h3></div><div class="bd league-nba" style="color: black; margin: 0px; min-width: 280px; padding: 0px; zoom: 1;"><ul class="players" style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><li style="clear: both; display: block; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: top; width: 280px;"><a data-rapid_p="18" data-ylk="lt:s;" href="http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/4716/" style="color: #949494; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" title="John Wall"><img alt="John Wall" class="photo" height="66" src="http://l.yimg.com/iu/api/res/1.2/_.V1cgYlTiwaKHyDtjORGA--/YXBwaWQ9eXZpZGVvO2NoPTg2MDtjcj0xO2N3PTY2MDtkeD0xO2R5PTE7Zmk9dWxjcm9wO2g9MjE1O3E9MTAwO3c9MTY1/http://l.yimg.com/j/assets/i/us/sp/v/nba/players_l/20121217/4716.jpg" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 1px solid rgb(127, 127, 127); float: left; height: 66px; margin: 0px 8px 8px 0px; opacity: 1 !important; transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; vertical-align: baseline; visibility: visible !important; width: 50px;" title="" width="50" /></a><div class="name" style="line-height: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 2px;"><a data-rapid_p="19" data-ylk="lt:s;" href="http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/4716/" style="color: #949494; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" title="John Wall">John Wall</a></div><div class="number team" style="line-height: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 2px;">#2, <a class="team" data-rapid_p="20" href="http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/teams/was/" style="color: #949494; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Washington</a></div><div class="stats" style="line-height: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 2px;"><table style="border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px !important; margin: 0px; width: auto !important;"><tbody style="border: 0px;"><tr style="background-color: transparent;" title="Points Scored: 20"><th class="stat" scope="row" style="background-color: #e3e7ec; border: 0px; font-weight: normal; padding: 8px;">Pts:</th><td class="value" style="border: 0px; padding: 0px 5px 0px 0px;">20</td></tr><tr style="background-color: transparent;" title="Total Rebounds: 3"><th class="stat" scope="row" style="background-color: #e3e7ec; border: 0px; font-weight: normal; padding: 8px;">Reb:</th><td class="value" style="border: 0px; padding: 0px 5px 0px 0px;">3</td></tr><tr style="background-color: transparent;" title="Assists: 9"><th class="stat" scope="row" style="background-color: #e3e7ec; border: 0px; font-weight: normal; padding: 8px;">Ast:</th><td class="value" style="border: 0px; padding: 0px 5px 0px 0px;">9</td></tr></tbody></table></div></li><li style="clear: both; display: block; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: top; width: 280px;"><a data-rapid_p="21" data-ylk="lt:s;" href="http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/4750/" style="color: #949494; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" title="Avery Bradley"><img alt="Avery Bradley" class="photo" height="66" src="http://l.yimg.com/iu/api/res/1.2/P2ErXaNnPBJ2oOXCAfbCLw--/YXBwaWQ9eXZpZGVvO2NoPTg2MDtjcj0xO2N3PTY2MDtkeD0xO2R5PTE7Zmk9dWxjcm9wO2g9MjE1O3E9MTAwO3c9MTY1/http://l.yimg.com/j/assets/i/us/sp/v/nba/players_l/20121217/4750.jpg" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 1px solid rgb(127, 127, 127); float: left; height: 66px; margin: 0px 8px 8px 0px; opacity: 1 !important; transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; vertical-align: baseline; visibility: visible !important; width: 50px;" title="" width="50" /></a><div class="name" style="line-height: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 2px;"><a data-rapid_p="22" data-ylk="lt:s;" href="http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/4750/" style="color: #949494; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" title="Avery Bradley">Avery Bradley</a></div><div class="number team" style="line-height: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 2px;">#0, <a class="team" data-rapid_p="23" href="http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/teams/bos/" style="color: #949494; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Boston</a></div><div class="stats" style="line-height: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 2px;"><table style="border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px !important; margin: 0px; width: auto !important;"><tbody style="border: 0px;"><tr style="background-color: transparent;" title="Points Scored: 26"><th class="stat" scope="row" style="background-color: #e3e7ec; border: 0px; font-weight: normal; padding: 8px;">Pts:</th><td class="value" style="border: 0px; padding: 0px 5px 0px 0px;">26</td></tr><tr style="background-color: transparent;" title="Total Rebounds: 5"><th class="stat" scope="row" style="background-color: #e3e7ec; border: 0px; font-weight: normal; padding: 8px;">Reb:</th><td class="value" style="border: 0px; padding: 0px 5px 0px 0px;">5</td></tr><tr style="background-color: transparent;" title="Assists: 0"><th class="stat" scope="row" style="background-color: #e3e7ec; border: 0px; font-weight: normal; padding: 8px;">Ast:</th><td class="value" style="border: 0px; padding: 0px 5px 0px 0px;">0</td></tr></tbody></table></div></li></ul></div></div></div></div></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Nene, Gortat and Kevin Seraphin scored 13 points each for the Wizards.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">For the Celtics, Sullinger had 22 points and 11 rebounds and Green added 13 points.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Three days after squandering a 21-point lead and losing to Detroit 107-106, Boston wasted lost another big cushion.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">''You have to stay focused,'' Celtics guard Jordan Crawford said. ''You've got to step on the pedal when you have them down.''</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The Celtics led 51-44 at halftime and 62-53 five minutes into the third quarter. But Washington tied it at 74 on a 3-pointer by Martell Webster with 42 seconds left in the third quarter. Then the Celtics took a two-point lead on Bradley's jumper from the top of the key with 3.9 seconds left in the period.</div><div class="body-related" style="background-color: white; clear: right; float: right; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; position: relative;"><a class="body-related-link body-related-image go-to-slideshow-lightbox rapid-noclick-resp landscape onesize get-lbdata-from-dom" data-rapid_p="24" data-uuid="a2230956-d0c7-3abf-b2ec-187e4232bfee" href="http://sports.yahoo.com/photos/wizards-erase-18-point-deficit-photo-205656921--nba.html" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 300px; position: relative; text-decoration: none;" title="Wizards erase 18-point deficit, top Celtics 106-99"><div class="img-wrap" style="position: relative;"><div class="cta-overlay" style="-webkit-transition: background-color 0.24s linear; font-size: 13px; height: 204px; 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="Wizards erase 18-point deficit, top Celtics 106-99" class="body-related-thumb" data-src-2x="" height="204" src="http://l3.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/9uPK5keMGoR26k3XrCVyyw--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTIwNDtxPTc1O3c9MzAw/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/Sports/ap/201312211345495234882" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; display: block; opacity: 1 !important; transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; vertical-align: baseline; visibility: visible !important;" width="300" /></div></a><div class="body-related-title photo-caption" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: grey; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%; padding: 5px 5px 0px 0px; position: relative; width: 300px;">Washington Wizards' Nene Hilario (42) drives past Boston Celtics' Jared Sullinger (7) in the …</div></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">''Avery had an amazing second half,'' Webster said, ''but we were resilient on the defensive end.''</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Boston got off to its second straight strong start and led 30-14 after one quarter. On Wednesday night, it outscored Detroit 42-23 in the first.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The Celtics scored the first seven points of the game, took a 22-8 lead on Sullinger's 3-point play with 4:07 left in the period and finished it by scoring the last five points. A layup by Gerald Wallace gave the Celtics their biggest lead, 32-14.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Then Boston collapsed in the last six minutes.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1387685278586_9621" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">''We settled a lot for shots,'' Wallace said. ''We had some bad turnovers.''</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1387685278586_9615" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Notes: The Wizards had at least 30 points in each of the last three quarters after scoring 14 in the first. ... The game was the opener of an NBA-NHL doubleheader at TD Garden. The <a class="yom-entity-link yom-entity-sports_team" data-rapid_p="25" href="http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/teams/bos" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Boston Bruins</a> played the <a class="yom-entity-link yom-entity-sports_team" data-rapid_p="26" href="http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/teams/buf" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Buffalo Sabres</a> at night.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1387685278586_9615" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;"><br /></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1387685278586_9615" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">AP SPORTS</div></div>

Wizards erase 18-point deficit, top Celtics 106-99 (BLOG)

BOSTON (AP) -- The  Washington Wizards  didn't get flustered when they trailed by 18 points. The  Boston Celtics couldn't hold a big...

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

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

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

Simply put, a smart grid is an electrical grid that's integrated with computerized, two-way communication networks. In addition to sendi...

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In Hawaii, Obama tries for uninterrupted vacation (BLOG)

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

In Hawaii, Obama tries for uninterrupted vacation (BLOG)

HONOLULU (AP) — An ocean away from Washington worries, President Barack Obama opened his annual Hawaii vacation Saturday on a quiet note — a...

Read more »