Analysis: U.S. Treasuries seen weakening in 2014 but rout unlikely (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/AVvXsEjBMlBm6s2RVUgAqys1-ENC0-8oG5LkhIO5Z3wZyDOSSKt6Rdsr5Uy_Dd0pz_cKT5pMNVli0JxMXryOuBEXXkLGzLf_ajzPeNFnpC40FJlBVE45J3FMePRYC_Z6_qVcpZlWEniIjgd_NnA/s1600/2014-01-03T214102Z_1_CBREA021O8Q00_RTROPTP_3_USA_original.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="163" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBMlBm6s2RVUgAqys1-ENC0-8oG5LkhIO5Z3wZyDOSSKt6Rdsr5Uy_Dd0pz_cKT5pMNVli0JxMXryOuBEXXkLGzLf_ajzPeNFnpC40FJlBVE45J3FMePRYC_Z6_qVcpZlWEniIjgd_NnA/s320/2014-01-03T214102Z_1_CBREA021O8Q00_RTROPTP_3_USA_original.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1388813403001_3147" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">By Richard Leong</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1388813403001_3151" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Portfolio managers at large U.S. bond funds are, however, a bit optimistic. They say the most violent adjustment in the bond market has already happened, even though bond yields should rise a little more in 2014 as the Federal Reserve reduces its massive stimulus program.NEW YORK (Reuters) - Investors who bet heavily on Treasuries took a beating in 2013, and as the Fed winds down its bond buying, they face the risk of a second straight losing year, something that has not happened in four decades.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1388813403001_3155" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Some analysts have long foreseen a protracted rise in yields after nearly 30 years of steadily falling rates. But the consensus among managers is that benchmark 10-year Treasury yields should peak around 3.5 percent this year, up from 3 percent now and remain otherwise in a tight range. A 50-basis point rise would pale against the 125 basis-point rise in yields in 2013.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"We don't expect another aggressive bond sell-off. I think even with the Fed tapering, policy accommodation will remain pretty high in 2014," said Jennifer Vail, head of fixed-income research at U.S. Bank Wealth Management in Portland, Oregon.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Another surge in yields would mean more misery for bond investors, including Bill Gross, who runs the world's biggest bond fund, the Pimco Total Return Fund (PTTRX.O). That fund suffered its first annual loss since 1999, a negative return of nearly 2 percent.</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 if the rise in yields is moderate and orderly, Gross and other investors who are bullish on Treasuries would have plenty of time to adjust their portfolios to reduce losses and take on bets in other bond sectors.</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;">Fund flows into Treasuries in 2013 were slower than any other year since 2000. Pension funds, insurance companies, college endowments and foreign investors could find greater appeal in Treasuries as yields edge higher in coming months, but retail investors might still shy away from bond funds, particularly given the buoyant outlook for equities.</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 zig-zag in rates will have retail investors very nervous," said Quincy Krosby, market strategist at Prudential Financial in Newark, New Jersey, which oversees $1 trillion in assets.</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 yield on 10-year Treasury notes was 2.99 percent on Friday, roughly a two-and-a-half-year high and nearly double what it was a year ago. Increases in yields accelerated in May, after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke suggested before a congressional panel that the Fed might consider shrinking its quantitative easing before year-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;">Recent data has supported the view of a somewhat slow-growing U.S. economy, which will likely keep the Fed tapering gradually and cautious about raising interest rates.</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 market is adjusting to is a little faster growth and less Fed buying. It could be another year of negative returns," said Gemma Wright-Casparius, portfolio manager at Vanguard, the top U.S. mutual fund company.</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 10-year yield has stabilized above 3 percent as investors await the payrolls report for December to determine if the economy is strong enough for Fed to quicken its stimulus reduction and possibly raise rates before late 2015.</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 Friday, Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker said if the economy strengthens more than expected this year, he could see the Fed increasing rates in later 2014.</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;">With blue chip stocks powering into record territory, investors have been moving away from bond funds since June. Still, bond funds were able to report $29 billion in inflows in 2013, although they were the weakest since 2000, according to Lipper, a unit of Thomson Reuters.</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 fresh quarterly forecasts released last month, the Fed's outlook on growth of gross domestic product was in a range of 2.8 percent to 3.2 percent in 2014, a tad stronger than what Wall Street expects.</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's a fair amount of economic optimism priced into these yields," said Bill Irving, a Merrimack, New Hampshire portfolio manager for Fidelity Investments, the No. 2 U.S. mutual fund company. "I don't see the 10-year yield going much higher from here. We have to see more surprisingly strong data."</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The threat to this view of a moderate yield rise would come if growth, perhaps driven by the U.S. energy production boom and the impact of higher home and stock prices on consumer spending, were to rise to 3.5 percent to 4.0 percent. That would in turn put pressure on the Fed to pull back on its bond buying more quickly and lead to concerns that the Fed would raise short-term interest rates sooner than the late 2015 currently expected. All that could force bond yields significantly higher than 3.5 percent.</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;">Since the Fed began purchasing Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities, its balance sheet has ballooned by more than $1 trillion to near $4 trillion since late 2012.</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 December 18, Fed policymakers said the U.S. central bank will purchase $75 billion in bonds in January, $10 billion less than the monthly pace at which it had been buying.</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;">BOND BEARS COMETH?</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 lousy year for Treasuries is rare. Even including a dismal 2013, the Treasuries market has posted annual losses only four times since 1973, according to Barclays, and has never experienced back-to-back losing years.</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 2013, Treasuries suffered a 2.75 percent loss, while the broader U.S. bond market declined 2.02 percent, the biggest annual drop since 1994, according to indexes that Barclays compiles.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1388813403001_3157" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The biggest yearly rise in benchmark Treasuries yields in four years disrupted the housing market this past summer, but it has proven to be only a hiccup for the economy.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">U.S. growth had recorded its best three months in nearly two years this autumn, while Wall Street booked its biggest annual gain in more than 15 years.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1388813403001_3159" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">(Reporting by Richard Leong)</div></div>

Analysis: U.S. Treasuries seen weakening in 2014 but rout unlikely (BLOG)

By Richard Leong Portfolio managers at large U.S. bond funds are, however, a bit optimistic. They say the most violent adjustment in the bon...

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Mob Wives: Is Karen Gravano Back???

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXvC1bbPAS0utsTib_Ld9U94FlichSpiw9RJJSlUwoM5UPDqozC8I3e-33_qJMWMHI2LpCrlqgKLWKk2SeXj6KFIIy2YrcRhbnB73TU3jm9EeYuBehZgvwZWk0DenIOA07pkw4hXSFjf4/s1600/karen's+back.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXvC1bbPAS0utsTib_Ld9U94FlichSpiw9RJJSlUwoM5UPDqozC8I3e-33_qJMWMHI2LpCrlqgKLWKk2SeXj6KFIIy2YrcRhbnB73TU3jm9EeYuBehZgvwZWk0DenIOA07pkw4hXSFjf4/s400/karen's+back.jpg" width="303" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Back in New York for starters!</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large; font-weight: bold;">Pure Speculation! </span>But is it possible that Karen left the warmth of her family and the Arizona weather to come back to New York, during it's coldest temperatures just for dinner? Well leave it to Twitter to get my hopes up! I literally poured cereal into my coffee cup this morning because of a tweet I saw on my timeline from Jennifer Graziano. First Renee tweets:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLKe6dYvAMrLxzid510t-OtLDmSt6I6HoBj4cg19JssnZcoOnGiQrmqVQR3ojClOrWLlrBoXVdUFYNyvJKeWxdcxOHJ0B9HJdaUBv2RF4kLwP9E0MHcY5BbGiYJlQOtMy04RAsDEtrLFk/s1600/Karens+Back+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLKe6dYvAMrLxzid510t-OtLDmSt6I6HoBj4cg19JssnZcoOnGiQrmqVQR3ojClOrWLlrBoXVdUFYNyvJKeWxdcxOHJ0B9HJdaUBv2RF4kLwP9E0MHcY5BbGiYJlQOtMy04RAsDEtrLFk/s1600/Karens+Back+2.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>Who wouldn't want to be a fly on the wall for this meeting?</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">When many fans heard that Karen was in New York, it created a buzz. The buzz got even louder when Renee Graziano tweeted she, and her sister Jenn, were having dinner with Karen. Renee said some of us would love to be "flies on the wall." I asked if I could pay a waiter to take notes for me on the conversation and then Jenn retweeted me and replied!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9rieN2ZSvN7J9I_d97JsNat80B0UpaeY-T0IgnaSVdgkVkMEj4ejW4rb7QhJMDS6RU-pteW3Ec1HIDGkRWNsKPX1BiCiXn8J6hNzXYqG1ZmRvex7JbOjc5qAvmLr70K6E0CCjjQhBICQ/s1600/Karens+Back+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9rieN2ZSvN7J9I_d97JsNat80B0UpaeY-T0IgnaSVdgkVkMEj4ejW4rb7QhJMDS6RU-pteW3Ec1HIDGkRWNsKPX1BiCiXn8J6hNzXYqG1ZmRvex7JbOjc5qAvmLr70K6E0CCjjQhBICQ/s1600/Karens+Back+1.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>What they discussed <span style="color: red;">BEFORE </span>dinner would be way more interesting to me?</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Am I reading too much into this? The only thing I have been interested in, since the first episode of season four, is bringing Karen back! Jenn knows that because she follows my tweets and I think she glances at my blogs every now and then too. It's no secret that I think Karen belongs on the show, she was the reason for much of it's success and she is as REAL as it gets. Of course I am just a blogger, and I can make something out of nothing every now and then...so is this something or nothing? You decide! I already made up my mind! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I hope Karen comes back soon and sends those SOUTH Philly wives packing! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Now I will remove the cereal from my coffee and get back to having breakfast!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">PS Here is a picture of a "fly on the wall" my good friend, @Dondig, last night with Jenn and Karen for drinks!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMIL1jYfMllQW4wfTM3fBsMqvOtSQMV6WLUwXThhEnpqmVpx3B2DeWVrxkr-PLPzW_LSQYedr-CpTIFBaGuPSm33TsTqkpfBlJkOkm3e4__T6aECrd03yG2j70bLIZBkowW8RlkpB1FjI/s1600/don+last+night.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMIL1jYfMllQW4wfTM3fBsMqvOtSQMV6WLUwXThhEnpqmVpx3B2DeWVrxkr-PLPzW_LSQYedr-CpTIFBaGuPSm33TsTqkpfBlJkOkm3e4__T6aECrd03yG2j70bLIZBkowW8RlkpB1FjI/s320/don+last+night.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>Welcome Home, Karen!</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div>

Mob Wives: Is Karen Gravano Back???

Back in New York for starters! Pure Speculation! But is it possible that Karen left the warmth of her family and the Arizona weather to come...

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Wall St. closes flat after Fed comments (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/AVvXsEitZ3LptbM0W4ttWlkT1ggmxLYnQWYTnECeYqn03scRfCrWDwgrwdnKen3GY-AIQWkY9Xj16q0RWpyD7GIE17KA2ccA3HPSCkcS6BBWr5Y9I1fAcwFZmskm4BSU7lr7IANQTK94zPtsX4E/s1600/2014-01-03T133653Z_2_CBREA020ZM800_RTROPTP_3_USA_original.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/AVvXsEitZ3LptbM0W4ttWlkT1ggmxLYnQWYTnECeYqn03scRfCrWDwgrwdnKen3GY-AIQWkY9Xj16q0RWpyD7GIE17KA2ccA3HPSCkcS6BBWr5Y9I1fAcwFZmskm4BSU7lr7IANQTK94zPtsX4E/s320/2014-01-03T133653Z_2_CBREA020ZM800_RTROPTP_3_USA_original.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1388813403001_1515" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">By Ryan Vlastelica</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1388813403001_1519" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Wall Street opened higher but subsequently pared gains after Philadelphia Fed President Charles Plosser said the Fed faced "immense" challenges now that it had reduced bond-buying, and that it needed to be cognizant of a potential rapid rise in future inflation.NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks ended a volatile session mostly flat on Friday as investors digested comments from Federal Reserve officials that raised questions about how quickly the central bank will end its stimulus program.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1388813403001_1523" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Volatility was exacerbated by light trading volume, with about 4.61 billion shares traded on all U.S. platforms, according to BATS exchange data, well below average, with many market participants out in the wake of the New Year's holiday, as well as a snowstorm in the northeast.</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;">"Plosser suggested that it might not be an easy or smooth process for the Fed to unwind its balance sheet, which could have been be an indication the Fed could act sooner on ending bond buying than is currently expected," said Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott in Philadelphia.</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;">Following Plosser's comments, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said that the central bank was no less committed to accommodative monetary policies despite the recent announcement that it would slow its stimulus program. He also said the U.S. economic recovery "clearly remains incomplete.</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;">Equities briefly turned positive following the comments before returning to breakeven territory.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">General Motors (<a data-rapid_p="8" href="http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=gm" style="color: #324fe1; text-decoration: none;">GM</a>) fell 3.4 percent to $39.57, one of the S&P 500's biggest decliners, after the automaker reported lower December sales, below analysts' expectations of a slight gain. Ford Motor Co (NYS:F) rose 0.5 percent to $15.51 after its sales.</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 Dow Jones industrial average (<a data-rapid_p="9" href="http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=%5Edji" style="color: #324fe1; text-decoration: none;">^DJI</a>) was up 28.64 points, or 0.17 percent, at 16,469.99. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index (<a data-rapid_p="10" href="http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=%5Egspc" style="color: #324fe1; text-decoration: none;">^GSPC</a>) was down 0.62 points, or 0.03 percent, at 1,831.36. The Nasdaq Composite Index (<a data-rapid_p="11" href="http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=%5Eixic" style="color: #324fe1; text-decoration: none;">^IXIC</a>) was down 11.16 points, or 0.27 percent, at 4,131.91.</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 S&P's slight decline marked the first time since 2005 that the benchmark index started a year with two straight negative sessions. For the week, the Dow fell less than 0.1 percent while both the S&P and Nasdaq lost 0.6 percent.</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;">"Valuations are full, but not egregiously rich right now," said Luschini, who oversees about $60 billion in assets. "In order for markets to really outperform now, we need to see better growth develop and for earnings to brighten considerably."</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;">Crude oil fell 1.3 percent, bringing its 2014 year-to-date losses to 4.3 percent, a fact that boosted airline stocks on Friday. Delta Air Lines (<a data-rapid_p="12" href="http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=dal" style="color: #324fe1; text-decoration: none;">DAL</a>) rose 5.5 percent to $29.23 as the S&P's biggest gainer while Southwest Airlines (<a data-rapid_p="13" href="http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=luv" style="color: #324fe1; text-decoration: none;">LUV</a>) rose 2.9 percent to $19.42.</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;">FireEye Inc (FEYE.O) surged 39 percent to $57.02 after the cybersecurity company acquired Mandiant Corp, the computer forensics specialist best known for unveiling a secretive Chinese military unit believed to be behind a series of hacking attacks on U.S. companies.</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;">Twitter (TWTR.N) gained 2.2 percent to $69. Shares in the social media company burst out of the gate in 2014 with a gain of more than 8 percent.</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;">About 62 percent of stocks traded on the New York Stock Exchange closed higher on the day, while 59 percent of Nasdaq-listed shares ended in positive territory.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1388813403001_1525" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">(Editing by Nick Zieminski)</div></div>

Wall St. closes flat after Fed comments (BLOG)

By Ryan Vlastelica Wall Street opened higher but subsequently pared gains after Philadelphia Fed President Charles Plosser said the Fed face...

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Michigan Teenager, Alysa Erwin Beat Terminal Brain Cancer With Cannabis Oil

<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: 'ubuntu';"> </span></span><img alt="http://thinkprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/marijuana_ridealong_rect.jpg" class="decoded" src="http://thinkprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/marijuana_ridealong_rect.jpg" /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: 'ubuntu';"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo Credit: Chicago Now</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: 'ubuntu';">'My name is Alysa Erwin. I am a pretty normal American teenage girl. I live in Petosky, Michigan. I love my family. I passed my drivers education class. I love music. I love my friends....and I beat terminal brain cancer. Yes. You read that right. I beat terminal brain cancer. I am here to share my story with the world.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: 'ubuntu';">My family was beyond supportive of me when I was going through this ordeal. I understand what other people are going through when they find out they have cancer. I was terrified when I found out. There were times that I thought there was no hope. Let me assure you there is hope even when you think there is not. I am living proof that what I am about to share with you is 100% true and I have the medical records from the University of Michigan Medical Center to prove everything I am claiming on this page.'</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: 'ubuntu';">Read <a href="http://www.marijuana.com/threads/michigan-teenager-alysa-erwin-beat-terminal-brain-cancer-with-cannabis-oil.308405/">more... </a></span></span></div>

Michigan Teenager, Alysa Erwin Beat Terminal Brain Cancer With Cannabis Oil

  Photo Credit: Chicago Now 'My name is Alysa Erwin. I am a pretty normal American teenage girl. I live in Petosky, Michigan. I love m...

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Dr. Mary Newport on Coconut Oil for Alzheimer's Treatment

<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Dfux-5Z4COo?rel=0" width="440"></iframe><br /><a href="http://www.ihealthtube.com/">iHealthTube.com</a> - <a href="http://www.ihealthtube.com/aspx/viewvideo.aspx?v=8e5ce1ff8380246d">Dr. Mary Newport on Coconut Oil for Alzheimer's Treatment</a>

Dr. Mary Newport on Coconut Oil for Alzheimer's Treatment

iHealthTube.com - Dr. Mary Newport on Coconut Oil for Alzheimer's Treatment

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Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Successfully Treated with Chinese Herbs

<br /><div style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Successfully Treated with Chinese Herbs" height="426" src="http://cdn.greenmedinfo.com/sites/default/files/ckeditor/Sayer%20Ji/images/Chinese_herbs.jpg" width="640" /></div><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">'Researchers from the Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine have determined in a multi-center, randomized, double-blind clinical study that a Chinese herbal formulation significantly treats nonalcoholic fatty liver cirrhosis.</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">The researchers studied 224 patients with liver disease from six hospitals – each affiliated with a university. The study was conducted for 24 weeks. The patients were given either a placebo or a five gram sachet of the herbal formula called Jiang Zhi Granule for the six month test period.</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">The doctors then examined the patients with a test called the Liver-spleen volume analysis. This is performed using computed tomography.'</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Read <a href="http://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/nonalcoholic-fatty-liver-disease-successfully-treated-chinese-herbs">more... </a></span>

Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Successfully Treated with Chinese Herbs

'Researchers from the Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine have determined in a multi-center, randomized, double-blind cl...

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Your Personal Health Code: How to Start Your Year Without Resolutions

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="New Year" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-18011" height="400" src="http://renegadehealth.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/New-Year.jpg" width="371" /></div><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">'Rather than make resolutions you may not keep, why not create your own health code for 2014?</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">Are New Year’s resolutions necessary?</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">We make them all too easily, and break them just as readily. Why not try something bigger and more meaningful this year? Why not make your health a priority?</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">It’s not easy to achieve optimal wellness. It helps to have an overall plan, which you can call your personal health code.</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">Your Personal Health Code</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">Your personal health code is the strategy by which you conduct your life, including the daily details of how you live. This may involve your dietary choices, exercise habits, sleep routines, and nutritional philosophy.</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">Are you a vegetarian, vegan, cooked or raw foodie, or omnivore? Do you follow a traditional Chinese or other ethnic diet? Are you committed to the yogi lifestyle, including the Ayurveda philosophy, or someone who includes yoga postures into an overall fitness plan? Do you shop for clothing made from sustainable fabrics sewn in fair trade factories? Do you avoid GMO foods? You get the point, I’m sure.</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">Here are some suggestions on how to formulate your personal health code.' </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Read <a href="http://renegadehealth.com/blog/2014/01/03/your-personal-health-code-how-to-start-your-year-without-resolutions">more... </a></span>

Your Personal Health Code: How to Start Your Year Without Resolutions

'Rather than make resolutions you may not keep, why not create your own health code for 2014? Are New Year’s resolutions necessary? We m...

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Whilst Waiting For Your Coffee

I'll be sleeping in.<br /><br />In the mean time;<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6AEL0gdIGTSyr6l8y-zk2pEfCnhcO_iEfTbHAj0G-Yf7Oa7ttUjlyOyrdB4mDKFQD9Qrak1c7uSfoGl6xCVzq0mNhWoU6adRU8K4CKdM9u20AJuzMsMsfu4cyD4tggaY3sG0H1m9I0el2/s1600/hot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6AEL0gdIGTSyr6l8y-zk2pEfCnhcO_iEfTbHAj0G-Yf7Oa7ttUjlyOyrdB4mDKFQD9Qrak1c7uSfoGl6xCVzq0mNhWoU6adRU8K4CKdM9u20AJuzMsMsfu4cyD4tggaY3sG0H1m9I0el2/s640/hot.jpg" /></a></div>

Whilst Waiting For Your Coffee

I'll be sleeping in. In the mean time;

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Almost G4T'd

<i><b>My son, if thou be surety for thy friend, <i>if</i> thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger,</b></i><br /><i><b>Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth.</b></i><br /><i><b>Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself, when thou art come into the hand of thy friend; go, humble thyself, and make sure thy friend.</b></i><br /><i><b>Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids.</b></i><br /><i><b>Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand <i id="yui-gen89">of the hunter</i>, and as a bird from the hand of the fowler. </b></i><br /><i><b> <i><b>--PROVERBS 6.1-5</b></i> </b></i><br /><div id="yui-gen70"></div><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/UhupRHdMdgE?feature=player_detailpage" width="640"></iframe><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/2_sNr03cBuc?feature=player_detailpage" width="640"></iframe><br /><b><br /></b><b> </b><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>THE BULLIES and THE VICTIM </b></span></div><br /><b>And now more developments...</b><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/84b_EOjU8w4?feature=player_detailpage" width="640"></iframe><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/uzjiisgPfSE?feature=player_detailpage" width="640"></iframe><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/uZf8lbw9alE?feature=player_detailpage" width="640"></iframe><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/k0ka52VoNCE?feature=player_detailpage" width="640"></iframe>

Almost G4T'd

My son, if thou be surety for thy friend, if thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger, Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou...

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Can't. Stop. Laughing. Steven Seagal considering run for Arizona governor

My sides hurt and I can barely type!<br /><br /><br />Whoooooooeeeee!<br /><br />I smell a Reality Show.<br /><br />Either that or a new slapstick comedy.<br /><br />File this under <a href="http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/01/04/steven-seagal-considering-run-for-arizona-governor/">You Gotta Be Fucking Kidding Me!</a><br /><br /><blockquote>Steven Seagal apparently doesn’t consider politics out of reach.<br /><br />The actor and martial artist told a Phoenix-area ABC affiliate that he’s willing to reach into the belly of the beast, and considering a run for Arizona governor. Seagal, 61, has been hard to kill as one of sheriff Joe Arpaio’s “posse” a group of about 3,000 volunteer lawmen that are occasionally above the law. Seagal has been focused less on issues of urban justice than border security while working with Arpaio, and considers it an important problem facing the country.<br /><br />While his political ambitions have to date been submerged — much like his recent film career — the executive decision to run or to hit the kill switch on a nascent campaign will come in consultation with the controversial Maricopa County sheriff, Seagal said. </blockquote><br />So let me get this straight.<br /><br />It would be this<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiUJgdiKcLPQzlTPXRs8jbWPYFp_5oF3myGANcGig4NOBMuDLHVa3WkFDoXLfiPaW30D8hBx1vueZ63O4cKqRxiTWZzVCLWKAAv75qC3snhMgxXVNvrvURQxfAqe33XoqwWwvNQGcJNod7/s1600/fat-steven-seagal1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiUJgdiKcLPQzlTPXRs8jbWPYFp_5oF3myGANcGig4NOBMuDLHVa3WkFDoXLfiPaW30D8hBx1vueZ63O4cKqRxiTWZzVCLWKAAv75qC3snhMgxXVNvrvURQxfAqe33XoqwWwvNQGcJNod7/s640/fat-steven-seagal1.jpg" /></a></div><br /><br />----------- VS.-------------<br /><br /><br /><br />This.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg89scufzYUEwxUAImtPv94DbXLdyrXSICsfX-cZ2ejFRh5fYU9xyShdpdBCV_-b0SKvdfkRDgqNunKvazMFewbkMIdiND_niDHcv5qXUhopqRV3C4aodTnfixsJPUC35wWwULVkVjm20IY/s1600/jan+brewer.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg89scufzYUEwxUAImtPv94DbXLdyrXSICsfX-cZ2ejFRh5fYU9xyShdpdBCV_-b0SKvdfkRDgqNunKvazMFewbkMIdiND_niDHcv5qXUhopqRV3C4aodTnfixsJPUC35wWwULVkVjm20IY/s640/jan+brewer.jpeg" /></a></div><br />This ain't a movie, my money is on the Evil Old Woman. Even Gandalf would run from that.<br /><br />She'll cut ya man.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Via <a href="http://rawstory.com/">Raw Story</a>.

Can't. Stop. Laughing. Steven Seagal considering run for Arizona governor

My sides hurt and I can barely type! Whoooooooeeeee! I smell a Reality Show. Either that or a new slapstick comedy. File this under You Gott...

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Dreamboat Thomas Roberts: Person of the Week!

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">IWS is proud to announce that our Person of the Week is MSNBC's Thomas Roberts!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBrFyTLiLyWzoXMAqNj36ufQc9hQenRah3IDJOOff5Yg7etdhw3rnaIwiGEgSf1dLkFStksnHRJMFjU2DUJu3PiDexLlErUOzCd-dT8WRjrZX7OCVzNCkwbEolQLay1hbHlMOMCXKfNSVc/s1600/Thomas+Roberts+Pretty.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBrFyTLiLyWzoXMAqNj36ufQc9hQenRah3IDJOOff5Yg7etdhw3rnaIwiGEgSf1dLkFStksnHRJMFjU2DUJu3PiDexLlErUOzCd-dT8WRjrZX7OCVzNCkwbEolQLay1hbHlMOMCXKfNSVc/s400/Thomas+Roberts+Pretty.jpg" width="265" /></a></div><br />Roberts has had an impressive career in cable news starting with CNN and then moving over to MSNBC where he filled in for different anchors during the day and even for Keith Olbermann after Olbermann was canned. He then took over as host of MSNBC Live and has now been announced as the new host of "Way Too Early!" and will also contribute to Morning Joe!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbB_BDxJr4kvh-iEXXlvO3u-s_mXHW0RLmEzgQVI1sWDZ0_tBVxUINTXjGVVclHfoU5qWSoW1Fci_KeevgI_I2AvM91kyhpI201aef_Zs2Fjc_JakWTxuhRuJoHlzL8R-1nw_f22Kldb9F/s1600/Thomas+Roberts+Way+Too+Early.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbB_BDxJr4kvh-iEXXlvO3u-s_mXHW0RLmEzgQVI1sWDZ0_tBVxUINTXjGVVclHfoU5qWSoW1Fci_KeevgI_I2AvM91kyhpI201aef_Zs2Fjc_JakWTxuhRuJoHlzL8R-1nw_f22Kldb9F/s1600/Thomas+Roberts+Way+Too+Early.jpg" /></a></div><br />And on top of all that, Thomas is freaking gorgeous! Just look at that fine piece of man-meat right there! No wonder he's so damn popular. WHAT A MAN!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLWhjZvdYHLenIZinXiNnqEqw_L5wDpWQTU2_hgX3MmJPfP2AD-AnIcZGvShATirzZaF74g9KVNqulz65sbxwjZVasXSXOAtpQGvdvBBJ8EfGkdlGYiTt59JR2S4KIXeXXCM2nbXa5wR_q/s1600/Thomas+Roberts+Shirtless+Nude+Hot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLWhjZvdYHLenIZinXiNnqEqw_L5wDpWQTU2_hgX3MmJPfP2AD-AnIcZGvShATirzZaF74g9KVNqulz65sbxwjZVasXSXOAtpQGvdvBBJ8EfGkdlGYiTt59JR2S4KIXeXXCM2nbXa5wR_q/s640/Thomas+Roberts+Shirtless+Nude+Hot.jpg" width="406" /></a></div><br /><br />Speaking of of men, be sure to tune into IWS Radio Sunday Night at 8 PM ET as we give out some great advice to the men out there in our "<a href="http://goo.gl/7TejOl" target="_blank">Men's Survival Guide 2014</a>."<br /><br /></div>

Dreamboat Thomas Roberts: Person of the Week!

IWS is proud to announce that our Person of the Week is MSNBC's Thomas Roberts! Roberts has had an impressive career in cable news start...

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'Great Train Robber' Ronnie Biggs defiant even in death (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/AVvXsEg8PTv0wAACuEcrmvTd-7Ym54WfLmlB0roYNgBRzSg29SRl__dVsFOmWA6ZijZ2zmLpAHYU8CzzscS5mcEtYUz6MYXczs0lMxRAc5WsC7ZjBzS8ClaufqYEDyQE_R6PRTA_pVeA84_Rta8/s1600/2014-01-03T145928Z_1663870194_GM1EA131RSD01_RTRMADP_3_BRITAIN.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8PTv0wAACuEcrmvTd-7Ym54WfLmlB0roYNgBRzSg29SRl__dVsFOmWA6ZijZ2zmLpAHYU8CzzscS5mcEtYUz6MYXczs0lMxRAc5WsC7ZjBzS8ClaufqYEDyQE_R6PRTA_pVeA84_Rta8/s320/2014-01-03T145928Z_1663870194_GM1EA131RSD01_RTRMADP_3_BRITAIN.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1388812966117_6627" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">By Alexander Winning</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1388812966117_6633" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Biggs, a small-time criminal who became a celebrity during a life on the run after the notorious 1963 robbery, died last month at the age of 84 in a London nursing home.LONDON (Reuters) - "Great Train Robber" Ronnie Biggs arrived for his funeral on Friday in a hearse bearing a large flower display in the shape of an obscene two-finger "V-sign", a fitting emblem of his lifelong defiance of the British authorities.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1388812966117_6638" 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 served just 15 months of a 30-year jail term when he escaped in 1965, fleeing to Australia, then Brazil, from where he flaunted his freedom, partying in exotic locations and giving interviews to the British press.</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 after 36 years on the run, Biggs returned to Britain in 2001, broke and in poor health, going back to jail until illness prompted his release in 2009.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">In his final year, Biggs appeared in public twice, frail and wheelchair-bound, but unrepentant for his role in the heist in which the gang stole 2.6 million pounds ($4.2 million) from a Royal Mail train, equivalent to about 40 million today.</div><div class="body-related" style="background-color: white; clear: right; float: right; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; position: relative;"><a class="body-related-link body-related-image go-to-slideshow-lightbox rapid-noclick-resp landscape onesize get-lbdata-from-dom" data-rapid_p="8" data-uuid="d60c52f5-55fc-3c95-bc9b-97da1f7a5d48" href="http://news.yahoo.com/photos/file-photograph-shows-great-train-robber-ronnie-biggs-photo-084254366.html" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 300px; position: relative; text-decoration: none;" title="File photograph shows Great Train Robber Ronnie Biggs&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: 194px; left: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; transition: background-color 0.24s linear; width: 300px;"><span class="clearfix title cta-text medium" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.24s linear; color: white; font-size: 16px; left: 5px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; top: 5px; transition: opacity 0.24s linear; white-space: pre-wrap; width: 270px; zoom: 1;"></span><span class="cta-text xsmall" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.24s linear; bottom: 5px; color: white; font-size: 16px; margin-left: 42px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; transition: opacity 0.24s linear;">View gallery</span><span class="icon-slideshow icon-white-slideshow-xsmall" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.16s linear; background-color: #324fe1; background-image: url(data:image/svg+xml; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; background-size: cover; border-bottom-left-radius: 4px; border-bottom-right-radius: 4px; border-top-left-radius: 4px; border-top-right-radius: 4px; bottom: 5px; cursor: pointer; height: 23px; left: 5px; line-height: 0; opacity: 0; padding: 0px; position: absolute; text-indent: -1000em; transition: opacity 0.16s linear; width: 32px; z-index: 1;"></span></div><img alt="File photograph shows Great Train Robber Ronnie Biggs&nbsp;&hellip;" class="body-related-thumb" data-src-2x="" height="194" src="http://l2.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/Va0E6IJSFmb5ygivd538lw--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTE5NDtxPTc1O3c9MzAw/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/Reuters/2013-12-18T084254Z_1108076345_LM1E9CI0O4101_RTRMADP_3_PEOPLE-RONNIEBIGGS.JPG" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; display: block; opacity: 1 !important; transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; vertical-align: baseline; visibility: visible !important;" width="300" /></div></a><div class="body-related-title photo-caption" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: grey; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%; padding: 5px 5px 0px 0px; position: relative; width: 300px;">File photograph shows Great Train Robber Ronnie Biggs gesturing as he arrives for the funeral of Bru …</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;">At the funeral of the robbery's mastermind Bruce Reynolds in March last year, Biggs found the strength to stick two fingers up at the cameras.</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 Friday, a cortege of Hell's Angels bikers and a brass band playing "When The Saints Go Marching In" led Biggs' coffin into a north London crematorium, followed by his family and various underworld figures, and watched by a scrum of media and some passers-by.</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;">"Biggs was not a major criminal but he had a eye for publicity. This is a circus, and everyone has fallen for it," said local resident David Rose, watching as the coffin draped in the British and Brazilian flags passed by in heavy rain.</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;">HERO OR VILLAIN?</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 Great Train Robbery became one of the defining events of 1960s Britain, coinciding with the Profumo affair - a sex-and-spies scandal that rocked the British establishment - and the rise of the Beatles and other working-class heroes. It spawned several films.</div><div class="body-related" style="background-color: white; clear: right; float: right; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; position: relative;"><a class="body-related-link body-related-image go-to-slideshow-lightbox rapid-noclick-resp portrait onesize get-lbdata-from-dom" data-rapid_p="9" data-uuid="00736d6c-04f8-3613-adbe-c7bba7307f1a" href="http://news.yahoo.com/photos/file-july-8-1963-file-photo-shows-ronnie-photo-145854866.html" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 300px; position: relative; text-decoration: none;" title="FILE - A July 8, 1963 file photo shows Ronnie Biggs.&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: 436px; left: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; transition: background-color 0.24s linear; width: 300px;"><span class="clearfix title cta-text medium" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.24s linear; color: white; font-size: 16px; left: 5px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; top: 5px; transition: opacity 0.24s linear; white-space: pre-wrap; width: 270px; zoom: 1;"></span><span class="cta-text xsmall" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.24s linear; bottom: 5px; color: white; font-size: 16px; margin-left: 42px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; transition: opacity 0.24s linear;">View gallery</span><span class="icon-slideshow icon-white-slideshow-xsmall" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.16s linear; background-color: #324fe1; background-image: url(data:image/svg+xml; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; background-size: cover; border-bottom-left-radius: 4px; border-bottom-right-radius: 4px; border-top-left-radius: 4px; border-top-right-radius: 4px; bottom: 5px; cursor: pointer; height: 23px; left: 5px; line-height: 0; opacity: 0; padding: 0px; position: absolute; text-indent: -1000em; transition: opacity 0.16s linear; width: 32px; z-index: 1;"></span></div><img alt="FILE - A July 8, 1963 file photo shows Ronnie Biggs.&nbsp;&hellip;" class="body-related-thumb" data-src-2x="" height="436" src="http://l3.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/OtYlPTMLBO9XnZ_HpDDD1w--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTQzNjtxPTc1O3c9MzAw/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/ap_webfeeds/c10e72927ec9422a460f6a706700e1e1.jpg" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; display: block; opacity: 1 !important; transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; vertical-align: baseline; visibility: visible !important;" width="300" /></div></a><div class="body-related-title photo-caption" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: grey; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%; padding: 5px 5px 0px 0px; position: relative; width: 300px;">FILE - A July 8, 1963 file photo shows Ronnie Biggs. Ronnie Biggs, known for his role in the 1963 Gr …</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;">Biggs, the most famous member of the gang, was a latter-day Robin Hood to some but an unrepentant villain to those who pointed to the violence used on the train driver.</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;">Jack Mills was hit over the head with a iron bar during the robbery and died seven years later, with some people blaming the injuries for his death.</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 67-year-old local resident who came to see what the media fuss was about, but declined to give her name, said: "I am ashamed I have come to watch a common criminal being buried."</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;">Biggs, who was born in south London, always said he had never regretted his role in the robbery as it had given him a "little place in history".</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;">His life, chronicled in a 2011 autobiography entitled "Odd Man Out: The Last Straw", made ideal fodder for a film script.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">After escaping from London's Wandsworth Prison in 1965 by scaling a wall with a rope ladder, he used his share of the loot for plastic surgery and passage to Australia.</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 later fled to Brazil, via Panama and Venezuela, pursued by his great adversary, London police detective Jack Slipper ("Slipper of the Yard"). The fact that he had a son with a Brazilian woman eventually spared him extradition.</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;">Tanned and sporting his white hair in a ponytail, he regularly gave interviews to British newspapers. In 1978 he even recorded a song, "No One is Innocent", with the British punk band the Sex Pistols.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1388812966117_6651" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">In 1981 he was abducted from Rio by former British commandos who took him to the Caribbean on a yacht, hoping to sell him to the highest bidder.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1388812966117_6643" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">(Writing by Belinda Goldsmith, Editing by)</div></div>

'Great Train Robber' Ronnie Biggs defiant even in death (BLOG)

By Alexander Winning Biggs, a small-time criminal who became a celebrity during a life on the run after the notorious 1963 robbery, died las...

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'Polar vortex' to blast frigid air over much of US (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/AVvXsEiWk_qAy80cfWzxDj1Y_WLva88d_hWs_GvSVK8L_dgTxA7VPsP1EXrvGDeZN5t6YCXOqcJ8gf5aOfuKvPHbLWKoKaYoRZjiLkQNN_IOV74yGiwucbY0_MoH78iJ-GjOFDRY3MEdvDaN5HQ/s1600/cf4f99577020e200470f6a7067004785.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/AVvXsEiWk_qAy80cfWzxDj1Y_WLva88d_hWs_GvSVK8L_dgTxA7VPsP1EXrvGDeZN5t6YCXOqcJ8gf5aOfuKvPHbLWKoKaYoRZjiLkQNN_IOV74yGiwucbY0_MoH78iJ-GjOFDRY3MEdvDaN5HQ/s320/cf4f99577020e200470f6a7067004785.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1388812966117_4496" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — The weather warnings are dire: Life threatening wind chills. Historic cold outbreak.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1388812966117_4502" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">One reason? A "polar vortex," as one meteorologist calls it, which will send cold air piled up at the North Pole down to the U.S., funneling it as far south as the Gulf Coast.Winter is normally cold, but starting Sunday tundra-like temperatures are poised to deliver a rare and potentially dangerous sledgehammer blow to much of the Midwest, driving temperatures so far below zero that records will shatter.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1388812966117_4508" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The temperature predictions are startling: 25 below zero in Fargo, N.D., minus 31 in International Falls, Minn., and 15 below in Indianapolis and Chicago. At those temperatures, exposed skin can get frostbitten in minutes and hypothermia can quickly set in because wind chills could hit 50, 60 or even 70 below zero.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1388812966117_4514" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Temperature records will likely be broken during the short, yet forceful deep freeze that will begin in many places on Sunday and extend into early next week. That's thanks to a perfect combination of the jet stream, cold surface temperatures and the polar vortex — a counterclockwise-rotating pool of cold, dense air, said Ryan Maue, of Tallahassee, Fla., a meteorologist for Weather Bell.</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 the ingredients are there for a near-record or historic cold outbreak," he said. "If you're under 40 (years old), you've not seen this stuff before."</div><div class="body-related" style="background-color: white; clear: right; float: right; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; position: relative;"><a class="body-related-link body-related-image go-to-slideshow-lightbox rapid-noclick-resp landscape onesize get-lbdata-from-dom" data-rapid_p="8" data-uuid="5e076b87-f293-3fa6-98a3-9e7b9ee9288d" href="http://news.yahoo.com/photos/man-spreads-salt-icy-sidewalk-chicago-friday-jan-photo-233355946.html" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 300px; position: relative; text-decoration: none;" title="A man spreads salt on icy sidewalk in Chicago, Friday,&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: 193px; 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="A man spreads salt on icy sidewalk in Chicago, Friday,&nbsp;&hellip;" class="body-related-thumb" data-src-2x="" height="193" src="http://l3.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/RgRcwcKT2d7B_nx3hGew0A--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTE5MztxPTc1O3c9MzAw/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/ap_webfeeds/f953b6bf70f9e600470f6a7067000384.jpg" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; display: block; opacity: 1 !important; transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; vertical-align: baseline; visibility: visible !important;" width="300" /></div></a><div class="body-related-title photo-caption" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: grey; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%; padding: 5px 5px 0px 0px; position: relative; width: 300px;">A man spreads salt on icy sidewalk in Chicago, Friday, Jan. 3, 2014. The snowstorm may finally have  …</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;">Snow already on the ground and fresh powder expected in some places ahead of the cold air will reduce the sun's heating effect, so nighttime lows will plummet thanks to strong northwest winds that will deliver the Arctic blast, Maue said. And there's no warming effect from the Gulf to counteract the cold air, he said.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The cold blast will sweep through parts of New England, where residents will have just dug out from a snowstorm and the frigid temperatures that followed. Parts of the central Midwest could also see up to a foot of snow just as the cold sweeps in pulling temperatures to 10 below zero in the St. Louis area.</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;">Even places accustomed to normally mild to warmer winters will see a plunge in temperatures early next week, including Atlanta where the high is expected to hover in the mid-20s on Tuesday.</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 one happens to be really big and it's going to dive deep into the continental U.S. And all that cold air is going to come with it," said Sally Johnson, meteorologist in charge at the National Weather Service in Sioux Falls.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">It's relatively uncommon to have such frigid air blanket so much of the U.S., maybe once a decade or every couple of decades, Maue said. But in the long-run the deep temperature dives are less meaningful for comparison to other storms than daytime highs that are below-zero and long cold spells, he said.</div><div class="body-related" style="background-color: white; clear: right; float: right; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; position: relative;"><a class="body-related-link body-related-image go-to-slideshow-lightbox rapid-noclick-resp portrait onesize get-lbdata-from-dom" data-rapid_p="9" data-uuid="40a1264c-3922-3033-bdd9-cc3a5fa2609b" href="http://news.yahoo.com/photos/sledding-enthusiasts-cricket-hill-montrose-beach-park-friday-photo-231228492.html" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 300px; position: relative; text-decoration: none;" title="Sledding enthusiasts take to Cricket Hill at Montrose&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: 434px; 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="Sledding enthusiasts take to Cricket Hill at Montrose&nbsp;&hellip;" class="body-related-thumb" data-src-2x="" height="434" src="http://l2.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/YU7aM2zSoTvliiz5ts1R2Q--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTQzNDtxPTc1O3c9MzAw/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/ap_webfeeds/3c98609270a6e400470f6a706700056b.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;">Sledding enthusiasts take to Cricket Hill at Montrose Beach Park Friday, Jan. 3, 2014, in Chicago. S …</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;">And so far, this winter is proving to be a cold one.</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;">"Right now for the winter we will have had two significant shots of major Arctic air and we're only through the first week of January. And we had a pretty cold December," Maue 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;">Cities and states are already taking precautions. Minnesota called off school for Monday statewide, the first such closing in 17 years, because of projected highs in the minus teens and lows as cold as 30 below. Milwaukee and Madison, Wis., students also won't be in class Monday. North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple urged superintendents to keep children's safety in making the decision after the state forecast called for "life threatening wind chills" through Tuesday morning.</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;">Sunday's playoff game in Green Bay could be among one of the coldest NFL games ever played. Temperatures at Lambeau Field are expected to be a frigid minus 2 degrees when the Packers and San Francisco 49ers kick off, and by the fourth quarter it'll be a bone-chilling minus 7, with wind chills approaching minus 30, according to the National Weather Service. Officials are warning fans to take extra safety measures to stay warm including dressing in layers and sipping warm drinks.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">And though this cold spell will last just a few days as warmer air comes behind, it likely will freeze over the Great Lakes and other bodies of water, meaning frigid temperatures will likely last the rest of winter, Maue said.</div><div class="body-related" style="background-color: white; clear: right; float: right; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; position: relative;"><a class="body-related-link body-related-image go-to-slideshow-lightbox rapid-noclick-resp landscape onesize get-lbdata-from-dom" data-rapid_p="10" data-uuid="fbbc07cb-4ff2-3228-b8c4-221fc51c8e97" href="http://news.yahoo.com/photos/woman-waits-bus-bus-stop-chicago-friday-jan-photo-233355611.html" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 300px; position: relative; text-decoration: none;" title="A woman waits for a bus at a bus stop in Chicago, Friday,&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: 199px; 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="A woman waits for a bus at a bus stop in Chicago, Friday,&nbsp;&hellip;" class="body-related-thumb" data-src-2x="" height="199" src="http://l3.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/IM6kiK1MxxyDzzOG8_.goA--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTE5OTtxPTc1O3c9MzAw/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/ap_webfeeds/2098a90b70fce600470f6a7067004fae.jpg" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; display: block; opacity: 1 !important; transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; vertical-align: baseline; visibility: visible !important;" width="300" /></div></a><div class="body-related-title photo-caption" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: grey; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%; padding: 5px 5px 0px 0px; position: relative; width: 300px;">A woman waits for a bus at a bus stop in Chicago, Friday, Jan. 3, 2014. The snowstorm may finally ha …</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;">"It raises the chances for future cold," he said, adding it could include next month's Super Bowl in New York.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">___</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;">Contact Carson Walker at http://twitter.com/carsonjw</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;"><br /></div></div>

'Polar vortex' to blast frigid air over much of US (BLOG)

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — The weather warnings are dire: Life threatening wind chills. Historic cold outbreak. One reason? A "polar vort...

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Installation Not Included

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIDBRcUUvaeEBvexSlAYnDUpEeiFqr-6201dOiJuWXZWkqtj6bmJ33_PsB33eKhGgbbRZGzwSko0_CozuBqDKXWTzEoBFvO96Sfa3V20J-xIrPvg4S7K6k7zbmNHcTtXm_UqyrrX1RQ_yB/s1600/used+boobs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIDBRcUUvaeEBvexSlAYnDUpEeiFqr-6201dOiJuWXZWkqtj6bmJ33_PsB33eKhGgbbRZGzwSko0_CozuBqDKXWTzEoBFvO96Sfa3V20J-xIrPvg4S7K6k7zbmNHcTtXm_UqyrrX1RQ_yB/s640/used+boobs.jpg" /></a></div>

Installation Not Included

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This Just Caught My Eye

Hmm.<br /><br />My 10/22 has two splits in the stock right at the top where it mates up to the receiver. One on each side.<br />I took the scope off also because I have the wrong attaching hardware.<br /><br />This has possibilities.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiF0W2uReJcfrJFLYq0N2Alo-g8AkJ-AlQ_Q-8JQeW77srEalqnr30nEcFhrilOy50Kc8QrrdFMz1gu9HatZKwvnl0sSSDGhhdlTtdpFW4smGol22TgUIvh3ADlbbMGVu5U5_E7m57AN1_/s1600/muzzelite-Ruger_10-22-Inside.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiF0W2uReJcfrJFLYq0N2Alo-g8AkJ-AlQ_Q-8JQeW77srEalqnr30nEcFhrilOy50Kc8QrrdFMz1gu9HatZKwvnl0sSSDGhhdlTtdpFW4smGol22TgUIvh3ADlbbMGVu5U5_E7m57AN1_/s640/muzzelite-Ruger_10-22-Inside.jpg" /></a></div><br />Decisions, decisions.<br /><br />Whatever I decide to replace the current stock with is most definitely not going to be made out of wood.<br /><br />Uh Oh.<br /><br />The very first thing I read about this set up wasn't very encouraging though.<br />From the <a href="http://www.mountsplus.com/AR-15_Accessories/AR-15_Scope_Rings/MZ-1022.html">Muzzelite website</a>;<br /><br /><blockquote>MUZZELITE BULLPUP RIFLE STOCK<br />for the Ruger 10/22<br /><br />Disclaimer:<br />Muzzelite stocks have been a safe and effective alternative stock for many years. While there have been no reports of injury, it has come to our attention that in some cases, dimensional differences in receivers may allow some rifles to move within a Muzzelite stock. In that event, <i>an unintended discharge is theoretically possible</i>. If you have any question about your rifle in its Muzzelite stock, please call 1-800-428-9394. If you have concerns, we can help you arrange to ship your rifle for examination. Shipping costs would initially be borne by you. If your rifle and receiver combination permits any movement of the rifle within the stock, we will upgrade your stock with two alternative parts, re-install the rifle, test it for function, and return it. If your rifle requires upgraded parts, the upgrade will be done without charge and your shipping costs refunded to you.<br /></blockquote><br />My emphasis.<br /><br />Yeah, that's kind of weak bullshit.<br />"It might be fucked up but you won't know unless you pay to have it shipped to us first" kinda thing doesn't fly with me.<br /><br />Especially when we are talking about the possibility of an "unintended discharge" because the parts don't fit right!<br /><br />So, now that I have had time to think about it, that attitude alone just cost them a sale.<br /><br />Sorry guys, having to roll the dice when I shell out hard earned money for something that I may need to protect myself and my family with doesn't cut it.<br /><br />That's just my opinion anyway.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgECGCt7LwxrCQMhmBKwZFNEr6-yqnQghyphenhyphendCckLH1C59IQW-1W6x2U1Tfwi-UpiZW_Q21uRGIUfAXBp9LpIFI-F-YIrUboaLeIQA31rwbX158q-u931ka2Eu8s290TkKrMyT6VLbRq3bzgr/s1600/pop-ink-csa-images-hand-rolling-dice.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgECGCt7LwxrCQMhmBKwZFNEr6-yqnQghyphenhyphendCckLH1C59IQW-1W6x2U1Tfwi-UpiZW_Q21uRGIUfAXBp9LpIFI-F-YIrUboaLeIQA31rwbX158q-u931ka2Eu8s290TkKrMyT6VLbRq3bzgr/s640/pop-ink-csa-images-hand-rolling-dice.jpg" /></a></div>

This Just Caught My Eye

Hmm. My 10/22 has two splits in the stock right at the top where it mates up to the receiver. One on each side. I took the scope off also be...

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Al-Qaida sweep in Iraq cities revives battleground (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/AVvXsEiGcHPc4mzTJE_t0UNJmQRIBwg2Xa3tItjnMMyNGp34FZjnTitzXWMyXC023p2v4FBgg9jrQit-AFf4FT5RrxWpmsuzIdc750bQqkbYSkdPM4DgyW6cP4gXcrBzyoBi6t03fi_KYuCZfoY/s1600/a998c44c6f55de00470f6a7067009604.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGcHPc4mzTJE_t0UNJmQRIBwg2Xa3tItjnMMyNGp34FZjnTitzXWMyXC023p2v4FBgg9jrQit-AFf4FT5RrxWpmsuzIdc750bQqkbYSkdPM4DgyW6cP4gXcrBzyoBi6t03fi_KYuCZfoY/s320/a998c44c6f55de00470f6a7067009604.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> <span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px;">BAGHDAD (AP) — Two Iraqi cities that were strongholds of Sunni insurgents during the U.S. war in the country are battlegrounds once more after al-Qaida militants largely took them over, fending off government forces that have been besieging them for days.</span><br /><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1388812966117_2628" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;"><br />On Friday, al-Qaida gunmen sought to win over the population in Fallujah, one of the cities they swept into on Wednesday. A militant commander appeared among worshippers holding Friday prayers in the main city street, proclaiming that his fighters were there to defend Sunnis from the government, one resident said.The overrunning of the cities this week by al-Qaida's Iraqi branch in the Sunni heartland of western Anbar provinces is a blow to the Shiite-led government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Malik. His government has been struggling to contain discontent among the Sunni minority over Shiite political domination that has flared into increased violence for the past 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;">"We are your brothers from the Islamic State in Iraq and Levant," militants circulating through the city in a stolen police car proclaimed through a loudspeaker, using the name of the al-Qaida branch. "We are here to protect you from the government. We call on you to cooperate with us."</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;">Government troops, backed by Sunni tribesmen who oppose al-Qaida, have encircled Fallujah for several days, and have entered parts of the provincial capital Ramadi, also overrun by militants. On Friday, troops bombarded militant positions outside Fallujah with artillery, a military official said, speaking on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to release information.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Anbar province, a vast desert area on the borders with Syria and Jordan with an almost entirely Sunni population was the heartland of the Sunni insurgency that rose up against American troops and the Iraqi government after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein. The insurgency was fueled by anger over the dislodgment of their community from power during Saddam's rule and the rise of Shiites. It was then that al-Qaida established its branch in the country.</div><div class="body-related" style="background-color: white; clear: right; float: right; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; position: relative;"><a class="body-related-link body-related-image go-to-slideshow-lightbox rapid-noclick-resp landscape onesize get-lbdata-from-dom" data-rapid_p="8" data-uuid="e75a3d16-a5a0-33db-9ac9-471a3a01b134" href="http://news.yahoo.com/photos/sunni-muslim-worshippers-crowd-street-attend-open-air-photo-153511305.html" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 300px; position: relative; text-decoration: none;" title="Sunni Muslim worshippers crowd a street as they attend&nbsp;&hellip;"><div class="img-wrap" style="position: relative;"><div class="cta-overlay" style="-webkit-transition: background-color 0.24s linear; font-size: 13px; height: 200px; left: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; transition: background-color 0.24s linear; width: 300px;"><span class="clearfix title cta-text medium" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.24s linear; color: white; font-size: 16px; left: 5px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; top: 5px; transition: opacity 0.24s linear; white-space: pre-wrap; width: 270px; zoom: 1;"></span><span class="cta-text xsmall" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.24s linear; bottom: 5px; color: white; font-size: 16px; margin-left: 42px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; transition: opacity 0.24s linear;">View gallery</span><span class="icon-slideshow icon-white-slideshow-xsmall" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.16s linear; background-color: #324fe1; background-image: url(data:image/svg+xml; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; background-size: cover; border-bottom-left-radius: 4px; border-bottom-right-radius: 4px; border-top-left-radius: 4px; border-top-right-radius: 4px; bottom: 5px; cursor: pointer; height: 23px; left: 5px; line-height: 0; opacity: 0; padding: 0px; position: absolute; text-indent: -1000em; transition: opacity 0.16s linear; width: 32px; z-index: 1;"></span></div><img alt="Sunni Muslim worshippers crowd a street as they attend&nbsp;&hellip;" class="body-related-thumb" data-src-2x="" height="200" src="http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/UTZz0hoedGY9VDikKN0pMg--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTIwMDtxPTc1O3c9MzAw/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/ap_webfeeds/b255cb526f49de00470f6a7067007ffe.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;">Sunni Muslim worshippers crowd a street as they attend open air Friday prayers in Fallujah, 40 miles …</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;">Fallujah became notorious among Americans when insurgents in 2004 killed four American security contractors and hung their burned bodies from a bridge. It, the provincial capital Ramadi and other cities were repeatedly battlegrounds for the following years, as sectarian bloodshed mounted, with Shiite militias killing Sunni.</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;">Finally, major Sunni tribes turned against al-Qaida, forming militias that fought alongside American troops — bringing an easing of the bloodshed in 2008, before the American withdrawal at the end of 2011.</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 2013 has been the deadliest year since, with a resurgence of violence after al-Maliki's government in April violently broke up a protest by Sunnis against discrimination by Shiite authorities.</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;">Sunni anger further flared after authorities this past week arrested a senior Sunni politician and dismantled a months-old sit-in in Ramadi over the past week.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">As a concession, al-Maliki on Wednesday pulled the military out of Anbar cities to give security duties to local police, a top demand of Sunnis who see the army as a tool of al-Maliki's rule. But al-Qaida militants promptly erupted in Fallujah, Ramadi and several nearby towns, overrunning police station, driving out security forces and freeing prisoners.</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="9" data-uuid="68cfa707-c51d-3c3b-bf28-c36ae0dd0b04" href="http://news.yahoo.com/photos/file-file-photo-taken-tuesday-oct-15-2013-photo-130939698.html" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 300px; position: relative; text-decoration: none;" title="FILE - In this file photo taken Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2013,&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: 212px; left: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; transition: background-color 0.24s linear; width: 300px;"><span class="clearfix title cta-text medium" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.24s linear; color: white; font-size: 16px; left: 5px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; top: 5px; transition: opacity 0.24s linear; white-space: pre-wrap; width: 270px; zoom: 1;"></span><span class="cta-text xsmall" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.24s linear; bottom: 5px; color: white; font-size: 16px; margin-left: 42px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; transition: opacity 0.24s linear;">View gallery</span><span class="icon-slideshow icon-white-slideshow-xsmall" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.16s linear; background-color: #324fe1; background-image: url(data:image/svg+xml; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; background-size: cover; border-bottom-left-radius: 4px; border-bottom-right-radius: 4px; border-top-left-radius: 4px; border-top-right-radius: 4px; bottom: 5px; cursor: pointer; height: 23px; left: 5px; line-height: 0; opacity: 0; padding: 0px; position: absolute; text-indent: -1000em; transition: opacity 0.16s linear; width: 32px; z-index: 1;"></span></div><img alt="FILE - In this file photo taken Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2013,&nbsp;&hellip;" class="body-related-thumb" data-src-2x="" height="212" src="http://l2.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/OP_Y1InlouHligFl9xOXuQ--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTIxMjtxPTc1O3c9MzAw/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/ap_webfeeds/189e69504af2c500470f6a7067008de2.jpg" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; display: block; opacity: 1 !important; transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; vertical-align: baseline; visibility: visible !important;" width="300" /></div></a><div class="body-related-title photo-caption" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: grey; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%; padding: 5px 5px 0px 0px; position: relative; width: 300px;">FILE - In this file photo taken Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2013, worshipers look at blood stains at the site  …</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;">Since then, militants have dug in in the cities, setting up checkpoints in streets and waving black al-Qaida banners. Al-Maliki called in military reinforcements and sought the support of Sunni tribal fighters, who oppose al-Qaida though they still mistrust the government.</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;">Government official Dhari al-Rishawi told The Associated Press that clashes were still underway on Friday, saying the militants remain in control of Fallujah and some parts of Ramadi. On Thursday, government warplanes fired Hellfire missiles — recently supplied by the United States — at some militant positions.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">So far, casualties from the fighting since Wednesday are not known. On Friday, two policemen were killed and six other wounded when their patrol was attacked by gunmen in speeding cars outside Fallujah, a police officer and a medical officials said on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to release the information.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1388812966117_2662" 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_1388812966117_2656" 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 writer Sinan Salaheddin contributed to this report.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div>

Al-Qaida sweep in Iraq cities revives battleground (BLOG)

  BAGHDAD (AP) — Two Iraqi cities that were strongholds of Sunni insurgents during the U.S. war in the country are battlegrounds once more a...

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Clippers' Paul out 3-5 weeks with shoulder injury (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/AVvXsEjbuH-A4GrbHicMZY53UmvVkJlzMXcfoKfi2Cz9XFt56wlyIpUwC3h26miaXMCnmzL2lXuVqOoGPwNJPl1-GCmzpK3FbqMkydPM2yefiYgkePRF3bYr-hgg7ijbKwnBgRqLEIq53-avtbU/s1600/201401032023734089975.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/AVvXsEjbuH-A4GrbHicMZY53UmvVkJlzMXcfoKfi2Cz9XFt56wlyIpUwC3h26miaXMCnmzL2lXuVqOoGPwNJPl1-GCmzpK3FbqMkydPM2yefiYgkePRF3bYr-hgg7ijbKwnBgRqLEIq53-avtbU/s320/201401032023734089975.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1388812814062_3137" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">DALLAS (AP) -- Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul will miss three to five weeks after separating his right shoulder in a game against Dallas.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1388812814062_3187" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Clippers coach Doc Rivers said the injury to the shoulder on the star's shooting arm Friday night was a separation. Earlier, the team had said it was a sprain.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1388812814062_3196" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Paul was tripped by Mavericks guard <a class="yom-entity-link yom-entity-sports_player" data-rapid_p="11" href="http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3966" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Monta Ellis</a> while dribbling around a screen. He rolled over and stayed on the floor holding his shoulder while trainers attended to him.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1388812814062_3206" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">After staying down for about a minute, Paul went to the locker room with 6:43 remaining in third quarter.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1388812814062_3266" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Paul scored 19 points in the first half and made his first five shots, all from 3-point range.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1388812814062_3276" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The Clippers play at San Antonio on Saturday night.</div></div>

Clippers' Paul out 3-5 weeks with shoulder injury (BLOG)

DALLAS (AP) -- Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul will miss three to five weeks after separating his right shoulder in a game against Dal...

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Guns are cutting back on crime

<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>HURRY BUY MORE GUNS!</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Many Americans are shifting toward less gun control are more constitutional awareness.  Many Americans have been unnecessarily insulted by various Sandy Hook activists and others who want to make lawful Americans feel guilty for nothing at all. </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Some say it's a good time to buy guns now since the prices have dropped back and even ammunition is no longer in short supply.   But don't delay.</b><br /><br /><b>Even Detroit's Chief Of Police James Craig says good Americans with guns deter crime:  </b></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/OO3eA-L8Qv8?feature=player_detailpage" width="640"></iframe><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><b>...developing...</b></div>

Guns are cutting back on crime

HURRY BUY MORE GUNS! Many Americans are shifting toward less gun control are more constitutional awareness.  Many Americans have been unnece...

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Man Loses 392 Pounds After Seeing His Obese Reflection on TV Screen (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/AVvXsEjqG_aJCzMEx9B2EvWKF8yuxY4AHLytp_zjU_sWaHmrxmjOxEOcrQFdC7gkOuFMcalG41kv6Qz_clr5VEEAa6W9k8k_fdJVAyqqZHpTvD9HiJobereQvMztrwuV048XmdyS7-uyV44UNKM/s1600/HT_michael_holcomb_lpl_140103_16x9_608.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqG_aJCzMEx9B2EvWKF8yuxY4AHLytp_zjU_sWaHmrxmjOxEOcrQFdC7gkOuFMcalG41kv6Qz_clr5VEEAa6W9k8k_fdJVAyqqZHpTvD9HiJobereQvMztrwuV048XmdyS7-uyV44UNKM/s320/HT_michael_holcomb_lpl_140103_16x9_608.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1388811998962_25036" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Sharee Samuels had always been of average weight as a child, but at 13 she was on her own after school. She gorged on chips, pretzels and cookies.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"When I started weighing myself at 13, I never saw below 200," she said. "I had unlimited access to anything I wanted. I no longer had parental control over my food."</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1388811998962_25046" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">She used to hide food so her parents wouldn't find out how much she was eating, and in her senior year of high school, her weight peaked at 256 pounds.</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;">Michael Holcomb can probably relate. When he was 13 years old he tipped the scale at nearly 500 pounds, and when he graduated he gained another 100 pounds.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1388811998962_25056" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"I didn't do much, and what I did do was eat. So I played video games, I would watch TV and I ate, and I was good at it," he said.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1388811998962_25066" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">But Samuels and Holcomb are no longer obese.</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;">Samuels and Holcomb are both featured in <a data-rapid_p="8" href="http://www.people.com/people/" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">People magazine's special issue</a> that focuses on people who'd lost about half their body weight. They both appeared on <a data-rapid_p="9" href="http://gma.yahoo.com/taylor-swift-meets-child-hit-suv-outside-her-101817770--abc-news-music.html" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">"Good Morning America"</a> to share their weight-loss strategies.</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 Samuels, a graduate student and Zumba teacher from Federal Way, Wash., one on of her lowest points was having to shop with her mother because, at 17, she couldn't wear what her friends were wearing.</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>"I had to shop at women's plus-size stores," she said.</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;">After her second attempt at weight loss, she had a breakthrough.</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 was sitting in the car with my mom crying. I felt like I had let my parents down. I had all these resources, two supportive parents and I was just sabotaging myself," she said. "That was the moment I said 'I'm done.'"</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1388811998962_25077" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">She worked with her husband, Andre, to lose weight. She also adopted a vegan diet, and always has healthy snacks available.</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;">Samuels, now 24, lost 121 pounds, and now weighs 135. Her weight loss was so dramatic that she had loose skin removed. Her husband went from 310 to 217 pounds.</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 Holcomb, 26, the change began five years ago when he was involved in a minor car accident. It got him thinking about his own mortality.</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 day I [lay] down on my couch and the cable went out, the screen turned black and I was lying there without my shirt and I saw my stomach hanging over the side of the couch, and I broke down and I cried and I promised myself I would change. And from that day onward, I have changed for the better," he said.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">When he decided to change his life, he weighed 607 pounds. He now weighs 230, which means he lost 392 pounds.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1388811998962_25095" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Just how did he do it? He gave up fatty sandwiches for healthy salads, and started walking. The Escondido, Calif., man now works as a personal trainer.</div></div>

Man Loses 392 Pounds After Seeing His Obese Reflection on TV Screen (BLOG)

Sharee Samuels had always been of average weight as a child, but at 13 she was on her own after school. She gorged on chips, pretzels and co...

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DreamWorks Animation to Release Its Own Tablet: The DreamTab

<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/AVvXsEjG0bvqzPTQmmVCwbrwNv-BvNL34oyODI1qnpDGLkVlf0TehDpjjmZTFlPRhcV9ngKo3GLs9SJUNGnT9YrZ5wvhyphenhyphen7SSxnlKfvus9Bvh0utgEnJ7iz125HHH7k835w51s-OAgh0W-Ata7JQ/s1600/DreamWorks_Animation_to_Release_Its-69b81b21071d0ddfcba762fed44d4cb0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG0bvqzPTQmmVCwbrwNv-BvNL34oyODI1qnpDGLkVlf0TehDpjjmZTFlPRhcV9ngKo3GLs9SJUNGnT9YrZ5wvhyphenhyphen7SSxnlKfvus9Bvh0utgEnJ7iz125HHH7k835w51s-OAgh0W-Ata7JQ/s320/DreamWorks_Animation_to_Release_Its-69b81b21071d0ddfcba762fed44d4cb0.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1388811998962_20930" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">DreamWorks Animation has partnered with Fuhu, Inc. to create the DreamTab, a new tablet designed just for kids that will feature educational activities and games based on DreamWorks Animation films, the companies said Friday.</div><div class="body-slot-mod" style="background-color: white; clear: right; float: right; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 1.1em 10px; max-width: 300px;"><div class="yom-remote"><div class="" id="mediacontentrelatedstory_container"><section class="yom-mod " data-ylk="mid:mediacontentrelatedstory;mpos:1;elm:hdln;elmt:ct;cat:Related Stories;rspns:nav;t1:a3;itc:0;sec:lst-ct;" id="mediacontentrelatedstory" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></section></div></div></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1388811998962_19843" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The tablet, which will be unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas next week, will go on sale in the United States in Spring 2014 and be released internationally later this year.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1388811998962_20940" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Fuhu, a California-based company with offices in the United States and across Eastern Asia, is one of the fastest growing private companies in America. It designed the nabi tablet, the technological foundation for the DreamTab.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1388811998962_20949" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">For DreamWorks Animation, this marks the continued extension of its brand into new arenas for the digital-savvy kid. The film studio has expanded into television, acquired a prominent YouTube network and is opening up amusement parks and other consumer experiences across the globe based on its film properties.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The company’s artists for movies like “Shrek,” “Kung Fu Panda” and “How to Train Your Dragon” will give one-one-one video lessons on the DreamTab, teaching kids how to draw their favorite characters using the same stylus tool the artists used for the movies. The tablet will also come equipped with games related to DreamWorks Animation movies. The first, School of Dragons, will feature the animation studio’s “How to Train Your Dragon” franchise.”</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;">“Fuhu grabbed our attention when they came on the market because they single-handedly made a quantum leap forward in revolutionizing the kids tech space; as their company grew, we saw an incredible opportunity to join with them to take the overall tablet experience to a whole new level,” Jim Mainard, DreamWorks Animation’s Head of Digital Strategy, said in a statement. “The DreamTab posed a compelling challenge not only to our filmmakers and artists to create content for this new medium, but also for our engineers and innovators who worked hand-in-hand with the Fuhu team to develop the consumer- facing side of this groundbreaking 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;">The tablet’s native entertainment properties include nabi Play, which will feature kid’s programming from DreamWorks Animation as well as Nick, Disney and Cartoon Network, and a curated App Zone and Treasure Box that sell apps, music and movies.</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 two companies have gone out of their way to assuage parents’ fears about a kids-specific tablet as the DreamTab comes equipped with parental controls and emails/texting services that comply with child privacy rules.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1388811998962_20982" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">The tablet will sell at 8 inches and 12 inches.</span></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1388811998962_20972" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The post <a data-rapid_p="10" href="http://www.thewrap.com/dreamworks-animation-sell-tablet/" id="yui_3_9_1_1_1388811998962_20971" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">DreamWorks Animation to Release Its Own Tablet: The DreamTab</a> appeared first on <a data-rapid_p="11" href="http://www.thewrap.com/" id="yui_3_9_1_1_1388811998962_21006" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">TheWrap</a>.</div></div>

DreamWorks Animation to Release Its Own Tablet: The DreamTab

DreamWorks Animation has partnered with Fuhu, Inc. to create the DreamTab, a new tablet designed just for kids that will feature educational...

Read more »