Former NFL player Brown claims mental defect

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) ? Former Notre Dame assistant coach Corwin Brown officially notified a judge Wednesday that he plans to defend himself against charges of striking his wife and holding her hostage by claiming he has a mental defect caused by brain injuries he sustained while playing football in the NFL and college.

Superior Court Judge Jane Woodward Miller set a Jan. 11 hearing date for Brown's attorney and prosecutors to identify possible doctors to evaluate Brown's mental status. Defense attorney William Stanley wouldn't elaborate when asked by reporters what mental problems Brown is suffering from.

"That's why we want the examinations by the doctors," he said.

Brown, 41, was taken from his home Aug. 12 with a self-inflicted gunshot wound after a seven-hour standoff with police in Granger, just northeast of South Bend.

A statement released by Brown's family four days after the standoff apologized for the disturbance and thanked authorities for saving Brown's life. The statement also said the family believes Brown may suffer from the same type of brain trauma as Dave Duerson, the former Chicago Bears and Notre Dame star who committed suicide in February. The statement said Brown had become suspicious, distant, gloomy, exhausted and depressed after playing eight seasons in the NFL as a defensive back for the Patriots, the New York Jets and Detroit Lions and playing in college at Michigan.

Brown ignored reporters' requests for comment outside the courtroom on Wednesday. He was defensive coordinator at Notre Dame from 2007-2009, losing his job when coach Charlie Weis was fired and then coaching for the New England Patriots for a season.

Stanley said he likely will take the unusual step of asking that doctors from outside the area who are familiar with brain injuries sustained by professional football players examine Brown. Chief Deputy Prosecutor Ken Cotter says he will wait until seeing the names proposed before deciding whether to oppose that, and said he may suggest some doctors himself.

Brown's first scheduled court appearance in September was put on hold because he was undergoing psychological testing at the University of Michigan Hospital. Stanley said he couldn't talk about the results of those tests, saying they are privileged. But he said the plan was to file a motion of mental defect before Brown underwent those tests.

"We can't deny what happened. It's on camera. So the whole issue is, what was his mental condition at that time?" Stanley said.

Stanley said there isn't claiming Brown isn't competent to stand trial. He did say Brown has been under treatment since the standoff.

Stanley said Brown is living in Chicago with his parents, who were with him on Wednesday, but weren't inside the courtroom for his two-minute appearance before the judge. Stanley said he believes Brown is still with his wife, Melissa, and said Brown sees his son and two daughters regularly, especially at their sporting events.

"I believe the family is doing fine," he said.

___

Tom Coyne can be reached at http://twitter.com/TomCoyneAP

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2011-11-30-FBN-Ex-Notre-Dame-Coach-Standoff/id-7d2d9716ea6942bd8848e0da14ee4308

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Fans of Baby Beach hope to halt plans to change it

On a waterfront crowded with docks, restaurants and tourist shops, Baby Beach is a mellow haven.

Families and school groups regularly crowd onto the tiny, sheltered beach, where children can safely splash in a nearly wave-free swimming area sandwiched between the Ocean Institute and Dana Point Harbor. Kayakers and stand-up paddlers relish the beach as a calm, easy launching spot.

But all that could be at risk.

Orange County is proposing to build docks in front of the strand as part of its effort to revitalize the aging marina in the harbor. The new docks would be west of the OC Sailing & Events Center, freeing up space to the east for larger vessels ? a growing trend in the boating world.

The long-rumored changes were made public in September with the release of an environmental report that disclosed that the county's Harbor Revitalization Plan could require the swimming and launch area be moved 50 feet to the west.

Opponents, who have organized as the Save Baby Beach Coalition, say the plan would eliminate one-fifth of the usable beachfront, moving sailboats, powerboats and a septic waste pump-out station too close to one of the area's only family-friendly swimming spots. The design "curtails public access, impacts the environment, and diminishes the enjoyment of the recreational area at Baby Beach," the group wrote this month in a letter to the county signed by more than 500 people.

The group is not opposed to the harbor overhaul, said organizer Paul Sampedro, a stand-up paddle-boarder from Dana Point, only its encroachment on the beach.

"There's a reason why it's called Baby Beach," Sampedro said. "So this should not come at the expense of children and families, public access and the environment. It should not restrict the people's rights to recreation."

County officials stressed that approval is a long way off.

"Final design can be adjusted based on public comment," Brad Gross, director of OC Dana Point Harbor, wrote in an email to The Times. Until the state Coastal Commission approves the permits and the project is financed, nothing is final, Gross said.

The revitalization plan would rebuild much of the 40-year-old marina and its deteriorating docks and facilities. The harbor's boat slips would be reduced by 16, to 2,293, many designed to accommodate bulkier vessels.

Similar tensions are playing out as harbors along the California coast seek to modernize and build larger slips. In Los Angeles County's Marina del Rey, built in the 1960s, local small-boating activists contend that redevelopment favors owners of large yachts and restricts opportunities for people with more modest boats.

Dana Point Harbor also dates from the '60s, it's construction famously destroying what had been one of Southern California's most renowned surf breaks, Killer Dana.

The pro-Baby Beach paddlers and casual swimmers from Orange County and beyond, who include surf pioneer (and latter-day paddle-boarder) Mickey Mu?oz of Capistrano Beach, say they have a chance to prevent one of the only postage stamps of beachfront left in the harbor area from getting any smaller.

The county has several months to respond to concerns about the project, including dozens, perhaps hundreds, of letters from community members who would like to see Baby Beach stay as it is.

"We intend to follow this project closely," Sampedro said, "until we confirm that any development that impacts public access and the environment at Baby Beach has been spared."

tony.barboza@latimes.com

Source: http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/news/science/~3/RHk2y2hKlwk/la-me-baby-beach-20111128,0,5623360.story

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Sonia Gandhi gives first speech post-surgery (Reuters)

NEW DELHI (Reuters) ? Sonia Gandhi, head of the ruling Congress party and India's most powerful politician, on Tuesday gave her first speech since undergoing surgery for an undisclosed illness as she rallied party workers behind her son ahead of crucial state elections.

The 64-year-old Gandhi appeared along with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at a rally of the Youth Congress that was a clear backing of family scion Rahul Gandhi, widely seen as the party's next prime ministerial candidate before a 2014 general election.

"The Congress has always been in the forefront, whether it was in the fight for freedom or in safeguarding the rights of the common people through its policies and institutions," Gandhi told 8,000 party workers in the capital.

Sonia Gandhi, heir to a family dynasty that has ruled India for most of the post-Independence era, spoke clearly and, while appearing to wear heavy make-up, she showed no obvious signs of suffering from cancer as has been widely reported in the media.

Her illness has raised speculation that she could soon hand over the reins of Congress to her son - a generational change that could transform Indian politics and possibly give a new lease of life to a beleaguered and corruption-tainted party.

The 41-year-old Rahul Gandhi has placed his political credentials on doing well in elections in Uttar Pradesh, a state of 200 million people that is likely to be key to the party's fortunes and whether it can return to power in federal elections in 2014.

SILENT ON RETAIL REFORM

In her speech, Gandhi made no mention of the controversy surrounding the government's decision last week to allow foreign retail giants to enter the country's supermarket sector - a move that has sparked opposition from the coalition's own allies and derailed moves to pass some key reform bills in parliament.

While Gandhi defended other policies, mainly social welfare programmes, and attacked corruption, her silence on the retail sector jarred with Singh's own defence of one of his boldest reforms in years just minutes earlier at the same meeting.

Gandhi is further to the left than the reform-minded prime minister, and has been the driving force behind social welfare programmes - including jobs and food subsidies for the poor - since the Congress-led coalition was first elected in 2004.

The retail reform is at odds the Congress party's image as a defender of the poor given widespread fears that millions of shopkeepers could lose their jobs to the likes of foreign retailers like Wal-Mart.

Tuesday's rally highlighted the difference between the two leaders, but did not mean there was any political rift.

On the one hand, Gandhi's failure to publicly defend the retail reform may have been dictated by electoral considerations, but her presence alongside the prime minister as he stood firm on the policy suggested it had her support.

"There has always been this difference between the two. He is regarded as pro-market and she is supposed to be following the old Nehruvian socialism," said Amulya Ganguli, a political analyst. "But I think the differences have been narrowed to a certain extent."

"She's probably not gung-ho about multi-brand retail, but I wouldn't read too much into her silence. He wouldn't have done it without some kind of approval, and backtracking would be disastrous."

Gandhi's illness has come as the coalition government has struggled to fend off corruption scandals that have plagued Singh's second term in office.

Her condition remains the subject of speculation.

India's media usually keeps a respectful distance from the personal life of the Gandhi family. But some reports said she was treated at New York's Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

Gandhi underwent successful surgery in August and devolved part of her responsibilities to Rahul, who was criticised for dithering during mass corruption protests at that time and, unusually, was jeered at a public appearance.

(Writing by Alistair Scrutton; Additional reporting by Matthias Williams; Editing by John Chalmers)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/india/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111129/india_nm/india607832

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Hamas: Palestinians to skip interim government

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) ? The Palestinians' rival leaders have quietly decided to keep their respective governments in the West Bank and Gaza in place until elections, a senior Hamas figure told The Associated Press. This proposal would remove a major obstacle to efforts to reconcile the factions: the need to form an interim unity government.

A representative of Hamas' rival, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, denied that such a deal was struck. Abbas envoy Azzam al-Ahmed insisted there was no agreement and "no possibility of holding elections without a unity government."

The Hamas figure said the understanding was reached between Western-backed Abbas and Khaled Mashaal, chief of the Islamic militant Hamas, during one-on-one talks last week. He spoke on condition of anonymity, because he said the two leaders decided not to make the arrangement public.

Another top Hamas official, Moussa Abu Marzouk, said that it was at least possible to skip an interim government and head straight to elections, tentatively scheduled for May.

The Hamas statements suggested that a solution was being finessed to get around the disagreement over keeping Salam Fayyad, prime minister of the West Bank government, who is popular with Western donors but strongly opposed by Hamas. By retaining the separate governments until the elections and perhaps enabling them to work closer together, both sides could save face.

Keeping the existing governments in place would help Abbas avoid a Western backlash and continue the flow of international aid to his government in the run-up to elections. Western powers fear a unity government, even one composed of technocrats without clear political affiliations, would be heavily influenced by the Islamic militant Hamas.

It also would mean that Salam Fayyad, an internationally respected economist, remains in charge in the West Bank for the time being and continue to ensure that donor countries keep funding Abbas' Palestinian Authority. Hamas will keep running Gaza, the territory it seized from Abbas by force in 2007. The Hamas government is not internationally recognized.

Shelving the unity government step would also remove a major sticking point in Hamas-Abbas negotiations.

At Thursday's meeting, Abbas told Mashaal that that the two-government status quo was "convenient for both sides and any change might be costly," according to the Hamas figure. The Hamas figure said he was briefed by Mashaal, who welcomed the idea.

Al-Ahmed, the Abbas envoy, said negotiators from both sides would meet again next month to try to form a unity government. Abu Marzouk confirmed that such talks are planned.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2011-11-27-ML-Palestinians-Reconciliation/id-8587532085574c5baa42300b8efcfa8c

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Libyans recover looted Roman antiquities

TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) ? Libyan authorities have unveiled 17 ancient Roman figurines, which they say revolutionary forces seized from Moammar Gadhafi's soldiers during the battle for the capital Tripoli.

Director of the state antiquities department Saleh Algabe showed the recovered objects to reporters on Saturday, hailing the find as an important recovery of national treasures.

The pieces include a female figurine and several small human busts in marble, as well as two pottery fragments. Albage said they date back to the second and third centuries A.D.

He says the pieces were seized from a truck on the road to Tripoli's airport on August 20, as revolutionary forces were entering the capital. He says it appeared Gadhafi's forces wanted to smuggle them out of the country and sell them.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2011-11-26-ML-Libya-Recovered-Antiquities/id-718f7e67005448839b55a4ba0b59d207

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US awaits release of 3 students held in Egypt (AP)

PHILADELPHIA ? Family and friends of three American students arrested during a protest in Cairo waited anxiously Friday for news that they had been released from police custody.

Derrik Sweeney, Luke Gates and Gregory Porter, who attend the American University in Cairo, were arrested on the roof of a university building near Cairo's iconic Tahrir Square on Sunday. Officials accused them of throwing firebombs at security forces fighting with protesters.

A court in Egypt ordered the release of the students, a lawyer in Philadelphia confirmed Thursday.

Attorney Theodore Simon, who represents Porter, a 19-year-old student at Drexel University in Philadelphia, said he spoke by phone with Porter, describing the student's demeanor as "calm and measured, demonstrating a maturity well beyond his 19 years."

"He was extremely thankful and appreciative for our efforts and the unconditional support of his mother and father," Simon said.

Porter is from Glenside, Pa., a suburb of Philadelphia.

Sweeney's mother, Joy Sweeney, said she is "absolutely elated" at the news of her 19-year-old son's release.

"I can't wait to give him a huge hug and tell him how much I love him," she said, adding that the news of the court order was the best Thanksgiving gift.

The 21-year-old Gates is a student at Indiana University.

His parents released a statement Thursday through the school, saying they were "extremely happy" to hear that their son would soon be released.

"This has been a difficult situation, and while we are disappointed that he will be held a few days longer to complete administrative procedures related to his release, we're confident he will be home soon," Bill and Sharon Gates wrote.

The State Department released a statement saying it was trying to independently confirm the reports of the students' release.

Earlier Thursday, Egypt officials said the Abdeen Court in Cairo had ordered their release. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to the media. They did not say when the students would be released.

Joy Sweeney said she wasn't sure when her son, a student at Georgetown University, would be returning to their home in Jefferson City, Mo.

"If he can find his passport (then he'll leave) tomorrow, if not, it won't be until Monday," she said.

She said the U.S. consul general in Egypt, Roberto Powers, recommended that her son leave Egypt as soon as possible.

"He also conveyed that that was what Derrik had conveyed to him that he wanted to do. He was enjoying his experience but (was) ready to be done with it," Sweeney said.

Derrik Sweeney interned for U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-Mo., earlier this year. Luetkemeyer's spokesman Paul Sloca, said the congressman is "extremely pleased that he's safe and coming home, especially on Thanksgiving."

Sweeney said she had not prepared for a Thanksgiving celebration, although a friend had taken her some food. She said the idea of a Thanksgiving feast had seemed "absolutely irrelevant" before the news of her son's pending freedom.

Asked what she thought her son would take away from his arrest, Sweeney said she thought he would make something useful of it.

"I'm sure that he'll put a life-lesson learning experience into a positive story," Sweeney said. "He's a writer, he will write about this experience."

___

Associated Press reporter Ed Donahue in Washington contributed to this report. Maggie Michael reported from Cairo.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111125/ap_on_re_us/egypt_american_students

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Business mogul mansions that are up for sale

Even as the gulf between the haves and have-nots grows, and Occupy Wall Street protesters chant and march, the titans of industry continue to buy and sell ever fancier digs. That leaves the 99 percent of us ? mere mortals with smaller paychecks ? to gawk at the sumptuous homes owned by finance tycoons and corporate chiefs.

With the help of Zillow.com and Trulia.com, we tracked 10 business moguls with homes they?re trying to sell and others they?ve recently bought. Some are dropping their stellar asking prices; many have moved on before selling. Others, on the brink of losing membership in the exclusive 1 percent club, had no choice but to sell.

In January 2010, shortly after Kenneth D. Lewis retired as Bank of America CEO, the financier listed his four-bedroom, five-bath French provincial-style mansion in Charlotte, N.C., for $4.5 million. Nearly two years later, the 7,000-square-foot home on 1.27 acres of a gated community is still languishing on the market, currently priced at $3.895 million.

Forbes.com slideshow: Business mogul mansions for sale

Former New Jersey governor Jon Corzine, the Wall Street darling turned poster boy for Occupy Wall Street?s cries against financial malfeasance, resigned in October as chairman and chief executive of MF Global Holdings. This, after his $6.3 billion gamble on European debt flopped, $633 million in customer money went missing and the New York-based futures brokerage fell into bankruptcy. Now the price on Corzine?s undeveloped 2,379-acre ranch 14 miles west of the ski resort town of Telluride, Colo., has dropped from $37.5 million to $29 million. When the former chief of Goldman Sachs bought the spread in 1996, he intended someday to build a home and develop the property, said T.D. Smith, the listing broker. Instead, he put it on the market for $40 million in 2007.

?It?s a beautiful mountain ranch,? Smith said of the expansive property with a sweeping view of the 14,000-foot peaks and protected on two sides by dramatically steep cliffs that fall into two river canyons. Interest is stirring. ?The price hasn?t been adjusted until recently. It was always priced a bit above the market,? said Smith.

Not long after Ursula Burns moved up the ladder to become chairman and chief executive of Xerox, she sold her three-bedroom Manhattan apartment at the Beekman Regent on East 51st Street. In its place she bought a nine-room, 3,326 square foot penthouse ? double the size ? for $8.15 million in the Robert A.M. Stern-designed Brompton Condominium on East 85th Street.

?She wanted something a little more grand,? said Michael Spodek, the selling agent and a senior vice president and associate broker with the Corcoran Group. Spodek described the new condominium as ?absolutely in turnkey condition? and the layout, ?glamorous? with superb sunlight. Burns also owns a home in Connecticut, but her other seven-bedroom home on 1.6 acres in Brighton, N.Y., remains empty and on the market for $879,000.

According to the Nothnagle Realtors listing, the seven-bedroom, seven-bath home on 1.6 acres has a dining room large enough for black-tie galas and is ?suitable for captains of industry, who are accustomed to fine living.?

More from Forbes.com

? 2011 Forbes.com

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45357265/ns/business-forbes_com/

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Biden's 2012 targets: Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida (AP)

WASHINGTON ? A year from Election Day, Democrats are crafting a campaign strategy for Vice President Joe Biden that targets the big three political battlegrounds: Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Florida, states where Biden might be more of an asset to President Barack Obama's re-election campaign than the president himself.

The Biden plan underscores an uncomfortable reality for the Obama team. A shaky economy and sagging enthusiasm among Democrats could shrink the electoral map for Obama in 2012, forcing his campaign to depend on carrying the 67 electoral votes up for grabs in the three swing states.

Obama won all three states in 2008. But this time he faces challenges in each, particularly in Ohio and Florida, where voters elected Republican governors in the 2010 midterm elections.

The president sometimes struggles to connect with Ohio and Pennsylvania's white working-class voters, and Jewish voters who make up a core constituency for Florida Democrats and view him with skepticism.

Biden has built deep ties to both groups during his four decades in national politics, connections that could make a difference.

As a long-serving member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Biden cemented his reputation as an unyielding supporter of Israel, winning the respect of many in the Jewish community. And Biden's upbringing in a working class, Catholic family from Scranton, Pa., gives him a valuable political intangible: He empathizes with the struggles of blue-collar Americans because his family lived those struggles.

"Talking to blue-collar voters is perhaps his greatest attribute," said Dan Schnur, a Republican political analyst. "Obama provides the speeches, and Biden provides the blue-collar subtitles."

While Biden's campaign travel won't kick into high gear until next year, he's already been making stops in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida this fall, speaking at events focused on education, public safety and small businesses and raising campaign cash. Behind the scenes, he's working the phones with prominent Jewish groups and Catholic organizations in those states, a Democratic official said.

Biden is also targeting organized labor, speaking frequently with union leaders in Ohio ahead of a vote earlier this month on a state law that would have curbed collective bargaining rights for public workers. After voters struck down the measure, Biden traveled to Cleveland to celebrate the victory with union members.

The Democratic official said the vice president will also be a frequent visitor to Iowa and New Hampshire in the coming weeks, seeking to steal some of the spotlight from the Republican presidential candidates blanketing those states ahead of the January caucus and primary.

And while Obama may have declared that he won't be commenting on the Republican presidential field until there's a nominee, Biden is following no such rules. He's calling out GOP candidates by name, and in true Biden style, he appears to be relishing in doing so.

During a speech last month to the Florida Democratic Convention, Biden singled out "Romney and Rick", criticizing former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney for saying the government should let the foreclosure crisis hit rock bottom, and hammering Texas Gov. Rick Perry's assertion that he would send U.S. troops into Mexico.

And he took on the full GOP field during an October fundraiser in New Hampshire, saying "There is no fundamental difference among all the Republican candidates."

Democratic officials said Biden will follow in the long-standing tradition of vice presidents playing the role of attack dog, allowing Obama to stay out of the fray and appear more focused on governing than campaigning.

The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity in order to discuss internal strategy. The Obama campaign has been reluctant to publically define Biden's role in the re-election bid this early in the run, though campaign manager Jim Messina did say the vice president would deliver an economic message to appeal for support.

"You'll see him in communities across the country next year laying out the choice we face: restoring economic security for the middle class or returning to the same policies that led to our economic challenges," Messina said.

Democrats say Biden will campaign for House candidates in swing states as the party tries to recapture some of the seats in Congress lost during the 2010 midterms.

And here again, the vice president's efforts in politically crucial Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida could be most important. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is targeting 12 districts in those states that Obama and Biden carried in the 2008 presidential race but are represented by Republican representatives.

New York Rep. Steve Israel, who chairs the committee, said he believes Biden could be a "game-changer" in those districts.

"All he has to do is ask voters, has the Republican strategy of no worked for you?" Israel said.

Israel met with Obama and Biden at the White House earlier this month to discuss, among other things, their role in congressional campaigns. While Israel said he hopes Obama will actively campaign for Democratic House candidates, he said "the vice president has already volunteered."

___

Julie Pace can be reached at http://twitter.com/jpaceDC.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111125/ap_on_el_pr/us_biden2012

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THG Presents: The 10 Biggest Turkeys of 2011!

Happy Thanksgiving to all from The Hollywood Gossip!

What would this holiday be without family, food, football and reflection upon the things we appreciate most ... in the case of THG, that means some of the turkeys we have had the privilege, the honor and the burden of covering in the past year.

We are talking some fowl individuals here ... real bird brains.

Without further ado, THG's Top 10 Turkeys of 2011 ...

Who will win the 5th Annual Spencer Pratt Thanksgiving Turkey Award!?

10. President Obama and GOP presidential candidates (tie). On a day when we share the blessings this nation has provided us, we'll also share the blame for a polarized electorate and a federal government destined for perennial gridlock.

9. Taylor Armstrong. Refining shamelessness, one episode at a time.

8. Gloria Allred. Loudmouth lawyer for accusers in seemingly every random celebrity scandal always wants to talk turkey ... and gobble up publicity.

7. Dr. Conrad Murray: He killed Michael Jackson, people. Michael Jackson.

6. Snooki. Effing Snooki. If you know who she is, we don't need to explain.

5. NBA Players. The only segment of the 1% that elects not to work. Idiots.

4. Kris Jenner. Call her an entertainment mogul. Call her a mom-ager. Call her a she-pimp for her own evil spawn. By any name, she's an embarrassment.

3. Charlie Sheen. Always one to ruffle feathers, the Two and a Half Men star went off the rails, lost his job, then lost his freaking mind! Through it all, he raked in the cash money, riding the gravy train and lughing all the way to the bank. God Bless America.

2. Lindsay Lohan. Year after year, this girl gets into legal jams like it's her job. What is her job, come to think of it? We forgot. All we know is that anyone else with a rap sheet that lengthy would be getting a good stuffing today ... IN JAIL!!

1. Ashton Kutcher. Sheen's replacement proved to be half a man at best, cheating on Demi Moore with assorted skanks, blaming gossip blogs, Tweeting a defense of Joe Paterno and personifying the term douche, which is like a 2011 version of turkey.

Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at THG!!!!

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2011/11/thg-presents-the-10-biggest-turkeys-of-2011/

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Japanese PM Noda to support Tokyo 2020 Olympic bid

TOKYO (AP) ? The head of the Japanese Olympic Committee says Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has agreed to be a top adviser to a panel supporting Tokyo's bid to host the 2020 Summer Olympics.

JOC President Tsunekazu Takeda said Thursday that Noda was asked to assume the post and for the government to give its full support to the bid.

Noda accepted the request and was quoted by Takeda as saying, "Let us do our best to make this bid a success," Kyodo new agency reported.

Tokyo, which campaigned for the 2016 Olympics but lost out to Rio de Janeiro, is up against Doha, Qatar; Istanbul, Turkey; Madrid; and Rome. The IOC will select the host city in September 2013.

The panel will support Tokyo's 2020 bid committee, which is headed by Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara.

In its bid to land the 2016 Games, Tokyo had an estimated $176 million budget but the bid suffered from a lack of public support and was eliminated in the second round of voting.

Tokyo is promoting its 2020 bid to be a symbol of Japan's recovery from the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that left nearly 20,000 people dead or missing on Japan's northeast coast.

The JOC has said if Tokyo wins the right to host the 2020 games, regions affected by the earthquake, tsunami and the ensuing nuclear crises, could host some events such as soccer.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2011-11-24-OLY-Tokyo-2020-Bid/id-cf6a3ad6306a4c3c88d349612adf341c

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China agrees to loan Venezuela $4 billion (AP)

CARACAS, Venezuela ? China has agreed to a new $4 billion loan to help Venezuela boost its oil output and will also help upgrade power plants and increase production of iron and aluminum, a Venezuelan official said Wednesday.

China has swiftly become Venezuela's biggest foreign lender in recent years, and has previously agreed to more than $32 billion in loans. President Hugo Chavez's government is repaying the loans with oil shipments.

Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez said during a meeting with Chinese officials that the new $4 billion loan agreement would be signed Wednesday. He said the purpose is to increase oil production involving Venezuelan and Chinese companies from about 100,000 barrels a day to about 330,000 barrels a day.

He said oil production involving Chinese companies should reach about 1.1 million barrels a day by 2014. That would be a big increase for Venezuela, which aims to raise its overall oil output from what it says is now roughly 3 million barrels a day to about 4 million barrels a day by 2015.

The infusion of cash from China has also provided key support as Chavez looks to boost spending ahead of next year's presidential election. Ramirez said Chinese companies are helping with upgrades to power plants. Chinese companies are also building public housing for the government, and are constructing railways.

Chinese and Venezuelan officials discussed not only plans to boost iron ore production, but also projects to expand a pier, dredge the Orinoco River and "expand our capacity of rail transport for transporting iron ore," Ramirez said at the televised meeting.

Another joint project aims to increase production of aluminum, Ramirez said.

Venezuela's oil exports to China stand at 410,000 barrels of fuel a day, up nearly 10-fold from the 45,000 barrels a day sold to China in 2005, Ramirez said.

In order to deal with increasing volumes of heavy oil from Venezuela, the two countries are moving ahead with plans to jointly build a refinery in China capable of handling up to 400,000 barrels a day, he said.

Much of the oil is to come from the vast reservoir of heavy crude in Venezuela's eastern Orinoco River basin. Ramirez said China will also be involved in developing a deep-water terminal in the eastern port town of Araya to enable increasing oil exports.

The long-term emphasis during this week's talks, Ramirez said, is "for us to supply all the oil that China needs for its development, and to obtain from China all necessary support in the transfer of technology and financing."

The oil-for-loans deals with China have drawn strong criticism from some Chavez opponents, who argue that so much debt isn't beneficial for Venezuela or for its state oil company.

Opposition lawmaker Miguel Angel Rodriguez said the loans effectively "mortgage the country." He demanded the government provide details of its deals, including the prices at which Venezuela is selling the oil to China.

Government officials have said Venezuela is reaping many benefits from its growing relationship with China.

"We don't have discounts with anyone," Ramirez said in an interview in August. "We sell at international prices."

___

Ian James on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ianjamesap

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111123/ap_on_bi_ge/lt_venezuela_china

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Police, Occupy DC protesters differ on collision (AP)

WASHINGTON ? District of Columbia police and Occupy DC protesters are offering conflicting accounts about a weekend incident in which a motorist struck three protesters near a downtown demonstration.

Police said Saturday that a driver will not be charged for striking the three people Friday evening.

Assistant Police Chief Lamar Greene said at a Saturday evening press conference that police concluded from talking to two witnesses that the collision was unavoidable. But the three people involved in the crash gave a different story.

Hundreds of protesters affiliated with Occupy DC shut down streets Friday night near the city's convention center in downtown, where a conservative group was gathering. The two adults and one teenager who were struck were taken to the hospital after the collision and later released.

Lt. Christopher Micciche (MITCH'-ih-kay) of the D.C. police said the driver was not cited because he had a green light when his vehicle struck the three at around 10 p.m.

"The protesters were apparently trying to block the roadway," Micciche said. "It was essentially an accident where three individuals were injured but they were in violation by being in the roadway."

Micciche said witnesses told police that the three pedestrians "either ran toward or jumped in front of the moving vehicle." He said one pedestrian jumped on the hood of the car.

But the demonstrators said that wasn't true.

Heidi Sippel of Vandalia, Ohio, said that she, her 13-year-old son and her wife Brandy Sippel were taking part in the demonstration when a silver Lexus sped toward them. The driver slowed down, threw up his hands in apparent frustration and then drove forward, hitting them, she said. Brandy Sippel, who is six months pregnant, was grazed by the car's rearview mirror. Heidi Sippel said she and her son were both hit by the front of the car.

"He just threw his hands up and hit the gas," Heidi Sippel said of the driver.

She said none of them had thrown themselves in front of the car.

"We weren't trying to get in front of the cars. We would have very happily, given the opportunity, stepped out of the way and let him pass by," she said.

Sippel said all three members of her family were cited by police for obstructing traffic and walking against a do-not-walk sign, both of which carry fines. A police report confirms the citations.

A man identified in a police report as the vehicle driver, Shawn Valentine of Clinton, Md., said he was at work when reached by telephone Saturday night and could not speak about the incident.

According to a police report, he told officers he observed a clearing between the protesters and tried to pass between them when the demonstrators jumped "onto and in front of his vehicle."

Other individuals affiliated with the Occupy DC group said the same driver struck another demonstrator nearby before hitting the Sippel family. Greene, the assistant chief, said he did not know about another incident.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111106/ap_on_re_us/us_occupy_dc

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Lakewood, Washington Black Bear Caught After 3 Tranquilizer Shots

SEATTLE -- It took three shots from a tranquilizer gun, but Washington Fish and Wildlife agents finally caught a black bear that eluded them for hours Friday morning and walked across a school playground in a Lakewood neighborhood.

The healthy 4-year-old male, weighing about 230 pounds, has a good layer of fat and brown fur that apparently blocked darts or warded off some of the drug, said Sgt. Ted Jackson.

"We don't know how much got in," he said.

Agents were checking to make sure the drowsy bear recovered before releasing it in a remote area of the Olympics or Cascades mountains, Jackson said.

"We're going to put it far enough away," he said. "Let the drugs wear off and let it go."

The bear has been spotted several times over the past week in the Lakewood-Fort Lewis area near Tacoma, about 30 miles south of Seattle.

In August, a bear attacked a civilian Army employee walking his dog in a wooded area of Joint Base Lewis-McChord. He was treated by medics for bites and scratches to his abdomen, wrist and thigh. The bear chased the dog. It escaped and was later found off the base.

About 1:30 a.m. Friday, Lakewood residents who spotted the bear in their suburban neighborhood started calling 911 and wildlife agents responded.

An agent fired the first tranquilizer dart just before 6 a.m. The bear took off over fences and eluded agents and their Karelian bear dog until after daylight.

Seattle TV stations with helicopter video followed the chase and showed the bear walking down a neighborhood street. Jackson said it crossed the grounds of Tyee Park Elementary School. Students were locked down inside, the school district said.

Wildlife agents followed the bear down railroad tracks and finally into a creek bed where it was darted a couple more times before it finally went to sleep.

Officers dragged it into a parking lot on a tarp to check it out for side effects from the drugs and chase.

No one was hurt and the bear survived its encounter with suburbia.

"We got lucky," Jackson said.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/04/washington-black-bear-caught_n_1076601.html

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Andy Williams Diagnosed With Bladder Cancer - Spinner

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Legendary singer Andy Williams has been diagnosed with bladder cancer.

The 83-year-old crooner, best known for his hits 'Moon River' and 'Can't Take My Eyes Off You,' reportedly met with specialists at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas last month, and began a three-week chemotherapy course on Oct. 31.

"Andy got the diagnosis of invasive bladder cancer very recently," a source told the National Enquirer. "That means his cancer has invaded the lining of his bladder, but doctors weren't sure yet whether it had spread to other parts of his body."

"If the chemo shrinks the tumors, doctors will surgically remove An?dy's bladder," the Enquirer's source noted, adding that after a second round of chemo in Houston, Williams and his wife will relocate to a rental home in Malibu.

"Andy is in for the fight of his life, and he wants to be closer to the hospitals in L.A. that have top-flight cancer treatment centers," the source explained.

While representatives for Williams have yet to make comment regarding his illness, his website notes that he may not be able to perform at his annual Christmas show in Branson, Mo., home of his Moon River Theatre.

"Due to health reasons Andy may not make a live appearance in his Christmas Show," his website states.

Also known as "The Golden Voice," Williams has enjoyed an illustrious career, first recording as a solo artist in 1953, and releasing 18 gold and three platinum-certified albums over the next half-century.

Source: http://www.spinner.com/2011/11/03/andy-williams-cancer/

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(AP)

Islam is not a religion nor is it a cult. It is a complete system.
Islam has religious, legal, political, economic and military components. The religious component is a beard for all the other components.

Islamization occurs when there are sufficient Muslims in a country to agitate for their so-called ?religious rights.?
When politically correct and culturally diverse societies agree to ?the reasonable? Muslim demands for their ?religious rights,? they also get the other components under the table. Here?s how it works (percentages source CIA: The World Fact Book (2007)).
As long as the Muslim population remains around 1% of any given country they will be regarded as a peace-loving minority and not as a threat to anyone. In fact, they may be featured in articles and films, stereotyped for their colorful uniqueness:

United States ? Muslim 1.0%
Australia ? Muslim 1.5%
Canada ? Muslim 1.9%
China ? Muslim 1%-2%
Italy ? Muslim 1.5%
Norway ? Muslim 1.8%

At 2% and 3% they begin to proselytize from other ethnic minorities and disaffected groups with major recruiting from the jails and among street gangs:

Denmark ? Muslim 2%
Germany ? Muslim 3.7%
United Kingdom ? Muslim 2.7%
Spain ? Muslim 4%
Thailand ? Muslim 4.6%

From 5% on they exercise an inordinate influence in proportion to their percentage of the population.
They will push for the introduction of halal (clean by Islamic standards) food, thereby securing food preparation jobs for Muslims. They will increase pressure on supermarket chains to feature it on their shelves ? along with threats for failure to comply. ( United States ).

France ? Muslim 8%
Philippines ? Muslim 5%
Sweden ? Muslim 5%
Switzerland ? Muslim 4.3%
The Netherlands ? Muslim 5.5%
Trinidad &Tobago ? Muslim 5.8%

At this point, they will work to get the ruling government to allow them to rule themselves under Sharia, the Islamic Law. The ultimate goal of Islam is not to convert the world but to establish Sharia law over the entire world.
When Muslims reach 10% of the population, they will increase lawlessness as a means of complaint about their conditions ( Paris ?car-burnings). Any non-Muslim action that offends Islam will result in uprisings and threats ( Amsterdam ? Mohammed cartoons).

Guyana ? Muslim 10%
India ? Muslim 13.4%
Israel ? Muslim 16%
Kenya ? Muslim 10%
Russia ? Muslim 10-15%

After reaching 20% expect hair-trigger rioting, jihad militia formations, sporadic killings and church and synagogue burning:
Ethiopia ? Muslim 32.8%

At 40% you will find widespread massacres, chronic terror attacks and ongoing militia warfare:

Bosnia ? Muslim 40%
Chad ? Muslim 53.1%
Lebanon ? Muslim 59.7%

From 60% you may expect unfettered persecution of non-believers and other religions, sporadic ethnic cleansing (genocide), use of Sharia Law as a weapon and Jizya, the tax placed on infidels:

Albania ? Muslim 70%
Malaysia ? Muslim 60.4%
Qatar ? Muslim 77.5%
Sudan ? Muslim 70%

After 80% expect State run ethnic cleansing and genocide:

Bangladesh ? Muslim 83%
Egypt ? Muslim 90%
Gaza ? Muslim 98.7%
Indonesia ? Muslim 86.1%
Iran ? Muslim 98%
Iraq ? Muslim 97%
Jordan ? Muslim 92%
Morocco ? Muslim 98.7%
Pakistan ? Muslim 97%
Palestine ? Muslim 99%
Syria ? Muslim 90%
Tajikistan ? Muslim 90%
Turkey ? Muslim 99.8%
United Arab Emirates ? Muslim 96%

100% will usher in the peace of ?Dar-es-Salaam? ? the Islamic House of Peace ? there?s (supposed) to be peace because everybody is a Muslim: we know however that this isnt true is it...?

Afghanistan ? Muslim 100%
Saudi Arabia ? Muslim 100%
Somalia ? Muslim 100%
Yemen ? Muslim 99.9%

Of course, that?s not the case. To satisfy their religiously ordained blood lust, Muslims then start killing each other for a variety of reasons...and they are coming to a neighborhood near you...so keep thinking they are not going to harm you and they "accept" you.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111104/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_apnewsalert

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Finally, a Quad Core Innovation That's Worth Getting Excited About [Food]

It's probably never going to make its way into a Christmas carol like figgy pudding did, but this year Burger King is celebrating the holidays in Japan with an epic quad patty 'Pizza-Size Burger' that looks more appealing than any goose. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/BcpHqM7NFYo/finally-a-quad-core-innovation-thats-worth-getting-excited-about

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Iran formally complains to US over plot charges (AP)

WASHINGTON ? An American official says Iran has formally complained to the U.S. over claims the Iranian government was involved in an alleged plot to kill Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the United States.

The official said Sunday that the U.S. received a diplomatic note on Friday expressing displeasure with the charges that were leveled earlier this month. Iran has already denied the allegations. The official said the note was delivered through the Swiss embassy in Tehran, which represents U.S. interests in Iran since the two countries don't have diplomatic relations.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a private diplomatic exchange.

Iran has angrily denied charges brought by U.S. federal prosecutors that an Iranian government agent was involved in plotting the assassination of the Saudi ambassador.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iran/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111031/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_us_iran

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League fines Heat owner following lockout tweet (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? The National Basketball Association (NBA) said on Tuesday Miami Heat owner Micky Arison has been fined following reports that he used his Twitter account to comment on the league's four-month-old lockout.

The NBA, which confirmed the fine in an email to Reuters, did not issue an official statement on the matter and would not say the amount or reason for the fine but several media reports said Arison was fined $500,000 for his comments.

The Heat declined to comment.

Arison made several comments on his Twitter account on Friday after a posting to him read, "Fans provide all the money you're fighting over you greedy (expletive) pigs."

The Heat owner, who Florida media say is pushing for the resumption of play, responded, "Honestly u r barking at the wrong owner."

The comments were made on Friday after the NBA canceled another two weeks of the regular season and conceded it was too late to save the entire 82-game season now that the first month of games has been wiped out.

NBA Commissioner David Stern told team and league personnel before the lockout began on July 1 that they were prohibited from commenting on the dispute other than in league-approved media sessions.

(Reporting by Gene Cherry in Salvo, North Carolina; Editing by Frank Pingue)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111101/sp_nm/us_nba_heat_owner

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