Nation's hottest brands include unfamiliar names

Pepperidge Farm

This kid may not know it, but he's got his hands on one of the hottest brands in America.

By Allison Linn

If you have your finger on the pulse of the nation?s hottest brands, you?re wearing a Uniqlo jacket, zipping around town in a Kia Soul, cooking with Skillet Street bacon spread and taking notes with a Sharpie pen.

Advertising Age on Monday revealed?its list of the nation?s hottest brands. It?s a mix of older brands that have managed to find new life and up-and-comers you may not have heard of, yet.

Among the ones that may not ring a bell to everyone: Japanese retailer Uniqlo, which Ad Age chose because of its success in cracking the tough Manhattan retail market. The advertising magazine also lauded Skillet Street for taking the grassroots popularity of a hamburger topping called ?bacon jam? to a national audience and Pickle Juice Sport, a sport drink made of exactly what you think it?s made of.

Several brands you may remember from your childhood also make the list. Ad Age gives Sharpie?props for expanding its line of writing products and getting celebrities to use the company?s pens for signing autographs. The toddler-friendly Pepperidge Farm Goldfish also earns a spot on the list for juicing up the 50-year-old brand with offerings like crust-free bread with its signature smiley face on it.

Read the full list here.

Readers, what's your favorite brand?

Source: http://lifeinc.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/11/28/9068678-the-nations-hottest-brands-include-some-unfamiliar-names

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Stoweblank TinyMix Review

I may have one of the more original stocking stuffers for that gadget/audio freak. It’s the Stoweblank TinyMix, a ? well,? I’m not sure exactly what you call it. It’s not an amp or a sound processor. What it does, is allow you to connect up to four devices to one set of powered speakers. [...]

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2011/11/25/stoweblank-tinymix-review/

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Italy's Monti in austerity race as IMF role eyed (Reuters)

ROME (Reuters) ? Prime Minister Mario Monti faces a testing week seeking to shore up Italy's strained public finances, with an IMF mission expected in Rome and market pressure building to a point where outside help may be needed to stem a full-scale debt emergency.

Monti is expected to unveil measures on December 5 that could include a revamped housing tax, a rise in sales tax and accelerated increases in the pension age. But pressure from the markets could force him to act more quickly.

One source with knowledge of the matter said contacts between the International Monetary Fund and Rome had intensified in recent days as concern has grown that German opposition to an expanded role for the European Central Bank could leave Italy without a financial backstop if one were needed.

An IMF inspection team is expected to visit Rome in the coming days but no date has been announced.

The IMF declined to comment on any moves to provide financial support, and official sources in Rome said they were unaware of any request for assistance from Italy, which has over 185 billion euros of bonds falling due between December and the end of April.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/economy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111127/bs_nm/us_italy

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Moody's cuts Hungary to "junk" (Reuters)

BUDAPEST (Reuters) ? Credit rating agency Moody's cut Hungary's debt to "junk" grade late on Thursday, dealing a blow to Prime Minister Viktor Orban's unorthodox economic policies and prompting his government to denounce the move as a "financial attack."

Moody's lowered Hungary's sovereign rating by one notch to Ba1, just below investment-grade, with a negative outlook, only hours after rival Standard & Poor's held fire on a flagged downgrade after Budapest said it would seek international aid.

The move followed warnings from all three major ratings agencies that Orban's policies, which have eschewed traditional austerity in favor of revenue-boosting steps like a special bank tax and the nationalization of $14 billion in private pension assets, could put Hungary's public finances at risk.

It also came after a policy reversal last week in which, after the forint hit a record low, the right-of-center cabinet rowed back on a 2010 election vow to end talks with the International Monetary Fund to regain "economic sovereignty."

Moody's cited rising uncertainty about Hungary's ability to meet fiscal goals, high debt levels and what it called increasingly constrained medium-term growth prospects as the main reasons behind the downgrade from Baa3.

"Moody's believes that the combined impact of these factors will adversely impact the government's financial strength and erode its shock-absorption capacity," it said in a statement.

"The rating agency's decision to maintain a negative outlook on Hungary's ratings is driven by the uncertainty surrounding the country's ability to withstand potential event risks emanating from the European sovereign debt crisis."

Hungarian bond yields soared by about a full percentage point, lifting its entire debt curve above 9 percent, while the cost of insuring Hungarian debt against default jumped to near record highs hit in March 2009. The forint fell 1.8 percent to 316.5 to the euro at 0900 GMT, near an all time low.

The Czech crown fell to a 17-month low and the Polish zloty dipped beyond the 4.50 per euro level and briefly approached a 27-month low of 4.537 hit in September.

Nicholas Spiro, managing director of Spiro Sovereign Strategy, said that although most of central and Eastern Europe was better off than southern Europe, fears over the euro zone debt crisis and the Hungarian downgrade indicated turmoil ahead.

"There's no question that sentiment toward the region is deteriorating rapidly and that even the most resilient economies are in for a rough ride in the months ahead," he said.

SHORT-LIVED SURPLUS

Orban has cut taxes for families and small firms while raising tariffs on banks, utilities and other big mainly foreign-owned firms, putting the country of 10 million on track to run one of the European Union's only budget surpluses this year.

But the government has failed to spur growth. The European Commission forecasts the economy will expand by only 0.5 percent at most next year, far lower than the 3 percent initially forecast in Orban's medium-term budget plan.

The Economy Ministry said the downgrade was unwarranted and part of a string of "financial attacks against Hungary."

The government cited its commitment to keep the budget deficit below 3 percent of economic output next year, 1 percent of GDP's worth of reserves in the 2012 budget, and an expected decline in debt levels as arguments against the rating cut.

"Obviously, the forint's weakening is not justified by either the performance of the Hungarian economy, or the shape of the budget," the Economy Ministry said in a statement.

"Therefore, it can be driven only by a speculative attack against Hungary, which can be fueled by exactly these kinds of professionally unfounded assessments by rating agencies."

Moody's said the government's 2.5 percent of GDP budget deficit target for next year may be difficult to meet due to high funding costs and low economic growth.

The IMF and EU extended a 20 billion euro bailout to Hungary at the start of the crisis in 2008 but Orban made clear he wanted no such cooperation under his administration.

His unexpected about-face last week gave pause to other ratings agencies, but Moody's said it illustrated Budapest's funding challenges even if it could alleviate the need to raise credit in the near term.

"Moody's believes that, even with such an arrangement, the government's debt structure will remain vulnerable to shocks in the medium term, which are inconsistent with a Baa3 rating," it said.

Hungary must roll over 4.7 billion euros in external debt next year as it starts repaying part of its 2008 IMF loan.

"SAFETY NET"

Budapest has said it wants to use a new IMF/EU deal as a "safety net" against turmoil in the euro zone. It wants insurance funding with no conditionality but market watchers say the Fund will most likely demand policy action and monitoring.

The weak forint pushed Hungary's government debt to 82 percent of economic output by the end of the third quarter, undoing the impact of Orban's $14 billion pension asset grab.

The effective nationalization of pension assets cut debt by several percentage points but economists and ratings agencies say it has clouded the picture for future government finances.

Moody's said it would further lower Hungary's rating if there was a significant decline in government financial strength due to a lack of progress on structural reforms and implementation of a medium-term plan.

It said it would consider stabilizing the ratings outlook if the country were to embark on a sustainable consolidation path, involving a more consistent implementation of the medium-term plan and its euro convergence program.

The ratings cut came just hours after S&P deferred its decision on a possible downgrade of Hungary to non-investment grade until the end of February, pending talks with the IMF/EU about a new aid package.

Fitch, another rating agency which has Hungary in the lowest investment-grade category, said on November 18 that an agreement on a new IMF program would be a positive step and could reduce downward pressure on Hungary's sovereign rating.

(Additional reporting by Marton Dunai; Writing by Michael Winfrey; Editing by Catherine Evans)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/economy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111125/bs_nm/us_hungary_moodys

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RIL, Bharti end talks on insurance JV deal | Firstpost

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Reliance said negotiations to acquire Bharti's 74 percent stake in the life insurance and general insurance joint ventures were terminated as it was unable to reach agreement on the long-term vision and joint governance of ...

Source: http://www.firstpost.com/business/ril-bharti-end-talks-on-insurance-jv-deal-140753.html

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They call it 'guppy love': Biologists solve an evolution mystery

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Guppies in the wild have evolved over at least half-a-million years ? long enough for the males' coloration to have changed dramatically. Yet a characteristic orange patch on male guppies has remained remarkably stable, though it could have become redder or more yellow. Why has it stayed the same hue of orange over such a long period of time?

Because that's the color female guppies prefer.

"Sometimes populations have to evolve just to stay the same," said Greg Grether, a UCLA professor of ecology and evolutionary biology and co-author of a study published Nov. 23 in the online edition of the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, a major journal for research in evolutionary biology.

"In this case, the males have evolved back over and over again to the color that females prefer," said Grether, who noted that there are many examples in which there is less variation among populations of a species than life scientists would expect.

The new study, funded by the National Science Foundation, "provides a neat solution to a mystery that has puzzled me for years," he said.

The orange patches on male guppies are made up of two pigments: carotenoids (which they ingest in their diets and are yellow) and drosopterins (which are red and which their bodies produce). Carotenoids are the same pigments that provide color to vegetables and fruits. Plants produce carotenoids, but animals generally cannot; guppies obtain most of their carotenoids from algae.

UCLA's Kerry Deere, the lead author of the study, conducted experiments in which she presented female guppies (Poecilia reticulata) with a choice of males with low, medium and high levels of drosopterin to see which males they preferred. In her experiments, the females were given a wider range of pigment choices than they would find in the wild. Deere, who was a graduate student of ecology and evolutionary biology in Grether's laboratory at the time and is currently a UCLA postdoctoral scholar in human genetics, conducted more than 100 mate-choice trials.

The females strongly preferred the intermediate males, those whose patches, or spots, were the right hue of orange ? not too red and not too yellow.

"The females preferred the males with an intermediate drosopterin level by a highly significant margin," Deere said.

"Males that are closer to this preferred hue probably have more offspring," Grether said.

If guppies were dependent only on carotenoids for their orange coloration, one would expect to find large changes in the color of their orange patches because the availability of algae varies by location. Guppies are native to Trinidad and Venezuela; the ones in this study were from Trinidad.

(Unlike the colorful guppies sold in pet stores, female guppies in the wild do not have bright coloration like the orange patches. Males are not as ornate, or as large, as the pet-store variety either.)

"A pattern I discovered 10 years ago, which was mysterious at first, is that in locations where more carotenoids are available in their diet, guppies produce more of the drosopterins," Grether said. "There is a very strong pattern of the ratio of these two kinds of pigments staying about the same.

"To human eyes at least, as the proportion of carotenoids in the spots goes up, the spots look yellower, and as the proportion of drosopterins goes up, the spots look redder. By maintaining a very similar ratio of the two pigments across sites, the fish maintain a similar hue of orange from site to site. What is maintaining the similar pigment ratio across sites and across populations? The reason for the lack of variation is that genetic changes counteract environmental changes. The males have evolved differences in drosopterin production that keep the hue relatively constant across environments. As a result of Kerry's experiment, we now have good evidence that female mate choice is responsible for this pattern."

While there are many cases in nature in which genetic variation in a trait masks environmental variation, there are very few examples where the cause is known.

"I originally assumed if there was variation among populations in drosopterin production, it would be the populations where carotenoid availability was lowest that were producing more of these synthetic pigments to compensate for the lack of carotenoids in their diet. But we found the opposite pattern," Grether said. "They're not using drosopterins as a carotenoid substitute; they're matching carotenoid levels with drosopterins. Why they are doing that was a mystery. The answer appears to be that it enables them to maintain the hue that female guppies prefer."

###

University of California - Los Angeles: http://www.newsroom.ucla.edu

Thanks to University of California - Los Angeles for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/115457/They_call_it__guppy_love___Biologists_solve_an_evolution_mystery

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Mubarak-era premier picked to lead Egypt's Cabinet

Thousands of Egyptians perform Friday prayers during a rally in Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, Nov. 25, 2011. Tens of thousands of protesters chanting, "Leave, leave!" are rapidly filling up Cairo's Tahrir Square in what promises to be a massive demonstration to force Egypt's ruling military council to yield power. The Friday rally is dubbed by organizers as "The Last Chance Million-Man Protest," and comes one day after the military offered an apology for the killing of nearly 40 protesters in clashes on side streets near Tahrir over the last week. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

Thousands of Egyptians perform Friday prayers during a rally in Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, Nov. 25, 2011. Tens of thousands of protesters chanting, "Leave, leave!" are rapidly filling up Cairo's Tahrir Square in what promises to be a massive demonstration to force Egypt's ruling military council to yield power. The Friday rally is dubbed by organizers as "The Last Chance Million-Man Protest," and comes one day after the military offered an apology for the killing of nearly 40 protesters in clashes on side streets near Tahrir over the last week. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

Pro-reform leader and Nobel peace laureate Mohamed El-Baradei, center, is surrounded by protesters during his arrival for Friday prayers in Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, Nov. 25, 2011. Tens of thousands of protesters chanting, "Leave, leave!" are rapidly filling up Cairo's Tahrir Square in what promises to be a massive demonstration to force Egypt's ruling military council to yield power. The Friday rally is dubbed by organizers as "The Last Chance Million-Man Protest," and comes one day after the military offered an apology for the killing of nearly 40 protesters in clashes on side streets near Tahrir over the last week. (AP Photo/Bela Szandelszky)

An injured Egyptian attends a protest in Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, Nov. 25, 2011. Tens of thousands of protesters chanting, "Leave, leave!" are rapidly filling up Cairo's Tahrir Square in what promises to be a massive demonstration to force Egypt's ruling military council to yield power. The Friday rally is dubbed by organizers as "The Last Chance Million-Man Protest," and comes one day after the military offered an apology for the killing of nearly 40 protesters in clashes on side streets near Tahrir over the last week. (AP Photo/Bela Szandelszky)

Thousands of Egyptians perform Friday prayers during a rally in Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, Nov. 25, 2011. Tens of thousands of protesters chanting, "Leave, leave!" are rapidly filling up Cairo's Tahrir Square in what promises to be a massive demonstration to force Egypt's ruling military council to yield power. The Friday rally is dubbed by organizers as "The Last Chance Million-Man Protest," and comes one day after the military offered an apology for the killing of nearly 40 protesters in clashes on side streets near Tahrir over the last week. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

CAIRO (AP) ? Egypt's military rulers picked a prime minister from ousted leader Hosni Mubarak's era to head the next government, according to state television, a choice that will almost certainly intensify criticism by tens of thousands of protesters accusing the generals of trying to extend the old guard and demanding they step down immediately.

Kamal el-Ganzouri, 78, served as prime minister between 1996 and 1999 and was deputy prime minister and planning minister before that. He also was a provincial governor under the late President Anwar Sadat.

"Illegitimate, illegitimate!" chanted the crowds at Cairo's central Tahrir Square on hearing news of el-Ganzouri's appointment.

"Not only was he prime minister under Mubarak, but also part of the old regime for a total of 18 years," said protester Mohammed el-Fayoumi, 29. "Why did we have a revolution then?"

The announcement followed a meeting late Thursday between el-Ganzouri and senior military ruler Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi. Tantawi was Mubarak's defense minister of 20 years and served in the government headed by el-Ganzouri.

El-Ganzouri will replace Essam Sharaf, who resigned this week after nearly nine months in office amid deadly clashes between police and protesters calling for the military to immediately step down.

Sharaf was criticized for being weak and beholden to the generals. The television announcement said el-Ganzouri will enjoy "authority," but did not elaborate.

El-Ganzouri's appointment was likely to deepen the anger of the protesters, already seething over the military's perceived reluctance to dismantle the legacy of Mubarak's 29-year rule.

Protesters chanting, "Leave, leave!" filled up Cairo's Tahrir Square on Friday for what has been dubbed by organizers as "The Last Chance Million-Man Protest" aimed at forcing the military council to yield power.

Pro-reform leader and Nobel peace laureate Mohamed ElBaradei was mobbed by hundreds of supporters as he arrived in the square and took part in Friday prayers, leaving shortly afterward.

"He is here to support the revolutionaries," said protester Ahmed Awad, 35. "He came to see for himself the tragedy caused by the military."

Swelling crowds of demonstrators chanted, "The people want to bring down the marshal", in reference to Tantawi, who took over the reins of power from Mubarak.

The rally comes one day after the military offered an apology for the killing of nearly 40 protesters in five days of deadly clashes, mostly centered around Tahrir Square. This was the longest spate of uninterrupted violence since the 18-day uprising that toppled Mubarak on Feb. 11. The streets were relatively calm on Friday as a truce negotiated Thursday in Cairo continued to hold.

The military also has said that parliamentary elections due to start Monday will go ahead on schedule despite the unrest in Cairo and a string of other cities to the north and south of the capital.

Protesters in Cairo's Tahrir Square ? angry at the military for failing to stabilize the country, salvage the economy or bring democracy ? say they will not leave the sprawling plaza until the generals step down in favor of a civilian presidential council. Their show of resolve resembles that of the rallies which forced Mubarak to give up power.

The military has rejected calls to immediately step down, saying its claim to power is supported by the warm welcome given to troops who took over the streets from the discredited police early in the anti-Mubarak uprising as well as an overwhelming endorsement for constitutional amendments they proposed in a March referendum.

Tantawi has offered another referendum on whether his military council should step down immediately.

Such a vote, activists say, would divide the nation and likely open the door for a deal between the military and political groups, particularly the Muslim Brotherhood. Egypt's largest and best organized group, the Brotherhood is notorious for its opportunism and thirst for power. It was empowered after the fall of Mubarak, regaining legitimacy after spending nearly 60 years as an outlawed group.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2011-11-25-ML-Egypt/id-113a293786e145a98827690f380e12cf

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Dr. Michelle Callahan: 'Say This.. Not That!' During Holiday Gatherings

During the holidays most of us want to spend time with friends and family, while at the same time avoiding the negative comments and unnecessary disagreements that often come with these celebrations. Here are my five rules on what to say/not say to loved ones during holiday gatherings. Follow these rules to help avoid problems or conflicts with everyone from your significant other to your in-laws.

1) Say what you like, not what you don't. Be complimentary. Don't like a Thanksgiving dish? Don't mention it and don't compare it to anyone else's dish (dead or alive)! Talk about the dish you liked. Didn't like ANY of the food? Compliment the hostess on her decorations or her outfit. Don't like those either? You know the saying: If you can't say something nice, then don't say anything at all!

2) Say what you're thankful for, not what you wish was different. Thanksgiving is a time to acknowledge all of the things we feel thankful for, yet we often spend time complaining. This is not the time to talk extensively about ongoing problems, so talk about things you feel thankful for like your health, family or friendship. As much as people want to "catch up" they also don't want to be brought down, so stay focused on gratitude instead of ranting for hours about the economy and the job market! You can have those deep conversations the next day.

3) Say what will keep the peace, not what will start an argument! Far too many family members get together and decide to hash out relationship problems while they're face to face at Thanksgiving dinner. No! This is not the place to argue with your in-laws or your siblings. If you have to, talk about the weather or sports, but don't bring up situations that are going to trigger hurt feelings and start a fight. Tip: If it's about something negative that happened in the past, you probably don't want to discuss it today.

4) Say what everyone already knows, not "breaking news!" Thanksgiving is not the time to declare any significant and negative life changes like separation, divorce, infidelity or bankruptcy. Unless it's a marriage proposal or a new pregnancy, try not to say anything that is going to shock everyone and leave them feeling upset and ambushed. You don't want the celebration to suddenly turn from happy to sad.

5) Say things about yourself, not about other people. This is not the time to call people out on their issues, like asking your son-in-law when he's going to start spending more time with your grandchildren, asking your daughter when she's going to get married, asking your wife when she's going back to the gym now that the baby is 6 months old or asking your sibling when they're going to "get their life together." If you want to discuss personal issues, then talk about your own life (keeping my other tips in mind -- keep it positive), instead of airing other people's dirty laundry.

I recently discussed these rules on the CBS Early Show with my Women's Health colleague Matt Bean. Check out the video.

Good luck and happy holidays!

To read more from Dr. Michelle, visit her website, www.DrMichelle.com, or visit her on Facebook.

? 2011 Dr. Michelle Callahan

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Follow Dr. Michelle Callahan on Twitter: www.twitter.com/dr_michelle

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-michelle-callahan/what-not-to-say-at-holiday-gatherings_b_1107636.html

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All the Gaming Black Friday Deals

Check out these Black Friday gaming deals, courtesy of our taller, more popular, better looking older brothers at Gizmodo, who have a larger list with electronics, as well. [Thanks for writing the intro copy, Gizmodo. ?Ed.] The interactive tool works in most modern browsers, but if you're having problems, the plaintext mode should work in most browsers. Deals will be added throughout the next few days. Not loading? Click here: ? ?
This is not compatible with Internet Explorer 6, 7, or 8

Computing and Peripherals

Gaming

Home Entertainment

Personal Portables and Peripherals

Source: http://kotaku.com/5862098/all-the-gaming-black-friday-deals

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Mixed data sparks doubts on economic momentum (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? U.S. consumer spending growth slowed in October and business capital investment plans were weak, raising questions about expectations for solid economic performance in the fourth quarter.

Other data on Wednesday offered a more optimistic outlook, with household income registering the largest rise in seven months and first-time claims for jobless benefits remaining in a range that hinted at improving labor market conditions.

Despite the mixed data, economists said it still appeared the economy was accelerating after growing at a 2 percent annual rate in the third quarter.

"We are still comfortable with our 3 percent (fourth quarter) growth forecast, but our confidence is not as strong as it otherwise would have been," said Millan Mulraine, a senior macro strategist at TD Securities in New York.

The latest signals on the health of the U.S. recovery came shortly after data showed China's once-booming factory sector shrank at its fastest pace in 32 months in November and the euro zone's private sector contracted for a third month.

U.S. stocks ended down for a sixth straight day on the Chinese data and after a weak government bond auction in Germany sparked fears that the European debt crisis was threatening even Germany, the euro zone's strongest economy.

With investors seeking a safe-haven, prices for U.S. Treasury debt rose, pushing the benchmark yield to a seven-week low. The dollar rallied against a basket of currencies.

The U.S. Commerce Department said consumer spending edged up 0.1 percent, a sharp slowdown from a 0.7 percent increase in September as households took advantage of the largest increase in income since March to rebuild their savings.

Inflation-adjusted spending also nudged up 0.1 percent last month, pointing to a loss of momentum after a relatively strong third quarter, when spending grew at an annual rate of 2.3 percent.

The department said in another report that non-defense capital goods orders excluding aircraft -- a closely watched proxy for business spending -- fell 1.8 percent last month. That was the largest decline since January.

Though this category normally declines in the first month of the quarter, a downward revision in the September figure to show only a 0.9 percent rise raised concerns that businesses were cutting back spending.

EUROPE ERODING CONFIDENCE

While noting that capital spending can be volatile month to month, economists said the debt crisis in Europe and a deadlock on deficit-cutting plans in the United States could be casting a cloud of uncertainty over the U.S. economy and discouraging businesses from making more investments.

"We may ... be seeing some caution seeping into business risk-taking on the heels of developments in Europe and Washington," said Michael Feroli, an economist at JPMorgan in New York.

Feroli added that a business tax break due to expire at year-end may have pulled forward some spending and that impact could be fading.

Spending on capital equipment has been one of the major pillars of the recovery. Feroli estimates it accounted for more than a third of overall economic growth since the end of the 2007-09 recession.

Shipments on non-defense capital goods orders excluding aircraft, which go into the calculation of gross domestic product, fell 1.1 percent last month after declining 1.0 percent in September.

But it was not all doom and gloom.

Although the Labor Department reported initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose 2,000 to 393,000 last week, they remained below 400,000 for a third straight week, a level that economists view as a sign of some healing in the jobs market.

In addition, a four-week moving average of claims that is considered a better measure of labor market trends fell to its lowest level since April.

U.S. CONSUMER SPIRITS RISE

The improving labor market tone has helped consumer confidence to perk up slightly.

The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's gauge of consumer sentiment rose to 64.1 this month from 60.9 in October. It was little changed from a preliminary reading of 64.2 early in the month.

That, combined with October's 0.4 percent increase in income, gave some economists reason to be optimistic that growth would still top a 3 percent annual pace in the current quarter.

"When you want to look at future spending, you look at income," TD Securities' Mulraine said. "From the income side, things are looking up for the households. Of course, they seem to be saving for the rainy day, which is not a bad thing."

Taking inflation into account, after-tax income rose 0.3 percent, the largest increase since October 2010, after a decline of 0.1 percent in September.

After months of dipping into their savings to fund spending, houses took advantage of the rise in income to boost saving.

The saving rate increased to 3.5 percent last month from 3.3 percent in September. Savings rose to annual rate of $400.2 billion from $376.9 billion in September.

(Additional reporting Jason Lange; Editing by Andrea Ricci and Leslie Adler)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111123/bs_nm/us_usa_economy

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Most liveable alien worlds ranked

23 November 2011 Last updated at 13:59 ET

Scientists have outlined which moons and planets are most likely to harbour extra-terrestrial life.

Among the most habitable alien worlds were Saturn's moon Titan and the exoplanet Gliese 581g - thought to reside some 20.5 light-years away in the constellation Libra.

The international team devised two rating systems to assess the probability of hosting alien life.

They have published their results in the journal Astrobiology.

In their paper, the authors propose two different indices: an Earth Similarity Index (ESI) and a Planetary Habitability Index (PHI).

Continue reading the main story

EARTH SIMILARITY INDEX

• Earth - 1.00
• Gliese 581g - 0.89
• Gliese 581d - 0.74
• Gliese 581c - 0.70
• Mars - 0.70
• Mercury - 0.60
• HD 69830 d - 0.60
• 55 Cnc c - 0.56
• Moon - 0.56
• Gliese 581e - 0.53

"The first question is whether Earth-like conditions can be found on other worlds, since we know empirically that those conditions could harbour life," said co-author Dr Dirk Schulze-Makuch from Washington State University, US.

"The second question is whether conditions exist on exoplanets that suggest the possibility of other forms of life, whether known to us or not."

As the name suggests, the ESI rates planets and moons on how Earth-like they are, taking into account such factors as size, density and distance from the parent star.

The PHI looks at a different set of factors, such as whether the world has a rocky or frozen surface, whether it has an atmosphere or a magnetic field.

It also considers the energy available to any organisms, either through light from a parent star or via a process called tidal flexing, in which gravitational interactions with another object can heat a planet or moon internally.

And finally, the PHI takes into account chemistry - such as whether organic compounds are present - and whether liquid solvents might be available for vital chemical reactions.

The maximum value for the Earth Similarity Index was 1.00 - for Earth, unsurprisingly. The highest scores beyond our solar system were for Gliese 581g (whose existence is doubted by some astronomers), with 0.89, and another exoplanet orbiting the same star - Gliese 581d, with an ESI value of 0.74.

Continue reading the main story

PLANET HABITABILITY INDEX

• Titan - 0.64
• Mars - 0.59
• Europa - 0.49
• Gliese 581g - 0.45
• Gliese 581d - 0.43
• Gliese 581c - 0.41
• Jupiter - 0.37
• Saturn - 0.37
• Venus - 0.37
• Enceladus - 0.35

The Gliese 581 system has been well studied by astronomers and comprises four - possibly five - planets orbiting a red dwarf star.

HD 69830 d, a Neptune-sized exoplanet orbiting a different star in the constellation Puppis, also scored highly (0.60). It is thought to lie in the so-called Goldilocks Zone - the region around its parent star where surface temperatures are neither too hot nor too cold for life.

The highly rated worlds from our own solar system were Mars, with a value of 0.70, and Mercury, with 0.60.

The Planet Habitability Index produced different results. The top finisher here was Saturn's moon Titan, which scored 0.64, followed by Mars (0.59) and Jupiter's moon Europa (0.47), which is thought to host a subsurface water ocean heated by tidal flexing.

The highest scoring exoplanets were, again Gliese 581g (0.49) and Gliese 581d (0.43).

In recent years, the search for potentially habitable planets outside our solar system has stepped up several gears. Nasa's Kepler space telescope, launched into orbit in 2009, has found more than 1,000 candidate planets so far.

Future telescopes may even be able to detect so-called biomarkers in the light emitted by distant planets, such as the presence of chlorophyll, a key pigment in plants.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/science-environment-15863549

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Moroccan elections challenged by voter mistrust (AP)

RABAT, Morocco ? It should be a moment of excitement: Moroccans are choosing a parliament in elections Friday prompted by the Arab Spring's clamor for freedom.

Yet there are few signs here that elections are even taking place.

Posters and raucous rallies for candidates are absent in the cities and instead there are just stark official banners urging citizens to "do their national duty" and "participate in the change the country is undergoing."

"The parties have presented the same people for the past 30 years, the least they could do is change their candidates," said Hassan Rafiq, a vegetable vendor in the capital Rabat, who said he didn't plan to vote.

Like elsewhere in the Arab world, Moroccans hit the streets in the first half of 2011 calling for more democracy, and King Mohammed VI responded by amending the constitution and bringing forward elections.

But since then the sense of change has dissipated.

The real challenge for these polls, in which an opposition Islamist party and a pro-palace coalition are expected to do well, will be if many people come out to vote in the face of a strident boycott campaign by democracy campaigners.

It's a sharp contrast to the electric atmosphere that characterized Tunisia's first free elections just last month.

"Moroccans feel that aside from the constitutional reform, nothing has really changed, meaning that the elections of 2011 will be a copy of the elections 2007 and that is what will probably keep the participation low," said Abdellah Baha, deputy secretary general of the Islamist Justice and Development Party.

The 2007 elections, the first with widespread international observation, had just 37 percent turnout, and some fear it could be even lower this time around.

A close U.S. ally and popular destination for European sunseekers, Morocco with its many political parties and regular elections was once the bright star in a region of dictatorships.

But all that has changed with the Arab uprisings that toppled dictators in Tunisia, Libya and Egypt. Now a political system that holds elections but leaves all powers in the hands of a hereditary king does not look so liberal.

"Morocco can no longer say it is the only one with pluralism or that it has the 'most,' (pluralistic)," said Jeffrey England, of the National Democratic Institute, a U.S.-based organization dedicated to furthering democracy.

Yet the Arab Spring has not left the country untouched, and Moroccans today do expect greater freedoms and reform. "Even if the system structure hasn't changed much, it has certainly changed the population's perceptions and expectations," said England, the institute's resident director in Morocco.

But even people who voted in July's referendum for a new constitution may not come out come out to vote in this week's elections because of widespread suspicions the referendum results were skewed, said Mounia Bennani-Chraibi, a Morocco expert at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland.

The constitutional referendum passed with over 98 percent voting in favor, and a staggering 72 percent turnout, which most observers found hardly credible.

"There are people who have voted 'yes' for constitution and were then humiliated by the results, they regretted it and felt it was the same methods as before, and nothing has really changed," she said.

One new reform in these elections is that 90 seats have been added to the parliament, with 60 reserved for women, and another 30 for candidates under 40 years old.

But there's a pervasive sense that the murky electoral machine has been preserved intact.

The law organizing the parliamentary elections was passed in October with little discussion in wider society and preserves a complex system with disproportionate districts that favor rural voters and leaves a splintered parliament.

Larger parties often receive less seats than their proportion of the popular vote.

Traditionally, that has allowed the palace to pick one party to weld together a coalition of many small parties ? which then does the palace's bidding regardless of its ideological stripe.

Under the new constitution, the largest party must form the government, which could well be the Islamist party, known by its French initials PJD. But there's uncertainty over whether it can truly change anything.

Foreign Minister Taieb Fassi-Fihri dismissed any threat deriving from an Islamist party possibly leading the government.

"The parties will have to come together in coalitions, in fact some are already doing so, so I don't think there is much risk," he told French news channel France 24. "On the contrary, we have continuity with a change of face."

Moroccan political analyst Matti Monjib explained that the king "wants a government that doesn't govern too much," which could be a problem if any new coalition really tries to change things in the kingdom, such as the PJD's promised anti-corruption drive ? which might even target palace cronies.

Even with activists agitating against the vote and a middle class disillusioned with the process, Morocco's traditional voting machine will still be functioning on Friday.

In rural areas, notables will gather up peasants and bring them to polling stations and instruct them whom to vote for, while in the slums around the big cities, local power brokers will deliver the votes of the poor.

The traditional voting system could also buoy a coalition of eight pro-palace parties that could form the next government and ensure the king has a friendly prime minister carrying out his wishes.

But many see the status quo as dangerous for Morocco with an economy creaking from the amount of money the government has pumped into raising salaries and subsidies to keep people calm amid the Arab world turmoil.

"The palace must understand that it cannot continue like this, to guarantee the continuation of the monarchy it has to understand that it is no longer an authoritarian system, but a democratic one, there is no longer a choice," warned Bara of the PJD.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111124/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_morocco_elections

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Campbell Soup Q1 profit beats estimate (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? Campbell Soup Co (CPB.N), the world's largest soup maker, reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit, helped by a fall in advertising and promotion expenses.

For the first quarter ended October 30, net earnings attributable to Campbell Soup were $265 million, or 82 cents a share, compared with $279 million, or 82 cents a share, a year ago.

Sales fell 1 percent to $2.16 billion.

Analysts on average were expecting a profit of 79 cents a share, on sales of $2.21 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

(Reporting by Mihir Dalal in New York )

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/earnings/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111122/bs_nm/us_campbellsoup

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October existing home sales rise 1.4 percent (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? U.S. existing home sales unexpectedly rose in October as low interest rates for mortgages and rising rents led more homebuyers into the market, the National Association of Realtors said on Monday.

Sales climbed 1.4 percent to an annual rate of 4.97 million units from September's revised rate of 4.90 million, the NAR said. Forecasters in a Reuters poll had expected the annual rate to fall to 4.8 million.

Despite the modest increase in sales, the median sales price for existing homes was 4.7 percent lower in October than it was a year earlier.

Falling prices could hamper the housing market further by making buyers see homes as a bad investment. Existing homes are selling at roughly the rate they did in the late 1990s.

Also tempering the outlook for the housing market, the share of contract failures rose to 33 percent in October from 18 percent in September.

Contract failures happen when banks reject mortgage applications or when appraisals come in below a sale's negotiated price.

The U.S. economy has made strides since the summer thanks to strong factory output and improved consumer spending.

But falling home prices and tighter credit have been the bane of the recovery, which has progressed with fits and starts since the 2007-2009 recession.

Without a steady supply of credit and at least stable prices, a turnaround in the housing sector could still be some time away, economists said.

"The recent trend of sales moving broadly sideways remains in place," Barclays Capital analyst Peter Newland said in a note to clients.

NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun said the increase in sales comes amid "several improving factors that generally lead to higher home sales such as job creation, rising rents and high affordability conditions."

The U.S. Federal Reserve has held short-term interest rates at nearly zero since 2008 and has expanded its balance sheet in a bid to get credit to businesses and households.

That has helped bring mortgage rates to near-record lows.

The problem is that even with low rates, many would-be borrowers still cannot get a loan.

"With lenders increasingly requiring a credit score of 700 and a deposit of 20 percent to grant a conventional mortgage, ... a house price recovery is still a few years away," said Paul Diggle, an economist at Capital Economics in London.

(Reporting by Jason Lange; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Andrew Hay)

(jason.lange@thomsonreuters.com; +1 202 310 5487; Reuters Messaging: jason.lange.reuters.com@reuters.net))

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111121/bs_nm/us_usa_economy_housing

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Turkish journalists stand trial (AP)

ANKARA, Turkey ? Several journalists accused of involvement in an alleged plot to topple Turkey's Islamic-rooted government went on trial Tuesday after spending some nine months in jail.

The case is seen as a test for media freedoms in Turkey.

The 13 defendants include investigative journalists Nedim Sener and Ahmet Sik and writer Yalcin Kucuk ? a staunch government critic ? as well as Soner Yalcin, the owner of the anti-government news website Oda TV and some of its editors and reporters. A key suspect, an intelligence official, recently died of a heart attack in jail.

International media rights groups were attending Tuesday's opening hearing as observers, said the Journalists' Union of Turkey.

The suspects are among some 400 people on trial in an investigation ? now in its fourth year ? into an alleged hardline secularist group that which allegedly plotted in 2003 to bring down the government through attacks that prosecutors say would have created chaos and sparked a military coup.

Prosecutors accuse the journalists of being members of the media wing of the alleged Ergenekon group, which authorities described as an armed terrorist organization, and working to manipulate public opinion.

Other suspects in the case include politicians, academics and retired military officers.

Critics say the trial is based on flimsy or fabricated evidence and aims to intimidate and muzzle government opponents. The government has defended the Ergenekon investigation as a move toward stronger democracy.

Earlier this year, however, the United States said it was watching the case against journalists "very closely" in light of Turkey's stated support for press freedoms.

Media rights groups say thousands of journalists face prosecution in Turkey. The Journalists' Union of Turkey says 63 are currently imprisoned for their writings or opinions.

The government insists the journalists are not jailed for their writings but for alleged criminal activity.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111122/ap_on_re_eu/eu_turkey_coup_plot

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What is Obama's post-'super committee' strategy? (CNN)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories News, RSS and RSS Feed via Feedzilla.

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3 American students arrested in Egypt's Tahrir Square

Violent demonstrations in Egypt have entered a fourth day with protesters calling for an end to military rule and a "million-man march" on Cairo's Tahrir Square. NBC's Richard Engel reports.

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By NBC News

Three American students were arrested Monday evening during protests in Tahrir Square, a spokeswoman for The American University in Cairo told NBC News.

Luke Gates, a student at Indiana University from Bloomington, Ind., Gregory Porter, a student at Drexel University from Glenside, Pa., and Derrik Sweeney, a student at Georgetown University from Jefferson City, Mo., are being held at the Abdeen police station in Cairo, reported NBC.?

The three are currently studying abroad at The American University in Cairo. University spokeswoman Morgan Roth said the university is in?"fact-finding mode" about the detentions at the moment.

Read more about the events in Egypt

"I don't have specifics on the charges they are facing or if they have been formally charged. I just know that they are being detained," Roth told NBC.?The American University is working with the U.S. Embassy in Cairo to monitor the students' well-being, she said.

NBC's Richard Engel said Egyptian television was reporting three American citizens were arrested after being seen throwing fire bombs from the roof of a building belonging to the American University near Tahrir Square, and that the U.S. Embassy was investigating.

The State Department has not yet been able to gain consular access to the students.

The students' parents were notified Tuesday morning of the arrests. Drexel University, Gregory Porter's school, released a statement saying "administrators are in contact with Porter's parents and are working with authorities at the American University in Cairo and the U.S. Embassy to have Porter released and returned home safely."

The two other students' universities have been notified of the arrests as well.

Meanwhile, Egyptians converged on Tahrir Square on Tuesday in response to a call for a so-called "million-man march" as protests against the country's military rulers entered a fourth day. Read full coverage here.

Source: http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/11/22/8954375-three-american-students-arrested-in-egypts-tahrir-square

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Economy makes holiday job a special gift

UPS

'I don't see myself doing anything else,' Andrew Sullivan said about his job at UPS.

By Eve Tahmincioglu

In 2008, Andrew Sullivan lost his job as a sales and customer service supervisor for a telecommunications company and decided to take a temporary seasonal gig as a driver for UPS because he couldn?t find work in his field.

Sullivan, 34, eventually landed a full-time job with UPS and is now a road supervisor for the company, training other seasonal drivers that will hit the road later this week.

?It was something I never considered or thought of,? he explained. ?Honestly, I took the job thinking, if anything, I could get out two months, earn money and then continue to find something. I didn?t expect to have this as my career.?

This holiday season thousands of seasonal workers will be taking on temporary work. Some will use their experience as fodder for their resumes; others will just be happy to get a few paychecks and go back on the job market after the holidays.

And then there are those like Sullivan, who could end up in new careers if they?re lucky enough to turn their temporary gigs into full-time positions with benefits.

An increasing number of job seekers who were once office dwellers are looking to land these holiday jobs -- everything from warehouse worker to retail clerk. Many of these jobs were once thought to be less than desirable, perhaps because they seem to have little future, offer no benefits, pay low wages or and feature tough holiday work conditions. But now these positions are attracting greater interest.

?Retailers are seeing more qualified professionals who are interested in these temporary, lower-end jobs,? said Casey Chroust, executive vice president of retail operations for the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA).

Chroust adds that there has been an uptick in applications this year: ?It?s a frank reflection of the state of the economy.?

While many companies have already hired the bulk of their seasonal staff, there are still jobs available.

?We see companies bringing folks on board up until early December,? said Todd Bevol, president and CEO of Integrity Staffing Solutions, adding that some retailers need workers even after the holidays to handle returns.

UPS expects to hire about 55,000 seasonal workers this year, up from 50,000 in 2010, and the company is still in a hiring mode.

SimplyHired.com still has about 90,000 holiday and retail job listings, said Dion Lim, the job search website?s president. Average pay for seasonal store clerks, he said, is $8 to $10 an hour and $15 to $20 for temporary store managers.

?Wage improvement in the United States has been pretty stagnant in last couple of years,? he pointed out. ?A lot of people will be happy to have a job.?

If workers are asked to work on Thanksgiving or Christmas, many employers pay?time and a half, said the RILA?s Chroust, but it depends on each company?s policy.

Many retailers have been gradually extending holiday store hours, with some opening at midnight Thanksgiving, or even earlier this year.

One large employer that has come under fire recently for this practice is Target, which announced recently it intends to open its stores nationally at midnight on Thanksgiving Day. Employees have protested the move because it would eat into their turkey time, but the retailer maintained it?s a business decision.

?Black Friday is one of the busiest and most competitive shopping days of the year,? said company spokeswoman Molly Snyder. ?We have heard from our guests that they want to shop Target following their Thanksgiving celebrations rather than only having the option of getting up in the middle of the night. By opening at midnight, we are making it easier than ever to deliver on our guests? wants and needs.?

Workers who clock in on Thanksgiving Day will be paid time and half, she said.

In addition to working long and unusual hours, employees who end up in retail stores often face grueling conditions during the holidays because that?s when most retailers make their biggest profits of the year.

Several years ago, a seasonal worker at Walmart was crushed to death by bargain-hungry Black Friday shoppers; and this year the Occupational Safety & Health Administration has posted a crowd control fact sheet on its website warning store owners to keep an eye on worker and shopper safety during the holiday season.

Seasonal jobs can be physically demanding, especially those in warehouses and distribution centers, stressed Jon Gelman, a New York attorney who has represented injured seasonal employees.

?They?re clueless out there,? he said?of seasonal workers who are often asked to ?operate machinery, forklifts and scanning equipment, and are pushing and shoving boxes. They?re going to have accidents.?

Unfortunately, most temp workers don?t have medical benefits, he said, and their workers compensation claims will be limited monetarily because wages are so low.

To bypass some of the holiday work agony, Rob McGovern, CEO of Jobfox and founder of CareerBuilder, suggests that job seekers who haven?t landed a seasonal job go after employment at high-end retailers instead of the standard chain department stores because the pay and conditions tend to be better.

?Companies that are servicing the 1 percent,? he explained, are doing well financially and may have jobs available. He pointed out that while Walmart missed its earnings forecast recently, Tiffany & Co. announced higher-than-expected earnings in its last quarterly report.

?A job at Tiffany?s is more lucrative than a Walmart greeter,? he noted.

Indeed, according to Glassdoor.com, an hourly sales associate at Tiffany?s takes home about $15 an hour, while the same job at Walmart pays $8.82 an hour.

No matter where you end up, the biggest benefit for many is when a seasonal position leads to a full-time job, just like what happened for Andrew Sullivan at UPS. He says he?s glad he responded to a holiday job listing on Monster.com nearly three years ago.

?I don?t see myself doing anything else,? Sullivan said about his job at UPS.

Related articles

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Source: http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/11/18/8881030-tough-economy-makes-holiday-job-a-special-gift-for-many

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GOP presidential rivals to debate foreign policy

Republican presidential candidate, former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman speaks during an employee town hall event at CCA Global Partners in Manchester, N.H., Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2011. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)

Republican presidential candidate, former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman speaks during an employee town hall event at CCA Global Partners in Manchester, N.H., Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2011. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? With new trouble appearing in the Middle East and the Pentagon facing possible budget cuts, the Republican White House contenders are debating for the second time in as many weeks how they would do better than President Barack Obama in protecting and extending America's national security.

Six weeks to the day before the first nominating contests in Iowa, the candidates were looking to use the pre-Thanksgiving holiday debate to build or ? for former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich at the head of the pack ? sustain momentum in the battle to pick a 2012 election challenger for Obama.

Businessman Herman Cain, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Reps. Ron Paul of Texas and Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman and former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania also were meeting in Tuesday night's forum put together by CNN, the Heritage Foundation and the American Enterprise Institute.

With unemployment stubbornly high and the economy sluggish to recover from recession, the candidates also were likely to drive the foreign policy discussion back to pocketbook issues at home.

A day earlier, the congressional deficit supercommittee declared an impasse, and that could trigger deep cuts in 2013 spreading across military as well as domestic spending.

Many of the presidential candidates have called the nation's $15 trillion government debt a national security threat, especially since China is the single largest creditor. Obama's own defense secretary, Leon Panetta, has said big Pentagon cuts "would lead to a hollow force incapable of sustaining the missions it is assigned."

The GOP contenders also were ready to criticize Obama on the Middle East. The administration ordered new sanctions this week aimed at forcing Iran to halt a suspected nuclear weapons program, and protests are under way again in Cairo against the military government.

The Iran sanctions target that country's oil industry as well as companies linked to nuclear activity and Iran's banking system.

They, however, were unlikely to satisfy the GOP contenders who are far more hawkish than Obama and have pledged to carry out military strikes against suspected Iranian nuclear facilities to defend U.S. ally Israel.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2011-11-22-US-GOP-Debate/id-db5b836787e646fab8d320078d86302c

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Patriots wake up in 2nd half, rout Chiefs

After sluggish first half, New England rolls 34-3 to extend AFC East lead

Charles Krupa / AP

New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski, left, is congratulated by Wes Welker (83) after scoring a touchdown against the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday night.

updated 11:37 p.m. ET Nov. 21, 2011

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - Rob Gronkowski somersaulted into the end zone, staggered to his feet and still managed to spike the ball.

"I was just fine," the Patriots star tight end said. "I just got the wind knocked out of me a little bit."

New England was more than fine after looking groggy on offense early in the game before finishing big with a 34-3 win over the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday night.

Tom Brady threw two touchdown passes to Gronkowski, who has five in his past three games. Julian Edelman returned a punt 72 yards for another score and Kyle Arrington had two of the Patriots three interceptions.

"We try to be a very opportunistic defense," Arrington said, "and when plays like that present themselves, you've got to capitalize on them. And if I can get into the end zone one of these times, that would be good, too."

The Patriots (7-3) didn't need him to do that on Monday when they increased their AFC East lead to two games.

The Chiefs (4-6) weren't expected to do much on offense behind untested quarterback Tyler Palko, who threw three interceptions in his first career start with Matt Cassel injured. And they didn't, managing just a 26-yard field goal by Ryan Succop with 1:30 left in the first quarter for their only lead.

"Three interceptions is inexcusable," Palko said. "The game is hard enough as it is without making mistakes."

With Gronkowski collecting his ninth and 10th TD receptions of the season, the Patriots had their second straight dominant game after beating the New York Jets 37-16. The Chiefs lost their third straight.

The Patriots didn't generate much of an attack during their first four series. There were three punts and a fumble by Brady that was recovered by Kansas City's Allen Bailey on the first play of the second quarter. And on his next series, Brady was sacked twice.

"Obviously, the first half we didn't do anything," Brady said. "I don't think it could have gotten much worse."

But the protection improved and Brady, who had thrown for just 19 yards in the first quarter, took advantage, leading three consecutive scoring drives.

He connected with Gronkowski for a 52-yard score when the tight end caught the ball over the middle and scampered the last 35 yards, barely managing to remain inbounds on the right side as he neared the end zone.

"When I get the ball, you just don't want to go down," he said. "You've got to try and do something with the ball. That's why you get it."

Arrington, who leads the NFL with seven interceptions, got his first of the game on Kansas City's next series and Stephen Gostkowski made it 10-3 at halftime with a 21-yard field goal.

"We were still fighting and we knew it was a close game going into halftime," Chiefs safety Kendrick Lewis said. "They got a big play and a big score (Gronkowski's second touchdown) in the second half and that started their rally."

The Patriots got the ball to start the third quarter and went 85 yards on nine plays, scoring on Brady's 19-yard pass to Gronkowski, who went head over heels, landing on his neck in the right corner of the end zone after being hit by Derrick Johnson.

"He's a great football player," Patriots guard Brian Waters said. "It doesn't surprise me for him to be able to bounce up."

Gronkowski has 20 touchdowns in 26 games, surpassing Mike Ditka's mark of 31 for the fewest games needed by a tight end to reach 20 touchdowns. He also pulled within three of the single-season, tight end record of 13 touchdown receptions held by Antonio Gates of San Diego and Vernon Davis of San Francisco.

"Everyone's doing their job and I just happen to be an open guy and Tom hits me in the end zone," Gronkowski said.

Just 1:03 after his second touchdown, Edelman got his second punt return touchdown of his career as the Patriots jumped to a 24-3 lead with 9:24 left in the third quarter.

Edelman, a wide receiver, also played defensive back, a position hit hard by injuries.

"I do whatever I can to help the team," he said.

Arrington picked off another pass on the Chiefs' next possession, leading to a 19-yard field goal by Gostkowski.

And just when it looked as if Palko, who had thrown just 13 passes before Monday night, might direct his team to a touchdown, he threw an interception to Phillip Adams in the end zone with 10:50 left in the game.

"We did too many things that get you beat in this league too many times," Chiefs linebacker Tamba Hali said.

The Patriots finished the scoring on rookie Shane Vereen's first NFL touchdown on a 4-yard run with 1:01 left.

In the previous meeting between the teams, Brady went down with a season-ending knee injury in the 2008 opener and was replaced by Cassel. But he injured his right throwing hand in the Chiefs' last game, a 17-10 loss, and had season-ending surgery on Nov. 14.

Palko completed 25 of 38 passes for 236 yards and three interceptions. Brady was 15 of 27 for 234 yards and no interceptions.

"All in all, I felt pretty confident," Palko said. "Obviously, there's a few things I'd like to have back."

Notes: Gronkowski's 52-yard reception was the longest of his career. ... The Chiefs tried an onside kick after Succop's field goal but were called for touching the ball before it went 10 yards. ... Wes Welker extended his streak to 88 games with at least one catch. His first reception didn't come until six minutes remained in the game and he finished with two.

? 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Smooth sailing ahead

PFT: Holding a two-game lead in the AFC East and a tiebreaker over the Jets, it's hard to imagine the Patriots not hosting a playoff game this winter.

Patriots wake up in 2nd half, rout Chiefs

Tom Brady threw two touchdowns passes to Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman returned a punt 72 yards for another score, as the New England Patriots shook off a sluggish first half on the way to a 34-3 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday night.

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/45394421/ns/sports-nfl/

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European Commission proposes ban on shark finning (AP)

BRUSSELS ? The EU's executive arm said Monday that it wants to completely ban shark finning ? the practice of removing sharks' fins and throwing the finless creatures back into the sea to die.

Under the proposal approved by the European Commission, all boats in EU waters ? and EU-registered boats anywhere in the world ? would have to land sharks with their fins attached to prove that the rest of the shark had not been discarded. The law, should it go into effect, would primarily affect fishing vessels from Spain and Portugal.

In theory, the EU already bans shark finning. But as it now stands, the fins and bodies can be separated on board vessels with special permits, and then landed at different ports. The EU tries to ensure that no bodies have been discarded by making sure the weight of the fins does not exceed 5 percent of the entire weight of the fish landed.

But environmentalists have called the EU effort lenient and a loophole, and said having the fins and carcasses offloaded at different ports made the law difficult to enforce. EU Fisheries Commissioner Maria Damanaki on Monday agreed.

"We want to end the horrendous practice of shark finning and protect sharks much better," she said.

The environmental group Oceana welcomed the proposal, saying it deplored the waste involved in discarding the body, which can be used for food. The practice of shark finning is driven by the lower value of shark meat compared to the fins, which are in demand in China for use in shark fin soup.

Also, landing the fins and bodies still attached allows researchers to document the variety of sharks taken and use the data to protect the fish populations, said Amelie Malafosse, a policy adviser at Oceana.

The European Commission says sharks are vulnerable to over-exploitation because they mature late and give birth to small numbers of young at a time. And some species have come under threat because of the sharp increase in demand for the fins, the commission said.

To become law, the proposal must also be approved by the European Council ? the 27 EU heads of government ? and the European Parliament. European Parliament fisheries committee Vice President Struan Stevenson predicted a tough fight.

"When these proposals come before MEPs," he said, referring to members of the European Parliament, "I have no doubt that a few countries will seek to water them down. However, we will push for a rigorous ban. We need a ban on finning that enables fishermen to catch sharks in a way that puts conservation and humane treatment before making a quick buck."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111122/ap_on_re_eu/eu_eu_shark_finning

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Mars rover set for liftoff after years of work

After nearly a decade of planning, several cost overruns and a two-year delay, NASA is finally set to launch its next Mars rover this week.

The car-size Curiosity rover, the centerpiece of NASA's $2.5 billion Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission, is slated to blast off from Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Saturday after a one-day delay due to a rocket battery issue. The launch comes two years later than the MSL team had originally planned, a slip that ultimately increased the mission's lifetime costs by 56 percent.

But with Curiosity now sitting on the pad, nestled atop its Atlas 5 rocket, MSL's past issues are receding deeper into history. Most eyes are now on the rover's future ? its quest to determine if Mars is, or ever was, capable of supporting microbial life.

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"This is a Mars scientist's dream machine," Ashwin Vasavada, MSL deputy project scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif., told reporters on Nov. 10. "This rover is not only the most technically capable rover ever sent to another planet, but it's actually the most capable scientific explorer we've ever sent out." [Photos: NASA's Mars Science Laboratory Rover]

A beast of a rover
NASA began planning MSL's mission in 2003. Over the past eight years, scientists and engineers developed, built and tested Curiosity, a robotic behemoth that will take planetary exploration to a new level.

At 1 ton, Curiosity weighs five times more than each of its immediate Mars rover predecessors, the golf-cart-size twins Spirit and Opportunity, which landed on the Red Planet in January 2004 to search for signs of past water activity.

While Spirit and Opportunity each sported five scientific instruments, Curiosity boasts 10, as well as a drill that will allow it to access the interior of Red Planet rocks.

The huge rover will use all of this gear to gauge the past and present habitability of its Martian environs. It will look for carbon-containing compounds ? the building blocks of life as we know it ? and assess what the Red Planet was like long ago.

MSL is not a life-detection mission, but it will lay the foundation for future efforts that could hunt for evidence of microbial Martians, officials said. "We bridge the gap from 'follow the water' to seeking the signs of life," said Doug McCuistion, head of NASA's Mars exploration program.

A long cruise to Mars, and a novel descent
Friday's launch will kick off an 8 1/2-month cruise to Mars, with the MSL spacecraft arriving at the Red Planet in August 2012.

All planetary landings make mission scientists and managers sweat a little bit, but Curiosity's will probably be more nerve-wracking than most. A rocket-powered sky crane will lower the huge rover to the Martian surface on cables ? a method that has never been tried before.

The sky crane performed well in full-up computer simulations, so it should work on the Red Planet, officials said.

"Entry, descent and landing is always an exciting time and a challenging time," said MSL project manager Pete Theisinger of JPL. "We're confident in our ability to do it successfully at the planet, but it is clearly not risk-free."

Checking out Gale Crater
Curiosity will touch down at Gale Crater, a 100-mile-wide (150 kilometers) hole in the ground with a mysterious 3-mile-high (5-kilometer-high) mountain rising from its center. The rover will poke around Gale, scrutinizing and sampling the dirt and rocks it encounters.

Curiosity's mission is designed to last for about two Earth years, but it wouldn't be a shock if the rover kept chugging along for significantly longer, officials said. Spirit and Opportunity, after all, far outlasted their planned three-month mission lifetimes. NASA just declared Spirit dead this year, and Opportunity is still cruising around Mars, checking out a huge crater called Endeavour.

"We do test all the mechanism equipment for three times its normal life," Theisinger said. If all goes well, he added, "we should be good for quite an extended period of time."

And Curiosity is powered by radioisotope thermoelectric generators ? which produce electricity from the radioactive decay of plutonium ? rather than solar cells. The rover should thus be able to handle the harsh Martian winters well, Theisinger said.

So NASA officials expect the launch to mark the start of something big.

"We'll excite the nation, we'll inspire the nation. We're going to show incredible new vistas, great new discoveries," McCuistion said. "The launch is just the beginning."

You can follow Space.com senior writer Mike Wall on Twitter: @michaeldwall. Follow Space.com for the latest in space science and exploration news on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.

? 2011 Space.com. All rights reserved. More from Space.com.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45389165/ns/technology_and_science-space/

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