Dominican police: man kills ex-girlfriend, himself (AP)

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic ? Authorities in the Dominican Republic say a man locked himself in a room with his former girlfriend and set it on fire, killing them both.

Police say in a statement that 35-year-old Edwin Figueroa was upset that 24-year-old Miguelina Pacheco didn't want to get back together with him. They say he sneaked into her parents' house early Tuesday and went into her room while she slept. Then he set the room on fire.

The victim's mother told reporters that the couple had been together for eight years but that she broke up with Figueroa five months ago because of his jealousy.

The fire occurred in a neighborhood west of the capital of Santo Domingo.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/latam/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120131/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/cb_dominican_republic_fiery_death

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Protesters in capital pledge to stay despite ban (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? Defiant anti-Wall Street protesters in Washington vowed to remain peacefully entrenched in two parks near the White House on Monday despite a police order to stop camping on federal land, raising the specter of possible confrontation.

The U.S. National Park Service, in its first challenge to the demonstrators, said last week it would start enforcing a ban at noon on Monday against camping in McPherson Square and Freedom Plaza, where protesters have camped out since October.

It ordered bedding and cooking equipment removed but said tents could remain as a protest symbol if flaps stayed open. While many protesters told Reuters they would comply with the order, blankets were still visible in some tents.

After a cursory inspection of the McPherson Square camp, police remained on the outskirts and no arrests had been reported by late afternoon. Protesters said police appeared hesitant to move in while television crews thronged the area.

While similar "Occupy" protests against social and economic inequality in other U.S. cities have been shut down by police, the demonstrations in the capital have survived an unusually warm winter and a permissive approach by federal authorities reluctant to provoke confrontation.

In Charlotte, North Carolina, city police began evicting another group of Occupy protesters from city property on Monday.

Despite their small numbers, the Washington protesters enjoy outsized media attention because their camps are just blocks from President Barack Obama's official residence and one is next to K Street, a wide thoroughfare that is home to many lobbyists and is synonymous with corporate influence in the capital.

While Obama has not explicitly backed the protests, he has made economic inequality a central theme of his re-election campaign and called for higher taxes on wealthier Americans, angering his Republican opponents.

HUGE TENT

McPherson Square protesters set up a huge tent decorated with stars and moons over a statue of Civil War General James McPherson in the center of the square to protest the police order. "The people united will never be defeated," they chanted.

Tensions rose in the "Occupy DC" camps after police used a stun gun on one protester on Sunday. More than 400 people were arrested during violent anti-Wall Street protests in Oakland, California over the weekend.

Some Washington protesters said they would defy the park police order while others said they would sleep in churches and elsewhere. They are permitted to hold overnight vigils in the parks overnight so long as they do not use their tents for sleeping or cooking.

"We're not going to fight, but we're just going to make it difficult," said Jake Roszack, 22, from New York, who had built a barricade of spare wood, tents and cardboard, around his personal belongings and those of his friends.

A U.S. Park Police spokesman, David Schlosser, said arrests would be made on a case-by-case basis. "We're very pleased that we're getting some voluntary compliance," he said.

Inspired by the Arab Spring, "Occupy" demonstrations began in New York in September and spread across the United States and to other countries.

Protesters are targeting the growing income gap, corporate greed and what they see as unfair tax structure favoring the richest 1 percent of Americans. Washington protesters also cite other pet causes, including joblessness, big agriculture and the homeless, some of whom sleep in the park.

The U.S. capital, site of historic demonstrations over the decades, so far had done little to deter the protesters, drawing a rebuke from congressional Republicans who accuse the Obama administration of sympathizing with the groups and refusing to enforce park rules - a charge denied by park officials.

The National Park Service regulates both parks and forbids camping on federal land not designated as a campground. Local city officials have complained about squalor, rats and trash.

The number of protesters in the Occupy DC camps fluctuates, but city officials estimate there are less than 100 in total.

The Occupy protests had faded over the last few weeks but flared anew on Saturday when violence broke out in Oakland.

Officials in Charlotte, the site of the Democratic National Convention this September, began taking down tents under cover of a police helicopter even though protesters said they had complied with rules to remove their belongings. Police said seven protesters were arrested for resisting orders to leave their tents.

(Writing by Susan Heavey; additional reporting by Rick Rothacker in Charlotte; Editing by Ross Colvin and Doina Chiacu)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120130/us_nm/us_usa_protests_washington

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The Benefit of Investing in Assets | ArticleGoes - Free Dofollow ...

If you have been looking for a way to cushion both you and your family from a dire financial situation then you should consider making investments.

If you have been looking for a way to cushion both you and your family from a dire financial situation then you should consider making investments. With the current economic state, several people are opting not to invest in company shares; well there is good news for such people and that is investing in assets. Investing in assets will guarantee you safe investments. Therefore you will be at peace knowing that your investment is fully secure. There are guidelines to follow in order to guarantee that your asset investment gives you good returns or profits in the long run.

When investing in assets, you should ensure that the asset you are investing in is an asset that is in high demand. It would be pointless to spend your money purchasing an item that nobody needs and that is why demand should be high, that way the asset will never lack a ready market. The higher the demand then the higher you can charge for it and once you feel you are ready to move on; you can sell the asset at a higher price than you bought it. All in all investing in assets is a productive path to go down on.

There are several benefits that come along with this venture one of them being a predictable investment return. Let us take for example shipping containers, the demand for them is quite high since there are several items being traded across seas each and every day and you can be sure that their demand will never run out. By closely looking at the market, you can be able to predict the average return you will get from shipping containers investment. This will give you the chance to clearly review all your options before making the investment.

Investing in assets is a good path to follow and more so when the assets are shipping containers. To begin with, the asset is not that hard to acquire; you can make your purchase directly via the manufactures or you can opt to make your purchase via a company that leases containers. The latter would be a better option because you can go back to the leasing company to provide you with hard asset management. This basically means that once you have your shipping containers, you can entrust them to lease it on your behalf at a cost.

This would be a good option because they have an endless supply of clients waiting to lease a shipping container. This will eliminate the burden of having to look for the clients yourself and that is in itself the beauty of hard asset management. The only thing left for you to do would be to go home and wait for your returns or benefits to come in. A payment system is formed depending on the number of shipping crates you own and your personal interest. If you have been looking for high yield investments then shipping containers investment is definitely worth your consideration. Try the venture today and you will never regret your decision.

Resources:

Pacific Tycoon is the author of this article on High Yield Investments.
Find more information on Predictable Investment Return here.

Source: http://articlegoes.com/the-benefit-of-investing-in-assets.html

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China to make Shanghai global yuan hub by 2015 (Reuters)

SHANGHAI (Reuters) ? China intends to establish Shanghai as the global centre for yuan trading, clearing and pricing over the next three years as part of broader plans to make the commercial hub an international financial centre by 2020.

The plan for Shanghai's financial innovations through 2015, published jointly by the country's economic planning agency and the Shanghai government on Monday, set goals on a wide range of areas aimed at further developing Shanghai, though some analysts said many of them appeared ambitious.

"This anticipated pace of development looks a bit quick to me," said Frances Cheung, a strategist at Credit Agricole in Hong Kong.

China wants to transform Shanghai into an international financial centre on par with the likes of New York and London by 2020. That goal was set in 2009 by the State Council and analysts have taken it as a broad deadline for liberalizing the currency.

The state economic planning agency, the National Development and Reform Commission, outlined a series of goals under the 2015 yuan plan.

These included making the daily yuan mid-point published by the central bank in the onshore yuan market serve as the benchmark for both domestic and foreign yuan trading markets.

Currency traders interpreted the statement partly as a message from Beijing that the yuan's movements, which have increasingly been influenced by the offshore market over the past few months, should be decided by the government.

"There have been recent developments that have put Hong Kong's offshore market in the spotlight from time to time, such as its pricing of the yuan quite differently from the onshore market," said a trader at a European bank in Shanghai.

"In this sense, the NDRC statement is published at a sensitive time and means the government once again wants to emphasize that it has the final say in the value of the yuan."

The plan also aims to make the government-backed Shanghai Interbank Offered Rate (Shibor) the benchmark for yuan credit everywhere and targeting to more than double the annual non-forex financial market trading volume to 1,000 trillion yuan by 2015.

While the plan lacked details on how China would achieve these targets, analysts were skeptical on the feasibility of some of the planks in the platform.

"Shibor is not even a very well established benchmark onshore," Cheung said. Markets currently use the government's seven-day repurchase rate as the lending benchmark.

Analysts said the NDRC's plan gave no fresh insight into how quickly China would liberalize its capital account, a crucial step in Shanghai's attempt to become a global money hub.

China has taken a series of measures over the past two years to invigorate the offshore yuan market in Hong Kong as part of a longer-term plan to promote the use of the yuan overseas and make it a fully-convertible and international reserve currency along with the U.S. dollar.

Earlier this month, Britain said it was teaming up with its former colony to secure London a top spot as an offshore trading centre for the yuan.

The NDRC's plan would not threaten Hong Kong's current position as the main offshore yuan centre, analysts said.

"Promoting Shanghai as an onshore yuan centre complements Hong Kong's growing role as an offshore yuan center, and should help to strengthen the circle of onshore-offshore yuan flows underpinning the yuan trade settlement process," said Donna H J Kwok, economist at HSBC in Hong Kong.

China will also encourage overseas companies to sell yuan-denominated shares in its domestic stock markets, but the plan did not give a detailed timetable.

Authorities have been discussing launching a so-called "international board" on the Shanghai stock exchange for listing foreign companies' shares, seen as a centerpiece for the 2020 goal, but the city's mayor said this month that the time was not currently right for its launch.

Shanghai will explore M&A opportunities involving overseas stock exchanges to increase its global clout, the NDRC's plan said without elaborating.

(Additional reporting by Zhou Xin in Beijing, Saikat Chatterjee in Hong Kong and Lu Jianxin in Shanghai; Editing by Jason Subler)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/china/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120130/bs_nm/us_china_economy_shanghai

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SAG Awards menu is months in the making

In this Oct. 19, 2011 photo, a proposed plate of slow-roasted salmon, roasted root vegetables, and lamb is seen during the SAG Awards tasting and table decor preview at Lucques restaurant in Los Angeles. The SAG Awards will be held Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles)

In this Oct. 19, 2011 photo, a proposed plate of slow-roasted salmon, roasted root vegetables, and lamb is seen during the SAG Awards tasting and table decor preview at Lucques restaurant in Los Angeles. The SAG Awards will be held Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles)

In this Oct. 19, 2011 photo, SAG Awards producer Kathy Connell, left, and SAG Awards supervising producer Mick McCullough participate in the SAG Awards tasting and table decor preview at Lucques restaurant in Los Angeles. The SAG Awards will be held Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles)

In this Oct. 19, 2011 photo, a plate of chopped chicken salad with apples, radicchio, walnuts and whole grain mustard sits on display during the SAG Awards tasting and table decor preview at Lucques restaurant in Los Angeles. The SAG Awards will be held Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles)

In this Oct. 19, 2011 photo, from left, SAG Awards Committee Chair JoBeth Williams, SAG Awards Committee member Paul Napier, chef Suzanne Goin, of Lucques Catering, and SAG Awards event designer Keith Greco take part during the SAG Awards tasting and table decor preview at Lucques restaurant in Los Angeles. The SAG Awards will be held Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles)

In this Oct. 19, 2011 photo, a plate with grilled chicken breast with black rice, pea shoots and tangerine vinaigrette displays during the SAG Awards tasting and table decor preview at Lucques restaurant in Los Angeles. The SAG Awards will be held Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles)

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? When your dinner party guests include Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Kate Winslet and Glenn Close, and the whole affair is televised live, it can take months to plan the menu. That's why the team behind the Screen Actors Guild Awards began putting together the plate for Sunday's ceremony months ago.

It was still summer when show producer Kathy Connell and executive producer and director Jeff Margolis first sat down with chef Suzanne Goin of Los Angeles eatery Lucques with a tall order: Create a meal that is delicious at room temperature, looks beautiful on TV, is easy to eat and appeals to Hollywood tastes. Oh, and no poppy seeds, soups, spicy dishes, or piles of onions or garlic.

"It can't drip, stick in their teeth or be too heavy," Connell said. "We have to appease all palates."

The chef put together a plate of possibilities: slow-roasted salmon with yellow beets, lamb with couscous and spiced cauliflower and roasted root vegetables with quinoa. There was also a chopped chicken salad and another chicken dish with black beans.

To ensure the dishes are both tasty and TV-ready, Connell and Margolis, along with the SAG Awards Committee and the show's florist and art director, dined together at this summertime lunch on tables set to replicate those that will be in the Shrine Exposition Center during the ceremony. The pewter, crushed-silk tablecloths and white lilies you'll see on TV Sunday were also chosen months ago.

The diners discussed the look of the plate, the size of the portions and the vegetarian possibilities.

"We'd like the portions a little larger," Connell told the chef.

"And a little more sauce on the salmon," Margolis added.

Come Sunday, it's up to Goin to prepare 1,200 of the long-planned meals for the A-list audience.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2012-01-29-SAG%20Awards-Menu/id-657dc298f5434f7ba2af02a165efcdfc

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Almost half of young Spaniards unemployed

Marcelo Del Pozo / Reuters

People enter a government job centre in Chipiona, on the southern coast of Spain.

By msnbc.com staff

There's no doubt that the U.S. unemployment rate of 8.5 percent (as of December) is painful for Americans. But?pain can be relative.

Spain reported Friday that its jobless rate jumped to 22.8 percent in the fourth quarter, according to The Associated Press, up from 21.5 percent in the third quarter. That means?5.3 million Spaniards were out of work in the last three months of the year versus 4.9 million in the third quarter.

The Spanish jobless rate is by far the highest in the eurozone, with Ireland?a distant second with 14.6 percent unemployed.?

It gets worse for Spain. For young?Spaniards?ages?16 to?24, almost half, or 48.6 percent,?are not working, the BBC reported.?

Source: http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/27/10251043-almost-half-of-young-spaniards-unemployed

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Finance chiefs reassure CEOs over European crisis (AP)

DAVOS, Switzerland ? Leading finance chiefs sought to reassure anxious global business leaders on Friday that Europe is on track to solve its crippling debt crisis before it drags the world's economies down. Europe's top banker said investors, burned after trusting the region's governments too much, now trust them too little.

The finance chiefs said the picture in Europe has changed over the past two months as the European Central Bank has loaned billions of euros to fragile banks, indebted countries have pushed through convincing reforms and EU leaders have come near to building a closer fiscal union that would make their common currency stronger.

Several also signaled Friday that Greece is close to clinching a crucial debt-reduction deal with private bondholders ? a key element in Europe's efforts to stem a two-year debt crisis that is causing ripples around the globe. The crisis is a central topic at the World Economic Forum, a gathering of government and business leaders at the Swiss ski resort of Davos.

"They're making progress on reforms, they're changing the institutions of Europe to put better discipline on fiscal policy," said U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. "You have three new governments doing some very tough things. You have an ECB doing what central banks have to do. You see them move to try to strengthen the financial sector."

Mario Draghi, head of the European Central Bank, said a combination of actions ? including super-cheap, long-term loans to shaky banks on the continent and a couple of interest rate cuts ? have helped Europe avoid deeper financial trouble.

"We have avoided a major credit crunch, a major lending crisis," he said.

Draghi said borrowing rates would remain high "for quite a while" because bond markets are overestimating the risk involved in holding European government debt after years of underestimating it. But he called market pressure "the most potent engine for reform in different governments."

Geithner said the fate of the U.S. economy ? and by extension of the rest of the world ? hinges on Europe's debt crisis, along with potential tensions with Iran. He said the main piece of unfinished business for Europe is building a bigger fund to help troubled economies survive.

But while French Finance Minister Francois Baroin said that fund needs to be increased to calm markets, his German counterpart, Wolfgang Schaeuble, indicated that his government is not prepared to do so. Germany, as Europe's biggest economy, would face the biggest bill.

"We must not give the wrong incentives," Schaeuble said. "You can make any figure. It will not work if the real problems will not be solved."

Both, together with Spanish Economy Minister Luis de Guindos Jurado and European Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn, agreed that the idea of issuing "eurobonds" backed jointly by all eurozone governments is a nonstarter for now. They didn't rule out the possibility that such bonds could be introduced once confidence in Europe's public finances is restored, with Guindos calling that a "final target."

Schaeuble said eurobonds would provide bad incentives by allowing debt-ridden countries to "spend money you don't have on the bill of others."

Many economists have said eurobonds are needed to solve the crisis as they could reduce the borrowing costs of heavily indebted countries by pooling them with bonds of stronger economies like Germany's.

Professor Nouriel Roubini, the renowned economist who predicted the financial crash of 2008, is one who thinks that eurobonds have to form part of a eurozone strategy to fend off the possibility of a breakup.

The eurozone "could be a slow-motion train wreck," Roubini said.

Europe has been grappling with the crisis ever since Greece conceded at the end of 2009 that its public finances were in far worse shape than previously thought. Greece remains at the epicenter of the crisis over two years later. Its borrowing costs remain too high for it to borrow in the markets so a second European-led bailout is in the offing.

The finance chiefs signaled Friday that a deal is at hand that could help ease some of the near-term tensions.

Greece has been negotiating with the a group representing banks and other lenders in the hopes that they will forgive half of Greece's debt in exchange for Greek assurances that it will pay back the other half without defaulting on its loans. The deal would also let Greece repay over a longer period at a lower interest rate ? negotiators have been trying to agree on what that rate will be.

Schaeuble said he is "quite optimistic" about a deal, while Rehn said he hopes a deal can be reached "if not today, maybe by the weekend."

Agreement between Greece and its creditors is needed before Europe and the International Monetary Fund agree to a second multibillion-euro bailout package.

At the heart of the problem is that the 17 countries that use the euro use a single currency but have different fiscal policies. That changes the nature of their debt, said Adair Turner, chairman of Britain's banking regulator the Financial Services Authority.

"That debt is more equivalent to the State of California debt than the U.S. federal debt," he said.

That's why all but one of the 27 EU countries ? the United Kingdom has refused to participate ? are discussing a closer fiscal union. On Monday, leaders meet in Brussels to work out the details of that new compact.

Schaeuble and Baroin noted that even the agreement in principle to forge closer ties has calmed markets since a December summit, as borrowing rates have dropped and stock markets have risen.

"It's amazing," Draghi said. "If you compare today with even five months ago, the euro area is another world."

The crisis threatens more than Europe: the U.N.'s refugee chief warned Friday that it is fueling conflicts around the world. Antonio Guterres told The Associated Press that rising food prices and growing unemployment are hitting those already at the bottom hardest, sparking conflict in places like South Sudan and exacerbating hotspots including Afghanistan, Iraq and Somalia.

_____

Frank Jordans and Edith Lederer in Davos and David McHugh in Frankfurt, Germany contributed to this story.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/eurobiz/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120127/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_davos_forum

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Tiny crooners: Male house mice sing songs to impress the girls

Thursday, January 26, 2012

It has been known for some time that house mice (Mus musculus) produce ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) during courtship but it has generally been assumed that these are no more than squeaks. However, recent spectrographic analyses have revealed that USVs are complex and show features of song. Although the vocalizations are inaudible to human ears, when playbacks of recorded songs are slowed down their similarity to bird song becomes striking. Frauke Hoffmann, Kerstin Musolf and Dustin Penn of the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna's Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology aimed to learn what type of information is contained in males' songs for the discerning ear of the female mouse to detect. Their initial studies, the first to study song in wild mice, confirmed that males emit songs when they encounter a females' scent and that females are attracted to males' songs. Additionally, the scientists discovered that females are able to distinguish siblings from unrelated males by their songs ? even though they had previously never heard their brothers sing.

In their recent studies, Penn's group recorded and analysed the courtship calls of wild-caught male house mice for the first time, using digital audio software to examine parameters such as duration, pitch and frequency. They found that males' songs contain "signatures" or "fingerprints" that differ from one individual to another. Moreover, they confirmed that the songs of siblings are very similar to one another compared to the songs of unrelated males, which helps explains how females can distinguish unrelated males. This finding could potentially lead us to understand how female mice avoid inbreeding.

Interestingly, in some species of birds the males with the most complex songs appear to be most successful at attracting females. Further studies are needed to determine whether the complexity of male mouse vocalizations has an effect on females that is similar to that of "sexy syllables" in birds.

The vocalizations of wild house mice differ significantly from those of inbred strains of laboratory mice. Wild male mice produce more syllables within high frequency ranges than laboratory mice, a result that is consistent with other studies that find genetic effects on mouse song. "It seems as though house mice might provide a new model organism for the study of song in animals," says Dustin Penn. "Who would have thought that?"

###

The article "Spectrographic analyses reveal signals of individuality and kinship in the ultrasonic courtship vocalizations of wild house mice" by Frauke Hoffmann, Kerstin Musolf and Dustin J. Penn is published in the journal Physiology & Behavior (Volume 105, Issue 3, pp. 766-771).
Abstract of the article online (full text for a fee or with a subscription): http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2011.10.011

University of Veterinary Medicine -- Vienna: http://www.vetmeduni.ac.at

Thanks to University of Veterinary Medicine -- Vienna 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/117093/Tiny_crooners__Male_house_mice_sing_songs_to_impress_the_girls

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CNN en Espanol anchor to participate in Fla debate (omg!)

MIAMI (AP) ? CNN en Espanol is joining the list of Spanish-language networks to co-host debates and forums with the GOP presidential candidates.

On Thursday, CNN en Espanol's top anchor Juan Carlos Lopez will moderate questions from a panel in Miami during the CNN debate in Jacksonville. The debate is also co-hosted by the Hispanic Leadership Network and the Republican Party of Florida.

Last fall, Telemundo anchor Jose Diaz-Balart asked questions related to immigration during an MSNBC debate, and he has since interviewed several of the candidates, including Newt Gingrich. On Wednesday, Univision anchor Jorge Ramos went head-to-head in a series of "Meet the Candidate" interviews with Mitt Romney, Gingrich and Rick Santorum.

Lopez has collaborated with CNN before, but Thursday's event will showcase his talents to a much broader, English-speaking audience.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/omg_rss/rss_omg_en/news_cnn_en_espanol_anchor_participate_fla_debate085922390/44310830/*http%3A//omg.yahoo.com/news/cnn-en-espanol-anchor-participate-fla-debate-085922390.html

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theGrio: Atlanta school under fire for slavery recess game

A suburban school district near Atlanta is reeling under accusations of racism, as students at Camp Creek Elementary School in Lilburn, Ga. allege their teacher led them in a slavery-themed recess game. Third graders at the Gwinnett County academy told Atlanta's Channel 2 Action News that their teacher organized a tag-like game in which some youngsters played slave catchers while other played slave fugitives. School leaders confirm that the game took place last week, but contend it was instigated by the students and that the teacher was not involved.

Students painted a different portrait of the incident to Channel 2. Three of the four students who participated in the game strongly affirmed the teacher's presence to the television news outlet, insisting that she played the "safe house guard" in this role-playing teaching exercise.

Ericka Lasley, the mother of an eight-year-old girl who joined the game, was outraged when she learned of the episode when her daughter came home from school. Lasley's daughter insisted that the teacher proposed the game based on a class lesson.

The daughter told Channel 2 that during the incident the teacher, "would sit on the bench, and the slave catchers would come up to the door and ask 'did she have any slaves?'"

Charvia Rivers, mother of two other children who played, said they recounted a similar story. Her son Kaya Toney said the teacher specifically described the scenario, "as a game where slave catchers catch slaves." Daughter Raven Tony stated that in the role of safe house guard, the teacher told her and the other students playing slaves when to run.

Rivers said she "was shocked" upon hearing the news, and called the game, "demeaning, dehumanizing and hurtful." Both mothers told Channel 2 they found the slavery-themed game "inappropriate and insensitive."

The teacher's involvement was disputed in a statement released by the school district, which maintains that she was not involved. Gwinnett County education authorities assert that, "the activity was student initiated and that allegations regarding the teacher's involvement were unfounded."

The name of the teacher has been withheld.

A spokesman has said school leadership is willing to meet with parents to explain the incident. Diversity training has also been planned for Camp Creek Elementary School staff in response to parents' outrage.

Earlier this month, another Atlanta area school inspired community ire by using slavery as a theme in math lessons for third grade students in Norcross. The teacher who wrote the questions resigned after public protests.

A similar controversy occurred a few days later near Detroit when "sixth grade students at Strong Middle School [were asked] to pretend that they were slaves as apart of a black history lesson," according to a Grio report.

Follow Alexis Garrett Stodghill on Twitter at @lexisb

Source: http://www.thegrio.com/local/atlanta/school-near-atlanta-comes-under-fire-for-slavery-recess-game.php

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Pre-debate: Romney hit by Gingrich; targets Obama (AP)

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. ? Pointing toward an evening debate, Mitt Romney jokingly urged supporters Tuesday to "just storm in" and support him even if they lacked tickets. Newt Gingrich warmed up with a particularly strong attack on Romney.

Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and Texas Rep. Ron Paul also were sharing the stage for the second debate of the week and the last before the Florida primary next Tuesday.

Opinion polls show a close race between Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, and Gingrich, who was House speaker for two terms in the 1990s, and the two clashed repeatedly in Monday night's encounter in Tampa.

Gingrich's unexpected victory in the South Carolina primary last weekend upended the race to pick a Republican opponent for Democratic President Barack Obama in the fall, and Romney can ill afford another setback.

In the days since his loss, he has tried to seize the initiative, playing the aggressor in the Tampa debate and assailing Gingrich in campaign speeches and a TV commercial.

An outside group formed to support Romney has spent more than his own campaign's millions on ads, some of them designed to stop Gingrich's campaign momentum before it is too late to deny him the nomination.

Campaigning Thursday at a factory that is scheduled to close, Romney criticized Obama and avoided mentioning Gingrich.

But the evening debate was on his mind ? particularly the makeup of the audience in the hall.

"There may be some give and take. That's always entertaining," he said. "If you all could get in there we'd love to see you all there cheering."

A voice from the audience responded that there were no more tickets, and Romney replied: `No tickets? Just storm in."

Gingrich seemed far less confident as he unleashed an attack reminiscent of his rhetoric a month ago when he was being outspent heavily on television and falling sharply in the polls just before the Iowa caucuses.

He accused Romney and Restore Our Future, the independent group, of dishonest ads, and said, "This is the desperate last stand of the old order. This is the kind of gall they have, to think we're so stupid and we're so timid."

He later told reporters he decided to sharpen his criticisms after Romney released his tax returns. "Here's a guy who owns Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae stock," Gingrich said. "He owns a Goldman Sachs subsidiary, which is foreclosing on Floridians. And on that front he decides to lie about my career? There's something about the hypocrisy that should make every American angry."

Romney released his income tax returns for 2010 and an estimate for 2011 after declining to do so in South Carolina.

Gingrich, also under pressure, disclosed the consulting contract one of his firms had with Freddie Mac, the government-backed mortgage giant that played a role in the foreclosure crisis that hit Florida especially hard. It showed payments of $300,000 in 2006 for unspecified consulting services.

Romney has pummeled Gingrich in the days since, calling him an influence peddler and a lobbyist who was taking money from the very organization that was harming Floridians.

___

Associated Press writers Brian Bakst and Kasie Hunt contributed to this story.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120126/ap_on_el_ge/us_republicans_debate

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Mayor blasted for 'taco' comment amid bias probe

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) ? In a world of polished politicians, East Haven Mayor Joseph Maturo Jr.'s tendency to speak his mind without hesitation or much self-censorship has earned him loyal friends and vehement foes over the decades in his suburban Connecticut hometown.

But now, it's also earned him a place in the national spotlight as the mayor who, after four of his police officers were arrested Tuesday for alleged anti-Latino bias, said he "might have tacos" as a way of doing something for those minorities.

Maturo has since apologized for the remark, which he made during a taped interview at his office with a New York television station and which spread through cyberspace at blistering speed.

It came in response to a reporter's question about the FBI's arrest of the four officers in this shoreline town, which has been under federal scrutiny since the U.S. Department of Justice launched a civil rights probe in 2009 that found a pattern of discrimination and biased policing.

The town's Democratic Party is now demanding the resignation of Maturo, a Republican, and he's fielded criticism from Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, U.S. Rep. Christopher Murphy and other state and local officials.

The video of Maturo's comments quickly spread on Facebook pages, Twitter accounts and on media outlet sites late Tuesday and throughout Wednesday. They also prompted Connecticut's largest paper, The Hartford Courant, to call for his resignation in an editorial that declared: "The Mayor is an Idiot."

Those who've known Maturo say he's not an idiot or a bigot, but that if the taco comment was meant to be a joke, it was clearly a misstep they think he genuinely regrets.

"He's a very regular sort of person, very generous, very loyal, and I know he cares very deeply about all of the people that the represents," said Christopher Healy, a former Connecticut state Republican party chairman.

"This is not at all to underestimate how serious these words were and how hurtful they were to many people, but I do know he takes his job seriously and cares deeply about the community," Healy said.

But Marcia Chacon, a store owner in East Haven, said she and other Latinos took offense at the mayor's "taco" comment.

"This is an insult against us," Chacon said. "I thought 'Wow, here we are in East Haven, and this is the person who is supposed to help us.'"

Maturo asked East Haven residents in a written apology Wednesday to "have faith in me" and the town as it faces the discrimination allegations, in which the four officers are accused of engaging in patterns of harassment and intimidation against Latinos, who make up 10 percent of the approximately 28,000 people in the blue-collar town.

Maturo, 60, is an East Haven native through and through. He attended local schools and colleges, became an electrician and electrical inspector, and served in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War before returning to his hometown to become a firefighter.

A back injury forced him to leave that job, but he'd developed a bug for politics and served as a legislative clerk for Republicans in the Connecticut General Assembly and won a spot on East Haven's town council in 1993.

He became mayor in 1997 and was re-elected every two years until Democrat April Capone defeated him by 25 votes in 2007.

When he defeated Capone by 34 votes to reclaim the seat last fall, he reinstated the police chief she had suspended amid the federal discrimination probe, and he rebuffed the bias allegations with strong words of support for East Haven's officers.

This week's "taco" quip wasn't the first time that Maturo's tendency to speak and act without much self-censoring has landed him in trouble, though previous scrapes usually only made local headlines.

In 2004, for instance, the mayor ? known by friends to be particularly handy ? became concerned that one of the town grates was an immediate hazard, so he hopped down into a sewer hole and removed it himself.

He also installed corner edges in his office and helped a worker install light switches in the library, earning a grievance against him from union members who said he was usurping their work with his impromptu repairs.

"Pretty cheesy," he said at the time of the grievance, though they've since made peace.

Whether Maturo can make peace soon with Latino residents upset by his "taco" comment remains to be seen.

Messages left for several of his political allies at the state and local levels were not immediately returned Wednesday, and East Haven's Republican Party chairman was mulling whether he intended to comment publicly.

In addition to issuing his written apology, Maturo talked Wednesday with hosts of a local radio show on which he frequently appears. Otherwise, he has said he would no longer publicly discuss the quip, which he called a "dumb, off the cuff, stupid comment" as he grew increasingly tired Tuesday after 14 interviews.

"In all that time, I made one mistake ? and it's gone viral," he told the hosts of WPLR's "Chaz & AJ in the Morning" show.

It came after WPIX-TV reporter Mario Diaz asked Maturo during an interview Tuesday, "What are you doing for the Latino community today?"

Maturo's response: "I might have tacos when I go home; I'm not quite sure yet."

Diaz then said, "You realize that's not really the comment to say right now, you 'might have tacos tonight'?"

Maturo, who is of Italian heritage, then said he might have spaghetti or any other kind of ethnic food, growing increasingly angry as he told Diaz to "go for it, take your best shot" to make the "taco" comment seem to imply something he did not intend.

Others said it was hard to interpret the comment as anything but a stereotypical jab.

"It goes to the root of the racial profiling allegations here in East Haven," said city Democratic Town Committee Chairman Gene Ruocco. "Everyone knows the seriousness of this matter and for him, as the leader of our community, to say something so utterly insensitive is a complete disgrace. He should be ashamed of himself."

___

Associated Press reporter Michael Melia also contributed to this story.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-01-26-Police%20Discrimination-Mayor/id-48ad469ed1794e3090caf7df51e7ec17

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World's only iridescent mammal is a shiny accident

Animals from butterflies to birds have iridescent colours to draw the eye. But why golden moles? They spend most of their lives in near-darkness - and they're blind.

Now a study of the structure of the hairs shows that they may be designed to streamline the moles or repel water, rather than attract a mate.

Matthew Shawkey of the University of Akron in Ohio took samples from four golden mole species, all with blue or green iridescence. Electron microscopes revealed that the hairs were flattened into paddle shapes, giving a greater surface area to reflect light.

Unusually, the scales on each hair contained alternating light and dark layers. Each layer bent the rays of light just like oil on water (Biology Letters, DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2011.1168). Shawkey says this is the first example of a multilayer reflector in hair.

The iridescence is an evolutionary accident, he believes. The hairs' structure may make them more sturdy, repel water, or streamline the moles so they can move quickly through dirt and sand. "Penguin feathers are flattened like this," he points out.

Most iridescent animals probably evolved it for communication, but golden moles are a rare exception, says St?phanie Doucet of the University of Windsor in Ontario, Canada. Some burrowing snakes and beetles are also iridescent, probably for similar reasons, she adds.

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About 12 groups submit Dodgers bids

By RONALD BLUM

updated 8:15 p.m. ET Jan. 24, 2012

NEW YORK - About 12 groups submitted initial bids to buy the Los Angeles Dodgers from Frank McCourt, several people familiar with the process said Tuesday.

Among the bidders were Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and former YES Network chief executive officer Leo Hindery, two people said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the bids were to remain confidential.

One of the people also confirmed a Los Angeles Times report that Stan Kroenke was involved in the bidding. Kroenke already controls the NFL's St. Louis Rams, the NBA's Denver Nuggets, the NHL's Colorado Avalanche, Arsenal of the English Premier League and Major League Soccer's Colorado Rapids.

Hindery's bid, made with Marc Utay, was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.

Bidders said they were waiting to hear from Blackstone Group, which is representing McCourt, what the next step in the process will be. Blackstone may ask Major League Baseball to conduct due diligence on up to 10 bidders, with each chosen group paying MLB $25,000 to cover baseball's costs.

McCourt is to pick his chosen owner by early April, with Major League Baseball approving the sale in time for a transfer by April 30, the day McCourt must pay former wife Jamie a $131 million divorce settlement.

Some of the other groups include former Los Angeles Lakers star Magic Johnson, former Dodgers manager Joe Torre, former Dodgers owner Peter O'Malley and former agent Dennis Gilbert.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Fielder deal is good for now

??SportsTalk: The Prince Fielder signing helps the Detroit Tigers remain contenders, but the signing will create some problems down the road.

Jamie Squire / Getty Images

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/46123813/ns/sports-baseball/

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Boettcher Communications Set to Expand | WDOR

During times when the economy is weak, some firms cut back & others go into hibernation. But, there are businesses that decide to expand no matter how the economy is going. Boettcher Communications in Sturgeon Bay is one of them. The full service marketing agency, now entering its eighth year in business will soon be expanding its offices at 101 North 4th Avenue. Dina Boettcher, president of Boettcher Communications, says it?s important to move ahead with positive changes no matter what shape the economy is in?

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Boettcher Communications has been broadening its horizons by taking on larger scale projects as well as several key accounts located out of the area. An increase in staff & an expanded office area was needed in order to continue to offer the best service possible. To learn more about Boettcher Communications visit their web site http://www.boettchercommunications.com/

Source: http://www.wdor.com/news/boettcher-communications-set-to-expand/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=boettcher-communications-set-to-expand

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Romney Paid 13.9% (talking-points-memo)

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EU bans Iranian oil, Tehran responds with threats (Reuters)

BRUSSELS/TEHRAN (Reuters) ? The European Union banned imports of oil from Iran on Monday and imposed a number of other economic sanctions, joining the United States in a new round of measures aimed at deflecting Tehran's nuclear development program.

In Iran, one politician responded by renewing a threat to blockade the Strait of Hormuz, an oil export route vital to the global economy, and another said Tehran should cut off crude shipments to the EU immediately.

That might hurt Greece, Italy and other ailing economies which depend heavily on Iranian oil and, as a result, won as part of the EU agreement a grace period until July 1 before the embargo takes full effect. Angry words on either side helped nudge benchmark Brent oil futures above $110 a barrel on Monday.

A day after a U.S. aircraft carrier, accompanied by a flotilla that included French and British warships, made a symbolically loaded voyage into the Gulf in defiance of Iranian hostility, the widely expected EU sanctions move is likely to set off yet more bellicose rhetoric in an already tense region.

Some analysts say Iran, which denies accusations that it is seeking nuclear weapons, could be in a position to make them next year. So, with Israel warning it could use force to prevent that happening, the row over Tehran's plans is an increasingly pressing challenge for world leaders, not least U.S. President Barack Obama as he campaigns for re-election in November.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has voiced skepticism about the chances of Iran being persuaded by non-military tactics, called the EU sanctions a "step in the right direction" but said Iran was still developing atomic weapons.

Israel, assumed to have the only nuclear arsenal in the Middle East, views the Iranian nuclear program as a threat to its survival.

Meeting in Brussels, foreign ministers from the 27-state EU, which as a bloc is Iran's second biggest customer for crude after China, agreed to an immediate ban on all new contracts to import, purchase or transport Iranian crude oil and petroleum products. However, EU countries with existing contracts to buy oil and petroleum products can honor them up to July 1.

EU officials said they also agreed to freeze the assets of Iran's central bank and ban trade in gold and other precious metals with the bank and state bodies.

Along with U.S. sanctions imposed by Obama on December 31, the Western powers hope that choking exports and hence revenue can force Iran's leaders to agree to curbs on a nuclear program the West says is intended to yield weapons.

EU SEEKS TALKS

The United Nations' nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, confirmed plans for a visit next week by senior inspectors to try and clear up suspicions raised about the purpose of Iran's nuclear activities. Tehran is banned by international treaty from developing nuclear weaponry.

"The Agency team is going to Iran in a constructive spirit, and we trust that Iran will work with us in that same spirit," IAEA chief Yukiya Amano said in a statement announcing the December 29-31 visit. "The overall objective of the IAEA is to resolve all outstanding substantive issues."

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said of the new sanctions: "I want the pressure of these sanctions to result in negotiations ... I want to see Iran come back to the table and either pick up all the ideas that we left on the table ... last year ... or to come forward with its own ideas."

Iran has said lately that it is willing to hold talks with Western powers, though there have been mixed signals on whether conditions imposed by either side make new negotiations likely.

The Islamic Republic insists it is enriching uranium only for electricity and other civilian uses.

It has powerful defenders against the Western action in the form of Russia and China, which argue that the new sanctions are unnecessary, and can also probably count on China and other Asian countries to go on buying much of its oil, despite U.S. and European efforts to dissuade them.

Russia Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, classifying the EU embargo among "aggravating factors," said Moscow believed there was a good chance that talks between the six global powers and Iran could resume soon and that Russia would try to steer both Iran and the West away from further confrontation.

A member of Iran's influential Assembly of Experts, former intelligence minister Ali Fallahian, said Tehran should respond to the delayed-action EU sanctions by stopping sales to the bloc immediately, denying the Europeans time to arrange alternative supplies and damaging their economies with higher oil prices.

"The best way is to stop exporting oil ourselves before the end of this six months and before the implementation of the plan," the semi-official Fars news agency quoted him as saying.

He reiterated that Iran could close the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow channel between the Gulf and open sea through which a third of all oil tanker traffic passes to importers around the world.

Washington has said it will not tolerate any closure, a position underlined by Sunday's passage through the strait of a U.S. flotilla around the carrier Abraham Lincoln, accompanied by two European frigates, Britain's Argyll and France's La Motte-Picquet.

HORMUZ THREAT

While Iran's Revolutionary Guards, possibly aware of the warships' impending arrival, had backed away on Saturday from a threat made by a vice president last month to prevent "even one drop of oil" passing through the strait if the West embargoed Iran's crude, a senior member of parliament said on Monday that the closure remained an option if exports were disrupted.

"If any disruption happens regarding the sale of Iranian oil, the Strait of Hormuz will definitely be closed," Mohammad Kossari, deputy head of parliament's foreign affairs and national security committee, told Fars.

Going further, he referred to previous U.S. warnings that it would use force to break any Iranian blockade of the channel and threatened wider violence against Washington's global interests.

"If America seeks adventures after the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, Iran will make the world unsafe for Americans in the shortest possible time," Kossari said.

"It is in America's interests to accept a powerful Iran and not seek military adventures."

While the Western powers were at pains to describe their naval movement through the strait as routine, a view echoed by the Revolutionary Guards, they also stressed its symbolism.

"On this occasion HMS Argyll and a French vessel joined a U.S. carrier group transiting through the Strait of Hormuz, to underline the unwavering international commitment to maintaining rights of passage under international law," Britain's defense ministry said in a statement.

In Paris, spokesman Thierry Burkhard said: "It's a sign to Iran if they want to consider it like that."

Iran, the world's No. 5 oil exporter and also rich in natural gas, says it is refining uranium and developing other nuclear technologies to meet rising energy needs. But the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency reported in November that it had evidence suggesting Iran had worked on designing an atomic bomb.

The unprecedented effort to take Iran's 2.6 million barrels of oil per day off international markets has kept global prices high, pushed down Iran's rial currency and caused a surge in the cost of basic goods for Iranians. [nL5E8CN0M9]

(Additional reporting by Robin Pomeroy and Mitra Amiri in Tehran, David Brunnstrom in Brussels, Adrian Croft in London, John Irish in Paris, Alexei Anishchuk in Sochi, Ari Rabinovitch and Jeffrey Heller in Jerusalem and Fredrik Dahl in Vienna; Writing by Alastair Macdonald; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iran/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120123/wl_nm/us_iran_eu_deal

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Obama Address: 'Blueprint' for Action (ABC News)

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Hazel Jones, Woman With Two Vaginas, Turns Down $1 Million Porn Offer

A UK woman with two vaginas has captured the attention of the news world. Hazel Jones insists she has no interest in cashing in on this irregularity, however.

Jones revealed she was diagnosed with uterus didelphys, an uncommon condition which means she has two wombs and two cervixes, earlier this week.

The 27-year-old has since been approached by - who else - Vivid Entertainment about starring in an adult film for $1 million. NO chance, she says.

According to the Daily Mail (UK), she said: "I would never even consider such an offer, let alone actually do it in million years ... I just want to be left alone."

Vivid Founder/CEO Steven Hirsch, who's made similar pitches to everyone from Octomom (often) to Casey Anthony (later withdrawn), wrote Jones:

"You are obviously an extraordinary woman and I would like to make you an offer to star in an upcoming Vivid production. We would pay you up to $1 million."

"We would fly you out to L.A. as soon as you are available and provide you with first class accommodations in addition to the payment for your services."

He did not release any plot details for this potential erotic masterpiece.

Vivid has become the leader in "legit" celebrity sex tapes, with raw footage of Pamela Anderson, Kim Kardashian and others netting the company millions.

Don't look for Hazel Jones to join their illustrious client list, though.

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2012/01/hazel-jones-woman-with-two-vaginas-turns-down-1-million-porn-off/

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This week in The Slacktiverse, January 21/22 2012 (slacktivist)

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Ice Cream Sandwich update for original Transformer coming 'mid-February,' says ASUS

Last we heard, the Ice Cream Sandwich update making its way to the O.G. Transformer was still "in the process of being approved" by the G-men. Although we've heard rumors that the holo-coated upgrade would come in February, nothing's been confirmed until now. ASUS replied to a life long fan's Facebook post, revealing that the update should arrive "mid-February." We know hearing the news that you'll have to keep waiting might not stop you from rolling on the floor and throwing a temper tantrum, but hey, you could not be getting one at all.

[Thanks, Udupa]

Ice Cream Sandwich update for original Transformer coming 'mid-February,' says ASUS originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 21 Jan 2012 15:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/21/ice-cream-sandwich-update-for-original-transformer-coming/

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Mortgage loan, Hazard Insurance and Homeowner insurance ...

.

Hello guys, please help educate me.

Since I?ll pay a month for Hazard Insurance (about to close on the house).

1/ Do I have to buy Homeowner insurance or not? Is Homeowner Insurance required by mortgage lender? I thought that what Haz Insurance is for in case of ?..

2/ If Homeowner insurance is required. Then do I have the right to buy premium just for the cost of rebuilding the house only, instead of the loan amount?

Please provide any tips and experience that a new homeowner would need.
Thank you so much.

Chosen Answer:

by:
on: 1st January 70

Source: http://unoccupied-propertyinsurance.com/mortgage-loan-hazard-insurance-and-homeowner-insurance-question/

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Video: ?Cupid? survives arrow attack

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Darvish, Texas agree to $60M, 6-yr deadline deal

FILE - In this May 21, 2010 file photo, Nippon Ham Fighters starter Yu Darvish pitches against the Yokohama BayStars during their baseball game in Sapporo, Japan. For Yu Darvish and the Texas Rangers, it's deadline day. The AL champion Rangers are at the end of their 30-day negotiating window to agree to a contract with Japan's top pitcher that they bid a record $51.7 million just to talk to. (AP Photo/Kyodo News)

FILE - In this May 21, 2010 file photo, Nippon Ham Fighters starter Yu Darvish pitches against the Yokohama BayStars during their baseball game in Sapporo, Japan. For Yu Darvish and the Texas Rangers, it's deadline day. The AL champion Rangers are at the end of their 30-day negotiating window to agree to a contract with Japan's top pitcher that they bid a record $51.7 million just to talk to. (AP Photo/Kyodo News)

FILE - In this March 17, 2009 file photo, Japan starter Yu Darvish pitches against South Korea in the first inning of their World Baseball Classic game in San Diego. For Yu Darvish and the Texas Rangers, it's deadline day. The AL champion Rangers are at the end of their 30-day negotiating window to agree to a contract with Japan's top pitcher that they bid a record $51.7 million just to talk to. (AP Photo/Chris Park, File),

FILE - In this March 22, 2009 file photo, Japan relief pitcher Yu Darvish reacts after striking out United States' Adam Dunn for the final out in a World Baseball Classic game at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. For Yu Darvish and the Texas Rangers, it's deadline day. The AL champion Rangers are at the end of their 30-day negotiating window to agree to a contract with Japan's top pitcher that they bid a record $51.7 million just to talk to. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File)

FILE - In this Jan. 6, 2011 file photo, Nippon Ham Fighters pitcher Yu Darvish smiles during a news conference in Sapporo, Japan. For Yu Darvish and the Texas Rangers, it's deadline day. The AL champion Rangers are at the end of their 30-day negotiating window to agree to a contract with Japan's top pitcher that they bid a record $51.7 million just to talk to. (AP Photo/Kyodo News, File) JAPAN OUT, MANDATORY CREDIT, FOR COMMERCIAL USE ONLY IN NORTH AMERICA

From left to right, Texas Rangers CEO and president Nolan Ryan, general manager Jon Daniels, Yu Darvish representatives Arn Tellem and Don Nomura speak to reporters during a news conference to announce the signing of Japanese pitching sensation Darvish, Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012, in Arlington, Texas. The two-time defending AL champions signed a multiyear deal with Darvish before their 30-day negotiating window ended Wednesday at 4 p.m. CST. Texas last month bid a record $51.7 million under the posting system to win the right just to negotiate with the 25-year-old pitcher. (AP Photo/Brandon Wade)

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) ? Yu Darvish is coming to America to pitch, for the team he really wanted to join for his next challenge.

Japan's best pitcher will play for the Texas Rangers, who scouted him for more than two years and then needed nearly every minute of a 30-day negotiating window before finalizing a $60 million, six-year contract Wednesday. It is a total investment of more than $111 million with a record posting fee.

"The Rangers more so than any other team showed great, not only interest in scouting him, but a lot of personal time in developing a relationship with him," said Arn Tellem, one of Darvish's agents. "That personal connection was very significant to Yu and his family.'

There is also the much-anticipated boost the 25-year-old Darvish could provide to the Rangers, who have been to the last two World Series without winning the title.

"Yu is excited about helping a team that has not won achieve that goal," Tellem said. "He's really thrilled to be coming here. This is where he wanted to be."

In addition to the salary, the Rangers will pay a posting fee of $51,703,411 to the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters of Japan's Pacific League. The last two numbers in that amount are the jersey numbers of Rangers President and Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan (34) and Darvish (11).

"When you talk about those kind of dollars, it's high risk, but I also think he's probably the most upside player I've ever seen come out of Japan," Ryan said. "Having a free agent of that age, and with the fact that he's been durable and has such feel for the baseball, I just think that he's extremely unique."

The Rangers' window to exclusively negotiate with the pitcher began Dec. 19 when their bid was accepted by the Fighters. The contract was finally completed a few minutes before the 4 p.m. CST deadline Wednesday, or Darvish would have stayed in Japan.

Rangers general manager Jon Daniels, who described the move as a "step-out deal" for the team, said negotiations were never contentious. He said there were good reasons for Texas to want a six-year deal.

"How often do you get a chance to sign a 25-year-old free agent? It's a pretty unique opportunity, so you tend to look at things a little differently when you look at somebody that age and the years of the deal take him into his prime," Daniels said. "And secondly, with the nature of the posting process and the size of the post, size of our bid, it made sense to amortize it out over a longer period."

Darvish was home in Japan, where he returned for offseason training after his first and only visit to Texas two weeks ago. The Rangers plan to formally introduce Darvish on Friday night.

On his website, Darvish posted a note acknowledging his new team.

"I will have a press conference first in America and then come back to Japan at which point I will express my gratitude to my fans here in Japan," he wrote.

Darvish had a 93-38 record with a 1.99 ERA over the past seven seasons in Japan. The 6-foot-5 right-hander was a two-time Pacific League MVP and a five-time All-Star. He led the league in strikeouts three times, in ERA twice and won two Gold Gloves.

"The thing that stood out probably is just his passion for the game and trying to be the best he can possibly be," said Ryan, the major league strikeout king who pitched a record 27 seasons.

The deal surpasses what Daisuke Matsuzaka got when he left Japan and signed with the Boston Red Sox just more than five years ago. Dice-K got a $52 million, six-year deal and the Red Sox also had to pay a $51.111 million posting fee that was the highest for a Japanese player before what the Rangers bid for Darvish.

When Ichiro Suzuki used the posting system in 2000 to get to the major leagues, the Seattle Mariners won the right negotiate with a bid of about $13 million, then signed him to a $14 million, three-year contract.

Through last season, 38 Japan-born pitchers had appeared in the major leagues. There were nine last season, including relievers Yoshinori Tateyama and Koji Uehara with the Rangers. Both are still on the 40-man roster in Texas.

Matsuzaka is 49-30 with a 4.25 ERA in 106 games (105 starts) in five seasons with the Red Sox since his high-profile move from the Seibu Lions to Boston in December 2006 when he was 26 years old. He missed most of last season after right elbow surgery and is going into the final year of his contract, worth about $10 million.

Darvish, the son of an Iranian father and a Japanese mother, went 18-6 with a 1.44 ERA last season in Japan, when he made the equivalent of about $6 million. He had 276 strikeouts to lead the Pacific League.

Darvish, who turned pro at 18, pitched in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and was a member of the Japanese team that won the 2009 World Baseball Classic. The right-hander has superb control and throws as many as seven effective pitches.

The Rangers lost their pitching ace in free agency after both World Series appearances. Cliff Lee left after the 2010 season and C.J. Wilson last month got a $77.5 million, five-year contract from the AL West rival Los Angeles Angels.

Darvish still joins a staff that already had at least six other starting candidates going into spring training. Colby Lewis, Derek Holland, Alexi Ogando and Matt Harrison were starters last season. Neftali Feliz is making the transition from closer to starter and Scott Feldman was a 17-game winner in 2009 before right knee surgery.

The New York Yankees earlier this month failed to sign Japanese shortstop Hiroyuki Nakajima within 30 days after they won negotiating rights with a high bid of $2.5 million. The 29-year-old Nakajima hit .297 with 16 home runs and 100 RBIs last year with the Seibu Lions, who now retain his rights.

Nakajima and Darvish were teammates during the 2008 Olympics and on Japan's championship team in the 2009 World Baseball Classic.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-01-18-Rangers-Darvish/id-244ffa7bd3e8422f8d0a7278fc64b775

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