IMF mission to visit Egypt in early April for loan talks

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund said on Thursday it would visit Egypt in the "first days of April" for talks with the government on a possible financing programme worth $4.8 billion.

More than two years of political upheaval have battered the Egyptian economy, leaving the country in dire need of IMF funding to relieve a currency and budget crisis. The deal would also unlock billions of dollars in further support for Egypt from other donors.

IMF spokesman Gerry Rice confirmed the visit. In Cairo, government spokesman Alaa El Hadidi said the IMF would return "some time next week".

President Mohamed Mursi's government initialed a deal with the IMF last November but postponed final ratification in December in the face of unrest triggered by a political row over his powers.

Masood Ahmed, director of the IMF's Middle East and Central Asia department, visited Cairo on March 17, saying the Fund would continue talks aimed at agreeing possible financial aid.

The government sees Egypt's budget deficit hitting 10.9 percent of GDP in the year to the end of June, assuming it carries out economic reforms to curb spending. Without such reforms, the government says the deficit will hit 12.3 percent of GDP.

Cairo has been reluctant to impose tough austerity measures which an IMF deal may require, for fear of igniting further unrest.

However, Egyptian Planning Minister Ashraf al-Araby said last week that he expected Cairo to sign a deal with the IMF by the end of June and to have received the first tranche of a loan by then.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/imf-mission-visit-egypt-early-april-loan-talks-083500904--business.html

masters live johan santana viktor bout ncaa hockey role models ferdinand porsche gregg williams

Why We're Obsessed with 'Game of Thrones'

Nationwide, a legion of fans of HBO's Game of Thrones are clearing their schedules for this Sunday at 9 p.m. ET, when the epic tale launches into Season 3. A sizable portion of that fan base is female, which at first blush seems anomalous. Women aren't usually considered the target audience for an epic fantasy fueled by graphic violence and sex. So why are we so enchanted by the characters of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros?

Source: http://www.ivillage.com/why-women-love-game-thrones/1-a-531148?dst=iv%3AiVillage%3Awhy-women-love-game-thrones-531148

Todd Akin Register To Vote Fox News Live Obama 2016 Who Is Winning The Election 2012 Election Coverage 2012 the blaze

Google launching same-day delivery service for online shoppers ...

MICHAEL LIEDTKE ? ? ? 8 hrs.

Internet search leader Google is taking another step beyond information retrieval into grocery delivery.

The new service, called Google Shopping Express, will initially provide same-day delivery of food and other products bought online by a small group of consumers in San Francisco and suburbs located south of the city. The company, based in Mountain View, Calif., didn't say how many people will be part of the test.

If the pilot program goes well, Google plans to expand delivery service to other markets.

"We hope this will help users explore the benefits of a local, same-day delivery service, and help us kick the tires on the new service," Google said in a Thursday statement.

The delivery service is part of Google's effort to increase consumer reliance on the Internet, so it will have more opportunities to show online ads, which generate most of its revenue.

Google has learned that the more time people spend online, the more likely they are to use its dominant search engine or one of its other popular services, like its YouTube video site or Gmail, that include advertising.

The delivery service also could spur merchants to buy more online ads if Google's same-day delivery service encourages consumers to do more of their shopping online. Having to wait days or, in some cases, more than a week for the delivery of online orders ranks among the biggest drawbacks to Internet shopping.

It's a problem that Amazon.com and eBay, which operate the largest e-commerce sites, already have been trying to solve by offering same-day service in some U.S. markets. Wal-Mart Stores, the world's largest retailer, also offers same-day delivery in five markets.

A mix of national, regional and neighborhood merchants are enlisting in Google Shopping Express. The best-known names on the list include Target and Walgreen. All the merchants in the Google program will sell certain items through a central website. Google has hired courier services to pick up the orders at the merchant stores and then deliver them to the customer's home or office.

Although the couriers will be working on a contract basis, they will be driving Google-branded vehicles and wearing company-issued uniforms.

It remains unclear whether Internet shopping and same-day delivery can be profitable. Online grocer Webvan collapsed in 2001, largely because it couldn't devise a pricing plan that would pay for the costs of same-day delivery without alienating shoppers unwilling to pay too much extra for the added convenience.

Google is still trying to figure out how much to charge for its same-day delivery service. For the six-month test period in the San Francisco area, consumers won't have to pay a surcharge. Google instead will receive a commission from participating merchants.

The expansion into same-day delivery comes at the same time that Google is preparing to close some of its older online services so it can devote more attention and money to other projects.

The realignment has irked some Google users. The biggest complaints have centered on Google Reader, which allows people to automatically receive headlines and links from their favorite sites, and iGoogle, which allows Web surfers to design a page consisting of the Google search engine surrounded set up other online features, such as local weather reports and stock market quotes.

Google Reader is scheduled to close in July and iGoogle will shut down in November.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/google-launching-same-day-delivery-service-online-shoppers-1C9143458

kids choice awards 2012 micah true kansas vs ohio state winning mega million numbers bruce weber boston globe google maps 8 bit

'The Voice' Is Back! Let's Celebrate With (Shirtless) Adam Levine

Adam Levine loves to take his shirt off. Like, we're talking L-O-V-E type of love here. The man is seen shirtless about as much as he's not (only a slight exaggeration) and frequently flaunts his toned physique in his music videos, his magazine appearances, and even on TV.

Source: http://www.ivillage.com/adam-levines-sexiest-shirtless-photos/1-a-529410?dst=iv%3AiVillage%3Aadam-levines-sexiest-shirtless-photos-529410

rick santorum ozzie guillen castro comments phish gluten free diet barry zito mac virus santorum drops out

Stocks extend losses as Cyprus euphoria fades?

JeeYeon Park , CNBC ? ? ? 1 hr.

Stocks added to their losses in choppy trading Monday, after the head head of the Eurogroup said the Cyprus rescue represented a new template for resolving euro zone banking problems and that other countries may have to restructure their banks.

Major averages opened higher as Wall Street initially cheered the last-minute bailout deal in Cyprus, pushing the S&P 500 within a point of touching its all-time closing high.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average turned lower, dragged by Caterpillar and Bank of America, shortly after hitting a fresh intraday high for the ninth time this month. The blue-chip index still remains on track for its best first-quarter percentage gain since 1998.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq also erased their early gains. The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market, gained above 13.

Most key S&P sectors dipped into negative territory, led by industrials and materials.

Last week, major averages finished in the red for the week, with the Dow snapping a four-week win streak and the S&P 500 logging its second losing week this year.

(Read More: Where's the Long Awaited Market Correction?)

"If there is a risk in a bank, our first question should be 'Okay, what are you in the bank going to do about that? What can you do to recapitalize yourself?'. If the bank can't do it, then we'll talk to the shareholders and the bondholders, we'll ask them to contribute in recapitalizing the bank, and if necessary the uninsured deposit holders," said Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem, who heads the Eurogroup of euro zone finance ministers, hours after the Cyprus deal was struck.

The euro fell below $1.29 against the U.S. dollar.

Cyprus and its international lenders reached a deal merely hours before a deadline to resolve the island nation's financial crisis and avert the country's exit from the euro zone. The 10 billion euro ($13 billion) deal involves the winding down of Cyprus' second largest lender, the Popular Bank of Cyprus, and imposes a levy on uninsured deposits over 100,000 euros ($130,000) in Cypriot banks.

(Read More: Cyprus Relief: Why the Rally May Be Short Lived)

"Despite a deal being struck for Cyprus, it will set an unsettling precedent for future bailouts and investors will once again be concerned over the security of their bank deposits," wrote Mike McCudden, head of derivatives at stockbroker Interactive Investor. "Furthermore, investors should question why the regulators allowed the Cypriot banking system to rise to this size, given the experiences in Iceland and Ireland."

"Washington's out for two weeks, it's a holiday-shortened trading week and it's also the end of the month," noted Brian Battle, vice president of trading at Performance Trust Capital Partners.

Among earnings, Dollar General rose after the discount retailer posted earnings that beat expectations and said this year's sales growth could top the strength it saw in 2012.

Apollo Group surged to lead the S&P 500 gainers after the for-profit education company posted a better-than-expected profit and reaffirmed its full-year forecast.

Elsewhere, shares of Dell jumped after the company confirmed it had received competing offers from Blackstone Group and billionaire investors Carl Icahn as the computer giant looks to go private. The offers come as the company agreed to a $24.4 billion deal to be taken private by private equity firm Silver Lake.

Facebook dipped, falling to its lowest level this year, after U.S regulators approved a plan to compensate market makers who lost money in the social-media giant's IPO on the Nasdaq last May.

Apple traded higher after the tech giant acquired WiFiSlam, a startup company that makes mapping applications for smartphones.

Also among techs, BlackBerry extended sharp losses from last week after the smartphone maker's new BlackBerry Z10 launch failed to generate buzz. In addition, Goldman Sachs cut its rating on the company to "neutral" from "buy."

Vodafone rallied amid a U.K.'s Sunday Times report that said telecommunications company was looking to sell its 45 percent stake in its U.S. Verizon Wireless unit.

On Sunday, Reuters reported the International Monetary Fund is planning to cut its 2013 U.S. growth forecast from 2 percent to 1.7 percent, due to higher taxes and spending cuts, citing a draft of the IMF's next World Economic Outlook report seen by Italian news agency ANSA.

Federal Reserve Chief Ben Bernanke and the International Monetary Fund's Olivier Blanchard are expected to speak at the London School of Economics later this afternoon.

In addition, New York Federal President Bill Dudley is scheduled to speak at the Economic Club of New York at 12:30 pm ET.

?By CNBC's JeeYeon Park (Follow JeeYeon on Twitter: @JeeYeonParkCNBC)

? 2013 CNBC LLC. All Rights Reserved

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653351/s/29f85538/l/0L0Snbcnews0N0Cbusiness0Cstocks0Eextend0Elosses0Ecyprus0Eeuphoria0Efades0E1B90A53925/story01.htm

oaksterdam the fray national anthem dallas tornado oikos kentucky wildcats oakland school shooting nike nfl jerseys

Officials: US training Syrian forces in Jordan

In this image taken from video obtained from the Ugarit News, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, Free Syrian Army fighters aim their weapons during clashes, in Damascus countryside, Syria on Monday, March 25, 2013. (AP Photo/Ugarit News via AP video)

In this image taken from video obtained from the Ugarit News, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, Free Syrian Army fighters aim their weapons during clashes, in Damascus countryside, Syria on Monday, March 25, 2013. (AP Photo/Ugarit News via AP video)

In this Sunday, March 24, 2013 image taken from video obtained from the Ugarit News, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, Free Syrian Army fighters drops a shell into a firing tube, in Damascus countryside, Syria. (AP Photo/Ugarit News via AP video)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The United States is training secular Syrian fighters in Jordan in a bid to bolster forces battling President Bashar Assad's regime and stem the influence of Islamist radicals among the country's persistently splintered opposition, American and foreign officials said.

The training has been conducted for several months now in an unspecified location, concentrating largely on Sunnis and tribal Bedouins who formerly served as members of the Syrian army, officials told The Associated Press. The forces aren't members of the leading rebel group, the Free Syrian Army, which Washington and others fear may be increasingly coming under the sway of extremist militia groups, including some linked to al-Qaida, they said.

The operation is being run by U.S. intelligence and is ongoing, officials said, but those in Washington stressed that the U.S. is providing only nonlethal aid at this point. Others such as Britain and France are involved, they said, though it's unclear whether any Western governments are providing materiel or other direct military support after two years of civil war that according to the United Nations already has killed more than 70,000 people.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak publicly about the program.

Officially, the Obama administration has been vague on the subject of what type of military training it may be providing, while insisting that it is doing all it can ? short of providing weapons to the rebels or engaging in its own military intervention ? to hasten the demise of the Assad family's four-decade dictatorship.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Monday the U.S. has "provided some logistical nonlethal support that has also come in handy for the Syrian rebels who are, again, fighting a regime that is not hesitating to use the military might of that regime against its own people.

"That is something we're going to continue to work to bring to an end," he told reporters.

It's unclear what effect the training has had in the conflict, which has become a quagmire with Assad's regime unable to snuff out the rebellion and Syria's opposition incapable thus far of delivering any serious blow to the ruling government's grip on Damascus and control over much of the country.

Some of the Syrians the U.S. is involved with are, in turn, training other Syrians inside the border, officials said.

They declined to provide more information because they said that would go too deep into intelligence matters. Defense Department officials insisted the Pentagon isn't involved with any military training or arms provisions to the Syrian rebels, either directly or indirectly. The CIA declined to comment.

The New York Times reported Monday that the CIA helped Arab governments and Turkey sharply increase their military aid to Syria's opposition in recent months, with secret airlifts of arms and equipment. It cited traffic data, officials in several countries and rebel commanders, and said the airlift began on a small scale a year ago but has expanded steadily to more than 160 military cargo flights by Jordanian, Saudi and Qatari planes landing in Turkish and Jordanian airports.

The training in Jordan, however, suggests the U.S. help is aimed somewhat at enhancing the rebels' capacity in southern Syria, the birthplace of the revolution two years ago when teenagers in the sleepy agricultural outpost of Dara'a scribbled graffiti on a wall and were tossed into jail, spurring Syria's own version of an Arab Spring uprising. Much of the violence since, however, has been in the northern part of the country where rebels have scored several military successes after the Assad regime cracked down brutally on peaceful protesters.

Despite months of U.S. and international support to build a cohesive political movement, however, Syria's fractured opposition is still struggling to rally Syrians behind a common post-Assad vision. And the opposition coalition appears as much hampered by its political infighting as its military deficiencies against an Assad regime arsenal of tanks, fighter jets and scud missiles.

The coalition's president, Mouaz al-Khatib, resigned his position on Sunday because of what he described as restrictions on his work and frustration with the level of international aid. He said Monday he would still represent the opposition this week in Doha, where the Gulf state of Qatar will host a two-day Arab League summit starting Tuesday.

Al-Khatib's resignation comes only days after the opposition chose Ghassan Hitto, a long-time Texas resident, to head its interim government after intense wrangling over posts and influence that U.S. officials say has strained the opposition's unity and caused friction among its primary benefactors Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey.

It's also unclear how al-Khatib's departure will affect the U.S. goal of political negotiations with amenable members of the Assad regime to end the civil war, given the moderate preacher's support for talks. Much of the Syrian opposition, including Hitto, rejects such talks.

"He's been a courageous leader," State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said of al-Khatib.

"But the bottom line is what we're looking for is unity," Ventrell said. "We continue to support the coalition's vision for a tolerant, inclusive Syria. We want them to continue to work together to implement that vision."

Secretary of State John Kerry travels to Paris on Wednesday to meet French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius for talks expected to focus on arming Syrian rebels. The discussions also are expected to touch on the suspected use of chemical weapons in Syria, according to French officials.

U.S. officials say there are strong indications that chemical weapons weren't used in an attack last week in northern Aleppo, over which the regime and the rebels have issued counterclaims.

Washington has said it will support a U.N. investigation.

___

Associated Press writers Lolita C. Baldor and Lara Jakes in Washington and Jamal Halaby in Amman, Jordan, contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-03-25-US-US-Syria/id-4fd41ecdbd1744f18d37b00e63cb6d09

blake griffin dunk on kendrick perkins kendrick perkins steve jones emily maynard kola boof burmese python ferris bueller

RolePlayGateway?

Important to know

*Gryffincry School of Magic is for children of magical bloodline or show magical ability from ages eleven to eighteen. It is here where our story unfolds.

*There will be four "houses", as in Harry Potter, but their names, house colors, and descriptions will be completely different. Also, we will be choosing your house according to you characters personality. We will post the houses after the role players have been chosen to assure this does not affect the way you shape your character :).

*All characters (with the exception of character three) have attended Griffincry and at least know who the others are; We You and your fellow role played decided how.

* Lord Dralin(Played by Hero) is believed to be dead by all those other than characters one and two, and the Griffincry staff. We will give you the information needed if you wish to play either of these characters.

* Relationships (friendships, enemies, ect.) and other ideas for the role play will be discussed in OOC, this includes characters not of the main five

*Once accepted, each character will be given an extra detail via PM by myself or Hero that will be important later in the role play

*You do not have to chose from the main five either! :) Simply wish to attend the school? GREAT! We will also be accepting minor characters that may play a much larger role later on, just please follow the guidelines in the role play.

They were destined to save lives and bring peace to the world, but the road of fate isn't always smooth. Thirteen infants were born on the night of the blood moon; five let out a wail. Some called it foul play while others claimed it a sign, but one thing was certain: the children would not be safe if they remained.

Under the cloak of the nights they were taken and hidden were they would least be sought out: under the noses of those seeking to end their lives.

Souls destined to work together would first have to grow into worlds hell bent on ending the other...the question was: Would they be able to turn their back on the people they grew to love and trust a those they were taught to hate?

As for profiles, the sky is the limit. We do ask, however, that you include at least two images(Daemons must have a image OR description of their animal form) as well as a personality description.

Questions about the school? No problem! We are currently setting up a complete profile with information :) Any questions you may need answered may be asked in the OOC or PMed to myself or Hero

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/RolePlayGateway

obama care miss universe canada don draper gallagher madmen

In A Perfect World..... - Applied Social Psychology (ASP)

In 1954 Discrimination is defined as sequential steps by which an individual behaves negatively toward members of another racial group: verbal antagonism, avoidance, segregation, physical attack, and extermination (Allport, 1954). In 2013 it is defined as: the unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people or things, esp. on the grounds of race, age, or sex (Merriam-Webster, 2013). The definition of discrimination now includes age and sex. Did discrimination get worse over the past 60 years or did we increase our understanding of it?

We gained understanding. There are many types of discrimination. Years of defining discrimination as white hostility against other races that created disadvantages in the work place and socially became the "poster child" or "ugly face" of discrimination. We as a people have focused much energy and resources towards eliminating this discrimination. President Kennedy made the fight against racial discrimination a public forum when he promised to put an end to it in his inaugural address (Kennedy, 1961). The following years, though turbulent, saw many changes directed at doing just that, so why in 2012 did the EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) report more worker discrimination complaints than ever before in its recorded history?

Many instances of discrimination have been self imposed and we are now seeing the results of that because of economical and financial conditions creating a more competitive market for educational opportunities,?jobs and family sustainability. Phenomena known as avoidance (Becker, 1971) which occurs as the result of a class race or group having an aversion to interracial contact. The acceptance of less to keep from interacting with a specific group or staying away from what could be a racially conflict filled interaction is the basis for this phenomenon.

This is also referred to as a taste for discrimination. Wage and labor markets are affected because long term avoidance can lead to exclusion and segregation which results in acceptance of lower wages and positions. This condition may also be problematic in social situations, employment situations (hiring or promotions), educational situations or even access to healthcare. Therefore, the purposeful avoidance of another person or race can be just as damaging as forced segregation.

In 1954 when the legal segregation of races was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, the percentage of Americans that were in support of laws enforcing fair and equal opportunities was roughly 10% where as 50 years later the percentage is 90% (Bobo, 2001). The remaining 10% are likely to be members of extremist or other groups that exhibit intentional racial behaviors because of a belief of being threatened by other racial groups (Duckitt, 2001). These individuals tend to get more press and media coverage because of the sensationalism surrounding their beliefs and actions therefore an appearance or perception of a larger contingent is experienced.

Because of less tolerance, more education, racial and gender empowerment, forced and accepted (avoidance) segregation has become a focus issue and with many watch groups in place to monitor and protect individuals and their rights the number of complaints legitimately went up. The interventions are in place and will need to stay in place. The monitoring and measuring of the success of these interventions will need to become more focused to ensure new interventions are put in place as needed. ?As long as different societies and cultures continue to interact and mesh together there will be discriminatory acts and whether those acts are intentional or unintentional, they will occur. We must continue research and analysis to keep a vigilant spotlight on the issue of discrimination and continue to empower people to come forward with complaints to keep segregation from occurring on the level it had in the pre-1950 decades.

?

Reference:

Allport, G. (1954). The Nature of Prejudice. Cambridge, Mass. Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Inc.,

Inaugural Address, Kennedy Draft, 01/17/1961; Papers of John F. Kennedy: President's Office Files, 01/20/1961-11/22/1963; John F. Kennedy Library; National Archives and Records Administration.

Bobo, L. (2001) Racial attitudes and relations at the close of the twentieth century. In America Becoming: Racial Trends and Their Consequences, Vol. I, N.J. Smelser, W.J. Wilson, and F. Mitchell, eds. Commission on Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education, National Research Council. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

Duckitt, J. (2001) A dual-process cognitive-motivational theory of ideology and prejudice. In Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, Vol. 33, M.P. Zanna, ed. San Diego, CA: Academic Press.

Becker, G. (1971) The Economics of Discrimination, 2nd ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Source: http://www.personal.psu.edu/bfr3/blogs/asp/2013/03/in-a-perfect-world.html

storm chasers david blaine gotye divine mercy cabin in the woods the legend of korra three stooges

?In The Studio,? Felicis' Aydin Senkut Shares His Thesis On Frontier Markets

"In the Studio" opens the spring of 2013 by welcoming one of the ?most well-known "super angels," who arrived to Valley, by way of Boston, Philadelphia, and Istanbul, in the mid-1990s, held early product management stints at Silicon Graphics and a little startup called Google, which ultimately catapulted his career into what it is today.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/M0Z7OWpC--w/

budweiser shootout animal house invincible jesse jackson whitney houston funeral video tyler perry whitney houston r kelly

Personal Finance Tricks to Get the Most From Your Money | Zillow ...

Our friends at LearnVest offer sound financial tips and advice for every aspect of life. Check out these personal finance tips everyone should know about.

Just before the Enron scandal broke, the company?s CEO immediately put his money into annuities ? in his wife?s name.

Why? Because those assets are creditor-protected, so they can?t be seized (in this case, by the government).

This is just one example of many ? remember the 14-percent tax rate Mitt Romney paid on his $13 million income? ? illustrating how extremely wealthy people get the most from their money. And, most of them do it legally.

Much of their success comes from knowing where to find loopholes in the financial system ? ?hacks,? if you will. While we would never recommend any illegal or dishonest money moves (seriously, don?t break the law!), there are a handful of legal personal finance hacks that are available to all of us ? like these incredibly useful, low-profile tricks.

Borrow against your home?s equity

This hack is for homeowners, but it?s good for everyone to know about should you ever decide to buy a home.

How It Works: Instead of having the bank front you the money you need through a personal loan, you borrow against your home?s equity. (As a reminder, equity is the difference between the total of your mortgage and the appraised value of your home.)

The benefit here is two-fold: Since you?ve already been approved for a mortgage, the process will be less involved for this loan. You?ll need to get your home appraised, but your lender should be able to walk you through the process. Second, interest payments on home equity loans are typically tax-deductible, unlike interest on personal loans.

Lenders probably won?t give you an amount equivalent to the entire equity ? you?ll get more like 75 percent, at most. But if you have equity of $100,000, that?s $75,000 you may be able to borrow. This is a great option if you?re planning to stay in your home for a while, and your home is worth more than what you paid for it.

If your home is worth less than your mortgage, you have little equity or you?ll be moving soon, this hack is not for you. And, a word of caution: If you go this route, you must be vigilant about making timely payments on your loan ? since you?re borrowing against your home, you could lose it if you fall behind on those payments.

Pay down debt using a zero-interest credit card

For this hack, you need either a respectable credit score in order to apply for a new card or an existing credit card with zero interest.

How It Works: The most insidious part of carrying a large balance on your card is the interest that you?re paying on that balance, which can be as much as 20 percent. With this hack, you?re making a balance transfer to another card to avoid paying that interest.

This maneuver only works with cards that don?t charge interest. Luckily, many credit cards offer an initial promotion of zero interest for up to 18 months when you open a new card. If you?re carrying considerable debt that you intend to pay off within the 18-month period, you can do a balance transfer (essentially, you?re paying off the interest-bearing card using the new card, so your balance appears on a new bill) to pay down your debt without interest.

There is a charge for the balance transfer ? usually around 3 percent of the amount that you?re transferring ? so if you have a very small balance on your card, this might not be the hack for you. The idea is that your would-have-been interest payments cost more than the balance transfer fees. You can figure out how much money you?ll save with this maneuver by using a credit card balance calculator. Note that your credit score will get dinged when you open a new card because you?re changing your utilization rate, but in the grand scheme of things, this ding doesn?t compare to the full-on wreck that is major credit card debt.

Use a Roth IRA to save for college

This hack is useful if you?re saving for a child?s college tuition because it gets around the limited use of 529 accounts. That said, Roth IRAs do come with income limitations: You can contribute to a Roth IRA to the limit if your adjusted gross income is less than $112,000 filing alone, and $178,000 if you?re married filing jointly, so consult your tax advisor before giving this idea a try.

How It Works: A 529 plan is a state-run college savings account. (You can look into the particulars of your state?s program here). It?s not federal income tax-deductible (although some states let you to deduct some of your contributions on your state income taxes), but it does allow you to pull out funds for college tax-free. The downside of a 529 plan is that if and when you apply for financial aid (by filling out the FAFSA form), the money in this account is considered part of your family?s assets. For some families, having savings in a 529 counted as an asset lessens the chances of getting financial aid.

One of the things that we say again and again is that you shouldn?t take money out of a retirement account. There are penalty fees, and it?s basically self-sabotage ? with one exception. That exception is withdrawing the principal ? the money you contributed, and not the interest it has earned ? from your Roth IRA.

We don?t generally recommend this maneuver, but if you?re in a tight spot, it might work for you. Money saved in retirement accounts doesn?t count toward a family?s assets, so you can save money for college in a Roth IRA, apply and possibly qualify for financial aid without declaring those assets. Then you can simply withdraw those savings when it?s time to pay. For example, you and your spouse could each contribute $5,500 (the maximum contribution for 2013) for a total of $11,000 a year. In 15 years, your principal will be $82,500, which you can withdraw to pay for college without penalty.

Something else to know: Retirement accounts are generally creditor-protected, so they can?t be seized by creditors. With 529 accounts, the rules vary by state.

Continue reading about useful financial tricks on LearnVest.

More From LearnVest:

This post originally appeared on LearnVest.com on March 13 and was written by Libby Kane. It is republished here with permission from LearnVest.

Note: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinion or position of Zillow.

Source: http://www.zillowblog.com/2013-03-21/personal-finance-tricks-to-get-the-most-from-your-money/

hallmark grammy winners obama budget woolly mammoth belize resorts nikki minaj grammy performance shel silverstein

UCF classes canceled after IEDs found on campus

A UCF police officer stands outside Tower 1. (WKMG-TV)

The University of Central Florida in Orlando canceled some classes on Monday after police responding to a 911 call found improvised explosive devices in a dorm room and a man dead in an apparent suicide.

A school official said a fire alarm went off in the Tower 1 residence hall at approximately 12:20 a.m. Monday. As firefighters were en route, police received a 911 call reporting a man with a gun. The building?which houses about 500 students?was evacuated. During a sweep of the building, police discovered the suspect dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound and a bag containing multiple devices.

Police found an assault weapon in the room as well as the handgun used in the apparent suicide, the school official said. It's unclear if the suspect was a student at the school.

The Orange County Sheriff?s Office and the FBI are assisting campus police with the investigation, the official said. A bomb squad was called in to examine the IEDs.

Students were notified by a text message alert from the school at approximately 2 a.m., according to WKMG-TV.

UCF?s main campus will be closed for all classes until at least noon "out of an abundance of caution," the school said, as police continue their investigation at Tower 1, which remains closed. Classes at other campus locations will continue as scheduled.

"There is no threat to the campus community related to the suspicious death police are investigating in Tower 1," a message published on UCF's Facebook page read.

Staff members from UCF's Counseling and Psychological Services were headed to campus to assist students, the official added.

"Counselors are available in the Recreation and Wellness Center annex to talk with students who need assistance," an alert on the UCF website reads. "Students also can go to the Student Union. The UCF Arena will open at 7 to accommodate students evacuated from Tower 1. Counseling services will move into the Arena at that time."

UCF is the nation's second-largest university, according to its website, with more than 59,000 students enrolled at the school. About 11,000 live on campus.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/ucf-ieds-classes-canceled-112840470.html

Super Bowl Ads 2013 Buffalo Wild Wings Superbowl Start Time cbs Jim Harbaugh Who Won The Superbowl Super Bowl Halftime Show 2013

More Americans Sympathize With Israel, Don't Want U.S. to Lead Peace Talks

Many more Americans continue to side with Israel rather than the Palestinian Authority, but - with President Obama's first visit there days away - most also prefer to leave peace negotiations to the two protagonists, rather than having the United States take the lead.

Fifty-five percent in this ABC News/Washington Post poll sympathize more with Israel, vs. 9 percent who side more with the Palestinian Authority, with the rest favoring neither, or undecided. It's been a similar gap for many years, including polling back to the 1980s testing Israel vs. the Arab nations of the Middle East.

See PDF with full results, charts and tables here.

Despite that preference for Israel, seven in 10 want the U.S. largely to leave resolving the conflict to the Israelis and Palestinians themselves - a result that underscores the difficulties in finding a solution to the decades-old conflict. Preference for the United States to eschew a leading role is 15 percentage points higher than the last time it was asked in an ABC/Post poll, during an outbreak of violence between the two sides nearly 11 years ago.

Even among those who are more sympathetic to one side or the other, regardless of which side it is, about two-thirds don't want the U.S. to take the leading role. That preference rises to about three-quarters of those who don't favor either side.

In another expression of support for Israel, more Americans say the Obama administration has put too little pressure on the Palestinian Authority than too much pressure - 34 vs. 8 percent. They split about evenly, by contrast, on whether the administration has put too much or too little pressure on Israel. About four in 10, meanwhile, think the U.S. has appropriately pressured each side in the conflict.

RELIGION and POLITICS - This poll, produced for ABC by Langer Research Associates, finds little sympathy for the Palestinian Authority across groups, always well behind support for Israel. However, breadth of support for Israel varies considerably, with the Palestinian Authority and frustration with both groups gaining somewhat among less broadly pro-Israel groups.

Among religious groups, sympathy for Israel peaks, at 76 percent, among evangelical white Protestants, falling to 55 percent among non-evangelical white Protestants and Catholics, and bottoming out at 39 percent among those who aren't religiously affiliated. Religiosity is a factor as well, with those who attend religious services more apt to side with Israel.

Support for Israel also is broad - more than seven in 10 - among Republicans and conservatives alike. This drops to roughly five in 10 moderates, independents and Democrats, and to just 39 percent of liberals, with more saying they favor neither side, compared with Republicans and conservatives.

A similar pattern plays out on the matter of the Obama administration's use of influence on each side, with Republicans and conservatives more likely than others to think Israel is being pressured too much and the Palestinian Authority too little. Majorities of Democrats, not surprisingly, are happy with the pressure the Obama administration's applying to each side.

On the other hand, when it comes to U.S. involvement in the peace process, there's agreement across religious, partisan and ideological groups (from 66 to 70 percent) that the two sides should handle negotiations themselves.

Age is another prominent marker of support for Israel, ranging from 48 percent among younger adults to 57 percent of 40- to 64-year-olds and topping out at two-thirds among seniors. Views that the Obama administration is putting too much pressure on Israel, and is applying too little of its muscle with the Palestinian Authority, also peak among seniors.

Obama is scheduled to leave Wednesday for a two-day visit to Israel and the West Bank, ruled by the Palestinian Authority.

METHODOLOGY - This ABC News/Washington Post poll was conducted by telephone March 7-10, 2013, among a random national sample of 1,001 adults, including landline and cell-phone-only respondents. Results have a margin of sampling error of 3.5 points, including design effect. Partisan divisions are 33-25-35 percent, Democrats-Republicans-independents.

The survey was produced for ABC News by Langer Research Associates of New York, N.Y., with sampling, data collection and tabulation by Abt-SRBI of New York, N.Y.

Also Read

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/more-americans-sympathize-israel-dont-051205946.html

carson daly heejun han donovan mcnabb donovan mcnabb lottery ticket megga millions what is autism

Map of 'shortcuts' between all human genes

Mar. 18, 2013 ? Some diseases are caused by single gene mutations. Current techniques for identifying the disease-causing gene in a patient produce hundreds of potential gene candidates, making it difficult for scientists to pinpoint the single causative gene. Now, a team of researchers led by Rockefeller University scientists have created a map of gene "shortcuts" to simplify the hunt for disease-causing genes.

The investigation, spearheaded by Yuval Itan, a postdoctoral fellow in the St. Giles Laboratory of Human Genetics of Infectious Diseases, has led to the creation of what he calls the human gene connectome, the full set of distances, routes (the genes on the way), and degrees of separation, between any two human genes. Itan, a computational biologist, says the computer program he developed to generate the connectome uses the same principles that GPS navigation devices use to plan a trip between two locations. The research is reported in the online early edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

"High throughput genome sequencing technologies generate a plethora of data, which can take months to search through," says Itan. "We believe the human gene connectome will provide a shortcut in the search for disease-causing mutations in monogenic diseases."

Itan and his colleagues, including researchers from the Necker Hospital for Sick Children, the Pasteur Institute in Paris, and Ben-Gurion University in Israel, designed applications for the use of the human gene connectome. They began with a gene called TLR3, which is important for resistance to herpes simplex encephalitis, a life-threatening infection from the herpes virus that can cause significant brain damage in genetically susceptible children. Researchers in the St. Giles lab, headed by Jean-Laurent Casanova, previously showed that children with HSE have mutations in TLR3 or in genes that are closely functionally related to TLR3. In other words, these genes are located at a short biological distance from TLR3. As a result, novel herpes simplex encephalitis-causing genes are also expected to have a short biological distance from TLR3.

To test how well the human gene connectome could predict a disease-causing gene, the researchers sequenced exomes -- all DNA of the genome that is coding for proteins -- of two patients recently shown to carry mutations of a separate gene, TBK1.

"Each patient's exome contained hundreds of genes with potentially morbid mutations," says Itan. "The challenge was to detect the single disease-causing gene." After sorting the genes by their predicted biological proximity to TLR3, Itan and his colleagues found TBK1 at the top of the list of genes in both patients. The researchers also used the TLR3 connectome -- the set of all human genes sorted by their predicted distance from TLR3 -- to successfully predict two other genes, EFGR and SRC, as part of the TLR3 pathway before they were experimentally validated, and applied other gene connectomes to detect Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and sensorineural hearing loss disease causing genes.

"The human gene connectome is, to the best of our knowledge, the only currently available prediction of the specific route and distance between any two human genes of interest, making it ideal to solve the needle in the haystack problem of detecting the single disease causing gene in a large set of potentially fatal genes," says Itan. "This can now be performed by prioritizing any number of genes by their biological distance from genes that are already known to cause the disease.

"Approaches based on the human gene connectome have the potential to significantly increase the discovery of disease-causing genes for diseases that are genetically understood in some patients as well as for those that are not well studied. The human gene connectome should also progress the general field of human genetics by predicting the nature of unknown genetic mechanisms."

Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:

---

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Rockefeller University, via Newswise.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

---

Journal Reference:

1. Yuval Itan, Shen-Ying Zhang, Guillaume Vogt, Avinash Abhyankar, Melina Herman, Patrick Nitschke, Dror Fried, Lluis Quintana-Murci, Laurent Abel, and Jean-Laurent Casanova. The human gene connectome as a map of short cuts for morbid allele discovery. PNAS, March 18, 2013 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1218167110

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/tlBsWkX1m-o/130318151639.htm

transcendental meditation trayvon martin obama care miss universe canada don draper gallagher madmen

AREA SADDLE CLUB DONATES $1500 TO PROACT - Eagan Patch

Bear Valley Riders shares proceeds from rodeos to provide outdoor exercise equipment for people with disabilities

A horseback riding club that can trace its roots to the early 20th century is contributing $1,500 toward improved recreation opportunities for people with disabilities at ProAct in Red Wing.? The Bear Valley Riders Saddle Club is known for its summer rodeos and children?s events.

The club has supported numerous community causes in the past.? ?It?s been something we?ve strived to do over the years,? said Club Secretary Mark Diercks.? He fills that role together with his wife, Judy, and the couple has an adult daughter who receives services from ProAct.? ?She?s the type who has to go out and see people.? It?s a joy for her to go to work, Diercks said.

ProAct Director of Programs and Services Sally Ogren said the nonprofit is grateful for the help.? ?Diminished funding and a difficult economy make it harder than ever to keep up with the need for equipment and supplies for the people we serve,? she said.? The group plans to purchase a basketball hoop, and other outdoor game and activity equipment.

The nonprofit Bear Valley Riders are based in Mazeppa, Minn., and many of its members come from the Zumbro Falls area, Diercks explained.? Its rodeo events typically feature one by one sorting of cows by horseback riders.?

ProAct is headquartered in Eagan and has additional operations in Red Wing, Zumbrota and in Hudson, Wis.? Its mission is to serve individuals experiencing barriers to employment and self-sufficiency due to intellectual and developmental disabilities, physical disabilities, mental health issues, traumatic brain injuries, and other challenges.

Source: http://eagan.patch.com/announcements/area-saddle-club-donates-1500-to-proact

best buy sears abercrombie abercrombie Aeropostale Jcpenny ohio state football

Swiss tourist gang-raped in central India

NEW DELHI (AP) ? A Swiss woman who was on a cycling trip in central India with her husband has been gang-raped by eight men, police said Saturday. The attack comes three months after the fatal gang-rape of a woman aboard a New Delhi bus outraged Indians.

Authorities detained and questioned 13 men in connection with the latest attack, which occurred Friday night as the couple camped out in a forest in Madhya Pradesh state after bicycling from the temple town of Orchha, local police officer R.K. Gurjar said.

The men beat the couple and gang-raped the woman, he said. They also stole the couple's mobile phone, a laptop computer and 10,000 rupees ($185).

The woman, 39, was treated at a hospital in the nearby city of Gwalior, Gurjar said.

A photo showed the woman walking while being escorted by police to the hospital. Her face was concealed with a hood, a common practice in India, where law does not allow rape victims to be identified publicly to protect them from the stigma attached to rape in the conservative country.

Police detained 13 men and questioned them, Gurjar said. Six of the men were released after questioning. No other details were immediately available.

Indian television stations showed scores of police searching the forest where the attack occurred.

Swiss Foreign Ministry spokesman Tilman Renz described the case as "deeply disturbing" and said Swiss diplomats were assisting the couple.

The diplomats called on Indian authorities "to do everything to quickly find the perpetrators so that they can be held accountable," Renz said in a statement.

Last month, the Swiss government issued a travel notice for India that included a warning about "increasing numbers of rapes and other sexual offenses" in the South Asian nation.

India has seen outrage and widespread protests against attacks on women since December's fatal gang-rape of a young woman on a moving bus in New Delhi, the capital. The crime horrified Indians and set off nationwide protests about India's treatment of women and spurred the government to hurry through a new package of laws to protect them.

One of six suspects in the December attack was found dead in a New Delhi jail this past week. Authorities said he hanged himself, but his family and lawyer insisted foul play was involved. A magistrate is investigating. Four other men and a juvenile remain on trial for the attack.

___

Associated Press writer Frank Jordans in Berlin contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/swiss-tourist-gang-raped-central-india-130031713.html

aaron carter black history month did groundhog see his shadow soul train don cornelius rod parsley barry sanders jr nick carter sister

Insert Coin semifinalist: Radiator Labs rethinks steam heat, we go hands-on

If you've ever lived in a building that was heated by steam, there's a good chance that you've experienced comfort levels that were less than ideal. Now, Insert Coin semifinalist Radiator Labs is working to bring a solution to market that'll make your living space a lot more tolerable, and as an added bonus, it'll save energy at the same time. We took a moment to catch up with Marshall Cox, co-founder of Radiator Labs, here at Expand, who explained the elegantly simple solution that the company has in store.

At its most fundamental level, what you have is an oven mitt for your radiator that's augmented with a temperature sensor and an exhaust fan. Whenever the ambient heat reaches your set comfort level (which can be controlled from the web or a smartphone app), the fan will shut off and the insulating cover -- described to us as ironing board material -- will prevent additional heat from escaping. From here, steam is redistributed to other apartments that need it, rather than turning your unit into a sauna. Beyond this eco-friendly element, Radiator Labs is integrating a phase change material into its product that can store energy and heat an apartment for up to four hours without assistance from the boiler.

Going deeper down the rabbit hole, Radiator Labs is exploring some nifty technologies such as an Xbee mesh network, which it's using to evaluate the energy-saving benefits at play. While this component won't be integrated into the consumer version, we could see commercial installations that include wireless communications with the boiler itself. Combined with the phase change material, this would allow a boiler to fire much less often -- seems like a great idea, if you ask us. We're told that Radiator Labs will be seeking crowd-funding for its product this fall, which will be available in the $250 price range. For additional peeks at what's to come, be sure to check the gallery.

Jon Fingas contributed to this report.

Gallery: Radiator Labs cover hands-on

Comments

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/blrVOpwWp4A/

walmart best buy sears abercrombie abercrombie Aeropostale Jcpenny

Frank Ocean Sued For Channel Orange's 'Lost'

Producer Micah Otano claims he did not receive credit for his work on Grammy-winning LP.
By Driadonna Roland

Frank Ocean
Photo: Getty Images

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1703460/frank-ocean-channel-orange-lawsuit.jhtml

mike brown bcs rankings When Is Veterans Day 2012 brooke burke Alexa Vega Bram Stoker books Paula Broadwell Photos

Blackhawks not mourning end of record point streak

Chicago Blackhawks right wing Marian Hossa, of Slovakia, files off the ice with teammates after the Colorado Avalanche's 6-2 victory in an NHL hockey game in Denver on Friday, March 8, 2013. The Blackhawks lost in regulation for the first time this season. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Chicago Blackhawks right wing Marian Hossa, of Slovakia, files off the ice with teammates after the Colorado Avalanche's 6-2 victory in an NHL hockey game in Denver on Friday, March 8, 2013. The Blackhawks lost in regulation for the first time this season. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

As members of the Colorado Avalanche, back, celebrate a goal by Ryan O'Reilly, Chicago Blackhawks right wing Michael Frolik (67), of the Czech Republic, skates back to the bench in the second period of an NHL hockey game in Denver, Friday, March 8, 2013. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Colorado Avalanche left wing Patrick Bordeleau, front left, congratulates teammate Aaron Palushaj as they join teammates to celebrate the Avalanche's 6-2 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks in an NHL hockey game in Denver on Friday, March 8, 2013. Chicago's loss was its first in regulation this season. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Colorado Avalanche right wing Aaron Palushaj, left, battles for control of the puck with Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith in the third period of the Avalanche's 6-2 victory in an NHL hockey game in Denver on Friday, March 8, 2013. The Blackhawks lost in regulation for the first time this season. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Colorado Avalanche right wing PA Parenteau celebrates his short-handed goal against the Chicago Blackhawks in the third period of the Avalanche's 6-2 victory in an NHL hockey game in Denver on Friday, March 8, 2013. The Blackhawks lost in regulation for the first time this season. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

DENVER (AP) ? The Chicago Blackhawks aren't about to mourn the end of their record points streak.

"We're proud of it, but it'll be nice to move on now," defenseman Duncan Keith said after the Blackhawks' 6-2 loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Friday night.

The loss was Chicago's first in regulation this season and ended a remarkable run in which they earned at least one point in their first 24 games, an NHL record.

"It's hockey. We've lost games before in our lives. It's not like we're going to sit here and cry," Keith said.

Instead, they'll sit back and celebrate, said coach Joel Quenneville, who told his team afterward "that they should be very proud of what they accomplished. They found different ways to win, night in and night out, and everyone contributed to something that hadn't been done. It's a great feather in our cap, but let's move forward here and try to get better. Certainly it was a lot of fun up to today."

So, they left the ice without a point for once but also with their heads held high.

The Blackhawks (21-1-3) hadn't lost in regulation since a 6-1 rout by Nashville on March 25, 2012, and their last loss in regulation on the road came more than a year ago, with a 5-1 defeat at St. Louis on March 6, 2012.

Dating to last year's regular season, the streak was 30 games.

"That's just mind-boggling," Avalanche center Paul Stastny said. "That's two full months without losing. Hats off to them. But to be the team that was able to stop them ? we had a chance last time and didn't do it ? but the way our schedule was we knew we had back-to-back games and would have two chances to stop it. And that's what we wanted to do, stop their streak and get one going for us."

Chicago's overall points streak was the second-longest in NHL history. The 1979-80 Philadelphia Flyers set the league record with a staggering 35-game unbeaten streak that included 25 wins and 10 ties ? all in the same season.

"It's special," said Matt Duchene, who had a goal and a career-best three assists. "It's obviously something no one had done yet. But what a run by them. I mean, first of all, congratulations to them. What a run they had. I don't think they're going to slow down because of this. But it's pretty special. It's a good feeling in here. We're pretty happy."

Ryan O'Reilly got his first goal since his contract dispute was resolved more than a week ago and assisted on another score in a four-goal onslaught in the second period that turned a 1-1 tie into a laugher. Stastny collected three points.

Duchene, John Mitchell and Jamie McGinn also put pucks past Corey Crawford in the second period for the Avalanche, who had lost six of their previous seven, including a 3-2 heartbreaker at Chicago 48 hours earlier.

Crawford (11-1-3) allowed five goals on 19 shots before being replaced in net by Ray Emery to start the third period.

"I didn't have it tonight," Crawford said. "Didn't give our guys a chance."

Semyon Varlamov had 30 saves for Colorado.

The Avalanche nearly ended the spectacular streak in Chicago on Wednesday night before the Blackhawks pulled out the win when Daniel Carcillo scored the tiebreaking goal with 49.3 seconds left. Chicago was skating without three key forwards and playing its second game in two nights then.

There was no such comeback Friday night at the Pepsi Center for Chicago, which hadn't allowed more than four goals in a game this season or even trailed by more than two goals until the Avs' spectacular second period.

"It's a great confidence booster," Duchene said. "It shows us we can play with anybody in this league."

The crowd chanted, "End of streak! End of streak!" over the final minutes after P.A. Parenteau's 10th goal of the season made it 6-2.

Bryan Bickell's goal with 11:07 pulled the Blackhawks to 5-2 and he nearly scored again from the same spot 90 seconds later, but Varlamov smothered the shot ? and that was that.

The teams got into a scuffle with 5:04 left after Bickell squared off with Gabriel Landeskog, who had checked Keith in the back.

Chicago's Jonathan Toews got the scoring started when he knocked the puck past Varlamov after a turnover on a give-and-go with forward Marian Hossa, who returned from an upper-body injury.

But Colorado scored the next five goals.

Duchene's goal between Crawford's legs made it 2-1. Just 33 seconds later, Mitchell scored on an assist from O'Reilly, who was signed to a two-year $10 million deal last week after the Avalanche matched Calgary's offer sheet following a nasty contract dispute.

O'Reilly's goal came on a slap shot from the top of the right circle 4 seconds into another power play. Duchene set him up with a pass after Stastny won the faceoff.

Duchene got his third assist when he dug out a loose puck from the boards in a scramble with Keith and kicked it out to McGinn, who put made it 5-1.

Remarkable though it was, the streak had become somewhat of a burden for the Blackhawks.

"It's gained a lot of momentum over the last little while and our opponents, they treated it like it was a very important game," Quenneville said. "You look at the standings and everyone has a meaningful game, but it seemed like there was added incentive as we've gone along. We welcomed the challenge."

After a while, it seemed the streak had taken on a life of its own.

"I'd say the last handful of games the talk about it kind of got out of control," Toews said. "The guys in our locker room, we always focused on the same thing, being prepared to play our team game. We never really got distracted by that. Maybe it does take a little bit of pressure off us and we can sit back and look at the good things we've done."

The Blackhawks' run comes with somewhat of an asterisk because they actually lost three games along the way ? all in shootouts. Under NHL rules, that's still worth a point, but that makes it different from what the Flyers accomplished nearly a quarter-century ago.

During the Flyers' streak there was no overtime until the playoffs, and the shootout was still a far-off creation. If the teams were tied after 60 minutes, that's how it ended and each got a point.

Nowadays, both teams still receive a point if the game is tied at the end of regulation. Then, the team that scores in a five-minute, four-skaters-a-side overtime period or wins the shootout gets an extra point.

"It's over," Crawford said. "Move on to the next game."

NOTES: Avalanche D Erik Johnson returned to the lineup after missing 11 games with a head injury. ... The Blackhawks were without F Patrick Sharp, who left Wednesday's home win over the Avalanche with a shoulder injury after being checked along the boards by Colorado's Ryan O'Byrne.

___

Follow Arnie Melendrez Stapleton on Twitter: http://twitter.com/arniestapleton

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-03-09-Blackhawks-Avalanche%20Folo/id-66de4e3240ba44b99274d161fba31ea4

Oscar Nominations 2013 Beasts of the Southern Wild 2013 Oscars academy awards Sally Field The Oscars Searching For Sugar Man

Maine town to take symbolic vote on mandatory gun ownership

By Sarah Mahoney

DURHAM, Maine (Reuters) - Residents of a Maine town are expected to vote on Monday on whether each household should be required to own a firearm, a decision that has thrust the tiny town of Byron into the heated national debate on gun control.

The vote is scheduled to take place on Monday evening in a potentially rancorous annual town meeting for the rural western Maine town's 140 residents, and will be largely symbolic.

The town's head selectman says the vast majority of households in Byron already have at least one gun, and a requirement to possess guns and ammunition would be unenforceable because Maine law bars municipalities from legislating on firearms.

"It was never my intention to force anyone to own a gun who doesn't want to. My purpose was to make a statement in support of the Second Amendment (to the U.S. Constitution)," said head selectman Anne Simmons-Edmund, who proposed the ordinance and said it would be put for a vote on Monday.

The December shooting rampage that left 26 people dead at a Connecticut elementary school has reignited the national debate over guns. In response, some states have been prompted to tighten gun laws, while other states have sought to keep federal gun measures from being applied within their borders.

Byron is not the only town to mull such a measure. Last week, selectmen in the Maine town of Sabbatus, about 60 miles from Byron, voted against putting a similar proposal before town residents.

In Georgia, a city leader in Nelson has proposed an ordinance calling on every head of household to have a gun as a way to keep crime down in the city of 1,300 residents, which employs only a single police officer.

The Nelson city council is expected to vote on the gun ownership ordinance on April 1.

In Byron, Simmons-Edmund, who is also a police officer in nearby Dixfield, said the measure also reflects community concern about the remote area's rising crime rates, which she said have nearly tripled in the last year.

Not all in the town were supportive of the move.

"It gives new meaning to the term `March Madness," said Byron resident Philip Paquette, who has spent the past three decades as a Merchant Marine. "She is infringing on the rights of townspeople. I'm a hunter and own guns, and I have a right to. People also have a right not to own guns."

As for Simmons-Edmund, who says she got the idea after a suggestion from her father and fellow Byron resident Bruce Simmons.

"Five days ago, I would have predicted this article would pass," Simmons-Edmund said. "But we've gotten so much media attention, nothing would surprise me. This town has never been so closely scrutinized. It's up to the residents to decide now. And if they shoot it down, I am totally fine with it."

(Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Jackie Frank)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/maine-town-symbolic-vote-mandatory-gun-ownership-090734324.html

heidi klum heidi klum red tails trailer joe pa dead laura dekker stephen colbert south carolina seal