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(Reuters) - Media giant Tribune Co, owner of the Los Angeles Times and the Chicago Tribune, emerged from bankruptcy on Monday, ending four years of Chapter 11 reorganization.
Chicago-based Tribune said on Sunday that its portfolio would include eight major daily newspapers and 23 TV stations.
Tribune's controlling owners, which include hedge funds Oaktree Capital and Angelo, Gordon & Co, and JPMorgan Chase & Co intend to sell most, if not all, of its newspapers and already have expressions of interest for The Los Angeles Times, The Orlando Sentinel and others, Reuters has reported.
Oaktree is the biggest Tribune shareholder, owning about 23 percent of the company while Angelo Gordon and JP Morgan each hold a 9 percent stake.
"Tribune will emerge as a dynamic multi-media company with a great mix of profitable assets, powerful brands in major markets, sufficient liquidity for operations and investments and significantly less debt," Chief Executive Eddy Hartenstein said in a statement.
As part of the Chapter 11 exit, the company closed on a new $1.1 billion senior secured term loan and a new $300 million asset-based revolving credit facility.
The term loan will be used to fund certain payments under the plan of reorganization and the revolving credit facility will be used to fund ongoing operations, the company said.
Upon exiting bankruptcy, Tribune will have issued to former creditors a mix of about 100 million shares of new class A common stock and new class B common stock, and new warrants to purchase shares of new class A or class B common stock.
Hartenstein will remain CEO until the new Tribune board names a new management team. Peter Liguori, a former Discovery Communications chief operating officer, is expected to be named CEO.
The company announced a seven-person board that includes Hartenstein, Liguori, former Yahoo CEO Ross Levinsohn and Peter Murphy, Walt Disney's former top strategic planning executive.
Tribune is expected to focus on building its TV operations. In its portfolio, it owns WGN America, a national feed of Tribune's Chicago TV stations that it distributes through cable and satellite to more than 76 million U.S. homes.
Tribune's TV operations are estimated to account for $2.85 billion of the company's $7 billion valuation, while its publishing assets are estimated to represent $623 million, according to report by its financial advisor, Lazard. The rest of its value resides in other assets including its 30 percent stake in the Food Network and its cash balance.
In November, Tribune received regulatory approval from the Federal Communications Commission to transfer its broadcast licenses to the owners who would take it over after emerging from bankruptcy.
The company's reorganization plan was confirmed by the Delaware bankruptcy court in July.
The case is In re: Tribune Co et al, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Delaware, No. 08-13141.
(Reporting by Liana B. Baker in New York and Ashutosh Pandey in Bangalore; Editing by Nick Zieminski)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/publisher-tribune-emerge-bankruptcy-december-31-043011786--finance.html
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Posted on December 30, 2012 by dufttuey508 in Internet
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Source: http://www.veritasindia.com/web-hosting-made-easy-important-for-a-great-hosting-experience
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??The most devastating crime against Palestinians in Israel during military rule was the Kfar Qassem massacre. On 1957, Israel imposed a military curfew on Arab villages that would start at five in the evening. The notice of the curfew did not reach the village head of Kfar Qassem until an hour and a half before five. He told the military commanders that it would be impossible for him to alert the farmers and shepherds to vacate their fields in time. When soldiers arrived in the village they collected all of those who remained outside and shot to death forty-seven men, women and children.
??Reat at ReadyOkayGo
Posted 10 hours ago with 3 notes
#Israel#Middle EastSource: http://stay-human.tumblr.com/post/39168110708
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A privately owned Chinese company is finalising the acquisition of an Australian mining firm that controls a major iron ore mine in west Africa, China's official Xinhua News Agency reports.
The move would give China a stronger role in setting global iron ore prices.
Xinhua, citing officials from Hanlong Group, based in southwestern China's Sichuan province, said on Saturday Hanlong plans to complete the acquisition of Sundance Resources Ltd for 45 cents (50 US cents) per share by March 1, after submitting paperwork to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.
Sundance controls the Mbalam iron ore mine, which straddles Cameroon and the Republic of Congo.
Hanlong is seeking a partnership with Chinese state-owned companies and investing $US5 billion ($A4.84 billion) to develop the Mbalam project and to build a 550-kilometre railway and a shipping port, Xinhua said.
Operations are expected to begin in 2014, Xinhua said.
As the world's second-largest economy, China is eager to acquire overseas assets and resources to feed its rapid growth.
The prospect of a takeover appeared remote earlier this month following news that Hanlong wanted to delay the bid because it could not secure funding by December 13, AAP reported.
Keep reading - next articleSource: http://finance.ninemsn.com.au/newsbusiness/aap/8586418/china-firm-to-buy-australian-miner-report
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December 30, 2012 by balladeer
CHAPARRALS RULE THE WORLD ? Readers familiar with Balladeer?s Blog?s college football coverage are well aware of the tendency of NAIA teams to upset teams from NCAA Division 2. That tendency extends to basketball season at times, too. Yesterday the LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY CHAPARRALS (logo above) took it on the road and upset D2?s NEW MEXICO HIGHLANDS UNIVERSITY COWBOYS in a 90-88 game that Chaps fans will be talking about for years to come.
CENTURY CLUB ? Among the teams scoring 100 or more points yesterday: The INDIANA UNIVERSITY SOUTHEAST GRENADIERS improved to 11-3 with a 108-75 road thrashing of the POINT PARK PIONEERS. The Grenadiers (love that name) led 59-34 at halftime and glided through the 2nd half to remain unbeaten in conference play. ? ### ? The LINDSEY WILSON COLLEGE BLUE RAIDERS clipped the wings of the HAMILTON HARRIERS by a score of 100-69?? ###?? The UNIVERSITY OF THE CUMBERLANDS PATRIOTS held serve by taking down the TENNESSEE WESLEYAN BULLDOGS? 100-83 ? ### ? In the Chuck Daly Tournament the NORTHWOOD (FL) UNIVERSITY SEAHAWKS slammed the VALOR CHRISTIAN COLLEGE WARRIORS by a score of 106-73 ? ### ? The OLD WESTBURY PANTHERS topped the MISERICORDIA COUGARS in a 100-97 catfight?? ###?? ? And the GREENSBURG BOBCATS devoured the WRIGHT STATE LAKERS in a 130-58 laugher.?
OUR DIVISION CAN BEAT UP YOUR DIVISION ? The rivalry between the NAIA and NCAA Division 3 extends to the court as well. Yesterday the WAYLAND BAPTIST UNIVERSITY PIONEERS defeated D3?s SUL ROSS STATE LOBOS? 78-62 ? ### ? The NAIA?s EMBRY-RIDDLE AERONAUTICAL UNIVERSITY EAGLES toppled the MERCHANT MARINE ACADEMY MARINERS 81-65 in the Land of Magic Classic ? ### ? The TAYLOR TROJANS won a 49-42 defensive epic against D3?s WITTENBERG TIGERS ? ###?? ? And the National Christian College Athletic Association?s PORTLAND BIBLE COLLEGE WILDCATS joined the NAIA?s fun by defeating the D3 PUGET SOUND LOGGERS? 81-74.
INSTANT CLASSICS ? In the Tom Byron Classic the WESTMINSTER (UT) GRIFFINS won a 78-71 game for the ages against the WESTMONT WARRIORS ? ### ? The BETHANY COLLEGE SWEDES edged the SOUTHWESTERN CHRISTIAN EAGLES? 63-62 ? ### ? The DORDT COLLEGE DEFENDERS took down the WARNER UNIVERSITY ROYALS by a score of 75-73 in the Crooked Lake Classic ? ### ? The DICKINSON STATE UNIVERSITY BLUE HAWKS played road warriors and defeated the BRANDON UNIVERSITY BOBCATS? 75-72?? ###?? ? And the YESHIVA MACCABEES eked out a 62-61 home victory over the BROOKLYN COLLEGE BULLDOGS.
WORKIN? OVERTIME ? 40 minutes wasn?t enough for some games yesterday. The NEW YORK UNIVERSITY VIOLETS (logo at left) defeated the WIDENER PRIDE 97-88 in the extra session?? ###?? The MASTERS MUSTANGS beat out the CONCORDIA (OR) CAVALIERS? 74-71 in Overtime? ### ? The CLAREMONT-MUDD- SCRIPPS STAGS outlasted the homestanding SOUTHERN MAINE HUSKIES in an 81-75 OT matchup for the ages ? ### ? The SOUTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY HORNETS and the DOMINICAN UNIVERSITY STARS went into Double Overtime with the Hornets winning 86-76?? ###?? ? And the WILLIAMS COLLEGE EPHS kept their momentum rolling by defeating the LUTHER NORSE in Overtime by a score of 78-72.
BLOWOUTS ? The NAIA?s INDIANA TECH WARRIORS redefined the term blowout by eviscerating the OSU- LIMA BARONS by an unbelievable score of 87-23?? The ILLINOIS COLLEGE BLUE BOYS made their own revisions to the term with a 100-45 annihilation of the NORTH PARK VIKINGS?? ###?? The COLLEGE OF STATEN ISLAND DOLPHINS manhandled the MASSACHUSETTS COLLEGE TRAILBLAZERS to the tune of 83-52 ? ### ? The HAMPDEN-SYDNEY TIGERS slashed up the visiting HUNTINGDON HAWKS? 99-54? And the CARDINAL STRITCH WOLVES clawed the PURDUE NORTH CENTRAL PANTHERS? 75-52.
KEELHAULERS KICKING BUTT ? The CALIFORNIA MARITIME ACADEMY KEELHAULERS, also from the NAIA, are burning up the basketball court once again. These California Pacific Conference powerhouses are sitting at 11-3 after Saturday?s 85-80 victory over the VALLEY CITY STATE VIKINGS in the Whittier College Tournament. After today the next game for the Keelhaulers (how can you not love that name) will be January 5th as they welcome the LA SIERRA UNIVERSITY GOLDEN EAGLES.? ? ?? ? ?
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Source: http://glitternight.com/2012/12/30/noteworthy-college-basketball-results-from-december-29th-2012/
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Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2012/12/28/fold-the-paper-you-will/
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A snapshot of Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez is surrounded by a trio of religious prayer cards and a sign that reads in Spanish; "Merry Christmas" on a red background hanging at a state-run market in Caracas, Venezuela, Friday, Dec. 28, 2012. The obsessive, circular conversations about Chavez's health dominate family dinners, plaza chit-chats and social media sites in this country on edge since its larger-than-life leader went to Cuba for emergency cancer surgery more than two weeks ago. The man whose booming voice once dominated the airwaves for hours at a time has not been seen or heard from since. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
A snapshot of Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez is surrounded by a trio of religious prayer cards and a sign that reads in Spanish; "Merry Christmas" on a red background hanging at a state-run market in Caracas, Venezuela, Friday, Dec. 28, 2012. The obsessive, circular conversations about Chavez's health dominate family dinners, plaza chit-chats and social media sites in this country on edge since its larger-than-life leader went to Cuba for emergency cancer surgery more than two weeks ago. The man whose booming voice once dominated the airwaves for hours at a time has not been seen or heard from since. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
A vendor wearing a T-shirt with an image of Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez sells vegetable at a state-run market in Caracas, Venezuela, Friday, Dec. 28, 2012. The obsessive, circular conversations about Chavez's health dominate family dinners, plaza chit-chats and social media sites in this country on edge since its larger-than-life leader went to Cuba for emergency cancer surgery more than two weeks ago. The man whose booming voice once dominated the airwaves for hours at a time has not been seen or heard from since.(AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Iconic T-shirts styled with images of Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez are displayed for sale next to a T-shirt of Venezuelan musician Ali Primera, in Caracas, Venezuela, Friday, Dec. 28, 2012. The obsessive, circular conversations about Chavez's health dominate family dinners, plaza chit-chats and social media sites in this country on edge since its larger-than-life leader went to Cuba for emergency cancer surgery more than two weeks ago. The man whose booming voice once dominated the airwaves for hours at a time has not been seen or heard from since.(AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Portraits of Venezuela's independence hero Simon Bolivar, left, and Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez are exhibited for sale on folding easels in Caracas, Venezuela, Friday, Dec. 28, 2012. The obsessive, circular conversations about Chavez's health dominate family dinners, plaza chit-chats and social media sites in this country on edge since its larger-than-life leader went to Cuba for emergency cancer surgery more than two weeks ago. The man whose booming voice once dominated the airwaves for hours at a time has not been seen or heard from since.(AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) ? He's getting better. He's getting worse. He's already dead. The whole thing is a conspiracy and he was never sick in the first place.
The obsessive, circular conversations about President Hugo Chavez's health dominate family dinners, plaza chit-chats and social media sites in this country on edge since its larger-than-life leader went to Cuba for emergency cancer surgery more than two weeks ago. The man whose booming voice once dominated the airwaves for hours at a time has not been seen or heard from since.
His lieutenants have consistently assured Venezuelans over the last week that Chavez is slowly on the mend and will be back at the helm of the country he has dominated for 14 years. But when will he be back? Will he be well enough to govern? What type of cancer does he have? Is it terminal? If so, how long does he have to live?
Government officials have not answered any of those questions, leaving Venezuelans to their own speculations. The wildest conspiracy theories run the gamut from those who say there is no proof Chavez is even still alive to those who believe his illness is a made-up play for sympathy.
"Everything has been a mystery. Everyone believes what they want about the status of his health," said Ismael Garcia, a leftist lawmaker who belonged to the Chavez movement until a falling-out a few years ago.
Vice President Nicolas Maduro read out a New Year message from Chavez to Venezuelan troops on Friday, but for the fourth day in a row offered no updates on the president's health. Maduro had announced Monday night that Chavez was walking and doing some exercises.
The uncertainty comes with a sense of urgency because Chavez is scheduled to be sworn in for a new six-year term Jan. 10. The government and opposition disagree on what should happen if Chavez can't show up, raising the threat of a destabilizing legal fight. Beyond that, nobody knows if Chavez's deputies, who have long worked under his formidable shadow, can hold the country together if he dies.
Like everything else in this fiercely divided country, what people believe usually depends on where their political loyalty lies. Chavez opponents are mostly convinced that the president has terminal cancer, has known it for a long time and should not have sought re-election in October. His most fervent supporters refuse to believe "El Comandante" will die.
"Chavez is going to live on. He is a very important man. He has transformed the world with his ideology," said Victor Coba, a 48-year-old construction worker standing outside a Caracas church as government officials held a Mass to pray for the leader. "Anyone of us will die first before Chavez."
Coba scurried off to a street corner where officials were handing out a book of photographs of Chavez's recent presidential campaign. The comandante's grinning face looked out from the cover, alongside the slogan "Chavez, the heart of my country."
The same image looms from billboards erected all over Caracas, from freeway medians to the low-income apartment towers being built with Venezuelan oil wealth. Such services for the poor have helped Chavez maintain a core of followers despite high inflation, rampant gun violence, trash-strewn cities and other problems he has failed to fix.
For many, the attachment to Chavez borders on religious reverence. His supporters wish each other "Feliz Chavidad" rather than "Feliz Navidad," or Merry Christmas. Government officials have started talking about Chavez like an omnipresent deity.
"Chavez is this cable car. Chavez is this great mission. The children are Chavez. The women are Chavez. The men are Chavez. We are all Chavez," Maduro said recently while inaugurating a cable car to bring people down from one of the vast slums that creep up Caracas' hillsides. "Comandante, take care of yourself, get better and we will be waiting for you here."
Crowds of red-clad supporters roar their approval each time Maduro reassures them. But on the streets, confusion reigns.
"People say he's going to get better," said Alibexi Birriel, an office manager eating at a Chinese restaurant on Christmas Day.
Her husband Richard Hernandez shook his head. "No. Most people say Chavez is going to die and that Nicolas Maduro is going to take power."
Birriel paused, chiming in, "Well, some think this whole thing is theater and that there's nothing wrong with him."
Hernandez, who described himself as a Chavez supporter but "not a fanatic," shrugged. "The opposition thinks that if Chavez died they are going to win the elections. That is not going to happen."
There have been some official details. Chavez, 58, first underwent surgery for an unspecified type of pelvic cancer in Cuba in June 2011 and went back this month after tests had found a return of malignant cells in the same area where tumors had already been twice removed. Venezuelan officials said that following a six-hour surgery Dec. 11, Chavez suffered internal bleeding that was stanched and a respiratory infection that was being treated.
Just five months earlier, Chavez had announced he was free of cancer. But he acknowledged the seriousness of his illness earlier before flying to Cuba this month by designating Maduro as his successor and telling his supporters to vote for the vice president should new elections be necessary. Outside doctors have said that judging from the information Chavez has provided, his cancer is likely terminal, though the government has never confirmed that.
On Christmas Eve, Maduro surprised Venezuelans by saying he had spoken to Chavez by telephone and that the president was up and walking. With no other details, that only set off another round of furious speculation.
"I don't think he can be standing up walking," said Dr. Gustavo Medrano, a lung specialist at the Centro Medico hospital in Caracas. "Unless ... there are a lot of lies in this and the surgery was not six hours ... but something else much simpler, much simpler, maybe a half-hour operation, or two hours, something like that and that he is now recovering. That is possible."
Chavez supporters tweeted their relief and joy. Opponents tweeted incredulity. They traded insults in the comment sections of newspaper websites. Some posters demanded to know where the proof was that the president was even still alive. Others wondered if he had ever been sick in the first place. Chavez supporters shot back that the rumor-mongering should stop.
One Chavez foe finally posted on the Ultimas Noticias newspaper website, "Bla, bla, bla ... He's getting better, he's dying, he has nothing, he's strong as a bull, he can't get of bed, all the hypotheses are valid because there is no proof of anything."
Amid the raging rumors, Chavez's daughter, Maria Gabriela Chavez, sent out a Twitter message from Havana last week pleading for it all to stop.
"Respect for my family and especially respect for my people. Enough lies! We are with papa. ALIVE, fighting and recovering. WITH GOD," she wrote.
Teresa Maniglia, a press officer at the presidential palace, has kept up a steady stream of cheerleading tweets.
"CHAVEZ all the time."
That's for sure.
______
Follow Alexandra Olson on Twitter at http://twitter.com/alexolson99
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By Billy Steele, Sarah Silbert and Christopher Trout
Illustration By ILoveDust
While planet Earth has yet to meet its demise, the end of 2012 is nigh. It was a year of lengthy legal battles and shifting power dynamics in the tech industry. It brought with it great advancements and great failures -- and, for some, the promise of the end of days. We've combed our archives to bring you just a few of the stories that made the biggest impact on our reporting this year. Herewith, an abridged look back at the year that was.
Continue reading 2012 Year in tech: A timeline
Filed under: Cellphones, Desktops, Cameras, Displays, Misc, Gaming, Home Entertainment, Household, Laptops, Tablets, Transportation, Wearables, Wireless, Networking, Science, Internet, Software, HD, Mobile, Alt
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/12/28/2012-year-in-tech-a-timeline/
MOSCOW (AP) ? Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday he will sign a controversial bill barring Americans from adopting Russian children, while the Kremlin's children's rights advocate recommended extending the ban to the rest of the world.
The bill is part of the country's increasingly confrontational stance with the West and has angered some Russians who argue it victimizes children to make a political point.
The law would block dozens of Russian children now in the process of being adopted by American families from leaving the country and cut off a major route out of often-dismal orphanages. The U.S. is the biggest destination for adopted Russian children ? more than 60,000 of them have been taken in by Americans over the past two decades.
"I still don't see any reasons why I should not sign it," Putin said at a televised meeting. He went on to say that he "intends" to do so.
UNICEF estimates that there are about 740,000 children not in parental custody in Russia, while only 18,000 Russians are now waiting to adopt a child. Russian officials say they want to encourage more Russians to adopt Russian orphans.
Children's rights ombudsman Pavel Astakhov on Thursday petitioned the president to extend the ban to other countries.
"There is huge money and questionable people involved in the semi-legal schemes of exporting children," he tweeted.
Kremlin critics say Astakhov is trying to extend the ban only to get more publicity and win more favors with Putin. A graduate of the KGB law school and a celebrity lawyer, Astakhov was a pro-Putin activist before becoming children's rights ombudsman and is now seen as the Kremlin's voice on adoption issues.
"This is cynicism beyond limits," opposition leader Ilya Yashin tweeted. "The children rights ombudsman is depriving children of a future."
The bill is retaliation for an American law that calls for sanctions against Russian officials deemed to be human rights violators.
The U.S. law, called the Magnitsky Act, stems from the case of Sergei Magnitsky, a Russian lawyer who died in jail after being arrested by police officers whom he accused of a $230 million tax fraud. The law prohibits officials allegedly involved in his death from entering the U.S.
Kremlin critics say that means Russian officials who own property in the West and send their children to Western schools would lose access to their assets and families.
Putin said U.S. authorities routinely let Americans suspected of violence toward Russian adoptees go unpunished ? a clear reference to Dima Yakovlev, a Russian toddler for whom the adoption bill is named. The child was adopted by Americans and then died in 2008 after his father left him in a car in broiling heat for hours. The father was found not guilty of involuntary manslaughter.
The U.S. State Department says it regrets the Russian Parliament's decision to pass the bill, saying it would prevent many children from growing up in families.
Astakhov said Wednesday that 46 children who were about to be adopted in the U.S. would remain in Russia if the bill comes into effect.
The passage of the bill follows weeks of a hysterical media campaign on Kremlin-controlled television that lambasts American adoptive parents and adoption agencies that allegedly bribe their way into getting Russian children.
A few lawmakers claimed that some Russian children were adopted by Americans only to be used for organ transplants and become sex toys or cannon fodder for the U.S. Army. A spokesman with Russia's dominant Orthodox Church said that the children adopted by foreigners and raised outside the church will not "enter God's kingdom."
Critics of the bill have left dozens of stuffed toys and candles outside the parliament's lower and upper houses to express solidarity with Russian orphans.
___
Mansur Mirovalev contributed to this report
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/putin-says-sign-anti-us-adoptions-bill-122506016.html
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President Barack Obama waves to reporters as he steps off the Marine One helicopter and walks on the South Lawn at the White House in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 27, 2012, as he returns early from his Hawaii vacation for meetings on the fiscal cliff. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
President Barack Obama waves to reporters as he steps off the Marine One helicopter and walks on the South Lawn at the White House in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 27, 2012, as he returns early from his Hawaii vacation for meetings on the fiscal cliff. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
House Minority Whip Rep. Steny Hoyer of Md., pauses during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 27, 2012, where he urged House Republicans to end the pro forma session and call the House back into legislative session to negotiate a solution to the fiscal cliff. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky. walks to the Senate floor on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 27, 2012. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
WASHINGTON (AP) ? The end game at hand, President Barack Obama and congressional leaders made a final stab at compromise Friday to prevent a toxic blend of middle-class tax increases and spending cuts from taking effect at the turn of the new year.
Success was far from guaranteed in an atmosphere of political mistrust ? even on a slimmed-down deal that postponed hard decisions about spending cuts into 2013, and pessimism vied with optimism in a Capitol where lawmakers grumbled about the likelihood of spending the new year holiday in the Capitol.
"The clock is ticking," Sen. Max Baucus, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said in remarks on the Senate floor as Obama and congressional leaders were meeting several blocks away at the White House. "My message to them is simple. We can do this. We can get this done, and we must," added the Montana Democrat.
Congressional Democrats said Obama was ready with a revised offer to present.
But that drew a denial from a person familiar with the talks, who said the president would review his proposal from a week ago, when he urged lawmakers to preserve tax cuts for most while letting rates rise above incomes of $250,000 a year. At the same time, Obama said lawmakers should extend unemployment benefits for the long-term jobless. The person was unauthorized to discuss the private meeting publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The meeting lasted a little over an hour and neither the president nor the four lawmakers spoke with reporters before or immediately after the session.
The guest list included two Republicans, House Speaker John Boehner, and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell; as well as Democrats Harry Reid, the Senate Majority Leader, and Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California, her party's leader in the House.
The same group last met more than a month ago and emerged expressing optimism they could strike a deal that avoided the fiscal cliff. At that point, Boehner had already said he was willing to let tax revenues rise as part of an agreement, and the president and his Democratic allies said they were ready to accept spending cuts.
Since then, though, talks between Obama and Boehner faltered, the speaker struggled to control his rebellious rank and file, and Reid and McConnell sparred almost daily in speeches on the Senate floor. Through it all, Wall Street has paid close attention, and in the moments before the meeting, stocks were trading lower for the fifth day in a row.
The core issue is the same as it has been for more than a year, Obama's demand for tax rates to rise on upper incomes while remaining at current levels for most Americans. He made the proposal central to his successful campaign for re-election, when he said incomes above $200,000 for individuals and $250,000 for couples should rise to 39.6 percent from the current 35 percent.
Boehner refused for weeks to accept any rate increases, and simultaneously accused Obama of skimping on the spending cuts he would support as part of a balanced deal to reduce deficits, remove the threat of spending cuts and prevent the across-the-board tax cuts.
Last week, the Ohio Republican pivoted and presented a Plan B measure that would have let rates rise on million-dollar earners. That was well above Obama's latest offer, which called for a $400,000 threshold, but more than the speaker's rank and file were willing to accept.
Facing defeat, Boehner scrapped plans for a vote, leaving the economy on track for the cliff that political leaders in both parties had said they could avoid. In the aftermath, Democrats said they doubted any compromise was possible until Boehner has been elected to a second term as speaker when the new Congress convenes on Jan. 3.
Apart from income tax rates, congressional officials in both parties said a handful of other issues were the subject of private talks in the Capitol. These included the Alternative Minimum Tax, which would effectively raise taxes on millions of upper-middle-class families unless Congress acts; as well as taxes on capital gains, dividends and estates.
In addition, benefits for the long-term unemployed are due to expire in the next few days, and doctors face the prospect of a deep cut in the fees they receive for treating Medicare patients unless legislation is passed to prevent it.
Further compounding the year-end maneuvering, there are warnings that the price of milk could virtually double beginning next year.
Congressional officials said that under current law, the federal government is obligated to maintain prices so that fluid milk sells for about $20 per hundredweight. If the law lapses, the Department of Agriculture would be required to maintain a price closer to $36 of $38 per hundredweight, they said. It is unclear when price increases might be felt by consumers.
______
Associated Press writers Alan Fram and Andrew Taylor contributed to this report.
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To search for?real estate in?Naples, Bonita Springs, Estero or Marco Island, Florida, click?HERE.
John R. Wood Realtors ? The Symbol of Local Knowledge.
Don?t forget to Find Us on Facebook.
According the the National Association of Realtors? (NAR) 2012 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, a homeowner selling their home with a REALTOR is a difficult task!
Observe the chart below:
Only nine percent of recent sellers reported selling their homes as a FSBO ? sales have dropped rapidly from 2003 when they were at 14 percent. ?Understanding and performing the paperwork was the most difficult task reported by ?FSBO sellers, followed by getting the price right and preparing and fixing up the home for sale.
It?s no wonder that Sellers are turning to agents to help sell their homes at higher rates than in the past ? 88 percent of home sales were agent-assisted compared to 82 percent in 2004.
For information about how to get your home in Southwest Florida sold, contact a John R. Wood Agent today!
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Source: NAR, Economist?s Outlook
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For those who may have the entrepreneurial spirit, locating farm and ranch in Shakopee MN could be the perfect situation. What you may or could not recognize is that this sort of life is essentially a method to integrate both household and work. Make no doubt about it, life on the farm and ranch in Shakopee MN is a real company. It is difficult work, either, however lots of people would not return to living any other way.
Kinds of Farm and Ranch in Shakopee MN
For starters, there are lots of different kinds of farm and ranch in Shakopee MN. These could include dairy farms, cattle ranches, growing crops (of many different selections), orchards and even a poultry farm or ranch. Which kind you decide is right for you will depend upon how much land is offered, its place and a number of various other aspects.
There are a number of other kinds of land which are closely connected to farm and ranch in Shakopee MN. For example, you might be thinking about hunting land or timber land or even land for grazing a herd of livestock. There are even real estate agents that concentrate on some of these kinds of farm and ranch in Shakopee MN.
The Family Farm and Ranch in Shakopee MN
While numerous of the trends are against the small family members farm and ranch in Shakopee MN, there are still many people participated in this sort of way of living. There is something about being able to live off the land, consuming just what you grow and / or raise, plus being able to sell enough of this to support your family members at the same time.
The family farm and ranch in Shakopee MN is also a business venture. Prior to choosing to enter this type of lifestyle it is best to know precisely what to expect. There will certainly be costs as you start to farm or raise pets. It is additionally essential to understand what your crops or products will certainly be sold for. Of course there are constantly fluctuations in any type of market, consisting of crops and cattle and anything else which can be produced on a farm and ranch in Shakopee MN.
Benefits of Life on the Farm and Ranch in Shakopee MN
There are a number of exceptional advantages to life on the farm and ranch in Shakopee MN. For starters, you must be anticipating consuming many of what you expand and raise. This must typically translate into a much healthier diet and design of life. Picture having the ability to consume your very own fresh expanded vegetables and fruits, drink milk from your own cows, fresh eggs and meat from your very own livestock. Compared to the hormone feed beef and antibiotic and pesticide loaded vegetables and fruit, you are likely to lose a great deal of weight and feel a lot more energetic and healthy.
Yet another advantage of life on the farm and ranch in Shakopee MN is that you (and your family) will be closer to nature. You will likely see a lot more range of plant and animal life than it would be feasible to note while in the city. It is also much simpler to appreciate nature by much more closely noting her cycles and climate patterns.
All of your household will be inculcated with the excellents of effort and instructed good wholesome American values. Effort is definitely not the opponent of those living on the farm and ranch in Shakopee MN. On top of this, you will certainly discover the best ways to operate all different kinds of equipment and devices. Plus, there will not be any need to go to the fitness center for an excellent workout, since farm life is enough of an exercise!
For many people, being far from the hustle and bustle of the city is another great benefit of being on the farm and ranch in Shakopee MN. There will certainly not be any type of traffic, no more 9 to 5, no more daily commute and being hurried, needing to hurry everywhere. You will certainly be independent and pretty much able to do things exactly the method you wish; no boss is looking over your shoulder.
Drawbacks of Life on the Farm and Ranch in Shakopee MN
Possibly many of the benefits do not apply or not have you too ecstatic about life on the farm and ranch in Shakopee MN? Definitely there are additionally some negatives to consider before jumping into this kind of way of living.
For many people, not being in the urban area might be considered a downside of life on the farm and ranch in Shakopee MN. Some individuals actually enjoy being in the urban area and the busyness of everything going on. If this is you, than it might be hard to live on the farm and ranch in Shakopee MN.
Another prospective downside is having to count on your very own efforts. Some people merely were not constructed to be entrepreneurs. If the concept of not having an income hanging around each week appears merely frightening, life on the farm and ranch in Shakopee MN could be challenging.
Some people are just not able to deal with the daily grind of farm work. It demands waking early, doing duties every day and ensuring that all of the work gets done when it should. It is challenging being on the farm and ranch in Shakopee MN, understanding that it all relies on your efforts. In this type of life it is crucial to make your very own protection.
Discovering Your Farm and Ranch in Shakopee MN
Finding land to make use of for your farm and ranch in Shakopee MN can be as easy as calling a credible real estate company. There are even certain companies which specialize in this sort of land. Of course, the price array you are considering will also have a bearing on what kind of land may be readily available.
Many people have the dream of getting closer to nature and leaving the urban area to offer their households a more healthy life. Locating your very own farm and ranch in Shakopee MN could be just what you have actually been seeking. There are lots of advantages of this sort of way of life, but it is definitely not for everybody and must only be done after extremely mindful consideration and research.
Source: http://find-your-perfect-home.com/farms/minneapolis-mn/shakopee-farm-ranch/
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Orlando mom adopts 4 from foster care, quickly loses 2 boys to rare genetic disease
MIAMI ? When Felicia Peete adopted four young siblings from foster care, she moved out of her Orlando area retirement community into a big new home where they could sing and roller-skate, far away from the memories of living in cars and homeless shelters. She imagined birthday and graduation celebrations with her four great nephews and niece, never dreaming that within two years she?d be planning funerals for her eight and nine-year old sons.
The children, all under the age of seven, had a tumultuous two years before 55-year-old Peete adopted them in 2010. They had stopped going to school, their father went to prison and their mother was struggling with drug abuse. They lacked basic hygiene and didn?t know how to use toilet paper or brush their teeth. The training was arduous at times with four little ones, but ?Mama Gail? as they called her, was good natured and she longed to make up for their past hurts.
But several months after the adoption, Peete worried something was wrong with then 7-year-old Tyler. The math whiz with a sophisticated vocabulary went from helping his siblings with their homework to getting D?s and F?s in school. Doctors treated him for hyperactivity disorder, but the symptoms progressed. Tyler began drooling and dragging his right leg.
After a series of lengthy genetic tests, Tyler was diagnosed with Adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD), a rare genetic disease that typically strikes young boys, leading to blindness, deafness and dementia and killing them within a few years.
And then the unthinkable happened. Tyjuan, then seven, and five-year-old Tyveon were diagnosed several months later. Their sister Tyanna was spared.
?I was just really scared. I wanted to just grab them and save them and take them away. I wanted to be God,? said Peete.
Tyler?s symptoms progressed quickly. Within four months he?d stopped walking, lost his sight and needed a feeding tube.
When Tyler struggled to walk, Tyjuan grabbed his hand and helped him along. When Tyler had a bathroom accident, Tyjuan bathed him.
Peete was honest with the children about Tyler?s condition.
Tyjuan rubbed Tyler?s forehead and straightened his blanket the day before he died in hospice care last January.
?You can?t get used to that, you can?t prepare yourself to that,? said Peete, her voice breaking.
Then, little Tyveon was hospitalized for nearly four months after his brain started swelling. In the hospital bed next to his, his brother Tyjuan, was recovering from a stem cell treatment Peete hoped would save his life. The boys walked the hospital hallways together, dragging along their metal polls with medical tubes.
Peete spent two months in a North Carolina hospital where Tyjuan underwent three unsuccessful stem cell transplants.
No longer able to talk, the always affectionate Tyjuan often signed ?I love you? and, blew kisses to comfort ?Mama Gail?. Peete helped him Skype with his two siblings back in Orlando and tried to stay positive.
?About a week before he died he looked at me and smiled and the tears rolled down his eyes like he knew what was going to happen and he knew I was going to be in pain. He just looked at me and I knew he was saying, ?I love you, Mama, I?m going to be OK,?.?
The eight-year-old died in the hospital this past fall, away from his beloved siblings in a strange city. Peete waited to tell the other children in person that Tyjuan was in heaven with Tyler helping God watch over them.
As the family reeled from the boys? deaths, medical expenses were mounting. Tyveon was on a dozen medications a day. Peete barely had time to pay off Tyler?s funeral and now she was planning Tyjuan?s. She lost her sales job at a cable company and took a pay cut to work from home to as the boys? medical needs grew. This December, she moved the family into a smaller house along with her two grown daughters, who often watch the children.
Peete tried to comfort herself by watching videos of the boys singing and dancing, but she grew angry at God and stopped going to church. She blamed child welfare workers for not diagnosing the boys while in foster care and blamed herself for not being able to save them.
Tyanna has grown quiet and angry. Tyveon often plays a gospel song about heaven that reminds him of his brothers and asks to go to church.
But the community has rallied around them.
An anonymous donor stepped forward this month to pay off $1,700 of Tyjuan?s outstanding funeral bill. The Department of Children and Families worked with organizations to buy them nearly $600 worth of Christmas presents.
?Through all of the heartache and loss of both boys, loss of her job, having to move into a smaller home, and getting treatment for Tyveon, Mrs. Peete has been kind and hopeful,? said Salena Burden, an adoption caseworker.
Tyveon?s treatments have been successful because he was diagnosed at a younger age than his brothers. As Peete watches, she said her raw emotions are healing.
Last Sunday, she went back to church for the first time since the boys? deaths.
?
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While I enjoy some time off with my family, I would like to share with you some of my favorite blog posts from the past. So here is today?s Momof6 Memory?
Under the header of ?Things You Wished Your Mother Would Have Warned You About?? comes the concept that kids and pets go together. Now some of your garden-variety pets are of the furry and cute kind? like this adorable face here:
?(Please note that this dog does NOT belong lounging around on my daughter?s bed! But like the kids, he has selective listening skills!)
And some are more along the variety of ?sure, why not let kid have a fish / hermit crab / hamster / guinea pig?.. because it?s not going to be around for long anyway.? Yeah, right.
Nearly three years ago, my kids begged me to allow them to play one of those carnival games where you have to bounce the ping pong ball into a little fish bowl to win the prize- which was a goldfish. I figured why not? There?s no way that they are actually going to get the ping pong ball into one of those little jars? (I mean don?t they rig those carnival games so no one ever wins?).. and even if they do, the poor little fishie will probably go belly-up before the end of the weekend.
Well, wouldn?t you know it? We won two.
So we dumped the two of them into a fish tank that we already owned (I once had a goldfish in college), and after driving from store to store, eventually hitting every pet store in a 30-mile radius of our house, I was finally able to round up some goldfish food (duh- every other kid in town won a goldfish at the same carnival, so there was nary a flake of fish food to be found!) for our new ?pets?. But when I got home, even after I started tossing food into the tank? the bigger fish kept picking on the little fish? biting his tale, chasing him around the tank, and calling him names! We had a full-fledged bully on our hands! And the kids were getting upset?.
?Mommy? DO something!?
So off I went back to the pet store, to purchase another fish tank set up, for the goldfish that we had won at the carnival. Lucky, lucky us.
So now we had two fish in two fish tanks?. to feed? to talk to? to clean their icky tanks when they become so green that you can barely see the fish anymore. Thankfully, the kids have learned the tough lesson about pets and responsibilities. Not.
Three long years we?ve had these little lovelies. And just for reference, I looked it up just now on wikihow, and goldfish live on average 6 years! Who knew? And according to the Guiness Book of World Records, a fish named Tish lived for 43 years after being won at a fair in England in 1956! (I think I?d better go and update the will?.)
So you would think that I learned my lesson and put my foot down when it comes to owning some more ?simple? pets, right?
Not exactly.
Every year at our elementary school, each grade learns about one type of animal in science class. My favorites are the butterflies and the newts? because when the kids are done with their lesson, these critters are released into the wild- where they can be happy and free. But other grades study animals that can be taken home as pets, after the class has completed their studies- provided the little things are still alive after being handled by 20+ inquisitive grade-schoolers day after day. And to determine which kids get to take home the critters, the teachers hold a lottery- sending home a permission slip to make sure that you will allow such a creature reside in the comfort of your own home. Now what kind of parent can gaze into the hopeful face of their young-one and deny them the opportunity to ?win the class pet??
Apparently- not me.
Which is how over the years I?ve become the not-so-proud parent of one crayfish (who ultimately died a hideous death in front of all of the kids when he became stuck in his shell while molting), and one hermit crab who now goes by the name of Caitlyn. And is about to turn (at least) one year old (she?s not telling us her real age).
So I?m just telling you?
if you cave into the whims of your children and go ahead and allow them to have a pet, it might be living with you for a long, long time. You?ve been warned!
Source: http://momof6.com/on-my-mind/pets-can-live-a-long-long-time-a-cautionary-tale-a-momof6-memory/
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I?m losing my hearing so my doctor has scheduled an audiological evaluation. What will this evaluation tell me?
An audiological evaluation identifies the severity of your hearing loss and the frequency range in which it occurs. This information may help identify the cause of your hearing loss. It?s also essential for determining whether you could benefit from a hearing aid and, if so, which style and type would help the most.
When a sound wave enters your ear, it hits the eardrum. Several tiny bones transmit sound waves from the eardrum through fluid, into the inner ear. There lies a snail-shaped organ called the cochlea that is covered with tiny hairs. These hairs generate electrical signals that travel along the hearing nerve (the auditory nerve) to the brain. (See illustration.)
How we hear
Sound travels in waves through the air (A) into the ear canal (B), where it is amplified and vibrates the eardrum (C). The eardrum vibrates the tiny bones known as the ossicles (D), which transmit the vibrations through the oval window and into the fluid in the cochlea in the inner ear. The cochlear fluid (E) moves in waves, setting in motion the sensory hair cells inside the organ. The hair cells release electrochemical signals that travel along more than 30,000 auditory nerve pathways into the brain (F). ? |
The evaluation is done by a hearing specialist, or audiologist, in a specially constructed booth that shuts out all unwanted noise. It tests the different parts of the ear that are necessary for hearing:
Two additional tests will evaluate how well you hear and understand spoken words:
Today?s technology for testing your hearing has improved greatly since I was in medical school. Even greater advances have been made in hearing aids. They not only work better but they?ve also become tiny ? people often don?t notice you have one. For many of my patients, hearing tests followed by the right hearing aid has greatly improved the quality of their lives.
Source: http://www.askdoctork.com/how-is-hearing-loss-tested-201212264015
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Chris Brown and Rihanna attend the NBA game between the New York Knicks and the Los Angeles Lakers on Dec. 25, 2012, in Los AngelesPhoto by Victor Decolongon/Getty Images.
This exchange has been ridiculously stimulating and challenging. Thanks for the suggestions (downloading those Cassie mixtapes right now, Lindsay) and the shout-outs to music I wrongly overlooked on my lists?Will, Theo Bleckmann?s version of? ?Army Dreamers? is my fave Kate Bush cover evah. We did a darn good job covering pop?s bases in the midst of Yule logging and/or getting Chinese and a movie on this chopped and Scrooged holiday.
However. There is one subject we?ve mostly left untouched, maybe because it?s such an uncomfortable one. Jason opened the door for us to discuss Rihanna?s strange year of triumphs and provocations, pointing to her influence on the nature of stardom itself, which grows in direct proportion to her obnoxiousness. I was really hoping one of you would enter this treacherous area, but I?m up last, so here I go.
I call Rihanna obnoxious even though I?m her conflicted (and lately fading) fan, because I think it?s important to acknowledge that this massively successful 24-year-old is an active player in a narrative that drives culture-arbiters like us crazy. How could she? we ask ourselves on repeat as she consorts with her prototypical Wrong Man, indulges in excess that?s highly inappropriate for this age of austerity, and cranks out hit after mind-numbing hit. (I?m particularly peeved by the one that I associated with a sweet ad for Comfort Inn until she seized and strangled it.)
Just like the rise of the Real Housewives and Honey Boo-Boo, Rihanna?s saga implicates all of us, because we?re the ones following her on Twitter, downloading her duets with that thug (her word, not mine), and returning to the 2009 police report of her beating at his hands, all while sternly saying our interest is strictly cautionary. In response, Rihanna play-acts rebellion in ways that wreck observers? expectations. She?s a victim? It?s nobody?s business. (Billie Holiday sang that once, too.) She?s a survivor? She declares herself ready to die. She?s finally free? ?Boy, I just wanna be in your possession,? she sings, cuddling Chris Brown courtside.
Those last examples all come from this year?s Unapologetic, an album that vexed even the critics who liked it. Its mix of what seems disturbingly personal and what works as purely commercial supports Rihanna?s projects of taking hold of her own story and refusing to make it palatable. As I?m reading her motives right now, they align with those of many famous women who?ve come to experience public life as a violation. Choosing a companion others condemn is a time-honored way of poking holes in a confining persona. The most relevant comparison to Rihanna is Whitney Houston, whose love for a dangerous bad boy contributed to her eventual destruction. But you can go all the way back to Fanny Brice, who married the low-level gangster Nicky Arnstein in 1918, a choice that put a dent in her flourishing vaudeville career.
Brice?s disastrous marriage also gave her a signature song: ?My Man,? which is so close in spirit to some of Rihanna?s recent ballads that I?m hoping for a David Guetta remix. Pop audiences have always fed off the pathos of stars. Want inspiration? Listen to this speech by Lana Wachowski?or the latest Pink album, The Truth About Love, which deals with many of the same issues that fascinate Rihanna but has more humor and wisdom, not to mention serious belting.
If Rihanna?s music fails to inspire or instruct, it does continue to do something unexpected. Her voice comforts. I?m always surprised at how many writers use words like ?blank? or ?distanced? to describe Rihanna?s voice. I think its limitations?a constricted range, no falsetto, no real sense of phrasing?make it all the more believable, communicating uncertainty and an acute awareness of pain. No amount of Auto-Tune removes her blue tinge, and strangely, it becomes a salve. The first 10 times I heard ?Diamonds,? her latest (Sia-penned) club banger, I hated its chirpy, overenunciated hook. By the 20th time, though, I started to notice the way Rihanna sings the chorus?s final word, ?sky?: She descends into it with all her weight, like she?s tired but determined to protect herself and her beloved. That heaviness, communicated through unflashy moments of pure feeling, injects calm and tenderness into the swirl and clatter of Rihanna?s music.
I think this submerged, soothing quality factors into Rihanna?s stunning popularity. Who didn?t need a bit of succor in such a difficult year? The children?s choirs that popped up everywhere after the Sandy Hook tragedy struck me as maudlin; yet the mere tone of young voices harmonizing did calm the nerves and help the tears flow a little more gently. I want to leave you with this notion of comfort, an often overlooked but crucial offering of pop music. And the great imperfect voice that conveyed it better than anyone?s in 2012 belonged to Leonard Cohen.
At least one high-profile ersatz choir?the cast of The Voice?turned to Cohen?s much-abused modern hymn, ?Hallelujah,? in the wake of Sandy Hook. There?s no need to go to that old saw. In February, the 78-year-old guru-rabbi-king of the ladies? men released Old Ideas, a song collection that communicates everything necessary about loss: how much it hurts, how the mind tries to make up for it, how it owns every mortal in the end. And, crucially, Cohen dwells deeply within the reality that loss defines being alive. His baritone a snowy croak lit up from within, Cohen cries with the pain of a shattered heart. But as always, he welcomes the brokenness:
If your heart is torn
I don?t wonder why
If the night is long
Here?s my lullaby
Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=3f1e3c4ff3d687ec855ee0488457df1f
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