Palestinians to seek UN recognition next month

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) ? The Palestinian president is moving forward with his plan to seek upgraded observer status at the United Nations next month, despite American and Israeli threats of financial or diplomatic retaliation, officials said Sunday.

The decision sets the stage for a new showdown between Israel and the Palestinians at the world body, following last year's attempt by the Palestinians to seek status as a full member state. Although that initiative failed to pass the U.N. Security Council, it caused months of diplomatic tensions with Israel.

"We will go to the U.N. regardless of any threats," said Tawfik Tirawi, a senior member of President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement. "I expect the Israelis to take punitive measures against us, if we win this status, but this is our choice and we will not retract it."

This year, the Palestinians are seeking "nonmember state" status in the U.N. General Assembly, where passage is assured. The 193-member assembly is dominated by developing nations sympathetic to the Palestinian cause. Officials say they are looking for what they call a "quality" majority that includes European countries as well, though Germany and Britain, for instance, have been cool to the Palestinian plan.

While upgraded status would not change the situation on the ground, the Palestinians say the move is still significant. They will ask for international recognition of a Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem, territories captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war.

They believe the U.N. vote would then require Israel to withdraw to the pre-1967 lines or face international legal action. Israel rejects a full return to those lines, and says the borders between Israel and a future Palestine must be reached through direct negotiations.

The Palestinians also hope to use upgraded status to join additional U.N. bodies, such as the International Criminal Court, where they could attempt to prosecute Israel on war crimes violations. The Palestinians last year received membership into UNESCO, the U.N. cultural agency. Over Israeli objections, they subsequently won recognition of the Church of the Nativity in the West Bank town of Bethlehem as an endangered heritage site.

A Palestinian official said Abbas is expected to formally put his request to the General Assembly on Nov. 15 or Nov. 29.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because no formal decision has been made.

Both dates are symbolic. The 15th is the anniversary of the 1988 Palestinian declaration of independence. The 29th is the anniversary of the 1947 U.N. decision to partition of what was then British-ruled Palestine into Israeli and Arab territories. Jewish leaders agreed, but Arabs rejected the plan, war erupted, and the Palestinians remain without a state. The U.N. now observes Nov. 29 as its annual day of solidarity with the Palestinians.

The Palestinians last year decided to turn to the U.N. after years of deadlock in peace efforts with Israel. Negotiations have been frozen since late 2008, in large part over Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank and east Jerusalem. The Palestinians say they will not resume talks without a settlement freeze.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved a partial settlement freeze in 2009, but he refused to extend the slowdown when it expired, and a short-lived round of peace talks collapsed just weeks after they were launched.

Abbas has said he will be ready to resume talks after the U.N. vote, perhaps even without a settlement freeze.

While Netanyahu has in the past said he is ready to talk without preconditions, he has not said how he would react to a U.N. vote.

Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said Israel has not yet decided how to respond, but he warned that U.N. recognition would "irreversibly poison the atmosphere" and make it impossible to resume peace talks.

"The Palestinians are openly declaring their intention to use this recognition as a weapon in an ever continuing diplomatic war they intend to wage against Israel," he said. "If they are going to wage a legal and diplomatic war against Israel, what are the odds of returning to the negotiating table?"

Last year, Israel withheld millions of dollars in tax transfers to the Palestinians after their attempt to win full membership. That gambit was opposed by the United States, which threatened to use its veto power in the Security Council to block the bid.

The U.S. has not publicly said how it will respond this time, though Palestinian officials say Washington has also threatened to cut off vital financial aid to the cash-strapped Palestinian Authority.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/palestinians-seek-un-recognition-next-month-152509581.html

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Maximize Your Happiness By Following These Self Help Principles ...

You should work to improve your life if you are not satisfied. To help you get started, check out the tips below.

Take a trip to the library for inspiration. A religious text might work for some people, while others may prefer a book that contains inspirational quotes. Having something that you can easily turn to when times get tough and you need encouragement gives you a better mind set, and helps you handle your life better.

You must feel confident in your strengths in order to promote yourself. Everyone has unique strengths, which helps to make this world a better and more diverse place. Don?t worry about the skills you haven?t acquired yet, focus your attention on the skills you are already good at.

To grow over the years, you have to have a great attitude. A bad attitude can only lead you down the wrong path in life and prevent you from achieving all that you can. Maintain a positive approach to life in order to reach your goals.

Base your development plan on your values and goals. Trying to change yourself in ways that are not in line with your values, is not a good idea. Instead, focus on all that is important in your life, and work to improve those things. Doing this will help you make changes throughout your life that can benefit you.

Most employers are more concerned about the degree itself, rather than where it came from. Some large businesses, such as financial institutions, may be an exception. Just get a college degree so that doors will open to you.

Keep track of your progress and learn to organize yourself. Setting up a sequence of small steps needed to reach your goal will make its achievement easier. Ten small steps are an easier path than three giant ones. You can use off-the-shelf tools like day planners or diaries to monitor your personal development progress.

It?s often said that listening is no less important than speaking when it comes to effective communication. If you are pursuing personal development goals, this is especially true for you! Listening helps to improve the words you are saying and the sentences that you are constructing. You will not know what you want out of life when you do not heed your instincts.

Personal development comes from the decisions that you make when you choose not to miss an opportunity. Make decisions based on your own knowledge and what you can learn from your research. Being able to make good decisions sometime requires you to trust your instincts. Even bad decisions serve a purpose, as they teach valuable lessons. If you make a wrong move, you will know next time to do something different.

Don?t allow buying sprees to become an emotional release. If you focus your time on something productive rather than shopping, you?ll save money, and your house won?t look like a big mess.

For many people, faith and love are the core components of self improvement. There is no faith without love. Make sure that you are never take your faith for granted. Remember to be good to others and make the faith you have mean something.

During the day, try to find ways to push yourself to the limit. These new challenges can create many possibilities. You are sure to learn new things while also developing new skills. You can set the bar for something that no one had ever accomplished. Be a shepherd rather than a sheeple. Don?t just follow others because it?s easy or expedient.

Always aspire to do your best at everything you do. If you are passionate enough, you can become truly great. Do not worry if you are not the best at what you do: the important part is to enjoy it and inspire others. You should always try to be the best you can be in your profession; your self-esteem will rise as a result.

A healthy lifestyle is only the beginning of your self improvement plan. Good health simply makes your whole life go better. When your health is good you think wisely and make good decisions. You also save money on medical expenses. Making healthy choices should be a top priority.

Try to make the most of your time at work and get more done. One thing that you should do is to take frequent breaks from your tasks. It may seem counterintuitive, but you can actually increase your productivity by taking frequent breaks. That way, you will be refreshed when you return to work and motivated to produce at a much higher level.

In conclusion, living a better life may not be as difficult as you might think. With you taking charge, consider the amazing benefits you?ll receive, including increasing your overall happiness and health!

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Tags: frequent breaks, personal development, save money

Source: http://lifecoachnet.com/maximize-your-happiness-by-following-these-self-help-principles-2/

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Marines, police prep for mock zombie invasion

SAN DIEGO (AP) ? Move over vampires, goblins and haunted houses, this kind of Halloween terror aims to shake up even the toughest warriors: An untold number of so-called zombies are coming to a counterterrorism summit attended by hundreds of Marines, Navy special ops, soldiers, police, firefighters and others to prepare them for their worst nightmares.

"This is a very real exercise, this is not some type of big costume party," said Brad Barker, president of Halo Corp, a security firm hosting the Oct. 31 training demonstration during the summit at a 44-acre Paradise Point Resort island on a San Diego bay. "Everything that will be simulated at this event has already happened, it just hasn't happened all at once on the same night. But the training is very real, it just happens to be the bad guys we're having a little fun with."

Hundreds of military, law enforcement and medical personnel will observe the Hollywood-style production of a zombie attack as part of their emergency response training.

In the scenario, a VIP and his personal detail are trapped in a village, surrounded by zombies when a bomb explodes. The VIP is wounded and his team must move through the town while dodging bullets and shooting back at the invading zombies. At one point, some members of the team are bit by zombies and must be taken to a field medical facility for decontamination and treatment.

"No one knows what the zombies will do in our scenario, but quite frankly no one knows what a terrorist will do," Barker said. "If a law enforcement officer sees a zombie and says, 'Freeze, get your hands in the air!' What's the zombie going to do? He's going to moan at you. If someone on PCP or some other psychotic drug is told that, the truth is he's not going to react to you."

The keynote speaker beforehand will be a retired top spook ? former CIA Director Michael Hayden.

"No doubt when a zombie apocalypse occurs, it's going to be a federal incident, so we're making it happen," Barker said. Since word got out about the exercise, they've had calls from "every whack job in the world" about whether the U.S. government is really preparing for a zombie event.

Called "Zombie Apocalypse," the exercise follows the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's campaign launched last year that urged Americans to get ready for a zombie apocalypse, as part of a catchy, public health message about the importance of emergency preparedness.

The Homeland Security Department jumped on board last month, telling citizens if they're prepared for a zombie attack, they'll be ready for real-life disasters like a hurricane, pandemic, earthquake or terrorist attack. A few suggestions were similar to a few of the 33 rules for dealing with zombies popularized in the 2009 movie "Zombieland," which included "always carry a change of underwear" and "when in doubt, know your way out."

San Diego-based Halo Corp. founded by former military special ops and intelligence personnel has been hosting the annual counterterrorism summit since 2006.

The five-day Halo counterterrorism summit is an approved training event by the Homeland Security Grant Program and the Urban Areas Security Initiative, which provide funds to pay for the coursework on everything from the battleground tactics to combat wounds to cybersecurity. The summit has a $1,000 registration fee and runs Oct. 29-Nov 2.

Conferences attended by government officials have come under heightened scrutiny following an inspector general's report on waste and abuse at a lavish 2010 Las Vegas conference that led to the resignation of General Services Administrator Martha Johnson. The Las Vegas conference featured a clown, a mind-reader and a rap video by an employee who made fun of the spending.

Joe Newman, spokesman of the watchdog organization Project on Government Oversight, said he does not see the zombie exercise as frivolous.

"We obviously are concerned about any expenditure that might seem frivolous or a waste of money but if they tie things together, there is a lesson there," Newman said. "Obviously we're not expecting a zombie apocalypse in the near future, but the effects of what might happen in a zombie apocalypse are probably similar to the type of things that happen in natural disasters and manmade disasters. They're just having fun with it. We don't have any problems with it as a teaching point."

Defense analyst Loren Thompson agreed.

"The defining characteristics of zombies are that they're unpredictable and resilient. That may be a good way to prepare for what the Pentagon calls asymmetric warfare," Thompson said.

Organizers can also avoid the pitfalls of using a mock enemy who could be identified by nationality, race or culture ? something that could potentially be seen as offensive.

"I can think of a couple of countries where the local leaders are somewhat zombie-like," he joked. "But nobody is going to take this personally."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/marines-police-prep-mock-zombie-invasion-180541102.html

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Overweight Pets A Growing Epidemic

A few rolls on a dog or some extra pounds on a cat may make the animal appear cuter to some, but the growing epidemic of pet obesity is concerning to veterinarians.

Senior veterinary surgeon Sean Wensley told CBSNews.com that it's never too late for owners to help their pets lose weight.

Wensley works with PDSA, a U.K. veterinary charity that provides free veterinary care to the sick and injured pets of people in need and promotes responsible pet ownership. In the U.K., they have a network of 50 PetAid associated hospitals and nearly 380 PetAid associated practices, and provided more than 2.4 million PDSA-funded treatments and more than 420,000 preventive treatments in 2011.

Recently PDSA sponsored the Pet Fit Club, a six-month competition to help overweight and obese pets shed pounds and improve their fitness and diet.

An estimated 54 percent of cats and dogs -- about 93 million animals -- in the U.S. are overweight or obese, according to the Association for Pet Obesity and Prevention. Twenty percent of all dogs and 22 percent of all cats in the U.S. are obese. On Oct. 10, the association conducts its National Pet Obesity Awareness Day to let owners know extra pounds can harm a pet's health.

In the U.K., Wensley estimates that one in three dogs and one in four cats have problems with the pounds.

To put it in human terms, a 10-pound Chihuahua is the equivalent a 5'4" woman weighing 242 pounds or a 5'9" man weighing 282 pounds, according to the APOP. A 15-pound domestic short-haired cat would be a 5'4" woman who weighs 218 pounds or a 5'9" man who weighs 254 pounds.

Wensley said many of these animals develop weight-related medical conditions like heart disease, certain types of cancer and osteoporosis. But, the biggest concern is the impact on their general quality of life because this problem is entirely preventable.

"For cats, you'll see they're reluctant to play and they are unable to enjoy life," he explained.

If you don't know what your pet should weigh, you can use a system used by vets called body condition scoring, which relies on the proper healthy shape for a healthy pet. Wensley said that if you look down from above your pet, you should see where the waist naturally tucks in below the rib cage near the pelvis. You should never be able to see the dog or cat's ribs, but you should be able to feel them.

Some problem areas for pets include abdominal fat for cats and fat near the base of the tail for dogs. Typically if these areas get pudgy, it correlates with a large amount of internal fat around the key organs.

The veterinarian believes that many animals are overweight these days because dog and cat food is often formulated to provide a balanced diet in the right amounts, and then owners give treats on top of the daily serving without lessening the food portion.

"We've had good advancements in health because of advancements in nutrition, but we still have a tendency to give treats, human scraps, store-bought treats," he said. "The feeding of treats creates a problem when different family members giving a little bit here and there."

Instead of always rewarding your dog or cat with a snack, try showing him more affection. Most pets respond to contact, so they don't necessarily need food to keep them happy. If you are trying to train a pet, make sure to cut back on their main food portion or feed them healthier treats.

"A little piece of cheese for a cat is like giving a human a hamburger," he said.

He also suggested always follow the packet feeding guidelines; don't rely on filling the bowl. Get a cheap electronic scale to help get the amounts exactly right.

Finally, don't forget to let your animals out and play with them. One misconception that people have is that cats don't play past the kitten stage. Cats especially love toys that mimic prey and move rapidly, so Wensley suggests rod-type toys to get the feline moving.

Source: http://www.wibw.com/home/nationalnews/headlines/Overweight-Pets-A-Growing-Epidemic-176168571.html

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France's president opens Elysee garden to public

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Latino House candidates set to make history

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) ? It is lunch hour at Barelas Coffee House, in the heart of one of Albuquerque's oldest Latino neighborhoods. Democratic House candidate Michelle Lujan Grisham weaves her way among the tables, searching for votes as waiters shuffle bowls of red chile and plates of enchiladas.

Lujan Grisham quickly finds Betty Minero, 88, who isn't bothered by the fact that Lujan Grisham, the daughter of a Mexican-American dentist and white mother, doesn't speak Spanish and worked for Gary Johnson, New Mexico's former Republican governor.

"She's going to make us proud," Minero says.

Lujan Grisham is part of the next generation of college-educated, middle-class Latino congressional candidates. Unlike many of their early predecessors, the new Latino candidates don't come from union or labor backgrounds, and some are seeking seats outside of predominantly Hispanic districts.

They are the beneficiaries of civil rights gains, demographic changes and new congressional seats created by recent redistricting. They include a former astronaut, a medical doctor with three degrees from Harvard, college professors, attorneys and children of immigrants and civil rights pioneers.

Together they have the potential to make history as the largest class of Latinos ever to enter Congress, in the largest increase in seats held by Latinos in a single election. Depending on how many win, their numbers in the House could bring the percentage of House seats held by Latinos nearly on par with their representation in the U.S. population. Latinos now number about 53 million in the U.S., about 17 percent of the population, with some 24 million eligible to vote.

While only about half of those eligible are expected to cast ballots, many are in battleground states that could help decide key races, including the race for the White House.

A total of 49 Latino candidates ? 32 Democrats, 16 Republicans and one without a declared party as allowed under a new California law ? are seeking House seats this year, according to the bipartisan National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials. Those numbers don't include Latinos running in third parties.

At least 27 are likely to win on Nov. 6, including 22 incumbents or Latinos who would replace other Latinos, NALEO said, and if they prevail in four additional, competitive races, the total could rise to as many as 31.

"That diversity has been missing in Congress," said Lujan Grisham, 53, the granddaughter of the first Latino chief justice of New Mexico's Supreme Court and a distant relative of former New Mexico Republican Rep. Manuel Lujan, who held the seat she seeks. She also is a former county commissioner and state Cabinet secretary.

Lujan Grisham's election would give New Mexico a majority Latino House delegation ? the first time since 1988 when the state elected Manuel Lujan and Bill Richardson to Congress.

While campaigning, they not only speak of reforming immigration law, but also expanding college access, the future of Medicare, the economy and fighting terrorism.

"These are people who aren't political animals," said Arturo Vargas, NALEO's executive director. "They didn't start out in politics but instead, spent time in other professions after going to college at some of the nation's top universities."

Vargas said he thinks this crop of Latino candidates is less ideologically entrenched and ideally could help bridge some efforts at bipartisanship. Those who support immigration reform may make it easier to get an immigration bill passed.

Lujan Grisham faces former state Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones, a Republican, in New Mexico's 1st Congressional District. It was historically Republican until 2009. The incumbent, Rep. Martin Heinrich, a Democrat, is running for Senate.

"It's a generation on the rise," said Texas Democratic Rep. Charlie Gonzalez, retiring chairman of the Hispanic Congressional Caucus and son of the late Democratic Rep. Henry B. Gonzalez, one of the caucus' founders. "They are continuing what everyone before them started, but in their own way."

Gonzalez said when his father was in the House, between 1961 and 1999, Congress regularly had only a handful of Hispanics as representatives. "It would be amazing if we could get to 30, when there used to be only a few I could count on one hand," he said.

Juan Gomez-Quinones, a history professor at the University of California at Los Angeles, said previous generations of Latinos who were sent to Congress came mostly from the southwest and had trouble navigating East Coast-based power structures.

But population changes have meant more congressional seats in the southwest. "They're no longer outsiders," said Gomez-Quinones, author of "Chicano Politics 1940-1990."

The new generation "is a sign that the Latino vote, Latino candidates, the makeup of the demography of the Latino candidates is changing with the times," said Maria Cardona, a Washington-based Democratic consultant.

It also reflects the youth of the Hispanic population, whose median age is 27, compared to 37 for the nation overall, while capturing the integration of children of Latino immigrants into American society. Three of the candidates in California are U.S.-born children of immigrants who overcame poverty and highly successful in their careers.

All three House districts in New Mexico, the most Hispanic state in the nation, have Latino candidates. California is expected to nearly double the number of Latinos in its congressional delegation from 6 to 11.

In Florida, a state with three GOP Latinos in Congress, has one competitive race between Rep. David Rivera and Democratic challenger Joe Garcia in the state's 26th District.

Los Angeles City Councilmember Tony Cardenas and California state Sen. Juan Vargas, both Democrats, are running in open seats where Latino voters have a strong chance to determine the outcome.

Two Democrats, Jose Hernandez and Raul Ruiz, and a Republican, former California Lt. Gov. Abel Maldonado, are running in districts where they must also win non-Latino votes. All three are children of farmworkers and at least one immigrant parent with "rags-to-riches" stories that appeal across communities and parties.

Hernandez, 50, is challenging Rep. Jeff Denham, a Republican, in California's newly created 10th Congressional District. He stresses his educational background and dreams of going to space as a child.

"I'm not a politician," he says in the ad. "I'm an astronaut and an engineer."

Ruiz, a Harvard-trained physician with two additional graduate degrees from the school, is in a tight race with GOP Rep. Mary Bono Mack for California's redrawn 36th Congressional District. He said his values of personal and social responsibility resonate with voters. As a poor student trying to get to college, he raised $2,000 from local businesses to buy his books for two years.

"I'd hand them a contract and I would tell them that I'm offering you an opportunity to invest in your community by investing in my education," said Ruiz, 40, who returned to Coachella Valley where he practices emergency medicine.

Maldonado is trying to unseat Democratic Rep. Lois Capps in California's redrawn 24th Congressional District. Maldonado is a former state senator whose views don't always line up with his party's. He picked strawberries with his father and, after college, helped grow the small farm to one that employs 250 people.

"I am who I am and I'm not going to change and when the Republicans are right, I'll fight with them and when they are wrong, I'll fight against them," Maldonado said.

___

Gamboa reported from Washington.

___

Follow Russell Contreras on Twitter at http://twitter.com/russcontreras

Follow Suzanne Gamboa at http://www.twitter.com/APsgamboa

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/latino-house-candidates-set-history-224444133--election.html

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Six new cases reported in meningitis outbreak

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Rubio leaves Romney bus after daughter?s car accident

Rubio stands outside a Florida Highway Patrol car after leaving the Romney motorcade (Justin Sullivan/Getty Im??

LAKEWOOD CREST, Fla.?Florida Sen. Marco Rubio abruptly dropped off Mitt Romney's campaign bus just east of Tampa on Saturday evening after word that his 12-year-old daughter had been injured in a car accident in Miami and airlifted to a local hospital.

According to his office, Rubio, who had been campaigning with Romney in Florida today, was alerted about his daughter Amanda's accident just after leaving the stage at Romney's second rally of the day in Kissimmee, according his spokesman Alex Conant.

According to Conant, Amanda Rubio, who is the oldest of the senator's four children, was airlifted to Miami Children's Hospital and is listed in stable condition. He did not provide any further details about the accident.

But Rubio still boarded Romney's bus as it headed toward the third and final event of the day in Land O'Lakes, Fla?and stayed on the bus for more than an hour. Around 6:45pm, Romney's motorcade abruptly pulled off Interstate 4, and Rubio was seen exiting Romney's campaign bus.

A moment later, Rubio hopped over a highway barricade, where a Florida Highway Patrol car waited. After standing outside the car for a few minutes, Rubio jumped into the patrol car, which sped away with its lights flashing. His office said the senator was en route to Miami.

The Romney campaign offered no immediate comment.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/rubio-drops-off-romney-bus-daughter-car-accident-233351189--election.html

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Hawaii Lets Aquarium Biz Destroy Stocks, Environmentalists Say

?????(CN) - Hawaii is hurting its colorful fish and coral reefs by allowing commercial operations to take unlimited numbers of aquarium fish without environmental impact surveys, environmentalists claim in Federal Court.
?????For more environmental stories, check out Courthouse News' Environmental Law Review.
?????Aquarium collection permits allow collectors to use mesh nets to capture fish and invertebrates anywhere in Hawaii except protected areas.
?????Permits are good for one year, and the Department of Land and Natural Resources issues them for recreational or commercial collection.
?????Recreational collectors can harvest only five fish or invertebrate species per person per day, but commercial permits do not limit the number of animals that can be taken.
?????"(N)or is there a limit on the number of commercial collection permits that DLNR can issue. Currently, DLNR administers approximately 160 commercial aquarium collection permits," the complaint states.
?????Hawaii requires commercial collectors to submit "monthly catch reports ... detailing the type and quantity of fish collected." But the plaintiffs say the state relies entirely upon self-reporting, and has not submitted a catch report to the Board of Land and Natural Resources since 1999.
?????Plaintiffs' attorney Caroline Ishida estimated that 712,000 animals were harvested last year, and 700,000 in 2010.
?????"But the department doesn't verify that people caught the animals they say they caught, which makes it difficult to know how many animals are really taken each year," Ishida told Courthouse News in an interview.
?????The Conservation Council of Hawaii, The Humane Society of the United States, the Center for Biological Diversity, and four recreational divers sued Hawaii's Department of Land and Natural Resources in Hawaii's First Circuit Court.
?????They claim the state's lax approach to collecting permits is devastating fish species, which are essential to the health of Earth's disappearing coral reefs.
?????"The reason we went to court is that we want the department to gather the information necessary to make decisions about permitting based on science," attorney Ishida, with Earth Justice, told Courthouse News in an interview.
?????"The aquarium trade has been active in the state for over 30 years, but the state has never done any studies examining the impacts," Ishida said. "It's quite possible that there are impacts going on that the agency doesn't even know about."
?????Alton Miyasaka, with the Department of Land and Natural Resources, said the office had just received the lawsuit and, "We have no statement at this time."
?????The plaintiffs say the state is violating Hawaii Environmental Policy Act (HEPA) by issuing permits for aquarium collection without analyzing the impact on the animals and coral reef ecosystems.
?????"The State of Hawaii is the largest exporter in the United States of species intended for the aquarium trade," the complaint states. "The aquarium collection industry primarily targets herbivorous fish and invertebrate species that inhabit coral reefs. According to DLNR data, approximately 75 percent of the state's aquarium fish catch comes from the west coast of the island of Hawaii' ('west Hawaii'), and 99 percent of all invertebrates caught in the state come from Oahu's nearshore waters.
?????"DLNR regulates the removal of marine species from state waters for the aquarium trade. The Hawaii Division of Aquatic Resources ('DAR') is the division within DLNR responsible for evaluating applications for collection permits. Because collection permits require the use of state lands, which include the state's waters, approval of collection permits is subject to HEPA, which mandates a specific process whereby DLNR must require a thorough study of the potential impacts of collection permitting, as well as available alternatives and mitigation, before approving or renewing the challenged collection permits."
?????However, the complaint states: "DLNR has never examined under HEPA the impacts of issuing permits allowing fish and invertebrate collection for the aquarium trade on the scale that has been occurring, yet in its 1998 State of the Reefs Report, the agency admitted that, 'studies to characterize the effects of removal of reef fish on the coral reef ecosystem are necessary if this activity is to continue.' Studies that have generally addressed the role of herbivorous fish and invertebrates on coral reefs have determined that these species are important to reef health because they help to control algal growth and occupy numerous unique niches within the ecosystem. Removal of these herbivores can cause shifts from coral dominated to algae-dominated reef ecosystems, as well as decreases in reef ecosystem biodiversity. The selective removal of herbivorous marine life impairs and burdens reef ecosystems that are already under stress from climate change, ocean acidification, and pollution."
?????Ishida said that fish species such as the yellow tang, the Achilles tang, and the goldring surgeonfish, and invertebrates such as hermit crabs and featherduster worms are among the most popular targets for the aquarium trade.
?????"They are often sought by collectors for the same roles they play in the reef ecosystem, such as maintaining balance between coral and algae," Ishida said.
?????Collectors take more than 200 fish and invertebrate species each year, more than two-thirds of them being yellow tang and goldring surgeonfish, which rank No. 1 and 2 for collectors, according to the complaint.
?????The other species in the Top 10 list for collectors are, in order, the Achilles tang, the clown tang, the black surgeonfish aka chevron tang, the forcepsfish, the multiband butterflyfish, the brown surgeonfish aka the lavender or forktail tang, the ornate wrasse aka pinkface wrasse, and the orangeband surgeonfish, according to the complaint.
?????The plaintiffs claim Hawaii is aware that many species of rare fish, such as the butterfly fish and flame angelfish, are declining because of the aquarium trade, but the state has failed to "evaluate the environmental effects of allowing continued removal of these animals form the state's reefs."
?????The plaintiffs cite numerous studies that removal of fish and invertebrates by collectors threatens reef health by decreasing biodiversity, hurting the reef's resilience to stress, and allowing algae to dominate over coral.
?????These studies, and a 1998 report by the state's Department of Land and Natural Resources prove that aquarium collection permits must be subject to environmental review under HEPA because they show that aquarium collection is "one of the main causes of Hawaiian coral reef degradation with major impacts on Oahu and Hawaii as well as impacts on Maui," according to the complaint.
?????The plaintiffs say the department's "discretionary authority" to issue permits allows it to adopt rules and regulations to protect aquatic species, to decide which species can be taken and in what quantities, and to ban any activity that threatens wildlife or the environment.
?????It can also use its authority to make applicants prepare environmental assessments under HEPA if it believes an activity or action may have a significant impact on the environment.
?????But the department "has not issued any notice that it intends to require applicants to prepare an EA [environmental assessment] for issuance or renewal of any of the challenged aquarium permits or otherwise comply with HEPA," the complaint states.
?????Ishida added: "I think that right now the state is taking the easy way out and ignoring the problem instead of looking at what's going on and getting the adequate information it needs to protect the reef."
?????The plaintiffs seek declaratory judgment that the department violated HEPA by issuing aquarium permits without environmental review, and a court order voiding all permits until the department analyzes the impacts of fish and invertebrate collection on the reefs.
?????"All species play valuable roles on reefs, which are very vibrant and complex ecosystems," Ishida said. "We want the department to consider things like what is going on in the reefs, how many permits it issues, and how many animals are collected under each permit.
?????"We pretty much want them to study the cumulative impacts of issuing permits and gather all the information on aquatic collection necessary to protect the state's reefs."
?????Plaintiff Rene Umberger says in the complaint that she has made thousands of dives in Hawaii's reefs. She says she has noticed that many fish species popular with aquarium collectors are disappearing, and has "observed a decline in the health of reef ecosystems in areas that are open to collection."
?????Plaintiff Mike Nakachi, who owns a small scuba diving business, says he too has seen a decline in fish species and reef health throughout his 26 years diving on the reefs. He claims that aquarium collection harms his business "because it makes the reefs less attractive to customers, who go on scuba dives expecting to see vibrant, healthy reefs full of colorful fish."
?????Plaintiffs Kaimi and Willie Kaupiko describe themselves as a "Native Hawaiian practitioner and subsistence fisherman." They say the aquarium trade hurts them because they fish for many of the species that are popular with collectors.
?????Umberger, the Kaupikos, and the Humane Society have presented testimony to the governor and the Legislature about the need to review the permitting process and regulate the aquarium trade.?

Source: http://www.courthousenews.com/2012/10/26/51700.htm

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Tax gains lift Merck, but sales disappoint

(Reuters) - Merck & Co Inc reported a higher-than-expected third-quarter profit, as a favorable tax rate and lower merger costs helped offset plunging sales of its former flagship product, Singulair, an asthma drug that began facing cheaper generics in August.

But overall company sales came in slightly below Wall Street expectations, as Singulair's decline outpaced already grim predictions for it.

Merck, the No. 2 U.S. drugmaker, said on Friday it earned $1.73 billion, or 56 cents per share, compared with $1.69 billion, or 55 cents per share, a year earlier.

Excluding special items, Merck earned 95 cents per share. Analysts, on average, expected 92 cents.

The better-than-expected profit was largely due to the favorable impact of an overseas tax settlement as well as realization of foreign tax benefits, Merck said.

Jefferies & Co analyst Jeffrey Holford had predicted a tax rate of 26 percent, but it came in at 20.3 percent. He called the profit beat "low quality" because it was mostly due to the one-time tax gains.

"Gross margins were also weaker than expected," Holford said, and noted that Singulair sales were about $75 million below what he had expected.

Merck spokesman Ron Rogers said the tax gains are not expected to carry over into the fourth quarter and that the drugmaker continues to expect a full-year tax rate of about 25 percent.

Global company revenue fell 4 percent to $11.49 billion in the quarter, below Wall Street expectations of $11.57 billion.

Merck tightened its full-year profit forecast to between $3.78 and $3.82 per share, from its earlier view of $3.75 to $3.85 per share.

Sales of Singulair tumbled 55 percent to $602 million. But a number of its newer products - including treatments for diabetes, hepatitis C and HIV - generated double-digit sales gains that helped cushion Singulair's free fall.

And revenue from Gardasil, the company's vaccine against cervical cancer, jumped 31 percent to $581 million.

But Merck will need to launch new drugs to withstand looming generic competition for other important medicines. Its Maxalt migraine drug, with $600 million in annual sales, goes generic in December, followed next year by its Temodar brain cancer medicine, which has near-blockbuster sales of $900 million.

Over the next 18 months, the company aims to seek six drug approvals, including marketing applications for new types of therapies for insomnia and osteoporosis.

(Reporting by Ransdell Pierson; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn, Jeffrey Benkoe and Steve Orlofsky)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/merck-posts-mixed-results-third-quarter-112332070--finance.html

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Jimmy Savile: How could allegations go unnoticed?

LONDON (AP) ? Jimmy Savile was one of the best-known faces on British television. So how was he able to become what police now say was one of the country's worst child sex predators without ever being caught?

Since the revelations began earlier this month, it's become clear that alleged victims raised the alarm, police were aware of the allegations and journalists suspected that something was up.

Here's a look at a few points where Savile's alleged abuse might have been stopped.

IN THE 1960S:

When Savile was a dance hall manager in the northern England city of Leeds, people now say his predatory behavior was already known. In a recent article published in the Mail Online, biographer Dan Davies said one of Savile's co-workers at the time joked that the entertainer "was either going to be a huge success or in prison" for having sex with 14-year-old girls.

IN 1973:

When Savile found work with the BBC, senior management became suspicious. Corporation press officer Rodney Collins said in a recent interview with the BBC that he was told by his then-boss that he had "heard things about Jimmy Savile" and underage girls. The boss asked Collins to check with his newspaper contacts; Collins got gossip, but no evidence. Collins said his journalist friends told him at the time the gossip would probably never come to light "whether true or not."

IN OR AROUND 1975:

Savile's great-niece, Caroline Robinson, told her grandmother she was sexually abused by Savile at a family party. Robinson, who was 12 at the time, was interviewed by the ITV television network earlier this week. She said her late grandmother shrugged off the abuse, telling her: "It's only Jimmy, don't worry ..."

IN THE 1980S:

A woman told London's Metropolitan Police that Jimmy Savile assaulted her inside his trailer while it was parked on BBC premises. The case was dropped due to insufficient evidence.

IN 1994:

Sunday Mirror editor Paul Connew met with two women who alleged abuse by Savile. Connew said he found their testimony compelling, but said the alleged victims were afraid of the clout of an entertainer who had rubbed shoulders with royalty and had been honored by the Vatican.

"One of them said memorably: 'Who's going to believe us in the witness box against Jimmy Savile? He's friends with Prince Charles, Princess Diana ... he's been blessed by the pope,'" Connew said. He told The Associated Press that Britain's strict defamation laws meant that he was left with little to run with. "They had to be prepared to go on the record and face what would've been an almost certain libel action from Savile," he said.

IN 2003:

A woman contacted London's Metropolitan Police to tell her that Savile touched her inappropriately in the 1970s, but she declined to press charges.

IN 2007:

Police in Surrey, in southern England, received an eyewitness report about the abuse of a girl at a children's home in the 1970s. A further investigation turned up three alleged victims of Savile. The first was a fellow resident of the children's home; the second was a girl who was allegedly assaulted at a specialist hospital in or around 1973; and the third was assaulted in southern England in 1970.

Although police questioned Savile, all three alleged victims declined to press charges and authorities dropped the case in 2009. In a statement published Thursday, chief British prosecutor Keir Starmer said there were "obvious problems" in pursuing a case where victims were reluctant to come forward, where there was no forensic evidence and where there was limited witness testimony, "particularly in relation to allegations which date back a number of years."

IN 2008:

Savile's name comes up during an investigation into abuse at a children's home on the Channel Island of Jersey. The inquiry's chief recently told the Guardian newspaper that "there definitely wasn't enough to question him at the time."

IN 2011:

Savile dies at age 84 on Oct. 29.

IN 2012:

Some 300 potential victims have come forward in the wake of the Savile revelations, according to police. Most of them say they were abused by the late BBC TV host, but some say they were abused by other people, Metropolitan Police said Friday. The force has refused to give a detailed breakdown.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/jimmy-savile-could-allegations-unnoticed-053638630.html

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G20 to urge members to act against economic uncertainty

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - The Group of 20 leading economies want financially troubled countries to make the most of safety nets, including Europe's bailout fund, to limit the uncertainty damaging the global economy, Mexican Deputy Finance Minister Gerardo Rodriguez said on Friday.

Mexico will host finance ministers and central bankers from the bloc of advanced and developing countries next weekend at a meeting that is expected to focus heavily on Europe's ongoing debt crisis, with Spain tipped as the next country to seek aid.

A deteriorating global outlook has put the focus on countries to boost growth, and a G20 official briefed on the preparations for the meeting said there was disquiet over what was seen as Spain's reluctance to ask for a full bailout.

Rodriguez declined to say directly whether Spain should ask for a financial rescue from its European partners but stressed that safety nets, such as Europe's 500 billion euro ($646.57 billion) bailout fund, were generally meant to be used.

"The G20 urges countries to take action to reduce the environment of uncertainty," he said, adding that uncertainty was costing jobs and growth.

One action could be using existing support facilities, and the G20 would support countries wanting to take advantage of available resources such as the European Stability Mechanism.

"The G20 has to show the market and the players that all this effort in setting up the famous firewalls has created firewalls which are effective, and to test that they are effective they need to be used," Rodriguez said.

Spain is under pressure to seek aid as it struggles to cope with high government debt. Europe has already set aside 100 billion euros to recapitalize banks, and euro zone sources said they expected an aid request next month.

If Spain were to apply for help from the European Stability Mechanism, that would allow the European Central Bank to step in with massive Spanish bond purchases on the secondary market and lower Madrid's borrowing costs.

Still, yields on Spanish bonds have fallen 2 percentage points in the last three months and it is also unclear whether fellow euro zone members would approve a request from Spain for aid from the ESM, given strong anti-bailout sentiment in countries like Germany and Finland.

Spain's economy minister, Luis de Guindos, will attend the G20 meeting on November 4 and 5 as a guest, along with officials from Chile, Colombia, Benin and Cambodia.

"This will be an opportunity to give everyone an update on what they are thinking and if they will make any decisions in the short term," Rodriguez said.

World finance leaders met just two weeks ago in Tokyo, where they urged Europe and the United States to tackle debt which threatens to stifle global growth.

The International Monetary Fund cut its forecast for global growth to 3.6 percent for 2013 and urged the United States to take steps to avoid a year-end fiscal cliff of tax hikes and spending cuts that could tip the country back into recession.

But Rodriguez said with U.S. presidential elections scheduled the day after the G20 meeting ends, there was unlikely to be fresh pressure for action.

"Markets have so far given the benefit of the doubt that it will resolve the challenge of the fiscal cliff adequately," he said. "Everyone is in wait-and-see mode, and we'll see after the elections how they can progress in talks with Congress."

Foreign exchange flexibility would also feature in the discussions, he said, as it was always an important subject for the G20.

(Additional reporting by Lesley Wroughton in Washington; Editing by James Dalgleish, Leslie Adler, Gary Hill)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/g20-urge-members-act-against-economic-uncertainty-185050654--business.html

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A year after Irene, US prepares for superstorm

Map shows path of Hurricane Sandy

Map shows path of Hurricane Sandy

This NOAA satellite image taken Thursday, October 25, 2012 at 10:45 AM EDT shows Hurricane Sandy over the Bahamas with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph and moving toward the north. Farther north, a cold front moves into the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley with showers and thunderstorms. (AP PHOTO/WEATHER UNDERGROUND)

A woman cries out in front of her flooded house caused by heavy rains from Hurricane Sandy in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, Oct. 25, 2012. Hurricane Sandy rumbled across mountainous eastern Cuba and headed toward the Bahamas on Thursday as a Category 2 storm, bringing heavy rains and blistering winds. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

A fallen tree and toppled light poles block a road in Kingston, Jamaica, after the passing of Hurricane Sandy, Thursday, Oct. 25, 2012. Sandy, which made landfall Wednesday afternoon near Kingston, crossed over Jamaica killing an elderly man when a boulder crashed into his clapboard house, police said. (AP Photo/Collin Reid)

Residents wade through a flooded street caused by heavy rains from Hurricane Sandy in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, Oct. 25, 2012. Hurricane Sandy rumbled across mountainous eastern Cuba and headed toward the Bahamas on Thursday as a Category 2 storm, bringing heavy rains and blistering winds. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

DUCK, N.C. (AP) ? A year after being walloped by Hurricane Irene, residents rushed to put away boats, harvest crops and sandbag boardwalks Friday as the Eastern Seaboard braced for a rare megastorm that experts said would cause much greater havoc.

Hurricane Sandy, moving north from the Caribbean, was expected to make landfall Monday night near the Delaware coast, then hit two winter weather systems as it moves inland, creating a hybrid monster storm that could bring nearly a foot of rain, high winds and up to 2 feet of snow. Experts said the storm would be wider and stronger than last year's Irene, which caused more than $15 billion in damage, and could rival the worst East Coast storm on record.

Officials did not mince words, telling people to be prepared for several days without electricity. Jersey Shore beach towns began issuing voluntary evacuations and protecting boardwalks. Atlantic Beach casinos made contingency plans to close, and officials advised residents of flood-prone areas to stay with family or be ready to leave. Airlines said to expect cancellations and waived change fees for passengers who want to reschedule.

"Be forewarned," said Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy. "Assume that you will be in the midst of flooding conditions, the likes of which you may not have seen at any of the major storms that have occurred over the last 30 years."

Many storm-seasoned residents had not begun to panic. Along North Carolina's fragile Outer Banks, no evacuations had been ordered and ferries hadn't yet been closed. Plenty of stores remained open and houses still featured Halloween decorations outside, as rain started to roll in.

"I'll never evacuate again," said Lori Hilby, manager of a natural foods market in Duck, N.C., who left her home before Hurricane Irene struck last August. "... Whenever I evacuate, I always end up somewhere and they lose power and my house is fine. So I'm always wishing I was home."

Farther north, residents were making more cautious preparations. Patrick and Heather Peters pulled into their driveway in Bloomsburg, Pa., with a kerosene heater, 12 gallons of water, paper plates, batteries, flashlights and the last lantern on Wal-Mart's shelf. They've also rented a U-Haul in case the forecast gets worse over the weekend.

"I'm not screwing around this time," said Heather Peters, whose town was devastated last year by flooding following Hurricane Irene.

Across the street, Douglas Jumper, whose first floor took on nearly 5 feet of water during Irene, was tying down his patio furniture on Friday and moving items in his wood shop to higher ground.

"I'm tired. I am tired," Jumper, who turns 58 on Saturday, said through tears. "We don't need this again."

At a Home Depot in Freeport, on Long Island in New York, Bob Notheis bought sawhorses to put his furniture on inside his home.

"I'm just worried about how bad it's going to be with the tidal surge," he said. "Irene was kind of rough on me and I'm just trying to prepare."

The storm threatened to hit two weeks before Election Day, while several states were heavily involved in campaigning, canvassing and get-out-the-vote efforts. Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney and Vice President Joe Biden both canceled weekend campaign events in coastal Virginia Beach, Va., though their events in other parts of the states were going on as planned. In Rhode Island, politicians asked supporters to take down yard signs for fear they might turn into projectiles in the storm.

After Irene left millions without power, utilities were taking no chances and were lining up extra crews and tree-trimmers. Wind threatened to topple power lines, and trees that still have leaves could be weighed down by snow and fall over if the weight becomes too much.

In upstate New York, Richard Ball was plucking carrots, potatoes, beets and other crops from the ground as quickly as possible. Ball was still shaky from Irene, which scoured away soil, ruined crops and killed livestock last year.

Farmers were moving tractors and other equipment to high ground, and some families pondered moving furniture to upper stories in their homes.

"The fear we have a similar recipe to Irene has really intensified anxieties in town," Ball said Friday.

Sandy has killed at least 40 people in the Caribbean, and just left the Bahamas. Residents from Florida to North Carolina will experience peripheral impacts of the hurricane through the weekend.

As it turns back to the north and northwest and merges with colder air from a winter system, West Virginia and further west into eastern Ohio and southern Pennsylvania are expected to get snow. Forecasters were looking at the Delaware shore as the spot the storm will turn inland, bringing 10 inches of rain and extreme storm surges, said Louis Uccellini, environmental prediction director for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Up to 2 feet of snow should fall on West Virginia, with lighter snow in parts of Ohio and Pennsylvania. A wide swath of the East, measuring several hundreds of miles, will get persistent gale-force 50 mph winds, with some areas closer to storm landfall getting closer to 70 mph, said James Franklin, forecast chief for the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

"It's going to be a long-lasting event, two to three days of impact for a lot of people," Franklin said. "Wind damage, widespread power outages, heavy rainfall, inland flooding and somebody is going to get a significant surge event."

Nonetheless, some residents were still shrugging off the impending storm.

On North Carolina's Ocracoke Island, which suffered a direct hit from Irene, the grocery side of Tommy Hutcherson's Ocracoke Variety Store was bustling. But few people had been shopping on the hardware side.

"People go through this all the time around here. It's not the first time and it won't be the last," Hutcherson said.

Last year's Hurricane Irene was a minimal hurricane that caused widespread damage as it moved north along the coast after making landfall in North Carolina. With catastrophic inland flooding in New Jersey, Massachusetts and Vermont, federal officials say Irene caused $15.8 billion in damage.

Sandy is "looking like a very serious storm that could be historic," said Jeff Masters, meteorology director of the forecasting service Weather Underground. "Mother Nature is not saying, 'Trick or treat.' It's just going to give tricks."

Some have compared the tempest to the so-called Perfect Storm that struck off the coast of New England in 1991, but that one hit a less populated area.

Masters said this could be as big, perhaps bigger, than the worst East Coast storm on record, a 1938 New England hurricane that is sometimes known as the Long Island Express, which killed nearly 800 people.

If the storm hits farther north than forecast and comes in closer to Long Island ? which is still well within the National Hurricane Center's cone of uncertainty for where the storm can come ashore ? storm surge in the New York City area could be 3 to 6 feet, which might be enough to put water into the New York City subway system, Masters said. Last year Irene missed doing that by only eight inches, he said.

If the storm hits farther south, closer to Washington D.C., those areas could be doused with extreme storm surge and rain.

"You're preparing for the worst and praying for the best, and whatever God can do to keep it from whacking, we'd appreciate it," said Kevin Boyle, administrator of the borough of Pompton Lakes, N.J.

___

Parry reported from Point Pleasant Beach, N.J. Associated Press writers Emery Dalesio in Raleigh, N.C., Mike Rubinkam in Bloomsburg, Pa., Frank Eltman in Freeport, N.Y., Christine Armario in Miami, George Walsh in Albany, N.Y., Joe Mandak in Pittsburgh, and Seth Borenstein in Washington contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/apdefault/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-10-26-Super%20Storm/id-c4c28f0ffac1480198cb8cebf2ff943b

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Tigers happy to be back home in chilly Detroit

DETROIT (Reuters) - The Detroit Tigers arrived back on their home turf Friday to overcast skies, chilly temperatures and a lot of griping by the locals about the winter-like weather.

Detroit manager Jim Leyland, however, could not be happier with the conditions.

After losing the first two games of the World Series to the San Francisco Giants under sunny skies at AT&T Park, the Tigers hope a change in scenery will amount to a reversal of fortune.

"This is the World Series," said Leyland. "It's cold for everybody. It's cold for the fans, the beer is cold, everything is cold. It's great, enjoy it."

The Tigers dropped the opening two games of the series 8-3 and 2-0, playing nothing like the brash team that swept the New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series.

Game Three of the best-of-seven series is Saturday at Comerica Park. The next two games, if necessary, will also be in Detroit.

San Francisco entered the World Series having survived six win-or-go-home games against the Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals.

OUT-PERFORMING THE TIGERS

For a team many believed fortunate just to be playing in the Fall Classic, they are out-performing the Tigers in all phases of the game.

"We're down two games, but that's in the past," said Tigers right-hander Anibal Sanchez, the Game Three starter. "At this moment every day we start over. Tomorrow we need to start over.

"We need to forget what happened in San Francisco. I know we've got the talent. That's why we're here. We've got a pretty good team, so we're going to fight it to the end."

The Giants have held 2-0 advantages in the World Series four times in the franchise's existence and each time they have gone on to win the championship.

Detroit's offense was ineffective in the first two games, scoring just one run until the ninth inning of the series-opening rout, and then managing only two hits in Game Two.

"Well, right now their pitchers haven't made many mistakes," said Tigers catcher Alex Avila. "Hitters hit mistakes, that's the bottom line. When you have opportunities with the guys on base, you've got to be able to take advantage of them.

"To this point in two games we haven't. That's really it. There's nothing more to it."

If the Tigers' offense is going to break out on Saturday, they will have to do it against the Giants' hottest pitcher, Ryan Vogelsong.

Leyland told reporters the Giants had better get used to Detroit's raw temperatures.

"We have got heaters in the dugout for both teams," he said. "Ours is going to be a little warmer than theirs tomorrow night, but that's all right, we're not going to tell them that.

"I'm just kidding," he added.

(Editing by Mark Lamport-Stokes)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/tigers-happy-back-home-chilly-detroit-232910025--mlb.html

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Why Mitt Romney is standing by Richard Mourdock

Romney isn't disowning the newest Republican with a damaging abortion-rape soundbite for several reasons ? including that it's too late in the game

Indiana Senate aspirant Richard Mourdock has put his Republican colleagues in a bind, none more so than Mitt Romney. Like fellow GOP Senate hopeful Rep. Todd Akin in nearby Missouri, Mourdock made an ill-received comment about rape and abortion ? "I think even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something that God intended to happen" ? potentially costing the GOP not only a win but control of the Senate. But unlike with Akin, Romney recently endorsed Mourdock in a TV ad and continues to back him. "We disagree on the policy regarding exceptions for rape and incest but still support him," Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul said Wednesday. President Obama's re-election team and other Democrats are hammering Romney over this, and his continued support of Mourdock could hurt him with the much-coveted suburban women both campaigns are courting. So why has Romney stuck by Mourdock? Here, five theories:

1. Romney doesn't share Mourdock's views
What do a few "weird comments coming from one candidate for a down ticket office" have to do with Romney? former California GOP chairman Ron Nehring asks Politico. Nothing. Unlike Mourdock, Romney backs abortion exceptions for rape and incest. Case closed. Yes, "Mourdock will and should pay a price for this" foolish detour into theology, but Romney shouldn't and won't, says Jennifer Rubin at The Washington Post. Romney has noted the differences in their abortion policies; "I don't expect he'll have anything to say further, and if he does, he's nuts." Just because Obama wants to focus on "trivial, gotcha moments" doesn't mean the rest of us have to play along.

SEE MORE: The presidential debate: Did Mitt Romney win the argument over the economy?

2. Abandoning Mourdock would be self-defeating
The list of high-profile Republicans backing away from Mourdock is growing ? notables include Sens. John McCain (Ariz.), Scott Brown (Mass.), Dean Heller (Nev.), and Kelly Ayotte (N.H.), plus Rep. Mike Pence, who's running for governor of Indiana ? but there's no upside for Romney in disowning the candidate, says Aaron Blake at The Washington Post. Thanks to the TV endorsement, Mourdock is already pretty closely tied to Romney, adds Alexander Burns at Politico, and every prominent Republican who criticizes Mourdock makes it "harder for the Indiana treasurer to get his campaign back on track and easier for Democrats to nationalize the controversy." Politically, it's smarter for Romney to keep calm and carry on.

3. Many Republicans agree with Mourdock
By continuing to endorse Mourdock while criticizing his rape comment, Romney is "trying to walk a delicate line ? courting women voters while rousing a Republican base that is strongly anti-abortion," says Joel Connelly at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. After all, Mourdock's view that abortion should be allowed only when the mother's life is in danger is consistent with the party platform, as well as the view of Romney's running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.). "Liberals seemed shocked by Mourdock's statement and his beliefs," says Amy Sullivan at The New Republic. "I was just shocked that anyone was shocked." All GOP politicians who oppose rape exceptions have their justifications, and as Todd Akin proved, Mourdock's is hardly the most scandalous.

SEE MORE: Richard Mourdock's rape comment: Will it hurt Mitt Romney?

4. And Mourdock's opponent essentially agrees with Romney
Republicans wasted no time pointing out that Mourdock's Democratic opponent, Rep. Joe Donnelly (D), also opposes abortion except in cases of rape, incest, and the life of the mother ? in other words, Romney's position, says The Washington Post's Blake. Not only that, but Donnelly was a co-sponsor of a House bill to deny abortion funding for rape and incest victims. As damaging as Mourdock's comment might be among women voters, "Republicans believe they can level the playing field ? at least somewhat ? by pointing to Donnelly's involvement in that controversial bill."

5. Republicans, and Romney, are stuck with Mourdock
One big difference between Romney's calling for Akin to exit the race and sticking with the Hoosier loser is that Romney just "endorsed Mourdock, with a special pitch from Paul Ryan," and reneging on that endorsement so quickly might be one flip-flop too many, says Kaili Joy Gray at Daily Kos. The other difference? Akin stuck his foot in his mouth in August; now, with the election "less than two weeks away, it's too late for the party to pull Mourdock from the race and find a replacement, and the Republicans, including Romney, are stuck with the guy."

SEE MORE: Mitt Romney's latest audio leak: Should employers really tell workers how to vote?

Read more political coverage at The Week's 2012 Election Center.

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/why-mitt-romney-standing-richard-mourdock-070000256--election.html

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