Caregivers at risk for health problems

Public release date: 28-Nov-2011
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Contact: Jean Elliott
elliottj@vt.edu
540-231-5915
Virginia Tech

When a person with mild cognitive impairment is agitated or restless, caregivers can expect to find they are more edgy as well. According to research conducted at Virginia Tech, the more a caregiver's day is disrupted by the unsettled behaviors of their loved one, the more they find themselves unable to meet or balance their own home and family work loads. This heightens the effect of elevated stress levels on their own bodies, placing caregivers at risk for current and future health problems.

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a transitional stage between normal age-related cognitive changes and early stages of Alzheimer's disease, is characterized by changes in memory that may not interfere with everyday activities but can cause frustration and anxiety among persons with the impairment and their family members.

Results of the team's research, reported in the November Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, particularly note the involvement of rising cortisol levels in caregiver samples. Cortisol is a hormone produced by the body as the outside stress it is subjected to increases.

"Providing support for a relative encountering cognitive difficulties often requires significant changes in everyday roles and responsibilities," said lead author Tina Savla (http://www.humandevelopment.vt.edu/savla.html), assistant professor of human development in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences. "These changes take a toll on family relationships and psychological health, and carry consequences for the care partner's physical health."

According to Savla, "Dealing with the day-to-day issues of living with a person with MCI can allow little time for recovery and may tax one's hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) system. The dysregulation in this system likely contributes to illnesses by further distressing the cardiovascular, metabolic, and immune functions."

In order to compile study data, Savla's team made phone calls to 30 spouse care partners on seven consecutive days to find out how their time had been spent that day, interactions with their spouse and other family members, and their mood as well as their spouse's mood and behavior throughout the day. Saliva samples were also collected from the caregivers on four study days to measure cortisol levels.

The team discovered that when behavioral problems escalated, typically during the late afternoon and early evening hours, caregivers found it necessary to cut back on or ignore their own scheduled chores, leaving a backlog of unfinished business and increasing caregiver frustration and distress. This effect was further multiplied when negative interactions with their partners increased as a result, and fewer positive interactions took place.

Difficulties and reactions reported during the daily interviews were confirmed by assaying saliva for cortisol, a stress-related hormone. Savla suggests that caregivers "are having stress reactions that may put them at greater risk for physical health problems." Her research team found elevated cortisol levels throughout the day with a slower rate of decline, typically linked with other diseases.

"The care partner-to-caregiver trajectory is potentially long in duration and continuously challenging in scope," said Savla. "Helping caregivers learn effective stress management techniques early on may be particularly beneficial for their physical health and psychological well-being, thus enhancing their capacity to continue providing assistance to and care for the person with cognitive impairment over the long term."

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Other researchers involved in this study are Karen A. Roberto, director of the Center for Gerontology and Institute for Society, Culture and Environment; Rosemary Blieszner, Alumni Distinguished Professor of Human Development and associate dean of the Graduate School; Matthew Cox, a doctoral student in the Department of Psychology in the College of Science; and Frank Gwazdauskas, the David and Margaret Lincicome Professor Emeritus of Dairy Science in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, all at Virginia Tech.

The Alzheimer's Association and the Commonwealth of Virginia Alzheimer's and Related Diseases Research Award Fund supported this research.

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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 28-Nov-2011
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Jean Elliott
elliottj@vt.edu
540-231-5915
Virginia Tech

When a person with mild cognitive impairment is agitated or restless, caregivers can expect to find they are more edgy as well. According to research conducted at Virginia Tech, the more a caregiver's day is disrupted by the unsettled behaviors of their loved one, the more they find themselves unable to meet or balance their own home and family work loads. This heightens the effect of elevated stress levels on their own bodies, placing caregivers at risk for current and future health problems.

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a transitional stage between normal age-related cognitive changes and early stages of Alzheimer's disease, is characterized by changes in memory that may not interfere with everyday activities but can cause frustration and anxiety among persons with the impairment and their family members.

Results of the team's research, reported in the November Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, particularly note the involvement of rising cortisol levels in caregiver samples. Cortisol is a hormone produced by the body as the outside stress it is subjected to increases.

"Providing support for a relative encountering cognitive difficulties often requires significant changes in everyday roles and responsibilities," said lead author Tina Savla (http://www.humandevelopment.vt.edu/savla.html), assistant professor of human development in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences. "These changes take a toll on family relationships and psychological health, and carry consequences for the care partner's physical health."

According to Savla, "Dealing with the day-to-day issues of living with a person with MCI can allow little time for recovery and may tax one's hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) system. The dysregulation in this system likely contributes to illnesses by further distressing the cardiovascular, metabolic, and immune functions."

In order to compile study data, Savla's team made phone calls to 30 spouse care partners on seven consecutive days to find out how their time had been spent that day, interactions with their spouse and other family members, and their mood as well as their spouse's mood and behavior throughout the day. Saliva samples were also collected from the caregivers on four study days to measure cortisol levels.

The team discovered that when behavioral problems escalated, typically during the late afternoon and early evening hours, caregivers found it necessary to cut back on or ignore their own scheduled chores, leaving a backlog of unfinished business and increasing caregiver frustration and distress. This effect was further multiplied when negative interactions with their partners increased as a result, and fewer positive interactions took place.

Difficulties and reactions reported during the daily interviews were confirmed by assaying saliva for cortisol, a stress-related hormone. Savla suggests that caregivers "are having stress reactions that may put them at greater risk for physical health problems." Her research team found elevated cortisol levels throughout the day with a slower rate of decline, typically linked with other diseases.

"The care partner-to-caregiver trajectory is potentially long in duration and continuously challenging in scope," said Savla. "Helping caregivers learn effective stress management techniques early on may be particularly beneficial for their physical health and psychological well-being, thus enhancing their capacity to continue providing assistance to and care for the person with cognitive impairment over the long term."

###

Other researchers involved in this study are Karen A. Roberto, director of the Center for Gerontology and Institute for Society, Culture and Environment; Rosemary Blieszner, Alumni Distinguished Professor of Human Development and associate dean of the Graduate School; Matthew Cox, a doctoral student in the Department of Psychology in the College of Science; and Frank Gwazdauskas, the David and Margaret Lincicome Professor Emeritus of Dairy Science in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, all at Virginia Tech.

The Alzheimer's Association and the Commonwealth of Virginia Alzheimer's and Related Diseases Research Award Fund supported this research.

---

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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-11/vt-car112811.php

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UN calls for restraint on eve of Congo vote (Reuters)

KINSHASA (Reuters) ? International organizations appealed for calm on the eve of Democratic Republic of Congo's presidential election, after a run-up tainted by violent street clashes and delayed poll preparations.

Concerns have been mounting about the central African country's readiness for its second post-war presidential contest, and what impact a troubled vote might have on efforts to stabilize the giant minerals-producing nation.

The European Union, the African Union and the United Nations called for restraint after several people were killed in clashes Saturday, the last day of campaigning.

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Sunday Congo's election was "crucial for the country's progress," and called on "all political leaders and the people ... to exercise restraint throughout the process to ensure that the elections are held in a peaceful and secure environment."

The EU observer mission accused police of denying President Joseph Kabila's main rival, Etienne Tshisekedi, his right to campaign in the capital after he was blocked by security forces at the airport Saturday.

Police had earlier banned rallies after violence erupted in the sprawling capital Kinshasa. The confirmed death toll for Saturday's violence has risen to three, according to U.N. sources, though Human Rights Watch said eight had been killed and about 70 wounded.

Tshisekedi Sunday accused international actors, including the head of the United Nations mission in Congo, of being against him, and said that, as his rally was blocked on Saturday, he would hold one later Sunday.

"The international community has (in Congo) supported Africa's worst dictatorships for 51 years," he said, adding he wanted UN mission chief Roger Meece, a former U.S. ambassador to Congo during the last election, to step down.

U.N. spokesman Mounoubai Madnodje dismissed the accusations.

The streets of Kinshasa were mostly quiet Sunday after the clashes the day before. Churches held regular Sunday services, street kiosks did brisk trade and residents sat drinking in the city's street bars.

By mid-afternoon, there was no sign of Tshisekedi's rally call being heeded though riot police were deployed at Kinshasa's main stadium where the rally was to be held, and there was a heavy police presence near Tshisekedi's residence.

SHOWDOWN

Enjoying the powers of incumbency, Kabila is seen as the favorite in the vote. But Tshisekedi, a veteran opposition leader who appeals to many poor Congolese that have not see any progress despite eight years of relative peace, has drawn large crowds as his campaign gathered momentum.

Tshisekedi said he would accept results if he lost in a free election but would call on people to "take their responsibility" if the poll was flawed, a reference to likely further street protests.

Human Rights Watch said Congo's Republican Guard had wounded dozens of people after opening fire on them Saturday, and at least eight people were killed. "We're still confirming, and the number of dead might be higher," Human Rights Watch researcher Ida Sawyer said.

Sawyer added that security forces had taken four bodies from the UDPS opposition headquarters where they had been brought following clashes. An eyewitness told Reuters police arrived at the UDPS offices in the early hours of Sunday morning, threatening supporters and taking away bodies.

Police officials were not available to comment.

Election workers were scrambling Sunday to get remaining ballots to polling stations after delays at all stages of the process. But the head of the electoral body said he expected the election to go ahead as planned.

"We would like to assure you 99 percent of things are working perfectly, that's our commitment to you," electoral commission chief Daniel Ngoy Mulunda said.

Congo's last war, in which millions died mainly of famine and disease, ended eight years ago. But the peace is fragile, with pockets of clashes across much of its east while ordinary Congolese complain of rampant corruption and slow development.

Resource firms like Freeport McMoRan and ENRC operate in Congo, a big copper and cobalt producer with ambitions of developing an oil industry, but the country is seen as one of the world's riskiest in which to do business.

(Writing by David Lewis; Editing by Richard Valdmanis; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111127/wl_nm/us_congo_democratic_election

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Science Diction: The Origin Of 'Stethoscope'

The first stethoscope, invented by the French physician Ren? Laennec, was simply a hollow wooden or ebony tube. Laennec named the device using the Greek roots stethos, or chest, and skopein, to look at or to observe. Medical historian Howard Markel discusses how Laennec came up with the invention. Unlike the stethoscope familiar to patients today, the original device was a simple tube.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2011/11/25/142782877/science-diction-the-origin-of-stethoscope?ft=1&f=1007

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Mouse Computer's LuvBook S heals emotional scars, one Hello Kitty at a time

What the world needs now is just one thing, and that thing is a bejeweled Hello Kitty laptop. Fortunately, Japan's Mouse Computer is well aware of this, which is why it's unleashed the LuvBook S, pictured above. Designed in collaboration with Sanrio and Swarovski, this masterpiece is powered by a 2.2 GHz Intel Core i3-2330M processor and boasts an 11.6-inch, 1,366 x 768 display. It also packs a 500GB HDD and a 1.3 megapixel camera, but all that really matters is the swaggy centerpiece -- a heart-ensconced Hello Kitty mug made out of about 1,100 Swarovski stones and untold buckets of cuddles. The LuvBook is available now for ¥69,930 (about $900), at the source link below.

Mouse Computer's LuvBook S heals emotional scars, one Hello Kitty at a time originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 26 Nov 2011 03:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink TechCrunch  |  LuvBook S (Japanese)  | Email this | Comments

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/26/mouse-computers-luvbook-s-heals-emotional-scars-one-hello-kitt/

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Barney's New York Presents: Lady Gaga's Workshop!

The holidays are right around the corner and Gaga's Workshop at Barneys New York is officially open for business. The Lady has taken over the whole store!

The singer's latest enterprise, a Christmas menagerie in the iconic store's Upper East Side flagship location, is essentially 5,500 square feet of pure Gaga.

How else can we describe displays like this ...

From a wig-shaped boudoir to colorful snake statues that double as clothing racks, “We wanted it to be whimsical and fun, with a sense of art and fashion,” said Gaga.

The 25-year-old "Born This Way" singer, the hardest working woman in show business, took the time to design the entire shop with her stylist Nicola Formichetti.

The shop also sells stuffed animals, books Gaga read in her childhood, and an exclusive jewelry line, a collaboration with Erickson Beamon, which donates 25 percent of all sales to Gaga’s newly-created Born This Way Foundation.

Definitely worth stopping by if you're in NYC this month and next.

Check out more photos of the Barney's display at EW.

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2011/11/barneys-new-york-presents-lady-gagas-workshop/

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DoD Studies Social Media's Impact On Deployment

militarytimes.com:

In previous deployments to Iraq and South America, Master Sgt. Clifford Snyder relied on letters and brief phone calls to keep in touch with his wife and three children back in Camden, Del.

?The kids grew so much during those times,? Snyder said. ?You felt when you first got home like a visitor in the house.?

Read the whole story: militarytimes.com

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/23/dod-studies-social-medias_n_1108771.html

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Bush tax cut debate dooms deal to cut deficit (AP)

WASHINGTON ? A long-running war between Democrats and Republicans over Bush-era tax cuts doomed the debt supercommittee's chances of reaching a deal. Efforts to overhaul the tax code may await the same fate as both parties gear up to make taxes a central issue in 2012 elections.

Republicans insisted during the supercommittee negotiations that curbing tax breaks to raise revenues be coupled with guarantees that all the Bush tax cuts would continue beyond 2012. The tax cuts, which affect families at every income level, were enacted under President George W. Bush and were extended through 2012 under President Barack Obama.

Republicans for years have bashed Democrats as eager to raise taxes ? a theme they will employ often in next year's elections ? so they weren't about to agree to a tax hike unless they also could take credit for preventing a huge tax increase scheduled to take effect in 2013.

Democrats countered that the supercommittee was created to reduce the budget deficit, not add to it by extending tax cuts. Most Democrats, including Obama, want to extend the Bush tax cuts only to individuals making less than $200,000 a year and married couples making less than $250,000.

"We simply could not overcome the Republican insistence on making tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans permanent," said Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., a member of the supercommittee. "This was simply doctrine for some of our Republican colleagues, even as many worked very hard in good faith to find a better way forward."

Another member of the supercommittee, Rep. Dave Camp, R-Mich., said, "It is deeply regrettable that my Democrat colleagues could not see their way to addressing these much-needed reforms without at least $1 trillion in job-killing tax increases on families and employers."

Extending all the Bush tax cuts, including provisions to spare millions of middle-class families from paying the alternative minimum tax, would add $3.9 trillion to the budget deficit over the next decade, according to projections by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. The Democratic plan would add about $3.1 trillion to the deficit over the same period and make the wealthiest Americans pay about $800 billion more in taxes.

The supercommittee was formed to come up with a package that reduces government borrowing by at least $1.2 trillion over the next decade. But with a Wednesday deadline approaching, the committee's co-chairs conceded failure Monday.

"After months of hard work and intense deliberations, we have come to the conclusion today that it will not be possible to make any bipartisan agreement available to the public before the committee's deadline," said a joint statement by the co-chairs, Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, and Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash.

Democrats had said they would accept significant cuts to benefit programs like Medicare and Medicaid, but only if Republicans would agree to tax increases. Despite Republicans' aversion to tax increases, a growing number of GOP lawmakers said they would consider higher taxes if they were coupled with significant spending cuts.

Other Republicans wanted even more political cover: a guarantee that all the Bush tax cuts would be made permanent.

"It's not easy during this hard economic time to go back and justify any kind of tax increase," Rep. Wally Herger of California, a senior Republican on the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, said while talks were still ongoing. "But I think if it's going to be justified, this is the one exception that maybe you could use to justify it."

At one point, supercommittee member Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., proposed a tax overhaul package that Republicans said would raise about $290 billion in additional revenue over the next decade but lock in all of the Bush tax cuts.

Democrats, however, never seriously considered an agreement to continue the Bush tax cuts for high earners. Agreeing to extend them would make it harder for Democrats to accuse Republicans of supporting policies that favor the wealthy, a staple of Democratic political campaigns.

"If anybody in our party votes for that, they will have a real problem for themselves in the next election," said Rep. Jim McDermott of Washington, a senior Democrat on the Ways and Means Committee.

The debate has played out even as lawmakers, presidential candidates and interest groups from across the political spectrum have called on Congress to simplify the tax code. The two tax-writing committees in Congress, the Ways and Means Committee in the House and the Finance Committee in the Senate, have held numerous hearings on tax reform. Their respective chairmen, Camp and Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., both served on the supercommittee.

But tax reform won't happen until Congress resolves the dispute over the Bush tax cuts, said Howard Gleckman, a fellow at the Urban Institute and editor of the blog TaxVox.

"You can't do tax reform unless you agree in advance how much revenue you want to raise," Gleckman said. "The problem is, there is simply no consensus at all on what the revenue goal is."

Tax reform is already a hot topic among Republican presidential hopefuls. Businessman Herman Cain has gotten a lot of attention for his 9-9-9 plan, which would impose a 9 percent national sales tax, a 9 percent income tax and a 9 percent business tax.

The election could go a long way toward deciding the fate of tax reform. Until then, don't look for any movement on the issue, said Dean Zerbe, former tax counsel to the Senate Finance Committee and now national managing director of Alliantgroup, a tax consulting firm.

"'For this Congress, you might as well send the lilies for tax reform," Zerbe said. "We will not do anything significant on taxes until after the election, and even after that it may take a while."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/uscongress/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111122/ap_on_go_co/us_supercommittee_bush_tax_cuts

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China says it opposes Western sanctions on Iran (Reuters)

BEIJING (Reuters) ? China's Foreign Ministry on Wednesday said it opposes unilateral sanctions against Iran,days after several Western countries announced new measures against Tehran to halt its nuclear program.

The United States, Britain and Canada announced new measures against Iran's energy and financial sectors on Monday and France proposed "unprecedented" new sanctions, including freezing the assets of its central bank and suspending purchases of its oil.

"China is always against unilateral sanctions against Iran and is even more opposed to the expansion of such sanctions," Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin told reporters at a regular press briefing, reiterating the need for negotiations.

"We believe pressure and sanctions will not fundamentally solve the Iranian issue, but will complicate the issue. Intensifying confrontation is not conducive to the region's peace and stability," Liu said.

Iran has dismissed the new wave of sanctions, saying the West's attempts to isolate its economy would only serve to unite Iranians behind their government's nuclear program.

The latest sanctions were prompted by a U.N. nuclear agency report that suggested Iran had worked on an atomic bomb design. Tehran maintains its work is entirely peaceful and said the report was based on false Western intelligence.

But the series of unilateral steps were meant to pressure Iran to suspend the nuclear program before it gets the bomb. Israel and Washington say they do not rule out military strikes if other efforts fail.

Critics of the sanctions said they would fail to stop Iran's nuclear work and would play into the hands of a government that wears its hostility to Washington as a badge of pride.

The moves by the Western governments came outside of the United Nations, where Russia and China -- both permanent U.N. Security Council members with veto power -- agree that Iran should not be subjected to sanctions.

Russia called the U.S. moves "unacceptable.

China, which has kept close ties with Iran, has backed past U.N. Security Council resolutions criticizing Iran's position on nuclear issues and authorizing limited sanctions.

But Beijing has repeatedly resisted Western proposals for sanctions that could seriously curtail its energy and economic ties with Iran, China's third-largest crude oil supplier.

It has said Chinese firms will business dealings with Iran should not be targeted.

Iran shipped 20.3 million tons of crude oil in the first nine months of the year, up by almost a third on the same period last year, according to Chinese data.

(Reporting By Sui-lee Wee; Writing by Michael Martina; Editing by Jonathan Thatcher)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iran/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111123/wl_nm/us_china_iran_sanctions

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UFC 139?s Three* Stars: Henderson, Rua, Silva and McDonald

More than a day has passed since UFC 139 ended, and it's still running through my mind. I watched the NFL all Sunday, and I still couldn't stop thinking about the Henderson/Rua main event, Wanderlei Silva's unlikely win, and every other great performance that helped create such a memorable event. Below are Cagewriter's Three Stars. Tell us yours in the comments or on Facebook.

No. 1 star -- Dan Henderson: His walkout shirt read "Hearts and minds overcome all," and it turned out to be an indicator of the kind of main event that would happen at UFC 139. Henderson came out hard and seemed close to finishing off Rua early on, but used every bit of heart to survive in the later rounds as Rua dominated. Henderson extended his win streak to four, earned a title shot of some sort, and a $70,000 bonus. Not too shabby for a 41-year-old.

No. 1a star -- Mauricio "Shogun" Rua: The other half of Henderson's amazing fight deserves as much recognition as Henderson. He withstood punches that have knocked out Fedor Emelianenko, Rafael Cavalcante, and Michael Bisping. With his face bloody and swollen, Rua engineered a comeback that fell just shy of a win in the eyes of the judges.

No. 2 star -- Wanderlei Silva: A bit of magic abounds when Silva hits the cage looking like his vintage self. He showed why he has the nickname "The Axe Murderer" as he withstood Cung Le's kicks, and then earned the TKO in the second round. There is no guarantee that we will get to see much more of him in the Octagon as he has taken much punishment over his 15-year MMA career. Instead of worrying about what's next for him, let's just enjoy that his magic was present in San Jose on Saturday.

No. 3 star -- Michael McDonald: He's 20, he has unlimited potential, and he has another memorable win under his belt. McDonald's knockout left Alex Soto with a very short UFC debut, and earned McDonald a $70,000 Knockout of the Night bonus. That's a record of 14-1 for McDonald before he even becomes old enough to drink after his American fights.

*Yep, that's actually four stars.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/UFC-139-8242-s-Three-Stars-Henderson-Rua-Si?urn=mma-wp9840

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What next? Lawmakers look to undo the back-up plan (AP)

WASHINGTON ? Don't look for the Pentagon to shut down one side of its famous five-sided building. Don't expect the Education Department to pull back its grants just yet.

With the collapse of the deficit-cutting supercommittee, Congress' emergency backup budget-cutting plan now is supposed to take over ? automatic, across-the-board spending reductions of roughly $1 trillion from military as well as domestic government programs.

But the big federal deficit reductions that are to be triggered by Monday's supercommittee collapse wouldn't kick in until January 2013. And that allows plenty of time for lawmakers to try to rework the cuts or hope that a new post-election cast of characters ? possibly a different president ? will reverse them.

Congress' defense hawks led the charge Monday, arguing that the debt accord reached by President Barack Obama and congressional Republicans last summer already inflicted enough damage on the military budget. That agreement set in motion some $450 billion in cuts to future Pentagon accounts over the next decade.

The defense hawks were backed up in part by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, who warned of a hollow force but implored Congress to produce a debt plan to avoid cuts "that will tear a seam in the nation's defense."

The supercommittee's failure to produce a deficit-cutting plan of at least $1.2 trillion after two months of work is supposed to activate the further, automatic cuts, half from domestic programs, half from defense. Combined with the current reductions, the Pentagon would be looking at nearly $1 trillion in cuts to projected spending over 10 years.

Obama declared he would veto any effort to undo the automatic cuts. But there are sure to be efforts in that direction.

"Our military has already contributed nearly half a trillion to deficit reduction. Those who have given us so much have nothing more to give," said House Armed Services Committee Chairman Howard "Buck" McKeon, R-Calif., in promising to introduce legislation to prevent the cuts.

Sens. John McCain of Arizona, the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a member of the panel, said they would "pursue all options" to avoid deeper defense cuts.

The congressional rank and file may be determined to spare defense and undo the automatic cuts, but there's hardly unanimity. Deficit-cutting tea partyers within the GOP side with liberal Democrats in signaling they're ready to allow military reductions. In addition, House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said they would abide by the consequences of the deficit-fighting law ? and they control what legislation moves forward.

Freshman Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., a tea party favorite, even questioned the legitimacy of the outcry over the military reductions, from Defense Secretary Leon Panetta contending the cuts would be devastating to McKeon's warning that they would "cripple our ability to properly train and equip our force, significantly degrading military readiness."

"I think we need to be honest about it," Paul said in an interview on CNN Sunday. "The interesting thing is there will be no cuts in military spending. This may surprise some people, but there will be no cuts in military spending because we're only cutting proposed increases. If we do nothing, military spending goes up 23 percent over 10 years. If we sequester the money, it will still go up 16 percent. So spending is still rising under any of these plans."

According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, the planned Pentagon budget for 2021 would be some $700 billion, an increase over the current level of about $520 billion. The cuts already in the works plus the automatic reductions would trim the projected amount by about $110 billion.

"It's not a decrease in the military budget. It's reducing the increase," said John Isaacs, executive director of Council for a Livable World and Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation.

But McCain and Graham have been working on legislation that would undo the automatic defense reductions and instead impose a 5 percent across-the-board reduction in government spending combined with a 10 percent cut in pay for members of Congress.

The Senate resumes work next week on a massive defense bill, a possible candidate for any effort to rework or undo the cuts.

"It's a near certainty they will try to get out from under it," Robert Bixby, executive director of the Concord Coalition, a nonpartisan group advocating fiscal discipline, said of the automatic cuts. "It's equally certain they will damage their credibility if they do so."

The next year-plus plays out in a politically charged atmosphere, with Obama's Republican presidential rivals Mitt Romney and Rick Perry already criticizing the commander in chief for the proposed cuts in defense.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said it was imperative for Obama "to ensure that the defense cuts he insisted upon do not undermine national security" as Panetta has warned.

Congressional Republicans and Democrats must also decide in the coming weeks whether to extend unemployment benefits for the long-term jobless and leave in place a payroll tax cut enacted last year to prop up the economy.

One other costly question is whether to fix the Medicare payment formula to prevent a nearly 30 percent cut in reimbursements to doctors.

At the end of 2012, Congress must decide whether to extend the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts enacted under President George W. Bush. Democrats want to allow them to expire for wealthy Americans, Republicans want to extend them.

Under the automatic cuts, the Pentagon would face a 10 percent cut in its $550 billion budget in 2013. On the domestic side, education, agriculture and environmental programs would face cuts of around 8 percent.

The law exempts Social Security, Medicaid and many veterans' benefits and low-income programs. It also limits Medicare to a 2 percent reduction.

"It doesn't begin for 13 months," said Jim Kessler, vice president for policy at the centrist-Democratic group Third Way. "Between now and then is an eternity for Congress."

____

Associated Press writers Andrew Taylor and Alan Fram contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/education/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111122/ap_on_bi_ge/us_debt_supercommittee_automatic_cuts

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Russell Pearce Recall: President Officially Removed From Arizona Senate

With the signatures of three officials sitting around a Phoenix conference room Monday morning, Arizona state Sen. Russell Pearce (R-Mesa) was officially removed from office.

Pearce, the state's former Senate president, was voted out in a Nov. 8 recall election, but he remained in office pending certification of the election. Gov. Jan Brewer (R), Secretary of State Ken Bennett (R) and Attorney General Tom Horne (R) officially certified the election Monday.

"We have notified the Senate of these results," said Matthew Roberts, a spokesman for the secretary of state's office.

Roberts said today's actions were primarily ceremonial in nature, but did serve a key legal function. Until the results were certified, Pearce retained all the powers of a state senator and control of the Senate gavel. The Senate has not met since the recall election.

The last Senate session occurred on Nov. 2 when senators voted to uphold Brewer's removal of Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission Chairwoman Colleen Coyle Mathis, a move that was overturned by the state Supreme Court last week. Pearce played a role in the lawsuit and was officially named as a defendant by Mathis for his role in leading the Senate response to the suit as the body's president.

The Senate is not scheduled to meet again until January.

Monday's certification ceremony marks what might be the end of Pearce's political career in Arizona. Pearce was a state representative from 2001 to 2009, while serving as a deputy sheriff in Maricopa County, and heading the state's motor vehicle agency under former Govs. Fife Symington (R) and Jane Dee Hull (R). While serving as chief deputy sheriff in Maricopa County, he helped create the county's tent city jail.

Pearce was recalled from the Senate primarily due to his sponsorship of the state's controversial immigration law, which Brewer signed in 2010.

Pearce has not indicated if he will seek reimbursement for his recall campaign from the state. State Rep. John Harper (R-Paradise) has suggested that Pearce could be owed money for recall election expenses under an obscure clause in the state constitution. Democrats have indicated they would block such a move, which would likely require legislative approval.

While Pearce was not officially out of office until today, the Senate had already started to move past his era of leadership. Within days of the recall Sen. Steve Pierce (R-Prescott) was elected to the Senate presidency. Pierce, the former majority whip, defeated Senate Majority Leader Andy Biggs (R-Gilbert) by one vote to capture the president's chair. Pierce, a rancher, has served in the Senate since 2009.

Pearce is being replaced in the Senate by Republican Jerry Lewis, who defeated him in the recall. Lewis is slated to be sworn in as a senator on Tuesday morning in Phoenix.

Pearce's election was the only race that Brewer, Bennett and Horne tackled during the meeting.

"It was just the recall," Roberts told HuffPost. "That was the only election that we dealt with."

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/21/russell-pearce-recall-certified_n_1106233.html

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HBT: Phillies acquire Wiggington from Rockies

Philadelphia picked up a decent right-handed bat, potential fill in for Ryan Howard at first base, and possible alternative to Placido Polanco at third base, acquiring Ty Wigginton from Colorado for a player to be named later or cash.

Wigginton is owed $4 million in 2012 and his contract has a $4 million option or $500,000 buyout for 2013, but Troy Renck of the Denver Post reports that the Rockies are covering half of his 2012 salary.

That makes him cheap enough to not rule out the Phillies continuing their pursuit of a free agent outfielder like Michael Cuddyer. And if not they basically settled for the poor man?s Cuddyer.

He?s not much of a defender at third base and hasn?t cracked a .750 OPS since 2008, so clearly the Rockies were happy enough to just save a couple million bucks. Wigginton, who turned 34 years old last month, batted .242 with a .315 on-base percentage and .416 slugging percentage in 130 games for Colorado, smacking 15 homers in 401 at-bats while starting games at third base, first base, and both corner outfield spots.

Source: http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/11/20/phillies-acquire-ty-wigginton-from-rockies-for-ptbnl/related/

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Google aids small businesses with websites

The Internet is where people research local products and services, but until Friday you wouldn?t have found websites for Mr. Bones Restaurant in Buffalo or Signature Cuisines by Design in Kenmore. These small businesses didn?t have sites.

?Fifty-two percent of New York?s small businesses have no online presence, but 97 percent of people get information about businesses online,? said Ken Norton, Google Group product manager. ?The Web is a very powerful platform for growing and enabling businesses, but if you?re not online, you?re invisible to 97 percent of people.?

Norton, a Western New York native, returned home Friday with a team of Google employees to give businesses free Internet visibility as a way to spur their growth. And they aided more than 450 companies in creating or improving their websites and armed them with tools and resources to successfully market their operations in cyberspace.

?New York Get Your Business Online,? a Google collaboration with local and national partners, aims to provide free websites, customized domain names, Web hosting for a year, plus listings on Google Places to the 52 percent of the state?s small firms that don?t currently have sites or an effective online presence. Three, 2 1/2-hour sessions were held throughout the day at the Embassy Suites on Delaware Avenue.

Norton, who grew up in West Seneca, said the Internet giant is interested in small businesses because their health drives the nation?s economy, noting that smaller companies comprise half of the country?s GDP and account for two-thirds of jobs that are created. Norton got his start at a local small business that prepared him for his career in Silicon Valley, he said.

But intimidation, cost and the perception that getting a website would be time-consuming, have kept smaller companies from reaping the benefits of online presence.

?It seems complicated and they think they?ll have to hire a full-time programmer,? Norton said. ?But the first step is to get them online, and they?ll leave here today with the skills to manage the site.?

Business owners created their sites in less than an hour with instruction from the Google team with an easy-to-use template designed by Intuit. And the sites went live on the Internet the same day.

?I had looked into getting on the Internet but it was $190 a month, just too expensive for me,? said Clyde Watkins, who opened Mr. Bones in 2007. ?So this is a great opportunity. A Web site will help me get more people to come to my business, especially in the winter time, when things slow down. I really want to keep my business going.?

After the first year, businesses will have to pay for Web hosting, which is $6.99 a month.

The city was contacted by Google to offer the program to 120 people. But Mayor Byron W. Brown said more than 450 business owners registered, and Google agreed to accommodate the larger number.

?When I heard about it, I signed up immediately,? said Malissa Jackson, a caterer who started her business, Signature Cuisines, three years ago. ?I know this is really going to help me reach a broader audience.?

The Google training attracted all kinds of companies in business for varying lengths of time ? from Clarence Center?s Creative Essence, which started less than six-months ago to Gigi?s Restaurant, the iconic soul food eatery that opened in 1960 in Buffalo.

Creative Essence had a website before Friday, but its traffic was slow.

?We?re just getting started and finding it more difficult to gain traction,? said Michele Beiter, co-owner of the crafting studio. ?I want to learn how to use the Google tools to get more traffic to my site.?

She learned that effectively using all of the tools will do the trick. For starters, she needs to get a Google+ page, get reviews on her Google Places listing and add more photos to her website.

?It?s all so connected,? she said. ?If you?re missing one of them, you could really be missing out and not get the traction to building your website.?

Local partners in the training project included the City of Buffalo, Empire State Development and New York State Small Business Development Center. Nationally, Intuit, Meetup, American Small Business Development Centers and the Small Business Administration?s SCORE program are Google?s partners.

esapong@buffnews.comnull

Source: http://www.buffalonews.com/business/article639650.ece

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Urijah Faber had one lucky locker room at UFC 139

If luck is a lady, she was holding Muay Thai pads in Urijah Faber's locker room at UFC 139 in San Jose on Saturday night. He tweeted a picture showing that every fighter in his locker room at the Shark Tank came out a big winner.

From left: Wanderlei Silva had a second-round TKO, Urijah Faber won with a second-round submission, Danny Castillo got a first-round TKO and Martin Kampmann took a split decision. Silva and Faber's nights improved as they both walked away with $70,000 bonus checks. Silva (along with his opponent Cung Le, and main eventers Dan Henderson and Mauricio Rua) won Fight of the Night, while Faber won Submission of the Night.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Urijah-Faber-had-one-lucky-locker-room-at-UFC-13?urn=mma-wp9760

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Moon May Outshine Leonid Meteor Shower Tonight

News | Space

The best way to view the Leonids is to face the darkest part of the sky, away from the moon and the constellation of Leo

By Denise Chow and SPACE.com ?| November 17, 2011?|

Image: Navicore, courtesy Flickr

The Leonid meteor shower peaks tonight (Nov. 17), but bright moonlight is threatening to wash out this year's light display.

The annual Leonid meteor shower is expected to reach peak activity tonight at approximately 10:40 p.m. EST (0340 GMT on Nov. 18), but a luminous third quarter moon could outshine even the brightest meteors, said Bill Cooke, head of the Meteoroid Environments Office at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.

"The moon is going to be a major interference, but we could see a rate of about 20 per hour," Cooke told SPACE.com.

Meteor showers occur when Earth orbits through clouds of particles and dust on its path around the sun. Meteors are often referred to as "shooting stars," because of how they streak across the sky, but these dazzling streaks of light are really triggered by pieces of debris that hit Earth's atmosphere and burn up.

The Leonids are leftovers of the comet Tempel-Tuttle, which travels around the sun and leaves clouds of dust in its wake. This small, dusty comet was discovered in the late 19th century, and as Earth travels through the trails of debris left behind from the comet's previous passes through our orbit, fragments impact the atmosphere and blaze across the night sky. [Most Amazing Leonid Meteor Shower Photos ]

While Leonid meteors appear to rain from the constellation of Leo the Lion, they can actually be viewed in all parts of the sky. According to the editors of StarDate magazine, a bi-monthly publication from The University of Texas at Austin McDonald Observatory, the best way to view Leonid meteors is to face the darkest part of the sky, away from the moon and the constellation of Leo.

Every 33 years, the Leonids put on a truly spectacular display of more than a thousand meteors per hour in what is known as a meteor storm. This occurs when the comet dives close to the sun and Earth passes through the resulting thick concentration of cosmic debris.

The last Leonid meteor storm happened in 1999, but one of the most famous and most dazzling ever witnessed was the Great Leonid Storm of 1966, when skywatchers in central and western North America were treated to a hail of meteors that were too numerous to count.

Overall, Cooke said the 2011 meteor shower season has been somewhat subdued because of the brightness of the moon during many of the showers' peaks.

After the Leonids, skywatchers will be able to look forward to December's Geminid meteor shower, which is generally thought to be one of the best displays of the year. And while the shining moon may have lunar observers rejoicing, meteor shower enthusiasts can take comfort in early forecasts that show that next year's meteor shower season will be a much more dazzling affair.

"Next year will be better," Cooke said. "I think we're going to have to wait for next year to have a knock-your-socks-off meteor shower."

? 2011 TechMediaNetwork.com. All rights reserved.

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=5977b50241ab954750231340d3aeb215

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Beijing is wary of Obama's assertive China policy (AP)

BEIJING ? While Beijing's public response to President Barack Obama's more muscular China policy has been muted, behind the scenes the U.S. president's sudden moves to contest rising Chinese power are setting the capital on edge.

During his ongoing nine-day swing through the Asia-Pacific region, Obama has already unveiled a plan for an expanded U.S. Marines presence in Australia, advocated a new free-trade area that leaves China out, and called on Beijing not to buck the current world order.

The Beijing government is trying to understand the shift, tasking academic experts to review the initiatives and submit options on how to respond.

"The U.S. is overreacting," said Zhu Feng, an international relations expert at Peking University who was asked to study Washington's moves and make recommendations. He said the government may feel bewildered by the Obama initiatives.

Meanwhile, state media are warning of a new U.S. containment strategy.

"The U.S. sees a growing threat to its hegemony from China. Therefore, America's strategic move east is aimed in practical terms at pinning down and containing China and counterbalancing China's development," the official Xinhua News Agency said in a commentary.

Obama told the Australian Parliament on Thursday that the U.S. intends "to deter threats to peace" and will remain an Asia-Pacific power. On Friday, Obama will become the first U.S. president to attend a summit of East Asian leaders, a region that China sees as its rightful sphere of influence.

Obama is also pushing for the rapid expansion of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a U.S.-backed free trade agreement that so far has drawn mostly smaller countries. Japan and Canada have expressed interest in joining, while Beijing has been left out.

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman called it natural for the U.S. and Australia to improve relations, just as China wants to do with each, but said such improvements "should take into consideration the interests of other countries."

Despite its evident wariness, the Chinese government appears to be in watching mode. Obama has repeatedly said in public remarks that the U.S. welcomes China's rise and wants it to play a role as a responsible power. Both sides have much at stake and their economies ? the world's largest and second largest ? are deeply intertwined, doing $456 billion in trade, overwhelmingly in China's favor.

Beijing can ill afford a serious rift with Washington. The normally risk-averse authoritarian leadership is preparing for a politically tricky handover of power to a new generation of leaders next year. And, while the U.S. suffers from high joblessness, anemic growth and other economic woes, China also is challenged by a slowing of its robust growth that could see unemployment and banks' bad loans rise at a time when Chinese have come to expect ever-higher standards of living.

Managing those expectations has become difficult, particularly in regard to the United States. Beijing has played up its handling of Washington, especially after President Hu Jintao held a pomp-filled summit with Obama in Washington in January, and repeatedly invoked the leadership's intention to build a constructive partnership.

Yu Wanli of Peking University's School of International Studies said many Chinese would likely view Obama's new posture as a betrayal of that professed partnership and that could narrow Beijing's options, forcing a tougher response.

"Public opinion may put the Chinese government in an embarrassing situation," said Yu, who specializes in U.S.-China relations.

A reliably nationalistic media that pander to the Chinese sense of patriotism and deep-seated suspicion of the U.S. have already sounded the alarm. The Global Times, a tabloid owned by the Communist Party's People's Daily newspaper, hit hard upon the theme of besiegement. It quoted a People's Liberation Army major general as saying that the expanded U.S. training and deployment base in Australia was one of a series of U.S. installations to "encircle China from the north to the south of the Asia-Pacific region."

In a separate article entitled "Six ways of countering the eastward movement of American strategy," the Global Times alleged the U.S. was seeking to weaken China by nurturing hostile forces within the country while wrecking Beijing's relations with its neighbors. It suggested Beijing reduce its massive purchases of U.S. government debt ? which have helped keep U.S. interest rates low ? to get Washington to stop meddling in the South China Sea, where China is asserting claims to islands, reefs and atolls contested by five other governments.

"As long as we stick to our guns, time will be on our side," it said.

___

Associated Press writers Charles Hutzler and Alexa Olesen in Beijing contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/china/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111117/ap_on_re_as/as_china_wary_of_the_us

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Video: First Read Minute

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Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/45339883#45339883

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Stocks waver as Italian borrowing rates jump again (AP)

NEW YORK ? Stocks indexes wavered between small gains and losses Tuesday as investors balanced another spike in Italy's main borrowing rate with an increase in U.S. retail spending. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 35 points in afternoon trading.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. lost 2.6 percent after reporting a surprise drop in earnings. Utilities were the only industry in the S&P 500 to fall.

Higher interest rates on government debt issued by Italy, Spain and other European countries rattled stock markets in Europe early Tuesday. The market rate for Italy's 10-year bond jumped back above 7 percent. When rates crossed the 7 percent threshold last week, it raised worries about the country's ability to manage its debts. Greece, Ireland and Portugal were forced to seek financial lifelines when their borrowing rates crossed the same mark.

In the U.S., the Commerce Department said early Tuesday that Americans spent more on autos, electronics and building supplies in October, raising retail sales for a fifth straight month. Sales increased 0.5 percent from the previous month, better than forecasts.

The retail sales report helped the U.S. stock market "show a certain degree of resilience in the wake of the negative headlines out of Europe," said Todd Salamone, director of research at Schaeffer's Investment Research.

The Dow was up 35 points, or 0.3 percent, to 12,113 as of 12:45 p.m. Eastern. The S&P 500 rose 4, or 0.3 percent, to 1,256. The Nasdaq composite gained 17, or 0.7 percent, to 2,674.

Sales at Staples Inc. fell short of analysts' expectations, and the company also cut its earnings forecast for the year. Its stock dropped 5.5 percent, the most in the S&P 500 index.

Among other companies reporting quarterly results, Home Depot said spending on home projects and storm-related repairs helped lift earnings. The country's largest home-improvement retailer also raised its earnings estimate for the year. The stock gave up early gains of 1 percent was trading 0.5 percent lower. Department store chain Saks Inc. posted stronger sales and rose 2.2 percent. Urban Outfitters Inc. lost 3.2 percent after the company missed Wall Street's revenue forecasts.

Dell Inc. reports quarterly results after the market closes.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/stocks/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111115/ap_on_bi_st_ma_re/us_wall_street

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Oil hits $100 as US economy slowly improves

FILE - In ths Nov. 13, 2011 file photo, a gasoline tanker makes a delivery at a Sheetz Mini-Mart, in Altoona, Pa. Oil prices hit $100 per barrel for the first time in nearly four months as U.S. supplies dropped, and a pipeline deal promised to cut them further. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

FILE - In ths Nov. 13, 2011 file photo, a gasoline tanker makes a delivery at a Sheetz Mini-Mart, in Altoona, Pa. Oil prices hit $100 per barrel for the first time in nearly four months as U.S. supplies dropped, and a pipeline deal promised to cut them further. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

Chart shows daily changes of the U.S. crude oil prices per barrel

NEW YORK (AP) ? Oil prices hit $100 a barrel on Wednesday after a six-week surge that may drive gasoline prices higher in coming months and slow the fragile economic recovery.

For now, there a few reasons to explain why oil jumped 30 percent higher since early October.

One is promising. The U.S. economy continued to show signs of strength, meaning that the thirst for fuel may grow.

The other factor is troublesome, as concerns rise about potential disruptions to critical ? and tightening ? world oil supplies, including unrest in the key oil-producing areas of the Middle East and Africa.

The price run-up has led to increasing numbers of investors, such as major investment funds, pension funds, money managers and other speculators, to flood back into commodities markets.

"This thing is on fire," independent oil trader Stephen Schork said. "Everyone's gobbling oil up."

The benchmark oil price rose by 3.2 percent Wednesday alone, ending the day at $102.59 per barrel, after a Canadian pipeline company announced it would ship crude away from a key Midwest delivery point. It was the first time since July that oil rose above the $100 mark.

So far, the jump in prices hasn't pushed gasoline prices higher. Gasoline prices are being held in check because motorists are driving less than they did during the summer vacation season. Refineries also are allowed to make cheaper winter fuel blends this time of year.

Still, if oil holds above $100 per barrel for long, gasoline will inevitably rise from a national average of $3.402 on Wednesday. Analysts are already predicting pump prices above $4 per gallon in the spring.

It's tough to say how high oil will go.

After a similar surge in the spring, prices fell in April from this year's peak near $114 per barrel on fears of another U.S. recession and as industrialized nations planned and later released emergency supplies.

The springtime rise sharply curtailed economic growth. Consumers had fewer dollars to spend on other goods because gas cost so much more. There was even talk of $5 a gallon. The national average hit $3.9845 per gallon on May 5.

Consumer spending, which drives the U.S. economy, nearly came to a halt. The 0.7 percent growth in the spring quarter was the slowest since the recession ended in June 2009.

"Consumers had to pull back on other spending to fill up their gas tanks," said Ryan Sweet, an economist at Moody's Analytics. Americans are devoting more of their income to gasoline than ever this year. The Oil Price Information Service says that U.S. households have spent 8.4 percent of their income on gasoline, up from 6.7 percent in 2010 and 7.9 percent in 2008.

A variety of factors since have pushed oil prices above $100 again.

?The U.S. bounced back from the spring and appears to have avoided a recession: Over the past several weeks, economic reports have shown that consumers are spending more, and manufacturing activity continues to grow.

?Supplies are tightening: Crude stockpiles have been falling this year in the U.S. The government said Wednesday that storage levels are 6 percent lower than their 5-year average. They could fall further, given that a Canadian company inked a deal to send oil from a key Midwest delivery point to the Gulf of Mexico, where much of it is expected to be refined and potentially exported to other countries.

?Growing concerns about some of the world's richest oil producers: Iran, the world's fourth-largest oil exporter, is suspected of developing nuclear weapons, according to a United Nations report earlier this month. Its nuclear program could lead to international trade sanctions, and Israel has threatened military action. Companies operating in Nigeria also say that oil production has been hurt by spills, sabotage and outright thefts. Nigeria is one of the top five oil exporters to the U.S.

?Developing nations continue to demand more oil: China, India, Latin America and other developing regions of the world are burning more fuel as they build factories and their people buy more cars. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries expects world demand to increase from about 88 million barrels per day in 2011 to a record 92.9 million by 2015.

?Investors are increasingly confident that oil will go higher: Government data shows that speculators are mostly betting that prices will go up, not down. Intense interest from speculators tends to push oil prices higher, Schork said.

"They're just pouring money into this thing," he said. Because of the interest from speculators, it's hard to say exactly when prices would fall. "You just have to wait for buying interest to dry up."

___

AP Economics writer Christopher S. Rugaber contributed to this story from Washington, D.C.

___

Chris Kahn can be reached at http://twitter.com/ChrisKahnAP.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2011-11-16-Oil%20Prices/id-f8354f1fdd834bf78591dbfe551e5c69

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AP-Petside Poll: Are Rescue Animals America's Favorite Pet? | Petside

Over half of Americans have adopted a rescue animal at some point, and three in 10 say their current pet came from a shelter, according to a new AP-Petside.com poll.

Are rescue pets emerging as America?s top dogs?

It?s quite possible, since 84 percent of adopters say they had a positive experience working with an animal shelter. Sixty-four percent called it ?very positive.?

Meanwhile, the Humane Society of the United States estimates that 6-8 million animals enter shelters each year. Of the animals that do enter, the HSUS estimates that half (3-4 million) wind up euthanized.

"Adoption is critical to reducing the number of animals that are euthanized in shelters every year," says Inga Fricke, the Director of Sheltering and Pet Care Issues for the Humane Society of the United States. "If everyone adopted their next pet, we could bring an end to euthanasia of adoptable animals."

As such, it?s no surprise that most pet owners (51 percent) say they would go to a shelter if they were looking to bring a new pet into their home, among those who?ve done it before, it?s 68 percent.

But even among animal rescuers, it seems some pets are more likely to find homes than others; only 15 percent of adopters were looking for a senior pet, who was already house trained, in their most recent adoption. ?

The alarming statistic implies that most people aren?t interested in taking a senior pet home. "People have the misguided notion that older pets must have behavioral challenges or they would not have ended up in the shelter," says Fricke. The truth is most pets end up in shelters because the owner had a problem, like moving or a relationship change, not the pet, she adds.

And even if an older pet needs to learn a thing or two, training is usually easier than it would be with a younger pet. "Older pets can focus more easily and learn even better than a distracted puppy or kitten," Fricke says.

"There are so many advantages to having an older dog in your life," says Kelly Jackson, Senior Pet Lifestyle Expert for Aarff.com. "Older dogs are great at giving love, and once they're settled in to your home they are grateful for the second chance you've given them."

Of those who adopted pets from a shelter, 58 percent said they felt they were being socially responsible by pursuing adoption.

"Adoption definitely feels good?it's the easiest way to save a life," says Fricke. "Adopted pets form a unique bond with their new owners, and the goodwill goes even further than just that one adoption; Friends and family may consider adopting after seeing your wonderful adopted pet, [and] the shelter you adopted from now has space to give another pet a chance at adoption. The ripple effects are felt far and wide."

In addition, 51 percent of all poll participants said that it was extremely/ very likely that their next pet would be from an animal shelter or rescue.

As adoption rates continue to increase, no small number of rescue animals are being saved: In the 1970s, 12-20 million dogs and cats were euthanized annually, with only 65 million pets finding their way into the hearts and homes of Americans.

Now, over 135 million pets are in our homes, and euthanasia numbers have substantially declined. In order to continue this positive trend, it is important that we continue to consider adoption as a very real option for finding our lovable pets.

Do you have a rescue animal at home? If not, have you considered looking in to finding a pet from an animal rescue or shelter? Share your experiences with us in a comment!

And come back tomorrow to petside.com/PetNet2011 for a special day-long online adoption event!

Source: http://www.petside.com/article/ap-petside-poll-are-rescue-animals-america-s-favorite-pet

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Players reject NBA's offer, threatening season (AP)

NEW YORK ? Two years at the bargaining table led nowhere, so NBA players are ready to take their chances in a courtroom.

The players' association rejected the league's latest proposal for a new labor deal Monday and began disbanding, paving the way for a lawsuit that throws the season into jeopardy.

With All-Stars, role players, NBA champions and a new legal team crowding around them, union leaders announced the significant change in strategy, saying the collective bargaining process had "completely broken down."

"This is where it stops for us as a union," president Derek Fisher said.

And where the NBA's "nuclear winter" starts.

"We're prepared to file this antitrust action against the NBA," union executive director Billy Hunter said. "That's the best situation where players can get their due process."

And that's a tragedy as far as Commissioner David Stern is concerned.

"It looks like the 2011-12 season is really in jeopardy," Stern said in an interview aired on ESPN. "It's just a big charade. To do it now, the union is ratcheting up I guess to see if they can scare the NBA owners or something. That's not happening."

Hunter said players were not prepared to agree to Stern's ultimatum to accept the current proposal or face a worse one, saying they thought it was "extremely unfair." A day before players normally would have received their first paychecks, the NBPA's website greeted visitors Monday with the following message:

"Error 404: Basketball Not Found

Please be patient as we work on resolving this. We are sorry for the inconvenience.":

And they're aware what this battle might cost them.

"We understand the consequences of potentially missing the season; we understand the consequences that players could potentially face if things don't go our way, but it's a risk worth taking," union vice president Maurice Evans said. "It's the right move to do."

But it's risky.

Hunter said all players will be represented in a class-action suit against the NBA by attorneys Jeffrey Kessler and David Boies ? who were on opposite sides of the NFL labor dispute, Kessler working for the players, Boies for the league.

"Mr. Kessler got his way, and we're about to go into the nuclear winter of the NBA," Stern told ESPN. "If I were a player ... I would be wondering what it is that Billy Hunter just did."

The league already has filed a pre-emptive lawsuit seeking to prove the lockout is legal and contends that without a union that collectively bargained them, the players' guaranteed contracts could legally be voided.

During oral arguments on Nov. 2, the NBA asked U.S. District Judge Paul Gardephe to decide the legality of its lockout, but he was reluctant to wade into the league's labor mess. Gardephe has yet to issue a ruling.

Two years of bargaining couldn't produce a deal, with owners' desires for more competitive balance clashing with players' wishes to keep the salary cap system largely intact. The sides last met Thursday, when the league offered a revised proposal but told the players there would be no further negotiating on it.

Stern, who is a lawyer, had urged players to take the deal on the table, saying it's the best the NBA could offer and advised that decertification is not a winning strategy.

Players ignored that warning, choosing instead to dissolve the union, giving them a chance to win several billion dollars in triple damages in an antitrust lawsuit.

"This is the best decision for the players," Fisher said. "I want to reiterate that point, that a lot of individual players have a lot of things personally at stake in terms of their careers and where they stand. And right now they feel it's important ? we all feel it's important to all our players, not just the ones in this room, but our entire group ? that we not only try to get a deal done for today but for the body of NBA players that will come into this league over the next decade and beyond."

Fisher, flanked at a press conference by dozens of player representatives and superstars including Kobe Bryant and Carmelo Anthony, said the decision was unanimous. But there were surely players throughout the league who would have preferred union leadership put the proposal to a vote of the full membership, with many ready to go back to work.

The sides still can negotiate during the legal process, so players didn't want to write off the season just yet.

"I don't want to make any assumptions," union VP Keyon Dooling said. "I believe we'll continue to try to get a deal done or let this process play out. I don't know what to expect from this process."

Hunter said the NBPA's "notice of disclaimer" was filed with Stern's office about an hour before the news conference announcing the move. Now, the NBPA is in the process of converting to a trade association as the fight shifts to the courts.

"The fact that the two biggest legal adversaries in the NFL players dispute over the NFL lockout both agree that the NBA lockout is now illegal and subject to triple damages speaks for itself," Kessler said in an email to The Associated Press. "I am delighted to work together with David Boies on behalf of the NBA players."

Players made numerous economic concessions and were willing to meet the owners' demands of a 50-50 split of basketball-related income ? a transfer of about $280 million annually from their feeling the league's desires to improve competitive balance would hurt their guaranteed 57 percent under the old deal ? but only if the owners met them on their system wishes.

"This deal could have been done. It should have been done," Hunter said. "We've given and given and given, and they got to the place where they just reached for too much and the players decided to push back."

During the weekend, Stern said he would not cancel the season this week.

Regardless, damage already has been done, in many ways.

Financially, both sides have lost hundreds of millions because of the games missed and the countless more that will be wiped out before play resumes. Team employees are losing money, and in some cases, jobs. And both the owners and players eventually must regain the loyalty of an angered fan base that wonders how the league reached this low point after such a strong 2010-11 season.

"It's horrible," said Ty Agee, president of the Beale Street Merchants Association in Memphis, Tenn. "This is bad. Personally, I don't believe they will be able to fix it. This is really, really bad."

And it was seemingly destined. Hunter said he believed years ago owners were going to lock out the players until they could force through the changes they sought. Given that, he has been criticized for not disbanding the union sooner in hopes of creating some leverage that the union never had.

The proposal rejected by the players called for a 72-game season beginning Dec. 15.

On Sunday, the league made a very public push on the positives of the deal ? hosting a 90-minute twitter chat to answer questions from players and fans, posting a YouTube video to explain the key points and sending a memo from Stern to players urging them to "study our proposal carefully, and to accept it as a fair compromise of the issues between us."

In the memo, posted on the league's website, Stern highlighted points of the deal and asked players to focus on the compromises the league made during negotiations, such as dropping its demands for a hard salary cap, non-guaranteed contracts and salary rollbacks.

Union officials repeatedly have said the system issues are perhaps more important to them than the split of basketball-related income, but owners say they need fundamental changes in both to allow for a chance to profit and to ensure more competitive balance throughout the league.

The previous CBA expired at the end of the day June 30. Despite a series of meetings in June, there was never much hope of a deal before that deadline, with owners wanting significant changes after saying they lost $300 million last season and hundreds of millions more in each year of the old agreement, which was ratified in 2005.

Owners wanted to keep more of the league's nearly $4 billion in basketball revenues. And they sought a system where even the smallest-market clubs could compete, believing the current system would always favor the teams who could spend the most.

The NBA's last work stoppage reduced the 1998-99 season to 50 games. Monday marked the 137th day of the lockout; the NFL lockout lasted 136 days.

In its labor battle, NFL players tried to get the courts to overturn the lockout and let players return to work. Although a Minnesota judge initially ruled in favor of the players, that ruling was put on hold by the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

"Given the rulings that came down in the NFL case, which are not binding in the 2nd circuit but would be influential, right now the owners are not in a bad spot," said antitrust attorney David Scupp of Constantine Cannon in New York City. "It could very well be that the players have an uphill battle toward getting that lockout enjoined. If they can do that, then it might swing things in their favor."

But time is not on anyone's side.

"If you look at what happened with the NFL case, that whole legal battle surrounding the temporary injunction was resolved relatively quickly, and it still took a few months," Scupp said. "There's not a few months to spare this time around."

___

AP Sports Writers Rachel Cohen in New York, Howard Fendrich in Washington, Jon Krawczynski in Minneapolis and Tim Reynolds in Miami, and freelance writer Clay Bailey in Memphis contributed to this report.

___

Follow Brian Mahoney on Twitter: twitter.com/Briancmahoney

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111115/ap_on_sp_bk_ne/bkn_nba_labor

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