Plan would help military families take leave (AP)

WASHINGTON ? The Obama administration is proposing new rules to help military families care for service members when they are called to active duty or become injured.

First lady Michelle Obama was set to join Labor Secretary Hilda Solis on Monday to announce the plan that updates the Family and Medical Leave Act.

The proposal would let family members take up to 12 weeks of leave from work to help a service member deployed on short notice. Family caregivers could attend military functions, deal with child care issues, or update financial affairs without fear of losing their jobs.

It would also give family members up to 26 weeks of leave to care for a service member with a serious injury or illness.

Officials also are announcing other efforts to support military families.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120130/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_military_family_leave

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Picture of the Day (talking-points-memo)

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Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/193373513?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Gingrich says he's in till GOP convention (AP)

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. ? On the weekend before the pivotal Florida primary, Newt Gingrich vowed Saturday to stay in the race for the Republican presidential nomination until the national convention this summer even if he loses Tuesday's vote. Front-runner Mitt Romney poured on the criticism of his rival in television ads airing across the state.

Gingrich's pledge, in a race defined by unpredictability, raised the prospect of an extended struggle inside the party as Republicans work to defeat President Barack Obama in the fall. "You just had two national polls that show me ahead," he said. "Why don't you ask Gov. Romney what he will do if he loses" in Florida.

The former Massachusetts governor countered a few hours later while in Panama City. "I think we are going to win here, I sure hope so," he said.

As the two rivals made their appeals to Hispanic, Jewish and tea party voters, veterans of the armed forces and others, all known indicators pointed to a good day for Romney in the primary.

He and his allies held a 3-1 advantage in money spent on television advertising in the race's final days. Robust early vote and absentee ballot totals followed a pre-primary turnout operation by his campaign. Even the schedules the two men kept underscored the shape of the race ? moderate for Romney, heavy for Gingrich.

Campaigning like a front-runner, Romney made few references to Gingrich. Instead, he criticized Obama's plans to cut the size of the armed forces. "He's detached from reality," the former Massachusetts governor said.

"The foreign policy of `pretty please' is not working terribly well," he added. Romney said he wants to add 100,000 troops, not cut them.

If his personal rhetoric was directed Obama's way, the television commercials were trained on Gingrich, whose victory in last Saturday's South Carolina primary upended the race for the nomination. A new ad released as the weekend began is devoted to the day in 1997 when Gingrich received an ethics reprimand from the House while serving as speaker and was ordered to pay a $300,000 fine.

Nearly the entire 30-second ad consists of NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw's nationally broadcast description of the events on the evening news. "By an overwhelming vote, they found him guilty of ethics violations; they charged him a very large financial penalty, and they raised ? several of them ? raised serious questions about his future effectiveness," Brokaw said that night, and now again on televisions across Florida.

Both NBC and the former newsman registered objections. The network called on the campaign to stop using the footage and Brokaw said in a statement, "I do not want my role as a journalist compromised for political gain by any campaign."

A Romney adviser, Eric Fehrnstrom, said the campaign wasn't likely to stop running the ad. "We believe it falls within fair use," he said. "We didn't take the entire broadcast; we just took the first 30 seconds."

Whatever its impact, the ad represented part of a barrage that Gingrich could not match.

A second Romney ad said Gingrich had "cashed in" as a Washington insider while the housing crisis was hitting Florida particularly hard.

Figures made available to The Associated Press showed Romney was spending $2.8 million to air television commercials in the final week of the Florida campaign. In addition, a group supporting him, Restore Our Future, was spending $4 million more, for a combined total of $6.8 million.

By contrast, Gingrich was spending about $700,000, and Winning Our Future, a group backing him, an additional $1.5 million. That was about one-third the amount for the pro-Romney tandem.

Officials said the total of absentee and early vote cast approached 500,000, about 200,000 of them before Gingrich won in South Carolina last weekend.

Gingrich seemed in good humor during the day, despite the obstacles in his way. He joked with reporters that they had missed an example of his grandiosity ? a charge that one rival, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, had used in a recent debate ? when they didn't see him hold a golf trophy on display at the PGA Library.

Gingrich also turned aside one opportunity to criticize Romney, answering a question by saying, `I want to talk about defeating Obama."

But his tone seemed to change after he said he wasn't happy with his performances in a pair of debates during the week, and was asked to explain.

"You cannot debate somebody who is dishonest. You just can't," he said, referring to Romney.

Referring to one answer the former Massachusetts governor had given, Gingrich said it was not true that Romney had always voted for a Republican when one was on the ballot.

"That in fact he could have voted for George H.W. Bush or Pat Buchanan the same day and he chose the Democratic primary, he voted Paul Tsongas, the most liberal candidate. The same year he gave money to three Democrats for Congress," he added, referring to the 1992 campaign.

"Now there's no practical way in a civil debate to deal with somebody who is that willing to say something that is just totally dishonest."

Romney poked fun at Gingrich's debate performances.

"This last one Speaker Gingrich said he didn't do so well because the audience was so loud. The one before he said he didn't do so well because the audience was too quiet. This is like Goldilocks, you know, you've got to have it just right.

"When I debate the president, I'm not going to worry about the audience, I'm going to make sure that we take down Barack Obama and take back the White House."

The two other contenders, Santorum and Texas Rep. Ron Paul, have conceded Florida and did not campaign in the state during the day.

___

Associated Press reporter Steve Peoples in Panama City contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120128/ap_on_el_pr/us_gop_campaign

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Scientists probe form, function of mysterious protein

Friday, January 27, 2012

Like a magician employing sleight of hand, the protein mitoNEET -- a mysterious but important player in diabetes, cancer and aging -- draws the eye with a flurry of movement in one location while the subtle, more crucial action takes place somewhere else.

Using a combination of laboratory experiments and computer modeling, scientists from Rice University and the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) have deciphered part of mitoNEET's movements to get a better understanding of how it handles its potentially toxic payload of iron and sulfur. Their research is described this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

"We scrutinize proteins with an unconventional approach," said Jos? Onuchic, Rice's Harry C. and Olga K. Wiess Professor of Physics and Astronomy and co-director of the Center for Theoretical Biological Physics. "We use biophysics to probe biology rather than the other way around. Using computational theory, we find structures that are possible -- regardless of whether they've already been observed experimentally -- and we ask ourselves whether these structures might be biologically significant."

Study co-leader Patricia Jennings, professor of chemistry and biochemistry at UCSD, who has collaborated with Onuchic for 15 years, said they save a great deal of time by using structural biophysics to guide their experiments on a wide variety of targets. For example, Jennings' laboratory determined less than five years ago that mitoNEET contained a novel folded structure. Since then, her lab has been using insights gained from static and dynamic snapshots of the protein to guide biological and biochemical studies.

"I think people forget that proteins are machines with moving parts," said study lead author Elizabeth Baxter, a UCSD graduate student who works under the guidance of both Onuchic and Jennings. "We start with the static snapshot and model in the functional motions."

MitoNEET, which binds to the diabetes drug, Actos, immediately caught the attention of researchers when it was discovered. It has a unique ability to bind and store iron-based molecules in an iron-sulfur cluster. Iron is an essential element for all life, but it is also highly toxic, and mitoNEET is the only iron-handling protein that is known to sit on the wall of the mitochondria, one of the key structures inside a cell.

The protein's biological functions are still being unraveled. Interestingly, scientists have shown that mitoNEET sits on the outer mitochondrial wall with its potentially toxic payload of iron-sulfur molecules facing toward the cell's cytoplasm, the gel-like fluid that fills the cell. Discovery of the unique binding mode of the protein's iron-sulfur cluster led the Jennings group to show that the cluster can be delivered into the mitochondria. In addition, its sister protein interacts with proteins that participate in apoptosis -- the process cells use to kill themselves when they are no longer viable.

"I think mitoNEET is a protein that could be your best friend or your worst enemy," Jennings said. "There's some evidence that it may act as a sensor for oxidative stress and that it can lose its toxic iron-sulfur cluster under stress conditions. Depending upon where the iron ends up, that could lead to drastic problems inside the cell."

Proteins are strands of amino acids that are produced from DNA blueprints, but their shapes can provide important clues about their function. To find out how mitoNEET's control and release of its iron-sulfur payload might be related to its shape, Baxter used computer simulations to study how the protein folds, as well as the functional motions of two similar shapes that could be biologically important. In one of these shapes, there is a slight intertwining of two arms that extend away from the iron-cluster pocket. In the other, the arms also extend but are not intertwined.

Baxter found that both conformations were physically possible. She also found the protein could switch between the "strand-swapped" and "strand-unswapped" conformations without entirely unfolding. Moreover, this change in the twining of the arms was shown to alter the shape of the critical pocket that holds the iron-sulfur cluster; this makes the cluster more likely to be inserted or released in situations where the arms are untwined.

Like the magician using misdirection, the loosening of the grip on the cluster is subtle and happens in a different location than the flurry of arm motions. Jennings said it's the kind of thing that could easily be missed if the focus of the study were the cluster itself.

Onuchic said, "One of the advantages to our approach is that it allows us to look for relevant biophysical properties that control distant functional regions -- like mitoNEET's strand-swapping -- that can easily be missed with a more conventional approach."

###

Rice University: http://media.rice.edu

Thanks to Rice University for this article.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/117151/Scientists_probe_form__function_of_mysterious_protein

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97% The Artist

All Critics (173) | Top Critics (39) | Fresh (167) | Rotten (5)

'The Artist': Michel Hazanavicius's novelty film owes much to Jean Dujardin's irresistible smile

For a movie that is so much about technique, it's surprising how affecting the story is.

The Artist is the most surprising and delightful film of 2011.

A silent movie shot in sumptuous black-and-white, no less. A silent flick made with not a jot of distancing winking, but instead born of a heady affection for a bygone, very bygone, era of filmmaking.

It's a rocket to the moon fueled by unadulterated joy and pure imagination.

Strangely, wonderfully, The Artist feels as bold and innovative a moviegoing experience as James Cameron's bells-and-whistles Avatar did a couple of years ago.

'The Artist' offers a unique cinematic experience in an age when extremely loud sound effects attack our eardrums while watching so many current movies.

The Artist delights in an ingeniously straightforward way that exceeds many a modern, technologically advanced, effects-loaded, big-budget blockbuster.

A silent movie that speaks louder and with more power than a dozen films packed with pages and pages of dialogue. Definitely the year's best movie.

Imaginative, gorgeous, witty and even kind of sexy.

A gift that keeps on giving, The Artist is a film that demands your attention at every moment. All senses are glued to the screen and director Michel Hazanavicius delivers with drama, laughter, romance and stellar performances from his cast.

Has the allure of a freshness it may not entirely deserve, but one that makes it go down very smoothly.

Initially, the lack of spoken dialogue is discomfiting. Once you've adjusted to its storytelling conventions, though, you almost forget that this is a silent film.

I'm not sure Hazanavicius' love letter to the cinema is, in fact, the most outstanding movie of last year. But who would deny that it stands out from the motion-picture pack?

In a strange way, it's not unlike The Matrix -- only this time the red pill transports you into the futuristic world of sound, rather than a cynical world of two increasingly abysmal sequels.

Completely fun. Dujardin defies time periods. Bejo is all sparkly effervescence.

Was there ever a guy who could play an old school movie studio mogul like John Goodman? No.

A movie that is so old-fashioned from beginning to end that it's literally a breath of fresh air.

Visually stunning, imaginative, and cleverly scored and choreographed, The Artist is quite simply and quietly, the year's finest film.

Deeper than mere mimicry...

The Artist plays less like an original take on the early sound era than as fan fiction set in the world of Singin' in the Rain.

[C]ould have been all about the gimmick. Marvelously, it isn't. And yet its marvelousness is wrapped up in the gimmick... [A] sweet, deep passion for The Movies... throbs through The Artist and makes it sing.

A story that's so sweet and innocent, it's practically forgivable for being the awards bait it's being offered up as.

The Academy Awards are the biggest annual party that Hollywood throws for itself, and The Artist is a movie that worships Hollywood. Looks like a done deal.

See it, but remember: no talking.

A silent love song that anyone who adores film can nonetheless hear, loud and clear!

More Critic Reviews

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_artist/

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No. 18 Mississippi State tops Vandy 78-77 in OT (AP)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. ? Dee Bost scored on a layup with 51.8 seconds left in overtime and No. 18 Mississippi State edged Vanderbilt 78-77 Saturday night, snapping the Commodores' eight-game winning streak.

The Bulldogs (16-4, 3-2 Southeastern Conference) won in Memorial Gym for the first time since 2004 and snapped their own three-game skid in Nashville. They appeared headed toward another loss after trailing 39-28 at halftime.

Vanderbilt (14-5, 4-1) had plenty of chances to extend its winning streak but missed three shots after Bost's layup, the last a 3-point attempt by John Jenkins that hit the front of the rim just before the buzzer.

Bost scored 24 points, reserve Jalen Steele added 15, and Arnett Moultrie had his 11th double-double with 21 points and 14 rebounds.

Jenkins led Vanderbilt with 21 points, Jeffery Taylor had 19, and Festus Ezeli had 12 points and 14 rebounds. Lance Goulbourne added 12 points with a career-high four 3s.

In a game featuring four of the SEC's top scorers ? and with 16 NBA scouts watching ? each team took turns blowing leads. Vanderbilt was up 39-26 late in the first half, while Mississippi State was ahead 63-53 with 7:50 left and had a 68-62 lead with 1:56 remaining in regulation after Moultrie scored.

Vanderbilt rallied with Jenkins, the league's best scorer for two seasons running, hitting his fifth 3-pointer with 32.8 seconds left to tie it 68-all.

Rodney Hood missed a jumper for the Bulldogs then Renardo Sidney tried to put it back up and clanked a short jumper off the left side of the rim before Dai-Jon Parker got the rebound for Vanderbilt with 1.3 seconds left. Vandy had the last shot with Brad Tinsley tossing the ball into Ezeli, who missed a jumper in the lane to send it into overtime.

Vanderbilt led twice in the extra period, the last on a 3-pointer by Goulbourne with 1:09 remaining at 77-76. Bost then scored, and Vanderbilt couldn't take advantage of both Bost and Moultrie missing the front end of one-and-one down the stretch. Tinsley missed from long range then drove to the basket with his layup hitting off the rim.

After Moultrie's miss, Vanderbilt had 3.4 seconds left and the length of the court to go. Goulbourne threw the ball to Ezeli, who caught it in midair and threw it to Jenkins, but the nation's 3-point leader came up short.

The loss leaves No. 2 Kentucky, a winner over Alabama earlier Saturday, as the only undefeated team in SEC play. Vanderbilt now has lost six straight overtime games, including three this season.

Mississippi State bounced back from a loss to Ole Miss by outrebounding Vanderbilt 37-3, but the Bulldogs had a big edge at the free throw line, going 14 of 21 compared to 5 of 9 for Vandy.

Renardo Sidney, limited to 2 minutes with two fouls in the first half, helped revive the Bulldogs in the second. He teamed with Moultrie to give the Bulldogs plenty of presence in the paint, and Mississippi State came out of halftime with a 14-0 run that erased a 39-28 deficit at the break.

Vanderbilt didn't score until Taylor's layup with 16:43 left to pull within 42-41. Kedren Johnson hit a 3 from the top of the key to pull Vanderbilt to 54-53 midway through the half, but Mississippi State was in a stretch where the Bulldogs hit five straight 3s ? four by Steele, the last for their biggest lead at 63-53.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120122/ap_on_sp_co_ga_su/bkc_t25_mississippi_st_vanderbilt

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Self-collection and HPV DNA testing could be an effective cervical cancer screening

Public release date: 23-Jan-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Zachary Rathner
Zachary.Rathner@oup.com
301-841-1286
Journal of the National Cancer Institute

Human papillomavirus (HPV) testing of self-collected specimens may be a more effective way to screen for cervical cancer in low-resource settings compared to visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) and liquid-based cytology (LBC), according to a study published January 23 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Cervical cancer is the third most common cancer found in women with approximately 530,000 new cases each year resulting in an estimated 275,000 deaths. In developed countries, cervical cancer incidences have declined, mostly due to cervical cytology screening campaigns, which requires significant medical resources and laboratory infrastructure. Cervical cancer is on the rise in the developing world, with one-seventh of the world's cervical cancer cases in China, where there is no nationwide screening program for the disease yet. There, researchers have proposed that HPV testing of self-collected Pap specimens might serve as an alternative or complementary method of primary cervical cancer screening method.

In order to determine the effectiveness of HPV testing of self-collected Pap specimens (termed "Self-HPV testing" in the report), Professor You-Lin Qiao, M.D., Ph.D., of the Cancer Institute/Hospital at the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences/Peking Union Medical College and colleagues, assembled individual patient data from five population-based cervical cancer-screening studies in China from 1999-2007, in which participants received HPV testing of self-collected Pap specimens, HPV testing of physician-collected Pap specimens, LBC, and VIA. The researchers then analyzed the pooled data to detect biopsy-confirmed cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2 or more severe (CIN2+) or CIN3+. Of the 13,140 rural Chinese women screened for cervical cancer, 507 were diagnosed with CIN2+, 273 with CIN3+, and 37 with cervical cancer.

The researchers found that HPV testing of self-collected Pap specimens was more sensitive and less specific than VIA and LBC but less sensitive and similarly specific compared to physician-collected Pap specimens. They conclude that self-collection with HPV testing could help expand China's current screening outreach. "Although it is not specific enough to be a stand-alone test, self-HPV testing provides sensitive results without pelvic exams, medical professionals, or health-care facilities and thus has the potential to serve as a primary cervical cancer screening method for women, regardless of their geographic location or access to health care," the researchers write. Self-sampling procedures were instructed by medical professionals, and it is unclear whether unsupervised self-examinations would give out similar outcomes. Still, the researchers write, "The incorporation of Self-HPV testing in the Chinese government's planning of a national cervical cancer screening program would complement the current program by increasing its coverage of unscreened populations."

In an accompanying editorial, Patrick Petignat, M.D., of the University Hospitals of Geneva, writes that while HPV Self-Sampling for primary cervical cancer screening may help increase the number of women being screened, introducing a new screening method should be met with caution. He feels that determining both the cost effectiveness of the procedure as well as women's personal willingness to undergo self-screening is essential; furthermore, patients need to be properly educated about self-screening. "Efforts are still needed to increase awareness about HPV and cervical cancer, and more information is needed about the reliability of the method," Petignat writes. "Health-care professionals should provide sufficient support to participants to properly interpret their test results, thus avoiding any delay to follow-up and treatment."

###

Contact:

Article: You-Lin Qiao, qiaoy@cicams.ac.cn

Editorial: Patrick Petignat, patrick.petignat@hcuge.ch

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

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: 23-Jan-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Zachary Rathner
Zachary.Rathner@oup.com
301-841-1286
Journal of the National Cancer Institute

Human papillomavirus (HPV) testing of self-collected specimens may be a more effective way to screen for cervical cancer in low-resource settings compared to visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) and liquid-based cytology (LBC), according to a study published January 23 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Cervical cancer is the third most common cancer found in women with approximately 530,000 new cases each year resulting in an estimated 275,000 deaths. In developed countries, cervical cancer incidences have declined, mostly due to cervical cytology screening campaigns, which requires significant medical resources and laboratory infrastructure. Cervical cancer is on the rise in the developing world, with one-seventh of the world's cervical cancer cases in China, where there is no nationwide screening program for the disease yet. There, researchers have proposed that HPV testing of self-collected Pap specimens might serve as an alternative or complementary method of primary cervical cancer screening method.

In order to determine the effectiveness of HPV testing of self-collected Pap specimens (termed "Self-HPV testing" in the report), Professor You-Lin Qiao, M.D., Ph.D., of the Cancer Institute/Hospital at the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences/Peking Union Medical College and colleagues, assembled individual patient data from five population-based cervical cancer-screening studies in China from 1999-2007, in which participants received HPV testing of self-collected Pap specimens, HPV testing of physician-collected Pap specimens, LBC, and VIA. The researchers then analyzed the pooled data to detect biopsy-confirmed cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2 or more severe (CIN2+) or CIN3+. Of the 13,140 rural Chinese women screened for cervical cancer, 507 were diagnosed with CIN2+, 273 with CIN3+, and 37 with cervical cancer.

The researchers found that HPV testing of self-collected Pap specimens was more sensitive and less specific than VIA and LBC but less sensitive and similarly specific compared to physician-collected Pap specimens. They conclude that self-collection with HPV testing could help expand China's current screening outreach. "Although it is not specific enough to be a stand-alone test, self-HPV testing provides sensitive results without pelvic exams, medical professionals, or health-care facilities and thus has the potential to serve as a primary cervical cancer screening method for women, regardless of their geographic location or access to health care," the researchers write. Self-sampling procedures were instructed by medical professionals, and it is unclear whether unsupervised self-examinations would give out similar outcomes. Still, the researchers write, "The incorporation of Self-HPV testing in the Chinese government's planning of a national cervical cancer screening program would complement the current program by increasing its coverage of unscreened populations."

In an accompanying editorial, Patrick Petignat, M.D., of the University Hospitals of Geneva, writes that while HPV Self-Sampling for primary cervical cancer screening may help increase the number of women being screened, introducing a new screening method should be met with caution. He feels that determining both the cost effectiveness of the procedure as well as women's personal willingness to undergo self-screening is essential; furthermore, patients need to be properly educated about self-screening. "Efforts are still needed to increase awareness about HPV and cervical cancer, and more information is needed about the reliability of the method," Petignat writes. "Health-care professionals should provide sufficient support to participants to properly interpret their test results, thus avoiding any delay to follow-up and treatment."

###

Contact:

Article: You-Lin Qiao, qiaoy@cicams.ac.cn

Editorial: Patrick Petignat, patrick.petignat@hcuge.ch

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

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/2012-01/jotn-sah011912.php

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Marine's Iraq killings trial resumes in California (AP)

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. ? Testimony in the trial of a Marine sergeant charged in the biggest criminal case to emerge from the Iraq war resumed Friday with no explanation of what lawyers were negotiating during a two-day delay.

The judge advised jurors not to speculate on the reasons for the delay, and lawyers did not respond to repeated inquiries asking if there was talk of a plea deal.

"There were some negotiations going on and some other legal issues," Lt. Col. David Jones told the court before the all-Marine jury entered.

When the trial resumed, prosecutors showed long-disputed outtakes of a 2007 "60 Minutes" interview in which Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich defended the decisions he made Nov. 19, 2005 ? the day his squad killed 24 unarmed Iraqi civilians in Haditha after a roadside bomb hit a Marine convoy, killing one and wounded two others.

Wuterich told "60 Minutes" he gave the interview because he wanted the truth to be told after being called a "monster" and "baby killer."

The 31-year-old was charged with nine counts of voluntary manslaughter and prosecutors have implicated him in 19 of the deaths ? including those of women and children. Most of the killings happened during a series of raids on homes after the bomb explosion.

Prosecutors have argued Wuterich lost control of himself after seeing his friend blown apart by the bomb.

When asked in the interview if he felt angry after the bomb hit, Wuterich said he felt no emotion and "was essentially like a machine." He said his mind went to another place and his training kicked in, prompting him to react.

He said he fired on five Iraqi men outside a car near the bombsite because the car was the only one out there at the time and the men started to run. He said he feared it was a car bomb or they had triggered the roadside explosion. After that, he said the squad stormed nearby homes believing they were chasing insurgents. The search continued throughout the day.

The young squad leader said in the "60 Minutes" interview he had never been in combat before that day but he had been trained to positively identify his targets before shooting to kill.

He said he believed his troops were under fire and it was coming from the direction of the homes.

After the first home, Wuterich said in the interview that he saw women and children had been killed but he didn't call for his squad to stop firing, saying he could not risk hesitating.

"You can't hesitate to make a decision," Wuterich said in the interview. "Hesitation equals being killed. I lost a fire team. I couldn't afford to lose anymore."

He said he saw some of the Iraqis as threats because they were military-age men and seemed to be suspicious.

The father of three said after he learned he had killed women and children that day, he could not sleep and was afraid of his dreams. His mother cried Friday as she listened to the tape.

Defense attorneys have said Wuterich did the best he could in the fog of war.

Jurors have been tasked with trying to decipher whether Wuterich acted appropriately as a squad leader that fateful day: Did he protect his Marines by going after the threat following the explosion, or did he go on a rampage, disregarding combat rules and leading his men to indiscriminately kill Iraqis?

Wuterich of Meriden, Conn., is one of eight Marines initially charged. None has been convicted.

Wuterich has said he regretted the loss of civilian lives but believed he was following the rules of engagement, which included unleashing deadly force if there was a hostile act or hostile intent by someone. Prosecutors have questioned why he didn't order his men to stop after finding no weapons or taking no gunfire during the raid on the first home.

One of his squad mates took the stand Friday. Sgt. Humberto Mendoza told jurors that after he helped remove the bodies of women and children who were riddled with bullets in a back bedroom of the second home, he felt himself questioning "things" that night.

Mendoza acknowledged he lied to investigators at first about what happened and wanted to cover it up to protect his squad, but he told jurors he decided it's time to tell the truth. Defense attorneys have pointed out many squad members had their cases dropped in exchange for testifying for the prosecution.

"Up to this day, I really don't know what happened in the back bedroom," Mendoza said.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120121/ap_on_re_us/us_marines_haditha

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Scrambled GOP race heads to Florida

Republican presidential candidate and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich prepares to walk off stage with his grand daughter Maggie Cushman, after Gingrich spoke during a?South Carolina Republican presidential primary night rally, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012, in Columbia, S.C. Newt Gingrich won the South Carolina primary. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Republican presidential candidate and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich prepares to walk off stage with his grand daughter Maggie Cushman, after Gingrich spoke during a?South Carolina Republican presidential primary night rally, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012, in Columbia, S.C. Newt Gingrich won the South Carolina primary. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Republican presidential candidate and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich speaks during a?South Carolina Republican presidential primary night rally, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012, in Columbia, S.C. Callista Gingrich looks on at right. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum speaks during a South Carolina Republican presidential primary-night rally at The Citadel, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012, in Charleston, S.C. Santorum says it's a "wide open race" for the GOP nomination, even after finishing a distant third in Saturday's primary. He'd hoped to build momentum from a late victory in the Iowa caucuses. (AP Photo/Rainier Ehrhardt)

Republican presidential candidate, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum speaks during a South Carolina Republican presidential primary night rally at the Citadel, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012, in Charleston, S.C. Santorum says it's a "wide open race" for the GOP nomination, even after finishing third in Saturday's primary. (AP Photo/Rainier Ehrhardt)

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, stands with his wife Ann as he speaks at his South Carolina primary election night reception at the South Carolina State Fairgrounds in Columbia, S.C., Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich won the Republican primary Saturday night. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) ? A suddenly scrambled Republican presidential contest now shifts to Florida, a day after Newt Gingrich stopped Mitt Romney's sprint to the GOP nomination by scoring a convincing victory in South Carolina.

The air of inevitability that surrounded Romney's candidacy just days ago is gone, at least for now. And his rivals, led by Gingrich, have 10 days before Florida's Jan. 31 contest to prove South Carolina was no fluke.

Florida, being much larger, more diverse, and more expensive, brings new challenges to Gingrich, who again must overcome financial and organizational disadvantages as he did Saturday.

"We don't have the kind of money at least one of the candidates has. But we do have ideas. And we do have people," Gingrich, the former House speaker, told cheering supporters Saturday night. "And we proved here in South Carolina that people power with the right ideas beats big money. And with your help, we're going to prove it again in Florida."

Romney struck a defiant tone before his own backers gathered at the South Carolina State Fairgrounds, saying: "I will compete in every single state." And wasted no time jabbing at Gingrich, saying: "Our party can't be led to victory by someone who also has never run a business and never led a state."

Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, having finished third in South Carolina, vowed to compete in Florida and beyond. His presence in the race ensures at least some division among Florida's tea party activists and evangelicals, a division that could ultimately help Romney help erase any questions about his candidacy by scoring a victory of his own a week from Tuesday.

Texas Rep. Ron Paul likely will not be a factor in Florida, having declared that he's bypassing the expensive state in favor of smaller subsequent contests.

As the first Southern primary, South Carolina has been a proving ground for Republican presidential hopefuls in recent years. Since Ronald Reagan in 1980, every Republican contender who won the primary has gone on to capture the party's nomination.

Returns from 95 percent of the state's precincts showed Gingrich with 41 percent of the vote to 27 percent for Romney. Santorum was winning 17 percent, Paul 13 percent.

But political momentum was the real prize with the race to pick an opponent to President Barack Obama still in its early stages.

Already, Romney and a group that supports him were on the air in Florida with a significant television ad campaign, more than $7 million combined to date.

Gingrich readily conceded that he trails in money, and even before appearing for his victory speech he tweeted supporters thanking them and appealing for a flood of donations for the Jan 31 primary. "Help me deliver the knockout punch in Florida. Join our Moneybomb and donate now," said his Internet message.

Aides to Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, had once dared hope that Florida would seal his nomination ? if South Carolina didn't first ? but that strategy appeared to vanish along with the once-formidable lead he held in pre-primary polls.

Romney swept into South Carolina 11 days ago as the favorite after being pronounced the winner of the lead-off Iowa caucuses, then cruising to victory in New Hampshire's first-in-the-nation primary.

But in the sometimes-surreal week that followed, he was stripped of his Iowa triumph ? GOP officials there now say Santorum narrowly won ? while former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman dropped out and endorsed Romney and Texas Gov. Rick Perry quit and backed Gingrich.

Romney responded awkwardly to questions about releasing his income tax returns, and about his investments in the Cayman Islands. Gingrich, the former speaker of the House, benefited from two well-received debate performances while grappling with allegations by an ex-wife that he had once asked her for an open marriage so he could keep his mistress.

By primary eve, Romney was speculating openly about a lengthy battle for the nomination rather than the quick knockout that had seemed within his grasp only days earlier.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2012-01-22-GOP%20Campaign/id-39ef51b3a8e54784a88903af43cf4949

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China iPhone launch delay could boost sales for rivals during Chinese New Year holidays (Digital Trends)

Imagine just prior to the holiday season supplies of Apple?s iPhone ran dry. You?d been hoping to treat yourself to the latest 4S device, or buy one for a friend or relative, but you can?t find the smartphone anywhere. Worse still, there?s no word when they might be returning to stores. If this happened, would you instead take a look at the competition? Examine some of the Android offerings, for example? Or would you just wait until Apple?s device returned to stores, even though it could be a couple of weeks before it happens, or even a month?

As a Bloomberg report points out, this is the dilemma facing shoppers in China just now after Apple?s launch of the 4S device in the country on January 13 descended into chaos, resulting in the company withdrawing the popular smartphone from sale until further notice. And yes, right now China is in the midst of its pre-holiday shopping rush. Their one-week holiday begins on January 23, and so Apple will have lost many sales by removing the 4S from its shelves. Even its online store has sold out. The phone can still be picked up from China Unicom and authorised resellers, but supplies are scarce.

As Bloomberg points out, there?ll be many out there who?ll be rather happy with the way things have gone for Apple in China so far this year ? its competitors, for example. Samsung and others will be hoping to capitalize on the absence of the iPhone just prior to the country?s gift-giving season next week, a period which last year saw shoppers spend an estimated $64 billion.

Is the appeal of Apple?s iPhone 4S strong enough that consumers will wait, or will makers of Android handsets see a boost in sales?

David Wolf, chief executive officer of a Beijing-based consulting firm, thinks it?ll be the latter. ?A large portion of Chinese New Year sales are about having the gifts in hand right now,? he told Bloomberg. ?Android devices competitive with the iPhone will benefit.? HTC and Motorola could also be beneficiaries of Apple?s decision to postpone the launch of the 4S, Wolf said.

It???s going to be interesting to see whether there???ll be any long-term impact on sales of the iPhone in the country, and whether Apple???s image has been tarnished by events earlier this month.

?Most worrying is the potential loss of good will. There might be real demand permanently lost,? a Beijing-based analyst with IDC China commented.

Apple is currently the fourth most popular smartphone vendor in the country, behind Nokia Oyj, Samsung and Huawei Technologies.

This article was originally posted on Digital Trends

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APNewsBreak: Fuel transfer done in Nome, Alaska

In a photo provided by the U.S. Coast Guard, two hose lines run from the Russian tanker Renda as they prepare for pressure tests Monday Jan. 16, 2012 in Nome, Alaska. The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Healy has been escorting and breaking ice for the Renda since Jan. 3, 2012, to help deliver approximately 1.3 million gallons of gasoline and diesel to Nome, Alaska. (AP Photo/US Coast Guard, Petty Officer 2nd Class Eric J. Chandler.)

In a photo provided by the U.S. Coast Guard, two hose lines run from the Russian tanker Renda as they prepare for pressure tests Monday Jan. 16, 2012 in Nome, Alaska. The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Healy has been escorting and breaking ice for the Renda since Jan. 3, 2012, to help deliver approximately 1.3 million gallons of gasoline and diesel to Nome, Alaska. (AP Photo/US Coast Guard, Petty Officer 2nd Class Eric J. Chandler.)

En esta foto proporcionada por la Guardia Costera de Estados Unidos, el buque cisterna ruso Renda se encuentra justo frente a la costa de Nome, con dos mangueras de trasiego de combustible que dan a una calzada en el puerto de Nome, el lunes 16 de enero de 2012. Despu?s de ser escoltados a trav?s del hielo por el rompehielo Healy de la Guardia Costera, el Renda comenz? a entregar m?s de 1,3 millones de galones de combustible el lunes. (AP foto/U.S. Coast Guard, Petty Officer 3rd Class Grant DeVuyst)

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) ? A massive effort to pump fuel from a Russian tanker to the iced-in Alaska city of Nome is complete, moving an estimated 1.3 million gallons into the city that faced a shortage after missing its last delivery.

Stacey Smith, manager of Vitus Marine LLC ? the company that arranged for the tanker to deliver gas and diesel to the city ? said the operation finished up Thursday morning.

"Fuel is delivered to Nome," she said.

The pumping operation finished up at about 7 a.m., said Jason Evans, board chairman of Sitnasuak Native Corp., which arranged for the tanker delivery to Nome. But he said the mission was far from over.

"Now on to getting them out of Nome and back out of the ice there," Evans said of the tanker and Coast Guard icebreaker frozen into the ice near the Nome harbor.

The plan is for the icebreaker to help get the tanker back through the ice and to open water where the tanker will head back to Russia. The icebreaker will go to Dutch Harbor, Alaska to drop off supplies and then to its home port in Seattle, Evans said.

The two lines that pumped both gasoline and diesel fuel from the ship will have to be cleared of any residual fuel, which could mean up to 7,000 more gallons of fuel.

The city of 3,500 didn't get its last pre-winter barge fuel delivery because of a massive November storm. Without the Russian tanker's delivery, Nome would run out of fuel by March or April, long before the next barge delivery is possible.

Alaska has had one of the most severe winters in decades. Snow has piled up 10 feet or higher against the wood-sided buildings in Nome, a former gold rush town that is the final stop on the 1,150-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.

Smith said the pumping operation finished up with temperatures finally reaching above zero. Nome for weeks has been experiencing record cold temperatures, dipping to more than 30 below zero.

This is the first time petroleum products have been delivered to a western Alaska community by sea in winter.

The exact amount of fuel transferred to the tanks won't be known for a day or two. However, the amount will be enough to get Nome through the winter and to the next barge delivery in late spring, Evans said.

The Russian tanker Renda began its journey from Russia in mid-December, picking up diesel fuel in South Korea before heading to Dutch Harbor, where it took on unleaded gasoline. It arrived last week off Nome on Alaska's west coast, more than 500 miles from Anchorage.

A Coast Guard icebreaker cleared a path for the 370-foot tanker through hundreds of miles of a slow journey stalled by thick ice and strong ocean currents. In total, the tanker traveled an estimated 5,000 miles.

Two parallel hoses, 700 yards long each, stretched between the Renda and a pipeline that delivered the estimated 1.3 million gallons of fuel to storage tanks near the harbor of the iced-in city. The transfer was made without a spill, Evans said.

He said he had the opportunity to go aboard the Russian tanker where he was served a lunch of borscht soup, spaghetti, fried chicken and freshly-made bread while thanking the captain and crew for getting the fuel to Nome.

"I told him he was one of the most famous captains of the world and he told me not in Russia," Evans said. "He told me, 'We do this all the time.'"

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-01-19-Nome%20Iced-In/id-13725043fae34e4d9dd986809aafb69a

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Pope hits out at 'radical secularism'

Pope Benedict XVI delivers his blessing during a general audience he held in the Pope Paul VI hall at the Vatican, Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Pope Benedict XVI delivers his blessing during a general audience he held in the Pope Paul VI hall at the Vatican, Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

VATICAN CITY (AP) ? Pope Benedict XVI says Roman Catholics in the U.S. need to understand the "grave threats" to their faith posed by what he calls radical secularism in the political and cultural arenas.

He addressed visiting U.S. bishops Thursday and used the same language in warning that attempts are being made to erode their religious freedom.

Benedict did not explicitly mention it, but the bishops have complained their religious freedom is eroding in the face of growing acceptance of gay marriage and attempts to marginalize faith. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has recently formed a committee on protecting religious liberty and hired attorneys and a lobbyist to work on the issue.

The pope said many of the bishops have complained about attempts to deny conscientious objection with regard to cooperation in "intrinsically evil practices." U.S. church leaders have been pressing for a broader religious exception to part of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul that mandates private insurers pay for contraception. The Obama administration has not yet made a decision on the policy and the timing is uncertain.

Bishops also are pressing for broader religious exemptions in U.S. states that have legalized same-gender civil unions or marriage. The vast network of Catholic social services in the United States includes adoption and foster-care placement. Bishops in some states have either shut down adoption programs or have lost their government contracts after refusing to place children with same-gender couples.

Benedict also expressed appreciation that bishops have been more outspoken about American Catholic politicians who don't follow church teaching on abortion and other issues.

The pope said Catholics in political life have a "personal responsibility to offer public witness to their faith, especially with regard to the great moral issues of our time."

American Catholics have bitterly debated the obligations of Catholic lawmakers to oppose government policies that go against core Catholic teaching. In recent years, a small but growing number of local bishops have publicly told Catholic lawmakers who support abortion rights not to present themselves for Holy Communion because of their stance on the issue.

The White House had no response to the pope's remarks.

Officials of Catholic-affiliated institutions that have asked for a broader conscience exception to the birth control coverage requirement are frustrated that the administration has yet to make its ruling.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-01-19-EU-Vatican-US/id-8503237d9ddc44e69a5eeb6537d15b92

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Original Oscar winner "Wings" soars again in Hollywood (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) ? While silent movie "The Artist" gathers steam ahead of the Oscars, the only other non-talking picture to win an Academy Award is getting a makeover as Hollywood falls back in love with the early days of cinema.

"Wings," a World War I aerial dogfight epic made in 1927, won the first ever Oscar for best picture. Paramount Pictures, which is celebrating its centenary, has restored the classic silent action film and will present it with live organ accompaniment at the headquarters of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences on Wednesday, ahead of a Blu-ray release on January 24th.

William Wellman, a veteran World War I fighter pilot, directed "Wings," giving 1927 audiences a view of the world most had never seen. With cameras affixed to the flimsy bi-planes, a crew of flyers created dogfights featuring death-defying aerial stunts that continue to amaze viewers today.

"The thing about 'Wings' that's so exciting is that it was the 'Avatar' and the 'Star Wars' of its day. It was a state of the art action film," said Academy archivist Randy Haberkamp.

Set in Hollywood during the advent of sound, "The Artist" is not the only new movie focusing on early cinema. Martin Scorsese's 3D family film "Hugo" centers on French film pioneer Georges Melies, and in Woody Allen's "Midnight in Paris" Owen Wilson plays a modern screenwriter time traveling back to the 1920s.

"I think the zeitgeist is the realization that silent films are not a dead art form because true cinema is a very visceral and visually-generated thing," Haberkamp said.

In "Wings," Richard Arlen played David Armstrong, a small-town kid with a taste for speed. Immune to the affection of Mary (Clara Bow), the girl next door, he is smitten by city girl Sylvia (Jobyna Ralston). His rival in romance is Jack Powell (Charles Rogers), heir to a fortune.

Volunteering for service, the two men become fast friends through their wartime experience. Early on, they meet Gary Cooper playing a doomed pilot in one of his first screen appearances, a role that catapulted him to stardom.

WAY OVER BUDGET

Budgeted at what was then a record-setting $2 million dollars, "Wings" wound up costing way over that amount while Wellman spent idle days waiting for clouds, which he claimed were needed to offset the planes against the background.

Due to his bickering with studio brass, Wellman was not invited to the 1929 Oscar ceremony even though the movie was a hit. Powered by public enthusiasm for Charles Lindbergh's daring crossing of the Atlantic, "Wings" went on to become one of the top-grossing films of the decade.

Silent, black-and-white movie "The Artist", directed by Frenchman Michel Hazanavicius, is unlikely to become a major box office blockbuster despite having won more than 40 awards, including three Golden Globes last Sunday.

But it is considered a front-runner for the best film Oscar in February, and it may represent a reexamination of cinema's early roots in an era of dwindling movie goers.

"Through festivals and the availability of different kinds of materials on streaming and DVD release, I think people are experimenting with different types of films," said Paramount archive vice-president Andrea Kalas.

"People listen to the Beatles and the latest thing, and maybe something similar is happening with film too, where we're appreciating all sorts of different movies from different eras," Kalas said.

Oddly, early film technique has become more relevant in the modern era where a proliferation of digital effects has resulted in spectacle-driven box office. Consequently, action scenes are becoming longer and dialogue scenes shorter.

"Most of the movies that we go to see now are based on action sequences," said Haberkamp. "If you don't know how to cut an action sequence, if you don't know how to stage an action sequence, you don't know too much. Frankly, that's where the silent era really was phenomenal."

With all the technical advancements through the years, not a lot has changed, according to Haberkamp. What continues to make cinema past and present a unique art form is the transposition of images and the ability to manipulate time and space.

"In the end, I don't care whether it's silent or sound I just care whether it's compelling and well made," he said. "I think that's why there are so many people looking at silents going, 'Wait a minute, there's something going on here that is more than just a dated technology.'"

(Editing by Jill Serjeant and Bob Tourtellotte)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/celebrity/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120119/film_nm/us_wings

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Video: Gov. Christie reveals dream job

Silva: Breaking down AFC, NFC championship games

Silva: The NFL's crucial weekend has arrived. Four teams, two title games and the winners advance to Super Bowl XLVI. Here's breakdown of the divisional games this weekend, which focuses on each team's strengths, weaknesses, X-factors and the keys to winning.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036697/vp/46046404#46046404

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House rejects debt limit hike in protest vote (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? The House of Representatives voted to reject a $1.2 trillion increase in the federal debt limit on Wednesday in a largely symbolic vote aimed at staking out election-year positions on government spending.

The House voted 239 to 176 along party lines in favor of a "resolution of disapproval" against the increase sought by President Barack Obama, but the the winning tally was far short of the number needed to override an Obama veto.

Lawmakers had given Obama the authority to raise the debt limit last August as part of budget control legislation that ended a dramatic impasse over the borrowing cap that brought the United States to the brink of default and cost it its coveted top-tier credit rating.

(Reporting By David Lawder; Editing by Sandra Maler)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/uscongress/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120118/ts_nm/us_usa_debt_vote

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2 pandas munching bamboo amid French chateaux (AP)

PARIS ? The first giant pandas France has seen in more than a decade are happily munching bamboo in their new home.

Yuan Zi, a boy, and Huan Huan, a girl, arrived on a 10-year loan from China this week. On Tuesday the endangered animals were brought to the Zoo Parc de Beauval, amid the chateaux of the Loire Valley.

More than 1,000 local residents waited outside to try to get a glimpse of their arrival.

Zoo co-owner Delphine Delord said they will "live here the life of stars."

Their main mission, though, is to reproduce. "What we want is children," she said.

The visit is the latest example of China's "panda diplomacy," aimed at building friends and influence in other countries. Last month, two pandas from China debuted at Scotland's Edinburgh Zoo.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/pets/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120117/ap_on_re_eu/eu_france_pandas

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Video: Animals in Spain get yearly church blessing

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[unable to retrieve full-text content]Unless your head?s in the sand, you know where portable video games are headed: Cheaper to develop, less expensive to sell, easier to pick up and less time consuming to play. Smartphones and tablets are slowly pushing the established ...

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The Trailer for Hulu's First Scripted Series Is a Huge Disappointment [Watch This]

The trailer for Hulu's first scripted original series, Battlefield, is here, and it's, ugh, horrible. Too bad. We had high hopes for the future of online television. After all, the trailer for Netflix's Lilyhammer is excellent. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/Qute_uqMC7s/the-trailer-for-hulus-first-scripted-series-is-a-huge-disappointment

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Mount Rainier park official: Snowshoer found alive

SEATTLE (AP) ? A 66-year-old snowshoer who was missing on Mount Rainier since Saturday was found alive Monday afternoon by a team of three rescuers, a national park spokeswoman said.

Yong Chun Kim, of Tacoma, Wash., was alert and conscious, and was cold but otherwise in stable condition, park spokeswoman Lee Taylor said. Rescuers were working to bring in a Sno-Cat snow vehicle to carry him out because weather conditions prevented a helicopter from landing in the area, she said.

"As soon as we heard he was alive, my sister, his wife, praised God and said 'Hallelujah'," Kim's sister-in-law, Sang Soon Tomyn told The Associated Press after learning from relatives that Kim had been found. "We were so worried. We prayed every day."

She said her brother-in-law was a strong hiker, had food in his backpack and knew the area very well, so they prayed he would be all right.

"He's a very strong person," she said.

Kim was leading a group on a snowshoe hike on the mountain when he slid down a slope and became separated from his party. He radioed to the group twice to say he was OK. But when he failed to meet up with them in the parking lot, a search was launched Saturday afternoon.

Teams of park rangers, search dogs and volunteers had been combing a snowy area of Mount Rainier for the third straight day on Monday. Rescuers found him in the upper Stevens Creek basin, Taylor said. Weather conditions prevented a helicopter from joining the search.

Kim, who has been snowshoeing for a decade, was well equipped for a day of snowshoeing but did not have overnight gear. Temperatures dropped into the teens and eight inches of new snow fell in some areas since Saturday, with more snow forecasted in coming days. With winds whipping on the mountain, some areas saw as much as 30 inches of snow.

Kim was leading a group of 16 members of a hiking club on a snowshoe hike in the Paradise area, a popular high-elevation destination on the mountain's southwest flank, about a 100-mile drive south from Seattle.

He was still in contact with other members of his hiking club after his slide but decided not to try to climb back up the slope. "He yelled or gestured he would hook back up" farther down the trail, Taylor said.

"He radioed twice and said he was on his way in," she said.

Because Kim was the leader of his group, other members of his group weren't initially able to accurately describe where he had slipped, Taylor said.

It wasn't until Sunday afternoon that a member of the group was able to better pinpoint where Kim had fallen. Searchers had initially believed Kim fell in a different area, based on initial descriptions from the group, Taylor said.

"We're so thankful for the community and for everyone who was willing to volunteer" to help find him," Tomyn said. "It's dangerous rescue work. But we really appreciate it."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-01-16-Missing%20Snowshoer/id-63d4519aa2fa4f28bca12e4a1007cebe

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Republicans move to control Keystone approval (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? Congressional Republicans, who are urging President Barack Obama to give a permit to the Canada-to-Texas Keystone XL oil pipeline project, are working on a plan to take the reins of approval from the president should the White House say no.

Senator John Hoeven of North Dakota, a state counting on TransCanada Corp's pipeline to help move its newfound bounty of shale oil, is drafting contingency legislation that would see Congress green-light the project, an aide told Reuters.

After delaying the $7 billion project past the November 2012 election, Obama was compelled by Congress to decide by February 21 on whether to approve the pipeline that would sharply boost the flow of oil from Canada's oil sands.

Should Obama reject the pipeline, Senate Republicans would look at a bill that would force the go-ahead for work to begin, said Ryan Bernstein, an energy adviser to Hoeven, citing the powers given to Congress in the Constitution to regulate commerce with foreign nations.

"We believe that express authority in the Constitution gives Congress the ability to approve and move forward on such a project," Bernstein said in an interview.

The State Department, which has long held authority to oversee permits for cross-border pipelines, did not have immediate comment on the Republican plan on Wednesday.

There has been constitutional debate in the past over whether authority for border crossing permits rests with the executive branch or Congress, said Patrick Parenteau, an environmental law professor at Vermont Law School.

"Politically, it's an uphill battle, and legally, I would think the president would not acquiesce in such a move by Congress," Parenteau said in an interview.

"If we want to speculate, I guess there's going to have to be a constitutional show-down. The interesting question is: how would that come to the courts, who would bring an action and who would have standing?" he said.

POLITICAL VISE

The Keystone pipeline has put Obama in a political bind at the start of what is expected to be a difficult re-election campaign, and has become a useful tool for Republicans seeking to portray Obama as dithering on a project that they say would create 20,000 jobs.

Most labor unions support the project. But environmental groups, an important part of Obama's political base, have made defeating the pipeline a top priority. They are concerned about the carbon emissions that come from processing the oil sands, and they argue the project will create fewer than 5,000 jobs.

The White House in November delayed its decision on Keystone to find a new route around environmentally sensitive lands in the Nebraska portion of its route. This effectively punted the decision beyond the November U.S. presidential election.

Republicans struck back by inserting language in the December payroll tax cut bill that gave Obama 60 days to grant a permit, or explain why it was not in the national interest.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters aboard Air Force One on Wednesday that he did not have any updates on the timing of the decision. He reiterated comments made by the administration in December that the 60-day deadline was not long enough to evaluate a new Nebraska route.

Hoeven's draft bill would allow the Nebraska government to take the time it needs to study the route, Bernstein said. The White House did not specifically comment on Hoeven's potential legislation on Wednesday.

Hoeven is working on the new approach with other key Republicans, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senators Richard Lugar, David Vitter, Lisa Murkowski and Mike Johanns.

"The jobs Keystone XL will create is reason alone to keep this project on track, and I think it'd be extremely difficult for President Obama to claim it's not in the nation's best interest," said Vitter of Louisiana.

POLITICAL BATTLE AHEAD

While new Keystone legislation likely could sail through the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, its prospects in the Democratic-controlled Senate were unclear.

Some Democratic senators have said they support the pipeline, but others say it needs more environmental review.

"Short-cutting U.S. review of an inherently dirty tar sands project is bad enough," said Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont, responding to the Hoeven alternative.

"Smothering the review process altogether would compound the folly and divert us from better, cleaner, renewable energy solutions," Leahy said.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid likely would consult with the White House before making any pronouncements. A spokesman for Reid did not have immediate comment on Wednesday.

(Additional reporting by Timothy Gardner, Andrew Quinn and Jeff Mason; Editing by Mohammad Zargham and Paul Simao)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120112/ts_nm/us_usa_keystone_bill

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