5 Ways to Cut Moving Costs - Chris Farkas Real Estate

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Between closing costs and property taxes, buying, selling and owning a home is an expensive ordeal. But moving doesn?t have to be. Below are five ways to save money when making a move.?

1. Time it right.?Most people move in the summer, because the kids are out of school, the weather is ideal for packing and, in general, most people are less stressed out. This means movers often charge less during the off season. If it?s at all possible to postpone your move, attempt to relocate between October and April to score those off-peak discounts.

2. Look into delivery.?There are a handful of companies that will deliver a portable storage unit to your place. You will save money by packing it yourself, and then the company will come back to pick up the unit and bring it to your new place.

3. Use what you have.?When it comes to packing supplies, you can save money by using what you have. Pack in suitcases, bags and bins you already own before buying supplies. And if you do need more, try purchasing your packing material from a recycled box company or ask local businesses for old boxes they plan on tossing. Moving companies often overcharge on packing supplies, so use them as a last resort.?

4. Rent your own truck.?While it requires more work, renting a truck and doing the move yourself from start to finish is the cheapest way to move. Ask friends and family to help, or hire neighborhood teens to help with the packing and lifting. Be sure to look into all the fine print before choosing a rental company. Fuel and mileage charges can differ immensely, so do your research.

5. Don?t forget to deduct.?Many people don?t realize they can deduct moving expenses from their taxes. If you relocated for work, you may be eligible to deduct packing, transporting and storing costs from next year?s taxes, so be sure to save your receipts!

Copyright? 2013?RISMedia, The Leader in Real Estate Information Systems and Real Estate News. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be republished without permission.

Christine Farkas
Keller Williams Realty
Office: 360-312-5919?
Mobile: 360-393-0793
ChrisFarkasKW@gmail.com?
http://www.ChristineFarkas.com

Source: http://www.realbellingham.com/Blog/5-Ways-to-Cut-Moving-Costs

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Monster storm expected to explode in Atlantic. It may be one for the books.

NOAA forecasters say an unnamed extra-tropical storm will experience explosive intensification over the North Atlantic this weekend. Its central low pressure could rival a category 4 hurricane's.

By Pete Spotts,?Staff writer / January 25, 2013

Forecasters are predicting explosive intensification this weekend for an extra-tropical storm in the North Atlantic that is expected to eclipse the intensity of last October's superstorm Sandy.

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Unlike Sandy, the nameless North Atlantic superstorm poses no threat to land. But it does highlight the power such storms can attain.

It's forecast to develop winds of up to 98 miles an hour, while the air pressure at its center ? expected to reach a low between 920 to 930 millibars ? would rival that of a category 4 hurricane, according to forecasters at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Ocean Prediction Center in College Park, Md.

The system is the same storm "that gave us some snow a couple of days ago in DC," says Robert Banks, a forecaster at the Ocean Prediction Center. The storm intensified as the cold air moved out over relatively warm North Atlantic water, which is feeding energy into the system.

In addition, the system is merging with two other upper-level troughs ? providing the storm with yet more punch.

It's not clear how this storm will fare in the record books, Mr. Banks says. But over at the Weather Underground's web site, data gathered by British weather historian Stephen Burt shows five other storms between 1824 and 1986 with central pressures ranging from 920.2 to 925.6 millibars.

An extra-tropical superstorm in January 1993 holds the record for low pressure ? 913 millibars ? for North Atlantic winter storms in an event that destroyed an oil tanker after it ran aground at the Shetland Islands. The tanker, the MV Braer, was carrying 85,000 tons of crude oil.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/science/~3/nJYav9aEyWQ/Monster-storm-expected-to-explode-in-Atlantic.-It-may-be-one-for-the-books

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China's complicated history with video games: when a ban isn't ...

Earlier this week, China Daily quoted an anonymous government source -- allegedly straight from the Ministry of Culture -- saying China is considering lifting a 12-year-old "ban" on game consoles soon. While it's was unclear how reliable the source was at the time, the Tokyo stock market sucked it up anyway, with Bloomberg observing a significant rise for Sony and Nintendo after the rumor was published. Then today we learned from Tech In Asia that Dongfang Daily followed up with two representatives from the Ministry of Culture, one of which said the department have never looked into lifting the ban, while the other person was more vague about the matter. But here's the thing: game consoles were never really banned in China. Allow us to set the record straight for you.

Let's take a look at the actual paperwork that supposedly imposed the game console ban. In 2000, the video arcade business was booming in China, but many were illegal or were poorly operated and thus "seriously harming the healthy growth of youngsters." As such, seven ministries got together to come up with a plan. These included: Ministry of Culture, State Economic and Trade Commission, Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Industry and IT, Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation, General Administration of Customs, and State Administration for Industry and Commerce. The outcome was a bill awkwardly titled "Feedback regarding the launch of special operation on video game arcades," and this was passed by the Chinese state council in June that year -- merely three months after the release of the original PlayStation 2 in Japan.

In a nutshell, the bill covers guidelines on the safety requirements, opening hours and restrictions of video arcades, as well as what type of content are forbidden on the then-remaining arcade machines. Oh, and even internet cafes were forbidden from running businesses related to computer gaming, but that part of the ban is barely enforced these days. Anyhow, the specific parts that many assumed would put a stop on consoles were these:

"As of the day this report is released, the manufacturing and selling of any electronic gaming equipment plus its parts and accessories headed to China are stopped immediately. No company or individual can partake in the manufacturing and selling of electronic gaming equipment plus its parts and accessories headed to China."

"With the exception of processing trade, the import of electronic game equipment plus its parts and accessories through other forms of trade is strictly limited."

Note that the bill's main purpose is to keep underage folks away from dangerous venues and unhealthy content, rather than to prevent gaming addiction -- something that China eventually had to set up boot camps to deal with. It's also worth pointing out that the ban on manufacturing and selling arcade machines is no longer valid since April 2009, and you can find a list of approved machines on the Ministry of Culture's website. But going back to 2000, the above statement uses the term "strictly limited" for the import of game consoles, meaning there's still space for negotiation.

Indeed, Sony did do a low-key launch for the PlayStation 2 in China in January 2004, but only in two cities instead of five as originally planned, thus upsetting many distributors and gamers in the neglected regions. According to a report by Tencent, Sony's only official statement regarding the launch was this: "The PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system is now in Shanghai and Guangzhou to meet you." Yes, a "computer entertainment system." But even with the cheeky use of words here to dodge the law, Sony's real problem came after China's auditing system blocked a huge portion of the games that were deemed unhealthy, thus providing more excuses for folks to just get pirated games. And at ?1,988 ($320) per device due to heavy import duties on foreign products, the PlayStation 2 for China was nowhere as attractive as the ones sold in the black market -- this was at the time when the PlayStation 2 was available for just $179 in the US. With such easy access to the rarely policed black markets in big cities like Shenzhen and Beijing, it didn't make sense to buy the more expensive Chinese PS2 and its games, anyway. Even the official ?500 ($80) drop about a year later didn't save the console in China. The PSP and the PS Vita also never officially made it to China presumably due to the strict content restrictions, but like many other flagship gadgets, they were quite popular in the black market.

Sony hasn't given up, though. Last June, Sony Computer Entertainment opened its China headquarters at Guangdong Animation City, a government-backed project in Guangzhou to boost the local animation and gaming industry. The following month Sony made a surprise return to Shanghai's Chinajoy, the country's largest gaming expo, after a four-year hiatus. Coincidentally, the previous-gen PlayStation 3 (CECH-3012A and CECH-3012B, as sold in Hong Kong) was quietly granted a China Compulsory Certificate or "CCC" around the same time, only to be withdrawn by Sony soon after the discovery in November, as the database screenshot below shows.

Speaking to Sina Games in December, SCE Asia's Director of Planning and R&D Eitaro Nagano admitted that the biggest obstacle for his company right now are still the legal requirements in China, but his team's still communicating with the government over this issue -- presumably mainly to do with the content auditing. Eitaro also acknowledged the fact that China already has many PS Vita and PS3 users, along with many developers with great potential.

Despite Sony's failed attempts, Nintendo has had better luck with its handheld consoles under the iQue brand, a joint venture between the Japanese company and Chinese American entrepreneur Dr. Wei Yen. In November 2003 the company launched the ?598 ($96) iQue Player, a somewhat experimental version of the N64 that packs the brain and a flashable game cartridge inside the controller. As an attempt to avoid piracy, the games were downloadable using an iQue Depot in stores, and it was ?48 or about $7.7 a pop with free updates forever, but each cartridge can only store one game.

Sadly, the console never took off due to its poor marketing and inconvenience, and pirated games eventually appeared. Since then iQue has instead been focusing on handhelds, including the Game Boy Advance, SP, Micro, DS Lite, DSi and 3DS XL. To fight the likes of R4 cards that let people pirate games, the iQue's 3DS XL is bundled with Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 7 by default for the price of ?1,699 (US$270), which is understandably higher than Hong Kong's HK$1,749 (US$225) and the US' US$199.99 for the device alone. But hey, at least iQue gets to openly sell its consoles -- take a look at the "About" page on the company's website and you'll see why it's the Chinese government's darling:

"The reason Nintendo is iQue's best partner is because the former has always been strongly opposed to violence and pornography in the gaming industry, and its mission is to develop quality healthy games suitable for all ages, at a global gaming market flooded by vulgar products today, Nintendo still maintains a precious social responsibility and business ethics, therefore is consistent with iQue's corporate philosophy and the Chinese moral values."

But wait, even the innocent-looking 3DS has violent games! Well, not in China. iQue's website only lists a handful of major titles that are mostly, if not all, made by Nintendo, including the two aforementioned 3DS titles and six DS titles (Nintendogs, WarioWare, Yoshi's Island DS and more), along with several downloadable DSiWare apps. Fortunately, the devices are still compatible with normal DS games from outside China, though the normal DS devices can't play games released by iQue. As for the Wii, Nintendo did announce that it would launch the console in China in 2008 (and iQue even obtained the CCC in December 2007), but that never happened after it failed to get the other authorities' approval. We'll probably never know exactly why this was the case, but at least the Wii is all over the black market, ironically.

Don't worry, we haven't forgotten Microsoft, which is the least active of the three companies in the Chinese gaming market. Back in September, Microsoft announced the Kinect's availability in China, but the catch was there would be no Xbox 360 to go with the motion-sensing peripheral, meaning only the developers can make the most out of the latter on a PC. Conveniently after Microsoft's announcement, the Ministry of Culture promptly denied the speculation that it was about to make it easier for foreign companies to sell their consoles and games in China.

Ironically, the console black market in China is, well, not that black at all. We've seen plenty of small shops in Shenzhen and Beijing that openly sell imported consoles (as well as KIRFs), and you can even pick one up from online retail platform Taobao, where some resellers claim to be offering devices that were confiscated and then released by customs. Yes, another gray area in the system. But even without those machines from outside China, the country itself has already been pumping out its very own gaming devices, including the shameless iReadyGo (pictured above), the Lenovo-backed Eedoo and the various Wii clones. Clearly, the ban isn't as strict as it appears, especially to the local brands and venues that stay well away from content related to gambling and pornography -- we all know what happens when they don't.

So to summarize: the real challenge for the game console makers is to convince the Chinese government that their devices won't touch any "unhealthy" content, which is actually near impossible for Microsoft and Sony, whose gaming success rely heavily on realistic shooting and fighting games. Nintendo, however, doesn't mind offering a much smaller game library for its handhelds in China, though it remains a mystery as to why the Wii never made it to China as originally promised. Not that this matters to the majority of Chinese gamers, who have developed a huge appetite for RPGs like Warcraft and Diablo on the PC.

Now, will China ever loosen up on the legal requirements for games? With the recent transition in the government and the boom in local smart devices (especially Android, which offers much freedom when it comes to app sources), it's easy to see why these rumors have made a comeback; but then again, you have to remember that the authorities behind the Great Firewall have not backed down at all. Worse yet, in the latest five-year plan (published on December 1st) for the development of China's service industry, the government specifically encourages more support to help local gaming products to go global. Such favoritism suggests things aren't going to change any time soon for Sony and Microsoft.

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/30/china-console-ban/

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UN chief presses for major boost in Syrian aid

KUWAIT CITY (AP) ? The U.N. chief appealed Wednesday for a major boost in international relief aid for Syria and called for the fighting to end "in the name of humanity" even as more refugees poured into neighboring Jordan and its leader warned resources were strained to the limit.

The U.N.'s call for up to $1.5 billion in humanitarian assistance at an international conference in Kuwait reflects the deepening civilian crisis inside Syria and the civil war's increasing spillover around the region.

Jordan's economic council said the kingdom had spent more than $833 billion on aid for refugees ? accounting for nearly half the estimated 700,000 people who have fled Syria ? and that it was unable to sustain a financial burden that has so far siphoned off about 3 percent of its GDP.

Some U.N. officials say the refugee figures could approach 1 million later this year if the conflict in Syria does not ease.

Speaking at the U.N.-led gathering in Kuwait, Jordan's King Abdullah II said sheltering and assisting the refugee wave is above the country's "capacity and potential."

"We have reached the end of the line. We have exhausted our resources," he said.

Last week, the king used the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, to amplify his appeal for international help as "the weakest refugees are struggling now just to survive this year's harsh winter" and more cross the Syria-Jordan border at up to 3,000 a day.

In his opening remarks, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon urged all sides "and particularly the Syrian government" to halt attacks in the 22-month-old civil war that the U.N. says has claimed more than 60,000 lives.

"In the name of humanity, stop the killing, stop the violence," Ban told envoys from nearly 60 nations, including Russia and Iran, key allies of Assad's regime.

Aid officials estimate that more than 2 million Syrians have been uprooted or are suffering inside the country as the civil war widens - including what peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi called "unprecedented levels of horror" in an address to the U.N. Security Council after at least 65 bodies were found Tuesday in a suspected execution-style killing near Aleppo.

Before the latest donors' conference, Ban described the international humanitarian response to Syria as "very much limited" in comments to the official Kuwaiti News Agency.

But the meeting appeared to leverage more pledges. Kuwait's ruler, Sheik Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah, promised $300 million in a move that could prompt other donations from Gulf Arab allies, which are major backers of Syrian rebel factions. On Tuesday, the European Union and the U.S. promised a total of nearly $300 million.

The head of the U.S. delegation, Assistant Secretary of State Anne Richard, lauded the donations from Gulf nations that are not traditional major donors to U.N. efforts. But she noted that the humanitarian funds are only to deal with immediate needs over the coming months.

"It's good for now, but predictions are that it's not going to be over soon," said Richard, who deals with refugee and migration affairs.

Ban described the situation in Syria as "catastrophic and getting worse by the day."

He listed a "cascading catalog of horrors" facing Syrians, including shortages of food and medicine and abuses such as "sexual violence and arbitrary arrests and detention."

Half of public hospitals have been damaged, he added.

"The use of heavy weapons in residential areas has destroyed whole communities and neighborhoods," Ban told delegates.

While international aid channels are open to refugee camps in places such as Turkey and Jordan, there is far more limited capacity to organize relief efforts inside Syria because of the fighting and obstacles from Assad's regime.

Paris-based Medecins Sans Frontieres said the U.N. and others need to open more routes for aid to reach rebel-held areas, which now receive only a "tiny share" of international humanitarian help.

"The current aid system is unable to address the worsening living conditions facing people who live inside Syria," said a statement by MSF president, Marie-Pierre Allie.

The escalating hardships in camps outside Syria also can be used by Assad's government as potential fodder in its claims that rebels are responsible for the country's collapse, said Fawaz Gerges, head of the Middle East Center at the London School of Economics.

"The misery of the refugees, their suffering in neighboring countries, provide the ammunition for Assad, who is saying to them, 'See, you have no one else but your country, so come home,'" Gerges said.

___

Associated Press writer Dale Gavlak in Amman, Jordan, contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/un-chief-presses-major-boost-syrian-aid-092441750.html

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Canon EOS 6D

Prior to the announcement of the Canon EOS 6D ($2,099 direct, body only) and the Nikon D600, shooters who wanted a full-frame camera?one with an image sensor the same size as a 35mm film frame?were faced with a small number of choices at $3,000 and up. Both companies cut about $1,000 off the price of entry to full-frame with new models that sacrifice some features that pro shooters are used to, but are packaged in smaller bodies that are similar in design to the top-end APS-C cameras. The 20-megapixel 6D also adds some enthusiast-friendly features?notably an integrated GPS receiver and Wi-Fi capability?which, along with fantastic image quality, earn it an almost-perfect rating and our Editors' Choice award. The $6,000 full-frame Nikon D4 is still a better choice for anyone who relies on photography to put food on the table, but most folks simply don't need that much camera in their bag.

Design and Features
While it's bigger than entry-level cameras with smaller APS-C image sensors, the 6D is compact for a full-frame D-SLR. It measures 4.4 by 5.7 by 2.8 inches (HWD) and weighs just under 1.7 pounds without a lens. Compare this with the Canon EOS 5D Mark III, a more traditional full-frame camera that measures 4.6 by 6 by 3 inches and weighs about 2.1 pounds. If you currently shoot with an APS-C Canon camera like the EOS Rebel T4i or EOS 7D and are considering an upgrade to full-frame be aware that while you can mount any EF lens to any Canon D-SLR, Canon's line of EF-S lenses are designed only for use with APS-C cameras and can't be used with the 6D, 5D Mark III, or EOS-1D X cameras. This is in contrast to Nikon's approach, which allows its APS-C DX lens lineup to be used on the D600, the D800, and D4 in a special crop mode. Like Canon's other full-frame offerings there is no flash built into the 6D?you'll need to use an external one. This isn't atypical for a full-frame camera?Nikon does include a pop-up flash on the D600 and D800, but omits it on the D4, and Sony does not include a flash in its full-frame bodies.

The control layout is familiar to anyone who has handled a Canon SLR before. There's a standard mode dial on top left side with an integrated On/Off lever. To the right of the viewfinder you'll find a control wheel, the shutter release, and buttons to adjust the AF Mode, Drive Mode, ISO, Metering Mode, and to activate the backlight on the monochrome information LCD, also located on the top of the camera. The rear controls are compressed when compared with the 5D Mark III, but you'll still have access to a rear control wheel with an integrated four-way controller, an Info button that controls what is displayed on the rear LCD, the Menu button, a control switch to activate Live View and movie recording, image playback controls, and buttons to engage the autofocus system, activate Exposure Lock, and select the active autofocus point. There's also a physical lock switch that prevents the rear control from adjusting settings when turned?that wheel controls exposure compensation in most shooting modes.

First seen on the Rebel series of APS-C cameras, the Q button allows you to change settings via the rear LCD. Hit it and you'll be able to adjust lens aperture, ISO, Exposure Compensation, Flash Compensation, JPG output, White Balance, and other common shooting settings?the rear control pad is used to navigate from item to item and the control wheel scrolls through the available settings.

The camera's large optical viewfinder trumps even the best APS-C models in terms of size and brightness?but it doesn't offer a full 100 percent field of view. Instead Canon opted to include a 97 percent viewfinder?the camera will capture a little bit of extra information around the edges of the frame, and the slightly smaller viewfinder makes it possible to change the focus screen?a feature that was omitted from the higher-end 5D Mark III. This is a boon to Canon shooters who use the rare manual focus Canon lens like the TS-E 90mm f/2.8, or any of the manual focus Carl Zeiss lenses available for Canon cameras like the Makro-Planar T* 2/100, as Canon's EG-S focus screen is ideally suited for accurate manual focus with faster lenses.

The resolution of the 3-inch rear LCD tops one million dots. It's extremely sharp, allowing you to confirm critical focus when reviewing shots or shooting in Live View mode. It's fixed?the Sony Alpha 99 is the only full-frame D-SLR with an articulating display?and isn't quite as large as the 3.2-inch screen on Nikon's D600, but it is sharper.

The 6D is the first SLR with integrated Wi-Fi connectivity, and overall, it's a good implementation. There are a number of ways to use the wireless features, and some are more useful than others. Canon gives you the ability to share photos directly with another Canon Wi-Fi camera and to print directly to a Wi-Fi-enabled printer. So you'll have to be out shooting with a partner who also has a Wi-Fi-equipped Canon camera to take advantage of the former, and the latter assumes that you'll be printing your photos without cropping, retouching, or other post-production work. You also have the option of viewing your photos on a DLNA device, like a Wi-Fi HDTV or set-top box.

The more useful functions involve sharing your photos online, and taking control of the 6D via your smartphone. You can send photos and videos directly to Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube via the Canon Image Gateway service. To set this up you'll need to install the EOS Utility application on your PC or Mac and create an account on the Canon Image Gateway service. From there you can link your social networking accounts. Connecting the 6D to your computer pairs it with your Canon account, and will let you send JPG images and videos directly to the service of your choice. You'll need to be connected to a Wi-Fi network, and the EOS 6D can store the SSID and login information for up to three networks at a time.

Photos and videos can also be directly sent to your iOS or Android device. You can connect to a phone when it, and the 6D, are on the same Wi-Fi network. Or the 6D can act as a hotspot for direct connection?and you can save presets for either configuration in one of the five slots dedicated to this mode. Once connected, you can transfer images and videos directly to your phone via the EOS Remote app; it's available for free in both the Apple and Android app stores. Raw transfer is supported?because photos are sized down to 2-megapixel JPG images in order to speed up transfers. You can also use your phone to control the camera wirelessly. A live feed of the camera's Live View mode shows up on your phone's screen, and you can select a focus point via touch, change shooting settings, and fire the shutter. There's noticeable lag in the video feed?it's not as speedy as the USB tethered computer connection that is possible via the included EOS Utility software for Mac or Windows?but it's useable in the field, whereas traditional tethered shooting is more useful in a studio setting.

You also get integrated GPS. It's a powerful receiver?it only took about 40 seconds to lock on to my location on initial setup?and you can adjust how often it polls for a new location. By default it checks for your location every 15 seconds, but you can go as fast as once a second or as slow as every five minutes. Using the GPS definitely puts a strain on the camera's battery. I was out shooting on a cold morning and went from a full charge to two battery bars in only a few hours. And the GPS will continue to check for your location even when the camera is turned off. The photos I took were, without exception, accurately geotagged, appearing on Lightroom's map at the exact locations from which I shot them. If you want to add location data to your photos, you'll likely want to set the camera to check with the GPS satellites less often to extend the battery life, and disable the GPS before you turn the camera off. If that's an unacceptable compromise, tote an extra battery. There is an optional battery grip available?it plugs into the bottom of the camera and holds two cells, doubling the operation time.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/yR8DYE19DMM/0,2817,2414619,00.asp

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Yahoo's 4Q report shows more signs of progress

FILE - In this Friday, Jan. 25, 2013, file photo, Marissa Mayer, CEO of Yahoo!, listens during the 43rd Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum, in Davos, Switzerland. Yahoo showed more signs of progress during the fourth quarter of 2012m, as the Internet company took advantage of higher ad prices and rising earnings from its international investments to deliver numbers that exceeded analyst forecasts. The results announced Monday, Jan 28, 2013, covered Yahoo's first full quarter under Mayer. (AP Photo/Keystone, Laurent Gillieron)

FILE - In this Friday, Jan. 25, 2013, file photo, Marissa Mayer, CEO of Yahoo!, listens during the 43rd Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum, in Davos, Switzerland. Yahoo showed more signs of progress during the fourth quarter of 2012m, as the Internet company took advantage of higher ad prices and rising earnings from its international investments to deliver numbers that exceeded analyst forecasts. The results announced Monday, Jan 28, 2013, covered Yahoo's first full quarter under Mayer. (AP Photo/Keystone, Laurent Gillieron)

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ? Yahoo got a little healthier during the last three months of 2012 as the long-suffering Internet company took advantage of higher ad prices and more money coming in from overseas investments to deliver numbers that exceeded analyst forecasts.

The results announced Monday covered Yahoo's first full quarter under CEO Marissa Mayer. Yahoo Inc. lured Mayer away from Google Inc. in mid-July in its latest attempt to snap out of a funk that had depressed its revenue and stock price.

Although Yahoo still isn't keeping pace with the overall growth of the Internet ad market, the company fared well enough during the fourth quarter to produce its first full-year gain in revenue since 2008. It was a scant increase: just $2.4 million higher than 2011's total of nearly $5 billion.

Yahoo is now being run by its fifth permanent or interim CEO since 2008.

Mayer, 37, has raised hopes among investors and employees with her Google pedigree and her pledge to transform Yahoo's website into a mesmerizing destination that attracts Web surfers and advertisers. During her first six months on the job, she has primarily focused on boosting employee morale and building better mobile and social-networking services so Yahoo can make more money from two of technology's hottest trends.

"The future of Yahoo will be about innovation, execution and continued progress on a multi-year march toward growth, delighting users and driving shareholder value," Mayer assured analysts in a Monday conference call.

Investors seem convinced Mayer is headed in the right direction. Yahoo's stock added 50 cents, or nearly 2.5 percent, to $20.81 in extended trading. The shares are up by more than 30 percent since Mayer joined the Sunnyvale, Calif., company.

Yahoo has been feeding the rally by using part of a $7.6 billion windfall that it received from selling half its stake in Chinese Internet company Alibaba Group. The company spent $1.5 billion buying back nearly 80 million of its shares at an average price of $18.24 in the fourth quarter. Buybacks help boost the stock price for remaining shareholders.

Mayer highlighted some of the company's recent strides during the conference call. She said internal surveys show 95 percent of Yahoo's 11,500 employees are optimistic about the company's future. Mayer also touted the potential of a recent redesign of Yahoo's email, saying the number of daily users has increased by 10 percent since the changes were unveiled last month.

Yet Mayer's efforts haven't made a huge difference in Yahoo's ad sales ? the company's main way of making money.

For instance, during the final three months of last year, Yahoo's ad revenue was $1.07 billion, roughly the same as a year earlier. By contrast, fourth-quarter ad revenue at Google surged by 19 percent from the previous year. Another rival, Facebook Inc., is expected to post much stronger ad growth Wednesday when the Internet social-networking leader is scheduled to release its fourth-quarter report.

Overall, Yahoo's fourth-quarter earnings dipped 8 percent to $272 million, or 23 cents per share, down from $296 million, or 24 cents per share. The earnings would have been higher than the previous year, if not for a charge to close its South Korea operations and other one-time accounting items.

If not for those charges, Yahoo said it would have earned 32 cents per share. On that basis, Yahoo topped the average estimate of 27 cents per share among analysts surveyed by FactSet.

Yahoo's fourth-quarter revenue increased 2 percent from the previous year to $1.35 billion.

After subtracting advertising commissions, Yahoo's fourth-quarter revenue stood at $1.22 billion ? about $10 million above analyst forecasts.

Yahoo apparently isn't expecting a big upturn this year. The company predicted its revenue, minus commissions, will range from $1.07 billion to $1.1 billion in the current quarter. That's slightly below analysts' average estimate of $1.12 billion.

In an encouraging sign, Yahoo's average price for display advertising on its website during the fourth quarter rose 7 percent from the previous year. Meanwhile, the average price for Yahoo's search ads increased by 1 percent from the previous year. This marked the first time that Yahoo has detailed the changes in its ad rates from the previous year. The fourth-quarter improvement could be an indication that advertisers believe Mayer's changes are starting to pay off.

Yahoo still needs to work on increasing the volume of display advertising, which declined by 10 percent from the previous year. The number of revenue-generating search ads, though, increased 11 percent from the previous year. That improvement provided proof that Yahoo is harvesting better returns from its Internet-search partnership with Microsoft Corp. The alliance has allowed Yahoo to lower its expenses by relying on Microsoft's technology for most of its search results, but the arrangement had been producing disappointing returns on the advertising front until recently.

Yahoo is still benefiting from its remaining holdings in Alibaba, as well as a roughly 35 percent in Yahoo Japan. Yahoo's fourth-quarter income from its investments increased 17 percent from the previous year to nearly $149 million. Because of a lag in how Yahoo books income from international revenue, the company's results still don't fully reflect the reduced stake in Alibaba. That will occur this year, reducing Yahoo's overseas earnings.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-01-28-US-Earns-Yahoo/id-e305900f0a424befb106b0824deb8823

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Toyota back on top as global auto sales champ

9 hrs.

Paul A. Eisenstein , The Detroit Bureau

Toyota has officially reclaimed its global sales crown, the maker confirming it produced 9.75 million vehicles in 2012.

That was slightly ahead of a preliminary tally Toyota forecast as the year came to a close and locks it in first place ahead of General Motors, which sold 9.29 million vehicles.? Volkswagen, at 9.1 million, came in third for 2012.

Toyota?s sales were slightly lower than the company had projected earlier in the year, the shortfall reflecting the ongoing dispute between Japan and China over a chain of small, uninhabited islands both nations claim.?

In customary fashion, Toyota officials downplayed the sales results. ?Rather than going after numbers, we hope to make fine products, one by one, to keep out customers satisfied. The numbers are just a result of our policy. And our policy will continue unchanged,? Toyota spokeswoman Shino Yamada told the Associated Press.?

The Detroit Bureau:?US Auto Sales Surging as New Year Gets Underway

Nonetheless, it marked a significant comeback for the Japanese giant which first captured the global sales crown in 2008, displacing GM after seven decades as the sales leader. The U.S. maker plunged into bankruptcy the following year, recovering only with the assistance of a massive government loan.

With production back to normal, Toyota saw its sales in the home Japanese market surge 35% in 2012 while overseas sales jumped 23%.? Adding additional models to the ?family,? the Prius line firmed up its position as the world?s best-selling hybrid nameplate.Toyota briefly fell to third in the global chase in 2011, the maker suffering significant production cuts in the wake of Japan?s March earthquake and tsunami. It didn?t fully restore its worldwide production network to normal operations until the end of the year.

But not everything went as well as expected ? notably in China where Toyota was just one of many Japanese businesses to suffer as the dispute over the Senkuko Islands ? which the Chinese call the Daioyu ? flared up. A Toyota dealership was torched and mobs destroyed many of the maker?s products. Sales fell by roughly half in the early weeks of the dispute though they have begun to recover more recently.?

The Detroit Bureau:?Mazda betting on alliances with Toyota, Fiat

Toyota did have some other issues, notably a surge of safety-related problems including additional recalls related to the maker?s unintended acceleration issue. In all, Toyota recalled more vehicles than any other maker in the American market in 2012, and it ended the year by agreeing to an estimated $1.2 billion settlement related to the unintended acceleration issue. Even so, most analysts say the maker?s reputation escaped with relatively little damage.

Toyota is forecasting another increase in sales for 2013, hoping to reach a record 9.91 million. That is still short of an earlier projection of at least 10 million, however.

General Motors officials have not yet set out their own forecast and that could depend on the strength of the ongoing U.S. recovery. Earlier this month, Chairman and CEO Dan Akerson said the maker expected sales in the States to reach somewhere between 15.0 million and 15.5 million for 2013.?

The Detroit Bureau:?Toyota Settles First of 100s of Wrongful Death, Injury Lawsuits

The wild card is Volkswagen, the aggressive German maker laying out plans to snatch the sales ground by the time it wraps up its current, 10-year growth plan in 2016.? The weakness of the home European market could delay that strategy, though VW hopes to offset that by stressing China, Latin America and the recovering U.S. market where it was one of the fastest-growing brands in 2012

.

Copyright 2013 The Detroit Bureau

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/toyota-back-top-global-auto-sales-champ-1C8137475

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A Way Forward on Immigration?

By MICHAEL FALCONE ( @michaelpfalcone )

NOTABLES:

IMMIGRATION REFORM TAKES CENTER STAGE: A bipartisan group of senators has agreed to an immigration reform framework that includes a pathway to citizenship for the undocumented, a significant step toward a sweeping overhaul of the nation's immigration system, ABC News-Univision's Jordan Fabian reports. The group of eight senators - four Democrats and four Republicans - identified broad ways to address the core issues facing the country's immigration laws in a four-plus page document, which Senate aides provided to ABC/Univision on condition of anonymity. The principles agreed upon by this "Gang of Eight" include enhancing border security and cracking down on businesses that employ undocumented immigrants. The outline also proposes making it easier for foreigners to come to the United States legally to work or join their families. http://abcn.ws/10XYPPd

WHO IS THE 'GANG OF EIGHT'? The senators behind the framework, Fabian notes, include John McCain (R-Ariz.), who helped lead a failed reform effort in 2007, Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), and Michael Bennet (D-Colo.). The senators' announcement comes one day before President Obama will travel to Las Vegas, Nevada, to unveil his own immigration reform plan, which also includes an earned pathway to citizenship and many other elements of the Senate plan. http://abcn.ws/10XYPPd

WHITE HOUSE RESPONSE: From White House spokesman Clark Stevens: "As the President has made clear for some time, immigration reform is an important priority and he is pleased that progress is being made with bipartisan support. At the same time, he will not be satisfied until there is meaningful reform and he will continue to urge Congress to act until that is achieved. The President looks forward to redoubling the Administration's efforts to work with Congress on this important issue this week."

THE ROUNDTABLE:

ABC'S Z. BYRON WOLF: There were at least two separate deals struck to find a comprehensive immigration reform bill during George W. Bush's second term. Both were reached after months of closed-door negotiations on Capitol Hill with a lot of input from Northeast Democrats and Arizona Republicans. Neither could get by a filibuster. But those were half a dozen years ago and more. Now there is a charismatic Latino Republican to lead the charge. And Sen. John McCain, his own presidential aspirations now done, can again take a front seat. But whether the demographic alarm bells of the last two general elections can lead to a bipartisan effort seems settled by this latest proposal. They can. The will is there on both sides of the aisle. But whether that effort that can be passed by a Republican House and get 60 votes in the Senate remains to be seen.

ABC NEWS POLLSTER GARY LANGER: Our ABC News-Washington Post polling underscores the extent to which the immigration issue remains a real challenge for the Republican Party. Overall 57 percent of Americans favor a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants - 82 percent of Hispanics, 71 percent of Democrats, 59 percent of independents - but just 37 percent of Republicans. So far the GOP has failed to reconcile that gap - to find an immigration policy that works both for the party, and for Hispanics. Voila, they lose Hispanics in the 2012 presidential election by 71-27 percent, a margin surpassed just twice before, in 1996 and 1976, in the past 10 presidential elections.

ABC's MARY BRUCE: In something of a parting gift, President Obama made abundantly clear on Sunday night his deep support and fondness for outgoing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who, in turn, left a possible presidential run in 2016 wide open. Sitting together for their first joint interview, you could almost forget that they once politically bludgeoned each other in the 2008 Democratic primary. "I'm going to miss her," Obama told CBS News' Steve Croft on "60 Minutes." Obama said he proposed the joint interview because he wanted to publicly say "thank you" to Clinton for all of her hard work. For those eagerly looking for hints of Clinton's future ambitions, however, the interview certainly felt like a political endorsement. But while Clinton offered no outright denial, when asked about her plans for 2016 ("I don't think either he or I can make predictions about what's going to happen tomorrow or the next year," she said), the president brushed off the question. "You guys are incorrigible," he told Croft. "I was inaugurated four days ago and you're talking about elections four years from now."

ABC's SHUSHANNAH WALSHE: It was impossible not to think of the chummy, friendly, laughter-filled "60 Minutes" interview with President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as an endorsement. The passing of the baton was in full effect even as the president called the press "incorrigible" and Clinton protested with a smile that because she is still Secretary of State she's "forbidden from even hearing these questions." But Clinton's name was also mentioned in another interview Sunday, also in a complimentary fashion. On NBC's "Meet the Press," former GOP vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan argued "if we had a Clinton presidency ? I think we would have fixed this fiscal mess by now. That's not the kind of presidency we're dealing with right now." Of course, it was hard to tell which "Clinton" he was talking about, but if Secretary Clinton were to run again and win would that mean a better working relationship with the other side of the aisle? We'll have to remember this and check back then.

VIDEO OF THE DAY: ECCENTRIC MILLIONAIRE WOULD SUPPORT SANTORUM IN 2016. Wealthy conservative investor Foster Friess is best known in Washington, D.C. for helping fund Rick Santorum's presidential campaign. And the multimillionaire says he would support the former Pennsylvania senator again if he runs in 2016, even likening Santorum to Ronald Reagan. "If people let him out of that box of social conservative, and appreciate how much more he brings to the table, I think he's still one of my favorite candidates," Friess told Yahoo News' Olivier Knox and ABC's David Kerley in the latest edition of "Top Line." Friess spent well over a million dollars on Santorum's campaign. For more on Foster Friess, including his new charity, and his ideas on bipartisanship, check out this week's Top Line: http://yhoo.it/SZjxzn

"THIS WEEK" REWIND:

-SEN. BOB MENENDEZ STAYS OUT OF BOOKER-LAUTENBERG SPANKING FEUD. In an interview with ABC's Martha Raddatz on Sunday's edition of "This Week" New Jersey Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez avoided commenting on whether Newark Mayor Cory Booker "deserves a spanking" for coveting Sen. Frank Lautenberg's seat. RADDATZ: "In your home state between Newark Mayor Cory Booker and 89-year-old Senator Frank Lautenberg, who basically suggested this week that Booker deserved a spanking because he was coveting his seat. Do you agree with that? Should Cory Booker be making moves now?" MENENDEZ: "You know, that election is next year. And all of the back-and-forth now is something I'm really not focused on." RADDATZ: "Is Booker being disrespectful?" MENENDEZ: "You know, that's a question for Senator Lautenberg and Mayor Booker."

-FACEBOOK CO-FOUNDER ON THE CHRIS CHRISTIE, MARK ZUCKERBERG ALLIANCE. How does Chris Hughes, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of The New Republic and Facebook Co-founder, feel about Mark Zuckerberg hosting a fundraiser for Republican Governor Chris Christie? Hughes joined ABC News in a web exclusive to discuss viewer questions from Facebook about Christie, his career successes, The New Republic, and his contributions to Facebook before the "This Week" roundtable on Sunday. This week, Hughes launched a redesign of The New Republic, kicking off with a dynamic interview with President Obama. Before ABC News' Abby Phillip asked Hughes about the sit-down with Obama, she broached the topic of the Christie/ Zuckerberg alliance. "I, for one, have a lot of questions about Chris Christie, particularly because less than a year ago he vetoed a marriage equality bill in the New Jersey state legislature. Which for me personally, I got married to my husband last June, [it] was just really personally frustrating. I mean, there are tens of thousands of couples in New Jersey that can't share their love and be recognized under the law because of that decision. I'm not a single issue voter, and I think most people aren't either, but for me personally, it would raise serious concerns about supporting someone like him." http://abcn.ws/Vqq5ct

-'ZERO DARK THIRTY' FILMMAKERS ON SENATE INQUIRY. During an interview for "This Week," "Zero Dark Thirty," screenwriter and producer Mark Boal told Martha Raddatz that the current Senate inquiry into the Oscar-nominated movie could discourage the making of similar films in the future. "I think that it could discourage other screenwriters or?writers of any kind from making topical movies, it could discourage studios from releasing them," Boal said. "Criticism is fine, and we, I can take criticism onboard?but there is a difference between criticism and investigation. And I think that crosses a line that hasn't been crossed really since the '40s, when you talk about government investigating movies." In December, three members of the Senate Intelligence committee - Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) - asked the CIA to provide information about the details it gave Boal and "Zero Dark Thirty" director Kathryn Bigelow about the effort to find and later kill Osama bin Laden.

BUZZ

OBAMA, CLINTON ON U.S. FOREIGN POLICY: FOOLS RUSH IN. President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in their wide-ranging joint interview on CBS' "60 Minutes," defended what some critics have called the administration's unwillingness to engage in the world, particularly on Syria, which Clinton called a "wicked problem," ABC's Dana Hughes reports. Obama pointed to the U.S. role in deposing of Libyan leader Moamer Gadhafi and supporting Egypt's elections following the Arab spring, as success stories. But the president said Syria is a more complicated issue. "We do nobody a service when we leap before we look, where we take on things without having thought out the consequences of it," the president said, calling Syria a classic example of how the United States should be clear about its objectives whenever taking any action. ? Clinton, who has spent the last year doing intense diplomacy on Syria, including attending global meetings with allies, as well as meeting her Russian counterpart to try to find a solution to the conflict, backed up the president's sentiments."I'm older than the president," she joked, then turned serious. "I remember some of the speeches of Eisenhower as a young girl. You know you've got to be careful, you have to be thoughtful, you can't rush in, especially now where it's more complex now than it's been in decades."

REVEALED: OBAMA'S SKEET SHOOTING HOBBY. Amid a push from the White House and progressive Democrats for tighter gun control laws, President Obama revealed this weekend he made time for shooting during retreats, notes ABC's Matthew Larotonda. The revelation came in an interview published this morning in which the president was asked if he had ever held a gun. "Yes, in fact, up at Camp David, we do skeet shooting all the time," he responded to the New Republic. "Not the girls, but oftentimes guests of mine go up there. And I have a profound respect for the traditions of hunting that trace back in this country for generations. And I think those who dismiss that out of hand make a big mistake," he said. Last week the president signed several executive orders strengthening gun regulation and revealed proposals that, if enacted, would include bans on assault weapons and high capacity magazines. http://abcn.ws/VqlTJC

REPUBLICAN RE-BRANDING: THE HAPPY PARTY? Nearly three months after losing the 2012 presidential election, Republicans seem to have a simple prescription for what ails their party: Turn those frowns upside down. "We want to build a massive party that's exciting, that smiles, has a good message across America, and that's what you're going to see," Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus told reporters at a news conference on Friday shortly after he was re-elected to another two year term. Priebus may be following the advice of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich who told his fellow Republicans at the same gathering on Thursday to "learn to be a happy party" and to try to be "cheerful and persistent." It's all part of the GOP's effort to re-brand itself as a more inclusive and inviting party after suffering stinging losses at the polls on Election Day last November, especially among some key segments of the electorate like Hispanics, African Americans and young voters. "It doesn't matter where you live, who you are, what you look like, or what your last name is," Priebus said on Friday, "because we will be a party for everyone, everywhere." haron Day, a GOP activist from Florida who serves as co-chair of the RNC, put the party's new approach even more bluntly: "I will talk to a head of lettuce if I can get them to vote Republican." http://abcn.ws/YtaxFJ

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: PALIN AND FOX NEWS PART WAYS. Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin and Fox News have parted ways, a source close to Palin told ABC News. The same source said it was her decision to leave the network and that Fox offered her an opportunity to renew her contract, reports ABC's Shushannah Walshe and Chris Good. In a statement from Fox News, Executive Vice President for Programming Bill Shine did not comment on whose decision it was to end the relationship, instead saying, "We have thoroughly enjoyed our association with Gov. Palin. We wish her the best in her future endeavors." Palin originally signed on with Fox as a contributor in January 2010, when the network announced her hiring along with plans for her to "host periodic episodes of Fox News Channel's 'Real American Stories,' a series exploring inspirational real-life tales of overcoming adversity throughout the American landscape that will debut in 2010." http://abcn.ws/VnHNwY

WHO'S TWEETING?

@SteveCase: Tech firms holding out hope for #immigration reform http://bit.ly/Wqkjp6 "Policymakers have deeper understanding of importance" #STEM

@CPHeinze: Norquist on 2016: "We have a wealth of opportunity. You guys are stuck with Cuomo and that character from Maryland." http://tinyurl.com/at8dm7z

@jimgeraghty: Iowans Prepare for a Long-Forgotten Ancient Ritual: Open Seat Senate Race http://bit.ly/XM9Zoc

@JenniferPreston: Your thoughts on new #immigration agreement? Links to interesting reaction? Details of deal w/document here - http://nyti.ms/Uw9cKy

@RealClearScott: CT Gov. Dan Malloy may be vulnerable in '14 as GOP looks to regain foothold in New England: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2013/01/28/malloy_may_face_tough_re-election_fight_in_conn_116821.html ?

Also Read

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/way-forward-immigration-note-142009851--abc-news-politics.html

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FACT CHECK: The stretched case against Chuck Hagel

FILE - This Jan. 7, 2013 file photo shows former Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel, President Barack Obama's choice for defense secretary, speaking in the East Room of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

FILE - This Jan. 7, 2013 file photo shows former Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel, President Barack Obama's choice for defense secretary, speaking in the East Room of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

FILE - This Jan. 7, 2013 file photo shows former Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel, president Barack Obama's choice for defense secretary, speaking in the East Room of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

FILE - In this Jan. 7, 2013 file photo, President Barack Obama, left, shakes hands with his choice for Defense Secretary, former Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel, after announcing Hagel's nomination in the East Room of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Republican-leaning groups opposing President Barack Obama's choice of Chuck Hagel to head the Defense Department have let loose a barrage of claims about the former GOP senator.

They say he endorses automatic cuts to the defense budget, that he wants to decimate the nation's nuclear arsenal, that his membership on the board of a major company that had a Pentagon contract is a conflict of interest that he's ignoring.

A look at Hagel's record suggests many of the contentions are overblown.

In statements and attack ads, the groups have sought to undermine Hagel's nomination in the weeks leading up to his confirmation hearing on Thursday before the Senate Armed Services Committee. His opponents face a tough challenge as Democrats have begun to rally around the president's choice, and the party has the majority votes to confirm the former two-term Nebraska senator, barring surprises.

Here's a look at the validity of some of the criticism of Hagel.

___

THE CLAIM: "We live in a dangerous world. Iran, North Korea, even Russia. But Barack Obama's nominee for secretary of defense wants America to back down. An end to our nuclear program. Devastating defense cuts. A weaker country."? An ad being run by Americans for a Stronger Defense in the home states of five Democratic senators up for re-election next year ? Alaska's Mark Begich, Arkansas' Mark Pryor, Louisiana's Mary Landrieu, Colorado's Mark Udall and North Carolina's Kay Hagan.

THE FACTS: Hagel has not proposed ending the nuclear weapons program, though he has supported deep cuts.

Hagel was co-author of a May 2012 study by the advocacy group Global Zero that called for an 80 percent reduction of U.S. nuclear weapons and elimination of all nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missiles.

The group argued that with the Cold War over, the United States needs no more than 900 total nuclear weapons. Currently, the U.S. and Russia have about 5,000 each, either deployed or in reserve. Both countries are on track to reduce the deployed strategic warheads to 1,550 by 2018, the number set in the New START treaty that the Senate ratified in December 2010.

The study said: "These steps could be taken with Russia in unison through reciprocal presidential directives, negotiated in another round of bilateral arms reduction talks or implemented unilaterally." The report was by Hagel, former ambassadors Richard Burt and Thomas Pickering, retired Gen. James Cartwright, a former vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and retired Gen. John J. Sheehan.

An arsenal of 900 nuclear weapons would not be an "end" to the U.S. nuclear program, but Hagel and the organization did raise the possibility of unilateral reductions. In a statement Monday, Burt and others defended Hagel and dismissed suggestions that they were "unilateralists."

The group running this anti-Hagel ad was formed recently and offers little information about itself on its website. Board member Mauricio Claver-Carone also is director of the US Cuba Democracy Advocates in Washington and favors tighter restrictions on the Castro government.

___

THE CLAIM: "Opposition is growing even more due to his support for sequestration of the military: huge budget cuts that the Joints Chiefs have already warned the Senate Armed Forces Committee would result in a 'hollow force.'" ? A Jan. 22 statement from Move America Forward, a California-based group founded by conservatives in 2004 to show support for U.S. troops.

THE FACTS: The group offered no evidence Hagel supports sequestration, the budget mechanism that will mean automatic, across-the-board spending cuts March 1 if Congress does not act to avert them. The White House says he opposes the mechanism, which came into play after Hagel left the Senate.

To be sure, Hagel has spoken about cutting Pentagon spending. In a 2011 interview with the Financial Times, Hagel said, "the Defense Department, I think in many ways, has been bloated" and "has gotten everything it's wanted the last 10 years and more."

The base defense budget has nearly doubled over 10 years, to about $528 billion this year. That doesn't include the billions spent on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Obama and congressional Republicans agreed in August 2011 on a deficit-cutting plan that would cut $487 billion from projected defense spending over 10 years. Democrats and Republicans also voted for automatic cuts of $55 billion this year if a special congressional panel can't come up with a sweeping deficit-cutting plan.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has warned against the approach of across-the-board cuts, and Hagel has given no sign that he has a different view.

___

THE CLAIM: "Now Hagel sits on the board of Chevron, which receives hundreds of millions in Pentagon contracts. ... How can Chuck Hagel run the Pentagon with so many ethical questions about his own record?" ? Ad by the American Future Fund, which is running a "Hagel No" campaign. The group describes itself as advocating conservative, free-market ideals.

THE FACTS: It's widely assumed that Hagel will be leaving the Chevron board, a move common for nominees who face the prospect of such ethical conflicts. The Senate Armed Services Committee has some of the most stringent rules for nominees for senior civilian positions in the Defense Department. The panel requires nominees to divest all financial interests in companies doing business with the department. Stepping down from any board would certainly be required.

The committee bases its decisions on the Defense Department list of companies with contracts valued at $25,000 or more. The list is 330 pages long and includes Chevron.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-01-28-US-Hagel-Fact-Check/id-4a96295119594ab0a65fbf671ab223d4

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AP PHOTOS: Scenes of grief at Brazil club fire

Here are images depicting the aftermath of a fatal nightclub fire in Santa Maria, Brazil. The club was hosting a party for university students when the fast-moving fire caused hundreds of partygoers to stampede toward the exit. Firefighters and police say more than 200 are dead, and at least 200 are injured.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ap-photos-scenes-grief-brazil-club-fire-013259706.html

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Vonn beats Maze to win World Cup giant slalom

MARIBOR, Slovenia (AP) ? Lindsey Vonn showed she can beat Tina Maze in the Slovenian's best discipline and on her home snow.

While it may be too late to challenge her biggest rival for the overall World Cup title, Vonn is looking like Maze's biggest challenger at next month's world championships.

The American proved that she has fully recovered from a recent illness by winning a World Cup giant slalom, her second win in two weeks.

Vonn was third behind Maze after the first run but overcame several errors in the second to put down the fastest time and create a margin that Maze couldn't overcome. Vonn won in 2 minutes, 22.2 seconds for her first GS victory since last March.

"In the second run I decided, OK, it's all or nothing, I had to go for it," Vonn said. "It's been a rough year for me in GS, so it's just perfect."

Maze still clinched her third giant slalom discipline title by placing second. Maze had a near-perfect first run, but a poor start to the second cost her valuable time and she finished 0.08 seconds behind Vonn.

With her 59th World Cup win overall, Vonn's just three away from equaling Annemarie Moser Proell's record on the women's side. She earned her first GS victory since last March and back-to-back wins after taking the downhill last week at Cortina D'Ampezzo.

Vonn took nearly a month off over the holidays to recover from an intestinal illness that landed her in the hospital in November. While her break allowed Maze to build an even bigger lead in the overall standings, Vonn said it's clear she made the right decision.

"A couple of weeks ago, everyone was thinking I was crazy taking this time off," Vonn said. "But I felt my body wasn't ready. Now I am ready."

Austria's Anna Fenninger was third, 0.57 seconds behind Vonn.

Maze's closest rival in the GS, Kathrin Zettel, only managed sixth. Maze is 238 points ahead of Zettel with just two GS races remaining this season.

Maze also extended her lead in the overall standing to 748 points against her closest challenger, Germany's Maria Hoefl-Riesch, who finished fourth. Vonn stands another 66 points back in third, having missed several races while sidelined.

The 29-year-old Maze performed in front of a passionate home crowd and was 0.48 seconds ahead of Vonn after dominating the first run.

However, she ran wide at the start of the second, leaving her 0.13 seconds behind her rival at the first checkpoint. Despite the cheers of the fans urging her on, Maze couldn't make up the time and finished with tears in her eyes.

"I had a mistake in the flat part," Maze said. "In my final run, I just had too many mistakes but I am very satisfied with second."

Maze has won four of the seven giant slaloms this season, making the podium in the other three.

"I have been working so hard this year for this GS crystal globe," she said. "Now I've won it, I feel freed and can look forward."

While the overall World Cup title may be Maze's to win or lose, Vonn will be a favorite to dominate next month's world championships in Schladming, Austria.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/vonn-beats-maze-win-world-cup-giant-slalom-135010317--spt.html

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cartier foxtrot: uptake myriad: Ezines And Buyer Admiration | Truth Or ...

OKAY, there, Ive said it. You want individuals to come to your site to see what you have or to finance the method at publishers if you?re an Internet publisher. If you are a web business you want to develop a comprehensive opt-in ezine that presents compelling information that consequently results in income from an educated client base. When an ezine manager pushes? The principal purpose of a digital journal (ezine) would be to market an item or service. OKAY, there, Ive said it. You want individuals to come to your website to see what you have or to finance the method at advertisers if you?re an Internet author. If you?re an online business you wish to produce a comprehensive opt-in ezine that gifts compelling data that consequently results in sales from an educated client base. When an ezine publisher presses way too hard or assumes practices which are less than trustworthy the result is a reputation of being a spammer. Among the first questions any online business should ask themselves is The Reason Why should I create a business ezine? you want to give it a whirl and if the answer is merely because its a device you might want to change your answer. Creating an ezine may be labor-intensive correlate with a distinct goal. You have to know what the intention of the ezine is likely to be before things can be really got by you moving. You will likely think it is better received among your opt-in list if you can develop a plan for your ezine. Business people can frequently incorrectly assume that they should develop an ezine for marketing purposes and just send whatever data hits them at any given moment. You?ll likely find consumers that opt-in will opt-out quickly if that?s your strategy. Because you comprehend the value of time it is equally important to regard the value of the time your client-base might spend with your ezine. Point and the more planning to the ezine the better it will be obtained. Look at it in this way, if you?ve 1,000 encouraged customers on a list that has 5,000 and each individual spends five minutes studying the material you deliver, the accumulated time your customers spend along with your ezine is simply more than 83 hours or about 3 (24 hour) times. If you send a weekly ezine you?ll likely find your customers paying almost 50% of the year reading your material. To put it requires that in perspective your kids will not be in school as long motivated your material to be collectively read by customers. If your web visitors are going to spend that much time reading your ezine you can do a minimum of make sure it?s worth reading. Build your own personal material, but dont forget to use material from other professionals. This information can be obtained through your suppliers and can also be obtained through the usage of free-to-use articles on numerous sites. mlm mentor

Source: http://truth-or-myth.com/2013/01/24/ezines-and-buyer-admiration/

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Source: http://uptake-myriad.blogspot.com/2013/01/ezines-and-buyer-admiration-truth-or.html

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Source: http://cartier-foxtrot.blogspot.com/2013/01/uptake-myriad-ezines-and-buyer.html

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Court says Obama recess appointments invalid

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A federal appeals court on Friday invalidated President Barack Obama's "recess" appointments to a labor board last year, ruling that the move was unconstitutional and dealing a blow to Obama's strategy of bypassing Senate Republicans.

The three appointments to the National Labor Relations Board in January 2012 were made while the Senate was out of town but potentially available to act on them.

"Considering the text, history, and structure of the Constitution, these appointments were invalid from their inception," the panel said.

Obama also used such a "recess" appointment last January to install Richard Cordray as head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, although his appointment was not part of the lawsuit.

The suit started as a routine dispute between soda bottling company Noel Canning and the labor board, but lawyers for Senate Republicans seized on the suit as a chance to challenge the appointments.

The case was seen as a test of the limits of the president's ability to make appointments during a Senate recess, a power that bypasses the Senate's usual ability to block nominees and that dates to the U.S. Constitution of 1787.

At the time, the Senate was not officially in recess, meeting every few days for minutes at a time but accomplishing no work and with few senators present. Meanwhile, Obama's nominees remained on the Senate's calendar, blocked by Republicans from up or down votes on their confirmation.

Nancy Cleeland, a spokeswoman for the NLRB, had no immediate comment.

Cordray's appointment was challenged in a separate lawsuit brought in June by the State National Bank of Big Spring, Texas, and other institutions. That suit presented a similar argument that the recess appointment was invalid because the Senate was technically in session.

Cordray's appointment followed months of rancorous debate over the new consumer bureau, which was created by the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial oversight law to police markets for products such as credit cards and home loans.

Once rare, recess appointments became more common in the late 1970s as a way to bypass the confirmation process, which senators have used increasingly to block nominees of both Republican and Democratic presidents.

Recent presidents pushed the boundaries. George W. Bush took the rare step of filling a judgeship during a recess, while Obama appointed the NLRB members while the Senate was holding "skeleton" sessions set up to keep it from going into recess.

(Reporting By Aruna Viswanatha, with additional reporting by Emily Stephenson; Editing by Vicki Allen)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/court-says-obama-recess-appointments-invalid-164811301.html

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Free Legal Question: Personal Injury | Texas | Am I entitled to crash ...

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Source: http://www.lawguru.com/legal-questions/-/entitled-crash-report-considered-car-117074380/

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Fifty Shades of Grey Trailer: Michael Bay Style!

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/01/fifty-shades-of-grey-trailer-michael-bay-style/

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Terrence Howard, Taye Diggs reunited for "Best Man" sequel

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Terrence Howard, Taye Diggs, Nia Long and the rest of the cast of "The Best Man" will reunite for a sequel to the 1999 comedy, Universal Pictures said Thursday.

The follow-up will hits theaters on November 15, 2013, and will follow the gang of college pals as the reunite over the Christmas holidays. The first film centered on the a group of young professionals, and examined their rivalries and romances as they gathered together at one friend's wedding.

It grossed $34 million on a $9 million budget and helped establish the careers of Howard, who would go on to be nominated for an Oscar for 2005's "Hustle and Flow," and Diggs, who co-stars on the show "Private Practice."

Malcolm D. Lee will write and direct the sequel, which Sean Daniel of "The Mummy" franchise will produce alongside Lee.

Also reprising their roles are Morris Chestnut, Harold Perrineau, Sanaa Lathan, Monica Calhoun, Melissa De Sousa and Regina Hall.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/terrence-howard-taye-diggs-reunited-best-man-sequel-010653326.html

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10 authors on shortlist for Man Booker International literary prize

JAIPUR, India - American author Marilynne Robinson, Israel's Aharon Appelfeld and China's Yan Lianke are among 10 finalists for the Man Booker International Prize for fiction.

The award, an offshoot of Britain's better-known Man Booker novel-of-the-year prize, is awarded for a lifetime's work. It is open to authors of all nationalities whose work is available in English.

Finalists announced Thursday at the Jaipur Literary Festival in India include Lydia Davis of the United States, Pakistan's Intizar Husain, France's Marie NDiaye and Indian writer U.R. Ananthamurthy.

Josip Novakovich of Canada, Russia's Vladimir Sorokin and Swiss writer Peter Stamm round out the list.

Previous winners of the 60,000-pound ($95,000) award include Canada's Alice Munro, Nigeria's Chinua Achebe and Philip Roth of the United States.

This year's winner will be announced in London on May 22.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/10-authors-shortlist-man-booker-international-literary-prize-122814552.html

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