Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Winfrey to interview Ralph Lauren live in NYC (AP)

NEW YORK ? When Ralph Lauren sits down for a little chat Monday night with Oprah Winfrey, they'll pick up a discussion they started on TV back in the spring, when the fashion designer helped close out Winfrey's long-running talk show with an exclusive peek inside his Colorado estate.

But this time, their talk about Lauren's life, career and commitment to cancer causes will be done in front of a sold-out crowd of arts patrons at Lincoln Center and a celebrity guest list expected to include Jerry Seinfeld, Martha Stewart, Tom Brokaw, Naomi Watts and Anna Wintour.

Proceeds from the event will benefit Lauren's cancer care center in East Harlem, along with Lincoln Center itself.

Produced by Tony Award winner Darren Bagert, the multimedia presentation reinforces the Upper West Side venue as a fashion-industry destination. It's where most of the city's designers ? although not Lauren ? present their seasonal collections at New York Fashion Week.

Meanwhile, Mayor Michael Bloomberg declared Monday as The Ralph Lauren Center for Cancer Care and Prevention Day.

Winfrey was expected to wear a custom-made gown by Lauren.

Back in May, Lauren told Winfrey during their televised interview that he considered becoming a baseball player, a basketball player, a cowboy, a dancer ? even Batman ? before settling on fashion as his livelihood. He said he was drawn to Batman because of "the ability to stay young, the ability to enjoy what you enjoyed when you were a kid, not to give up the hope and excitement."

___

Samantha Critchell tweets fashion at http://twitter.com/ap_fashion

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/fashion/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111024/ap_en_ce/us_fea_fashion_oprah_winfrey_ralph_lauren

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Monday, October 24, 2011

Euro zone business activity shrinks further in Oct: PMI (Reuters)

LONDON (Reuters) ? The euro zone's private sector tipped further into decline in October, according to business surveys on Monday that showed the bloc's economy is in serious danger of lurching from stagnation into outright recession.

Shrinking order books and plummeting confidence sent euro zone factories into contraction for the third month in a row, and service sector companies for a second month.

The Flash Markit Eurozone Services Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), which measures business activity at thousands of firms from banks to restaurants, sank to 47.2 this month from September's 48.8, well below a Reuters consensus of 48.5.

In fact, none of the 35 economists polled by Reuters thought this preliminary reading of the services index would fall so far below the 50 mark that divides growth and contraction.

With Europe's leaders laboring over effective means to fight a sovereign debt crisis that threatens to unleash a new global financial crisis, the PMIs showed little hope of cheerier days ahead soon.

"Most indicators seem to suggest it is going to get worse not better in the coming months. So there is a significant chance of a contraction in the fourth quarter," said Chris Williamson, chief economist at survey compiler Markit.

He said the current level of the indexes, which have a good record of tracking economic growth, could signal a quarterly rate of decline approaching half a percentage point.

The services new business sub-index fell to 46.2 in October from 47.1 in September, its lowest reading since July 2009 when the euro zone was still escaping the worst recession since World War II.

A Reuters poll conducted earlier this month showed a 40 percent chance the euro zone will slip back into recession, while economists now expect the European Central Bank to reverse some of its monetary policy tightening later this year.

German manufacturing contracted this month for the first time in two years, according to individual country PMIs released earlier on Monday. The service sector rebounded unexpectedly but that was perhaps the only bright spot among this month's surveys.

SLIPPING

The euro zone's manufacturing PMI slipped to 47.3 in October from 48.5 last month, its lowest point since July 2009. The output index, which feeds into the broader composite survey that combines manufacturing and services, fell to 47.2 from 49.6 in September.

Like the service sector survey, manufacturers reported a steep fall in new business, with the index for that slipping to 43.7 from 45.2 the previous month -- its lowest reading since May 2009.

"There is little to see what will cause an improvement for the first quarter (next year) unless European leaders in the next few weeks manage to bring out a convincing package to restore confidence," said Markit's Williamson.

The composite PMI, a broader measure of private sector activity, also fell sharply, from 49.1 in September to 47.2 this month. Its employment index fell to 50.3 from 51.0, showing an effectively stagnant labor market. Worryingly, Markit suggested worse is on its way for euro zone workers.

Williamson pointed to this month's backlog of work index, which fell to its lowest level since August 2009, and tends to lead the employment index.

"We can expect to see some disappointing news on the labor market front and that is going to further hit consumer confidence."

(To see a program on the euro zone PMI on Reuters Insider Television, click on http://link.reuters.com/jaf64s)

(Editing by Susan Fenton)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/economy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111024/bs_nm/us_euro_zone_pmi

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Sunday, October 23, 2011

Iraqis fret about security after U.S. withdrawal

Iraqis fretted about the ability of their armed forces to protect them from violence after U.S. President Barack Obama said on Friday all U.S. troops would withdraw by the end of the year.

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Washington and Baghdad failed to agree on the issue of immunity for U.S. forces after months of talks over whether American soldiers would stay on as trainers more than eight years after the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.

Obama's announcement prompted worries among Iraqis over the stability of their country and a possible slide back into sectarian violence.

"Our forces are still not capable of facing our security challenges. I'm afraid this withdrawal will allow al-Qaida and the militias to return," said Baghdad shoe shop owner Ziyad Jabari.

Live vote: Was Iraq war worth the human, financial costs?

A stubborn Sunni insurgency tied to al-Qaida and Shi'ite militia still carry out lethal attacks in Iraq, where bombings and killings happen daily even though violence has dropped from the height of sectarian fighting in 2006-2007.

At least 70 people were killed last week as a series of attacks rocked the capital Baghdad.

In September, 42 Iraqi police and 33 soldiers were killed, according to government figures.

Iraqi security forces have been the prime target of attacks this year as insurgents seek to undermine security in the country ahead of the scheduled U.S. withdrawal by year-end.

"As an Iraqi citizen, I say to Mr. Obama, you will leave Iraq without accomplishing your mission," said Munaf Hameed, a 47-year-old account manager at a private bank.

"No security, an unstable political regime, sectarian tensions and weak security forces, that's what America will leave behind," he said.

Political stability
Some Iraqi leaders say in private they would like a U.S. troop presence as a guarantee to ward off sectarian troubles and keep the peace between Iraqi Arabs and Kurds in a dispute over who controls oil-rich areas in the north.

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Iraqi and U.S. forces have said Iraq needs trainers beyond 2011 to develop its military capabilities, particularly its air and naval defenses.

Republicans criticize Obama over Iraq withdrawal

The country's power-sharing coalition made up of Sunni, Shi'ite and Kurdish blocs is also caught in a political stalemate many Iraqis fear could worsen without a U.S. buffer.

"I think the fighting between the political blocs will increase because the U.S. presence was a safety valve for security and political issues," said Muntadhir Abdel Wahab, 44, a Baghdad merchant.

But some Iraqis applauded the decision by Obama and Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and said the withdrawal of U.S. troops would help stabilize the country's fragile political situation and quell sectarian tensions.

Obama keeps campaign promise with Iraq

Many Iraqis still have memories of abuses committed by U.S. troops and contractors during the more violent years of Iraq's conflict. That made securing immunity tricky for Maliki.

Iraqi lawmakers backing anti-American Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, whose political bloc is a key part of Maliki's coalition government, said they would disrupt the power-sharing government if he agreed to keep U.S. forces.

"Iraq's people will realize the necessity of living together in one country despite differences in religion, sect and nationality," said engineer Mahdi Salim, who was visiting family in Kirkuk. "America tried to drag us into civil war."

Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44994341/ns/world_news-mideast_n_africa/

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Lisa Derrick: Horror Fans Help Scream Queen Jewel Shepard Battle Breast Cancer

2011-10-20-Screenshot20111020at4.52.23PM.png


Scream queen Jewel Shepard, best known for her roles in the 1985 classic Return of the Living Dead and the goofy Party Camp and as the author of Invasion of the B-Girls and If I'm So Famous, How Come Nobody's Ever Heard of Me? is battling invasive breast cancer. Currently undergoing chemotherapy, the cult actress and respected journalist (she's written for Details, Cosmopolitan and the Associated Press), whose sassy spirit has made her a favorite at horror conventions, recently had lymph nodes removed and a double mastectomy.

Jewel's friends in the horror community are helping out, since her insurance doesn't cover the cost of her treatment and medications. Occult and horror-themed perfumers Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab just auctioned off three rare bottles of their perfume oils on eBay, raising $250 towards Jewel's treatments, and there's a fundraiser this Saturday night at Dark Delicacies, the goth-themed general store -- a major resource for studios and horror fans alike -- in Burbank, CA. Signed photos and artwork by Lucas Culshaw and Beth Ashby, along with Jewel's book are for sale, and Jewel herself will be there. There's also a a script of Platoon, signed by Johnny Depp and Tom Beringer for sale, with the proceeds going to help out Jewel.

Jewel, who once received a fan letter from Unabomber Ted Kaczynski, writes:

I'm selling great photos of me showing the boobs I don't have anymore...plus as an added bonus, you'll get to see that great head of hair I'm losing these days to cancer treatments. As you know, we have a health care crisis in this country...well, I have one in my life. Even with limited insurance, I need to raise a lot of money and I promise it'll all go to medication to keep me around. So here's your chance, guys (or even gals) to buy some naked photos and to help a fellow human being. And men, if your wife or girlfriend finds them, you can just say, "Oh, I was just trying to help this poor lady."
2011-10-20-Screenshot20111020at4.49.54PM.png


Jewel Shepard Fund Raiser
Saturday October 22 7pm
Dark Delicacies
3512 Burbank Blvd
Burbank CA 91505
818-556-6660

2011-10-21-Screenshot20111020at5.13.13PM.png

(Photos: screenshots from Jewel Shepard's YouTube channel)

?

Follow Lisa Derrick on Twitter: www.twitter.com/lalisa93

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lisa-derrick/horror-fans-help-scream-q_b_1023102.html

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Saturday, October 22, 2011

KeyCorp's 3Q earnings beat Wall Street's forecast (AP)

CLEVELAND ? Regional banking company KeyCorp reported Thursday that its third-quarter net income rose 19 percent and beat the Wall Street forecast as bad loans declined.

KeyCorp reported net income of $212 million, or 22 cents per share, on revenue of $1.04 billion in the July-September period.

Bad loans declined $584 million to $788 million.

Analysts had forecast earnings per share of 21 cents on revenue of $1.01 billion, according to FactSet.

In last year's third quarter, the company had net income of $178 million, or 20 cents per share, on revenue of $1.13 billion.

Chairman and CEO Beth Mooney said the report reflected continued momentum as KeyCorp works to reduce bad loans and control costs.

Mooney said in a statement that KeyCorp was working to expand its loans to small- and midsized businesses and has committed $5 billion to the effort over the next three years.

Nonperforming assets declined by $887 million from the year-ago quarter to $914 million.

Net charge-offs declined to $109 million, or 0.90 percent of average loan balances in the quarter. That compared to $357 million, or 2.69 percent of average loan balances for the third quarter of 2010.

For the nine-month period, KeyCorp had net income of $619 million, or 67 cents per share, on revenue of $3.12 billion, compared with nine-month 2010 net income of $111 million, or 13 cents per share, on revenue of $3.33 billion.

KeyCorp shares closed down 27 cents at $6.37 in Wednesday trading, near the lower end of its 52-week trading range of $5.59 to $9.77.

Cleveland-based KeyCorp has more than 1,000 branches in 14 states stretching from Alaska to Maine.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/earnings/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111020/ap_on_bi_ge/us_earns_keycorp

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Turn Your Desktop into an Ode to Code with These Wallpapers [Wallpaper Wednesday]

Whether it's the kind of code that makes web sites like Lifehacker possible or a secret code that unlocks all your hopes and dreams, give codes in general their due with this week's wallpapers.

Click through the gallery to see all the options and download each wallpaper.


You can follow Adam Dachis, the author of this post, on Twitter, Google+, and Facebook. ?Twitter's the best way to contact him, too.

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/PyqoXbtAWb0/

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Friday, October 21, 2011

Jon Bernthal talks season 2 of 'The Walking Dead (omg!)

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Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/omg_rss/rss_omg_en/http___omg_yahoo_com_videos15534/43336151/*http%3A//omg.yahoo.com/videos/jon-bernthal-talks-season-2-of-the-walking-dead/15534

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Wal-Mart cuts some health care coverage

(AP) ? Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the nation's largest private employer, is scaling back the eligibility of health care coverage offered to future part-timers and raising premiums for many of its full-time workers.

The discounter, which employs more than 1.4 million workers, said the changes were forced by rising health care costs. All future part-time workers working less than 24 hours a week, on average, will be affected.

Wal-Mart is working hard to reverse nine straight quarters of decreases in revenue at stores open at least a year, and may see a gain by the third quarter, which ends in late October.

Premiums will rise for many existing workers, and the company will reduce by half the amount it contributes for each worker to help pay for health care expenses not covered under their plan. Tobacco users will particularly be hit hard, seeing premiums more than double compared with increases of as much as 41 percent for singles, according to Making Change at Wal-Mart, a union-backed group which has been pressuring Wal-Mart on worker rights.

"Health care costs are continuing to go up faster than anyone would like," said Greg Rossiter, a Wal-Mart spokesman. "It is a difficult decision to raise rates. But we are striking a balance between managing costs and providing quality care and coverage."

Rossiter said the premium increases vary by plan. For the most popular health care plan ? basic coverage for a single person ? the cost will go from about $11 per pay period, which is every two weeks, to about $15 per pay period starting next year, he said. But Andrew McDonald, a spokesman for Making Change at Wal-Mart, noted smokers will feel even more pain. Starting next year, smokers will be forced to pay $25.40 for that same plan every pay period.

For associates with families under a basic health care plan, they will have to pay $52.50 per pay period next year, up from $32.70 this year. For families with one smoker, they will have to pay $62.50.

"Tobacco users consume 25 percent more health care services than non-tobacco users," Rossiter said.

Preventative care, such as annual checkups and mammograms, will remain fully covered under the plans. Wal-Mart is cutting in half the amount it gives families to pay for uncovered expenses to $500. For individuals, Wal-Mart will contribute $250, down from $500.

Current part-timers will remain eligible for coverage for themselves and their children, Rossiter said.

The changes on health coverage represent a reversal from only a few years ago. Wal-Mart, under pressure from union-backed groups, began providing coverage to part-time workers, including those who work less than 24 hours a week, after only one year on the job instead of two. It also lowered premiums and lowered co-pays for prescription drugs. Since 1996 the company had offered overall coverage to all part-time workers.

Wal-Mart, based in Bentonville, Ark., defines full-time workers as anyone who works 34 or more hours per week. Rossiter declined to say how many part-time workers it has, but he noted that a majority of its workers are full-time employees.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2011-10-21-US-Wal-Mart-Healthcare/id-b5d7aaecc67544519463cb663eab08b2

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Gaddafi killed in hometown, Libya eyes future (Reuters)

SIRTE, Libya (Reuters) ? Muammar Gaddafi was killed after being captured by the Libyan fighters he once scorned as "rats", cornered and shot in the head after they overrun his last bastion of resistance in his hometown of Sirte.

His body, bloodied, half naked, Gaddafi's trademark long curls hanging limp around a rarely seen bald spot, was delivered, a prize of war, to Misrata, the city west of Sirte whose siege and months of suffering at the hands of Gaddafi's artillery and sniper made it a symbol of the rebel cause.

A quick and secret burial was due later on Friday.

"It's time to start a new Libya, a united Libya," Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril declared. "One people, one future."

A formal announcement of Libya's liberation, which will set the clock ticking on a timeline to elections, would be made on Saturday, Libyan officials said.

Two months after Western-backed rebels ended 42 years of eccentric one-man rule by capturing the capital Tripoli, his death ended a nervous hiatus for the new interim government.

U.S. President Barack Obama, in a veiled dig at the Syrian and other leaders resisting the democrats of the Arab Spring, declared "the rule of an iron fist inevitably comes to an end".

But Gaddafi's death is a setback to campaigners seeking the full truth about the 1988 bombing over Lockerbie in Scotland of Pan Am flight 103 which claimed 270 lives, mainly Americans, and for which one of Gaddafi's agents was convicted.

Jim Swire, the father of one of the Lockerbie victims, said: "There is much still to be resolved and we may now have lost an opportunity for getting nearer the truth."

"That's for Lockerbie," said the front-page headline in The Sun, Britain's best selling daily newspaper.

Confusion over Gaddafi's death was a reminder of the challenge for Libyans to now summon order out of the armed chaos that is the legacy of eight months of grinding conflict.

The killing or capture of senior aides, including possibly two sons, as an armoured convoy braved NATO air strikes in a desperate bid to break out of Sirte, may ease fears of diehards regrouping elsewhere - though cellphone video, apparently of Gaddafi alive and being beaten, may inflame his sympathisers.

As news of Gaddafi's demise spread, people poured into the streets in jubilation. Joyous fighters fired their weapons in the air, shouting "Allahu Akbar".

Others wrote graffiti on the parapets of the highway outside Sirte. One said simply: "Gaddafi was captured here".

Jibril, reading what he said was a post-mortem report, said Gaddafi was hauled unresisting from a "sewage pipe". He was then shot in the arm and put in a truck which was "caught in crossfire" as it ferried the 69-year-old to hospital.

"He was hit by a bullet in the head," Jibril said, adding it was unclear which side had fired the fatal shot.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who spearheaded a Franco-British move in NATO to back the revolt against Gaddafi hailed a turn of events that few had expected so soon, since there had been little evidence that Gaddafi himself was in Sirte.

But he also alluded to fears that, without the glue of hatred for Gaddafi, the new Libya could descend, like Saddam Hussein's Iraq, into bloody factionalism: "The liberation of Sirte must signal ... the start of a process ... to establish a democratic system in which all groups in the country have their place and where fundamental freedoms are guaranteed," he said.

NATO, keen to portray the victory as that of the Libyans themselves, said it would wind down its military mission.

"KEEP HIM ALIVE"

The circumstances of the death of Gaddafi, who had vowed to go down fighting, remained obscure. Jerky video showed a man with Gaddafi's distinctive long, curly hair, bloodied and staggering under blows from armed men, apparently NTC fighters.

The brief footage showed him being hauled by his hair from the hood of a truck. To the shouts of someone saying "Keep him alive", he disappears from view and gunshots are heard.

"While he was being taken away, they beat him and then they killed him," a senior source in the NTC told Reuters before Jibril spoke of crossfire. "He might have been resisting."

Officials said Gaddafi's son Mo'tassim, also seen bleeding but alive in a video, had also died. Another son, heir-apparent Saif al-Islam, was variously reported to be surrounded, captured or killed as conflicting accounts of the day's events crackled around networks of NTC fighters rejoicing in Sirte.

In Benghazi, where in February Gaddafi disdainfully said he would hunt down the "rats" who had emulated their Tunisian and Egyptian neighbours by rising up against an unloved autocrat, thousands took to the streets, loosing off weapons and dancing under the old tricolour flag revived by Gaddafi's opponents.

Mansour el Ferjani, 49, a Benghazi bank clerk and father of five posed his 9-year-old son for a photograph holding a Kalashnikov rifle: "Don't think I will give this gun to my son," he said. "Now that the war is over we must give up our weapons and the children must go to school.

Accounts were hazy of his final hours, as befitted a man who retained an aura of mystery in the desert down the decades as he first tormented "colonial" Western powers by sponsoring militant bomb-makers from the IRA to the PLO and then embraced the likes of Tony Blair and Silvio Berlusconi in return for investment in Libya's extensive oil and gas fields.

There was no shortage of fighters willing to claim they saw Gaddafi, who long vowed to die in battle, cringeing below ground, like Saddam eight years ago, and pleading for his life.

One description, pieced together from various sources, suggests Gaddafi tried to break out of his final redoubt at dawn in a convoy of vehicles after weeks of dogged resistance.

However, he was stopped by a French air strike and captured, possibly some hours later, after gun battles with NTC fighters who found him hiding in a drainage culvert.

NATO said its warplanes fired on a convoy near Sirte about 8:30 a.m. (0630 GMT), striking two military vehicles in the group, but could not confirm that Gaddafi had been a passenger. France later said its jets had halted the convoy.

(Additional reporting by Taha Zargoun in Sirte, Barry Malone, Yasmine Saleh and Jessica Donati in Tripoli, Brian Rohan in Benghazi, Jon Hemming in Tunis, Edmund Blair and Yasmine Saleh in Cairo, Samia Nakhoul in Amman, Christian Lowe in Algiers, Tim Castle, Peter Apps and William Maclean in London, David Brunnstrom in Brussels, Alister Bull, Jeff Mason and Laura MacInnis in Washington and Vicky Buffery in Paris; Writing by Alastair Macdonald; Editing by Giles Elgood)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/india/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111021/india_nm/india600186

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Senate votes to end 'Fast and Furious' gun program

Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., center, flanked Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, left, Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2011. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., center, flanked Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, left, Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2011. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The Senate voted Tuesday to effectively block the Justice Department from undertaking gun-smuggling probes like the flawed "Operation Fast and Furious" aimed at breaking up networks running guns to Mexican drug cartels but that lost track of hundreds of the weapons, some of which were used to commit crimes in Mexico and the United States.

The 99-0 vote would block the government from transferring guns to drug cartels unless federal agents "continuously monitor or control" the weapons. The amendment's sponsor, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, called the vote "just the first step towards ensuring that such a foolish operation can never be repeated by our own law enforcement."

The Justice Department has already stopped the program.

A Justice Department official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because Congress did not ask the department for its views, said the amendment essentially reflects DOJ policy.

In an interview Tuesday with ABC News, President Barack Obama said "we will find out who and what happened in this situation and make sure it gets corrected."

The vote came as the Senate debated a $128 billion spending measure that would fund Justice Department operations and those of several other Cabinet agencies for the 2012 budget year already under way.

Operation Fast and Furious was a gun-smuggling investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives aimed at tracking small-time illicit gun buyers up the chain to major traffickers in an effort to take down arms networks. In the process, ATF agents lost track of many of the weapons.

Fast and Furious came to light after two assault rifles purchased by a now-indicted small-time buyer under scrutiny in the operation turned up at a shootout in Arizona where Customs and Border Protection agent Brian Terry was killed.

The operation has caused something of a firestorm in Washington and is the focus of an investigation by House Republicans, who have questioned whether Attorney General Eric Holder has been candid about all he knows about the botched operation.

Holder already has called a halt to the practice of allowing guns to "walk" in an effort to track them to arms traffickers, saying in a recent letter to lawmakers that "those tactics should never again be adopted in any investigation."

In the past two weeks, two gun-trafficking investigations from the Bush administration have surfaced using the same controversial tactic for which congressional Republicans have been criticizing the Obama administration on Fast and Furious.

Emails obtained by The Associated Press show how in a 2007 investigation in Phoenix, ATF agents ? depending on Mexican authorities to follow up ? let guns "walk" across the border in an effort to identify higher-ups in gun networks. Separately, it was disclosed that ATF agents carried out an operation in 2006 called Wide Receiver that resulted in hundreds of guns being transferred to suspected arms traffickers.

Fast and Furious was designed to respond to criticism that the agency had focused on small-time gun arrests while major traffickers had eluded prosecution.

As recently as 11 months ago, the Justice Department's inspector general criticized ATF for focusing "largely on inspections of gun dealers and investigations of straw purchasers, rather than on higher-level traffickers, smugglers and the ultimate recipients of the trafficked guns."

The IG said some ATF managers discourage agents from conducting complex conspiracy investigations that target high-level traffickers.

___

Associated Press writer Pete Yost contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2011-10-18-US-Senate-Fast-and-Furious/id-8f939ea839e44cd5a56db922e0aeb472

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Thursday, October 20, 2011

Short on shocks, Turner art prize leaves London (Reuters)

GATESHEAD, England (Reuters) ? In the absence of any big shocks at this year's Turner Prize exhibition, organizers hope the quality of the works on display will be enough to generate headlines and positive buzz for the show.

The annual award is one of the contemporary art world's most recognizable and controversial, which on occasion sparks heated public debate about what constitutes art.

It has been dismissed as "The Prize for the Emperor's New Clothes," and previous winners include Martin Creed, whose exhibit in 2001 was an empty room with lights going on and off. Three years earlier Chris Ofili triumphed with paintings propped up on elephant dung.

But the Turner has also helped cement the careers of some of Britain's leading contemporary artists, including Damien Hirst, who won in 1995, Steve McQueen (1999) and Antony Gormley (1994).

This year, the nominated artists are Karla Black, Martin Boyce, Hilary Lloyd and George Shaw, and their works are on display at the BALTIC gallery in Gateshead, northern England, from October 21 to January 8.

It is only the second time in its 27-year history that the Turner Prize has been held outside London, and the first time at a gallery not belonging to the Tate stable.

Godfrey Worsdale, BALTIC director and member of the 2011 jury, said the kind of indignation that used to accompany the prize may be a thing of the past as British art lovers have become more sophisticated.

"I like to think the debate has moved on a bit," he told reporters during a press preview of the show on Thursday.

"I hope (so). There's nothing worse than not being talked about, but ... I think the debate is a bit more sophisticated now."

He also said it was important to hold the prize outside London.

"I think that makes some kind of statement about the Turner Prize being a national award," he explained.

LANDSCAPE, VIDEOS, INSTALLATION, SCULPTURE

Scottish-born Black's exhibit is entered via see-through cellophane "curtains" hanging from the ceiling by tape and daubed in paint.

Two large mounds of paper colored in powdered paint fill the room inside, with the powder spread over the floor reminding visitors of the fragility and transience of the art.

One of the paper structures allows the public to pass behind it and walk "into" a work of art.

"To de-install it is to destroy it, and that fragility is, I think, very crucial to her work," said curator Laurence Sillars.

Shaw, the only painter among the nominees, has produced a series of identically-sized landscapes that draw on his memories of the drab housing estate in the West Midlands where he grew up.

His "deadpan realism" is designed to communicate how time changes our perceptions of a place that was once our home.

The images of damp streets, derelict buildings and shuttered shops also point to the broken dreams of those who once lived and worked there and who have long since moved on.

Boyce's installations recall stage sets or stills from a movie, and his Turner exhibit features paper leaves on the floor, leaf-like metal shapes hanging from the ceiling and a garbage can like those used in public parks.

And Lloyd's room of video works deliberately draws the viewer's gaze to the technology she uses as well as the images they project.

"Floor 2011" is made up of close-up images of a section of wooden floor from three projectors hanging at waist height, so to get too close would mean to destroy the image.

Organizers hope the move to Gateshead draws new crowds to the Turner Prize show, which attracted just 51,000 people in 2010 compared with a record 133,000 in 1999.

The award winner, announced on December 5, receives a check for 25,000 pounds ($39,212) as well as the priceless publicity that goes with it. The other nominees each receive 5,000 pounds.

(Reporting by Mike Collett-White, editing by Paul Casciato)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tv/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111020/stage_nm/us_britain_turner

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Dan Wheldon's death: Is IndyCar racing too dangerous? (The Week)

New York ? The two-time Indy500 champion is killed in a massive crash at the IndyCar World Championship, raising new concerns about the sport's safety

On Sunday, two-time Indy500 champion Dan Wheldon was killed in a 15-car pileup at the IndyCar World Championship in Las Vegas. "One mistake can take 15 people out, and that's what happened there," said IndyCar driver Tony Kanaan. "I've never seen such a mess in my entire career." Is Wheldon's tragic death a sign that IndyCar racing is just too dangerous?

Risk is inherent to the sport: With car racing, competitors "are legitimately risking their lives each time they compete," says Jake Emen at Yahoo! That's unique to motorsports and boxing, but "data shows that on average motorsports have about 10 times as many recorded annual deaths" as boxing. Though fans (and competitors) are drawn to the risk and danger, these sports needn't be so deadly. The governing bodies must walk a fine line and "keep the competition intact while adding increased safety measures and keeping the sport, and its practitioners, alive and well."
"Dan Wheldon's death brings link between car racing and boxing to the forefront"

This happened despite improved safety over the years: "Wheldon's death was a stunning loss at a time when improved cars, better safety equipment and energy-absorbing walls had created a sense that, while racing was still dangerous, it was not nearly as deadly," says the Associated Press. Wheldon's death marks the first IndyCar fatality since Paul Dana in 2006, and it follows the 2001 death of NASCAR great Dale Earnhardt, which "shook the motorsports world to its core" and "led to sweeping safety improvements in NASCAR." Clearly, we still have a long way to go.
"IndyCar driver Wheldon's death highlights dangers of racing, despite safety improvements"

And some of the dangers are uniquely America: "In the last 20 years there have been 15 deaths in IndyCar and NASCAR combined," says Ben Wyatt at CNN. By comparison, Formula One, the international rival, which once had a similarly high fatality rate, hasn't had a death since Ayton Senna in 1994. Senna's death "acted as a catalyst to drive through a raft of safety features for both the cars and track." While American racing has adopted some of those changes, "the danger of the banked curves, the compact oval circuit and unforgiving perimeters" remain. Sadly, "the close proximity of the high-speed contest is central to the American culture of motorsport and it is this constraint that keeps the endeavor so perilous."
"Wheldon's death a watershed moment for IndyCar?"

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Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/oped/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/theweek/20111017/cm_theweek/220423

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Texas court break-in was prank, not terrorism: officials (Reuters)

SAN ANTONIO (Reuters) ? Officials in San Antonio say five Moroccan men arrested during a courthouse break-in early on Wednesday were pranksters who were likely intoxicated.

"There is no reason to think this is a terrorist incident," Bexar County Sheriff Amadeo Ortiz told reporters Wednesday afternoon.

Three of the men were arrested as they walked out of the 120-year-old Bexar County Courthouse early Wednesday, and two others were arrested in a recreational vehicle parked outside the courthouse.

At the time, officials said photographs of "infrastructure" found inside the RV raised concerns.

The men, all in their twenties, face felony burglary charges, said Cliff Herberg, assistant district attorney for Bexar County.

All five were born in Morocco, live in France, and arrived in the United States last month on a flight from London to New York, officials said. Ortiz said they are on a still-valid 90-day tourist visa and apparently rented the RV in New York.

"I don't know what their reasons were, but they came here and they were partying at several bars before coming to the Courthouse," Ortiz said, adding that several beer bottles were found in the RV.

"There is no indication that they meant to do any harm to the courtroom, they have been cooperative with us, and there is no reason to suspect that this was terroristic activity of any description."

Ortiz said no weapons were found in their possession. He said that the five are "pranksters, not terrorists," and joked that if "their mothers saw them, they would not be pleased."

Surveillance video shows one of the men walking down a courthouse hallway wearing a huge, Mexican-style sombrero, while another man is seen playing with a judge's gavel.

The FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force, as well as Department of Homeland Security officials are still involved in the investigation, Herberg said.

Ortiz acknowledged that the case got a lot of scrutiny because the men are foreigners with Arabic names.

"If it had been some kids here locally that broke into the courthouse as a prank, then it would have been treated differently," he said.

(Editing by Corrie MacLaggan and Jerry Norton)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/terrorism/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111020/us_nm/us_texas_crime_break_in

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Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Devin Hester Return Touchdown: Bears Star Scores Amazing TD Against Vikings (VIDEO)

CHICAGO -- Devin Hester extended his NFL record for combined touchdowns on kick returns with his 16th when he ran a kickoff back 98 yards for the Chicago Bears early in the third quarter of Sunday's game against the Minnesota Vikings.

The Vikings' Adrian Peterson had just scored on a 4-yard run when Hester delivered the longest kickoff return of his career.

He turned to his right and was touched once on his way to the end zone, making it 33-10. It was his first kickoff return for a touchdown since Nov. 25, 2007, against Denver.

Hester set a record with his 11th punt return for a touchdown against Carolina on Oct. 2.

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About 175 arrested early Sunday in Chicago protest (Reuters)

CHICAGO (Reuters) ? Police arrested around 175 demonstrators at a nascent protest camp in a downtown Chicago park early on Sunday, hauling them away in vans and buses even as protesters vowed to carry on their campaign against economic inequality.

The Chicago protests, linked to the Occupy Wall Street movement that sparked weekend demonstrations around the world, drew more than 2,000 people on Saturday and into the early hours of Sunday. Marches in New York and Los Angeles attracted about 5,000 people each on Saturday.

But the predawn arrests scuttled, at least for now, plans by the Chicago protesters to build a protest camp similar to that in New York's Zuccotti Park, the Manhattan hub of the Occupy Wall Street movement that began last month.

After the arrests, demonstrators in Chicago said they were plotting a way forward, grappling with issues including trespassing laws barring occupation of public spaces, organizing challenges and dropping temperatures.

The arrests happened after protesters marched on Saturday from Chicago's financial district, where some have spent the night on sidewalks, to Grant Park where they hoped to set up camp despite a law barring the public from city parks after 11 p.m.

"We went in knowing that we were going to occupy," said Kyle Miskell, a 24-year-old computer technician, adding he was among those arrested. "We were hoping the city would say, 'OK, let them occupy here.' But it didn't work out that way."

Police warned them to leave. But some protesters linked arms around the tents, saying they were willing to be arrested. Others stood across the street to chant and sing on the sidewalk in a gesture of solidarity.

"They were given warnings, advised of the statute and that they were in violation, and they chose to stay," Chicago Police spokesman Daniel O'Brien said.

Police took down close to 30 tents after hauling away the last of the arrested protesters early on Sunday, protesters said. At least one protester said the police acted "humanely."

Miskell said the protesters "definitely need a more permanent residence" more comfortable than the financial district sidewalk they currently occupy.

"Sleeping on the streets in November and December in Chicago is not a good idea," he said.

Another Chicago protester, an intensive care nurse, said that as the Chicago movement grew it needed a "more visible, yet safe" place to call home.

"There has been talk about people trying to reoccupy Grant Park tonight. When the police were tearing down the tents, there was a chant of 'We have more tents,'" said the woman, 31-year-old Heather Fallon.

ARRESTS IN OTHER CITIES

In New York, where the movement began when protesters set up camp on September 17, 92 demonstrators were arrested on Saturday and early on Sunday for disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, police said.

More than a dozen were demonstrators arrested in Washington Square Park for violating the park's midnight curfew.

Another roughly 20 protesters were arrested late on Saturday in Raleigh, North Carolina, and about 50 were arrested in Phoenix.

In addition to the U.S. protests, demonstrations stretched into Sunday in London, where about 250 people set up camp outside St Paul's Cathedral, vowing to occupy the site indefinitely to show their anger at bankers and politicians over the global economic crisis.

The protests, in Asia and Europe as well on Saturday, were mostly peaceful apart from in Rome, where the demonstration sparked riots.

American protesters are angry that U.S. banks are enjoying booming profits after getting bailouts in 2008, while many ordinary Americans are struggling to stay afloat in a difficult economy with more than 9 percent unemployment.

They also believe the richest 1 percent of Americans do not pay their fair share in taxes and want a more equitable economic system.

Some protesters said they were pleased with the weekend's turnout, although some marches were smaller than organizers had expected and it was unclear if the movement, largely driven by social media, would sustain its momentum. Critics have accused it of lacking clear goals.

Occupy LA organizer Clark Davis was exuberant over the 5,000 people who marched through the streets of Los Angeles and gathered peacefully outside City Hall.

"Wow, they really showed up," he said.

In New York, Troy Simmons, production manager for a health food business, said he was surprised turnout was not larger.

"People don't want to get involved. They'd rather watch on TV," he said.

(Additional reporting by Brad Dorfman in Chicago, R.T. Watson in Los Angeles, Ray Sanchez in New York; Writing by Ellen Wulfhorst and Eric Johnson, editing by Cynthia Johnston)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/economy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111016/us_nm/us_usa_wallstreet_protests

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Front End Automotive Wheel Allignments


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By: Kirk W.

At this time of year you may well have hit a pothole in a construction area. Your vehicle just does seem right when you are driving down the street or highway.

Perhaps you are soon to be on a long drive for your vacation and have been told that a front end alignment might be a good idea to extend the lifespan of your expensive rubber Car tires. Certainly at your local garage, auto dealership service department or big box store auto service area an alignment is a lot less costly than replacing a whole set or even 2 of your precious tires. What is a wheel alignment and what does a wheel alignment entail?

To begin with front end alignments are such a sophisticated procedure and practice that adjustment should be made only by fully qualified wheel alignment mechanics. Incorrect adjustments will no doubt cause steering difficulties and excessive tire wear.

Several terms are involved in an understanding of the concepts of front end wheel alignments. First in line is camber . Camber is the inwards (towards the chassis) tilt of the upper ball joint or joints. Caster, on the other hand, is the backward or forward tilt of that same upper ball joint or joints. Two other terms involved are toe in and toe out . Basically to put it in simpler laymans terms what is referred to as the Toe out that will occur on turns and the turns you make while driving are considered by auto repair professionals as to be not adjustable in the adjustable classifications of auto repair work.. It is not a mater of electronic modules which can not be manually set up or that is the way it is . The setup is that the components are simply built into the steering arms. Thus this provides for inside front wheel to be able to turn at greater and greater angles than the same outside front wheel making a turn. This prevents tire scuffing. Toe in is the distance between the front and rear of each front wheel. It keeps the front wheels of your car or truck parallel when the car is going generally straight ahead. In addition, toe in helps prevent front tire wear overall.

In this rather long list of front end wheel alignment terminologies is a somewhat technical term in the specialist front end alignment trade that is the term steering axis inclination . Steering wheel inclination is a term that to outsiders can be somewhat hard to imagine and conceptualize. It can be said that what is termed Steering axis inclination again is yet again example of automotive components in your front end: of your vehicle that fit into the totally non adjustable group automotive components of most vehicles. If you are confused about words and terms that your mechanic or service writer incorporate into their explanations and discussions with you as an auto owner it is good to you that this part is often referred to as well as the spindle arm . When driving on the roadways the weight of the front end of the car or truck helps return the wheels to a straight ahead position after completing a turn because of the tilt

One last very good reason your mechanic or trusted service adviser may of recommended a front end alignment to your vehicle. It is often about safety and inherent roadway safety both handling and emergency handling situations as well as stopping distances in an emergency roadside event. So much for Canadian Moose on the roads and highways of your vacation and motoring trips

Author Resource:->??Kirk W. Nobbe Alberta Canada Edmonton Chrysler Sebring http://www.derrickdodge.com/ Fort McMurray Wpg Auto Automotive Winnipeg Dealer Resource http://www.wpgauto.com/

Article From Shop Smarter Shopping and Business Articles

Source: http://articles.shopsmarter.org/Art/313892/264/Front-End-Automotive-Wheel-Allignments.html

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Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Reid: Dems will ???pursue??? $35 billion stimulus in Obama jobs bill (Daily Caller)

Despite the failure of President Obama?s jobs bill in the Senate last week, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Monday that Senate Democrats will continue to ?pursue? $30 billion in education stimulus spending included in the bill, along with $5 billion to ?retain? police, firefighters and first responders.

?State and local budget cuts could cost as many as 280,000 teacher jobs next year alone unless we do more,? Reid said on the Senate floor.??That?s why President Obama proposed we invest $30 billion as part of the American Jobs Act to keep our schools well-staffed and ensure our children are well-educated

?Democrats will pursue the President?s plan to keep nearly 400,000 teachers and support staff where they belong ? in the classroom. A $30 billion investment will help local school districts not only avoid layoffs, but also rehire tens of thousands of teachers who have already lost their jobs because of budget cuts.?

?We will also commit $5 billion to retaining the police, firefighters and first responders who work so hard to keep our communities safe,? Reid continued,??and to rehiring those who have been laid off during these tough economic times.?

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Hester has 2 long TDs as Bears beat Vikings 39-10

Chicago Bears wide receiver Devin Hester (23) avoids a tackle by Minnesota Vikings kicker Ryan Longwell on his way to a 98-yard kickoff return in the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 16, 2011, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Chicago Bears wide receiver Devin Hester (23) avoids a tackle by Minnesota Vikings kicker Ryan Longwell on his way to a 98-yard kickoff return in the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 16, 2011, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Chicago Bears' Devin Hester (23) is congratulated by teammates after his 98-yard kickoff return against the Minnesota Vikings in the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 16, 2011, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Chicago Bears wide receiver Devin Hester (23) runs into the end zone on a 98-yard kickoff return in the second half of an NFL football game against the Minnesota Vikings, Sunday, Oct. 16, 2011, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Chicago Bears wide receiver Devin Hester (23) makes a 48-yard touchdown reception in front of Minnesota Vikings cornerback Cedric Griffin (23) in the first half of an NFL football game in Chicago, Sunday, Oct. 16, 2011. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Chicago Bears wide receiver Devin Hester (23) reacts with teammate Matt Forte (22) after his 48-yard touchdown reception against the Minnesota Vikings in the first half of an NFL football game in Chicago, Sunday, Oct. 16, 2011. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

(AP) ? Given the beating Jay Cutler was taking and the big plays the defense was allowing, this one looked like potential trouble for the Chicago Bears.

So it was hardly shocking that a blowout developed.

That the Bears delivered the beating was a bit of a surprise.

The Bears got two big touchdowns from Devin Hester, stopped Adrian Peterson and held their ground against Jared Allen in a 39-10 victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday night.

Hester set the tone with a 48-yard touchdown catch and scored on a career-best 98-yard kickoff return before leaving with a chest injury ? and he had a lot of help in the win.

"Hopefully, that's who were are, the team that you saw tonight," coach Lovie Smith said.

Jay Cutler threw for 267 yards and two touchdowns without an interception. Julius Peppers had two sacks and the Bears (3-3) held Peterson to 39 yards rushing.

Smith didn't think the injuries to Hester and tight end Kellen Davis (elbow) were serious, but he's made similar statements in the past about players who wound up missing big chunks of time. Hester did not make himself available for comment.

His 48-yard TD pass from Cutler on Chicago's first possession got the Bears started quickly as they grabbed a 26-3 halftime lead. Hester's kickoff return early in the third quarter erased any chance the Vikings (1-5) had at a comeback.

"You feel like you're getting ready to come and that kickoff return was a big momentum turn," Vikings coach Leslie Frazier said.

It's no secret that teams are inviting danger by kicking to Hester, and Minnesota paid a big price right after Peterson scored on a 4-yard run.

Hester took the kickoff, turned to his right and was touched maybe once on his way to the end zone, making it 33-10. It was his first kickoff return for a touchdown since Nov. 25, 2007, against Denver.

"We're all kind of witnessing history every time he touches it," Smith said.

Hester set a record with his 11th punt return for a touchdown against Carolina on Oct. 2. On Sunday, the good feelings gave way to concern when the announcement came early in the fourth quarter that he was finished for the game.

Along with the big return, Hester had five catches for 91 yards.

Cutler, meanwhile, had all the time he needed and ? for one game, anyway ? avoided a big beating. Never mind that league sacks leader Jared Allen was lining up for the Vikings, the Bears' maligned blockers held their ground.

That allowed Cutler to complete 21 of 31 passes while being sacked just once.

The defense did its job, too.

A surprise starter after sitting out practice this week with a sprained left knee, Peppers got his two sacks and stayed in until the closing minutes even though the knee was bothering him.

"Did I want to stay in? I mean, I don't know," Peppers said. "I wanted to play, if that's what you're asking. I wanted to play, but the smart thing to do is get everybody out of the game and not risk an injury in a blowout."

Donovan McNabb threw for 177 yards and completed 19 of 24 passes. He was sacked five times before being lifted for a debuting Christian Ponder, but it was a brutal night for Peterson aside from that scoring run.

He simply couldn't get anything going against a defense that had been giving up plays at an alarming rate, and it didn't help that the Vikings lost center John Sullivan (concussion) and right tackle Phil Loadholt (bruised knee) to injuries in the third quarter.

Even so, the Bears dominated from the start. Now, after dropping three of four, they can breathe a little easier.

They still trail unbeaten Green Bay by three games and Detroit by two with losses to both teams, but they have to feel a little better about themselves as they get ready to play Tampa Bay in London.

"That was awesome," linebacker Brian Urlacher said. "We ran the ball, protected our quarterback, we made plays in the kicking game as usual, good team win."

Notes: Ponder was 9 of 17 for 99 yards. ... Frazier said he didn't think Loadholt was seriously injured, but had no more information on Sullivan and S Jamarca Sanford (concussion). ... Peppers has 20 multi-sack games.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2011-10-17-FBN-Vikings-Bears/id-2746bfb21de74189b6f24b14a933dd96

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US strike kills 9 al-Qaida militants in Yemen

Anti-government protestors carry a wounded defected army soldier from the site of clashes with security forces, in Sanaa, Yemen, Saturday, Oct. 15, 2011. Medical officials in Yemen say security forces have fired on protesters in the capital Sanaa, killing several and wounding dozens.(AP Photo/Hani Mohammed)

Anti-government protestors carry a wounded defected army soldier from the site of clashes with security forces, in Sanaa, Yemen, Saturday, Oct. 15, 2011. Medical officials in Yemen say security forces have fired on protesters in the capital Sanaa, killing several and wounding dozens.(AP Photo/Hani Mohammed)

Anti-government protestors and defected soldiers carry a wounded protestor from the site of clashes with security forces, in Sanaa, Yemen, Saturday, Oct. 15, 2011. Medical officials in Yemen say security forces have fired on protesters in the capital Sanaa, killing several and wounding dozens.(AP Photo/Hani Mohammed)

A wounded anti-government protestor is carried from the site of clashes with security forces, in Sanaa, Yemen, Saturday, Oct. 15, 2011. Medical officials in Yemen say security forces have fired on protesters in the capital Sanaa, killing several and wounding dozens. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed)

Smoke rises during clashes between tribesmen loyal to Sheik Sadeq al-Ahmar, the head of the powerful Hashid tribe, and Yemeni security forces in Sanaa, Yemen, Saturday, Oct. 15, 2011. Medical officials in Yemen say security forces have fired on protesters in the capital Sanaa, killing several and wounding dozens.(AP Photo/Hani Mohammed)

Yemeni medics carry a wounded protestor from the site of clashes with security forces, in Sanaa, Yemen, Saturday, Oct. 15, 2011. Medical officials in Yemen say security forces have fired on protesters in the capital Sanaa, killing several and wounding dozens.(AP Photo/Hani Mohammed)

(AP) ? The United States has raised the tempo in its war against al-Qaida in Yemen, killing nine of the terror group's militants in the second, high-profile airstrike in as many weeks. The dead in the late Friday night strike included the son of Anwar al-Awlaki, the prominent American-Yemeni militant killed in a Sept. 30 strike.

Yemeni officials on Saturday attributed the recent U.S. successes against al-Qaida to better intelligence from an army of Yemeni informers and cooperation with the Saudis, Washington's longtime Arab allies.

The successes come even as Yemen falls deeper into turmoil, with President Ali Abdullah Saleh clinging to power in the face of months of massive protests. Saturday saw the worst bloodshed in weeks in the capital, Sanaa: At least 18 people were killed when Saleh's troops fired on protesters and clashed with rivals. Witnesses estimated up to 300,000 people joined Saturday's demonstrations, the largest in the capital in several months.

"Everyone with interests in Yemen, including al-Qaida and the Americans, is raising the stakes at this time of uncertainty" said analyst Abdul-Bari Taher. "The Americans are wasting no time to try and eliminate the al-Qaida threat before the militants dig in deeper and cannot be easily dislodged."

Also dead in the Friday airstrike in the southeastern province of Shabwa was Egyptian-born Ibrahim al-Banna, identified by the nation's Defense Ministry as the media chief of the Yemeni branch of the al-Qaida.

Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, as the branch is known, is considered by the U.S. the most dangerous of the terror network's affiliates after it plotted two recent failed attacks on American soil. Its fighters and other Islamic militants have taken advantage of Yemen's chaos to seize control of several cities and towns in a southern province. That has raised American fears they can establish a firmer foothold in the strategically located country close to the vast oil fields of the Gulf and overlooking key shipping routes.

The U.S. airstrikes in Shabwa pointed to Washington's growing use of drones to target al-Qaida militants in Yemen. The missile attacks appear to be part of a determined effort to stamp out the threat from the group.

Yemeni officials familiar with the U.S. military drive against al-Qaida in Yemen said a shift of strategy by the Americans was finally yielding results, with human assets on the ground directly providing actionable intelligence to U.S. commanders rather than relying entirely on Yemen's security agencies the Americans had long considered inefficient or even suspected of leaking word on planned operations.

They said there were as many as 3,000 informers on the U.S. payroll around the country ? some without even knowing it.

The Saudis, on the other hand, have traditionally kept an elaborate patronage system and an information network in Yemen, their neighbor to the south. They have for decades paid monthly stipends to key tribal leaders, military commanders and politicians to secure their loyalty. They also paid ordinary Yemenis to provide them with intelligence.

"The Saudis are making their information available to the Americans," said one of the defense officials, all of whom spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to share the information. "Both them and the Americans are broadening their cooperation without direct Yemeni involvement."

Tribal elders in the area where Friday's strikes took place said the dead included Abdul-Rahman al-Awlaki, the 21-year-old son of Anwar al-Awlaki, a Muslim preacher and savvy Internet operator who became a powerful al-Qaida recruiting tool in the West and who was on a U.S. capture-or-kill list. The elder al-Awlaki and another propagandist, Pakistani-American Samir Khan, were killed in the Sept. 30 strike.

The tribal elders, who spoke Saturday on condition of anonymity because they feared reprisals, said four other members of the al-Awlaki clan and another local militant were also killed in the same drone attack. There was no immediate confirmation of the younger al-Awlaki's death from Yemeni authorities.

Security officials said the strike was one of five carried out overnight by American drones on suspected al-Qaida positions in Shabwa and neighboring Abyan province in Yemen's largely lawless south. They said two more militants were killed and 12 wounded in other strikes in the two provinces.

The first strike late Friday targeted a house in the Azan district of Shabwa, but hit just after al-Qaida militants had a meeting in the building, security officials and tribal elders said.

They said a second strike then targeted two sport utility vehicles in which the seven were traveling, destroying the vehicles and leaving the men's bodies charred. It was not clear whether other participants in the meeting were targeted in separate strikes.

Yemen's al-Qaida offshoot has taken advantage of the political turmoil roiling the country. Saleh, who has ruled the country for more than 30 years, has been struggling to stay in power in the face of eight months of massive street protests demanding his ouster and the defection to the opposition of key aides and military commanders.

In a separate development, the security officials said suspected al-Qaida militants bombed a key underground gas pipeline that extends from the Balhaf area in Shabwa to an export terminal on the Arabian Sea. The late Friday night attack started a massive fire, with columns of flames illuminating the night sky.

The security officials said non-Yemeni employees of Total, the French company running the gas field and pipeline in Balhaf, have been evacuated to Sanaa aboard three helicopters for their safety. They had no more details.

In Sanaa, forces loyal to Saleh opened up on protesters with assault rifles and anti-aircraft guns, medical officials and witnesses said. The casualty figures ? 12 dead and up to 300 wounded ? were confirmed by Mohammed al-Qubati, director of the field hospital set up at Change square, the name given to a central Sanaa intersection that saw the birth of the eight-month-old, anti-Saleh uprising.

The medical officials requested anonymity because they were not allowed to speak to journalists.

In Sanaa's northern district of Hassaba, fighting between Saleh's forces on one side and anti-regime tribesmen and renegade troops on the other killed two civilians and four supporters of tribal chief Sadeq al-Ahmar, a one-time regime ally who defected to the opposition in March. At least 13 people were wounded in the fighting.

A three-story building housing an independent TV station, Al-Saeedah, in the area took a direct hit, destroying the channel's equipment and studios, according to a statement by the management. The privately owned station went off the air.

Khaled al-Ansi, a prominent leader of the protest movement, blamed the death of the protesters on opposition parties, arguing that their acceptance of a U.S.-backed settlement plan proposed by Yemen's Gulf Arab neighbors gave Saleh license to kill protesters at will. The plan provides for the Yemeni leader to step down and hand over power to his deputy in exchange for immunity.

"The political parties are participants in the killings," said al-Ansi. "The immunity from prosecution is giving Saleh a temptation to kill more of us."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2011-10-16-ML-Yemen/id-731febfdb2d742ec99285ae1ac2fd3b4

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