Senate leaders offer dour take on 'cliff' talks

WASHINGTON (AP) ? A Capitol Hill deal to avert the "fiscal cliff" was proving elusive Sunday as a deadline to avert tax hikes on virtually every American worker and block sweeping spending cuts set to strike the Pentagon and other federal agencies grew perilously near.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell remained at odds on such key issues as the income threshold for higher tax rates and how to deal with inheritance taxes, among other issues. McConnell complained that Reid had yet to respond to a GOP offer made Saturday evening and reached out to Vice President Joe Biden, a longtime friend, in hopes of breaking the impasse.

One sign of progress came as Republicans withdrew a long-discussed proposal to slow future cost-of-living increases for Social Security recipients as part of a compromise to avoid the cliff. Democrats said earlier Sunday that proposal had put a damper on the talks, and Republican senators emerging from a closed-door GOP meeting said it is no longer part of the equation.

"I was really gratified to hear that Republicans have taken their demand for Social Security benefit cuts off the table. The truth is they should never have been on the table to begin with," Reid said late Sunday afternoon. "There is still significant distance between the two sides, but negotiations continue."

At stake are sweeping tax hikes and across-the-board spending cuts set to take effect at the turn of the year. Taken together, they've been dubbed the fiscal cliff, and economists warn the one-two punch ? which leaders in both parties have said they want to avoid ? could send the still-fragile economy back into recession. Tax cuts enacted in 2001 and 2003 expire at midnight Monday, and $109 billion in across-the-board cuts in federal spending this year would also begin this week.

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said the two sides remained at odds over the income threshold for higher tax rates and tax levels on large estates. Republicans said that Democratic demands for new money to prevent a cut in Medicare payments to doctors and renew jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed should be financed with cuts elsewhere in the budget. Republicans also balked at a Democratic proposal to use new tax revenues to shut off the across-the-board spending cuts, known as a sequester in Washington-speak.

President Barack Obama, in a televised interview, blamed Republicans for putting the nation's shaky economy at risk.

"We have been talking to the Republicans ever since the election was over," Obama said in the interview that was taped Saturday and aired Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press." ''They have had trouble saying yes to a number of repeated offers."

"The mood is discouraged," said Sen. Joe Lieberman, a Connecticut independent who caucuses with Democrats. "The parties are much further apart than I hoped they'd be by now."

The pessimistic turn came as the House and Senate returned to the Capitol for a rare Sunday session. Reid and McConnell had hoped to have a blueprint to present to their rank and file by mid-afternoon.

"I'm concerned with the lack of urgency here. There's far too much at stake," McConnell said. "There is no single issue that remains an impossible sticking point ? the sticking point appears to be a willingness, an interest or courage to close the deal."

McConnell and Reid were hoping for a deal that would prevent higher taxes for most Americans while letting rates rise at higher income levels, although the precise point at which that would occur was a sticking point.

Obama had wanted to raise the top tax rate on individuals making more than $200,000 a year and families making more than $250,000 from 35 percent to 39.6 percent. In talks with Republican House Speaker John Boehner, he offered to raise that threshold to $400,000.

The estate tax issue was particularly tricky since several Democrats, including veterans like Max Baucus of Montana, disagree with Obama's proposal to increase the top estate tax rate from 35 percent to 45 percent.

Republicans said Democrats pressed to turn off more than $200 billion in the across-the-board spending cuts over the coming two years. This so-called sequester is the punishment for last year's deficit "supercommittee" failure to strike a deal.

Hopes for blocking across-the-board spending cuts were fading and Obama's proposal to renew the 2-percentage-point payroll tax cut wasn't even part of the discussion.

Obama pressed lawmakers to start where both sides say they agree ? sparing middle-class families from looming tax hikes.

"If we can get that done, that takes a big bite out of the fiscal cliff. It avoids the worst outcomes. And we're then going to have some tough negotiations in terms of how we continue to reduce the deficit, grow the economy, create jobs," Obama said in the NBC interview.

Gone is the talk of a grand deal that would tackle broad spending and revenue demands and set the nation on a course to lower deficits. Obama and Boehner were once a couple hundred billion dollars apart on a deal that would have reduced the deficit by more than $2 trillion over 10 years.

Republicans have complained that Obama has demanded too much in tax revenue and hasn't proposed sufficient cuts or savings in the nation's massive health care programs.

Obama upped the pressure on Republicans to negotiate a fiscal deal, arguing that GOP leaders have rejected his past attempts to strike a bigger and more comprehensive bargain.

"The offers that I've made to them have been so fair that a lot of Democrats get mad at me," Obama said.

Boehner disagreed, saying Sunday that the president had been unwilling to agree to anything "that would require him to stand up to his own party."

The trimmed ambitions of today are a far cry from the upbeat bipartisan rhetoric of just six weeks ago, when the leadership of Congress went to the White House to set the stage for negotiations to come.

But the deal under discussion Sunday appeared unlikely to settle other outstanding issues, including the sequester, which would total more than $1 trillion in cuts over 10 years, divided equally between the Pentagon and other government agencies. And off the table completely is an extension of the nation's borrowing limit, which the government is on track to reach any day but which the Treasury can put off through accounting measures for about two months.

That means Obama and the Congress are already on a new collision path. Republicans say they intend to use the debt ceiling as leverage to extract more spending cuts from the president. Obama has been adamant that unlike 2011, when the country came close to defaulting on its debts, he will not yield to those Republican demands.

Meanwhile, a senior defense official said if the sequester were triggered, the Pentagon would soon begin notifying its 800,000 civilian employees that they should expect some furloughs ? mandatory unpaid leave, not layoffs. It would then take some time for the furloughs to begin being implemented, said the official, who requested anonymity because the official was not authorized to discuss the internal preparations.

Lawmakers have until the new Congress convenes to pass any compromise, and even the calendar matters. Democrats said they had been told House Republicans might reject a deal until after Jan. 1, to avoid a vote to raise taxes before they had technically gone up, and then vote to cut taxes after they had risen.

___

Associated Press writers David Espo, Robert Burns, Julie Pace, Jim Kuhnhenn and Michele Salcedo contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/senate-leaders-offer-dour-cliff-talks-192333199.html

phoenix coyotes bruce irvin charlie st cloud celtics nba playoffs rosario dawson young jeezy

Foursquare to display full user names, share more data with local businesses

Fond of your family name? Good -- it's about to get a bit more visible. Foursquare is planning to display full user names on profile pages, explaining in a recent community email that the old policy has become confusing. "If you search for a friend on Foursquare, we show their full name in the results, but when you click through to their profile page you don't see their last name." The team says these abbreviations made sense in Foursquare's early days, but recently users have been asking for change. "We get emails every day saying that it's now confusing." The social network hopes that displaying users' full surnames will help mitigate confusion between the John Smiths and John Smythes of the world.

The company's tweaked privacy policy promises to share more data with businesses, too, giving store owners greater visibility of customers who have recently checked in. Users who want their quests for coffee to remain anonymous still can, of course -- Foursquare was careful to remind users that they can change their "full name" whenever they want, and can opt out of sharing their location information with businesses. We wouldn't want to step on any toes, would we? Head past the break to see the email for yourself, or check out the adjacent source link to read Foursquare's "Privacy 101" summary.

Continue reading Foursquare to display full user names, share more data with local businesses

Filed under: Internet

Comments

Via: TechCrunch

Source: Foursquare

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/_TnoY6Ylyhg/

manny ramirez easter 2012 bachelor jeremy lin espn sassafras mardi gras 2012 the secret world of arrietty

Wonky glutton testing tenses, producing circular writing, and getting ...

Today, we eased into the lesson by talking about their Christmas (the Spanish have their family get-together over dinner on 24th, called ?Noche Buena? (Good Night). Normally, a lot of the speaking activities are done among themselves, but, this time, I decided to participate and act as the ?host?, so to speak. Out of this came structures such as the passive construction of get/have something done

• I had to have my car fixed on Christmas Eve because the exhaust pipe just fell off

and lexis such as

• wonky
• greed (n), greedy (adj)
• glutton (the person), gluttony (the habit)
• rehearse (v), rehearsal (n)
• exhaust pipe.

As the conversation started to die a natural death, I asked them to remind me of what we?d been doing the past couple of lessons, and this was basically adjectives and tenses.

Copyright 2012 Chiew Pang

Since there were five today, I went around the table, going 1-2-3?; I had 12 sentences, which meant the first two students would have 3 numbers, which was quite all right since the first two sentences would be the most basic. I told them to remember their numbers, ICQd them, and beamed the above graphics.

First, I explained that the dots were meant to represent points in time, the double-headed arrows represent something happening during that period and the arcs show that the two points are somehow connected. I wasn?t sure how this would work out, but the important thing for me is for them to understand the concept of each tense shown. I must confess the idea of the graphics isn?t entirely my own; I adapted them from Useful Charts.

The idea was for me to beam up a sentence one at a time, and the student whose number corresponds to that on the WB, comes up and mark the number of the sentence on the chart. Note also that I meant this chart to be used to ?test? rather than to ?teach?. They?d previously worked on the past tenses, but not the future tenses; I threw in a couple of them anyway. Most of you will know that the practical usage of English tenses (especially the future) is not straightforward, and this chart paints a broad picture, but, at the same time, I consider it to be useful. These were the sentences:

1. I have breakfast every morning.
2. I ate breakfast at 7am this morning.
3. I will have lunch later.
4. I am studying.
5. I was studying when you rang me.
6. I will be studying again in the evening.
7. I?ve just had breakfast.
8. I?d already had breakfast when you brought the ?churros?.
9. I will have already eaten by the time you come home.
10. I?d been studying for four hours when you rang me.
11. I?ve been studying all morning.
12. I?ll have been studying for three hours by the time you go out.

Well, I was very pleasantly surprised. They did it perfectly, coincided with my own answers except for one, which was interchangeable, anyway. To make sure, I CCQd them on some of the sentences, and all their answers were spot on. Examples:

• Referring to #8: if you brought the ?churros? at dot no. 2, which dot can represent your having breakfast?
• Referring to #9: which happened earlier ? your coming home or my having eaten?
• Referring to #12: if you?re going out at midnight, what time will I start studying?

Copyright 2012 Chiew Pang

Copyright 2012 Chiew Pang

For the free practice stage, I used a circular writing activity inspired by Nik Peachey, a valued member of most of our PLN. You can read about it here. Nik, if you?re reading this, the published date there can?t be right!

I had them write a sentence each, the stories circulated until they had their own story back. At this point, I had them write a last line, and stopped the activity. This sort of gave them a chance to bring the story back to their own vision of it. Here?s an uncorrected example.

<<The non-sense story

?It was a dark and stormy night and Daniel was watching a famous horror film in his living room. His mother had been shopping all day and she hadn?t got home yet. When, suddenly, he received an unexpected phone call that rang twice. Deep in his heart he knew that something terrible was going to happen. Daniel came out his house and discovered that somebody had stolen his new car. It was a Ferrari! He was praying all the time, waiting for good news, but instead of good news he received the worst in his whole life.
His brother had stolen his car and he had escape with Daniel?s girlfriend. He needed an explanation to understand why that happened, so he decided to phone Carol, his girlfriend. Nobody answered and he started to get impatient. Life went on and he never had news about them. That?s why this sensitive, kind, friendly and happy man became to a helpless, stubborn and sad one.?>>

While they were writing, I monitored and corrected individually. When I stopped the activity, they all read the stories again, we talked about it and I asked which they liked the best.

At this point, there was just about enough time to squeeze in a listening activity. One of the students had requested some listenings with difficult/different accents. I decided to try this one on them. It was a BBC recording of a group of bakers from Lancashire discussing expressions they used when they got angry. Before this, we discussed what made them angry, what expressions they?d use, etc.

As I?d expected, they found it extremely challenging, but here are some of the lexis which came out of it.

• annoyed
• angry
• mad ? hopping mad
• losing it
• put out
• cheesed off
• livid
• cross
• blew me (my) top

I told them I use ?fed up? and ?(f?.ing) pissed off? a lot.

On that note, we ended the lesson? with New Year greetings so no-one went home angry!

Source: http://dogmediaries.wordpress.com/2012/12/30/wonky-glutton-testing-tenses-producing-circular-writing-and-getting-angry/

the vow the voice season 2 ron paul maine safe house jay z and beyonce baby cpac powell

Sports-related concussions and traumatic brain injuries: Research roundup

The issue of concussions in sports has attracted considerable media coverage in recent years. Understandably, the early focus was on professional football, a game built around high-speed, full contact between heavy, powerful players.

A pioneer of reporting in this field was Alan Schwarz of the New York Times; his work highlighted the history of concussions and their consequences in the NFL. The league has responded by banning some high-risk hits, and also aggressively investigated a ?bounty pools? scandal that involved a team paying bonuses to players who injured opponents. (Similar behavior has even turned up in a Pop Warner youth league.) Retired players continue to pursue legal action and raise awareness of the issue, particularly with cases of former players suffering from early-onset dementia that can result from repeated brain trauma.

Ice hockey is another rough, physical sport that takes a high toll. NHL all-star player Sidney Crosby was out for the better part of a year, beginning in 2010, because of a severe concussion. The long-term consequences of such injuries can be dire: A?post-mortem of NHL ?enforcer? Derek Boogaard, who died in May 2011, determined that he suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a progressive degenerative disease directly linked to repeated brain injuries.

Even professional sports that aren?t designed around physical contact between players can result in concussions. During the National Basketball Association 2012 Finals, Oklahoma City star James Harden suffered one just before the beginning of the playoffs. In Major League Baseball, concussions are known to have helped end the careers of Mike Matheny (now the manager of the St. Louis Cardinals) and Corey Koskie; they also cost Minnesota Twins star Justin Morneau the better part of a season of play. The league instituted a disabled list for players with concussions in 2011 and continues to work on the issue.

Concussion risk starts at the youth level, in football and ice hockey as well as baseball, soccer, boxing, gymnastics, horseback riding, skiing and cycling ? any sport with potential for hard contact. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. emergency departments annually treat an average of 173,285 sports- and recreation-related traumatic brain injuries among children and adolescents. Such emergency visits have increased 60% over the past decade; in 2009 alone, there were 248,418 such cases. Because of specific concerns over youth football, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest have started a ratings system for helmets.

New research from Harvard, Dartmouth, Brown and Virginia Tech has called into question whether current diagnostic techniques are adequate. In addition, the long-term effects of head injury are only partially understood. The Boston University Center for Traumatic Encephalopathy, which received a $1 million donation from the NFL in 2010, continues to examine the brains of deceased athletes to research and compile case studies on the long-term effects of concussions; the center also conducts other inquiries and publishes academic studies in this evolving field.

Below are studies and articles that bring a research perspective to questions around concussions in sports:

_____

?The Spectrum of Disease in Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy?
McKee, Ann C, et al. Brain, November 2012, 135 (11).

Excerpts: ?Chronic traumatic encephalopathy [CTE] is a progressive tauopathy that occurs as a consequence of repetitive mild traumatic brain injury. We analysed post-mortem brains obtained from a cohort of 85 subjects with histories of repetitive mild traumatic brain injury and found evidence of chronic traumatic encephalopathy in 68 subjects: all males, ranging in age from 17 to 98 years (mean 59.5 years), including 64 athletes, 21 military veterans (86% of whom were also athletes) and one individual who engaged in self-injurious head banging behaviour?. CTE is a unique neurodegenerative condition that is associated with repetitive mild traumatic brain injury. Although there are many issues that require more thorough investigation, such as how much head trauma is causative, what type, and how frequent, the age when players are most susceptible and whether some individuals are genetically more prone than others, this study clearly shows that for some athletes and war fighters, there may be severe and devastating long-term consequences of repetitive brain trauma that has traditionally been considered only mild.?

?

?Spectrum of Acute Clinical Characteristics of Diagnosed Concussions in College Athletes Wearing Instrumented Helmets?
Duhaime, Anne-Christine, et al. Journal of Neurosurgery, October 2012.

Excerpt: ?Data were collected from 450 athletes with 486,594 recorded head impacts. Forty-eight separate concussions were diagnosed in 44 individual players. Mental clouding, headache, and dizziness were the most common presenting symptoms. Thirty-one diagnosed cases were associated with an identified impact event; in 17 cases no specific impact event was identified. Onset of symptoms was immediate in 24 players, delayed in 11, and unspecified in 13. In 8 cases the diagnosis was made immediately after a head impact, but in most cases the diagnosis was delayed (median 17 hours). One diagnosed concussion involved a 30-second loss of consciousness; all other players retained alertness. Most diagnoses were based on self-reported symptoms?. Approximately two-thirds of diagnosed concussions were associated with a specific contact event. Half of all players diagnosed with concussions had delayed or unclear timing of onset of symptoms. Most had no externally observed findings. Diagnosis was usually based on a range of self-reported symptoms after a variable delay. Accelerations clustered in the higher percentiles for all impact events, but encompassed a wide range. These data highlight the heterogeneity of criteria for concussion diagnosis, and in this sports context, its heavy reliance on self-reported symptoms. More specific and standardized definitions of clinical and objective correlates of a ?concussion spectrum? may be needed in future research efforts, as well as in the clinical diagnostic arena.?

?

?Epidemiology of Concussions among United States High School Athletes in 20 Sports?
Marar, M., et al. American Journal of Sports Medicine, 2012.

Excerpt: ?During the study period, 1,936 concussions were reported during 7,780,064 athlete-exposures (AEs) for an overall injury rate of 2.5 per 10,000 AEs. The injury rate was higher in competition (6.4) than practice (1.1) ? The majority of concussions resulted from participation in football (47.1%, n = 912), followed by girls? soccer (8.2%, n = 159), boys? wrestling (5.8%, n = 112), and girls? basketball (5.5%, n = 107). Football had the highest concussion rate (6.4), followed by boys? ice hockey (5.4) and boys? lacrosse (4.0)?. In gender-comparable sports, girls had a higher concussion rate (1.7) than boys (1.0)?. The most common mechanisms of injury were player-player contact (70.3%) and player-playing surface contact (17.2%). In more than 40% of athletes in sports other than girls? swimming and girls? track, concussion symptoms resolved in 3 days or less. Athletes most commonly returned to play in 1 to 3 weeks (55.3%), with 22.8% returning in less than 1 week and 2.0% returning in less than 1 day?. Although interest in sports-related concussions is usually focused on full-contact sports like football and ice hockey, concussions occur across a wide variety of high school sports. Concussion rates vary by sport, gender, and type of exposure. An understanding of concussion rates, patterns of injury, and risk factors can drive targeted preventive measures and help reduce the risk for concussion among high school athletes in all sports.?

?

?Response to Acute Concussive Injury in Soccer Players: Is Gender a Modifying Factor??
Zuckerman, S.L., et al. Journal of Neurosurgery Pediatrics, October 2012.

Abstract: ?Several studies have suggested a gender difference in response to sports-related concussion (SRC). The Concussion in Sport group did not include gender as a modifying factor in SRC, concluding that the evidence at that point was equivocal. In the present study the authors endeavored to assess acute neurocognitive and symptom responses to an SRC in equivalent cohorts of male and female soccer players. The authors hypothesized that female athletes would experience greater levels of acute symptoms and neurocognitive impairment than males?. The results failed to replicate prior findings of gender specific baseline neurocognitive differences in verbal and visual memory. The findings also indicated no differential gender based acute response to concussion (symptoms or neurocognitive scores) among high school soccer players. The implications of these findings for the inclusion of gender as a modifying factor in this tightly matched cohort are addressed.?

?

?Management of the Athlete with Concussion?
Su, John K., etc. The Permanente Journal, 2012.

Excerpt: ?The approach to and management of the athlete with concussion can be a challenging endeavor to physicians who care for athletes who have suffered a head injury?this group includes family physicians, pediatricians, internists, emergency medicine physicians, primary sports medicine physicians, orthopedic surgeons, neurologists, and neurosurgeons. Sometimes questions regarding the need for neurologic, psychological, or radiographic imaging can make the decision for return to play unclear. New legislation will undoubtedly increase physician visits for these athletes to return to play. Thus, the goal of this article is to review the latest guidelines regarding concussion management to help all physicians who care for athletes do so appropriately.?

?

?Head Impact Exposure in Youth Football?
Daniel, Ray W., et al. Annals of Biomedical Engineering, February 2012.

Abstract: ?The head impact exposure for athletes involved in football at the college and high school levels has been well documented; however, the head impact exposure of the youth population involved with football has yet to be investigated, despite its dramatically larger population. The objective of this study was to investigate the head impact exposure in youth football. Impacts were monitored using a custom 12 accelerometer array equipped inside the helmets of seven players aged 7 to 8 years old during each game and practice for an entire season. A total of 748 impacts were collected from the 7 participating players during the season, with an average of 107 impacts per player. Linear accelerations ranged from 10 to 100 g, and the rotational accelerations ranged from 52 to 7694 rad/s2. The majority of the high level impacts occurred during practices, with 29 of the 38 impacts above 40 g occurring in practices. Although less frequent, youth football can produce high head accelerations in the range of concussion causing impacts measured in adults. In order to minimize these most severe head impacts, youth football practices should be modified to eliminate high impact drills that do not replicate the game situations.?

?

?Sports-Related Head Injury?
American Association of Neurological Surgeons, Patient Information Report, December 2011.

Excerpt: ?A traumatic brain injury (TBI) is defined as a blow or jolt to the head, or a penetrating head injury that disrupts the normal function of the brain. TBI can result when the head suddenly and violently hits an object, or when an object pierces the skull and enters brain tissue. Symptoms of a TBI can be mild, moderate or severe, depending on the extent of damage to the brain. Mild cases may result in a brief change in mental state or consciousness, while severe cases may result in extended periods of unconsciousness, coma or even death.?

?

?Functionally-Detected Cognitive Impairment in High School Football Players Without Clinically Diagnosed Concussion?
Talavage, T.M., et al. Journal of Neurotrama, 2011.

Findings: Overall, the data suggest ?the presence of a previously unknown, but suspected ? group of athletes exhibiting neurocognitive deficits that persist over time, but which does not present observable symptoms.? The study?s authors say the findings indicate current on-field tests for concussions may not be sufficient in determining full risks to the brain.?

?

?Nonfatal Traumatic Brain Injuries Related to Sports and Recreation Activities Among Persons Aged ? 19 Years: United States, 2001-2009?
Gilchrist, Julie, et al. CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 2011.

Excerpt: ?From 2001 to 2009, the number of annual [Traumatic Brain Injury-related Emergency Department visits] increased significantly, from 153,375 to 248,418, with the highest rates among males aged 10-19 years. By increasing awareness of TBI risks from sports and recreation, employing proper technique and protective equipment, and quickly responding to injuries, the incidence, severity, and long-term negative health effects of TBIs among children and adolescents can be reduced.?

?

?Assessment and Management of Sport-Related Concussions in United States High Schools?
Meehan, William P., et al. American Journal of Sports Medicine, 2011.

Excerpt: ?Concussions account for nearly 15% of all sport-related injuries in high school athletes. The timing of return to play after a sport-related concussion is similar regardless of whether the decision to return the athlete to play is made by a physician or an AT. When a medical doctor is involved, most concussions are assessed by primary care physicians as opposed to subspecialists. Computed tomography is obtained during the assessment of 1 of every 5 concussions occurring in high school athletes.?

?

?Clinical Report: Sport-Related Concussion in Children and Adolescents?
Halstead, Mark E., etc. American Academy of Pediatrics, 2010.

Excerpt: ?Sport-related concussion is a ?hot topic? in the media and in medicine. It is a common injury that is likely underreported by pediatric and adolescent athletes. Football has the highest incidence of concussion, but girls have higher concussion rates than boys do in similar sports. A clear understanding of the de?nition, signs, and symptoms of concussion is necessary to recognize it and rule out more severe intracranial injury? This report serves as a basis for understanding the diagnosis and management of concussion in children and adolescent athletes.?

?

?Trends in Concussion Incidence in High School Sports: A Prospective 11-Year Study?
Lincoln, Andrew E., et al. The American Journal of Sports Medicine, May 2011.

Abstract: ?Data were prospectively gathered for 25 schools in a large public high school system. All schools used an electronic medical record-keeping program?. 2651 concussions were observed in 10,926, 892 athlete-exposures, with an incidence rate of 0.24 per 1000. Boys? sports accounted for 53% of athlete-exposures and 75% of all concussions. Football accounted for more than half of all concussions, and it had the highest incidence rate (0.60). Girls? soccer had the most concussions among the girls? sports and the second-highest incidence rate of all 12 sports (0.35). Concussion rate increased 4.2-fold (95% confidence interval, 3.4-5.2) over the 11 years (15.5% annual increase). In similar boys? and girls? sports (baseball/softball, basketball, and soccer), girls had roughly twice the concussion risk of boys. Concussion rate increased over time in all 12 sports?. Although the collision sports of football and boys? lacrosse had the highest number of concussions and football the highest concussion rate, concussion occurred in all other sports and was observed in girls? sports at rates similar to or higher than those of boys? sports. The increase over time in all sports may reflect actual increased occurrence or greater coding sensitivity with widely disseminated guidance on concussion detection and treatment.?

?

?Catastrophic Sports Injury Research Twenty-Ninth Annual Report Fall 1982 ? Spring 2011? (PDF)
Mueller, Frederick O., et al. Department of Exercise and Sport Science, University of North Carolina, 2011.

Description: ?The National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research collects and disseminates death and permanent disability sports injury data that involve brain and/or spinal cord injuries. The research is funded by a grant from the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the American Football Coaches Association, and the National Federation of State High School Associations. This research has been conducted at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill since 1965. Each year three annual reports are compiled.?

?

?Hockey Concussion: Is It Child Abuse??
Hemond, Chris. Canadian Medical Association Journal, 2012.

Excerpt: ?If not a stampede, it appears there is at least a slow shuffle of Canadian youngsters out of contact hockey as a result of widespread publicity about the parade of National Hockey League (NHL) superstars onto injured reserve lists. Meanwhile, one critic says Hockey Canada?s failure to implement even more stringent anti-concussion measures constitutes nothing short of ?child abuse.??

?

?Effect of Bodychecking on Rate of Injuries Among Minor Hockey Players?
Cusimano, Michael D., et al. Open Medicine, 2011.

Excerpt: ?Bodychecking is a leading cause of injury among minor hockey players. Its value has been the subject of heated debate since Hockey Canada introduced bodychecking for competitive players as young as 9 years in the 1998/1999 season?. In this study, the odds of injury increased with decreasing age of exposure to bodychecking. These findings add to the growing evidence that bodychecking holds greater risk than benefit for youth and support widespread calls to ban this practice.?

?

?Consensus Statement on Concussion in Sport?
McCrory, P., et al. Journal of Clinical Neuroscience, 2009.

Excerpt: ?This document is developed for use by physicians, therapists, certi?ed athletic trainers, health professionals, coaches and other people involved in the care of injured athletes, whether at the recreational, elite or professional level. While agreement exists pertaining to principal messages conveyed within this document, the authors acknowledge that the science of concussion is evolving and therefore management and return to play (RTP) decisions remain in the realm of clinical judgment on an individualized basis.?

?

Tags: sports, children, youth, safety, research roundup

?

By Alex Remington | December 28, 2012

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/journalistsresource/~3/2uMFJ3-Ug_w/sports-related-concussions-head-injuries-what-does-research-say

brandon jennings the vow review luol deng culkin wooly mammoth no child left behind no child left behind

Gay Marriage LEGAL At Midnight In Maine! | PerezHilton.com

When the clock strikes midnight tonight, a lot of golden carriages are going to be transforming into plain yellow minivans!

Because hundreds of citizens of Maine are going to become family men and women as gay marriage finally becomes legal!

And you thought the New Year's Rockin' Eve countdown was exciting!

Portland and Falmouth are planning on re-opening their notary offices at twelve on the dot to hand out marriage certificates to happy, patient couples.

Other cities like Bangor, Augusta, and Brunswick will be holding special hours all weekend.

This will officially make Maine the seventh state where gay marriage is completely legal.

Gives a whole new meaning to the phrase Maine attraction! LOLz!

Congratz everyone!

[Image via Fibonacci Blue/Wikimedia Commons.]

Tags: exciting, gay, gay marriage, law, legal, maine, midnight, official, portland, weekend

Source: http://perezhilton.com/2012-12-28-gay-marriage-legal-maine-midnight

virginia beach crash stephen hawking marion barry virginia beach jet crash ridiculously photogenic guy amanda bynes dui ghost ship

The Way To Efficiently Use On The Web Marketing Methods

For larger net marketing and advertising earnings, take your item critiques for the subsequent level with eye candy like screenshots and movies. This may assist interest individuals in acquiring your item. Make your evaluations as comprehensive as you possibly can, simply because most prospective purchasers need to know a product's precise specifications just before putting an order.

Possess a everyday objective for the affiliate promotion efforts to assist preserve your self on track. The job bar will show what remains to become carried out, which assists in maintaining the give attention to the objective.

You'll be able to boost your odds of succeeding at affiliate promotion by joining an affiliate network. These tools might help connect fantastic advertisers to webmasters. If you wish to be an excellent webmaster, you should only use reliable networks, and making use of these tools will get you there. Reputation is essential when developing your client base. By only carrying out company with other reliable websites, you are able to enhance your standing within the eyes of one's clientele.

Steer clear of getting forced into utilizing a vendor's tracking program. It could be a scam. Steer clear of this by locating a reliable program in your personal.

Contemplate which items you need to function in your web site. It's a lot more effective to discover a formula to pick affiliate links as a way to make certain profitability.

Often do your analysis with affiliate websites, even those that possess a sterling reputation for earnings. You have to know for positive that you simply can industry with ease whilst staying away from prospective difficulties.

In the event you use banner advertisements attempt to place a query on it, some individuals will click and not be capable of refuse clicking. Curious customers can not resist clicking on the banner. Sweeten the pot by supplying discounts to guests who got the query proper.

Join other world wide web advertising businesses in on-line communities as a way to share tricks and suggestions as you attempt to find out new techniques. Plenty of free of charge forums supply suggestions and assistance on DIY coding, marketing and advertising and content material for affiliate marketers.

Be sincere along with your readers; make certain they may be conscious that you simply generate income after they obtain off of the affiliate links. Not performing so accomplishes nothing at all and might result in your guests to distrust you. Creating trust along with your readers will aid them to grow to be consumers and hopefully repeat consumers.

Front-end and back-end sales each contribute towards the good results you've together with your internet advertising efforts. If, following acquiring a item, a consumer returns to get a lot more goods, you need to be paid for that, too. Make certain that businesses you involve oneself with consist of a commission for back-end sales.

Automate your company. This will immensely assistance within your time management and efficiency. You will find you'll find quite a few tools, services and suggestions about to help you. For instance autoresponders, mailing software program, automated order processing and affiliate payments, one example is click through the following website page. Also, e mail filters, canned e-mail replies, text replacement utilities, automatic domain and hosting renewal plans. These can all be utilised to help you to conserve time in responding to your consumers.

Use peripherals when you happen to be establishing affiliate links. 1 issue results in an additional. Think about all of the prospective wants of an individual beginning on this program of action.

Growing the quantity of followers you've on Google Plus will provide you with an edge more than your competitors. Make certain that your Google Plus account is obviously visible out of your other social networking accounts in order that individuals following you on websites like Facebook and Twitter can reach you on Plus, also. Make sure you give your clients one thing worthy of checking out.

Some applications are certainly scams, but don't dismiss a system since is it advertised as paying you 100% of the commissions. Read any fine print you discover, regardless of how huge the urge to reject it immediately. Numerous subscription solutions can supply this kind of compensation strategy, because they only spend out commission on the initial sale as opposed to the recurring charges. This may significantly advantage you, so spend close interest to an provide related to this.

Bear in mind your niche when picking affiliates. In the event you are selling shoes, getting advertisements for dish detergent would not make sense. The internet web site guests which will be taking a look at your web site are following some thing fairly precise. By putting advertisements which are linked to their requirements, you'll be able to make the most of this.

Monitoring your affiliate statistics also indicates you need to watch exactly where a link performs effectively. Experiment with various link areas to view exactly where the link fits very best. Use exactly the same precise link details every time, just pasted in to the distinct content material positions.

Use numerous distinct modes of marketing to spread the word about your affiliate items. Some shoppers favor purchasing on-line. Some may choose brochures and fliers. Some individuals may well respond nicely to a deal or cost savings coupon. You'll obtain much more clients should you take a broad strategy to advertising.

Statistics in genuine time are increasingly crucial. The quantity of guests and level of any purchases is produced accessible to you immediately.

Scan a handwritten ad and after that publish it on the web site. This kind of individual touch will make you appear a lot more actual and approachable for your consumers. When clients consider you as a actual individual, your sales will advantage. When you have terrible handwriting, you are able to employ a person to create the advertisement.

If you are contemplating embarking on an affiliate marketing venture, a useful tip to obtain you began would be to pick a business that regularly generates a selection of goods. Selecting a business that's continuously innovating will make certain that you simply usually possess a new item to promote to maintain your commissions flowing often. Fad items may perform for any although but you'll not have the ability to develop a lasting enterprise on these.

Bear in mind to often link your web site with these inside a comparable niche. Placing a link to an affiliate web site isn't going to advantage you unless it's sports associated. Your audience is a lot more most likely to click on one thing relevant for your website.

Placing a effectively written e-book on document sharing web sites could be extremely efficient. This can show off your understanding, attract guests, and interest possible purchasers within your site. Ensure you will find links for your web site inside the e-book.

You cannot just rely on front-end sales to determine affiliate marketing good results. You need powerful back-end sales too. When your clients are happy using the purchases out of your referrals, you're undoubtedly owed commission for all those sales. Ensure you group up with affiliate partners that offer you a specific percentage of back-end sales as well.

Web advertising is not overly complex. It demands some time investment for analysis, developing your network and carrying out the perform itself, but it really is also really rewarding. Using the suggestions that you simply have discovered, you ought to be much more savvy within the affiliate marketing method.

Source: http://mercury-voyager-repair.10w40.com/questions/the-way-to-efficiently-use-on-the-we

Auguste Rodin Breaking Amish Indianapolis explosion mike brown bcs rankings jay cutler applebees

We Both Go Down Together (Unqualified Offerings)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories Stories, RSS and RSS Feed via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/273694451?client_source=feed&format=rss

stephen jackson nba trade deadline ncaa tournament marchmadness mike d antoni nba trade rumors 2012 ncaa tournament schedule

Self Publishing Books APE - Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur

It?s a natural step for bloggers to consider publishing; self publishing books is easier than ever before. And yet. That doesn?t mean the process is easy. If only..there were a single resource written by people who have been through the process. People who could provide you the details of how to self-publish. And that is why I jumped at the chance to get my hands on an early review copy of APE-Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur by Guy Kawasaki and Shawn Welch. As a young writer, actually publishing a book seemed like a pipe-dream, particularly given the fact that I also always dreamed of eating and having shelter. But given my dream to one day be published, I agreed to write a review of my experience of the book in exchange for a free PDF copy of the book.

From Blogger to Author?

I?ve considered several books over the years. Some for this blog, some for my poor, sadly neglected foodie blog What We Chow?and now, as my alter-ego pursues collaborative writing on?Dirty Girl?s Kitchen?(be warned, it?s truly for the?unapologetic?profane gal or guy) I seek another book opportunity. But, as kick-butt as self-publishing is, writing a blog is one thing, writing a book is another.

I?ve said many times that having a blog is a brutal task-master. A blog is a living, breathing entity, with a living, breathing audience. Writing a book is no-less a task master, just a different one from marketing to?distribution? And. Let?s face it. Reader expectations are different too. As a blogger, my audience will forgive the occasional typo, not so in a book. See, blogs are generally free but people purchase books and whether the price point is .99 or 4.99, the reader will expect an error-free manuscript. Guy Kawasaki says that after having 75 people review the manuscript of APE, multiple readings by the authors themselves, the copyeditor found 1,500 errors, this was after Guy?s?community?had already provided feedback and content suggestions. Talk about humbling.

What does it cover?

APE covers everything from?crowd-sourcing?editing to determining what your book?s price point should be. The book is chock full of resources for the writer, whether she?s written a blog or not. And for those of us who rarely do anything in print anymore, you?ll love the fact that all the links and resources are clickable links within the book as well as on the?website. There are suggestions that are still considerably important even when e-publishing. Then there are moments where Kawasaki literally says ?tradition be damned? and provides insight into why breaking the rules when e-publishing is important. Kawasaki brilliantly meshes the traditions of book publishing with the practicalities of e-publishing.

I appreciate that the book moves through the steps of self publishing in a logical way, but I still recommend reading it in its entirety before ever typing a single word. After reading the book, I can how some knowledge upfront will save hours later on. And given that writing a book is almost always an act of love (rather than money) saving time and being?efficient?are important.

The Social Role in Self Publishing

Many writers might think the only role for social media is in the marketing and promotional phase. But throughout the book, Kawasaki provides examples of how his social community made the book better, during each phase.

From crowdsourcing feedback to yes, marketing, the Kawasaki discusses how to leverage an active social community. Kawasaki also covers ways to mobilize communities such as KickStarter and IndieGoGo. While Kawasaki didn?t use these methods ?himself, he provides some examples of those who did. ?The authors of APE also continually underscore the need for feedback, which is very consistent with blogging. In the marketing world, we essentially do this through focus groups. But few writers have access to actual focus groups.

Practical Advice

Kawasaki provides several different ways to incorporate community feedback while writing your book. His approach to feedback from readers is very consistent with social media ethos, he invites it and acts on it. Perhaps this is one reason why his books have been so?successful. Or maybe its because he already had a large social media audience before he ever wrote a single book. I do wish Kawasaki would acknowledge this fact ? the time to build community is well before you need them. This goes for businesses and writers.

I?ve found myself referring, highlighting and returning to the book frequently. All in all, if you?ve ever thought that writing a book was in your future, I?d say 2013 is the time to grab that bull by the horn, and start with reading APE. I think you?ll find it well worth your time and chock full of?practical, easy to read advice. ?I?m sure there is no perfect path to self publishing, but I know this will be a resource that I enjoy having in my treasure chest.

If you?re looking for a copy yourself, here?s how to get one:

• Name: APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur?How to Publish a Book (ISBN 978-0-9885231-1-1)
• Ship date: 12/10/12
• Price: $9.99 Kindle ebook? (affiliate link)
• Website:?http://apethebook.com/

?

Source: http://akamai-marketing.com/wordpress/2012/12/28/self-publishing-books-book-review-ape-author-publisher/

ray charles cheney heart transplant weather san diego unitarian new black panther party lost in space elizabeth banks

Oregon - Family Tree - MetaLchesH | Sharing Metal & Rock Music

Oregon - Family Tree (2012)

Genre: Jazz Rock/Fusion
Origin: USA

Length: 60:51 min
140 mb | mp3, CBR 320 kbps

Tracklist:
1. Bibo Babo (6:55)
2. Tern (5:22)
3. The Hexagram (5:54)
4. Creeper (5:34)
5. Jurassic (2:28)
6. Family Tree (6:31)
7. Stritch (2:47)
8. Mirror Pond (5:53)
9. Moot (5:48)
10. Julian (4:31)
11. Max Alert (1:07)
12. Carnival Express (8:01)

?

Download:

Uploaded

CloudZer

RapidGator

TurboBit

EasyBytez

RAR Password: 2012

?

If the download links are broken (except 2011 links, I cannot do anything for them), please let me know by a comment. I will renew them as soon as posible.

If you buy a premium account, you can support our site, you can do parallel downloads with unlimited speed and never waiting. Buy a premium don't waste your time.

Source: http://www.metalchesh.com/new-albums-2012/9145-oregon-family-tree-2012.html

mickael pietrus heart transplant the international preppers geraldo obama trayvon martin pietrus

Snag a copy of ?Old Computer, New Life: Restoring Old Hardware With Ubuntu?

Old Computer, New Life: Restoring Old Hardware With Ubuntu [affiliate link] is a guide that will help you breathe new life into that old desktop, laptop or netbook that you thought was obsolete and gathering dust on the shelf. There are a few hoops to jump through to get this guide, but it helps The [...]

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2012/12/28/snag-a-copy-of-old-computer-new-life-restoring-old-hardware-with-ubuntu/

justin bieber birthday read across america vikings stadium breitbart dead db cooper fafsa branson missouri

H5N1: CIDRAP: News scan for December 27

Via CIDRAP:?NEWS SCAN: Pertussis peak in Minnesota, cholera in Cuba. Excerpt:

A cholera outbreak in the Cuban capital of Havana may be related to flooding that occurred in eastern Cuba as a result of Hurricane Sandy in late October, according to a recent story from the Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR), an international not-for-profit group that focuses on issues in crisis-racked regions.?

A doctor who requested anonymity said 47 cases have been identified in Habana Vieja (Old Havana), a tourist area in the city center, and that 33 of the cases originated in the hurricane-hit areas.?

Authorities have responded to the outbreak by setting up special hospital wards, cleaning up streets and buildings in parts of Habana Vieja, and distributing medications to prevent dehydration, the story said.?

Meanwhile, in Holguin province in eastern Cuba, officials said Vladimir Lenis Hospital is admitting three to five new cholera patients daily.

This is one of those cases where the news is the absence of news. The IWPR report is a rehash of posts like this one on Hablemos Press, and now it's recycled again. But no one seems to be taking an interest in confirming a story going back to last summer?certainly not the official Cuban media, and not WHO, and even the Cuban exile media aren't talking much about it. Nor are the media of other Caribbean countries showing any interest.?

But there are certainly a lot of foreign correspondents in Cuba, and you'd expect at least one or two would be willing to risk being kicked out of the country if they could get something solid on the cholera story. Apparently not.

Source: http://crofsblogs.typepad.com/h5n1/2012/12/cidrap-news-scan-for-december-27.html

apple jcpenney toys r us toys r us kohls target target

Document drop: Another Obama ICE memo sabotages homeland security (Michellemalkin)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories Stories, News Feeds and News via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/273187012?client_source=feed&format=rss

Paul Ryan Speech chris cooley chris cooley condoleezza rice Perry Hall High School bill cosby us open

'Leaked' BlackBerry 10 info shows video chat and screen sharing in BBM, new task manager

Top dog at RIM Thorsten Heins heavily implied that video chat would be added to BBM when BlackBerry 10 showed up, and now possible confirmation of the feature has come from what are thought to be leaked presentation slides. Originating on CrackBerry's forums, the images have been taken down on various sites, leading us to believe they're legit and that strongly worded requests have led to their removal. Not only do they suggest BBM video chat is coming to BB10, but also the ability to screen share during these video calls. Another slide details a new task manager for the OS called "BlackBerry Remember," which can sync with Outlook and -- based on its description and what was uncovered in the gold SDK -- may include Evernote integration. We've contacted RIM for comment and will update you with any response, but until then, take a look at the slide above and the pair hidden after the break to assess for yourself whether they're the real deal.

Continue reading 'Leaked' BlackBerry 10 info shows video chat and screen sharing in BBM, new task manager

Filed under: Mobile, RIM

Comments

Via: All About Phones

Source: CrackBerry (1), (2)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/12/27/blackberry-10-leak-bbm-video-calling-new-task-manager/

bill maher seabiscuit dingo nba all star weekend malin akerman jeff carter chomp

New Video Series Unwraps Ethical Behavior | Texas MBA Insider

Why do good people do bad things? That?s the topic of interest for McCombs? recently launched ?Ethics Unwrapped? project, a free video series which aims to?stimulate thought and discussion on business ethics.

Ethics Unwrapped is a project of the relatively new Business, Government & Society department at McCombs, formed as part of a renewed commitment to teaching business ethics at the university. The department?focuses on the regulatory, political, legal and ethical environment of business and aims to help students cultivate?the skills needed to?successfully manage the dynamic business environment of the future.

?Today?s global marketplace is more competitive, more transparent, more culturally and politically diverse, and more fluid than ever before,? said Robert Prentice, interim department chair and head of the Ethics Unwrapped?project. ?Future business leaders will need to be able to navigate?the legal, ethical and cultural demands of government and society.?

The videos include a documentary featuring disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, and more than a dozen animated shorts featuring ethics concepts, including those from one of the hottest areas in current ethics education ? behavioral ethics.Teaching notes are available for each video in the series, which is appropriate as continuing education for business leaders as well as students.

?Our goal is to provide a high quality and entertaining educational resource that anyone with access to the Internet may use,? said Prentice.

To see all of the videos, watch our ?Ethics Unwrapped? YouTube playlist.

Source: http://blogs.mccombs.utexas.edu/mba-insider/2012/12/26/new-video-series-unwraps-ethical-behavior/

joe paterno British Open MC Chris Colorado shooting suspect accuweather Finding Nemo 2 Provigil

Storm's high winds, snow, sleet lash Northeast

Traffic moves in the U.S. 41 By-Pass in Henderson, Ky., Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2012 as a snow storm moves through the area making travel treacherous. (AP Photo/The Gleaner, Mike Lawrence)

Traffic moves in the U.S. 41 By-Pass in Henderson, Ky., Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2012 as a snow storm moves through the area making travel treacherous. (AP Photo/The Gleaner, Mike Lawrence)

Snow blowers funnel snow onto Cannonsburg's main runs during Cannonsburg Ski Hill's opening day on Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2012 in Belmont, Mich. (AP Photo/The Grand Rapids Press, Matthew Busch)

Samantha Fox, 18, looks uphill as she scouts an opening for her friend Skylar Rundle, not pictured, to take off during Cannonsburg Ski Hill's opening day on Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2012 in Belmont, Mich. (AP Photo/The Grand Rapids Press, Matthew Busch)

Former Owensboro Catholic High School basketball player Mary Kate Clemens, 19, left, and her younger sister, Sarah Beth Clemens, 11, enjoy the thrill of sledding down the big hill at Chautaqua Park in Owensboro, Ky., on Wednesday morning, Dec. 26, 2012. (AP Photo/The Messenger-Inquirer, Gary Emord-Netzley)

A tree blown over by a storm sits in the home of Martha Cavin in Centreville, Miss. on Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2012. According to Centreville Police Chief Jimmy Ray Reese, Cavin had to be cut out from her home. She was taken by ambulance to the hospital to treat a gash to her head. More than 25 people were injured and at least 70 homes were damaged in Mississippi by the severe storms that pushed across the South on Christmas Day, authorities said Wednesday. (AP Photo/The Enterprise-Journal, Philip Hall)

A powerful winter storm system that pounded the nation's midsection, wrecking holiday travel plans and dumping a record snowfall in Arkansas, began lashing the Northeast on Wednesday with high winds, snow and sleet.

The storm, which knocked out power to thousands of utility customers mainly in Arkansas, was blamed in at least six deaths.

Hundreds of flights were canceled or delayed, scores of motorists got stuck on icy roads or slid into drifts and blizzard warnings were issued amid snowy gusts of 30 mph that blanketed roads and windshields, at times causing whiteout conditions.

"The way I've been describing it is as a low-end blizzard, but that's sort of like saying a small Tyrannosaurus rex," said John Kwiatkowski, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Indianapolis.

The system, which spawned Gulf Coast region tornadoes on Christmas Day, pushed through the Upper Ohio Valley and headed into the Northeast Wednesday night. High winds, snow and sleet slickened roads in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut, causing dozens of minor accidents and spinouts. Forecasts called for 12 to 18 inches of snow inland from western New York to Maine into Thursday.

The National Weather Service said early Thursday that snow was falling heavily in Pennsylvania, upstate New York and some New England states. Among the highest snow totals were 2 to five inches in southeastern Massachusetts, 3 to 6 inches in Connecticut, up to a foot in some Pennsylvania counties and 10 to 11 inches in some parts of western New York.

The system was expected to taper off into a mix of rain and snow closer to the coast, where little or no accumulation was expected in such cities as Philadelphia, Boston and New York.

The storm left freezing temperatures in its aftermath, and forecasters also said parts of the Southeast from Virginia to Florida would see severe thunderstorms.

Schools on break and workers taking holiday vacations meant that many people could avoid messy commutes, but those who had to travel were implored to avoid it. Snow was blamed for scores of vehicle accidents as far east as Maryland, and about two dozen counties in Indiana and Ohio issued snow emergency travel alerts, urging people to go out on the roads only if necessary.

About 40 vehicles got bogged down trying to make it up a slick hill in central Indiana, and four state snowplows slid off roads as snow fell at the rate of 3 inches an hour in some places.

Two passengers in a car on a sleet-slickened Arkansas highway were killed Wednesday in a head-on collision, and two people, including a 76-year-old Milwaukee woman, were killed Tuesday on Oklahoma highways. Deaths from wind-toppled trees were reported in Texas and Louisiana.

The day after Christmas wasn't expected to be particularly busy for AAA, but its Cincinnati-area branch had its busiest Wednesday of the year. By mid-afternoon, nearly 400 members had been helped with tows, jump starts and other aid, with calls still coming in, spokesman Mike Mills said.

Jennifer Miller was taking a bus Wednesday from Cincinnati to visit family in Columbus.

"I wish this had come yesterday and was gone today," she said, struggling with a rolling suitcase and three smaller bags on a slushy sidewalk near the station. "I'm glad I don't have to drive in this."

Traffic crawled at 25 mph on Interstate 81 in Maryland, where authorities reported scores of accidents.

"We're going to try to go down south and get below" the storm, said Richard Power, traveling from home in Levittown, N.Y., to Kentucky with his wife, two children and their beagle, Lucky.

He said they were well on their way until they hit snow in Pennsylvania, then 15-mph traffic on I-81 at Hagerstown, Md.

"We're going to go as far as we can go. ... If it doesn't get better, we're going to just get a hotel," he said.

More than 1,600 flights were canceled, according to the aviation tracking website FlightAware.com, and some airlines said they would waive change fees. Lengthy delays were reported Wednesday at the three major New York City-area airports, the Federal Aviation Administration said.

In Arkansas, some of the nearly 200,000 people who lost power could be without it for as long as a week because of snapped poles and wires after ice and 10 inches of snow coated power lines, said the state's largest utility, Entergy Arkansas.

Gov. Mike Beebe, who declared a statewide emergency, sent out National Guard teams, and Humvees transported medical workers and patients. Snow hadn't fallen in Little Rock on Christmas since 1926, but the capital ended Tuesday with 10.3 inches of it.

Other states also had scattered outages. Duke Energy said it had nearly 300 outages in Indiana, with few left in Ohio by early afternoon after scores were reported in the morning.

As the storm moved east, New England state highway departments were treating roads and getting ready to mobilize with snowfall forecasts of a foot or more.

"People are picking up salt and a lot of shovels today," said Andy Greenwood, an assistant manager at Aubuchon Hardware in Keene, N.H.

As usual, winter-sports enthusiasts welcomed the snow. At Smiling Hill Farm in Maine, Warren Knight was hoping for enough snow to allow the opening of trails.

"We watch the weather more carefully for cross-country skiing than we do for farming. And we're pretty diligent about farming. We're glued to the weather radio," said Knight, who described the weather at the 500-acre farm in Westbrook as being akin to the prizes in "Cracker Jacks ? we don't know what we're going to get."

Behind the storm, Mississippi's governor declared states of emergency in eight counties with more than 25 people reported injured and 70 homes left damaged.

Cindy Williams stood near a home in McNeill, Miss., where its front had collapsed into a pile of wood and brick, a balcony and the porch ripped apart. Large oak trees were uprooted and winds sheared off treetops in a nearby grove. But she focused instead on the fact that all her family members had escaped harm.

"We are so thankful," she said. "God took care of us."

___

Associated Press writers Rick Callahan and Charles Wilson in Indianapolis, Kelly P. Kissel in Little Rock, Ark.; Jim Van Anglen in Mobile, Ala.; Holbrook Mohr in Jackson, Miss.; Julie Carr Smyth and Mitch Stacy in Columbus, Ohio; Amanda Lee Myers in Cincinnati; David Dishneau in Hagerstown, Md.; Holly Ramer in Concord, N.H.; and David Sharp in Portland, Maine, contributed to this report.

___

Contact Dan Sewell at http://www.twitter.com/dansewell

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-12-27-Christmas%20Weather/id-7b74192812fb41e6b30cda9c1ec33864

badminton Dominique Dawes Gabby Olympic Gymnast Robyn Lawley Gore Vidal mlb trade rumors Misty May And Kerri Walsh

Toyota settlement will top $1 billion

11 hrs.

From wire services , NBC News

Toyota Motor Corp. has agreed to pay as much as $1.4 billion to settle U.S. litigation claims that its vehicles suddenly and unintentionally accelerated, according to court filings made public Wednesday.

The company said the deal will resolve hundreds of lawsuits from Toyota owners who said the value of their cars and trucks plummeted after a series of recalls stemming from claims that Toyota vehicles accelerated unintentionally.

Steve Berman, a lawyer representing Toyota owners, said the settlement is the largest in U.S. history involving automobile defects.

"We kept fighting and fighting and we secured what we think was a good settlement given the risks of this litigation," Berman told The Associated Press.

The proposed deal was filed Wednesday and must receive the approval of U.S. District Judge James Selna, who was expected to review the settlement Friday.

Toyota said it will take a one-time, $1.1 billion pre-tax charge against earnings to cover the estimated costs of the settlement. Berman said the total value of the deal is between $1.2 billion and $1.4 billion.

Hundreds of lawsuits have been filed against Toyota since 2009, when the Japanese automaker started receiving numerous complaints that its cars accelerated on their own, causing crashes, injuries and even deaths.

The cases were consolidated in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana and divided into two categories: economic loss and wrongful death. Claims by people who seek compensation for injury and death due to sudden acceleration are not part of the settlement; the first trial involving those suits is scheduled for February.

The deal includes direct payments to customers as well as the installation of a brake override system in about 3.25 million vehicles, plaintiff attorneys said.?The terms also?include a $250 million fund for former Toyota owners who sold vehicles at reduced prices because of bad publicity, and a separate $250 million fund for owners not eligible for the brake override system.

The settlement would also establish additional driver education programs and fund new research into advanced safety technologies.

"In keeping with our core principles, we have structured this agreement in ways that work to put our customers first and demonstrate that they can count on Toyota to stand behind our vehicles," said Christopher? Reynolds, Toyota vice president and general counsel.

Current and former Toyota owners are expected to receive more information about the settlement in the coming months. Some information is also available at http://www.ToyotaELsettlement.com, a website created for Toyota owners affected by the settlement.

"We are extraordinarily proud of how we were able to represent the interests of Toyota owners, and believe this settlement is both comprehensive in its scope and fair in compensation," Berman said.

Toyota has recalled more than 14 million vehicles worldwide due to acceleration problems in several models and brake defects with the Prius hybrid. Toyota has blamed driver error, faulty floor mats and sticky accelerator pedals for the unintended acceleration.

Plaintiffs' attorneys have spent the past two years deposing Toyota employees, poring over thousands of documents and reviewing software code, but the company maintains those lawyers have been unable to prove that a design defect ? namely Toyota's electronic throttle control system ? was responsible for vehicles surging unexpectedly.

Both the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and NASA were unable to find any defects in Toyota's source code that could cause problems.

The company has been dogged by fines for not reporting problems in a timely manner.

Earlier this month, NHTSA doled out a record $17.4 million fine to Toyota for failing to quickly report floor mat problems with some of its Lexus models. Toyota paid a total of $48.8 million in fines for three violations in 2010.

Toyota President Akio Toyoda appeared before Congress last year and pledged to strengthen quality control. Recent sales figures show the company appears to have rebounded following its safety issues.

Information from the Associated Press and Reuters was included in this report.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/toyota-settlement-over-acceleration-problems-top-1-billion-1C7659318

breaking news Google News Newton virginia tech shooting Bbc News China abc