U.N. seeks Russian crew from Congo helicopter crash

Mar 11 (Reuters) - Leading money winners on the 2013 PGATour on Monday (U.S. unless stated): 1. Brandt Snedeker $2,859,920 2. Tiger Woods $2,671,600 3. Matt Kuchar $2,055,500 4. Steve Stricker $1,820,000 5. Phil Mickelson $1,650,260 6. Hunter Mahan $1,491,965 7. John Merrick $1,343,514 8. Dustin Johnson $1,330,507 9. Russell Henley $1,313,280 10. Michael Thompson $1,254,669 11. Charles Howell III $1,238,219 12. Brian Gay $1,171,721 13. Jason Day $1,080,664 14. Chris Kirk $1,004,053 15. Keegan Bradley $976,993 16. Josh Teater $883,229 17. Bill Haas $876,800 18. Scott Piercy $868,592 19. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/u-n-seeks-russian-crew-congo-helicopter-crash-195954896.html

jacksonville jaguars jacksonville jaguars benjarvus green ellis shaka smart hungergames bagpipes aspirin

Intel Science Talent Contest Nurtures Spirit of Inquiry

[unable to retrieve full-text content]The annual Intel Science Talent Search, with 40 finalists from more than 1,700 applicants this year, encourages young students to enter a life of science.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/12/science/intel-science-talent-contest-nurtures-spirit-of-inquiry.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Anquan Boldin Chris Cline Barcelona daylight savings time the bachelor pope douglas adams

How to convince your boss to work from home

Christina Couch , Bankrate ? ? ? 16 hrs.

What do employees really want? To escape the office.

Research from World at Work, a nonprofit human resources research group based in Scottsdale, Ariz., shows that more than one out of three employees are "very interested" in telecommuting at least part time.

The problem is that many don't know how to make it a reality. Despite the fact that 60 percent of employers offer informal teleworking programs, only 21 percent of the firms train managers and 17 percent train workers on how to make flexible work arrangements feasible. Successfully transitioning to remote working requires managers and employees to be on the same page. Here's how to make the leap.

Evaluate yourself
The first step to eliminating your work commute is understanding your own job, says Christine Durst, co-founder of the teleworking training company Rat Race Rebellion and co-author of "Work at Home Now."

"You need to be realistic about the type of work that you do and whether or not it will translate easily to a home-based alternative," she says. "Is it realistic for you to even be asking your manager to consider (a remote-working option) or is it sort of a pie-in-the-sky dream for yourself?"

Durst recommends breaking down your job duties and evaluating what can be done remotely. Once employees understand how much of their job can be done outside the office, they're better equipped to plead their case to the boss.

Tory Johnson, CEO of the recruiting firm Women for Hire and co-author of "Will Work from Home," also advises those eyeing working from home to informally test out the arrangement before creating an official remote-working proposal. That can mean asking the boss if you can work from home for a few hours or taking a sick or vacation day to find out if you enjoy teleworking.

"Really force yourself to simulate what it would be like to work from home," she says, by setting up a home office situation that would mirror a telework arrangement.

Do the research
Before asking for a teleworking arrangement, bone up on your company's flexible work policy, and research if workers in other departments have flexible schedules. Leslie Truex, author of "The Work-at-Home Success Bible," also recommends checking out national studies on telework arrangements. In addition to saving the company overhead, real estate and office equipment costs, teleworkers are generally happier than office-based employees.

Those who teleworked at least three days per week had less conflict between their work and home life, less stress from workday interruptions, and ultimately greater job satisfaction than those who didn't, according to a study by Northwestern University and University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee researchers.

"Happy employees tend to be much more productive, which is cost-efficient," says Truex. "They tend to take less time off. They're not tardy, they're not absent, they're not sick, which is also a way that maximizes what (companies are) paying for this employee."

Make a plan
Durst advises employees to make an airtight teleworking plan before approaching the boss. This should include an outline of why teleworking will benefit the company, a breakdown of tasks you can complete at home, ways your boss can monitor your productivity and a description of your future remote-working environment that details why you can be just as professional at your home office as at your current office.

"Provide your boss with a list of measurable goals against which he or she can gauge your performance. Suggest applications that will allow you to communicate with them very easily, whether it's online 'webinar' tools or conferencing tools," Durst adds. "If you have to, have a pager or backup communication method so your boss can rely on reaching you in the event of a systems failure."

To make the transition easier, Durst also recommends teleworking a few hours or one day per week for the first few months. If the arrangement works out, you might be able to ramp up your time away from the office.

Get prepared
Working from home comes with its own challenges. Teleworkers often contend with family or pet distractions, difficulty staying up-to-date on company projects, social isolation, and an inability to separate work from home life. To ensure success, Johnson recommends brainstorming ways to replace the perks that come with office life.

"How do you make up for (not being in the office)? How do you keep yourself motivated and engaged as opposed to becoming isolated?" she says. "That is everything from planning visits to the office; planning lunches with colleagues, peers or clients; planning breaks so that you're not locked in your home office 24/7."

Truex adds that new teleworkers should also be prepared to be evaluated differently than those immediately visible to the boss.

"No longer is (your performance) based on hours at your desk, but how much are you putting out, how much you are producing," she says.

But be advised that teleworkers who can't continue to make notable progress and achieve results run the risk of being forgotten. "A lot of times, out of sight is out of mind," says Truex.

More from Bankrate:

Will mortgage rates fall in the next week?

Mortgages take root as Dow takes flight

10 beach towns with bargain home prices

? 2013 Bankrate, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/how-convince-your-boss-work-home-1C8781252

katie couric barista university of kentucky ncaa oakland news alec baldwin alec baldwin

PS4 graphics ?phenomenal?, huge RAM makes innovation likely ...

PS4?s massive amount of available RAM is something that the industry has been cheering ever since its announcement.

It also makes innovation possible according to Wedbush Morgan analyst, Michael Pachter at the SXSW panel. He has also called the system impressive and said that the 8-core CPU allows for a huge improvement. You can check out the full specs as well.

He also predicts that the system will sell 85-95 million units lifetime compared to PS3 which is at 76 million right now (based on Sony?s shipment figures).

The pricing, he believes, will be under $599 which will allow the system to get a significant boost early on however it has not been announced yet. It seems likely to be revealed at E3.

He also predicts Microsoft?s Xbox 720 to sell the same amount.

Image credit: Geoff Keighley

Does more RAM really lead to innovation? It?s something we have to ask because there have been plenty of innovative games that have not relied on pure hardware strength to stand out. However, when you look at all the AAA games and the comments of developers that say RAM has been a major issue for them this generation, it?s hard not to believe Pachter?s words.

The market for dedicated gaming consoles is shrinking and considering the Wii U?s poor performance when it comes to sales, it doesn?t look like the next generation consoles will sell more than the current generation ones.

It?s possible for the PS3 and Xbox 360 to sell 100 million units each in two years if they maintain their current momentum, but overall considering the new players in the market like Apple and Google which are taking away core consumers, it will be hard for the next gen consoles to replicate the same.

Source: http://www.gamechup.com/ps4-graphics-phenomenal-huge-ram-makes-innovation-likely-analyst/

petrino arkansas roy williams matt lauer divine mercy chaplet albert pujols the shining mariano rivera

PFT: Revis reportedly seeking speedy resolution

Getty Images

Vikings receiver Percy Harvin reportedly wants out of Minnesota.? He also reportedly wants to be paid like Lions receiver Calvin Johnson.

But Harvin is overlooking one important reality.? He?ll have to find a team that wants him, and a team that will pay him what he wants.

As one NFL front-office source explains it, Harvin and his agent forget that a large portion of the league had him off of their draft boards in 2009, due to his reputation for being a pain in the posterior.

In Minnesota, the Vikings have done a nice job of keeping Harvin from being too much of a problem, at least publicly.? Under former coach Brad Childress, then-defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier often was the peacekeeper.? Now that Harvin and Frazier reportedly had a ?heated exchange? that preceded Harvin?s placement on injured reserve, Harvin may be out of allies in Minnesota.

That doesn?t mean he?ll have friends elsewhere.? Especially if he gets the kind of money he wants.? If/when (if) he cashes in, Harvin will be largely untouchable, free to do what he wants, how he wants, when he wants.

Even though there are plenty of desperate coaches and General Managers in the NFL, there?s a difference between desperation and stupidity.? For Harvin, the key word could be delusion.

If there?s no team who will both trade for him and pay him, he?ll continue to be the property of the Vikings.? And the manner in which he handles himself during the final year of his contract will go a long way toward shaping the extent to which other teams will, or won?t, be interested in him once he hits the open market.

And if he decides to hold out, the Vikings can fine him hundreds of thousands of dollars and, if he doesn?t show up by Week 10, squat on his rights through 2014.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/03/10/report-revis-camp-wants-resolution-asap/related/

mike kelly kristen bell colbert super pac colbert super pac sloth birth control pill recall ground hog day

Google shows off hacked speaking shoe at SXSW, promises it's not getting into the footwear business

All the hype of Google's presence at this year's SXSW has, not surprisingly, largely revolved around the company's Glass project, but much to our surprise, the software giant used the show to take the wraps off yet another wearable. We spoke to a rep who kicked off our conversation with the express disclaimer that "Google is not getting into the shoe business," so you can tamp down those expectations right now. Of course, the company is still firmly in the business of creating cool projects for the purposes of promoting creativity and supporting the developer community and ethos that are the driving forces behind its Art, Copy & Code project.

Gallery: Google hacks a shoe at SXSW

Filed under: Wearables, Wireless, Google

Comments

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/aNHTTHkX0To/

westminster bonnaroo 2012 lineup twisted metal sea lion si swimsuit 2012 westminster dog show abe lincoln vampire hunter

Online gambling: How long until it's legal everywhere ...

It used to be you had to go all the way to Las Vegas to play the slots. But soon, you may be able to gamble on your smartphone.

Thanks to improvements in technology, a change in federal rules and shifting political calculations, a push to legalize online and mobile gambling is picking up steam. Three states already have moved to allow it, and Silicon Valley tech companies, including San Francisco-based social gaming giant Zynga, are rushing to cash in.

"It's inevitable that this spreads pretty quickly," said Doug Walker, who studies casino gambling as a professor of economics at the College of Charleston in South Carolina.

Last month, the governors of New Jersey and Nevada signed laws to legalize online gambling in their states. And earlier this year, Delaware, which legalized online gambling last summer, solicited bids from companies to run the service that will oversee online gambling there.

Similar legalization proposals are being promoted in numerous other states, many of which are searching for new revenue to replace tax dollars wiped out by the Great Recession. In California, state Sen. Roderick Wright, D-Inglewood, has introduced a bill that would legalize all online gambling in the state, while state Sen. Lou Correa, D-Santa Ana, has proposed a bill that would legalize only online poker.

It's not just cash-strapped state governments that see a potential jackpot in

online gambling. Casino operators and Silicon Valley tech firms are also pushing for legalization. Zynga, for example, is already moving to offer online gambling in the United Kingdom and Nevada.

Legalization proponents argue that many consumers already gamble online through offshore sites. By legalizing the activity, they say, states can tax and regulate it -- and U.S. companies can benefit.

"Prohibition, like the prohibition of alcohol, just doesn't work," said Joseph Kelly, a professor at Buffalo State College in New York who has consulted with governments outside the United States that have considered legalizing online gambling. "I like to think of (legalization) as recapturing revenues."

But gambling opponents, consumer advocates and addiction researchers warn of potentially dire consequences. They say the gaming industry will use techniques perfected in online advertising and marketing to target vulnerable consumers, leading to a spike in problem gambling and, more broadly, a rise in income inequality.

"This is the most predatory business in the country," said Les Bernal, national director of Stop Predatory Gambling, a nonprofit group opposed to commercial and state-sponsored gambling. "They're about creating new players and getting them to be out of control."

Until little more than a year ago, much of the discussion about online gambling in the political realm was about banning it. But in late 2011, the U.S. Department of Justice revised its interpretation of the Federal Wire Act, a law designed to combat organized crime. The Justice Department determined that instead of banning all online gambling, the law applied only to sports betting.

The change allows states to legalize Internet gaming within their boundaries. But it potentially could also allow citizens from one state to gamble on Web or mobile sites hosted in another state, if the two states come up with an agreement to permit the practice. In the meantime, Congress has been considering a measure that would legalize interstate online gambling in whichever states authorize it.

So far, online gambling is still a limited business. Nevada's new law only legalizes online poker. And for now, only residents of the three states that have authorized online gambling can legally bet online.

But many experts think online gambling is a multibillion-dollar opportunity. New Jersey alone projects state revenues from casino gambling will nearly double over the next year to $436 million, thanks in large part to online gambling.

With the online gambling table open for bets, nontraditional players are trying to get a piece of the action. For years now, social gaming companies -- including Zynga -- have offered virtual poker and casino games, with players wagering virtual currencies rather than real dollars. Now those companies are starting to move into what they call "real money" gaming.

"This is a huge opportunity for game developers," said Christopher Griffin, founder and CEO of Betable, a company that works with software developers to legally add real-money betting to their games.

Entry of those nontraditional players into the gambling market worries consumer advocates and addiction researchers. Research into the effects of online gambling is still spotty, but early studies indicate it attracts younger gamblers and is strongly linked to pathological gambling.

Some worry online social gaming companies, which have become experts at using social networks such as Facebook to market their games to consumers, could use those networks to target those most likely to be addicted to casino games.

"Lawmakers are failing to protect consumers in their mad rush to approve online gaming," said Jeff Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy, a consumer advocacy group. "Without safeguards, individuals will be subjected to powerful online marketing campaigns designed to have them gamble away their hard-earned cash."

Contact Troy Wolverton at 408-840-4285. Follow him at Twitter.com/troywolv.

Betting on the Web
For years, it has been illegal for U.S. companies to offer online gambling. But the situation is changing rapidly.
What's happening: New Jersey and Nevada last month joined Delaware in approving legalized online gambling in their states. The moves followed a change by the U.S. Department of Justice in 2011 in its stance on whether Internet gambling is prohibited by federal law. The states are authorizing online gambling to various degrees: New Jersey will allow all games; Nevada, only online poker.
What's next: Other states, including California, are considering whether to make online gambling legal. For now, states can authorize gambling only within their borders. But a proposed federal law would legalize interstate gambling. Alternatively, states are considering creating one-by-one agreements with other states to allow gambling between their residents and companies.
What it will mean: In states that have authorized online gambling, residents will be able to play online poker for money, buy lottery tickets online and play casino games such as slot machines or blackjack, depending on what their state has authorized. Social gaming companies, including Zynga, also hope to offer real-money wagering and prizes in their games. Some consumer advocates worry casino and social gaming companies will use sophisticated online marketing techniques to target young people and those most likely to be problem gamblers.
Source: Staff research

Source: http://www.contracostatimes.com/breaking-news/ci_22732339/online-gambling-how-long-until-its-legal-everywhere

harrison barnes brett ratner stevie nicks anchorman capybara duggars peter facinelli

Roku adds headphones to latest online video player

This product image provided by Roku shows the Roky 3. Roku is plugging headphones and several other new features into its latest set-top box for streaming Internet video to TVs, a move that amplifies its effort to upstage Apple?s better-selling player. The Roku 3 box going on sale Wednesday, March 6, 2013 also includes a more powerful search engine to find movies, TV shows and music more quickly and new menu for perusing the more than 750 online services available through the device. (AP Photo/Roku)

This product image provided by Roku shows the Roky 3. Roku is plugging headphones and several other new features into its latest set-top box for streaming Internet video to TVs, a move that amplifies its effort to upstage Apple?s better-selling player. The Roku 3 box going on sale Wednesday, March 6, 2013 also includes a more powerful search engine to find movies, TV shows and music more quickly and new menu for perusing the more than 750 online services available through the device. (AP Photo/Roku)

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ? Roku is plugging headphones and several other new features into its latest set-top box for streaming Internet video to TVs, a move that amplifies its effort to upstage Apple's better-selling player.

The Roku 3 box going on sale Wednesday also includes a more powerful search engine to find movies, TV shows and music more quickly and new menu for perusing the more than 750 online services available through the device. The new model will be sold for $100, initially only at Roku's website and Amazon.com. Next month, it will expand into other retail outlets, including Costco and Best Buy stores. Prices for older Roku models with less horsepower start at $50.

The new player is the first update to Roku's line of set-top boxes since July 2011. In the interim, Roku last year introduced a finger-shaped device that plugs directly into high-definition ports, much like a flash drive fits into a personal computer's USB drive.

The ability to listen to video and music on headphones will probably be the Roku 3's biggest attraction, especially for households that already own one of the company's earlier boxes. Ear buds are included with the Roku 3, although any pair of headphones can be plugged into a jack on the side of the device's remote control. Just as with the set-top box itself, a Wi-Fi connection is required for the headphones to work. It's a feature unavailable on the Apple TV player that poses the main competition to Roku's streaming devices.

The Roku 3 introduces new navigation tools that will be automatically sent to previous versions of the box in a software update later this year. The redesign displays more information by stacking the channels vertically in rows of three instead of in single, horizontal row in the middle of the screen. The makeover means nine channel choices can be seen at a time instead of just five under the old format.

The new box also boasts a faster processor than previous models, an upgrade likely to appeal to people who want to use the device to play online video games on their TVs.

Although it's still a small company, Roku Inc. has emerged as a significant player in the steadily growing market for Internet video since it introduced its first set-top box nearly five years ago. Originally conceived within Netflix Inc. as a cheap and easy way to get Internet video on to flat-panel TVs, Roku now offers a wide array of entertainment options. Besides Netflix's Internet video subscription service, Roku boxes also connect to alternatives from Amazon.com and Hulu.com, as well as a variety of online music stations.

Most of the top Internet video services can also be seen through Apple TV, a set-top box that's similar to Roku's device. But Apple TV is better known, largely because it's made and sold by a technology powerhouse that operates more than 400 stores scattered throughout the world while the Roku players are made by a small, privately held company.

Although Apple Inc. doesn't provide precise figures, CEO Tim Cook has indicated to analysts that the company has sold more than 10 million of its streaming boxes. That includes more than 2 million Apple TV players sold during the final three months last year, up from about 1.4 million at the same time in 2011, Cook told analysts during a January conference call.

Roku will only say it expects to sell the five millionth device in its history by the end of this month. The company, which is based in Saratoga, Calif., said its annual revenue was about $150 million in 2011. Management declined to provide a revenue figure for last year.

Apple's revenue topped $156 billion during its last fiscal year ending in September, with most of the sales rolling in from its line-up of iPods, iPhones, iPads and Mac computers. Company co-founder Steve Jobs considered Apple TV to be a "hobby," a description that Cook has echoed. Before he died in October 2011, Jobs told his biographer Walter Isaacson that he had finally figured out how to build a TV that "would be seamlessly synced with all of your devices."

Those words have spurred recurring speculation that Apple intends to sell its own big-screen TV that would connect to the Internet and run on the same software as its iPhones and IPads.

Cook also hinted during his January discussion with analysts that the company may be ready to move beyond the Apple TV boxes. "I tend to believe that there's a lot we can contribute in this space," Cook said then. "And so we continue to pull the string and see where it leads us."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-03-05-Roku-Internet%20Video%20Player/id-2ea1b66c298c4ca4a3341b394900b7c7

bks new dark knight rises trailer khloe and lamar oklahoma city thunder sunoco titanic ii babe ruth

You Can Totally Watch The Gaming BAFTAs Below | Rock, Paper ...

By John Walker on March 6th, 2013 at 11:00 am.

There are videogaming BAFTAs. I wouldn?t know, since BAFTA have never invited me to anything. WHAT AM I? CHOPPED GAMES JOURNALIST LIVER? It appears they happened last night, and games won awards. Which games? Which awards? I?ll grudgingly tell you now.

The results fall squarely into that odd new zone of the mainstream of non-mainstream. The games absolutely everyone bought, while feeling like they were special for having bought them. And king of those games is PS3 exclusive, Journey, which greedily scooped Artistic Achievement, Audio Achievement, Game Design, Online Multiplayer (WHA?), and Original Music. And that?s despite being a game about going for a boring walk in the sand! Impressive stuff.

Indie darling Thomas Was Alone picked up the rather odd prize for Best Performer, for Danny Wallace?s narration. I very briefly worked with Danny Wallace about 14 years ago, and he was always a bit rude to me, so I?m not sure he deserves it. Telltale?s much loved The Walking Dead series received even more accolades, with one for Mobile And Handheld, and another for Story. The other darling of the indie set, The Unfinished Swan, grabbed Game Innovation and D?but Game.

The Best British Game, according to BAFTA suits, was handheld puzzler The Room, and the Family Award went very deservedly to Travellers Tales, except for entirely the wrong game. They got it for LEGO Batman 2, where it should obviously have been given for either LEGO Harry Potter 2, or LEGO Lord Of The Rings. Something called SongPop picked up Online-Browser, and New Star Soccer garnered the nebulous Sports/Fitness. (I?m not quite sure how sofa entertainment and jumping up on down on plastic games can be in the same category.)

We are told we should watch the appositely named Kind Of A Big Deal, for Starcrossed, with their Ones To Watch award, and of course Uncy Gabe was presented with his Academy Fellowship for Best Beard.

But Best Game went to Dishonored ? certainly one of our favourite games of 2012, but one we found didn?t have the staying power to top our list for the year.

You can watch the whole thing here:

Watch live video from bafta on www.twitch.tv

Source: http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/03/06/you-can-totally-watch-the-gaming-baftas-below/

washington post comedy central philadelphia eagles obamacare Todd Akin Register To Vote Fox News Live

Top Los Angeles mayor candidates to meet in runoff

This combo shows a Feb. 20, 2013 file photo of Los Angeles mayoral candidate Eric Garcetti speaking to media in Los Angeles, left, and undated image provided by the Wendy Greuel Campaign of mayoral candidate Greuel meeting with voters. The likely outcome in the heavily Democratic city will send two City Hall regulars, Eric Garcetti, 42, and Wendy Greuel, 51, to a May 21 runoff, since it's unlikely any candidate will clear the majority needed to win outright Tuesday. (AP Photo)

This combo shows a Feb. 20, 2013 file photo of Los Angeles mayoral candidate Eric Garcetti speaking to media in Los Angeles, left, and undated image provided by the Wendy Greuel Campaign of mayoral candidate Greuel meeting with voters. The likely outcome in the heavily Democratic city will send two City Hall regulars, Eric Garcetti, 42, and Wendy Greuel, 51, to a May 21 runoff, since it's unlikely any candidate will clear the majority needed to win outright Tuesday. (AP Photo)

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa smiles at media after voting Tuesday March 5, 2013 in Los Angeles. Los Angeles voters are going to the polls to choose a new mayor. Polls show a tight contest between Councilman Eric Garcetti and City Controller Wendy Greuel in the race to replace term-limited Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. An expected low turnout makes surprises more likely, boosting the chances of Democratic Councilwoman Jan Perry and Republican Kevin James, a former prosecutor and radio talk show host. If no one gets more than 50 percent of the vote, then the top two candidates will face each other in a May runoff. (AP Photo/Nick Ut )

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? With all precincts reporting in Los Angeles, two City Hall veterans earned the right to advance to a runoff election to replace outgoing Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

City Councilman Eric Garcetti and city Controller Wendy Greuel set up a contest of two Democrats who occupy a lot of similar positions in an election to determine who will lead the nation's second most populous city that's troubled by double-digit unemployment and a looming budget gap.

The election capped a lackluster primary campaign that was snubbed by most of the city's 1.8 million voters. Turnout was scant.

The next mayor of the nation's second largest city inherits a raft of problems: Crime is relatively low but City Hall is nearly broke, the airport is an embarrassment, freeways remain clogged and potholes, cracked sidewalks and untended trees infest many neighborhoods. Rising pension and health care costs for workers threaten dollars needed for libraries, street repairs and other services.

"The city's ability to provide services that improve the quality of life of city residents has diminished," city Administrative Officer Miguel Santana wrote in a report last month.

The five leading candidates in the nonpartisan contest made last-minute appeals during stops around the city, while unionized workers and other campaign volunteers tried to get voters to shake off indifference and go to the polls.

Other candidates included Democratic Councilwoman Jan Perry, former prosecutor Kevin James, a Republican, and Los Angeles County Democratic Chair Eric Bauman.

Angelenos are known to give local politics a collective shrug, and turnout failed to reach 30 percent in Villaraigosa's hotly contested primary in 2005, when he was trying to become the first Hispanic mayor in more than a century. He was re-elected in 2009 with a meager 152,000 votes, in a city of nearly 4 million people.

The city appears headed for another first at City Hall. Greuel would become the first woman mayor, and Garcetti could become the first Jew elected to the post (but not the first to hold it in a temporary capacity). The two candidates also have roots in the city's San Fernando Valley.

The leading candidates dueled mostly over pocketbook issues and City Hall insider politics ? a looming deficit, 10.2 percent unemployment, the grip of municipal unions.

"The campaign itself hasn't really gotten people's blood going," said longtime Democratic strategist Garry South. "It's been small-bore stuff for the most part, and the average voter is saying, 'What's this got to do with me?'"

The Los Angeles mayor presides over a budget that exceeds $7 billion, but it is a comparatively weak office hemmed in by a powerful City Council. Unlike other big cities such as New York, the Los Angeles mayor cannot directly appoint the head of schools or police.

Voters also were picking a city attorney, city controller and about half the 15 members of the City Council, and deciding whether to increase the city's sales tax a half-cent to 9.5 percent.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-03-06-Los%20Angeles%20Mayor/id-db61fe3aaf11452aad8589210faa39ac

dave matthews band solar flares 2012 whitney houston will toyota recall northern lights sign of the times keystone pipeline

Watch SpaceX's Dragon capsule liftoff at 10:10AM ET today

You've no doubt seen plenty of video of SpaceX rocket launches on this very site, but let's face it, nothing compares to seeing a live launch. Great news for fans of watching things slip the surly bonds of Earth: the commercial space company's Dragon capsule is set to do precisely that atop a Falcon 9 carrier rocket at 10:10AM ET this very morning -- you know, roughly half an hour from now. The unmanned rocket will deliver supplies to astronauts aboard the International Space Station. And if you're not currently within driving distance of Cape Canaveral and in possession of the the proper clearances, you're still in luck. You can watch a livestream of the event unfold in the source link below. And for more space action, make sure to check out the latest episode of the Engadget Show.

Update: We have liftoff!

Update 2: While the rocket liftoff seems to have gone according to plan, the company is reported a problem with the capsule. According to a tweet from Elon Musk, there's an "issue with Dragon thruster pods. System inhibiting three of four from initializing. About to command inhibit override."

Filed under: Science

Comments

Via: The Next Web, Space

Source: Livestream.com

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/9mk0qOMdY6M/

michael brockers lisa marie presley

UK manufacturing suffers shock contraction in February - PMI

LONDON (Reuters) - British manufacturing shrank unexpectedly in February and new orders dwindled, a survey showed on Friday, making it likely the sector will put a drag on economic growth in the first quarter.

The Markit/CIPS Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) fell to 47.9 from a downwardly revised 50.5 in January, confounding forecasts for a rise to 51.0. It was the first reading below the 50 line that separates growth from contraction since November.

In the last quarter of 2012, a plunge in factory output shaved 0.1 percentage point off economic growth, contributing to a drop in gross domestic product that brought Britain within sight of its third recession since the 2008 crisis.

"The return to contraction of the manufacturing sector is a big surprise and represents a major setback to hopes that the UK economy can ... avoid a triple-dip recession," said Chris Williamson, the Markit economist who compiled the survey.

"A strong rebound is needed in March to prevent the sector from acting as a drag on the economy as a whole in the first quarter."

On some measures, the chances of such a rebound look slim. The subindex for new orders fell to 46.6 in February, the lowest reading since July, as market conditions remained tough at home and abroad, especially in Europe. Backlogs of work also shrank sharply.

The manufacturing sector accounts for 10.5 percent of British economic output, according to the Office for National Statistics.

However, Williamson said there were good reasons to believe manufacturing could recover in March, noting that the weaker pound might help exporters, while factories were also hit by disruption to deliveries from bad weather in late January.

"The Chinese New Year holidays are having an increasingly disruptive impact on global trade flows ... and appear to have had a stronger than usual effect in February," he added.

Factory output fell last month at the fastest pace since October, with declines in the production of consumer goods and intermediate goods such as car engines, Markit said.

Some firms reported spare capacity, which was part of the reason for the fastest reduction in factories' workforces in well over three years.

But there was at least respite for hard-pressed manufacturers as input costs dipped for the first time since August.

(Editing by Hugh Lawson)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/uk-manufacturing-suffers-shock-contraction-february-pmi-093552708--business.html

m.i.a. adrianne curry hoekstra best superbowl commercials 2012 best super bowl ads chrysler super bowl commercial madonna half time show

Groupon shares dive 24 percent on "underwhelming" forecast

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Groupon Inc lost almost a quarter of its market value on Wednesday after the company began to take a smaller cut of revenue on daily deals, sacrificing revenue and profits to attract and keep merchants.

"This raises questions about how these guys are going to be able to scale the business," said Tom White, an analyst at Macquarie. "The forecast is underwhelming."

Groupon shares fell 22 percent to $4.65 in after hours trading on Wednesday.

The Chicago-based company started sharing more money from its deals with merchants early in the fourth quarter to persuade them to run an offer for the first time or work on another offer.

That dented revenue and profit in the fourth quarter, Chief Financial Officer Jason Child said in an interview.

"We are focused on driving growth," he said. "We will make the investments we feel we need to optimize for growth and merchant profitability."

Fourth-quarter revenue rose to $638.3 million from $492.2 million in the year-ago period. The company also reported a net loss and an operating loss in the latest period.

Groupon was expected to make 3 cents a share on revenue of $638 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

The company forecast first-quarter revenue of $560 million to $610 million. This is sharply below the $650 million average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Groupon Goods, the company's discounted product sales business, generated a lot of the fourth-quarter revenue growth. However, sales growth will slow in the first quarter, as is typical with other e-commerce businesses, Child said.

The Goods business also has lower margins than Groupon's original daily deals business, he noted.

The cut in its so-called "take rate", which many analysts had speculated was necessary to revive participation among merchants in its Internet offers, contributed to weak fourth-quarter results. That was also partly behind the disappointing first-quarter revenue forecast.

A larger-than-expected seasonal decline in the company's Goods e-commerce business also drove the weaker first-quarter forecast.

(Reporting by Alistair Barr; Editing by David Gregorio and Richard Chang)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/groupon-revenue-climbs-30-percent-forecast-weak-211450103--sector.html

buckyballs awake mario batali lone ranger aaron brooks dave matthews band solar flares 2012