How a GOP Focus on Minorities Could Pay Off

IN THE NEWS: Karzai ?grateful? for CIA funds, WH silent ? Identity of mysterious ?Misha? revealed ? Joe Kennedy inspired NBA player to come out ? Previewing Sanford-Colbert Busch debate ? House Dems link climate change to ?transactional sex? ... Correspondents' Dinner galleries

THE TAKE

How a GOP Focus on Minorities Could Pay Off

It may seem contrarian, but Republicans could be well-served by focusing on winning over African-Americans with an aspirational agenda that includes education reform, economic growth and faith-based initiatives.?

In fact, a new Associated Press analysis, which reports record-high turnout among blacks along with lagging white turnout in the 2012 presidential election, underlines the point.

The study suggests that the historic nature of President Obama?s candidacy raised African-American turnout to historic levels that aren?t likely to be replicated.?If a future Republican nominee got merely 10 percent of the black vote, with lower turnout levels, swing states like Ohio, Florida, Virginia and perhaps even Pennsylvania could flip.?A more relatable nominee may also increase turnout among working-class whites.

Latinos, despite their growing numbers, still lag behind in turnout, and immigration reform is one way to focus on that piece of the puzzle.?But policy items like education reform, which may appeal to a broader population of minority voters, could be a productive ticket for Republicans and should not be ignored.

Josh Kraushaar
jkraushaar@nationaljournal.com

TOP NEWS

KARZAI: AFGHAN GOVERNMENT ?VERY GRATEFUL? FOR CIA FUNDS. Afghan President Hamid Karzai confirmed a report by The New York Times that the United States has been making monthly payments to the Afghan National Security Council for the past decade, the Associated Press reports. Karzai said that the monthly sums were "a small amount," and have been "very useful, and we are grateful for it." The CIA, which has reportedly provided tens of millions of dollars in payments to the Afghan council, declined to comment on the report. Read more

• @ZekeJMiller: Q: ?Was the president aware of the payments [to Karzai]?? Carney: ?You are making an assertion about something I have no comment on.?
  

?MISHA?: I HAD NO ROLE IN BOSTON MARATHON BOMBING. The mysterious ?Misha? who reportedly helped to radicalize Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev is Mikhail Allakhverdov, The New York Review of Books? Christian Caryl reports. ?I wasn?t his teacher. If I had been his teacher, I would have made sure he never did anything like this,? Allakhverdov said. ?I?ve been cooperating entirely with the FBI. I gave them my computer and my phone and everything I wanted to show I haven?t done anything. And they said they are about to return them to me. And the agents who talked told me they are about to close my case.? Read more

GARY PETERS TO ANNOUNCE SENATE BID. Rep. Gary Peters, D-Mich., will announce this week that he will run to replace retiring Sen. Carl Levin, sources tell The Hotline, giving Democrats another top recruit in a state critical to their hopes of keeping the Senate next year. Peters, a three-term House member from the Detroit suburbs, will be the first major-party candidate to jump in the race. And he's likely to have the Democratic primary to himself. Republicans have yet to settle on a candidate of their own. Reps. Mike Rogers and Justin Amash are both considering a bid. Read more

NBA?S COLLINS INSPIRED BY JOE KENNEDY TO COME OUT. National Basketball Association player Jason Collins, who came out as gay in a Sports Illustrated story published Monday, was influenced by the decision of his former college roommate, Rep. Joe Kennedy III, D-Mass., to march in Boston?s Gay Pride parade last year, The Washington Post reports. ?I?m seldom jealous of others, but hearing what Joe had done filled me with envy. I was proud of him for participating but angry that as a closeted gay man I couldn?t even cheer my straight friend on as a spectator,? Collins wrote. The White House commended Collins?s decision today. Read more

• As only he could, FiveThirtyEight?s Nate Silver breaks down Collins?s chances of signing with another team.

FIVE THINGS TO WATCH AT SANFORD-COLBERT BUSCH DEBATE. The only debate in the special congressional race between Former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, a Republican, and Democratic candidate Elizabeth Colbert Busch is Monday night at 7 p.m., and The Washington Post?s Sean Sullivan has five things to watch out for, including whether Sanford can shift the momentum and how Colbert Busch will perform under the spotlight. Read more

MORE GROUPS PLOT TO DODGE SEQUESTER CUTS. Now, with two sequester adjustments?the FAA and meat inspectors?on the books, other special-interest groups, unions, and lobbyists are planning to rev up their efforts to undo the cuts bit by bit or, in this case, by a few billion dollars here or there. The actions of the FAA in the past week, alongside airline groups and unions, offer a playbook for others to use as they too seek exemptions, National Journal?s Nancy Cook reports.?Read more

OBAMA AT WHCD: ?WE CAN DO BETTER.? President Obama closed his remarks at the White House Correspondents? Dinner not with humor but with ?a 607-word morality bomb,? National Journal?s Ron Fournier writes. ?If we?re only focused on profits or ratings or polls,? the president noted, ?then we?re contributing to the cynicism that so many people feel right now.? The remarks, which received less attention than the evening?s jokes, ?may stand as one of the best rhetorical moments of Obama?s presidency, a clearheaded indictment of four national institutions (the media, the entertainment industry, big business, and the political system), coupled by a prescription for revival,? Fournier writes. Read more

O?CONNOR HAS MISGIVINGS ABOUT BUSH V. GORE. During a recent interview with the Chicago Tribune editorial board, retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O?Connor expressed reservations over the Court accepting Bush v. Gore in 2000. "It took the case and decided it at a time when it was still a big election issue. Maybe the court should have said, 'We're not going to take it, good-bye,'" O?Connor told the board. ?It turned out the election authorities in Florida hadn't done a real good job there and kind of messed it up. And probably the Supreme Court added to the problem at the end of the day.? Read more

HOUSE DEMOCRATS LINK CLIMATE CHANGE TO ?TRANSACTIONAL SEX,? DISEASE. Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., along with 11 Democratic cosponsors, introduced a resolution recently highlighting the particular dangers of climate change for women and asserting support for the plight of female farmers. According to the resolution, women who are ?food-insecure,? and ?with limited socioeconomic resources may be vulnerable to situations such as sex work, transactional sex, and early marriage that put them at risk for HIV, STIs, unplanned pregnancy, and poor reproductive health.? Read more

TOMORROW

CONSUMER-CONFIDENCE NUMBERS OUT. The monthly gauge of consumer sentiment is due out tomorrow, and the numbers from the Conference Board are expected to show a slight rise from March?from 59.7 to 62.0, according to The Wall Street Journal. Read more

KERRY TO HOST MEETING WITH JORDANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER. Secretary of StateJohn Kerry will hold a bilateral meeting with Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh at the State Department. Closed press. He will also hold a bilateral meeting with Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo, also at the State Department.

QUOTABLE?

?My wife, my family, I got one of the biggest liberal families in the world, but I had more money when Bush and Reagan was president. I shouldn?t have said that, my wife is going to kill me for that.? ? Former heavyweight champ Mike Tyson on Obama. (National Review)

BEDTIME READING

FROM DRUG-WAR INFORMANT TO FUGITIVE. ?On the run from his native country and abandoned by his adopted home,? Luis Octavio L?pez Vega, 64, lives in intentional obscurity, his former face vanished with a face-lift over a decade ago, writes Ginger Thompson for The New York Times. But what separates L?pez from numerous other immigrants living unregistered in the western United States is that L?pez is hiding from the authorities with whom he once worked closely. L?pez was a senior adviser to Mexico?s drug czar of the 1990s, Jes?s Guti?rrez Rebollo, while also working as a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration informant. When Rebollo was arrested in 1997 in what was considered the biggest drug-trafficking case in Mexican history, the DEA secretly helped L?pez and his family escape across the border in exchange for his cooperation with the investigation. Then the agency severed its ties. L?pez has been a fugitive ever since and the DEA denies any knowledge of his whereabouts. Read more

PROFILE AT A GLANCE: ANTHONY FOXX

• Why he is in the news: President Obama nominated him to serve as Transportation secretary (The New York Times)
• Current job: Mayor of Charlotte, N.C.
• Born: April 30, 1971 (Age 41)
• Education: B.A. in history, Davidson College; J.D., New York University (City of Charlotte)
• Married to: wife Samara; two children

Career Highlights

• Led bid and chaired host committee for the 2012 Democratic National Convention
• Led city?s economic turnaround, adding 13,000 jobs (The New York Times)
• Working to expand Charlotte Douglas International Airport (Charlotte Observer)
• Spearheading expansion of city?s light-rail system

Of Interest

• First black student body president at Davidson College
• At 38, was youngest-ever mayor of Charlotte
• Announced in early April that he would not seek reelection, citing family considerations (release)
• Considered a rising star in Democratic Party (National Journal)

TODAY?S PHOTO GALLERY

SARAH PALIN HATED NERD PROM, BUT THESE PEOPLE DIDN?T. The Washington Post photographers blanketed the White House Correspondents? Association Dinner, from the red carpet, to the dinner itself, to the boozy after-parties. Because what other red carpet would feature both George Stephanopoulos and the Duck Dynasty cast; what other dinner party would feature New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg seated next to Barbra Streisand; and what other event?s after-party would feature a hug between Jon Bon Jovi and Geraldo Rivera?

?

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/gop-focus-minorities-could-pay-off-160516222.html

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Join Me at the #ScottValues Twitter Party May 7 - A Mom's ...

This mommy loves a good deal. ?I will scour the Sunday paper looking for coupons and deals at my local stores in order to save a little bit of money on my household expenses. ?I find a way to get quality products at great discounts. ?That is why I love?Scott? Shared Values. ??Scott? Shared Values is?a program that offers consumers unique deals, coupons and rewards. ?To get started saving, all you have to do is sign up for their free program. ?There is even a current promotion at Walmart where if you purchase Scott Towels and Bath Tissue you can receive a $4 Vudu coupon! ?That is enough for one free Vudu movie. ?All this and I am getting a quality bath tissue and paper towel for my family.

We will be talking about the?Scott? Shared Values program and the Walmart promotion online at a Twitter Party on May 7th!

Who To Follow: ?Host:??@amomsimpression?& Co Hosts: ?@JanetGoingCrazy?and?@cbTweetChat

Where: ?Twitter.com using the hashtag?#ScottValues

Custom Tweet Grid:?http://cbi.as/zn6fz

When: ?May 7, 2013??from ?1-2 pm EST

Prizes:??$400 in Walmart Gift Cards?? (4 $100 Gift Cards)

RSVP:??RSVP Below

Help us spread the word by tweeting:

Learn about the #ScottValues reward program & Win $400 in Walmart GC?s at a Twitter Party 5/7 1pm ET. ?RSVP?http://cbi.as/sijb3?#cbias

I am a member of the Collective Bias? Social Fabric? Community. I am being compensated to host this party as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias? #cbias #SocialFabric

Official Rules:

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. VOID WHERE TAXED, PROHIBITED OR RESTRICTED BY LAW. Subject to Official Rules. Open only to residents of the United States.

Enter by RSVPing for the Twitter party on the link above, be actively participating in the party and are using the hashtag #ScottValues. To be eligible, entries must be received by 1:55 p.m. EST except that mail in entries must be mailed separately and postmarked by May 3, 2013. To enter without purchase, hand write your name, completed address, age and telephone number on a 3?x5? card and mail it to Collective Bias, 205 S. Main Street, Ste. 1, Bentonville, AR 72712.

Prizes will be limited to 4- $100 Walmart Gift Cards and will be given away at 15m, 30m, 45m and 60m during the 1 hour duration of the party on May 7, 2013. All winners will be chosen using random.org from the RSVP link and winners must be present and participating in the party using the hashtag #ScottValues at the time that they are drawn as a winner. Odds of winning depend on the number of eligible entries received. Winner will be notified via Twitter @ message by @JanetGoingCrazy during the party on May 7, 2013 and must respond to @JanetGoingCrazy within 5 minutes of being selected to claim their prize. All entries will be eligible for any unclaimed prizes after the close of the Twitter party via random drawing held on May 21, 2013.

To obtain a copy of the Official Rules, send a self-addressed stamped envelope to Collective Bias, 205 S. Main Street, Ste. 1, Bentonville, AR 72712.

SPONSORS: Collective Bias, 205 S. Main Street, Ste. 1, Bentonville, AR 72712

All winners will be chosen using random.org from the RSVP link and winners must be present and participating in the party at the time that they are drawn as a winner. There is a limit of 1 (one) prize per household during the party. Please allow 4-6 weeks for prize fulfillment.

Source: http://amomsimpression.com/2013/04/28/join-me-at-the-scottvalues-twitter-party-may-7/

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Anthony Foxx in line for transportation post

WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Barack Obama on Monday will nominate Charlotte, N.C., Mayor Anthony Foxx as his new transportation secretary, a White House official said Sunday.

If confirmed by the Senate, Foxx would replace outgoing Secretary Ray LaHood.

Foxx is Obama's first black nominee among the new Cabinet members appointed for the second term. The president faced criticism early in his second term for a lack of diversity among his nominees.

The official insisted on anonymity to avoid public discussion of the pick before the official announcement.

The official noted that Foxx has led efforts to improve his city's transit infrastructure to expand economic opportunity for businesses and workers. During Foxx's term as mayor, Charlotte has broken ground on several important transportation projects, including the Charlotte Streetcar Project to bring modern electric tram service to the city as well as a third parallel runway at Charlotte/Douglas International Airport. The city has also moved to extend the LYNX light rail system to the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, the official said.

If confirmed by the Senate, Foxx would take over a department that has been at the center of Washington's debate over the impact of the so-called sequester cuts. The automatic cuts resulted in furloughs for air traffic controllers that helped cause delays at many airports.

Congress reached a deal last week to provide the Transportation Department flexibility that allowed it to end the air traffic controller furloughs.

Foxx, an attorney who has worked in several positions with the federal government, was first elected mayor in 2009. He raised his national profile last year when Charlotte played host to the Democratic Party's convention.

He also served as a member of the Charlotte City Council.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/wh-anthony-foxx-line-transportation-post-211537174.html

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Ohio Valley Wrestling Television Recap Episode 714

From Jimmie Daniel:

This is the recap for Ohio Valley Wrestling TV Episode 714 to air in Louisville on Saturday 4/27. As always the show can also be seen at http://www.ovwrestling.com/tv/714. OUR OVW Announce Team this week is Dean "San Juan" Hill?, ?Anchorman" Gilbert Corsey, and ?Rocky Mountain Mouth" Michael Titus. OUR OVW Ring Announcer is Terry Boddie. Gilbert says that seven OVW superstars were attacked by the Coalition last week.

Speaking of which, the Coalition (One-half of OUR OVW Tag Team Champions "The Washington Generals" Jason Wayne, "Squad Alpha" Jack Black & Joe Coleman, "Squad Bravo" Shiloh Jonze & Raul Lamotta, and the Spanish Moss Guy) come out to the ring without Crimson (the other half of the tag team champs). Wayne commandeers the mic and says that OVW has been attacked and that the mission of the Coalition is to rid OVW of all evildoers so that red-blooded fans can have a group that they can truly be proud of! They are working around the clock to complete this mission-OVW Operation Freedom! They unleashed Shock and Brawl last week which removed Alex Silva, Sam Shaw, "Smooth" Johnny Spade, and James "Moose" Thomas. This brings out OUR OVW Director of Operations Michael (not PS) Hayes comes out appearing to be quite agitated even before having mic problems. Wayne reminds Hayes that he can't touch the Coalition or even throw them out of the building, as Hayes gets all up in their faces. Wayne also mentions that Crimson is in a diplomatic meeting with the OVW Board of Directors. Hayes can't take the Coalition on by himself but does have "people" and brings out OUR OVW TV Champion Rockstar Spud followed by Tony Gunn, "Triple R Superstar" Randy Royal, and "White Kryptonite" Eddie Diamond (all four also were attacked last week). Wayne reminds Hayes that he still has Hayes outnumbered 6 to 4 but then Hayes brings out "Welsh Colossus" Rob Terry! Wayne says it's still 6 on 5 but then Jay Bradley comes out! Bradley says he might not like Hayes' "people" but the Coalition stuck their noses in his business last week by attacking Spade and Moose, so he's going to make a statement on the Coalition tonight! So we have a 12-man tag match in the main event.

Match #1: Lovely Lylah vs OUR OVW Ladies Champion Trina
Lylah is a brunette about the same size and build as Epiphany, whom Trina defeated last week to win the title. Titus refers to Epiphany as a "bohemoth" (?). Trina gets all offensive with clotheslines and slams, then finishes Lylah with a full nelson slam to wrap up her first title defense.

Match #2: "The Great" Cliff Compton vs "Best Rudy Ever" Rudy Switchblade
Compton shows off his tumbling skills ala Matt Dillinger. Dean is happy that Rudy has broken away from "Mr. Pec-tacular" Jesse Godderz. Rudy tries to lock a Boston crab but Compton kicks him away. Rudy stomps Compton's fingers then goes for a tenpunch but Compton rakes his face. Compton slings Rudy across then legdrops him for 2 before draping him across the top rope and coming off with a forearm, cutting him a flip onto the mat. Compton chinbreakers Rudy for 2 then locks him into a sleeper, taking him down to the mat. Rudy appears to chew his way free and goes for the crab again but Compton again kicks him away. Rudy snaps Compton on the top rope as Coleman and Black run out and attack Rudy for the DQ. Jonze and Lamotta follow but Bradley, Royal (with a 2x4), et al; come out ot clear the ring. Hayes returns and declares that there will be no more of this (run-in attacks) and the 12-man tag is still on. Compton stands in front of the Coalition with the mic and says they are looking to draft the man...and the man is Cliff Compton! However the Coalition decides that Compton is not the man and proceeds to beat him down until the group in the ring chases them away.

In the back, "Diamond Steel" Ryan Howe is warming up as Heidi Lovelace comes over to talk. She asks about the gifts that Howe has allegedly been sending Taeler Hendrix but Howe brushes off the question, saying he doesn't care about that but is caring about getting his hands on Doug Williams and Dylan Bostic tonight. Taeler interrupts and calls Heidi "psychotic" and tells Heidi that Howe belongs to her! Bostic comes over and grabs Taeler, who refers to Bostic as an "overgrown Ken doll" as she is being dragged away by Bostic.
Camera pans over to Timmy Danger reading a magazine while Diamond is lying in the arms of his favorite girl, Epiphany. Diamond apologizes to her for costing her the ladies title last week but she says not to worry about it since to her, no goal is more important than him! Bradley walks up and sees this and becomes indignant, reminding Diamond that they are going to war tonight. He tells Diamond to come with him but tells Danger and Epiphany to stay behind. They go over to where Royal, Gunn, and Spud are standing. Spud tells Bradley he doesn't exactly trust Bradley and is keeping both eyes on him. Bradley suggests Spud keep his eyes on his pot of gold, which sets off some sniping among the group particularly Royal reminding Spud that he wants a shot at the TV title. Terry comes up to emphasize to the others that they all need to work together.

Match #3: Dylan "Freakin'" Bostic & Doug Williams vs "Diamond Steel" Ryan Howe & OUR OVW Champion Jamin Olivencia
Titus calls Williams the "Guiding Light of OVW". Howe plays us some riffs before Jamin comes out. Howe fires up on Williams a bit before tagging in Jamin, who also gets some action in before missing a splash. Bostic comes in but is greeted with a dropkick and Howe tagging back in. Howe hits a Thesz press on Bostic and peppers him with rights. Williams tags in and whips Howe into a Bostic kick to the back. Williams suplexes Howe then chokes him in the ropes, which begins an extended period of Howe being isolated while ref Josh Ashcraft keeps Jamin from coming in illegally. Williams kicks Howe in the groinular region and Jamin runs in with a full head of steam and attacks Williams. The two scuffle out of the ring and through the curtain as Ashcraft calls for the bell in what appeared to be a countout. Howe and Bostic are duking it out in the ring when Taeler comes into the ring and gets between the two. Taeler tells the guys to stop fighting over her then asks Howe why he got her the gifts. Bostic chimes in that everyone knows it was Howe! An angry Howe takes the mic and says it was not him, adding that he realizes that Taeler is hot but girls like her are a dime a dozen (not sure if hot redheads are a dime a dozen but whatever)! Howe wonders aloud if Bostic bought her the gifts to try to take her mind off fantasizing about Howe. Taeler starts to cry and no one has a Kleenex :( Heidi comes out and says the mysterious gift-giver was her!!! Taeler is stunned.

Back from break Dean, Gilbert, and Titus seem stunned as well. Gilbert plugs a house show in Elizabethtown, KY that Compton may make if the Coalition didn't beat him up too bad, lol.

Match #4: Gunn & Royal & Diamond & Terry & Spud & Bradley vs Wayne & Black & Lamotta & Jonze & Coleman & Spanish Moss Guy
Opponents rush the ring and attack the Coalition but then we go to break. Back from break, Jonze drags Diamond over to the corner and tags Spanish Moss Guy. Diamond is able to overcome the moss and tag in Gunn, who flapjacks Jonze. Lamotta runs in and neckbreakers Gunn but Royal comes in to give Lamotta a running knee. Lamotta rolls out and Coleman lariats Royal but here comes Spud! Coleman throws Spud into the wrong corner for some choking in the ropes followed by Wayne and Black taking turns beating on him. Spud gets away and hits a delayed Thesz press on Black then Bradley comes in to give Black a running boot. Wayne attacks Bradley from behind to stop all that but then Terry comes in. Terry splashes Wayne in the corner and prepares to whip him into Bradley, who has the Boomstick ready to go. Black runs in and hits Bradley with a foreign object for the DQ.
Coalition brings out the steel rods and its beatdown time! Switchblade and The Mobile Homers (Ted McNaler & Adam Revolver) run out to help but soon feel the wrath as well. Jonze and Lamotta arm themselves and wait at the entrance as the Baxter brothers, Nick Dumeyer, and Elvis Pridemore all come through the curtain and get ambushed. In the ring after hitting Terry upside the head with the belt, Wayne takes the mic and says OVW is going to have to bring more to the table if they want to defeat the Coalition. Wayne then lines up the troops and leads the Coalition pledge as the show goes off.

THOUGHTS: Somebody dared to oppose the Coalition this week, whoda thunk it? Trina had no wardrobe issues this week plus she had the distinction of scoring the only pinfall. Compton/Switchblade and the 4-man tag were pretty good for the action part. And yes, Trent Van Drisse called Heidi as the gift-giver several weeks ago so kudos to him! Epiphany sure seemed happy with Diamond. They should do like Glee and start naming couples (for example, Finn + Rachel="Finchel" and Brittany + Santana= "Brittana?. Not sure what Taeler + Heidi would be). So we get like a six minute beatdown after the main. I kept waiting for the fans to start throwing garbage into the ring. I think this is where I picked up OVW about this time last year with Jo-V-W running over everyone and everything. Maybe this time next year the Baxter, Dumeyer, and Pridemore will be doing a Four Horseman gimmick, I can't wait! Anyway, this still was a slight improvement over the past couple of weeks so I'll give it a "just a hair above the middle" thumbs in the middle.

Source: http://www.gwhnews.com/2013/04/ohio-valley-wrestling-television-recap_28.html

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structured settlement life insurance ? Nuhitz ? Social Networking ...

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Source: http://www.nuhitz.com/blog/17031/structured-settlement-life-insurance/

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New conservative lobbying push for gay marriage

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) ? A national group of prominent GOP donors that supports gay marriage is pouring new money into lobbying efforts to get Republican lawmakers to vote to make it legal.

A spokesman for American Unity PAC tells The Associated Press the group has established a lobbying operation called American Unity Fund. It already has spent $500,000 on lobbying since last month.

Half that came in Minnesota, which could hold votes on gay marriage as early as next week. Money has also been spent in Rhode Island, Delaware, Indiana, West Virginia and Utah.

In Minnesota, the money has gone to state efforts to lobby Republican lawmakers and for polling on gay marriage in a handful of suburban districts represented by the GOP.

Billionaire Republican donor Paul Singer started American Unity PAC last year.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/conservative-lobbying-push-gay-marriage-050802280.html

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AdvSecret.com Personal Image vs. Personal Growth | AdvSecret.com

By Maria Bennett

Is there a difference between being self obsessed and striving to reach self improvement? Obviously, the difference exists and it is huge, as the self-obsessed people make unethical selfish actions that could harm other people. It is necessary to learn more about where the limits are and how to not become unpopular with everyone who knows us.

Having a high level of self confident all the time is a dream to many people, who do not feel confident in some situations. There are, however, people whose nervous systems seem so healthy that they never worry about what they say or how they act. These people are remarkable and other people admire them. What most of us may do not know is that we also may reach that kind of high self esteem and confidence with some efforts directed on ourselves.

Self confidence and personal growth is something that everyone can attain. Just keep in mind that old Freud?s theories do not work any longer and one will not be able to live happy life if blaming someone else for mishaps. On the other hand, phsyco therapy that was the only option a few years ago, is currently also considered to be inefficient. People no longer want to live with their past in order to move ahead. There are other much more effective options that I personally tried and can confidently recommend. Such are meditation, cognitive behavioral therapy, neuro linguistic programs, marathon running, and personal coaching. You can choose whether to do them by yourself or hire a tutor, who will lead you in a personal growth progress.

It does certainly vary at what age people are when the dire need for a self improvment program kicks in. Often this starts during the teenage years, sometimes much later, or perhaps this is what the so-called midlife crisis is about. It does not matter when, but what does matter is that people do something about it. That is, take some action before it becomes too late. It must be rather dreadful to have reached 97 years of age and still struggle with low self esteem. It is not necessary. What I do think is necessary, is to consider the boarderline between self obsession, self admiration and a healthy personal growth.

The world has changed a lot during the past century. It was impossible for people 5 centuries ago to have self portraits unless they were kings or queens, as only they could afford expensive work of painters. Today, the iPhone- self-portrait-camera helps us take a photo of ourselves in a few seconds and show it to the entire world through Facebook or another social media site. But is this what we call healthy self esteem?

For more information about how to realize your dreams, check out the Mind Reality. I?m sure you?ll like it!

---

Source: http://www.advsecret.com/personal-image-vs-personal-growth/

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Karen Dennis Power Trainer Speaks On Health & Fitness Why ...

Karen Dennis power trainer from Teaneck, New Jersey and will be speaking to women at the upcoming Agape Women?s conference to be held from Friday May 3^rd to Sunday May 5^th at the Agape Church located at 76 Ward Street, Paterson, New Jersey on the topic of Why Exercise and Staying Fit is of Utmost Importance to Minority Women.

As a working married mother of five, Dennis understands first hand what women in the African American community deal with having an enormous amounts of stress: being heads of households, pursuing career goals, having self image and esteem issues and just overall struggling in trying to do it all. ?Dennis knows that proper diet and regular exercise can transform a person into having a much more fulfilled life.

As a speaker, Dennis will share and demonstrate stress relieving exercise as well as drive home the importance of women committing to a life that includes physical fitness. Karen Dennis is scheduled her for two (2) 40 min. sessions on May 4 between the hours of 9 - 11am.

For information about our conference find "Agape Christian Ministries Church of Paterson, NJ? on Facebook or call 973.278.4390.

The $60.00 registration will be donated to charities in Africa, drilling water wells for villages, shoes for children and coats for the poor.

Source: http://thealternativepress.com/articles/karen-dennis-power-trainer-speaks-on-health-and-fit

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New Study Suggests No Shortage of American STEM Graduates

An anonymous reader writes "A study released Wednesday by the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute reinforces what a number of researchers have come to believe: that the STEM worker shortage is a myth. The EPI study found that the United States has 'more than a sufficient supply of workers available to work in STEM occupations.' Basic dynamics of supply and demand would dictate that if there were a domestic labor shortage, wages should have risen. Instead, researchers found, they've been flat, with many Americans holding STEM degrees unable to enter the field and a sharply higher share of foreign workers taking jobs in the information technology industry. (IT jobs make up 59 percent of the STEM workforce, according to the study.)"

Source: http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~3/MAWpPn1U0Jw/story01.htm

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JCPenney Has Chosen A New Ad Agency [THE BRIEF] - Business ...

JCPenney ? under the purview of Sergio Zyman ? has chosen Y&R New York as its new lead agency. The troubled retailer parted ways with Saatchi & Saatchi a couple of years ago to work with Mother, New York, and Peterson Milla Hooks until now.

Danone Groupe has put its $1.47 billion global media business into review. Havas Worldwide is the incumbent.

Actors in commercials will get a 6% pay raise, Ad Age says.

Ad industry gets blasted in Senate for dragging feet on Do Not Track.

P&G will hike its marketing spending this year.

Barton F. Graph 9000 used a banner-towing plane to announce three creative hires.

Reuters does a deep dive on Amazon's new ad network.

Urban Outfitters, one of the earliest adopters of Vine, is producing a whole campaign around the Twitter video product.

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Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/jcpenney-has-chosen-a-new-ad-agency-the-brief-2013-4

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Hillary Clinton has big lead in New Hampshire 2016 primary race (Washington Bureau)

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CA-NEWS Summary

U.S. believes Syria used chemical weapons but says facts needed

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. intelligence agencies believe Syria's government has likely used chemical weapons on a small scale, the White House said on Thursday, but added that President Barack Obama needed "credible and corroborated" facts before acting on that assessment. The surprise disclosure triggered immediate calls for U.S. action by members of Congress who advocate deeper American involvement in Syria's bitter civil war.

Rescuers comb Bangladesh rubble for second night, 260 dead

SAVAR, Bangladesh (Reuters) - Employees at a garment factory that collapsed in Bangladesh killing at least 260 people were told to work despite warnings it was unsafe, officials said on Thursday as an unknown number of the more than 3,000 workers remained trapped in the rubble. Survivors described a deafening bang and tremors before the eight-floor building, where most of the employees were women, crashed all around them. Dhaka District police chief Habibur Rahman said about 2,000 people had been rescued over two days.

Friends of Tunisian accused in Canada plot express shock

TUNIS (Reuters) - For the friends and family of Chiheb Esseghaier, the news that the Tunisian-born student had been arrested over an alleged al Qaeda-backed plot in Canada came as a major surprise given his mission to save lives as a medical researcher. His parents insisted he was innocent, saying he sent home money to help the disadvantaged. His friends in the Tunisian capital remembered him as an ordinary student, certainly no Islamist extremist, but perhaps somewhat naive and easily led.

Boston suspects discussed setting off bombs in New York: sources

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and his brother discussed setting off bombs in New York after attacking the Boston Marathon but their plan fell apart when they became embroiled in a shootout with police, law enforcement sources said. One source said the Tsarnaev brothers' original intent when they hijacked a car and its driver in Boston last Thursday night was to drive to New York with seven bombs to set them off.

Differences with centre-right delay Italy's Letta

ROME (Reuters) - Italy's prime minister-designate Enrico Letta started "encouraging" talks on Thursday for a new government to end two months of political deadlock, but said significant differences with the centre-right would take more time to iron out. Letta, the 46-year-old deputy head of the centre-left Democratic Party (PD), said he would use Friday as a "day to reflect" on his chances of piecing together a broad coalition to govern the euro zone's third-largest economy.

Body found in Providence River identified as missing student

BOSTON (Reuters) - A body found floating in the Providence River was that of a 22-year-old Brown University student who had been missing for more than a month, Rhode Island officials confirmed on Thursday. The body of Sunil Tripathi, who had been missing since March 16, had been found by the university's men's crew team late on Tuesday.

Iraq PM's coalition leads in eight of 12 provinces after vote

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's coalition has taken the lead in eight out of the 12 provinces that held provincial elections at the weekend, including the capital Baghdad, preliminary results showed on Thursday. A Maliki ally also won in Najaf, effectively giving him a lead in a ninth province.

South Korea summons Japan envoy over PM's remarks on history

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea summoned Tokyo's ambassador in Seoul on Thursday to protest at Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's defense of visits by senior officials and lawmakers to a shrine seen by Japan's neighbors as a symbol of wartime aggression. China and South Korea chastised Japan after more than 160 lawmakers visited Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine this week. That followed a symbolic offering made by Abe to the shrine and a visit by Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso and two other ministers.

Syria says backing rebels risks new attacks on America

DAMASCUS (Reuters) - U.S. support for Syrian rebels may lead to more attacks on American soil like those of September 11, said a senior Syrian official who warned that Islamist fighters would spread "the fire of terrorism" around the world. Western powers are alarmed at al Qaeda militants joining a revolt that began two years ago with rallies for democracy and President Bashar al-Assad has seized on that unease; now, 10 days after the Boston Marathon bombings, Syria's deputy foreign minister told Reuters that U.S. aid to the rebels may backfire.

Putin: order and discipline not a sign of Stalinism

MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin rejected comparisons with Soviet dictator Josef Stalin on Thursday in his annual televised question-and-answer session with citizens, denying political persecution but saying Russia needed order and discipline. A liberal journalist referred to a host of legal sanctions applied to Putin's opponents since he was re-elected president to ask him whether there were elements of Stalinism in his exercise of power.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ca-news-summary-110531079.html

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Disrupt Alum Zumper Launches An iPhone App To Help Real Estate ...

Last fall, Disrupt Battlefield finalist Zumper promised to make finding an apartment in San Francisco and New York City not quite so painful. With a map-based interface and easy-to-use filters, the startup sought to differentiate itself from the status quo (*ahem* Craigslist) by providing a better way to search for, and find, available apartments.

But as with any marketplace, it needed to provide incentive for the supply side of the equation to populate its apartment rental portal with their listings. To that end, Zumper is improving the toolset that real estate brokers, agents, management companies, and landlords can use to post their available rentals. In particular, it?s releasing an iPhone app for real estate professionals that will enable them to quickly create beautiful apartment listings on the fly.

Zumper co-founder Anthemos Georgiades told me that while setting up the startup, he and his team spent weeks with brokers and apartment managers trying to understand what their pain points were. One of the issues they saw over and over was in the way that listings were created, which usually involved an agent going on location, taking photos with a point-and-shoot camera and then returning to an office to import them to a computer, all before a listing could be created.

The Zumper Pro iPhone app simplifies the whole process, providing everything a real estate professional might need to add a listing directly from his or her iPhone. That includes the ability to create a listing, enter address and relevant information (# of bedrooms, bathrooms, square footage, etc.), and add pictures.

They can then publish the listing or keep it private. Once posted, they can later distribute flyers on Craigslist as well through the Zumper Pro web interface. All of that can shave the whole process of listing an apartment down to under five minutes, which frees them up to do other things, like list more apartments and make more money.

Zumper was one of the finalists at Disrupt SF 2012?and has listings in San Francisco, New York City, and Chicago. But it hopes to open up nationwide in the next few months. The company had raised $1 million in seed capital from Kleiner Perkins, Andreessen Horowitz, Greylock, CrunchFund, NEA, Dawn Capital, The Experiment Fund, and the DeWilde family trust last May.

Oh,?hey, and if you?ve read this far. We have Disrupt NY next week, with a whole new class of startups in the Startup Battlefield. Who will win this time around? Come find out!

Zumper is building a more efficient & transparent apartment rental market. Launched on the TC Disrupt stage in September 2012 in the final of the Battlefield competition. We?re hiring, get in touch!

? Learn more

Source: http://techcrunch.com/2013/04/25/zumper-pro-iphone/

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LA's storied Gibson Amphitheatre closing in Sept.

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Concert promoter Live Nation announced Wednesday that a landmark Los Angeles music venue where Bob Marley, Johnny Cash and Frank Sinatra performed will close its doors this fall.

The Gibson Amphitheatre's lease is ending in September and the venue will close its doors.

"It is a tremendous venue with a uniquely intimate setting that has made it a very special place for fans and artists alike," said Bret Gallagher, Live Nation's President of North American Concerts for Southern California and Las Vegas.

Gallagher said details will be soon announced for a series of summer farewell shows before the closure. Fans who were planning to attend concerts scheduled for after September are advised to hold on to their tickets as Live Nation makes arrangements for performances at different venues.

The 6,100-seat space opened as the Universal Amphitheatre in 1972, an outdoor venue at Universal Studios.

The mid-sized space with was loved by everyone from head bangers to heads of state for its intimate setting with superior sound. Bob Dylan, David Bowie, Madonna, Kanye West, the Grateful Dead and many other major artists performed there.

Other headliners included Presidents Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush.

And the amphitheater also hosted comedians like Jay Leno, Eddie Murphy and Louis C.K.

The closure makes way for the "Wizarding World of Harry Potter," an attraction that's part of a major theme park and studio expansion by property owner NBCUniversal.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-04-25-Universal-Gibson%20Amphitheater/id-e26cdd0ea4364736a76716cde0aa7108

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Galaxy goes green in burning stellar fuel

Apr. 23, 2013 ? Astronomers have spotted the "greenest" of galaxies, one that converts fuel into stars with almost 100-percent efficiency.

The findings come from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and the IRAM Plateau de Bure interferometer in the French Alps.

"This galaxy is remarkably efficient," said Jim Geach of McGill University in Canada, lead author of a new study appearing in the Astrophysical Journal Letters. "It's converting its gas supply into new stars at the maximum rate thought possible."

Stars are formed out of collapsing clouds of gas in galaxies. In a typical galaxy, like the Milky Way, only a fraction of the total gas supply is actively forming stars, with the bulk of the fuel lying dormant. The gas is distributed widely throughout the galaxy, with most of the new stars being formed within discrete, dense 'knots' in the spiral arms.

In the galaxy, called SDSSJ1506+54, nearly all of the gas has been driven to the central core of the galaxy, where it has ignited in a powerful burst of star formation.

"We are seeing a rare phase of evolution that is the most extreme -- and most efficient -- yet observed," said Geach.

The results will provide a better understanding of how the central star-forming regions of galaxies take shape.

SDSSJ1506+54 jumped out at the researchers when they looked at it using data from WISE's all-sky infrared survey. Infrared light is pouring out of the galaxy, equivalent to more than a thousand billion times the energy of our sun. The galaxy is so distant it has taken the light nearly six billion years to reach us.

"Because WISE scanned the entire sky, it detected rare galaxies like this one that stand out from the rest," said Ned Wright of UCLA, the WISE principal investigator.

Hubble's visible-light observations revealed that the galaxy is extremely compact, with most of its light emanating from a region just a few hundred light-years across. That's a big star-making punch for such a little size.

"While this galaxy is forming stars at a rate hundreds of times faster than our Milky Way galaxy, the sharp vision of Hubble revealed that the majority of the galaxy's starlight is being emitted by a region with a diameter just a few percent that of the Milky Way," said Geach.

The team then used the IRAM Plateau de Bure Interferometer to measure the amount of gas in the galaxy. The ground-based telescope detected millimeter-wave light coming from carbon monoxide, an indicator of the presence of hydrogen gas, which is fuel for stars. Combining the rate of star formation derived with WISE, and the gas mass measured by IRAM, the scientists get a measure of the star-formation efficiency.

In regions of galaxies where new stars are forming, parts of gas clouds are collapsing due to gravity. When the gas is dense enough to squeeze atoms together and ignite nuclear fusion, a star is born. But this process can be halted by other newborn stars, as their winds and radiation blow the gas outward. The point at which this occurs sets the theoretical maximum for star formation. The galaxy SDSSJ1506+54 was found to be making stars right at this point, just before the gas clouds would otherwise be blown apart.

"We see some gas outflowing from this galaxy at millions of miles per hour, and this gas may have been blown away by the powerful radiation from the newly formed stars," said Ryan Hickox, an astrophysicist at Dartmouth College, Hanover, N.H., and a co-author on the study.

Why is SDSSJ1506+54 so unusual? Astronomers say they're catching the galaxy in a short-lived phase of evolution, possibly triggered by the merging of two galaxies into one. The star formation is so prolific that in a few tens of millions of years, the blink of an eye in a galaxy's life, the gas will be used up, and SDSSJ1506+54 will mature into a massive elliptical galaxy.

The scientists also used data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, the W.M. Keck Observatory on Mauna Kea, Hawaii, and the MMT Observatory on Mount Hopkins, Arizona.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. J. E. Geach, R. C. Hickox, A. M. Diamond-Stanic, M. Krips, J. Moustakas, C. A. Tremonti, A. L. Coil, P. H. Sell, G. H. Rudnick. A REDLINE STARBURST: CO(2-1) OBSERVATIONS OF AN EDDINGTON-LIMITED GALAXY REVEAL STAR FORMATION AT ITS MOST EXTREME. The Astrophysical Journal, 2013; 767 (1): L17 DOI: 10.1088/2041-8205/767/1/L17

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_technology/~3/rDyS8XB5HOM/130423153744.htm

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France approves gay marriage despite protest

PARIS (AP) ? France legalized gay marriage on Tuesday after a wrenching national debate that has exposed deep conservatism in the nation's heartland and triggered huge protests that tapped into deep discontent with the Socialist government.

Legions of officers with water cannon braced outside the National Assembly for violence that had not come by late evening. The protests against the measure included thousands but were peaceful. Other gatherings were simply celebrations.

But it was an issue that galvanized the country's faltering right, which had been decimated by infighting and their election loss to President Francois Hollande.

The measure passed easily in the Socialist-majority Assembly, 331-225, just minutes after the president of the legislative body expelled a disruptive protester in pink, the color adopted by French opponents of gay marriage.

Justice Minister Christiane Taubira told lawmakers that the first weddings could be as soon as June.

"We believe that the first weddings will be beautiful and that they'll bring a breeze of joy, and that those who are opposed to them today will surely be confounded when they are overcome with the happiness of the newlyweds and the families," she said.

Outside the Parliament building on Paris' Left Bank there appeared to be more police than protestors.

Claire Baron, 41, a mother of two, said that she "will oppose the bill until the end."

"I'll keep going to the protests, I don't give in. The bill is not effective yet, the president of the Republic must listen to our voices. We are here to defend family values. Children need a mom and a dad," Baron said.

In recent weeks, violent attacks against gay couples have spiked and some legislators have received threats ? including Claude Bartelone, the Assembly president, who got a gunpowder-filled envelope on Monday.

One of the biggest protests against same-sex marriage drew together hundreds of thousands of people bused in from the French provinces ? conservative activists, schoolchildren with their parents, retirees, priests and others. That demonstration ended in blasts of tear gas, as right-wing rabble-rousers, some in masks and hoods, led the charge against police, damaging cars along the Champs-Elysees avenue and making a break for the presidential palace.

Following the vote members of the gay and lesbian community flocked to a square in central Paris, just behind City Hall, to celebrate the vote.

"I feel immense joy, gigantic joy," said 39-year old Sylvain Rouzel, "at last, everyone has the same rights. This is huge! France was lagging behind. We had to wait 14 years after the civil union to finally obtain the right to get married, with equal rights for everyone. I feel great!"

Paris' openly gay mayor, Bertrand Delanoe, was among the crowd of hundreds gathered for the street celebration in the Marais, the city's historic gay neighborhood.

When Hollande promised to legalize gay marriage, it was seen as relatively uncontroversial. The issue has become a touchstone as his popularity has sunk to unprecedented lows, largely over France's ailing economy.

"The opposition is in a weakened position, but they know which buttons to press in order to get a reaction in society, in a country as liberal as France, where nobody thought it was an issue," said Hossein Alizadeh, a coordinator with the U.S.-based International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission who has followed the issue.

But the most visible face in the fight against gay marriage ? a former comedienne who goes by the name of Frigide Barjot ? said the movement named "A Protest for Everyone" will continue beyond the law's passage and possibly field candidates in 2014 municipal elections. She said anyone involved in protest violence would be marginalized, but blamed the government for its failure to listen.

"The violence comes from the way in which this was imposed," Barjot told France Info radio.

French conservatives, decimated by infighting and the election loss of standard-bearer Nicolas Sarkozy, found common cause in opposing same-sex marriage. Hoping to keep the issue alive, the conservative UMP party planned to challenge the law in the Constitutional Council.

"The controversy that we've seen has been a stoked and manipulated controversy that's really kind of a last-ditch attempt to block the tide of history," said Evan Wolfson, president of the American activist group Freedom to Marry, which he said worked with the French on the bill. "I don't think it spoke to a deep or wide opposition among the French people."

French civil unions, allowed since 1999, are at least as popular among heterosexuals as among gay and lesbian couples. But that law has no provisions for adoption, and the strongest opposition in France as far as same-sex couples goes comes when children are involved. According to recent polls, just over half of French are opposed to adoption by same-sex couples ? about the same number who said they favored same-sex marriage.

Christophe Crepin, spokesman for the police union UNSA, says the extraordinary security Tuesday included a total of about 4,000 officers in the area near the National Assembly building and water cannon positioned nearby. One group of anti-riot police swarmed the banks of the Seine River about a quarter-mile from the legislature, hours before protests were scheduled there.

France is the 14th country to legalize gay marriage nationwide ?and the most populous. On the cover of Tuesday's Liberation newspaper, the famed gay photographers Pierre and Gilles took over the front page and several of the inside pages, splashing them with some of their most provocative photos, including one of three soccer players ? nude but for the footwear ? facing the camera.

In New Zealand, where gay marriage enjoys popular support, people gathered outside Parliament and joined in singing a traditional Maori love ballad after a vote last week making it legal. Nine states and the District of Columbia in the U.S. also recognize such marriages, but the federal government does not.

___

Follow Lori Hinnant at https://twitter.com/lhinnant

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/france-approves-gay-marriage-despite-protest-210050887.html

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U.S. environment regulator slams Keystone pipeline review

By Timothy Gardner

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. environment regulator on Monday said the State Department must take a harder look at climate and other impacts of the Canada-to-Texas Keystone XL oil sands pipeline before the Obama administration issues a final decision on the project.

The Environmental Protection Agency rated the State Department's 2,000-page March 1 draft review of the TransCanada Corp pipeline project as "insufficient," in a letter to department officials as a public comment period ended on Monday.

The agency's tough stance signals that unless the State Department addresses its concerns in a final review, it could create more hurdles for a $5.3 billion dollar project which has been pending for more than four years.

Backers say the project would boost North American energy security and provide thousands of construction jobs. Opponents argue that it would lead to higher releases of greenhouse gases.

The EPA said it was concerned about carbon emissions from the oil sands that are energy-intensive to produce, and about the safety of transporting Canadian crude via pipeline following a high profile spill in a Michigan river in 2010.

There was a reminder of the threat last month when an Exxon Mobil pipeline spilled thousands of barrels of Canadian crude in Arkansas, but the EPA letter did not mention that incident.

The agency was also concerned about the State Department's conclusion that the climate would not be affected by approval of the line because rail would be a major transport alternative.

"This analysis should include further investigation of rail capacity and costs, recognizing the potential for much higher per barrel rail shipment costs," the letter said.

The Obama administration is expected to make a final decision on the line late this year.

The EPA said the State Department should estimate the social cost of emissions from the pipeline including damage to agriculture, human health and property from climate change.

The request came despite an almost 20 percent reduction in the EPA's estimate of how much carbon dioxide would be released from the oil sands crude carried by the pipeline over its 50-year life, to 935 million metric tons.

"We seem to have continued concern," said a source at the EPA. "We're pretty assiduously tracking the project."

An interagency Obama administration group has put the social cost of carbon emissions at $5 to $65 dollars a ton. If the emissions of the oil sands are not reduced, that means emissions from the Keystone pipeline could cost between nearly $5 billion to more than $60 billion over 50 years.

The State Department will have to address the EPA concerns when it finalizes its review, which could take some time as it reviews more than 1 million public comments.

In a statement it said it had "always anticipated" the need to do further analysis on the basis of feedback to its draft review.

Once the final review is released, the EPA will have another three months to raise further objections if it is still not satisfied.

The State Department is in charge of determining whether Keystone should get a presidential permit because the pipeline would cross the national border. President Barack Obama is expected to weigh in on the decision.

NOT A REPUDIATION

An environmentalist said the EPA's concerns should push Obama to oppose the project, even though the southern leg of the pipeline, which did not need State Department approval, is already 60 percent built.

"We still expect him to do the right thing and the EPA has given him yet another reason to reject Keystone XL," said May Boeve, the head of environmental group 350.org.

TransCanada spokesman Shawn Howard said emissions should not be a factor in the decision because Canada's oil sands would replace imports of heavy oil from Mexico and Venezuela.

In the more than four years that Washington has considered permitting TransCanada's project, the EPA had raised concerns three times about State Department reviews of the project. And the concerns have led to delays.

But the EPA ratings have improved. In 2010 the agency gave the State Department's first environmental review of the project the worst possible rating of "inadequate".

An energy policy analyst said the environment agency's comments on Monday were not likely to stop the approval process from moving forward.

"This is not a blessing by any means, but it's not a repudiation, either," said Kevin Book of ClearView Energy Partners.

(Reporting by Timothy Gardner; Editing by Stephen Coates)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/u-environment-regulator-slams-keystone-pipeline-review-023749941--finance.html

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Did a foreign hand guide Boston bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev?

US investigators are interested in a trip that Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the older brother suspected in the Boston bombing, took to the North Caucasus region of Russia in 2012. They want to know whether he had contact with foreign extremist groups.

By Howard LaFranchi,?Staff writer / April 22, 2013

In this Feb. 17, 2010, photo, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who was killed in a shootout with police on April 19, smiles after accepting the trophy for winning the 2010 New England Golden Gloves Championship in Lowell, Mass. Federal investigators want to know whether a 2012 trip to the North Caucasus region of Russia turned him to hatred of US policy and to terrorism.

Julia Malakie/The Lowell Sun/AP/File

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As more information emerges on Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the older of two Chechen immigrant brothers accused of carrying out the Boston Marathon bombings, the clearer the picture becomes of a radicalized Muslim whose shallow-rooted ideology was fed by a deepening hatred of US counterterrorist policy in Muslim countries.

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Less clear is where that radicalization ? and the germination of the bombing plot ? occurred. Federal investigators want to know if Mr. Tsarnaev, killed early Friday in a shootout with police, was essentially a home-grown terrorist, or if the 26-year-old received any training and direction from foreign extremist groups ? in particular during a six-month trip to his native North Caucasus region of Russia last year.

Russia seems likely to cooperate with US authorities on the Tsarnaev investigation, some regional experts say, especially because the threat of Islamist extremism and terrorism is a concern the Russians have long emphasized in their dealings with the US and on a variety of issues ? from human rights abuses to the war in Syria. Russian President Vladimir Putin sent President Obama his condolences over the Boston bombings even before the Tsarnaev brothers emerged as suspects.

Still, some analysts wonder if a recent row between the two countries over human rights abuses and what Russia interpreted as US interference in Russia?s domestic affairs suggest that lingering suspicions could hamper cooperation on the bombing case.

The FBI declined to discuss any plans to investigate with Russian authorities Tamerlan?s 2012 trip to Russia or other places he visited. But one US official noted that the FBI has a legal attach? in Moscow and one in Kiev, Ukraine, and that one could ?safely assume? the investigation is already under way. ? ??

The younger Tsarnaev, Dzhokhar, was formally charged Monday with use of a "weapon of mass destruction," specifically an improvised explosive device, resulting in death.

As the 19-year-old recovers in a Boston hospital from throat and leg wounds he sustained in the same shootout, investigators are combing through seized computers, questioning contacts, and revisiting a closed file the FBI had opened on Tamerlan Tsarnaev after Russia asked the US in 2011 to investigate the ethnic Chechen as an adherent of radical Islam and for links to extremist groups.

The FBI closed the file after questioning Tamerlan and family members but finding no evidence of contacts with terrorist organizations.

But evidence is surfacing of a radicalization that began at least as early as 2009, when the cars-and-clothes-loving Tamerlan informed an uncle he was giving all that up ?to do God?s business.?

And what did the community-college dropout do in Chechnya and Dagestan ? the latter being the focal point of a jihadist anti-Russia insurgency ? when he visited the two North Caucasus regions for six months last year? One obvious question US investigators will ask their Russian counterparts is: Given that you were already worried about Tamerlan in 2011, did you keep tabs on him when he returned last year? If so, what did you learn?

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/PWTBxiTdZN4/Did-a-foreign-hand-guide-Boston-bombing-suspect-Tamerlan-Tsarnaev

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Nowhere to hide: The next manhunt will be crowdsourced

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7 biggest unanswered questions over Boston Marathon bombings

Authorities say Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is beginning to respond in writing to questions from federal interrogators, though plenty of questions still remain. NBC's Pete Williams reports.

By Jeff Black, Staff Writer, NBC News, NBC News

As prosecutors prepare to charge 19-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in the deadly twin bomb blasts at the Boston Marathon, investigators are delving into numerous unanswered questions surrounding the attack and the brothers believed to have carried it out.

Officials say Tsarnaev is said to be unable to speak due to a possibly self-inflicted throat wound, but he is responding to investigators? questions in writing during brief interview sessions being conducted by a special interrogation team. And piecing together the facts will rely very heavily on him, since his older brother, Tamerlan, was killed early Friday during a gunfight with police in Watertown, Mass.

As we wait for word on what the suspect is saying, here are a few of the critical unanswered questions investigators are certain to put to him:

Were more attacks planned?
The most important question for investigators to answer is whether Tsarnaev and his brother had hoped to carry out more attacks and, if so, had they taken any steps toward planning them.

The brothers clearly had the means to cause more destruction: authorities say they have recovered what adds up to an arsenal of deadly weapons from various crime scenes, including homemade bombs, grenades, guns and hundreds of rounds of ammunition.

Police Commissioner Ed Davis said the stockpile suggests the marathon attack was intended to be just the first in a series.

"We have reason to believe, based upon the evidence that was found at that scene -- the explosions, the explosive ordnance that was unexploded and the firepower that they had -- that they were going to attack other individuals. That's my belief at this point." Davis said Sunday on CBS' "Face the Nation.

Did terrorist groups overseas aid the attack?
Investigators are focused on a six-month trip that Tamerlan Tsarnaev took in January 2012, traveling first to Moscow, then to Dagestan and Chechnya, according to his parents.

In an interview Sunday with The Associated Press, Anzor and Zubeidat Tsarnaev said he spent his time there sleeping and visiting with relatives -- not consorting with Islamic terrorists.

But some U.S. officials suggest that Tamerlan was not behaving like a typical vacationer.

Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said Sunday on ?Meet the Press? that the elder brother may have traveled under an alias.

Suspicions that Tamerlan, who reportedly turned to more fundamental Islamic beliefs in recent years, could have received terrorist training or support abroad were heightened Friday, when an official familiar with the matter told NBC News that a foreign government (later said to be Russia) had expressed concern in 2011 that he could have ties to terrorism. The official said the FBI investigated, but found no such links and reported the findings back to the foreign government.

Were Islamist militant groups involved?
It remains unclear if Tamerlan had contact with Islamist militant groups in the restive and predominantly Muslim Caucasus region, which have been blamed for a variety of terrorist acts within Russia.?

On Sunday a group leading an Islamist insurgency against Russia told Reuters it was not at war with the United States and distanced itself from the Boston bombings.

"We are fighting with Russia, which is responsible not only for the occupation of the Caucasus but for monstrous crimes against Muslims," said a statement from Caucasus Emirate militants operating in Dagestan reported by Reuters.

Why target the Boston Marathon?
The motive behind the bombing at the Boston Marathon is the biggest mystery: Why would the brothers do this?

While the Tsarnaevs had surely had some issues adjusting to life in America, friends say they appear to have settled in fairly well since they arrived a decade ago.

Tamerlan was an accomplished boxer and even had sights on the U.S. Olympic team at one point.

Dzhokhar, who became a naturalized citizen last year, is almost universally described as a well-adjusted and smart teen.

While both of the brothers followed Islam, friends say they didn?t espouse violence or appear to be radicalized.

At some point Tamerlan Tsarnaev apparently adopted more fundamental Islamic beliefs, but no accounts have yet emerged to suggest he suddenly saw violence as an acceptable expression of his faith.

Were the bombs homemade, or were others involved?
Federal officials examining the bomb residue collected in Boston have described the bombs ? pressure-cookers packed with explosives and shrapnel ? as relatively simple in their basic design, but with ?sophisticated components, including what appeared to be an electronic detonation mechanism capable of being triggered by cellular phones.

Al Qaeda-linked groups and others have published instructions for making such bombs on the Internet, but it remains unclear whether those blueprints would have provided adequate instruction.

Authorities also say it is unlikely that the pressure-cooker bombs could have been successfully detonated without some practice runs, but so far they have no reports of such trials.

Investigators also say they are still trying to determine where the suspects got their guns.

Why didn?t the brothers flee after the bombings?
Investigators continue to probe Dzhokhar's behavior after he returned to the campus of the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth on Tuesday and resumed the life of a student after allegedly dropping a bomb-filled knapsack into a crowd watching the marathon.

?There is evidence of some frankly kind of normal student behavior in those ensuing days, which when you consider the enormity of what he was responsible for certainly raises a lot of questions in my mind and as I say more to the point in the minds of law enforcement as well,??Massachusetts?Gov. Deval Patrick said Sunday on ?Meet the Press.? ?Those are the kinds of leads that still have to be pursued and run to ground.?

Tamerlan also was said to have returned to his Cambridge home before a fatal chase and gunbattle with police in Watertown.

The suspects' actions suggest that they did not expect to attract the attention of authorities, at least in the immediate aftermath of the attack.

How did Tamerlan Tsarnaev die?
Tamerlan Tsarnaev was killed during a ferocious gunbattle early Friday with Watertown, Mass.,? police, but officials have not yet determined how he died.

After allegedly shooting to death MIT police officer Sean Collier, 26, in Cambridge late Thursday night, and then carjacking an SUV nearby, the Tsarnaevs were tracked by ?pinging? the carjack victim?s cellphone, which had been left in the vehicle, Watertown Police Chief Ed Deveau told the Boston Globe.

When police caught up with the pair later that night in Watertown, the brothers, then in separate vehicles, jumped out to engage officers in a gunbattle.

?Quickly we had six Watertown police officers and two bad guys in a gunfight,? Deveau told the Globe, saying at least 200 shots were fired. The brothers tossed what appeared to be a pressure cooker bomb at the officers and there was a large explosion. ?Crude grenades? were also tossed at officers, with three exploding, Deveau said.

Minutes later, Tamerlan walked toward officers firing, but then appeared to run out of bullets, Deveau said. Seizing on the opportunity, officers tackled him.

As they struggled to handcuff the suspect, the stolen Mercedes SUV came roaring at the officers, who scattered. According to Deveau, the younger brother plowed over Tamerlan, who was then briefly dragged under the SUV.

Dzhokar left the SUV on a nearby street and fled on foot, according to Deveau.

While the account suggests Tamerlan died from injuries suffered when he was run over, an autopsy report on his death has not been released.

NBC News? Pete Williams, Tom Winter and Michael Isikoff contributed to this report.

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