Doctor to be sentenced for Michael Jackson's death (AP)

LOS ANGELES ? Michael Jackson's doctor will face the singer's distraught family and ardent fans one more time when he returns to court for sentencing in the death of the superstar from an overdose of an operating-room anesthetic he was receiving to battle insomnia.

Dr. Conrad Murray's sentencing Tuesday for involuntary manslaughter is the final step in the criminal case launched within days of Jackson's unexpected death in June 2009.

Prosecutors want a judge to sentence the 58-year-old Murray to the maximum four-year prison term. Defense attorneys counter that Murray already faces a lifetime of shame and diminished opportunities and should receive probation.

How long Murray might remain behind bars depends on the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, which would base the decision on good behavior and other factors.

Even without overcrowding and a new state law that will send Murray to county jail rather than prison, a four-year sentence could be cut in half by good behavior.

It remained unclear Monday whether Jackson's family will speak during the sentencing hearing. His mother Katherine and several siblings routinely attended the six-week trial that ended with the conviction on Nov. 7.

Prosecutors portrayed Murray as an incompetent doctor who administered propofol ? an extremely potent anesthetic normally used during surgery ? in Jackson's bedroom without adequate safeguards and botched his care when things went wrong.

The prosecution is also are seeking restitution for Jackson's three children and filed a statement from the singer's estate stating the cost of the singer's funeral was more than $1.8 million. The letter also notes that Jackson would have earned $100 million if he had performed a planned series of comeback concerts in London.

The doctor's fate lies with Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor, who will determine the sentence and had harsh words for Murray on the day he was convicted.

"Dr. Murray's reckless conduct in this case poses a demonstrable risk to the safety of the public," Pastor said before the Houston-based cardiologist was led from the courtroom in handcuffs.

Pastor also could address Murray's decision to participate in a documentary that was filmed throughout the trial and aired days after Murray's conviction.

Murray states in the film that aired on MSNBC, under the title "Michael Jackson and the Doctor: A Fatal Friendship," that he doesn't feel guilty about the singer's death because he doesn't think he did anything wrong.

Prosecutors cited Murray's comments in their filing last week urging the judge to impose the maximum sentence.

"Finally, the defendant consistently blames the victim for his own death," the prosecutors said, "even going so far as to characterize himself as being `entrapped' by the victim and as someone who suffered a `betrayal' at the hands of the victim."

Murray's attorneys are relying largely on statements from his former patients to portray Murray in a softer light and win a lighter sentence.

"There is no question that the death of his patient, Mr. Jackson, was unintentional and an enormous tragedy for everyone affected," defense attorneys wrote in their sentencing memo. "Dr. Murray has been described as a changed, grief-stricken man, who walks around under a pall of sadness since the loss of his patient, Mr. Jackson."

Pastor also will review a report by probation officials that carries a sentencing recommendation. The report will become public after Murray is sentenced.

The report may also feature input from Murray, who chose not to testify in his own defense during the trial but was heard in a lengthy interview recorded by police.

Murray's trial was closely watched by Jackson's fans in the courtroom, on social networking sites and via live broadcasts online and on television.

The trial detailed the final hours of Jackson and portrayed him as a talented genius suffering from debilitating insomnia.

The singer selected Murray as his personal physician, and the doctor began giving Jackson nightly doses of propofol two months before the singer's death.

Several doctors who testified during the trial, including Murray's own hired propofol expert, said they would not have given Jackson the treatments in his bedroom and that Murray violated the standard of care multiple times.

___

Follow Anthony McCartney at http://twitter.com/mccartneyAP

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/celebrity/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111128/ap_on_en_mu/us_michael_jackson_doctor

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Administration unveils new rules for tribal lands (AP)

Washington ? Ahead of a meeting Friday between President Barack Obama and hundreds of Native American leaders, the administration unveiled new rules for tribal lands that officials say will expedite home building and energy development.

The proposed changes ? the first of its kind in 50 years ? would open the door to badly-needed housing development on reservations, and for wind and solar energy projects that tribes have been eager to launch.

The plan gives Obama another boasting point for this week's meeting with leaders of the 565 federally-recognized tribes at the White House.

"We have for three years worked very hard to change the relationship between the administration and the nation's first Americans," Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said Monday. He said Obama tasked him with changing the federal government's relationship with tribes "in a very complete way."

Obama has been winning high praise among Native Americans. The president has appointed Native Americans to high level positions in his administration, signed laws to improve health care and law enforcement for Native Americans and resolved a long running lawsuit over royalties for minerals on tribal lands.

"We've had more access to federal officials to speak about these important issues in Indian Country," said Mellor Willie, a Navajo tribe member and executive director of the National American Indian Housing Council.

That was the case on the land leasing rules. Willie said the council asked the administration to consider reforming the rules during the transition between the Bush and Obama administrations. He said the Obama administration has held a number of meetings with tribes on the subject and provided draft proposals to leaders as the rules were being rewritten.

Land on American Indian reservations cannot be bought and sold because it is held in trust by the federal government on behalf of the tribes. If a tribe or tribe member wants to build a house on it or use it for multifamily housing, a business or industry, the Interior Department must approve a "lease" of the land or mortgages.

The proposed changes would set time limits for the Bureau of Indian Affairs to approve such leases. Residential leases, subleases and mortgages would have to be approved in 30 days; leases for commercial or industrial development must be approved in 60 days. If the bureau does not meet the deadlines, leases would automatically be approved. Currently, there are no time limits.

The proposed rules apply only to land development and not to oil and gas and mining leases.

Larry Echo Hawk, the Interior Department's assistant secretary for Indian affairs, said the current rules, which date back to 1955, are paternalistic. The federal government through the proposed changes is no longer trying to exercise as much federal authority over the leasing process, he said.

Although tribes have been leasing property for years for agricultural and other reasons, the process has become slow and cumbersome.

"It is not unusual to hear tribes talk about waiting two or three years for approval of a lease," said John Dossett, attorney for the National Congress of American Indians.

In recent years, Dossett said, it has been particularly frustrating for tribes applying for more complex leases like those for wind farms, which can take two to three years to review. "By that time, the tribes lose the deal. The business partner doesn't want to wait that long," Dossett said.

The administration has been pushing for renewable energy projects and working to advance solar and wind projects on public lands. It has given priority to 18 projects, including the Moapa Solar Project, which will be built mostly on Moapa Band of Paiutes tribal lands in Nevada.

Developing wind and solar energy projects has drawn interest from tribes around the country, Dossett said. Tribes can partner with companies and sell the energy produced back to power grids.

Willie said the changes should also help tribal members get mortgages more quickly. Under the current rules, government approval of mortgages can take two months to two years. With that kind of delay, getting the banking industry to see tribal members as a profitable market can be difficult, Willie said.

The rules will be open for public comment for 60 days beginning Tuesday. The administration also plans additional meetings with tribes on the proposed changes.

___

Department of the Interior: http://www.doi.gov

National Congress of American Indians: http://www.ncai.org/

National American Indian Housing Council: http://www.naihc.net/

___

Suzanne Gamboa can be reached on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/APsgamboa

___

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111128/ap_on_re_us/us_native_americans_land

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Alberta study disputes oil sands corrosion claims (Reuters)

CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) ? An Alberta study has found that crude from the province's oil sands is no more corrosive to pipelines than conventional oil, but it points out there is no definitive peer-reviewed research on the issue, which has played a role in Keystone XL pipeline controversy.

A 29-page review of available data by Alberta Innovates, a government-owned research corporation, addressed warnings by environmental groups that crude from the northern Alberta oil sands was more damaging to pipeline walls in several different ways, increasing risks of oil spills.

The study found there are differences in the chemical makeup of the types of oil, but not necessarily in corrosive qualities.

The paper made several recommendations, including urging Alberta's regulator, the Energy Resources Conservation Board, to start separating safety and operating statistics for pipelines that carry oil sands crude from those that ship conventional oil to allow better information gathering.

The paper, published this month, was written by Jenny Been, a specialist in Alberta Innovates' corrosion-engineering and advanced materials section. It was prepared for John Zhou of the agency's energy and environment solutions division.

It is not clear what weight the research carries and what the next steps are. Zhou and other officials at his division were not available for comment.

Corrosion fears were part of the controversy surrounding TransCanada Corp's $7 billion plan to build the Keystone XL pipeline to Texas from the Alberta oil sands. The plan is now on hold after the U.S. State Department pushed back a go-ahead decision by more than a year. The issue has arisen with other projects aimed at shipping crude from the tar sands, the world's third-largest oil deposit.

Despite a push by Canada and its oil industry to boost exports and staunch opposition from environmental groups such as the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), there is little, if any, dedicated research on the impact of the oil in question, bitumen mixed with lighter diluting hydrocarbons, called "dilbit".

New York-based NRDC released a study early this year that spelled out the concerns and called for the U.S. pipeline safety authority to commission research. The Alberta paper said the NRDC did an "excellent job" summarizing the issues and also points out the lack of a formal peer-reviewed study.

There is no indication that releasing the Alberta Innovates paper to regulators or media would have swayed the State Department in favor of greenlighting Keystone XL. But it may have helped calm some fears over risks of oil spills in environmentally sensitive areas, such Nebraska's Sand Hills.

In the paper, Been reviewed information from several sources and found dilbit crudes had acid, sulfur and chloride salt concentrations comparable to many conventional crudes.

The one exception is a variation called "dilsynbit", which is bitumen mixed with light synthetic crude. It has higher concentrations of solids but still well below the limits set by regulators and pipeline operators, she wrote.

Been pointed out that those ingredients can cause corrosion at temperatures above 200 C (392 F) at refineries, but are too stable at lower pipeline temperatures to cause such damage.

The research highlighted one risk, however - the impact of the buildup of sludge, made up of clay particles, water and oil, in pipelines. "The corrosivity of these sludges varies, but seems to be linked to water content, which can exceed 10 percent, and large bacterial populations," she said.

Sludge is not unique to pipelines carrying dilbit. However, the paper recommended that the compatibility of diluent and bitumen should be studied to find out if that plays any role in the formation of sludge.

The paper also urged support for a "downstream quality database" being developed by Crude Quality Inc and its industry partners. Crude Quality is an Edmonton, Alberta-based company that compiles data on Canadian oil types.

"It will be a valuable resource for the evaluation of sludge deposition and underdeposit corrosion during transportation," Been said.

(Editing by Peter Galloway)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/energy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111125/wl_canada_nm/canada_us_oilsands_corrosion

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Climate May Be Less Sensitive To CO2 Than Previously Thought

Hey, AGW people? Here's the bottom line. Read this carefully. Let it nourish your thought processes. You want to know why the general public hasn't panicked and fallen behind you in your crusade? Here it is.

Lets say we have many, many skilled scientists working on not one, but DOZENS of models that are constantly being refined and tinkered with. This has been going on for DECADES. They feed these models with thousands and thousands of hard, verifiable data points -- measurements from buoys, satellites, even ships at sea with calibrated instruments. Temperatures, pressures, atmospheric readings, all get poured into these models with loving care and infinite attention to detail. When using the models, another team of specialists carefully takes the average of these models, based on experience, to make cautious predictions.

They're called Hurricane Models. And even after DECADES of refinement, they still can't reliably predict the path of a storm past 3-5 days. They still can't reliably predict hurricane intensity AT ALL.

And you want us to believe that you can predict, WITH GREAT CONFIDENCE, that the Earth will be 10 degrees warming in so many years because of what mankind is doing?

"Oh, well, that's different," screams the AGW crowd. Maybe. But it does show the limitations of science, does it not? I appreciate everything that the hurricane forecasters have accomplished. They've saved a lot of lives. But there's a good, hard example of the limitations of ANY model that seeks to predict the behavior of a huge, complex, chaotic system.

What I'm desperately tired of is binary thinking: EITHER one believes the prevailing, dire theories about AGW and wants to take emergency action, OR one is an uniformed, reactionary dunderhead. (Or even worse, a Republican -- which I am NOT, by the way).

The question isn't whether the Earth is warming. I honestly don't know, but let's say it has. It's a long leap from that assertion to insisting that my barbeque grill is what's causing it. (More binary thinking: either you agree with us in all particulars, or you're no different from a Young Earth Creationist.) I need to be SURE before I repent and take the grill to the landfill. You haven't convinced me.

And here's the point: I AGREE that we need to reduce carbon emissions. Whether they're causing global warming or not, I'm tired of breathing stinky air in Birmingham, AL, if nothing else. (There's the "personal interest" angle.) Let's crush the stranglehold of Big Oil and find some real, green alternatives.

But I AM NOT going to allow anyone to wreck the global economy to achieve this. We can do it slowly and steadily, with planning and forethought. I'm not going to allow my government to enact some byzantine, "carbon credit" scheme that is, at the end of the day, just another boondoggle that lines the pockets of important contributors.

So: there you go, AGW proponents. Read it and learn, or begin with the condescending, sneering replies about how uninformed I am. It's really this simple: when your "scientists" finally achieve the ability to tell me, with at least 90% accuracy, that it will rain in my neighborhood next week, I *might* believe your claims about what's going to happen in the next century.

I think I'm being quite reasonable.:)

Source: http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~3/4RZOAFZK9fE/climate-may-be-less-sensitive-to-co2-than-previously-thought

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Occupy protesters attend Bachmann book signing (Washington Post)

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Egyptian court orders release of 3 US students (AP)

PHILADELPHIA ? A court in Egypt has ordered the release of three American students arrested during a protest in Cairo, a lawyer in Philadelphia confirmed Thursday.

Derrik Sweeney, Luke Gates and Gregory Porter, who attend the American University in Cairo, were arrested on the roof of a university building near Cairo's iconic Tahrir Square on Sunday. Officials accused them of throwing firebombs at security forces fighting with protesters.

Attorney Theodore Simon, who represents Porter, a 19-year-old student at Drexel University in Philadelphia, said his client remained in custody at a police station as of Thursday afternoon Eastern time.

But Simon said he was able to speak by phone with Porter, describing the student's demeanor as "calm and measured, demonstrating a maturity well beyond his 19 years."

"He was extremely thankful and appreciative for our efforts and the unconditional support of his mother and father," Simon said.

Porter is from Glenside, Pa., a suburb of Philadelphia.

Sweeney's mother, Joy Sweeney, said she is "absolutely elated" at the news of her 19-year-old son's release.

"I can't wait to give him a huge hug and tell him how much I love him," she said, adding that the news of the court order was the best Thanksgiving gift.

The 21-year-old Gates is a student of Indiana University.

The State Department released a statement saying it was trying to independently confirm the reports of the students' release.

Earlier Thursday, Egypt officials said the Abdeen Court in Cairo had ordered their release. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to the media. They did not say when the students would be released.

In Bloomington, Ind., a spokesman for Indiana University, said he could not confirm that Gates and the other has already been freed. Mark Land earlier said he had spoken to Gates' parents and that they had been told by the State Department that their son has been released.

Joy Sweeney said she wasn't sure when her son, a student at Georgetown University, would be returning to their home in Jefferson City, Mo.

"If he can find his passport (then he'll leave) tomorrow, if not, it won't be until Monday," she said.

She said the U.S. consul general in Egypt, Roberto Powers, recommended that her son leave Egypt as soon as possible.

"He also conveyed that that was what Derrik had conveyed to him that he wanted to do. He was enjoying his experience but (was) ready to be done with it," Sweeney said.

Derrik Sweeney interned for U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-Mo., earlier this year. Luetkemeyer's spokesman Paul Sloca, said the congressman is "extremely pleased that he's safe and coming home, especially on Thanksgiving."

Sweeney said she had not prepared for a Thanksgiving celebration, although a friend had taken her some food. She said the idea of a Thanksgiving feast had seemed "absolutely irrelevant" before the news of her son's pending freedom.

Asked what she thought her son would take away from his arrest, Sweeney said she thought he would make something useful of it.

"I'm sure that he'll put a life-lesson learning experience into a positive story," Sweeney said. "He's a writer, he will write about this experience."

___

Associated Press reporter Ed Donahue in Washington contributed to this report. Maggie Michael reported from Cairo.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/crime/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111124/ap_on_re_us/egypt_american_students

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Clean air, water rules spark different responses (AP)

WASHINGTON ? Large and small companies have told Republican-led congressional committees what the party wants to hear: dire predictions of plant closings and layoffs if the Obama administration succeeds with plans to further curb air and water pollution.

But their message to financial regulators and investors conveys less gloom and certainty.

The administration itself has clouded the picture by withdrawing or postponing some of the environmental initiatives that industry labeled as being among the most onerous.

Still, Republicans plan to make what they say is regulatory overreach a 2012 campaign issue, taking aim at President Barack Obama, congressional Democrats and an aggressive Environmental Protection Agency.

"Republicans will be talking to voters this campaign season about how to keep Washington out of the way, so that job creators can feel confident again to create jobs for Americans," said Joanna Burgos, a spokeswoman for the House Republican campaign organization.

The Associated Press compared the companies' congressional testimony to company reports submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission. The reports to the SEC consistently said the impact of environmental proposals is unknown or would not cause serious financial harm to a firm's finances.

Companies can legitimately argue that their less gloomy SEC filings are correct, since most of the tougher anti-pollution proposals have not been finalized. And their officials' testimony before congressional committees was sometimes on behalf of ? and written by ? trade associations, a perspective that can differ from an individual company's view.

But the disparity in the messages shows that in a political environment, business has no misgivings about describing potential economic horror stories to lawmakers.

"As an industry, we have said this before, we face a potential regulatory train wreck," Anthony Earley Jr., then the executive chairman of DTE Energy in Michigan, told a House committee on April 15. "Without the right policy, we could be headed for disaster."

The severe economic consequences, he said, would be devastating to the electric utility's customers, especially Detroit residents who "simply cannot afford" higher rates.

Earley, who is now chairman and CEO of Pacific Gas & Electric Corp., said if the EPA had its way, coal-fired plants would be replaced with natural gas ? leading to a spike in gas prices. He said he was testifying for the electric industry, not just his company.

But in its quarterly report to the SEC, Detroit-based DTE, which serves 3 million utility customers in Michigan, said that it was "reviewing potential impacts of the proposed and recently finalized rules, but is not able to quantify the financial impact ... at this time."

Skiles Boyd, a DTE vice president for environmental issues, said in an interview that the testimony was meant to convey the potential economic hardship on ratepayers ? while the SEC report focused on the company's financial condition.

"It's two different subjects," he said.

Another congressional witness, Jim Pearce of chemical company FMC Corp., told a House hearing last Feb. 9: "The current U.S. approach to regulating greenhouse gases ... will lead U.S. natural soda ash producers to lose significant business to our offshore rivals...." Soda ash is used to produce glass, and is a major component of the company's business..

But in its annual report covering 2010 and submitted to the SEC 13 days after the testimony, the company said it was "premature to make any estimate of the costs of complying with un-enacted federal climate change legislation, or as yet un-implemented federal regulations in the United States." The Philadelphia-based company did not respond to a request for comment..

California Rep. Henry Waxman, the senior Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said the SEC filings "show that the anti-regulation rhetoric in Washington is political hot air with little or no connection to reality."

House Republicans have conducted dozens of hearings, and passed more than a dozen bills to stop proposed environmental rules. So far, all the GOP bills have gone nowhere in the Democratic-run Senate.

"I will see to it, to the best of my ability, to try to stop everything," California Sen . Barbara Boxer, the Democratic chairman of the Senate's environment committee, vowed in reference to GOP legislation aimed at reining in the EPA. She predicted Republicans "will lose seats over this."

The Obama administration has reconsidered some of the environmental proposals in response to the drumbeat from business groups. In September, the president scrubbed a clean-air regulation that aimed to reduce health-threatening smog. Last May, EPA delayed indefinitely regulations to reduce toxic pollution from boilers and incinerators.

James Rubright, CEO of Rock-Tenn Co., a Norcross, Ga.-based producer of corrugated-and-consumer packaging, told a House panel in September that a variety of EPA, job safety and chemical security regulations would require "significant capital investment" ? money that "otherwise go to growth in manufacturing capacity and the attendant production of jobs."

Rubright conveyed a consulting firm's conclusion that EPA's original boiler proposal before the Obama administration withdrew it in May would have cost the forest products industry about $7 billion, and the packaging industry $6.8 billion.

Another industry study, he said, warned that original boiler rule would have placed 36 mills at risk and would have jeopardized more than 20,000 jobs in the pulp and paper industries ? about 18 percent of the work force.

But a month before his testimony_ and three months after EPA withdrew its boiler proposal ? Rock-Tenn told the SEC that "future compliance with these environmental laws and regulations will not have a material adverse effect on our results or operations, financial condition or cash flows." The company did not respond to a request for comment.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/uscongress/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111126/ap_on_go_co/us_clean_air_politics

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Video: January and the 2012 GOP candidates

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Video: Photographers capture keepsakes for troops abroad

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Inquiry: "excessive force" used in Bahrain crackdown (Reuters)

MANAMA (Reuters) ? Bahrain's security forces used excessive force to suppress protests in the island kingdom earlier this year, including torture and forced confessions, an inquiry panel charged with investigating abuses said on Wednesday.

The panel, led by Egyptian-American international law expert Cherif Bassiouni, was formed and funded by Bahrain's government five months ago in an attempt to address charges of human rights abuses during the crackdown.

"In many cases security agencies in the government of Bahrain resorted to excessive and unnecessary force," Bassiouni said in a speech at the royal palace, adding that many detainees were subjected to torture and other forms of abuse.

The panel, which said 35 people were killed, including five security personnel, urged a review of sentences handed down to those held responsible for the turmoil.

Inspired by uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, Bahrain's majority Shi'ites took to the streets in February to protest against the Sunni-led government, triggering a crackdown in March that included mass unrests and the use of force.

It was the worst unrest in Bahrain, where the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet is based, since sectarian-tinged political violence shook the kingdom in the mid-1990s.

Bahrain called in Saudi and UAE troops to help crush the protests, which it says Iran fomented through its co-religionists on the island.

King Hamad, speaking after Bassiouni delivered his report, blamed much of the unrest on efforts by Iran to incite violence, but said laws would be reviewed and if necessary revised.

"We do not want, ever again, to see our country paralyzed by intimidation and sabotage... nor do we want, ever again, to discover that any of our law enforcement personnel have mistreated anyone," he said. "Therefore, we must reform our laws so that they are consistent with international standards to which Bahrain is committed by treaties."

The panel said in its report that it found no clear evidence linking Iran to the unrest.

The government said later the panel had reported that five of the deaths during the unrest were the result of torture, but added "The report does not confirm that there was a government policy of torture, mistreatment or using excessive force."

The United States has said a $53 million arms deal depends on what the report says, and Bahrain has already admitted security forces used excessive force in some cases, while denying any coordinated policy of torture.

The report follows a state-orchestrated "national dialogue" about the unrest which opposition groups dismissed as a farce.

SIMMERING UNREST

Hours before the release of the panel's report, Bahraini security forces chased youths in a Shi'ite town and one man was killed when his car was hit by a police vehicle, activists said.

Witnesses said riot police in 4x4 vehicles sped through the streets of Aali, outside the capital Manama, in pursuit of dozens of teenagers, before seizing one and beating him with batons as helicopters circled overhead.

Graffiti in the area read "Death to Al Khalifa," a reference to the Sunni ruling family, which Bahrain's majority Shi'ites accuse of denying them access to housing, land and state employment on sectarian grounds.

Security forces used tear gas to scatter dozens of people who marched through the center of Aali, chanting "Down with (King) Hamad." Acrid black smoke rose from burning tires.

Hours earlier, a security forces vehicle in the town smashed into a car, which in turn struck a parked vehicle and killed the driver, activists said. Security forces fired tear gas and rubber bullets after the crash, they said.

The dead man's home, reeking of tear gas, was deserted and apparently abandoned by its occupants, after what neighbors said was a raid by security forces that is typical of their reaction to protest-related deaths.

Elsewhere in Aali, graffiti read "Your turn is coming," an apparent reference to the toppling of Arab leaders in Tunisia and Egypt after mass demonstrations.

In its Twitter feed, the Interior Ministry called the incident in Aali a traffic accident and said it had completed a forensic investigation, but gave no details.

(Reporting by Andrew Hammond and Warda al-Jawahiry; Writing by Joseph Logan and Reed Stevenson; editing by Tim Pearce)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111123/wl_nm/us_bahrain_violence

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Why Your Small Business's Google+ Efforts Must Be Unique and ...

Editor's Note: This is the first installment in a two-part series of blog posts from social media blogger Shira Lazar about how entrepreneurs can more effectively use Google+ for business.

With Google+ adding "Pages" earlier this month, the more than 260 million user platform has become yet another social network to add to your list of places to engage with potential customers. Let's also not forget the reach of its mother ship Google.com, which attracts more than 1 billion unique visitors each month. And according to a new study from search engine optimization firm BrightEdge, 61 percent of the top 100 brands have launched their own page.

So how can your brand best utilize Google+ to build your business and community? Here are some tips from those who are doing it right:

Don't repurpose content.
WineLibrary.com co-owner, author and social media maven Gary Vaynerchuk told me, "Repurposing content from Facebook and Twitter is a no." While automating updates might seem like the easiest way to be present on a social network, it is a definite faux pas for having a relevant presence or building community and conversation.?

Related:?Gary Vaynerchuk's Advice to Entrepreneurs: Focus on Your Strengths

Engage with customers.
For Samsung, which launched its profile an hour after the Pages announcement, their Google+ strategy is mostly about engaging with customers on their turf, says Esteban Contreras, the company's Social Media Marketing Manager. The South Korean technology company uses Google+ to share promotions, new commercials and product news with its customers.

Samsung also posts messages that are geared for engagement. For instance, the company recently asked its followers to rank their top five blogs and tell us where they were on 11/11/11 at 11:11:11am, says Contreras. He adds that to build awareness, business owners should link from other social media accounts, as well as from corporate websites through the official Google+ badges.

Visuals and collaboration go a long way.
Don't just post a link from your blog with a headline. Since Google+ is inherently connected to YouTube (Google owns YouTube), video integration works seamlessly on your page. As YouTube rolls out its own content channels in 2012, this will allow for even greater distribution and reach.

Related:?10 Laws of Social Media Marketing

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or NASA, is a great example of a brand that uses incredible visuals to their advantage. Their striking images and descriptions quickly get shared across the network by enthusiasts and newbies alike -- helping the federal agency grow its network from 500 to 6,000 a day.

Then there's Team Coco, which isn't just contributing hilarious content these days. The digital arm for Conan O'Brien's late night show recently had the comedian talk show host create a YouTube video asking viewers to send in pictures of sad animals. The winning pictures were then uploaded to the page with captions, creating fun community collaboration.?

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Thanks for making Entrepreneur better for everyone.

Source: http://www.entrepreneur.com/blog/220785

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Glance: Occupy protests' cost to 18 US cities (Providence Journal)

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Triple bombings in Iraq kill 19

BASRA, Iraq?? A string of bombings in a southern oil city killed several people Thursday evening and injured dozens more, a grim sign of the security challenges Iraq will face after American troops go home.

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Iraqi officials raised the death toll to 19.

The U.S. military is drawing down its troops ahead of an end-of-December deadline to have all American forces out of the country. Incidents like Thursday's triple bombing in a city seen as key to Iraq's economic development show the dangerous prospects awaiting Iraqis next year.

Three bombs went off in a popular open-air market in Basra, police officials said.

The third bomb exploded a few minutes after Iraqi army and police forces arrived on the scene in response to the earlier blasts, officials said. The third blast caused all the fatalities and almost all of the injuries, the officials said.

Among the dead and wounded were many policemen and Iraqi army soldiers.

The police officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to reporters.

Kamal Ali was working at a clothing shop across the street when the blasts went off. He said after the first explosion, bystanders rushed to help the victims. When another blast went off about five minutes later, the terrified people ran to escape.

Then police and soldiers rushed to the scene before the third and most deadly bomb went off.

"Most of the casualties are police and Iraqi troops who rushed to help the victims and cordoned off the scene. They sacrificed their lives for the poor people," Ali said.

The head of the Basra provincial council, Ahmed al-Sulaiti, confirmed the incident.

"We can't blame the security forces for this act. They were the people most hurt," he said by telephone from Basra.

Basra is about 340 miles (550 kilometers) southeast of Baghdad It is considered the center of Iraq's burgeoning oil sector.

Many foreign oil companies have offices there. The country is relying on foreign companies to bring the money and expertise needed to develop Iraq's vast oil sector, which has been ravaged by war, sanctions and neglect.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bombings, and it was not clear whether it was the work of Sunni extremists like al-Qaida, or by Shiite militias. Sunni militants often stagger their blasts in order to cause the most carnage, and they often target security officials, whom they see as propping up the Shiite-led government.

The area where the blasts occurred is also a stronghold for Shiite militia members, who have been known to use violence as they jockey for power and control.

__

Associated Press writers Mazin Yahya and Rebecca Santana in Baghdad contributed to this report.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45429892/ns/world_news-mideast_n_africa/

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HGH tests, restraints on amateur bonuses for MLB (AP)

NEW YORK ? Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig and union head Michael Weiner smiled and exchanged handshakes while others in the room dug into knishes and pigs in a blanket.

Not exactly the kind of scene that played out in sports labor talks this year.

Baseball ensured itself of 21 consecutive years of peace at a time the NBA season might be canceled because of a lockout and the NFL still is recovering from its CBA negotiations.

"We've learned," Selig said Tuesday after players and owners signed an agreement for a five-year contract running until December 2016. "Nobody back in the '70s, '80s and the early '90s, 1994, would ever believe that we would have 21 years of labor peace."

The agreement makes MLB the first pro major league in North America to conduct blood tests for human growth hormone, allowing it during spring training and future offseasons but for now only studying whether it will be implemented during the regular season.

"MLB and the players union should be applauded for taking the strong step to implement the HGH test at the major league level to protect clean athletes," said Travis Tygart, chief executive officer of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. "This is great progress in MLB's effort to protect the integrity of baseball at every level."

The deal, which must be ratified by both sides and drafted into a formal contract, expands the playoffs from eight to 10 teams by 2013, lessens draft-pick compensation for free agents, expands salary arbitration by a few players and for the first time allows teams to trade some draft selections.

It also adds unprecedented restraints on signing bonuses for amateur players coming to the major leagues from high school, college and overseas, perhaps hurting MLB as it competes with the NFL and NBA for multisport talent.

"If I've got a great athlete, why am I going to go to baseball? I'm going to focus on the other sports," said agent Scott Boras, who has negotiated baseball's highest signing bonuses.

Following eight work stoppages from 1972-95, baseball reached its third consecutive agreement without an interruption of play. The agreement was signed three weeks before the current deal was to expire Dec. 11, the second straight time the sides reached a deal early.

Baseball seems to have learned the lessons of the 1994-95 strike, which wiped out the World Series for the first time in nine decades.

"I think our history is more important than what's happening in other sports," said Michael Weiner, who took over from Donald Fehr as union head last year. "It took a while for the owners to appreciate that the union is not only here to stay, but that the union and its members can contribute positively to a discussion about the game ? about its economics, about the nature of the competition, about how it's marketed in every way."

Owners hope the changes will lessen the difference in spending by high- and low-revenue teams, much as the payroll luxury tax that began after the 2002 season.

"We feel that competitive balance is crucial to the product that we put on the field," said Rob Manfred, MLB's executive vice president for labor relations. "Every time I took a proposal back to the commissioner, his bellwether on whether that proposal was good, bad or indifferent is what it did for competitive balance."

As players Andrew Bailey, Andrew Miller, Carlos Villanueva and David Bush sat alongside the officials, the sides described other highlights that included: requiring players to play in the All-Star game unless injured or excused; expanding instant replay to include decisions on foul lines and traps, subject to an agreement with umpires; banning smokeless tobacco products during televised interviews by players, managers and coaches; requiring players arrested for DWI to undergo mandatory evaluation; and wearing improved batting helmets manufactured by Rawlings by 2013.

An initial positive test for HGH would result in a 50-game suspension, the same as a first positive urine test for a performance-enhancing substance. HGH testing in the minor leagues started late in the 2010 season.

"It meant a great deal to me personally, and a great deal to our sport," Selig said.

Random testing for HGH will take place during spring training and the offseason, but there is no agreement yet on random testing in-season. There can be testing at any time for cause.

Although the NFL has wanted to start HGH blood tests, its players' union has thus far resisted.

"The agreement to begin testing puts baseball ahead of other American professional sports leagues and is a credit to their leadership," Rep. Henry Waxman said. "It will be important that the testing be extended to the regular season to avoid creating a loophole in the new policy."

Weiner said scientists told MLB that the HGH test can detect the substance in the blood for 48-to-72 hours.

"We are sufficiently comfortable with the science to go ahead with testing, but we have preserved the right if there is a positive test for there to be a challenge ? if that's appropriate ? to the science at that point in time," he said.

Former union head Marvin Miller, who spoke to Weiner on Tuesday, praised much of the agreement but was critical of the HGH testing.

"It's the same as steroids. There's not a single test worldwide (proving) that it improves athletic performance, not one," he said. "I don't know if it does, and neither does anyone else."

The sides will explore in-season testing, but the union wants to make sure it's done in a way that doesn't interfere with players' health and safety.

"The players want to get out and be leaders on this issue, and they want there to be a level playing field," Weiner said. "The realities, though, are that baseball players play virtually every single day from Feb. 20 through October. And that's unlike any other athlete ? professional or amateur ? who's subject to drug testing. We want to make sure that we're doing everything we can on the HGH issue, but that it be consistent with not interfering with competition and not interfering with players health and safety."

In addition, the number of offseason urine tests will increase gradually from 125 currently to 250 before the 2015 season.

As for the playoffs, there will be an additional two teams that will give baseball 10 of 30 clubs in the postseason. In the NFL, 12 of 32 teams make the playoffs. In the NBA and NHL, 16 of 30 advance.

The wild-card teams in each league ? the non-first place teams with the best records ? will meet in a one-game playoff, with the winners advancing to the division series. Manfred said a decision on whether the expanded playoffs would start next year likely will be made by the January owners' meeting.

"I think having a second wild-card team is great for the game," said NL MVP Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers. "I think it adds intrigue, it adds excitement. If you look at what the wild card, the first wild card, has done for baseball over the last few years, it's made games late in the season relevant for everybody."

This agreement also calls for the Houston Astros to switch from the NL Central to the AL West in 2013, leaving each league with three five-team divisions and a new schedule format that's still being determined. It's baseball's first realignment since the Brewers went to the NL after the 1997 season.

Teams will be allowed to have 26 active players for day-night doubleheaders, provided they are scheduled with a day's notice in order to give clubs time to bring up someone from the minor leagues.

On the economics, the threshold for the luxury tax on payrolls will be left at $178 million in each of the next two seasons, putting pressure on high-spending teams such as the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and Philadelphia Phillies not to raise their spending even more. The threshold rises to $189 million for 2014-16.

And there is a new market disqualification test as an incentive for clubs to increase revenue, preventing teams from large markets from receiving revenue-sharing proceeds.

Both teams from New York, Los Angeles and Chicago will be ineligible to receive revenue sharing by 2016 along with Atlanta, Boston, Houston, Oakland, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Texas, Toronto and Washington, a person familiar with the agreement said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the teams were not announced. The proceeds will be given back to the teams paying in revenue-sharing, as long as they stay under the luxury-tax payroll threshold. A provision says Oakland will remain eligible as long as its ballpark situation remains unresolved.

The minimum salary reaches the $500,000 mark in 2014, and then there will be cost-of-living increases in both of the following two years. There also will be a new "competitive balance lottery" that gives small-market and low-revenue teams 12 extra selections in the amateur draft.

Major league free agent compensation will be completely revised in 2013, with a team having to offer its former players who became free agents the average of the top 125 contracts ? currently about $12.4 million ? to receive draft-pick compensation if a player signs with a new team. It eliminates the statistical formula that had been in place since the 1981 strike settlement.

In addition, the portion of players with 2-3 years of major league service who are eligible for salary arbitration will rise from 17 percent to 22 percent starting in 2013.

Owners achieved their goal of reining in spending on amateur players coming to the major leagues. For high school and college players taken in the June amateur draft, there will be four bands of penalties and major league contracts will be prohibited.

Boras, who negotiated Stephen Strasburg's record $15.1 million deal with Washington two years ago, praised the union for what it achieved but was critical of the draft changes.

"If I'm a person interested in buying a major league team, I believe I'm going to not be as anxious to provide an aggressive price because my ability to improve myself through scouting and development has been severely restrained," he said.

For international amateur signings from nations such as the Dominican Republic and Venezuela, a luxury tax will begin with the July 2012-June 2013 signing season on amounts over $2.9 million. A study committee was established to study whether there should be an international draft starting in 2014.

___

AP National Writer Eddie Pells, AP Sports Writer Howie Rumberg and Associated Press writer Frederic J. Frommer contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111123/ap_on_sp_ba_ne/bbo_labor

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Faye Dunaway gives up NYC apt. after landlord sues (AP)

NEW YORK ? Faye Dunaway is moving on from a fight with a landlord over a New York City apartment ? by moving out.

The New York Times ( http://nyti.ms/supwCN) reported Wednesday the "Bonnie and Clyde" and "Chinatown" actress agreed this month to give up her rent-stabilized, $1,048-a-month Manhattan apartment.

The newspaper says an agreement filed last week gave her until this past Monday to move out. Her landlord's lawyer tells the newspaper she has.

Dunaway's agent has declined to comment.

The landlord sued Dunaway in August, seeking to evict her. The lawsuit said she didn't use the one-bedroom walk-up as her primary residence, as required by rent stabilization rules.

Dunaway's lawyers had said she planned to keep the apartment and wanted repairs made. She had rented it since 1994.

___

Information from: The New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/movies/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111123/ap_en_mo/us_people_faye_dunaway

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Key Copying Vending Machines: For Burglars or Homeowners? [Video]

Maybe I'm just paranoid, but when I see a vending machine designed to easily duplicate keys, my immediate thought isn't, "Wow, that's convenient!" It's: "Wow, what an easy way to secretly duplicate someone's key without being seen doing it!" More »

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Sublime Federer thrashes Nadal in London (Reuters)

LONDON (Reuters) ? Holder Roger Federer produced an hour of sublime quality to crush Rafa Nadal 6-3 6-0 at the ATP World Tour Finals on Tuesday and clinch a place in the last four with a match to spare.

The 17,500-capacity crowd crammed into the O2 would have been expecting something longer from the eagerly anticipated 26th clash of the great rivals but the 60 minutes of magic Federer served up will live long in their memories.

Blazing winners to all corners of the court, the Swiss 16-times grand slam champion was simply unstoppable as he recorded his most emphatic victory against the man who had beaten him in 17 of their previous encounters.

"This win ranks high because it's against my biggest rival, probably," Federer, whose game looked sharper than ever despite him turning 30, told reporters.

"It was a great match for me from start to finish. I've felt the power of Rafa in the past, so this is a great match for me, a nice win."

World number two Nadal now faces a win or bust clash with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Thursday in his final Group B match after the dangerous Frenchman produced fireworks of his own to beat American Mardy Fish 7-6 6-1 and stay in contention.

"It's not the moment to say goodbye. If I win my next match I will be in the semi-finals," Nadal said. "I just have to accept today he played too good for me."

Federer's dazzling display softened the blow for the home crowd and organisers after local favourite Andy Murray withdrew when his superb season was cut short by a groin injury.

Murray, the world number three, announced he was pulling out after aggravating the injury during his opening Group A defeat by Spain's David Ferrer on Monday.

Serbia's world number nine Janko Tipsarevic, the on-site alternate, will take the Briton's place for the remaining matches.

There was something of a novelty value about the evening match as it was the first time the two dominant players of the last decade had clashed with neither at number one in the ATP rankings and the first time they had met in round-robin play.

GLUM MURRAY

Federer trailed 17-8 in their head-to-head record but had won all three previous meetings indoors, including last year's final at the O2, and once again the court proved perfect for his game as winners flowed from his strings like liquid gold.

There was no real hint of what was to come as the first five games went with serve.

Federer, bidding for a record sixth title at the tournament in three different cities, took charge in the sixth game when he prevailed in a 33-shot exchange on break point to lead 4-2 and from that moment never looked back.

He needed just 32 minutes to seal the first set and, try as he might, Nadal was powerless in the face of the onslaught as Federer swept to a victory every bit as ruthless as Nadal's thrashing of the Swiss in the 2008 Roland Garros final when he offered up just four games in three sets.

"We've played so many times, sometimes it just derails for you, like it derailed for Rafa today and it did for me at the French Open," Federer said.

"You know what good front-runners the top guys are. Once you start rolling, it's hard to stop the player. Next thing you know, you're facing a debacle."

Nadal, winner of 10 majors but never the season-ending title, can still redeem himself although Tsonga will fancy his chances after a convincing display against weary debutant Fish who can no longer reach the semis.

Tsonga, sporting a pair of bright red tennis shoes, stormed through the last six games in swashbuckling fashion although Federer still tips Nadal to progress.

"You can never count out Rafa," he said of the match which has now become a traditional knockout. "It's an open match to a degree but I still favour Rafa because of who he is."

Murray can only rest and start preparing for next season after a long campaign, in which he reached the semi-finals of all four grand slams and won five titles, caught up with him.

"It was one of those things where you kind of hope that things are going to get better, but the reality was that wasn't ever going to happen," a glum-looking Murray told reporters.

"Yesterday I was really unhappy on the court. I wasn't enjoying it at all. I couldn't give anywhere near my best."

World number one Novak Djokovic seeks his second Group A victory on Wednesday against Ferrer, while Tomas Berdych, who lost a tight three-setter to Djokovic on Monday, faces Tipsarevic who will be making his debut in the elite event.

(Editing by John Mehaffey and Ken Ferris; To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/india/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111123/india_nm/india606764

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US, Britain, Canada slap new sanctions on Iran

WASHINGTON?? The United States, Britain and Canada announced fresh plans Monday to sanction Iran's financial and energy sectors, steps analysts said would raise pressure on Tehran but were unlikely to halt its atomic program.

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The United States named Iran as an area of "primary money laundering concern," a step designed to isolate its banking sector; blacklisted 11 entities and individuals suspected of aiding its nuclear programs; and expanded sanctions to target companies that help develop its oil and petrochemical industries.

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The United States stopped short, however, of targeting Iran's central bank, a step that could have cut it off from the global financial system, sent oil prices skyrocketing and jeopardized U.S. and European economic recovery.

Britain on Monday banned dealings with Iranian banks including the central bank and France called for measures on an "unprecedented scale" over Tehran's nuclear program.

Canada said it would ban the export of all goods used in Iran's petrochemical, oil and gas industry and "block virtually all transactions with Iran," including with its central bank, with an exception for Iranian-Canadians to send money home.

The steps come in response to a Nov. 8 report by the International Atomic Energy Agency that presented intelligence suggesting Iran had worked on designing an atomic bomb and may still be secretly carrying out related research. Iran says its nuclear work is entirely peaceful.

In a statement, President Barack Obama said that as long as Iran continues down a dangerous path with its nuclear program, the United States will continue to find ways to isolate and increase the pressure on Tehran.

Obama says Iran's actions jeopardize international peace and stability. Still, he says the U.S. is still prepared to start a new chapter with Iran if it fulfills its international obligations. But if it continues to defy its responsibilities, he says Iran faces even more pressure.

Doubts Iran will change
Analysts said they did not believe the steps would change the Iranian calculation on its nuclear program, which Washington and its allies suspect is a cover for seeking nuclear arms.

"Is this the straw that will break the camel's back? No," said George Perkovich, director of the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a Washington think tank.

"The administration is testing the proposition as to whether there is a point at which the sanctions can lead the Iranians to a tipping point, recognizing that the likelihood is low," said Rob Danin of the Council on Foreign Relations.

The range of unilateral steps planned by Western powers reflects the difficulty of persuading Russia and China not to veto further measures at the U.N. Security Council, where they have supported four previous sanctions resolutions.

While Britain ordered its financial institutions to stop all business with Iran, a source familiar with the sanctions said the steps would not directly target trade in Iranian oil.

"We believe that the Iranian regime's actions pose a significant threat to the UK's national security and the international community. Today's announcement is a further step to preventing the Iranian regime from acquiring nuclear weapons," said British finance minister George Osborne.

The U.S. decision to name Iran as a money laundering concern has no direct effect -- U.S. banks are already barred from transactions with Iranian financial institutions -- and seemed more a warning about the risks of dealing with Iran.

EU governments could reach a preliminary deal on Tuesday to add about 190 Iranian people and entities to a list of those targeted by asset freezes and travel bans, diplomats said.

But France called for much stronger action.

"As Iran steps up its nuclear program, refuses negotiation and condemns its people to isolation, France advocates new sanctions on an unprecedented scale to convince Iran that it must negotiate," said a statement from President Nicolas Sarkozy's office.

"France therefore proposes to the European Union and its member states, the United States, Japan and Canada and other willing countries to take the decision to immediately freeze the assets of the Iranian central bank (and) stop purchases of Iranian oil," it added.

The new EU measures will likely target industries such as shipping and will be formalized at a meeting of EU foreign ministers on Dec. 1, but discussions on possible further steps could take place in the coming days, diplomats said.

'Lose-lose game'
U.S. sanctions have already made it extremely difficult for many global oil companies and traders to obtain bank financing to trade Iranian crude, of which less than a third goes to Europe with the rest flowing to China and India.

In Tehran, Trade Minister Mehdi Ghazanfari said sanctions were hitting the Iranian economy but warned Western countries they were harming their own interests.

"Sanctions are a lose-lose game in which both sides make a loss. If they don't invest in our oil projects, they will lose an appealing market," Ghazanfari told a news conference before the British and U.S. announcements.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has often said sanctions have little effect and in some cases make the economy stronger by making Iran find domestic solutions to challenges.

Ghazanfari reiterated that Iran had found alternatives to Western imports and investments but did not deny the downside.

"Facing hardship in a fight is inevitable. I admit projects will get harder as our trading costs will go up, delays will hit projects and money transfer will get harder," he said.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45391434/ns/world_news-mideast_n_africa/

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Bombs defused near Philippine massacre site (AP)

MANILA, Philippines ? Authorities in the restive southern Philippines defused five roadside bombs near the site of a 2009 massacre Wednesday, the day relatives of the 57 victims marked the second anniversary of the killings.

No casualties were reported but tensions were running high. About 200 policemen were deployed to secure the massacre site and the immediate vicinity with dozens of people attending the commemoration ceremonies.

Provincial Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu, whose relatives were among the dead, canceled a visit to the massacre site in Ampatuan township in Maguindanao province, saying "We're taking no chance."

"I was about to go there but the provincial director advised me to refrain from going to the site," Mangudadatu said. He survived an August bomb attack that killed two people in the southern Philippines, where shooting incidents and bomb explosions are common.

According to a military report, two of the homemade bombs were made of 81 mm mortar shells and two-way radios to remotely detonate them. They were found along the national highway near a camp of Muslim rebels.

"It looks like it's aimed at scaring away or inflicting casualties among those planning to attend the anniversary," said military spokesman Lt. Col. Leopoldo Galon.

It wasn't clear who was responsible for planting the explosives, but about 100 of the 197 people charged in the politically motivated 2009 killings are still at large.

Andal Ampatuan Sr., patriach of a powerful Maguindanao clan and former governor of an autonomous Muslim region, is among nearly 100 suspects being tried on murder charges in the massacre, together with his sons and relatives.

Gunmen allegedly led by former town mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr. stopped supporters of the Mangudadatu, the Ampatuans' political rival, as they traveled to filed for candidacy in regional elections. They were led to a hilltop clearing, gunned down and hastily buried in mass graves. The dead included 32 media workers covering the Mangudadatu, making the massacre the worst single killing of journalists in the world.

Relatives and colleagues of the slain journalists visited the massacre site Tuesday to offer prayers and 58 white lilies and lit candles. The charge sheet lists 57 victims but the body of journalist Reynaldo Momay, who was also part of the convoy, was never found.

A Roman Catholic priest celebrated Mass at the mound where concrete markers bearing the names of dead were erected.

Muslim rebels have waged a bloody insurgency for self-rule in Maguindanao and other parts of the southern Mindanao region, the homeland of minority Muslims in the predominantly Catholic Philippines. The conflict has killed more than 120,000 people in nearly four decades.

___

Associated Press writers Teresa Cerojano and Hrvoje Hranjski contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111123/ap_on_re_as/as_philippines_massacre

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Just in time for holiday travel: Gas prices fall

By msnbc.com wire reports

U.S. average gasoline prices fell nearly 5 cents a gallon to $3.38 over the last two weeks due to a combination of weak economic conditions and fewer daylight hours, an industry analyst said on Sunday.

The national average for self-serve, regular gas is down 8.64 cents over the past month, according to the Lundberg survey. Since the last Lundberg report on Nov. 4, the average was $3.38 a gallon, down 4.82 cents.

The survey is based on some 2,500 gas stations nationwide.

"U.S. gas demand has been damaged by bad economic conditions, and demand since Nov. 5 has been struck a bit further because of the loss of daylight saving time," said Trilby Lundberg, editor of the survey. "Consumers always expand driving with more daylight hours and better weather; consumption drops off with fewer daylight hours."

Two weeks ago, the United States changed to standard time from daylight savings time.

Trilby said that the current average is nearly 51 cents higher than one year ago on Nov. 19.

San Francisco, at $3.78 a gallon, had the highest average price for self-serve, regular gas in the two-week survey period, while drivers in Albuquerque, New Mexico, paid the least at $2.96 a gallon.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Source: http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/11/20/8914540-just-in-time-for-holiday-travel-gas-prices-fall-5-cents

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