Rates on Treasury bills drop at weekly auction (AP)

WASHINGTON ? Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills fell in Monday's auction with rates on three-month bills matching a record low.

The Treasury Department auctioned $29 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 0.005 percent, down from 0.03 percent last week. Another $27 billion in six-month bills was auctioned at a discount rate of 0.05 percent, down from 0.07 percent last week.

The three-month rate matched a record low set on Nov. 7. Even with the small rise for the six-month bill, it remained close to its record low of 0.035 percent, also set on Nov. 7. The six-month rate was the lowest since it stood at 0.04 percent on Nov. 17.

The discount rates reflect that the bills sell for less than face value. For a $10,000 bill, the three-month price was $9,999.87 while a six-month bill sold for $9,997.47. That would equal an annualized rate of 0.005 percent for the three-month bills and 0.051 percent for the six-month bills.

Separately, the Federal Reserve said Monday that the average yield for one-year Treasury bills, a popular index for making changes in adjustable-rate mortgages, edged up to 0.13 percent last week from 0.12 percent the previous week.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/economy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111205/ap_on_bi_ge/us_treasury_bills

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95% Moneyball

Billy Beane: There are rich teams, there are poor teams, then there's fifty feet of crap, and then there's us.Moneyball is a solid triple base hit. It isn't quite a home run, but has the right players and the right manager to get the job done. Lets start with the best player, Brad Pitt, who gives a terrific performance here, and is what makes the film so effective. I feel that I must batter-up Jonah Hill, who I thought did a super job transferring from Comedy to Drama and plays his role subtly and professionally. This had such a Social Network feel to it (especially since Fincher's Dragon Tattoo trailer was before it), since it was written by Aaron Sorkin and Steven Zaillian. Learning about Billy Beane has never been more exciting, and director Bennett Miller makes the experience of Moneyball quite exhilarating.Moneyball is a true story, based on a novel with the same name by Michael Lewis, chronicling the life of Billy Beane, the general manager of the Oakland Athletics. At this point in Billy's life, his team is handicapped with the lowest salary in baseball. To get his team back on top and to the world series, he must find a competitive advantage for his team to win games. So instead of physically training and working with the players, Beane, along with his new assistant Peter Brand (Jonah Hill), they use statistical data to manage the players' value to guarantee wins, and change the game forever.First things first; Moneyball is not meant to be for fans of baseball, it may be a tad more beneficial to them, but this is a film for anyone who is at all interested in an inspirational sports film, with Brad Pitt. Moneyball looks fantastic. The cinematography is handled very diligently by Wally Pfister; who does quite a decent job putting the audience in the world of baseball, and all of the game scenes are lighted perfectly and with high intelligence. You can tell a lot of input was put into this, considering this film has been in post-production for quite awhile until it was finally released.In a film like this, it's important to keep your audience interested and eager for a second viewing; while it doesn't quite play well on that second reason, this is a very interesting story. Prior to going into this, I had no knowledge of who Billy Beane was or what he did for the game of baseball (which is generally the tactic I use when going into a film I'm excited about), and judging from the trailers, I thought he was an antagonist. Boy, was I incorrect to make that assumption. Beane is surprisingly a good guy, and it's time to bring up the man who was Beane, Brad Pitt.In my opinion, this is probably Pitt's most contained performance yet. It's not his best (see Fight Club or Benjamin Button), but it is quite impressive. What makes the atmosphere of his performance unique from all of his other roles is how low-key he played it. I don't know much about Billy Beane, but it seemed only fitting that Pitt would take on another tough role. Regardless, I still found it low-key and different from his usual bad-ass type roles, which was nice for a change, and I think might be in the running for [another] Academy Award. Aside from Pitt, I enjoyed the performances from Jonah Hill and Philip Seymour Hoffman, who were both very effective in their roles.I wouldn't classify myself as an avid baseball lover or watcher (I'm a pretty big fan of the Chicago Cubs), but I am known from time to time to tune in to a game. For me, baseball is a bit uninteresting to watch all the way through (one of the many reasons why I was skeptical about seeing this), but I found myself fascinated all the way through Moneyball. It put a "twist" on the game, adding a little Social Network-statistic-type mumbo jumbo in. You also have to admire the chutzpah that screenwriter Aaron Sorkin (The Social Network) holds to keep tackling such complex subjects, and succeeding each time.The film was directed by Brett Ratner, who has directed some pretty big blockbuster hits such as the Rush Hour trilogy and X-Men: The Last Stand as well as the upcoming Tower Heist. Looking at those titles, it seems that Ratner can direct anything. He goes from buddy-cop to superheroes to baseball. Now do I think he is a good director? Yes, I do. Regardless of his few failed attempts of what's considered a "good" movie, I've always enjoyed his work, and Moneyball is definitely his most effective film in terms of drama and how it is shot.There was but one fatal flaw that kept me from giving this flick a perfect rating, and that is the replay value. I can't imagine myself viewing this multiple times, which is odd, because I've seen Fincher's The Social Network 20-30 times tops. Nevertheless, even for an individual viewing, Moneyball is worth seeing due to it's stellar performances, interesting plot, solid direction, and a magnificent script from Aaron Sorkin. Moneyball is not a home run, but it sure does swing for the fences.

July 3, 2011

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/moneyball/

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Virginia Dog Missing for Eight Years Found in California

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Source: www.foxnews.com --- Saturday, December 03, 2011
A dog that went missing from Virginia eight years ago has been found at a Northern California animal shelter, the Los Angeles Times reported Saturday. ...

Source: http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews/us/~3/7HpZJyarQ48/

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Syria bans iPhone in attempt to curb protests and silence citizen journalists

Times are tough in Syria right now, but that isn't stopping the Assad government from making things a whole lot worse. The nation's customs department, a branch of the Syrian Finance Ministry, has officially banned the iPhone in an attempt to curb citizens from sharing news and videos of the massive protests and violent crackdowns throughout the nation. For those not keeping score, foreign press have been largely barred from the nation since March, which necessitated the use of citizen journalism as a means to report news from the streets. As Syrians come to grips with new economic sanctions against the country, the banning of the iPhone is, sadly, certain to escalate the unrest.

Syria bans iPhone in attempt to curb protests and silence citizen journalists originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 03 Dec 2011 15:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/Pe1xIH3108M/

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Scalable amounts of liver and pancreas precursor cells created using new stem cell production method

ScienceDaily (Dec. 2, 2011) ? Scientists in Canada have overcome a key research hurdle to developing regenerative treatments for diabetes and liver disease with a technique to produce medically useful amounts of endoderm cells from human pluripotent stem cells. The research, published in Biotechnology and Bioengineering, can be transferred to other areas of stem cell research helping scientists to navigate the route to clinical use known as the 'valley of death'.

"One million people suffer from type 1 diabetes in the United States, while liver disease accounts for 45,000 deaths a year," said Dr Mark Ungrin from the University of Toronto. "This makes stem cells, and the potential for regenerative treatments, hugely interesting to scientists. Laboratory techniques can produce thousands, or even millions, of these cells, but generating them in the numbers and quality needed for medicine has long been a challenge."

The research focused on the process of using pluripotent stem cells (PSC) to generate endoderm cells, one of the three primary germ layers which form internal organs including the lungs, pancreas, and liver. The ability to differentiate, or transform, PSCs into endoderm cells is a vital step to developing regenerative treatments for these organs.

"In order to produce the amount of endoderm cells needed for treatments it is important to understand how cells behave in larger numbers, for example how many are lost during the differentiation process and if all the cells will differentiate into the desired types," said Ungrin.

The team stained cells with fluorescent dye and as the cells divided, the dye was shared equally between the divided cells. By measuring the fluorescence of cell populations at a later stage the team were able to work out the frequency of cell division, which allowed them to predict how many cells would be present in a population at any given time.

This technique allowed the team to detect cell inefficiencies and develop a new understanding of the underlying cell biology during the differentiation of PSCs. This allowed the team to increase effective cell production 35 fold.

"Our results showed significant increases in the amount of endoderm cells generated," said Ungrin. "This new concept allows us to scale up the production of useful cells, while ensuring PSC survival and effective differentiation."

Overcoming this bottleneck in research will also help future stem cell researchers navigate the often long and challenging route from laboratory testing to clinical use, and accelerate the time from biomedical advance to beneficial therapy, often referred to as the bench-to-bedside process.

"Most research in this field focuses on the purity of generated cell populations; the efficiency of differentiation goes unreported," concluded Dr Ungrin. "However our research provides an important template for future studies of pluripotent stem cells, particularly where cells will need to be produced in quantity for medical or industrial uses."

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Journal Reference:

1. Mark D. Ungrin, Geoff Clarke, Ting Yin, Sylvia Niebrugge, M. Cristina Nostro, Farida Sarangi, Geoffrey Wood, Gordon Keller, Peter W. Zandstra. Rational bioprocess design for human pluripotent stem cell expansion and endoderm differentiation based on cellular dynamics. Biotechnology and Bioengineering, 2011; DOI: 10.1002/bit.24375

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

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111202155525.htm

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For Herman Cain, the campaign all but over (AP)

ATLANTA ? Herman Cain is still campaigning for president. But by most measures, his White House bid is all but over.

His standing in polls is cratering. Supporters are wavering if not fleeing. Fundraising is suffering.

And, these days, the former pizza company executive is less a serious candidate than the butt of late-night comedy jokes after a string of accusations of sexually inappropriate behavior and, now, an allegation of a 13-yearlong extramarital affair.

"His chance at winning the presidency are effectively zero," said Dave Welch, a Republican strategist who worked on both of John McCain's presidential bids.

And Republican strategist Kellyanne Conway said: "It's the daily dose of the wince-and-cringe factor that leaves people wondering what could be coming next,"

As it has since Ginger White stepped forward Monday, the allegation of an affair overshadowed Cain's campaign for another day Thursday, when he told the New Hampshire Union Leader that his wife, Gloria, did not know he was providing the 46-year-old Atlanta-area businesswoman with money for "month-to-month bills and expenses."

And, Cain said, his wife also didn't know of what he called a friendship with White until she said publicly that she had a casual 13-year affair with Cain that ended about eight months ago.

It is the latest chapter in a saga that has played out in recent weeks as his campaign has been rocked first with allegations of sexual harassment and, now, White's affair claim.

Even before all that surfaced, Cain faced steep hurdles to the nomination. He didn't have much of a campaign organization. He was spending more time on a book tour than in early primary and caucus states. And he was facing doubts about whether he was ready for the presidency, given a series of fumbles on policy questions.

Over the past month, Cain has watched his standing in polls sink. He acknowledged his fundraising took a hit after White came forward, and political experts predict that his ability to take in campaign cash will evaporate now that he is re-evaluating whether to remain in the race. If he decides to continue running, Cain would face another big hurdle: the loss of grassroots support, which has provided the core of his base for his anti-establishment campaign.

Atlanta Tea Party Patriots co-founder Debbie Dooley typifies the falloff of support. She had been vigorously defending Cain as the sexual harassment allegations trickled out. But White's accusation proved too much.

"I don't know what to believe," Dooley said. "I just think he needs to get out now and focus on his family."

Charlie Gruchow, one of Cain's earliest and most devout supporters in Iowa, has said he has moved his support to former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, because he doesn't think Cain can survive politically.

"I still don't believe all the allegations," he said. "But it's really damaged him."

Even Cain's supporters acknowledge his odds have grown even steeper with a cloud planted over his campaign and just weeks before voting gets under way in Iowa.

"I'm still backing him, but I definitely think it's a bigger and bigger mountain to climb," Florida state Rep. Carlos Trujillo said Tuesday, the day after White emerged. "It's going to be difficult to make up that ground in so short an amount of time."

Cain has said he is reassessing and re-evaluating whether to remain in the race and will only make that decision after speaking face-to-face with his wife of 42 years.

The candidate is expected back in his home state of Georgia after campaign stop in South Carolina Friday afternoon and will presumably talk with his wife then. His campaign wouldn't provide details.

He has canceled a Friday night event at the Atlanta Athletic Club.

"We've postponed it while he revaluates," organizer Gil Bell said.

But Georgia state Sen. Josh McKoon, a supporter, said the planned opening of a campaign headquarters in Atlanta was still on.

"Without a doubt," McKoon said.

Cain was keeping up a busy campaign schedule.

After visiting New Hampshire, he was set to deliver a business-focused speech at Middle Tennessee State University. He was also set to headline an event Friday afternoon in Rock Hill, S.C.

In Iowa, his campaign shot out an email to supporters saying that Cain "is in it to win it." Campaign manager Mark Block met with staffers there saying the campaign was "full steam ahead," the email said.

____

Associated Press writers Ray Henry in Atlanta and Tom Beaumont in Iowa contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111201/ap_on_el_pr/us_cain

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U.N. urges action in Syria, Russia and China object (Reuters)

GENEVA (Reuters) ? The United Nations' human rights chief urged world powers on Friday to take action to protect civilians in Syria from "ruthless repression," but her call was swiftly criticized by envoys from China and Russia.

More than 4,000 people have been killed during a military crackdown on street protesters that started in March and more than 14,000 people are believed to be in detention, said U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay.

"In light of the manifest failure of the Syrian authorities to protect their citizens, the international community needs to take urgent and effective measures to protect the Syrian people," Pillay told an emergency session of the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva.

She did not spell out what measures world powers should take - Western leaders have in the past shied away from suggestions of military action, along the lines of the NATO campaign that helped rebels unseat Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in August.

The European Union called for "pro-active action" by the international community, while Kuwait's envoy said that there may be a need for "intervention" to safeguard civilians.

The United States, the EU, members of the Arab League and neighboring Turkey have already imposed sanctions on Syria over Assad's failure to implement commitments to withdraw tanks and troops from restive cities and start talks with his opponents.

After Pillay spoke, envoys from Russia and China, which both have oil projects in Syria, took the floor to warn against foreign interference in Syria in the name of human rights.

Both countries blocked international efforts to condemn the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad by vetoing a U.N. Security Council resolution in October.

The Russian-Chinese stance, in turn, drew fierce criticism.

"In the face of brutal repression occurring in Syria, it is outrageous that some governments continue to obstruct efforts here and elsewhere in the United Nations to bring an end to these crimes against humanity," Peter Splinter of Amnesty International told the talks, singling out "permanent members of the Security Council," an allusion to Russia and China.

"It is now time for the U.N., including the Security Council, to deliver an effective international response to Syria's human rights crisis," he said.

CHINA, RUSSIA WARNING

"We would like to warn against illegal interference by outside forces even under the pretext of protecting human rights," said Russia's envoy Valery Loshchinin. "This will have serious and unforeseen consequences."

Loshchinin called on all sides in Syria to halt violence. "We hear that the conflict in Syria continues to be fueled by outside forces, armed and terrorist groups being organized and supplied with weapons and money from abroad."

Russia, a longstanding arms supplier to Assad, has now delivered anti-ship cruise missiles to Syria, the Interfax news agency cited an unnamed military source as saying on Thursday.

This was shortly after a U.N. commission of inquiry called for an arms embargo against Damascus.

China's envoy He Yafei said that although China was deeply concerned, views on how to resolve the situation differed widely. "Member states of the United Nations should follow the principles and purposes of the U.N. and refrain from resolving differences through force or threat of force," he said.

"CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY"

Pillay said 307 children had died in the conflict, up from an estimate of 256 that was released earlier this week.

"The Syrian authorities' continual ruthless repression, if not stopped now, can drive the country into a full-fledged civil war ... All acts of murder, torture and other forms of violence must be immediately stopped," she added.

A U.N. commission of inquiry said this week it had found solid evidence of crimes against humanity by security forces, including executions, torture and rapes.

U.S. human rights ambassador Eileen Chamberlain Donahoe told reporters there was "evidence of the complicity in these atrocities" by Syrian authorities and said there was no doubt the violence was intentional.

Syria, which bars access to most foreign journalists, says it is fighting an insurgency by armed groups supported from abroad, who have attacked its troops trying to defend the peace.

At the U.N. Human Rights Council meeting, Syrian Ambassador Faysal Khabbaz Hamoui gave an angry speech that won support from Russia, China and Cuba.

"The Syrian problem is one that can be resolved only by Syrians...Only a domestic, national solution ... is possible," Syrian Ambassador Faysal Khabbaz Hamoui told the rights council meeting, referring to reforms Assad has promised for 2012.

"The solution cannot come from the corridors of the international community," he said. "(This) is only resolutions trying to put more oil on the fire."

(Editing by Mark Heinrich)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/un/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111202/wl_nm/us_syria_un_rights

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Audience applauds as Khodorkovsky film raps Putin (Reuters)

MOSCOW (Reuters) ? Mikhail Khodorkovsky is in prison not far from the Arctic Circle, but the story of the former oil tycoon who fell out with Vladimir Putin is being told near the Kremlin before Russia's parliamentary election on Sunday.

Ten months after a successful opening at the Berlin International Film Festival in February, German director Cyril Tuschi's documentary "Khodorkovsky" had its Russian premiere on Friday night at a central Moscow movie theatre.

The showing at the opening of Moscow's Artdocfest film festival marked a milestone in a somewhat rocky road for the film, which was reported stolen twice in the weeks preceding its Berlin premiere.

Its distributor in Russia and some former Soviet republics, Olga Papernaya, said five of the 20 cinemas she was targeting declined to take the film before the election for fear it portrayed the Kremlin in a bad light.

Artdocfest organizer Vitaly Mansky, Russia's most prominent documentarist, dismissed suggestions the film faced censorship.

"If they wanted to ban it, they would have banned it here," Mansky told Reuters in the lobby of the 100-year-old cinema where the film was showing, almost in sight of the Kremlin.

Putin's 2000-2008 presidency was defined for many in Russia and abroad by the jailing of Khodorkovsky, which critics say was politically motivated punishment for perceived challenges to Putin's authority and funding of opposition parties.

Sunday's parliamentary vote will be the first test of Putin's ruling United Russia party since he revealed plans to return to the presidency for a six-year term in a March 2012 election after four years as prime minister.

In an interview, Tuschi said the film grew out of fascination with Khodorkovsky as a dramatic figure, and that it delved into the "iconic power struggle between Putin and Khodorkovsky."

Once Russia's richest man and head of Yukos, one of its biggest oil producers, Khodorkovsky is serving a 13-year prison sentence after convictions on charges of large-scale financial crimes in two trials, in 2005 and 2010. He is due for release in 2016.

Unlike some other so-called oligarchs who grew rich and powerful in the 1990s under President Boris Yeltsin, Khodorkovsky stayed in Russia and resisted the Kremlin's will after Putin came to power and sought to end those tycoons' involvement in media and politics.

His 2003 arrest and 2005 fraud and tax evasion conviction preceded the bankruptcy of Yukos, brought down by back-tax claims, and its ultimate sale to state oil company Rosneft. He had been due for release this year before the second conviction, on theft and money-laundering charges.

"DEAR CYRIL"

In a letter from a Siberian prison in the film, Khodorkovsky tells "dear Cyril" that despite what he called speculation he fell foul of Putin for meeting him without a tie, and that the arrest was engineered to enable the state to take over Yukos and to punish him for supporting opposition parties.

The government says he was tried fairly for a crime and the sale of Yukos was above board.

In the documentary, submerged tension erupts when Khodorkovsky lectures Putin, then president, on corruption at a televised meeting with a group of tycoons.

The camera remains fixed on Putin as he barely conceals his rage, his face contorting unnaturally, then delivers a cool but furious riposte.

With that scene, the film makes clear: Khodorkovsky cannot find his way back to Putin's good graces. But nor does he want to, it seems.

"A petty man could not forgive that," Yevgeny Saburov, a poet and academic who met Khodorkovsky, then a nascent businessman, when Saburov was serving as Economy Minister in 1991, says in the film.

The line drew a burst of applause from the audience.

Much of the documentary's content is familiar to the reading public in Russia, where Khodorkovsky has regularly published editorials in major newspapers, debated Russia's path in correspondence with three popular novelists, and compiled a book from behind prison walls.

The audience at the premiere -- which included patrons of the Artdocfest festival, reporters, Khodorkovsky lawyers and an opposition politician -- did not quite fill the auditorium.

Artyom Goloshchapov, a Moscow photographer who attended, praised the film for largely giving both sides of the story.

He said the timing of laughter and applause were a telling indicator of the audience's sympathies.

"The hall tended to applaud when there were subtle jabs against you-know-who," he said.

(Editing by Steve Gutterman and Timothy Heritage)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/movies/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111203/film_nm/us_russia_khodorkovsky_film

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Penn State pledges $1.5M for sex-crimes groups (AP)

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. ? Penn State will donate $1.5 million in bowl proceeds to a pair of groups that work with sex-crime victims, a gesture aimed at healing the school's battered image in the wake of child sex charges against a former assistant football coach.

University President Rod Erickson promised the donation the morning after he and other administrators faced pointed questions at a student-organized town hall forum.

Erickson told The Associated Press in an interview Thursday that the Big Ten bowl revenue, which usually goes back to the athletic department, will go instead to the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape and the National Sexual Violence Resource Center.

"This presents an excellent opportunity for Penn State to raise the national visibility of this issue," Erickson said. "Our students and fans are focused on a cause to play for, to cheer for."

Also Thursday, Jerry Sandusky's lawyer said he has not discussed pleading guilty with his client and that the former coach continues to maintain he is innocent of the charges against him.

Joe Amendola said he would consider "possible alternatives" with Sandusky if new charges are filed that involve more victims than the eight boys covered by the 40 pending criminal counts, but that Sandusky has never considered a plea in his case. Sandusky, 67, is awaiting a preliminary hearing.

Amendola said the topic of a guilty plea came up as a "what if" question from a reporter about potential additional charges.

"My answer to the `what if' question was analogous to saying, if weather forecasters were predicting a blizzard next week, which they are not, I would have to at least consider the possibility of postponing my scheduled trip to Philadelphia," Amendola said in an email.

In another development, lawyers for a young man described in a grand jury report as a victim of sexual abuse by Sandusky said Thursday they had settled a legal action regarding a charity's assets.

Harrisburg attorneys Ben Andreozzi and Jeffrey Fritz said the settlement protected the claim their client plans to assert to the assets of The Second Mile, a nonprofit for at-risk children Sandusky founded in 1977.

"We intend to initiate a civil lawsuit seeking damages from the organizations and individuals responsible for the sexual assaults upon our clients," the lawyers said in a release. "However, our priority at this time is to support our clients, including Victim No. 4, who will be testifying against Mr. Sandusky at the preliminary hearing."

Andreozzi and Fritz said that under terms of the settlement, The Second Mile has agreed to obtain court approval before transferring assets or closing and give their client the ability to weigh in before a judge regarding any distribution of assets.

The Second Mile released a statement calling the agreement a reiteration of its existing legal liabilities and saying it does not include a finding of liability.

The Second Mile said earlier this week that its donors should consider giving their money instead to the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape, the latest sign that the charity may not be around much longer. The Second Mile said its December programs would go on as scheduled, however.

The Wednesday night forum on Penn State's main campus came on the heels of fresh sex abuse allegations against Sandusky, who was accused in a lawsuit of sexually abusing a young boy more than 100 times after meeting him through his charity.

The state police commissioner has criticized school leaders for failing to do more to alert authorities to the allegations, and Erickson told about 450 attendees at a crowded auditorium at the student union building that ethics would be raised "to a new level so that everyone at the university understands not just the legal thing to do, but the moral thing to do, so that we learn to do the right thing the first time, every time."

Students appeared grateful to get answers more than three weeks after Sandusky was charged Nov. 5, hopeful it would aid in the arduous healing process.

"I think this is a good start for a lot of good things that can happen at the university," said student Andrew Comes, 21, following the two-hour forum. "It's a singularly bad event, but there can still be positive repercussions and good things happening from it."

Administrators sought to reassure students worried about the unintended ramifications of the scandal, such as the reputation of a Penn State degree.

After several questioners mentioned they felt shamed by the scandal, vice president Henry Foley, as part of an answer about the school's top three priorities, told students to focus on academics and to "recognize that none of you are guilty. ... You may feel shame, but none of you are guilty. Just keep doing what you came here to do."

The scandal has resulted in the departures of head coach Joe Paterno and university President Graham Spanier. Athletic Director Tim Curley has been placed on administrative leave, and Vice President Gary Schultz, who was in charge of the university's police department, has stepped down.

Schultz and Curley are charged with lying to the grand jury and failure to report to police. They also maintain their innocence and have a preliminary hearing later this month.

Erickson told reporters after the forum that Spanier was on sabbatical and that as a tenured faculty member would have the right to teach if he so desired.

Several students also asked about the treatment of Paterno, who was the only school leader fired in the scandal's aftermath. Erickson said afterward he could not offer a detailed answer because it was the trustees' decision.

He reiterated there was no truth to Internet-fueled rumors that Paterno's statue outside Beaver Stadium would be removed or that the Paterno name would be removed from the campus library for which the Paterno family has donated millions of dollars.

"At some appropriate time down the road, I'm sure there will be an opportunity to also reflect on the many years of service Joe and (wife Sue Paterno) provided the university and the many good things that they've done for Penn State," Erickson said, eliciting brief applause.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111202/ap_on_sp_ot/us_penn_state_abuse

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See surreal architecture in Barcelona

Dan Martella / UGC

La Sagrada Familia, Barcelona, Spain

By Rebecca Ruiz, Senior editor, msnbc.com

Like other major Spanish cities, Barcelona has many charms -- some of them magical. Antoni Gaud?'s surreal architecture would arguably be atop any list of these attractions.

Born in 1852 in a small town outside of Barcelona, Gaud? is chiefly known for the Sagrada Familia, a church (pictured above) that is structured in the shape of a Latin cross. Work began on the Gothic-revival building in 1882; Gaud? joined the project the following year and continued to work on it until his death in 1926.

The dramatic Nativity facade, dedicated to Jesus' birth, and crypt are among several of Gaud?'s works on UNESCO's World Heritage List. Gaud?'s style, which included undulating lines, pops of color and spatial creativity, "anticipated and influenced many of the forms and techniques that were relevant to the development of modern construction in the 20th century," according to UNESCO.

?

Gaud? was also a visionary when it came to urban parks, turning acres of green space into fantastical landscapes. Parc Gu?ll (pictured above) is a popular Barcelona attraction, located in the city's suburbs.

For more information about these and other Gaud? structures in Barcelona, visit the city's tourism website. To see more photos of his work, check out this website.

Have you been to Gaud?'s works? Share your experiences in the comments below.

More stories you might like:

Rebecca Ruiz is a senior editor at msnbc.com. Follow her on Twitter.

Source: http://itineraries.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/11/30/9120113-see-the-surreal-architecture-of-antoni-gaudi-in-barcelona

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iPhone tops celebs, news as most searched on Web

Apple's iPhone edged past major news events, celebrities and pop stars as the top searched term on the Web in 2011, according to Yahoo.

The digital media company said the smartphone proved more popular than reality television celebrity Kim Kardashian, pop star Katy Perry and singer and actress Jennifer Lopez, who placed in the top five.

American Casey Anthony, the woman acquitted of the murder of her young daughter after a highly publicized trial, was No. 2.

"This is the first time since 2002 that we have had a gadget at No. 1, which is an iPhone." Vera Chan, a Web trend analyst at Yahoo, said in a conference call announcing the results of the review now in its 10th year.

"Even though the product has been around for four years it just became such a major news story," she added.

PlayStation 2 topped the list in 2002.

Chan credited the iPhone with helping to facilitate political movements around the world and said the device embodied the vision of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs who died in October.

Women dominated the list, capturing six out of the top 10 spots. Troubled actress Lindsay Lohan made headlines for a brief stay in jail and court appearances for violating probation on drunken driving and theft charges captured the No. 6 spot.

Actress Jennifer Aniston, a first timer on the top 10 list along with Lopez, came in eighth.

In addition to the Casey Anthony trial, the Japan earthquake and Osama bin Laden who was killed in a U.S. assault in Pakistan earlier this year, were the only news stories to make the top 10.

"People don't have to search for details they get in the news, and it is rare that a news story end up on the overall list," said Chan.

Pop princess Britney Spears, who dominated the list in the top spot for four consecutive years, failed to make the list this year.

"American Idol," which was the most search item in 2004, placed seventh.

The Yahoo list is based on aggregated visitor activity on the network and billions of consumer searches.

Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45510103/ns/technology_and_science-wireless/

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Taylor Swift To Premiere 'Ours' Video Friday

In a photo tease from the clip, Swift sits on a bed in just a white, oversized cardigan.
By Jocelyn Vena

Taylor Swift on the set of "Ours"
Photo: Big Machine via Instagram

Taylor Swift is giving her fans a little treat for the holidays: a brand-new music video. The singer will drop the clip for her Speak Now ballad "Ours" on E! on Friday evening.

In a photo tease from the video, Swift sits on a bed in just a white, oversized cardigan, her hair swept up, looking off into the distance. Swift performed the song at the CMA Awards earlier this month. For the performance, she kept it equally simple, sitting on a big, comfy couch, strumming her guitar.

The track, featured on a bonus edition of her chart-topping 2010 album, is a country-tinged ditty about falling for someone everyone thinks you shouldn't. On it, she sings, " 'Cause I love the gap between your teeth/ And I love the riddles that you speak/ And any snide remarks from my father about your tattoos will be ignored/ 'Cause my heart is yours."

The timing of the video release comes just as Swift is knee-deep in writing her next album. "I've just been so excited about what's gonna happen in the next year," she said. "I'm also really excited about [the next album]. I've been writing all the time. I've been writing so much for the new record. I can't believe I'm saying that already: It comes out in a year, but I'm already excited about it."

As the year wraps up, Swift's schedule remains busy until the holidays. She was on hand Tuesday night for a taping of CMT Artists of the Year in Nashville. It airs December 13 and will also feature Jason Aldean, Kenny Chesney, Lady Antebellum and Brad Paisley.

But perhaps what has Swift the most pumped is the holiday season. "I'm excited about the holidays," she said. "I love Christmas. I love the whole buildup to Christmas and the way that everything is exciting and wintergreen-ish and Christmas tree-ish."

What are you expecting from the "Ours" video? Let us know in the comments!

Related Artists

• Taylor Swift

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1675138/taylor-swift-ours-music-video.jhtml

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Video: Cain?s campaign remains on the ropes

Meet Nashville's square-dancing Occupiers

While anti-Wall Street protesters in New York, California and elsewhere may often pass their downtime playing drums, meditating or knitting, their Tennessee counterparts could be playing football, hosting a square dance or welcoming opponents with cookies.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036697/vp/45483480#45483480

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John McCain Insults Long Island, Says Chuck Schumer Can't Take A Joke

WASHINGTON -- Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) managed to give 562,001 residents of New York's Long Island a reason to regret voting for him in the 2008 presidential race: He declared in a Senate floor debate that their home was "sometimes regrettably" part of the United States.

In a debate Wednesday over a controversial defense bill that would let the military detain Americans indefinitely, McCain pointed to an old case of German soldiers who were captured on Long Island as proof that the Supreme Court has addressed the issue. The case had been cited by Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor in a more recent terrorism decision.

"Isn't it true that Justice O'Connor was specifically referring to a case for a person captured on Long Island?" McCain asked Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.). "Last I checked, Long Island was part -- albeit sometimes regrettably -- part of the United States of America."

That did not sit well with New York's Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer, who quickly tweeted: "All of America saw how heroic Long Islanders were on 9/11. #LongIsland deserves an apology."

McCain then returned to the Senate floor to respond, and took a swipe at Schumer.

"In an exchange here on the floor ... I mentioned the wonderful long people -- wonderful long island, I made a joke," McCain said. "I'm sorry there's at least one of my colleagues that can't take a joke, and so I apologize if I offended him and hope that someday he will have a sense of humor."

Schumer decided not to let it rest.

"NYers can take a joke," he tweeted back. "But if @SenJohnMcCain wants to mock parts of America, stick to Arizona."

McCain was once dubbed "McWeasel" by the New York Daily News for saying he couldn't help an ailing 9/11 recovery worker from Brooklyn, which is also part of Long Island.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/30/john-mccain-chuck-schumer-long-island_n_1121997.html

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Aww! Tom Brady Takes His Son to the Park

Tom Brady and little Benjamin play on the swings! Plus, see more photos of celebs spending time with their loved ones!

Source: http://www.ivillage.com/star-snapshots-celebrity-kids-and-family-photos/1-b-84707?dst=iv%3AiVillage%3Astar-snapshots-celebrity-kids-and-family-photos-84707

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MOTOACTV Fitness Tracker To Debut In U.K. On December 1

Fitness fanatics in the U.K. will soon have another gadget to aid them in their quest for physical supremacy: Motorola has just announced that their MOTOACTV fitness tracker will hit stores on December 1. The MOTOACTV was overshadowed a bit since it first appeared alongside the Droid RAZR, but it's a fairly nifty device in its own right. If you're not familiar with the ACTV, think of it as an Android-based amalgamation of an iPod nano and Sony Ericsson's ill-fated LiveView.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/VfIngmMoyVA/

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