The safer sex? For a little-known primate, a new understanding of why females outlive males

Feb. 28, 2013 ? Researchers studying aging in an endangered lemur known as the Milne-Edwards' sifaka report that in old age, females are the safer sex.

After observing these animals for more than two decades in the wild in Madagascar, co-author Patricia Wright of Stony Brook University had a hunch that females were living longer than their male counterparts.

Females tend to outlive males in many animals, including humans. But in the Milne-Edwards' sifaka -- a rainforest-dweller with orange-red eyes, a black face and woolly dark brown fur -- the sexes didn't seem to differ in any of the ways thought to give females a survival advantage in other animals.

Sex differences in aggression, hormones, or appearance drive males of many species to an earlier grave. But in the Milne-Edwards' sifaka, males and females have similar levels of testosterone, and are equally likely to pick fights.

Both sexes occasionally stray from the safety of their social groups, explained lead author Stacey Tecot of the University of Arizona. They also grow at similar rates and reach roughly the same size, have similar coloration, and are equally likely to be spotted by predators.

For the study, Tecot, Wright and colleagues analyzed detailed records of births, deaths, and dispersal behavior for more than 70 individual lemurs living in Ranomafana National Park in southeastern Madagascar -- a data set spanning 23 years from 1986 to 2009.

According to the data, most males died by their late teens. But females lived, on average, into their early 30s.

What could explain the gender gap? By taking a closer look at dispersal behavior across the lifespan, the researchers think they have a clue.

In Milne-Edwards' sifaka society, both sexes are known to leave the groups where they were born in search of a new group to call their own -- sometimes dispersing repeatedly throughout their lives.

The data suggest that on average, males and females disperse equally frequently, and wander just as far. But when the researchers broke down dispersal across the lifespan, from infancy to old age, they found that males and females differed in their timing.

The differences didn't start to emerge until later in life. Females generally stopped dispersing after a certain age, typically when they reached 11 years old. But males continued to roam their entire lives.

Researchers don't know why females eventually settle down, whereas males continue to strike off on their own to find new groups. But dispersing at older ages could carry greater costs, especially if older animals aren't as agile or quick to heal from injury.

"When you're a social animal and you go off on your own into unfamiliar territory, finding food can be more of a challenge. Plus you don't have the extra protection of other group members who can help look out for predators. Even when you find a new group to join, you may have to fight your way in and there's a chance of getting injured in a fight," said co-author Jennifer Verdolin of the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center in Durham, North Carolina.

The study doesn't help explain why women tend to outlive men in humans, the authors caution. But it does suggest that fine-scale studies of risk-taking behavior at different ages could reveal age-specific mortality risk factors that researchers hadn't considered.

The team's findings will be published online in the February 28 issue of Behavioral Ecology.

Brian Gerber of Colorado State University and Stephen King of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst were also authors of this study.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by National Evolutionary Synthesis Center (NESCent), via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

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

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Journal Reference:

1. Stacey R. Tecot, Brian D. Gerber, Stephen J. King, Jennifer L. Verdolin, and Patricia C. Wright. Risky business: sex differences in mortality and dispersal in a polygynous, monomorphic lemur. Behavioral Ecology, February 28, 2013 DOI: 10.1093/beheco/art008

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

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

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_environment/~3/e1JjSlZ6ABM/130228155616.htm

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Senator says panel to vote next week on CIA pick

FILE - In this April 21, 2010 file photo, Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga. speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington. Saxby said Thursday the panel is scheduled to vote early next week on John Brennan's nomination to be director of the CIA. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)

FILE - In this April 21, 2010 file photo, Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga. speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington. Saxby said Thursday the panel is scheduled to vote early next week on John Brennan's nomination to be director of the CIA. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)

FILE - In this Feb. 7, 2013 file photo, CIA Director nominee John Brennan testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee. Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga. said Thursday the panel is scheduled to vote early next week on John Brennan's nomination to be director of the CIA. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee says the panel is scheduled to vote early next week on John Brennan's nomination to be director of the CIA.

Democratic leaders of the committee had hoped to hold the vote today. But Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., said Thursday that consideration of Brennan's nomination has been delayed because he and other committee members have not received all the information they've requested from the White House about lethal drone strikes against terror suspects and the attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya.

Chambliss said the committee is expected to vote Tuesday on Brennan's bid to the lead the spy agency.

Brennan is currently working as President Barack Obama's top counterterrorism adviser in the White House.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-02-28-Brennan-CIA/id-3cefae4c462342a3bcada198df9bdad7

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4 Pinocchios for Arne Duncan?s false claim of ?pink slips? for teachers (Washington Post)

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Obama meets with congressional leaders on spending cuts Friday (reuters)

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Illegal music file-sharing down 'significantly'

Suzanne Choney , NBC News ? ? ? 54 min.

Illegal music file-sharing "declined significantly," down by 17 percent in 2012 compared to 2011, according to The NPD Group.

With more services available, such as Spotify, Last.fm and Pandora for streaming and buying music, and giant digital music retailers like Amazon and Apple, consumers have more choices than ever for getting music legally, easily and relatively cheaply.

"For the music industry, which has been battling digital piracy for over a decade, last year was a year of progress," said Russ Crupnick, NPD's senior vice president of industry analysis, in a statement about the research group's findings, part of its "Annual Music Study 2012" report.

NPD's findings come on the heels of a recent report that says music sales actually saw a small gain, 0.3 percent, in 2012 to $16.5 billion, the industry's first revenue increase in 13 years, according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry.

Meanwhile, a new, U.S.-based Copyright Alert System is kicking in this week to target consumers who use peer-to-peer software to illegally share music, as well as movies and TV shows. The alert system will be used by five major Internet service providers to notify a customer whose Internet address has been detected sharing files illegally.

Peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing peaked in 2005, NPD said, when about 20 percent of Internet users ages 13 and older used P2P services, such as LimeWire (now shut down), to download music. In 2012, "that number fell to 11 percent."

P2P services are still out there, of course. But The NPD Group notes that the volume of illegally downloaded music files from P2P sites "also declined 26 percent, compared to the previous year."

Also down: the "number of music files being burned and ripped from CDs owned by friends and family fell 44 percent, the number of files swapped from hard drives dropped 25 percent, and the volume of music downloads from digital lockers decreased 28 percent."

The NPD Group says the main reason for the reduced sharing is the "increased use of free, legal music streaming services. In fact nearly half of those who stopped or curtailed file sharing cited the use of streaming services as their primary reason for stopping or reducing their file-sharing activity."

"In recent years, we?ve seen less P2P activity, because the music industry has successfully used litigation to shut down Limewire and other services," said Crupnick. "Many of those who continued to use P2P services reported poor experiences, due to rampant spyware and viruses on illegal P2P sites."

NPD's research was based on 5,406 completed online surveys in the U.S., a spokesman told NBC News. The survey was done between Dec. 12, 2012 and Jan. 9, 2013.

Check out Technology, GadgetBox, Digital Life and In-Game on Facebook, and on Twitter, follow Suzanne Choney.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/technolog/illegal-music-file-sharing-dropped-significantly-2012-says-npd-1C8590466

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Music, movie industry to warn copyright infringers

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Internet users who illegally share music, movies or TV shows online may soon get warning notices from their service providers that they are violating copyright law. Ignore the notices, and violators could face an Internet slow-down for 48 hours. Those who claim they're innocent can protest ? for a fee.

For the first time since a spate of aggressive and unpopular lawsuits almost a decade ago, the music and movie industries are going after Internet users they accuse of swapping copyrighted files online. But unlike the lawsuits from the mid-2000s ? which swept up everyone from young kids to the elderly with sometimes ruinous financial penalties and court costs ? the latest effort is aimed at educating casual Internet pirates and convincing them to stop. There are multiple chances to make amends and no immediate legal consequences under the program if they don't.

"There's a bunch of questions that need to be answered because there are ways that this could end up causing problems for Internet users," such as the bureaucratic headache of being falsely accused, said David Sohn, general counsel for the Center for Democracy and Technology, a Washington-based civil liberties group. But he added: "There's also the potential for this to have an impact in reducing piracy in ways that don't carry a lot of collateral damage."

The Copyright Alert System was put into effect this week by the nation's five biggest Internet service providers ? Verizon, AT&T, Time Warner Cable, Comcast and Cablevision ? and the two major associations representing industry ? the Motion Picture Association of America and the Recording Industry Association of America.

Under the new program, the industry will monitor "peer-to-peer" software services for evidence of copyrighted files being shared. Each complaint will prompt a customer's Internet provider to notify the customer that their Internet address has been detected sharing files illegally. Depending on the service provider, the first couple of alerts will likely be an email warning. Subsequent alerts might require a person to acknowledge receipt or review educational materials. If a final warning is ignored, a person could be subject to speed-throttling for 48 hours or another similar "mitigation measure."

After five or six "strikes," however, the person won't face any repercussions under the program and is likely to be ignored. It's unclear whether such repeat offenders would be more likely at that point to face an expensive lawsuit. While proponents say it's not the intention of the program, it's possible the alert system will be used to initiate lawsuits.

The number of Internet users subject to the new system is a sizable chunk of the U.S. population. Verizon and AT&T alone supply more than 23 million customers.

For the recording industry, which blames online piracy for contributing to a dramatic drop in profits and sales during the past decade, the new alert system is a better alternative than lawsuits. In December 2008, the Recording Industry Association of America announced it had discontinued that practice ? which had been deeply unpopular with the American public ? and would begin working with the Internet providers on the alert system instead.

"We think there is a positive impact of (alert) programs like this, and that they can put money in the pocket of artists and labels," said Jonathan Lamy, a spokesman for the trade group.

The Motion Picture Association of America estimates some 29 million people have downloaded or watched unauthorized movies or TV shows online, mostly using technology such as BitTorrent, a popular peer-to-peer protocol. Like its counterparts in the music industry, the MPAA says it believes people will stop when they understand it's illegal and are redirected to legal ways of paying for downloads.

The alert system "will help ensure an Internet that works for everyone by alerting families of illegal activity that has occurred over peer-to-peer networks using their Internet accounts and educate them on how they can prevent such activity from happening again," Michael O'Leary, an executive for the MPAA, said in a statement Tuesday.

A primary question is whether the system will generate a significant number of "false positives," or cases in which people are accused of sharing illegal content but aren't. One scenario is if a person doesn't encrypt their wireless connection, leaving it open to a neighbor or malicious hacker that swaps illegal files. Another example might be if a person uploads a "mashup" of songs or brief scenes from a movie ? content that wouldn't necessarily violate the law but could get flagged by the system.

The Center for Copyright Information, which created the alert system, is responsible for producing the methods that companies will be allowed to use to catch pirates, but it said Tuesday it won't release those details publicly. It said the system will rely on humans to review the entire content of every file to make sure it qualifies as material protected under copyright laws.

"This is an imperfect science," said Yoshi Kohno, an associate professor of computer science and engineering at the University of Washington. "The likelihood of a false positive depends on the diligence of the party doing the investigation."

Bartees Cox, a spokesman for the consumer watchdog group Public Knowledge, says it will watching to ensure the program doesn't evolve into imposing harsher punishments by Internet providers, such as terminating a person's Internet access altogether if they are accused of being a prolific violator.

If a person believes they've been wrongly accused, they will have multiple chances to delete the material and move on without any repercussion. If the problem is chronic, they can pay $35 to appeal ? a charge intended to deter frivolous appeals but also one that can be waived. The center says it won't require proof that a person is financially strapped.

The center's director, Jill Lesser, said the goal is to educate the average Internet user, rather than punish them, and no one will see their Internet access cut off.

"This is the first time the focus has been on education and awareness and redirection to legal and authorized services and not on punitive measures or a carrot-and-stick approach," she said.

Sohn said the effort will be a significant test whether voluntary measures can reduce copyright infringement.

"The long-term challenge here is getting users to change their attitudes and behaviors and views toward copyright infringement, because the technology that enables infringement ? computers, digital technology and the Internet ? that stuff isn't going away," he said.

___

Follow Anne Flaherty on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/AnneKFlaherty

___

Online:

http://www.copyrightinformation.org/the-copyright-alert-system

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2013-02-26-Internet%20Piracy/id-ccf2d1d17968430aa7260431e694211b

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As cuts loom, Obama meets with governors

WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Barack Obama will be meeting with the nation's governors as they push Congress to avert deep federal spending cuts that begin to take effect Friday.

The state leaders are in Washington for the annual meeting of the National Governors Association. The president, first lady Michelle Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, are scheduled to address them at the White House.

Obama administration officials warn of significant airport delays, deep cuts to education and furloughs for hundreds of thousands of government workers if the budget cuts go through, as widely expected.

The president did not mention the budget stalemate during a White House dinner with most of the governors Sunday night. But Obama told them, "We've got more work to do."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/cuts-loom-obama-meets-governors-083423851--politics.html

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Horse a hidden ingredient in many European foods

DUBLIN (AP) ? So hungry you could eat a horse? Chances are, if you've regularly consumed processed-meat products in Europe, you already have.

Since Ireland published surprise DNA results on Jan. 15 showing that a third of frozen "beef" burgers in Ireland contained at least a trace of horse, food scientists in more than a dozen countries have found the animal trotting into products where it was never meant to roam.

Daily revelations from an ever-increasing menu of supermarket, catering and restaurant goods have taught the world one lesson: When minced up with other meat or slathered with spices, consumers cannot tell equine from bovine in the food chain. European horse has yet to be detected in any American-sold products.

MEATBALLS

In fairness, IKEA never did call them beef balls. The Swedish furniture giant has discovered that its signature cafeteria dish ? spiced meatballs of mixed beef and pork ? also might contain horse.

Ikea said Monday it was withdrawing stocks of frozen "Kottbullar" meatballs from stores in 24 nations, including Thailand and Hong Kong in Asia and the Dominican Republic in the Caribbean. European countries affected were Austria, Belgium, Britain, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Spain and Sweden. Somehow, the Swiss were spared.

IKEA was keen to stress that its U.S.-based meatballs were all-American and not subject to recall.

BURGERS

This is the product that started the January stampede to Europe's DNA labs. Irish authorities doing a random quality check were shocked to find horse meat in frozen burgers produced for five Irish and British supermarkets, and eventually traced the source to Poland. The Irish producers' top two customers ? Burger King's British, Irish and Danish restaurants and the British supermarket chain Tesco ? quickly took their business elsewhere.

PIZZA

There's something rotten in Denmark, but it's not the meat itself. The Danish Veterinary and Food Administration says a product enigmatically described as "pizza meat" and sold by the Harby Slagtehus meat wholesaler contains cow, pig and horse. The company insists its customers in pizzerias across Denmark knew the topping contained horse, even if that little fact was nowhere on the ingredients list. Government vets don't believe a word of that.

SPAGHETTI BOLOGNESE

Better make that "bolo-neighs." Many of Europe's leading makers of microwaveable frozen foods ? including Birds Eye of Britain, Nestle of Switzerland, and Findus of France ? found that some suppliers had mixed horse into the ground beef used for Europe's most ubiquitous pasta sauce.

PASTA

Not to beat a dead horse, but Europe's food-testing labs are indicating that any factory-made pasta product containing "beef" sauce or filling might be horse in drag. Among those caught at the DNA finish line are the frozen "beef" lasagnas of Birds Eye; Nestle's Buitoni brand of ravioli in Italy and fusilli in Spain; and Combino-branded tortelloni and penne in Austria. France's Comigel blamed the discovery of up to 100 percent horse in its "beef" lasagnas ? sold under other brand names, including Findus and Tesco ? on a complex supply chain stretching from its Luxembourg factory back via Dutch and Cypriot middlemen to Romania horse butchers.

PASTRIES

Thank goodness there's no such thing (yet) as a beef doughnut. In Spain, Nestle's recall of products includes meat-filled, semicircular pastries called empanadas.

PIES

You might be surprised to find horse meat hiding under a frilly layer of potato. British-style cottage pies, with gravy, beef and carrots under the smashed spuds, have been withdrawn from scores of school cafeterias in England, Wales and Scotland after DNA tests found horse meat inside. France made similar discoveries in its potato-topped pie called hachis Parmentier.

VEGETABLES

Mom might tell you to eat your vegetables, but the Nestle product recall in Spain included meat-stuffed peppers.

KEBABS

Once you've blended a handful of meats, does one more really matter? The Austrians found horse in kebab meat produced by a Vienna firm, Lilla Gastronomie, that was supposed to contain a blend of only beef, pork and turkey.

SAUSAGES

Fry 'er up: Despite sausages' worldwide reputation as a favored destination for mystery meat, only Austria has found equine DNA hiding in sausages, in two brands made by Josef Freitag, aka "Joe Friday."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/horse-hidden-ingredient-many-european-foods-174118273--finance.html

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Benedict gets new title, new shoes for retirement

VATICAN CITY (AP) ? Pope Benedict XVI will be known as "emeritus pope" in his retirement and will continue to wear a white cassock, the Vatican announced Tuesday, again fueling concerns about potential conflicts arising from having both a reigning and a retired pope.

The pope's title and what he would wear has been a major source of speculation ever since Benedict stunned the world and announced he would resign on Thursday, the first pontiff to do so in 600 years.

The Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said Benedict himself had made the decision in consultation with others, settling on "Your Holiness Benedict XVI" and either emeritus pope or emeritus Roman pontiff.

Lombardi said he didn't know why Benedict had decided to drop his other main title: bishop of Rome.

In the two weeks since Benedict's resignation announcement, Vatican officials had suggested that Benedict would likely resume wearing the traditional black garb of a cleric and would use the title "emeritus bishop of Rome" so as to not create confusion with the future pope.

Benedict's decision to call himself emeritus pope and to keep wearing white is sure to fan concern voiced privately by some cardinals about the awkward reality of having two popes, both living within the Vatican walls.

Adding to the concern is that Benedict's trusted secretary, Monsignor Georg Gaenswein, will be serving both pontiffs ? living with Benedict at the monastery inside the Vatican and keeping his day job as prefect of the new pope's household.

Asked about the potential conflicts, Lombardi was defensive, saying the decisions had been clearly reasoned and were likely chosen for the sake of simplicity.

"I believe it was well thought out," he said.

Benedict himself has made clear he is retiring to a lifetime of prayer and meditation "hidden from the world." However, he still will be very present in the tiny Vatican city-state, where his new home is right next door to the Vatican Radio and has a lovely view of the dome of St. Peter's Basilica.

While he will no longer wear his trademark red shoes, Benedict has taken a liking to a pair of hand-crafted brown loafers made for him by artisans in Leon, Mexico, and given to him during his 2012 visit. He will wear those in retirement, Lombardi said.

Lombardi also elaborated on the College of Cardinals meetings that will take place after the papacy becomes vacant ? crucial gatherings in which cardinals will discuss the problems facing the church and set a date for the start of the conclave to elect Benedict's successor.

The first meeting isn't now expected until Monday, Lombardi said, since the official convocation to cardinals to come to Rome will only go out on Friday ? the first day of what's known as the "sede vacante," or the vacancy between papacies.

In all, 115 cardinals under the age of 80 are expected in Rome for the conclave to vote on who should become the next pope; two other eligible cardinals have already said they are not coming, one from Britain and another from Indonesia. Cardinals who are 80 and older can join the College meetings but won't participate in the conclave or vote.

Benedict on Monday gave the cardinals the go-ahead to move up the start date of the conclave ? tossing out the traditional 15-day waiting period. But the cardinals won't actually set a date for the conclave until they begin meeting officially Monday.

Lombardi also further described Benedict's final 48 hours as pope: On Tuesday, he was packing, arranging for documents to be sent to the various archives at the Vatican and separating out the personal papers he will take with him into retirement.

On Wednesday, Benedict will hold his final public general audience in St. Peter's Square ? an event that has already seen 50,000 ticket requests. He won't greet visiting prelates or VIPs as he normally does at the end but will greet some visiting political leaders ? from San Marino, Andorra and his native Bavaria ? privately afterwards.

On Thursday, the pope meets with his cardinals in the morning and then flies by helicopter at 5 p.m. to Castel Gandolfo, the papal residence south of Rome. He will greet parishioners there from the palazzo's loggia (balcony) ? his final public act as pope.

And at 8 p.m., the exact time at which his retirement becomes official, the Swiss Guards standing outside the doors of the palazzo at Castel Gandolfo will go inside, their service protecting the head of the Catholic Church now finished.

Benedict's personal security will be assured by Vatican police, Lombardi said.

___

Follow Nicole Winfield at www.twitter.com/nwinfield

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pope-called-emeritus-pope-wear-white-120826349.html

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Army sequestration cuts could affect 17,000 jobs in Georgia

(ATLANTA BUSINESS CHRONICLE) -- If automatic budget cuts of sequestration go into effect, Georgia would see an impact on 17,163 jobs and lose $931 million from its economy, according to a statement from the U.S. Army.?

Impacts on jobs include federal employee furloughs and layoffs, reductions in the contracted workforce because of reduced military investments and construction, and reductions in base operation support, reported an affiliate of the Atlanta Business Chronicle, the Washington Business Journal.

Economic impacts would be the result of sequestration and restrictions on new programs that come with the continuing resolution to fund the government, WBJ reported. ?

RELATED | Army expects 300,00 jobs to be lost in sequestration cuts?

Source: http://acworth.11alive.com/news/159037-army-sequestration-cuts-could-affect-17000-jobs-georgia

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All condemn pending budget cuts, spread blame

Former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour leaves a Health and Homeland Security Committee meeting titled "Protecting Our Nation: States and Cybersecurity" during the National Governors Association 2013 Winter Meeting in Washington on Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013. Former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore is at left. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour leaves a Health and Homeland Security Committee meeting titled "Protecting Our Nation: States and Cybersecurity" during the National Governors Association 2013 Winter Meeting in Washington on Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013. Former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore is at left. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

In this Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013, photo, provided by CBS News, Democratic Gov. Martin O'Malley of Maryland speaks on CBS's "Face the Nation" in Washington. O'Malley joined with with Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell of Virginia to call for Congress to prevent impending defense cuts that would hit their states hard. (AP Photo/CBS News, Chris Usher)

FILE ? In this Feb. 19, 2013 file photo President Barack Obama pauses while talking about sequestration in the Eisenhower Executive Office building on the White House complex in Washington. Lawmakers and the president on the brink of yet another compromise-or-else deadline Friday, March 1, 2013. (AP ?Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The White House and Republicans kept up the unrelenting mudslinging Sunday over who's to blame for roundly condemned budget cuts set to take effect at week's end, with the administration detailing the potential fallout in each state and governors worrying about the mess.

But as leaders rushed past each other to decry the potentially devastating and seemingly inevitable cuts, they also criticized their counterparts for their roles in introducing, implementing and obstructing the $85 billion budget mechanism that could affect everything from commercial flights to classrooms to meat inspections. The GOP's leading line of criticism hinged on blaming President Barack Obama's aides for introducing the budget trigger in the first place, while the administration's allies were determined to illustrate the consequences of the cuts as the product of Republican stubbornness.

Former Republican National Committee chairman Haley Barbour, aware the political outcome may be predicated on who is to blame, half-jokingly said Sunday, "Well, if it was a bad idea, it was the president's idea."

Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., said there was little hope to dodge the cuts "unless the Republicans are willing to compromise and do a balanced approach."

No so fast, Republicans interjected.

"I think the American people are tired of the blame game," said Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H.

Yet just a moment before, she was blaming Obama for putting the country on the brink of massive spending cuts that were initially designed to be so unacceptable that Congress would strike a grand bargain to avoid them.

Obama nodded to the squabble during his weekly radio and Internet address.

"Unfortunately, it appears that Republicans in Congress have decided that instead of compromising ? instead of asking anything of the wealthiest Americans ? they would rather let these cuts fall squarely on the middle class," Obama said Saturday, in his last weekly address before the deadline.

"We just need Republicans in Washington to come around," Obama added. "Because we need their help to finish the job of reducing our deficit in a smart way that doesn't hurt our economy or our people."

With Friday's deadline nearing, few in the nation's capital were optimistic that a realistic alternative could be found and all sought to cast the political process itself as the culprit. If Congress does not step in, a top-to-bottom series of cuts will be spread across domestic and defense agencies in a way that would fundamentally change how government serves its people.

Obama senior adviser Dan Pfeiffer told reporters the GOP is "so focused on not giving the president another win" that they will cost thousands of jobs. To back up their point, the White House released state-by-state tallies for how many dollars and jobs the budget cuts would mean to each state.

"The Republicans are making a policy choice that these cuts are better than eliminating loopholes," Pfeiffer said.

And, yes, those cuts will hurt. They would slash from domestic and defense spending alike, leading to furloughs for hundreds of thousands of government workers and contractors.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has said the cuts would harm the readiness of U.S. fighting forces. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said travelers could see delayed flights. Education Secretary Arne Duncan said 70,000 fewer children from low-income families would have access to Head Start programs. And furloughed meat inspectors could leave plants idled.

In Virginia, for instance, 90,000 Defense Department civilian employees could be furloughed, including nurses at Army hospitals, said Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va. He also said ship-repair contractors could lay off 300 of their 450 employees.

"There is no reason that this has to happen. We just need to find a balanced approach," Kaine said.

White House officials also pointed to Ohio as another state that would be hit hard: $25.1 million in education spending and another $22 million for students with disabilities. Some 2,500 children from low-income families would also be removed from Head Start programs.

Officials said their analysis showed Kentucky would lose $93,000 in federal funding for a domestic abuse program, meaning 400 fewer victims being served in Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's home state. Georgia, meanwhile, would face a $286,000 budget cut to its children's health programs, meaning almost 4,200 fewer children would receive vaccinations against measles and whooping cough.

White House officials said Nevada would face military furloughs totaling $12.1 million in reduced pay, a $424,000 cut to pay for meals for seniors and an almost $2 million reduction for clean air and water programs.

The White House compiled the state-by-state reports from federal agencies and its own budget office. The numbers reflect the impact of the cuts this year. Unless Congress acts by Friday, $85 billion in cuts are set to take effect from March to September.

As to whether states could move money around to cover shortfalls, the White House said that depends on state budget structures and the specific programs. The White House did not have a list of which states or programs might have flexibility.

Republican leaders were not impressed by the reports for the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

"The White House needs to spend less time explaining to the press how bad the sequester will be and more time actually working to stop it," said Michael Steel, a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio.

Some governors said the impasse was just the latest crisis in Washington that is keeping businesses from hiring and undermining the ability of state leaders to develop their own spending plans.

"It's senseless and it doesn't need to happen," said Gov. Martin O'Malley, D-Md., during the annual meeting of the National Governors Association over the weekend.

"And it's a damn shame, because we've actually had the fastest rate of jobs recovery of any state in our region. And this really threatens to hurt a lot of families in our state and kind of flat-line our job growth for the next several months," O'Malley said.

Obama did not mention the budget cuts in remarks before his dinner with the governors Sunday evening at the White House; he is expected to address the issue in a speech Monday morning to the same group. But time is running out and hope is waning.

Connecticut Gov. Dan Malloy said it is past time for both sides to sit down to help dodge cuts that will hurt all states' budgets.

"Come to the table, everyone. Everybody. Let's work this thing out. Let's be adults," said Malloy, a Democrat.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., called the defense cuts "unconscionable" and urged Obama to call lawmakers to the White House or the presidential retreat of Camp David for a last-minute budget summit.

"I won't put all the blame all on the president of the United States. But the president leads. The president should be calling us over somewhere ? Camp David, the White House, somewhere ? and us sitting down and trying to avert these cuts," McCain said.

LaHood, who served as a Republican representing Illinois in the U.S. House, urged his colleagues to watch Steven Spielberg's film about President Abraham Lincoln's political skills.

"Everybody around here ought to go take a look at the 'Lincoln' movie, where they did very hard things by working together, talking together and compromising," said LaHood. "That's what's needed here."

LaHood and Duncan were the only representatives from the administration to appear on Sunday shows. The White House did not book any of its senior aides.

Barbour, Malloy and McCain appeared on CNN's "State of the Union." McCaskill was interviewed on "Fox News Sunday." Ayotte, Duncan and Kaine spoke with CBS' "Face the Nation." LaHood appeared on both CNN and NBC.

___

Follow Philip Elliott on Twitter: https://twitter.com/philip_elliott

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-02-24-Budget%20Battle/id-c72d453e9cbf4145bd961eadb1769d95

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Bathroom pipe breaks, makes mess at Oscars

By Alyssa Toomey, E! Online

It's the Oscars -- accidents happen. Less than an hour before the 85th Annual Academy Awards began, a pipe burst in the women's bathroom at the Dolby Theatre, causing an embarrassing (and very speedy!) cleanup after the floor was totally flooded.

Guests were shuttled around the waterlogged location to prevent any further mishaps while more than half a dozen workers attacked the mess.

All the details on Ben and Jen's pre-Oscar "mayhem"

Of course, the water was mopped up in no time, and the bathroom was back in business by the time the show began.

But luckily, Hollywood Reporter's Matthew Bellani snapped a quick shot?and posted it on his social media page before the clean-up was complete.

It's just one of many unexpected moments bound to occur on movie's biggest night.

And hey, no one got hurt, so no harm done!

See all the red carpet arrivals!

Related content:

Source: http://todayentertainment.today.com/_news/2013/02/24/17080265-oscars-theater-floods-after-pipe-bursts-in-womens-bathroom?lite

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Feb 25 - The Chinese Program, Huron University College

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12:00pm - 1:30pm Political Behaviour Research Group, PBRG, presents Jeffrey Mondak, University of Illinois

4:00pm - 5:00pm Department of Physiology and Pharmacology Special Seminar Dr. Penny MacDonald

12:00pm - 1:00pm

2:00pm Education's Faculty Seminar Series - Dr. Alan Edmunds presents "Behaviour and Classroom Management Resurrected: The Behaviour Management Network"

2:30pm - 4:30pm

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11:30pm - 1:00pm Local Governance Seminar presents Leonid Kosals

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Source: http://events.uwo.ca/cgi-bin/events.pl?CalendarName=WesternEvents&EventID=5915&Date=2013/2/25

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