Insurance fraud suspect thought dead arrested in Canada

Canadian authorities said Friday that they had arrested an Eden Prairie man who fled the Twin Cities several months ago in a small plane after faking his own death.

Travis Magdalena Scott, 34, was awaiting sentencing for defrauding an insurance company out of more than $11.5 million at the time of his disappearance.

Federal authorities said they will seek Scott's extradition. He was arrested Dec. 22 after a pharmacy employee in Winnipeg alerted police that a customer might have been trying to use a forged prescription.

Scott was carrying bogus identification at the time, and it took investigators some time to determine his true identity, Winnipeg police spokeswoman Natalie Aitken said Friday. A recording of the conference was provided to the Star Tribune by the news organization CBC Manitoba.

Once police determined Scott's true identity, Aitken said, they found a federal arrest warrant issued out of Minnesota and contacted the U.S. Marshals Service, which is seeking to extradite him.

A search of Scott's apartment in downtown Winnipeg turned up $80,000 in gold coins, $30,000 in U.S. and Canadian currency, $750 in silver coins, an electronic Taser stun device, "bear mace," numerous forged prescriptions, a number of prescription drugs, computer equipment and printers. A search of a Jeep Liberty that police linked to Scott produced a loaded handgun, Aitken said.

Scott is being held in the Winnipeg Remand Center on charges of possessing prohibited and restricted weapons, Aitken said. She said additional charges may follow after an investigation by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Canadian Border Service Agency.

Jeanne Cooney, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Minneapolis, said Canadian authorities determined that Scott had left the Minneapolis area in a small plane about Sept. 10 and flew to a remote air strip in St. Andrews, Manitoba. He's been living in Winnipeg ever since.

Scott was described in court papers by his attorney, Marsh Halberg, as a "shy, small, soft-spoken man" and a gifted computer programmer. He was committed by his father for about five months in 2001 in Sawyer County, Wis., for mental health issues.

A faked suicide

Halberg said Friday night that he was informed by authorities in Minnesota that in late summer they found a kayak washed up on Lake Mille Lacs with a note in it from Scott saying that he was going to tie weights to himself and drown. A body from such a suicide would not have been recoverable from the middle of the lake. Before Scott was located in Canada, authorities in Minnesota had been debating about what to do with his case, Halberg said.

Scott pleaded guilty in May in St. Paul to one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering related to fraudulent claims he filed for his business, Security Management Technologies. The policy covered both the property of the business, which allegedly included supercomputers, and business interruption. If the property was damaged, Scott could either take the cash value of the damaged property, as determined by the insurer, Zurich North America, or replace the damaged property up to his policy limit of $9.5 million.

On June 1, 2008, about a year after he took out the policy, Scott reported that his business had been struck by lightning and sustained heavy damage. Scott opted to exercise the "replacement option" on his policy for up to the $9.5 million policy limit, prosecutors said, plus $1.9 million for business interruption.

Scott allegedly spent much of the money on three airplanes, exotic cars, a $700,000 house and a $300,000 yacht. Authorities seized $5.76 million from various bank accounts, an airplane hangar at Flying Cloud Airport, two Piper and one Beechcraft planes, a 2008 BMW M5, a 2010 GMC Sierra, a 1981 DeLorean and a 46-foot Carver cabin cruiser.

It's unclear where he got the plane that he flew into Canada, or the Jeep that authorities say he was driving.

Shortly before Scott allegedly fled, federal prosecutors asked U.S. District Judge Donovan Frank in an August court filing to sentence him within the advisory federal guidelines range of 87 to 108 months in prison. The maximum terms are 20 years in federal prison for wire fraud and 10 years for money laundering.

Scott's criminal history indicates that he's committed several types of fraud in the past using several aliases, Assistant U.S. Attorney Nancy Brasel wrote. She said that records cast doubt on whether he ever had supercomputers, and that evidence indicates that no lightning strike took place on the day he reported it damaging his company's hardware.

"This crime is not an anomaly, but rather a continuation and escalation of the defendant's past criminal conduct. Moreover, the defendant's dishonest acts do not appear to be over," Brasel wrote.

She wasn't talking about his subsequent flight to Canada, but rather, the fact that he had told a probation officer that he had attended the University of Illinois in Chicago to pursue a degree in electrical engineering, when the school says it has no record of his attendance.

Halberg argued that the government overstated Scott's criminal history and asked Frank to sentence him to no more than five years in prison. He also argued that the government's request for $11.5 million in restitution should be reduced to $9.8 million.

Brasel said she would present evidence to resolve the dispute when Scott is eventually sentenced. She has since resigned to become a judge in Hennepin County.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Rank, who heads the white-collar crime division, has taken on the case, Cooney said. She said additional charges are expected.

Dan Browning ? 612-673-4493

Source: http://www.startribune.com/local/west/136463948.html

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In Iowa, Obama toils while GOP roars, then departs

President Barack Obama holds hands with his daughters Malia, left, and Sasha, right, as they leave Sea Life Park, a marine wildlife park, with family friends, Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2011, in Waimanalo, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

President Barack Obama holds hands with his daughters Malia, left, and Sasha, right, as they leave Sea Life Park, a marine wildlife park, with family friends, Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2011, in Waimanalo, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney speaks during a campaign stop at Elly's Tea and Coffee in Muscatine, Iowa, Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2011. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

Republican presidential candidate, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich makes a stop at the National Farm Toy Museum in Dyersville, Iowa, on Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2011, in Dyersville, Iowa. Gingrich also made stops in Dubuque and Decorah Tuesday afternoon and evening. (AP Photo/The Gazette, Nikole Hanna)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) ? One presidential campaign claims an impressive effort in Iowa this year: eight offices opened, 350,000 phone calls to potential supporters and 1,280 events to recruit and train volunteers.

It's not Mitt Romney or Newt Gingrich or Ron Paul. It's Obama for America, the president's re-election campaign, which badly wants to win this battleground state in November, as it did in 2008.

"The Republicans are here today, gone tomorrow," said Obama volunteer Pat Walters, of Johnston, a suburb of Des Moines. "We've been doing this since 2009."

Next Tuesday's Republican caucus has dominated political conversations. Largely overlooked is that Obama is running unopposed in the Democratic caucus the same night.

It's a dramatically different scene from four years ago, when Obama set his course for the White House by beating John Edwards and Hillary Rodham Clinton after months of intense campaigning in Iowa.

Obama can coast as far as this year's nomination is concerned. But Iowa remains a general election swing state, and no one assumes his 9-point win here over John McCain in 2008 will give him a cushion next November.

Obama's campaign never entirely left Iowa or several other competitive states, where he hopes relentless organizing can overcome a weak economy and his mixed record of fulfilling campaign pledges in the face of strong GOP opposition in Congress. If thousands of volunteers flocked to Obama's 2008 campaign, this time he's having to work a bit harder to recruit and energize them.

"People say, 'The mood is different this time, it's not the same,'" said Peggy Whitworth, an Obama volunteer in Cedar Rapids. "Well of course it's not the same. But it's not about mood or feeling. It's about the future of the country."

Whitworth, 69, said she joins other Obama volunteers four hours every Tuesday night, and sometimes on other evenings as well, to telephone potential supporters. Many say they will vote for Obama again, she said, and some volunteer to help the campaign. But some are disappointed or angry that the president fell short on campaign promises such as ending the Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthy, and bringing a greater spirit of bipartisanship to Washington.

"Sometimes they simply want to have someone listen to them," Whitworth said. Most say they will stick with Obama after they've had a chance to vent their frustrations, she said.

Obama lacks some key advantages he enjoyed in 2008. They include a deeply unpopular GOP president who was largely blamed for a faltering economy, and a widespread excitement about Obama's precedent-breaking campaign built on "hope and change."

In exchange, of course, he has the power of the presidency and a well-oiled political organization that has been refining its practices for five years. Obama will raise many millions of dollars, although his eventual Republican opponent may do nearly as well.

Nowhere does Obama have a bigger base to build on than in Iowa, where he campaigned for months in 2007. Romney, Gingrich and other GOP contenders have not made comparable efforts, although they say the economy and other issues will make Obama's task much harder next year.

In activities that rarely compete with the hoopla of the GOP nominating contest, Obama's campaign has placed a handful of paid staffers in each of several key states. They try to leverage their clout by recruiting and training scores of volunteers. The volunteers, in turn, knock on doors, organize house parties and, above all, place phone calls to voters in hopes of identifying likely Obama supporters and tracking them through Election Day.

In a tortoise-versus-hare strategy, Obama supporters hope their steady chugging will build support precinct by precinct, town by town, while Republicans spend resources chasing the nomination for a few more weeks or months. The Republican candidates and their broadcast ads are flooding Iowa this week, but they will abruptly shift to New Hampshire on Jan. 4, the day after the caucuses.

Walters, a 60-year-old insurance executive, said he is a "neighborhood team leader" who helps organize house parties, phone banks and other activities. His chief recruiting tools, he said, involve reminding Iowans of Obama's accomplishments that include expanding medical benefits in the hard-won 2010 overhaul of the nation's health care system.

Walters said he hopes the week-by-week, month-by-month effort will build a strong ground operation to turn out Obama's voters next November. The Republican nominee will have to play catch up, he said.

Obama's ground game "is already in place," Walters said. "It's just a matter of growing it."

Iowa Democratic Chairwoman Chair Sue Dvorsky underscored the methodical nature of the efforts in a conference call with reporters Wednesday.

Since April, she said, "this has been a systematic grassroots effort. The same exact way we did it last time. It isn't very glamorous. It's not a very secret plan. It is voter to voter, one-to-one, then a street, then a precinct, then a county."

Dvorsky said Obama will beam "a live address to Iowa Democrats in every caucus site next Tuesday night.

The Hartford Courant

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2011-12-28-Obama%20Campaign-Iowa/id-a6b3b2fff4444ceeb406849326ddf24f

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93% 50/50

All Critics (166) | Top Critics (40) | Fresh (155) | Rotten (11)

Still, it's Gordon-Levitt's choices that continue to impress. Sure, he owned one of the most jaw-dropping sequences in last summer's blockbuster Inception. But the actor remains drawn to profoundly human-scale hurts and quiet triumphs.

Gordon-Levitt is an agreeably undemonstrative actor who plays well opposite the burbly Rogen.

Chances are about 90/10 that you'll enjoy 50/50.

Scene by scene, 50/50 can be both amusing and moving, with the tightly wound Gordon-Levitt and the boundaryless Rogen forming an oddly complementary pair. But as a whole the movie never quite coheres.

In other hands, Adam might well be hard to take. But as the comedy in 50/50 turns darker, Gordon-Levitt, who's maybe the most natural, least affected actor of his generation, makes prickly plenty engaging.

An everyman tale with plenty of heart and honesty, the serious subject matter is regularly enlivened with jolts of genuine hilarity, some of it in delightfully questionable taste.

Dark humor, smart characters and a script with a heart make '50/50' one of the best films of the year. You'll take some emotions with you when you leave the theater.

[A]n honest, hilarious, laugh-till-you-cry look at how very much it sucks to get very sick as a young person... The characters are all uniquely vivid and unforgettable...

To those unfortunate enough to have a potentially terminal illness, it could be inspirational.

[A] beautifully played, precisely observed and surprisingly thoughtful buddy movie, which is based on a true story.

It's the performances that really make it work, with Seth Rogen bringing his usual wonderfully loose comic energy to proceedings.

The absence of self-pity and sentimentality is something of a change. The women involved, however, are given a rather hard time.

This frequently funny and moving film proves humour can be wrung from tricky subjects, providing it's done with sufficient thoughtfulness and wit.

This film leaves a strange taste in the mouth.

Gordon-Levitt's uptight everyman hero fully earns our sympathy and Kendrick is superb as the rookie therapist, but the film suffers from an overly strong dose of Rogen's crudity and mawkishness, which must surely be reaching its use-by date soon.

So well-meaning you want to hug it.

The picture scores highly for tackling tricky, thought-provoking subject matter and contains some humorous and touching moments.

A rom-com with brains that - at key moments - feels as sly and sweet as Annie Hall.

It's not a major landmark on anybody's r?sum?, but it's nothing to be ashamed of either.

The Gordon-Levitt-Rogen bromance is one of the most exciting and fun ones in recent comedy history, and the pair have a wonderful natural rift ...

Seth Rogen might be there to puts bums on seats, but it's Joseph Gordon-Levitt who will keep you watching.

It may be a marketing nightmare, but as examinations of mortality go, few come funnier, wiser or more astutely acted.

Whether you're after a comedy-drama about cancer or a Rogen laugh-fest with added heart, this does a remarkable job of balancing the odds.

This is the terminal illness weepie for people who don't watch terminal illness weepies, and it's much the better for it.

It's refreshing to see a movie that embraces the ugly side of what happens to complicated personal relationships. Its quite uncomfortable at times, and the frank exploration of the cancer patient journey makes the comedy even funnier.

More Critic Reviews

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/5050_2011/

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Mercer Island AAU basketball wins tournament | Sports brief

By MEGAN MANAGAN
Mercer Island Reporter Sports Writer
December 27, 2011 ? 1:39 PM

The Xplosion, a Mercer Island AAU boys basketball team, recently won a holiday tournament.

The team competed in the Impact Spots Academy Holiday Classic tournament. Xplosion participated in the seventh and eighth grade division, winning the championship game with a 47-46 final score after coming from behind to win.

The team includes: Brendan Johnson, Matt Padgett, Peter Ernst, Sami El-Rafy, Sam Rosenstein, Kyle Stolzman, Ryan Liang and Ivan Roussanov. The team is coached by Joe Phillips.

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Contact Mercer Island Reporter Sports Writer Megan Managan at mmanagan@mi-reporter.com or (206) 232-1215 ext. 5054.

Source: http://feeds.soundpublishing.com/~r/mirsports/~3/0PpofT0n-KQ/136279438.html

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Video: A look back on desegregation

Arc: Big East loaded with good, not great, teams

Beyond the Arc: Georgetown's win over Louisville on Wednesday is the sort of thing we'll be seeing a lot of this season in the Big East, a league stocked with good teams, but no great ones beyond Syracuse.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036697/vp/45799882#45799882

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Will There Be a Shortage of Small Business Tech Workers in 2012?

Does your small business rely on high-tech workers to compete? You?re not alone. Increasingly, being up to speed on technology is crucial to business success, which means you need a savvy tech team in-house. But hiring those tech workers might be getting harder?and the risks of making a bad hire might have greater ramifications?in 2012.

While national unemployment rates hover near 9 percent, CIO.com reports that as of November, the unemployment rate in the technology industry was just 2.7 percent. Also as of November, the number of job openings rose by 12 percent year-over-year, according to tech hiring site Dice.com. In particular, big cities like New York, Silicon Valley and DC are seeing shortages of qualified tech employees.

For 2012, it?s only going to get worse. CIO says a December survey by Dice.com found that 65 percent of IT hiring managers expect to hire in the first half of 2012, with more than one-fourth planning to increase their IT staff by over 20 percent. Those companies are looking for experienced workers, with the biggest demand being for workers with 6 to 10 years of tech experience and those who are skilled in mobile apps, cloud computing, virtualization, project management, business analytics and Java.

What does it mean to you? First, if you?re looking to hire tech employees, you?re going to face an increasingly competitive marketplace, which will make the ongoing challenge of matching big companies? perks and pay even tougher. Second, even if you?re not hiring, you?ve got reason to worry, as the demand for experienced techies means your key people could get poached.

To keep them happy, you?ll need to offer competitive pay (or better), challenging work and the chance for career growth.

If your key tech workers get lured away, it could put your business at risk in more ways than one. A separate survey from CareerBuilder?s site Sologig.com, reported in TechRepublic, found that a majority of companies had experienced hiring an IT person who wasn?t a good fit.

More than one-third said such bad hires cost them $50,000 or more. ?Rushing to hire was the top reason for bad choices, which resulted in everything from lost time and productivity to harmful effects on morale and even client relationships.

Will you be hiring tech workers in 2012? Or are you just hoping to keep the ones you?ve got? Either way, you?d better start strategizing to ensure you don?t end up short on talent and long on headaches.

Tech Engineer Photo via Shutterstock

About the Author

Rieva Lesonsky is CEO of GrowBiz Media, a media company that helps entrepreneurs start and grow their businesses. Visit her blog, SmallBizDaily. Visit her website SmallBizTrendCast to get the scoop on business trends and sign up for Rieva?s free TrendCast reports.

Connect with Rieva Lesonsky:

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Source: http://smallbiztrends.com/2011/12/shortage-small-business-tech-workers-2012.html

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FBI joins search for missing Indiana girl

FORT WAYNE, Ind.?? The FBI on Monday joined the search for a missing 9-year-old Indiana girl and agents are scouring a mobile home park that's also a haven for registered sex offenders.

Agents descended on the mobile home park where Aliahna Lemmon lived in Fort Wayne.

Fort Wayne authorities plan to meet Monday afternoon to plan their next move after two straight days without a search for the girl, a sheriff's department spokesman said.

Aliahna went missing from a family friend's home on Friday.

About a half-dozen people in black windbreakers were at the mobile home park Monday. Several identified themselves as FBI agents.

Search dogs were seen at a nearby storage facility.

Aliahna and her sisters were staying at a family friend's nearby home because their mother had been sick with the flu and Aliahna's stepfather works at night and sleeps during the day, The Journal Gazette reported Monday.

Mike Plumadore, 39, told the newspaper Sunday that he left the three girls in his mobile home about 6 a.m. Friday and went to a gas station about a mile away to buy a cigar. Authorities have said the store's surveillance video shows him there about that time.

"I had deadbolted the door," he said. "When I got back, all the girls was here."

He said he smoked his cigar and went back to sleep, then woke up about 10 a.m. when Aliahna's mother called. After that call, he realized the door to the home was unlocked and that Aliahna was gone. He said Aliahna's sisters, both 6 years old, told him that Aliahna had left with her mom.

Plumadore said it wasn't until he talked with Aliahna's mom about 8:30 p.m. that they realized she was missing and police were notified.

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Aliahna's mother, Tarah Souders, 28, said miscommunication between the two of them caused the delay in determining that Aliahna had vanished.

"She's never wandered off," Souders said. "She's never done anything like this before."

But Aliahna does have a history of sleepwalking, even unlocking doors and going outside while sleeping, said her grandmother, Amber Story.

"I just hope that she's not suffering or in pain," Story said.

Registered sex offenders in the area
Souders said her daughter also has vision and hearing problems and suffers from attention deficit disorder and emotional problems.

In addition, Aliahna has post-traumatic stress disorder, The Journal Gazette reported.

The family believes Aliahna may have left Plumadore's home on her own. Fifteen registered sex offenders live at the Northway mobile home park, where Plumadore's home is, according to the Allen County's Sheriff's Department website.

Plumadore has three felony convictions for battery, auto theft, and forgery.

?I?m not an angel by any means,? he told The Gazette, but added, ?I don?t hurt children. I don?t hurt animals.?

Family members also said they have never seen him hurt anyone.

There are no suspects or persons of interest in the case, including Plumadore and the registered sex offenders in the mobile home park, authorities said, according to The Gazette. Plumadore and other family members have been interviewed.

The Associated Press and msnbc.com's Elizabeth Chuck contributed to this report.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45790781/ns/us_news-life/

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Donating An Automotive | Articles Caravan

If in case you have an automotive that you realize longer use you will have to imagine donating it to a good cause. Many people are unaware that it is even conceivable to donate cars. In turn they only finally end up taking their car to the junkyard instead. Why supply your automotive to the junkyard for pennies, whilst you?ll be able to donate it to help other people that are in want?

The benefit of donating a car is that there are a lot of advantages that pass in conjunction with it that you may no longer even bear in mind of. Firstly, it is important to recognise that you?ll be able to donate your automotive even supposing it is not in highest operating condition. With a little bit of work your car can most likely get running once more and lend help in additional techniques than one. As well as, you by no means have to worry approximately riding your car to the donation middle or deciding to buy towing. They?re going to all the time come to you to pick out the automobile up; no questions asked.

To take service a step further, donation centers also are prepared to work with you to be able to be sure that the whole lot is going off easily from the start. They provide quick provider and advised consideration in order that you shouldn?t have to head from your way to ensure that your automotive is picked up on time, etc. Whilst you donate your car there is also a minimal amount of forms that you have to care for; this makes the method even quicker.

Donating an automotive can be used as a large IRS tax deduction. Many of us aren?t conscious about this, however it is likely one of the easiest reasons to donate your automobile to charity or another cause. Tax deductions can cross far in making sure that you don?t owe money at the finish of the year.

And naturally the largest good thing about donating an automotive is that you?re going to be serving to folks which can be in need. Your car would possibly cross to a circle of relatives that does not have any transportation, or the group you donate it to might use it to deliver clothes, meals, or furniture. Either means, you?ll be able to be relax assured that your donation goes to be put to good use.

To discover a charity or group that accepts automobile donations you?ll be able to merely go online or search the yellow pages. You shouldn?t have any issues finding an organization in your house that will be ecstatic to take your automobile off your hands. And if you can not find anybody to your house, check out anyone somewhat additional out. Chances are that they?re going to be just excited to help you out.

Overall, if you have an automotive that you simply not use look into donating it. The advantages that move in conjunction with this process are never-ending, and you will feel significantly better about your self whilst the whole lot is over and done.

If you need added info with reference to scrap car prices, swing by Howard K Lalone?s internet site this minute.

Source: http://articlescaravan.net/80824-donating-automotive/

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Sony unveils North American PS Vita launch titles, pricing

Sony unveils North American PS Vita launch titles, pricing

DVDBack23 @ Dec 23, 2011 18:14 | 3 comments

Sony has revealed all of the PS Vita's launch titles for when it hits Canada and the U.S. on February 22nd.

The games will cost $10 to $50 although the company has not put specific price tags on each game, yet. PSN downloads are expected to be on the lower range, while games like uncharted are expected to be the very high end.

Sony's own titles include:

Escape Plan (PSN Only)

Hot Shots Golf: World Invitational

Hustle Kings (PSN Only)

Little Deviants

ModNation Racers: Road Trip

Super StarDust Delta (PSN Only)

Uncharted: Golden Abyss

wipEout 2048

Titles from third-party developers:

Army Corps of Hell

Asphalt Injection

Ben 10 Galactic Racing

BlazBlue: Continuum Shift Extend

Dungeon Hunter Alliance

Dynasty Warriors Next

F1 2011

EA Sports FIFA Soccer

Lumines Electronic Symphony

Michael Jackson: The Experience

Plants vs. Zombies (PSN Only)

Rayman Origins

Shinobido 2: Revenge of Zen

Tales of Space: Mutant Blobs (PSN Only)

Touch My Katamari

Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3

Virtua Tennis 4: World Tour Edition

Additionally, the company has revealed their "release window" games, which will likely be available for the handheld console within 6 months:

Gravity Rush

MLB 12 The Show

Reality Fighters

Unit 13

Disgaea 3: Absence of Detention

Ninja Gaiden Plus

Ridge Racer

Silen Hill Book of Memories

Supremacy MM: Unrestricted

Finally, the company has officially confirmed the prices of its memory cards. The memory cards are required to save games or use PSN downloads:

4 GB Memory Card $19.99

8 GB Memory Card $29.99

16 GB Memory Card $59.99

32 GB Memory Card $99.99

Source: http://www.blasteroids.com/news/news_item.cfm/33441

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Mother-Toddler Bond May Influence Teen Obesity (HealthDay)

MONDAY, Dec. 26 (HealthDay News) -- Teens are more likely to be obese if they had a poor emotional relationship with their mother when they were toddlers, according to a new study.

The findings echo previous research showing that toddlers who didn't have close emotional ties with their parents were more likely to be obese by the time they were 4.5 years old.

In the latest study, researchers examined U.S. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development data collected from hundreds of families who lived in nine states and had children who were born in 1991.

The analysis showed that the children's risk of obesity at age 15 was highest among those who had the lowest-quality emotional relationship with their mothers when they were toddlers, the Ohio State University researchers said.

More than one-quarter of the toddlers who had the lowest-quality relationships with their mothers were obese as teens, compared with 13 percent of those who had closer bonds with their mothers in their early years, according to the report published online and in the January print issue of the journal Pediatrics.

These and previous findings indicate that the risk of obesity may be affected by areas of the brain that control emotions and stress responses working together with those that control appetite and energy balance, the investigators explained.

The authors suggested that obesity prevention efforts should include strategies to improve the mother-child bond, as well as promoting healthier eating and exercise.

"It is possible that childhood obesity could be influenced by interventions that try to improve the emotional bonds between mothers and children rather than focusing only on children's food intake and activity," lead author Sarah Anderson, an assistant professor of epidemiology, said in an Ohio State University news release.

"The sensitivity a mother displays in interacting with her child may be influenced by factors she can't necessarily control. Societally, we need to think about how we can support better-quality maternal-child relationships, because that could have an impact on child health," Anderson added.

More information

The Nemours Foundation has more about overweight and obesity in children.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/weightloss/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20111226/hl_hsn/mothertoddlerbondmayinfluenceteenobesity

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PFT: Packers hint they will rest starters

Reuters

All I wanted for Christmas was 14 NFL contests on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

And I got it, primarily since there was little or no danger of shooting my eye out.

The best part about it?? The ability to write 10 things about what I saw while enjoying the 14 games-a-playing.

1.? ?Playoff turnover trend continues.

While the final postseason field isn?t quite yet settled, it?s already obvious from the teams that made it ? and the teams that won?t ? that the trend of 50-percent playoff turnover most likely will once again hold true.

In the AFC, the Patriots, Steelers, and Ravens have made it back again to the playoffs.? But the Colts, Chargers, and (most likely) the Jets will be left behind.

Replacing them will be the Texans and some combination of the Broncos, Raiders, Bengals, and Titans, with the Jets having a far-slimmer-than-Rex chance of dropping the turnover rate to 33 percent.

In the NFC, the Packers, Saints, and Falcons will be back.? Dumped from contention are the Eagles, Seahawks, and Bears.? Taking their places will be the Cowboys or the Giants, along with the Lions and 49ers.

Maybe we should quit calling this a trend.? Maybe it?s now the rule, and any situations in which more than half of the playoff field makes it back the next year should be regarded as the exception.

For the NFL, it?s a great development, because it creates annual hope for the 20 teams that end up on the outside looking in.? Every year, the fans of those franchises can take some solace in the notion that nearly a third of them will be playing for a Super Bowl title the following year.

Even the Bills and the Browns.

2.? Steelers face tough decision on Ben.

It?s hard to gauge the overall impressiveness of the Steelers? 27-0 win over the Rams, due to the quality of the competition.? But the decision to sit Ben Roethlisberger and start veteran Charlie Batch at quarterback couldn?t have gone much better.

So why not do it again?

The Steelers, after all, are playing the lowly Browns.? And while Pittsburgh?s arch-rivals from Cleveland would love nothing more than to keep the Steelers from winning the AFC North and clinching the No. 2 seed (even if it means seeing the even-more-hated Ravens pocket those prizes), the Steelers have the weaponry to handle the Browns with Batch or Dennis Dixon or even Terry Hanratty at quarterback.

On the other hand, getting a bye and securing home field advantage for at least the division round and possibly, if the Pats lose to the Bills in Week 17 or at home in the conference semifinals, the AFC title game carries with it tremendous value.? If, in the end, the Steelers indeed are on a collision course to play the Ravens again, it?s important for that game to be played in Pittsburgh, where the Steelers have beaten the Ravens twice in the last three postseasons.

The fact that the Bengals can get in with a win, which gives them even more motivation to beat the Ravens, should make the Steelers more willing to load up the cannon in order to beat the Browns.? Thus, while it was reckless for the Steelers to go with Roethlisberger only 11 days after he suffered the sprained ankle, Sunday?s game invites a calculated risk that, if it works out, could generate a great reward.

If it doesn?t pay off, the Steelers will be in no worse shape, since they?re locked in as the fifth seed.

Unless, of course, Roethlisberger aggravates the ankle with as little as six days to get ready for a game in Denver or Oakland.

In the end, it won?t be an easy call.? Maybe the answer will be to use Roethlisberger until the game against the Browns seems to be decided ? or until the scoreboard shows that the Ravens are handling the Bengals.

3.? AFC playoff field is flawed.

Not that long ago, all the best teams resided in the AFC.? Now, the once top-heavy conference has teams at the top that are littered with warts.

The Patriots, currently the top seed, possess a porous defense and not much of a running game.? Last time I checked, those were two key components of any serious playoff run.

The Ravens seem to be the most dangerous team of the bunch, as long as they can put it all together.? But they seem only to put it all together when playing good teams.? Saturday?s dilly-dallying with the Browns shows that the Ravens could be ripe for an upset if/when a lesser franchise comes to town.

Not long ago, the Texans were the ?it? team.? Now, many of their fans want to add an ?s? and an ?h? to that description.? With scant playoff experience on the roster, the Texans will need to make a quick adjustment when it?s time to play the big boys in the conference.

The Steelers have the tools to beat anyone, but they?re in danger of having to do it the hard way, with three hurdles to clear ? all of which most likely will come on the road ? before a earning a return trip to the Super Bowl.

The Broncos can beat anyone on any given day.? As we saw in fairly dramatic fashion on Saturday, they can lose to anyone, too.? Including a team that was riding a seven-game winning streak.? Even if the clock is striking twelve on Tebow Time, it?s hard to see this team winning in Pittsburgh/Baltimore, New England, or even Houston.

Ditto for the Raiders, who have at times looked good enough to barely win and at other times bad enough to be blown off the field.

That means the team poised to pocket the last ticket to the party ? the Bengals ? could be the most dangerous.? With a capable defense, a better-than-expected rookie quarterback, and a better-than-most rookie receiver, the team with the least to lose and the lowest expectations could string together one win after another, thanks to the deeply flawed field of candidates.

Of course, this could mean that the winner of the conference will end up being the sacrificial lambs for the Packers, Saints, or 49ers.? Unless, of course, the Ravens avoid playing down to the competition in their own conference long enough to earn a crack at the best teams in the league.

4.? Tough year for top two tailbacks.

Entering the 2011 football season, running backs in the NFL fell into two categories:? (1) Adrian Peterson and Chris Johnson; and (2) everyone else.

And the season started very well for both men, who took two very different paths to getting paid a lot of money.? Johnson held out of training camp and the preseason, getting his big-money deal only days before the start of the season.? Peterson happily entered the final season of his rookie contract without creating any overt drama, even though it privately was known he wouldn?t react well to being subjected to the franchise tag in 2012.

Once the games started, it became clear that the holdout hampered Johnson.? Peterson performed well as usual, but he was underutilized at times by a Vikings team that kept blowing second-half leads.

Now that Peterson has suffered a serious knee injury, which seemed inevitable given his hard-charging running style, both men have a long way to go to prove that they remain the best tailbacks in the game.? Johnson needs to rediscover the explosiveness that allowed him to slide through a crease and hit the nitrous button; Peterson needs to get healthy.

Their experiences demonstrate that, unlike the quarterback position, which produces a tight nucleus of elite players who remain at that level for years, the best running backs have become a revolving door, with each year producing new guys who?ll enter the next season at the top of the league ? and who?ll have only a limited window to remain there.

5.? Cruz control in New York.

In his team?s first game of the 2010 preseason, undrafted rookie receiver Victor Cruz created a major stir for the Giants, with a performance that featured 145 yards and three touchdowns against the Jets in their annual exhibition.? But then the regular season started, and Cruz disappeared from view, making zero receptions before suffering a season-ending injury.

The 2011 campaign began far more inconspicuously for Cruz, with no touchdowns in the preseason and no receptions in the regular-season opener.? In Week Two, Cruz had only two catches for 17 yards.

Then came the explosion.? In the past 13 games, Cruz has generated 1,341 receiving yards.? Combined with the paltry 51 feet from the first eighth of the season, Cruz now has become the single-season receiving yardage leader in the storied history of the Giants franchise.

And the breaking of Amani Toomers? record came in perhaps the biggest regular-season game the Giants have had in years ? a cross-town/cross-stadium rivalry with the loud-mouthed Jets, in which Cruz?s nine-yard catch and 90-yard run turned the tide of a game in which the ?home? team in Green seemed to be overpowering the team that had won only one of six games.

As a result, Cruz needs to be taken seriously as one of the best young receivers in the game.? It?s a great story for a New Jersey kid who simply wanted to play in the NFL.? Cruz, through two NFL seasons, is on track not just to play but to dominate.

6.? Heaping helping of humble pie for the Ryans.

It?ll be interesting to see the relationship between the outcome of the 2011 regular season and the extent to which the Ryan twins keep talking.? For Rex, the Jets head coach, he had a chance to put up or shut up against the Giants.? Rex didn?t put up; now we?ll see whether he shuts up.

For Rob, the Cowboys defensive coordinator, another ugly loss to the Eagles and a looming winner-take-all game against the team that just beat Rex should induce caution and, relatively speaking, silence.

But guys who like to talk tend to find ways to keep talking.? Even after a season in which the Eagles scored a total of 99 points against the Ryans in three games, and with both the Jets and Cowboys facing a strong possibility of no postseason appearance for either team, it?s unlikely that they?ll change.

They can?t change; they are who they are, which is the source of their appeal to the men who play for them.? And as long as their players respond well to Rex and Rob, they?ll have a place in the league.

Besides, there?s still a chance ? slim as it may be ? that both men will extend their seasons past January 1.? For Rob, it?s a simple win-and-in proposition.? For Rex, the odds are longer, but it?s no huge stretch to think that the Jets will beat the Dolphins, the Ravens will beat the Bengals, the Texans will beat the Titans, and the Raiders or the Broncos will lose to the Chargers or the Chiefs, respectively.

If that all happens, Rex will find a way to quickly and completely digest his Christmas Eve portion of humble pie.? And now that the Jets have bottomed out for the third time this year, the boomerang effect could carry them deep into that deeply flawed AFC playoff field.

7.? It?ll be hard to keep Raheem.

The Buccaneers nearly made it to the postseason in 2010.? But for a surprising (at the time) home loss to the Lions, the 10-6 Bucs would have claimed the last seat at the NFC table, bouncing to the curb the eventual Super Bowl champions.

This year, expectations were higher, even though they were tempered by the reality that the Bucs compete with the Falcons and Saints in the NFC South.? A 4-2 start to the season, including wins over said Falcons and Saints, created a sense that the ?yungry? team from Tampa could take over the division.

And then the bottom dropped out.

Nine straight losses later, including two to a Carolina team that won only two total games a year ago, the Bucs have clinched the basement.? With coach Raheem Morris having only one year left on his contract and receiving no public or (by all appearances) private assurances that he?ll be back in 2012, it?s safe to assume that ownership will move on.

With the Jon Gruden buyout completed and Morris being paid nowhere near the top of the coaching food chain, it?ll be no problem to pay him not to coach the team in 2011.? And with the Bucs on track to finish the year with as many consecutive losses as total victories a year ago, it?ll be virtually impossible for a team that struggles to sell tickets to bring Raheem back.

But then who will they hire to run the team?? The up-and-coming coordinator who happens to be the younger brother of the guy the Bucs fired three years ago?? Another young assistant coach with low recognition, low salary demands, and, in turn, a limited ability to put butts in seats?

Or will the Glazer family decide to spend some of the money that hasn?t been devoted to player costs over the past several years on a big-name coach whose mere presence will help market the team?

We?ll all find out the answer soon.? The end result could result in even more empty seats next year at Raymond James Stadium.

8.? Lions peaking at the right time, but will it matter?

After the Lions slumped from 5-0 to 7-5, serious questions hovered regarding the team?s true ability to compete.? The loss of running back Jahvid Best to a season-ending concussion and the decision of opposing defenses to blanket receiver Calvin Johnson took the sting out of the offense.? The Ndamukong Suh imbroglio created a torrent of negative publicity, and a sense that the Lions simply weren?t ready to compete at the highest levels of the league.

Three straight wins in a row later, the Lions have made it to the postseason for the first time since 1999, and they?re being regarded as a serious threat to make some major noise when the playoffs start.

But will they?? Though Saturday?s thumping of the Chargers arguably was the most impressive victory of the season, the Lions barely held on to beat a bad Vikings team and found a way to steal a road win over the up-and-down Raiders.

It?s entirely possible that the bolt of momentum coming from the knockout blow that the Lions administered to the Chargers will help the Lions win a game or two, or maybe more, when it counts the most.? Ultimately, the Lions? fate could be influenced heavily by whether they enter the playoffs as the No. 5 or No. 6 seed.

If they can hold off the Falcons for the primary wild-card spot in the NFC, the Lions will play at Dallas (where the Lions won during the season) or New York (where the Giants have a hard time holding serve, at least when they?re not the visiting team).? But if the Lions slide into the sixth spot, Detroit will have to return to New Orleans, where they lost badly in early December.

The Saints seem to be unbeatable in the Superdome.? Perhaps the Lions could find a way to beat them there, but the Lions would surely prefer not to be forced to try.

And that creates an interesting dilemma for the Packers next week.? With the top seed clinched, should Green Bay rest their starters for the postseason, or should they do everything they can to force the Lions? postseason tour to commence with the possibility of inevitable failure in New Orleans?

9.? Eventual Super Bowl teams dodged a bullet.

In less than a month, we?ll know the identities of the teams who?ll qualify for the biggest event in all of sport.? Whoever makes it should look back to Week 16, and breathe a deep sigh of relief.? (Not to be confused with the many other types of sighs.)

On Christmas Eve, two of the most potentially disruptive teams summarily were erased from postseason contention, when the Chargers saw their three-game winning streak end in Detroit and when the Eagles saw their own three-game run rendered irrelevant by the Giants? win over the Jets.

Either team could have wreaked major havoc in January.? Just as the Packers barely made it to the playoffs as the NFC?s sixth seed in 2010 and then won the whole thing, the Eagles and Chargers could have parlayed late-season surges into postseason pillaging.

Now, none of the other playoff teams have to worry about the two teams who were the hottest in the league entering Week 16.? The Eagles have gotten even hotter, and the Packers, 49ers, and Saints should be thrilled that the Eagles won?t get a chance to extend that vibe beyond Sunday.

10.? The bloom is off the Tebow.

Eight days ago, Tim Tebow had reached the pinnacle of pro football popularity and/or notoriety.? The Broncos quarterback had become the biggest name in football, joining only a small handful of football players who can cross over into major mainstream consciousness.

Today, with a pair of ugly losses in which Tebow and the Broncos offense started strong but ultimately collapsed, the national buzz has diminished, significantly.? Though Tebow can get it back by leading the Broncos to a win over the Chiefs and former Denver starter Kyle Orton, the past two weekends prove that the flavor of the month sometimes is only the flavor of the week.

At some point, Tebowmania likely will return to the top of the non-sports news cycle.? Also, he remains the hottest thing going in Denver.

Still, his inability to deliver further heroics at home against the Patriots or to stay within 20 points of a bad Buffalo team on Christmas Eve has served as a stark reminder that the latest big name in sports is at any given time only a couple of bad games away from again becoming just another face in the crowd.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/12/26/packers-hint-they-will-rest-starters-next-week/related/

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UK's Queen visits Prince Philip after heart scare (Reuters)

LONDON (Reuters) ? Queen Elizabeth visited her 90-year-old husband Prince Philip in hospital on Saturday where Britain's longest-serving royal consort was recovering from surgery to ease chest pains he had suffered in the days before Christmas.

Buckingham Palace said the operation to clear a blocked heart artery was a success, but Philip appeared bound to miss much of the royals' Christmas celebrations at their rural Sandringham estate.

Heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles and siblings Prince Edward, Prince Andrew and Princess Anne also visited Papworth hospital near Cambridge to see their recuperating father, who said this year he wanted to wind down some of his royal duties.

"Prince Philip was in good spirits," a spokeswoman for Buckingham Palace said, describing the visits. "He will remain in hospital under observation for a short period."

Philip had been preparing to enjoy Christmas with his family - including grandson Prince William and his new wife Catherine - at Sandringham in east England, with an exchange of gifts on Christmas Eve and a Boxing Day shoot among the highlights.

The Duke of Edinburgh, known for his outspoken and sometimes brusque manner, has had a hectic year of engagements in 2011 including the wedding of William and Catherine, entertaining U.S. President Barack Obama and a trip to Australia.

There will be little chance to rest in 2012 when 85-year-old Elizabeth, whose annual Christmas Day address will focus on the importance of family, celebrates her 60th year on the throne with a tour of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

BLOCKED ARTERY

Philip, who married Elizabeth in 1947, was taken to Papworth, one of Britain's main heart and chest centers, about 60 miles away near Cambridge, late on Friday.

"The Duke of Edinburgh was found to have a blocked coronary artery which caused his chest pains," the palace said. "This was treated successfully by the minimally invasive procedure of coronary stenting."

The minor operation involves using a catheter to insert small tube into the artery to clear any blockages.

Philip had attended a lunch for staff a week ago and had been on "very good form," the BBC said.

"He has had these chest pains before and I don't think it's anything untoward, but given his age they are being safe rather than sorry," former royal press spokesman Dickie Arbiter said.

Despite his age, Philip has been in generally robust health this year, ploughing through a busy array of charity work and social engagements.

A pivotal figure in the House of Windsor, he has a reputation as a fiercely loyal consort who prefers outdoor pursuits to introspection.

However, in a BBC interview to mark his 90th birthday in June he said he was hoping for a quieter life in older age.

"I reckon I've done my bit," he said. "I want to enjoy myself a bit now with less responsibility, less frantic rushing about, less preparation, less trying to think of something to say."

Britain's tabloid newspapers have delighted over the years in recounting his many public gaffes.

He once told British students in China: "If you stay here much longer, you'll be slitty-eyed."

Born on the Greek island of Corfu in 1921, Philip served in Britain's Royal Navy before marrying Elizabeth. They have four children, including the heir to the throne, Charles.

(Additional reporting by Peter Griffiths; Editing by Peter Graff)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/britain/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111224/wl_nm/us_britain_royal_philip

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BakerStreetBlog: Sherlock Holmes' London Itinerary - Visit London | #sherlockholmes http://t.co/PMLy46bc

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PHILLIES SIGN TWO ... BUT LOSE RIVERO TO WASHINGTON

Posted at 02:47:50 PM on December 21, 2011

The Phillies have signed infielder Hector Luna and outfielder Luis Montanez to minor league contracts, inviting both to spring training.

But they also lost infielder Carlos Rivero, who had a break-out season at Reading and was a likely candidate for the IronPigs roster, on waivers to Washington.

The 23-year-old Rivero, who the?Phillies claimed off waivers from Cleveland last winter, hit .275 with 15 homers and 66 RBIs for Reading last year while making the switch from shortstop to third base. He also played briefly for the IronPigs (.185-1-5 in 27 at-bats) in early August before being sent back down to make room for the ill-fated Jack Cust experiment.

Rivero was?designated for assignment?to add Jimmy Rollins back to the roster.

As for??Luna, the 31-year-old played for Pawtucket last year, hitting .283 with 14 homers and 58 RBIs in 113 games, and has averaged 14, 59 RBIs and a .269 average in 104 games over his last four Triple-A seasons.

Luna has also hit?.265 with 13 home runs and 86 RBI in 311 games between the Cardinals (2004-06), Indians (2006), Blue Jays (2007-08) and Marlins (2010).

Montanez, the third pick in the 2000 draft, hit .321 with 22 doubles, seven triples, seven homers and?69 RBIs in 92 games for the Triple-A Iowa Cubs last season. the 30-year-old also hit .222 in 36 games (54 at-bats) for the Cubs last year and is a .229 hitter in 129 big-league games with the Orioles and Cubs over the last four years, including a home run in his first major league at-bat.

He's a .283 hitter in 277?Triple-A seasons, a .287 hitter overall in?12 minor-league seasons. He also won the 2008 Eastern League Triple Crown (.335-26-97) while at Bowie despite playing in only 116 games.

Source: http://blogs.mcall.com/ironpigs/2011/12/phillies-sign-two-but-lose-rivero-to-washington.html

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Will It Hurt My Credit - Credit Management - Debt - AARP

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Wambach is Female Athlete of Year

/

By NANCY ARMOUR

updated 8:08 p.m. ET Dec. 20, 2011

With the final seconds ticking down and the Americans on the verge of their earliest exit ever from the Women's World Cup, Abby Wambach kept waving her index finger at her teammates.

One chance, she screamed, all they needed was one chance.

When it came in the form of a left-footed cross from Megan Rapinoe, Wambach pounced. With one vicious whip of her head, she changed the course of this year's World Cup and sparked a nationwide frenzy rarely seen for women's sports.

Wambach's clutch performance at this summer's World Cup made her the clear choice for the 2011 Female Athlete of the Year, selected by members of The Associated Press. The U.S. forward received 65 of the 214 votes cast, while teammate Hope Solo (38) was a distant second and UConn basketball star Maya Moore (35) was third.

Wambach is the first individual soccer player ? man or woman ? to win one of the AP's annual sports awards, which began in 1931. The U.S. women's team won in 1999, when their World Cup triumph at the Rose Bowl transfixed the nation.

"We, as a team, did something that no team since Mia Hamm was able to do," Wambach told the AP. "Even the team that won the (Olympic) gold medal in 2008 wasn't able to inspire and get people excited about women's soccer. It goes to show you the impact drama can bring."

Wambach's four goals in Germany give her 13 in three World Cup appearances. That's the most by an American, topping Michelle Akers by one, and puts her third on the all-time World Cup scoring list behind Brazil's Marta and Germany's Birgit Prinz. The 31-year-old ranks third on the U.S. career scoring list with 125 goals, trailing only Mia Hamm (158) and Kristine Lilly (130).

"When she's on top of her game," U.S. coach Pia Sundhage said, "she's one of the best in the world."

Wambach was certainly at her best at the World Cup, leading the Americans to the final, where they lost to Japan on penalty kicks.

The U.S. has long been the dominant team in women's soccer, winning two of the first three World Cups and all but one of the Olympic gold medals since the sport was added to the program in 1996. The Americans were so famous they could go by one name ? Mia, Brandi, Foudy ? and they got rock star treatment during the 1999 World Cup, playing to sold-out crowds in massive stadiums from coast to coast.

Americans grew spoiled by the group's success, however, and were barely able to muster a yawn when the U.S. won the Olympic gold medals in 2004 and 2008. Many people in the States may not have even realized there was a World Cup going on this summer.

Then came that quarterfinal against Brazil.

Down a player for almost an hour, the Americans were less than 90 seconds from losing in overtime after squandering an early lead. But in the 122nd minute, Rapinoe lofted a cross from 30 yards and Wambach rose above the Brazilian defenders. One of the world's best players in the air, she scored on a thunderous header, setting off pandemonium in the stadium that soon spread clear across the Atlantic Ocean.

"It just seemed surreal. Even in the moment, I was feeling like it was a dream because we were so against the ropes and everything was pointed to us going down that day," Wambach said. "But there was something inside of us that wasn't going to allow that to happen. We weren't quite ready to give up."

There are few things Americans like more than winners, especially those who wear "U-S-A" on their chests. That the U.S. women were a fierce, gritty bunch who refused to be beaten only made them more appealing, particularly in a summer when all the other news ? the economy, home sales, the NFL lockout ? was bleak.

By the time the U.S. beat Brazil on penalty kicks ? Wambach and her teammates made all of theirs ? folks who couldn't tell a bicycle kick from a Schwinn were piling on the bandwagon. Celebrities such as Tom Hanks, Lil Wayne and Super Bowl MVP Aaron Rodgers were quick to show the Americans some love, and the women even got face time on the Jumbotron at Yankee Stadium.

"People kind of forgot about their woes and were able to celebrate," Wambach said.

She did her part to keep it going, heading in a corner kick for the go-ahead goal in the 79th minute of the semifinal against France. Wambach also scored in the final, giving the U.S. a 2-1 lead in the 104th minute of overtime. But Homare Sawa tied the game in the 117th, and the Americans lost 3-1 on penalty kicks.

Despite the loss, the Americans were welcomed home like champions. They had inspired the country when it needed it, and that meant as much as any trophy or title.

Almost six months later, the accolades are still coming. Wambach was named Sportswoman of the Year by the Women's Sports Foundation, and the victory over Brazil was named the top sports accomplishment of the year in a Marist poll. The Women's World Cup ranked 10th in the voting for AP sports story of the year.

"I'm not a person who cares much about (individual) awards, but I really appreciate you guys recognizing this team," Wambach said. "It helps keep this sport alive, and it's really important."

Wambach takes her role as ambassador for the game seriously, recognizing that time in the spotlight is still rare for women's soccer and it must be taken advantage of. She is as accommodating a star athlete as there is, happy to sign autographs, pose for pictures or do interviews. This is how the game is grown, and that, not the goals or the scoring records, is what she hopes her legacy will be.

"Hopefully when I'm long gone, this team is so good that people don't even talk about (me)," she said. "Truthfully."

Not that Wambach is going anywhere.

The Americans are the defending Olympic champions, and Wambach and her teammates are currently training for next month's regional qualifying tournament. She hopes to be healthy enough to play at the 2015 World Cup in Canada, and fill that last gap in a resume as dazzling as anyone who's ever worn the U.S. uniform.

"I have to say, of all people, I think she is one of the best role models: interacting with fans, saying good things about the game, saying good things about this country, saying good things about her teammates," Sundhage said. "I'm very proud of the fact I've had the chance to coach her for so many years. It will be a highlight of my career."

___

Follow Nancy Armour at http://www.twitter.com/nrarmour

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

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Beckham's MLS run over?

??David Beckham's management company says reports the former England captain has agreed a deal to join Paris Saint-Germain are "premature."

Interested?

AC Milan vice president Adriano Galliani says he will meet with Manchester City on Thursday to discuss signing striker Carlos Tevez.

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/45738566/ns/sports-soccer/

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Thousands abused in Dutch Catholic institutions

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) ? Thousands of children suffered sexual abuse in Dutch Catholic institutions over the past 65 years, and church officials knew about the abuse but failed to adequately address it or help the victims, according to a long-awaited investigation released Friday.

Archbishop of Utrecht Wim Eijk apologized to victims on behalf of the entire Dutch Catholic organization and said the report "fills us with shame and sorrow."

The report said Catholic officials failed to tackle the widespread abuse, which ranged from "unwanted sexual advances" to serious sex abuse, in an attempt to prevent scandals. Abusers included priests, brothers, pastors and lay people who worked in religious orders and congregations, it said.

The investigation followed allegations of repeated incidents of abuse at one cloister that quickly spread to claims from Catholic institutions across the country, echoing similar church-related scandals around the world.

The suspected number of abuse victims who spent some of their youth in church institutions likely lies somewhere between 10,000 and 20,000, according to a summary of the report investigating allegations of abuse dating back to 1945.

The commission behind the report received some 1,800 complaints of abuse at Catholic schools, seminaries and orphanages and said that the institutions suffered from "a failure of oversight." It then conducted the broader survey of the general population for a more comprehensive analysis of the scale and nature of sexual abuse of minors ? both in the church and elsewhere.

Based on a survey among more than 34,000 people, the commission estimated that one in 10 Dutch children suffered some form of abuse broadly in society. The number doubled to 20 percent of children who spent part of their youth in an institution like an orphanage or boarding school ? whether Catholic or not.

The commission was set up last year under the leadership of former government minister Wim Deetman, who said there could be no doubt church leaders knew of the problem.

"The idea that people did not know there was a risk ... is untenable," he said.

Deetman said abuse continued in part because the Catholic church in the Netherlands was splintered, so bishops and religious orders sometimes worked autonomously to deal with abuse and "did not hang out their dirty laundry."

However, he said the commission concluded that "it is wrong to talk of a culture of silence" by the church as a whole.

Bert Smeets, an abuse victim who attended the presentation of the report, said it did not go far enough in investigating and outlining in precise detail exactly what happened.

"What was happening was sexual abuse, violence, spiritual terror, and that should have been investigated," Smeets told The Associated Press. "It remains vague. All sorts of things happened, but nobody knows exactly what or by whom. This way they avoid responsibility."

Archbishop Eijk said victims would be compensated by a commission the Dutch church set up last month and which has a scale starting at euro5,000 ($6,500) and rising to a maximum of euro100,000 ($130,000) depending on the nature of the abuse.

He said he felt personally ashamed of the abuse. "It is terrible," he said.

The Dutch Conference of Religious Orders also apologized, calling the abuse "a dark chapter in the history of religious life."

"We want to apologize for these mistakes and we want to never make them again," the conference said in an open letter to all victims.

The commission said about 800 priests, brothers, pastors or lay people working for the church were named in the complaints. About 105 of them were still alive, although it was not known if they remained in church positions, the report said. It did not release their names and identified them as "perpetrators" rather than "offenders," meaning they had not been proven to have committed a crime.

Prosecutors said in a statement that Deetman's inquiry had referred 11 cases ? without naming the alleged perpetrators ? to them.

Prosecutors opened only one investigation based on those reports, saying the other 10 did not contain enough detailed information and adding that they also appeared to have happened too long ago to prosecute. Had the case files contained enough information to trigger an investigation, prosecutors could have asked for the identities of the suspected abusers.

Deetman said the inquiry could not establish a "scientific link" between priests' celibacy and abuse, but he added, "we don't consider it impossible ... maybe if there was voluntary celibacy a number of problems would not have happened."

According to the Dutch Central Bureau for Statistics, 29 percent of the Dutch population of 16 million identified themselves as Catholics in 2008, making it the largest religion in the country.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2011-12-16-EU-Netherlands-Church-Abuse/id-41b894abaee04255b9f1ace16c012f71

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Ann Coulter Says Romney Most Conservative Candidate -- Does She Think Republicans Are Stupid? (ContributorNetwork)

COMMENTARY | Ann Coulter appeared on Fox News Channel's "Hannity" Tuesday evening (Dec. 13) and attempted to explain why she now believes that Mitt Romney is the Republican Party's only chance of defeating President Obama in the 2012 election. Although she dispensed with describing Sen. John McCain as a "douchebag" (a la MSNBC's "Morning Joe"), she did have a moment while defending her reasonings for altering her opinion of Romney as a viable candidate to reinforce her ultra-conservative credentials by joking that she would vote for Jeffrey Dahmer over the incumbent president.

Coulter told Hannity, "I'll support Jeffrey Dahmer against Obama." She added: "That isn't the question here. The question is how do we beat Obama? I think we beat Obama with the most conservative candidate and with the one who has been elected in a very liberal state..."

Coulter was defending Romney as the most conservative of the Republican candidates running for president. During the interview, she never quite got around to producing evidence that enabled her to go from stating in February that Republicans would lose with Romney as their nominee to how they would lose without him being the nominee. She also did not support her assertion that Romney was the the most conservative presidential hopeful. She did say that she now believes Obama has a "glass jaw," although she never revealed what that weakness was on "Hannity." Instead, Coulter denounced the other contenders, including referring to Newt Gingrich's constant foot-in-mouth bombasticism and calling him a "big government conservative."

Still, it speaks volumes that Coulter would prefer as president a dead serial killer over the sitting president. Besides, to Coulter, Obama is a godless liberal. (Does Coulter countenance any other kind of liberal?). Apparently any conservative, no matter how misguided, deranged, ignorant, and/or simply unqualified would still be a superior candidate to Obama.

Sean Hannity asked if she wanted to clarify for the liberals that she was joking, Coulter again took the classy route. "Screw them," she said.

Hannity, ever supportive, added, "They're too stupid." Laughter ensued.

Deriding the opposition to their ideology, often with ad hominem, spurious, and unsubstantiated remarks, is what people like Coulter and Hannity do. But it is very doubtful that even liberals are too stupid to realize that Mitt Romney is nowhere near the most conservative among the Republican candidates. And, one must ask, just how stupid does Ann Coulter think conservatives are?

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20111216/pl_ac/10680917_ann_coulter_says_romney_most_conservative_candidate__does_she_think_republicans_are_stupid

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