Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2012/11/john-allen-investigated-in-david-petraeus-scandal/
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Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Nicki Minaj Opens Up About Catfight With Mariah Carey
Nicki Minaj Opens Up About Catfight With Mariah Carey
The nasty feud on “American Idol” between Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey seems to have cooled down, but the rapper touched on the argument during her reality show. In the second part of Minaj’s reality show “Nicki Minaj: My Truth”, the quirky singer is shown reacting to news of video of the fight being released ...
Nicki Minaj Opens Up About Catfight With Mariah Carey Stupid Celebrities Gossip Stupid Celebrities Gossip News
Source: http://stupidcelebrities.net/2012/11/nicki-minaj-opens-up-about-catfight-with-mariah-carey/
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Did wild birds cause the 2010 deadly West Nile virus outbreak in Greece?
ScienceDaily (Nov. 12, 2012) ? In 2010, 35 people in Greece died from a West Nile virus (WNV) outbreak, with a further 262 laboratory-confirmed human cases. A new article published in BioMedCentral's open access Virology Journal examines whether wild or migratory birds could have been responsible for importing and amplifying the deadly virus.
WNV is a flavivirus of major public health concern, spread through the bite of infected mosquitoes. Discovered in Uganda in 1937, it was only sporadically reported up until the 1990s, after which disease outbreaks were reported world-over, leading to WNV being given epidemic status. Studies have shown that humans infected with WNV do not have viremia levels high enough to infect new mosquitoes and hence pass on the virus. Birds, however, do develop viremia levels sufficient to infect mosquitoes, hence serving as amplifying hosts for WNV.
In order to investigate whether wild birds were exposed to WNV prior to the 2010 outbreak in Greece, Charalambos Billinis and his co-authors tested serum and tissue samples from 295 resident and migratory wild birds harvested by hunters prior to and during the outbreak. These samples were collected for the purposes of the authors' participation in an FP7 EU wildlife diseases research project ("WildTech"). All sampling sites were in flying distance for avian species. Using immunofluorescence assays and virus neutralization tests to analyze samples for the presence of WNV-specific antibodies, the authors found 53 avian samples with WNV neutralizing antibodies. Importantly, 14 positive serum samples were obtained from birds up to 8 months prior to the human outbreak, and genetic determinants of increased virulence were present in these samples.
These results provide evidence to implicate that wild birds could have allowed WNV maintenance and amplification before and during the 2010 virus outbreak. Lead author Billinis commented, "The finding that migratory birds were previously exposed to WNV prior to their arrival in Greece during autumn migration suggests that avian species with similar migration traits could have introduced the virus into Greece."
The newly appointed editor in chief of the journal, Professor Linfa Wang, said, "This study shows the importance of wild bird surveillance for zoonotic diseases such as West Nile virus. It also demonstrates that pre-emergence surveillance in wildlife can be a powerful tool as part of an effective pre-warning system to prevent and/or reduce the impact of emerging zoonotic diseases. It is a great example of the need for a One Health approach to combat emerging infectious diseases."
Wildlife surveillance systems put in place could possibly provide timely information regarding virus introduction and circulation, further dispersion or introduction of new strains.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by BioMed Central Limited, via AlphaGalileo.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
- George Valiakos, Antonia Touloudi, Labrini V Athanasiou, Alexios Giannakopoulos, Christos Iacovakis, Periklis Birtsas, Vassiliki Spyrou, Zisis Dalabiras, Liljana Petrovska, Charalambos Billinis. Serological and molecular investigation into the role of wild birds in the epidemiology of West Nile virus in Greece. Virology Journal, 2012; 9 (1): 266 DOI: 10.1186/1743-422X-9-266
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/ZdL6SFAr9JI/121112090521.htm
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Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Israel fires at Syria for 2nd straight day
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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/israel-fires-syria-2nd-straight-day-125101747.html
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Monday, November 12, 2012
Tiny engine runs on single hydrogen molecules
Power packs don't get much smaller than this. The random movements of single hydrogen molecules have powered a tiny, vibrating springboard, mimicking molecular machines in nature.
Heat from their surroundings causes all molecules to move randomly, but engineers tend to regard such movements as noise to be avoided like the plague. Jose Ignacio Pascual at the Free University of Berlin in Germany and colleagues took inspiration from the natural world, where random motion powers structures such as proteins that move cargo around inside cells.
They placed a quartz springboard, weighing a fraction of a milligram, next to a slab of copper coated with hydrogen molecules. When a molecule changed its orientation, the force between the molecule and the board changed, setting the board vibrating. The team could keep the board vibrating by injecting electrons that encouraged the molecules to move, one at a time, in this way.
"A single hydrogen molecule ends up pushing an oscillator 1019times more massive than itself," says Pascual.
Journal reference: Science, doi.org/jqg
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Great distance Relationship Advantages and disadvantages
Must i stay as well as go? The place where a relationship seems to stagnate, there are different reasons. Neither of them of them want to appear fragile, and each were awaiting as soon as of showing strong before they will have every intimate conversation just as before. In which the relationship is certainly strong, both equally partners are going to appear ?naked? in all intuitively feels, including a great emotional dependability. In this case, the marriage was good before they all embarked on their own journeys, but it will surely get strong in future for a second time. Nevertheless they are all furthermore understand that the connection haven?t arrived at a conclusion however. They will have considerably to say together, and also both are able to explain their personal journeys. The discussion may herald the beginning of a whole new phase in the relationship where there would have been a degree of00 closeness and comprehension. ApsNJ.net of the future. Family members are complicated public systems. These relationships are also influenced through parenting behaviors in addition to parents? marriage, and any other relatives conflicts. Each time a relationship actually reaches this point connected with clear stagnation, the psychic reading will validate to the newlyweds what they already know just intuitively with regards to the connection. The knowledge they obtain will take at a distance several of the nervousness that they the two feel right now, which help them clear up the bafflement and absence of communication eventually. They could continue as though everything is definitely well until many people meet some other person, and then they experience the excitement of any new position and also the pain regarding finally letting move of the old relationship. Before the pain of staying in the relationship gets to be over.
It is far from there isn?t enough information. Everyone and the mother have got relationship assistance. Mentioned that, most tips for relationship problems conditional on biases alone. Whether you are concered about breaking down relationship jewelry, or dealing with relationship destruction of a continuing bond, it will always be a headache if you fail to obtain what to do. Actually psychiatrists give shitty love advice most of the time. People say that they are certified to give bond problems advice, however in my expertise they could be bad at this particular place. CochranBlairAndPotts.com with and may respect. That way, how will you think about them fit in order to relationship troubles advice. Get someone with words of wisdom with regard to dating support, go out a couple of cocktails with him following are receiving relationship complications, and faith his word completely. Its a fact that men want responsibility and committed romances even if deeply down they?re afraid to boost the comfort to on their own. Consumers avoid commitments within relationships for good reasons such as worry about knock back, concern with messing some misconception or even just concern with being stuck. For that reason whoever says simply no to commitment will be dealing with driving a car because of injure. It truly is pretty weird because they have never held it?s place in a romantic relationship himself. However, he provides the best bond problems advice as have you ever heard. If you happen to in the romance, one problem raises its annoying head suddenly. How much time in case wait before you make a commitment? Every single persons relationship along with circumstance takes a different approach and it?s impossible to manufacture a overall statement that pertains to most. You may are positioned when you both look and know way up in me that you are currently set. Everything you mean by simply commitment may be very numerous.
Your company and it will. When it takes place, examine what happened to check out the method that you both dealt with your disputes. Do you feel very good about it in retrospect or do you are sorry for the things you said or did Its not arguments themselves that can make or break your individual relationship its the method that you handle all of them together. All people on earth utilizes it is your right come to be in love and start with their wonderful soul mate. Nowadays, courting is not this includes kids merely. Meet up with several person dating sites now are opened wherever senior singles might talk, section and even day to their fascinating acquaintances. Then, people I deborah been just like you and also to quite some time previously and that my partner and i too considered precisely the same. Today when my favorite lover, my very own feelings have improved. Relationships Tips by Cribrock to alter and develop. Your personal mate kicked the bucket some time since, some time back. Which same time my two ladies happen to be marriedand was initially complete inside the apple store. Loneliness ended up being all over. Along with a single day I thought of constructing new acquaintances on the internet. I just used quite a few presumed online marketing sites. The following website, different others fully understood ways to respect relationships. They can beloved her or his mature users and sure comrehensive secure adult dating for seniors. Slowly and gradually My spouse and i made new buddies. I actually as yet just like he much and may always to think about him. I just even found just like who always continues to be nearby. If you find yourself looking forward to commitment, discuss it with your lover in all honesty. Understand what get yourself a positive tone, it may be the perfect time to reconsider just where you?re going. Use public and people realize that experts your committed relationship.
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Source: http://maisondesjeux.com/great-distance-relationship-advantages-and-disadvantages.aspx
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Sunday, November 11, 2012
Great Gifts For The Traveling Pet Lover , Dog, Cat and other Pet ...
Holidays are coming and as much as we love shopping for friends and loved ones, sometimes it?s so hard to find something they will really like and use. If you have a friend or relative who takes their pet on vacation, having items for their pets that are portable, durable, and easy to pack up is very important.
Have a friend who loves to take their pet on adventures? Check out these great gifts!
Pet Gear for Cars
Pet Gear Signature Pet Car Seat
For cats and smaller dogs, this Pet Car Seat will keep them safe and secure while you drive, not to mention keeping them out of your lap.
>> Buy it on Amazon
Waterproof Hammock Seat Cover for Pets
This Pet Car Hammock is especially handy if your road trip will include any stops at lakes, rivers, or the ocean ? or if you might encounter rain along the way. It?s much easier to remove and wash this sturdy hammock than it is to get your car?s upholstery cleaned!
>> Buy it on Amazon
Bergan Pet Travel Barrier
Keep Fido in the back seat ? for his safety and your comfort ? with this Pet Travel Barrier. It?s easily removable for those times when you don?t mind doggy breath on your face as you drive.
>> Buy it on Amazon
The AAA Petbook
The folks at AAA know a thing or two about road trips ? and that includes road trips with your pet. The book ?Traveling With Your Pet: The AAA Petbook? is updated every year to include more than 14,000 pet-friendly hotels, campgrounds, attractions, parks, and even animal clinics around the United States, along with tips about making sure your pet is ready for a trip either in the car or on a plane. It?s a handy resource to bring with you when you aren?t sure whether you?ll have internet access along the way.
>> Buy it on Amazon
Pet Travel Gift Basket
Le Bone Appetit has put together the essentials for any dog hitting the road. Healthy snacks, doggie bags, and a travel bowl are just some of the items in the gift basket. You can also add more items or create your own gift baskets.
Pet Gear for Planes
Petmate Airline Travel Kit
This Airline Travel Kit for Pets includes the ?Live Animal? sticker you?ll need to put on your pet?s carrier, an absorbent pad to give the carrier a quick clean on layovers, and a couple of small dishes to hang from a carrier?s cage to give your pet easy access to food and water when you?ve only got a few minutes to spare.
>> Buy it on Amazon
Bergan Disposable Pet Pads
These Disposable Pet Pads will help keep your pet more comfortable if he or she has an ?accident? mid-flight, and they make cleaning out the carrier on layovers much quicker, too. There?s an adhesive strip to keep the pad in place in the bottom of the carrier.
>> Buy it on Amazon
Argo Airline Approved Pet Carrier
This chic Pet Carrier is perfect for cats and small dogs who will spend the flight under the seat in front of you. Always make sure you check with your airline?s pet carrier requirements before purchasing a carrier for your flight.
>> Buy it on Amazon
Sherpa Sport Duffle Airline Approved Pet Carrier
This Pet Carrier is another that will work for cats and small dogs that you intend to bring on board the plane and stow under the seat in front of you. Always make sure you check with your airline?s pet carrier requirements before purchasing a carrier for your flight.
>> Buy it on Amazon
Rolling Convertible Pet Carrier
If you plan to bring your cat or small dog on the plane with you but you?d rather not haul the bag around on your tired shoulder all day, then this Rolling Convertible Pet Carrier may be ideal ? you can roll it or carry it like a backpack. Always make sure you check with your airline?s pet carrier requirements before purchasing a carrier for your flight.
>> Buy it on Amazon
Pet Food Travel Containers
Travel-tainer
This Travel-tainer by Vittles Vault makes it easy to keep a supply of kibble plus two bowls ? one for food and one for water ? handy at all times. It works for long car trips when the bulk of the pet food is packed away, or for plane trips so you can offer food and water on layovers.
>> Buy it on Amazon
Heninger PortablePET WaterBoy
Always have a handy water supply for your pet ? and a built-in bowl from which to drink it ? with this PortablePET WaterBoy. It holds up to three quarts of water, has a carrying handle, and a water bowl built right in.
>> Buy it on Amazon
Bamboo Silicone Pop-Up Travel Bowl
Pressed for space? These Pop-Up Travel Bowls collapse to be stored flat when not in use, and are available in 1-cup or 3-cup sizes.
>> Buy it on Amazon
Zen Bed Roll and Bowls
Camping? Bringing along a canine buddy? Then this roll up bed and portable bowl set from PetZen is perfect. The bed is washable and the bowls are leal-proof. It even comes with an adjustable carry strap.
>> Buy it on Amazon
Portable Travel Pet Beds
Animal Planet?s Fold And Go Portable Pet House
Made from soft foam, with fasteners for quick assembly, this portable dog house is great when going on a trip. Keeps pets warm and comfortable and folds flat for easy storage.
>> Buy it on Amazon
Eco+ Buttercup Bed
This is the perfect bed for the green living friend and their pet. It?s a polar-fleece bed that is not only cozy but made from post-consumer plastic bottles. It?s also soft, warm, and easy to toss into the car when packing for a vacation. The drawstrings pull up the sides to create a nice little cozy bed.
>> Buy it on Amazon
Canine Hardware Travel Dog Bed
This cozy Travel Dog Bed squishes down to almost nothing for packing, but is fluffy and comfy for your pet when you need it to be.
>> Buy it on Amazon
K&H Travel/SUV Pet Bed
Do you want to let your pet ride in comfort and style in the back of your SUV? Then this SUV Pet Bed is for you.
>> Buy it on Amazon
Folding Travel Dog Bed
Zipped up, this Folding Travel Dog Bed looks like just another bag. Unzipped, it?s a comfy bed for your pooch.
>> Buy it on Amazon
Bike Accessories for Pets
Snoozer Sporty Pet Bike Basket
This Sporty Pet Bike Basket comes equipped with storage pockets for things like leashes, treats, and clean-up baggies, and it folds flat for easy storage.
>> Buy it on Amazon
DoggyRide Mini Dog Bike Trailer
If Fido can?t keep up with you while you?re biking, you can still bring him along with this Mini Dog Bike Trailer.
>> Buy it on Amazon
3-in-1 Bike Basket
In Style Dog knows that pet owners and their dogs love to be active. For smaller dogs who may not be able to keep up with their owners, there?s a bike basket for them to sit in while their owner rides for miles and miles. Fleece padding, meshed pouches, and zippered pockets make this the perfect seat for their canine companion.
Source: http://www.petswelcome.com/articles/great-gifts-for-the-traveling-pet-lover.html
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Analysis: Hudson's Bay faces tough sell as it prepares for IPO
TORONTO/NEW YORK (Reuters) - If Hudson's Bay Co wants to provide some measure of comfort to investors in its upcoming initial public offering, it might have to throw in some of its signature striped wool blankets.
The retailer, owner of two of the most venerable names in department stores - Hudson's Bay in Canada and Lord & Taylor in the United States - faces a big challenge in convincing investors it can win the turnaround game, especially with a hip and agile competitor like Target Corp
As HBC prepares for its C$400 million ($399 million) initial public offering in Toronto, it is touting a "transformation" that includes rising sales at established stores, a figure investors watch closely.
But both chains face increasing competition, a likely medium- and long-run negative for the stock. The department store sector has grown slowly as shoppers look online or seek out discount stores.
In the United States, Lord & Taylor competes with a resurgent Macy's Inc
"I think an investor in the Bay would be well-advised to wait until Target has entered the market and they have some insight as to what the business climate will be for the Bay on a real basis, not on a speculative basis," said Mark Cohen, former chief executive of Sears Canada Inc
HBC says its transformation is a work in progress, with more upside to come.
"The focus will be the opportunity to close the margin gap, the opportunity to grow same-store sales," said Walter Stackow, analyst with Manning & Napier, which invests in retail stocks.
HBC has estimated it will sell up to 19 percent of the company in the IPO at between C$18.50 and C$21.50 per share, giving it a market value of C$2.4 billion, according to a fund manager who has reviewed the firm's sale documents.
The company is braving an otherwise stalled IPO market in Canada. A recent PwC survey counted three issues on the Toronto Stock Exchange in the first nine months of 2012, down from 14 in the same period last year.
HBC says it will use the proceeds to pay down debt, although it will remain heavily indebted - as of July 28, total short- and long-term debt came to C$1.37 billion.
Ryan Bushell, a portfolio manager with Leon Frazer & Associates in Toronto who manages the IA Clarington Canadian Conservative Equity Fund, said he was briefed on the IPO but is staying on the sidelines for now.
"We wouldn't be stepping into more consumer sensitive names right at this moment," he said. "We'd rather see how the market digests this IPO and see a few quarters of execution as a public company."
HBC declined to comment for this piece.
CANADIAN SQUEEZE
Founded in 1670, Hudson's Bay was a fur trading business long before it operated department stores, having been granted control of a significant part of what is now Canada by King Charles II. It went private in 2006, as shoppers fled to specialty retailers and U.S.-based heavyweights like Wal-Mart Stores Inc
NRDC Equity Partners, controlled by U.S. real estate investor Richard Baker and his family, bought out HBC's other investors in 2008, and integrated it with Lord & Taylor, which operates 48 stores across the United States.
A recent study by consultancy Kantar Retail singled out Hudson's Bay's 90 outlets as particularly vulnerable to Target. Early HBC investors will have little chance to gauge the impact of Target's 2013 arrival in Canada before buying in.
"I wouldn't touch it (the IPO) with a 10-foot pole," said Barry Schwartz, vice president and portfolio manager at Toronto's Baskin Financial Services. "I think it's an opportunistic idea to take advantage of a pretty good market and the fact that Target hasn't made any impact yet."
With a presence primarily in the U.S. northeast, Lord & Taylor is small relative to its publicly traded peers. It had sales of C$1.4 billion last year, or roughly three weeks of revenue at Macy's, which sold Lord & Taylor off in 2006. Hudson's Bay had sales of C$2.2 billion.
HBC has focused on its two marquee banners, winding down discount chains Fields and Zellers, and selling many of its Zellers leases to Target in a C$1.83 billion deal. Home Outfitters, HBC's 69-outlet Canadian housewares chain, is not much mentioned in the prospectus.
Columbia University's Cohen said the remaining Zellers locations may prove costly to liquidate, and Hudson's Bay just doesn't have a strong market position.
High-end Nordstrom Inc
COMPETITION AT LORD & TAYLOR
For its part, Lord & Taylor must take on Macy's, Nordstrom and Saks Inc
Last year, Lord & Taylor spent C$91 million to improve its stores, including a facelift at its Manhattan flagship. Industry experts say the chain, founded in 1826, let its high-end aura erode over the years, relying too much on discounts.
It has ramped up offerings by U.S. designers like Elie Tahari, and shows the biggest image improvement among shoppers in the last 13 months, according to market research firm YouGov. But it still lags Macy's and Nordstrom.
"Lord & Taylor has a very loyal customer base," said retail industry veteran Walter Loeb, who earlier in his career was a senior merchant at Macy's and analyst at Morgan Stanley. "But they have to build a new customer base."
Another potential problem for HBC is lagging e-commerce. Last year, it got 2.1 percent of sales online, compared with 8 percent to 15 percent for the publicly traded U.S. department stores.
Selling, general and administrative costs in relation to sales have improved in recent years, thanks in part to efficiencies from combining some of the two chains' operations.
At 35 percent of sales last year, the costs are lower than those of Sears stores in Canada, with 38 percent, but far above most of HBC's peer group. They were 22.6 percent at Kohl's and 26.7 percent at Nordstrom.
HBC's real estate, including historic buildings in major cities like New York and Toronto, could provide some floor to the stock's value, should its turnaround stumble. The company owns or ground leases more than 11 million square feet of retail space, and has long-term, low-cost leases for another 14 million.
HBC sales rose 6.4 percent from 2009 to 2011, and operating income jumped more than 17-fold as the retailer boosted store productivity and margins, but that growth could falter.
"At the end of the day, the department store category is not a fast growing category," Manning & Napier's Stackow said.
($1 = $1.00 Canadian)
(Additional reporting by Solarina Ho and Euan Rocha in Toronto; Editing by Janet Guttsman, Mary Milliken and Steve Orlofsky)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/analysis-hudsons-bay-faces-tough-sell-prepares-ipo-130638888--finance.html
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Saturday, November 10, 2012
Man put to death in Texas for woman's 2002 slaying
This handout photo provided by the Texas Department of Public Safety shows Mario Swain. Swain is set for execution Thursday, Nov. 8, 2012 for the slaying 46-year-old Lola Nixon in Dec. 2002 in Longview, Texas. (AP Photo/ Texas Department of Public Safety)
This handout photo provided by the Texas Department of Public Safety shows Mario Swain. Swain is set for execution Thursday, Nov. 8, 2012 for the slaying 46-year-old Lola Nixon in Dec. 2002 in Longview, Texas. (AP Photo/ Texas Department of Public Safety)
HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) ? A man described by a prosecutor as "a serial killer in training" was executed Thursday in Texas for a woman's slaying during a break-in at her home a decade ago.
Mario Swain, 33, received a lethal injection for killing Lola Nixon at her home in East Texas' Longview two days after Christmas in 2002. When asked by a warden if he had a final statement before his punishment, the condemned prisoner shook his head, closed his eyes and took several barely audible breaths.
Within a moment, all movement stopped. Swain was pronounced dead 30 minutes later, at 6:39 p.m. CST.
No family members or friends of Nixon were at the execution. Swain also had no relatives among the witnesses.
Swain's attorney, James Volberding, said no late attempts were made in the courts to block the execution, the 13th this year in the nation's busiest capital punishment state.
The U.S. Supreme Court last month refused to review the case, and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals last week rejected an appeal that contended a prison expert's testimony during the sentencing phase of Swain's 2003 capital murder trial was false and misleading.
Swain declined media interview requests as his execution date neared.
Evidence showed Swain threw the 46-year-old Nixon's body into the trunk of her BMW after killing her, drove to a remote area outside of the city about 120 miles east of Dallas and dumped it in the back seat of an abandoned car.
Nixon missed a dinner engagement with friends on the night she was slain. Her friends called police when they couldn't reach her the next day, and officers who went to her home found the back door jimmied.
Once inside, they saw blood throughout the house. A neighbor reported seeing an unfamiliar truck parked on the street the night before, and police tracked the vehicle to Swain.
He initially blamed friends for the burglary, then led police to Nixon's body. Authorities determined she'd been beaten with a tire iron, stabbed and strangled.
The tire iron was recovered from a trash container where Swain said he had thrown it. Evidence showed he used Nixon's credit cards and gave a piece of her stolen jewelry to a friend. Nixon's blood was found on Swain's clothing in the truck, along with her car keys and garage door opener.
According to evidence and testimony at trial, Swain gathered information about women he wanted to rob and then would attack them, forcing them to inhale the anesthetic halothane and hitting them over the head with a wrench or shooting them with a stun gun.
Lance Larison, a prosecutor at Swain's trial, described Swain as "a serial killer in training."
"A girlfriend told us he kept a list in notebooks of names and license plates of girls he would follow," Larison said. "I think he was working up to something."
It's not clear if Swain knew Nixon. She managed a Longview telephone call center where Swain once worked.
One of Swain's trial lawyers, Rick Hagan, said the evidence and vivid testimony from those who say Swain robbed and attacked them hindered the defense's efforts to convince jurors to spare Swain from the death penalty.
Larson said blood evidence in the case was "consistent with a struggle" inside Nixon's home, where she lived alone.
Deborah Hancock told the Longview News-Journal she and her husband were to have dinner with Nixon that Friday night after Christmas 2002. They stopped by Nixon's house with a carry-out package when she didn't arrive to eat with them. When their knocks went unanswered, they left the food at her front door.
"I can't believe it's been 10 years," Hancock said. "She was very outgoing and very direct, fun, lively. She was just one of a kind."
Swain's execution is to be followed by two more next week in Texas.
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Suicide blasts in Syria kill at least 20 troops
This image taken from video obtained from Shaam News Network, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows smoke rising from a residential area of the city during bombing from military warplanes, in Douma, Syria, Friday, Nov. 9, 2012. (AP Photo/Shaam News Network via AP video)
This image taken from video obtained from Shaam News Network, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows smoke rising from a residential area of the city during bombing from military warplanes, in Douma, Syria, Friday, Nov. 9, 2012. (AP Photo/Shaam News Network via AP video)
This image taken from video obtained from Shaam News Network, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows a woman carrying a child running away from the scene of shelling in Qouriyeh, Syria, Friday, Nov. 9, 2012. (AP Photo/Shaam News Network via AP video)
Syrian youth dance on a poster depicting President Bashar Assad during a demonstration against his regime in the Bustan al-Qasr district of Aleppo, Syria. Syria's conflict began largely as peaceful protests against Assad's rule, but it has since collapsed into civil war after rebels took up arms in response to the regime's bloody crackdown. (AP Photo/Monica G. Prieto)
Syrian regime opponent George Sabra , center, during the vote count of the election of the Executive Office of the Syrian National Council in Doha, Qatar, Friday, Nov. 9, 2012. (AP Photo/Osama Faisal)
This image taken from video obtained from Shaam News Network, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows a wounded youth being attended to shortly after shelling in Qouriyeh, Syria, Friday, Nov. 9, 2012. (AP Photo/Shaam News Network via AP video)
BEIRUT (AP) ? Suicide car bombings ripped through a Syrian government base in a southern city on Saturday, killing at least 20 soldiers, an opposition group said, the latest in a series of explosions targeting regime forces and symbols of state security across the country.
The explosions in Daraa were followed by clashes between regime forces and rebels fighting to topple President Bashar Assad, activists said.
Daraa was the birthplace of the uprising against Assad, which erupted in March 2011. The conflict began largely with peaceful protests against Assad's rule but morphed into a civil war after rebels took up arms in response to the regime's crackdown.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which relies on a network of activists on the ground, said two suicide bombers drove their explosives-laden cars into a military encampment behind the officer's club in quick succession. It said at least 20 soldiers were killed, most in the second explosion.
Other activists described explosions that targeted the high security area but didn't say they were suicide attacks. State-run news agency SANA reported triple car bombings in Daraa that killed seven civilians and wounded several others.
The Syrian government rarely provides death tolls for security forces, and the discrepancy could not be reconciled or independently verified.
"I heard two very loud explosions and a third smaller one followed by bursts of gunfire," said Mohammad Abu Houran, an activist in Daraa. He said the first two were likely car bombs and the third a mortar shell or rocket-propelled grenade.
Abu Houran said black smoke could be seen over the high-security area, which was sealed off, and heavy shooting could be heard from the area for about 10 minutes after the explosions.
Bombings targeting state security institutions have become frequent in recent months, frequently hitting military intelligence branches in Damascus and other cities. Most dramatically in July, rebels detonated explosives inside a high-level crisis meeting in Damascus, killing four top regime officials, including Assad's brother-in-law and the defense minister.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Saturday's attack in Daraa, but Jabhat al-Nusra, an al-Qaida-inspired extremist group that is fighting alongside the rebels, has said it was responsible for similar bombings in the past.
The targeted area is considered a high-security zone that houses a branch of the country's Military Intelligence as well as an officer's club where dozens of regime forces are based. Around 30 tanks that regime forces use to shell Daraa and surrounding areas are also stationed in a nearby stadium, activists said.
In other violence, Syrian TV said a locally made rocket slammed into a four-story residential building in the district of al-Qassaa in the capital of Damascus, wounding two young women. The TV blamed "terrorists" for the attack in the predominantly Christian residential area ? the term used by the Syrian government to describe rebels.
Despite gaining control over large swaths of territory, particularly in the country's north, Syria's rebels are far outgunned by the military, which has increasingly relied on airstrikes against rebel strongholds.
The Syrian opposition, which is deeply divided and plagued by rivalries, says it needs weapons to break the military stalemate and defeat Assad. The rebels' Western backers have been reluctant to send weapons to the opposition fighters, for fear they will fall into the wrong hands.
George Sabra, the newly elected leader of the main opposition bloc, the Syrian National Council, urged the international community on Saturday to support rebels without any conditions.
"Unfortunately, we get nothing from them, except some statements, some encouragement" while Assad's allies "give the regime everything," Sabra told The Associated Press on the sidelines of a weeklong SNC conference in the Qatari capital of Doha.
Sabra was heading an SNC delegation Saturday in talks with rival opposition groups on forging a new, broader and more inclusive opposition leadership group ? an idea promoted by Western and Arab backers of those trying to oust Assad.
Syria has dismissed the meeting in Doha, and Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi called it a political folly. In an interview on state-run Syrian TV aired late Friday, al-Zoubi said those who "meet in hotels" abroad are "deluding themselves" if they think they can overthrow the government.
Activists say more than 36,000 people have died in Syria during the nearly 20-month-old conflict, which has increasingly taken on sectarian overtones. The opposition consists of mainy Sunni Muslims, while the regime is dominated by Assad's minority Alawite sect, a Shiite offshoot..
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Gas rationing expands as Sandy, Nor'easter effects linger
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Your response will be seen by your Facebook friends on Yahoo!\",\"NUM_PEOPLE_RATED__s1\":29765,\"NUM_PEOPLE_RATED__s2\":9575,\"NUM_PEOPLE_RATED__s3\":9123,\"NUM_PEOPLE_RATED__s4\":12995,\"NUM_PEOPLE_RATED__s5\":15834,\"NUM_PEOPLE_RATED__s6\":273179,\"NUM_PEOPLE_RATED__s7\":0,\"NUM_PEOPLE_RATED__s8\":0,\"NUM_PEOPLE_RATED__s9\":0,\"NUM_PEOPLE_RATED__s10\":0}","fbconfig":"{\"message\":\"undefined\",\"name\":\"undefined\",\"link\":\"\",\"source\":\"\",\"picture\":\"http:\\\/\\\/l.yimg.com\\\/os\\\/152\\\/2012\\\/07\\\/12\\\/slidermedi-jpg_181904.jpg\",\"description\":\"There are quite a few things to consider when thinking about retirement.\",\"captionLeft\":\"undefined\",\"captionRight\":\"undefined\",\"app_id\":\"196660913708276\",\"redirect_uri\":\"\\\/_xhr\\\/ugcratefbredirect\\\/\"}","template_id":"LONG_SLIDER_SOUTH","obj_id":"ratings_a8b4843269d5fa2ba8ee3a0857d40305","opt_count":"6","opt_color1":"","opt_color2":"","template_html":"Source: http://news.yahoo.com/northeast-digs-snow-gas-rationing-expands-004951341.html
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Thousands flee Syria in major refugee exodus
ANKARA/DOHA (Reuters) - Thousands of Syrians fled their country on Friday in one of the biggest refugee exoduses of the 20 month war after rebels seized a border town.
Syria's fractious opposition was meeting in Qatar, under increasing pressure from the United States and Qatar to unite and form a credible body capable of ruling the country effectively if President Bashar al-Assad falls.
The United Nations said 11,000 refugees had fled in 24 hours, most to Turkey. The exodus is testing the patience of Ankara, the most militarily capable of Syria's neighbors and a strong opponent of Assad. Ankara has long said a full-blown refugee emergency would demand robust intervention.
Rebels overran the frontier town of Ras al-Ain late on Thursday, continuing a drive that has already seen them push Assad's troops from much of the north and seize several crossing points, a rebel commander and opposition sources said.
"The crossing is important because it opens another line to Turkey, where we can send the wounded and get supplies," said Khaled al-Walid, a commander in the Raqqa rebel division.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based group that compiles opposition activist reports, said at least 20 members of the Syrian security forces were killed when rebel fighters attacked a security headquarters in Ras al-Ain.
Thousands of residents poured out of the Arab and Kurd town, in the northeastern oil-producing province of Hasaka, 600 km (375 miles) from Damascus.
TURKEY HITS OUT
Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan hit out at world powers on the U.N. Security Council over their inaction.
"It is very strange. There are currently atrocities being committed in Syria and these atrocities are being directed by a state leader," he said. "How far will this go? When will the permanent members of the Security Council take responsibility?"
Turkey has responded in kind to mortar shells hitting its soil from fighting in Syria and is discussing with NATO allies whether to deploy Patriot air defense missiles on the border.
The Turkish state-run Anatolian news agency reported that 26 Syrian military officers had also arrived in Turkey with their families overnight in what it called the biggest mass desertion of senior soldiers from Assad's forces in months.
The latest flight of refugees raised the total recorded by the United Nations to 408,000. The International Committee of the Red Cross said on Thursday it could not keep up with the increasingly dire needs of civilians.
Advancing rebels managed to fire mortars at the presidential palace in Damascus this week. Residents in the capital said security was being beefed up there. Assad told Russia Today television on Thursday he would "live and die in Syria", echoing words of other Arab leaders before they lost power last year.
As rebels advance, an opposition Syrian National Council made up mainly of exiles has been seen as ineffective and out of touch with groups fighting on the ground. Western countries fear that means Islamist militants could seize power if Assad falls.
Qatar, which has bankrolled Assad's enemies and played a leading role in Arab diplomacy against him, hosted an opposition meeting in its capital Doha, with senior U.S. diplomats hovering on the sidelines and leaning hard on the opposition to unite.
A source inside meetings that lasted into the early morning hours said SNC members who had resisted a deal were now bowing to pressure for a new body that would give more voice to groups operating on the ground in Syria itself.
MILITARY FUND
"We will not leave today without an agreement," the source said. "The body will be the sole legitimate representative of the Syrian people. Once they get international recognition, there will be a fund for military support."
An outline agreement could see the SNC and other opposition figures agree on a 60-member political assembly, mirroring the Transitional National Council in Libya, which united opposition to Muammar Gaddafi last year and took power when he fell.
"They will create a 'temporary government', which could take control of embassies around the world and take Syria's seat at the U.N., because the regime would have lost its legitimacy," said the source.
The SNC, which has previously been the main opposition group on the international stage, may have around a third of the seats in the new body but would otherwise lose much of its influence. It was not yet clear whether the meeting in Doha would name members or broach the thorny issue of the new body's leadership.
Qatar's prime minister told delegates on Thursday to "get a move on" in a closed meeting in a Doha five-star hotel.
"The Qataris are not to going to let them leave here in failure after all this investment," said a diplomatic source on the sidelines of the meetings. However, he sounded a note of caution: "Yes there will be an agreement, but is it sustainable? Is it well thought through and well prepared?"
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last week called for overhauling the opposition, saying more representation was needed for those "on the frontlines and dying". The SNC is due on Friday to complete elections to its executive council and choose a new leader, before continuing talks with other groups.
Senior SNC member Burhan Ghalioun said the atmosphere at the talks was positive. "We all agree that we don't want to walk away from this meeting in failure."
In the last three months, the mainly Sunni Muslim Arab rebels have captured outposts on the Turkish border, moving towards the northeastern heartland of Syria's one million Kurds, many of whom have tried to stay clear of violence.
The Kurdish Council, a coalition of Kurdish parties opposed to Assad, called on rebels to pull their fighters out of Ras al-Ain, saying the clashes and fear of Syrian bombardment had prompted most of its 50,000 residents to flee.
(Additional reporting by Khaled Yacoub Oweis in Amman, Tom Perry and Oliver Holmes in Beirut, Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva, Andrew Hammond in Dubai and Regan Doherty in Doha; Writing by Peter Graff; Editing by Giles Elgood)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/assad-says-live-die-syria-100053575.html
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Turkey to ask NATO for Patriot missiles: report
ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey will imminently lodge an official request with NATO asking the military alliance to deploy Patriot missiles along its border with Syria to guard against violence spilling over, a senior Turkish foreign ministry official said on Wednesday.
If approved, the deployment would represent a further deterioration in relations between Turkey and Syria - once close allies - and see more military hardware poured into a region where tensions are already high.
Britain also appeared to harden its stance on Syria on Wednesday when Foreign Secretary William Hague said he had ordered UK diplomats to talk directly to Syrian rebels. Britain's previous stance had been to engage only with political representatives of the opposition.
Syria's war, in which the opposition estimates 38,000 people have been killed, raises the specter of wider Middle East turbulence and poses one of the greatest foreign policy challenges for U.S. President Barack Obama as he starts his second term.
Analysts said Obama had been unable to make bold moves on Syria during the election period because of the risk that doing so would hurt his popularity. Britain and Turkey have joined U.S. calls for President Bashar al-Assad to step down.
Syrian rebels fired mortars at Assad's palace in Damascus on Wednesday but missed, an attack underlining the growing boldness of those fighting to end his family's 42-year rule and the rebel strategy of launching high-profile attacks against symbols of his rule.
A July bomb that killed four of Assad's top lieutenants was swiftly followed up with an advance into Damascus by rebels but they were then partially beaten back by Assad's forces.
Damascus residents told Reuters heavy-caliber shells apparently aimed at the palace had hit the nearby residential Mezze 86 district that is home to members of Assad's Alawite sect. State-run media said at least three people had been killed and seven wounded in what it described as a terrorist attack.
The violence has highlighted the sectarian dimension of a civil war that is deepening the rift between Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims in the region - Assad's Alawite sect is an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam.
Allegations of Syrian soldiers looting foreign aid surfaced on Wednesday after a medical aid group said troops had been seizing the supplies and reselling them or channeling them towards government loyalists, putting millions of lives at risk.
"When the regime attacks one of our medical facilities, whether it's a hospital or something else, they load up everything they can carry, and they burn the rest," said Tawfik Chamaa, a Geneva-based doctor and spokesman for the Union of Syrian Medical Relief Organizations (UOSSM).
DIRECT CONTACT WITH REBELS
"(The armed opposition) are playing an increasingly influential role within Syria as the conflict worsens," Hague said in a statement.
"I have therefore now authorized my officials to have direct contact with an even wider range of representatives including military figures in the armed opposition."
He said Britain would continue to only supply non-lethal support to the unarmed opposition, in compliance with a European Union arms embargo and British export licensing laws.
British officials would stress the importance of human rights and the rejection of "extremism and terrorism", and contact with the rebels would be limited to political dialogue, he said.
On a visit to a Jordanian refugee camp, British Prime Minister David Cameron said that efforts to halt the bloodshed so far had been fruitless.
"I am standing with the Syrian border just behind me and every night 500 refugees are fleeing the most appalling persecution and bloodshed to come to safety and frankly what we have done so far is not working," he said in Zaatari, a camp housing about 30,000 Syrian refugees in northern Jordan.
International and regional rivalries have complicated efforts to mediate a resolution to the conflict - Russia and China have vetoed three U.N. Security Council resolutions that would have put Assad under pressure.
The conflict has also started to suck in neighboring countries. Turkey has been responding in kind to mortar shells hitting its territory as a result of fighting between Syrian rebels and Syrian government forces.
A senior Turkish foreign ministry official told Reuters on Wednesday that the government would make an "imminent" request to NATO to protect its 910-km (560-mile) border with Syria with Patriot surface-to-air missiles.
The official said there was a potential missile threat to Turkey from Syria and Turkey had a right to take steps to counter such a threat. He gave no further details.
The United States and other Western powers say a resolution to the conflict has also been frustrated by divisions and in-fighting between Syrian opposition groups.
Syrian opposition groups will meet on Thursday to form a new 50-member civilian group that will later choose a temporary government for Syria and coordinate with the revolt's military wing.
PALESTINIAN INFIGHTING
Highlighting how Palestinian refugees have been drawn into the conflict, rebels killed 10 members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC), which is loyal to Assad, in fighting near the Palestinian camp of Yarmouk in Damascus, opposition sources said.
Syrian rebels and pro-opposition Palestinians announced the formation of a new brigade last week to battle the PFLP-GC.
The Syrian foreign ministry said Syria would stand "with full determination against any attempt to drag the Palestinians into what is happening in Syria", the state news agency SANA reported, quoting a ministry official.
Air strikes and artillery barrages unleashed by the Syrian military in the last few weeks have wrecked whole districts of the capital, as well as parts of towns and cities elsewhere.
Yet, for all their firepower, Assad's forces seem no closer to crushing their lightly armed opponents, who in turn have so far proved unable to topple the Syrian leader.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based opposition watchdog, says it had the names of at least 38,000 people confirmed dead by friends and family. The death toll is going up every day, with a thousand or more killed in some weeks.
(Writing by Oliver Holmes; Additional reporting by Tom Miles in Geneva, Gulsen Solaker in Ankara and Adrian Croft in Brussels; Editing by Pravin Char and Andrew Osborn)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/turkey-ask-nato-patriot-missiles-report-094657066.html
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Friday, November 9, 2012
A long, steady GOP decline - Capitol Fax.com
* Sometimes, a graph is easier than reading. My Sun-Times column today is based on a graph I made yesterday afternoon to help myself understand Tuesday?s election. I was so blown away by the chart that I had to write about it. Using exit polling data, here is the partisan makeup of self-identified election day voters since 1992. Click for a better view?
For the first time in at least 20 years, more independents voted in Illinois last Tuesday than Republicans.
I spent part of Thursday afternoon going through some exit polling data to see if I could find anything to cheer up my Republican friends. I really couldn?t.
Way back in 1992, when Republican Jim Edgar was governor and George H.W. Bush was running for re-election against Bill Clinton, 39 percent of Illinois voters told the exit pollsters they were Democrats; 34 percent said they were Republicans, and 27 percent said they were independents.
Two years later, when the country turned against Clinton and the Republicans swept just about everything here and nationally, the two parties were tied at 36 percent each in Illinois, with 28 percent saying they were independents.
The Republicans dropped down to 32 percent two years later, while the Democrats surged to 42 percent. Things stayed more or less the same until 2006, George W. Bush?s second midterm election, when Democrats vaulted to 46 percent, Republicans dropped to 31 percent and independents plummeted to a 20-year low of 23 percent.
Obviously, the Democrats won over independents, and the Republicans lost them. Republicans continued losing more independent-minded folks in 2008, when Barack Obama was elected president. Democrats made up 47 percent of the Illinois electoral pool, but Republicans dropped to 28 percent and independents moved up to 28 percent.
And despite a national Republican landslide in 2010, people who said they were Democrats dropped just 3 percentage points, to 44 percent. Republicans moved up only three points to 31 percent, and independents dropped a couple of points to 24 percent.
Believe it or not, the percentage of voters who said they were Democrats was the same in this year?s election as it was in 2008: 44 percent. But Republicans tumbled to 27 percent and independents rose to 28 percent.
The number of people who say they?re independent really hasn?t moved a whole lot over the past two decades. It has been within a five-point range for more than 20 years.
The Republican Party?s problem is that it has been on the decline overall since its 1994 high. Part of the reason is that a triple whammy hit the GOP: George Ryan, George W. Bush and Barack Obama. Ryan?s corruption turned voters away from their favored state governing party; Bush turned Illinoisans off altogether, and Obama is the home-state guy.
So, it?s possible that with both Georges long gone and Obama having won his final election, Republicans might start returning to a more reasonable level of support. But they probably can?t turn around numbers like this on a dime.
For starters, women have left the party in droves. In 1994, 61 percent of Illinois women voted for the pro-choice Edgar?s re-election bid. By 2010, just 44 percent of women voted for the pro-life Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Brady. And this year, a mere 35 percent of women here voted for Mitt Romney, according to the exit polls.
If the Republicans don?t do something differently, and soon, they?ll hurt their brand so much that most women will eventually refuse to vote for any GOP candidate.
Latinos, the fastest-growing ethnic group in Illinois, also have trended more Democratic. In 2004, 53 percent of Latinos voted for John Kerry. Two years ago, 63 percent of Latinos voted for Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn. This year, 81 percent went with Obama.
The bottom line here is that the GOP has to stop alienating women and Latinos. Now. Today. There is simply no other path back to relevance in Illinois.
When Republicans do well with women, they win. End of story.
Discuss.
Source: http://capitolfax.com/2012/11/09/a-long-steady-gop-decline/
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